We grow great by dreams.  All big men are dreamers.
They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening.
Some of us let these dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days
till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who hope that their dreams will come true.

- Woodrow Wilson
 

Wellington from our back deck - late spring about 7:30pm

Mid-summer - about 7pm

Mid-winter - about 5pm

The top picture is my favourite because the water was still enough to reflect the lights of Wellington.  Even people from Auckland would have to admit, I think, that Wellington is a lovely city.  

I was born in Dallas, Texas and lived there for almost 30 years.  If you've ever been to Dallas, perhaps you'd agree with me that its practically the antithesis of Wellington - Dallas sits in the middle of a flat plain hundreds of miles from the ocean.  Beautiful sunsets are rare and nobody there knows or cares the slightest about rugby.  (Unfortunately, I have a confession - neither do I, really.)

-------- Original Message --------
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2006 12:44:26 -0500
From: jammybrit4-travel@yahoo.co.uk
To: ruth@flatrock.org.nz

This message was posted via the Feedback form.

Comments: Thanks for the wonderful awe-inspiring sunsets of Wellington.  They brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye, as I won't be seeing them for real for another 7 months.  I dearly love that city - not just because my sons live there - but it truly reflects all that is good in NZ and the skies are quite awesome - be they stormy, calm, sunrise or sunsets.

Thanks again.
Jenny

Jenny

My pleasure.

A Different Kind of Re-vision...

Pictures May Not Lie But Doctored Photos Change History

Doctored photos of past public events can influence what people think they remember of the incident, as well as altering their attitudes and any subsequent responses, according to research from the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology.  Three researchers, UC Irvine psychologist Elizabeth Loftus and University of Padua researchers Franca Agnoli and Dario Sacchi, came to this conclusion after showing either original or digitally doctored images to 299 people aged 19 - 84.  The images were of two different protests, one in 1989 in Tiananmen Square, the other 2003 in Rome.  After seeing the images, participants were asked questions about the events, without telling them that the research project was interested in the effect that the photo would have on their responses.

Internet photo hoaxes are well known, but reputable media outlets such as the LA Times and USA Today recently published digitally altered photos, and subsequently issued retractions and apologies.  When media use digitally doctored photographs, they may ultimately change the way we recall history, Loftus said.  "It shows the power of anyone to tamper with people’s recollection, and it gives the media another reason to regulate such doctoring, besides ethical reasons," he added.

"One major result was that viewing modified images affected not only the way people remember past public events, but also their attitudes and behavioural intentions," says Franca Agnoli, from the University of Padova, who supervised the experiments.  In the study, the participants viewed either original or digitally altered images depicting 2 events - the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest and a 2003 anti-war protest in Rome - and then answered questions about the events, including the number of people they thought had been involved, the response of law enforcement authorities and the level of violence.

Researchers doctored the Beijing photo to show large crowds standing in the sidelines while a lone protester stood before a row of advancing Chinese military tanks, and the Rome protest photo was altered to show riot police and a menacing, masked protester among a crowd of demonstrators.

"It’s potentially a form of human engineering that could be applied to us against our knowledge and against our wishes and we ought to be vigilant about it," Loftus said.  "With the addition of a few little upsetting and arousing elements in the Rome protest photo, people remembered this peaceful protest as being more violent than it was, and as a society we have to figure how we can regulate this."

Viewing the digitally altered images affected the way participants remembered the events, as well as their attitudes toward protests.  Those who viewed the doctored photograph of the Rome protest recalled the demonstration as violent and negative, and also recalled more physical confrontation and property damage.  Participants who viewed the doctored photos said they were less inclined to participate in future protests, according to the study.

"Any media that employ digitally doctored photographs will have a stronger effect than merely influencing our opinion - by tampering with our malleable memory, they may ultimately change the way we recall history," says lead author Dario Sacchi.

Loftus also did a study implanting fake memories to help patients lose weight, by making them think sweet things made them ill.

Source: scientificblogging.com Submitted by News Account 19 November 2007

For photos of the earth and moon, stained glass, sunsets on Wellington Harbour, Lady Fair, Civic Square, the old mill, the Whippany River, historical houses, Lake Parsippany and more clicking the "Up" button below takes you to the Index page for this Photographs section.