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Seybold Building is a historic jewelry building in Miami, Florida. It was designed by Kiehnel and Elliott. The building was erected in two stages. The first three levels of the building were completed in 1921. John Seybold had a bakery and confectionery business which he operated on the main floor. An additional seven stories were added above the annex in 1925. The Seybold Building is a City of Miami historic landmark. Seybold sold the complex in 1941. It is a National Register of Historic Places contributing property as part of the Downtown Miami Historic District.
The Seybold building was built back in 1926 as the brainchild of its namesake, John Seybold, who moved to Miami in the late 19th century and eventually set up a bakery. That business burned down, but he bounced back with another bakery. He then went on to run a shopping mall, called an arcade back then, that became the basis of the 10-story Seybold building, which is the second largest diamond and jewelry center in the United States at 166,000 square feet (15,400 m2). The plan to transform the Seybold Building into a jeweler's hub had a helping hand from the Cuban revolution. At the start of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro directed his regime to confiscate businesses all over Cuba causing a mass exodus off the island. This resulted in Cuban goldsmiths starting manufacturing in the US with the Seybold Building being the biggest spot, where individuals continually - seven days a week manufacture from scratch diamond wedding rings. Handmade Cuban Link necklaces, all types of earrings, pendants, bracelets, & cufflink. Numerous Cuban engravers perform artisan stone setting, specializing in engraving, fabrication & wax carving using gold, silver & precious metals. Platinum is the most durable for wedding rings, lost-wax casting using a silversmithing or goldsmithing process in which a liquid material - in this case Platinum is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process. Platinum normally has a melting temperature of 1,700 °C (3,090 °F).
In the 1960s, the building's first jeweler moved in. Jeffrey Buchwald, a Hungarian immigrant who first opened his jewelry shop on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, moved to Miami to escape the cold. Today, Buchwald Jewelers is a third generation, family-run business, and co-owner Jeff Buchwald recalls visiting his family's store when he was just a kid. "We were the first jewelers in the building — back then there were a few stores and a lot of lawyers", Buchwald said. "By the time I took over 25 years ago, there were a lot more jewelers".
Mario's Casting, a second-generation family-run jewelry manufacturing business, immigrating to the United States in 1969 to try and pick up where they had left off. "In the 1970s, a lot of Cubans were coming over and making a home for their jewelry business in downtown Miami", said Martha Camero, one of the owners and operators of Mario's Casting. "As more and more jewelers moved into the Seybold Building, lawyers started moving out. Pretty soon, every single floor was filled with jewelry makers of all kinds.
Building
The majority of the tenants are still jewelry and watch merchants, diamond cutters, repair shops and other specialty gem shops.
Awards
The Seybold Jewelry Building was named Best Place to Buy a Diamond Ring by Miami New Times in 2009.
Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seybold_Building
www.historicpreservationmiami.com/pdfs/2011%20designation...
www.miaminewtimes.com/best-of/2009/shopping-and-services/...
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Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, France, 32 kilometres (20 miles) east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disneyland Park is the original theme park of the complex, opening in 1992. A second theme park, Walt Disney Studios Park, opened in 2002. Disneyland Paris celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022; by then 375 million people had visited, making it the most visited theme park in Europe. It is the second Disney park outside the United States, following the opening of the Tokyo Disney Resort in 1983, and the largest. Disneyland Paris is also the only Disney resort outside of the United States to be completely owned by The Walt Disney Company. It includes seven hotels: Disney Hotel Santa Fe, Disney Hotel Cheyenne, Sequoia Lodge, Newport Bay Club, Hotel New York – the Art of Marvel, The Disneyland Hotel, and Davy Crockett Ranch.
Disneyland Paris is considered to be the largest single-site employer in France with its 17,000 employees.
Ownership
Walt Disney announced a €1 billion ($1.25 billion) bailout plan to rescue its subsidiary Disneyland Paris, the Financial Times reported on 6 October 2014. The park is burdened by its debt, which is calculated at about €1.75 billion ($2.20 billion) and roughly 15 times its gross average earnings.
Until June 2017, Disney only held a minority stake in the resort. In 2017, The Walt Disney Company offered an informal takeover of Euro Disney S.C.A., buying 9% of the company from Kingdom Holding and an open offer of 2 euros per share for the remaining stock. This brought The Walt Disney Company's total ownership to 85.7%. The Walt Disney company also invested an additional 1.5 billion euros to strengthen and develop Disneyland Paris. In June 2017, Disney completed a tender offer to own over 97% of Euro Disney and then implemented a full buyout of the shares they did not already own. In 2018, after taking full control of Disneyland Paris, Walt Disney reported its plans to invest 2 billion euro ($2.47 billion) in Disneyland Paris. The investment aimed to expand the park with a lake and new themed areas based on Marvel superheroes, Disney's animated movie Frozen and Star Wars. The investment also sought to develop 'new attractions and live entertainment experiences'.
History
Following the success of Disneyland in California, plans to build a similar theme park in Europe emerged in 1966 with sites in Frankfurt, Paris, London or Milan under consideration. Under the leadership of E. Cardon Walker, Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983 in Japan with instant success, forming a catalyst for international expansion. In late 1984 the heads of Disney's theme park division, Dick Nunis and Jim Cora, presented a list of approximately 1,200 possible European locations for the park. Britain, France, Italy and Spain were all considered. However, Britain and Italy were dropped from the list due to both lacking a suitable expanse of flat land. By March 1985, the number of possible locations for the park had been reduced to four; two in France and two in Spain. Both nations saw the potential economic advantages of a Disney theme park and offered competing financing deals to Disney.
Both Spanish sites were located near the Mediterranean and offered a subtropical climate similar to Disney's parks in California and Florida. Disney had asked each site to provide average temperatures for every month for the previous 40 years, which proved a complicated endeavour as none of the records were computerised. The site in Pego, Alicante became the front-runner, but the location was controversial as it would have meant the destruction of Marjal de Pego-Oliva marshlands, a site of natural beauty and one of the last homes of the almost extinct Samaruc or Valencia Toothcarp, so there was some local outcry among environmentalists. Disney had also shown interest in a site near Toulon in southern France, not far from Marseille. The pleasing landscape of that region, as well as its climate, made the location a top competitor for what would be called Euro Disneyland. However, shallow bedrock was encountered beneath the site, which would have rendered construction too difficult. Finally, a site in the rural town of Marne-la-Vallée was chosen because of its proximity to Paris and its central location in Western Europe. This location was estimated to be no more than a four-hour drive for 68 million people and no more than a two-hour flight for a further 300 million.
Michael Eisner signed the first letter of agreement with the French government for the 20-square-kilometre (4,940-acre) site on 18 December 1985, and the first financial contracts were drawn up during the following spring. The final contract was signed by the leaders of the Walt Disney Company and the French government and territorial collectivities on 24 March 1987. Construction began in August 1988, and in December 1990, an information centre named "Espace Euro Disney" was opened to show the public what was being constructed. Plans for a theme park next to Euro Disneyland based on the entertainment industry, Disney-MGM Studios Europe, quickly went into development, scheduled to open in 1996 with a construction budget of US$2.3 billion. The construction manager was Bovis.
In order to provide lodging to patrons, it was decided that 5,200 Disney-owned hotel rooms would be built within the complex. In March 1988, Disney and a council of architects (Frank Gehry, Michael Graves, Robert A.M. Stern, Stanley Tigerman, and Robert Venturi) decided on an exclusively American theme in which each hotel would depict a region of the United States. At the time of the opening in April 1992, seven hotels collectively housing 5,800 rooms had been built.
An entertainment, shopping, and dining complex based on Walt Disney World's Downtown Disney was designed by Frank Gehry.
With its towers of oxidised silver and bronze-coloured stainless steel under a canopy of lights, it opened as Festival Disney. For a projected daily attendance of 55,000, Euro Disney planned to serve an estimated 14,000 people per hour inside the Euro Disneyland park. In order to accomplish this, 29 restaurants were built inside the park (with a further 11 restaurants built at the Euro Disney resort hotels and five at Festival Disney). Menus and prices were varied with an American flavor predominant and Disney's precedent of not serving alcoholic beverages was continued in the park.
2,300 patio seats (30% of park seating) were installed to satisfy Europeans' expected preference of eating outdoors in good weather. In test kitchens at Walt Disney World, recipes were adapted for European tastes. Walter Meyer, executive chef for menu development at Euro Disney and executive chef of food projects development at Walt Disney World noted, "A few things we did need to change, but most of the time people kept telling us, 'Do your own thing. Do what's American'."
Recruitment/employment
Unlike Disney's American theme parks, Euro Disney aimed for permanent employees (an estimated requirement of 12,000 for the theme park itself), as opposed to seasonal and temporary part-time employees. Casting centres were set up in Paris, London, and Amsterdam. However, it was understood by the French government and Disney that "a concentrated effort would be made to tap into the local French labour market". Disney sought workers with sufficient communication skills, who spoke two European languages (French and one other), and were socially outgoing. Following precedent, Euro Disney set up its own Disney University to train workers. 24,000 people had applied by November 1991.
In 2011, the park provided 55,643 direct and indirect jobs in France. According to Damien Audric, Director of Development and the Environment, Disneyland Paris would generate 63,000 jobs by 2022. Overall, in 2022, Disneyland Paris was still Seine-et-Marne's largest employer.
Controversies
The prospect of a Disney park in France was a subject of debate and controversy. Critics, who included prominent French intellectuals, denounced what they considered to be the cultural imperialism of Euro Disney and felt it would encourage an unhealthy American type of consumerism in France. On 28 June 1992, a group of French farmers blockaded Euro Disney in protest of farm policies supported at the time by the United States.
A journalist at the centre-right French newspaper Le Figaro wrote, "I wish with all my heart that the rebels would set fire to [Euro] Disneyland." Ariane Mnouchkine, a Parisian stage director, named the concept a "cultural Chernobyl", a phrase which would be echoed in the media during Euro Disney's initial years.
In response, French philosopher Michel Serres noted, "It is not America that is invading us. It is we who adore it, who adopt its fashions and above all, its words." Euro Disney S.C.A.'s then-chairman Robert Fitzpatrick responded, "We didn't come in and say O.K., we're going to put a beret and a baguette on Mickey Mouse. We are who we are."
Topics of controversy also included Disney's American managers requiring English to be spoken at all meetings and Disney's appearance code for members of staff, which listed regulations and limitations for the use of makeup, facial hair, tattoos, jewellery, and more.
French labour unions mounted protests against the appearance code, which they saw as "an attack on individual liberty". Others criticised Disney as being insensitive to French culture, individualism, and privacy, because restrictions on individual or collective liberties were illegal under French law, unless it could be demonstrated that the restrictions are requisite to the job and do not exceed what is necessary.
Disney countered by saying that a ruling that barred them from imposing such an employment standard could threaten the image and long-term success of the park. "For us, the appearance code has a great effect from a product identification standpoint," said Thor Degelmann, Euro Disney's personnel director. "Without it we couldn't be presenting the Disney product that people would be expecting."
Opening day and early years
Euro Disney opened for employee preview and testing in March 1992. During this time visitors were mostly park employees and their family members, who tested facilities and operations. The press was able to visit the day before the park's opening day on 12 April 1992.
On 12 April 1992, Euro Disney Resort and its theme park, Euro Disneyland, officially opened. Visitors were warned of chaos on the roads. A government survey indicated that half a million people carried by 90,000 cars might attempt to enter the complex. French radio warned traffic to avoid the area. By midday, the car park was approximately half full, suggesting an attendance level below 25,000. Explanations of the lower-than-expected turnout included speculation that people heeded the advice to stay away and that the one-day strike that cut the direct RER railway connection to Euro Disney from the centre of Paris made the park inaccessible. Due to the European recession that August, the park faced financial difficulties as there were a lack of things to do and an overabundance of hotels, leading to underperformance. The failure of Euro Disney caused the cancellation of several projects like WestCOT, Disney's America, Tomorrowland 2055 at Disneyland and Beastly Kingdom at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
A new Indiana Jones roller-coaster ride was opened at Euro Disney in 1993. A few weeks after the ride opened there were problems with the emergency brakes which resulted in guest injuries.
In 1994, the company was still having financial difficulties. There were rumours that Euro Disney was getting close to having to file for bankruptcy. The banks and the backers had meetings to work out some of the financial problems facing Euro Disney. In March 1994, Team Disney went into negotiations with the banks so that they could get some help for their debt. As a last resort, the Walt Disney Company threatened to close the Disneyland Paris park, leaving the banks with the land.
In May 1992, entertainment magazine The Hollywood Reporter reported that about 25% of Euro Disney's workforce, approximately 3,000 people, had resigned from their jobs because of unacceptable working conditions. It also reported that the park's attendance was far behind expectations. The disappointing attendance can be at least partly explained by the recession and increased unemployment, which was affecting France and most of the rest of the developed world at this time; when construction of the resort began, the economy was still on an upswing.
Euro Disney S.C.A. responded in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, in which Robert Fitzpatrick claimed only 1,000 people had left their jobs. In response to the financial situation, Fitzpatrick ordered that the Disney-MGM Studios Europe project would be put on halt until a further decision could be made. Prices at the hotels were reduced.
Despite these efforts in May 1992, park attendance was around 25,000 (some reports give a figure of 30,000) instead of the predicted 60,000. The Euro Disney Company stock price spiraled downwards and on 23 July 1992, Euro Disney announced an expected net loss in its first year of operation of approximately 300 million French francs. During Euro Disney's first winter, hotel occupancy was so low that it was decided to close the Newport Bay Club hotel during the season.
Initial hopes were that each visitor would spend around US$33 per day, but near the end of 1992, analysts found spending to be around 12% lower. Efforts to improve attendance included serving alcoholic beverages with meals inside the Euro Disneyland park, in response to a presumed European demand, which began 12 June 1993.
By the summer of 1994, Euro Disney was burdened with $3 billion worth of debt. Disney CFO Richard Nanula and Wall Street financier Steve Norris worked with Alwaleed's business advisor Mustafa Al Hejailan to rescue the overleveraged company. In that deal, Disney's 49 percent stake was reduced to 39 percent, the banks agreed to forego interest payments until 1997, Disney wrote off royalties and fees until 1999, and Alwaleed agreed to pay $345 million for a 24 percent stake in Euro Disney.
1995 turnaround
On 1 October 1994, Euro Disney changed its name to Disneyland Paris. On 31 May 1995, a new attraction opened at the theme park. Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune had been planned since the inception of Disneyland Paris under the name Discovery Mountain, but was reserved for a revival of public interest. With a redesign of the attraction (which had premiered as Space Mountain at the Walt Disney World Resort's Magic Kingdom in 1975) including a "cannon launch" system, inversions, and an on-ride soundtrack, the US$100 million attraction was dedicated in a ceremony attended by celebrities such as Elton John, Claudia Schiffer, and Buzz Aldrin.
On 25 July 1995, Disneyland Paris reported its first quarterly profit of US$35.3 million. On 15 November 1995, the results for the fiscal year ending 30 September 1995 were released; in one year the theme park's attendance had climbed from 8.8 million to 10.7 million, an increase of 21%. Hotel occupancy had also climbed from 60 to 68.5%. After debt payments, Disneyland Paris ended the year with a net profit of US$22.8 million.
2000–2017
As of March 2002, Disneyland Paris underwent a second name change to Disneyland Resort Paris. In 2002, Euro Disney S.C.A. and the Walt Disney Company announced another annual profit for Disneyland Paris. However, it then incurred a net loss in the three years following. By March 2004, the Walt Disney Company had agreed to write off all debt that Euro Disney S.C.A. owed to the Walt Disney Company. On 1 December 2003, Euro Disney S.C.A launched the 'Need Magic?' campaign, which lasted until March 2006 to bring new, first-time European visitors to the resort. And by 2005, having been open fewer than fifteen years, Disneyland Paris had become the number one tourist destination for Europe, outselling the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.
In March 2006, Disneyland Resort Paris launched the advertising campaign "believe in your dreams" and paired with the TGV East European Line to encourage European family attendance to the resort. Shortly after announcing a 12% increase in revenues for the fiscal year of 2007, Euro Disney S.C.A. implemented a "reverse split" consolidation of shares of 100 to 1. August 2008 brought the resort's 200 millionth visitor, and made for the third consecutive year of growth in revenues for the resort as well as a record 15.3 million visitors in attendance.
In 2009, the resort demonstrated dedication to the recruitment of new employment positions, especially for the Christmas and summer seasons, which continued in 2010 and 2011 when 2,000 and 3,000 employment contracts being offered, respectively. The 2009 fiscal year saw a decrease in revenues by 7% and a net loss of 63 million followed by stable revenues at 1.2 billion in fiscal 2010. Euro Disney S.C.A. refinanced their debt to Walt Disney Company again for 1.3 billion euros in September 2012.
A study done by the Inter-ministerial Delegation reviewing Disneyland Paris' contribution to the French economy was released in time for the Resort's 20th anniversary in March 2012. It found that despite the resort's financial hardships, it has generated "37 billion euros in tourism-related revenues over twenty years", supports on average 55,000 jobs in France annually, and that one job at Disneyland Paris generates nearly three jobs elsewhere in France.
For the first time in the resort's history, both the Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park closed from 14 to 17 November 2015, as part of France's national days of mourning following the November 2015 Paris attacks.
In 2015, Euro Disney announced major renovations for 2015, 2016 and 2017 in preparation for the complex's 25th anniversary.
The Themed Entertainment Association considers Disneyland Paris to be the leading European resort in 2016 with a total of 13,37 million visitors. With two amusement parks and 5800 rooms, it is followed by the Europa-Park resort with 5,6 million visitors and 953 rooms. The Spanish complex PortAventura World completes the rank top three in Europe. It features two themed-parks and a third being under construction, as well as 2100 rooms.
2017–present: Recent Expansions
On 19 June 2017, the resort's operating company, Euro Disney S.C.A, was acquired by The Walt Disney Company, giving them full control of the resort. In December 2018, Natacha Rafalski took over as CEO. On 1 September 2017 the resort's second nature resort opened as Les Villages Nature Paris.
On 26 March 2017, the opening of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue - a new version of Star Tours - marked the start of Disneyland Paris' 25th anniversary. On 31 March, 2017, forums announced plans for Marvel attractions at Walt Disney Studios Park as well as renovations to the Disneyland Hotel and Disney's Hotel New York in the next ten years. On 14 May 2017, to celebrate Disneyland Paris' 25th anniversary, the park welcomed actors from Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Men Tell No Tales, for the film's European premiere.
On 27 February 2018, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger announced that company would invest €2 billion into the Disneyland Paris resort. The Walt Disney Studios Park will be expanded with three new areas between 2021 and 2025, based upon Marvel, Frozen and Star Wars.
In March 2018, a Disney Parks West regional division was formed with Disneyland Resort in California, Walt Disney World in Florida, and Disneyland Paris under Catherine Powell, outgoing Disneyland Paris president. This mirrors the Disney Parks East regional division consisting of Shanghai Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland and Walt Disney Attractions Japan and headed by Michael Colglazier. In September 2019, Powell exited her post as president of the Parks West division, with the division dissolving, and Disneyland Paris transferred to Disney Parks International, while the East region reverted to its prior name.
On 1 June 2019, Disneyland Paris sponsored the Magical Pride Party, an LGBTQ celebration. Previous similar events have taken place at the park since 2014, but were not officially sponsored by Disney.
Natacha Rafalski was promoted from chief financial officer to president for Disneyland Paris in December 2018. On 15 March 2020, in line with other Disney parks and resorts, Disneyland Paris was shut down due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park reopened to the public on 15 July with the rest of the resort. On 29 October 2020, the resort closed again due to a second nationwide lockdown. Disneyland Paris reopened on 17 June 2021.
In 2022,Disney's shares in Villages Nature Paris were sold.
In 2022, Disneyland Paris celebrated its 30th anniversary. In March 2022, in celebration of its 30th anniversary, Disneyland Paris marked its 30 years with a nightly drone show entitled 'Disney D-Light' in partnership with the Bordeaux-based company Dronisos. The visual spectacle was realized with the use of 200 drones. In fact, Disney D-Light won the Park World Excellence Awards' title of the 'Best Live Entertainment of the Year' in 2022.
In the summer of 2022, to mark the park's anniversary in France, Disneyland Paris inaugurated the Marvel Avengers Campus, an area dedicated to the superheroes of the Marvel Universe, with the presence of the actress Brie Larson who plays Captain Marvel.
At the Expo of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), Disneyland Paris' 30th Anniversary Celebration was elected for the 'Most Creative Property-Wide Event,Amusement Parks and Attractions, Including Water Parks, Annual Attendance More than 1 million'.
Entertainment shows
On 8 July 2017, Disneyland hosted its first-ever EDM festival entitled Electroland, in celebration of Disneyland Paris' 25th anniversary. Steve Aoki, NERVO & Michael Calfan were the main highlights of the first edition. The second edition of the festival was held on 29 and 30 June 2018, which featured Afrojack, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Klingande, Robin Schulz, Bob Sinclair, Mosimann and Lovely Laura & Ben Santiago. The third edition was held over a span of 3 days from 5 July through to 7 July in 2019. The theme of the third edition was based upon Disney's movie The Lion King. The lineup included Steve Aoki, Nervo, Showtek, The Magician, Nicky Romero, Alesso, Armin Van Buuren, Nora En Pure etc. Disneyland also announced the fourth edition of the 3-day festival in 2020 starting from 4 July.
Disney Junior Dream Factory
In July 2021, Disneyland Paris launched a new show; Disney Junior Dream Factory, which lasts 20 minutes and whose theme is 'dare to believe in your dreams and they will come true'. The show includes characters like Mickey, Minnie and Timon. It also features characters like Disney Junior's rising stars Vampirina and Fancy Nancy Clancy, joined by the Dream Factory crew. To enable as many people as possible to take part in the story and the theme of the show, Disneyland Paris presents a French sign language version of the show every weekend.
Together
In July 2023, Disneyland Paris introduced its new show 'Together' which includes Dory, Coco, Buzz Lightyear and all the characters from Pixar films.[91] It is a cine-concert that features a live orchestra with actors on stage, music extracted from the movies and original compositions.
Regional impact
Disneyland Paris is considered to be Europe's leading tourist destination. It is also the driving force behind the urban and economic development of the Val-d’Europe conurbation.
Disneyland is also one of Europe's leading private tourist destinations with nearly 15 million visitors every year. After 25 years of its opening, Disneyland Paris recorded 320 million visits in 2017. The same year, it was reported that Disneyland Paris benefited the French economy by €66 billion in added value since its opening in 1992. It was also noted that Disneyland Paris contributed to the French economy through producing 56,000 direct and indirect jobs in 2017.
Besides, Disneyland Paris contributes to the sector of tourism in France. Indeed, tourists visiting Disneyland Paris generate 6% of tourism revenue in France and 17% of sales in the Ile-de-France region. In 2023, it was reported that more than 375 million visitors have been to Disneyland Paris with an average of 50% French and 50% foreign.
DCIM\101GOPRO
Snorkeling. Xel-Ha Park, Solidariedad, Mexico. Oct/2016
Xel-Ha Park (Parque Xel-Há) is a commercial aquatic theme park and ecotourism development located on the Caribbean coast of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, in the municipality of Solidaridad. It is part of Experiencias Xcaret Group which also owns Xplor Park and Xcaret Park. It is situated within the "Riviera Maya", a region promoted as a tourism corridor along Highway 307. It is approximately 240 kilometres (149 mi) to the north of Chetumal, and 122 kilometres (76 mi) south of Cancun.[1] The park is named after the site of Xelha, an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, part of which is located within the lands leased to the park. The Maya site of Tulum is nearby, some 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) to the south
The theme park was founded in 1984,[3] and is under the management and marketing of the Mexican-owned Experiencias Xcaret Group.[4]
The park is centered around the natural inlet and lagoon, which is promoted as one of the main attractions of the park that forms with the flow of the river through rocks mixing salty waters with fresh underground water currents.
The inlet of Xel-Há is a natural aquarium where hundreds of species inhabit; such as tropical fish and an abundant flora. In the park there is also a turtle reserve, where research is constantly carried out to learn more about marine life and contribute with the ecological maintenance of the area.
A shark fence extends across the lagoon's entrance, and the public is permitted to swim and snorkel in the lagoon. Underwater the limestone has been eroded into a myriad of small caves and grottos.
A variety of aquatic-based activities are offered by the theme park, including snorkelling, scuba diving, and swimming with dolphins.
Source: Wikipedia
Xel-Há [ʃel.'ha] é um parque ecológico situado no estado de Quintana Roo, México. É caracterizado por uma calheta na qual a água dum rio se une ao Mar do Caribe, formando um espaço apropriado para a convivência de 70 espécies marinhas e de água doce. Por esta razão Xel-Há é conhecido como o maior aquário natural do mundo. Além disso, por ser o espaço de vários exemplares de flora e fauna da região, o parque foi premiado com o título de Maravilha Natural do México em uma chamada nacional recente.
Há está localizado em pleno coração da Riviera Maia, 122 km a sul de Cancún, e a 13 km a norte da zona arqueológica de Tulum, pela estrada Cancún-Tulum.
Xel-Há é composto de duas palavras maias que juntas significam "entrada da água", uma referência clara à sua estrutura geográfica, ou seja "lugar onde as águas nascem".
Uma lenda sobre a origem de Xel-Há conta que os deuses maias, depois de terem reunido num só lugar o melhor que tinham criaram três guardiões: Huh, a iguana - guardiã da terra; Mo, a arara - a guardiã dos céus, e Kay-Op, o peixe-papagaio - guardião das águas. Em seguida, os deuses decidiram entregar esse paraíso natural para a humanidade.
Fonte: Wikipedia
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A coolie (alternatively spelled cooli, cooly, quli, koelie, and other such variations), during the 19th and early 20th century, was a term for a locally sourced unskilled labourer hired by a company, mainly from the Indian subcontinent or Southern China.
Today, it is used varyingly as a legal inoffensive word (for example, in India for helpers carrying luggage in railway stations) and also used as a racial slur in Africa for certain people from Asia, particularly in South Africa
ETYMOLOGY
The origins of the word are uncertain but it is thought to have originated from the name of a Gujarati sect (the Kolī, who worked as day labourers) or perhaps from the Tamil word for a payment for work, kuli (கூலி). An alternative etymological explanation is that the word came from the Urdu qulī (क़ुली, قلی), which itself could be from the Turkish word for slave, qul. The word was used in this sense for labourers from India. In 1727, Dr. Engelbert Kämpfer described "coolies" as dock labourers who would unload Dutch merchant ships at Nagasaki in Japan.
The Chinese word 苦力 (pinyin: kǔlì) literally means "bitterly hard (use of) strength", in the Mandarin pronunciation.
HISTORY OF THE COOLIE TRADE
An early trade in Asian labourers is believed to have begun sometime in or around the 16th century. Social and political pressure led to the abolition of the slave trade throughout the British Empire in 1807, with other European nations following suit. Labour-intensive industries, such as cotton and sugar plantations, mines and railway construction, in the colonies were left without a cheap source of manpower. As a consequence, a large scale slavery-like trade in Asian (primarily Indian and Chinese) indentured labourers began in the 1820s to fill this vacuum. Some of these labourers signed contracts based on misleading promises, some were kidnapped and sold into the trade, some were victims of clan violence whose captors sold them to coolie brokers, while others sold themselves to pay off gambling debts. British companies were the first to experiment with this potential new form of cheap labour in 1807, when they imported 200 Chinese men to work in Trinidad.
The coolie trade was often compared to the earlier slave trade and they accomplished very similar things.
Although there are reports of ships for Asian coolies carrying women and children, the great majority of them were men. Finally, regulations were put in place, as early as 1837 by the British authorities in India to safeguard these principles of voluntary, contractual work and safe and sanitary transportation although in practice this rarely occurred especially during examples such as the Pacific Passage or the Guano Pits of Peru. The Chinese government also made efforts to secure the well-being of their nation's workers, with representations being made to relevant governments around the world.
CHINESE COOLIES
Workers from China were mainly transported to work in Peru and Cuba, but they also worked in British colonies such as Jamaica, British Guiana (now Guyana), British Malaya, Trinidad and Tobago, British Honduras (now Belize) and in the Dutch colonies Dutch East Indies and Suriname. The first shipment of Chinese labourers was to the British colony of Trinidad in 1806.
In 1847 two ships from Cuba transported workers to Havana to work in the sugar cane fields from the port of Xiamen, one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened to the British by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. The trade soon spread to other ports in Guangdong province and demand became particularly strong in Peru for workers in the silver mines and the guano collecting industry. Australia began importing workers in 1848 and the United States began using them in 1865 on the First Transcontinental Railroad construction. These workers were deceived about their terms of employment to a much greater extent than their Indian counterparts, and consequently, there was a much higher level of Chinese emigration during this period.
The trade flourished from 1847 to 1854 without incident, until reports began to surface of the mistreatment of the workers in Cuba and Peru. As the British government had political and legal responsibility for many of the ports involved, including Amoy, the trade was shut down at these places. However, the trade simply shifted to the more accommodating port in the Portuguese enclave of Macau.
Many coolies were first deceived or kidnapped and then kept in barracoons (detention centres) or loading vessels in the ports of departure, as were African slaves. In 1875, British commissioners estimated that approximately eighty percent of the workers had been abducted. Their voyages, which are sometimes called the Pacific Passage, were as inhumane and dangerous as the notorious Middle Passage of the Atlantic slave trade. Mortality was very high. For example, it is estimated that from 1847 to 1859, the average mortality for coolies aboard ships to Cuba was 15.2 percent, and losses among those aboard ships to Peru were 40 percent in the 1850s and 30.44 percent from 1860 to 1863.
They were sold and were taken to work in plantations or mines with very bad living and working conditions. The duration of a contract was typically five to eight years, but many coolies did not live out their term of service because of the hard labour and mistreatment. Those who did live were often forced to remain in servitude beyond the contracted period. The coolies who worked on the sugar plantations in Cuba and in the guano beds of the Chincha Islands (the islands of Hell) of Peru were treated brutally. Seventy-five percent of the Chinese coolies in Cuba died before fulfilling their contracts. More than two-thirds of the Chinese coolies who arrived in Peru between 1849 and 1874 died within the contract period. In 1860 it was calculated that of the 4000 coolies brought to the Chinchas since the trade began, not one had survived.
Because of these unbearable conditions, Chinese coolies often revolted against their Ko-Hung bosses and foreign company bosses at ports of departure, on ships, and in foreign lands. The coolies were put in the same neighbourhoods as Africans and, since most were unable to return to their homeland or have their wives come to the New World, many married African women. The coolies' interracial relationships and marriages with Africans, Europeans and Indigenous peoples, formed some of the modern world's Afro-Asian and Asian Latin American populations.
Chinese immigration to the United States was almost entirely voluntary, but working and social conditions were still harsh. In 1868, the Burlingame Treaty allowed unrestricted Chinese immigration into the country. Within a decade significant levels of anti-Chinese sentiment had built up, stoked by populists such as Denis Kearney with racist slogans - "To an American, death is preferable to life on a par with the Chinese."
Although Chinese workers contributed to the building of the first Transcontinental Railroad in the United States and of the Canadian Pacific Railway in western Canada, Chinese settlement was discouraged after completion of the construction. California's Anti-Coolie Act of 1862 and the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 contributed to the curtailment of Chinese immigration to the United States.
Notwithstanding such attempts to restrict the influx of cheap labour from China, beginning in the 1870s Chinese workers helped construct a vast network of levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. These levees made thousands of acres of fertile marshlands available for agricultural production.
The 1879 Constitution of the State of California declared that "Asiatic coolieism is a form of human slavery, and is forever prohibited in this State, and all contracts for coolie labour shall be void."
Colonos asiáticos is a Spanish term for coolies. The Spanish colony of Cuba feared slavery uprisings such as those that took place in Haiti and used coolies as a transition between slaves and free labor. They were neither free nor slaves. Indentured Chinese servants also labored in the sugarcane fields of Cuba well after the 1884 abolition of slavery in that country. Two scholars of Chinese labor in Cuba, Juan Pastrana and Juan Perez de la Riva, substantiated horrific conditions of Chinese coolies in Cuba and stated that coolies were slaves in all but name. Denise Helly is one researcher who believes that despite their slave-like treatment, the free and legal status of the Asian laborers in Cuba separated them from slaves. The coolies could challenge their superiors, run away, petition government officials, and rebel according to Rodriguez Pastor and Trazegnies Granda. Once they had fulfilled their contracts the colonos asiáticos integrated into the countries of Peru, The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Cuba. They adopted cultural traditions from the natives and also welcomed in non-Chinese to experience and participate into their own traditions. Before the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Havana had Latin America's largest Chinatown.
In South America, Chinese indentured labourers worked in Peru's silver mines and coastal industries (i.e., guano, sugar, and cotton) from the early 1850s to the mid-1870s; about 100,000 people immigrated as indentured workers. They participated in the War of the Pacific, looting and burning down the haciendas where they worked, after the capture of Lima by the invading Chilean army in January 1880. Some 2000 coolies even joined the Chilean Army in Peru, taking care of the wounded and burying the dead. Others were sent by Chileans to work in the newly conquered nitrate fields.
The Chinese Engineering and Mining Corporation, of which later U.S. president Herbert Hoover was a director, was instrumental in supplying Chinese coolie labour to South African mines from c.1902 to c.1910 at the request of mine owners, who considered such labour cheaper than native African and white labour. The horrendous conditions suffered by the coolie labourers led to questions in the British parliament as recorded in Hansard.
In 1866, the British, French and Chinese governments agreed to mitigate the abuse by requiring all traders to pay for the return of all workers after their contract ended. The employers in the British West Indies declined these conditions, bringing the trade there to an end. Until the trade was finally abolished in 1875, over 150,000 coolies had been sold to Cuba alone, the majority having been shipped from Macau. These labourers endured conditions far worse than those experienced by their Indian counterparts. Even after the 1866 reforms, the scale of abuse and conditions of near slavery did not get any better - if anything they deteriorated. In the early 1870s increased media exposure of the trade led to a public outcry, and the British, as well as the Qing government, put pressure on the Portuguese authorities to bring the trade at Macau to an end; this was ultimately achieved in 1874. By that time, a total of up to half a million Chinese workers had been exported.
The term coolie was also applied to Chinese workers recruited for contracts on cacao plantations in German Samoa. German planters went to great lengths to secure access to their "coolie" labour supply from China. In 1908 a Chinese commissioner, Lin Shu Fen, reported on the cruel treatment of coolie workers on German plantations in the western Samoan Islands. The trade began largely after the establishment of colonial German Samoa in 1900 and lasted until the arrival of New Zealand forces in 1914. More than 2000 Chinese "coolies" were present in the islands in 1914 and most were eventually repatriated by the New Zealand administration.
INDIAN COOLIES
By the 1820s, many Indians were voluntarily enlisting to go abroad for work, in the hopes of a better life. European merchants and businessmen quickly took advantage of this and began recruiting them for work as a cheap source of labour. The British began shipping Indians to colonies around the world, including Mauritius, Fiji, Natal, British East Africa, and British Malaya. The Dutch also shipped workers to labour on the plantations on Suriname and the Dutch East Indies. A system of agents was used to infiltrate the rural villages of India and recruit labourers. They would often deceive the credulous workers about the great opportunities that awaited them for their own material betterment abroad. The Indians primarily came from the Indo-Gangetic Plain, but also from Tamil Nadu and other areas to the south of the country.
Without permission from the British authorities, the French attempted to illegally transport Indian workers to their sugar producing colony, the Reunion Island, from as early as 1826. By 1830, over 3000 labourers had been transported. After this trade was discovered, the French successfully negotiated with the British in 1860 for permission to transport over 6,000 workers annually, on condition that the trade would be suspended if abuses were discovered to be taking place.
The British began to transport Indians to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, starting in 1829. Slavery had been abolished with the planters receiving two million pounds sterling in compensation for the loss of their slaves. The planters turned to bringing in a large number of indentured labourers from India to work in the sugar cane fields. Between 1834 and 1921, around half a million indentured labourers were present on the island. They worked on sugar estates, factories, in transport and on construction sites.
In 1837, the Raj issued a set of regulations for the trade. The rules provided for each labourer to be personally authorised for transportation by an officer designated by the Government, it limited the length of service to five years subject to voluntary renewal, it made the contractor responsible for returning the worker after the contract elapsed and required the vessels to conform to basic health standards
Despite this, conditions on the ships were often extremely crowded, with rampant disease and malnutrition. The workers were paid a pittance for their labour, and were expected to work in often awful and harsh conditions. Although there were no large scale scandals involving coolie abuse in British colonies, workers often ended up being forced to work, and manipulated in such a way that they became dependent on the plantation owners so that in practice they remained there long after their contracts expired; possibly as little as 10% of the coolies actually returned to their original country of origin. Colonial legislation was also passed to severely limit their freedoms; in Mauritius a compulsory pass system was instituted to enable their movements to be easily tracked. Conditions were much worse in the French colonies of Reunion and Guadeloupe and Martinique, where workers were 'systematically overworked' and abnormally high mortality rates were recorded for those working in the mines.
However, there were also attempts by the British authorities to regulate and mitigate the worst abuses. Workers were regularly checked up on by health inspectors, and they were vetted before transportation to ensure that they were suitably healthy and fit to be able to endure the rigours of labour. Children under the age of 15 were not allowed to be transported from their parents under any circumstances.
The first campaign against the 'coolie' trade in England likened the system of indentured labour to the slavery of the past. In response to this pressure, the labour export was temporarily stopped in 1839 by the authorities when the scale of the abuses became known, but it was soon renewed due to its growing economic importance. A more rigorous regulatory framework was put into place and severe penalties were imposed for infractions in 1842. In that year, almost 35,000 people were shipped to Mauritius.
In 1844, the trade was expanded to the colonies in the West Indies, including Jamaica, Trinidad and Demerara, where the Asian population was soon a major component of the island demographic.
Starting in 1879, many Indians were transported to Fiji to work on the sugar cane plantations. Many of them chose to stay after their term of indenture elapsed and today they number about 40% of the total population. Indian workers were also imported into the Dutch colony of Suriname after the Dutch signed a treaty with the United Kingdom on the recruitment of contract workers in 1870. In Mauritius, the Indian population are now demographically dominant, with Indian festivals being celebrated as national holidays.
This system prevailed until the early twentieth century. Increasing focus on the brutalities and abuses of the trade by the sensationalist media of the time, incited public outrage and lead to the official ending of the coolie trade in 1916 by the British government. By that time tens of thousands of Chinese workers were being used along the Western Front by the allied forces (see Chinese Labour Corps).
SEX RATIOS AND INTERMARRIAGE AMONG COOLIES
A major difference between the Chinese coolie trade and the Indian coolie trade was that the Chinese coolies were all male, while East Indian women (from India) were brought alongside men as coolies. This led to a high rate of Chinese men marrying women of other ethnicities like Indian women and mixed race Creole women. Indian women and children were brought alongside Indian men as coolies while Chinese men made up 99% of Chinese colonies. The contrast with the female to male ratio among Indian and Chinese immigrants has been compared by historians. In Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies just 18,731 Chinese women and 92,985 Chinese men served as coolies on plantations. Chinese women migrated less than Javanese and Indian women as indentured coolies. The number of Chinese women as coolies was "very small" while Chinese men were easily taken into the coolie trade. In Cuba men made up the vast majority of Chinese indentured servants on sugar plantations and in Peru non-Chinese women married the mostly male Chinese coolies.
Chinese women were scarce in every place where Chinese indentured laborers were brought, the migration was dominated by Chinese men. Up to the 1940s men made up the vast majority of the Costa Rican Chinese community. Males made up the majority of the original Chinese community in Mexico and they married Mexican women.
In the early 1900s, the Chinese communities in Manila, Singapore, Mauritius, New Zealand, Victoria in Australia, the United States, and Victoria in British Columbia in Canada were all male dominated.
WIKIPEDIA
Contributing Building - Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College Historic District - National Register of Historic Places
NRIS #96000530
Young served as the second president of what was then Florida A&M College
Built 1928-29
Style: Georgian Revival
Architect: Rudolph Weaver
Contractor: Hardee Construction
Ready to roll
The five student journalists and two faculty members are ready for a day in the field.
NASA/GSFC/Andrea Jones
In June, five student journalists from Stony Brook University packed their hiking boots and hydration packs and joined a NASA-funded science team for 10 days on the lava fields of Kilauea, an active Hawaiian volcano. Kilauea’s lava fields are an ideal place to test equipment designed for use on Earth’s moon or Mars, because volcanic activity shaped so much of those terrains. The trip was part of an interdisciplinary program called RIS4E – short for Remote, In Situ, and Synchrotron Studies for Science and Exploration – which is designed to prepare for future exploration of the moon, near-Earth asteroids and the moons of Mars.
To read reports from the RIS4E journalism students about their experiences in Hawaii, visit ReportingRIS4E.com
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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Unlike the Arctic, which at its centre is an ocean, Antarctica is a landmass that is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. A permanent, massive ice sheet on Antarctica covers 98% of the continent and contains the major freshwater reserves of the globe. Moving permanently towards the coasts, these ice masses form huge flat areas of continental shelf ice when gliding over the continental shelf, of which enormous icebergs can calve into the sea. If climate change is escalating and more of Antarctica's ice sheet is melting it would contribute to major sea level rise.Author: Peter Prokosch
The loss of ice in Greenland and the shrinking of glaciers in other parts of the Arctic currently contribute up to 40% of the average 3 mm global sea level rise per year. A number of studies suggest that Greenland could be a major contributor to a potential rise in sea levels of 0,5 to 1 meter by the end of the century.
For any form of publication, please include the link to this page: www.grida.no/resources/4202
This photo has been graciously provided to be used in the GRID-Arendal resources library by: Peter Prokosch
Contributed to the MattePaint.com Challenge utilizing Michaela Maria Wartbichler base 3D render and painting using the passes. This was a fun challenge to really push the details and realism of this environment. Thank you Michaela and to the MattePaint Community for everything.
Copyright © Ian V / 2020
This 220-mile (350-kilometer) wide view of Pluto from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft illustrates the incredible diversity of surface reflectivities and geological landforms on the dwarf planet. The image includes dark, ancient heavily cratered terrain; bright, smooth geologically young terrain; assembled masses of mountains; and an enigmatic field of dark, aligned ridges that resemble dunes; its origin is under debate. The smallest visible features are 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) in size. This image was taken as New Horizons flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015, from a distance of 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers).
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute.
Read more: 1.usa.gov/1MgG7io
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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Liverpool (/ˈlɪvərpuːl/) is a city in Merseyside, England. A borough from 1207 and a city from 1880, in 2014 the city local government district had a population of 470,537[2] and the Liverpool/Birkenhead metropolitan area had a population of 2,241,000.[2]
Liverpool is in the south west of the historic county of Lancashire in North West England, on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. The town historically lay within the ancient Lancashire division of West Derby known as a "hundred".[5][6]
The urbanisation and expansion of the city were largely brought about by its advantageous location during the industrial revolution status that led to its growth as a major port, which included its participation in the Atlantic slave trade. Liverpool was the port of registry of the ocean liner RMS Titanic, and many other Cunard and White Star ocean liners such as the RMS Lusitania, Queen Mary, and Olympic. Liverpool's status as a port city has contributed to its diverse population, which, historically, was drawn from a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions, particularly those from Ireland. The city is also home to the oldest Black African community in the country and the oldest Chinese community in Europe.
Natives of Liverpool are referred to as Liverpudlians (from a long-standing jocular alteration of 'Liverpool' to 'Liverpuddle') and colloquially as "Scousers", a reference to "scouse", a form of stew. The word "Scouse" has also become synonymous with the Liverpool accent and dialect.[7]
Tourism forms a significant part of the city's modern economy. The city celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2007, and it held the European Capital of Culture title together with Stavanger, Norway, in 2008.[8] Labelled the "World Capital City of Pop" by Guinness World Records, the popularity of The Beatles, and other groups from the Merseybeat era and later, contributes to Liverpool's status as a tourist destination.
Several areas of Liverpool city centre were granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCOin 2004. The Liverpool Maritime Mercantile Cityincludes the Pier Head, Albert Dock, and William Brown Street.[9] Liverpool is also the home of two Premier League football clubs, Liverpool and Everton. Matches between the two are known as the Merseyside derby. The world-famous Grand National also takes places annually at Aintree Racecourse on the outskirts of the city.
Early history
King John's letters patent of 1207 announced the foundation of the borough of Liverpool, but by the middle of the 16th century the population was still only around 500. The original street plan of Liverpool is said to have been designed by King John near the same time it was granted a royal charter, making it a borough. The original seven streets were laid out in an H shape: Bank Street (now Water Street), Castle Street, Chapel Street, Dale Street, Juggler Street (now High Street), Moor Street (now Tithebarn Street) and Whiteacre Street (now Old Hall Street).
In the 17th century there was slow progress in trade and population growth. Battles for the town were waged during the English Civil War, including an eighteen-day siege in 1644. In 1699 Liverpool was made a parish by Act of Parliament, that same year its first slave ship, Liverpool Merchant, set sail for Africa. As trade from the West Indies surpassed that of Ireland and Europe, and as the River Dee silted up, Liverpool began to grow. The first commercial wet dock was built in Liverpool in 1715.[10][11]Substantial profits from the slave trade helped the town to prosper and rapidly grow, although several prominent local men, including William Rathbone, William Roscoe and Edward Rushton, were at the forefront of the abolitionist movement.
In the early 19th century Liverpool played a major role in the Antarctic sealing industry, in recognition of which Liverpool Beach in the South Shetland Islands is named after the city.[12]
By the start of the 19th century, a large volume of trade was passing through Liverpool, and the construction of major buildings reflected this wealth. In 1830, Liverpool and Manchesterbecame the first cities to have an intercity rail link, through the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The population continued to rise rapidly, especially during the 1840s when Irishmigrants began arriving by the hundreds of thousands as a result of the Great Famine. By 1851, approximately 25% of the city's population was Irish-born. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Liverpool was drawing immigrants from across Europe. This is evident from the diverse array of religious buildings located across the city, many of which are still in use today. The Deutsche Kirche Liverpool, Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas, Gustav Adolf Church and Princes Road Synagoguewere all established in the 1800s to serve Liverpool's growing German, Greek, Nordic and Jewish communities respectively. One of Liverpool's oldest surviving churches, St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, served the Polish community in its final years as a place of worship.
Given the crucial place of both cotton and slavery in the city's economy, during the American Civil War Liverpool was, in the words of historian Sven Beckert, "the most pro-Confederate place in the world outside the Confederacy itself."
20th Century
Given the crucial place of both cotton and slavery in the city's economy, during the American Civil War Liverpool was, in the words of historian Sven Beckert, "the most pro-Confederate place in the world outside the Confederacy.
20th century
The Housing Act 1919 resulted in mass council housing building across Liverpool during the 1920s and 1930s. Thousands of families were rehoused from the inner-city to new suburban housing estates, based on the pretext that this would improve their standard of living, though this is largely subjective. A large number of private homes were also built during this era. The process continued after the Second World War, with many more new housing estates being built in suburban areas, while some of the older inner city areas were also redeveloped for new homes. The Great Depression of the early 1930s saw unemployment in the city peak at around 30%.
During the Second World War there were 80 air-raids on Merseyside, killing 2,500 people and causing damage to almost half the homes in the metropolitan area. Significant rebuilding followed the war, including massive housing estates and the Seaforth Dock, the largest dock project in Britain. Much of the immediate reconstruction of the city centre has been deeply unpopular, and was as flawed as much town planning renewal in the 1950s and 1960s – the portions of the city's heritage that survived German bombing could not withstand the efforts of urban renewal. Since 1952 Liverpool has been twinned with Cologne, Germany, a city which also experienced severe aerial bombing during the war.
Like most British cities and industrialised towns, Liverpool became home to a significant number of Commonwealth immigrants after World War II, mostly settling in older inner city areas such as Toxteth. However, a significant West Indian black community had existed in the city as long ago as the first two decades of the 20th century.
In the 1960s Liverpool was the centre of the "Merseybeat" sound which became synonymous with The Beatles and fellow Liverpudlian rock bands.
From the mid-1970s onwards Liverpool's docks and traditional manufacturing industries went into sharp decline. The advent of containerisation meant that the city's docks became largely obsolete. By the early 1980s unemployment rates in Liverpool were once again among the highest in the UK,[14] standing at 17% by January 1982 – although this was just over half of the level of unemployment that was affecting the city in an economic downturn 50 years previously.[15]
In recent years, Liverpool's economy has recovered and has experienced growth rates higher than the national average since the mid-nineties.
21st Century
To celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth IIin 2002, the conservation charity Plantlifeorganised a competition to choose county flowers; the sea-holly was Liverpool's final choice.
Capitalising on the popularity of 1960s rock groups, such as The Beatles, as well as the city's world-class art galleries, museums and landmarks, tourism has also become a significant factor in Liverpool's economy.
In 2004, property developer Grosvenor started the Paradise Project, a £920 m development centred on Paradise Street, which involved the most significant changes to Liverpool's city centre since the post-war reconstruction. Renamed 'Liverpool ONE', the centre opened in May 2008.
In 2007, the city celebrated the 800th anniversary of the foundation of the borough of Liverpool, for which a number of events were planned. Liverpool is a joint European Capital of Culture for 2008. The main celebrations, in September 2008, included La Princesse, a large mechanical spider which is 20 metres high and weighs 37 tonnes, and represents the "eight legs" of Liverpool: honour, history, music, the Mersey, the ports, governance, sunshine and culture. La Princesse roamed the streets of the city during the festivities, and concluded by entering the Queensway Tunnel.
Spearheaded by the multi-billion-poundLiverpool ONE development, regeneration has continued on an unprecedented scale through to the start of the early 2010s in Liverpool. Some of the most significant regeneration projects to have taken place in the city include new buildings in the Commercial District, the King's Dock area, the Mann Island area, the Lime Street Gateway, the Baltic Triangle area, the RopeWalks area and the Edge Lane Gateway. All projects could however soon be eclipsed by the Liverpool Waters scheme which if built will cost in the region of £5.5billion and be one of the largest megaprojects in the UK's history. Liverpool Waters is a mixed use development which will contain one of Europe's largest skyscraper clusters. The project received outline planning permission in 2012, despite fierce opposition from the likes of UNESCO who claim it will have a damaging effect on Liverpool's World Heritage status.
On 9 June 2014, Prime Minister David Cameronlaunched the International Festival for Businessin Liverpool, the world's largest business event in 2014,[16] and the largest in the UK since the Festival of Britain in 1951.[17]
Second city of Empire
For periods during the 19th century the wealth of Liverpool exceeded that of London itself,[18]and Liverpool's Custom House was the single largest contributor to the British Exchequer.[19]Liverpool's status can be judged from the fact that it was the only British city ever to have its own Whitehall office.[20]
The first United States consul anywhere in the world, James Maury, was appointed to Liverpool in 1790, and remained in office for 39 years.
As early as 1851 the city was described as "the New York of Europe"[21] and its buildings, constructed on a heroic, even megalomaniacal, scale stand witness to the supreme confidence and ambition of the city at the turn of the 20th century.[22][editorializing]
Liverpool was also the site of the UK's first provincial airport, operating from 1930, and was the first UK airport to be renamed after an individual – John Lennon.[23]
Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No.1, often seen as Britain's Imperial anthem, was dedicated by the composer to the Liverpool Orchestral Society and had its premiere in the city in October 1901.
During the Second World War, the critical strategic importance of Liverpool was recognised by both Hitler and Churchill, with the city suffering a blitz second only to London's,[24] and the pivotal Battle of the Atlantic being planned, fought and won from Liverpool.[25]
Scan of Slide S4807 The White Glove by George Lambert:
LAMBERT, George
Russia 1873 – Australia 1930
Australia 1887-1900; England 1900-01; France 1901-02; England 1902-21; Australia from 1921
The white glove 1921
oil on canvas
106.0 (h) x 78.0 (w) cm
signed and dated 'G.W.LAMBERT/ 1921' lower right
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, purchased in 1922 Sydney photograph: Jenni Carter for AGNSW
VIEW: Article |
This is a lively bravura portrait of a modern Melbourne woman of fashion, style and elegance. It has an arresting vitality. Her belongings, a luscious blue stole, elegant feathered hat and jewelled ring, are as much the subject of this work as is Miss Collins herself, and contribute to it a sense of opulence. Her flamboyant pose, with her head slightly tilted back and poised to one side, and her arms caught in mid-action, matches her vivacious personality. Her eyes appear to be laughing in accord with her smile and she seems to be deliberately posing or hamming it up for the artist.
The subject, Miss Gladys Neville Collins, was the daughter of J.T. Collins, lawyer, Victorian State Parliamentary draughtsman, and trustee of the Public Library, Museums and National Gallery of Victoria. Lambert appears to have enjoyed painting her portrait and described her to Amy on 10 December 1921 as ‘a dear girl [who] sits for the fun of it and because her Dad thinks I am it’ (ML MSS 97/10, p.393).
Lambert portrayed the individual features of Miss Collins but, with her collaboration, he arranged them to denote a characteristic type. Miss Collins’s tilted head, her half-open mouth, half-closed eyes, and almost-bare right arm suggest an individual sensuality, but they also indicate a form of codified (sexual) behaviour. Lambert's portrait presents a witty version of the pose of Bernini’s Ecstasy of St Teresa 1645–52 (Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome), an established expression of the ecstatic experience, and one which was subsequently taken up by photographers, film-makers and advertisers.
What is more, Lambert presented Miss Collins in a variation of the pose used by Joshua Reynolds in his portrait Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse 1784, which in 1921 (the year Lambert painted this portrait) the Duke of Westminster had controversially sold to The Huntington Library and Art Collection in California. By associating Miss Collins with this classic image of a leading actress, he hinted that she was playing a role in this portrait. It is also possible that Lambert knew Sargent’s Portrait of Ena Wertheimer: a vele gonfie of 1905 (Tate, London), a lively portrait of Ena wearing as a joke a black feathered hat and billowing cloak, painted essentially in black and white. It is similar to Lambert’s painting in its sense of extravagant posture and light-heartedness. If nothing else, both paintings are a reflection of the spirit of the times.
In this portrait Lambert used a limited range of colours to great effect: a dark Manet black and a Gainsborough blue, with the addition of purple in the jewel on a chain around her neck. Lambert paid close attention to the clothing, capturing an array of textures – the lustrous steel-blue silk of her stole, the fluffy white fur collar, the white leather gloves, the transparent black lace sleeve and the black velvet of the hat wreathed with white ostrich plumes.
Lambert painted the portrait with broad brushstrokes, and spontaneously, as a kind of ‘performance in paint’. When exhibited, it stood out from the prevalent brown tonalist portraiture painted at this time by other Australian artists, such as John Longstaff and W.B. McInnes. (W.B. McInnes’s much more restrained Portrait of Miss Collins was awarded the Archibald Prize for 1924 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales).
Lambert’s tour de force was purchased for 600 guineas by the Art Gallery of New South Wales when it was shown at the New South Wales Society of Artists exhibition in 1922; at that time the highest price paid by a public gallery for a portrait by an Australian artist.
The UK government is joining forces with Global Citizen + CHIME FOR CHANGE to bring global attention to the issue of girls’ education.
On 7 July, we will host the Girls’ Education Forum bringing together governments, private sector stakeholders, civil society partners and education champions to drive the implementation of Global Goal 4 to achieve universal, quality education.
Attendees will also include returned volunteers and representatives fromVoluntary Services Overseas, a leading international development organisation funded by the UK government as part of International Citizen Service.
The benefits of educating girls are overwhelming, yet 63 million girls remain out of school. What’s more, many of those in school are not getting the quality education they deserve and are dropping out.
New commitments will be secured which will contribute to improving girls’ learning; ensuring that even the poorest and most marginalised girls have the opportunity to learn; and helping girls get a secondary education.
The UK has helped 11 million children get an education in the last 5 years, training 177,000 teachers, building classrooms and ensuring the poorest girls and boys have school bursaries and textbooks. This work will continue with a commitment to help 11 million girls and boys gain an education by 2020.
Picture: David McClenaghan/VSO
This is the reconstructed Russian Orthodox chapel at Fort Ross, California a fort built and occupied by a Russian fur trading company in the 19th century. Current coastal residents are not surprised to find out that crop failure due to summer fog and gophers contributed heavily to the demise of the settlement.
Liverpool (/ˈlɪvərpuːl/) is a city in Merseyside, England. A borough from 1207 and a city from 1880, in 2014 the city local government district had a population of 470,537[2] and the Liverpool/Birkenhead metropolitan area had a population of 2,241,000.[2]
Liverpool is in the south west of the historic county of Lancashire in North West England, on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. The town historically lay within the ancient Lancashire division of West Derby known as a "hundred".[5][6]
The urbanisation and expansion of the city were largely brought about by its advantageous location during the industrial revolution status that led to its growth as a major port, which included its participation in the Atlantic slave trade. Liverpool was the port of registry of the ocean liner RMS Titanic, and many other Cunard and White Star ocean liners such as the RMS Lusitania, Queen Mary, and Olympic. Liverpool's status as a port city has contributed to its diverse population, which, historically, was drawn from a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions, particularly those from Ireland. The city is also home to the oldest Black African community in the country and the oldest Chinese community in Europe.
Natives of Liverpool are referred to as Liverpudlians (from a long-standing jocular alteration of 'Liverpool' to 'Liverpuddle') and colloquially as "Scousers", a reference to "scouse", a form of stew. The word "Scouse" has also become synonymous with the Liverpool accent and dialect.[7]
Tourism forms a significant part of the city's modern economy. The city celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2007, and it held the European Capital of Culture title together with Stavanger, Norway, in 2008.[8] Labelled the "World Capital City of Pop" by Guinness World Records, the popularity of The Beatles, and other groups from the Merseybeat era and later, contributes to Liverpool's status as a tourist destination.
Several areas of Liverpool city centre were granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCOin 2004. The Liverpool Maritime Mercantile Cityincludes the Pier Head, Albert Dock, and William Brown Street.[9] Liverpool is also the home of two Premier League football clubs, Liverpool and Everton. Matches between the two are known as the Merseyside derby. The world-famous Grand National also takes places annually at Aintree Racecourse on the outskirts of the city.
Early history
King John's letters patent of 1207 announced the foundation of the borough of Liverpool, but by the middle of the 16th century the population was still only around 500. The original street plan of Liverpool is said to have been designed by King John near the same time it was granted a royal charter, making it a borough. The original seven streets were laid out in an H shape: Bank Street (now Water Street), Castle Street, Chapel Street, Dale Street, Juggler Street (now High Street), Moor Street (now Tithebarn Street) and Whiteacre Street (now Old Hall Street).
In the 17th century there was slow progress in trade and population growth. Battles for the town were waged during the English Civil War, including an eighteen-day siege in 1644. In 1699 Liverpool was made a parish by Act of Parliament, that same year its first slave ship, Liverpool Merchant, set sail for Africa. As trade from the West Indies surpassed that of Ireland and Europe, and as the River Dee silted up, Liverpool began to grow. The first commercial wet dock was built in Liverpool in 1715.[10][11]Substantial profits from the slave trade helped the town to prosper and rapidly grow, although several prominent local men, including William Rathbone, William Roscoe and Edward Rushton, were at the forefront of the abolitionist movement.
In the early 19th century Liverpool played a major role in the Antarctic sealing industry, in recognition of which Liverpool Beach in the South Shetland Islands is named after the city.[12]
By the start of the 19th century, a large volume of trade was passing through Liverpool, and the construction of major buildings reflected this wealth. In 1830, Liverpool and Manchesterbecame the first cities to have an intercity rail link, through the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The population continued to rise rapidly, especially during the 1840s when Irishmigrants began arriving by the hundreds of thousands as a result of the Great Famine. By 1851, approximately 25% of the city's population was Irish-born. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Liverpool was drawing immigrants from across Europe. This is evident from the diverse array of religious buildings located across the city, many of which are still in use today. The Deutsche Kirche Liverpool, Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas, Gustav Adolf Church and Princes Road Synagoguewere all established in the 1800s to serve Liverpool's growing German, Greek, Nordic and Jewish communities respectively. One of Liverpool's oldest surviving churches, St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, served the Polish community in its final years as a place of worship.
Given the crucial place of both cotton and slavery in the city's economy, during the American Civil War Liverpool was, in the words of historian Sven Beckert, "the most pro-Confederate place in the world outside the Confederacy itself."
20th Century
Given the crucial place of both cotton and slavery in the city's economy, during the American Civil War Liverpool was, in the words of historian Sven Beckert, "the most pro-Confederate place in the world outside the Confederacy.
20th century
The Housing Act 1919 resulted in mass council housing building across Liverpool during the 1920s and 1930s. Thousands of families were rehoused from the inner-city to new suburban housing estates, based on the pretext that this would improve their standard of living, though this is largely subjective. A large number of private homes were also built during this era. The process continued after the Second World War, with many more new housing estates being built in suburban areas, while some of the older inner city areas were also redeveloped for new homes. The Great Depression of the early 1930s saw unemployment in the city peak at around 30%.
During the Second World War there were 80 air-raids on Merseyside, killing 2,500 people and causing damage to almost half the homes in the metropolitan area. Significant rebuilding followed the war, including massive housing estates and the Seaforth Dock, the largest dock project in Britain. Much of the immediate reconstruction of the city centre has been deeply unpopular, and was as flawed as much town planning renewal in the 1950s and 1960s – the portions of the city's heritage that survived German bombing could not withstand the efforts of urban renewal. Since 1952 Liverpool has been twinned with Cologne, Germany, a city which also experienced severe aerial bombing during the war.
Like most British cities and industrialised towns, Liverpool became home to a significant number of Commonwealth immigrants after World War II, mostly settling in older inner city areas such as Toxteth. However, a significant West Indian black community had existed in the city as long ago as the first two decades of the 20th century.
In the 1960s Liverpool was the centre of the "Merseybeat" sound which became synonymous with The Beatles and fellow Liverpudlian rock bands.
From the mid-1970s onwards Liverpool's docks and traditional manufacturing industries went into sharp decline. The advent of containerisation meant that the city's docks became largely obsolete. By the early 1980s unemployment rates in Liverpool were once again among the highest in the UK,[14] standing at 17% by January 1982 – although this was just over half of the level of unemployment that was affecting the city in an economic downturn 50 years previously.[15]
In recent years, Liverpool's economy has recovered and has experienced growth rates higher than the national average since the mid-nineties.
21st Century
To celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth IIin 2002, the conservation charity Plantlifeorganised a competition to choose county flowers; the sea-holly was Liverpool's final choice.
Capitalising on the popularity of 1960s rock groups, such as The Beatles, as well as the city's world-class art galleries, museums and landmarks, tourism has also become a significant factor in Liverpool's economy.
In 2004, property developer Grosvenor started the Paradise Project, a £920 m development centred on Paradise Street, which involved the most significant changes to Liverpool's city centre since the post-war reconstruction. Renamed 'Liverpool ONE', the centre opened in May 2008.
In 2007, the city celebrated the 800th anniversary of the foundation of the borough of Liverpool, for which a number of events were planned. Liverpool is a joint European Capital of Culture for 2008. The main celebrations, in September 2008, included La Princesse, a large mechanical spider which is 20 metres high and weighs 37 tonnes, and represents the "eight legs" of Liverpool: honour, history, music, the Mersey, the ports, governance, sunshine and culture. La Princesse roamed the streets of the city during the festivities, and concluded by entering the Queensway Tunnel.
Spearheaded by the multi-billion-poundLiverpool ONE development, regeneration has continued on an unprecedented scale through to the start of the early 2010s in Liverpool. Some of the most significant regeneration projects to have taken place in the city include new buildings in the Commercial District, the King's Dock area, the Mann Island area, the Lime Street Gateway, the Baltic Triangle area, the RopeWalks area and the Edge Lane Gateway. All projects could however soon be eclipsed by the Liverpool Waters scheme which if built will cost in the region of £5.5billion and be one of the largest megaprojects in the UK's history. Liverpool Waters is a mixed use development which will contain one of Europe's largest skyscraper clusters. The project received outline planning permission in 2012, despite fierce opposition from the likes of UNESCO who claim it will have a damaging effect on Liverpool's World Heritage status.
On 9 June 2014, Prime Minister David Cameronlaunched the International Festival for Businessin Liverpool, the world's largest business event in 2014,[16] and the largest in the UK since the Festival of Britain in 1951.[17]
Second city of Empire
For periods during the 19th century the wealth of Liverpool exceeded that of London itself,[18]and Liverpool's Custom House was the single largest contributor to the British Exchequer.[19]Liverpool's status can be judged from the fact that it was the only British city ever to have its own Whitehall office.[20]
The first United States consul anywhere in the world, James Maury, was appointed to Liverpool in 1790, and remained in office for 39 years.
As early as 1851 the city was described as "the New York of Europe"[21] and its buildings, constructed on a heroic, even megalomaniacal, scale stand witness to the supreme confidence and ambition of the city at the turn of the 20th century.[22][editorializing]
Liverpool was also the site of the UK's first provincial airport, operating from 1930, and was the first UK airport to be renamed after an individual – John Lennon.[23]
Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No.1, often seen as Britain's Imperial anthem, was dedicated by the composer to the Liverpool Orchestral Society and had its premiere in the city in October 1901.
During the Second World War, the critical strategic importance of Liverpool was recognised by both Hitler and Churchill, with the city suffering a blitz second only to London's,[24] and the pivotal Battle of the Atlantic being planned, fought and won from Liverpool.[25]
1501 contributes to the morning fog.
Constructive criticism always welcome.
More photos can be seen at www.facebook.com/huckfieldphoto/
The Mathematical Association of America's headquarters located at 1529 18th Street, N.W., in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Built in 1903, the Classical Revival style building served as the residence of Charles Evans Hughes when the photo on the left was taken in 1921. (via the Library of Congress) The building is designated as a contributing property to the Dupont Circle Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
In addition to Hughes, previous occupants of the building include the Cuban Legation and its Minister Plenipotentiary Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada, Senator Frederic M. Sackett, the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States, and the Association of the United States Army.
Note: This is one of my older photos I originally uploaded to Wikimedia Commons.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
With the end of the conflict in Africa in early 1974, the Portuguese Armed Forces went through a reorganization and shifted their focus back from counter-insurgency to honoring Portugal's commitments to NATO and preparing for a possible conflict in Europe against the Warsaw Pact. The Portuguese Air Force's F-86F Sabre and G.91 fighters were considered to be outdated in both the air defense and ground attack roles to face Soviet forces in the European operations theater. Furthermore, only a few Sabre fighters were actually in service due to problems with the engines and lack of spare parts.
After the revolution Portugal faced financial problems and the new government didn't see the modernization of the armed forces as a priority. As such the Air Force counted on the support from the United States through the military assistance programs and the offsets and compensations for the use of the Lajes Air Base. In June 1974 the Air Force Chief of Staff, General Manuel Diogo Neto, informed the US Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in Lisbon of the interest in acquiring one F-5E Tiger II squadron and one F-4E Phantom II squadron, as well as T-38A Talon and T-41, to replace the T-33 Shooting Star and the DHC-1 Chipmunk, respectively.
The United States’ NATO delegation was worried about Portugal's capability in contributing to NATO operations and felt that the intention to purchase either the F-4E Phantom II or the F-5E Tiger II to replace the F-86F Sabre was inappropriate, given that the USA felt that the A-7D Corsair II or the A-4N Skyhawk provided a better platform for the Portuguese role in an eventual conflict with the Warsaw Pact, which was to mainly protect the Atlantic Ocean resupply routes from the United States to Europe.
By 1976 the Northrop F-5E Tiger II had become the sole preferred aircraft by the military command, which believed that this aircraft could be supplied by The Pentagon at a lower cost through the Military Assistance Program (MAP) and the Foreign Military Sales (FMS). To this end, Portugal leased Northrop T-38A Talon jet trainers, as part of the "Peace Talon" program, to establish and provide supersonic-capable lead-in fighter training and to eventually provide operational conversion.
Later in March 1976, a camouflage scheme for the F-5 was published in the Diário da República, stirring public awareness and political pressure. Nonetheless, at the time the FAP had already started analyzing the acquisition of the A-7 Corsair II as an alternative to the F-5, per the suggestion of the United States. This led to the acquisition of 30 A-7A Corsair II for 49 million dollars. But even with the A-7 taking precedence, the FAP continued interest in acquiring the F-5 for the air defense role and as a proper replacement for the outdated F-86F Sabre.
As such, a delegation was sent to Norway in July 1979 to evaluate F-5A/B aircraft of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. This offer was turned down, since the offered 11 F-5As turned out to require considerable repairs due to cracks found in the airframe. Furthermore, the FAP was particularly interested in twin-seat F-5 fighters, but the RNoAF did not plan on retiring any of its F-5B aircraft at that time. In November 1984, the United States offered four F-5As with spare engines to Portugal, but this offer was also declined, since the aircraft had already logged over 3,000 flight hours and needed thorough repair, too. In the same year, the RNoAF made a new offer of 15 to 20 F-5A/Bs, but this time the FAP declined, once more due to the airframes’ age and poor condition.
Unable to purchase any F-5 in decent condition, the FAP studied in the meantime the procurement of other second-hand fighters like the French Mirage IIIs or the SAAB 35 Draken. Negotiations with France, even though the preferred partner and with the intention to procure Mirage V fighter bombers, too, went nowhere. Eventually, a deal with Sweden could be settled in 1985 and the Saab 35 was chosen as the FAP’s new air superiority fighter.
The Draken had been developed during the 1940s and 1950s to replace Sweden's first generation of jet-powered fighter aircraft, the Saab J 29 Tunnan and, later, the fighter variant (J 32 B) of the Saab 32 Lansen. Fully developed in Sweden, the Draken was introduced into service with the Swedish Air Force in 1960 under the designation J 35 (the prefix J standing for “Jakt”, meaning “pursuit”). Early models were intended purely to perform air defense missions and the type was considered to be a capable dogfighter for the Cold War era. Later models were technically very advanced and the J 35 underwent a constant development that led to a long line of variants with several upgrades.
By the 1980s, the Swedish Air Force’s Drakens had largely been replaced by the more advanced Saab 37 Viggen fighter, while the introduction of the more capable Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter was expected in service within a decade, although delayed. Many J 35s of earlier versions, primarily the D type as well as some early J 35 F, were therefore mothballed and/or offered for sale. Takers were Finland and Austria, some Draken also sold to private operators in the United States. A dedicated export version for Denmark, rather a strike aircraft than an interceptor, was built, too.
The FAP was interested in the J 35 F, since these aircraft were the most modern Draken variant at the time and the relatively young airframes promised a long service life. An initial batch of eight aircraft – six single seaters plus a pair of two-seat trainers – was leased by Portugal and delivered in 1986. These were effectively refurbished former Swedish Saab J 35 F interceptors and Sk 35 C trainers. Internally at Saab, the Draken versions for Portugal were designated Saab J or Sk 35 XP (“X” for export and “P” for Portugal), but this designation was not adopted officially.
For Portugal, the machines were stripped off of specialized Swedish equipment and instead outfitted with NATO-compatible avionics and other updates like the Hawé mods I & II on the P/S-01/011 radar sets to improve its resistance to ECM. In contrast to the Swedish Saab J 35 F, the avionics that were necessary to deploy the Rb 27 and Rb 28 missiles (Hughes AIM-4 Falcon with radar and IR guidance) were removed and the second gun reinstalled. The J 35 F’s IR sensor under the nose was retained and a Sherloc radar warning system of French origin, as well as chaff/flare dispensers, were added, too.
In Portuguese service, the machines were called Saab 35 FP and TP and dubbed “Dragõe”. The fighters’ main armament were, beyond the internal 30 mm cannons, AIM-9 Sidewinders. Typically, a pair of these missiles was carried under the wings, together with a pair of 500 l drop tanks under the fuselage, since the Draken had no in-flight refueling capability and just a range of 1.120 km (696 mi) in clean configuration and with internal fuel only. The machines retained a secondary strike capability, though, with iron bombs of up to 1.000 lb caliber, napalm tanks and unguided missiles in pods. The trainers were unarmed but could carry an optional single 500 l drop tank on a ventral hardpoint.
The leased aircraft batch arrived in bare metal finish, but, due to the country’s proximity to the open sea, they quickly received an overall coat with a grey anti-corrosive lacquer. They were allocated to Esquadra 201 "Falcões" at Monte Real air base, where they replaced the last operational F-86F’s. They were officially allocated to an interceptor role, but effectively they were primarily used for conversion training, together with the T-38’s which had been based at Monte Real since 1977, too.
With enough trained Draken crews at hand, a second batch of former Swedish Draken (this time twelve single seaters plus two more trainers) was bought and delivered in 1987, the machines from the initial leasing batch were eventually bought, too. This small fleet was split between Esquadra 201 and 103 (the latter at Beja air base), so that the FAP could now field two fully operational interceptor squadrons. Upon arrival, the new machines received a tactical camouflage with toned-down national and the J 35s from the initial batch were re-painted accordingly.
The ongoing process of the modernization of the Portuguese Air Force also included the launching of the SICCAP/PoACCS (Portugal Air Command and Control System) project, which was a pioneer in adopting the new architecture and concept of the NATO ACCS, being intended to replace Portugal’s old SDA air defense system. As part of these project, the air surveillance and detection units were re-equipped, including the reception of new radars and the air control center at Monsanto was enhanced. The Saab 35 FPs became an integral part of this system, so that interceptors could be guided from the ground towards potential targets.
This scenario did not last long, though: The end of the Cold War caused the Portuguese Air Force to accompany the shift of the focus of the Portuguese Armed Forces from a conventional war in Europe against the Warsaw Pact forces to the international peace enforcement missions. The FAP started to participate in a number of missions by itself or in support of missions led by the Army and the Navy, but the Saab 35s were not involved since they remained, due to their small number, dedicated to Portugal’s air space patrol and defense.
With the arrival of the first F-16 Fighting Falcon in 1994, the Saab 35s, as well as the FAP’s A-7 Corsair IIs, were gradually retired and fully replaced until 1998.
The last Saab 35 in Swedish service was retired in 1999, the last Saab 35 Draken was withdrawn from military use in Austria in 2005 – 50 years after the type first flew. However, several aircraft still fly today in private operators’ service.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 15.35 m (50 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 9.42 m (30 ft 11 in)
Height: 3.89 m (12 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 49.2 m2 (530 ft²)
Airfoil: 5%
Empty weight: 7,865 kg (17,339 lb)
Gross weight: 11,000 kg (24,251 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 11,914 kg (26,266 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Svenska Flygmotor RM6C (license-built Rolls Royce Avon with Swedish afterburner)
turbojet engine, 56.5 kN (12,700 lbf) thrust dry, 78.4 kN (17,600 lbf) with afterburner
Performance:
Maximum speed: 2,450 km/h (1,520 mph, 1,320 kn) at 11,000 m (36,089 ft)
Maximum speed: Mach 2
Range: 1.120 km (605 nmi; 696 mi); clean, internal fuel only
Ferry range: 2,750 km (1,480 nmi; 1,710 mi) with four external 500 l drop tanks
Service ceiling: 20,000 m (66,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 199 m/s (39,200 ft/min)
Wing loading: 231.6 kg/m² (47.4 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.7
Takeoff roll: 800 m (2,625 ft)
Armament:
2× 30 mm AKAN M/55 ADEN cannon with 100 rounds per gun
4× hardpoints with a capacity of 2,900 kg (6,393 lb); typical interceptor ordnance:
2× 500 l ventral drop tanks and 2× AIM-9 Sidewinder under the wings
The kit and its assembly:
This what-if model came as a spontaneous idea when I browsed through the WWW for inspiration. I stumbled upon the history of the Portuguese Air Force and the fact that it did not operate any dedicated interceptor for 15 years – this task was taken over by the PAF’s A-7s(!) until the F-16 arrived in the Nineties This gap offered a lot of whiffing potential, and I had actually considered to build a whiffy FAP Mirage III for some time, since I knew that this was, together with the F-5, the favored type. However, there was also serious consideration of the Saab 35 as potential fighter alternative, too!
I found this idea so weird/exotic that I decided to build a Draken in FAP colors. The kit is the Hasegawa model, in a Revell re-boxing. I also considered the vintage Revell Saab 35 (a mold from 1957!), but after I saw the kit in a current re-boxing from Polish company Akkura, I took the chance of a reasonably priced Hasegawa kit instead. While the Akkura kit is crisply molded, it would take a lot of work to create a satisfactory “modern” Draken from it. I also had a Heller kit in store (my personal favorite), but I did not want to “sacrifice” it for this project.
The Hasegawa/Revell kit was basically built OOB. The kit is a simple, straightforward affair, with fine recessed engravings and good fit, but it’s IMHO far from extraordinary. It also has its flaws: the dashboard is totally blank, any instruments have to be created by yourself or taken from the decal sheet. There are ejection marks on the wheels and the landing gear covers, and the fit quality of some areas (e .g. the seam between the fuselage and the afterburner section) calls for PSR. The two-piece canopy is thin, very clear and fits well, the landing gear is sufficiently detailed – including the interior of the main landing gear wells.
For the FAP version I did not change much; I just replaced the seat (which OOB looks fine, I just wanted “something else”), added a radar warning antenna to the fin’s tip and chaff dispensers around the tail section, all carved from styrene profiles.
Unfortunately, the Revell re-boxing just comes with a pair of launch rails and underwing pylons, but no AA weapons at all. That’s acceptable for the anniversary machine that you can build from the kit, but leaves the other option, a grey, Swedish J35 H, without any ordnance.
The drop tanks on my build are OOB, together with their ventral hardpoints, and I added a pair of decent AIM-9J Sidewinders from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapon set for a suitable interceptor ordnance. The launch rails were recycled from the kit: they are actually missile rails with attachment points to mount them under the air intakes. The rails were separated and then attached to the OOB underwing pylons, this worked very well.
Painting and markings:
The livery was not an easy choice. Initially I favored a uniform pale grey livery with blue squadron markings, inspired by the late F-86s of FAP 51 squadron, but found this, despite being a plausible look for an interceptor, to look quite boring. For the same reason I rejected an Austria-style “Hill II” scheme or a light-grey USN-inspired “Compass Ghost” livery. The Hellenic “Ghost” wraparound scheme was another potential option, but I recently used something similar on another whif build (the Catalonian L-159 ALCA), and it would not have a typically Portuguese Cold War look.
Keeping in style with the FAP’s livery fashion during the Eighties, I rather settled upon a USAF SEA scheme, which was carried by many PAF aircraft during the Eighties, e .g. the A-7P, the G.91, and their replacement from 1993 onwards, the Alpha Jet. Instead of a wraparound version for ground attack aircraft, I rather gave the Draken light grey undersides.
The camouflage pattern itself was improvised, since I did not want to copy an existing delta wing aircraft (e.g. the USAF’s F-102 or F-106 SEA pattern, or the Belgian Mirage Vs). The basic colors are Humbrol 75 (Bronze Green; the authentic tone is FS 34079, but this lacks IMHO contrast to the lighter green), 117 (FS 34102) and 118 (FS 30219) from above, and Humbrol 28 (FS 36622) underneath.
A large ventral section was, typical for the J 35, left in bare metal, since leaking fuel and oil would frequently eat away any paint there. The section was painted with Steel Metallizer (ModelMaster) and later treated with Matt Aluminum Metallizer (Humbrol).
Internal details like the cockpit and the landing gear were painted with the help of Swedish and Austrian Saab 35 reference pictures. The cockpit tub was painted in a dark, bluish green (Humbrol 76) with grey-green (Revell 67) side walls. A piece of paper tissue covers the cockpit’s back wall, since the kit leaves a visible and rather ugly seam there, which is only partly hidden behind the seat.
The landing gear and its respective wells were painted with Humbrol 56 (Aluminum Dope), parts of the struts were painted in a bright turquoise (a mix of Humbrol 89 and 80; looks quite weird, but I like such details!). The front wheel received a dark green mudguard (Humbrol 30), the same color was also partially used on the extended emergency current generator. Missiles and launch rails were painted in gloss white (Humbrol 22).
As per usual, the model received a light black ink wash and some post-shading in order to emphasize the panels and dramatize the surface. Some extra weathering was done around the gun ports and the jet nozzle with graphite.
For markings I used the contemporary A-7Ps as benchmark: they were minimal, there were even no squadron markings or other decorations, and I think they even lacked roundels on their wings!
I gave the Draken slightly more markings: The small FAP roundels come from a PrintScale A/T-37 sheet, the fin flashes are from a TL Modellbai sheet and the tactical codes belong to a Japanese T-4 trainer. Most stencils were taken from the Revell OOB sheet, which also includes decals for the reddish sealer around the cockpit windows.
I didn’t want to leave the Draken without any squadron marking, though, so I gave it a blue band on top of the fin, as a reminiscence of the FAP 51 squadron’s markings, the former final F-86 operator which became 201 squadron in the early Eighties. These were simply done with layered white and blue decal stripes.
Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri), except for the black radome, which received a sheen varnish coat.
A relatively simple whif project, since the model was mostly built OOB with just minor cosmetic changes. However, despite its exotic operator, the USAF South East Asia scheme suits the Draken well, the whole thing looks disturbingly convincing!?
It’s also a kind of tribute build for “Sport16ing”, apparently a great fan of my what-if builds who frequently re-posts pictures and background stories (with kind permission to do so!) at deviantart.com.
SN/NC: Dahlia, Asteraceae Family
Dahlia (UK: /deɪliə/ or US: /dɑːliə/) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico. A member of the Asteraceae, dicotyledonous plants, related species include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia. There are 42 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. Flower forms are variable, with one head per stem; these can be as small as 5 cm (2 in) diameter or up to 30 cm (1 ft) ("dinner plate"). This great variety results from dahlias being octoploids—that is, they have eight sets of homologous chromosomes, whereas most plants have only two. In addition, dahlias also contain many transposons—genetic pieces that move from place to place upon an allele—which contributes to their manifesting such great diversity.
Otros nombres de la dahlia, xicamiti,
flor de camote. Proviene de las regiones de Cuernavaca y Tepoztlán, en México. Se conocen más de 2 mil variedades diferentes de esta planta. Crece en forma de mata y puede medir desde unos pocos centímetros hasta más de un metro de altura, según la variedad.
Tiene hojas de forma ovalada, compuestas y de color verde oscuro. Las flores pueden ser de diferentes dimensiones, incluso muy grandes. Los tonos también son variados: rosas, amarillos, púrpuras, rojos, anaranjados, y sus combinaciones.
Dahlia, nome comum dália, é um género botânico pertencente à família Asteraceae. É uma herbácea de porte médio, perene. Quando adulta, a planta chega a atingir até 1,50 metro. É originária do México, onde é muito popular. Os índios daquela região foram os primeiros a cultivar dálias, ainda no período do império Asteca. Por volta do final do século XVIII, o diretor do Jardim Botânico de Madrid encantou-se com a flor, durante uma visita ao México. Foi o suficiente para que a dália atravessasse o oceano e chegasse à Europa, onde se adaptou ao clima temperado.
Foi o botânico sueco Anders Dahl, responsável pela expansão das dálias pela região nórdica da Europa, que inspirou o nome da flor. Os holandeses e os franceses foram os maiores incentivadores do cultivo e da produção de inúmeras espécies híbridas de dálias. Os imigrantes holandeses contribuíram para a propagação desta flor no Brasil. Hoje, entre naturais e híbridas, existem mais de 3 000 variedades, com uma diversificação de formas, cores tamanhos e adaptações a diferentes condições.
Dahlia, nom commun Dahlia, est un genre de plantes fleurissantes de la famille des marguerites. C'est une herbacée de taille moyenne, vivace. En tant qu'adulte, l'usine atteint jusqu'à 1,50 Metro. Il est originaire du Mexique, où il est très populaire. Les Indiens dans cette région ont été les premiers à cultiver Dahlia, encore dans la période de l'Empire aztèque. Vers la fin du XVIIIe siècle, le directeur des jardins botaniques de Madrid a été enchanté par la fleur, lors d'une visite au Mexique. Il suffisait que le dahlia traverse l'océan et atteigne l'Europe, où il s'adapte au climat tempéré.
C'est le botaniste suédois Anders Dahl, responsable de l'expansion des dahlias par la région nordique de l'Europe, qui a inspiré le nom de la fleur. Les Hollandais et les français étaient les plus grands incitatifs pour la culture et la production d'innombrables espèces hybrides de Dahlia. Les immigrés hollandais ont contribué à la propagation de cette fleur au Brésil. Aujourd'hui, entre naturel et hybride, il y a plus de 3 000 variétés, avec une diversification des formes, des tailles de couleurs et des adaptations à différentes conditions.
From this mornings dip in aid of MIND. If contributing please mention the NESD. If you are on here and want the photo removed please let me know
Non-NATO contributing countries were Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and Ukraine. - Romanian troops.
The Bass House stands at 710 Lake Street, and was built using Italianate design ca. 1875. It is a contributing property to the Lake Providence Residential Historic District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Lake Providence, named for the ox bow lake on which the community is located, is a quaint town in the northeast corner of the state, just south of Arkansas. Attempts were made during the Civil War to have it become the South's most important Mississippi River port for transporting cotton after the fall of Vicksburg. This was because of the town's proximity to the Tensas River and the Mississippi. It was thought that a canal (locally known as Ulysses S. Grant's Canal) could be built in 1853 connecting the upper Mississippi to the Tensas, allowing ships to circumvent the Union forces downstream. The action failed, because with the end of the war, the lower Mississippi was liberated.
nrhp # 82003870- Kendall Mill Historic District is a historic mill complex, mill village, and national historic district located at Camden, Kershaw County, South Carolina. The district encompasses 119 contributing buildings, 1 contributing sites, and 1 contributing structure in Camden. The district is centered on the Wateree Plant and associated structures that date from 1899 to 1923. The mill village to the south and southeast of the plant was built between 1900 and ca. 1925 and is a virtually intact reminder of the importance of the textile industry to South Carolina. The mill faces Kendall Park, a ten-acre landscaped park. On the eastern border of the park are the mill supervisors’ houses, built between 1900 and ca. 1925. The operatives house consist of one-story, 1 1/2-story, and a few two-story frame houses which date from 1900 to 1923. The district also includes Kendall Lake, north of the mill. The Dekalb Cotton Mill was organized in 1899. The Dekalb Mill building, designed by W.B. Smith Whaley in the Romanesque Revival style, was considered a model of textile architecture. The original plant building is a four-story rectangular brick building with a back stair tower and an imposing six-story front stair tower. The west addition to the plant, which is in keeping, architecturally, with the older buildings, was constructed in 1964. It is located in the City of Camden Historic District.[2][3]
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
from Wikipedia
Liverpool (/ˈlɪvərpuːl/) is a city in Merseyside, England. A borough from 1207 and a city from 1880, in 2014 the city local government district had a population of 470,537[2] and the Liverpool/Birkenhead metropolitan area had a population of 2,241,000.[2]
Liverpool is in the south west of the historic county of Lancashire in North West England, on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. The town historically lay within the ancient Lancashire division of West Derby known as a "hundred".[5][6]
The urbanisation and expansion of the city were largely brought about by its advantageous location during the industrial revolution status that led to its growth as a major port, which included its participation in the Atlantic slave trade. Liverpool was the port of registry of the ocean liner RMS Titanic, and many other Cunard and White Star ocean liners such as the RMS Lusitania, Queen Mary, and Olympic. Liverpool's status as a port city has contributed to its diverse population, which, historically, was drawn from a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions, particularly those from Ireland. The city is also home to the oldest Black African community in the country and the oldest Chinese community in Europe.
Natives of Liverpool are referred to as Liverpudlians (from a long-standing jocular alteration of 'Liverpool' to 'Liverpuddle') and colloquially as "Scousers", a reference to "scouse", a form of stew. The word "Scouse" has also become synonymous with the Liverpool accent and dialect.[7]
Tourism forms a significant part of the city's modern economy. The city celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2007, and it held the European Capital of Culture title together with Stavanger, Norway, in 2008.[8] Labelled the "World Capital City of Pop" by Guinness World Records, the popularity of The Beatles, and other groups from the Merseybeat era and later, contributes to Liverpool's status as a tourist destination.
Several areas of Liverpool city centre were granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCOin 2004. The Liverpool Maritime Mercantile Cityincludes the Pier Head, Albert Dock, and William Brown Street.[9] Liverpool is also the home of two Premier League football clubs, Liverpool and Everton. Matches between the two are known as the Merseyside derby. The world-famous Grand National also takes places annually at Aintree Racecourse on the outskirts of the city.
Early history
King John's letters patent of 1207 announced the foundation of the borough of Liverpool, but by the middle of the 16th century the population was still only around 500. The original street plan of Liverpool is said to have been designed by King John near the same time it was granted a royal charter, making it a borough. The original seven streets were laid out in an H shape: Bank Street (now Water Street), Castle Street, Chapel Street, Dale Street, Juggler Street (now High Street), Moor Street (now Tithebarn Street) and Whiteacre Street (now Old Hall Street).
In the 17th century there was slow progress in trade and population growth. Battles for the town were waged during the English Civil War, including an eighteen-day siege in 1644. In 1699 Liverpool was made a parish by Act of Parliament, that same year its first slave ship, Liverpool Merchant, set sail for Africa. As trade from the West Indies surpassed that of Ireland and Europe, and as the River Dee silted up, Liverpool began to grow. The first commercial wet dock was built in Liverpool in 1715.[10][11]Substantial profits from the slave trade helped the town to prosper and rapidly grow, although several prominent local men, including William Rathbone, William Roscoe and Edward Rushton, were at the forefront of the abolitionist movement.
In the early 19th century Liverpool played a major role in the Antarctic sealing industry, in recognition of which Liverpool Beach in the South Shetland Islands is named after the city.[12]
By the start of the 19th century, a large volume of trade was passing through Liverpool, and the construction of major buildings reflected this wealth. In 1830, Liverpool and Manchesterbecame the first cities to have an intercity rail link, through the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The population continued to rise rapidly, especially during the 1840s when Irishmigrants began arriving by the hundreds of thousands as a result of the Great Famine. By 1851, approximately 25% of the city's population was Irish-born. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Liverpool was drawing immigrants from across Europe. This is evident from the diverse array of religious buildings located across the city, many of which are still in use today. The Deutsche Kirche Liverpool, Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas, Gustav Adolf Church and Princes Road Synagoguewere all established in the 1800s to serve Liverpool's growing German, Greek, Nordic and Jewish communities respectively. One of Liverpool's oldest surviving churches, St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, served the Polish community in its final years as a place of worship.
Given the crucial place of both cotton and slavery in the city's economy, during the American Civil War Liverpool was, in the words of historian Sven Beckert, "the most pro-Confederate place in the world outside the Confederacy itself."
20th Century
Given the crucial place of both cotton and slavery in the city's economy, during the American Civil War Liverpool was, in the words of historian Sven Beckert, "the most pro-Confederate place in the world outside the Confederacy.
20th century
The Housing Act 1919 resulted in mass council housing building across Liverpool during the 1920s and 1930s. Thousands of families were rehoused from the inner-city to new suburban housing estates, based on the pretext that this would improve their standard of living, though this is largely subjective. A large number of private homes were also built during this era. The process continued after the Second World War, with many more new housing estates being built in suburban areas, while some of the older inner city areas were also redeveloped for new homes. The Great Depression of the early 1930s saw unemployment in the city peak at around 30%.
During the Second World War there were 80 air-raids on Merseyside, killing 2,500 people and causing damage to almost half the homes in the metropolitan area. Significant rebuilding followed the war, including massive housing estates and the Seaforth Dock, the largest dock project in Britain. Much of the immediate reconstruction of the city centre has been deeply unpopular, and was as flawed as much town planning renewal in the 1950s and 1960s – the portions of the city's heritage that survived German bombing could not withstand the efforts of urban renewal. Since 1952 Liverpool has been twinned with Cologne, Germany, a city which also experienced severe aerial bombing during the war.
Like most British cities and industrialised towns, Liverpool became home to a significant number of Commonwealth immigrants after World War II, mostly settling in older inner city areas such as Toxteth. However, a significant West Indian black community had existed in the city as long ago as the first two decades of the 20th century.
In the 1960s Liverpool was the centre of the "Merseybeat" sound which became synonymous with The Beatles and fellow Liverpudlian rock bands.
From the mid-1970s onwards Liverpool's docks and traditional manufacturing industries went into sharp decline. The advent of containerisation meant that the city's docks became largely obsolete. By the early 1980s unemployment rates in Liverpool were once again among the highest in the UK,[14] standing at 17% by January 1982 – although this was just over half of the level of unemployment that was affecting the city in an economic downturn 50 years previously.[15]
In recent years, Liverpool's economy has recovered and has experienced growth rates higher than the national average since the mid-nineties.
21st Century
To celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth IIin 2002, the conservation charity Plantlifeorganised a competition to choose county flowers; the sea-holly was Liverpool's final choice.
Capitalising on the popularity of 1960s rock groups, such as The Beatles, as well as the city's world-class art galleries, museums and landmarks, tourism has also become a significant factor in Liverpool's economy.
In 2004, property developer Grosvenor started the Paradise Project, a £920 m development centred on Paradise Street, which involved the most significant changes to Liverpool's city centre since the post-war reconstruction. Renamed 'Liverpool ONE', the centre opened in May 2008.
In 2007, the city celebrated the 800th anniversary of the foundation of the borough of Liverpool, for which a number of events were planned. Liverpool is a joint European Capital of Culture for 2008. The main celebrations, in September 2008, included La Princesse, a large mechanical spider which is 20 metres high and weighs 37 tonnes, and represents the "eight legs" of Liverpool: honour, history, music, the Mersey, the ports, governance, sunshine and culture. La Princesse roamed the streets of the city during the festivities, and concluded by entering the Queensway Tunnel.
Spearheaded by the multi-billion-poundLiverpool ONE development, regeneration has continued on an unprecedented scale through to the start of the early 2010s in Liverpool. Some of the most significant regeneration projects to have taken place in the city include new buildings in the Commercial District, the King's Dock area, the Mann Island area, the Lime Street Gateway, the Baltic Triangle area, the RopeWalks area and the Edge Lane Gateway. All projects could however soon be eclipsed by the Liverpool Waters scheme which if built will cost in the region of £5.5billion and be one of the largest megaprojects in the UK's history. Liverpool Waters is a mixed use development which will contain one of Europe's largest skyscraper clusters. The project received outline planning permission in 2012, despite fierce opposition from the likes of UNESCO who claim it will have a damaging effect on Liverpool's World Heritage status.
On 9 June 2014, Prime Minister David Cameronlaunched the International Festival for Businessin Liverpool, the world's largest business event in 2014,[16] and the largest in the UK since the Festival of Britain in 1951.[17]
Second city of Empire
For periods during the 19th century the wealth of Liverpool exceeded that of London itself,[18]and Liverpool's Custom House was the single largest contributor to the British Exchequer.[19]Liverpool's status can be judged from the fact that it was the only British city ever to have its own Whitehall office.[20]
The first United States consul anywhere in the world, James Maury, was appointed to Liverpool in 1790, and remained in office for 39 years.
As early as 1851 the city was described as "the New York of Europe"[21] and its buildings, constructed on a heroic, even megalomaniacal, scale stand witness to the supreme confidence and ambition of the city at the turn of the 20th century.[22][editorializing]
Liverpool was also the site of the UK's first provincial airport, operating from 1930, and was the first UK airport to be renamed after an individual – John Lennon.[23]
Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No.1, often seen as Britain's Imperial anthem, was dedicated by the composer to the Liverpool Orchestral Society and had its premiere in the city in October 1901.
During the Second World War, the critical strategic importance of Liverpool was recognised by both Hitler and Churchill, with the city suffering a blitz second only to London's,[24] and the pivotal Battle of the Atlantic being planned, fought and won from Liverpool.[25]
GOD Bless America by Celine Dion
YouTube Name: miraclesongs
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bkc5IQeg78
Published 7/3/16
A “SPECIAL THANK YOU” to all who contributed towards this video!
PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEOS LISTED IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
Carmen Ortiz
VIDEO of the United States of America Flag flapping in the wind.
Tony Joyce
Flickr Name: T0nyJ0yce
On a Mission
Official U.S. Navy Page
Flickr Name: Official U.S. Navy Imagery
USS Carl Vinson conducts a burial at sea.
Marines
Flickr Name: United States Marine Corps Official Page
Rifle Salute
Marines
Flickr Name: United States Marine Corps Official Page
Long Live Liberty
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
US Coast Guard families and service members march in New York City's Veterans Day Parade
Matt Tolliver – Coast Guard [His wife, Jenni Tolliver, is by his side. Jenni is my niece.]
Harry Miller
Flickr Name: HarryMiller002
Autumn in the valley... Winter in the mountains
Anthony Quintano
Inside the September 11th Memorial in New York City
Kyle Brown
Fllckr Name: k.w.b.
Remember - An American flag is placed at the National September 11 Memorial in New York City, Jan 2015.
Anthony Quintano
Tribute in Light memorial next to the new One World Trade (2012)
The New York City Skyline on September 11, 2012
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Fleet Week Embarkment NYC
Jorge Elías
Flickr Name: leoncillo sabino
Lady Liberty
Anthony Quintano
The Statue Of Liberty and the New York City skyline 2014
Jonathan Parker
Flickr Name: jp_42
Blue Angels -Shot at the Chicago Air and Water show...
Dick Rochester
Flickr Name: Let Ideas Compete
June Commuter -Looks of bicycle commuters in Boulder, Colorado in the summer.
Matt Tolliver – Coast Guard [photo provided by Matt Tolliver]
Kevin Dooley
Ocean foam
arbyreed
Flag Day
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Operation Damayan -Marines and U.S. Army Soldiers load supplies onto an MV-22 Osprey.
Matt Tolliver – Coast Guard [photo provided by Matt Tolliver]
James Wood
Flickr Name: BANAMINE
Barbaro's Mom. Photo by David Stephenson.
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
USS John C. Stennis homecoming .
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Albany Ga., Marine Corps Band plays NY High School, Oct 19.
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
57th Presidential Inaugural Parade practice.
MarineCorps NewYork
Flickr Name: NYCMarines
Marines have landed, Fleet Week New York 2011
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Final homecoming flights for 4th SBCT bring home 600 troops, brigade leadership
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
USS Kearsarge - Sailors and Marines display the national ensign in honor of Independence Day aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3).
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
The Sky’s the Limit during 99th RSC Annual Training
Ron Doke
IN MEMORY 2016
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Silent Drill Platoon & Blue Angels 'Fat Albert'
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Coast Guard Station Charlevoix
Matt Tolliver – Coast Guard. Photo provided by Matt Tolliver.
Marines
Flickr Name: United States Marine Corps Official Page
Into the Dark
Carmen Ortiz
Flickr Name: Baking is my Zen
BLUE ANGELS perform at the Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach State Park – 5/25/14
Images by John 'K'
Teamwork
The Blue Angels doing what they do best on display - extremely close formation team flying. Taken during the 2011 NAS Lemoore Central Valley Air Show, celebrating 100 years of US Naval aviation.
arbyreed
Big Rock Candy Mountain - Near Marysvale on highway 89 in Piute County, Utah.
Michael Janke (from Minnesota)
Flickr Name: @Michael
Prairie - MInnesota
Matt Tolliver – Coast Guard. Photo provided by Matt Tolliver.
arbyreed
Sea Foam - Wave at high tide -- Dog Beach in Huntington Beach, CA
arbyreed
Memorial Day 2016 -Mount Timpanogos in the background. Utah County, Utah.
Official U.S. Navy Page
Flickr Name: Official U.S. Navy Imagery
USS Freedom deploys.
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Homecoming for USS McInerney
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
VMFA-115 deploys to Western Pacific.
Tony Joyce
Flickr Name: T0nyJ0yce
Close Flier
arbyreed
Big Rock Candy Mountain -
Dick Rochester
Flickr Name: Let Ideas Compete
Prairie Road -On the west side of Coot Lake in Boulder, Colorado.
Matt Tolliver – Coast Guard. Photo provided by Matt Tolliver.
RosyPics
Atlantic Ocean June 2016
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Man’s best friend helps NC Guardsman with PTSD
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Air Force K-9 unit trains with 42nd CAB aviatiors.
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Regional Command (SouthWest) 9/11 Ceremony
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu wildfires
Official U.S. Navy Page
Flickr Name: Official U.S. Navy Imagery
USS Harry S. Truman conducts flight operations.
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Marching to honor
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Starting the new year off right
Carmen Ortiz
VIDEO of The United States of America Flag flapping in the wind.
Matt Tolliver – Coast Guard. [Matt is on right] Photo provided by Matt Tolliver.
Matt Tolliver [left]and the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, [center].
Ron Doke
July 4 – red, white and blue fireworks
RON DOKE
July 4 - fireworks
Virginia Department of Transportation
Flickr Name: VaDOT
Purple Heart
Carmen Ortiz
Flickr Name: Baking is my Zen
[VIDEO] Blue Angels - Beth Page Air Show 5-25-14
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
JBPHH service members pay tribute to 9/11 victims
Marines
Flickr Name: United States Marine Corps Official Page
Once A Marine...Always A Marine
Marines
Flickr Name: United States Marine Corps Official Page
United States Marine Corps Official Page
Air, Land, Sea
Marines
Flickr Name: United States Marine Corps Official Page
U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A!
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Altus wrangles first day of AMC Rodeo competition
Marines
Flickr Name: United States Marine Corps Official Page
Hanging Out
Official U.S. Navy Page
Flickr Name: Official U.S. Navy Imagery
Sailor stands watch on the flight deck of USS Arlington.
Marines
Flickr Name: United States Marine Corps Official Page
Clear for Takeoff
DVIDSHUB
Flickr Name: DVIDSHUB
Burial at sea ceremony
Official U.S. Navy Page
Flickr Name: Official U.S. Navy Imagery
USS Moniotor Sailors are interred at Arlington.
Official U.S. Navy Page
Flickr Name: Official U.S. Navy Imagery
U.S. Sailors and Marines onboard USS Ashland man the rails of the ship as they come into port in Sattahip, Thailand.
Marines
Flickr Name: United States Marine Corps Official Page
Ohana Hug
Marines
Flickr Name: United States Marine Corps Official Page
A Golden Homecoming
Margie O'Hara
Flickr Name: moo o'hara
Happy 4th of July - nice long weekend on the lake.
Dave Jacquin
Flickr Name: david_jacquin
Front Porch
Carmen Ortiz
Flickr Name: Baking is my Zen
The national flag of the United States of America.
Carmen Ortiz
Flickr Name: Baking is my Zen
Happy 4th of July Weekend
Carmen Ortiz
VIDEO of The national flag of The United States of America by Carmen Ortiz.
END
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Other Military Music Videos by Carmen Ortiz
Star Spangled Banner by Whitney Houston
YouTube Name: miraclesongs
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCcPnjwL4xY
Published on Jul 1, 2014
GOD Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood
YouTube Name: bakingismyzen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_ruJBtX_FQ
Published on Jul 3, 2013
The Devaraja market in Mysore was built during the reign of Chamaraja Wodeyar IX (1868 – 1894). It is said that there was at this place a small weekly market which may have been as old as the origin of the city itself.
Mysore, officially renamed as Mysuru, is the third most populous city in the state of Karnataka, India. Located at the base of the Chamundi Hills about 146 km southwest of the state capital Bangalore, it is spread across an area of 128.42 km2. According to the provisional results of the 2011 national census of India, the population is 887,446. Mysore City Corporation is responsible for the civic administration of the city, which is also the headquarters of the Mysore district and the Mysore division.
Mysore served as the capital city of Kingdom of Mysore for nearly six centuries, from 1399 until 1947. The Kingdom was ruled by the Wodeyar dynasty, except for a brief period in the late 18th century when Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan were in power. Patrons of art and culture, the Wodeyars contributed significantly to the cultural growth of the city. The cultural ambience and achievements of Mysore earned it the sobriquet Cultural capital of Karnataka.
Mysore is noted for its palaces, including the Mysore Palace, and for the festivities that take place during the Dasara festival when the city receives a large number of tourists. It lends its name to the Mysore style of painting, the sweet dish Mysore Pak, the Mysore Peta (a traditional silk turban) and the garment known as the Mysore silk saree. Tourism is the major industry, while information technology has emerged as a major employer alongside the traditional industries. Mysore depends on rail and bus transport for inter-city connections. The city was the location of the first private radio station in India. Mysore houses Mysore University, which has produced several notable authors, particularly in the field of Kannada literature. Cricket is the most popular sport in the city.
ETYMOLOGY
The name Mysore is an anglicised version of Mahishūru, which means the abode of Mahisha in the local Kannada language. Though in Sanskrit Mahisha means buffalo, here Mahisha refers to Mahishasura, a mythological demon who could assume the form of both human and buffalo. According to Hindu mythology, the area was ruled by the demon Mahishasura. The demon was killed by the Goddess Chamundeshwari, whose temple is situated atop the Chamundi Hills. Mahishūru later became Mahisūru (a name which, even now, the royal family uses) and finally came to be called Maisūru, its present name in the Kannada language.
In December 2005, the Government of Karnataka announced its intention to change the English name of the city to Mysuru. This was approved by the Government of India, but as of 2011 the formalities necessary to incorporate the name change were yet to be completed. The central government approved this request in October 2014 and Mysore was renamed (along with other 12 cities) to "Mysuru" on November 1, 2014.
HISTORY
The site where Mysore Palace now stands was occupied by a village named Puragere at the beginning of the 16th century. The Mahishūru Fort was constructed in 1524 by Chamaraja Wodeyar III (1513–1553), who passed on the dominion of Puragere to his son Chamaraja Wodeyar IV (1572–1576). Since the 16th century, the name of Mahishūru has commonly been used to denote the city. The Mysore Kingdom, governed by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire. With the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire after the Battle of Talikota in 1565, the Mysore Kingdom gradually achieved independence, and by the time of King Narasaraja Wodeyar (1637) it had become a sovereign state. Seringapatam (modern-day Srirangapatna), near Mysore, was the capital of the kingdom from 1610. The 17th century saw a steady expansion of its territory and, under Narasaraja Wodeyar I and Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, the kingdom annexed large expanses of what is now southern Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu, to become a powerful state in the southern Deccan.
The kingdom reached the height of its military power and dominion in the latter half of the 18th century under the de facto rulers Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. The latter demolished parts of Mysore to remove legacies of the Wodeyar dynasty. During this time, Mysore kingdom came into conflict with the Marathas, the British and the Nizam of Golconda, leading to the four Anglo-Mysore wars, success in the first two of which was followed by defeat in the third and fourth. After Tipu Sultan's death in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, the capital of the kingdom was moved back to Mysore from Seringapatam, and the kingdom was distributed by the British to their allies of the Fourth Mysore war. The landlocked interior of the previous Mysore Kingdom was turned into a princely state under the suzerainty of the British Crown. The former Wodeyar rulers were reinstated as puppet monarchs, now styled Maharajas. The British administration was assisted locally by Diwan (chief minister) Purnaiah. Purnaiah is credited with improving Mysore's public works. Mysore lost its status as the administrative centre of the kingdom in 1831, when the British commissioner moved the capital to Bangalore.:251 It regained that status in 1881 and remained the capital of the Princely State of Mysore within the British Indian Empire until India became independent in 1947.
The Mysore municipality was established in 1888 and the city was divided into eight wards.:283 In 1897 an outbreak of bubonic plague killed nearly half of the population of the city. With the establishment of the City Improvement Trust Board (CITB) in 1903, Mysore became one of the first cities in Asia to undertake planned development of the city. Public demonstrations and meetings were held there during the Quit India movement and other phases of the Indian independence movement.
After Indian independence, Mysore city remained as part of the Mysore State, now known as Karnataka. Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, then king of Mysore, was allowed to retain his titles and was nominated as the Rajapramukh (appointed governor) of the state. He died in September 1974 and was cremated in Mysore city. Over the years, Mysore became well known as a centre for tourism; the city remained largely peaceful, except for occasional riots related to the Kaveri river water dispute. Among the events that took place in Mysore and made national headlines were a fire at a television studio that claimed 62 lives in 1989, and the sudden deaths of many animals at the Mysore Zoo.
GEOGRAPHY
Mysore is located at 12.30°N 74.65°E and has an average altitude of 770 metres. It is spread across an area of 128.42 km2 at the base of the Chamundi Hills in the southern region of Karnataka. Mysore is the southern-most city of Karnataka, and is a neighbouring city of the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the south, flanked by the state cities Mercara, Chamarajanagara, and Mandya. People in and around Mysore extensively use Kannada as medium of language. Mysore has several lakes, such as the Kukkarahalli, the Karanji, and the Lingambudhi lakes. In 2001, total land area usage in Mysore city was 39.9% residential, 16.1% roads, 13.74% parks and open spaces, 13.48% industrial, 8.96% public property, 3.02% commercial, 2.27% agriculture and 2.02 water. The city is located between two rivers: the Kaveri River that flows through the north of the city and the Kabini River, a tributary of the Kaveri, that lies to the south.
CLIMATE
Mysore has a tropical savanna climate designated Aw under the Köppen climate classification. The main seasons are summer from March to June, the monsoon season from July to November and winter from December to February. The highest temperature recorded in Mysore was 39.4 °C on 4 April 1914, and the lowest was 7.7 °C on 16 January 2012. The city's average annual rainfall is 804.2 mm.
ADMINISTRATION AND UTILITIES
The civic administration of the city is managed by the Mysore City Corporation, which was established as a municipality in 1888 and converted into a corporation in 1977. Overseeing engineering works, health, sanitation, water supply, administration and taxation, the corporation is headed by a mayor, who is assisted by commissioners and council members. The city is divided into 65 wards and the council members (also known as corporators) are elected by the citizens of Mysore every five years. The council members in turn elect the mayor. The annual budget of the Corporation for the year 2011–2012 was ₹426.96 crore (US$63.45 million). Among 63 cities covered under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Mysore City Corporation was adjudged the second best city municipal corporation and was given the "Nagara Ratna" award in 2011.
Urban growth and expansion is managed by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which is headed by a commissioner. Its activities include developing new layouts and roads, town planning and land acquisition. One of the major projects undertaken by MUDA is the creation of an Outer Ring Road to ease traffic congestion. Citizens of Mysore have criticised MUDA for its inability to prevent land mafias and ensure lawful distribution of housing lands among city residents. The Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation is responsible for electric supply to the city.
Drinking water for Mysore is sourced from the Kaveri and Kabini rivers. The city got its first piped water supply when the Belagola project was commissioned in 1896. As of 2011, Mysore gets 42.5 million gallons water per day. Mysore sometimes faces water crises, mainly during the summer months (March–June) and in years of low rainfall. The city has had an underground drainage system since 1904. The entire sewage from the city drains into four valleys: Kesare, Malalavadi, Dalavai and Belavatha. In an exercise carried out by the Urban Development Ministry under the national urban sanitation policy, Mysore was rated the second cleanest city in India in 2010 and the cleanest in Karnataka.
The citizens of Mysore elect four representatives to the Legislative assembly of Karnataka through the constituencies of Chamaraja, Krishnaraja, Narasimharaja and Chamundeshwari. Mysore city, being part of the larger Mysore Lok Sabha constituency, also elects one member to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. The politics in the city is dominated by three political parties: the Indian National Congress (INC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS).
DEMOGRAPHICS
According to the provisional results of the 2011 census of India, Mysore had a population of 887,446, consisting of 443,813 males and 443,633 females, making it the third most populous city in Karnataka. The gender ratio of the city is 1000 females to every 1000 males and the population density is 6,910.5 per square kilometre. According to the census of 2001, 76.8% of thepopulatiion are Hindus, 19% are Muslims, 2.8% are Christians, and the remainder belong to other religions. The population exceeded 100,000 in the census of 1931 and grew by 20.5 per cent in the decade 1991–2001. As of 2011, the literacy rate of the city is 86.84 per cent, which is higher than the state's average of 75.6 per cent. Kannada is the most widely spoken language in the city. Approximately 19% of the population live below the poverty line, and 9% live in slums. According to the 2001 census, 35.75% of the population in the urban areas of Karnataka are workers, but only 33.3% of the population of Mysore are. Members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes constitute 15.1% of the population. According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, the number of cognisable crime incidents reported in Mysore during 2010 was 3,407 (second in the state, after Bangalore's 32,188), increasing from 3,183 incidents reported in 2009.
The residents of the city are known as Mysoreans in English and Mysoorinavaru in Kannada. The dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the sharing of Kaveri river water often leads to minor altercations and demonstrations in the city. Growth in the information technology industry in Mysore has led to a change in the city's demographic profile; likely strains on the infrastructure and haphazard growth of the city resulting from the demographic change have been a cause of concern for some of its citizens.
ECONOMY
Tourism is the major industry in Mysore. The city attracted about 3.15 million tourists in 2010. Mysore has traditionally been home to industries such as weaving, sandalwood carving, bronze work and the production of lime and salt. The planned industrial growth of the city and the state was first envisaged at the Mysore economic conference in 1911. This led to the establishment of industries such as the Mysore Sandalwood Oil Factory in 1917 and the Sri Krishnarajendra Mills in 1920.
For the industrial development of the city, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has established four industrial areas in and around Mysore, in the Belagola, Belawadi, Hebbal and Hootagalli areas. One of the major industrial in the proximity of Mysore is Nanjangud which will be Satellite town to Mysore. Nanjangud industrial area hosts a number of Big industries like Reid and Taylor, Jubiliant, TVS, Asian Paints. Nanjangud Industrial area also boasts being 2nd highest VAT / Sales Tax payer which is about 400+ crores after Peenya which is in state capital Bangalore.
Mysore also hosts many central government organisations like CFTRI, DFRL, CIPET, RPM ( Rare Material Project ), RBI Note printing Press and RBI Paper Printing Press.
The growth of the information technology industry in the first decade of the 21st century has resulted in the city emerging as the second largest software exporter in Karnataka, next to Bangalore. The city contributed Rs. 1363 crore (US$275 million) to Karnataka's IT exports.
Mysore is slowly becoming a consumer city with a very big outside population working with the industries and IT hubs.[citation needed] New housing layouts are appearing every month and the number of supermarkets and other shopping facilities is increasing very fast.
EDUCATION
Before the advent of the European system of education in Mysore, agraharas (Brahmin quarters) provided Vedic education to Hindus, and madrassas provided schooling for Muslims. Modern education began in Mysore when a free English school was established in 1833. Maharaja College was founded in 1864. A high school exclusively for girls was established in 1881 and later converted into the Maharani's Women's College. The Industrial School, the first institute for technical education in the city, was established in 1892; this was followed by the Chamarajendra Technical Institute in 1913. While the modern system of education was making inroads, colleges such as the Mysore Sanskrit college, established in 1876, continued to provide Vedic education. Vivekananda Institute, Mysore is an international organisation giving training to Indians and foreigners in development management.
The education system was enhanced by the establishment of the University of Mysore in 1916, making it the first outside the British administration in India. Other important institutes are CFTRI, MYRA School of Business (founded in 2011) and Mysore Medical College.
CULTURE
Referred to as the cultural capital of South Karnataka, Mysore is well known for the festivities that take place during the period of Dasara, the state festival of Karnataka. The Dasara festivities, which are celebrated over a ten-day period, were first introduced by King Raja Wodeyar I in 1610. On the ninth day of Dasara, called Mahanavami, the royal sword is worshipped and is taken on a procession of decorated elephants, camels and horses. On the tenth day, called Vijayadashami, the traditional Dasara procession (locally known as Jumboo Savari) is held on the streets of Mysore which usually falls in the month of September or October.. the Idol of the Goddess Chamundeshwari is placed on a golden mantapa on the back of a decorated elephant and taken on a procession, accompanied by tabla, dance groups, music bands, decorated elephants, horses and camels. The procession starts from the Mysore Palace and culminates at a place called Bannimantapa, where the banni tree (Prosopis spicigera) is worshipped. The Dasara festivities culminate on the night of Vijayadashami with a torchlight parade, known locally as Panjina Kavayatthu.
Mysore is called the City of Palaces because of several ornate examples in the city. Among the most notable are Amba Vilas, popularly known as Mysore Palace; Jaganmohana Palace, which also serves as an art gallery; Rajendra Vilas, also known as the summer palace; Lalitha Mahal, which has been converted into a hotel; and Jayalakshmi Vilas. The main palace of Mysore was burned down in 1897, and the present-day structure was built on the same site. Amba Vilas palace exhibits an Indo-Saracenic style of architecture on the outside, but a distinctly Hoysala style in the interior. Even though the Government of Karnataka maintains the Mysore palace, a small portion has been allocated for the erstwhile Royal family to live in. The Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion was constructed by Sri Chamaraja Wodeyar for his daughter Jayalakshammanni. It is now a museum dedicated to folk culture and artefacts of the royal family.
The Mysore painting style is an offshoot of the Vijayanagar school of painting, and King Raja Wodeyar (1578–1617 CE) is credited with having been its patron. The distinctive feature of these paintings is the gesso work, to which gold foil is applied. Mysore is known for rosewood inlay work; around 4,000 craftsmen were estimated to be involved in this art in 2002. The city lends its name to the Mysore silk saree, a women's garment made with pure silk and gold zari (thread). Mysore Peta, the traditional indigenous turban worn by the erstwhile rulers of Mysore, is worn by men in some traditional ceremonies. A notable local dessert that traces its history to the kitchen in the Mysore palace is Mysore pak.
Mysore is the location of the International Ganjifa Research Centre, which researches the ancient card game Ganjifa and the art associated with it. The Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA) offers education in visual art forms such as painting, graphics, sculpture, applied art, photography, photojournalism and art history. The Rangayana repertory company performs plays and offers certificate courses in subjects related to theatre. Kannada writers Kuvempu, Gopalakrishna Adiga and U. R. Ananthamurthy were educated in Mysore and served as professors at the Mysore University. R. K. Narayan, a popular English-language novelist and creator of the fictional town of Malgudi, and his cartoonist brother R. K. Laxman spent much of their life in Mysore.
TRANSPORT
ROAD
Mysore is connected by National Highway NH-212 to the state border town of Gundlupet, where the road forks into the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. State Highway 17, which connects Mysore to Bangalore, was upgraded to a four-lane highway in 2006, reducing travel time between the two cities. A project was planned in 1994 to construct a new expressway to connect Bangalore and Mysore. After numerous legal hurdles, it remains unfinished as of 2012. State Highways 33 and 88 which connect Mysore to H D Kote and Madikeri respectively. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and other private agencies operate buses both within the city and between cities. A new division of KSRTC called Mysore City Transport Corporation (MCTC) has been proposed. Within the city, buses are cheap and popular means of transport, auto-rickshaws are also available and tongas (horse-drawn carriages) are popular with tourists. Mysore also has a 42.5-kilometre long ring road that is being upgraded to six lanes by the MUDA.
RAIL
Mysore railway station has three lines, connecting it to Bangalore, Hassan and Chamarajanagar. The first railway line established in the city was the Bangalore–Mysore Junction metre gauge line, which was commissioned in 1882. All railway lines that serve the city are single track at some points and the rest of the stretch is double track, impeding faster connections to the city. All trains that connect to Mysore are operated by South Western Railway Zone, Hubli of Indian Railways. The fastest train to serve the city is the Shatabdi Express.
AIR
Following three decades of dormancy, Mysore Airport was modernised in the mid-2000s, reopening to scheduled passenger service in October 2010. However, airlines have had difficulty maintaining service to the airport. As of August 2016, the airport is without commercial service.
MEDIA
Newspaper publishing in Mysore started in 1859 when Bhashyam Bhashyacharya began publishing a weekly newspaper in Kannada called the Mysooru Vrittanta Bodhini, the first of a number of weekly newspapers published in the following three decades. A well-known Mysore publisher during Wodeyar rule was M. Venkatakrishnaiah, known as the father of Kannada journalism, who started several news magazines. Many local newspapers are published in Mysore and carry news mostly related to the city and its surroundings, and national and regional dailies in English and Kannada are available, as in the other parts of the state. Sudharma, the only Indian daily newspaper in Sanskrit, is published in Mysore.
Mysore was the location of the first private radio broadcasting station in India when Akashavani (voice from the sky) was established in the city on 10 September 1935 by M.V. Gopalaswamy, a professor of psychology, at his house in the Vontikoppal area of Mysore, using a 50-watt transmitter. The station was taken over by the princely state of Mysore in 1941 and was moved to Bangalore in 1955. In 1957, Akashvani was chosen as the official name of All India Radio (AIR), the radio broadcaster of the Government of India. The AIR station at Mysore broadcasts an FM radio channel at 100.6 MHz, and Gyan Vani broadcasts on 105.2. BIG FM and Red FM are the two private FM channels operating in the city.
Mysore started receiving television broadcasts in the early 1980s, when Doordarshan (public service broadcaster of the Indian government) started broadcasting its national channel all over India. This was the only channel available to Mysoreans until Star TV started satellite channels in 1991. Direct-to-home channels are now available in Mysore.
SPORTS
The Wodeyar kings of Mysore were patrons of games and sports. King Krishnaraja Wodeyar III had a passion for indoor games. He invented new board games and popularised the ganjifa card game. Malla-yuddha (traditional wrestling) has a history in Mysore dating back to the 16th century. The wrestling competition held in Mysore during the Dasara celebrations attracts wrestlers from all over India. An annual sports meeting is organised there during the Dasara season too.
In 1997 Mysore and Bangalore co-hosted the city's biggest sports event ever, the National Games of India. Mysore was the venue for six sports: archery, gymnastics, equestrianism, handball, table tennis and wrestling. Cricket is by far the most popular sport in Mysore. The city has four established cricket grounds, but is yet to host an international cricket match. Javagal Srinath, who represented India for several years as its frontline fast bowler, comes from Mysore. Other prominent sportsmen from the city are Prahlad Srinath, who has represented India in Davis Cup tennis tournaments; Reeth Abraham, a national champion in the heptathlon and a long jump record holder; Sagar Kashyap, the youngest Indian to officiate at the Wimbledon Championships; and Rahul Ganapathy, a national amateur golf champion. The Mysore race course hosts a racing season each year from August through October. India's first youth hostel was formed in the Maharaja's College Hostel in 1949.
TOURISM
Mysore is a major tourist destination in its own right and serves as a base for other tourist attractions in the vicinity. The city receives large number of tourists during the 10-day Dasara festival. One of the most visited monuments in India, the Amba Vilas Palace, or Mysore Palace, is the centre of the Dasara festivities. The Jaganmohana Palace, The Sand Sculpture Museum the Jayalakshmi Vilas and the Lalitha Mahal are other palaces in the city. Chamundeshwari Temple, atop the Chamundi Hills, and St. Philomena's Church, Wesley's Cathedral are notable religious places in Mysore.
The Mysore Zoo, established in 1892, the Karanji and Kukkarahalli lakes are popular recreational destinations. Mysore has the Regional Museum of Natural History, the Folk Lore Museum, the Railway Museum and the Oriental Research Institute. The city is a centre for yoga-related health tourism that attracts domestic and foreign visitors, particularly those who, for years, came to study with the late ashtanga yoga guru K. Pattabhi Jois.
A short distance from Mysore city is the Krishnarajasagar Dam and the adjoining Brindavan Gardens, where a musical fountain show is held every evening. Places of historic importance close to Mysore are Srirangapatna, Somanathapura and Talakad. B R Hills, Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta hill and the hill stations of Ooty, Sultan Bathery and Madikeri are close to Mysore. Popular destinations for wildlife enthusiasts near Mysore include the Nagarhole National Park, the wildlife sanctuaries at Melkote and B R Hills and the bird sanctuaries at Ranganathittu and Kokrebellur. Bandipur National Park and Mudumalai National Park, which are sanctuaries for gaur, chital, elephants, tigers, Indian leopards and other threatened species, lie between 64 and 97 km to the south. Other tourist spots near Mysore include the religious locations of Nanjanagud and Bylakuppe and the waterfalls at Shivanasamudra.
SISTER CITIES
Mysore is currently twinned with Cincinnati.
WIKIPEDIA
All photos can be used for free and with no copyright restrictions. A photo of a cactus on the rocks, contributed by Albert van Gent.
If you have any questions or would like to contribute to this archive, please visit www.underjams.art and contact me on Twitter DM or Telegram ♥
Built in 1937-38, this post office is a contributing property to the Chapel Hill Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, and was expanded in 2015.
Chapel Hills is a lovely college town located in the central northern part of North Carolina, in the Piedmont region. The community is home to the University of North Carolina, the state's flagship public university. It forms the southwestern corner of the so called Research Triangle.
The majority of Chapel Hill is located in southeastern Orange County, but small portions of the municipality extend into Chatham and Durham counties.
A shot of a young egret walking between some reeds at low tide. I love the orange, black, and white colors on these birds, I think it's a very cool combination that contributes largely to the beauty of these birds.
The Kiosk at Naqa.
Right next to the Lion Temple is an unidentified edifice known as the Kiosk, reflecting an amalgam of different cultures. Kushite, Egyptian, along with Roman, have all left a distinctive mark on its architecture.
There developed a major cultural link from Alexandria through the Red Sea ports to which Meroe connected. This was associated with the eventual rise of the port towns to become the independent state of Axum, which contributed to the demise of Meroe in 325 A.D.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisbon
Lisbon (Portuguese: Lisboa) is the capital and the largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 505,526 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Its urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits with a population of around 2.8 million people, being the 11th-most populous urban area in the European Union. About 3 million people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (which represents approximately 27% of the country's population). It is mainland Europe's westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the River Tagus. The westernmost areas of its metro area form the westernmost point of Continental Europe, which is known as Cabo da Roca, located in the Sintra Mountains.
Lisbon is recognized as an alpha-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Study Group because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education and tourism. Lisbon is the only Portuguese city besides Porto to be recognized as a global city. It is one of the major economic centres on the continent, with a growing financial sector and one of the largest container ports on Europe's Atlantic coast. Additionally, Humberto Delgado Airport served 26.7 million passengers in 2017, being the busiest airport in Portugal, the 3rd busiest in the Iberian Peninsula and the 20th busiest in Europe, and the motorway network and the high-speed rail system of Alfa Pendular links the main cities of Portugal (such as Braga, Porto and Coimbra) to Lisbon. The city is the 9th-most-visited city in Southern Europe, after Rome, Istanbul, Barcelona, Milan, Venice, Madrid, Florence and Athens, with 3,320,300 tourists in 2017. The Lisbon region contributes with a higher GDP PPP per capita than any other region in Portugal. Its GDP amounts to 96.3 billion USD and thus $32,434 per capita. The city occupies the 40th place of highest gross earnings in the world. Most of the headquarters of multinational corporations in Portugal are located in the Lisbon area. It is also the political centre of the country, as its seat of Government and residence of the Head of State.
Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, and one of the oldest in Western Europe, predating other modern European capitals such as London, Paris, and Rome by centuries. Julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, it was captured by the Moors in the 8th century. In 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural centre of Portugal. Unlike most capital cities, Lisbon's status as the capital of Portugal has never been granted or confirmed officially – by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as de facto capital a part of the Constitution of Portugal.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Justa_Lift
The Santa Justa Lift (Portuguese: Elevador de Santa Justa, pronounced), also called Carmo Lift (Portuguese: Elevador do Carmo), is an elevator, or lift, in the civil parish of Santa Justa, in the historical city of Lisbon, Portugal. Situated at the end of Rua de Santa Justa, it connects the lower streets of the Baixa with the higher Largo do Carmo (Carmo Square).
Since its construction the Lift has become a tourist attraction for Lisbon as, among the urban lifts in the city, Santa Justa is the only remaining vertical (conventional) one. Others, including Elevador da Glória and Elevador da Bica, are actually funicular railways, and the other lift constructed around the same time, the Elevator of São Julião, has since been demolished.
The good doctors at Pataphysical Studios took a break from their madcap adventures to create hundreds of ‘Pataphysical Talismans -- to thank all the folks who worked on the ‘Pataphysical Slot Machine or contribute to our creative network.
These talismans are in the shape of a question mark, and inspired by the Nepali number "1", which represents the unity of all things. This symbol appears below the Buddha’s all-seeing eyes in stupa temples throughout Nepal.
The Pataphysical Talismans can be worn as a necklace or broach, used as ornaments for your home -- or your art. This design was created by Freddy Hahne (a.k.. Dr. Really) and manufactured by Fabrice Florin (a.k.a. Dr. Fabio), using Tam High School's laser printer and wood contributed by Howard Rheingold (a.k.a. Dr. Rindbrain). For our first run, we printed out 300 of these talismans on 1/8” maple plywood.
We then gathered at Pataphysical Studios to art up the talismans on a late fall afternoon. We painted them and decorated them with jewels, from Dr. Canard’s vast collection of ornaments. Each time we completed a talisman, we hit a gong and claimed ‘By the power of the duck!’, to infuse them with special energy for the people we will give them to.
It was a great way to relax and make art together, on our first day back after an intense month-long exhibit at the Mill Valley Library in October.
Visitors to this unique art installation seemed to really enjoy the experience, and we received great feedback about the fun and educational events we hosted along with the exhibit. Learn more: pataphysics.us/join-the-unveiling-of-the-slot-machine
I interviewed Elizabeth Start , who created the amazing gown above. (This is not Urban Woodswalker's creation)
Where did you specifically get all those tabs? (very close to 7,000 pull tabs used)
"Tabs were accumulated through friends, family and here at the office. Even the Glenview Chamber of Commerce contributed."
How many yards of blue ribbon were used, and where did you get all that?
"The ribbon was one of the non-used items that I had to use. " (I think she means not reused but bought new in a store)
"The ribbon, thread and zipper all were purchased. The ribbon was on sale for 25 cents a spool at Michaels. I believe that each spool had 15 yards and I used about 12 spools (forgot to keep track of how much ribbon was used). I guess this dress cost about $10 to make with all the materials I had to buy."
What technique was used to make the dress?
"I am pretty sure its not knitted, or crocheted. I would consider the technique I used more of a weaving technique. I used a large darning needle to weave the ribbon through the tabs."
Have you ever worked with tabs before? If not, how did you come to make this amazing dress with nearly 7,000 tabs?
" I used pop tabs for the trashy fashion show the year before, but on a much smaller scale. I made a Coca-Cola dress using the tabs, old Tyvek envelopes and the boxes from cases of Coke. The tabs were used as an insert into the front of the dress. I have also made a few belts."
1 of 8 photos of this dress
Inspired by The Red Dress that was on display at b-side 2024 (see below) the Portland Dress collects stories of the Isle of Portland thread-by-thread. Co-ordinated by Antje Rook and Sarah Whiteside, some 300 island residents contributed small embroideries that were stitched into the final dress for b-side 2025.
In the foreground, a resident displays the dress whilst the actual dress is on a mannequin in the background.
A Zero 45 pinhole made at Stave hill Ecology Park in Rotherhithe South London, this was one of a body of work I did over a year on the site, Recording some of the events making my own work and contributing to the publications they made in 2016
Historic ca. 1883 Commanding Officer’s Quarters for the former U.S. Arsenal in San Antonio, Texas. Construction of the arsenal started in 1859. Buildings were added in 1870s and 1880s. A building expansion program occurred during World War I. The arsenal was deactivated by the U.S. Army in 1947. H-E-B Grocery Company acquired much of the site in the 1980s for use as the company's corporate headquarters.
The Commanding Officer' s Quarters was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 as a contributing resource to the U.S. San Antonio Arsenal listing (NRHP No. 69000200).
Polish F-16 Fighting Falcons and MiG-29s escort a B1B Lancer during a training mission for Bomber Task Force Europe, May 29, 2020. Aircrews from the 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., took off on their long-range, long-duration Bomber Task Force mission to conduct interoperability training in the Black Sea region. Training with NATO allies and theater partner nations contributes to enhanced interoperability and enables building enduring relationships necessary to confront the broad range of global challenges. (Polish Air Force courtesy photo)
Chitral is the name of a whole district as well as the main town of this district. It draws its name from a tribe known as Chetar. In Khowar, Chetar means a tribe or farm, for the tribe was built upon a big farm. Mountain glaciers, weathering, erosion, tectonic uplift, earthquakes, landslides and floods contribute their share in shaping the area. From the historical viewpoint, Chitral valley is closely connected to the silk route.
Watch a video I shot of this church - nine minutes long - on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_twF8luodI
This church was featured in an episode of the TV show Life After People.
The city of Gary, Indiana was founded as a booming steel city as the twentieth century passed, and areas downtown saw the construction of several impressive buildings during these prosperous early years. In 1925, a cornerstone ceremony took place at 577 Washington St. to commemorate the construction of a Gothic Revival church called City Methodist. It was completed 21 months later, at the cost of one million dollars - $385,000 of which was contributed by the United States Steel Corp. (which also founded the city). Elbert Gary, the chairman of U.S. Steel and origin of the city's name, donated a Skinner organ as well. The Bedford limestone structure consisted of a 50-foot tall sanctuary nave and elaborate stonework, and was able to seat 950 worshipers; City Methodist had a congregation of nearly 3,000 members in its heyday. The building was also home to Seaman Hall - a 1,000 seat auditorium, and a gymnasium with a full size basketball court. Storefronts were built into the building, with hopes that the income would offset the enormous maintenance costs.
During the 1920s, Pastor William Seaman rallied against the power of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana, and welcomed black worshipers into City Methodist during a time when African Americans were not permitted in "white churches."
Gary entered a downward spiral during the 1960s, like many other industrial cities during the period. As U.S. Steel employment dwindled, the residents of Gary moved to nearby suburbs; then as jobs left downtown, city many residents moved out altogether while crime and poverty rose. By 1973 the church's congregation had only 300 members and by 1975 the Methodists moved out of the structure. A second congregation occupied the building until they left in the early 1980s; some storefronts and office space was utilized for a while but soon the entire campus was completely abandoned.
Not long before the second congregation gave up the building, the organ went to a residence in Lansing, Illinois. While an addition was being made to the home and the organ installed, the home burned and most of Op.611 went with it. The console went through the floor into the basement.
City Methodist was burned in the Great Gary Arson of 1997, resulting in a large portion of the roof collapsed or missing. It is now owned by the city of Gary, and its future remains unclear.
A scene from the 2011 movie Transformers 3 was filmed inside this church.
To register your support for saving City Methodist Church, contact David Wright, Gary City Planner, 219-881-5090.
1967 City United Methodist Church Directory (includes old photos)
575 Washington Street
Gary, Indiana 46402
Aurora Aksnes (born 15.6.1996), is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and record producer. Born in Stavanger and raised in the towns of Høle and Os, she began writing her first songs and learning dance at the age of six. After some of her songs were uploaded online and became popular in Norway, she signed a recording contract with Petroleum Records, Decca and Glassnote Records in 2014. Aurora gained recognition with her debut extended play (EP), Running with the Wolves (2015), which contained the sleeper hit "Runaway". Later that year, she provided the backing track for the John Lewis Christmas advert, singing a cover of the Oasis song "Half the World Away".
Aurora's debut studio album, All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend (2016) received generally positive reviews, charting in various European countries and earning platinum certification two times in Norway. Her second EP Infections of a Different Kind (Step 1) (2018) was the first part of a two-part album, while the second part was her second studio album, A Different Kind of Human (Step 2) (2019). Her third studio album The Gods We Can Touch was released on 21 January 2022.
Her music is primarily electropop, folk, and art pop with vocals referred to as "ethereal". She only played piano at the beginning of her career, but later involved herself in percussion and other aspects of music production. In addition to her solo work, Aurora has collaborated with and co-written songs for other artists, including Icarus, Askjell, Lena, Travis and the Chemical Brothers. She has also contributed to soundtracks for several films and television series, including Girls, Frozen II and Wolfwalkers.
She calls herself a "forest person" due to being surrounded by nature and her love to "climb trees", and being "isolated and hidden".[15] She has also shown interest in the ocean since she lived close to the sea, and her parents have a sailboat.[15][16] When she attended school, her sisters—Miranda (currently her makeup artist) and Viktoria Aksnes (currently her costume designer)—worried that she might be bullied due to her eccentric personality and style of dress.[17] Contrary to this, Aurora's classmates asked for more time than she was willing to give, and she instead preferred to spend time in the forest.[18] She also claimed that withdrawing into natural spaces gave her time to philosophize and discover the "power" of her own mind.[19] As a child, she was afraid of people who sought to hug her and disliked such a gesture in general: "I used to be terrified of people who wanted to hug me", she said. "I did not like to be hugged as a child. And I used to be terrified of one of my teachers at school, but then I met him a few months ago, and it was really nice. It’s weird how things change."[20]
At age nine, when she had a better handle of the English language, she began writing songs.[13] She has mentioned being influenced at that time by artists like Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Enya, and the Chemical Brothers.[24][25]
According to Aurora, the first song she ever finished writing was titled "The Lonely Man".[33] Her first work before embarking on her music career was washing a pizza restaurant using a hose.[33] Songs from her early works were written in this early stage of her life.[34][35] Another of her early compositions was "I Had a Dream", which referred to how hard the world can be.[25][23] Although she considered it a "really long and boring song about world peace" she performed it once at her high school's leaving ceremony. The recording of her song "Puppet" (which was originally made as a Christmas gift for her parents) and a video filmed by a classmate of her school performance were uploaded online without her permission (which made her angry),[13][36] and was quickly discovered by a representative of the agency of Artists Made Management, a Norwegian management company, who invited Aurora to visit their office for a meeting in early 2013.[37][38] Aurora initially denied the proposal: "At first I thought no", she recalls, "but then my mum said I should think about the idea of sharing my music with the world because maybe there's someone out there who desperately needs it. And that could actually be a good thing".[36] In a few hours, both songs received thousands of visits in Norway, which earned Aurora some recognition in her country, in addition to a fan base on Facebook.[38][21][39]
2012–2016: Running with the Wolves and All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend
Aurora self-released the song "Puppet" as her debut single in December 2012 under her birth name.[40] Aurora then set about working on her songwriting for around a year before giving her "first proper live performance" at Nabovarsel Minifestival in Bergen. About similar performances to that one she said: "I don’t think I was born to be an entertainer, I used to really be afraid of playing live on-stage. Obviously it’s terrifying! But now I’ve learned to, and I’ve learned to not focus on myself, cause it’s not about me. Now I only think about giving everyone the best experience. A magic moment."[20][41] Her second single, "Awakening", followed in March 2014, which became the first one released under the stage name Aurora.[42] Her third single "Under Stars" was the first one signed to her labels Glassnote Records and Decca Records, released in November 2014. Both songs established her as a "Promising Artist" of 2015 and attracted the attention of critics in Europe and the United States, especially for the artist's voice. Her next single "Runaway" was released in February 2015, which gained attention from singers Katy Perry and Troye Sivan.
Her next single, "Running with the Wolves" was released in April 2015, and its music video was released two months later. The song gained attention from BBC Radio station.[49] It was released alongside the announcement of the release of her debut EP Running with the Wolves.[50] Released in May 2015 on digital platforms, the EP received positive reviews from online music blogs and national press. To promote the EP, she appeared at summer festivals such as Way Out West, Wilderness, and Green Man Festival. Aurora's next single, "Murder Song (5, 4, 3, 2, 1)", was released in September 2015 and has received continued support in the national press, on national radio, and popular online music blogs.[51] Aurora also performed at the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Concert,[52] saying that she and her family "have been following it from the living room at home for many years", and "it is an incredibly beautiful thing to be a part of."[53] Her presentation was praised by the concert's host Jay Leno.[54] She has played a sold-out headline show in London and supported Of Monsters and Men at Brixton Academy in November 2015.[55] Aurora recorded a cover of the Oasis song "Half the World Away" for the 2015 John Lewis Christmas advert.[56] Her next single, titled "Conqueror", was released in January 2016, and a music video was released the following month. Before the single release, the song appeared in the soundtrack of the videogame FIFA 16.[57]
In early 2016, Aurora featured on British band Icarus' song "Home" and released a cover of David Bowie's "Life on Mars" for the HBO Girls television series.[58][59][60] After a prolific start with her first musical productions, she released her debut album All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend in March 2016,[61] receiving generally positive reviews from critics. After releasing the album, Aurora embarked on an international concert tour beginning in Australia that lasted more than a year.[62]
On 14 March 2016, Aurora made her American television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, performing "Conqueror", which was later performed on Conan.[63] On 25 July 2016 she performed her cover of "Life on Mars" on The Howard Stern Show. The following night on 26 July, she performed "I Went Too Far" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which was later released as the album's fifth single. The album's sixth and final single "Winter Bird" was released on 20 December. Aurora became the first in a series of emerging artists to partner with YouTube for a creative content distribution program,[64] she also starred in her own short documentary directed by Isaac Ravishankara and produced by The Fader, titled "Nothing is Eternal."[65]
2017–2019: Infections of a Different Kind and A Different Kind of Human[edit]
When All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend debuted, Aurora said that it was "the first album of many" she was planning to release.[66] As of 12 May 2016, after coming back from her European tour, the singer announced that she was ready to begin writing and producing more material, which will form her second studio album. She stated in a Facebook event that she has fifteen demo songs and has written a thousand songs/poems. Her next project consisted of covering the song "Scarborough Fair" for the Brazilian telenovela Deus Salve o Rei and filming the opening sequence for it.[67] Between April and August 2018, the singer released two singles, "Queendom" and "Forgotten Love",[68][69] which would be included in the first half of a two-part album divided into "steps".[70] Aurora recorded the album during her stay in France in January of that year, and the production included the producers Askjell Solstrand, Roy Kerr and Tim Bran, with Aurora herself also involved in this aspect.[15] Some of that new material was anticipated in live performances, including festivals like Lollapalooza and Coachella.[71][72]
While maintaining some of the themes and stories of the previous album, this production would mark the first time that Aurora has incorporated themes of politics and sexuality into her music.[73] Most of the new inspiration came from the interaction that she had with her fans during her first tour.[74] The music video for "Queendom" saw its release in May 2018, which presented themes of inclusivity and empowerment of "the underdog", particularly her LGBT fans. In the video, Aurora kisses one of her female dancers to convey that "every type of love is accepted and embraced" in her "queendom".[75]
On 28 September 2018, the singer released the first half of her second album on EP format,[70] under the title Infections of a Different Kind (Step 1). The EP features eight songs,[76] and the title itself comes from the eighth track included on it, which Aurora declared as "the most important song I've ever written".[77] A Different Kind of Human (Step 2) followed on 7 June 2019, with lead singles "Animal" and "The River".
On 12 April 2019, Aurora contributed with co-writing and vocals in the songs "Eve of Destruction", "Bango", and "The Universe Sent Me" for the Chemical Brothers' ninth album No Geography.[78] On 4 November 2019, the soundtrack to the Disney film Frozen II was released, with Aurora providing backing vocals on the song "Into the Unknown". On 9 February 2020, she performed the song on stage as part of the 92nd Academy Awards alongside Idina Menzel and nine singers that dubbed the song in their respective languages.[79] She released her solo version of "Into the Unknown" as a standalone single on 3 March 2020.[80]
Aurora released the single "Exist for Love" in May 2020, which was presented as her first love song ever with a self-directed music video.[81] The song was made during the COVID-19 lockdown in collaboration with Isobel Waller-Bridge, who composed the string arrangements.[81] It was the first glimpse into what she described as "a new era" in her career, with the upcoming release of a new album.[82] Under the musical direction of Gaute Tønder, she recorded the title track of the Christmas miniseries Stjernestøv [no] for Norwegian public broadcaster NRK; such contribution was made known in mid-November of the same year.[83] She also provided her vocals on the songs "Vinterens Gåte" and "Det Ev Ei Rosa Sprunge" (Norwegian version of the German song "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen"), from the album Juleroser by Herborg Kråkevik, in which the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and other Norwegian artists.[84] She also re-recorded her track "Running with the Wolves" for the animated fantasy and adventure film Wolfwalkers.[85]
In early 2021, she released five compilation EPs in celebration of her song "Runaway" receiving over 100 million streams on Spotify: For the Humans Who Take Long Walks in the Forest, Music for the Free Spirits, Stories, For the Metal People and Music for the Fellow Witches Out There throughout February.[86] On 7 July 2021, Aurora released the single "Cure for Me" as the lead single for the forthcoming album.[87] On 14 October, "Giving in to the Love" was released as the album's third single, and The Gods We Can Touch was announced for release on 21 January 2022.[88] Aurora featured in Sub Urban's song "Paramour", released on 19 November as a single for the latter's upcoming debut album.[89] She also released the song "Midas Touch for the soundtrack of the third season of the Amazon Prime Video Hanna series. To promote The Gods We Can Touch, she announced a concert tour throughout the United States and Europe (with Sub Urban, Sei Selina and Metteson as supporting acts) in 2022.[90] "Heathens" was released on 3 December 2021 as the album's fourth single, and a virtual concert film was announced, which released exclusively to Moment House on 25 January 2022, a week later after the album's release.[91][92] A collaborative event with the video game Sky: Children of the Light was released on 17 October 2022, which included a virtual concert that premiered on 8 December after The Game Awards 2022 and reoccurred from 9 December until 2 January 2023.
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Stephens City United Methodist Church located at 5291 Main Street in Stephens City, Virginia. Built in 1913, the Gothic Revival church is designated as a contributing property to the Newtown-Stephensburg Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 18, 1992.
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Below is the history of Methodism in Stephens City via the church's website:
"The First, and extremely important, mention of Methodism in Stephens City comes from the early Valley historian, Samuel Kercheval. He stated that just before the beginning of the Revolutionary War, two traveling strangers sought lodging one weekend at the home of Major Lewis Stephens, the proprietor and founder of this town. Upon hearing they were preachers, Mrs. Stephens sent word through the town, and the next day (Sunday) both men, John Hagerty and Richard Owens, delivered sermons. Kercheval states: "This was doubtless the first Methodist preaching ever heard in our Valley."
As was the custom, and what probably happened here, a "society" was formed very soon. John Wesley, (a priest of the Church of England and founder of Methodism) regarded Methodism as a religious "society" within the Established Church of England. He insisted on this practice in America as well as in England. With local leaders, members of the "society" were organized into "classes" which met regularly in a private home where there was instruction and participation in worship. Attendance was obligatory. As circuits with itinerant preachers were created (Frederick County was in the Berkley Circuit in 1778, served by Rev. Edward Bailey), their "preaching place" in Stephensburg would have been a home or, more than likely, the school house.
However, as Virginia already had an Established Church, the Church of England, for which a County tax was levied, all had to go to the parish church for Baptism, Communion, and marriage. This system continued through the unsettled and tense time of the Revolution.
The separation of the American colonies from England in 1783 led John Wesley to plan for the ordination of his own ministers. In 1784 at the Christmas Conference in Baltimore, the "Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States" was formed and Francis Asbury was consecrated one of its two superintendents. Six months before this, Asbury had preached here for the first time. Following this, according to Asbury's Journal, he had come back sixteen or more times. But on his first visit he had been far from pleased with the "society" in Newtown. He wrote: "I raged and threatened the people." But the next time he came, in 1790, the tone was different. "Here", he wrote, "they have built us a spacious chapel."
Just a year before, Lewis Stephens had conveyed for one shilling (about twenty-five cents) to three trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Stephensburg "one lot of land ... 5 poles in front and 16 poles deep lying on the west side of the great road leading from Stephensburg to Winchester and Beginning 10 poles from the cross street at the upper End of said Town." The trustees were Mr. John Hite, Jr., Mr. William Hughes, and Mr. Benjamin Talbert.
On this site a log meeting house was built. A graveyard lay to the back of it. This meeting house served until 1827. During the Civil War, this sanctuary was used as a hospital to treat wounded soldiers. During Federal occupation, Federal troops burned the parsonage (the pastor's home). The 1827 sanctuary was replaced, on the same site, with a brick church containing a belfry, a high pulpit, and a gallery on three sides. In 1882, when this building was torn down, the foundation of the log church could be seen in the center of the 1827 foundation. The building built in 1882 had a vestibule and a gallery across the back. The pews in this church as well as in the two that preceded it had a center divider - the men sat on the north side and the women on the south side. The cost of the new church was $3000.00.
With the passage of thirty years, this building had become outgrown. When a corner lot less than one hundred feet to the South became available, it was bought by the trustees for $2500.00. The trustees were Mr. L. A. Adams, Mr. H. A. Dinges, Mr. A. H. Guard, Mr. J. A. McCarty, Mr. J. H. Orndorff, Mr. C. O. Rowland, Mr. J. M. Steele, Mr. W. B. Steele and Mr. C. K. Weaver. Occupying the land was a brick and frame one-time tavern which for the past few years had served as a school. On this site in 1913 the present church was erected, The cost of the new church and its furnishings was $12,000.00. Total cost including the land was $14,500.00. Extensive basement excavation in the 1920's added several classrooms, a kitchen, and a social hall.
This building was not enough for future needs. In 1958, thinking of the future, the trustees bought for $4400.00 the property on the North; thus providing the site for an Educational Building. The trustees were Mr. T. A. Grim, Mr. G. W. (Don) Lemley, Mr. Ray D. Rinker, Mr. G. H. Ritenour, Mr. M. S. Barley, Mr. Raymond Sandy, Mr. C. E. Staples, and Mr. Julian D. Steele. The building, built in 1966, provides an office suite, fellowship hall, kitchen, and nine classrooms. The educational building was dedicated on September 26, 1976.
Planning for the complete renovation of the Sanctuary Building was then begun. The renovation was divided into two phases. The first of which was expanding the Sanctuary into the old Sunday School room and nursery area, adding additional matching pews in this area. This work included completely rewiring the building, adding a new heating and air-conditioning system and a new sound system. This phase was completed in November of 1980. Phase two renovated the basement level of this building into six additional Sunday School rooms, a choir room and a kitchenette. Also ramps were added to make the building more accessible to the physically disabled.
Another vital part of our heritage is that of Orrick Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The A.M.E. Church was founded in 1816 by Richard Allen, from the St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. Suffice to say that Allen and others were not welcome to worship with whites on an equal basis, and began the Bethel Church in Philadelphia, the first A.M.E. congregation. Orrick Chapel was built largely through the efforts and generosity of Mr. Orrick, a slave whose owner allowed him to also earn money. After the Civil War, Orrick was one of the leading African American businessmen in the greater Winchester area. The white framed, green roofed, Orrick Chapel still stands on Mulberry Street, just one block from Stephens City Church. It is owned by the Stone House Foundation of Stephens City.
Orrick Chapel merged with Stephens City U.M.C. on April 1, 1991, and our fellowship hall (in both the former and brand new educational wings) is dedicated to this congregation.
In the period between 1997 and 2001, the church purchased three lots to expand its parking and office space. In August of 2003, the educational wing, which had been built in 1966, was demolished to make room for a new, completely accessible, 19,000 sq. ft. wing. This additional cost was $2, 290,000. It was completed in October 2004.
In looking back over 200 years, one may visualize many changes: pioneers gathering in log homes for prayer and Bible study with no resident pastor except a circuit rider on horseback... the iron grease lamps in the log church . . . the candles in its brick successor . . . the oil lamps in the chandeliers of the next brick church . . . the very lovely tiered brass acetylene chandeliers that preceded the electric lighting in the present sanctuary. One may actually see the changes in pulpit furnishings, for we still have the chair in which Francis Asbury is said to have sat in the log meeting house; a chair from the pulpit, furnishings of the 1827 brick church; the complete set of pulpit furniture from the 1882 church, and, of course, the furniture in the present sanctuary.
As we consider the rich heritage of Methodism here, we find inspiration to more effectively meet the future challenge God is presenting to us to make new disciples, and to serve the Stephens City community as it changes."
Cette église romane est connue sous le nom de Cathédrale du Nebbio, rappelant son rôle d’église-mère de cette fertile micro-région (surnommée la Conca d’Oro). Elle se trouve à la limite de Saint-Florent le long de la petite route qui remonte vers Poggio d'Oletta par la Strette di San Germanu. Lors de sa consécration elle reçue le double vocable associant la Vierge de l’Assomption (Santa Maria Assunta) et San Fiorenzo. Du XIIe siècle elle a été construite entre 1125 et 1140. Elle est évoquée également dans deux documents plus anciens datant de 1138 et 1145. Le premier document dans lequel elle est clairement nommée est un acte du cartulaire de la chartreuse de Calci datant de 1176 (elle y apparaît comme Ecclesia Sanctae Mariae Nebulensis). . La Cathédrale de Nebbio a été le siège du diocèse de Nebbio jusqu'en 1789, date de sa suppression et de son rattachement au diocèse d'Ajaccio.
Suite à l'insécurité des côtes et à la malaria qui sévissait alors, l’église fut abandonnée par les évêques. Au début du XVIe siècle Agostino Giustiniani, évêque du Nebbio, fait restaurer la cathédrale et lui adjoint un clocher (détruit au XIXe). Malgré ces travaux, en 1576 le monument est encore abandonné. Il est même décrit sans toiture, lors d'une visite de Mgr Sauli, alors évêque d'Aléria. Au XIX siècle P. Mérimée contribuera à la faire classée monument historique (1875).
La cathédrale est d'architecture romane pisane. Elle a été construite durant la période dite « de paix pisane » qui s'est installée avec l'administration de l'île par Pise, à partir du XIe siècle. Tous les édifices religieux de cette époque sont dits « pisans ». La façade occidentale est une des plus réussies de l’architecture romane corse : plus élaborée que celle de la cathédrale de Mariana dont elle s’inspire, elle a plus de relief avec sa décoration sculptée et ses cinq arcatures aveugles du premier niveau, reprise par trois autres à l’étage. L’édifice est construit en calcaire presque blanc provenant des carrières de Mercurio. A l’intérieur, les similitudes avec la cathédrale de Mariana sont encore plus évidentes, du fait de la répartition de l’espace en trois nefs séparées et les mêmes proportions dans les volumes. Avec Santa Maria Maggiore de Bonifacio (partiellement d’époque romane), la cathédrale du Nebbio fait partie des trois seules églises en état utilisant ce plan en Corse. Elle mesure 27,75 m de long, 13,55 m de large et 13 m de haut.
Les reliques conservées dans l’église sont décrites par Mérimée (Notes d’un voyage en Corse) : « Trompé par des renseignements inexacts, je m’attendais à trouver, à Saint-Florent, des reliquaires anciens ; mais je n’y vis qu’une châsse toute moderne, envoyée de Rome, et contenant un squelette revêtu d’un habit de guerrier romain (vrai style d’Opéra), tout couvert de mauvais oripeaux et de verroteries. Ce sont les reliques de saint Florus qui, en compagnie de sainte Flore, a le patronage de la ville de Saint-Florent. Tous les deux sont fort vénérés dans le pays, et quelques stylets rouillés, quelques pistolets hors d’état de faire feu attestent les conversions qu’ils ont opérées. »
Mgr Guasco, évêque du Nebbiu (1770 à 1773), désirant donner à son diocèse une sainte relique, demanda au pape Clément XIV, de lui donner la dépouille d’un soldat martyr romain du IIIe siècle, ensevelie dans les catacombes Saint Sébastien à Rome. La dépouille du martyr chrétien fut exhumée et soigneusement rangée dans une chasse de bois de cèdre doré, après avoir été paré de sa tunique brodée aux perles fines, de sa couronne de fleurs et sa palme de martyr ainsi que de ses attributs guerriers (le jeune soldat avait été soldat du Christ). La fête de la précieuse relique est célébrée à Saint Florent, tous les trois ans, le lundi de Pentecôte.
This Romanesque church is known as the Cathedral of Nebbio, recalling its role as mother church of this fertile micro-region (nicknamed the Conca d'Oro). It is on the border of Saint-Florent along the small road that goes up towards Poggio d'Oletta by the Stretto di San Germanu. At her consecration she received the double term associating the Virgin of the Assumption (Santa Maria Assunta) and San Fiorenzo. From the 12th century it was built between 1125 and 1140. It is also mentioned in two older documents dating from 1138 and 1145. The first document in which it is clearly named is an act of the cartulary of the Charterhouse of Calci dating from 1176 ( she appears there as Ecclesia Sanctae Mariae Nebulensis). . The Cathedral of Nebbio was the seat of the diocese of Nebbio until 1789, date of its suppression and its attachment to the diocese of Ajaccio.
Due to the insecurity of the coast and the malaria that was raging at the time, the church was abandoned by the bishops. In the early sixteenth century Agostino Giustiniani, bishop of Nebbio, restored the cathedral and added a bell tower (destroyed in the nineteenth century). Despite these works, in 1576 the monument is still abandoned. He is even described without a roof, during a visit of Bishop Sauli, then Bishop of Aléria. In the nineteenth century P. Mérimée will contribute to the classification of historical monument (1875).
The cathedral is Romanesque pisan architecture. It was built during the so-called "Pisan peace period" which settled with the administration of the island by Pisa, from the eleventh century. All the religious buildings of this period are called "pisans". The western facade is one of the most successful of Corsican Romanesque architecture: more elaborate than that of the cathedral of Mariana from which it is inspired, it has more relief with its carved decoration and five blind arches of the first level, taken by three others upstairs. The building is built in almost white limestone from the quarries of Mercurio. Inside, the similarities with the cathedral of Mariana are even more obvious, because of the division of the space into three separate naves and the same proportions in the volumes. With Santa Maria Maggiore Bonifacio (partly Romanesque), the Nebbio Cathedral is one of only three churches in state using this plan in Corsica. It is 27.75m long, 13.55m wide and 13m high.
The relics preserved in the church are described by Merimee (Notes of a voyage in Corsica): "Deceived by inaccurate information, I expected to find, in Saint-Florent, old reliquaries; but I saw only a modern shrine, sent from Rome, and containing a skeleton clad in a Roman warrior's garment (true Opera style), all covered with bad tinsel and glassware. These are the relics of Saint Florus who, in the company of Saint Flore, has the patronage of the city of Saint-Florent. Both are highly revered in the country, and some rusty stilettos, some pistols out of state of fire attest to the conversions they have made. "
Bishop Guasco, Bishop of Nebbiu (1770 to 1773), wishing to give his diocese a holy relic, asked Pope Clement XIV to give him the remains of a Roman martyr soldier of the third century, buried in the catacombs of San Sebastian in Rome . The remains of the Christian martyr were unearthed and neatly arranged in a hunt of gilded cedar wood, after being adorned with his fine pearl embroidered tunic, crown of flowers, martyr's palm and warrior attributes (the young man soldier had been a soldier of Christ). The feast of the precious relic is celebrated in Saint Florent, every three years, on Whit Monday.