The Oregon Zoo was founded in 1888, making it the oldest North American zoo west of the Mississippi.[2] It all began with two grizzly bears purchased by Richard Knight.

A former seaman turned pharmacist, Knight began collecting animals from his seafaring friends. He kept his collection in the back of his drug store on Third & Morrison streets. When caring for the animals became too large a responsibility he sought to sell them to the city of Portland. Instead of buying the animals, the city offered to give Knight two circus cages and allowed him to place the caged bears on the grounds of City Park (now called Washington Park).

Care and feeding of the bears, however, still fell to the Knight family and friends. It wasn't long before Knight addressed the city council again regarding the bears. Just five months later, he offered to donate the young grizzly, along with its cage (it is unclear what happened to the second bear) to the city. Portland City Council accepted his offer on November 7, 1888, and began the Portland Zoo.

By 1894 there were over 300 animals in the zoo’s collection. In 1925, the zoo moved to the site of the present Portland Japanese Garden, and moved again in 1959 to its current site, designed by Lawrence, Tucker & Wallmann.[7] The zoo was renamed the Portland Zoological Gardens in 1959.[2] At this time, Washington Park and Zoo Railway was constructed to connect the zoo to its former site, and the other attractions in Washington Park.

The zoo became popular locally in 1953, when Rosy the Asian elephant was acquired. The zoo became world-famous in 1962 when the Asian elephant "Packy" was born. He was the first elephant born in the western hemisphere in 44 years and is (as of 2010) the tallest Asian elephant in the United States at 10.5 ft (3.2 m) tall. A total of 28 more calves have been born at the Oregon Zoo, including seven sired by Packy (two of which still live with him), making it the most successful zoo elephant breeding program in the world. On August 23, 2008, Rose-Tu, the granddaughter of the zoo's first elephant Rosy, gave birth to a son named Samudra. This makes Samudra the first third generation captive born elephant in North America.[8]

In 1971, management was given to Metro, which continues expansion projects, aided by donors, sponsors and volunteers.[2] The zoo was renamed in 1976 as the Washington Park Zoo after a naming contest.[2] The Metro Council changed the zoo's name from the Washington Park Zoo to the Oregon Zoo in April 1998.[3] In September of that year, the zoo became accessible by the region's MAX light rail system, with the opening of a Westside MAX line featuring an underground Washington Park station.[9] In 2003, the zoo began participation in a California condor recovery program started by San Diego Wild Animal Park and Los Angeles Zoo. The program is designed to breed California condors to be released into the wild and save them from extinction.[10]

In November 2008 regional voters approved a $125 million bond measure to improve infrastructure, enhance older exhibits and increase access to conservation education and the degree of sustainability.[11] Attendance at the zoo reached a record 1.6 million visitors for their 2008 to 2009 year.[6] The record was due in part to the birth of another baby elephant.[6] A new record was set the following year with 1,612,359 people visiting the zoo.[12]

For more: www.oregonzoo.org/AboutZoo/history.htm

The Oregon Zoo was founded in 1888, making it the oldest North American zoo west of the Mississippi.[2] It all began with two grizzly bears purchased by Richard Knight.

A former seaman turned pharmacist, Knight began collecting animals from his seafaring friends. He kept his collection in the back of his drug store on Third & Morrison streets. When caring for the animals became too large a responsibility he sought to sell them to the city of Portland. Instead of buying the animals, the city offered to give Knight two circus cages and allowed him to place the caged bears on the grounds of City Park (now called Washington Park).

Care and feeding of the bears, however, still fell to the Knight family and friends. It wasn't long before Knight addressed the city council again regarding the bears. Just five months later, he offered to donate the young grizzly, along with its cage (it is unclear what happened to the second bear) to the city. Portland City Council accepted his offer on November 7, 1888, and began the Portland Zoo.

By 1894 there were over 300 animals in the zoo’s collection. In 1925, the zoo moved to the site of the present Portland Japanese Garden, and moved again in 1959 to its current site, designed by Lawrence, Tucker & Wallmann.[7] The zoo was renamed the Portland Zoological Gardens in 1959.[2] At this time, Washington Park and Zoo Railway was constructed to connect the zoo to its former site, and the other attractions in Washington Park.

The zoo became popular locally in 1953, when Rosy the Asian elephant was acquired. The zoo became world-famous in 1962 when the Asian elephant "Packy" was born. He was the first elephant born in the western hemisphere in 44 years and is (as of 2010) the tallest Asian elephant in the United States at 10.5 ft (3.2 m) tall. A total of 28 more calves have been born at the Oregon Zoo, including seven sired by Packy (two of which still live with him), making it the most successful zoo elephant breeding program in the world. On August 23, 2008, Rose-Tu, the granddaughter of the zoo's first elephant Rosy, gave birth to a son named Samudra. This makes Samudra the first third generation captive born elephant in North America.[8]

In 1971, management was given to Metro, which continues expansion projects, aided by donors, sponsors and volunteers.[2] The zoo was renamed in 1976 as the Washington Park Zoo after a naming contest.[2] The Metro Council changed the zoo's name from the Washington Park Zoo to the Oregon Zoo in April 1998.[3] In September of that year, the zoo became accessible by the region's MAX light rail system, with the opening of a Westside MAX line featuring an underground Washington Park station.[9] In 2003, the zoo began participation in a California condor recovery program started by San Diego Wild Animal Park and Los Angeles Zoo. The program is designed to breed California condors to be released into the wild and save them from extinction.[10]

In November 2008 regional voters approved a $125 million bond measure to improve infrastructure, enhance older exhibits and increase access to conservation education and the degree of sustainability.[11] Attendance at the zoo reached a record 1.6 million visitors for their 2008 to 2009 year.[6] The record was due in part to the birth of another baby elephant.[6] A new record was set the following year with 1,612,359 people visiting the zoo.[12]

For more: www.oregonzoo.org/AboutZoo/history.htm

Interior of the room currently called the Yarra Room, second floor of the Town Hall Administrative Building. Foundation stone on 27 August, 1908.

Construction of the existing Melbourne Town Hall began in 1867 on the site of the first Town Hall at the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets. Architects Reed and Barnes won a competition for the design of the new Town Hall, and the firm was responsible for the portico which was added to the Swanston Street facade in 1887. An Administration Building was constructed to the north of the town hall in Swanston Street in 1908, and various alterations were made after a fire in 1925.

Reserved by the government in 1837, the site at the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets was issued as a Crown Grant to the Corporation of Melbourne in June 1849 as a site for a town hall. Designed by the City Surveyor, James Blackburn, the first Town Hall was subsequently completed c 1854. By the early 1860s it was already of insufficient size and the foundation stone of its successor was laid by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1867.

The new Town Hall included a public hall, administrative offices, Lord Mayor's rooms and council chambers. Built in a French Renaissance style with slate mansard roofs, this freestone building consists of a rusticated bluestone plinth, a two storey section of giant order Corinthian columns and pilasters, an attic storey and a corner clock tower. The main Swanston Street facade is divided into five parts, with a central and two end pavilions. The central portico, added to this facade some twenty years after the initial construction to provide a grand entrance and balcony, is of a pedimented, temple form, with materials and details used to match the existing building.

From the mid-1880s to the late 1890s, the Town Hall was the venue for several important meetings on the question of Federation. These meetings marked significant advances in the progress of the Federation movement and were attended by many prominent individuals who were intimately involved in the issue. Among the critically important meetings held at the Town Hall were the January 1890 Australian Natives' Association Inter-Colonial Conference on Federation, the series of meetings in mid-1894 to found the Australasian Federation League of Victoria, the public meeting attended by three colonial premiers in January 1895, and the large public meeting of May 1898 that marked the climax of the pro-Federation campaign in Victoria for the first Federation referendum.

In 1888 the Melbourne Council bought the adjacent Police Court building from the government, therefore securing a site for future offices. In 1908 a building was erected on this site to accommodate the administrative staff, including the office of the Town Clerk, and also incorporated committee rooms and a new council chamber. The exterior was designed by J. J. and E. J. Clark, emulating much of the detail of the adjacent building, and the interior was completed by Grainger, Little and Barlow. The council chamber has been the meeting place of the City Council since 1910 and its design displays a post-Federation pride in Australian materials.

A fire in 1925 effected the first changes made to the Town Hall building. The main hall, together with the organ, was destroyed and as a result a new hall, designed by Stephenson and Meldrum, was built. By extending to the adjacent site in Collins Street, a larger hall was constructed and the existing Collins Street facade was extended. An additional, lower hall was also created, a new organ was built by British firm, Hill, Norman and Beard and decorative murals, featuring larger than life size figures, were installed in the main hall, to designs by Napier Waller, in conjunction with J. Oliver and Sons.

The Melbourne Town Hall is of architectural significance as a distinguished and important work by the prominent Melbourne architects Reed and Barnes, who designed a number of significant Melbourne buildings. It is also important as a prototype for numerous suburban town halls that were built in the late 1870s and 1880s. The Administration Building is of architectural significance for its functional and stylistic relationship to the Town Hall, which results in a coherent civic centre.

The Melbourne Town Hall is of historical significance as the civic centre of Melbourne since 1867 and for its association with the Federation movement in Victoria.

The Melbourne Town Hall is of scientific (technical) significance for its organ which is an intact, large and rare example of 1920s British organ-building craftsmanship. As the second largest organ built in the British tradition between World War I and 2, it is now the third largest organ in Australia, those at the Sydney Town Hall and the Sydney Opera House being larger. Few organs of this size are intact from this period, particularly of a secular/concert hall design. As part of the 1925 rebuilding, the intact case, grilles, pipework and console of the organ are architecturally integral to the main hall.

The Melbourne Town Hall is of aesthetic significance for the murals by Napier Waller, which provide an example of this important artist's work.

The Oregon Zoo was founded in 1888, making it the oldest North American zoo west of the Mississippi.[2] It all began with two grizzly bears purchased by Richard Knight.

A former seaman turned pharmacist, Knight began collecting animals from his seafaring friends. He kept his collection in the back of his drug store on Third & Morrison streets. When caring for the animals became too large a responsibility he sought to sell them to the city of Portland. Instead of buying the animals, the city offered to give Knight two circus cages and allowed him to place the caged bears on the grounds of City Park (now called Washington Park).

Care and feeding of the bears, however, still fell to the Knight family and friends. It wasn't long before Knight addressed the city council again regarding the bears. Just five months later, he offered to donate the young grizzly, along with its cage (it is unclear what happened to the second bear) to the city. Portland City Council accepted his offer on November 7, 1888, and began the Portland Zoo.

By 1894 there were over 300 animals in the zoo’s collection. In 1925, the zoo moved to the site of the present Portland Japanese Garden, and moved again in 1959 to its current site, designed by Lawrence, Tucker & Wallmann.[7] The zoo was renamed the Portland Zoological Gardens in 1959.[2] At this time, Washington Park and Zoo Railway was constructed to connect the zoo to its former site, and the other attractions in Washington Park.

The zoo became popular locally in 1953, when Rosy the Asian elephant was acquired. The zoo became world-famous in 1962 when the Asian elephant "Packy" was born. He was the first elephant born in the western hemisphere in 44 years and is (as of 2010) the tallest Asian elephant in the United States at 10.5 ft (3.2 m) tall. A total of 28 more calves have been born at the Oregon Zoo, including seven sired by Packy (two of which still live with him), making it the most successful zoo elephant breeding program in the world. On August 23, 2008, Rose-Tu, the granddaughter of the zoo's first elephant Rosy, gave birth to a son named Samudra. This makes Samudra the first third generation captive born elephant in North America.[8]

In 1971, management was given to Metro, which continues expansion projects, aided by donors, sponsors and volunteers.[2] The zoo was renamed in 1976 as the Washington Park Zoo after a naming contest.[2] The Metro Council changed the zoo's name from the Washington Park Zoo to the Oregon Zoo in April 1998.[3] In September of that year, the zoo became accessible by the region's MAX light rail system, with the opening of a Westside MAX line featuring an underground Washington Park station.[9] In 2003, the zoo began participation in a California condor recovery program started by San Diego Wild Animal Park and Los Angeles Zoo. The program is designed to breed California condors to be released into the wild and save them from extinction.[10]

In November 2008 regional voters approved a $125 million bond measure to improve infrastructure, enhance older exhibits and increase access to conservation education and the degree of sustainability.[11] Attendance at the zoo reached a record 1.6 million visitors for their 2008 to 2009 year.[6] The record was due in part to the birth of another baby elephant.[6] A new record was set the following year with 1,612,359 people visiting the zoo.[12]

For more: www.oregonzoo.org/AboutZoo/history.htm

Lotus Evora S4 (2009-on) Ebgine 3456cc V6 Toyota 2GR-FE

Registration Number KX 61 FNK

LOTUS SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623671671113...

Developed under the project name Project Eagle and first inveiled at the 2008 British International Motorshow

The Lotus Evora is based on the first all-new vehicle platform from Lotus Cars since the introduction of the Lotus Elise in 1995.

Aimed at being a more practical road car than previous models, as such it is a larger car than the Elise and its derivatives (Exige, Europa S, etc.), with an kerb weight of 1,383 kg. Initially introduced as a 2+2, it is planned to introduce a two seater to the range.

Currently available with either a 3456cc V6 Toyota 2GR-FE producing 276bhp or with a supercharged 3456cc Toyota 2GR-FZE V6 producing 345bhp

Shot 01:10:2011 at the Britcar 24 hour meeting, Silverstone REF: 80-117

Please do not forget to visit the Flag Counter on the link below to record a visit from your country. So far 52 countries (last new country Austria and 32 US states last new State Michigan) Last new overseas visitor Denmark last new US state visitor California

s04.flagcounter.com/more/VIv

.

The Oregon Zoo was founded in 1888, making it the oldest North American zoo west of the Mississippi.[2] It all began with two grizzly bears purchased by Richard Knight.

A former seaman turned pharmacist, Knight began collecting animals from his seafaring friends. He kept his collection in the back of his drug store on Third & Morrison streets. When caring for the animals became too large a responsibility he sought to sell them to the city of Portland. Instead of buying the animals, the city offered to give Knight two circus cages and allowed him to place the caged bears on the grounds of City Park (now called Washington Park).

Care and feeding of the bears, however, still fell to the Knight family and friends. It wasn't long before Knight addressed the city council again regarding the bears. Just five months later, he offered to donate the young grizzly, along with its cage (it is unclear what happened to the second bear) to the city. Portland City Council accepted his offer on November 7, 1888, and began the Portland Zoo.

By 1894 there were over 300 animals in the zoo’s collection. In 1925, the zoo moved to the site of the present Portland Japanese Garden, and moved again in 1959 to its current site, designed by Lawrence, Tucker & Wallmann.[7] The zoo was renamed the Portland Zoological Gardens in 1959.[2] At this time, Washington Park and Zoo Railway was constructed to connect the zoo to its former site, and the other attractions in Washington Park.

The zoo became popular locally in 1953, when Rosy the Asian elephant was acquired. The zoo became world-famous in 1962 when the Asian elephant "Packy" was born. He was the first elephant born in the western hemisphere in 44 years and is (as of 2010) the tallest Asian elephant in the United States at 10.5 ft (3.2 m) tall. A total of 28 more calves have been born at the Oregon Zoo, including seven sired by Packy (two of which still live with him), making it the most successful zoo elephant breeding program in the world. On August 23, 2008, Rose-Tu, the granddaughter of the zoo's first elephant Rosy, gave birth to a son named Samudra. This makes Samudra the first third generation captive born elephant in North America.[8]

In 1971, management was given to Metro, which continues expansion projects, aided by donors, sponsors and volunteers.[2] The zoo was renamed in 1976 as the Washington Park Zoo after a naming contest.[2] The Metro Council changed the zoo's name from the Washington Park Zoo to the Oregon Zoo in April 1998.[3] In September of that year, the zoo became accessible by the region's MAX light rail system, with the opening of a Westside MAX line featuring an underground Washington Park station.[9] In 2003, the zoo began participation in a California condor recovery program started by San Diego Wild Animal Park and Los Angeles Zoo. The program is designed to breed California condors to be released into the wild and save them from extinction.[10]

In November 2008 regional voters approved a $125 million bond measure to improve infrastructure, enhance older exhibits and increase access to conservation education and the degree of sustainability.[11] Attendance at the zoo reached a record 1.6 million visitors for their 2008 to 2009 year.[6] The record was due in part to the birth of another baby elephant.[6] A new record was set the following year with 1,612,359 people visiting the zoo.[12]

For more: www.oregonzoo.org/AboutZoo/history.htm

Melbourne Town Hall Mural.

Artist: M. Napier Waller.

Construction of the existing Melbourne Town Hall began in 1867 on the site of the first Town Hall at the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets. Architects Reed and Barnes won a competition for the design of the new Town Hall, and the firm was responsible for the portico which was added to the Swanston Street facade in 1887. An Administration Building was constructed to the north of the town hall in Swanston Street in 1908, and various alterations were made after a fire in 1925.

Reserved by the government in 1837, the site at the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets was issued as a Crown Grant to the Corporation of Melbourne in June 1849 as a site for a town hall. Designed by the City Surveyor, James Blackburn, the first Town Hall was subsequently completed c 1854. By the early 1860s it was already of insufficient size and the foundation stone of its successor was laid by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1867.

The new Town Hall included a public hall, administrative offices, Lord Mayor's rooms and council chambers. Built in a French Renaissance style with slate mansard roofs, this freestone building consists of a rusticated bluestone plinth, a two storey section of giant order Corinthian columns and pilasters, an attic storey and a corner clock tower. The main Swanston Street facade is divided into five parts, with a central and two end pavilions. The central portico, added to this facade some twenty years after the initial construction to provide a grand entrance and balcony, is of a pedimented, temple form, with materials and details used to match the existing building.

From the mid-1880s to the late 1890s, the Town Hall was the venue for several important meetings on the question of Federation. These meetings marked significant advances in the progress of the Federation movement and were attended by many prominent individuals who were intimately involved in the issue. Among the critically important meetings held at the Town Hall were the January 1890 Australian Natives' Association Inter-Colonial Conference on Federation, the series of meetings in mid-1894 to found the Australasian Federation League of Victoria, the public meeting attended by three colonial premiers in January 1895, and the large public meeting of May 1898 that marked the climax of the pro-Federation campaign in Victoria for the first Federation referendum.

In 1888 the Melbourne Council bought the adjacent Police Court building from the government, therefore securing a site for future offices. In 1908 a building was erected on this site to accommodate the administrative staff, including the office of the Town Clerk, and also incorporated committee rooms and a new council chamber. The exterior was designed by J. J. and E. J. Clark, emulating much of the detail of the adjacent building, and the interior was completed by Grainger, Little and Barlow. The council chamber has been the meeting place of the City Council since 1910 and its design displays a post-Federation pride in Australian materials.

A fire in 1925 effected the first changes made to the Town Hall building. The main hall, together with the organ, was destroyed and as a result a new hall, designed by Stephenson and Meldrum, was built. By extending to the adjacent site in Collins Street, a larger hall was constructed and the existing Collins Street facade was extended. An additional, lower hall was also created, a new organ was built by British firm, Hill, Norman and Beard and decorative murals, featuring larger than life size figures, were installed in the main hall, to designs by Napier Waller, in conjunction with J. Oliver and Sons.

The Melbourne Town Hall is of architectural significance as a distinguished and important work by the prominent Melbourne architects Reed and Barnes, who designed a number of significant Melbourne buildings. It is also important as a prototype for numerous suburban town halls that were built in the late 1870s and 1880s. The Administration Building is of architectural significance for its functional and stylistic relationship to the Town Hall, which results in a coherent civic centre.

The Melbourne Town Hall is of historical significance as the civic centre of Melbourne since 1867 and for its association with the Federation movement in Victoria.

The Melbourne Town Hall is of scientific (technical) significance for its organ which is an intact, large and rare example of 1920s British organ-building craftsmanship. As the second largest organ built in the British tradition between World War I and 2, it is now the third largest organ in Australia, those at the Sydney Town Hall and the Sydney Opera House being larger. Few organs of this size are intact from this period, particularly of a secular/concert hall design. As part of the 1925 rebuilding, the intact case, grilles, pipework and console of the organ are architecturally integral to the main hall.

The Melbourne Town Hall is of aesthetic significance for the murals by Napier Waller, which provide an example of this important artist's work.

#2 Colours

For April 2, it's all about colors!

I need to do this shot again in the future. I couldn't figure out what to do with my lips with all sprinkles over it.

1. Please give me some time so that I can understand your request of me

2. It is important to me that you rely on me

3. You must know that I will not forget, no matter how you treated me

4. Before you punish me for my not coorporation, stubbornness or laziness, please think of things that might bothers me. Is it that I don’t have enough food, or is it that I have not been running under the warm sun for quite a while, or is it that my heart too weak or too old?

5. Please talk to me once in a while. Even though I might understand you, but what I do know is that your voice is accompany me

6. When you hit me, please remember that I do have a sharp and strong teeth to chew up your arm, but I choose not to.

7. When I am old, please take good care of me, because someday, you will be old too.

8. Please don’t be mad at me for too long, or lock me up as a punishment. You have your job, your friends and your entertaiments, but you are all I got.

9. Before you bring me home, please remember that I can live up to 10~15 years. Your abandonment will be my biggest pain.

10. When I am going through my toughest times, please don’t say that “I can’t bare to see him in pain” or “please do it when I am gone”. I want to let you know that, when you are with me, everything seems to be so much easier to accept.

310.777.8880

Photo of Oculoplastic Surgeon Dr. Kami Parsa Performing Cosmetic Eyelid Surgery

Most cosmetic eyelid surgery can be performed under local anesthesia. If desired, local anesthesia with sedation can be performed. This type of anesthesia, also known as Monitored Anesthesia Care or MAC, is performed by an anesthesiologist. The main advantages of this anesthesia are: (1) it does not require putting a breathing tube in the throat, (2) it does not require a breathing machine, (3) the recovery is much faster, (4) there is less nausea after surgery. All of these elements translate into greater comfort and safety.

Watch Cosmetic Eyelid Surgery Videos on Youtube

465 N. Roxbury Dr. Suite 1001 Beverly Hills, CA 90210

In ottima forma questo modello inglese di fotocamera a soffietto.

In 1834 George Houghton joined the Frenchman[1] Antoine Claudet to manage a glass warehouse in London, under the name Claudet & Houghton.[2] It became George Houghton & Son in 1867, then George Houghton & Sons in 1892.[3]

The company's headquarters at 88/89 High Holborn were called Ensign House in 1901,[4] and the production of the roll film brand Ensign began in 1903. The first Ensign logo was a shop sign with the letter "N" inside, and was replaced in 1911 by the name ENSIGN written inside the British marine flag.[5]

In 1903, the company was incorporated as George Houghton & Sons Ltd.,[6] and in March 1904 it absorbed Holmes Bros. (the maker of the Sanderson cameras), A. C. Jackson, Spratt Bros. and Joseph Levi & Co., to form Houghtons Ltd.[7] The new company carried on the production of the smaller companies it had absorbed, and notably continued production of the Sanderson cameras until 1939.

In the early 1900s the company built a factory for the production of cameras on the Fulbourn Road in Walthamstow.[8] In 1908 this was the biggest British camera factory.[9]

Houghton was a renowned maker of magazine cameras like the Klito. Another characteristic product of Houghton was the Ensignette, a folding camera developed by the Swedish engineer Magnus Neill.

In 1915, Houghtons Ltd. came into a partnership with W. Butcher & Sons Ltd, founding the joint venture Houghton-Butcher Manufacturing Co., Ltd. to share the manufacturing facilities.[10] (This agreement was essential for Butcher, which had no manufacturing plant and was mainly trading imported German cameras before the outbreak of World War I.) The two companies Houghtons and Butcher continued to trade separately, and the camera designs remained distinct.[11]

The two trading companies finally merged on January 1st, 1926 to form Houghton-Butcher (Great-Britain) Ltd., which was renamed Ensign Ltd. in 1930.[12] (The manufacturing company based at Walthamstow kept the name Houghton-Butcher Manufacturing Co., Ltd. until 1945.)[13] The new trading company kept many of Houghtons and Butcher's camera ranges. In 1939 it introduced the Ensign Ful-Vue box camera, one of the most popular cameras of its time in the UK.

The headquarters of the trading company Ensign Ltd. were destroyed by an air raid on the night of September 24–5, 1940.[14] The assets of this company were taken over by Johnson & Sons, but the trademark Ensign was kept by the manufacturing company Houghton-Butcher Manufacturing Co., Ltd., which assumed the advertising and distribution of the Ensign cameras alone until 1945.[15]

In 1945, Houghton-Butcher Manufacturing Co., Ltd. associated with the film maker Elliott & Sons Ltd. (maker of the film brand "Barnet") and became Barnet Ensign Ltd.[16] In 1948 Ross and Barnet Ensign were merged to Barnet Ensign Ross Ltd., which was finally renamed Ross-Ensign Ltd. in 1954.[17]

After World War II, the company soon abandoned the sophisticated Ensign Commando rangefinder camera and continued the range of Ensign Selfix and Ensign Autorange folding cameras, while introducing new models like the Ensign Ranger or the Snapper. Among simpler cameras, a new version of the Ensign Ful-Vue was released in 1946, which was further developed to the Ful-Vue Super and Fulvueflex pseudo-TLR.

The company stopped making cameras in 1961.[18]

Ferstel

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse

Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel

Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse

Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg

The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.

History

In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.

According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.

The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.

He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made ​​of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.

The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.

1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.

The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.

The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.

1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.

(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.

The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.

At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.

Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)

This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.

1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Ferstel

The Oregon Zoo was founded in 1888, making it the oldest North American zoo west of the Mississippi.[2] It all began with two grizzly bears purchased by Richard Knight.

A former seaman turned pharmacist, Knight began collecting animals from his seafaring friends. He kept his collection in the back of his drug store on Third & Morrison streets. When caring for the animals became too large a responsibility he sought to sell them to the city of Portland. Instead of buying the animals, the city offered to give Knight two circus cages and allowed him to place the caged bears on the grounds of City Park (now called Washington Park).

Care and feeding of the bears, however, still fell to the Knight family and friends. It wasn't long before Knight addressed the city council again regarding the bears. Just five months later, he offered to donate the young grizzly, along with its cage (it is unclear what happened to the second bear) to the city. Portland City Council accepted his offer on November 7, 1888, and began the Portland Zoo.

By 1894 there were over 300 animals in the zoo’s collection. In 1925, the zoo moved to the site of the present Portland Japanese Garden, and moved again in 1959 to its current site, designed by Lawrence, Tucker & Wallmann.[7] The zoo was renamed the Portland Zoological Gardens in 1959.[2] At this time, Washington Park and Zoo Railway was constructed to connect the zoo to its former site, and the other attractions in Washington Park.

The zoo became popular locally in 1953, when Rosy the Asian elephant was acquired. The zoo became world-famous in 1962 when the Asian elephant "Packy" was born. He was the first elephant born in the western hemisphere in 44 years and is (as of 2010) the tallest Asian elephant in the United States at 10.5 ft (3.2 m) tall. A total of 28 more calves have been born at the Oregon Zoo, including seven sired by Packy (two of which still live with him), making it the most successful zoo elephant breeding program in the world. On August 23, 2008, Rose-Tu, the granddaughter of the zoo's first elephant Rosy, gave birth to a son named Samudra. This makes Samudra the first third generation captive born elephant in North America.[8]

In 1971, management was given to Metro, which continues expansion projects, aided by donors, sponsors and volunteers.[2] The zoo was renamed in 1976 as the Washington Park Zoo after a naming contest.[2] The Metro Council changed the zoo's name from the Washington Park Zoo to the Oregon Zoo in April 1998.[3] In September of that year, the zoo became accessible by the region's MAX light rail system, with the opening of a Westside MAX line featuring an underground Washington Park station.[9] In 2003, the zoo began participation in a California condor recovery program started by San Diego Wild Animal Park and Los Angeles Zoo. The program is designed to breed California condors to be released into the wild and save them from extinction.[10]

In November 2008 regional voters approved a $125 million bond measure to improve infrastructure, enhance older exhibits and increase access to conservation education and the degree of sustainability.[11] Attendance at the zoo reached a record 1.6 million visitors for their 2008 to 2009 year.[6] The record was due in part to the birth of another baby elephant.[6] A new record was set the following year with 1,612,359 people visiting the zoo.[12]

For more: www.oregonzoo.org/AboutZoo/history.htm

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Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Answer is 2. It is a matte painting by Yanick Dusseault for a movie. He is the person who paints the backrounds for films like Star Wars. More of his work here: www.dusso.com/index.html

Spur trigger revolver, made by the Hopkins & Allen Mfg. Co., and marked Ranger No. 2. It is nickel plated, with bone grips, and is .32 rimfire. It carries the patent date of March 28, 1871, but could have been made during the subsequent two decades.

Even today, almost 2000 years after its construction, the breathtaking pantheon is a remarkable building to see. The spectacular design, proportions, elegance and harmony are a striking reminder of the architecture of the great Roman Empire. When Michelangelo saw this wonder for the first time he said that it looks more like the work of angels, not humans.

1 The word Pantheon is a Greek adjective meaning “honor all Gods”. In fact the pantheon was first built as a temple to all gods.

2 It is the best preserved Ancient Roman monument. It is a bit of a mystery how the Pantheon managed to survive barbarian raids when all the rest of Roman monuments had been shattered. Its turning into a church in 609 AD has a lot to do with it in later time, but also the structure itself is way ahead of its time. In fact, the exact composition of the material is still unknown and appears to be structurally similar to modern day concrete! Whatever the reasons are, the Pantheon is the only structure of its age and size that has successfully survived the damage of time and gravity, still intact with all its splendor and beauty.

3 The exact age of the pantheon remains unknown. The Roman legend tells that the original Pantheon was built on the very site and was dedicated to Romulus, their mythological founder, after he ascended to heaven from that site. Most historians claim that Emperor Augustus right hand, Agrippa, built the first Pantheon in 27 BC. It burned in the great fire of 80 AD, was rebuilt by Emperor Domitian, but was struck by lightning and burned again in 110 AD. The Pantheon as we know it today was built in 120 AD by Emperor Hadrian Who was passionate with architecture and designed it together with Apollodorus of Damascus, a famous Greek architect of the time who unfortunately was executed by order of the Emperor, because of an argument about the design of the temple…

sundial-rome-on-segwayA lighting effect can be viewed on April 21when the midday sun strikes a metal grille above the doorway, saturating the courtyard outside with light

interior-pantheon-rome-on-segway

old-pantheon-rome-on-segway

pantheon-night-rome-on-segway

perfect-proportions-rome-on-segway

sundial-rome-on-segway

4 The most fascinating part of the Pantheon is its giant dome, with its famous hole in the top (The eye of the Pantheon, or oculus). The dome was the largest in the world for 1300 years and until today it remains the largest unsupported dome in the world! The diameter of the dome is 43.30 meters or 142ft (for comparison, the United States Capitol dome is 96 feet in diameter) and is in perfect proportion with the Pantheon by the fact that the distance from the floor to the top of the dome is exactly equal to its diameter.

The great architectural achievement was due to the massive weight of the large dome. Roman engineers lightened the dome as much as possible; not only its thickness progressively decreases, but the materials used in the upper part of the dome were lighter with internal spaces within the dome walls. The decrease in thickness has the effect that while the interior of the ceiling is spherical, its exterior is slightly “flattened”. It is larger than the dome of St. Peter’s basilica but since it seems flattened from the outside it is hard to get a full sense of its dimension. The hole (oculus), 7.8 meters in diameter, is the only source of light and is the connection between the temple and the gods above. Rain occasionally fall through it, but the floor is slanted and drains the water if it manages to hit the floor. In practice, rain seldom falls inside the dome.

5 The interior has the shape of a cylinder covered by a half of a sphere; the height of the cylinder is equal to the radius of the sphere, and is 43.3 meters (142ft) . There are no windows inside but the large oculus! The Pantheon now contains the tombs of the famous artist Raphael and of several Italian Kings and poets. The marble floor, which features a design consisting of a series of geometric patterns, is still the ancient Roman original. The history of Pantheon was forever changed during the reign of Pope Urban VIII, who melted down every scrap of bronze located upon the ceiling, outraging a great deal of Roman citizens.

6 The 16 massive Corinthian columns supporting the portico weigh 60 tons each. They are 39 feet (11.8 m) tall, five feet (1.5 m) in diameter and brought all the way from Egypt. These columns were dragged more than 100 km from the quarry to the Nile river on wooden sledges. They were floated by barge down the Nile River when the water level was high during the spring floods, and then transferred to vessels to cross the Mediterranean Sea to the Roman port of Ostia. There, they were transferred back onto barges and pulled up the Tiber River to Rome. The Columns support a triangle pediment with an inscription attributing the Pantheon to Marcus Agrippa (“M•AGRIPPA•L•F•COS•TERTIUM•FECIT” meaning “It was built by Marcos Agrippa in his third consulate”). It is the only remain from the original temple built by Agrippa and it is believed that Hadrian left it as a gesture to his predecessor when he rebuilt the pantheon.

7 A lighting effect can be viewed on April 21 when the midday sun strikes a metal grille above the doorway, saturating the courtyard outside with light. The Romans celebrated April 21 as the founding date of the city, and the impressive sight of their Emperor standing at the entrance of the Pantheon surrounded by light coming from inside the pantheon might have been seen as something that, in effect, raised their emperor to the level of the gods and invited him in to join them.

8 In the year 609 The Pantheon was the first pagan temple to be transformed into a church and therefore it was saved from being destroyed during the middle Ages. Today it is a church dedicated to St. Mary of the Martyrs. None the less it is called the Pantheon by virtually everybody and it seems to exist independent of religious rule but more of a tribute to the past.

9 In front of the Pantheon is the beautiful “Fountain of the Pantheon”. It was designed by famous architecture Giacomo Della Porta in 1575 and sculpted out of marble by Leonardo Sormani. In 1711, Pope Clement XI requested that the fountain be modified and had Filippo Barignoni design a new layout, which included a different basin, made of stone, and the obelisk of Ramses II set in the centre on a plinth with four dolphins decorating the base.

The Oregon Zoo was founded in 1888, making it the oldest North American zoo west of the Mississippi.[2] It all began with two grizzly bears purchased by Richard Knight.

A former seaman turned pharmacist, Knight began collecting animals from his seafaring friends. He kept his collection in the back of his drug store on Third & Morrison streets. When caring for the animals became too large a responsibility he sought to sell them to the city of Portland. Instead of buying the animals, the city offered to give Knight two circus cages and allowed him to place the caged bears on the grounds of City Park (now called Washington Park).

Care and feeding of the bears, however, still fell to the Knight family and friends. It wasn't long before Knight addressed the city council again regarding the bears. Just five months later, he offered to donate the young grizzly, along with its cage (it is unclear what happened to the second bear) to the city. Portland City Council accepted his offer on November 7, 1888, and began the Portland Zoo.

By 1894 there were over 300 animals in the zoo’s collection. In 1925, the zoo moved to the site of the present Portland Japanese Garden, and moved again in 1959 to its current site, designed by Lawrence, Tucker & Wallmann.[7] The zoo was renamed the Portland Zoological Gardens in 1959.[2] At this time, Washington Park and Zoo Railway was constructed to connect the zoo to its former site, and the other attractions in Washington Park.

The zoo became popular locally in 1953, when Rosy the Asian elephant was acquired. The zoo became world-famous in 1962 when the Asian elephant "Packy" was born. He was the first elephant born in the western hemisphere in 44 years and is (as of 2010) the tallest Asian elephant in the United States at 10.5 ft (3.2 m) tall. A total of 28 more calves have been born at the Oregon Zoo, including seven sired by Packy (two of which still live with him), making it the most successful zoo elephant breeding program in the world. On August 23, 2008, Rose-Tu, the granddaughter of the zoo's first elephant Rosy, gave birth to a son named Samudra. This makes Samudra the first third generation captive born elephant in North America.[8]

In 1971, management was given to Metro, which continues expansion projects, aided by donors, sponsors and volunteers.[2] The zoo was renamed in 1976 as the Washington Park Zoo after a naming contest.[2] The Metro Council changed the zoo's name from the Washington Park Zoo to the Oregon Zoo in April 1998.[3] In September of that year, the zoo became accessible by the region's MAX light rail system, with the opening of a Westside MAX line featuring an underground Washington Park station.[9] In 2003, the zoo began participation in a California condor recovery program started by San Diego Wild Animal Park and Los Angeles Zoo. The program is designed to breed California condors to be released into the wild and save them from extinction.[10]

In November 2008 regional voters approved a $125 million bond measure to improve infrastructure, enhance older exhibits and increase access to conservation education and the degree of sustainability.[11] Attendance at the zoo reached a record 1.6 million visitors for their 2008 to 2009 year.[6] The record was due in part to the birth of another baby elephant.[6] A new record was set the following year with 1,612,359 people visiting the zoo.[12]

For more: www.oregonzoo.org/AboutZoo/history.htm

Peaches (The Teaches of Peaches Anniversary Tour) @ 9:30 Club, Washington, DC, on Wednesday, August 23, 2922

The Teaches of Peaches Anniversary Tour Setlist:

Set It Off

Hot Rod

Cum Undun

Diddle My Skittle

Keine Melodien

Sucker

Rock Show

Suck and Let Go

Sex (I'm A)

(Berlin cover)

AA XXX

Lovertits

Felix Partz

Shake Yer Dix

Bodyline

Boys Wanna Be Her

Talk to Me

Pussy Mask

Vaginoplasty

Operate

Dick in the Air

Encore:

Fuck the Pain Away

Encore 2:

It's All Coming Back to Me Now (Céline Dion Cover)

picture was taken in El Yunque National Park

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, known colloquially as Chinese hibiscus,[2] China rose,[2] Hawaiian hibiscus,[2] rose mallow[3] and shoeblack plant,[4] is a species of tropical hibiscus, a flowering plant in the Hibisceae tribe of the family Malvaceae. It is widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions, but is not known in the wild, so that its native distribution is uncertain.[5] An origin in some part of tropical Asia is likely.[2] It is widely grown as an ornamental plant in the tropics and subtropics.

Solid red flower

Pollen parent

Pink and white flower

Pod parent

Yellow and pink flower

One offspring

White flower

Another offspring

Example: two crosses of 'King Kalakaua' and 'Mystic Pink'. The photographs demonstrate that the flowers of the offspring plants have almost no color characteristics of the parent plants, and few of the physical characteristics.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is a bushy, evergreen shrub or small tree growing 2.5–5 m (8–16 ft) tall and 1.5–3 m (5–10 ft) wide, with glossy leaves and solitary, brilliant red flowers in summer and autumn. The five-petaled flowers are 10 cm (4 in) in diameter, with prominent orange-tipped red anthers.[6] Cultivars and hybrids have flowers in a variety of colors as well as red: white to pink, orange, peach, yellow and purple. Some have double flowers.[7]

China Rose

At the bottom of every hibiscus bud is the calyx which is green in color. The pointed ends of the calyx are the sepals. When the hibiscus begins to bloom, the petals begin to grow which contains multiple petals and multiple colors. The ovary and other female parts of the flower lie in the main structure of the hibiscus, the pistil, which is long and tubular. The hibiscus has both male and female parts on the same flower. The five hairy red spots on the top of the flower is the stigma (female part) of the flower. The stigma is located at the end of the style branch. At the top of the pistil is known as the stigma, where pollen is collected, and in the middle is the style, which is the section that the pollen travels down to the ovary. The ovary lies at the bottom of the blossom and the hibiscus has only one ovary which is superior.

The male part (stamen) of the flower consists of stem-like filaments and each filament ends with the pollen-producing anther. The anthers, which release the pollen, sits on the filament and these two organs make up the stamen, the male part of the flower. Overall, the hibiscus is a dicot, with solitary (axillary), complete, perfect flowers, which have a superior ovary, regular symmetry, and axile placentation. They have five carpels, five locules, five sepals, and the number of stamens may vary.

The root is a branched taproot. The stem is aerial, erect, green, cylindrical, and branched. The leaf is simple, with alternate phyllotaxy and is petiolate. The leaf shape is ovate, the tip is acute and the margin is serrated. Venation is unicostate reticulate. (Venation is branched or divergent.) Free lateral stipules are present.

reference: Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus_rosa-sinensis

The L class 2-10-0 was the first Russian locomotive to use Boxpok-type wheels, which were commonplace in steam locomotive design post-World War II.

In conjunction with the FD class 2-10-2, it was primarily used to haul mainline goods across the terrain of the Soviet Union. Over 5,200 L class locomotives were constructed from 1945-1955, and they operated with the Soviet Railways until 1975.

ceramicist nicolene c swanepoel's cattle and horse head installation. "castle of good hope", cape town

From Wikipedia

Castle of Good Hope

South Africa

Gateway to the Castle of Good Hope

Castle of Good Hope

Coordinates

33.9259°S 18.4278°ECoordinates:

33.9259°S 18.4278°E

TypeStar fort

Site information

Controlled by

South Africa

Open to

the publicYes

Site history

Built1666–1679

Battles/warsSecond Boer War

The Castle of Good Hope (Dutch: Kasteel de Goede Hoop; Afrikaans: Kasteel die Goeie Hoop) is a star fort built in the 17th century in Cape Town, South Africa. Originally located on the coastline of Table Bay, following land reclamation the fort is now located inland.[1][2] In 1936 the Castle was declared a historical monument (now a provincial heritage site) and following restorations in the 1980s it is considered the best preserved example of a Dutch East India Company fort.[3]

Contents [hide]

* 1History2Symbolism3Gallery4See also5Notes6References7Further reading8

External links

History[edit]

Built by the Dutch East India Company between 1666 and 1679, the Castle is the oldest existing colonial building in South Africa.[2] It replaced an older fort called the Fort de Goede Hoop which was constructed from clay and timber and built by Jan van Riebeeck upon his arrival at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.[4] Two redoubts, Redoubt Kyckuit and Redoubt Duijnhoop were built at the mouth of the Salt River in 1654.[5] The purpose of the Dutch settlement in the Cape was to act as a replenishment station for ships passing the treacherous coast around the Cape on long voyages between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).[5]

During 1664, tensions between Britain and the Netherlands rose amid rumours of war. That same year, Commander Zacharias Wagenaer, successor to Jan van Riebeeck, was instructed by Commissioner Isbrand Goske to build a pentagonal fortress out of stone. The first stone was laid on 2 January 1666.[5] Work was interrupted frequently because the Dutch East India Company was reluctant to spend money on the project. On 26 April 1679, the five bastions were named after the main titles of William III of Orange-Nassau: Leerdam to the west, with Buuren, Katzenellenbogen, Nassau, and Oranje clockwise from it.[4]

Sketch of Castle of Good Hope in 1680

In 1682 the gated entry replaced the old entrance, which had faced the sea. A bell tower, situated over the main entrance, was built in 1684—the original bell, the oldest in South Africa, was cast in Amsterdam in 1697 by the East-Frisian bellmaker Claude Fremy, and weighs just over 300 kilograms (660 lb). It was used to announce the time, as well as warning citizens in case of danger, since it could be heard 10 kilometres away. It was also rung to summon residents and soldiers when important announcements needed to be made.[6]

The fortress housed a church, bakery, various workshops, living quarters, shops, and cells, among other facilities. The yellow paint on the walls was originally chosen because it lessened the effect of heat and the sun. A wall, built to protect citizens in case of an attack, divides the inner courtyard, which also houses the De Kat Balcony,[note 1] which was designed by Louis Michel Thibault with reliefs and sculptures by Anton Anreith. The original was built in 1695, but rebuilt in its current form between 1786 and 1790. From the balcony, announcements were made to soldiers, slaves and burghers of the Cape. The balcony leads to the William Fehr collection of paintings and antique furniture.[5]

During the Second Boer War (1899–1902), part of the castle was used as a prison, and the former cells remain to this day. Fritz Joubert Duquesne, later known as the man who killed Kitchener and the leader of the Duquesne Spy Ring, was one of its more well-known residents. The walls of the castle were extremely thick, but night after night, Duquesne dug away the cement around the stones with an iron spoon. He nearly escaped one night, but a large stone slipped and pinned him in his tunnel. The next morning, a guard found him unconscious but alive.[8]

In 1936, the Castle was declared an historical monument (from 1969 known as a national monument and since 1 April 2000 a provincial heritage site), the first site in South Africa to be so protected.[9] Extensive restorations were completed during the 1980s making the Castle the best preserved example of a Dutch East India Company fort.[3]

The Castle acted as local headquarters for the South African Army in the Western Cape, and today houses the Castle Military Museum and ceremonial facilities for the traditional Cape Regiments. The Castle is also the home of the Cape Town Highlanders Regiment, a mechanised infantry unit.[5]

Symbolism[edit]

Prior to being replaced in 2003, the distinctive shape of the pentagonal castle was used on South African Defence Force flags, formed the basis of some rank insignia of major and above, and was used on South African Air Force aircraft.

*

Naval ensign of South Afric

GURARA WATERFALLS, NIGER STATE NIGERIA

Gurara Waterfalls is located in Gurara, a local government area of Niger State, North Central Nigeria. The Waterfalls approximately spans about 300 meters across and 30metres in height and it lies on the Gurara river along the Suleja-Minna Road.

The Gurara Waterfalls was discovered in 1745 by a Gbagyi hunter called Buba, as he was travelling from Zaria to hunt for animals, before some Europeans discovered it in 1925 after they found it as a recreation centre. Oral history also has it that Gurara Waterfalls and Gurara River were named after two gods called Gura and Rara.

Gurara Waterfalls once served as a religious symbol to its community, it was worshipped by people living in communities around it.

The Importance of Gurara Waterfalls to its community, Niger state and Nigeria is listed below:

1. It serves as a means of protein and economic importance from fishing to the members of the communities around it.

2. It serves as a source of water for both domestic use and livestock keeping.

3. Gurara Waterfalls is a very beautiful natural site and is one of the go to tourist sites in Nigeria ideal for picnics, bird watching and appreciating nature.

4. It generates little income to the state from tourist visit but have the capacity for massive income generation if properly invested in.

Gurara Waterfalls is a pride to Niger state and Nigeria as it is one of its natural beauty's and go to location.

A test shot @ f/2 with my 'new' 1949 Leica 50mm Summitar f/2. It still has some of the swirl under the right conditions of the earlier Summar, but that seems less pronounced. With the Summitar Leica made improvements to the contrast, distortion, and overall sharpness over the Summar.

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What chance does he have against this beast from Mars.

Title: It! The Terror From Beyond Space

Year Of Release: 1958

Running Time: 69 minutes

DVD Released By: MGM Home Entertainment

Directed By: Edward L. Cahn

Writing Credits: Jerome Bixby

Starring: Marshall Thompson, Shawn Smith, Kim Spalding, Ann Doran, Dabbs Greer, Paul Langton, Robert Bice

Taglines:

1. It breathes, it hunts…It Kills!

2. IT!...Reaches through space!...Scoops up men and women!...Gorges on blood!

3. The revelation shocker of things to come!

Alternate Titles:

It! The Vampire from Beyond Space (1958)

The Terror from Beyond Space (1958).

Review Date: 12.12.04 (updated 1.1.10)

The film opens with a thundering musical theme and a title that threatens to bust out of the screen and into our third spatial dimension. After the credits end, we get a view of the Martian surface. In the distance we see the wreckage of a crashed rocket ship. A voice belonging to Colonel Edward Carruthers begins to narrate, relating how the ship he commanded cracked up on landing six months previously and how he is now the only survivor from that doomed expedition, the crew encountering some strange force on the Red planet they came to know only as death. The camera slowly pans over the landscape and a second rocket ship is revealed, albeit intact and standing erect. Carruthers says that he will now be going back to face his superiors on Earth and possibly another kind of death.

Now we see the capitol building in Washington D.C., which quickly fades to a door marked, “Science advisory committee. Division of interplanetary exploration.” No doubt down the hall are the offices for the division on Radiation-Enlarged Insects and Lizards. Inside this room a government official is conducting a press conference and releasing information on the second rocket ship sent to Mars. He talks about how Colonel Carruthers has been found alive, but is the only survivor from the initial expedition. The Colonel will be returned to Earth to face trial for the murders of the rest of the first ship’s crew.

Back on Mars, we see the Challenge-142 preparing to lift off. Before they can depart, Van Heusen notices an open compartment. It seems Lt. Calder was dumping some crates (littering) and forgot to close it. The open hatch is closed remotely, but as it slides shut, an ominous shadow moving about nearby alerts us to the fact that something has managed to get aboard while it was open. We hear a few growls and even get a close up of IT’s feet as it moves about. I gotta say, this guy needs some serious corrective footwear. Talk about a slewfoot! What is even more hilarious is that the shadow we see on the wall seems to be made by the actor in the monster suit, but not the monster mask. His facial features seem pretty clear in silhouette.

After a name check, Van Heusen begins the launch countdown at ten, while strapped into what appears to be a lawn chair! Where was the budget blown for this ship? No trash recycling systems and cheap chairs! The contractor must have spent it somewhere, but it obviously wasn’t on this ship!

Once in space and safely on the way home, Van Heusen (who will henceforth be referred to simply as Van – some of the characters did it, why not me) begins acting like an asshole, ridiculing Carruther’s story of a monster. He tells Carruthers (seemingly with great delight) that they have enough evidence to put him in front of a firing squad. They head up one level and Van shows him a human skull they found on the surface of Mars. Dental records revealed it to be a Frank Kenner, one of Carruther’s crew. The skull has an obvious bullet hole in it and Van says, “There’s only one kind of a monster that uses bullets.” There is an ominous musical cue. Carruthers walks away and the film fades out.

Sometime later the crew is cleaning up after a meal. Correction: the women are cleaning up after a meal. Yes, in this futuristic year of 1973, women – despite being doctors and presumably vital members of the crew – are still assigned the laborious task of cleaning up after meals and making sure all the lazy, fat-ass males have fresh, hot coffee in their cups and are supplied with cigarettes. I wonder if these guys made them cook the meal as well.

So this group has finished a meal and are relaxing. The usual light banter is exchanged before the topic of Colonel Carruthers and his monster comes up. Royce (the other Royce will always be referred to as Doctor Royce for purposes of this review) says that he doesn’t disbelieve or believe the story. Along about that time Carruthers arrives and is greeted with a smart-ass comment from Van. He gets some coffee from Ann and retreats back up one level. Van then states that before they reach Earth, he will have Carruthers’ confession on tape. What is he going to do, beat it out of him?

Some more time passes and Ann brings Carruthers a plate of food. She admits that she has only heard the story of what happened to the crew of the Challenge-141 from Van and would like to hear it straight from Carruthers. He relates to her how they landed, went out exploring and then got caught in a sandstorm. Something in the storm began taking the crew and in the confusion shots were fired, one apparently killing Kenner by mistake. Carruthers was the only one who made it back to the ship. Subsequent searches turned up no signs of his crew or the thing that took them.

Van continues to act like a dick. Ann - with whom he seems to have some sort of relationship beyond work - tells him that he owes it to Carruthers to treat him like a fellow officer and not an animal, and that it is not his place to decide whether he is guilty.

More time passes. Royce and Carruthers are playing chess while Van looks on, smoking a cigarette. Calder is nearby scribbling in a notebook – probably “I won’t leave outer hatches open before lift-off” a hundred times, enforced by Van for his lamebrain mistake. Elsewhere, Keinholz is sitting alone at a desk, looking bored. He hears their stowaway bumbling around the cargo hold. He goes to investigate and is killed, the attack shown as shadows on a wall. The monster lifts Keinholz over his head and brings him smashing to the floor, where he proceeds to pelt the unfortunate crewmen with a barrage of blows…or in this case, cartwheeling its arms and bitch-slapping the guy to death.

Above, Carruthers has heard the commotion and wonders what is going on. No one else seems to have heard anything. He still insists on performing a head count and when Keinholz comes up missing, everyone begins searching the ship for him. While everyone is split up, Gino Finelli is captured by the beast when he stops to pilfer some cigarettes from a storage locker.

Everyone convenes again and Van is in disbelief as there just isn’t a place on the ship a man could hide. Carruthers asks where Gino is and Bob says that he was right behind him. He looks back down the ladder to the deck below and calls out to Gino, but all is silent below. He, Van and Carruthers all go back down where they find Gino’s unused cigarette on the floor, but no Gino. Now everyone is calling out for Gino in addition to Keinholz. Soon after, Keinholz’s body is located in an air duct.

Everyone comes running and arrives as Keinholz is removed from the duct. Bob wonders if Gino is inside the duct, but Carruthers looks and sees nothing. Major Purdue volunteers to go in to look for Gino as he claims to know the layout. He crawls on in, but doesn’t see anything at first. Then he re-orients himself and sees Gino at the end of the passage. Gino is looking pretty bad, like he was in a fight with an Avon lady who applied her make-up samples to him. Purdue yells out that he found Gino and begins to crawl toward him. He shakes Gino, trying to rouse him but Gino just shakes his head limply. Then there is a shadowy movement nearby and IT arrives on the scene, no doubt pissed to find someone playing with his food. IT growls and claws at Purdue, who screams before pulling out a revolver and squeezing off a few shots. This makes the monster roar and outside in the storage room, Carruther’s face is one of dread – he knows that roar all too well, it seems.

Purdue comes barreling out of the duct and Carruthers sneaks a glance inside before he and Van replace the cover over the entrance. Bob, naturally has a fit, upset that his brother is being left behind. He is removed by Royce and Carruthers yells to the cowering women to run and get a head start. A head start for where? You’re on a spaceship, not the open plains of Iowa. Carruthers then spots a crate of grenades and suggests that they wire them up to the hatches, thus blowing IT up if it decides to leave the duct. So Van, Carruthers and Calder wire up these grenades, then gather up Keinholz’s body (which seemed to magically aid them in picking itself off the floor) and retreat to one of the upper levels.

Next we see a table loaded with guns, rifles and ammunition. It looks like a NRA convention! It is at this point that I must point out the sheer stupidity of these people. They are on a spaceship, which is traveling through the vacuum of space. Rupturing the hull of the ship in any way would be extraordinarily bad. I’d imagine that great pains would be taken to minimize the chances that such an event ever took place. Yet these fools insist on firing projectile weapons within the confines of the ship. Not only that, but they have grenades ready to detonate below. Now, what kind of tests did these people have to pass in order to be selected for this mission? Cuz smarts don’t seem to be a requisite. Not once does any one of them stop to consider the chances that such an explosion might actually harm the bloody ship! No, they just fire away. Either these people are colossal idiots, or they are confident in the construction and engineering of the ship – but given the lawn chairs adorning the place, I would not exactly be willing to bet my life on the latter possibility.

So the men are taking stock of the weapons while the ladies apply the most idiotic looking bandage to Purdue’s head. Royce tries to console Bob by telling him there was nothing they could have done for Gino, but Bob is pissed that they didn’t even try to rescue his brother.

Meanwhile, Van is asking Carruthers if he knows what IT is. This must have just galled the guy to no end. Here he was all ready to break Carruthers and get a confession, and now he must admit that the other man was right all along. Time passes and the gang is pacing up and down, waiting for IT to leave the ducts and trip the grenade trap. They all gather around the intercom and listen as IT busts through the grate covering the duct and sets off the grenades. All those grenades detonate and we are treated to an explosion that looks like it was made by a box of firecrackers.

They still hear the monster growling, so they know that the plan has failed. Without a word, they hoist their firearms, open the central stair hatch and head down to investigate further…well, all the guys do. The women stay up above, no doubt prepping coffee. The guys gather around the door to C and open it up. A lot of smoke passes through the doorway, obscuring their vision. Calder, who is carrying the biggest gun, goes in first. Well, actually Van was in the lead, but when he couldn’t get the lights activated, he motions for Calder to go first. Chickenshit bastard. Calder barely gets through the door when IT lunges out of the smoke, grabs his rifle and bends it, Superman-style, over its head. Calder, Royce and Bob then run like hell up the stairs while Van and Carruthers fire their pistols at the beast. They retreat up the stairs, firing all the way, while IT tears the door to C compartment open wide enough to get through. Once safely up the stairs, the crew closes the central stair hatch.

Next gas grenades are used in an attempt to kill the beast. This fails to work as well and Van comes out of the engagement with an injured foot, scraped up something bad when the monster grabbed him.

Dr. Royce has completed the autopsy on Keinholz, discovering that “there is not a molecule of oxygen or a drop of water” left in his body. Blood, bone marrow, glandular secretions – everything, is gone. She theorizes that since there are no puncture marks on the body, that this was accomplished through some type of osmosis process. Keep in mind that the Human body is sixty to seventy percent water. Now, we got a pretty good view of the dead Keinholz earlier. Sure, his body was shriveled, but if all the moisture in his body had been removed, then would not he have looked more like a dried up prune, and been the size of a cabbage patch doll? Van Heusen hasn’t joined the cadaver club yet, though his wound is infected and nothing Dr. Royce can do helps it any.

They open the central hatch and peer down. IT is two levels down, but they can see it breaking through the center hatch onto the level directly below them, which will grant it access to the next level. They realize that if IT can get through the center hatches, they are royally SCREWED. Ann approaches Carruthers and tells him that he was right and they were all wrong. They hold hands and share a Kodak moment.

Royce pipes in about now with an idea he and Bob have worked out. He proposes that two men exit through the control room airlock and then space walk down the side of the ship and re-enter through the airlock on the motor level – below the current location of the creature. This would enable them to surprise the monster, but they aren’t sure what to surprise it with. Carruthers says he’s been thinking and has an idea, so he and Calder suit up and make their way down the hull to the bottom of the ship. They reach the airlock on the motor level and the others above begin talking loud at the proper time, distracting the monster from what is occurring below it. Carruthers and Calder sneak out onto the motor level and set an electrical trap on the stairs that lead to the upper level where IT is located.

The two then take cover behind some induction pumps and open the center hatch, which is noticed by the creature. It begins to descend the stairs and when it gets to the appropriate spot – ZAP. Nothing. The monster is not affected. Carruthers is able to make it safely to the airlock, but Calder takes a blow to the head that tears his vinyl “helmet” and stumbles back, his foot getting caught and the fall breaking his leg. He fires up an acetylene torch and uses it to fend off the monster every time it gets to close to his hiding spot.

Carruthers returns to the others where they try and think of a way to rescue Calder, who can be heard over the radio. Meanwhile the Doctor approaches Royce and tells him that the alien bacteria are attacking bone marrow, resulting in a leukemia-type condition. The drugs she has been using are working too slowly and she needs fresh blood to keep Van and Purdue alive – but there is no more on this level. They will need to descend to the cargo level and retrieve some more.

Royce is preparing to make a run for the blood and Bob decides that it his “turn” now to go. What is this, a ride? I suppose he feels the need to do something in helping kill the monster that murdered his brother. Carruthers decides to accompany them. Calder promises to keep them apprised of the creature’s movements via the intercom. A shadow on the wall tells us that IT is still dragging dead Gino around, and has wandered into the reactor room. After Calder reports this, it gives Carruthers an idea. He remotely closes the reactor room door and asks Calder what the monster does. When no odd behavior is reported, the three men make their descent in search of the blood supply.

Meanwhile Van has awoken again and is trying to get up from his cot. The women try to restrain him but he yells and pushes past them. He has an idea – by unsealing the reactor, the radiation will kill the monster. He flips some controls while the ladies still try and talk sense into him. In the reactor room, the creature is banging on the door to get out when the reactor is unsealed and it gets a face full of radiation. The women call down to warn the men what has happened, inciting Carruthers and Royce to speed things up. Below, Bob is helping Calder up the stairs when IT breaks out of the reactor room. Calder dives back into his hiding spot and Bob fires off his pistol at the beast. He then tries to run up the stairs, but IT is too fast. The monster reaches up and grabs him, pulling him down to the floor and bitch-slapping him to death. Royce and Carruthers haul ass back up the stairs with the blood, having to leave Bob behind. They get back to the laboratory level and then everyone heads on up to the topmost level – the control room.

Everyone is now huddled on the highest level. For some IDIOTIC reason, Carruthers is carrying a bazooka. A bazooka! They pile some heavy crates over the hatch in the floor, hoping to keep IT from busting up through the opening. Nearby Ann and Van are talking and the ever more disconcerted Colonel is remarking on Ann is now “with” Carruthers and how it happened out of the blue. She tries to dismiss it and wants to talk about it later, but he insists that there may be no later considering how their situation is degenerating rapidly. She walks off to help Carruthers and Van continues to mutter to Dr. Royce.

They contact Calder down below, who is still alive. He can see the monster still bumbling around on the motor level. About now IT has decided to find out where everyone else has gone. IT ascends the stairs to the first storage level and begins banging around. Calder warns Carruthers that IT is on its way up. The gang up top makes ready, turning the lights off and preparing for the last fight. Carruthers tells Calder to make his way to the airlock now that IT is no longer nearby and hide there. Then Carruthers picks up the bazooka again and aims it at the hatch.

While waiting, Carruthers happens to glance at a dial on a nearby instrument panel and notices that the oxygen consumption on the ship is far in excess of what it should be. He points this out to Royce and the two theorize that it is due to the monster. With the thin air on Mars it would need a gigantic lung capacity and has thus been hogging all the oxygen on the ship with its Darth Vader breathing style. Carruthers suggest letting all the air out of the ship to kill it. Royce agrees, saying they can build it back up for themselves later.

A mad rush is on now, everyone trying to get into his or her space suit. The monster tears his way up onto the laboratory level, doesn’t even hesitate and then heads up the latter to the top level. IT bangs on the hatch, causing all the boxes sitting atop it to topple over, and then IT peels back the metal of the hatch like wrapping paper and pokes up through the opening like a jack-in-the-box. Everyone has their spacesuits on now, but Carruthers cannot reach the controls to release the air because the monster is in the way. He calls to Royce, who is now holding the bazooka, to drive it back down so he can make his way to the proper control panel. Royce fires the bazooka, but the rocket just bounces off the monster before bouncing around the floor some. No detonation at all! It must have been a dud. Carruthers is trying to reach the controls, but the monster is preventing him from getting too close. Van then jumps up, runs to the controls and hits the correct button. The airlock doors open and the air begins rushing out. The monster has grabbed Van and no doubt given him the squish treatment, as when next we see Van, he is stretched out on the floor.

The ship begins diving. Well, not really…but given that the emergency klaxon blaring away to warn everyone of decompression and air loss sounds just like the diving bell in some old WWII movie, and one can see why it seems like the ship is diving. Everyone hangs on for dear life. Papers start flying around the room, but very few actually get blown out the airlock. The monster growls, writhes around and finally stops moving as the last of the air is removed. Carruthers checks on both IT and Van, but both are still and quiet. I have to wonder how Van didn’t get blown out. Everyone was hanging on, but Van was out cold (or dead). It seems the monster is finally dead. Everyone seems relieved, and the camera zooms in on Ann and Carruthers as they hold hands before fading out…

…Into ANOTHER freakin’ shot of the ship flying through space (number nine). This fades into the room in Washington D.C. that we saw at the very beginning of the film. The same government official is conducting another press release. He has more information to add to the story he gave to the reporters the previous evening. He reads a message from the Challenge-142 received less than an hour ago:

“This is Eric Royce talking. Of the nineteen men and women who have set foot upon the planet Mars, six will return.”

Six? Let’s see…Carruthers, Ann, Royce, Dr. Royce, Purdue and…Calder, I suppose. Calder was hiding in the airlock on the motor level while Van Heusen got beat up by the monster and was laying there pretty still at the end, so I guess he was the one who died. The message continues:

“There is no longer a question of murder, but of an alien and elemental lifeforce. A planet so cruel, so hostile, that man may have to find it necessary to bypass it in his endeavor to explore and understand the universe.”

Well, at least Carruthers has been cleared, but Royce makes out like the planet Mars is so damn dangerous. Excuse me, but were not you guys all safe until you got back on the ship? The planet seemed pretty harmless. It is the native life that proved to be so deadly. Big difference. The message (and the movie) concludes:

“Another name for Mars…is death.”

Fade out. The End.

Structurally, this movie is most similar to The Thing From Another World in that it deals with a small group of people trapped struggling to prevail against a deadly organism from another planet bound and determined to make a snack of them all. Aside from the opening and closing segments set on Earth (which most people conclude were added in order to stretch out the film’s running time) the movie never leaves the crew of the Challenge-142. Once things get rolling, the movie rarely lets up and moves along at a brisk pace, rapidly pushing its characters through one bad situation and into another. While not as intense as later films would be, the approach taken works very well and the viewer begins to detect the sense of danger and desperation that builds as the film progresses.

Sadly, the character development that was so well executed in the Howard Hawk’s The Thing From Another World, is sorely and quite obviously lacking here. We are quickly introduced to a number of people, who for the most part, will be expanded upon very little and examined only long enough to form the vaguest of impressions. With the exception of Carruthers and Van Heusen, who these people are and what motivates them was just not important to the producers. Those two are plainly set up to be at odds with each other, though the conflict is really all on the part of Van Heusen, who is resolute in his belief of Carruther’s guilt. Yet, the film sets up this adversarial dynamic and goes no where with it. Early on during the monster’s rampage, Van Heusen takes a hit and is restricted to bed for the rest of the film, offering up only smartass remarks and a failed attempt at killing the creature thereafter. I suppose one could say that Van Heusen was shown to be in error when it came to the veracity of Carruthers’ story, and that he was pushed aside to make room for latter to take the lead and redeem himself. There could not be two leaders, so one was removed.

While the characters might not be the most fleshed out in film history, they certainly make up for it with their actions. After viewing this movie, one has to wonder what kind of idiots these people truly were. How they ever graduated from some type of training program and granted a position on a ship to Mars is beyond me. In fact, the entire organization seems lacking. There is just so much that betrays them as morons. Like smoking. These people are nicotine fiends who are lighting up non-stop. Someone missing? Have a smoke. The monster kills someone? Have a smoke. Time running out and death looking certain? Have a freaking smoke! I must say that the Challenge-142 must have one HELL of an air recycling system. These folks have the oxygen scrubbers working overtime with all the smoke they exhale.

On top of that, these guys are gun toting, trigger-happy morons who make the Montana militia groups look like the boy scouts. They start squeezing off rounds at the drop of a hat, no worries about ricocheting bullets or friendly fire. I guess the ship, on top of having a first rate air recycling system, also has the sturdiest hull ever manufactured by mankind. It must have, as these guys don’t give a single thought to accidentally rupturing the hull. And they don’t stop with guns! They haul out grenades by the dozen and detonate them and then move on up to firing a bazooka in their ship’s control room!

As far as visual FX are concerned, this film doesn’t have too many. What we do see is adequately done by the standards of the day. The most ambitious shot is the view of Carruthers and Calder walking down the side of the ship as it traverses the stars. Back then it might have looked awesome, but now it is very easy to notice that the actors don’t seem to be covering any ground, despite taking numerous steps as well as the obvious signs of matting them into the footage of the rocket. I’d venture to say that the best looking thing we see, though it is just for a few seconds at the film’s beginning, is the painting that represents the surface of Mars. Sure, it looks nothing like what Mars really looks like, but it is still executed pretty darn well.

Now we come to the one aspect that is both one of the best as well as one of the worst things about the movie: The monster. The monster costume is a glaring source of both potential embarrassment and possible fun. The costume is a rather bulky, rubber affair that bends in all the wrong places, heightening the “cheese” factor and lending a certain air of ridiculousness to the film. The way it lumbers, stumbles and plods around the ship is laughable considering the dire circumstances and danger it supposedly represents. The face is static, except for the tongue that is often protruding from the sizable mouth. This effect was produced by the actor’s chin pushing the “tongue” through the creature’s maw.

Since the movie was filmed on a mere handful of sets, with a single set used to represent the various central chambers of the ship – just re-dressed for each one, director Cahn makes good use of the limited space he has. Thanks to the camera work and the set dressing, the ship comes across as being fairly good sized. Another thing he does rather well in conjunction with cinematographer Kenneth Peach is to hide the monster and utilize shadows to create an atmosphere of dread and creepiness. Whether this was done for artistic reasons or to help hide the often silly-looking monster suit is open for debate, but since the creature is shown quite well on several occasions, and the suit holds up pretty darn well to scrutiny, I personally believe it was the former. There are numerous occasions where all we see is the beast’s shadow on the wall, or a foot moving across the floor. More than one assault on a Human is shown as nothing more than shadows on a wall, which, while lessening the onscreen violence, only makes the attacks more horrifying. This method really helps in firing the imagination, as what the mind conjures up is almost always more frightening than what we ultimately see on screen.

Still, despite all the apparent flaws...indeed, perhaps because of those very flaws, this film has a sizable “fun” quotient. Taking it too seriously will only lessen the enjoyment derived from the proceedings. An enormous grain of salt, along with a large suspension of disbelief will come in handy here, and will help transform the film from an “old 50’s monster movie” into a “classic B-Movie experience.”

Ferstel

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse

Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel

Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse

Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg

The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.

History

In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.

According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.

The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.

He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made ​​of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.

The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.

1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.

The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.

The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.

1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.

(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.

The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.

At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.

Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)

This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.

1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.

www.de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Ferstel

Fun facts (and legends) about Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic:

1. It's 516 meters (1,693 feet) long, and about 10 meters (33 feet) wide.

2. It was built to connect the castle to the Old Town.

3. There are three towers on the bridge: two on the castle side, one on the Old Town side. (I think you can go up one, maybe more, for slightly better panoramic views.)

4. Its construction has a very specific start time: 5:31 a.m. on the 9 July 1357. (Written another way: 1357.9.7.5:31.) So, it's a palindromic bridge. Supposedly stronger because of it. It was completed 45 years later in 1402.

5. The first stone was laid at the above minute by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles, for whom the bridge is named.

6. It didn't get the name "Charles Bridge" until 1870.

It originally had the more creative names of Stone Bridge or Prague Bridge. The river it spans, by the way, is the Vitava.

7. Prague is famous for being the filming locations of a handful of Hollywood movies (Amadeus, Immortal Beloved, Mission Impossible...and the pinnacle of Hollywood production, XXX -- the first one. For those of you who have deigned to sit through that gem, you'll know the setting was Prague. The final scene (well...penultimate) is of Vin Diesel sitting on these little wooden thingies next to the bridge. You're welcome for the memory, everyone...

8. There are 16 arches shielded by ice guards. (I think that's what the little wooden thingies are.)

9. There are 30 statues or statuaries on the bridge -- 15 on each side -- mostly of religious folk, saints and the like -- that were originally erected around 1700. How many of these are original? Zip. Zero. Nada. All replicas, with the originals in the National Museum, it seems.

10. This bridge/river/area is famous for swans. Why they're here and why they stay, I have no idea. But, they're nice. I saw them, but from a distance.

Now for my personal notes...

I've been on a severely sprained ankle the past few days, so haven't done much shooting in Prague, I'm sad to say. But, this bridge? I imagine it's easily the most photogenic (especially for panoramas) in the city. Looking at these pictures, I'm crying for the loss of my DSLRs and P&S cameras earlier this year. These turned out...ok, and a few slightly better than ok.

The problem with this is that every tourist (and all tourist companies) know this. Whatever you do, do NOT come between...I don't know...11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. or afternoon at all unless you love seeing throngs of people photobombing your shots. Come at sunrise or sundown. Sundown would give the best backlighting and blue hour shots of Old Town, and sunrise would give you the misty/foggy shots of the river and Old Town.

If I lived in Prague, this is exactly the place I'd come, probably once a week or every other week, to shoot in different times and seasons. It's that nice of a spot. Of course, I'd do that if I had my cameras back...

We were told by some friends to take the time and come to Stonington Maine. I would highly recommend this little town for a perfect day trip. The whole town is very photogenic and filled with history. We stopped by this port side lobster station, but they were closed for the season.

Stonington is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. It is located on the southern portion of the island of Deer Isle. The population was 1,056 at the 2020 census.[2] It includes the villages of Burnt Cove, Oceanville, Green Head, and Clam City. A picturesque working waterfront and tranquil tourist destination in eastern Penobscot Bay, Stonington has consistently ranked among the top lobster ports in the country and is the largest lobster port in Maine. In 2011, 14,854,989 pounds of lobster were landed by Stonington fishermen, with a value of $46.3 million.[3]

Deer Isle Settlement

As far back as 6,100 years ago the first inhabitants of Deer Isle were Native Americans known as the Abenaki, speaking a language called Etchemin. One of the first Europeans to explore the area was Estevan Gomez, a Portuguese working for the Spanish Crown.[4] Gomez sailed his ship La Anunciada up the Eggemoggin Reach, amongst other places along the Maine coast, looking for gold and the Northwest Passage. It was the French, however, who would be the most active in the region. Establishing a fort at Castine and intermarrying with Abenaki natives. A body buried in full French armor was discovered on nearby Campbell Island (+44° 13' 20.03", −68° 36' 33.24", south of Oak Point).

The first white settler of Deer Isle was one William Eaton (born 1720 Salisbury, Massachusetts, died c. 1790 Seabrook, New Hampshire) and family, arriving on the island prior to August 4, 1762. They settled in an area now known as Scott's Landing (so named for the second owner of the property: Nathaniel Scott) located near the Deer Isle/Little Deer Isle Causeway. By 1765, migration to Deer Isle had begun in earnest and Eaton, along with 16 other families, petitioned the governing state of Massachusetts for legal title to the land. The largest group of these first settlers came from Newburyport, Massachusetts and were mostly of Scottish and Irish descent.[5] Ironically, those settlers had come looking for a new life on the land, not the sea. A few cellar holes and foundation stones from the original homesteads can still be found at Scott's Landing and the land they cleared is still open. Settlers continued their southward migration on the island and eventually established the village of Green's Landing (as Stonington was initially known) after 1800.[6]

Green's Landing

Settlement

Hundred-acre "proprietor lots" were granted to those who first settled the island, accelerating the southward migration with the promise of new land. Within a few decades, the yields of acidic soil of the original proprietor lots began to decline and inhabitants of the island took to the sea. Green's Landing, settled c. 1800, was established by a few pioneering souls on the rocky, windswept southern shore of the island. That sparsely populated village became active in shipbuilding, seafaring, fishing and lobster fishing.

Granite

A barren settlement, Green's Landing changed little in its first 70 or so years; c. 1870, granite quarrying became a major occupation and little Green's Landing became a boom town. Europeans, mainly from Italy, immigrated to Green's Landing to implement their old-world skills as stonecutters and masons at the numerous in-town granite quarries. As the demand for stone increased, quarrying moved off-shore to the southerly surrounding islands. Crotch Island (+44° 8' 25.20", −68° 40' 17.26"), the best known island quarry, was one of 33 major island quarries along the Maine coast, providing work for an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people. Stone excavated in the area has been used to build important structures across the country, including the approaches to the Brooklyn Bridge (1880s), Croton Aqueduct (NY, 1880), Holyoke Dam (Holyoke, Massachusetts, 1890s), piers for Manhattan/Brooklyn Bridge (Manhattan, 1905), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, 1907), Rockefeller fountain bowl (Pocantico, New York, 1913), John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame, (Arlington, Virginia, 1966)[7] and the new Yankee Stadium[8] among many others. Some other major quarries in operation at the time were The Settlement Quarry (on Deer Isle), Green Island Quarry, and St. Helena Quarry (both separate island quarries).

1907 Photo Postcard of Stonington, Maine. Downtown Main street looking west.

Boom Town

Many of the new immigrants lived in hotels and large boarding houses built for that purpose at Green's Landing—the current Tewksbury Building being one of many still in use. Some of these new migrants were housed in bunkhouses on Crotch Island itself. Prior to building the Deer Isle-Sedwick bridge and causeway in 1939, the settlement's primary link to the outside world was Steamboat Wharf, located west of the main harbor. Once busy with vessels arriving daily from ports such as Rockland and Boston, it was the primary terminus for freight and passengers.

Lobstering & Seafaring

Sailors on the island became renowned for their maritime skills. Full crews for two America's Cup teams were recruited from Deer Isle for the victorious America's Cup Races of 1895 on The Defender and again in 1899 on Columbia. The Stonington harbor has long been filled with Friendship Sloops among other boat designs, powered by sail only. Lobstermen once used them to haul traps. Most of their trips were to the outer islands (like York Island) near Isle au Haut, fishing during the week and returning to the harbor on weekends. This changed with the advent of gasoline or diesel engines, along with new hull designs, which enabled fishermen to make day trips to fishing grounds in Penobscot Bay.[9] On February 18, 1897, Green's Landing was set off and incorporated by the Maine State Legislature as Stonington—named for its granite quarries.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 37.84 square miles (98.01 km2), of which 9.81 square miles (25.41 km2) is land and 28.03 square miles (72.60 km2) is water.[1] Located on the southern end of Deer Isle, Stonington is situated in Penobscot Bay and the Gulf of Maine, part of the Atlantic Ocean. Stonington is the southern terminus of State Route 15, which passes through the town of Deer Isle and across the Deer Isle Bridge to the mainland.

Demographics

Historical population

CensusPop.Note%±

19001,648—

19102,03823.7%

19201,353−33.6%

19301,4184.8%

19401,4935.3%

19501,66011.2%

19601,408−15.2%

19701,291−8.3%

19801,273−1.4%

19901,252−1.6%

20001,152−8.0%

20101,043−9.5%

20201,0561.2%

U.S. Decennial Census[10]

2010 census

Old High School c. 1910

As of the census[11] of 2010, there were 1,043 people, 515 households, and 305 families residing in the town. The population density was 106.3 inhabitants per square mile (41.0/km2). There were 993 housing units at an average density of 101.2 per square mile (39.1/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.0% White, 0.2% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.4% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.4% of the population.

There were 515 households, of which 19.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.8% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.03 and the average family size was 2.56.

The median age in the town was 50.7 years. 14.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.6% were from 25 to 44; 35.8% were from 45 to 64; and 23.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.7% male and 50.3% female.

2000 census

As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 1,152 people, 502 households, and 326 families residing in the town. The population density was 117.5 inhabitants per square mile (45.4/km2). There were 909 housing units at an average density of 92.7 per square mile (35.8/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.79% White, 0.09% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 1.48% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population.

There were 502 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.78.

In the town the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,894, and the median income for a family was $34,375. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $19,063 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,634. About 9.6% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over. Wikipedia

This is the first piece I finished in 2016 (started in 2015 though).

You will recognize who was it influenced by. I was completely mesmerized by Bonnie Bishoff's presentation during Eurosynergy in Malta 2014. I was amazed by the quality and beauty of her work as well as my limitations. It never occurred to me that I could make pieces larger than the oven they are baked in. It was stunning. Their furniture pieces are beyond wonderful.

So obviously I thought about it and I was willing to try with a picture that I will frame. I knew what I was going for.

But obviously again:

1. I failed to make a sketch and detailed plan. The result is a bit of a mess and you can probably see that I changed my mind more than once.

2. It doesn't capture a feeling I was going for but I somehow achieved a motion I wanted. It's sad that I can not take a photo that captures the depth of the piece.

3. A lot of impatience is shown in this piece and a lot of mistakes. My oven, for example decided to gear up so suddenly heat was 150 C just at the beginning of baking resulting some parts of picture to be completely matte. Even after sanding and buffing. At the end I just love that part the most aware that I will never achieve it again. At least not on purpose. LOL

Needles to say dear Mercury retrograde is messing with my computer and my camera so I am just not able to make decent photos.

But I decided to share these photos anyway and ask for your oppinions. I am willing to learn what this piece say to you, if it speaks at all.

I have my own sentiment towards it and I can't stop looking at it. I will frame it and keep it fo myself. Just can't decide will it be in black or white.

Ferstel

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse

Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel

Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse

Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg

The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.

History

In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.

According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.

The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.

He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made ​​of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.

The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.

1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.

The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.

The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.

1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.

(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.

The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.

At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.

Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)

This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.

1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Ferstel

The Angel of the North is a contemporary sculpture, designed by Antony Gormley, which is located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England.

It is a steel sculpture of an angel, 20 metres (66 ft) tall, with wings measuring 54 metres (177 ft) across.[1] The wings do not stand straight sideways, but are angled 3.5 degrees forward; Gormley did this to create "a sense of embrace".[2]

It stands on a hill on the southern edge of Low Fell, overlooking the A1 and A167 roads into Tyneside, and the East Coast Main Line rail route, south of the site of Team Colliery.

Construction

Work began on the project in 1994 and cost £1 million. Most of the project funding was provided by the National Lottery. The Angel was finished on 16 February 1998.

Due to its exposed location, the sculpture was built to withstand winds of over 100 mph (160 km/h). Thus, 600 tonnes of concrete were used to create foundations which anchor the sculpture to rock 70 feet (21 m) below. The sculpture was built at Hartlepool Steel Fabrications Ltd using Corten weather resistant steel. It was made in three parts—with the body weighing 100 tonnes and two wings weighing 50 tonnes each—then brought to its site by road. It took five hours for the body to be transported from its construction site in Hartlepool, up the A19 road to the site.[4]

The Angel aroused some controversy in British newspapers, at first, including a "Gateshead stop the statue" campaign, while local councillor Martin Callanan was especially strong in his opposition. However, it has since been considered to be a landmark for the Northeast of England[4][5] and has been listed by one organisation as an "Icon of England".[6] It has often been used in film and television to represent Tyneside, as are other local landmarks such as the Tyne Bridge and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.

The sculpture is known locally as the "Gateshead Flasher", because of its location and appearance.[7] The sculpture was decorated in 1998 by fans of the Newcastle United football team who paid tribute to local hero Alan Shearer by putting a giant team shirt over the Angel, complete with Shearer's name and famous number 9

Here's some amazing facts

about the Angel of the North.

• It is believed to be the largest angel sculpture in the world

• It is one of the most viewed pieces of art in the world - seen by more than one person every second, 90,000 every day or 33 million every year

• It is one of the most famous artworks in the region - almost two thirds of people in the North East had already heard of the Angel of the North before it was built

• Its 54 metre (175 foot) wingspan is bigger than a Boeing 757 or 767 jet and almost the same as a Jumbo jet

• It is 20 metres (65 feet) high - the height of a five storey building or four double decker buses

• It weighs 200 tonnes - the body 100 tonnes and the wings 50 tonnes each

• There is enough steel in it to make 16 double decker buses or four Chieftain tanks

• It will last for more than 100 years

• It will withstand winds of more than 100 miles per hour

• Below the sculpture, massive concrete piles 20 metres deep will anchor it to the solid rock beneath

• It is made of weather resistant Cor-ten steel, containing a small amount of copper, which forms a patina on the surface that mellows with age

• Huge sections of the Angel - up to six metres wide and 25 metres long - were transported to the site by lorry with a police escort

• The total cost of The Angel of the North was £800,000

• There is unique species of daffodil named the Angel of the North due to its orange, rusty hue and lofty height. The Angel of the North daffodil has been verified and registered with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)

Here's some amazing facts about the Angel of the North.

• It is believed to be the largest angel sculpture in the world

• It is one of the most viewed pieces of art in the world - seen by more than one person every second, 90,000 every day or 33 million every year

• It is one of the most famous artworks in the region - almost two thirds of people in the North East had already heard of the Angel of the North before it was built

• Its 54 metre (175 foot) wingspan is bigger than a Boeing 757 or 767 jet and almost the same as a Jumbo jet

• It is 20 metres (65 feet) high - the height of a five storey building or four double decker buses

• It weighs 200 tonnes - the body 100 tonnes and the wings 50 tonnes each

• There is enough steel in it to make 16 double decker buses or four Chieftain tanks

• It will last for more than 100 years

• It will withstand winds of more than 100 miles per hour

• Below the sculpture, massive concrete piles 20 metres deep will anchor it to the solid rock beneath

• It is made of weather resistant Cor-ten steel, containing a small amount of copper, which forms a patina on the surface that mellows with age

• Huge sections of the Angel - up to six metres wide and 25 metres long - were transported to the site by lorry with a police escort

• The total cost of The Angel of the North was £800,000

• There is unique species of daffodil named the Angel of the North due to its orange, rusty hue and lofty height. The Angel of the North daffodil has been verified and registered with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)

Here's some amazing facts about the Angel of the North.

• It is believed to be the largest angel sculpture in the world

• It is one of the most viewed pieces of art in the world - seen by more than one person every second, 90,000 every day or 33 million every year

• It is one of the most famous artworks in the region - almost two thirds of people in the North East had already heard of the Angel of the North before it was built

• Its 54 metre (175 foot) wingspan is bigger than a Boeing 757 or 767 jet and almost the same as a Jumbo jet

• It is 20 metres (65 feet) high - the height of a five storey building or four double decker buses

• It weighs 200 tonnes - the body 100 tonnes and the wings 50 tonnes each

• There is enough steel in it to make 16 double decker buses or four Chieftain tanks

• It will last for more than 100 years

• It will withstand winds of more than 100 miles per hour

• Below the sculpture, massive concrete piles 20 metres deep will anchor it to the solid rock beneath

• It is made of weather resistant Cor-ten steel, containing a small amount of copper, which forms a patina on the surface that mellows with age

• Huge sections of the Angel - up to six metres wide and 25 metres long - were transported to the site by lorry with a police escort

• The total cost of The Angel of the North was £800,000

• There is unique species of daffodil named the Angel of the North due to its orange, rusty hue and lofty height. The Angel of the North daffodil has been verified and registered with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)

The Singapore Flyer is a giant Ferris wheel located in Singapore, constructed in 2005–2008. Described by its operators as an observation wheel,[2] it reaches 42 stories high, with a total height of 165 m (541 ft), making it the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, 5 m (16 ft) taller than the Star of Nanchang and 30 m (98 ft) taller than the London Eye.

Situated on the southeast tip of the Marina Centre reclaimed land, it comprises a 150 m (492 ft) diameter wheel, built over a three-story terminal building which houses shops, bars and restaurants, and offers broad views of the city centre and beyond to about 45 km (28 mi), including the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan, as well as Johor, Malaysia.

The final capsule was installed on 2 October 2007, the wheel started rotating on 11 February 2008 and it officially opened to the public on 1 March 2008.[1] Tickets for rides on the first 3 nights were sold out for S$8,888 (US$6,271), an auspicious number in Chinese culture.[2] The grand opening for the Flyer was held on 15 April 2008.[3]

Each of the 28 air-conditioned capsules is capable of holding 28 passengers, and a complete rotation of the wheel takes about 30 minutes.[4] Initially rotating in a counter-clockwise direction when viewed from Marina Centre, its direction was changed on 4 August 2008 under the advice of Feng shui masters.[5]

In ottima forma questo modello inglese di fotocamera a soffietto.

In 1834 George Houghton joined the Frenchman[1] Antoine Claudet to manage a glass warehouse in London, under the name Claudet & Houghton.[2] It became George Houghton & Son in 1867, then George Houghton & Sons in 1892.[3]

The company's headquarters at 88/89 High Holborn were called Ensign House in 1901,[4] and the production of the roll film brand Ensign began in 1903. The first Ensign logo was a shop sign with the letter "N" inside, and was replaced in 1911 by the name ENSIGN written inside the British marine flag.[5]

In 1903, the company was incorporated as George Houghton & Sons Ltd.,[6] and in March 1904 it absorbed Holmes Bros. (the maker of the Sanderson cameras), A. C. Jackson, Spratt Bros. and Joseph Levi & Co., to form Houghtons Ltd.[7] The new company carried on the production of the smaller companies it had absorbed, and notably continued production of the Sanderson cameras until 1939.

In the early 1900s the company built a factory for the production of cameras on the Fulbourn Road in Walthamstow.[8] In 1908 this was the biggest British camera factory.[9]

Houghton was a renowned maker of magazine cameras like the Klito. Another characteristic product of Houghton was the Ensignette, a folding camera developed by the Swedish engineer Magnus Neill.

In 1915, Houghtons Ltd. came into a partnership with W. Butcher & Sons Ltd, founding the joint venture Houghton-Butcher Manufacturing Co., Ltd. to share the manufacturing facilities.[10] (This agreement was essential for Butcher, which had no manufacturing plant and was mainly trading imported German cameras before the outbreak of World War I.) The two companies Houghtons and Butcher continued to trade separately, and the camera designs remained distinct.[11]

The two trading companies finally merged on January 1st, 1926 to form Houghton-Butcher (Great-Britain) Ltd., which was renamed Ensign Ltd. in 1930.[12] (The manufacturing company based at Walthamstow kept the name Houghton-Butcher Manufacturing Co., Ltd. until 1945.)[13] The new trading company kept many of Houghtons and Butcher's camera ranges. In 1939 it introduced the Ensign Ful-Vue box camera, one of the most popular cameras of its time in the UK.

The headquarters of the trading company Ensign Ltd. were destroyed by an air raid on the night of September 24–5, 1940.[14] The assets of this company were taken over by Johnson & Sons, but the trademark Ensign was kept by the manufacturing company Houghton-Butcher Manufacturing Co., Ltd., which assumed the advertising and distribution of the Ensign cameras alone until 1945.[15]

In 1945, Houghton-Butcher Manufacturing Co., Ltd. associated with the film maker Elliott & Sons Ltd. (maker of the film brand "Barnet") and became Barnet Ensign Ltd.[16] In 1948 Ross and Barnet Ensign were merged to Barnet Ensign Ross Ltd., which was finally renamed Ross-Ensign Ltd. in 1954.[17]

After World War II, the company soon abandoned the sophisticated Ensign Commando rangefinder camera and continued the range of Ensign Selfix and Ensign Autorange folding cameras, while introducing new models like the Ensign Ranger or the Snapper. Among simpler cameras, a new version of the Ensign Ful-Vue was released in 1946, which was further developed to the Ful-Vue Super and Fulvueflex pseudo-TLR.

The company stopped making cameras in 1961.[18]

Ferstel

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse

Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel

Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse

Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg

The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.

History

In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.

According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.

The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.

He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made ​​of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.

The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.

1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.

The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.

The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.

1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.

(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.

The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.

At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.

Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)

This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.

1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Ferstel

This Book of Hours was completed ca. 1440-50, and likely destined for Tournai. The decoration of this manuscript includes two full-page miniatures, eleven extant smaller miniatures, one historiated initial, and one drollery. The illumination is in the style of the Master of Guillebert de Mets, although the work would have been completed during the closing stage of Mets' career. The Master of Guillebert de Mets' principal disciple was the Master of the Ghent Privileges, with whom he may have been in collaboration, as indicated by numerous comparisons (see Dogaer 1987, 33-37). This book begins with a full-page miniature depicting the Mass of St. Gregory, a folio that appears to have been relocated from its original placement just before fol. 180 to its current location as fol. 2. It should be noted that fol. 2 has experienced extensive paint loss and has since been retouched, although it is unknown by whom or at what time. The unpretentious illumination program could have been the reason for this switch, perhaps to make the manuscript more appealing for a potential buyer.

To explore fully digitized manuscripts with a virtual page-turning application, please visit Walters Ex Libris.

The unpressurized dome is 30 feet (9.1 m) in diameter, six feet (1.8 m) thick at the center, and is held 11 feet (3.4 m) above the fuselage by two struts.[2] It is tilted down 6° at the front to reduce its air drag during take-offs, and while flying endurance speed (which is corrected electronically by both the radar and SSR antenna phase shifters). The dome uses both bleed-air and cooling doors to remove the heat generated by electronic and mechanical equipment. The hydraulically-rotated antenna system permits the Westinghouse Corporation's AN/APY-1 and AN/APY-2 passive electronically scanned array radar system[17] to provide surveillance from the Earth's surface up into the stratosphere, over land or water.

Català:Man NL273F Lions City a la 2 al seu pas per Rambla.

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Castellano:Man NL273F Lions City en la 2 a su paso por Rambla.

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English:Man NL273F Lions City on the route 2 it passes Rambla

The Benetton B192 was a Formula One racing car designed by Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne and raced by the Benetton team in the 1992 Formula One season.

The car had a delayed start in 1992 being debuted at the Spanish Grand Prix while the team made do with an upgraded version of their 1991 challenger for the opening three rounds.

The car was quite competitive with Michael Schumacher and Martin Brundle scoring many podiums with it. Schumacher, in his first full F1 season, came of age as a Grand Prix driver when he won the rain-affected Belgian Grand Prix after a clever pit strategy put him in the lead and he was never bothered.

The car had a very well designed, nimble chassis and it made the most of the disadvantages it inherited with the under-powered Ford V8. It didn't have the sophisticated driver aids of its rivals[citation needed] lacking traction control and ABS.

When Martin Brundle drove the B192 again in 2008 at Silverstone, he recalled that although it was slightly tail-happy, it was very comfortable to drive and said of it "...I can live with it, it's great!".[2] It was a substantial improvement over the previous year's car which Brundle described as being "very heavy on the steering", "a real challenge to drive ... and sometimes it felt like a bathtub with a loose wheel".[3]

Benetton eventually finished 3rd in the Constructor's Championship after scoring points in every race of the season, with Schumacher even finishing 3rd in the Driver's Championship with 53 points, perhaps surprisingly ahead of reigning world champion Ayrton Senna, who won three races to Schumacher's one but who struggled with retirements.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stabiae

The archaeological remains of Stabiae were originally discovered in 1749 by Cavaliere Rocco de Alcubierre, an engineer working for king Charles VII of Naples. These ruins were partially excavated by Alcubierre with help from Karl Weber between 1749–1782. The ruins that had been excavated, however, were reburied and their location was forgotten until 1950, when a high school principal rediscovered them. The site was declared an archaeological protected area in 1957, and by 1962 many of the ruins had been again uncovered. The remains of both an Oscan settlement (oppidum) and the later Roman town were discovered.

The most famous of the findings at Stabiae are the villas that come from the time between the destruction of Stabiae by Sulla in 89 BC and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.As described above, Stabiae became a resort town during this time and was particularly favored for its view of the Bay of Naples and the surrounding mountains. Stabiae was also well known for the quality of its spring water, which was believed to have medicinal properties. The ideal placement and qualities of this location drew many wealthy Romans to build luxurious villas on the ridge overlooking the bay.

Among the many villas found at Stabiae, the most famous are Villa San Marco, Villa Del Pastore, and Villa Arianna. Some of the other villas include Villa Carmiano, Villa del Petraro, and Villa Capella di San Marco.

Villa Arianna

Named for the fresco depicting Dionysus saving Ariadne from the island of Dia (a mythological name for Naxos), this villa is particularly famous for its frescoes, many of which depict light, winged figures.[2] It is difficult to get a clear sense of this villa, however, because it grew over the course of 150 years. It has one of the largest courtyards of any Roman villa; measuring two stadia in length. Another feature of Villa Arianna is its private tunnel system that links the villa in its location on the ridge to the sea shore, which was probably only between 100 and 200 metres away from the bottom of the hill in Roman times. The shoreline has since changed, leaving the archaeological site further inland than it was in antiquity.

nrhp # 81000256- Marion County was organized in 1845 and its first courthouse was built a year later. It was a frame building that was constructed for $700.[2] It also served the community as a school and a church. After 12 years the county sold the building for $928, and the second courthouse was built in 1857 for around $20,000.[2] It was a two-story brick structure that measured 48 by 70 feet (15 m × 21 m).[3] It stood in the center of the public square and housed county offices on the first floor and a courtroom on the second floor. The second courthouse was used for 40 years until it was declared unsafe to use. The present courthouse was designed by Mifflin E. Bell in the Romanesque Revival style. It was completed in 1896 at a cost of $80,000.[2] The courthouse's significance is derived from its association with county government, and the political power and prestige of Knoxville as the county seat.

A monument that was "Erected to the memory of the soldiers, sailors and marines of all wars" was built on the northwest corner of the courthouse square and dedicated on November 11, 1920.[5] The 25-foot (7.6 m) granite shaft is capped with Union soldier from the Civil War. It is located where 40 soldiers enlisted under a tree on February 4, 1863. There is also a case in the courthouse that contains artifacts from the Civil War. There is another monument on the square to Knoxville resident Dixie Cornell Gebhardt, who designed the flag of the state of Iowa.

from Wikipedia

Salento is a town and municipality in the north-east of the department of Quindío, Colombia. The municipality covers an area of 377.67 km2.[2] It was the first settlement in Quindío of the modern era, and the first municipality founded in the department. The town of Salento itself is located 24 km northeast of the departmental capital Armenia. In 2005 the municipality of Salento had an estimated population of 7247, of which 3597 lived in the main urban zone. (WIKIPEDIA)

All Saints was one of the first churches designed by G.F Bodley, an apprentice of Sir George Gilbert Scott. In style it's reminiscent of French Gothic with its saddleback roof on the tower, before Bodley developed his own Early English style. Built in 1861-2, it's an Arts and Crafts church inside and out, with stained-glass windows by Philip Webb, Edward Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown and William Morris, whose company made them. Stained glass apart, the stonework and carving, metalwork and woodwork were all carried out by local craftsmen, most of it also designed by Bodley.

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Saw this on my travels this afternoon.

An adverisement for a mobility shop in Skem, West Lancashire.

I just had to pull over & get a shot, (trust me to notice this) .

I didn't want to go in & point out their error as...1 i didn't want to appear a smartarse....& 2 it might be some twisted ploy to get people in their shop (like Mr Arkwright from TVs open all hours).

Dear oh dear..

Made me chuckle though.

Fun facts (and legends) about Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic:

1. It's 516 meters (1,693 feet) long, and about 10 meters (33 feet) wide.

2. It was built to connect the castle to the Old Town.

3. There are three towers on the bridge: two on the castle side, one on the Old Town side. (I think you can go up one, maybe more, for slightly better panoramic views.)

4. Its construction has a very specific start time: 5:31 a.m. on the 9 July 1357. (Written another way: 1357.9.7.5:31.) So, it's a palindromic bridge. Supposedly stronger because of it. It was completed 45 years later in 1402.

5. The first stone was laid at the above minute by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles, for whom the bridge is named.

6. It didn't get the name "Charles Bridge" until 1870.

It originally had the more creative names of Stone Bridge or Prague Bridge. The river it spans, by the way, is the Vitava.

7. Prague is famous for being the filming locations of a handful of Hollywood movies (Amadeus, Immortal Beloved, Mission Impossible...and the pinnacle of Hollywood production, XXX -- the first one. For those of you who have deigned to sit through that gem, you'll know the setting was Prague. The final scene (well...penultimate) is of Vin Diesel sitting on these little wooden thingies next to the bridge. You're welcome for the memory, everyone...

8. There are 16 arches shielded by ice guards. (I think that's what the little wooden thingies are.)

9. There are 30 statues or statuaries on the bridge -- 15 on each side -- mostly of religious folk, saints and the like -- that were originally erected around 1700. How many of these are original? Zip. Zero. Nada. All replicas, with the originals in the National Museum, it seems.

10. This bridge/river/area is famous for swans. Why they're here and why they stay, I have no idea. But, they're nice. I saw them, but from a distance.

Now for my personal notes...

I've been on a severely sprained ankle the past few days, so haven't done much shooting in Prague, I'm sad to say. But, this bridge? I imagine it's easily the most photogenic (especially for panoramas) in the city. Looking at these pictures, I'm crying for the loss of my DSLRs and P&S cameras earlier this year. These turned out...ok, and a few slightly better than ok.

The problem with this is that every tourist (and all tourist companies) know this. Whatever you do, do NOT come between...I don't know...11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. or afternoon at all unless you love seeing throngs of people photobombing your shots. Come at sunrise or sundown. Sundown would give the best backlighting and blue hour shots of Old Town, and sunrise would give you the misty/foggy shots of the river and Old Town.

If I lived in Prague, this is exactly the place I'd come, probably once a week or every other week, to shoot in different times and seasons. It's that nice of a spot. Of course, I'd do that if I had my cameras back...

The General Motors EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by General Motors from 1996 to 1999.[2] It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker, the first GM car designed to be an electric vehicle from the outset along with being the first and only passenger car to be sold under the corporate General Motors (GM) name instead of being branded under one of its divisions.[3]

The decision to mass-produce an electric car came after GM received a favorable reception for its 1990 Impact electric concept car, upon which the design of the EV1 drew heavily. Inspired partly by the Impact's perceived potential for success, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) subsequently passed a mandate that made the production and sale of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) a requirement for the seven major automakers selling cars in the United States to continue to market their vehicles in California. The EV1 was made available through limited lease-only agreements, initially to residents of the cities of Los Angeles, California, and Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.[4] EV1 lessees were officially participants in a "real-world engineering evaluation" and market study into the feasibility of producing and marketing a commuter electric vehicle in select U.S. markets undertaken by GM's Advanced Technology Vehicles group.[5][6] The cars were not available for purchase, and could be serviced only at designated Saturn dealerships. Within a year of the EV1's release, leasing programs were also launched in San Francisco and Sacramento, California, along with a limited program in the state of Georgia.

While customer reaction to the EV1 was positive, GM believed that electric cars occupied an unprofitable niche of the automobile market, and ended up crushing most of the cars, regardless of protesting customers.[7] Furthermore, an alliance of the major automakers litigated the CARB regulation in court, resulting in a slackening of the ZEV stipulation, permitting the companies to produce super-low-emissions vehicles, natural gas vehicles, and hybrid cars in place of pure electrics. The EV1 program was subsequently discontinued in 2002, and all cars on the road were repossessed. Lessees were not given the option to purchase their cars from GM, which cited parts, service, and liability regulations.[2] The majority of the repossessed EV1s were crushed, and about 40 were delivered to museums and educational institutes with their electric powertrains deactivated, under the agreement that the cars were not to be reactivated and driven on the road. About 20 units were donated to overseas institutions. The only intact EV1 was donated to the Smithsonian Institution.[8]

The EV1's discontinuation remains controversial, with electric car enthusiasts, environmental interest groups and former EV1 lessees accusing GM of self-sabotaging its electric car program to avoid potential losses in spare parts sales (sales forced by government regulations), while also blaming the oil industry for conspiring to keep electric cars off the road.[2] As a result of the forced repossession and destruction of the majority of EV1s, an intact and working EV1 is one of the rarest cars from the 1990s.

The decades before the release of the Impact and the EV1 had seen little in the way of development on the electric car front. The Henney Kilowatt, which ended production in 1961, was the last time a feasible production electric car of any sort had been released; GM's own Electrovair and Electrovette of 1966 and 1976, respectively, never reached production, amounting to little more than conceptual electric conversion kits for the automaker's popular gasoline models. Technical and production costs difficulties were blamed.

In contrast to these cars, the EV1 was designed from the ground up to be an electric vehicle. It was not a conversion of an existing vehicle, nor did it share a drivetrain with another GM model, which contributed to its high development and production costs. The EV1 program was initially administered by a GM engineer named Kenneth Baker, who had been the lead on the Electrovette program in the 1970s.

Drivetrain[edit]

The car's 3-phase AC induction electric motor produced 137 brake horsepower (102 kW) at 7000 rpm. Like electric trains and all vehicles with an electric motor (and unlike a car powered by an internal combustion engine), the EV1 could deliver its full torque capacity throughout its power band, producing 110 pound-feet (149 newton-meters) of torque anywhere between 0 and 7000 rpm, allowing the omission of a manual or automatic gearbox. Power was delivered to the front wheels through a single-speed reduction integrated transmission.

Battery[edit]

The Gen I EV1 models, released in 1996, used lead-acid batteries, which weighed 1,175 lb (533 kg). The first batch of batteries were provided by GM's Delphi branch; these were rated at 53 amp-hours at 312 volts (16.5 kWh), and initially provided a range of 60 miles (97 km) per charge. Gen II cars, released in 1999, used a new batch of lead-acid batteries provided by Panasonic, which now weighed 1,310 lb (594 kg);[59] some Gen I cars were retrofitted with this battery pack. The Japanese batteries were rated at 60 amp-hours (18.7 kWh) at 312 volts, and increased the EV1's range to 100 miles (161 km). Soon after the rollout of the second generation cars, the originally intended nickel metal hydride (NiMH) "Ovonic" battery pack, which reduced the car's curb weight to 2,908 lb (1,319 kg) entered production; this pack was also retrofitted to earlier cars (both battery pack designs were led and invented by John E. Waters under the Delco Remy organization). The NiMH batteries, rated at 77 amp-hours (26.4 kWh) at 343 volts, gave the cars a range of 160 miles (257 km) per charge, more than twice what the original Gen I cars could drive with.

It took the NiMH-equipped cars as much as eight hours to charge to full capacity (though an 80% charge could be achieved in between one and three hours). The Panasonic battery pack consisted of twenty-six 12 volt, 60 amp-hour lead-acid batteries holding 67.4 megajoules (18.7 kWh) of energy. The NiMH packs contained twenty-six 13.2 volt, 77 Ah nickel-metal hydride batteries which held 95.1 megajoules (26.4 kWh) of energy.[60]

Who Killed the Electric Car?

The demise of the EV1 is the subject of a 2006 documentary film entitled Who Killed the Electric Car?. Much of the film accounts for GM's efforts to demonstrate to California that there was no demand for their product and then to reclaim and dispose of every EV1 manufactured. A few vehicles were disabled and given to museums and universities, but almost all were found to have been crushed, or shredded using a special machine, as seen in the documentary.[73] However, apparently one or more EV1s did remain in private hands: director Francis Ford Coppola showed off his EV1 on "Jay Leno's Garage," though whether it is driveable is unclear.[74] GM responded to the film's claims, laying out several reasons why the EV1 was not commercially viable at the time.[citation needed] One theory discussed in the documentary is that the EV1 program was eliminated because it threatened the oil industry.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1

At Hounslow Bus Station on route 237 is Volvo B9TL/Wright Gemini 2. It is the only 59 plate example new to Metroline having being delivered early for the new route 237 in January 2010.

© Omid Mossavat

Cahaba, also spelled Cahawba, was the first permanent state capital of Alabama from 1820 to 1825.[2] It is now a ghost town and state historic site. The site is located in Dallas County, southwest of Selma

Capital

Cahaba had its beginnings as an undeveloped town site at the confluence of the Alabama and Cahaba Rivers. At the old territorial capital of St. Stephens, a commission was formed on 13 February 1818 to select the site for Alabama's state capital. Cahaba was the site chosen and was approved on 21 November 1818.[3] Due to the future capital being nothing more than wilderness, Alabama's constitutional convention was forced to find temporary accommodations in Huntsville until a statehouse could be built. Governor William Wyatt Bibb reported in October 1819 that the town had been laid out and that lots would be auctioned to the highest bidders.[3] The town was planned on a grid system with streets running north and south named for trees and those running east and west named for famous men. The new statehouse was a two-story brick structure, measuring 40 feet (12 m) wide by 58 feet (18 m) long. By 1820 Cahaba had become a functioning state capital.[2] Cahaba's low elevation at the confluence of two large rivers gave it a reputation for flooding and having an unhealthy atmosphere. A major flood struck the town in 1825, causing a portion of the statehouse to collapse. People who were opposed to the capital's location at Cahaba used this as an argument for moving the capital to Tuscaloosa, which was approved by the legislature in January 1826.[3][4]

[edit] Antebellum

The town would remain the county seat of Dallas County for several more decades.[5] The town eventually recovered from losing the capital and reestablished itself as a social and commercial center. Cahaba, centered in the fertile "Black Belt", became a major distribution point for cotton shipped down the Alabama River to the port of Mobile. The addition of a railroad line in 1859 triggered a building boom in the town of Cahaba. On the eve of the American Civil War, more than 3,000 people called Cahaba home.[2]

During the Civil War, the Confederate government seized Cahaba's railroad and reappropriated the iron rails to extend another nearby railroad of military importance. A large cotton warehouse on the riverbank along Arch Street was stockaded for use as a prison, known as Castle Morgan from 1863 to 1865.[5] In February 1865 another flood inundated the town, causing much additional hardship for the roughly 3000 Union soldiers held in the prison, and for the town's citizens. Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and Union General James H. Wilson discussed an exchange of prisoners, captured during the Battle of Selma, in Cahaba at the Crocheron mansion.

[edit] Postbellum

In 1866, the county seat was moved to nearby Selma, with businesses and families following. Within ten years, many of the houses and churches were dismantled and moved away.[2] During Reconstruction, the vacant courthouse became a meeting place for freedmen seeking new political power. A new rural community of former slave families replaced the old urban center. These families turned the vacant town blocks into fields and garden plots, though soon, even this community largely disappeared. Prior to the turn of the century, a former slave purchased most of the old town site for $500. He had the abandoned buildings demolished for their building materials and shipped by steamboat to Mobile and Selma.[3] By 1903, most of Cahaba's buildings were gone; only a handful of structures survived past 1930.[3][6]

[edit] Modern

Although the area is no longer inhabited, the Alabama Historical Commission maintains Cahaba as a state historic site and as an important archaeological site. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[7] Visitors to this park can still see many of the abandoned streets, cemeteries, and ruins of this former state capital.[6]

[edit] Folklore

The town, and later its abandoned site, was the setting for many ghost stories during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the most widely-known is that of a ghostly orb in a now-vanished garden maze at the home of C. C. Pegues. The house was located on a lot that occupied a block between Pine and Chestnut streets. The purported haunting was recorded with “Specter in the Maze at Cahaba” in 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey.[8]