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sábado, agosto 23, 2008

MARÍA DEL ROSARIO ESPINOZA


María del Rosario Espinoza, originalmente cargada por Sërch.

La mexicana Maria del Rosario Espinoza enseña su medalla de oro de la categoría de 67 kilos de taekwondo femenino hoy en el gimnasio de la USTB de Pekín.

Maria del Rosario Espinoza (red) of Mexico fights against Nina Solheim of Norway during the Taekwondo women +67kg Gold medal contest at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Maria del Rosario Espinoza defeated Nina Solheim and won the gold medal.

Foto cortesía de Mexsport.


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¡DIOSA DE ORO!


¡Diosa de Oro!, originalmente cargada por M@rcopako.

María del Rosario Espinoza, taekwondoín mexicana ganadora de la medalla de oro en la categoría de +67 kilogramos al vencer a la noruega Nina Solheim por 3-1 puntos.

Mexico has now taken two gold here as Guillermo Perez also won the men's 58kg event.

'The Beijing Olympic Games are one of the greatest Olympic Games in the history of Mexican taekwondo because we have got two gold medals here,' said Del Rosario Espinoza.

'For Mexico, it's a historical breakthrough. For me, this gold medal means a lot because of my hard training over the years.'


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jueves, agosto 21, 2008

LEOPARD - PANTHERA PARDUS


Leopard - Panthera pardus, originalmente cargada por tropicaLiving.

Fast Fact.
Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Protection status: Endangered

Leopards are graceful and powerful big cats closely related to lions, tigers, and jaguars. They live in sub-Saharan Africa, northeast Africa, Central Asia, India, and China. However, many of their populations are endangered, especially outside of Africa.

The leopard is so strong and comfortable in trees that it often hauls its kills into the branches. By dragging the bodies of large animals aloft it hopes to keep them safe from scavengers such as hyenas. Leopards can also hunt from trees, where their spotted coats allow them to blend with the leaves until they spring with a deadly pounce. These nocturnal predators also stalk antelope, deer, and pigs by stealthy movements in the tall grass. When human settlements are present, leopards often attack dogs and, occasionally, people.

This species was originally distributed throughout the Korean Peninsula, northeastern China, and the Amur River Valley on the Russia-China border and southeastern Russia; the majority of its range overlapping with that of the Siberian Tiger. It also is rarely found in warm areas. Today, it is extremely close to extinction with only 25 to 34 known individuals remaining in the Sikhote-Alin mountains of southern Russia (only six of these are female), while it is estimated that at least 100 are needed if the species is to avoid extinction. A few individuals are thought to remain on the Kaema Plateau and Baekdusan of North Korea, but the status of the species here is unknown. Habitat destruction and the fur trade have diminished its numbers dramatically, and have resulted in the animal becoming the rarest extant member of the feline family on the planet. It has also been suggested that poachers interested in the Leopard's fur and meat helped bring about the Amur Leopard's downfall but there is no solid evidence to support this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amur_Leopard


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DESERT SCARAB


Desert Scarab, originalmente cargada por Shane Vorhaben.

...so, I couldn't really work on anything last week
due to work...that job shit really gets in the way
sometimes doesn't it?...anyway, I was going through
drawing withdrawls the other night and forced myself
to crack open the 'ole moleskine...

...here's what I learned..and I may be repeating myself
here...whenever I draw a picture from a photograph,
though I may like the end result, it doesn't give me
the same feeling that I get when I draw something
from my imagination. But, for some reason, that
doesn't apply when drawing from life....be it a still
life or something outside...drawing from life still
seems like your "creating" something..I mean, you pick
your view, your angle, etc...

..anyway, to make a long story short, ..when drawing
from a photo, I may like the asthetic when I'm
finished , but the feeling of accomplishment is
lesser than something I've created from my imagination.

..I would love to hear your thoughts on this..

...oh, this was done in my small Moleskine reporter with ink and watercolor....the
thin sheets of the moleskine really can take some abuse.


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AVALON SUNRISE


Avalon Sunrise, originalmente cargada por TimboDon.

Here another shot of my favourite rocks at the moment. It was a bit of a shame to not get more light trails off the sun but maybe next time.

Avalon (probably from the Celtic word abal: apple; see Etymology below) is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend, famous for its beautiful apples. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae ("The History of the Kings of Britain") as the place where King Arthur is taken to recover from his wounds after his last battle at Camlann, and where his sword Caliburn (Excalibur) was forged. The concept of such an "Isle of the Blessed" has parallels in other Indo-European mythology, in particular the Irish Tír na nÓg and the Greek Hesperides, the latter also noted for its apples.

The Last Sleep of Arthur by Sir Edward Burne-Jones
The Last Sleep of Arthur by Sir Edward Burne-Jones

Geoffrey of Monmouth interpreted the name as the "isle of apples". This is probable, as "apple" is still aval in Breton and Cornish, and afal in Welsh, in which the letter f is pronounced [v]. Another possibility — the Abalus mentioned by Pytheas — the island of amber — which could have non-Celtic origins. (see more about the Abalus possibility below)

In the seventeenth century the Province of Avalon was the area around the settlement of Ferryland which upon the success of the colony grew to include the land held by Sir William Vaughan and all the land that lay between Ferryland and Petty Harbour.

Sir George Calvert had acquired a piece of Newfoundland and hired an agent Captain Edward Wynne to set up headquarters in Ferryland. The area he termed The Colony of Avalon in honour of "old Avalon...the first-fruits of Christianity in Britain." In 1620 Calvert obtained a grant from Sir William Vaughan for all of the land that lay north of a point between Fermeuse and Aquaforte to as far north as Caplin Bay (now Calvert) on the southern shore of the Avalon Peninsula.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalon


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THE AVALON GUARDIAN


The Avalon guardian, originalmente cargada por G.A.O..

"HIC IACET SEPULTUS INCLITUS REX ARTURIUS IN INSULA AVALONIA"
"Here lies buried the renowned King Arthur in the Isle of Avalon"

According to Geoffrey and much subsequent literature, Avalon is the place where King Arthur was taken after fighting Mordred at the Battle of Camlann. Welsh and Breton tradition claimed that Arthur had never really died, but would inexorably return to lead his people against their enemies, but some later writers were less credulous, and said that Arthur had in fact died there. Geoffrey dealt with Avalon again in his Vita Merlini, in which he describes the character Morgan le Fay as the chief of nine sisters who live on Avalon. Morgan remained associated with the island in later literature, as does Arthur's mentor, the Lady of the Lake.

By the 12th century Avalon became associated with Glastonbury, when monks at Glastonbury Abbey claimed to have discovered the bones of Arthur and his queen. Though no longer an island at the time, the high conical bulk of Glastonbury Tor had been surrounded by marsh before the surrounding fenland in the Somerset Levels was drained. According to later chroniclers, notably Giraldus Cambrensis, during King Henry II's reign the abbot of Glastonbury, Henry of Blois, commissioned a search of the abbey grounds. At a depth of 5 m (16 feet) the monks discovered a massive oak coffin and an iron cross bearing the description: Hic jacet sepultus inclitus rex Arthurus in insula Avalonia. ("Here lies renowned King Arthur in the island of Avalon"). Inside the coffin were two bodies, who Giraldus refers to as Arthur and "his queen". In 1278 the remains were reburied with great ceremony, attended by King Edward I and his queen, before the High Altar at Glastonbury Abbey, where they were the focus of pilgrimages until the Reformation. However, historians generally dismiss the authenticity of the find, attributing it to a publicity stunt performed to raise funds to repair the Abbey, which was mostly burned down in 1184.

Other theories point to l'Île d'Aval or Daval, on the coast of Brittany, and Burgh by Sands, in Cumberland, which was in Roman times the fort of Aballava on Hadrian's Wall, and near Camboglanna, upwards on the Eden, now Castlesteads. Coincidentally, the last battle site of Arthur's campaigns is said to have been named Camlann. Other candidates include the Bourgogne town of Avallon, suggested by Geoffrey Ashe and Bardsey Island in Gwynedd, famous for its apples and also connected with Merlin. Others have claimed the most likely location to be St Michael's Mount in Cornwall, which is near to other locations associated with the Arthurian legends. St Michael's Mount is an island which can be reached by a causeway at low tide. The matter is confused somewhat by similar legends and place names in Britanny.

Possible assumption by Geoffrey that Pytheas' Abalus was near Britain: The ancient Greek traveller Pytheas, who travelled to Britain around 320BC and then to an island called "Thule", considered today to have been Iceland, also went to where amber was collected; and he wrote the island was called Abalus or Abalum. While it is likely from evidence beyond the scope of this discussion, that Pytheas visited the southeast Baltic region which was the main source of trade amber and that the "island" was actually the Samland Peninsula which is filled with amber still, it is possible that Geoffrey - whose work was very inventive and creative to say the least - read the Latin texts about Pytheas travels, and arbitrarily assumed Abalus was near Britain, like Thule and felt compelled to include it in his creative embellishments and expansions of the Arthurian myths.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalon


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lunes, agosto 18, 2008

NUDIBRANCH - WATER MONAD


Nudibranch, originalmente cargada por scubababe ellie.


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LOVE IN EKILIBRIUM


love in ekilibrium, originalmente cargada por hinton.jennie.

Take a deep breath and make a wish :)


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GNARLS BARKLEY 'CRAZY'


Gnarls Barkley 'Crazy', originalmente cargada por falfa.

GNARLS BARKLEY - CRAZY

I remember when, i remember, i remember when i lost my mind.
there was something so pleasant about that place, Even your emotions have an echo, In so much space.

And when you`re out there, Without care, Yeah, I was out of touch, but it wasn`t because I didn`t know enough, I just knew too much.

Does that make me crazy
Does that make me crazy
Does that make me crazy
Possibly

And I hope that you are having the time of your life, But think twice, That`s my only advice.

Come on now , who do you, who do you, who do you, who do you think you are, Ha ha ha bless your soul, You really think you`re in control.

Well, I think you`re crazy,
I think you`re crazy
I think you`re crazy
Just like me

My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on a limb, and all I remember, is thinking, I want to be like them.

Ever since I was little, ever since I was little Oh it looked like fun, and it`s no coincidence I`ve come, And I can die when I`m done.

But maybe I`m crazy,
Maybe you`re crazy,
Maybe we`re crazy,
Probably


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GNARLS BARKLEY IS CRAZY


Gnarls Barkley is Crazy, originalmente cargada por Damon Green.


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EVENING CLOUDS 3D


Evening clouds 3D, originalmente cargada por Dan (aka firrs).

View over the Solway Firth. This is an anaglyph stereoscopic image. You need to wear red-cyan glasses to view in 3D.

There is a non-3D version here:
www.flickr.com/photos/firrs/2474621254/

And cross view 3D versions here:
www.flickr.com/photos/firrs/2672109742/
www.flickr.com/photos/firrs/2676971438/


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WINNING DARUMA (TUMBLING DOLL)


winning daruma (tumbling doll), originalmente cargada por Natsuki.

Fulfillment of Winner's Luck Offering Daruma
勝尾寺


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PALACIO DE LA ETERNA ARMONÍA (BEIJING)


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DARUMA (TUMBLING DOLL)


daruma (tumbling doll), originalmente cargada por Natsuki.

勝尾寺


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jueves, agosto 07, 2008

JOHN DEE'S MONAD


john dee's monad, originalmente cargada por JPaul23.


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THE OFFICIAL MASCOTS - BEIJING 2008

Olympic Games

Fuwa

The Fuwa
Chinese: 福娃
Literal meaning: dolls of blessing

The Fuwa (Chinese: ; pinyin: Fúwá; literally "good-luck dolls" and can be known as "Friendlies"), are the mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The designs were created by Han Meilin, a famous Chinese artist. The designs were publicly announced by the National Society of Chinese Classic Literature Studies on November 11, 2005 at an event marking the 1000th day before the opening of the games.

There are five fuwa: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini. Together, the names form the sentence "", Běijīng huānyíng nǐ which means "Beijing welcomes you". Originally named 'The Friendlies', they were promoted as 'Fuwa' when there were concerns the name could be misinterpreted.

While originally given artistic licence in his commission, Han Meilin was subsequently requested by officials to include various Chinese design and fauna in the Fuwa. Han Meilin drew 1,000 models of possible Fuwa (including a dragon and an anthropomorphic drum) before settling on the five characters. He has since disowned the Fuwa and did not include them in his museum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuwa
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NINI (福娃妮妮)


The Official Mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games - Nini (福娃妮妮), originalmente cargada por ma vie, mes photos.

Cultural inspiration: The swallow; Beijing's shayan kites.
Olympic Ring: Green
Represented Element: Sky
Actual Fengshui Element: Metal
Personality: Innocent, kind
Represented ideal: Good fortune
Represented sport: gymnastics
Notes: The swallow is a messenger of spring and happiness in Chinese culture, and is seen as a symbol of good fortune. The Chinese character for swallow (燕) is also used in Yanjing (燕京), an old name for Beijing; thus the swallow alludes to Beijing. Nini's headgear uses the design of Beijing's shayan kites, which are colourful cross-shaped kites modeled after swallows.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuwa


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JINGJING (晶晶)


DSCN9930, originalmente cargada por ma vie, mes photos.

Cultural inspiration: Giant panda; Song Dynasty lotus-shaped porcelain.
Olympic Ring: Black
Represented Elemen: Forest
Actual Fengshui Element: Wood
Personality: Honest, optimistic
Represented ideal: Happiness
Represented sport: weightlifting, judo, etc.
Notes: As an endangered species, the panda is both a national symbol of China and an international symbol of environmentalism. Jingjing's forest origins also symbolize the harmonious coexistence of humankind and nature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuwa

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miércoles, agosto 06, 2008

ALIADO (ALLIE - INORGANIC BEINGS) AI A9 - MONAD

You're gonna, gonna, gonna, gonna get it right!

Straight jacket, freedom's march, is it all, far beyond
Our reason of understanding
Campaign everything, anti-right, anti-left
Anticipate the love of creation

Stand for every right
Kick it out, hear you shout
Further the right
Further the right
Further the right
Of all of creation
- Yes Tormato


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martes, agosto 05, 2008

I LOVE PEACE


I love peace, originalmente cargada por Luo Shaoyang.

Last summer, I occasionally saw this lovely girl with a beautiful pigeon on the street in Beijing. Very cute! At that time I happened to have a camera, and then I immediately took these photos. However, due to time constraints, I was unable to adjust my camera to an appropriate state before shooting, so these photos have a particular stress on red color . Today is "International Children’s Day", I send these photos to children with my best wishes!

Any critiques and suggestions on this are most welcome.

照片中的小朋友叫“曹心梦”(这个名字使我联想到了“曹”雪芹与《红楼“梦”》),是一位小学三年级的学生。去年夏天我在北京的大街上偶然看见她时,我觉得她十分可爱,而且性情很好,不像许多中国的独生子女那样骄躁。那天我正好带着相机,就拍下了这些照片。当时的拍摄环境并不好,不但身边围着许多人,而且由于时间关系,我没对相机做任何调整,就按下了十多次快门,所以色彩有点偏“红”。事后我去商店买了一些很好的瑞士巧克力送给这位小朋友以示谢意。今天是“六一节”,我特意把这些照片做了一些调整,祝“小朋友”节日快乐!

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THE PERGAMON MUSEUM - ISHTAR GATE


35 Ishtar Gate, originalmente cargada por Rictor Norton & David Allen.

Lion frieze, Ishtar Gate, Pergamon Museum, Berlin

The Pergamon Museum (in German, Pergamonmuseum) is among the museums on Museum Island in Berlin. The site was designed by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann and was built from 1910 to 1930. The Pergamon houses original-sized, reconstructed monumental buildings such as the Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus, and the Ishtar Gate, all consisting of parts transported from the original excavation sites.

The museum is subdivided into the antiquity collection, the Middle East museum, and the museum of Islamic art. The museum is visited by approximately 850,000 people every year, making it the most visited art museum in Germany (2006).

By the time the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum on Museum Island (today the Bodemuseum) had opened, it was clear that the museum was not large enough to host all of the art and archaeological treasures excavated under German supervision. Excavations were underway in Babylon, Uruk, Assur, Miletus, Priene and Egypt, and objects from these sites could not be properly displayed within the existing German museum system. As early as 1907, Wilhelm von Bode, the director of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Wilhelm-Museum had plans to build a new museum nearby to accommodate ancient architecture, German post-antiquity art, and Middle Eastern and Islamic art.

The Pergamon Altar
The Pergamon Altar

This large three-wing museum had been in planning since 1907; when Alfred Messel died in 1909 his close friend Ludwig Hoffman took charge of construction, which began in 1910. The construction continued during the First World War (1918) and the great inflation of the 1920s. In 1930 the building hosting the four museums opened.

The Pergamon Museum was severely damaged during the air attack on Berlin at the end of the Second World War. Many of the display objects were stored in safe places, and some of the large pieces were walled in for protection. In 1945, the Red Army collected all of the loose museum items, either as war booty or, ostensibly, to rescue them from looting and fires then raging in Berlin. Not until 1958 were most of the objects returned to East Germany. Significant parts of the collection remain in Russia. Some are currently stored in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow and the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg. The return of these items has been arranged in a treaty between Germany and Russia but, as of June 2003, is blocked by Russian restitution laws.

Among the great pieces the museum displays are:

The Ishtar Gate
The Ishtar Gate

The Antiquity Collection (Antikensammlung)

The collection goes back to the Electors, or Kurfürsten, of Brandenburg, who collected objects from antiquity; the collection began with an acquisition to the collection by a Roman archaeologist in 1698. It first became accessible (in part) to the public in 1830, when the Altes Museum was opened. The collection expanded greatly with the excavations in Olympia, Samos, Pergamon, Miletus, Priene, Magnesia, Cyprus and Didyma.

This collection is divided between the Pergamon Museum and the Altes Museum.

The collection contains sculpture from archaic to Hellenistic ages as well as artwork from Greek and Roman antiquity: architecture, sculptures, inscriptions, mosaics, bronzes, jewelry and pottery

The main exhibits are the Pergamon Altar from the 2nd century BC, with a 113 meters (371 ft) long sculptural frieze depicting the struggle of the gods and the giants, and the Gate of Miletus from Roman antiquity.

As Germany was divided following the Second World War, so was the collection. The Pergamon Museum was reopened in 1959 in East Berlin, while what remained in West Berlin is on display in the Castle of Charlottenburg since 1995.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pergamon_Museum


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A1 ONE IN VISUAL SLANG 2008


A1one in VISUAL SLANG 2008, originalmente cargada por LoisInWonderland.


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lunes, agosto 04, 2008

AGARRATE QUE VIENEN CURVAS


Agarrate que vienen curvas., originalmente cargada por esteve1.

Parecia que iba en moto tomando una curva, buen fin de semana amigos.

En grande mejor:-))

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WHEN YOU SMILE...


When you smile..., originalmente cargada por Cilest.

... the whole world smiles with you!

see a twin shot here :-)


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PUSHED TOO FAR


Pushed Too Far, originalmente cargada por 4Durt.

Go ahead, call me a Chipmunk just one more time! Say it - "Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel!" Yeah, I'm not so cute now huh?


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sábado, agosto 02, 2008

MALE QUETZAL


Male Quetzal, originalmente cargada por kojo_46.

Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno). This male quetzal is just growing out his long "tail feathers" that will be their maximum length in May or so. He and his mate have been busy making a nest in a tree where they are hollowing out a new nest. Taken at San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica at the Quetzal Education Research Station operated by the Biology Department of Southern Nazarene University, Bethany Oklahoma. They are frugiverous swallowing the fruit whole and later regurgitating the large seed.

The Resplendent Quetzal, Pharomachrus mocinno, is a spectacular bird of the trogon family. It is found from southern Mexico to western Panama (unlike the other quetzals, which are found in South America and eastern Panama). There are two subspecies, P. m. mocinno and P. m. costaricensis, the Costa Rican Resplendent Quetzal. This quetzal plays an important role in Mesoamerican myth.

This species is 36 cm (14 in) long, plus up to 64 cm (25 in) of tail streamer for the male, and weighs about 210 g (7 oz). This is the largest representative of the trogon order.[citation needed]

Resplendent Quetzals have a green body (showing iridescence from green-gold to blue-violet) and red breast. Their green upper tail coverts hide their tails and in breeding males are particularly splendid, being longer than the rest of the body. The primary wing coverts are also unusually long and give a fringed appearance. The male has a helmet-like crest. The mature male's beak is yellow and the female's is black.

Resplendent Quetzal
Breeding male
Breeding male
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Trogoniformes
Family: Trogonidae
Genus: Pharomachrus
Species: P. mocinno
Binomial name
Pharomachrus mocinno
De la Llave, 1832

Ref: ITIS 553589

The skin of the quetzal is very thin and easily torn, so it has evolved thick plumage to protect its skin.[citation needed] Like other members of the trogon family, it has large eyes that adapt easily to the dim light of its forest home.[citation needed]

The "song" is a treble syllable described as kyow or like "a whimpering pup", often in pairs, which may be repeated monotonously. Resplendent Quetzals have other unmusical calls as well.

Resplendent Quetzals are considered specialized fruit-eaters, although they mix their diet with insects (notably wasps, ants, and larvae) and frogs. Particularly important are wild avocados and other fruit of the laurel family, which the birds swallow whole before regurgitating the pits, which helps to disperse these trees.

Their habitat is montane cloud forests of Central America (from Southern Mexico to Panama). Resplendent Quetzals usually live alone when not breeding. When breeding, females lay two pale blue eggs in a nest placed in a hole which they carve in a rotten tree. A tree in the required stage of decomposition is susceptible to weather damage, and the availability of suitable trees may limit the Resplendent Quetzal population.

Both parents take turns at incubating, with their long tail-covert feathers folded forwards over the back and out of the hole, where they tend to look like a bunch of fern growing out of the hole. The incubation period lasts about 18 days, during which the male generally incubates the eggs during the day while the female incubates them at night. When the eggs hatch, both parents take care of the young, feeding them fruit, berries, insects, lizards, and small frogs. However, the female often neglects and even abandons the young near the end of the rearing period, leaving it up to the male to continue caring for the offspring until they are ready to survive on their own.

Resplendent Quetzals are weak fliers. Their common predators include the Ornate Hawk Eagle, owls, emerald toucanet, squirrels, and the Kinkajou (Pribor 1999).

The Resplendent Quetzal was considered divine, associated with the "snake god", Quetzalcoatl by Pre-Columbian Central American civilizations. Their iridescent green tail feathers, symbols for spring plant growth, were venerated by the ancient Mayas and Aztecs, who viewed the quetzal as the "god of the air" and as a symbol of goodness and light. Mesoamerican rulers and some nobility of other ranks wore headdresses made from quetzal feathers, symbolically connecting them to Quetzalcoatl. Since it was a crime to kill a quetzal, the bird was simply captured, its long tail feathers plucked, and was set free. Quetzalcoatl was the creator god and god of wind, often depicted with grey hair. In several Mesoamerican languages, the term for quetzal can also mean precious, sacred, or erected.

Until recently, it was thought that the Resplendent Quetzal could not be bred or held for any long time in captivity, and indeed it was noted for usually killing itself soon after being captured or caged. For this reason it is a traditional symbol of liberty. However, a zoo in Mexico has kept this species since 1992, and in 2004 breeding in captivity was announced (Orellana, 2004).

Guatemalan ½ Quetzal
Guatemalan ½ Quetzal

The Resplendent Quetzal is Guatemala's national bird, and an image of it is on the flag and the Coat of arms of Guatemala. It is also the name of the local currency (abbreviation GTQ).

The bird is of great relevance to Guatemalan culture, being a character in the widely popular legend of the local hero Tecún Umán, a prince and warrior of the Quiché Maya during the latter stages of the Spanish conquest of the region. This quetzal was his nahual (spirit guide).

The Quiché repelled several attacks from the Spanish army, even though outmatched in weaponry (guns, armor and cavalry against spears and arrows).

Legend has it that on the day the conquistador Pedro de Alvarado fought against Tecún Umán, there was a quetzal flying overhead. On the first strike Tecún Umán, on foot, managed to disable Pedro de Alvarado's horse. Alvarado was then given another horse and on the second strike ran through Tecún Umán's chest with a spear.

The quetzal flew down and landed on Tecún Umán, dipping its chest in the warrior prince's blood. It is there that the bird acquired its distinctive red chest feathers.

It is debatable whether these events happened, but the Maya fought fiercely for their land and freedom during the conquest.

One Guatemalan legend claims that the quetzal used to sing beautifully before the Spanish conquest, but has been silent ever since — but will sing once again when the land is truly free.

Stuffed specimens are displayed in the homes of the Guatemalan wealthy and museums, contributing to the birds' rarity.


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TROPICAL FRUIT


Tropical Fruit, originalmente cargada por Kalamakia.

The light source was a desk lamp shining through a glass bottle with a blue gel partially covering the bottle.


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viernes, agosto 01, 2008

DALÍ - A SURREAL JOURNEY


A Surreal Journey, originalmente cargada por Pensiero.

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquis of Púbol (May 11, 1904January 23, 1989), was a Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain. Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. His best known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in 1931. Salvador Dalí's artistic repertoire also included film, sculpture, and photography. He collaborated with Walt Disney on the unfinished Academy Award-nominated short cartoon Destino, which was completed and released posthumously in 2003. He also collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock on the dream sequence from his 1945 film Spellbound.

Dalí insisted on his "Arab lineage", claiming that his ancestors were descended from the Moors who occupied Southern Spain for nearly 800 years (711-1492), and attributed to these origins, "my love of everything that is gilded and excessive, my passion for luxury and my love of oriental clothes."

Widely considered to be greatly imaginative, Dalí had an affinity for doing unusual things to draw attention to himself. This sometimes irked those who loved his art as much as it annoyed his critics, since his eccentric manner sometimes drew more public attention than his artwork. The purposefully-sought notoriety led to broad public recognition and many purchases of his works by people from all walks of life.

Salvador Dalí, Marquis de Púbol

Salvador Dalí
Photo by Carl Van Vechten taken 29 November 1939
Birth name Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech
Born May 11, 1904(1904-05-11)
Figueres, Catalonia, Spain
Died January 23, 1989 (aged 84)
Figueres, Catalonia, Spain
Nationality Spanish
Field Painting, Drawing, Photography, Sculpture, Writing
Training San Fernando School of Fine Arts, Madrid
Movement Cubism, Dada, Surrealism
Works The Persistence of Memory (1931)
Face of Mae West Which May Be Used as an Apartment, (1935)
Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) (1936)
Swans Reflecting Elephants (1937)
Ballerina in a Death's Head (1939)
The Temptation of St. Anthony (1946)
Galatea of the Spheres (1952)
Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity (1954)

Dalí employed extensive symbolism in his work. For instance, the hallmark soft watches that first appear in The Persistence of Memory suggest Einstein's theory that time is relative and not fixed. The idea for clocks functioning symbolically in this way came to Dalí when he was staring at a runny piece of Camembert cheese during a hot day in August.

The elephant is also a recurring image in Dalí's works. It first appeared in his 1944 work Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening. The elephants, inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture base in Rome of an elephant carrying an ancient obelisk, are portrayed "with long, multi-jointed, almost invisible legs of desire" along with obelisks on their backs. Coupled with the image of their brittle legs, these encumbrances, noted for their phallic overtones, create a sense of phantom reality. "The elephant is a distortion in space", one analysis explains, "its spindly legs contrasting the idea of weightlessness with structure." … I am painting pictures which make me die for joy, I am creating with an absolute naturalness, without the slightest aesthetic concern, I am making things that inspire me with a profound emotion and I am trying to paint them honestly. —Salvador Dalí, in Dawn Ades, Dalí and Surrealism.

The egg is another common Dalíesque image. He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love; it appears in The Great Masturbator and The Metamorphosis of Narcissus. Various animals appear throughout his work as well: ants point to death, decay, and immense sexual desire; the snail is connected to the human head (he saw a snail on a bicycle outside Freud's house when he first met Sigmund Freud); and locusts are a symbol of waste and fear.

Making antics in the 1960s
Making antics in the 1960s

Dalí was a versatile artist, not limiting himself only to painting in his artistic endeavors. Some of his more popular artistic works are sculptures and other objects, and he is also noted for his contributions to theatre, fashion, and photography, among other areas.

Two of the most popular objects of the surrealist movement were the Lobster Telephone and the Mae West Lips Sofa, completed by Dalí in 1936 and 1937, respectively. The Surrealist artist and patron Edward James commissioned both of these pieces from Dalí; James inherited a large English estate in West Dean, West Sussex when he was five and was one of the foremost supporters of the surrealists in the 1930s. "Lobsters and telephones had strong sexual connotations for [Dalí]" according to the display caption for the Lobster Telephone at the Tate Gallery, "and he drew a close analogy between food and sex." The telephone was functional, and James purchased four of them from Dalí to replace the phones in his retreat home. One now appears at the Tate Gallery; the second can be found at the German Telephone Museum in Frankfurt; the third belongs to the Edward James Foundation; and the fourth is at the National Gallery of Australia.

Dalí produced over 1,500 paintings in his career, in addition to producing illustrations for books, lithographs, designs for theater sets and costumes, a great number of drawings, dozens of sculptures, and various other projects, including an animated cartoon for Disney. He also collaborated with director Jack Bond in 1965, creating a movie titled "Dali in New York." Below is a chronological sample of important and representative work, as well as some notes on what Dalí did in particular years:

In Carlos Lozano's biography, Sex, Surrealism, Dalí, and Me, produced by the collaboration of Clifford Thurlow, Lozano makes it clear that Dalí never stopped being a surrealist. As Dalí said of himself: "the only difference between me and the surrealists is that I am a surrealist."

In his youth, Dalí embraced for a time both anarchism and communism. His writings account various anecdotes of making radical political statements more to shock listeners than from any deep conviction, which was in keeping with Dalí's allegiance to the Dada movement. As he grew older his political allegiances changed, especially as the Surrealist movement went through transformations under the leadership of the Trotskyist André Breton who is said to have called Dalí in for questioning on his politics. In his 1970 book Dalí by Dalí, Dalí was declaring himself an anarchist and monarchist giving rise to speculations of Anarcho-Monarchism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Dal%C3%AD

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TEATRE MUSEU DALÍ: THE MAE WEST ROOM


teatre museu dalí: the mae west room, originalmente cargada por hanabi..

"Face of Mae West which can be used as an apartment (instalation)"

(1974). Dalí made a glamorous american actress with a sofa, a fireplace and paintings on the wall. to see mae west more clearly, go up the stairs in the room and look throgh the mirror decorated with bangs.


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FIGUERES, MUSEU DALÍ - THE CAR - NAVAL


Figueres, Museu Dalí - The Car-naval, originalmente cargada por funadium.

The central patio of the Museu Dalí.

According to the web site, this installation is titled The car-naval, 1978.
There is a Cadillac, a tire column, a reproduction of the slave by Michelangelo, and Gala's boat, together with the Esther Queen by Ernst Fuchs and a reproduction of a marble bust by François Girardon.
I guess tourists are a peculiar part of the installation itself.

Il cortile centrale del Museu Dalí.
Secondo il sito web, questa installazione è intitolata The car-naval, 1978.
C'è una Cadillac, una colonna di pneumatici, una riproduzione dello schiavo di Michelangelo, la barca di Gala, insieme con la Regina Esther di Ernst Fuchs e una riproduzione di un busto di marmo di François Girardon.
Credo che i turisti siano una parte peculiare dell'installazione stessa.


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TEATRE MUSEU DALÍ - FIGUERES - CATALUNYA


Teatre Museu Dalí - Figueres - Catalunya, originalmente cargada por cpqs.

The Dalí Theatre and Museum (Teatre-Museu Dalí in Catalan language), is a museum of the artist Salvador Dalí in his home town of Figueres, in Catalonia.

The heart of the museum was the building that housed the town's theatre when Dalí was a child, and where one of the first public exhibitions of young Dalí's art was shown. The old theater was bombed in the Spanish Civil War and remained in a state of ruin for decades until Dalí and the mayor of Figueres decided to rebuild it as a museum dedicated to the town's most famous son in 1960. The museum also occupies buildings and courtyards adjacent to the old theater building.

Museum entrance
Museum entrance

The museum opened in 1974, with continuing expansions through the mid-1980s. It houses the single largest and most diverse collection of works by Salvador Dalí, the heart of which was from the artist's own collection. In addition to Dalí paintings from all decades of his career, there are Dalí sculptures, 3-dimensional collages, mechanical devices, a living-room with custom furniture that looks like the face of Mae West when viewed from a certain spot, and other curiosities from Dalí's imagination.

The museum also houses a small selection of works by other artists collected by Dalí, ranging from El Greco to Marcel Duchamp, and a gallery devoted to the work of Dalí's friend and fellow Catalan artist Antoni Pitxot, who became director of the museum after Dalí's death.

Dalí is buried in a crypt in the Teatre-Museum basement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dal%C3%AD_Theatre_and_Museum


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DALÍ


Dali, originalmente cargada por patoviking.

Picture taken on Dali`s exhibition in London this year...


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