William Sutherland's favorite articles

Just a brief article prompted by some comments I've seen people posting regarding difficulties in publishing articles.

Why a user owned and operated platform is probably the best organisation model for a social community both in terms of costs and privacy.

Ein lang gehegter Wunsch ist in Erfüllung gegangen: die alten Fotos meiner Familie zu digitalisieren.

"life is a cross", it's said, but not everyone carries it. there is a lot of cheating, for example, pretending not to see or have it, nailing it on the back of an unwary innocent, setting it on the high altar or at the church facade. "a vida é uma cruz", diz-se, mas nem todos a carregam. há para aí muita batota, por exemplo, fingindo não a ver ou ter, pregando-a nas costas dum incauto inocente, fixando-a no altar-mór ou na fachada da igreja. by Armando TABORDA, 2017 (post…

I have been slowly getting back to participating on ipernity again, and it was such a pleasure to learn that Explore is finally up and running! I don't know about you, but this was an important tool for me to use to meet new people and as another way to keep up with old friends! I didn't realize just how much I would miss it until it was gone! I know some people look at Explore as litttle more than a "popularity contest", but that is not the real purpose of this feature. It was intended as a…

ACHTUNG ! ATTENTION ! Help Ipernity to be continued - participate in the crowdfunding ... das Crowdfunding hat begonnen ! ... The CrowdFunding campaign has officially begun. ... Spenden siehe Link ... The hyperlink for making donations is: >>> www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/ipernity-members-association-a-non-profit-entity >>> www.ipernity.com/group/2260604/discuss/186760 >>> www.ipernity.com/blog/2058508/4654686

I don't feel pity, I feel sick for all those people who swallow what they are given to think. I feel sick how easily they can turn into puppets used by political figures of the moment, used by political men without principles and ethics. No manifesto for those who struggle with diseases in hospitals, or in schools in a wrong sistem. None uses their intuition for understanding what is behind a scenario or another. How sick I feel for those who scream in the street for this , for that, imaginin…

This article was first written when ipernity management announced the imminent closure of the site, from about the end of January 2017. Things have moved on and, at last (!!! :)) , the site has passed fully to the Ipernity Members' Association. As this is my preferred site for friendly contact with other photographic enthusiasts, might I suggest to those of you who have been thinking of leaving, that you stay around and help make the site all the great things it could be. I've just lo…

Do you know the first words that came down from the Koran to Muhammad, the last of the prophets and messengers for the world, upon him blessings and peace ? Muhammad was in the cave of Hira in the top of the mountain in Mecca, then the angel Gabriel the messenger from our creator entered, peace be upon him , and read to him the first words of the Koran : “Read (commencing) with the Name of Allah, Who has created (everything). He created man from a hanging mass (clinging) like…

In his Chronicles of England , Richard Grafton wrote, “Thirty days hath November…” Yet, thirty days is sufficient time for this transitional month to bring one from one season into another. November is the elegant bridge that leads from autumn to winter. As one walks across that bridge, autumn’s brilliant colors fade. The sun’s golden rays offer memories of fall’s disappearing warmth, but the days grow ever shorter. Delicate ice crystals from morning frost sometimes glazes the way ahead.…

[EN] Time flies as they say! Fall is already here and we have this impression that the year started yesterday. This summer we solved some bugs (especially the Flickr album importer) and we are still working on the adds. We warmly welcome the new users coming from Panoramio. We know that it is never easy to leave a house for another. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us via Help & Contact , we are at your disposal! See you soon, The ipernity Team PS: you can always…

In his A History of the English-Speaking Peoples , Winston Churchill wrote: Every nation or group of nations has its own tale to tell. Knowledge of the trials and struggles is necessary to all who would comprehend the problems, perils, challenges, and opportunities which confront us today... It is in the hope that contemplation of the trials and tribulations of our forefathers may not only fortify the English-speaking peoples of today, but also play some small part in uniting the whole wor…

One moment in early March, the ground was covered by snow. Despite lengthening days, the late-starting winter of 2015-16 struggled to hang on. But seemingly the next moment, all the snow was gone. Where snow and ice had once hugged the earth, the landscape blushed in the growing colors of spring. Each passing day, the mild breezes of a rising spring kissed new life into the once-barren landscape. Soon, the ground was covered in an extraordinary explosion of daffodils. Everywhere one looke…

Despite the attacks from insects and ground squirrels, my raised bed garden has flourished and is an Eden-oasis in the middle of our bone-dry property!

In his “Autumn Hymn,” Richard Newell observed: Soon shall all the songless wood Shiver in the deepening snow… Instead, December 2015 unveiled an entirely different scenario. Large parts of North America, Europe, and Asia basked in unseasonable warmth. In North America, as wave after wave of warmth washed over the Continent, the “deepening snow” did not come and the “songless wood” did not “shiver.” Rather, the verse of Alice Lord’s “Indian Summer’s Aftermath” much better describ…

No doubt most of us from pre-digital days have collections of slides and/or negatives, waiting to receive a new digital rendering. I have been asked what process I use to copy these slides and negatives: here's a short summary of what I do and why I do things this way. Over the years I have owned a couple of dedicated slide/film scanners and, frankly, I was never totally satisfied with the results from them. One of the characteristics of the old slide film, particularly Kodak, was that it w…

2015 has been a dark year for humanity. In January, we mourned the brave cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo who lost their lives simply for exercising their inherent right of free speech, along with others who died in related incidents. Now, as the year nears an end and the joyous Hanukkah and Christmas holidays approach, Islamist terrorists have again inflicted their deadly and barbaric savagery on the people of France. In doing so, they trampled human dignity and the most basic and inaliena…

Lying along the waters of the Long Island Sound, Manor Park is filled with beauty. Among other things, one can capture the rising of a fiery red sun, boats anchored in pristine blue waters, gazebos that overlook the Sound, shimmering metamorphic rocks that were once part of the Appalachian Mountain chain, and even hummingbirds gracefully dining on the nectar of a trumpet vine. On some of the typically hot summer days, one can find respite in the Park’s iconic gazebos from a refreshing sea breeze…

Summer’s heat lingered well into September this year. The mercury soared to 97°F (36.1°C) on the 8th day of the month and 87°F (30.6°C) on the 18th. Yet, despite the sometimes furnace-like breath of stubborn summer, the days were growing steadily shorter. Each morning, the sun seemed to sleep a little longer. Each evening, the sun departed a little earlier. Each minute of daylight became a little more precious. Each hour of darkness seemed to stretch beyond what should have been allotted. Th…

In 1878, Carl Sandburg wrote: The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on. Nearly 140 years later on April 3, 2015, Sandburg’s descriptive poem transcended the paper on which it was written. The words leapt off the pages and a thick blanket of fog rolled across the Long Island Sound on “little cat feet.” For a time, it sat over the water, shrouding Long Island and also the landscape across Larchmont Harbor in…