View allAll Photos Tagged INTERCONNECTED
Size: 6”x6”
Tesserae: Scrap stained glass, millefiori, vitreous tile, and salvaged mirror, on 1/4" environmental MDF
Statement:
This work depicts an abstract forest at dawn. On a salvaged mirror substrate, I have used scrap stained glass for the leaf canopy and the hilly ground, with accents of Italian glass millefiori. I left the tree trunks and branches as "open cut-outs" with no tessera, which allows the mirror substrate to show through and form the tree trunks and branches. The trees are all "interlocked" with one another by their web of branches. My intention with the overall composition is to suggest that between the heavens and the earth we are all interconnected ("Beyond Borders") and by using the mirror as a major element, I hope to remind anyone who views the piece and sees their reflection in the trees, that they, too, are part of that infinite connection.
About me:
My name is Francesca De Lorme and I am the owner of Studio Fresca in northeastern Vermont. While I enjoy art of all kinds and work in a variety of media, as well as teach art part-time at nearby Burke Mountain Academy, I am totally and irrevocably smitten with mosaic. When I'm not delving into dumpsters or scavenging around salvage yards, I create Mixed-Media Mosaic Art using primarily recycled, salvaged and reclaimed materials — and I love the entire process. The art and craft of making mosaics is totally engrossing to me because it involves the heart in the passion of creation, the head in fitting together all the elements of the puzzle, and the hands in fine craftsmanship. For me, art is both interaction and expression; an exploration of discovery that perfectly weds the mind, the soul and the body in an ongoing, thought-provoking, and always entertaining, dialog...with myself, with the world around me — and with ALL the stuff, both physical and metaphysical, of life. I am affiliated with several local and national artists associations and my work has been consistently chosen for exhibit in major and minor juried shows. I also offer small group and individual classes; serve as Artist-in-Residence for schools; plan, design and coordinate community public art projects; and sell some mosaic materials and supplies.
Francesca De Lorme
Studio Fresca
Website: www.studiofresca.com
Vermont, USA
Photograph of the ceiling of the old temple. The central wheel is a symbol of Tebetan Buddhism known as Gankyil.
Finally we reached the oldest temple at the back of the temple in front. It seemed abandoned. The walls are full of ragged frescoes. I took a rest before my next session of photography. The ambiance was just perfect for meditation. A serene and peaceful place indeed. The whole place was surrounded by big conifers and oaks. Their large stems host a colorful display of lichens and orchids. Sudden gusty winds were blowing with beautiful forest fragrance and mist. Me and my friend spent hours without a third tourist... simply another world far from the urban life.
Gankyil
The Gankyil or "wheel of joy" (Sanskrit: ānanda-chakra) is a symbol and ritual tool used in Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism. It is composed of swirling and interconnected blades. The gankyil as inner wheel of the dharmachakra is depicted on the Flag of Sikkim, and is also depicted on the Flag of Tibet [www.google.com/search?q=flag+of+sikkim&rlz=1C1CHBD_en...].
Gankyil is a term that derives from Tibetan language, literally means “wheel of joy”. The first character “Ga” means Joy – a positive attitude and peace of mind produced by wisdom insights; and “kyil” means to rotate – fearlessly taking un-harmful actions based on knowledge of interdependence. In Dzogchen, the highest teaching in the Buddhist tradition of Tibet, Gankyil has a deeper connotation: it symbolizes “the ground view, the path of meditation and the fruit of action”, three different aspects explaining the ultimate nature of our mind. All the teachings of Buddha are directed towards realizing this ultimate nature, the self-perfected inseparability of the primordial state of omniscience or enlightenment, which transcend all the limits, even the religion itself. [gankyil.org/about-us/]
Yin and Yang
It reminded me immediately I looked at the symbol in the ceiling of the oldest temple (to my wild guessing), easily overlooked by most of the tourists,... of Taoism practices in China...the symbol of ‘Yin and Yang”!!!
The ubiquitous yin-yang symbol holds its roots in Taoism/Daoism, a Chinese religion and philosophy. The yin, the dark swirl, is associated with shadows, femininity, and the trough of a wave; the yang, the light swirl, represents brightness, passion and growth [www.google.com/search?q=symbol+of+yin+and+yang&rlz=1C... ]
[www.google.com/search?q=symbol+of+yin+and+yang&rlz=1C... ]
Description:
It was a bit cloudy day. The ambiance seemed to me a perfect place for peace, and tranquility. Hardly 8-10 tourists were roaming silently. Beyond the gate there is a open meadows with few oaks, cherries, and other trees. The road ends in front of an old monastery with a courtyard. At the back of this monastery, few steps down, there is another small temple, that seemed to me very very old and almost deserted...and I think this one is the oldest construction. The frescoes on the wall are mostly damaged but they reflect some of the oldest Buddhist mythologies. Some symbolic presentations were there reflecting traditional wisdom and faith. The ambiance surrounding this temple was truly magical for those who seek tranquility, and peace of mind. I spent hours there amidst nature and silence. Cold breeze and mist were covering the place so often, transforming our body, mind and soul into full of happiness and peace. I'm sure everybody will turn spiritual once they spend some time here.
My Experience of Borong:
Borong, a remote and peaceful hamlet with abundance of unspoiled nature, under subdivision of Rabangla, in south Sikkim, is situated 17 kms from the tourist town of Rabangla (Ravangla). Being 120 kms away from Siliguri in North Bengal, India, Rabangla is situated at an elevation of 8000 ft with its famous Maenam wildlife santuary (35 square kilometres) for Great Himalayan Bears, Red Pandas, and Birds. The literal meaning of 'Maenam-La' is "Treasure house of medicines". Maenam is also famous for a 12km trekking from Rabangla to Maenam top at 3140m, for its spectacular lookout point. We had a wonderful trekking experience this time, through this forest for a stretch of 18 kms (up and down). It seemed to me truly a paradise for nature lovers.
Borong is a place where you will hear only the sounds of your foot steps apart from the singing of birds of varied species, especially during dawn. River Rangit flows downhill through the gorge. People there, are so simple, warm, and honest...distinctly different from urban complexities and consumerisms. Being one of the oldest hubs of Buddhist culture, Borong hosts the oldest monastery in Sikkim, built in 1730, is known as Old Ralong Monastery (probably known as Borong Monastery). A new monastery, called Ralong Monastery, was built later, only 3 kms away from the old one. Both the monasteries are the treasure house of architectures, frescos, artifacts, and religious herritage. Many of the Buddhist Monks seemed to me as the epitome of holiness.
Borong is a model village for organic cultivation where everything is organic...including tea and alcohol. It has recently gained fame due to increasing popularity of village tourism and eco-tourism activities. Every small house of the villagers has a bit of land cultivating organic tea, vegetables, fruits and a variety of plant spices, especially cardamom and turmeric. Tastes and flavors of foods, vegetables are mouth-watering. Drinking- water is straight from the natural springs. It is strictly a plastic and smoking free zone. In a clear day you will find majestic Mt Kanchenjungha (28,170 ft, third highest mountain in the world), Mt. Pandim (21,952 ft), Mt. Narsing (19,029 ft) and Black Kabru. [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountains_by_elevation].
In the month of March-April you will have a spectacular display of Rhododendrons everywhere here, and in the late October, awesome Cherry blossoms all around.
We stayed in 'Wild Flower Retreat', a wonderful resort in Borong. The hospitality, food and lodging was simply amazing there. It was my immense pleasure to relax with a cup of coffee and viewing the great mountaiin peaks right in front from the resort courtyard. We had a wonderful experience of an unique way of making 'Organic Paper' from a special kind of plant cultivated in the village, originally discovered in this region of Himalayan forests. The product of this small scale industry, within the premises of 'Wild Flower Retreat', reminded me the Papyrus of Ancient Egypt.
Borong is a place, I'm sure, with all its grandeur, beauty and uniqueness will call you again and again...anytime a year...if you want to escape from your burdened and stressful life, and acquire some knowledge and wisdome, you never had before. Once you go there...will feel the pulse...and energy you build-upfrom inside...an 'Elixer' having a power of its own, much superior than any tonic prepared in human laboratories...!!!
After learning how to solve these things during the portal cube project I wanted to make a custom cube. Based on a C4U tiled transparent cube with custom 3D printed tiles.
St.Paul’s Catacombs are a typical complex of interconnected, underground Roman cemeteries that were in use up to the 4th century AD. They are located on the outskirts of the old Roman capital Melite (today’s Mdina), since Roman law prohibited burials within the city. St Paul’s Catacombs represent the earliest and largest archaeological evidence of Christianity in Malta. The site was cleared and investigated in 1894 by Dr A.A. Caruana, the pioneer of Christian era archaeology in Malta.
The Catacombs of St Paul are situated in the zone of Ħal Bajjada in Rabat, in an area which is at times also called as Tad-Dlam. The site consists of two large areas called St Paul’s and Saints Paul/Agatha, and are littered with more than 30 hypogea, of which the main complex, situated within the St Paul’s cluster, comprises a complex system of interconnected passages and tombs covering an area of well over 2000 sqr metres.
The cluster gets its name from the myth that it was once connected with St Paul’s Grotto, which was once also partly re-cut into a Palaeochristian hypogeum. The origin of the main catacomb most probably started from a cluster of small tombs of the Punico-Roman type and hypogea which were eventually enlarged and joined haphazardly to create the complex system of passages and tombs used in the late Roman period. Although much smaller when compared to the catacombs of Rome and other large Roman centres, the catacombs of St Paul are a good example of the Maltese underground architecture, which is the result of an indigenous development which was barely influenced by overseas traditions.
The entrance to the main complex of St Paul’s Catacombs leads to two considerably large halls, adorned with pillars made to resemble Doric columns and painted plasters most of which have now disappeared. On keeping with what seems to have been a norm in most Christian catacombs, these main halls are equipped with two circular tables set in a low platform with sloping sides which resemble the reclining couch (triclinium) present in Roman houses. In all cases found in the main complex and the numerous other Christian Hypogea of the site, both table and couch are hewn out in one piece form the living rock forming a single architectural unit within an apsed recess. Although various interpretations may be found, these triclinia, or Agape tables, were probably used to host commemorative meals during the annual festival of the dead, during which the rites of burials were renewed.
The complex was probably abandoned and to some extent despoiled during the Saracenic period, when burial customs changed dramatically to suit the practices of the new conquerors. Part of the catacombs were used again during the re-Christianisation of the Island around the 13th century, when an open space was re-cut and used as a Christian shrine decorated with murals.
The catacombs were eventually abandoned and the site fell in disrepair. The main entrance was blocked off but access was still possible through an independent hypogeum in Djar Ħanżira (now Catacombs alley). It was from here that G.F. Abela probably accessed the site, which he described in his Della Descritione di Malta. The complex was however only cleared of debris in 1894 by A.A. Caruana, who cleared all the passages of rubble and surveyed the complex, including the areas appropriated by private landowners.
Cerro Vista is comprised of six interconnected buildings named after prominent hills in the San Luis Obispo Area. Each apartment in Cerro Vista comes with four single-person bedrooms, two bathrooms, one kitchen and one living area.
The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
The Kerala Backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways, and sometimes compared to the American Bayou. In the midst of this landscape there are a number of towns and cities, which serve as the starting and end points of backwater cruises. National Waterway No. 3 from Kollam to Kottapuram, covers a distance of 205 km and runs almost parallel to the coast line of southern Kerala facilitating both cargo movement and backwater tourism.
The backwaters have a unique ecosystem - freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea. In certain areas, such as the Vembanad Kayal, where a barrage has been built near Kumarakom, salt water from the sea is prevented from entering the deep inside, keeping the fresh water intact. Such fresh water is extensively used for irrigation purposes.
Many unique species of aquatic life including crabs, frogs and mudskippers, water birds such as terns, kingfishers, darters and cormorants, and animals such as otters and turtles live in and alongside the backwaters. Palm trees, pandanus shrubs, various leafy plants and bushes grow alongside the backwaters, providing a green hue to the surrounding landscape.
Vembanad Kayal is the largest of the lakes, covering an area of 200 km², and bordered by Alappuzha (Alleppey), Kottayam, and Ernakulam districts. The port of Kochi (Cochin) is located at the lake's outlet to the Arabian Sea. Alleppey, "Venice of the East", has a large network of canals that meander through the town. Vembanad is India’s longest lake.
HOUSE BOATS
The kettuvallams (Kerala houseboats) in the backwaters are one of the prominent tourist attractions in Kerala. More than 2000 kettuvallams ply the backwaters, 120 of them in Alappuzha. Kerala government has classified the tourist houseboats as Platinum, Gold and silver.
The kettuvallams were traditionally used as grain barges, to transport the rice harvested in the fertile fields alongside the backwaters. Thatched roof covers over wooden hulls, 30 m in length, provided protection from the elements. At some point in time the boats were used as living quarters by the royalty. Converted to accommodate tourists, the houseboats have become floating cottages having a sleeping area, with western-style toilets, a dining area and a sit out on the deck. Most tourists spend the night on a house boat. Food is cooked on board by the accompanying staff – mostly having a flavour of Kerala. The houseboats are of various patterns and can be hired as per the size of the family or visiting group. The living-dining room is usually open on at least three sides providing a grand view of the surroundings, including other boats, throughout the day when it is on the move. It is brought to a standstill at times of taking food and at night. After sunset, the boat crew provide burning coils to drive away mosquitoes. Ketuvallams are motorised but generally proceed at a slow speed for smooth travel. All ketuvallams have a generator and most bedrooms are air-conditioned. At times, as per demand of customers, electricity is switched off and lanterns are provided to create a rural setting.
While many ketuvalloms take tourists from a particular point and bring them back to around the same point next morning there are some specific cruises mostly in the Alappuzha area, such as the one night cruise from Alappuzha to Thotapally via Punnamada Lake two nights cruise from Alappuzha to Alumkavadi,[8] one night cruise from Alappuzha to Kidangara, and one night cruise from Alappuzha to Mankotta. There are numerous such cruises.
Beypore, located 10 km south of Kozhikode at the mouth of the Chaliyar River, is a famous fishing harbour, port and boat building centre. Beypore has a 1,500 year-tradition of boatbuilding. The skill of the local shipwrights and boat builders are widely sought after. There is a houseboat-building yard at Alumkadavu, in Ashtamudi Kayal near Kollam.
FERRY SERVICES
Regular ferry services connect most locations on both banks of the backwaters. The Kerala State Water Transport Department operates ferries for passengers as well as tourists. It is the cheapest mode of transport through the backwaters.
ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE
Connected by artificial canals, the backwaters form an economical means of transport, and a large local trade is carried on by inland navigation. Fishing, along with fish curing is an important industry.
Kerala backwaters have been used for centuries by the local people for transportation, fishing and agriculture. It has supported the efforts of the local people to earn a livelihood. In more recent times, agricultural efforts have been strengthened with reclamation of some backwater lands for rice growing, particularly in the Kuttanad area. Boat making has been a traditional craft, so has been the coir industry.
Kuttanad is crisscrossed with waterways that run alongside extensive paddy fields, as well as fields of cassava, banana and yam. A unique feature of Kuttanad is that many of these fields are below sea level and are surrounded by earthen embankments. The crops are grown on the low-lying ground and irrigated with fresh water from canal and waterways connected to Vembanad lake. The area is similar to the dikes of the Netherlands where land has been reclaimed from the sea and crops are grown.
WIKIPEDIA
This shopping center is divided in five interconnected parts wrapped up by a translucent façade. The circulation is based on twisting corridors opening towards the surrounding landscape.
Read more:
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Este centro comercial se divide en cinco cuerpos interconectados entre sí y exteriormente envueltos por una fachada translúcida. Su estructura logra una circulación serpenteante en constante relación con el entorno que lo rodea.
Leer más:
The World Grid and the Whirled Mind ~
...The great sphere of the planet is crisscrossed by lines of force that adhere to the geometry of three dimensions. These shapes simultaneously mirror the patterns of higher order ‘hyperspace’ geometries [see TimeSpace]. Lines of energy follow paths of least resistance – the leyline network recognised and used by antediluvian civilisations, the dragon lines of the Gael and the Orient; the Songlines of nomadic aboriginal people.
The planet flows through a vibrating sea of energy. This bathes us in frequencies and wavelengths that define the courses of energies flowing across and through the Earth. Lines of least resistance form an intricately interconnected series of grids that map hyperspatial geometries onto and into the globe of the planet. They’re the acupuncture meridians of Gaia, and nodal points are strung along them as acupuncture points on the human body. As above, so below.
These nodal points are sacred sites and places of power that can be used for great good or ill. The fortuitous locations and arrangements of most temples and shrines, churches and mosques from antiquity to the present time indicates at least one of two things – 1) that gifted dowsers have always been with us, working at the behest of secretive conspiratorial master architects, and/or 2) that the works of humankind are parts of a greater plan serving the planet and/or other agencies – again, for good or for ill, in terms of the best interests of human beings and the myriad lifeforms that dwell in the wonderfully wild garden of Gaia.
In either case, the sanctuaries of world religions are constructed on primordial bastions of concentrated energy. There are those who know how to use or misuse these sites (and all the trappings of blinded faith – magical implements like altars, chalices, incense, books, bells and candles) in ways and purposes for which they’re intended. Just as the vast majority of people will never read or comprehend these little words, or read this far, almost all those in charge of sacred sites have no idea how to use them. They’re custodians, holding the sites in trust for others – just like all the smiling politicians and stern public servants in the secular world.
Where three or more gather in focus together our wills can combine to accomplish great ends. The whologram is greater than the sum of its parts. The massed and focused energies of congregations of living, breathing, wilful beings can be harnessed to feed the leyline/songline grid with specific patterns of sound, thought, motion and emotion – songs and dances, prayers and hopes that can be used as fuel to heal the world, or to further other agendas. The most cleverly constructed places of worship channel energy into the Earth and unto the sky, and even filter and focus it toward specific ends.
Controlling humankind is the main game around town. Most religions are in charge of edifices designed to subtly influence and control the minds of people in the lands they directly influence. At certain times and in the right hands, the grid network can be induced to resonate with extraordinary power. Sometimes, when the entire system is poised for impending change at times of cosmic confluence, the grid can be used to reset the mind of humankind – and even to alter human nature en masse.
The Magnetic Moment
“No man may know the day of my coming; I come like a thief in the night.” So says a ‘lord’ in the babbling Old Testament. ‘The Day of the Lord’ is the day of destruction, when the Earth is repaved in conflagrations and stars shift to new posts in heaven. At moments like these and at other nodal points in the spiral of timespace, when the magnetic field of the planet shifts and realigns, the entire world can be remade in manifold ways.
Certain places and edifices are finely tuned instruments whose potential can only be fulfilled by master conductors of energy - musicians/magicians prepared to emerge from the wings on cue to wield their baton/wand and remake the illusion of the world, and to repattern the human worldview. Those neophytes and supplicants who randomly pray or silently meditate in ‘spiritual centres’ can only feed psychic batteries that these priests and mages tap and channel.
At times in prehistory a singular consciousness controlled the entire old network of planetary influence from several plexuses at once – an extraordinary being possessed of transdimensional perceptions, who controlled the mass of humankind and instituted the hive-like pyramidal structures that have patterned almost all ‘civilised’ and domesticated human societies unto today. Many of the monuments that channelled this network were ultimately destroyed or submerged beneath the seas in a series of catastrophes that only culminated less than 3,000 years ago, when the ‘terrestrial’ inner planets of the solar system took up their current stations.
Those who inhabit the summit of power at the capstone of the societal pyramid are the very last to countenance change, unless it directly benefits them. Most real or fundamental change brings with it unpredictable and unforseen complications that can only threaten their towers of power. Change is anathema to most control freaks - yet when the magnetic field shifts they have little choice but to go with the flow, and attempt to ensure the next age to come in the wake of that shift will faithfully follow the pattern of their plan.
Nowadays there are several competing centres of power, all poised to attempt to wrest control of the planetary web at the Magnetic Moment, when momentum stops and Mind becomes silent. When everything pauses the code of the world is freed from its tethers and can be rewritten by those in control of the instruments of power. At this point in history the vocalists ready to sing their song are more cacophony than choir, possessed of as many differing agendas as a hydra has heads.
What can emerge from this discord? Will the harp they all attempt to simultaneously strum accidentally strike the right chord – the one that frees us all from their thrall?
To prepare for the Moment, examine and (dis)still your mind. With practice you can learn what it’s like in the moment of change, when the world turns around your silent centre. If enough of us focus on one thing when that time comes, all the plans of puppet masters will be for naught. If enough of us are prepared to dare to dream of paradise for all we can remake the world into something blessed. We can remake the world with dreams we all truly cherish in our combined heart of hearts. We can fulfil human destiny and remake Paradise on Earth.
No doubt all of this is difficult to credit for many or most. Those couched in the comforting illusions of permanence fostered by antiquated and carefully channelled academic and education systems may well ignore these little words entirely. The mindfield of the current paradigm is always self-reinforcing and filters out dangerous ideas, dreams and memories that are automatically proscribed for reasons of social stability.
No confirmation or conformation is required. You are free – and you are god(dess)!
See you in the Magnetic Moment – Happy New Aeon!
by Ram Ayana @ nexusilluminati.blogspot.com.au/search/label/r.%20ayana
— with Ram Ayana.
The World Grid and the Whirled Mind ~
...The great sphere of the planet is crisscrossed by lines of force that adhere to the geometry of three dimensions. These shapes simultaneously mirror the patterns of higher order ‘hyperspace’ geometries [see TimeSpace]. Lines of energy follow paths of least resistance – the leyline network recognised and used by antediluvian civilisations, the dragon lines of the Gael and the Orient; the Songlines of nomadic aboriginal people.
The planet flows through a vibrating sea of energy. This bathes us in frequencies and wavelengths that define the courses of energies flowing across and through the Earth. Lines of least resistance form an intricately interconnected series of grids that map hyperspatial geometries onto and into the globe of the planet. They’re the acupuncture meridians of Gaia, and nodal points are strung along them as acupuncture points on the human body. As above, so below.
These nodal points are sacred sites and places of power that can be used for great good or ill. The fortuitous locations and arrangements of most temples and shrines, churches and mosques from antiquity to the present time indicates at least one of two things – 1) that gifted dowsers have always been with us, working at the behest of secretive conspiratorial master architects, and/or 2) that the works of humankind are parts of a greater plan serving the planet and/or other agencies – again, for good or for ill, in terms of the best interests of human beings and the myriad lifeforms that dwell in the wonderfully wild garden of Gaia.
In either case, the sanctuaries of world religions are constructed on primordial bastions of concentrated energy. There are those who know how to use or misuse these sites (and all the trappings of blinded faith – magical implements like altars, chalices, incense, books, bells and candles) in ways and purposes for which they’re intended. Just as the vast majority of people will never read or comprehend these little words, or read this far, almost all those in charge of sacred sites have no idea how to use them. They’re custodians, holding the sites in trust for others – just like all the smiling politicians and stern public servants in the secular world.
Where three or more gather in focus together our wills can combine to accomplish great ends. The whologram is greater than the sum of its parts. The massed and focused energies of congregations of living, breathing, wilful beings can be harnessed to feed the leyline/songline grid with specific patterns of sound, thought, motion and emotion – songs and dances, prayers and hopes that can be used as fuel to heal the world, or to further other agendas. The most cleverly constructed places of worship channel energy into the Earth and unto the sky, and even filter and focus it toward specific ends.
Controlling humankind is the main game around town. Most religions are in charge of edifices designed to subtly influence and control the minds of people in the lands they directly influence. At certain times and in the right hands, the grid network can be induced to resonate with extraordinary power. Sometimes, when the entire system is poised for impending change at times of cosmic confluence, the grid can be used to reset the mind of humankind – and even to alter human nature en masse.
The Magnetic Moment
“No man may know the day of my coming; I come like a thief in the night.” So says a ‘lord’ in the babbling Old Testament. ‘The Day of the Lord’ is the day of destruction, when the Earth is repaved in conflagrations and stars shift to new posts in heaven. At moments like these and at other nodal points in the spiral of timespace, when the magnetic field of the planet shifts and realigns, the entire world can be remade in manifold ways.
Certain places and edifices are finely tuned instruments whose potential can only be fulfilled by master conductors of energy - musicians/magicians prepared to emerge from the wings on cue to wield their baton/wand and remake the illusion of the world, and to repattern the human worldview. Those neophytes and supplicants who randomly pray or silently meditate in ‘spiritual centres’ can only feed psychic batteries that these priests and mages tap and channel.
At times in prehistory a singular consciousness controlled the entire old network of planetary influence from several plexuses at once – an extraordinary being possessed of transdimensional perceptions, who controlled the mass of humankind and instituted the hive-like pyramidal structures that have patterned almost all ‘civilised’ and domesticated human societies unto today. Many of the monuments that channelled this network were ultimately destroyed or submerged beneath the seas in a series of catastrophes that only culminated less than 3,000 years ago, when the ‘terrestrial’ inner planets of the solar system took up their current stations.
Those who inhabit the summit of power at the capstone of the societal pyramid are the very last to countenance change, unless it directly benefits them. Most real or fundamental change brings with it unpredictable and unforseen complications that can only threaten their towers of power. Change is anathema to most control freaks - yet when the magnetic field shifts they have little choice but to go with the flow, and attempt to ensure the next age to come in the wake of that shift will faithfully follow the pattern of their plan.
Nowadays there are several competing centres of power, all poised to attempt to wrest control of the planetary web at the Magnetic Moment, when momentum stops and Mind becomes silent. When everything pauses the code of the world is freed from its tethers and can be rewritten by those in control of the instruments of power. At this point in history the vocalists ready to sing their song are more cacophony than choir, possessed of as many differing agendas as a hydra has heads.
What can emerge from this discord? Will the harp they all attempt to simultaneously strum accidentally strike the right chord – the one that frees us all from their thrall?
To prepare for the Moment, examine and (dis)still your mind. With practice you can learn what it’s like in the moment of change, when the world turns around your silent centre. If enough of us focus on one thing when that time comes, all the plans of puppet masters will be for naught. If enough of us are prepared to dare to dream of paradise for all we can remake the world into something blessed. We can remake the world with dreams we all truly cherish in our combined heart of hearts. We can fulfil human destiny and remake Paradise on Earth.
No doubt all of this is difficult to credit for many or most. Those couched in the comforting illusions of permanence fostered by antiquated and carefully channelled academic and education systems may well ignore these little words entirely. The mindfield of the current paradigm is always self-reinforcing and filters out dangerous ideas, dreams and memories that are automatically proscribed for reasons of social stability.
No confirmation or conformation is required. You are free – and you are god(dess)!
See you in the Magnetic Moment – Happy New Aeon!
by Ram Ayana @ nexusilluminati.blogspot.com.au/search/label/r.%20ayana
— with Ram Ayana.
[From Wikipedia]
The Citroën Bijou is a small coupé manufactured by Citroën at the premises they had occupied since 1925 in Slough, England. The Bijou was assembled from 1959 until 1964. It was based on the same platform chassis as the Citroën 2CV, sharing its advanced independent front to rear interconnected suspension. The car's appearance was thought to be more in line with the conservative taste of British consumers than the unconventional and uncompromisingly utilitarian rural look of the standard 2CV.
The body was made of fibreglass, and the car featured the two-cylinder 425 cc 12 bhp engine also seen in the 2CV. Only 210 were produced, plus two prototypes. It incorporated some components from the DS, most noticeably the single-spoke steering wheel.
It was designed by Peter Kirwan-Taylor, by now already known as the stylist of the elegant 1957 Lotus Elite, another fibreglass-bodied car. Bijou bodies were initially moulded by a company called "Whitson & Co", close to Citroën's Slough premises, but it later proved necessary to transfer this work to another supplier.
Disappointing sales levels for the UK's own Citroën seem to have been down to the Bijou's price, which at the time of the 1959 motor show was £674. At this time the British market was acutely price sensitive, and buyers could choose a Ford Popular with four doors, four seats and a much larger engine for £494.
The Bijou's more modern styling gave it a higher top speed and lower cruising fuel consumption than the equivalent 2CV; however, the greater weight of the bodywork had an adverse impact on the car's more general performance, especially its acceleration. The Bijou was considered expensive by the testers. It was also more expensive than the Austin Mini, but the Bijou was supposed to be more distinguished.
As of 2013, nearly 150 Bijous were on the 2CVGB club register, but fewer than 40 are still on the roads.
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When I was growing up, the president of the Citroen owners club for the city that I lived in, lived up the road. He had a whole bunch of kooky cars that he owned, or that regularly came to visit, but a pale yellow small car always sat near the fence, with its butt poking out. I never knew what it was until the interweb allowed some research, and I discovered it was on of these Bijou. One of only 210 built.
An entry into the military group's competition. Made for the interconnected vignette category.
Urban combat is bloody, personal and extremely slow. An invading spec ops team meets resistance at every street corner and is forced to dig into the city itself. This is just a little skirmsh over an area labeled tennis court #8. The title "battle" is meant to show just how slow urban combat is.
One spec ops member has had his leg blown off and is bleeding profusely all over the street. A defending soldier is just about to shoot him, but he fails to notice the other spec ops member hiding behind the rusted chain link fence.
What will happen to the soldier? Who will win the battle? Who will pay for all the damage done to the shop window?
"Toon in next week to find out"
The report features Max Buzzard who passed away recently.
Back Row: Ray Mantle, Johnny Lafalier-Cardin/Picher, Oklahoma; Leroy Scoles--Miami, Okla.; Steve Green, -Picher, Okla.;- Don Boyd-Joplin, MO; Mash Spangler-Welch, Okla.: Jack McGoyne and Roy Mantle, Commerce, OKla.
Front Row: Gaylon Enos, Joplin, MO; Max Buzzard and J. E. Landon-Seneca, MO, Howard Scheurich, Joplin, MO; Max Mantle-Commerce, Travis Kunce and Bill Drake, Joplin, MO.. (Seven of the guys played pro ball. All the Mantles, Max Buzzard, Travis Kunce, Gaylon Enos and Bill Drake.
The
KOM Flash Report
For
Week of May 8—14, 2016
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Thanks go out to two entities, Jim Ellis of the Miami News Record who reported on the birthday of the KOM league in his last weekend edition and the many on the mailing list of this report who sent him complimentary messages on his feature sports story for the week.
Seventeen miles east of Miami, Okla. lies the town of Seneca, Missouri, Missouri. That town is the primary focus of this report due to the passing of Max Buzzard. Like most things in that area, they were interconnected. Every athlete in those small knew each other for they played on the same or opposing. For example, Buzzard was a friend of Joe Crowder who played Gabby Street and Cardinal Junior league baseball against Mickey Mantle. I could take up a lot of space talking about it here but IF you read this report you’ll get picture
The Max Buzzard obituary
Listed Apr. 27, 2016 at 1:31 PM
www.miamiok.com/obituaries/20160427/max-w-buzzard
Max W. Buzzard of Miami, Okla. passed away Monday, April 25, 2016 at Freeman Hospital in Joplin, Mo. He was 89.
Max was born June 10, 1926 in Seneca, Mo. to Johnnie Kirk and Nellie Pearl (Morgan) Buzzard. He graduated from Seneca High School in 1944 where he lettered in football and basketball. After graduation he went into the Naval Air Corp in July 1944 and was discharged in July 1946 with a rank of A.O.M. 3/c air crewman.
In 1947 Max signed with the New York Yankees farm system in Ind. KS, at which time he broke his wrist. Also in the Sooner State League, The KOM League, Tri State Miners Team, Ban Johnson League and this is where he first met Mickey Mantle. Attended NEO A&M College Miami, Okla. in 1947 and graduated in 1949 with an associate’s degree, also lettered in football, basketball and baseball. 1949 attended the University at Oklahoma City, Okla. with a bachelor degree. In 1960 he graduated from PSU in Pittsburg, Kan. with a Master degree.
His first year of teaching in the 51-52 term was at Alba, Mo., where he met and coached Cletis Boyer in baseball and basketball. (In the) 53-54 term he taught at Seneca, Mo. and coached basketball, baseball and was an assistant coach for football. (In his) 54-55 terms he taught at Udell, Iowa then in 55-56 he came back to Seneca, Mo. and coached all three sports.
His basketball teams at Alba and Seneca during the past 5 years compiled an overall record of 106 wins and 38 losses. In his three years as football mentor at Seneca, his teams won 26, lost 2 and tied 1. Seneca teams under Max won baseball and basketball championships all three years he coached there.
He left Seneca to coach at NEO A&M, Miami, Okla. as Head Basketball Coach and assistant football and baseball coach 1957 to 1964. While at NEO in 1960 his basketball team won the State Jr. College Championship, the football team went to the Jr. Rose Bowl in CA two times and was five times State Champions. (From) 64 to 65 he coached Miami Jr. High football and basketball. (In) 66-67 he coached football and track at Miami High School where he met Steve Owens and coached him his senior year. Max returned to Miami Jr. High and coached football and track until 1973. Max took the position as Wilson School Principal and retired in 1986. He was a member of Bethany Christian Church in Miami, Okla. Max loved fishing and hunting squirrels.
He married Shirley Dean Goodell and she passed away in October 1994. They had one son Max Todd Buzzard. He was also preceded in death by his parents, two sisters Lorene Cottrell and Ramona Atkins.
Survivors include his wife Harolyn Buzzard, son Todd Buzzard and wife Janet of Clovis, N.M., step daughters Rebecca Wilson Henrickson and husband Jeff and Sandra Hill and husband Steve, grandchildren Evan Buzzard, Lauren Buzzard, Bailey Freeman, Bekkah Landoll, Meghan Hill and Hannah Hill, four great grandchildren Kourtnie Siler, Chase Freeman, Greyson Tanner and Laila Landoll.
Ed comment:
There was never a photo to be found of Max Buzzard when he played at Independence, KS in parts of 1947 and 1948 or when he was with the Miami Eagles for a short time in 1950. The 1953 Tri-State Miners photo includes him: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/26541716030/ When you get to that site you’ll see this report along with the names of those in the photo, which includes three members of the Mantle family.
My first contact with Max Buzzard was in 1994. That relationship continued over the years and when things would transpire that had a connection with his time in baseball or to those with whom he had dealt with in the past he would send me note or call on the telephone to share his memories.
In reading his obituary it would seem to indicate he attended Oklahoma City University and then finally received his Master’s Degree at Pittsburg, Kansas in 1960. He had attended Pittsburg State as an undergraduate student in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s as a story I carried on him in an old KOM League Remembered Newsletter from December of 1995 indicates. That will be quoted later.
Newton and McDonald counties, in Southwest Missouri, was the home of the Buzzard clan from Civil War days. There is evidence they moved into that area, from Ohio, some time prior to the war. Seneca, Hornet, Five Mile and other small towns and villages were home to many of Max’s kin. His father, Johnnie, mentioned in the obituary, was 27 when he was injured in WW 1. This is quoted from his Find-A- Grave site. “Served during WWI in Co. C 20th Machine Gun Battalion. Enlisted 10 May 1918. Wounded Paguy Rheimmecourt Front on 6 Nov 1918. Discharged 29 June 1919.” In researching that battle site I believe it was Paguy/Rheims Court. Whatever the spelling, Max was lucky that he ever entered this world for his father almost left it, eight years prior to his birth.
As previously mentioned, Buzzard would get in touch when I would write something in the KOM newsletter when it was a print edition, sent by mail. Volume 2 Issue 7-- December 1995 carried an article regarding some of Buzzard’s memories of Mickey Mantle and Cletis Boyer
The death of Mickey Mantle has caused the people who knew him best to recall the Commerce lad when he was in his mid-teens. Few people knew him and his wife better than Mr. & Mrs. Max Buzzard. Merlyn and Max’s wife, the former Shirley Goodell, were high school friends at Picher, Oklahoma, the small town between Commerce, OK and Baxter Springs, Kansas.
Buzzard was Mantle’s senior, by five years but they played with and against each other in various venues. Mantle was still in high school after Buzzard became a member of the 1947 Independence Yankees. Tom Greenwade, who signed Buzzard, approached him one day and wanted to know if he knew of any good ballplayers in the region. Buzzard said he thought Mickey Mantle “had potential.” Buzzard had formed that opinion one year while in college at Pittsburg, Kansas. Buzzard said that at that time Pittsburg State Teachers College wasn’t big into baseball, so in order to field a team the players had to hire their own coach. Buzzard became the coach.
Buzzard recalled that when they got the team together the next task was to schedule games with anyone willing to play them. Commerce High School volunteered to take on the Pittsburg Gorilla’s. And, to say the least it was no contest. Buzzard admitted “I was pitching and this 15 year-old-kid homers off me hitting right handed, then the next time he switched and hit left handed and homered again. Of course, the high school team routed the college boys in that contest.”
According to Buzzard he had many conversations with Mickey and his dad about what position he should go for in professional baseball. He said that he advised the young hopeful, and his father, that he would best be suited for the outfield.
Any hope of a long professional career, for Buzzard, got off to a bad start. He reported to the Yankee minor league training camp, at Lake Taneycomo, in 1947. He said that he was known for footspeed in those days and he was pitted against the fastest young men the Yankees had. He recalled that in one of those races he fell and injured his wrist which prevented him from swinging the bat with any authority. He was given another chance with the Yankee’s in 1948 and was back with Independence where he played a few games, in left field, before being sent to the McAlester Rockets but he didn’t play as many games there as he did at Independence. Buzzard’s last shot with professional baseball was 1950 in a brief stint with the KOM Miami Eagles.
By 1951 Buzzard was coaching basketball and baseball at Alba, Mo. High School. The obituary outlines his accomplishments at Alba, Seneca and Northeastern Oklahoma A & M. When speaking with Buzzard, on one occasion, he told of the running battle he had with Cletis Boyer. Cletis told Buzzard that he wanted to be a big league pitcher just like his older brother, Cloyd. Buzzard told him that he was going to be his third baseman and that was the end of the story. That didn’t leave a warm spot in the young third baseman’s heart for his coach. However, Buzzard said, that after Cletis was traded to the Yankee, by Kansas City, he received a package in the mail. It contained an autographed photo of Cletis and the inscription “Thank you for not allowing me to become a pitcher.” Buzzard said he placed the photo on top of his television set and considered it his most cherished piece of sports memorabilia.
When I initially contacted Buzzard he had gone through some tough times. He had just lost his wife in late 1994 and in early 1995 he underwent multiple heart bypass surgery. He was a recipient of the printed KOM league newsletters and after receiving one of those issues which featured a picture of the Independence, KS baseball stadium he called to tell how that photo stirred up great memories of the KOM league and he was also impressed with the edition released at the time of Mantle’s death. He spoke of Mantle and the KOM league with such fervor that he became overcome with emotion and at that point we both agreed to carry on those conversations at a later time.
Of all the stories I could share about Max Buzzard, I’d have to say his friendship with Joe Crowder takes center stage. Crowder was the former Seneca High School standout who was signed by the New York Yankees and was a designated relief pitcher from his first days with Independence, KS in 1949. Crowder had worked his way through the Yankee organization as a reliever and had finished the 1953 season with Birmingham, Alabama in the Southern Association.
By 1953 Buzzard was coaching the Seneca High School Indians and Crowder had returned home and was ready to go fishing. Crowder dropped by Seneca High School, the afternoon of October 2, and told Buzzard he was going fishing on Grand Lake of the Cherokees in nearby Wyandotte, Oklahoma. Crowder knew Buzzard had to coach the football game on Friday evening but he wanted him to join the fishing party on Saturday. However, the coach had promised his football team that if they won on Friday, against Jasper, he’d take them to Fayetteville, Arkansas the next day to see the Razorbacks play Texas Christian. Seneca won their game 26-0 thus Buzzard and his boys went to Fayetteville to see the Razorbacks win their game, as well, by a much closer score of 13-6.
Buzzard recalled that when he returned to Seneca there was sense of gloom and doom for Crowder had been reported missing after jumping into the lake to retrieve his cap, loaded down with fishing lures.
There are accounts of Crowder’s death in various newspapers and it went down in the records as accidental drowning. Over the years I have had stories told me by many people and I live with the belief that there is a whole lot more to the Crowder death than has ever been compiled in any one resource document. The stories to which I have been made privy came from people “close” to Crowder. If I were to sit around a campfire and tell the tales I’ve heard it would make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, assuming you have any there.
In my conversations with Buzzard we never got down to the question “Do you know the full details of Crowder’s death?” All I had to do was mention Crowder’s name and Buzzard would tear up. However, Buzzard did tell me, many times “If I had gone over to Grand Lake with Joe, on Saturday, he might not have died.” From the stories I’ve been told, by at least four people “close” to Crowder, I firmly believe had Seneca lost their Friday October 2, 1953 game that indeed Crowder would have lived to see more baseball seasons.
If I should ever write a novel about a promising star of baseball who met an untimely demise it would be based on a guy from Seneca, Missouri. Crowder played Gabby Street and Cardinal Jr. league baseball against Mickey Mantle, in their youth, and then played their first two years together in professional baseball.
This was a front page story in the Joplin Globe on October 4, 1953.
BASEBALL PITCHER DROWNS IN LAKE
Joe (Red) Crowder, Former Miner, Loses Life When He Jumps from Boat to Retrieve Hat.
Wyandotte, Okla., Oct. 3.--Joe (Red) Crowder, 25 years old. a professional baseball pitcher, was drowned around 5 o'clock this afternoon near Port Arthur on Grand Lake south of here, according to Jack Stewart, chief of the lake patrol. Stewart said Crowder and companion, Ray Coburn, had been fishing in the lake and were returning to shore in a boat when a sharp wind blew Crowder's hat off. He jumped into the water after it and disappeared. Coburn said he never came up. Seven Grand River Dam Authority patrolmen searched for the body, along with 25 or 30 other persons. Late last night the body had not been found. Crowder, who was born in Seneca and attended schools there, started playing professional baseball with the Independence team, in the KOM league in 1949. In 1950 he played for the Joplin Miners and had a 6-5 record while appear in in relief in 41 games. In 1951, he pitched with the Quincy, Ill., team in the Three-I League, and in 1952 with the Beaumont Roughriders in the Texas League. This summer he played for Birmingham, Ala., in the Southern Association. All of the teams are part of the New York Yankee organization. His known survivors are his widow and two small children of Seneca, and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Omar Crowder of near Racine.
This is the Find-A-Grave site for Joe Crowder: www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=sh&GRid=23566477 Not much narrative in this but there are a couple of photos. His nickname was “The Fireman” and that is what one of the two photos depict.
During this past week I struggled with whether or not to share some of the stories I have accumulated over the years, not solicited by me, regarding Joe Crowder’s death. The most compelling stories were from his youngest brother and his only daughter. There were a couple of other Crowder family members who I’ve met over the past 20 years and they were very kind and appreciative of the fact that I didn’t let the memory of their loved one end, in 1953. If you read the Find-A-Grave citation that I shared at the beginning of this paragraph you will see the reference to the book I wrote about Mantle which includes a number of stories about Crowder.
Maybe, someday, I’ll get around to telling the untold story of Joe Dean “Red” Crowder. That sure leaves open the possibility it will expire when I do.
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Another connection to the Northeast Okla., Southeast Kansas and Southwest Missouri sports scene.
In the era Mickey Mantle and Joe Crowder were playing Gabby Street and Cardinal Junior league baseball one of the opposing teams was Sunny Jim’s. That team would represent different towns in different years. The towns were basically Joplin and Carl Junction. Sunny Jim was Jim Walters who was a candy maker in Joplin. When writing my book, about Mickey Mantle, I wondered if Mr. Walter’s was still living and learned that he had left Joplin many years earlier for Colorado It didn’t take long for me to locate his widow, Edna. She had a great memory of her time around those teams her husband sponsored. Most likely, I spoke with her about 25 years ago. This week I found this in the Joplin Globe:
obituaries.joplinglobe.com/story/Edna-Walters-1914-2016-7...
Those of you with “broken URLs” here is the text of the obituary.
Edna Walters, age 102, of Loveland, Colo., went to be with her Lord on May 2, 2016. Edna was born on March 15, 1914, in Audrain County, Mo., to Reuben and Sarah (Davis) Mayes. In 1932, she graduated from Syracuse High School (Kan.). She returned with her family to Missouri in 1933.
Edna met the love of her life, James "Sunny Jim" Walters, while working as a chocolate dipper at a candy factory. A few years later, the couple were married in Joplin.
During the height of the "Great Depression", Edna and her husband opened Sunny Jim's Candy Shop at 513 Main Street. Later, the couple moved their business to Route 66, on the Missouri/Kansas line and renamed the shop, "Sunny Jim's Ozark Candy Farm".
While living in Joplin, the couple were also active in little league baseball. Edna scored the games, while her husband coached the kids. A park in Joplin, is named in honor of her husband, "Sunny Jim Park". In 1964, Edna and Jim relocated their business to Loveland, and the shop was renamed "Sunny Jim's Candy Ranch". Her nephews and nieces, were frequently invited to pull taffy in the back room of the shop.
After selling the business in 1974, Edna kept busy with her many hobbies, sewing, knitting, painting, traveling, and writing. She penned a candy cookbook in the late 70s titled "Famous Candies from the Kitchen of Mrs. Sunny Jim Walters". Edna was a long-time member of the First Christian Church of Loveland.
Edna is survived by her sister, (Anna) Jean (Mayes) Wheat, of Laramie, Wyo.; nieces and nephews, Gale (Roger) Lundberg, Jim (Debbie) Wheat, Ned (Donna) Mayes, and Bobbie (Chuck) Gambrill; several great-nieces and nephews, and great-great nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Jim; and two brothers, Ordelle and Robert Mayes. Her extended family consisted of church members and close neighbors.
A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.
If you have a sweet tooth and have an urge to read more about the candy making Walters family here are a slew of Internet options.
www.google.com/search?q=Sunny+Jim+Walters&oq=Sunny+Ji...
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Once again, the KOM Flash Report comes to a merciful conclusion.
In the heart of Vilnius, during the holiday season...
unesco link on vilnius
Works of a painter on Vilnius
www.flickr.com/photos/ag-galerija/
At a fundamental level, as human beings, we are all the same; each one of us aspires to happiness and each one of us does not wish to suffer. This is why, whenever I have the opportunity, I try to draw people's attention to what as members of the human family we have in common and the deeply interconnected nature of our existence and welfare.
Today, there is increasing recognition, as well as a growing body of scientific evidence, that confirms the close connection between our own states of mind and our happiness. On the one hand, many of us live in societies that are very developed materially, yet among us are many people who are not very happy. Just underneath the beautiful surface of affluence there is a kind of mental unrest, leading to frustration, unnecessary quarrels, reliance on drugs or alcohol, and in the worst case, suicide. There is no guarantee that wealth alone can give you the joy or fulfilment that you seek. The same can be said of your friends too. When you are in an intense state of anger or hatred, even a very close friend appears to you as somehow frosty, or cold, distant, and annoying.
However, as human beings we are gifted with this wonderful human intelligence. Besides that, all human beings have the capacity to be very determined and to direct that strong sense of determination in whatever direction they like. So long as we remember that we have this marvellous gift of human intelligence and a capacity to develop determination and use it in positive ways, we will preserve our underlying mental health. Realizing we have this great human potential gives us a fundamental strength. This recognition can act as a mechanism that enables us to deal with any difficulty, no matter what situation we are facing, without losing hope or sinking into feelings of low self-esteem.
I write this as someone who lost his freedom at the age of 16, then lost his country at the age of 24. Consequently, I have lived in exile for more than 50 years during which we Tibetans have dedicated ourselves to keeping the Tibetan identity alive and preserving our culture and values. On most days the news from Tibet is heartbreaking, and yet none of these challenges gives grounds for giving up. One of the approaches that I personally find useful is to cultivate the thought: If the situation or problem is such that it can be remedied, then there is no need to worry about it. In other words, if there is a solution or a way out of the difficulty, you do not need to be overwhelmed by it. The appropriate action is to seek its solution. Then it is clearly more sensible to spend your energy focussing on the solution rather than worrying about the problem. Alternatively, if there is no solution, no possibility of resolution, then there is also no point in being worried about it, because you cannot do anything about it anyway. In that case, the sooner you accept this fact, the easier it will be for you. This formula, of course, implies directly confronting the problem and taking a realistic view. Otherwise you will be unable to find out whether or not there is a resolution to the problem
Taking a realistic view and cultivating a proper motivation can also shield you against feelings of fear and anxiety. If you develop a pure and sincere motivation, if you are motivated by a wish to help on the basis of kindness, compassion, and respect, then you can carry on any kind of work, in any field, and function more effectively with less fear or worry, not being afraid of what others think or whether you ultimately will be successful in reaching your goal. Even if you fail to achieve your goal, you can feel good about having made the effort. But with a bad motivation, people can praise you or you can achieve goals, but you still will not be happy.
Again, we may sometimes feel that our whole lives are unsatisfactory, we feel on the point of being overwhelmed by the difficulties that confront us. This happens to us all in varying degrees from time to time. When this occurs, it is vital that we make every effort to find a way of lifting our spirits. We can do this by recollecting our good fortune. We may, for example, be loved by someone; we may have certain talents; we may have received a good education; we may have our basic needs provided for - food to eat, clothes to wear, somewhere to live - we may have performed certain altruistic deeds in the past. We must take into consideration even the slightest positive aspect of our lives. For if we fail to find some way of uplifting ourselves, there is every danger of sinking further into our sense of powerlessness. This can lead us to believe that we have no capacity for doing good whatsoever. Thus we create the conditions of despair itself.
As a Buddhist monk I have learned that what principally upsets our inner peace is what we call disturbing emotions. All those thoughts, emotions, and mental events which reflect a negative or uncompassionate state of mind inevitably undermine our experience of inner peace. All our negative thoughts and emotions - such as hatred, anger, pride, lust, greed, envy, and so on - are considered to be sources of difficulty, to be disturbing. Negative thoughts and emotions are what obstruct our most basic aspiration - to be happy and to avoid suffering. When we act under their influence, we become oblivious to the impact our actions have on others: they are thus the cause of our destructive behaviour both toward others and to ourselves. Murder, scandal, and deceit all have their origin in disturbing emotions.
This inevitably gives rise to the question - can we train the mind? There are many methods by which to do this. Among these, in the Buddhist tradition, is a special instruction called mind training, which focuses on cultivating concern for others and turning adversity to advantage. It is this pattern of thought, transforming problems into happiness that has enabled the Tibetan people to maintain their dignity and spirit in the face of great difficulties. Indeed I have found this advice of great practical benefit in my own life.
A great Tibetan teacher of mind training once remarked that one of the mind’s most marvellous qualities is that it can be transformed. I have no doubt that those who attempt to transform their minds, overcome their disturbing emotions and achieve a sense of inner peace, will, over a period of time, notice a change in their mental attitudes and responses to people and events. Their minds will become more disciplined and positive. And I am sure they will find their own sense of happiness grow as they contribute to the greater happiness of others. I offer my prayers that everyone who makes this their goal will be blessed with success.
The Dalai Lama
December 31, 2010
A pope in Reichstag
www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/sep...
The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
The Kerala Backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways, and sometimes compared to the American Bayou. In the midst of this landscape there are a number of towns and cities, which serve as the starting and end points of backwater cruises. National Waterway No. 3 from Kollam to Kottapuram, covers a distance of 205 km and runs almost parallel to the coast line of southern Kerala facilitating both cargo movement and backwater tourism.
The backwaters have a unique ecosystem - freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea. In certain areas, such as the Vembanad Kayal, where a barrage has been built near Kumarakom, salt water from the sea is prevented from entering the deep inside, keeping the fresh water intact. Such fresh water is extensively used for irrigation purposes.
Many unique species of aquatic life including crabs, frogs and mudskippers, water birds such as terns, kingfishers, darters and cormorants, and animals such as otters and turtles live in and alongside the backwaters. Palm trees, pandanus shrubs, various leafy plants and bushes grow alongside the backwaters, providing a green hue to the surrounding landscape.
Vembanad Kayal is the largest of the lakes, covering an area of 200 km², and bordered by Alappuzha (Alleppey), Kottayam, and Ernakulam districts. The port of Kochi (Cochin) is located at the lake's outlet to the Arabian Sea. Alleppey, "Venice of the East", has a large network of canals that meander through the town. Vembanad is India’s longest lake.
HOUSE BOATS
The kettuvallams (Kerala houseboats) in the backwaters are one of the prominent tourist attractions in Kerala. More than 2000 kettuvallams ply the backwaters, 120 of them in Alappuzha. Kerala government has classified the tourist houseboats as Platinum, Gold and silver.
The kettuvallams were traditionally used as grain barges, to transport the rice harvested in the fertile fields alongside the backwaters. Thatched roof covers over wooden hulls, 30 m in length, provided protection from the elements. At some point in time the boats were used as living quarters by the royalty. Converted to accommodate tourists, the houseboats have become floating cottages having a sleeping area, with western-style toilets, a dining area and a sit out on the deck. Most tourists spend the night on a house boat. Food is cooked on board by the accompanying staff – mostly having a flavour of Kerala. The houseboats are of various patterns and can be hired as per the size of the family or visiting group. The living-dining room is usually open on at least three sides providing a grand view of the surroundings, including other boats, throughout the day when it is on the move. It is brought to a standstill at times of taking food and at night. After sunset, the boat crew provide burning coils to drive away mosquitoes. Ketuvallams are motorised but generally proceed at a slow speed for smooth travel. All ketuvallams have a generator and most bedrooms are air-conditioned. At times, as per demand of customers, electricity is switched off and lanterns are provided to create a rural setting.
While many ketuvalloms take tourists from a particular point and bring them back to around the same point next morning there are some specific cruises mostly in the Alappuzha area, such as the one night cruise from Alappuzha to Thotapally via Punnamada Lake two nights cruise from Alappuzha to Alumkavadi, one night cruise from Alappuzha to Kidangara, and one night cruise from Alappuzha to Mankotta. There are numerous such cruises.
Beypore, located 10 km south of Kozhikode at the mouth of the Chaliyar River, is a famous fishing harbour, port and boat building centre. Beypore has a 1,500 year-tradition of boatbuilding. The skill of the local shipwrights and boat builders are widely sought after. There is a houseboat-building yard at Alumkadavu, in Ashtamudi Kayal near Kollam.
FERRY SERVICES
Regular ferry services connect most locations on both banks of the backwaters. The Kerala State Water Transport Department operates ferries for passengers as well as tourists. It is the cheapest mode of transport through the backwaters.
ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE
Connected by artificial canals, the backwaters form an economical means of transport, and a large local trade is carried on by inland navigation. Fishing, along with fish curing is an important industry.
Kerala backwaters have been used for centuries by the local people for transportation, fishing and agriculture. It has supported the efforts of the local people to earn a livelihood. In more recent times, agricultural efforts have been strengthened with reclamation of some backwater lands for rice growing, particularly in the Kuttanad area. Boat making has been a traditional craft, so has been the coir industry.
Kuttanad is crisscrossed with waterways that run alongside extensive paddy fields, as well as fields of cassava, banana and yam. A unique feature of Kuttanad is that many of these fields are below sea level and are surrounded by earthen embankments. The crops are grown on the low-lying ground and irrigated with fresh water from canal and waterways connected to Vembanad lake. The area is similar to the dikes of the Netherlands where land has been reclaimed from the sea and crops are grown.
WIKIPEDIA
The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
The Kerala Backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways, and sometimes compared to the American Bayou. In the midst of this landscape there are a number of towns and cities, which serve as the starting and end points of backwater cruises. National Waterway No. 3 from Kollam to Kottapuram, covers a distance of 205 km and runs almost parallel to the coast line of southern Kerala facilitating both cargo movement and backwater tourism.
The backwaters have a unique ecosystem - freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea. In certain areas, such as the Vembanad Kayal, where a barrage has been built near Kumarakom, salt water from the sea is prevented from entering the deep inside, keeping the fresh water intact. Such fresh water is extensively used for irrigation purposes.
Many unique species of aquatic life including crabs, frogs and mudskippers, water birds such as terns, kingfishers, darters and cormorants, and animals such as otters and turtles live in and alongside the backwaters. Palm trees, pandanus shrubs, various leafy plants and bushes grow alongside the backwaters, providing a green hue to the surrounding landscape.
Vembanad Kayal is the largest of the lakes, covering an area of 200 km², and bordered by Alappuzha (Alleppey), Kottayam, and Ernakulam districts. The port of Kochi (Cochin) is located at the lake's outlet to the Arabian Sea. Alleppey, "Venice of the East", has a large network of canals that meander through the town. Vembanad is India’s longest lake.
HOUSE BOATS
The kettuvallams (Kerala houseboats) in the backwaters are one of the prominent tourist attractions in Kerala. More than 2000 kettuvallams ply the backwaters, 120 of them in Alappuzha. Kerala government has classified the tourist houseboats as Platinum, Gold and silver.
The kettuvallams were traditionally used as grain barges, to transport the rice harvested in the fertile fields alongside the backwaters. Thatched roof covers over wooden hulls, 30 m in length, provided protection from the elements. At some point in time the boats were used as living quarters by the royalty. Converted to accommodate tourists, the houseboats have become floating cottages having a sleeping area, with western-style toilets, a dining area and a sit out on the deck. Most tourists spend the night on a house boat. Food is cooked on board by the accompanying staff – mostly having a flavour of Kerala. The houseboats are of various patterns and can be hired as per the size of the family or visiting group. The living-dining room is usually open on at least three sides providing a grand view of the surroundings, including other boats, throughout the day when it is on the move. It is brought to a standstill at times of taking food and at night. After sunset, the boat crew provide burning coils to drive away mosquitoes. Ketuvallams are motorised but generally proceed at a slow speed for smooth travel. All ketuvallams have a generator and most bedrooms are air-conditioned. At times, as per demand of customers, electricity is switched off and lanterns are provided to create a rural setting.
While many ketuvalloms take tourists from a particular point and bring them back to around the same point next morning there are some specific cruises mostly in the Alappuzha area, such as the one night cruise from Alappuzha to Thotapally via Punnamada Lake two nights cruise from Alappuzha to Alumkavadi,[8] one night cruise from Alappuzha to Kidangara, and one night cruise from Alappuzha to Mankotta. There are numerous such cruises.
Beypore, located 10 km south of Kozhikode at the mouth of the Chaliyar River, is a famous fishing harbour, port and boat building centre. Beypore has a 1,500 year-tradition of boatbuilding. The skill of the local shipwrights and boat builders are widely sought after. There is a houseboat-building yard at Alumkadavu, in Ashtamudi Kayal near Kollam.
FERRY SERVICES
Regular ferry services connect most locations on both banks of the backwaters. The Kerala State Water Transport Department operates ferries for passengers as well as tourists. It is the cheapest mode of transport through the backwaters.
ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE
Connected by artificial canals, the backwaters form an economical means of transport, and a large local trade is carried on by inland navigation. Fishing, along with fish curing is an important industry.
Kerala backwaters have been used for centuries by the local people for transportation, fishing and agriculture. It has supported the efforts of the local people to earn a livelihood. In more recent times, agricultural efforts have been strengthened with reclamation of some backwater lands for rice growing, particularly in the Kuttanad area. Boat making has been a traditional craft, so has been the coir industry.
Kuttanad is crisscrossed with waterways that run alongside extensive paddy fields, as well as fields of cassava, banana and yam. A unique feature of Kuttanad is that many of these fields are below sea level and are surrounded by earthen embankments. The crops are grown on the low-lying ground and irrigated with fresh water from canal and waterways connected to Vembanad lake. The area is similar to the dikes of the Netherlands where land has been reclaimed from the sea and crops are grown.
WIKIPEDIA
📜 The Sette Sale, or "Seven Halls," represent the interconnected corridors which formed the large cistern for the Baths of Trajan. In reality, however, the title is a misnomer as the cistern contained nine halls which would once have been filled with water from a branch of a nearby aqueduct. Nevertheless, this impressive structure had a capacity of 8 million-plus liters by some estimates, was built contemporaneously with the imperial thermae it fed, and was located slightly uphill some 75 meters from the baths themselves.
Don't miss these all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase II of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/posts/design-insights-94265831?utm_medium...
#Artist #SupportArtists #SupportOnPatreon #FineArt #VisualArt #VisualArtist #SmallBusiness #SmallBusinessOwner #ArtHistory #WorldHistory #AncientHistory #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #FestinaLente #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #LEGOArtist #InstaLEGO #WorldHeritage #Antiquity #GrecoRoman #Esquiline #SetteSale
Amsterdam is a city of some 90 islands that are interconnected by some 1500 bridges and an amazing canal network that runs through the city. The canal system through the city is extensive and quite amazing to a visitor. But to the locals, it is as common as a regular street!
In most parts of the world, residential or business property owners and tenants would pay a premium for a waterfront property. In Amsterdam, half the buildings are on the waterfront! As a visitor, I was very impressed by this. I don't know if the locals find it very mundane, but even if they do, I don't think anyone could become tired of the beauty and the exotic nature of living a very urban life in the midst of water everywhere!
📜 The Sette Sale, or "Seven Halls," represent the interconnected corridors which formed the large cistern for the Baths of Trajan. In reality, however, the title is a misnomer as the cistern contained nine halls which would once have been filled with water from a branch of a nearby aqueduct. Nevertheless, this impressive structure had a capacity of 8 million-plus liters by some estimates, was built contemporaneously with the imperial thermae it fed, and was located slightly uphill some 75 meters from the baths themselves.
Don't miss these all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase II of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/posts/design-insights-94265831?utm_medium...
#Artist #SupportArtists #SupportOnPatreon #FineArt #VisualArt #VisualArtist #SmallBusiness #SmallBusinessOwner #ArtHistory #WorldHistory #AncientHistory #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #FestinaLente #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #LEGOArtist #InstaLEGO #WorldHeritage #Antiquity #GrecoRoman #Esquiline #SetteSale
the purpose of this logo is to demonstrate the interconnectedness of marriage.
marriage creates families more than any other institution, so it is about more than love and affection and desire.
i hope we can all strive together intelligently and make good decisions about the civil rights of humans.
the rainbow flag is the peace warrior's flag. it belongs to all of those who seek to create peace. it is made up of different colors which wave together in unison and weather the same world as one.
the hearts, formed from all the hearts surrounding them, speak to the light which is the same inside all of us no matter what our gender, race, ethnicity or religious background.
Dated 1621. Outstanding U-plan group of interconnected 17th century mercantile buildings with fine 4-storey, 4-bay, L-plan former hall to centre on sloping site (2 storey to rear), flanked by 3-storey wings projecting to N. Rubble with ashlar dressings throughout. Predominantly multi-pane timber sash and case windows. Scottish slate. Piended roofs to wings.
The former Tailor's Hall is a rare example of early 17th century mercantile architecture, occupying a key location on the Cowgate. Having undergone a number of changes of use during its long history, the building retains much of its 18th century character with its projecting stair outshot and large windows to the main hall at 2nd floor.
In 1620 the Incorporation of Tailors acquired an area of land on the S of the Cowgate on which stood a group of ruinous buildings. They built the main hall, completed in 1621, on the S side of the courtyard. The top floor of the hall was added in 1757. In 1640, a range of fine crow-stepped buildings were added to the N side of the courtyard, fronting the Cowgate. This block was demolished circa 1940. In 1801 the Argyle Brewery acquired the whole of the Tailors' property with the exception of one building alongside the Hall which the Incorporation retained. The draft of the National Covenant was approved in the Hall on 17th February 1638. The group of adjoining buildings were converted for use as a brewery circa 1925 and then again to function as a hotel. It is currently operating as a bar and nightclub.
by Samuel Musungayi.
Captured with a Canon AE-1 [+ Canon FD 50mm f1.4 S.S.C.] and a roll of Kodak ColorPlus 200.
CanoScan 8800F.
In the exhibition The Human Insect: Antenna Architectures 1887-2017 architecture theorist Mark Wigley explores 130 years of antenna architecture, in which architects refused to yield and engaged with this thinnest, least visible part of a building that actually has the greatest effect on architecture – the disobedient architecture behind the architecture. The exhibition links insects, which have antennae with which they negotiate the world and each other, to modern humans, who since the invention of the radio antenna at the end of the nineteenth century have actually become insects themselves. We now have feelers that are an integral part of our body and brain – something that, according to Wigley, we have yet to fully come to terms with.
Antennas are in the smartphones in every pocket, they are in every room, building, street, vehicle, fish, bird, drone and product in the supermarket. We swim in a completely interconnected ecology of antennas, from the depths of our intestinal tracts to interstellar space. What has happened to architecture as a result? Antennas destabilize architecture. They redesign it. Figuratively speaking an antenna can dwarf any building to which it is attached, providing levels of communication and shelter far beyond the architect’s most ambitious imagination. On the other hand, an antenna can supercharge the most modest building. A humble shed can be launched into interplanetary exchanges with the addition of a thin wire connecting the building to an invisible world of signals.
The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
The Kerala Backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways, and sometimes compared to the American Bayou. In the midst of this landscape there are a number of towns and cities, which serve as the starting and end points of backwater cruises. National Waterway No. 3 from Kollam to Kottapuram, covers a distance of 205 km and runs almost parallel to the coast line of southern Kerala facilitating both cargo movement and backwater tourism.
The backwaters have a unique ecosystem - freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea. In certain areas, such as the Vembanad Kayal, where a barrage has been built near Kumarakom, salt water from the sea is prevented from entering the deep inside, keeping the fresh water intact. Such fresh water is extensively used for irrigation purposes.
Many unique species of aquatic life including crabs, frogs and mudskippers, water birds such as terns, kingfishers, darters and cormorants, and animals such as otters and turtles live in and alongside the backwaters. Palm trees, pandanus shrubs, various leafy plants and bushes grow alongside the backwaters, providing a green hue to the surrounding landscape.
Vembanad Kayal is the largest of the lakes, covering an area of 200 km², and bordered by Alappuzha (Alleppey), Kottayam, and Ernakulam districts. The port of Kochi (Cochin) is located at the lake's outlet to the Arabian Sea. Alleppey, "Venice of the East", has a large network of canals that meander through the town. Vembanad is India’s longest lake.
HOUSE BOATS
The kettuvallams (Kerala houseboats) in the backwaters are one of the prominent tourist attractions in Kerala. More than 2000 kettuvallams ply the backwaters, 120 of them in Alappuzha. Kerala government has classified the tourist houseboats as Platinum, Gold and silver.
The kettuvallams were traditionally used as grain barges, to transport the rice harvested in the fertile fields alongside the backwaters. Thatched roof covers over wooden hulls, 30 m in length, provided protection from the elements. At some point in time the boats were used as living quarters by the royalty. Converted to accommodate tourists, the houseboats have become floating cottages having a sleeping area, with western-style toilets, a dining area and a sit out on the deck. Most tourists spend the night on a house boat. Food is cooked on board by the accompanying staff – mostly having a flavour of Kerala. The houseboats are of various patterns and can be hired as per the size of the family or visiting group. The living-dining room is usually open on at least three sides providing a grand view of the surroundings, including other boats, throughout the day when it is on the move. It is brought to a standstill at times of taking food and at night. After sunset, the boat crew provide burning coils to drive away mosquitoes. Ketuvallams are motorised but generally proceed at a slow speed for smooth travel. All ketuvallams have a generator and most bedrooms are air-conditioned. At times, as per demand of customers, electricity is switched off and lanterns are provided to create a rural setting.
While many ketuvalloms take tourists from a particular point and bring them back to around the same point next morning there are some specific cruises mostly in the Alappuzha area, such as the one night cruise from Alappuzha to Thotapally via Punnamada Lake two nights cruise from Alappuzha to Alumkavadi,[8] one night cruise from Alappuzha to Kidangara, and one night cruise from Alappuzha to Mankotta. There are numerous such cruises.
Beypore, located 10 km south of Kozhikode at the mouth of the Chaliyar River, is a famous fishing harbour, port and boat building centre. Beypore has a 1,500 year-tradition of boatbuilding. The skill of the local shipwrights and boat builders are widely sought after. There is a houseboat-building yard at Alumkadavu, in Ashtamudi Kayal near Kollam.
FERRY SERVICES
Regular ferry services connect most locations on both banks of the backwaters. The Kerala State Water Transport Department operates ferries for passengers as well as tourists. It is the cheapest mode of transport through the backwaters.
ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE
Connected by artificial canals, the backwaters form an economical means of transport, and a large local trade is carried on by inland navigation. Fishing, along with fish curing is an important industry.
Kerala backwaters have been used for centuries by the local people for transportation, fishing and agriculture. It has supported the efforts of the local people to earn a livelihood. In more recent times, agricultural efforts have been strengthened with reclamation of some backwater lands for rice growing, particularly in the Kuttanad area. Boat making has been a traditional craft, so has been the coir industry.
Kuttanad is crisscrossed with waterways that run alongside extensive paddy fields, as well as fields of cassava, banana and yam. A unique feature of Kuttanad is that many of these fields are below sea level and are surrounded by earthen embankments. The crops are grown on the low-lying ground and irrigated with fresh water from canal and waterways connected to Vembanad lake. The area is similar to the dikes of the Netherlands where land has been reclaimed from the sea and crops are grown.
WIKIPEDIA
This custom-fit dress is composed of more than 3,000 unique interconnected parts which were 3D printed as a single folded piece. While each component is rigid, in aggregate, they behave as a continuous fabric allowing the dress to flexibly conform and fluidly flow in response to body movement. Unlike traditional fabric, this textile is not uniform; it varies in rigidity, drape, flex, porosity and pattern through space. The entire piece is customizable, from fit and style to flexibility and pattern, with the Kinematics Cloth app for clothing design.
3,212 panels connected by 4,709 hinges
3D-printed nylon by SLS
printed by Shapeways NY
sponsored by Autodesk
Palace Gardens under Prague Castle (Palácové zahrady pod Pražským hradem)
This complex of interconnected historical gardens (Ledeburg, Small and Large Palffy, Kolovrat and Small Fürstenberg Garden) is situated on the southern slopes below Prague Castle. All of these palatial terrace gardens have a rich architectural decoration, decorative staircases, balustrades, scenic terraces, garden-houses and pavilions carefully integrated into the vegetation to create a picturesque whole. Concerts and social events are often held here.
The Southern slopes under the Prague Castle premises above Valdštejnská Street are the location of terrace Baroque gardens established in place of vineyards or Renaissance gardens by the spectacular noble palaces. In the direction from the square Valdštejnské náměstí towards Klárov, there are the following gardens: Ledeburg Garden, Lesser and Greater Pálffy Gardens, Kolowrat Garden, Lesser and Greater Fürstenberg Gardens. All the gardens have been restored and newly replanted. The Langweil’s model of Prague from 1826 - 1836 (today situated in the Museum of the Capital City of Prague) served as a very good model for the restoration of the gardens, as it documented their appearance most completely. All the palace terrace gardens have rich architectural decorations, decorative staircases, balustrades, observation terraces, gloriettes and pavilions composed into picturesque units together with the vegetation. During the summer seasons, they are opened for public in their representative state. Concerts and different social events are held in these gardens.
Ledeburg Garden
is located behind the Ledeburg Palace, house No. 162, and spreads on 0.18 hectares, 205 - 230 m high above sea level. It is also called the Trautmannsdorf Garden, after its founders, Marie and Leopold Trautmannsdorf. The garden was established in 1697 during a reconstruction of the palace carried out by Giovanni Santini Aichl or Giovanni Battista Alliprandi. In 1787 it was acquired by the Kolowrats, and it was modified in Baroque style by Ignác Jan Palliardi.
The garden is divided into two parts. The lower part is situated on a plane, spreading as wide as the palace, and the upper part has half the width and the slant terrain has been modified into five terraces, permeated via an extended steep staircase, terminated via a small octagonal pavilion - a gloriette, built in 1787 at the time of Josef Kolowrat. There is a sala terrena in the lower, parterre part of the garden at the Western front, which used to be decorated by wall paintings. Today, the sala terrena serves the purposes of a concert venue. On the opposite Eastern side, there is a scenery wall with a double staircase and a fountain with a statue of Hercules fighting a several-headed hydra (probably a copy of the original sculpture from the first quarter of the 18th century). There is another fountain in the central part of the green parterre area. The garden is decorated with a female act named Fertility (Plodnost) by Jan Štursa from 1920. There is a supporting wall between the lower parterre and the terraced part, which was originally decorated with Reiner’s fresco. One sundial has been preserved in the garden. By the supporting walls, there are wooden brackets with grapevine and climbing roses, and further on, there are cut evergreen hems, summer annual flowers, as well as plants in terracotta pots.
In the 1950s, there was a complete reconstruction of the garden according to a project of V. Kříž. From 1977 on, the garden was closed for emergency reasons. The last reconstruction was initiated in 1989. Over the years, several professionals participated in the project documentation regarding the garden’s rehabilitation. Their preparation resulted in a project of architect Karel Císař and his team, and the team of a garden architect Květoslav Vlček. Upon the completion of the constructional, technical, restoring and silvicultural works, the garden was festively opened for public in full glory on the 14th June 1995.
Lesser and Greater Pálffy Gardens
Both the terrace gardens of Baroque origin above the Pálffy Palace in Valdštejnská Street No. 158 were established in place of a Renaissance garden of Italian type after Jan Josef of Valdštejn united and re-built two burgess houses with gardens into a palace in 1712 - 1720. After 1731, the property was owned by the Fürstenbergs. The terrace gardens were established in 1751 by Marie Anna of Fürstenberg; we do not know the authors of the project. In 1881, the palace and the gardens were purchased by Eduard Pálffy of Erdöd, hence the name of the gardens. Both the gardens underwent significant reconstruction in the 1950s, but later they had to be modified and relieved of some unsuitable elements.
Lesser Pálffy Garden (0.07 ha) rises up above the former service wing of the palace. It was extensively rehabilitated in the years 1988 - 95 according to the project of architect Josef Lešetický and ing. Václav Pína. Agricultural restoration was realized by ing. Božena Mackovičová. Seven terrace levels of the garden are interconnected via a staircase. At the level of the lowest and the highest terraces, there is an interconnection with the neighbouring gardens - Ledeburg and Greater Pálffy Gardens. The garden has a utility character; the terraces are planted with pear-trees, apple-trees and sour cherry-trees. Grapevine climbs upon the upper supporting wall. Behind the steep staircase in the upper part, there is a small garden with medicinal plants. The Lesser Pálffy Garden was festively opened together with the Ledeburg Garden on the 14th June 1995.
Greater Pálffy Garden spreads in 8 height levels, interconnected in an axis of staircases, alternatively tunnelled and open. In the middle of the lowest terrace, there is a Baroque portal with round pool decorated with a statue of a blowing Triton. On the second terrace, there is a sundial within a Baroque portal. Underneath the clock, there is an inscription on a band: Claret in orbe dies, ac teatras, hora pete umbras - let a clear day in the world scare the gloomy shadows away. Red letters of the inscription, read as Roman numerals, give the year 1751.
There used to be a skittle alley in the garden. As Josef Dobrovský or František Palacký mention, it was a popular place for walks. In place of the original connection with the premises of Prague Castle, there is an oval marble desk, which reads that rehabilitation of the palace gardens was realized with a contribution of the Prague Heritage Fund, under the patronage of President Václav Havel and His Royal Highness Prince Charles. It was in the years 1995 - 1997 according to a project of Václav Girsa and Miloslav Hanzl; the garden modifications were carried out by Irena Bartošová. Greater Pálffy garden was festively opened on the 9th September 1997, and it was added to the observation round of the Ledeburg and the Lesser Pálffy Gardens.
Kolowrat Garden spreads on a steep hill behind the Kolowrat Palace No. 154 on an area of 0.07 hectares. It was established on the bailey of the former medieval ramparts, strengthened by supporting walls, as a terrace with fruit trees. The axis is formed by a narrow, straight staircase connecting seven terraces. In the Eastern part, there is a Baroque fountain with a gargoyle head. The garden is planted with medlars, pear-trees and apricot-trees. The garden was opened for public on the 30th August 2000, following rehabilitation according to projects of architect Václav Jirsa and Miloslav Hanzl, and silvicultural arrangements realized by architect Irena Bartošová.
Lesser Fürstenberg Garden (also the Lesser Černín Garden or the Černín Terraces) used to be a part of the lesser Fürstenberg, former Černín House, No. 155. In the mid-18th century, there used to be a Baroque terrace garden of an Italian type. When it became the property of countess Marie Barbora of Černín, born Schaffgotsche, the house went through an extensive reconstruction carried out by Ignác Jan Palliardi in the years 1784 - 88, which gave the house its current appearance, and at the same time, the architect rebuilt an older Baroque garden into an impressive Rococo terrace garden. It takes up a narrow, but long strip of the slope on the castle hill. The axis has a form of an formidable staircase leading from the gloriette to the observation pavilion, intersected by supporting walls, terraces and balustrades. The gloriette on the ground level, originally containing a bath as well, is painted with grisaille motives with a central genre painting named Swings in the nature (Houpačky v přírodě) and with allegoric paintings of four seasons in the year (perhaps by Ignác František Platzer). There are symmetrically spread orangeries on the second terrace. The staircase is terminated under the Castle’s enclosure wall by a three-piece sala terrena, an observation terrace with a loggia and with plastic stucco articulation, the front of which contains the coats of arms of the Černín and the Schaffgotsch Families. The balustrade is decorated with putti and decorative vases. The staircase leads from here to the observation pavilion with a cylindrical tower, in which Countess of Černín had her bathroom. The last landing of the staircase by the tower allows for access into the Prague Castle Southern Gardens. The garden is characteristic for its climbing roses.
Despite the relatively small extent of the garden, the combination of architectural, sculptural and painting elements with the vegetation on the terraces and the exotic plants in the orangeries provides the best possible effectiveness for the visitors. It is specifically the location under the Castle with a unique view of the town what contributes to the garden’s excellence. In 1997 - 2000, the garden was completely rehabilitated according to the project of architect Václav Jirsa and Miloslav Hanzl, with the silvicultural modifications realized by architect Irena Bartošová. The garden has been accessible for public since the 30th August 2000.
Greater Fürstenberg Garden is situated by the Fürstenberg Palace (Palace of Berka of Dubá, Netolický Palace). It was established by an unknown architect in place of the former vineyards in the 1st half of the 18th century. It consists of two parts - lower plane and rear terraces, intersected via a staircase terminated by a triaxial summer house from the mid-18th century. Modifications were made in 1790 by I. G. Palliardi, and at this time, the fountain with Neptune was founded. In 1822, the garden together with the adjoining palace was purchased by the Fürstenberg Family, and around 1860 they had architect Josef Leibl transforming it into an English park. At the same time, the lower part of the garden was also arranged, in place of the former dumping place, and a fountain was installed here with a sculpture of a boy playing with a stork. The lower plane went through a reconstruction in the 20th century, which was related to the transformation for the Polish Embassy, and the modern modifications were rather of a maintenance character. The upper terraces dilapidated due to lack of care. It was only renewed during reconstruction in the years 2006 - 2008.
The garden spreads on the surface area of 1.55 hectares, it is 130 m wide and the overall height of the ten terraces from the bottom plane amounts to 35 m. It was planted with over 3,500 flowers, 8,500 woody plants, and 2,200 roses. The newly installed lighting allows for evening visits.
www.prague.eu/en/object/places/497/palace-gardens-under-p...
Photo Credit: Sandeep Sharma and Trishna Dutta, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
As economic expansion and development fragments the forest landscape of central India, the species that rely on that habitat—including endangered tigers and leopards—face dwindling populations and increased competition for food and resources. Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists analyzed the genes of these great cats in the Satpura-Maikal landscape—a 15,000 km2 area composed of four interconnected reserves: Kanha, Satpura, Melghat and Pench. From April-June 2009 and Nov. 2009-May 2010, they collected scat (fecal matter) and hair samples for DNA analysis. This data, combined with India’s forest ecology history, enabled SCBI scientists to construct a definitive picture of how habitat loss affects the genetic diversity and gene flow of cat populations. Published in Evolutionary Applications and Proceedings of the Royal Society B, their research demonstrates that an intact forest corridor is vital for maintaining gene flow in these great cats.
Human activity in and around the Satpura-Maikal forest has dramatically changed the landscape over the course of 300 years. From 1700 C.E. to 2000 C.E., the habitat underwent a 25-fold increase in urbanization. Human population increased ten-fold, and anthropogenic activities resulted in the clearing of 78 percent of the forest, leaving just 32 percent of viable habitat for leopards and tigers. The reduced and fragmented landscape makes it difficult for these solitary animals to safely move between protected reserved in search of mates and territory.
SCBI scientists collected 1,411 scat samples, 66 hair samples and four claw samples and identified 217 leopards and 273 tigers in the same region. By extracting and analyzing genetic material, scientists found that leopard gene flow between the four protected areas in central India is much lower today than it has been in the past. The greatest decline of genetic diversity occurred between Melghat and Pench, the two most fragmented reserves. Reserves connected by forest corridors, however, has a higher rate of gene flow, suggesting that habitat connectivity directly affects the ability of leopards to find an unrelated mate.
Scientists found similar results for tigers. Three of the reserve pairs with poor forest connectivity—Kanha-Satpura, Pench-Melghat and Kanha-Melghat—showed a 47 to 70 percent reduction in gene flow when compared to historic levels. The most dramatic decrease in gene flow occurred between Kanha and Satpura—the pair of reserves with the least functional forest corridors.
As part of these studies, scientists reconstructed the demographic history of tigers in the Satpura-Maikal landscape. Using Bayesian and coalescent-based analyses, scientists identified three points when tiger populations clearly diverged. They found that tigers first entered India around 10,000 years ago. Their habitat fragmented 700 years ago as agricultural expansion and other human activities took place. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the third divergence event occurred as the British Empire expanded its territory and cleared the central Indian forests at an accelerated rate. After this development, the tiger population was drastically reduced and was further isolated.
As urbanization continues to infringe upon the natural Satpura-Maikal landscape, forest corridors play an increasingly important role in ensuring the survival of leopard and tiger populations. This research will be highly relevant to policy makers in central India as deforestation, road widening and coal mining continue to threaten tiger and leopard habitat. Both studies call for the protection of central India’s forest corridors, which are vital to maintaining genetic diversity in the populations by maintaining gene flow between protected areas. For more information on the role these corridors play in the conservation of big cat species, visit the Zoo’s website.
# # #
The 34th Desktop created for “The E82 Project”
Symbolizing the dynamic and interconnected relationship between the ocean, sky, and our mother star, The Living Seas Entry Mural, designed by Tim Delaney, was a modern masterpiece of multi-dimensional design. With its colorful currents and dramatic seascape refracting the sunlight, the mural not only emphases the pavilion’s theme but also accurately depicts the ratio of a planet that should have been named Sea not Earth as its surface is mostly covered by water.
Designer’s Note:
Just as with Energy’s Mural, I was dealing with the same problem of a very wide subject matter on a comparatively narrow screen. This time it was determined to have the focal point occupy more than 50% of the desktop image. In order to accomplish this I wanted to (vertically) extend the mural well beyond the confines of the original pavilion entry. Also, I had to concede that the mural could not be exhibited fully and approximately 30% of its length would have to be cropped.
Several test later, and to spite its uniquely multi-layered presentation, the desktop background was completely lacking in depth. Fast-forward a few months, and I finally hit upon a solution of multiple “backlit” Art Deco-influenced layers that would both increase depth and would maintain focus on Tim’s original masterpiece.
Point of Interest:
The waveforms below the mural are exact replicas of wavy railings that originally encircled the pavilion’s marquee.
For More Information
Please visit “E82 – The Epcot Legacy”
Good afternoon, everyone. President Gee, thank you for your warm welcome and your outstanding leadership. The Ohio State University is mighty lucky to have you — again. If anyone out there doubts that public education can meet today’s challenges, just come to the home of the Buckeyes.
I’m honored to be part of your 400th commencement—the last class to hear those bells. I’m also excited because your invitation allows me to bring back to campus, for the first time since his graduation, a proud Buckeye who’s very special to me. That’s because I trust him every day with my life. I’m talking about the guy behind me, with the earpiece, Matt, Class of ‘93, the head of my security detail. Now that I’ve blown his cover…he’s going to be pretty mad at me.
I also rely everyday on another great buckeye, Josh Black, class of 1998. Josh is the author of the toughest sanctions regimes the UN has ever adopted. He is truly a national treasure.
You know, I can’t help but notice: this is a slightly larger crowd than I usually get at the United Nations Security Council. Just the graduates outnumber me 10,000 to one. This is really great. I get to hear The Best Damn Band in the Land. I get to see the stadium that will soon witness the greatness of Urban Meyer. And, someone might even get me to talk a little trash about that team from that state up north.
Ok, let’s get down to business. Job One is to congratulate the Class of 2012! Give it up for our graduates. I hope you’re as proud of yourselves as we are of you. But let’s be clear: today is officially the last day of your lives when it’s OK to be caught in a robe after noon.
As a mom, I have to insist on another huge cheer — for the parents and the families that helped you get here today. You all have raised these amazing graduates, inspired them, supported them—and, when needed, given them a swift kick in the butt. This is your day too.
Now, I want to talk about the Buckeye spirit and the American spirit—about what makes America great and what will keep America great.
And the short answer is: you.
In today’s economy, nothing predicts individual success more than a good education. And those who have a higher education also have a higher obligation—to give back and help keep America strong.
I know many of you worry about what’s next. But your Ohio State degree is the best tool you have to live the American dream—to work hard, raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and pass on more opportunity to the next generation.
That’s how it happened for my family and me.
My late father was a proud man— one of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, an economics professor, a senior official at the Treasury Department and the World Bank, and ultimately, a Governor of the Federal Reserve System. That all came despite ferocious odds. You see, he was born in 1919 in segregated South Carolina. But when he was a teenager, he got to attend the City College of New York—a great public institution like this one. He graduated, got his MBA and his doctorate, and then worked with passion and patriotism to serve his country and the world.
My mother’s parents emigrated from Jamaica to Maine in 1912. My grandfather was a janitor, but he still managed to send four sons to Bowdoin College and my mother to Radcliffe, where she became student government president. And Mom has devoted her career to making higher education more accessible to all.
So when I think about education, I don’t just think about my kids. I think about my parents as well. Education is the force that let them compete fair and square. Their lives remind me that, while America hasn’t always lived up to the promise of equality, when we demand it, when we work for it, America’s founding values have a way of always winning out.
And we citizens, all of us, owe a powerful debt to our great nation that doesn’t limit our horizons to the accidental circumstances of our birth.
Ohio State is more than a top academic university. It’s a reminder of what is truly exceptional about America. This year we mark the 150th anniversary of the land-grant system — powerful proof that American innovation drives American greatness, starting in our very heartland.
To compete in the 21st century, we need universities like Ohio State—schools that offer a widely accessible world-class education.
And, to compete in the 21st century, we need graduates like you—young people fired up and ready to lead in a world of furious change.
We face serious challenges, from climate change to nuclear proliferation to economic competition from rising powers like China, Brazil and India. I know some folks argue that America just can’t keep up—that the strengths we showed in the 20th century won’t cut it in the 21st.
But don’t you dare believe it. Don't believe it.
As President Obama recently said, “If we rise to this moment in history, if we meet our responsibilities, then—just like the 20th century—the 21st century will be another great American Century.”
I believe that fiercely. I always bet on America. That’s why I’m in public service—because America will always be the indispensable nation in world affairs, and because there is nothing we cannot achieve when we come together in common purpose.
Just look at the challenges we’ve tackled while you’ve been in school. Because America led, no one will ever again be threatened by Osama bin Laden. Americans are no longer fighting in Iraq. Al-Qaeda is on its way to defeat, and our amazing troops are responsibly ending the war in Afghanistan. Our alliances are stronger than ever. The world is ratcheting up the pressure on Iran and North Korea for defying their international obligations. And when I visited Libya last year, people were not burning American flags—they were waving them.
We are in the early years of the next great American century. That's because we still have the resilience that has always carried us through tough economic times; because we still have a military without equal in human history; because we still have partnerships and institutions that let us share the burdens of global security; because we still have the dynamism that created the airplane and the iPad; because we have the can-do spirit that stormed the beaches at Normandy and stamped footprints on the moon; and because we still hold self-evident the great truths that inspire people from Syria to South Sudan.
But we can’t have a new American century without new American leaders. And that, Class of 2012, is where you come in.
Just as the world needs America to lead, America needs you to lead.
To compete in a knowledge-based global economy, we need the world’s best-educated workforce. We need innovators who’ll create not just new jobs but new industries, such as through OSU’s Technology Commercialization Office. We need doctors and scientists who’ll defeat diseases and save our warming planet. We need mathematicians and engineers who’ll invent magical new technologies. And we need outstanding teachers who’ll inspire the next generation.
This is a huge day for you. But it’s also about more than you. It’s about our leadership in the world, which rests on your leadership here at home. It’s about honing your skills, raising your game, and opening your heart to service. That’s why Ohio State’s motto is so powerful: Disciplina in civitatem—education for citizenship.
We live in an interconnected age—an era where no dictator should sleep easy, a time where ideas cross the globe with the tap of a screen. Some of us live in comfort, peace, and freedom; but billions more thrash against tyranny, strife, and despair. So we need your leadership to help reduce these dangerous divides, to defend human rights, and bring hope to the broken places of the world.
But we also need you to renew and rebuild here at home. So ask yourselves: what kind of America do you want to live in when your own kids are graduating from college?
Is it an America where men and women earn the same pay for the same day’s work? An America where whom you love and choose to marry is no longer fodder for political debate? An America where chronic illness can’t lead to chronic poverty? An America where college is accessible and affordable for all? An America where the energy we consume no longer threatens our climate? An America with more good jobs and an economy that remains the world’s largest?
Whatever your vision, lead in making it real. As President Obama has said, “Ours is a story of optimism and achievement and constant striving that is unique upon this Earth. And that is why the rest of the world looks to us to lead.” From Tunisia to Tahrir Square, young people aren’t just leading revolutions; they’re revolutionizing leadership. And so can you.
It’s been a little while since I left college. Along the way, I’ve learned 10 lessons that have served me well. Allow me to conclude by sharing them with you.
Number one, always put family first. They are your strength and foundation.
Second, always challenge yourself. Get out of your comfort zone. You’re too young to take the easy road.
Third, go travel—get dust in your hair. Take advantage of OSU’s Global Gateways.
Fourth, learn more languages—to see the world through other's eyes.
Fifth, focus on what stirs your soul. It’s hard to excel at anything that you don’t truly love.
Sixth, be fearless. It’s difficult to make progress without ruffling a few feathers.
Seventh, don’t be afraid to go down fighting if you’re fighting a righteous battle.
Eighth, very important, never want something so badly that you do something you don’t believe in to get it.
Ninth, don’t sweat what other folks may think of you. As Dr. Seuss said, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”
And tenth, be about more than the money. Comfort and economic security, they're good, but they’re not enough. You should be about creating change, not just counting it.
Class of 2012: look around you. One of you may win a Nobel Prize in physics. One may become the editor of a great newspaper. You may be surrounded by CEOs—maybe even a couple of rock stars. You could be sitting next to a future ambassador or an astronaut.
Ohio State graduates have done every single one of those things. So you can go at least as far as they did. You now join the distinguished alumni of The Ohio State University who have contributed immensely to the making of the United States of America.
You will each travel your own path from this place into the next American century. I know that can seem daunting, even lonely. But that's the Ohio State way, and it’s also the American way—always tackling new challenges, always extending the reach of opportunity, always expanding the circle of liberty, always working together to forge a more perfect union.
Class of 2012, when we look at you, we see the future of the country we love. That gives us great faith and even greater hope.
We’re rooting for you. We believe in you. We’re counting on you.
Good luck and Godspeed.
Thank you very much.
###
AS DELIVERED
U.S. Mission to the United Nations
Columbus, OH
June 10, 2012
PRN: 2012/141
Environment, humanity and architecture are not separate entities; they are interconnected and can even interact. In order to reduce car emission, co2 （carbon dioxide）, therefore, a low carbon design is proposed.
This concept relied heavily on building - integrated, green innovation such as rooftop solar panels, and living slopes and greenery. The result is a design that not only borders on positive energy as a self-sufficient structure, but one that moves into a refreshing realm of natural architecture that can clean and replenish the surrounding air. The urban cityscape fulfills its energy needs by harnessing the solar (solar panels) while the cooling is controlled by natural ventilation.
In today’s interconnected world, international experience is key. It is impossible to be at the Madrid Campus and not gain international insight: students have professors and peers from around the world while having the opportunity to be immersed in the Spanish language and culture and study in the American educational system. Study one of the six undergraduate or two graduate degree programs offered in their entirety in Madrid, spend a semester or two as a study abroad student or begin one of the 85 undergraduate degree programs in Madrid, which can be finished on the St. Louis Campus.
"Lakes of Ounianga (Chad): The site includes 18 interconnected lakes in the hyper arid Ennedi region of the Sahara Desert covering an area of 62,808 hectares. It constitutes an exceptional natural landscape of great beauty with striking colours and shapes. The saline, hyper saline and freshwater lakes are supplied by groundwater and are found in two groups 40 kilometres apart. Ounianga Kebir comprises four lakes the largest of which, Yoan, covers an area of 358 hectares and is 27 metres deep. Its highly saline waters only sustain algae and some microorganisms. The second group, Ounianga Serir, comprises 14 lakes separated by sand dunes. Floating reeds cover almost half the surface of these lakes reducing evaporation. At 436 hectares, Lake Teli has the largest surface area but is less than ten metres deep. With their high quality freshwater, some of these lakes are home to aquatic fauna, particularly fish." UNESCO Website
"All life is inflorescent in that it is interconnected, axial and fleeting. From egg to adult, from prey to predator, from living to embalmed, there is a aeneas to existence that is at once breathtaking and banal."
Constructed of prefabricated wood elements and a series of interconnected fiberglass pods, the Education Pavilion at Lincoln Park Zoo forms a sheltering arch for open-air classes and other activities. It was designed by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects and completed in 2010.
Original Caption: Modular solar-heated house built near Corrales, New Mexico, features interconnected units of aluminum with a urethane foam core of insulation. Adobe softens the interior providing an esthetics environment, 04/1974
U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 412-DA-12858
Photographer: Norton, Boyd
Subjects:
Environmental protection
Natural resources
Pollution
Albuquerque (New Mexico, United States) inhabited place
Persistent URL: research.archives.gov/description/555310
Repository: Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001.
For information about ordering reproductions of photographs held by the Still Picture Unit, visit: www.archives.gov/research/order/still-pictures.html
Reproductions may be ordered via an independent vendor. NARA maintains a list of vendors at www.archives.gov/research/order/vendors-photos-maps-dc.html
Access Restrictions: Unrestricted
Use Restrictions: Unrestricted
The building is also interconnected with various nearby buildings by two sky-bridges. This is actually my first model to include such public amenities.
The Tummel hydro-electric power scheme is an interconnected network of dams, power stations, aqueducts and electric power transmission in the Grampian Mountains of Scotland. Roughly bounded by Dalwhinnie in the north, Rannoch Moor in the west and Pitlochry in the east it comprises a water catchment area of around 1,800 square kilometres (690 square miles) and primary water storage at Loch Ericht, Loch Errochty, Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel, in Perth and Kinross. Water, depending on where it originates and the path it takes, may pass through as many as five of the schemes nine power stations as it progresses from north-west to south-east. The scheme was constructed in the 1940s and 50s incorporating some earlier sites. It is managed by SSE plc.
Duke Power is interconnected with Doug Jernigan Farms, a three-generation family farm and employer who, a few months earlier, refinanced a first of it’s kind, in the nation, swine-turkey waste to renewable energy system (RES), with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) loan guarantee in Mt. Olive, NC, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015.
Typical systems separate methane gas for energy, solids are disposed or repurposed and liquids are cleaned. This new system addition takes the watery manure effluent to a new and as Mr. Jernigan say’s “prolific profit” producing state through savings and sales. “There is an opportunity for the farm to make money doing a good thing for the environment.”
The system handles about 75,000 gallons of swine and turkey waste effluent each day. Piped to a series of tanks, and mechanical equipment that separates solids, and liquids. The current treatment facility biologically removes ammonia nitrogen with bacteria adapted to high-strength wastewater; removes phosphorus via alkali precipitation; and reduction emissions of odorant compounds, ammonia, pathogens, and heavy metals to the environment. The water is cleaned for reuse in the swine and turkey operations that wash more manure into the cycle of the system.
The new methane reactors (under the framework of what will be a C-span structure) use an endothermic gasifier that heats the waste solids to very high temperatures to the point that they release gases. The clean methane gas will fuel an engine that turns a 300KW electrical generator producing electricity; ethanol will help fuel farm equipment, and resulting potash solids can be used or sold for agricultural fertilizer. Excess amounts of electricity, that the farms cannot use, will be sold and transmitted to the local energy company, for use by residents and businesses; renewable energy credits (REC) are sold to a different energy company.
With a system that eliminates all ammonia and other odor creating compounds, Mr. Jernigan says, “What I’m doing is good for the environment; it’s good for the farm in the respect that you’re getting rid of waste that you’re creating in a high-tech way. There’s no footprint. It’s just gone.”
Doug and Aileen are lifelong farmers and they have three grown children that work in the farm operation. Their farm currently operates a 21,600 finishing farm operation, an eight house turkey operation, a 250 head cow /calf operation. The farm also consists of 2,400 acres of row crop production (cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat).
Doug Jernigan’s grandfather started farming here in 1941, and he continues the tradition with his business that began in 1974.
In talking about the greater potential of this technology and what others should consider, Jernigan says, “I see it as a win-win thing.”
For more information about USDA, RD and REAP please see: www.usda.gov, www.rd.usda.gov, and www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-energy-america-pr...
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung
*The treatment system (without the methane reactor) was documented to remove, on a mass basis, approximately 99% of total suspended solids, 98% of COD, 99% of TKN, 100% ammonia, 100% odor compounds, 92% phosphorus, 95% copper, and 97% zinc from the flushed manure. Fecal coliform reductions were measured to be 99.98%
Kamera: Nikon F3 (1989)
Linse: Nikkor-S Auto 50mm f1.4 (1970)
Film: Kodak 5222 @ ISO 1600
Kjemi: Xtol (stock / 25 min. @ 20°C)
Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC: Applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine (Publ. 20 May 2024)
TRANSCRIPT:
Today I am filing applications for warrants of arrest before Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court in the Situation in the State of Palestine.
These applications are the outcome of independent investigations conducted by my office under the direction of the two principal trial lawyers standing behind me today: Brenda J Hollis, who, in addition to leading our work in the situation in Ukraine for the past couple of years, has, since January, also taken over leadership of the Palestine investigation.
And Andrew Cayley (b. 1964), King's Council, who more recently joined the office and will be leading our work on the situation in the State of Palestine going forward.
Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (Deif), Ismail Haniyeh
On the basis of evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe that Yahya SINWAR (b. 1962) (Head of the Islamic Resistance Movement (“Hamas”) in the Gaza Strip), Mohammed Diab Ibrahim AL-MASRI (b. 1965), more commonly known as DEIF (Commander-in-Chief of the military wing of Hamas, known as the Al-Qassam Brigades), and Ismail HANIYEH (b. 1962) (Head of Hamas Political Bureau) bear criminal responsibility for the following war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Israel and the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 7 October 2023:
* Extermination as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(b) of the Rome Statute;
* Murder as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(a), and as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
* Taking hostages as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(iii);
* Rape and other acts of sexual violence as crimes against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(g), and also as war crimes pursuant to article 8(2)(e)(vi) in the context of captivity;
* Torture as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(f), and also as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i), in the context of captivity;
* Other inhumane acts as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(l)(k), in the context of captivity;
* Cruel treatment as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i), in the context of captivity; and
* Outrages upon personal dignity as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(ii), in the context of captivity.
My Office submits that the war crimes alleged in these applications were committed in the context of an international armed conflict between Israel and Palestine, and a non-international armed conflict between Israel and Hamas running in parallel. We submit that the crimes against humanity charged were part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Israel by Hamas and other armed groups pursuant to organisational policies. Some of these crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day.
My Office submits there are reasonable grounds to believe that SINWAR, DEIF and HANIYEH are criminally responsible for the killing of hundreds of Israeli civilians in attacks perpetrated by Hamas (in particular its military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades) and other armed groups on 7 October 2023 and the taking of at least 245 hostages. As part of our investigations, my Office has interviewed victims and survivors, including former hostages and eyewitnesses from six major attack locations: Kfar Aza; Holit; the location of the Supernova Music Festival; Be’eri; Nir Oz; and Nahal Oz. The investigation also relies on evidence such as CCTV footage, authenticated audio, photo and video material, statements by Hamas members including the alleged perpetrators named above, and expert evidence.
It is the view of my Office that these individuals planned and instigated the commission of crimes on 7 October 2023, and have through their own actions, including personal visits to hostages shortly after their kidnapping, acknowledged their responsibility for those crimes. We submit that these crimes could not have been committed without their actions. They are charged both as co-perpetrators and as superiors pursuant to Articles 25 and 28 of the Rome Statute.
During my own visit to Kibbutz Be’eri and Kibbutz Kfar Aza, as well as to the site of Supernova Music Festival in Re’im, I saw the devastating scenes of these attacks and the profound impact of the unconscionable crimes charged in the applications filed today. Speaking with survivors, I heard how the love within a family, the deepest bonds between a parent and a child, were contorted to inflict unfathomable pain through calculated cruelty and extreme callousness. These acts demand accountability.
My Office also submits there are reasonable grounds to believe that hostages taken from Israel have been kept in inhumane conditions, and that some have been subject to sexual violence, including rape, while being held in captivity. We have reached that conclusion based on medical records, contemporaneous video and documentary evidence, and interviews with victims and survivors. My Office also continues to investigate reports of sexual violence committed on 7 October.
I wish to express my gratitude to the survivors, and the families of victims of the 7 October attacks, for their courage in coming forward to provide their accounts to my Office. We remain focused on further deepening our investigations of all crimes committed as part of these attacks and will continue to work with all partners to ensure that justice is delivered.
I again reiterate my call for the immediate release of all hostages taken from Israel and for their safe return to their families. This is a fundamental requirement of international humanitarian law.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant
On the basis of evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe that Benjamin NETANYAHU (b. 1949), the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav GALLANT (b. 1958), the Minister of Defence of Israel, bear criminal responsibility for the following war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 8 October 2023:
* Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Statute;
* Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health contrary to article 8(2)(a)(iii), or cruel treatment as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
* Wilful killing contrary to article 8(2)(a)(i), or Murder as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
* Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime contrary to articles 8(2)(b)(i), or 8(2)(e)(i);
* Extermination and/or murder contrary to articles 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(a), including in the context of deaths caused by starvation, as a crime against humanity;
* Persecution as a crime against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(h);
* Other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(k).
My Office submits that the war crimes alleged in these applications were committed in the context of an international armed conflict between Israel and Palestine, and a non-international armed conflict between Israel and Hamas (together with other Palestinian Armed Groups) running in parallel. We submit that the crimes against humanity charged were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population pursuant to State policy. These crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day.
My Office submits that the evidence we have collected, including interviews with survivors and eyewitnesses, authenticated video, photo and audio material, satellite imagery and statements from the alleged perpetrator group, shows that Israel has intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival.
This occurred through the imposition of a total siege over Gaza that involved completely closing the three border crossing points, Rafah, Kerem Shalom and Erez, from 8 October 2023 for extended periods and then by arbitrarily restricting the transfer of essential supplies – including food and medicine – through the border crossings after they were reopened. The siege also included cutting off cross-border water pipelines from Israel to Gaza – Gazans’ principal source of clean water – for a prolonged period beginning 9 October 2023, and cutting off and hindering electricity supplies from at least 8 October 2023 until today. This took place alongside other attacks on civilians, including those queuing for food; obstruction of aid delivery by humanitarian agencies; and attacks on and killing of aid workers, which forced many agencies to cease or limit their operations in Gaza.
My Office submits that these acts were committed as part of a common plan to use starvation as a method of war and other acts of violence against the Gazan civilian population as a means to (i) eliminate Hamas; (ii) secure the return of the hostages which Hamas has abducted, and (iii) collectively punish the civilian population of Gaza, whom they perceived as a threat to Israel.
The effects of the use of starvation as a method of warfare, together with other attacks and collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza are acute, visible and widely known, and have been confirmed by multiple witnesses interviewed by my Office, including local and international medical doctors. They include malnutrition, dehydration, profound suffering and an increasing number of deaths among the Palestinian population, including babies, other children, and women.
Famine is present in some areas of Gaza and is imminent in other areas. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned more than two months ago, “1.1 million people in Gaza are facing catastrophic hunger – the highest number of people ever recorded – anywhere, anytime” as a result of an “entirely manmade disaster”. Today, my Office seeks to charge two of those most responsible, NETANYAHU and GALLANT, both as co-perpetrators and as superiors pursuant to Articles 25 and 28 of the Rome Statute.
Israel, like all States, has a right to take action to defend its population. That right, however, does not absolve Israel or any State of its obligation to comply with international humanitarian law. Notwithstanding any military goals they may have, the means Israel chose to achieve them in Gaza – namely, intentionally causing death, starvation, great suffering, and serious injury to body or health of the civilian population – are criminal.
Since last year, in Ramallah (2 Dec. 2023), in Cairo (30 Oct. 2023), in Israel (3 Dec. 2023) and in Rafah (29 Oct. 2023), I have consistently emphasised that international humanitarian law demands that Israel take urgent action to immediately allow access to humanitarian aid in Gaza at scale. I specifically underlined that starvation as a method of war and the denial of humanitarian relief constitute Rome Statute offences. I could not have been clearer.
As I also repeatedly underlined in my public statements, those who do not comply with the law should not complain later when my Office takes action. That day has come.
In presenting these applications for arrest warrants, my Office is acting pursuant to its mandate under the Rome Statute. On 5 February 2021, Pre-Trial Chamber I decided that the Court can exercise its criminal jurisdiction in the Situation in the State of Palestine and that the territorial scope of this jurisdiction extends to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This mandate is ongoing and includes the escalation of hostilities and violence since 7 October 2023. My Office also has jurisdiction over crimes committed by nationals of States Parties and by the nationals of non-States Parties on the territory of a State Party.
Today’s applications are the outcome of an independent and impartial investigation by my Office. Guided by our obligation to investigate incriminating and exonerating evidence equally, my Office has worked painstakingly to separate claims from facts and to soberly present conclusions based on evidence to the Pre-Trial Chamber.
As an additional safeguard, I have also been grateful for the advice of a panel of experts in international law, an impartial group I convened to support the evidence review and legal analysis in relation to these arrest warrant applications. The Panel is composed of experts of immense standing in international humanitarian law and international criminal law, including Sir Adrian Fulford (b. 1953) PC, former Lord Justice of Appeal and former International Criminal Court Judge; Baroness Helena Kennedy (b. 1950) KC, President of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute; Elizabeth Wilmshurst (b. 1948) CMG KC, former Deputy Legal Adviser at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Danny Friedman KC; and two of my Special Advisers – Amal Clooney (b. 1978) and His Excellency Judge Theodor Meron (b. 1930) CMG. This independent expert analysis has supported and strengthened the applications filed today by my Office. I have also been grateful for the contributions of a number of my other Special Advisers to this review, particularly Adama Dieng (b. 1950) and Professor Kevin Jon Heller (b. 1967).
Today we once again underline that international law and the laws of armed conflict apply to all. No foot soldier, no commander, no civilian leader – no one – can act with impunity. Nothing can justify wilfully depriving human beings, including so many women and children, the basic necessities required for life. Nothing can justify the taking of hostages or the targeting of civilians.
The independent judges of the International Criminal Court are the sole arbiters as to whether the necessary standard for the issuance of warrants of arrest has been met. Should they grant my applications and issue the requested warrants, I will then work closely with the Registrar in all efforts to apprehend the named individuals. I count on all States Parties to the Rome Statute to take these applications and the subsequent judicial decision with the same seriousness they have shown in other Situations, meeting their obligations under the Statute. I also stand ready to work with non-States Parties in our common pursuit of accountability.
It is critical in this moment that my Office and all parts of the Court, including its independent judges, are permitted to conduct their work with full independence and impartiality. I insist that all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence the officials of this Court must cease immediately. My Office will not hesitate to act pursuant to article 70 of the Rome Statute if such conduct continues.
I remain deeply concerned about ongoing allegations and emerging evidence of international crimes occurring in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. Our investigation continues. My Office is advancing multiple and interconnected additional lines of inquiry, including concerning reports of sexual violence during the 7 October attacks, and in relation to the large-scale bombing that has caused and continues to cause so many civilian deaths, injuries, and suffering in Gaza. I encourage those with relevant information to contact my Office and to submit information via OTP Link.
My Office will not hesitate to submit further applications for warrants of arrest if and when we consider that the threshold of a realistic prospect of conviction has been met. I renew my call for all parties in the current conflict to comply with the law now.
I also wish to emphasise that the principle of complementarity, which is at the heart of the Rome Statute, will continue to be assessed by my Office as we take action in relation to the above-listed alleged crimes and alleged perpetrators and move forward with other lines of inquiry. Complementarity, however, requires a deferral to national authorities only when they engage in independent and impartial judicial processes that do not shield suspects and are not a sham. It requires thorough investigations at all levels addressing the policies and actions underlying these applications.
Let us today be clear on one core issue: if we do not demonstrate our willingness to apply the law equally, if it is seen as being applied selectively, we will be creating the conditions for its collapse. In doing so, we will be loosening the remaining bonds that hold us together, the stabilising connections between all communities and individuals, the safety net to which all victims look in times of suffering. This is the true risk we face in this moment.
Now, more than ever, we must collectively demonstrate that international humanitarian law, the foundational baseline for human conduct during conflict, applies to all individuals and applies equally across the situations addressed by my Office and the Court. This is how we will prove, tangibly, that the lives of all human beings have equal value.
For further details on "preliminary examinations" and "situations and cases" before the Court, click here, and here.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor | Contact: OTPNewsDesk@icc-cpi.int
Original Caption: Exterior of a modular solar-heated house built near Corrales, New Mexico, features interconnected units of aluminum with a urethane foam core for insulation. Units are hexagon shaped with polyhedra roofs, 04/1974
U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 412-DA-12861
Photographer: Norton, Boyd
Subjects:
Environmental protection
Natural resources
Pollution
Albuquerque (New Mexico, United States) inhabited place
Persistent URL: research.archives.gov/description/555313
Repository: Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001.
For information about ordering reproductions of photographs held by the Still Picture Unit, visit: www.archives.gov/research/order/still-pictures.html
Reproductions may be ordered via an independent vendor. NARA maintains a list of vendors at www.archives.gov/research/order/vendors-photos-maps-dc.html
Access Restrictions: Unrestricted
Use Restrictions: Unrestricted
Duke Power is interconnected with Doug Jernigan Farms, a three-generation family farm and employer who, a few months earlier, refinanced a first of it’s kind, in the nation, swine-turkey waste to renewable energy system (RES), with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) loan guarantee in Mt. Olive, NC, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015.
Typical systems separate methane gas for energy, solids are disposed or repurposed and liquids are cleaned. This new system addition takes the watery manure effluent to a new and as Mr. Jernigan say’s “prolific profit” producing state through savings and sales. “There is an opportunity for the farm to make money doing a good thing for the environment.”
The system handles about 75,000 gallons of swine and turkey waste effluent each day. Piped to a series of tanks, and mechanical equipment that separates solids, and liquids. The current treatment facility biologically removes ammonia nitrogen with bacteria adapted to high-strength wastewater; removes phosphorus via alkali precipitation; and reduction emissions of odorant compounds, ammonia, pathogens, and heavy metals to the environment. The water is cleaned for reuse in the swine and turkey operations that wash more manure into the cycle of the system.
The new methane reactors (under the framework of what will be a C-span structure) use an endothermic gasifier that heats the waste solids to very high temperatures to the point that they release gases. The clean methane gas will fuel an engine that turns a 300KW electrical generator producing electricity; ethanol will help fuel farm equipment, and resulting potash solids can be used or sold for agricultural fertilizer. Excess amounts of electricity, that the farms cannot use, will be sold and transmitted to the local energy company, for use by residents and businesses; renewable energy credits (REC) are sold to a different energy company.
With a system that eliminates all ammonia and other odor creating compounds, Mr. Jernigan says, “What I’m doing is good for the environment; it’s good for the farm in the respect that you’re getting rid of waste that you’re creating in a high-tech way. There’s no footprint. It’s just gone.”
Doug and Aileen are lifelong farmers and they have three grown children that work in the farm operation. Their farm currently operates a 21,600 finishing farm operation, an eight house turkey operation, a 250 head cow /calf operation. The farm also consists of 2,400 acres of row crop production (cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat).
Doug Jernigan’s grandfather started farming here in 1941, and he continues the tradition with his business that began in 1974.
In talking about the greater potential of this technology and what others should consider, Jernigan says, “I see it as a win-win thing.”
For more information about USDA, RD and REAP please see: www.usda.gov, www.rd.usda.gov, and www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-energy-america-pr...
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung
*The treatment system (without the methane reactor) was documented to remove, on a mass basis, approximately 99% of total suspended solids, 98% of COD, 99% of TKN, 100% ammonia, 100% odor compounds, 92% phosphorus, 95% copper, and 97% zinc from the flushed manure. Fecal coliform reductions were measured to be 99.98%
Part of an old industrial complex with a lot of large brick buildings interconnected with silos and other stuff.
Duke Power is interconnected with Doug Jernigan Farms, a three-generation family farm and employer who, a few months earlier, refinanced a first of it’s kind, in the nation, swine-turkey waste to renewable energy system (RES), with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) loan guarantee in Mt. Olive, NC, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015.
Typical systems separate methane gas for energy, solids are disposed or repurposed and liquids are cleaned. This new system addition takes the watery manure effluent to a new and as Mr. Jernigan say’s “prolific profit” producing state through savings and sales. “There is an opportunity for the farm to make money doing a good thing for the environment.”
The system handles about 75,000 gallons of swine and turkey waste effluent each day. Piped to a series of tanks, and mechanical equipment that separates solids, and liquids. The current treatment facility biologically removes ammonia nitrogen with bacteria adapted to high-strength wastewater; removes phosphorus via alkali precipitation; and reduction emissions of odorant compounds, ammonia, pathogens, and heavy metals to the environment. The water is cleaned for reuse in the swine and turkey operations that wash more manure into the cycle of the system.
The new methane reactors (under the framework of what will be a C-span structure) use an endothermic gasifier that heats the waste solids to very high temperatures to the point that they release gases. The clean methane gas will fuel an engine that turns a 300KW electrical generator producing electricity; ethanol will help fuel farm equipment, and resulting potash solids can be used or sold for agricultural fertilizer. Excess amounts of electricity, that the farms cannot use, will be sold and transmitted to the local energy company, for use by residents and businesses; renewable energy credits (REC) are sold to a different energy company.
With a system that eliminates all ammonia and other odor creating compounds, Mr. Jernigan says, “What I’m doing is good for the environment; it’s good for the farm in the respect that you’re getting rid of waste that you’re creating in a high-tech way. There’s no footprint. It’s just gone.”
Doug and Aileen are lifelong farmers and they have three grown children that work in the farm operation. Their farm currently operates a 21,600 finishing farm operation, an eight house turkey operation, a 250 head cow /calf operation. The farm also consists of 2,400 acres of row crop production (cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat).
Doug Jernigan’s grandfather started farming here in 1941, and he continues the tradition with his business that began in 1974.
In talking about the greater potential of this technology and what others should consider, Jernigan says, “I see it as a win-win thing.”
For more information about USDA, RD and REAP please see: www.usda.gov, www.rd.usda.gov, and www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-energy-america-pr...
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung
*The treatment system (without the methane reactor) was documented to remove, on a mass basis, approximately 99% of total suspended solids, 98% of COD, 99% of TKN, 100% ammonia, 100% odor compounds, 92% phosphorus, 95% copper, and 97% zinc from the flushed manure. Fecal coliform reductions were measured to be 99.98%
Lolita Dark is an Epic
Rock band with roots in Southern California and Japan formed in 2012. Their sound weaves together crunching guitar riffs, progressive bass lines, lush harmonies, and complex melodic structures in songs that reflect both angst and optimism in an increasingly interconnected world of disconnected residents.
2012 年に結成。米国・カリフォルニアを拠点とする日米双方にルーツを持つ個性派ロックバンド。壮大なハーモニーと複雑なメロディのアンサンブルを特徴的な激し いギターやプログレッシブなベースラインに乗せることにより、幻想的で独創性溢れる世界観を生み出している。バンドのフロントマンであるRay は闇と光、怒りと喜び、過去と現在、東洋と西洋など、現世に存在しうる全ての相反する事象や矛盾の「融合」を音楽を通じて表現しているという。
Fronted by Shibuya-born singer/songwriter Rayko, Lolita Dark provides the soundtrack and visuals of a world where light intersects dark, east meets west, and the past overlaps the present, depicting the, seemingly, redundant circles of our lives and universe.
The core of Lolita Dark is formed by singer/ songwriter / guitarist / multi-instrumentalist Rayko (Ray), Bassist Rain Balen, and Drummer Joey Felix who are also members of the Los Angeles rock band "Dig Jelly", and Okinawan vocalist and keyboardist Machiko (May), and guitarist Patrick Cabrera of prog metal band False Empire.
LD はバンドの中核を担うリーダー・Rayを筆頭に、苦楽を共に過ごした地元の音楽仲間であるRain Balen(Bs)、Joey Felix(Dr)、Patrick Cabrera(Gtr).沖縄出身のMay(Keys/Vocal)の移住の後、北海道出身のK−Luを加えた国際的なバンド構成。
Their first album, “Tokyo Status” was released in 2012 and featured a wide range of intensely personal, yet universal meditations on love, addiction, promise, and despair. It blazed new territory with a sonic landscape that fused Shibuya glam, European symphonic-rock, and American metal. Lolita Dark's debut CD explored the themes of Salvation, Redemption, Sanctuary, and displayed some of Rayko's internal anguish after the Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami ravaged her homeland.
Lolita Dark has performed at various venues including Bar Sinister, House of Blues, J-Pop events hosted by "Tune in Tokyo", and Rayko's on going event “Tokyo Status” .Lolita Dark has also performed at Anime Expo, Nan Desu Kan, Anime Los Angeles, and Pacific Media Expo, where they opened for Japanese artists BACK-ON (Avex) and D (Avex, Universal Music). Lolita Dark was also invited by NAMM 2015 to host a panel to talk about their success in finding a niche in independent music market.
Lolita Dark is working on their third release while they perform as an opener to national acts from Japan, and headlines local clubs and anime convention circuits.
全米最大の日本ポップカルチャー祭典であるAnime Expoでの鮮烈のデビューを飾る。これを期にバンドは本格始動し、ローカル誌などで多く取り上げられるようになる。Anime Expoでのライブを皮切りにBar Sinister Hollywood、Roxy、House of Blues等、数々の有名ライブハウス公演をも成功させている。また、デビュー後は矢継ぎ早 に Nan Desu Kan (Co)、Katsukon (D.C/Maryland)、Zenkaikon (PA)といった多様なコンベンション・ツ アーも取り組まれ、多くの会場での演奏を経験する。
“Mad Times”, from the "Tokyo Status" album, has been chosen for the in-production Steampunk web series “Tinker". “Wounded Angel”, the recently released song by Lolita Dark, has become the official theme song for Anime California 2014. Lolita Dark's second album, “Queen's Decade”, was released in the spring of 2014 at their opening performance for Gacharic Spin (Universal Music) at Tekko 2014.
Lolita Dark's albums and new single "Wounded Angel" are available now on iTunes and CDBaby.
Lolita Dark signed a 5 year recording/distribution contract for East Asia including Japan, Korea, and China in July 2015.
itunes.apple.com/us/artist/lolita-dark/id586389170
www.cdbaby.com/Artist/LolitaDark
Official Lolita Dark website: www.lolitadark.com/
Rayko official website: rayko.com/
2012年にはデビューアルバム「Tokyo Status」をリリース。
リリースから現在に至るまで、州外へも精力的に赴き本格的なライブ活動を行っている。このアルバムは全曲メッセージ性が強く、Rayの強烈な想いが反映されている。特に「Mad Times」というトラックは東日本大震災で被災された方々への追悼の意を込めた楽曲であり、Rayの故郷が崩壊されたことに対する悲しみや虚しさなどの感情を色濃く表現している。また、同曲は現在アメリカで制作 中の 「TINKER」というスティームパンクを題材としたウェブTVシリーズの主題歌として起用されている。(www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttWXSVs_4iI）
また、「Tokyo Status」リリース翌年の3月からはアルバムと
同名儀のファッション・ロックショーケース・イベントも月１で開催している。(www.facebook.com/TokyoStatus)