Cosplayers: Nadyasonika, ShiraHime, Twiin Cosplay and Glory Lamothe
via VALORANT
Saturday, April 23, 2022
Friday, April 22, 2022
Thursday, April 21, 2022
Texas' Falkenstein Castle
When the world was closed during the early part of the pandemic, 2020, my girlfriend and I noticed a castle in the distance while hiking Longhorn Cavern State Park. The sight triggered our curiosity; however, we soon forgot about it when we returned to Austin.
Recently, I came across an article on El Paso's KLAQ radio station's website that highlighted a castle in the Hill Country--the one we saw on our hike. If you aren't familiar with the Hill Country, it's the area west of Austin that is... well... hilly.
The article included a YouTube video by Kara and Nate, a young globetrotting couple from Tennessee, who stayed at the castle.
In the video, Kara explains that the castle, which is called Falkenstein, was inspired by King Ludwig II's Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. Further research finds that the owners, Terry and Kim Young, used a design by King Ludwig II for his other castle, Falkenstein, which didn't get fully built.
The 20,000 sq. ft. castle sits on 113 acres of land located about 13 miles west of Burnet, Texas.
The cost? Well, as the video photo shows, it'll set you back a little over a couple of grand. So, round up eight couples, and the place can be affordable. 😉
via Kara and Nate
via Billy Perkins
via Panther City Air
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Travel + Leisure: Your Best Shot: Zoe Osborne
On the last page of its magazine, Travel + Leisure features photographs submitted by their readers. In this particular November 2020 issue, a photograph by award-winning journalist Zoe M. Osborne, of her boyfriend sipping yak-butter tea caught my attention.
As she explained in the issue, "Oi,' I called to my boyfriend as he sipped yak-butter tea in our mountainside hut. He came to the door and I snapped a quick shot, capturing this much needed moment of reprieve. We had just arrived at a tiny village near the Kali Gandhi River, in Nepal, after three days of hiking the surreal landscapes of the Upper Mustang, in the remote Himalayas."
Looking at the photo, you can feel the relief from his posture and grin behind the mug.
She added, "We were tired and sore: believe it or not, I hadn't brought proper hiking shoes for the expedition. But the chilly air was energizing and the smell of dal bhat -- steamed rice and lentil curry -- simmering on the wood-fired stove filled me with so much joy."
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Willem Drost
Art Appreciation
Since I started this blog, back in 2008, I've been featuring artists found via the internet -- Wikipedia being my primary source. This one is a particular find. More so because this artist lived a short life.
Willem Drost was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker of historical allegories. He was a student of Rembrandt before traveling to Rome with painters Karel Lot, Joan vander Meer, and Lieve Verschuier. He died in Venice on February 25, 1659.
Several paintings that were thought to be Rembrandt's were later attributed to Willem Drost such as Portrait of a Young Woman with her Hands Folded on a Book.
Portrait of a Man (c. 1655)
Portrait of a Young Woman with her Hands Folded on a Book (1653)
Bathsheba (1654)
Sources:
Wikipedia, metmuseum.org
Sunday, April 17, 2022
Saturday, April 16, 2022
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