What site can I go to where other Christians are, and we can have church?

Question by cjam: What site can I go to where other Christians are, and we can have church?
Its been a long time since I have been in church because I cant afford to travel anymore to a church which I really like. The people were kind and no one made themselves more important than I am. There is a church in the town I live in, but there are too many people who go there who makes me feel that I am wrong on everything. I know this isnt so, because I Like most people. I need a online church I think.

Best answer:

Answer by whirlingmerc
http://www.sermonaudio.com has many sermons you can freely listen to

http://www.DesiringGod.org also has many many sermons you can freely listen to

there are many Christian chat lines as well
but many someone else can recommend one?

Give your answer to this question below!

WHy did all those LIBERALs act so harsh and even evil …..?

Question by : WHy did all those LIBERALs act so harsh and even evil …..?
When the story broke about the Baptist men and mostly women who were trying to take the 33 children out of Haiti after the earthquake ” to protect them from the violence and dangers of a country devastated” and were detained by the quasi government: …. why did so called liberals began to claimed they were “trafficking in children” and called them every sort of evil name and layed on them every sort of evil MOTIVE , and tried to condemn all christians and specifically these people as trying to: “steal children”, …have they NOT come back to apologize?
I said when all those anti christians started posting their so called questions and began to distort and rabidly spew hatred (as LIBERALS!), against these good intentioned and sincerely sacrificing of their own safety, men and women, have we seen no response from the media or NEWS about this since they were all OVER IT when it first started and NOW NOT ONE WORD????? See this web site > http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100427/haitian-judge-clears-9-us-christians-of-all-charges/index.html
NINE of the TEN were cleared of ALL charges, and you would think that a so called open minded good hearted patriotic american liberal would rejoice in the justice, and that the news would shout the good new that americans had been found NOT GUILTY of trumped up charges????
The last person still has a single ridiculous phony charge of “arranging irregular travel” . Just the kind of ridiculous charges you saw in Russia and in many tin pot kind of third world governments to give them some form of legitimacy. I suspect that the charges will be dropped or at LEAST set to time served possibly to just expulsion, since this is more a face saving action for the government to prevent liability while lending some credence to their heavy handed actions.
WHY? Why don’t these morally superior NON christians liberal people actually say: “I am sorry”? for all the violence they did against christians here in yahoo answers and across the net? Why hasn’t the MEDIA made the effort to actually state a retraction of all their venomous attempts to smear christians? Isn’t that at least as important as the story was, now that these people have been vindicated and the GOOD NAME of them, Christianity, and the AMERICAN PEOPLE been shown?
It was so ugly to see post after post in the yahoo answers religion section by endless people who made this out to be the worst FACT of a clear cut case of “trafficking in children ” “stealing children”, “cults” and any other evil dispersion of these good peoples character. Suddenly they are silent…. I would hide in shame myself if i had acted like these people did in their apparent hatred of Christians and the Christian community, while hiding behind a cloak of self-righteous liberalism.
I meant to say that when these people started this tirade i told them that absolutly NOTHING would come of this and that its a completely trumped up charges of a nation in disarray, and so it has… i must be a prophet …lolol. I would lay dollars to donuts that not ONE person will actualy come to say they are sorry for the lies they told and that we will not see a single news report on TV from major outlets except maybe FOX news about this turn of events. What does this tell you? It tells me that some people are just not decent people and the Media is a liberal fortress of anti christian hate mongers.
The first three responses are classic examples of people not willing to face the fact that they were wrong. These answers are typical of the inability of some to see justly and act rightly.
WE are talking NINE people aquitted of ALL charges and there won’t be a “civil suit” that contradicts this.
What did Forrest Gump say…? Evil is as evil does??? … or something like that…lol. Pathetic response from you three .
OH, btw, this IS the catagory that the attacks were posted in and about CHRISTIANS. And this is a issue of religion so i would say this is NOT the wrong catagory.
Noone said the “children were returned” “supposeds” are not proofs and yes i am well aware oif the legal system … but are you? i did not say they did not plead guilty , i SAID they were AQUITED AS “NOT GUILTY”. AND NOT ONE OF YOU HAS ANSWERED THE QUESTION! they were wrong and need to apologize and the Media has NOT done anything to correct the facts or report on the results of the situation , typical both they and you all are just obsfucating things rather than admiting the wrong done by those abusive individuals in judging before the facts and condemning without the legal principle of “thier day in court”
typical poor and unspecific answers based in cycinicalism and a complete inability to grasp simple facts.
Gee…. a “chargable offense, … and DESERVES punishment” ! What hubris of you to be judge, jury and executioner. Seems the HAITIAN Courts would say you are wrong and possibly a liar since they DECIDED NO OFFENSE WAS COMMITTED! And you do not know but that the agreements between the people who children they were and these caring individuals are presented for the courts review.
LIes upon LIES it seems is the order of the day for those who want desperatly to hate others religions and beliefs instead of showing decency and justice.
VIzvids arguments a spurious and biased comment simply because the facts are easily check-able but NOT on a biased LIBERAL media source or web site. What a lame answer with NO actualy validity.

Best answer:

Answer by Vivzid
Conservative websites are not reliable/ to biased.
Plus, this is the wrong section.

What do you think? Answer below!

Q&A: Syria during Ramadan?

Question by turnip juice: Syria during Ramadan?
I will be travelling to Syria for a few weeks during the month of September. Other than fasting, is there anything else I should I know about Ramadan?

Will any tourists sites be closed? How difficult will it be to find a place to eat during the evening in Damascus? Does Ramadan apply to the Christian quarters in Damascus?

Thanks in advance.

Best answer:

Answer by ~rOah~
My brother went to Syria during Ramadan a couple of years ago, although he didn’t fast he was able to eat. Not everyone fasts in Ramadan even though majority do. I don’t think you will find it difficult because people are shopping for food for their futur.
Good Luck and enjoy your trip =)

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

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The Colosseum from Palatine Hill

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The Colosseum from Palatine Hill
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Image by MarcelGermain
Rome (Italy).

The Colosseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre, is an elliptical amphitheatre in the center of the city of Rome, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.

Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started around 70 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian’s reign (81–96).

Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. As well as the gladiatorial games, other public spectacles were held there, such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine. It has been estimated that about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals died in the Colosseum games.

Although in the 21st century it stays partially ruined due to damage caused by devastating earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome and its breakthrough achievements in earthquake engineering. It is one of Rome’s most popular tourist attractions and still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession around the various levels of the amphitheatre. The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin.
[Adapted from Wikipedia]

Toledo con el Alcazar
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Image by Javier Corbo
Toledo is a municipality located in central Spain, 70 km south of Madrid. It is the capital of the province of Toledo. It is also the capital of autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage as one of the former capitals of the Spanish Empire and place of coexistence of Christian, Jewish and Muslim cultures, as well as the place where harsh religious persecutions were held against the Jews.

La comedia de las cosas 3

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La comedia de las cosas 3
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Image by Toro_33
La Comedia de las Cosas
de Martin Suter

Pablo, el gerente de productos, llega cada noche a su departamento de soltero, saca sus compras y prepara su pizza congelada en el horno. El trabajo no anda bien anda y últimamente está demasiado solo: no habla con sus vecinos, sus amigos no le devuelven las llamadas telefónicas y Susi, su novia, lo ha dejado hace poco. No obstante, él mira todo de manera diferente: es un ganador, un soltero que casi no puede escapar las mujeres y de los amigos que lo persiguen, logró que Susi se fuera para ayudarla a soltarse emocionalmente de él y está convencido que ella es una “mujer de un solo hombre” que está desesperada por volver.

Esta noche, sin embargo, algo pasa en su departamento: en un hecho totalmente inesperado, su sofá le hace ver que no es un “single”, sino que está solo; su cojín de flores le revela los creativos usos que Susi, la “onemanwoman”, le ha dado en situaciones comprometidas y su chaqueta Hugo Boss trata de estimularlo para que salgan de bares y conozcan gente.

¿Su sofá?, ¿su cojín?, ¿su chaqueta? Sí. Otros roles principales los desempeñan: un “puff” atrevido, un cojín de botón, una pizza, un psiquiatra y la ex novia

Ready to set sail / Listos para zarpar
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Image by . SantiMB .
La Rábida, Huelva (Spain).

ENGLISH
On the evening of August 3, 1492, Columbus departed from Palos with three ships; one larger carrack, Santa María, nicknamed Gallega (the Gallician), and two smaller caravels, Pinta (the Painted) and Santa Clara, nicknamed Niña (the Girl). (The ships were never officially named). They were property of Juan de la Cosa and the Pinzón brothers (Martin Alonzo and Vicente Yáñez), but the monarchs forced the Palos inhabitants to contribute to the expedition. Columbus first sailed to the Canary Islands, which was owned by Castile, where he restocked the provisions and made repairs, and on September 6, he started what turned out to be a five-week voyage across the ocean.

Land was sighted at 2 a.m. on October 12, 1492, by a sailor named Rodrigo de Triana (also known as Juan Rodríguez Bermejo) aboard Pinta. (Columbus would claim the prize.) Columbus called the island (in what is now The Bahamas) San Salvador, although the natives called it Guanahani. Exactly which island in the Bahamas this corresponds to is an unresolved topic; prime candidates are Samana Cay, Plana Cays, or San Salvador Island (named San Salvador in 1925 in the belief that it was Columbus’s San Salvador). The indigenous people he encountered, the Lucayan, Taíno or Arawak, were peaceful and friendly. In his journal he wrote of them, "It appears to me, that the people are ingenious, and would be good servants and I am of opinion that they would very readily become Christians, as they appear to have no religion." He also wrote of them, two days after landing, "I could conquer the whole of them with 50 men, and govern them as I pleased."

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus#First_voyage

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CASTELLANO
Cristóbal Colón, en representación de los Reyes Católicos de España, realizó cuatro famosos viajes desde Europa a América en 1492, 1493, 1498 y 1502. En el primero de ellos llegó a América el 12 de octubre de 1492, a una isla de las Bahamas llamada Guanahani, cuya exacta localización aún se discute. En el tercer viaje llegó a territorio continental en la actual Venezuela.

El primer viaje de Colón se inició en Palos de la Frontera, el 3 de agosto de 1492. La escuadra colombina estaba formada por las carabelas Pinta, Niña y Santa María. Para el equipamiento de las naves fue decisiva la colaboración de los hermanos Pinzón, que participaron también en el viaje. Colón se dirigió hacia las Canarias y desde la isla de Gomera se lanzó a la travesía del Atlántico (6 de septiembre). El 12 de octubre llegó a la isla Guanahaní (Walting, en las Bahamas), a la que llamó San Salvador. Arribó después a la isla de Cuba, bautizada con el nombre de Juana, y posteriormente a La Española. El 25 de diciembre encalló la carabela Santa María y con sus restos construyó un fuerte llamado Navidad, en el que dejó una pequeña guarnición. Con las dos naves restantes, la Pinta y la Niña, emprendió el viaje de retorno (16 de enero de 1493). Durante la travesía las dos naves se separaron. Colón llegó a Palos el 15 de marzo y marchó a Barcelona para informar a los reyes de su descubrimiento.

Fuente: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descubrimiento_de_Am%c3%a9rica

Skyline
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Image by . SantiMB .
Conesa, Tarragona (Spain).

1ª Sortida enfoca: Guimerà-Conesa (gener 2009).

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ENGLISH
Conesa is a municipality of the Catalan region of Conca de Barberà. According to data of 2005 its population it was of 133 inhabitants.

In 1043, Ramon Berenguer I yielded these lands to Bernat Sunifred so that he is in charge of his reconquers and later repopulation. In 1154 it passed to depend on the archdiocese of Tarragona. From 14th century, the place was into the hands of the monastery of Santes Creus. The monastery obtained the complete jurisdiction of the place in 1383 by donation of Pedro the Ceremonious. Santes Creus maintained its dominion until the aim of lordships in 1835.

In 14th century the city was walled. They are left still on some rest as well as two of its gates: the Royal Gate or of Sant Antoni and the gate of Santa Maria. The nucleus of houses that is within the walls is made up of five narrow streets. Still it conserves its medieval aspect with old arcades.

The origin of place name is not clear. According to the historian Manuel Sanchis i Guarner it would come from the Arab term kunaisa that means “Christian church”. Other versions indicate that the origin of the name is in Latin iou condensa (great thickness), alluding to the lushness of the forests that surrounded the population.

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CASTELLANO
Conesa es un municipio de la comarca catalana de la Conca de Barberà. Según datos de 2005 su población era de 133 habitantes.

En el 1043, Ramón Berenguer I cedió estos terrenos a Bernat Sunifred para que se encarga de su reconquista y posterior repoblación. En el 1154 pasó a depender de la archidiócesis de Tarragona. A partir del siglo XIV, el lugar estuvo en manos del monasterio de Santes Creus. El cenobio obtuvo la jurisdicción completa del lugar en 1383 por donación de Pedro el Ceremonioso. Santes Creus mantuvo su dominio hasta el fin de las señorías en 1835.

En el siglo XIV se amuralló la ciudad. Quedan en pie algunos restos así como dos de sus puertas: el Portal Reial o de Sant Antoni y el portal de Santa Maria. El núcleo de casas que se encuentra dentro de las murallas está compuesto por cinco calles estrechas. Aún conserva su aspecto medieval con porches antiguos.

El origen del topónimo no está claro. Según el historiador Manuel Sanchis i Guarner provendría del término árabe kunaisa que significa "iglesia cristiana". Otras versiones indican que el origen del nombre está en el latín iou condensa (gran espesura), aludiendo a la frondosidad de los bosques que rodeaban la población.

Más info: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conesa_(Tarragona)

The Underground Lake

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The Underground Lake
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Image by Pathos Photos
Buy Prints | Blog | Google+ | China Photo Book

There is a series of cave systems that run under the huge mountains of Guilin in southern China. Reed Flute Cave is one of the more famous ones so I made a slight detour to go check it out. Like most places in China, there were a good number of tourists around so I quietly waited for them to pass so that I could have the place to myself and take pictures. The problem was that they would turn off the lights as soon as the tourists passed by so I was often left in the middle of a huge underground chamber with nothing but my cat eyes to guide me to safety. It was a little bit eerie, but all together awesome! I would point my camera at the ceiling and leave the shutter open for minutes at a time to collect all the faint light reflecting off some distant stalactite.

I finally made my way to the largest chamber where a mini lake made a perfect reflection of the alien-looking rock formation on the other end. As I was waiting for my camera to gather all the light, my mind started to wonder what was lying deep in this ancient underground lake. As I kept staring at the dark water, listening to the single drops of water sliding off the stalactites and delicately swan-diving into the lake, I started to feel a hypnotic pull to walk into the lake. Lucky for me I was traveling with my guide, Bart, who tripped over something, made a loud noise and brought me back to the present moment … and that is why you hire a guide, ladies and gentlemen. They can keep you from taking a dip in scary underground lakes.

My Little Secret Revealed: Part 1
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Image by Shavar Ross
1997. The Hard Rock Cafe’. Hollywood. My son’s 4th birthday party. Lol, only in Hollywood will a 4 year old have a birthday party at the Hard Rock Cafe’. You probably already know who had more fun! Don’t worry, Chuck E. Cheese came the next year. To the left of me is my wife Jacqueline. On the right of me is a guy I ran into named Rodney Allen Rippey. When I first came to town he was already a kid tv star and veteran in the business! Back in the day, Rodney was "tha man"! He’s famous for those old Jack In The Box commercials. Hmmm…I wonder if he still gets free food from them. Really nice guy.

Behind me is Sean, Tyler’s dad! Y’all remember Tyler, right? Out of all my photos on Flickr, Tyler’s is my second most viewed. Ah, but this is my favorite one I took of her. Kids…they just grow up too fast!

Anyway, many of you don’t know this about me but this was somethin’ I used to do on the side, lol…

In 1992, instead of going to USC’s film school, I attended bible college instead. Many of my peers thought I was crazy for practically leaving the acting business and dedicating 8 years of my life to the ministry.

I finally completed 4 years of biblical studies at The Ministry Training Institute, an auxiliary of one of the largest churches in Los Angeles. After graduating, I founded The Alive Church, a non-denominational church in Hollywood in which I pastored for 4 years.

I taught and preached the bible to my congregation every single Sunday for 207 "straight" weeks (4 years) until I literally got sick from exhaustion and could not go on. I tried so hard to impress the overseers of my "home church" but my little church never seemed to grow "big" enough for them…so, after realizing and finding out that the "business" of the organized church was very political, I opted out. In many ways, the "church world" was worse than the very place I deserted 8 years before; Hollywood.

All in all, I have not one regret about the choices I’ve made! It was one of the most exciting times of my life! I still believe in the local church very much so today so you church goin’ folks stay, don’t leave. However, know that the "real" church is inside you.

Finally, if there was any church cooler, it was The Alive Church! It was the place where I learned to write and direct. Lot’s of cool, contemporary plays…with really great actors! Except for Rodney, these were some of my first church members.

The exciting part is, now, thanks to Podcasting technology and iTunes, I now get to bust out tons of my old preachin’ tapes and upload them to my new podcast feed! Maybe I’ll start speakin’ again, I don’t know. Encouraging and speaking positive things to people gave me strength to live.

©2005 Facebook.com/Shavar

Christmas in jewish quarter / Navidad en el cayo judío

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Christmas in jewish quarter / Navidad en el cayo judío
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Image by . SantiMB .
Torà, Lleida (Spain).

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ENGLISH
The town of Torà is located at the foot of the mountain range of the Aguda, between the Llobregós river and the watercourse of Llanera. The Llobregós goes from east to the west, forming a spit that stretches slightly perpendicular in the northern limit of the Segarra, with landscaping, topographic, geologic and gastronomical characteristics different from the rest of the region.

Throughout the line that forms this river, during 10th century, it existed the border between the Christian counties and the Islamic world. To the north, the Christians; to the south, the Saracens. Also it distinguishes clearly two landscapes; in the part of above, forests and isolated country houses; in the part of down, where it is based most of the present population, it extend the smooth cerealistic undulations of the Segarra.

The town of Torà is the most important and dynamic locality of these contours fruit of its industrial growth, thing that has not made him lose the aspect eminently agriculturist and cattle farmer of typical town of the Segarra. Torà has its origin at medieval time, the narrow alleys of the old district, places setting of porches, quiet and calm, they are a clear testimony.

The old Jewish quarter of Torà is located in what is now Carrer Nou, in the very centre of the old part of the village. Access to this area is through two portals. One is located in the Plaça de l’Església and the Portal Nou provides entry from the Plaça del Pati. This area is surrounded by small squares, narrow streets and very steep alleys that help recreate the atmosphere of the medieval village.

Close by, we find the old bakery, which now houses the bread museum. The first businesses of Torà were established in its Jewish quarter We know this from the entrances to some of the houses that still maintain the specific typology of the medieval Jewish shops, with the entrance on the left and the counter on the right of the facade for serving clients from inside the shop.

The lintels of many houses also serve as valuable material witnesses to the presence of the Jewish population. Some houses still bear the engraved symbol of Christ with the date and name of the owner. According to some historians, this identified Jews who had converted to Christianity.

A number of wealthy families lived in the Jewish quarter of the village, including the Baron of Morrocurt, and the Mujal and Aldabó families. The donations of the latter served to set up the wheat shop or “poor people’s shop” and the village Hospital.

Sources: www.lleidatur.com/ing/culturajueva.html

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CASTELLANO
La villa de Torà se encuentra situada al pie de la sierra de la Aguda, entre el río Llobregós y la riera de Llanera. El Llobregós va de este a oeste, formando una lonja que se estira ligeramente perpendicular en el límite septentrional de la Segarra, con unos rasgos paisajísticos, topográficos, geológicos y gastronómicos diferentes del resto de la comarca.

A lo largo de la línea que forma este río, durante el siglo X, existía la frontera entre los condados cristianos y el mundo islámico. Al norte, los cristianos; al sur, los sarracenos. También distingue claramente dos paisajes; en la parte de arriba, bosques y masías aisladas; en la parte de abajo, donde se asienta la mayoría de la población actual, se extienden las suaves ondulaciones cerealísticas de la Segarra.

La villa de Torà es la localidad más importante y dinámica de estos contornos fruto de su crecimiento industrial, cosa que no le ha hecho perder el aspecto eminentemente agrícola y ganadero de típica villa de la Segarra. Torà tiene su origen en época medieval, los callejones estrechos del barrio viejo, cubiertos de porches, silenciosos y tranquilos, son un claro testimonio.

La antigua judería de Torà se localiza en la actual calle Nueva, en pleno núcleo antiguo de la población. Se accede a ella por dos portales, uno situado en la plaza de la iglesia y por el portal Nuevo, con entrada por la plaza del Patio. Está rodeada de plazuelas, calles estrechas y callejones de fuerte pendiente, que recrean el ambiente de la antigua villa medieval.

Muy cerca encontramos el viejo horno comunal, que hoy alberga el museo del pan. En el barrio judío de Torà se estableció el primer comercio de la población. Dan fe de ello las entradas de algunas casas que todavía conservan la tipología propia de las tiendas medievales judías, con el acceso a la izquierda y el mostrador a la derecha de la fachada para servir a los clientes desde dentro de la tienda.

Los dindeles de muchas casas son también un valioso testimonio material de la presencia de los judíos en la población; en algunos casos todavía tienen grabado el símbolo de Jesús, sigla según algunos historiadores de los judíos conversos, además de la fecha y el nombre del propietario.

Residieron en la judería familias acomodadas de la población, como el barón de Morrocurt, los Mujal o los Aldabó, éstos últimos fundadores con sus donativos de la tienda del trigo o de los pobres y del hospital de la localidad.

Fuentes: www.turismesegarra.com/pobles/tora.asp, www.lleidatur.com/esp/culturajueva.html

The sound of water / El sonido del agua
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Image by . SantiMB .
El Generalife, Granada (Spain).

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ENGLISH
It occupied the slopes of the Hill of the Sun (Cerro del Sol), from which there is a complete view over the city and the valleys of the rivers Genil and Darro. There are different interpretations of the meaning of its name: the Governor’s Garden, the Architect’s (alarife) Garden, the Vegetable Garden of the Gypsy Festivity Organiser, etc. The Generalife became a leisure place for the kings of Granada when they wanted to get away from the official affairs of the palace.

It was built in the 13th century and it was redecorated by the king Abu I-Walid Isma’il (1313-1324), as it is explained by an inscription that dates from 1319. This means that the Generalife was built before the Comares Palace. In spite of it being very close to the Alhambra and the close relationship between the two complexes, it is considered to be outside the city. A rebellion against Mohammed V even broke out in the Alhambra while he was in the Generalife.

Nowadays the Generalife is formed by two groups of buildings connected by the Patio of the Irrigation Ditch (Patio de la Acequia).

Nevertheless it is difficult to know what the Generalife originally looked like, as it has been altered and rebuilt at different moments throughout the Christian period. These changes were at first necessary due to the sorry state of deterioration and neglect that was the result of the late Muslim period and later on they changed its layout and distorted many of its features.

In the Generalife there is no kind of decorative excess or points of interest in its architecture. Unlike the Alhambra, all the buildings of the Generalife are quite solid, but in general poor and simple. This indicates an intimate and peaceful atmosphere that the kings were looking for when they retired to these gardens to rest. There are only some decorative motifs of plasterwork, which are not very varied, but are exquisitely fine and tasteful.

Source: www.alhambradegranada.org/historia/alhambrageneralifeintr…

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CASTELLANO
Ocupa las pendientes del Cerro del Sol, desde el que se abarcan toda la ciudad y los valles del Genil y del Darro. Del significado de su nombre existen distintas interpretaciones: Jardín del Intendente, del Arquitecto (alarife), Huerta del Zambrero, etc. El Generalife se convirtió en lugar de recreo para los reyes granadinos cuando éstos querían huir de la vida oficial del palacio.

Se construyó a mediados del s. XIII, y según reza una inscripción de 1319, el rey Abu I-Walid Isma’il (1313-1324) lo redecoró, lo que lo hace anterior a la construcción de Palacio de Comares, A pesar de su proximidad a la Alhambra y de su estrecha relación entre ambos conjuntos, se consideraba fuera de la ciudad, incluso estalló una rebelión en la Alhambra contra Mohamed V mientras éste se encontraba en el Generalife.

En la actualidad, el Generalife está formado por dos conjuntos de edificaciones, conectados por el Patio de la Acequia.

Sin embargo, es difícil saber el aspecto original del Generalife, ya que ha ido sufriendo modificaciones y reconstrucciones durante toda la etapa cristiana, en un principio necesarias debido al estado de deterioro y abandono en que se encontraba en la última etapa musulmana, pero que posteriormente perturbaron su disposición y desfiguraron muchos de sus aspectos.

En la construcción del Generalife no podemos encontrar ningún tipo de exceso decorativo, ni grandes actuaciones arquitectónicas. Al contrario que en la Alhambra, toda la edificación del Generalife, aunque sólida, es en general muy pobre y muy simple, lo que señala el aire de intimidad y de sosiego que buscaban los monarcas al retirarse a descansar entre sus jardines. Únicamente encontramos motivos decorativos de escayola poco variados, pero de extremada fineza y buen gusto.

Fuente: www.alhambradegranada.org/historia/alhambraGeneralifeIntr…

Spinners on the Great Lawn
christian singles
Image by Ed Yourdon
This is where Filthy Pierre decided to burn a cross on Easter Sunday … which, as I vaguely recall, occurred during our sophomore year. I don’t know if anyone ever found out why he did it — it may have been a protest against the Pope, or Catholics, or all Christians, or perhaps just a way of thumbing his nose at the authority figures at MIT.

Anyway, we all assumed that the Easter Sundayt prank was the reason that Filthy Pierre disappeared from campus … though there were rumors that he had found a way to import cheap textbooks from Hong Kong, which violated some copyright restrictions, and which eventually attracted the attention of the police…

Note: for some reason, this photo was published in a Jul 2, 2011 blog titled "Nice Christian Singles photos."

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It was a lifetime ago that I stumbled off a Greyhound bus in downtown Boston, a clueless 17 year old kid with two suitcases that held all my worldly possessions. I dragged them out to the street (no roll-aboard suitcases in those ancient times), and asked a taxi driver to take me to an address in Cambridge that I had scribbled on a scrap of paper: 77 Massachusetts Ave.

"Aye," the driver muttered, in a dialect that never did become familiar during the next several years. "SebendySebenMassAve."

When he dropped me off, I noticed two things. First, enormous stone steps leading up to the entrance to an imposing granite building. And second, a long line of scraggly, sloppily-dressed young men stretching from the building’s entrance down toward the street where the taxi had dropped me. Aha, I thought: I’m not the only one who forgot to fill out the official form requesting a dorm room.

Welcome to MIT.

I waited in line for two hours before being assigned temporarily, with two other equally absent-minded, newly-arrived MIT students, to sleep on mattresses in an East Campus dorm room that had initially been assigned as a "single" room to an understandably annoyed fellow from Cincinnati. One of the other temporary misfits, whom we immediately nicknamed "Filthy Pierre," had just arrived from Paris with nothing but one large, heavy duffel bag that he dragged into the room. Its contents consisted of miscellaneous telephone parts, which he dumped on the floor and kicked under the bed before wandering out of the room to explore Boston. (He had not showered in weeks, and he was eventually expelled for burning a cross on MIT’s Great Lawn on Easter morning. But that’s another story.)

Thus began my four-year experience at what many still consider America’s premiere scientific/engineering university. That I survived and graduated is a minor miracle; and while I’ll hint at the adventures along the way, in this Flickr set, you’ll have to look elsewhere for the details…

I continued to live in Cambridge for a couple of years after I graduated; took a couple of graduate courses in AI and computer science, taught a couple summer MIT classes to innocent high school students (one of whom challenged me to write the value of pi on the blackboard, to 100 places, from memory – which I did), took full advantage of MIT’s athletic facilities, and 25-cent Saturday-nite movies at Kresge auditorium, which always featured the enormously popular RoadRunner cartoons, and occasionally walked through the same halls and pathways that I had first explored as an overwhelmed undergraduate student. But then I got a new job, moved to New York City, got married, settled down, and began raising family. After that, I typically travelled to Boston two or three times a year on business trips, but never seemed to have time to come back to MIT for a casual visit.

But one of the advantages of a near-fanatical devotion to the hobby of photography is that you begin to appreciate that all of the experiences you internalized and took for granted need to be photographed — for posterity, if nothing else. Some of my most vivid memories of MIT, which we took for granted – like the huge,red, neon, flashing/pulsating "Heinz 57" sign out on the northern edge of the (Briggs) athletic fields — are gone. Some of the legendary professors and deans have died and commemorative plaques have been erected in their honor. And there’s a whole lot of new stuff – mostly new buildings and laboratories, whose specific purpose is a mystery to me – that I just have to shrug and accept.

But the basic campus is still there. And the memories are just as vivid as they were, so many years ago. I can’t say that I captured them all in this Flickr set; the photos were taken at sunset one evening, and dawn the following morning. But they’ll give you an idea of what it was like, a long long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away … and what it’s still like today.