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Wysox (Towanda), PA. May 2020.
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If you would like to use THIS picture in any sort of media elsewhere (such as newspaper or article), please send me a Flickrmail or send me an email at natehenderson6@gmail.com
So after much demand I decided to take some more Photos of my beloved Jane....
The other day it struck me, I have never explained why this girl means so much to me... and why we could never part.....So come on a magical journey as I tell our story :P (oh well that was so cheesy)............
So many of you want to know why she is called Jane.....Well she was named after her 1st owner as I made an amazing friend in her, she was the best to deal with and made sure she came home 100% safe....
She was also the very 1st thing I decided to buy from my 1st job and 1st pay cheque... so she kinda represents the start of my independence.......
Jane came from a very special place called Anglesey (specifically Beaumaris), this is where I spend most of my childhood with my Twin Em..
We used to holiday there super often and we both have some very special childhood memories together... so for me Jane embodies all the magical times growing up. We used to stay in this huge Castle. Often we would be the only guests there so we had the whole place to our self. it was amazing.....but as we started to grow up we stayed there less and less, I guess life just got in the way.... :(
Last year we where very lucky to be able to go back to Anglesey, and so of course I had to take Jane back to her home away from home.
We had such a special time as this would be our last family holiday together....:( so Jane is also my representation for hope and a positive future...
Ok I am going to sound 100% mad now but.... I look and Jane and I don't see a doll.. I kinda see myself but more than that all the good and bad times, I guess I almost regard her as a person. To me she has a personalty, a story, a history and most of all a future....(Ok so maybe just maybe I have gone mad)..... if ever I am having a bad day I will grab Jane, hug her and feel hundreds and hundreds of times better :) she is just so much more than a doll to me
when I sent her out for her current faceup, I had no idea what to do with myself... it was like I lost a part of me....... She does need a new faceup really badly but I cannot bare to part with her again......
so Ya that is our story....sorry for the long read but I think I had to explain....
Harry xxx
Thanks for the visit :)
Bronze statue of the satyr Marsyas, portrayed making the fateful decision to pick up and play the aulos (double pipes) discarded by the goddess Athena. Unfortunately, he challenged the god Apollo to a music contest, and Apollo - playing the kithara (a large lyre) - won, as judged by the Muses (who were answerable to Apollo - rigged!). As a punishment for his hubris, Apollo demands that Marsyas be flayed alive, his skin made into a wineskin (that last bit was courtesy of Plato).
Roman, 50 BCE-50 CE, from Patras, Greece.
Height: 76.20 cm (30 in.)
British Museum, London (1876,1125.1)
Je me demandais s'il s'agissait de pins ou de mélèzes. Merci à mes correspondants de m'avoir indiqué que ce sont des pins rouges.
Sony Alpha A77V
JPEG à partir d'un fichier RAW ISO 100, 1/80 sec f6.3
traitement avec Sony Image Converter 4.0, Photomatix 4.2 et Paint Shop Pro
Due to popular demand... Here is my collection of current fountain pens. Last nights photo (of flet pens) was fairly boring to me – I would be happy to give all those pens away but this collection ...no way! These are my babies! I am not a fountain pen junkie – ie. I am not rushing out trying EVERY brand.... a lamy junkie would be more accurate. I do love lamy pens!!
But most importantly I would ALWAYS choose to draw and write in ink if I could. I love the flow of ink across the page and I love the way that it makes my handwriting look neater!
Ok... From L to R
My new and my old Lamy Joy (old style) pen with EF nib (Noodlers black ink) This old style is not longer available in Australia so I was very excited in July 2011 to find an old style pen for sale in Newcastle upon Tyne in UK. The reason I bought a NEW (old style) pen was because I had worn the old pen out and the lid would not stay on. I have since fixed this (in true Liz-hack-style) by- putting a little bit of superglue around the insde of the lid – just enough to create adequate friction.
-Yellow Lamy safari containing my noodlers polar brown ink (hmm... They don’t do a brown safari!)
-Red Lamy Safari with Noodlers Widow Maker ink (this was a moment of weakness at Xmas time... I didn’t need this but wanted at souvenir from a wonderful stationery shop in Leura)
-Lamy Vista (clear safari) with Noodlers Polar Blue ink (love this!)
-New style Lamy joy pen with a GOLD ef nib. The new style joy is a fraction heavier than the old style... I prefer the old black and red to have in my hand. This nib is lovely but I am afraid to take it out on location (the nib cost 2 x the price of the pen)
-Pilot Parallel Pen in 1.8mm (I also have the 3,5mm size!) Thanks to Josu for this extravagent purchase (It was cheap though!)
-Noodlers Flex Pen with Lexington Grey ink... Never really warmed to this and it leaked on the plane once.
-Rotring Art Pen – I use this at work. It is even lighter than the Lamy Joy (old style) but for some reason I don’t like writing with it...
-Fancy Lamy pen that I bought in the early days to hold my gold nib... But it is too heavy so has a calligraphy nib now.
To answer this question, we must stop examining the supply side of the equation, and instead look to the demanders.
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.......***** All images are copyrighted by their respective authors ......
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... message header for Rolling Stones Politics
The problems are many. Too many. Our eyes get fixed upon one among them, and our passions get devoted to fixing that one. In that focus, however, we fail to see the thread that ties them all together.
We are, to steal from Thoreau, the “thousand[s] hacking at the branches of evil,” with “[n]one striking at the root.”
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.....item 1).... Rolling Stone Politics .... www.rollingstone.com/politics ... Lawrence Lessig on How We Lost Our Democracy
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'Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress – and a Plan to Stop It' by Lawrence Lessig
Courtesy of Twelve/Hachette Book Group
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POSTED: October 5, 3:25 PM ET | By Lawrence Lessig
www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/lawr...
The following is an excerpt from Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress – and a Plan to Stop It by Lawrence Lessig.
Introduction
There is a feeling today among too many Americans that we might not make it. Not that the end is near, or that doom is around the corner, but that a distinctly American feeling of inevitability, of greatness—culturally, economically, politically—is gone. That we have become Britain. Or Rome. Or Greece. A generation ago Ronald Reagan rallied the nation to deny a similar charge: Jimmy Carter’s worry that our nation had fallen into a state of “malaise.” I was one of those so rallied, and I still believe that Reagan was right. But the feeling I am talking about today is different: not that we, as a people, have lost anything of our potential, but that we, as a republic, have. That our capacity for governing—the product, in part, of a Constitution we have revered for more than two centuries—has come to an end. That the thing that we were once most proud of—this, our republic—is the one thing that we have all learned to ignore. Government is an embarrassment. It has lost the capacity to make the most essential decisions. And slowly it begins to dawn upon us: a ship that can’t be steered is a ship that will sink.
We didn’t always feel this way. There were times when we were genuinely proud—as a people, and as a republic—and when we proudly boasted to the world about the Framers’ (flawed but still) ingenious design. No doubt, we still speak of the founding with reverence. But we seem to miss that the mess that is our government today grew out of the genius that the Framers crafted two centuries ago. That, however much we condemn what government has become, we forget it is the heir to something we still believe divine. We inherited an extraordinary estate. On our watch, we have let it fall to ruin.
The clue that something is very wrong is the endless list of troubles that sit on our collective plate but that never get resolved: bloated and inefficient bureaucracies; an invisible climate policy; a tax code that would embarrass Dickens; health care policies that have little to do with health; regulations designed to protect inefficiency; environmental policies that exempt the producers of the greatest environmental harms; food that is too expensive (since protected); food that is unsafe (since unregulated); a financial system that has already caused great harm, has been left unreformed, and is primed and certain to cause great harm again.
The problems are many. Too many. Our eyes get fixed upon one among them, and our passions get devoted to fixing that one. In that focus, however, we fail to see the thread that ties them all together.
We are, to steal from Thoreau, the “thousand[s] hacking at the branches of evil,” with “[n]one striking at the root.”
This book names that root. It aims to inspire “rootstrikers.” The root—not the single cause of everything that ails us, not the one reform that would make democracy hum, but instead, the root, the thing that feeds the other ills, and the thing that we must kill first. The cure that would be generative—the single, if impossibly difficult, intervention that would give us the chance to repair the rest.
For we have no choice but to try to repair the rest. Republicans and Democrats alike insist we are on a collision course with history. Our government has made fiscal promises it cannot keep. Yet we ignore them. Our planet spins furiously to a radically changed climate, certain to impose catastrophic costs on a huge portion of the world’s population. We ignore this, too. Everything our government -touches—from health care to Social Security to the monopoly rights we call patents and copyright—it poisons. Yet our leaders seem oblivious to the thought that there’s anything that needs fixing. They preen about, ignoring the elephant in the room. They act as if Ben Franklin would be proud.
Ben Franklin would weep. The republic that he helped birth is lost. The 89 percent of Americans who have no confidence in Congress (as reported by the latest Gallup poll) are not idiots. They are not even wrong. Yet they fail to recognize just why this government doesn’t deserve our confidence. Most of us get distracted. Most of us ignore the root.
We were here at least once before.
One hundred years ago America had an extraordinary political choice. The election of 1912 gave voters an unprecedented range of candidates for president of the United States.
On the far Right was the “stand pat,” first-term Republican William Howard Taft, who had served as Teddy Roosevelt’s secretary of war, but who had not carried forward the revolution on the Right that Roosevelt thought he had started.
On the far Left was the most successful socialist candidate for president in American history, Eugene Debs, who had run for president twice before, and who would run again, from prison, in 1920 and win the largest popular vote that any socialist has ever received in a national American election.
In the middle were two “Progressives”: the immensely popular former president Teddy Roosevelt, who had imposed upon himself a two-term limit, but then found the ideals of reform that he had launched languishing within the Republican Party; and New Jersey’s governor and former Princeton University president Woodrow Wilson, who promised the political machine–-bound Democratic Party the kind of reform that Roosevelt had begun within the Republican Party.
These two self-described Progressives were very different. Roosevelt was a big-government reformer. Wilson, at least before the First World War, was a small-government, pro-federalist reformer. Each saw the same overwhelming threat to America’s democracy—the capture of government by powerful special interests—even if each envisioned a very different remedy for that capture. Roosevelt wanted a government large enough to match the concentrated economic power that was then growing in America; Wilson, following Louis Brandeis, wanted stronger laws limiting the size of the concentrated economic power then growing in America.
Presidential reelection campaigns are not supposed to be bloody political battles. But Taft had proven himself to be a particularly inept politician (he was later a much better chief justice of the Supreme Court), and after Roosevelt’s term ended, business interests had reasserted their dominant control of the Republican Party. Yet even though dissent was growing across the political spectrum, few seemed to doubt that the president would be reelected. Certainly Roosevelt felt certain enough of that to delay any suggestion that he would enter the race to challenge his own hand-picked successor.
A Wisconsin Republican changed all that. In January 1911, Senator Robert La Follette and his followers launched the National Progressive Republican League. Soon after, La Follette announced his own campaign for the presidency. Declaring that “popular government in America has been thwarted . . . by the special interests,” the League advocated five core reforms, all of which attacked problems of process, not substance. The first four demanded changes to strengthen popular control of government (the election of senators, direct primaries, direct election of delegates to presidential conventions, and the spread of the state initiative process). The last reform demanded “a thoroughgoing corrupt practices act.”
La Follette’s campaign initially drew excitement and important support. It faltered, however, when he seemed to suffer a mental breakdown during a speech at a press dinner in Philadelphia. But the campaign outed, and increasingly embarrassed, the “stand pat” Republicans. As Roosevelt would charge in April 1912:
The Republican party is now facing a great crisis. It is to decide whether it will be, as in the days of Lincoln, the party of the plain people, the party of progress, the party of social and industrial justice; or whether it will be the party of privilege and of special interests, the heir to those who were Lincoln’s most bitter opponents, the party that represents the great interests within and without Wall Street which desire through their control over the servants of the public to be kept immune from punishment when they do wrong and to be given privileges to which they are not entitled.
The term progressive is a confused and much misunderstood moniker for perhaps the most important political movement at the turn of the last century. We confuse it today with liberals, but back then there were progressives of every political stripe in America—on the Left and on the Right, and with dimensional spins in the middle (the Prohibitionists, for example). Yet one common thread that united these different strands of reform was the recognition that democratic government in America had been captured. Journalists and writers at the turn of the twentieth century taught America “that business corrupts politics,” as Richard McCormick put it. Corruption of the grossest forms—the sort that would make convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff wince—was increasingly seen to be the norm throughout too much of American government. Democracy, as in rule of the people, was a joke. As historian George Thayer wrote, describing the “golden age of boodle” (1876–-1926): “Never has the American political process been so corrupt. No office was too high to purchase, no man too pure to bribe, no principle too sacred to destroy, no law too fundamental to break.”
Or again, Teddy Roosevelt (1910): “Exactly as the special interests of cotton and slavery threatened our political integrity before the Civil War, so now the great special business interests too often control and corrupt the men and methods of government for their own profit.”
To respond to this “corruption,” Progressives launched a series of reforms to reclaim government. Many of these reforms were hopeless disasters (the ballot initiative and elected judges), and some were both disasters and evil (Prohibition and eugenics, to name just two). But mistakes notwithstanding, the Progressive Era represents an unprecedented moment of experimentation and engagement, all motivated by a common recognition that the idea of popular sovereignty in America had been sold. The problem was not, as McCormick describes, a “product of misbehavior by ‘bad’ men,” but was instead now seen as the predictable “outcome of identifiable economic and political forces.”
That recognition manifested itself powerfully on November 5, 1912: The incumbent Republican placed third (23.2 percent) in the -four--man race; the socialist, a distant fourth (6 percent); and Teddy Roosevelt (27.4 percent) got bested by the “new” Democrat, Woodrow Wilson (41.8 percent).
Yet only when you add together these two self-identified Pro-gressives do you get a clear sense of the significance of 1912: almost 70 percent of America had voted for a “progressive.” Seventy percent of America had said, “This democracy is corrupted; we demand it be fixed.” Seventy percent refused to “stand pat.”
A century later we suffer the same struggle, but without anything like the same clarity. A “fierce discontent,” as Roosevelt described America in 1906, is once again raging throughout the republic. Now, as then, it gets expressed as “agitation” against “evil,” and a “firm determination to punish the authors of evil, whether in industry or politics.” We look to a collapsed economy, to raging deficits, to a Wall Street not yet held to account, and we feel entitled to our anger. And so extreme is that entitlement that it makes even violence seem sensible, if only to the predictably insane extremes in any modern society.
Roosevelt was encouraged by this agitation against evil. It was, he said, a “feeling that is to be heartily welcomed.” It was “a sign,” he promised, “of healthy life.”
Yet today such agitation is not a sign of healthy life. It is a symptom of ignorance. For though the challenge we face is again the battle against a democracy deflected by special interests, our struggle is not against “evil,” or even the “authors of evil.” Our struggle is against something much more banal. Not the banal in the now-overused sense of Hannah Arendt’s The Banality of Evil—of ordinary people enabling unmatched evil (Hitler’s Germany). Our banality is one step more, well, banal.
For the enemy we face is not Hitler. Neither is it the good Germans who would enable a Hitler. Our enemy is the good Germans (us) who would enable a harm infinitely less profound, yet economically and politically catastrophic nonetheless. A harm caused by a kind of corruption. But not the corruption engendered by evil souls. Indeed, strange as this might sound, a corruption crafted by good souls. By decent men. And women. And if we’re to do anything about this corruption, we must learn to agitate against more than evil. We must remember that harm sometimes comes from timid, even pathetic souls. That the enemy doesn’t always march. Sometimes it simply shuffles.
The great threat to our republic today comes not from the hidden bribery of the Gilded Age, when cash was secreted among members of Congress to buy privilege and secure wealth. The great threat today is instead in plain sight. It is the economy of influence now transparent to all, which has normalized a process that draws our democracy away from the will of the people. A process that distorts our democracy from ends sought by both the Left and the Right: For the single most salient feature of the government that we have evolved is not that it discriminates in favor of one side and against the other. The single most salient feature is that it discriminates against all sides to favor itself. We have created an engine of influence that seeks not some particular strand of political or economic ideology, whether Marx or Hayek. We have created instead an engine of influence that seeks simply to make those most connected rich.
As a former young Republican—-indeed, Pennsylvania’s state chairman of the Teen Age Republicans—I don’t mean to rally anyone against the rich. But I do mean to rally Republicans and Democrats alike against a certain kind of rich that no theorist on the Right or the Left has ever sought seriously to defend: The rich whose power comes not from hard work, creativity, innovation, or the creation of wealth. The rich who instead secure their wealth through the manipulation of government and politicians. The great evil that we as Americans face is the banal evil of second-rate minds who can’t make it in the private sector and who therefore turn to the massive wealth directed by our government as the means to securing wealth for themselves. The enemy is not evil. The enemy is well dressed.
Theorists of corruption don’t typically talk much about decent souls. Their focus is upon criminals—the venally corrupt, who bribe to buy privilege, or the systematically corrupt, who make the people (or, better, the rich) dependent upon the government to ensure that the people (or, better, the rich) protect the government.
So, too, when we speak of politicians and our current system of governance, many of us think of our government as little more than criminal, or as crime barely hidden—from Jack Abramoff (“I was participating in a system of legalized bribery. All of it is bribery, every bit of it”) to Judge Richard Posner (“the legislative system [is] one of quasi-bribery”) to Carlyle Group co‑founder David Rubenstein (“legalized bribery”) to former congressman and CIA director Leon Panetta (“legalized bribery has become part of the culture of how this place operates”) to one of the Senate’s most important figures, Russell B. Long (D-La.; 1949-1987) (“Almost a hairline’s difference separates bribes and contributions”).
But in this crude form, in America at least, such crimes are rare. At the federal level, bribery is almost extinct. There are a handful of pathologically stupid souls bartering government favors for private kickbacks, but very few. And at both the federal and the state levels, the kind of Zimbabwean control over economic activity is just not within our DNA. So if only the criminal are corrupt, then ours is not a corrupt government.
The aim of this book, however, is to convince you that a much more virulent, if much less crude, corruption does indeed wreck our democracy. Not a corruption caused by a gaggle of evil souls. On the contrary, a corruption practiced by decent people, people we should respect, people working extremely hard to do what they believe is right, yet decent people working with a system that has evolved the most elaborate and costly bending of democratic government in our history. There are good people here, yet extraordinary bad gets done.
This corruption has two elements, each of which feeds the other. The first element is bad governance, which means simply that our government doesn’t track the expressed will of the people, whether on the Left or on the Right. Instead, the government tracks a different interest, one not directly affected by votes or voters. Democracy, on this account, seems a show or a ruse; power rests elsewhere.
The second element is lost trust: when democracy seems a charade, we lose faith in its process. That doesn’t matter to some of us—we will vote and participate regardless. But to more rational souls, the charade is a signal: spend your time elsewhere, because this game is not for real. Participation thus declines, especially among the sensible middle. Policy gets driven by the extremists at both ends.
In the first three parts of what follows, I show how these elements of corruption fit together. I want you to understand the way they connect, and how they feed on each other. In the book’s final part, I explore how we might do something about them.
The prognosis is not good. The disease we face is not one that nations cure, or, at least, cure easily. But we should understand the options. For few who work to understand what has gone wrong will be willing to accept defeat—without a fight.
From the book Republic, Lost. Copyright (c) 2011 by Lawrence Lessig. Reprinted by permission of Twelve/Hachette Book Group, New York, NY. All rights reserved.
Related
• How Money Corrupts Congress: Interview with Lawrence Lessig
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.....item 2).... Teddy Roosevelt (1910): “Exactly as the special interests of cotton and slavery threatened our political integrity before the Civil War, so now the great special business interests too often control and corrupt the men and methods of government for their own profit.”
Read more: www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/lawr...
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.....item 3).... So, too, when we speak of politicians and our current system of governance, many of us think of our government as little more than criminal, or as crime barely hidden—from Jack Abramoff (“I was participating in a system of legalized bribery. All of it is bribery, every bit of it”) to Judge Richard Posner (“the legislative system [is] one of quasi-bribery”) to Carlyle Group co‑founder David Rubenstein (“legalized bribery”) to former congressman and CIA director Leon Panetta (“legalized bribery has become part of the culture of how this place operates”) to one of the Senate’s most important figures, Russell B. Long (D-La.; 1949-1987) (“Almost a hairline’s difference separates bribes and contributions”).
Read more: www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/lawr...
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.....item 4).... FSU News ... www.fsunews.com ...
The demanding side of the political equation
10:25 PM, Oct. 24, 2012 |
Written by
Chad Squitieri
Senior Staff Writer
FILED UNDER
FSU News
FSU News Chad Squitieri
www.fsunews.com/article/20121025/FSVIEW0305/121024023/The...|newswell|text|frontpage|s
Now that the presidential debates are over, I find myself as an onlooker being left without a satisfaction. A debate is an opportunity for two candidates to engage in a thought provoking discussion that highlights their differences from one another. What we often end up with in debates is little more than sidestepping and finger pointing.
Looking forward to debates to come, my wish is that they will consist of more substance, and fewer talking points. This wish of course can easily be shrugged off as little more than the naïve daydream of a college student; a thought destined to never materialize. The way to see this apparent pipedream become reality, however, is more in the hands of the voter than one might expect.
Political debates have never been known for their politeness, and this election cycle stayed true to form. While it may be accurate that politics in this country have always been highly contested matters with the ability to bring out plenty of emotions, it is also true that the mechanics of politics have seemed to stay in step with the rest of our society. It seems that in today’s political realm, it is becoming more and more “cool” to be rude to your opponent. The rationale behind this action is explained by the fact that candidates feel they can rally their bases in opposition to the other candidate by acting in ways we have witnessed over this debate cycle.
Actions such as talking over one another, name calling and finger pointing come to mind. The bigger question, though, is why do candidates feel they can better rally their bases by acting in a way that seems to turn the discussion into little more than a spectacle as compared to a way that better gets a candidate’s core message to voters. To answer this question, we must stop examining the supply side of the equation, and instead look to the demanders.
The demanders in any election are the voters. It is the voters that make up the political market, and it is this market that the suppliers, the candidates, bring their ideas. It is the nature of politicians to behave in ways the public wants them to behave. Having this thought in mind, it becomes easily identifiable why our politicians would act in ways that would otherwise seem counterproductive to the political process. It is because that is what we ask for.
If as a whole we demand to see politics turned into a spectacle consisting of little more than name calling and snarky, eight-second clips intended to make the front side of the evening news, then that is what our candidates will supply us with. If we instead insist on a more thought-provoking discussion which gets at the fundamentals, then candidates will have the incentive to provide just that.
As the next generation, we will have the ability to steer the course of the political process in this country. Whether we choose to end up with more political gridlock and wordplay, or instead choose straightforwardness and seek results is to be determined.
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.....item 5).... youtube video ... Jimi Hendrix - Are you Experienced (full album) UK ... 60:21 minutes
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tlRYLP8GOU
Published on Nov 16, 2012 by gunsgifts galleries
1. "Foxy Lady" 0:00
2. "Manic Depression" 3:22
3. "Red House" 7:08
4. "Can You See Me" 11:01
5. "Love or Confusion" 13:19
6. "I Don't Live Today" 16:33
Side two
No. Title Length
1. "May This Be Love" 20:51
2. "Fire" 24:05
3. "Third Stone from the Sun" 26:52
4. "Remember" 33:42
5. "Are You Experienced?" 36:35
1997 Experience Hendrix reissue bonus tracks
No. Title Length
1. "Hey Joe" (Billy Roberts) 40:05
2. "Stone Free" 43:35
3. "Purple Haze" 47:18
4. "51st Anniversary" 50:02
5. "The Wind Cries Mary" 53:17
6. "Highway Chile" 56:37
Category:
Music
License:
Standard YouTube License
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Some local shopping after work and my wife had a small demand – a visit to a nearby road side fest
This sort of fair is routine fare in different parts of the city, on different ocassions
This one happens to the 'Rath Yatra'(Chariot festival), the original festival is in Puri in neighbouring Orissa state., en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratha-Yatra
Took along my 50mm along just in case
There is a small temple in this locality which has this temple & the 7 day festival is held on the city streets. A couple of jute totes & some junk jewelry were all my wife could buy. Had some eats and tea and plenty of peeping around the fair as in window shopping
Meet Abbhi, who was chatting with a friend and I patiently waited for more than 4 to 5 minutes. I then went upto him and broke into the conversation with an apology for the interruption. I explained to him about the 100 strangers project I was doing & he found it odd that I singled him out
Why me
Hey you're a handsome young man with an interesting look and aura about you
And you are going to post my photograph on some site, right. I agreed - yeah on flickr
And you are going to get paid for that, right
I had to explain that I was learning photography and there was no payment of any sort involved
I explained that that flickr was a part of the yahoo group and this particular 100 strangers group and what it's all about
Sort of all over again
The name 100 strangers struck his head and when he realized some bit about it he gave me a big broad grin
Ahh that's a great project - and how do you do it
I proceeded to introduce myself and then asked him his name and ... the chit chat part
Abbhi is a very warm person and once he got a hang of what it was all about opened up
He is 33 yrs old, done his graduation in commerce and management and loved music and films. He wrote for a leading newspaper & magazine, guess as a free lancer, did a couple of jobs too but was presently out of work., or so he told me
OK - he was not the type to be tied up with a routine 9 to 5 job sort is what I could gather
He was working on some films and music and similar projects is all I could gather, a singer, composer, writer, music player, script writer … a multi-faceted & talented young chap
We should meet again soon, he heartily repeatedly kept saying
OK - you are quite close by and we sure shall meet, but only after I had done his project
Now the challenge was getting to a decent light source at one of the street vendors & second was to keep the hoards of people walking in between the camera and Abbhi. For background I had little choice. And with keeping my wife waiting for awhile, I just had to fire away
Many thanks Abbhi for being my 22nd stranger friend
And I hope to keep my word to meet up again to know you better & hopefully inaugurate my ‘strangers no more’ album
This picture is #22 in my ‘100 Strangers’ project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
And my 13th submission to The Human Family
Le duc de Chartres, futur duc d’Orléans (1747-1793), achète en 1769 la terre de Monceau au lendemain de son mariage avec la princesse de Penthièvre et demande à Carmontelle d’y créer un lieu de plaisir et de rencontre adapté aux fêtes et aux spectacles. Louis Carrogis dit Carmontelle (1717-1806) ingénieur, topographe, écrivain, portraitiste et organisateur de fêtes crée un jardin pittoresque en juxtaposant des scènes qui donnent l’illusion de tous les temps et de tous les pays. Le spectateur contemplera la vue de dix-sept points parmi lesquels : un bois, des tombeaux, un moulin à eau en ruines, un moulin à vent hollandais, un temple en marbre blanc, un obélisque, un minaret, une pyramide égyptienne, une Naumachie. La Chine est partout présente, des constructions vivement colorées en témoignent : barrières, portiques, pavillons et jeu de bague (sorte de carrousel).
Le parc Monceau
Le parc Monceau
© MAD
En 1783, l’écossais Thomas Blaikie (1751-1838) prend la direction du jardin et y fait de nombreux changements pour en simplifier le tracé et diversifier les plantations. En 1785, le ministre des finances Calonne décide d’entourer Paris d’une enceinte ponctuée de barrières d’octroi et charge Claude Nicolas Ledoux d’en concevoir le plan et les constructions. La barrière de Monceau prend la forme d’un petit temple rond entouré de colonnes où le prince se réserve un salon dans l’attique pour jouir de la vue sur le jardin.
Confisqué en 1793, comme les autres biens des Orléans, le jardin devient bien national. Sous la Restauration, il revient à la famille d’Orléans. En 1860, les terres sont achetées par la ville de Paris qui en vend, un an plus tard, la moitié aux banquiers Pereire engagés dans le lotissement de ce quartier.
Conformément à la volonté de l’empereur Napoléon III, le préfet Georges Eugène Haussmann (1809-1891) restructure la ville autour d’un ensemble de parcs et de bois dans une perspective hygiénique au profit de la population. On assiste alors à l’aménagement des bois de Boulogne et de Vincennes, et à la création du parc Montsouris et des Buttes Chaumont. Le parc Monceau est le seul lieu historique remodelé.
Sous la direction d’Adolphe Alphand (1817-1891), ingénieur des Ponts et Chaussées, responsable du service des promenades, le parc est aménagé sur 8,4 hectares et inauguré en 1861. Gabriel Davioud (1824-1881) est chargé des entrées monumentales avec leurs grandes grilles dorées. Une partie des anciennes fabriques est conservée et associée à de nouveaux éléments : la rivière et son pont, la cascade et la grotte. Le mouvement de l’eau évoque la modernité, le progrès et la santé. Dans la grotte les premières stalactites en ciment artificiel sont une invention de l’entrepreneur Combaz.
Ponctuant les pelouses vallonnées, les massifs abondamment fleuris, composés par le jardinier en chef de la ville Jean-Pierre Barillet-Deschamps, sont objet de curiosité pour les promeneurs et d’étonnement pour les botanistes. Cet espace public est le lieu de promenade de la grande bourgeoisie du quartier, qui s’y donne rendez-vous. Les familles Pereire, Rothschild, Cernuschi, Ménier, Camondo font élever des hôtels particuliers dont les jardins privés ouvrent sur le parc.
A Fork-tailed Drongo flew after the Bateleur and attacked this stocky eagle when it ventured too close to it's nest.
Tanzania, January 2015
The bateleur eagle is one of these mesmerizing birds. The medium-sized eagle is a colorful species and has earned its title as one of the most majestic African eagles.
They demand adoration simply by being present. But many people don’t know the ins-and-outs of the silent predator.
The bateleur eagle (Terathopius ecaudatus) is a fascinating species, and the follwing facts will help you understand why.
1.
The bateleur is a proudly African eagle. The raptor spends its days soaring through the African sky and scanning for its next meal.
Bateleur eagles are widely distributed in Africa, particularly in the south of the Sahara Desert. But unlike many eagle species, they prefer open land to dense forest.
Are you visiting South Africa? The Kruger National Park, Timbavati Game Reserve, and Sabi Sands are a few places that you might strike lucky with a sighting.
While African grassland and acacia savannah are the habitats of choice, it’s not the only place that you can spot the bateleur.
Bateleur eagles are also endemic to certain parts of south-western Arabia. Particularly areas with similar woodland habitat.
2.
Family history can be a funny thing. And the bateleur has quite an interesting family connection. Belonging to the Accipitridae family, the bateleur’s closest relative is the brown snake eagle.
But despite this connection, the bateleur is the only member of the genus Terathopius.
The bird is easier identified by its appearance rather than its family group. The bateleur’s iconic red face (adults only) combined with its pitch-black feathers and grey (sometimes tawny) mantle make it quite a sight to behold.
3.
The bateleur is a magnificent sight in flight. You can even catch a glimpse of their white underwing when watching from underneath. But there’s something extra interesting about their form.
When translated from both Latin and Greek, their scientific name means “marvelous face, no tail”. This translation can be a bit misleading as the bateleur does have a tail. But it’s so short that the eagle’s legs extend further than the tail when in flight.
However, chances are that you’ll be more in awe of their striking face than anything else. The bateleur’s red facial skin and beak are characteristic markings and quite beautiful.
4. The National Emblem of Zimbabwe
Have you ever been to the vibrant nation of Zimbabwe? If not, perhaps you’ve seen their flag? The national emblem of Zimbabwe is a stone-carved Zimbabwe bird.
There is no certainty about which bird the emblem displays. However, the general consensus is that it represents the bateleur eagle or the African fish eagle. What an honour!
5.
If you think that sitting behind a desk for 9 hours is tough, imagine spending the same amount of time hunting for food!
The bateleur eagle typically spends about 8-9 hours each day on the hunt. As scavenger birds, their menu varies to include a wide variety of prey. You may discover a bateleur snacking on mice and birds one day, and an antelope carcass the next.
6.
“Bateleur” translates to “street performer”, “juggler” or “circus performer” and the bird lives up to its name. Acrobatic displays and rocking inflight are typical of the bateleur. Their movement is so iconic that there’s even a bateleur eagle dance.
This behavior becomes even more entertaining during the courtship flight. During this routine, they exaggeratedly beat their wings.
The graceful bird is a wonder to watch. Their wings are exceptionally long and their wingspan can grow to be 1,86 meters.
While the top of their wings can be black as the night, their underside is white. This makes for a marvelous sight when viewing them from underneath.
7.
Do you want to know how to tell the difference between male and female eagles? Although the same species, the male and female bateleur eagle are different in appearance, also known as sexual dimorphism.
In most species, the males are larger than females. However female bateleur eagles are larger than males. This difference in size is due to the male taking on the role of the sleek hunter. The female’s body supports her role of sitting on the nest for extended periods and appearing large enough to deter predators.
Another key difference is that male bateleur eagles have black feathers on their upper-wing covers and the females’ feathers are primarily brown. This difference in aesthetics is typical of many other species as the male has to win the attention of females for breeding.
8.
Bateleur eagles are ominously silent birds. This makes a sighting even more awe-inspiring.
Although mostly silent, there are occasions when the bateleur will make sounds. In certain instances, the bateleur will produce a loud bark as a territorial display.
9.
After spending so much time in the air hunting, you’d imagine that the bateleur has very little time for anything else. But that’s not the case.
People will often see bateleurs sunning (or sunbathing). It’s not uncommon for the majestic eagles to dip into various water bodies for a bath. They open their large wings and catch some sun to dry off afterward.
They mostly stand upright and straighten out their wings to catch some rays, but they are also known to lie on the ground with their wings spread out. By exposing their wings to sunlight, the oils in their feathers warm-up and improve its aerodynamics.
10.
The reproduction cycle of the bateleur is long and risky. A male and female will mate for life and will often keep the same nest for several years.
The female will lay a single egg at a time and do her best to protect her eaglet once hatched. A typical growth cycle is as follows:
The mother incubates the egg for 55-60 days while the father hunts
The parents look after the hatching for 110 days before forcing it out of the nest
Despite leaving the nest, the eaglet still relies on its parents for food for an additional 3-4 months
Sadly, only 2% of chicks ever make it to adulthood. But once they do, the life expectancy is an impressive 20-25 years.
Princess Polka demanded to get more hair so she got what she asked for. I was organizing my dolly stuff and found Nanami's ex wig which looked very cute on Polka :)) The wig is much longer than she is :D She also demanded that I put the pink & grey striped carpet in front of her dolly cabinet because those are her fav colors ^^
Canard branchu / Aix sponsa / Wood duck
© Richard Dumoulin 2012 - Tous droits réservés / All rights reserved
Une femelle Canard Branchus peut avoir jusqu'à 10-12 canetons dans une portée. Celle-ci en a eu 10. La mère est la majorité du temps seul pour prendre soin des canetons seule pendant que le mâle... disparaît (je me suis toujours demandé où ils vont? :) )
La mère Canard Branchu demeure toujours vigilante et émet un cri ("kiik") régulier afin de ramener ses petits à l'ordre. En cas de danger, la fréquence et la force du cri s'amplifient et les bébés se joignent rapidement à la mère pour fuir le danger.
The main environmental issues associated with the implementation of the 5G network come with the manufacturing of the many component parts of the 5G infrastructure. In addition, the proliferation of new devices that will use the 5G network that is tied to the acceleration of demand from consumers for new 5G-dependent devices will have serious environmental consequences. The 5G network will inevitably cause a large increase in energy usage among consumers, which is already one of the main contributors to climate change. Additionally, the manufacturing and maintenance of the new technologies associated with 5G creates waste and uses important resources that have detrimental consequences for the environment. 5G networks use technology that has harmful effects on birds, which in turn has cascading effects through entire ecosystems. And, while 5G developers are seeking to create a network that has fewer environmental impacts than past networks, there is still room for improvement and the consequences of 5G should be considered before it is widely rolled out. 5G stands for the fifth generation of wireless technology. It is the wave of wireless technology surpassing the 4G network that is used now. Previous generations brought the first cell phones (1G), text messaging (2G), online capabilities (3G), and faster speed (4G). The fifth generation aims to increase the speed of data movement, be more responsive, and allow for greater connectivity of devices simultaneously.[2] This means that 5G will allow for nearly instantaneous downloading of data that, with the current network, would take hours. For example, downloading a movie using 5G would take mere seconds. These new improvements will allow for self-driving cars, massive expansion of Internet of Things (IoT) device use, and acceleration of new technological advancements used in everyday activities by a much wider range of people. While 5G is not fully developed, it is expected to consist of at least five new technologies that allow it to perform much more complicated tasks at faster speeds. The new technologies 5G will use are hardware that works with much higher frequencies (millimeter wavelengths), small cells, massive MIMO (multiple input multiple output), beamforming, and full duplex.[3] Working together, these new technologies will expand the potential of many of the devices used today and devices being developed for the future. Millimeter waves are a higher frequency wavelength than the radio wavelength generally used in wireless transmission today.[4] The use of this portion of the spectrum corresponds to higher frequency and shorter wavelengths, in this case in the millimeter range (vs the lower radio frequencies where the wavelengths can be in the meters to hundreds of kilometers). Higher frequency waves allow for more devices to be connected to the same network at the same time, because there is more space available compared to the radio waves that are used today. The use of this portion of the spectrum has much longer wavelengths than of that anticipated for a portion of the 5G implementation. The waves in use now can measure up to tens of centimeters, while the new 5G waves would be no greater than ten millimeters.[5] The millimeter waves will create more transmission space for the ever-expanding number of people and devices crowding the current networks. The millimeter waves will create more space for devices to be used by consumers, which will increase energy usage, subsequently leading to increased global warming. Millimeter waves are very weak in their ability to connect two devices, which is why 5G needs something called “small cells” to give full, uninterrupted coverage. Small cells are essentially miniature cell towers that would be placed 250 meters apart throughout cities and other areas needing coverage.[6] The small cells are necessary as emissions [or signals] at this higher frequency/shorter wavelength have more difficulty passing through solid objects and are even easily intercepted by rain.[7] The small cells could be placed on anything from trees to street lights to the sides of businesses and homes to maximize connection and limit “dead zones” (areas where connections are lost). The next new piece of technology necessary for 5G is massive MIMO, which stands for multiple input multiple output. The MIMO describes the capacity of 5G’s base stations, because those base stations would be able to handle a much higher amount of data at any one moment of time. Currently, 4G base stations have around eight transmitters and four receivers which direct the flow of data between devices.[9] 5G will exceed this capacity with the use of massive MIMO that can handle 22 times more ports. Figure 1 shows how a massive MIMO tower would be able to direct a higher number of connections at once. However, massive MIMO causes signals to be crossed more easily. Crossed signals cause an interruption in the transmission of data from one device to the next due to a clashing of the wavelengths as they travel to their respective destinations. To overcome the cross signals problem, beamforming is needed. To maximize the efficiency of sending data another new technology called beamforming will be used in 5G. For data to be sent to the correct user, a way of directing the wavelengths without interference is necessary. This is done through a technique called beamforming. Beamforming directs where exactly data are being sent by using a variety of antennas to organize signals based on certain characteristics, such as the magnitude of the signal. By directly sending signals to where they need to go, beamforming decreases the chances that a signal is dropped due to the interference of a physical object.
One way that 5G will follow through on its promise of faster data transmission is through sending and receiving data simultaneously. The method that allows for simultaneous input and output of data is called full duplexing. While full duplex capabilities allow for faster transmission of data, there is an issue of signal interference, because of echoes. Full duplexing will cut transmission times in half, because it allows for a response to occur as soon as an input is delivered, eliminating the turnaround time that is seen in transmission today. Because these technologies are new and untested, it is hard to say how they will impact our environment. This raises another issue: there are impacts that can be anticipated and predicted, but there are also unanticipated impacts because much of the new technologies are untested. Nevertheless, it is possible to anticipate some of detrimental environmental consequences of the new technologies and the 5G network, because we know these technologies will increase exposure to harmful radiation, increase mining of rare minerals, increase waste, and increase energy usage. The main 5G environmental concerns have to do with two of the five new components: the millimeter waves and the small cells. The whole aim of the new 5G network is to allow for more devices to be used by the consumer at faster rates than ever before, because of this goal there will certainly be an increase in energy usage globally. Energy usage is one of the main contributors to climate change today and an increase in energy usage would cause climate change to increase drastically as well. 5G will operate on a higher frequency portion of the spectrum to open new space for more devices. The smaller size of the millimeter waves compared to radio frequency waves allows for more data to be shared more quickly and creates a wide bandwidth that can support much larger tasks.[15] While the idea of more space for devices to be used is great for consumers, this will lead to a spike in energy usage for two reasons – the technology itself is energy demanding and will increase demand for more electronic devices. The ability for more devices to be used on the same network creates more incentive for consumers to buy electronics and use them more often. This will have a harmful impact on the environment through increased energy use. Climate change has several underlying contributors; however, energy usage is gaining attention in its severity with regards to perpetuating climate change. Before 5G has even been released, about 2% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to the ICT industry.[16] While 2% may not seem like a very large portion, it translates to around 860 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.[17] Greenhouse gas emissions are the main contributors to natural disasters, such as flooding and drought, which are increasing severity and occurrence every year. Currently, roughly 85% of the energy used in the United States can be attributed to fossil fuel consumption.[18] The dwindling availability of fossil fuels and the environmental burden of releasing these fossil fuels into our atmosphere signal an immediate need to shift to other energy sources. Without a shift to other forms of energy production and the addition of technology allowed by the implementation of 5G, the strain on our environment will rise and the damage may never be repaired. With an increase in energy usage through technology and the implementation of 5G, it can be expected that the climate change issues faced today will only increase. The overall contribution of carbon dioxide emissions from the ICT industry has a huge impact on climate change and will continue to have even larger impacts without proper actions. In a European Union report, researchers estimated that in order to keep the increase in global temperature below 2° Celsius a decrease in carbon emissions of around 15-30% is necessary by 2020. Engineers claim that the small cells used to provide the 5G connection will be energy efficient and powered in a sustainable way; however the maintenance and production of these cells is more of an issue. Supporters of the 5G network advocate that the small cells will use solar or wind energy to stay sustainable and green.[20] These devices, labeled “fuel-cell energy servers” will work as clean energy-based generators for the small cells.[21] While implementing base stations that use sustainable energy to function would be a step in the right direction in environmental conservation, it is not the solution to the main issue caused by 5G, which is the impact that the massive amount of new devices in the hands of consumers will have on the amount of energy required to power these devices. The wasteful nature of manufacturing and maintenance of both individual devices and the devices used to deliver 5G connection could become a major contributor of climate change. The promise of 5G technology is to expand the number of devices functioning might be the most troubling aspect of the new technology. Cell phones, computers, and other everyday devices are manufactured in a way that puts stress on the environment. A report by the EPA estimated that in 2010, 25% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions comes from electricity and heat production making it the largest single source of emissions.[22] The main gas emitted by this sector is carbon dioxide, due to the burning of natural gas, such as coal, to fuel electricity sources.[23] Carbon dioxide is one of the most common greenhouse gases seen in our atmosphere, it traps heat in earth’s atmosphere trying to escape into space, which causes the atmosphere to warm generating climate change. Increased consumption of devices is taking a toll on the environment. As consumers gain access to more technologies the cycle of consumption only expands. As new devices are developed, the older devices are thrown out even if they are still functional. Often, big companies will purposefully change their products in ways that make certain partner devices (such as chargers or earphones) unusable–creating demand for new products. Economic incentives mean that companies will continue these practices in spite of the environmental impacts. One of the main issues with the 5G network and the resulting increase in consumption of technological devices is that the production required for these devices is not sustainable. In the case of making new devices, whether they be new smart-phones or the small cells needed for 5G, the use of nonrenewable metals is required. It is extremely difficult to use metals for manufacturing sustainably, because metals are not a renewable resource. Metals used in the manufacturing of the smart devices frequently used today often cannot be recycled in the same way many household items can be recycled. Because these technologies cannot be recycled, they create tons of waste when they are created and tons of waste when they are thrown away. There are around six billion mobile devices in use today, with this number expected to increase drastically as the global population increases and new devices enter the market. One estimate of the life-time carbon emissions of a single device–not including related accessories and network connection–is that a device produces a total of 45kg of carbon dioxide at a medium level of usage over three years. This amount of emission is comparable to that of driving the average European car for 300km. But, the most environmentally taxing stage of a mobile device life cycle is during the production stage, where around 68% of total carbon emissions is produced, equating to 30kg of carbon dioxide. To put this into perspective, an iPhone X weighs approximately 0.174kg, so in order to produce the actual device, 172 iPhone X’s worth of carbon dioxide is also created. These emissions vary from person to person and between different devices, but it’s possible to estimate the impact one device has on the environment. 5G grants the capacity for more devices to be used, significantly increase the existing carbon footprint of smart devices today. Energy usage for the ever-growing number of devices on the market and in homes is another environmental threat that would be greatly increased by the new capabilities brought by the 5G network. Often, energy forecasts overlook the amount of energy that will be consumed by new technologies, which leads to a skewed understanding of the actual amount of energy expected to be used.[30] One example of this is with IoT devices.[31] IoT is one of the main aspects of 5G people in the technology field are most excited about. 5G will allow for a larger expansion of IoT into the everyday household.[32] While some IoT devices promise lower energy usage abilities, the 50 billion new IoT devices expected to be produced and used by consumers will surpass the energy used by today’s electronics.
The small cells required for the 5G network to properly function causes another issue of waste with the new network. Because of the weak nature of the millimeter waves used in the 5G technology, small cells will need to be placed around 250 meters apart to insure continuous connection. The main issue with these small cells is that the manufacturing and maintenance of these cells will create a lot of waste. The manufacturing of technology takes a large toll on the environment, due to the consumption of non-renewable resources to produce devices, and technology ending up in landfills. Implementing these small cells into large cities where they must be placed at such a high density will have a drastic impact on technology waste. Technology is constantly changing and improving, which is one of the huge reasons it has such high economic value. But, when a technological advancement in small cells happens, the current small cells would have to be replaced. The short lifespan of devices created today makes waste predictable and inevitable. In New York City, where there would have to be at least 3,135,200 small cells, the waste created in just one city when a new advancement in small cells is implemented would have overwhelming consequences on the environment. 5G is just one of many examples of how important it is to look at the consequences of new advancements before their implementation. While it is exciting to see new technology that promises to improve everyday life, the consequences of additional waste and energy usage must be considered to preserve a sustainable environment in the future. There is some evidence that the new devices and technologies associated with 5G will be harmful to delicate ecosystems. The main component of the 5G network that will affect the earth’s ecosystems is the millimeter waves. The millimeter waves that are being used in developing the 5G network have never been used at such scale before. This makes it especially difficult to know how they will impact the environment and certain ecosystems. However, studies have found that there are some harms caused by these new technologies. The millimeter waves, specifically, have been linked to many disturbances in the ecosystems of birds. In a study by the Centre for Environment and Vocational Studies of Punjab University, researchers observed that after exposure to radiation from a cell tower for just 5-30 minutes, the eggs of sparrows were disfigured.[34] The disfiguration of birds exposed for such a short amount of time to these frequencies is significant considering that the new 5G network will have a much higher density of base stations (small cells) throughout areas needing connection. The potential dangers of having so many small cells all over areas where birds live could cause whole populations of birds to have mutations that threaten their population’s survival. Additionally, a study done in Spain showed breeding, nesting, and roosting was negatively affected by microwave radiation emitted by a cell tower. Again, the issue of the increase in the amount of connection conductors in the form of small cells to provide connection with the 5G network is seen to be harmful to species that live around humans. Additionally, Warnke found that cellular devices had a detrimental impact on bees.[36] In this study, beehives exposed for just ten minutes to 900MHz waves fell victim to colony collapse disorder.Colony collapse disorder is when many of the bees living in the hive abandon the hive leaving the queen, the eggs, and a few worker bees. The worker bees exposed to this radiation also had worsened navigational skills, causing them to stop returning to their original hive after about ten days. Bees are an incredibly important part of the earth’s ecosystem. Around one-third of the food produced today is dependent on bees for pollination, making bees are a vital part of the agricultural system. Bees not only provide pollination for the plant-based food we eat, but they are also important to maintaining the food livestock eats. Without bees, a vast majority of the food eaten today would be lost or at the very least highly limited. Climate change has already caused a large decline in the world’s bee population. The impact that the cell towers have on birds and bees is important to understand, because all ecosystems of the earth are interconnected. If one component of an ecosystem is disrupted the whole system will be affected. The disturbances of birds with the cell towers of today would only increase, because with 5G a larger number of small cell radio-tower-like devices would be necessary to ensure high quality connection for users. Having a larger number of high concentrations of these millimeter waves in the form of small cells would cause a wider exposure to bees and birds, and possibly other species that are equally important to our environment.As innovation continues, it is important that big mobile companies around the world consider the impact 5G will have on the environment before pushing to have it widely implemented. The companies pushing for the expansion of 5G may stand to make short term economic gains. While the new network will undoubtedly benefit consumers greatly, looking at 5G’s long-term environmental impacts is also very important so that the risks are clearly understood and articulated. The technology needed to power the new 5G network will inevitably change how mobile devices are used as well as their capabilities. This technological advancement will also change the way technology and the environment interact. The change from using radio waves to using millimeter waves and the new use of small cells in 5G will allow more devices to be used and manufactured, more energy to be used, and have detrimental consequences for important ecosystems. While it is unrealistic to call for 5G to not become the new network norm, companies, governments, and consumers should be proactive and understand the impact that this new technology will have on the environment. 5G developers should carry out Environmental Impact Assessments that fully estimate the impact that the new technology will have on the environment before rushing to widely implement it. Environmental Impact Assessments are intended to assess the impact new technologies have on the environment, while also maximizing potential benefits to the environment. This process mitigates, prevents, and identifies environmental harm, which is imperative to ensuring that the environment is sustainable and sound in the future. Additionally, the method of Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) of devices would also be extremely beneficial for understanding the impact that 5G will inevitably have on the environment. An LCA can be used to assess the impact that devices have on carbon emissions throughout their life span, from the manufacturing of the device to the energy required to power the device and ultimately the waste created when the device is discarded into a landfill or other disposal system. By having full awareness of the impact new technology will have on the environment ways to combat the negative impacts can be developed and implemented effectively.
jsis.washington.edu/news/what-will-5g-mean-for-the-enviro...
數著心跳的日常
#壞掉
#stilllifephotography#stilllife#stilllifephoto
#靜物#生活
#bnw #bnw_captures
#bnw_creatives#bnw_addicted
#bnw_demand
#bnw_drama
#bnw_just
#bnw_of_our_world
#photography#人體
#nude#nudephotography
Where vision fades, the mind takes flight,
A dance of colors, soft, yet bright.
No frame, no rules, confine the view,
Here lies the truth, as felt by you.
Sharpness flatters the eye's demand,
But softness lets the soul expand.
It paints with gaps what we don’t see,
A dream alive in mystery.
Where vision fades, the mind takes flight,
A dance of colors, soft, yet bright.
No frame, no rules, confine the view,
Here lies the truth, as felt by you.
Sharpness flatters the eye's demand,
But softness lets the soul expand.
It paints with gaps what we don’t see,
A dream alive in mystery.
The trees whisper through a hazy glow,
The sea sways gently, calm and slow.
A balloon drifts, unbound by form,
Carrying us where dreams are born.
Let go of what perfection claims,
Let blur ignite imaginative flames.
For where the brushstroke fails to appear,
The heart fills in what’s hidden here.
※In this poem I connect the imperfection of your picture with the inner world of the viewer and invite you to enjoy the moment as it is. Perfection is often overrated ~ the true beauty lies in feeling and imagining.
auf Deutsch :)
Wo der Blick verschwimmt, erwacht der Geist,
Ein Tanz von Farben, der die Formen entgleist.
Kein Zwang, kein Rahmen hält die Welt,
Hier zählt, was dein Herz für echt hält.
Die Schärfe mag dem Auge schmeicheln,
Doch Unschärfe lässt die Seele reifen.
Sie malt mit Lücken, was uns fehlt,
Ein Traum, der in der Stille erzählt.
Die Bäume flüstern im sanften Dunst,
Das Meer wiegt sich in leiser Gunst.
Ein Ballon schwebt, frei von Norm,
Trägt uns fort, in Fantasie gebor’n.
Lass los, was du perfekt genannt,
Lass Unschärfe leuchten, wie nie gekannt.
Denn wo der Pinsel schweigt, da malt der Sinn,
Und das Herz ergänzt, was verborgen blieb darin. 🎈
© 2025 Lorrie Agapi – All rights reserved.
**My heart, my words. Please respect them.**
Dear reader,
These words you are reading right now, whether it's a poem, a short story, or a thought is a piece of my soul. I write with passion, each word flowing from my heart, deeply connected to me. My poems are not just words, they are alive, carrying my emotions and essence within them.
If you plan to take them without my permission, know this: you are also taking a piece of my soul. And with every stolen word, I will always be present within the lines you use.
So be mindful… You never know what lies hidden between the lines, for words hold a power that goes far beyond the visible.💫
Assam on Mom's rocking chair after we moved it to our house, demanding that I pet her. Taken in California in December of 2013.
Paderu coffee plantation
Rejuvenation and consolidation of the existing plantations through gap filling,
adoption of timely cultural practices to improve the soil health as well as the
plant health through appropriate handholding in a cluster approach and achieve
productivity improvement to sustainable levels.
As most of the coffee produced in this region is organic by default, encourage
and assist the groups of farmers to obtain collective organic certification for
their coffee.
Shifting the focus from monoculture silver oak shade to mixed shade with
indigenous species.
It is expected through this project the tribal economy will show sustainable
growth and coffee becomes an important vehicles to bring prosperity to this area
in the years to come.
Taking advantage of the willingness of the tribal farmers to prepare parchment
coffee using the baby pulpers, which were supplied in limited number, it is
proposed to meet the entire demand of the baby puplers so as to convert
maximum production into parchment coffee, which helps in proper branding of
the coffee produced in this region and helps get better prices.
Australian school students striking & organising to demand real action on the climate crisis
www.facebook.com/StrikeClimate/
www.instagram.com/schoolstrikeforclimate/
“We are striking from school to tell our politicians to take our futures
seriously and treat climate change for what it is - a crisis.” School Strike 4 Climate
Photo by Stephen Hass – Using Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License
Over 330,000 strike on Friday in Australia doubling the March 2019 protests.
Students, workers and people all ages in 115+ Australian cities & towns.
Potentially over 4 million people globally will participate in world's largest climate mobilisation.
“The strike comes three days before world leaders meet in New York for the United Nations Emergency Climate Summit. Scott Morrison will not attend the UN summit despite being in New York at the same time meeting with Donald Trump.” www.schoolstrike4climate.com/post/biggest-climate-mobilis...
“Politicians can show us that they care by taking urgent action to meet our demands:
One: No new coal, oil and gas projects, including the Adani mine.
Two: 100% renewable energy generation & exports by 2030
Three: Fund a just transition & job creation for all fossil-fuel workers & communities.”
School Strike 4 Climate
7 continents
150+ countries
5000+ Strikes
90 Unions
4 Global Union Federations
School Strike 4 Climate
“Climate change is one of the biggest problems facing the world and it isn’t being addressed quickly enough.” School Strike 4 Climate
UPDATE BELOW: 25 September 2019
“Greenhouse gas emissions have been rising in Australia since the Coalition repealed Labor’s carbon price despite the country’s commitments to reduce pollution under the Paris agreement. Total national emissions have increased each year since 2014.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/morrison-r...
“Diplomatic officials from countries that I speak with see Australia as a denialist government,” he said. “It’s just accepted that’s what it is. It is seen as doing its own promotion of coal and natural gas against the science.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/australian...
“Scott Morrison is increasingly seen as running a “denialist government” that is not serious about finding a global climate solution and uses “greenwash” to meet its emissions commitments, analysts and former diplomats say.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/australian...
“Richie Merzian, a former climate diplomat who now works at progressive thinktank the Australian Institute, said Australia was seen by other countries as denying the severity of the problem and in engaging in “greenwashing” by using accounting tricks to meet targets while actual emissions increased.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/australian...
“A report backed by the world’s major climate science bodies released on the eve of the summit found current plans would lead to a rise in average global temperatures of between 2.9C and 3.4C by 2100, a shift likely to bring catastrophic change across the globe.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/australian...
Critical News Update 21 July 2021 : Great Barrier Reef could soon be listed as ‘in danger’ by the World Heritage Committee.
www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/21/coalition-bel...
Critical News Update 23 July 2021 :
www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/23/whether-or-no...
Kyoto Color version of Tibouchine Urvilleana. Limited depth of field here. I'll need a little more experience before I can keep all those various stamen parts in focus from a few cm away.
All these 2008-style fig posts and I'm missing the real MVPs, as pointed out by various folks.
Zoo Sweeper: Some cap, A head that's definitely been used on a Rebel, CMF Highway patrolman legs.
Fishmonger: I've had this guy made longer than I've had that Christo Gordon. Lone Ranger hat, LBM Guard head, CMF Butcher torso/legs.
Yeti: The hardest of these to make. I can't even describe what I went to to find the right parts for this guy.
Lemme know what you think eh!
The cats demanded, and got, an early dinner today (about 3:30PM instead of 4:00PM). Now, at 5:10 or so, they're hungry again. See what happens when you eat too early? However, Bonkers being rather delicate, got an after dinner dinner anyway. (The other cats finished what he didn't.)
I think Yuba was either upstairs or sleeping in his nest next to the window and couldn't be bothered to show up for the group photo.
Singapore National Day Parade
Singapore celebrated its first National Day as an independent nation in 1966, one year after Singapore's separation from Malaysia on 9 August 1965.
The first National Day Parade started in the morning at 9:00 a.m. that day. People came as early as 7:00 a.m. in order to get good vantage points. Singapore's first President, Mr Yusof bin Ishak and Singapore's first Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, were seated with members of the government at the grandstand on the steps of City Hall. When the parade began, 6 military contingents (including the Singapore Infantry Regiment, SPDF and the then Republic of Singapore Police), a mobile column from the SIR, and various schools and civil contingents marched past City Hall and then into the city streets. Three military bands accompanied the parade inspection and later the march past with military music. The Singapore Fire Brigade also took part in this first parade with its firetrucks included in the mobile column. Rounding it all was a massed lion and dragon dance performance from drum and dragon troupes nationwide.
The following year, the contingents increased to 76, including those of the then established Singapore Armed Forces, the RSP and more cultural groups, with the addition of more civil marching groups. The reason is partly due to the introduction of the National Service program in the military and police forces, and later extended to the Fire Brigade, later called the Singapore Fire Services in the 1970s. Street performances by various groups also debuted in that year's parade. The 1968 edition, although held on a rainy morning that surprised even the marching contingents and the dignitaries, saw the first ground performances on the Padang as the weather improved - a prelude to today's show performances. 1969's parade, the one where the Mobile Column made its first drivepast, commemorated the 150th year of the city's founding and had Princess Alexandra of the UK as principal guest.
On the August 9, 1970 NDP edition, the Flypast of the State Flag and the Republic of Singapore Air Force Flypast debuted. A combat simulation performance by Singapore Army personnel was one of the new highlights for that year.
The 1971 NDP was the first to include the iconic mobile parade floats from various organizations. Choirs also debuted on that year's edition.
The 1973 parade was held from the afternoon to early evening for the first time to attract more attendance from the public. The next year, colour broadcasts of the parade on television began.
The 1975 parades, held to celebrate Singapore's 10th year, were for the first time decentralized into 13 parade venues for more public participation. Almost all of them lasted for an hour and all of them even had route marches on the streets to the participating venues.
By the time the NDP was held at the National Stadium (for the first time) in 1976, the NDP Guard of Honour, composed of officers and personnel of the SAF and the Singapore Police Force made its first appearance, followed after the parade proper by the very first evening presentations by various groups, a prelude to future evening NDPs in 1980 and from 1984 onward. 1977's parade was a decentralized event like two years before (and like 1968's was damped by the rain) while 1978 would see the parade back at the Padang grounds. 1979's parade was yet another decentralized one, held in several high schools and sports stadiums nationwide.
The 1980 parade, held at the National Stadium, almost rained at the start, but the performances went on as planned as the weather improved later. This was the first parade in which the feu de joie of the Guard-of-Honour contingents made its inaugural appearance. 1981's NDP was the very first parade appearance of the then SPF Civil Defense Command, presently the Singapore Civil Defense Force, later combined with the SFS in 1989. (The SCDF of today showed itself for the first time in the 1982 NDP held in the Padang.) They were held in two decentralised venues, Jurong and Queenstown Sports Stadiums for further increase public attendance and participation in the celebrations. 1982's parade, back at the Padang site, featured more contingents and for the first time the mobile column drove past after the marchpast had concluded, thus making it a predecessor to the parades at the Padang from 1995 onward (every 5 years).
1983 would be the final year that the NDP was held in multiple venues.
The 1984 NDP, now back at the Padang, celebrated Singapore's Silver Jubilee of self-governance and included a bigger Mobile Column, the first appearance of the popular Silent Precision Drill Squad from the Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command and the first true evening fireworks display (plus the debut of the very first NDP theme song) while NDP 1985 celebrated the nation's 20th year with more participants in the parade segment and in the show proper. The 1986 edition was the first true evening edition of the parade, and the first to use flashlights for audience use. 1987's parade, held at the Padang, was the first ever evening event held there and featured the first appearance of the massed military bands of the SAF. 1988 saw the card stunt feature being used for the first time during the National Stadium event and the 1989 edition, the first National Stadium daytime event, saw the debut of the nationally famous Red Lions parachute team and the daylight fireworks after 1966. The parade returned to the Padang in 1990 to honor the nation's silver jubilee year, which would turn out to be the last afternoon event ever to be held.
In 1997, for the first time, there was a National Education Show, where Primary 5 students watch NDP rehearsals.
The government set up the electronic voting ticketing system in 2003 in order to tackle the problem of overcrowding. Such ticketing system enables citizens to stand a chance at winning the tickets by registering their e-mail addresses or mobile numbers at the NDP website or phonelines.
Starting 2008, the NDP is also aired all over the Asia-Pacific region through Channel NewsAsia.
2009's NDP was the first ever edition to have an integrated show including the parade segment.
In 2014 Third Warrant Officer Shirley Ng became the first female Red Lion parachutist to jump at the NDP.[1][2]
2015's parade, even as all was planned for the parade to be at the Padang, will be the first ever parade to be held both there and at the Float at Marina Bay, breaking a parade tradition in the process. NDP 2015 is the first National Day Parade without the founding leader Lee Kuan Yew, who never missed a single National Day Parade since 1966, for whom he had died on 23 March 2015, within 8 months after attending the 2014 edition.
NDP editions
The venue of the parade is usually at the historical grounds of the Padang, where the declaration of Singapore's independence was held. Since the first parade in 1966, all the way to 1975, the venue was located in this central area to bring the parade closer to the people. In 1976, the parade was held for the first time at the newly completed National Stadium, where the much larger capacity allowed for more to view the parade live.
Although offering about 60,000 seats in the National Stadium, the demand for tickets remained high. Hence there were several attempts to decentralise the venue to bring the celebration closer to more Singaporeans. From 1975 to 1983, celebrations were alternated between a decentralised event and one centered at the Padang or stadium. From 1984, the parade was held twice at the stadium before being brought back to the Padang. This three-year cycle was repeated up to 1994.
From 1995, it was decided that the Padang would be used as the venue every five years. The Padang, although historically important, posed a greater logistical challenge and also offered fewer seats for spectators. The event and rehearsals also required the closing of surrounding roads. There was a need to construct temporary spectator stands around the field. The site remained, however, the only feasible venue for the mobile column, as the heavy vehicles could not be driven onto the stadium track. The Padang was used as the main performance venue for the 2005 parade, with fringe activities decentralised to Marina South, Jurong East, Yishun and Tampines.
Several alternate locations were mooted, including the utilisation of the Padang, which is physically bigger and less likely to disrupt daily functions in the city.
Parade being held at the Marina Bay Floating Stadium in 2007
On 16 October 2005, it was announced that that 2006 NDP would be held at the old stadium for the last time before moving to The Float at Marina Bay [1]. The 130 metre by 100 metre platform would be used for the next five years until the new stadium is completed. Although offering a seating capacity of only 27,000, which is less than National Stadium, there is a vast area for 150,000 extra spectators along the Marina Bay waterfront.
Since the 2000s (decade), every year's parade would revolve around a theme which would guide the planning of the parade and show.
After ten-year hiatus, the 2016 edition of NDP will return back to the new National Stadium
Making the case for only children
I couldn't believe they were almost knocking (Mom? Dad?) off the fence...
Here's another shot of poor mom/dad.
June 2, 2014 - The FDA is advising consumers not to purchase or use Full Throttle On Demand, a product promoted and sold for sexual enhancement. The product was found to contain undeclared propoxyphenyl sildenafil. For more information, go to
www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMe...
And read these FDA Consumer Updates:
Beware of Fraudulent ‘Dietary Supplements’
"All Natural" Alternatives for Erectile Dysfunction: A Risky Proposition
The yard was established 150 years ago by Sandy Macfarlane's Great Grandfather, John Macfarlane. The yard is very much a family business with traditional values.
The ferry runs from the Balmaha Boatyard to the North Pier on Inchcailleach Island. The crossing is very short and operates on an 'on demand' basis. A minimum of an hour on the island would be suggested, though most visitors prefer to stay longer. Please advise the Ticket Office of your preferred return time at the start of your sail.
Inchcailleach is one of the largest and highest islands, and is also the nearest to Balmaha.
As soon as you alight at the North Pier you have the feeling of being somewhere magical and away from it all.
Inchcailleach is a Nature Reserve with an abundance of flora and fauna. Enjoy stunning views of Loch Lomond from the hill top and explore the ancient history of the island.
The 52 hectares of Inchcailleach are cloaked in oak woodland providing shady walks and a rich habitat for the host of wildlife resident on the island. From the spring when the woodland floor is carpeted with bluebells through to October when sounds of the rutting fallow deer echo through the trees, the island provides accessible sights and sounds all year round.
There is a choice of walking paths on the island each taking 30-45 minutes. The low path takes you clockwise round the island
and can be joined from landing points at Port Bawn or the North pier. The summit path takes in the highest point on the island at 85m and will reward you with a panoramic views up and down the Loch.
The island has a long association with Christianity since Saint Kentigerna established a nunnery around 1,300 years ago. The low path includes a visit to the ancient burial ground and the site of a church built in the 13th Century and dedicated to her memory. The church was in use until 1770 but the burial ground was used until 1947. Amongst the graves you will find the grave of the Clan Chief of the
mobile phones great things but also a pain always being accecibe.
well B was feeling unwell and was fed up with me under her feet so she said I should go out so I did. Not a bad look for a rush job
The Queensferry Crossing (formerly the Forth Replacement Crossing) is a road bridge in Scotland. It was built alongside the existing Forth Road Bridge and carries the M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth between Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, and Fife, at North Queensferry.
Proposals for a second Forth Road crossing, to meet unexpected demand, were first put forward in the 1990s, but no action was taken until structural issues were discovered in the Forth Road Bridge in 2004. In 2006-2007 Transport Scotland carried out a study and in December 2007, took the decision to proceed with a replacement bridge. The following year it was announced that the existing bridge would be retained as a public transport link. The Forth Crossing Act received Royal Assent in January 2011. In April 2011, the Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors Consortium were awarded the contract and construction began in late Summer/Autumn of 2011.
The Queensferry Crossing is a three-tower cable-stayed bridge, with an overall length of 2.7 kilometres (1.7 miles).Around 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) of new connecting roads were built, including new and upgraded junctions at Ferrytoll in Fife, South Queensferry and Junction 1A on the M9.
The bridge was first due to be completed by December 2016, but this deadline was extended to August 2017 after several delays.[6] It is the third bridge across the Forth at Queensferry, alongside the Forth Road Bridge completed in 1964, and the Forth Rail Bridge completed in 1890. Following a public vote, it was formally named on 26 June 2013 and opened to traffic on 30 August 2017. The official opening was carried out on 4 September 2017 by Queen Elizabeth II, fifty-three years to the day after she opened the adjacent Forth Road Bridge.
Chloe: We demand some quality time and photo shoots damn it!
I cannot remember the last time I took pictures of these two...
Je ne demande pas grand chose
Un signe, un geste, un regard,
Je sais que c'est dur de faire une pause, de s'arrêter.
S'ouvrir dehors, c'est s'ouvrir dedans, pourtant je me sens "solo" dans la foule.
Noyée dans cette grande houle.
A Paris, à Londres, dans n'importe quelle ville,
Je suis "nous, vous" "elle ou il".
Prenons le temps d'un "bonsoir",
Prenons le temps au hasard,
ça se joue parfois à une seconde pour être quelqu'un dans ce monde.
"Que demande-t-on d'une fleur
Sinon qu'elle soit belle et odorante une minute, pauvre fleur, et après ce sera fini.
La fleur est courte, mais la joie qu'elle a donnée une minute
N'est pas de ces choses qui ont commencement ou fin." ( Paul Claudel )
Cloud Gate is a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, that is the centerpiece of AT&T Plaza at Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. The sculpture and AT&T Plaza are located on top of Park Grill, between the Chase Promenade and McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink. Constructed between 2004 and 2006, the sculpture is nicknamed "The Bean" because of its shape, a name Kapoor initially disliked, but later grew fond of. Kapoor himself even uses this title when referring to his work. Made up of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, its highly polished exterior has no visible seams. It measures 33 by 66 by 42 feet (10 by 20 by 13 m), and weighs 110 short tons (100 t; 98 long tons).
Kapoor's design was inspired by liquid mercury and the sculpture's surface reflects and distorts the city's skyline. Visitors are able to walk around and under Cloud Gate's 12-foot (3.7 m) high arch. On the underside is the "omphalos" (Greek for "navel"), a concave chamber that warps and multiplies reflections. The sculpture builds upon many of Kapoor's artistic themes, and it is popular with tourists as a photo-taking opportunity for its unique reflective properties.
The sculpture was the result of a design competition. After Kapoor's design was chosen, numerous technological concerns regarding the design's construction and assembly arose, in addition to concerns regarding the sculpture's upkeep and maintenance. Various experts were consulted, some of whom believed the design could not be implemented. Eventually, a feasible method was found, but the sculpture's construction fell behind schedule. It was unveiled in an incomplete form during the Millennium Park grand opening celebration in 2004, before being concealed again while it was completed. Cloud Gate was formally dedicated on May 15, 2006, and has since gained considerable popularity, both domestically and internationally.
Sir Anish Mikhail Kapoor, CBE, RA (born 12 March 1954) is a British-Indian sculptor specializing in installation art and conceptual art. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor attended the elite all-boys Indian boarding school The Doon School, before moving to the UK to begin his art training at Hornsey College of Art and, later, Chelsea School of Art and Design.
His notable public sculptures include Cloud Gate (2006, also known as "The Bean") in Chicago's Millennium Park; Sky Mirror, exhibited at the Rockefeller Center in New York City in 2006 and Kensington Gardens in London in 2010; Temenos, at Middlehaven, Middlesbrough; Leviathan, at the Grand Palais in Paris in 2011; and ArcelorMittal Orbit, commissioned as a permanent artwork for London's Olympic Park and completed in 2012. In 2017, Kapoor designed the statuette for the 2018 Brit Awards.
An image of Kapoor features in the British cultural icons section of the newly designed British passport in 2015. In 2016, he was announced as a recipient of the LennonOno Grant for Peace.
Kapoor has received several distinctions and prizes, such as the Premio Duemila Prize at the XLIV Venice Biennale in 1990, the Turner Prize in 1991, the Unilever Commission for the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern, the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government in 2012, a knighthood in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to visual arts, an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Oxford in 2014. and the 2017 Genesis Prize for "being one of the most influential and innovative artists of his generation and for his many years of advocacy for refugees and displaced people".
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in 2004 and intended to celebrate the third millennium, is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a 24.5-acre (9.9 ha) section of northwestern Grant Park. Featuring a variety of public art, outdoor spaces and venues, the park is bounded by Michigan Avenue, Randolph Street, Columbus Drive and East Monroe Drive. In 2017, Millennium Park was the top tourist destination in Chicago and in the Midwest, and placed among the top ten in the United States with 25 million annual visitors.
Planning of the park, situated in an area occupied by parkland, the Illinois Central rail yards, and parking lots, began in October 1997. Construction began in October 1998, and Millennium Park was opened in a ceremony on July 16, 2004, four years behind schedule. The three-day opening celebrations were attended by some 300,000 people and included an inaugural concert by the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus. The park has received awards for its accessibility and green design. Millennium Park has free admission, and features the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Cloud Gate, the Crown Fountain, the Lurie Garden, and various other attractions. The park is connected by the BP Pedestrian Bridge and the Nichols Bridgeway to other parts of Grant Park. Because the park sits atop parking garages, the commuter rail Millennium Station and rail lines, it is considered the world's largest rooftop garden. In 2015, the park became the location of the city's annual Christmas tree lighting.
Some observers consider Millennium Park the city's most important project since the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. It far exceeded its originally proposed budget of $150 million. The final cost of $475 million was borne by Chicago taxpayers and private donors. The city paid $270 million; private donors paid the rest, and assumed roughly half of the financial responsibility for the cost overruns. The construction delays and cost overruns were attributed to poor planning, many design changes, and cronyism. Many critics have praised the completed park.
From 1852 until 1997, the Illinois Central Railroad owned a right of way between downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan, in the area that became Grant Park and used it for railroad tracks. In 1871, Union Base-Ball Grounds was built on part of the site that became Millennium Park; the Chicago White Stockings played home games there until the grounds were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire. Lake Front Park, the White Stockings' new ball grounds, was built in 1878 with a short right field due to the railroad tracks. The grounds were improved and the seating capacity was doubled in 1883, but the team had to move after the season ended the next year, as the federal government had given the city the land "with the stipulation that no commercial venture could use it". Daniel Burnham planned Grant Park around the Illinois Central Railroad property in his 1909 Plan of Chicago. Between 1917 and 1953, a prominent semicircle of paired Greek Doric-style columns (called a peristyle) was placed in this area of Grant Park (partially recreated in the new Millennium Park). In 1997, when the city gained airspace rights over the tracks, it decided to build a parking facility over them in the northwestern corner of Grant Park. Eventually, the city realized that a grand civic amenity might lure private dollars in a way that a municipal improvement such as ordinary parking structure would not, and thus began the effort to create Millennium Park. The park was originally planned under the name Lakefront Millennium Park.
The park was conceived as a 16-acre (6.5 ha) landscape-covered bridge over an underground parking structure to be built on top of the Metra/Illinois Central Railroad tracks in Grant Park. The parks overall design was by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and gradually additional architects and artists such as Frank Gehry and Thomas Beeby were incorporated into the plan. Sponsors were sought by invitation only.
In February 1999, the city announced it was negotiating with Frank Gehry to design a proscenium arch and orchestra enclosure for a bandshell, as well as a pedestrian bridge crossing Columbus Drive, and that it was seeking donors to cover his work. At the time, the Chicago Tribune dubbed Gehry "the hottest architect in the universe"[19] in reference to the acclaim for his Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and they noted the designs would not include Mayor Richard M. Daley's trademarks, such as wrought iron and seasonal flower boxes. Millennium Park project manager Edward Uhlir said "Frank is just the cutting edge of the next century of architecture," and noted that no other architect was being sought. Gehry was approached several times by Skidmore architect Adrian Smith on behalf of the city. His hesitance and refusal to accept the commission was overcome by Cindy Pritzker, the philanthropist, who had developed a relationship with the architect when he won the Pritzker Prize in 1989. According to John H. Bryan, who led fund-raising for the park, Pritzker enticed Gehry in face-to-face discussions, using a $15 million funding commitment toward the bandshell's creation. Having Gehry get involved helped the city realize its vision of having modern themes in the park; upon rumors of his involvement the Chicago Sun-Times proclaimed "Perhaps the future has arrived", while the Chicago Tribune noted that "The most celebrated architect in the world may soon have a chance to bring Chicago into the 21st Century".
Plans for the park were officially announced in March 1998 and construction began in September of that year. Initial construction was under the auspices of the Chicago Department of Transportation, because the project bridges the railroad tracks. However, as the project grew and expanded, its broad variety of features and amenities outside the scope of the field of transportation placed it under the jurisdiction of the city's Public Buildings Commission.
In April 1999, the city announced that the Pritzker family had donated $15 million to fund Gehry's bandshell and an additional nine donors committed $10 million. The day of this announcement, Gehry agreed to the design request. In November, when his design was unveiled, Gehry said the bridge design was preliminary and not well-conceived because funding for it was not committed. The need to fund a bridge to span the eight-lane Columbus Drive was evident, but some planning for the park was delayed in anticipation of details on the redesign of Soldier Field. In January 2000, the city announced plans to expand the park to include features that became Cloud Gate, the Crown Fountain, the McDonald's Cycle Center, and the BP Pedestrian Bridge. Later that month, Gehry unveiled his new winding design for the bridge.
Mayor Daley's influence was key in getting corporate and individual sponsors to pay for much of the park. Bryan, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Sara Lee Corporation who spearheaded the fundraising, says that sponsorship was by invitation and no one refused the opportunity to be a sponsor. One Time magazine writer describes the park as the crowning achievement for Mayor Daley, while another suggests the park's cost and time overages were examples of the city's mismanagement. The July 16–18, 2004, opening ceremony was sponsored by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
The community around Millennium Park has become one of the most fashionable and desired residential addresses in Chicago. In 2006, Forbes named the park's 60602 zip code as the hottest in terms of price appreciation in the country, with upscale buildings such as The Heritage at Millennium Park (130 N. Garland) leading the way for other buildings, such as Waterview Tower, The Legacy and Joffrey Tower. The median sale price for residential real estate was $710,000 in 2005 according to Forbes, also ranking it on the list of most expensive zip codes. The park has been credited with increasing residential real estate values by $100 per square foot ($1,076 per m2).
Millennium Park is a portion of the 319-acre (129.1 ha) Grant Park, known as the "front lawn" of downtown Chicago, and has four major artistic highlights: the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Cloud Gate, the Crown Fountain, and the Lurie Garden. Millennium Park is successful as a public art venue in part due to the grand scale of each piece and the open spaces for display. A showcase for postmodern architecture, it also features the McCormick Tribune Ice Skating Rink, the BP Pedestrian Bridge, the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Wrigley Square, the McDonald's Cycle Center, the Exelon Pavilions, the AT&T Plaza, the Boeing Galleries, the Chase Promenade, and the Nichols Bridgeway.
Millennium Park is considered one of the largest green roofs in the world, having been constructed on top of a railroad yard and large parking garages. The park, which is known for being user friendly, has a very rigorous cleaning schedule with many areas being swept, wiped down or cleaned multiple times a day. Although the park was unveiled in July 2004, some features opened earlier, and upgrades continued for some time afterwards. Along with the cultural features above ground (described below) the park has its own 2218-space parking garage
Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388 in the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. As the seat of Cook County, the second-most populous county in the U.S., Chicago is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area, which is often colloquially called "Chicagoland".
Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. It grew rapidly in the mid-19th century. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless, but Chicago's population continued to grow. Chicago made noted contributions to urban planning and architecture, such as the Chicago School, the development of the City Beautiful Movement, and the steel-framed skyscraper.
Chicago is an international hub for finance, culture, commerce, industry, education, technology, telecommunications, and transportation. It has the largest and most diverse derivatives market in the world, generating 20% of all volume in commodities and financial futures alone. O'Hare International Airport is routinely ranked among the world's top six busiest airports by passenger traffic, and the region is also the nation's railroad hub. The Chicago area has one of the highest gross domestic products (GDP) of any urban region in the world, generating $689 billion in 2018. Chicago's economy is diverse, with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce.
Chicago is a major tourist destination. Chicago's culture has contributed much to the visual arts, literature, film, theater, comedy (especially improvisational comedy), food, dance, and music (particularly jazz, blues, soul, hip-hop, gospel, and electronic dance music, including house music). Chicago is home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, while the Art Institute of Chicago provides an influential visual arts museum and art school. The Chicago area also hosts the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois Chicago, among other institutions of learning. Chicago has professional sports teams in each of the major professional leagues, including two Major League Baseball teams.
In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by the Potawatomi, an indigenous tribe who had succeeded the Miami and Sauk and Fox peoples in this region.
The first known permanent settler in Chicago was trader Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Du Sable was of African descent, perhaps born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti), and established the settlement in the 1780s. He is commonly known as the "Founder of Chicago."
In 1795, following the victory of the new United States in the Northwest Indian War, an area that was to be part of Chicago was turned over to the U.S. for a military post by native tribes in accordance with the Treaty of Greenville. In 1803, the U.S. Army constructed Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed during the War of 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn by the Potawatomi before being later rebuilt.
After the War of 1812, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes ceded additional land to the United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land after the 1833 Treaty of Chicago and sent west of the Mississippi River as part of the federal policy of Indian removal.
On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200. Within seven years it grew to more than 6,000 people. On June 15, 1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as Receiver of Public Monies. The City of Chicago was incorporated on Saturday, March 4, 1837, and for several decades was the world's fastest-growing city.
As the site of the Chicago Portage, the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicago's first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, and the Illinois and Michigan Canal opened in 1848. The canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on the Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River.
A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad. Manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy. The Chicago Board of Trade (established 1848) listed the first-ever standardized "exchange-traded" forward contracts, which were called futures contracts.
In the 1850s, Chicago gained national political prominence as the home of Senator Stephen Douglas, the champion of the Kansas–Nebraska Act and the "popular sovereignty" approach to the issue of the spread of slavery. These issues also helped propel another Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the national stage. Lincoln was nominated in Chicago for U.S. president at the 1860 Republican National Convention, which was held in a purpose-built auditorium called the Wigwam. He defeated Douglas in the general election, and this set the stage for the American Civil War.
To accommodate rapid population growth and demand for better sanitation, the city improved its infrastructure. In February 1856, Chicago's Common Council approved Chesbrough's plan to build the United States' first comprehensive sewerage system. The project raised much of central Chicago to a new grade with the use of jackscrews for raising buildings. While elevating Chicago, and at first improving the city's health, the untreated sewage and industrial waste now flowed into the Chicago River, and subsequently into Lake Michigan, polluting the city's primary freshwater source.
The city responded by tunneling two miles (3.2 km) out into Lake Michigan to newly built water cribs. In 1900, the problem of sewage contamination was largely resolved when the city completed a major engineering feat. It reversed the flow of the Chicago River so that the water flowed away from Lake Michigan rather than into it. This project began with the construction and improvement of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and was completed with the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal that connects to the Illinois River, which flows into the Mississippi River.
In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed an area about 4 miles (6.4 km) long and 1-mile (1.6 km) wide, a large section of the city at the time. Much of the city, including railroads and stockyards, survived intact, and from the ruins of the previous wooden structures arose more modern constructions of steel and stone. These set a precedent for worldwide construction. During its rebuilding period, Chicago constructed the world's first skyscraper in 1885, using steel-skeleton construction.
The city grew significantly in size and population by incorporating many neighboring townships between 1851 and 1920, with the largest annexation happening in 1889, with five townships joining the city, including the Hyde Park Township, which now comprises most of the South Side of Chicago and the far southeast of Chicago, and the Jefferson Township, which now makes up most of Chicago's Northwest Side. The desire to join the city was driven by municipal services that the city could provide its residents.
Chicago's flourishing economy attracted huge numbers of new immigrants from Europe and migrants from the Eastern United States. Of the total population in 1900, more than 77% were either foreign-born or born in the United States of foreign parentage. Germans, Irish, Poles, Swedes, and Czechs made up nearly two-thirds of the foreign-born population (by 1900, whites were 98.1% of the city's population).
Labor conflicts followed the industrial boom and the rapid expansion of the labor pool, including the Haymarket affair on May 4, 1886, and in 1894 the Pullman Strike. Anarchist and socialist groups played prominent roles in creating very large and highly organized labor actions. Concern for social problems among Chicago's immigrant poor led Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr to found Hull House in 1889. Programs that were developed there became a model for the new field of social work.
During the 1870s and 1880s, Chicago attained national stature as the leader in the movement to improve public health. City laws and later, state laws that upgraded standards for the medical profession and fought urban epidemics of cholera, smallpox, and yellow fever were both passed and enforced. These laws became templates for public health reform in other cities and states.
The city established many large, well-landscaped municipal parks, which also included public sanitation facilities. The chief advocate for improving public health in Chicago was John H. Rauch, M.D. Rauch established a plan for Chicago's park system in 1866. He created Lincoln Park by closing a cemetery filled with shallow graves, and in 1867, in response to an outbreak of cholera he helped establish a new Chicago Board of Health. Ten years later, he became the secretary and then the president of the first Illinois State Board of Health, which carried out most of its activities in Chicago.
In the 1800s, Chicago became the nation's railroad hub, and by 1910 over 20 railroads operated passenger service out of six different downtown terminals. In 1883, Chicago's railway managers needed a general time convention, so they developed the standardized system of North American time zones. This system for telling time spread throughout the continent.
In 1893, Chicago hosted the World's Columbian Exposition on former marshland at the present location of Jackson Park. The Exposition drew 27.5 million visitors, and is considered the most influential world's fair in history. The University of Chicago, formerly at another location, moved to the same South Side location in 1892. The term "midway" for a fair or carnival referred originally to the Midway Plaisance, a strip of park land that still runs through the University of Chicago campus and connects the Washington and Jackson Parks.
During World War I and the 1920s there was a major expansion in industry. The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from the Southern United States. Between 1910 and 1930, the African American population of Chicago increased dramatically, from 44,103 to 233,903. This Great Migration had an immense cultural impact, called the Chicago Black Renaissance, part of the New Negro Movement, in art, literature, and music. Continuing racial tensions and violence, such as the Chicago race riot of 1919, also occurred.
The ratification of the 18th amendment to the Constitution in 1919 made the production and sale (including exportation) of alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States. This ushered in the beginning of what is known as the gangster era, a time that roughly spans from 1919 until 1933 when Prohibition was repealed. The 1920s saw gangsters, including Al Capone, Dion O'Banion, Bugs Moran and Tony Accardo battle law enforcement and each other on the streets of Chicago during the Prohibition era. Chicago was the location of the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929, when Al Capone sent men to gun down members of a rival gang, North Side, led by Bugs Moran.
Chicago was the first American city to have a homosexual-rights organization. The organization, formed in 1924, was called the Society for Human Rights. It produced the first American publication for homosexuals, Friendship and Freedom. Police and political pressure caused the organization to disband.
The Great Depression brought unprecedented suffering to Chicago, in no small part due to the city's heavy reliance on heavy industry. Notably, industrial areas on the south side and neighborhoods lining both branches of the Chicago River were devastated; by 1933 over 50% of industrial jobs in the city had been lost, and unemployment rates amongst blacks and Mexicans in the city were over 40%. The Republican political machine in Chicago was utterly destroyed by the economic crisis, and every mayor since 1931 has been a Democrat.
From 1928 to 1933, the city witnessed a tax revolt, and the city was unable to meet payroll or provide relief efforts. The fiscal crisis was resolved by 1933, and at the same time, federal relief funding began to flow into Chicago. Chicago was also a hotbed of labor activism, with Unemployed Councils contributing heavily in the early depression to create solidarity for the poor and demand relief; these organizations were created by socialist and communist groups. By 1935 the Workers Alliance of America begun organizing the poor, workers, the unemployed. In the spring of 1937 Republic Steel Works witnessed the Memorial Day massacre of 1937 in the neighborhood of East Side.
In 1933, Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak was fatally wounded in Miami, Florida, during a failed assassination attempt on President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1933 and 1934, the city celebrated its centennial by hosting the Century of Progress International Exposition World's Fair. The theme of the fair was technological innovation over the century since Chicago's founding.
During World War II, the city of Chicago alone produced more steel than the United Kingdom every year from 1939 – 1945, and more than Nazi Germany from 1943 – 1945.
The Great Migration, which had been on pause due to the Depression, resumed at an even faster pace in the second wave, as hundreds of thousands of blacks from the South arrived in the city to work in the steel mills, railroads, and shipping yards.
On December 2, 1942, physicist Enrico Fermi conducted the world's first controlled nuclear reaction at the University of Chicago as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. This led to the creation of the atomic bomb by the United States, which it used in World War II in 1945.
Mayor Richard J. Daley, a Democrat, was elected in 1955, in the era of machine politics. In 1956, the city conducted its last major expansion when it annexed the land under O'Hare airport, including a small portion of DuPage County.
By the 1960s, white residents in several neighborhoods left the city for the suburban areas – in many American cities, a process known as white flight – as Blacks continued to move beyond the Black Belt. While home loan discriminatory redlining against blacks continued, the real estate industry practiced what became known as blockbusting, completely changing the racial composition of whole neighborhoods. Structural changes in industry, such as globalization and job outsourcing, caused heavy job losses for lower-skilled workers. At its peak during the 1960s, some 250,000 workers were employed in the steel industry in Chicago, but the steel crisis of the 1970s and 1980s reduced this number to just 28,000 in 2015. In 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Raby led the Chicago Freedom Movement, which culminated in agreements between Mayor Richard J. Daley and the movement leaders.
Two years later, the city hosted the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention, which featured physical confrontations both inside and outside the convention hall, with anti-war protesters, journalists and bystanders being beaten by police. Major construction projects, including the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower, which in 1974 became the world's tallest building), University of Illinois at Chicago, McCormick Place, and O'Hare International Airport, were undertaken during Richard J. Daley's tenure. In 1979, Jane Byrne, the city's first female mayor, was elected. She was notable for temporarily moving into the crime-ridden Cabrini-Green housing project and for leading Chicago's school system out of a financial crisis.
In 1983, Harold Washington became the first black mayor of Chicago. Washington's first term in office directed attention to poor and previously neglected minority neighborhoods. He was re‑elected in 1987 but died of a heart attack soon after. Washington was succeeded by 6th ward alderperson Eugene Sawyer, who was elected by the Chicago City Council and served until a special election.
Richard M. Daley, son of Richard J. Daley, was elected in 1989. His accomplishments included improvements to parks and creating incentives for sustainable development, as well as closing Meigs Field in the middle of the night and destroying the runways. After successfully running for re-election five times, and becoming Chicago's longest-serving mayor, Richard M. Daley declined to run for a seventh term.
In 1992, a construction accident near the Kinzie Street Bridge produced a breach connecting the Chicago River to a tunnel below, which was part of an abandoned freight tunnel system extending throughout the downtown Loop district. The tunnels filled with 250 million US gallons (1,000,000 m3) of water, affecting buildings throughout the district and forcing a shutdown of electrical power. The area was shut down for three days and some buildings did not reopen for weeks; losses were estimated at $1.95 billion.
On February 23, 2011, Rahm Emanuel, a former White House Chief of Staff and member of the House of Representatives, won the mayoral election. Emanuel was sworn in as mayor on May 16, 2011, and won re-election in 2015. Lori Lightfoot, the city's first African American woman mayor and its first openly LGBTQ mayor, was elected to succeed Emanuel as mayor in 2019. All three city-wide elective offices were held by women (and women of color) for the first time in Chicago history: in addition to Lightfoot, the city clerk was Anna Valencia and the city treasurer was Melissa Conyears-Ervin.
On May 15, 2023, Brandon Johnson assumed office as the 57th mayor of Chicago.
Illinois is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Great Lakes to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash and Ohio rivers to its south. Its largest metropolitan areas are Chicago and the Metro East region of Greater St. Louis. Other metropolitan areas include Peoria and Rockford, as well as Springfield, its capital, and Champaign-Urbana, home to the main campus of the state's flagship university. Of the fifty U.S. states, Illinois has the fifth-largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth-largest population, and the 25th-largest land area.
Illinois has a highly diverse economy, with the global city of Chicago in the northeast, major industrial and agricultural hubs in the north and center, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south. Owing to its central location and favorable geography, the state is a major transportation hub: the Port of Chicago has access to the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway and to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River via the Illinois Waterway. Chicago has been the nation's railroad hub since the 1860s, and its O'Hare International Airport has been among the world's busiest airports for decades. Illinois has long been considered a microcosm of the United States and a bellwether in American culture, exemplified by the phrase Will it play in Peoria?.
Present-day Illinois was inhabited by various indigenous cultures for thousands of years, including the advanced civilization centered in the Cahokia region. The French were the first Europeans to arrive, settling near the Mississippi and Illinois River in the 17th century in the region they called Illinois Country, as part of the sprawling colony of New France. Following U.S. independence in 1783, American settlers began arriving from Kentucky via the Ohio River, and the population grew from south to north. Illinois was part of the United States' oldest territory, the Northwest Territory, and in 1818 it achieved statehood. The Erie Canal brought increased commercial activity in the Great Lakes, and the small settlement of Chicago became one of the fastest growing cities in the world, benefiting from its location as one of the few natural harbors in southwestern Lake Michigan. The invention of the self-scouring steel plow by Illinoisan John Deere turned the state's rich prairie into some of the world's most productive and valuable farmland, attracting immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden. In the mid-19th century, the Illinois and Michigan Canal and a sprawling railroad network greatly facilitated trade, commerce, and settlement, making the state a transportation hub for the nation.
By 1900, the growth of industrial jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. Illinois became one of America's most industrialized states and remains a major manufacturing center. The Great Migration from the South established a large community of African Americans, particularly in Chicago, who founded the city's famous jazz and blues cultures. Chicago became a leading cultural, economic, and population center and is today one of the world's major commercial centers; its metropolitan area, informally referred to as Chicagoland, holds about 65% of the state's 12.8 million residents.
Two World Heritage Sites are in Illinois, the ancient Cahokia Mounds, and part of the Wright architecture site. Major centers of learning include the University of Chicago, University of Illinois, and Northwestern University. A wide variety of protected areas seek to conserve Illinois' natural and cultural resources. Historically, three U.S. presidents have been elected while residents of Illinois: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Barack Obama; additionally, Ronald Reagan was born and raised in the state. Illinois honors Lincoln with its official state slogan Land of Lincoln. The state is the site of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield and the future home of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388 in the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. As the seat of Cook County, the second-most populous county in the U.S., Chicago is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area, which is often colloquially called "Chicagoland".
Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. It grew rapidly in the mid-19th century. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless, but Chicago's population continued to grow. Chicago made noted contributions to urban planning and architecture, such as the Chicago School, the development of the City Beautiful Movement, and the steel-framed skyscraper.
Chicago is an international hub for finance, culture, commerce, industry, education, technology, telecommunications, and transportation. It has the largest and most diverse derivatives market in the world, generating 20% of all volume in commodities and financial futures alone. O'Hare International Airport is routinely ranked among the world's top six busiest airports by passenger traffic, and the region is also the nation's railroad hub. The Chicago area has one of the highest gross domestic products (GDP) of any urban region in the world, generating $689 billion in 2018. Chicago's economy is diverse, with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce.
Chicago is a major tourist destination. Chicago's culture has contributed much to the visual arts, literature, film, theater, comedy (especially improvisational comedy), food, dance, and music (particularly jazz, blues, soul, hip-hop, gospel, and electronic dance music, including house music). Chicago is home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, while the Art Institute of Chicago provides an influential visual arts museum and art school. The Chicago area also hosts the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois Chicago, among other institutions of learning. Chicago has professional sports teams in each of the major professional leagues, including two Major League Baseball teams.
In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by the Potawatomi, an indigenous tribe who had succeeded the Miami and Sauk and Fox peoples in this region.
The first known permanent settler in Chicago was trader Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Du Sable was of African descent, perhaps born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti), and established the settlement in the 1780s. He is commonly known as the "Founder of Chicago."
In 1795, following the victory of the new United States in the Northwest Indian War, an area that was to be part of Chicago was turned over to the U.S. for a military post by native tribes in accordance with the Treaty of Greenville. In 1803, the U.S. Army constructed Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed during the War of 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn by the Potawatomi before being later rebuilt.
After the War of 1812, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes ceded additional land to the United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land after the 1833 Treaty of Chicago and sent west of the Mississippi River as part of the federal policy of Indian removal.
On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200. Within seven years it grew to more than 6,000 people. On June 15, 1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as Receiver of Public Monies. The City of Chicago was incorporated on Saturday, March 4, 1837, and for several decades was the world's fastest-growing city.
As the site of the Chicago Portage, the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicago's first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, and the Illinois and Michigan Canal opened in 1848. The canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on the Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River.
A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad. Manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy. The Chicago Board of Trade (established 1848) listed the first-ever standardized "exchange-traded" forward contracts, which were called futures contracts.
In the 1850s, Chicago gained national political prominence as the home of Senator Stephen Douglas, the champion of the Kansas–Nebraska Act and the "popular sovereignty" approach to the issue of the spread of slavery. These issues also helped propel another Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the national stage. Lincoln was nominated in Chicago for U.S. president at the 1860 Republican National Convention, which was held in a purpose-built auditorium called the Wigwam. He defeated Douglas in the general election, and this set the stage for the American Civil War.
To accommodate rapid population growth and demand for better sanitation, the city improved its infrastructure. In February 1856, Chicago's Common Council approved Chesbrough's plan to build the United States' first comprehensive sewerage system. The project raised much of central Chicago to a new grade with the use of jackscrews for raising buildings. While elevating Chicago, and at first improving the city's health, the untreated sewage and industrial waste now flowed into the Chicago River, and subsequently into Lake Michigan, polluting the city's primary freshwater source.
The city responded by tunneling two miles (3.2 km) out into Lake Michigan to newly built water cribs. In 1900, the problem of sewage contamination was largely resolved when the city completed a major engineering feat. It reversed the flow of the Chicago River so that the water flowed away from Lake Michigan rather than into it. This project began with the construction and improvement of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and was completed with the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal that connects to the Illinois River, which flows into the Mississippi River.
In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed an area about 4 miles (6.4 km) long and 1-mile (1.6 km) wide, a large section of the city at the time. Much of the city, including railroads and stockyards, survived intact, and from the ruins of the previous wooden structures arose more modern constructions of steel and stone. These set a precedent for worldwide construction. During its rebuilding period, Chicago constructed the world's first skyscraper in 1885, using steel-skeleton construction.
The city grew significantly in size and population by incorporating many neighboring townships between 1851 and 1920, with the largest annexation happening in 1889, with five townships joining the city, including the Hyde Park Township, which now comprises most of the South Side of Chicago and the far southeast of Chicago, and the Jefferson Township, which now makes up most of Chicago's Northwest Side. The desire to join the city was driven by municipal services that the city could provide its residents.
Chicago's flourishing economy attracted huge numbers of new immigrants from Europe and migrants from the Eastern United States. Of the total population in 1900, more than 77% were either foreign-born or born in the United States of foreign parentage. Germans, Irish, Poles, Swedes, and Czechs made up nearly two-thirds of the foreign-born population (by 1900, whites were 98.1% of the city's population).
Labor conflicts followed the industrial boom and the rapid expansion of the labor pool, including the Haymarket affair on May 4, 1886, and in 1894 the Pullman Strike. Anarchist and socialist groups played prominent roles in creating very large and highly organized labor actions. Concern for social problems among Chicago's immigrant poor led Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr to found Hull House in 1889. Programs that were developed there became a model for the new field of social work.
During the 1870s and 1880s, Chicago attained national stature as the leader in the movement to improve public health. City laws and later, state laws that upgraded standards for the medical profession and fought urban epidemics of cholera, smallpox, and yellow fever were both passed and enforced. These laws became templates for public health reform in other cities and states.
The city established many large, well-landscaped municipal parks, which also included public sanitation facilities. The chief advocate for improving public health in Chicago was John H. Rauch, M.D. Rauch established a plan for Chicago's park system in 1866. He created Lincoln Park by closing a cemetery filled with shallow graves, and in 1867, in response to an outbreak of cholera he helped establish a new Chicago Board of Health. Ten years later, he became the secretary and then the president of the first Illinois State Board of Health, which carried out most of its activities in Chicago.
In the 1800s, Chicago became the nation's railroad hub, and by 1910 over 20 railroads operated passenger service out of six different downtown terminals. In 1883, Chicago's railway managers needed a general time convention, so they developed the standardized system of North American time zones. This system for telling time spread throughout the continent.
In 1893, Chicago hosted the World's Columbian Exposition on former marshland at the present location of Jackson Park. The Exposition drew 27.5 million visitors, and is considered the most influential world's fair in history. The University of Chicago, formerly at another location, moved to the same South Side location in 1892. The term "midway" for a fair or carnival referred originally to the Midway Plaisance, a strip of park land that still runs through the University of Chicago campus and connects the Washington and Jackson Parks.
During World War I and the 1920s there was a major expansion in industry. The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from the Southern United States. Between 1910 and 1930, the African American population of Chicago increased dramatically, from 44,103 to 233,903. This Great Migration had an immense cultural impact, called the Chicago Black Renaissance, part of the New Negro Movement, in art, literature, and music. Continuing racial tensions and violence, such as the Chicago race riot of 1919, also occurred.
The ratification of the 18th amendment to the Constitution in 1919 made the production and sale (including exportation) of alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States. This ushered in the beginning of what is known as the gangster era, a time that roughly spans from 1919 until 1933 when Prohibition was repealed. The 1920s saw gangsters, including Al Capone, Dion O'Banion, Bugs Moran and Tony Accardo battle law enforcement and each other on the streets of Chicago during the Prohibition era. Chicago was the location of the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929, when Al Capone sent men to gun down members of a rival gang, North Side, led by Bugs Moran.
Chicago was the first American city to have a homosexual-rights organization. The organization, formed in 1924, was called the Society for Human Rights. It produced the first American publication for homosexuals, Friendship and Freedom. Police and political pressure caused the organization to disband.
The Great Depression brought unprecedented suffering to Chicago, in no small part due to the city's heavy reliance on heavy industry. Notably, industrial areas on the south side and neighborhoods lining both branches of the Chicago River were devastated; by 1933 over 50% of industrial jobs in the city had been lost, and unemployment rates amongst blacks and Mexicans in the city were over 40%. The Republican political machine in Chicago was utterly destroyed by the economic crisis, and every mayor since 1931 has been a Democrat.
From 1928 to 1933, the city witnessed a tax revolt, and the city was unable to meet payroll or provide relief efforts. The fiscal crisis was resolved by 1933, and at the same time, federal relief funding began to flow into Chicago. Chicago was also a hotbed of labor activism, with Unemployed Councils contributing heavily in the early depression to create solidarity for the poor and demand relief; these organizations were created by socialist and communist groups. By 1935 the Workers Alliance of America begun organizing the poor, workers, the unemployed. In the spring of 1937 Republic Steel Works witnessed the Memorial Day massacre of 1937 in the neighborhood of East Side.
In 1933, Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak was fatally wounded in Miami, Florida, during a failed assassination attempt on President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1933 and 1934, the city celebrated its centennial by hosting the Century of Progress International Exposition World's Fair. The theme of the fair was technological innovation over the century since Chicago's founding.
During World War II, the city of Chicago alone produced more steel than the United Kingdom every year from 1939 – 1945, and more than Nazi Germany from 1943 – 1945.
The Great Migration, which had been on pause due to the Depression, resumed at an even faster pace in the second wave, as hundreds of thousands of blacks from the South arrived in the city to work in the steel mills, railroads, and shipping yards.
On December 2, 1942, physicist Enrico Fermi conducted the world's first controlled nuclear reaction at the University of Chicago as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. This led to the creation of the atomic bomb by the United States, which it used in World War II in 1945.
Mayor Richard J. Daley, a Democrat, was elected in 1955, in the era of machine politics. In 1956, the city conducted its last major expansion when it annexed the land under O'Hare airport, including a small portion of DuPage County.
By the 1960s, white residents in several neighborhoods left the city for the suburban areas – in many American cities, a process known as white flight – as Blacks continued to move beyond the Black Belt. While home loan discriminatory redlining against blacks continued, the real estate industry practiced what became known as blockbusting, completely changing the racial composition of whole neighborhoods. Structural changes in industry, such as globalization and job outsourcing, caused heavy job losses for lower-skilled workers. At its peak during the 1960s, some 250,000 workers were employed in the steel industry in Chicago, but the steel crisis of the 1970s and 1980s reduced this number to just 28,000 in 2015. In 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Raby led the Chicago Freedom Movement, which culminated in agreements between Mayor Richard J. Daley and the movement leaders.
Two years later, the city hosted the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention, which featured physical confrontations both inside and outside the convention hall, with anti-war protesters, journalists and bystanders being beaten by police. Major construction projects, including the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower, which in 1974 became the world's tallest building), University of Illinois at Chicago, McCormick Place, and O'Hare International Airport, were undertaken during Richard J. Daley's tenure. In 1979, Jane Byrne, the city's first female mayor, was elected. She was notable for temporarily moving into the crime-ridden Cabrini-Green housing project and for leading Chicago's school system out of a financial crisis.
In 1983, Harold Washington became the first black mayor of Chicago. Washington's first term in office directed attention to poor and previously neglected minority neighborhoods. He was re‑elected in 1987 but died of a heart attack soon after. Washington was succeeded by 6th ward alderperson Eugene Sawyer, who was elected by the Chicago City Council and served until a special election.
Richard M. Daley, son of Richard J. Daley, was elected in 1989. His accomplishments included improvements to parks and creating incentives for sustainable development, as well as closing Meigs Field in the middle of the night and destroying the runways. After successfully running for re-election five times, and becoming Chicago's longest-serving mayor, Richard M. Daley declined to run for a seventh term.
In 1992, a construction accident near the Kinzie Street Bridge produced a breach connecting the Chicago River to a tunnel below, which was part of an abandoned freight tunnel system extending throughout the downtown Loop district. The tunnels filled with 250 million US gallons (1,000,000 m3) of water, affecting buildings throughout the district and forcing a shutdown of electrical power. The area was shut down for three days and some buildings did not reopen for weeks; losses were estimated at $1.95 billion.
On February 23, 2011, Rahm Emanuel, a former White House Chief of Staff and member of the House of Representatives, won the mayoral election. Emanuel was sworn in as mayor on May 16, 2011, and won re-election in 2015. Lori Lightfoot, the city's first African American woman mayor and its first openly LGBTQ mayor, was elected to succeed Emanuel as mayor in 2019. All three city-wide elective offices were held by women (and women of color) for the first time in Chicago history: in addition to Lightfoot, the city clerk was Anna Valencia and the city treasurer was Melissa Conyears-Ervin.
On May 15, 2023, Brandon Johnson assumed office as the 57th mayor of Chicago.
Illinois is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Great Lakes to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash and Ohio rivers to its south. Its largest metropolitan areas are Chicago and the Metro East region of Greater St. Louis. Other metropolitan areas include Peoria and Rockford, as well as Springfield, its capital, and Champaign-Urbana, home to the main campus of the state's flagship university. Of the fifty U.S. states, Illinois has the fifth-largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth-largest population, and the 25th-largest land area.
Illinois has a highly diverse economy, with the global city of Chicago in the northeast, major industrial and agricultural hubs in the north and center, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south. Owing to its central location and favorable geography, the state is a major transportation hub: the Port of Chicago has access to the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway and to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River via the Illinois Waterway. Chicago has been the nation's railroad hub since the 1860s, and its O'Hare International Airport has been among the world's busiest airports for decades. Illinois has long been considered a microcosm of the United States and a bellwether in American culture, exemplified by the phrase Will it play in Peoria?.
Present-day Illinois was inhabited by various indigenous cultures for thousands of years, including the advanced civilization centered in the Cahokia region. The French were the first Europeans to arrive, settling near the Mississippi and Illinois River in the 17th century in the region they called Illinois Country, as part of the sprawling colony of New France. Following U.S. independence in 1783, American settlers began arriving from Kentucky via the Ohio River, and the population grew from south to north. Illinois was part of the United States' oldest territory, the Northwest Territory, and in 1818 it achieved statehood. The Erie Canal brought increased commercial activity in the Great Lakes, and the small settlement of Chicago became one of the fastest growing cities in the world, benefiting from its location as one of the few natural harbors in southwestern Lake Michigan. The invention of the self-scouring steel plow by Illinoisan John Deere turned the state's rich prairie into some of the world's most productive and valuable farmland, attracting immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden. In the mid-19th century, the Illinois and Michigan Canal and a sprawling railroad network greatly facilitated trade, commerce, and settlement, making the state a transportation hub for the nation.
By 1900, the growth of industrial jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. Illinois became one of America's most industrialized states and remains a major manufacturing center. The Great Migration from the South established a large community of African Americans, particularly in Chicago, who founded the city's famous jazz and blues cultures. Chicago became a leading cultural, economic, and population center and is today one of the world's major commercial centers; its metropolitan area, informally referred to as Chicagoland, holds about 65% of the state's 12.8 million residents.
Two World Heritage Sites are in Illinois, the ancient Cahokia Mounds, and part of the Wright architecture site. Major centers of learning include the University of Chicago, University of Illinois, and Northwestern University. A wide variety of protected areas seek to conserve Illinois' natural and cultural resources. Historically, three U.S. presidents have been elected while residents of Illinois: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Barack Obama; additionally, Ronald Reagan was born and raised in the state. Illinois honors Lincoln with its official state slogan Land of Lincoln. The state is the site of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield and the future home of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
Downing Street protesters demand "End the Tampon Tax" - London 02.04.2015
Protesters outside Downing Street adorned with fake tampons and bloodied underwear called for an end to what they say is a "skewed" VAT system which sees 5% paid on tampons which are classed as 'luxury items', yet gambling, houseboat mooring and military aircraft sales are exempted. This week the Salvation Army has reported that in many deprived areas up and down the UK increasing numbers of women can no longer afford to buy sanitary towels, and are having to resort to shockingly primitive and dangerous solutions such as newpaper, old socks or hankies, which makes the women prone to urinary tract infections. In response to this public health issue the Salvation Army has started providing tampons to women unable to afford them, including, of course, homeless women living on the streets.
All photos © Pete Riches
Do not reproduce, alter, re-transmit or blog my images without my written permission. I remain at all times the copyright owner of this image.
These images are now available from International Photo Media picture agency.
Hi-Res, un-watermarked versions of these files are available on application solely at my discretion
Media buyers wanting to use any image found in my Flickr Photostream can also Email me directly.
Standard industry image licensing rates apply.
Downing Street protesters demand "End the Tampon Tax" - London 02.04.2015
Protesters outside Downing Street adorned with fake tampons and bloodied underwear called for an end to what they say is a "skewed" VAT system which sees 5% paid on tampons which are classed as 'luxury items', yet gambling, houseboat mooring and military aircraft sales are exempted. This week the Salvation Army has reported that in many deprived areas up and down the UK increasing numbers of women can no longer afford to buy sanitary towels, and are having to resort to shockingly primitive and dangerous solutions such as newpaper, old socks or hankies, which makes the women prone to urinary tract infections. In response to this public health issue the Salvation Army has started providing tampons to women unable to afford them, including, of course, homeless women living on the streets.
All photos © Pete Riches
Do not reproduce, alter, re-transmit or blog my images without my written permission. I remain at all times the copyright owner of this image.
These images are now available from International Photo Media picture agency.
Hi-Res, un-watermarked versions of these files are available on application solely at my discretion
Media buyers wanting to use any image found in my Flickr Photostream can also Email me directly.
Standard industry image licensing rates apply.
Funciones Destacadas
Innovación para inspiración.
¿Qué determina cuándo Nikon debe lanzar una cámara emblemática de cuadro completo? Cuando la innovación tecnológica lo demanda. Presentamos la D5, una Cámara Réflex Digital con formato FX que hace posible lo imposible. Enormes avances en el diseño del sensor, enfoque automático, medición y procesamiento de imágenes dan como resultado nuevas capacidades emocionantes—disparo con poca luz hasta llegar a un ISO 102,400 (expansible a un inaudito ISO 3,280,000), detección y seguimiento precisos a través de todo el alcance del ISO, independientemente de los cambios de velocidad o dirección del sujeto, velocidad asombrosa de disparo continuo de 12 cps, video 4K UHD y por supuesto, calidad de imagen que capta el corazón y la mente de los espectadores. Esto no es iteración, amigos. Es innovación... una innovación espectacular. ¿Cómo cambiará la forma en que dispara?
Capacidades con poca luz que rompen los esquemas
El alcance de ISO nativo más amplio de Nikon
El rendimiento con poca luz de la D5 puede convertirla en leyenda. Se ha abierto un mundo de oportunidades de disparo gracias al alcance de ISO nativo más amplio de Nikon (100 a 102,400) y el mayor alcance de expansión (hasta Hi-5 ISO 3,280,000), avances en la reducción de ruido y fidelidad de color, además de un sistema AF de última generación que funciona en la oscuridad casi absoluta (EV -4). Capte imágenes claras y nítidas que no podría haber captado antes; en la noche, en salones de recepción oscuros, en estadios, etc. Para aplicaciones de vigilancia y seguridad, este alcance de ISO expandido significa obtener una imagen que otros no pueden ver sin un flash.
EXPEED 5, El procesador mas poderoso de la historia de Nikon
Calidad de imagen magistral
La potencia de imagen pura de la D5 es estimulante. Con un sensor FX CMOS de 20.8MP desarrollado por Nikon, la D5 es la cámara emblemática de sensor FX con la resolución más alta de la historia de Nikon y está lista para tu próximo desafío. El procesador de imágenes superior de Nikon se actualizó a EXPEED 5 para aprovechar la energía de este excepcional sensor nuevo y se agregó un segundo procesador para el enfoque automático. Todos los detalles exquisitos y texturas, los colores vibrantes y la rica tonalidad proporcionada por los lentes NIKKOR se capturan con una precisión perfecta, aun con muy poca luz. Cree imágenes que motiven a las personas.
Permanezca a la vanguardia
La velocidad para captar los momentos decisivos
Cuando escuche el disparo de la D5 a máxima velocidad, 12 cps con AF y AE de tiempo completo, 14 cps con enfoque fijo, AE y con el espejo bloqueado (mirror locked up) sabrá que las reglas del juego han cambiado. Por primera vez, una DSLR de Nikon cuenta con un segundo procesador dedicado únicamente para el funcionamiento y el cálculo del enfoque automático. Un nuevo mecanismo de obturador y secuenciación del espejo elimina casi por completo el tiempo de oscurecimiento y el golpe del espejo para vistas brillantes y consistentes durante la captura de alta velocidad. EXPEED 5 y un búfer de alto rendimiento pueden manejar hasta 200 NEF (RAW) y/o grandes imágenes en JPG durante una ráfaga de alta velocidad, lo suficiente para cubrir una carrera de 100 m completa sin quitar el dedo del disparador del obturador. El nuevo sistema avanzado de reconocimiento de escena de RGB de 180K combina todo y garantiza que cada disparo tenga una exposición óptima.
Capture imágenes que desafíen las posibilidades
El sistema AF más rápido y preciso de Nikon
La D5 marca el comienzo de una nueva era de enfoque automático con el módulo sensor de enfoque automático (AF) Multi-CAM 20K. Utiliza 153 puntos de enfoque con 99 (sí, 99) sensores de tipo cruz y un procesador AF especialmente dedicado y funciona en una oscuridad casi absoluta (EV -4). Es posible seguir con notable precisión a los objetos pequeños que se mueven a gran velocidad, incluso con poca luz. El sistema se puede configurar en una cobertura de 153, 72 y 25 puntos cuando se usa con AF continuo. Todos los 153 puntos son compatibles con los lentes AF NIKKOR f/5.6 o más rápidos, y hay 15 puntos centrales que funcionan con una apertura efectiva de f/8. Ya sea que esté fotografiando una carrera de alta velocidad o a celebridades en la alfombra roja, la D5 lo tiene cubierto.
Flexibilidad para la grabación de películas
Video 4K UHD en condiciones de luz con las que los demás no se atreverían
Por primera vez en una DSLR de Nikon de cuadro completo, grabe video en 4K Ultra Alta Definición (UHD) con una lectura punto por punto para la máxima calidad de imagen. Capte 3840 x 2160 a 30/25/24 p con un ángulo de visión de distancia focal del lente de aprox. 1.5x , o grabe videos Full HD 1080 a 60/30/24p. Fotografíe intervalos sensacionales a 4K/UHD, justo en la cámara. La ISO automática maneja las suaves transiciones de iluminación, desde la ISO 200 hasta la sensibilidad de su elección (hasta Hi-5). Disfrute de todas las capacidades de video profesionales de grabación interna y externa simultánea de la D4S y la D810: Control de Imagen Plana, Patron Cebra, un micrófono estéreo con ajustes de incremento de 20 pasos y mucho más. Combine las capacidades de poca luz de la D5 y la versatilidad de los lentes NIKKOR, y su próximo proyecto de video estará destinado a ser aclamado.
Un operador suave
Con la incorporación de la retroalimentación del campo, la D5 está diseñada para reducir los factores de estrés del disparo durante todo el día. La mejora en la ergonomía y un diseño más grande del botón iluminado pone los controles clave a su alcance. La pantalla táctil LCD XGA de alta resolución hace que sea fácil seleccionar los puntos AF o la función Balance de Blancos (WB) en Modo de Vista en Vivo (Live View), deslizarse a través de las imágenes, pinchar para hacer zoom, editar nombres de archivos y más. Las nuevas ranuras dobles para tarjetas XQD* manejan fácilmente la increíble capacidad de disparo de ráfaga de la cámara y mantienen el búfer despejado. Todo esto en un cuerpo de aleación de magnesio liviano y duradero con extenso tratamiento impermeable.
* Un nuevo diseño modular para la memoria le permite seleccionar un modelo, ya sea con ranuras XQD dobles o ranuras CF dobles de alta velocidad.
Cambie su perspectiva
La D5 utiliza la versátil montura del lente que ganó la confianza de los fotógrafos profesionales y avanzados. Utilice el preciado objetivo de vidrio NIKKOR para obtener lo mejor de lo mejor en sus fotos y videos. Combine la alta velocidad de la D5 con un lente NIKKOR equipado con modo SPORT VR, como el AF-S NIKKOR de 500 mm o 600 mm f/4E, y experimente una suavidad y la precisión sin precedentes. El modo VR SPORT proporciona una imagen estable en el visor durante el seguimiento de movimiento de alta velocidad; incluso se puede capturar sujetos en movimiento rápido e impredecible con sorprendente detalle.
Prepárese para el futuro de la iluminación creativa
La D5 es la primera DSLR Nikon de cuadro completo que incorpora un nuevo sistema avanzado de iluminación inalámbrica avanzada controlado por radio. Con el WR-A10 (Adaptador Remoto Inalámbrico) opcional y el Control Remoto Inalámbrico WR-R10 (transceptor), la D5 puede controlar y disparar hasta seis grupos de flashes SB-5000 alrededor de obstáculos, esquinas, en la luz del sol brillante e incluso en otra habitación, hasta 30 m (98 pies) de distancia. Acceda al control directamente desde el menú de la D5 e ilumine aún más oportunidades de disparo. Por supuesto, la D5 también es totalmente compatible con los flashes de las series SB-910, SB-800 y SB-700.
Flujo de trabajo simplificado
Dispare más y espere menos con el sistema de comunicación ultra rápido de la D5, que trabaja más de 1.5 veces más rápido que la D4S. Transfiera archivos a través de LAN a velocidades impresionantes: aprox. 400 Mb/s y 130 Mb/s de forma inalámbrica con el nuevo WT-6A opcional, que admite el estándar IEEE802.11ac y extiende la distancia de conectividad a 200 m (656 pies). Para obtener un rendimiento aun más rápido, dispare en dos tamaños RAW más pequeños: El tamaño RAW S (12 bits, sin comprimir) y el tamaño RAW M mantienen una nitidez y un detalle excepcional.
¿XQD o memoria de Flash Compacta (CF)? Usted elige.
La D5 le permite seleccionar a su preferencia: ranuras de tarjeta XQD dobles o ranuras CF dobles. El formato XQD está diseñado para aprovechar la velocidad que la D5 puede ofrecer a los fotógrafos. Por ejemplo, la D5 de Nikon puede disparar a 12 fotogramas por segundo y puede grabar hasta 200 NEF (RAW) o grandes imágenes JPEG durante una ráfaga de alta velocidad. Para los fotógrafos de deportes, acción y otros eventos de ritmo rápido o video 4K UHD es fundamental contar con un formato de tarjeta de memoria que pueda mantener el ritmo de la cámara. XQD es la solución.