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Marconi Tower, Binghamton NY (Photos from 07 September 2007)
Erected November 1913 by Guglielmo Marconi to test the possibility of transmitting telegraphic signals to the moving trains along the Lackawanna RR in Binghamton NY USA. This is the last one still in existence.
Location Binghamton, New York USA . . N 42.10342 W 75.90705 . Uploaded 30 June 2012
Included in Set "Buildings/structures Pt 8"
www.flickr.com/photos/30496606@N05/sets/72157631483864834...
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www.flickr.com/photos/30496606@N05/collections/
Included in Set "Electronics, Amateur Radio, Antennas Pt 3"
Included in Set "DL&W Depot and Marconi Tower"
Camera: Canon PowerShot S80, PSE10 / RPS / ZB / DPP
Cropped and compressed JPEG
Data: A.D.O.F. available on request
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. . . compiled by Scott M. Phillips, Sr. Binghamton, NY 10/1/98 . . .
Marconi Tower Project Concept
Early 1913, when radio was still in it's infancy, it was unknown if radio transmissions could be sent to a fast moving object. Guglielmo Marconi wished to expand the use of the radio to include vehicles that moved on land as well as water and test the possibility of transmitting telegraphic signals to moving trains along the Lackawanna Railroad system in the Northeast United States. Two cities- Binghamton, NY and Scranton, PA were chosen as the two tower sites to be built by the Lackawanna Railroad using Marconi’s construction and design in early 1913.Each tower site consisted of two towers linked together with 4 aerial wires. Radio telegraph equipment was placed within the railroad stations and comprised of a 2 KW 500 cycle quenching transmitter made by the Marconi Company.
On November 27th 1913, the first "official" wireless transmission was transmitted from Scranton, PA towards the train traveling to Binghamton, NY at 60 miles per hour. In all, 350 words representing several pieces of news were clearly picked up by the operator aboard the train.
Location / General Information
The last remaining Marconi Tower is located in downtown Binghamton, New York at Lewis Street near the old Lackawanna Train Station (recently renamed Station Square). A beautiful new baseball stadium (Binghamton Mets) now sits proudly next to the tower, from the first base line the tower can be clearly seen. Constructed of open grid framed carbon steel and standing at 97 feet 4 inches tall, the tower has endured the weather year by year and is in somewhat remarkable condition considering the neglect and age. Presently there is no communication equipment installed on or near the tower. The second Binghamton Marconi tower, that was located near the Chenango Street viaduct, was dismantled in January 1925. The other two towers at the Scranton, PA tower site have long been taken down.
Marconi Transmitting / Receiving Technical Information
Radio / Telegraph equipment was placed within the railroad stations and comprised of a 2 KW 500 cycle quenching transmitter made by the Marconi Company with coupled circuit receiving tuner and crystal detector.
Power for the sending outfit was taken at 60 cycles, 3 phase from the station driving a Crocker-Wheeler motor generator giving 2 KW, single phase, 500 cycle current. Passing through the sending key circuit to a step-up transformer, the 500 cycle current charged a bank of six (6) leyden jars (.002uf each) in parallel. These jars discharged at each half cycle across a multiple plate quenching spark gap and through the primary of the oscillation transformer. The secondary was serially connected in the antenna to ground circuit. This oscillation transformer was made of two (2) flat spiral strip-copper windings coaxial related, having a variable self-inductance in both windings and variable coupling between the primary and secondary.
The motor of the motor-generator was wound for 30 volts DC and the 500 cycle current, after passing through the high tension transformer, charged a bank of three .002uf leyden jars in parallel. These jars were discharged at each half cycle.
The power boards located on the train were similar to the power board installed at the train stations, but rated at 1/2 the power. It was necessary to have an aerial 150 feet long, so four regular cars of the "Lackawanna Limited" had aerial wires strung on insulators, on posts about 16" high, around the roofs of each car.
A wave length of about 1,600 meters (187.4 kilocycles) was generally used with approximately a 2 ampere of radio frequency current set up in the antenna circuit. This is approximately 342.5 KC below the present low end AM kilocycle band of 540 KC.
The Radio - Telegraph equipment installed on board the train was located in the baggage car and comprised of a 1 KW 500 cycle transmitter directly run from a storage battery used on the line of the axle-driven car lighting system without seriously affecting the illuminating system.
. . . compiled by Scott M. Phillips, Sr. Binghamton, NY 10/1/98 . . .
A lush garden, with shrubs and flowerbeds pruned in very many artistic shapes, surrounds the palace. Quite obviously; the art of topiary has been in existence in Orchha for centuries. The Mahal was built in honor of the ‘Nightingale of Orchha’, Rai Praveen, and the second floor is resplendent with scenes of Nritya Mudra, the poses and postures of Indian dance.
Rai Praveen was as well identified for her charming beauty as for her poetry and music. The paramour of Indrajit Singh, in whose court she performed, her fame inevitably spread far and wide and finally reached the Imperial Court of Akbar. The Mughal emperor was smitten by her, and he arrogantly summoned her to his durbar. Indrajit Singh, Rai Parveen’s paramour, was too weak-kneed a ruler to defy the Imperial summons. Touched by her loyalty, Akbar decided to restore her to Orchha with both her dignity and that of her kingdom intact. The palace is now a fitting memorial to this lady.
The Orchha Fort complex, which houses a large number of ancient monuments consisting of the fort, palaces, temple and other edifices, is located in the Orchha town in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The fort and other structures within it were built by the Bundela Rajputs starting from early 16th century by King Rudra Pratap Singh of the Orchha State and others who followed him.
The fort complex, which is accessed from an arched causeway, leads to a large gateway. This is followed by a large quadrangular open yard surrounded by palaces. These are Raja Mahal or Raja Mandir, Sheesh Mahal, Jahangir Mahal, a temple, gardens and pavilions. The battlements of the fort have ornamentation. Notable architectural features in the fort complex are projected balconies, open flat areas and decorated latticed windows.
LOCATION
The fort complex is located in the Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh in the erstwhile state of Orchha. The fort complex is within an island formed by the confluence of the Betwa River and Jamni River in Orchha town. Approach to the complex from the eastern part of the market in the town is through a multiple arched bridge with 14 arches built in granite stones.
Orchha town is approximately 80 kilometres away from Tikamgarh town, which is the district headquarters of the district of the same name. Jhansi town is 15 kilometres away. Orchha is a railway station of the Central Railway on the Jhansi-Manikpur section.
HISTORY
The fort was built following the founding of the Orchha State in 1501 AD by Rudra Pratap Singh (r. 1501–1531), a Bundela rajput. The palaces and temples within the fort complex were built over a period of time by successive Maharajas of the Orchha State. Of these, the Raja Mandir or Raja Mahal was built by Madhukar Shah who ruled from 1554 to 1591. Jahangir Mahal and Sawan Bhadon Mahal were built during the reign of Vir Singh Deo (r. 1605–1627). The features of "pepper pots and domes" seen in the fort complex are believed to have inspired Lutyens in the architecture of the structures which he built in New Delhi.
MONUMENTS
The fort complex, accessed from an arched causeway, leads to a large gateway followed by a large quadrangular open space which is surrounded by palaces such as Raja Mahal or Raja Mandir, Sheesh Mahal, Jahangir Mahal, a temple, gardens and pavilions. The fort walls have battlements, which have ornamentation. Notable architectural features seen in the fort complex consist of projected balconies, open flat areas and decorated latticed windows.
RAJA MAHAL
The Raja Mahal (King’s Palace), where the kings and the queens had resided till it was abandoned in 1783, was built in the early part of 16th century. Its exterior is simple without any embellishments but the interior chambers of the palace are elaborately royal in its architectural design, decorated with murals of social and religious themes of gods, mythical animals and people. In the upper floor of the palace there are traces of mirrors in the ceilings and walls. Its windows, arcaded passages and layout plan are designed in such a way that the "sunlight and shadow create areas of different moods and temperatures throughout the day". The interior walls of the Mahal have murals of Lord Vishnu. The Mahal has several secret passages.
A part of this Mahal was converted into a temple and named Rama Raja Temple in honour of the god Rama. There is legend associated with naming it as a temple. According to a local legend, the temple was built following Rani Ganeshkuwari, the queen getting a "dream visitation" by Lord Rama directing her to build a temple for Him; while Madhukar Shah was a devotee of Krishna, his wife's dedication was to Rama. Following this a new temple known as the Chaturbuj Temple was approved to be built, and the queen went to Ayodhya to obtain an image of Lord Rama that was to be enshrined in her new temple. When she came back from Ayodhya with the image of Rama, initially she kept the idol in her palace as the Chaturbuj Temple was still under construction. She was, however, unaware of an injunction that the image to be deified in a temple could not be kept in a palace. Once the temple construction was completed and the idol of the lord had to be moved for installation at the Chatrubhuj Temple, it refused to be shifted from the palace. Hence, instead of the Chaturbhuj Temple, the Rama's idol remained in the palace where as the Chaturbhuj Temple remained without an idol in its sanctum. As Rama was worshipped in the palace, part of the palace was converted into the Rama Raja Temple; it is the only shrine in the country where Rama is worshipped as a King. The temple is guarded by a police force and the deity, Lord Rama, is considered as the king and is given a gun salute of honour every day.
SHEESH MAHAL
Sheesh Mahal is flanked on either side by the Raja Mahal and the Jahangir Mahal. This has royal accommodation, which was built for king Udait Singh. It has now been converted into a hotel. The interior of this edifice consists of a huge impressive hall with high ceiling, which is the dining hall. Its recent colour scheme renovations are an eyesore. But staying in two of its royal suites on the upper floor, which provide scenic views of the town, gives the guest a feeling of royalty.
JAHANGIR MAHAL
Jahangir Mahal is a palace that was exclusively built by Bir Singh Deo in 1605 to humor the Mughal emperor Jahangir who was a guest of the Maharaja for one night only. The palace is built in four levels with elegant architectural features of both Muslim and Rajput architecture. Its layout is a symmetrical square built in the inner courtyard of the fort and has eight large domes. It has a plethora of rooms with arcaded openings, projecting platforms and windows with lattice design work. The roof above top floor of this Mahal is accessed through a steep stairway. It provides picture perfect views of the temples and the Betwa River outside the fort complex. The palace also houses a small archaeological museum.
The entrance gate from this palace, which was earlier the main gate and which has carved ornamentation, leads to the royal baths and then to an elegant small dwelling unit built within a garden in typical Mughal architectural style; this had been built exclusively for Rai Parveen, the female escort of the Raja Indramani (1672 – 76); her large-size portrait in a revealing and seductive attire adorns hall in this Mahal. She was a poet and musician. The building is a double storied structure built with bricks, rising to the height of the trees in the well tended garden called Anand Mahal. The garden is laid out with octagonal flower beds and has good network of water supply. There are niches in the Mahal which permit natural light to the main hall and smaller rooms.
It is said that Emperor Akbar (r. 1556 – 1605) who was enamored by Parveen's beauty had taken her to his palace in Agra to be his courtesan. But Parveen, who wanted to get out of the situation, composed a gazal or a couplet which stated her status as an already used woman not fit for an emperor, which enabled her to get release from Akbar's court and return to Orchha.
PHOOL BAGH
Phool Bagh is an elegantly laid out garden in the fort complex which has a line of water fountains that terminates in a "palace-pavilion" which has eight pillars. Below this garden is an underground structure which was used by the royalty as a cool summer retreat. This cooling system consists of water ventilation system that is linked to an underground palace with "Chandan Katora", which is in the shape of a bowl from where fountains of droplets trickle through the roof creating rainfall.
WIKIPEDIA
Well it’s about time!
A high school that advances to the state basketball tournament 13 times in its first 60 years of existence isn’t prepared for a drought lasting three decades. But that’s how long it’s been for the Roosevelt boys since their last appearance in 1982. Luckily the girls have kept the blue and white community’s thirst for state tourney runs quenched in recent years with five straight from 2004-08 including the championship in 2006. But the Rider faithful can’t wait for tonight’s matchup against Dubuque Senior at Wells Fargo Arena, scheduled to tip at 6:35. Nearly 1,000 tickets to tonight’s game have been sold out of the school office alone, they’ve run out of state tourney t-shirts and the pep assembly this morning in the gymnasium was worthy of the longstanding TRHS reputation for school spirit.
Senior Chris Bennett is the team’s driveshaft and his father played for the Roosevelt team that won it all in 1978. Chris been hearing about that magical season all his life, though he says he’s been whipping his dad in H-O-R-S-E since “about 2nd grade.” Bennett and his fellow senior starters Tate Larsen, the school’s recently crowned “Man of the Year,” and Trey Burkhall have been opponents going back as far as 4th grade and inseparable teammates ever since their middle school days at Merrill. For The Three Basketeers the state tourney berth is especially sweet, even a vindication of sorts. Long and winding story short, a team standout transferred to Valley two seasons ago and with him, many figured, went the Riders’ chances to rekindle the school’s basketball preeminence.
But to the credit of the senior triumvirate, their supporting cast of current teammates, Roosevelt Principal Kathie Danielson and Coach Chris McMahon (TRHS Class of ’98) the school is back where it belongs, among the state’s roundball elite. At times you could even say it’s been a rough ride. But in a poetic twist, their ticket to “The Well” was punched in a heart-stopping triumph over Valley in last week’s sub-state final.
There’s a line in the Roosevelt fight song that goes, “unfurl her banners to the sky…” To punctuate this morning’s raucous celebration in the gym Coach McMahon told the crowd that in all the hoopla following the sub-state triumph the team neglected to collect its State Qualifier banner to hang along with all the others that decorate the gym walls. That was Danielson’s cue to unveil it at midcourt and present it to the plucky team while the packed house roared.
The festivities were at once energized and relaxed in the comforts of the team’s home court surrounded by their full-throated supporters. But there is pressure. They’ll have to win in primetime tonight to secure a field trip for their fellow students during class time on Friday!
“Stand up and cheer for dear old Roosevelt…”
Week 4::
I'm late on this week due to the cold front that hit my state. The cold really made me loose motivation to go out this week. I went out a few times this week to get a levitation shot, but I was really disappointed with my results. Then today I landed with this shot and it turned out!!!
On a side note, I still have 1.5 weeks till i start school again!!!! I want to go back. Ever since I got back from my travels, I haven't really done anything. I finally ordered all my books for class so i'll probably get a head start with that. Otherwise, my life consists of sleep, eat, & working out. Might as well enjoy it since this semester's going to hectic!
Dunolly.
This charming historic town in the Victorian goldfields belt owes it very existence to gold. The first pastoral land was taken here in 1845 by Archibald McDougall. When gold nuggets were discovered in the forest at nearby Moliagul in 1852 the current land owner at that time created a private town in 1854. McDougall in 1845 had named his property after Dunolly Castle in Scotland so although he had gone by then that was the name given to the new town. It spurted into life two years later when gold finds were made close to the town in 1856. Within a few months Dunolly had 15,000 diggers and inhabitants. Most left in 1858 but some gold mining continued for many years and the town has an air of faded elegance from these wealthy days. In the late 1850s/early 1860s many fine buildings were erected: a school hall (1857), a Court House (1862), an Anglican Church (1866), hospital (1860), the Railway Hotel under another name( 1858), The Bendigo Hotel and Cobb and Co Offices (1857) Methodist Church (1863),Town Hall (1862), Presbyterian Church (1864), etc. The railway from Melbourne and Maryborough reached the town in 1874 on its wat to St Arnaud. When the gold finds withered wheat became the main activity and the town had a flour mill erected in 1873 replaced by a newer one in 1893, more churches and more hotels and a Cobb and Co Office. In 1869 at Moliagul the largest gold nugget in the world for that time was discovered- The Welcome Stranger weighing 2,280 ounces. It was melted down for the gold but a replica is held in the Dunolly town museum. By 1875 the town of Dunolly had slipped back to around 1,500 permanent residents. The Chinese from the gold mining days had also gone by then but some are buried in the town cemetery. In World War Two (1943) a huge tin shed grain storage was built in Dunolly called a stick shed as thousands of gum poles held it together. Another one was built in Murtoa (heritage listed) which still exists but the Dunolly Stick Shed was demolished in 1987. Train services to Dunolly ceased in 1980.
Life is not so easy. These people travel hundreds of Miles on the back of trucks and come to the city to sell their Cows. These cows are not like animals to them, rather these are like their own sons because they take so much care of them for months that their is a special bonding between them. When they arrive in the "Cow Huts" to sell their cows, they have to sleep, cook and eat in the same same place with their cows.
Eid Mubarak Everyone!
Palermo is a city in Insular Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old. Palermo is located in the northwest of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea.The city was founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians as Ziz. The present name is derived from the Greek Panoremus meaning 'always fit for landing in'. Palermo became part of the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire and eventually part of the Byzantine Empire, for over a thousand years. From 827 to 1071 it was under Arab rule during the Emirate of Sicily when it first became a capital. Following the Norman reconquest, Palermo became capital of a new kingdom (from 1130 to 1816), the Kingdom of Sicily. Eventually it would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860.The population of Palermo urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 855,285, while its metropolitan area is the fifth most populated in Italy with around 1.2 million people. In the central area, the city has a population of around 650,000 people. The inhabitants are known as Palermitans or, poetically, panormiti. The languages spoken by its inhabitants are the Italian language and the Sicilian language, in its Palermitan variation.Palermo is Sicily's cultural, economic and touristic capital. It is a city rich in history, culture, art, music and food. Numerous tourists are attracted to the city for its good Mediterranean weather, its renowned gastronomy and restaurants, its Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque churches, palaces and buildings, and its nightlife and music. Palermo is the main Sicilian industrial and commercial center: the main industrial sectors include tourism, services, commerce and agriculture. Palermo currently has an international airport, and a significant underground economy. In fact, for cultural, artistic and economic reasons, Palermo was one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean and is now among the top tourist destinations in both Italy and Europe. The city is also going through careful redevelopment, preparing to become one of the major cities of the Euro-Mediterranean area.Roman Catholicism is highly important in Palermitan culture. The patron saint of the city is Saint Rosalia. Her feast day on July 15 is perhaps the biggest social event in the city. The area attracts significant numbers of tourists each year and is widely known for its colourful fruit, vegetable and fish market at the heart of Palermo, known as the Vucciria.
Palermo è un comune italiano di 654 987 abitanti, capoluogo della provincia di Palermo e della Regione Siciliana.È il quinto comune italiano per popolazione dopo Roma, Milano, Napoli e Torino e trentunesimo a livello europeo, nonché il principale centro urbano della Sicilia e dell'Italia insulare. L'area metropolitana di Palermo, che comprende il capoluogo ed altri 26 comuni, conta una popolazione di 1.041.314 abitanti.Estesa lungo l'omonimo golfo nel Mar Tirreno e adagiata sulla pianura della Conca d'Oro, così chiamata per via delle colorazioni tipiche degli agrumi che un tempo dominavano il paesaggio, è circondata completamente da una cinta muraria naturale: i monti di Palermo. Il tessuto urbano è diviso dal fiume Oreto che scorre nella sua omonima vallata.Fondata come città-porto dai Fenici intorno al 734 a.C., è stata sempre un nodo culturale e commerciale fra occidente e Asia, dunque uno strategico luogo di transito al centro del Mediterraneo. Possiede una storia millenaria che le ha regalato un notevole patrimonio artistico ed architettonico che spazia dai resti delle mura puniche per giungere a ville in stile liberty, passando dalle residenze in stile arabo-normanno, alle chiese barocche ed ai teatri neoclassici. Per ragioni culturali, artistiche ed economiche è stata tra le maggiori città del Mediterraneo ed oggi è fra le principali mete turistiche del mezzogiorno italiano e tra le maggiori mete crocieristiche.Fu capitale, dal 1160 al 1816, del Regno di Sicilia, e seconda città per importanza del Regno delle Due Sicilie fino al 1861. È sede dell'Assemblea regionale siciliana, dell'Università degli Studi e della principale arcidiocesi regionale.
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''When people hear of Las Vegas, their minds don't automatically manifest the existence of people like me. To everyone that lives vibrantly outside of my world, outside of my invisible glass cage, lot lizards are not like them. We're not human. We don't deserve to be remembered.''
Inspired by Laura Albert (a.k.a. J.T. LeRoy)'s Sarah and The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things
Usage: Anyone has my fullest permission to use this image as a reference. This image is owned by me which I am making it freely available with the request that, when possible, I be properly credited. Any other use is strictly prohibited.
Production still for a short film-in-progress, The Lost Films of Charlie Melroy for UNLV'S Spring 2016 FIS 420 - Short Film class, instructed by Prof. David Schmoeller (Crawlspace, Catacombs, Puppetmaster, Please Kill Mr. Kinski, Little Monsters, 2012) and FIS 326 - Cinematography I, instructed by professional cinematographer David Waldman. The film is made-up as a non-linear anthology. This segment is titled ''Jeremiah Falls' Vanishing Kill City.''
Model: My identical twin sister, Sarahfina Rose
Location: W Tropicana, empty lot behind MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada
Date: Saturday, 23 Apr. 2016
Time: Shoot - 1 hr./Post - 3 hrs.
Also uploaded to DeviantArt: jdnight.deviantart.com/art/Her-Name-Was-Jeremiah-604916371
"A arte é essencialmente a afirmação, a dádiva e a deidificação da existência."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
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“Art is essentially the affirmation, the blessing, and the deification of existence”
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
Everybody has a story. The Existence Project uses storytelling to build a community of empathy, understanding and belonging for everyone.
Read more: news.gov.bc.ca/20790
(more pictures or information you can receive by going to the end of page!)
House of the Teutonic Order
The House of the Teutonic Order was as a Viennese commandry of the in 1198 in Acre founded Teutonic Order under Duke Leopold VI in the early years of the 13th Century built. The German Order was next to the Hospitallers and the Templars the third major order of knights of the Middle Ages. Duke Leopold gave him the large area between Stephansplatz, Churhausgasse, Singerstraße and blood alley (Blutgasse). Documentarily proven is the existence of the house from 1222. Here resided the Landkomtur (province commanders) of the Bailiwick of Austria, to which the commandries Vienna, Wiener Neustadt, Graz, Friesach and Groß-Sonntag (Krain) belonged. In the great fire of 1258 all the religious buildings except the church tower burned down. In the Middle Ages the complex of the German monastic house was limited to the area along the Singerstraße and Blutgasse. 1309 exchanged the Order part of the land that was needed for the extension of Stephen's cemetery against a neighboring area. The sprawling building had in its, the Stephansplatz adjacent part a large farm yard, which was surrounded by stables. Since 1526 the Head of the Order bore the title "Grand and German master (Hoch- und Deutschmeister)". The famous Viennese house regiment of the same name by the way in 1696 emerged from those Truppenkontigenten (contigent of troops) which the Order for the Turkish war had provided. After the first Turkish siege of Vienna, numerous residents of the suburbs whose houses had been burned were housed here. From 1667 the already dilapidated buildings were torn down with the exception of the church under the Landkomtur (province commander) Gottfried Freiherr von Lambert and provided by Carlo Canevale with three-storey new buildings. As plasterers Jacob Schlag and Simon Alio were mentioned. 1679/82 increased Canevale and Johann Bernhard Ceresola the complex.
Sala terrena. In the years 1720-1725 the German religious house under the Landkomtur Guidobald Starhemberg by Anton Erhard Martinelli was further extended and baroquised. In 1785 it received under Landkomtur Alois Graf Harrach by placing a fourth storey its present shape. In the 18th Century several fires caused major damages. Especially those of 1735 raged for three days, because the urban fighting personnel the entry was denied by the German Order of Knights. Among the prominent residents of the German religious house, which in the 18th and 19th century first also as a guest house of the Order served and then was largely rented, included Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1781), Johannes Brahms (1863 - 1865) and the comedy writer Cornelius Hermann Paul von Ayrenhoff. At the beginning of the 19th Century on Stephansplatz the German Order Cellar (Deutschordenskeller) was opened. Was in its place in the second half of the 20th Century the Restaurant "Deutsches Haus". Since 1809 the German religious house is the residence of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. Until then, this one resided in Mergentheim (Baden-Württemberg). From 1864 the Landkomtur Eugen Graf von Haugwitz the church by the cathedral architect from Gran, Josef Lippert, partially had re-gothicised. At that time at the gable above the church windows the already damaged pinnacles and figures were removed. Only the Grand Master coat of arms was left. 1929 the community of the German Teutonic Knights was transformed into a purely religious order. It is one of the very few religious institutions whose top management is not located in Rome. First Grand Master living in Vienna was Archduke Anton Viktor (1804 - 1835).
Church - interior. The House of the Teutonic Order is now a sprawling complex of buildings, grouped around two courtyards. The façade at the Blutgasse is the oldest. Those at the Singerstraße stems from the 17th Century. It represents today the face side of the building. The structuring of the façade by high Baroque inonic giant pilasters followed around 1720. The ground floor is grooved. The two early-Baroque round-arched portals are framed with Tuscan pilasters. The simple façades of the courtyards are held in the style of the 17th Century. On the west side of the pentagonal courtyard on the ground floor walled arched arcades as well as glazed Pawlatschen (access galleries) from the 19th Century on the first floor can be seen. In the courts were various, in 1903 discovered grave plates placed. The ground floor rooms are vaulted, early Baroque lunette barrels and groin vaults prevailing. Among them is the Sala terrene, a with a flat dome vaulted central room which is decorated with illusionistic wall paintings of the late 18th Century. The wall and ceiling frescoes depict mythological scenes and figural ornaments. The hall was once opened to the garden through a portal, but this was later reworked into a window. The tract between Stephansplatz and Blutgasse encloses two two-aisled halls. While the cross vault of the first ones is resting on sturdy pillars is those of the other ones supported by Tuscan columns. In the partially with Rococo and Neoclassical stucco ceilings provided rooms of the first floor are located the library and archives of the Order with documents and books dating back to the 12th Century. Some beautifully crafted wood cabinets were personally manufactured by the Grand and Deutschmeister Archduke Eugen. In the treasure chamber on the second floor are in addition to religious insignias and paintings, inter alia, parts of the Kunstkammer (Art chamber) of the Grand Master Archduke Maximilian III of Austria from the time about 1600 exposed.
Church - Empore. Attention getter and center of the tract at the Singerstraße are the three tall lancet windows of the church of the Teutonic Order. The first chapel already in 1258 fell victim to a town fire. From 1326 it was replaced by Jörg von Schiffering by a new building yet today the core of the Church of the Teutonic Order forming. At that time this one was still but free on three sides. In 1375 it was dedicated to St. Elizabeth. Guidobald Starhemberg 1720/22 the Chapel had remodelled in the Baroque style and flanked at both longitudinal sides by newly built religious houses, by which the three stained glass windows became the central projection of the House of the Teutonic Order. Presumably Anton Erhard Martinelli also was involved in the planning. The quite gothical appearing church facade is a beautiful example of the baroque tinge of the time after the Gothic period of 18th Century, unique in Austria. In the neo-Gothic restoration of 1864/68 the Baroque dome of the narrow and high tower was replaced by a pointed Gothic helmet. After the church was severely damaged in 1945 by bomb hits, followed its restoration 1946/47. Its vaults possess Gothic stucco decorations. In the Baroque reconstruction in the corners eight galleries were built-in, which are accessible from the apartments situated behind. The Dutch polyptych (1520) comes from Mechelen, but was until 1864 in the St. Mary's Church of Danzig. The altarpiece was created in 1667 by Tobias Pock. In the four corners of the room Evangelists Statues by Johann Hutter (1864) replace the missing sculptures by Giovanni Giuliani from the year 1721. On the walls hang several grave slabs, including an epitaph of the scholar Johannes Cuspinian (1515) and the by Jacob Schletterer created grave monument of the Landkomtur Josef Philipp Graf Harrach. Most of the more than eighty coats of arms of German knights, covering the upper part of the walls were designed by Johann Andreas Frank 1722.
Location / Address : 1010 Vienna, Singerstraße 7
Viewing: with the exception of the church and the museum allowed only outside
What would become the largest airline in the world owes its existence to the boll weevil. In response to weevil infestations of Southern cotton fields, Collett Woolman proposed using aerial cropdusting. No one had ever tried aerial spraying before, and Woolman’s Huff Daland Dusters became the world’s first cropdusting company. Huff Daland began spraying from Macon, Georgia in May 1924; a year later, it moved to Louisiana.
Eventually, Woolman raised enough money to buy Huff Daland outright, and in anticipation of expanding into airmail and passenger operations, renamed it Delta Air Service in reference to the Mississippi Delta region it would be operating from. Delta rapidly expanded its routes throughout the South, but nearly went out of business when the US government awarded airmail routes through the South to American Airlines; when it was learned that American was involved in a bribery scandal, Delta was able to get the route instead, ensuring its survival. In 1941, Delta moved its headquarters to Atlanta, which had become the central hub of its operations.
Postwar, Delta began to expand once more. It acquired Chicago and Southern Airlines in 1953, which gave Delta its first boost: before 1953, its routes were limited to the US South and its primary aircraft were war-surplus Douglas DC-3s and DC-4s. Using Chicago and Southern’s Lockheed L-049 Constellations, Delta could now fly routes through the Caribbean and into Canada.
In 1959, Delta entered the jet age by purchasing Douglas DC-8s; to represent their new aircraft, Delta changed its livery to introduce the “widget”—a stylized Greek-alphabet delta, referencing the airline name and its new swept-wing jets. The widget remains Delta’s logo to the present day. The airline went transcontinental soon thereafter, and to boost traffic on this route, became one of the launch customers of the Convair 880. Though the airline could boast a flight time between Atlanta and Los Angeles of less than three hours in the sleek 880, the airliner’s reputation as a gas hog would not keep it in Delta’s fleet for long. The last of its DC-7s were sold in 1970, making the airline all-jet.
Delta had a near stranglehold on the Southern market and extensive contacts in the Midwest, but lacked any sort of presence in the West or Northeast, and, aside from its Caribbean connections, none overseas. The airline took steps to rectify that situation: in 1972, it bought out Northeast Airlines, giving it significant routes in the Boston-New York area. To boost its transcontinental routes, Delta bought its first wide-body aircraft, Boeing 747s, in 1970, but these proved to be unprofitable and were sold; instead, Delta took on Lockheed L-1011 Tristars, and would go on to become the world’s largest operator of the L-1011 and one of the longest. Finally, in 1978, Delta was able to acquire a European route from Atlanta to London using Tristars.
Delta weathered the deregulation period of the early 1980s carefully, concentrating on its domestic routes and continuing its expansion slowly, rather than overreaching—a trend that was to lead to the demise of many of its competitors. In 1987, Western, facing bankruptcy and unable to conclude a deal with Continental, was taken over by Delta, giving the latter its long-awaited network in the American West and Pacific Northwest. It also left Delta as the largest airline in the US and allowed Delta to expand into Latin America.
Delta also began its Delta Connection service in 1987, partnering with Comair, Skywest, and Atlantic Southeast, which remained independent companies but repainted its aircraft in Delta liveries. In 1991, Delta bought a controlling interest in Pan American, with the promises to keep the latter in business. However, it was more profitable for Delta to let the legendary airline die off and take over its transatlantic routes, and by 1992, Delta was now the largest American transatlantic carrier. With the acquisition of Pan Am’s fleet, it also allowed Delta to make inroads into the Asian market.
The post-9/11 recession and the week-long grounding of US airlines hit Delta particularly hard, and it lost so much money that not even a government bailout could do more than delay further losses. The airline dropped most of its Asian routes, consolidated its fleet by retiring the aging L-1011 fleet and selling MD-11s inherited from Western, moved some business from its regional hubs to Atlanta, and cut salaries. Delta still ended up filing bankruptcy in 2005. Nonetheless, the austerity measures worked. Delta was also able to save money by refurbishing its MD-80 fleet rather than replacing them—the MD-80s were cheaper to operate than many newer airliners—and sold off some of its Delta Connection airlines or absorbed them entirely. After fending off an attempt at a buyout by US Airways, Delta emerged from bankruptcy in 2007; in celebration, the airline introduced another livery (its third in seven years) that reintroduced the widget.
It would expand still further. In 2008, it was announced that Delta and Northwest Airlines would merge, with the latter being absorbed by Delta. With a combined fleet of nearly 800 aircraft, this made Delta the largest airline in the world by fleet size, and in the top five by passengers flown annually. Today, Delta retains this title, with a worldwide network to every continent, with 300 destinations.
Delta was the launch customer for the Convair 880 in May 1960. The 880 was Convair's attempt to break into the airliner market dominated by the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8: the 880 was meant to compete by being faster than the other two aircraft. Unfortunately, it was also smaller and less fuel efficient, which airlines cared more about than speed. Only 65 880s would be produced, a failure that nearly wrecked Convair.
This 880, N8802E, was the first one to enter revenue service with Delta. It carries Delta's 1970s-1980s widget livery, with the widget repeated on the engine covers. N8802E served with Delta from 1960 to 1973, when it was sold off. After serving with several third-tier carriers, the aircraft was lost in a ground fire at Mexico City in 1983.
This toy was found at the bottom of a box when my family moved to a different house. Bary Poletto had received it as a gift at some point; it was still in its original box. I put it in the Collection as one of only two Convair 880s on display.
(more pictures or information you can receive by going to the end of page!)
House of the Teutonic Order
The House of the Teutonic Order was as a Viennese commandry of the in 1198 in Acre founded Teutonic Order under Duke Leopold VI in the early years of the 13th Century built. The German Order was next to the Hospitallers and the Templars the third major order of knights of the Middle Ages. Duke Leopold gave him the large area between Stephansplatz, Churhausgasse, Singerstraße and blood alley (Blutgasse). Documentarily proven is the existence of the house from 1222. Here resided the Landkomtur (province commanders) of the Bailiwick of Austria, to which the commandries Vienna, Wiener Neustadt, Graz, Friesach and Groß-Sonntag (Krain) belonged. In the great fire of 1258 all the religious buildings except the church tower burned down. In the Middle Ages the complex of the German monastic house was limited to the area along the Singerstraße and Blutgasse. 1309 exchanged the Order part of the land that was needed for the extension of Stephen's cemetery against a neighboring area. The sprawling building had in its, the Stephansplatz adjacent part a large farm yard, which was surrounded by stables. Since 1526 the Head of the Order bore the title "Grand and German master (Hoch- und Deutschmeister)". The famous Viennese house regiment of the same name by the way in 1696 emerged from those Truppenkontigenten (contigent of troops) which the Order for the Turkish war had provided. After the first Turkish siege of Vienna, numerous residents of the suburbs whose houses had been burned were housed here. From 1667 the already dilapidated buildings were torn down with the exception of the church under the Landkomtur (province commander) Gottfried Freiherr von Lambert and provided by Carlo Canevale with three-storey new buildings. As plasterers Jacob Schlag and Simon Alio were mentioned. 1679/82 increased Canevale and Johann Bernhard Ceresola the complex.
Sala terrena. In the years 1720-1725 the German religious house under the Landkomtur Guidobald Starhemberg by Anton Erhard Martinelli was further extended and baroquised. In 1785 it received under Landkomtur Alois Graf Harrach by placing a fourth storey its present shape. In the 18th Century several fires caused major damages. Especially those of 1735 raged for three days, because the urban fighting personnel the entry was denied by the German Order of Knights. Among the prominent residents of the German religious house, which in the 18th and 19th century first also as a guest house of the Order served and then was largely rented, included Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1781), Johannes Brahms (1863 - 1865) and the comedy writer Cornelius Hermann Paul von Ayrenhoff. At the beginning of the 19th Century on Stephansplatz the German Order Cellar (Deutschordenskeller) was opened. Was in its place in the second half of the 20th Century the Restaurant "Deutsches Haus". Since 1809 the German religious house is the residence of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. Until then, this one resided in Mergentheim (Baden-Württemberg). From 1864 the Landkomtur Eugen Graf von Haugwitz the church by the cathedral architect from Gran, Josef Lippert, partially had re-gothicised. At that time at the gable above the church windows the already damaged pinnacles and figures were removed. Only the Grand Master coat of arms was left. 1929 the community of the German Teutonic Knights was transformed into a purely religious order. It is one of the very few religious institutions whose top management is not located in Rome. First Grand Master living in Vienna was Archduke Anton Viktor (1804 - 1835).
Church - interior. The House of the Teutonic Order is now a sprawling complex of buildings, grouped around two courtyards. The façade at the Blutgasse is the oldest. Those at the Singerstraße stems from the 17th Century. It represents today the face side of the building. The structuring of the façade by high Baroque inonic giant pilasters followed around 1720. The ground floor is grooved. The two early-Baroque round-arched portals are framed with Tuscan pilasters. The simple façades of the courtyards are held in the style of the 17th Century. On the west side of the pentagonal courtyard on the ground floor walled arched arcades as well as glazed Pawlatschen (access galleries) from the 19th Century on the first floor can be seen. In the courts were various, in 1903 discovered grave plates placed. The ground floor rooms are vaulted, early Baroque lunette barrels and groin vaults prevailing. Among them is the Sala terrene, a with a flat dome vaulted central room which is decorated with illusionistic wall paintings of the late 18th Century. The wall and ceiling frescoes depict mythological scenes and figural ornaments. The hall was once opened to the garden through a portal, but this was later reworked into a window. The tract between Stephansplatz and Blutgasse encloses two two-aisled halls. While the cross vault of the first ones is resting on sturdy pillars is those of the other ones supported by Tuscan columns. In the partially with Rococo and Neoclassical stucco ceilings provided rooms of the first floor are located the library and archives of the Order with documents and books dating back to the 12th Century. Some beautifully crafted wood cabinets were personally manufactured by the Grand and Deutschmeister Archduke Eugen. In the treasure chamber on the second floor are in addition to religious insignias and paintings, inter alia, parts of the Kunstkammer (Art chamber) of the Grand Master Archduke Maximilian III of Austria from the time about 1600 exposed.
Church - Empore. Attention getter and center of the tract at the Singerstraße are the three tall lancet windows of the church of the Teutonic Order. The first chapel already in 1258 fell victim to a town fire. From 1326 it was replaced by Jörg von Schiffering by a new building yet today the core of the Church of the Teutonic Order forming. At that time this one was still but free on three sides. In 1375 it was dedicated to St. Elizabeth. Guidobald Starhemberg 1720/22 the Chapel had remodelled in the Baroque style and flanked at both longitudinal sides by newly built religious houses, by which the three stained glass windows became the central projection of the House of the Teutonic Order. Presumably Anton Erhard Martinelli also was involved in the planning. The quite gothical appearing church facade is a beautiful example of the baroque tinge of the time after the Gothic period of 18th Century, unique in Austria. In the neo-Gothic restoration of 1864/68 the Baroque dome of the narrow and high tower was replaced by a pointed Gothic helmet. After the church was severely damaged in 1945 by bomb hits, followed its restoration 1946/47. Its vaults possess Gothic stucco decorations. In the Baroque reconstruction in the corners eight galleries were built-in, which are accessible from the apartments situated behind. The Dutch polyptych (1520) comes from Mechelen, but was until 1864 in the St. Mary's Church of Danzig. The altarpiece was created in 1667 by Tobias Pock. In the four corners of the room Evangelists Statues by Johann Hutter (1864) replace the missing sculptures by Giovanni Giuliani from the year 1721. On the walls hang several grave slabs, including an epitaph of the scholar Johannes Cuspinian (1515) and the by Jacob Schletterer created grave monument of the Landkomtur Josef Philipp Graf Harrach. Most of the more than eighty coats of arms of German knights, covering the upper part of the walls were designed by Johann Andreas Frank 1722.
Location / Address : 1010 Vienna, Singerstraße 7
Viewing: with the exception of the church and the museum allowed only outside
State of the Vatican City, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the capital city of Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres) (0.44 km2), and a population of just over 800.[5][12]
Vatican City is a city-state that came into existence in 1929. It is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the main episcopal see of 1.147 billion Latin and Eastern Catholic adherents around the globe. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian; official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities even have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, only issues diplomatic and service passports; the state of Vatican City issues normal passports. In both cases the passports issued are very few.
The Lateran Treaty in 1929, which brought the city-state into existence, spoke of it as a new creation (Preamble and Article III), not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756-1870) that had previously encompassed central Italy. Most of this territory was absorbed into the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, and the final portion, namely the city of Rome with a small area close to it, ten years later, in 1870.
Vatican City is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state, ruled by the bishop of Rome—the Pope. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergymen of various nationalities. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Pope's residence, referred to as the Apostolic Palace.
The Popes have resided in the area that in 1929 became Vatican City since the return from Avignon in 1377. Previously, they resided in the Lateran Palace on the Caelian Hill on the opposite side of Rome, which site Constantine gave to Pope Miltiades in 313. The signing of the agreements that established the new state took place in the latter building, giving rise to the name of Lateran Pacts, by which they are known.
The name "Vatican" is ancient and predates Christianity, coming from the Latin Mons Vaticanus, meaning Vatican Mount. The territory of Vatican City is part of the Mons Vaticanus, and of the adjacent former Vatican Fields where St. Peter's Basilica, the Apostolic Palace, the Sistine Chapel, and museums were built, along with various other buildings. The area was part of the Roman rione of Borgo until 1929. Being separated from the city, on the west bank of the Tiber river, the area was an outcrop of the city that was protected by being included within the walls of Leo IV (847–55), and later expanded by the current fortification walls, built under Paul III (1534–49), Pius IV (1559–65) and Urban VIII (1623–44). When the Lateran Treaty of 1929 that gave the state its present form was being prepared, the boundaries of the proposed territory were influenced by the fact that much of it was all but enclosed by this loop. For some tracts of the frontier, there was no wall, but the line of certain buildings supplied part of the boundary, and for a small part of the frontier a modern wall was constructed. The territory includes St. Peter's Square, distinguished from the territory of Italy only by a white line along the limit of the square, where it touches Piazza Pio XII. St. Peter's Square is reached through the Via della Conciliazione which runs from the Tiber River to St. Peter's. This grand approach was constructed by Benito Mussolini after the conclusion of the Lateran Treaty.
According to the Lateran Treaty, certain properties of the Holy See that are located in Italian territory, most notably Castel Gandolfo and the major basilicas, enjoy extraterritorial status similar to that of foreign embassies. These properties, scattered all over Rome and Italy, house essential offices and institutions necessary to the character and mission of the Holy See.
Castel Gandolfo and the named basilicas are patrolled internally by police agents of Vatican City State and not by Italian police. St. Peter's Square is ordinarily policed jointly by both.
In this originally uninhabited area (the ager vaticanus) on the opposite side of the Tiber from the city of Rome, Agrippina the Elder (14 BC – 18 October AD 33) drained the hill and environs and built her gardens in the early 1st century AD. Emperor Caligula (37-41) started construction of a circus (AD 40) that was later completed by Nero, the Circus Gaii et Neronis, usually called, simply, the Circus of Nero. The Vatican obelisk was originally taken by Caligula from Heliopolis, Egypt to decorate the spina of his circus and is thus its last visible remnant. This area became the site of martyrdom of many Christians after the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64. Ancient tradition holds that it was in this circus that Saint Peter was crucified upside down. Opposite the circus was a cemetery separated by the Via Cornelia. Funeral monuments and mausoleums and small tombs as well as altars to pagan gods of all kinds of polytheistic religions were constructed lasting until before the construction of the Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter's in the first half of the 4th century. Remains of this ancient necropolis were brought to light sporadically during renovations by various popes throughout the centuries increasing in frequency during the Renaissance until it was systematically excavated by orders of Pope Pius XII from 1939 to 1941.
In 326, the first church, the Constantinian basilica, was built over the site that early Roman Catholic apologists (from the first century on) as well as noted Italian archaeologists argue was the tomb of Saint Peter, buried in a common cemetery on the spot. From then on the area started to become more populated, but mostly only by dwelling houses connected with the activity of St. Peter's. A palace was constructed near the site of the basilica as early as the 5th century during the pontificate of Pope Symmachus (reigned 498–514)
Popes in their secular role gradually came to govern neighbouring regions and, through the Papal States, ruled a large portion of the Italian peninsula for more than a thousand years until the mid 19th century, when all of the territory of the Papal States was seized by the newly created Kingdom of Italy. For much of this time the Vatican was not the habitual residence of the Popes, but rather the Lateran Palace, and in recent centuries, the Quirinal Palace, while the residence from 1309–77 was at Avignon in France.
In 1870, the Pope's holdings were left in an uncertain situation when Rome itself was annexed by the Piedmont-led forces which had united the rest of Italy, after a nominal resistance by the papal forces. Between 1861 and 1929 the status of the Pope was referred to as the "Roman Question". They were undisturbed in their palace, and given certain recognitions by the Law of Guarantees, including the right to send and receive ambassadors. But they did not recognize the Italian king's right to rule in Rome, and they refused to leave the Vatican compound until the dispute was resolved in 1929. Other states continued to maintain international recognition of the Holy See as a sovereign entity. In practice Italy made no attempt to interfere with the Holy See within the Vatican walls. However, they confiscated church property in many other places, including, perhaps most notably, the Quirinal Palace, formerly the pope's official residence. Pope Pius IX (1846–78), the last ruler of the Papal States, claimed that after Rome was annexed he was a "Prisoner in the Vatican". This situation was resolved on 11 February 1929 between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy.
The treaty was signed by Benito Mussolini on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III and by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri for Pope Pius XI. The Lateran Treaty and the Concordat established the independent State of the Vatican City and granted Roman Catholicism special status in Italy. In 1984, a new concordat between the Holy See and Italy modified certain provisions of the earlier treaty, including the position of Roman Catholicism as the Italian state religion.
Sakharibazar, Old Dhaka, 2011
Normal people with extraordinary lifestyles
Along with smile and the gloomy, here life has its own rhyme, has its own colour.
Time passed by, humanity changed along with its history...
But these people remained here tolerating the hardest truth of existences
..........its their story of extraordinary existences.
Sakharibazar, Old Dhaka. A very interesting place for all of us to visit. Culture and customs of old Dhaka are the tribute to the ancient history of Bangladesh. Peoples still living in 100 years old building from generations after generations. With the reflection of their religious beauty Old Dhaka attracts peoples from here and abroad.
Shakhari Bazaar is one of the oldest mohallas (a traditional neighbourhood) in Puran Dhaka (Old Dhaka), located near the intersection of Islampur Road and Nawabpur Road;the two main arteries of the old city and only a block away from the Buriganga River. Shakhari Bazaar stretches along a narrow lane, lined with thin slices of richly decorated brick buildings, built during the late Mughal or Colonial period. Despite rampant modifications, accretion, extension over time, even redevelopment, many still bear the testimony of a rich tradition.
Shakhari Bazaar is the manifestation of the irrational policies, lack of adequate development control rules and distorted legal framework, all of which have left their indelible mark on this precious little mohalla that shares a long history of more than 400 years with Dhaka city itself.The history of Shakhari Bazaar goes back to the pre-Mughal days if not earlier. The first mention of Puran Dhaka can be found in the writings of Mirza Nathan, the general turned historian, who traveled with Subahdar Islam Khan. He mentioned Puran Dhaka, as the area between Dholai Khal and Buriganga river covering Shakhari Bazaar, Tanti Bazaar, Bangla Bazaar, Lakhsmi Bazaar, Bangla Bazaar, Kamar Nagar, Sutar Nagar, Goala Nagar, etc. Each mohalla belonged to separate communities depending on their craft and trade. The influences of the Mughal vocabulary in the planning of the spaces are literally evident in the use of Persian names to identify different spaces..
I was asked to shoot some roller derby profiles recently, and this was one of my favourites. It brings me a laugh, as in real life, this woman is a very happy person!
Shot with an Einstein into a 22 inch beauty dish camera right. Canon 580EXII camera left, bare, behind subject.
A few months ago I read a post about this ancient monument, I was unaware of its existence.
I logged into my Google Maps and recorded it as one of my desired places to visit.
Today Thursday 15th November 2018 Scotland basked in a beautiful Autumn sunshine, my favoured shooting conditions, I packed my Nikon and drove the 25 miles to the site.
Historic Environment Scotland maintain the monument , thankfully they have done a magnificent job, I truly believe it is important to preserve history for the generations to come.
I had a magnificent two hours recording my experience, I never fail to feel overwhelmed by the wealth of history that surrounds Aberdeen and the shire.
Thank's to Historic Environment Scotland for their detailed information on this site.
Ancient Monument - Kinkell Church - Inverurie Aberdeen Scotland.
Kinkell Church, built in the 1200s, is a classic medieval Highland church: simply designed and rectangular in shape. But the liturgical features installed in the 1520s are anything but plain. The stone sacrament house in the north of the church is an especially fine fixture.
Kinkell was refitted for Presbyterian worship following the Protestant Reformation of 1560, and declared redundant in 1771. Much of the building was dismantled and building materials recycled for use in a new kirk.
KINKELL CHURCH
• Kinkell Church, dedicated to St Michael, consist of the remains of a simple rectangular medieval parish church, of which only the N, W and part of the E
wall are upstanding.
The church was partly remodelled, perhaps on more than one occasion,
including in the early 16th century, when an elaborately carved Sacrament
House was built into the E end of the N wall.
Within the church is the monument of Gilbert de Greenlaw, killed at the battle
of Harlaw in 1411; the stone was re-used for a Forbes burial in 1592
CHARACTER OF THE MONUMENT
The church appears to have come on record in the early 13th century. Kinkell
was a mother church, or plebanus, and had dependent chapels at Dyce,
Drumblade, Kemnay, Kinnellar, Kintore and Skene.
This connection, which
was of long standing, may have arisen if Kinkell’s origins was that of an ecclesiastical foundation, rather like a minster, with an extensive parochia.
This would push back its origins considerably.
From the 14th century, certain revenues of the church evidently pertained to the Knights Hospitallers, although it is also recorded as an independent parsonage during the 14th century.
Any connection with the Hospitallers came to an end in 1420, when the church
and its annexes were erected into a prebend of Aberdeen Cathedral.
From a date and a set of initials on the sacrament house, it is apparent that in 1524 Alexander Galloway, rector of Kinkell and canon of Aberdeen Cathedral,
paid for the splendid sacrament house built into the E end of the N wall.
He appears to have been paying for further work the following year as a carved stone panel depicting the crucifixion, dated 1525, and with Alexander’s initials (three times), is built into the N wall (only a bronze replica survives; the original
was removed to Aberdeen Museum in 1934 and subsequently lost).
The church was abandoned in 1771 when the parish was amalgamated with
Keithhall. It was partially demolished to provide building materials for the new
parish church.
Archaeological Overview
There have been no recorded archaeological investigations at Kinkell.
The archaeological potential of the monument is extremely high and any excavation is very like to come across human remains, and perhaps also earlier church
buildings on the site.
Artistic/Architectural Overview
The church is fragmentary and devoid of features apart for the sacrament
house, the crucifixion panel and a single jamb of what must have been a large,
traceried E window. The simple oblong plan of the church suggests that the
basic form of the church dates from the early 13th century, with much late
medieval remodelling.
2/3
• The sacrament house is a particularly fine, and unique, example of this type of
medieval church fixture. It was an aumbry, or wall cupboard, designed to
reserve the host in appropriate reverential surroundings.
• The sacrament house at Kinkell shares several features with others found in
the NE, associated with Galloway, but is unique due to its cross shape. The
aumbry is flanked by two buttresses with crocketed finials. Between these is a
panel, which although badly defaced, appears to have been ornamented with a
monstrance supported by two angels (a very common motif found on other
sacrament houses associated with Alexander Galloway). Above this panel is a
corbelled and battlemented cornice, and above this is an oblong panel, which
probably contained a crucifixion scene, but is now empty. Flanking the
pinnacles are two panels, each filled with scrolls, which are of different forms
although the inscriptions on the scrolls were meant to be read as one and
state: ‘Here is preserved that body which was born of a virgin’.
• The crucifixion panel has a representation of St Michael, the archangel (to
whom the church was dedicated) to the right of the crucified, the Virgin on the
left and under her a priest, perhaps representing Galloway himself as donor,
standing beside an altar on which are Galloway’s initials.
• The sacrament house and the Crucifixion panel appear to have been part of a
liturgical revival in the diocese of Aberdeen during the early decade on the 16th
century. Alexander Galloway appear to have been a central figure in the move
to ensure parish churches had the fittings for the proper worship of God, and in
particular devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. He erected several sacrament
houses in churches he was involved in; Kinkell and its dependents at Dyce and
Kintore, and at King College, Aberdeen and may have been influential in the
decision of his colleagues, Alexander Spittal of Auchindoir and Alexander Lyon
of Turiff, to erect those in their respective churches. Galloway also donated a
font to Kinkell, which now is now in St John’s Episcopal Church, Aberdeen.
• The construction of the sacrament house may have been part of a wider
reorganisation of the chancel area of the church, and it is tempting to suggest
that the great E window may have been a part of this re-organisation, although
details of this moulding may be more consistent with a 14th or 15th century
date.
Social Overview
• The church is currently used as a recreational attraction. It receives little other
community use.
Spiritual Overview
• As a parish church in use for some six centuries, the site has the potential to
inform our understanding of medieval Christianity, the aspirations of the
rectors, vicars and ministers who served the church and the congregations
who worshipped in it.
• The burial ground was in use until fairly recently, and may still be in use for
occasional burials. People still visit family graves and memorials.
Aesthetic Overview
• The church and burial ground are located in the haughs of the River Don,
amongst arable farmland which adds to the appreciation of this monument.
The church has been pointed with a hard cement mortar that give the walls the impression of crazy paving.
The sacrament house, the replica crucifixion panel,
3/3 the window jamb are fine architectural details which are aesthetically very striking, and provide some idea of the glories of this once very fine church.
• The graveslab of Gilbert de Greenlaw, killed at the Battle of Harlaw, which would originally have been a ledger slab, is a particularly detailed carving of an armed knight.
What are the major gaps in understanding of the property?
• Do further historical sources or references survive.
• Nothing is known about the archaeology and earlier history of this site.
The church is an example, although much ruined, of a church which was remodelled in the 16th century.
The sacrament house is a particularly fine example of this type of church
furnishing, and the only example which takes the form of a cross.
Sacrament houses are physical manifestation of an important aspect of late medieval
Christianity; the veneration and adoration of the Body of Christ in the form of the consecrated host.
The church is closely associated with Canon Alexander Galloway, who encouraged a liturgical revival in the diocese in the early 16th century.
The site has high archaeological potential, but as a place of burial over centuries so the scope for research-led invasive excavation is not high.
Associated Properties
St Fergus’, Dyce, Auchindoir Church, St Machars Cathedral, Kintore Church,
Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China
Hohhot is a city of incredible diversity. The mesh of Islamic and traditional Chinese architecture can be seen on the opposing sides of this city street. Muslims, Buddhists, and minority groups blend seamlessly in this bustling city.
Submitted by: Lisa Dicker
This and other photos in this set were submitted by students of the University of Tennessee as part of the Study Abroad Photo Contest. See studyabroad.utk.edu/ for more details.
During a circumnavigation of a mesa next to Negro Bill Canyon I encountered this sandstone boulder. Upon seeing the aura antennae atop the rock, I realized that it was a psychic transmitter. Feeling a bit tired from my wanderings among the bedrock, bushes, and blaring Sun, I paused to take advantage of this wondrous facility.
Desiring to give my motivation a boost, I proceeded to make body contact with the rock. By maintaining the pictured posture for 7.1 hours without moving, I reached a Higher Plane of Existence. The result is that I began to understand why the ingredients of shampoo have such weird names. Infused with this new awareness, my spirit was uplifted and I continued my exploration with renewed enthusiasm.
Joe Tripod, who helped me make this picture, isn't psychic but he meditates in stillness to hold my camera.
Geotagging is approximate, as psychic transmitters play havoc with Internet mapping routines and GPS devices.
From above and across the canyon, one has a different view of this boulder.
The Holiday House Geographic, is among the most desirable vintage travel trailers in the world. One of only two currently known to be in existence, the body of this trailer was designed by world renowned industrial engineer, Chuck Pelly, designer of the Scarab race car and founder of Designworks USA, which is BMW's California Studio.
David Holmes, President of "Harry & David" fruit company, began producing the Holiday House travel trailers in November of 1959, in Medford, Oregon. These were aluminum and wood constructed trailers as many of their counterparts of this era, however, the Holiday House trailers stood out as distinctive due to their highly progressive and futuristic design.
In 1958 David Holmes enlisted Chuck Pelly to design the Geographic model, also known as Model X, as a super limited production model, which he dubbed the "Trailer For The Rich". The styling was unlike any trailer of it's time. There are thought to have only been parts of 7 of these strikingly futuristic fiberglass trailers ever made with a price tag of almost $8,500. The Holiday House factory burned down in 1962, and the molds that survived were discarded years later.
This 1961 Holiday House Geographic has been completely restored from the frame up with no expense spared, by Flyte Camp, in Bend, OR.
This trailer would make a wonderful addition to any collection, and is fully equipped as a modern luxury travel trailer.
The Holiday House Geographic Serial Number 007:
The exterior was tastefully re-finished with Axalta finishing systems and coatings, in a two-toned champagne and moss green with bronze colored pin-stripping. The entire running system was upgraded with new axels, brakes, wheels, and 10-ply Diamond Back white wall trailer tires. The exterior is completed with a vintage style fabric awning.
The interior features Black Walnut wall skin, cabinetry and black walnut hard wood flooring with custom aluminum detailing. The bathroom/dressing room features Marmoleum flooring, Walnut & Marmoleum countertops and a Stainless Steel shower with a Teak hardwood shower floor insert. Through out the coach original vintage light sconces are combined with LED lighting. Warm LED strip lighting accents the cabinetry, with lighting in cabinet, under cabinet and along the floor in the living area. The kitchen is outfitted with a stainless two burner cook top, a two drawer stainless 3-way fridge, and a stainless sink with a built-in drain board. Stainless kitchen countertops, and luxury upholstery fabric, in moss, accented with high end custom pleated and lined drapery complete the interior finishes. Behind the scenes an LP on-demand hot water heater provides a steady flow of limitless hot water. Off grid the water holding system is made up of a 35 gallon fresh water tank, a 35 gallon black water tank and 40 gallon grey water holding. The 2000 watt Go Power! inverter system is powered by 4 Trojan 6-volt AGM batteries, and is solar capable. There are both 110 outlets, and 12 volt ports throughout the trailer. The A/V system includes a 32” TV, surround sound and a DVD/Bluetooth stereo system. The Air-conditioning system has a heat pump and is tastefully concealed under the front couch. The front L shaped sofa, is 30” deep with pillows removed and can comfortably sleep two. The gaucho couch also extends to sleep two. There is ample storage, with full extension drawers. Aluminum trim and detailing has been added to the bottom of the cabinetry. No detail has been overlooked including the stainless steel front door threshold which has been laser etched with "Geographic".
The icing on the cake was having Chuck Pelly attended the Palm Springs Modernism event in February of this year to see the completed Geographic, and he added his personal signature to the trailer both inside and out!
This may be the only opportunity to own this priceless piece of history. Please contact Flyte Camp with any questions, and for additional detail photos if desired. We accept payment by Cashiers Check if the check is drawn off of an Institution with a Branch in Bend, Oregon. Otherwise, we accept wire transfer. Please let us know if you have any questions regarding payment, or to schedule pickup. Buyer is responsible for all shipping arrangements. Trailer should be picked up within 30 days of auction end. Contact us if you are an international buyer.
Media:
This trailer will be featured on the official 2018 Hot August Nights poster. Hot August Nights is the largest collectable car show in the US, being held August 7-12th, 2018 in Reno, NV.
The Geo was featured on the cover of the June 2018 edition of Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine. The Geographic took the trophy for Best of Modernism at the 2018 Palm Springs Modernism Vintage Travel Trailer Show, and Best Mobile Mansion at the Pismo Coast Rally in May of 2018. The trailer has also been filmed for an upcoming episode of Extreme RVs on the Travel Channel. Please check out footage of the build on the Flyte Camp YouTube Channel.
Photos curtesy of Hal Thomas Photography, Tim Cash of Far From Earth Films, and Anna Scribner of Flyte Camp, LLC.
Credit: Flyte Camp
Source: eBay
Oldsmobile was a brand of automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory. When it was phased out, Oldsmobile was the oldest surviving American automobile marque, and one of the oldest in the world, after Daimler and Peugeot. Oldsmobile was GM's first brand to be phased out in the 21st century, after the company's Geo and Canadian-market Asüna brands were phased out in the 1990s, and before the discontinuation of GM's Pontiac, Saturn, and Hummer brands in 2010.
In the 1930s through the 1990s, Oldsmobile used a two digit model designation. As originally implemented, the first digit signified the body size while the second represents the number of cylinders. Body sizes were 6, 7, 8, and 9, and 6- and 8-cylinder engines were offered. Thus, Oldsmobiles were named 66 through 98.
In 1937, Oldsmobile was a pioneer in introducing a four-speed semi-automatic transmission called the "Automatic Safety Transmission", although this accessory was actually built by Buick, which would offer it in its own cars in 1938. This transmission featured a conventional clutch pedal, which the driver pressed before selecting either "low" or "high" range. In "low", the car shifted between first and second gears. In "high", the car shifted between first, third and fourth gears.
Hats Off Day, Parade, 2010
For my video; youtu.be/z9vroY-HjkM
Burnaby Heights, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Why is love beyond all measure of other human possibilities so rich and such a sweet burden for the one who has been struck by it? Because we change ourselves into that which we love, and yet remain ourselves. Then we would like to thank the beloved, but find nothing that would do it adequately. We can only be thankful to ourselves. Love transforms gratitude into faithfulness to ourselves and into an unconditional faith in the Other. Thus love steadily expands its most intimate secret. Closeness here is existence in the greatest distance from the other- the distance that allows nothing to dissolve - but rather presents the “thou” in the transparent, but “incomprehensible” revelation of the “just there”. That the presence of the other breaks into our own life - this is what no feeling can fully encompass. Human fate gives itself to human fate, and it is the task of pure love to keep this self-surrender as vital as on the first day. – Martin Heidegger
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZVWmrXHlGY
Massive Attack (1995) -Protection
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Rabari temple (Dubhrej village).
Rabaris are devout Hindus. According to their myth of existence they were created by Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva, who wiped the dust and sweat from Shiva as he was meditating and fashioned the very first camel from the dust balls she collected from his body. Once Shiva had breathed life into this camel, it kept running away, so Parvati fashioned a man, and the first Rabari was given life so he could mind the camel. Keeping animals has thus always been a pious occupation and Rabaris see themselves primarily as custodians of animals during their moral existence, rather than their owners. It is also their beliefs that the mother goddess presides over them. Her advice is taken about when to start out migration, and animals are commended to her care.
Using pioneering new technologies in Superfoods and nutrition, CFTRI has developed amazing new products which are on show at CFTRI stall at Pragati Maidan:
· Chia and Quinoa based Chocolates and Laddoos;
· Omega-3 enriched ice-cream;
· Multigrain banana bar
· Fruit juice based carbonated drinks.
New Delhi, 24th November, 2016: CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), the premier national institute for food technology is exhibiting a range of new agri-products now grown in India, called Superfoods that bring health and nutrition best practices to everyday eating and living to the common man. The exhibits by CFTRI at the Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi both impress and surprise with the range and scope of their utility and potency.
The Indian population is presently going through a nutrition transition and there is an increase in incidence of diabetes, impaired heart health and obesity while there is still rampant malnutrition in the nation.
Keeping in mind an effective solution needed to address these concerns, CSIR-CFTRI is working on bringing Superfoods to the Indian population. CFTRI works on various facets of food technology, food processing, advanced nutrition, Superfoods and allied sciences. Superfoods are foods which have superior nutrition profiles which upon regular consumption can help improve health and wellness of the consumer.
CFTRI has developed the agro-technology for growing Superfoods viz. Chia and Quinoa in Indian conditions. Chia is the richest source of omega-3 fats from a vegetarian source and Quinoa has excellent protein quality and low glycemic load carbohydrates. Comprehensively, Chia and Quinoa have potential to improve population health and both blend seamlessly into traditional food preparations.
CSIR-CFTRI also infuses the spirit of entrepreneurship in their students. One of the doctoral students after completing her academic program started her own technology provider start-up company, Oleome Biosolutions Pvt Ltd. In a global first, CSIR-CFTRI in collaboration with Oleome, has developed a 100% vegetarian, Omega-3-enriched Ice cream called “Nutriice” using Chia oil.
CSIR-CFTRI is also in the process of the final phase of testing of diacylglycerol (DAG) oil, a unique cooking oil that has “Anti-Obesity” functionalities. One can consume it as part of daily regular diet and while the oil is available as energy but does not get stored as fat in our bodies. The final phase of human clinical trial is presently under progress.
CFTRI has also designed and developed snacks with advanced nutrition designs to support the nutrition needs of growing children. These have been implemented in the aganwadi levels to complement the existing government mid-day meal and will be scaled up soon. The products, such as Nutri Chikki with spirulina, rice beverage mix, high protein rusk, energy food, nutri sprinkle, seasame paste and fortified mango bars have been well received by the children and the anganwadis alike. Multi-grain Banana bar is a new addition to in this product portfolio.
Another exciting area of multidisciplinary research being done at CSIR-CFTRI is on nanotechnology, food technology and nutrition. Nanomaterials are known for their characteristic properties and CSIR-CFTRI is working on the use of nanoparticles for various applications. One of our interesting developments is the design and development of food packaging material with nanoparticles with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties to improve shelf-life of processed foods.
CSIR-CFTRI is also working on “Smart Foods” to answer specific needs of the consumer. These promising and specifically designed innovations are being developed for better sleep, better skin health, improved digestion, better cognitive performance and better stress management. The high science is brought into a simple food product, like a cereal bar which helps one to be more attentive over the day, or a unique dosa mix that helps in working out better at the gym with lower perceived exhaustion and even a special soup to help sleep better at night!
Speaking on the sidelines of the CSIR-CFTRI exhibition at Pragati Maidn, Prof. Ram Rajasekharan, Director, CFTRI said “Our mandate is to find innovative solutions to India agricultural and nutritional challenges. Our aim is to develop products to make Indian agriculture productive, efficient and at a consumer level gradually replace drugs with foods that will promote better health and wellness. We strive to deliver our best in improving food security and nutrition security, also developing a stronger, smarter and healthier India”.
About CSIR-CFTRI:
CSIR − Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore (A constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi) came into existence during 1950 with the great vision of its founders, and a network of inspiring as well as dedicated scientists who had a fascination to pursue in-depth research and development in the areas of food science and technology.
CSIR-CFTRI is today a large and diversified laboratory headed by Prof. Ram Rajasekharan, Director, CSIR-CFTRI. Presently the institute has a great team of scientists, technologists, engineers, technicians, skilled workers, and support staff. There are seventeen research and development departments, including laboratories focusing on lipid science, molecular nutrition, food engineering, food biotechnology, microbiology, biochemistry, food safety etc.
The institute has designed over 300 products, processes, and equipment types. It holds several patents and has a large number of high impact peer reviewed journal articles to its credit. India is the world's second largest food grain, fruit and vegetable producer, and the institute is engaged in research and development in the production and handling of grains, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and poultry.
The institute develops technologies to increase efficiency and reduce postharvest losses, add convenience, increase export, find new sources of food products, integrate human resources in food industries and develops solutions to improve the health and wellness of the population.
CFTRI has a vast portfolio of over 300 products, processes and equipment designs, and close to 4000 licensees have availed themselves of these technologies for commercial exploitation. The achievements have been of considerable industrial value, social importance and national relevance, and coupled with the institute's wide-ranging facilities and services, have created an extensive impact on the Indian food industry and Indian society at large.
No image of the Albert Edward (also incorrectly referred to as the Albert and Edward) has been found. This extract from the List of Registered Ships demonstrates her existence. The vessel has been included as she was substantially repaired by Richard Phegan (Cape Hawke) in 1877.
DETAILS
Name: ALFRED EDWARD (COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS ALFRED AND EDWARD)
Type: ketch
Registration: 70808 NEWCASTLE 7/1876
Builder: Peter Callen, Stockton
Length: 58.0 ft
Breadth: 16.5 ft
Depth in Hold: 5.5 ft
Tonnage: (n.b. 1 shipping ton = 100 cubic feet)
-Under Deck: 31.80 tons
-Head Room over cabin: 2.28 tons
-Net or Register: 34.08 tons (96.45 cubic metres)
OWNERS:
April 1876: John Ash
August 1876: John Ash (mortgaged to The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney)
March 1882: John Ash (discharge of mortgage)
April 1882: James Conway
FATE: December 1882: Wrecked at Ulladulla
PERILOUS POSITION
Only two months of taking delivery the ALBERT EDWARD was in difficulty at the entrance to Newcastle Harbour,
“PERILOUS POSITION OF A KETCH
The ketch Alfred Edward, the property of Mr. John Ash, of this city, and engaged in the Lake Macquarie timber trade, left Newcastle yesterday morning for Lake Macquarie in ballast. When near Red Head a strong southerly gale sprung up, which induced her master, H. Limeburner, to attempt to put back to Newcastle. All went well until the ketch was rounding Nobby's when she met a strong ebb tide, and the full force of the gale, in attempting to beat in the ketch not carrying much sail, missed stays and drifted into the bight. The parties on shore who witnessed the occurrence. thought she could not avoid running on to the other bank, but the anchors were dropped and the ketch brought to near where some very heavy seas were breaking.
No attempt appeared to be made to beat off, and Mr. Dalton upon being communicated with, consented to send out a tug to the ketch's assistance. The Challenge went out, and was very well handled by Captain Smith, being taken stern on to the ketch. The little vessel was taken in tow, and safely brought into port.” Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954) Thu 22 Jun 1876
DAMAGED AT SEAL ROCKS – REPAIRED BY RICHARD PHEGAN
Just one year later the Alfred Edward was again in trouble having gone ashore at Seal Rocks.
“SINKING OF THE KETCH ALFRED EDWARD
A report was current in town yesterday that the ketch Alfred Edward, owned by Mr. John Ash, of this city was a total wreck at Cape Hawke. The report was generally credited; but we are pleased to state that although the vessel did meet with a serious mishap, matters have been considerably overdrawn.
Mr. Ash received a telegram from the Seal Rocks in the afternoon, from Henry Limeburner, master of the vessel and kindly favours us with a copy of it, as follows: "Vessel has been ashore at the Heads; now inside. She is badly damaged, and her cargo has been discharged” Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954) - Tue 12 June 1877”
The task of repairing the vessel was given to Mr. Richard Phegan of Cape Hawke
The Alfred Edward is again ready for sea, having been repaired after her mishap by Mr.
R Phegan, who has started for Newcastle to settle with the Insurance Company. The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893) Thu 9 Aug 1877
WRECKED AT ULLADULLA
Shipping Items.
SYDNEY, Monday.-The ketch Alfred Edward, commanded by Captain B. Lloyd, and owned by Mr. John Ash [actually James Conway] of Newcastle, has gone ashore at South Head, Ulladulla. She will probably become a total wreck. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954) - Tue 12 Dec 1882
WRECK OF THE ALFRED AND EDWARD.
“An inquiry was held into the loss of the ketch Alfred and Edward, 35 tons, at Ulladulla. James Conway, master and owner, deposed that he had owned the vessel for nine months, and that she was insured. He was on a voyage to Bateman's Bay, there being four hands aboard. A strong southerly wind came on to blow, and they put into Ulladulla; but in trying to work the vessel out, the vessel missed stays, and went ashore. The anchor was let go, but would not hold. Every endeavour was made to get the vessel off, but without avail. Everything movable from the vessel was saved. Charles Young and August Morgan having corroborated the evidence of the master, the Board deliberated, and found that the vessel was lost through missing stays, and that there was no evidence on which to found a charge of default against the master.” Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919) Sat 23 Dec 1882
Acknowledgements. The assistance of Mori Flapan (Mori Flapan boatregister) by providing access to his extensive database is greatly appreciated.
GREAT LAKES MANNING RIVER SHIPPING, NSW - Flickr Group --> Alphabetical Boat Index --> Boat builders Index --> Tags List
A document from Emperor Otto I, dated 964, contains the first recorded use of the name Acquapendentem which means "hanging water", from several waterfalls on the boundary between Lazio and Tuscany.
Acquapendente was a stop along the Via Francigena in Italy. At the end of the 14th century, it was part of Siena. n 1449 it became an independent center within the Papal States.
In 1649, Acquapendente became the seat of a diocese. The diocese continued in existence until 1986 when its territory was added to that of Viterbo. Though it is no longer a residential bishopric it is listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.
According to tradition, the founding of the church goes back to Saint Mathilde, the mother of Otto I the Great. She stopped here on her journey to Rome and had a church built here while she was pregnant.
Today's church was initially used as a Benedictine monastery church. With the creation of the Diocese of Acquapendente in 1649, the church was elevated to the status of a cathedral. The Romanesque basilica was rebuilt several times in the course of the 18th century and given a baroque touch. Unfortunately, the church was locked.
In monotheism, God is conceived of as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith.[3] The concept of God as described by most theologians includes the attributes of omniscience (infinite knowledge), omnipotence (unlimited power), omnipresence (present everywhere), divine simplicity, and as having an eternal and necessary existence. Many theologians also describe God as being omnibenevolent (perfectly good), and all loving.
God is most often held to be non-corporeal,[3] and to be without any human biological sex,[4][5] yet the concept of God actively creating the universe (as opposed to passively)[6] has caused many religions to describe God using masculine terminology, using such terms as "Him" or "Father". Furthermore, some religions (such as Judaism) attribute only a purely grammatical "gender" to God.[7]
In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, but not the sustainer, of the universe. In pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is not believed to exist, while God is deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism. God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[3] Many notable philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God.[8]
There are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about God's identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten,[9] premised on being the one "true" Supreme Being and Creator of the Universe.[10] In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, "He Who Is", "I Am that I Am", and the tetragrammaton YHWH (Hebrew: יהוה, which means: "I am who I am"; "He Who Exists") are used as names of God, while Yahweh and Jehovah are sometimes used in Christianity as vocalizations of YHWH. In the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, God, consubstantial in three persons, is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Judaism, it is common to refer to God by the titular names Elohim or Adonai, the latter of which is believed by some scholars to descend from the Egyptian Aten.[11][12][13][14][15] In Islam, the name Allah, "Al-El", or "Al-Elah" ("the God") is used, while Muslims also have a multitude of titular names for God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a monistic deity.[16] Other religions have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Bahá'í Faith,[17] Waheguru in Sikhism,[18] and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism.[19]
The many different conceptions of God, and competing claims as to God's characteristics, aims, and actions, have led to the development of ideas of omnitheism, pandeism,[20][21] or a perennial philosophy, which postulates that there is one underlying theological truth, of which all religions express a partial understanding, and as to which "the devout in the various great world religions are in fact worshipping that one God, but through different, overlapping concepts or mental images of Him."[22]
Contents [hide]
1Etymology and usage
2General conceptions
2.1Oneness
2.2Theism, deism and pantheism
2.3Other concepts
3Non-theistic views
3.1Agnosticism and atheism
3.2Anthropomorphism
4Existence
5Specific attributes
5.1Names
5.2Gender
5.3Relationship with creation
6Depiction
6.1Zoroastrianism
6.2Islam
6.3Judaism
6.4Christianity
7Theological approaches
8Distribution of belief
9See also
9.1In specific religions
10References
11Further reading
12External links
Etymology and usage
The Mesha Stele bears the earliest known reference (840 BCE) to the Israelite God Yahweh.
Main article: God (word)
The earliest written form of the Germanic word God (always, in this usage, capitalized[23]) comes from the 6th-century Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was likely based on the root * ǵhau(ə)-, which meant either "to call" or "to invoke".[24] The Germanic words for God were originally neuter—applying to both genders—but during the process of the Christianization of the Germanic peoples from their indigenous Germanic paganism, the words became a masculine syntactic form.[25]
The word 'Allah' in Arabic calligraphy
In the English language, the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic "God" and "gods" in polytheism.[26][27] The English word God and its counterparts in other languages are normally used for any and all conceptions and, in spite of significant differences between religions, the term remains an English translation common to all. The same holds for Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, the tetragrammaton YHWH, in origin possibly the name of an Edomite or Midianite deity, Yahweh. In many translations of the Bible, when the word LORD is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton.[28]
Allāh (Arabic: الله) is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning "The God" (with a capital G), while "ʾilāh" (Arabic: إله) is the term used for a deity or a god in general.[29][30][31] God may also be given a proper name in monotheistic currents of Hinduism which emphasize the personal nature of God, with early references to his name as Krishna-Vasudeva in Bhagavata or later Vishnu and Hari.[32]
Ahura Mazda is the name for God used in Zoroastrianism. "Mazda", or rather the Avestan stem-form Mazdā-, nominative Mazdå, reflects Proto-Iranian *Mazdāh (female). It is generally taken to be the proper name of the spirit, and like its Sanskrit cognate medhā, means "intelligence" or "wisdom". Both the Avestan and Sanskrit words reflect Proto-Indo-Iranian *mazdhā-, from Proto-Indo-European mn̩sdʰeh1, literally meaning "placing (dʰeh1) one's mind (*mn̩-s)", hence "wise".[33]
Waheguru (Punjabi: vāhigurū) is a term most often used in Sikhism to refer to God. It means "Wonderful Teacher" in the Punjabi language. Vāhi (a Middle Persian borrowing) means "wonderful" and guru (Sanskrit: guru) is a term denoting "teacher". Waheguru is also described by some as an experience of ecstasy which is beyond all descriptions. The most common usage of the word "Waheguru" is in the greeting Sikhs use with each other:
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
Wonderful Lord's Khalsa, Victory is to the Wonderful Lord.
Baha, the "greatest" name for God in the Baha'i faith, is Arabic for "All-Glorious".
General conceptions
Main article: Conceptions of God
There is no clear consensus on the nature or even the existence of God.[34] The Abrahamic conceptions of God include the monotheistic definition of God in Judaism, the trinitarian view of Christians, and the Islamic concept of God. The dharmic religions differ in their view of the divine: views of God in Hinduism vary by region, sect, and caste, ranging from monotheistic to polytheistic. Divinity was recognized by the historical Buddha, particularly Śakra and Brahma. However, other sentient beings, including gods, can at best only play a supportive role in one's personal path to salvation. Conceptions of God in the latter developments of the Mahayana tradition give a more prominent place to notions of the divine.[citation needed]
Oneness
Main articles: Monotheism and Henotheism
The Trinity is the belief that God is composed of The Father, The Son (embodied metaphysically in the physical realm by Jesus), and The Holy Spirit.
Monotheists hold that there is only one god, and may claim that the one true god is worshiped in different religions under different names. The view that all theists actually worship the same god, whether they know it or not, is especially emphasized in Hinduism[35] and Sikhism.[36] In Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity describes God as one God in three persons. The Trinity comprises The Father, The Son (embodied metaphysically by Jesus), and The Holy Spirit.[37] Islam's most fundamental concept is tawhid (meaning "oneness" or "uniqueness"). God is described in the Quran as: "Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him."[38][39] Muslims repudiate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism. In Islam, God is beyond all comprehension or equal and does not resemble any of his creations in any way. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules, and are not expected to visualize God.[40]
Henotheism is the belief and worship of a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities.[41]
Theism, deism and pantheism
Main articles: Theism, Deism, and Pantheism
Theism generally holds that God exists realistically, objectively, and independently of human thought; that God created and sustains everything; that God is omnipotent and eternal; and that God is personal and interacting with the universe through, for example, religious experience and the prayers of humans.[42] Theism holds that God is both transcendent and immanent; thus, God is simultaneously infinite and in some way present in the affairs of the world.[43] Not all theists subscribe to all of these propositions, but each usually subscribes to some of them (see, by way of comparison, family resemblance).[42] Catholic theology holds that God is infinitely simple and is not involuntarily subject to time. Most theists hold that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent, although this belief raises questions about God's responsibility for evil and suffering in the world. Some theists ascribe to God a self-conscious or purposeful limiting of omnipotence, omniscience, or benevolence. Open Theism, by contrast, asserts that, due to the nature of time, God's omniscience does not mean the deity can predict the future. Theism is sometimes used to refer in general to any belief in a god or gods, i.e., monotheism or polytheism.[44][45]
"God blessing the seventh day", a watercolor painting depicting God, by William Blake (1757 – 1827)
Deism holds that God is wholly transcendent: God exists, but does not intervene in the world beyond what was necessary to create it.[43] In this view, God is not anthropomorphic, and neither answers prayers nor produces miracles. Common in Deism is a belief that God has no interest in humanity and may not even be aware of humanity. Pandeism and Panendeism, respectively, combine Deism with the Pantheistic or Panentheistic beliefs.[21][46][47] Pandeism is proposed to explain as to Deism why God would create a universe and then abandon it,[48] and as to Pantheism, the origin and purpose of the universe.[48][49]
Pantheism holds that God is the universe and the universe is God, whereas Panentheism holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe.[50] It is also the view of the Liberal Catholic Church; Theosophy; some views of Hinduism except Vaishnavism, which believes in panentheism; Sikhism; some divisions of Neopaganism and Taoism, along with many varying denominations and individuals within denominations. Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, paints a pantheistic/panentheistic view of God—which has wide acceptance in Hasidic Judaism, particularly from their founder The Baal Shem Tov—but only as an addition to the Jewish view of a personal god, not in the original pantheistic sense that denies or limits persona to God.[citation needed]
Other concepts
Dystheism, which is related to theodicy, is a form of theism which holds that God is either not wholly good or is fully malevolent as a consequence of the problem of evil. One such example comes from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, in which Ivan Karamazov rejects God on the grounds that he allows children to suffer.[51]
In modern times, some more abstract concepts have been developed, such as process theology and open theism. The contemporaneous French philosopher Michel Henry has however proposed a phenomenological approach and definition of God as phenomenological essence of Life.[52]
God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[3] These attributes were all supported to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologian philosophers, including Maimonides,[53] Augustine of Hippo,[53] and Al-Ghazali,[8] respectively.
Non-theistic views
See also: Evolutionary origin of religions and Evolutionary psychology of religion
Non-theist views about God also vary. Some non-theists avoid the concept of God, whilst accepting that it is significant to many; other non-theists understand God as a symbol of human values and aspirations. The nineteenth-century English atheist Charles Bradlaugh declared that he refused to say "There is no God", because "the word 'God' is to me a sound conveying no clear or distinct affirmation";[54] he said more specifically that he disbelieved in the Christian god. Stephen Jay Gould proposed an approach dividing the world of philosophy into what he called "non-overlapping magisteria" (NOMA). In this view, questions of the supernatural, such as those relating to the existence and nature of God, are non-empirical and are the proper domain of theology. The methods of science should then be used to answer any empirical question about the natural world, and theology should be used to answer questions about ultimate meaning and moral value. In this view, the perceived lack of any empirical footprint from the magisterium of the supernatural onto natural events makes science the sole player in the natural world.[55]
Another view, advanced by Richard Dawkins, is that the existence of God is an empirical question, on the grounds that "a universe with a god would be a completely different kind of universe from one without, and it would be a scientific difference."[56] Carl Sagan argued that the doctrine of a Creator of the Universe was difficult to prove or disprove and that the only conceivable scientific discovery that could disprove the existence of a Creator (not necessarily a God) would be the discovery that the universe is infinitely old.[57]
Stephen Hawking and co-author Leonard Mlodinow state in their book, The Grand Design, that it is reasonable to ask who or what created the universe, but if the answer is God, then the question has merely been deflected to that of who created God. Both authors claim however, that it is possible to answer these questions purely within the realm of science, and without invoking any divine beings.[58] Neuroscientist Michael Nikoletseas has proposed that questions of the existence of God are no different from questions of natural sciences. Following a biological comparative approach, he concludes that it is highly probable that God exists, and, although not visible, it is possible that we know some of his attributes.[59]
Agnosticism and atheism
Agnosticism is the view that, the truth values of certain claims – especially metaphysical and religious claims such as whether God, the divine or the supernatural exist – are unknown and perhaps unknowable.[60][61][62]
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities, or a God.[63][64] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.[65]
Anthropomorphism
Main article: Anthropomorphism
Pascal Boyer argues that while there is a wide array of supernatural concepts found around the world, in general, supernatural beings tend to behave much like people. The construction of gods and spirits like persons is one of the best known traits of religion. He cites examples from Greek mythology, which is, in his opinion, more like a modern soap opera than other religious systems.[66] Bertrand du Castel and Timothy Jurgensen demonstrate through formalization that Boyer's explanatory model matches physics' epistemology in positing not directly observable entities as intermediaries.[67] Anthropologist Stewart Guthrie contends that people project human features onto non-human aspects of the world because it makes those aspects more familiar. Sigmund Freud also suggested that god concepts are projections of one's father.[68]
Likewise, Émile Durkheim was one of the earliest to suggest that gods represent an extension of human social life to include supernatural beings. In line with this reasoning, psychologist Matt Rossano contends that when humans began living in larger groups, they may have created gods as a means of enforcing morality. In small groups, morality can be enforced by social forces such as gossip or reputation. However, it is much harder to enforce morality using social forces in much larger groups. Rossano indicates that by including ever-watchful gods and spirits, humans discovered an effective strategy for restraining selfishness and building more cooperative groups.[69]
Existence
Main article: Existence of God
St. Thomas Aquinas summed up five main arguments as proofs for God's existence.
Isaac Newton saw the existence of a Creator necessary in the movement of astronomical objects.
Arguments about the existence of God typically include empirical, deductive, and inductive types. Different views include that: "God does not exist" (strong atheism); "God almost certainly does not exist" (de facto atheism); "no one knows whether God exists" (agnosticism[70]);"God exists, but this cannot be proven or disproven" (de facto theism); and that "God exists and this can be proven" (strong theism).[55]
Countless arguments have been proposed to prove the existence of God.[71] Some of the most notable arguments are the Five Ways of Aquinas, the Argument from Desire proposed by C.S. Lewis, and the Ontological Argument formulated both by St. Anselm and René Descartes.[72]
St. Anselm's approach was to define God as, "that than which nothing greater can be conceived". Famed pantheist philosopher Baruch Spinoza would later carry this idea to its extreme: "By God I understand a being absolutely infinite, i.e., a substance consisting of infinite attributes, of which each one expresses an eternal and infinite essence." For Spinoza, the whole of the natural universe is made of one substance, God, or its equivalent, Nature.[73] His proof for the existence of God was a variation of the Ontological argument.[74]
Scientist Isaac Newton saw God as the masterful creator whose existence could not be denied in the face of the grandeur of all creation.[75] Nevertheless, he rejected polymath Leibniz' thesis that God would necessarily make a perfect world which requires no intervention from the creator. In Query 31 of the Opticks, Newton simultaneously made an argument from design and for the necessity of intervention:
For while comets move in very eccentric orbs in all manner of positions, blind fate could never make all the planets move one and the same way in orbs concentric, some inconsiderable irregularities excepted which may have arisen from the mutual actions of comets and planets on one another, and which will be apt to increase, till this system wants a reformation.[76]
St. Thomas believed that the existence of God is self-evident in itself, but not to us. "Therefore I say that this proposition, "God exists", of itself is self-evident, for the predicate is the same as the subject.... Now because we do not know the essence of God, the proposition is not self-evident to us; but needs to be demonstrated by things that are more known to us, though less known in their nature—namely, by effects."[77] St. Thomas believed that the existence of God can be demonstrated. Briefly in the Summa theologiae and more extensively in the Summa contra Gentiles, he considered in great detail five arguments for the existence of God, widely known as the quinque viae (Five Ways).
For the original text of the five proofs, see quinque viae
Motion: Some things undoubtedly move, though cannot cause their own motion. Since there can be no infinite chain of causes of motion, there must be a First Mover not moved by anything else, and this is what everyone understands by God.
Causation: As in the case of motion, nothing can cause itself, and an infinite chain of causation is impossible, so there must be a First Cause, called God.
Existence of necessary and the unnecessary: Our experience includes things certainly existing but apparently unnecessary. Not everything can be unnecessary, for then once there was nothing and there would still be nothing. Therefore, we are compelled to suppose something that exists necessarily, having this necessity only from itself; in fact itself the cause for other things to exist.
Gradation: If we can notice a gradation in things in the sense that some things are more hot, good, etc., there must be a superlative that is the truest and noblest thing, and so most fully existing. This then, we call God (Note: Thomas does not ascribe actual qualities to God Himself).
Ordered tendencies of nature: A direction of actions to an end is noticed in all bodies following natural laws. Anything without awareness tends to a goal under the guidance of one who is aware. This we call God (Note that even when we guide objects, in Thomas's view, the source of all our knowledge comes from God as well).[78]
Alister McGrath, a formerly atheistic scientist and theologian who has been highly critical of Richard Dawkins' version of atheism
Some theologians, such as the scientist and theologian A.E. McGrath, argue that the existence of God is not a question that can be answered using the scientific method.[79][80] Agnostic Stephen Jay Gould argues that science and religion are not in conflict and do not overlap.[81]
Some findings in the fields of cosmology, evolutionary biology and neuroscience are interpreted by some atheists (including Lawrence M. Krauss and Sam Harris) as evidence that God is an imaginary entity only, with no basis in reality.[82][83][84] These atheists claim that a single, omniscient God who is imagined to have created the universe and is particularly attentive to the lives of humans has been imagined, embellished and promulgated in a trans-generational manner.[85] Richard Dawkins interprets such findings not only as a lack of evidence for the material existence of such a God, but as extensive evidence to the contrary.[55] However, his views are opposed by some theologians and scientists including Alister McGrath, who argues that existence of God is compatible with science.[86]
Neuroscientist Michael Nikoletseas has proposed that questions of the existence of God are no different from questions of natural sciences. Following a biological comparative approach, he concludes that it is highly probable that God exists, and, although not visible, it is possible that we know some of his attributes.[59]
Specific attributes
Different religious traditions assign differing (though often similar) attributes and characteristics to God, including expansive powers and abilities, psychological characteristics, gender characteristics, and preferred nomenclature. The assignment of these attributes often differs according to the conceptions of God in the culture from which they arise. For example, attributes of God in Christianity, attributes of God in Islam, and the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy in Judaism share certain similarities arising from their common roots.
Names
Main article: Names of God
99 names of Allah, in Chinese Sini (script)
The word God is "one of the most complex and difficult in the English language." In the Judeo-Christian tradition, "the Bible has been the principal source of the conceptions of God". That the Bible "includes many different images, concepts, and ways of thinking about" God has resulted in perpetual "disagreements about how God is to be conceived and understood".[87]
Throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bibles there are many names for God. One of them is Elohim. Another one is El Shaddai, meaning "God Almighty".[88] A third notable name is El Elyon, which means "The Most High God".[89]
God is described and referred in the Quran and hadith by certain names or attributes, the most common being Al-Rahman, meaning "Most Compassionate" and Al-Rahim, meaning "Most Merciful" (See Names of God in Islam).[90]
Supreme soul
The Brahma Kumaris use the term "Supreme Soul" to refer to God. They see God as incorporeal and eternal, and regard him as a point of living light like human souls, but without a physical body, as he does not enter the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. God is seen as the perfect and constant embodiment of all virtues, powers and values and that He is the unconditionally loving Father of all souls, irrespective of their religion, gender, or culture.[91]
Vaishnavism, a tradition in Hinduism, has list of titles and names of Krishna.
Gender
Main article: Gender of God
The gender of God may be viewed as either a literal or an allegorical aspect of a deity who, in classical western philosophy, transcends bodily form.[92][93] Polytheistic religions commonly attribute to each of the gods a gender, allowing each to interact with any of the others, and perhaps with humans, sexually. In most monotheistic religions, God has no counterpart with which to relate sexually. Thus, in classical western philosophy the gender of this one-and-only deity is most likely to be an analogical statement of how humans and God address, and relate to, each other. Namely, God is seen as begetter of the world and revelation which corresponds to the active (as opposed to the receptive) role in sexual intercourse.[6]
Biblical sources usually refer to God using male words, except Genesis 1:26-27,[94][95] Psalm 123:2-3, and Luke 15:8-10 (female); Hosea 11:3-4, Deuteronomy 32:18, Isaiah 66:13, Isaiah 49:15, Isaiah 42:14, Psalm 131:2 (a mother); Deuteronomy 32:11-12 (a mother eagle); and Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34 (a mother hen).
Relationship with creation
See also: Creator deity, Prayer, and Worship
And Elohim Created Adam by William Blake, c.1795
Prayer plays a significant role among many believers. Muslims believe that the purpose of existence is to worship God.[96][97] He is viewed as a personal God and there are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God. Prayer often also includes supplication and asking forgiveness. God is often believed to be forgiving. For example, a hadith states God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance.[98] Christian theologian Alister McGrath writes that there are good reasons to suggest that a "personal god" is integral to the Christian outlook, but that one has to understand it is an analogy. "To say that God is like a person is to affirm the divine ability and willingness to relate to others. This does not imply that God is human, or located at a specific point in the universe."[99]
Adherents of different religions generally disagree as to how to best worship God and what is God's plan for mankind, if there is one. There are different approaches to reconciling the contradictory claims of monotheistic religions. One view is taken by exclusivists, who believe they are the chosen people or have exclusive access to absolute truth, generally through revelation or encounter with the Divine, which adherents of other religions do not. Another view is religious pluralism. A pluralist typically believes that his religion is the right one, but does not deny the partial truth of other religions. An example of a pluralist view in Christianity is supersessionism, i.e., the belief that one's religion is the fulfillment of previous religions. A third approach is relativistic inclusivism, where everybody is seen as equally right; an example being universalism: the doctrine that salvation is eventually available for everyone. A fourth approach is syncretism, mixing different elements from different religions. An example of syncretism is the New Age movement.
Jews and Christians believe that humans are created in the likeness of God, and are the center, crown and key to God's creation, stewards for God, supreme over everything else God had made (Gen 1:26); for this reason, humans are in Christianity called the "Children of God".[100]
Depiction
God is defined as incorporeal,[3] and invisible from direct sight, and thus cannot be portrayed in a literal visual image.
The respective principles of religions may or may not permit them to use images (which are entirely symbolic) to represent God in art or in worship .
Zoroastrianism
Ahura Mazda (depiction is on the right, with high crown) presents Ardashir I (left) with the ring of kingship. (Relief at Naqsh-e Rustam, 3rd century CE)
During the early Parthian Empire, Ahura Mazda was visually represented for worship. This practice ended during the beginning of the Sassanid empire. Zoroastrian iconoclasm, which can be traced to the end of the Parthian period and the beginning of the Sassanid, eventually put an end to the use of all images of Ahura Mazda in worship. However, Ahura Mazda continued to be symbolized by a dignified male figure, standing or on horseback which is found in Sassanian investiture.[101]
Islam
Further information: God in Islam
Muslims believe that God (Allah) is beyond all comprehension or equal and does not resemble any of His creations in any way. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules, are not expected to visualize God.[40]
Judaism
At least some Jews do not use any image for God, since God is the unimageable Being who cannot be represented in material forms.[102] In some samples of Jewish Art, however, sometimes God, or at least His Intervention, is indicated by a Hand Of God symbol, which represents the bath Kol (literally "daughter of a voice") or Voice of God;[103] this use of the Hand Of God is carried over to Christian Art.
Christianity
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Early Christians believed that the words of the Gospel of John 1:18: "No man has seen God at any time" and numerous other statements were meant to apply not only to God, but to all attempts at the depiction of God.[104]
Use of the symbolic Hand of God in the Ascension from the Drogo Sacramentary, c. 850
However, later on the Hand of God symbol is found several times in the only ancient synagogue with a large surviving decorative scheme, the Dura Europos Synagogue of the mid-3rd century, and was probably adopted into Early Christian art from Jewish art. It was common in Late Antique art in both East and West, and remained the main way of symbolizing the actions or approval of God the Father in the West until about the end of the Romanesque period. It also represents the bath Kol (literally "daughter of a voice") or voice of God,[103] just like in Jewish Art.
In situations, such as the Baptism of Christ, where a specific representation of God the Father was indicated, the Hand of God was used, with increasing freedom from the Carolingian period until the end of the Romanesque. This motif now, since the discovery of the 3rd century Dura Europos synagogue, seems to have been borrowed from Jewish art, and is found in Christian art almost from its beginnings.
The use of religious images in general continued to increase up to the end of the 7th century, to the point that in 695, upon assuming the throne, Byzantine emperor Justinian II put an image of Christ on the obverse side of his gold coins, resulting in a rift which ended the use of Byzantine coin types in the Islamic world.[105] However, the increase in religious imagery did not include depictions of God the Father. For instance, while the eighty second canon of the Council of Trullo in 692 did not specifically condemn images of The Father, it suggested that icons of Christ were preferred over Old Testament shadows and figures.[106]
The beginning of the 8th century witnessed the suppression and destruction of religious icons as the period of Byzantine iconoclasm (literally image-breaking) started. Emperor Leo III (717–741), suppressed the use of icons by imperial edict of the Byzantine Empire, presumably due to a military loss which he attributed to the undue veneration of icons.[107] The edict (which was issued without consulting the Church) forbade the veneration of religious images but did not apply to other forms of art, including the image of the emperor, or religious symbols such as the cross.[108] Theological arguments against icons then began to appear with iconoclasts arguing that icons could not represent both the divine and the human natures of Jesus at the same time. In this atmosphere, no public depictions of God the Father were even attempted and such depictions only began to appear two centuries later.
The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 effectively ended the first period of Byzantine iconoclasm and restored the honouring of icons and holy images in general.[109] However, this did not immediately translate into large scale depictions of God the Father. Even supporters of the use of icons in the 8th century, such as Saint John of Damascus, drew a distinction between images of God the Father and those of Christ.
In his treatise On the Divine Images John of Damascus wrote: "In former times, God who is without form or body, could never be depicted. But now when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see".[110] The implication here is that insofar as God the Father or the Spirit did not become man, visible and tangible, images and portrait icons can not be depicted. So what was true for the whole Trinity before Christ remains true for the Father and the Spirit but not for the Word. John of Damascus wrote:[111]
"If we attempt to make an image of the invisible God, this would be sinful indeed. It is impossible to portray one who is without body:invisible, uncircumscribed and without form."
Around 790 Charlemagne ordered a set of four books that became known as the Libri Carolini (i.e. "Charles' books") to refute what his court mistakenly understood to be the iconoclast decrees of the Byzantine Second Council of Nicaea regarding sacred images. Although not well known during the Middle Ages, these books describe the key elements of the Catholic theological position on sacred images. To the Western Church, images were just objects made by craftsmen, to be utilized for stimulating the senses of the faithful, and to be respected for the sake of the subject represented, not in themselves. The Council of Constantinople (869) (considered ecumenical by the Western Church, but not the Eastern Church) reaffirmed the decisions of the Second Council of Nicaea and helped stamp out any remaining coals of iconoclasm. Specifically, its third canon required the image of Christ to have veneration equal with that of a Gospel book:[112]
We decree that the sacred image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the liberator and Savior of all people, must be venerated with the same honor as is given the book of the holy Gospels. For as through the language of the words contained in this book all can reach salvation, so, due to the action which these images exercise by their colors, all wise and simple alike, can derive profit from them.
But images of God the Father were not directly addressed in Constantinople in 869. A list of permitted icons was enumerated at this Council, but symbols of God the Father were not among them.[113] However, the general acceptance of icons and holy images began to create an atmosphere in which God the Father could be symbolized.
Prior to the 10th century no attempt was made to use a human to symbolize God the Father in Western art.[104] Yet, Western art eventually required some way to illustrate the presence of the Father, so through successive representations a set of artistic styles for symbolizing the Father using a man gradually emerged around the 10th century AD. A rationale for the use of a human is the belief that God created the soul of Man in the image of His own (thus allowing Human to transcend the other animals).
It appears that when early artists designed to represent God the Father, fear and awe restrained them from a usage of the whole human figure. Typically only a small part would be used as the image, usually the hand, or sometimes the face, but rarely a whole human. In many images, the figure of the Son supplants the Father, so a smaller portion of the person of the Father is depicted.[114]
By the 12th century depictions of God the Father had started to appear in French illuminated manuscripts, which as a less public form could often be more adventurous in their iconography, and in stained glass church windows in England. Initially the head or bust was usually shown in some form of frame of clouds in the top of the picture space, where the Hand of God had formerly appeared; the Baptism of Christ on the famous baptismal font in Liège of Rainer of Huy is an example from 1118 (a Hand of God is used in another scene). Gradually the amount of the human symbol shown can increase to a half-length figure, then a full-length, usually enthroned, as in Giotto's fresco of c. 1305 in Padua.[115] In the 14th century the Naples Bible carried a depiction of God the Father in the Burning bush. By the early 15th century, the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry has a considerable number of symbols, including an elderly but tall and elegant full-length figure walking in the Garden of Eden, which show a considerable diversity of apparent ages and dress. The "Gates of Paradise" of the Florence Baptistry by Lorenzo Ghiberti, begun in 1425 use a similar tall full-length symbol for the Father. The Rohan Book of Hours of about 1430 also included depictions of God the Father in half-length human form, which were now becoming standard, and the Hand of God becoming rarer. At the same period other works, like the large Genesis altarpiece by the Hamburg painter Meister Bertram, continued to use the old depiction of Christ as Logos in Genesis scenes. In the 15th century there was a brief fashion for depicting all three persons of the Trinity as similar or identical figures with the usual appearance of Christ.
In an early Venetian school Coronation of the Virgin by Giovanni d'Alemagna and Antonio Vivarini, (c. 1443) The Father is depicted using the symbol consistently used by other artists later, namely a patriarch, with benign, yet powerful countenance and with long white hair and a beard, a depiction largely derived from, and justified by, the near-physical, but still figurative, description of the Ancient of Days.[116]
. ...the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. (Daniel 7:9)
Usage of two Hands of God"(relatively unusual) and the Holy Spirit as a dove in Baptism of Christ, by Verrocchio, 1472
In the Annunciation by Benvenuto di Giovanni in 1470, God the Father is portrayed in the red robe and a hat that resembles that of a Cardinal. However, even in the later part of the 15th century, the symbolic representation of the Father and the Holy Spirit as "hands and dove" continued, e.g. in Verrocchio's Baptism of Christ in 1472.[117]
God the Father with His Right Hand Raised in Blessing, with a triangular halo representing the Trinity, Girolamo dai Libri c. 1555
In Renaissance paintings of the adoration of the Trinity, God may be depicted in two ways, either with emphasis on The Father, or the three elements of the Trinity. The most usual depiction of the Trinity in Renaissance art depicts God the Father using an old man, usually with a long beard and patriarchal in appearance, sometimes with a triangular halo (as a reference to the Trinity), or with a papal crown, specially in Northern Renaissance painting. In these depictions The Father may hold a globe or book (to symbolize God's knowledge and as a reference to how knowledge is deemed divine). He is behind and above Christ on the Cross in the Throne of Mercy iconography. A dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit may hover above. Various people from different classes of society, e.g. kings, popes or martyrs may be present in the picture. In a Trinitarian Pietà, God the Father is often symbolized using a man wearing a papal dress and a papal crown, supporting the dead Christ in his arms. They are depicted as floating in heaven with angels who carry the instruments of the Passion.[118]
Representations of God the Father and the Trinity were attacked both by Protestants and within Catholicism, by the Jansenist and Baianist movements as well as more orthodox theologians. As with other attacks on Catholic imagery, this had the effect both of reducing Church support for the less central depictions, and strengthening it for the core ones. In the Western Church, the pressure to restrain religious imagery resulted in the highly influential decrees of the final session of the Council of Trent in 1563. The Council of Trent decrees confirmed the traditional Catholic doctrine that images only represented the person depicted, and that veneration to them was paid to the person, not the image.[119]
Artistic depictions of God the Father were uncontroversial in Catholic art thereafter, but less common depictions of the Trinity were condemned. In 1745 Pope Benedict XIV explicitly supported the Throne of Mercy depiction, referring to the "Ancient of Days", but in 1786 it was still necessary for Pope Pius VI to issue a papal bull condemning the decision of an Italian church council to remove all images of the Trinity from churches.[120]
The famous The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, c.1512
God the Father is symbolized in several Genesis scenes in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, most famously The Creation of Adam (whose image of near touching hands of God and Adam is iconic of humanity, being a reminder that Man is created in the Image and Likeness of God (Gen 1:26)).God the Father is depicted as a powerful figure, floating in the clouds in Titian's Assumption of the Virgin in the Frari of Venice, long admired as a masterpiece of High Renaissance art.[121] The Church of the Gesù in Rome includes a number of 16th century depictions of God the Father. In some of these paintings the Trinity is still alluded to in terms of three angels, but Giovanni Battista Fiammeri also depicted God the Father as a man riding on a cloud, above the scenes.[122]
In both the Last Judgment and the Coronation of the Virgin paintings by Rubens he depicted God the Father using the image that by then had become widely accepted, a bearded patriarchal figure above the fray. In the 17th century, the two Spanish artists Velázquez (whose father-in-law Francisco Pacheco was in charge of the approval of new images for the Inquisition) and Murillo both depicted God the Father using a patriarchal figure with a white beard in a purple robe.
The Ancient of Days (1794) Watercolor etching by William Blake
While representations of God the Father were growing in Italy, Spain, Germany and the Low Countries, there was resistance elsewhere in Europe, even during the 17th century. In 1632 most members of the Star Chamber court in England (except the Archbishop of York) condemned the use of the images of the Trinity in church windows, and some considered them illegal.[123] Later in the 17th century Sir Thomas Browne wrote that he considered the representation of God the Father using an old man "a dangerous act" that might lead to Egyptian symbolism.[124] In 1847, Charles Winston was still critical of such images as a "Romish trend" (a term used to refer to Roman Catholics) that he considered best avoided in England.[125]
In 1667 the 43rd chapter of the Great Moscow Council specifically included a ban on a number of symbolic depictions of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, which then also resulted in a whole range of other icons being placed on the forbidden list,[126][127] mostly affecting Western-style depictions which had been gaining ground in Orthodox icons. The Council also declared that the person of the Trinity who was the "Ancient of Days" was Christ, as Logos, not God the Father. However some icons continued to be produced in Russia, as well as Greece, Romania, and other Orthodox countries.
Theological approaches
Theologians and philosophers have attributed to God such characteristics as omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, perfect goodness, divine simplicity, and eternal and necessary existence. God has been described as incorporeal, a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable being existent.[3] These attributes were all claimed to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars, including Maimonides,[53] St Augustine,[53] and Al-Ghazali.[128]
Many philosophers developed arguments for the existence of God,[8] while attempting to comprehend the precise implications of God's attributes. Reconciling some of those attributes generated important philosophical problems and debates. For example, God's omniscience may seem to imply that God knows how free agents will choose to act. If God does know this, their ostensible free will might be illusory, or foreknowledge does not imply predestination, and if God does not know it, God may not be omniscient.[129]
However, if by its essential nature, free will is not predetermined, then the effect of its will can never be perfectly predicted by anyone, regardless of intelligence and knowledge. Although knowledge of the options presented to that will, combined with perfectly infinite intelligence, could be said to provide God with omniscience if omniscience is defined as knowledge or understanding of all that is.
The last centuries of philosophy have seen vigorous questions regarding the arguments for God's existence raised by such philosophers as Immanuel Kant, David Hume and Antony Flew, although Kant held that the argument from morality was valid. The theist response has been either to contend, as does Alvin Plantinga, that faith is "properly basic", or to take, as does Richard Swinburne, the evidentialist position.[130] Some theists agree that only some of the arguments for God's existence are compelling, but argue that faith is not a product of reason, but requires risk. There would be no risk, they say, if the arguments for God's existence were as solid as the laws of logic, a position summed up by Pascal as "the heart has reasons of which reason does not know."[131] A recent theory using concepts from physics and neurophysiology proposes that God can be conceptualized within the theory of integrative level.[132]
Many religious believers allow for the existence of other, less powerful spiritual beings such as angels, saints, jinn, demons, and devas.[133][134][135][136][137]
The Mob Museum
National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement
April 21, 1952
I, having read all the dispatches sent out by corespondents and listened to all of the AEC propaganda, sincerely believe in the existence of the A-Bomb.
I, (repeat your name in full and repeat after me) in the presence of these newsboys, photogs, AEC officials and all others, do hereby solemnly promise and swear that I always will conceal and never reveal any of the secrets of the A-bomb which I have learned, which I may be taught or hereafter learned from the Atomic Energy Commission or the high military brass with whom I may hereafter come in contact, unless I have cleared such information through the International President, the Business Agent, and President Harry S. Truman, either in the White House or the little frame building behind it.
Wherever I roam, or wherever I may be, when I hear the two words "atomic bomb," I will face to the southwest and bow three times in recognition of the blasts which I saw, heard or which were described to me while in Las Vegas.
I solemnly swear that I will keep forever the secrets of my fellow members who were in Las Vegas for the tests, as to how they spent their time worming atomic secrets out of the whiskey bottle, crap tables and passing young lovelies as they waited for the atom bomb to explode.
As for myself, I will expect all the brethren in this organization, to keep my secrets, both atomic and otherwise, so that I may live in peace with my editor, my wife and myself.
All this I swear on my honor as a man and on my ability as a newspaperman.
The password of this organization is "cimota", which is atomic spelled backwards. You will use it only when you are in the company of other members of this organization in Las Vegas or at the site of any other atomic blast wherever that may be.
The sign of distress is given in this manner.......
And with that, you now have become a member of the Ancient and Honorable Society of ATOMBOMBWATCHERS, and may God and Harry S. Truman have mercy on your souls.
Eons ago before Kabul Galactic Command was realized to the importance of it's existence few if anybody in Afghanistan knew of it's existence. It is said by many who played Buzkashi, that the best chapandaz noticed that the boz would sometimes hover in mid air as if it was held by some mysterious force or rather what was indeed a forcefield where the boz would get trapped like a glitch in a video game. Over the years this kept happening and it intrigued many who watched the game. They said why? It's just in that one area the boz just hovers locked in midair. Then a famous, very famous and legendary chapandaz Abdul Khan came along and said "let me see if I can thwart the unseen opponent who invisibly holds the boz in midair and free it into the hallal. The people looked at him odd and said no one has ever freed it in dozens of years since it first appeared. The people laughed and went about their business watching the game unprepared for what to happen next. Not more than 39 minutes Abdul Khan came charging with such a force of great thrust grabbing the boz with his mighty horse after eluding eight of his opponents. Abdul Khan's boz was slammed right through the unseen force and with a great tremor a mighty blazing light appeared in the sky and cast a shadow with a luminous glow over the players and crowd for all of Kabul to see. People were frightened, in awe, and bewildered. Through this mix of emotions the giant UFO in the sky scanned the area and then eventually landed with a green beam towards the ground unlocking a portal underground from where Kabul Galactic Command had been revealed. Several aliens and Afghan people walked out of the spaceship and calmed the people and it was announced you are now realized one of the most technologically advanced nations on Earth. We now share our knowledge with you, please put it to good use, your gateway to the stars bound by faith. We invite you to come to the cosmos and bring this great game with you and share your traditions and hospitality with other distant alien worlds as they will in return share their traditions and hospitality with you.
Sarnath is the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna. Sarnath is located 13 kilometres north-east of Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India.
The Buddha went from Bodhgaya to Sarnath about 5 weeks after his enlightenment. Before Gautama (the Buddha-to-be) attained enlightenment, he gave up his austere penances and his friends, the Pañcavaggiya monks, left him and went to Isipatana.
Isipatana is the name used in the Pali Canon, and means the place where holy men (Pali: isi, Sanskrit: rishi) landed.
After attaining Enlightenment the Buddha, leaving Uruvela, travelled to the Isipatana to join and teach them. He went to them because, using his spiritual powers, he had seen that his five former companions would be able to understand Dharma quickly. While travelling to Sarnath, Gautama Buddha had to cross the Ganges. Having no money with which to pay the ferryman, he crossed the Ganges through the air. When King Bimbisāra heard of this, he abolished the toll for ascetics. When Gautama Buddha found his five former companions, he taught them, they understood and as a result they also became enlightened. At that time the Sangha, the community of the enlightened ones, was founded. The sermon Buddha gave to the five monks was his first sermon, called the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. It was given on the full-moon day of Asalha Puja. Buddha subsequently also spent his first rainy season at Sarnath at the Mulagandhakuti. The Sangha had grown to 60 in number (after Yasa and his friends had become monks), and Buddha sent them out in all directions to travel alone and teach the Dharma. All 60 monks were Arahants.
Several other incidents connected with the Buddha, besides the preaching of the first sermon, are mentioned as having taken place in Isipatana. Here it was that one day at dawn Yasa came to the Buddha and became an Arahant. It was at Isipatana, too, that the rule was passed prohibiting the use of sandals made of talipot leaves. On another occasion when the Buddha was staying at Isipatana, having gone there from Rājagaha, he instituted rules forbidding the use of certain kinds of flesh, including human flesh. Twice, while the Buddha was at Isipatana, Māra visited him but had to go away discomfited.
A stone pillar marks the spot where the Buddha preached his first sermon. Nearby was another stupa on the site where the Pañcavaggiyas spent their time in meditation before the Buddha's arrival, and another where five hundred Pacceka Buddhas entered Nibbāna. Close to it was another building where the future Buddha Metteyya received assurance of his becoming a Buddha.
Buddhism flourished in Sarnath in part because of kings and wealthy merchants based in Varanasi. By the third century Sarnath had become an important center for the arts, which reached its zenith during the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries CE). In the 7th century by the time Xuan Zang visited from China, he found 30 monasteries and 3000 monks living at Sarnath.
Sarnath became a major centre of the Sammatiya school of Buddhism, one of the early Buddhist schools. However, the presence of images of Heruka and Tara indicate that Vajrayana Buddhism was (at a later time) also practiced here. Also images of Brahminist gods as Shiva and Brahma were found at the site, and there is still a Jain temple (at Chandrapuri) located very close to the Dhamekh Stupa.
At the end of the 12th century Sarnath was sacked by Turkish Muslims, and the site was subsequently plundered for building materials.
Sarnath has been developed as a place of pilgrimage, both for Buddhists from India and abroad. A number of countries in which Buddhism is a major (or the dominant) religion, among them Thailand, Japan, Tibet, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, have established temples and monasteries in Sarnath in the style that is typical for the respective country. Thus, pilgrims and visitors have the opportunity to experience an overview of Buddhist architecture from various cultures.
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