I somehow like clicking pictures in the night. It gives me more creativity to play with the available light :)

19518.6601

This is taken at the waterfront. It is a Hornbill fountain. Normally, it is not lit up but tonight, it is beautiful.

Stewart Memorial Fountain

The first was the Stewart Memorial Fountain which can be found in Glasgow's Kelvingrove Park, and the Friends of Kelvingrove Park have appealed for any old photographs, postcards, films, stories or the like which relate to the fountain's history, as it is to undergo major restoration. Any items loaned will be returned.

Contact can be made at: dennis.mccue@glasgow.gov.uk

The fountain dates from 1872, designed by James Sellars and based on Sir Walter Scott's poem The Lady of the Lake, and erected to commemorate Lord Provost Robert Stewart, who played the major part in securing Loch Katrine as Glasgow's water supply.

As well as essential cleaning and restoration, the fountain will be fitted with a recirculating water supply system so that it can operate continuously.

Riverside Museum (of transport)

Due to open in 2011, the new £50 million Riverside Museum has announced that it wishes to feature a display which focuses on those who worked on Glasgow's docks.

From the middle of the 19th century, the docks and those who worked on them were essential to the success of the merchant ship that sailed around the world transporting the raw materials, foodstuffs, and products of the Victorian industries that boomed in those days, and made a major contribution to the prosperity of the time.

In those days, the work was heavy, labour intensive, and dangerous.

The museum is eager to see that the efforts of those involved is recognised, and would like to record the experiences and recollections of anyone who was involved.

Contact can be made at: rosemary.watt@glasgow.gov.uk

Water Fountain

Alissa Chhor

I remember my first reaction when I saw “Fountain” by Marcel Duchamp:

Putting an upside down urinal on a pedestal is not art!
A manufacturing company created this toilet, not Duchamp.
He put no time or effort into this piece.
It looks like he woke up at two in the morning and decided he was going to use a piece of plumbing to be the next big breakthrough in art history.
How can this be commended?

That was my opinion until very recently.  My Art Matters professor explained to the class how Duchamp actually created something completely new out of an ordinary object.  By placing this urinal upside down, Duchamp changed the way the toilet works, and if one were to turn it on, it would act as a fountain and squirt water at the person.

Duchamp actually did do more to this toilet than I expected --- he gave it a whole new purpose.  But after learning how and why this mere piece of plumbing is art, I now question how I define art.  I always believed art to be the outcome of the creative process of the artist; and the artist dedicated a lot of time and effort into creating something that he or she can proudly call their art.  But I do not believe that turning a urinal upside down takes that laborious time and effort I used to believe was essential to art.  If this is really art, I doubt my own logic and my artistic ways of thinking.

The Central Eastside Industrial District (CEID) is sparse on greenspace or even places to it outside in the (occasional) sun and eat lunch.  There is the Eastbank Esplanade which is great for walking or sitting eye to eye with a kayaker, and we can see Waterfront Park.  If one is willing to trek east a bit, there is Colonel Summers Park.  But there is no place really nearby to just take a 10 minute break outside.

So I was very pleasantly surprised when I walked by the former duck blind the other day and saw the great space they had created.  There are coffee carts all over Portland, and a very few even have chairs or a bench, but this is the first time I have seen a coffee cart create a restful space.

I can't say whether the motivation of the coffee cart owner was to entice customers away from the numerous cafes in the 'hood, or just to create a visual break from Grand Street traffic and a parking lot.  To be honest, I don't really care.  I just appreciate that we now have a nice little peaceful space just a block away.

I know that their space is not public the way that the others are, but in some ways that makes it a better example for the local business community.  Portland Parks & Recreation is in the business of greenspaces.  Coffee carts are in the business of selling coffee.  But the folks who own this cart saw the business value in merging the two, and as their neighbor, I really appreciate the effort.

Since March 2007, the Schneide uses another Extreme Feedback Device (XFD): the Code Flow-O-Meter.

So what is this thing?

We bought a portable fountain made of slate, filled in water (no additives) and connected the power supply cord with a X10 application module. Then we programmed a litte IRC Bot (using the ten-minutes-to-success java IRC library pircbot) that triggers the module. We were then able to control the fountain by speaking to it over IRC.

Afterwards, we piped the commit messages of our source repositories to a little script that determines the "impact" of the commit by measuring the amount of changes to the code. This sounds more sophisticated as it really is, the number of changed files was a good enough guess for it. This impact is related to a duration, the more impact, the longer the timespan. Now the script tells the IRC bot to activate the fountain for that amount of time.

This way, we have a direct but unobtrusive notification about what is going on in the repositories, as this is the most important location of our company (talking about the numerous safety nets we applied to it would require another blog post). Initially, we thought about playing an audio sample singing "alleluia", too, but this became ridiculous soon.

But why do you want this notification?

One of the rules of agile (or good) programming says "commit early, commit often". But as soon as every little commit gets examined by a continuous integration server, all automated tests and a large number of software quality metric tools, the liability to keep the changes local a little bit longer grows. "After all, it's ready when it's done, and this is soon enough to check in" was a common justification especially among the less experienced programmers. But that's the best way to miss the early feedback. And early feedback is effective feedback.

So we installed our portable fountain as a counter-incentive against late commits and started a little game. The rule of the game is simple:
Keep the Flow-O-Meter running!
When you commit, the fountain flows. The size of your commit is not as important as the commit itself, so its better to commit often. If everyone does it, the fountain may flow the whole day.

The Code Flow-O-Meter may be regarded as a measurement device of "progress". Things are in a state of flux as long as it is running.

And did it work?

Yes, definitly. The Code Flow-O-Meter has become our little pet. Everyone loves it because it's friendly and comforting. Think of a tamagochi, but without the annoyances. You only need to change and commit something to feed it and get the reward, nothing more.

As an additional gain, everybody else loves it, too. When we show it to a customer, they first see an ordinary portable fountain. When we explain and demonstrate our working cycle (code, commit, review) to them, something magical happens. I tend to think they involuntary get the notion of something happening after the commit when the fountain comes to life. This may be the concept of a build server, otherwise being invisible and intangible, materializing in the fountain. When we continue to explain what happens after the build, like the ONOZ! lamp lighting up to indicate a failed build, it's already clear to them that the process does not end with the waterflow. The Code Flow-O-Meter serves as a link between the developer's local work and the build feedback arriving out of nowhere some minutes later.

Ternyata Mall nya cukup besar, megah dan mewah. Paling banyak pengunjungnya keturunan Tionghoa. Parkir di Lt. 3, masuk trus ke atas sudah nyampe di Blitz Megaplex. Tadinya mo nonton Laskar Pelangi. Cuman karena belum baca resensi, dan belum kedengaran ‘heboh’-nya sperti Ayat Ayat Cinta, maka kita gak jadi nonton. Film lain sperti Chocolate, In The Name Of The King, dan lainnya udah nonton di DVD hasil donlotan dari Internet. Maka kita puter – putar saja.

Grand Indonesia punya motto ‘Crossroads The World’ (Persimpangan Dunia). Makanya di dalamnya ada area area negeri negeri seberang, sepeti Negeri Belanda dengan Kincir angin raksasanya, Negeri Cina dengan Bambu dan lampionnya, negeri Arabia dengan bangunan uniknya, termasuk area Melayu. Sebenarnya Grand Indonesia terbagi 4 'distrik': Market Distrik, Fashion District, Garden District dan Entertainment District.

Kami main sebentar di Fun World abis Rp. 100.000,-. Tapi sepertinya itu gak seberapa dibandingkan sama para pengunjung lain ( yang sebagian ebsar keturunan TIonghoa ) yang sepertinya menghabiskan lima sampai sepuluh kali lipatnya. Kartu kuponnya saja hasil bermain bisa dikumpulkan dalam satu kantong plastik !.

Lapar, kami mampir ke Food Courtyang didisain dengan unik. Agak sempit, tapi nyaman. Cukup banyak kios makanan khas Indonesia dan asing disini. Tinggal pilih. Sedaaaap. Saya makan steak ikan kegemaran.

Sudah sore, kami pulang, tapi mampir sebentar ke area Magic Fountain Show. Itu lho, air mancur menari dan bernyanyi yang dipertunjukkan setiap satu jam sekali. Waah, anak anak senang sekali. Pertunjukannya bagus. Musiknya bagus, kebyaran warna warni lampunya bagus, tarian air mancurnya juga bagus.

Pertunjukannya lumayan singkat : 10 menit saja. Tapi puaslah. Kalau saja areanya lebih luas, barangkali bisa lebih spektakuler. Akhirnya kami pulang dengan rasa puas. Mampir sebentar di Buaran Plaza, makan malam di Solaria, trus pulang deh.

Ayo, buruan datang ke Grand Indonesia nonton Musical Fountain Show, dan berceritalah sebelum diceritain orang lain!.

When I arrived there, the fountain hall was already full with people. So I got to watch from distant. In that moment, I really wished to be a taller person. T^T

Anyway, shorty still did her job very well for this blog readers. So please enjoy the pictures of the fountain show and the video (captured and edited by myself just now).

The video | duration: 04:57 (not full)

Btw, I've edited the sound. Because when I did lots of zooms while shooting the video, the sound was just disappeared. So I added a compilation of songs from my collection.

My friend who claimed himself as a lucky bastard also got to witness the beauty of the fountain show. I agreed with his opinion about the songs. They're nice.. but I don't think those are jazz. I think those are more like classic songs.

Some songs that I recognized were: All I Ask Of You by Sarah Brightman, Don't Cry For Me Argentina and New York New York. Ok, the last one wasn't classic. The rests are classic and instruments.

Are you interested to witness it too? Here is the schedule of the show:
EVERY HOUR DAILY
Monday to Friday: 12.00-22.00
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday: 11.00-24.00
West Mall - Level 3A- Entertainment District
Grand Indonesia Shopping Town
Jl. H.M Thamrin No. 1, Jakarta - Indonesia.

It’s lush, surrounded and shaded by palm trees and beautiful emerald Indian laurels. There’s a wonderful fountain in the centre where water trickles from oversized yams. It’s bordered by pavement cafes and restaurants and every night it’s filled with Canarian families and visitors to the town. It’s a place which is full of life and smiling people.

Photographing it should be easy, but so far this simple task seems to have eluded me.

i really love the Mediterranean home style .. some may call it Moroccan or Spanish style ..

any ways .. there are main things if you can collect them and put them all together in a room it will defiantly look amazing ..

1st of all i would like to start with the paint .. its easy .. you have to choose natural color paints .. here are some examples

choosing a color isn't that hard .. inshallah ill make a post about it soon

----

now the 2nd step.. choosing and collecting the right furniture .. you can find lovely antiques that would look really nice but you have to be careful with the colors .. you have to go with something that goes with the paint that you chose .

here are some example of the most popular Moroccan pieces that would give you the exact style that you want .

------------------------

lamps&candles:

Large Moroccan outdoor/indoor lantern with clear glass panels with exquisite hand carved designs.When illuminated with large candles or wired, it create intricate shadows.most of times its handmade ..only when lit in a darkened room can their beauty be truly appreciated. Light filters through intricate cut work patterns and colored glass.

-------------------------------

bookcase,cabinets,serving tables & buffets:

handmade hand-carved and hand-painted Moroccan buffets and bookcases, don't forget .. the size of it should be suitable with the space of the room .. meaning if the room is small the cabinets should be small as will la7ad yet-hawar plz!! .

----------------------------------

plates and vases:

hand-made .. lovely colors with Calligraphy.. you can also hang the plates for better display ..

--------------------------

chairs & Ottoman:

Blue Leather art deco Moroccan chair.

Hand painted wooden chair -princess chair-

ottomans, or poufs, can add a touch of Morocco to any room or are beautifully

--------------------

pillows, throws & rugs:

pillows with camel prints .

berber embroidered handmade pillows.

you can stack them on a white sofa it would show a good contrast of colors ..

it doesn't matter weather its Persian or Moroccan .. it would all look really good.

-----------------

laaast but not least ..

mosaic (tables mirrors & fountains):

--------------

now some pics of the final look that you could have

here are five easy steps that i read on good housekeeping magazine, i thought it might help :

1-choose furniture in neutral tones to complement white washed walls.

2-use the same flooring throughout to make the place seem larger.

3-collect hand made china .

4-scatter a few richly textured rugs makes the place looks warmer.

5-avoid overhead lighting - wall lights gives a much softer effect.

--- hope u liked what i collected for you ;) i have collected some pieces my self ill post it asap inshallah ---

A traditional fountain is an arrangement where water issues from a source, fills a basin of some kind, and is drained away. Fountains may be wall fountains or freestanding. In fountains, sheets of water may flow over varied surfaces of stone, concrete or metal. Basins may overflow from one into another, or the overflow may imitate a natural cascade. Many fountains are located in small, artificial, ornamental ponds, basins and formal garden pools, and often they include sculpture.

One of the most common features of a fountain, if there is enough pressure, is one or more jets, in which water is forced into the air under pressure to some height. A famous example of such a modern fountain rises from the surface of Lake Geneva.

Early fountains depended on the natural gravitational flow of water, from a spring or aqueduct supplied by a distant and higher source of water, which provided hydraulic head.

Hellenistic hydraulic engineers employed great originality in designing fountains, where the water pressure might be employed to animate automata and water organs.

Iraqi engineer and inventor al-Jazari first described reciprocating motion in 1206 when the kings of the Artuqid dynasty in Turkey commissioned him to manufacture a machine to raise water for their palaces. The finest result was a machine called the double-acting reciprocating piston pump, which translated rotary motion to reciprocating motion via the crankshaft-connecting rod mechanism.

Other early fountains were geometrically regularized springs, developed in the classic Persian garden. These gardens were typically enclosed and were designed to provide relaxation. The effect of sunlight was the main concern regarding the structural aspect of the Persian garden design. Shapes and textures were specifically chosen for their ability to direct sunlight. In the 16th century, elaborate fountain displays were garden features of Mannerist gardens of Central Italy and the Mughal gardens of India.

Early Modern English employed fountain to refer to a natural spring water or source, which the 16th century garden fountain might consciously imitate in a grotto.

Christian allegory made much use of the concept of the fountain, specifically the Fountain of Life, associated with the rebirth that was intended to be experienced at the Baptismal font. The Fountain of Life appears in Christian illuminated manuscripts of Late Antiquity, and elaborate Gothic fountains formed centerpieces for enclosed gardens. An offshoot of the Fountain of Life was the legend of the Fountain of Youth, which Juan Ponce de León sought in Florida. From the Fountain of Youth one can drink to gain immortality, or to regain one's youth.

The practical Romans marked the delivery end of aqueducts with a public fountain, a practice that was revived in Rome in the 15th century, when the restored Aqua Felice once more delivered a symbolic presentation of its waters to Rome in the original Trevi Fountain, since replaced by the familiar Baroque fusion of water, architecture and sculpture.

Animated fountains often use laminar jets that provide water that moves like ping pong balls in animation, so that it breaks up, as the height varies, and the behavior of each jet operates independently with up to 5 Hz modulation frequency (1/5 second), so that the water packets collide with themselves. For example, such fountains can spit up one ball of water, which then explodes, showering people with a fine mist.

A musical fountain is a type of fountain that dances in time with recorded or live music, controlled either by a computer or by a live "organist" operating the fountain through a switchboard. Notable examples of this are fountains on Vasilievsky Island in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the fountains of the Bellagio in the Las Vegas Strip.

A splash fountain or bathing fountain is a fountain intended for people to cool off in. Although many fountains were not designed as bathing fountains, children of all ages often use them for that purpose. Some fountains are fenced in, or have raised edges as a barricade to keep people out. In other situations, fountains are designed to allow easy access, and feature nonslip surfaces, so that people can safely use them to cool off in on hot summer days.

Splash fountains have zero standing water, to eliminate possible drowning hazards, so that no lifeguards or supervision is required. These splash pads are often located in public pools, public parks, or public playgrounds (known as "spray grounds").

A recent example of a public splash fountain, intended for water play, is the one located in Toronto's Dundas Square. It consists of 600 ground nozzles arranged in groups of 30 (3 rows of 10 nozzles). Each group of 30 nozzles is located beneath a stainless steel grille. Twenty such grilles are arranged in 2 rows of 10, right in the middle of the main walkway through Dundas Square. Both the architects and the designers have confirmed that these were intended for water play, and the facility operators have confirmed that the water is treated to pool water quality standards, and that the health department tests the water quality, at least once a day. The entire surface of Dundas Square is made of special nonslip square granite slabs that match the size of the metal grilles. The special texture on the slabs ensures that they are not slippery when wet.

Spray fountains are designed to serve as a play area where children (and sometimes adults) can run around and cool off under a canopy of water. Spray fountains are becoming popular in areas where the construction of public pools is difficult or costly, such as urban areas. However, spray fountains can also be used to enhance a pool's surrounding play area.

A water fountain or drinking fountain is designed to provide drinking water and has a basin arrangement with either continuously running water or a tap. Modern indoor drinking fountains may incorporate filters to remove impurities from the water and chillers to reduce its temperature. In some regional dialects, water fountains are referred to as bubblers. Water fountains are usually found in public places, like schools, rest areas and grocery stores. Many jurisdictions require water fountains to be wheelchair accessible (by sticking out horizontally from the wall), and to include an additional unit of a lower height for children and short adults. The design that this replaced often had one spout atop a refrigeration unit.

In modern fountains, the traditional gravitational pressure from an unseen reservoir at a higher level is not always practical. In many circumstances fountains obtain their water from a closed, recirculating system that must still be filled at the start from the local water supply system and also topped up through its life to offset the effects of evaporation. Allowance must also be made to handle overflow in the case of heavy rain.

The pressure that causes water to move through the fountain may be produced instead by a motor-driven (often-submersible electric) pump. "Static head" is useful to quantify this pressure.

A water filter, typically a media filter, removes particles from the water -- this filter requires its own pump to force water through it and plumbing to remove the water from the pool to the filter and then back to the pool. The water may need chlorination or anti-algal treatment, or may use biological methods to filter and clean water.

The pumps, filter, electrical switch box and plumbing controls are often housed in a "plant room". Low-voltage lighting, typically 12-volt direct current, is used to minimize electrical hazards. Lighting is often submerged and must be suitably designed. Floating fountains are also popular for ponds and lakes they consist of a float pump nozzle and water chamber.

Many civic fountains in public parks are commissioned in commemoration of either national or public figures.

There are also some limited fountain day celebrations. The University at Albany hosts an annual "Fountain Day," a day on which the university community comes together to celebrate the arrival of spring and the near-end of the semester. Drawing large crowds, the fountain-centered event creates something akin to an urban beach.

A hydraulophone is a fountain that can be played as a musical instrument. These fountains are like woodwind instruments, but using water instead of air. The embouchure of the instrument occurs at the finger holes (referred to as "mouths"). Hydraulophones often have multiple "mouths", so that a player can put each finger into a different mouth at the same time, in order to play chords, while independently manipulating each finger for separate and individual control of the embouchure of each note in a chord. A skilled hydraulist can slightly "bend" each note in order to play just intonation in any desired key, or to gently and fluidly vary intonation or temperament as a piece of music changes from one key to another.

There is a need for good water quality in contemporary fountains, regardless of their avowed intended use. Regardless of the fact that some fountains are designed and built not as bathing fountains, but are rather used simply as architectural decor, people will often drink from, bathe or wash their hands in any fountain. Additionally, fountain spray can contain legionella bacteria and has been linked to Legionnaires ‘disease outbreaks. Therefore, minimum water quality standards are necessary, regardless of intended use. Guidelines have been developed for control of legionella in ornamental fountains.

In theory, a freestanding water feature should not have a bather load, and consequently, many builders would not choose to install filters or sanitation devices. In reality, however, people will interact with ornamental water fountains in the most surprising ways. In Disneyland, for example, people have been reported to change their babies' diapers and then wash their hands in the water fountain (thus adding unexpected bacteria and organics into the water).

In July 1997, an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis was connected to an ornamental fountain at the Minnesota Zoo, which did not have proper filtration and water treatment. Children played in fountains and swallowed water, and spurted the water out of their mouths to mimic the way nozzles in the fountain spurted the water. It was therefore necessary to put a fence around the fountain to keep people away.

In the United States fountain operators and owners are legally liable for failure to either fence-in fountains, or to properly filter, chlorinate or otherwise treat the water, if the fountains are not fenced in. If the water is unsafe, fences must be designed to keep people far enough away, so that they cannot touch the water, otherwise children get water on their hands, put their fingers into their mouths, and end up getting sick, thus subjecting owners and operators to legal liability.

If you are interested in adding a fountain to your home or office, Repairfinders.com is the perfect place for you. With many qualified professionals in your area, it will only take a couple of minutes to find the right person for you. Not only will a fountain bring you peace and entertainment it will also bring elegance to your home office.

You know what I mean.  I'm sitting here with our handsome 7 mo old, admiring our work and all the while he's passing gas.  Not a care in the world that his mommy's blaming me for the strange, but somehow familiar smell that's overtaking the entire room.  I swear, it's a daily event here.

It must be daddy's fault.  He's definitely his father's son.  God, he stinks like you.  I've heard it all now.

The cute little buggers can laugh and play and be so cute then, BANG!  Another smell crushes your senses and it's diaper change time.  I really hate that.  He'll just giggle away while I have to clean something I don't even like doing for myself!  Stinky, stinky, stinky!

And what is it with boys that like to spray everywhere?  The first couple of changes were challenging as this is my first child and I've never had to change diapers.  DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, leave a boy exposed to the air.  There's something about air and exposed flesh that cause near instantaneous fountains of urine that's sure to go all over the place including you, your cloths, sofa, carpet, wall, etc.

For number ones, I've learned to position the new diaper under him, then quickly slide the spoiled one out and cover with the new one.  Clean as needed.

Number twos are risky.  I get the replacement diaper ready and set next to the boy, but out of reach, otherwise he'll grab it and the whole plan goes in the toilet....

Then I pull out and position a few wipes on the otherside of him, slide the old diaper down some, wipe down and put nasty wipes on spoiled diaper covering the mess so he doesn't roll into it.  During this whole ordeal I'm coughing and gagging, but making my way through it just praying he doesn't spray.  I can't wait to get the new diaper on him.

I'm always relieved when another change goes without a hitch.  Or better still, his mama changes it.  Yeah, that's my favorite!

I love this little monster child, but this boy sure can be gross.  Time give him a kiss.

Manifest in Piazza Navona, Rome

"Manifest" is a web-based quality magazine.

"Manifest" is and will always be free for download.

To subscribe, send an email to: info AT mediacodex DOT com. No other information required.

Find past issues in the "archives" link.

Then my sister rode her scooter for a bit and fell down a couple times. But she just got back up and continued rolling away. Talk about rolling with the punches! Then we went through this beautiful garden! It had a tower you could climb up and a giant red rocking chair you could actually get on! It also had giant (fake) birds nests you could climb into, a sand pit with palm trees, and even water pumps that when you push up and down, they squirt water on the other side of the garden! But they didnt work, but I think they put them off because it is gettig cold!

  Then we saw these giant statues of Demeter and her 2 spring gods. They were beautiful. But we didnt get much time to look at them because my sister wanted to go to the water fountain. I was pretty, I have to admitt. Gorgeous! And when we loaded up to go home, I hoped we could do it again!

Top of Church Street, Burlington, Vermont.  The fountain's not always on, but when it is, there's musical water, calm, photo opportunities, etc.  And I always want to touch it just like a little kid.

In Fountain, Colorado, Nikita Lee Weis was arrested under suspicion of cospiricy to commit first degree murder. The teen hired Juan Antonio Velez Gonzalez and Brandon Michael Soroka to kill his mother so that he could sell her car and use the money to buy his girlfriend, Sophia Alsept, breast implants. The moether was attacked with small baseball bats however she was able to get away. She was released from the hospital Friday. Everyone involved have been locked up on $50,000 bail.

SOURCE

xPirate's thought on this shenanigan: Of all the reasons to murder your mother, and this kid was planning on buying his girlfriend breast implants. I can see where he could benefit from that, but that also means she'd probably dump his ass for some hotter guy she couldn't get before. How stupid do you have to be, really? These kids are all getting what they deserve...

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       From another angle, another woman watched the girl through binoculars. She saw the girl cautiously move down the stone walk. When the young man emerged from the house to greet her, she felt her neck grow hot. She knew this man. Unfortunately for her, all romantic possibilities with him had been torn from her future. She continued to observe the man; he was certainly pleasant to look at – tall, composed, clean shaven, brown hair, dark eyes, also pale. His clothes were simple and near colorless, too. If only the old fountain wasn't blocking some of her view.

       Everything's strange, she thought, crouching in the dark above the dreary scene: a path leading from a doorstep of one house directly to another house's doorstep; there were no side paths branching off of it. What was the point of that? 

       The pale girl smiled gently and took the man's hand as she floated up the steps, following his lead. He had let go and turned around, no longer welcoming. He went through the door first and reached for something beside the door frame on the inside. The house was peculiar. The first room that you walked into was lined in books on shelves from floor to ceiling. The books were old and dusty. Some were on the floor, bent and lying open. Directly ahead of her, perfectly aligned with the front entrance, was another doorway. This one had no door. She could see through it to another room, also lined entirely with books. Only this one was lit – by candles, maybe. The same yellowish light poured from the room. The doorway was as far to her left on the opposite wall as possible. She could see room after room, all identical, with books and either dark or dimly lit, the doorway in the exact same place on the wall, no doors...

       The man continued to walk into the next room, the room glowing with dreary light. As she entered, she saw what he had taken by the door. The light glimmered off of an uncommonly long, silver sword. He casually held it pointing downward.

       She looked around. She couldn't identify the source of the light. It seemed as if the room was just lit on its own, as if the light came from nowhere. This room had books strewn across the floor and two couches - One to her right along the same wall as the door that she entered through and one to her left, also along a wall. On each couch was the corpse of an old woman. On the couch to her right, a woman with long colorless, braided hair lay on her back with her hands on her stomach. On the other, the woman's body was draped over the arm rest towards her, face downward. Her arms hung limp and straight down past her head. Her hair was frizzy and kept tied back.

       "You must do this," the young man uttered low. "There are two very solemn people." At that moment, the pale girl became aware that she had been seen walking to this house. Out of nowhere, she just knew about the woman watching her enter the house. Back to the beginning, she thought. She panicked.

Change of scene.

       She was back on the porch of the first house, stepping onto the first step, towards the ground. She walked along the cobblestone pathway, leading to the house with the books and corpses. This time she couldn't let herself be seen. This was strange. It wasn't as if something would happen if she was seen again and she didn't really care if anyone saw her. It was just as if she wasn't meant to be seen and if she did, it would stain the folds of the future. But nothing would come of her being seen. The future would go on the same way as would have last time.

       She made it to the other house again. This time, the man did not come out. She walked through the first room into the second, where the man was standing there, holding the sword in the same manner, waiting for her.

       "Two very solemn people," he repeated. Suddenly, the old corpse with the braided hair jerked up. He legs remained propped up on one end of the couch, on the arm rest, but her entire torso lifted, still straight. It was as if she was reclining on a plank and it had increased its angle to the ground. The pale girl couldn't tell if the lady's eyes were open or not.

       "You must do this." The man was still looking at her, not the corpse. He knew about the corpses, of course. And he knew this one was moving, yet he acted as if nothing peculiar was occurring. The lady wheezed.

       "One, breathe. Two," The raspy voice was strained. She had practically coughed the word "breathe" and she had left no time at all between the words "breathe" and "two." The girl wasn't breathing – just being. Was the corpse telling herself to breathe? It didn't matter. The woman continued. "There are two very solemn people." The old woman flashed to sitting on the couch normally. Her hands were open and moving in front of her while she spoke. "They don't enjoy…. Or having organs inside them or anything." The wrinkled hands moved to her abdomen.

Change of scene.

       The girl was back in the first shack, made of planks of wood. It had one door, one window on either side of it. Inside there was a whole wall full of books on shelves. She had ripped some books off the walls. Sweat made the nightdress cling to her skin and made her hair matt. Colorless hair clung to her face. A book sat on the floor, closed. The girl took the sword with both hands on the mantle, lifted it above her head and brought it down onto the book. She did the same with another.

The solemn people. The apathetic characters.

Alissa Chhor

Mr. Alabbar further highlighted the historical significance of water fountains in the Arab world. He said they had been an integral part of the community and the new fountain located in Burj Dubai Lake will create a new dimension to Downtown Burj Dubai. The Burj Dubai Lake is spread over 30 acres, and water filling using de-mineralised reverse osmosis treated water, is currently in progress. The designers of Bellagio, California-based WET Design will be the fountains architect and designer. The design is being developed by a team of professionals from Turner Construction International (Project/Construction Manager) and other international specialists. Expected to be operational by early 2009, the fountain will add to the varied leisure and entertainment attractions of Downtown Burj Dubai. Many describe this part of the city as the ‘new soul of the city.’