Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face conceals a toughness that is almost frightening.
Greta Garbo (via itsquoted)
“Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face conceals a toughness that is almost frightening.”
-Greta Garbo
Category: Snippets
One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.
Marie Curie (via itsquoted)
From space, Earth is a magnificent sight, splashed with vivid colors, patterns, textures, and abstract forms. Views from above can also provide telling information about the health of our planet. To help us understand the more than 150 breathtaking satellite photographs in Earth from Space, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, an aerial photographer and devoted environmental activist, discusses the impact of deforestation, urban sprawl, intensive farming, ocean pollution, and more. Using high-resolution imagery, we can monitor the evolution of vegetation around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site, snow loss on Mount Kilimanjaro, and the health of migratory bird populations. Earth from Space’s compelling selection of satellite images raises important questions about our future, while also showcasing the planet’s beauty—leaving no doubt that it is something crucial to protect.
A Birthday Celebration
I never dreamt of celebrating my 19th birthday on a train drinking blueberry yogo. I always imagined it with friends and a lot of food.
Ten years ago, I had it beside a waterfall with my family with delicacies native in Visayas. It was one of the most memorable birthday celebrations I had because I jumped off a 15-feet high cliff to a rapid flowing river and had myself almost killed if it wasn’t for Uncle Rene who saw my recklessness and saved me. After getting out of the water, I realized I was not scared at all and wanted to try it again. But after what happened, my grandparents kept me from getting close to the cliff again and only allowed me in the riverbank. I also had a celebration with my friends in a public resort three years ago. We really thought we were meant to be there because we were the only guests that day until the next day. That was why we really owned that night of the resort.
I stopped reminiscing when I realized that most of the passengers were gone. Even the little girl, maybe 7 years old, sitting beside me, who kept on staring and turning her head to her mom every time I look back, was gone. I won’t forget what happened after the little girl said, “Mama, look at the old lady, shouldn’t she be sitting instead of these men? That’s what Ms. Mary told us. Give seats to old people. They are not old people, they should stand just like us!” And the little girl stood up and pulled her mom up the train seat. The moment I almost gave up my seat, the woman in front of me, probably my age, wearing red printed shirt with black khaki shorts and her blue hooded jacket hanged on her body bag, stood up and gave her seat to the mother and child.
To redeem myself from the shame of not giving up my seat to the mother and child, and worst of all, witnessing a woman did what I, as a man, should have done, I stood up and said, “Hi, please take my seat.” We looked at each other’s eyes. At that moment, I noticed from her brown eyes that she was thinking. Thinking deeply like the world could be swallowed by it. That instant, I was sure we had connected. I felt her loneliness and I was willing to take that away from her, to make her feel she was not alone.
“Please, take my…,” I never finished my sentence because I found myself at the center of everyone’s attention. “Pathetic,” she said after hitting me in the face and walked away.
I never really dreamt of celebrating my birthday on a train. I never imagined it with a stranger and blueberry yogo on my slapped face.
Pont Des Arts’ Love Padlocks: A Look At The Most Romantic Spot In Paris
Paris is widely known as the “City of Light,” but it is also known as the city of love. From the Luxembourg Gardens to the Île Saint Louis on the Seine, the French capital city is a haven for passionate affairs that would make Humphrey Bogart blush.
However, there is one spot that stands above the rest of the amorous Parisian locations: the Ponts des Arts. Built in 1804, the nine-arch metallic footbridge is a destination for couples wishing to memorialize their love. Sweethearts from near and far visit the bridge to attach padlocks emblazoned with initials and messages before throwing the locks’ keys into the Seine below.
Photographer Captures Beautiful Photos of Her Young Children As They Brave the Ocean Waves
For her series Rite of Water, California-based photographer Kristianne Koch Riddle captures her children in moments of play and exploration in both literal and figurative tides. Through her lens, the water is seen as a vast site of ever-present change, bringing with it both anticipation and fear. Shooting at San Clemente and Dana Point, she captures her growing son and daughter, now 9 and 6 years old, as they conquer the ravenous sea and tumble within its depths. The series comprises a set of seventeen diptychs, each containing a color and black and white image; the color marks an initial plunging from one’s zone of comfort, where the rich gray image signifies a resultant period of learning and reflection.
Portraits of Underground Cirque Troupe Lucent Dossier
In collaboration with the Lucent Dossier underground cirque troupe, photographer August Bradley presents A Theater of Darkness, an enchanting visual narrative filled with curiosity and terror. As if birthed from the pages of an H.G. Wells novel, Bradley’s circus characters are confined to an old, anachronistic vaudeville theater—long after their performances, they lurk in the steampunk underground, yearning for the outside world and hoping for escape.
Luther Castante 