Lawrence R. Spencer's Blog, page 548
August 6, 2013
SPECTACULAR SPIDERS OF NICKY BAY
Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs and cheliceraewith fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every habitat with the exception of air and sea colonization. As of 2008, at least 43,678 spider species, and 109 families have been recorded.
VISIT THESE WEBSITES OF NICKY BAY TO SEE MORE SPIDERS (and other insects)!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickadel/sets/72157632977332646/
http://sgmacro.blogspot.com/2013/07/ultraviolet-fluorescence-in-spiders.html
August 5, 2013
AMAZING MOTHS!
A MOTH is an insect related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Most of this order are moths; there are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth (nearly ten times the number of species of butterfly), with thousands of species yet to be described. Most species of moth are nocturnal. The variety, color, shapes and sizes of moths is truly incredible!
CLICK ON THIS LINK TO SEE A FLICKR SET OF ASTONISHING PHOTOGRAPHS OF MOTHS
http://www.flickr.com/photos/itchydogimages/sets/72157629886999965/with/9121025917/
(Click on each image below to ENLARGE it)
ANIMATED MONDAY
Here is a new feature on my Blog.... Animated Monday!!! I love animated GIFs. I used to have a Widget in the right sidebar on this Blog to feature some of my favorites. However, the images take too long to download and it slows down the whole site. Instead, I will post a few of my favorite GIFs on Monday. What else do you have to do at the office? Maybe this will bring a few seconds of pointless amusement into your life. Enjoy 
JEALOUSY
On a planet ruled by the sexual domination of the male of any species of animal, the female is powerless. Jealousy is manifested as an attempt to destroy or disempower the desirable. Competition for survival is paramount. Survival is a mindless tournament of destruction. Human society is controlled by the male. His only desire is to gratify and satisfy sexual sensation, and the by-product of gratification, his progeny. Females fight for prominence as a pathetic second best. Support the male with pain, with sacrifice, with selflessness.
August 4, 2013
IRRESISTIBLE DESIRE
Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in America. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes.
TOURISTS AT A CRUCIFICXION
Crucifixion was often performed to terrorize and dissuade its witnesses from perpetrating particularly heinous crimes. Victims were left on display after death as warnings to others who might attempt dissent. Crucifixion was usually intended to provide a death that was particularly slow, painful (hence the term excruciating, literally "out of crucifying"), gruesome, humiliating, and public, using whatever means were most expedient for that goal. Crucifixion methods varied considerably with location and time period.
The Greek and Latin words corresponding to "crucifixion" applied to many different forms of painful execution, from impaling on a stake to affixing to a tree, to an upright pole (a crux simplex) or to a combination of an upright (in Latin, stipes) and a crossbeam (in Latin,patibulum).
In some cases, the condemned was forced to carry the crossbeam on his shoulders to the place of execution. A whole cross would weigh well over 300 pounds (135 kg), but the crossbeam would not be quite as burdensome, weighing around 100 pounds. The Roman historian Tacitus records that the city of Rome had a specific place for carrying out executions, situated outside the Esquiline Gate, and had a specific area reserved for the execution of slaves by crucifixion. Upright posts would presumably be fixed permanently in that place, and the crossbeam, with the condemned person perhaps already nailed to it, would then be attached to the post.
While a crucifixion was an execution, it was also a humiliation, by making the condemned as vulnerable as possible. Although artists have depicted the figure on a cross with a loin cloth or a covering of the genitals, writings by Seneca the Younger suggest that victims were crucified completely naked. When the victim had to urinate or defecate, they had to do so in the open, in view of passers-by, resulting in discomfort and the attraction of insects. Despite its frequent use by the Romans, the horrors of crucifixion did not escape mention by some of their eminent orators. Cicero for example, described crucifixion as "a most cruel and disgusting punishment", and suggested that "the very mention of the cross should be far removed not only from a Roman citizen's body, but from his mind, his eyes, his ears."
Frequently, the legs of the person executed were broken or shattered with an iron club, an act called crurifragium, which was also frequently applied without crucifixion to slaves. This act hastened the death of the person but was also meant to deter those who observed the crucifixion from committing offenses. -- REFERENCE SOURCE: Wikipedia.org
August 2, 2013
MOURNING FOOL HAIKU
MOURNING FOOL HAIKU
Fools Mourn Romantic Flowers
Delusions Dreamed Are Never Real
Love Dissolves Like Misty Clouds.
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Lawrence R. Spencer. 2013.
