'A Perfectly Beautiful Place'

This nation's most hallowed burial ground for its war dead is Virginia's Arlington National Cemetery at Arlington Heights, a beautiful area high above the Potomac River across from Washington D.C. and not far from the Lincoln Memorial. Its centerpiece, Arlington House, was the beloved home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his family. It was built in the early 1800s by Martha Washington's natural grandson and the stepson of George Washington, George Washington Parke Custis, who originally dedicated the home to the honor of Washington's memory. He kept many mementoes there from Mount Vernon, his own boyhood home. Custis was Robert E. Lee's father-in-law. During the Civil War it was fortified for the protection of the capital and then used as a refugee camp for freed slaves. In 1864, with Washington D.C. overwhelmed by wounded and war dead, it became the site for a new national cemetery, partly as a spiteful move by a bureaucrat named Meigs to prevent Lee from ever occupying it again as a home.

Two Arlington postcards from the early 1900s
from the collection of Michael Robert Patterson

That gravesites should be used to keep Arlington from being used as a residence again is somewhat ironic in that, during the war, Abraham Lincoln spent his summers north of the city in a cottage at the Soldier's Home—which was then an active hospital and sanitorium with a graveyard continually in use for the interment of war dead. It is another gently spectacular spot in the countryside, with beautiful views. Lincoln would commute to the White House between June and November on horseback. Soldier's Home, which Lincoln is known to have loved, is now one of the few places apart from the White House that still exists largely as Lincoln knew it in his lifetime. In 2008 it will open as a restored national museum.

Jack Boucher, Lincoln's Cottage at Soldier's Home

Robert Lee never did return to Arlington. Down the hillside from Arlington House is the Tomb of the Unknowns (also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), where tourists gather to watch the changing of the honor guard, and at the foot of the greensward that we would call the front yard of the house is where the eternal flame burns for John F. Kennedy, himself a war veteran.


Posted by: MIKE JOHNSTON

Maternity Fashion: Stay Beautiful while Pregnant!

Pregnancy - It has been said that a woman is at her most beautiful when pregnant. Well I am about to burst your bubble and tell you that there are women out there who beg to differ - especially for those saying goodbye to their 36 -26-36 figure for the next 9 months.
Although pregnancy is a gift that most women should celebrate, it is unavoidable for women to feel insecure and ugly during pregnancy. The physical changes, morning sickness and other difficulties in carrying a child for 9 months gives women so much stress that makes them look exhausted or worn out. This should not be the case because with the right attitude you can be gorgeous and beautiful while pregnant.

How to stay beautiful and good while pregnant:

Have a positive attitude. You are the source of everything! It is quite hard to be positive if you feel awful every morning but it will not help if you frown and rant all day. Try to be positive and look at the brighter side of having a baby. The difficulties you are suffering are nothing compared to the joy of having a new baby after 9 months. Positive attitude will help you go through pregnancy with joy in your heart. If you are happy it will come out and you will look beautiful while pregnant.

Wear a smile. Even if you are having a bad day, wearing a smile will make you feel better. The people around you will respond nicely if you smile to everyone. If you believe that you are experiencing a wonderful thing -your pregnancy, things will be easier and a smile in your face will make you look beautiful while pregnant.

Wear the proper clothes. You will not look good if you keep wearing your old clothes which are not suited for your pregnancy. There are clothes for pregnant women, the fashion now is amazing because there are clothes designed for pregnant women but you can still wear them after pregnancy like the high waist-line empire cut and it is good to invest on those clothes. It is not true that you cannot be fashionable while pregnant. Look for affordable and yet fashionable clothes, you do not have to spend a fortune but you can be fashionable on a budget. Avoid baggy or oversize clothes because you will appear bigger. Wear the right size of clothes that fits you and you will look beautiful while pregnant.

Sport a short hair. Women look good wearing long flowing locks if it is properly groomed and well maintained. But if you cannot maintain a long hair due to morning sickness and other physical changes you are going through, it is better to sport a short hair. You will look beautiful while pregnant wearing a short hair than having a long hair but you do not have the time and energy to comb and fix it.

Nokia N9 uncovered. MeeGo is beautiful

Well, in my previous post I said that Nokia made a smart move with the N9, and that it will open up some new opportunities for Nokia phones. I take that back. The N9 doesn't need a ported OS. MeeGo is beautiful. When I saw MeeGo getting demoed I could not believe it! It is what I've been looking for in a smartphone. Everything is well organized starting with all notifications in one screen, all apps on another, and finishing with the superb open apps manager.



I love the idea of a phone with no buttons, and what Nokia has done with this idea I call art. MeeGo is so natural, I can hardly believe that Nokia, the same people who did Symbian, developed it. I think this can be the third horse in the smartphone race, and if Mr. Elop dumps MeeGo, he's an idiot, or a Microsoft trojan-horse.

Just take a look for yourselves.

Indu Antony: It's A Beautiful World Outside

Indu Antony attended the Buenos Aires Foundry Photojournalism Workshop which just ended a few days ago, and chose the incomparable Maggie Steber as her instructor. A wise decision...and one which speaks volumes about Indu's passion for photojournalism.

She also chose me to review her phenomenal portfolio...which I did, spending a very long time doing so, forgetting I had other photographers waiting for me. Her multimedia photo essay on the destitute and the homeless in a Bangalore shelter is so compelling and sensitive that I watched twice. You will too.

"Indu, you should marry a dentist and open a dentist clinic and have two boys who will be successful dentists too!". I decided to disobey her and follow my dream of being a photographer. I have been chasing colour purple ever since through my images."

Indu hails from Bangalore and is drawn to documenting the unprivileged, the homeless and those who lack a voice.  Her It's A Beautiful World Outside was photographed in a Bangalore shelter which mainly houses psychologically ill people who, like us, have dreams and wishes as well.

From the sight-impaired to the physically handicapped, all believe they will one day walk out from that shelter into that beautiful world "Outside". In her multimedia piece, Indu fused their portraits to photographs of their dreams, and recorded their voices telling us of their hopes and wishes.

Powerful...emotional...and sensitive.

Most Beautiful Car Wallpapers

Most Beautiful Car Wallpapers