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..ecco il mio tentativo di mostrare la IFN intorno a questo celeberrimo duo di galassie nell'Orsa maggiore, M81 e M82, sono riuscito a sommare in due serate 48 frames 800 iso di cui 5 di 10 minuti ottenuti da Fontecorniale 550 mt. e i rimanenti 43 da 5 minuti dal cielo di casa a Lucrezia con Eos 40D su FS60 CB con riduttore di focale autoguida PHD Guiding dithering su AZEQ6 GT SW processing PixInsight 1.8 elaborazione PS CS5 Topaz labs (Detail3 Desnoise5)..
il risultato lo ritengo abbastanza soddisfacente anche se la IFN è percettibile solo dai cieli di montagna,mi accontento
For those hard to reach places, technicians and engineers use various styles of lifts and platforms to ensure they have the best angle of approach to work on the James Webb Space Telescope observatory.
Here's a recent video about the recent successful assembly of Webb into its final form: youtu.be/Trh9ohPo-cE
Image credit: Northrop Grumman
Integration of the fully integrated fairing of Vega VV04, carrying IXV, in the launcher assembly area at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 30 January 2015.
IXV will be launched 320 km into space on top of a Vega rocket, VV04, climbing up to 420 km before beginning a long glide back through the atmosphere. In the process, IXV will gather data on reentry conditions to help guide the design of future spaceplanes.
More about IXV: www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launchers/IXV
Connect with IXV on Twitter: twitter.com/esa_ixv
Credit: ESA–M. Pedoussaut
Copyright © Gio's Gallery Photography.
This photo may not be used in any form without prior permission. All rights reserved.
even different lives lived by a countless individuals...is unified in one spirit...for peace in Humanity...
Das ist Integration:
Mustafa, neben mir: "Ich ess ja auch schon mal Schweinefleisch."
Nachbar: "Mustafa - du bist doch Moslem?"
Mustafa: "Ich bin Deutscher."
Virginia City's booming gold mines provided economic opportunities for a small number of African Americans after the Civil War. By 1866, at least thirty African Americans men & women resided in Virginia City. Aside from working in the mines, they worked as barbers, cooks, teamsters, or general laborers. Most marries women kept house but along with single women often worked as servants, cooks, & laundresses. By 1870, following the decline of the mining industry, only about twenty African Americans remained in the Virginia City. A few of those who remained owned successful businesses.
Born in the 1840s in Kentucky, Jack or "Jarrett" Taylor resided in Virginia City from 1866 until his death in 1926. After serving as a Union Army stable hand, Taylor made his way to Virginia City by working for a freighting company. He continues freighting on the vital Virginia City-Fort Benton Road for the F. R. Merk Company, formerly located in what is now the Pioneer Bar on Wallace Street. Taylor eventually became successful real estate entrepreneur & by 1875, he owned 160 acres in the Madison Valley.
In 1880 Taylor was boarding with African American sisters Minerva Coggswell & Parthenia Sneed. Shortly after Minerva's death in 1894, Taylor purchased this house from her estate. By 1905, he owned a number of cattle & horses that carried his brands. That same year, Thomas Thexton sued Taylor for horse theft. The court ruled in Taylor's favor largely due to testimony from white citizens. The integration of Taylor & other African Americans in the community suggests better race relations in Virginia City than other parts of the country. Sarah Bickford, a prominent local African American businesswoman, cared for Taylor in his final years & served as the executor of his estate. Taylor dies on September 16, 1926 & is buries in Hillside cemetery next to Bickford.
In 2009, with funding from the ford Foundation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded Montana Heritage Commission (MHC) a Partnership in Scholarship Grant to conduct research into the lives of Virginia City's African American residents. This research conducted by MHC staff, public history faculty & students from Washington State University & the University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire added great depth to the knowledge of Virginia City's African American Community.
Taken on the western side of the park's Middle Falls.
What happens when you're an Arbor Vitae (Thuja occidentalis) and you sprout on bare bedrock instead of real soil? Your roots get aggressive and go on a water- and nutrient-seeking expedition.
The rock here is basalt of the late-Mesoproterozoic North Shore Volcanic Group. It erupted about 1.1 Ga ago as part of the cataclysmic Midcontinent Rift event that almost tore North America apart.
The basalt is highly jointed. Joints are fractures in bedrock where there has been no appreciable shift in position on either side of the fissure. They often form when a section of the Earth's crust long confined by overlying rock units is finally exposed at the surface through the process of erosion. Relieved of all that former topweight and confining pressure, it stretches vertically, shrinks horizontally, and cracks.
Plant roots often exploit joints by growing down into them. And as they slowly expand they can exert so much pressure on the stone that it fractures even more.
To see the other photos and descriptions of this series, visit
my Integrative Natural History of Minnesota's North Shore album.
Leica MP
Leica Summilux 35mm f/1.4 II
Fuji Neopan 400
Tetenal Ultrafin Plus 1+4
7 min 30 sec 20°C
Scan from negative film
Blois is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours.
With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the department, and the 4th of the region.
Historically, the city was the capital of the county of Blois, created on 832 until its integration into the Royal domain in 1498, when Count Louis II of Orléans became King Louis XII of France. During the Renaissance, Blois was the official residence of the King of France.
Since 2013, excavations have been conducted by French National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP in French) in Vienne where they found evidence of "one or several camps of late Prehistory hunter-gatherers, who were also fishermen since fishing traps were found there.. They were ancestors of the famous Neolithic farmer-herders, who were present in current France around 6,000 BCE [i.e.: 8,000 years ago]."
Ancient times
A major urban development begun in 1959 uncovered the remains of a late Gallic settlement and an urban centre from the Gallo-Roman period. At that time, the town was located on the road linking Chartres to Bourges. In the network of cities of the Carnutes people, Blois was a secondary settlement. Excavations carried out on the right bank between 2001 and 2016 and on the left bank in 2013-2014 revealed the presence of a largely developed town on the right bank and an occupation on the left bank during the Gallic and Gallo-Roman periods. The Loire river has undoubtedly always been a major axis route, although no traces of a port have been uncovered. However, there are remains of former bridges linking the two banks.
Middle Ages
Though of ancient origin, Blois is first distinctly mentioned by Gregory of Tours in the 6th century, and the city gained some notability in the 9th century, when it became the seat of a powerful countship known as Blesum castrum.
Main article: County of Blois
Blois was first organised around a county, which was recreated in 956 by Count Theobald I of Blois, also known as The Trickster. His descendants, known as "Thibaldians", remained as Counts up until the county was incorporated into the royal domain in 1397. The House of Blois also succeeded in raising some of its members or descendants to the highest levels of the European nobility, notably by acceding to the thrones of France, England, Navarre, Spain and Portugal.
Main article: Counts of Blois
In 1171, Blois was the site of a blood libel against its Jewish community that led to 31 Jews (by some accounts 40) being burned to death. Their martyrdom also contributed to a prominent and durable school of poetry inspired by Christian persecution. In the Middle Ages, Blois was the seat of the County of Champagne it passed to the French crown in 1314, forming the province of Champagne. In 1196, Count Louis I of Blois granted privileges to the townsmen; a commune, which survived throughout the Middle Ages, probably dated from this time. The counts of the Châtillon dynastic line resided at Blois more often than their predecessors, and the oldest parts of the château (from the 13th century) were built by them. By 1397, Count Guy II of Blois-Châtillon offered the county to his cousin, Duke Louis I of Orléans, son of King Charles VI. In 1429, Joan of Arc made Blois her base of operations for the relief of Orléans. She rode the 35 miles on 29 April from Blois to relieve Orléans. In 1440, after his captivity in England, Duke Charles of Orléans (son of Duke Louis I) took up residence in the Château of Blois, where in 1462 his son was born, Duke Louis II of Orléans who would afterwards be known as Louis XII.
Renaissance era
By 1498, King Charles VIII died with no heirs in the Château of Amboise. As a result, Duke Louis II ran 22 miles between the Château and Blois, and was crowned as King Louis XII of France. He then married Charles VIII's widow, Queen Anne of Brittany, in 1499. The birth of their daughter, Claude of France, started the union of Brittany with France. Louis XII, as the last hereditary Count of Blois, naturally established his royal Court in the city. The Treaty of Blois, which temporarily halted the Italian Wars, was signed there in 1504–1505. During his reign, the city experienced a massive redevelopment, with some architectural elements inspired from the Italian Renaissance, as seen in the medieval castle immediately turned into a château, and the construction of many hôtels particuliers for the nobility throughout the entire kingdom. One of which, Hôtel d'Alluye, was built as a copy of an Italian palace for Florimond Robertet, who was an important French minister under King Charles VIII, King Louis XII and King Francis I.
On 1 January 1515, Louis XII died. His throne would be passed to Francis I, the husband to his daughter, Claude of France. In 1519, King Francis I ordered the construction of the Château of Chambord (10 miles away from Blois), but its construction lasted for one year before he died in 1547. In the meantime, he gradually expressed his will to move to Fontainebleau, near Paris, and started to abandon Bloisian. Much of the royal furniture was moved from Blois to Fontainebleau by 1539.
The French Wars of Religion was a significantly destructive conflict among the French people. The city's inhabitants included many Calvinists, and in 1562 and 1567 it was the scene of struggles between them and the supporters of the Catholic Church. On 4 July 1562, Blois and Beaugency, conquered by Protestants just before, were looted by Catholics led by Maréchal de St. André. On 7 February 1568, Protestants under Captain Boucard's command, looted and invaded the town, eventually killing many Catholics. Grey friars were also killed and thrown in the well of their own convent. In addition, all the churches were ransacked. In 1576 and 1588, King Henry III convoked the Estates General to Blois where he attained refuge after an uprising called the Day of the Barricades. In response, Duke Henry I of Guise was assassinated on 23 December 1588 for his involvement in the uprising. The following day, his brother, Cardinal Louis II of Guise, who was also archbishop of Reims, suffered the same fate. Their deaths were shortly followed by that of the Queen-Mother, Catherine de' Medici.
In the 16th century, the French Royal court often made Blois their leisure resort.
Modern era
After the departure of the Royal Court towards Paris, Blois lost the status of Royal residence, along with the luxury and economic activity that came with it. King Henry IV displaced the Royal library to Fontainebleau, which would later be the National Library of France (Bibliothèque nationale de France).
In 1606, Philippe de Béthune gave his ownership of Vienne-lez-Blois village, on the left bank of the Loire river, to Blois, making it a part of the city afterwards known as Blois-Vienne. From 1617 to 1619 Marie de' Medici, wife of King Henri IV, exiled from the court by his son, King Louis XIII, lived in the château. By 1622, the Counter-Reformation got establishment in Blois, founded a Society of Jesus and financed the construction of the St. Louis Chapel, which is today St. Vincent Church.
Then in 1634, Louis XIII exiled his brother, Gaston, Duke of Orléans and Count of Blois, who became attached to the city. The Duke in 1657, found a hospital in Blois-Vienne, now named Résidence Gaston d'Orléans, and financed the reconstruction of the Hôtel-Dieu. He remained in Blois until his death, in 1660.
Under Louis XIV's reign, Blois became un independent bishopric. David Nicolas de Bertier, first bishop of Blois from 1697, chose as seated cathedral St. Solenne Church, that had been destroyed by a storm and was under reconstruction, before being completed 3 years later in 1700, thanks to the intervention of Colbert's wife, who herself came from Blois. The new edifice became Blois Cathedral and got dedicated to St. Louis.
A wide episcopal palace is built by King Louis XIV's official architect, Jacques Gabriel, right next to the newly built cathedral, on a site overlooking the Loire Valley. Landscaping of terraced gardens began in 1703 and lasted nearly 50 years. The so-called Bishopric Gardens were first open to the public in 1791 by Henri Grégoire (known as the Abbot Grégoire), the first constitutional bishop after the French Revolution.
During the night between 6 and 7 February 1716, the medieval bridge collapsed. Construction of a new one is ordered during the following year. Jacques-Gabriel Bridge was inaugurated in 1724. All the levies were consolidated, and the river channel of La Bouillie in the prolongation of La Creusille Harbor was closed and dried out.
When Duke Gaston of Orléans died, the château ended up stripped by King Louis XIV, completely abandoned, to the point that King Louis XVI once considered to demolish it by 1788. The edifice was saved when the Royal-Comtois Regiment established their base within it.
In 1790, Orléanais province was dismantled, and the First Republic created the Loir-et-Cher department, with Blois as the local capital.
By 1814, Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma and wife of Napoleon I, found refuge in Blois.
Contemporary era
Another wind blew in Blois in the 19th century. First, the railroad came in 1846 with the inauguration of the Paris–Tours railway, whose Blois Station is a stop. The competition against river transportation gradually forced La Creusille Harbor to reinvent its activity. In parallel, the city got more industrialised from 1848 thanks to a successful chocolate brand created by Bloisian, Victor-Auguste Poulain.
Like Paris, Blois urban organisation was redesigned during 1850 and 1870 by Mayor Eugène Riffault, who was friends with Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann. Thus, he had bound through a boulevard holding his name the modern upper town (where the cathedral, Hôtel of Préfecture, and Halle aux Grains are located), and the medieval lower town. He also paved the way to the construction of the boulevard Daniel Depuis, in the West of Blois. Between 1862 and 1865, the Denis-Papin staircase are built under La Morandière's supervision, in the axis of Jacques-Gabriel Bridge and Blois-Vienne's Wilson Avenue.
In the meantime, the lower town faced three of the most significant flooding of the Loire river: in 1846, 1856 (the worst), and 1866. The downtown districts of St. Jean and Blois-Vienne were under water, as well as La Bouillie spillway.
On 13 December 1871, the Prussian army took control of Blois during the Franco-Prussian War. The city was taken back by Lieutenant Georges de Villebois-Mareuil, General Joseph Pourcet, and General Bertrand de Chabron. Since then, a memorial stands on Wilson Avenue in Vienne.
In 1939, Blois Basilica construction was completed. That same year, between 29 January and 8 February, more than 3,100 Spanish refugees came to the Loir-et-Cher department, fleeing the Spanish Civil War and Dictator Francisco Franco. In June 1940, the German bombings destroyed a large part of the downtown, and the French destroyed the 10th arch of Jacques-Gabriel Bridge to prevent further advance for their enemies. The German army bombed the former Town Hall on 16 June, thus killing Mayor Émile Laurens in the process, and took over the city 2 days later, on 18 June, the exact same day of Charles de Gaulle's Appeal for Internal Resistance.
Between June and August 1944, US-English-allied bombings destroyed other infrastructures, like the railroad bridge between Blois and Romorantin. In total during WWII, 230 people were killed, and 1,522 buildings were entirely or partially destroyed. On 16 August 1944, the German troops ran to Blois-Vienne to get refuge there and destroyed the three central arches of the bridge. On 1 September, they surrendered. The bridge was rebuilt and reopened in December 1948.
In 1959, Mayor Marcel Bühler received President Charles de Gaulle and launched the construction of the ZUP, at the North of the city, on the same scheme of so-called banlieues of Paris or any other French city.
Landmarks and tourism
Since 1986, Blois is part of the French Towns of Art and History program, which promotes the cultural and historical estate.
Château of Blois
The Château of Blois, a Renaissance multi-style château once occupied by King Louis XII, is located in the centre of the city, and an 18th-century stone bridge spans the Loire. It was also the residence of many Counts of Blois, who were amongst the most closest vassals to the King of France between the 9th and the 14th century. Many gardens are located around the château, like:
House of Magic
Right in front of the château, La Maison de la Magie Robert-Houdin (i.e.: Robert-Houdin House of Magic) is a museum dedicated to illusionism. This is the only public museum in Europe which incorporates in one place collections of magic and a site for permanent performing arts, and directly reflects the personality of Robert-Houdin.
Louis-XII Place and Fountains
Opened after bombings in 1944, the place stands right below the château, closest to the Loire river, and is actually located at the center of Blois downtown. There are local shops and restaurants, and a 16th-century fountain stands below the Sycamores planted in the place. Known as Louis XII Fountain (Fontaine Louis XII), this is one of the greatest and oldest water inlets throughout the city, but far from being the only one. Among the other founts, there are:
St. Martin Fountain (Fontaine Saint-Martin), below the staircase between the château and Louis XII Place;
St. Nicholas Fountain (Fontaine Saint-Nicolas), within the St. Nicholas Church;
Elected Representatives' Fountain (Fontaine des Élus), in rue Foulerie;
Ave Maria Fountain (Fontaine Ave Maria), in place Ave Maria;
Town hall Fountain (Fontaine de l'Hôtel de Ville), below the
Denis Papin staircase (where was the former Town Hall before WWII);
St. Jack Fountain (Fontaine Saint-Jacques), in rue Denis Papin;
Corbigny Fountain (Fontaine de Corbigny), in Victor Hugo Square ;
Simple Fountain (Fontaine des Simples), in the Lily Garden, in remembrance of a monumental Versailles-style fountain lost after WWII bombings.
Comics Museum
Blois is also the location of so-called Maison de la BD, a museum devoted to the art of comic books. Since the 1980s, this museum hosts an annual comic festival in late November called BD Boum, described as "the leading free comic book festival in France".
Former Hôtel-Dieu
Already by 924, monks from the St. Lomer community were given some acres below the medieval castle, but outside the city walls, on the bank of the Loire river. In the 13th century, a proper church was built, then fortified because of the Hundred Years' War. St. Lomer Abbey was completely destroyed during the French Wars of Religion. The edifice was rebuilt until the early 18th century. When the French Revolution broke out by 1789, the church was turnt into a Hôtel-Dieu, namely a charity hospital for the have-nots, because Revolutionners destroyed many clergy- and royal-related monuments. After that, new buildings were added to the original St. Lomer Abbey, which became St. Nicholas Church, and the additional edifices remained dedicated to the Hôtel-Dieu of the city. Nonetheless, this part was gradually abandoned and taken back by some public services. A reconversion project is currently under study.
Former Poulain Chocolate Factory
In the late 19th century, Bloisian industrialist and chocolatier Victor-Auguste Poulain established his brand's factory next to Blois station. The premises moved in the 1980s. Nowadays, those are housings and host the National Institute and School of Applied Sciences (INSA).
Denis-Papin Staircase
As Blois is built on a pair of steep hills, winding and steep pathways run through the city, culminating in long staircases at various points. The most iconic of them is the monumental Denis-Papin staircase which overlooks the town, provides a panoramic view by overlooking the downtown and the Loire Valley, and regularly enlivens urban space with original decorations. The fountain next to the staircase is a reminder of the location of the first Town Hall, destroyed after bombings on 16 June 1940.
Town Hall and Bishopric Gardens
Blois achieved independence from the Diocese of Chartres in 1697, and the cathedral was completed by 1700. As a result, the first bishops engineered wide gardens on several levels, next to the premises. Since the destruction of the former Blois town hall during World War II, local authorities requisitioned the bishop's apartments to establish there the new town hall. Now organised as an urban park, the gardens offer a panoramic view on the downtown, the Loire river, and Blois-Vienne. A statue of Joan of Arc, given to the city by American patron J. Sanford Saltus, stands in the middle of the park. Bishopric gardens are open to public all the year, and a remarkable rose garden can be visited from 15 May and 30 September, each year.
Hôtels Particuliers and Timber Framing Houses
Since Count Louis II of Orléans became King Louis XII of France in 1498, the city started to host many noblepersons from all the Kingdom. All would build their own mansion as close from the château as they could. King Louis XII also imported Renaissance style from Italy due to his successful military campaigns there. Among these so-called hôtels particuliers, there are:
the Hôtel d'Alluye;
the Hôtel d'Amboise;
the Hôtel de Belot;
the Hôtel de la Capitainerie (a.k.a. Hôtel de Bretagne);
the Hôtel de la Chancellerie (i.e.: Chancellery Hotel);
the Hôtel Denis-Dupont;
the Hôtel d'Épernon;
the Hôtel de Guise;
the Hôtel de Jassaud;
the Hôtel de Lavallière, built for Louise de Lavallière;
the Hôtel de Rochefort;
the Hôtel Sardini;
the Hôtel Viart;
the Hôtel de Villebresme, in which Denis Papin lived;
the Château de la Vicomté (i.e.: Château of Viscounty), in the hamlet of Les Grouëts.
Blois-Vienne and the Loire river
Please note all the above edifices have been listed as Blois-Vienne (or merely Vienne) is the name given to the southern part of the city, on the left bank of the Loire river. Independent from the city until 1606, there are many traces of the river's past. The main link between both banks is the Jacques-Gabriel Bridge, built in the early 18th century. From the levees circling the surroundings to other abandoned bridges, Vienne has also conserved a harbour, named La Creusille, which is now an urban park right on La Loire à Vélo bike route. Beyond the levees, La Bouillie Park is getting rehabilitated, and actually is a spillway in the event of floodings. Further to the south of the city, the Forêt de Russy is a reminder of the thick woods that once covered the area.
Religious Buildings
The city also is provided with many religious edifices, including:
Blois Cathedral, dedicated to both Kings Louis IX and Louis XII, built between 1564 and 1700.
St. Vincent Blois Church, dedicated to Saint Vincent de Paul, built between 1625 and 1660.
St. Nicholas Blois Church, dedicated to bishop Saint Nicholas of Myra, built in the 12th century.
Blois-Vienne Church, dedicated to Saint Saturnin of Toulouse, built between c. 1500 and 1528.
The Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Trinité, dedicated to Our Lady of the Holy Trinity, built between 1932 and 1939.
Historical and political figures
Ivomadus (5th century), Breton chieftain who would have conquered Blois and established there an independent Kingdom until Clovis I's conquest.
Count William of Orléans (died 834), first count of Blois.
Count Theobald I (913–975), viscount who declared himself Count when Duke Hugh the Great died in 956.
Thubois (c. 1044–1090)[citation needed]
Lady Adela of Normandy (c. 1067 – 1137), daughter of William the Conqueror, married to Stephen II, Count of Blois.
King Stephen of England (c. 1096 – 1154), second son of Count Stephen II and Lady Adela, he became King of England from 1135 to 1154.
Lady Adela of Champagne (c. 1140 – 1206), daughter of Count Theobald IV of Blois, she married King Louis VII and gave to him future King Philip II.
Duke Charles of Blois (1319–1364), notable stakeholder during the Hundred Years' War.
King Louis XII (1462–1515), Count of Blois from 1465 to 1498, then King of France up to 1515.
Queen Anne of Brittany (1477–1514), last Queen of Brittany, she remarried King Louis XII in 1499, then moved to Blois until her death.
King Francis I (1494–1547), King of France born in Cognac, but he lived in Blois since his marriage in 1506 with Louis XII and Anne's daughter.
Queen Catherine de' Medici (1519–1589), Queen consort of France, who died in the Château of Blois.
Queen Marie de' Medici (1575–1642) was exiled to the Château of Blois by her son, King Louis XIII.
Duke Henry I of Guise (1550–1588), assassinated on 23 December 1588 in the château.
Duke Gaston of Orléans (1494 in Fontainebleau – 1547), uncle of King Louis XVI, he got establishment in the château, and died there.
Jean Morin (1591–1659), theologian and biblical scholar of Protestant parents
Michel V Bégon (1638–1710), officier de plume of the French Navy.
Marie Anne de Bourbon (1666–1739), also known as Mademoiselle de Blois, daughter of King Louis XIV.
Michel VI Bégon de la Picardière, (1669–1747). Commissioner in the French Navy; intendant of New France and Le Havre.
Thomas de Mahy, Marquis de Favras (1744–1790), royalist
Jean-Marie Pardessus (1772–1853).
Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo (1773–1828).
Eugène Riffault (1803–1888).
Joséphine Marchais (1842–1874).
Émile Laurens (1884–1940).
Georges Litalien (1896–1952), deputee of the Loir-et-Cher department.
Henri de La Vaissière (1901–1944).
Pierre Sudreau (1919–2012).
Jack Lang (1939–).
Bernard Boucault. Préfet de Police in Paris (from 2012 to 2015).
Artists
Pierre de Ronsard (1524–1585), poet from Vendôme but he met his muse Cassandre in the Château of Blois in 1549.
Jacob Bunel (1568–1614), Bloisian painter who studied in the Royal School of Fontainebleau.
Antoine Boësset (1587–1643), composer of secular music, and superintendent of music at the Ancien Régime French court.
Jean Monier (1600–1656), painter close to Queen Marie de' Medici.
Étienne Baudet (1638–1711), engraver born in Vineuil.
Pierre Monier (1641–1703), painter and son of Jean Monier.
Jacques Gabriel (1667–1742), Parisian architect who designed the Jacques-Gabriel Bridge in Blois.
Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805–1871), watchmaker, magician and illusionist, widely recognized as the father of the modern style of conjuring.
Ulysse Besnard (1826–1899), painter, then ceramist.
Daniel Dupuis (1849–1899), painter, sculptor and medal artist.
Jules Contant (1852–1920), painter born in Blois-Vienne, son of a politician.
Émile Gaucher (1858–1909), sculptor.
Alfred Jean Halou (1875–1939), sculptor from Blois, who designed the Franco-Prussian War memorial in Blois.
Étienne Gaudet (1891–1963), engraver and painter from Nevers but who lived and died in Blois.
Bernard Lorjou (1908–1986), painter.
Claudine Doury (born 1959), photographer.
Jean-Louis Agobet (born 1968), composer.
Christian Jui (born 1973), poet.
Niro (born 1987), rapper born in Orléans but he grew up and currently lives in Blois.
Hildegarde Fesneau (born 1995), violinist.
Artisans
During the 16th and 17th centuries, Blois was the hometown of many artisans in the watchmaking and goldsmithing industries. Among them:
Julien Coudray, who was one of the first watchmakers in Blois according to Tardy, worked for Kings Louis XII and Francis I. There is a street in Blois that holds his name.
the Cuper family : the Louvre museum, Paris, possesses two watches made by Michel Cuper, and two other ones by P. Cuper. A street also holds their name in the city.
the Bellanger family : Martin with a first wife got 2 sons born between 1594 and 1597 (among them, one was called Isaac), then at least 3 other ones with a Suzanne, named Pierre (born in 1603), Jean (married in 1641 and dead in 1678), and Théophile.
Guillaume Couldroit, from whom the British Museum, London, has a table clock.
Jacques de la Garde, from whom the British Museum has a striking clock, and from whom a table clock can be found in the National Museum of the Renaissance in Écouen, France.
Charles Perras, from whom 2 watches can be found in the British Museum, as well as in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
the Duduict brothers.
Blaise Foucher, Duiduict's disciple, from whom the British Museum possesses one watchcase.
the Vautier family, among whom the British Museum has several Louis' watchcases.
the Gribelin family, among whom Simon was watchmaker and engraver for the King, and his son Abraham (1589–1671) succeeded to him. Nowadays, the Louvre Museum has a watch made by Abraham.
the Girard family, among whom Marc came from the Netherlands and established in Blois, his son Théodore and grandson Marc II were both watchmakers.
Christophe Morlière (born in Orléans in 1604 – 1643), who moved to Blois. By 1632, he was ordered a watch for Lady Marguerite of Lorraine when she married Gaston, Duke of Orléans and Count of Blois.
Pierre Brisson.
Paul Viet, from whom the British Museum got a painted watchcase.
Jean Bonbruict, from whom the British Museum has a silver coach watch.
Nicolas Lemaindre, who was watchmaker and valet for Queen Catherine de' Medici. The British Museum also possesses one of his works, as well as the Louvre and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Pierre Landré, from whom a watch is visible in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City.
the Chartier family, among whom Pierre had a son registered as T. Chartier in the Louvre where a cylindrical table clock is exposed.
François Laurier.
Londonian watchmaker Henry Massy was son of Nicolas Massy, born in Blois.
Robert Vauquer, who has now 2 watches in the Louvre and 1 in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.
Intellectuals
Peter of Blois (c. 1130 – c. 1211), theologian, poet and diplomat born in Blois.
Paul Reneaulme (c. 1560 – c. 1624), doctor and botanist born in the city.
Florimond de Beaune (1601–1652), jurist and mathematician born in Blois.
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1643–1687), first explorer of Louisiana, born in Rouen, then teacher at the Royal College of Blois.
Denis Papin (1647–1713), physicist, mathematician and inventor from Blois.
Angel Baffard (1655–1726), genealogist specialist of Bloisian.
Jean Marie Pardessus (1772–1853), lawyer.
Augustin Thierry (1795–1856), historian born in the city.
Amédée Thierry (1797–1873), historian like his elder brother, and journalist.
Félix Duban (1798–1870), Parisian architect who restored the Château of Blois.
Louis de La Saussaye (1801–1878), numismatist and historian from Blois.
Jules de La Morandière (1813–1905), architect, and Duban's disciple.
Victor-Auguste Poulain (1825–1918), chocolatier who created the Chocolat Poulain brand in 1848.
Albert Poulain (1851–1937), chocolatier and industrialist, son of the precedent.
Tiburce Colonna-Ceccaldi (1832–1892), diplomat and archaeologist born in Blois.
Édouard Blau (1836–1906), dramatist and opera librettist from Blois.
Arthur Trouëssart (1839–1929), architect, historian, and genealogist specialized in Bloisian history.
Adrien Thibault (1844–1918), ceramist born in La Chaussée-Saint-Victor, then historian of Bloisian.
René Guénon (also Sheikh 'Abd al-Wahid Yahya; 1886 – 1951), author, philosopher, social critic, the founder of the Traditionalist School.
Philippe Ariès (1914–1984), medievalist and historian.
Albert Ronsin (1928–2007), 20th-century French scholar, historian, librarian, and curator.
Françoise Xenakis (1930–2018), novelist and journalist.
Maxime Schwartz (born 1940), molecular biologist who has been a research director at the CNRS, and Director General of the Pasteur Institute.
Henri Tézenas du Montcel (1943–1994), economist
Pierre Rosanvallon (born 1948), historian and sociologist.
Christophe Lebreton (1950-1996), Trappist monk and one of the Tibhirine monks.
Luc Foisneau (born in 1963), philosopher and director of research at CNRS.
Sportspersons
Marcel Lehoux (1888–1936), racing driver
Philippe Gondet (1942–2018), footballer.
Nicolas Vogondy (born 1977), cyclist.
Sonia Bompastor (born 1980), female footballer.
Aly Cissokho (born 1987), footballer of Senegalese descent.
Bernard Onanga Itoua (born 1988), footballer.
Alexis Khazzaka (born 1994), Lebanese footballer.
Corentin Jean (born 1995), footballer.
Alpha Kaba (born 1996), basketball player
The constellation Orion against a background of stars. When you can see Orion in the sky, it's a sure sign winter is on the way but where I am it doesn't emerge from behind the mountains until about 3am at the moment and the days and nights are still pleasantly hot. Unfortunately I wasn't able to bring a telescope (and the kit I usually have on hand) over to Italy but I did take my trusty Canon DSLR, some lenses, and the Skywatcher Star Adventurer Mini (SAM) and that's enough to do some astrophotography. Because the SAM isn't something I take out very often I'm still a novice with it and this is a good opportunity to learn to use it properly...and it's surprisingly versatile once the polar alignment and focus are as good as can be. Previous experiments with SAM weren't spectacularly successful so I'm keen to master it. This shot is a step on the way. For relatively few exposures and not the darkest of locations, a fair amount of detail came out. Look closely and you can see some features on the Orion Nebula and the Running Man Nebula. There is even a hint of the Flame Nebula next to Alnitak (the lowest of the three stars of Orion's Belt in this orientation).
16 x 1 minute exposures at 400 ISO - 33mm f/5
21 x dark frames
no bias frames
no flat frames
Total integration time = 16 minutes
Equipment:
Skywatcher Star Adventurer Mini (SAM)
Cullmann tripod
Canon 700D DSLR
Canon 18-55mm lens at 33mm f/5
Limited print sales: www.thecraftshop.fr
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Boulogne-Billiancourt
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Kodak Portra 400 | Fuji GS645
Located at the corner of Bayswater and Somerset W. How is it possible to walk by a building and never really notice it? Very easy,
Building Resilience, Integrating Gender Women, Natural Resources and Climate Change in Afghanistan
2017 © Noorullah Azizi UN Environment
Awesome concert here. [In order to integrate the Jewish community center into the neighborhood, dating to the late 19th century, the ‘perimeter block pattern’ (Blockrandbebauung) dominant in the area is incorporated – with the absence of gating or barriers, this square became a space the general public uses for everyday activities, rare in Germany for a religious building, especially a synagogue.]
To all who visit and view, and – especially – express support and satisfaction: you are much appreciated!
Fünf der insgesamt vierzehn Musiker des Else Ensemble kommen in die Mainzer Synagoge. Drei von ihnen stammen aus Israel: Die Cellistin Daniela Shemer, die Klarinettistin Shelly Ezra und der Pianist Naaman Wagner. Komplettiert wird die Besetzung durch den böhmischen Geiger René Kubelik und den süddeutschen Cellisten Valentin Scharff
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Mainz Germany – 2017NOV05 – Jewish Community Center:
"Where in the States!?"
"North Carolina."
"Where in North Carolina!!?"
(Goodness gracious...) "Charlotte."
"Where in Charlotte!!!?"
(For goodness' sakes...) "St. Mark's."
"Then you must know my brother, Karl Bleimann!"
I get home and tell Joe, "I met Karl Bleimann's sister in Mainz!"
On this layover she and I spent a wonderful day together after I heard her sing in the choir – for the first time – that morning.
For the evening concert, my friend Dr. Ursula Meyer asked me to inquire about tickets (25 Euros each) while she parked. "Sold out." We got in a waiting line to purchase tickets if there were "no-shows". They sold the last ticket to the person in front of us. "Sorry."
A lady behind us said the manager was bringing more chairs.
He brought enough chairs – about a half dozen – for all of us standing in the waiting line, we paid, and the concert started!
The Else Ensemble performed 20th century compositions of Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) and Paul Hindemith (1895-1963), also Erwin Schulhoff (1890-1942) and Walter Rabl (1873-1940).
Note: the last 2 composers' death dates coincide with Jewish population forced removal to WWII concentration camps.
After the moving concert, Ursula dropped me off at my hotel.
The best 36 of 142 photos from this layover are a 5-album set:
• Mainz-Weisenau, Germany – 05NOV2017 – Sunday Stroll
• Mainz, Germany – 05NOV2017 – Via Seculprum Mogontiaci
• Mainz, Germany – 05NOV2017 – Ketteler Neighborhood
• Mainz, Germany – 05NOV2017 – Fort Weisenau
• Mainz, Germany – 05NOV2017 – Jewish Community Center
Hope you enjoy this 33% of the 6 photos I took here this day!
This photo from Northrop Grumman's clean room in Redondo Beach, California shows the process if integrating the sunshield and the telescope part of the James Webb Space Telescope Observatory. The telescope is seen hanging from a crane, in the process of being moved over the sunshield.
Here's a recent video about the recent successful assembly of Webb into its final form: youtu.be/Trh9ohPo-cE
Image credit: Northrop Grumman
Facing more or less northward. Taken along the trail leading to the summit of Vesuvius.
Everyone knows that it was Mount Vesuvius that buried Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other ancient communities in AD 79. And everyone happens to be wrong, at least if one adheres to modern geologic and geographic jargon. In current terminology, it wasn't Vesuvius that wreaked that havoc, but the famous volcano's long-lived predecessor, Mount Somma.
According to an excellent paper and accompanying geologic map, "Volcanic Evolution of the Somma-Vesuvius Complex (Italy)" (Sbrana et al., Journal of Maps, January 2020), Mount Somma assembled itself as a major stratovolcano from about 44 ky to 22 ky ago. And then, from 22 ky to AD 79, it suffered a number of Plinian eruptions, each of which resulted in the collapse of its central cone and the formation of a caldera.
Whenever italicized terms begin to proliferate, it's time to stop and provide some definitions. Let's do this in tabular form:
Plinian eruption: named for that prolific letter-writer, Pliny the Younger, whose uncle (you guessed it—Pliny the Elder) was ancient Rome's foremost naturalist and seeker after the odd and curious. See the comments section of Part 1 for more on this dynamic duo.
Because Pliny the Younger did a superb job of describing the AD 79 event, that type of highly violent and destructive eruption now bears his name. As a great mass of pyroclastic material is shot high into the atmosphere, it forms a mushroom cloud that eventually suffers gravitational collapse and falls onto and buries surrounding terrain. So much of the underlying magma chamber is emptied in a short time that the volcano caves in under its own weight. The result is a
Caldera. Essentially this is just a very big crater that has formed due to the process of magma-chamber collapse described above.
So what is Vesuvius? It's the newer stratovolcano that has risen atop the Somma caldera since the 1600s AD. The latest alterations and additions to its Gran Cono summit and its downslope lava flows were made during its most recent major eruption, in 1944.
But this is very confusing if you happen to be a Classics scholar and you read the famous letter of Pliny the Younger concerning the AD 79 eruption (Epistulae 6.16) in the original Latin. You'll come upon this passage detailing the aforesaid eruption:
Nubes incertum procul intuentibus ex quo monte; Vesuvium fuisse postea cognitum est
My own crude translation of this is, "A cloud that came from a mountain not identifiable from this far away, but which was later understood to be Vesuvius." Hmm. This shows that what we now call Mount Somma the ancients called Vesuvius. Uffa!
So perhaps it's best to be a little vague, tolerant, and adjustable. Let's just use the term found in the article title cited above, "the Somma-Vesuvius Complex." In fact, I'm going to get even more sciency and abbreviate it to the SVC. How cool is that?
In this shot, the SVC can be categorized as:
- Vesuvius Gran Cono slope (angle of repose of about 30 degrees from horizontal): the dark portion at lower left, foreground;
- Somma caldera floor, with considerable tree growth;
- Somma caldera rim.
The rim is of special interest because it reveals classic stratovolcano composition (alternating layers of tephra and lava) as well as striking examples of dikes. The dikes resemble narrow, vertical walls projecting radially outward from the rim. In fact, they're former fissures or feeder channels for volcanic vents. Some of the magma they contained solidified within them, and created flat-sided bodies of rock considerably more resistant than the pyroclastic material around them.
The other photos and descriptions of this series can be found in my Integrative Natural History of Mount Vesuvius & the Gulf of Naples album.
Beverly Burnett dresses up.
Canon F1n, 50mm f1.4 SSC, Vivitar 282 flash
Kodachrome 64
1981
Taken in 1981 at Beale AFB, California, Physiological Support Division, USAF Hospital Beale.
PSD is the flight integration facility where pressure suits survival kits, parachutes and other flight equipment are maintained, fitted, overhauled or integrated into the aircraft systems. (At this time U2R/TR-1, and SR-71A)
This is a David Clark S1031 suit, a seven layered suit used to unlimited altitude. The suit uses 100% oxygen which enters the suit through a pressure regulator in the rear of the helmet. The helmet has a face curtain to assure that any suit leaks do not decompress the face area, and that pressure is available for breathing. Exhaled gases get passed through the face curtain to the suit environment. The suit pressure is maintained with compressed Oxygen from the aircraft system, through a dual stage suit pressure controller. The regulator is operated by two vacuum aneroids which compress seals, if the ambient cabin pressure is less than required, the vacuum aneroids contract allowing system pressure to enter the suit. The small pulley with the steel cable running through it is the helmet hold-down strap which stops the helmet from rising when the suit is inflated.
In the event of ejection there are 2 auxiliary oxygen bottles in the survival kit which should supply enough oxygen for the crewman to reach the ground.
Integrated into the suit is the parachute harness, connected by the Koch connector on her left shoulder. The parachute is a 35 foot diameter chute ballistically opened by a mortar fired 25 pound steel slug. The chute utilizes a quarter deployment bag, only partially opening at altitude. Once speed has reduced, the chute fully deploys.
The suit also contains automatic life preservers under each arm, equipped with a salt water sensor which immediately inflates the preservers when exposed to sea-water.
There have been successful ejections above 80,000 feet.
Taken about 30 yd (27 m) east of Old Ore Road, on the Chihuahuan Desert floor 500 yd (457 m) east of the foot of Cuesta Carlota. And this spot was about 2.0 road mi (3.2 km) north of its intersection with the paved park road to Rio Grande Village (Park Road 12).
The marvelous plant on display here is a Chisos Prickly Poppy, Argemone chisosensis. The next shot in this series will show its flowers at closer range; this is the habitat shot. That said, there are two fully developed, white-petaled blossoms visible here. They're being tilted over to the right by a stiff breeze. This requires no further explanation, because it's always windy when I try to photograph wildflowers.
Chisos Prickly Poppy is an edifying example of a plant with an accurate common name. It is indeed a member of the Poppy Family (Papaveraceae); it is fearsomely armed with long prickles; and it does like to hang in and about the Chisos Mountains, which are only about 15 miles (24 km) due west of this locale.
This particular specimen seems to have built a rock garden for itself, and is nicely edged with larger chunks of what I gather are mostly Buda Limestone. There may also be some bits of the Del Rio Clay. Both formations make up this side of Cuesta Carlota, and are Upper Cretaceous in age. The smaller overlying stone fragments make up the desert pavement, a common sight in the arid places of the American Southwest.
One leading explanation of how desert pavement forms is an eminently simple one: smaller rock particles once present have gradually been blown away, and only the pebbles too heavy for aeolian transport have remained. But there are other hypotheses out there. For another view of this intriguing aspect of the desert landscape, see this post.
To see the other photos and descriptions in this set, visit my my Integrative Natural History of Old Ore Road album.