Ávila de los Caballeros

The city walls of Ávila (Avila), a city in the centre of Spain. They are constructed from brown granite at the end of the 11th century AD. The wall encompasses 88 towers and 9 gates.

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9-9-9

At 9-9-9 (John's favorite number) all the Beatle music will be released again, remastered in better sound quality, and in both stereo ànd mono. Until now only some cd-EP’s and cd-singles contained mono versions of stereo songs.
They didn't really care about stereo in the 60s, so they mixed the music in mono (first the producer, and later John and Paul themselves) and let somebody else do the stereo mixes. For instance some parts of Sgt. Pepper sound completely different in mono, with vocals and sound effects you don’t hear in the stereo mix. The mono cd's will only be available in a limited box set, so I guess next month I'll be officially bankrupt...

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Paulus Bor - The Magdalen

Magdalene, painted by Paulus Bor (Amersfoort, circa 1601 - Amersfoort, 1669) in 1630-1639. The model was his wife Aleijda van Crachtwijck. She is shown holding a bottle of oil to anoint Christ's feet. Notice the resemblance with Vermeers Girl with a Pearl Earring, painted 30 years later on.

In 1632 Paulus married Aleijda. Their combined assets in property and documents at the time of their marriage amounted to 10,000 guilders, which gives us some idea of the extent of their wealth. The couple had several children.

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Pola Negri - Paradise

The cover of the sheet music from the 1932 movie A woman commands featuring Pola Negri singing Paradise.

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Sixteenth plate Daguerreotype

The plate size of this daguerreotype is 1/16th: 1 3/8 x 1 5/8 inch (3.5 x 4 cm)!

This is the smallest plate available. It shows how incredible sharp and full of detail these photos can be. It dates back from around the 1850s. I have searched a long time for this plate size, and finally bought this one at Ebay for less then 30 dollars.

Notice the beautiful dress, jewelry, and the books on the table. 

Windmill

This windmill is located near the A1 highway (between my hometown Amersfoort and my workplace Amsterdam) and a railway. It is called De Onrust (the unrest) because it shakes a lot when it is pumping the water.

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Alphonse Mucha - La Primevere & La Plume

'La Primevere' ('The Primrose', left) and 'La Plume' ('The Feather', right) by Alfons Mucha, 1899. These symbolic figures, complete with Mucha's customary aureoles around their heads and diadems in their hair, comprise one of his best panel sets.

Gloria Swanson

Gloria Swanson in a still from the 1919 film Don't Change Your Husband.

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