View allAll Photos Tagged DECADES
Road up to Seturia, early morning. Pal, La Massana, Vall nord, Andorra, Pyrenees
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After decades of development, the CBD in Singapore has become an area with many tall office buildings. These buildings comprise the skyline along the coast of Marina Bay and Raffles Place. The three tallest buildings in Singapore, namely Republic Plaza, UOB Plaza One and OUB Centre, are all 280 metres in height due to building restrictions. (Wikipedia)
After many decades, the prime minister of India, Modi visits Dubai and Emirates. He is making historic bonds of trust in the Middle East and worldwide never seen before in a Prime Minister since Gandhi.
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Art of the Real
2/2. The saddest day of my life, this very hour, 23 years and a million tears ago.
I flew out of JFK the night of February 1, 1992, headed to Pakistan - where it was already 2/2/1992. I was going to see my beloved parents in Lahore. But, I was en route via Karachi. My Mom had insisted I stop there to condole the deaths of a relative and a friend's father there, the previous week.
The powerful PIA Boeing 747 jet engines hurtled me across the North Atlantic Ocean, erasing 600 miles per hour between my mother and me. But, there was an invisible infinite eternal distance of space and time growing silently, a cosmic chasm that no theory of relativity and no known power in the universe could shorten.
As the plane was flying towards Europe, life was floating away. As the giant aircraft was coming in for a landing, unknown to me, my mother's gentle soul was taking off, gliding into the heavens beyond this world.
Landing in Karachi, I was smiling and happy, when I disembarked, clueless about what tragedy had struck me that I was unaware of. At my cousin's insistence (who was at the airport waiting for me) I went to the airline counter to check the status of my connecting flight to Lahore that was supposed to be for a few days later.
I was charming the young lady checking my reservation, asking her for a front window seat. She looked at me in a puzzled manner that I did not understand then. As she quietly typed on the keyboard my curious eye made me read a telex message on her desk, facing her.
As I read the upside down text, my breath left me, my heart stopped. I felt the hand of death clutch my heart...
"Please give priority seating...
Passenger Imran Anwar needs to be on next flight....
Has to attend Mother's funeral."
That is how I found out that my mother had died while I was on my way to her. She was just over 50 years old.
Instead of seeing my Mom open the bags of gifts I was carrying for her and everyone, I would barely get home in time to carry her body for burial. Instead of her pinching my cheeks as she loved to do, all I got to do was touch her cheek one final time. As I had fallen on my knees next to her, she seemed just to have fallen asleep, forever.
20 years later on 2/2/12, to the day, to this very hour, not a day goes by when I do not shed a tear for my beloved mother. Tears roll down my cheeks as I write these words, and every time I relive that moment.
Ami, I will love you forever, even after I die.
© 2009-2012 IMRAN
DSC_3808
Old Naples Pier, Naples, FL
I have no idea what these pilings are for or once were. I assume it's an old pier, but then who knows. They are a few blocks north of the famous "Historic Naples Fishing Pier" and another cool find of my Flickr friend Carlos. I promise, they won't be (erroneously) named after me like so many other things... LOL.
I wanted to shoot this place for a while now, but always ended up at the fishing pier for one or the other reasons. So on the last day of the decade I wanted to shoot these, told Ivan of my crazy plan which involved sunset and NYE fireworks in Naples and the fireworks in Miami, and off we went.
We got there about one hour before sunset and the place was hopping with people. I expected a crowd around the fishing pier, but almost a mile north of the pier? There was even a boat anchored next to the pilings, kids and adults in the water fishing. We already wanted to leave and cut our losses when the boat left, so we only had to deal with the people. I am sure I didn't make too many friends there yelling at people to get out of my shots... LOL. But hey, the sky and sunset were too nice to have them ruined by some inconsiderate people that had to walk right into my frame and stop there lost in thought.
A self portrait from our Northern Norway road trip this past summer, when I was still in my 30s. Today I'm not anymore, and feel pretty old 😅
My album of self portraits here.
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IRM's CNW SD40-2 sits waiting to pull out of the station again as the UP family days special heads back west on the Belvidere with UP 1995 on the rear.
The Caledonian Hotel (formerly a railway station and hotel many decades ago), on the left, and the Huxley bar and restaurant, all wrapped up with festive red gift bow. Quick freehand shot walking home the other night, so not as sharp as with tripod, but came out not bad for a freehand night shot, so I thought I would bung it up as a festive pic. Have a nice Christmas, folks!
I understand that one of the occupants water flowers with a plastic jug each day - dropping it upon the ground afterwards. Certainly there are thousands of plastic jugs there. This is the hen coop - complete with 4 decade old hay.
A decade after Western Maryland operations were integrated into the B&O and three years after the proud company was officially merged out of existence, WM caboose 1812 clears the boarded up train order office and deactivated interlocking at Emory Grove, MD. The train is westbound headed to Hanover, PA via the WM's Hanover Subdivision, usually referred to by fans and crews as the "Dutch Line". At this time, the former East Subdivision main line via Union Bridge was severed between Emory Grove and Westminster.
Let there be
respect for the earth
peace for its people
love in our lives
delight in the good
forgiveness for past wrongs
and from now on a new start
Sunrise, January 1st 2010
Kim, caught inside the oldie —sun on skin, chrome in silence.
Her father’s Commodore, the hum of a vanished decade.
Leica Wetzlar breathes slow.
Leica M9-P
50mm f1.4 Zeiss Biotar (converted)
BTS on my free - SUBSTACK -
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Frescoes on the ground floor, painted in the first decades of the sixteenth century to recall the visit of 1444 of the King of Denmark Christian 1st, represent a formidable testimony of the life at the court of the warlord Bartolomeo Colleoni - Castle of Malpaga
Il Castello di Malpaga è certamente una delle costruzioni più tipiche della Lombardia, per l'interesse architettonico, per le vicende storiche che vi si collegano e per i richiami dell'antica vita di corte che evocano una grande figura del quattrocento: il condottiero bergamasco Bartolomeo Colleoni.
Nel 1456 Bartolomeo Colleoni acquista il Castello di Malpaga dal Comune di Bergamo per 100 ducati d'oro. Ma il Castello, con l'invenzione della polvere da sparo non è più difendibile.
Da qui nasce il grande impegno profuso dal Colleoni per renderlo difendibile con una serie di interventi quali l'innalzamento delle mura, la costruzione di alloggi per le truppe e di un secondo fossato. Il castello viene circondato con abitazioni per i suoi armigeri, scuderie e porte fortificate, rendendo il complesso una cittadella altamente inaccessibile.
The Castle of Malpaga is certainly one of Lombardy's most typical buildings, for architectural interest, for historical events linked to it, and for the recalls of the ancient court life that evoke a great figure of the fourteenth century: the bergamasco warlord Bartolomeo Colleoni.
In 1456 Bartolomeo Colleoni bought the Castle of Malpaga from the City of Bergamo for 100 golden ducats. But Castle, with the invention of gunpowder, is no longer defensible.
Hence, the Colleoni's great commitment is born to make it defensible with a series of interventions such as raising the walls, building housing for troops and a second moat. The castle is surrounded by houses for its armed forces, stables and fortified gates, making the complex a highly inaccessible citadel.
A few decades of commercial aviation tech in one pic as Virgin's 789 lands while a Western Global (N543JN) MD11 taxis. My favorite shot of the afternoon.
Tools: Contax 167mt, Zeiss 50mm 1.7, Portra 160. I have a decade worth of photos, check out my albums! Find me on Instagram & please like Millie Clinton Photography on Facebook! These images are protected by copyright, please do not use them for any commercial or non-commercial purposes without permission.
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Yeap, this is all we got... So far, I am very, very disappointed by FR and NuFace offerings this year. Just too few dolls and not much to my liking. For the first time in over a decade I am thinking if I will rejoin the Club next year. The time when I reviewed like ten FR dolls from convention are long gone, so I will review these dolls by lines.
East 59th - Mixed feelings. So, we got two dolls with the same sculpt in different skintone and different screening. Why wasn't this a giftset?!?!?? Oh right, because this way you will be forced to pay $370 instead of $200-ish. Inspiration was Dynasty. I wished this was covered by FR line, but OK, East 59th fits well. Outfits are nice, I like Della's more. No additional pieces like we used to have in this line. Oh and no booze, and the name of these dolls is Burnt Champagne, more like burnt wallet. I am quite bored by this sculpt, we already got one in swimsuit, how many heads factory produced 20,000? Shouldn't price be lower, and again shouldn't this be a giftset?!? Chris obviously tried to cover the fact that both dolls feature old screenings by adding more color to the eyeshadow and eyeliners, it worked on Deconstruction Sight Eugenia, ups Victoire, but why Della has red lips again??? Nude lips would look great with blueish eyeshadow. On a final note, I loved watching Dynasty, and IMO Evelyne with her pouty lips is a perfect Alexis.
NuFace - Just Giselle. This one is designed by Mark Tinkey, as it seems Jessy is MIA. I LOVE Mark, he is full of enthusiasm and love for these dolls and you can feel it in his designs. However, this Gigi looks very much like A Dolls Life Vanessa from last year, when it comes to makeup color palette and hair color. However, since that doll is my ultimate favorite, I do not mind. Yes, the dress looks kind of strange, and I would make it even shorter. Love blues shoes , but I do not see them with this dress. Inspiration here was Sex in the City, again what a wasted opportunity to give us four lovely dolls with better clothes than this dress.
Jason Wu dolls - so by now you get it, there are five dolls here in total, but only three sculpts. Yes, it is quite obvious IT is cutting costs. So two Aymelines and made to order, I bet that made some collectors happy. Recently I acquired Lilac and I think Iike this sculpt, however it has a serious fault in design, as the head sits on the neck too low and you can not move it as usual. On top of that you can not put earrings easily. Unfortunately that is not fixed, although we had like 4 versions of this doll. Sloppy... I am an old fan of Wu, his designs are simple and elegant, even on dolls. Unfortunately, that does not translate to photos well. I am sure these ladies will look much better IRL. I like both, but since they have white under the eyes they are a pass for me. Love the dress on redhead, and haute face expression on raven. If redhead was Elyse with Dark Swan screening I think I would have died.
FR - none... For a long time I have a theory that FR line is not profitable for IT as Poppy is, probably because Wu has some rights, or whatever. It is quite obvious that much more attention is paid to Poppy, you could tell it over the years, there were just a few dolls with serious production issues unlike FR and even NuFace. I am not sure if that is designers fault, I just notice things. As a collector of this line for more than decade I can not say I am satisfied, I had so much ideas and hopes for interesting designs and beautiful dolls, but you can tell how some screenings and looks are saved for ... dunno what, and on top of that this time around we got nothing... I still want to collect these dolls, but they are killing my excitement very steadily and thoroughly.
So, overall, this was not too exciting event for me. We had to wait all day long to get simple email, the bad thing is if you do not collect all lines, like I do, you would have to log in every day, feeling excited, and wait like five days to get one email with three dolls in it... crazy.
Day 228
I started collecting my change around 10 years ago, and I think its neat that you can see a rough line when Canada got rid of the penny.
Final Weight was 85.8 lbs
Decades and decades of stucco, paint and flyposting of any kind must have turned this wall a few inches thicker, I guess...
I have been building transformers lego models for two decades now, constantly growing my collection, there were always one thing left do figure out.
How to build a combiner ?
We all know the limitations through weight on our models versus what we would want from certain bricks and their clutchpowers.
Bruticus and the combaticons were on my wishlist for a long time, so i have been working on those models over the past months, first working out each individual character and then the combine mode.
It needs still a support stand, which also serves as display stand, just to keep the weight up, he is very heavy, standing tall around 60cm.
Instructions available soon.
Throughout the tumultuous decades of the early 21st century, Humvees could be spotted anywhere the American military deployed. Although almost completely replaced in frontline service by the larger M-ATVs by the late 2010s, the Humvee still remains a workhorse to this day. Their rugged mobility and relatively lightweight among lightly armored vehicles would ensure their utility on the battlefield, and most support echelons still heavily rely on them to conduct day-to-day business where a heavier MRAP-class vehicle or larger cargo truck is not required.
Here, three US Army soldiers assigned to the 10th Mountain Division dismount from their M1151 to conduct a foot patrol in Bulgaria during the immediate aftermath of NATO's intervention in the Second European War. Deployed in December 2017, the Alliance's multinational rapid reaction force consisted mostly of mechanized and light infantry formations, with German, British, American, and French armored units not engaging directly with the Yugoslav tanks until the final week of the conflict. While a ceasefire was signed in January 2018, the collapse of Russia into civil war a few years later, and the ever-present danger of Yugoslav-sponsored Black Cross militants popping out of their mountain strongholds, NATO and Partner ground forces have been busy in the region ever since. By the mid-2020s, the Stabilization Force in Eastern Europe (commonly known as SFOR) had expanded to deployments all along the Alliance's south-eastern front. Nowadays, Humvees like this one can still be seen in service with numerous countries participating in the mission, whether they are being used to conduct patrols along the Yugoslav and Hungarian borders, or even just to run errands between units.
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Bit shout-out to the normal lads like Matt, Corvin, Brian, Andrew , Christian and Erik for help and ideas while designing it. The latter also designed the RWS turret, which I shamelessly stole.
And since a few people have asked, the cheese slopes on the front are connected by ThugLUG's patented flex tube shenanigans.
For decades, this was the classic Swedish taxi. You didn't have to take off your top hat. The popular name was Suggan (the Sow).
Taken at the Västerås Power Meet 2016
This rusty jetty perfectly represent the mining development of the island, which decades ago contributed to its economic development but which marked the island's environment deeply. (Again I have to thanks mr. Raymond that inspired me with his beautiful works with the LE technique)
++++++++++ FROM WKIPEDIA +++++++++
Kolkata /koʊlˈkɑːtə/ ([kolkata] (About this soundlisten), also known as Calcutta /kælˈkʌtə/, the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River approximately 75 kilometres (47 mi) west of the border with Bangladesh, it is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of East India, while the Port of Kolkata is India's oldest operating port and its sole major riverine port. The city is widely regarded as the "cultural capital" of India, and is also nicknamed the "City of Joy".[1][2][3].According to the 2011 Indian census, it is the seventh most populous city. the city had a population of 4.5 million, while the population of the city and its suburbs was 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. Recent estimates of Kolkata Metropolitan Area's economy have ranged from $60 to $150 billion (GDP adjusted for purchasing power parity) making it third most-productive metropolitan area in India, after Mumbai and Delhi.[11][12][13]
In the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Calcutta were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading licence in 1690,[15] the area was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified trading post. Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah occupied Calcutta in 1756, and the East India Company retook it the following year. In 1793 the East India company was strong enough to abolish Nizamat (local rule), and assumed full sovereignty of the region. Under the company rule, and later under the British Raj, Calcutta served as the capital of British-held territories in India until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages, combined with growing nationalism in Bengal, led to a shift of the capital to New Delhi. Calcutta was the centre for the Indian independence movement; it remains a hotbed of contemporary state politics. Following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata, which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics, suffered several decades of economic stagnation.
As a nucleus of the 19th- and early 20th-century Bengal Renaissance and a religiously and ethnically diverse centre of culture in Bengal and India, Kolkata has local traditions in drama, art, film, theatre, and literature. Many people from Kolkata—among them several Nobel laureates—have contributed to the arts, the sciences, and other areas. Kolkata culture features idiosyncrasies that include distinctively close-knit neighbourhoods (paras) and freestyle intellectual exchanges (adda). West Bengal's share of the Bengali film industry is based in the city, which also hosts venerable cultural institutions of national importance, such as the Academy of Fine Arts, the Victoria Memorial, the Asiatic Society, the Indian Museum and the National Library of India. Among professional scientific institutions, Kolkata hosts the Agri Horticultural Society of India, the Geological Survey of India, the Botanical Survey of India, the Calcutta Mathematical Society, the Indian Science Congress Association, the Zoological Survey of India, the Institution of Engineers, the Anthropological Survey of India and the Indian Public Health Association. Though home to major cricketing venues and franchises, Kolkata differs from other Indian cities by giving importance to association football and other sports.
Etymology
The word Kolkata derives from the Bengali term Kôlikata (Bengali: কলিকাতা) [ˈkɔlikat̪a], the name of one of three villages that predated the arrival of the British, in the area where the city eventually was to be established; the other two villages were Sutanuti and Govindapur.[16]
There are several explanations about the etymology of this name:
The term Kolikata is thought to be a variation of Kalikkhetrô [ˈkalikʰːet̪rɔ] (Bengali: কালীক্ষেত্র), meaning "Field of [the goddess] Kali". Similarly, it can be a variation of 'Kalikshetra' (Sanskrit: कालीक्षेत्र, lit. "area of Goddess Kali").
Another theory is that the name derives from Kalighat.[17]
Alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term kilkila (Bengali: কিলকিলা), or "flat area".[18]
The name may have its origin in the words khal [ˈkʰal] (Bengali: খাল) meaning "canal", followed by kaṭa [ˈkata] (Bengali: কাটা), which may mean "dug".[19]
According to another theory, the area specialised in the production of quicklime or koli chun [ˈkɔlitɕun] (Bengali: কলি চুন) and coir or kata [ˈkat̪a] (Bengali: কাতা); hence, it was called Kolikata [ˈkɔlikat̪a] (Bengali: কলিকাতা).[18]
Although the city's name has always been pronounced Kolkata [ˈkolkat̪a] (Bengali: কলকাতা) or Kôlikata [ˈkɔlikat̪a] (Bengali: কলিকাতা) in Bengali, the anglicised form Calcutta was the official name until 2001, when it was changed to Kolkata in order to match Bengali pronunciation.[20] (It should be noted that "Calcutt" is an etymologically unrelated place name found at several locations in England.)
History
The discovery and archaeological study of Chandraketugarh, 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Kolkata, provide evidence that the region in which the city stands has been inhabited for over two millennia.[21][22] Kolkata's recorded history began in 1690 with the arrival of the English East India Company, which was consolidating its trade business in Bengal. Job Charnock, an administrator who worked for the company, was formerly credited as the founder of the city;[23] In response to a public petition,[24] the Calcutta High Court ruled in 2003 that the city does not have a founder.[25] The area occupied by the present-day city encompassed three villages: Kalikata, Gobindapur, and Sutanuti. Kalikata was a fishing village; Sutanuti was a riverside weavers' village. They were part of an estate belonging to the Mughal emperor; the jagirdari (a land grant bestowed by a king on his noblemen) taxation rights to the villages were held by the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family of landowners, or zamindars. These rights were transferred to the East India Company in 1698.[26]:1
In 1712, the British completed the construction of Fort William, located on the east bank of the Hooghly River to protect their trading factory.[27] Facing frequent skirmishes with French forces, the British began to upgrade their fortifications in 1756. The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, condemned the militarisation and tax evasion by the company. His warning went unheeded, and the Nawab attacked; he captured Fort William which led to the killings of several East India company officials in the Black Hole of Calcutta.[28] A force of Company soldiers (sepoys) and British troops led by Robert Clive recaptured the city the following year.[28] Per the 1765 Treaty of Allahabad following the battle of Buxar, East India company was appointed imperial tax collector of the Mughal emperor in the province of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, while Mughal-appointed Nawabs continued to rule the province.[29] Declared a presidency city, Calcutta became the headquarters of the East India Company by 1773.[30] In 1793, ruling power of the Nawabs were abolished and East India company took complete control of the city and the province. In the early 19th century, the marshes surrounding the city were drained; the government area was laid out along the banks of the Hooghly River. Richard Wellesley, Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William between 1797 and 1805, was largely responsible for the development of the city and its public architecture.[31] Throughout the late 18th and 19th century, the city was a centre of the East India Company's opium trade.[32]
By the 1850s, Calcutta had two areas: White Town, which was primarily British and centred on Chowringhee and Dalhousie Square; and Black Town, mainly Indian and centred on North Calcutta.[33] The city underwent rapid industrial growth starting in the early 1850s, especially in the textile and jute industries; this encouraged British companies to massively invest in infrastructure projects, which included telegraph connections and Howrah railway station. The coalescence of British and Indian culture resulted in the emergence of a new babu class of urbane Indians, whose members were often bureaucrats, professionals, newspaper readers, and Anglophiles; they usually belonged to upper-caste Hindu communities.[34] In the 19th century, the Bengal Renaissance brought about an increased sociocultural sophistication among city denizens. In 1883, Calcutta was host to the first national conference of the Indian National Association, the first avowed nationalist organisation in India.[35]
Bengali billboards on Harrison Street. Calcutta was the largest commercial centre in British India.
The partition of Bengal in 1905 along religious lines led to mass protests, making Calcutta a less hospitable place for the British.[36][37] The capital was moved to New Delhi in 1911.[38] Calcutta continued to be a centre for revolutionary organisations associated with the Indian independence movement. The city and its port were bombed several times by the Japanese between 1942 and 1944, during World War II.[39][40] Coinciding with the war, millions starved to death during the Bengal famine of 1943 due to a combination of military, administrative, and natural factors.[41] Demands for the creation of a Muslim state led in 1946 to an episode of communal violence that killed over 4,000.[42][43][44] The partition of India led to further clashes and a demographic shift—many Muslims left for East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh), while hundreds of thousands of Hindus fled into the city.[45]
During the 1960s and 1970s, severe power shortages, strikes, and a violent Marxist–Maoist movement by groups known as the Naxalites damaged much of the city's infrastructure, resulting in economic stagnation.[46] The Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 led to a massive influx of thousands of refugees, many of them penniless, that strained Kolkata's infrastructure.[47] During the mid-1980s, Mumbai (then called Bombay) overtook Kolkata as India's most populous city. In 1985, prime minister Rajiv Gandhi dubbed Kolkata a "dying city" in light of its socio-political woes.[48] In the period 1977–2011, West Bengal was governed from Kolkata by the Left Front, which was dominated by the Communist Party of India (CPM). It was the world's longest-serving democratically elected communist government, during which Kolkata was a key base for Indian communism.[49][50][51] In the West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, 2011, Left Front was defeated by the Trinamool Congress. The city's economic recovery gathered momentum after the 1990s, when India began to institute pro-market reforms. Since 2000, the information technology (IT) services sector has revitalised Kolkata's stagnant economy. The city is also experiencing marked growth in its manufacturing base.[52]
Geography
Spread roughly north–south along the east bank of the Hooghly River, Kolkata sits within the lower Ganges Delta of eastern India approximately 75 km (47 mi) west of the international border with Bangladesh; the city's elevation is 1.5–9 m (5–30 ft).[53] Much of the city was originally a wetland that was reclaimed over the decades to accommodate a burgeoning population.[54] The remaining undeveloped areas, known as the East Kolkata Wetlands, were designated a "wetland of international importance" by the Ramsar Convention (1975).[55] As with most of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the soil and water are predominantly alluvial in origin. Kolkata is located over the "Bengal basin", a pericratonic tertiary basin.[56] Bengal basin comprises three structural units: shelf or platform in the west; central hinge or shelf/slope break; and deep basinal part in the east and southeast. Kolkata is located atop the western part of the hinge zone which is about 25 km (16 mi) wide at a depth of about 45,000 m (148,000 ft) below the surface.[56] The shelf and hinge zones have many faults, among them some are active. Total thickness of sediment below Kolkata is nearly 7,500 m (24,600 ft) above the crystalline basement; of these the top 350–450 m (1,150–1,480 ft) is Quaternary, followed by 4,500–5,500 m (14,760–18,040 ft) of Tertiary sediments, 500–700 m (1,640–2,300 ft) trap wash of Cretaceous trap and 600–800 m (1,970–2,620 ft) Permian-Carboniferous Gondwana rocks.[56] The quaternary sediments consist of clay, silt, and several grades of sand and gravel. These sediments are sandwiched between two clay beds: the lower one at a depth of 250–650 m (820–2,130 ft); the upper one 10–40 m (30–130 ft) in thickness.[57] According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, on a scale ranging from I to V in order of increasing susceptibility to earthquakes, the city lies inside seismic zone III.[58]
Urban structure
Howrah Bridge from the western bank of the Ganges
The Kolkata metropolitan area is spread over 1,886.67 km2 (728.45 sq mi)[59]:7 and comprises 3 municipal corporations (including Kolkata Municipal Corporation), 39 local municipalities and 24 panchayat samitis, as of 2011.[59]:7 The urban agglomeration encompassed 72 cities and 527 towns and villages, as of 2006.[60] Suburban areas in the Kolkata metropolitan area incorporate parts of the following districts: North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, and Nadia.[61]:15 Kolkata, which is under the jurisdiction of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), has an area of 185 km2 (71 sq mi).[60] The east–west dimension of the city is comparatively narrow, stretching from the Hooghly River in the west to roughly the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass in the east—a span of 9–10 km (5.6–6.2 mi).[62] The north–south distance is greater, and its axis is used to section the city into North, Central, and South Kolkata. East Kolkata is also a section.
North Kolkata is the oldest part of the city. Characterised by 19th-century architecture, dilapidated buildings, overpopulated slums, crowded bazaars, and narrow alleyways, it includes areas such as Shyambazar, Hatibagan, Maniktala, Kankurgachi, Rajabazar, Shobhabazar, Shyampukur, Sonagachi, Kumortuli, Bagbazar, Jorasanko, Chitpur, Pathuriaghata, Cossipore, Kestopur, Sinthee, Belgachia, Jorabagan, and Dum Dum.[63]:65–66 The northern suburban areas like Baranagar, Durganagar, Noapara, Dunlop, Dakshineswar, Nagerbazar, Belghoria, Agarpara, Sodepur, Madhyamgram, Barasat, Birati, Khardah up to Barrackpur are also within the city of Kolkata (as a metropolitan structure).
Central Kolkata
Central Kolkata hosts the central business district. It contains B. B. D. Bagh, formerly known as Dalhousie Square, and the Esplanade on its east; Strand Road is on its west.[64] The West Bengal Secretariat, General Post Office, Reserve Bank of India, High Court, Lalbazar Police Headquarters, and several other government and private offices are located there. Another business hub is the area south of Park Street, which comprises thoroughfares such as Chowringhee, Camac Street, Wood Street, Loudon Street, Shakespeare Sarani, and A. J. C. Bose Road.[65] The Maidan is a large open field in the heart of the city that has been called the "lungs of Kolkata"[66] and accommodates sporting events and public meetings.[67] The Victoria Memorial and Kolkata Race Course are located at the southern end of the Maidan. Other important areas of Central Kolkata are Park Circus, Burrabazar, College Street, Sealdah, Taltala, Janbazar, Bowbazar, Entally, Chandni Chowk, Lalbazar, Chowringhee, Dharmatala, Tiretta Bazar, Bow Barracks, Mullick Bazar, Park Circus, Babughat etc. Among the other parks are Central Park in Bidhannagar and Millennium Park on Strand Road, along the Hooghly River.
South Kolkata
South Kolkata developed after India gained independence in 1947; it includes upscale neighbourhoods such as Ballygunge, Alipore, New Alipore, Lansdowne, Bhowanipore, Kalighat, Dhakuria, Gariahat, Tollygunge, Naktala, Jodhpur Park, Lake Gardens, Golf Green, Jadavpur, Garfa, Kalikapur, Haltu, Nandi Bagan, Santoshpur, Baghajatin, Garia, Ramgarh, Raipur, Kanungo Park, Ranikuthi, Bikramgarh, Bijoygarh, Bansdroni and Kudghat.[16] Outlying areas of South Kolkata include Garden Reach, Khidirpur, Metiabruz, Taratala, Majerhat, Budge Budge, Behala, Sarsuna, Barisha, Parnasree Pally, Thakurpukur, Maheshtala and Joka. The southern suburban neighbourhoods like Mahamayatala, Pratapgarh, Kamalgazi, Narendrapur, Sonarpur, Subhashgram and Baruipur are also within the city of Kolkata (as metropolitan, urban agglomeration area). Fort William, on the western part of the city, houses the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army;[68] its premises are under the jurisdiction of the army.
East Kolkata
East Kolkata is largely composed of newly developed areas and neighbourhoods of Saltlake, Rajarhat, Tangra, Topsia, Kasba, Anandapur, Mukundapur, Picnic Garden, Beleghata, Ultadanga, Phoolbagan, Kaikhali, Lake Town, etc. Two planned townships in the greater Kolkata region are Bidhannagar, also known as Salt Lake City and located north-east of the city; and Rajarhat, also called New Town and sited east of Bidhannagar.[16][69] In the 2000s, Sector V in Bidhannagar developed into a business hub for information technology and telecommunication companies.[70][71] Both Bidhannagar and New Town are situated outside the Kolkata Municipal Corporation limits, in their own municipalities.[69]
Climate
Kolkata is subject to a tropical wet-and-dry climate that is designated Aw under the Köppen climate classification. According to a United Nations Development Programme report, its wind and cyclone zone is "very high damage risk".[58]
Temperature
The annual mean temperature is 26.8 °C (80.2 °F); monthly mean temperatures are 19–30 °C (66–86 °F). Summers (March–June) are hot and humid, with temperatures in the low 30s Celsius; during dry spells, maximum temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in May and June.[72] Winter lasts for roughly two-and-a-half months, with seasonal lows dipping to 9–11 °C (48–52 °F) in December and January. May is the hottest month, with daily temperatures ranging from 27–37 °C (81–99 °F); January, the coldest month, has temperatures varying from 12–23 °C (54–73 °F). The highest recorded temperature is 43.9 °C (111.0 °F), and the lowest is 5 °C (41 °F).[72] The winter is mild and very comfortable weather pertains over the city throughout this season. Often, in April–June, the city is struck by heavy rains or dusty squalls that are followed by thunderstorms or hailstorms, bringing cooling relief from the prevailing humidity. These thunderstorms are convective in nature, and are known locally as kal bôishakhi (কালবৈশাখী), or "Nor'westers" in English.[73]
Rains brought by the Bay of Bengal branch of the south-west summer monsoon[74] lash Kolkata between June and September, supplying it with most of its annual rainfall of about 1,850 mm (73 in). The highest monthly rainfall total occurs in July and August. In these months often incessant rain for days brings live to a stall for the city dwellers. The city receives 2,528 hours of sunshine per year, with maximum sunlight exposure occurring in March.[75] Kolkata has been hit by several cyclones; these include systems occurring in 1737 and 1864 that killed thousands.[76][77]
Environmental issues
Pollution is a major concern in Kolkata. As of 2008, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide annual concentration were within the national ambient air quality standards of India, but respirable suspended particulate matter levels were high, and on an increasing trend for five consecutive years, causing smog and haze.[80][81] Severe air pollution in the city has caused a rise in pollution-related respiratory ailments, such as lung cancer.[82]
Economy
Kolkata is the main commercial and financial hub of East and North-East India[61] and home to the Calcutta Stock Exchange.[83][84] It is a major commercial and military port, and is the only city in eastern India, apart from Bhubaneswar to have an international airport. Once India's leading city, Kolkata experienced a steady economic decline in the decades following India's independence due to steep population increases and a rise in militant trade-unionism, which included frequent strikes that were backed by left-wing parties.[52] From the 1960s to the late 1990s, several factories were closed and businesses relocated.[52] The lack of capital and resources added to the depressed state of the city's economy and gave rise to an unwelcome sobriquet: the "dying city".[85] The city's fortunes improved after the Indian economy was liberalised in the 1990s and changes in economic policy were enacted by the West Bengal state government.[52]
Flexible production has been the norm in Kolkata, which has an informal sector that employs more than 40% of the labour force.[16] One unorganised group, roadside hawkers, generated business worth ₹ 8,772 crore (US$ 2 billion) in 2005.[86] As of 2001, around 0.81% of the city's workforce was employed in the primary sector (agriculture, forestry, mining, etc.); 15.49% worked in the secondary sector (industrial and manufacturing); and 83.69% worked in the tertiary sector (service industries).[61]:19 As of 2003, the majority of households in slums were engaged in occupations belonging to the informal sector; 36.5% were involved in servicing the urban middle class (as maids, drivers, etc.), and 22.2% were casual labourers.[87]:11 About 34% of the available labour force in Kolkata slums were unemployed.[87]:11 According to one estimate, almost a quarter of the population live on less than 27 rupees (equivalent to 45 US cents) per day.[88] As of 2010, Kolkata, with an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) by purchasing power parity of 150 billion dollars, ranked third among South Asian cities, after Mumbai and Delhi.[89] Kolkata's GDP in 2014 was Rs 1.84 trillion, according to a collaborative assessment by multiple universities and climate agencies.[90] As in many other Indian cities, information technology became a high-growth sector in Kolkata starting in the late 1990s; the city's IT sector grew at 70% per annum—a rate that was twice the national average.[52] The 2000s saw a surge of investments in the real estate, infrastructure, retail, and hospitality sectors; several large shopping malls and hotels were launched.[91][92][93][94][95] Companies such as ITC Limited, CESC Limited, Exide Industries, Emami, Eveready Industries India, Lux Industries, Rupa Company, Berger Paints, Birla Corporation and Britannia Industries are headquartered in the city. Philips India, PricewaterhouseCoopers India, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Steel have their registered office and zonal headquarters in Kolkata. Kolkata hosts the headquarters of three major public-sector banks: Allahabad Bank, UCO Bank, and the United Bank of India; and a private bank Bandhan Bank. Reserve Bank of India has its eastern zonal office in Kolkata, and India Government Mint, Kolkata is one of the four mints in India.
Panoramic view of the Down town Sector V one of the major IT hubs of Kolkata as seen from the lakes surrounding Bidhannagar. Major Buildings such as Technopolis, Godrej Waterside, TCS Lords, Eden and Wanderers Park, Gobsyn Crystal, South City Pinnacle, RDB Boulevard, West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation (WEBEL) Bhawan can be seen.
Demographics
See also: Ethnic communities in Kolkata
A skyline consisting of several high-rise buildings
Residential high-rise buildings in South City
A slum area of the city
The demonym for residents of Kolkata are Calcuttan and Kolkatan.[96][97] According to provisional results of the 2011 national census, Kolkata district, which occupies an area of 185 km2 (71 sq mi), had a population of 4,486,679;[98] its population density was 24,252/km2 (62,810/sq mi).[98] This represents a decline of 1.88% during the decade 2001–11. The sex ratio is 899 females per 1000 males—lower than the national average.[99] The ratio is depressed by the influx of working males from surrounding rural areas, from the rest of West Bengal; these men commonly leave their families behind.[100] Kolkata's literacy rate of 87.14%[99] exceeds the national average of 74%.[101] The final population totals of census 2011 stated the population of city as 4,496,694.[8] The urban agglomeration had a population of 14,112,536 in 2011.[9]
Bengali Hindus form the majority of Kolkata's population; Marwaris, Biharis and Muslims compose large minorities.[102] Among Kolkata's smaller communities are Chinese, Tamils, Nepalis, Odias, Telugus, Assamese, Gujaratis, Anglo-Indians, Armenians, Greeks, Tibetans, Maharashtrians, Konkanis, Malayalees, Punjabis, and Parsis.[26]:3 The number of Armenians, Greeks, Jews, and other foreign-origin groups declined during the 20th century.[103] The Jewish population of Kolkata was 5,000 during World War II, but declined after Indian independence and the establishment of Israel;[104] by 2013, there were 25 Jews in the city.[105] India's sole Chinatown is in eastern Kolkata;[103] once home to 20,000 ethnic Chinese, its population dropped to around 2,000 as of 2009[103] as a result of multiple factors including repatriation and denial of Indian citizenship following the 1962 Sino-Indian War, and immigration to foreign countries for better economic opportunities.[106] The Chinese community traditionally worked in the local tanning industry and ran Chinese restaurants.[103][107]
Kolkata urban agglomeration population growth Census Total %±
1981 9,194,000 —
1991 11,021,900 19.9%
2001 13,114,700 19.0%
2011 14,112,536 7.6%
Source: Census of India[9]
Others include Sikhism, Buddhism & Other religions (0.03%)
Religion in Kolkata[108]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
76.51%
Islam
20.60%
Christianity
0.88%
Jainism
0.47%
Others
1.54%
Bengali, the official state language, is the dominant language in Kolkata.[109] English is also used, particularly by the white-collar workforce. Hindi and Urdu are spoken by a sizeable minority.[110][111] According to the 2011 census, 76.51% of the population is Hindu, 20.60% Muslim, 0.88% Christian, and 0.47% Jain.[112] The remainder of the population includes Sikhs, Buddhists, and other religions which accounts for 0.45% of the population; 1.09% did not state a religion in the census.[112] Kolkata reported 67.6% of Special and Local Laws crimes registered in 35 large Indian cities during 2004.[113] The Kolkata police district registered 15,510 Indian Penal Code cases in 2010, the 8th-highest total in the country.[114] In 2010, the crime rate was 117.3 per 100,000, below the national rate of 187.6; it was the lowest rate among India's largest cities.[115]
As of 2003, about one-third of the population, or 1.5 million people, lived in 3,500 unregistered squatter-occupied and 2,011 registered slums.[87]:4[116]:92 The authorised slums (with access to basic services like water, latrines, trash removal by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation) can be broadly divided into two groups—bustees, in which slum dwellers have some long term tenancy agreement with the landowners; and udbastu colonies, settlements which had been leased to refugees from present-day Bangladesh by the Government.[116][87]:5 The unauthorised slums (devoid of basic services provided by the municipality) are occupied by squatters who started living on encroached lands—mainly along canals, railway lines and roads.[116]:92[87]:5 According to the 2005 National Family Health Survey, around 14% of the households in Kolkata were poor, while 33% lived in slums, indicating a substantial proportion of households in slum areas were better off economically than the bottom quarter of urban households in terms of wealth status.[117]:23 Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding and working with the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata—an organisation "whose primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after".[118]
Government and public services
Civic administration
Main article: Civic administration of Kolkata
A red-and-yellow building with multiple arches and towers standing against a backdrop of blue sky and framed by trees
Calcutta High Court
Kolkata is administered by several government agencies. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation, or KMC, oversees and manages the civic infrastructure of the city's 15 boroughs, which together encompass 141 wards.[109] Each ward elects a councillor to the KMC. Each borough has a committee of councillors, each of whom is elected to represent a ward. By means of the borough committees, the corporation undertakes urban planning and maintains roads, government-aided schools, hospitals, and municipal markets.[119] As Kolkata's apex body, the corporation discharges its functions through the mayor-in-council, which comprises a mayor, a deputy mayor, and ten other elected members of the KMC.[120] The functions of the KMC include water supply, drainage and sewerage, sanitation, solid waste management, street lighting, and building regulation.[119]
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation was ranked 1st out of 21 Cities for best governance & administrative practices in India in 2014. It scored 4.0 on 10 compared to the national average of 3.3.[121]
The Kolkata Port Trust, an agency of the central government, manages the city's river port. As of 2012, the All India Trinamool Congress controls the KMC; the mayor is Firhad Hakim, while the deputy mayor is Atin Ghosh.[122] The city has an apolitical titular post, that of the Sheriff of Kolkata, which presides over various city-related functions and conferences.[123]
Kolkata's administrative agencies have areas of jurisdiction that do not coincide. Listed in ascending order by area, they are: Kolkata district; the Kolkata Police area and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area, or "Kolkata city";[124] and the Kolkata metropolitan area, which is the city's urban agglomeration. The agency overseeing the latter, the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority, is responsible for the statutory planning and development of greater Kolkata.[125]
As the seat of the Government of West Bengal, Kolkata is home to not only the offices of the local governing agencies, but also the West Bengal Legislative Assembly; the state secretariat, which is housed in the Writers' Building; and the Calcutta High Court. Most government establishments and institutions are housed in the centre of the city in B. B. D. Bagh (formerly known as Dalhousie Square). The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It was preceded by the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William which was established in 1774. The Calcutta High Court has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Kolkata has lower courts: the Court of Small Causes and the City Civil Court decide civil matters; the Sessions Court rules in criminal cases.[126][127][128] The Kolkata Police, headed by a police commissioner, is overseen by the West Bengal Ministry of Home Affairs.[129][130] The Kolkata district elects two representatives to India's lower house, the Lok Sabha, and 11 representatives to the state legislative assembly.[131]
Utility services
A telecommunications tower belonging to services provider Tata Communications
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation supplies the city with potable water that is sourced from the Hooghly River;[132] most of it is treated and purified at the Palta pumping station located in North 24 Parganas district.[133] Roughly 95% of the 4,000 tonnes of refuse produced daily by the city is transported to the dumping grounds in Dhapa, which is east of the town.[134][135] To promote the recycling of garbage and sewer water, agriculture is encouraged on the dumping grounds.[136] Parts of the city lack proper sewerage, leading to unsanitary methods of waste disposal.[75]
Electricity is supplied by the privately operated Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation, or CESC, to the city proper; the West Bengal State Electricity Board supplies it in the suburbs.[137][138] Fire services are handled by the West Bengal Fire Service, a state agency.[139] As of 2012, the city had 16 fire stations.[140]
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, or BSNL, as well as private enterprises, among them Vodafone, Bharti Airtel, Reliance, Idea Cellular, Aircel, Tata DoCoMo, Tata Teleservices, Virgin Mobile, and MTS India, are the leading telephone and cell phone service providers in the city.[141]:25–26:179 with Kolkata being the first city in India to have cell phone and 4G connectivity, the GSM and CDMA cellular coverage is extensive.[142][143] As of 2010, Kolkata has 7 percent of the total Broadband internet consumers in India; BSNL, VSNL, Tata Indicom, Sify, Airtel, and Reliance are among the main vendors.[144][145]
Military and diplomatic establishments
The Eastern Command of the Indian Army is based in the city. Being one of India's major city and the largest city in eastern and north-eastern India, Kolkata hosts diplomatic missions of many countries such as Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, People's Republic of China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Srilanka, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States. The U.S Consulate in Kolkata is the US Department of State's second oldest Consulate and dates from 19 November 1792.[146]
Transport
Public transport is provided by the Kolkata Suburban Railway, the Kolkata Metro, trams, rickshaws, and buses. The suburban rail network reaches the city's distant suburbs.
According to a 2013 survey conducted by the International Association of Public Transport, in terms of a public transport system, Kolkata ranks among the top of the six Indian cities surveyed.[147][148] The Kolkata Metro, in operation since 1984, is the oldest underground mass transit system in India.[149] It spans the north–south length of the city and covers a distance of 25.1 km (16 mi).[150] As of 2009, five Metro rail lines were under construction.[151] Kolkata has four long-distance railway stations, located at Howrah (the largest railway complex in India), Sealdah, Chitpur and Shalimar, which connect Kolkata by rail to most cities in West Bengal and to other major cities in India.[152] The city serves as the headquarters of three railway Zone out of Seventeen of the Indian Railways regional divisions—the Kolkata Metro Railways, Eastern Railway and the South-Eastern Railway.[153] Kolkata has rail and road connectivity with Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.[154][155][156]
Buses, which are the most commonly used mode of transport, are run by government agencies and private operators.[157] Kolkata is the only Indian city with a tram network, which is operated by the Calcutta Tramways Company.[158] The slow-moving tram services are restricted to certain areas of the city. Water-logging, caused by heavy rains that fall during the summer monsoon, can interrupt transportation networks.[159][160] Hired public conveyances include auto rickshaws, which often ply specific routes, and yellow metered taxis. Almost all of Kolkata's taxis are antiquated Hindustan Ambassadors by make; newer air-conditioned radio taxis are in service as well.[161][162] In parts of the city, cycle rickshaws and hand-pulled rickshaws are patronised by the public for short trips.[163]
Due to its diverse and abundant public transportation, privately owned vehicles are not as common in Kolkata as in other major Indian cities.[164] The city has witnessed a steady increase in the number of registered vehicles; 2002 data showed an increase of 44% over a period of seven years.[165] As of 2004, after adjusting for population density, the city's "road space" was only 6% compared to 23% in Delhi and 17% in Mumbai.[166] The Kolkata Metro has somewhat eased traffic congestion, as has the addition of new roads and flyovers. Agencies operating long-distance bus services include the Calcutta State Transport Corporation, the South Bengal State Transport Corporation, the North Bengal State Transport Corporation, and various private operators. The city's main bus terminals are located at Esplanade and Babughat.[167] The Kolkata–Delhi and Kolkata–Chennai prongs of the Golden Quadrilateral, and National Highway 34 start from the city.[168]
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, located in Dum Dum some 16 km (9.9 mi) north-east of the city centre, operates domestic and international flights. In 2013, the airport was upgraded to handle increased air traffic.[169][170]
The Port of Kolkata, established in 1870, is India's oldest and the only major river port.[171] The Kolkata Port Trust manages docks in Kolkata and Haldia.[172] The port hosts passenger services to Port Blair, capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; freighter service to ports throughout India and around the world is operated by the Shipping Corporation of India.[171][173] Ferry services connect Kolkata with its twin city of Howrah, located across the Hooghly River.[174][175]
The route from North Bengal to Kolkata is set to become cheaper and more efficient for people travelling by bus. Through April 2017 to March 2018, the North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) will be introducing a fleet of rocket buses equipped with bio-toilets for the bus route.[176]
Healthcare
See also: Health care in Kolkata
A big building in cream colour with many columns and a portico
Calcutta Medical College, the second institution in Asia to teach modern medicine(after 'Ecole de Médicine de Pondichéry')
IPGMER and SSKM Hospital, Kolkata is the largest hospital in West Bengal and one of the oldest in Kolkata.
As of 2011, the health care system in Kolkata consists of 48 government hospitals, mostly under the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal, and 366 private medical establishments;[177] these establishments provide the city with 27,687 hospital beds.[177] For every 10,000 people in the city, there are 61.7 hospital beds,[178] which is higher than the national average of 9 hospital beds per 10,000.[179] Ten medical and dental colleges are located in the Kolkata metropolitan area which act as tertiary referral hospitals in the state.[180][181] The Calcutta Medical College, founded in 1835, was the first institution in Asia to teach modern medicine.[182] However, These facilities are inadequate to meet the healthcare needs of the city.[183][184][185] More than 78% in Kolkata prefer the private medical sector over the public medical sector,[117]:109 due to the poor quality of care, the lack of a nearby facility, and excessive waiting times at government facilities.[117]:61
According to the Indian 2005 National Family Health Survey, only a small proportion of Kolkata households were covered under any health scheme or health insurance.[117]:41 The total fertility rate in Kolkata was 1.4, The lowest among the eight cities surveyed.[117]:45 In Kolkata, 77% of the married women used contraceptives, which was the highest among the cities surveyed, but use of modern contraceptive methods was the lowest (46%).[117]:47 The infant mortality rate in Kolkata was 41 per 1,000 live births, and the mortality rate for children under five was 49 per 1,000 live births.[117]:48
Among the surveyed cities, Kolkata stood second (5%) for children who had not had any vaccinations under the Universal Immunization Programme as of 2005.[117]:48 Kolkata ranked second with access to an anganwadi centre under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme for 57% of the children between 0 and 71 months.[117]:51 The proportion of malnourished, anaemic and underweight children in Kolkata was less in comparison to other surveyed cities.[117]:54–55
About 18% of the men and 30% of the women in Kolkata are obese—the majority of them belonging to the non-poor strata of society.[117]:105 In 2005, Kolkata had the highest percentage (55%) among the surveyed cities of anaemic women, while 20% of the men in Kolkata were anaemic.[117]:56–57 Diseases like diabetes, asthma, goitre and other thyroid disorders were found in large numbers of people.[117]:57–59 Tropical diseases like malaria, dengue and chikungunya are prevalent in Kolkata, though their incidence is decreasing.[186][187] Kolkata is one of the districts in India with a high number of people with AIDS; it has been designated a district prone to high risk.[188][189]
As of 2014, because of higher air pollution, the life expectancy of a person born in the city is four years fewer than in the suburbs.[190]
Education
Kolkata's schools are run by the state government or private organisations, many of which are religious. Bengali and English are the primary languages of instruction; Urdu and Hindi are also used, particularly in central Kolkata.[191][192] Schools in Kolkata follow the "10+2+3" plan. After completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in schools that have a higher secondary facility and are affiliated with the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, the ICSE, or the CBSE.[191] They usually choose a focus on liberal arts, business, or science. Vocational programs are also available.[191] Some Kolkata schools, for example La Martiniere Calcutta, Calcutta Boys' School, St. James' School (Kolkata), St. Xavier's Collegiate School, and Loreto House, have been ranked amongst the best schools in the country.[193]
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
As of 2010, the Kolkata urban agglomeration is home to 14 universities run by the state government.[194] The colleges are each affiliated with a university or institution based either in Kolkata or elsewhere in India. Aliah University which was founded in 1780 as Mohammedan College of Calcutta is the oldest post-secondary educational institution of the city.[195] The University of Calcutta, founded in 1857, is the first modern university in South Asia.[196] Presidency College, Kolkata (formerly Hindu College between 1817 and 1855), founded in 1855, was one of the oldest and most eminent colleges in India. It was affiliated with the University of Calcutta until 2010 when it was converted to Presidency University, Kolkata in 2010. Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) is the second oldest engineering institution of the country located in Howrah.[197] An Institute of National Importance, BESU was converted to India's first IIEST. Jadavpur University is known for its arts, science, and engineering faculties.[198] The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, which was the first of the Indian Institutes of Management, was established in 1961 at Joka, a locality in the south-western suburbs. Kolkata also houses the prestigious Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, which was started here in the year 2006.[199] The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences is one of India's autonomous law schools,[200][201] and the Indian Statistical Institute is a public research institute and university. State owned Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, West Bengal (MAKAUT, WB), formerly West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT) is the largest Technological University in terms of student enrollment and number of Institutions affiliated by it. Private institutions include the Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute and University of Engineering & Management (UEM).
Notable scholars who were born, worked or studied in Kolkata include physicists Satyendra Nath Bose, Meghnad Saha,[202] and Jagadish Chandra Bose;[203] chemist Prafulla Chandra Roy;[202] statisticians Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis and Anil Kumar Gain;[202] physician Upendranath Brahmachari;[202] educator Ashutosh Mukherjee;[204] and Nobel laureates Rabindranath Tagore,[205] C. V. Raman,[203] and Amartya Sen.[206]
Kolkata houses many premier research institutes like Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bose Institute, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP), All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI), S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS), Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM), National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Kolkata, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) and Indian Centre for Space Physics. Nobel laureate Sir C. V. Raman did his groundbreaking work in Raman effect in IACS.
Culture
Kolkata is known for its literary, artistic, and revolutionary heritage; as the former capital of India, it was the birthplace of modern Indian literary and artistic thought.[207] Kolkata has been called the "City of Furious, Creative Energy"[208] as well as the "cultural [or literary] capital of India".[209][210] The presence of paras, which are neighbourhoods that possess a strong sense of community, is characteristic of the city.[211] Typically, each para has its own community club and, on occasion, a playing field.[211] Residents engage in addas, or leisurely chats, that often take the form of freestyle intellectual conversation.[212][213] The city has a tradition of political graffiti depicting everything from outrageous slander to witty banter and limericks, caricatures, and propaganda.[214][215]
Kolkata has many buildings adorned with Indo-Islamic and Indo-Saracenic architectural motifs. Several well-maintained major buildings from the colonial period have been declared "heritage structures";[216] others are in various stages of decay.[217][218] Established in 1814 as the nation's oldest museum, the Indian Museum houses large collections that showcase Indian natural history and Indian art.[219] Marble Palace is a classic example of a European mansion that was built in the city. The Victoria Memorial, a place of interest in Kolkata, has a museum documenting the city's history. The National Library of India is the leading public library in the country while Science City is the largest science centre in the Indian subcontinent.[220]
The popularity of commercial theatres in the city has declined since the 1980s.[221]:99[222] Group theatres of Kolkata, a cultural movement that started in the 1940s contrasting with the then-popular commercial theatres, are theatres that are not professional or commercial, and are centres of various experiments in theme, content, and production;[223] group theatres use the proscenium stage to highlight socially relevant messages.[221]:99[224] Chitpur locality of the city houses multiple production companies of jatra, a tradition of folk drama popular in rural Bengal.[225][226] Kolkata is the home of the Bengali cinema industry, dubbed "Tollywood" for Tollygunj, where most of the state's film studios are located.[227] Its long tradition of art films includes globally acclaimed film directors such as Academy Award-winning director Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha, and contemporary directors such as Aparna Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Goutam Ghose and Rituparno Ghosh.[228]
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Bengali literature was modernised through the works of authors such as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.[229] Coupled with social reforms led by Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, and others, this constituted a major part of the Bengal Renaissance.[230] The middle and latter parts of the 20th century witnessed the arrival of post-modernism, as well as literary movements such as those espoused by the Kallol movement, hungryalists and the little magazines.[231] Large majority of publishers of the city is concentrated in and around College Street, "... a half-mile of bookshops and bookstalls spilling over onto the pavement", selling new and used books.[232]
Kalighat painting originated in 19th century Kolkata as a local style that reflected a variety of themes including mythology and quotidian life.[233] The Government College of Art and Craft, founded in 1864, has been the cradle as well as workplace of eminent artists including Abanindranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, and Nandalal Bose.[234] The art college was the birthplace of the Bengal school of art that arose as an avant garde and nationalist movement reacting against the prevalent academic art styles in the early 20th century.[235][236] The Academy of Fine Arts and other art galleries hold regular art exhibitions. The city is recognised for its appreciation of Rabindra sangeet (songs written by Rabindranath Tagore) and Indian classical music, with important concerts and recitals, such as Dover Lane Music Conference, being held throughout the year; Bengali popular music, including baul folk ballads, kirtans, and Gajan festival music; and modern music, including Bengali-language adhunik songs.[237][238] Since the early 1990s, new genres have emerged, including one comprising alternative folk–rock Bengali bands.[237] Another new style, jibonmukhi gaan ("songs about life"), is based on realism.[221]:105 Key elements of Kolkata's cuisine include rice and a fish curry known as machher jhol,[239] which can be accompanied by desserts such as roshogolla, sandesh, and a sweet yoghurt known as mishti dohi. Bengal's large repertoire of seafood dishes includes various preparations of ilish, a fish that is a favourite among Calcuttans. Street foods such as beguni (fried battered eggplant slices), kati roll (flatbread roll with vegetable or chicken, mutton, or egg stuffing), phuchka (a deep-fried crêpe with tamarind sauce) and Indian Chinese cuisine from Chinatown are popular.[240][241][242][243]
Though Bengali women traditionally wear the sari, the shalwar kameez and Western attire is gaining acceptance among younger women.[244] Western-style dress has greater acceptance among men, although the traditional dhoti and kurta are seen during festivals. Durga Puja, held in September–October, is Kolkata's most important and largest festival; it is an occasion for glamorous celebrations and artistic decorations.[245][246] The Bengali New Year, known as Poila Boishak, as well as the harvest festival of Poush Parbon are among the city's other festivals; also celebrated are Kali Puja, Diwali, Holi, Jagaddhatri Puja, Saraswati Puja, Rathayatra, Janmashtami, Maha Shivratri, Vishwakarma Puja, Lakshmi Puja, Ganesh Chathurthi, Makar Sankranti, Gajan, Kalpataru Day, Bhai Phonta, Maghotsab, Eid, Muharram, Christmas, Buddha Purnima and Mahavir Jayanti. Cultural events include the Rabindra Jayanti, Independence Day(15 August), Republic Day(26 January), Kolkata Book Fair, the Dover Lane Music Festival, the Kolkata Film Festival, Nandikar's National Theatre Festival, Statesman Vintage & Classic Car Rally and Gandhi Jayanti.
Media
See also: Kolkata in the media and List of Bengali-language television channels
A five storied building in cream colour with multiple columns in front
Akashvani Bhawan, the head office of state-owned All India Radio, Kolkata
The first newspaper in India, the Bengal Gazette started publishing from the city in 1780.[247] Among Kolkata's widely circulated Bengali-language newspapers are Anandabazar Patrika, Bartaman, Sangbad Pratidin, Aajkaal, Dainik Statesman and Ganashakti.[248] The Statesman and The Telegraph are two major English-language newspapers that are produced and published from Kolkata. Other popular English-language newspapers published and sold in Kolkata include The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Indian Express, and the Asian Age.[248] As the largest trading centre in East India, Kolkata has several high-circulation financial dailies, including The Economic Times, The Financial Express, Business Line, and Business Standard.[248][249] Vernacular newspapers, such as those in the Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Odia, Punjabi, and Chinese languages, are read by minorities.[248][103] Major periodicals based in Kolkata include Desh, Sananda, Saptahik Bartaman, Unish-Kuri, Anandalok, and Anandamela.[248] Historically, Kolkata has been the centre of the Bengali little magazine movement.[250][251]
All India Radio, the national state-owned radio broadcaster, airs several AM radio stations in the city.[252] Kolkata has 12 local radio stations broadcasting on FM, including two from AIR.[253] India's state-owned television broadcaster, Doordarshan, provides two free-to-air terrestrial channels,[254] while a mix of Bengali, Hindi, English, and other regional channels are accessible via cable subscription, direct-broadcast satellite services, or internet-based television.[255][256][257] Bengali-language 24-hour television news channels include ABP Ananda, Tara Newz, Kolkata TV, 24 Ghanta, News Time and Channel 10.[258]
Sports
See also: Football in Kolkata, Kolkata Marathon, and Kolkata derby
Salt Lake Stadium during Indian Super League opening ceremony
The most popular sports in Kolkata are football and cricket. Unlike most parts of India, the residents show significant passion for football.[259] The city is home to top national football clubs such as Mohun Bagan A.C., East Bengal F.C., Prayag United S.C., and the Mohammedan Sporting Club.[260][261] Calcutta Football League, which was started in 1898, is the oldest football league in Asia.[262] Mohun Bagan A.C., one of the oldest football clubs in Asia, is the only organisation to be dubbed a "National Club of India".[263][264] Football matches between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, dubbed as the Kolkata derby, witness large audience attendance and rivalry between patrons.[265]
A Twenty20 cricket match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors during Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens
As in the rest of India, cricket is popular in Kolkata and is played on grounds and in streets throughout the city.[266][267] Kolkata has the Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders; the Cricket Association of Bengal, which regulates cricket in West Bengal, is also based in the city. Kolkata also has an Indian Super League franchise known as Atlético de Kolkata. Tournaments, especially those involving cricket, football, badminton, and carrom, are regularly organised on an inter-locality or inter-club basis.[211] The Maidan, a vast field that serves as the city's largest park, hosts several minor football and cricket clubs and coaching institutes.[268]
Eden Gardens, which has a capacity of 68,000 as of 2017,[269] hosted the final match of the 1987 Cricket World Cup. It is home to the Bengal cricket team and the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The multi-use Salt Lake Stadium, also known as Yuva Bharati Krirangan, is India's largest stadium by seating capacity. Most matches of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup were played in the Salt Lake Stadium including both Semi-Final matches and the Final match. Kolkata also accounted for 45% of total attendance in 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup with an average of 55,345 spectators.[270] The Calcutta Cricket and Football Club is the second-oldest cricket club in the world.[271][272]
Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium served as host of the 1981 Asian Basketball Championship, where India's national basketball team finished 5th, ahead of teams that belong to Asia's basketball elite, such as Iran. The city has three 18-hole golf courses. The oldest is at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, the first golf club built outside the United Kingdom.[273][274] The other two are located at the Tollygunge Club and at Fort William. The Royal Calcutta Turf Club hosts horse racing and polo matches.[275] The Calcutta Polo Club is considered the oldest extant polo club in the world.[276][277][278] The Calcutta Racket Club is a squash and racquet club in Kolkata. It was founded in 1793, making it one of the oldest rackets clubs in the world, and the first in the Indian subcontinent.[279][280] The Calcutta South Club is a venue for national and international tennis tournaments; it held the first grass-court national championship in 1946.[281][282] In the period 2005–2007, Sunfeast Open, a tier-III tournament on the Women's Tennis Association circuit, was held in the Netaji Indoor Stadium; it has since been discontinued.[283][284]
The Calcutta Rowing Club hosts rowing heats and training events. Kolkata, considered the leading centre of rugby union in India, gives its name to the oldest international tournament in rugby union, the Calcutta Cup.[285][286][287] The Automobile Association of Eastern India, established in 1904,[288][289] and the Bengal Motor Sports Club are involved in promoting motor sports and car rallies in Kolkata and West Bengal.[290][291] The Beighton Cup, an event organised by the Bengal Hockey Association and first played in 1895, is India's oldest field hockey tournament; it is usually held on the Mohun Bagan Ground of the Maidan.[292][293] Athletes from Kolkata include Sourav Ganguly and Pankaj Roy, who are former captains of the Indian national cricket team; Olympic tennis bronze medallist Leander Paes, golfer Arjun Atwal, and former footballers Sailen Manna, Chuni Goswami, P. K. Banerjee, and Subrata Bhattacharya.
A thought that occurs to me frequently: the world's always been "bad"...it's just that, last few decades, for those in "developed" nations, it's been relatively quiet.
If you've been lucky. Or privileged.
But the world's always chaos. This photo was taken during the first Trump presidency. I remember keeping a small journal during the initial days after his winning the election. Three years later...things just went on like they always had. I was taking pictures. I was working, hanging out with friends, making out with pretty ladies, surfing, traveling, eating, living.
I was lucky. Privileged.
I wonder if we're entering a time where none of us will be spared having to actually reckon with the world we live in. Where we'll have to no choice but to choose between the hardship of fighting for a better world over the warm bath of watching the world fall apart from the living room couch.
A P-51 D Mustang and a F-22 Raptor in Heritage Flight formation at the Great New England Air Show © 2015 Derrick L Garrett
© 2015 Derrick L. Garrett
The last week of the last year of RHTT and with x-mas drinks for the next two days and a badminton match on Saturday morning, today is likely to be the last time I get to catch the RHTT at Sheffield headed by class 20s. Thrown into the mix 2 HST sets, a 142 and 4 144s. All stock with limited time on its hands.
From an old account, Fiona, to this account. Ten (well, almost 10) years of Second Life.
Participate in the Decade Challenge on the #SecondLife Community
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Today is my 20th birthday... It's a day I've been dreading for quite a while... I'm no longer a teenager and I feel like time is going by way too fast and I didn't spend the past few years doing everything I could have. It's hard to believe my childhood memories were so long ago, and yet they seem so close. I remember when I first started delving into ordinary LEGO, after Duplo. I had a small bin full of Lego Classic sets and a couple of random parts I got from different places. I used to rummage for hours trying to find parts and I had so much fun making cool bases and vehicles. Those days are how my imagination as a builder started, and well, now I'm who I am now.
I also wanna mention how much Flickr and all of you guys mean to me. I had some rough teenage years as a homeschooler and trying to overcome anxieties and finding people who made me feel welcome, and ever since I started posting here, you were all very supportive and gave me some great feedback and building advice. Because of you, I learned tons of new techniques and ideas. You're all amazing builders! So a huge thank to all of my followers :)
Here's a little MOC I crafted last night. I did it more for myself than for the post, since I have a bunch of things from my childhood in there. I used to play with all of those minifigures as a kid and I'm pretty sure some of them are from the early 90's or late 80's. I had a lot of LEGO handed down from my older cousins. I also tried replicating a couple of things I used to build as a kid. Hope you find it interesting!
Happy building guys!
Side note, The Clone Wars came out a decade ago, and in that same amount of time I'll be 30... It's mind-blowing... At least for me. I don't know, maybe the way we perceive time changes as we age. It's weird. Anyway if you're still a teenager, don't wish you were older. Cuz when you get there, you'll still feel the same plus a little bit worse. :')
THE DRUNKEN MUSE
The story "Drunken Muse" was audio recorded on a hidden voice recorder during the conversations about two decades ago. The story-teller didn't know or consent to the recording.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tape_recorder
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8-track_tape
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Cassette
The audio tapes on compact cassettes were never used. The records were partially damaged and lost.
Herewith the unedited transcript version.
medium.com/paul-jaisini-paints-invisible-paintings/paul-j...
I am so pumped to get back to painting as I return to the second year of the art school after a full year suspension. As always it is like time-travel culturally speaking, like walking right into the middle ages going through the antique building’s portal.
Art studios are the huge L-shaped lofts with super tall ceilings 20 feet no less with the wall to wall windows so that sunlight illuminates the space from south and east side designed for the purpose so that one could paint there from morning till sunset.
In a studio there are classical gypsum sculptures, expensive copies of Venus de Milo, David, Laocoön and the others. In the art studio there stood the noses, eyes, lips, feet, and palms on the wood shelves.
Sketching the gypsum body parts helps you to build the classic academic base on which stands the whole modern and contempo art. This sort of teaching is specific for the art schools that preserve the traditions they had been founded on. There is only few art schools like this and of this caliber left now. Could be that this is the only legendary school that continues to function as if nothing had changed in the world. In the rest of the world with billions of some art classes nobody knows what does the old tradition of art school is for, its totally unfashionable.
Studying classic art (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_art) here is the foundation for creativity in any of the art styles.
The smell of art is what defines the studio but not from human presence, something like an aroma reminiscent of the eastern market where smoke from hookaahs mix with the oil vapors, exotic fragrance from candles and spices. The Art Studios were never renovated since the times they were built over 150 years ago. The wood floors are saturated with art oils as if the floor is waxed with the organic oils from nuts, linen ( linseed oil, poppy seed oil, and so forth.) Adding to the mix the varnishes used by painters (pine wood varnish, Dammar varnish and others) It makes this ART SMELL to be the most intoxicating and ever-lasting musk.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_painting
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_painting - Ingredients
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio - Art_studio
The instance you enter the studio space you feel the belonging to a knighthood and the whole art history. You are the undivided part of those people who left their creation imprints.
Super pumped up after the long break up with the arts after my full year of non-stop party marathons I had returned to the bohemian life style.
Actually my other life style wasn't any different from the bohemian.
The only difference is that there is some meaning in the bohemian life style, something to create, to shape. Not just spend time doing sports and girls but something on a whole 'nother level only with the same sub text and by far more emotionally connected.
The bohemian I think is much more my thing, that fits me as a person. Maybe because my old man is the greatest sculptor.
He is color blind so apparently I took up the torch, I have a very special sense for color.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sculpture
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemianism
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blindness
There could be an inborn human predicament or inborn genius.
I returned into the world to kiss its ground. I like everything about it, the babeville and its fashion circus.
The art students are known to come up with endless varieties of how to be stylish.
Take me for example, I am chilling in a suit jacket. It was professionally hand-tailored out of a denim Pajamas with stripes and starry silk underlining.
This “look” is completed by my python leather jeans. And over that an authentic LONG military Germany Waffen Elite Officer black Leather Coat from the WWII, only it is without a Swastika.
I never part with my large portfolio and a Field Easel.
EASEL
About 700 students attend the studies. The art school accepts only the best of best with few exception such as the kids of celebrity artists, writers and musicians and people who had real power in the city.
I wasn't enrolled for money or the A-lister parents, but for my talents. The Art specialty (painting, drawing, sculpture) teachers here are the world-wide recognized contemporary artists.
In a matter of my working ethics these important artists would point at me as the example of how fast I work, how well I sketch in color, how I always choose the most unexpected and unusual angle for my composition and so on...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_(visual_arts)
name banner gif
Optical illusion geometric gif
(portraiture, still-life, and landscape)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_life
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landscape_painting
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_drawing
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_painting
I never work on an académie (live drawing of a model, live painting of a model) the given eighty -- ninety hours. My whole process is about six -- nine hours to fully complete the work so I get out of the studio for some action and fun.
I’m probably the strongest in the class. My art professors know I don’t need to be there to distract the others.
When I’ve got nothing to do I start banging the head against the wall. Still I am criticized SUPER harshly for cutting the classes.
At this point I am not aware of the inner workings of “THE SYSTEM”.
I call suitcase with a secret compartment.
At the grade shows I only see the bad grades on my best artworks.
There is another side of the coin. It revealed in the future when I got to befriend a secretary at the Dean’s office. It was about the time of my graduating year.
The art teachers actually always considered me to be the leading artist among all students. They would grade all my artworks high on my personal record I knew nothing about.
That was how the art school’s system pushed the talented students to go further to open up their potential. Pushing to the limits of impossible.
I am harshly criticized for cutting a lot of classes.
There is another side of the coin. It will be revealed in the future when I got to befriend a secretary at the Dean's office. It was about the time of my graduating year.
The art teachers actually always considered me to be the leading artist among all students. They would grade all my artworks high on my personal record I knew nothing about.
That was how the art school's system pushed the talented students to go further to open up their potential. Pushing to the limits of impossible.
Willing or not but the doubts get in my head. I was thinking (rather frantically) that maybe I’m all just misguided. I will work to beef up my skills unable to accept that I am not really a “genius” artist. The bad grades were corrupting my vision.
Totally clueless that these bad grades in my case were used as "disciplinary measures" for my behavior of anarchy. These grades had nothing to do with my artworks.
And yet my best drawings and paintings are graded the lowest. At the same time the art professors are taking my works home. I always find empty walls where my works were displayed for the semester shows.
Sooner or later the missing artworks got me enraged. My classmates tell me the back story on what REALLY had happened.
All the art professors usually go the painting major's finals. So they just took my artworks right off the wall.
Ever since I heard this back story I flaunt how IDGAF to even pick up my works with the bad grades after the finals end.
Like a bunch of some doomsday looters in sight of an electronic store the art students same as the teachers vultured my artworks. Later some of my paintings and drawings were seen at the school's museum, especially the paintings.
The story of the artworks snatched off my exhibit wall developed further.
In the art school the art teachers are the privileged kind who exhibit regularly. All are the accomplished artists with big names.
Another thing about my artworks (no longer mine and in someone else's possession) is the story that involves someone with the top art rep being the art dynasty. Even so it happed that the leading art professor nicknamed Molly (for her annoying facial mole) used my art stuff to have her son who studied same years as me, just never expelled, to apply to an art academy with the highest qualification requirements. Molly's son portfolio sucked. To get him qualified to apply she gave her son all of my artworks she collected.
The juice was given to me by the reliable sources. The story was concurred by the eye--witnesses the students who were applying to the same academy together with Molly's son. Some of these students knew my work by the style, special color palette and the brushwork.
They all knew that Molly's son was using my artworks. He only had to forge his signature and remove mine.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Study_(art)
My drawings, sketches, paintings, watercolors are in "wide" use by others.
I tell that to describe the routine of my life.
It could explain why I was expelled three times for the chronic absence, for sabotaging the lectures -- getting my classmates to leave the studio and go to the movies or to the beach.
Fast forward to that event of the breaking point when I started to work systematically.
I was sucked into work as if a drug addiction. I was penetrating deeper to the very core of creativity. Reading books, going to the museums, working in the field, working in the museums to copy masters. I completely forgot all about life around me.
Practically I was devoured and digested with my nails and hair by that devil called the academic art. It sucked out the leftovers of my soul.
I stayed in the studio after the classes to work. There were only few students like this, spiritually close to me. To them it was their life style since the day they had entered the art school unlike me. Whenever I'd get bored with art I'd quit working and just leave without asking permission.
Now as if something had hit me hard and I started to really work. Most art students here typically come from such backgrounds when they did their baby steps and studied in the children's (secondary) art school from an early age and tutored by art teachers at home
I had a tendency to take on a higher complexity unprepared without the experience of any art school training (the eight years on a daily basic with teachers and methodical practice.)
As long as I remember myself I was drawing, during my school years, on the notebooks, with chalk on the asphalt, with stick on the sand. I did it subconsciously, not knowing what I was doing.
IDK, could be due to the several bad bike accidents when my head ended up hitting the brick...
Why did my brain moved into the direction of noticing those things that normal people should not be noticing? That the leaves on the trees are not at all green, but violet.
The falling shadows from the street lights are not at all outlined by black, the contours are the absolute blue.
The trees look like people.
There are so much more shades of colors that language could articulate.
Stuff like this filled up my head so that there was no place left for just a thought about girls, more so even the thoughts to manipulate my body functions. For instance using the
bathroom. I almost peed my pants. Truthfully I was on the edge of madness.
I remember how I hallucinated during my work imagining that someone had come into my studio and I spoke to "the guest." My brain was ill, there was no escape from that hell.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violet_(color)
Once I was walking on a street without any awareness. My mind was no longer in command of anything accept the obsession with my painting. As I was pushing the limits of what was humanly possible in a matter of progress from the previous stage when I could draw and paint with intuitive results now I considered as totally armature waste of art materials. My condition would be hard to describe since I could hardly remember what was it like during that madly intense period. I know that I was working non--stop and did make some major break through. It worked but at the same time the progress turned its evil side, I wasn't able to stop even for a brief moment. Something happened to my otherwise incorruptible memory that I could only remember few things from that period. And one of those things was my death walk through the city streets on a day I was supposed to disappear.
When I realized that I was walking automatically, blind and incredibly
avoiding the cars, for the first time I felt the fear of madness that can easily take my life. It wasn't something I would fear if I was in my other life when loosing it would be quite an ordinary thing and not due to my lost mind.
Whatever it was I survived with no chances to stay alive that day. I had more chances to live on when I was shot at execution style, when I was drowning in bad storm, climbing on a building like a cat, and on many others such occasions.
Some guardian angel was looking over me as I came to the final moment of certain death, blind, deaf, disoriented and delusional.
As we finished with draperies, still life, gypsum figures we moved on to the nude. To draw and paint from the live sitter, male or female model.
There comes an old fat hag to be posed before the artists. She will be POSING even during the breaks. She sits professionally without a slight move of her flab folds for us to draw her “forms”. ‘assume it was done for the boys not to get distracted with the female anatomy.
The models with “rounded” forms were chosen so we would study the reflects and double reflects on a “sphere-like” and “cylinder-like” forms.
There would be plenty of the cast shadow (a type of shadow that is created on a form), and a drop shadow ( below the image).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_human_positions
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_study
The working objective was to concentrate on the drawing’s construction.
When we’d get a young female model, she’d be so skeletal that we studied the skeleton. This type of models was as unattractive as the fat ones.
The art students without an eye for a drawing and technique produced their works of caricature quality. With the lost proportions the models looked like animals, skinny chickens or fat frogs.
For me it was a serious job, body didn’t exist. I x-rayed the flubs of fat to see the bones to connect them to muscles, to build a form.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caricature
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeleton
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_skeleton
The illness I call the overdose had progressed and my end was near.
Homies who knew me used to say that I was cracked.
When I moved from the classicism to modern (I refused to see any modern or contemporary art, never wanted to see it, or ever saw it) I entered the Modern art on my own, as my foot stepped into the forth dimension.
I entered the world of mad pressure. Good I stepped in it one foot yet.
I was sleeping in the studio right on the floor near my work and placed an electric heater near by.
It was impossible to heat up whole place where fifty heavy-duty easels only took a quarter of the studio space.
In the center there was a huge round stage made from a special hard wood to hold any number of models when needed for the multiple human-figure compositions.
The place was full of easels, portable and the large for the field. The chairs, tables, palettes, boxes with paint, cases with paper and lots of other art stuff piled up into mountains.
The parquet floor was always covered in fresh oil paints even though the teachers tried in vein to prove a fact that working neatly was by far more productive.
We had a dormitory built same year as the art school which was 150 something years ago.
If you stayed late in the studio that was forbidden, you couldn't get to the dorm.
A guard at the main door was a real watch dog, he faithfully guarded the pathway knowing every student's face.
The dorm was occupied by those who couldn't pay for a room or the apartment in the city.
Ten beds were squeezed in a dorm room.
This part of the antique building was never renovated probably b/c it was planned to be turned into more art studios.
But since there were out of town students who had no place to live they were given a place in this dorm.
The beds were of a good prison-like quality so the survival was possible. Another thing is what was happening in the dorm.
On a typical day nobody there had any money left after the expensive art materials. Not a penny to get high. Alcoholic liquid (40-60%) was soaked into the bread.
From one bite of that bread you could instantly drop dead as if your legs got cut off by a train.
The receptors inside the nose absorb the fumes to hit right into the brain, this way the booze doesn't ever enter the digestive system and blood.
It kills or makes one go bonkers.
Some pissheads in desperation poured vodka into a wine bottle cap to inhale it like coke. After one cap screw it was a total alchoholocaust.
There were many ways of economizing: to use a medical thin rubber tube to suck the drink very slowly, one bottle would
serve four alkies.
It was the usual schizophrenic day for me. I had my dose of coffee and ate on a way to the studio.
Those days I didn't miss a class afraid to get expelled for the last and final time.
I couldn't understand this thing about my artworks. Why did my classmates literally begged on their knees to have the C-graded artworks I was never satisfied with.
It became my trade mark to give away all of my stuff left and right. I didn't know why I let go of my drawings and paintings so easy. Now I regret that. It would be interesting to see the growth.
Once I happened to tell a guy from my class who worked very hard on his drawing (he wasn't a good draftsman): "Oh Wow! you are doing a lot of progress, buddy, congrats!" I looked at his portfolio and pointed at a piece: "This drawing here is really mature and quite interesting, you achieved volume and air in just a linear drawing."
The guy suddenly goes red, stares at me wide-eyed with anger or confusion I couldn't quite understand...
"Am I saying something wrong?" I asked.
"You're fucking dissing me!" He answered.
"Why?" I wondered.
"This is YOUR drawing," Was the answer: "I took it, that is when I asked you and you gave it to me, don't you remember?"
I didn't recognize, didn't see my signature, as it was overlapping the drawing.
The guy was holding a grudge for this but it didn't turn him into one of my enemies.
At some point I am thankful to the teachers for their sneaky methods and experience on how to tame the most unruly and bring them into the art's stable. On the other hand these people were like sadistic fascists who used their special gases on me experimenting, would I survive it and live on.
The bohemian hyped up life only started after the classes at about seven in the evening. This part of the artist's life was full of sex, booze, and drugs, more sex booze drugs and orgies. The art youth was progressive, the sex - communal with the conveniently shared girlfriends and boyfriends.
Strangely the good times didn't concern me anymore now.
There was a small group of idiots who followed their criteria of achievement: to draw and paint a vase with flowers so that it comes to life, right out of the canvas to the carrying hands of the one who painted it. The flowers turned alive would be given to the girl/boyfriend.
The madness of the 4th dimension.
The art group was lead by me and another guy soon (one month later) to disappear forever for the reasons unknown.
After the classes me and few others searched for a studio. Found it. Not my studio. Any studio with the door unlocked.
As usual I would set a still life. Take off my nazi coat.
Set my next canvas on the easel to start quick sketching.
Out of nowhere shows up some dude who was a new student, he was much older, about twenty three, somewhere from Texas and just plain untalented.
He wanted to hang around with "the power-group" to learn.
There were few girls with the ambition to reach the level of a manly hand in creation.
We all usually worked in grave silence and even a slight noise would be extremely annoying.
If a brush would fall it seemed the atomic bomb had exploded somewhere near. We would exchange vicious cursing at the jittery creaking sneezing noise maker.
When you are focusing intensely and can't quite catch the brush stroke to complete the shaping of a form so that the image would turn real and come out of the flat surface the nerves are high strung to the limit.
The last months I just never left the studio, didn't even come outside. Slept on my German coat in the corner. It was veiled with the drapery. I'd wake up in the morning. The doorman was already used to give me the keys knowing that I sleep and work there. It came with a warning that if I am discovered I must tell any story and solemnly kept the secret.
The memories from those years distract me from telling what I want. It's about the event that had closed for me the entry into the forth dimension.
That day I was getting upset over some stupid teases: "What had happened to you!"
Whether the bros wanted to elevate my mental state, or they needed to get my works it had really caused me distraction. I was focusing on my work. Suddenly I hear the sounds of music in the studio. It jumped me: “Are you out of your fucking minds? That asshole doorman will come here."
"No he ain’t gonna."
"Why?"
"He is passed out, we had to carry him away." Was the answer.
"What is going down?" I worried.
"Not much, nothing is going down, we just want some fun. The way it is on here is so buzz-killing."
Was it some holiday, I didn’t know. Holidays passed by me, I didn’t smoke or drink and only worked. What they were saying didn’t reach me.
“Shut down the music. You’re gone but I must sleep here."
"Why must you sleep here?" Asked Lorenzo (nick-named after his personal preferences of the Benzos)
"Hmm, I guess there will be no way of working today?" I asked.
"Working, way working, you gonna make me some home works," Assured me the dude nicknamed Kuz. "For that I will make your sculpture complete."
As interesting as it was to play with the real forms in sculpting I disliked dealing with the clay. Those times I believed the painting to be so much more in gradations, possibilities and complexity. Now I changed my mind to consider any art media possess the unlimited possibilities.
I agreed. Suddenly the guys were fixing to leave and I had to ask: "So? Who will finish building up the sculpture if you're leaving?"
"No worries, will build it up, brb just a quick run for some booze before the stores closed up."
"What booze? Get out of here go to another studio. I work, don’t mess me up."
"No biggie, son, you can rest for once."
It was pointless to argue, they'd already been drunk and I was only getting nervous. My work wasn’t going good at all. I have changed the lighting set up many ways in vein.
Suddenly, out of nowhere Muse appears. A young, very-very attractive girl about eighteen. The returned gang introduced her to me:
"J-Sin, meet her... lets say Nicky."
"Eh, hello Nicky, who and what are you?" were my greetings.
She smiled to everyone and answered: "I will be posing for you today."
"We agreed about everything, will pay the price,” –explained Lorenzo barely moving his tongue, "She is gonna be happy!"
His bag full of bottles made loud clanking noise.
When the drunks got them out I counted six.
“Yes, this is going to be a wild night.” I was thinking what to do now. I approached the model, took off her coat and hanged it, removed her blouse and explained that she can go behind the curtain.
"Hey, hey! What curtain son, what’s with you? She is from the med school, our people!"
I heard the Kuz's inebriated voice. "She is THE model!"
"What -- nude?" I wondered.
"And what did you think, she'd sit covered up in here?" They burst into laughter.
Suddenly I feel elated with the anticipation of the new and amazing subject for the work. I was fed up with the poor set up and the struggle to "find" the good lighting for the gypsum head. How wonderful it turned out that I could make some picturesque oil sketches.
When the model took off her bra, her young breasts, her nipples instantly distract my attention from work.
Shit, I couldn’t focus. Since we hadn’t a glimpse at such models it was too interesting. Could be that something about this evening or the environment was different. First time in a long while the music was playing, the glasses jingled and filled up with wine.
As she posed we were all doing the quick sketching. She removed everything except her panties.
The drunken assholes wouldn’t let me focus.
"Let me finally have a chance to work." I yelled getting distracted.
They seemed to try bargaining: "We brought you the model, hey girl turn around!" Kuz pulled up her skirt and slapped her buddy. "Look at these buns, you've got to do another
drawing for the semester show."
"Boys, you are so bad!" She giggled to Kuz. "I will spank you for being soooo bad!" And she was laughing in most contagious sexy trills of her childish capricious voice.
I didn’t understand what these die--hard drunks were doing at the art school, without any talent or interest in art. My former palls in another life that was long forgotten. Today the serious artists who always worked together with me had left the moment this bad company swam by.
Now I was looking at their watery eyes winking at the model. They caressed her things as she reclined on the wooden stage to rest. I wanted to figure out why did they distract me even more now?
I was the same age as the model. I didn’t see her body, to me now it was the model for painting.
It was getting late when the cold winds penetrate the place from the drafty wall size windows. I put on my sweater in the starting freezer. The one meter or the three feet and 33/8 inch walls are like the thermos to absorb and hold the cool temperature. I looked at the laughing bunch who labored on my sculpture.
One was drawing a huge flying dick with wings with a charcoal right on a white wall.
I had finished sketching the figure. I came up to the stage to set up the heater. I asked the model if she could sit some more taking breaks whenever she needs to move.
When she looked at me she was constantly smiling.
"Sure she’ll sit! And she'll lay, right, sweet buns?"
I held my breath working imagining how awesome would be to have such a model every day. With a shaky hand I was working fast as a machine expecting any minute now she would say that she is too cold to sit another minute and she leaves, its all over. I will have to kill her and sit her lifeless body on a chair to complete my work.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!"
The heater I placed caused the red reflexes on the body. I was painting and had to get the color right. So I removed the heater. The model immediately complained about the cold. Kuz brought her a glass of wine asking me why did I remove the heater.
From wine her face flushed red. I tried to adjust the color scale, laying brushstrokes over the whole figure.
Meanwhile the music turned up it was getting real loud.
The model took her break.
I walked after her studying her forms.
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
"Its all right, could you turn this way."
"Oh, I see. Same in our med school, the nut cases," She openly declared to the others when I was on a floor looking from a lower viewpoint.
"Who is this?" She asked: "What kind of a mental is he?"
"Its a disease, but it will pass" – was the answer for her. "Sometimes it is terminal. Not his tho, his will pass, he loves the young girls very much…"
Something from the stupid jokes had reached me.
"Hon, now he needs the medical attention. You are the medic? We are forever in debt to yous for allowing us come to the mortuary and for helping with the dead bodies... What we have here is a zombie. You are the goddess who saves the body as your calling."
What I heard was polluting my pure artistic brain with that life I refused. Now I was paying attention not to the mammary glands but to her breasts. Her back muscles are slightly weak. As I looked over the skeleton the muscles slowly disappeared. No matter how hard I tried to focus my x-rays were weakened. Maybe the electricity turned off inside my head.
"Pour me some," I asked.
Six months of my immaculate virginity and celibacy was broken by a wine glass. The red wine like the blood of innocents was running in my throat filling up the brain that shortly was boiling with vigor. So I said:
"Could you please remove your panties?"
"It wasn’t the deal," protested the model with her eyes glowing like honey.
Lorenzo interrupted her:
"For god’s sake, take of your panties, what is it to you, aren't you a medic?"
"I thought someone here was shy, as for me" She lustfully licked her lips. "Well, of course its nothing."
"Who is shy?" Asked someone.
"Him the weirdo!" She giggled in a very cute bubbly little voice.
"Are you shy?"
"It seems it was me who asked her to remove the panties." I explained.
She just jumped right out of her panties not without pleasure it seemed.
I imagined how to position her, what pose should she take.
"Hey!" I asked Kuz to pour me another glass. He was cheering me on yet reminding that I should first finish the drawing.
"Later," I mumbled turning to the model: "Would you please sit on a chair and spread your pretty legs a little, as much as you wish."
"Hey, Alex, so he is normal?" She asked.
I was far away from normality. A actual girl weaved from the reality. But the process was a transformation with splitting dimensions.
She was turning more real when I touched her to show how to position her legs.
I glimpsed at the red pubic hair seeing the pink flesh of her vaginal lips.
I couldn't focus on my work. Could the “female anatomy” destroy the temple of magic I was erecting for the eight months?
I returned to my easel and continued working. She was fidgeting changing poses uncomfortable this something hurting that... But it was only natural, she was sitting naked on a plain hard wooden chair. She was sliding from one side of the chair to another. I was buzzed from wine and couldn’t work, but I tried to complete my work just to annoy these assholes who screwed up my day. First work was washed off with turpentine and I wiped up the canvas dry with a rag.
I was sketching now not with a charcoal but brushing in umber. It resulted in an interesting tonality and I was captured again. The model squirming on her hard chair complained.
"Yo, why don’t you lay her down, what is she suffering for?" Asked Alex, "Lay her the fuck down, why not."
Right! I thought a little and told her to lay on the stage. Underneath her I spread some drapery.
After few wine glasses I took off my sweater, my cheeks were on fire. Hers too. I unbuttoned my shirt, my blood was boiling, the body was washed with the warmth.
The heater was moved away.
"So true that wine warms you up," she said to Alex.
"Jay, so tell me how to lay her down there. Sit, sit, you poor thingy, I'll assist you" And he jumped on the stage. "Do you want her legs spread this way?" he asked opening
up her legs so that her whole anatomy was showing.
"Is this ok for you?" He winked at me: "Is it good?"
"Oh no, can’t show it like this at the mid-semester show." Thinking some I added: " Let it be, lift her leg a little higher, like this. Turn her head down."
"Like this?" He kissed her on the lips.
"Alex, the fuck you're doing, I don’t have any time."
"Work, keep drawing, go on!" he said. "We won’t disturb you."
I was outraged after I just washed everything off my canvas ready to work, but this wasn't going anywhere. I kept asking Alex what did he mean by not disturbing me when he messed everything up. I heard the girls laughing trills. "For real, he is ill!"
"The sick can be cured." Insisted Alex. "Will hill him." He slurred.
Of course, I own them my very life. If it weren't for them –- that’s it, finito.
Kissing her on the lips and winking at me Alex continued bugging me: “Is this right?”
For like ten minutes I was staring in the infinity in the emptiness… Then I yelled: "Why are you sucking her? Get away from her, let her lay there quietly."
Only to hear some nonsensical mumbling.
"But I want you to work on the position, is this position right?"
"Right, just fuck off of her."
Meanwhile Kuz, I noticed, was taking off his pants. He said: “Let him go fuck himself. Motherfucker is gonna fuck us up today, if he doesn’t want it, so fuck it.”
Now I thought I knew what they wanted from me.
I saw Alex’s naked butt as he laid on the stage, banging the girl and his ass wiggled.
I started sketching their nude asses.
My consciousness was still in the process of transforming.
I thought of how interesting were their poses.
Lorenzo came up to me and took the brushes from my hands placing all in my field easel he closed up.
"Listen, J-man, you’re being a fucking buzzkill. Go draw some vases, fuck off to another studio. You don’t want it. For free?"
I didn't understand him what did he mean. He explained:
"What do you see Alex is doing right now?"
"He is fucking his girlfriend." I said.
Lorenzo continued:
"Whose girlfriend? What we have here is a
scientist, from the med school who is helping us in our artistic quests, to understand the core of anatomy not only from the outside but from the inside. I recommend you, in order to comprehend, as you must know, you can only know the truth from the inside, experiencing the inside, to understand the outside. That’s why I seize the brushes. Here is another glass of wine. Drink!"
I looked at him as a doctor listening to his drunken bullshit.
"The most important thing for you is to understand from the inside. See, you can’t understand it from the outside, it’s not how things are done."
"Yes knowing the internal anatomy helps, take a muscle, body doesn’t exist without muscles." I agreed.
"Hell yeah, yeah… ha ha…that’s what I am going about. Look how Alex is working how he is learning."
I looked at the bare ass's motions back and forth, at the girl who was lifting her legs and actively moving her hips. Alex jumped off, wiped up his cock with the drapery, he also wiped out the girl. “Who is next?”
Kuz was kissing her from one side, when Lorenzo said:
"He worked very hard today, he must learn from the inside. You see, because he just can’t break through the inside."
When Kuz was mounting her, Lorenzo spanked him loudly:
"You can wait, the man needs the muse, get it? Understanding the Muse comes only from the inside.." They all bust into laughter.
Lorenzo nearly helped my cock inside the girl cheering on: "Just do it, little one, everything is gonna be great. Honey, turn him back into a soldier that we've lost."
"The man is gone, the man known yesterday is not the man you meet, forever, around the corner, in London or in the street..." chanted Nick appearing from nowhere. He continued slurring his poems.
Hearing the noise I didn’t know what’s going on as I kissed her breasts.
"Feel the forms." I heard the racket near by as I was buzzing off the wine and licking the girl's body. On the other side Lorenzo had joined in groping her breasts. To be more at ease I moved her body closer to the stage’s edge. I was on top.
I didn't hear any sounds of music, the entry door was covered with the draperies as the orgy just steamed up for the whole night.
I woke up on the stage from loud knocking.
The art students asked me what happened to the busted still life set.
I exhaled my dragon breath to hear no more questions. Took my coat and left the building. Walking the street I met Alex.
"Your face is not yet blushed, your eyes are a bit foggy, can’t say anything after the sleepless night. Like Cures Like."
He grinned getting money out of his pocket. "Let us get some treatment."
We walked to the known spot for aching heads gathering.
“Growing up in The Netherlands with punkrock kids and bands, Jolijn Snijders lived & breathed rock and roll for nearly a decade. At gigs she got handed down countless cut & paste fanzine, flyers and homemade coversleeves. “Everything is so independent and DIY, you get inspired by everyone and everything around you”. Jolijn wanted to create a similar ‘homemade’ zine, one where upcoming talent and established artists meet, mixing art, photography & fashion. Keen on discovering cool, mad artists, spotting new talent became her mission and she decided to launch ILOVEFAKE magazine. Jolijn also takes photos for a living, documenting young kids de la mode, but in a true sense, giving her subjects a dark, romantic edge. Jolijn’s clients have included Avant Garde, Rodeo Magazine, Kinki Magazine, Karl Lagerfeld, Blend, NEO2, Celeste Magazine, Elle Girl, Mirage Magazine, OZON, INDIE Magazine etc. But don’t let all these big names phase you. This prodigy is very down to earth, and enjoys her french films".
© Jolijn Snijders
The famous Australian band the Bee Gees produced hit after hit in a career spanning over four decades, and over 200 million sold albums. In 2013, Moreton Bay Regional Council unveiled a 70-metre monument connecting Redcliffe Parade and Sutton Street, and renamed the alley ‘Bee Gees Way’ Redcliffe. In 2015, Barry Gibb himself returned for the Grand Opening of Bee Gees Way stage 2, and there is a reason this unique tribute is attracting more visitors than ever before.
Why is Redcliffe so special to the Bee Gees?
After emigrating from Manchester, England to Cribb Island, then shortly afterwards, Redcliffe, Queensland in the late 1950’s it only took the brothers Gibb, Barry, Maurice, and Robin, two years to land a regular gig at the Redcliffe Speedway. They would perform during intervals on the back of a truck to crowds of people who would throw money on the track. Barry was the eldest…just 14 years old. The Bee Gees signed their first music contract on the family’s kitchen table in Redcliffe and Barry has often said was ‘paradise in 1958 and it still is.’
Explore a career spanning over four decades:
When you stroll down Bee Gees Way, you don’t have to be the group’s greatest fan to feel the pure nostalgia. The open-air museum will take visitors through an historical account, and meteoric rise of one of the world’s biggest pop groups. The monument features more than 60 captioned photos and 13 album covers spanning the band’s career. Visitors can explore the musical phenomenon from their humble beginnings to their career highlights. Take in a huge 70-metre mural featuring artwork of Barry, Robin, Maurice, and Andy Gibb
See life-sized bronze statues of the famous pop group
One of the definite highlights is the life-sized statues of the musical legends. The first statue stands at 1.7 metres tall and shows the band as young boys in Redcliffe. Barry Gibb himself scripted the plaque with the boy’s nicknames, Bodding, Basser, and Woggie. One of the most recent additions to Bee Gees Way, the new bronze statue from the Bee Gees ‘One Night Only’ era, stands at 2-metres tall. It commemorates the band when they were at the peak of their musical success.
Witness light shows set to their greatest hits:
Every night from 7pm until 9.30pm visitors can witness light shows set to the Bee Gees greatest hits. This is a must-see event for anyone planning an evening trip to Redcliffe.
Light shows run every night at 7pm, 7.30pm, 8pm, 8,30pm, 9pm and 9.30pm.
Source: Visit Moreton Bay Region.
A decade ago today the classic ACL searchlights were still standing proud at the south end of Brownsand, as a rock train heads south towards Waycross with a nice SD40-2/SD50 pair for power. Unfortunately the searchlights only had about a year left before they fell to modern replacements as PTC was installed on the Fitzgerald Sub, but as of 2024 former L&N veteran 8138 is still on the active roster at age 43.
taken at "tokyo decadance." nishi-azabu, tokyo, japan. limited edition "happy flower" polaroid film.
Even though some collectors love to mix up different eras and I always enjoy seeing their creative mixes, I rarely, if ever do that as I prefer to see the dolls in the fashions and structures they were sold in, kinda like a mini fashion time capsule of that era! But a flash of inspiration hit today … I had gotten Ken’s very groovy hooded kaftan from 1980/81; (Fashion Collectibles #1932) NRFB quite a while ago and was planning to put it on my Superstar or Roller Skating Ken, but at the last minute, decided it would look best on my Hawaiian Ken, who after all, is from that same period. I love how it looks with his original beaded necklace. I had planned to redress his mate Hawaiian Barbie in ‘Scuba-Do’s’ from 1970/71 quite a while back, (even before I got Ken’s kaftan) and suddenly realised how great these two outfits look together, even though they were sold a full decade apart … They are making quite a splash on the North Shore in their bright colours! Do you like to mix up decades with your dolls and fashions?
Planned as early as the 1820s, it took several decades for this grand terrace to be built, and even then it was protracted. In fact consisting of four houses, it fell into a poor state by the 1990s and was rescued in a high-quality renovation by TAG Developments in 2011. It now offers 23 apartments and a five-bedroom house. This is the house at the western end, the last to be built some 26 years after the others. Fortunately its deed of sale ensured that its style had to match, but built later it not only had water closets but also a servant's stair at the rear that gave access to each floor. All the same, it was too large most households by the end of the 19th century, and in 1912 a valuation officer declared it to have dry rot in the basement and to have been empty for many years. By that stage, it had become a boarding house called 'La Plaisance'.
(Information from 'The Royal Terrace', published by TAG developments in 2011, written by myself.)
These are Dad's orchids which he loved but cared for very little, so they loved him even more. Still flowering nicely over a decade later, 4 beautiful blooms this year all slightly different in size and hue.
I have several plants from family and friends who have crossed to the other side. Their flowers are part of the legacy that keeps them alive in my memory. I'm so grateful they shared their gardens with me so they can carry on bringing joy to my little corner.
Oh and thanks nature!!
Calving front of the Upsala Glacier (Argentina). This glacier has been thinning and retreating at a rapid rate during the last decades – from 2006 to 2010, it receded 43.7 yards (40 meters) per year. During summer 2012, large calving events prevented boat access to the glacier.
To learn about the contributions of glaciers to sea level rise, visit:
www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/glacier-sea-rise.html
Credit: Etienne Berthier, Université de Toulouse
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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