Something beautiful to soothe and calm. Come see.

I haven't clicked on the link.

I do not know how albino entered this conversation. Could this be some kind of surreptitious way to deflect reader's attention and trick them into clicking the link?

makes multiple windows pop up with screaming meemies and you feel HAD. my advice, don't click on anything albino.

You are a "creationist". :D

Those things scare me to death. The first time that happened to me I was so scared. (really sad, huh?)

someone here posted that Devil Thing and I gave Him some what for.

... field trip through the Sunbeam plant, and we all left with a freshly-baked loaf of bread.

I don't think any bread ever tasted that good, before or since!

-- WhirlyG

thanks for the post.... :)

insignificance.....
...really......

We all need soothing and calming at this point in time. Thank you.

Thanks for the link. It brings a certain amount of tranquility and fills me with awe.

Soon to be silenced.

Attention Citizens: The truths shown there, the truth of a universe in a state of constant creation, are not to be viewed. Please avert your eyes and surrender yourself to the nearest spiritual re-aligner for creationist therapy. Under penalty of law.

What a wonderful way to end my weekend!!

I've bookmarked the site.

(Pat on the head.)

Thanks for sharing that! :)

I've bookmarked it. Thanks for the relief from a terrible news weekend.

Since the vast reich-wing noise machine has recently borged half of DU I've been playing with StumbleOn (a semi random website referral system) and came across some very nice photos that reminded me of what is true and beautiful in life. You might want to start here: http://www.notesfromtheroad.com/pacificnorthwest/pacificnorthwest.htm or browse thru the other regions listed.

(edit to mention the link in the header)

can't wait to see the rest!

http://avalon.unomaha.edu/afghan/

Luke Powell photographer.

and these photos remind me of what it was like before US imperialism decided that instead of leaving it as a mostly ignored buffer state, undergoing its own quiet evolution, it should be turned into a war zone. I was there in late summer both times, and green was nowhere to be seen, but the society and towns were very much what this photographer shows.

Thank you. I've looked around the web a bit for pix, found a few, but this is a very broad and well-photographed collection. (Bookmarked.)

365 days.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0810914301/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-3905312-9748952#reader-page

accidentally came across it at a doctors waiting room. It make me dizzy with delight. The amazon pages viewable are not the best choices, tho. It's unbelievably glorious, this planet we are on and some of the things we have made. All birds eye views.

where people post especially beautiful photos of natural things. I would prefer that to the Lounge, myself.

... But I never want to lose the Lounge -- reading those subject lines is so much fun!

Can we start another group for this purpose? What would our mission statement be?

-----------
<< Maybe we should have a place at DU to go and refresh ourselves, where people post especially beautiful photos of natural things. I would prefer that to the Lounge, myself. >>

(Moved post.)

have to go over it a few times to get the scripts. I don't think there's a way to slow it down unless you want to make screen captures of all the verbage, which would be tiresome.

... Go back to the sign-on screen and select "Dial-Up"! :-)

I do want to look over all the existing current groups and forums to make sure there's nothing like this already, then yes, I think it would be a good idea for some kind of group where all would be welcome to come and refresh themselves with beautiful pictures of natural surroundings of all kinds. Space, underwater, all kinds of terrain, everything. People would be welcome to post links and explanatory comments so people could choose what they enjoy the most.

If there's nothing like this already, I think there should be. We can think about possible names, but it should be something that makes it clear that it's basically the DU Nature Preserve and the purpose is to find peace, refreshment and inspiration. No politics, no arguments. Just beauty.

Something to think about.

would be posted in each. There may already be a Gardening Group, in which case the garden pictures might fit better there; I don't know the status of this. In any case, I would envisage threads with titles that say what sorts of things could be expected in each. There could be threads for astronomy, underwater pictures, wild animal pictures, forest pictures, storms and clouds of all kinds, etc., etc. Pet pictures might be an issue, since I'm afraid we could be inundated with endless pics of everybody's favorite pets, which would be a different kind of thing entirely. Those would be better in a separate forum.

At the moment, it's all speculation. Nice to consider, though, isn't it?

would be hard to define in terms of content. It's more a matter of what makes one feel a part of a larger good. There are many compelling photos on war and suffering that inspire compassion and need to be seen (like the Afghan Girl by McCurry http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/100best/multi1_interview.html ) but I would think the idea would be to limit photos to those which remind us more of wholeness than the pain of isolation and division. If a flower or animal pic does that, beyond just being pretty or cute, that I would like to see it shared in such a group.

As for copyright, I think links to online pix are no problem unless one decides to copy and sell them.

get around to scanning some of my photos to share. I use photography as a way to "be there" more fully and see more clearly when I am hiking or just sitting in one of the many places nature has created which speak to the soul. Sometimes, not real often, my slides show what I experienced and are worth sharing. And sometimes I come across photos by others that tell the truth about life, and would like to refer others to them. The link I posted above was one of the few really exceptional collections I have seen, but I am sure there are many, many more I have not seen. Nature photography is often just pretty pix, but at its best (like the Hubble images), it can be very inspirational and healing.

If a "DU Nature Preserve" is indeed set up at some point, we would also have to take care to note whether images are copyrighted and do whatever is required to avoid trespassing in that regard.

Something to think about. I do believe it would serve a useful function. The natural world is a source of great energy and grounding, wonderfully refreshing to turn to for peace and recharging when one becomes tired and frustrated. It's also a reminder of what we are fighting for.

I have to smile here - DU is becoming more of a real community all the time, and this would be like a park.

home page. It's different every day, and there are always link-filled paragraphs to explain what you are seeing. Some of the images are from earth -- auroras, lightning strikes and special rainbows, for example -- while others may be from absolutely anywhere in space, near or far. Even when they are spaceborne, the photos ground me in beauty and reset my perspective when I start up my computer.

The Astronomy Picture a Day site is here:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

I recommend it unreservedly.

That is just so beautiful!

Thanks for posting this.

Makes all this political stuff look like the silliest stuff that simple life forms do to occupy time - oh, wait - it is!

... It made me think of Keith Olbermann's awesome intelligence... but everything makes me think of Keith Olbermann's awesome intelligence.

PS: Is there some way to slow the program down, so you have time to read a caption before the image slips away?

-- WhirlyG

the second time through so more time could be spent catching the captions and just enjoying.

Thanks, soup!

--WhirlyG

:kick:

:kick: