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Thomond Park is a stadium located in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and county Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. The capacity of the stadium is 26,500 following its large scale redevelopment in 2008.
Thomond Park is well known for its unique atmosphere. During a rugby match, the home fans can be heard singing songs such as "The Fields Of Athenry" and "Stand Up And Fight". These two songs play a vital role in Munster rugby as they are Munster's anthems.
The home crowd is also famous for its silence when a team's kicker is kicking for goal. This has been known to put the away team's kicker off although it is done out of respect.
In August 2013 Thomond Park was awarded the title of 'Best Rugby Stadium in the World' following a vote by Rugby supporters across the globe.
Kalograia (Greek: Καλογραία, Turkish: Bahçeli) is a village in the Kyrenia District of Cyprus, east of Kyrenia. It is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus.
Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.
Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both sides.
A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece, prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.
Attempts to reach a solution to the Cyprus dispute have been unsuccessful. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus with the support and approval of the TRNC government, while the Republic of Cyprus, the European Union as a whole, and the international community regard it as an occupation force. This military presence has been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector. The economy has seen growth through the 2000s and 2010s, with the GNP per capita more than tripling in the 2000s, but is held back by an international embargo due to the official closure of the ports in Northern Cyprus by the Republic of Cyprus. The official language is Turkish, with a distinct local dialect being spoken. The vast majority of the population consists of Sunni Muslims, while religious attitudes are mostly moderate and secular. Northern Cyprus is an observer state of ECO and OIC under the name "Turkish Cypriot State", PACE under the name "Turkish Cypriot Community", and Organization of Turkic States with its own name.
Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.
Cyprus, an island lying in the eastern Mediterranean, hosted a population of Greeks and Turks (four-fifths and one-fifth, respectively), who lived under British rule in the late nineteenth-century and the first half of the twentieth-century. Christian Orthodox Church of Cyprus played a prominent political role among the Greek Cypriot community, a privilege that it acquired during the Ottoman Empire with the employment of the millet system, which gave the archbishop an unofficial ethnarch status.
The repeated rejections by the British of Greek Cypriot demands for enosis, union with Greece, led to armed resistance, organised by the National Organization of Cypriot Struggle, or EOKA. EOKA, led by the Greek-Cypriot commander George Grivas, systematically targeted British colonial authorities. One of the effects of EOKA's campaign was to alter the Turkish position from demanding full reincorporation into Turkey to a demand for taksim (partition). EOKA's mission and activities caused a "Cretan syndrome" (see Turkish Resistance Organisation) within the Turkish Cypriot community, as its members feared that they would be forced to leave the island in such a case as had been the case with Cretan Turks. As such, they preferred the continuation of British colonial rule and then taksim, the division of the island. Due to the Turkish Cypriots' support for the British, EOKA's leader, Georgios Grivas, declared them to be enemies. The fact that the Turks were a minority was, according to Nihat Erim, to be addressed by the transfer of thousands of Turks from mainland Turkey so that Greek Cypriots would cease to be the majority. When Erim visited Cyprus as the Turkish representative, he was advised by Field Marshal Sir John Harding, the then Governor of Cyprus, that Turkey should send educated Turks to settle in Cyprus.
Turkey actively promoted the idea that on the island of Cyprus two distinctive communities existed, and sidestepped its former claim that "the people of Cyprus were all Turkish subjects". In doing so, Turkey's aim to have self-determination of two to-be equal communities in effect led to de jure partition of the island.[citation needed] This could be justified to the international community against the will of the majority Greek population of the island. Dr. Fazil Küçük in 1954 had already proposed Cyprus be divided in two at the 35° parallel.
Lindley Dan, from Notre Dame University, spotted the roots of intercommunal violence to different visions among the two communities of Cyprus (enosis for Greek Cypriots, taksim for Turkish Cypriots). Also, Lindlay wrote that "the merging of church, schools/education, and politics in divisive and nationalistic ways" had played a crucial role in creation of havoc in Cyprus' history. Attalides Michael also pointed to the opposing nationalisms as the cause of the Cyprus problem.
By the mid-1950's, the "Cyprus is Turkish" party, movement, and slogan gained force in both Cyprus and Turkey. In a 1954 editorial, Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Fazil Kuchuk expressed the sentiment that the Turkish youth had grown up with the idea that "as soon as Great Britain leaves the island, it will be taken over by the Turks", and that "Turkey cannot tolerate otherwise". This perspective contributed to the willingness of Turkish Cypriots to align themselves with the British, who started recruiting Turkish Cypriots into the police force that patrolled Cyprus to fight EOKA, a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that sought to rid the island of British rule.
EOKA targeted colonial authorities, including police, but Georgios Grivas, the leader of EOKA, did not initially wish to open up a new front by fighting Turkish Cypriots and reassured them that EOKA would not harm their people. In 1956, some Turkish Cypriot policemen were killed by EOKA members and this provoked some intercommunal violence in the spring and summer, but these attacks on policemen were not motivated by the fact that they were Turkish Cypriots.
However, in January 1957, Grivas changed his policy as his forces in the mountains became increasingly pressured by the British Crown forces. In order to divert the attention of the Crown forces, EOKA members started to target Turkish Cypriot policemen intentionally in the towns, so that Turkish Cypriots would riot against the Greek Cypriots and the security forces would have to be diverted to the towns to restore order. The killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman on 19 January, when a power station was bombed, and the injury of three others, provoked three days of intercommunal violence in Nicosia. The two communities targeted each other in reprisals, at least one Greek Cypriot was killed and the British Army was deployed in the streets. Greek Cypriot stores were burned and their neighbourhoods attacked. Following the events, the Greek Cypriot leadership spread the propaganda that the riots had merely been an act of Turkish Cypriot aggression. Such events created chaos and drove the communities apart both in Cyprus and in Turkey.
On 22 October 1957 Sir Hugh Mackintosh Foot replaced Sir John Harding as the British Governor of Cyprus. Foot suggested five to seven years of self-government before any final decision. His plan rejected both enosis and taksim. The Turkish Cypriot response to this plan was a series of anti-British demonstrations in Nicosia on 27 and 28 January 1958 rejecting the proposed plan because the plan did not include partition. The British then withdrew the plan.
In 1957, Black Gang, a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation, was formed to patrol a Turkish Cypriot enclave, the Tahtakale district of Nicosia, against activities of EOKA. The organisation later attempted to grow into a national scale, but failed to gain public support.
By 1958, signs of dissatisfaction with the British increased on both sides, with a group of Turkish Cypriots forming Volkan (later renamed to the Turkish Resistance Organisation) paramilitary group to promote partition and the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as dictated by the Menderes plan. Volkan initially consisted of roughly 100 members, with the stated aim of raising awareness in Turkey of the Cyprus issue and courting military training and support for Turkish Cypriot fighters from the Turkish government.
In June 1958, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, was expected to propose a plan to resolve the Cyprus issue. In light of the new development, the Turks rioted in Nicosia to promote the idea that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together and therefore any plan that did not include partition would not be viable. This violence was soon followed by bombing, Greek Cypriot deaths and looting of Greek Cypriot-owned shops and houses. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started to flee mixed population villages where they were a minority in search of safety. This was effectively the beginning of the segregation of the two communities. On 7 June 1958, a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus. Following the bombing, Turkish Cypriots looted Greek Cypriot properties. On 26 June 1984, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, admitted on British channel ITV that the bomb was placed by the Turks themselves in order to create tension. On 9 January 1995, Rauf Denktaş repeated his claim to the famous Turkish newspaper Milliyet in Turkey.
The crisis reached a climax on 12 June 1958, when eight Greeks, out of an armed group of thirty five arrested by soldiers of the Royal Horse Guards on suspicion of preparing an attack on the Turkish quarter of Skylloura, were killed in a suspected attack by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, having been ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos.
After the EOKA campaign had begun, the British government successfully began to turn the Cyprus issue from a British colonial problem into a Greek-Turkish issue. British diplomacy exerted backstage influence on the Adnan Menderes government, with the aim of making Turkey active in Cyprus. For the British, the attempt had a twofold objective. The EOKA campaign would be silenced as quickly as possible, and Turkish Cypriots would not side with Greek Cypriots against the British colonial claims over the island, which would thus remain under the British. The Turkish Cypriot leadership visited Menderes to discuss the Cyprus issue. When asked how the Turkish Cypriots should respond to the Greek Cypriot claim of enosis, Menderes replied: "You should go to the British foreign minister and request the status quo be prolonged, Cyprus to remain as a British colony". When the Turkish Cypriots visited the British Foreign Secretary and requested for Cyprus to remain a colony, he replied: "You should not be asking for colonialism at this day and age, you should be asking for Cyprus be returned to Turkey, its former owner".
As Turkish Cypriots began to look to Turkey for protection, Greek Cypriots soon understood that enosis was extremely unlikely. The Greek Cypriot leader, Archbishop Makarios III, now set independence for the island as his objective.
Britain resolved to solve the dispute by creating an independent Cyprus. In 1959, all involved parties signed the Zurich Agreements: Britain, Turkey, Greece, and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Makarios and Dr. Fazil Kucuk, respectively. The new constitution drew heavily on the ethnic composition of the island. The President would be a Greek Cypriot, and the Vice-President a Turkish Cypriot with an equal veto. The contribution to the public service would be set at a ratio of 70:30, and the Supreme Court would consist of an equal number of judges from both communities as well as an independent judge who was not Greek, Turkish or British. The Zurich Agreements were supplemented by a number of treaties. The Treaty of Guarantee stated that secession or union with any state was forbidden, and that Greece, Turkey and Britain would be given guarantor status to intervene if that was violated. The Treaty of Alliance allowed for two small Greek and Turkish military contingents to be stationed on the island, and the Treaty of Establishment gave Britain sovereignty over two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
On 15 August 1960, the Colony of Cyprus became fully independent as the Republic of Cyprus. The new republic remained within the Commonwealth of Nations.
The new constitution brought dissatisfaction to Greek Cypriots, who felt it to be highly unjust for them for historical, demographic and contributional reasons. Although 80% of the island's population were Greek Cypriots and these indigenous people had lived on the island for thousands of years and paid 94% of taxes, the new constitution was giving the 17% of the population that was Turkish Cypriots, who paid 6% of taxes, around 30% of government jobs and 40% of national security jobs.
Within three years tensions between the two communities in administrative affairs began to show. In particular disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. A constitutional court ruled in 1963 Makarios had failed to uphold article 173 of the constitution which called for the establishment of separate municipalities for Turkish Cypriots. Makarios subsequently declared his intention to ignore the judgement, resulting in the West German judge resigning from his position. Makarios proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution, which would have had the effect of resolving most of the issues in the Greek Cypriot favour. Under the proposals, the President and Vice-President would lose their veto, the separate municipalities as sought after by the Turkish Cypriots would be abandoned, the need for separate majorities by both communities in passing legislation would be discarded and the civil service contribution would be set at actual population ratios (82:18) instead of the slightly higher figure for Turkish Cypriots.
The intention behind the amendments has long been called into question. The Akritas plan, written in the height of the constitutional dispute by the Greek Cypriot interior minister Polycarpos Georkadjis, called for the removal of undesirable elements of the constitution so as to allow power-sharing to work. The plan envisaged a swift retaliatory attack on Turkish Cypriot strongholds should Turkish Cypriots resort to violence to resist the measures, stating "In the event of a planned or staged Turkish attack, it is imperative to overcome it by force in the shortest possible time, because if we succeed in gaining command of the situation (in one or two days), no outside, intervention would be either justified or possible." Whether Makarios's proposals were part of the Akritas plan is unclear, however it remains that sentiment towards enosis had not completely disappeared with independence. Makarios described independence as "a step on the road to enosis".[31] Preparations for conflict were not entirely absent from Turkish Cypriots either, with right wing elements still believing taksim (partition) the best safeguard against enosis.
Greek Cypriots however believe the amendments were a necessity stemming from a perceived attempt by Turkish Cypriots to frustrate the working of government. Turkish Cypriots saw it as a means to reduce their status within the state from one of co-founder to that of minority, seeing it as a first step towards enosis. The security situation deteriorated rapidly.
Main articles: Bloody Christmas (1963) and Battle of Tillyria
An armed conflict was triggered after December 21, 1963, a period remembered by Turkish Cypriots as Bloody Christmas, when a Greek Cypriot policemen that had been called to help deal with a taxi driver refusing officers already on the scene access to check the identification documents of his customers, took out his gun upon arrival and shot and killed the taxi driver and his partner. Eric Solsten summarised the events as follows: "a Greek Cypriot police patrol, ostensibly checking identification documents, stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple on the edge of the Turkish quarter. A hostile crowd gathered, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots were killed."
In the morning after the shooting, crowds gathered in protest in Northern Nicosia, likely encouraged by the TMT, without incident. On the evening of the 22nd, gunfire broke out, communication lines to the Turkish neighbourhoods were cut, and the Greek Cypriot police occupied the nearby airport. On the 23rd, a ceasefire was negotiated, but did not hold. Fighting, including automatic weapons fire, between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and militias increased in Nicosia and Larnaca. A force of Greek Cypriot irregulars led by Nikos Sampson entered the Nicosia suburb of Omorphita and engaged in heavy firing on armed, as well as by some accounts unarmed, Turkish Cypriots. The Omorphita clash has been described by Turkish Cypriots as a massacre, while this view has generally not been acknowledged by Greek Cypriots.
Further ceasefires were arranged between the two sides, but also failed. By Christmas Eve, the 24th, Britain, Greece, and Turkey had joined talks, with all sides calling for a truce. On Christmas day, Turkish fighter jets overflew Nicosia in a show of support. Finally it was agreed to allow a force of 2,700 British soldiers to help enforce a ceasefire. In the next days, a "buffer zone" was created in Nicosia, and a British officer marked a line on a map with green ink, separating the two sides of the city, which was the beginning of the "Green Line". Fighting continued across the island for the next several weeks.
In total 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed during the violence. 25,000 Turkish Cypriots from 103-109 villages fled and were displaced into enclaves and thousands of Turkish Cypriot houses were ransacked or completely destroyed.
Contemporary newspapers also reported on the forceful exodus of the Turkish Cypriots from their homes. According to The Times in 1964, threats, shootings and attempts of arson were committed against the Turkish Cypriots to force them out of their homes. The Daily Express wrote that "25,000 Turks have already been forced to leave their homes". The Guardian reported a massacre of Turks at Limassol on 16 February 1964.
Turkey had by now readied its fleet and its fighter jets appeared over Nicosia. Turkey was dissuaded from direct involvement by the creation of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1964. Despite the negotiated ceasefire in Nicosia, attacks on the Turkish Cypriot persisted, particularly in Limassol. Concerned about the possibility of a Turkish invasion, Makarios undertook the creation of a Greek Cypriot conscript-based army called the "National Guard". A general from Greece took charge of the army, whilst a further 20,000 well-equipped officers and men were smuggled from Greece into Cyprus. Turkey threatened to intervene once more, but was prevented by a strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson, anxious to avoid a conflict between NATO allies Greece and Turkey at the height of the Cold War.
Turkish Cypriots had by now established an important bridgehead at Kokkina, provided with arms, volunteers and materials from Turkey and abroad. Seeing this incursion of foreign weapons and troops as a major threat, the Cypriot government invited George Grivas to return from Greece as commander of the Greek troops on the island and launch a major attack on the bridgehead. Turkey retaliated by dispatching its fighter jets to bomb Greek positions, causing Makarios to threaten an attack on every Turkish Cypriot village on the island if the bombings did not cease. The conflict had now drawn in Greece and Turkey, with both countries amassing troops on their Thracian borders. Efforts at mediation by Dean Acheson, a former U.S. Secretary of State, and UN-appointed mediator Galo Plaza had failed, all the while the division of the two communities becoming more apparent. Greek Cypriot forces were estimated at some 30,000, including the National Guard and the large contingent from Greece. Defending the Turkish Cypriot enclaves was a force of approximately 5,000 irregulars, led by a Turkish colonel, but lacking the equipment and organisation of the Greek forces.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1964, U Thant, reported the damage during the conflicts:
UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting.
The situation worsened in 1967, when a military junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Greece, and began applying pressure on Makarios to achieve enosis. Makarios, not wishing to become part of a military dictatorship or trigger a Turkish invasion, began to distance himself from the goal of enosis. This caused tensions with the junta in Greece as well as George Grivas in Cyprus. Grivas's control over the National Guard and Greek contingent was seen as a threat to Makarios's position, who now feared a possible coup.[citation needed] The National Guard and Cyprus Police began patrolling the Turkish Cypriot enclaves of Ayios Theodoros and Kophinou, and on November 15 engaged in heavy fighting with the Turkish Cypriots.
By the time of his withdrawal 26 Turkish Cypriots had been killed. Turkey replied with an ultimatum demanding that Grivas be removed from the island, that the troops smuggled from Greece in excess of the limits of the Treaty of Alliance be removed, and that the economic blockades on the Turkish Cypriot enclaves be lifted. Grivas was recalled by the Athens Junta and the 12,000 Greek troops were withdrawn. Makarios now attempted to consolidate his position by reducing the number of National Guard troops, and by creating a paramilitary force loyal to Cypriot independence. In 1968, acknowledging that enosis was now all but impossible, Makarios stated, "A solution by necessity must be sought within the limits of what is feasible which does not always coincide with the limits of what is desirable."
After 1967 tensions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots subsided. Instead, the main source of tension on the island came from factions within the Greek Cypriot community. Although Makarios had effectively abandoned enosis in favour of an 'attainable solution', many others continued to believe that the only legitimate political aspiration for Greek Cypriots was union with Greece.
On his arrival, Grivas began by establishing a nationalist paramilitary group known as the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B or EOKA-B), drawing comparisons with the EOKA struggle for enosis under the British colonial administration of the 1950s.
The military junta in Athens saw Makarios as an obstacle. Makarios's failure to disband the National Guard, whose officer class was dominated by mainland Greeks, had meant the junta had practical control over the Cypriot military establishment, leaving Makarios isolated and a vulnerable target.
During the first Turkish invasion, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus territory on 20 July 1974, invoking its rights under the Treaty of Guarantee. This expansion of Turkish-occupied zone violated International Law as well as the Charter of the United Nations. Turkish troops managed to capture 3% of the island which was accompanied by the burning of the Turkish Cypriot quarter, as well as the raping and killing of women and children. A temporary cease-fire followed which was mitigated by the UN Security Council. Subsequently, the Greek military Junta collapsed on July 23, 1974, and peace talks commenced in which a democratic government was installed. The Resolution 353 was broken after Turkey attacked a second time and managed to get a hold of 37% of Cyprus territory. The Island of Cyprus was appointed a Buffer Zone by the United Nations, which divided the island into two zones through the 'Green Line' and put an end to the Turkish invasion. Although Turkey announced that the occupied areas of Cyprus to be called the Federated Turkish State in 1975, it is not legitimised on a worldwide political scale. The United Nations called for the international recognition of independence for the Republic of Cyprus in the Security Council Resolution 367.
In the years after the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus one can observe a history of failed talks between the two parties. The 1983 declaration of the independent Turkish Republic of Cyprus resulted in a rise of inter-communal tensions and made it increasingly hard to find mutual understanding. With Cyprus' interest of a possible EU membership and a new UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997 new hopes arose for a fresh start. International involvement from sides of the US and UK, wanting a solution to the Cyprus dispute prior to the EU accession led to political pressures for new talks. The believe that an accession without a solution would threaten Greek-Turkish relations and acknowledge the partition of the island would direct the coming negotiations.
Over the course of two years a concrete plan, the Annan plan was formulated. In 2004 the fifth version agreed upon from both sides and with the endorsement of Turkey, US, UK and EU then was presented to the public and was given a referendum in both Cypriot communities to assure the legitimisation of the resolution. The Turkish Cypriots voted with 65% for the plan, however the Greek Cypriots voted with a 76% majority against. The Annan plan contained multiple important topics. Firstly it established a confederation of two separate states called the United Cyprus Republic. Both communities would have autonomous states combined under one unified government. The members of parliament would be chosen according to the percentage in population numbers to ensure a just involvement from both communities. The paper proposed a demilitarisation of the island over the next years. Furthermore it agreed upon a number of 45000 Turkish settlers that could remain on the island. These settlers became a very important issue concerning peace talks. Originally the Turkish government encouraged Turks to settle in Cyprus providing transfer and property, to establish a counterpart to the Greek Cypriot population due to their 1 to 5 minority. With the economic situation many Turkish-Cypriot decided to leave the island, however their departure is made up by incoming Turkish settlers leaving the population ratio between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots stable. However all these points where criticised and as seen in the vote rejected mainly by the Greek Cypriots. These name the dissolution of the „Republic of Cyprus", economic consequences of a reunion and the remaining Turkish settlers as reason. Many claim that the plan was indeed drawing more from Turkish-Cypriot demands then Greek-Cypriot interests. Taking in consideration that the US wanted to keep Turkey as a strategic partner in future Middle Eastern conflicts.
A week after the failed referendum the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU. In multiple instances the EU tried to promote trade with Northern Cyprus but without internationally recognised ports this spiked a grand debate. Both side endure their intention of negotiations, however without the prospect of any new compromises or agreements the UN is unwilling to start the process again. Since 2004 negotiations took place in numbers but without any results, both sides are strongly holding on to their position without an agreeable solution in sight that would suit both parties.
Is it me or is Pocket Zombie Santa arguing with the skeleton? Anywho, as you can see poor Santa had a run-in with some naughty zombies. They gnawed on Santa's head and arm a bit before the reindeer could stomp their zombie butts into the ground where they belonged. But there's no keeping Santa from making his rounds! Granted with a shuffle and grunt, preferring brains and guts over milk and cookies these days but, hey, what can you do?
♦ Stands approximately 4 inches (10.16cm) high.
♦ Individually cut from synthetic felt, sewn, and embroidered by my two hands.
♦ "Blood" is freehand painted.
Her name is Noelle.
I had a dream about her.
She rings my bell.
I got gym class for half an hour.
Oh how she rocks.
in Keds and tube socks.
But she doesn't know who I am.
And she doesn't give a damn about me.
Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby.
Yeah, I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby.
Listen to Iron Maiden baby, with me.
Her boyfriend's a dick
and he brings a gun to school.
He'd simply kick
my ass if he knew the truth.
He lives on my block
and he drives an Iroc.
But he doesn't know who I am
And he doesn't give a damn about me
Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby.
Yeah, I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby.
Listen to Iron Maiden maybe with me.
Oh yeah, dirtbag. No, she doesn't know what she's missing.
Oh yeah, dirtbag. No, she doesn't know what she's missing.
Man, I feel like mold.
It's prom night and I am lonely.
Lo and behold, she's walking over to me.
This must be fake, my lip starts to shake.
How does she know who I am?
And why does she give a damn about me?
(In girl's voice)
" I've got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby.
Come with me Friday don't say maybe.
I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby, like you [uuuuuh. uuuuuuuuh.]"
Oh yeah, dirtbag. No, she doesn't know what she's missing.
Oh yeah, dirtbag. No, she doesn't know what she's missing.
This is a photograph from the annual Ardagh Moydow Glen Community Games 5KM and 10 Mile road races, 5KM fun runs, walks and challenges which were held in the heritage village of Ardagh, Co. Longford, Ireland on Saturday 29th December 2018 at 13:00. This race has grown year on year since its first running a few years ago. This year seen one of the largest overall entries in the races.
We have an extensive set of photographs from the race start and the finish on our Flickr photostream set at www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157703633931361
Timing and Event management was provided by Irish company PopupRaces - check their website at www.popuparces.ie
The 10 mile race takes in the local 'Ardagh Mountain' which is a 1 mile continuous climb starting at the 2.5 mile mark of the 10 mile race. There is, of course, then the reward of a long down-hill stretch after the summit. This forested hill or mountain was once a famous centre of pre-Christian religious worship and is believed to have been the home of a pre–christian diety named Midir (the God of the Underworld), and also a Prince of the "Tuatha De Dannan", the fairy people of Ireland. The hill or mountain itself is named after Brí, the daughter of Midhir and her doomed love, Leith who are reputed to be buried on the hill. The remainder of the race is challenging but fair, with some much smaller and less steep hills in the race profile. Miles 3 - 7 benefit from some downhill as the race route travels around the base of the hills. The roads are predominantly rural roads with little traffic. The 10 mile race finishes in the same finish as the 5KM race. Water stops and adequate stewarding at junctions is provided.
The 5KM race takes a loop around the heritage village of Ardagh. This allows runners, walkers and joggers of all ability to take part over a more manageable distance. Overall this is a very well organised race with accurate courses, good marshalling and traffic control and excellent after race refreshments. The 10 mile race is one of the longest road races held during the Christmas period anywhere in Ireland and has appeal to runners who want to add a longer distance race to their festive calendar of running.
The weather at this year's race was almost perfect for running. The rain managed to stay away and there was little or no breeze. Indeed conditions could be described as mild with temperatures of 11C. In 2014 there was very frosty icy weather and in 2015 participants were given a very very windy day with heavy rain at the finish of both races. The 2016 and 2017 event seen very suitable weather for road racing in late December.
Ardagh is probably County Longford's most picturesque village with many historical and architecturally important features. It is located about 6 miles from Longford town.
Our Photographs from Ardagh 10 Mile 2017: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157688852560892
Our Photographs from Ardagh 10 Mile 2016: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157678237005786
Our Photographs from Ardagh 10 Mile 2015: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157662725299342
Our Photographs from Ardagh 10 Mile 2014: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157649570517620
114 Pictures in 2014. 49.The Weather Outside is Frightful!
Taken at The Regency, Laguna Woods, California. © 2014 All Rights Reserved.
My images are not to be used, copied, edited, or blogged without my explicit permission.
Please!! NO Glittery Awards or Large Graphics...Buddy Icons are OK. Thank You!
Blue skies may be delightful at times but in the midst of severe drought, they are frightful. I took these images off the television at lunchtime today ~ unusually warm temperatures, gusting Santa Ana winds, not a drop of rain in sight. We're under Red Flag warnings, which means severe fire danger. I hope I don't see any fire more devastating than the two pictured. These are frightening enough!
I'm going to be scarce this week, my Flickr friends! I'm spending the next three days with Amy, my daughter, I'm happy to say!
Thanks so much for showing up and for your support! Have a wonderful week, yourselves! I'll get back to you again after Friday!
Jonathan Adnams is growing several fields of Rye which will go towards making Adnams' Rye Whisky. Jonathan is pictured with Distiller John McCathy. July 23rd 2015.
As background, this is a comparison of Noga Magnetic Base Indicator holders. The Noga model numbering system can be baffling, but basically the first three digits of the number give an indication of the maximum reach of the articulated arm (not including the indicator holder at the end). From smallest to largest they are MA (509mm), MG7 (276mm), MG6 (246mm), DG6 (211mm), NF6 (107mm), and LC6 (76mm). The other digits of the model number specify if it has a mag base, if the fine adjustment is on the head, on the base, or both, and whether the arm that attaches to the mag base is threaded metric or imperial, and if it holds 8mm dial indicators or ⅜” indicators. The type of indicator mount at the far end determines the final reach length and can vary by 20mm. Noga’s current indicator holder ends are the newer FA1500 type which are long, but very difficult to adjust and keep steady. On every Noga holder that I own, I have replaced the indictor holder with the older FA1300 units which are far more rigid and easier to set up and adjust.
Below is a photo of my collection of Noga holders showing their relative reach on an X-Roll sliding table. Front to back they are (with total reach in parenthesis) NF61003 (178mm), DG1033 (232mm), MG10533 (267.5mm), MG1033 (317mm), MG71003 (347.5mm), MA61003 (580mm).
Of all of these models, my most used and favorite is the MG10533 since it has fine adjustment on the base, the indicator holder does not swivel and is thus rigid and easy to set up, and the reach is sufficient for sliding table outside edge alignment checks.
Smoo Cave is a large combined sea cave and freshwater cave in Durness in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland.
Geology
Smoo Cave is formed within Early Ordovician dolostones of the Durness Group (also known as the Durness Limestone). The cave has formed along the boundary between the light grey Sangomore Formation and the dark grey, mottled Sailmhor Formation (sometimes called Leopard Rock), both of which form part the Durness Group succession. These horizons close to the formation boundary are characterised by large and abundant chert nodules which can be found all along the inner stream chamber where they have been left behind after dissolution of the surrounding dolostone. The cave was formed along two geological lines of weakness by a combination of erosion from the sea and an inland underground stream which has formed the innermost chambers. Upstream of the Allt Smoo which runs into the cave, impermeable quartzites have been faulted against the Durness Limestone, causing the stream to sink down into the carbonate rock soon after it has crossed the contact between the two different rock types.
Physical description
Outer chamber of Smoo Cave. The main entrance is to the right; the covered walkway leads to the second (inner) cave that has the waterfall.
The Smoo burn drops into the cave through a sink hole.
The cave is unique within the UK in that the first chamber has been formed by the action of the sea, whereas the inner chambers are freshwater passages, formed from rainwater dissolving the carbonate dolostones. Partway through the cave the waters of Allt Smoo also drop in as a 20m high waterfall. This is mainly due to the nearby dolostone - quartzite geological boundary where the Allt Smoo stream crosses the impermeable quartzites and sinks on meeting the permeable dolostones. Essentially the cave can be thought of as two caves formed by different mechanisms which have joined together over time. The cave is composed of three main sections; a large sea cave entrance chamber, a waterfall chamber and a short freshwater passage which leads to a terminal sump chamber with some interesting flowstone formations at the rear.
The cave entrance and main chamber have been considerably enlarged by sea action to approximately 40m wide and 15m high, the largest sea cave entrance in Britain. The entrance is located at the end of a 600m long tidal gorge (Geodha Smoo) which was once part of the cave, now collapsed. Several remnant pillars can be seen along the eastern side of the Geodh along with a large section of the previous roof which has been partly buried by the grassy slope (normally covered by rocks spelling out the names of visitors to the cave). Interestingly, the sea rarely enters the sea cave nowadays (only during spring tides) as the area has undergone isostatic uplift.
The present-day cave is 83m long up to the terminal sump at the rear of the third chamber / passage. The cave travels further however as an active stream of notable size resurges here at all times. Previous dye-testing has linked an underwater passage to an initial sink point in the Allt Smoo stream about 100m upstream from the main waterfall, implying that the cave system is at least twice as long as once thought. Cave divers belonging to the Grampian Speleological Group have dived this sump to a distance of c. 40m, although large volumes of silt and peat in the water have prevented further exploration. It is worth noting that the main waterfall is often dry and will only become active once this upstream sink overflows.
Archaeological investigations have turned up Neolithic, Norse and Iron Age artifacts, and it is thought that usage may extend back to the Mesolithic age. The cave name is thought to originate from the Norse 'smjugg' or 'smuga' meaning a hole or hiding-place.
This is a photograph from the 3rd Annual Meath Spring Half Marathon and 10KM Road Races hosted by Bohermeen AC on the 2nd March 2014 at 12:00 at Bohermeen, Ardbraccan, Navan, Co. Meath, Ireland. This year's event included a 10KM race which replaced the 5KM event held on the previous years. This event has grown quickly in popularity over the past few years with this year's entry of 700 beating the previous race numbers of 680. This half marathon event is perfectly placed in the Irish running calendar as it provides runners of all levels and abilities an opportunity to test the half marathon distance in preparation for a Spring Marathon or as the first serious running goal of the New Year. Bohermeen AC is steeped in Irish athletics history since 1927 and it is this experience and exceptional community spirit and volunteering which has made this event today so successful. The very heavy rain that fell on the 10KM race and the begining of the Half Marathon did nothing to dampen the spirits of the participants. In fact, despite a head wind at certain parts of the course, this was a perfect day for road racing.
Our full set of photographs from today's event are available on Flickr at the following link http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157641717197563/. This set of photographs is mostly of the Half Marathon race but there are some from the 10KM event.
Don't forget to scroll down to see more information about the race and these photographs!
Event Management was provided by Irish Company PRECISION TIMING who provided electronic timing for both events. The results from today's events can be found on Precision Timing's website at this URL [www.precisiontiming.net/result/racetimer?v=%252Fen%252Fra...]
The Satellite Navigation Coordinates to Bohermeen are [53.650882,-6.77989] and is accessible using the M3, N2 and N52
The routing for the 2014 event has changed slightly from previous year. In 2014 the race starts about 100m away from the Bohermeen Club Race HQ [See Google StreetView in the direction of the imagery goo.gl/maps/rtj1X] and the race proceeds down the road towards Navan. Just before the 1st mile the race takes a right turn [see Google Streetview goo.gl/maps/iGrR0] which brings runners on the route of the famous Patrick Bell 5KM Road Race route held at Bohermeen every summer. Then the route turns slightly eastwards and this brings the race along a beautiful stretch of rural countryside road. This connects runners with the main loop [see Google StreetView goo.gl/maps/gLI1l] where the race follows the N51 towards Navan. The race must now complete this loop (which passes through the start area and past the finish) and then a full loop again before finishing in the Athletics track. The only hills to speak of in this course are on the the stretch where the race route crosses the M3 motorway (see Google Streetview - as of March 2014 their imagery is a little out of date for the M3 goo.gl/maps/tcdJX). The only major climb on the course must be tackled twice as the road rises up over the M3 Motorway. This comes at about the 5M and 11.5 Mile mark in the race.
Some useful links to other web-resources related to this race
Bohermeen AC Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/bohermeen.ac?fref=ts
2014 Spring Half Marathon Route: www.runningmap.com/?id=641747
2014 Spring Half Marathon 10KM Race Option Route: www.runningmap.com/?id=641752
Google Streetview of the Race Start: goo.gl/maps/rtj1X
Google Streetview of the Race Finish and Race Headquarters: goo.gl/maps/qVttR
Internet Homepage for the Spring Half Marathon [www.meathspringhalfmarathon.com/]
Results from 2013 from Precision Timing: www.precisiontiming.net/result/racetimer?v=%252Fen%252Fra...
Results from 2012 from Precision Timing: www.precisiontiming.net/result/racetimer?v=%252Fen%252Fra...
The Boards.ie Athletics Forum Thread For 2013 Race [www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056785036&p...]
The Boards.ie Athletics Forum Thread For 2014 Race [www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057078579]
Photographs from previous events
Our Flickr Photograph set from the 2nd Spring Marathon 2013: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157632906920970/
Our Flickr set from the 1st Spring Marathon (2012) www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157629146137284/with...
Photographs from the 2013 event from our friend Paul Reilly [pjrphotography.zenfolio.com/p670974697]
We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs
We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?
The explaination is very simple.
Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own.
ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.
Creative Commons aims to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?
Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share to: email, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.
We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. Our only "cost" is our request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us.
This also extends the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.
How can I get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?
If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.
Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.
In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting does take a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.
I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?
Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.
I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?
As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:
►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera
►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set
►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone
►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!
You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.
Don't like your photograph here?
That's OK! We understand!
If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.
I want to tell people about these great photographs!
Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably http://www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets
This is a flexi hair product for Second Life (move along with your motion and look best when dancing).
As with all our hair products, the package bundled in a All Colors pack with 11-12 colors x 19-20 filter variants. This gives you over 200 possible options.
DrLifeGen3 In-world Store:
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Fashion%20Boulevard/84/131/1949
SL marketplace:
marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/204933
========================
Photo Style Card & Info:
========================
Hair : DrLifeGen3Hair Rosena
Eyes : DrLifeGen3 Eyeball
Skin : DrLifeGen3 skin series
Shape : DreamShape for DrLifeGen3 series
This is Cromer Parish Church in Cromer, Norfolk, a Grade I listed building. Also known as the Parish Church Of St Peter And St Paul.
On Church Street in Cromer.
Church doors.
Fabric C15. Restored late C19 with rebuilding of chancel by Sir Arthur Blomfield in 1887-9. Flint, partly knapped flint, stone dressings and slated roofs. Comprising: tall nave with 6 perpendicular clerestory windows. C19 chancel. North and south aisles with 7 large perpendicular traceried windows, and buttresses between with niches. 2 storeyed north and south porches, the north porch vaulted, both with flushwork-panelled stair turrets, and flushwork panelling on side walls. Very tall west tower, 160 ft, 4 stages, pinnacles and ornate battlements, tall 2-light bell-openings on each side, set back buttresses, 5-light west window. West porch of knapped flint, niches either side of entrance, battlements, vaulted and elaborate inner doorway. Lofty interior with very tall tower arch, arcades and chancel arch. Stained glass in south aisle by Morris circa 1874. Traceried south door. Brass of 1518 in chancel wall.
Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul, Churchyard Boundary Wall, War Memorial and Monument to J H Earle form a group.
a certain badger of zen
Visit this location at The Abstract Brain Ritual By Isadora Alaya and Emma in Second Life
Bar Harbor, Maine USA
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
State Capital - Augusta
Largest City - Portland
Name for Residents - Mainers
State Nickname - Pine Tree State
State Motto - "Dirigo" - I direct
Maine produces 99% of all the blueberries in the country making it the single largest producer of blueberries in the United States.
Approximately 40 millions pounds (nearly 90 percent) of the nation's lobster supply is caught off the coast of Maine.
Acadia National Park is the second most visited national park in the United States.
90% of the country's toothpick supply is produced in Maine.
The state flower is the white pine cone and tassel.
For more information on visiting Maine
3-Day Acadia National Park, Maine Coast, Head Light House Tour from New YorkTour Code: 755-131
www.taketours.com/new-york-ny/3-day-new-york-to-acadia-na...
August 30,31, September 1st 2014
About this portion of the trip:
New York - Boston - Salem - Portland (334 miles)
Guests will be picked up in New York in the early morning. then arrive at Boston totake the Boston Harbor Cruise. In the afternoon, we will visit the Salem Witch Museum. Finally, we move to Portland Head Light in Portland, ME
South Portland, ME
Portland Head Light For more than 200 years, the lighthouse known as the Portland Head Light has been a beacon for ships off the coast of New England. Construction on the lighthouse began in 1787 under the direction of not-yet-president George Washington.
Acadia National Park - Bar Harbor (288 miles)
In the morning we will drive to Acadia National Park, where we will see Eagle Lake and drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain. We will then go to Bar Harbor, ME and explore this seaside New England town. In the afternoon guests may choose to take a Boat Tour of the area in the form of either a nature cruise OR a lobster-fishing trip. We will finish the day with a visit to Thunder Hole.
Acadia National Park, ME Acadia National Park is located on Mount Desert Island just off the coast of Maine. This scenic park encompasses mountains, ocean shoreline, lakes, and forest. Guests can expect to see moose, black bear, whit-tailed deer, and many seabirds.
Thunder Hole Thunder Hole is an impressive blowhole in Acadia National Park, Maine. Seawater is pushed into a submerged cave and shoots up through the ground as high as forty feet in the air. The area offers great views as well.
Bar Harbor, ME
Acadia Nature Cruise or Lobster Steal Cruise Fully narrated cruise of Frenchman Bay and enjoy the breathtaking scenery of coastal Maine or when in season, join an unforgettable excursion to experience the daily routines of a Maine Lobsterman.
Day 3
Bar Harbor - York Beach - Mystic - New York (530 miles)
To start our day, we will travel to York Beach, ME to visit York's Wild Kingdom. After, we will visit the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT.
At the end of the day, we will return to the departure points in New York for dropoff.
York Beach, ME
Yorks Wild Kingdom This large zoo and amusement park in southern Maine draws more than 200,000 guests every year. In addition to the usual fare of food stalls, gift shops, and rides, York's Wild Kingdom is home to 75 different animal exhibits.
Fore more information on Take Tours visit:
Hashtag metadata tag
#Maine #ME #BarHarbor #BarHarborME #BarHarborMaine #AcadiaNationalPark #Acadia #National #Park #NewEngland #StateofMaine #MaineState #ÉtatduMaine #Portland #Mainers #Blueberry #blueberries #lighthouse #lighthouses #USA #America #American
Photo
Bar Harbor town, Mount Desert Island, Hancock County, United States of America USA country, North America continent
August 31st 2014
less is more, loafers, vanharen, lakloafers, instappers, fashionblogger, love at first bite, cupcakes4ever, cupcakes arnhem, maybelline fit me matte & poreless foundation, nars radiant creamy concealer, joëlle romita, hntm, hoeveel foundation aanbrengen, concealer, foundation, foundation deppen, poederloeder, roze blouse, mom jeans, video opnemen, maybelline youtube-kanaal
Keomi is the third Siamese cat I have owned, the first one dating back to 45 years ago. They have all been so wonderful and loving.
The first Keomi would allow my very young daughter to dress her in doll clothes and then would lie in a doll carriage and be wheeled around.
The Keomi in this pet portrait is now 15 years old. I think her the sweetest cat in the world, but then I am prejudiced!
ezimba is a web site that can apply different imaging effects.
I used one picture for all the effects just for consistency for comparison. The title for each photo consists of the category of the effect and the name of the effect. Some effects would be better used on a different image. There are some effects also that appear to do the same thing in different effect categories.
Ezimba also has a Facebook app, Google Android app, and a free iPhone app. Please note that the free iPhone app puts a small logo on the edited image. You can buy the paid ezimba app and not have the logo.
Here is an oddity and I don't know why a projection TV was still being stored for money when flat screens are so cheap. It's hard to believe what people think is valuable enough to store. I for one stashed a motor-driven Besseler color enlarger with dichroic head and blower assembly and I feared for the devaluation caused by the flood. What is any devaluation below zero? I did rescue the EL Nikkor enlarging lenses. To what end, I don't know. This is just down from the thatched chain link shot.
The flooding was due to leaving the gate on an irrigation ditch open above the Twin Peaks Golf Course uphill from here. Everything that would float, floated across the links and got caught in every possible snag. Clearly, a lot of weeds were scoured by the flood. I wonder how high the flood water got? This is undoubtedly from the ditch that flooded the golf course and housing and storage units. Too bad the ditch company didn't close the gate after 2-3 days of rain but it's good to know that no one is responsible. The righties preach against climate change so it can't be that even though Canada registered hundreds of glaciers shrinking with a lot of them disappearing but there are 4, count em, that are growing. Proof positive if you don't count the hundreds of others. Coming soon near you! Data from "Chasing Ice," the earth shattering movie of photographer James Balog's exploits of the EIS ice survey. Don't fool yourself about the lies of the tightie righties about no global warming. That takes an enormous stretch of imagination as well as stupidity (and Rash Limpball) is the face of mountains of scientific evidence.
As it worked out, clear weather developed today, so I bailed immediately. The branch line, behind me and in earlier posts, was an extension of the Denver, Longmont and Northwestern narrow gauge built by the Denver, Utah & Pacific. There were two quarry branches and the remaining cement plant spurs at Lyons.
Eyebombing is a form of street art whereby removable wiggly eyes are added to an inanimate object to endow it with human attributes.
The art is intended to bring a smile to anyone discovering an eyebomb.
The rules are straightforward.
• Eyes must be added to an inanimate object that does not already resemble a creature.
• Standard wiggly (also known as goggly or googly) eyes must be used. No stickers or painted eyes as these can be hard to remove or leave residue that could be seen as vandalism.
• The Eyebomb is performed in public space.
In 2003, Klutz Press published a book titled ‘Googly Eyes’. This consisted of photographs of wiggly eyes on household items and included some eyes to use in a creative manner. It was not until 2005 that Eyebombing became widespread after some examples of Eyebombing appeared on Flickr.
Since than it has gradually grown and become something of an institution, especially since two Danes, Kim Nielsen and Peter Dam, founded www.eyebombing.com
This is back to more of my old form.. The foreground is obviously really badly underexposed but I like what it does in this image. You can still tell what the subject is on the left but you're also given a really great amount of detail in the sky - I think it makes it look more like dusk than dawn.
SPYAIR is a Rock / J-POP group originally from Nagoya, Japan.
They are currently based in Tokyo and will be making their full major debut in August 2010.
Their two nationwide-release singles are ジャパニケーション and 感情ディスコード, which should both be available from major retailers.
Prior to their debut, they could often be seen playing outdoors in the Sakae, Nagoya area.
Their homepage is at www.spyair.net/
Music samples can be found at:
This is quite sharp. I should add notes so you know what's what.
I tend to draw spaces and places that have very impractical designs. For example, here you see a two-way road with light rail in the median on the south side, and then the tracks diverge to be on the outside of the roadway. There's really no point to that.
I think I do that so there's more line activity in my drawing.
You should also note I put in turnstiles at the light rail station. I'm not aware of any light rail system in the world which has automated fare controls.
This is a photograph of a drawing, and not a scan like most of my drawings on here.
This is a photograph from the annual Na Fianna AC "Bob Heffernan" 5KM Road Race and Fun Run which was held in Johnstownbridge, Co. Kildare, Ireland on Tuesday 19th May 2015 at 20:00. The race has gained a glowing reputation as being one of the fastest 5KM road races in Ireland. This race commemorates the years of work and volunteering that local man Bob Heffernan gave to Meath, Leinster, and Irish athletics from grass roots upwards and his work with the host club Na Fianna AC who have a catchment area in this part of rural North Kildare and South Meath. The race, known affectionately by club-members as simply "Bob's race" is a fitting tribute to commemorate his contribution to this sport. Today's race had another very large attendance with over 420 registered participants. There was a wonderful atmosphere as runners from all over Leinster gathered for a great night's racing. The very changeable and unseasonably weather of late made for an unpredictable night weather wise. A shower of hail fell on runners between 2KM and 3KM and yet this shower didn't fall on the finish area at the Hamlet Court Hotel.
This race is part of the annual Meath Road Race League despite the fact that the race is run completely in County Kildare. The Na Fianna club, who organise the race, have a catchment area of South Meath and North West Kildare. The current route for the race has stayed the same over the past few years. However previous to that the race was held in Enfield and also Rathmoylan in County Meath. This road race has grown from strength to strength year on year and is now one of the premier 5KM races in Ireland and one of the top club attended races in Leinster. The race starts on the busy Enfield to Endenderry road and this requires a big effort from stewards and marshalls. However, as always, the event was a resounding success with personal bests and great runs from many of the participants.
We have a large set of photographs from the finish of the race and they are available on our Flickr photostream at www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157653107820532
Timing and event management was provided by Precision Timing. Results are available on their website at www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=2648 with additional material available on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/davidprecisiontiming?fref=ts) See their promotional video on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-7_TUVwJ6Q
Reading on a Smartphone or tablet? Don't forget to scroll down further to read more about this race and see important Internet links to other information about the race! You can also find out how to access and download these photographs.
For nostalgia - photographs of previous years
Our pictures from Na Fianna 2014: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157644763278914
Our pictures from Na Fianna 2013: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157633580992446/
Our pictures from Na Fianna 2012: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157629852959646/
Our Flickr set from Na Fianna 2011: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157626673634371/
Our Flickr set from Na Fianna 2010: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157629852959646/
USING OUR PHOTOGRAPHS - A QUICK GUIDE AND ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS
Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?
Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share directly to: email, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.
BUT..... Wait there a minute....
We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. We do not charge for our photographs. Our only "cost" is that we request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, VK.com, Vine, Meetup, Tagged, Ask.fm,etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us or acknowledge us as the original photographers.
This also extends to the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.
I want to download these pictures to my computer or device?
You can download this photographic image here directly to your computer or device. This version is the low resolution web-quality image. How to download will vary slight from device to device and from browser to browser. Have a look for a down-arrow symbol or the link to 'View/Download' all sizes. When you click on either of these you will be presented with the option to download the image. Remember just doing a right-click and "save target as" will not work on Flickr.
I want get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?
If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.
Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.
In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting takes a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.
I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?
Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.
Let's get a bit technical: We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs
We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?
The explaination is very simple.
Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own. This usually just mean putting a link to our photographs somewhere on your website, blog, or Facebook where other people can see it.
ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.
Above all what Creative Commons aims to do is to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?
As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:
►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera
►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set
►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone
►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!
You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.
Don't like your photograph here?
That's OK! We understand!
If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.
I want to tell people about these great photographs!
Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably http://www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets
So here is how it goes.
I received Canon 70-200mm f/4 L lens as a present for Mother's Day from my hubby! I had been talking about that lens for a while (giving him ideas for Mother's Day gift.. lol, women!!!). I was so sure I really want that lens, because I want that zoom. And then voila, there it was my gift! :) I was playing with it for a couple of days and realized: I am not going to get as much use out of it as I thought. Don't get me wrong, the lens is great! I love it! But if I have to choose, turns out for me and for now wide angle is the way to go.
Even before I got that gift, my hubby wasn't sure what he's getting for me. Just a lens with those kinds of numbers. He has no clue whatsoever what it is, what it means, etc. So yesterday when I said I think I would want to exchange it for a wide angle one. He replied: "Go ahead! You will be the one who's using it. You know what you want. I just want you to be happy. Besides I have no idea what you're talking about there. Just go and get what you want." Huh....
So I went and exchanged it for Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 today. Guess what? This is the one that I needed! It feels right this time! I can already see how I'll be loving to take it with me wherever I go! :)
This is one of the 1st shots with it and I love it! I really like how crisp everything seems with this one. And the angle is beautiful! I will definitely be having fun! Thanks to my wonderful hubby! :)
Motocross is a man made track on natural terrain. This is the best turn at the track. I wasn't doing any tricks with the angle. It really is steep. The only negative is that there isn't a single place to see the whole track but on the far side I can see most of the racing so that's where I go to sit and watch.
Cause we all wanna be big Rockstars, Living in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars, The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap.
Rockstar -- Nickelback
I set my ISO low because it was really sunny and I set the white balance to sunny but I still think the colors could be a little bit better. Next time I'll try changing the EV to underexpose the shot.
Oval Spring is a geyser in the Sawmill Group of Yellowstone's Upper Geyser Basin. It's located about 40 meters north-northeast of Sawmill Geyser and 13 meters north-northwest of Penta Geyser. The circular basin is about 9 meters in diameter. A centrally-located, irregularly elongated vent is oriented northeast-southwest and is about 1 by 2 meters in size. The basin is floored by geyserite, which varies in surface morphology from nodulose to smooth-but-slightly-undulating to terracetted. Shallow, irregularly dendritic channels are present in the geyserite floor that drain water toward the central vent.
Water levels in Oval Spring vary depending on the nature of eruptive activity in other Sawmill Group geysers. Observed conditions include: low to very low water levels (but still visible), moderately high water levels, and a water-filled basin with slight overflow. Observed behaviors range from calm pools to pulsing/undulating to splashing eruptions.
From 2013 to 2016, eruptions at Oval Spring were often reported. It had a years-long dormancy from fall 2016 to spring 2021. Eruptions have since been reported from June 2021 to fall 2025 at least.
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Novovoronezh (Russian: Нововоро́неж) is a town in Voronezh Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Don River 55 kilometers (34 mi) south of Voronezh. Population: 30,658 (2021 Census); 32,635 (2010 Census); 36,961 (2002 Census); 35,666 (1989 Soviet census).
Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as Novovoronezh Urban Okrug—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban okrug status.
The Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant is located in the town.
Novovoronezh was established along with the start of the future nuclear power plant construction works in 1957. It was then called the urban settlement of Novo-Graessovsky, but renamed its current name later the same year.
The first unit of 210 MW of the Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant was put into power on September 30, 1964/
From 1959 to 1963 Novovoronezh was the center of the Novovoronezh district, and its administrative status was upgraded from the urban settlement to a town in 1987.
In 2020, an ambiguous monument was erected in the city to the legendary founder of the city Alyonka, who, according to legend, found a good place and brought her fellow villagers there. Thanks to this monument, Novovoronezh became famous throughout Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The forged sculptural composition, which cost the city a million rubles and caused negative feedback from citizens, was dismantled three days after installation and later sold at auction for 2.6 million rubles. with a starting price of 1 million rubles. The updated monument to Alyonka, but already made of bronze, was opened on July 1, 2022.
COPYRIGHT:
All rights reserved. It is forbidden to use this image without my explicit permission.
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Tots els drets reservats. Està prohibit utilitzar aquesta imatge sense el meu permís explícit.
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Todos los derechos reservados. Está prohibido utilizar esta imagen sin mi permiso explícito.
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CREDITS:
Models: Noemí Fernández & Sergio Palomo
Photography and edition: Jordi Payà Canals
Studio: imatgesipíxels [www.imatgesipixels.net/resume/]
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia.
The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of The Queen, represented by the Governor of Victoria; the Legislative Council (upper house); and the Legislative Assembly (lower house).[1] The Parliament meets at Parliament House in the state capital Melbourne.
The two Houses of Parliament have 128 Members in total, 88 in the lower house and 40 in the upper house. Victoria has compulsory voting and uses preferential ballot in single-member seats for the lower house, and single transferable vote in multi-member seats for the proportionally represented upper house. Government is formed in the lower house while the upper is a house of review. All members serve four-year terms.
The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, elected at the 2010 election, held a one-seat parliamentary majority in both houses until 6 March 2013, when due to the resignation of Geoff Shaw a lower house member from the Liberal Party, now is technically a minority government.
Walking Street: Pattaya is not a traditional Thai town. It was a product of "Vietnam War" and has very little of traditional Thai culture.
For the past centuries, Pattaya was a small fishing village on the gulf of Thailand. But a big change occurred in 1961 when the first group of about 100 American servicemen who would join the Vietnam War arrived in Pattaya for R&R (Rest and Relaxation). Fishermen’s’ huts along the beach were replaced by a full range of accommodations from super deluxe hotels to inexpensive guest houses – and bars, bars, bars and more bars. The war ended, the servicemen went home but Pattaya became Thailand's premier and most successful beach resort which annually attracts hundreds of thousands of pleasure-seeking visitors.
Walking Street: is 1.5 km stretch of paved walking area often described as the "red-light district" of Pattaya with many go-go bars and brothels. But Walking Street is much more than a red-light district. The street is closed to vehicles from 6:00 pm to 2 am, the area includes seafood restaurants, live music venues, beer bars, discothèques, sports bars, go-go bars, and nightclubs. The choice is up to the visitors.
Grandfinal morning - all is quiet -West Coast beat Sydney by 1point
NHL
Melbourne Cricket Ground
Source: Go to the National Heritage List for more information.
Identifier: 105885
Location: Brunton Av, Jolimont
Local
Government: Melbourne City
State: VIC
Country: Australia
Statement of
Significance: The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was established in 1853 when Lieutenant-Governor La Trobe provided 10 acres of land in Yarra Park to the Melbourne Cricket Club. In the intervening 150 years the MCG has developed into one of the largest, most recognisable and modern sports stadiums in the world.
The MCG is the home of the Melbourne Cricket Club, the first cricket club in Victoria and a major contributor to the development of cricket in Victoria and Australia from the middle of the nineteenth century. The Melbourne Cricket Club organised the inaugural inter-colonial first-class cricket match between Victoria and New South Wales on the MCG in 1856. The first test match between Australia and England was also played on the MCG in 1877.
In 1858 Tom Wills and other members of the Melbourne Cricket Club devised the rules of the Melbourne Football Club, which became the codified rules of Australian Rules football. Football was played on the MCG for the first time in 1859 and since the late nineteenth century the MCG has been the symbolic home of football, first in Victoria and, with the establishment of the Australian Football League, in Australia as a whole.
The MCG has become associated with many of the finest sporting achievements of Australia’s, and many of the world’s greatest athletes. It was the site of the 1956 Olympic Games, the first in the southern hemisphere.
There is a continuity of use of the MCG for domestic cricket from 1856, international cricket from 1877, and Australian Rules football since the 1880s. Spectator and playing facilities at the ground have evolved to support on-going use and contemporary standards. Of the little remaining pre-1992 fabric, approximately 30% of the wrought iron fence around the playing arena, dating from 1884, is in situ and is a significant aspect of the place.
The significance of the MCG extends far beyond that of a mere sports stadium. It is an integral part of the fabric of Melbourne and the nation, and has gained an egalitarian image as ‘the people’s ground’.
Description: The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is the largest sporting arena in the city of Melbourne and has the highest seating capacity of any outdoor stadium in Australia. It is used principally for international and domestic cricket and Australian Rules football. It was the main stadium for the 1956 Olympic Games and in March 2006 will be the centrepiece of the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
The MCG playing surface is an oval, 160 metres long and 138 metres wide at its centre. It is a natural (grass) surface and a turf cricket pitch is prepared and dropped in to the playing arena for international and domestic cricket. The oval is surrounded by a metal railing fence.
A major redevelopment of spectator facilities at the ground commenced in 1990. Current spectator facilities consist of the Great Southern Stand, completed in 1992, and the new Ponsford and Northern Stands which commenced in 2002 and have been progressively opened for public use. The final stage of construction, the Northern Stand, is due for completion in January 2006.
The redevelopment has involved demolition of the Western Stand (Ponsford Stand), the Members’ Stand and the Northern Stand (Olympic) to allow for new stands on the western and northern sides of the ground. When the new Northern Stand is completed in January 2006, the capacity of the stadium will be restored to 100,000 seats. The new grandstands incorporate many of today’s most advanced design features and provide world-class viewing facilities for spectators. The Great Southern Stand won the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Sir Zelman Cowan Award for public buildings and the RAIA Victorian Chapter Award in 1992.
The erection of six lighting towers, first used in February 1985, has enabled both cricket and football to be played at night.
VHR Statement of Significance
What is significant?
The Melbourne Cricket Ground was established in 1853 when 10 acres of land at Yarra Park in Jolimont was set aside for the use of the Melbourne Cricket Club, the purpose of the reserve being 'to promote the recreation and amusement of the people and ... to provide a site or place for the playing of cricket within the City of Melbourne in our said Colony.' Since 1862, the ground has been administered by a government-appointed trust (the MCG Trust) which continues to delegate its day-to-day management to the Melbourne Cricket Club. From its beginnings as a simple paddock-like ground with a modest pavilion and with limited grandstand and other facilities scattered around the perimeter, the Melbourne Cricket Ground has evolved and expanded through a process of phased redevelopment and renewal into a major piece of sporting infrastructure serving the metropolitan area and the State as a whole. Currently, the stadium comprises four principal stands, the MCC Members Pavilion (the third on the site, designed by Stephenson and Meldrum and completed in 1927), the Northern (Olympic) Stand (designed by AW Purnell and completed in 1956), the Western (Ponsford) Stand (designed by Tompkins, Shaw & Evans and completed in 1968) and the Great Southern Stand (designed by Daryl Jackson in association with Tompkins Shaw & Evans and completed in 1992), the oval, light towers (1984) and Australian Gallery of Sport (1986).
How is it significant?
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is of historical, social, aesthetic and architectural significance to the State of Victoria.
Why is it significant?
The MCG is of historical and social significance at a State, national and international level, as one of the oldest and largest capacity contained sporting venues in the world and one of the best-known of international cricket grounds, and as the pre-eminent venue for top-level cricket in Australia since the mid to late nineteenth century. Since the late nineteenth century it has also been the main venue and symbolic home of Australian Rules Football in Melbourne, making it of great historical and social significance in a State and metropolitan context, and - following the expansion of the Australian Football League to include interstate clubs - in a national context. The MCG is also historically and socially significant as the main venue and ceremonial focus for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, and for its associations with numerous other sports and events.
The MCG is also of historical and social significance for its association with the Melbourne Cricket Club, the oldest club in Victoria and a major force in the development of cricket and other sports in Victoria from the nineteenth century. This association is reflected in the Members Pavilion, which is the third such pavilion constructed for the purpose. As well as being the repository of Victoria?s cricketing traditions, the pavilion occupies the prime position for viewing events, particularly cricket, and allows members access to a range of private facilities such as the dining room and the long room.
In the broader context, the MCG is also of historical and social significance for its egalitarian image as the 'people's ground' and its long tradition of serving the people of Victoria. The MCG is socially significant as a living icon, a focus of attention in which importance lies in participating in events as well as experiencing the place itself.
The MCG is of aesthetic significance primarily for its overall form and scale. The MCG is a landmark on the edge of the city, a vast stadium which retains its traditional parkland setting. Whether full or empty, the stadium is of considerable aesthetic power and significance and is a place of energy and great atmosphere.
Within the broader conception of the MCG, there are elements with their own architectural significance. Firstly, the Members Pavilion by Stephenson and Meldrum (1927), is architecturally important as a large and relatively intact grandstand from the interwar period, although an appreciation of its impressive facade is marred by the somewhat intrusive Australian Gallery of Sport of 1986. Secondly, the Great Southern Stand by Daryl Jackson in association with Tompkins Shaw and Evans (1992) has been the recipient of a wide range of design awards and has generally been received with acclaim by architectural critics.
Year Construction Started 1927
Architect / Designer Stephenson & Meldrum
Berlin is noted for its numerous cultural institutions, many of which enjoy international reputation.
The diversity and vivacity of the Zeitgeist Metropolis led to a trendsetting image among major cities.
The city has a very diverse art scene and is home to around 420 art galleries.
Many young people and international artists continue to settle in the city, and Berlin has established itself as a center of youth and popular culture in Europe.
The expanding cultural role of Berlin is underscored by the 2003 announcement that the Popkomm, Europe's largest annual music industry convention—previously hosted for 15 years by Cologne—would move to Berlin.
Shortly thereafter, the Universal Music Group and MTV also decided to move their European headquarters and main studios to the banks of the River Spree in Friedrichshain.
In 2005, Berlin was awarded the title of "City of Design" by UNESCO.
The Nemours Estate is a 300-acre country estate with jardin à la française formal gardens and a French neoclassical mansion in Wilmington, Delaware. Built to resemble a French château, its 105 rooms on five floors occupy nearly 47,000 sq ft. It shares the grounds at 1600 Rockland Road with the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, and both are owned by the Nemours Foundation.
Nemours was created by Alfred I. du Pont in 1909–10 as a gift for his second wife, Alicia. It was named for the north-central French town of Nemours, which was affiliated with his great-great-grandfather, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours. Carrère and Hastings designed the mansion, which is in the Louis XVI style of French architecture.
The house contains rare 18th-century French furniture and an eclectic collection of notable antiques, works of art and tapestries. Artworks range from 16th-century religious works to paintings by the European masters to early works by Americans Frederic Remington and Sidney Lawrence.
Of particular interest is a rare Louis XVI musical clock, circa 1785, by David Roentgen and Peter Kinzing, which plays four tunes on a dulcimer and pipe organ. Another clock at the mansion with a connection to French royalty is one made for Marie Antoinette, which she never received.
The mansion also has a chair from the 1937 coronation of King George VI, an event which was attended by Alfred I. du Pont's third wife Jessie, and a chair from Independence Hall. Alfred I. du Pont's own portrait is also in the mansion.
The estate has the most developed and largest jardin à la française (French formal garden)-style landscape park and collection of individual gardens in North America. The design is patterned after the gardens of Versailles surrounding the Petit Trianon at the Château de Versailles. Their central axis extends ⅓ of a mile from the mansion facade, paralleling the main avenue leading to the house. The grounds are beautifully landscaped with plantings, fountains, pools, a carillon tower, statuary, and a pavilion surrounded by naturalized woodlands.
The named features include:
The Boxwood Garden – French parterre garden with boxwood edging and a central faun fountain.
The Colonnade (1926) – memorial to Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours and his son Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, designed by Thomas Hastings.
The Maze Garden – a maze garden with main hedges of Western Arborvitae 'Spring Grove', inner hedges of Japanese Barberry 'Crimson Pygmy', and central statue of Achievement, by Henri Crenier, atop a base with images of Triton and Neptune's face.
The Reflecting Pool (1 acre) – 40 feet in diameter, with 157 jets, backed by Japanese cryptomeria, pink flowering horse chestnut, and pin oaks.
The Sunken Gardens – designed by Alfred Victor du Pont and Gabriel Masséna. Features large lake, grottoes, and 1930 statue by Charles-Marie Sarrabezolles (1888–1971). A. V. du Pont (1900–1970) was the only son of the owner and an architect trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
The Temple of Love – in classical style, with life-sized statue of Diana (1780) by Jean-Antoine Houdon.
The Nemours mansion and gardens reopened its gates on May 1, 2008, after closing in 2005 for a 3-year, $39 million renovation. The work, commissioned by the Nemours Foundation, was performed by world-class conservators, artisans and craftspeople who refurbished furniture, fabrics, tapestries, interior finishes, paintings, and sculptures. The comprehensive reconstruction included replacing the entire electrical system, draining and repairing the 800,000-gallon reflecting pool, and landscape restoration of the extensive formal gardens plantings, constructed design elements, and statuary.
AMT 1345 is deadheading downtown on what is usually the westbound track, around AMT 1360. After being stopped at Montreal West for over half an hour, AMT 1360 would head back westwards.
9543 is a 1965 model "Main Line" Westinghouse R36 IRT passenger unit built by St. Louis Car, delivered 2/1965. Last new build passenger rail equipment in North America with conventional sash windows. 9543 tested Westinghouse E-Cam DC traction in 1988, later installed on GOH R44s (1991) and now on all R62s, R62As, R68s and R68As.
The 34 Main Line R36s (9524-9557) are actually Main Line R33s delivered at the tail end of the R36 order, being assembled from leftover Main Line R33 car shells between July 1964 and early 1965. These leftover R33 car shells resulted when it was decided to have the last 40 R33s built as single units for 11-car operation for Flushing Line World's Fair Service.
9542 and 9543 are in the New York Transit Museum fleet.
This store is the first store where they use the entire boat on wireless....other stores use parts of the counter for laptops and the such...they are smart :-).
Letojanni is a comune (municipality), and coastal resort in the Province of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about 170 km east of Palermo and about 32 km southwest of Messina. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,634 and an area of 6.8 km².Letojanni borders the following municipalities: Castelmola, Forza d'Agrò, Gallodoro, Mongiuffi Melia, Taormina.Main economic activities are agriculture and fishing. Products mostly cultivated are corn, olives, wine-grapes, almonds, lemons, mulberries, fruit. Interesting is the yearly manifestation "Agosto a Letojanni" (August at Letojanni) in which the festival of fish and water-melon and the parade of the Sicilian cart take place. It is also to underline the strong inclination of territory to tourism. In fact in the place there is a good receptive offer both hotel and camping supplied with facilities fit to receive very many tourists especially during summer.The etymology of Letojanni is a mixture of Latin and Arabic. The place-name derives in fact from Latin Laetum,that is "rich", and from Arabic Ayn, that means "spring". There are not many information about origin of the little town but it is known that until half of the XVIII century it has been under the jurisdiction of Gallodoro town. In the XIX century it was involved in a high economic increase and in 1880 it gained administrative equality with Gallodoro. The earthquake of 1908 damaged some of its buildings later rebuilt. In 1952 it became an independent commune. The most interesting monuments are the Parish Church in neogothic style, rebuilt in 1929 and keeps inside a beautiful picture of Piety of 1700. An important figure original of Letojanni is the famous surgeon Francesco Durante (1844-1934), who was teacher of surgery of the joints and bony at the University of Studies of Roma and he was together with Guido Baccelli founder of the General hospital of Roma and finally he was also named senator of the Reign.
Letojanni è un comune italiano di 2.760 abitanti della provincia di Messina in Sicilia.Distante 32 km da Messina e 45 km da Catania, la cittadina fa parte del comprensorio turistico di Taormina.Sino alla metà dell'Ottocento Letojanni fungeva da marina, o borgo dei pescatori, del comune di Gallodoro; la costruzione di una strada provinciale e successivamente della ferrovia favorirono lo sviluppo del borgo, al punto che nel 1879 la sede comunale fu trasferita da Gallodoro a Letojanni, e il comune prese il nome di Letojanni-Gallodoro.Ricco di infrastrutture alberghiere in estate ospita innumerevoli turisti.Sorge in una zona litoranea pianeggiante, posta a 5 metri sopra il livello del mare . Le colture principali sono il grano, le olive, l'uva da mosto, le mandorle, i limoni, i gelsi e la frutta Interessante è l'annuale manifestazione "Agosto a Letojanni" durante la quale si svolgono la Sagra del pesce e dell'anguria e la sfilata del "carretto siciliano". Da sottolineare anche la forte vocazione turistica del territorio, con una ricca offerta di ricettività sia alberghiera che in camping attrezzati in grado di accogliere moltissimi turisti, in particolar modo nell'arco della stagione estiva. L'etimologia di Letojanni risulta un misto di latino e di arabo. Il toponimo deriva infatti dal latino Laetum, ossia "abbondante", e dall'arabo Ayn, che vuol dire "sorgente". Nel XIX secolo fu interessata da un notevole sviluppo economico e nel 1880 ottenne la parità amministrativa con Gallodoro. Il terremoto del 1908 danneggiò diversi suoi edifici che vennero in seguito ricostruiti. Nel 1952 divenne comune autonomo. Tra i monumenti, di notevole interesse architettonico è la Chiesa Parrocchiale in stile neogotico, ricostruita nel 1929, che conserva al suo interno uno splendido quadro raffigurante la Pietà risalente al 1700. Un personaggio illustre originario di Letojanni è l'insigne chirurgo Francesco Durante (1844-1934), che fu docente di Chirurgia ossea e articolare all'Università degli Studi di Roma, fondatore insieme a Guido Baccelli del Policlinico di Roma e fu anche nominato senatore del Regno.
Font : Wikipedia
De ijsvogel (Alcedo atthis) is een waterminnende vogel uit de familie ijsvogels (Alcedinidae). Het is een opvallende verschijning door zijn afstekende blauwe en oranje kleuren, maar ook een zeer schuwe soort die zich weinig laat zien. Alcedo atthis is een van de weinige soorten ijsvogels die tot in noordelijk Europa voorkomt inclusief Nederland en België, althans de ondersoort Alcedo atthis ispida. De meeste ijsvogels leven in de tropen.
De ijsvogel is een typische viseter (piscivoor), dus sterk aan water gebonden. Zijn voorkeur gaat uit naar stromende wateren. In het grootste deel van het verspreidingsgebied is de soort algemeen, maar in sommige gebieden wordt de ijsvogel met uitsterven bedreigd.
De ijsvogel is een kleine vogel met een korte staart en pootjes, een korte nek, korte, afgeronde vleugels, een grote kop met grote ogen en een lange, dolkvormige snavel, geschikt om vissen mee te vangen en vast te houden. De poten zijn syndactiel; de voortenen zijn gedeeltelijk aan de basis met elkaar vergroeid. IJsvogels hebben een vrij uniforme, gedrongen bouw met een rechte, dolkachtige snavel. De kleuren verschillen wel sterk, sommige soorten hebben blauwe of rode kleuren, andere zijn zwart met wit van kleur. De ijsvogel heeft echter een overwegend blauwe kleur, waarbij de veren van de kop en vleugels iriserend blauwgroen zijn maar op het midden van de rug lichter tot kobaltblauw. De staartveren zijn echter weer wat donkerder. De veren aan de borst en buikzijde zijn warm oranje gekleurd en steken hiermee duidelijk af. Van de snavel tot achter het oog is op de wang een oranje oogstreep aanwezig, die abrupt overgaat in een heldere witte streep, ook de keel van de ijsvogel is wit. De poten zijn oranje tot rood van kleur. De mannetjes zijn enkel van de vrouwtjes te onderscheiden aan de kleur van de basis van de ondersnavel, die bij het vrouwtje dofrood is en bij het mannetje net zo zwart als de bovensnavel. Juvenielen onderscheiden zich van volwassen exemplaren door het valere verenkleed met donkergrijs gerande borstveren, gevlekte kruin, lichtere snavelpunt en donkerbruine poten.
De lichaamslengte bedraagt ongeveer 16 cm, de spanwijdte is 24 tot 26 cm en het lichaamsgewicht loopt uiteen van 34 tot 44 gram.
De ijsvogel is in noordelijk Europa onmiskenbaar door zijn tekening, soorten uit andere werelddelen kunnen echter sprekend op de ijsvogel lijken.
Het geluid van de ijsvogel is divers; er kunnen diverse kwetterende schelle, kwelende en fluitende geluiden worden geproduceerd. Het mannetje lokt het vrouwtje met een hoge, fluitende 'tjieieiet' of 'tieietuu', die hij vaak tijdens de vlucht laat horen. Bij opwinding worden korte, herhaalde 'titi-titi' geluiden geproduceerd.
The Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) also known as Eurasian Kingfisher, or River Kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but migrates from areas where rivers freeze in winter.
This sparrow-sized bird has the typical short-tailed, large-headed kingfisher profile; it has blue upperparts, orange underparts and a long bill. It feeds mainly on fish, caught by diving, and has special visual adaptions to enable it to see prey under water. The glossy white eggs are laid in a nest at the end of a burrow in a riverbank.
This species has the typical short-tailed, dumpy-bodied large-headed and long-billed kingfisher shape. The adult male of the western European subspecies, A. a. ispida has green-blue upperparts with pale azure-blue back and rump, a rufous patch by the bill base, and a rufous ear-patch. It has a green-blue neck stripe, white neck blaze and throat, rufous underparts, and a black bill with some red at the base. The legs and feet are bright red. It is about 16 centimetres (6.3 in) long with a wingspan of 25 cm (9.8 in), and weighs 34–46 grams (1.2–1.6 oz).
The female is identical in appearance to the male except that her lower mandible is orange-red with a black tip. The juvenile is similar to the adult, but with duller and greener upperparts and paler underparts. Its bill is black, and the legs are also initially black.
The flight of the Kingfisher is fast, direct and usually low over water. The short rounded wings whirr rapidly, and a bird flying away shows an electric-blue "flash" down its back.
In North Africa, Europe and Asia north of the Himalayas this is the only small blue kingfisher. In south and southeast Asia it can be confused with six other small blue-and-rufous kingfishers, but the rufous ear patches distinguish it from all but juvenile Blue-eared Kingfisher; details of the head pattern may be necessary to differentiate the two species where both occur.
The Common Kingfisher has no song. The flight call is a short sharp whistle, chee, repeated two or three times. Anxious birds emit a harsh, shrit-it-it and nestlings call for food with a churring noise.
In Great Britain it is known as the most colourful bird.