The Hill of Crosses

I have this daily calendar “1000 Places to See Before You Die” on my desk. Every morning, I tear a page from it and read about a new ‘must see’ place. Each day there would be a postcard photo of a great place, the printing was not that very good that everything looked dull. Until today.

It has been 3 months, 89 days to be exact, of flipping pages, for the first time I found a photo so enticing, some place that really makes me wonder if I could ever be able to go there.

The Hill of Crosses
Lithuania

From Wikipedia:

The Hill of Crosses (Lithuanian: Kryžių kalnas (help·info)) is a site of pilgrimage about 12 km north of the city of Šiauliai, in northern Lithuania. The exact origins are unknown, but it is considered that the first crosses were placed on the former Jurgaičiai or Domantai hill fort after the 1831 Uprising.[1] Over the centuries, not only crosses, but giant crucifixes, carvings of Lithuanian patriots, statues of the Virgin Mary and thousands of tiny effigies and rosaries have been brought here by Catholic pilgrims. The number of crosses is unknown, but estimates put it at about 55,000 in 1990 and 100,000 in 2006.

I googled more photos, and I am more attracted. HOW AMAZING WOULD IT BE TO TAKE PHOTOS THERE!

I don’t know, some people may find it weird, but I think I have a thing for taking photos of cemeteries, graveyards, and now, the hill of crosses. I find some sort of eeriness at the same time find these places like a piece of art. Regardless if it’s a high end cemetery, or a very dense, old cemetery, I still find all cemeteries like art.

I hope that soon, I can take some formal photography sessions in these types of places. I think they’re as beautiful as taking photos of sunsets.

C Minus

My Lakbayan grade is C-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

It's a Chauvinistic World

c/o wikipedia

Chauvinism, (pronounced /ˈʃoʊvɨnɪzəm/), in its original and primary meaning, is an exaggerated, bellicose patriotism and a blind belief in national superiority and glory.

By extension it has come to include an extreme and unreasoning partisanship on behalf of any group to which one belongs, especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred towards a rival group. Jingoism is the British parallel form of this French word.
A contemporary use of the term in English is in the phrase male chauvinism.

Because "chauvinism" is most often heard in this context, it is often mistakenly believed to refer exclusively to "male chauvinism" such as anti-feminism and sexism.

Chauvinism as nationalism

Chauvinism is an almost natural product of the national concept insofar as it springs directly from the old idea of the "national mission." ... (A) nation's mission might be interpreted precisely as bringing its light to other, less fortunate peoples that, for whatever reason, have miraculously been left by history without a national mission. As long as this concept did not develop into the ideology of chauvinism and remained in the rather vague realm of national or even nationalistic pride, it frequently resulted in a high sense of responsibility for the welfare of backward peoples.

Chauvinism as sexism
Male chauvinism is a term used to describe the belief that men are superior to women. The term was widely used by the feminist movement in the 1960s to describe men who believe or display an attitude that women are inferior to men, speak to women as inferiors, or treat women negatively based solely upon their gender. Female chauvinism is a less commonly used term used to describe the symmetrical attitude that women are superior to men.

The term female chauvinism has been adopted by critics of some types or aspects of feminism; leading second-wave feminist Betty Friedan being a notable example.These critics argue, for example, that in some gender feminist views, all men are considered irreconcilable rapists, wife-beating brutes, and useless as partners to women or as fathers to children.