View allAll Photos Tagged FORMULATE
From albany.org: "Built circa 1735, the house was used as military headquarters for a number of English generals during the French and Indian War. During the American Revolution the mansion once again served as military headquarters and was inhabited by Generals Schuyler, Gates, Poor, St. Clair and Colonels Morgan, Gansevoort and Arnold while formulating the plans for the battle of Saratoga." Cohoes, New York.
Wikipedia: Einheits-Pkw der Wehrmacht – literally: "standard passenger motor-car of the Wehrmacht" – was Nazi Germany's plan for a new, multi-purpose fleet of all wheel drive off-road vehicles, based on just three uniform chassis, specifically designed and built for the Wehrmacht (the Nazi military). The plan was formulated in 1934, and vehicles were built from 1936 to 1943.
Now if the Americans / had formulated a decree in the 15th century / to keep out Christians / it would have saved / a lot of trouble.
Iain (Highlandscape) and I had arranged to meet for a sunrise trip today. It was supposed to be a sunset event as I was working late last night but the weather forecast determined otherwise. Besides a very loose plan to try out the lochs running up the south-eastern side of Loch Ness we had no other arrangement besides an 0600 meet and Iain was going to work out some possible locations for us. At the specified meeting point one of us was there on time and one of us wasn't (did you buy that new alarm clock Iain :) !) Any sunrise plans Iain had formulated were out the window and we hastily re-arranged to meet at Loch Ruthven. I had hoped to find somewhere suitable for sunrise en-route but failed miserably and having met up with Iain at the RSPB carpark we realised that we were looking completely the wrong direction for a very rapidly fading sunset. Cutting our losses we found a few old boats at the loch's edge and were treated to some lovely low, warm sunlight and mist on the nearby hills.
"Genius is nothing but childhood clearly formulated, newly endowed with virile and powerful means of self-expression." - Baudelaire
This is Clocktower Place (Historic and Luxurious Apartments), condos in Nashua, NH in the former quarters of the Nashua Manufacturing Company on the Nashua River in downtown Nashua, New Hampshire USA.
The History of Nashua, NH USA - 1775 - 1830
After the Indian Wars and until the American Revolution of 1776, Dunstable was mostly a farming community. Corn and Vegetables were grown on the Merrimack/Nashua River intervale. Hay and Orchards were prevalent on the southern side.
Merchants and travelers from outside of town from the north and south used Nashua as a thoroughfare thereby creating a hospitality and entertainment economy. Many taverns and hotels were built along The Great Road (Main Street) such as Tylers Tavern which provided necessary comfort and service.
Daniel Abbot moved to the upper community of Dunstable in 1802. Abbot is a Harvard graduate who soon after opened a law practice here. Abbot quickly became a civic leader who then proceeded to rename Dunstable to "Nashua Village" in a speech given on July 4th in 1803.
Right about the same time, Josiah Griswold Graves, MD became the first physician in town. He became very popular because he had an exceptional ability in diagnosing ailments of his patients.
Nashua was heading towards a full scale industrial makeover. During the 1820's, Abott, along with the Greeley brothers, Daniel Webster and some Massachusetts Industrial Investors formed a coalition to create the first textile mills in Dunstable powering Nashua's Industrial Revolution. Abott had been watching his Harvard counterparts in Massachusetts and knew Dunstable had the water power to begin the Waltham-Lowell venture. He moved forward to begin the industry that would become the socio-economic scene dominating the 1830's - 1860's.
Robert Owen, resident of New Lanark, Scotland is credited with creation of the infant structure of our city. The basis of his landmark design includes the layout of the streets, the mills and their basic architecture, and most importantly; social planning which included how the employees would be treated.
Two men, Nathaniel Appleton and Patrick Tracy Jackson, traveled to New Lanark and studied the designs of Owen. The Owen design made it all the way to Nashua from Scotland; consisting of a mill, worker housing, a school, and a church, all run by the originating mill company. This combined with the mastermind of Francis Cabot Lowell and the energy of Daniel Abbot began the enterprise of Nashua's economic future.
Francis Cabot Lowell, Harvard graduate and math major, traveled to England with the express interest of studying the textile designs of the James Archright Power Loom and creating it's mirror here in the United States. His extended vacation included touring the industries where the loom existed and in essence, formulated the designs in his mind. An extreme form of piracy in that day as the patent for the machine and exporting the technology was expressly prohibited. His textile looms were better than their English predecessors and his fabrics soon found their way into world commerce.
Francis Cabot Lowell - Nathaniel Appleton
The first large company created was the Nashua Manufacturing Company in 1823. Nashua Manufacturing was the first in New Hampshire completed in the full scale Waltham-Lowell design.
The Waltham-Lowell design, including especially the church, met the demands of the New England farmer father as a "socially and morally acceptable" place of employment for their daughters, as they made up the majority of the mill workforce.
For 30 years, tens of thousands of young, single women migrated to the Waltham-Lowell mills and revolutionized women's labor in America, and the world, right here in Nashua!
Mill Girls
Daniel Abbot was a great and powerful force fueling the creation of Nashua's Mills. His passion for growth and success empowered the people to achieve their greatest, evident even today. Daniel Abbot, coined 'the Father of Nashua' is due to his many contributions to its rich heritage.
Nashua was and continues to be the New Hampshire cradle of technological culture. The design and creation is a progressive sophisticated model of technical and social innovation.
Daniel Abbot
Other prime manufacture in this new mill town included ironworks, shirting, linens, shoes, wood products, and coated paper. Nashua's position on the Merrimack River made it easily accessible for consumers and suppliers off the Atlantic Ocean. The opening of the Middlesex Canal in 1803 also contributed to the ease of water transport. The Nashua River became a riverfront mercantile village offering more trade then than what you can find in all of Nashua today.
During this busy time, a wooden covered toll bridge enabled passage over the Merrimack for travel to and from Hudson. Before the bridge, the only way across the river was by ferry. Three ferries, Cummings; at the mouth of the Nashua River, Hills; in the North end, and Littles; at the south side of Nashua gave access to and from Nashua and Hudson.
More:
Downtown History - Great American Downtown
Nashua Manufacturing Company Collection from the Harvard Business School.
Brachistochrone by Dutch artist Henk Ovink is a tribute to Johann Bernoulli (1667 -1748), who was professor of mathematics at the University of Groningen from 1695 to 1705 and one of the great scholars of his time.
The Bernoulli monument is inspired by the brachistochrone problem that Bernoulli formulated in 1696: a problem that boils down to the question of what shape has the fastest possible slide route.
Source & more info:
www.kunstpuntgroningen.nl/en/kunst-op-straat/brachistochr...
---------------------------
Het kunstwerk Brachistochroon van Henk Ovink is een eerbetoon aan Johann Bernoulli (1667 -1748), die van 1695 tot 1705 hoogleraar wiskunde was aan de universiteit van Groningen en één van de grote geleerden van zijn tijd.
Het Bernoulli monument is geïnspireerd op het brachistochroon-probleem dat Bernoulli in 1696 formuleerde: een probleem dat kortweg neerkomt op de vraag welke vorm de snelst denkbare glijbaan heeft.
Bron & meer info:
www.kunstpuntgroningen.nl/kunst-op-straat/brachistochroon-2/
Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted-One moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready
To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgettin
What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud
He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out
He's choking, how everybody's joking now
The clock's run out, time's up over, bloah!
Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity
Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked
He's so mad, but he won't give up that
Easy, no
He won't have it , he knows his whole back's to these ropes
It don't matter, he's dope
He knows that, but he's broke
He's so stagnant that he knows
When he goes back to his mobile home, that's when it's
Back to the lab again yo
This this whole rhapsody
He better go capture this moment and hope it don't pass him
You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo
The soul's escaping, through this hole that it's gaping
This world is mine for the taking
Make me king, as we move toward a, new world order
A normal life is boring, but superstardom's close to post mortem
It only grows harder, only grows hotter
He blows us all over these hoes is all on him
Coast to coast shows, he's know as the globetrotter
Lonely roads, God only knows
He's grown farther from home, he's no father
He goes home and barely knows his own daughter
But hold your nose cause here goes the cold water
His hoes don't want him no mo, he's cold product
They moved on to the next schmoe who flows
He nose dove and sold nada
So the soap opera is told and unfolds
I suppose it's old partner', but the beat goes on
Da da dum da dum da da
No more games, I'ma change what you call rage
Tear this motherfucking roof off like 2 dogs caged
I was playing in the beginning, the mood all changed
I been chewed up and spit out and booed off stage
But I kept rhyming and stepwritin the next cypher
Best believe somebody's paying the pied piper
All the pain inside amplified by the fact
That I can't get by with my 9 to 5
And I can't provide the right type of life for my family
Cause man, these goddam food stamps don't buy diapers
And it's no movie, there's no Mekhi Phifer, this is my life
And these times are so hard and it's getting even harder
Trying to feed and water my seed, plus
Teeter totter caught up between being a father and a prima donna
Baby mama drama's screaming on and
Too much for me to wanna
Stay in one spot, another day of monotony
Has gotten me to the point, I'm like a snail
I've got to formulate a plot fore I end up in jail or shot
Success is my only motherfucking option, failure's not
Mom, I love you, but this trailer's got to go
I cannot grow old in Salem's lot
So here I go is my shot.
Feet fail me not cause maybe the only opportunity that I got
You can do anything you set your mind to, man
endlich gelandet ist ...
wird der Himmel blau ...
;-) ...
das 300 000 000 -Projekt von Coop Himmelb(l)au ...
Mutations of form, penetrations, deformations, simultaneities, breakdowns, and variabilities affect architecture. The resulting architecture is characterized by the interactions, fusion, and mutation of different entities constituting a new shape. The building ground of the museum is located on a peninsula that was artificially extended 100 years ago. Even though it was apparent that this site would be a difficult one (536 piles had to be securely driven 30 meters into the ground), it was clear that this location would be very important for urban design. The building should serve as a distinctive beacon and entrance for the visitors approaching from the South, as well as a starting point for urban development.
The striking interface situation of the construction site at the eponymous confluence of the Rhône and the Saône inspired the superposition in the urban space of two complexly linked architectural units, crystal, and cloud. The cloud structure, floating on pillars, contains a spatial sequence of black boxes— admitting no daylight, to achieve maximum flexibility for exhibition design.
The Musée des Confluences does not consider itself as an exclusive “Temple of the Muses” for the intellectual bourgeoisie but as a public place providing access to the knowledge of our age.
To build a museum of knowledge, a complex new form had to be developed as an iconic gateway. A building that truly stands out can only come into being through shapes resulting from new geometries. It was important to the concept that the flow of visitors arriving from the city to the Pointe du Confluent should not be impeded by a building. The idea was therefore to develop an openly traversable building that would be floating in part only on supports, to create a public space underneath.
The architecture hybridizes the typology of a museum with the typology of urban leisure space. The concept of two complexly connected architectural units is a result of the striking interface-like situation of the building site. The crystal rising towards the side of the town is conceived as an urban forum and entrance hall for visitors. Its shape that can be read clearly stands for the everyday world. In contrast to this, the cloud hides the knowledge about the future; it is a soft space of hidden streams and countless transitions.
Within the Musée des Confluences the present and the future, the known and the still unknown are conceived as a spatial arrangement trying to “spur public curiosity”. As an extension of the park located on the Southern tip of the island a new urban space formulates itself; a landscape consisting of ramps and surfaces merging the inside and the outside and resulting in a dynamic sequence of spatial events. This movement is also followed by the alternating spatial structure of the exhibition halls. Closed black boxes and free exhibition areas alternate by exploiting the double room height of two levels.
Essentially, the building consists of three parts. Situated on a slightly raised base (due to the high groundwater) that houses the production workshops, the auditoriums, and the group visit reception area, crystal — foyer, and cloud – exhibition area.
ƒ/6.3 21.0 mm 1/640 100
_V0A3237_28_pt2
United States Court House
Portland, Oregon
Oriental Seagull RP-M grade 2 photographic paper - used as paper negative. Single multi-pinhole (5) exposure: 33 seconds
The building was designed in 1929-1931 by native Portland architect Morris H. Whitehouse. Whitehouse developed the plans for the courthouse from directives formulated by federal agencies. Jules Henri de Sibour of Washington, DC, was the consulting architect and James A. Wetmore served as the Supervising Architect of the Treasury.
Construction: 1932-1933
Landmark Status: listed in the National Register of Historic Places
Located at 620 SW Main Street
Architectural Style: Renaissance Revival
Prominent Feature: Art Deco interior
Primary Materials: steel frames, reinforced concrete, and sandstone veneer
The last time that we were here I couldn't see a thing as it was 11pm and blowing a bit of a gale to say the least! Plus the tide was high and in.........quite shocking to see again in the clear evening light.
Tonight there was plenty to see perhaps even a little too much......especially one of the boat's names! And after reading that phrase my brain was formulating a question to it in song form...........which has now been in my head all night!
Marvin Gaye - What's going on youtu.be/kTVIJmdX0ew
Happy Holidays! I am building Opartica II called TUNNEL. You can actually fly through op art. Here is a card that I made for you using the tool. There are other cards too so please have a look at as they arrive.
Slideshow: www.flickr.com/photos/danzen/sets/72157625558618858/show/
ALSO, as a gift, I have formulated a way for you to give 20 gifts that will touch people's hearts amongst other places ;-) touchy.mobi/touchytokens. Please, please visit and consider this as a fun, unique GIFT for many friends such as for school or work friends.
The Greek daily Nea newspaper reported that the government was in the process of setting up internment camps for illegal immigrants throughout the country. Eleven disused army bases have been chosen in order to house those found without legal residency documents.
Stung by their losses in the recent European elections the ruling conservative New Democracy party has taken a sharp turn to the right in order to win back dissatisfied voters who’s defected to the far right LAOS party in last week’s elections.
In addition the police have made hundreds of arrests of suspected illegal immigrants in the centre of Athens in an action which has been interpreted as a “get tough” message by the government of Kostas Karamanlis to the party’s base following months of falling opinion poll results brought on by a series of corruption scandals and unhappiness with Athens’s handling of Greece’s deepening recession.
However, many opposition groups are doubtful whether the proposed measures will be anything other than a publicity exercise. Despite recent crackdowns the government has failed to formulate a coherent policy concerning the integration of the country’s 1 million foreign born inhabitants.
Nothing more reflects Greece’s sometimes schizophrenic attitude to immigration than the plight of those in the port city of Patra, one of the country’s gateway’s to Europe. Everyday hundreds of refugees from Afghanistan and other east Asian countries attempt to smuggle themselves aboard trucks headed for Italy. Most have no legal documents and given the fact that less than 1% who apply for asylum are granted it very little chance of ever obtaining legal travel documents.
Desperate to leave Greece, the state has made it virtually impossible for them to travel, resulting in hundreds of thousands stuck in a bureaucratic limbo in which they are constantly at risk of arrest and deportation by the police. Even those who do escape face the risk of being sent back to Greece under the terms of the EU’s Dublin II regulations which states that immigrants have to apply for asylum in the first European Union country they reach. However, countries such as Holland, Finland and Norway have suspended such agreements citing lapses and abuses of the asylum laws in Greece, especially concerning minors.
Growing concerns over immigration have been exploited by Greece’s far right parties and organisations in order to raise their public profile and gain political leverage in parliament. Giorgos Karatzaferis, leader of the nationalist LAOS party used the recent elections to promote his party’s anti - immigration policies. In addition ultra - nationalists groups such as the neo - Nazi Chrysi Aygi (New Dawn) have stepped up attacks on immigrants in Athens.
The recent clamp downs by the police have also worried Greece’s human rights groups who have often accused the police of illegal treatment of non - ethnic Greek groups. Also organisations such as Amnesty International and Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) have repeatedly condemned the country’s police and prison system of human rights abuses. In addition United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) criticised the country over its treatment of asylum seekers.
Case in point is the capital’s Petrou Ralli police station which has been repeatedly been connected with the suspicious deaths of Asian immigrants in the area. Three have been found dead, dumped in a river bed 500 metres away from the station in the area in the last eight months alone.
This is not the first time that internment camps have been used in the history of modern Greece. During the military junta which ruled from 1967 to 1974 the state set up camps on the Greek islands to imprison and torture political dissidents.
Summer 2011
The Pic du Midi de Bigorre or simply Pic du Midi (altitude 2,877 m (9,439 ft)) is a mountain in the French Pyrenees famous for its astronomical observatory, the Observatoire du Pic du Midi de Bigorre (Pic du Midi Observatory), part of the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées.
Construction of the observatory began in 1878 under the auspices of the Société Ramond,[1][2] but by 1882 the society decided that the spiralling costs were beyond its relatively modest means, and yielded the observatory to the French state, which took it into its possession by a law of 7 August 1882. The 8 meter dome was completed in 1908, under the ambitious direction of Benjamin Baillaud. It housed a powerful mechanical equatorial reflector which was used in 1909 to formerly discredit the Martian canal theory (histoire du Pic du Midi de Bigorre). In 1946 Mr. Gentilli funded a dome and 60 cm, and in 1958 a spectrograph was installed.
A 106-centimetre (42-inch) telescope was installed in 1963 funded by NASA, and was used to take detailed photographs of the surface of the Moon in preparation for the Apollo missions. In 1965 the astronomers Pierre and Janine Connes were able to formulate a detailed analysis of the composition of the atmospheres on Mars and Venus, based on the infrared spectra gathered from these planets. The results showed atmospheres in chemical equilibrium. This served as a basis for James Lovelock, a scientist working for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, to predict that those planets had no life - a fact that would be proven and scientifically accepted years after.[3]
A 2 meter telescope, known as the Bernard Lyot Telescope was placed at the observatory in 1980 on top of a 28 meter column built off to the side to avoid wind turbulence affecting the seeing of the other telescopes. It is the largest telescope in France. The observatory also has a coronograph, which is used to study the solar corona. A 60-centimetre telescope (the Gentilly's T60 telescope) is also located at the top of Pic du Midi. Since 1982 this T60 is dedicated to amateur astronomy and managed by a group of amateurs, called association T60.
[4]
There are currently at the top:
The 55 cm telescope (Robley Dome);
The 60 cm telescope (T60 Dome, welcoming amateur astronomers via the Association T60);
The 106 cm telescope (Gentilli Dome) dedicated to observations of the solar system;
The 2 meter telescope or Bernard Lyot Telescope (used with a new generation stellar spectropolarimeter);
The coronograph HACO-CLIMSO (studies of the solar corona);
The bezel Jean Rösch (studies of the solar surface)
Also:
The Charvin dome, which sheltered a photoelectric coronometer (which studied the Sun);
The Baillaud dome, reassigned to the museum in 2000 and which houses a 1:1 scale model coronograph.
The observatory is located at 42°56′N 0°8′E, placing it very close to the Greenwich meridian. The observatory was featured in the video game Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 under a different name. The observatory in-game is said to be located on the fictional Pic des Pyrenees.
Saturn's moon Helene (Saturn VII or Dione B), was discovered by Pierre Laques and Jean Lecacheux in 1980 from ground-based observations at Pic du Midi Observatory,[5] and named Helene in 1988. It is also a trojan moon of Dione.
Summer 2011
The Pic du Midi de Bigorre or simply Pic du Midi (altitude 2,877 m (9,439 ft)) is a mountain in the French Pyrenees famous for its astronomical observatory, the Observatoire du Pic du Midi de Bigorre (Pic du Midi Observatory), part of the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées.
Construction of the observatory began in 1878 under the auspices of the Société Ramond,[1][2] but by 1882 the society decided that the spiralling costs were beyond its relatively modest means, and yielded the observatory to the French state, which took it into its possession by a law of 7 August 1882. The 8 meter dome was completed in 1908, under the ambitious direction of Benjamin Baillaud. It housed a powerful mechanical equatorial reflector which was used in 1909 to formerly discredit the Martian canal theory (histoire du Pic du Midi de Bigorre). In 1946 Mr. Gentilli funded a dome and 60 cm, and in 1958 a spectrograph was installed.
A 106-centimetre (42-inch) telescope was installed in 1963 funded by NASA, and was used to take detailed photographs of the surface of the Moon in preparation for the Apollo missions. In 1965 the astronomers Pierre and Janine Connes were able to formulate a detailed analysis of the composition of the atmospheres on Mars and Venus, based on the infrared spectra gathered from these planets. The results showed atmospheres in chemical equilibrium. This served as a basis for James Lovelock, a scientist working for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, to predict that those planets had no life - a fact that would be proven and scientifically accepted years after.[3]
A 2 meter telescope, known as the Bernard Lyot Telescope was placed at the observatory in 1980 on top of a 28 meter column built off to the side to avoid wind turbulence affecting the seeing of the other telescopes. It is the largest telescope in France. The observatory also has a coronograph, which is used to study the solar corona. A 60-centimetre telescope (the Gentilly's T60 telescope) is also located at the top of Pic du Midi. Since 1982 this T60 is dedicated to amateur astronomy and managed by a group of amateurs, called association T60.
[4]
There are currently at the top:
The 55 cm telescope (Robley Dome);
The 60 cm telescope (T60 Dome, welcoming amateur astronomers via the Association T60);
The 106 cm telescope (Gentilli Dome) dedicated to observations of the solar system;
The 2 meter telescope or Bernard Lyot Telescope (used with a new generation stellar spectropolarimeter);
The coronograph HACO-CLIMSO (studies of the solar corona);
The bezel Jean Rösch (studies of the solar surface)
Also:
The Charvin dome, which sheltered a photoelectric coronometer (which studied the Sun);
The Baillaud dome, reassigned to the museum in 2000 and which houses a 1:1 scale model coronograph.
The observatory is located at 42°56′N 0°8′E, placing it very close to the Greenwich meridian. The observatory was featured in the video game Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 under a different name. The observatory in-game is said to be located on the fictional Pic des Pyrenees.
Saturn's moon Helene (Saturn VII or Dione B), was discovered by Pierre Laques and Jean Lecacheux in 1980 from ground-based observations at Pic du Midi Observatory,[5] and named Helene in 1988. It is also a trojan moon of Dione.
During giraffe feedings, guests have the opportunity to place pieces of Romaine lettuce on the tongue of a giraffe. A zookeeper will maintain the animal's interest between guests by feeding him a formulated diet that the keeper keeps in a separate container.
I witness giraffe feedings on a regular basis at both zoos, but I never want to take it for granted. The interaction is remarkable!
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
The Shing Mun Reservoir was built as part of the Shing Mun Water Supply Scheme formulated in 1923 to meet the increasing demand for fresh water due to the urbanisation of Kowloon. To a design by London dam engineers Messrs Binnie, Deacon & Gourley, construction began in 1933 of a dam 122 metres wide and 35 metres high which, upon completion, had a capacity of 4 billion litres. By the conclusion of Phase Three of the scheme in 1937, the dam had been extended to 85 metres in height and 13.6 billion litres capacity. The name Jubilee Reservoir (銀禧水塘) was designated to celebrate the Silver Jubilee (1935) of King George V of the United Kingdom, though the name has fallen into disuse.
Each artwork on my Flickr site takes about 4 to 6 hours to create. A few may take less time and a few, more. Part of the time is just formulating the idea which often comes by just playing with brushes or from starting out to do one thing and drifting into something different (this happens often). I use a variety of software like Corel painter 2016, Photoshop CC2015.5, Flame painter Pro, J Wildfire and plugins from Topaz and Akvis Sketch. The plugins are used mainly for final enhancement. If I'm trying to create artwork from a photo, then the plugins play a bigger part.
Photos are taken with my Sony SLT A55 camera in a RAW format and then adjusted in Lightroom and Photoshop. I will use Topaz Clarity, Adjust, Denoise or Detail as needed to bring out the color and detail of the picture.
Thanks for the faves and even more for comments.
Whom Can you Trust ???
We trust various persons of authority to infrom us about material subject matters, but whom shall we trust in regard to transcendental subject matters and the transcendental world? We cannot experience transcendence with any of our material senses. How then, can we have an idea of that pure reality? We can see the body, but not the soul. How can we verify that there is a soul beyond matter?
Though God is everywhere, we don’t see Him. How then, can we determine who is God? Although it is evident that we cannot control the world, how can we trust that there is a God from whom this creation has come, and how can we be confident that it is He who controls it? Millions of people are born daily, and millions also die. Who controls this overwhelming tide of birth and death? Sea waves come on schedule, the sun appears on schedule, and new days come with continuous regularity. We do not control those rhythms, yet somehow, everything is maintained.
Our senses are imperfect, and therefore it may not be possible to trust the information given by them. Our eyes cannot even see the underside of the eyelids, the closest thing to them, what to speak of seeing inside our body, and more significantly, the soul within the body. Our material senses of seeing, hearing, and touching have some abilities, but they are extremely limited. Therefore, especially regarding transcendental subject matters, we can trust neither the imperfect senses nor the authorities who rely on those senses to formulate their conclusions.
The markings are to show where pipes and cables are laid underground to stop them being damaged when any excavation take place.
Nelson Mandela and many political prisoners were incarcerated at Robben Island off the Western Cape coast. It was South Africa's Alcatraz, virtually impossible to escape from due to its distance from the mainland, strong currents, cold water and sharks.
Prisoners were required to dig limestone rock from this pit. Here in the 1960's Nelson Mandela and others formulated plans for the transition from a racially oppressed society to a true democracy. This was eventually achieved in 1994 by a national election for the entire country, regardless of race. Many believe that a massive insurrection by the suppressed that had been dreaded for so long was averted by the strategy and stature of Nelson Mandela.
He became a strong supporter of national rugby, (a white-dominated sport that was mostly despised by blacks) and motivated the Springboks to win the Rugby World Cup in 1995. That victory was seen as a galvanizing event to bring the races together in the new democracy.
Former times is a reminiscence Whether it was good or bad
No matter precise or erroneous The days of former times are now gone
We can't undue the oversight we have made We can only live, discover, and implore today.
now is the only day we can be sure of , We must live it to its fullest subsist, adore, and raise Give your heart away and let it show Don't worry about tomorrow and what it may bring, Only think about today and subsist it well
Why? Coz….
Tomorrow is another possibility, another day, A day to do what is precise,A day to correct the erroneous of yesterday,A day to formulate someone’s day bright,A day to widen compassion..........But mainly of all it is another day to love
So take former times and Make today
A better day tomorrow……………
Towards the end of the 1970’s,
Moore relied increasingly on the
use of maquettes to formulate his
sculptural ideas. Two Piece Reclining
Figure: Cut was developed from nine
maquettes produced between 1978
and 1979.
This particular sunset just north of Prescott in Williamson Valley treated us to an isolated developing thunderstorm complete with double rainbows and lightning! I was actually detained at an appointment in Williamson Valley longer than I had hoped, and it left me wondering where I could go in time to catch the sunset. I didn't know the best vantage points out this way, but kept looking for something that offered a view to the west, when I pulled off onto a side road and started realizing there was something formulating in the opposite direction, facing away from the sunset. Just in the nick of time, I pulled my car over and started shooting, hoping to catch the colorful clouds and double rainbow. The lightning was sheer luck as I pressed the shutter just as it happened-- what a bonus!
Lens Ball shot against my computer screen displaying a 'heat map' produced by academics to show how average temperatures in central England have risen between 1772 and 2017. On a tripod with cable release in darkened room. I was bought the Lens Ball for Christmas just gone and at first it seemed a silly gimmick to me - and I had no idea what I was going to do with it. Gradually ideas started formulating in my head - and this is my first attempt.
kleiner See
Wilhelmaplatz 13 | Neckartalstraße, 70376 Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Deutschland
hier:
Komitee
eine Gruppe, welche mit einer bestimmten Aufgabe betraut ist.
#
Aufgaben
„Die Wilhelma ist eine dem Gemeinwohl verpflichtete öffentliche Dienstleistungseinrichtung des Landes Baden-Württemberg.“ (Leitbild)
Die Wilhelma hat in ihrem Leitbild zentrale Aufgaben für sich formuliert.
1.Den Menschen Erholung und Entspannung bieten
2.Wissen über Tiere und Pflanzen zu vermitteln
3.Wissen über Tiere und Pflanzen zu mehren
4.Sich für Natur- und Tierschutz, insbesondere für den Erhalt der biologischen Vielfalt einzusetzen
5.Das kulturelle Erbe zu erhalten und das Bewusstsein für Geschichte zu fördern
6.Die landeseigenen Grünanlagen zu pflegen
Die ersten vier Aufgaben sind in der Welt-Naturschutzstrategie des Welt-Zoo-Verbands (WAZA) festgehalten. Jeder Zoo, der Mitglied der WAZA ist (so auch die Wilhelma), erkennt diese Standards an. Die beiden anderen Aufgaben ergeben sich aus der Entstehungsgeschichte der Wilhelma und der Verpflichtung, über die eigentlichen Wilhelmagrenzen hinaus Grünflächen in Stuttgart zu pflegen, die dem Land Baden-Württemberg gehören.
Wilhelma as a Business Enterprise
"Wilhelma is a zoological and botanical garden in the setting of a 19th century park which is a classified historical monument. This triad of zoo, botanical gardens and historical park is what constitutes the great value and special charm of Wilhelma."
(Quoted from the "Model Wilhelma", 2000)
With over two million visitors in 2006, Wilhelma is the most favourite leisure-time institution in Stuttgart and one of the most often visited zoos in Germany. It is the only both zoological and botanical garden in Germany and is one of the zoos with the largest amount of animal species in the world.
Tasks
"Wilhelma is a Baden-Württemberg non-profit enterprise committed to serving the public interest " ("Model")
In its "Model" Wilhelma has formulated central tasks for itself.
1.To offer people leisure and relaxation
2.To convey knowledge of animals and plants
3.To increase knowledge of animals and plants
4.To support the protection of nature and animals, advocating in particular the conservation of biological diversity
5.To preserve cultural heritage and further historical awareness
6.To care for the public parks and gardens of Baden-Württemberg
The first four tasks are set down in the world nature conservation strategy of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). Every zoo that is a member of the WAZA (like Wilhelma) accepts these standards. The remaining two tasks result from the history of Wilhelma's development and the commitment to caring for the public parks and gardens of Stuttgart that belong to Baden-Württemberg, beyond the borders of Wilhelma itself.
Exif data
Camera
Canon PowerShot SX60 HS
Aperture
f/3.5
Focal Length
5.2 mm
Exposure
0.001 sec (1/2000)
P program
DRC
shadow plus
ISO Speed
500
Exposure Bias
-5/3 EV
manual underexpoed
One of the handful of successful intercepts of 195 on the Whiting Lead this year. You really gotta work for this one.
I'm coming up on my 9th month of unemployment with no clear end in sight. Looking on the bright side, I don't think I would have formulated a recipe to catch 195 if I didn't have so much free time. I guess that's a win......?
Leaning Tower of Pisa and Pisa Cathedral
Schiefer Turm von Pisa und Dom zu Pisa
The Piazza dei Miracoli (Italian: [ˈpjattsa dei miˈraːkoli]; English: Square of Miracles), formally known as Piazza del Duomo (English: Cathedral Square), is a walled 8.87-hectare area located in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, recognized as an important centre of European medieval art and one of the finest architectural complexes in the world.Considered sacred by the Catholic Church, its owner, the square is dominated by four great religious edifices: the Pisa Cathedral, the Pisa Baptistry, the Campanile, and the Camposanto Monumentale (Monumental Cemetery). Partly paved and partly grassed, the Piazza dei Miracoli is also the site of the Ospedale Nuovo di Santo Spirito (New Hospital of the Holy Spirit), which houses the Sinopias Museum (Italian: Museo delle Sinopie) and the Cathedral Museum (Italian: Museo dell'Opera del Duomo).
The name Piazza dei Miracoli was coined by the Italian writer and poet Gabriele d'Annunzio who, in his novel Forse che sì forse che no (1910), described the square as the "prato dei Miracoli", or "meadow of miracles". The square is sometimes called the Campo dei Miracoli ("Field of Miracles"). In 1987, the whole square was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
(Wikipedia)
The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: torre pendente di Pisa), or simply, the Tower of Pisa (torre di Pisa [ˈtorre di ˈpiːza; ˈpiːsa], is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable foundation. The tower is one of three structures in the Pisa's Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo), which includes the cathedral and Pisa Baptistry.
The height of the tower is 55.86 metres (183 feet 3 inches) from the ground on the low side and 56.67 m (185 ft 11 in) on the high side. The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in). Its weight is estimated at 14,500 tonnes (16,000 short tons). The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase.
The tower began to lean during construction in the 12th century, due to soft ground which could not properly support the structure's weight. It worsened through the completion of construction in the 14th century. By 1990, the tilt had reached 5.5 degrees. The structure was stabilized by remedial work between 1993 and 2001, which reduced the tilt to 3.97 degrees.
Architect
There has been controversy surrounding the identity of the architect of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. For many years, the design was attributed to Guglielmo and Bonanno Pisano, a well-known 12th-century resident artist of Pisa, known for his bronze casting, particularly in the Pisa Duomo. Pisano left Pisa in 1185 for Monreale, Sicily, only to come back and die in his home town. A piece of cast bearing his name was discovered at the foot of the tower in 1820, but this may be related to the bronze door in the façade of the cathedral that was destroyed in 1595. A 2001 study seems to indicate Diotisalvi was the original architect, due to the time of construction and affinity with other Diotisalvi works, notably the bell tower of San Nicola and the Baptistery, both in Pisa.
Construction
Construction of the tower occurred in three stages over 199 years. On 5 January 1172, Donna Berta di Bernardo, a widow and resident of the house of dell'Opera di Santa Maria, bequeathed sixty soldi to the Opera Campanilis petrarum Sancte Marie. The sum was then used toward the purchase of a few stones which still form the base of the bell tower. On 9 August 1173, the foundations of the tower were laid. Work on the ground floor of the white marble campanile began on 14 August of the same year during a period of military success and prosperity. This ground floor is a blind arcade articulated by engaged columns with classical Corinthian capitals. Nearly four centuries later Giorgio Vasari wrote: "Guglielmo, according to what is being said, in the year 1174, together with sculptor Bonanno, laid the foundations of the bell tower of the cathedral in Pisa".
The tower began to sink after construction had progressed to the second floor in 1178. This was due to a mere three-metre foundation, set in weak, unstable subsoil, a design that was flawed from the beginning. Construction was subsequently halted for the better part of a century, as the Republic of Pisa was almost continually engaged in battles with Genoa, Lucca, and Florence. This allowed time for the underlying soil to settle. Otherwise, the tower would almost certainly have toppled. On 27 December 1233, the worker Benenato, son of Gerardo Bottici, oversaw the continuation of the tower's construction.
On 23 February 1260, Guido Speziale, son of Giovanni Pisano, was elected to oversee the building of the tower. On 12 April 1264, the master builder Giovanni di Simone, architect of the Camposanto, and 23 workers went to the mountains close to Pisa to cut marble. The cut stones were given to Rainaldo Speziale, worker of St. Francesco. In 1272, construction resumed under Di Simone. In an effort to compensate for the tilt, the engineers built upper floors with one side taller than the other. Because of this, the tower is curved. Construction was halted again in 1284 when the Pisans were defeated by the Genoese in the Battle of Meloria.
The seventh floor was completed in 1319. The bell-chamber was finally added in 1372. It was built by Tommaso di Andrea Pisano, who succeeded in harmonizing the Gothic elements of the belfry with the Romanesque style of the tower. There are seven bells, one for each note of the musical major scale. The largest one was installed in 1655.
History following construction
Between 1589 and 1592, Galileo Galilei, who lived in Pisa at the time, is said to have dropped two cannonballs of different masses from the tower to demonstrate that their speed of descent was independent of their mass, in keeping with the law of free fall. The primary source for this is the biography Racconto istorico della vita di Galileo Galilei (Historical Account of the Life of Galileo Galilei), written by Galileo's pupil and secretary Vincenzo Viviani in 1654, but only published in 1717, long after his death.
During World War II, the Allies suspected that the Germans were using the tower as an observation post. Leon Weckstein, a U.S. Army sergeant sent to confirm the presence of German troops in the tower, was impressed by the beauty of the cathedral and its campanile, and thus refrained from ordering an artillery strike, sparing it from destruction.
Numerous efforts have been made to restore the tower to a vertical orientation or at least keep it from falling over. Most of these efforts failed; some worsened the tilt. On 27 February 1964, the government of Italy requested aid in preventing the tower from toppling. It was, however, considered important to retain the current tilt, due to the role that this element played in promoting the tourism industry of Pisa.
Starting in 1993, 870 tonnes of lead counterweights were added, which straightened the tower slightly.
The tower and the neighbouring cathedral, baptistery, and cemetery are included in the Piazza del Duomo UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was declared in 1987.
The tower was closed to the public on 7 January 1990, after more than two decades of stabilisation studies and spurred by the abrupt collapse of the Civic Tower of Pavia in 1989. The bells were removed to relieve some weight, and cables were cinched around the third level and anchored several hundred meters away. Apartments and houses in the path of a potential fall of the tower were vacated for safety. The selected method for preventing the collapse of the tower was to slightly reduce its tilt to a safer angle by removing 38 cubic metres (1,342 cubic feet) of soil from underneath the raised end. The tower's tilt was reduced by 45 centimetres (17+1⁄2 inches), returning to its 1838 position. After a decade of corrective reconstruction and stabilization efforts, the tower was reopened to the public on 15 December 2001, and was declared stable for at least another 300 years. In total, 70 metric tons (77 short tons) of soil were removed.
After a phase (1990–2001) of structural strengthening, the tower has been undergoing gradual surface restoration to repair visible damage, mostly corrosion and blackening. These are particularly pronounced due to the tower's age and its exposure to wind and rain. In May 2008, engineers announced that the tower had been stabilized such that it had stopped moving for the first time in its history. They stated that it would be stable for at least 200 years.
Earthquake survival
At least four strong earthquakes have hit the region since 1280, but the apparently vulnerable tower survived. The reason was not understood until a research group of 16 engineers investigated. The researchers concluded that the tower was able to withstand the tremors because of dynamic soil-structure interaction (DSSI): the height and stiffness of the tower, together with the softness of the foundation soil, influences the vibrational characteristics of the structure in such a way that the tower does not resonate with earthquake ground motion. The same soft soil that caused the leaning and brought the tower to the verge of collapse helped it survive.
Technical information
Elevation of Piazza del Duomo: about 2 metres (6 feet, DMS)
Height from the ground floor: 55.863 m (183 ft 3+5⁄16 in),[37] 8 stories
Height from the foundation floor: 58.36 m (191 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Outer diameter of base: 15.484 m (50 ft 9+5⁄8 in)
Inner diameter of base: 7.368 m (24 ft 2+1⁄16 in)
Angle of slant: 3.97 degrees[40] or 3.9 m (12 ft 10 in) from the vertical
Weight: 14,700 metric tons (16,200 short tons)
Thickness of walls at the base: 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in)
Total number of bells: 7, tuned to musical scale, clockwise:
1st bell: L'Assunta, cast in 1654 by Giovanni Pietro Orlandi, weight 3,620 kg (7,981 lb)
2nd bell: Il Crocifisso, cast in 1572 by Vincenzo Possenti, weight 2,462 kg (5,428 lb)
3rd bell: San Ranieri, cast in 1719–1721 by Giovanni Andrea Moreni, weight 1,448 kg (3,192 lb)
4th bell: La Terza (1st small one), cast in 1473, weight 300 kg (661 lb)
5th bell: La Pasquereccia or La Giustizia, cast in 1262 by Lotteringo, weight 1,014 kg (2,235 lb)
6th bell: Il Vespruccio (2nd small one), cast in the 14th century and again in 1501 by Nicola di Jacopo, weight 1,000 kg (2,205 lb)
7th bell: Dal Pozzo, cast in 1606 and again in 2004, weight 652 kg (1,437 lb)
Number of steps to the top: 296
About the 5th bell: The name Pasquareccia comes from Easter, because it used to ring on Easter day. However, this bell is older than the bell-chamber itself, and comes from the tower Vergata in Palazzo Pretorio in Pisa, where it was called La Giustizia (The Justice). The bell was tolled to announce executions of criminals and traitors, including Count Ugolino in 1289. A new bell was installed in the bell tower at the end of the 18th century to replace the broken Pasquareccia.
The circular shape and great height of the campanile were unusual for their time, and the crowning belfry is stylistically distinct from the rest of the construction. This belfry incorporates a 14 cm (5+1⁄2 in) correction for the inclined axis below. The siting of the campanile within the Piazza del Duomo diverges from the axial alignment of the cathedral and baptistery of the Piazza del Duomo.
Guinness World Records
Two German churches have challenged the tower's status as the world's most lopsided building: the 15th-century square Leaning Tower of Suurhusen and the 14th-century bell tower in the town of Bad Frankenhausen. Guinness World Records measured the Pisa and Suurhusen towers, finding the former's tilt to be 3.97 degrees. In June 2010, Guinness World Records certified the Capital Gate building in Abu Dhabi, UAE as the "World's Furthest Leaning Man-made Tower"; it has an 18-degree slope, almost five times more than the Tower of Pisa, but was deliberately engineered to slant. The Leaning Tower of Wanaka in New Zealand, also deliberately built, leans at 53 degrees to the ground.
(Wikipedia)
Pisa Cathedral (Italian: Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Pisa) is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the three structures in the plaza followed by the Pisa Baptistry and the Campanile known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The cathedral is a notable example of Romanesque architecture, in particular the style known as Pisan Romanesque. Consecrated in 1118, it is the seat of the Archbishop of Pisa. Construction began in 1063 and was completed in 1092. Additional enlargements and a new facade were built in the 12th century and the roof was replaced after damage from a fire in 1595.
History
Construction on the cathedral began in 1063 (1064 according to the Pisan calendar of the time) by the architect Buscheto, and expenses were paid using the spoils received fighting against the Muslims in Sicily in 1063. It includes various stylistic elements: classical, Lombard-Emilian, Byzantine, and Islamic, drawing upon the international presence of Pisan merchants at that time. In the same year, St. Mark's Basilica began its reconstruction in Venice, evidence of a strong rivalry between the two maritime republics to see which could create the most beautiful and luxurious place of worship.
The church was erected outside Pisa's early medieval walls, to show that Pisa had no fear of being attacked.[citation needed] The chosen area had already been used in the Lombard era as a necropolis and at the beginning of the 11th century a church had been erected here, but never finished, that was to be named Santa Maria.[citation needed] Buscheto's grand new church was initially called Santa Maria Maggiore until it was officially named Santa Maria Assunta.
In 1092 the cathedral was declared primatial church, archbishop Dagobert having been given the title of Primate by Pope Urban II. The cathedral was consecrated in 1118 by Pope Gelasius II, who belonged to the Caetani family which was powerful both in Pisa and in Rome.
In the early 12th century the cathedral was enlarged under the direction of architect Rainaldo, who increased the length of the nave by adding three bays consistent with the original style of Buscheto, enlarged the transept, and planned a new facade which was completed by workers under the direction of the sculptors Guglielmo and Biduino. The exact date of the work is unclear: according to some, the work was done right after the death of Buscheto about the year 1100, though others say it was done closer to 1140. In any case, work was finished in 1180, as documented by the date written on the bronze knockers made by Bonanno Pisano found on the main door.
The structure's present appearance is the result of numerous restoration campaigns that were carried out in different eras. The first radical interventions occurred after the fire of 1595, following which the roof was replaced and sculptors from the workshop of Giambologna, among whom were Gasparo Mola and Pietro Tacca, created the three bronze doors of the facade. In the early 18th century began the redecoration of the inside walls of the cathedral with large paintings, the "quadroni", depicting stories of the blesseds and saints of Pisa. These works were made by the principal artists of the era, and a group of citizens arranged for the special financing of the project. Successive interventions occurred in the 19th century and included both internal and external modifications; among the latter was the removal of the original facade statues (presently in the cathedral museum) and their replacement with copies.
Other notable interventions include: the dismantling of Giovanni Pisano's pulpit between 1599 and 1601 that only in 1926 was reassembled and returned to the cathedral (with some original pieces missing, including the staircase); and the dismantling of the monument to Henry VII made by Lupo di Francesco that was found in front of the door of San Ranieri and later substituted by a simpler, symbolic version.
Description
The original building plan was a Greek cross with a grand cupola at the crossing, but today the plan is a Latin cross with a central nave flanked by two side aisles on each side, with the apse and transepts having three naves. The inside offers a spatial effect similar to that of the great mosques thanks to the use of raised lancet arches, the alternating layers of black and white marble, and the elliptical dome, inspired by the Moors. The presence of two raised matronea in the nave, with their solid, monolithic columns of granite, is a clear sign of Byzantine influence. Buscheto welcomed Islamic and Armenian influence.
Exterior
The rich exterior decoration contains multicolored marble, mosaic, and numerous bronze objects from the spoils of war, among which is the griffin. The arrival of the griffin in Pisa has been attributed to numerous Pisan military victories of the 11th and 12th centuries, including the 1087 Mahdia Campaign and the 1113-1115 Balearic Expedition. The griffin was placed on a platform atop a column rising from the gable above the apse at the east end of the roof, probably as continuation of the original construction that started in 1064. In the early 19th century the original sculpture, which can now be seen in the cathedral museum, was removed from the roof and replaced with a copy. The high arches show Islamic and southern Italian influence.Ref? The blind arches with lozenge shapes recall similar structures in Armenia. The facade of grey and white marble, decorated with colored marble inserts, was built by Master Rainaldo. Above the three doorways are four levels of loggia divided by cornices with marble intarsia, behind which open single, double, and triple windows.
The cathedral was heavily damaged by a fire in 1595. The heavy bronze doors of the façade were newly designed, executed and completed in 1602 by sculptors around Giambologna on the expense of Ferdinando I de' Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. At the top there is a Madonna and Child and, in the angles, the four evangelists. The tomb of Buscheto is found to the left of the north door of the facade.
Contrary to what might be thought, from the beginning the faithful entered the cathedral through the Gate of Saint Rainerius, found in the south transept of the same name, which faces the bell tower. For townsfolk approaching by via Santa Maria it was the shortest way to enter the cathedral. The door wings were cast about 1180 by Bonanno Pisano, and it is the only door not destroyed in 1595. The 24 bronze reliefs show stories of the New Testament. This bronze portal is one of the first produced in Italy during the Middle Ages, and is a forerunner of the bronze doors created by Andrea Pisano for the Baptistery in Florence (1329–1336).
Of further interest
At the end of the 10th century Pisa established March 25 as the beginning of its new year. This date was considered very important because it is both the Feast of the Annunciation (occurring nine months before Christ's birth on December 25) and it falls very close to the spring equinox. To mark the beginning of the Pisan new year a system was devised in the cathedral whereby a beam of light shines through a round window on the south side of the nave and, precisely at noon on March 25, lands on the same spot every year: on top of a shelf affixed to a pylon on the opposite side of the church. This shelf rests on a marble egg, a symbol of birth and new life. In 1750 the first day of the new year was officially changed to January 1, but this event is still celebrated every year accompanied by solemn religious and civic celebrations.
The lamp at the center of the nave is called Galileo's lamp, because a legend says that the great scientist formulated his theory of isochronism of the pendulum while watching its oscillations from the roof of the nave. The original, however, smaller and very different than this one, is found today in the Camposanto.
On the north side, to the left side of the facade in front of the Camposanto at about eye level, is an original piece of Roman marble (as testified to by its decoration that can still in part be seen), on which are a series of small black marks. Legend says that these marks were left by the devil when he climbed up to the dome attempting to stop its construction, and so they are referred to as the scratches of the devil. (The legend also says that out of spite the number of scratches always changes when counted.)
Legend has it that the amphora placed on a small column on the right side of the apse was used by Christ at the wedding feast of Cana when he turned water into wine.
Pope Gregory VIII is buried in the cathedral.
(Wikipedia)
Die Piazza dei Miracoli (italienisch Platz der Wunder), wie die Piazza del Duomo im Volksmund auch genannt wird, ist der Domplatz der toskanischen Stadt Pisa. Der Name stammt vom italienischen Dichter und Schriftsteller Gabriele D’Annunzio. Er beschrieb in seinem Buch Forse che sì forse che no den Platz als Wiese der Wunder. Die Piazza dei Miracoli ist eine Grünfläche nahe der Stadtbefestigung im nordwestlichen Teil der Altstadt. Die dezentrale Lage am Rande des Historischen Stadtkerns ist ungewöhnlich. Auf dem Platz steht das berühmte Ensemble, bestehend aus dem Baptisterium als größte Taufkirche der Welt, dem Friedhof Camposanto Monumentale und dem kreuzförmigen Dom Santa Maria Assunta mit seinem Campanile, dem Schiefen Turm. Sie gehören zu den Meisterwerken der mittelalterlichen Architektur und hatten einen großen Einfluss auf die monumentalen Kunst in Italien vom 11. bis zum 14. Jahrhundert. Seit 1987 gehört der Platz zum UNESCO-Welterbe.
(Wikipedia)
Der Schiefe Turm von Pisa (italienisch Torre pendente di Pisa) ist das wohl bekannteste geneigte Gebäude der Welt und Wahrzeichen der Stadt Pisa in Italien.
Der Turm war als freistehender Glockenturm (Campanile) für den Dom in Pisa geplant. 12 Jahre nach der Grundsteinlegung am 9. August 1173, im Jahr 1185, als der Bau bei der dritten Etage angelangt war, begann sich der Turmstumpf in Richtung Südosten zu neigen. Daraufhin ruhte der Bau rund 100 Jahre. Die nächsten vier Stockwerke wurden dann mit einem geringeren Neigungswinkel als dem bereits bestehenden gebaut, um die Schieflage auszugleichen. Danach musste der Bau nochmals unterbrochen werden, bis 1372 auch die Glockenstube vollendet war.
Der Grund für seine Schieflage liegt in dem Untergrund aus lehmigem Morast und Sand, der sich unter dem Gewicht verformt. Neuesten Ausgrabungen zufolge steht der Turm am Rande einer ehemaligen Insel direkt neben einem antiken, zur Bauzeit bereits versandeten Hafenbecken. Die Schieflage des Turms beträgt nach dem Ende der Sanierungsarbeiten rund vier Grad, entsprechend einer Auslenkung an der Spitze von 3,9 m (bei rund 55,8 m Höhe). Im Inneren des Turmes hängt ein Pendel, das oben in der Mitte befestigt ist und durch die Schieflage unten beinahe die Seitenwand berührt.
Der Legende nach hat der aus Pisa stammende Galileo Galilei bei Fallversuchen vom Turm die Fallgesetze entdeckt.
Im Jahre 1987 wurde das Ensemble auf der Piazza del Duomo aus dem Turm, dem Dom, dem Baptisterium und dem Camposanto von der UNESCO zum Weltkulturerbe erklärt.
Architektur
Der 56 Meter hohe und 12 Meter durchmessende Campanile besteht aus 14.500 Tonnen weißen Carrara-Marmors und hat sieben Glocken, die aber längere Zeit wegen der Einsturzgefahr nicht läuten durften. Er sollte der Höhepunkt der ganzen Anlage der Piazza dei Miracoli sein. Er unterscheidet sich von den üblichen quadratischen Türmen Mittelitaliens und steht in einem großen Gegensatz zu den spitz zulaufenden Türmen des nördlichen Europa. Er ruht auf einem spiralförmigen Fundament aus 700 m³ Bruchstein und Mörtel. Neben dem Eingang sind Monat und Jahr des Baubeginns eingemeißelt: August 1173. In Urkunden wird jedoch stets 1174 genannt, denn für die Pisaner begann nach damaligem Kalender das neue Jahr bereits am 25. März. Giorgio Vasari bezeichnete Bonanno Pisano und einen gewissen Guglielmo als ursprüngliche Architekten des Turms.
Der Campanile hatte – außer dass er die Glocken tragen sollte – noch eine andere Funktion. Bei äußerer Gefahr flüchtete damals der Klerus in den Turm. Maueröffnungen und -vorsprünge im Zylinderschacht machten es möglich, bei Bedarf in jedem Stockwerk Gebälk und Fußböden einzuziehen.
Jedes Stockwerk hat eine Tür hinaus auf die Säulengalerie, die aus jeweils 30 Säulen besteht. Auf der Südseite führen oben sechs Stufen zur Glockenstube hinauf, auf der Nordseite nur vier. Die Treppe zur obersten Aussichtsterrasse soll Brunelleschi inspiriert haben, einen ähnlichen Aufgang zur Laterne auf der Kuppel des Doms in Florenz zu bauen.
Vom 7. Januar 1990 an musste der 14.500 Tonnen schwere Turm für Besucher gesperrt werden, da die Schräglage zu gefährlich wurde. Es gab eine weltweite Aufforderung an Baustatiker, die besten Lösungen zur Stabilisierung auszuarbeiten und einzureichen.
Nach 13-jährigen Sanierungsmaßnahmen, bei denen der Turm wieder um 44 Zentimeter aufgerichtet wurde, ist er seit Dezember 2001 wieder für Touristen geöffnet. Besucher können gegen Entgelt den Turm in Gruppen von maximal 40 Besuchern für eine Dauer von 15 Minuten besteigen.
Der Schiefe Turm von Pisa ist nicht das schiefste Gebäude bzw. der schiefste Turm der Welt, wie häufig vermutet wird. Dennoch gehört er zu den schiefsten Bauwerken, die – aufrecht geplant – unabsichtlich in eine Schieflage geraten sind.
Glocken
Die sieben Kirchenglocken des Domes werden aus statischer Vorsicht nur noch mittels innenliegender elektromagnetischer Schlaghämmer angeschlagen, und zwar mittags um 12 Uhr und jeweils vor den Messen.
Zuvor wurden die Glocken entsprechend ihrer Namen liturgisch eingesetzt, so etwa die Terza zur Terz, der dritten Stunde des liturgischen Tages, also um 9 Uhr vormittags, oder die Vespruccio zur Vesper, 18 Uhr. Das Läuten erfolgte von Hand; an Festtagen wurden die Glocken voll – a slancio – ausgeschwungen.
Die kleinste Glocke von 1501, Vespruccio genannt, hat eine sehr schlanke, zuckerhutartige Form. Die Glocke Del Pozzo ist ein originalgetreuer Nachguss der Vorgängerin, 1606 von Nicolaus Castellum gegossen.
Sanierungsmaßnahmen
Versuche im Mittelalter, den Bau durch besondere Baumaßnahmen wie geneigte Böden sowie dünnere und leichtere Mauern auf der überhängenden Seite zu retten, zeigten keine ausreichende Wirkung, so dass von den ursprünglich geplanten 100 Metern Höhe nur 54 Meter gebaut wurden.
Seit dem Beginn exakter Messungen 1911 nahm die Neigung stetig zu, und die Rate der Zunahme verdoppelte sich von den 1930er-Jahren bis 1990. In diesem Jahr betrug die jährliche Zunahme der Neigung 6 Bogensekunden. Außerdem zeigte die Vermessung, dass es sich um eine Rotationsbewegung handelte, wobei das Zentrum des Kreises in Höhe des Bodens der ersten Galerie senkrecht über dem Mittelpunkt des Turms auf Bodenebene liegt, der selbst keine vertikale Bewegung ausführte. Bei zwei heftigen Starkregenereignissen konnte 1995 eine Neigungszunahme in der Größenordnung einer Bogensekunde in wenigen Stunden festgestellt werden. Daraus wurde geschlossen, dass die Ursache nicht – wie üblicherweise angenommen – im Kriechen der weichen marinen Tonschicht (Horizont B ab einer Tiefe von etwa 10 m bis zu einer Tiefe von 40 m, wo Horizont C mit dichtem marinen Sand beginnt) lag, sondern an dem darüberliegenden Horizont A (Sand, sandige und tonige Schluffe), in der regelmäßig im September bis Dezember auftretende Unwetter mit heftigen Niederschlägen eine verstärkte Rotationsbewegung auslösten.
Seit der vorübergehenden Schließung 1990 waren diverse Sanierungsmaßnahmen unternommen worden. Im Mai 1992 wurde der Campanile mit Stahlreifen im zweiten Geschoss gesichert, da sich dort gefährliche Risse im tragenden Marmor gezeigt hatten. Insgesamt wurden 18 dieser Reifen angebracht. Zusätzlich wurden im Juli 1993 im Fundament 600 Tonnen Bleibarren als Gegengewicht auf der Nordseite eingelagert. Dadurch konnte die Schieflage des Turmes 1993 um eine Bogenminute verringert werden. 1995 wurden weitere Sanierungsmaßnahmen (Bodenvereisung und Stahlkabel-Verankerung) durchgeführt, da man die Bleigewichte als störend empfand. In der Folge erhöhte sich dabei allerdings die Neigung. Daraufhin wurde die höhere Seite des Fundaments an seinem Vorsprung außen am Turm im September 1995 erneut, diesmal mit 900 Tonnen Bleibarren, beschwert (siehe Bild), was die Neigung stoppte.
Ein Komitee internationaler Fachleute, das über die Sanierungsmaßnahmen des Turmes befinden sollte (1990 bis 2001 unter Leitung von Michele Jamiolkowski), konnte sich auf keine bestimmten Maßnahmen festlegen und wurde deshalb zum Ende 1996 von der italienischen Regierung aufgelöst. Nach dem großen Erdbeben vom September 1997 wurde das Komitee jedoch wieder eingesetzt. Man einigte sich im Herbst 1998 mehrheitlich auf eine neue Maßnahme zur Sanierung des Campanile, die sogenannte Bodenextraktions-Methode (geplant von John Burland nach einer Idee des Ingenieurs Fernando Terracina aus dem Jahr 1962). Dazu wurden im folgenden Jahr schräge Löcher in den Boden (Tiefe rund 4 bis 5 m, innerhalb von Horizont A) unter dem nördlichen Teil des Turmes gebohrt, so dass etwa 50 m³ Material entfernt wurde. Das Erdreich sackte langsam nach, schließlich auch der Boden des Turmes, und der ganze Turm richtete sich zunehmend nach Norden auf. Die Gesamtneigung des Turmes wurde von 5,5 Grad vor dem Beginn der Sanierungsarbeiten (um 1990) auf etwa vier Grad verringert. Damit ist der Turm voraussichtlich für die nächsten 300 Jahre gesichert. Nach dem Abschluss der Sanierungsmaßnahmen wurde der Turm am 15. Dezember 2001 wieder zur Besichtigung freigegeben.
Zur Sicherung während dieser Arbeiten wurde der Turm 1998 mit zwei starken Stahlseilen von 103 Metern Länge so befestigt, dass er nicht durch unerwartete Bewegungen einstürzen konnte.
Bei Bauarbeiten zur Sicherung des Gebäudes ist eine alte Römerstraße entdeckt worden, die noch in alten Plänen verzeichnet war, außerdem ein mittelalterliches Grab samt vollständigem Skelett.
(Wikipedia)
Der Dom Santa Maria Assunta (italienisch Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta) ist eine Kirche in Pisa, zu der der weltweit berühmte Schiefe Turm von Pisa gehört. Sie ist die Kathedrale des Erzbistums Pisa.
Der Dom steht auf dem weitläufigen Rasenplatz der Piazza del Duomo, auf dem sich auch die drei dazugehörenden Bauwerke Baptisterium, Camposanto Monumentale und der Campanile („Der Schiefe Turm von Pisa“) befinden. Dieser Platz wurde vom Dichter D’Annunzio als Piazza dei Miracoli (Platz der Wunder) bezeichnet und wird noch heute so genannt. Trotz einer Bauzeit von über 200 Jahren wurde durch den gleichbleibenden Baustoff Carrara-Marmor und die einheitliche Fassadengestaltung ein zusammenhängendes Bild geschaffen. Der Dom wurde zum Vorbild für spätere Dombauten wie z. B. in Florenz und Siena und galt jahrhundertelang als monumentalster Bau der christlichen Geschichte.
Papst Gelasius II. weihte 1118 den damals noch unvollendeten Dom ein. Er trägt das Patrozinium der Himmelfahrt Mariens.
Baugeschichte
Buscheto di Giovanni Giudice begann mit dem Bau des Doms im Jahre 1063 auf dem Schwemmboden vor der alten Stadtmauer. Finanziert wurde das Bauwerk mit den im gleichen Jahr von den Sarazenen vor Palermo eroberten Schätzen. Durch den weichen Untergrund sank auch der Dom im Osten leicht ein. Die kreuzförmige Grundfläche des Doms war zu diesem Zeitpunkt in Italien neu. Über der Vierung der fünfschiffigen Basilika mit dem dreischiffigen Querhaus erhebt sich eine elliptische Kuppel mit einem oktogonalen Ansatz. Sie wurde erst 1380 durch Lupo di Gante und Puccio di Gadduccio im gotischen Stil nachträglich hinzugefügt.
Die Fassade wurde am Ende des 12. Jahrhunderts von Rainaldo geschaffen und wurde als Pisaner Romanik in der gesamten Toskana zum Vorbild. Bei der westlichen Fassade erheben sich über den sieben Blendarkadenbögen im Erdgeschoss mit seinen drei Portalen vier Galerien mit insgesamt 52 Säulen. Auf dem Giebel der 35,5 m breiten und 34,2 m hohen Fassade steht eine Madonna mit Kind von Andrea Pisano. An ihrer Seite stehen Engel, die zusammen mit den beiden Evangelisten auf der ersten Galerie durch Schüler von Giovanni Pisano entstanden. Das mittlere Portal ist dem Leben Marias gewidmet. Im linken Bogen der Fassade ist das Grab des ersten Dombaumeisters Buscheto mit einer antiken Sarkophagspolie und einer langen Huldigung in die Wand eingefasst.
Die drei Bronzetore aus dem 17. Jahrhundert ersetzen die von Bonanno Pisano geschaffenen Tore von 1180, die bei einem schweren Feuer 1595 zerstört wurden. Die neuen Türen mit umfangreichen Reliefszenen wurden bis 1602 durch Schüler Giambolognas, Francavilla, Mocchi und Tacca, in loser Anlehnung an das alte Vorbild gegossen. Die Porta di San Ranieri am südlichen Seitenschiff ist dem Campanile zugewandt. Hier ist das restaurierte Original des Meisters Bonanno Pisano von 1186 noch erhalten. Es ist nach dem Schutzpatron Pisas benannt und stellt u. a. Szenen aus dem Leben Christi dar.
Am gesamten Gebäude findet man vielfach zusammenhanglose Zeichen auf den Außenwänden. Der Grund dafür liegt darin, dass man antike Baumaterialien wiederverwendete oder Materialien aus eroberten Städten holte.
Datierungsprobleme
Im Hinblick auf die Datierung des Baus und die historische Herleitung ihrer einzelnen Bauformen gibt es in der Forschung seit langem unterschiedliche Ansichten. Eine verbreitete Theorie nennt konkrete Zahlen und die Namen verschiedener Baumeister. Andere Kunsthistoriker halten diese Geschichten für bereits im Mittelalter erfundene Legenden.
Nach der ersten Theorie war der Seesieg bei Palermo über die damals im Mittelmeer herrschenden Sarazenen im Jahr 1063 Anlass zum Bau der Gesamtanlage. In Venedig spielten diese sarazenischen Seeräuber ebenfalls eine Rolle. Auch dort war die Abwendung dieser Gefahr Anlass gewesen, den Markusdom neu zu bauen, und zwar im selben Jahr 1063, in dem die Anlage in Pisa möglicherweise begonnen wurde. Auch die Pisaner hatten durch diesen Seesieg reiche Beute gemacht und den Ertrag zur Glorifizierung ihrer Stadt genutzt; Pisa war im 11. Jahrhundert die mächtigste Stadt der Toskana.
Nach der zweiten Ansicht ist lediglich erwiesen, dass im Jahr 1118 die Kathedrale im Bau befindlich war. Das sei das einzige zuverlässige Datum. Man habe damals die eher zufällige Anwesenheit des Papstes Gelasius II. genutzt, um eine angemessene Weihe zu vollziehen. Der Bau musste für diesen Fall schon weit genug fortgeschritten gewesen sein, so dass sich die angesetzten Entstehungszeiten der beiden Theorien nicht wesentlich unterscheiden.
Die Kathedrale gehört zusammen mit dem Markusdom in Venedig zu den ersten Monumentalbauten des mittelalterlichen Italiens. Daher stellt sich die Frage, auf wen die entscheidenden Bauideen zurückgehen. Die Stadt Pisa popularisierte schon sehr früh eine eigene lokalpatriotische Version, die dem Baumeister die gesamte Anlage als geniale, völlig eigenständige Idee zuschrieb, ohne dass fremde Einflüsse eine Rolle spielten. Demzufolge soll der erste Baumeister der Kathedrale Buscheto gewesen sein, über den nur sehr wenig bekannt ist. Vasari berichtet in seinen Vite, "Busketos" sei griechischer Herkunft gewesen – also kein geborener Pisaner. Dies wird mancherorts bestritten und vor allem lokal dadurch unterstrichen, dass man ihn „Buscheto Pisano“ nennt. Belegt ist seine Eigenschaft als Prokurator der Pfarre und als Mitglied der Dombauhütte.
Keine Einigkeit besteht in der Forschung, wer die Idee zu der Kathedrale hatte und was seine stilistischen Vorbilder waren. Pisa hatte – wie Venedig – als Seemacht intensive Handelsbeziehungen im östlichen Mittelmeer. Deshalb liegt es nahe, dass die östliche Baukunst hier Einfluss ausüben konnte. Auf jeden Fall war der Baumeister mit dem byzantinischen Kulturraum vertraut. Seine Baukunst nimmt Anleihen auf bei persischen Moscheen und bei frühchristlichen Kirchen in Armenien und Georgien. Zudem vereint sie Elemente der italienischen Romanik mit Motiven aus der Stadtmauer von Kairouan. Inschriften im Dom belegen die Mitarbeit von Heiden: Türken, Afrikanern, Persern und Chaldäern.
Auch wenn sich die Bauzeit des Pisaner Doms lange hinzog, ist der Gesamteindruck einheitlich. Der ersten Theorie zufolge verlief die weitere Entwicklung folgendermaßen: Vor Fertigstellung des Doms habe der neue Baumeister Rainaldus um 1100 den ursprünglichen Grundriss geändert. Er ließ das Langhaus verlängern, den Obergaden erhöhen – die ursprüngliche Höhe ist noch am Querhaus erkennbar – und das untere Geschoss der Fassade errichten. Vollendet worden soll der Bau bis 1160 durch den Innsbrucker Meister Wilhelm gen. Guglielmus (auch Guilielmus)., der um diese Zeit auch die erste Kanzel für den Dom schuf.
Rechts über dem mittleren Portal der Westfassade sind zwei Inschriften in die Wand eingelassen, deren erste Rainaldo als Bauherrn rühmen. Als demütige Replik folgt ein Bibelzitat aus der Vulgata (Psalm 21, Vers 22):
Hoc opus eximium tam mirum tam pretiosum
Rainaldus prudens operator et ipse magister
constituit mire sollerter et ingeniose
De ore leonis libera me domine et
a cornibus unicornium humilitatem meam
Dieses hervorragende Werk, ebenso wunderbar wie kostspielig,
errichtete Rainald, der kluge Erbauer und selbst [Bau]meister,
in wundervoller, kunstvoller und erfinderischer Weise.
Aus dem Rachen des Löwen befreie mich, o Herr,
und von den Hörnern der Einhörner meine Niedrigkeit.
Bedeutung der Fassade für die Datierung
Die Westfassade des Doms stellt für die abendländische Architekturgeschichte eine entscheidende Neuerung dar, den Übergang von der glatten Wand zur plastisch gestalteten Schaufläche. Daher ist auch die Frage ihrer genauen Datierung wichtig, denn ähnlich gestaltete Fassaden wurden auch andernorts gebaut, etwa in Lucca an der Kathedrale San Martino, dessen Baumeister Guidetto da Como, der auch in Pisa tätig war, auf der Fassade mit dem Datum 1204 verewigt wurde.
Die kritischere zweite Theorie akzeptiert lediglich, dass in der zweiten Hälfte des 12. Jahrhunderts im Westen des Hauptschiffes drei Joche angefügt und die heutige Fassade begonnen wurden. Namen werden in dieser Theorie nicht genannt. Demnach könnte die gesamte Fassade auch erst um 1200 fertig und möglicherweise von Anfang an in ihrer heutigen Form geplant gewesen sein. Andere Schätzungen nehmen sogar erst die Mitte des 13. Jahrhunderts an – also hundert Jahre nach dem Datierungszeitraum der ersten Theorie.
Trotzdem spricht viel dafür, dass man zwei verschiedene Phasen in der Entwicklung des Dekorationssystems unterscheiden kann. Die ursprüngliche Konzeption hätte demnach vorgesehen, die Außenmauern im Erdgeschoss durch folgende Elemente zu gliedern: erstens durch Blendbögen, sodann durch waagerechte Streifen aus farbigem Marmor – nach dem Vorbild des Baptisteriums in Florenz – und durch eingelegte Ornamente und Medaillons. Dieses Schema gilt für das ganze Kathedraläußere, an den Seitenwänden auch für die oberen Geschosse. Doch in den über dem Erdgeschoß liegenden Etagen der Westfassade übertraf man diesen Formenreichtum noch um ein Vielfaches. Statt flächiger Aufblendung ließ man in vier Galerien übereinander eine plastische Dekorationsschicht aus Säulen und verzierten Bögen vor der eigentlichen Kirchenmauer deutlich hervortreten.
Legenden
Im Hauptschiff hängt ein bronzener Leuchter von Vincenzo Possenti aus dem Jahre 1587, der Entwurf stammt aber von Giovanni Battista Lorenzi. Es gibt die Geschichte, dass an dem Leuchter Galileo Galilei die Gesetze der Pendelschwingung gefunden haben soll. Sollte es ein Leuchter in dieser Kirche gewesen sein, der ihn auf das Gesetz brachte, kann es allerdings nicht dieser Leuchter gewesen sein, da Galileo Galilei das Gesetz um 1584 veröffentlicht hat.
Zwischen dem nördlichen Seitenschiff und der westlichen Fassade findet man an der Außenwand des Doms an einem Pfeiler einen Stein mit vielen schwarzen Punkten. Von diesem Stein erzählt man sich, dass er vom Teufel sei. Zählt man zweimal hintereinander die Punkte nach, so kommt man jeweils auf ein anderes Ergebnis.
(Wikipedia)
DSC06765. Bhaudaha, Morang, Nepal.
This is how a morning starts in Tarai area of Nepal. They gather together for cups of teas during the morning and evenings and often they discuss current situations, they also formulate plans as to how to tackle a particular problem in their lives and their village.
The Stalling Busk Conference of 1996 formulated a prototype access bill that would lay the foundations of the Labour Government’s Countryside and Rights of Way Act four years later, giving walkers extended rights to roam certain areas of mountain, moorland, common land and heaths in England and Wales.
Begônia-Elatior (Begonia elatior Hort. ex Steud.)
Fonte: Site cultivando,com.br www.cultivando.com.br/plantas_medicinais_detalhes/modelo....
Begônia-Elatior (Begonia elatior Hort. ex Steud.)
Nome popular: Begônia.
Nome científico: Begonia elatior Hort. ex Steud
Família: Begoniaceae
Origem: América Tropical.
Observações: Grupo de herbáceas híbridas obtidas de begônias tuberosas com a espécie B. socotrana Hook. f. Possui flores vistosas, de aspecto suculento, que variam em tons entre o branco e o roxo. Floresce quase o ano todo.
Não tolera frio ou geadas.
Cultivo: Deve ficar em locais com meia-sombra, de preferência em locais quentes e úmidos, não suportando bem o frio. É recomendado o plantio em uma boa terra de jardim, adicionando-se húmus.
Nas regas, devemos manter o solo úmido, e não devemos molhar suas folhas, que são bastante sensíveis. Durante o período de floração, recomenda-se adubar com fertilizantes líquidos nas medidas recomendadas pelo fabricante do produto.
Por se tratar de um híbrido estéril, sua multiplicação só é possível através de divisão da planta.
Following, a text in English, from the site "Gardensonline"
(www.gardensonline.com.au/gardenshed/plantfinder/show_3542...)
Elatior Begonia
Type: Bulb/Corm/Tuber
Family: BEGONIACEAE
Origins: South America
Light: Moderate/Dappled Shade
Wind: Sheltered
Growth: Medium
Frost: Tender
Evergreen: No
Native: No
Height: 0m
Width: 0m
Elatior Begonias have fleshy, heart-shaped, green foliage above which grow spectacular, richly coloured flowers on brittle stems.
Theses can be single or double and range of colours is very wide with brilliant reds and oranges through to the gentler shades of yellow, pink and shades of white.
They are most commonly grown as indoor plants where they enjoy bright but indirect light and shelter from winds or draughts though they do need good air circulation around them to avoid powdery mildew attacks.
If grown outdoors then avoid more than an hour or so a day of direct light - then preferably morning rather than late afternoon sun which will scorch the leaves.
Their perfect climate is moist and warm (15-26c) so avoid drying air-conditioning if you can.
If you grow them in pots then make them big pots to ensure consistent moisture retention.
Soil: The fibrous roots need good anchoring to support the heavy top growth. A well drained, rich potting mix with plenty of well rotted organic matter added is ideal, though an African Violet formulated mix is also god.
A stake will be required to support the plant as they are abundant with foliage and flowers.
Maintenance: Keep the soil damp from spring through summer but do not water the foliage (promotes mildew). Never allow the soil to completely dry out - a good layer of mulch is the best insurance.
Pinch out dead flowerheads to promote more blooming.
Fertilise with a doubly diluted liquid formulation around once every two to three weeks in winter and once a week in summer. N.B. water first then fertilise to soften up the roots and ready them to take in the nutrients.
Propagation is easy - just cut a fleshy stem and place in a vase of water to see roots grow. Or you can dip it in hormone rooting gel and insert into moist, potting mix.
You can also propagate by leaf cuttings - nick a vein on the back of the leaf and lay it on damp potting mix
Diseases: Powdery mildew is a problem.
Other Species: There are hundreds of species and related cultivars within the Begonia genus. The Royal Horticultural Society has broken the genus into 7 main groups based on growth habit and cultivation needs and we will use these groupings.
Comments: Rieger begonias (Begonia × hiemalis), which are often called Elatior begonias, are in fact hybrid begonias, originally created from a cross between summer-flowering tuberous begonias (Begonia × tuberhybrida) and a rarely cultivated winter-flowering species, Begonia socotrana in 1883.
As someone who has had the privilege of growing up in a democratic society, it is hard for me to imagine living in a place where crimes against humanity are blatantly committed by the government on a daily basis.
No one deserves to live in fear that they or their loved ones will be beaten, killed, or imprisoned for simply speaking up for basic human rights. No one should have to worry that their family will be silently taken away by the government under the cover of night when no one is watching. Our grandmothers should not be put in positions where they have to gather the rest of their remaining strength and courage to stand up in protest against an army that is threatening the lives of their children and grandchildren (especially during the covid pandemic when they should be getting vaccine shots, not bullets shot at them).
So far two young students, a 14 years old boy and 19 years old girl have been shot in the head by police while taking part in peaceful protests which are now in its third week. The death toll has been rising since then. This kind of unwarranted police brutality would be completely unacceptable in democratic nations like the US and UK.
**UPDATE (Oct 31, 2021): Over 1000 civilians have been killed by the military.
I understand that SecondLife is mostly used as a source of escape from reality for many people. I'm sorry if this post bursts that bubble for any of you. If I can utilize this platform to spread awareness for a good cause and get even one person to step up, then it is worth it. This very narrow window of opportunity for emancipation will soon be lost, because with each day the government is executing increasingly fatal military warfare tactics on its own people. Facebook is already actively participating by banning pro-military groups from using its platform to spread propaganda. Increasing international pressure against the military dictatorship has sparked enough hope for the people to overcome their fear enough to stand up and fight for freedom. Your awareness and support makes so much difference in the entire world.
It's going to be a tough fight to say the least, but I believe in the power of humanity, the same power that was able to bring about justice during the BLM movement. Let's use that power again
Thank you so much for even taking the time to read this far.
Below, I have listed some links that may be helpful in providing a brief overview of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) that is currently still taking place in Burma (now known as Myanmar). I implore you to do further investigation beyond the listed sources to formulate your opinions.
Why Is The World Ignoring Myanmar??
CAUGHT ON CAMERA - 19 year old protestor shot by police ***VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED
Clashes in Yangon as Facebook bans all Myanmar military accounts (CDM) ***VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED
*** For those who wish to take it a step further to help make a difference during this critical time, here are some links to donate towards different causes.
www.isupportmyanmar.com/?fbclid=IwAR1mNI-zH-R6OpFCuOSodH8...
Southeast False Creek Olympic Plaza, which served as the site of the 2010 Olympic Village,
Vancouver, BC
Canada
Craft Beer Market
Over 140 beers on tap?
Unverified
Giant Sparrow sculpture, 'The Birds' by artist Myfanwy MacLeod, Olympic Village Plaza, False Creek, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Illuminated by deep blue lighting
Details:
The Birds was also inspired by sustainability and the site's history as a shipyard, where sailors often wore sparrow tattoos. The sculptures have been called an "ode to immigration" based on MacLeod's interest in "alien species" and when non-native species are introduced to an environment (the house sparrow is not native to North America) MacLeod said: "My work for the Olympic Village tries to infuse the ordinary and commonplace sparrow with a touch of the ridiculous and the sublime. Locating this artwork in an urban plaza not only highlights what has become the 'natural' environment of the sparrow, it also reinforces the 'small' problem of introducing a foreign species and the subsequent havoc wreaked upon our ecosystems."
The work depicts one male and one female house sparrow, each between 4.5 and 5.5 m (15 and 18 ft) tall, or approximately 50 times life size. The birds have been described as realistic and "massive yet friendly-looking". Their bodies are made from hard coated expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam, coated with a polyurea skin and airbrush painted, all clad around a steel armature. Their cast bronze legs were sealed with wax. According to Heavy, the EPS form pieces were "glued together with pressure-sensitive adhesive, specifically formulated for bonding EPS to itself and other materials"
Wikipedia
This is a sculpture by artist Lisa Roet, who was born in Melbourne in 1967 and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from RMIT in 1987.
White Ape won the McClelland Award in 2005. It is constructed with coated fiberglass, measuring 210x285x150cm (ape), 100x300x150cm (base). It is part of an ongoing project Pri-mates, which is the culmination of the artist's research into man's relationship with our closest animal relatives, the apes. White ape is classically portrayed in a traditional bust format, thus equating the ape with great leaders or highly esteemed noblemen, bestowing it with regal stature and intellectual posture.
The sculpture reflects upon human nature's vicarious position within the animal world and our contribution to the environment that we live in. The work could be seen as a monument to our achievements, or as a reminder of the destruction of our environment. Science, art, history, popular culture and philosophical debate formulate the conceptual basis behind White Ape. The Pri-mates project has been extensively exhibited within Australia and worldwide and was awarded the National Gallery/Macquarie Bank National Sculpture Prize in 2003.
While shooting my footsteps along the beach showing my shooting progress (see below in the comments), and waiting for that capture to end, I started to formulate in my head the image of capturing footsteps leaving the ocean ... but I did not want to see the steps going into ...
... and I did not want to clone them out later like I might have to clone out the shadow of my tripod there that keeps drawing my eye ...
... so I decided to walk down the beach about 50 feet so I would be out of the wide angle lens view, and then waited for the waves to recede, run back down the beach where the next wave would "remove" my footprints, then turned and walked back towards the tripod ... if anyone was watching from on the hotel balconies, that had to be wondering what this idiot on the beach was doing ;))
Too early, too cold? It's time to rise and shine. I've got work to do.
Observational understanding of the surrounding area through a deep, philosophical thought process. How to conquer this mountain. Formulating strategy utilizing what is given during the current situation.
The retina is a literal extension of your brain that transforms photons of light into neuronal signals. There are various organs in the ear canal that transform vibrations of air into spatial temporal patterns firing along a specialized nerve. There are also the raised buds on one's tongue, G-protein receptors on the tiny hairs inside one's nose. These are but a subset of touch. Sense receptors that cover the skin, bones, muscles, blood vessels, excetera, transmitting data on temperature; pressure; and pain. So you really only have three senses. But do continue to flatter yourself into thinking you have five. It's an advantage as these senses collaborate with the executive region of the brain.
Excerpt from www.mennonitestory.com/our-story:
When The Mennonite Story was established in 1979, it was in response to unrelenting tourist pressure. In the age of televisions, video games and the arrival of modern computing, an Old Order Mennonite on a horse and buggy was an unexpected sight for visitors to the St. Jacobs’ region. Tourists would often stop to take photos of members of the Mennonite community, and on several occasions, walked into meeting houses disrupting religious services.
This growing pressure led Mennonite pastors and community leaders to come together and formulate a plan to ensure that visitors had somewhere to go, to have their questions about the Mennonite community answered in a respectful way. Thus, The Stone Crock restaurant was founded in 1975, by Milo and Laura Shantz.
The Shantz’s hoped their restaurant would be a site where tourists would be able to have their hunger for good food and curiosity about the Mennonite community satisfied. Waitstaff received training that allowed them to field questions from tourists about the Mennonite community in the region. Demand for information continued to grow, exceeding the ability of the restaurant to meet these needs.
The solution? An interpretive centre wholly dedicated to telling the Mennonite story. After years of intense planning and fundraising, “The Mennonite Story” officially opened its doors to visitors, in 1979.
Since we opened our doors over 40 years ago, we have been honoured to host over one million visitors from over ninety countries! We endeavour to respectfully share Mennonite history and culture in a respectful and creative way. Our guests have the opportunity to take part in multimedia presentations, interactive displays, as well as short video or film presentations that offer in-depth knowledge of Mennonite history and culture.
Find out about the Mennonites’ early beginnings in Europe – how they came out of the 16th century Protestant Reformation and why they were hunted down and persecuted. Discover how Mennonites have flourished and grown to a global family of 1.5 million members in 75 countries, and how their desire to be faithful Christians and good neighbours has led them to acts of compassion, reconciliation and peace.
Zorro contemplating the meaning of life after successfully formulating a theory that unifies the four fundamental forces of nature. If only he could talk.
Remember the movie "Oh God"?
I encountered this friendly talkative individual while strolling through the small town of Mendocino, California. He went by a mythical name which I couldn't even begin to spell but it meant "one who sees the inner light" or something like that. He told me he was a self-described Shaman who could accurately predict a person's personality and his or her place in life just by looking at them and knowing their full name and date of birth. And with him he carried a notepad that had a whole bunch of Chinese looking characters that he use in order to formulate his impression of the individual. Hmmm.
Truly he was a most interesting individual to talk to and he appeared quite sane. He told me he has been a local around here for quite some time.
Either way he made an excellent portrait subject and I enjoyed his conversation. I've always believed that people are but a stranger once, and if you take the time to talk to people you can sometimes glean a lot of information. But I must also add though, that I can often gather a lot of information just reading the back of a box of cornflakes as well.
That is why I will still be alive, with the treasure, when the others are no more, he thought, tapping his head with an armored finger.
Because of what I have up here.
Ambitious, Meticulous, Prudent;
An engineer and jailor denied due status, Avak prefers to avoid combat, instead secluding himself to his work as he formulates his next move.
With access to a range of customized tools, X-ray/Telescopic Vision, and the ability to instantly conjure the perfect cage - limited only by the extent of his demented imagination - Avak has learned to take power himself, then never let it go.
[ Hakann, the Explosive ] [ old version ]
[ Toa Kongu, the Wrangler ] [ old version ]
With 'Jailor' and 'Engineer' as his occupations, I repeated chains, manacles and cell bars throughout his outfit, and put extra attention toward his flip-able gun/tool with the original set in mind.
Initially I wasn't going to make Avak overweight - in fact he was going to be a scrawny little wimp.
However, after I played around with the head and included all those round textures, it only made sense for him to gain some fat! After all, how couldn't you when both professions require remaining stationary in a dark, enclosed place for hours on end?
Credit for the stonework goes to JakTheMad!
More photos are available on my:
______________________________
“What’s that do?” he asked, pointing to an unfamiliar component.
“And what’s that? How do those two pieces join together? Is that the only color that piece comes in? I think it would look better in a different shade of gray.”
The Matoran wasn’t quite sure just what happened next. One second, everything was normal, and the next he was inside a cell made of some sort of clear, metallic substance. He could see out, but when he tried to speak, no sound escaped his mouth.
“Matoran should be seen, and not heard,” Avak growled.
“And even ‘seen’ is debatable.”
Without another word, he went back to his work, ignoring the muted cries of the Matoran.
mcad.edu Carla Rodriguez, Sophomore, Photography
What advice would you give to incoming freshman?
"Don’t get too hung up on having massive ideas. Freshman year is a lot about absorbing techniques and later on you can formulate your ideas. Just be open to everything. If I had the mindset that I had to follow the process I had come up with exclusively, I wouldn’t have learned as much as I wanted to."
Photograph ©Erin Nicole Johnson for the Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Excerpt from www.artgalleryofhamilton.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/L...:
Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975)
Hollow Form with Inner Form 1968
Bronze
Barabara Hepworth was born 1903 in Wakefield, England, living in modest beginnings, her father working as an engineer, and with a supportive mother who encouraged Hepworth to pursue her artistic nature. Two geographical points that were important to Hepworth were Yorkshire and Cornwall, acting as driving forces behind her inspiration and imagination: the beauty of the landscape. Hepworth’s writings are lyrical and poetic, truly depicting the beauty of the landscape, perceiving the landscape to be rich with powerful sculptural shapes, yet she is a part of it too.
In 1909 Hepworth enrolled at Wakefield Girls’ High School and in 1921 was accepted to the Royal College of Art where she studied sculpture with fellow artist Henry Moore. From there she studied abroad in Italy, where she met her first husband, John Skeaping, and they married in 1925. During her time in Italy, she studied at the British School in Rome, where she formulated the basis to the key characteristics of her work.
At the beginning of her artistic career, Hepworth worked through carving techniques in wood and stone, where her abstract figures prospered and developed. When she married her second husband, Ben Nicholson, she became aware of European developments. Together they joined Abstraction-Creation and Unit One in 1933. In 1939, she and her husband moved to St. Ives in Cornwall. From there, Hepworth began to play with mass and space in sculpture, displaying a deep understanding of the quality of materials and extensive knowledge on craftsmanship.
This sculpture, Hollow Form with Inner Form represents a dominant theme throughout Hepworth’s sculptures, the contrast of the interior with exterior forms. Cast in an edition of six, this sculpture is composed of two previous carvings: the interior was cast from the teak Single Form (1963-68) and the exterior is composed of Hollow Form (1963-68).
The imagination is the golden pathway to everywhere.
Terence McKenna.
Terence Kemp McKenna (November 16, 1946 – April 3, 2000) was an American ethnobotanist, mystic, psychonaut, lecturer, author, and an advocate for the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants. He spoke and wrote about a variety of subjects, including psychedelic drugs, plant-based entheogens, shamanism, metaphysics, alchemy, language, philosophy, culture, technology, environmentalism, and the theoretical origins of human consciousness. He was called the "Timothy Leary of the '90s", "one of the leading authorities on the ontological foundations of shamanism", and the "intellectual voice of rave culture".
McKenna formulated a concept about the nature of time based on fractal patterns he claimed to have discovered in the I Ching, which he called novelty theory, proposing this predicted the end of time in the year 2012. His promotion of novelty theory and its connection to the Maya calendar is credited as one of the factors leading to the widespread beliefs about 2012 eschatology. Novelty theory is considered pseudoscience. Source Wikipedia.
TD : 1/13 f/5.6 ISO 1600 @ 22mm
Marco entra in una città; vede qualcuno in una piazza vivere una vita o un istante che potevano essere suoi; al posto di quell'uomo ora avrebbe potuto esserci lui se si fosse fermato nel tempo tanto tempo prima, oppure se tanto tempo prima a un crocevia invece di prendere una strada avesse preso quella opposta e dopo un lungo giro fosse venuto a trovarsi al posto di quell'uomo in quella piazza. Ormai, da quel suo passato veero o ipotetico, lui è escluso; non può fermarsi; deve proseguire fino a un'altra città dove lo aspetta un altro passato, o qualcosa che forse era stato un suo possibile futuro e ora è il presente di qualcun altro. I futuri non realizzati sono solo rami del passato: rami secchi.
-Viaggi per rivivere il tuo passato? - era a questo punto la domanda del Kan, che poteva essere formulata così: - Viaggi per ritrovare il tuo futuro?
E la risposta di Marco: - L'altrove è uno specchio in negativo. Il viaggiatore riconosce il poco che è suo, scoprendo il molto che non ha avuto e non avrà
(Italo Calvino - Le città invisibili)
Marco enters a city; he sees someone in a square living a life or an instant that could be his; he could be now in that man's place, if he had stopped in time, long ago, or if, long ago, at a crossroads, instead of taking one road he had taken the opposite one, and after long wandering he had come to be in the place of that man in that square. By now, from that real or hypothetical past of his, he is excluded; he cannot stop; he must go on to another city, where another of his pasts awaits him, or something perhaps that had been a possible future of his and is now someone else's present. Futures not achieved are only branches of the past: dead branches
''journeys to relive your past?" was the Khan's question at this point, a question which could also have been formulated: ''journeys to recover your future?"
And Marco's answer was: "Elsewhere is a negative mirror. The traveler recognizes the little that is his, discovering the much he has not had and will never have.