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Gundagai. The Dog on the Tucker Box.This icon of Australia’s past is based around the song “Five Miles to Gundagai.” The dog was cast in Sydney from a Rusconi sculpture and he designed the base. It was unveiled by the Australian Prime Minister Joseph Lyons in 1932 as a memorial to Gundagai pioneers. The statue was inspired by a Bullocky Bill poem which was popular in the 1880s. The bullock team drover got bogged five miles from Gundagai and to make matters worse his dog shat on his tucker box! Nowadays his dog sat on his tucker box. This roadside stop on the Hume Highway sells fruit, drinks, souvenirs etc. The original poem was reworded and reprinted in the 1920s and the song was recorded in 1937.

 

The Township. Intrepid explorers Hamilton Hume and Captain Lovell and party camped here on the banks of the mighty Murrumbidgee River in 1824. Just a couple of years later the first pastoralists took up land here and the spot became known as The Crossing. As The Crossing was on the road from Sydney to Port Phillip Bay District a tiny village emerged in the mid-1830s with the government laying out a town on the flood plains in 1838 despite warnings from the local Aboriginal people. Charles Sturt and Edward John Eyre passed through here on their overland (not river voyages) trips to Adelaide around 1839. By 1843 the town had four hotels, a Post Office, several stores and a tiny school. The first Courthouse was erected in 1847. During the winter of 1852, after days of rain, the town was flooded. It was one of the worse natural disasters to ever hit Australia. 83 people were drown, 71 buildings were destroyed and more people would have been lost but for help from the local Aborigines, especially a man called Yarri. He rescued a total of 49 people in his traditional bark canoe when others failed to navigate the raging torrents to safety. Yarri was buried in the Gundagai cemetery in 1880. A sculpture to honour Yarri and the Wiradjuri people was erected in 2017. A new town above the flood plains was immediately rebuilt after the great flood. In 1853 Captain Cadell of Goolwa reached the town in his paddle steamer. Any town on a major river needs a bridge and the first bridge to cross the Murrumbidgee River was the Prince Alfred Bridge completed in 1866. It closed to traffic in 1976 and is one of four bridges across the Murrumbidgee in Gundagai. This fine old wooden bridge is now in disrepair and closed even to walkers. The second bridge was the wooden rail viaduct which is over 800 metres long. The railway reached Gundagai from Cootamundra in 1886 when the quaint wooden railway station was built. In 1899 work began on extending the railway line from Gundagai to Tumut which necessitated a railway viaduct over the Murrumbidgee and the river flats. This opened in 1902. The railway line closed in 1984 and the railway viaduct at Gundagai has not been used since. To the west of the two wooden bridges are the two bridges for the Hume Highway. These are the Sheahan bridges with the latest one only built a few years ago when the Hume Highway was duplicated here.

In Sheridan Street (the early streets were named after European literary figures –Pope, Byron, Ovid, Virgil etc,) you can see the Gabriel Gallery for free upstairs in the Mitre 10 opposite the Criterion Hotel. Nearby is the Niagara Café which once provided a midnight meal for Australian Prime Minister John Curtin in 1942 along with two other politicians who later became Prime Ministers of Australia – Arthur Fadden and Ben Chifley. Former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam visited the café in 2001. Next is the Catholic Church (1885). The architect was E.C Manfred who also designed the Tumut Catholic church, Goulburn Cathedral etc. It has a set of 8 German stained glass windows. Further along Sheridan Street are the floodplain bridges and the town Cenotaph designed by marble sculptor Frank Rusconi. His cottage home is on the corner of Araluen Street where he worked on his marble masterpiece. This masterpiece was created from 1910 to 1938 using around 21,000 pieces of NSW marble of different colours and from 20 different quarries. It is truly remarkable. Rusconi was born in NSW but learnt marble carving in Europe. His notable works include Ryan family headstones in Galong cemetery, a marble stairway in Westminster Cathedral, the altar of the Tumut Catholic Church, the Gundagai Cenotaph (1928), the bronze of the Dog on the Tucker Box( 1932) etc.

 

Ovipositing Hover?

HBBBT

Duffield LNR.

Spent an enjoyable afternoon on the Busselton Jetty, sitting in a train, walking, fishing and birding. And the best part was to watch the sunset here. Busselton Jetty was preserved by the community when Cyclone Alby destroyed the old wooden one. Extended Family Trip to Western Australia from 7 to 16 Jun 2016. (photo by Ben Cho)

the EXT-8000 is a loader/repair mech that works on the rest of the Battle armor Battalion. they are usually built from parts leftover from other mechs but many of the parts are quite robust and seldom breakdown.

the design is fairly simple, with the exception of the extending waist. constructed from a construction scissor lift, it allows the mech to work on the taller mechs like the Devastator and Avalanche while not making it too large to equip and repair the smaller armors like the lancer squads or the vanguard

 

NOTES: really I built the arms for this one along time ago while playing with the ideas for the lancer, I had intended on building a much smaller exo-suit as a pre-war prototype for the mechs such as the lancer, I never got around to design much else for it but a matching leg design and really lost interest in the design until I had the idea to build a repair mech for the rest of the fleet, even then I just played around with some extending arm designs or a slider system until I had the scissor lift waist idea after I made a mock up the waist everything else basically designed itself! I ended up using a lot of the older greys after I built the feet but a few parts use the newer shades here and there

Palazzo Canavese ( TO ). Piedmont - North Italy.

28 Juny 2015.

Fotocamera: Canon EOS - 1D Mark III

Obiettivo: Canon EF 500 mm. f/4 L IS USM extender Canon 1,4 X.

Please, don't use this image on blogs or web site without my permission.

This image is protected by copyright. Please do not copy or reproduce this image in print or anywhere on the internet without my direct permission. If you would like to use this, or any of my photos, please just send me a Flickr email and ask.

Please, don't use this image on newpapers, blogs, social network, or web site without my permission.

© All rights reserved.

Title.

EXIT.

 

( LUMIX G3 shot )

 

Manhattan. New York. USA. 2017. … 2 / 7

 

(Today's photo. It's unpublished.)

  

Images.

Number_i … Rain or Shine

youtu.be/V8sfbWKiZYg?si=TBG_djh9VtYXkFVm

  

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Title:

“A.I. - About Apple’s Identity”

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54271473379/in/dateposted...

  

Will Apple listen to Mark Zuckerberg’s criticism?

I don’t think so—especially not for someone like me who was captivated by the dream of Apple Vision Pro.

 

Mark Zuckerberg of Meta appeared on a popular podcast and criticized Apple, claiming they haven’t released an innovative product since the iPhone and that their sales have been declining.

While criticizing Apple on a podcast originating from Apple itself may sound like a light joke, I think he was quite serious about it. After all, he now wields the weapon of AR glasses.

 

Supported by various institutions and a talented team, he may have achieved some notable goals. Yet, as an old Apple fan who’s been using products since the PowerBook 540c, I can’t feel any sense of craftsmanship identity from him.

 

This critique extends to other leading tech companies of our time as well: Meta, Amazon, Tesla, Microsoft, and Google.

Simply listing these company names likely brings their logos and the faces of their leaders to mind for those reading this.

 

I once wrote that Steve Jobs wasn’t an artist.

He was skilled at weaving together scattered images from our current world, expanding them, and linking them to the future. That was his specialty.

The one who actually created was Jonathan Ive. There are probably others like me who share this minority opinion.

 

However, seeing how the IT leaders mentioned earlier change their company policies at the mere prospect of Trump regaining power, I can’t help but voice my opinion:

 

The AR glasses, cars, and other products they create lack a crucial concept. Whether you call it a profound ideology or a lighter term like identity, it’s missing.

True, Tim Cook and the current Apple team have become more prone to letting slip details about unreleased products.

 

As I’ve often written, I love music.

When artists isolate themselves from the world, locking themselves in studios to pour their anger, hatred, joy, and sorrow wholeheartedly into a single note, they entrust something to their work.

Once they finish an album and release it, they share what they felt while creating it. (The artist I admire, Prince, rarely explained his works, so I had to interpret his completed pieces on my own.)

 

Until the album is complete and released, these artists say nothing.

The ones who move me most are those kinds of artists.

 

The faint light of Apple’s innovation within me hasn’t been extinguished.

Not even last year’s Apple Vision Pro, criticized as a major failure, could extinguish it. On the contrary, it radiates an even stronger light than the iPhone.

This isn’t just a novel electronic device—it conveys a sense of ideology or thought beyond its intricate electronic components.

 

Unfortunately, I doubt I’ll ever feel that same sense of ideology or thought from Meta’s AR glasses or Tesla’s cars.

 

I’ve written at length, but here’s my conclusion:

 

“Apple CEO Tim Cook Donates Over $1.5 Million to Trump’s Inauguration”

gigazine.net/news/20250104-apple-ceo-tim-cook-donates-1-m...

  

At first glance, it might seem like Tim Cook, like other IT companies, has sold his soul. But that’s not the case.

While Tim Cook personally donates to Trump, Apple as a company has refrained from doing the same as other companies.

Apple didn’t bow to Trump.

 

If someone were to ask me what Apple’s ideology or thought is, I would answer:

Apple is a group of people who believe in themselves.

 

Steve Jobs is probably laughing at this overly serious piece I’ve written from somewhere up in heaven.

A company that doesn’t kowtow to Trump—that’s Apple for you. :)

 

January 15th

After reading a heartwarming article.

 

Mitsushiro Nakagawa

 

Addendum:

I have corrected it.

Before the correction, it appeared on Apple Podcasts,

After the correction, it appeared on podcasts originating from Apple,

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:

Photo Music and iTunes Playlist Link::

music.apple.com/jp/playlist/photo-music/pl.u-Eg8qefpy8Xz

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消えた境界線から生まれたもの ~ 去ってゆく川村記念美術館を振り返って ~

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54020588671/in/dateposted...

 

What Emerged from the Vanishing Boundaries~ Reflecting on the Departing Kawamura Memorial Museum ~

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54020588671/in/dateposted...

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Important Notices.

 

I have relaxed the following conditions.

I will distribute my T-shirt to the world for free.

m.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/50656401427/in/dateposted-p...

m.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/50613367691/in/dateposted-p...

 

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Exhibition in 2025

  

Theme

The Nightfly

  

Images

Donald Fagen … I.G.Y.

youtu.be/Ueivjr3f8xg?si=xmqGPQjyIKoTs4Q5

 

Live.

youtu.be/Di0_KYtmVKI?si=CLFpU2n0gXahqLPB

  

Mitsushiro - Nakagawa

  

Organizer

Design Festa

designfesta.com

  

Location

Tokyo Big Sight

www.bigsight.jp

  

Date

Autumn 2025.

  

exhibition.mitsushiro.nakagawa@gmail.com

  

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Notice regarding "Lot No.402_”.

  

From now on I will host "Lot No.402_".

 

The work of Leonardo da Vinci who was sleeping.

That is the number when it was put up for auction.

No sign was written on the work.

So this work couldn't conclude that it was his work.

However # as a result of various appraisals # it was exposed to the sun.

A work that no one notices. A work that speaks quietly without a title.

I will continue to strive to provide it to many people in various ways.

 

October 24 2020 by Mitsushiro - Nakagawa.

  

Mitsushiro Nakagawa belong to Lot No. 402 _.Copyright©︎2025 Lot No.402_ All rights reserved.

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Profile.

In November 2014 # we caught the attention of the party selected to undertake the publicity for a mobile phone that changed the face of the world with just a single model # and will conclude a confidentiality agreement with them.

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

 

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Interviews and novels.

About my book.

 

I published a book a long time ago.

At that time # I uploaded my interview as a PDF on the internet.

Its Japanese and English.

 

I will publish it for free.

For details # I explained to the Amazon site.

 

How to write a novel.

How to take a picture.

A sense of distance to the work.

 

All of these have something in common.

I wrote down what I felt and left it.

 

I hope my text will be read by many people.

Thank you.

 

Mitsushiro.

 

1 Interview in English

 

2 novels. unforgettable 'English version.(This book is Dedicated to the future artist.)

 

3 Interview Japanese version

 

4 novels. unforgettable ' JPN version.

 

5 A streamlined trajectory. only Japanese.

 

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

 

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iBooks. Electronic Publishing. It is free now.

 

0.about the iBooks.

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

 

1.unforgettable '(ENG.ver.)(This book is Dedicated to the future artist.)

itunes.apple.com/us/book/unforgettable/id1216576828?ls=1&...

 

2.unforgettable '(JNP.ver.)(This book is Dedicated to the future artist.)

itunes.apple.com/us/book/unforgettable/id1216584262?ls=1&...

 

3. Streamlined trajectory.(For Japanese only.)

itunes.apple.com/us/book/%E6%B5%81%E7%B7%9A%E5%BD%A2%E3%8... =11

 

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My Novel : Unforgettable'

 

(This book is Dedicated to the future artist.)

  

Synopsis

Kei Kitami, who is aiming for university, meets Kaori Uemura, an event companion who is 6 years older than her, on SNS.

Kaori's dream of coming to Tokyo is to become friends with a famous artist.

For that purpose, the radio station's producer, Ryo Osawa, was needed.

Osawa speaks to Kaori during a live radio broadcast.

"I have a wife and children. But I want to meet you."

Rika Sanjo, who is Kei's classmate and has feelings for him, has been looking into her girlfriend Kaori's movements. . . . .

   

Mitsushiro Nakagawa

All Translated by Yumi Ikeda .

www.fotolog.net/yuming/

  

images.

U2 - No Line On The Horizon Live in Dublin

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oKwnkYFsiE&feature=related

  

Main story

 

There are two reasons why a person faces the sea.

One to enjoy a slice of shine in the sea like children bubbling over in the beach.

The other to brush the dust of memory like an old man who misses old days staring at the shine

quietly.

Those lead to only one meaning though they do not seem to overlap. It’s a rebirth.

I face myself to change tomorrow a vague day into something certain.

That is the meaning of a rebirth.

I had a very sweet girlfriend when I was 18.

After she left I knew the meaning of gentleness for the first time and also a true pain of loss. After

she left # how many times did I depend too much on her # doubt her # envy her and keep on telling lies

until I realized it is love?

I wonder whether a nobody like me could have given something to her who was struggling in the

daily life in those days. Giving something is arrogant conceit. It is nothing but self-satisfaction.

I had been thinking about such a thing.

However I guess what she saw in me was because I had nothing. That‘s why she tried to see

something in me. Perhaps she found a slight possibility in me # a guy filled with ambiguous unstable

tomorrow. But I wasted days depending too much on her gentleness.

Now I finally can convey how I felt in those days when we met.

  

1/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24577016535/in/dateposted...

2/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24209330259/in/dateposted...

3/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/23975215274/in/dateposted...

4/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24515964952/in/dateposted...

5/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24276473749/in/dateposted...

6/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24548895082/in/dateposted...

7/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24594603711/in/dateposted...

8/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24588215562/in/dateposted...

9/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24100804163/in/dateposted...

  

Fin.

  

images.

U2 - No Line On The Horizon

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oKwnkYFsiE&feature=related

 

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Title of my book : unforgettable'

Author : Mitsushiro Nakagawa

Out Now.

ISBN978-4-86264-866-2

in Amazon.

Unforgettable’ amzn.asia/d/eG1wNc5

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The schedule of the next novel.

Still would stand all time. (Unforgettable '2)

(It will not go away forever)

Please give me some more time. That is Japanese.

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My Works.

 

1 www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/48072442376/in/dateposted...

2 www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/48078949821/in/dateposted...

3 www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/48085863356/in/dateposted...

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Do you want to hear my voice?

:)

 

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw

 

1

About the composition of the picture posted to Flicker. First type.

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw

 

2

About the composition of the picture posted to Flicker. Second type.

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=443

 

3

About when I started Fotolog. Architect 's point of view.

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=649

 

4

Why did not you have a camera so far?

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=708

 

5

What is the coolest thing? The photo is as it is.

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=776

 

6

About the current YouTube bar. I also want to tell # I want to leave.

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=964

 

7

About Japanese photographers. Japanese YouTube bar is Pistols.

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1059

 

8

The composition of the photograph is sensibility. Meet the designers in Milan. Two questions.

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1242

 

9

What is a good composition? What is a bad composition?

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1482

 

10

What is the time to point the camera? It is slow if you are looking into the viewfinder or display.

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1662

 

11

Family photos. I can not take pictures with others. The inside of the subject.

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1745

 

12

About YouTube 's photographer. Camera technology etc. Sensibility is polished by reading books.

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=2144

 

13

About the Japanese newspaper. A picture of a good newspaper is Reuters. If you continue to look at useless photographs # it will be useless.

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=2305

 

14

About Japanese photographers. About the exhibition.

Summary. I wrote a novel etc. What I want to tell the most.

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=2579

 

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I talked about how to make a work.

 

About work production 1/2

youtu.be/ZFjqUJn74kM

  

About work production 2/2

youtu.be/pZIbXmnXuCw

 

1 Photo exhibition up to that point. Did you want to go?

 

2 Well # what is an exhibition that you want to visit even if you go there?

 

3 Challenge to exhibit one work every month before opening a solo exhibition at the Harajuku Design Festa.

 

4 works are materials and silhouettes. Similar to fashion.

 

5 Who is your favorite artist? What is it? Make it clear.

 

6 Creating a collage is exactly the same as taking photos. As I wrote in the interview # it is the same as writing a novel.

 

7 I want to show it to someone # but I do not make a piece to show it. Aim for the work you want to decorate your own room as in the photo.

 

8 What is copycat? Nowadays # it is suspected to be beaten. There is something called Mimesis?

 

ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimesis

kotobank.jp/word/Mimesis-139464

 

9 What is Individuality? What is originality?

 

www.youtube.com/user/mitsushiro/

 

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Explanation of composition. 2

 

1.Composition explanation 2 ... 1/4

youtu.be/yVbvneBIMs8

 

2.Composition explanation 2 ... 2/4

youtu.be/LToFez9vOAw

 

3.Composition Explanation 2 ... 3/4

youtu.be/uTR0wVi9Z7M

 

4.Composition Explanation 2 ... 4/4

youtu.be/h2LjfU6Vvno

 

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My shutter feeling.

 

youtu.be/3JkbGiFLjAM

 

Today's photo.

It is a photo taken from Eurostar.

 

This video is an explanation.

 

I went to Milan in 2005.

At that time # I went from Milan to Venice.

We took Eurostar into the transportation.

 

This photo was not taken from a very fast Eurostar.

When I changed the track # I took a picture at the moment I slowed down.

  

Is there a Japanese beside you?

Please have my video translated.

:)

 

In the Eurostar to Venice . 2005. shot ... 1 / 2

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/49127115021/in/dateposted...

 

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Miles Davis sheet 1955-1976.

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

 

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flickr.

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/

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instagram.

www.instagram.com/mitsushiro_nakagawa/

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Pinterest.

www.pinterest.jp/MitsushiroNakagawa/

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YouPic

youpic.com/photographer/mitsushironakagawa/

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twitter.

twitter.com/mitsushiro

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facebook.

www.facebook.com/mitsushiro.nakagawa

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threads.

www.threads.net/@mitsushiro_nakagawa

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Blue sky.

bsky.app/profile/mitsushironakagawa.bsky.social

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Amazon.

www.amazon.co.jp/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AHSKI3YMYPYE5UE...

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My statistics (as of December 15, 2024)

How many views have you had on Flickr and Youpic

Flickr 24,260,172 Views

Youpic 7,957,826 Views

x.com/mitsushiro/status/1868185157909582014

 

My statistics (as of August 1, 2024)

How many views have I had on Flickr and Youpic

Flickr 23,192,383 Views

Youpic 7,574,603 Views

 

My statistics. (As of February 7, 2024)

What is the number of accesses to Flickr and YouPic

Flickr 21,694,434 Views

Youpic 7,003,230 Views

 

What is the number of accesses to Flickr and YouPic?

(As of November 13, 2023)

Flickr 20,852,872 View

Youpic 6,671,486 View

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Japanese is the following.

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

 

Title of my book unforgettable' Mitsushiro Nakagawa Out Now. ISBN978-4-86264-866-2

 

Mitsushiro Nakagawa belong to Lot No. 204 _ . Copyright©︎2024 Lot No.402_ All rights reserved.

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Title.

EXIT.

  

( LUMIX G3 shot )

  

マンハッタン。ニューヨーク。アメリカ。2017. … 2 / 7

(今日の写真。それは未発表です。)

  

Images.

Number_i … Rain or Shine

youtu.be/V8sfbWKiZYg?si=TBG_djh9VtYXkFVm

  

::写真の音楽とiTunesプレイリストをリンク::

music.apple.com/jp/playlist/photo-music/pl.u-Eg8qefpy8Xz

  

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重要なお知らせ。

 

僕は以下の条件を緩和します。

僕はTシャツを無料で世界中へ配布します。

m.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/50656401427/in/dateposted-p...

m.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/50613367691/in/dateposted-p...

 

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2025年の展示

  

テーマ

The Nightfly

 

Images

Donald Fagen … I.G.Y.

youtu.be/Ueivjr3f8xg?si=xmqGPQjyIKoTs4Q5

 

Live.

youtu.be/Di0_KYtmVKI?si=CLFpU2n0gXahqLPB

  

Mitsushiro - Nakagawa

 

主催

デザインフェスタ

designfesta.com

 

場所

東京ビッグサイト

www.bigsight.jp

  

日程

2025年 秋。

 

exhibition.mitsushiro.nakagawa@gmail.com

 

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タイトル

“” A.I.  アップルのアイデンティティについて””

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54271473379/in/dateposted...

  

マークザッカーバーグ氏の批判に、アップルは耳を傾けるだろうか。

僕にはそう思えない。アップルヴィジョンプロに夢を見せられた僕には。

 

メタのマークザッカーバーグ氏は、有名なポッドキャストに出演し、アップルはアイフォン以来革新的な製品を発売せず、売り上げも落ちていると批判したようだ。

アップル発祥のポッドキャストに現れ、アップルを批判すると言うのは軽いジョークに思えるが、真剣に訴えたんだろうと僕は思う。

なぜなら、今の彼はARグラスという武器を手にしているからだ。

おそらく、さまざまな関係機関や優秀なスタッフが彼を支え、それなりの目標を達成したんだろうが、パワーブック540cから使い続けてきた僕のような古いアップルファンからしてみれば、まだ物作りのアイデンティを彼からはまったく感じない。

 

これは他の、現在世界を制覇しているIT企業らも含む。

メタ、アマゾン、テスラ。マイクロソフト。グーグル。

社名が並ぶだけで、このテキストを読まれている方は名前と顔をすでに浮かべているはずだ。

 

僕は以前、スティーブ・ジョブズはアーティストではないと書いた。

彼は、現世界に散らばったイメージを紡ぎ合わせ、それを膨らます。そして未来へリンクさせる。それが得意だっただけだ。

実際に創作していたのはジョナサンアイブだ。少数ながらも僕のような意見を持っている方もいるだろう。

 

しかし、先述したIT関連の面々が、トランプ氏に再び権力が戻るとなった途端に会社の方針を覆す様子を見ていると、僕は一言、どうしても意見したいのだ。

 

彼らが作ったARグラスや車などには、肝心な観念が欠けている。思想という重い言葉や、軽めのアイデンティティと言い換えてもいい。

確かに、ティムクック氏やアップルの現在のスタッフらは、発売前の商品に関して口を滑らせることが多くなった。

 

僕は、以前から書いているように音楽が大好きだ。

外界を断ち、アーティストらがスタジオにこもって、怒りや憎しみ、喜びや悲しみを一心不乱になって一音に吹き込む。何かを託すと言ってもいい。

そして、完成したアルバムを発表し、どんな思いを込めて制作したのかを語る。(僕が好きなプリンスはほとんど語らなかったので、完成された作品を理解する必要があった)

 

アルバムが完成し、発表するまで、彼らはひとことも語らない。

僕の胸を震わせたのは、そんなアーティストらだった。

 

僕の中に淡く灯っているアップルの革新性は、いまでも消えていない。

それは昨年、大失敗だと批判されたアップルヴィジョンプロでさえも消すことはできない。むしろ、アイフォン以上の強烈な光を放っている。

ただの斬新な電化製品ではなく、細かな電気部品の向こうに観念や思想を感じるからだ。

 

残念ながら、メタのARグラスやテスラの車に、僕がその観念や思想を感じることは今後もないだろう。

 

長々と書いてきたが、結論は以下の記事だ。

 

1.5億円超をAppleのティム・クックCEOがトランプの大統領就任式に寄付

gigazine.net/news/20250104-apple-ceo-tim-cook-donates-1-m...

 

一読すると、ティムクック氏も他のIT会社同様、魂を売ったのかと思われるがそうではない。

ティムクック氏は個人的にトランプ氏へ献金をするが、アップル社だけは他社と同じようには献金していない。

アップルは、トランプ氏になびかなかったのだ。

 

アップル社の観念や思想とは、具体的に何かと訊かれたら、僕はこう答える。

アップルとは、自分自身を信じる人間が集まっているグループだ。

 

たぶん、天国のスティーブ・ジョブズは、僕がクソ真面目に書いたテキストを、鼻で笑っていることだろう。

トランプ氏に媚びない会社。

それがAppleさ。:)

  

1月15日

嬉しい記事を読んだ後で。

 

Mitsushiro Nakagawa.

  

追記。

修正しました。

修正前 アップルのポッドキャストに現れ、

修正後 アップル発祥のポッドキャストに現れ、

  

_________________________________

_________________________________

 

” Lot No.402_ ” に関するお知らせ。

  

今後、僕は、” Lot No.402_ ”を主催します。

 

このロットナンバーは、眠っていたレオナルドダヴィンチの作品がオークションにかけらた際に付されたものです。

作品にはサインなどがいっさい記されていなかったため、彼の作品だと断定できませんでした。

しかし、様々な鑑定の結果、陽の光を浴びました。

誰にも気づかれない作品。肩書がなくとも静かに語りかける作品。

僕はこれから様々な形で、多くの皆様に提供できるよう努めてゆきます。

 

2020年10月24日 by Mitsushiro - Nakagawa.

 

Copyright©︎2021 Lot No.402_ All rights reserved.

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プロフィール

2014年11月、たった1機種で世界を塗り替えた携帯電話の広告を請け負った選考者の目に留まり、秘密保持同意書を結ぶ。

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

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インタビューと小説。

僕の本について。

 

僕は、昔に本を出版しました。

その際に、僕のインタビューをPDFでネット上へアップロードしていました。

その日本語と英語。

 

僕は、無料でを公開します。

詳細は、アマゾンのサイトへ解説しました。

 

小説の書き方。

写真の撮影方法。

作品への距離感。

 

これらはすべて共通項があります。

僕は、僕が感じたことを文章にして、残しました。

 

僕のテキストが多くの人に読んでもらえることを望みます。

ありがとう。

 

Mitsushiro.

 

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

  

1 インタビュー 英語版

 

2 小説。unforgettable’ 英語版。

 

3 インタビュー 日本語版

 

4 小説。unforgettable’ 日本語版。(この小説は未来のアーティストへ捧げます)

(四百字詰め原稿用紙456枚)

 

 あらすじ

 大学を目指している北見ケイは、SNS上で、6歳年上のイベントコンパニオン、上村香織に出会う。

 上京してきた香織の夢は、有名なアーティストの友達になるためだ。

 そのためにはラジオ局のプロデューサー、大沢亮の存在が必要だった。

 大沢は、ラジオの生放送中、香織へ語りかける。

 「僕には妻子がある。しかし、僕は君に会いたいと思っている」

 ケイの同級生で、彼を想っている三條里香は、香織の動向を探っていた。。。。。

  

本編

 

人が海へ向かう理由には、二つある。

 ひとつは、波打ち際ではしゃぐ子供のように、今の瞬間の海の輝きを楽しむこと。

 もうひとつは、その輝きを静かに見据えて、過ぎ去った日々を懐かしむ老人のように記憶の埃を払うこと。

 二つは重なり合わないようではあるけれども、たったひとつの意味しか生まない。

 再生だ。

 明日っていう、曖昧な日を確実なものへと変えてゆくために、自分の存在に向き合う。

 それが再生の意味だ。

 

 十八歳だった僕には大切な人がいた。

 

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

  

5 流線形の軌跡。 日本語のみ。

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

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iBooks.電子出版。(現在は無料)

 

0.about the iBooks.

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

 

1.unforgettable’ ( ENG.ver.)(This book is Dedicated to the future artist.)

itunes.apple.com/us/book/unforgettable/id1216576828?ls=1&...

For Japanese only.

 

2.unforgettable’ ( JNP.ver.)(この小説は未来のアーティストへ捧げます)

itunes.apple.com/us/book/unforgettable/id1216584262?ls=1&...

 

3.流線形の軌跡。

itunes.apple.com/us/book/%E6%B5%81%E7%B7%9A%E5%BD%A2%E3%8...

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僕の小説。英語版 

My Novel Unforgettable' (This book is Dedicated to the future artist.)

 

Mitsushiro Nakagawa

All Translated by Yumi Ikeda .

www.fotolog.net/yuming/

   

1/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24577016535/in/dateposted...

2/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24209330259/in/dateposted...

3/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/23975215274/in/dateposted...

4/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24515964952/in/dateposted...

5/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24276473749/in/dateposted...

6/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24548895082/in/dateposted...

7/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24594603711/in/dateposted...

8/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24588215562/in/dateposted...

9/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24100804163/in/dateposted...

Fin.

  

images.

U2 - No Line On The Horizon Live in Dublin

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oKwnkYFsiE&feature=related

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Title of my book : unforgettable'

Author : Mitsushiro Nakagawa

Out Now.

 

ISBN978-4-86264-866-2

in Amazon.

Unforgettable’ amzn.asia/d/eG1wNc5

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僕の作品。

 

1 www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/48072442376/in/dateposted...

2 www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/48078949821/in/dateposted...

3 www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/48085863356/in/dateposted...

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あなたは僕の声を聞きたいですか?

:)

 

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw

  

1

フリッカーへ投稿した写真の構図について。1種類目。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw

 

2

フリッカーへ投稿した写真の構図について。2種類目。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=443

 

3

Fotologを始めた時について。 建築家の視点。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=649

 

4

なぜ、今までカメラを手にしなかったのか?

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=708

 

5

何が一番かっこいいのか? 写真はありのままに。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=776

 

6

現在のユーチューバーについて。僕も伝え、残したい。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=964

 

7

日本人の写真家について。日本のユーチューバーはピストルズ。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1059

 

8

写真の構図は、感性。ミラノのデザイナーに会って。二つの質問。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1242

 

9

良い構図とは? 悪い構図とは?

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1482

 

10

カメラを向ける時とは? ファインダーやディスプレイを覗いていては遅い。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1662

 

11

家族写真。他人では撮れない。被写体の内面。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=1745

 

12

ユーチューブの写真家について。カメラの技術等。感性は、本を読むことで磨く。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=2144

 

13

日本の新聞について。良い新聞の写真はロイター。ダメな写真を見続けるとダメになる。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=2305

 

14

日本の写真家について。その展示について。

まとめ。僕が書いた小説など。僕が最も伝えたいこと。

youtu.be/b1o6Xf-Mjhw?t=2579

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作品制作について 1/2

youtu.be/ZFjqUJn74kM

 

作品制作について 2/2

youtu.be/pZIbXmnXuCw

  

1 それまでの写真展。自分は行きたいと思ったか?

 

2 じゃ、自分が足を運んででも行きたい展示とは何か?

 

3 原宿デザインフェスタで個展を開くまでに、毎月ひとつの作品を展示することにチャレンジ。

 

4 作品とは、素材とシルエット。ファッションと似ている。

 

5 自分が好きなアーティストは誰か? どんなものなのか? そこをはっきりさせる。

 

6 コラージュの作成も写真の撮り方と全く同じ。インタビューに書いたように小説の書き方とも同じ。

 

7 誰かに見せたい、見せるがために作品は作らない。写真と同じように自分の部屋に飾りたい作品を目指す。

 

8 パクリとは何か? 昨今、叩かれるパクリ疑惑。ミメーシスとは?

 

  https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ミメーシス

  https://kotobank.jp/word/ミメーシス-139464

  

9 個性とはなにか? オリジナリティってなに?

 

おまけ 眞子さまについて

 

という流れです。

お時間がある方は是非聴いてください。

:)

 

www.youtube.com/user/mitsushiro/

 

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構図の解説2

 

1.構図の解説2 ... 1/4

youtu.be/yVbvneBIMs8

 

2.構図の解説2 ... 2/4

youtu.be/LToFez9vOAw

 

3.構図の解説2 ... 3/4

youtu.be/uTR0wVi9Z7M

 

4.構図の解説2 ... 4/4

youtu.be/h2LjfU6Vvno

 

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僕のシャッター感覚

 

youtu.be/3JkbGiFLjAM

 

In the Eurostar to Venice . 2005. shot ... 1 / 2

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/49127115021/in/dateposted...

 

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Miles Davis sheet 1955-1976.

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

 

_________________________________

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flickr.

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/

_________________________________

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YouTube.

www.youtube.com/user/mitsushiro/

_________________________________

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instagram.

www.instagram.com/mitsushiro_nakagawa/

_________________________________

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Pinterest.

www.pinterest.jp/MitsushiroNakagawa/

_________________________________

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YouPic

youpic.com/photographer/mitsushironakagawa/

_________________________________

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fotolog

www.fotolog.com/stealaway/

_________________________________

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twitter.

twitter.com/mitsushiro

_________________________________

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facebook.

www.facebook.com/mitsushiro.nakagawa

_________________________________

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threads.

www.threads.net/@mitsushiro_nakagawa

_________________________________

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Blue sky.

bsky.app/profile/mitsushironakagawa.bsky.social

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Amazon.

www.amazon.co.jp/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AHSKI3YMYPYE5UE...

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僕の統計。(2024年12月15日現在)

フリッカー、ユーピクのアクセス数は?

Flickr 24,260,172 View

Youpic 7,957,826 View

x.com/mitsushiro/status/1868185157909582014

 

僕の統計。(2024年8月1日現在)

フリッカー、ユーピクのアクセス数は?

Flickr 23,192,383 View

Youpic 7,574,603 View

 

僕の統計。(2024年2月7日現在)

フリッカー、ユーピクのアクセス数は?

Flickr 21,694,434 View

Youpic 7,003,230 View

 

僕の統計。(2023年11月13日現在)

フリッカー、ユーピクのアクセス数は?

Flickr 20,852,872 View

Youpic 6,671,486 View

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Japanese is the following.

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vBRMWGk29EmsoBV2o9NM1LIVi...

 

Title of my book unforgettable' Mitsushiro Nakagawa Out Now. ISBN978-4-86264-866-2

 

Mitsushiro Nakagawa belong to Lot no.204_ . Copyright©︎2020 Lot no.204_ All rights reserved.

_________________________________

_________________________________

 

” Lot No.402_ ” に関するお知らせ。

  

今後、僕は、” Lot No.402_ ”を主催します。

 

このロットナンバーは、眠っていたレオナルドダヴィンチの作品がオークションにかけらた際に付されたものです。

作品にはサインなどがいっさい記されていなかったため、彼の作品だと断定できませんでした。

しかし、様々な鑑定の結果、陽の光を浴びました。

誰にも気づかれない作品。肩書がなくとも静かに語りかける作品。

僕はこれから様々な形で、多くの皆様に提供できるよう努めてゆきます。

 

2020年10月24日 by Mitsushiro - Nakagawa.

 

Copyright©︎2024 Lot No.402_ All rights reserved.

_________________________________

_________________________________

  

McGuire AFB Airshow 2018

Trikomo is a town in Cyprus. It is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus and is the administrative center of the Iskele District of Northern Cyprus, which mainly extends into the Karpas Peninsula , while de jure it belongs to the Famagusta District of the Republic of Cyprus . It gained municipality status in 1998. Before 1974 Trikomo was a mixed village with a Greek Cypriot majority.

 

In 2011 Trikomo had 1948 inhabitants.

 

Trikomo is located in the north-eastern part of the Messaria plain , 9 km south of the village of Ardana , about two kilometers from the Bay of Famagusta and four kilometers north-west of the village of Sygkrasi .

 

In Greek Trikomo means "three houses". In 1975 the Turkish Cypriots renamed it Yeni İskele to commemorate the origins of the town's current inhabitants. In Larnaca before 1974 Turkish Cypriots resided in the neighborhood called Skala ("İskele" in Turkish), so that when they settled in the village they renamed it with the same name (lit. "new İskele", later shortened to İskele ). Yeni means "new", so Yeni İskele literally means "New Scale/İskele".

 

Before the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus , the population of Trikomo consisted almost entirely of Greek Cypriots , most of whom fled during the conflict while the rest were subsequently deported to the south. Among these, worthy of mention is Georgios Grivas (1898-1974), general of the Greek army , leader of the guerrilla organization EOKA, protagonist of the liberation struggle against the English and of the paramilitary organization EOKA B.

 

The Turkish Cypriot municipality of Larnaca which had been established in 1958 moved to Trikomo in 1974, soon after the Turkish invasion of the island .

 

In Trikomo is the Church of the Panagia Theotokos , deconsecrated and home to an icon museum displaying rare examples of medieval iconography in Cyprus. The church is divided into two sections, one Orthodox and one Catholic. The first is the oldest, dating back to the Byzantine era , while the second was built in the 12th century, during the period in which the island was ruled by the Lusignans

 

Before 1974 Trikomo was a mixed village with a Greek Cypriot majority. In the 1831 Ottoman census, Muslims made up approximately 18.4% of the population. However, by 1891 this percentage dropped significantly to 3.4%. In the first half of the 20th century the population of the village increased steadily, from 1,247 inhabitants in 1901 to 2,195 in 1960.

 

Most of Trikomo's Greek Cypriots were displaced in August 1974, although some remained in the town after the Turkish army took control. In October 1975 there were still 92 Greek Cypriots in the city, but in 1978 they were moved to the south side of the Green Line . Currently, like the rest of the displaced Greek Cypriots, Trikomo Greek Cypriots are scattered across the south of the island, especially in the cities. The number of Greek Cypriots from Trikomo displaced in 1974-78 was approximately 2,330 (2,323 in the 1960 census).

 

Today the village is inhabited mainly by displaced Turkish Cypriots from the south of the island, especially from the city of Larnaca and its district . In 1976-77, some families from Turkey, especially from the province of Adana , also settled in the village . Since the 2000s, many wealthy Europeans, Turks and Turkish Cypriots from other areas of the north of the island (including returnees from abroad) have purchased properties, built houses and settled in the vicinity of the city. According to the 2006 Turkish Cypriot census, the population of Trikomo/İskele was 3,657.

 

The city annually hosts the Iskele Festival , which takes place for ten days in summer, and is the oldest annual festival in Cyprus, having first been held in Larnaca in 1968. In 1974, the event was moved to Trikomo together to the Turkish Cypriot inhabitants of Larnaca who had moved there. The program includes an international folk dance festival, concerts by Turkish Cypriot and mainland Turkish musicians, various sports tournaments, stalls offering food and various competitions, along with other performances and competitions highlighting the city's cultural heritage.

 

The current mayor of the city is Hasan Sadıkoğlu, who was first elected in 2014 as an independent candidate. It was re-elected in 2018 as the candidate of the right-wing National Unity Party (UBP), winning with 54.6% of the vote. In the 2018 local elections, four members of the UBP, two members of the pro-settler Renaissance Party (YDP), and two members of the left-wing Turkish Republican Party (CTP) were elected to the eight-member city council .

 

Trikomo is twinned with:

Flag of Türkiye Beykoz, Istanbul

Flag of Türkiye Büyükçekmece, Istanbul

Flag of Türkiye Finike, Antalya , since 2015

Flag of Türkiye Mamak, Ankara

Flag of Türkiye Pendik, Istanbul

Flag of Türkiye Samsung , since 2006

 

Turkish Cypriot sports club Larnaka Gençler Birliği (also called İskele Gençlerbirliği ) was founded in 1934 in Larnaca, and was playing in the Süper Lig of the Northern Cyprus Football Federation in the 2018–19 season

 

Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.

 

Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both sides.

 

A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece, prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.

 

Attempts to reach a solution to the Cyprus dispute have been unsuccessful. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus with the support and approval of the TRNC government, while the Republic of Cyprus, the European Union as a whole, and the international community regard it as an occupation force. This military presence has been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.

 

Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector. The economy has seen growth through the 2000s and 2010s, with the GNP per capita more than tripling in the 2000s, but is held back by an international embargo due to the official closure of the ports in Northern Cyprus by the Republic of Cyprus. The official language is Turkish, with a distinct local dialect being spoken. The vast majority of the population consists of Sunni Muslims, while religious attitudes are mostly moderate and secular. Northern Cyprus is an observer state of ECO and OIC under the name "Turkish Cypriot State", PACE under the name "Turkish Cypriot Community", and Organization of Turkic States with its own name.

 

Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.

 

Cyprus, an island lying in the eastern Mediterranean, hosted a population of Greeks and Turks (four-fifths and one-fifth, respectively), who lived under British rule in the late nineteenth-century and the first half of the twentieth-century. Christian Orthodox Church of Cyprus played a prominent political role among the Greek Cypriot community, a privilege that it acquired during the Ottoman Empire with the employment of the millet system, which gave the archbishop an unofficial ethnarch status.

 

The repeated rejections by the British of Greek Cypriot demands for enosis, union with Greece, led to armed resistance, organised by the National Organization of Cypriot Struggle, or EOKA. EOKA, led by the Greek-Cypriot commander George Grivas, systematically targeted British colonial authorities. One of the effects of EOKA's campaign was to alter the Turkish position from demanding full reincorporation into Turkey to a demand for taksim (partition). EOKA's mission and activities caused a "Cretan syndrome" (see Turkish Resistance Organisation) within the Turkish Cypriot community, as its members feared that they would be forced to leave the island in such a case as had been the case with Cretan Turks. As such, they preferred the continuation of British colonial rule and then taksim, the division of the island. Due to the Turkish Cypriots' support for the British, EOKA's leader, Georgios Grivas, declared them to be enemies. The fact that the Turks were a minority was, according to Nihat Erim, to be addressed by the transfer of thousands of Turks from mainland Turkey so that Greek Cypriots would cease to be the majority. When Erim visited Cyprus as the Turkish representative, he was advised by Field Marshal Sir John Harding, the then Governor of Cyprus, that Turkey should send educated Turks to settle in Cyprus.

 

Turkey actively promoted the idea that on the island of Cyprus two distinctive communities existed, and sidestepped its former claim that "the people of Cyprus were all Turkish subjects". In doing so, Turkey's aim to have self-determination of two to-be equal communities in effect led to de jure partition of the island.[citation needed] This could be justified to the international community against the will of the majority Greek population of the island. Dr. Fazil Küçük in 1954 had already proposed Cyprus be divided in two at the 35° parallel.

 

Lindley Dan, from Notre Dame University, spotted the roots of intercommunal violence to different visions among the two communities of Cyprus (enosis for Greek Cypriots, taksim for Turkish Cypriots). Also, Lindlay wrote that "the merging of church, schools/education, and politics in divisive and nationalistic ways" had played a crucial role in creation of havoc in Cyprus' history. Attalides Michael also pointed to the opposing nationalisms as the cause of the Cyprus problem.

 

By the mid-1950's, the "Cyprus is Turkish" party, movement, and slogan gained force in both Cyprus and Turkey. In a 1954 editorial, Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Fazil Kuchuk expressed the sentiment that the Turkish youth had grown up with the idea that "as soon as Great Britain leaves the island, it will be taken over by the Turks", and that "Turkey cannot tolerate otherwise". This perspective contributed to the willingness of Turkish Cypriots to align themselves with the British, who started recruiting Turkish Cypriots into the police force that patrolled Cyprus to fight EOKA, a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that sought to rid the island of British rule.

 

EOKA targeted colonial authorities, including police, but Georgios Grivas, the leader of EOKA, did not initially wish to open up a new front by fighting Turkish Cypriots and reassured them that EOKA would not harm their people. In 1956, some Turkish Cypriot policemen were killed by EOKA members and this provoked some intercommunal violence in the spring and summer, but these attacks on policemen were not motivated by the fact that they were Turkish Cypriots.

 

However, in January 1957, Grivas changed his policy as his forces in the mountains became increasingly pressured by the British Crown forces. In order to divert the attention of the Crown forces, EOKA members started to target Turkish Cypriot policemen intentionally in the towns, so that Turkish Cypriots would riot against the Greek Cypriots and the security forces would have to be diverted to the towns to restore order. The killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman on 19 January, when a power station was bombed, and the injury of three others, provoked three days of intercommunal violence in Nicosia. The two communities targeted each other in reprisals, at least one Greek Cypriot was killed and the British Army was deployed in the streets. Greek Cypriot stores were burned and their neighbourhoods attacked. Following the events, the Greek Cypriot leadership spread the propaganda that the riots had merely been an act of Turkish Cypriot aggression. Such events created chaos and drove the communities apart both in Cyprus and in Turkey.

 

On 22 October 1957 Sir Hugh Mackintosh Foot replaced Sir John Harding as the British Governor of Cyprus. Foot suggested five to seven years of self-government before any final decision. His plan rejected both enosis and taksim. The Turkish Cypriot response to this plan was a series of anti-British demonstrations in Nicosia on 27 and 28 January 1958 rejecting the proposed plan because the plan did not include partition. The British then withdrew the plan.

 

In 1957, Black Gang, a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation, was formed to patrol a Turkish Cypriot enclave, the Tahtakale district of Nicosia, against activities of EOKA. The organisation later attempted to grow into a national scale, but failed to gain public support.

 

By 1958, signs of dissatisfaction with the British increased on both sides, with a group of Turkish Cypriots forming Volkan (later renamed to the Turkish Resistance Organisation) paramilitary group to promote partition and the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as dictated by the Menderes plan. Volkan initially consisted of roughly 100 members, with the stated aim of raising awareness in Turkey of the Cyprus issue and courting military training and support for Turkish Cypriot fighters from the Turkish government.

 

In June 1958, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, was expected to propose a plan to resolve the Cyprus issue. In light of the new development, the Turks rioted in Nicosia to promote the idea that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together and therefore any plan that did not include partition would not be viable. This violence was soon followed by bombing, Greek Cypriot deaths and looting of Greek Cypriot-owned shops and houses. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started to flee mixed population villages where they were a minority in search of safety. This was effectively the beginning of the segregation of the two communities. On 7 June 1958, a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus. Following the bombing, Turkish Cypriots looted Greek Cypriot properties. On 26 June 1984, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, admitted on British channel ITV that the bomb was placed by the Turks themselves in order to create tension. On 9 January 1995, Rauf Denktaş repeated his claim to the famous Turkish newspaper Milliyet in Turkey.

 

The crisis reached a climax on 12 June 1958, when eight Greeks, out of an armed group of thirty five arrested by soldiers of the Royal Horse Guards on suspicion of preparing an attack on the Turkish quarter of Skylloura, were killed in a suspected attack by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, having been ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos.

 

After the EOKA campaign had begun, the British government successfully began to turn the Cyprus issue from a British colonial problem into a Greek-Turkish issue. British diplomacy exerted backstage influence on the Adnan Menderes government, with the aim of making Turkey active in Cyprus. For the British, the attempt had a twofold objective. The EOKA campaign would be silenced as quickly as possible, and Turkish Cypriots would not side with Greek Cypriots against the British colonial claims over the island, which would thus remain under the British. The Turkish Cypriot leadership visited Menderes to discuss the Cyprus issue. When asked how the Turkish Cypriots should respond to the Greek Cypriot claim of enosis, Menderes replied: "You should go to the British foreign minister and request the status quo be prolonged, Cyprus to remain as a British colony". When the Turkish Cypriots visited the British Foreign Secretary and requested for Cyprus to remain a colony, he replied: "You should not be asking for colonialism at this day and age, you should be asking for Cyprus be returned to Turkey, its former owner".

 

As Turkish Cypriots began to look to Turkey for protection, Greek Cypriots soon understood that enosis was extremely unlikely. The Greek Cypriot leader, Archbishop Makarios III, now set independence for the island as his objective.

 

Britain resolved to solve the dispute by creating an independent Cyprus. In 1959, all involved parties signed the Zurich Agreements: Britain, Turkey, Greece, and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Makarios and Dr. Fazil Kucuk, respectively. The new constitution drew heavily on the ethnic composition of the island. The President would be a Greek Cypriot, and the Vice-President a Turkish Cypriot with an equal veto. The contribution to the public service would be set at a ratio of 70:30, and the Supreme Court would consist of an equal number of judges from both communities as well as an independent judge who was not Greek, Turkish or British. The Zurich Agreements were supplemented by a number of treaties. The Treaty of Guarantee stated that secession or union with any state was forbidden, and that Greece, Turkey and Britain would be given guarantor status to intervene if that was violated. The Treaty of Alliance allowed for two small Greek and Turkish military contingents to be stationed on the island, and the Treaty of Establishment gave Britain sovereignty over two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

 

On 15 August 1960, the Colony of Cyprus became fully independent as the Republic of Cyprus. The new republic remained within the Commonwealth of Nations.

 

The new constitution brought dissatisfaction to Greek Cypriots, who felt it to be highly unjust for them for historical, demographic and contributional reasons. Although 80% of the island's population were Greek Cypriots and these indigenous people had lived on the island for thousands of years and paid 94% of taxes, the new constitution was giving the 17% of the population that was Turkish Cypriots, who paid 6% of taxes, around 30% of government jobs and 40% of national security jobs.

 

Within three years tensions between the two communities in administrative affairs began to show. In particular disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. A constitutional court ruled in 1963 Makarios had failed to uphold article 173 of the constitution which called for the establishment of separate municipalities for Turkish Cypriots. Makarios subsequently declared his intention to ignore the judgement, resulting in the West German judge resigning from his position. Makarios proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution, which would have had the effect of resolving most of the issues in the Greek Cypriot favour. Under the proposals, the President and Vice-President would lose their veto, the separate municipalities as sought after by the Turkish Cypriots would be abandoned, the need for separate majorities by both communities in passing legislation would be discarded and the civil service contribution would be set at actual population ratios (82:18) instead of the slightly higher figure for Turkish Cypriots.

 

The intention behind the amendments has long been called into question. The Akritas plan, written in the height of the constitutional dispute by the Greek Cypriot interior minister Polycarpos Georkadjis, called for the removal of undesirable elements of the constitution so as to allow power-sharing to work. The plan envisaged a swift retaliatory attack on Turkish Cypriot strongholds should Turkish Cypriots resort to violence to resist the measures, stating "In the event of a planned or staged Turkish attack, it is imperative to overcome it by force in the shortest possible time, because if we succeed in gaining command of the situation (in one or two days), no outside, intervention would be either justified or possible." Whether Makarios's proposals were part of the Akritas plan is unclear, however it remains that sentiment towards enosis had not completely disappeared with independence. Makarios described independence as "a step on the road to enosis".[31] Preparations for conflict were not entirely absent from Turkish Cypriots either, with right wing elements still believing taksim (partition) the best safeguard against enosis.

 

Greek Cypriots however believe the amendments were a necessity stemming from a perceived attempt by Turkish Cypriots to frustrate the working of government. Turkish Cypriots saw it as a means to reduce their status within the state from one of co-founder to that of minority, seeing it as a first step towards enosis. The security situation deteriorated rapidly.

 

Main articles: Bloody Christmas (1963) and Battle of Tillyria

An armed conflict was triggered after December 21, 1963, a period remembered by Turkish Cypriots as Bloody Christmas, when a Greek Cypriot policemen that had been called to help deal with a taxi driver refusing officers already on the scene access to check the identification documents of his customers, took out his gun upon arrival and shot and killed the taxi driver and his partner. Eric Solsten summarised the events as follows: "a Greek Cypriot police patrol, ostensibly checking identification documents, stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple on the edge of the Turkish quarter. A hostile crowd gathered, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots were killed."

 

In the morning after the shooting, crowds gathered in protest in Northern Nicosia, likely encouraged by the TMT, without incident. On the evening of the 22nd, gunfire broke out, communication lines to the Turkish neighbourhoods were cut, and the Greek Cypriot police occupied the nearby airport. On the 23rd, a ceasefire was negotiated, but did not hold. Fighting, including automatic weapons fire, between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and militias increased in Nicosia and Larnaca. A force of Greek Cypriot irregulars led by Nikos Sampson entered the Nicosia suburb of Omorphita and engaged in heavy firing on armed, as well as by some accounts unarmed, Turkish Cypriots. The Omorphita clash has been described by Turkish Cypriots as a massacre, while this view has generally not been acknowledged by Greek Cypriots.

 

Further ceasefires were arranged between the two sides, but also failed. By Christmas Eve, the 24th, Britain, Greece, and Turkey had joined talks, with all sides calling for a truce. On Christmas day, Turkish fighter jets overflew Nicosia in a show of support. Finally it was agreed to allow a force of 2,700 British soldiers to help enforce a ceasefire. In the next days, a "buffer zone" was created in Nicosia, and a British officer marked a line on a map with green ink, separating the two sides of the city, which was the beginning of the "Green Line". Fighting continued across the island for the next several weeks.

 

In total 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed during the violence. 25,000 Turkish Cypriots from 103-109 villages fled and were displaced into enclaves and thousands of Turkish Cypriot houses were ransacked or completely destroyed.

 

Contemporary newspapers also reported on the forceful exodus of the Turkish Cypriots from their homes. According to The Times in 1964, threats, shootings and attempts of arson were committed against the Turkish Cypriots to force them out of their homes. The Daily Express wrote that "25,000 Turks have already been forced to leave their homes". The Guardian reported a massacre of Turks at Limassol on 16 February 1964.

 

Turkey had by now readied its fleet and its fighter jets appeared over Nicosia. Turkey was dissuaded from direct involvement by the creation of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1964. Despite the negotiated ceasefire in Nicosia, attacks on the Turkish Cypriot persisted, particularly in Limassol. Concerned about the possibility of a Turkish invasion, Makarios undertook the creation of a Greek Cypriot conscript-based army called the "National Guard". A general from Greece took charge of the army, whilst a further 20,000 well-equipped officers and men were smuggled from Greece into Cyprus. Turkey threatened to intervene once more, but was prevented by a strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson, anxious to avoid a conflict between NATO allies Greece and Turkey at the height of the Cold War.

 

Turkish Cypriots had by now established an important bridgehead at Kokkina, provided with arms, volunteers and materials from Turkey and abroad. Seeing this incursion of foreign weapons and troops as a major threat, the Cypriot government invited George Grivas to return from Greece as commander of the Greek troops on the island and launch a major attack on the bridgehead. Turkey retaliated by dispatching its fighter jets to bomb Greek positions, causing Makarios to threaten an attack on every Turkish Cypriot village on the island if the bombings did not cease. The conflict had now drawn in Greece and Turkey, with both countries amassing troops on their Thracian borders. Efforts at mediation by Dean Acheson, a former U.S. Secretary of State, and UN-appointed mediator Galo Plaza had failed, all the while the division of the two communities becoming more apparent. Greek Cypriot forces were estimated at some 30,000, including the National Guard and the large contingent from Greece. Defending the Turkish Cypriot enclaves was a force of approximately 5,000 irregulars, led by a Turkish colonel, but lacking the equipment and organisation of the Greek forces.

 

The Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1964, U Thant, reported the damage during the conflicts:

 

UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting.

 

The situation worsened in 1967, when a military junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Greece, and began applying pressure on Makarios to achieve enosis. Makarios, not wishing to become part of a military dictatorship or trigger a Turkish invasion, began to distance himself from the goal of enosis. This caused tensions with the junta in Greece as well as George Grivas in Cyprus. Grivas's control over the National Guard and Greek contingent was seen as a threat to Makarios's position, who now feared a possible coup.[citation needed] The National Guard and Cyprus Police began patrolling the Turkish Cypriot enclaves of Ayios Theodoros and Kophinou, and on November 15 engaged in heavy fighting with the Turkish Cypriots.

 

By the time of his withdrawal 26 Turkish Cypriots had been killed. Turkey replied with an ultimatum demanding that Grivas be removed from the island, that the troops smuggled from Greece in excess of the limits of the Treaty of Alliance be removed, and that the economic blockades on the Turkish Cypriot enclaves be lifted. Grivas was recalled by the Athens Junta and the 12,000 Greek troops were withdrawn. Makarios now attempted to consolidate his position by reducing the number of National Guard troops, and by creating a paramilitary force loyal to Cypriot independence. In 1968, acknowledging that enosis was now all but impossible, Makarios stated, "A solution by necessity must be sought within the limits of what is feasible which does not always coincide with the limits of what is desirable."

 

After 1967 tensions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots subsided. Instead, the main source of tension on the island came from factions within the Greek Cypriot community. Although Makarios had effectively abandoned enosis in favour of an 'attainable solution', many others continued to believe that the only legitimate political aspiration for Greek Cypriots was union with Greece.

 

On his arrival, Grivas began by establishing a nationalist paramilitary group known as the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B or EOKA-B), drawing comparisons with the EOKA struggle for enosis under the British colonial administration of the 1950s.

 

The military junta in Athens saw Makarios as an obstacle. Makarios's failure to disband the National Guard, whose officer class was dominated by mainland Greeks, had meant the junta had practical control over the Cypriot military establishment, leaving Makarios isolated and a vulnerable target.

 

During the first Turkish invasion, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus territory on 20 July 1974, invoking its rights under the Treaty of Guarantee. This expansion of Turkish-occupied zone violated International Law as well as the Charter of the United Nations. Turkish troops managed to capture 3% of the island which was accompanied by the burning of the Turkish Cypriot quarter, as well as the raping and killing of women and children. A temporary cease-fire followed which was mitigated by the UN Security Council. Subsequently, the Greek military Junta collapsed on July 23, 1974, and peace talks commenced in which a democratic government was installed. The Resolution 353 was broken after Turkey attacked a second time and managed to get a hold of 37% of Cyprus territory. The Island of Cyprus was appointed a Buffer Zone by the United Nations, which divided the island into two zones through the 'Green Line' and put an end to the Turkish invasion. Although Turkey announced that the occupied areas of Cyprus to be called the Federated Turkish State in 1975, it is not legitimised on a worldwide political scale. The United Nations called for the international recognition of independence for the Republic of Cyprus in the Security Council Resolution 367.

 

In the years after the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus one can observe a history of failed talks between the two parties. The 1983 declaration of the independent Turkish Republic of Cyprus resulted in a rise of inter-communal tensions and made it increasingly hard to find mutual understanding. With Cyprus' interest of a possible EU membership and a new UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997 new hopes arose for a fresh start. International involvement from sides of the US and UK, wanting a solution to the Cyprus dispute prior to the EU accession led to political pressures for new talks. The believe that an accession without a solution would threaten Greek-Turkish relations and acknowledge the partition of the island would direct the coming negotiations.

 

Over the course of two years a concrete plan, the Annan plan was formulated. In 2004 the fifth version agreed upon from both sides and with the endorsement of Turkey, US, UK and EU then was presented to the public and was given a referendum in both Cypriot communities to assure the legitimisation of the resolution. The Turkish Cypriots voted with 65% for the plan, however the Greek Cypriots voted with a 76% majority against. The Annan plan contained multiple important topics. Firstly it established a confederation of two separate states called the United Cyprus Republic. Both communities would have autonomous states combined under one unified government. The members of parliament would be chosen according to the percentage in population numbers to ensure a just involvement from both communities. The paper proposed a demilitarisation of the island over the next years. Furthermore it agreed upon a number of 45000 Turkish settlers that could remain on the island. These settlers became a very important issue concerning peace talks. Originally the Turkish government encouraged Turks to settle in Cyprus providing transfer and property, to establish a counterpart to the Greek Cypriot population due to their 1 to 5 minority. With the economic situation many Turkish-Cypriot decided to leave the island, however their departure is made up by incoming Turkish settlers leaving the population ratio between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots stable. However all these points where criticised and as seen in the vote rejected mainly by the Greek Cypriots. These name the dissolution of the „Republic of Cyprus", economic consequences of a reunion and the remaining Turkish settlers as reason. Many claim that the plan was indeed drawing more from Turkish-Cypriot demands then Greek-Cypriot interests. Taking in consideration that the US wanted to keep Turkey as a strategic partner in future Middle Eastern conflicts.

 

A week after the failed referendum the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU. In multiple instances the EU tried to promote trade with Northern Cyprus but without internationally recognised ports this spiked a grand debate. Both side endure their intention of negotiations, however without the prospect of any new compromises or agreements the UN is unwilling to start the process again. Since 2004 negotiations took place in numbers but without any results, both sides are strongly holding on to their position without an agreeable solution in sight that would suit both parties.

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Hasselblad, 250mm Carl Zeiss Lens, 2X Extender, Tri-X, Minolta Scan Multi Pro Scanner

 

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Procesión de la Esperanza (Bilbao 2018)

 

Imaginero: Francisco J. Zamudio

 

Año de realización: 1.994

 

Propiedad: Cofradía Penitencial del Apóstol Santiago

 

Procesiona: La tarde de Sábado Santo

 

Características: se trata de una talla de una altura de 1,80 metros, totalmente esculpida en una única pieza de madera de cedro real de Brasil, y posteriormente policromada. Es un Cristo resucitado de pie, con los brazos extendidos, mostrando las heridas de los clavos y de la lanza.

 

Acompaña en procesión a María Santísima de la Esperanza, en la que antes era la última procesión de la Semana Santa de Bilbao.

Great Eastern Railway Holden J69 68499 - rebuilt from a J67, with extended side-tanks - at Stratford shed in early 1962. The loco was based in Scotland in the late-1940s, and still has the extended wooden shunters platform at the rear, from that time.. It also has a GER-era flatter cab roof.

The loco was withdrawn in September 1962, and scrapped in early 1963. One 'original' GER J69 has survived, and is currently (2019) on display at the Bressingham Steam Museum, in Norfolk.

The entire Stratford site has completely vanished, and is now the location of the 2012 Olympic complex, and 'Stratford International' station.

Restored from an under-exposed unfocussed very grainy original..

Original slide - photographer unknown

 

See - very approximately - where this photo was taken

Undersized tubes on either side slide into the "tailpipes" of the rack.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisbon

 

Lisbon (Portuguese: Lisboa) is the capital and the largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 505,526 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Its urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits with a population of around 2.8 million people, being the 11th-most populous urban area in the European Union. About 3 million people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (which represents approximately 27% of the country's population). It is mainland Europe's westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the River Tagus. The westernmost areas of its metro area form the westernmost point of Continental Europe, which is known as Cabo da Roca, located in the Sintra Mountains.

 

Lisbon is recognized as an alpha-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Study Group because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education and tourism. Lisbon is the only Portuguese city besides Porto to be recognized as a global city. It is one of the major economic centres on the continent, with a growing financial sector and one of the largest container ports on Europe's Atlantic coast. Additionally, Humberto Delgado Airport served 26.7 million passengers in 2017, being the busiest airport in Portugal, the 3rd busiest in the Iberian Peninsula and the 20th busiest in Europe, and the motorway network and the high-speed rail system of Alfa Pendular links the main cities of Portugal (such as Braga, Porto and Coimbra) to Lisbon. The city is the 9th-most-visited city in Southern Europe, after Rome, Istanbul, Barcelona, Milan, Venice, Madrid, Florence and Athens, with 3,320,300 tourists in 2017. The Lisbon region contributes with a higher GDP PPP per capita than any other region in Portugal. Its GDP amounts to 96.3 billion USD and thus $32,434 per capita. The city occupies the 40th place of highest gross earnings in the world. Most of the headquarters of multinational corporations in Portugal are located in the Lisbon area. It is also the political centre of the country, as its seat of Government and residence of the Head of State.

 

Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, and one of the oldest in Western Europe, predating other modern European capitals such as London, Paris, and Rome by centuries. Julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, it was captured by the Moors in the 8th century. In 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural centre of Portugal. Unlike most capital cities, Lisbon's status as the capital of Portugal has never been granted or confirmed officially – by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as de facto capital a part of the Constitution of Portugal.

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pra%C3%A7a_da_Figueira

 

The Praça da Figueira (Portuguese: Square of the Fig Tree) is a large square in the centre of Lisbon, in Portugal. It is part of the Lisbon Baixa, the area of the city reurbanised after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.

 

In the 16th century the square did not exist, and most of its area was occupied by the Hospital Real de Todos os Santos (All-Saints Royal Hospital), the most important in the city. In 1755, after the great earthquake which destroyed most of Lisbon, the hospital was greatly damaged. It was demolished around 1775.

 

The large area previously occupied by the hospital in the Baixa was turned into an open market square. Around 1885, a large covered market of 8,000 m² was built. This market existed until 1949, when it was demolished. Since then the square has been an open space.

 

In 1971 a bronze equestrian statue representing King John I (1357–1433), by sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida, was inaugurated in the square. The monument also carries medallions with the effigies of Nuno Álvares Pereira and João das Regras, two key characters in the 1385 Revolution that brought John I to power.

 

In 1999/2000, during the last renovation of the square, the statue was relocated from the middle to a corner of the square, in order to make it visible from the Praça do Comércio. The original renovation project also called for the buildings to be completely covered with ceramic tiles (azulejos) by Daciano Costa, which has not been done.

 

The Praça da Figueira has a very uniform profile, with four-storey buildings dating from the rebuilding of the Baixa Pombalina. The buildings are occupied by hotels, cafés, and several shops. It is also an important traffic hub, with bus and metro stops.

Great Gray Owl, Ottawa Canada

The Great Gray Owl is one of the largest owls in the world and is grey all over, peppered with darker and lighter markings. When perched, this bird appears very bulky because of its dense and fluffy plumage, long wings that extend past the body, relatively long tail and large head.

The Great Gray Owl is not known for its agility in flight, but hunting is not a challenge. Its preferred method is known as "still hunting", in which the bird sits and listens for its prey, then swoops down for the kill. It will fly rarely, except for short distances between perches, and it usually flies only a couple of metres (6 ft.) off the ground. Because of their excellent hearing, Great Gray Owls are able to hear prey such as small rodents moving beneath snow a foot deep (30 cm).

To purchase prints, cards, mugs, photos, shirts and more you can visit my Redbubble site

 

© Jim Cumming - If you're interested in using this image, please email me at Jimdarby8@yahoo.ca Please do not use without permission

Oak Titmouse

Garin Regional Park, Hayward California

Had a walk round the Midhurst yesterday bu the river. Found this orange tip - who stuck around for a few photos.

Swanage Pier is a Victorian pier which extends into the southern end of Swanage Bay near the town of Swanage, in the south-east of Dorset.

The first Swanage Pier, which was 750 feet long, was built between 1859 and 1860 for use primarily by the local stone quarrying industry and included a tramway which ran the length of the pier and some way along the seafront.

When local businessman George Burt introduced regular steamer services between Swanage and nearby towns Poole and Bournemouth in 1874, a need became apparent for a second pier to be built primarily for use by passenger steamers. Construction on the new pier began in 1895, and by 1896 was first used by a steamer. The pier was officially opened for traffic on 29 March 1897. While regular steamer services ran on the new pier up until 1966, the older original pier declined along with the stone industry it served some years earlier. Today all that remains of the old pier are some of the timber piles.

After steamer services discontinued in 1966 the remaining pleasure pier also began to fall into disrepair. In 1976 Grade II listed status was awarded to the pier. After a failed attempt to restore the pier by a development firm in 1986, Swanage Pier Trust took over ownership of the pier in 1994.

 

Spurn Point, Humberside

 

Spurn is unique. Three and a half miles long and only fifty metres wide in places. Extending out in to the Humber Estuary from the Yorkshire coast it has always had a big affect to the navigation of all vessels over the years. Help to some and a danger or hindrance to others. This alone makes Spurn a unique place. Spurn is made up of a series of sand and shingle banks held together with mainly Marram grass and Seabuckthorn. There are a series of sea defence works built by the Victorians and maintained by the Ministry of Defence, till they sold Spurn to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust in the 1950s. The defences are in a poor state, breaking down and crumbling. This is making Spurn a very fragile place wide open to the ravages of the North Sea. One of the most striking features of Spurn is the black and white lighthouse near to the end of Spurn. Now just an empty shell not used since it was closed down at dawn on the thirty first of October 1986. There have been many Lighthouses on Spurn over the years the first recorded at around 1427. The present light was built from 1893 TO 1895. The small tower on the beach on the Estuary side was originally the low light. It was built and put in to operation at around 1852. This light was no longer needed when the present lighthouse was opened in 1895.At a later date the light was removed and it was used as a store for explosives and later as a water tower. The tank can still be seen on the top. When it was operational there was a raised walkway from the shore to the lighthouse so it could be reached at all stages of the tide. The present lighthouse was built to replace an old lighthouse that was positioned just to the south of the present one. You can still see the round perimeter wall surrounding the old keepers cottages and the base of the old lighthouse which had to be demolished due to it settling on it's foundations making it unsafe. The only light on Spurn today is a flashing green starboard light on the very end of the point and the fixed green lights marking the end of the Pilots jetty.

 

Text shamelessly lifted from.... www.spurnpoint.com/

Adrianne will be out of town until the 19th, so the deadline for Neon Heatwave has been extended to August 19th! :)

urban affairs extended 2009 berlinz

tanx to don mork king of tuttelecose....

respect to eugenio eka mastrogeppetto...

much love to bera piu mad horse crushler..

Extended description in first comment

 

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This cobblestone street is adjacent to Independence Hall.

 

ABOUT THE SERIES

In June 2010 Michelle and I traveled to Philadelphia (and surrounding areas) for a summer vacation and to visit her extended family. I'd been to Philadelphia twice before, once in eighth grade and once during college but I only remember bits and pieces of each previous trip. The trip during college was during the 2010 Republican National Convention (I wasn't there for the convention) and I remember the entire city resembling a police state with police everywhere due to all the protests.

 

Anyway, it was great to return to the city and see some of the surrounding areas I hadn't explored before. We visited during a heatwave (90 degree heat with intense humidity which apparently is a little unusual in June but typical in August) but it was well worth the trip.

Eigentlich kann die CANON POWERSHOT SX70 HS nur Blende 3.4 bis 8.0.

Hier zeigt die Kamera aber Blende F16.

Nachgeschärft.

Athens is a major coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, and it is both the capital and the largest city of Greece. With its urban area's population numbering over three million, it is also the eighth largest urban area in the European Union. Athens dominates and is the capital of the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning over 3,400 years, and its earliest human presence beginning somewhere between the 11th and 7th millennia BC. The city was named after Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom.

 

Classical Athens was one of the most powerful city-states in ancient Greece. It was a centre for democracy, the arts, education and philosophy, and was highly influential throughout the European continent, particularly in Ancient Rome. For this reason, it is often regarded as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy in its own right independently from the rest of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a huge cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime, political and cultural life in Greece. In 2023, Athens metropolitan area and its surrounding municipalities (consisting the regional area of Attica) has a population of approximately 3.8 million.

 

Athens is a Beta-status global city according to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and is one of the biggest economic centers in Southeastern Europe. It also has a large financial sector, and its port Piraeus is both the 2nd busiest passenger port in Europe, and the 13th largest container port in the world. The Municipality of Athens (also City of Athens), which constitutes a small administrative unit of the entire urban area, had a population of 643,452 (2021) within its official limits, and a land area of 38.96 km2 (15.04 sq mi). The Athens metropolitan area or Greater Athens extends beyond its administrative municipal city limits as well as its urban agglomeration, with a population of 3,638,281 (2021) over an area of 2,928.717 km2 (1,131 sq mi). Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland.

 

The heritage of the Classical Era is still evident in the city, represented by ancient monuments, and works of art, the most famous of all being the Parthenon, considered a key landmark of early Western culture. The city also retains Roman, Byzantine and a smaller number of Ottoman monuments, while its historical urban core features elements of continuity through its millennia of history. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery. Landmarks of the modern era, dating back to the establishment of Athens as the capital of the independent Greek state in 1834, include the Hellenic Parliament and the Architectural Trilogy of Athens, consisting of the National Library of Greece, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and the Academy of Athens. Athens is also home to several museums and cultural institutions, such as the National Archeological Museum, featuring the world's largest collection of ancient Greek antiquities, the Acropolis Museum, the Museum of Cycladic Art, the Benaki Museum, and the Byzantine and Christian Museum. Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics, making it one of five cities to have hosted the Summer Olympics on multiple occasions. Athens joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2016.

 

Etymology and names

In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι (Athênai, pronounced [atʰɛ̂ːnai̯] in Classical Attic), which is a plural word. In earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη (Athḗnē). It was possibly rendered in the plural later on, like those of Θῆβαι (Thêbai) and Μυκῆναι (Μukênai). The root of the word is probably not of Greek or Indo-European origin, and is possibly a remnant of the Pre-Greek substrate of Attica. In antiquity, it was debated whether Athens took its name from its patron goddess Athena (Attic Ἀθηνᾶ, Athēnâ, Ionic Ἀθήνη, Athḗnē, and Doric Ἀθάνα, Athā́nā) or Athena took her name from the city. Modern scholars now generally agree that the goddess takes her name from the city,[24] because the ending -ene is common in names of locations, but rare for personal names.

 

According to the ancient Athenian founding myth, Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, competed against Poseidon, the God of the Seas, for patronage of the yet-unnamed city; they agreed that whoever gave the Athenians the better gift would become their patron and appointed Cecrops, the king of Athens, as the judge. According to the account given by Pseudo-Apollodorus, Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a salt water spring welled up. In an alternative version of the myth from Vergil's poem Georgics, Poseidon instead gave the Athenians the first horse. In both versions, Athena offered the Athenians the first domesticated olive tree. Cecrops accepted this gift and declared Athena the patron goddess of Athens. Eight different etymologies, now commonly rejected, have been proposed since the 17th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος (áthos) or ἄνθος (ánthos) meaning "flower", to denote Athens as the "flowering city". Ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- (tháō, thē-, "to suck") to denote Athens as having fertile soil. Athenians were called cicada-wearers (Ancient Greek: Τεττιγοφόροι) because they used to wear pins of golden cicadas. A symbol of being autochthonous (earth-born), because the legendary founder of Athens, Erechtheus was an autochthon or of being musicians, because the cicada is a "musician" insect. In classical literature, the city was sometimes referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindar's ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι (iostéphanoi Athânai), or as τὸ κλεινὸν ἄστυ (tò kleinòn ásty, "the glorious city").

 

During the medieval period, the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα. Variant names included Setines, Satine, and Astines, all derivations involving false splitting of prepositional phrases. King Alphonse X of Castile gives the pseudo-etymology 'the one without death/ignorance'. In Ottoman Turkish, it was called آتينا Ātīnā, and in modern Turkish, it is Atina.

 

History

Main article: History of Athens

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Athens.

Historical affiliations

Kingdom of Athens 1556 BC–1068 BC

City-state of Athens 1068 BC–322 BC

Hellenic League 338 BC–322 BC

Kingdom of Macedonia 322 BC–148 BC

Roman Republic 146 BC–27 BC

Roman Empire 27 BC–395 AD

Eastern Roman Empire 395–1205

Duchy of Athens 1205–1458

Ottoman Empire 1458–1822, 1827–1832

Greece 1822–1827, 1832–present

 

Antiquity

The oldest known human presence in Athens is the Cave of Schist, which has been dated to between the 11th and 7th millennia BC. Athens has been continuously inhabited for at least 5,000 years (3000 BC). By 1400 BC, the settlement had become an important centre of the Mycenaean civilization, and the Acropolis was the site of a major Mycenaean fortress, whose remains can be recognised from sections of the characteristic Cyclopean walls. Unlike other Mycenaean centers, such as Mycenae and Pylos, it is not known whether Athens suffered destruction in about 1200 BC, an event often attributed to a Dorian invasion, and the Athenians always maintained that they were pure Ionians with no Dorian element. However, Athens, like many other Bronze Age settlements, went into economic decline for around 150 years afterwards. Iron Age burials, in the Kerameikos and other locations, are often richly provided for and demonstrate that from 900 BC onwards Athens was one of the leading centres of trade and prosperity in the region.

 

By the sixth century BC, widespread social unrest led to the reforms of Solon. These would pave the way for the eventual introduction of democracy by Cleisthenes in 508 BC. Athens had by this time become a significant naval power with a large fleet, and helped the rebellion of the Ionian cities against Persian rule. In the ensuing Greco-Persian Wars Athens, together with Sparta, led the coalition of Greek states that would eventually repel the Persians, defeating them decisively at Marathon in 490 BC, and crucially at Salamis in 480 BC. However, this did not prevent Athens from being captured and sacked twice by the Persians within one year, after a heroic but ultimately failed resistance at Thermopylae by Spartans and other Greeks led by King Leonidas, after both Boeotia and Attica fell to the Persians.

 

The decades that followed became known as the Golden Age of Athenian democracy, during which time Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece, with its cultural achievements laying the foundations for Western civilization. The playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides flourished in Athens during this time, as did the historians Herodotus and Thucydides, the physician Hippocrates, and the philosopher Socrates. Guided by Pericles, who promoted the arts and fostered democracy, Athens embarked on an ambitious building program that saw the construction of the Acropolis of Athens (including the Parthenon), as well as empire-building via the Delian League. Originally intended as an association of Greek city-states to continue the fight against the Persians, the league soon turned into a vehicle for Athens's own imperial ambitions. The resulting tensions brought about the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), in which Athens was defeated by its rival Sparta.

 

By the mid-4th century BC, the northern Greek kingdom of Macedon was becoming dominant in Athenian affairs. In 338 BC the armies of Philip II defeated an alliance of some of the Greek city-states including Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea. Later, under Rome, Athens was given the status of a free city because of its widely admired schools. In the second century AD, The Roman emperor Hadrian, himself an Athenian citizen, ordered the construction of a library, a gymnasium, an aqueduct which is still in use, several temples and sanctuaries, a bridge and financed the completion of the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

 

In the early 4th century AD, the Eastern Roman Empire began to be governed from Constantinople, and with the construction and expansion of the imperial city, many of Athens's works of art were taken by the emperors to adorn it. The Empire became Christianized, and the use of Latin declined in favour of exclusive use of Greek; in the Roman imperial period, both languages had been used. In the later Roman period, Athens was ruled by the emperors continuing until the 13th century, its citizens identifying themselves as citizens of the Roman Empire ("Rhomaioi"). The conversion of the empire from paganism to Christianity greatly affected Athens, resulting in reduced reverence for the city.[33] Ancient monuments such as the Parthenon, Erechtheion and the Hephaisteion (Theseion) were converted into churches. As the empire became increasingly anti-pagan, Athens became a provincial town and experienced fluctuating fortunes.

 

The city remained an important center of learning, especially of Neoplatonism—with notable pupils including Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil of Caesarea and emperor Julian (r. 355–363)—and consequently a center of paganism. Christian items do not appear in the archaeological record until the early 5th century. The sack of the city by the Herules in 267 and by the Visigoths under their king Alaric I (r. 395–410) in 396, however, dealt a heavy blow to the city's fabric and fortunes, and Athens was henceforth confined to a small fortified area that embraced a fraction of the ancient city. The emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) banned the teaching of philosophy by pagans in 529, an event whose impact on the city is much debated, but is generally taken to mark the end of the ancient history of Athens. Athens was sacked by the Slavs in 582, but remained in imperial hands thereafter, as highlighted by the visit of the emperor Constans II (r. 641–668) in 662/3 and its inclusion in the Theme of Hellas.

 

Middle Ages

The city was threatened by Saracen raids in the 8th–9th centuries—in 896, Athens was raided and possibly occupied for a short period, an event which left some archaeological remains and elements of Arabic ornamentation in contemporary buildings—but there is also evidence of a mosque existing in the city at the time. In the great dispute over Byzantine Iconoclasm, Athens is commonly held to have supported the iconophile position, chiefly due to the role played by Empress Irene of Athens in the ending of the first period of Iconoclasm at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. A few years later, another Athenian, Theophano, became empress as the wife of Staurakios (r. 811–812).

 

Invasion of the empire by the Turks after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, and the ensuing civil wars, largely passed the region by and Athens continued its provincial existence unharmed. When the Byzantine Empire was rescued by the resolute leadership of the three Komnenos emperors Alexios, John and Manuel, Attica and the rest of Greece prospered. Archaeological evidence tells us that the medieval town experienced a period of rapid and sustained growth, starting in the 11th century and continuing until the end of the 12th century.

 

The Agora (marketplace) had been deserted since late antiquity, began to be built over, and soon the town became an important centre for the production of soaps and dyes. The growth of the town attracted the Venetians, and various other traders who frequented the ports of the Aegean, to Athens. This interest in trade appears to have further increased the economic prosperity of the town.

 

The 11th and 12th centuries were the Golden Age of Byzantine art in Athens. Almost all of the most important Middle Byzantine churches in and around Athens were built during these two centuries, and this reflects the growth of the town in general. However, this medieval prosperity was not to last. In 1204, the Fourth Crusade conquered Athens and the city was not recovered from the Latins before it was taken by the Ottoman Turks. It did not become Greek in government again until the 19th century.

 

From 1204 until 1458, Athens was ruled by Latins in three separate periods, following the Crusades. The "Latins", or "Franks", were western Europeans and followers of the Latin Church brought to the Eastern Mediterranean during the Crusades. Along with rest of Byzantine Greece, Athens was part of the series of feudal fiefs, similar to the Crusader states established in Syria and on Cyprus after the First Crusade. This period is known as the Frankokratia.

 

Ottoman Athens

The first Ottoman attack on Athens, which involved a short-lived occupation of the town, came in 1397, under the Ottoman generals Yaqub Pasha and Timurtash. Finally, in 1458, Athens was captured by the Ottomans under the personal leadership of Sultan Mehmed II. As the Ottoman Sultan rode into the city, he was greatly struck by the beauty of its ancient monuments and issued a firman (imperial edict) forbidding their looting or destruction, on pain of death. The Parthenon was converted into the main mosque of the city.

 

Under Ottoman rule, Athens was denuded of any importance and its population severely declined, leaving it as a "small country town" (Franz Babinger). From the early 17th century, Athens came under the jurisdiction of the Kizlar Agha, the chief black eunuch of the Sultan's harem. The city had originally been granted by Sultan Ahmed I (r. 1603–1617) to Basilica, one of his favourite concubines, who hailed from the city, in response of complaints of maladministration by the local governors. After her death, Athens came under the purview of the Kizlar Agha.

 

The Turks began a practice of storing gunpowder and explosives in the Parthenon and Propylaea. In 1640, a lightning bolt struck the Propylaea, causing its destruction. In 1687, during the Morean War, the Acropolis was besieged by the Venetians under Francesco Morosini, and the temple of Athena Nike was dismantled by the Ottomans to fortify the Parthenon. A shot fired during the bombardment of the Acropolis caused a powder magazine in the Parthenon to explode (26 September), and the building was severely damaged, giving it largely the appearance it has today. The Venetian occupation of Athens lasted for six months, and both the Venetians and the Ottomans participated in the looting of the Parthenon. One of its western pediments was removed, causing even more damage to the structure. During the Venetian occupation, the two mosques of the city were converted into Catholic and Protestant churches, but on 9 April 1688 the Venetians abandoned Athens again to the Ottomans.

 

Modern history

In 1822, a Greek insurgency captured the city, but it fell to the Ottomans again in 1826 (though Acropolis held till June 1827). Again the ancient monuments suffered badly. The Ottoman forces remained in possession until March 1833, when they withdrew. At that time, the city (as throughout the Ottoman period) had a small population of an estimated 400 houses, mostly located around the Acropolis in the Plaka.

 

Following the Greek War of Independence and the establishment of the Greek Kingdom, Athens was chosen to replace Nafplio as the second capital of the newly independent Greek state in 1834, largely because of historical and sentimental reasons. At the time, after the extensive destruction it had suffered during the war of independence, it was reduced to a town of about 4,000 people (less than half its earlier population) in a loose swarm of houses along the foot of the Acropolis. The first King of Greece, Otto of Bavaria, commissioned the architects Stamatios Kleanthis and Eduard Schaubert to design a modern city plan fit for the capital of a state.

 

The first modern city plan consisted of a triangle defined by the Acropolis, the ancient cemetery of Kerameikos and the new palace of the Bavarian king (now housing the Greek Parliament), so as to highlight the continuity between modern and ancient Athens. Neoclassicism, the international style of this epoch, was the architectural style through which Bavarian, French and Greek architects such as Hansen, Klenze, Boulanger or Kaftantzoglou designed the first important public buildings of the new capital. In 1896, Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games. During the 1920s a number of Greek refugees, expelled from Asia Minor after the Greco-Turkish War and Greek genocide, swelled Athens's population; nevertheless it was most particularly following World War II, and from the 1950s and 1960s, that the population of the city exploded, and Athens experienced a gradual expansion.

 

In the 1980s, it became evident that smog from factories and an ever-increasing fleet of automobiles, as well as a lack of adequate free space due to congestion, had evolved into the city's most important challenge.[citation needed] A series of anti-pollution measures taken by the city's authorities in the 1990s, combined with a substantial improvement of the city's infrastructure (including the Attiki Odos motorway, the expansion of the Athens Metro, and the new Athens International Airport), considerably alleviated pollution and transformed Athens into a much more functional city. In 2004, Athens hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics.

 

Geography

Athens sprawls across the central plain of Attica that is often referred to as the Athens Basin or the Attica Basin (Greek: Λεκανοπέδιο Αθηνών/Αττικής). The basin is bounded by four large mountains: Mount Aigaleo to the west, Mount Parnitha to the north, Mount Pentelicus to the northeast and Mount Hymettus to the east. Beyond Mount Aegaleo lies the Thriasian plain, which forms an extension of the central plain to the west. The Saronic Gulf lies to the southwest. Mount Parnitha is the tallest of the four mountains (1,413 m (4,636 ft)), and has been declared a national park. The Athens urban area spreads over 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Agios Stefanos in the north to Varkiza in the south. The city is located in the north temperate zone, 38 degrees north of the equator.

 

Athens is built around a number of hills. Lycabettus is one of the tallest hills of the city proper and provides a view of the entire Attica Basin. The meteorology of Athens is deemed to be one of the most complex in the world because its mountains cause a temperature inversion phenomenon which, along with the Greek government's difficulties controlling industrial pollution, was responsible for the air pollution problems the city has faced. This issue is not unique to Athens; for instance, Los Angeles and Mexico City also suffer from similar atmospheric inversion problems.

 

The Cephissus river, the Ilisos and the Eridanos stream are the historical rivers of Athens.

 

Environment

By the late 1970s, the pollution of Athens had become so destructive that according to the then Greek Minister of Culture, Constantine Trypanis, "...the carved details on the five the caryatids of the Erechtheum had seriously degenerated, while the face of the horseman on the Parthenon's west side was all but obliterated." A series of measures taken by the authorities of the city throughout the 1990s resulted in the improvement of air quality; the appearance of smog (or nefos as the Athenians used to call it) has become less common.

 

Measures taken by the Greek authorities throughout the 1990s have improved the quality of air over the Attica Basin. Nevertheless, air pollution still remains an issue for Athens, particularly during the hottest summer days. In late June 2007, the Attica region experienced a number of brush fires, including a blaze that burned a significant portion of a large forested national park in Mount Parnitha, considered critical to maintaining a better air quality in Athens all year round. Damage to the park has led to worries over a stalling in the improvement of air quality in the city.

 

The major waste management efforts undertaken in the last decade (particularly the plant built on the small island of Psytalia) have greatly improved water quality in the Saronic Gulf, and the coastal waters of Athens are now accessible again to swimmers.

 

Parks and zoos

Parnitha National Park is punctuated by well-marked paths, gorges, springs, torrents and caves dotting the protected area. Hiking and mountain-biking in all four mountains are popular outdoor activities for residents of the city. The National Garden of Athens was completed in 1840 and is a green refuge of 15.5 hectares in the centre of the Greek capital. It is to be found between the Parliament and Zappeion buildings, the latter of which maintains its own garden of seven hectares. Parts of the City Centre have been redeveloped under a masterplan called the Unification of Archeological Sites of Athens, which has also gathered funding from the EU to help enhance the project. The landmark Dionysiou Areopagitou Street has been pedestrianised, forming a scenic route. The route starts from the Temple of Olympian Zeus at Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, continues under the southern slopes of the Acropolis near Plaka, and finishes just beyond the Temple of Hephaestus in Thiseio. The route in its entirety provides visitors with views of the Parthenon and the Agora (the meeting point of ancient Athenians), away from the busy City Centre.

 

The hills of Athens also provide green space. Lycabettus, Philopappos hill and the area around it, including Pnyx and Ardettos hill, are planted with pines and other trees, with the character of a small forest rather than typical metropolitan parkland. Also to be found is the Pedion tou Areos (Field of Mars) of 27.7 hectares, near the National Archaeological Museum. Athens' largest zoo is the Attica Zoological Park, a 20-hectare (49-acre) private zoo located in the suburb of Spata. The zoo is home to around 2000 animals representing 400 species, and is open 365 days a year. Smaller zoos exist within public gardens or parks, such as the zoo within the National Garden of Athens.

 

Climate

Athens has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa). According to the meteorological station near the city center which is operated by the National Observatory of Athens, the downtown area has an annual average temperature of 19.2 °C (66.6 °F) while parts of the urban agglomeration may reach up to 19.8 °C (67.6 °F), being affected by the urban heat island effect. Athens receives about 433.1 millimetres (17.05 in) of precipitation per year, largely concentrated during the colder half of the year with the remaining rainfall falling sparsely, mainly during thunderstorms. Fog is rare in the city center, but somewhat more frequent in areas to the east, close to mount Hymettus.

 

The southern section of the Athens metropolitan area (i.e., Elliniko, Athens Riviera) lies in the transitional zone between Mediterranean (Csa) and hot semi-arid climate (BSh), with its port-city of Piraeus being the most extreme example, receiving just 331.9 millimetres (13.07 in) per year. The areas to the south generally see less extreme temperature variations as their climate is moderated by the Saronic gulf. The northern part of the city (i.e., Kifissia), owing to its higher elevation, features moderately lower temperatures and slightly increased precipitation year-round. The generally dry climate of the Athens basin compared to the precipitation amounts seen in a typical Mediterranean climate is due to the rain shadow effect caused by the Pindus mountain range and the Dirfys and Parnitha mountains, substantially drying the westerly and northerly winds respectively.

 

Snowfall is not very common, though it occurs almost annually, but it usually does not cause heavy disruption to daily life, in contrast to the northern parts of the city, where blizzards occur on a somewhat more regular basis. The most recent examples include the snowstorms of 16 February 2021 and 24 January 2022, when the entire urban area was blanketed in snow.

 

Athens may get particularly hot in the summer, owing partly to the strong urban heat island effect characterizing the city. In fact, Athens is considered to be the hottest city in mainland Europe, and is the first city in Europe to appoint a chief heat officer to deal with severe heat waves. Temperatures of 47.5°C have been reported in several locations of the metropolitan area, including within the urban agglomeration. Metropolitan Athens was until 2021 the holder of the World Meteorological Organization record for the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe with 48.0 °C (118.4 °F) which was recorded in the areas of Elefsina and Tatoi on 10 July 1977.

 

Administration

Athens became the capital of Greece in 1834, following Nafplion, which was the provisional capital from 1829. The municipality (City) of Athens is also the capital of the Attica region. The term Athens can refer either to the Municipality of Athens, to Greater Athens or urban area, or to the entire Athens Metropolitan Area.

 

The large City Centre (Greek: Κέντρο της Αθήνας) of the Greek capital falls directly within the Municipality of Athens or Athens Municipality (Greek: Δήμος Αθηναίων)—also City of Athens. Athens Municipality is the largest in population size in Greece. Piraeus also forms a significant city centre on its own within the Athens Urban Area and it is the second largest in population size within it.

 

Athens Urban Area

The Athens Urban Area (Greek: Πολεοδομικό Συγκρότημα Αθηνών), also known as Urban Area of the Capital (Greek: Πολεοδομικό Συγκρότημα Πρωτεύουσας) or Greater Athens (Greek: Ευρύτερη Αθήνα), today consists of 40 municipalities, 35 of which make up what was referred to as the former Athens Prefecture municipalities, located within 4 regional units (North Athens, West Athens, Central Athens, South Athens); and a further 5 municipalities, which make up the former Piraeus Prefecture municipalities, located within the regional unit of Piraeus as mentioned above.

 

The Athens Municipality forms the core and center of Greater Athens, which in its turn consists of the Athens Municipality and 40 more municipalities, divided in four regional units (Central, North, South and West Athens), accounting for 2,611,713 people (in 2021) within an area of 361 km2 (139 sq mi). Until 2010, which made up the abolished Athens Prefecture and the municipality of Piraeus, the historic Athenian port, with 4 other municipalities make up the regional unit of Piraeus. The regional units of Central Athens, North Athens, South Athens, West Athens and Piraeus with part of East and West Attica regional units combined make up the continuous Athens Urban Area, also called the "Urban Area of the Capital" or simply "Athens" (the most common use of the term), spanning over 412 km2 (159 sq mi), with a population of 3,059,764 people as of 2021. The Athens Urban Area is considered to form the city of Athens as a whole, despite its administrative divisions, which is the largest in Greece and the 9th most populated urban area in Europe.

 

Demographics

The Municipality of Athens has an official population of 643,452 people (in 2021). According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, The four regional units that make up what is referred to as Greater Athens have a combined population of 2,611,713 . They together with the regional unit of Piraeus (Greater Piraeus) make up the dense Athens Urban Area which reaches a total population of 3,059,764 inhabitants (in 2021).

 

The municipality (Center) of Athens is the most populous in Greece, with a population of 643,452 people (in 2021) and an area of 38.96 km2 (15.04 sq mi), forming the core of the Athens Urban Area within the Attica Basin. The incumbent Mayor of Athens is Kostas Bakoyannis of New Democracy. The municipality is divided into seven municipal districts which are mainly used for administrative purposes.

 

For the Athenians the most popular way of dividing the downtown is through its neighbourhoods such as Pagkrati, Ampelokipoi, Goudi, Exarcheia, Patisia, Ilisia, Petralona, Plaka, Anafiotika, Koukaki, Kolonaki and Kypseli, each with its own distinct history and characteristics.

 

Safety

Athens ranks in the lowest percentage for the risk on frequency and severity of terrorist attacks according to the EU Global Terrorism Database (EIU 2007–2016 calculations). The city also ranked 35th in Digital Security, 21st on Health Security, 29th on Infrastructure Security and 41st on Personal Security globally in a 2017 The Economist Intelligence Unit report. It also ranks as a very safe city (39th globally out of 162 cities overall) on the ranking of the safest and most dangerous countries. As May 2022 the crime index from Numbeo places Athens at 56.33 (moderate), while its safety index is at 43.68.Crime in Athens According to a Mercer 2019 Quality of Living Survey, Athens ranks 89th on the Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranking.

 

Economy

Athens is the financial capital of Greece. According to data from 2014, Athens as a metropolitan economic area produced US$130 billion as GDP in PPP, which consists of nearly half of the production for the whole country. Athens was ranked 102nd in that year's list of global economic metropolises, while GDP per capita for the same year was 32,000 US-dollars.

 

Athens is one of the major economic centres in south-eastern Europe and is considered a regional economic power. The port of Piraeus, where big investments by COSCO have already been delivered during the recent decade, the completion of the new Cargo Centre in Thriasion, the expansion of the Athens Metro and the Athens Tram, as well as the Hellenikon metropolitan park redevelopment in Elliniko and other urban projects, are the economic landmarks of the upcoming years.

 

Prominent Greek companies such as Hellas Sat, Hellenic Aerospace Industry, Mytilineos Holdings, Titan Cement, Hellenic Petroleum, Papadopoulos E.J., Folli Follie, Jumbo S.A., OPAP, and Cosmote have their headquarters in the metropolitan area of Athens. Multinational companies such as Ericsson, Sony, Siemens, Motorola, Samsung, Microsoft, Teleperformance, Novartis, Mondelez and Coca-Cola also have their regional research and development headquarters in the city.

 

The banking sector is represented by National Bank of Greece, Alpha Bank, Eurobank, and Piraeus Bank, while the Bank of Greece is also situated in the City Centre. The Athens Stock Exchange was severely hit by the Greek government-debt crisis and the decision of the government to proceed into capital controls during summer 2015. As a whole the economy of Athens and Greece was strongly affected, while data showed a change from long recession to growth of 1.4% from 2017 onwards.

 

Tourism is also a leading contributor to the economy of the city, as one of Europe's top destinations for city-break tourism, and also the gateway for excursions to both the islands and other parts of the mainland. Greece attracted 26.5 million visitors in 2015, 30.1 million visitors in 2017, and over 33 million in 2018, making Greece one of the most visited countries in Europe and the world, and contributing 18% to the country's GDP. Athens welcomed more than 5 million tourists in 2018, and 1.4 million were "city-breakers"; this was an increase by over a million city-breakers since 2013.

 

Tourism

Athens has been a destination for travellers since antiquity. Over the past decade, the city's infrastructure and social amenities have improved, in part because of its successful bid to stage the 2004 Olympic Games. The Greek Government, aided by the EU, has funded major infrastructure projects such as the state-of-the-art Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, the expansion of the Athens Metro system, and the new Attiki Odos Motorway

 

Education

Located on Panepistimiou Street, the old campus of the University of Athens, the National Library, and the Athens Academy form the "Athens Trilogy" built in the mid-19th century. The largest and oldest university in Athens is the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Most of the functions of NKUA have been transferred to a campus in the eastern suburb of Zografou. The National Technical University of Athens is located on Patision Street.

 

The University of West Attica is the second largest university in Athens. The seat of the university is located in the western area of Athens, where the philosophers of Ancient Athens delivered lectures. All the activities of UNIWA are carried out in the modern infrastructure of the three University Campuses within the metropolitan region of Athens (Egaleo Park, Ancient Olive Groove and Athens), which offer modern teaching and research spaces, entertainment and support facilities for all students. Other universities that lie within Athens are the Athens University of Economics and Business, the Panteion University, the Agricultural University of Athens and the University of Piraeus.

 

There are overall ten state-supported Institutions of Higher (or Tertiary) education located in the Athens Urban Area, these are by chronological order: Athens School of Fine Arts (1837), National Technical University of Athens (1837), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (1837), Agricultural University of Athens (1920), Athens University of Economics and Business (1920), Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences (1927), University of Piraeus (1938), Harokopio University of Athens (1990), School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (2002), University of West Attica (2018). There are also several other private colleges, as they called formally in Greece, as the establishment of private universities is prohibited by the constitution. Many of them are accredited by a foreign state or university such as the American College of Greece and the Athens Campus of the University of Indianapolis.

 

Culture

The city is a world centre of archaeological research. Alongside national academic institutions, such as the Athens University and the Archaeological Society, it is home to multiple archaeological museums, taking in the National Archaeological Museum, the Cycladic Museum, the Epigraphic Museum, the Byzantine & Christian Museum, as well as museums at the ancient Agora, Acropolis, Kerameikos, and the Kerameikos Archaeological Museum. The city is also the setting for the Demokritos laboratory for Archaeometry, alongside regional and national archaeological authorities forming part of the Greek Department of Culture.

 

Athens hosts 17 Foreign Archaeological Institutes which promote and facilitate research by scholars from their home countries. As a result, Athens has more than a dozen archaeological libraries and three specialized archaeological laboratories, and is the venue of several hundred specialized lectures, conferences and seminars, as well as dozens of archaeological exhibitions each year. At any given time, hundreds of international scholars and researchers in all disciplines of archaeology are to be found in the city.

 

Athens' most important museums include:

 

the National Archaeological Museum, the largest archaeological museum in the country, and one of the most important internationally, as it contains a vast collection of antiquities. Its artefacts cover a period of more than 5,000 years, from late Neolithic Age to Roman Greece;

the Benaki Museum with its several branches for each of its collections including ancient, Byzantine, Ottoman-era, Chinese art and beyond;

the Byzantine and Christian Museum, one of the most important museums of Byzantine art;

the National Art Gallery, the nation's eponymous leading gallery, which reopened in 2021 after renovation;

the National Museum of Contemporary Art, which opened in 2000 in a former brewery building;

the Numismatic Museum, housing a major collection of ancient and modern coins;

the Museum of Cycladic Art, home to an extensive collection of Cycladic art, including its famous figurines of white marble;

the New Acropolis Museum, opened in 2009, and replacing the old museum on the Acropolis. The new museum has proved considerably popular; almost one million people visited during the summer period June–October 2009 alone. A number of smaller and privately owned museums focused on Greek culture and arts are also to be found.

the Kerameikos Archaeological Museum, a museum which displays artifacts from the burial site of Kerameikos. Much of the pottery and other artifacts relate to Athenian attitudes towards death and the afterlife, throughout many ages.

the Jewish Museum of Greece, a museum which describes the history and culture of the Greek Jewish community.

 

Architecture

Athens incorporates architectural styles ranging from Greco-Roman and Neoclassical to Modern. They are often to be found in the same areas, as Athens is not marked by a uniformity of architectural style. A visitor will quickly notice the absence of tall buildings: Athens has very strict height restriction laws in order to ensure the Acropolis Hill is visible throughout the city. Despite the variety in styles, there is evidence of continuity in elements of the architectural environment throughout the city's history.

 

For the greatest part of the 19th century Neoclassicism dominated Athens, as well as some deviations from it such as Eclecticism, especially in the early 20th century. Thus, the Old Royal Palace was the first important public building to be built, between 1836 and 1843. Later in the mid and late 19th century, Theophil Freiherr von Hansen and Ernst Ziller took part in the construction of many neoclassical buildings such as the Athens Academy and the Zappeion Hall. Ziller also designed many private mansions in the centre of Athens which gradually became public, usually through donations, such as Schliemann's Iliou Melathron.

 

Beginning in the 1920s, modern architecture including Bauhaus and Art Deco began to exert an influence on almost all Greek architects, and buildings both public and private were constructed in accordance with these styles. Localities with a great number of such buildings include Kolonaki, and some areas of the centre of the city; neighbourhoods developed in this period include Kypseli.

 

In the 1950s and 1960s during the extension and development of Athens, other modern movements such as the International style played an important role. The centre of Athens was largely rebuilt, leading to the demolition of a number of neoclassical buildings. The architects of this era employed materials such as glass, marble and aluminium, and many blended modern and classical elements. After World War II, internationally known architects to have designed and built in the city included Walter Gropius, with his design for the US Embassy, and, among others, Eero Saarinen, in his postwar design for the east terminal of the Ellinikon Airport.

 

Urban sculpture

Across the city numerous statues or busts are to be found. Apart from the neoclassicals by Leonidas Drosis at the Academy of Athens (Plato, Socrates, Apollo and Athena), others in notable categories include the statue of Theseus by Georgios Fytalis at Thiseion; depictions of philhellenes such as Lord Byron, George Canning, and William Gladstone; the equestrian statue of Theodoros Kolokotronis by Lazaros Sochos in front of the Old Parliament; statues of Ioannis Kapodistrias, Rigas Feraios and Adamantios Korais at the University; of Evangelos Zappas and Konstantinos Zappas at the Zappeion; Ioannis Varvakis at the National Garden; the" Woodbreaker" by Dimitrios Filippotis; the equestrian statue of Alexandros Papagos in the Papagou district; and various busts of fighters of Greek independence at the Pedion tou Areos. A significant landmark is also the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma.

 

Entertainment and performing arts

Athens is home to 148 theatrical stages, more than any other city in the world, including the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus, home to the Athens Festival, which runs from May to October each year. In addition to a large number of multiplexes, Athens plays host to open air garden cinemas. The city also supports music venues, including the Athens Concert Hall (Megaro Moussikis), which attracts world class artists. The Athens Planetarium, located in Andrea Syngrou Avenue, in Palaio Faliro is one of the largest and best equipped digital planetaria in the world. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, inaugurated in 2016, will house the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera. In 2018 Athens was designated as the World Book Capital by UNESCO.

 

Restaurants, tavernas and bars can be found in the entertainment hubs in Plaka and the Trigono areas of the historic centre, the inner suburbs of Gazi and Psyrri are especially busy with nightclubs and bars, while Kolonaki, Exarchia, Metaxourgeio, Koukaki and Pangrati offer more of a cafe and restaurant scene. The coastal suburbs of Microlimano, Alimos and Glyfada include many tavernas, beach bars and busy summer clubs.

 

The most successful songs during the period 1870–1930 were the Athenian serenades (Αθηναϊκές καντάδες), based on the Heptanesean kantádhes (καντάδες 'serenades'; sing.: καντάδα) and the songs performed on stage (επιθεωρησιακά τραγούδια 'theatrical revue songs') in revues, musical comedies, operettas and nocturnes that were dominating Athens' theatre scene.

 

In 1922, following the war, genocide and later population exchange suffered by the Greek population of Asia Minor, many ethnic Greeks fled to Athens. They settled in poor neighbourhoods and brought with them Rebetiko music, making it also popular in Greece, and which later became the base for the Laïko music. Other forms of song popular today in Greece are elafrolaika, entechno, dimotika, and skyladika. Greece's most notable, and internationally famous, composers of Greek song, mainly of the entechno form, are Manos Hadjidakis and Mikis Theodorakis. Both composers have achieved fame abroad for their composition of film scores.

 

The renowned American-born Greek soprano Maria Callas spent her teenage years in Athens, where she settled in 1937. Her professional opera career started in 1940 in Athens, with the Greek National Opera. In 2018, the city's municipal Olympia Theatre was renamed to "Olympia City Music Theatre 'Maria Callas'" and in 2023, the Municipality inaugurated the Maria Callas Museum, housing it in a neoclassical building on 44 Mitropoleos street.

 

Sports

The Panathenaic Stadium of Athens (Kallimarmaron) dates back to the fourth century BC and has hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

 

Agia Sophia Stadium

Athens has a long tradition in sports and sporting events, serving as home to the most important clubs in Greek sport and housing a large number of sports facilities. The city has also been host to sports events of international importance.

 

Athens has hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice, in 1896 and 2004. The 2004 Summer Olympics required the development of the Athens Olympic Stadium, which has since gained a reputation as one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world, and one of its most interesting modern monuments. The biggest stadium in the country, it hosted two finals of the UEFA Champions League, in 1994 and 2007. Athens' other major stadiums are the Karaiskakis Stadium located in Piraeus, a sports and entertainment complex, host of the 1971 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final, and Agia Sophia Stadium located in Nea Filadelfeia.

 

Athens has hosted the EuroLeague final three times, the first in 1985 and second in 1993, both at the Peace and Friendship Stadium, most known as SEF, a large indoor arena, and the third time in 2007 at the Olympic Indoor Hall. Events in other sports such as athletics, volleyball, water polo etc., have been hosted in the capital's venues.

 

Athens is home to three European multi-sport clubs: Panathinaikos, originated in Athens city centre, Olympiacos, originated in the suburb of Piraeus and AEK Athens, originated in the suburb of Nea Filadelfeia. In football, Panathinaikos made it to the 1971 European Cup Final, Olympiacos have dominated domestic competitions, while AEK Athens is the other member of the big three. These clubs also have basketball teams; Panathinaikos and Olympiacos are among the top powers in European basketball, having won the Euroleague six times and three respectively, whilst AEK Athens was the first Greek team to win a European trophy in any team sport.

 

Other notable clubs within Athens are Athinaikos, Panionios, Atromitos, Apollon, Panellinios, Egaleo F.C., Ethnikos Piraeus, Maroussi BC and Peristeri B.C. Athenian clubs have also had domestic and international success in other sports.

 

The Athens area encompasses a variety of terrain, notably hills and mountains rising around the city, and the capital is the only major city in Europe to be bisected by a mountain range. Four mountain ranges extend into city boundaries and thousands of kilometres of trails criss-cross the city and neighbouring areas, providing exercise and wilderness access on foot and bike.

 

Beyond Athens and across the prefecture of Attica, outdoor activities include skiing, rock climbing, hang gliding and windsurfing. Numerous outdoor clubs serve these sports, including the Athens Chapter of the Sierra Club, which leads over 4,000 outings annually in the area.

 

Athens was awarded the 2004 Summer Olympics on 5 September 1997 in Lausanne, Switzerland, after having lost a previous bid to host the 1996 Summer Olympics, to Atlanta, United States. It was to be the second time Athens would host the games, following the inaugural event of 1896. After an unsuccessful bid in 1990, the 1997 bid was radically improved, including an appeal to Greece's Olympic history. In the last round of voting, Athens defeated Rome with 66 votes to 41. Prior to this round, the cities of Buenos Aires, Stockholm and Cape Town had been eliminated from competition, having received fewer votes. Although the heavy cost was criticized, estimated at $1.5 billion, Athens was transformed into a more functional city that enjoys modern technology both in transportation and in modern urban development. The games welcomed over 10,000 athletes from all 202 countries.

Music: Please Right Click and select "Open link in new tab"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI53G_D5Dbw

 

Anything Box - Living In Oblivion (St. James Club Mix)

 

Don't tell me now

I won't feel those words, I won't feel the lies they tell

Can you hear my scream?

It's for everyone, for everyone

 

I am so afraid of living in oblivion

D200's extended Indian Summer 1985-1988

Apart from working the Carlisle-Leeds 1E23/1M26 service on a regular basis, and hauling numerous rail tours, celebrity survivor D200 alias 40122 worked many other service trains during its extended reprieve.

 

In the summer of 1987, word got around that it had been rostered to work some Crewe-Cardiff services, and I duly headed north for the ride :)

 

D200 is seen here on Crewe shed, after arriving back at Crewe with 1M86. The loco is looking resplendent and clean as usual, unlike most of the Class 40 fleet back in the 1980s. D200 worked the train back from Cardiff, but was replaced by a Class 47 at Crewe for the remaining run to Holyhead.

 

'A day in the life' - log book update:

July 1987 - D200 / 40122 on 1M86 13.00 Cardiff - Holyhead

 

Dep. CARDIFF (13.00)

Newport

Hereford

Shrewsbury

Arr. CREWE

 

Taken with a Soviet made Zenith TTL SLR camera and 300mm lens.

 

You can see a random selection of my railway photos here on Flickriver: www.flickriver.com/photos/themightyhood/random/

 

'Indian Summer' - a period of happiness or success occurring late in life...English Electric Type 4 1958-1984

Taken with a manual focus Canon New FD 500mm f4.5L and Canon FD 1.4x Extender @ f5.6.

Matsusaka, Mie, Japan

Spot the difference between this photo and the previous group shot :)

 

Somehow I managed to fit almost everyone onto the shelf. I'm going to need more shelf space soon! More toys are arriving everyday and I'm running out of room! Yikes!

urban affairs extended 2009 berlinz

tanx to don mork king of tuttelecose....

respect to eugenio eka mastrogeppetto...

much love to bera piu mad horse crushler..

A brief history of railways in New South Wales.

It all began with the calling of a public meeting to consider the issue of building railways in 1846. Lines were being considered to Windsor, Bathurst and Goulburn. It proposed the American solution to railway building – government grants of land along the proposed line but with an added bonus of a government guarantee of 6% per annum on the first £100,000 of capital and a government grant of cash. In 1848 the Sydney Tramroad and Railway Company was formed. After some delays work began in 1850 but by 1851 not much had happened and the company wanted a further £150,000 which was granted for a line only from Sydney to Parramatta. In 1855 the line was finally completed with the first train to Parramatta in September 1855. The line was only completed with substantial government investment and in 1856 the government decided to take over the railway and have it run by three government Commissioners. In 1861 parliament authorised lines to Campbelltown and Goulbourn, another to Bathurst across the Blue Mountains and a third from Newcastle to Murrurundi in the Hunter Valley. The line from Newcastle to Maitland opened in 1857.

 

Westwards to Bathurst.

At the end of 1860, with the royalties from gold mining the government had completed lines from Sydney to Penrith and Richmond; to Picton in the south; and from Maitland to Morpeth. The biggest engineering challenges were still ahead of the railways department – crossing the Blue Mountains to Bathurst and climbing into the Southern Highlands to reach Goulburn. The problems of crossing the Blue Mountain ridges were immense and two zig zag railway sections near Lithgow were eventually approved and several major viaducts. They line was completed to Wentworth Falls in 1867 and it was 1875 before the railway line reached Kelso across the Macquarie River from Bathurst. The official opening into Bathurst was in April 1876. The 1870s were a decade of significant railway expansion and new lines. At one stage there was even a proposal to have a direct rai link to South Australia from Cootamundra westwards to Pooncarie on the River Darling and then across the SA border near Renmark. That never eventuated. But a link to Queensland was pursued more vigorously and completed as was a line to Albury with a link to Melbourne.

 

Southwards to Goulburn and Albury.

A main truck railway line to the South was important to peon up the Western Slopes of NSW in the 1870s. The rail head was settled at Picton in 1863 and with tunnels it was extended into the Highlands to Mittagong in 1867. It was quickly pushed on to Goulburn reaching there in 1869. It was important to extend this line south to Albury to prevent the Victorian railways taking more trade from the Riverina Districts. The Goulburn to Yass section was finished in 1876. It was extended to Wagga Wagga in 1878 but the line did not cross the Murrumbidgee River into Wagga Wagga until 1879. From here the line pushed onwards to Albury where the railway opened in February 1881. It was June 1883 before the River Murray was bridged and a connection was made with the line to Melbourne.

 

Northwards to Newcastle and beyond.

Newcastle was a rail terminal like Sydney with the first line to Maitland completed in 1857.This line was eventually extended to Muswellbrook in 1869 and on to Aberdeen in 1870 and Scone in 1871. Murrurundi was reached in 1872. Work began on pushing the line north through Quirindi to Tamworth in 1874 with it being completed in 1878. From here the railway was extended towards the Queensland border and the northern tablelands. The first section with steep gradients reached Uralla in 1882 and Armidale in 1883. In 1884 the railway reached Glen Innes and then Tenterfield. The Queensland border was reached in January 1888 linking up with the Queensland railway system. Queensland railways had extended their lines to Wallangarra which is across the border from Jennings in NSW. But there was no connection to Brisbane from Sydney as there was no connection between Sydney and Newcastle.

 

Linking Sydney and Newcastle.

It was Premier Sir Henry Parkes who appropriate funds for a railway northwards from Sydney with the first stage to the Hawkesbury River and a section southwards from Hamilton just outside of Newcastle to Gosford. The line to the Hawksbury River was completed in 1887 and that to Gosford in 1888. The 3,000 feet wide (914 metres) stretch of the Hawkesbury River were still to be spanned by a railway. A competition called for engineering designs and the contract was let to an American company. Despite difficulties the bridge was completed in May 1889 with piers deeper than those of any other bridge and it was largest bridge of its kind in Australia and the third largest in the world at that time. It was a milestone in Australian railway history as it provided a rail link from Sydney to Brisbane via Wallangarra and this service was already linked with the line from Sydney to Albury and Melbourne and Adelaide and Melbourne had been the first colonial capital cities linked by rail in January 1887. So now there was railway link from Adelaide to Brisbane (1,789 miles or2, 8880 kilometres) albeit with many changes of gauge along the way and with no coordinated railway timetable for such a service. But this 1889 bridge was not stable enough for bigger and heavier trains and a new bridge was constructed across the Hawkesbury River between 1939 and 1946.

 

The North Coast line.

A new coastal line from Newcastle/Maitland to Taree and Gloucester opened in 1913 before reaching Wauchope in 1915. This lien was extended to Coffs Harbour and South Grafton in 1915. Earlier a railway line had headed south from Murwillumbah to Lismore. It was constructed in 1894 but extended to Lismore and Casino in 1903 and northwards to Tweed Heads at the same time. The section from Casino to Grafton opened in 1905 but it did not cross the Clarence River. This was not bridged until 1932. A branch line was built to Kyogle from Casino in 1910 and this was linked to a new line to Brisbane in 1930 which necessitated a rail spiral and a long tunnel across the border between the two rail systems to get the rail tracks up into the Great Dividing Range. A through train service was not possible until the Clarence River was bridged by rail in 1932. The introduction of the Brisbane Limited train via Casino and Kyogle reduced the train travel time from Sydney to Brisbane via Wallangarra by six hours. The service ended at South Brisbane until 1986 when it was rerouted to Brisbane Roma Street railway station. The Brisbane Limited train between Sydney and Brisbane ceased in 1990 when it was replaced with an XPT service. The line from Casino to Murwillumbah closed in 2004.

 

Extensions to the main truck lines.

By 1900 most major towns and cities of New South Wales had a railway service. The 1880s and the 1890s were decades of considerable railway expansion.

•The urge to get a railway to the Darling River at Bourke branched out from Bathurst firstly to Orange and then on to Dubbo in 1881. The north western line reached Bourke in 1885. From Nyngan a line was built to Cobar.

• The discovery of silver, lead and zinc in the Barrier Ranges near the South Australian border spurred the growth of Broken Hill but it was not linked to Sydney by train until 1927. Earlier a railway had been built from Broken Hill to Menindee in 1919. Then the links were made between Parkes and Condobolin and Roto to Menindee in 1927. The air conditioned Silver City Comet train began the service between Sydney and Broken Hill in 1937.

•New lines in the Riverina were designed to stop the leakage of trade across the River Murray to the Victorian railways. A line from Wagga wagga reached Narrandera in 1881 and Hay on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River in 1882.

•A branch line from Cootamundra to Gundagai was completed in 1886 and later extended to Tumut in 1903. Another line which stretched from Cootamundra to Temora opened in 1893. The Temora line was extended to Lake Cargelligo in 1917. Also from Temora the line went west to Griffith in 1916 and on to Hillston in 1923. It was then joined with the Broken Hill line at Roto in 1926 to provide alternative routes to the west.

•A new southern coast line opened to Wollongong and North Kiama in 1887. The section from Kiama to Bomaderry on the outskirts of Nowra opened in 1893.

•Over a few years a north western railway branched from the New England railway at Werris Creek. The first section to Gunnedah opened in 1879 and the second section to Narrabri opened in 1884. The line reached Moree in 1897. The line extended to the Queensland border at Mungindi in 1914.

 

I always liked the head design of Extendar....

''I was a hero

early in the morning

I ain't no hero

in the night''

  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hoqsy6zwiKc

Reviewing the Olympus MC14 1.4x Teleconverter for the 40-150mm f/2.8 lens over on the blog HERE. How does it affect the lens sharpness and such? Well, c'mon over and see.

 

strobism: 1ab800 through a diffused bd cam left fired via pw at min. power from about 5' away

The railway arrived in 1930 in Bobo-Dioulasso and then in 1954 in Ouagadougou. It was initially operated by the Régie Abidjan-Niger (RAN) from 1960 to 1989 before being taken over by SITARAIL (Bolloré Group) in 1995. Despite an ambitious project to connect the different countries of the sub-region by the rail network, almost nothing lasting has been achieved to date apart from two sections currently abandoned.

 

The first is a section which was to connect Niamey to Parakou, then to the Beninese network, started in 2013 and decommissioned in 2018, which was limited to around a hundred kilometres within Niger.

 

The second is an ambitious project carried out by the Burkinabe people under the revolutionary regime of Captain Thomas SANKARA (1983-1987). This involved extending the Abidjan-Ouagadougou line towards Niger by serving the Tambao phosphate mines. If the platform was built over most of the distance, the rails could only be laid over a hundred kilometres to reach Kaya. The railway nevertheless operated for several years before being abandoned following the deterioration of specific watercourse crossing structures. Operation of this line is currently limited to the Kossodo industrial zone on the northeastern outskirts of Ouagadougou.

 

However, this infrastructure could arouse new interest because it passes close to the future Donsin International Airport. Establishing a rail service to avoid traffic jams would be an avenue to explore, primarily as the work to be carried out would be limited.

 

Le chemin de fer est arrivé en 1930 à Bobo-Dioulasso puis en 1954 à Ouagadougou. Il était initialement exploité par la Régie Abidjan-Niger (RAN) de 1960 à 1989 avant d'être reprise par SITARAIL (Goupe Bolloré) en 1995. Malgré un ambitieux projet de relier les différents pays de la sous-région par le réseau ferré, quasiment rien de durable n'a été réalisé jusqu'à ce jour en dehors de deux tronçons actuellement à l'abandon.

 

Le premier est un tronçon qui devait relier Niamey à Parakou puis au réseau béninois entamé en 2013 et mis hors service en 2018 qui s'est limité à une centaine de kilomètres au sein du Niger.

 

Le second est un projet ambitieux réalisé par le peuple burkinabé sous le régime révolutionnaire du Capitaine Thomas SANKARA (1983-1987). Il s'agissait de prolonger la ligne Abidjan-Ouagadougou vers le Niger en desservant les mines de phosphate de Tambao. Si le terreplein a été réalisé sur une majeure parte de la distance, les rails n'ont pu être posés que sur une centaine de kilomètres pour atteindre Kaya. Le chemin de fer a néanmoins fonctionné durant un certain nombre d'années avant d'être abandonné suite à la dégradation de certains ouvrages de franchissement de cours d'eau. L'exploitation de cet ligne se limite actuellement à la zone industrielle de Kossodo dans la périphérie nord-est de Ouagadougou.

 

Pourtant, cette infrastructure pourrait susciter un nouvel intérêt du fait qu'elle passe à proximité du futur aéroport international de Donsin. La mise en place d'une desserte ferroviaire qui permettrait d'éviter les embouteillages serait une piste à explorer, d'autant que les travaux à réaliser seraient limités.

Our MOC is a temple and garden on an island surrounded by cliffs, with a dragon boat contest nearby. The temple and dragon boats were displayed in Brickvention 2020. The MOC is minifig-scale: a minifigure can move to different levels of the temple using stairs. There are several rooms in the temple, such as the altar room, meditation area, dojo, kitchen, dining room, dormitory and library.

 

The dragon boats were inspired by LEGO set 80103. The contest adds vibrance and liveliness to the scene and was a great way to get creative with the colours and accessories of each group’s boat.

 

The newest part of this MOC is the Japanese-inspired garden, which we always had the idea to create and finished in seven days (we were unable to access our LEGO collection for much of the year due to COVID-19)! The centrepiece is a pagoda floating in the middle of the lake, surrounded by sakura trees and a variety of greenery. We duplicated several elements from the temple, such as benches, stone paths, landscaping, and bridge structure. Enjoy!

 

By Con Huynh

In the wake of the second world war, there were two Zeiss-Ikons - one in East, and one in West Germany. Both introduced new SLR camera lines not long after the East/West division, the East German Contax S coming out in 1949 and the West German Contaflex I following in 1953. Both were innovative designs. The Contax S introduced the world to the eye-level pentaprism viewfinder, which would transform the SLR from a fringe curiosity into the dominant form of 35mm camera; the Contaflex was the first 35mm SLR to use a between-lens leaf shutter, and also featured a very bright, molded plastic Fresnel screen in the viewfinder. The Contaflex screen is clear and non-focusing in the outer field, only the central focus aid indicates focus. The leaf shutter system in the Contaflex also provides for an automatic diaphragm, which is wide open for viewing and opens to the selected aperture for exposure. The first focal-plane shutter SLR to have this feature internally incorporated was the Contax F, which came four years after the Contaflex I.

 

These are later models in each series: the Contaflex Prima on the left dates from 1959, the Contax F on the right from 1957. Despite a decade of separation and radically different design concepts, they still give the impression of a family resemblance.

Nijmegen, The Netherlands, 2016

Canon 350 D. Canon FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC. Canon extender FD 2x-A

.. referring to this one

 

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Since it's a long long time I don't have new picts to show you... I'm 'fishing' from my archives ;-)

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