#i had a vision of all of them representing the elements of harmony and they DO

[lolliudo]

ouran horse club if u even care

[spritiez]

SOUL GETS HER CUTIE MARK NOT CLICKBAIT11!!1!1!!!1!

This storyline makes me so happy bc it’s so complicated but gets there in the end. Same with this drawing. I’ve been putting this thing off for like two months but I’m finally finished omg.

REFERENCE SHEET

SOULS STORY!!

She was a gifted student whilst twilight was attending celestia’s school. The were the same age, and a week before twilight left for ponyville, celestia and luna had a terrible vision about Soul, telling twilight to entrap her inside of an unused castle library, in exchange for something brilliant in the future. Aka, being sent to ponyville and becoming the next princess. Soul becomes trapped inside of the library via a spell that can only be broken once the caster forgets about it, and the guilt that comes with it.

Many years after, the mane six (beside twilight) are all older with children and living happy lives. And oh, yeah, Soul met discord whilst he was in hiding from the mane six after their first meeting in the series. They spend loads of time together and eventually he leaves and the day after, makes his second appearance in the show’s timeline.

Soul never sees discord again. not until the battle

But back to present day, discord has married twilight after Fluttershy comes out as a BIG FAT LESBIAN AND GETS WITH TREEHUGGER OH YEAH!! Anyways..

Soul gets freed bla bla bla, found a long lost ‘element’ (it’s an element, but one that not even celestia was aware of and was created by celestia and luna’s parents), gained very many powers (when in fact she could do them all along she just needed to become aware), gained wings and stole the princesses’ magic. She fights twilight and celestia for ages bla bla bla… She realises what she’s doing when she sees discord and celestia, and breaks down, realises her purpose and gets her cutie mark, then becomes the princess of universal justice. The embodiment of all of the elements, reincarnated into a unicorn to help twilight and the rest of ponykind, forever.

Fun facts!!

Souls hair has CMY colours to represent: the colours of light, and red, yellow and blueish green to represent the three natural colours of nature that make up every other colour in things like flowers, plants and paint!

Soul was originally designed to be DARK PURPLE with neon green and purple hair, and her name was originally “Gylden” meaning: “golden” in Norwegian.

Souls cutie mark was originally inspired by the soul in undertale, and the diamond authority symbol from Steven universe. But now, it’s inspired by: the “ying yang” symbol of balance, the heart (obviously) and the soul from undertale.

Soul was originally supposed to end up in a romantic relationship with twilight, but I decided against it. There’s still romantic undertones in their story together, that are there for interpretation.

This AU is called: Beyond the harmonious

[chell10xo]

Well it’s been a while since I posted so I thought I’d go all out on this blog. I’m going to discuss, soul connections, astrology, inner work and the 7 chakras and a little bit of tarot.

In 2018 I began going through another spiritual awakening, I stumbled across the term twin flames and I was quite taken back by it. I always grew up thinking we all had one soul mate and it was a fairytale kind of love but the deeper I dove into spirituality my beliefs began to change.

We can have several soul mates but only one twin flame. The common theory for twin flames is that the soul splits and reincarnations into two different bodies for soul evolution. A twin flame is a mirror soul, a reflection of you , the good and the bad. Your twin will shed light on everything that you need to heal and what you try to run from and eventually they will help you to ascend. There is no other connection like it. They usually come in and out your life triggering different stages of spiritual awakenings and to ensure you continue doing the work you signed up before reincarnating on Earth.

The twin flame journey isn’t easy, there are many different stages and there is usually a runner and chaser dynamic going on. One of the main lessons is to learn that twin flames will always be connected it’s only their ego that separates them from each other.

🖤A soul mate is usually a relatively easy relationship, you grow together and are able to overcome challenges, the relationship brings stability, peace and love they are usually a life partner that you settle down with.

-

-🖤Karmic people are the ones you will meet through out your life, the union between karmic people can often be intense and short lived. The reason being is that they cross your path to teach you something valuable and it is up to you whether you want to learn the lesson. Sometimes we keep meeting the same people in different bodies so that we are forced  to pay attention to what they are trying to teach us.

-

🖤Catalyst twin flames A catalyst twin flame is a term used for someone who may be very similar to your twin flame, they may belong in the same soul group or share the same vibrational energy. They also trigger inner work

- You may find yourself meeting karmic people during retrograde seasons.

- South node in astrology represents our past lives, where we came from and where our souls last resided. I would look at personal planets, moon, mars, mercury and Venus aspecting South node to see what karma you have to unravel. I would look at harsh aspects usually squares, oppositions or conjunctions to the south node.

- Venus square south node would be a good indicator that you shared an emotional bond with this person in a previous life time.

🖤Megan fox and machine GK synastry 🖤

An article published on 22nd July 2020 - the date is definitely a synchronicity since 22 22 is considered a twin flame number, In the article Megan claims that MGK is her twin flame. She recalled feeling an instant connection with him.

“I went deep right away. I knew before I even did his chart, I said to him, he has a Pisces moon. I could tell by his energy,” she said.”

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.yahoo.com/amphtml/entertainment/megan-fox-connection-machine-gun-kelly-immediate-twin-flame-194629807.html

MGK also captioned a picture of them both on Instagram as

“waited for eternity to find you again... 🔪 💫❤️ 🔪 “

So let’s look into this magical connection they share.

With MF and MGK both having Taurus sun’s, they will share similar personality traits which will bring harmony. However their rising signs are quite different since Megan has Capricorn rising and MGK has Gemini, the Gemini energy and sun in his 11 denfentily gives MGK more an edgy style.

When have a soul tie with someone we are able to communicate with them telepathically but between twin flames the telepathic connection is very powerful.

Mental connection -

🌚Sun conjunct telephus - in 11th & 3rd house - telepathic connection, understanding, knowing

🌚Mercury conjunct mercury in 12th &4th house - psychic connection , mental connection, depth , understanding

🌚Both have mercury in Taurus , creating a conjunction this means similar ways of thinking / communicating

🌚Neptune in 8th trine mercury in 4th- telepathy, imagination, romance, dreamy , depth

Physical connection

⚡️Sun in 11th opposite Pluto in 5th

Electrical, life changing, obsessive, fated , magnetic , explosive

⚡️Megan’s mars falls into MGK 8th house

Sexual chemistry, exploring taboos, depth, intensity, reading the subconscious mind, sharing secrets , sexual tension

⚡️MGK Mars in Pisces is trine MF Pluto in Scorpio

Satisfying each other’s desires, intimacy, power games

⚡️Mars in 11th - squaring Pluto in 8th composite chart - experimenting, powerful emotions, bringing out each other’s shadow/ darker side, knowing what triggers one and other

connection -

🖤 Megan’s Leo moon is conjunct MGF south node - 3rd house of communication .Any personal planets aspecting the south node can indicate past life encounters. The moon represents our emotions and connections we have with others and since it’s touching his south node this can indicate an instant connection, familiarity and deep bond.

🖤 Jupiter expands and blesses everything it touches, if aspected positively. MGK Venus in Pisces is exactly conjunct MF’s Jupiter in Pisces - this aspect would give a dreamy, fairy tale kind of love and with a dash of Jupiter for sure it would be expand their love for each other.

🖤 MGK Alma which is another term for soul is conjunct MF’s Neptune in Capricorn in her 12th house. As mentioned earlier the 12th house is known as the karmic house. Capricorn’s ruler is Saturn which also known for representing karma in astrology. Now let’s switch it round. Their Neptune conjunct Alma also falls into MF’s 7th house. Now taking in both placements, I would say this is a spiritual connection.

Fate, destiny and karma

The vertex is used in astrology to identify fated events, karma and destiny. Scorpio is considered the most interned sign of the zodiac because of the powerful energy Pluto carries.

Her Pluto is conjunct his vertex in his 5th house of fun, dating and romance. This is likely to be a life changing relationship filled with passion and. They will be strongly drawn to each other and with this conjunction also falling into MF 9th house, this union would more than likely transform her beliefs and lead her to search for spirtual guidance to make sense of their connection.

-South node conjunct union in Libra (spiritual reunion)

-Venus square Chiron (deep healing)

Elements

Fixed - Taurus , Scorpio , Leo , Aquarius

Mutable - Pisces , Virgo , Sagittarius, Gemini

Cardinal - Cancer , Aquarius, libra , Aries

🌚Feminine signs - Earth + water

💥Masculine signs -Air + fire

Usually with twin flames you will notice similarities or oppositions within the chart.

Both sun signs are in a fixed sign

🌙 Megan’s moon is in her 7th house which is a cardinal house

🌙 MGK Moon falls in his 10th house which is also cardinal house

🌪MF Venus is in Pisces & MGK Venus is in Gemini both are mutable signs

💥Megan’s mars falls Into her 1st house & MGK mars falls into his 10th both cardinal houses.

💥Megan’s mars is in Capricorn MGK mars falls into his 10th house which is the house of Capricorn.

🌙Mercury in Taurus are both in water houses 12 & 4

🌙Ruler of Megan’s DC is in cancer and her moon is in her 7th house.

🌙Ruler of MGK 7 house is in Jupiter which is in his 1st house

Alma means soul in Spanish it also considered the second moon in astrology.

🌙Megan’s Alma is in her 1st house

🌙And MGK Alma is in his 7th house

It is not clear whether they are actually twin flames but they are likely to share a soul connection. It will be interesting to see how this relationship plays out in the future as no twin flame journey is a walk in the park.

Astrology can not determine who your twin is.

Every twins journey is different, some are meant to be together in this life and some are not it all depends on the soul contract, all twins will have different strengths, weaknesses and connections which will show up differently in each individual chart. I found some asteroids which seem pretty interesting. You can go over to Astro. Com (extended chart) and calculate synastry between you and whoever. Asteroids should be in conjunction, opposition or squaring personal planets.

💫 Telephus 5264 - what a magical asteroid, it represents intuition, telepathy your inner voice.

💫 Psyche 16 - the Greek translation of soul. This asteroid can also indicate shadow work that one is yet to do.

💫 Juno- your ideal mate, a soul mate, a life partner, the one you’re likely to marry.

💫 Moria 638 - associated with destiny, fate synchronicities and karma

💫 Alma 390 another term for soul, connected with the heart , it can reveal information about your recent past life.

💫Urda 167 is similar to the south node as it is connected to past lives

💫 Child 4580 , child can represent our inner child and how to nurture , heal & connect with our inner child.

💫DNA 55555 , shows genetic information

💫Memoria 1247 - this is an astroid that holds memories of your past life

💫Union 1585 , reunion , being drawn to another , fate

💫193 Ambrosia , associated with healing, Devine masculine and feminine energy , eternity

💫ALTJIRA 148780 ,Shananic journeys , visions

🪄Numerology / synchronicities / dreams

-Some are born on the same day

-same life path numbers (this isn’t always) try calculating the numbers also

-Seeing repetitive numbers what are associated with twin flames - 1111/111/1212/1221/1313/2222/

-Reunion on the 11th month or 11th day etc

-months or days calculated between birth date may be meaningful

-having visions / dreams

-astral projection

-meeting/ unions during astrological events - new moons / full moons / portals

Dealing with separation / dark night of the soul

Energy work is a vital part of your spiritual journey. For those who feel they are on a twin flame journey then it is important that you balance your chakras especially if you are hoping for a reunion after separation or going through ‘the dark night of the soul’ or if you want to ascend high enough to meet a soul mate.

Everybody has 7 energy points in the body which is known as the chakras.

💜The crown chakra is associated with the planets Jupiter and the sun (Neutral)

👁The third eye chakra is connected with the moon and and Jupiter (feminine)

💙The throat chakra is associated with mercury (masculine)

💚The heart chakra is connected to the moon and Venus (feminine)

💛The solar plexus chakra represents the sun and mars (masculine)

🧡The sacral chakra is associated with Venus and the moon (feminine)

❤️The root chakra is connected with Saturn (masculine)

Use your astrology chart to connect with your chakras and find out identify your strengths and weaknesses. A person who has Neptune positively aspecting their personal planets may have an active third eye chakra which makes them in intuitive , spiritual and psychic. But they may have harsh aspects to their moon where they may shy away from emotionally intimacy, be guarded or have conflict feelings. They will need to do more work on their heart / sacral chakra through out their life time for spiritual healing.

An example of this would be moon square Saturn as it can indicate mother wounds, if you don’t heal then over time you can create and an emotional wall , this where the heart chakra becomes unbalanced or blocked. By observing where your moon is in your chart you can find where you will find comfort in life and what makes you feel content.

Your birth chart is a guide of what you need to heal, the more healing you do the less likely you are to keep recycling your experiences as you will raise your vibrations you will attract your soul family, be able to manifest the life you desire and ascend higher.

I’ve written a list of how the planets can relate to our shadow side.

🪐Pluto - what we desire, obsessions , secrets

🪐Lilith - Lilith is the wildness that resides within all of us, she holds the key to the closet that holds all your skeletons. She appears as taboos, addictions, obsessions, lust, and desires

🪐Chiron -the teacher and also the healer

��Saturn - what we fear , what we resent , karmic patterns

🪐Venus- What and how we love

🪐Mars - our drive , aggression

🪐Mercury - our mind

🪐Neptune - how we escape

🪐Squares and oppositions - challenges , work that we need to do -

🪐8th / 12th house

Shadow work

Our shadow side is the darkenss that lies with in us. It’s something that karmic partners usually trigger with in us and our twin reflects our dark parts which helps us to ascend. In astrology we could look at the astroid Lilith sign and placement to understand our darkest parts and what triggers us , or we can look at Pluto or even the more harsh challenging aspects such as squares which sometimes makes it difficult for others to understand us or even for us to understand our selves and why be behave in certain ways.

Shadow work usually rocks up as

-healing childhood trauma/ wounds

-recognising toxic patterns , how we self sabotage ie

-acknowledging

-facing our ego

-embracing our wild side

-Devine masculine / feminine work

-Taboos sexual desires

Tarot cards I Associate with twinflames/soulmates /karmic

-Queen of wands and king of wands / devil (twin flame energy )

-The emperor (Devine masculine)

-The empress (Devine feminine)

-2 of wands / 3 of cups / 10 of cups for reunion

-Judgment -karmic

-The lovers /2of cups / ace of cups - soulmate

-Dark night of the soul / the tower

-separation 8 of cups , death

Happy new moon guys, thanks for reading. Please feel free to share your experiences/ thoughts 🖤🪐⚡️.

[alyjojo]

Advice to Work on Yourself 🛁 in February 2023: Scorpio

10 Cups - 9 Cups - Page of Swords

Regarding: 3 Cups

Beautiful reading! Best reading this month! You have found love and are celebrating it for everyone to see this month. It’s possible you’re taking things to a committed level, whatever the next step is for you. For those of you getting married, that’s here. If you’re just committing to each other from more of a dating sort of connection, that’s here too. This person shows up as your other half, King & Queen of Pentacles, a very practical, responsible, sensible and domestic sort of couple. Knight of Pentacles shows this isn’t some overnight connection, you’ve probably been together for years, it’s a slow burn & there’s no rush. You two seem to know the other person is the one for them, and may have even manifested each other straight out of your dreams with the cards that show up here. The Magician and 9 Cups is a dream come true, the soul connection you’ve always wanted 💙

The advice is to celebrate! 🎉 But make sure you’re moving at a good pace and minding all of the practical elements involved. Seems to be something with money, you could be flying your person out to Bora Bora, or planning a wedding, or some other sort of “night of their dreams” kind of adventure. Possibly a honeymoon. Page of Swords holds your charms and is communicating with others, so your friends may be in on whatever you two are planning, but you seem to have a separate element in all of this relating to music. Paying attention to the finances involved is the most obvious advice here, but everything is so loving, positive and complete, it’s definitely something to celebrate 🎉

Animal Oracle: Chimpanzee 🐒

“Use both your intellect and your intuition to solve the problem or get answers to your question.”

When your intellect and intuition are in harmonious accord with each other, there’s no problem that you can’t resolve. The combination emerges as creative intelligence, a blend of your capacity for reasoning coupled with a deep trust in your gut feelings. In this flow, you may surprise yourself by how simple and effective the answer to your question is. In addition to your intuitive feelings, get more information on which to base your choices by doing research. Often when you walk away from a problem or question, after intensely researching or thinking about it, an unexpected insight surfaces that will help you discern the best choice. With a healthy balance between mind, intuition, and patience, you tap into the deeper wisdom of Spirit.

Artist Oracle: Nothing! It’s never happened before but it must be that nothing resonates with your situation, because I shuffled these things 1000x and nada. These cards are too ratchet for all of this wholesomeness. Moving on.

Advice:

- Create a Financial Vision

- Make People Feel Seen

Charms:

Star of Fame 🌟 and Pink Treble Clef 🎼 on Page of Swords…first of all I didn’t even know I had a pink one. Pink is probably relating to romantic music, and Star of Fame could be some famous person. You’re buying tickets to a concert? Booking someone well known for a wedding? Something along those lines, this seems to be part of your advice and more “your” job compared to others that may be helping out with other things. Ace of Cups clarifies showing a new love, maybe an artist or song you’ve recently connected over, or something that represents everything you’re working towards together. This 👏 is 👏 AMAZING 👏 okay I’m done, congratulations 💕

[dustedmagazine]

IST — A More Attractive Way (Confront Recordings)

A More Attractive Way by IST

For whatever reason, we are still, and absolutely, unequipped to discuss timbre. Our homogenized Western European-based vocabulary seems relatively complete where all the rest of what we sloppily label “the musical elements” are concerned, so why the non-attention to what really differentiates one sound from another? In the most fruitful and inclusive senses, the trio IST is both precedent to and consequent of this lapse and the worlds it refuses to acknowledge. The group dances along the trajectories of timbre with the fluency of those still suffering tone tyranny, held prisoner by the note as accepted convention. From the first performances in 1996 to their last two decades later, it would be more than over general, but with a toe in truth and accuracy, to speak of distillation and concentration amidst an increase of space. These Protean characteristics are true but not the totality of what this five-disc set adds to the collaborative discography of the late bassist Simon H. Fell, cellist Mark Wastel and harpist Rhodhri Davies.  

For an overview of IST’s history and importance to the overlapping scenes the trio represents, there is Michael Rosenstein’s superb article on Confront’s site:

Rosenstein’s expert ability to encapsulate historical and musical developments is as comprehensive as his descriptions are rich. Given such context, it seems prudent only to examine moments in time, and through them to come to terms with the varying approaches, densities and totalities achieved by this unique string trio that embodied “chamber music” in its most inclusive guise. It is true, as Rosenstein observes, that the pivotal first performance involved much of the back and forth associated with what might be called Euro-Free improvisation of the atomistic variety. Just as important, however, are the sonic highways and byways, the trails blazed and pastoral paths trod by these intrepid explorers. One of the most fascinating and exciting elements is the way timbre impacts the rest of what we stodgily call musical parameters. In the first of the two miniatures from that formative 1996 concert, rhythm, timbre and pitch transcend their respective narrative boundaries. Like the characters in Joyce’s Nighttown episode from Ulysses, there is a blending of structure, form and purpose that enters the realms of magic, even of phantasmagoria. Melody is inextricably linked with the rhythmic sounds of the three string instruments, but, as with the Diamond Sutra, even to speak of melody, harmony and rhythm is both true and false, tearing away at the illusions on which those binaries are constructed. Be all that as it may, nearly two and a half minutes into the same piece, there is a lengthening of sounds, a decrease in density and an increase in relative space. There’s even some exquisite executed vibrato from Wastell, a harkening back to traditions this trio usually discards. As Wastell and Fell doff their hats toward the vocabulary of the “jazz” solo, Davies joins in, bending piquant pitches in the upper register as what I have no recourse but to call the tempo picks up again. In this way, in the space of a few brief minutes, the group presents its own history in astonishing distillation, dissolving boundaries in favor of new ones soon to be subjected to a similar fate.

At another extreme resides an extension of those flowing seed-moments of near-stasis in the trio’s powerful 1998 rendering of Intensitat, one of Stockhausen’s late 1960s text pieces. Obviously, via the rigors of recording, rehearsal and performance over the intervening two years, interaction is at an even higher level. It can happen in a moment, that communication that fosters elevation, and it’s palpable, as it is in this concert of compositions. Listen at 1:23 of the Stockhausen as Wastell microtonally alters his pitch, a shade separating tyranny from freedom. Similarly, at 2:46, Davies simply cuts off the ratcheting rhythms that had been bolstering the interaction, leaving a glorious bed of sustain and overtone in shifting dynamic planes. Here again and at other strategic points, vibrato is used but to an entirely different end. Is the trio employing it as a rhythmic device? Is Fell responsible for the emergent microtones at 2:22, whose gradual tempo increase eventually births the layering mini-cascades of vibrations in fluctuation we myopically call vibrato? The gorgeous miniature is rife with internal rhythms, imbuing the entire frequency spectrum with warmth, luminosity and, above all, a raw power, a vision of arising and somehow fastidious unity very rare in any chamber music. It is one of the most extraordinary occurrences in a set full of them, showing a group in the flux of development portended by that first concert and realized over the succeeding years. Yet, nothing anticipates, or can follow, the vast architectural drones, the huge swells as primal as ocean waves and as crystalline as spring water. The group’s atoms are elongated, saturated with the energy and life-blood only a shared performance experience affords. Again, pitch is only a consequence stemming from the timbres in vibration and mutation filling and elasticizing each moment. The applause is well deserved.

Rereading the above affirms that it cannot constitute anything close to a comprehensive review. For one thing, so many of this compendium’s wonderful performances are simply neglected. There is the occasion, the only one, of Simon Fell and violinist Phil Durrant performing together in a small group, caught in the Red Rose in February 1998. That beloved venue had a wonderful acoustic, especially evident on the two IST pieces opening the fourth disc. The initially sparse concluding track offers a precis of just how well the improvisers’ aesthetics meshed, matched only by John Butcher’s contributions to another Red Rose performance several months earlier. How one trills multiphonics in microtone I’ll never know, yet another nod to timbral intrigue, but you can hear Butcher doing just that as the combined portion of the concert begins, the trio supporting and leading in turn.  

Ultimately, when confronting music plumbing such sonic depths, nothing can replace first-hand observation. How, after all, does one review the musical equivalent of a thunderstorm, a birth, something as nebulous and inconclusive as a conclusion, especially when the language to discuss it has yet to be invented? It is the substance of those unfolding events as much as their attendant statistics that generate the power and lead toward reflection, and this box rewards that sort of listening. More than that, it pays tribute to a time of exploration, of interactive moments caught in the simple but precious and fleeting acts of presaging others, however distant, and to the environments bearing witness as sound travels between mind, heart and body. Beyond even these relationships, the set honors Fell. Only weeks before his death, a 25th anniversary IST concert was being planned. The box is dedicated to Fell, and his mentorship helped Wastell and Davies to enter the musical scene the trio would go a long way toward defining. The music here somewhat mitigates the harsh reality that they will not perform again, as do the accompanying booklet’s reminiscences, from those involved in the music and from those observing. Insightful, touching and sometimes humorous, they mirror the music’s multifaceted approach in a way many such endeavors fail to do. With mixed emotions channeled through a quiet but definite comprehension of the extraordinary nature of what transpired and is documented, the various accounts celebrate the music and the musicians responsible for it. No more can be asked than that we do the same.

Marc Medwin

[architectuul]

The Architorture Of The Last Two Decades

In 2014 I wrote a text on the Venice Biennale focusing on reading the historic strata of Kosovo’s cities how multiple layers created as a complex result of historic, social circumstances and even of political systems. It was not hard for me to identify the clear traces of every period. 

Read also “Emblem Of A Better Germany?”, “The Invisible Church”, “What Fundamentals? Revisiting Treasures in Disguise: The Ominous Ruins of Montenegrin Modernism” and “Is It Possible To Exhibit Architecture?”

The will of Emperor Justinian who, through the glory of Ulpiana, sought to leave his mark on the lands where he hailed from, was clearly visible, just like the influence of the Orthodox church on the Medieval social order through churches and monasteries. The five hundred years of Ottoman rule left traces in every aspect of life by dominating the outlines of localities with their numerous domes and minarets. The stains of the Austro-Hungarian neo-classicism – regardless how indirectly - they pass hereby and all the way to the post-World War Two Yugoslavia, which extended the slogan of “absolute equality of the self-governing socialist order and uniformity of the masses without social classes” to the city development policies via buildings balanced both in cost and expression. 

The most difficult period for me to articulate was largely �� and still is nowadays – the one following the recent war (since 1999). This may be so due to its close time distance. After all, it is also a physical rule that one cannot see in broader plane the things that are nearer. From a general perspective I have defined this period as confusing, disconcerted, lacking a clear vision, which is also mirrored in in the same confusing, disconcerted measures and forms and lack of vision in its architecture. I still attempt to clarify it, at least by providing my entirely individual viewpoint, without insisting at all on its absolute veracity.

Right after the war there was a huge boom of construction in Prishtina and other Kosovo cities. Initially, it appeared to be a need for shelter, on the one side because of the devastation of the war, and on the other side due to prohibition of construction during the ten-year regime of Milošević. However, soon enough, from a need for shelter it was transformed into a greed for riches. The city began to be treated as a gigantic construction plot where a building had to be erected on every unoccupied spot. Individual houses and residential areas, built with love in the 1980s, covered by tasteful greenery such as in the quarters of Pejton, Bregu i Diellit, Dodona, Tophane or Emshir, were forced to hive those up to the builders in compensation of some apartments. In other words, plots that once communicated gracefully with the individual houses placed in compliance with their size thus creating a harmony amongst them, were violated by the gigantic multi-apartment buildings. In the absence of cadastral books that were stolen by the Milošević regime while they were leaving Kosovo, various wrongdoers had the opportunity to build on numerous public spaces multi-apartment buildings for commercial purposes only.

Another thing that significantly affected the disfigurement of the city was the way socially owned enterprises were privatised. In most cases, the property of these socially owned enterprises was privatised not to revive their industrial or commercial character but seen through the lens of being attractive plots for construction. The most flagrant case if that of “Fazita” quarter in the heart of Prishtina, which overnight was transformed from an economic area with super low density of constructions to a hot construction area for buildings up to 40 stories tall, without giving a second thought to doing any additional interventions public infrastructure needed! 

These three scenarios of the city’s destruction: the assault on the individual residence neighbourhoods, the assault on public properties, and the abuse with the privatisation process were not accidental but rather followed a clear strategy for super-profit for the builders. Cities were treated as construction plots with the purpose of maximal appropriation of riches while forgetting entirely the quality of life of citizens, addressing common needs and in the process also destroying, disfiguring, and neglecting the presence of violent and traumatic past.  

Therefore, we would not be able to understand this twenty-year period without looking at how those few public spaces left were treated, such as central squares, promenades, parks, etc., that could not be privatized or usurped. Although they were not privatized it does not mean they were not misused. The powers of this time were very clear about the importance of demonstrating their power by being present in the centre of the public. Thus, despite not making any efforts to create any new public spaces, they made no compromise in being present at all costs in the existing ones. For a few years after the war, to continue nowadays, the public spaces were filled with sculptures depicting the protagonists of the recent war. So far, it is quite understandable. They did not do anything that all powers, at least in the last 2500 years of civilisations around the world did not. What is obvious though is the way HOW THEY DID IT?! This in fact leads us to understand WHY THEY DID IT?! 

All these sculptures, erected on all squares around Kosovo can easily be divided into two categories. The first category, the one where sculptures feature severe flaws in proportions, made by amateur authors, and the second, the one where sculptures are made correctly within the principles of the post-World War II socialist realism. The latter, mainly done by prominent sculptors from the Republic of Albania where this style was highly developed, often achieve perfection within this style which yet is insufficient to enjoy the status of an artwork as it disregards the necessary component of WORK – TIME. Therefore, we easily note both in the first and second instances that the arrival of these protagonists in the public spaces more than a sincere willingness to honour their sacrifices is a political will to impose and highlight WHO BROUGHT THE FREEDOM. Thus, the entire artistic focus of these works in on detailing and emphasizing the military weaponry and less the psychology and intellect of the protagonists and not at all their sublime ideal: FREEDOM. So, the hero of our freedom may have an intellectual past, such as Hamëz Jashari – teacher, Agim Ramadani – poet and artist, Edmond Hoxha – student, but cast in bronze they cannot ever appear to be without a RIFLE, as it should be emphasized that freedom was a result of the RIFLE alone and in no way of any other activity. This, including the necessary aesthetic socialist-realist speech that was a result of the explicit request of those who commissioned the sculptures of the incoming political power, which is connected with socialist-realism on the ideological plane, wished to demonstrate their political power in this space, and it had to match the political ideology they represented. This is how they laid the foundations of their political future by manifesting their power in the space.   

The last element but maybe the most important one that manifests more clear the objectives of “city-builders” of last twenty years, are the phenomenon of Gated Communities as a satellite neighborhoods around Kosovo’s cities. These walled neighborhoods like in medieval cities, where as kind of "welcome" is the lever where you need to be pre-legitimized and filmed by cameras before you enter, today are the shelters of most of those who have been responsible for making our cities. Politicians, city planners, builders,  "all kind of patriots owners of our freedom", have given up from the "quality" they created in our cities and their own comfort they find in luxury villas with pools inside walled neighborhoods. 

This is very similar to the content of the movie "Elysium" (2013) by Neill Blomkamp, where those responsible for the quality of life on the planet, having turned it into a source of their own benefits without any condition for normal live, had built for themselves the luxury satellite in space where the living environments were fabulous. Although they claimed to have solved not their only permanent way of living luxuriously at the expense of oppressing the other but even the key to immortality, the end of the film does not show the same.

Finally, I do not know whether 20 years are sufficient to name a period with its own name but if I had to do that, based on the fundamental function of architecture – which is to provide the best living facilities, from what the areas constructed in the last twenty years represents, the name that would best fit it would be ARCHITORTURE.

***

VAB 13: Arbër Sadiki

Arbër Sadiki (1977), architect, lecturer, critic. Graduated from Polytechnic University of Tirana, he holds a PhD degree from the University of Belgrade focused to the relationship between social circumstances and architecture in Prishtina between: 1945-1990.  Assistant curator of the Kosovo pavilion at the 14 Venice Biennale. Nominee of Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Geneva. Recipient of the award “Annual Prize for Scientific Work in the Field of Cultural Heritage”, 2020, awarded by the Ministry of Culture, for his publication entitled: “Architecture of Public Buildings in Prishtina: 1945-1990, Social and Shaping Factors”. 

[howaminotinthestrokesyet]

Behind The Album: In Utero

The third and final studio album from Nirvana was released in September 1993 via DGC records. The band wanted to make a clear departure from how their second album sounded. They felt that their huge hit album, Nevermind, was too polished as a record. The producer of that second LP, Butch Vig, would later note that Kurt Cobain needed to ���reclaim his punk ethics or cred.” For his part Cobain would tell Rolling Stone in early 1992 that the record would have elements to it much more raw then found on the second album. However, he did emphasize the fact that the pop sound would not disappear entirely. He had hoped to start working on it l in the middle of 1992, but distance between band members getting together was an issue as they all lived in different cities. Another issue came in the fact that Courtney Love was expecting their first child. DGC was hoping to release a new record by Christmas of the year, but instead they were forced to go with the compilation album of all the early material from Sub Pop, Incesticide. For In Utero, Cobain showed interest in working with former producer of Bleach, Jack Endino and Steve Albini. They brought in Endino to work on a few instrumentals for the record that were eventually re-recorded, and he was never asked to produce in any capacity. The group went back and forth debating whether to hire Albini or not. In January 1993, the group recorded another set of demos while on tour in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. This would later become the track, “Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip,” which originally had the working title of I’ll Take You Down to the Pavement. The latter represented a direct reference to an argument between Cobain and Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. The band finally decided to go with Albini as a producer despite his reputation of strict discipline within the studio and remaining one of the most opinionated producers out there. He was said to have referred to Nirvana as “REM with a fuzz box, unremarkable Seattle sound.” He would later say that his decision to work with the band came out of sympathy, feeling smaller groups like Nirvana were at the mercy of the record label. This particular statement should be taken with a grain of salt as Nirvana had just released the biggest record since Appetite for Destruction. Cobain had been a fan of the producer based on his work with the Pixies and the Breeders.

Producer Albini wanted to complete recording within a strict two week timeframe. Nirvana paid for the recording sessions themselves on Albini’s suggestion to avoid interference from the record label. The band paid him $24,000 for his services, while he refused any royalties whatsoever, which would have amounted to $500,000. He would continually say that royalties were immoral and a complete insult to the artist. They recorded at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota in February 1993. Krist Novoselic would compare the environment to a gulag. “There was snow outside, we couldn't go anywhere. We just worked." Nirvana during this time emphasized to the record company that they wanted absolutely no interference from them, which meant they did not share anything from these sessions with their A & R representative. For his part, Steve Albini followed suit by only speaking with members of the band. He characterized anyone associated with the group as “pieces of shit.” After a short delay, the band's equipment finally arrived, so the actual recording of the album went very quickly. Each track began with the group playing together as one doing the instrumental aspect of it. For some tracks, Dave Grohl did the drums in the kitchen due to the natural acoustics sounding better. Albini had also surrounded his drums with 30 microphones for each track. They did not remove any take from the album, but instead kept them all. Cobain even added more guitar parts at the end of each day before doing the vocals. Although Albini had a reputation for being opinionated, he let Nirvana decide what to keep. “Generally speaking, [Cobain] knows what he thinks is acceptable and what isn't acceptable [...] He can make concrete steps to improve things that he doesn't think are acceptable." They did all of their musical work in six days, while Cobain said that it was the easiest recording he had ever done. Albini proceeded to mix the album in five days, which actually was slow by his standards because he usually only spent 1 to 2 days on it.

After completion, the band began to send the unmastered tapes to various people including the president of the DGC records. They absolutely hated it saying the songwriting was mediocre, the entire album was unlistenable, and radio would never except Albini’s production. Cobain took the comments personally to mean that the label wanted him to start from scratch and record again with a new producer. He would say, “I should just re-record this record and do the same thing we did last year because we sold out last year—there's no reason to try and redeem ourselves as artists at this point. I can't help myself—I'm just putting out a record I would like to listen to at home." Yet, the group remained dead set on releasing this version of the record as late as April 1993. They had played it for a number of their friends, who had liked it. The singer said, “Of course, they want another Nevermind, but I'd rather die than do that. This is exactly the kind of record I would buy as a fan, that I would enjoy owning." Around this time, some doubts crept up with all members of Nirvana because the mix of In Utero did not sound right. They asked Albini to possibly remix the record, and he flat out refused. “[Cobain] wanted to make a record that he could slam down on the table and say, 'Listen, I know this is good, and I know your concerns about it are meaningless, so go with it.' And I don't think he felt he had that yet ... My problem was that I feared a slippery slope." They took the record to Bob Ludwig for mastering, while at the same time mentioned their issues with the mix to him. Upon completion, Krist Novoselic said he was happy with the result, but Cobain still felt it was not perfect. At this time, Steve Albini gave an interview with the Chicago Tribune, where he doubted whether the record would ever be released. Newsweek would run another article that echoed the comments made by Albini. This caused Nirvana to write a full page letter to the magazine denying the label was putting any undue pressure on them. The same letter would be reproduced as a full page ad in Billboard not long after. The head of Geffen Records, who owned DGC made the unprecedented move of actually calling Newsweek to complain. The band thought about having Andy Wallace remix the release, but once again Albini refused saying they had only agreed to work with him. At the time, the producer also would release any of the tapes that were now in his possession. He only did so after a phone call from Krist Novoselic. The entire album for the most part was not changed at all, except for a remastering. Yet, the producer continually made comments that it was nowhere near the album he recorded in Minnesota. “The record in the stores doesn't sound all that much like the record that was made, though it's still them singing and playing their songs, and the musical quality of it still comes across." He would go on to say that major labels refused to work with him for the next year or so because of In Utero.

As for the music, the producer wanted to go as far away as possible from Nevermind with this record. He felt that the second album made the group look incredibly bad because it had been overproduced at such a level to make it extremely radio friendly. He wanted to create a much more natural sound for the group. The 1993 Nirvana biography, Come As You Are, noted the vision for the band on this record. “The Beatlesque 'Dumb' happily coexists beside the all-out frenzied punk graffiti of 'Milk It,' while 'All Apologies' is worlds away from the apoplectic 'Scentless Apprentice.' It's as if [Cobain] has given up trying to meld his punk and pop instincts into one harmonious whole. Forget it. This is war." If one goes through the track listing, you can count which tracks are over the top punk, and which tracks are more radio friendly pop. The interesting thing is that they correspond equally, 6 to 6. Fans and critics alike would talk about how abrasive In Utero turned out to be, but Cobain and Novoselic really did not see it that way. The bass player had said the band had always had songs as they are found on In Utero. Yet, the group did consciously try to bring fans into the more punk sounding songs by releasing the first two singles that could have realistically been included on Nevermind. Some of the songs found on the record had been written years prior as early as 1990. Cobain used various points of inspiration for the lyrics. The track “Frances Farmer” came from a 1978 biography of the Seattle figure called Shadowland. “Scentless Apprentice” originated from a horror novel that the singer had read by Patrick Suskind. One of the central themes found on the album noted in that same Nirvana biography from 1993 was the fact that every song talked about sickness or disease in some manner. Although Cobain said the lyrics were very impersonal to him, many disagreed with this assessment. Dave Grohl would say this in an interview. “A lot of what he has to say is related to a lot of the shit he's gone through. And it's not so much teen angst anymore. It's a whole different ball game: rock star angst." The singer continued to argue that much of the album had been written years prior to any issues he was going through at the time. For example, “Rape Me” quite possibly could be talking about his frustration with the media in how he has been portrayed over the past couple of years. The track “Serve the Servants” seemed to specifically talk about Cobain’s father and how divorce affected him from a very early age. The Nirvana frontman wanted his father to know that he did not despise him, but he also had no desire to be around him whatsoever. One track, “Gallons of Alcohol Flow Through the Strip,” was actually one of the only improvisational tracks they ever recorded. The song represented a jam session that the group would frequently participate in in during down times at the studio. They had done this quite often, but this would be the first time that it was ever recorded in some form.

Upon its release, the record label took a very low key approach to promoting the album. None of the singles would come out commercially in the United States, as they concentrated all of their press releases at media specializing in alternative music. The band remained convinced that there was absolutely no way that In Utero would sell even a quarter of what Nevermind sold. The record would debut at number one on the charts selling 180,000 copies in its first week. They sold this many copies without big retail chains like Kmart and Walmart selling it because officially the demand was not there. The truth was actually these chains feared backlash due to the graphic nature of the artwork accompanying the album. In March 1994, an edited version of the album would be released with new artwork and alternative song titles. The band made this concession saying they wanted fans who could not go to a traditional record store to be able to purchase the LP. Following the death of Cobain. the third single “Pennyroyal Tea” was canceled, as well as any tour plans. Immediately following his death, the popularity of In Utero on the charts increased by 122% from 72 to 27. The album would eventually be certified five times platinum.

Critics were not unanimous in the praise of In Utero. For the most part, rock writers really liked the new sound from Nirvana. Time’s Christopher John Farley noted that once again perhaps the mainstream may need to go to Nirvana, rather than the other way around. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly emphasized the absolute contrasts on the release. “The music is often mesmerizing, cathartic rock & roll, but it is rock & roll without release, because the band is suspicious of the old-school rock clichés such a release would evoke." David Fricke of Rolling Stone would say that the record was both “brilliant and corrosive,” but undoubtedly a “triumph of the will” for Kurt Cobain. NME’s John Mulvey did not share the same sentiment as he observed the album really was not up to par with previous Nirvana standards. The review from Plugged In did not mince words saying it had absolutely no redeeming value whatsoever. Some reviews became quite bittersweet as you are reminded of Cobain’s suicide. Q said this about the record. "If this is how Cobain is going to develop, the future is lighthouse-bright." Ben Thompson of the Independent merely seemed happy that the record did not represent the punk rock nightmare the group had continually threatened to release. In Utero would go on to top several end of the year lists as one of the best albums including Rolling Stone, Village Voice, and the New York Times. The band would even receive a Grammy nomination in 1994 for Best Alternative Album. As time has passed, critics have lavished even more phrase on it seeing their work with Albini as far superior to Nevermind. Charles R. Cross would write in his Cobain biography, “If it is possible for an album that sold four million copies to be overlooked, or underappreciated, then In Utero is that lost pearl." Pitchfork named it the 13th best album of the 1990s, while it even made Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. NME named it number 35 on its greatest albums of all time list creating quite a sense of irony since the periodical did not think too much of the album at the time of its release.

[ammakou]

Here’s what I have for Ammy’s Dragon Ball AU! I wanted to implement some new lore, while not intruding too much on what’s currently known in canon, so I hope this won’t step on anyone’s toes! While what I have here is satisfying enough for me to post, this is still a WIP in a way, and susceptible to changes here and there.

There’s a TLDR section down at the bottom, if anyone prefers a summarized version of all these paragraphs.

An immeasurable time ago, before the 18 universes, there existed one universe.

In this universe, beyond the millions of thriving lifeforms, dwelled two cosmic forces considered primordial by all. Named “The Light” and “The Dark” respectively, it was believed the two kept the universe in order, being insentient gods. The Light was all of the stars and the lifeforms born from them, the source of the vital energy - being referred to as “ki” in time - that dwelled in everything. The Dark was the absence of light, of life, and of ki. In this balance, they were the symbolic roots in which the natural cycle of life and death branched off of.

Mortals who chose to devote their lives to studying the forces ascended due to spiritual enlightenment and evolved to become Priests of the Cosmos. They made it known to mortal kind that they were instilled with sacred knowledge via having visions: it was possible for one force to choose someone to become unified with it, and wield its power. They believed the forces would someday choose two mortals to become gods and co-jointly rule the universe, leading them all into paradise.

One day, a man who thirsted for power and wished to claim what he believed was rightfully his, sought out the forces. The Priests let him be, convinced that he would be rejected for his selfish values and tainted heart, but the man succeeded in his goal. The Dark chose him for reasons unknown, and he quickly established himself as the realm’s one of the realm’s “true” gods, utilizing vast and seemingly endless powers of destruction and decay - along with everything associated under those umbrellas. His name was “Tokoyami”.

Tokoyami used the force that was now eternally a part of his soul for malevolence, having went mad. He swiftly took over the universe, causing immense suffering to all and disrupting the balance of life and death, as more entities & planets were being destroyed than those being created. The only thing able to cancel out his power and “reverse” its effects was The Light’s reign of creation and growth, the Priests believed, but no one could say who it would choose. A woman stepped forward to the Priests, who was willing to do whatever it took to put an end to the chaos born from Tokoyami’s hands.

She was chosen. Her name was “Amaterasu”.

Amaterasu and Tokoyami soon met in a vicious battle of the likes which no one has ever seen before. The universe itself was shaken to its core. The impacts of their power colliding were so extreme, so unnatural as the two were supposed to work in harmony and not in opposition to one another, that it cracked the stability of time and space. As their battle went on, the cracks turned into fractures, that then completely shattered.

Reality was corrupted. The universe fell apart. Amaterasu and Tokoyami were both extremely damaged and fatigued from fighting. Tokoyami’s physical body crumbled away, and what was left of his mind fell into deep slumber, while Amaterasu clung to consciousness in order to spare the Priests from being flung into the void with all other life. Knowing she was on a timer, she decided on the spot to repair spacetime as best she could, and not only create a universe to replace the one lost, but more than one, so life had its greatest chance to thrive; no matter where it was.

18 universes, clusters of galaxies, in their individual zones. Outside the new multiverse, in the remnants of the original universe, the Priests were given their own world. Another world was created, where Amaterasu planted seeds that would become trees that would give birth to creation deities meant to help maintain the life in the universes. Lastly, she created one entity who would symbolically be her direct representative, having absolute authority over all.

Her time having ran out, Amaterasu could only instruct the Priests to harness a fraction of Tokoyami’s power that still lingered everywhere around them and learn the art of destruction to keep the balance between life and death in the universes. Or they could choose other lifeforms to do such for them, if they saw fit.

A sincere farewell was the last said by Amaterasu before she lost her physical body, and her mind also fell asleep – for a duration none knew nor could predict.

Millions of years have passed. The Priests have evolved to become the Angels. Some Angels are the teachers and attendants to Destroyers, who work with the Kai: the creation deities born from Amaterasu’s trees. One Angel, the father of the Angels who attend Destroyers, is the attendant to the entity Amaterasu left to overlook existence: the childish Zeno. Knowledge of the original universe, of Tokoyami, and of Amaterasu is unknown to all except these individuals…or at least, that was the case.

In the passage of it, it is natural for things to become lost to time. Perhaps, even the Angels have forgotten what used to be. Perhaps they have forgotten Amaterasu. Regardless, life is how it is now. Only 12 universes currently exist, 5 being erased by Zeno out of anger, and the deities and whatever underlings they may have developed their own systems for governing life.

However…a mysterious white-haired, crimson-tattooed woman wearing a tattered cloak has been seen on Earth recently. She possesses powers that, if witnessed by others, seem to be similar to the gods – the Kai in particular. Yet, she is not a Kai. She has no memories of her past life.

It remains to be seen, what this could possibly mean for the multiverse.

TLDR: In the original universe, before the 18 (currently 12) universes came into being, Amaterasu and Tokoyami were chosen by cosmic forces to become the first gods of creation and destruction respectively, and gained the ability to manipulate ki. Tokoyami went mad with his power and wreaked havoc throughout the universe. Amaterasu fought him, and their fighting caused reality to collapse into nothingness. Tokoyami fell into slumber due to extensive damage and fatigue from the battle, while Amaterasu managed to hang on for longer.

She saved a group of entities called the Priests of the Cosmos - that would eventually become the Angels - from reality’s fall and repaired spacetime before creating 18 new universes to take the place of the old one. She created the trees that would give birth to Kai that would take up her role of creation, and created Zeno to overlook reality as it was now, before asking the Priests to find some entities to take up the role of destruction with Tokoyami’s lingering power before falling into slumber herself. The Priests, Angels, did so by finding mortals to become Destroyers with they being their teachers and attendants.

Millions of years later, Amaterasu has awakened, but she has no memories of her previous life and lacks much of the power she originally had - not that she knows it. It is unknown if Tokoyami has also awakened.

EXTRA:

— In terms of her Celestial Brush techniques, Amaterasu still has the general abilities in this AU, but the “Celestial Brush” element is absent. They’re like a combination of ki techniques and magic (she can use regular ki attacks / energy blasts too). Her ability to shapeshift is still present, and she swaps in-between a human form and a wolf form the most.

— Amaterasu’s ki is infinite (similar to 17 and 18), thus she is unable to become fatigued - though that won’t stop her from occasionally nodding off from boredom. 

— Due to her “death”, Amaterasu can’t achieve the grand scale of creation she could do in the past, but it is possible for she to regain it someday.

[cayleyshortstories]

Lucid

Written by Janry Deoduco & Illustrated by Kiefer Tayawa

They say that family is the only joy you’ll ever need in life, and if there would be a perfect embodiment of that, the Santiago Family would be a good candidate. On a peaceful evening, the Santiagos decided to play a game of Monopoly as they waited for their pizza dinner--just like any normal happy family. “You landed on my property, Dad! Where’s my 200?” said the Santiagos’ only child, Lucy, lightly bossing her father out. “Okay, fine! But…” replied Daniel, “aha!” He exclaimed as he threw a card down looking very proud of himself. ‘Once you land on your opponent’s property, the fee will revert to the owner,’ the card said. “Come on, Dad!” dismayed, Lucy fell to a defeated kneel as she handed the 200 creds she owed her father. After a while, the doorbell interrupted their heated, exciting match of Monopoly. “Oh, finally! That must be the food,” almost jumping out of her seat, Daniel’s wife, Sandra Marie hurried towards the door to pay. The two left at the coffee table right in the middle of their living room looked relieved, both from the heat of the game and their rumbling stomachs. “Here, babe,” Sandra handed Lucy a slice of her favorite shrimp pizza from her favorite pizza place, Maximus’ Pizza. The child thanked her and retreated happily back to the coffee table, analyzing the board as if it were a chess match.

The night started with a warm and comforting vibe, but as it grew past its youth, an eerie gust of wind blew leaves from trees, as if devouring the harmony and peace the young night gave its inhabitants.

“Lucy! Time for bed baby girl,” said Sandra. Their game of Monopoly ended with Daniel losing. It had been a weekly tradition for the Santiagos, as they played Monopoly in their living room and ordered the same pizza from the same place at exactly 7:00 in the evening every Sunday. “Already? I’m not yet sleepy, Mom.” Lucy replied, though her tired eyes and relaxed gestures seemed to contradict that. “Did you forget? We’re going to the park tomorrow,” Sandra said as she carried the sleepy Lucy from the living room floor and started walking up a few steps. “Really? Yehey! Well, I guess it’s time for bed, Dumdum,” the young girl said to her stuffed animal, gently resting her head on her mother’s shoulder. As the night grew out of its youth, the cryptic whistles of the wind blew harder, that even the tree branches outside the Santiagos’ home lightly tapped onto their windows, almost as if the elements outside were luring them out. Though the circumstances did not stop the three from their slumber, something else seemed to stop Daniel’s.

He heard and saw people screaming and being tortured, and then he screamed of fear until he awoke at 3:07 am and walked downstairs to get a drink of cold water. After that, huge lightning flashes, and a strong wind blows while he felt something strange crawling on his body but couldn’t find out what it really is. Suddenly, he touches his body because of his weird feeling and then he finally notices that he can see everything differently. He noticed that something looked upside-down and the places started to change and change due to an unexplained situation so he finally realized that something weird was happening. He is questioning himself “Am I seeing these things normally?” “Are these things the things I saw yesterday?”

People being tortured, bloody scenes of utter violence, and complete chaos appeared in Daniel’s vision as he came slowly into a distorted state of consciousness. At the sight of these, he screamed and wailed, completely overwhelmed and terrified at the same time. Daniel tried to walk away, but his feet seemed to be glued onto the floor. A beastly being suddenly roared and broke from inside the ground to the surface, adding to the raging fear and panic Daniel was experiencing. “Help! Get me out of here, I can’t move!” He screamed repeatedly until he could barely speak. After all that took place, the hell he woke up to disappeared as if a switch had activated it. Shocked, he felt for his own skin, somehow examining the reality he’s in.

After so many questions that came to his mind, he finally realized that he was still dreaming and was thinking of everything that can make his house back to normal. “Oh my! I can control everything. What if I think of something interesting. How about some new shoes hmm. It worked!” He is finally getting interested in his dream called the Lucid Dream. “Dad, what are you doing late at night?” Lucy said while going downstairs. “Oh, you’re awake! I think Lucy will love this. Hey Lucy, come. Here’s your new plush toy.” “Wow! Dad, you have some awesome and cool superpowers.” Lucy ran upstairs and called Sandra to show Daniel’s new unexplained power. “Mom! Wake up, look at Dad, he is a superhero.” “What is it my darling?” said Sandra. “I was a masked magician and will give you some lovely roses. Give some three claps and the roses are yours.” Sandra clapped three times and then she suddenly noticed that she was already holding sweet-scented roses. “Unbelievable Daniel! I think this is very interesting.” said Sandra while smelling Daniel’s lovely roses. “Let’s see what more can I do.” Daniel thought of a big mansion. “Wow! My dreams came true. Can I fly?” Daniel started to fly together with his family having their fun while laughing. “Gimme a cape and a talking DUMDUM Dad!” Daniel gives all he can give to fulfill his family’s dream. After they enjoyed their fun Moments together, they started to rest while Daniel saw a huge dusty mirror and wiped it with his own hands. He saw nothing until he heard a huge scream from his family. Lucy is screaming of fear while Sandra is crying and then he saw the mirror again and suddenly saw a reflection of himself as an old man staring at him. “WAKE UP!!!” said the old man and suddenly pulled him inside the mirror. He lost his consciousness for a minute until he woke up in a blank space with a strange atmosphere and said, “Where am I?! Why did you bring me to this kind of worthless place?” He tried to run fast because he thought it was the only way to escape but nothing happened. He is like running out of nowhere and hoping for nothing. He tried to close his eyes but nothing new happened. It was like closing his eyes, but his eyes won’t really close. After a second, he stopped for a bit and heard some whispering uncleared voices and he said, “Who are you?” Different kinds of voices started to shout at him with random languages until it became so annoying and made Daniel suffer. “Stop! Why can't I control this thing?” said Daniel. The noise started to grow and grow until he finally heard his family screaming and crying of fear. “Dad! Help us! Please look for us. We’re scared Dad.” said Lucy while Sandra said, “Daniel, do something! Stop this kind of suffering!” After that, the whole place started to burn and Daniel heard all the suffering of every person he encountered. “IT HURTS!” said the woman. Daniel said, “Why can't I feel anything? Why can’t I do something about it?” After minutes of suffering, flashes of people suffering from torture went to Daniel's eyes. “Stop it! Don’t hurt us! We’re innocent people. We don’t deserve this kind of thing.” Daniel suddenly looked at the man crying until it looked at him with reddish creepy eyes and said, “It’s your fault! STOP THINKING ABOUT US!!!” “But I can’t control myself! I don’t know why but I can’t stop thinking about all of this.” The crying man started to move his feet up and tried to stab him; however, he suddenly pushed the guy very hard and felt the anger crawling at his back. “I can’t control my emotions! AM I CRAZY?! Is this really a Lucid Dream wherein I can make things I want to become a reality? Why do I can’t control myself thinking of this kind of image over and over? I just wanted to play with my family and have fun together seeing my daughter and wife’s smiles. I want to go back to our past wherein we are spending our time playing Monopoly and eating pizza together. I missed the time wherein I can kiss my wife over and over again like there is no tomorrow. I want to go back. I just wanted to get them back!”

“I missed them. I love them. I cared for them. Give me back my family...” The nurses were shocked and started looking at a 95-year-old guy who has suffered from critical mental illness complications for the past many years. He is one of those innocent victims who survived in a War whose families are tortured and killed by those heartless foreign soldiers. He suffered from a deep trauma since the death of his family which makes him unconscious and dream of his memorable pasts. “It is the first time that Mr. Santiago talked like that.” “I think It is a miracle for him to speak.“ “Wait, let me talk to him.” said the nurse while looking at Daniel cautiously. “What is it, sir? May we help you?” said the nurse. Daniel looked at the nurse directly into their eyes for the first time and said, “Sandra? Lucy? I finally realized that you’re all fine now.” He laughed quietly until he passed out smiling since he finally realized that the true peace in life is to accept reality and let go of the past.

____________________________________________________

ILLUSTRATION EXPLANATION:

The whole theme of the short story is about lucid dreaming and love for family. In this still image, the eyes directly looking at the family represent Daniel’s love for his family. The mood of this still image looks dreamy and dark, yet full of colors because it is about lucid dreaming in general which is very pensive. Ever since Daniel lost his family, he can never forget about the memories he and his family have shared, and that caused Daniel to reminisce it over and over again.

[7r0773r]

Outline by Rachel Cusk

It was impossible, I said in response to his question, to give the reasons why the marriage had ended: among other things a marriage is a system of belief, a story, and though it manifests itself in things that are real enough, the impulse that drives it is ultimately mysterious. What was real, in the end, was the loss of the house, which had become the geographical location for things that had gone absent and which represented, I supposed, the hope that they might one day return. To move from the house was to declare, in a way, that we had stopped waiting; we could no longer be found at the usual number, the usual address. My younger son, I told him, has the very annoying habit of immediately leaving the place where you have agreed to meet him, if you aren’t there when he arrives. Instead he goes in search of you, and becomes frustrated and lost. I couldn’t find you! he cries afterwards, invariably aggrieved. But the only hope of finding anything is to stay exactly where you are, at the agreed place. It’s just a question of how long you can hold out. (pp. 12-13)

***

I said that when my sons were the ages of those two leaping boys, they were so intimate it would have been hard to disentangle their separate natures. They used to play together without pause from the moment they opened their eyes in the morning to the moment they closed them again. Their play was kind of shared trance in which they created whole imaginary worlds, and they were forever involved in games and projects whose planning and execution were as real to them as they were invisible to everyone else: sometimes I would move or throw away some apparently inconsequential item, only to be told that it was a sacred prop in the ongoing make-believe, a narrative which seemed to run like a magic river through our household, inexhaustible, and which they could exit and re-enter at will, moving over that threshold which no one else could see into another element. And then one day the river dried up: their shared world of imagination ceased, and the reason was that one of them —I can't even recall which one it was —stopped believing in it. In other words, it was nobody's fault; but all the same it was brought home to me how much of what was beautiful in their lives was the result of a shared vision of things that strictly speaking could not have been said to exist.

I suppose, I said, it is one definition of love, the belief in something that only the two of you can see, and in this case it proved to be an impermanent basis for living. Without their shared story, the two children began to argue, and where their playing had taken them away from the world, making them unreachable sometimes for hours at a time, their arguments brought them constantly back to it. They would come to me or to their father, seeking intervention and justice; they began to set greater store by facts, by what had been done and said, and to build the case for themselves and against one another. It was hard, I said, not to see this transposition from love to factuality as the mirror of other things that were happening in our household at the time. What was striking was the sheer negative capability of their former intimacy: it was as though everything that had been inside moved outside, piece by piece, like furniture being taken out of a house and put on the pavement. There seemed to be so much of it, because what had been invisible was now visible; what had been useful was now redundant. Their antagonism was in exact proportion to their former harmony, but where the harmony had been timeless and weightless, the antagonism occupied space and time. The intangible became solid, the visionary was embodied, the private became public: when peace becomes war, when love turns to hatred, something is born into the world, a force of pure mortality. If love is what is held to make us immortal, hatred is the reverse. And what is astonishing is how much detail it gathers to itself, so that nothing remains untouched by it. They were struggling to free themselves from one another, yet the very last thing they could do was leave one another alone. They fought over everything, disputed ownership of the most inconsequential item, were enraged by the merest nuance of speech, and when finally they were maddened by detail they erupted into physical violence, hitting and scratching one another; which of course returned them to the madness of detail again, because physical violence entails the long-drawn-out processes of justice and the law. The story of who had done what to whom had to be told, and the matters of guilt and punishment established, though this never satisfied them either; in fact it made things worse, because it seemed to promise a resolution that never came. The more its intricacies were specified, the bigger and realer their argument grew. Each of them wanted more than anything to be declared right, and the other wrong, but it was impossible to assign blame entirely to either of them. And I realised eventually, I said, that it could never be resolved, not so long as the aim was to establish the truth, for there was no single truth any more, that was the point. There was no longer a shared vision, a shared reality even. Each of them saw things now solely from his own perspective: there was only point of view. (pp. 80-83)

***

That day in London, Paniotis resumed, turning back to face me, I realised that my little dream of a publishing house was destined to remain just that, a fantasy, and in fact what that realisation caused me to feel was not so much disappointment at the situation as astonishment at the fantasy itself. It seemed incredible to me that at the age of fifty-one I was still capable of producing, in all innocence, a completely unrealisable hope. The human capacity for self-delusion is apparently infinite — and if that is the case, how are we ever meant to know, except by existing in a state of absolute pessimism, that once again we are fooling ourselves? I had thought there was nothing, having lived my whole life in this tragic country, about which I could any longer deceive myself, but as you have so unhappily pointed out, it is the very thing you don’t see, the thing you take for granted, that deceives you. And how can you even know you have taken something for granted until it is no longer there? (p.95)

***

That is always a dangerous moment, he said, to make a big decision, when you are not sure of what you deserve (p. 160)

***

Was it not the case, said Aris. . . . that we use animals as pure reflections of human consciousness, while at the same time their existence exerts a sort of moral force by which human beings feel objectified and therefore safely contained? Like slaves, he said, or servants, in whose absence their masters would feel vulnerable. They watch us living; they prove that we are real; through them, we access the story of ourselves. In our interactions with them we — not they — are shown to be what we are. Surely — for human beings — the most important thing about an animal, he said, is that it can’t speak. (pp. 224-25)

[kaypeace21]

Hey I'm sorry to bother you, but I was putting together a post about david harbour's cryptic instagram posts and one in specific where it is explained how rainbows work and then randomly "a pale stuffed yellow lion" is mentioned and I remember you had a post where you mention the lion symbolism in stranger things. I know we shouldn't put too much faith in what actors say about there shows, just wondering what your thoughts were

@helloitisiamazing messages/questions are never a bother, so don’t worry about it :)

 I don’t have instagram, so I didn’t know about this … 

But i think this relates to my DiD theory (about Will).Please read theory first to avoid confusion.

The prequel novel established Psychics hallucinate rainbows when they use their powers.

In the prequel novel “Suspicious Minds” Both Alice and Terry when using their powers had hallucinations of a rainbow, Kali also formed a visual-allusion of sunflowers and a rainbow (implying all 3 have seen this rainbow, as well, when using their powers). And when Will was very young- he drew that ‘rainbow ship’-implying he has powers .

-Terry: “Spots bloomed behind her eyelids. Every color … as the sunlight turned to rainbows” ( p44-45), “The rainbow stayed with Terry for a long while, but eventually it faded and in its place: darkness. A pit.”(p. 48).  “streaks of rainbow appeared (p47)”, “Wavy rainbows seemed to radiate from her hand even once she stilled it. (p. 88). “Her eyelids drifted shut, rainbows and sparks flying behind them. (p. 89).

-Alice: (who sees visions of the future) : “Snarling, snapping monsters, rainbow lights playing in the air around them (p. 121).

-Kali using her powers: “field of yellow sunflowers grew up around them. A rainbow arcing over the golden tops.” (p. 139).  “He noticed she’d (Kali) drawn up there, a rainbow with her colored pencils.” Maybe he’d suggest that for the playroom” (the rainbow room we see in s2) (p. 298) 

In the show, Terry also saw sunflowers and would chant “sunflower, rainbow” over and over -and in s2 Will had a sunflower book. And we were told Will drew a rainbow ship.

As far as Lions:

Will in s1 had a stuffed female lion and El had a male lion.

“Chinese guardian lions-are lion statues that are common guardians of villages (*Hawkins) and even private homes (*Castle Byers and El’s bed room).  These lions can be a sign of protection of an individual or family. These lions are always depicted in pairs consisting of a male and a female, the female representing yin and the male yang. The ever-changing relationship between them is responsible for the constant flux of the universe. When, there is too great an imbalance between Yin and Yang, catastrophes can occur.”

I think this explains a very significant aspect of the show. When El was in great distress, she opened the gate- causing the disasters that later occurred in Hawkins. And after Will disappears, El appears to the audience for the first time. Hopper even tries to track down El, assuming it was Will who’s hair was shaved- because a witness said the kid with the buzzcut “could of been the Byers boy”. Mike even says “Do you really think it’s a coincidence we found her in the same place Will disappeared?”

The answer being ‘no’, it wasn’t a coincidence. We see as the show goes on, El who has never had a normal life, slowly gain normalcy in it. However, Will, at the same time, who was born into a relatively normal circumstances, has had his life become stranger and more entrenched in the supernatural. And as of the first 3 seasons, they’ve barely interacted (let alone bonded/are in balance)!They are imbalanced and because of this (symbolically)… catastrophe after catastrophe continue to occur!

When either Yin or Yang falls out of balance, they affect each other. That means they change their proportion and relationship to one another to achieve a new balance. There is normally a harmonious balance of Yin and Yang. However, they weaken — or consume — one another when they fall out of balance.”

“As an increase in one brings a corresponding decrease in the other, a correct balance between the two poles must be reached in order to achieve harmony”. “yin-yang represents the coherent fabric of nature and the mind (control of their psychic powers/ Will’s did & alters), and the interactions between the waxing and waning of the cosmic and human realms, and its harmonization (the real world vs the upside down/innerworlds)”

- Also…“Yin represents femininity, and water. While Yang represents masculinity and fire.”

The water and fire analogy is a consistent theme in the show. Will is always referenced with fire in both the comic and show . He drew his wizard character shooting fireballs in s1 and in the first ep he rolled the dice and yelled “fireball”, he had the ‘shadow monster ‘ exorcised out of him with fire, and in the comic he shoots a demogorgan and yells “fireball”. El’s element or ‘substance would be the opposite of fire, “water” - the sensory deprivation tanks are filled with water, the void floor is covered in water, she escaped the lab through a drainage pipe, was found by the gang in rain, looked at a reflection of herself in a puddle and cased ripples in it using her powers,  in s3 is shown sinking in water /using goggles.

*When Hopper saw Will’s lion plushie in the upsidedown he had a flashback of sarah with her tiger plushie.

Will even has a tiger poster (shown in s1 &2) which is associated with both Sara Hopper & Kali. 

Kali’s fav animal in the prequel novels is tigers. And Sara has a stuffed tiger (similar to El & Will’s stuffed felines).

In chinese mythology/culture: “The tiger is personified by the constellation Orion (interesting given Sara’s interest in space/blackholes). The tiger represents protection over human life (hmm?). Tiger charms were used to keep away evil and disease (that’s awful ironic if she died in the manner she did). In Buddhism, wearing tiger skins during meditations was believed to bring protection from spiritual interference and potential harm while exploring astral dimensions.”

Kali in ‘Suspicious Minds’ says…

“I was named after a goddess. She wore a tiger skin and was fierce in battle.”

Then Kali says to Alice (a women who can see future visions): “I love you, Alice. We can be tigers together.”

This parallel (in relation to Alice) is fascinating because Kali actually uses her powers to fake Alice’s death- and to trick Dr. Brenner, and allow Alice to escape. The allusion was so realistic, that Terry could even touch the ‘dead’ Alice. 

So the tiger symbolism could be a HUGE hint- that Sarah’s death was simulated and she’ll come back and travel the innerworlds/alternate dimensions of Will’s mind (as Hopper’s guide). Hopper about sarah “galaxies the universe-she always understood that stuff.”

* so yes… Sara will come back. Since alters can have simulated ‘deaths’ and then resurrect later.

Also… a little of topic, but there’s a lot of animal symbolism in the series

- the fox, the owl, and the bear. We see this in El’s room (in Terry’s house) and castle Byers/ the byers house (in s1).Will has a bear and fox illustration in castle byers and a stuffed teddy bear in his room (in s1) and a stuffed owl (in s2). While El has multiple stuffed bear plushies (in s2-3) . And Terry (in El’s room, in s1-2) had fox and owl drawings on El’s bedroom wall.

Foxes, bears, and owls are all associated with wisdom - aka ‘Will the wise’.

*El’s room at Terry’s house also has bunnies (a ref to how Lonnie made Jonathan-and prob Will kill bunnies on hunting trips). The white rabbit is also a ‘alice and wonderland ‘ ref (when El was at Benny’s an alice and wonderland song played called -white rabbit).

* Also the first time we see butterflies (associated with kali) is actually in s1e1 cause there’s a butterfly painting above the phone Will electrocuted.

blue butterflies usually represents many things- love, change or rebirth, passage of time, or  a malicious or vindictive spirit. These examples are prob the most applicable. Given that Kali is a goddess paradoxically associated with motherly love and violence ,giving freedom to children, and only killing demons in folklore.cough like those working at the Hawkins lab.

I Updated/revised this old post because i think it’s another solid did hint I wanted to talk about. David is (probably) showing us how his character is an alter of Will’s similar to Kali, El, Terry,and Sarah.Why he brings up the sunflowers/rainbows which are both connected to Will and the others I mentioned. I think it’s very possible sarah comes back -and Hopper while exploring the various ‘innerworlds’ of Will’s minds (like the Russian one, the memory scapes , etc ) reunites/ finds Sarah .And Sarah helps him . look at some of the season 4 movies:  In ‘what dreams may come” a guy with his dead kid explore a heaven like world influenced by a painter’s emotions.We also have the movie ‘inside out’ -which involves “memory islands” (distinct worlds based on a child’s memories) which are influenced negatively by the kid being depressed since she moved to California. The characters traveling to these memory islands are constructs of  kid’s mind -and 1 of them also has a guide helping them explore the ‘memory islands’.in  Inception a guy says he’s a construct of a guy’s mind and needs to help/protect him escape the many different Ievels of the dream world.Hopper about sarah says “galaxies the universe-she always understood that stuff.” And sarah being associated with ‘tigers which are supposed to be used for protection while exploring astral dimensions (could foreshadow this).” I kind of assume movies like inception, matrix, Truman show, total recall, the cell, enter the void, wizard of oz, Peter Pan , hellraiser 2, dreamwarriors, bill & ted’s bogus journey, and  welcome to marwen ,  also allude to this: because they involve entering simulated abstract worlds usually created from happy& traumatic memories / fears . And bladerunner 2044/total recall has the theme of false implanted memories… relating to hopper realizing he’s an alter and not in “actual Russia.” Before seeing the other segments of the innerworlds. Like in total recall- the bad ass spy is told all his memories:his wife/ years of marriage ,even his name, are just implanted memories. And she says “you’re life is a dream.” . And she says “you’re life is a dream.” Meanwhile (in assasain’s creed) an evil psychiatrist tells a character trapped at the facility -who can explore memories of another person (and who’s dad killed their mom-aka sort of like papa/terry ) that the reason she can go into a person’s memories is cause it’s her past life (aka El’s an alter). So I think that will play out in s4-5 somehow.

This hint also reminds me of when David played d&d and made his character  a fireweilding wizard (who’s powers appeared at 14),  has a ‘special connection’ to fin’s paladin, and doesn’t know who his dad is.

[chrismalcolmhnd2c]

Something New

©NESPRESSO

©DUALIT

“Learn something new. Try something different. Convince yourself that you have no limits” Brian Tracey

Research the Narrative

Point of sale product shots demand a high degree of photographic finish and quality.  They should represent a product at its highest quality.  

Within your blog/workbook, research product shots and advertising photographers. Demonstrate through annotation, your understanding of detail and presentation of perfection. 

Tell the Story

Choose an item that is brand new and blemish free and photograph it to the highest quality possible.

Your object should be photographed with a plain white background to show maximum quality.

Care should be taken to ensure that the best lens and viewpoint are used to maximize the product shape.

Edit and refine: Complete worksheet

High level retouching will be necessary as the object must be as close to perfect as possible. (even brand-new items will have flaws that need fixed)

Be prepared to use a range of retouching techniques to optimise this final file for use as an advertising shot.

The object should be easily dropped into other background so we will look at ways to cut out and present the object as a vector cut-out.

Submit: Final image on A3 canvas, and the object cut out of the background as a PSD. Upload to my city: Upload to my city.

Research

TOP 5: PRODUCT STILL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHERS

January 19, 2016 admin Brands

This week, counting down on our TOP 5, I am going to be listing my favourite product still life photographers, these are purely based on their portfolio and on their popularity.

STILL LIFE PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHERS

1. Nori Inoguchi

http://www.norimichi.com/

Born in Japan, NORI Inoguchi was educated in New York where he refined his passion for photography. His love of luxury and desire to create visually stunning images inspired him to become a still-life product photographer; NORI seeks to find beauty in all of the objects he shoots. With his sophisticated eye and minimalistic approach, he has exploded onto the world stage and has earned bookings from the best names in fashion, cosmetics and electronics. His career has brought him to Paris, London, NY and even back to his native home of Japan. Using clean, clear and crisp techniques, NORI has created numerous campaigns since 2009 and he has since become a trusted name in the field.

2. Sam Kaplan

http://www.samkaplan.com/

Since striking out on his own in 2011, the 29-year-old Boston native has eschewed high-concept aesthetics and taken a more hands-on approach built around exacting precision—a sculptor’s finely honed interest in process and material. His approach might seem throwback, but that’s part of Kaplan’s appeal. Unlike many of his photographic peers, he had a rather low-tech schooling, studying fine art and art history at Wesleyan University.

3. Lucas Zarebinski

http://www.lucaszarebinski.com/

Lucas grew up in Bielsko Biala, Poland, a small city famous for goose down comforters. When he was 17, he dated an photographer named Olga who later inspired Lucas to become an artist even though he said ” I always wanted to be an artist but I was horrible at drawing.” In the few months he was around her, he realised that he had a talent for still life photography. He then moved to Michigan when he was 20, got a degree in Fine Arts and Photography while he parked cars at night and learned English from his 3 roommates. Fast forward 10 years later. He now live in New York permanently and creates images for a living.

He says in his biography  ” I love creating conceptual images, pushing the boundaries of still life photography and resolving client’s problems with an inspiring imagery. I still like red beet soup and blueberry pierogis, but I also like beef with broccoli and spicy tuna rolls these days. ”

4. Jonathan Knowles

http://jknowles.co.uk/

Jonathan Knowles is one of the leading photographers of his generation. Specialising in graphic still life, liquid and beauty, Jonathan’s unique photographic style has earned him award-winning advertising commissions worldwide.

In the past ten years, Jonathan has consistently featured in the ‘200 Best Advertising Photographers in the World’ books. He is one of the top 10 all time award winners in the Graphis Annuals.

Notable commissions include campaigns for many globally recognised brands, such as Coca-Cola, Guinness, and Smirnoff. He is also the creator of the famous O2 bubbles.

He shot the Black Sabbath 13 Album cover, as well as directing and filming the footage that is currently played on stage during performances. Black Sabbath loved the imagery and invited Jonathan to the album launch in New York, where he received a friendly strangle of gratitude from Ozzy.

5. Zachary Goulko

http://www.goulko.com/

Like a modern Chiaroscuro master, beauty, product and still life photographer Zachary Goulko harnesses the power of light to infuse two-dimensional images with drama, shape, and volume. His moody, provocative photographs illuminate the power of a single moment: the arresting beauty of a face, the grace of a sculptural curve, the fluid interplay between light and color and form. It is the Moscow-born photographer’s mission to capture the essence of each subject, and to present its beauty to the world in fresh and unexpected ways. He is an exhaustive experimenter, conjuring moods, intertwining lines with rhythm, exploring the architecture of shape and light. His still life and product photographs are clean and precise, yet startlingly intimate. They achieve a level of visual poetry that is unique in the commercial photography world. With a fully equipped high end studio, based in the New York City area, he photographs product and still life images for many world renown beauty and cosmetics brands. Among Goulko’s clients are L’Oréal, Lancôme, Clinique, Estée Lauder, Strivectin, Shu Uemura, Frederic Fekkai, Patek Phillipe, de GRISOGONO, Roger Dubuis, and Zac Posen, . With a background in design and interactive programming, he is constantly seeking new ways to push the technological boundaries of his medium and give full expression to his creative vision.

Source: http://claphamstudiohire.com/top-5-product-still-life-photographers/

PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY IDEAS

Unusual and even extraordinary product photography ideas are what make many leading brands stay demanding and make people talk about their creative product shots and buy their products. Let me tell you how to do product photography like creative product photographers do. I’ve gathered 20 original product photography techniques and ideas for any product.

What Is Product Photography?

Product photos belong to a branch of commercial photography which is about advertising a product. There are several classical ways of shooting products: product photography on a white background, ghost mannequin,  lifestyle product photography, motion images, photos of the product line, tabletop photography, photos of the product being packed, 360 product photography, etc.

Creative Product Photography Ideas

High-quality product photography is important for you and your client. Therefore, it is obligatory to choose the right strategy to demonstrate each product. But many photographers have a moment when they need to diversify the photos or add some creative elements. Here are some different product photography ideas for your inspiration:

1. One Second Before

This is an example of creative product shots that are taken right before something unexpected: an explosion, fall, etc. That is why you as a photographer should manage to catch the moment in the second before it happens.

2. Use Smoke

This product photography idea is a good way to make your product look dramatic. Use the coloured smoke if it is suitable for your product design. To make smoke more accurate, use Photoshop brushes.

3. Floating Products

You may hang some goods to make them look three-dimensional. Hang a product using a line, wire or rope. Then remove background or a line from the photograph of a floating product in Photoshop.

4. Association Game

If you need extraordinary product photo for a fashion magazine or billboard advertising, what can be better than funny surrealistic illustrations. Such photographs are typically taken in the studio using special product photography lighting kit and digital drawing techniques in Photoshop.

5. Motion Product Photography

This creative product photography idea is realized by means of short exposure and quick photographer’s and assistants’ actions. The photos are striking for a lot of reasons, but the thing that sticks out at first is how adding motion makes images pop.

6. Photo with Models

Give your product character and show the features that make it unique. Use different product photography ideas and creative lifestyle to highlight the product usage.

7. Combined Background

In addition to the familiar white background, I frequently use the background tone that is in harmony with the color of my product. These two product photographs are a good example of colors combination. You may combine the background depending on the product color increasing the image contrast.

8. Crashed or Broken Product

It is pretty a specific idea for product photos and not everyone decides to use it. It attracts people’s attention and evokes pity and interest to the product. It is better to get a shot at the beginning of product crash.

9. Use Reflection

You may use smooth plain covers with high reflectivity as the surface. For example, your product photos may be taken on an average ceramic tile. Make sure, you work in good lighting. In order to take such image, it is necessary to choose the right angle and lighting to get excellent reflection.

10. Product Absorption

This product photography idea has something to do with putting an object into the sand, water or other materials when you intend to put an accent. You may also use different tiny thematic items in which the product may drown.

11. Product Series

Grouping product images creates almost the same effect as zooming. Comparing several products in one photo a customer understands their main differences, volume, shape, size and other features. Moreover, it can persuade your potential customers to buy the whole kit.

12. Symmetry and Dynamics

To take this kind of product photos you have to put a camera at different angles. However, you should be careful while shooting obscure angles in order not to misrepresent the product. Put other products relatively symmetrical mixing them up with different small details.

13. Emphasize the Product’s Colour

Showing the contrast between the background and the product looks fashionable. But the main difference of this photo is an angle between the surface and the background, which creates a three-dimensional image of the lipstick. This dimensional curved shimmering paper underlines the color and the dimension of the product.

14. Sand Print

This product photography idea requires a special background. It may be usual clay, snow, sand, mastic or similar material.

15. Use Associations

Be as much creative as you can. Here Photoshop is you best friend who will help to realize even the craziest product photography ideas as to shape ketchup in the form of a tongue or a lipstick in the form of ice-cream.

10 Famous Product Photographers

https://spark.adobe.com/page/98pcx7gV8QkNW/

[tarithenurse]

Stranded - 3 of 3

Pairing: Loki Odinson x fem!reader Content: Insane amounts of fluff and perhaps fluff-related nerves. If your teeth fall out after this, then it’s really not my responsibility! A/N: This realy is the last part. Thanks for wanting it <3

It’s been less than a week since you accepted Loki’s proposal, but it already seems like the entire kingdom knows about it even if the two of you had tried to keep it from everyone else. Strangely, Loki’s parents don’t condemn what could appear like a hasty decision, and Thor…well the man’s so happy you’d think he’s the one getting married.

“– and I’m just saying I didn’t expect Odin to be so chill!” Plopping down on a settee, your fingertips immediately find the new gold band around the finger.

Loki’s lounging on the bed, one long leg stretched while the other is bend to support a rather heavy book (a historical dissertation, he’s explained when you asked). When he glances up from the dusty pages there’s an amused smirk on his face.

“Chill? I presume you mean to say that father is taking the news calmly?” Your assent both makes him chuckle (probably at the Midgardian expression) and frown. “The king can be…abstruse. Complicated.” Loki hesitates, filling the pause by putting the book aside. ”Growing up near the glory of him and Thor it has oftentimes felt as though my father…in spite of his wisdom…was unsure what would become of me. Thor has always been destined to inherit the throne and there have been plenty suitors already trying to appease him and my parents…”

“You can’t expect me to believe you haven’t had your share of interested parties.” The last words are enounced with enough sarcasm even for an Asgardian to understand it – thankfully Loki gets that kind of humour.

“Interested? A few, that is true.” Keen eyes pin you to the seat. “Interesting, however…now that is a different matter entirely.” He’s on his feet and stalking towards you in the blink of an eye. “Perhaps the king and queen have come to the same conclusion as I have…” Loki purrs as he scoops you up like a baby, making you squeal in equal parts delight and terror, “that you, lady [Y/N] of Midgard, are the one to forever hold my interest and heart.”

It’s a personal kind of heaven to kiss him, the thin lips molding softly against yours before his tongue slips in between to tease and draw out a moan – quiet and begging for more without words. The tenderness shies away for the sake of a deep-seated hunger that ignites deep in your belly and guides your hands to his shoulder and to the black hair that feels like silk between your fingers as you tangle the locks in a determined grip. When he groans, you’re the one to swallow the bliss.

“My love,” Loki’s voice breathes raggedly, “never doubt the hold you have on my soul and body.”

…   Time skip   …

A year. The time has passed both slow and quick, often surprising you when something has made you realize how long Valhalla has been your home and finding a purpose as a kind of revolutionary when it comes to the schooling of the young ones – Asgard favours home schooling which has very mixed results. And after having arranged and carried out a few classes focusing on “Midgardian” culture (the aspects you are familiar with), there was more than enough interest in establishing an actual school.

It has been a year full of learning for you too. Leaning about everything Asgardian but also about yourself…including how to deal with situations you would have deemed archaic. An example is how you and Loki aren’t supposed to share a bedroom until the wedding night, and sure, there isn’t an actual chaperone assigned to you, but there might as well be because someone is always conveniently nearby, preventing the peace of mind needed for more than kisses (amazing kisses, admittedly) which adds to a growing sense of frustration.

A year. Neither you nor Loki have had a problem with waiting with the wedding till then. You both know, deep inside your souls, that time is on your side and so there’s been no other rush than what your bodies have made you feel.

Tomorrow the wait will end.

…   Loki   …

Staring at the page, the groom has not been able to take in any of the words although the Midgardian poetry normally fascinates and moves him with ease. Today, however, his mind is full of nervous thoughts and his belly infested with butterflies at the prospect of saying or doing something wrong during any part of the ceremony – especially the vow Loki has chosen for [Y/N]. It must be perfect! In his eyes, the woman deserves everything he can give and much more because he fears how alienated she might feel at times. Today will be no exception, and it is for this reason he has studied the Midgardian traditions with the hope of fusing elements from both worlds into one harmonious event.

A fist connects with Loki’s upper arm. “Where is your mind at, little brother?” Thor has entered the room, unheeded by the occupant.

“It is here now.” Loki closes the book, knowing that he will not get any reading done. “What do you want?”

“Me? I wish to see my brother happy and wed!” The azure eyes nearly disappear due to the size of the smile that splits Thor’s face. “Come, it is time.”

…   Reader   …

Without a family of your own, it’s been a huge comfort to have Sif and The Warriors Three during the past year and you’d been wise enough not to challenge them when they announced they would be representing you during the wedding day. Sif has (although shadowed by Frigga) cast aside any of the normal annoyance with things classically “female” (even here on Asgard it’s rare for women to wear trousers and fight) and ensured to go all in to guide you through the preparations for the big day.

“Now remember,” the doe-eyed woman admonishes, “breathe, keep your head high, do as we have rehearsed.”

You nod, too nervous to voice any of the many concerns swirling in your head. It’s making you dizzy. The anticipation, the multitude of catastrophic mistakes you can make, the giddiness, and of course the fear that...what if I wake up and it’s never been real? But the firm squeeze from Sif’s had has to be proof it really is true. All of it.

“I feel –“ But you never get further as there’s a knock on the door.

“That must be Fandral!”

It’s not. It isn’t Loki either, much like the Nordic cultures the Asgardian groom isn’t meant to see his wife on the day before the ceremony – gods knows it’s been a long day since you parted this morning. No, it’s Frigga who strides through the door, clad in a shimmery gown in the same cut as Sif’s though embellished with golden drops has been sprinkled all over the sky-blue material. Still she’s the one to stop dead in her tracks at the sight of you.

“Oh, what a vision you are, my dear,” the queen breathes, politely ignoring Sif’s smug grin.

“Thank you, your highness.”

“Tsk! Soon the use of titles will only be necessary during official events.” The mother-in-law-to be is tugging away a strand of you hair from the elaborate braid, then smoothing a nonexistent crease on your dress. “You will have a title on your own.”

“It’s strange…all I wanted was to be with Loki, I don’t care about the rest!”

Afraid that you might have gone too far, you start to sputter an apology, but Frigga stops you before sending Sif outside for a moment. When the door closes behind the vermillion-dressed friend, you realize that you’re holding the breath and the palms are clammy from sweat.

Blue eyes, not dissimilar to Thor’s, find yours. Kindness, warmth, happiness overflow. “We know. Loki knows…and he wanted me to pass you this token.” Drawing out an emerald ribbon, she moves behind you to tie it in the hair.

It matches your outfit. Of course it does. The dress you wear is soft and flowy, made out of layer upon layer of the thinnest, translucent silks to create a shimmer of delicate greens only broken by the golden and darker green embroideries at the waist and rising from the base trim to resemble delicate leaves. A flower crown sits lightly on your head with the same colours.

“There, my child,” Frigga smiles, leading you to the mirror that you’ve already frequented more than you care to admit, “our Midgardian princess.”

She’s right: you look…stunning. The last year of wearing luxurious clothes (and increasingly often wearing dresses too) has been hopelessly inadequate to prepare you for looking the part. It’s a stranger staring back from the mirror. A strong woman who actually has gone off, leaving a drab life behind in favour of a life with a purpose together with someone who makes her feel important.

…

Fandral pats your hand gently. Perhaps it’s as reassurance, but it could also be to have you lighten the hold you have of his arm now you stand before the doors to the throne room with shaking knees. He too has assured you of the joy everyone feels – kind words falling on an ear deafened by nerves, but there’s no time to go back even if you wanted to because the doors open to reveal thousand of people standing on either side of a petal-covered isle leading towards the throne and the royal family.

There he is, dressed in the same colours as you. Loki. The moment you see him, calmness wells in your chest and extinguishes the fray of a storm that had raged within you. Negative thoughts and disastrous imagines evaporate, and a boldness returns at the sight of the prince dropping his jaw. Oh yeah, you’re one lucky guy, you grin to yourself, straightening your back and neck.

It’s the longest walk of your life before Fandral finally and step aside, placing your hands in Loki’s for the ceremony to begin.

Odin starts the whole thing of with a long and convoluted speech before finally allowing the siblings Frej and Freja take over. They talk almost as one, a perfectly choreographed sing-song story of the meaning of marriage as a sacred pact to ensure life and happiness, while tying yours and Loki’s joined hands with emerald ribbons adorned with flowers. Once the final knot has been completed, both she and her brother back off to the thunderous applause of all Asgardians…or at least those with their hands free.

“My wife,” Loki begins softly before turning his head to the crowd to address them, “there is a tradition in Midgard where the bride and groom prepare a personal vow to their partner. It is a sweet gesture which I have become inspired by, so hear these words and witness my love for princess [Y/N]!” Now the everchanging eyes are on you again. “[Y/N], my love. You came to me with nothing…yet became my everything. All that I am and all that I have is yours from this day on and it shall be my duty, nay, my honour to guarantee your eternal happiness for as long as you wish. A year ago, you took my heart. Today I give you my body and soul.”

Damnit. You’d promised yourself not to start crying but now the first tear is running down your cheek and even if it would be convenient to say it’s because Frigga and Thor’s tears have gotten to you then that probably wouldn’t be entirely true. People are still aweing and cheering. For a second it seems impossible to be heard, however nothing could be further from the truth as you clear you throat, conjuring a hush that settles over the many on-lookers.

“My husband.” Your voice shakes a little, but Loki looks as though it’s the sweetest sound. “I have no riches to share, but all that I am and will be is yours. Through sickness and in health, through good days and bad, I will stand beside you to support, cherish, and love you, in this life and the next if you will accept me.”

Face tilted slightly up towards Loki, none of you bother keeping the kiss strictly chaste. Through half-closed eyes, you’re dimly aware that the garland tying you together begins to glow until the brightness fills the entire throne room and the ribbon with all of its flowers is gone although you can feel the bond remains.

[slowianeczko]

Breaking Globalism's Circle of Lies. In today's rabidly anti- white's climates, pretty much every new movie or TV show is conspicuously diverse and generally anti-white in tone and children have also been targeted by this same poisonous trend through the media and at school. I recently saw The Lion King for the first time. It was the recent remake, not the original cartoon. I had heard that it was far more than a children's film, so I decided to give it a chance and I'm pleased I did in this time of anti-white's programming, which is literally being used to program non-whites to hate us and to make us hate ourselves. It's surprising that this remake still contains so much wholesomeness. This is a film that any nationalist could happily enjoy and show their children. So this is your official spoiler alert. I'm going to tell you the story as I saw it. I'm sure the nationalist message will be clear, so here it goes.   The film is set in a beautiful kingdom of animals called the pride lands where there is abundance, order and hierarchy. All of the different groups of animals understand and accept each other's differences and their place in the natural order because of their innate differences. They remain with their own kind and are exclusive of other groups. The opening scene shows all the different groups coming together to pay tribute to the birth of a new member of the lion family, Simba, who is the son of the King Mufasa. The Lions have ultimate dominion over the territories. All the different groups are united in their celebration of the Lions stewardship of their world. There is no equality agenda here and we see that within the lion tribe there is also hierarchy. The king alone has the leadership role while the females complement this by attending to the day-to-day well-being of the tribe and nurturing the young. Everything is in a state of natural balance and, just works. The lion still eats the antelope in the pride lands but all understand that this is part of the natural order, that everything is contained in a circle of life whereby everything regenerates everything else in a continuous cycle. But all is not well in Paradise. Mufasa has a brother named Scar, but a brother in name only. He looks different, and it is clear that he does not have the interests of the pride at heart as any real lion would. Scar feels that he is smarter than his brother and therefore deserves to be king, though it's clear that what Scar perceives to be his superior intelligence is better described as duplicity, cunning and an unbridled ambition for power. Mufasa’s advisor, Zazu, tells him that Scar should have been expelled from the pride lands long ago, but Mufasa naively refuses to expel him because of his misguided loyalty and compassion. This is something that Mufasa will later come to regret as Scar sees his loyalty only as weakness. Scar hatches a plot to kill Simba by making him curious to go to the Forbidden Zone where the hyenas live. The hyenas are a rapacious and repulsive looking horde of animals that live outside the pride lands. They exist in a constant state of hunger and deprivation because they are not capable of creating or sustaining anything. They are parasites whose greatest desire is to break into the pride lands and suck it dry of its abundance, so Simba and his friend Nala go to the Forbidden Zone and are almost eaten by the hyenas. At the last minutes, Mufasa gets word and comes to save them. He later explains to Simba about the importance of ancestry, admonishing him for jeopardizing the future of the pride by entering the territory of a hostile group. He tells him that the stars in the night sky are his ancestors looking down on him always offering him guidance so he will never be alone. Scar later goes to the hyenas and rebukes them for failing to kill Simba. He proposes an alliance with them to bring Mufasa down, promising them a land of plenty that they can strip bare just as they have stripped bare their own. Scar says the hyenas belly is never full. In return the hyenas pledge to be his personal guard, usurping the position of the pride whose Scar wishes to utterly betray. He understands that hyenas and lions are natural enemies and so will fulfill their side of the bargain. There will no longer be any harmony in the pride lands. I found this a very interesting shot of a crescent moon as scar formalizes his alliance with the hyenas, so Scar engineers an event to bring about his rise to power. He takes Simba into a gorge and then triggers a stampede of wildebeest to kill him. He tells Mufasa about the Stampede and he comes to save Simba, but as Mufasa tries to climb clear of the Stampede he is finally betrayed by Scar who pushes him off the rock to his death. After he discovers his father is dead,  Simba is shamed into exile by Scar who convinces him he is to blame for it all. Scar sends the hyenas off to kill Simba but they fail in this task. Back in the pride lands Scar assumes power by lying about the death of Mufasa and Simba. He then brings the hyenas into the pride lands under the pretense of them being helpful and necessary, but the Lions immediately know this is really a hostile occupation. The natural order has been disrupted and an era of darkness begins. An era that celebrates the inclusion of groups where they do not belong, where everything will gradually degrade. Is this starting to ring some bells? After collapsing from exhaustion while wandering through the desert, a warthog and meerkat stop Simba from being eaten by vultures. When they find out about Simba's tragic past they explain to him that he needs to put the past behind him and not worry about anything. Hakuna Matata is the name of this philosophy. They tell him that when the world turns its back on you, you turn your back on the world. In other words, nihilism and apathy. Simba's new friends take him to their oasis in the desert where all groups mix, and Simba is warned that he must no longer eat his natural diet. That from now on he will eat only insects and bugs, not antelopes. While Simba grows up in the Oasis with his newfound philosophy of self-indulgence, things go from bad to worse back in the pride lands. His father once ruled the land is being stripped bare by the hyenas with the blessing of the new ruler Scar. The Lions, once rulers of the land, are now living in fear dominated by the new arrivals. Sarabi refuses to be Scar’s Queen and Scar says that until she relents, the hyenas will eat before the Lions, standing the natural order on its head and placing the rights of the invaders above the Lions in their own land. So Nala escapes the pride lands to find Simba who has now been accepted by his new friends in the Oasis. Simba's new friends tell him that life is a meaningless line of indifference, that one day we reach the end of the line and that will be it. Simba's friends tell him that there is no circle of life as his father taught him and that life is just something to be enjoyed for a while. However, while looking up at the stars one night, Simba recalls what his father said about his ancestors looking down on him. His friends laugh at this idea, naturally, because they have no picture of the universe beyond pleasures in the here and now. But Simba cannot accept this vision of life and withdraws. His natural urge to discover his true purpose is trying to break through. Looking up at the stars, he shakes a tuft - fur from his mane and the circle of life transports this tuft all the way back to his home. The monkey Rafiki, the spirit-being of the pride lands, now knows that Simba is still alive. Nala arrives at the Oasis and tries to persuade Simba to return home. Despite showing her the delights of the Oasis, Nala does not relent. She knows that Simba must return and that only he can lead the pride lands back to health and restore the natural order. She knows only he can challenge Scar. There is no girl power here. Simba encounters Rafiki while walking in the jungle at night and he takes him to a pond where he sees his father in his own reflection and hears his voice speaking in the thunder. “Remember who you are”, his father tells him. Ultimately Simba returns home to the pride lands, his land, and restores order. The final scene shows all the different animal groups congregating to celebrate the birth of Simba’s own child, and so the circle of life continues. You can make your own assessment of who each of the characters in this story might represent in the world today, but I'm sure the parallels are clear. There are many lessons in this story for us and our children. This is a film you can show them to explain what the natural order means and the importance of tribe, hierarchy and leadership. It shows what happens when different groups mix and subvert this order. It shows that each group is separate and unique for a purpose. It speaks to how a misguided sense of compassion can lead to the  collapse of societies, but doing what is right does not always feel good and what feels good is not always doing right. It's a caution against nihilism, hyper individuality and self-gratification. Hakuna Matata it seems has become something of a guiding principle for many in today's West. The story shows what happens when hostile elements within societies subvert it by making alliances with outside groups. It shows how they portray those invading groups as innocent victims and afford them rights above the native population. We can see this clearly today with the hate speech laws and diversity quotas. These traitors have legalized us second-class status in our own countries. They have made us afraid to speak the truth of multiculturalism and they turn a blind eye to the vile crimes against us to perpetuate this madness. The circle of life is just another name for natural law. It's just another name for the way of the world. It exposes a massive flaw in the idea of multiculturalism and the bogus Equality agenda. Ultimately it's about how the truth, no matter how bad things look, will eventually come to triumph over lies. This is a message we all need to hear right now and this goes double for our children. Be sure to talk to your children about the things they watch. If you notice a wholesome narrative in something they are watching, point it out, talk to them about it. If you see something damaging, which is more likely, also talk to them about it because our enemies are masters of propaganda and they are bombarding our young with it all day every day. Not everyone is in a position to homeschool their children but there is still much you can do to free your children and break the circle of Lies.” https://youtu.be/1cAMDS-tmxc (source)

Way Of The World

[dharc16]

Hello fellow witches! I just thought of dropping something historical today about us witches around the world! 😇 I hope you read it till the end and perhaps share it if you like! But please don’t feel offended! These are the words of a Christian Witch!

THE ORIGINS OF THE MODERN WITCH

A fearsome being of fairytale and myth, the witch has carved out a home in nearly every culture across the world and time. Indeed, the witch represents the dark side of the female presence: she has power that cannot be controlled.

While most people envision witches aging, ugly, hook-nosed women surrounding their cauldrons and inflicting toil and trouble on the masses, history tells us that the witch’s origins are far less sinister. In fact, those whom we consider to be witches have often been healers.

Carole Fontaine, an internationally recognized American biblical scholar, argues in an interview that the idea of the witch has been around as long as humanity has tried to deal with disease and avert disaster.

In the earliest centuries of human civilization, the women doctors, midwives, wise women, and priestesses were revered throughout their communities.

These wise women made house calls, delivered babies, dealt with infertility, and cured impotence. According to Fontaine:

"What’s interesting about them is that they are so clearly understood to be positive figures in their society. No king could be without their counsel, no army could recover from a defeat without their activity, no baby could be born without their presence."

So how did the benevolent image of a wise woman transform into the evil figure of the witch we know today?

Some scholars maintain that the answer may be linked to events long before the birth of Christ, when Indo-Europeans expanded westward, bringing with them a warrior culture that valued aggression and male gods of war, which dominated the once-revered female deities.

The Holy Spirit that we worship was changed from the Hebrew feminine to the Greek neuter to the Roman Latin male.

In the 1300s, when the plague decimated Europe and killed one in three people, it also brought with it hysteria. Amid the panic, many attributed their misfortune to the Devil himself — and his supposed worshipers. At this point the Catholic Church’s Inquisition, which had already been established for decades, expanded its efforts to seek out and punish the non-Catholic causes of the mass deaths, including Devil-doting witches. These women were believed to worship in large nocturnal assemblies, where various social ills were performed, such as promiscuous sex, naked dancing, and gluttonous feasting on the flesh of human infants. At the climax of this festival, people at the time believed that the Devil himself would appear and participate in an unbridled orgy with all attendants.

In order to save the Church and its followers from the Devil, then, these women had to be tamed. It is with that in mind that Catholic Church inquisitors Jacob Springer and Henrik Kramer wrote the Malleus Maleficarum, a book which assisted witch hunters in the gruesome task of diagnosing and punishing so-called witches, who as women were sexually vulnerable and therefore easy prey for the Devil.

“What else is a woman but a foe to friendship?” wrote the monks. “They are evil, lecherous, vein, and lustful. All witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is, in women, insatiable.”

The manual’s vivid descriptions would serve as a platform for zealous witch hunters to act on their prejudices for over 200 years. At the time, Malleus Maleficarum was second to the Bible in terms of popularity.

Fontaine notes that while there had been witch hunting manuals prior to the publication of the Malleus Malificarum, these two monks were the first to associate a specific gender with witchcraft.

By the end of the 1600s, the witch hunting hysteria in Europe reached its peak. Witch hunts spread like wildfire across Europe, the worst of which occurred in France and Germany. Würzburg, Germany was home to the worst instance of witch hunting: the magistrates of the time determined that most of the town was possessed by the Devil, and condemned hundreds to death.

Religion professor Barbara McGraw notes in a 1996 interview that there were some towns in Germany where there were no women left.

Thousands were arrested and brought to inquisitors for examination. Under an inquisitor’s brutal scrutiny, the accused were strippped and searched. Any “suspicious” wart, mole, or birthmark could be enough to receive a death sentence.

In order to execute the accused, however, they first needed to confess. Torture seemed to be the best way of inciting confession, and the Church would use instruments such as thumb and leg screws, head clamps, and the iron maiden to generate the “truth” needed to enact death.

While torturing women under examination, the Malleus Maleficarum warned the torturer not to make eye contact with her, as her “evil powers” might cause the torturer to develop feelings of compassion.

When this period ended at approximately the beginning of the 18th century, an estimated 60,000 people in Europe had been killed as witches.

Overseas, the most anthologized witch hunt took place in Salem, Massachusetts. The 17th century settlement had a rough beginning: decades of Indian Wars, land disputes, deep religious divisions and a tendency to look to the supernatural to explain the unknown helped set the grounds for this particularly “New World” brand of hysteria.

The witch hysteria in Salem began in 1692, in the home of a Puritan minister named Samuel Parris. Parris was deeply concerned about a game his daughter Elizabeth and niece Abigail had played, in which the two girls looked into a primitive crystal ball and saw a coffin. This vision sent them into convulsions, and within a few days nine other girls throughout the community were stricken with the same ailment.

Under the pressure of Parris, the girls then named three witches who may have cursed them: Tituba, their household slave, Sarah Good, a beggar woman, and Sarah Osborne, a widow rumored to have had an illicit affair with one of her servants. All three women were social outcasts, and thus easy targets for suspicion.

The 1692 Salem witch trials spread witch hunting hysteria to 24 outlying villages. That year, jails were crowded with more than 200 accused witches, 27 of whom were found guilty. 19 were killed.

The trials met a swift end, however, in part because supposed victims began pointing their fingers at high-ranking figures within the community. When the wife of the governor of Massachusetts was accused of witchcraft, leaders saw to it that the trials ceased immediately.

As to what spurred the girls’ confessions, Fontaine attributes them to a form of social release. The girls had been so tightly controlled in Salem, Fontaine argues, that this confession allowed the girls to receive some kind of attention.

Hundreds of years later, the fearsome image of the witch faded, and was absorbed by a popular culture who used the witch’s violent history as costume inspiration. Others, however, used it as a means to found a new spiritual movement.

In 1921, British archaeologist Margaret Murray penned a book called The Witch Cult in Western Europe, in which she argued that witchcraft had not been an obscure occult, but a dominant religious force. Though Murray’s theories have been widely discredited (proven to be untrue) since the book’s publishing, her work sparked a fascination with witches that had been dormant for three hundred years, eventually helping spawn the pagan Wicca religion.

The religion, which is named after an Anglo Saxon term for “craft of the wise,” circles back to ancient practices that use herbs and other natural elements to promote healing, harmony, love, and wisdom, all following the tenet of “harm none," while rejecting the more violent aspects of the same ancient practices.

However, just like hundreds of thousands of people who have come before us, these same practices of healing and working with nature can also be practiced with the worship of the one true Creator God, who gave us these gifts to begin with.

[toxxicoddity]

Hey! I saw your post about energy illustrations so here's a little about me :v My name's Daemon and i love anything to do with the arts (drawing, dancing, acting, etc), learning new skills and facts, and anything to do with paganism and metaphysical things. Im also very into cartomancy and working with intention/visualization. Honestly I could go on about my interests but in general I consider myself a very eclectic witch and person :9

Raven: Ravens are commonly associated with Apollo and prophesy. They are a highly spiritual animal in many cultures as well as a sign of bad luck in some.

Lavender: Lavender flowers are known to represent purity, silence, devotion serenity, grace and calmness

Citrine: Natural Citrine is a premier stone of manifestation, imagination, and personal will. Carrying the power of the sun, it is warm and comforting, energizing and life giving.

Aventurine: Green Aventurine is known as the “Stone of Opportunity,” thought to be the luckiest of all crystals, especially in manifesting prosperity and wealth, or for increasing favor in competitions or games of chance.

Lapis Lazuli: Its deep, celestial blue remains the symbol of royalty and honor, gods and power, spirit and vision. It is a universal symbol of wisdom and truth.

Pale Green: Green, the color of life, renewal, nature, and energy, is associated with meanings of growth, harmony, freshness, safety, fertility, and environment.

2 of Hearts: indicate success in love or the realization of a romantic relationship through marriage, the two of hearts can also bring sadness and melancholy. It can announce bad or painful news.

3 of Clubs: The three of clubs refers to losing confidence or breaking a bound that seemed solid. It refers to the wrench of a romantic relationship that linked two lovers with material elements.

 My reading:

You are quite the interesting person and quite lucky at that. The first thing that came to me was the raven’s skull followed by the citrine. This tells me that you are rather lucky when it comes to matters of spirit and messages.

For the lapis it makes me believe that you have great vision and can see things that others will often times miss.

 For the cards, it was all new for me, it shows quite an interesting turn of events. Due to its placement behind the skull it makes me believe that it deals with you past. The closeness of them makes me thing that it is the recent past though. Perhaps you recently had a falling out with someone and it has caused you quite a bit of sadness?

 I apologize that this reading has taken so long for me to do but I recently moved and have been trying to settle! Not only that but I also had to recharge a bit after all that I have been doing, I hope you understand :)