#sandblast stone mountain | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mystacoceti · 4 years ago

Text

AN OCTOPUS

of ice. Deceptively reserved and flat, it lies “in grandeur and in mass” beneath a sea of shifting snow dunes; dots of cyclamen-red and maroon on its clearly defined pseudopodia made of glass that will bend—a much needed invention— comprising twenty-eight ice fields from fifty to five hundred feet thick, of unimagined delicacy.

“Picking periwinkles from the cracks” or killing prey with the concentric crushing rigor of the python, it hovers forward “spider fashion on its arms” misleadingly like lace; its “ghostly pallor changing to the green metallic tinge of an anemone-starred pool.” The fir trees, in “the magnitude of their root systems,” rise aloof from these maneuvers “creepy to behold,” austere specimens of our American royal families, “each like the shadow of the one beside it. The rock seems frail compared with their dark energy of life,” it’s vermilion and onyx and manganese-blue interior expensiveness left at the mercy of the weather; “stained transversely by iron where the water drips down,” recognized by its plants and its animals. Completing a circle, you have been deceived into thinking that you have progressed, under the polite needles of the larches “hung to filter, not to intercept the sunlight”— met by tightly wattled spruce twigs ”conformed to an edge like clipped cypress as if no branch could penetrate the cold beyond its company”’ and dumps of gold and silver ore enclosing The Goat’s Mirror— that ladyfinger-like depression in the shape of the left human foot, which prejudices you in favor of itself before you have had time to see the others; its indigo, pea-green, blue-green, and turquoise, from a hundred to two hundred feet deep, “merging in irregular patches in the middle lake where, like gusts of a storm obliterating the shadows of the fir trees, the wind makes lanes of ripples.” What spot could have merits of equal importance for bears, elk, deer, wolves, goats, and ducks? Pre-empted by their ancestors, this is the property of the exacting porcupine, and of the rat “slipping along to its burrow in the swamp or pausing on high ground to smell the heather”; of “thoughtful beavers making drains which seem the work of careful men with shovels,” and of the bears inspecting unexpectedly ant-hills and berry bushes. Composed of calcium gems and alabaster pillars, topaz, tourmaline crystals and amethyst quartz, their den is somewhere else, concealed in the confusion of “blue forests thrown together with marble and jasper and agate as if whole quarries had been dynamited.” And farther up, in stag-at-bay position as a scintillating fragment of these terrible stalagmites, stands the goat, its eye fixed on the waterfall which never seems to fall— an endless skein swayed by the wind, immune to force of gravity in the perspective of the peaks. A special antelope acclimated to “grottoes from which issue penetrating draughts which make you wonder why you came,” it stands its ground on cliffs the color of the clouds, of petrified white vapor— black feet, eyes, nose, and horns, engraved on dazzling ice fields, the ermine body on the crystal peak; the sun kindling its shoulders to maximum heat like acetylene, dyeing them white— upon this antique pedestal, “a mountain with those graceful lines which prove it a volcano,” its top a complete cone like Fujiyama’s till an explosion blew it off. Distinguished by a beauty of which “the visitor dare never fully speak at home for fear of being stoned as an impostor,” Big snow Mountain is the home of a diversity of creatures: Those who “have lived in hotels but who now live in camps—who prefer to”; the mountain guide evolving from the trapper, “in two pairs of trousers, the outer on older, wearing slowly away from the feet to the knees”; “the nine-striped chipmunk running with unmammal-like agility along a log”; the water ouzel with “it’s passions for rapids and high-pressures falls,” building under the arch of some tiny Niagara; the white-tailed ptarmigan “in winter solid white, feeding on heather-bells and alpine buckwheat”; and the elven eagles of the west, “fond of the spring fragrance and the winter colors,” used to the unegoistic action of the glaciers and “several hours of frost every midsummer night.” “They make a nice appearance, don’t they,” happy seeing nothing? Perched on treacherous lava and pumice— those unadjusted chimney pots and cleavers which stipulate “names and addresses of persons to notify in case of disaster”— they hear the roar of ice and supervise the water winding slowly through the cliffs, the road “climbing like the thread which forms the groove around a snail shell, doubling back and forth until where snow begins, it ends.” No “deliberate wide-eyed wistfulness” is here among the boulders sunk in ripples and white water where “when you hear the best wild music of the forest is is sure to be a marmot,” the victim on some slight observatory, of “a struggle between curiosity and caution,” inquiring what has scared it: a stone from the moraine descending in leaps, another marmot, or the spotted ponies with glass eyes, brought up on frosty grass and flowers and rapid draughts of ice water. Instructed none knows how, to climb the mountain, by businessman who require for recreation three hundred and sixty-five holidays in the year, these conspicuously spotted little horses are peculiar; hard to discern among the birch trees, ferns, and lily pads, avalanche lilies, Indian paintbrushes, bear’s ears and kittentails, and miniature cavalcades of clorophylless fungi magnified in profile on the moss-beds like moonstones in the water; the cavalcade of calico competing with the original American menagerie of styles among the white flowers of the rhododendron surmounting rigid leaves upon which moisture works its alchemy, transmuting verdure into onyx.

“Like happy souls in hell,” enjoying mental difficulties, the Greeks amused themselves with delicate behavior because it was “so noble and so fair”; not practised in adapting their intelligence to eagle traps and snowshoes, to alpenstocks and other toys contrived by those “alive to the advantage of invigorating pleasures.” Bows, arrows, oars, and paddles, for which trees provide the wood, in new countries more eloquent than elsewhere— augmenting the assertion that, essentially humane, “the forest affords wood for dwellings and by its beauty stimulates the moral vigor of its citizens.” The Greek like the smoothness, distrusting what was back of what could not be clearly seen, resolving with benevolent conclusiveness, “complexities which still will be complexities as long as the world lasts”; ascribing what we clumsily call happiness, to “an accident or a quality, a spiritual substance or the soul itself, an act, a disposition, or a habit, or a habit infused, to which the soul has been persuaded, or something distinct from a habit, a power”— such power as Adam had and we are still devoid of. “Emotionally sensitive, their hearts were hard”; their wisdom was remote from that of those odd oracles of cool official sarcasm, upon this game preserve where “guns, nets, seines, traps and explosives, hired vehicles, gambling and intoxicants are prohibited; disobedient persons being summarily removed and not allowed to return without permissions in writing.” It is not self-evident that it is frightful to have everything afraid of one; that one must do as one is told and eat rice, prunes, dates, raisins, hardtack, and tomatoes if one would “conquer the main peak of Mount Tacoma, this fossil flower concise without a shiver, intact when it is cut, damned for sacrosanct remoteness— like Henry James “damned by the public for decorum”; not decorum, but restraint; it is the love of doing hard things that rebuffed and wore them out—a public out of sympathy with neatness. Neatness of finish! Neatness of finish! Relentless accuracy is the nature of this octopus with its capacity for fact. “Creeping slowly as with mediated stealth, its arms seeming to approach from all directions,” it received one under winds that “tear the snow to bits and hurl it like a sandblast shearing off twigs and loose bark from the trees.” Is “tree” the word for these tings “flat on the ground like vines”? some “bent in a half-circle with branches on one side suggesting dust-brushes, not trees; some finding strength in union, forming little stunted groves their flattened mats of branches shrunk in trying to escape” from the hard mountain “planed by ice and polished by the wind”— the white volcano with no weather side; the lightning flashing at its base, rain falling in the valleys, and snow falling on the peak— the glassy octopus symmetrically pointed, its claw cut by the avalanche “with a sound like the crack of a rifle, in a curtain of powdered snow launched like a waterfall.”

Marianne Moore

#pearl diver

6 notes · View notes

bhandarimarblekishangarh · 4 years ago

Text

Statuario Select-THE BEST USES FOR STATUARIO MARBLE

This famous marble was used to create some of the world’s most beautiful statues from the Renaissance period. Timeless in its beauty, its crisp white background and gray veining bring a sense of elegance and sophistication to any project. Available in slabs.

Statuario Marble, like Carrara and Calacatta, is also mined in the famed marble-producing region of Carrara in Italy. It is one of the highest quality white marbles available. Since ancient times, it has been highly prized for use in sculpture, architecture, and for decorative purposes. Statuario Marble is renowned for its striking, luminous white field and fluid, bold grey and gold veining.

It immediately evokes feelings of luxury and classical style. Demand for Statuario Marble is generally quite high, while the output from the Italian quarries is fairly low. This makes it one of the most exclusive types of marble in the world. When luxury style and elegance and are your top priorities, Statuario Marble cannot be beaten. It remains one of the most sought-after types of marble in the world.

Statuario marble is, without doubt, one of the most beautiful Italian marbles available. It is the epitome of style and elegance and has been utilized as a symbol of sophistication and status in interior design for centuries. Here at Bhandari Marble, we are often asked about Statuario marble by architects, interior designers, luxury builders, and end-users alike. In this article we will discuss the traits of Statuario marble along with its most common uses in architecture:

What is Statuario Marble?

Statuario marble is a striking and exclusive bright white natural stone, denoted by its beautiful gold and grey veining and its rich, bold patterns. It is arguably the most sought-after white stone in the marble family. Statuario marble often contains heavy grey veining throughout with unique and complex patterns. It originates from the mountain quarries of Statuario, above Carrara in Italy. Here at Bhandari Marble, we are one of the leading suppliers of the rare statuario marble in India, and its limited availability, coupled with its high demand, makes it a real statement in any residence or commercial building.

Best Uses for Statuario Marble in Architecture

Given its prestige status, Statuario marble is unsurprisingly commonly used as a focal point of any room. Most of our clients use it for stunning kitchen countertops and backsplashes or as large floor tiles. Luxury bathrooms are equally good uses for this natural stone, as it’s the perfect material for a vanity area or even as eye-catching floor tiles. Generally speaking, Statuario marble is not a good material for external projects. It’s equally popular with our commercial clients where it can be used as part of a statement reception area or boardroom, in 5-star hotels and can often be seen in religious buildings such as churches. In ancient Italy, Statuario marble was the marble of choice for carving lavish statues and was the stone used for Michelangelo’s famous ‘David’ masterpiece.

Caring for Statuario Marble

Like any marble product, Statuario marble must be properly maintained and cared for to ensure it keeps its stunning looks over time. Marble must be sealed before use and from time to time to keep it in optimum condition. Spills should be wiped up quickly to prevent staining and regular cleaning is recommended. Here at Bhandari Marble, we will happily advise you on how to take care of your particular type of Statuario marble or another type of natural stone as all-natural stone products require different maintenance plans.

The above are just a few reasons why Statuario marble could be the perfect building material for your luxury interior project. Here at Bhandari we are market leaders in Italian Stone in Australia. To discuss your options and how to make natural stonework for you, drop into our Sydney showroom today or give us a call or email and we’ll be happy to give you an honest and expert opinion!

STATUARIO WHITE

Statuario is a soft and elegant marble that has deep, long, and consistent grey veins throughout the slab. This exclusive marble is ideal for a master bathroom vanity top, fireplace surround, or flooring. Statuario marble is one of the rarest marbles produced by the earth and is a highly desirable material.

No matter where you install it in your home, Statuario marble will give off an elegant look. In addition, since marble in general is a highly desirable material, it can increase the value of your home. This is particularly helpful if you decide to sell your home in the future.

Having Statuario marble surfaces can be a major selling point. Beyond the gorgeous appearance and the value it adds to your home, there are many other benefits that you can receive from Statuario marble. Installing this incredible natural stone may very well end up being one of the best investments that you ever make for your home.

• Original Name: Statuario • Material Type: Marble • Country of Origin: Italy • Colors: Grey, White

ORIGIN

One of the most famous and esteemed white marbles.

FEATURES

White and fine-grain marble, which can be quite lacking of venations or can present some greyish or dark-yellow venations, with tiny darker spots. It is compact.

USE

Used in sculpture since Ancient Rome for its shiness and compact structure which makes it perfect for chisel works. It is also chosen for low foot traffic pavings or for internal coverings, although, seen its high value, it is more used for sculptures, fireplaces, and design objects. The most veined varieties are employed in interior design.

PROJECTS

Besides ancient works, as the Vatican Pietà of Michelangelo, we find its most recent applications in the Arab Organisation Headquarter Building in Kuwait City (veined), the Bait Al Bahjat Al Andhar, in Oman, the Gracechurch City Office in London, and the Y.S. Club of Taipei (veined).

Products Crafted With This Material

Marble Table Bathroom Vanity Standing bathroom Vanity Stonewash Basin

Natural stone Basin -Lavabo in Pietra

STATUARIO CARRARA

Statuario Carrara is a white marble from Italy.

Forms: Slabs, Blocks, Tiles.

Processing options: Polished, Sawn Cut, Sanded, Rock faced, Sandblasted, Tumbled.

Proposed uses: Building stone, countertops, sinks, monuments, pool coping, sills, ornamental stone, interior, exterior, wall, floor, paving, and other design projects.

Also known as: Bianco Carrara Statuario, Blanco Statuario, Carrara Statuario, Statuario Marmi, Bianco Statuario, Bianco Tipo Statuario, Statuary,Statuary White, Statutario Marmi, Statuario Carrara Marble.

Please visit our showroom or call our sales department for pricing and availability

ADDED BY EXPERT AND EXPORT TEAM OF BHANDARI MARBLE WORLD KISHANGARH RAJASTHAN 305801

#BhandariMarbleWorld Marble ItalianMarble Importedmarblle StatuarioMarble

1 note · View note

blueguitar · 4 years ago

Photo

What to do? About the largest Confederate monument? Not just in the United States, but in fact the entire world. This thing is HUGE! But, indeed, dynamite is not the answer. “You could pack it full of dynamite and blow it all the way to Lawrenceville, but you don’t want to create such a hazard,” said Ben Bentkowski, president of the Atlanta Geological Society. “Removing a gigantic sculpture off the side of a mountain is not a trivial undertaking.” The danger there is as enormous as the monument itself. Sandblasting is not the answer. Imagine the environmental impact of that much dust, muck and debris. That would indeed pollute a large swath of Georgia perhaps beyond repair. At any rate, in actual fact? ALL Confederate monuments are currently protected by state law - not that state laws are not subject to change, repeal, etc. but consider that a monumental task itself in a state that has been as Republican as can be since the Dixiecrats became Democrats. The ultimate solution (and i take no credit for an original thought here - i will provide links to wiser sources below) revolves around re-purposing, re-contextualizing, and re-negging on this bad bargain. First thing that has to go? Time to get rid of the laser show and i can't begin to tell you how much it pains me to say so, but understand that only means i am pro-laser like any child raised on Science Fiction. Visiting Stone Mountain was one of the very first things friends subjected me to when i arrived in Atlanta. i can tell you this though, lasers and fireworks aside? Me and my partner at the time were somewhat horrified. My partner spent the entire time holding one hand to his single pierced ear. It didn't seem the crowd for THAT. (To his credit, he did NOT remove the earring.) And what was it anyway when my punk rock friends took me to a spectacle that featured the uncoolest of the cool, Elvis Presley singing, "An American Trilogy" - that would be "Dixieland", "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic" and "Hush Little Baby". i remember more that Taz made an appearance dancing to "Footloose". So, "Hey Ho! The laser show has got to go!". As to what else we can do? "Stop cleaning the sculpture. State law protects the sculpture from destruction but does not require it to be clean. It remains clear of vegetation only through effort and expense. Trees and plants grow easily from the mountain’s other cracks and crevices. We should allow growth to also overtake the sculpture’s many clefts and crinkles as they naturally collect organic material and allow moss and lichen to obscure its details. We should blast it with soil to encourage such growth and consider this new camouflage as a deliberate creative act, transforming the sculpture into a memorial to the end of the war – not to the traitors who led it. Stop mowing the lawn. Allow the Memorial Lawn to grow into a forest. It is not protected by the law. A major problem with Stone Mountain is the formal, triumphant view of the sculpture, making the entire park a celebration of white supremacy. Update the park’s identity: Eliminate any other remaining references to the Confederacy. These are not protected by the law. Conduct a quick re-evaluation of all the names, signage, narrative, flags and iconography throughout the park and remove all problematic references, including the names of streets and lakes, programming and online content. Acknowledging the somber weight of history here, this should also include removal of the theme-park activities below the sculpture. Plan a new park! Begin a dialogue for more sweeping changes at the park that will inspire required changes to state law. Consider an international design competition that refocuses the 3,200-acre park around its namesake geological feature and transforms it into a new symbol of peace and reconciliation. Consider proposals for future permanent modifications to the sculpture itself, as well as existing proposals for a mountaintop carillon that honors King’s dream by literally letting freedom ring at the top of every hour. Include the transformation of Memorial Hall into a Memorial to the End of the Confederacy – an honest interpretation of life in the American south, the civil war, the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras, and subsequent efforts to romanticize the “Lost Cause” through memorials like Stone Mountain’s 1970 carving." (All of this thinking belongs to Ryan Gravel and Scott Morris.) That carillon atop the mountain really rings true for me, if you pardon the pun. Like Dr. King proclaimed (and former mayor Andrew Young re-iterated on TV that i saw recently), "Let freedom ring from the Stone Mountain of Georgia!”

LINKS:

https://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/syndicated/a-confederate-mount-rushmore-options-for-removing-stone-mountains-controversial-carving/

https://www.nbcboston.com/lx/is-time-up-for-the-worlds-largest-confederate-monument-stone-mountain/2158976/

https://www.ajc.com/news/local/how-the-confederates-might-actually-come-off-stone-mountain/ABGCU0QtPdu3WJMaZ0pR6N/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfseABMnwTc

2 notes · View notes

crowsent · 5 years ago

Text

My Personal List Of Karkat Insults

I used these back when Cherubplay was a big thing. Feel free to use them in your fanfics, your RPs, etc

Pisscouch

Ventripotent

Asscactus

Shitgibbon

Cretin

Douchepistol

Mouthvomits

Half-eaten Sandwich

Absolute Walnut

Spam Email

Soggy Lampshade

Buttplug Face

Toupeed Fucktrumpet

Utter Cockwomble

Moldy Leftover

Cranberry Fucknut

Useless Paperclip

Legless Table

Ass Dandruff

Warthog-faced Orangutan

Puerile Filth

Pile of Putrescence

Sack of Excrement

Catatonic Peanut

Ignored Text

Broken Headphones

Floppy Breadstick

Neon Croc

Insipid Petunia

Cockroach Motherfucker

Slackjawed Pickletits

Pugnacious Dish Rag

Hamster Basket

Ignorant Fuckmuppet

Snooty McSnotwhine

Undigested Burrito

Slope-browed Weaseldicks

Paint-huffing Shitgoblins

Mangled Apricot Hellbeast

Hemorrhoidal Shit Stain

Pestilent Little Toad

Inconsiderate Space Herpe

Witless Wombat Cocksplat

Tangled Headphone Cord

Uneducated Cat Penis

Unnecessary Stock Footage

Arrogant Beet Casserole

Unusable Bobby Pin

Wannabe Wikipedia Philosopher

What The Entire Fuck

Bloviating Flesh Bag

Shit-faced Ferret-Wearing Shitgibbon

Staple your fingers together

Please choke on your spoon

Bright as a black hole and twice as dense

Piss lord of shit mountain

Go fuck a cactus

Shove a cactus up your ass

Rusty used razor from the 1800's

Pile of wombat shit

I'd slap you on he head, but I'm not sure your brain knows the concept of pain

The human personification of Monday

Fuck me sideways with a sandblaster

May natural selection come for your pathetic ass

Human beings perpetually display an inordinate amount of infallible stupidity

You'd struggle to pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel

Someone ought to rip your vocal cords right out of your throat

I'm not frivolous enough to buy your bullshit

Are you making a special effort to be extra stupid today

After evaluating your statement, I can conclude that you are a complete uneducated soapy dishrag

You ask for more stuff than the Red Cross

I don't even know how to respond to this bullshit

Disappointment wrapped in apathy and sealed with self-loathing

There is a land called Shitface Douchebagstan, and you are the king

You potato with eyes

Make like Icarus and fly into the sun

Well, I'd agree with you but then we'd both be wrong

I'm going to pour hot tea on your face

I get so emotional when you're not around and that emotion is happiness

Is your ass jealous from the shit coming out of your mouth

That skinny jeans must have cut the oxygen supply to your head

I think my bunny slippers just ran for cover

You're as pretty as a picture and I'd love to have the honour of hanging you

Pardon me sir, but you seem to have mistaken me for someone who gives a fuck

Why don't you pray to God to throw some brains down from heaven, or you know, a stone as long as it's well-aimed at your empty head

Consider me the king of weaponized profanity

I don't have an education high enough to qualify understanding the language of douchebag

Did the circus come to town

The biggest dick with the tiniest dick ever to walk the planet

Are you a professional at being a douchebag because you're doing a great job

I'd call you a dick, but you're not good enough to be one

It's amusing how you state the obvious with such a sense of discovery

You are not worth the calories I burn talking to you

Get off your high fucking emboldened horse

I will shove your entire upper body into your own ass and make you fuck yourself from the inside out

It must be hard being that stupid

If you're going to be a smartass, you have to be smart

I don't have enough middle fingers to show you how I feel

Your birth certificate was a waste of paper

Congratulations, I hope you feel accomplished by the fact that you suck

More of your conversation would reduce the amount of brain cells I have

Stop poisoning the air with your toxic presence

Charientism is an art you have no skill in

I'd love to introduce your face to a shovel

Tell your intestines I said hello since your head is that far up your ass

Back the fuck up you soggy burger

From the very moment I laid eyes on you, I knew I'd spend the rest of my life avoiding you like the Black Plague

Pile of white crayons

There's digging your own grave, and there's blasting a hole straight through the earth's core and jumping right in

I'm somewhat of a bullshitter, but please, carry on, I want to listen to a real pro

Your father should have been a eunuch

Natural selection will come for you

If brains were gasoline, you wouldn't be able to drive a tiny ant go cart a single lap around a cheerio

Someone ought to open an umbrella in your ass

Go contract a debilitating case of genital warts

Human equivalent of the common cold

Dog shit is prettier than your face

You seem to be having delusions on adequacy

Stop making me want to pick you up and shake you until your ass spits out the pathetically microscopic amount of brain cells you have in your tiny head

Take a swim in the Dead Sea

Look into my eyes and take a deep breath, does it look like I care

What kind of qualities do you have to make up for your stupidity

I want to punch down a wall and that's sad because I like my walls; they're freshly painted with a nice colour that looks better than the entirety of your face

You need to sit down and think about just how fucking wrong you are

If I want to be you, I'd put a fucking horse face on

Stop throwing a temper tantrum worthy of making my non-existent three year old kid die of embarrassment

....long before your parents squirted water at each other from across the clown car and then honked their bicycle horns to indicate they really wanted to make a smug, insufferable little clown baby together

...drunk on your own buzzword, incapable of forming an original coherent thought

...you display a lack of knowledge and a fundamental disregard for human nature so profound, you make me wonder if you consistently incorporate lead paint into your daily diet of doritos

...should be burned to the ground, the ashes salted, and the remains baptised by a priest willing to wade in all that bullshit

...supporting their moronic crusade of dragging everyone everywhere down into the pits of hell to rot

...popping up faster than an entourage of wild untamed forsynthias

...regroup instead of fucking playing whack-a-mole

...skills of a plastic houseplant

#hs #homestuck #still trash #writing ref

17 notes · View notes

eorzeanharmony · 5 years ago

Text

Mnemon - Memory

Character: Aethelric Firesoul

The sun sat low on the horizon, its dying rays painting the jagged mesas of western Thanalan in fiery oranges and rich violet. The vista was striking, and the solitary figure making its way down one of the myriad dry wadis sunk into the heat-scorched landscape still had it in his heart to appreciate it, however many times he saw it. The desert was harsh and unforgiving; even without its myriad dangers the land itself would devour an unwary traveler like the jackals that stalked its rocky expanse… yet like such predators, it retained a fierce beauty.

It bespoke the traveler’s relaxed frame of mind, though, that he took any time at all to look at the mountains for their glory at sunset. This was no mission of blood and vengeance, but rather of succor. The large satchel slung across Aethelric’s broad, darkly-tanned shoulders contained not weaponry but foodstuffs and first aid supplies, along with a few small luxuries… spices, tea, hard candies. Simple things, but precious, out here in the wastes. The scarred warrior’s yellow gaze also scanned the cliffs looking for the thin thread of smoke that marked his destination… the cooking fires of a small Ala Mhigan encampment tucked into a series of caves up in the foothills. Usually it was visible by now, but the lack of the thin white plume against the cliffside earned a frown and a slight hastening of his steps.

It was dusk by the time he reached the path up to the caves, and as he drew near, he could see the wide entrance of the main camp black against the paler backdrop of the cliff. But it was wrong… where were the fires, the bustle of lank bodies lit by their light, the sounds of song, chatter, and occasional laughter. The cave’s entrance lay dark and still, as devoid of life as it was when the encampment arrived. Years of experience had taught Aethelric the value of caution, however, and rather than charging up the scree toward the cave, he unshouldered his pack and loosened his sword in its sheath before cautiously approaching from an oblique angle amongst the rocks.

His boots moved almost soundlessly over sand and stone, a surety of step learned over two decades in this blasted waste. Once close, he could see the cookfires… or what was left of them. The ones on the periphery were still intact, albeit dark and still, while the ones nearest the entrance were toppled and scattered. As he tried to gain a better look without exposing himself, he found his footing suddenly uneven, the surface he expected to be solid proving soft and yielding… and not anything that a man should find under his boot. Recoiling with a near soundless hiss, he turned his attention downward to the darkness between the boulders… the dying sun now too low to lend much visibility to the hollows between boulders. But what he’d mistaken for dark stone proved to be none other than a body, toppled limp and unmoving in between the rocks. Scarred fingers found no warmth, though now that he’d ceased travel, he found the air already alive with the soft susurration of syrphids…always the first to feast after a battle. Straining against the darkness, and now that he sought them out with forethought, he could now just barely make out the uneven darkness to one side of the path…not just one body, but dozens, simply thrown down the scree hill into a rough pile.

Aethelric turned his gaze back to the mouth of the cave…where, as he squinted into the darkness, a dim light was still visible, deep within. Stifling a low growl, he shifted his position and stalked toward the cave, yet still without rushing, only sliding his scimitar out of its sheath and weighing it silently in his hand.

A moment was spent at the entrance, crouched down by the stones to one side. Within, perhaps twenty fulm down the passage, lay another pile of what were obviously corpses. Unlike those outside, however, these appeared to have been arranged with some care and what looked like a tarp draped over them… catlike, Aethelric stalked over to them to carefully pull back the corner.

What met his wolf’s gaze brought forth a snarl, unbidden and louder than he’d intended… but even he was unable to stifle the rage building in his heart. Every one of the neatly arranged corpses wore a black and red uniform all too familiar to him and one that raised bile in his throat. All of them also looked to have died from sword wounds… which brought him some small, cold comfort. Letting the tarp fall again, he turned and stalked toward the back of the cave and that dim firefly glow. No longer does he skulk from shadow to shadow… this was a march toward an intended goal, and one intended to result in one very clearly defined outcome.

As he reached the main cavern, the first thing the light beyond outlined was the massive, metallic frame of a Garlean Reaper unit. Aethelric had certainly seen such monstrosities in the past, but never this close, and never this inert. The metallic nightmare simply stood with its back to the entrance and the main chassis canted down to presumably allow its driver to disembark; a silent sculpture in iron death. Beyond lay a small camp… apparently cobbled together out of the remains of the residents’ things, a few crates, an Imperial sleeping roll, and… the sickness rose in his soul again… a box containing the precious items the bedroll’s owner had scavenged from the corpses of the fallen Ala Mhigans. On one of the crates, the source of the glow… no honest fire, but some strange light-emitting device. Of the owner, there was no sign. Cursing his luck under his breath, Aethelric leaned down to pick up the box when he heard an ominous click behind him and froze.

“Well well, what have we here. Seems like I missed one…” The voice was gratingly cheerful, the mocking amusement of someone content in the knowledge he holds all the cards. “Most of you grubby bastards fight like demons, for what good it did you. Where were you, hiding behind one of the sorry excuses for trees they have around here and trying not to piss in your armor?”

Gritting his teeth, Aethelric set the box back down again, but as he started to turn, a shot ripped past his ribs so closely he felt the heat of its passage. “Ah ah. Why don’t you just drop that weed chopper you’re holding. We don’t want any…accidents, heh.” With obvious reluctance, Aethelric stuck the point of his scimitar into the sand beside the box and slowly turned around to face his opponent. With the light behind him, the identity of the Garlean man was unmistakeable… and, now that he looked at him, not in the best of condition. His uniform was ragged in places, he’d lost his helm somewhere, and there was a sunken, desperate look in the man’s eyes that he recognized … How long had these men -been- out here? Now that he could see it, the reaper likewise looked in rough shape, its once-glossy black paint now sandblasted and chipped, rust creeping around every joint and gasket.

“… ‘We?’ Aethelric graveled, thinly smiling. “It seems there is only one of you now… the rest gone to sate Rhalgr’s thirst for vengeance, if I am any judge.” Wolf-eyes narrowed, “Even if you kill me… the desert herself will claim you; you cannot eat firesand or steel. Though I suppose you jackals are not above devouring the slain,” he adds, spitting on the bloodstained sand between them. For all his bravado, though…the Ala Mhigan sought desperately for a way out of the deadlock, but…truth was, he was on the wrong end of a Garlean carbine with a desperate man on the other. Silently, in the back of his mind, he offered a prayer…not to the Destroyer, but to Althyk… if there was ever a time where he needed an unexpected new path forward, this would be it. But…as ever… nothing answered him.

“SILENCE!” The carbine in the Garlean’s hands was shaking slightly, for all that this wasn’t particularly comforting to his target. “… Heh. Actually.. I might have a use for you after all. You desert rats know where the water is, don’t you? Eheh..” The ragged edges of his uniform fluttered in a gust of wind from the entrance. Just for a moment, the soldier glanced back over his shoulder, but then whipped his attention back forward again as Aethelric shifted his weight. “HALT! You’ll do as I say! Or you’ll end up like your filthy cousins outside!” What was intended to be a command cracked as it was given… and yet there didn’t seem to be any cause for it that the Ala Mhigan could see. A flicker of motion caught his eye, though, and he glanced up to the top of the silent reaper, just for a moment. There, above the thing’s dormant hulk drifted a small blue ball of light. A plasmid… not uncommon out in the wastes where the desert had claimed a soul or ten. The Garlean didn’t seem aware of it.

Aelthelric turned his attention back to the man, smiling thinly. “You will find nothing out here but your end, and your bones will bleach under Azemya’s unblinking gaze,” he growls quietly. “Your people know only how to take, and the wages of theft are death.” The longer he could keep him talking, the longer he had to contemplate ways to escape his situation. In fact, he was just about to ready another barb, when his attention was drawn back to the reaper again. There were half a dozen lazily swirling lights above it now… more than he’d seen anywhere other than late at night in the lichyard. With effort, he dragged his attention back to the soldier… and stared. Not at him, but past him. Out in the gloom of the desert night hung more small blue lights than he could count, swirling outside the cave’s opening like constellations fallen to earth. Slowly, they drifted into the cave mouth and gathered above the silent magitek machine with an inexorable deliberation. The Garlean mistook his vague shock and confusion for fear and lowered his weapon slightly. “Heh, you lot really are cowards, aren’t you. Not much better than those lizard things… no wonder you like it out in this dusty hell pit so much…” It was almost like the man needed to talk, as if the sound of his voice alone was enough to comfort his obviously frayed nerves. Aethelric ignored him, staring past him and slightly upward.

By now, the cluster of plasmid motes had become a cloud, swirling amongst themselves like a syrphid swarm, until one broke off and sank through the console of the stilled mechanical beast. Then…another, and another… until the last vanished beneath the reaper’s scarred hull. And, for a moment, there was only dark silence.

Then, abruptly, yet still without sound, blue fire erupted between the machine’s armor plates, racing from joint to joint like flame following a miner’s fuse, until every seam and port was limned in blue lichfire. And -still- the rambling soldier remained unaware… until the machine gave a small lurch, accompanied by a screech of corroded steel on steel.

With a small cry, the soldier pivoted immediately, bringing his weapon to bear on whatever new assailant had snuck up behind him, only to see… initially ‘nothing’, until he registered the eerie glow around the towering machine. Both he and his would-be captive watched in equal shock as the thing rose up on its long legs, tongues of luminous blue smoke leaking from every joint, and with another scream of tortured metal, took a step forward, the sound of its footfall like the crash of a coffin lid.

A terrified shriek ripped from the Garlean’s throat as he snapped, bringing up his carbine to spray bullets wildly against his own machine’s armored hull. Aethelric threw himself to the sand, covering his head in order to avoid the ricochets. The bullets from the light arm simply dug shallow scores in the reaper’s plating as it lurched forward another step… it moved like a puppet with broken strings; jerky and uneven yet with a terrifying strangeness to it that belied the simple action of servo and motor, the only noise it made the wailing howl of rusting steel on steel.

It took only bare seconds for the Garlean to empty his magazine, leaving only ringing in the ears from the report to counter the ominous movement of the machine. That and the mindless click-click-click-click-click of the man’s finger on the trigger of his now useless weapon.

And then, with a long, slow screech that echoed loudly in the cavern… a screech that sounded more like screams than simple mechanics should ever do…. the great black beast simply toppled forward like a falling tree and lay still. As it fell, there was a dull, unpleasantly wet crunch, and the abrupt cessation of sound.

Aethelric laid there, face down in the silent sands, for several moments… possibly an eternity, possibly only a handful of seconds, before slowly pushing himself to his feet. The only thing left visible of the soldier under the collapsed machina’s bulk was a hand outstretched, still grasping the carbine. The Ala Mhigan went to go pull it away but then hesitated, glancing back up at the reaper and taking a step backward. Luminous blue smoke still curled from it, but even now it was fading, leaving only a silent black hulk crumpled on the sand. After awhile, he reached out and lightly touched it before quickly withdrawing his hand and going to collect his sword and the box of valuables. He would return them to those families he could track down.

For now, though, he had a pyre to build.

#FFXIV #Aethelric Firesoul #Halloween writing #ghost story #Mateus

9 notes · View notes

collapsedsquid · 6 years ago

Link

For about an hour Saturday morning, they marched around the town, shouting slogans like “Good night, alt right” and “Death to the Klan.” Protesters burned a Klansman in effigy, and held signs that proclaimed “Sandblast Stone Mountain,” “Death to the KKK” and “Dixie be damned.”

Many of the protesters had handkerchiefs over their faces, and several carried guns.

Several of the protesters wouldn’t give their full names but said they viewed the Stone Mountain Village march as a celebration of success. The far left groups had clashed with far right protesters at Stone Mountain in 2016, and white supremacist groups also marched in Newnan last year. This time, no one from the far right showed up after the planned rally succumbed to apparent infighting. The white supremacist group had already been denied a permit for the march, but counterprotesters said the absence of the white supremacist group validated their efforts.

2 notes · View notes

theliberaltony · 6 years ago

Link

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to FiveThirtyEight’s weekly politics chat. The transcript below has been lightly edited.

micah (Micah Cohen, politics editor): It’s time to gaze at our navels!!! We’re chatting about the media. Everyone ready?

nrakich (Nathaniel Rakich, elections analyst): I’m not not ready.

julia_azari (Julia Azari, political science professor at Marquette University and FiveThirtyEight contributor): Technically, I’m in a different field full time, academia, where we never do any navel-gazing, sooo …

micah: On this week’s FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, we talked about President Trump’s attacks on the press. Trump’s criticisms are mostly wrong, but the press as a whole (yes, it’s not great to lump all the media into one) does have a trust issue.

With that in mind, our mission for today: What resolutions do we think journalists (us and everyone else) should make to improve Americans’ faith in the press? Who wants to go first?

julia_azari: I nominate Perry as the seasoned press type among the three of us.

micah: Perry, Julia has thrown you under the bus!

perry (Perry Bacon Jr., senior writer): OK …

micah: I will say, to Julia’s point, I like the mix of experiences we’re bringing to this question: Julia is from academia but is obviously deeply immersed in the media world. Perry is an experienced reporter. Nathaniel is newer to journalism and comes more from an online/quanty background.

perry: The media should stop aiming for a middle or for a balance between “both sides.”

Some issues have four sides. Some have one. But there aren’t many issues with two sides, with the Democratic and Republican views equally valid.

The “both sides” model manages to annoy the left and the right, as well as undermine trust in media.

In other words, I think, for example, CNN should avoid panels of two Republicans and two Democrats giving their talking points, no matter the issue.

nrakich: The problem is: How do you assess “validity”?

micah: That’s a journalist’s entire job!

julia_azari: That’s a question — how do you assess validity — whose answer is in your process for gathering information, not in the answer itself.

micah: Julia, waddya mean by that?

julia_azari: In academia, we sometimes say “the content is the method.” Information is only as good as the method by which it was gathered. So if we’re trying to, say, assess the validity of different perspectives about immigration, you don’t just say “well here’s talking point No. 1 and here’s talking points No. 2.” Instead, you can say: “Here is a study and how it was conducted. But I also talked to 12 people who think immigration is affecting them in X way. That doesn’t mean it’s objectively true, but it’s their experience.”

I am not explaining this well.

nrakich: No, I think that’s helpful.

julia_azari: To be clear about perceptions vs. hard facts: Both are important but do different work.

And journalists could also be clearer about whether information was derived from interviews (how many), observation or a large-scale study or whatever.

nrakich: Exactly. A big part of journalism is seeking out how people perceive an issue or event — whether through interviews or polling.

perry: Let me make an aggressive statement here: We have already lost something like 30 percent of the audience, in terms of confidence in media. As a rough proxy, let’s say it’s the portion of people who said in a July Quinnipiac University poll that they trust Trump more than the media to tell the truth about important issues:

A significant bloc of conservatives are not going to tell pollsters that they trust the media — no matter what.

So I think we are really talking about, as people who might trust the media, Democrats and Jeb Bush-style Republicans. I worry that the “both sides” obsession fails in building support and trust for the media from either side: Democrats feel the media strains unfairly for balance; a lot of Republicans, I would argue, hate the media as part of their partisan identity — it’s on the other “side.” So, I don’t think that group would be placated by media moves to show it is in touch with conservatives.

nrakich: Here’s a question I’ve batted around at dinner parties (yes, I know I have no life): Do we think it would be better to return to the days when there was a liberal media and a conservative media and they were just open about it?

julia_azari: Nathaniel, does anyone answer that question, or do they just quickly move to the dessert course?

nrakich: Usually the dinner parties end when I ask that question.

julia_azari: Resolved: Nathaniel needs better friends.

nrakich: My gut instinct is that an explicitly partisan media is a bad idea. But it might very well solve some of these problems we’re talking about. The people who hate the media don’t hate ALL media — their readership could probably be retained by partisan media that agrees with them. Case in point, here are “net bias” scores from The Knight Foundation, via The Nieman Lab (positive scores mean more people think the outlet is unbiased; negative scores mean more people think the outlet is biased). Democrats are on the left, Republicans on the right:

julia_azari: Can I come back with a reframing of the question? At the risk of alienating Micah and everyone else forever.

What if the question was less, “how do we win back people who hate the media because of their partisanship,” and instead was, “how do we help people who want to like the media become more engaged consumers of it.” Or, “how do we make the product resonate more with the questions people already ask themselves and guide them to ask deeper ones.”

perry: “What resolutions do we think journalists (us and everyone else) should make to improve Americans’ faith in the press? Who wants to go first?” was Micah’s question.

As you are all saying, that question depends on which Americans we’re talking about. There are different reasons people hate the media: the Democrats (too much both sides-ism) vs. Republicans (too liberal/it is part of their party tribe to be against media). It won’t be easy for media outlets to build trust with Republicans — they’ve been told for decades that the media is against them.

nrakich: A partisan media would resonate more with people’s internal questions because they would be asking the same questions. And a responsible media outlet would guide them to those deeper questions.

julia_azari: Right. Explicit first principles like “we believe less government is better” and “we believe in reducing economic inequality” and then real reporting.

nrakich: Right — exploring WHY those principles are “good” (from their perspective) to have. Then at least people will be intellectually informed about why they believe something instead of it just being tribal.

micah: I think an explicitly partisan media structure sidesteps the problem.

Don’t we all need some agreed-upon facts?

nrakich: In this admittedly idealistic scenario, all media would still stick to the facts.

But there are some facts that support liberal positions and some that support conservative ones.

micah: Yeah, I don’t think that works.

julia_azari: Micah, do you think we have agreed-upon facts that would be assumed, or does everything have to be interrogated? (I was taught in my one journalism class to fact-check my mother’s love for me.)

micah: lol

What did you find?

julia_azari: We just took a long car trip together, so the facts are evolving.

micah: I think everything gets interrogated.

But let’s return to Perry’s resolution real quick and then go to the next one.

Perry, don’t you think this is less of an issue than it used to be?

Both-siderism, that is.

This is actually one area where I think people have improved.

perry: This is from a New York Times story about the Georgia governor’s race:

ATLANTA — The Republican won the nomination Tuesday after branding himself a politically incorrect conservative who would “round up criminal illegals” and haul them to the border in his very own pickup. The Democrat all but opened her campaign by demanding that the iconic carvings of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson be sandblasted off Stone Mountain.

micah: Eek.

perry: The story implies both candidates are really partisan. That is a useful frame for news outlets trying to show they are not partisan. But it’s hard, and maybe this is my bias as a black person, to take that framing seriously as an example of both sides being really partisan. (How reasonable is it to expect a black candidate to not be opposed to Confederate monuments?)

Coverage around Trump himself seems less both sides-ish. But once you leave Trump, coverage of Democrats vs. Republicans has many of these problems.

micah: That’s a good point. I was thinking of coverage of Trump.

nrakich: I don’t know that it’s gotten better. I think back when politics was “normal” and Democrats and Republicans had their relatively moderate platforms, it was easier for the media to say “that comment was racist” when, say, Steve King said that Mexicans cross the border with “calves the size of cantaloupes.” But now the goalposts have moved, and the media isn’t sure what to call out as racist or sexist anymore since it’s become clear that these views are mainstream enough to get you elected president.

micah: OK, Nathaniel, you’re next. What’s your resolution?

nrakich: I kinda have two, because we haven’t already gone off on enough tangents.

More diversity in newsrooms. This one’s pretty obvious — we need people with a wider range of perspectives, including women, non-whites and conservatives.

I think the media needs to seriously beef up coverage of local politics and issues. Most governing that affects people’s lives happens at the state or local level, but local media outlets are being decimated. And state capitol bureaus are shrinking to almost nothing. That’s a real problem.

julia_azari: On No. 1, some of those groups may be at odds. Adding women and non-whites is not likely to pull a newsroom to the right.

I mean, add everyone! But that’s gonna make things interesting.

micah: For some context, this is from a report from our former colleague Farai Chideya and the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard:

julia_azari: This seems like a good time to point out that FiveThirtyEight contributor Dan Hopkins (also a political scientist) has written about how the nationalization of media has contributed to the nationalization of politics.

perry: I’m pretty opposed to calls for ideological diversity. A few reasons:

It could result in favoring whites and disfavoring minorities (blacks in particular) in hiring. Do we have a national history of discrimination against conservatives for jobs?

Also, do we want job interviews in which people are asking applicants about their ideologies? What if the person lies? And, again, that will create a racial bias. (It will be harder for a black person to credibly claim he or she voted for Trump.)

Hiring a reporter who is supposed to be for conservatives will basically force that reporter to find articles favorable to his or her team. Do you then find an explicitly pro-Democrats reporter too?

I think this kind of hiring approach would undermine the idea of nonpartisan reporting as a field with defined skills or norms, like lawyers or doctors. I believe people can be experts in their fields and put aside their personal views. I worry that when Trump attacks the lawyers on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team for having donated to Democratic candidates, he is undermining the idea that somehow these lawyers can’t separate the law from their personal opinions. You can have experts in their fields who ignore their personal views and act objectively.

julia_azari: The ideological diversity thing is a big question right now in academia, too.

micah: That’s a tough one.

julia_azari: Here’s the thing: I’m happy to have a colleague who teaches students to read the big works of libertarian economic thought. You go in a classroom and make comments about race science, and I am coming down on your ass.

micah: I think you’re right, Perry. But it’s also hard to argue with a conservative who just feels like the mainstream media is coming from a different place than he or she is.

nrakich: Very good points, Perry. I have no idea HOW you’d do it. I certainly don’t want to create litmus tests. But if The New York Times magically hired the entire staff of the National Review, I feel like conservative trust in the media would increase.

perry: It would not.

micah: Perry, why don’t you think it would?

perry: Jonathan Martin, the one of the top political reporters for the Times, used to work at National Review. So did Robert Costa, one of the lead reporters at The Washington Post.

julia_azari: There are some very smart folks at National Review. But it’s an elite publication.

nrakich: That’s a good point, Julia.

julia_azari: When we talk about distrust of elite media, that’s a populist attitude, and the point of populism is that the institutions themselves are suspect.

perry: The Weekly Standard is pretty skeptical of Trump.

nrakich: Yeah.

perry: In January 2016, National Review ran a series of essays written by prominent conservatives who were blasting Trump.

nrakich: And newspapers aren’t going to hire non-elites, nor should they be expected to. The Times should hire the best and the brightest! Even if they were all conservatives, a lot of Trump’s base would hate them.

perry: If The New York Times changed its journalism practices and, say, got rid of pieces saying that Trump is lying, that would help with conservatives. But then it wouldn’t be The New York Times, a fact-based newspaper.

julia_azari: It’s a problem when people who distrust elite media aren’t starting zines or indie blogs, but rather watching Infowars. Or consuming other non-factual or racially inflammatory material.

nrakich: It kinda goes to the point that maybe the true divide in this country isn’t Democrat vs. Republican, it’s elite vs. non-elite. Bernie Sanders’s and Trump’s rhetoric (if not positions) kind of wrapped around to the point of almost touching in a lot of ways.

julia_azari: Also, how many people on this chat have a degree from Harvard or Yale?

nrakich: 75 percent.

micah: Not me. I barely graduated from college.

perry: I think I object to this framing too. I, a black person from a working-class area in Louisville, got on the path to get this job in large part because I went to Yale. That credential really helps in an elite field like this. I was not vacationing on Cape Cod as a kid.

julia_azari: I technically have three degrees from Yale (but a B.A. from a state school), so I’ll see myself to the guillotine.

micah: But Perry’s right that the standards are different.

perry: Here’s an idea: What if publications, instead of having a program of specifically hiring conservatives, had beats like rural policy, religion, regulation and family development. (I know there are some religion reporters, but maybe we need more of them and at every outlet.) That would diversify their coverage. Which is what I care about.

nrakich: I really like that idea.

julia_azari: That is an excellent idea.

perry: Part of this is how news organizations hire. “The race reporter” is maybe not going to be a conservative, but the religion reporter will understand how deep and sincere opposition to abortion is among religious conservatives.

micah: It would diversify coverage and expose a mostly cosmopolitan reporting force to new worlds — which probably would have some effect in making them more conservative, honestly.

julia_azari: This again is true about academia. People who write on religion and, say, the military are probably still often left of center, but they are a lot more sympathetic to certain perspectives than a randomly selected social scientist.

nrakich: This also goes to my resolution about local media.

micah: Yeah.

perry: Right, the rural reporter would be more likely to work in Iowa than Seattle.

micah: OK, we gotta move on to Julia’s.

julia_azari: My resolution is that we should be more attentive to power dynamics when we write.

micah: I like this one.

julia_azari: This is a set of growing pains that academia had to deal with and still does — primarily that when you write about someone, you attain a certain power to tell their story. How do you do rigorous work while simultaneously allowing people to tell their own stories? This set of questions is really for writing about people who are marginalized, not for reporting on powerful officials.

How would we want to be written about if we were the subject of the story? Is it respectful?

But also I need to slag on WaPo.

micah: Haha … go on.

julia_azari: This piece — about white workers who feel like they’re in the minority working at a chicken plant — got a lot of pushback (some of which the Post published).

This is the kind of story where you need to tread a delicate line between letting people tell their stories as they see them and questioning concepts like the sense of entitlement to be in the majority or surrounded by people who share your language.

So you want to ask multidimensional questions about what kinds of power different people have.

perry: My objection to that piece is that I think its genesis was an attempt at balance — i.e, “if we do stories about how ICE mistreats some undocumented immigrants,” we need to do this one too. The subtext is: “Conservatives/whites/rural people have problems too.”

julia_azari: I read it more sinisterly than that, to be honest. I read it as centering white perspectives in a way that was worse than both-sidesism.

micah: Julia, are there concrete things that journalists can do to better account for power dynamics? I just worry “think about power dynamics” is hard to put into action?

julia_azari: I’m an academic, as we said at the top. I don’t do “action.”

micah: Haha.

OK, we gotta wrap.

I had a couple, but maybe we don’t have time.

perry: I would love to hear them

Maybe we quickly weigh in on them?

micah: OK, real quick …

micah: 1. Do a better job. I don’t mean this flippantly. A huge share of journalism is sloppy or ill-conceived or surface-level. Much of that is unintentional or seemingly unavoidable — deadlines, resources, etc. But not all those factors are set in stone. I’m pretty sure that newsrooms could put in place some incentives to just improve the quality of their work by, say, 30 percent.

nrakich: Employ fact-checkers! We have a phenomenal copy desk (hi, guys!). Other places I’ve written for haven’t had nearly as stringent a fact-checking layer in the editing process.

micah: 2. Be more transparent. This is really the big one for me. Treat the reader/viewer as an equal, explain how you’re doing the work you’re doing. Explain what assumptions you’re making and what you don’t know.

perry: Endorse both of Micah’s

julia_azari: Same!

perry: No. 1 is hard to define, but I see bad work all the time (and produce some of it myself). And I just wish editors were stepping in more at times.

nrakich: As for No. 2, I agree, obviously. I feel like the mindset for a lot of places is to be the “expert” and insist to their readers that they know what they’re doing, even if they’re a lot less sure themselves. I agree that it’s OK to say, “Hey, we’re not sure about X, but maybe it’s a thing?”

julia_azari: Agreed.

nrakich: As we like to say here at FiveThirtyEight, get comfortable with uncertainty.

Not every article has to come to a firm conclusion.

micah: Being able to say “we’re not sure about this” is a huge advantage, and — going back to No. 1 — removes an incentive that pushes people toward crappy work.

Also, more transparency shows readers/viewers that we’re just people trying to do a job.

julia_azari: Can I add something to kinda maybe answer the “what do we do about power dynamics” question?

micah: Take us home, Julia.

julia_azari: Warm, fuzzy feature pieces need more analytical framework, IMO. Why has employment changed in certain circumstances? How does the rate of immigrants in community X compare to surrounding ones?

Put people’s stories into a more structural context, highlighting how something like state budgets or other policies might affect what people are facing. Framing a piece like a biography puts too much emphasis on both individual experience and individual responsibility for circumstances. These are part of bigger — and often more technical — stories. I’m not saying that some journalists aren’t already doing this, but in my opinion, some of the stock frames for pieces need an update.

If that makes any sense.

You have a lot of efforts to humanize policy. Maybe policy-ize humanity.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #A FiveThirtyEight Chat

1 note · View note

antifainternational · 4 years ago

Photo

GREETINGS FROM STONE MOUNTAIN! We recommend following @flowerunited’s feed on twitter today for updates, as we might, uh, *be a little too busy* to post on the regular. LET’S DO THIS!

#Sandblast Stone Mountain #antifa #never let them have the streets #flower united #antifascist #antifascism

109 notes · View notes

bestmarbleworld-blog · 3 years ago

Text

TYPES OF MARBLE GRANITE AND NATURAL STONE FOR YOUR HOME VILLA HOTEL AND PROJECT

#BHANDARI MARBLE WORLD

The History of Marble

Marble is another metamorphic stone, formed from the oceans. Shells and other calcium rich debris made of calcite or dolomite formed crystals under intense heat and pressure, deep underground. Marble is found in most mountainous regions that were at some point in time under water. The top marble producing countries are Italy, Spain and China.

Marble has been excavated for centuries. The Carrara quarry in Carrara, Italy is among the oldest quarries on Earth that is still in production. Michelangelo’s statue of David, carved in the early 1500s was chiseled from Carrara marble, for example. Bhandari Marble World today sells exquisite marble from the exact same quarry in Carrara, Italy. Calcutta Gold is another popular marble.

Options for Flooring

Gauged/uncaused: At the time it is extracted, the slate is a rough, broken material like you would expect from any rock you find on the ground. When refined into tiles, natural stone generally goes through a process where the material is gauged, which refers to flattening the back in order to help the tile set into the mortar during installation. If the back is not flattened then both sides will be rough and bumpy. Known as uncaused slate, these materials are usually reserved for outdoor applications where they can be sunk into the ground for stepping stones.

Crafted: After being sliced into tiles slate is still naturally going to be bumpy and broken. In many cases, this is desirable, as it makes the material feel more rugged and earthy. When the surface is left un-refined it is called cleft, although the term “natural” is also often used to refer to it looking more like it would in its untouched mountain born state. Crafted slate has great traction, even when wet, but if the ridges are too extreme it can be uncomfortable to walk on barefoot.

Honed: In some cases, slate tiles will be polished to the point where they have perfectly smooth surfaces. This process dulls both the dimensionality and the colors in the stone, though the material does retain the same basic hues. When you touch the face of a honed piece of slate, you will feel that it still has some traction, though less than crafted floors will. Another effect of honing is that tiles will be more likely to show stains, and will be easier to scratch.

Honed Finish

Polished: This is a process where the tile is refined to the point that it actually glistens like marble. Very few slates have the textural temperament to achieve a polished finish, and those that do are easy to scratch and damage. However, the look can be simulated with honed tiles, through the application of multiple coats of seal and finish. Some special wax treatments can also be used to achieve the necessary glowing appearance.

Colors:

Solid: These tiles are predominantly one colour all the way through. The consistency of hue, and tone, across a single tile and across tile lots can vary to differing degrees in different types of slate. Floors made from solid-colored stone materials tend to be more formal and subdued. However, the unity of appearance does make it easier to see dirt, and small stains or scratches will be more visible.

Multi color: Many slates will have multiple colors within their surface. These can be matched hues, or they can be wildly contrasting, depending on the type of material. When dealing with multi-colored stones you don’t get the uniformity of solid colour pieces, but the floors tend to be more eye-catching and exciting. There are numerous multi-colored slate lines on the market, but the veins of material do tend to vary over

Marble

Marble was used for building tombs, temples, and palaces. For a time, it was considered as Royal Stone. It is, however, now used in hotels and homes too.

Some Collections of Indian Marble

FANTASY BROWN MARBLE

It is one of the most popular marble from India. There is brown and white like pattern is observed in this stone. It is very hard marble; in fact its hardness is comparable to granite. This is found in Jaipur region of the state Rajasthan, It is beautiful looks and granite like attributes makes it ideal choice for flooring. It is more expensive than other types of marble found in India.

SPIDER GREEN MARBLE

A green marble from north India . There is light green spider veins likes pattern can be seen on the green background of the stone. Its main color is dark green. A soft material requires very careful processing and quality control.

PLAIN GREEN

It is color in medium green, it is found in the Udaipur also known as Udaipur Green Marble. This granite is very popular in gulf countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE and so on. It is very cost effective marble.

RAIN FOREST GREEN

This marble is found in Jaipur region of the state of Rajasthan, It’s main background is green having brown color branches and veins like pattern spreading throughout the surface. This brown veins like tree giving the stone appearance of forest.

RAIN FOREST BROWN

This marble is also found in Jaipur region of the state of Rajasthan. Its main background color is light medium brown containing dark brown and small white veins spreading throughout the stone surface.

AGARIA WHITE MARBLE

A common type of white marble found in the Rajsamand region of the state of Rajasthan. Light grey cross waves like pattern is found in the white surface of the stone. Sometimes grey colored veins like region can be seen on the stone.

BRUNO WHITE MARBLE

A white marble from North India. It is color in bright white and brown grey wavy pattern is seen on the surface of the stone. High level of variation is observed in this stone.

PANDA WHITE MARBLE

It’s also known as Nizarna. A kind of white marble having thin and thick lines on the surface of the stone. These black lines are generally found in the middle of the stone and can vary in thickness. It is because of black regions and lines it is named Panda White.

JAISALMER YELLOW MARBLE

A yellow marble which is found in the Jaisalmer region of the state Rajasthan. It is color is dark yellow and there is no any pattern is visible on the surface of the stone.

So, far we have discussed most of the notable marbles found in India. You can see most of them are located in the state of Rajasthan. As marble is not as hard as granite it’s often used for making statues and sculptures. White marble particularly is suited for this purpose. It’s common to see marble statues in temples, museums and historical places. Marble can also be paired with Indian granite to give a spectacular look. Another advantage of marble over granite is that its appeal and shine does not fade after long period of time

Granite

India has varieties of granite in over 300 shades. As of 2019, Granite reserves in India were 48500 million cubic meters and ranked fifth in the export of the processed product. Resources are found in Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.

Collection of Indian Granite

TIGER SKIN GRANITE

Tiger Granite is famous due to its look that looks like really Tiger skin. Tiger granite is one of the hot-selling granites from India. Tiger granite is North Indian granite. The quarries of Tiger granite are located in Jalore district of Rajasthan. This granite is mainly used for flooring, counter tops and wall tiles.

P WHITE GRANITE

The P. White Granite is one of the famous varieties from India. P. white is white based having gray chunks and light black speckles. Owing to its good hardness, low absorption power, good look, and mirror polish make it popular worldwide. It takes good polish and smooth finish. P. White is a kind of white granite quarried in Jalore district of Rajasthan, India.

S WHITE GRANITE

S White Granite is also known as Aqua white granite. Its black and white color gives an attractive look. The white background is an attractive color in it. It has a small figure with black and silver gray shades. It is medium hard granite. This granite is extracted from Jalore, Rajasthan. Its water absorption power is medium.

R BLACK GRANITE

R Black Granite is a kind of black granite quarried in Rajasthan from hills of Aravali. The R Black granite is recommended and considered as a good option for counter tops and flooring. When place in the right direction, these granites make beautiful patterns. The R Black granite is also known for its shine and color.

FISH BLACK GRANITE

It’s black granite with fish like white dots in the background. It is native to Rajasthan, India. Fish Black Granite is good for counter/vanity tops, flooring, cladding, marble handicrafts, swimming pool areas, bathroom walls and floors, fireplace walls, external and internal aids in construction. Fish black granite can be processed into polished, sawn cut, sanded, rock-faced, sandblasted, and tumbled, and so on.

Sandstone

India is among the leading countries when it comes to mining and export of sandstone. The best part with Sandstone from India is that it is available in different colors and considered best for interior as well as exterior use. Few most popular sandstone products from India include names like Tint Mint, White Mint, Mint Fossils, Modak, Agra Red, Rainbow Sandstone, Raj Green, Teak, Buff Brown, Dholpur Chocolate, Beige, Dholpur Pink, Lalitpur Pink, Mandana Red, Jodhpur pink, Jodhpur red, Jaisalmer yellow, etc.

Slate

Slate reserves in India are found in Rajasthan, Behror, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. Deposits in Rajasthan are spread over the districts of Alwar, Ajmer, Bharatpur, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Pali, Udaipur, Churu, and Chittorgarh. Few important names in slate are Jak Black, Silver Shine, Silver grey, Panther, Deoli Green, Peacock, Peacock Multi, Kund Black, Kund Multi, and so on. Being to some extent fragile in nature, it is good for interior use only and can be used even as washboards.

Added by an expert team of Marble Granite & Natural Stone

#BHANDARIMARBLEWORLD MARBLE GRANITE SANDSTONE SLATE NARTURALSTONE STONEATKISHANGARH MARBLEINKISHANGARH SLATEINKISHANGARH GRANITEINKISHANGARH

0 notes

kartasmarblemosaic · 4 years ago

Link

Exclusive Design ideas with Tumbled Silver Travertine

Wonderfully beautiful travertine silver tiles for your dream home. Travertine Silver is a gray-silver limestone and knows how to impress with its unusual and modern look. Our Traverin Silver tiles are available in a tumbled and honed surface that underlines the Mediterranean and at the same time the natural character of the stone. The stone that is still open-pored on delivery will be fully grouted with a natural stone grout. In addition to the joints, this also closes the natural, characteristic pores. The big advantage is that the joints and the filling of the pores have the same color. We recommend that you use a gray natural stone joint mortar with this rock, as this has a very subtle effect and allows the rock to come into its own.

What are the different surface treatments of Silver Travertine?

Silver Travertine Brushed surface?

With brushed natural stone surfaces, two operations play the central role in the end result. Before the final brush processing begins, the rock mass is carefully ground. This cut closes the pores. Only then is the surface processed with brushes. This process creates an attractive, matt surface without gloss. Brushing gives the stone a structure very similar to that of human skin due to its different mineral composition. This surface treatment gives the stone a beautiful and unique look and feel. The surface treatment brushed is also referred to as satin, leather finished, antique, or as a leather look.

Silver Travertine Flamed & brushed?

lamed and brushed surfaces give the surface slip and resistance, which is mostly used for floor slabs and steps in the outdoor area. special brushes smooth the rough surface. The brushes contain abrasive grains that are worked into the interior, which subsequently develops the wrinkle-free structure. Flamed surfaces on natural stones have the advantage that they have a higher slip resistance, which is very beneficial for outdoor use. This feature is sometimes welcomed in the living area. Flamed and brushed surface treatment is most often used outdoors for floor slabs, steps, terrace slabs, and external stairs. What happens when a natural stone surface is flamed? The surface is exposed to evenly high heat for a short time. The various minerals or components from which stone such as Granite consist of different degrees of expansion under the heat. Above all, the harder components burst open. The flamed, brushed, or patinated surface must always be used where frost temperatures and drizzle can interact.

Siver Travertine Polished surface?

Grinding is one of the oldest methods of processing natural stones. Thanks to the latest technology, diamond stone grinding machines create flat but not shiny surfaces. The grinding wheels, which are enriched with abrasives, rotate. This is where minerals meet because the grinding wheels contain the smallest artificial diamonds or abrasive grains. After grinding, the plate is given the name C120, for example, the C stands for carborundum and the number, in turn, indicates the respective sieve line. Since no natural stone is the same as another in the mineral mix, there can be no uniform standard lines for this. Result: The polished surface is even, matt, and less colored than polished natural stone surfaces, but offers a non-slip effect on most natural stones. A sanded surface is not non-slip.

Silver Travertine (high-gloss) surface?

Polished stone surfaces flank the robustness and beauty of the selected material, polished natural stone surfaces are easy to clean. The polished surface of natural stone is one of the most attractive design elements in the living area and is, therefore, the most requested by customers. A polished natural stone surface is mostly used in representative residential and business areas. Highly polished natural stone surfaces radiate elegance and a sophisticated living ambiance. Viewing a high-gloss natural stone surface is like looking into the formation of our earth.

Polished surfaces should not be used in public and outdoor areas. Because wet or damp natural stone surfaces turn into life-threatening “slides” when frost temperatures and drizzle interact.

Silver Travertine Patinated surface – sandblasted surface?

Travertine processing, sandblasting technology is now very advanced. In general, sandblasted natural stone surfaces are suitable for floors in wet areas, outdoors, and wherever greater demands are made on slip resistance. In the case of marble, sandblasted surfaces are also called patinated. When sandblasting, the surface is evenly processed with various materials using very high air pressure. With marble, this surface is mostly used indoors and most often in the bathroom. This surface combines an antique look with anti-slip properties.

Silver Travertine Satin surface

Satin-finished surfaces, two work processes play a central role in the end result. Before the final brush processing begins. This process creates an attractive, matt surface without gloss. Brushing gives the stone a structure very similar to that of human skin due to its different mineral composition. This surface treatment gives the stone a beautiful and unique look and feel. The satin surface finish is also referred to as brushed, leather finished, antique or leather look.

Some satin-finished natural stone surfaces are non-slip and slip-proof. It should not be used outdoors.

Matchless Silver Travertine

If you decide to layout your terrace with our travertine silver, you will get a stone that convinces with its balanced interplay of different color gradations. You will find light gray and dark gray tones here, but even individual anthracite-colored panels and always unobtrusive beige accents. This look is further supported by the porosity that is typical of travertine and is particularly pronounced here.

Travertine Silver for a terrace with temperament

You will often find a wide variety of veins in this travertine in different colors, which underline that this is a real natural product – no two panels are alike. There are even inclusions of dark quartz that enhance the rustic look. This look is complemented by the drum, which gives our Silver an antique touch and caresses the feet when walking over it.

The proportions of gray, anthracite, and beige can fluctuate even from batch to batch. What remains the same, however, is the high quality: the travertine silver impresses with its small dimensional tolerances and slip resistance, even in the immediate vicinity of pools.

Without frost damage during the winter

Like all of our outdoor travertines, the silver travertine slabs are frost-resistant, so that even in mountainous surroundings you can be sure that your terrace will survive the winter safely. Proper laying is, of course, a prerequisite for this, which guarantees the unimpeded outflow of rain and meltwater.

Proper installation Travertine

In order for you to be able to admire your silver travertine sheets again in spring without damage, we recommend that the sheets be laid easily and economically. For this unbound construction, simply use a gravel foundation and a fine stone bed into which you put the travertine slabs. A slope of at least 3% should be maintained to prevent waterlogging under the panels.

Don’t forget the impregnation!

Those who like to spend long mild summer nights with their loved ones on the terrace should remember to impregnate the travertine plates. So you can relax and enjoy a glass of red wine without fear of stains on the natural stone floor.

Special Travertine, Special price

The special thing about this travertine is not only the color but unfortunately also the price. In Turkey, there are currently only 3 quarries that mine Travertine Silver. Coupled with worldwide high demand for this stone, the relatively high price comes about. We still strive to offer these great travertine slabs at a reasonable price.

Special coloring rightly popular

While common travertines usually only have a color range from beige to brown, travertine silver stands out from the mass of our natural stone slabs with its grayish color. What is extraordinary is how much the different shades of color alternate. Thanks to its modernity and uniqueness, the Travertine Silver has rightly enjoyed a wedding in recent years. Boredom has no chance here! Travertine silver is mined in Turkey. Generally speaking, there is a large amount of travertine in Turkey. The travertine silver is an open-pored material like the travertine light and the travertine medium. It has all the properties and peculiarities that other travertines also have. Particularly noteworthy here is the frost resistance, which is by no means a matter of course with limestone. Most travertine quarries have beige or brownish travertine in various shades of color. But only very certain quarries and mining locations produce this special color.

Building floors, stairs made of Silver Travertine Tiles

Silver Traavertine tiles used for stairs and floors is subject to abrasion and impact. It must therefore be very hard and have a high level of abrasion and impact resistance. The stone used for this part of the building should be cutable in one direction, as should sedimentary and metamorphic stones which have the advantage. In addition, because the stones used for floors and stairs are constantly exposed to contamination, they must have a low porosity so that the detergents and acidic and basic materials used for washing do not penetrate into them and damage them.

Silver Travertine Interior wall cladding of the building

Silver Travertine is the best and most durable flooring in the world and so far no more durable and beautiful material than a natural stone has been manufactured or recognized. Silver Travertine has high impact resistance, fire resistance, chemical resistance, good polishability, a beautiful natural pattern, and color, thus giving the building a pleasant and beautiful atmosphere. Using the Silver Travertine for the inside wall of the building gives it a cool and very glamorous look. Basically, the stone is used to cover the walls of bathrooms, office buildings, shops, dining rooms, etc. The stone used for the walls should have a nice honed and tumbled finish. In addition, it should have a low porosity so that it is not damaged during washing with the detergent and its resistance does not decrease.

0 notes

marcosoropoet · 7 years ago

Text

Nihilismus

We buy junk cars we peel metal schöne kreatur abstrakt prepared nutrient media, abstractus, sweetness of tongue fruit pulp abducted aborted scar butcher strained says horror cinema is pretty we buy junk cars, are straight-up motherfuckers, shoot pool at midnight's solar flaring bliss, take off reptilian label. Ultimatum is metal strata, from chroma, to metal, abrasive, crushing them into honest compact bricks of fluorescing scrap excited by ultraviolet radiation channel sandblasting gust brain and black rocks absorb feverish volcanic onslaught edging sparks of Spanish guitar metal dust is gone vituperative abrasion of junkie groping smeared textile touching plunging first into the photo then diving into the television, lost in 15 dimensions small purple-bristled birds by the side of the rainy road, a gold haze over their dark feathers, rose red of bloody 6am window explicit switch of catharsis window of whole wide world blue smoke electricity cloud geometry, we buy junk cars a finger flick of a gold pinky spy nail grilling air meatsmoke aromatica for carnivores who junk everything es existential nihilism es purple bristle scrape es ice radio fetching tongue born of potentially geometric werewolf and statue cannot fight back the tears scrawled on your forgotten flesh controversy horror cinema is pretty violence is sweetness dirty exact efficient evil pure silver icy cool knife stuck in jerky sequential talking trees with deep guttural slowed down voices curtained scrutiny of letters and serpentine time channel dissolving opening dimension of blackhole oblivion flurries of goosebumps sequential waves of urbanscape channels blink violet and green slicing codes of pure art burnt and bitter, soulful asterisks renaisssance uttered summer cirrus dousing atmosphere with gutter gurgle citrus of mud rinsing off stone deep coins, silent film river currents on open palms over sunlit countries in the small room of smooth rock and far off puddles, leather glove, auto-flash one celestially lit brick of crushed car in lonely moonlit soulless scrapyard passengerlessness uttered amidst cool ancient trees wrapped in blue mist meditation of a soft fingerprint painted train ticket in the gutter rinsed violet against a weightless sky pinned with heavy planets, pool hall clacks cascade photo of nebulae fog dreaming snow half-lit snowy figures walk forward into the panning lens stones deep, colors of nebulae ruin the artifact of fog in secretive afternoon auto-flash concentric ethos of time era scritch-scratch on galaxy fabric mouth of octopi silkscreen low discordant electronic whistles turn fast food purple in esophagus x-ray, vivid ground moving without person son trucos del ojo es scrape of existential nihilism es purple bristle scrape es ice advertising es new mixed up age mountain moon pooling wax enflames blood an infra-string of ultra-rhetoric the helicopter claw dropped a truck into the ocean butter tongue of catharsis spread ekstasis in blue consciousness rain pummels in gothic slants birds breathing earth accordion time whistle down echo reverberates up to gold cirrus inflection es new mixed up freaky age es only what I thought es reflection of postmodern alienation es an organ playing while you recite es only me again I forgot es meticulous acculturated insouciant gaffe es splintery narcoleptic insular filmic vision es a small room of numbers es please don't look or ask anything The deep scratches on the film were a beautiful rain. Glancing out the car window, when he returned from Vietnam, everything seemed to move so slow es everything was moving slowly es stream of consciousness commercials es ¿cuánto es? es estar es muy tarde y quiero dormir it's very late and I want to sleep weightless being entrenched in feeling tilting walls pulsate, topography of psyche pulsating across the arch of sky slice pure art; dogs draw in, roll, lick the mist and bitter cold coffee of morning icy rose zephyrs, clouds blink tangled ether echo ricochets off knee-jerk brain switches then diving into the side of rain and black rocks absorbing rain black rocks absorbing sparks of Spanish guitar, metallic whistling dust fraught with austere rain and black rocks absorbing the rainy road, a gold haze over their dark feathers, rose red of bloody 6am window explicit switch of catharsis window explicit switch of bloody 6am window small purple-bristled birds by the side of honest compact brick of gold haze over the side of lost television vituperative abrasions crushing first 15 dimensions of rose red catharsis window's bright dwarfing of explicit switching of gold pinky spy nail blood-smeared textile touching warm metal sparks of Spanish guitar small purple-bristled birds, near them, an honest compact brick of a gold haze, over their dark feathers, shooting pool at midnight edging smeared textile brainy ancient trees wrapped in blue mist meditation of night-glitter cityscape cannot fight back the tears sequential waves of soft fighting back the tears sequential waves of urbanscape channels blink blank violet and green slicing atmosphere with gutter amidst the cool. Ancient trees wrapped in warping blue mist meditation of werewolf and green slicing atmosphere with gutter gurgle of mud rinsing atmosphere with guttered cool ancient trees wrapped in blue mist meditation of glittery night cityscape cannot fight back the tears sequential waves of a soft window. Smeared black ink. Brainy ancient trees wrapped in 15 dimensions crushing everything, sparks of urbane catharsis window. I am a stranger just visiting — I absorb metal layers, rocks smeared soft amidst cool ancient trees wrapped in blue mist meditation of junkie groping sparks of mud rinsing alley channel blinking violet and black tears sequential waves of werewolf and green atmosphere guitar metallic cirrus spoonful of dark cloud dollop dollar horror cirrus of random text rogue hot dog rose red deep coin aborted scar butcher straining ticket into the gutter gurgle of a finger flare existential wave of bloody 6am window brain black scrawl of midnight scrap flurries of goosebumps, carnivores wrapped in blue mist media, abstractus, disengage really with all of you touching off stone vituperative abrasions renaisssance is pretty we buy junk cars we buy utter rinsing we buy the flightlessnesses of dirty rose red summer cirrus you sell volcanic onslaught of red solar flare gizmo small purple bristle of a soft machine photo then diving feverishly into volcanic onslaught solar flare — I require metal layers, from painted trained summer cinema is sweetness uttered rinsing smeared нигилизм rock abstractus a finger flare numeral touching feverish film sprockets volcanic onslaught edging existential ice wave brain gutter burglar in a slow fade jerky jumpcut passengerprint fades. ~ Marcos Oro

#nihilismus #marcos oro artist/poet #new poem #surreal poetry #weird poetry

5 notes · View notes

omgstupendousbouquetbasement · 4 years ago

Text

As Monuments Fall, Confederate Carving Has Size on Its Side

Some statues of figures from America's slave-owning past have been yanked down by protesters, others dismantled by order of governors or city leaders. But the largest Confederate monument ever crafted — colossal figures carved into the solid rock of a Georgia mountainside — may outlast them all.

Stone Mountain's supersized sculpture depicting General Robert E. Lee, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson mounted on horseback has special protection enshrined in Georgia law.

Even if its demolition were sanctioned, the monument's sheer size poses serious challenges. The carving measures 190 feet (58 meters) across and 90 feet (27 meters) tall. An old photo shows a worker on scaffolding just below Lee's chin barely reaching his nose.

Numerous Confederate statues and monuments to American slave owners have come down across the South amid recent protests against racial injustice. Stone Mountain hasn't escaped notice.

After organizing a protest where thousands marched in neighboring Atlanta, Zoe Bambara, 19, held a demonstration June 4 with a much smaller group — her permit allowed no more than 25 — inside the state park where the sculpture has drawn millions of tourists for decades.

FILE - In this Aug. 1, 2015, photo, Confederate flag supporters climb Stone Mountain to protest what they believe is an attack on their Southern heritage, during a rally at Stone Mountain Park in Stone Mountain, Ga.

"The Confederacy doesn't celebrate the South; it celebrates white supremacy," said Bambara, who is Black. "The people on that mountain, they hated me. They didn't know me, but they hated me and my ancestors. It hurts to see those people celebrated and a memorial dedicated to them."

Still, Bambara admits she's at a loss for what should be done with the massive monument, conceived some 50 years after the Civil War ended but not finished until 1972.

The sculpture's creators used dynamite to blast huge chunks of granite away from the mountain, then spent years carving the detailed figures with hand-held cutting torches.

Dicey, pricey

Erasing the carving would be dangerous, time-consuming and expensive.

The stone is likely too durable for sandblasting, said Ben Bentkowski, president of the Atlanta Geological Society. Controlled explosions using TNT packed into holes drilled in the mountainside would work, he said.

"With the logistics, the safety aspect of it, you'd have a budget certainly north of $1 million, I suspect," Bentkowski said. "You'll need insurance for the project, you'll need hazard pay for people working on the surface of it. It could easily take a year or more."

There's also a sizable legal obstacle.

When Georgia lawmakers voted in 2001 to change the state flag that had been dominated by the Confederate battle emblem since 1956, language to guarantee the preservation of the Stone Mountain sculpture was included as a bargaining chip.

The law states that "the memorial to the heroes of the Confederate States of America graven upon the face of Stone Mountain shall never be altered, removed, concealed, or obscured in any fashion."

Ryan Gravel, an Atlanta-based urban designer, noted the law doesn't mandate maintenance. He suggested allowing nature to take its course, letting vegetation grow over the sculpture from its nooks and crannies.

"I think we're in a moment where pushing the limits of that law is possible," Gravel said. "And certainly the scale of the challenge at Stone Mountain warrants that."

Other ideas — such as adding a bell tower atop the mountain in honor of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. — have failed to take hold. And Democratic proposals to strip the protective language from Georgia law have fallen flat with the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Governor's remarks

Asked whether Stone Mountain still deserves special protection, GOP Governor Brian Kemp didn't give a direct answer when speaking to reporters June 26.

"As I've said many times, we can't hide from our history," Kemp said, while citing the new hate crimes law he signed the same day as a significant step in fighting racial injustice.

Stone Mountain wasn't a battle site and had little historical significance to the Civil War. But 50 years after the war ended, the exposed surface of the mountain's northern face sparked an idea among the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

"It looked like a giant billboard," said Stan Deaton, senior historian for the Georgia Historical Society.

The group hired sculptor Gutzon Borglum — who later would carve Mount Rushmore — to design a massive Confederate monument in 1915.

That same year, the movie "The Birth of a Nation" glorified the Reconstruction-era Ku Klux Klan and Stone Mountain played a key role in its resurgence, marking its comeback with a cross burning atop the mountain on Thanksgiving night.

Budget problems plagued the Stone Mountain project and work on the sculpture languished until the state bought the mountain and surrounding land in 1958 for a public park. Finishing the monument gained renewed urgency as the civil rights movement brought unwanted change to defiant Southern states.

"It became the centerpiece of the park," Deaton said. "There was never any doubt that the state's intention of finishing this was of a piece with massive resistance."

An estimated 10,000 people attended the monument's dedication in 1970. Another two years passed before its official completion.

Family theme park

Five decades later, the park at Stone Mountain markets itself as a family theme park rather than a shrine to the "Lost Cause" mythology that romanticizes the Confederacy as chivalrous defenders of states' rights. Its website highlights miniature golf and a dinosaur-themed attraction while downplaying the Confederate carving, Confederate flags and brick terraces dedicated to each Confederate state.

FILE - Paula and Michael Smith pose for a photo with their grandson, Evan, 10, in front of a giant carving of Confederate figures during a visit to Stone Mountain Park, June 29, 2020.

Paula and Michael Smith of Monticello, Georgia, visited Stone Mountain on Monday so their 10-year-old grandson could see the monument for the first time.

"The mountain itself is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful and the carving is an engineering marvel," said Paula Smith, a 70-year-old white woman who dismissed talk of removing or altering the carving as an attempt to "steal American history."

Jarvis Jones climbs the steep hiking trail on the back side of Stone Mountain several times a week. The 29-year-old Black man said he tries to avoid seeing the carving.

"I definitely understand everyone wants their history to be represented," Jones said. "But when it comes to the oppression of other people, I think it needs to change."

from Blogger https://ift.tt/3eVv5jH via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Blogger

0 notes