Pashupatinath Temple Reflected

Kathmandu, Nepal, 2010

This is a very small portion of the Pashupatinath Temple, one of the most significant Hindu temples of Lord Shiva in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site, reflected in Bagmati River.

For James' Weekend Reflections. Details better seen enlarged.

[SkyWatch] Skies after the Storm

These sky images I captured today may look pretty so-so to you, but to those of us here in the Philippines who just got battered by yet another hellish typhoon the past days, the blue and white is heavenly.

Manila, 2011

After billboards caused serious injury to man and property during a typhoon last year it was decreed that billboard canopies be rolled up before the high winds rolled in. 

While I stayed safely under cover in my home, inconvenienced only by a 20-hour cut to internet access in my area, other photographers far braver than I captured the havoc. 

The city is quickly being cleaned up, but sigh, the blue skies may be short-lived. We are bracing for another storm predicted to land on the weekend. So if you don't see me online...

 
I'm linking with SkyWatch Friday.

X is for Xiao

This is the Chinese character for small or little. In pinyin - the spelled sound and official phonetic system - it is xiao.

To my ears, the X is pronounced in between the English S and the SH. Xiao, then, is pronounced: shiao... or she-ow (and you can thank me for not getting into tones).

You can remember this character by visualizing the arms down, legs together... in contrast to the character for big or large, da - 大, which has the arms up, legs apart.

In China, xiao as a preface makes a common term of endearment. You often hear a waitress called xiao mei (little sister). Among friends, xiao is put before the personal name. For instance, my Chinese name is Fu Lian, so, if I were younger, people close to me and in the same generation could call me Xiao Fu.

The most famous xiao is Deng Xiaoping, 鄧小平, the diminutive paramount leader of China from 1978 to 1992 who made a big impact by raising millions out of poverty. Perhaps the most famous line attributed to him is: To get rich is glorious!

Shenzhen, 2010

Propaganda posters, and these days billboards, are evident throughout China. This one, featuring Deng Xiaoping, says: Continue the party's basic direction without hesitation for 100 years. 

The modern city of Shenzhen you see behind Mr Deng was little more than a fishing village when I first entered China in 1985. Today it is a thriving metropolis of 14 million people. That's no xiao feat.

X is the letter at Alphabe-Thursday and I'm also linking to Signs, Signs. 

K is for Kitchenware

Quezon, 2010

I am linking with ABC Wednesday, where the letter of the week is K, as well as with Wordless Wednesday and Weekend in Black and White. 

The photo is better enlarged.

[Our World] Tree Trimming

Tree trimming is done for various reasons - safety, health or aesthetics.

Close to my home in a suburb in Manila there is a long boulevard lined with eucalyptus trees. I've noticed that once a year, the branches of these trees are completely hacked down and I've yet to learn the reason.

A few days ago, I captured these men at work and thought they'd make an interesting story for Our World Tuesday. It's a pity I missed seeing how the man got up into the tree.

Manila, 2011

First he attaches a rope to the branch that is about to be felled.

Then he hacks the branch with a machete, leaving what to me looks like a rather crude cut. And I see he wears no safety equipment of any kind.

But down it comes! The men on the ground ensure it doesn't hit the home.

And soon the boulevard will be entirely denuded of its shade-giving branches. You can see the trunk left standing on the left of the one being worked on. The first time I witnessed this I was pained.

Yet then I saw that within mere weeks, new healthy branches sprouted out, and before long, the boulevard was once more lush in green. I'm thinking that the tree trimming does make the tree stronger and healthier, despite the violence to its limbs.

Is there a moral to this story?

The Pons Cestius

Rome, 2007

The Pons Cestius, rebuilt in 1888 with materials from the original bridge dating back to the 1st century BC, crosses the Tiber River in Rome. 

I'm linking with Weekend Reflections and Sunday Bridges.

W is for Windmill

Aptly called giant electric fans by the locals, twenty whopping windmills grace the northern coastline of Ilocos Norte facing the windy North China Sea.

Ilocos Norte, 2010

The 23-storey windmills standing 236 meters apart were installed in 2005 and were the first source of clean energy in the Philippines. Together they produce over 30-megawatts of electricity and supply 40% of the province's energy needs. Yet, to put this into some kind of perspective, the entire province consumes only about half the energy of one of Manila's larger shopping malls!

It's hard to grasp the sheer size of the windmills. Each windmill with 41-meter blades stands 70 meters tall and weighs 104 tons. Its tapered tower of steel measures 4.2 meters thick at its base. Look again at the relative small size of the people in the first photo!

There's plenty of environmental incentive to build these alternate energy projects. But unfortunately, without government subsidies, this renewable energy source would hardly be financially viable, even considering this privately-operated one stands to earn millions of euros in carbon credits.

This final photo was taken near sundown from a platform built along the highway specifically for tourists to view the spectacular scenery.

We're sharing stories with the letter W at Alphabe-Thursday and the shadow shot is for, well, Shadow Shot Sunday.