My Virtual Reading Room

And for Pirates of the Caribbean fans: (waves to wirral_bagpuss, capt_facepalm, debriswoman...and who else? skyfire101 and earthspirits--I think you also like these films? ;))

( Several more photos and stories: )

 


Pics found via olenenyok; reposted from maumu; lots more here: http://maumu.livejournal.com/12241.html

More about the painter here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Gonsalves

Apologies for the awful video quality--haven't been able to find this song anywhere else--if anybody does, please do share the link ;)
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"The crew is ready to attack,
It's time to grapple with the other ship,
Grant us good luck in battle, Jolly Roger!"
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This is just "Things are Seldom What They Seem", from a different performance by the same company:



( "Things are seldom what they seem..." )( "Things are seldom what they seem..." )

( Another version and lyrics:  )

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"He little thinks how eloquently he has pleaded his rival's cause!" :P
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*( Two more versions with lyrics: )

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This is from a children's cartoon series "Adventures of Captain Vrungel"--whose name would translate to English as something like "Captain Liarsley"--yes, the captain was fond of tall tales...;) This is his first mate Lom re-taking the examination (the first mate has actually failed it in the navigational school, but as the captain needed a first mate in a hurry for the yacht race, he took the first mate on, on probation).
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Lyrics translation:

( Here: )

( Lots more pics this way: )



Утащено отсюда, спасибо Fridrix

Pics from vasily_sergeev 
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( Translation of lyrics: )

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Translation of lyrics:

( Here 'tis: )

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Sea Fever

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

(John Masefield)

Originally posted by levkonoe at Loren Adams - Moonlight

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( Lyrics and translation: )

** Pic from www.blogbaster.org/post116882989, found via olenenyok 
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(pic from marinni --and I think it's a perfect match to the poem below)

New Year

As the old year sinks down in Time's ocean,
Stand ready to launch with the new,
And waste no regrets, no emotion,
As the masts and the spars pass from view.
Weep not if some treasures go under,
And sink in the rotten ship's hold,
That blithe bonny barque sailing yonder
May bring you more wealth than the old.

 

( Read more... )

 

Swiped from levkonoe 
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7:55 - Gyula Boros (Дюла Борош)

Это поместье знатного путешественника времен Жюля Верна. Он тут отдыхает между плаваниями, и задумывает новые захватывающие маршруты. А потом - плывет в неизведанное вот так или так...

Found via vasily_sergeev and reposted from nicole_t :)
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Портрет Ивана Айвазовского, художник Алексей Тыранов, 1847г.
Айвазовский Иван Константинович (арм. - Оганес Гайвазовский) Site - 17 (29) июля 1817 года -
2 мая 1900 года) — всемирно известный российский художник-маринист армянского происхождения, коллекционер, меценат. Живописец Главного морского штаба (1844 г.), академик Петербургской академии художеств (1844 г.) и ряда заграничных академий. Айвазовский учился в Петербургской академии художеств (1833-1839 гг.). Автор грандиозных полотен, в которых романтически воспевает силу и величие морской стихии ("Девятый вал", 1850 г.; "Среди волн", 1898 г. и другие), а также картин, посвящённых героическим делам русского флота ("Чесменский бой", "Наваринский бой", обе 1848 г., Феодосийская картинная галерея). Наивысшее достижение художника - "Чёрное море" (1881 г.). Им написано около 6 тысяч картин. Его брат армянский историк, священник Габриэл Айвазовский.
…С тех пор я знаю, что стать Айвазовским не просто,
что художник Главного морского штаба имел в кармане мундира секрет,
при помощи которого умел делать на полотне воду мокрой…
© Конецкий В.В

Лунная ночь. Берег моря (1885)

( A LOT more paintings here:  )

This series of four paintings is on permanent display in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
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Cole's renowned four-part series traces the journey of an archetypal hero along the "River of Life." Confidently assuming control of his destiny and oblivious to the dangers that await him, the voyager boldly strives to reach an aerial castle, emblematic of the daydreams of "Youth" and its aspirations for glory and fame. As the traveler approaches his goal, the ever-more-turbulent stream deviates from its course and relentlessly carries him toward the next picture in the series, where nature's fury, evil demons, and self-doubt will threaten his very existence. Only prayer, Cole suggests, can save the voyager from a dark and tragic fate.

From the innocence of childhood, to the flush of youthful overconfidence, through the trials and tribulations of middle age, to the hero's triumphant salvation, The Voyage of Life seems intrinsically linked to the Christian doctrine of death and resurrection. Cole's intrepid voyager also may be read as a personification of America, itself at an adolescent stage of development. The artist may have been issuing a dire warning to those caught up in the feverish quest for Manifest Destiny: that unbridled westward expansion and industrialization would have tragic consequences for both man and nature.
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Thomas Cole
The Voyage of Life: Childhood, 1842
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
1971.16.1
 

( 3 more paintings and narratives )