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Nice Image Database photos

Check out these image database images:


Pixfav-Images You Love to View
image database
Image by PixFav.com
Great Collection of Pictures from allover the Internet.Our Database has Thousands of Inspiring Pictures...@ Pixfav.com


Pixfav-Images You Love to View
image database
Image by PixFav.com
Great Collection of Pictures from allover the Internet.Our Database has Thousands of Inspiring Pictures...@ Pixfav.com

Cool Photo Editing images

Check out these photo editing images:


Waterfront Storm
photo editing
Image by Rusty Russ
This is what happens when you fool around with Mother Nature in Photoshop

Cool Photo Cards images

Check out these photo cards images:


New mini promo cards
photo cards
Image by Kasaa
handcut with my favorite border cutter


Yellow Card
photo cards
Image by joncandy
04/02/12 Cardiff V Blackpool, Championship, Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales

girl in shopping cart

Check out these photo collages images:


girl in shopping cart
photo collages
Image by s.t.a.r.k.
this was a really cool photo collage in the club casa de matriz in botafogo. unfortunately the flash is overexposed, but i will try to get a better shot next time i am there..


Photos from my 22nd Birthday
photo collages
Image by Dalboz17
Dan has a photography style all his own, and he was in possession of the camera that night. His photos make for a really interesting collage as they're of a variety of objects and people and usually with really close framing. I really like this and wanna print one and hang it on my wall when my room's done.

Nice Edit Image photos

Some cool edit image images:



FX PhotoStudio Image
edit image
Image by DeeAshley
Big Sur

Cool Image Url images

A few nice image url images I found:


Henrietta Rodman (LOC)
image url
Image by The Library of Congress
Bain News Service,, publisher.

Henrietta Rodman

[between ca. 1910 and ca. 1915]

1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.

Notes:
Title from unverified data provided by the Bain News Service on the negatives or caption cards.
Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).

Format: Glass negatives.

Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.

Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

General information about the Bain Collection is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.ggbain

Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.17763

Call Number: LC-B2- 3290-12


ADRIATIC sailing (LOC)
image url
Image by The Library of Congress
Bain News Service,, publisher.

ADRIATIC sailing

[between ca. 1910 and ca. 1915]

1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.

Notes:
Title from unverified data provided by the Bain News Service on the negatives or caption cards.
Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).

Format: Glass negatives.

Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.

Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

General information about the Bain Collection is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.ggbain

Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.16809

Call Number: LC-B2- 3179-10


Mabel Boardman (LOC)
image url
Image by The Library of Congress
Bain News Service,, publisher.

Mabel Boardman

[between ca. 1910 and ca. 1915]

1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.

Notes:
Title from unverified data provided by the Bain News Service on the negatives or caption cards.
Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).

Format: Glass negatives.

Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.

Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

General information about the Bain Collection is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.ggbain

Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.17175

Call Number: LC-B2- 3222-13

World Cancer Day 2012 (05810268)

A few nice photo development images I found:


World Cancer Day 2012 (05810268)
photo development
Image by IAEA Imagebank
World Cancer Day 2012
Together it is Possible: World Cancer Day event at the Vienna International Centre. 2 February 2012

Copyright: IAEA Imagebank
Photo Credit: Dean Calma / IAEA


World Cancer Day 2012 (05810281)
photo development
Image by IAEA Imagebank
World Cancer Day 2012
Together it is Possible: World Cancer Day event at the Vienna International Centre. 2 February 2012

Opening remarks by OFID Director General Suleiman J. Al-Herbish.

Copyright: IAEA Imagebank
Photo Credit: Dean Calma / IAEA


05810283
photo development
Image by IAEA Imagebank
World Cancer Day 2012
Together it is Possible: World Cancer Day event at the Vienna International Centre. 2 February 2012

Copyright: IAEA Imagebank
Photo Credit: Dean Calma / IAEA

United Nations Secretariat

Some cool photo creator images:


United Nations Secretariat
photo creator
Image by Penn State Libraries Pictures Collection
Creator: Harrison, Wallace K.
Date: 1948-1951
Current location: New York, New York, U.S.A.
Description of work: General view from East River of the United Nations Secretariat, New York, NY, 1948-51 (S:1951-52). The building has a simple geometric form with a glass curtain wall. Any kid of historic features are missing. The building is a typical example of the International style. Photo 1958
Work type: Architecture and Landscape
Style of work: International style
Culture: American
Source: Society of Architectural Historians, Image Exchange (www.sah.org/imagex.html); Photographer: Stillman, Damie
Resource type: image
File format: JPG
Image size: 398x600 pixels
Permitted uses: This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. Other uses are not permitted. alias.libraries.psu.edu/vius/copyright/publicrightssah.htm
Collection: Worldwide Building and Landscape Pictures
Record ID: WB9382
Sub collection: government office buildings
skylines
waterfronts


Ashburn School Class, c.1890
photo creator
Image by Whitby Archives
Creator Name:
Unknown

Media Type:
Image

Description:
A black and white school photograph.

Notes:
The Ashburn School was located at 780 Myrtle Road West. It was built about 1861 on the north side of the 9th Concession of Whitby Township west of Ashburn Road. It was built by a stone mason named Pearson. Since 1967 this building has been used as a community centre.

Date of Original:
c.1890

Dimensions:
Width: 6cm
Height: 6cm

Image Dimensions:
Width: 6cm
Height: 6cm

Subject(s):
School children
school photos

Local identifier:
24-000-001

Geographic Coverage:
Canada - Ontario - Ontario - Ashburn

Copyright Statement:
Public domain: Copyright has expired according to Canadian law. No restrictions on use.

Reproduction Notes:
Scanned from a copy negative.

Contact:
Whitby Public Library
405 Dundas Street West, Whitby, Ontario, L1N 6A1
archives@whitbylibrary.on.ca
www.whitbylibrary.on.ca

For more images like this visit us at images.ourontario.ca/whitby/


Piazza della Rotonda
photo creator
Image by Penn State Libraries Pictures Collection
Creator: Della Porta, Giacomo, 1532-1602
Date: 1500
Current location: Rome, Italy
Description of work: View of Piazza della Rotonda with the Obelisk Ramses II seen in the background. The fountain of dolphin was designed by Giacomo Della Porta in 1575 and the statues were done by Filippo Barigioni and Vincenzo Felici. The obelisk was put on the fountain in 1711. The Obelisk is 6.34 meters tall and is from the 19th Dynasty which reigned B.C. 1304-1237. photo 1997
Work type: Architecture and Landscape
Style of work: Renaissance through Rococo
Culture: Italian
Subject of work: piazzas;
Source: copyright James DeTuerk; Photographer: DeTuerk, James
Resource type: image
File format: JPG
Image size: 1024x1280 pixels
Permitted uses: This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. Other uses are not permitted. alias.libraries.psu.edu/vius/copyright/publicrightsarch.htm h.htm
Collection: Worldwide Building and Landscape Pictures
Filename: Piazzo della Rotonda10.JPG
Record ID: WB6724

Nice Photo Backgrounds photos

Some cool photo backgrounds images:


My Little Water Lily
photo backgrounds
Image by peg5450
Made with paint shop pro 11

I tubed the baby and made her a tutu skirt....added her to a background.....duplicated petals and placed around her. Made a simple frame and add some sparkles and the butterfly.


Baby on White Seamless 13
photo backgrounds
Image by Tampa Band Photos
Always thought this shot would be great on the packaging for a baby toy or something of the sort.

Strobist Info:

2 x Alien Bees B1600 w/ 7" Reflector on 9' White Seamless Paper Background

1 x Alien Bees B1600 in 50" Softbox as key, positioned directly in front & pointing downward at a 45° angle.

www | twitter | facebook | 500px

KISSTROYER - IMG_7949

Some cool online photo edit images:


KISSTROYER - IMG_7949
online photo edit
Image by JamesDPhotography
Fans at the KISSTROYER Gig at Doncaster Shoppingtown Hotel on 29 June 2012

Visit KISSTROYER online at www.kisstroyer.com
Please do not copy, edit or change these files in anyway. These photos are KISSTROYER's and JamesD Photography's Copyright. All rights reserved. If you would like any of these photos for personal use please contact JamesD at www.jamesdphotography.com.au


KISSTROYER - IMG_7947
online photo edit
Image by JamesDPhotography
Fans at the KISSTROYER Gig at Doncaster Shoppingtown Hotel on 29 June 2012

Visit KISSTROYER online at www.kisstroyer.com
Please do not copy, edit or change these files in anyway. These photos are KISSTROYER's and JamesD Photography's Copyright. All rights reserved. If you would like any of these photos for personal use please contact JamesD at www.jamesdphotography.com.au

Monument, Martyrs' Square - Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats 3

Some cool photo sites images:


Monument, Martyrs' Square - Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats 3
photo sites
Image by historic.brussels

A brief history of Belgium, and the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats (Martyrs' Square) in that history -

Among the most moving places to visit in the capital of Belgium, is Martyrs' Square in Brussels, where over 400 heroes of the Belgian Revolution of 1830 lie buried in a crypt beneath the cobblestones. This square is usually known by its French name, La Place des Martyrs, or also by its Dutch name, De Martelaarsplaats. Many of the dead here lie not far from where they were shot, in fierce battles amid the Brussels streets and barricades.

A wonderful monument here honours these heroes who died for the cause of freedom, in the brief 1830-31 revolutionary war that created the Belgian nation.

Particularly extraordinary and moving at the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats, are four beautiful sculptures of angels, with the angels´ faces in touchingly eternal expressions of mourning for the brave ones who gave their lives for the freedom of others.

These are photos from the daily life of writer, journalist and political refugee from the US, Dr Les (Leslie) Sachs - I am someone who also has nearly died fighting for freedom for others.

These Flickr photos document my new beloved home city of Brussels, Belgium, my life among the people and Kingdom who have given me safety in the face of the threats to destroy me. Brussels has a noble history of providing a safe haven to other dissident refugee writers, such as Victor Hugo, Karl Marx, Charles Baudelaire, and Alexandre Dumas, and I shall forever be grateful that Brussels and Belgium have helped to protect my own life as well. I'm happy to help convey to the world some of Brussels' wonderful cultural heritage.

(To read about the efforts to silence me and my journalism, the attacks on me, the smears and the threats, see the website by European journalists 'About Les Sachs' linked in my Flickr profile, and press articles such as 'Two EU Writers Under Threat of Murder: Roberto Saviano and Dr Les Sachs'.)

The Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats remains a place where today's Belgians continue to remember and honour the heroes who died for them. Some weeks before the earlier group of these pictures were taken, on one rainy morning, I stood at the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats in the pouring rain, with a small group of Belgians in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, a number of them frail and supporting themselves unsteadily with canes on the uneven cobblestone surface, while a brass band was playing patriotic music. Though the rain was pouring down heavily on the Place des Martyrs, these elderly Belgians did not mind getting drenched, whatever the risk to their health, because these good people were children when the Nazis occupied Belgium, and that rainy day was a day to remember the Belgians who died fighting the fascist occupiers.

Quick sketch of the history of Belgium, and the historical role of Martyrs' Square -

The history of Belgium is not easy to outline. Belgium is today a nation with three official languages, reflecting its two large language groups of French and Dutch speakers, along with a small area whose native language is German. The Romans and Julius Caesar were in the neighbourhood over 2000 years ago, and Caesar wrote of fighting some fierce tribes here called the "Belgae", from whom the nation takes its name.

In fact, Julius Caesar referred to the Belgians or 'Belgae', in the very first sentence of his most famous book, 'De Bello Gallico', his commentary on the 'Gallic Wars': « Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae ... » « The whole of Gaul is divided into three parts, in one of which live the Belgians ... »

As the Roman Empire fell apart, the Belgian region was home to the Merovingian kings in the early "dark ages", and then was part of the empire of Charlemagne. Under Charlemagne's grandson Lothair and great-grandson King Lothair II, the area of current Belgium was part of a kingdom of 'Lotharingia' whose name we know today as the French 'Lorraine'. This kingdom rapidly divided among royal heirs, with 'Upper Lorraine' roughly inside what is now France, and Brussels becoming the capital of a 'Duchy of Lower Lorraine' - roughly today's Low Countries - when a castle was built in Brussels' old centre around the year 979.

Borders and regional identity continued to change quickly in the centuries after Charlemagne, the "high middle ages". What was 'Lower Lorraine' gave way to several of the great mediaeval territories and dukedoms spreading across differing sections of what is now Belgium, with names we still hear today: Flanders, Brabant, Luxembourg. And various smaller territories and fiefdoms were also a part here, amid the ever-shifting landscape of mediaeval and feudal Europe.

The middle part of Belgium, including Brussels, was the historic territory of Brabant, and the Dukes of Brabant, about the year 1100, built premises right at what is known today in Brussels as the Royal Square - Place Royale - Kongingsplaats.

Brabant and much of Belgium then came to be part of the great late-mediaeval dukedom of Burgundy, which reached the height of influence in the 1400s with Brussels as the Burgundian capital along with Dijon. At its height, Burgundy was regarded by many as the richest court in all Europe. Today's independent Belgium is thus a remnant of that long-ago much larger Renaissance realm of Burgundy, as well as of the even more ancient kingdom of mediaeval Lotharingia.

The area of today's Belgium kept its leading role in Europe in the early 1500s, as Burgundy in turn was enveloped into the Holy Roman Empire at its height. The towns of Belgium gave birth and upbringing to the Emperor Charles V, who at one point ruled most of Europe from Brussels. So, about 500 years ago, Brussels was already the 'centre' of Europe.

After Charles, his empire began to break apart, and the territory of today's Belgium had a succession of foreign rulers from within Charles V's widely-flung Habsburg family: First the Spanish, who kept hold of the territory we now call Belgium, while the Dutch to the north broke away during the Protestant Reformation. After the 'War of the Spanish Succession', the Habsburg territories were further divided, with Belgium going under Austrian control from 1714 onwards.

It was under the Austrians, in the late 1700s, that elegant buildings began to be built around a large square which was named the Place Saint-Michel, or Saint Michael's Square. This would later become Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats that you see here.

The beginning of the end of Austrian rule, and the beginning of the story of modern independent Belgium, was the 'Brabantine Revolution' (Révolution Brabançonne - Brabantse Revolutie), whereby in 1789 much of what is now Belgium, asserted its full independence from its then-rulers, the Habsburg emperors of Austria.

In sympathy and parallel with the epoch-changing revolution of 1789 in next-door France, the rebellious provinces of 'Austrian Netherlands' also went into rebellion that same year, and declared the deposition of the Austrian Habsburg Emperor, and the creation of the 'United Belgian States' (États-Belgiques-Unis - Verenigde Belgische Staten), which endured only briefly in 1789-1790. The 'Belgian' name came from the Latin word used by Julius Caesar to identify the fierce fighting tribes who inhabited this region in Caesar's day, the 'Belgae'.

In 1789, the seals of the document declaring the 'United Belgian States' to be 'free' and 'independent', were ornamented by silken tassels of black, yellow and red. The flag of the short-lived Belgian nation of 1789-90, then used these three colours, though in horizontal stripes and in a different order than the current vertically-striped Belgian flag.

The Austrians were able to briefly re-assert control of Belgium in 1790, then lost it to French control in 1792, and won it back one final time in 1793-94. The French then retained control, annexing most of what is now Belgium into France in 1795. As the Napoleonic era ended, Belgium was separated from France in 1814-1815.

As Napoléon was being defeated and his Empire terminated, the European nations meeting at the Council of Vienna of 1814-15, thought that the territories north of France, including modern Belgium and Luxembourg, should all be under the Dutch monarch, creating a single large buffer state between France and England.

The European powers meeting in Vienna avoided what might have seemed a more logical idea, of uniting only Dutch-speaking regions with the Netherlands, while letting the French-speaking regions of Wallonia remain united with France. The powers of 1815 did not want to reward France with territorial expansion to the north, precisely in the area around where Napoléon met his final defeat at Waterloo.

But the Vienna plan of shoving the French-speakers of Wallonia into a new Dutch monarchy, and expanding the Dutch nation and doubling its size, proved to be very unstable. The Dutch of the Netherlands were predominantly Protestant, while the southern populations, including the Dutch-speakers of Flanders, were predominantly Roman Catholic. And not only did the Catholic territories have large numbers of French speakers, the people in Flanders also speak a modestly different Dutch than in the Netherlands, which led them to chafe against the Dutch monarchy in sympathy with their French-speaking neighbours.

Tensions grew until an August, 1830 performance at the Brussels opera house, where political rebellion portrayed on the stage, became a catalyst for rebellion in the streets.

In September of 1830 the street rebellions became a full-blown revolution for Belgian independence. The Place Saint-Michel, Saint Michael's Square, a few hundred metres from the opera house where the fuse for revolution had been lit, became a key site for the declaration of Belgian liberty and independence, and a pivotal site in the fierce and deadly street battles. The central days of the revolution in September 1830 - the 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th - are the dates inscribed upon the tablet held by the high figure in the monument that you see in the photos, representing the angel or goddess of the Belgian home nation (Latin 'patria'), with a lion by her side.

In 1830, with the hundreds of dead from the revolutionary battles, the decision was made to bury them there at the square, which now became the Square of the Martyrs of Freedom.

The revolution was quickly successful. Some battles continued to take place into 1831, as the Dutch made a last try to hold onto the Belgian territory, but the separation of Belgium and Luxembourg was speedily recognised and secured by the other European powers.

The Revolution of 1830 enabled Belgium to finally fulfil the dreams of the Belgian revolutionaries of 1789. The current Belgian tri-colour flag was established in 1831, using the 1789 colours of the 'Brabantine Revolution'. Belgium became a nation and even acquired a king of its own, the Protestant German Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, who agreed to marry the Catholic daughter of the French monarch, and raise their children as French-speaking Roman Catholics, while he became the first hereditary King of the Belgians.

And today, the political refugee Dr Les (Leslie) Sachs, may owe the saving of his life in the face of the threats to murder him, to protection extended from the royal household of the King of the Belgians, the descendant of that first Belgian monarch.

Léopold I, who was born in 1790, reigned in Belgium until 1865. Early in his reign, he supervised the building of this monument at Martyrs' Square. In one of the photos of the angels by the monument, you see between two angels the large plaque with the text in Latin. Two dates are given. The first is that of the declaration of the nation's identity, on the 25th of September 1830, a date closely tied to the death of the martyrs buried in the crypt below. The second date, the 25th of September 1840, is the date of the completion and dedication of the main part of the monument, with the final line noting that this took place under Léopold I as the reigning monarch.

Though the main monument structure was indeed completed and dedicated in 1840, the lovely and magnificent angels were added some years later, in 1848. Today, it is these sculptured angels which, above all, give Martyrs' Square its high character of deep emotion and magnificence.

The buildings around the square have, over the centuries, partially fallen into a difficult state, and you see one of the buildings undergoing inside-out comprehensive renovation in the photos. The overall revival and restoration of Martyrs' Square has been given a major boost, however, by the government of Belgium's majority Flemish-speaking region.

Belgium today is about 60 per cent Dutch-speaking, with most of the remainder French-speakers along with a few native German-speakers. Brussels itself is officially bi-lingual, and historically was predominantly a Dutch-speaking city through the centuries, from the mediaeval and Renaissance era down to early modern times. However, this changed in the 1800s, and Brussels today is at least 70 per cent French-speaking, with many of the rest of Brussels residents foreign-born rather than Dutch-speaking.

Yet, in one of the many curious paradoxes of Belgium's governmental arrangements, the predominantly French-speaking Brussels remains the 'capital' of the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders, while the French language community of Belgium has its capital in the provincial city of Namur.

Thus today, the Martelaarsplaats - Place des Martyrs, is the site of major national offices of Dutch-speaking Flanders. The Flemish government holds the two major buildings facing each other across the longer distance of the square, and the one you see in the photos in close-up with the three flags over the doorway (the EU flag, the Belgian flag, and the predominantly yellow Flemish flag) is actually the 'Kabinet van de Minister-President' of the 'Vlaamse Regering', or the 'Office of the Minister-President' (Prime Minister) of the Flemish government.

In front of the office of the Flemish Prime Minister, is a monument built in 1897 and dedicated to one of the particular martyrs of the Revolution, Jenneval. 'Jenneval' was the stage name of Louis Alexandre Hippolyte Dechez, as 'Jenneval' a well-known actor, who died from wounds in battle in October 1830. But some weeks before his death, Jenneval penned some of the original words to the Belgian national anthem, the Brabançonne. This monument to Jenneval was dedicated in 1897, on September 25th, precisely amid the 67th anniversary of the 1830 Belgian revolution for independence.

The inscriptions on the Jenneval monument are in both Dutch and French on opposite sides of it, though the French inscription is extremely weather-worn and hard to read. The inscriptions are:

Aan Jenneval
Dichter der Brabançonne
Gesneuveld voor 's lands
Onafhankelijkheid
Hulde der stad Brussel
25 september 1897

À Jenneval
Poète de la Brabançonne
Mort pour l'indépendance
Nationale
Hommage de la ville
de Bruxelles
25 septembre 1897

To Jenneval
Poet of the Brabançonne
Slain for his country's / the nation's independence
A tribute of the city of Brussels
25 September 1897

On the far opposite side of the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats, in front of the other Flemish government building here, is a monument to another hero of the Belgian Revolution, Comte (Count) Frédéric de Mérode, who was mortally wounded in battle in October 1830 and died a few days later in early November. His brother, Count Félix de Mérode, was a major figure in the Belgian provisional government in the weeks of revolution.

The Mérode monument also carries inscriptions on opposite sides in both French and Dutch:

À
Frédéric de Mérode
Mort pour l'indépendance
De la patrie

Aan
Frederic de Merode
Gestorven voor de
Onafhankelijkheid
van het vaderland

To
Frédéric de Mérode
Who died for the independence
Of our home country

The map with this Flickr photo set will show you how to walk to the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats. It is a few minutes' walk from either the De Brouckère or Rogier métro stations, via the popular rue Neuve - Nieuwstraat shopping promenade that runs between De Brouckère and Rogier. As you walk along the rue Neuve - Nieuwstraat, you see it visible a very few metres to the east along one of the intersections, at the Rue Saint-Michel - Sint-Michielsstraat, with the central monument of the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats clearly visible.


Angel sculpture, Martyrs' Square - Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats 2
photo sites
Image by historic.brussels

A brief history of Belgium, and the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats (Martyrs' Square) in that history -

Among the most moving places to visit in the capital of Belgium, is Martyrs' Square in Brussels, where over 400 heroes of the Belgian Revolution of 1830 lie buried in a crypt beneath the cobblestones. This square is usually known by its French name, La Place des Martyrs, or also by its Dutch name, De Martelaarsplaats. Many of the dead here lie not far from where they were shot, in fierce battles amid the Brussels streets and barricades.

A wonderful monument here honours these heroes who died for the cause of freedom, in the brief 1830-31 revolutionary war that created the Belgian nation.

Particularly extraordinary and moving at the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats, are four beautiful sculptures of angels, with the angels´ faces in touchingly eternal expressions of mourning for the brave ones who gave their lives for the freedom of others.

These are photos from the daily life of writer, journalist and political refugee from the US, Dr Les (Leslie) Sachs - I am someone who also has nearly died fighting for freedom for others.

These Flickr photos document my new beloved home city of Brussels, Belgium, my life among the people and Kingdom who have given me safety in the face of the threats to destroy me. Brussels has a noble history of providing a safe haven to other dissident refugee writers, such as Victor Hugo, Karl Marx, Charles Baudelaire, and Alexandre Dumas, and I shall forever be grateful that Brussels and Belgium have helped to protect my own life as well. I'm happy to help convey to the world some of Brussels' wonderful cultural heritage.

(To read about the efforts to silence me and my journalism, the attacks on me, the smears and the threats, see the website by European journalists 'About Les Sachs' linked in my Flickr profile, and press articles such as 'Two EU Writers Under Threat of Murder: Roberto Saviano and Dr Les Sachs'.)

The Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats remains a place where today's Belgians continue to remember and honour the heroes who died for them. Some weeks before the earlier group of these pictures were taken, on one rainy morning, I stood at the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats in the pouring rain, with a small group of Belgians in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, a number of them frail and supporting themselves unsteadily with canes on the uneven cobblestone surface, while a brass band was playing patriotic music. Though the rain was pouring down heavily on the Place des Martyrs, these elderly Belgians did not mind getting drenched, whatever the risk to their health, because these good people were children when the Nazis occupied Belgium, and that rainy day was a day to remember the Belgians who died fighting the fascist occupiers.

Quick sketch of the history of Belgium, and the historical role of Martyrs' Square -

The history of Belgium is not easy to outline. Belgium is today a nation with three official languages, reflecting its two large language groups of French and Dutch speakers, along with a small area whose native language is German. The Romans and Julius Caesar were in the neighbourhood over 2000 years ago, and Caesar wrote of fighting some fierce tribes here called the "Belgae", from whom the nation takes its name.

In fact, Julius Caesar referred to the Belgians or 'Belgae', in the very first sentence of his most famous book, 'De Bello Gallico', his commentary on the 'Gallic Wars': « Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae ... » « The whole of Gaul is divided into three parts, in one of which live the Belgians ... »

As the Roman Empire fell apart, the Belgian region was home to the Merovingian kings in the early "dark ages", and then was part of the empire of Charlemagne. Under Charlemagne's grandson Lothair and great-grandson King Lothair II, the area of current Belgium was part of a kingdom of 'Lotharingia' whose name we know today as the French 'Lorraine'. This kingdom rapidly divided among royal heirs, with 'Upper Lorraine' roughly inside what is now France, and Brussels becoming the capital of a 'Duchy of Lower Lorraine' - roughly today's Low Countries - when a castle was built in Brussels' old centre around the year 979.

Borders and regional identity continued to change quickly in the centuries after Charlemagne, the "high middle ages". What was 'Lower Lorraine' gave way to several of the great mediaeval territories and dukedoms spreading across differing sections of what is now Belgium, with names we still hear today: Flanders, Brabant, Luxembourg. And various smaller territories and fiefdoms were also a part here, amid the ever-shifting landscape of mediaeval and feudal Europe.

The middle part of Belgium, including Brussels, was the historic territory of Brabant, and the Dukes of Brabant, about the year 1100, built premises right at what is known today in Brussels as the Royal Square - Place Royale - Kongingsplaats.

Brabant and much of Belgium then came to be part of the great late-mediaeval dukedom of Burgundy, which reached the height of influence in the 1400s with Brussels as the Burgundian capital along with Dijon. At its height, Burgundy was regarded by many as the richest court in all Europe. Today's independent Belgium is thus a remnant of that long-ago much larger Renaissance realm of Burgundy, as well as of the even more ancient kingdom of mediaeval Lotharingia.

The area of today's Belgium kept its leading role in Europe in the early 1500s, as Burgundy in turn was enveloped into the Holy Roman Empire at its height. The towns of Belgium gave birth and upbringing to the Emperor Charles V, who at one point ruled most of Europe from Brussels. So, about 500 years ago, Brussels was already the 'centre' of Europe.

After Charles, his empire began to break apart, and the territory of today's Belgium had a succession of foreign rulers from within Charles V's widely-flung Habsburg family: First the Spanish, who kept hold of the territory we now call Belgium, while the Dutch to the north broke away during the Protestant Reformation. After the 'War of the Spanish Succession', the Habsburg territories were further divided, with Belgium going under Austrian control from 1714 onwards.

It was under the Austrians, in the late 1700s, that elegant buildings began to be built around a large square which was named the Place Saint-Michel, or Saint Michael's Square. This would later become Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats that you see here.

The beginning of the end of Austrian rule, and the beginning of the story of modern independent Belgium, was the 'Brabantine Revolution' (Révolution Brabançonne - Brabantse Revolutie), whereby in 1789 much of what is now Belgium, asserted its full independence from its then-rulers, the Habsburg emperors of Austria.

In sympathy and parallel with the epoch-changing revolution of 1789 in next-door France, the rebellious provinces of 'Austrian Netherlands' also went into rebellion that same year, and declared the deposition of the Austrian Habsburg Emperor, and the creation of the 'United Belgian States' (États-Belgiques-Unis - Verenigde Belgische Staten), which endured only briefly in 1789-1790. The 'Belgian' name came from the Latin word used by Julius Caesar to identify the fierce fighting tribes who inhabited this region in Caesar's day, the 'Belgae'.

In 1789, the seals of the document declaring the 'United Belgian States' to be 'free' and 'independent', were ornamented by silken tassels of black, yellow and red. The flag of the short-lived Belgian nation of 1789-90, then used these three colours, though in horizontal stripes and in a different order than the current vertically-striped Belgian flag.

The Austrians were able to briefly re-assert control of Belgium in 1790, then lost it to French control in 1792, and won it back one final time in 1793-94. The French then retained control, annexing most of what is now Belgium into France in 1795. As the Napoleonic era ended, Belgium was separated from France in 1814-1815.

As Napoléon was being defeated and his Empire terminated, the European nations meeting at the Council of Vienna of 1814-15, thought that the territories north of France, including modern Belgium and Luxembourg, should all be under the Dutch monarch, creating a single large buffer state between France and England.

The European powers meeting in Vienna avoided what might have seemed a more logical idea, of uniting only Dutch-speaking regions with the Netherlands, while letting the French-speaking regions of Wallonia remain united with France. The powers of 1815 did not want to reward France with territorial expansion to the north, precisely in the area around where Napoléon met his final defeat at Waterloo.

But the Vienna plan of shoving the French-speakers of Wallonia into a new Dutch monarchy, and expanding the Dutch nation and doubling its size, proved to be very unstable. The Dutch of the Netherlands were predominantly Protestant, while the southern populations, including the Dutch-speakers of Flanders, were predominantly Roman Catholic. And not only did the Catholic territories have large numbers of French speakers, the people in Flanders also speak a modestly different Dutch than in the Netherlands, which led them to chafe against the Dutch monarchy in sympathy with their French-speaking neighbours.

Tensions grew until an August, 1830 performance at the Brussels opera house, where political rebellion portrayed on the stage, became a catalyst for rebellion in the streets.

In September of 1830 the street rebellions became a full-blown revolution for Belgian independence. The Place Saint-Michel, Saint Michael's Square, a few hundred metres from the opera house where the fuse for revolution had been lit, became a key site for the declaration of Belgian liberty and independence, and a pivotal site in the fierce and deadly street battles. The central days of the revolution in September 1830 - the 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th - are the dates inscribed upon the tablet held by the high figure in the monument that you see in the photos, representing the angel or goddess of the Belgian home nation (Latin 'patria'), with a lion by her side.

In 1830, with the hundreds of dead from the revolutionary battles, the decision was made to bury them there at the square, which now became the Square of the Martyrs of Freedom.

The revolution was quickly successful. Some battles continued to take place into 1831, as the Dutch made a last try to hold onto the Belgian territory, but the separation of Belgium and Luxembourg was speedily recognised and secured by the other European powers.

The Revolution of 1830 enabled Belgium to finally fulfil the dreams of the Belgian revolutionaries of 1789. The current Belgian tri-colour flag was established in 1831, using the 1789 colours of the 'Brabantine Revolution'. Belgium became a nation and even acquired a king of its own, the Protestant German Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, who agreed to marry the Catholic daughter of the French monarch, and raise their children as French-speaking Roman Catholics, while he became the first hereditary King of the Belgians.

And today, the political refugee Dr Les (Leslie) Sachs, may owe the saving of his life in the face of the threats to murder him, to protection extended from the royal household of the King of the Belgians, the descendant of that first Belgian monarch.

Léopold I, who was born in 1790, reigned in Belgium until 1865. Early in his reign, he supervised the building of this monument at Martyrs' Square. In one of the photos of the angels by the monument, you see between two angels the large plaque with the text in Latin. Two dates are given. The first is that of the declaration of the nation's identity, on the 25th of September 1830, a date closely tied to the death of the martyrs buried in the crypt below. The second date, the 25th of September 1840, is the date of the completion and dedication of the main part of the monument, with the final line noting that this took place under Léopold I as the reigning monarch.

Though the main monument structure was indeed completed and dedicated in 1840, the lovely and magnificent angels were added some years later, in 1848. Today, it is these sculptured angels which, above all, give Martyrs' Square its high character of deep emotion and magnificence.

The buildings around the square have, over the centuries, partially fallen into a difficult state, and you see one of the buildings undergoing inside-out comprehensive renovation in the photos. The overall revival and restoration of Martyrs' Square has been given a major boost, however, by the government of Belgium's majority Flemish-speaking region.

Belgium today is about 60 per cent Dutch-speaking, with most of the remainder French-speakers along with a few native German-speakers. Brussels itself is officially bi-lingual, and historically was predominantly a Dutch-speaking city through the centuries, from the mediaeval and Renaissance era down to early modern times. However, this changed in the 1800s, and Brussels today is at least 70 per cent French-speaking, with many of the rest of Brussels residents foreign-born rather than Dutch-speaking.

Yet, in one of the many curious paradoxes of Belgium's governmental arrangements, the predominantly French-speaking Brussels remains the 'capital' of the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders, while the French language community of Belgium has its capital in the provincial city of Namur.

Thus today, the Martelaarsplaats - Place des Martyrs, is the site of major national offices of Dutch-speaking Flanders. The Flemish government holds the two major buildings facing each other across the longer distance of the square, and the one you see in the photos in close-up with the three flags over the doorway (the EU flag, the Belgian flag, and the predominantly yellow Flemish flag) is actually the 'Kabinet van de Minister-President' of the 'Vlaamse Regering', or the 'Office of the Minister-President' (Prime Minister) of the Flemish government.

In front of the office of the Flemish Prime Minister, is a monument built in 1897 and dedicated to one of the particular martyrs of the Revolution, Jenneval. 'Jenneval' was the stage name of Louis Alexandre Hippolyte Dechez, as 'Jenneval' a well-known actor, who died from wounds in battle in October 1830. But some weeks before his death, Jenneval penned some of the original words to the Belgian national anthem, the Brabançonne. This monument to Jenneval was dedicated in 1897, on September 25th, precisely amid the 67th anniversary of the 1830 Belgian revolution for independence.

The inscriptions on the Jenneval monument are in both Dutch and French on opposite sides of it, though the French inscription is extremely weather-worn and hard to read. The inscriptions are:

Aan Jenneval
Dichter der Brabançonne
Gesneuveld voor 's lands
Onafhankelijkheid
Hulde der stad Brussel
25 september 1897

À Jenneval
Poète de la Brabançonne
Mort pour l'indépendance
Nationale
Hommage de la ville
de Bruxelles
25 septembre 1897

To Jenneval
Poet of the Brabançonne
Slain for his country's / the nation's independence
A tribute of the city of Brussels
25 September 1897

On the far opposite side of the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats, in front of the other Flemish government building here, is a monument to another hero of the Belgian Revolution, Comte (Count) Frédéric de Mérode, who was mortally wounded in battle in October 1830 and died a few days later in early November. His brother, Count Félix de Mérode, was a major figure in the Belgian provisional government in the weeks of revolution.

The Mérode monument also carries inscriptions on opposite sides in both French and Dutch:

À
Frédéric de Mérode
Mort pour l'indépendance
De la patrie

Aan
Frederic de Merode
Gestorven voor de
Onafhankelijkheid
van het vaderland

To
Frédéric de Mérode
Who died for the independence
Of our home country

The map with this Flickr photo set will show you how to walk to the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats. It is a few minutes' walk from either the De Brouckère or Rogier métro stations, via the popular rue Neuve - Nieuwstraat shopping promenade that runs between De Brouckère and Rogier. As you walk along the rue Neuve - Nieuwstraat, you see it visible a very few metres to the east along one of the intersections, at the Rue Saint-Michel - Sint-Michielsstraat, with the central monument of the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats clearly visible.


Angel sculpture, Martyrs' Square - Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats 3
photo sites
Image by historic.brussels

A brief history of Belgium, and the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats (Martyrs' Square) in that history -

Among the most moving places to visit in the capital of Belgium, is Martyrs' Square in Brussels, where over 400 heroes of the Belgian Revolution of 1830 lie buried in a crypt beneath the cobblestones. This square is usually known by its French name, La Place des Martyrs, or also by its Dutch name, De Martelaarsplaats. Many of the dead here lie not far from where they were shot, in fierce battles amid the Brussels streets and barricades.

A wonderful monument here honours these heroes who died for the cause of freedom, in the brief 1830-31 revolutionary war that created the Belgian nation.

Particularly extraordinary and moving at the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats, are four beautiful sculptures of angels, with the angels´ faces in touchingly eternal expressions of mourning for the brave ones who gave their lives for the freedom of others.

These are photos from the daily life of writer, journalist and political refugee from the US, Dr Les (Leslie) Sachs - I am someone who also has nearly died fighting for freedom for others.

These Flickr photos document my new beloved home city of Brussels, Belgium, my life among the people and Kingdom who have given me safety in the face of the threats to destroy me. Brussels has a noble history of providing a safe haven to other dissident refugee writers, such as Victor Hugo, Karl Marx, Charles Baudelaire, and Alexandre Dumas, and I shall forever be grateful that Brussels and Belgium have helped to protect my own life as well. I'm happy to help convey to the world some of Brussels' wonderful cultural heritage.

(To read about the efforts to silence me and my journalism, the attacks on me, the smears and the threats, see the website by European journalists 'About Les Sachs' linked in my Flickr profile, and press articles such as 'Two EU Writers Under Threat of Murder: Roberto Saviano and Dr Les Sachs'.)

The Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats remains a place where today's Belgians continue to remember and honour the heroes who died for them. Some weeks before the earlier group of these pictures were taken, on one rainy morning, I stood at the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats in the pouring rain, with a small group of Belgians in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, a number of them frail and supporting themselves unsteadily with canes on the uneven cobblestone surface, while a brass band was playing patriotic music. Though the rain was pouring down heavily on the Place des Martyrs, these elderly Belgians did not mind getting drenched, whatever the risk to their health, because these good people were children when the Nazis occupied Belgium, and that rainy day was a day to remember the Belgians who died fighting the fascist occupiers.

Quick sketch of the history of Belgium, and the historical role of Martyrs' Square -

The history of Belgium is not easy to outline. Belgium is today a nation with three official languages, reflecting its two large language groups of French and Dutch speakers, along with a small area whose native language is German. The Romans and Julius Caesar were in the neighbourhood over 2000 years ago, and Caesar wrote of fighting some fierce tribes here called the "Belgae", from whom the nation takes its name.

In fact, Julius Caesar referred to the Belgians or 'Belgae', in the very first sentence of his most famous book, 'De Bello Gallico', his commentary on the 'Gallic Wars': « Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae ... » « The whole of Gaul is divided into three parts, in one of which live the Belgians ... »

As the Roman Empire fell apart, the Belgian region was home to the Merovingian kings in the early "dark ages", and then was part of the empire of Charlemagne. Under Charlemagne's grandson Lothair and great-grandson King Lothair II, the area of current Belgium was part of a kingdom of 'Lotharingia' whose name we know today as the French 'Lorraine'. This kingdom rapidly divided among royal heirs, with 'Upper Lorraine' roughly inside what is now France, and Brussels becoming the capital of a 'Duchy of Lower Lorraine' - roughly today's Low Countries - when a castle was built in Brussels' old centre around the year 979.

Borders and regional identity continued to change quickly in the centuries after Charlemagne, the "high middle ages". What was 'Lower Lorraine' gave way to several of the great mediaeval territories and dukedoms spreading across differing sections of what is now Belgium, with names we still hear today: Flanders, Brabant, Luxembourg. And various smaller territories and fiefdoms were also a part here, amid the ever-shifting landscape of mediaeval and feudal Europe.

The middle part of Belgium, including Brussels, was the historic territory of Brabant, and the Dukes of Brabant, about the year 1100, built premises right at what is known today in Brussels as the Royal Square - Place Royale - Kongingsplaats.

Brabant and much of Belgium then came to be part of the great late-mediaeval dukedom of Burgundy, which reached the height of influence in the 1400s with Brussels as the Burgundian capital along with Dijon. At its height, Burgundy was regarded by many as the richest court in all Europe. Today's independent Belgium is thus a remnant of that long-ago much larger Renaissance realm of Burgundy, as well as of the even more ancient kingdom of mediaeval Lotharingia.

The area of today's Belgium kept its leading role in Europe in the early 1500s, as Burgundy in turn was enveloped into the Holy Roman Empire at its height. The towns of Belgium gave birth and upbringing to the Emperor Charles V, who at one point ruled most of Europe from Brussels. So, about 500 years ago, Brussels was already the 'centre' of Europe.

After Charles, his empire began to break apart, and the territory of today's Belgium had a succession of foreign rulers from within Charles V's widely-flung Habsburg family: First the Spanish, who kept hold of the territory we now call Belgium, while the Dutch to the north broke away during the Protestant Reformation. After the 'War of the Spanish Succession', the Habsburg territories were further divided, with Belgium going under Austrian control from 1714 onwards.

It was under the Austrians, in the late 1700s, that elegant buildings began to be built around a large square which was named the Place Saint-Michel, or Saint Michael's Square. This would later become Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats that you see here.

The beginning of the end of Austrian rule, and the beginning of the story of modern independent Belgium, was the 'Brabantine Revolution' (Révolution Brabançonne - Brabantse Revolutie), whereby in 1789 much of what is now Belgium, asserted its full independence from its then-rulers, the Habsburg emperors of Austria.

In sympathy and parallel with the epoch-changing revolution of 1789 in next-door France, the rebellious provinces of 'Austrian Netherlands' also went into rebellion that same year, and declared the deposition of the Austrian Habsburg Emperor, and the creation of the 'United Belgian States' (États-Belgiques-Unis - Verenigde Belgische Staten), which endured only briefly in 1789-1790. The 'Belgian' name came from the Latin word used by Julius Caesar to identify the fierce fighting tribes who inhabited this region in Caesar's day, the 'Belgae'.

In 1789, the seals of the document declaring the 'United Belgian States' to be 'free' and 'independent', were ornamented by silken tassels of black, yellow and red. The flag of the short-lived Belgian nation of 1789-90, then used these three colours, though in horizontal stripes and in a different order than the current vertically-striped Belgian flag.

The Austrians were able to briefly re-assert control of Belgium in 1790, then lost it to French control in 1792, and won it back one final time in 1793-94. The French then retained control, annexing most of what is now Belgium into France in 1795. As the Napoleonic era ended, Belgium was separated from France in 1814-1815.

As Napoléon was being defeated and his Empire terminated, the European nations meeting at the Council of Vienna of 1814-15, thought that the territories north of France, including modern Belgium and Luxembourg, should all be under the Dutch monarch, creating a single large buffer state between France and England.

The European powers meeting in Vienna avoided what might have seemed a more logical idea, of uniting only Dutch-speaking regions with the Netherlands, while letting the French-speaking regions of Wallonia remain united with France. The powers of 1815 did not want to reward France with territorial expansion to the north, precisely in the area around where Napoléon met his final defeat at Waterloo.

But the Vienna plan of shoving the French-speakers of Wallonia into a new Dutch monarchy, and expanding the Dutch nation and doubling its size, proved to be very unstable. The Dutch of the Netherlands were predominantly Protestant, while the southern populations, including the Dutch-speakers of Flanders, were predominantly Roman Catholic. And not only did the Catholic territories have large numbers of French speakers, the people in Flanders also speak a modestly different Dutch than in the Netherlands, which led them to chafe against the Dutch monarchy in sympathy with their French-speaking neighbours.

Tensions grew until an August, 1830 performance at the Brussels opera house, where political rebellion portrayed on the stage, became a catalyst for rebellion in the streets.

In September of 1830 the street rebellions became a full-blown revolution for Belgian independence. The Place Saint-Michel, Saint Michael's Square, a few hundred metres from the opera house where the fuse for revolution had been lit, became a key site for the declaration of Belgian liberty and independence, and a pivotal site in the fierce and deadly street battles. The central days of the revolution in September 1830 - the 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th - are the dates inscribed upon the tablet held by the high figure in the monument that you see in the photos, representing the angel or goddess of the Belgian home nation (Latin 'patria'), with a lion by her side.

In 1830, with the hundreds of dead from the revolutionary battles, the decision was made to bury them there at the square, which now became the Square of the Martyrs of Freedom.

The revolution was quickly successful. Some battles continued to take place into 1831, as the Dutch made a last try to hold onto the Belgian territory, but the separation of Belgium and Luxembourg was speedily recognised and secured by the other European powers.

The Revolution of 1830 enabled Belgium to finally fulfil the dreams of the Belgian revolutionaries of 1789. The current Belgian tri-colour flag was established in 1831, using the 1789 colours of the 'Brabantine Revolution'. Belgium became a nation and even acquired a king of its own, the Protestant German Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, who agreed to marry the Catholic daughter of the French monarch, and raise their children as French-speaking Roman Catholics, while he became the first hereditary King of the Belgians.

And today, the political refugee Dr Les (Leslie) Sachs, may owe the saving of his life in the face of the threats to murder him, to protection extended from the royal household of the King of the Belgians, the descendant of that first Belgian monarch.

Léopold I, who was born in 1790, reigned in Belgium until 1865. Early in his reign, he supervised the building of this monument at Martyrs' Square. In one of the photos of the angels by the monument, you see between two angels the large plaque with the text in Latin. Two dates are given. The first is that of the declaration of the nation's identity, on the 25th of September 1830, a date closely tied to the death of the martyrs buried in the crypt below. The second date, the 25th of September 1840, is the date of the completion and dedication of the main part of the monument, with the final line noting that this took place under Léopold I as the reigning monarch.

Though the main monument structure was indeed completed and dedicated in 1840, the lovely and magnificent angels were added some years later, in 1848. Today, it is these sculptured angels which, above all, give Martyrs' Square its high character of deep emotion and magnificence.

The buildings around the square have, over the centuries, partially fallen into a difficult state, and you see one of the buildings undergoing inside-out comprehensive renovation in the photos. The overall revival and restoration of Martyrs' Square has been given a major boost, however, by the government of Belgium's majority Flemish-speaking region.

Belgium today is about 60 per cent Dutch-speaking, with most of the remainder French-speakers along with a few native German-speakers. Brussels itself is officially bi-lingual, and historically was predominantly a Dutch-speaking city through the centuries, from the mediaeval and Renaissance era down to early modern times. However, this changed in the 1800s, and Brussels today is at least 70 per cent French-speaking, with many of the rest of Brussels residents foreign-born rather than Dutch-speaking.

Yet, in one of the many curious paradoxes of Belgium's governmental arrangements, the predominantly French-speaking Brussels remains the 'capital' of the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders, while the French language community of Belgium has its capital in the provincial city of Namur.

Thus today, the Martelaarsplaats - Place des Martyrs, is the site of major national offices of Dutch-speaking Flanders. The Flemish government holds the two major buildings facing each other across the longer distance of the square, and the one you see in the photos in close-up with the three flags over the doorway (the EU flag, the Belgian flag, and the predominantly yellow Flemish flag) is actually the 'Kabinet van de Minister-President' of the 'Vlaamse Regering', or the 'Office of the Minister-President' (Prime Minister) of the Flemish government.

In front of the office of the Flemish Prime Minister, is a monument built in 1897 and dedicated to one of the particular martyrs of the Revolution, Jenneval. 'Jenneval' was the stage name of Louis Alexandre Hippolyte Dechez, as 'Jenneval' a well-known actor, who died from wounds in battle in October 1830. But some weeks before his death, Jenneval penned some of the original words to the Belgian national anthem, the Brabançonne. This monument to Jenneval was dedicated in 1897, on September 25th, precisely amid the 67th anniversary of the 1830 Belgian revolution for independence.

The inscriptions on the Jenneval monument are in both Dutch and French on opposite sides of it, though the French inscription is extremely weather-worn and hard to read. The inscriptions are:

Aan Jenneval
Dichter der Brabançonne
Gesneuveld voor 's lands
Onafhankelijkheid
Hulde der stad Brussel
25 september 1897

À Jenneval
Poète de la Brabançonne
Mort pour l'indépendance
Nationale
Hommage de la ville
de Bruxelles
25 septembre 1897

To Jenneval
Poet of the Brabançonne
Slain for his country's / the nation's independence
A tribute of the city of Brussels
25 September 1897

On the far opposite side of the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats, in front of the other Flemish government building here, is a monument to another hero of the Belgian Revolution, Comte (Count) Frédéric de Mérode, who was mortally wounded in battle in October 1830 and died a few days later in early November. His brother, Count Félix de Mérode, was a major figure in the Belgian provisional government in the weeks of revolution.

The Mérode monument also carries inscriptions on opposite sides in both French and Dutch:

À
Frédéric de Mérode
Mort pour l'indépendance
De la patrie

Aan
Frederic de Merode
Gestorven voor de
Onafhankelijkheid
van het vaderland

To
Frédéric de Mérode
Who died for the independence
Of our home country

The map with this Flickr photo set will show you how to walk to the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats. It is a few minutes' walk from either the De Brouckère or Rogier métro stations, via the popular rue Neuve - Nieuwstraat shopping promenade that runs between De Brouckère and Rogier. As you walk along the rue Neuve - Nieuwstraat, you see it visible a very few metres to the east along one of the intersections, at the Rue Saint-Michel - Sint-Michielsstraat, with the central monument of the Place des Martyrs - Martelaarsplaats clearly visible.

Nice Photo Website photos

Some cool photo website images:


FlickrNation, Episode 3
photo website
Image by Thomas Hawk
New website home flickrnation.com. You can vote for the podcast on Podcast Alley here. The RSS feed for the show is here. Contact info: tom@thomashawk.com, Yahoo Messenger: thomashawk22, Skype: thomashawkskype, Phone: 415-992-5350.

FlickrNation, Episode 3,

Download the show here.

Show Notes:

0:00 Flickr Jingle, Show Intro

1:38: Is Flickr Being Blocked in the UAE?

4:15: Entrance to Hell Group being capped at 666 members.

6:50: Sam Judson's New Blog Deleteme Resurection.

7:28: Should Flickr allow drawings and illustrations on Flickr?

15:30: Flickr passes Webshots in Alexa Traffic Rankings.

21:54: Flickr Toy: Name that Contact.

23:55: Sears 1979 Wishbook is on Flickr.

25:10: Top 10 Ways to Improve Flickr, Almost Certainly the Best Online Photo Management and Sharing Application in the World.

42:55: Other Flickr members feature wishlists.

50:53: .22, Huggy Bear (well kind of).


Hard green shell
photo website
Image by SergioTudela
[PERSONAL WEBSITE]
www.sergiotr.net

[IMAGE]
Large version

[EXIF]
Camera: Nikon D80
Lense: Tokina AT-X 12-24 f/4 AF PRO DX
Exposure: 1/8
Aperture: f/8
Focal length: 12 mm
ISO speed: 100
Filter: B+W F-PRO UV + Cokin Z121S
Tripod: Manfrotto 190XPROB + Manfrotto 486RC2

[SPANISH]
26.-
Siempre siendo consciente de intentar verte cuando no te tengo presente. Buscar para encontrar, no buscar y ser encontrado. Simpleza de términos que en una misma frase se contradicen para acabar en un mismo fin.

Estar al borde del extremo de la desesperación es comenzar a caminar por el inicio del camino de la calma, esperanza, ilusión, sosiego... y es que los términos absolutos no son nada sin su contraposición. Es el engaño y el miedo el único que te puede disfrazar la búsqueda del verdadero significado de las palabras, aquello que se autocomplementa por su antónimo.

Con todo esto presente hay que ser consciente de que cuando más creamos que estamos bajo tierra siempre hay una solución para subir hacia arriba y mirar a esa luz que se te prohibe en la oscuridad.

Más solo te encuentres, más problemas tengas, cuando creas que no hay solución... más cerca estarás de entrar en el polo opuesto.

Y más siendo un día como el de hoy (ayer) debes tener presente que la vida, tal y como la conocemos, es un simple juego al que sólo se juega una vez. Asi que se fuerte para seguir jugando en este juego, al que al tablero le llamamos vida, que a veces es tan deplorable y a veces tan maravillosa.

Deja de sufrir o mejor aún, deslizate por ese sufrimiento, camina por su camino... él te llevara a un sitio mejor... un sitio donde el fin del camino es el comienzo de otro nuevo. Hacia algo mejor que sólo él bien conoce.

Disfruta de tu momento, te pertenece... piensa que momentos como ese quizás nunca vuelvan a pasar por delante tuya... hoy es tu día (ayer).... el día en el que el mundo te dio a conocer... feliz cumpleaños, te mereces lo mejor.

[ENGLISH - TRANSLATED BY GOOGLE - I have not had time to translate it myself]
26 .-
Always be aware of trying to see if you do not mind. Search to find, not search and be found. Simple terms in the same sentence is contradictory to finish in the same order.

Being on the verge of extreme desperation is starting to walk around the beginning of the path of peace, hope, illusion, calm ... and absolute terms is that they are nothing without their opposition. It is deception and fear that only you can dress up the search for the true meaning of words, what is autocomplete by its antonym.

With this in mind we must be aware that when we create more underground there is always a solution to climb up and look in that light that you are forbidden in the dark.

You are more alone, the more problems you have when you think there is no solution ... the closer we come to the opposite pole.

And be a day like today (yesterday) should keep in mind that life as we know it is a simple game that is played only once. So be strong to keep playing in this game, board that we call life, which sometimes is so deplorable and sometimes wonderful.

Stop suffering or even better, scroll for that suffering, walking on his way ... he will lead you to a better place ... a place where the end of the road is the beginning of a new one. Toward something better than just the well-known.

Enjoy your time belongs to you ... think times like this may never happen again in front of you ... Today is your day (yesterday ).... the day when the world gave you to know ... happy birthday, you deserve the best.

Para ti / For you: piedrecita

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.

Cool Image Site images

Some cool image site images:


Isola Bella-Taormina-Messina-Sicilia-Italy- Creative Commons by gnuckx
image site
Image by gnuckx
To see more www.flickr.com/photos/gnuckx


Isola Bella (Taormina Sicily)
Isola Bella (Sicilian: Ìsula Bedda) is a small island near Taormina, Sicily, southern Italy. Also known as The Pearl of the Ionian Sea, it is located within a small bay on the Ionian Sea; it was a private property until 1990, when it was bought by the Region of Sicily, being turned into a nature reserve, administrated by the Italian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature. There is a narrow path that often connects the island to the mainland beach. The island has a small and rather rocky beach which is a popular destination for sunbathers.

History

King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies gifted the island to the nearby town of Taormina in 1806. The island was then bought from the town by a Ms. Trevelyan, who built a small house facing the sea and imported exotic plants, which thrived in the Mediterranean climate. Subsequent owners kept up the island, until the owner went bankrupt, and auctioned the island in 1990. The island had been noted by conservationists as early as 1983, and it was quickly obtained by the Region and designated as a protected natural site. The island is home to several species of birds, and a few types of lizards.



Isola Bella (Taormina)
L'Isola Bella (Isula Bedda in siciliano) è una piccola isola situata nel comune di Taormina, in provincia di Messina. L'esigua distanza dalla costa a volte, a causa della marea, si annulla, rendendola una penisola. È chiamata anche la perla del Mediterraneo.

Il nome fu coniato dal barone tedesco, Wilhelm von Gloeden, che diffuse in tutto il mondo il valore artistico dell'isola.

Storia

Donata nel 1806 da Ferdinando I di Borbone a Pancrazio Ciprioti sindaco di Taormina, fu acquistata nel 1890 da Lady Florence Trevelyan, nipote della Regina Vittoria e moglie del filantropo sindaco di Taormina prof. Salvatore Cacciola che la valorizzò costruendovi una pittoresca casetta e piantumandovi rare essenze pregiate, poi andò in eredità all'unico nipote maschio avv.Cesare Acrosso.

Nel 1954 fu acquistata dai fratelli Busurgi, che vi realizzarono una splendida residenza con una minuscola piscina camuffata fra rocce e piantagioni.

Nel 1984, su sollecitazione del Comune di Taormina, l'Assessorato regionale dei Beni Culturali dichiarò l'Isola Bella un monumento d'interesse storico artistico di particolare pregio in quanto: "esempio isolato di unicum come valore naturalistico, storico e culturale", sottoponendola a vincoli di tutela. Il decreto considerava l'isola come un "monumento naturale".

Nel 1990 l'isola fu messa all'asta e acquistata dall'Assessorato dei Beni Culturali. Nel 1998 fu istituita riserva naturale, gestita dal WWF e di recente passata in gestione alla Provincia di Messina.



Île Belle (Taormina)
L’île Belle est une petite île située à Taormina dans la province de Messine. La courte distance qui la sépare du rivage s'annule parfois lors des marées, donnant alors à l’île un statut de presqu'île. Elle est aussi appelée la Perle de la Méditerranée.

Son nom lui fut donné par le baron allemand Wilhelm von Gloeden qui diffusa partout à travers le monde la valeur artistique de l’île.

Histoire

Offerte en 1806 par Ferdinand Ier des Deux-Siciles à Pancrazio Ciprioti, maire de Taormina. En 1890, elle fut acquise par Florence Trevelyan, petite-fille de la Reine Victoria du maire philanthrope de Taormina, Salvatore Cacciola qui la valorisa en y construisant une maisonnette pittoresque. L’île fut ensuite léguée héréditairement à l’unique petit-fils masculin de Florence, Cesare Acrosso.

En 1954, elle fut acquise par les frères Busurgi qui y firent construire une splendide résidence avec une minuscule piscine camouflée entre les roches et les plantations.

En 1984, sur sollicitation de la commune de Taormina, l’Assesseur régional des Biens Culturels déclara l’île Belle comme un monument d’intérêt historique mérité : « exemple isolé d'unique valeur naturelle, historique et culturelle», la soumettant donc à tutelle. Le décret considéra l’île comme un « monument naturel ».

En 1990, l'île fut finalement mise aux enchères et acquise par l'Assesseur des Biens Culturels. En 1998, elle fut instituée comme Réserve naturelle gérée par le WWF avant de passer entre les mains de la province de Messine.



Isola Bella (Sizilien)
Die Isola Bella ist eine kleine Insel im Ionischen Meer vor der Ostküste Siziliens. Sie gehört zu dem Ortsteil Mazzarò der Stadt Taormina in der Provinz Messina und ist durch eine Sandbank mit dem Strand von Mazzarò verbunden.

König Ferdinand III. von Sizilien schenkte die Insel 1806 der Gemeinde Taormina. Diese musste sie jedoch um 1900 wegen finanzieller Schwierigkeiten verkaufen. Zunächst kam die Insel in den Besitz von Florence Trevelyan, einem Mitglied der anglikanischen Gemeinde von Taormina, die dort exotische Pflanzen züchtete, die sie dann in dem von ihr gegründeten Stadtpark von Taormina anpflanzte. Nach mehreren Eigentümerwechseln wurde die Insel 1954 schließlich von den Brüdern Bosurgi erworben, die dort ein großes Wohngebäude errichteten. Die Insel wurde nun auch als Veranstaltungsort für Unternehmertagungen und Künstlertreffen genutzt.

Als 1990 die Firma der Brüdern Bosurgi in Konkurs ging, wurde die Insel versteigert, und die Region Sizilien konnte sie erwerben. 1998 wurde sie vom WWF zum Naturschutzgebiet erklärt, da hier einige seltene geschützte Tier- und Pflanzenarten zu finden sind, u.a. einige Vogel- und Eidechsenarten.

Der Name der Insel geht auf Wilhelm von Gloeden zurück, der Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts nach Taormina kam und den Ort durch seine Fotografien weltweit bekannt machte.



Isola Bella (Taormina Sicily)
Isola Bella (Isula Bedda en siciliano) es una pequeña isla situada en el municipio de Taormina, en la provincia de Mesina. En ocasiones, la pequeña distancia que la separa de la costa se anula a causa de la marea, convirtiéndose entonces en una península.

El nombre fue acuñado por el barón alemán Wilhelm von Gloeden, que difundió en todo el mundo el valor artístico de la isla.


Historia
Donada en 1806 por Fernando I de las Dos Sicilias a Pancrazio Ciprioti, alcalde de Taormina, fue adquirida en 1890 por Lady Florence Trevelyan, sobrina de la Reina Victoria I del Reino Unido y mujer del filántropo alcalde de Taormina, profesor Salvatore Cacciola, que construyó una pintoresca caseta. Posteriormente fue heredada por su único sobrino varón, el abogado Cesare Acrosso.

En 1954 fue adquirida por los hermanos Busurgi, que construyeron una espléndida residencia con una minúscula piscina camuflada entre rocas y plantaciones.

En 1984, tras una petición del Ayuntamiento de Taormina, el Assessorato regionale dei Beni Culturali (Consejería regional de Bienes Culturales) declaró la Isola Bella como monumento de interés histórico artístico de particular valor, sometiéndola a vínculos de tutela. El decreto consideraba la isla como un "monumento natural".

En 1990 la isla fue puesta a subasta y adquirida por el Assessorato dei Beni Culturali. En 1998 fue instituida como reserva natural, gestionada por el Fondo Mundial para la Naturaleza. Recientemente, la gestión ha pasado a manos de la provincia de Mesina.


The Orange River at De Hoop
image site
Image by Martin_Heigan
The Orange river (also called the Gariep river) bringing life to the barren desert landscape at De Hoop in the Richtersveld Transfrontier National Park (an UNESCO World Heritage Site), Northern Cape, South Africa (September 2009).

Best viewed LARGE.

Martin
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Administrator of:
Stapeliad & Asclepiad Group
All things beautiful in Nature Group
Succulent Treasures of the Desert Group
The World Up-Close (Nature Macro) Group


Solve for
image site
Image by jurvetson
The site just went live.


I suggest starting with Mary Lou Jepsen's talk on reading the mind (HD version). From many fMRI scans, where seeing and imaging something is fundamentally similar in brain blood flow effects, they can create a "mental map" of correlates with elements of images seen. From this composite, and a bit of machine learning, they can then present a new image, and from the fMRI data alone recreate a fairly spooky rendition of what is being seen.

I would love to run the tape while dreaming.

This mind-reading requires a clunky fMRI today, but others are working on a radically different way to export the image: running neurons in reverse... and expressing the image on the retina to be read externally.

This led the guy next to me to say "guys are screwed."

In this photo, we have Neal Stephenson, another neuromancer, who inspired some of my photo captions in years past — Snow Crash and Diamond Age.

PicLens, The Most Beautiful Way to Browse Photography on the Web

Check out these photo effects online images:


PicLens, The Most Beautiful Way to Browse Photography on the Web
photo effects online
Image by Thomas Hawk
Well I've been using PicLens for a few months now, and I'm a bit late with this post, but if you haven't installed PicLens yet for browsing photos on the web you are missing one of the most beautiful ways to view photography on the internet yet.

The screenshot above does not do justice to the visual experience. PicLens is hands down the best I have ever seen photos look online.

PicLens is an add on for Firefox users. You can go get it here. When you add PicLens to your Firefox experience, photos on many internet sites (including Flickr and Zooomr) have a little play type triangular icon over them. When you click on this icon it transforms your viewing experience and takes photos to a brand new level. Only photos are loaded on the screen and you can move your mouse to scroll through the photos or enlarge or shrink photos in your viewing experience.

With PicLens photos float through your browser like beauty flowing from a waterfall. The motion effects are outstanding. Best of all though, PicLens allows you to see photos in the true splendor that they are best seen in. Large. One of the problems with viewing many photos large on the internet is that you have to click and wait for a new page to load. This gets boring and tiresome. Not with PicLens though. Simply move your mouse scroll button up or down and photos get larger and smaller.

As amazing as PicLens is for browsing photos on the web I do wish that they improve one thing.

Right now interacting with photos on PicLens is very difficult. While you can click through to any photo to fave/comment/bookmark/etc., when you do this PicLens ends abruptly. After you interact with the photo there is no easy way to get back to the PicLens page where you were browsing before you clicked out of your PicLens experience.

What would most easily fix this would be if PicLens allowed you to ctl-click (on a PC) or cmd-click (on a Mac) and have that photo's page load in Firefox in the background. This way you could browse someone's entire stream, favorites, etc. in PicLens, all the while cmd-clicking (in my case) as you go to go back and interact with the photos that you liked best once you were done.

Alternatively, TranceMist suggests that people simply could be allowed to fave/comment on a photo from within PicLens.

Looking at photos on PicLens is like seeing them in a fine art gallery or museum. Photos take on a whole new beauty. But more interactive features are still needed.

More on PicLens from Read/Write Web and Webware.


Adriene made me a silver necklace that says PussyPower!
photo effects online
Image by Tricia Wang 王圣捷
Adriene had this silver necklace made for my birthday. She appreciates my attempts to reclaim this word. When I was in college, I became sick and infuriated when hearing men call other men "pussys" for not being a "real man." But even more untolerable was hearing other women call other men "pussys" for failing at "manhood."

Whenever I heard "pussy" used in such a condescending way, I would always say "excuse me? those are my genitals you are referring to and my Pussy is POWERFUL, not weak. So if you are going to de-masculinize a man, you can de-phallasize him, you can call him an ass asshole, you can call him a dick, a bastard, but never give him the power of your pussy."

After giving that speech once every week I decided something had to be done, women needed to reclaim the word "pussy" and in effect reclaim their own pussies. So I coined the term "pussy power kunt control." Pussy Power stuck while kunt control fell to the wayside. I made buttons with the word "Pussy Power" and I passed it out to women who honored their pussies by referring to it as celebratory word, not a hurtful word.

Adriene has known me for about 10 years now and I think she has heard me give that speech so many times. Finally I have a beautiful necklace for my birthday from one of my best friends! thank you Adriene! you TOO have the power of the Pussy!

We will reclaim an identity that we allowed to be taken away from and reclaim the responsibilities that comes along with it. If YOU have Pussy Power, NEVER let a man or boy and most importantly another woman call another male a pussy in a hurtful or denigrating way. Those are YOUR genitals. PUSSY POWER!

Now on a separate note - Several friends commented on how they were so amazed I could post these photos about Adriene's pussy power necklace gift for me openly on flickr. My birthday was back in April - and those few comments made me pause before posting this on my blog. So here are my thoughts on this matter.

so when my friends told me that I was brave to openly post these- I ask them why exactly should I have been embarrassed or afraid? They would say well you know you get google searched for jobs and grants and people might think that you are a liability or they may judge you before they get to meet you. Academic colleagues have said well your students are going to find it and you're never going to get tenured for posting this or what happens if your professor sees this online? Well duh - I always googled people before I would interview, hire or even meet someone. I would like to remind everyone that I was openly doing internet searches on potential dates and hirings back in the late 1900's and early 2000's before Google even existed ok?

So of COURSE I understand that this public internet posting will be potentially seen by my past, current and future colleagues and/or students. But I don't think I am doing anything wrong or embarrassing when I insist that women not allow the word "pussy" to be used in a derogatory way. I am not using it in a nasty way - so how is that a liability? What I find offensive is when people remain quiet when something offensive is said. And worse off I find it offensive when people judge others for unsubstantiated reasons. To be anymore hush-hush with pussy feeds into larger schemas of patriarchy and misogyny.

I stand behind my attempts to un-dirty the word in a fashionable way. For too long (not in all communities) women's reproductive organs have been considered to be profane and unworthy of equal respect to the phallus. The sexuality associated with vaginas have been seen as a threat and rituals are created to take away the power from their vaginas. The menstrual cycles that women go through are seen as filthy - requiring physical separation of women from the community. I find it problematic that although we have formal gender equality, this is not always reflected in our vernacular. The heavy association of the word "pussy" is too weighted on the side of the "nasty" or as lacking a cock which means lacking power. So powerful and normalized is the cock that we celebrate and laugh at the word. Even when a male is called a "cock" - like "he's such a cock," he's a cock precisely because of his unwarranted use of power. We laugh at jokes about "dicks' - such as Justin Timberlake's Dick in a Box - but the word pussy is so nasty and weak that it can't even be intellectualized or comedized (I made this word up) in popular culture. My point is that the verbal representitive use of genitals reflects underlying real world inequalities and tensions between males and femals.

I simply will not be embarassed by the names of female genitals - And if this prevents me from being hired - then I certainly don't belong at that organization, institution or company. And if students can't take me seriously after reading this, then they need to grow up. Really. and if Professors find this and are horrified then I am sure glad that they aren't working with me.

When we make a claim to an identity, it's not just about claiming rights or something abstract like belonging - but it's about claiming responsibility to that identity. So in claims that I make - like I claim I am Chinese-American or I claim that I am from the U.S. or that I live in Brooklyn or that I a female- then I take a responsibility in those claims to act and to practice what I claim.

And hopefully future colleagues who do come upon this will see that this is a sign of character - that I am not afraid to stand behind someone or something. Now I am not some militant gender freak - so I feel no need to parade my thoughts or beat up people for calling men pussies. Nor do I lack the sense to wear this necklace when I interview someone or when I am being interviewed - or at some funding meeting or my dissertation defense or even at any professional meetings. I don't believe in drawing unnecessary attention to myself and detracting from the larger goals or messages in professional situations because I do understand wearing this necklace entails the burden of explaining the message - which I embrace in moments when I want to teach people about pussy power. BUT I will wear it when I find see fit and fashionable! And if after reading this explanation and you still find my pussy power offensive, horrific or distasteful then it's time to bring in some humor into your life and chillll out! Go turn on Prince and Mozart and watch some South Park.



"Video Art Adrenaline" - a 45-second Video Art Production by mimitalks, married w/children (view in HD)
photo effects online
Image by mimitalks, married, under grace
45 seconds of pure energy and having nothing better to do :).
Buffer first, then view again for the full effect. Interestingly enough, the music (via my Pinnacle Studio HD Ultimate program) is a discordant mix of tunes titled "Adrenaline" and "Evolution", respectively.

All graphics are originals, created with the use of Paint Shop Pro vs. 6 (no longer available online, but my version of choice for ease of use). The strobe lighting effect was purely accidental - I liked it, so I kept it in...

Should you find yourself bored on a lovely spring day and wish to view more of this type of Video Art, please see my set:
www.flickr.com/photos/mimitalks/sets/72157626808492762/

Big Omaha 2011 Photo Booth

Some cool photo booth images:


Big Omaha 2011 Photo Booth
photo booth
Image by Silicon Prairie News


Big Omaha 2011 Photo Booth
photo booth
Image by Silicon Prairie News


Big Omaha 2011 Photo Booth
photo booth
Image by Silicon Prairie News

Cool I Stock Photo images

Some cool i stock photo images:


Church Door Stock
i stock photo
Image by rubyblossom.
www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Rye-Ea...


~~~~~~***Please, feel free to use my Textures, Backgrounds, Stock, etc., in your Artwork.
If you do use them, I would love it if you would please post your work in my group, Ruby's Treasures.


...Please DO NOT redistribute as your own...

To see my full Photo Stock Set please visit Here



Church Door Stock
i stock photo
Image by rubyblossom.
www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Rye-Ea...


~~~~~~***Please, feel free to use my Textures, Backgrounds, Stock, etc., in your Artwork.
If you do use them, I would love it if you would please post your work in my group, Ruby's Treasures.


...Please DO NOT redistribute as your own...

To see my full Photo Stock Set please visit Here


Apps for Development Competition pre-launch event

Check out these photo development images:


Apps for Development Competition pre-launch event
photo development
Image by World Bank Photo Collection
Update: January 31, 2011. Voting is now open. Vote for your favorite apps! appsfordevelopment.challengepost.com/submissions
September 9, 2010, Washington DC., Apps for Development Competition Pre-Launch event. Photo: Simone D. McCourtie / World Bank

Photo ID: 090910-Apps4Dev_064 World Bank


Apps for Development Competition pre-launch event
photo development
Image by World Bank Photo Collection
Update: January 31, 2011. Voting is now open. Vote for your favorite apps! appsfordevelopment.challengepost.com/submissions
September 9, 2010, Washington DC., Apps for Development Competition Pre-Launch event. Photo: Simone D. McCourtie / World Bank

Photo ID: 090910-Apps4Dev_153 World Bank

Cool Photo Stock Images images

A few nice photo stock images images I found:



in a local fair...
photo stock images
Image by UrvishJ
© Urvish Joshi Photography 2005-'11

Photography and Post-Production: Urvish Joshi
Twitter: twitter.com/#!/Cacofuny

The image is copyright protected and any unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Contact - doc.urvish@gmail.com if interested in the image.


in a local fair...
photo stock images
Image by UrvishJ
© Urvish Joshi Photography 2005-'11

Photography and Post-Production: Urvish Joshi
Twitter: twitter.com/#!/Cacofuny

The image is copyright protected and any unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Contact - doc.urvish@gmail.com if interested in the image.

Cool Photo Gifts images

A few nice photo gifts images I found:


favourite gift - mp3 player
photo gifts
Image by Ambernectar 13
my favourite present has to be my camera (but LOL I couldnt take a photo of that ;o)), so here is my second favourite present my mp3 player ;o)


Checking out a New Christmas Gift
photo gifts
Image by Brave Heart

Nice Image Upload photos

A few nice image upload images I found:


NASA Super-Tiger Balloon Shatters Flight Record
image upload
Image by NASA Goddard Photo and Video
Flying high over Antarctica, a NASA long duration balloon has broken the record for longest flight by a balloon of its size.

The record-breaking balloon, carrying the Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder (Super-TIGER) experiment, has been afloat for 46 days and is on its third orbit around the South Pole.

"This is an outstanding achievement for NASA's Astrophysics balloon team," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Keeping these huge balloons aloft for such long periods lets us do forefront science that would be difficult to do otherwise."

Super-TIGER is flying a new instrument for measuring the rare heavy elements among the flux of high-energy cosmic rays bombarding the Earth from elsewhere in our Milky Way Galaxy. The information retrieved from this mission will be used to develop an understanding where these energetic atomic nuclei are produced and how they achieve their very high energies.

Super-TIGER launched Dec. 8, 2012, from the long duration balloon site near McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The massive 39-million cubic foot scientific balloon carries the 6,000 pound Super-TIGER payload -- equivalent to a large sports utility vehicle -- at a float altitude of 127,000 feet, more than four times the altitude of most commercial airliners. Size-wise, more than 200 blimps could fit inside the balloon.

To read more go to: 1.usa.gov/WqO6ei

Credit: NASA/Wallops

NASA image use policy.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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Sculpture on the beach
image upload
Image by Ed.ward
Actually it's made of rubbish found on the beach. Quite cool though.


Nikon F80
Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 AF-D
Fuji Velvia 100F (expired)

Update
This image is now available as a wallpaper on blog.edsimpson.co.uk/walls/.


Daily App Experiment #160 "Crosswalk"
image upload
Image by docpop
Daily App Experiment #160 "Crosswalk" ran this photo through each of #Percolator's filters (while keeping the setting at "extra-fine"), then ran all those images in #Interlacer. That looked cool, but I wanted to foreground character to pop more, so brought the Interlaced image into #Juxtaposer and traced out the crossing gaurs from one if the darker Percolator sessions on top. #appsperiment #daily_appsperiment

Nice Photo Sizes photos

Some cool photo sizes images:


New Orleans - French Quarter: Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral
photo sizes
Image by wallyg
Jackson Square, a rectangular plot of land, roughly the size of a city-block, marks the site of the original settlement of New Orleans by the French Mississippi Company. Known at the time as Place d'Armes, it was designed in 1721 by landscape architect, Louis H. Pilié. It originally served as military parade grounds, and later as a market place and site for executions. Today it is a well manicured park and the spiritual center of the French Quarter.

From 1762-1803, after New Orleans was ceded to Spain in the Treaty of Paris and served as the Capital of the French Province of Louisiana, it bore the spanish translation of its original name, Plaza de Armas. After being returned to French control in 1801, the city was part of the land sold to the United States in the Louisiana purchase in 1803. It was in the Place d'Armes that the American flag was first raised over the newly purchased territory.

After the Battle of New Orleans, the final major battle of the War of 1812, the plaza was renamed in honor of General Andrew Jackson, an American military commander in the battle who would go on to serve as the seventh President of the United States, from 1829-1837. In 1856 the Baroness Celestin Pontalba paid for the square's beautification. Under her auspices, the Pelanne brothers designed the wrought-iron fence surrounding the park and on February 8, 1856, sculptor Clark Mills' equestrian statue of Jackson was dedicated in the center of the park. The statue, one of three identical casts (the others are in Washington D.C. and Nashville, TN), depicts General Jackson reviewing his troops at the Battle and was the first to ever depict a hero astride a rearing horse. After occupying the city after the Civil War's Battle of New Orleans in 1862, Union General Benjamin "Beast" Butler engraved "The Union Must and Shall Be Preserved" on the plinth.

Surrounding the park is a pedestrian plaza. Diverse artists rent space and hang their works on the fence, and jazz musicians, tarot card readers, and clowns entertain throngs of tourists. When originally laid out, the plaza overlooked the Mississippi River, but the view was blocked in the 19th century by larger levees. Under the administration of Mayor Moon Landrieu, a scenic boardwalk, known as Moon Walk, was built along the river. Flanking the uptown and downtown sides of the Square, are the Pontalba Buildings, matching red-brick block long 4-story buildings erected in the 1840's. The ground floors house shops and restaurants; the upper floors are apartments that are the oldest continuously rented in America.

On the Place John Paul II, the promenaded section of Chartres Street stretching the last length of the park, sit three historic buildings financed by Don Andrès Alomonester y Rojas, the Baroness Pontalba's father. The center of the three is St. Louis Cathedral. To its left is the Cabildo, built in 1795. It served as the capitol for the Spanish colonial government, then later as City Hall, and home of the State Supreme Court, and today houses the Louisiana State Museum. It was here that the finalization of the Louisiana Purchase was signed. To the cathedral's right is the Presbytère, built between 1794 and 1813. It originally housed the city's Roman Catholic priests and authorities, and then served as a courthouse until 1911. Today it is part of the Louisiana State Museum, housing a Mardi Gras Exhibit.

The Saint Louis Cathedral is the oldest, continuously operating cathedral in the United States and the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans. Three Roman Catholic churches have sat on this site since 1718. The cornerstone of the present structure, designed by Gilberto Guillemard, was laid in 1789, elevated to cathedral status in 1794 and completed in 1795. In 1819, Henry S. Boneval Latrobe added the clock and bell tower. Between 1845 and 1851, J.N.B. DePouilly remodeled and enlarged the church. In 1964, the cathedral was designated as a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI. Pope John Paul II visited the basilica, on the occassion of his second pastoral visit in the United States on September 12, 1987.

Jackson Square National Register #66000375 (1966)
Vieux Carré Historic District National Register #66000377 (1966)


A JUAN, JAIME Y JACOBO. CHILODONELLA, LA UNIÓN HACE LA FUERZA
photo sizes
Image by PROYECTO AGUA** /** WATER PROJECT
ver en grande
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En Biodiversidad virtual
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Ésta es una pequeñísima porción de una gota de agua que recogieron hace unas semanas Juan, Jaime y Jacobo en un arroyo saltarín como ellos y próximo al Duero junto la frontera con Portugal, en un pueblecito con nombre de cuento, Cozcurrita.

Juan, Jacobo y Jaime son mis amigos y , aunque niños, conocen como la palma de la mano todos los secretos del monte, saben donde están los escondrijos de invierno los tritones, en qué lugar se encuentran las madrigueras de los conejos y además de muchas otras cosas, recuerdan alguna historia de una hiena que despistada, fue encontrada en los encinares de Cozcurrita.

El caso es que yo tengo una pregunta para ellos. Eso sí, es una pregunta con trampa, pero creo que servirá para aprender o recordar algo importante...y aquí va la pregunta ¿Cuántos seres ves en la imagen?

Es fácil, verdad...si las Matemáticas no fallan yo diría que dos, uno a la izquierda y otro a la derecha. Si los viéseis mover, como el otro día, el "bichito" verde y grueso de la derecha, que es un ciliado de nombre raro, Chilodonella, recorre nervioso la gota de agua de acá para allá. El otro, delgado y casi transparente, se desliza tranquilo, sin cambiar su rumbo, tirado por ese pequeño hilo que nace de uno de sus extremos, es un flagelado. Uno y uno son dos...podría ser.

Pero si observo mejor y me olvido del señor lento y fino de la izquierda y me fijo en los granitos verdes del de la derecha podría pensar que Chilodonella es una glotona y que ha llenado su panza de ensalada... ¿y si os dijera que esos granitos verdes están vivos?

Chilodonella se traga las algas como un monstruo devorador, pero no las come, las guarda como un tesoro. Se ha convertido en un ser vivo que vive mucho mejor gracias a otros seres vivos, algas. Chilodonella tiene la cosecha de alimentos dentro de su propio cuerpo porque las algas fabrican para él azúcares y otras sustancias que fabrican continuamente. Seguramente, si tuviese rostro, veríamos a Chilodonella sonreír tranquilamente, no tiene que preocuparse por buscar su alimento para sobrevivir.

Pero ¿y las algas? Las algas dentro de la panza de Chilodonella son felices, están seguras, bien protegidas, como dentro de un invernadero y crecen mejor y sin riesgo a ser comidas de verdad...seguramente también sonríen.

Cuando dos seres vivos se asocian y se benefician el uno al otro, no sólo vieven mucho mejor, sino que son capaces de sobrevivir en lugares y en condiciones en las que solos no lo podrían hacer...esto es la simbiosis. Algo parecido a lo que dijeron los tres mosqueteros, como vosotros tres: Todos para uno y uno para todos.

La unión hace la fuerza (imaginad lo bien que nos iría a todos si imitásemos lo que hace Chilodonella y el alga Chlorella...pero sin comernos), cada vez me doy más cuenta de que la Natureza es sabia.

¿Cuántos seres veis ahora en la imagen?


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Chilodonella es un ciliado de pequeño tamaño representado por varias especies tanto de agua dulce como salada repartidas por todo el Planeta. Se incluyen entre éstas formas de vida libre y de alimentación omnívora, pero también un reducido número de parásitas que pueden causar enfermedades en los peces o en las larvas de algunos mosquitos.

Chilodonella se caracteriza por su pico redondeado y por tener un aparato bucal en forma de canasta, como Nassula, con el que aspiran, pequeños restos orgánicos, algas y bacterias. La canasta que constituye la faringe de este ciliado está formada por una varillas que forman un cilindro. Éste se abre por la parte ventral para estar en contacto con el fondo sobre el que Chilodonella se desplaza. Cada una de las varillas que forman esta canasta finaliza engrosándose en una pequeña cabeza que es móvil y que permite a Chilodonella manipular su alimento.

Sobre el aparato bucal de Chilodonella se sitúa una sutura oblicua que se extiende hasta el extremo del pico y que está constituida por una barrera ciliada. La parte ventral de Chilodonella es plana y está recorrida por varias hileras de cilios, la dorsal está abultada formando una pequeña joroba que se aplasta en la porción anterior y presenta líneas cruzadas con otros cilios muy cortos que se disponen en sus inmediaciones y en la zona de la periferia.

Algunas especies de Chilodonella como Chilodonella cyprini viven en el agua dulce y parasitan las células epiteliales de algunos peces, haciendo que su piel pierda brillo y cause posteriormente graves ulceraciones. Otras, como Chilodonella uncinata pueden causar infecciones mortales en las larvas de algunos mosquitos del género Culex y Anopheles, que viven en humedales, fundamentalmente arrozales y zonas pantanosas del continente asiático y que como vectores de virus transmiten al hombre, entre otras, enfermedades como la encefalitis japonesa.

El desarrollo de Chilodonella uncinata en las regiones en las que la encefalitis japonesa es una enfermedad endémica, podría ser un buen mecanismo del control de la enfermedad al limitar la proliferación de los mosquitos que son sus vectores de transmisión.

Chilodonella procede de una muestra de agua recogida por Juan, Jacobo y Jaime en un pequeño arroyo en las inmediaciones de Cozcurrita, en la comarca de los Arribes del Duero de Zamora y ha sido fotografiada a 400 aumentos empleando la técnica de contraste de interferencia.


More than bilingual / Más que bilingüe
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Image by . SantiMB .
Sitges, Barcelona (Spain).

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My first photo with corrected perspective. Obviously I can't reach here standing up.

Mi primera foto con perspectiva corregida. Evidentemente no puedo llegar aquí de pie.

ENGLISH
Spanish (español) or Castilian (castellano) is an Indo-European, Romance language that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade. It was taken to Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific with the expansion of the Spanish Empire between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Today, between 322 and 400 million people speak Spanish as a native language, making it the world's second most-spoken language by native speakers (after Mandarin Chinese).

Spanish evolved from Vulgar Latin, with major influences from Arabic in vocabulary during the Andalusian period and minor surviving influences from Basque and Celtiberian, as well as Germanic languages via the Visigoths. Spanish developed along the remote cross road strips among the Alava, Cantabria, Burgos, Soria and La Rioja provinces of Northern Spain, as a strongly innovative and differing variant from its nearest cousin, Leonese speech, with a higher degree of Basque influence in these regions (see Iberian Romance languages). Typical features of Spanish diachronical phonology include lenition (Latin vita, Spanish vida), palatalization (Latin annum, Spanish año, and Latin anellum, Spanish anillo) and diphthongation (stem-changing) of short e and o from Vulgar Latin (Latin terra, Spanish tierra; Latin novus, Spanish nuevo). Similar phenomena can be found in other Romance languages as well.

During the Reconquista, this northern dialect from Cantabria was carried south, and remains a minority language in the northern coastal Morocco.

The first Latin-to-Spanish grammar (Gramática de la Lengua Castellana) was written in Salamanca, Spain, in 1492, by Elio Antonio de Nebrija. When it was presented to Isabel de Castilla, she asked, "What do I want a work like this for, if I already know the language?", to which he replied, "Your highness, the language is the instrument of the Empire."

From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Americas and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization.

Catalan is a Romance language, the national language of Andorra, and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia—where it is known as Valencian— and in the city of Alghero in the Italian island of Sardinia. It is also spoken, although with no official recognition, in the autonomous communities of Aragon (in La Franja) and Murcia (in El Carxe) in Spain, and in the historic Roussillon region of southern France, roughly equivalent to the current département of the Pyrénées-Orientales (Northern Catalonia).

Catalan language developed by the 9th century from Vulgar Latin on both sides of the eastern part of Pyrenees mountains (counties of Roussillon, Empúries, Besalú, Cerdanya, Urgell, Pallars and Ribagorça). It shares features with Gallo-romance and Ibero-romance, and it could be said to be in its beginnings no more than an eccentric dialect of Occitan (or of Western Romance).

As a consequence of the Catalan conquests from Al-Andalus to the south and to the west, it spread to all present-day Catalonia, Balearic Islands and most of Valencia.

During the 15th century, during the Valencian Golden Age, the Catalan language reached its highest cultural splendor, which was not matched again until La Renaixença, 4 centuries later.

More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language

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CASTELLANO
El idioma español o castellano es una lengua romance del grupo ibérico. Es uno de los seis idiomas oficiales de la ONU.

El español es la lengua más hablada del mundo tras el chino mandarín, por el número de hablantes que la tienen como lengua materna. Lo hablan como primera y segunda lengua entre 450 y 500 millones de personas. Por otro lado, el español es el segundo idioma más estudiado en el mundo tras el inglés, con al menos 14 millones de estudiantes, si bien otras fuentes indican que se superan los 46 millones de estudiantes distribuidos en 90 países.

El español, como el resto de lenguas romances, es una continuación moderna del latín hablado (denominado latín vulgar), desde el siglo III a. C. y que, tras el desmembramiento del Imperio Romano, fue divergiendo de las otras variantes del latín que se hablaban en las distintas provincias del antiguo Imperio, dando lugar mediante lenta evolución a las distintas lenguas neolatinas. Debido a su propagación por América, el español es, de largo, la lengua neolatina que ha logrado la mayor difusión.

El castellano se originó como un dialecto del latín en las zonas limítrofes entre Cantabria, Burgos, Álava y La Rioja, provincias del actual norte de España, convirtiéndose en el principal idioma popular del Reino de Castilla (el idioma oficial era el latín). De allí su nombre original de "idioma castellano", en referencia a la zona geográfica donde se originó. La otra denominación del idioma, "español", procede del latín medieval Hispaniolus o más bien de su forma ultracorrecta Spaniolus (literalmente: "hispanito", "españolito"), a través del occitano espaignol. Menéndez Pidal ofrece otra explicación etimológica: el clásico hispanus o hispánicus tomó en latín vulgar el sufijo -one (como en bretón, borgoñón, sajón, frisón, lapón...) y de *hispanione se pasó en castellano antiguo a españón, "luego disimilando las dos nasales se llegó a español, con la terminación -ol, que no se usa para significar naciones".

Avatares históricos y socioecónomicos, y su uso popular como lengua de intercambio, convirtieron el castellano en la lengua franca de toda la península ibérica, en convivencia con las hablas vernáculas allí donde existían: a mediados del siglo XVI se estima que el 80% de los españoles ya hablaban castellano. Con la conquista de América, que era una posesión personal de la corona de Castilla, el idioma español se extendió a través de todo ese continente, desde California hasta el Estrecho de Magallanes.

El catalán (català), también llamado valenciano (valencià) en la Comunidad Valenciana, es una lengua romance occidental que procede del latín vulgar. Estudios realizados por Germà Colón basados en la presencia de determinados aspectos comunes de las lenguas románicas, morfología, fonética, sintaxis, léxico, concluyen que dicho idioma, junto al occitano y al francés, remonta a un diasistema particular, el «latín gálico», como término sin ninguna connotación, atendiendo estrictamente a la tipología lingüística.

Se habla en algunas regiones de España, (particularmente en Cataluña, Comunidad Valenciana e Islas Baleares) y también en Francia, Andorra e Italia. Es la lengua habitual de unos 4,4 millones de personas; además, son capaces de hablarlo unos 7,7 millones y es comprendido por cerca de 10,5 millones de personas.

Como en todas las lenguas romances, el cambio del latín vulgar al catalán fue gradual y no es posible determinar en qué momento se inicia su historia. Según Coromines, los cambios más radicales debieron producirse en los siglos VII y VIII, pero es difícil saberlo con precisión porque los textos se escribían exclusivamente en un latín artificioso, ajeno a la lengua de uso. Ya en el siglo IX y sobre todo en los siglos X y XI, aparecen palabras e incluso frases enteras intercaladas en algo que ya se puede denominar catalán. Desde 1150 hay ya numerosos documentos escritos y hacia finales del siglo XII aparece el primer texto literario conocido, las Homilías de Organyà, un fragmento de una colección de sermones.

El catalán surge a ambos lados de los Pirineos (condados del Rosellón, Ampurias, Besalú, la Cerdaña, Urgell, Pallars y Ribagorza) y se extendió hacia el sur durante la Reconquista en varias fases: Barcelona y Tarragona, Lérida y Tortosa, el antiguo Reino de Valencia, las Islas Baleares y Alguer.

En cuanto al catalán como lengua extranjera, aunque no es una lengua muy difundida, cuenta con una larga tradición que se remonta a la Edad Media, a causa de la expansión medieval de la Corona aragonesa, y en su momento dejó huella especialmente en la Península itálica y en el vocabulario náutico mediterráneo. Actualmente, se enseña en varias universidades tanto en Europa como en los EE.UU. e Hispanoamérica, así como en numerosos centros catalanes de todo el mundo.

Más info: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castellano, es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idioma_catal%c3%a1n

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CATALÀ
El castellà o espanyol és un idioma nascut als antics Regnes de Castella i de Navarra parlat actualment, a més d'Espanya, en nombrosos països dels continents americà, africà i asiàtic, per 450 milions de persones (en l'anomenada Hispanitat), i per més de 500 milions si s'inclouen els que la parlen com a segona llengua.

És la llengua materna més parlada al món darrera el xinès mandarí. És la llengua més estudiada al món com a segona llengua darrera l'anglès. És llengua oficial a l'Organització de les Nacions Unides.

Pertany al grup de les llengües indoeuropees i prové de l'evolució del llatí vulgar (+90%), evidenciant també la influència de l'àrab - gran quantitat de paraules provinents d'aquesta llengua- així com del basc (evolució fonètica).

La llengua castellana es va desenvolupar a la regió nord-central de la península Ibèrica, a partir del llatí vulgar, amb possible influència de les llengües cèltiques i del basc. Algunes característiques del castellà inclouen la lenició (llatí: vita, castellà: vida), la palatalització (llatí: annum, castellà: año), i diftongació de les vocals breus e/o del llatí vulgar (llatí: terra, castellà: tierra; llatí: novo, castellà: nuevo); alguns d'aquests canvis fonològics es troben en altres llengües romàniques.

Durant la reconquesta, aquest dialecte del nord es va estendre cap al sud i a altres regions de la península Ibèrica.

El primer diccionari Llatí-Castellà (Gramática de la Lengua Castellana), es va publicar a Salamanca el 1492 per Elio Antonio de Nebrija. Després del segle XVI, la llengua es va portar a Amèrica i algunes regions de l'Àsia per la colonització espanyola. El segle XX, es va portar a la Guinea Equatorial i al Sàhara Occidental.

El català és una llengua romànica parlada per gairebé 9 milions i mig de persones al món. Els límits del domini lingüístic inclouen Catalunya excepte la Vall d'Aran, el País Valencià (a excepció d'algunes comarques), les Illes Balears, Andorra, la Franja de Ponent (Aragó), la ciutat de l'Alguer (a l'illa de Sardenya), la Catalunya del Nord (95% del Departament dels Pirineus Orientals, i el Carxe, un petit territori de Múrcia poblat per modernes migracions de valencians. El domini lingüístic, amb una superfície de 59.905 km² i 12.805.197 d'habitants (2006), inclou 1.687 termes municipals, 9 dels quals tenen només una part minoritària catalanoparlant.

El català fou prohibit al Principat de Catalunya en el camp oficial des del Decret de Nova Planta (1716) i al País Valencià (1707). A Catalunya Nord ja s'havia aplicat una prohibició similar el 1700. Al segle XX, a l'estat espanyol, s'interdí durant les dictadures de Primo de Rivera (1923-1930) i Franco (1939-1975). En els territoris catalanoparlants d'Espanya no es retrobà l'oficialitat fins a l'entrada dels diferents estatuts d'autonomia.

Almenys ja d'ençà el segle XIV, aquesta llengua també rep, entre d'altres, el nom de valencià, denominació emprada sobretot al País Valencià. Actualment i per evitar els conflictes que això pot crear com a arma política per afeblir la llengua, l'AVL ha arribat a la conclusió, el 9 de febrer de 2005 que «És un fet que a Espanya hi ha dos denominacions igualment legals per a designar esta llengua: la de valencià, establida en l'Estatut d'Autonomia de la Comunitat Valenciana, i la de català, reconeguda en els Estatuts d'Autonomia de Catalunya i les Illes Balears.»

A la Catalunya del Nord, el català ha estat reconegut com a llengua del departament, ensems amb el francès, el 10 de desembre del 2007 pel Consell General dels Pirineus Orientals mitjançant la Carta en favor del català. Val a dir que aqueix acte no comporta pas cap conseqüència ni té pas cap valor legal a l'estat francès.

Més info: ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castell%c3%a0, ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catal%c3%a0

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