Natural splendour, real musics, wines, wordpower
Inarguably, much of it is perplexing.
Arguably, however, it often reveals the actual nature of what is now routinely described – by those not under its yoke – as an “authoritarian” regime.
”Totalitarian” is, I think, a more accurate descriptor.
Comments closed…or just a “wicked” sense of humour from a graffitist on the “roof of the world”?
Comments closedRed Pandas are their genus’s only (two) species; further, they are the only living members of their family, Ailuridae.
They are only very distantly related to Giant Pandas.
Giant Pandas are bears, members of the Ursidae family.
Red Pandas are more closely related to weasels, skunks and raccoons, as fellow members of the superfamily, Musteloidea.
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Oblivion is a 1982 composition by Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992), Nuevo tango’s pre-eminent composer and bandoneon virtuoso.
Perhaps his most uncanny piece, it has survived/endured countless covers.
Some of its finest interpreters are not Argentinian, and although one of this post’s two very different versions does feature a “squeezebox”, it is not a bandoneon.
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This post is the fruit of a lunchtime walk through the walled, “old city” section of Jaipur, Rajasthan’s largest city.
Approaching four million people, its metropolis has around twice as many residents as Perth’s.
Its “old” part’s hub makes any part of Perth – or of most “Western World” city CBDs – feel relatively monochrome, lifeless.
Comments closedThe featured image depicts maternal tenderness, but Macaca thibetana is also a strikingly aggressive, opportunistic species.
Unsurprisingly, this species’ “near threatened” status is the result of pressure/competition from our own aggressive, opportunistic species!
Tibetan Macaques live in cool subtropical Asian forests at elevations between 800 and 2500 metres above sea level.
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Sequentially, the featured image is the fourth of this post’s photos, all taken within the contest’s brief timespan: a little less than four minutes.
Formally, the “snake bird” is an Oriental darter, Anhinga melenogaster – the same species who looked so very different when in repose, in #66 in Pelican Yoga’s “a shining moment” series.
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It is a great pleasure to encounter a non-gloating, happy person – one who appears comfortable in their own skin, who requires “no particular reason” to be happy, who radiates contentment, is fully alive, and not “on guard”.
Such encounters do not require a common language, nor any words to be spoken.
Typically, no commercial transaction is involved, no contest, no “big event”…
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A perfectly peaceful, spacious scene?
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Pikas are the Tibetan Plateau’s most numerous mammals.
The pictured individual was still alive, just…
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