#arco gate

[wgm-beautiful-world]

[eopederson]

La parte con escultura, Arco Santa Maria, Burgos, 2011.

The figure in the upper center is Charlemagne (Carlomagno), an important historical figure closely associated with the legends of the Camino Santiago. 

[random-brushstrokes]

Antonietta Brandeis (Italian, 1848–1926) - Venice, at the gate of the Arco dell’Abbazia della Misericordia

[lloydfrontera]

thinking of javier having to be psychically restrained from following lloyd into the reincarnation portal, only being able to be stopped because he's already half-dead from all the blood he lost trying to protect lloyd from helkaros. javier struggling with world-shattering power to free himself and crawl after his best friend, being told it's useless it won't help even if he follows there's no certainty they'll meet each other in their next life and him, delirious in pain and grief, thinking that it would be worth it. whatever happens next, whatever comes after, if there's even the slightest chance, the smallest possibility that he could find lloyd in his next life... it would be worth it

it takes arcos and marbella both to finally talk him out of it and it's not so much what they say as the reminder that he still has a duty there that he can't abandon it no matter how much it tears him apart. because he swore to protect the frontera family and he swore to protect lloyd and he failed at the latter but lloyd would never forgive him if he failed at the first. because lloyd died protecting his family and javier can't leave them behind now no matter how much he aches to follow him.

because if it were only him javier wouldn't hesitate to live countless lives and die even more countless deaths just for a chance to find lloyd again but it's not and javier can't justify not spending the rest of this life protecting the very family lloyd gave his life for.

and besides, he reasons once the grief has settled deep into his chest, a solid weight he knows he will carry for the rest of his existence, he will cross that gate at some point. it may take months or years or maybe decades but he will cross it. and then he can follow lloyd to wherever he may have gone just like he swore to.

it's only a matter of time.

[quasitsqueeries]

Space Marines are not your friend

... and the Imperium of Man are not the good guys.

These guys, with the iron crosses and the scary face-masks, surprisingly not very nice.

So, there’s this idea that came up a bit in the discussions around space marines and gender that sometimes these guys can be heroic, and, um, actually it’s how they’re perceived as heroic that’s kind of the point, but we’ll come back to that.

Milton Bradley and Games workshop teamed up to release Space Crusade when I was 6 or 7 and I pestered my parents until they bought it for me for Christmas. Later, when I was 11 I was stuck at home with glandular fever and my family picked up some White Dwarf magazines from the local library for me to read and I realised there was more going on with this world, and I thought space marines were pretty cool. I used to imagine being a space marine. That’s because I didn’t understand what they represented. As I got older, and started to learn more about the symbols that GW were drawing on, that idea became less and less appealing.

In Warhammer 40,000, the Imperium of Man is a Fascist state. To be very clear, I don’t think it’s a bad game or fascist piece of media for depicting this. I think it was the intention of the game’s original creators to critically depict a futuristic dystopia, and the Fascist setting is part of that.

I think it’s clear that the Imperium engenders several of the 14 characteristics of Fascism identified by Lawrence Britt pretty unambiguously. The first is powerful and continuing Nationalism, Nationalism is based on the idea that a state should be congruent with a particular people, or volk, and outsiders should be excluded. Nationalism in the 41st Milennium is different to the Nationalism we’re used to because the volk in question is all of humanity, and the excluded parties are what the Imperium calls Xenos; Eldar, Orks, Tau, etc. Then there’s disdain for the recognition of human rights, human rights don’t really exist as a concept in 40K. You might ask the servitor or arco-flagellant about their human rights, or the 10 year-old child who’s taken from their home to begin the process of becoming a space marine. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause is a big one. The vilifcation of heretics, mutants and xenos is kind of a central tenet of the Imperium’s culture. There’s supremacy of the military, uh, I’m not sure I need to explain how the Imperium glorifies the Imperial Guard, the Astartes, all the chambers miltant, the knightly houses, the titan legions, the imperial navy, etc. etc. Rampant sexism, I hope my previous post has demonstrated this, but I think it’s important to note that sexism isn’t just disliking a particular gender, it’s expressed in the reinforcement of traditional and hegemonic gender roles, as I think the comparison of the Astartes’ and Sororitas’ roles demonstrates. There’s an obsession with national security, the Imperium’s entire economy is geared towards expansionism and dealing with internal and external threats. The intertwining of religion and government is pretty clear, the head of state is seen as a god and his church is the beaurecracy that runs the Imperial state. Supression of labour power is kind of assumed, there are no unions in the Imperium. The disdain for intellectuals and the arts is demonstrated by statements like “an open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded” (That’s from Dawn of War). And there’s an obsession with crime and punishment, embodied by the existence of the Inquisition, in particular the Ordo Hereticus, who are a police force with unlimited power and the capacity to dragoon military units into their service.

These points often meet with the objection that the internal and external threats *do* exist and that therefor the Imperium’s response to them is justified, which kind of misses the point that this is a piece of fiction, an exploration of ideas. The existence of Xenos and the Chaos Gods doesn’t make the Imperium’s response to those things any less Fascistic, and they definitely don’t justify the existence of Fascism in the real world.

But, Warhammer 40,000 is an aesthetic game and Fascists looooove aesthetics, so I think an examination of how the Imperium draws on the aesthetics of Fascism is a bit more interesting.

Here’s a Susan Sontag quote I copied from the Wikipedia page on Fascism: “[f]ascist aesthetics ... flow from (and justify) a preoccupation with situations of control, submissive behavior, extravagant effort, and the endurance of pain; they endorse two seemingly opposite states, egomania and servitude. The relations of domination and enslavement take the form of a characteristic pageantry: the massing of groups of people; the turning of people into things; the multiplication or replication of things; and the grouping of people/things around an all-powerful, hypnotic leader-figure or force. The fascist dramaturgy centers on the orgiastic transactions between mighty forces and their puppets, uniformly garbed and shown in ever swelling numbers. Its choreography alternates between ceaseless motion and a congealed, static, 'virile' posing. Fascist art glorifies surrender, it exalts mindlessness, it glamorizes death."

I’m not going to provide a reference for that because this isn’t an essay and you’re not my lecturer and someone already did all the work (it’s in the wiki, linked above). I think I’m just going to take some extracts from that and juxtapose them with 40K art. Here goes:

a preoccupation with situations of ... extravagant effort

and the endurance of pain

they endorse two seemingly opposite states, egomania and servitude

a characteristic pageantry: the massing of groups of people

the turning of people into things

an all-powerful, hypnotic leader-figure or force

The fascist dramaturgy centers on the orgiastic transactions between mighty forces and their puppets, uniformly garbed and shown in ever swelling numbers

a congealed, static, 'virile' posing

it glamorizes death

(I thought about adding a little speech bubble saying “even in death I still serve” but I think most people reading this recognise that that’s a walking, fighting coffin, I don’t think there’s a more explicit depiction of the glamourisation of death than the idea of a warrior so commited to war they they allow their corpse to be interred in a fighting machine so they can continue to kill after they’ve died.)

I’m particularly interested in how space marines fill the role of the ‘hero’. Nazis loved art that showed idealised male figures, preferably from pagan myths. Here’s a sculpture of Prometheus that was exhibited at their “Great German Art Exhibition”:

They loved heroic figures, muscular and mythic men of action. They saw in Nietszche’s ubermensch an individual who had the strength and will to do what he wanted, and take what he wanted, without concern for the morality of the ‘sheep’. It goes without saying that these figures were meant to be of Aryan descent and in the Nazi state the SS were meant to be the modern expression of this. Recruits to the SS had to ‘prove’ their Aryan ancestry and Himmler had plans to institute requirements for appearance and height. I think it’s clear how they were meant to be a fighting force who’s superiority came from their supposed genetic superiority and connection to an idealised Aryan heroism.

And that’s where space marines come in. Astartes are the way they are because of their connection, through gene-seed, to the primarchs (The Emperor’s largest sons), heroic and promethean figures from the dawn of the Imperium who made war on a grand scale and spread the Emperor’s light to the far reaches of the galaxy. Their genetics make them into literal superhumans, able to perform heroic feats that would be impossible for a regular person. This isn’t a good thing, it’s an expression of Fascist ideology. Warhammer 40K, being satire, recognises this, and so it’s constantly made clear that these people are incapable of anything but war. Also the marinification process makes them so muscular they resemble sides of beef more than actual people, they’ve become a grotesque mockery of the ideal of the Hero.

Also there are skulls and eagles on, like, everything, and that’s normally a sign that Fascists are about. There’s also a particular fascination Fascists have with the imagery of the Roman Empire, the word Fascism comes from fasces, a bunch of rods bound together with an axe that was the symbol of Roman dicators. Ultramarines in particular use a lot of Roman inspired armour elements.

The headpiece, wreath at the midriff, and leather straps hanging between the legs are all screaming Rome at me, and I don’t think these guys are history buffs (They’re Fascists).

Anyway, there we go, I think I’ve established that the original 40K writers intended for the Imperium to be a Fascist state. I’m enjoying this, maybe next I’ll write something about the Eldar and Slaanesh and ideas aboout degeneracy that were floating around at the turn of the 19th Century.

UPDATE: I've developed my thoughts on this further here.

[dustedmagazine]

Mary Halvorson — Cloudward (Nonesuch)

Guitarist Mary Halvorson has played with a number of artists, but for her past three albums she has worked with a band dubbed Amaryllis: Halvorson, Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), Nick Dunston (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), Jacob Garchik (trombone), and Adam O’Farrill (trumpet). Over the course of their relatively brief tenure, they have cohered into a formidable ensemble, energetically collaborating with stalwart commitment to Halvorson’s compositions. There are eight of these on Cloudward, polystylistic vehicles for Amaryllis’ soloing.

Cloudward opens with “The Gate,” in which a brief theme in parallel voicings is supplanted by a series of solo turns, including incendiary ones from the brass. Brennan’s vibes continue the changes underneath, and the entire group reconvenes for a brief, smoldering coma. Halvorson plays a modal, looped intro to “The Tower,” which speeds up and then disappears. Next an undulating tune played by Brennan and underscored by Halvorson hovers diaphanously. After a time, terse brass interjections and a spider-web patterned bassline join. The texture is full yet never overly thickened. A vibes solo adds filigrees to the mix, soon augmented by Halvorson, moving from rhythm guitar to bending notes and unleashing terse imitations of the brass interjections. The brass players themselves begin to animate the proceedings with greater intensity in their repeated lines and with bends of their own. Suddenly, this ceases, the opening music returns, accompanied by oscillating brass duos. The tune closes in an echo of the intro with slow repeated notes in the guitar. A standout on the recording.

“Incarnadine” moves Amaryllis closer to free playing, with swooping guitar, trilling brass, pedaled vibraphone playing shimmering arpeggios, off-kilter drums, and angular arco bass. It is the rhythm section that takes its spotlight moment here, and the difference in playing approach is pleasantly surprising. Fujiwara also plays a rollicking intro to “Tailhead.” His polyrhythmic groove sets up two-against three lines and a syncopated tune in the brass. Garchik unleashes one of his best solos, eventually dueting with Halvorson while Brennan plays the original tune underneath. The intricacy of the structure of Halvorson’s music is particularly emphasized on “Tailhead.”

Halvorson is a generous collaborator, and most of the performances on Cloudward feel like a collaborative effort rather than a showcase for the leader. But on “Desiderata,” she lets it rip, playing a ranging, eventually looping, guitar solo that begins with a clean tone and secundal oscillations but climaxes with distortion and raucous glissandos. From free jazz to contemporary modern ensemble music, Halvorson has made thoughtful arrangements for Amaryllis. It’s great to hear her rock out too, playing with an abandon that has been simmering all along.

Christian Carey

[linguafrencha]

witchy spanish vocab for spooky season

rompecabezas -> puzzle

hechicera -> sorceress

acuarela -> watercolor

arco -> arch

tinieblas -> darkness

ciudadela -> citadel

estanque -> pond

cenagoso-> muddy

pinar -> pine forest

sombrío -> shady

embrujado -> haunted

capilla -> chapel

tenebrosa -> scary

cirio -> candle

lúgubre -> gloomy

hiedra -> ivy

caserón -> mansion

ceniza -> ash

verja -> gate

oxidado -> rusty

musgo -> moss

siniestro -> sinister

advertencia -> warning

morboso -> morbid

gorrión -> sparrow

cautivar -> to captivate

desvanecerse -> to fade

trazar -> to trace

[300iqprower]

Give Scathach back to Wada Arco. She looked better when drawn by Wada. At least that way it'll free Scathach from the Aokoface jokes.

Honestly all the "face" jokes except saberface are dumb. I don't know enough about artstyles and stuff to in good consciences say any of it is a result of being bad or lazy but it sure as hell feels those things to me. Like obviously people have signature styles but with Fate it really does feel like just straight up "asset reuse". Maybe that's just because of how much people reference it and not actually anything different, maybe it's because this is supposed to be a series about the entire world and yet you have a person from ireland drawn the exact same as a person from japan, maybe it's because of the plethora of artists in FGO making it so when two characters are that similar it stands out! I dunno. Certainly don't know enough to lay blame. But it never sits well with me.

But design wise for Scathach it could go either way. The bodysuit is dumb no matter who draws it but the new outfits Wada gave were objectively better in every way one cause I'll take esdeath looking stuff over whatever the fuck that MOCAP latex looking thing is any day. But when it comes to drawing the expressions and stuff, I do think the original artist captured the ferocity WHEN THEY TRIED. I fucking HATE Scathach's default expression, I fucking loathe them for that fucking air of "look how elegant and graceful and aloof I am" bullshit. See this?

FUCK THIS. Things like the NP animation can come into their own but THIS kind of shit is not a "supreme being who is disinterested with the mortal world around them" this is "bored lingerie model wondering if it's really worth firing their agent for signing them onto this cosplay shoot". And it's not as simple as the outfit or the face or the lighting, it's the EVERYTHING, it was INTENTIONALLY drawn that way; it's an issue with how they explicitly wanted her to look like that to match the mary sue trophy wife of a character she's written as. Summer Scathach proves this. Her summer assassin form is drawn by the same person yet has a distinctly different air to it that matches her attitude shift that properly embraces what they CLAIM is also her Lancer's concept of someone who is unkillable but wants death by glorious combat.

Like, the body language is just a world of a difference. Lancer is facing away but looking towards you, as if sheltered off and trying to move on. The body language is meant to convey some sort of "you could never understand" type shit, that tropey "beautiful woman who runs away/you want because you can't have" crap. she's not even wielding her weapons, just lightly gripping them. She's completely disinterested and disengaged, marked by the fact she's visibly expressionless, completely disinterested and seemingly looking at you out of obligation.

Assassin is borderline the opposite.

Assassin's body is facing towards you but her head is facing away. Her eyes are looking towards you opposite the way her Lancer self is. She's looking down. She sees you as prey. She has a hint of a smirk on her face, because she's hoping you'll be a challenge. She has knives in hand, and is properly wielding them like she's about to throw them at the slightest provocation. She's literally lifting her swimskirt to reveal MORE knives strapped to her thigh; that kind of thing is usually used for surprise attacks, but she wants you to know she has it out the gate. It's a see through veil but she does it anyways because she wants to be SURE you know that she's armed, because she's hoping you'll prove a challenge. That's the excitement on her face. "Is this the one to challenge me? Wait, I can't let them see I'm excited, what if they're another disappointment?"

Body language is SO important to these things and they are not drawn without it in mind for a moment. It's the reason Scathach is intrinsically terrible. Just look at Lancer's FA. It's not a fucking wise, calm, powerful teacher like it claims the reason for her everything is. It's a sexy lady waiting to be claimed as a reward by the insecure incels it panders to.

And to bring Wada into things they ALWAYS draw Scathach with this "hunger" that embodies her character. She does it for Gil too but I think it fits Scathach way more

I honestly prefer how Summer is drawn originally, even if we take into account that Summer here is just a reused asset. I think I made clear with that ramble that I actually think Summer Scath is top tier design as far as "mandatory swimsuit characters" go, and you cant really fix the MOCAP-fetishwear thing, but Wada at least tried. They look like actual rivets/buckles, a pair of ornate pauldrons, it doesnt look like it was spraypainted lavender, and most of all the expression and as I said body language. The slightly narrowed eyes, the fact her hair flows out but remains perfectly kept almost like a jagged cape, her hands at the ready front and back and tensed like she’s just WAITING for a chance to throw em, the hint of a grin as she bows her head and slightly narrowed eyes that RADIATE hunger. In an opposite way as her Assassin self she’s making it very clear she sees you as prey.

............So....yeah.  I think about these things a lot. For all my constant contempt for Fate Scathach, it’s because I find the actual figure super cool. Hell, both me and my writing friend have written our own versions of her. And he doesn’t even hate her FGO version like i do! He actively went for her! But he agrees just as much with me that FGO completely wasted her to focus on propping her up as waifubait.

[tengomilpalabrasparati]

El 11 de octubre se celebra el Día Mundial de la Carretera, para reconocer la importancia que tienen las carreteras en las sociedades, así como rendir un homenaje a los ingenieros, constructores y operadores que han desarrollado estas obras de infraestructura.

Se destaca la importancia de invertir en el mantenimiento y conservación de estas estructuras de ingeniería civil, para la mejora de la calidad de vida de los usuarios que las transitan.

La fecha de esta efeméride conmemora la celebración del Primer Congreso Mundial de la Carretera, celebrado en París (Francia), entre el 11 y 18 de octubre del año 1908.

¿Sabías que? Datos curiosos sobre las carreteras

A continuación mostramos algunos datos curiosos e interesantes sobre el protagonista de asfalto: la carretera.

La carretera más larga del mundo es la Panamericana, con unos 30.000 kilómetros de longitud. Es un sistema de carreteras que une a catorce países americanos, desde la Patagonia hasta Alaska.

El primer tramo de carretera asfaltada del mundo fue construido en el año 1909 en la ciudad de Detroit (Michigan, Estados Unidos).

En el año 2020 se probó la primera carretera fotoluminiscente del mundo, en Holanda. Es un mecanismo que absorbe la luz solar durante el día y proporciona 8 horas de iluminación en la oscuridad.

En la provincia china de Henan se encuentra el túnel de Guoliang, considerada una de las carreteras más peligrosas del mundo. Fue construida de manera rudimentaria por sus habitantes ante la negativa del gobierno chino.

En la actualidad, durante el proceso de diseño de una carretera se toma en cuenta el estudio del comportamiento de los conductores y peatones.

En los Emiratos Árabes los camellos tienen prioridad de paso en las carreteras y vías.

La autopista Insterestatal I-10 ubicada en Houston (Texas, EEUU), conocida como Katy Freeway, es la autopista con más carriles del mundo ¡Algunos tramos cuentan con 26 carriles!

Carreteras más famosas del mundo

Mencionamos las carreteras o roadtrips más conocidas del mundo por ser de interés histórico y turístico, con elementos visuales y estructurales muy atractivos:

Transfagarasan (Rumania): fue construida en los años setenta y es considerada la mejor carretera del mundo. Con un recorrido de 90 kilómetros la ruta de esta emblemática carretera de montaña estuvo incluida en una edición del programa Top Gear.

Tail of the Dragon o Cola de Dragón (Estados Unidos): tiene 318 curvas en una longitud de 18 kilómetros y se encuentra ubicada a 1.500 metros de altura, con vistas al Great Smoky Mountains Park.

Paso dello Stevio o Passo Stelvio: (Italia): posee una altitud de más de 2.700 metros sobre el nivel del mar. Su diseño original estuvo a cargo del imperio austríaco en el siglo XIX.

Trollstigen o "La Escalera del Trol" (Noruega): ubicada al oeste de Noruega, esta carretera inaugurada en el año 1936 mide 106 kilómetros y posee 11 curvas con prolongadas pendientes de 180 grados. Forma parte de la Carretera Nacional de Noruega número 63.

Tian Men Shan Big Gate Road (China): es una carretera ubicada dentro del Parque Nacional de la Montaña de Tianmen, con una ruta de 10 kilómetros. Es considerada un sitio de interés turístico debido a sus curvas estrechas que culminan en "la puerta del cielo", un arco de piedra natural.

Peaje de Hakone Turnpike o Nürburgring japonés (Japón): esta autopista de peaje ubicada cerca del monte Fuji fue construida en el año 1960, con una distancia de 14 kilómetros.

Route 66 (Estados Unidos): esta icónica carretera de 3.940 kilómetros ha sido el escenario de innumerables largometrajes cinematográficos. Forma parte de la red de carreteras federales de Estados Unidos desde el año 1926.

Great Ocean Road (Australia): esta carretera tiene una distancia de 243 kilómetros, fue construida entre 1919 y 1932 por soldados para rendir homenaje a los caídos de la segunda guerra mundial.

Chapman´s Peak (Sudáfrica): posee una longitud de 9 kilómetros y es considerada la carretera más bonita del mundo, con paisajes de costa impresionantes. Fue culminada en el año 1922.

Filmografia sobre las carreteras

A continuación mostramos algunos títulos de documentales y películas de carretera o road movies. Es un género cinematográfico, cuya trama o argumento se desarrolla a lo largo de un viaje por carretera, con un lugar de destino que representa el retorno a casa o el triunfo del héroe.

¿Sabías que las bandas sonoras de este tipo de películas se conocen normalmente como "música de ruta" o "música de carretera"? Esto se debe a su identificación con los paisajes y personajes. Disfruta de esta selección de películas escogidas, en buena compañía:

Green Book: una amistad sin fronteras (EEUU. Director: Peter Farrelly. Año 2018): un hombre italoamericano del Bronx es contratado como chofer del virtuoso pianista afroamericano Don Shirley, emprendiendo un viaje por carretera para cumplir con una gira de conciertos por el Sur de Estados Unidos.

On the Road (Francia. Director: Walter Salles. Año 2012): un neoyorquino aspirante a escritor conoce a un expresidiario, entablando una amistad que los lleva a emprender un viaje en carretera hacia el Sur.

Hacia Rutas Salvajes (EEUU. Director: Sean Penn. Año 2008): un joven recién graduado de la Universidad tiene un futuro prometedor, pero su verdadero deseo es sentirse libre. Emprende un viaje aventurero por carretera hasta llegar a Alaska.

Rebeldes con Causa (EEUU. Director: Walt Becker. Año 2007): en este largometraje cómico cuatro hombres de la mediana edad y frustrados con sus vidas cotidianas deciden embarcarse en un viaje por carretera inolvidable, en sus motocicletas Harley Davidson.

Diarios de Motocicleta (EEUU. Director: Walter Salles. Año 2005): en el año 1952 el estudiante de medicina Ernesto "Che" Guevara y su amigo Alberto Granado realizan un viaje aventurero a través de Sudamérica, en una motocicleta Norton de 500 cc destartalada.

True Romance (EEUU. Director: . Año 1993): una chica y el empleado de una tienda de cómics son perseguidos por policías y mafiosos, mientras recorren todo el país por carretera para llegar a Hollywood.

Thelma y Louise (EEUU. Director: Ridley Scott. Año 1991): una esposa frustrada y sumisa y una camarera de una cafetería se unen en un viaje en carretera en busca de libertad y aventuras, con un desenlace fatal.

CrossRoads (EEUU. Director: Walter Hill. Año 1986): un adolescente que estudió guitarra clásica en Julliard conoce a un legendario músico de Blues en un asilo de ancianos, ayudándolo a escapar . Deambulan por la carretera hacia el sur, para participar en un duelo de guitarras y recuperar su alma.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (EEUU. Director: . Año 1983): un padre de familia lleva a su esposa e hijos a conocer el parque de diversiones Walley World en California, en un disparatado viaje en automóvil.

Easy Rider (EEUU. Director: Dennis Hopper. Año 1969): dos jóvenes audaces se embarcan en un viaje peculiar en sus motocicletas por carretera, atravesando el suroeste y sur de Estados Unidos para asistir al carnaval Mardi Gras, en Nueva Orleans.

Comparte información útil e interesante en las redes sociales acerca del Día Mundial de la Carretera, utilizando los hashtags #DIAMUNDIALDELACARRETERA #WorldRoadDay #diamundialdelacarretera.

[steveconte]

Had a fab time walking around Milano in 92 degree heat yesterday (wearing all black, D-oh!) Here’s the Arco Della Pace at Porta Sempione. It kinda reminds me of the Brandenberg Gate in Berlin… at least the horses on top do anyway. (at Milan, Italy) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfWJTpcIwx7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[lunamagicablu]

Nell’anno 1885 mese di Giugno alle porte dell’estate nel giorno di Marte.

In questi giorni ove si sente insistente il profumo del primo fieno raccolto e il profumo della menta selvatica punge l’olfatto, ricordo piacevolmente l’insegnamento della mia cara nonna.

La cara nonna Matilde non perdeva occasione di farmi da magistra, non nascondo che in alcuni istanti trovavo tediose le sue parole ma la mia mente le ha custodite o forse meglio direi che sono incise nel cuore.

Passa inosservato il fieno, ma è simile all’oro zechino, la sua utilità è pari a quella del grano, proprio questo rammentava mia nonna, piume di sole le piaceva chiamare i fili d’orati.

Riportare in nero queste parole è per me un turbinio di sensazioni ma non posso esimermi dal farlo.

Nei campi ove il fieno e disteso come un guerriero a riposo passeggia in un giorno di sole splendente, entra da est da dove il Re del Fuoco nasce, passa da nord dove per salutare i regni dell’Aria, scendi a Sud per salutare le terre del Fuoco e vai verso Ovest dove il Re del Fuoco riposa infine al centro del campo ti recherai e fai tutto questo, fai questo recitando codeste parole:

ENTRO DA EST IN QUESTO CAMPO DI PIUME DI SOLE E SALUTO IL RE DEL FUOCO E I REGNI DA DOVE ESSO NASCE!

RIVOLGO IL MIO SGUARDO E I MIEI PASSI VERSO LE TERRE DELL’ARIA DEL NORD DOVE DIMORANO I VENTI DELLA CREAZIONE!

RIVOLGO IL MIO SGUARDO E I MIEI PASSI VERSO LE TERRE DEL SUD DOVE DIMORA IL FUOCO SACRO!

RIVOLGO I MIEI PASSI A OVEST DOVE DIMORA IL RE DEL FUOCO QUANDO RIPOSA!

ORA VADO NEL CENTRO SOTTO IL RE DEL FUOCO E COLGO LE SUE PIUME, UN MAZZO PER IL NORD, UNO PER IL SUD, UNO PER L’EST, UNO PER L’OVEST.

Ecco che hai raccolto i quattro fasci di Piume di Sole! Intrecciale fermandole ai lati con corda dorata, essa proteggerà la tua casa da ogni malia!

Mettila a dimora sull’uscio della porta che formi un arco verso l’alto, nulla di malvagio l’attraverserà.

Delfina Croce

tradotto da Marius Deprède

La Cantina del Rustico

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

In the year 1885, the month of June at the gates of summer on the day of Mars.

In these days when the scent of the first harvested hay is insistent and the scent of wild mint stings the nose, I pleasantly remember the teaching of my dear grandmother.

Dear grandmother Matilde never missed an opportunity to be my magistra, I do not hide the fact that in a few moments I found her words tedious but my mind has kept them or perhaps I would better say that they are engraved in her heart.

Hay goes unnoticed, but it is similar to pure gold, its usefulness is equal to that of wheat, this is exactly what my grandmother remembered, sun feathers she liked to call gold threads.

Bringing back these words in black is a whirlwind of sensations for me, but I can't help but do it.

In the fields where the hay is stretched out like a warrior at rest he walks on a bright sunny day, enters from the east from where the King of Fire is born, passes from the north where to greet the kingdoms of Air, go down to the South to greet the lands of the Fire and go to the West where the King of Fire finally rests in the center of the field you will go and do all this, do this by reciting these words:

I ENTER FROM THE EAST IN THIS FIELD OF FEATHERS OF THE SUN AND GREETING THE KING OF FIRE AND THE KINGDOMS WHERE IT IS BORN!

I TAKE MY LOOK AND MY STEPS TOWARDS THE LANDS OF THE NORTHERN AIR WHERE THE WINDS OF CREATION Dwell!

I TURN MY LOOK AND MY STEPS TOWARDS THE SOUTHERN LANDS WHERE SACRED FIRE LIES!

I TAKE MY STEPS WEST WHERE THE KING OF FIRE LIES WHEN IT RESTS!

NOW I GO TO THE CENTER UNDER THE KING OF FIRE AND I SEE HIS FEATHERS, ONE BOUQUET FOR THE NORTH, ONE FOR THE SOUTH, ONE FOR THE EAST, ONE FOR THE WEST.

Here you have collected the four bundles of Sun Feathers! Weave them fastening them at the sides with golden rope, it will protect your home from any spell!

Plant it on the door of the door that forms an arch upwards, nothing evil will cross it.

Delfina Croce

translated by Marius Deprède

The Cantina del Rustico

[notizieoggi2023]

Senza figli e brand, Ferragni sparisce dai social I Ferragnez sono sempre più distanti. Fedez e Chiara Ferragni hanno trascorso separati le vacanze di Pasqua, l'uno a distanza di migliaia di chilometri dall'altra. L'influencer, infatti, è volata a Dubai insieme ai figli e alla sua famiglia di origine, mentre Fedez ha preferito una vacanza in montagna all'insegna dell'ostentazione, tra vini di lusso e supercar. Ma i due bimbi, Vittoria e Leone, non hanno fatto in tempo a rientrare in Italia che sono stati portati dal padre in un altro viaggio dall'altra parte del mondo, a Miami. Un viaggio agognato da Fedez, che non ha nascosto nei giorni precedenti di provare una forte nostalgia per i figli. E Chiara Ferragni? Di lei si sono perse le tracce al ritorno da Dubai. Niente storie e niente post per l'influencer, che da 4 giorni non si fa più viva con i suoi follower su nessuna piattaforma. Anche Telegram, dove aveva promesso di essere presente e di interagire con i follower più fedeli, è stato abbandonato, probabilmente perché non ha raggiunto il numero di seguaci che si aspettava. Ma al di là di questo, l'influencer sembra che senza i figli non abbia alcuna freccia al suo arco per creare nuovi contenuti. Possibile che un'imprenditrice digitale da oltre 29milioni di follower non sappia come riempire i suoi social senza i figli? Fin dal suo sbarco su Instagram, ben prima di aspettare Leone, Ferragni ha condiviso con i follower tips di moda, spesso sponsorizzate. Borse, abiti, gioielli, scarpe: il suo profilo era una vetrina del lusso. Ma dal pandoro gate in poi, i brand hanno preso le distanze dalla sua immagine e hanno ritirato i contratti. Cosa rimane a Chiara Ferragni? Rimane solo la sua immagine, ampiamente, se non definitivamente, compromessa. L'implicito accordo di fiducia tra follower e influencer è stato distrutto dal caso Balocco e a Ferragni è rimasta una fan base "sfruttabile" molto bassa, sicuramente inferiore a quei 29milioni nominali di fan che si leggono sul profilo. Senza bambini da "usare" per creare empatia, senza brand da usare per creare guadagno e con l'immagine ai minimi storici, Ferragni si ritrova con un enorme vuoto, come dimostra la sua assenza. Deve trovare il coraggio e la forza di reinventarsi, di andare oltre quello che è sempre stata se non vuole continuare ad affondare senza reagire.

[wotakugobrazil]

No vasto universo dos animes, narrativas ambientadas em realidades alternativas oferecem aos espectadores uma mistura única de fantasia, mistério e introspecção. Essas histórias se desenrolam em mundos distintos do nosso, mas refletem aspectos da sociedade humana, provocando paralelos instigantes. Um exemplo primordial é Steins;Gate, que explora o conceito de viagem no tempo e universos paralelos, transportando os espectadores para um mundo repleto de reviravoltas inesperadas, arcos de personagens cativantes e intrigas científicas. Os animes de realidades alternativas oferecem mais do que mera evasão – eles desafiam nossas perspectivas, nos convidam a imaginar possibilidades e nos cativam com sua mistura distintiva de arte, narrativa e construção de mundo intricada. 6 Code Geass Code Geass é um envolvente anime de mecha ambientado em uma realidade alternativa, onde o Santo Império de Britannia conquistou o Japão, agora chamado de Área 11. O protagonista, Lelouch, um príncipe britânico vivendo no exílio, adquire um poder chamado Geass, que lhe dá a habilidade de comandar qualquer pessoa. Movido pelo desejo de vingança e por um mundo melhor, Lelouch inicia uma rebelião contra Britannia. Repleto de ação emocionante, batalhas de mechas, personagens complexos, agendas políticas e uma exploração profunda da moralidade, Code Geass oferece uma experiência de visualização extraordinária. 5 Attack on Titan Attack on Titan é um envolvente anime de realidade alternativa ambientado em um mundo onde os humanos estão à beira da extinção, confinados dentro de enormes paredes para se protegerem dos Titãs, criaturas humanoides gigantes. A história se concentra em Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman e Armin Arlert, três amigos determinados a mudar suas circunstâncias desesperadoras. Eles se juntam ao exército para lutar contra os Titãs e descobrem segredos profundos sobre seu mundo. Attack on Titan redefiniu o gênero pós-apocalíptico, cativando o público com sequências de ação intensas, trama cheia de suspense, sequências de horror e drama. 4 Psycho-Pass Psycho-Pass é um anime de cyberpunk de realidade alternativa distópica ambientado em um futuro onde o estado mental de uma pessoa e sua propensão para o crime podem ser instantaneamente quantificados e policiados. A história segue Akane Tsunemori, uma nova inspetora, enquanto ela lida com as implicações éticas desse sistema aparentemente utópico. O anime explora temas instigantes, como controle social, moralidade e a natureza do livre arbítrio. Com sua estética noir, ação intensa e personagens complexos, Psycho-Pass apresenta uma visão arrepiante, mas cativante, de um futuro tecnologicamente avançado. 3 Sword Art Online Sword Art Online é um anime de realidade alternativa ambientado em um mundo próximo do futuro, onde o jogo de realidade virtual MMORPG é avançado e amplamente aceito. A história segue o protagonista Kirito e outros presos dentro de Sword Art Online, um jogo onde a morte no mundo virtual significa morte na realidade. A única maneira de escapar é limpar todos os níveis do jogo. A série mostra as implicações potenciais da tecnologia imersiva, com emocionantes sequências de ação e uma fusão de fantasia com realidade digital. Sword Art Online envolve os espectadores com sua aventura de alto risco e narrativa intrigante. 2 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood é um anime de realidade alternativa ambientado em um mundo onde a alquimia, a ciência metafísica de manipulação da matéria, é uma técnica amplamente praticada. A história segue os irmãos Elric, que buscam a Pedra Filosofal para reparar seus corpos após uma tentativa catastrófica de reviver sua mãe falecida usando a alquimia. O anime está repleto de ação, aventura e fantasia, enquanto explora a ética da ciência e da humanidade. A narrativa envolvente, a caracterização rica e a profundidade filosófica tornam Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood uma série aclamada no mundo dos animes. 1 Steins;Gate Steins;Gate é um anime de realidade alternativa amplamente aclamado ambientado em Akihabara, Tóquio, que explora o conceito de viagem no tempo e universos paralelos. A história gira em torno do cientista excêntrico Rintarou Okabe e seus amigos, que inventam acidentalmente um dispositivo de viagem no tempo e mergulham em uma série de linhas temporais complexas e perigosas. Steins;Gate é uma mistura cativante de ciência, suspense e drama humano. O anime equilibra habilmente suas teorias científicas intrincadas com narrativas profundamente centradas em personagens, resultando em uma jornada emocionante e repleta de suspense. Ele explora as implicações éticas e emocionais de alterar as linhas do tempo. Confira também: Origem: Criticalhits

[pablolarah]

Circo Voador & Fundição Progresso.

Fundição Progresso:

The building on Rua dos Arcos was built in 1881, and until 1976 it was the first to house the Progresso Stove Factory - "all made of national iron" and "qualified to produce safes, stoves, irons, water tanks, iron and steel doors and gates and in general any and all foundry and locksmith work", according to an article published in the Jornal de Brasil in 1916 - and then the Foundry of Irons and Other Metals. For many years, it was the city's main supplier of iron railings, which were previously imported. The factory was expropriated in 1975, due to the project to build a large avenue that would cut through the entire city center.

Circo Voador:

(Portuguese for Flying Circus) is a concert venue located adjacent to the Carioca Aqueduct in the Lapa neighborhood, it is a large tent-like structure covering the stage and spectator areas, but with open sides. It has weekly concerts by Brazilian bands and artists, with occasional appearances by foreign artists or theme parties. Circo Voador began in Arpoador, the peninsula between Ipanema and Copacabana, when local artists erected a circus tent to display their work. The city eventually granted the land where the venue currently sits as a permanent home

Lapa, Rio de Janeiro

Made with ❤️ & Photoshop

[lloydfrontera]

Oh that og lloyd returns and suho goes through the reincarnation gate ask and answer were incredible. I'm usually like happy ending and would have said that what if javier does the same where he goes to verkis and try to get suho lloyd and does bring him, because i can't imagine suho lloyd staying in seoul alone or worst, but then would it have a happy ending? with him there with og lloyd, he'll also have mixed feelings because it's not the og lloyd he talked at the train or its the same buy forgot their conversation

let's not forget the before suho lloyd comes back and weeks passed by already lorasia, the people of the county, the engineers, the white calvary, alicia, solitas, cordius, orcs, elf, sees og lloyd act and well this is not the person the person that they allied and spent time with

I sincerely agree with this "all in all. not a good time for anyone! which i think fucks i love this scenario it really woke up the brain worms <3"

about this

it's such a fun au because it makes everything immediately worse <3

i also tend to like happy endings more than anything else but i do admit i like putting my blorbos in situations even more salkdjsfds

and yeah javier definitely went looking for lloyd in this au too. probably even sooner than he did in canon lol. cause at least in canon he was certain that lloyd had just been reborn, he thought that he was lost to him forever, that the best he could get was to know if he was happy in his next life. in this version he wouldn't be so sure. after all lloyd crossed the gate and now og lloyd is back. so clearly the reincarnation gate doesn't work as straightforwardly as one might first have assumed.

i think the moment he snapped out of his "should i just throw him back" moment and the guilt over his momentary lapse of control passed he would've gone straight to the jewel of truth and asked what happened to lloyd. and then gone bother one of the most powerful beings in the universe into opening a portal to his bf.

fuck the consequences he wants his lloyd back goddammit

this would simultaneously make everything better and also worse.

better because at least now lloyd isn't, y'know, dead and so everyone who cares for him in whatever shape or form isn't mourning him. arcos and marbella would especially be overjoyed, because now they have all of their children together, they're all okay, they're all safe and this time it will probably stick. julian,,, would be conflicted because he now has to deal with the fact the brother he thought he knew had been lying to him for years and (non-maliciously as it might have been) tricked him into forgiving the person who made his life hell almost his entire life and now there's no handy grief to make it easy to overlook all of that. but i do think he would be very, very happy his hyung he loves and admires so much is alive and safe and now they can get to know each other for real.

worse because now lloyd isn't dead and og lloyd gets to see just how much everyone loves him. just how much respect and affection he earned, how much he achieved, how loved he became in just five years compared to what og lloyd did in his entire life. and man would that suck for the guy. like. genuinely would be a terrible thing to go through. but again. i don't think he would do anything about it. like. he wouldn't see the point. he'd be angry, he'd throw some epic tantrums but i don't think he would put in the effort to change his behavior.

in canon og lloyd achieved some kind of resignation and peace with his situation because he saw first hand the kind of stuff lloyd did, he followed him around, he saw how much effort he put in, the kind of things he went through... it's hard to deny someone has earned something when you see them put their sweat blood and tears into it.

in this au, this og lloyd doesn't get that. as far as he knows he passed out one night and then woke up five-ish years later to find that no only did some fucker walk around in his body for all that time but everyone that he knows is mourning the man. the fucking guy who stole his body. like. yeah i would kind of also be pissed i'm not gonna lie.

he doesn't know how bad things got, how hard it was to save the estate, hell, the entire country, he'd only see all the results and none of the struggles. he wouldn't get why people, his family especially, are so happy to have him back. and he'd get very angry about i think.

and to be fair his anger would be mostly outrage at lloyd stealing his body (unintentionally but still), jealousy and some genuinely hurt feelings. i do think he'd be understandably hurt that his family is apparently more concerned about the guy that impersonated him than for him who was gone for years (*cough* even if i do think he kind of earned it *cough*)

as for lloyd,,, yeah no this is not an ideal situation for him either. he'd be over the moon at being able to come back, don't get me wrong, that part wouldn't change, but to come face to face with the guy he accidentally replaced, whose family he kind of took as his, and who doesn't remember the conversation and tentative truce they came to in hell,,, definitely not how he hoped this would go.

i don't know if he would actually feel very guilty cause like. well at least the guy is alive now. and he's no longer doomed to a self-caused premature death. and he gets to live in a debt-free estate that's been turned into the most powerful territory of the whole continent. so like. he thinks og lloyd got a pretty good deal out of it. yeah losing five years sucks but he would've died a couple years ago anyway.

i do think he'd feel very awkward about calling arcos and marbella 'father' and 'mother' like he wanted to. if he already felt awkward in canon it would be even worse in this au with og lloyd glaring at him from a corner any time their parents so much at smile at him. i don't think it would stop him completely, but he'd definitely tone it down when they're all together.

let's not forget the before suho lloyd comes back and weeks passed by already lorasia, the people of the county, the engineers, the white calvary, alicia, solitas, cordius, orcs, elf, sees og lloyd act and well this is not the person the person that they allied and spent time with

ooff yeah, it's one thing in canon when lloyd just goes away and then comes back with a new face. here they would actually have to deal with the original guy and like. he sucks </3

i do wish we had more info about how much of the situation is public knowledge. we know a couple people know about the whole kim suho thing once he comes back but i don't know how much the fronteras would've told anyone about it beforehand. my guess would be nothing, because honestly it was none of their business lol but i guess in this au they would have to offer some kind of explanation. either they tell the truth or they pretend og lloyd has amnesia and that's why he's different of the way people expect him to be. either way i think it would be a very hard sell in either scenario. funny enough i think the lie is actually more believable in this case lol

again. not a great situation for anyone involved! which i think it's fantastic! maybe not to them but to me <3 which is the most important thing here <33

[cesarriospvrealtor]

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