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Pancake's "Service Dog - I'm Working - Do Not Pet" jacket does work for her somewhat. We have an insane amount of difficulty with people attempting to stroke and grab her while we are out and about, in stores, at the bank, etc.... Yet even with 4 patches saying this and having it embroidered across the back another lady yet again today just walks up and starts petting her while we were attempting to get something done at a place of business.

What perplexes me is when you (once again) ask them to please not do so as she is a working dog, people get angry.

I said today to a woman who attempted to pet her while at Kroger's "M'aam, please do not pet her - she is working" and the woman says indignantly, "Well, you don't have to be rude". What makes people believe they have the right and privilege to touch, grab, and affront whomever they wish? Yet people wonder why things escalate?

If I raise my voice I'm told I'm combative when it is clearly stated to not touch or pet the dog. It's understood children and the elderly or developmentally disabled may not immediately understand and we understand that, but those who are clearly able to understand still want to exert their "privilege" to violate my dog's legal rights which are *supposed* to be protected by Federal Law, the Americans With Disabilities Act and Commonwealth of Kentucky laws. Many times that is a farce here in Kentucky as we did not encounter those issues in other states. To intentionally impede or interfere with a working dog in any way is a criminal offense in some states including Ohio.

Recently while getting ready for a very stressful interview, as I was in the car getting ready to leave and realized I'd forgotten one document. My service dog waited in the car while I'd gone into the house to locate it (it was 40 degrees outside). Next thing I know there was loud banging on my door. I looked out and saw a woman walking toward my car. I opened the door and said, "Can I help you"? She says, "Your dog's in the car". I said, "Maam, I am well aware my dog is in the car". She said, "Well, people steal dogs around here". Of course at that juncture this lady proceeds to walk up in my face. I shut the door. I did contact our local police department who'd said there was nothing they would do - they were not concerned a short, goth-looking woman with a bat-wing cape was walking through our subdevelopment looking inside people's cars and they refused to take a report. That is how statistics get skewered.

We have encountered so many problems here in Kentucky having a medical service dog it defies imagination. We have had TSA agents at Louisville International Airport attempt to completely strip the dog's jacket - I objected - they finally called a Sargent over along with 1/2 dozen other "agents", causing a commotion at the airport. We have had police officers separate me from my dog unlawfully.

We have had numerous store owners and employees flatly refuse her access and refused to allow her to walk through their front doors - threatening to call the police - some did - and my dog and I were "ordered" to leave? I have tried everything to keep people from distracting me and the dog while we are out trying to get things done. I really do not know what it takes to get people out there to understand what it's like with mobility/balance/disequilibrium challenges coupled with PTSD, ADD, vertibrobasilar insufficiency, a malfunctioning VP shunt, hydrocephalus, visual field challenges, herniated discs, TBI and hearing difficulties. Many times it is the same clerks & employees in the same stores (which is why we try to avoid these at all costs). We have tried enlisting the help of management. We have tried writing to and speaking with corporate offices. We have contacted the Department of Justice many times with regard to non-compliance with the ADA here in Kentucky.

A few months ago while in a retail establishment a UPS pilot reaches down and smacks the dog.

Someone just said, "Vicky, people are just assholes - you can't change them". This may be true, but that quote came from someone who's had NA/AA pounded into their heads - I neither drink alcohol or do drugs. Perhaps rather than getting a bigger dog, I carry a bigger stick so they'll leave us alone and let us get things done in life that we need to. We do our best to confront them in hopes to make a "lasting impression" for the sake of others with service dogs who may not be as kind and understanding as I am.

I've just ordered a large patch with a big red "STOP - DO NOT DISTRACT" in hopes people will get it. Or perhaps a can of mace or a stun gun.

I do not think there is anyone in this car. Perhaps someone might want to go check - it's been sitting here an awfully long time in the same spot.

Black Mountain Trail , Los Altos , CA (3049) by Mark

8 1

Not an easy hike - strenuous!

One of the things that I had great difficulty accepting was that somehow (unwittingly) I had hiked the “Mission Peak” trail in Fremont with a plugged artery. That hike has 2400 feet of elevation and I spent about 4 hours roundtrip, yet only got blisters. No chest pain (or in my case, back pain)..

Hindsight can be just as confusing as the present!

This confusion evolved steadily into an obsession to try the hike again post surgery, to see how I would do with all my arteries cleared (and a little for confidence that I could still do these sorts of things).

Then, without nearly enough forethought, I also decided to try a “new” trail, and substituted Black Mountain Trail for Mission Peak. “It’s been 4 weeks, I am ready!”

As I discovered, they are very different hikes.

Make sure that the Mission Peak hike is EASY for you before hiking Black Mountain.

First - the trail is much more narrow than Mission Peak, and there is lots of Poison Oak and rattlesnakes. I ran across 4 rattlesnakes without leaving the trail.

The first quarter and final third of the hike are as steep as anything on Mission Peak (but there are switchbacks in the middle section)

I had to park at Foothill College which adds .7 miles to the peak. With this, it took me app 3.5 hours to make the peak, only 2 hours at Mission Peak.

Besides the often narrow path at Black Mountain, it is densely wooded vs. the wide open scenery at Mission Peak.

Would I do it again? Yes, it is a beautiful hike; but, this is a once a year type hike for me..

Coronavirus disease 2019...Passive antibodies... immune systems... antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity...Sex differences...Gendered impact of the pandemic and mortality rates are different for men and women. by Hughes Songe

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).[8] The disease was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province, and has since spread globally, resulting in the ongoing 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.[9][10] As of 26 April 2020, more than 2.89 million cases have been reported across 185 countries and territories, resulting in more than 203,000 deaths. More than 822,000 people have recovered.[7]

Common symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath and loss of smell.[5][11][12] While the majority of cases result in mild symptoms, some progress to viral pneumonia, multi-organ failure, or cytokine storm.[13][9][14] More concerning symptoms include difficulty breathing, persistent chest pain, confusion, difficulty waking, and bluish skin.[5] The time from exposure to onset of symptoms is typically around five days but may range from two to fourteen days.[5][15]

The virus is primarily spread between people during close contact,[a] often via small droplets produced by coughing,[b] sneezing, or talking.[6][16][18] The droplets usually fall to the ground or onto surfaces rather than remaining in the air over long distances.[6][19][20] People may also become infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their face.[6][16] In experimental settings, the virus may survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours.[21][22][23] It is most contagious during the first three days after the onset of symptoms, although spread may be possible before symptoms appear and in later stages of the disease.[24] The standard method of diagnosis is by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) from a nasopharyngeal swab.[25] Chest CT imaging may also be helpful for diagnosis in individuals where there is a high suspicion of infection based on symptoms and risk factors; however, guidelines do not recommend using it for routine screening.[26][27]

Recommended measures to prevent infection include frequent hand washing, maintaining physical distance from others (especially from those with symptoms), covering coughs, and keeping unwashed hands away from the face.[28][29] In addition, the use of a face covering is recommended for those who suspect they have the virus and their caregivers.[30][31] Recommendations for face covering use by the general public vary, with some authorities recommending against their use, some recommending their use, and others requiring their use.[32][31][33] Currently, there is not enough evidence for or against the use of masks (medical or other) in healthy individuals in the wider community.[6] Also masks purchased by the public may impact availability for health care providers.

Currently, there is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19.[6] Management involves the treatment of symptoms, supportive care, isolation, and experimental measures.[34] The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)[35][36] on 30 January 2020 and a pandemic on 11 March 2020.[10] Local transmission of the disease has occurred in most countries across all six WHO regions.[37]

File:En.Wikipedia-VideoWiki-Coronavirus disease 2019.webm

Video summary (script)

Contents

1Signs and symptoms

2Cause

2.1Transmission

2.2Virology

3Pathophysiology

3.1Immunopathology

4Diagnosis

4.1Pathology

5Prevention

6Management

6.1Medications

6.2Protective equipment

6.3Mechanical ventilation

6.4Acute respiratory distress syndrome

6.5Experimental treatment

6.6Information technology

6.7Psychological support

7Prognosis

7.1Reinfection

8History

9Epidemiology

9.1Infection fatality rate

9.2Sex differences

10Society and culture

10.1Name

10.2Misinformation

10.3Protests

11Other animals

12Research

12.1Vaccine

12.2Medications

12.3Anti-cytokine storm

12.4Passive antibodies

13See also

14Notes

15References

16External links

16.1Health agencies

16.2Directories

16.3Medical journals

Signs and symptoms

Symptom[4]Range

Fever83–99%

Cough59–82%

Loss of Appetite40–84%

Fatigue44–70%

Shortness of breath31–40%

Coughing up sputum28–33%

Loss of smell15[38] to 30%[12][39]

Muscle aches and pains11–35%

Fever is the most common symptom, although some older people and those with other health problems experience fever later in the disease.[4][40] In one study, 44% of people had fever when they presented to the hospital, while 89% went on to develop fever at some point during their hospitalization.[4][41]

Other common symptoms include cough, loss of appetite, fatigue, shortness of breath, sputum production, and muscle and joint pains.[4][5][42][43] Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea have been observed in varying percentages.[44][45][46] Less common symptoms include sneezing, runny nose, or sore throat.[47]

More serious symptoms include difficulty breathing, persistent chest pain or pressure, confusion, difficulty waking, and bluish face or lips. Immediate medical attention is advised if these symptoms are present.[5][48]

In some, the disease may progress to pneumonia, multi-organ failure, and death.[9][14] In those who develop severe symptoms, time from symptom onset to needing mechanical ventilation is typically eight days.[4] Some cases in China initially presented with only chest tightness and palpitations.[49]

Loss of smell was identified as a common symptom of COVID‑19 in March 2020,[12][39] although perhaps not as common as initially reported.[38] A decreased sense of smell and/or disturbances in taste have also been reported.[50] Estimates for loss of smell range from 15%[38] to 30%.[12][39]

As is common with infections, there is a delay between the moment a person is first infected and the time he or she develops symptoms. This is called the incubation period. The incubation period for COVID‑19 is typically five to six days but may range from two to 14 days,[51][52] although 97.5% of people who develop symptoms will do so within 11.5 days of infection.[53]

A minority of cases do not develop noticeable symptoms at any point in time.[54][55] These asymptomatic carriers tend not to get tested, and their role in transmission is not yet fully known.[56][57] However, preliminary evidence suggests they may contribute to the spread of the disease.[58][59] In March 2020, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported that 20% of confirmed cases remained asymptomatic during their hospital stay.[59][60]

A number of neurological symptoms has been reported including seizures, stroke, encephalitis and Guillain-Barre syndrome.[61] Cardiovascular related complications may include heart failure, irregular electrical activity, blood clots, and heart inflammation.[62]

Cause

See also: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

Transmission

Cough/sneeze droplets visualised in dark background using Tyndall scattering

Respiratory droplets produced when a man is sneezing visualised using Tyndall scattering

File:COVID19 in numbers- R0, the case fatality rate and why we need to flatten the curve.webm

A video discussing the basic reproduction number and case fatality rate in the context of the pandemic

Some details about how the disease is spread are still being determined.[16][18] The WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say it is primarily spread during close contact and by small droplets produced when people cough, sneeze or talk;[6][16] with close contact being within approximately 1–2 m (3–7 ft).[6][63] Both sputum and saliva can carry large viral loads.[64] Loud talking releases more droplets than normal talking.[65] A study in Singapore found that an uncovered cough can lead to droplets travelling up to 4.5 metres (15 feet).[66] An article published in March 2020 argued that advice on droplet distance might be based on 1930s research which ignored the effects of warm moist exhaled air surrounding the droplets and that an uncovered cough or sneeze can travel up to 8.2 metres (27 feet).[17]

Respiratory droplets may also be produced while breathing out, including when talking. Though the virus is not generally airborne,[6][67] the National Academy of Sciences has suggested that bioaerosol transmission may be possible.[68] In one study cited, air collectors positioned in the hallway outside of people's rooms yielded samples positive for viral RNA but finding infectious virus has proven elusive.[68] The droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.[16] Some medical procedures such as intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may cause respiratory secretions to be aerosolised and thus result in an airborne spread.[67] Initial studies suggested a doubling time of the number of infected persons of 6–7 days and a basic reproduction number (R0 ) of 2.2–2.7, but a study published on April 7, 2020, calculated a much higher median R0 value of 5.7 in Wuhan.[69]

It may also spread when one touches a contaminated surface, known as fomite transmission, and then touches one's eyes, nose or mouth.[6] While there are concerns it may spread via faeces, this risk is believed to be low.[6][16]

The virus is most contagious when people are symptomatic; though spread is may be possible before symptoms emerge and from those who never develop symptoms.[6][70] A portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms.[71] The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) says while it is not entirely clear how easily the disease spreads, one person generally infects two or three others.[18]

The virus survives for hours to days on surfaces.[6][18] Specifically, the virus was found to be detectable for one day on cardboard, for up to three days on plastic (polypropylene) and stainless steel (AISI 304), and for up to four hours on 99% copper.[21][23] This, however, varies depending on the humidity and temperature.[72][73] Surfaces may be decontaminated with many solutions (with one minute of exposure to the product achieving a 4 or more log reduction (99.99% reduction)), including 78–95% ethanol (alcohol used in spirits), 70–100% 2-propanol (isopropyl alcohol), the combination of 45% 2-propanol with 30% 1-propanol, 0.21% sodium hypochlorite (bleach), 0.5% hydrogen peroxide, or 0.23–7.5% povidone-iodine. Soap and detergent are also effective if correctly used; soap products degrade the virus' fatty protective layer, deactivating it, as well as freeing them from the skin and other surfaces.[74] Other solutions, such as benzalkonium chloride and chlorhexidine gluconate (a surgical disinfectant), are less effective.[75]

In a Hong Kong study, saliva samples were taken a median of two days after the start of hospitalization. In five of six patients, the first sample showed the highest viral load, and the sixth patient showed the highest viral load on the second day tested.[64]

Virology

Main article: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

Illustration of SARSr-CoV virion

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, first isolated from three people with pneumonia connected to the cluster of acute respiratory illness cases in Wuhan.[76] All features of the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus occur in related coronaviruses in nature.[77] Outside the human body, the virus is killed by household soap, which bursts its protective bubble.[26]

SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to the original SARS-CoV.[78] It is thought to have a zoonotic origin. Genetic analysis has revealed that the coronavirus genetically clusters with the genus Betacoronavirus, in subgenus Sarbecovirus (lineage B) together with two bat-derived strains. It is 96% identical at the whole genome level to other bat coronavirus samples (BatCov RaTG13).[47] In February 2020, Chinese researchers found that there is only one amino acid difference in the binding domain of the S protein between the coronaviruses from pangolins and those from humans; however, whole-genome comparison to date found that at most 92% of genetic material was shared between pangolin coronavirus and SARS-CoV-2, which is insufficient to prove pangolins to be the intermediate host.[79]

Pathophysiology

The lungs are the organs most affected by COVID‑19 because the virus accesses host cells via the enzyme angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is most abundant in type II alveolar cells of the lungs. The virus uses a special surface glycoprotein called a "spike" (peplomer) to connect to ACE2 and enter the host cell.[80] The density of ACE2 in each tissue correlates with the severity of the disease in that tissue and some have suggested that decreasing ACE2 activity might be protective,[81][82] though another view is that increasing ACE2 using angiotensin II receptor blocker medications could be protective and these hypotheses need to be tested.[83] As the alveolar disease progresses, respiratory failure might develop and death may follow.[82]

The virus also affects gastrointestinal organs as ACE2 is abundantly expressed in the glandular cells of gastric, duodenal and rectal epithelium[84] as well as endothelial cells and enterocytes of the small intestine.[85]

ACE2 is present in the brain, and there is growing evidence of neurological manifestations in people with COVID‑19. It is not certain if the virus can directly infect the brain by crossing the barriers that separate the circulation of the brain and the general circulation. Other coronaviruses are able to infect the brain via a synaptic route to the respiratory centre in the medulla, through mechanoreceptors like pulmonary stretch receptors and chemoreceptors (primarily central chemoreceptors) within the lungs.[medical citation needed] It is possible that dysfunction within the respiratory centre further worsens the ARDS seen in COVID‑19 patients. Common neurological presentations include a loss of smell, headaches, nausea, and vomiting. Encephalopathy has been noted to occur in some patients (and confirmed with imaging), with some reports of detection of the virus after cerebrospinal fluid assays although the presence of oligoclonal bands seems to be a common denominator in these patients.[86]

The virus can cause acute myocardial injury and chronic damage to the cardiovascular system.[87] An acute cardiac injury was found in 12% of infected people admitted to the hospital in Wuhan, China,[88] and is more frequent in severe disease.[89] Rates of cardiovascular symptoms are high, owing to the systemic inflammatory response and immune system disorders during disease progression, but acute myocardial injuries may also be related to ACE2 receptors in the heart.[87] ACE2 receptors are highly expressed in the heart and are involved in heart function.[87][90] A high incidence of thrombosis (31%) and venous thromboembolism (25%) have been found in ICU patients with COVID‑19 infections and may be related to poor prognosis.[91][92] Blood vessel dysfunction and clot formation (as suggested by high D-dimer levels) are thought to play a significant role in mortality, incidences of clots leading to pulmonary embolisms, and ischaemic events within the brain have been noted as complications leading to death in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Infection appears to set off a chain of vasoconstrictive responses within the body, constriction of blood vessels within the pulmonary circulation has also been posited as a mechanism in which oxygenation decreases alongside with the presentation of viral pneumonia.[93]

Another common cause of death is complications related to the kidneys[93]—SARS-CoV-2 directly infects kidney cells, as confirmed in post-mortem studies. Acute kidney injury is a common complication and cause of death; this is more significant in patients with already compromised kidney function, especially in people with pre-existing chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes which specifically cause nephropathy in the long run.[94]

Autopsies of people who died of COVID‑19 have found diffuse alveolar damage (DAD), and lymphocyte-containing inflammatory infiltrates within the lung.[95]

Immunopathology

Although SARS-COV-2 has a tropism for ACE2-expressing epithelial cells of the respiratory tract, patients with severe COVID‑19 have symptoms of systemic hyperinflammation. Clinical laboratory findings of elevated IL-2, IL-7, IL-6, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interferon-γ inducible protein 10 (IP-10), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein 1-α (MIP-1α), and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) indicative of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) suggest an underlying immunopathology.[96]

Additionally, people with COVID‑19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have classical serum biomarkers of CRS, including elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), D-dimer, and ferritin.[97]

Systemic inflammation results in vasodilation, allowing inflammatory lymphocytic and monocytic infiltration of the lung and the heart. In particular, pathogenic GM-CSF-secreting T-cells were shown to correlate with the recruitment of inflammatory IL-6-secreting monocytes and severe lung pathology in COVID‑19 patients.[98] Lymphocytic infiltrates have also been reported at autopsy.[95]

Diagnosis

Main article: COVID-19 testing

Demonstration of a nasopharyngeal swab for COVID-19 testing

CDC rRT-PCR test kit for COVID-19[99]

The WHO has published several testing protocols for the disease.[100] The standard method of testing is real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR).[101] The test is typically done on respiratory samples obtained by a nasopharyngeal swab; however, a nasal swab or sputum sample may also be used.[25][102] Results are generally available within a few hours to two days.[103][104] Blood tests can be used, but these require two blood samples taken two weeks apart, and the results have little immediate value.[105] Chinese scientists were able to isolate a strain of the coronavirus and publish the genetic sequence so laboratories across the world could independently develop polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to detect infection by the virus.[9][106][107] As of 4 April 2020, antibody tests (which may detect active infections and whether a person had been infected in the past) were in development, but not yet widely used.[108][109][110] The Chinese experience with testing has shown the accuracy is only 60 to 70%.[111] The FDA in the United States approved the first point-of-care test on 21 March 2020 for use at the end of that month.[112]

Diagnostic guidelines released by Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University suggested methods for detecting infections based upon clinical features and epidemiological risk. These involved identifying people who had at least two of the following symptoms in addition to a history of travel to Wuhan or contact with other infected people: fever, imaging features of pneumonia, normal or reduced white blood cell count, or reduced lymphocyte count.[113]

A study asked hospitalised COVID‑19 patients to cough into a sterile container, thus producing a saliva sample, and detected the virus in eleven of twelve patients using RT-PCR. This technique has the potential of being quicker than a swab and involving less risk to health care workers (collection at home or in the car).[64]

Along with laboratory testing, chest CT scans may be helpful to diagnose COVID-19 in individuals with a high clinical suspicion of infection but are not recommended for routine screening.[26][27] Bilateral multilobar ground-glass opacities with a peripheral, asymmetric, and posterior distribution are common in early infection.[26] Subpleural dominance, crazy paving (lobular septal thickening with variable alveolar filling), and consolidation may appear as the disease progresses.[26][114]

In late 2019, WHO assigned the emergency ICD-10 disease codes U07.1 for deaths from lab-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and U07.2 for deaths from clinically or epidemiologically diagnosed COVID‑19 without lab-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.[115]

Typical CT imaging findings

CT imaging of rapid progression stage

Pathology

Few data are available about microscopic lesions and the pathophysiology of COVID‑19.[116][117] The main pathological findings at autopsy are:

Macroscopy: pleurisy, pericarditis, lung consolidation and pulmonary oedema

Four types of severity of viral pneumonia can be observed:

minor pneumonia: minor serous exudation, minor fibrin exudation

mild pneumonia: pulmonary oedema, pneumocyte hyperplasia, large atypical pneumocytes, interstitial inflammation with lymphocytic infiltration and multinucleated giant cell formation

severe pneumonia: diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) with diffuse alveolar exudates. DAD is the cause of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and severe hypoxemia.

healing pneumonia: organisation of exudates in alveolar cavities and pulmonary interstitial fibrosis

plasmocytosis in BAL[118]

Blood: disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC);[119] leukoerythroblastic reaction[120]

Liver: microvesicular steatosis

Prevention

See also: 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic § Prevention, flatten the curve, and workplace hazard controls for COVID-19

Progressively stronger mitigation efforts to reduce the number of active cases at any given time—known as "flattening the curve"—allows healthcare services to better manage the same volume of patients.[121][122][123] Likewise, progressively greater increases in healthcare capacity—called raising the line—such as by increasing bed count, personnel, and equipment, helps to meet increased demand.[124]

Mitigation attempts that are inadequate in strictness or duration—such as premature relaxation of distancing rules or stay-at-home orders—can allow a resurgence after the initial surge and mitigation.[122][125]

Preventive measures to reduce the chances of infection include staying at home, avoiding crowded places, keeping distance from others, washing hands with soap and water often and for at least 20 seconds, practising good respiratory hygiene, and avoiding touching the eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.[126][127][128] The CDC recommends covering the mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing and recommends using the inside of the elbow if no tissue is available.[126] Proper hand hygiene after any cough or sneeze is encouraged.[126] The CDC has recommended the use of cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, in part to limit transmission by asymptomatic individuals.[129] The U.S. National Institutes of Health guidelines do not recommend any medication for prevention of COVID‑19, before or after exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, outside of the setting of a clinical trial.[130]

Social distancing strategies aim to reduce contact of infected persons with large groups by closing schools and workplaces, restricting travel, and cancelling large public gatherings.[131] Distancing guidelines also include that people stay at least 6 feet (1.8 m) apart.[132] There is no medication known to be effective at preventing COVID‑19.[133] After the implementation of social distancing and stay-at-home orders, many regions have been able to sustain an effective transmission rate ("Rt") of less than one, meaning the disease is in remission in those areas.[134]

As a vaccine is not expected until 2021 at the earliest,[135] a key part of managing COVID‑19 is trying to decrease the epidemic peak, known as "flattening the curve".[122] This is done by slowing the infection rate to decrease the risk of health services being overwhelmed, allowing for better treatment of current cases, and delaying additional cases until effective treatments or a vaccine become available.[122][125]

According to the WHO, the use of masks is recommended only if a person is coughing or sneezing or when one is taking care of someone with a suspected infection.[136] For the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) face masks "... could be considered especially when visiting busy closed spaces ..." but "... only as a complementary measure ..."[137] Several countries have recommended that healthy individuals wear face masks or cloth face coverings (like scarves or bandanas) at least in certain public settings, including China,[138] Hong Kong,[139] Spain,[140] Italy (Lombardy region),[141] and the United States.[129]

Those diagnosed with COVID‑19 or who believe they may be infected are advised by the CDC to stay home except to get medical care, call ahead before visiting a healthcare provider, wear a face mask before entering the healthcare provider's office and when in any room or vehicle with another person, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, regularly wash hands with soap and water and avoid sharing personal household items.[30][142] The CDC also recommends that individuals wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the toilet or when hands are visibly dirty, before eating and after blowing one's nose, coughing or sneezing. It further recommends using an alcohol-based hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol, but only when soap and water are not readily available.[126]

For areas where commercial hand sanitisers are not readily available, the WHO provides two formulations for local production. In these formulations, the antimicrobial activity arises from ethanol or isopropanol. Hydrogen peroxide is used to help eliminate bacterial spores in the alcohol; it is "not an active substance for hand antisepsis". Glycerol is added as a humectant.[143]

Prevention efforts are multiplicative, with effects far beyond that of a single spread. Each avoided case leads to more avoided cases down the line, which in turn can stop the outbreak in its tracks.

File:COVID19 W ENG.ogv

Handwashing instructions

Management

People are managed with supportive care, which may include fluid therapy, oxygen support, and supporting other affected vital organs.[144][145][146] The CDC recommends that those who suspect they carry the virus wear a simple face mask.[30] Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used to address the issue of respiratory failure, but its benefits are still under consideration.[41][147] Personal hygiene and a healthy lifestyle and diet have been recommended to improve immunity.[148] Supportive treatments may be useful in those with mild symptoms at the early stage of infection.[149]

The WHO, the Chinese National Health Commission, and the United States' National Institutes of Health have published recommendations for taking care of people who are hospitalised with COVID‑19.[130][150][151] Intensivists and pulmonologists in the U.S. have compiled treatment recommendations from various agencies into a free resource, the IBCC.[152][153]

Medications

See also: Coronavirus disease 2019 § Research

As of April 2020, there is no specific treatment for COVID‑19.[6][133] Research is, however, ongoing. For symptoms, some medical professionals recommend paracetamol (acetaminophen) over ibuprofen for first-line use.[154][155][156] The WHO and NIH do not oppose the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen for symptoms,[130][157] and the FDA says currently there is no evidence that NSAIDs worsen COVID‑19 symptoms.[158]

While theoretical concerns have been raised about ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers, as of 19 March 2020, these are not sufficient to justify stopping these medications.[130][159][160][161] Steroids, such as methylprednisolone, are not recommended unless the disease is complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome.[162][163]

Medications to prevent blood clotting have been suggested for treatment,[91] and anticoagulant therapy with low molecular weight heparin appears to be associated with better outcomes in severe COVID‐19 showing signs of coagulopathy (elevated D-dimer).[164]

Protective equipment

See also: § Research

Research into potential treatments started in January 2020,[182] and several antiviral drugs are in clinical trials.[183][184] Remdesivir appears to be the most promising.[133] Although new medications may take until 2021 to develop,[185] several of the medications being tested are already approved for other uses or are already in advanced testing.[186] Antiviral medication may be tried in people with severe disease.[144] The WHO recommended volunteers take part in trials of the effectiveness and safety of potential treatments.[187]

The FDA has granted temporary authorisation to convalescent plasma as an experimental treatment in cases where the person's life is seriously or immediately threatened. It has not undergone the clinical studies needed to show it is safe and effective for the disease.[188][189][190]

Information technology

See also: Contact tracing and Government by algorithm

In February 2020, China launched a mobile app to deal with the disease outbreak.[191] Users are asked to enter their name and ID number. The app can detect 'close contact' using surveillance data and therefore a potential risk of infection. Every user can also check the status of three other users. If a potential risk is detected, the app not only recommends self-quarantine, it also alerts local health officials.[192]

Big data analytics on cellphone data, facial recognition technology, mobile phone tracking, and artificial intelligence are used to track infected people and people whom they contacted in South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore.[193][194] In March 2020, the Israeli government enabled security agencies to track mobile phone data of people supposed to have coronavirus. The measure was taken to enforce quarantine and protect those who may come into contact with infected citizens.[195] Also in March 2020, Deutsche Telekom shared aggregated phone location data with the German federal government agency, Robert Koch Institute, to research and prevent the spread of the virus.[196] Russia deployed facial recognition technology to detect quarantine breakers.[197] Italian regional health commissioner Giulio Gallera said he has been informed by mobile phone operators that "40% of people are continuing to move around anyway".[198] German government conducted a 48 hours weekend hackathon with more than 42.000 participants.[199][200] Two million people in the UK used an app developed in March 2020 by King's College London and Zoe to track people with COVID‑19 symptoms.[201] Also, the president of Estonia, Kersti Kaljulaid, made a global call for creative solutions against the spread of coronavirus.[202]

Psychological support

See also: Mental health during the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

Individuals may experience distress from quarantine, travel restrictions, side effects of treatment, or fear of the infection itself. To address these concerns, the National Health Commission of China published a national guideline for psychological crisis intervention on 27 January 2020.[203][204]

The Lancet published a 14-page call for action focusing on the UK and stated conditions were such that a range of mental health issues was likely to become more common. BBC quoted Rory O'Connor in saying, "Increased social isolation, loneliness, health anxiety, stress and an economic downturn are a perfect storm to harm people's mental health and wellbeing."[205][206]

Prognosis

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The severity of diagnosed cases in China

The severity of diagnosed COVID-19 cases in China[207]

Case fatality rates for COVID-19 by age by country.

Case fatality rates by age group:

China, as of 11 February 2020[208]

South Korea, as of 15 April 2020[209]

Spain, as of 24 April 2020[210]

Italy, as of 23 April 2020[211]

Case fatality rate depending on other health problems

Case fatality rate in China depending on other health problems. Data through 11 February 2020.[208]

Case fatality rate by country and number of cases

The number of deaths vs total cases by country and approximate case fatality rate[212]

The severity of COVID‑19 varies. The disease may take a mild course with few or no symptoms, resembling other common upper respiratory diseases such as the common cold. Mild cases typically recover within two weeks, while those with severe or critical diseases may take three to six weeks to recover. Among those who have died, the time from symptom onset to death has ranged from two to eight weeks.[47]

Children make up a small proportion of reported cases, with about 1% of cases being under 10 years, and 4% aged 10-19 years.[22] They are likely to have milder symptoms and a lower chance of severe disease than adults; in those younger than 50 years, the risk of death is less than 0.5%, while in those older than 70 it is more than 8%.[213][214][215] Pregnant women may be at higher risk for severe infection with COVID-19 based on data from other similar viruses, like SARS and MERS, but data for COVID-19 is lacking.[216][217] In China, children acquired infections mainly through close contact with their parents or other family members who lived in Wuhan or had traveled there.[213]

In some people, COVID‑19 may affect the lungs causing pneumonia. In those most severely affected, COVID-19 may rapidly progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) causing respiratory failure, septic shock, or multi-organ failure.[218][219] Complications associated with COVID‑19 include sepsis, abnormal clotting, and damage to the heart, kidneys, and liver. Clotting abnormalities, specifically an increase in prothrombin time, have been described in 6% of those admitted to hospital with COVID-19, while abnormal kidney function is seen in 4% of this group.[220] Approximately 20-30% of people who present with COVID‑19 demonstrate elevated liver enzymes (transaminases).[133] Liver injury as shown by blood markers of liver damage is frequently seen in severe cases.[221]

Some studies have found that the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) may be helpful in early screening for severe illness.[222]

Most of those who die of COVID‑19 have pre-existing (underlying) conditions, including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease.[223] The Istituto Superiore di Sanità reported that out of 8.8% of deaths where medical charts were available for review, 97.2% of sampled patients had at least one comorbidity with the average patient having 2.7 diseases.[224] According to the same report, the median time between the onset of symptoms and death was ten days, with five being spent hospitalised. However, patients transferred to an ICU had a median time of seven days between hospitalisation and death.[224] In a study of early cases, the median time from exhibiting initial symptoms to death was 14 days, with a full range of six to 41 days.[225] In a study by the National Health Commission (NHC) of China, men had a death rate of 2.8% while women had a death rate of 1.7%.[226] Histopathological examinations of post-mortem lung samples show diffuse alveolar damage with cellular fibromyxoid exudates in both lungs. Viral cytopathic changes were observed in the pneumocytes. The lung picture resembled acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).[47] In 11.8% of the deaths reported by the National Health Commission of China, heart damage was noted by elevated levels of troponin or cardiac arrest.[49] According to March data from the United States, 89% of those hospitalised had preexisting conditions.[227]

The availability of medical resources and the socioeconomics of a region may also affect mortality.[228] Estimates of the mortality from the condition vary because of those regional differences,[229] but also because of methodological difficulties. The under-counting of mild cases can cause the mortality rate to be overestimated.[230] However, the fact that deaths are the result of cases contracted in the past can mean the current mortality rate is underestimated.[231][232] Smokers were 1.4 times more likely to have severe symptoms of COVID‑19 and approximately 2.4 times more likely to require intensive care or die compared to non-smokers.[233]

Concerns have been raised about long-term sequelae of the disease. The Hong Kong Hospital Authority found a drop of 20% to 30% in lung capacity in some people who recovered from the disease, and lung scans suggested organ damage.[234] This may also lead to post-intensive care syndrome following recovery.[235]

Case fatality rates (%) by age and country

Age0–910–1920–2930–3940–4950–5960–6970–7980-8990+

China as of 11 February[208]0.00.20.20.20.41.33.68.014.8

Denmark as of 25 April[236]0.24.515.524.940.7

Italy as of 23 April[211]0.20.00.10.40.92.610.024.930.826.1

Netherlands as of 17 April[237]0.00.30.10.20.51.57.623.230.029.3

Portugal as of 24 April[238]0.00.00.00.00.30.62.88.516.5

S. Korea as of 15 April[209]0.00.00.00.10.20.72.59.722.2

Spain as of 24 April[210]0.30.40.30.30.61.34.413.220.320.1

Switzerland as of 25 April[239]0.90.00.00.10.00.52.710.124.0

Case fatality rates (%) by age in the United States

Age0–1920–4445–5455–6465–7475–8485+

United States as of 16 March[240]0.00.1–0.20.5–0.81.4–2.62.7–4.94.3–10.510.4–27.3

Note: The lower bound includes all cases. The upper bound excludes cases that were missing data.

Estimate of infection fatality rates and probability of severe disease course (%) by age based on cases from China[241]

0–910–1920–2930–3940–4950–5960–6970–7980+

Severe disease0.0

(0.0–0.0)0.04

(0.02–0.08)1.0

(0.62–2.1)3.4

(2.0–7.0)4.3

(2.5–8.7)8.2

(4.9–17)11

(7.0–24)17

(9.9–34)18

(11–38)

Death0.0016

(0.00016–0.025)0.0070

(0.0015–0.050)0.031

(0.014–0.092)0.084

(0.041–0.19)0.16

(0.076–0.32)0.60

(0.34–1.3)1.9

(1.1–3.9)4.3

(2.5–8.4)7.8

(3.8–13)

Total infection fatality rate is estimated to be 0.66% (0.39–1.3). Infection fatality rate is fatality per all infected individuals, regardless of whether they were diagnosed or had any symptoms. Numbers in parentheses are 95% credible intervals for the estimates.

Reinfection

As of March 2020, it was unknown if past infection provides effective and long-term immunity in people who recover from the disease.[242] Immunity is seen as likely, based on the behaviour of other coronaviruses,[243] but cases in which recovery from COVID‑19 have been followed by positive tests for coronavirus at a later date have been reported.[244][245][246][247] These cases are believed to be worsening of a lingering infection rather than re-infection.[247]

History

Main article: Timeline of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

The virus is thought to be natural and has an animal origin,[77] through spillover infection.[248] The actual origin is unknown, but by December 2019 the spread of infection was almost entirely driven by human-to-human transmission.[208][249] A study of the first 41 cases of confirmed COVID‑19, published in January 2020 in The Lancet, revealed the earliest date of onset of symptoms as 1 December 2019.[250][251][252] Official publications from the WHO reported the earliest onset of symptoms as 8 December 2019.[253] Human-to-human transmission was confirmed by the WHO and Chinese authorities by 20 January 2020.[254][255]

Epidemiology

Main article: 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

Several measures are commonly used to quantify mortality.[256] These numbers vary by region and over time and are influenced by the volume of testing, healthcare system quality, treatment options, time since the initial outbreak, and population characteristics such as age, sex, and overall health.[257]

The death-to-case ratio reflects the number of deaths divided by the number of diagnosed cases within a given time interval. Based on Johns Hopkins University statistics, the global death-to-case ratio is 7.0% (203,044/2,899,830) as of 26 April 2020.[7] The number varies by region.[258]

Other measures include the case fatality rate (CFR), which reflects the percent of diagnosed individuals who die from a disease, and the infection fatality rate (IFR), which reflects the percent of infected individuals (diagnosed and undiagnosed) who die from a disease. These statistics are not time-bound and follow a specific population from infection through case resolution. Many academics have attempted to calculate these numbers for specific populations.[259]

Total confirmed cases over time

Total deaths over time

Total confirmed cases of COVID‑19 per million people, 10 April 2020[260]

Total confirmed deaths due to COVID‑19 per million people, 10 April 2020[261]

Infection fatality rate

Our World in Data states that as of March 25, 2020, the infection fatality rate (IFR) cannot be accurately calculated.[262] In February, the World Health Organization estimated the IFR at 0.94%, with a confidence interval between 0.37 percent to 2.9 percent.[263] The University of Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) estimated a global CFR of 0.72 percent and IFR of 0.1 percent to 0.36 percent.[264] According to CEBM, random antibody testing in Germany suggested an IFR of 0.37 percent there.[264] Firm lower limits to local infection fatality rates were established, such as in Bergamo province, where 0.57% of the population has died, leading to a minimum IFR of 0.57% in the province. This population fatality rate (PFR) minimum increases as more people get infected and run through their disease.[265][266] Similarly, as of April 22 in the New York City area, there were 15,411 deaths confirmed from COVID-19, and 19,200 excess deaths.[267] Very recently, the first results of antibody testing have come in, but there are no valid scientific reports based on them available yet. A Bloomberg Opinion piece provides a survey.[268][269]

Sex differences

Main article: Gendered impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

The impact of the pandemic and its mortality rate are different for men and women.[270] Mortality is higher in men in studies conducted in China and Italy.[271][272][273] The highest risk for men is in their 50s, with the gap between men and women closing only at 90.[273] In China, the death rate was 2.8 percent for men and 1.7 percent for women.[273] The exact reasons for this sex-difference are not known, but genetic and behavioural factors could be a reason.[270] Sex-based immunological differences, a lower prevalence of smoking in women, and men developing co-morbid conditions such as hypertension at a younger age than women could have contributed to the higher mortality in men.[273] In Europe, of those infected with COVID‑19, 57% were men; of those infected with COVID‑19 who also died, 72% were men.[274] As of April 2020, the U.S. government is not tracking sex-related data of COVID‑19 infections.[275] Research has shown that viral illnesses like Ebola, HIV, influenza, and SARS affect men and women differently.[275] A higher percentage of health workers, particularly nurses, are women, and they have a higher chance of being exposed to the virus.[276] School closures, lockdowns, and reduced access to healthcare following the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic may differentially affect the genders and possibly exaggerate existing gender disparity.[270][277]

Society and culture

Name

During the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China, the virus and disease were commonly referred to as "coronavirus" and "Wuhan coronavirus",[278][279][280] with the disease sometimes called "Wuhan pneumonia".[281][282] In the past, many diseases have been named after geographical locations, such as the Spanish flu,[283] Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, and Zika virus.[284]

In January 2020, the World Health Organisation recommended 2019-nCov[285] and 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease[286] as interim names for the virus and disease per 2015 guidance and international guidelines against using geographical locations (e.g. Wuhan, China), animal species or groups of people in disease and virus names to prevent social stigma.[287][288][289]

The official names COVID‑19 and SARS-CoV-2 were issued by the WHO on 11 February 2020.[290] WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained: CO for corona, VI for virus, D for disease and 19 for when the outbreak was first identified (31 December 2019).[291] The WHO additionally uses "the COVID‑19 virus" and "the virus responsible for COVID‑19" in public communications.[290] Both the disease and virus are commonly referred to as "coronavirus" in the media and public discourse.

Misinformation

Main article: Misinformation related to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

After the initial outbreak of COVID‑19, conspiracy theories, misinformation, and disinformation emerged regarding the origin, scale, prevention, treatment, and other aspects of the disease and rapidly spread online.[292][293][294][295]

Protests

Beginning April 17, 2020, news media began reporting on a wave of demonstrations protesting against state-mandated quarantine restrictions in in Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky.[296][297]

Other animals

Humans appear to be capable of spreading the virus to some other animals. A domestic cat in Liège, Belgium, tested positive after it started showing symptoms (diarrhoea, vomiting, shortness of breath) a week later than its owner, who was also positive.[298] Tigers at the Bronx Zoo in New York, United States, tested positive for the virus and showed symptoms of COVID‑19, including a dry cough and loss of appetite.[299]

A study on domesticated animals inoculated with the virus found that cats and ferrets appear to be "highly susceptible" to the disease, while dogs appear to be less susceptible, with lower levels of viral replication. The study failed to find evidence of viral replication in pigs, ducks, and chickens.[300]

Research

Main article: COVID-19 drug development

No medication or vaccine is approved to treat the disease.[186] International research on vaccines and medicines in COVID‑19 is underway by government organisations, academic groups, and industry researchers.[301][302] In March, the World Health Organisation initiated the "SOLIDARITY Trial" to assess the treatment effects of four existing antiviral compounds with the most promise of efficacy.[303]

Vaccine

Main article: COVID-19 vaccine

There is no available vaccine, but various agencies are actively developing vaccine candidates. Previous work on SARS-CoV is being used because both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 use the ACE2 receptor to enter human cells.[304] Three vaccination strategies are being investigated. First, researchers aim to build a whole virus vaccine. The use of such a virus, be it inactive or dead, aims to elicit a prompt immune response of the human body to a new infection with COVID‑19. A second strategy, subunit vaccines, aims to create a vaccine that sensitises the immune system to certain subunits of the virus. In the case of SARS-CoV-2, such research focuses on the S-spike protein that helps the virus intrude the ACE2 enzyme receptor. A third strategy is that of the nucleic acid vaccines (DNA or RNA vaccines, a novel technique for creating a vaccination). Experimental vaccines from any of these strategies would have to be tested for safety and efficacy.[305]

On 16 March 2020, the first clinical trial of a vaccine started with four volunteers in Seattle, United States. The vaccine contains a harmless genetic code copied from the virus that causes the disease.[306]

Antibody-dependent enhancement has been suggested as a potential challenge for vaccine development for SARS-COV-2, but this is controversial.[307]

Medications

Main article: COVID-19 drug repurposing research

At least 29 phase II–IV efficacy trials in COVID‑19 were concluded in March 2020 or scheduled to provide results in April from hospitals in China.[308][309] There are more than 300 active clinical trials underway as of April 2020.[133] Seven trials were evaluating already approved treatments, including four studies on hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine.[309] Repurposed antiviral drugs make up most of the Chinese research, with nine phase III trials on remdesivir across several countries due to report by the end of April.[308][309] Other candidates in trials include vasodilators, corticosteroids, immune therapies, lipoic acid, bevacizumab, and recombinant angiotensin-converting enzyme 2.[309]

The COVID‑19 Clinical Research Coalition has goals to 1) facilitate rapid reviews of clinical trial proposals by ethics committees and national regulatory agencies, 2) fast-track approvals for the candidate therapeutic compounds, 3) ensure standardised and rapid analysis of emerging efficacy and safety data and 4) facilitate sharing of clinical trial outcomes before publication.[310][311]

Several existing medications are being evaluated for the treatment of COVID‑19,[186] including remdesivir, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, and lopinavir/ritonavir combined with interferon beta.[303][312] There is tentative evidence for efficacy by remdesivir, as of March 2020.[313][314] Clinical improvement was observed in patients treated with compassionate-use remdesivir.[315] Remdesivir inhibits SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.[316] Phase III clinical trials are underway in the U.S., China, and Italy.[186][308][317]

In 2020, a trial found that lopinavir/ritonavir was ineffective in the treatment of severe illness.[318] Nitazoxanide has been recommended for further in vivo study after demonstrating low concentration inhibition of SARS-CoV-2.[316]

There are mixed results as of 3 April 2020 as to the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID‑19, with some studies showing little or no improvement.[319][320] The studies of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine with or without azithromycin have major limitations that have prevented the medical community from embracing these therapies without further study.[133]

Oseltamivir does not inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and has no known role in COVID‑19 treatment.[133]

Anti-cytokine storm

Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) can be a complication in the later stages of severe COVID‑19. There is preliminary evidence that hydroxychloroquine may have anti-cytokine storm properties.[321]

Tocilizumab has been included in treatment guidelines by China's National Health Commission after a small study was completed.[322][323] It is undergoing a phase 2 non-randomised trial at the national level in Italy after showing positive results in people with severe disease.[324][325] Combined with a serum ferritin blood test to identify cytokine storms, it is meant to counter such developments, which are thought to be the cause of death in some affected people.[326][327][328] The interleukin-6 receptor antagonist was approved by the FDA to undergo a phase III clinical trial assessing the medication's impact on COVID‑19 based on retrospective case studies for the treatment of steroid-refractory cytokine release syndrome induced by a different cause, CAR T cell therapy, in 2017.[329] To date, there is no randomised, controlled evidence that tocilizumab is an efficacious treatment for CRS. Prophylactic tocilizumab has been shown to increase serum IL-6 levels by saturating the IL-6R, driving IL-6 across the blood-brain barrier, and exacerbating neurotoxicity while having no impact on the incidence of CRS.[330]

Lenzilumab, an anti-GM-CSF monoclonal antibody, is protective in murine models for CAR T cell-induced CRS and neurotoxicity and is a viable therapeutic option due to the observed increase of pathogenic GM-CSF secreting T-cells in hospitalised patients with COVID‑19.[331]

The Feinstein Institute of Northwell Health announced in March a study on "a human antibody that may prevent the activity" of IL-6.[332]

Passive antibodies

Transferring purified and concentrated antibodies produced by the immune systems of those who have recovered from COVID‑19 to people who need them is being investigated as a non-vaccine method of passive immunisation.[333] This strategy was tried for SARS with inconclusive results.[333] Viral neutralisation is the anticipated mechanism of action by which passive antibody therapy can mediate defence against SARS-CoV-2. Other mechanisms, however, such as antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and/or phagocytosis, may be possible.[333] Other forms of passive antibody therapy, for example, using manufactured monoclonal antibodies, are in development.[333] Production of convalescent serum, which consists of the liquid portion of the blood from recovered patients and contains antibodies specific to this virus, could be increased for quicker deployment.[334]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus_disease_2019

MR SL Canada 2020 SC Tracy First Photo Challenge by SC Tracy MR SL ♛ Canada 2020-21

17 3

For the photo challenge, I wanted to take a satiric look at the vampire film genre because in general, I have a difficulty being evil. One of my favorite films was the visual inspiration for this competition, 2004’s “Van Helsing”. Dracula's Masquerade Ball sequence specifically with its explosion of extravagance. This film has always been a bit ‘off’ for me. Overplayed from start to finish to the point of comedy, complete with 400-something vampires tooling around 18th century Budapest speaking to each other in English with fake Hungarian accents, when there are no English speakers present. The actor who played Count Vladislaus Dracula, Richard Roxburgh expressed it best, and I’m paraphrasing, that he played the role on the edge of camp, lamenting in one scene, “I’m at vor vit de verld” as he walks sideways up a wall. So with that, I give you my entry, “Lord Ruthven”.

Love Love Love. —SC

—————

Why I chose Lord Ruthven. The world worships the original, as do I. Sadly, Dracula was not the original vampire in English literature. In 1816. “The Year Without a Summer,” a group of literary notables gathered at the summer residence of poet Lord Byron. Mary Shelley wrote “Frankenstein,” and John Polidori Lord Byron’s physician spun a nightmarish short story published on April 1, 1819, “The Vampyre,” giving birth to the first undead fiend “Lord Ruthven.” Described as “exceedingly handsome, but distressingly pale with dead gray eyes.” He was a cold-blooded killer. No pity. No remorse. No delusions of morality. He preyed on the innocents of high society to satisfy his cravings — alluring, extremely dangerous, bound only by night, absorbing his supernatural powers from the Moon. I love this character because I love the allure of 18-century literature expressed in a stylized gothic interpretation of Lord Ruthven designed by the Queen of Goth Couture, Raven Pennyfeather.

—————

Styling notes:

For the MR SL 2020’S Halloween runway & photo challenge I’m wearing a custom textured jacket with lace cuffs and leggings, with lace-up riding boots, raven feather cape designed by the Queen of Goth Couture, Raven Pennyfeather for the House of Rfyre. Other accessories include a top hat by Couture Chapeau, with added point d’espirit veil by Licole Female Fashion. Crescent Moon Necklace that gives me power from the moon is by Glam Jewelry and Maple Leaf Necklace for mother Canada worn as a belt is by Footpaw Industries both recolored by me.

Music, and some over-acting, Dracula's Masquerade Ball:

Music only —> www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EK31R9KpAI

Full scene —> www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1BQrq2rZ8g

Jacket and Cape

marketplace.secondlife.com/p/RFYRE-RAVEN-SERIES-MENS-NO-T...

Riding Boots

marketplace.secondlife.com/p/RFYRE-SYMPHONY-MENS-RIDING-B...

Top Hat

marketplace.secondlife.com/p/CC-Highlander-Tophat-Black/6...

Veil

marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Lc-Carrie-Veil-Silver/6141491

Make Up

marketplace.secondlife.com/p/CNZ-Demonik-Eyeshadow-Eyes/1...

Red Maple Leaf Set

marketplace.secondlife.com/p/FPI-Red-Maple-Leaf-Set/1664703

Crecent Moon Necklace

marketplace.secondlife.com/p/FF-Crescent-Moon-Necklace/70...

Pose

Posesion Hector 9

Eyes

Ikon Promise Eyes Wight

Off Staten Island, the brand-new FLANDRE struggles to raise her starboard anchor. by Kenneth Allyn Barton

6 1

The July, 1952 maiden voyage of FLANDRE was marred by a series of debilitating mechanical difficulties. The first sign of trouble occurred when her fuel line filters became clogged by impurities in the oil, causing the liner to become 'dead in the water' for four hours while her fuel filters were cleaned-out and her boilers restored to normal operation. This process had to be repeated later during the crossing, after which FLANDRE's captain elected to reduce speed for the remainder of the voyage. Upon arrival at the Quarantine Station at New York, the liner experienced a short circuit in her main electrical switchboard, causing a near-complete loss of power. Nearly three hours later she regained sufficient power to raise the port anchor. Three additional hours were required to raise the starboard anchor.

Unlike the maiden arrival of most ocean liners, which include a fireboat welcome while sailing under their own power, FLANDRE and her 634 passengers arrived in New York Harbor under tow by four Moran tugs. Initially blowing her whistle, when even that power was lost, the captain had to respond to the salute of harbor craft by sounding FLANDRE's emergency siren. Manhattan dock workers, who had been waiting in the July heat for hours, unsympathetically dubbed the new liner 'FLOUNDER'. New York's French Line officials were mortified.

FLANDRE's return voyage was delayed in order to allow time for engineers to repair her engines. Upon arrival back in France, the remainder of the new liner's 1952 sailings were cancelled, and she returned to her builders for repairs that took six months. FLANDRE did not return to service until 1953.

Painted Buntings by Lindell Dillon

15 10

May is the month of the buntings for me. The little males are visible singing and staking out their territories. Please forgive my indulgence, but I have difficulty getting enough of these little beauties.

Our beautiful world, pass it on.

Arborescent Thinking...These difficulties are partly due to what specialists call arborescent thinking. “ Normal people develop logical reasoning through linear, sequential thinking. by Hughes Songe

13 10

High potential? Parents want to know

Psychological examinations are increasingly common to identify gifted children. It’s a trend that hides a complex reality, as gifted children can also be prone to failure.

Enéa gets good marks. But she disturbs the class, talks a lot and complains often. This situation surprises her mother, Stéphanie Laurent. At home, this seven-year old schoolgirl from Lausanne is quiet, responsible and not the type to bother others. What’s wrong? School. Enéa is bored. A teacher friend advised Stéphanie Laurent to enter her daughter for tests to determine whether she was “high potential”. And the result came back positive.

High potential (HP) children are referred to as gifted or precocious. They are sometimes compared with child prodigies, which is one reason for the increase in requests for psychological examinations. “Interest in these tests is growing,” states Pierre Fumeaux, a child psychiatrist at Lausanne University Hospital who is currently conducting a study on the subject. “A few years ago when parents or teachers had to deal with a difficult student, they would ask the doctor if the child was hyperactive. Now the term ‘high potential’ has taken centre stage in the media.” Contrary to popular belief, gifted is not always synonymous with success. High potential children can also be prone to failure.

A different brain

To be diagnosed as “HP”, an individual has to obtain a score of at least 130 on IQ tests. “But the score isn’t enough,” explains Claudia Jankech, a psychotherapist in Lausanne specialised in child and teenager psychology. “We also need to understand their family and social context and their personality.”

Surprisingly, a high number of HP children have trouble in school. “When it’s too easy for them, they get used to being on autopilot,” says the psychologist. “They’ve never learnt how to learn.” These difficulties are partly due to what specialists call arborescent thinking. “Normal people develop logical reasoning through linear, sequential thinking. However, the thought process in HP children is like fireworks exploding with ideas and impressive intuition. They can solve complex equations but will have difficulty explaining how they came up with the answer,” explains Pierre Fumeaux.

Studies suggest that HP children’s brains function differently. Information moves better between the two cerebral hemispheres. “We assume that they use both their left and right brains easily and have excellent abilities in both logic and creativity,” says the child psychiatrist. “Other work has shown that HP children can more easily juggle with concepts and think in the abstract, such as performing mental calculations. “In a functional MRI, a dye is injected to highlight the areas of the brain with the highest blood flow.

Using a scanner, we can then see which areas are activated,” Pierre Fumeaux explains. “A stimulus or given task will activate certain areas of the brain in normal individuals. In HP children, sometimes several larger areas are activated at the same time,” he adds. These indicators help doctors understand how an HP mind works. “But our knowledge in neuroscience remains limited,” the researcher admits. “Being high potential is not an illness, but a special cognitive ability. And that’s not a priority for researchers.”

INTERVIEW: “The methods of diagnosis are debatable”

In a survey conducted on gifted children, the French sociologist Wilfried Lignier noted that specialists do not agree about the tests designed to diagnose giftedness.

In Vivo You observe that most gifted children don’t have difficulty in school or psychological problems. Why then do parents have them take tests?

Wilfried Lignier These parents are very concerned that their children will face difficulties, whereas they actually have every chance of success. They think that the school’s assessment is not enough. Psychology offers greater legitimacy for their concerns.

IV You approach giftedness as a “debated and debatable” issue. Why?

WL Many psychologists don’t recognise giftedness mainly because they doubt the credibility of IQ tests. These tests are meant to assess something other than academic skills, but in form they are quite similar to the exercises performed in school. Furthermore, children also have this impression. After the test is over, some say that they did well in the “maths” section, referring to the logical reasoning, or the “language” section, referring to the vocabulary. Being so similar to exercises done in school, these tests contradict the idea that intelligence isn’t the same as academic performance. Yet most of the social repercussions expected from test results are based on the idea that they tell a truth that school does not.

IV You show that the diagnosis swings in favour of one gender. How do you explain that high potential is more often diagnosed in boys?

WL Parents tend to express greater concern about their future, as it more readily carries their hopes of upward social mobility. The fact that boys have greater chances of having “symptoms”, such as openly expressing their boredom or not being able to stay still, also plays a role.

Hyper-sensitivity

HP children also typically have emotional characteristics featuring high sensitivity or a high level of empathy. Stéphanie Laurent’s two other children, boys, have also been diagnosed as high potential. “Nathael, age six, cries at Christmas because poor people are cold and have nothing to eat.” His hyper-sensitivity distresses him. “It can take on huge proportions. At one point, Mathys, age eight, felt unreasonable fear because he knew that there was a core on fire at the centre of the earth.” Myriam Bickle Graz, a developmental paediatrician at Lausanne University Hospital who wrote a thesis on the subject, says, “The children seen at consultations were often overwhelmed by their emotions. For some, it was incredibly difficult; they have no filter,” she explains. “The fear of death, for example, comes very early.” They develop symptoms such as anxiety, sleep disorders, strained relationships with other children and aggression.

THE HAPPIEST HP CHILDREN ARE THOSE WHO ARE NOT IDENTIFIED AS SUCH AND MANAGE TO ADAPT.

As in the Laurent family, there are often several gifted siblings. “Not all siblings are necessarily going to be HP, but there is a certain degree of genetic heritage. However, that hasn’t been proven scientifically,” explains Myriam Bickle Graz. “It remains a clinical observation.”

Although some high potential children suffer, the majority of them lead normal lives. As summed up by Pierre Fumeaux, “the happiest HP children are those who are not identified as such and manage to adapt.”

Arborescent thinking deploying in several directions, simultaneously, extremely fast and without boundaries. While it is a important source of creativity, it also implies: Difficulties to identify relevant information; all these thoughts in all directions may be confusing when the child is faced with a question, a problem or a task at school, An absolute need to organise these thoughts within a sturdy frame so that the child feels affectively, emotionally and socially secure. A “global” information processing system, with analogic and intuitive thinking. While it enables a very rich and deep understanding, with photographic memory, it also implies: Serious difficulties to adapt to the traditional schooling systems which treat information in details and sequentially (one thing after the other), An inability to develop arguments or justify their reasoning. Gifted children usually can’t explain their results, they consider the answers obvious, they know intuitively. The necessity to use in parallel the traditional school learning methods and their own knowledge aquisition systems; they do not want to feel useless, rejected or stupid. A thinking mode that needs meaning to function and complexity to develop and bloom. While it is an endless source of information data stored in an exceptional memory, it also implies: Difficulties or even refusal to acquire skills or information which they consider useless, too simple or not exciting enough to justify their attention and efforts, Constant challenges of established rules and norms, to satisfy their needs for meaning, To “learn how to learn” while taming their impatience through inventive and stimulating methodologies, with deep enrichment on all subjects. A way of thinking constantly integrating affective aspects of its environment. While it is a rich incentive to learning, it also implies: Frustration, even rejection of some teachers whom they see as incompetent in their teaching methods or behaviours, Excessive, even pathological reactions if these children, who try to master their environment and their variations, cannot find reassurance. They are scared by what they do not understand and they know, from a very young age, many things that they cannot put in perspective due to their short life experience. A need for constant reassurance on their learning progress, with a learning methodology adapted to their needs and offering a long-term continuity and homogeneity, thus reducing affective disruptions as much as possible.

anhugar.wifeo.com/arborescent-way-of-thinking.php A difficulty encountered by many gifed children is the fact that they think in an arborescent way instead of a linear one. The usual teaching methods are linear - when forced to learn in that mode, gifted children need to make a lot of efforts to voluntarily slow-down their “processing” thinking pace.

Arborescent thinking is very adequate for gifted people; it allows them to use all their mental capacities and their knowledge simultaneously. However, it needs to be guided and framed otherwise their thinking takes them far away from the subject of that day.

Here is an example from Jeanne Siaud-Fachin: The teacher gives a spelling test. He dictates “the boat sails on the sea”. The gifted child will initially visualize an image of a boat on the sea before seeing the sentence made of 6 words. Following the image, her thoughts will go in all directions: well, it is not a good idea to sail today because there is a lot of wind are there any people on that boat? my friend Frank owns a boat, he’s lucky but his parents are divorced, that is not fun I hope my parents will never get divorced yet, Frank has twice as many presents for Christmas now that he has 2 homes which reminds me, I have not yet prepared a wish-list for Christmas etc. While the other children have finished writing the initial sentance, the gifted child does not remember it at all and if she’s pressed, she may write the last sentence that went through her head “ I have not yet prepared a wish-list for Christmas ”.

Also

www.talentdifferent.com/la-pensee-en-arborescence-901.htm...

www.asep-suisse.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_docman&am... (pdf) How to help such children overcome their ‘handicap’

From the main link in the title (translated from the French by Google Chrome, I think): Surprisingly, a high number of high potential children have trouble in school. “When it’s too easy for them, they get used to being on autopilot,” says the psychologist. “They’ve never learnt how to learn.” These difficulties are partly due to what specialists call arborescent thinking. “Normal people develop logical reasoning through linear, sequential thinking. However, the thought process in HP children is like fireworks exploding with ideas and impressive intuition. They can solve complex equations but will have difficulty explaining how they came up with the answer,” explains Pierre Fumeaux.

structural difficulties by minions & myrmidons

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pedal power by FollowYour Nose

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On a walk along river Aura, delayed upload due to a complete reconfiguration of the homely computer setup, enter Apple, the design specialists that produce products so sleek that no one understands them, at least at first. The learning curve is steep and this also relates to the difficulty of setting up home networks on an XP, something the iMac doesn't seem to struggle with...

Christmas Eve Wind Storm by deanspic

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– Gusts clocked at 90 KPH. The view is from the Cornwall Canal embankment looking down on a narrow section of the St. Lawrence River, just downstream from the hydroelectric dam. In the upper left corner a developing waterspout or vortex. I had great difficulty walking here and really couldn't focus the camera, it was just point and shoot and get out of there!

Why You Walk on Eggshells...Borderline's walker...Stop Walking on Eggshells When someone in your life has borderline or narcissistic personality disorder by Randi Kreger by Hughes Songe

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One of the best ways to tell whether someone has borderline personality disorder (BPD) or narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is to look at the way they express emotions. Depending upon which subtype they are (vulnerable vs. invulnerable), narcissists have shallow or limited emotions. People with BPD, on the other hand, are far too emotional. In fact, most of the borderline personality disorder criteria have to do with problems people with BPD have regulating their emotions. In this blog post, I'll look at BPD; the next, we'll explore the shallow emotions of those with NPD.

Just like people with diabetes have a problem regulating their blood sugar and must test it several times a day, people with BPD find it difficult to be emotionally consistent. This is why you're continually walking on eggshells, never knowing what to expect when you walk in the door.

Individuals with BPD feel the same emotions that we all do. The difference is that whether they're good or bad feelings, they're off the charts. "People with BPD are like people with third degree burns over 90 percent of their body," says Marsha M. Linehan, Ph.D., founder of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. "Lacking emotional skin, they feel agony at the slightest touch or movement."

Of the nine criteria for BPD, four of them deal directly with emotions. They are:

Intense and quickly changing mood swings, irritability or anxiety. Most people can take steps to feel better when they feel bad. And they can control, to some extent, how they express their moods. But people with BPD find this difficult or impossible. Anxiety and irritability are part of the everyday landscape.

Chronic feelings of emptiness: BPs experience chronic feelings of emptiness, which is tied into their lack of identity. A borderline woman says: "I feel empty inside, so I try to keep busy all the time. I throw parties, get into new relationships, smoke, drink, change jobs, or go to a movie. But nothing fills the void." A man says, "My former partner consistently makes comments of feeling empty and worthless, even though she has many people in her life and a very successful business. She received cards in the mail often from friends. But she still felt this pervasive feeling of emptiness and sadness."

Inappropriate anger or difficulty controlling anger. "My ex-wife can be as sweet and kind as a saint one moment, rage the next, and then just as abruptly switch back. I can see the changes coming by watching her eyes," says Mark, the ex-husband of a BP.

Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. This is probably the hallmark of BPD. Because of that fear, people with BPD constantly seek affection and reassurance to combat their lack of self-esteem. For example, they may constantly call or text you just to make sure you are still there and care about them.

A woman with a BPD husband says:

"He would physically block entrances and exits so I couldn't leave. When I was gone he would drink himself silly, not go to work, and call me at all hours of the night telling me how much he missed me and needed me. If I wanted to go out with friends, he wanted to come with so he wouldn't be home by himself. He often had dreams in which we would be at a party and I wouldn't talk to him or acknowledge him. If people didn't return his emails or calls within a very short period of time, he would think they didn't want to be his friend anymore, or they were mad at him, or he had done something wrong to upset them."

The difference between the emotions of people with BPD and everyone else can be summed up as follows:

1) Their emotions are more intense. Brain studies show that the "emotional" centers of the brain actually overpower the "logical" centers. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being high, once the emotions of an individual with BPD are at a six and over you can't really reason with them. They may kick or hit walls, slam doors, punch a car, break household items, and even become physically violent.

2) Their emotions are unpredictable, flipping quickly from one to another. You feel lost and confused as to what just happened. A woman says:

"His mood can change in the blink of an eye. Usually, we could be joking about something, having a really great time and even bonding, and then something I said would trigger something in him and he would get upset, then pissy, then angry, then raging. Sometimes it would take a few days for this to build up. But once it started, I could always tell what was going on. It's like feeling a storm front move in.You can feel the change in the atmosphere."

3) One triggered, they take much longer to come down to baseline (a 1-3 on the scale). At the same time, once the emotion is gone, it's gone, and they don't remember feeling differently. They may not understand why you're still mad at them.

4) Because of their lack of impulse control, they act on their emotions before they've had a chance to think through the consequences of their actions. While their actions are intended to help them feel better, in the long run they feel worse. So emotional dysregulation leads to behavioral dysregulation.

A man explained,

"My girlfriend self-medicated with Xanax. She was bulimic after intense emotional feelings. She would eat a whole pint of ice cream and then say she was emotionally eating. She would drink a lot when she was stressed. She was pretty promiscuous sexually before our relationship and she had been sexual with a few other people while she was with her husband."

5) They can hold a grudge forever about something that happened years ago and continually bring up what hurt them as if it happened yesterday.

Next we'll take a look at the two types of narcissists, vulnerable and invulnerable, and contrast the way they experience emotions with those who have BPD.

Difficulties at the Movement by Irina Kiseleva

6 3

Manhattan, New York

Out of. by Renan Lemos

Capturing, difficulty.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/renaodigital

Instagram: instagram.com/renaodigital

X: x.com/renaodigital

Strong will ease the difficulties - الإرادة القوية تسهل الصعوبات by Hamed Al-Harbi

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كل الشكر لأخوي وحبيبي علي السلطان

تعبته معاي

Macro Things we dont see. by Igor Skalceri ( SubArt )

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Difficulty 7/10, bug constantly moving.

F11, 1/125, ISO100 manual focus

ninjagrl. by ninjagrl

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suite100gallery.com/artist/ninjagrl

Difficulties by emrecalhan

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Floating of Mind by Vincent Li

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Annoyed by difficulty to sleep at night for almost 2 weeks, I simply hope to regain my spirit not for aiming at any achievement at work but just sustaining a normal daily life. Illness keeps revisiting and reluctant to go away.

Camera: Hasselblad 503CX

Lens: Hasselblad Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm F2.8 T* /w 21mm extension tube

Film: Fujifilm Provia 100F RDP

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Red-throated diver 2 by scyrene

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The main difficulty was getting shots where the background was good.

Explored 19/02/15 - thanks everyone!

For more shots of this bird, go here: somuchtoseeeverywhere.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/unexpected-v...

Canon EOS 5D mark III, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, Canon EF Extender 2x III (handheld).

1000mm, f/8, 1/640, ISO 1250.

West Sumatra rack by Bingley Hall

22 6

Someone mentioned the other day about the difficulties of recording the action on the West Sumatran rack railway centered on Padang Panjang.

Lack of trains, failures, high light, no light, rain and lineside access to the better locations were all issues to contend with. But it was fun.

In September 1978, one of seven 0-10-0T rack tanks that were serviceable slogs uphill between Kayutanam and Padang Panjang with empty coal hoppers.

by Wings and Shadows

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Blues Roosting at Prestbury Hill Butterfly Reserve Gloucestershire by margaretc1946

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Had difficulty getting them all in focus as I was using a macro lens. Did not expect to see 11 at once!

PJ van Schalkwyk Archway Symmetry by P VanSchalkwyk

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“Out of clutter find simplicity. From discord find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

~ Albert Einstein

I headed out to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque a coupe of days ago to photograph the structure as a whole. I knew this would be difficult, since the only lens at my disposal was a manual 85mm f.1.4 and I would have had to stitch a panorama. I had some great difficulty doing this due to the tight focal length and fading light conditions. I missed out on some great oppertunities, but I did not have a wider angle so there was no use in complaining.

My initial idea did not work, so I moved in closer and strolled around to find an interesting angle. I used the constraints I had to my advantage and managed to capture this image. All said, I am happy to have created something new! Post processing done in LR 4.4 ,silver efex pro 2.

Why is it so difficult to find the meerkat? by hhschueller

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Clearly, the difficulty lies in the meerkat's mastery of optical illusions and advanced military-grade camouflage. Look at how seamlessly its fur blends in with the… well, the empty air around it. It is standing so incredibly still that it has become one with the universe, effectively turning invisible to the naked eye. It’s not just an animal; it’s a chameleon of the dunes, practically indistinguishable from a beach towel or a stray seashell unless you possess the visual acuity of an eagle wearing prescription glasses.

Then there is the sheer chaos of the environment distracting you. With all those aggressively colorful beach balls and striped towels screaming for your attention, how is the human brain supposed to process a creature standing smack in the dead center of the frame? It’s a sensory overload designed to confuse your prey drive. The majestic sandcastle alone is a fortress of distraction, pulling your gaze away from the very obvious, furry focal point. It’s a classic "needle in a haystack" situation, provided the needle is the size of a surfboard and standing on top of the haystack waving at you.

Finally, the hardest part is the psychological warfare the meerkat is waging. It is hiding in the one place you’d never think to look: directly in front of your face. It’s the "Hiding in Plain Sight" technique perfected by lost car keys and glasses on top of heads. By standing there with such casual confidence, posture erect and looking slightly judgmental, it tricks your brain into thinking, "Surely the hidden object isn't the giant thing right there." It’s not a puzzle; it’s a mind game, and the meerkat is winning.

MRL - Maka'u ole Course by Chokolat Shadow AKA PixelMeCrazy

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Introduccing MRL Courses!

Name: Maka'u Ole

Location: Hawaii, USA

Difficulty: Medium

Type: Speed

Laps: 5

Description:

Built on a small island in Hawaii, this course is all about jumps, as 2 of it's main focus points are an active volcano jump and a Forrest jump. The other tricky part of the course is the sand pit, if the mechas fall from the read, they will have a difficult time getting out, so be careful.

- Build Notes -

Well, here is the first MRL course, this was build relatively quickly, to show the idea of a racing course, and to - hopefully - Inspire other people to build interesting stages, the scale is small, as the racing mechas are shown as 1 stud dots, but it shows the idea, with the red lines indicating the course.

So, if you want to be part of the MRL, but don't want to build a mecha, no problem, you can create courses and challenge the mecha builders to your creations!

So, do you like it? Leave a comment, and remember; you can participate on the MRL here:

www.flickr.com/groups/2915298@N21/?added=6

MAC visited the Montblanc writing instrument manufacturing facility and old Museum in Hamburg Germany by antefixus21

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Scroll down!

Montblanc Elizabeth I Patron of Arts 2010 fountain pen.

1/4 You Tube vid: youtu.be/DWN22eyQ64A

Montblanc Elizabeth I writing instrument seriously tempted my pocket book but MAC preferred another holiday trip to a warm climate.

Limited Edition 4810 and Limited Edition 888

Montblanc's Patron of Art Edition has annually honoured a legendary benefactor of the arts and culture since this special writing instrument line was originally conceived in 1992. This year’s edition is dedicated to an all time great cultural force - Elizabeth I. Regarded the most successful monarch to ever ascend an English throne, under Elizabeth's astute and skillful rule, England "came of age" and, witnessing groundbreaking achievements, was transformed from a "remote backwater" to a globally dominant imperial power. Great battles were won. The New World - or the "Americas" - was discovered and the English Renaissance reached its zenith because of Elizabeth's artistic patronage.

Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I - Limited Edition 888

Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I - Limited Edition 4810

The "best educated woman of her generation..." Elizabeth was "passionately" interested in the arts and her "luminous" court stimulated some of the greatest artistic achievements of all time. William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe flourished during her reign as did the poet Edmund Spenser, the painter Nicholas Hillyard and the English composers William Byrd, John Dowland and Thomas Tallis.

Elizabeth I was also a gifted writer and the 2010 Montblanc Patron of Art Edition is therefore composed of two writing instruments conceived with sumptuously striking and clever adornments celebrating her intellect and inimitable regal flair. Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I, limited to 4810 pieces and limited to 888 pieces, will debut in April 2010 and May 2010, respectively. And, as their presentation has always been associated with the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award - which annually celebrates contemporary arts and cultural patrons - the Patron of Art Edition continues a story linking a historical figure with future talent.

Elizabeth I - A Legend in her Own Lifetime

Centuries after her death, Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603), is still considered as one of England's "most popular and influential rulers". She was born at Greenwich Palace on 7 September 1533 to Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, although her arrival was greeted with "surprise and displeasure", by the Court. The "failure" to produce a son for King Henry jeopardized Queen Anne’s life due to her husband's obsession with conceiving a male heir. Charged with adultery, she was beheaded in May 1536.

A retinue of governesses raised the young princess Elizabeth and though she was shunned by her father, Catherine Parr, the "remarkable" sixth and last wife of Henry VIII, oversaw the education which groomed the future queen for greatness and the Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I will celebrate their special bond. Under the Cambridge scholar Roger Ascham, Elizabeth studied the classics, read history and theology and became fluent in six languages - Greek, Latin, French, Italian, Spanish and German. Her love of music and, skill as a musician, developed from the 60 instrumentalists who resided at Hatfield House, her childhood residence. From age 11, she composed prayers and poems and, when jailed for suspected treason against Mary I, her cousin in 1554, she etched onto a glass prison window a two-line verse with a diamond.

Upon ascending the throne on 15 January 1559, Elizabeth's writing focussed on government matters. She wrote powerful speeches, such as that which she delivered at Tilbury in Essex where English troops had gathered to prepare for Spanish invasion in 1588. Brandishing a silver breastplate over a flowing white velvet gown she arrived on horseback demonstrating the "courage and leadership the English expected" of a monarch - but had never been displayed by a female - and declared to the troops: “I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman but I have the heart and stomach of a king and of a King of England, too".

Nine days later, the defeat of the Spanish Armada proved England's "finest hour". Elizabeth's popularity reached a level no "English woman had enjoyed as a public figure" and she attained supreme power comparable to a "biblical and mythological figure". Her grand mode of dress overawed her subjects while the flourishing of her Renaissance court stimulated new literary, artistic and musical achievements. "Theatres thrived", and, as Shakespeare elevated the English language to its highest level of development, England’s literacy rate soared. Elizabeth attended the debut of Shakespeare's romantic comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream. Numerous works were dedicated to her including poet Edmund Spenser's masterpiece The Fairie Queen. Composers William Byrd, John Dowland and Thomas Tallis also toiled at her court.

The discoveries of adventurers Sir Francis Drake, who circumnavigated the world in 1580, Walter Raleigh's exploration of eastern Venezuela in 1594 and Humphrey Gilbert’s conquering of Newfoundland for the English throne in 1583, spearheaded a new age expansion by the end of Elizabeth's reign. Upon her passing on 24 March 1604, the pioneering monarch, it is said, "departed this life mildly like a lamb, easily like a ripe apple from the tree".

The Limited Edition Celebrating the Elizabethan Age

Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I 4810

The design and adornments of the Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I 4810 reflects the life, reign and heraldic regalia of Elizabeth I. Hand engraved on the 18 K gold nib is a bejewelled gold crown which she brandished ascending the throne in 1559. Lacquer barrel and cap signify the spots which appear on an ermine cape, part of the traditional coronation attire which Elizabeth also flaunted. While an ivory coloured Montblanc emblem tops the cap, the clip descends from gold plated Tudor Rose. This "double rose" motif became England’s floral emblem after Henry VII, Elizabeth's grandfather, commandeered it as the symbol of the Tudor Dynasty upon taking the crown from Richard IIII in 1485. The green cabochon embellishing the gold-plated cross upon the clip also reflects the bejewelled cross upon Elizabeth's crown.

Encircling the gold plate band adorning the cap - as well as the cone - is an elegant interlaced pattern inspired by the pretty needlework sleeve Elizabeth conceived for a prayer book she created especially for her stepmother, Catherine Parr, as a New Year's gift in 1544. Entitled The Mirror of the Sinful Soul, it was Lady Elizabeth's own English translation of the French verse originally composed by Queen Margaret of Navarre. A friend of Anne Boleyn, the French Queen gave the original manuscript to her and the religious poem was also a favourite of Catherine Parr’s. Today, Elizabeth I’s handmade book is owned by the University of Oxford's Bodleian Library. Etched by gold plated cap ring is "Video et Taceo" - or "I see and I keep silent". This maxim of Elizabeth I signified her moderate political views and cautious approach to foreign affairs.

Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I Limited Edition 888

This 750 solid gold fountain pen features a barrel and cap in precious lacquer. Hand engraved on its 18 K gold nib is a bejewelled gold crown in which Elizabeth I ascended the throne in 1559. Topping the cap is the Montblanc emblem rendered in shimmering mother-of-pearl. The clip descends from a solid gold Tudor Rose while its embellishment - a princess cut green garnet - reflects the bejewelled crown. The intricate interlaced motif, derived from the needlework cover of The Mirror of the Sinful Soul, beautifies the solid gold cap and barrel. Elizabeth I's "Video et Taceo" maxim is embossed upon the cap ring.

Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award

Celebrating Past and Present

The Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award is presented in 11 countries and represents an exemplary bond forged between past and present and, since its inception in 1992, this merit has been directly linked with the Patron of the Art Edition. The prize, therefore, combines a tribute to an historic patron of the arts while acknowledging a contemporary one. By recognizing the importance of private patronage, the award conveys to the public its crucial role in fostering the arts and culture.

Each recipient of the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award is chosen by an international jury of artists and receives financial support of € 15.000 in each country for a cultural project of their own choice. Montblanc also presents the honoree and the jury members with the precious Patron of Art Edition. Sought after by collectors around the world, Montblanc's Patron of Art Edition are writing instruments that will last a lifetime. And like every Montblanc writing instrument, these exceptionally handcrafted fountain pens have been created with the highest demand of craftsmanship that has made Montblanc the benchmark for writing culture.

Prized by connoisseurs and avid collectors, the Montblanc Patron of the Art Edition is a commemorative keepsake meant to be passed down through generations. Manufacturing tools, specially developed for the making of every Montblanc Limited Edition, are destroyed at the end of each production run. As a consequence, these intricately handcrafted pens are collector’s items. Limited Editions produced between 1992 and 2000, for example, have sold at auction for sums greatly exceeding their original retail price, ranging from (US) $ 2,200 to (US) $35,000. And nine years after its 1992 debut, Montblanc Patron of the Art Lorenzo de Medici sold at Christie’s in New York for more than six times its initial cost of (US) $1,292.00, ultimately fetching (US) $8,225.00.

Mei Boa-Jiu, China:

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mei_Baojiu

www.flickr.com/photos/gregsu/14914200150/in/photolist-uiq...

Mei Baojiu (Chinese: 梅葆玖; pinyin: Méi Bǎojiǔ) (29 March 1934 – 25 April 2016)[1] was a contemporary Peking opera artist, also a performer of the Dan role type in Peking Opera and Kunqu opera, the leader of Mei Lanfang Peking Opera troupe in Beijing Peking Opera Theatre. Mei's father Mei Lanfang was one of the most famous Peking opera performers. Mei Baojiu was the ninth and youngest child of Mei Lanfang. For this reason, he was called Baojiu, since in Chinese, jiu means nine.[2] Mei Baojiu was the master of the second generation of Méi School descendant, he was also Mei Lanfang's only child who is now a performer of the Dan role of the Peking Opera.[3]

Mei Baojiu: 梅葆玖

Born: 29 March 1934. Shanghai, China

Died: 25 April 2016 (aged 82) Beijing, China

Occupation: Peking opera artist

Parents: Mei Lanfang (father), Fu Zhifang (mother)

From childhood, Mei had learned Peking Opera from many artists. Mei Baojiu's first opera teacher was Wang Youqing (王幼卿), the nephew of Wang Yaoqing (王瑶卿), who had been the teacher of Mei Lanfang. Tao Yuzhi (陶玉芝) was his teacher of martial arts, while Zhu Chuanming (朱传茗), the famous performer of the Dan role type in Kunqu opera, taught him Kunqu. After that Mei learned the Dan role from Zhu Qinxin (朱琴心). Mei's regular performances of traditional opera include The Hegemon-King Bids His Concubine Farewell, Guifei Intoxicated (貴妃醉酒), Lady General Mu Takes Command (穆桂英挂帅), The story of Yang Guifei (太真外传), Luo Shen (洛神), Xi Shi (西施), etc. Mei has made significant contributions to cultural exchanges and promoting Peking Opera culture. Meanwhile, he also trains more than twenty students, such as Li Shengsu (李胜素), Dong Yuanyuan (董圆圆), Zhang Jing (张晶), Zhang Xinyue (张馨月), Hu Wenge (胡文阁) (the only male student),[4] Tian Hui (田慧), Wei Haimin.[5]

Biography:

Mei Baojiu as a child

In the spring of 1934, Mei Baojiu was born at No. 87 Sinan Road, Shanghai.[2] Because of his comely appearance and delicate voice, his father decided to send Baojiu to learn Peking opera and hoped that Baojiu could make contributions to Méi School. Baojiu himself also showed great interest as well as gifts in Peking opera in his early life. In 1942, Mei Lanfang and his wife Fu Zhifang (福芝芳) invited Wang Youqing (王幼卿), the disciple of famous Dan role performer - Wang Yaoqing (王瑶卿), from Beijing to teach Baojiu as his first qingyi teacher while requesting Zhu Chuanming (朱传茗), one of the most prestigious performers of the Dan role type to teach Baojiu Kunqu Opera. When Mei Lanfang was free from work, he also gave directions to his son himself.[6]

When Baojiu was ten years old, he played Xue Yi (薛倚) in San Niang teaches the child (三娘教子) as his first performance in Shanghai. At the age of twelve, together with his sister Mei Baoyue (梅葆玥), Baojiu acted in Yang Silang Visits His Mother (四郎探母). Being a Qingyi (青衣) performer, he started giving performances of the Legend of the White Snake, The Story Of Su San (玉堂春) and some other traditional plays for charity since the age of 13. He also performed in Wu Jiapo Hill (武家坡) with Baoyue (梅葆玥) at the same time. When Baojiu was 16, he took part in the national tour of the Mei Lanfang Troupe, and toured the country with the troupe. Usually, Baojiu performed for the first three days, and Mei Lanfang performed plays in the rest, sometimes they also performed cooperatively, such as in Legend of the White Snake. Baojiu played the part of Xiao Qing the green snake, while his father played Bai Suzhen the white snake.[6]

Mei Lanfang used to make suggestions to Baojiu in order to make the performance of Baojiu perfect when Baojiu was young. Once, after watching the play The Story Of Sue San (玉堂春), in which Baojiu performed, he came to Baojiu and suggested that Baojiu change the way of acting the spoken parts. He mentioned that it was the most exciting time when the heroine, Sue San, got the Senior judge. For this reason, Baojiu should speak infectiously, he should speak faster and faster to create tension.[7]

Baojiu also got a chance to share the stage with some prestigious senior performers, such as Xiao Changhua (萧长华), Jiang Miaoxiang (姜妙香) and Yu Zhenfei (俞振飞).[8]

Due to the guidance of the actors from the earlier generation, Mei Baojiu's acting greatly improved and hemade a great effort to promote Méi School as well.[9]

In 1961, after Mei Lanfang died, Baojiu took over the position of the leader of Mei Lanfang Peking Opera troupe. During this time, he acted in some other well known plays, such as The mulan (木兰从军), Return of the Phoenix (凤还巢) and Lian Jinfeng (廉锦枫). However, after 1964, almost all performance of traditional plays was forbidden, according to central government regulations. For this reason, Baojiu was forced to do recording and stage lighting related work.[10]

Fourteen years later, in 1978, Baojiu returned to the Mei Lanfang Peking Opera troupe and came back to stage. He reformed the troupe and rearranged many traditional plays like Yuzhoufeng the Sword(宇宙锋), The story of Yang Guifei (太真外传), Luo Shen (洛神), Xi Shi (西施) as well as Royal pavilion (御碑亭) at the same time.[11]

From 1981 to 1984, together with his sister Mei Baoyue and descendants of other schools, he participated in the performance of a series memorial activities to commemorate his father. Making the eight-hour long play lasts for only three hours, he also rearranged The story of Yang Guifei in the late 1980s.[12]

In 1993, led by Baojiu, the Mei Lanfang Peking Opera troupe visited Taiwan and gave elaborately prepared performances to the public. He has made significant contributions to cultural exchanges and promoting Peking Opera culture.[13]

Baojiu cultivates more than twenty students, such as Li Shengsu, Dong Yuanyuan (董圆圆), Zhang Jing (张晶), Zhang Xinyue (张馨月), Hu Wenge (the only male student), Tian Hui (田慧), Wei Haimin (魏海敏). In the last twenty years, he mainly focused on training these students.

As a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Mei Baojiu put forward a proposal on introducing Peking Opera into elementary schools in 2009.[14]

In March 2012, at the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Mei put forward a proposal on introducing the form of animation into Peking Opera in order to make more teenagers be interested in Peking Opera.[15]

On 26 March 2012, Mei received his Ph.D. from J. F. Oberlin University in Japan.[16]

On 31 March 2016, Mei was hospitalized because of bronchospasm. He died on 25 April 2016, at the age of 82.[17]

Famous plays:

Like his father, Mei Baojiu acts Dan role in the following classic Peking opera plays. The Hegemon-King Bids His Concubine Farewell tells the sad love story of Xiang Yu and his favourite concubine Consort Yu when he is surrounded by Liu Bang’s forces. Mei plays the role of Consort Yu. Shang Changrong (the 3rd son of Shang Xiaoyun) once played the role of Xiang Yu as Mei's partner.

Guifei Intoxicated, also named Bai Hua Ting (百花亭), is about Yang Guifei. In this play she drinks down her sorrow because she is irritated by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang breaking his promise. Based on Mei Lanfang’s original work, Mei Baojiu adapted this play for The Great Concubine of Tang (大唐贵妃), a contemporary Beijing opera with historical motif in 2002. Mu Guiying Takes Command, a classic Yu opera was adapted by Mei Lanfang in 1959, and he acted the leading role the same year in celebration of the 10th anniversary of PRC.

Cooperating with famous Yu opera master Ma Jinfeng (马金凤), Mei Baojiu performed this play in the Shuang xia guo style (双下锅), which means different forms of opera performed in one play.[3]

Family:

Mei Baojiu's mother, Fu Zhifang (福芝芳), the second wife of Mei Lanfang, bore 9 children, but only 4 of them survived.

Mei Baojiu is the youngest child in his family. His eldest brother, Mei Baochen (梅葆琛) (1925-2008), was a senior engineer in Beijing's Academy of Architecture (北京建筑设计院). His elder brother, Mei Shaowu (梅绍武) (1928-2005), was a researcher of the Chinese academy of social sciences institute of the United States (中国社会科学院美国研究所) and the president of Mei Lanfang Culture-art Seminar (中国梅兰芳文化艺术研究会). His elder sister Mei Baoyue (梅葆玥) (1930-2000) was a performer of the Laosheng role type in Peking Opera, and performed together with Mei Baojiu sometimes. Mei Baojiu is the only heir to the Meipai Qingyi (梅派青衣).[3][18]

Mei Baojiu's wife is named Lin Liyuan (林丽媛), she is the consultant of Mei Lanfang Troupe. They have no children.[19]

References:

^ Mei Shaowu (梅绍武), Mei Weidong (梅卫东), Biography of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳自述) :Appendix - studies (附录：年谱简表)

^ a b Wu Ying (吴迎), From Mei Lanfang to Mei Baojiu (从梅兰芳到梅葆玖) Page 50

^ a b c "梅氏家族 (May Family)". Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.

^ "胡文阁被梅葆玖"看"得紧紧的(组图) (Mei Baojiu keeps a close watch on Hu Wenge (photo))". 9 January 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.

^ "梅葆玖简介 (About Mei Baojiu)". July 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2012.

^ a b Li Zhongming (李仲明), The Family of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳家族) Page93

^ Li Zhongming (李仲明), The Family of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳家族) Page 96

^ "梅兰芳的剧照 Mei Lanfang snapshot". Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.

^ Li Zhongming (李仲明), The Family of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳家族) Page92 - 93

^ Li Zhongming (李仲明), The Family of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳家族) Page110

^ Li Zhongming (李仲明), The Family of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳家族) Page112-113

^ Xu Beicheng (徐北城), Mei Lanfang and the 20th century (梅兰芳与二十世纪) :chapter 10. the Dance of Mei (第十章：梅之舞)

^ Li Zhongming (李仲明), The Family of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳家族) Page113-121

^ "Mei Baojiu". 11 March 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2012.

^ "Mei Baojiu". 7 March 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.

^ "Mei Baojiu". 29 March 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.

^ "京剧大师梅葆玖去世享年82岁世间从此再无"梅先生"". people.cn. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2019.

^ Li Zhongming (李仲明), The Family of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳家族) Page84 - 90

^ "About Mei Baojiu". 29 March 2012. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.

Martine Franck, France:

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martine_Franck

Martine Franck (2 April 1938 – 16 August 2012) was a British-Belgian documentary and portrait photographer. She was a member of Magnum Photos for over 32 years. Franck was the second wife of Henri Cartier-Bresson and co-founder and president of the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation.

Martine Franck

Photo of Martine Franck.jpg

Franck in 1972, by Henri-Cartier Bresson

Born: 2 April 1938 Antwerp, Belgium

Died: 16 August 2012 (aged 74) Paris, France

Occupation

Documentary and portrait photographer

Spouse(s): Henri Cartier-Bresson (m. 1970; died 2004)

Children: 1

Contents:

Early life:

Franck was born in Antwerp[1] to the Belgian banker Louis Franck and his British wife, Evelyn.[2] After her birth the family moved almost immediately to London.[2] A year later, her father joined the British army, and the rest of the family were evacuated to the United States, spending the remainder of the Second World War on Long Island and in Arizona.[3]

Franck's father was an amateur art collector who often took his daughter to galleries and museums. Franck was in boarding school from the age of six onwards, and her mother sent her a postcard every day, frequently of paintings. Ms. Franck, attended Heathfield School, an all-girls boarding school close to Ascot in England, and studied the history of art from the age of 14. "I had a wonderful teacher who really galvanized me," she says. "In those days she took us on outings to London, which was the big excitement of the year for me."[4]

Career:

Franck studied art history at the University of Madrid and at the Ecole du Louvre in Paris. After struggling through her thesis (on French sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska and the influence of cubism on sculpture), she said she realized she had no particular talent for writing, and turned to photography instead.[5]

In 1963, Franck's photography career started following trips to the Far East, having taken pictures with her cousin’s Leica camera. Returning to France in 1964, now possessing a camera of her own, Franck became an assistant to photographers Eliot Elisofon and Gjon Mili at Time-Life. By 1969 she was a busy freelance photographer for magazines such as Vogue, Life and Sports Illustrated, and the official photographer of the Théâtre du Soleil (a position she held for 48 years).[6] From 1970 to 1971 she worked in Paris at the Agence Vu photo agency, and in 1972 she co-founded the Viva agency.[2]

In 1980, Franck joined the Magnum Photos cooperative agency as a "nominee", and in 1983 she became a full member. She was one of a very small number of women to be accepted into the agency.

In 1983, she completed a project for the now-defunct French Ministry of Women's Rights and in 1985 she began collaborating with the non-profit International Federation of Little Brothers of the Poor. In 1993, she first traveled to the Irish island of Tory where she documented the tiny Gaelic community living there. She also traveled to Tibet and Nepal, and with the help of Marilyn Silverstone photographed the education system of the Tibetan Tulkus monks. In 2003 and 2004 she returned to Paris to document the work of theater director Robert Wilson who was staging La Fontaine's fables at the Comédie Française.[7]

Nine books of Franck's photographs have been published, and in 2005 Franck was made a chevalier of the French Légion d'Honneur.[8]

Franck continued working even after she was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2010. Her last exhibition was in October 2011 at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie. The exhibit consisted of 62 portraits of artists "coming from somewhere else” collected from 1965 through 2010. This same year, there were collections of portraits shown at New York's Howard Greenberg Gallery and at the Claude Bernard Gallery, Paris.[9]

Work:

Franck was well known for her documentary-style photographs of important cultural figures such as the painter Marc Chagall, philosopher Michel Foucault and poet Seamus Heaney, and of remote or marginalized communities such as Tibetan Buddhist monks, elderly French people, and isolated Gaelic speakers. Michael Pritchard, the Director-General of the Royal Photographic Society, observed: "Martine was able to work with her subjects and bring out their emotions and record their expressions on film, helping the viewer understand what she had seen in person. Her images were always empathetic with her subject." In 1976, Frank took one of her most iconic photos of bathers beside a pool in Le Brusc, Provence. By her account, she saw them from a distance and rushed to photograph the moment, all the while changing the roll of film in her camera. She quickly closed the lens just at the right moment, when happened to be most intense.[9]

She cited as influences the portraits of British photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, the work of American photojournalist Dorothea Lange and American documentary photographer Margaret Bourke-White.[8] In 2010, she told The New York Times that photography "suits my curiosity about people and human situations." [10]

She worked outside the studio, using a 35 mm Leica camera, and preferring black and white film.[2] The British Royal Photographic Society has described her work as "firmly rooted in the tradition of French humanist documentary photography."[11]

Personal life:

Franck was often described as elegant, dignified and shy.[12][13][14]

In 1966, she met Henri Cartier-Bresson, thirty years her senior, when she was photographing Paris fashion shows for The New York Times. In 2010, she told interviewer Charlie Rose "his opening line was, ‘Martine, I want to come and see your contact sheets.’" They married in 1970, had one child, a daughter named Mélanie, and remained together until his death in 2004.[2]

Throughout her career Franck, who was sometimes described as a feminist, was uncomfortable being in the shadow of her famous husband and wanted to be recognized for her own work. In 1970, the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London planned to stage Franck's first solo exhibition: when she saw that the invitations included her husband's name and said he would be present at the launch, she cancelled the show. Franck once said that she put her husband's career ahead of her own. In 2003 Franck and her daughter launched the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation to promote Cartier-Bresson's photojournalism, and in 2004 Franck became its president.[8]

Franck was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010, and died in Paris in 2012 at 74 years old.[2]

Publications:

Martine Franck: Dun jour, l'autre. France: Seuil, 1998. ISBN 978-2-02-034771-6

Tibetan Tulkus, images of continuity. London: Anna Maria Rossi & Fabio Rossi Publications, 2000. ISBN 978-0-9520992-8-4

Tory Island Images. Wolfhound Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-86327-561-6

Martine Franck Photographe, Musée de la Vie romantique, Paris-Musées/Adam Biro, 2002. ISBN 978-2-87660-346-2

Fables de la Fontaine (production by Robert Wilson), Actes Sud. Paris, 2004

Martine Franck: One Day to the Next. Aperture, 2005. ISBN 978-0-89381-845-6

Martine Franck. Louis Baring. London: Phaidon, 2007. ISBN 978-0-7148-4781-8

Martine Franck: Photo Poche. France: Actes Sud, 2007. ISBN 978-2-7427-6725-0

Women/Femmes, Steidl, 2010. ISBN 978-3-86930-149-5

Venus d'ailleurs, Actes Sud, 2011

ExhibitionsEdit

La vie et la mort, Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, France, 1980[citation needed]

Martine Franck Photographe, Musée de la Vie romantique, Paris, 2004[citation needed]

Les Rencontres, Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, France, 2004[citation needed]

ReferencesEdit

^ Phaidon Editors (2019). Great women artists. Phaidon Press. p. 141. ISBN 0714878774.

^ a b c d e f Leslie Kaufman (22 August 2012). "Martine Franck, Documentary Photographer, Dies at 74". New York Times. Retrieved 25 August 2012.

^ Tori (21 August 2012). "'Magnum has lost a point of reference, a lighthouse, and one of our most influential and beloved members – Martine Franck". Film's Not Dead. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.

^ Grey, Tobias (21 October 2011). "Martine Franck's Curious Lens". ProQuest 899273270.

^ Bussell, Mark (8 June 2010). "Martine Franck's Pictures Within Pictures". New York Times. Retrieved 25 August 2012.

^ Wallace, Vaughan (20 August 2012). "Martine Franck: 1938 – 2012". Life magazine. Retrieved 25 August 2012.

^ Magnumphotos

^ a b c Hopkinson, Amanda (19 August 2012). "Martine Franck obituary". Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2012.

^ a b Childs, Martin (29 August 2012). "The Independent". The Independent. Independent Print Ltd.

^ Bussell, Mark (8 June 2010). "Martine Franck's Pictures Within Pictures". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2016.

^ Laurent, Olivier (17 August 2012). "Magnum Photos member and photographer Martine Franck has died". British Journal of Photography. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.

^ Gill, A.A. (2008). Previous convictions: assignments from here and there (1st Simon & Schuster trade pbk. ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. p. 90. ISBN 978-1416572497.

^ Walker, David (17 August 2012). "Photographer Martine Franck dies". Photo District News. Retrieved 25 August 2012.

^ "Wife of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Martine Franck, dies at 74". Art Media Agency. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.

External linksEdit

Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation

New York Times "Martine Franck's Pictures Within Pictures"

Martine Franck 1991 catalogue of Taipei Fine Art Museum, with the pencil painting of Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Dr. rer. pol. Arend Oetker, Germany:

de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arend_Oetker

Arend Oetker was born on March 30, 1939 in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and studied business administration and political science in Hamburg, Berlin and Cologne as well as Marketing at Harvard Business School. He received his doctorate in 1966 from the University of Cologne.

Dr. Arend Oetker, Managing Partner of Dr. Arend Oetker Holding, is Honorary Chairman of the Board and majority shareholder of the food company Hero AG, Deputy Chairman and major shareholder of KWS Saat AG and chairman of the board of Cognos AG.

Furthermore, Dr. Arend Oetker is actively involved as president of the German Council on Foreign Relations (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik e. V.), board member of the Confederation of German Employers‘ Associations (Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände e. V.) and honorary member of the Federation of German Industries (Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e. V.). He has received a number of accolades in the field of visual arts and music.

Dr. Arend Oetker is married and has five children.

Dr. William Mong Man Wai, Hong Kong:

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Mong

William Mong Man-wai GBS (Chinese: 蒙民偉, 7 November 1927 – 20 July 2010) was the chairman of the Shun Hing Group, the distributor of Matsushita products (National, Panasonic, Technics) in Hong Kong.

He attended La Salle College in Hong Kong. Mong Man-wai died from cancer on 20 July 2010, aged 82. Many buildings in Hong Kong universities are named after him.[1]

Award received:

Gold Bauhinia Star

honorary doctor of the University of Hong Kong

honorary doctor of the Tsinghua University (2007)

honorary doctor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Giulio Mogol, Italy:

Giulio Rapetti (born 17 August 1936), in art Mogol (Italian pronunciation: [moˈɡɔl]), is an Italian music lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with Lucio Battisti, Gianni Bella, Adriano Celentano and Mango.

Career:

Mogol was born in Milan. His father, Mariano Rapetti, was an important director of the Ricordi record label, and had been in his own time a successful lyricist of the 1950s. Young Giulio, who was likewise employed by Ricordi as a public relations expert, began his own career as a lyricist against his father's wishes.

His first successes were "Il cielo in una stanza", set to music by Gino Paoli and sung by Mina; "Al di là", a piece that won the 1961 Sanremo Festival, performed by Luciano Tajoli and Betty Curtis; "Una lacrima sul viso", which was a huge hit for Bobby Solo in 1964. Another famous song from 1961 was "Uno dei tanti" (English: "One among many") which was rewritten by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1963 for Ben E. King and released under the title "I (Who Have Nothing)".

In addition to writing new lyrics in Italian for a great many singers, Mogol also took it upon himself, in years in which familiarity with the English language in Italy was still sparse, to translate many hits from overseas, especially film soundtracks, but also works of Bob Dylan and David Bowie.

In 1965, he met Lucio Battisti, a young guitarist and composer from the Latium region of central Italy. Mogol's lyrics contributed to Battisti's initial success as an author, in megahits such as "29 settembre", and led him to undertake the role of producer as well, as happened with the song "Sognando la California", which Mogol himself had translated from the signature number of The Mamas & the Papas, "California Dreamin'", and with "Senza luce" ("Without light"), an Italian rendering of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum.

In 1966, Mogol, overcoming resistance from his record label, convinced Battisti to perform his own songs. The lyricist's intuition would have one of the most rewarding outcomes of the history of Italian music, as Battisti, after a halting start, would explode as a singer, becoming one of the most successful artists in the panorama of Italian music. In the same year, Mogol left the Ricordi label to create his own with Battisti, called Numero Uno, which brought together many celebrated Italian singer-songwriters. The pair wrote songs as well for Bruno Lauzi and Patty Pravo. Their greatest chart success came from the songs written for Mina in 1969–1970.

In 1980, Mogol broke the artistic relationship with Battisti, and successfully continued his independent career as a lyricist with the noted singer-songwriter Riccardo Cocciante, with whom he wrote the texts for some successful albums, first in the series being "Cervo a Primavera".

Mogol (2007)

Lately, he began his collaboration with Mango, co-writing successful songs like "Oro", "Nella mia città", "Come Monna Lisa" and "Mediterraneo".

Mogol has formed a stable partnership with Adriano Celentano; his songs for Celentano are scored by the Sicilian singer-songwriter Gianni Bella. This collaboration has produced the delicate song "L'arcobaleno", included in the CD Io non so parlar d'amore, which is considered dedicated to Battisti, who had recently died. Mogol has also collaborated with singer-songwriter Jack Rubinacci.

Mari Natsuki, Japan:

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari_Natsuki

Junko Nakajima (中島淳子, Nakajima Junko, born 2 May 1952), more commonly known by her stage name Mari Natsuki (夏木マリ, Natsuki Mari), is a Japanese singer, dancer and actress.[1] Born in Tokyo, she started work as a singer from a young age. In 2007, Natsuki announced her engagement to percussionist Nobu Saitō, with their marriage taking place in Spring 2008.

Mari Natsuki

MJK 08427 Mari Natsuki (Berlinale 2018).jpg

Mari Natsuki (2018)

Born: Mari Natsuki. 夏木マリ. 2 May 1952 (age 67) Tokyo, Japan

Nationality: Japanese

Other names: Junko Nakajima

Occupation: Singer, dancer, actress

Natsuki has participated in musical theatre, including that of Yukio Ninagawa. She provided the voice of Yubaba in Spirited Away, played the young witch's mother in the Japanese TV remake of Bewitched and has twice been nominated for a Japanese Academy Award. Natsuki played the character Big Mama in the Japanese version of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots[2] and has also acted in television dramas, such as the 2005 series Nobuta o Produce, playing the Vice Principal, Katharine.

Contents:

Film:

Otoko wa Tsurai yo series:

Tora-san, My Uncle (1989)

Tora-san Takes a Vacation (1990)

Tora-san Confesses (1991)

Tora-San Makes Excuses (1992)

Tora-san to the Rescue (1995)

Tora-san, Wish You Were Here (2019)

Onimasa (1982)

Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983)

Kita no Hotaru (1984)

Jittemai (1986)

Death Powder (1986)

Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Boku no Ojisan (1989)

The Hunted (1995)

Samurai Fiction (1998)

Spirited Away (2001)

Shōjo (2001)

Ping Pong (2002)

Okusama wa Majo (2004)

Sugar and Spice (2006)

Sakuran (2007)

Girl In The Sunny Place (2013)

Isle of Dogs (2018)

Ikiru Machi (2018)

Vision (2018)

Dai Kome Sōdō (2021), Taki

Television: Yoshitsune (2005), Carnation (2011), Montage (2016), Meet Me After School (2018)

Video Games: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Big Mama) (2008), Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Katherine Marlowe) (2011)

Japanese dub:

Live-action: Feud (Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange)), The West Wing (C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney))

Animation: Moana (Tala)

References:

^ Mills, Ted. "Apple Music Preview. About Mari Natsuki". music.apple.com. Retrieved 9 November 2019.

^ Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots: MGS4 Voice Cast Announced Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.

Changjae Shin, South Korea:

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Chang-jae

Shin Chang-jae (born 1953/54) is a Korean billionaire businessman, Chairman and CEO of Kyobo Life Insurance Company.

Shin Chang-jae

Born: 1953/1954 (age 65–66)[1]

Nationality: Korean

Alma mater: Seoul National University

Occupation: Chairman and CEO, Kyobo Life Insurance Company

Net worth: $2.3 billion (June 2015)[1]

Spouse(s): married

Children: 2 sons

Early life:

He is the son of Shin Yong-ho, who founded Kyobo Life Insurance Company in 1958.[1] he has a doctorate from Seoul National University.[1]

Career: Kyobo Life Insurance Building, Seoul

He trained as an obstetrician and worked as a professor at the Seoul National University medical school.[1]

He has been Chairman and CEO of Kyobo Life Insurance Company since 2000.[1] In June 2015, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$2.3 billion.[1]

Personal life: He is married with two sons and lives in Seoul, South Korea.[1]

References: ^ a b c d e f g h "Shin Chang-Jae". Forbes. Retrieved 9 June 2015.

Patrick Charpenel, Mexico;

Patrick Charpenel will be the new executive director of El Museo del Barrio in New York.

Charpenel is a Mexico City–based curator who has worked extensively in Mexico as well as internationally. He organized a Gabriel Orozco retrospective at the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City in 2006 and an exhibition of work by Franz West at the Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo in 2009. He also oversaw the Art Public section for the 2009 and 2010 editions of Art Basel Miami Beach.

Charpenel served as the executive director of Museo Jumex, the private museum in Mexico City of ART news Top 200 collector Eugenio López Alonso. (Charpenel resigned from his post in 2015 amid the controversy over the cancellation of a Hermann Nitsch show.) Charpenel is also a writer and a collector of “a heterogeneous group of works” that focuses on such interests as “the structure of the global economy and the extension of artistic experience into the social sphere.”

Patrick Charpenel is an art historian and collector currently working as an independent curator in Mexico City. He holds a graduate degree in philosophy. Charpenel has curated numerous exhibitions including Franz West, Tamayo Museum, Mexico City, Mexico (2006); Sólo los personajes cambian, Museum of Contemporary Art, Monterrey, Mexico (2004); Inter.play, Moore Space, Miami, Florida (2003); Edén, Jumex Collection, Mexico City, Mexico (2003); and ACNÉ, Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City, Mexico (1995). He has numerous critical texts published in catalogues and magazines.

2018 Bienvenidos a El Museo del Barrio!

We are excited to announce the appointment of our new Executive Director, Patrick Charpenel. El Museo del Barrio is thrilled to have Charpenel join the institution’s leadership and we look forward to seeing what he will bring to the legacy of this museum.

YouTube: youtu.be/l1Amlj49bt8

Laura Garcia-Lorca de los Rios, Spain:

Gloria Giner de los Ríos García (28 March 1886 – 6 February 1970) was a Spanish teacher at the Escuela Normal Superior de Maestras and the Institución Libre de Enseñanza. The author of innovative manuals dedicated to the teaching of history and geography,[1] she, together with Leonor Serrano Pablo [es], developed the educational "recipe" that they called "enthusiastic observation". They also worked to change the androcentric canon of geographical studies to include women.[2]

Gloria Giner de los Ríos García

Born: 28 March 1886 Madrid, Spain

Died: 6 February 1970 (aged 83) Madrid, Spain

Resting place: Civil Cemetery of Madrid [es]

Occupation: Teacher

Spouse(s): Fernando de los Ríos

Children: Laura de los Ríos Giner [es]

Parents: Hermenegildo Giner de los Ríos [es] (father), Laura García Hoppe [es] (mother)

She lived in exile during the Francoist Spain era, forming part of the intellectual elite that carried out educational, philological, literary, legal, and cultural work. Her family had close connections to that of poet Federico García Lorca.

Biography:

Gloria Giner de los Ríos García was born in Madrid on 28 March 1886. The daughter of Laura García Hoppe [es] and Hermenegildo Giner de los Ríos [es], she spent her childhood and adolescence in Madrid, Alicante, and Barcelona, cities where her father held the Chair of Philosophy. After finishing high school in 1906 and teaching in 1908, she completed her training by attending classes at the Institución Libre de Enseñanza and taking courses in art, pedagogy, and philosophy.[3] In 1909, she was promoted to the Escuela de Estudios Superiores de Magisterio [es].[1]

Marriage, family, and social life:

On 1 July 1912, Giner married Fernando de los Ríos, who had obtained the Chair of Law at the University of Granada. It was in this city that the couple took up residence, and in which Gloria was a teacher at the Normal School, by right of consort at first, and later in her own position.[3] A year later, their daughter Laura de los Ríos Giner [es] was born. In Granada, the Ríos Giner family became friends with the García Lorca family, with Manuel de Falla, and with Berta Wilhelmi and her husband Eduardo Domínguez. Wilhelmi had been in contact with the Institución Libre de Enseñanza and had organized some community schools in Almuñécar.[4] With her collaboration, Giner organized the education of her daughter Laura and other children, including Isabel García Lorca [es], in order to separate them from Granada's private education system.[3]

Laura de los Ríos and Isabel García Lorca:

Federico García Lorca was one of the select circle of friends of the Ríos family. He dedicated the poem Romance sonámbulo to Fernando and Gloria,[5] and was the one who introduced their daughters, Laura de los Ríos and Isabel García Lorca. The friendship between the latter was very intense and lasting. They became sisters-in-law when Laura married Federico's younger brother Francisco [es]. In an interview, Isabel Garcia Lorca recalled:

Gloria Giner was an extraordinary being. Well, of character, I think there was a certain similarity in all of them, some high moral tension. People a little demanding with what others did and what they could do. They were like that down deep, including my mother.[6]

Laura, in another interview, told of her mother's life in Granada:

My mother attended her classes every day...in the afternoon she prepared her classes and helped my father. She translated from German, the language my father and a German teacher in Granada had taught her. She also translated from French, which she knew very well, from Greek and Latin...lovingly and intellectually my parents were a very well-matched marriage.[7]

Professional career:

In 1931, the Provisional Government of the Republic appointed her husband Minister of Justice, and in December, Minister of Public Instruction. Giner told her daughter, "I'm not going to give up my career and live as a minister."[8] Nonetheless she performed some ceremonial functions and accompanied her husband on trips through Spain.[3] In 1932 she was on leave as a teacher at the Normal School, but continued teaching at the Institución Libre de Enseñanza. In 1933, after her husband resigned from government office, she rejoined teaching by accepting a position in Zamora. For three courses she lived alone in a hotel room three days a week, returning to Madrid for the rest of the week.[8] In Zamora, as in Granada, society shunned her for being the wife of a socialist and not attending religious services.[7]

Exile:

At the end of September 1936, Fernando de los Ríos was appointed ambassador of Spain to the United States, a position he held until March 1939. Gloria Giner moved to Washington, D.C. with her daughter, her mother, and a nephew of her husband. Fernanda Urruti, Fernando's mother, would later join them. In Washington, Giner was invited to several meetings that Eleanor Roosevelt organized in the White House.[3] During the Civil War, Fernando de los Ríos was separated from his professorship at the University of Madrid. In 1939, the Franco government definitively separated him from his chair and dismissed him.

Fernando de los Ríos taught at The New School for Social Research in New York, an institution founded to welcome European intellectuals who emigrated for political reasons.[5] Giner was a professor at Columbia University.[3][9] The Ríos-Giner family lived in exile in the United States, which did not recognize Spanish Republican exiles and subjected those who wanted to enter to immigration laws. However, university students and artists were exempt from the rigid immigration quota, provided they were endorsed by US citizens or claimed by a university. Gloria was one of the exiled academics who passed through American universities and formed an intellectual elite.[10]

In 1942, her daughter Laura married Francisco García Lorca, younger brother of the poet Federico, in the Mead Chapel of Middlebury College, where both were professors at the Spanish School.[11] The couple had three daughters, and the family lived together in a New York apartment. In addition to preparing classes, writing poems, and working on the publication of her works, Giner took care of her three granddaughters, took them out for walks and, if necessary, took them on the bus and subway in New York.

In 1949, Fernando de los Ríos died. Over 50 personalities of politics and culture attended the funeral. José de los Ríos – the younger brother of Fernando and Francisco García Lorca – presided over the dual family. Fernando's wife, mother, and daughter stayed at the house during the funeral, in accordance with Spanish custom at the time.

Return to Spain:

Gloria Giner returned to Spain with her daughter's family in 1965. She died in Madrid on 6 February 1970.[12] She was buried in the Civil Cemetery of Madrid [es], and her husband's remains were reinterred there alongside hers on 28 June 1980.[13]

Teaching methods:

Gloria Giner and her great friend Leonor Serrano Pablo [es] worked together on the teaching of geography in order to connect with students.[14] Giner defended the formative capacity of the plastic arts "as a real basis for the teaching of history in the first years of the formation of the culture of the child". Her 1935 book Cien lecturas históricas became a prominent text for educational reformers inspired by the work of Rafael Altamira.[1]

With Altamira and Maria Montessori as references, they developed didactic methods that, in Serrano's words, revolved around "enthusiastic observation". This consisted of teaching geography in dialogue with the students, strengthening their physical and emotional relationship with the environment. Another component of enthusiastic observation was emotional. Impositions of rote memorization were eliminated. In Giner's words, "the soul was educated and the spirit strengthened".

Serrano and Giner also advocated for the meaningful inclusion of women in the androcentric canon of studies on geography. The Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy had, in 1803, included the meaning of the word hombre (man) to refer to all mankind. Taking the term as inclusive of women, they understood that it forced men to relate to nature as women did. Serrano considered that rendering the androcentric references in geography meaningless would foster a "new creative, loving, anti-destructive, and anti-war humanity".[2] In the opinion of professor Ana I. Simón Alegre, this teaching, in the language of the 21st century, could be called the development of environmental education or the first manifestations of ecofeminism.[15]

Giner's last book, Por tierras de España (1962), also incorporated audio-lingual teaching methods.[9]

Works:

Historia de la pedagogía (1910)

Weimer, Hermann 1872-1942 (translation)

Geografía Primer grado. Aspectos de la naturaleza y vida del hombre en la tierra (1919)

Geografía: Primer grado (1919), with Federico Ribas (1890–1952)

Geografía general. El cielo, la Tierra y el hombre (1935)

Cien lecturas históricas (1935)

Lecturas geográficas. Espectáculos de la naturaleza, paisajes, ciudades y hombres (1936)

Romances de los ríos de España (1943)

Manual de historia de la civilización española (1951)

Cumbres de la civilización española: Interpretación del espíritu español individualizado en diecinueve figuras representativas (1955)

El paisaje de Hispanoamérica a través de su literatura: (antología) (1958)

Introducción a la historia de la civilización española (1959)

Por tierras de España (1962), with Luke Nolfi, ISBN 9780030800238

References:

^ a b c Duarte-Piña, Olga (2015). La enseñanza de la historia en la educación secundaria [Teaching of History in Secondary Education] (Thesis) (in Spanish). University of Seville. pp. 105–108. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Dialnet.

^ a b Simón Alegre, Ana I.; Sanz Álvarez, Arancha (January–June 2010). "Prácticas y teorías de descubrir paisajes: Viajeras y cultivadoras del estudio de la geografía en España, desde finales del siglo XIX hasta el primer tercio del XX" [Practices and Theories of Discovering Landscapes: Travelers and Cultivators of the Study of Geography in Spain, from the End of the 19th Century to the First Third of the 20th]. Arenal. Revista de historia de las mujeres (in Spanish). 17 (1): 55–79. ISSN 1134-6396. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Dialnet.

^ a b c d e f Ruiz-Manjón, Octavio (2007). "Gloria Giner de los Ríos: noticia biográfica de una madrileña" [Gloria Giner de los Ríos: Biographical Report of a Woman from Madrid]. Cuadernos de historia contemporánea (in Spanish) (Extra 1): 265–272. ISSN 0214-400X. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Dialnet.

^ Ruiz-Manjón, Octavio (31 May 2007). "Fernando de los Ríos. Un intelectual en el PSOE". El Cultural (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2019.

^ a b "Ríos Urruti, Fernando de los (1879–1949)" (in Spanish). Charles III University of Madrid. Retrieved 15 July 2019.

^ Méndez, José. "Isabel García Lorca". Revista Residencia (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 July 2019.

^ a b Rodrigo, Antonia (1 May 1982). "Laura de los Ríos". Revista Triunfo (in Spanish). No. 19. p. 64. Retrieved 15 July 2019.

^ a b "La niña que tocaba con Falla" [The Girl Who Played With Falla]. Granada Hoy (in Spanish). 8 March 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2019.

^ a b "Local Pair Co-Author Spanish Text". Democrat and Chronicle. 26 December 1962. p. 15. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Newspapers.com.

^ García Cueto, Pedro (30 April 2015). "Dos visiones del exilio cultural español: Vicente Llorens y Jordi Gracia" [Two Visions of Spanish Cultural Exile: Vicente Llorens and Jordi Gracia]. Fronterad (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2019.

^ Seseña, Natacha (26 December 1981). "Laura de los Ríos, un duelo de labores y esperanzas" [Laura de los Ríos, a Duel of Labors and Hopes]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 July 2019.

^ "Doña Gloria Giner de los Ríos". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 13 February 1970. p. 4. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Google News.

^ "Los restos de Fernando de los Ríos recibieron sepultura en el cementerio civil de Madrid" [The Remains of Fernando de los Ríos Buried in the Civil Cemetery of Madrid]. El País (in Spanish). 29 June 1980. Retrieved 15 July 2019.

^ Ortells Roca, Miquel; Artero Broch, Inmaculada (1 December 2013). "¿Para qué sirven las inspectoras? Leonor Serrano: La pedagogía y/contra el poder" [What are Inspectors For? Leonor Serrano: Pedagogy and/Against Power]. Quaderns (in Spanish) (76). Retrieved 15 July 2019.

^ Simón Alegre, Ana I. (1 March 2013). "Los inicios del ecofeminismo en España" [The Beginnings of Ecofeminism in Spain]. El Ecologista (in Spanish) (76). Retrieved 15 July 2019.

Further readingEdit

Fuentes, Víctor (2010). "'Manhattan transfers' personales al trasluz del exilio republicano en Nueva York". In Faber, Sebastiaan (ed.). Contra el olvido: el exilio español en Estados Unidos (in Spanish). Instituto Franklin de Estudios Norteamericanos. pp. 223–241. ISBN 9788481388701.

Zulueta, Carmen (2001). "Los domingos de don Fernando" [Sundays with Don Fernando]. Fundamentos de antropología (in Spanish) (10–11): 130–137.

Candida Gertler & Yana Peel, United Kingdom:

Candida Gertler (born 1966/1967) OBE is a British/German art collector, philanthropist, and former journalist.[2]

Candida Gertler

Born: 1966/1967 (age 52–53)[1]. Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Nationality: British, German

Occupation: Art collector

Net worth: £150 million (2009)

Spouse(s): Zak Gertler

Children: 2

Early life:

She was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, to Romanian Jewish immigrant parents.[1] [3] She studied journalism and law.[1]

Career:

In 2003 Gertler and Yana Peel founded the Outset Contemporary Art Fund.[4]

In June 2015, she was given an OBE "for services to Contemporary Visual Arts and Arts Philanthropy".[5]

She is a member of the Tate International Council.[6]

Personal life:

She is married to Zak Gertler.[7] They are Jewish, and have two children.[8]

He has been called "one of London's leading property developers".[7] In 2009, Zak Gertler and family had an estimated net worth of £150 million, down from £250 million in 2008.[9] "The Gertlers developed offices in Germany, moving into the London market in the 1990s."[9]

References:

^ a b c "The Tate's Secret Weapon: Outset". Art Market Monitor. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2019.

^ "A missionary for art". Arterritory.com - Baltic, Russian and Scandinaviawn Art Territory. Retrieved 12 April 2019.

^ ""Artfully Dressed: Women in the Art World", Volume IV: Collectors & Patrons". Issuu. Retrieved 12 April 2019.

^ www.arterritory.com/en/art_market/collections/6202-a_miss...

^ "Candida GERTLER". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2019.

^ "Interview with Candida Gertler, OBE". Artkurio Consultancy. Retrieved 12 April 2019.

^ a b "The London Magazine". www.thelondonmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2019.

^ parkeastsynagogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Annoucem...

^ a b "Zak Gertler and family". The Sunday Times. 26 April 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2019.

Yana Peel (born June 1974) is a Canadian executive, businesswoman, children's author and philanthropist.[2] She was CEO of the Serpentine Galleries from 2016 to 2019, and was previously a board member.[3][4]

Yana Peel:

Born: Yana Mirkin[1]. June 1974 (age 45). Leningrad, USSR (now Russia)

Nationality: Canadian

Alma mater: McGill University, London School of Economics

Predecessor: Julia Peyton-Jones

Spouse(s): Stephen Peel (m. 1999)

Children: 2

Peel is a co-founder of the Outset Contemporary Art Fund (with Candida Gertler), and Intelligence Squared Asia, and was CEO of Intelligence Squared Group from 2013 to 2016.[5]

Peel has several advisory positions including the Tate International Council, V-A-C Foundation, and the NSPCC therapeutic board.[6][7] She has been an advisor to the British Fashion Council, Asia Art Archive, Lincoln Center, Para Site and the Victoria and Albert Museum, where she founded the design fund.[6][8][9][7]

Early life:

Yana Peel was born in June 1974[10] in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia. Her family emigrated to Canada via Austria in 1978.[3] She grew up in Toronto, Ontario.[11]

Peel studied Russian studies at McGill University during the 1990s. [12][3][1] In 1996,[13] while being a student she co-organised a fashion show for charity.[1][6][14] After that, Peel undertook a post-graduate degree in economics at the London School of Economics.[3][11] Peel was a member of the 2011 class of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders programme.[15]

Career:

Goldman Sachs:

Peel started her career in the equities division of Goldman Sachs in 1997 in London, and became an executive director before leaving in 2003.[16][6][3][2]

Outset Contemporary Art Fund:

Peel co-founded the charity Outset Contemporary Art Fund in 2003 with Candida Gertler.[17][6][11] Peel and Gertler generated a model whereby artists could be presented to potential donors in order to raise funds to purchase their work, or to fund new commissions with a view to donating them to public institutions.[6] The Fund purchased over 100 pieces for the Tate Modern, and commissioned work by artists including Francis Alys, Yael Bartana, Candice Breitz and Steve McQueen.[6][16]

Intelligence Squared:

In 2009, Peel co-founded Intelligence Squared Asia with Amelie Von Wedel, a not-for-profit platform for hosting live debates in Hong Kong.[18][17][19] In 2012 Peel became CEO of Intelligence Squared Group,[18][20] bringing the live events business out of its financial difficulties.[6] Peel has hosted interviews including: Olafur Eliasson and Shirin Neshat at Davos,[21] Ai Wei Wei at the Cambridge Union.[22]

Serpentine Galleries:

In April 2016, Peel was appointed to the role of CEO of the Serpentine Galleries.[23][3] Peel said it was her "mission to create a safe space for unsafe ideas",[2] and to promote a "socially conscious Serpentine".[11] She indicated that she wanted to give artists a greater say in the development of the Serpentine Galleries, in order to give "artists a voice in the biggest global conversations".[11] Peel worked in tandem with the artistic director, Hans Ulrich Obrist.[6]

Peel furthered the Serpentine Galleries' technological ambitions, introducing digital engagement initiatives including Serpentine Mobile Tours[24] and the translation of the exhibition Zaha Hadid: Early Paintings and Drawings into Virtual Reality.[25][26] Peel stated that she was "committed to maintaining and open-source spirit"[27] at the Serpentine Galleries, and that it was her ambition "to inspire the widest audiences with the urgency of art and architecture".[2] The Financial Times noted that Peel "has been able to lure companies such as Google and Bloomberg as partners to help meet the Serpentine's annual £9.5m target".[24]

Peel and Obrist selected both the first African architect to work on a pavilion,[28] and the youngest architect to do so.[29] In 2018, she broadened the global reach of the Serpentine Pavilion programme by announcing the launch of a pavilion in Beijing designed by Sichuan practice, Jiakun Architects.[30]

Together with Lord Richard Rogers and Sir David Adjaye, Peel and Obrist selected Burkina Faso architect Diébédo Francis Kéré to design the 2017 pavilion.[31] The pavilion was awarded the Civic Trust Award in 2018.[32]

The Serpentine selected Mexican architect Frida Escobedo to design the 2018 pavilion. She will be the youngest architect to have participated in the Pavilion programme since it began in 2000.[29]

She stepped down as CEO in June 2019 as a consequence of the attention paid to her co-ownership of NSO Group, an Israeli cyberweapons company whose software has allegedly been used by authoritarian regimes to spy on dissidents.[4]

Philanthropy:

Peel co-chaired Para Site, a not-for-profit contemporary art space in Hong Kong, from 2010 to 2015.[33] She has been involved with the project since 2009.[17]

Peel founded the Victoria and Albert Museum's design fund in 2011.[9] The fund supported the acquisition of contemporary design objects.[9]

Peel is a member of NSPCC's therapeutic board.[7] Inspired by her children, in 2008 Peel produced a series of toddler-friendly art books published by Templar, including: Art For Baby, Color For Baby and Faces For Baby.[34] These books feature works by artists ranging from Damien Hirst to Keith Haring. Proceeds from the sales of the books go towards the NSPCC.[35]

Personal life:

In 1999, Peel married Stephen Peel,[36] a private equity financier.[37] They have two children and live in Bayswater, London.[37][38]

Awards and honours:

Montblanc Award for Arts Patronage 2011[39]

Debrett's 500 List: Art[40]

Evening Standard Progress 1000 2017[41]

ArtLyst Power 100[42]

Harper's Bazaar Women Of The Year 2017[27]

Harper's Bazaar Working Wardrobe: Best dressed women 2018[43]

Henry Crown Fellow. Appointed by the Aspen Institute in 2018.[44]

References:

^ a b c "McGill Reporter - Volume 28 Number 11". reporter-archive.mcgill.ca. Retrieved 19 February 2018.

^ a b c d Bailey, Sarah. "In Conversation: Art and Fashion Are Both About Desire", Red, London, 1 November 2017. Retrieved on 19 February 2018.

^ a b c d e f McElvoy, Anne. "In The Hot Seat", Porter, London, 1 December 2016.

^ a b Greenfield, Patrick (18 June 2019). "Serpentine Galleries chief resigns in spyware firm row". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 June 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.

^ Sloway, Diane. "Meet Yana Peel, the Audacious Canadian Who's Transforming London's Famed Serpentine Galleries", W Magazine, 29 November 2016. Retrieved on 19 February 2018.

^ a b c d e f g h i Bourne, Henry. "L’alchimista", La Repubblica, Rome, 8 May 2017. Retrieved on 19 February 2018.

^ a b c "Serpentine Galleries Announce Appointment of Outset’s Yana Peel As CEO", ArtLys

Purpose Driven New Website Schematic by alexander_stein_taech

7 1

.. to address the difficulty/confusion of my online postings here and elsewhere. Just the most major works, chronologically ordered with CV and three brief texts also at chronological points.

Silly bear! by V.C. Wald

13 1

Wild grizzlies - and other bears - are inactive winter because of the difficulty securing food. If they can access food they don't need to go into a state of torpor (a lighter sleep than hibernation, which is what bears actually do). This is a very well cared-for captive bear at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Montana, where it leads the good life 24-7-365, with ample nutritious food and entertainment, including toys and other stimuli in its outdoor enclosure and within its "behind the scenes" den.

The bear was enjoying its rotation in the large outdoor compound where, to the delight of onlookers, it played with its toes and a bone left out for it to chew on. The photo allows a good look at its long, strong claws that grizzlies are known for.

The bears, wolves, and other wildlife at the center are in captivity for a variety of reasons. Some were found abandoned by their mother or were rescued after a disabling injury that rendered them unable to care for themselves in the wild. Others, such as this bear, were removed from the wild as young animals when they engaged in behavior that threatened humans in some way, generally the fault of humans that left attractants, such as dog food, outside where the bears found it and risked becoming aggressive to humans when they discovered they could be an easy source of food.

7 Ways to Find Inner (and Real) Happiness...The Theology of Joy..Transformed soul...THE “PROCESS” OF DISCOVERING JOY by Hughes Songe

17 1

Our English word “happiness” comes from the old Norse word “happ” — this is the same word from which we get our word “happen;” thus happiness is based on what happens to us. So the argument goes like this: if something good is happening, we are happy…if something bad is happening, we are sad. Though that is a fairly accurate understanding of the word “happiness,” that alone is not the only meaning of the word. The word “happy” can also be used to subjectively describe the believer’s joy (Prv 3:18; 29:18; Mt 5:3-12), which is not necessarily dependent upon what “happens” to him. Though some believers have insisted on applying “happy feelings” only to circumstances, and have objected to the use of the word “happy” when translating the beatitudes of Matt 5, that is not what Scripture teaches. Just because the derivation of the word “happy” in English has its orientation in “happ,” does not necessarily limit its usage as such, as any modern dictionary will attest. Scripture tells us that we can indeed be “happy” even in the midst of pain and suffering. Thus to insist that “spiritual joy” and “spiritual happiness” are not equivalents is to engage in meaningless contrarieties that only serve to confuse the reader. The Lord has blessed us with ability to feel & emote, and we honor Him when we appropriately exercise those emotions; it is good for believers to rejoice and be exceeding glad and happy at all times in the Lord (Lk 2:10-11; 6:23; Jn 8:56; Rom 10:15; Rev 19:7). Paul sets “rejoicing” and “being anxious” in juxtaposition to each other in order to contrast their differences (Phil 4:4, 6-7; Mt 6:25-34) — to be anxious is to be joyless. The believer can experience a deep abiding peace and joy in his life regardless of circumstances… he can experience elation that transcends his circumstances… and experience that which is highly pleasing and pleasant in the midst of difficulties and trials — all these emotions are “felt” experiences. When the believer experiences a joyful happiness, there is an absence of anxiety, tension and want in his soul; conversely, when the believer is in a “state of want,” that longing produces a disquieting unrest in his soul, so instead of being at peace and satisfied, he is anxious and restless. Happiness is one of the most misunderstood words in our vocabulary, yet we search for this intangible state our whole lives. If I only had this or that, if I met the right partner, have a big house, a new car, the job I’ve always wanted, then I would be happy. The ancient yoga and spiritual teachings stress that happiness is real only when we let go of seeking material and transient things and discover the lasting joy that is within. Every time we see a giggling baby or young child we’re reminded that we are all born with this natural and innate sense of happiness, that it is actually our birthright. We learn about suffering or unhappiness as we grow older, more externalized, and as circumstances change. We taught a workshop where a number of the participants had lost loved ones in the past years: One had lost her son to AIDS, another had lost her husband, son, and mother all within 12 months, and another’s partner had drowned. Others were dealing with specific illnesses or difficult issues in their lives. What really emerged for everyone was the awareness that their real happiness lies within themselves, that it’s not dependent on someone or something outside of them. They had lost what they had thought of as their source of happiness — a loved one or their health — and now had to look more deeply within themselves. It was a weekend of many “aha” moments!

Here are some of the ways our workshop participants discovered how to feel happy again: 1. Don’t take yourself too seriously. At times of hardship, such as loss or illness, it’s easy to lose your humor and even easier to get involved with the negative aspects of what is happening. Remembering not to take yourself too seriously brings a lightness and acceptance to the weight of circumstance around you. Don’t forget, angels can fly because they take themselves lightly! 2. Don’t identify with suffering, loss, or illness as being who you are. Many of our participants realized how they’d been identifying themselves as a cancer survivor/widow/recovering addict, or whatever it may be, but had not asked who they were without that label or identity. When you don’t identify with the negative issues, then who you really are has a chance to shine. 3. It’s OK to be you, just as you are, warts and all. You may think you’re imperfect, a mess, falling apart, hopeless, or unable to cope. But true perfection is really accepting your imperfections. It is accepting yourself, complete with all the things you like as well as the things you don’t like. In this way you’re not struggling with or rejecting yourself. Each one of is unique, a one-time offer, but we can’t know this if we are facing away from ourselves. 4. Make friends with yourself. Your relationship with yourself is the only one you have that lasts for the whole of your life, and you can be the greatest friend or the worst enemy to yourself. So it’s very important not to emotionally put down or beat yourself up. Just be kind.

5. Feel everything, whatever it may be. When you are suffering, it’s easy to want to deny or repress your feelings, as they get huge and overwhelming. But if you can really honor whatever you are feeling then it’ll bring you closer to the inner happiness beneath the suffering or grief. Acknowledging and making friends with your real feelings is the greatest gift. 6. Forgive yourself. Love yourself. Treasure yourself. These are big steps, but each one liberates the heart and sets you free. You need to forgive yourself for feeling angry, for getting upset, for all things you think you’ve done wrong. They are in the past and who you are now is not who you were then. You can take any guilt or shame by the hand, invite it in for tea, and open yourself to self-forgiveness. 7. Meditate. There is an overwhelming amount of research showing how meditation changes the circuits in the part of the brain associated with contentment and happiness and stimulates the “feel-good” factor. Meditating on love and kindness makes you much, much happier! And the only way to know this is to try it, so don’t hesitate. Can you connect with that place of inner happiness within yourself? Do leave us a comment. You can receive notice of our blogs by checking Become a Fan at the top.

www.huffingtonpost.com/ed-and-deb-shapiro/happiness-tips_...

I consider it as a great privilege to start this inspirational conference with a reflection on the Theology of Joy.

What is Joy?Let us begin by asking the question: What is Joy? After all that is the theme of this conference. Give Room for JOY. In other words, Let the Joy Grow – obviously in three

dimensions: towards God, within us and towards others.

Do we all have the same answer to this question: What is Joy?

Is it an idea, emotion, virtue, philosophy, ideal, or something else? There is no commonly agreed definition for it, yet still everyone seems to be selling happiness these days - drug dealers, pharmaceutical companies, Hollywood, Disney, toy

companies, and of course happiness-pedaling gurus.

As a quick survey I asked few of my friends this question: What is Joy? I got different answers – some very tangible and some not so tangible.A Hindu friend defined Joy as something we can sense through our five senses: sight (a

beautiful flower), hearing (a melodious music), taste (a Danish pastry), smell (a special perfume), and feeling (a feather touch).

He further added that Joy can be acquired or achieved through our spiritual discipline or efforts - citing YOGA as an example. In other words, he sees Joy as both sensual and

spiritual. Sri Krishna in a certain discourse in Bhagavad Gita says: Notions of heat and cold, pain and pleasure, are born only of the contact of the senses with their objects. They have a beginning and an end. They are not permanent in their nature. Bear them patiently. (Bhagavad Gita 2.14)

Sri Krishna further says: A person who is the same in pain and pleasure, whom these cannot disturb, he alone is able to attain immortality. (Bhagavad Gita 2.15) 2 A Muslim friend said this: Perfect happiness will only be available to us if we spend life everlasting in Paradise. It is only there that we will find total peace, tranquillity and security. It is only there that we will be free of the fear, anxiety and pain that are part of the human condition. However the guidelines provided by Islam allow us, imperfect humans, to seek happiness in this world. The key to being happy in this world and the next is seeking the pleasure of God, and worshipping Him.A young agnostic friend told me this:If you want happiness for an hour — take a nap.If you want happiness for a day — go fishing.If you want happiness for a year — inherit a fortune.If you want happiness for a lifetime — help someone else.A scholar- friend pointed out: In the fifth century, Boethius – a Roman Senator and

philosopher - could claim that "God is happiness itself". But by the middle of the 19th century, the formula was reversed to read "Happiness is God." Earthly happiness emerged

as the idol of idols, the central meaning in modern life, the source of human aspiration, thepurpose of existence. Materialism relocated God to the shopping mall.A Christian friend replied: I find Joy in Jesus.What do we make out of these responses? I felt that part of one’s joy could be lost if one gets too much into the realms of philosophy or psychology or theology of Joy. I liked that one-line response of my Christian friend: I find Joy in Jesus. This was one such moment when I profoundly thanked God for revealing true wisdom to ordinary folks.However, judging from the variety of answers I received, I felt the need to establish certain

contours of understanding, if at all possible, about what is Joy - before we go forward.Further, my survey-outcome highlighted the need for Christians to be pretty clear of what

they mean by Joy – based on what the Bible says. This is very important in a multi-religious society – to be clear of what one believes – amidst the cacophony of several philosophies,

ideologies, ideas and alternative spiritual movements.

Webster’s dictionary defines Joy as "a condition or feeling of high pleasure or delight;happiness or gladness."Other definitions which I came across include: 3 Joy is an emotion so deep and so lasting. Joy is a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight. Joy is an expression or display of glad feelings or festive gaiety. Joy is a state of extreme happiness. Is JOY different from HAPPINESS? Naturally a question then springs up in our mind: Is JOY different from HAPPINESS - two words we often use interchangeably? The answer is: Yes and No. Joy is something that lasts. Happiness is something that is temporary. Joy springs from within and is an internal experience. Happiness is caused by external circumstances or experiences. Joy brings with it a feeling of contentment and confidence which can take us through a storm in our life-journey. Happiness is not present when we are in the midst of a storm; it just vanishes. Happiness is a blurred emotion. It can mean different things to many people. Joy is a conscious commitment to be happy, to have a sense of gratitude and contentment despite life’s challenges. How does having a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA), pushed by today's motivational speakers, fit into real joy? Too many people try this kind of pop psychology with no foundation under it. It comes across as forced and artificial. A few leading televangelists preaching prosperity gospel come to my mind. To me, they all seem to project Joy as buyable/sellable commodity. Somebody once said that Joy is happiness with a much longer shelf life. But Joy is even more than that. Bible and Joy Let us now turn to the Bible and see: What the Bible says about JOY. 4 A search for the word JOY came up with 155 verses in King James Version. Another source reported that the word JOY appears 88 times in the Old Testament in 22 books; 57 times in the New Testament in 18 books. Certainly there is a lot of JOY in the Bible! There are 15 different Hebrew words and 8 Greek words to describe JOY - both as a noun and as a verb. This shows that Joy constitutes something that is tangible or concrete as well as intangible or abstract. In Hebrew - the original language of the Old Testament - several words for Joy, each with different shades of meaning, appear. Similar is the case in Greek – the original language of the New Testament. In both the Old and New Testaments, the words translated as "Joy" mean much the same as the English word: gladness, cheerfulness, calm delight. In the Old Testament Joy refers to a wide range of human experiences—from erotic love (Song of Solomon 1:4), to marriage (Proverbs 5:18), birth of children (Psalm113:9), gathering of the harvest, military victory (Isaiah 9:3), and drinking wine (Psalm 104:15). The Psalms express the joyous mood of believers as they encounter God. (Psalm 32:11 “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.”). Joy is a response to God's word (Psalm 119:14 “In the way of thy testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.”) In fact, Joy characterizes Israel's corporate worship life (Deuteronomy; 2 Chronicles 30:21a: “And the people of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness.”). How joyous our corporate worship is? Basic to the Old Testament understanding of Joy are God's Acts in history. Two such Acts are: Israel's deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 18:9-11) and Israel's return from the Babylonian exile (Jeremiah 31:1-19) to Jerusalem. In the Old Testament spiritual joys are expressed by the metaphors of feasting, marriage, victory in military endeavors, and successful financial undertakings. For example, the joy of the harvest is used to describe the believer's final victory over his adversaries (Psalm 126:5-6 5 “May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of Joy! He that goes forth weeping bearing the seed for sowing shall come home with shouts of Joy bringing his sheaves with him.”) We can hear the echoes of such metaphors in the Danish Hymns contained in Den Danske Salme Bog. In the New Testament Jesus himself joins the Joy of mundane events of daily life – for example the marriage at Cana. Do we picture a happy, laughing Jesus in our thoughts or reflections? Joy is associated with the nativity scene of the angels’ song (Luke 2:10 “For behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people”). The Magi, upon finding the infant Jesus, are overjoyed (Matthew 2:10). The birth of John the Baptist as the forerunner of the Messiah is an occasion of joy for his father and others (Luke 1:14 “And you will have joy and gladness.”). Luke's Gospel-narration is concluded with the disciples returning with great Joy from Bethany after Jesus' ascension. (Luke 24:52 “And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy.”) Heaven and Angels too rejoice in the New Testament at an unbeliever's conversion. Luke places three parables together in which God, in two instances with the angels, rejoices at the redemption - upon finding the lost sheep, the shepherd rejoices (Luke 15:3-7); the woman rejoices upon finding the lost coin (Luke 15:8-10) . The prodigal son's return brings rejoicing (Luke 15:11-32). Interestingly there is a subtle change in the usage of the word Joy from Acts 13 onwards. It gets tied with trials, suffering, persecution and the like. Why?I believe that a change had begun to take place in the church about this time. The first 20 years had passed, and now the apostles were dealing with a more mature body of believers – struggling with the application of Gospel teachings. The believers had started facing stark opposition and challenges – theological, political, economic and what not! But for these believers, trials and persecution are occasions for Joy (James 1:2 “Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials.”). Suffering brings Joy as believers are united with Christ in his suffering (1 Peter 4:13-14) Paul speaks of his Joy in the midst of affliction (2 Corinthians 7:4-16 “With all our affliction, I am overjoyed.”) 6 Joy becomes part of the faith (Philippians 1:25). God's kingdom is described as: righteousness, peace and Joy (Romans 14:17). Certainty of salvation is a cause for Joy, as the disciples are commanded to "rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). Surely the meaning of Joy takes in new dimensions and shades. Also, about this time, Apostle Paul emerges as the dominant figure. Paul mentions Joy as the second fruit of the Holy Spirit in his letter to the Galatians, along with eight other fruits. Galatians 5:22: (“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self- control.”) Joy is not something to be pursued; it is rather a result of the Christian life - a product. The church was coming increasingly under fire, and Christians were struggling to grow. We can suppose that Paul began to see and teach Joy in a different light – Joy as a character trait- tempered by fire! Christian Joy often comes tied with challenges and trials. What we have been witnessing in the Middle East and in some other parts of the world in recent times is a stark reminder to this fact. How do those brothers and sisters continue to sing and worship the Lord without losing their Faith and Joy? It clearly shows that Joy in Christian theology is different from superficial, external happiness. Let me narrate a particular case - where the involved persons have literally challenged my own concept of Joy through their life-example. Peter says: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (I Peter4:12-13) Count your trials as joy. James 1:2-3 says, "Knowing that the testing of your faith [through trials] produces patience." God's testing process has the goal or aim of purging us of all impurity, to make us "perfect and complete, lacking nothing" (verse 4). The word Gospel literally means good news. Jesus encouraged us to think of the future as a time of Joy, so that it sustains us now when times are difficult. 7 I see three categories or groups of people gathered here today: those who are natural citizens of Denmark - born and brought up here; those who came to Denmark of their own choice; and those who came here due to circumstances beyond their control. All of us however enjoy the Joy of Christ because of this particular theology: Trials and tribulations are integral part of Christian life! It is part of our Faith. It is part of our DNA. Christian joy is not the seeking of pleasure: quite the opposite. It is a curious paradox of life that the more we seek to be happy the more miserable we become. A famous writer (Eric Hoffer) once said: “The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.” Joy is God’s gift. It is not something to be pursued. As mentioned earlier, Jesus said to his followers: “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven." (Luke 10:20) Joy is about getting this into perspective, not how wide our grin is! The Christian has the promise of Jesus that the best is yet to come. We can be joyful in spite of circumstances. As we read the Bible, we will find this theme again and again. Christian Joy exists in spite of circumstances. Christians should be able to display their inner JOY at all three Houses of Worship: Church, Home and Work-Station.Let us encourage each other to be truly Joyful – driven by our Faith, Hope, Love, Contentment and Gratitude – in spite of circumstances. The five pillars of Joy! We are familiar with the first three pillars coming from what Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:13, “So faith, hope and love abide.” Regarding the fourth pillar contentment, not everyone is truly content with his or her life. Often we are unsatisfied and seek more for what we don't have and who we are. Through scripture however, we are commanded to be content with all we have in life. As we practice the discipline of gratitude instead of complaining, grumbling, or forgetting God's goodness, we will experience His peace, be filled with His joy, and grow in faith and hope. All these five pillars - Faith, Hope, Love, Contentment and Gratitude – are borne out of God’s grace, and even though we don’t deserve. They are the five gifts of grace.I would encourage you to look at JOY as a fruit - made up of five tastes or colors: Faith,Hope, Love, Contentment and Gratitude 8 Let me now read out two scripture portions for you – one from the OT and the other from the NT – as part of this inspirational talk. Habakkuk 3:17-19. (Explain background.) “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”Here is what St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:4 -10 (Explain background). “Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything”. Do these two scripture-portions resonate in any manner with our own life-journeys? If yes, REJOICE. Because in these two verses I see the gist of Christian Theology of Joy – a theology that encompasses Faith, Hope, Love, Gratitude and Contentment.When we have the Joy of the Lord, we will know it and so will others. In addition to being joyful, we should let others have their Joy. Christian Joy is contagious. Do we see some role-models - at our homes, communities, cities and villages My wife and I have met quite a few JOYFUL Christians here in Denmark. They have truly inspired us. Where Joy cannot be found? Men have pursued joy in every avenue imaginable. Some have successfully found it while others have not. Perhaps it would be easier to describe where joy cannot be found:Not in Unbelief -- Voltaire was a non-believer of the most pronounced type. He wrote: "Iwish I had never been born."Not in Pleasure -- Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: "The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone." 9 Not in Money -- Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth." Not in Position and Fame -- Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: "Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret."

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Introduction — The pursuit of happiness has probably reached its peak in our twentieth century world. Americans don’t stand alone in this pursuit, because it is an innate drive found in every man’s nature. Everyone wants to be happy and seeks it in varying ways and with varying degrees of intensity. Some seek it through pleasure, others through enter-tainment, possessions, work, position, education, and success; still others seek it in athletic endeavors, hobbies, travel, fashion, physical beauty, wealth, status, bigger homes, boats, planes, and vacation homes, as well as alcohol, food and drugs. King Solomon conducted a series of experiments in a quest to get the most and best out of life — his experiments not only included most of those things listed above, but also laughter, the finest wines, wisdom, and building projects that were the envy of the world… he built houses for himself, planted vineyard and gardens, built waterpools, acquired male and female servants, male and female singers and musicians, herds and flocks that were unparalleled, silver and gold and valuable treasures… said Solomon, “I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem… whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them… I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure…. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done… and found it to be nothing but vanity and a striving after wind” (Ecc 2:1-12). Therefore, said Solomon, “I completely despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun… it was all vanity” (Ecc 2:20-25). Solomon admitted that his quest rewarded him with a degree of joy, yet he still found that it did not satisfy him. Most people think they would have had an endless amount of joy were they as blessed as Solomon was… but Solomon concluded that it is God who determines whether or not we experience joy (Ecc 2:26). The experiences of men the world over tell us that no matter how secure and wonderful their sources of joy may be, human joy does not last long.

On the other hand, when we follow God’s prescription, He feeds us in such a way that we experience real joy and satisfaction. God makes it very clear in Scripture that real joy lies in the quality of our relationship with Him; therefore, can we actually be so foolish so as to think that we can somehow produce it ourselves? One thing is certain: dwelling on ourselves and our wants will never produce true joy — rather than being obsessed with ourselves we must become obsessed with Christ; if we do, we will immerse ourselves in His Word, and seek to know Him more intimately “and our joy will be made full” (Jn 15:1-11). It is only through God’s Spirit that we can experience true joy (Ps 15:11-12; Gal 5:22; 1 Th 1:6); it cannot be accomplished apart from God (2 Cor 12:10; 13:4). The harder we try to be joyful through our own efforts, the more miserable we will become. Rest in the Lord’s arms (Mt 11:28-30) and seek His face through prayer and Scripture. Writes the apostle Paul: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom 15:13).

The psalmist David wrote these encouraging words: “Thou will make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever” (Ps 16:11). The Bible is clear that the only place we can find true joy is in God’s presence. Faith is a necessary requisite for experiencing joy and pleasing God (Heb 11:6; Jam1:2-4), and without joy we don’t have the faith to conquer the problems we face in life. The night before Jesus went to the cross He taught His disciples how important it was for them to “abide in Him;” that only when they were experiencing “intimacy with Him” would they be able to bear fruit — “apart from Me you can do nothing.” He went on to tell them that He had spoken these things to them“that His joy might be in them, and that their joy might be made full” (Jn 15:11). Writes David, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. For to those who fear Him, there is no want” (Ps 34:8-9). When we lack joy, the heart is discontented, anxious, and unhappy… so a lack of joy leads to a lack of peace; and obviously where there is no peace, there is no joy.There is nothing like knowing that our joy remains full even when we have been rendered empty of all that we had thought we needed to sustain our happiness. Sadly, it is true that most Christians fail to experience joy when times become difficult — generally they get so caught up in the issues of life that they forget to “rejoice in the Lord,” or they question how it is even possible when life gets so discouraging, depressing and frustrating. To experience the secret of joy one must carefully reflect on the path of joy as it is outlined in Scripture. Twice in Philippians 4:4 Paul gives this command: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice.” Just because God’s Spirit dwells within us does not mean that we will necessarily experience joy— we must make a choice to let Christ be our joy. When we falter in our faith, we try to manufacture our own joy, and that is simply not possible, because God is its author. Only when we find our happiness in the person of Christ can we experience true joy. Jesus said to His disciples, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (Jn 15:11). Here Jesus reminds us that we will not have fullness of joy unless we abide in Him, and that involves keeping His commands and putting our full trust and confi-dence in Him. Obedience to God is central to experiencing the joy of God — if we do not follow His will and live according to His Word, we will not experience joy. The darkest times of life for most believers are times of disobedience because there is a lack of joy in their lives even in the midst of positive circumstances. The most joyful times in life can actually be when we triumph in faith during the most difficult and oppressive times. If we want to experience the “supernatural joy life,” then we must walk in obedience, resting in God all the while. When we put our confidence in God and choose to have His joy, we will experience that unspeakably wonderful “gift of the Spirit” – JOY. His joy can be experienced at this very moment in your life – regardless of circumstances – if you will walk in faith and obedience (again, more on that later).

It was the prophet Nehemiah who said, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10). To appre-ciate what this means we must understand the context in which these words were stated. The Israelites had just returned from Babylon after having spent seventy years in exile… under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah the Jewish people rebuilt Jerusalem’s ruined walls, and now they set their sights on re-establishing the temple and restoring the nation. Though they were no longer being held captive in Babylon, “they were still slaves to those who were governing the land God had given to them” (Neh 9:36). The Jewish remnant who returned to Jerusalem from Babylon, in large part were ignorant of their spirit-ual heritage due to their captivity; furthermore they had forgotten their native language; and above all, they had lived in sin and had forgotten God. Nehemiah called a “special meeting” in the middle of the city — altogether about 50,000 people attended. Ezra the priest was asked to read the book of the Law of Moses to the assembly — he read it aloud from daybreak until noon, and the Word of God spoke in a profound way to the hearts of the people, and for the first time they were made aware of their sinful-ness before God. The people learned that Jeremiah had prophesied the very destruction that they had suffered, yet in the same breath Jeremiah gave them a promise that their mourning would turn to a morning of joy — God would bring them back to their land seventy years later. Ezra read, “Behold,” says the Lord, “I will gather My people from the remote parts of the earth… a great company shall return here… they shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them… for I am a father to Israel” (Jer 31:8-9). The people experienced the relevancy of the message — they were made aware of the connection between the sins of their own hearts and their distressful situation, and they saw that their slavery was the result of their own sin. As they stood there mourning over their sins, they understood the message of salvation… it was not a message of “I told you so” or “you should have known better” or “look what a mess you have made of your lives”… instead they are told to “Go and enjoy choice food and drinks, for this day is sacred to the Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” “Then all the people went away to eat and drink and celebrate with great joy, because they now under-stood the words that had been made known to them” (Neh 8:9-12). This day was sacred to the Lord — it was the joy of the Lord that made this such a sacred day… God had deliberately led them to this moment in time… it wasn’t a day of good fortune or good luck… it was the joyful day of the Lord! The people were told “not to grieve” — “God’s anger is but for a moment; whereas His favor lasts a life-time” (Ps 30:4-5). When the Word of God was opened and read to them, the people began to understand themselves and the need to change their minds about the way they were living. And like them, if we listen, it will also bring us to a “mourning of joy.” When we set our hearts to obey God’sWord, the Lord Himself causes us to rejoice — “God had made them rejoice with great joy” (Neh 12:43). On the eighth day according to the Law there was an assembly of all the people… they gathered together for a great day of national confession… with fasting and mourning, they listened to the reading of the Law for three hours… and then for three more hours they confessed their sins and those of their fathers and worshipped the LORD their God (Neh 9:1-3). The people responded to the reading of the Law thus: “Because of our sins… we are in great distress” (Neh 9:37). Their confession was accompanied by great remorse… they understood their terrible condition as they journeyed back to God… but more importantly, they understood God’s joyous message of salvation, and at that they burst out in praise! Then said Nehemiah to the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God… do not mourn or weep… rather, go eat and drink…. DO NOT GRIEVE, FOR THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!” (Neh 8:9-10). NOTE CAREFULLY it is “the Lord’s joy” that is our strength… it “the Lord’s joy” that gives us reason to rejoice… it is “the Lord’s joy” that fills us with hope. It is God's happiness that is our strength!!! It is not anything that we have done that is our hope, joy or strength! Furthermore, it is not God’s anger, wrath or holiness that is our strength! IT IS “GOD’S JOY” THAT IS OUR STRENGTH!! NOT OUR JOY!! GOD’S JOY!! IT IS THE “LORD’S JOYOUS WISH” TO SAVE US FROM OUR SINS — AND THAT IS OUR STRENGTH and ENERGY and VITALITY! It is GOD’S JOY to stand us back up on our feet and strengthen our feeble legs & wobbly knees so that we might discover that HIS JOY IS OUR STRENGTH! It is the “joy of the Lord” that remains our strength today! REMEMBER, IT IS “GOD’S JOY” TO SAVE YOU!!! His faithfulness continues throughout all generations! Our response should be to commit our lives to Him for joyfully wanting to save us! It is incredible to realize that no matter how bad things get for us, GOD’S JOY will forever be our hope and strength! James clearly has victory over trials in mind, not mere acceptance of one’s trials. It is “joy” that gives us the strength to fight and overcome our trials. Joy gives us the strength to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim 6:12). Spiritual joy has a way of infusing strength into our being! If you are tired of fighting the battle it is because your problems seem too much for you — you have lost your joy, and have rightly concluded that the fight is too great for you. Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord always!” (Phil 4:4). You are to always rejoice in the Lord — you can’t live off of the joy you had yesterday or last week — that joy will not give you strength today. Joy can only give you strength in the moment… it can only give you strength when you possess it. The time to rejoice is always “now” — if you don’t rejoice, you will lose the strength to fight. I love this verse in Habakkak — “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crops fail and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD; I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Hab 3:17-18). He is going to REJOICE because “the God of his salvation is his strength; He makes his feet like the feet of a deer, and enables him to walk on high places” (Hab 3:19). Habakkuk had no intention of staying defeated. The difference between the person who is defeated and the person who is victorious is his attitude toward God. An attitude of gratitude is what made the difference in the prophet’s life. Even though nothing good was happening in his life – no fruit, no crops, no sheep, no cattle – yet he rejoiced! Though our lives are filled with trials, we are also to rejoice! Regardless of our circumstances, we can rejoice! Reflect upon the words of the prophetic Isaiah: “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. Therefore I will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation” (Is 12:2-3). Notice what this Scripture says: “with joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation.” It is joy that keeps you strong and enables you to draw from the springs of salvation. Our English word “happiness” comes from the old Norse word “happ” — this is the same word from which we get our word “happen;” thus happiness is based on what happens to us. So the argument goes like this: if something good is happening, we are happy…if something bad is happening, we are sad. Though that is a fairly accurate understanding of the word “happiness,” that alone is not the only meaning of the word. The word “happy” can also be used to subjectively describe the believer’s joy (Prv 3:18; 29:18; Mt 5:3-12), which is not necessarily dependent upon what “happens” to him. Though some believers have insisted on applying “happy feelings” only to circumstances, and have objected to the use of the word “happy” when translating the beatitudes of Matt 5, that is not what Scripture teaches. Just because the derivation of the word “happy” in English has its orientation in “happ,” does not necessarily limit its usage as such, as any modern dictionary will attest. Scripture tells us that we can indeed be “happy” even in the midst of pain and suffering. Thus to insist that “spiritual joy” and “spiritual happiness” are not equivalents is to engage in meaningless contrarieties that only serve to confuse the reader. — to be anxious is to be joyless. The believer can experience a deep abiding peace and joy in his life regardless of circumstances… he can experience elation that transcends his circumstances… and experience that which is highly pleasing and pleasant in the midst of difficulties and trials — all these emotions are “felt” experiences. When the believer experiences a joyful happiness, there is an absence of anxiety, tension and want in his soul; conversely, when the believer is in a “state of want,” that longing produces a disquieting unrest in his soul, so instead of being at peace and satisfied, he is anxious and restless.

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The Governer Samuel Wensley Blackall Monument (Brisbane's Toowong Cemetery, Queensland) by Buddy Patrick

Samuel Wensley Blackall:

Samuel Wensley Blackall (1809 - 1871), governor, was born on 1 May 1809 in Dublin, son of Major Robert Blackall of the East India Co. army, and his wife Catherine, née Lewis. A member of a prosperous Irish family, he was educated by a private tutor and at 15 went to Trinity College, Dublin, but did not graduate. He joined the 85th Regiment in June 1827 but in 1833 he sold his commission as lieutenant and entered the Royal Longford Militia, where he became a major. In 1833 he married Georgiana Rowles in London; the couple had a son and a daughter, the former surviving him. After his first wife’s death, Samuel married Catherine Bond at Dublin in 1858. Blackall took an active part in Irish public life, becoming high sheriff of County Longford in 1833: in 1847-51 he represented Longford in the House of Commons, and in 1861 became high sheriff of Tyrone. Meanwhile he had been lieutenant-governor of Dominica in 1851-57. Through seeking to rule with a high hand he had to combat a petition for his recall. He was also in trouble with the Colonial Office for extending his leave because of family difficulties. In 1862 he re-entered the colonial service as governor of Sierra Leone, in 1865 became governor in chief at the West African Settlements and in 1868 was appointed governor of Queensland.

Blackall took an active part in Irish public life, becoming high sheriff of County Longford in 1833: in 1847-51 he represented Longford in the House of Commons, and in 1861 became high sheriff of Tyrone. Meanwhile he had been lieutenant-governor of Dominica in 1851-57. Through seeking to rule with a high hand he had to combat a petition for his recall. He was also in trouble with the Colonial Office for extending his leave because of family difficulties. In 1862 he re-entered the colonial service as governor of Sierra Leone, in 1865 became governor in chief at the West African Settlements and in 1868 was appointed governor of Queensland.

On arrival in Brisbane on 14 August Blackall was met by a tremendous popular welcome, but at once was plunged into a constitutional crisis, which had been temporarily held in check by the administrator, Sir Maurice O'Connell. After a deadlock in the Legislative Assembly the Liberals had been defeated in an election but were petitioning the governor to dissolve the assembly on the ground that it did not properly represent the colony. Perhaps because of his experience in Dominica or because his health had suffered in West Africa, Blackall pursued a strictly constitutional course and refused to intervene directly. The crisis did not end until the rule of his successor, the marquis of Normanby. Despite the bitterness of the constitutional battle Blackall made no personal enemies, though he had to face a few personal attacks. Kindly and soft-spoken, he had developed the gift of making friends and became very popular. Willing to assist any genuine public cause, he made frequent appearances on public platforms. He worked hard to improve agriculture and to link the Queensland grammar schools with the University of Sydney.

By 1870 Blackall's health was failing rapidly and he knew the end was near. In 1870 when the government decided to set aside a new cemetery reserve at Toowong he inspected the area and selected the highest spot for his grave. At the same time he requested that his funeral be such as could be attended by even the humblest. Three months later, on 2 January 1871, he died and his wishes were gratified. A fine memorial was erected over his grave, the first in the cemetery. His memory is also preserved by the town of Blackall, the Blackall Range, and the first Queensland government steamer, Governor Blackall, bought by Charles Lilley when premier of Queensland in 1870.

Toowong Cemetery:

Bureaucratic procrastination, manoeuvring and public discontent colour the early history of the Brisbane General Cemetery at Toowong and contributed to the decades of delay in providing a new General Cemetery for Brisbane in the second half of the nineteenth century.

The first cemetery serving the small penal settlement that was Brisbane between 1825 and 1842 was located near Skew Street, the northern approach to the William Jolly Bridge. It was here that soldiers and convicts were interred but was considered unfit for the burial of children. One soldier's four children were buried in a brick crypt in an area at North Quay near Herschel Street.

The concept of a rural cemetery located outside the bounds of town limits emerged as a major transformation in burial practices in the late 18th century in Britain and Europe and was well established by the time towns and settlements were being formed in Queensland. The new burial grounds surveyed at North and South Brisbane in 1844, just beyond the western boundary of the municipality, proved however, not to be sufficiently removed from the settlement. Whilst the proximity of both grounds allowed customary procession on foot, and natural drainage away from the early settlement served to allay sanitary concerns, as early as 1851, the public were petitioning the Government of NSW to relocate the North Brisbane Burial Grounds known as the Milton/Paddington Cemetery. Brisbane's rapid expansion following its opening to free settlement in 1842 was such that the Paddington Cemetery, was now in the heart of a prime inner residential area and was being challenged by the residents who feared for their health.

The first progress to establish a new cemetery were made in 1861 when 200 acres was set aside for cemetery purposes, 2 miles south west of the Milton Cemetery at Toowong. The land however, was chosen by default rather than by design. Augustus Gregory, the Surveyor -General had not favoured the Toowong site but found it to be the only locality to present the requisite requirements. The appropriateness of the site at Toowong for the purpose of a General Cemetery was an issue contested for the next two decades. The isolation and suitability of the Toowong site with its lack of access and public transport fuelled dissent and debate and the public continued to use the cheaper, more accessible familial grounds at Milton.

Although the Cemetery Act was passed in 1866 providing the means to establish general cemeteries under the control of government appointed trustees, it was another decade before the Cemetery was officially opened. In 1868, a further portion of Crown land, 53 acres in area, north of the cemetery reserve was added to fulfil of the Trustee's requirement for the entire cemetery to be surrounded with public roads.

The reserve of 250 acres 1 rood was gazetted and the Cemetery Trust established in October 1870 and its honorary trustees were amongst Brisbane's most prominent political and business figures - James Cowlishaw, John Hardgrave, William Pettigrew, Samuel Walker Griffith, George Edmonstone, Alexander Raff, John Petrie (Chairman), Michael Quinlan and Nathaniel Lade.

Trial sinkings at Toowong in December 1870 found the ground to be unsuitable, but this knowledge did not prompt the government to secure a more appropriate location. Queensland's second governor, Samuel Wensley Blackall had been a supporter of the Toowong site and in his ill health indicated his desire to be buried there. He was buried on the highest knoll on 3 January 1871 and his memorial is the largest and most prominent in the cemetery with commanding views of the city and surrounds.

The Surveyor General, the Trustees and the Colonial Secretary had not favoured the Toowong Site and even after the burial of Governor Blackall on its most prominent peak, the Trustees were still pursuing other more suitable prospects for a cemetery site. Three private properties had been offered for sale for cemetery purposes. Of these, Trustee George Edmondstone's property on Enoggera Creek was identified as being most suitable, however the Colonial Treasurer could not reach an agreement on price and the Toowong site came to be accepted as the Brisbane General Cemetery grounds.

In June 1871, Petrie, Pettigrew and Perry were nominated to chose a suitable 40 acres for clearing for the general cemetery. In 1872, ground lying north of the road and east of the western boundary of the 53 acre portion was cleared and enclosed by 540 rods of good quality pig fencing (a four rail fence) with two entrances not more than 4 rods on each side of the main entrance erected by John Ballard.

A Keeper's Lodge was built by E Lewis and gates and ornamental fencing at the main entrance, designed by the Colonial Architect, FDG Stanley, were erected in 1873-74.

Between Governor Blackall's burial and the official opening of the Cemetery, there were six burials. The next interment was Ann Hill, wife of Walter Hill, superintendent of the Botanical Gardens on 2 November 1871. Thomas and Martha McCulloch were buried in November 1873, Teresa Maria Love on 16 March 1875 and Florence and Ethel Gordon on 4 July 1875.

The Trustees received numerous requests for separate burial sections from churches and other like minded group to ensure that religious and social class distinctions within society were perpetuated in mortality. Between November 1874 and August 1875 portions were allocated by the Trustees upon request. Portion No 1, was allocated to the Church of England, Portion No 2 to the Wesleyans, Portion No 3 to the Hebrews, Portion No 7 to the Roman Catholics, Portion No 16 to paupers and No 17 and parts of No 1 and 7 to public graves, Portion No 15 to criminals. In 1879, the Chinese were allocated part of Portion 2, then relocated in January 1884 to the ground below 7 and then again in April of that year to Portion No 8. The various cultural and religious groups were separated and boundaries clearly formed by winding roads. There is a strong showing of the Christian section of the graves, supporting the demographic dominance of Anglo-Saxons in Brisbane and the relocation of the Chinese several times (now in Portion 19) demonstrates the disregard afforded to this section of the community, which exhumed many of its dead for reinterment in China.

The lack of public transportation for funeral processions was one of the perceived shortfalls of the Toowong site, so the extension of the railway line through the western suburbs to Toowong in 1875 with the promise of a mortuary rail service provided the catalyst for the opening of the cemetery.

The grounds at the Cemetery were laid out by the prominent surveyor, George Phillips and a set of books drawn up by the Government Printer. The Cemetery was officially opened on 5 July 1875.

Controversy was quelled for a time but the respite was short lived and the Cemetery was subjected to a parliamentary inquiry in 1877 where public health issues, the steep and rocky terrain, the distance and inconvenience for mourners and the cost in relation to other alternatives including mortuary trains to Toowong were considered. No further meetings were held by the Trustees until March 1878.

The Cemetery had come to be valued for not only its heritage as the resting place of Governor Blackall but as a place for recreation and repose. Had the government decided from its inquiry to abandon the Toowong Cemetery in favour of another proposed site at Woogaroo, the Trustees wanted to retain the management of the Toowong site and for it to be maintained in an ornamental way as a place of resort for the people of Brisbane.

Community health concerns relating to the Cemetery began to dissipate in the second half of the 1880s. Whilst a public meeting of concerned residents discussed the closure of the cemetery in July 1885, within six months the local community was petitioning the Trustees to endorse the opening of a road through the cemetery reserve. Approval for the public thoroughfare through the cemetery was given in July 1886. The approval renewed concern in some quarters for the health risks associated with the increase in public activity at the Cemetery and the planting of trees amongst the graves especially of those dying of virulent diseases was advocated.

The cemetery was however, well established with trees by this time. From 1876, one year after its official opening, many plants and young trees had been supplied to the Cemetery from the Botanical Gardens and Acclimatisation Society. Initially, Walter Hill, the Botanical Gardens superintendent donated 38 shade and ornamental trees to the Cemetery and Mr Bernays of the Acclimatisation Society offered 50 trees in exchange for a subscription from the Trustees.

From 1878, the Cemetery gardens were attended by dresser, William Melville, a position he held for 38 years. Flowers, shrubs and plants were cultivated on the site on Portion 10 and sold to meet the needs of the site's visitors from a flower shed that straddled the creek. Mature camellias at the Cemetery, located in Portion 4 and 13 may be the first planted in Queensland from cuttings from Camden Park, the home of John McCarthur, who may have been the first to import them into Australia. A dam on Portion 16 was used for irrigation until 1905 when water taps were installed.

In 1886, the Defence Force leased the largely unused area of the cemetery, now occupied by Anzac Park, as a Rifle Range and the whole paddock and the Cemetery Overseer's cottage designed by Trustee, James Cowlishaw and built by E Bishop in 1877 came under the control of the Brigade Officer in charge of the Range. In exchange, the Government built another cottage in 1887 for the overseer at a cost of £250. A pavilion, also designed by Cowlishaw was built in 1885 at the northern end of Portion 10.

In 1891, extensive public usage of the cemetery land spurred the newly formed Toowong Shire Council to seek an arrangement with the Trustees to utilise some of the land for the purpose of public recreation. Whilst initially reluctant, the Trustees came to support the idea. In 1915, the Toowong Park Act was passed providing the Trustees with the means to transfer 132 acres 2 roods 18 perches to the Toowong Town Council for Park and Recreation purposes known in part as the Old Rifle Range for the sum of £1,000. This revenue was used to finance the construction of new gates and fencing and the purchase in 1916, of Portion 872, the sole adjoining private property, to satisfy the Trustees preference for completely surrounding the cemetery with public roads.

Agitation for public transport within close proximity of the cemetery was finally achieved with the extension of the tramway to the cemetery in 1901. A shelter shed was erected by the Brisbane Tramways Co in 1916.

The Paddington Cemeteries Act of 1911, authorised the Government to resume the several cemeteries at Milton and, upon the request of any relative of any person buried therein within 12 months, to disinter the remains of the deceased. The remains were removed together with any memorials to any cemetery agreed upon with associated costs borne by the Government. Of the 4,643 identifiable graves at Milton, there were 178 applications made. 139 remains and 105 memorials were relocated from Milton to Toowong throughout the site, with the greatest concentration to be found in Portion 6.

Tenders for a sanitary block were called by Trustee and architect, Edward Myer Myers in November 1923. The successful tenderer was Marberete Co and the construction was completed prior to Anzac Day 1924 when the Shrine of Remembrance and Cross of Sacrifice were unveiled. A report of the ceremony in the Sydney Mail incorrectly refers to the building as a mortuary chapel and flags of the Union Jack were hung over the entries to the men's and ladies' toilets to disguise the signage.

On 1 August 1930, Toowong Cemetery and all others with the Brisbane City Council municipality were placed under the management and control of the Council. The following year, the area of the Toowong Cemetery bounded by Mt Coot-tha Road and Miskin and Dean Streets was used by the Australian Military Forces for training and later was transferred to the Brisbane City Council and was developed as a Bus Depot. A substation was erected in the south-east corner of this site in 1935.

Flowers were cultivated and sold at the Cemetery from Portion 10 until the 1930s. In 1934 the area set apart for soldier's graves within Portion 10 was extended and incorporated the flower gardens and the octagonal pavilion was probably demolished at this time. Other shelter sheds were erected and six, including two with toilets, are dotted over the site. In 1936 the last available block, Portion 30, was laid out for burial purposes. To allow for more burials, the plot sizes were reduced from 9'x5'to 8'x4'.

By April 1975, all burial plots in the Cemetery had been sold and the Cemetery was closed with the exception of burials in family graves. That same year, hundreds of worn, forgotten headstones in three major city cemeteries were removed by Brisbane City Council workmen employed under the Regional Employment Development Scheme. Old, neglected monuments were removed from Toowong, Lutwyche and South Brisbane cemeteries and trees and shrubs planted. The long term aim of the scheme was to return the cemeteries to open space with a parkland atmosphere. It is thought approximately 1,000 memorials were removed from Toowong.

In the early 1980s, footpath clearances were substantially reduced along the Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road boundaries and the tram shelter and tram lines were removed as part of the Route 20 overpass and roundabout development. As a result of this work, direct access through the main gates of the Cemetery from all directions but the west has been disconnected.

The Sexton's office, built around the turn of the century on Portion 10 above the floor of the flower shed, fell into disuse once the new Sexton's office was built in 1989. Restoration work to repair and reconstruct the former Sexton's office and its conversion to a museum was initiated by the Brisbane City Council Heritage Advisory Committee and the work carried out by the Heritage Unit in 1991. Another initiative by the Brisbane City Council Heritage Unit, also undertaken in 1991, was the establishment of the Toowong Cemetery Heritage Trail together with the Adopt-a-Pioneer program for plots in need of maintenance and to raise public awareness of the invaluable resource that the cemetery provides.

In 1992, steel boom gates were erected at the Birdwood Terrace and Frederick Street entrances of the Cemetery to deter vandalism, theft and drag racing. The same year, a group of volunteers formed The Friends of Toowong Cemetery and their activities include tending to neglected gravesites and organising tours of the Cemetery for interested parties. They have also produced several booklets including the Toowong Cemetery Resource Manual and Extraordinary Lives of Ordinary People.

The Cemetery was reopened in 1998 with approximately 450 plots available for sale.

Source: Australian Dictionary Of Biography & Queensland Heritage Register.

Lighting up by Steve Banks

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Difficulties raising steam caused one of Carnforth's tank engines to shunt Lord Nelson around the yard and it was soon shrouded in dense black smoke. You really don't want to see that picture! Beautifully prepared, the loco went on to haul a "Cumbrian Coast Express" successfully.

Techy stuff: Ex-SR Maunsell designed Lord Nelson class no.850. Olympus OM-2 with 50mm lens and Kodachrome, slide scan. 29th July 1980.

by John Ormerod

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I had a bit of difficulty balancing the foreground in this shot - I wanted more the large stones included, but by doing that the fence would have run into the reflection of Fleetwith Pike, which I didn't want. I settled on this, composition, though I'm still no overly pleased with it.

On a side note, I've had this image included in a book called 'The Photographer's Guide to The Lake District', by Ellen Bowness. It a cracking little guide to numerous locations around The Lakes with information on how to get there, where to park, what time of day/year is good to visit etc. It's also the first time I've had any of my images published, so I'm quite chuffed with it. A couple of my flickr contacts,Mark Littlejohn and Colin Bell - have also had some images included - if you're not familiar with their work I really recommend checking out their photostreams.

A selection of my images are now available to purchase at James Bell's site here and at Getty

Technical Difficulty by kat kyp

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Twilight Moment At Coolangatta Beach II by Abdulrahman AL-Daithan

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Unfortunately when i was in Dubai 1 week ago my camera had the weirdest defect ever as my Nikon 35 mm lens stuck in it , I tried force ... etc with it to take it out but it seems that it won't come out and need to be properly fixed at Nikon store :(

The problem started when i was in Australia as i dropped my camera with Sigma 10-20 mm on it and since then the lens is not focusing and when ever i screw a lens it had that difficulty either in or out ... So now broken Sigma lens with Broken Hoya CLP filter and a lens stuck to broken Camera :(

I need a new gear ....

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Aiguestortes - Estany Llebreta waterfall - Marten Kuilman (2024) by Marten Kuilman

Easy difficulty excursion that allows you to take a very complete idea of what the National Park of Aigüestortes and Estany de Sant Maurici is without great effort. It allows you to visit the 3 jewels of this protected area in the Boí Valley: the Aigüestortes plain, the Sant Esperit waterfall and the Llebreta lake. The first part of the excursion is totally flat and the second part goes along a path that we will only descend, thanks to the logistics and coordination with the 4x4 taxi service.

Accompanied by an accredited guide of the National Park, you will discover the flora, the fauna, the geology and its history in a fun and entertaining way. Why are there more than 200 lakes in the Park? What animals are there and what traces do they leave? How can birds be recognized by their song? Who was "Paco el Rana" and what was his relationship with this protected space?

Light A Hope by Sophia Joanne

This lamp seems like a hope in dark. Never give up when you are trapped in your difficulties. Fighting!

Touches of Green by Jocelyn Kinghorn

View from Mt Difficulty Vineyard in Bannockburn where we are having lunch. April 27, 2016 Central Otago in the South Island of New Zealand.

The Cellar Door at Mt Difficulty Wines is known as much for its dramatic views of rugged rock and thyme landscapes as it is for its stylish wine and food.

The unique microclimate of the Bannockburn area is partially created by the presence of Mount Difficulty which overlooks the southern Cromwell basin, and is the namesake of Mt Difficulty Wines. Mount Difficulty is integral in providing low rainfall and humidity for the region. Bannockburn enjoys hot summers, a large diurnal temperature variation and long cool autumns; conditions which bring the best out of the Pinot Noir grapes. These conditions, along with soils which are ideal for viticulture, provide an excellent basis not only for Pinot Noir, but also for Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Chardonnay. The soils are a mix of clay and gravels, but all feature a high pH level; grapes produce their best wines on sweet soils.

For More Info: www.mtdifficulty.co.nz/aboutus/ourstory.html

The Dream CMA(7s) by Regan Vercruysse

Identify the Artist XVIII

Week 10 In Montparnasse The Emergence of Surrealism in Paris, from Duchamp to Dalí Part 2 (1346 – 1350) 4/9 – 4/13/2022

ID 1349

Salvador Dalí Spanish 1904 - 1989

The Dream, 1931

Oil on canvas

The Dream gives visual form to the strange, often disturbing world of dreams and hallucinations. Ants cluster over the face of the central figure, obscuring the mouth, while the sealed, bulging eyelids suggest the sensory confusion and frustration of a dream. The man at the far left—with a bleeding face and amputated left foot—refers to the classical myth of Oedipus, who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother. The column that grows from the man’s back and sprouts into a bust of a bearded man refers to the Freudian father, the punishing superego who suppresses the son’s sexual fantasies. In the distance, two men embrace, one holding a golden key or scepter symbolizing access to the unconscious. Behind them, a naked man reaches into a permeable red form, as if trying to enter it.

John L. Severance Fund 2001.34

From the Placard: The Cleveland Museum of Art

www.clevelandart.org/

As far as Dalí was concerned, surrealism explored and celebrated not only the surfaces but the depths of ordinary life—our dreams, our repressions, our desires, our inevitable decay—and painting was merely one means of expressing the whole field of human experience. Why not sit on Mae West’s lips, or hold a conversation with lobster clamped to the ear? As Cocteau had said of de Chirico, the artist makes his presence felt with an artichoke in a city reserved for statues. As Cocteau also noted, Dalí had somehow, by now, moved centre stage without any particular by-your-leave, arriving, apparently effortlessly, complete with his own artistic raison d’être. ‘One has only to look at a painting by Dalí to be sure that he possesses an inevitable point of view on all things, that he inhabits a world which he dominates…He would be incapable of undertaking the slightest exchange with the outside.’ Yet his viewers seemed to have no difficulty assimilating his works; his popularity was immediate and enduring. – [cannot question this historical statement, don’t have to look much further than back to the World’s Fair of 1939 photo I posted at the start of Week 10]…With the infiltration of surrealism into the prevailing popular culture, nothing was the exclusive reserve of anyone any more. As Duchamp put it some years later (making, for better or worse, a substantial impact on the course of artistic history), only when set before the viewer does the artist’s work finally assume its status as a work of art.

The early surrealists worked without censorship or restraint to create works which, reaching beyond the medium of painting, undeniably made an impact on the art world. Today such gestures are ubiquitous. A cow in formaldehyde? An unmade bed? A staircase leading nowhere? The works of Damien Hirst, Tracy Emin, Rachel Whiteread and others would surely have been unthinkable before surrealism. (Dalí himself first had the idea of filling a structure full of concrete to make—or reveal—a work of are, carried out by Whiteread with “House” in 1993.) In the 1990s Alexander McQueen’s breakthrough collections overtly incorporated surrealist imagery and ideas, dramatized in his shows. For “The Birds” he sent a sinister flock of feathered and winged models down the catwalk; “Bellmer la Poupée” was influenced by German surrealist artist Hans Bellmer’s 1934 series of photographs of articulated dolls (‘Puopée: variations sur le montage d’une mineure articulée’; ‘Doll:variations on the apparatus of an articulated female minor’). In 2001 at “Voss” McQueen’s audience face an enormous glass box constructed to resemble a padded cell (white tiles, surveillance-mirrored walls), the lights going up to reveal the models incarcerated within; “Sarabande” (2007) was inspired by Diaghilev’s friend Marchesa Luisa Casati.

…The surrealist of the 1910s and the 1920s (Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Max Ernst and from 1929 onwards Salvador Dalí were all in a sense, conceptualists long before conceptualism was invented—though it might also be said that even the most blatantly conceptual works of their day (Duchamp’s “Bicycle Wheel”, Dalí’s later “Lobster Telephone”) encompassed the artist’s pictorial sense of rhythm, balance and understanding of light and space, suggesting a concern with execution abandoned by the conceptualists of the 1960s and 1970s (or so they claimed). How surprised Duchamp and Dalí would have been to see their works decorously presented in 2017, hung like serious art and presented like museum pieces—or perhaps, and more likely, they would just have been amused. What is art? What are the materials of art? What is the relationship between artist and viewer? The surrealists explored all these questions…>

Sue Roe In Montparnasse The Emergence of Surrealism in Paris, from Duchamp to Dalí Penguin Books, 2000 pgs. 250-52.

No Charging Today by Craig Sanders

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Amtrak's northbound Saluki had a surprise as it came through Arcola, Illinois, on Feb. 20, 2022. Instead of being pulled by an SC-44 Charger the train had P42DC No. 58. Perhaps the Charger that had been assigned had mechanical difficulty and a P42D was used instead. The train is shown passing the former Illinois Central passenger station in Arcola.

Late Afternoon Sparrow by Patricia Ware

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I had difficulty IDing this Sparrow and it turns out I was wrong with my initial impression. Thanks to Dave (birding4ever), I think I now have the correct ID. Flickr contacts are the best!!!

White-crowned Sparrow - immature

Zonotrichia leucophrys

Member of the Nature’s Spirit

Good Stewards of Nature

River Song by Billy Riner

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River Song, from Doctor Who.

This has been laying around for quite a while due to the fact I had much difficulty making hair for it. I had decided to go with this hair instead of a custom one.

The gun is made out of a Star Wars blaster.

The pouches and such are made out of e-tape.

This was painted by me.

Sean Connery dies aged 90 by Truus, Bob & Jan too!

Dutch postcard. Photo: dpa. Sean Connery and Molly Peters in Thunderball (Terence Young, 1965).

Scottish superstar Sean Connery (1930-2020) has died today, 31 October 2020. He is best known as the original secret agent 007, starring in seven James Bond films between 1962 and 1983. His film career also included such notable films as Marnie (1964), The Name of the Rose (1986), The Untouchables (1987), and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Connery won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and also a BAFTA Award. He was 90.

Thomas Sean Connery was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, in 1930. He was the son of Euphemia 'Effie' Connery-Maclean, a cleaning woman, and Joseph Connery, a factory worker, and truck driver. He has a younger brother, Neil. At 13, he left school and worked as a milkman in Edinburgh with St. Cuthbert's Co-operative Society. In 1947 he joined the Royal Navy, but after three years he was discharged on medical grounds because of severe stomach ulcers. First, he returned to the co-op, then worked as a lorry driver, an artist's model for the Edinburgh College of Art, and as a coffin polisher. Looking to pick up some extra money, he helped out backstage at the King's Theatre around Christmas of 1951. He became interested in the proceedings and got a job as a singing and dancing sailor in the chorus of South Pacific. More bit parts followed. He also took up bodybuilding as a hobby. His official website claims he was third in the 1950 Mr. Universe contest, other sources place him in the 1953 competition. He made his film debut as an extra in the musical Lilacs in the Spring (Herbert Wilcox, 1955) with Anna Neagle and Errol Flynn. No Road Back (Montgomery Tully, 1957) was Sean's first major film role, and it was followed by such films as Hell Drivers (Cy Endfield, 1957) starring Stanley Baker, Darby O'Gill and the Little People (Robert Stevenson, 1959), and The Frightened City (John Lemont, 1961).

Sean Connery played another early film part in Another Time, Another Place (Lewis Allen, 1958) as Lana Turner's romantic interest. During filming, Turner's possessive gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato, believed she was having an affair with Connery. He stormed onto the set and pointed a gun at Connery, only to have Connery disarm Stompanato and knock him flat on his back. Shortly thereafter, Stompanato met his end at the hands of the teenage daughter of Lana Turner, Cheryl Crane. The film was released four months ahead of schedule to capitalize on the murder. Meanwhile, Connery also appeared regularly on television. He played the leads in an ITV Teleplay of Anna Christie (1957) with his later wife Diane Cilento, and in a Canadian TV adaptation of Macbeth (Paul Almond, 1961). He also had a prominent role in a BBC production of Anna Karenina (Rudolph Cartier, 1961), in which he co-starred with Claire Bloom.

Sean Connery's big breakthrough came in the role of the suave and sophisticated secret agent James Bond. He played the character in seven Bond films: Dr. No (Terence Young, 1962), From Russia with Love (Terence Young, 1963), Goldfinger (Guy Hamilton, 1964), Thunderball (Terence Young, 1965), You Only Live Twice (Lewis Gilbert, 1967), Diamonds Are Forever (Guy Hamilton, 1971), and Never Say Never Again (Irvin Kershner, 1983). All seven films were big box-office hits, if not critically acclaimed as well. Among his many Bond girls were Ursula Andress, Daniela Bianchi, Honor Blackman, Shirley Eaton, Claudine Auger, Karin Dor, Lana Wood, Jill St. John, Barbara Carrera, and Kim Basinger. At first, James Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, doubted the casting, saying, "He's not what I envisioned of James Bond looks" and "I’m looking for Commander Bond and not an overgrown stunt-man," adding that the muscular Connery was unrefined. However, Fleming's girlfriend told him Connery had the requisite sexual charisma. Fleming changed his mind after the successful Dr. No premiere; he was so impressed, he created a half-Scottish, half-Swiss heritage for the literary James Bond in the later novels.

Sean Connery's portrayal of Bond owes much to stylistic tutelage from director Terence Young, polishing the actor while using his physical grace and presence for the action. While making the Bond films, Connery also starred in other acclaimed films such as The Longest Day (Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki, 1962), the romantic melodrama Woman of Straw (Basil Dearden, 1964) with Gina Lollobrigida, Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964), the excellent war film The Hill (Sidney Lumet, 1965), and the western Shalako (Edward Dmytryk, 1968) with Brigitte Bardot. Two of his most moving films were The Offence (Sidney Lumet, 1972) and in the wise and romantic version of the Robin Hood legend, Robin and Marian (Richard Lester, 1976) with Audrey Hepburn. Apart from these films and The Man Who Would Be King (John Huston, 1975) with Michael Caine, and The Wind and the Lion (John Milius, 1975) most of Connery's successes in the seventies were as part of ensemble casts in films such as the Agatha Christie mystery Murder on the Orient Express (Sidney Lumet, 1974) and the war epic A Bridge Too Far (Richard Attenborough, 1977). Four years later, Sean Connery appeared in the Sci-Fi comedy Time Bandits (Terry Gilliam, 1981) as King Agamemnon. The casting choice derives from a joke Michael Palin included in the script, in which he describes the character as being 'Sean Connery — or someone of equal but cheaper stature'. However, when shown the script, Connery was happy to play the supporting role.

After his experience with Never Say Never Again in 1983 (difficulties with the production staff made it a nightmarish experience for him) and the following court case, Sean Connery became unhappy with the major studios and for two years did not make any films. He returned to the screen in the successful European production Der Name der Rose/The Name of the Rose (Jean-Jacques Annaud, 1986), for which he won a BAFTA award. That same year, a supporting role in Highlander (Russell Mulcahy, 1986) with Christophe(r) Lambert also showcased his ability to play older mentors to younger leads, which would become a recurring role in many of his later films.

The following year, Sean Connery's acclaimed performance as a hard-nosed veteran cop in The Untouchables (Brian de Palma, 1987) earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, his sole nomination throughout his career. Subsequent box-office hits included Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Steven Spielberg, 1989), The Hunt for Red October (John McTiernan, 1990), where he was reportedly called in at two weeks' notice, The Rock (Michael Bay, 1996), and Entrapment (Jon Amiel, 1999) with Catherine Zeta-Jones. The latter two he also produced. Both Last Crusade and The Rock alluded to his James Bond days. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas wanted 'the father of Indiana Jones' to be Connery since Bond directly inspired the Indiana Jones series, while his character in The Rock, John Patrick Mason, was a British secret service agent imprisoned since the 1960s.

In later years, Sean Connery's filmography included several box office and critical disappointments such as First Knight (Jerry Zucker, 1995), The Avengers (Jeremiah S. Chechik, 1998), and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Stephen Norrington, 2003), but he also received positive reviews, including his performance in Finding Forrester (Gus Van Sant, 2000). In 2008, on his 78th birthday, Connery unveiled his autobiography 'Being a Scot', co-written with Murray Grigor. Sean Connery was married to actress Diane Cilento from 1962 to 1973. They had a son, actor Jason Connery. Since 1975 he was married to French painter Micheline Roquebrune. In 2000, Sean Connery was knighted.

Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Brian McFarlane (Encyclopedia of British Cinema), SeanConnery.com, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Looking Up! by Vol-au-Vent

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I asked for forces - and I encountered difficulties, but they strengthened me.

I asked for wisdom - and I was handed problems to resolve; yet through them I acquired wisdom.

I asked for courage - and obstacles were placed on my way... so that I could overcome them.

I asked for love - and was given worried human beings, anxious and downcast by problems; for me to assist them.

I did not receive anything from all the things I wanted!
I did however, receive all of which I was in need of.

Conclusion: Go through life without fear! Face all the obstacles with the certainty that you can and will overcome them.

(unknown author)

This, in short words, is the Story of my Life!

With heartfelt thanks to the 'provider' of these wonderful words André S and all those helping me to Go through life without fear.

More blue sky and more autumn sunshine go here

Uebersetzung DEUTSCH in der Kommentar-Box

Traduction FRANCAIS - voir commentaires

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THROUGH TUNNEL… by Maximiliano Gutierrez Contreras

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One of the more used symbols in our culture is the one of the black and dark tunnel, with a light at the end. The tunnel means the problems, the difficulties that surround to us. What shut in us and and what we cannot win against. The tunnel can be more or less long, and it can be more or less heavy to us to cross it. It is our punishment, the moment to make amend for our sins by means of the suffering. And there, at the end of the way, it is the light, like a distant light that enlarges little by little as we approached. It is the lantern, the guide, the hope that calls to us and it gives breath us. The heat as opposed to the cold.

All we needed a light at the end of the tunnel. Unless it, it would not have sense to live…

[Photo of a tunnel of the train station of Atocha (MADRID). Taken in October 2006. Adjustments of light and color made with Photoshop]

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Uno de los símbolos más utilizados en nuestra cultura es la del túnel negro y oscuro, con una luz al final. El túnel significa los problemas, las dificultades que nos rodean. Lo que nos encierra y contra lo que no podemos vencer. El túnel puede ser más o menos largo, se nos puede hacer más o menos pesado atravesarlo. Es nuestro castigo, el momento de expiar nuestros pecados mediante el sufrimiento. Y allí, al final del camino, está la luz, como un lejano faro que se agranda poco a poco a medida que nos acercamos. Es la linterna, la guía, la esperanza que nos llama y nos da aliento. El calor frente al frío.

Todos necesitamos una luz al final del túnel. Si no, no tendría sentido vivir…

[Foto de un túnel de la estación de trenes de Atocha (MADRID). Tomada en octubre del 2006. Retoques de luz y color, con Photoshop]

Independent living is a Bridge to adulthood that many young adults find fraught with great difficulty, confusion and profound loneliness. by Hughes Songe

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Young Adults In Transition To College & Work

We often think of young adults as ready to launch easily into college, career and dynamic adult social scenes. Yet this transition from a supportive and protective home or school environment to independent living is a bridge to adulthood that many young adults find fraught with great difficulty, confusion and profound loneliness. Older teens and young adults in their twenties are often not adapting well to work place environments and find they do not possess the necessary interpersonal skills to succeed in adult and work relationships. Additionally, economic pressures are more extreme than ever and they often have unrealistic hopes of independence and financial self-direction. They feel thrown into a world without a real understanding of how to survive or succeed in it. Much is written about this "quarter life crisis." Young adults need to find a more realistic view for their own lives. They need help as they face the hard realities that they haven't accomplished certain necessary adult tasks and milestones of young adult success. These tasks include finding a college or career, mastering public transportation, navigating agreements with financial sponsors and parents, establishing adult roles in the home, dorm or apartment, managing a grocery budget, cooking, healthy living, multi-tasking, delayed gratification, or allotting appropriate time to significant priorities. Unexpected difficulties can derail even the most successful young adult or college student. Parents and their young adult sons and daughters who were once in alignment when planning the launch to college or independent living are often faced with the pain of unmatched expectations, disorganized time-lines, and resentful conversations. Young adult lives and good relationships can quickly turn upside down. Young adults in transition are students between high school and college, post-college, or returning home from boarding schools, gap-years, or military service. They seek to set new goals and define new directions for their future. These normal, yet rapid young adult changes can be especially tough on parents. Parents often need guidance and coaching as they redefine their new roles as parents to adult children. Young adults need adult wisdom and strong guidance, but in their need to differentiate, they often respond negatively to parental support. Coaching can change that dynamic by producing skill building and management practices that can benefit both the student and their parents.

What Do Young Adult Coaches Do? Encourage you to express yourself and your personal goals Advocate for you with your parents Establish appropriate areas of independence Navigate personal financial arrangements with sponsors & parents Teach time management

Help you devise a workable daily schedule Listen and learn from your ideas and dreams- take you seriously! Assign homework and tasks that move you towards your goals

Make necessary connections to adult mentors and guides Help you accomplish/produce results more quickly than you imagined Assist with applications to college and internships

Questions Young Adults & Parents Frequently Ask: What Is Young Adult Coaching?

With your young adult coach you will identity the actions and thoughts and words that best support and move you towards your goals. Often young adults create goals and then are challenged by staying aligned with them. Our coaches will help you develop the action plan and steps towards living a life that keeps you true to yourself and more accountable in your relationships.You may be facing a more conventional transition, such as moving away to college or starting a new job, or the unique challenges of beginning college as a student who has experienced physical, emotional, or mental health problems. Learning disorders or family crises may add additional stresses and young adults desire coaching support to be ready and able to meet these demands. Coaching can empower you and help you launch yourself with confidence and skill. How Does Coaching Differ From Counseling?

Coaching is not the same as therapy. It is a more immediate and directive process. Coaching involves action, action that meets goals. Although our coaches are credentialed therapists, their additional training in coaching allows them to better support you in present and future focus, whereas therapy often focuses on current emotional issues, and at times the past. Coaching is both in-person and in-the-moment by phone, text, and email; supporting you no matter where you are located and when you need it. Customized Coaching Options: Individualized Coaching Packages support you in academic skill building, as well as vocational and personal goals. Life skill development includes competency in money management, time and organizational management, and refining of executive thinking skills for greater success. Parent and Family Coaching to support your positive and personalized launch into adult life and your parent's adaptation to your new role as an adult Unique learning opportunities when in transition, such as internship programs, resume/portfolio building options, 5th or gap year choices, and more Accountability systems: ways to optimize the support & communication between young adults and their parents Supervised living and residential arrangements High School Diploma Completion

Top level tutors-current college and university level instructors to help you improve skills and provide learning support Each young adult transition plan is completely customized to your young adult and family needs.

Horsa - Folkestone by James Henton

The BR Sealink sister ships Hengist and Horsa were long associated with the Folkestone-Boulogne route across the channel.

Here we see Horsa approaching Folkestone in 1975, when 3 years old. The Sealink design evolution from previous ferries is clear.

It's a great pity Folkestone is no longer used as a Cross-Channel port, it might alleviate some of the pressures on Dover.

Horsa was sold to Greek owners in 1992 and operated until 2012/3. In 2014 ship was arrested - financial difficulties and non-payment of crew for 6 months.

IMO 7205075

Built 1972 Arsenal de Brest, France

5,109 grt

Believed to be scrapped.

Scanned Instamatic Slide

1975

_MG_2400 InTheCracks 11"X14" by Mark Shepley

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Finishing off this photo via my Laptop. Desktop having some difficulties. A second shot processed from this Red Rock Park in Las Vegas NV ( Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Las Vegas, Nevada ). Hard to believe, there really are no pretty (man/woman made) lights in this one. For Vegas, who would have thought of such beauty without lights installed (LOL)! Was a great time climbing and exploring these rocks for a couple of hours, so I will have various vantages of the lines, colors, and textures of these glorious formations as time goes along.

I was not happy with the original sky from this shot (See "Red Rock" below for the original sky), so this is a sky from the Healdsburg Ca. area instead. I liked the contrast between a classic blue sky with Cumulus clouds tossed in....against the rich red of the rocks!

All photos on this site belongs solely to Mark Shepley ( © www.MarkShepley.com ) Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way without the expressed, written permission of the photographer.

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Thank You for viewing. High quality prints of this piece are available. Just drop me a line a02toyota @ yahoo.com This shot was cropped @ a 11"X14" aspect ratio. Print sizes offered: 8"X8", 8"X10", 11"X14",8"X12", 12"X12", 12"X18", 16"X20", 20"X30"...just let me know your needs. Your high quality print will not contain my signature (or watermark:) on the finished work, just contact info on the back side.

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“One Difficulty of the Game” by Charles Dana Gibson, centerfold in “Life” magazine, September 21, 1899. by Leo Boudreau

“Keeping Your Eye on the Ball.”

Difficulties life. by Andy Pang @ shootx2

Took with Fujifilm X100F.

22293 by Ben Abel

Looking out from the tower of the Grade I Listed Bath Abbey over the city, in Bath, Somerset.

In 675 Osric, King of the Hwicce, granted the Abbess Berta 100 hides near Bath for the establishment of a convent. This religious house became a monastery under the patronage of the Bishop of Worcester. King Offa of Mercia successfully wrested "that most famous monastery at Bath" from the bishop in 781. William of Malmesbury tells that Offa rebuilt the monastic church, which may have occupied the site of an earlier pagan temple.

Bath was ravaged in the power struggle between the sons of William the Conqueror following his death in 1087. The victor, William II Rufus, granted the city to a royal physician, John of Tours, who became Bishop of Wells and Abbot of Bath. Shortly after his consecration John bought Bath Abbey's grounds from the king, as well as the city of Bath itself.

When this was effected in 1090, John became the first Bishop of Bath, and St Peter's was raised to cathedral status. As the roles of bishop and abbot had been combined, the monastery became a priory, run by its prior. With the elevation of the abbey to cathedral status, it was felt that a larger, more up-to-date building was required. John of Tours planned a new cathedral on a grand scale, dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, but only the ambulatory was complete when he died in December 1122.

The half-finished cathedral was devastated by fire in 1137, but work continued under Godfrey, the new bishop, until about 1156; the completed building was approximately 330 feet (101 m) long. It was consecrated while Robert of Bath was bishop. The specific date is not known however it was between 1148 and 1161.

In 1197, Reginald Fitz Jocelin's successor, Savaric FitzGeldewin, with the approval of Pope Celestine III, officially moved his seat to Glastonbury Abbey, but the monks there would not accept their new Bishop of Glastonbury and the title of Bishop of Bath and Glastonbury was used until the Glastonbury claim was abandoned in 1219. Savaric's successor, Jocelin of Wells, again moved the bishop's seat to Bath Abbey, with the title Bishop of Bath.

Joint cathedral status was awarded by Pope Innocent IV to Bath and Wells in 1245. Roger of Salisbury was appointed the first Bishop of Bath and Wells, having been Bishop of Bath for a year previously. Bath Cathedral gradually fell into disrepair. When Oliver King, Bishop of Bath and Wells 1495–1503, visited Bath in 1499 he was shocked to find this famous church in ruins. King took a year to consider what action to take, before writing to the Prior of Bath in October 1500 to explain that a large amount of the priory income would be dedicated to rebuilding the cathedral.

Robert and William Vertue, the king's masons were commissioned, promising to build the finest vault in England. The new design incorporated the surviving Norman crossing wall and arches.

Prior Holloway surrendered Bath Priory to the crown in January 1539. It was sold to Humphry Colles of Taunton. The church was stripped of lead, iron and glass and left to decay. Colles sold it to Matthew Colthurst of Wardour Castle in 1543. His son Edmund Colthurst gave the roofless remains of the building to the corporation of Bath in 1572. The corporation had difficulty finding private funds for its restoration.

In 1574, Queen Elizabeth I promoted the restoration of the church, to serve as the grand parish church of Bath. She ordered that a national fund should be set up to finance the work, and in 1583 decreed that it should become the parish church of Bath. James Montague, the Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1608–1616, paid £1,000 for a new nave roof of timber lath construction; according to the inscription on his tomb, this was prompted after seeking shelter in the roofless nave during a thunderstorm.

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