Cuernavaca (Mexique) - J’ai décidé me perdre dans les rues de la ville, sans idée préconçue. Je ne cherche rien de particulier. Je photographie les scènes qui se présentent au hasard de ma promenade. Dans ces conditions, je fais très peu de photos.

Ma déambulation me mène dans un quartier que je ne connais pas encore. Je ne réalise pas immédiatement que je suis dans un secteur dédié à la prostitution. Ici, rien de sordide comme la rue de mon hôtel, où les filles attendent le client dans des attitudes provocantes et des tenues qui ne laissent aucun doute sur leur profession.

La rue où je me trouve en ce moment est dans un quartier plutôt chic. Je ne m’attendais pas à une telle « spécialité » en ce lieu. Je regarde autour de moi et réalise que deux hommes attablés à la terrasse d’un bar sur le trottoir d'en face, surveillent les trois ou quatre filles adossées au mur. Pas question de faire le malin, d’autant qu’ils m’ont repéré. Je suis resté un peu trop longtemps au même endroit à observer sans bouger. Une minute, pas plus ; mais c’est suffisant pour sortir de l'anonymat de la foule pour des guetteurs aguerris.

Je décide de laisser tomber et poursuis mon chemin. Mais c’est plus fort que moi. lorsque j’arrive à la hauteur d’une de ces jeunes femmes, je prends une photo, comme si de rien n’était ; tout en marchand et en regardant droit devant moi. Le cadre est celui que le hasard m’a offert. Les guetteurs, eux, n'ont rien remarqué. La jeune femme non plus.

Petite précision pour éviter tout malentendu, sur le panneau d’affichage, le « Triton » à 230 pesos ($) est une spécialité du bar ; pas de la dame.

  

Cuernavaca (Mexico) - I decided to get lost in the streets, without any preconceived ideas. I'm not looking for anything in particular. I photograph the scenes that arise randomly during my walk. In principle, in these conditions, I take few photos.

My wandering takes me to a neighborhood that I don't yet know. I don't immediately realize that I am in an area dedicated to prostitution. Here, there is nothing sordid like the street where my hotel is located, where girls wait for the client in provocative attitudes and outfits that leave no doubt about their profession.

The street I'm on right now is in a pretty upscale neighborhood. I didn't expect such a "specialty" in this place. I look around and realize that two men seated on the terrace of a nearby bar are watching the three or four girls leaning against the wall. No question of being smart, especially since they spotted me. I stayed in one place for too long, watching without moving. A minute, sure; but it is enough to escape the anonymity of the crowd for seasoned lookouts.

I decide to give up and continue on my way. But it's stronger than me, when I come up to one of these young women, I take a photo, as if nothing had happened. The framework is the one that chance gave me. The lookouts didn't notice anything. Neither does the young woman.

Small clarification to avoid any misunderstanding, on the billboard, the “Triton” at 230 pesos ($) is a specialty of the bar; not from the lady.

   

Little Fort is a small community on the west bank of North Thompson River between Barriére and Vavenby, in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is some 93 kilometres (58 mi) north of Kamloops. The community is located at the junction of Highway 5 and Highway 24 in British Columbia, Canada. The Little Fort Ferry crosses to the east bank of the river. A small fort was established on the East side of the river in the 1840s as a stopping point on the HBC Brigade Trail from the Cariboo to Kamloops. Traces of the trail remain in the Eakin Creek canyon. This settlement was established by Paul Fraser in 1850 and abandoned in 1852. Before 1935, Little Fort post office was known as MOUNT OLIE. The village and the mountain were named after Olie Olesen.

 

Clipped from - The Inland Sentinel newspaper - Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada - 4 February 1910 - Little Fort is growing. Little Fort's population is now one hundred and four souls. Four years ago the population was only fourteen. The Little Fort Post Office, through a misunderstanding at headquarters has suddenly been closed and 25 people are expected to get their mail at Chuchua, where dwells but one solitary family. This is four miles away over an almost inaccessible road. LINK to more of this story - No Post Office at Little Fort - www.newspapers.com/clip/109846485/no-post-office-at-littl...

 

The MOUNT OLIE Post Office was established - 1 January 1910 - changed name to Little Fort Post Office (2) - 31 December 1935.

 

LINK to a list of the Postmasters who served at the MOUNT OLIE Post Office - central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=posoffposmas&id=1...

 

When this water card was posted at the MOUNT OLIE Post Office the Postmistress was Mrs. A.M. Stevens - she served from - 28 January 1924 to - 16 March 1929. Her husband John Owen Steven was the Postmaster at MOUNT OLIE and served from - 13 April 1923 to - 25 August 1923.

 

Aurora / Aurore Marie / Mary (nee Genier) Stevens

(b. 15 April 1893 in Kamloops, British Columbia - d. 24 September 1969 at age 76 in Vancouver, B.C. / Barriere, British Columbia) - LINK to her death certificate - search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/4c... - LINK to her newspaper obituary - www.newspapers.com/clip/109809669/aurora-marie-stevens-ob...

 

Her husband - John Owen Stevens

(b. 23 August 1880 in Ellershouse, Hants County, Nova Scotia - d. 3 September 1965 at age 85 in Kamloops, B.C. / Barriere, British Columbia) - his occupations - Railroad Contractor / Postmaster / Chief Security Officer for Hudson Bay Mining & Smelter Company. LINK to his death certificate - search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/18... LINK to his Find a Grave site - www.findagrave.com/memorial/50754496/john-owen-stevens

 

They were married - 15 October 1913 in Kamloops, British Columbia - LINK to their marriage certificate - search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/3d...

 

Clipped from - The Province newspaper - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - 3 October 1955 - Little Fort Postmistress gets Badge - LITTLE FORT - Mrs. R. Livingstone has received her badge for 25 years of service in Little Fort Post Office. The former Wilhemena McKenzie, she was born in Newcastle, N B., in 1895. She attended school in Worcester, Mass., where she took training in Worcester City hospital, graduating in 1918. Joining the American army nursing corps, she nursed in Camp Zackery Taylor, Louisville. Kt., and San Juan Porta Rica. At the close of the First World War she nursed returned soldiers in Middleton, N. Y. She became a district health nurse in Little Fort in 1921 and married Roy Livingstone in 1922. She took over duties at the post office on - 23 April 1929.

 

Because of her nursing experience, Nurse Wilhelmina Livingstone, R.N., performed many volunteer services to the North River residents in the pioneering spirit of her time. She was always ready for any emergency that might require her medical services, only asking that people pay for their needed medical supplies, such as dressings. but providing her nursing services and expertise for free. She assisted in industrial accidents at local mills and mines, and provided care during a scarlet fever epidemic in the community. Her medical services were greatly appreciated, not just for Little Fort residents, but for many who lived in outlying areas. - LINK to the complete article - Wilhelmina Livingstone: First public health nurse to serve North Thompson - www.clearwatertimes.com/community/valley-voices-from-the-...

 

- water card sent from - / MOUNT OLIE / AU 20 / 28 / B.C. / - split ring cancel - this split ring hammer (A1-2) was proofed - 25 November 1922 - split ring hammer (A1-1) was proofed - 16 November 1909 - (RF D).

 

Water Card was addressed to: Division Engineer / Dominion Water Power & Reclamation Service / Box 330 / Kamloops, B.C.

 

Water card observation card signed on the back by the observer C. P. Rogers. He did water height observations on Lemieux Creek near Mount Olie, British Columbia. They did water height observations on Lemieux Creek for 14 years - (1926 to 1930) and (1979 to 1987).

 

Cecil Patrick "Pat" Rogers

(b. 12 July 1882 in England - d. 16 July 1966 at age 84 in Prince George, British Columbia) - He never married - occupation - farmer - LINK to his death certificate - search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/05... - LINK to his Find a Grave site - www.findagrave.com/memorial/70083043/cecil-patrick-rogers

2011 was an amazing year.

 

I'm always going to look back on the last year as one of the most exciting, inspired, influential and powerful years of my life.

 

It all seemed to just fly by so fast.

 

More than anything it was a year of love and growth and exploration.

 

Love and light seemed to be shining everywhere that I looked.

 

It was beautiful.

 

I really dug sharing it all with you.

 

After so many years it was time for me alone to determine the path and direction that I thought life should take.

 

It was a year of peace.

 

Good karma.

 

Kindness.

 

A year filled with a thousand wonderful conversations.

 

So many new friends.

 

Close friends.

 

Special friends.

 

Special close friends.

 

I'm not one to kiss and tell...

 

but I'll tell you what...

 

no I won't.

 

You wouldn't believe me anyway.

 

I didn't have any real resolutions coming into this year.

 

I mean...

 

I wanted to date twins...

 

from Sweden.

 

With rhyming names.

 

but it wasn't like a 'resolution' or anything.

 

I just knew that I needed to work on myself.

 

You know I blew that one off though.

 

I'll never change.

 

Besides... I was too busy doin' stuff I love to do.

 

And I really like myself just the way I am.

 

I'll get a gym membership in 2013.

 

And go once.

 

I kinda made one wish for a resolution at the end of 2010...

 

"It would be amazing if the entire human race could make for it's whole self just one resolution for the new year...

 

A resolution to treat each other better."

 

I did all that I could do to pull my weight on that one.

 

I tried to bring out the love this year.

 

I saw a lot of other people doing that too.

 

There was a lot of love and kindness showin' itself in 2011.

 

I did make a couple of predictions just before the New Year last year.

 

"2011 for me is going to be a year of great healing and calm, inspiration and productivity... I think it will be positive and structured in a way that 2010 never could have been."

 

It was.

 

"I could probably still be processing all of the lessons of 2010 way into 2011."

 

I did.

 

"2011... she's gonna be so sweet on me."

 

She was.

 

Oh yeah.

 

When I close my eyes and think of 2011 she's a Vargas girl.

 

A pinup.

 

Mmmmmmmhmmmmmmm.

 

Just like that only with less clothes.

 

And more attitude.

 

Curves in all the right places.

 

Then she calls me 'Viewbaby' and does that thing with her finger that means 'c'mere.'

 

Uh-huh.

 

Looking back on 2011, I do not believe I've been in jail even once.

 

Handcuffs for a second...

 

but that was just a misunderstanding.

 

We cleared that up right away.

 

Although the cop didn't find my 'you've just been shot by the notorious Viewminder' cards very funny when he found them in my pocket.

 

I guess he didn't equate it with the big old Nikon on the hood of his car.

 

Even the near death experiences... though dramatic... were at a record low.

 

Maybe two?

 

That 'cardiac event' was some shit to watch on the monitor.

 

I never saw doctors argue about how messed up I was like that.

 

Just because you're dyin' don't mean you can't hear dudes.

 

My heart was goin' haywire... the doctors are arguing about why... they're shootin' me up with steroids and stuff... and I was telling the nurse at the same time that if I focused hard enough I could get my heart to play 'la coocarocha' on the heart monitor.

 

That one scared the hell out of me.

 

Turns out that getting into a fight with four drunk guys is very conducive to bloodclots forming in places that they shouldn't.

 

Like that tiny little vein at the bottom of your heart called the 'widowmaker.'

 

I'm glad it wasn't from the cheeseburgers.

 

I'm getting old.

 

I'm just gonna start running away from that crap.

 

Fights, not cheeseburgers.

 

Health insurance took some hits and I got my money's worth there.

 

Vehicle insurance never had a claim.

 

Homeowners took care of me.

 

Man... it really was a good year.

 

I found myself in 2011.

 

I found my place in the world.

 

I found peace and happiness.

 

I found inspiration.

 

I wish I found a briefcase full of hundred dollar bills with a note inside it that said 'Viewminder... enjoy this money and don't feel guilty about it.'

 

Next year.

 

Watchin' my little ones grow a year older was the real highlight of the year.

 

They are my center.

 

It's nothin' but pure love.

 

The very best kind.

 

My family's always been there for me and the last year was no exception.

 

My journey through 2011 really taught me that if you take the time to really think about what's the right way to live and you refine it down to principles and apply them that you can really go far.

 

A pocket full of principles that I came up with to apply to my own life really rocked the year.

 

Screw resolutions.

 

Principles.

 

I'm telling you.

 

So many people made me feel truly appreciated this year.

 

You are among them.

 

Unfortunately the Swedish twins with rhyming names were not.

 

There's still three days left.

 

You know I'm an optimist.

 

'Hej damer ... du letar het ikväll ... Vad säger du vi träffar bastun och dricka vodka och spela lite band Trivial Pursuit?'

 

I am blessed to be surrounded by people who have supported and encouraged me... egged me on... double dog dared me and otherwise propelled me to 'just do it.'

 

You know I felt the love.

 

All of it.

 

And I sent it back out there too.

 

Like a 'love hot potato.'

 

That feels good.

 

What a difference in a life that a year can make.

 

I might not have hit the gym...

 

but I worked on my soul.

 

And I got a lot done.

 

It was a great year.

 

I hope it was a great year for you too.

 

If it wasn't...

 

Throw me a flickrmail and we'll talk about it.

 

I've learned some things.

 

They might apply you never know.

 

I hope you and the ones that you love have the very best new year.

 

Let's keep showin' each other the love and try to help each other out as much as we can.

 

We're all on the same journey.

 

Let's make 2012 the most kick ass year yet.

 

Have a wonderful and safe love filled funfest of a new year my friends.

 

Love and light.

 

Lots of love and light.

 

~Viewminder~

            

I make my way to the GCPD building, they apprehended Two Face after our little fiasco a couple days ago, I’ve noticed myself calling him Two Face more and more often, I used to refer to him as Harvey, but after what happened to Dick…it’s hard to think of him as the friend I’ve had for years, the friend I started working in my early days as Batman, but now, since Maroni flung that damned acid into his face. Eventually I landed on the GCPD rooftop, Gordon stands there, his face looks distrustful, as he looks directly at me. Gordon steps over to the signal and turns it off, in the same motion he grabs something from behind it, wrapped in an evidence bag, it’s the bat that Harvey used to beat Grayson.

“Harvey told me the kid is dead” he says bluntly, Two Face did a number on him, he did look pretty beat up, I can see how this lead to such a misunderstanding like this.

“He isn’t dead, I’ve benched him.”

“Good to hear, vigilantism isn’t a job for him.”

“I agree Gordon, Harvey’s getting shipped to Arkham soon, I need to see him, ask him what he meant.”

“What do you mean, what he meant?

“He told me Harvey Dent was dead, and now Two Face would avenge him, I have to know if he was serious.”

“That sounds horrible, especially… with the situation you were in, sorry for coming off so blunt before, honestly, I’m sorry about what happened to your kid, anyways I’ll meet you there, whenever you want.”

“Alright, thanks for your condolences Gordon, I do miss the kid.”

“I can tell, I have a kid at home, well not my kid, my cousions daughter, they died in a car crash, I’ve been taking care of her since.”

“My condolences to them too, I have some news for you.”

“I’m assuming it’s crime related, or is it something else?”

“Crime related, anyways I was making my way to the GCPD building when I saw a robbery, Wayne Enterprise, several children dressed as ninjas, broke in, and were greeted by our good old ninja friend” he looks shocked as he realizes who’s back in town.

“Deathstroke, that sword slinging mad man’s back in Gotham, and now he’s leading a bunch of little ninjas.”

“Yeah, trust me Gordon, I’ll figure this out” I grapple away, but I know what he’s thinking, it must be hard for him to trust me, a man in tights word isn’t the best. I begin to head back to Wayne Manor. Eventually I return home to the cave, it’s nice to get back to the cave, we’ve gotten some better lighting in here, you never want an accident in a place like this, hopefully the EMTs wouldn’t ask too many questions, that’s something Dick would have said, he always brought life to this cave, it was really just a cave under my house till he showed up.

“So, do you have a name for this pace?”

“No, it’s just my base of operations, I keep the car, and computer down here, with some trophies.”

“Alright, you have a Batmobile, and you’re Batman, why not call it the Bat Cave, oh and maybe that will be the Bat Computer.”

Good memories, things were pretty good back then, everything was very cheerful then, now it’s back to normal, the brooding dark kind of normal.

“Bruce, it’s time for you to go to bed, you have a lot to do tomorrow” I look away, and head to the computer, before I head up I need to do some research, the Red Hood Gang has become more active recently, the used to have a lot of members, till the clown showed up, killed most of them, though they may have more members now. Looking around I’ve gathered that eight members are still around, Johnny Fisher, the current leader of the gang, my current intel shows me that there will be a big break in somewhere in Gotham, but I have no idea where, If I’m lucky I’ll be able to find some information on them soon, but now isn’t the time, I go put away my suit, and slowly head up, and turn off the lights, time for Bruce Wayne to get some rest.

__________________________________________________

Hope you guys enjoyed this issue, anyways i keep staling but I'll put out another Titans issue eventually.

Explore #264 on 02-07-09

  

Limitless the sky is

All its lies

Spread further to the universe

 

Limitless the sky

Is and I do not know

Where to start or to end

The sky is one big circle

Limitless is

Its deception.

 

I really thought the sky

Is blue and orange

I proved it once

The sky is dust

 

Limitless is my misunderstanding

Of the sky

 

Limitless is the sky

 

I have been deceived the sky is

Limitless.

Fam. Asparagaceae Juss. 1789

Subfam. Agavoideae Herb. 1837

Probably a 'short-day' plant, it begins to bloom usually until September / October, never in the period from May to July! This year these starts to bloom very early! An flower initiation at this Yucca I never observed if was a day length 15 hours or a night length of less than 9 hours.

Yucca x vomerensis C. Sprenger in Cat., 1901

In his "Mitteilungen über meine Yucca-Hibriden und -Formen" (Mitt. Deutsch. Dendrol. Ges. Nr. 29: 119. 1920) he wrote:.

"Yucca aloifolia x gloriosa gave me a large number of seedlings, but among themselves mostly very consistent, so that one could call them without further ado, one and all as 'vomerensis'."

Yucca x glorifolia nom. nud.

(not an valid name, and there can be misunderstandings because also used for Y. gloriosa x recurvifolia hybrids)

In the Botany of the Bermudas by H. B. Small, 1913, is listed

Yucca Glorifolia. Linn. - but these is probably a possible reading error from Carl Linnaeus handwritten record in his Species Plantarum 1748!/

Similar forms are also called Yucca gloriosa 'aloifolia form'.

--

© This photograph is copyrighted. Under no circumstances can it be reproduced, distributed, modified, copied, posted to websites or printed or published in media or other medium or used for commercial or other uses without the prior written consent and permission of the photographer.

“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't being said. The art of reading between the lines is a life long quest of the wise.”

― Shannon L. Alder

56. Why do people always use the Bible to define God? Why is it wrong if one constrains God within the Bible?

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/why-is-it-wrong-to-circumscribe-...

 

The Answer from God’s Word:

 

"This is because the Bible followed several thousand years of human history and people all treat it like God to the point that people in the last days replace God with the Bible. This is something that God really hates. So in His spare time, He had to clarify the inside story and the origin of the Bible. Otherwise, the Bible would still be able to replace God’s place in people’s hearts and they could condemn and measure God’s actions based on the words in the Bible. God’s explanation of the essence, the construction, and the flaws of the Bible is absolutely not denying the existence of it, nor is it condemning the Bible. Rather, it is to provide a reasonable and appropriate explanation, to restore the original image of the Bible, and to correct the misunderstandings people have toward the Bible so that all people have a correct view of it, no longer worship it, and are no longer lost—they erroneously take their blind faith in the Bible as believing in and worshiping God, and they even do not dare to face its true background and its weak points. After everyone has a pure understanding of the Bible they will be able to cast it aside without hesitation and bravely accept God’s new words. … The truth that God wants to tell people here is that no theory or fact can replace God’s present work or words, and there is nothing that can replace God’s position. If people are not able to cast off the net of the Bible, they will never be able to come in front of God. If they want to come in front of God, they must first cleanse their hearts of anything that could replace Him—this way God will be satisfied. Although God only explains the Bible here, do not forget that there are many other erroneous things that people truly worship aside from the Bible, and the only things that they do not worship are those that truly come from God. God just uses the Bible as an example to remind everyone not to take the wrong path and not to go to extremes again and fall into confusion when they believe in God and accept His words.

 

from Introduction to Part Two of The Word Appears in the Flesh

........."

Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared.

 

Terms of Use en.godfootsteps.org/disclaimer.html

   

Traffic Block - African bush elephant

 

Verkehrshindernis - Afrikanischer Elefant

 

Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,485 km2 (7,523 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 km (220 mi) from north to south and 65 km (40 mi) from east to west. The administrative headquarters are in Skukuza. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926.

 

To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is Mozambique. It is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Kruger National Park with the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and with the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique.

 

The park is part of the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere an area designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an International Man and Biosphere Reserve (the "Biosphere").

 

The park has nine main gates allowing entrance to the different camps.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Name

 

African Elephant or African Bush Elephant [Loxodonta africana]

 

Introduction

 

The Elephant is the world's largest land mammal, and weighs up to 7 tonnes and reaches heights of 3.3 m at the shoulder. Elephants can live to a potential age of 70 years. The massive tusks of older bulls can weigh up to 50 or 60 kilograms, but tusks weighing up to 90 kilograms have been recorded.

 

Appearance

 

What is the trunk and what is it used for?

The Elephant's trunk is a modified nose which is very sensitive and can even detect water under ground. There are as many as 50 000 muscles in an Elephant trunk. The sensitive finger-like appendages at the tip of the trunk enables them to pick the smallest twig or flower, pull the toughest reed of grass or even pick out a thorn from their feet.

 

Do elephants have knees or elbows?

 

The joints that are perceived as 'knees', are in fact wrists. This is a common misunderstanding due to the belief that a leg joint that bends between the foot and the body must be a knee. The main difference between us and the elephants is that our foot bones and hand bones are separate, whereas those of the elephant are one in the same, and have evolved to suit this four-legged mammal.

 

Why do elephants have tusks?

 

The tusks are used for obtaining food, fighting (amongst males) and for self defence. They are actually their upper incisors, and grow continuously until they die at around 60 years old. Although their skin is up to 3cm (1 inch) thick, it is quite sensitive.

 

Diet

 

Elephants are voracious feeders which in a day consume up to 272 kg (600 pounds) of grass, tender shoots and bark from trees. An adult Elephant can drink up to 200 litres of water in a single session. A single Elephant deposits up to 150kg (330 pounds) of dung every day - about one dollop every 15 minutes!

 

Breeding

 

African Elephant are not seasonal breeders. Generally they produce one calf every 3 to 4 years. The gestation period is about 22 months. At birth calves weigh about 100 kg (220 pounds) and are fully weaned between 18-24 months. An orphaned calf will usually be adopted by one of the family's lactating females or suckled by various females. Elephants are very attentive mothers, and because most Elephant behavior has to be learned, they keep their offspring with them for many years. Tusks erupt at 16 months but do not show externally until 30 months. Once weaned, usually at age 4 or 5, the calf still remains in the maternal group. Females mature at about 11 years and stay in the group, while the males, which mature between 12 and 15, are usually expelled from the maternal herd. Even though these young males are sexually mature, they do not breed until they are in their mid, or late 20s or even older and have moved up in the social hierarchy.

 

Behaviour

 

Mature males form bachelor groups and become solitary bulls. Elephant form strong family units of cows, calves and young offspring. Such herds are always led by an old female. Apart from drinking large quantities of water they also love wading or swimming in it. Elephants clearly relish mud baths.

It was once thought that family groups were led by old bull elephants, but these males are most often solitary. The female family groups are often visited by mature males checking for females in oestrus. Several interrelated family groups may inhabit an area and know each other well.

 

How do you tell an elephant's mock charge from a serious one?

 

It is imperative to keep in mind that Elephant are extremely intelligent, and each individual has a distinct character. Although there will be exceptions to the rules, the common signs of a mock charge are bush-bashing, dust-throwing, trumpeting and other vocalizations, open ears and an intimidating presence, can be considered a mock-display. Aggressive or startled elephants usually make sudden headshakes and flap their large ears against their head. Serious charges usually occur after all attempts to intimidate have failed, and the Elephant feels threatened. The ears are pinned back and head and trunk are lowered. Ultimately, the key lies in the intelligence of the animal and how they will react to the 'target' and unfamiliar actions, and a conscious decision is made.

 

Why do elephants rhythmically flap their ears?

 

Contrary to common belief, it is not an expression of anger. Being an animal of such a large size, with no sweat glands and a dark body colour, elephants flap their ears to cool the body and rid themselves of irritating insects.

 

Where are they found?

 

Once ranging across most of Africa the Elephant population has declined dramatically across the continent. In South Africa the Addo Elephant and Kruger National Park protect large herds. Due to rigorous conservation measures the Elephant population in South Africa has grown from a estimated 120 in 1920 in 4 locations, to 10 000 at 40 locations to date.

 

Notes

 

The African Elephant has recently been classified into two separate species, the more common African Bush Elephant [Loxodonta Africana] and the smaller African Forest Elephant [Loxodonta cyclotis] of the rainforest of Central Africa.

 

(krugerpark.co.za)

 

Der Kruger-Nationalpark (deutsch häufig falsch Krüger-Nationalpark) ist das größte Wildschutzgebiet Südafrikas. Er liegt im Nordosten des Landes in der Landschaft des Lowveld auf dem Gebiet der Provinz Limpopo sowie des östlichen Abschnitts von Mpumalanga. Seine Fläche erstreckt sich vom Crocodile-River im Süden bis zum Limpopo, dem Grenzfluss zu Simbabwe, im Norden. Die Nord-Süd-Ausdehnung beträgt etwa 350 km, in Ost-West-Richtung ist der Park durchschnittlich 54 km breit und umfasst eine Fläche von rund 20.000 Quadratkilometern. Damit gehört er zu den größten Nationalparks in Afrika.

 

Das Schutzgebiet wurde am 26. März 1898 unter dem Präsidenten Paul Kruger als Sabie Game Reserve zum Schutz der Wildnis gegründet. 1926 erhielt das Gebiet den Status Nationalpark und wurde in seinen heutigen Namen umbenannt. Im Park leben 147 Säugetierarten inklusive der „Big Five“, außerdem etwa 507 Vogelarten und 114 Reptilienarten, 49 Fischarten und 34 Amphibienarten.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Der Afrikanische Elefant (Loxodonta africana), auch Afrikanischer Steppenelefant oder Afrikanischer Buschelefant, ist eine Art aus der Familie der Elefanten. Er ist das größte gegenwärtig lebende Landsäugetier und gleichzeitig das größte rezente landbewohnende Tier der Erde. Herausragende Kennzeichen sind neben den Stoßzähnen und dem markanten Rüssel die großen Ohren und die säulenförmigen Beine. In zahlreichen morphologischen und anatomischen Merkmalen unterscheidet sich der Afrikanische Elefant von seinen etwas kleineren Verwandten, dem Waldelefanten und dem Asiatischen Elefanten. Das Verbreitungsgebiet umfasst heute große Teile von Afrika südlich der Sahara. Die Tiere haben sich dort an zahlreiche unterschiedliche Lebensräume angepasst, die von geschlossenen Wäldern über offene Savannenlandschaften bis hin zu Sumpfgebieten und wüstenartigen Regionen reichen. Insgesamt ist das Vorkommen aber stark fragmentiert.

 

Die Lebensweise des Afrikanischen Elefanten ist durch intensive Studien gut erforscht. Sie wird durch einen stark sozialen Charakter geprägt. Weibliche Tiere und ihr Nachwuchs leben in Familienverbänden (Herden). Diese formieren sich wiederum zu einem enger verwandten Clan. Die einzelnen Herden treffen sich zu bestimmten Gelegenheiten und trennen sich danach wieder. Die männlichen Tiere bilden Junggesellengruppen. Die verschiedenen Verbände nutzen Aktionsräume, in denen sie teils im Jahreszyklus herumwandern. Für die Kommunikation untereinander nutzen die Tiere verschiedene Töne im niedrigen Frequenzbereich. Anhand der Lautgebung, aber auch durch bestimmte chemische Signale können sich die einzelnen Individuen untereinander erkennen. Darüber hinaus besteht ein umfangreiches Repertoire an Gesten. Hervorzuheben sind auch die kognitiven Fähigkeiten des Afrikanischen Elefanten.

 

Die Nahrung besteht sowohl aus weicher wie auch harter Pflanzenkost. Die genaue Zusammensetzung variiert dabei regional und jahreszeitlich. Generell verbringt der Afrikanische Elefant einen großen Teil seiner Tagesaktivitäten mit der Nahrungsaufnahme. Die Fortpflanzung erfolgt ganzjährig, regional gibt es Tendenzen zu einer stärkeren Saisonalisierung. Bullen kommen einmal jährlich in die Musth, während deren sie auf Wanderung zur Suche nach fortpflanzungswilligen Kühen gehen. Während der Musth ist die Aggressivität gesteigert, es finden dann auch Rivalenkämpfe statt. Der Sexualzyklus der Kühe dauert vergleichsweise lange und weist einen für Säugetiere untypischen Verlauf auf. Nach erfolgter Geburt setzt er in der Regel mehrere Jahre aus. Zumeist wird nach fast zweijähriger Tragzeit ein Jungtier geboren, das in der mütterlichen Herde aufwächst. Junge weibliche Tiere verbleiben später in der Herde, die jungen männlichen verlassen diese.

 

Die wissenschaftliche Erstbeschreibung des Afrikanischen Elefanten erfolgte im Jahr 1797 mit einer formalen artlichen Trennung des Afrikanischen vom Asiatischen Elefanten. Der heute gebräuchliche Gattungsname Loxodonta wurde offiziell erst dreißig Jahre später eingeführt. Die Bezeichnung bezieht sich auf markante Zahnunterschiede zwischen den asiatischen und den afrikanischen Elefanten. Im Verlauf des 20. Jahrhunderts wurden mehrere Unterarten unterschieden, darunter auch der Waldelefant des zentralen Afrikas. Letzterer gilt heute genetischen Untersuchungen zufolge als eigenständige Art, die weiteren Unterarten sind nicht anerkannt. Stammesgeschichtlich lässt sich der Afrikanische Elefant erstmals im beginnenden Mittleren Pleistozän belegen. Der Gesamtbestand gilt als gefährdet. Ursachen hierfür sind hauptsächlich die Jagd nach Elfenbein und Lebensraumverlust durch die zunehmend wachsende menschliche Bevölkerung. Der Afrikanische Elefant zählt zu den sogenannten „Big Five“ von Großwildjagd und Safari.

 

(Wikipedia)

British postcard in "The People' series by Show Parade Picture Service, London, no. P 1137. Photo: Warner Bros.

 

American actress Eleanor Parker (1922-2013) appeared in some 80 films and television series. She was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, for Caged (1950), Detective Story (1951) and Interrupted Melody (1955). Her role in Caged also won her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. One of her most memorable roles was that of the Baroness in The Sound of Music (1965). Her biographer Doug McClelland called her ‘Woman of a Thousand Faces’, because of her versatility.

 

Eleanor Jean Parker was born in 1922, in Cedarville, Ohio. She was the daughter of Lola (Isett) and Lester Day Parker. Her family moved to East Cleveland, Ohio, where she attended public schools and graduated from Shaw High School. She appeared in a number of school plays. When she was 15 she started to attend the Rice Summer Theatre on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. After graduation, she moved to California and began appearing at the Pasadena Playhouse. There she was spotted by a Warners Bros talent scout, Irving Kumin. The studio signed her to a long-term contract in June 1941. She was cast that year in They Died with Their Boots On (Raoul Walsh, 1941), but her scenes were cut. Her actual film debut was as Nurse Ryan in the short Soldiers in White (B. Reeves Eason, 1942). She was given some decent roles in B films, Busses Roar (D. Ross Lederman, 1942) and The Mysterious Doctor (Benjamin Stoloff, 1943) opposites John Loder. She also had a small role in one of Warner Brothers' biggest productions for the 1943 season, the pro-Soviet Mission to Moscow (Michael Curtiz, 1943) as Emlen Davies, daughter of the U.S. ambassador to the U.S.S.R (Walter Huston). On the set, she met her first husband, Navy Lieutenant. Fred L. Losse, but the marriage turned out to be a brief wartime affair. Parker had impressed Warners enough to offer her a strong role in a prestige production, Between Two Worlds (Edward A. Blatt, 1944), playing the suicidal wife of Paul Henreid's character. She played support roles for Crime by Night (William Clemens, 1944) and The Last Ride (D. Ross Lederman, 1944). Then she got the starring role opposite Dennis Morgan in The Very Thought of You (Delmer Daves, 1944). She was considered enough of a ‘name’ to be given a cameo in Hollywood Canteen (Delmer Daves, 1944). Warners gave her the choice role of Mildred Rogers in a new version of Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage (Edmund Goulding, 1946), but previews were not favourable and the film sat on the shelf for two years before being released. She had her big break when she was cast opposite John Garfield in Pride of the Marines (Delmer Daves, 1945). However, two films with Errol Flynn that followed, the romantic comedy Never Say Goodbye (James V. Kern, 1946) and the drama Escape Me Never (Peter Godfrey, 1947), were box office disappointments. Parker was suspended twice by Warners for refusing parts in films – in Stallion Road (James V. Kern, 1947), where she was replaced by Alexis Smith and Love and Learn (Frederick De Cordova, 1947). She made the comedy Voice of the Turtle (Irving Rapper, 1947) with Ronald Reagan, and the mystery The Woman in White (Peter Godfrey, 1948). She refused to appear in Somewhere in the City (Vincent Sherman, 1950) so Warners suspended her again; Virginia Mayo played the role. Parker then had two years off, during which time she married and had a baby. She turned down a role in The Hasty Heart (Vincent Sherman, 1949) which she wanted to do, but it would have meant going to England and she did not want to leave her baby alone during its first year.

 

Eleanor Parker returned in Chain Lightning (Stuart Heisler, 1950) with Humphrey Bogart. Parker heard about a women-in-prison film Warners were making, Caged (John Cromwell, 1950), and actively lobbied for the role. She got it, won the 1950 Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award. She also had a good role in the melodrama Three Secrets (Robert Wise, 1950). In February 1950, Parker left Warner Bros. after having been under contract there for eight years. Parker had understood that she would star in a film called Safe Harbor, but Warner Bros. apparently had no intention of making it. Because of this misunderstanding, her agents negotiated her release. Parker's career outside of Warners started badly with Valentino (Lewis Allen, 1951) playing a fictionalised wife of Rudolph Valentino for producer Edward Small. She tried a comedy at 20th Century Fox with Fred MacMurray, A Millionaire for Christy (George Marshall, 1951). In 1951, Parker signed a contract with Paramount for one film a year, with an option for outside films. This arrangement began brilliantly with Detective Story (William Wyler, 1951) playing Mary McLeod, the woman who doesn't understand the position of her unstable detective husband (Kirk Douglas). Parker was nominated for the Oscar in 1951 for her performance. Parker followed Detective Story with her portrayal of an actress in love with a swashbuckling nobleman (Stewart Granger) in Scaramouche (George Sidney, 1952), a role originally intended for Ava Gardner. Wikipedia: “Parker later claimed that Granger was the only person she didn't get along with during her entire career. However, they had good chemistry and the film was a massive hit. “MGM cast her into Above and Beyond (Melvin Frank, Norman Panama, 1952), a biopic of Lt. Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. (Robert Taylor), the pilot of the aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It was a solid hit. While Parker was making a third film for MGM, Escape from Fort Bravo (John Sturges, 1953), she signed a five-year contract with the studio. She was named as star of a Sidney Sheldon script, My Most Intimate Friend and of One More Time, from a script by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin directed by George Cukor, but neither film was made. Back at Paramount, Parker starred with Charlton Heston as a 1900s mail-order bride in The Naked Jungle (Byron Haskin, 1954), produced by George Pal. Parker returned to MGM where she was reunited with Robert Taylor in an Egyptian adventure film, Valley of the Kings (Robert Pirosh, 1954), and a Western, Many Rivers to Cross (Roy Rowland, 1955). MGM gave her one of her best roles as opera singer Marjorie Lawrence struck down by polio in Interrupted Melody (Curtis Bernhardt, 1955). This was a big hit and earned Parker a third Oscar nomination; she later said it was her favourite film. Also in 1955, Parker appeared in the film adaptation of the National Book Award-winner The Man with the Golden Arm (Otto Preminger, 1955), released through United Artists. She played Zosh, the supposedly wheelchair-bound wife of heroin-addicted, would-be jazz drummer Frankie Machine (Frank Sinatra). It was a major commercial and critical success. In 1956, she co-starred with Clark Gable in the Western comedy The King and Four Queens (Raoul Walsh, 1956), also for United Artists. It was then back at MGM for two dramas: Lizzie (Hugo Haas, 1957), in the title role, as a woman with a split personality; and The Seventh Sin (Ronald Neame, 1957), a remake of The Painted Veil in the role originated by Greta Garbo and, once again, intended for Ava Gardner. Both films flopped at the box office and, as a result, Parker's plans to produce her own film, L'Eternelle, about French resistance fighters, did not materialise.

 

Eleanor Parker supported Frank Sinatra in a popular comedy, A Hole in the Head (Frank Capra, 1959). She returned to MGM for Home from the Hill (Vincente Minnelli, 1960), co-starring with Robert Mitchum, then took over Lana Turner's role of Constance Rossi in Return to Peyton Place (José Ferrer, 1961), the sequel to the hit 1957 film. That was made by 20th Century Fox who also produced Madison Avenue (H. Bruce Humberstone, 1961) with Parker. In 1960, she made her TV debut, and in the following years, she worked increasingly in television, with the occasional film role such as Panic Button (George Sherman, Giuliano Carnimeo, 1964) with Maurice Chevalier and Jayne Mansfield. Parker's best-known screen role is Baroness Elsa Schraeder in the Oscar-winning musical The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 1965). The Baroness was famously and poignantly unsuccessful in keeping the affections of Captain Georg von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) after he falls in love with Maria (Julie Andrews). In 1966, Parker played an alcoholic widow in the crime drama Warning Shot (Buzz Kulik, 1967), a talent scout who discovers a Hollywood star in The Oscar (Russell Rouse, 1966), and a rich alcoholic in An American Dream (Robert Gist, 1966). However, her film career seemed to go downhill. A Playboy Magazine reviewer derided the cast of The Oscar as "has-beens and never-will-be". From the late 1960s, she focused on television. In 1963, Parker appeared in the medical TV drama about psychiatry The Eleventh Hour in the episode Why Am I Grown So Cold?, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. She also appeared in episodes of Breaking Point (1964). And The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1968). In 1969–1970, Parker starred in the television series Bracken's World, for which she was nominated for a 1970 Golden Globe Award. Parker also appeared on stage in the role of Margo Channing in Applause, the Broadway musical version of the film All About Eve. In 1976, she played Maxine in a revival of The Night of the Iguana. Her last film role was in a Farrah Fawcett bomb, Sunburn (Richard C. Sarafian, 1979). Subsequently, she appeared very infrequently on TV, most recently in Dead on the Money (Mark Cullingham, 1991). Eleanor Parker was married four times. Her first husband was Fred Losee (1943-1944). Her second marriage to Bert E. Friedlob (1946-1953) produced three children Susan Eleanor Friedlob (1948), Sharon Anne Friedlob (1950), and Richard Parker Friedlob (1952). Her third marriage was to American portrait painter Paul Clemens, (1954-1965) and the couple had one child, actor Paul Clemens (1958). Her fourth marriage with Raymond N. Hirsch (1966-2001) ended when Hirsch died of oesophagal cancer. She was the grandmother of actor/director Chasen Parker. Eleanor Parker died in 2013 at a medical facility in Palm Springs, California of complications of pneumonia. She was 91. Parker was raised a Protestant and later converted to Judaism, telling the New York Daily News columnist Kay Gardella in August 1969, "I think we're all Jews at heart ... I wanted to convert for a long time."

 

Sources: Jon C. Hopwood (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

In visual arts, music, and other mediums, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Donald Judd, John McCracken, Agnes Martin, Dan Flavin, Robert Morris, Anne Truitt, and Frank Stella.[1][2] It derives from the reductive aspects of modernism and is often interpreted as a reaction against abstract expressionism and a bridge to postminimal art practices.

 

Minimalism in music often features repetition and gradual variation, such as the works of La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Julius Eastman, and John Adams. The term minimalist often colloquially refers to anything that is spare or stripped to its essentials. It has accordingly been used to describe the plays and novels of Samuel Beckett, the films of Robert Bresson, the stories of Raymond Carver, and the automobile designs of Colin Chapman.

  

Contents

1Minimal art, minimalism in visual art

2Minimalist design and architecture

3Minimalist architecture and space

3.1Concepts and design elements

3.2Influences from Japanese tradition

3.3Minimalist architects and their works

4Literary minimalism

5Minimal music

6Minimalism in film

7Lifestyle

8See also

9Footnotes

10References

11External links

Minimal art, minimalism in visual art[edit]

Main article: Minimalism (visual arts)

 

Kazimir Malevich, Black Square, 1915, oil on canvas, 79.5 x 79.5 cm, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Minimalism in visual art, generally referred to as "minimal art", "literalist art"[3] and "ABC Art"[4] emerged in New York in the early 1960s as new and older artists moved toward geometric abstraction; exploring via painting in the cases of Frank Stella, Kenneth Noland, Al Held, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Ryman and others; and sculpture in the works of various artists including David Smith, Anthony Caro, Tony Smith, Sol LeWitt, Carl Andre, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd and others. Judd's sculpture was showcased in 1964 at Green Gallery in Manhattan, as were Flavin's first fluorescent light works, while other leading Manhattan galleries like Leo Castelli Gallery and Pace Gallery also began to showcase artists focused on geometric abstraction. In addition there were two seminal and influential museum exhibitions: Primary Structures: Younger American and British Sculpture shown from April 27 – June 12, 1966 at the Jewish Museum in New York, organized by the museum's Curator of Painting and Sculpture, Kynaston McShine[5][6] and Systemic Painting, at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum curated by Lawrence Alloway also in 1966 that showcased Geometric abstraction in the American art world via Shaped canvas, Color Field, and Hard-edge painting.[7][8] In the wake of those exhibitions and a few others the art movement called minimal art emerged.

 

In a more broad and general sense, one finds European roots of minimalism in the geometric abstractions of painters associated with the Bauhaus, in the works of Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian and other artists associated with the De Stijl movement, and the Russian Constructivist movement, and in the work of the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși.[9][10]

  

Tony Smith, Free Ride, 1962, 6'8 x 6'8 x 6'8

In France between 1947 and 1948,[11] Yves Klein conceived his Monotone Symphony (1949, formally The Monotone-Silence Symphony) that consisted of a single 20-minute sustained chord followed by a 20-minute silence[12][13] – a precedent to both La Monte Young's drone music and John Cage's 4′33″. Klein had painted monochromes as early as 1949, and held the first private exhibition of this work in 1950—but his first public showing was the publication of the Artist's book Yves: Peintures in November 1954.[14][15]

 

Minimal art is also inspired in part by the paintings of Barnett Newman, Ad Reinhardt, Josef Albers, and the works of artists as diverse as Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Giorgio Morandi, and others. Minimalism was also a reaction against the painterly subjectivity of Abstract Expressionism that had been dominant in the New York School during the 1940s and 1950s.[16]

 

Artist and critic Thomas Lawson noted in his 1981 Artforum essay Last Exit: Painting, minimalism did not reject Clement Greenberg's claims about modernist painting's[17] reduction to surface and materials so much as take his claims literally. According to Lawson, minimalism was the result, even though the term "minimalism" was not generally embraced by the artists associated with it, and many practitioners of art designated minimalist by critics did not identify it as a movement as such. Also taking exception to this claim was Clement Greenberg himself; in his 1978 postscript to his essay Modernist Painting he disavowed this interpretation of what he said, writing:

 

There have been some further constructions of what I wrote that go over into preposterousness: That I regard flatness and the inclosing of flatness not just as the limiting conditions of pictorial art, but as criteria of aesthetic quality in pictorial art; that the further a work advances the self-definition of an art, the better that work is bound to be. The philosopher or art historian who can envision me—or anyone at all—arriving at aesthetic judgments in this way reads shockingly more into himself or herself than into my article.[17]

 

In contrast to the previous decade's more subjective Abstract Expressionists, with the exceptions of Barnett Newman and Ad Reinhardt; minimalists were also influenced by composers John Cage and LaMonte Young, poet William Carlos Williams, and the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. They very explicitly stated that their art was not about self-expression, and unlike the previous decade's more subjective philosophy about art making theirs was 'objective'. In general, minimalism's features included geometric, often cubic forms purged of much metaphor, equality of parts, repetition, neutral surfaces, and industrial materials.

 

Robert Morris, a theorist and artist, wrote a three part essay, "Notes on Sculpture 1–3", originally published across three issues of Artforum in 1966. In these essays, Morris attempted to define a conceptual framework and formal elements for himself and one that would embrace the practices of his contemporaries. These essays paid great attention to the idea of the gestalt – "parts... bound together in such a way that they create a maximum resistance to perceptual separation." Morris later described an art represented by a "marked lateral spread and no regularized units or symmetrical intervals..." in "Notes on Sculpture 4: Beyond Objects", originally published in Artforum, 1969, continuing on to say that "indeterminacy of arrangement of parts is a literal aspect of the physical existence of the thing." The general shift in theory of which this essay is an expression suggests the transition into what would later be referred to as postminimalism.

 

One of the first artists specifically associated with minimalism was the painter Frank Stella, four of whose early "black paintings" were included in the 1959 show, 16 Americans, organized by Dorothy Miller at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The width of the stripes in Frank Stellas's black paintings were often determined by the dimensions of the lumber he used for stretchers to support the canvas, visible against the canvas as the depth of the painting when viewed from the side. Stella's decisions about structures on the front surface of the canvas were therefore not entirely subjective, but pre-conditioned by a "given" feature of the physical construction of the support. In the show catalog, Carl Andre noted, "Art excludes the unnecessary. Frank Stella has found it necessary to paint stripes. There is nothing else in his painting." These reductive works were in sharp contrast to the energy-filled and apparently highly subjective and emotionally charged paintings of Willem de Kooning or Franz Kline and, in terms of precedent among the previous generation of abstract expressionists, leaned more toward the less gestural, often somber, color field paintings of Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko. Stella received immediate attention from the MoMA show, but other artists—including Kenneth Noland, Gene Davis, Robert Motherwell, and Robert Ryman—had also begun to explore stripes, monochromatic and Hard-edge formats from the late 50s through the 1960s.[18]

 

Because of a tendency in minimal art to exclude the pictorial, illusionistic and fictive in favor of the literal, there was a movement away from painterly and toward sculptural concerns. Donald Judd had started as a painter, and ended as a creator of objects. His seminal essay, "Specific Objects" (published in Arts Yearbook 8, 1965), was a touchstone of theory for the formation of minimalist aesthetics. In this essay, Judd found a starting point for a new territory for American art, and a simultaneous rejection of residual inherited European artistic values. He pointed to evidence of this development in the works of an array of artists active in New York at the time, including Jasper Johns, Dan Flavin and Lee Bontecou. Of "preliminary" importance for Judd was the work of George Earl Ortman,[19] who had concretized and distilled painting's forms into blunt, tough, philosophically charged geometries. These Specific Objects inhabited a space not then comfortably classifiable as either painting or sculpture. That the categorical identity of such objects was itself in question, and that they avoided easy association with well-worn and over-familiar conventions, was a part of their value for Judd.

 

This movement was criticized by modernist formalist art critics and historians. Some critics thought minimal art represented a misunderstanding of the modern dialectic of painting and sculpture as defined by critic Clement Greenberg, arguably the dominant American critic of painting in the period leading up to the 1960s. The most notable critique of minimalism was produced by Michael Fried, a formalist critic, who objected to the work on the basis of its "theatricality". In Art and Objecthood (published in Artforum in June 1967) he declared that the minimal work of art, particularly minimal sculpture, was based on an engagement with the physicality of the spectator. He argued that work like Robert Morris's transformed the act of viewing into a type of spectacle, in which the artifice of the act observation and the viewer's participation in the work were unveiled. Fried saw this displacement of the viewer's experience from an aesthetic engagement within, to an event outside of the artwork as a failure of minimal art. Fried's essay was immediately challenged by postminimalist and earth artist Robert Smithson in a letter to the editor in the October issue of Artforum. Smithson stated the following: "What Fried fears most is the consciousness of what he is doing—namely being himself theatrical."

 

In addition to the already mentioned Robert Morris, Frank Stella, Carl Andre, Robert Ryman and Donald Judd other minimal artists include: Robert Mangold, Larry Bell, Dan Flavin, Sol LeWitt, Charles Hinman, Ronald Bladen, Paul Mogensen, Ronald Davis, David Novros, Brice Marden, Blinky Palermo, Agnes Martin, Jo Baer, John McCracken, Ad Reinhardt, Fred Sandback, Richard Serra, Tony Smith, Patricia Johanson, and Anne Truitt.

 

Ad Reinhardt, actually an artist of the Abstract Expressionist generation, but one whose reductive nearly all-black paintings seemed to anticipate minimalism, had this to say about the value of a reductive approach to art:

 

The more stuff in it, the busier the work of art, the worse it is. More is less. Less is more. The eye is a menace to clear sight. The laying bare of oneself is obscene. Art begins with the getting rid of nature.[20]

 

Reinhardt's remark directly addresses and contradicts Hans Hofmann's regard for nature as the source of his own abstract expressionist paintings. In a famous exchange between Hofmann and Jackson Pollock as told by Lee Krasner in an interview with Dorothy Strickler[21] (1964-11-02) for the Smithsonian Institution Archives of American Art.[22] In Krasner's words:

 

When I brought Hofmann up to meet Pollock and see his work which was before we moved here, Hofmann’s reaction was—one of the questions he asked Jackson was, "Do you work from nature?" There were no still lifes around or models around and Jackson’s answer was, "I am nature." And Hofmann’s reply was, "Ah, but if you work by heart, you will repeat yourself." To which Jackson did not reply at all. The meeting between Pollock and Hofmann took place in 1942.[22]

 

Minimalist design and architecture[edit]

 

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The reconstruction of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's German Pavilion in Barcelona

The term minimalism is also used to describe a trend in design and architecture, wherein the subject is reduced to its necessary elements.[citation needed] Minimalist architectural designers focus on the connection between two perfect planes, elegant lighting, and the void spaces left by the removal of three-dimensional shapes in an architectural design.[according to whom?][citation needed]

 

Minimalistic design has been highly influenced by Japanese traditional design and architecture.[citation needed] The works of De Stijl artists are a major reference: De Stijl expanded the ideas of expression by meticulously organizing basic elements such as lines and planes.[citation needed] With regard to home design, more attractive "minimalistic" designs are not truly minimalistic because they are larger, and use more expensive building materials and finishes.[citation needed]

 

There are observers who describe the emergence of minimalism as a response to the brashness and chaos of urban life. In Japan, for example, minimalist architecture began to gain traction in the 1980s when its cities experienced rapid expansion and booming population. The design was considered an antidote to the "overpowering presence of traffic, advertising, jumbled building scales, and imposing roadways."[23] The chaotic environment was not only driven by urbanization, industrialization, and technology but also the Japanese experience of constantly having to demolish structures on account of the destruction wrought by World War II and the earthquakes, including the calamities it entails such as fire. The minimalist design philosophy did not arrive in Japan by way of another country as it was already part of the Japanese culture rooted on the Zen philosophy. There are those who specifically attribute the design movement to Japan's spirituality and view of nature.[24]

 

Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969) adopted the motto "Less is more" to describe his aesthetic.[25] His tactic was one of arranging the necessary components of a building to create an impression of extreme simplicity—he enlisted every element and detail to serve multiple visual and functional purposes; for example, designing a floor to also serve as the radiator, or a massive fireplace to also house the bathroom. Designer Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) adopted the engineer's goal of "Doing more with less", but his concerns were oriented toward technology and engineering rather than aesthetics.[26]

 

Luis Barragán is an exemplary modern minimalist designer.[according to whom?][citation needed] Other contemporary minimalist architects include Kazuyo Sejima, John Pawson, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Álvaro Siza Vieira, Tadao Ando, Alberto Campo Baeza, Yoshio Taniguchi, Peter Zumthor, Hugh Newell Jacobsen, Vincent Van Duysen, Claudio Silvestrin, Michael Gabellini, and Richard Gluckman.[27][page needed][verification needed]

 

Minimalist architecture and space[edit]

Minimalist architecture became popular in the late 1980s in London and New York,[28] where architects and fashion designers worked together in the boutiques to achieve simplicity, using white elements, cold lighting, large space with minimum objects and furniture.

 

Concepts and design elements[edit]

The concept of minimalist architecture is to strip everything down to its essential quality and achieve simplicity.[29] The idea is not completely without ornamentation,[30] but that all parts, details, and joinery are considered as reduced to a stage where no one can remove anything further to improve the design.[31]

 

The considerations for ‘essences’ are light, form, detail of material, space, place, and human condition.[32] Minimalist architects not only consider the physical qualities of the building. They consider the spiritual dimension and the invisible, by listening to the figure and paying attention to details, people, space, nature, and materials.,[33] believing this reveals the abstract quality of something that is invisible and aids the search for the essence of those invisible qualities—such as natural light, sky, earth, and air. In addition, they "open a dialogue" with the surrounding environment to decide the most essential materials for the construction and create relationships between buildings and sites.[30]

 

In minimalist architecture, design elements strive to convey the message of simplicity. The basic geometric forms, elements without decoration, simple materials and the repetitions of structures represent a sense of order and essential quality.[34] The movement of natural light in buildings reveals simple and clean spaces.[32] In the late 19th century as the arts and crafts movement became popular in Britain, people valued the attitude of ‘truth to materials’ with respect to the profound and innate characteristics of materials.[35] Minimalist architects humbly 'listen to figure,' seeking essence and simplicity by rediscovering the valuable qualities in simple and common materials.[33]

 

Influences from Japanese tradition[edit]

See also: Japanese architecture

 

Ryōan-ji dry garden.The clay wall, which is stained by age with subtle brown and orange tones, reflects "wabi" and the rock garden "sabi", together reflecting the Japanese worldview or aesthetic of "wabi-sabi".[36]

The idea of simplicity appears in many cultures, especially the Japanese traditional culture of Zen Philosophy. Japanese manipulate the Zen culture into aesthetic and design elements for their buildings.[37] This idea of architecture has influenced Western Society, especially in America since the mid 18th century.[38] Moreover, it inspired the minimalist architecture in the 19th century.[31]

 

Zen concepts of simplicity transmit the ideas of freedom and essence of living.[31] Simplicity is not only aesthetic value, it has a moral perception that looks into the nature of truth and reveals the inner qualities and essence of materials and objects.[39] For example, the sand garden in Ryoanji temple demonstrates the concepts of simplicity and the essentiality from the considered setting of a few stones and a huge empty space.[40]

 

The Japanese aesthetic principle of Ma refers to empty or open space. It removes all the unnecessary internal walls and opens up the space. The emptiness of spatial arrangement reduces everything down to the most essential quality.[41]

 

The Japanese aesthetic of Wabi-sabi values the quality of simple and plain objects.[42] It appreciates the absence of unnecessary features, treasures a life in quietness and aims to reveal the innate character of materials.[43] For example, the Japanese floral art, also known as Ikebana, has the central principle of letting the flower express itself. People cut off the branches, leaves and blossoms from the plants and only retain the essential part of the plant. This conveys the idea of essential quality and innate character in nature.[44]

 

However, far from being just a spatial concept, Ma is ever-present in all aspects of Japanese daily life, as it applies to time as well as to daily tasks.[45]

 

Minimalist architects and their works[edit]

The Japanese minimalist architect, Tadao Ando conveys the Japanese traditional spirit and his own perception of nature in his works. His design concepts are materials, pure geometry and nature. He normally uses concrete or natural wood and basic structural form to achieve austerity and rays of light in space. He also sets up dialogue between the site and nature to create relationship and order with the buildings.[46] Ando's works and the translation of Japanese aesthetic principles are highly influential on Japanese architecture.[47]

 

Another Japanese minimalist architect, Kazuyo Sejima, works on her own and in conjunction with Ryue Nishizawa, as SANAA, producing iconic Japanese Minimalist buildings. Credited with creating and influencing a particular genre of Japanese Minimalism,[48] Sejimas delicate, intelligent designs may use white color, thin construction sections and transparent elements to create the phenomenal building type often associated with minimalism. Works include New Museum(2010) New York City, Small House (2000) Tokyo, House surrounded By Plum Trees (2003) Tokyo.

 

In Vitra Conference Pavilion, Weil am Rhein, 1993, the concepts are to bring together the relationships between building, human movement, site and nature. Which as one main point of minimalism ideology that establish dialogue between the building and site. The building uses the simple forms of circle and rectangle to contrast the filled and void space of the interior and nature. In the foyer, there is a large landscape window that looks out to the exterior. This achieves the simple and silence of architecture and enhances the light, wind, time and nature in space.[49]

 

John Pawson is a British minimalist architect; his design concepts are soul, light, and order. He believes that though reduced clutter and simplification of the interior to a point that gets beyond the idea of essential quality, there is a sense of clarity and richness of simplicity instead of emptiness. The materials in his design reveal the perception toward space, surface, and volume. Moreover, he likes to use natural materials because of their aliveness, sense of depth and quality of an individual. He is also attracted by the important influences from Japanese Zen Philosophy.[50]

 

Calvin Klein Madison Avenue, New York, 1995–96, is a boutique that conveys Calvin Klein's ideas of fashion. John Pawson's interior design concepts for this project are to create simple, peaceful and orderly spatial arrangements. He used stone floors and white walls to achieve simplicity and harmony for space. He also emphasises reduction and eliminates the visual distortions, such as the air conditioning and lamps to achieve a sense of purity for interior.[51]

 

Alberto Campo Baeza is a Spanish architect and describes his work as essential architecture. He values the concepts of light, idea and space. Light is essential and achieves the relationship between inhabitants and the building. Ideas are to meet the function and context of space, forms, and construction. Space is shaped by the minimal geometric forms to avoid decoration that is not essential.[52]

 

Gasper House, Zahora, 1992 is a residence that the client wanted to be independent. High walls create the enclosed space and the stone floors used in house and courtyard show the continuality of interior and exterior. The white colour of the walls reveals the simplicity and unity of the building. The feature of the structure make lines to form the continuously horizontal house, therefore natural light projects horizontally through the building.[53]

 

Literary minimalism[edit]

See also: Concision

Literary minimalism is characterized by an economy with words and a focus on surface description. Minimalist writers eschew adverbs and prefer allowing context to dictate meaning. Readers are expected to take an active role in creating the story, to "choose sides" based on oblique hints and innuendo, rather than react to directions from the writer.

 

Some 1940s-era crime fiction of writers such as James M. Cain and Jim Thompson adopted a stripped-down, matter-of-fact prose style to considerable effect; some classify this prose style as minimalism.[weasel words]

 

Another strand of literary minimalism arose in response to the metafiction trend of the 1960s and early 1970s (John Barth, Robert Coover, and William H. Gass). These writers were also spare with prose and kept a psychological distance from their subject matter.[citation needed]

 

Minimalist writers, or those who are identified with minimalism during certain periods of their writing careers, include the following: Raymond Carver, Ann Beattie, Bret Easton Ellis, Charles Bukowski, Ernest Hemingway, K. J. Stevens, Amy Hempel, Bobbie Ann Mason, Tobias Wolff, Grace Paley, Sandra Cisneros, Mary Robison, Frederick Barthelme, Richard Ford, Patrick Holland, Cormac McCarthy, and Alicia Erian.[citation needed]

 

American poets such as Stephen Crane, William Carlos Williams, early Ezra Pound, Robert Creeley, Robert Grenier, and Aram Saroyan are sometimes identified with their minimalist style. The term "minimalism" is also sometimes associated with the briefest of poetic genres, haiku, which originated in Japan, but has been domesticated in English literature by poets such as Nick Virgilio, Raymond Roseliep, and George Swede.[citation needed]

 

The Irish writer Samuel Beckett is well known for his minimalist plays and prose, as is the Norwegian writer Jon Fosse.[54]

 

In his novel The Easy Chain, Evan Dara includes a 60-page section written in the style of musical minimalism, in particular inspired by composer Steve Reich. Intending to represent the psychological state (agitation) of the novel's main character, the section's successive lines of text are built on repetitive and developing phrases.[citation needed]

 

Minimal music[edit]

Main article: Minimal music

The term "minimal music" was derived around 1970 by Michael Nyman from the concept of minimalism, which was earlier applied to the visual arts.[55][56] More precisely, it was in a 1968 review in The Spectator that Nyman first used the term, to describe a ten-minute piano composition by the Danish composer Henning Christiansen, along with several other unnamed pieces played by Charlotte Moorman and Nam June Paik at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.[57]

 

Minimalism in film[edit]

The term usually is associated with filmmakers such as Robert Bresson, Carl Theodor Dreyer and Yasujirō Ozu. Their films typically tell a simple story with straight forward camera usage and minimal use of score. Paul Schrader named their kind of cinema: "transcendental cinema".[58] Abbas Kiarostami is also considered a creator of minimalistic films.

 

Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus directed and produced a movie called Minimalism: A Documentary.[59] that showcased the idea of minimal living in the modern world.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimalism

Yachts at the Miami Beach Marina at Dusk, South Beach, FL

 

This is pretty much the only shot I got from the marina. I probably could've gotten a few more before it was getting too dark, but I was politely told NOT to take any photographs there.

 

Well, I was asked what I do with the photos, snapshots are OK but no commercial photography. Maybe I should've left the tripod at home. By the time we had cleared the misunderstanding (I am really just taking pics for the heck of it) it was too dark to shoot without tripod. And I really didn't want to take any chances, the prospect of getting my camera confiscated didn't quite appeal to me...

(the modern legacy)

 

models: Karl & Juan

 

Here is an extract of my new work: vanishing gods.

I try to explain our lack of spirituality, through the decadence of our own representation of divinities or gods. These one we have created.

These pictures are about the great misunderstanding between religion and spirituality.

Less Gods and more Spirit.

 

theanticstaatsoper.tumblr.com/

 

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.

It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out.

It doesn't matter much to me.

 

Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.

Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.

Strawberry Fields forever.

 

The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever

  

Day 165 / 366

 

June 13, 2012

 

Davey, The Netherlands

this is about ignorance and misunderstanding eachother.

  

Io, loro e Lara is a 2010 film directed by and starring Carlo Verdone.

The film was dedicated to Verdone's father, Mario, who died during

the making of the film.

 

Plot: Carlo Mascolo is a priest on a mission in Africa. Following a profound spiritual crisis, the priest decides to return to Rome, where the rest of his family lives, with the idea of taking a break to reflect and find clarity within himself.

However, when Carlo arrives home, he is overwhelmed by his family's problems: his elderly father Alberto has married the young Moldovan caregiver Olga, much to the disappointment of his siblings Luigi and Beatrice, who fear for their inheritance. Carlo also has doubts about his parent's choice, but everything changes with the sudden death of his stepmother.

The situation takes an unexpected turn with the arrival of Lara, the deceased's daughter: Alberto, now a widower and desperate, demands that the girl stay in the family home for a while, where she shares her life with the priest. Initially, a good relationship develops between the two, but it strains when Carlo discovers that the young woman is leading a double life. But this is only the beginning of a long series of misunderstandings...

 

Carlo begins to develop a good relationship with the girl, but one night, he accidentally discovers, upon entering her room, that Lara is performing half-naked on webcam.

Life scenes................

DSC - 3933

Close to 100 years old and still going strong, Tepu' Apung is one of the most direct and outspoken elders I've met in Bario. Always well known for her intelligence and sharpness, quite literally, her other name, Beken Ayu, means "something different" in Kelabit - and she lives up to it. On this particular day she decided to give me a Kelabit name, but her delivery was uniquely serious and classic Tepu' Apung: "Chris is a girl's name. You can't use that name anymore - your new name is Giak!"

 

She spends most of her time at Rumah Labang just spending time around people and the environment - be it relaxing by the fire, making sure everyone has eaten ("Kuman? Kuman!") or sharing stories from the past. Some of her stories are even so detailed and complex she claims she can't even share them with us as they would literally take days to complete.

 

Her spoken Kelabit is very deep with not all words completely understood by younger Kelabits - as parts of her lexicon are not commonly used on a daily basis. Any misunderstanding is usually met with Sarawak Malay to get the point across. Her beads are also of particular importance to her - as they are to most Kelabits (especially in past times where they were highly valued), and if she is not found in the kitchen she can undoubtedly be found beading in her room.

 

Be aware though, If one wishes to engage Tepu' in discussion, they should be commited to discussion. She doesn't joke around and she commands honest respect. For that commitment, however, one will be rewarded with stories of Kelabit past available nowhere else and uniquely Beken Ayu.

 

Rumah Labang, Kelabit Highlands, Sarawak, Malaysia, 2009

Razor Ramon: Hey, YO!

 

It's Tuesday Night Fights, but where's the other wrestler?

He's out here alone so he must be doing a mic rant.

 

Razor Ramon: The last time I was out here, you clowns talked about my look and said I was from the Voddy Village!*

 

What?

Vaudeville.

Oh, him??

You look different, Scott!

 

Razor Ramon: It's Razor. Razor Ramon!

 

You said your name was Scott Hall!

Maybe that's like 'Voddy Village'.

laughter

 

Razor Ramon: No, see, now I'm Razor Ramon!! Badda-BOOM!

 

He still looks creepy...

__________________________

A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.

 

*A bit of a misunderstanding!

www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/33645282728/

LeLutka Briannon 3.1 Evo X

INITHIUM ] KUPRA HD BOM 1/4

.MILA. Taty Skin BOM [Almond

.MILA. Body Skins [Inithium]

DOUX - Laurene hairstyle [BLOGGER PACK

*Tay-Lay-Designs* My Christmas-Outfit 42

 

Visit this location at LAKE TAHOE SKI RESORT in Second Life

Since childhood, we have been stuffing bumps, but we are moving on. We learn to walk, we fall, but we get up and try again. Growing up. And so, for example, we do not enter the institute. Someone does not give up and tries again, and someone does not make more attempts. And so in many ways. Some take life into their own hands, persistently strive to achieve goals, look for their own way, gain invaluable experience, stumble upon the misunderstanding of others, but despite this, they continue to go. "It didn't work out the first time, it will work out the second time!" - and they try further, act. And others find excuses, avoid responsibility, wait for the "X hour", do not believe in themselves, etc.

⠀

And what do you think, if it didn't work out on the first attempt, is it worth giving up?

⠀

Happy Defender of the Fatherland Day, strong half of humanity! Determination, resourcefulness, great achievements, courage and courage! Let there be no obstacles on your way that you could not overcome. Take care and love your family and friends! A peaceful sky over our heads for all of us!

⠀

Ph: @safronoviv_photo

Loc: @alfabank

⠀

#blackandwhite #computer #computermonitor #desk #outputdevice #peripheral #photograph #style #tie #whitecollarworker #NikonD4 #safronoviv_photo

Spiritual Unite Articles, a place to find your pleiadian, sirian, arcturian starseed, spiritual awakening and numerology predictions.Nostradamus: original portrait like a pleiadian-starseed in The Starry Night from Vincent Van Gogh an other pleiadian guy....

Born14 or 21 December 1503 (Julian calendar)

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Provence, Kingdom of France

Michel de Nostredame (depending on the source, 14 or 21 December 1503 – 1 or 2 July 1566), usually Latinised as Nostradamus,[a] was a French astrologer, physician and reputed seer, who is best known for his book Les Prophéties, a collection of 942 poetic quatrains[b] allegedly predicting future events. The book was first published in 1555.

 

Nostradamus's family was originally Jewish, but had converted to Catholic Christianity before he was born. He studied at the University of Avignon, but was forced to leave after just over a year when the university closed due to an outbreak of the plague. He worked as an apothecary for several years before entering the University of Montpellier, hoping to earn a doctorate, but was almost immediately expelled after his work as an apothecary (a manual trade forbidden by university statutes) was discovered. He first married in 1531, but his wife and two children died in 1534 during another plague outbreak. He fought alongside doctors against the plague before remarrying to Anne Ponsarde, with whom he had six children. He wrote an almanac for 1550 and, as a result of its success, continued writing them for future years as he began working as an astrologer for various wealthy patrons. Catherine de' Medici became one of his foremost supporters. His Les Prophéties, published in 1555, relied heavily on historical and literary precedent, and initially received mixed reception. He suffered from severe gout toward the end of his life, which eventually developed into edema. He died on 2 July 1566. Many popular authors have retold apocryphal legends about his life.

 

In the years since the publication of his Les Prophéties, Nostradamus has attracted many supporters, who, along with much of the popular press, credit him with having accurately predicted many major world events.[6][7] Most academic sources reject the notion that Nostradamus had any genuine supernatural prophetic abilities and maintain that the associations made between world events and Nostradamus's quatrains are the result of misinterpretations or mistranslations (sometimes deliberate).[8] These academics argue that Nostradamus's predictions are characteristically vague, meaning they could be applied to virtually anything, and are useless for determining whether their author had any real prophetic powers. They also point out that English translations of his quatrains are almost always of extremely poor quality, based on later manuscripts, produced by authors with little knowledge of sixteenth-century French, and often deliberately mistranslated to make the prophecies fit whatever events the translator believed they were supposed to have predicted.

  

Contents

1Life

1.1Childhood

1.2Student years

1.3Marriage and healing work

1.4Occultism

1.5Final years and death

2Works

3Origins of The Prophecies

4Interpretations

4.1Content of the quatrains

4.2Popular claims

4.3Scholarly rebuttal

5In popular culture

6See also

7Notes

8References

8.1Citations

8.2Sources

9Further reading

10External links

Life[edit]

Childhood[edit]

 

Nostradamus's claimed birthplace before its recent renovation, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

 

Municipal plaque on the claimed birthplace of Nostradamus in St-Rémy, France, describing him as an 'astrologer' and giving his birth-date as 14 December 1503 (Julian Calendar)

Nostradamus was born on either 14 or 21 December 1503 in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Provence, France,[9] where his claimed birthplace still exists, and baptized Michel.[9] He was one of at least nine children of notary Jaume (or Jacques) de Nostredame and Reynière, granddaughter of Pierre de Saint-Rémy who worked as a physician in Saint-Rémy.[9] Jaume's family had originally been Jewish, but his father, Cresquas, a grain and money dealer based in Avignon, had converted to Catholicism around 1459–60, taking the Christian name "Pierre" and the surname "Nostredame" (Our Lady), the saint on whose day his conversion was solemnised.[9] The earliest ancestor who can be identified on the paternal side is Astruge of Carcassonne, who died about 1420. Michel's known siblings included Delphine, Jean (c. 1507–1577), Pierre, Hector, Louis, Bertrand, Jean II (born 1522) and Antoine (born 1523).[10][11][12] Little else is known about his childhood, although there is a persistent tradition that he was educated by his maternal great-grandfather Jean de St. Rémy[13]—a tradition which is somewhat undermined by the fact that the latter disappears from the historical record after 1504 when the child was only one year old.[14]

 

Student years[edit]

At the age of 14[6] Nostradamus entered the University of Avignon to study for his baccalaureate. After little more than a year (when he would have studied the regular trivium of grammar, rhetoric and logic rather than the later quadrivium of geometry, arithmetic, music, and astronomy/astrology), he was forced to leave Avignon when the university closed its doors during an outbreak of the plague. After leaving Avignon, Nostradamus, by his own account, traveled the countryside for eight years from 1521 researching herbal remedies. In 1529, after some years as an apothecary, he entered the University of Montpellier to study for a doctorate in medicine. He was expelled shortly afterwards by the student procurator, Guillaume Rondelet, when it was discovered that he had been an apothecary, a "manual trade" expressly banned by the university statutes, and had been slandering doctors.[15] The expulsion document, BIU Montpellier, Register S 2 folio 87, still exists in the faculty library.[16] However, some of his publishers and correspondents would later call him "Doctor". After his expulsion, Nostradamus continued working, presumably still as an apothecary, and became famous for creating a "rose pill" that purportedly protected against the plague.[17]

 

Marriage and healing work[edit]

 

Nostradamus's house at Salon-de-Provence, as reconstructed after the 1909 Provence earthquake

In 1531 Nostradamus was invited by Jules-César Scaliger, a leading Renaissance scholar, to come to Agen.[18] There he married a woman of uncertain name (possibly Henriette d'Encausse), who bore him two children.[19] In 1534 his wife and children died, presumably from the plague. After their deaths, he continued to travel, passing through France and possibly Italy.[20]

 

On his return in 1545, he assisted the prominent physician Louis Serre in his fight against a major plague outbreak in Marseille, and then tackled further outbreaks of disease on his own in Salon-de-Provence and in the regional capital, Aix-en-Provence. Finally, in 1547, he settled in Salon-de-Provence in the house which exists today, where he married a rich widow named Anne Ponsarde, with whom he had six children—three daughters and three sons.[21] Between 1556 and 1567 he and his wife acquired a one-thirteenth share in a huge canal project, organised by Adam de Craponne, to create the Canal de Craponne to irrigate the largely waterless Salon-de-Provence and the nearby Désert de la Crau from the river Durance.[22]

 

Occultism[edit]

After another visit to Italy, Nostradamus began to move away from medicine and toward the "occult". Following popular trends, he wrote an almanac for 1550, for the first time in print Latinising his name to Nostradamus. He was so encouraged by the almanac's success that he decided to write one or more annually. Taken together, they are known to have contained at least 6,338 prophecies,[23][24] as well as at least eleven annual calendars, all of them starting on 1 January and not, as is sometimes supposed, in March. It was mainly in response to the almanacs that the nobility and other prominent persons from far away soon started asking for horoscopes and "psychic" advice from him, though he generally expected his clients to supply the birth charts on which these would be based, rather than calculating them himself as a professional astrologer would have done. When obliged to attempt this himself on the basis of the published tables of the day, he frequently made errors and failed to adjust the figures for his clients' place or time of birth.[25][26][c][27]

 

He then began his project of writing a book of one thousand mainly French quatrains, which constitute the largely undated prophecies for which he is most famous today. Feeling vulnerable to opposition on religious grounds,[28] however, he devised a method of obscuring his meaning by using "Virgilianised" syntax, word games and a mixture of other languages such as Greek, Italian, Latin, and Provençal.[29] For technical reasons connected with their publication in three installments (the publisher of the third and last installment seems to have been unwilling to start it in the middle of a "Century," or book of 100 verses), the last fifty-eight quatrains of the seventh "Century" have not survived in any extant edition.

  

Century I, Quatrain 1 in the 1555 Lyon Bonhomme edition

The quatrains, published in a book titled Les Prophéties (The Prophecies), received a mixed reaction when they were published. Some people thought Nostradamus was a servant of evil, a fake, or insane, while many of the elite evidently thought otherwise. Catherine de' Medici, wife of King Henry II of France, was one of Nostradamus's greatest admirers. After reading his almanacs for 1555, which hinted at unnamed threats to the royal family, she summoned him to Paris to explain them and to draw up horoscopes for her children. At the time, he feared that he would be beheaded,[30] but by the time of his death in 1566, Queen Catherine had made him Counselor and Physician-in-Ordinary to her son, the young King Charles IX of France.

 

Some accounts of Nostradamus's life state that he was afraid of being persecuted for heresy by the Inquisition, but neither prophecy nor astrology fell in this bracket, and he would have been in danger only if he had practised magic to support them. In 1538 he came into conflict with the Church in Agen after an Inquisitor visited the area looking for anti-Catholic views.[31] His brief imprisonment at Marignane in late 1561 was solely because he had violated a recent royal decree by publishing his 1562 almanac without the prior permission of a bishop.[32]

 

Final years and death[edit]

 

Nostradamus's current tomb in the Collégiale Saint-Laurent in Salon-de-Provence in the south of France, into which his scattered remains were transferred after 1789.

 

Nostradamus statue in Salon-de-Provence

By 1566, Nostradamus's gout, which had plagued him painfully for many years and made movement very difficult, turned into edema. In late June he summoned his lawyer to draw up an extensive will bequeathing his property plus 3,444 crowns (around US$300,000 today), minus a few debts, to his wife pending her remarriage, in trust for her sons pending their twenty-fifth birthdays and her daughters pending their marriages. This was followed by a much shorter codicil.[33] On the evening of 1 July, he is alleged to have told his secretary Jean de Chavigny, "You will not find me alive at sunrise." The next morning he was reportedly found dead, lying on the floor next to his bed and a bench (Presage 141 [originally 152] for November 1567, as posthumously edited by Chavigny to fit what happened).[34][24] He was buried in the local Franciscan chapel in Salon (part of it now incorporated into the restaurant La Brocherie) but re-interred during the French Revolution in the Collégiale Saint-Laurent, where his tomb remains to this day.[35]

 

Works[edit]

 

Copy of Garencières' 1672 English translation of the Prophecies, located in The P.I. Nixon Medical History Library of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

In The Prophecies Nostradamus compiled his collection of major, long-term predictions. The first installment was published in 1555 and contained 353 quatrains. The third edition, with three hundred new quatrains, was reportedly printed in 1558, but now survives as only part of the omnibus edition that was published after his death in 1568. This version contains one unrhymed and 941 rhymed quatrains, grouped into nine sets of 100 and one of 42, called "Centuries".

 

Given printing practices at the time (which included type-setting from dictation), no two editions turned out to be identical, and it is relatively rare to find even two copies that are exactly the same. Certainly there is no warrant for assuming—as would-be "code-breakers" are prone to do—that either the spellings or the punctuation of any edition are Nostradamus's originals.[5]

 

The Almanacs, by far the most popular of his works,[36] were published annually from 1550 until his death. He often published two or three in a year, entitled either Almanachs (detailed predictions), Prognostications or Presages (more generalised predictions).

 

Nostradamus was not only a diviner, but a professional healer. It is known that he wrote at least two books on medical science. One was an extremely free translation (or rather a paraphrase) of The Protreptic of Galen (Paraphrase de C. GALIEN, sus l'Exhortation de Menodote aux estudes des bonnes Artz, mesmement Medicine), and in his so-called Traité des fardemens (basically a medical cookbook containing, once again, materials borrowed mainly from others), he included a description of the methods he used to treat the plague, including bloodletting, none of which apparently worked.[37] The same book also describes the preparation of cosmetics.

 

A manuscript normally known as the Orus Apollo also exists in the Lyon municipal library, where upwards of 2,000 original documents relating to Nostradamus are stored under the aegis of Michel Chomarat. It is a purported translation of an ancient Greek work on Egyptian hieroglyphs based on later Latin versions, all of them unfortunately ignorant of the true meanings of the ancient Egyptian script, which was not correctly deciphered until Champollion in the 19th century.[38]

 

Since his death, only the Prophecies have continued to be popular, but in this case they have been quite extraordinarily so. Over two hundred editions of them have appeared in that time, together with over 2,000 commentaries. Their persistence in popular culture seems to be partly because their vagueness and lack of dating make it easy to quote them selectively after every major dramatic event and retrospectively claim them as "hits".[39]

 

Origins of The Prophecies[edit]

 

Theophilus de Garencières, the first English translator of the Prophecies[40]

Nostradamus claimed to base his published predictions on judicial astrology—the astrological 'judgment', or assessment, of the 'quality' (and thus potential) of events such as births, weddings, coronations etc.—but was heavily criticised by professional astrologers of the day such as Laurens Videl[41] for incompetence and for assuming that "comparative horoscopy" (the comparison of future planetary configurations with those accompanying known past events) could actually predict what would happen in the future.[42]

 

Research suggests that much of his prophetic work paraphrases collections of ancient end-of-the-world prophecies (mainly Bible-based), supplemented with references to historical events and anthologies of omen reports, and then projects those into the future in part with the aid of comparative horoscopy. Hence the many predictions involving ancient figures such as Sulla, Gaius Marius, Nero, and others, as well as his descriptions of "battles in the clouds" and "frogs falling from the sky".[43] Astrology itself is mentioned only twice in Nostradamus's Preface and 41 times in the Centuries themselves, but more frequently in his dedicatory Letter to King Henry II. In the last quatrain of his sixth century he specifically attacks astrologers.

 

His historical sources include easily identifiable passages from Livy, Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars, Plutarch and other classical historians, as well as from medieval chroniclers such as Geoffrey of Villehardouin and Jean Froissart. Many of his astrological references are taken almost word for word from Richard Roussat's Livre de l'estat et mutations des temps of 1549–50.

 

One of his major prophetic sources was evidently the Mirabilis Liber of 1522, which contained a range of prophecies by Pseudo-Methodius, the Tiburtine Sibyl, Joachim of Fiore, Savonarola and others (his Preface contains 24 biblical quotations, all but two in the order used by Savonarola). This book had enjoyed considerable success in the 1520s, when it went through half a dozen editions, but did not sustain its influence, perhaps owing to its mostly Latin text, Gothic script and many difficult abbreviations. Nostradamus was one of the first to re-paraphrase these prophecies in French, which may explain why they are credited to him. Modern views of plagiarism did not apply in the 16th century; authors frequently copied and paraphrased passages without acknowledgement, especially from the classics. The latest research suggests that he may in fact have used bibliomancy for this—randomly selecting a book of history or prophecy and taking his cue from whatever page it happened to fall open at.[6]

 

Further material was gleaned from the De honesta disciplina of 1504 by Petrus Crinitus,[44] which included extracts from Michael Psellos's De daemonibus, and the De Mysteriis Aegyptiorum (Concerning the mysteries of Egypt), a book on Chaldean and Assyrian magic by Iamblichus, a 4th-century Neo-Platonist. Latin versions of both had recently been published in Lyon, and extracts from both are paraphrased (in the second case almost literally) in his first two verses, the first of which is appended to this article. While it is true that Nostradamus claimed in 1555 to have burned all of the occult works in his library, no one can say exactly what books were destroyed in this fire.

 

Only in the 17th century did people start to notice his reliance on earlier, mainly classical sources.[d]

 

Nostradamus's reliance on historical precedent is reflected in the fact that he explicitly rejected the label "prophet" (i.e. a person having prophetic powers of his own) on several occasions:[45]

 

Although, my son, I have used the word prophet, I would not attribute to myself a title of such lofty sublimity.

 

— Preface to César, 1555[46]

Not that I would attribute to myself either the name or the role of a prophet.

 

— Preface to César, 1555[46]

[S]ome of [the prophets] predicted great and marvelous things to come: [though] for me, I in no way attribute to myself such a title here.

 

— Letter to King Henry II, 1558[47]

Not that I am foolish enough to claim to be a prophet.

 

— Open letter to Privy Councillor (later Chancellor) Birague, 15 June 1566[45]

 

Detail from title-page of the original 1555 (Albi) edition of Nostradamus's Les Prophéties

Given this reliance on literary sources, it is unlikely that Nostradamus used any particular methods for entering a trance state, other than contemplation, meditation and incubation.[48] His sole description of this process is contained in 'letter 41' of his collected Latin correspondence.[49] The popular legend that he attempted the ancient methods of flame gazing, water gazing or both simultaneously is based on a naive reading of his first two verses, which merely liken his efforts to those of the Delphic and Branchidic oracles. The first of these is reproduced at the bottom of this article and the second can be seen by visiting the relevant facsimile site (see External Links). In his dedication to King Henry II, Nostradamus describes "emptying my soul, mind and heart of all care, worry and unease through mental calm and tranquility", but his frequent references to the "bronze tripod" of the Delphic rite are usually preceded by the words "as though" (compare, once again, External References to the original texts).

 

Interpretations[edit]

Content of the quatrains[edit]

Most of the quatrains deal with disasters, such as plagues, earthquakes, wars, floods, invasions, murders, droughts, and battles—all undated and based on foreshadowings by the Mirabilis Liber. Some quatrains cover these disasters in overall terms; others concern a single person or small group of people. Some cover a single town, others several towns in several countries.[50] A major, underlying theme is an impending invasion of Europe by Muslim forces from farther east and south headed by the expected Antichrist, directly reflecting the then-current Ottoman invasions and the earlier Saracen equivalents, as well as the prior expectations of the Mirabilis Liber.[51] All of this is presented in the context of the supposedly imminent end of the world—even though this is not in fact mentioned[52]—a conviction that sparked numerous collections of end-time prophecies at the time, including an unpublished collection by Christopher Columbus.[53] [54] Views on Nostradamus have varied widely throughout history.[55] Academic views such as those of Jacques Halbronn regard Nostradamus's Prophecies as antedated forgeries written by later hands with a political axe to grind.[55]

 

Popular claims[edit]

  

Nostradamus's supporters have retrospectively claimed that he predicted major world events, including the Great Fire of London, the French Revolution, the rises of Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and September 11 attacks.[55][27]

Many of Nostradamus's supporters believe his prophecies are genuine.[55] Owing to the subjective nature of these interpretations, however, no two of them completely agree on what Nostradamus predicted, whether for the past or for the future.[55] Many supporters, however, do agree, for example, that he predicted the Great Fire of London, the French Revolution, the rises of Napoleon and Adolf Hitler,[56][e] both world wars, and the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[55][27] Popular authors frequently claim that he predicted whatever major event had just happened at the time of each book's publication, such as the Apollo moon landings in 1969, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, and the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.[27][57] This 'movable feast' aspect appears to be characteristic of the genre.[55]

 

Possibly the first of these books to become popular in English was Henry C. Roberts' The Complete Prophecies of Nostradamus of 1947, reprinted at least seven times during the next forty years, which contained both transcriptions and translations, with brief commentaries. This was followed in 1961 (reprinted in 1982) by Edgar Leoni's Nostradamus and His Prophecies. After that came Erika Cheetham's The Prophecies of Nostradamus, incorporating a reprint of the posthumous 1568 edition, which was reprinted, revised and republished several times from 1973 onwards, latterly as The Final Prophecies of Nostradamus. This served as the basis for the documentary The Man Who Saw Tomorrow and both did indeed mention possible generalised future attacks on New York (via nuclear weapons), though not specifically on the World Trade Center or on any particular date.[58]

 

A two-part translation of Jean-Charles de Fontbrune's Nostradamus: historien et prophète was published in 1980, and John Hogue has published a number of books on Nostradamus from about 1987, including Nostradamus and the Millennium: Predictions of the Future, Nostradamus: The Complete Prophecies (1999) and Nostradamus: A Life and Myth (2003). In 1992 one commentator who claimed to be able to contact Nostradamus under hypnosis even had him "interpreting" his own verse X.6 (a prediction specifically about floods in southern France around the city of Nîmes and people taking refuge in its collosse, or Colosseum, a Roman amphitheatre now known as the Arènes) as a prediction of an undated attack on the Pentagon, despite the historical seer's clear statement in his dedicatory letter to King Henri II that his prophecies were about Europe, North Africa and part of Asia Minor.[59]

 

With the exception of Roberts, these books and their many popular imitators were almost unanimous not merely about Nostradamus's powers of prophecy but also in inventing intriguing aspects of his purported biography: that he had been a descendant of the Israelite tribe of Issachar; he had been educated by his grandfathers, who had both been physicians to the court of Good King René of Provence; he had attended Montpellier University in 1525 to gain his first degree; after returning there in 1529, he had successfully taken his medical doctorate; he had gone on to lecture in the Medical Faculty there, until his views became too unpopular; he had supported the heliocentric view of the universe; he had travelled to the Habsburg Netherlands, where he had composed prophecies at the abbey of Orval; in the course of his travels, he had performed a variety of prodigies, including identifying future Pope, Sixtus V, who was then only a seminary monk. He is credited with having successfully cured the Plague at Aix-en-Provence and elsewhere; he had engaged in scrying, using either a magic mirror or a bowl of water; he had been joined by his secretary Chavigny at Easter 1554; having published the first installment of his Prophéties, he had been summoned by Queen Catherine de' Medici to Paris in 1556 to discuss with her his prophecy at quatrain I.35 that her husband King Henri II would be killed in a duel; he had examined the royal children at Blois; he had bequeathed to his son a "lost book" of his own prophetic paintings;[f] he had been buried standing up; and he had been found, when dug up at the French Revolution, to be wearing a medallion bearing the exact date of his disinterment.[60] This was first recorded by Samuel Pepys as early as 1667, long before the French Revolution. Pepys records in his celebrated diary a legend that, before his death, Nostradamus made the townsfolk swear that his grave would never be disturbed; but that 60 years later his body was exhumed, whereupon a brass plaque was found on his chest correctly stating the date and time when his grave would be opened and cursing the exhumers.[61]

 

In 2000, Li Hongzhi claimed that the 1999 prophecy at X.72 was a prediction of the Chinese Falun Gong persecution which began in July 1999, leading to an increased interest in Nostradamus among Falun Gong members.[62]

 

Scholarly rebuttal[edit]

From the 1980s onward, however, an academic reaction set in, especially in France. The publication in 1983 of Nostradamus's private correspondence[63] and, during succeeding years, of the original editions of 1555 and 1557 discovered by Chomarat and Benazra, together with the unearthing of much original archival material[35][26] revealed that much that was claimed about Nostradamus did not fit the documented facts. The academics[35][60][26][64] revealed that not one of the claims just listed was backed up by any known contemporary documentary evidence. Most of them had evidently been based on unsourced rumours relayed as fact by much later commentators, such as Jaubert (1656), Guynaud (1693) and Bareste (1840), on modern misunderstandings of the 16th-century French texts, or on pure invention. Even the often-advanced suggestion that quatrain I.35 had successfully prophesied King Henry II's death did not actually appear in print for the first time until 1614, 55 years after the event.[65][66]

 

Skeptics such as James Randi suggest that his reputation as a prophet is largely manufactured by modern-day supporters who fit his words to events that have either already occurred or are so imminent as to be inevitable, a process sometimes known as "retroactive clairvoyance" (postdiction). No Nostradamus quatrain is known to have been interpreted as predicting a specific event before it occurred, other than in vague, general terms that could equally apply to any number of other events.[67] This even applies to quatrains that contain specific dates, such as III.77, which predicts "in 1727, in October, the king of Persia [shall be] captured by those of Egypt"—a prophecy that has, as ever, been interpreted retrospectively in the light of later events, in this case as though it presaged the known peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Persia of that year;[68] Egypt was also an important Ottoman territory at this time.[69] Similarly, Nostradamus's notorious "1999" prophecy at X.72 (see Nostradamus in popular culture) describes no event that commentators have succeeded in identifying either before or since, other than by twisting the words to fit whichever of the many contradictory happenings they claim as "hits".[70] Moreover, no quatrain suggests, as is often claimed by books and films on the alleged Mayan Prophecy, that the world would end in December 2012.[71] In his preface to the Prophecies, Nostradamus himself stated that his prophecies extend "from now to the year 3797"[72]—an extraordinary date which, given that the preface was written in 1555, may have more than a little to do with the fact that 2242 (3797–1555) had recently been proposed by his major astrological source Richard Roussat as a possible date for the end of the world.[73][74]

 

Additionally, scholars have pointed out that almost all English translations of Nostradamus's quatrains are of extremely poor quality, seem to display little or no knowledge of 16th-century French, are tendentious, and are sometimes intentionally altered in order to make them fit whatever events the translator believed they were supposed to refer (or vice versa).[75][64][76] None of them were based on the original editions: Roberts had based his writings on that of 1672, Cheetham and Hogue on the posthumous edition of 1568. Even Leoni accepted on page 115 that he had never seen an original edition, and on earlier pages, he indicated that much of his biographical material was unsourced.[77]

 

None of this research and criticism was originally known to most of the English-language commentators, by dint of the dates when they were writing and, to some extent, the language in which it was written.[78] Hogue was in a position to take advantage of it, but it was only in 2003 that he accepted that some of his earlier biographical material had in fact been apocryphal. Meanwhile, some of the more recent sources listed (Lemesurier, Gruber, Wilson) have been particularly scathing about later attempts by some lesser-known authors and Internet enthusiasts to extract alleged hidden meanings from the texts, whether with the aid of anagrams, numerical codes, graphs or otherwise.[55]

 

In popular culture[edit]

Main article: Nostradamus in popular culture

The prophecies retold and expanded by Nostradamus figured largely in popular culture in the 20th and 21st centuries. As well as being the subject of hundreds of books (both fiction and nonfiction), Nostradamus's life has been depicted in several films and videos, and his life and writings continue to be a subject of media interest.

 

There have also been several well-known Internet hoaxes, where quatrains in the style of Nostradamus have been circulated by e-mail as the real thing. The best-known examples concern the collapse of the World Trade Center in the 11 September attacks.[79]

 

With the arrival of the year 2012, Nostradamus's prophecies started to be co-opted (especially by the History Channel) as evidence suggesting that the end of the world was imminent, notwithstanding the fact that his book never mentions the end of the world, let alone the year 2012.[80]

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostradamus

It's moments later, where the spider of this Earth would lash out against the Hunter, flailing his tendrils at the guy.

 

"You can't just kill the guy!"

 

Oh yeah? Just try to stop me! He growls, as his tendrils coil themselves around the Hunter's neck.

 

"He has answers, that we all need. He's been hunting down Spiders from across the multiverse, and we don't know why. Yeah, the multiverse is a thing, and I'm still wrapping my head around it myself. Point is, if you kill him now, we don't get said answers."

 

He killed Felicia.. That's not something we can forgive.

 

"We?"

 

"It's the symbiote.. Seems he's been bonded with it for far too long." Harry says

 

"I'm sorry, the what?"

 

"Wait, you haven't encountered Venom before? Oh.. Well let's hope you never have to encounter it on your Earth. Anyways, there's only a couple ways to stop them. Like for example, this." Harry grabs something from inside his belt, and throws it at the Spider. Sure enough, this symbiote starts separating from the host body, as it screams; Make it stop! Make it stop! It's enough to separate the symbiote from the host, who just so happens to be another version of yours truly, Peter Parker. The ringing continues, until Harry turns the device off. Without the symbiote, this Peter Parker stays crouched in the corner of the room, talking to himself. Yikes, glad I didn't turn out like that.

 

"Sound, and fire, the two weaknesses of the symbiote." Harry announces, proud of his knowledge.

 

"You knew how to stop him this whole time, and you waited until now to do it!? Could've avoided a lot of hassle if you said something earlier!" My voice rises, in anger, and volume.

 

"I was giving him a chance. One chance to prove me wrong. But as I said before, the symbiote was bonded with him for years, slowly twisting his mind into something else."

 

"Right, sorry about that. Haven't really been myself recently. Think it's mostly due to the lack of sleep. Feels like I'm running on fumes." I say, closing my eyes for a second, before opening them once more.

 

"No worries Pete. Must be hard. Given yet another responsibility. The fate of the Spider-Verse, and all of the spiders in it, weighing on your shoulders. Thankfully, I'm here to help you shoulder that burden. And I'm sure we'll find others, and put an end to this, the right way." He reassures me, just like the Harry I know would. But this isn't him. This Harry is different, not that I mind of course. The one I know hates me for a complete misunderstanding.

 

"No pressure or anything. The Spider-Verse?" I say as my sigh turns to intrigue. It's definitely a lot to deal with. And here I thought dealing with costumed supervillains was going to be the toughest part. Now I have to save a whole universe, chalk full of other Spiders.

 

"Yeah, just thought of it.. Pretty catchy huh?" Harry smiles, at least, I'm pretty sure it's a smile.

 

"Sort of, yeah. Now what are we going to do ab-" But when I turn to look at the Hunter, he's gone. No body, no trace of him being here. Just gone..

 

"Well, I guess it's onto the next Earth. Not much we can really do here." Harry replies, nonchalantly, as he web handcuffs the other Spider, whose still in mourning. I mean, it's clear he was pretty attached to the symbiote, and he loved Felicia. Two things he cared about the most, gone, just like that.

 

"Guess so. Hopefully the next one has a nice bed to lie in, cause I'm about ready to crash, no matter how much I want to keep going." I say with a groan, as I start walking.

 

"Same Pete, same.. Personally, I'm hoping for a good milkshake. Haven't had one of those in a long time."

 

"Finger's crossed! Let's get out of here before the police show. They aren't the biggest fan of me on my Earth, and I can't see that changing here, especially with me being a criminal with a symbiote here."

 

"Feels strange saying all that out loud, huh?"

 

"Just a little bit, yeah." I say as we exit the Federal Treasury. So out of the 3 Spiders so far, only one has decided to help. 33.333 repeating percentage is not the greatest, but hopefully, that'll increase to 50 with the next one. Otherwise, we may not stand a chance against whoever it is that sent the Hunter after us in the first place.

 

----------------------------------------------

Inheritors Command Center

 

"They were too strong.." I say, as the portal closes behind me. Kneeling down, I look up at Morlun, one of the Inheritors.

 

"Maybe I was wrong about you after all. Gave you more credit than you deserved. One simple job, and you couldn't even accomplish that. When given the chance, you killed the totem instead of bringing him to us. You were right, Daemos." It's rare for Morlun to admit he was wrong. At least, from what I've observed of him.

 

"Of course I was. It's futile, trusting one of their own to get the job done." Daemos says, his arms crossed.

 

"Give me more time! I'll bring them here, just give me another chance." I say, pleading with them.

 

"You've been given one chance too many. Brothers and sisters, it's time we have ourselves a nice refreshing meal." Morlun looks to Bora, Brix, Daemos, Verna, Karn, and Jennix, all of them smiling, eagerly. It was in that moment, that I knew it was all over. I've hunted some of the biggest prey imaginable, but now, I fall prey to these immortal vampires, too scared to move. I would've been spared.. I just had to do bring the other spider-totems to them, and I would've been free to do whatever I want, back on my Earth. But I failed, and for that, I now pay the final price. Goodbye Calypso, my beloved. Until we meet again, on the other side.

Firstly, apologies for any confusion caused by the substitution of the previous Class 68 image by this further version of the Vectron. This is down to a copyright misunderstanding on my part. The Class 68 will appear as soon as I am able to source an alternative base image.

 

I’m pleased how well this livery sits on the Vectron. Bus liveries do not always translate well onto railway vehicles and the earlier Arriva style looks uncomfortable on some stock. This revised style with deep blue swoops, which first appeared on Class 47 locomotives, is a distinct improvement. Arriva Trains has no current requirement for electric locomotives so this fictional image presumes a future franchise gain (08-Oct-13). Thanks to Maarten Otto for the source image (updated 08-Oct-13).

 

See my complete set of privatisation-era rail images here:

www.flickr.com/photos/northernblue109/sets/72157626267865...

 

Strictly Copyright: You are encouraged to provide links to this image but it would be an offence to post it elsewhere (or to publish or distribute it by any other means) without the express permission of the copyright owner

 

French postcard by Editions du Globe, no 485. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

 

American actress Eleanor Parker (1922-2013) appeared in some 80 films and television series. She was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, for Caged (1950), Detective Story (1951) and Interrupted Melody (1955). Her role in Caged also won her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. One of her most memorable roles was that of the Baroness in The Sound of Music (1965). Her biographer Doug McClelland called her ‘Woman of a Thousand Faces’, because of her versatility.

 

Eleanor Jean Parker was born in 1922, in Cedarville, Ohio. She was the daughter of Lola (Isett) and Lester Day Parker. Her family moved to East Cleveland, Ohio, where she attended public schools and graduated from Shaw High School. She appeared in a number of school plays. When she was 15 she started to attend the Rice Summer Theatre on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. After graduation, she moved to California and began appearing at the Pasadena Playhouse. There she was spotted by a Warners Bros talent scout, Irving Kumin. The studio signed her to a long-term contract in June 1941. She was cast that year in They Died with Their Boots On (Raoul Walsh, 1941), but her scenes were cut. Her actual film debut was as Nurse Ryan in the short Soldiers in White (B. Reeves Eason, 1942). She was given some decent roles in B films, Busses Roar (D. Ross Lederman, 1942) and The Mysterious Doctor (Benjamin Stoloff, 1943) opposites John Loder. She also had a small role in one of Warner Brothers' biggest productions for the 1943 season, the pro-Soviet Mission to Moscow (Michael Curtiz, 1943) as Emlen Davies, daughter of the U.S. ambassador to the U.S.S.R (Walter Huston). On the set, she met her first husband, Navy Lieutenant. Fred L. Losse, but the marriage turned out to be a brief wartime affair. Parker had impressed Warners enough to offer her a strong role in a prestige production, Between Two Worlds (Edward A. Blatt, 1944), playing the suicidal wife of Paul Henreid's character. She played support roles for Crime by Night (William Clemens, 1944) and The Last Ride (D. Ross Lederman, 1944). Then she got the starring role opposite Dennis Morgan in The Very Thought of You (Delmer Daves, 1944). She was considered enough of a ‘name’ to be given a cameo in Hollywood Canteen (Delmer Daves, 1944). Warners gave her the choice role of Mildred Rogers in a new version of Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage (Edmund Goulding, 1946), but previews were not favourable and the film sat on the shelf for two years before being released. She had her big break when she was cast opposite John Garfield in Pride of the Marines (Delmer Daves, 1945). However, two films with Errol Flynn that followed, the romantic comedy Never Say Goodbye (James V. Kern, 1946) and the drama Escape Me Never (Peter Godfrey, 1947), were box office disappointments. Parker was suspended twice by Warners for refusing parts in films – in Stallion Road (James V. Kern, 1947), where she was replaced by Alexis Smith and Love and Learn (Frederick De Cordova, 1947). She made the comedy Voice of the Turtle (Irving Rapper, 1947) with Ronald Reagan, and the mystery The Woman in White (Peter Godfrey, 1948). She refused to appear in Somewhere in the City (Vincent Sherman, 1950) so Warners suspended her again; Virginia Mayo played the role. Parker then had two years off, during which time she married and had a baby. She turned down a role in The Hasty Heart (Vincent Sherman, 1949) which she wanted to do, but it would have meant going to England and she did not want to leave her baby alone during its first year.

 

Eleanor Parker returned in Chain Lightning (Stuart Heisler, 1950) with Humphrey Bogart. Parker heard about a women-in-prison film Warners were making, Caged (John Cromwell, 1950), and actively lobbied for the role. She got it, won the 1950 Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award. She also had a good role in the melodrama Three Secrets (Robert Wise, 1950). In February 1950, Parker left Warner Bros. after having been under contract there for eight years. Parker had understood that she would star in a film called Safe Harbor, but Warner Bros. apparently had no intention of making it. Because of this misunderstanding, her agents negotiated her release. Parker's career outside of Warners started badly with Valentino (Lewis Allen, 1951) playing a fictionalised wife of Rudolph Valentino for producer Edward Small. She tried a comedy at 20th Century Fox with Fred MacMurray, A Millionaire for Christy (George Marshall, 1951). In 1951, Parker signed a contract with Paramount for one film a year, with an option for outside films. This arrangement began brilliantly with Detective Story (William Wyler, 1951) playing Mary McLeod, the woman who doesn't understand the position of her unstable detective husband (Kirk Douglas). Parker was nominated for the Oscar in 1951 for her performance. Parker followed Detective Story with her portrayal of an actress in love with a swashbuckling nobleman (Stewart Granger) in Scaramouche (George Sidney, 1952), a role originally intended for Ava Gardner. Wikipedia: “Parker later claimed that Granger was the only person she didn't get along with during her entire career. However, they had good chemistry and the film was a massive hit. “MGM cast her into Above and Beyond (Melvin Frank, Norman Panama, 1952), a biopic of Lt. Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. (Robert Taylor), the pilot of the aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It was a solid hit. While Parker was making a third film for MGM, Escape from Fort Bravo (John Sturges, 1953), she signed a five-year contract with the studio. She was named as star of a Sidney Sheldon script, My Most Intimate Friend and of One More Time, from a script by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin directed by George Cukor, but neither film was made. Back at Paramount, Parker starred with Charlton Heston as a 1900s mail-order bride in The Naked Jungle (Byron Haskin, 1954), produced by George Pal. Parker returned to MGM where she was reunited with Robert Taylor in an Egyptian adventure film, Valley of the Kings (Robert Pirosh, 1954), and a Western, Many Rivers to Cross (Roy Rowland, 1955). MGM gave her one of her best roles as opera singer Marjorie Lawrence struck down by polio in Interrupted Melody (Curtis Bernhardt, 1955). This was a big hit and earned Parker a third Oscar nomination; she later said it was her favourite film. Also in 1955, Parker appeared in the film adaptation of the National Book Award-winner The Man with the Golden Arm (Otto Preminger, 1955), released through United Artists. She played Zosh, the supposedly wheelchair-bound wife of heroin-addicted, would-be jazz drummer Frankie Machine (Frank Sinatra). It was a major commercial and critical success. In 1956, she co-starred with Clark Gable in the Western comedy The King and Four Queens (Raoul Walsh, 1956), also for United Artists. It was then back at MGM for two dramas: Lizzie (Hugo Haas, 1957), in the title role, as a woman with a split personality; and The Seventh Sin (Ronald Neame, 1957), a remake of The Painted Veil in the role originated by Greta Garbo and, once again, intended for Ava Gardner. Both films flopped at the box office and, as a result, Parker's plans to produce her own film, L'Eternelle, about French resistance fighters, did not materialise.

 

Eleanor Parker supported Frank Sinatra in a popular comedy, A Hole in the Head (Frank Capra, 1959). She returned to MGM for Home from the Hill (Vincente Minnelli, 1960), co-starring with Robert Mitchum, then took over Lana Turner's role of Constance Rossi in Return to Peyton Place (José Ferrer, 1961), the sequel to the hit 1957 film. That was made by 20th Century Fox who also produced Madison Avenue (H. Bruce Humberstone, 1961) with Parker. In 1960, she made her TV debut, and in the following years, she worked increasingly in television, with the occasional film role such as Panic Button (George Sherman, Giuliano Carnimeo, 1964) with Maurice Chevalier and Jayne Mansfield. Parker's best-known screen role is Baroness Elsa Schraeder in the Oscar-winning musical The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 1965). The Baroness was famously and poignantly unsuccessful in keeping the affections of Captain Georg von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) after he falls in love with Maria (Julie Andrews). In 1966, Parker played an alcoholic widow in the crime drama Warning Shot (Buzz Kulik, 1967), a talent scout who discovers a Hollywood star in The Oscar (Russell Rouse, 1966), and a rich alcoholic in An American Dream (Robert Gist, 1966). However, her film career seemed to go downhill. A Playboy Magazine reviewer derided the cast of The Oscar as "has-beens and never-will-be". From the late 1960s, she focused on television. In 1963, Parker appeared in the medical TV drama about psychiatry The Eleventh Hour in the episode Why Am I Grown So Cold?, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. She also appeared in episodes of Breaking Point (1964). And The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1968). In 1969–1970, Parker starred in the television series Bracken's World, for which she was nominated for a 1970 Golden Globe Award. Parker also appeared on stage in the role of Margo Channing in Applause, the Broadway musical version of the film All About Eve. In 1976, she played Maxine in a revival of The Night of the Iguana. Her last film role was in a Farrah Fawcett bomb, Sunburn (Richard C. Sarafian, 1979). Subsequently, she appeared very infrequently on TV, most recently in Dead on the Money (Mark Cullingham, 1991). Eleanor Parker was married four times. Her first husband was Fred Losee (1943-1944). Her second marriage to Bert E. Friedlob (1946-1953) produced three children Susan Eleanor Friedlob (1948), Sharon Anne Friedlob (1950), and Richard Parker Friedlob (1952). Her third marriage was to American portrait painter Paul Clemens, (1954-1965) and the couple had one child, actor Paul Clemens (1958). Her fourth marriage with Raymond N. Hirsch (1966-2001) ended when Hirsch died of oesophagal cancer. She was the grandmother of actor/director Chasen Parker. Eleanor Parker died in 2013 at a medical facility in Palm Springs, California of complications of pneumonia. She was 91. Parker was raised a Protestant and later converted to Judaism, telling the New York Daily News columnist Kay Gardella in August 1969, "I think we're all Jews at heart ... I wanted to convert for a long time."

 

Sources: Jon C. Hopwood (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

June 12, 2009

Photo by: Rey Dacalos

Event: Dexter Alazas' Anniversary Party

Gown: Dexter Alazas

 

Friendship lasts longer when people care for one another...

Though some misunderstandings may rise, some happiness may fall...

But then despite all things, one thing is for sure...

That no matter what, I'll always stay sincere and true...

 

...Because to me, that's how friendship is and should be....

  

Despite all things, I am still an " i.Group ", and this is composed of respectable people from different walks of life and from different places, who share one same passion in life...... Photography..

  

~ Kudos i.Group! ~

I finally have a chance to clear a few things up...

ZEUS IS NOT BLIND!!!

I hope no-one is disappointed but his vision is fine for his age but I have never told any of the two thousand or so people We've met since our journey began in December 2011, otherwise regarding his sight. He is pretty much deaf - the only things he can hear, is a loud clap (if He's facing the right way), a motor vehicle backfire or a door slam loudly.

 

Also, I have never thrown $2 at anyone!!

I will explain this misunderstanding and its context another day soon!

 

Most importantly I wish to express my enormous gratitude for all the kind wishes and lovely words we have received over this last week from people, and their pets, from all over the world - It has been amazing and very unexpected - We both wish to Thank-Yew All for Everything!!!

El Jinete de Bronce (en ruso, Медный всадник, literalmente "Caballero de Cobre") es una escultura ecuestre de Pedro el Grande, hecha en bronce por Étienne-Maurice Falconet en San Petersburgo, Rusia. Recibe este nombre por la influencia del poema homónimo de Aleksandr Pushkin, uno de los más grandes poemas del idioma ruso. Ahora es un símbolo de San Petersburgo, como la Estatua de la Libertad es un símbolo de Nueva York.

El bloque sobre el que se yergue la estatua es conocido como Piedra de Trueno, y se dice que es la roca más grande que ha movido el hombre. En efecto, la roca no solo es enorme, sino que fue transportada seis kilómetros hasta la costa del Golfo de Finlandia sólo por la fuerza del hombre, sin animales ni máquinas.

Se yergue todavía en la orilla del Nevá. El efecto causado por la estatua es tan original como grandioso: la escultura no descansa sobre un pedestal arquitectónico, sino que el caballo se encabrita sobre la roca granítica; el Zar carece de espada; su figura altiva, que parece designar con la mano la nueva capital y marcar un camino a su pueblo, no evoca al guerrero, sino al legislador y al civilizador.

La estatua ecuestre de Pedro el Grande se encuentra en la Plaza del Senado de San Petersburgo, Rusia. Catalina la Grande, una princesa alemana casada dentro de la línea de los Románov, al no tener derecho legal al trono, estaba ansiosa de ser relacionada con Pedro el Grande, para obtener legitimidad a los ojos del pueblo. Por esta razón, ordenó la construcción de la estatua, y mandó que se inscribiera "Petro Primo Catharina Secunda MDCCLXXXII" en Latín y "Петру первому Екатерина вторая, лето 1782" en Ruso, ambas frases con un mismo significado "Catalina Segunda a Pedro Primero, 1782"; una expresión de la actitud de Catalina hacia su predecesor y de la opinión que tenía de sí misma dentro del linaje de los grandes gobernantes rusos.

Catalina mantenía correspondencia con Denis Diderot, que fue quien le recomendó a su amigo Étienne Maurice Falconet, un escultor francés, como candidato para la construcción de la estatua que dedicaría a Pedro el Grande. La emperatriz siguió el consejo de Diderot y Falconet llegó a Rusia en 1776.

La construcción de la estatua se inició en 1775, con la correspondiente fundición y colado del bronce necesario para realizar la escultura, tarea que fue supervisada por Yemelyán Jailov. Durante el colado de la escultura se rompió el molde sobre el que se estaba vertiendo el metal, salpicando los alrededores con bronce fundido, hecho que originó un incendio en las instalaciones. Todos los trabajadores huyeron excepto Jailov, quien arriesgó su vida para salvar el colado de bronce. Llevó 12 años desde 1770 hasta 1782 y realizar dos veces el proceso de fundido y colado el poder terminar la estatua, incluyendo el pedestal, caballo y jinete.

La cara del Zar, lo que da identidad al Caballero de Bronce como Pedro el Grande, es obra de Marie-Anne Collot, que en el momento de realizar tan detallado trabajo, tenía tan sólo 18 años de edad y era una estudiante de Falconet y Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. Collot hizo el viaje a Rusia con Falconet en calidad de aprendiz y realizó su contribución a la escultura recopilando información sobre las facciones de Pedro el Grande, tanto de su máscara mortuoria como de los diferentes retratos que pudo encontrar en San Petersburgo. Gracias al trabajo en la faz del Caballero de Bronce se ganó por parte de Diderot el sobrenombre de "Mademoiselle Victoire" (Señorita Victoria).

El 9 de agosto de 1782, catorce años después de que se iniciara la excavación del pedestal, fue descubierta la estatua terminada en una ceremonia con miles de invitados. Brilló por su ausencia Falconet, quien se vio obligado a salir de Rusia cuatro años antes de que el proyecto estuviera terminado, debido a que un malentendido con la emperatriz se convirtió en un conflicto mayor. Catalina rápidamente se olvidó de él, y empezó a ver al Caballero de Bronce como obra propia.

La estatua muestra a Pedro el Grande sentado heroicamente sobre su caballo, con su brazo extendido apuntando hacia el río Nevá en el Oeste. El escultor deseaba capturar el momento exacto en que su caballo se encontraba erguido sobre sus patas traseras al borde de un espectacular acantilado. Se puede ver a su caballo pisoteando a una serpiente, que puede representar los numerosos males o enemigos que tuvieron que enfrentar Pedro y sus reformas. La estatua mide 6 metros de alto, más 7 metros para el pedestal, o sea un total de unos 13 metros.

Para elaborar el pedestal, se utilizó un monolito descomunal conocido como Piedra de Trueno (del ruso Камень-Гром) que fue encontrada en Lajta a seis kilómetros tierra adentro del Golfo de Finlandia en 1768. Esta roca se hizo acreedora al apelativo de "piedra de Trueno" debido a una leyenda local, según la cual un rayo le había desprendido un fragmento. Falconet quería trabajar la roca en su emplazamiento original, pero debido a un capricho de la emperatriz, tuvo que ser trasladada hasta San Petersburgo, en su forma primitiva como un gran logro para Rusia. Sin embargo, y debido a que la mitad de su volumen estaba hundida bajo terreno pantanoso, fue necesario crear mecanismos para extraerla antes de trasladarla. Un italiano, Main Carburi teniente coronel del ejército ruso, se ofreció para supervisar el proyecto.

Después de esperar a que transcurriese el invierno, durante el cual el terreno se encontraba congelado, la piedra fue arrastrada hasta la costa. Esto fue logrado mediante un trineo metálico que se apoyaba sobre esferas de bronce de 13,5 cm. de diámetro esparcidas a lo largo de una pista, usando un principio similar al del funcionamiento de un rodamiento de bolas, de invención posterior. Lo que hizo la tarea más impresionante es que fue llevada a cabo únicamente por humanos; ni animales ni tracción mecánica fueron usados en trasportar la piedra desde su emplazamiento original hasta la Plaza del Senado. Una vez que se ideó la forma de moverla, fueron necesarios cuatrocientos hombres y nueve meses para trasladar la piedra, tiempo durante el que varios escultores trabajaron de forma continua para dar forma al enorme monolito de granito. Catalina visitaba periódicamente la piedra, para verificar su progreso. De accionar las manivelas se encargaban treinta y dos hombres, que proporcionaban una mínima velocidad de avance a la roca. Otra de las complicaciones consistía en el hecho de que sólo existiesen cien metros de pista de deslizamiento para las esferas, de modo que ésta tenía que ser constantemente desmontada y reubicada. Sin embargo, los trabajadores conseguían cerca de 150 metros de avance por día en terreno plano. Después, cuando se llegó al mar, se construyó una enorme barcaza exclusivamente para la Piedra de Trueno, que tenía que ser asegurada por los dos lados por sendos buques de guerra. Después de un pequeño viaje por mar, la roca llegó a su destino en 1770, cerca de dos años después de que los esfuerzos por moverla comenzaran. Se creó una medalla para conmemorar su llegada, con la leyenda 'Demasiado Audaz'

Se ha llegado a asegurar que La Piedra de Trueno es "La piedra más grande jamás, movida por el hombre". Debido al gran tamaño de la roca, la forma más fácil de medir su masa es calcularla. Sus dimensiones antes de ser cortada, de acuerdo con la publicación de otoño de 1882 de La Nature son 7 x 14 x 9 m. Basados en la densidad del granito, la masa de la roca fue determinada alrededor de las 1500 toneladas. Falconet hizo cortarla hasta dejarla con su forma actual que es parecida a una ola, y dejó el estilizado pedestal con un peso ligeramente menor. Sin embargo, sigue ocupando el primer puesto por tamaño cuando se le compara con otras esculturas…

Existe una leyenda del siglo XIX que afirma que mientras el Caballero de Bronce permanezca en el centro de San Petersburgo, ninguna fuerza enemiga será capaz de tomar la ciudad. Durante los 900 días del Sitio de Leningrado durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial (Leningrado fue el nombre de la ciudad entre 1924 y 1991) la estatua no fue derribada, pero sí cubierta con sacos de arena y una estructura de madera. La protección funcionó tan bien que el Caballero de Bronce sobrevivió virtualmente intacto a 900 días de bombardeo y artillería. En honor a la leyenda, San Petersburgo nunca ha sido tomado.

El Caballero de Bronce es también el título de un poema escrito por Aleksandr Pushkin en 1833, ampliamente considerado como uno de los más importantes trabajos de la literatura de Rusia. La estatua llegó a ser conocida como "El caballero de bronce", gracias a la popularidad del poema. El principal tema del poema, es el conflicto entre las necesidades del estado y las necesidades de los ciudadanos ordinarios.

En el poema que da nombre al monumento, Pushkin describe la suerte del pobre joven Yevgueni y sus allegados durante una inundación en la que el río Nevá se desbordó. Yevgueni maldice la estatua, furioso contra Pedro el Grande por construir la ciudad en un lugar tan inseguro y hacer pasar a su familia aquellas penalidades. La estatua cobra vida y lo persigue a través de toda la ciudad. Posteriormente Yevgueni trata a la estatua con reverencia y respeto.

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caballero_de_Bronce

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_jinete_de_bronce

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_I_de_Rusia

  

The Bronze Horseman (Russian: Медный всадник, literally "copper horseman") is an equestrian statue of Peter the Great in the Senate Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Commissioned by Catherine the Great, it was created by the French sculptor Étienne Maurice Falconet. The name comes from an 1833 poem of the same name by Aleksander Pushkin, which is widely considered one of the most significant works of Russian literature. The statue is now one of the symbols of Saint Petersburg.

The statue's pedestal is the enormous Thunder Stone, the largest stone ever moved by humans. The stone originally weighed about 1500 tonnes, but was carved down during transportation to its current size.

The equestrian statue of Peter the Great is situated in the Senate Square (formerly the Decembrists Square), in Saint Petersburg. Catherine the Great, a German princess who married into the Romanov line, was anxious to connect herself to Peter the Great to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the people. She ordered its construction, and had it inscribed with the phrase Petro Primo Catharina Secunda MDCCLXXXII in Latin and Петру перьвому Екатерина вторая, лѣта 1782 in Russian, both meaning 'Catherine the Second to Peter the First, 1782', an expression of her admiration for her predecessor and her view of her own place in the line of great Russian rulers. Having gained her position through a palace coup, Catherine had no legal claim to the throne and wanted to represent herself as Peter's rightful heir.

In correspondence with Catherine the Great, Denis Diderot suggested French sculptor Étienne Maurice Falconet, a friend of his, for the commission. The empress followed his advice and Falconet arrived in Russia in 1766.

In 1775 the casting of the statue began, supervised by caster Emelyan Khailov. At one point during the casting, the mould broke, releasing molten bronze that started several fires. All the workers ran except Khailov, who risked his life to salvage the casting. After being remelted and recast, the statue was later finished. It took 12 years, from 1770 to 1782, to create the Bronze Horseman, including pedestal, horse and rider.

The tsar's face is the work of the young Marie-Anne Collot, then only 18 years old. She had accompanied Falconet as an apprentice on his trip to Russia in 1766. A student of Falconet and Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Collot was called Mademoiselle Victoire (Miss Victory) by Diderot. She modelled Peter the Great's face on his death mask and numerous portraits she found in Saint Petersburg. The right hand of the statue was modelled from a Roman bronze hand, found in 1771 in Voorburg in the Netherlands at the site of the ancient Roman town Forum Hadriani.

On 7 August 1782, fourteen years after excavation of the pedestal began, the finished statue was unveiled in a ceremony with thousands in attendance. Conspicuously absent was Falconet, as a misunderstanding between him and the empress turned into a serious conflict. As a result, he was forced to leave Russia four years before the project was completed. Catherine largely forgot about him afterwards, and came to see the Bronze Horseman as her own oeuvre.

The statue portrays Peter the Great sitting heroically on his horse, his outstretched arm pointing towards the River Neva. The sculptor wished to capture the exact moment of his horse rearing at the edge of a dramatic cliff. His horse can be seen trampling a serpent, variously interpreted to represent treachery, evil, or the enemies of Peter and his reforms. The statue itself is about 6 m (20 feet) tall, while the pedestal is another 7 m (25 feet) tall, for a total of approximately 13 m (45 feet).

For the pedestal, an enormous rapakivi granite monolith boulder known as the Thunder Stone (Russian: Гром-камень) was found at Lakhta, 6 km (3.7 mi) inland from the Gulf of Finland in 1768. The Thunder Stone gained its name from a local legend that thunder split a piece off the stone. Falconet wanted to work on shaping the stone in its original location, but Catherine ordered it be moved before being cut. As it was embedded to half its depth in the ground and the area was marshy terrain, the Russians had to develop new methods to dig up and transport the colossal stone. Marinos Carburis (Μαρίνος Χαρμπούρης), a Greek from the Island of Kefallonia and serving as lieutenant-colonel in the Russian Army, offered to undertake the project. Carburis had studied engineering in Vienna and is considered to be the first Greek to hold a diploma in engineering.

Carburis directed workmen to wait for winter, when the ground was frozen, and then had them drag the large stone over the frozen ground to the sea for shipment and transport to the city. He developed a metallic sledge that slid over bronze spheres about 13.5 cm (6 inches) in diameter, over a track. The process worked in a way similar to the later invention of ball bearings. Making the feat even more impressive was that the labour was done entirely by humans; no animals or machines were used in bringing the stone from the original site to the Senate Square. After Carburis devised the method, it took 400 men nine months to move the stone, during which time master stonecutters continuously shaped the enormous granite monolith. Catherine periodically visited the effort to oversee their progress. The larger capstan was turned by 32 men, this just barely moving the rock. A further complication was the availability of only 100 m of track, which had to be constantly disassembled and relaid. Nevertheless, the workers made over 150 m of progress a day while on level ground. Upon arrival at the sea an enormous barge was constructed exclusively for the Thunder Stone. The vessel had to be supported on either side by two full-size warships. After a short voyage, the stone reached its destination in 1770, after nearly two years of work. A medal was issued to commemorate its arrival, with the legend "Close to Daring".

According to the fall 1882 edition of La Nature, the stone's dimensions before being cut were 7 × 14 × 9 m. Based on the density of granite, its weight was determined to be around 1500 tonnes. Falconet had some of this cut away shaping it into a base, so the finished pedestal weighs considerably less.

A 19th-century legend states that while the Bronze Horseman stands in the middle of Saint Petersburg, enemy forces will not be able to conquer the city. During the 900-day Siege of Leningrad by the invading Germans during the Second World War (Leningrad being the city's name from 1924–1991), the statue was covered with sandbags and a wooden shelter. Thus protected it survived 900 days of bombing and artillery virtually untouched. True to the legend, Leningrad was never taken.

The Bronze Horseman is the title of a poem written by Aleksandr Pushkin in 1833, widely considered to be one of the most significant works of Russian literature. Due to the popularity of his work, the statue came to be called the "Bronze Horseman". A major theme of the poem is conflict between the needs of the state and the needs of ordinary citizens.

In the poem, Pushkin describes the fates of the poor man Evgenii and his beloved Parasha during a severe flood of the Neva. Evgenii curses the statue, furious at Peter the Great for founding a city in such an unsuitable location and indirectly causing the death of his beloved. Coming to life, the horseman chases Evgenii through the city. The poem closes with the discovery of the young man's corpse in a ruined hut floating at the edge of the river.

In 1903 the artist Alexandre Benois published an edition of the poem with his illustrations, creating what was considered a masterwork of Art Nouveau.

The poem has inspired works in other genres: Reinhold Glière choreographed a ballet based on it, and Nikolai Myaskovsky's 10th Symphony (1926–7) was inspired by the poem. The statue itself has been seen as the inspiration or model for a similar statue which appears in Joseph Conrad’s 1904 political novel Nostromo, thus implicitly linking the political events in Nostromo with Conrad’s 1905 essay “Autocracy and War” on the subject of Russia and his eventual 1912 novel Under Western Eyes (and also with the Pushkin poem and with the political issue of Poland).

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Horseman

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bronze_Horseman_(poem)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_the_Great

 

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.

It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out.

It doesn't matter much to me.

 

Always know sometimes think it's me, but you know I know and it's a dream.

I think I know of thee, ah yes, but it's all wrong.

That is I think I disagree.

Dable Dam

 

African bush elephant

 

Afrikanischer Elefant

 

Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,485 km2 (7,523 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 km (220 mi) from north to south and 65 km (40 mi) from east to west. The administrative headquarters are in Skukuza. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926.

 

To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is Mozambique. It is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Kruger National Park with the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and with the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique.

 

The park is part of the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere an area designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an International Man and Biosphere Reserve (the "Biosphere").

 

The park has nine main gates allowing entrance to the different camps.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Name

 

African Elephant or African Bush Elephant [Loxodonta africana]

 

Introduction

 

The Elephant is the world's largest land mammal, and weighs up to 7 tonnes and reaches heights of 3.3 m at the shoulder. Elephants can live to a potential age of 70 years. The massive tusks of older bulls can weigh up to 50 or 60 kilograms, but tusks weighing up to 90 kilograms have been recorded.

 

Appearance

 

What is the trunk and what is it used for?

The Elephant's trunk is a modified nose which is very sensitive and can even detect water under ground. There are as many as 50 000 muscles in an Elephant trunk. The sensitive finger-like appendages at the tip of the trunk enables them to pick the smallest twig or flower, pull the toughest reed of grass or even pick out a thorn from their feet.

 

Do elephants have knees or elbows?

 

The joints that are perceived as 'knees', are in fact wrists. This is a common misunderstanding due to the belief that a leg joint that bends between the foot and the body must be a knee. The main difference between us and the elephants is that our foot bones and hand bones are separate, whereas those of the elephant are one in the same, and have evolved to suit this four-legged mammal.

 

Why do elephants have tusks?

 

The tusks are used for obtaining food, fighting (amongst males) and for self defence. They are actually their upper incisors, and grow continuously until they die at around 60 years old. Although their skin is up to 3cm (1 inch) thick, it is quite sensitive.

 

Diet

 

Elephants are voracious feeders which in a day consume up to 272 kg (600 pounds) of grass, tender shoots and bark from trees. An adult Elephant can drink up to 200 litres of water in a single session. A single Elephant deposits up to 150kg (330 pounds) of dung every day - about one dollop every 15 minutes!

 

Breeding

 

African Elephant are not seasonal breeders. Generally they produce one calf every 3 to 4 years. The gestation period is about 22 months. At birth calves weigh about 100 kg (220 pounds) and are fully weaned between 18-24 months. An orphaned calf will usually be adopted by one of the family's lactating females or suckled by various females. Elephants are very attentive mothers, and because most Elephant behavior has to be learned, they keep their offspring with them for many years. Tusks erupt at 16 months but do not show externally until 30 months. Once weaned, usually at age 4 or 5, the calf still remains in the maternal group. Females mature at about 11 years and stay in the group, while the males, which mature between 12 and 15, are usually expelled from the maternal herd. Even though these young males are sexually mature, they do not breed until they are in their mid, or late 20s or even older and have moved up in the social hierarchy.

 

Behaviour

 

Mature males form bachelor groups and become solitary bulls. Elephant form strong family units of cows, calves and young offspring. Such herds are always led by an old female. Apart from drinking large quantities of water they also love wading or swimming in it. Elephants clearly relish mud baths.

It was once thought that family groups were led by old bull elephants, but these males are most often solitary. The female family groups are often visited by mature males checking for females in oestrus. Several interrelated family groups may inhabit an area and know each other well.

 

How do you tell an elephant's mock charge from a serious one?

 

It is imperative to keep in mind that Elephant are extremely intelligent, and each individual has a distinct character. Although there will be exceptions to the rules, the common signs of a mock charge are bush-bashing, dust-throwing, trumpeting and other vocalizations, open ears and an intimidating presence, can be considered a mock-display. Aggressive or startled elephants usually make sudden headshakes and flap their large ears against their head. Serious charges usually occur after all attempts to intimidate have failed, and the Elephant feels threatened. The ears are pinned back and head and trunk are lowered. Ultimately, the key lies in the intelligence of the animal and how they will react to the 'target' and unfamiliar actions, and a conscious decision is made.

 

Why do elephants rhythmically flap their ears?

 

Contrary to common belief, it is not an expression of anger. Being an animal of such a large size, with no sweat glands and a dark body colour, elephants flap their ears to cool the body and rid themselves of irritating insects.

 

Where are they found?

 

Once ranging across most of Africa the Elephant population has declined dramatically across the continent. In South Africa the Addo Elephant and Kruger National Park protect large herds. Due to rigorous conservation measures the Elephant population in South Africa has grown from a estimated 120 in 1920 in 4 locations, to 10 000 at 40 locations to date.

 

Notes

 

The African Elephant has recently been classified into two separate species, the more common African Bush Elephant [Loxodonta Africana] and the smaller African Forest Elephant [Loxodonta cyclotis] of the rainforest of Central Africa.

 

(krugerpark.co.za)

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Der Kruger-Nationalpark (deutsch häufig falsch Krüger-Nationalpark) ist das größte Wildschutzgebiet Südafrikas. Er liegt im Nordosten des Landes in der Landschaft des Lowveld auf dem Gebiet der Provinz Limpopo sowie des östlichen Abschnitts von Mpumalanga. Seine Fläche erstreckt sich vom Crocodile-River im Süden bis zum Limpopo, dem Grenzfluss zu Simbabwe, im Norden. Die Nord-Süd-Ausdehnung beträgt etwa 350 km, in Ost-West-Richtung ist der Park durchschnittlich 54 km breit und umfasst eine Fläche von rund 20.000 Quadratkilometern. Damit gehört er zu den größten Nationalparks in Afrika.

 

Das Schutzgebiet wurde am 26. März 1898 unter dem Präsidenten Paul Kruger als Sabie Game Reserve zum Schutz der Wildnis gegründet. 1926 erhielt das Gebiet den Status Nationalpark und wurde in seinen heutigen Namen umbenannt. Im Park leben 147 Säugetierarten inklusive der „Big Five“, außerdem etwa 507 Vogelarten und 114 Reptilienarten, 49 Fischarten und 34 Amphibienarten.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Der Afrikanische Elefant (Loxodonta africana), auch Afrikanischer Steppenelefant oder Afrikanischer Buschelefant, ist eine Art aus der Familie der Elefanten. Er ist das größte gegenwärtig lebende Landsäugetier und gleichzeitig das größte rezente landbewohnende Tier der Erde. Herausragende Kennzeichen sind neben den Stoßzähnen und dem markanten Rüssel die großen Ohren und die säulenförmigen Beine. In zahlreichen morphologischen und anatomischen Merkmalen unterscheidet sich der Afrikanische Elefant von seinen etwas kleineren Verwandten, dem Waldelefanten und dem Asiatischen Elefanten. Das Verbreitungsgebiet umfasst heute große Teile von Afrika südlich der Sahara. Die Tiere haben sich dort an zahlreiche unterschiedliche Lebensräume angepasst, die von geschlossenen Wäldern über offene Savannenlandschaften bis hin zu Sumpfgebieten und wüstenartigen Regionen reichen. Insgesamt ist das Vorkommen aber stark fragmentiert.

 

Die Lebensweise des Afrikanischen Elefanten ist durch intensive Studien gut erforscht. Sie wird durch einen stark sozialen Charakter geprägt. Weibliche Tiere und ihr Nachwuchs leben in Familienverbänden (Herden). Diese formieren sich wiederum zu einem enger verwandten Clan. Die einzelnen Herden treffen sich zu bestimmten Gelegenheiten und trennen sich danach wieder. Die männlichen Tiere bilden Junggesellengruppen. Die verschiedenen Verbände nutzen Aktionsräume, in denen sie teils im Jahreszyklus herumwandern. Für die Kommunikation untereinander nutzen die Tiere verschiedene Töne im niedrigen Frequenzbereich. Anhand der Lautgebung, aber auch durch bestimmte chemische Signale können sich die einzelnen Individuen untereinander erkennen. Darüber hinaus besteht ein umfangreiches Repertoire an Gesten. Hervorzuheben sind auch die kognitiven Fähigkeiten des Afrikanischen Elefanten.

 

Die Nahrung besteht sowohl aus weicher wie auch harter Pflanzenkost. Die genaue Zusammensetzung variiert dabei regional und jahreszeitlich. Generell verbringt der Afrikanische Elefant einen großen Teil seiner Tagesaktivitäten mit der Nahrungsaufnahme. Die Fortpflanzung erfolgt ganzjährig, regional gibt es Tendenzen zu einer stärkeren Saisonalisierung. Bullen kommen einmal jährlich in die Musth, während deren sie auf Wanderung zur Suche nach fortpflanzungswilligen Kühen gehen. Während der Musth ist die Aggressivität gesteigert, es finden dann auch Rivalenkämpfe statt. Der Sexualzyklus der Kühe dauert vergleichsweise lange und weist einen für Säugetiere untypischen Verlauf auf. Nach erfolgter Geburt setzt er in der Regel mehrere Jahre aus. Zumeist wird nach fast zweijähriger Tragzeit ein Jungtier geboren, das in der mütterlichen Herde aufwächst. Junge weibliche Tiere verbleiben später in der Herde, die jungen männlichen verlassen diese.

 

Die wissenschaftliche Erstbeschreibung des Afrikanischen Elefanten erfolgte im Jahr 1797 mit einer formalen artlichen Trennung des Afrikanischen vom Asiatischen Elefanten. Der heute gebräuchliche Gattungsname Loxodonta wurde offiziell erst dreißig Jahre später eingeführt. Die Bezeichnung bezieht sich auf markante Zahnunterschiede zwischen den asiatischen und den afrikanischen Elefanten. Im Verlauf des 20. Jahrhunderts wurden mehrere Unterarten unterschieden, darunter auch der Waldelefant des zentralen Afrikas. Letzterer gilt heute genetischen Untersuchungen zufolge als eigenständige Art, die weiteren Unterarten sind nicht anerkannt. Stammesgeschichtlich lässt sich der Afrikanische Elefant erstmals im beginnenden Mittleren Pleistozän belegen. Der Gesamtbestand gilt als gefährdet. Ursachen hierfür sind hauptsächlich die Jagd nach Elfenbein und Lebensraumverlust durch die zunehmend wachsende menschliche Bevölkerung. Der Afrikanische Elefant zählt zu den sogenannten „Big Five“ von Großwildjagd und Safari.

 

(Wikipedia)

Putting people in boxes can mean misunderstanding.

Spanish postcard, no. 2319.

 

American actress Eleanor Parker (1922-2013) appeared in some 80 films and television series. She was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, for Caged (1950), Detective Story (1951) and Interrupted Melody (1955). Her role in Caged also won her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. One of her most memorable roles was that of the Baroness in The Sound of Music (1965). Her biographer Doug McClelland called her ‘Woman of a Thousand Faces’, because of her versatility.

 

Eleanor Jean Parker was born in 1922, in Cedarville, Ohio. She was the daughter of Lola (Isett) and Lester Day Parker. Her family moved to East Cleveland, Ohio, where she attended public schools and graduated from Shaw High School. She appeared in a number of school plays. When she was 15 she started to attend the Rice Summer Theatre on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. After graduation, she moved to California and began appearing at the Pasadena Playhouse. There she was spotted by a Warners Bros talent scout, Irving Kumin. The studio signed her to a long-term contract in June 1941. She was cast that year in They Died with Their Boots On (Raoul Walsh, 1941), but her scenes were cut. Her actual film debut was as Nurse Ryan in the short Soldiers in White (B. Reeves Eason, 1942). She was given some decent roles in B films, Busses Roar (D. Ross Lederman, 1942) and The Mysterious Doctor (Benjamin Stoloff, 1943) opposites John Loder. She also had a small role in one of Warner Brothers' biggest productions for the 1943 season, the pro-Soviet Mission to Moscow (Michael Curtiz, 1943) as Emlen Davies, daughter of the U.S. ambassador to the U.S.S.R (Walter Huston). On the set, she met her first husband, Navy Lieutenant. Fred L. Losse, but the marriage turned out to be a brief wartime affair. Parker had impressed Warners enough to offer her a strong role in a prestige production, Between Two Worlds (Edward A. Blatt, 1944), playing the suicidal wife of Paul Henreid's character. She played support roles for Crime by Night (William Clemens, 1944) and The Last Ride (D. Ross Lederman, 1944). Then she got the starring role opposite Dennis Morgan in The Very Thought of You (Delmer Daves, 1944). She was considered enough of a ‘name’ to be given a cameo in Hollywood Canteen (Delmer Daves, 1944). Warners gave her the choice role of Mildred Rogers in a new version of Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage (Edmund Goulding, 1946), but previews were not favourable and the film sat on the shelf for two years before being released. She had her big break when she was cast opposite John Garfield in Pride of the Marines (Delmer Daves, 1945). However, two films with Errol Flynn that followed, the romantic comedy Never Say Goodbye (James V. Kern, 1946) and the drama Escape Me Never (Peter Godfrey, 1947), were box office disappointments. Parker was suspended twice by Warners for refusing parts in films – in Stallion Road (James V. Kern, 1947), where she was replaced by Alexis Smith and Love and Learn (Frederick De Cordova, 1947). She made the comedy Voice of the Turtle (Irving Rapper, 1947) with Ronald Reagan, and the mystery The Woman in White (Peter Godfrey, 1948). She refused to appear in Somewhere in the City (Vincent Sherman, 1950) so Warners suspended her again; Virginia Mayo played the role. Parker then had two years off, during which time she married and had a baby. She turned down a role in The Hasty Heart (Vincent Sherman, 1949) which she wanted to do, but it would have meant going to England and she did not want to leave her baby alone during its first year.

 

Eleanor Parker returned in Chain Lightning (Stuart Heisler, 1950) with Humphrey Bogart. Parker heard about a women-in-prison film Warners were making, Caged (John Cromwell, 1950), and actively lobbied for the role. She got it, won the 1950 Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award. She also had a good role in the melodrama Three Secrets (Robert Wise, 1950). In February 1950, Parker left Warner Bros. after having been under contract there for eight years. Parker had understood that she would star in a film called Safe Harbor, but Warner Bros. apparently had no intention of making it. Because of this misunderstanding, her agents negotiated her release. Parker's career outside of Warners started badly with Valentino (Lewis Allen, 1951) playing a fictionalised wife of Rudolph Valentino for producer Edward Small. She tried a comedy at 20th Century Fox with Fred MacMurray, A Millionaire for Christy (George Marshall, 1951). In 1951, Parker signed a contract with Paramount for one film a year, with an option for outside films. This arrangement began brilliantly with Detective Story (William Wyler, 1951) playing Mary McLeod, the woman who doesn't understand the position of her unstable detective husband (Kirk Douglas). Parker was nominated for the Oscar in 1951 for her performance. Parker followed Detective Story with her portrayal of an actress in love with a swashbuckling nobleman (Stewart Granger) in Scaramouche (George Sidney, 1952), a role originally intended for Ava Gardner. Wikipedia: “Parker later claimed that Granger was the only person she didn't get along with during her entire career. However, they had good chemistry and the film was a massive hit. “MGM cast her into Above and Beyond (Melvin Frank, Norman Panama, 1952), a biopic of Lt. Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. (Robert Taylor), the pilot of the aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It was a solid hit. While Parker was making a third film for MGM, Escape from Fort Bravo (John Sturges, 1953), she signed a five-year contract with the studio. She was named as star of a Sidney Sheldon script, My Most Intimate Friend and of One More Time, from a script by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin directed by George Cukor, but neither film was made. Back at Paramount, Parker starred with Charlton Heston as a 1900s mail-order bride in The Naked Jungle (Byron Haskin, 1954), produced by George Pal. Parker returned to MGM where she was reunited with Robert Taylor in an Egyptian adventure film, Valley of the Kings (Robert Pirosh, 1954), and a Western, Many Rivers to Cross (Roy Rowland, 1955). MGM gave her one of her best roles as opera singer Marjorie Lawrence struck down by polio in Interrupted Melody (Curtis Bernhardt, 1955). This was a big hit and earned Parker a third Oscar nomination; she later said it was her favourite film. Also in 1955, Parker appeared in the film adaptation of the National Book Award-winner The Man with the Golden Arm (Otto Preminger, 1955), released through United Artists. She played Zosh, the supposedly wheelchair-bound wife of heroin-addicted, would-be jazz drummer Frankie Machine (Frank Sinatra). It was a major commercial and critical success. In 1956, she co-starred with Clark Gable in the Western comedy The King and Four Queens (Raoul Walsh, 1956), also for United Artists. It was then back at MGM for two dramas: Lizzie (Hugo Haas, 1957), in the title role, as a woman with a split personality; and The Seventh Sin (Ronald Neame, 1957), a remake of The Painted Veil in the role originated by Greta Garbo and, once again, intended for Ava Gardner. Both films flopped at the box office and, as a result, Parker's plans to produce her own film, L'Eternelle, about French resistance fighters, did not materialise.

 

Eleanor Parker supported Frank Sinatra in a popular comedy, A Hole in the Head (Frank Capra, 1959). She returned to MGM for Home from the Hill (Vincente Minnelli, 1960), co-starring with Robert Mitchum, then took over Lana Turner's role of Constance Rossi in Return to Peyton Place (José Ferrer, 1961), the sequel to the hit 1957 film. That was made by 20th Century Fox who also produced Madison Avenue (H. Bruce Humberstone, 1961) with Parker. In 1960, she made her TV debut, and in the following years, she worked increasingly in television, with the occasional film role such as Panic Button (George Sherman, Giuliano Carnimeo, 1964) with Maurice Chevalier and Jayne Mansfield. Parker's best-known screen role is Baroness Elsa Schraeder in the Oscar-winning musical The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 1965). The Baroness was famously and poignantly unsuccessful in keeping the affections of Captain Georg von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) after he falls in love with Maria (Julie Andrews). In 1966, Parker played an alcoholic widow in the crime drama Warning Shot (Buzz Kulik, 1967), a talent scout who discovers a Hollywood star in The Oscar (Russell Rouse, 1966), and a rich alcoholic in An American Dream (Robert Gist, 1966). However, her film career seemed to go downhill. A Playboy Magazine reviewer derided the cast of The Oscar as "has-beens and never-will-be". From the late 1960s, she focused on television. In 1963, Parker appeared in the medical TV drama about psychiatry The Eleventh Hour in the episode Why Am I Grown So Cold?, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. She also appeared in episodes of Breaking Point (1964). And The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1968). In 1969–1970, Parker starred in the television series Bracken's World, for which she was nominated for a 1970 Golden Globe Award. Parker also appeared on stage in the role of Margo Channing in Applause, the Broadway musical version of the film All About Eve. In 1976, she played Maxine in a revival of The Night of the Iguana. Her last film role was in a Farrah Fawcett bomb, Sunburn (Richard C. Sarafian, 1979). Subsequently, she appeared very infrequently on TV, most recently in Dead on the Money (Mark Cullingham, 1991). Eleanor Parker was married four times. Her first husband was Fred Losee (1943-1944). Her second marriage to Bert E. Friedlob (1946-1953) produced three children Susan Eleanor Friedlob (1948), Sharon Anne Friedlob (1950), and Richard Parker Friedlob (1952). Her third marriage was to American portrait painter Paul Clemens, (1954-1965) and the couple had one child, actor Paul Clemens (1958). Her fourth marriage with Raymond N. Hirsch (1966-2001) ended when Hirsch died of oesophagal cancer. She was the grandmother of actor/director Chasen Parker. Eleanor Parker died in 2013 at a medical facility in Palm Springs, California of complications of pneumonia. She was 91. Parker was raised a Protestant and later converted to Judaism, telling the New York Daily News columnist Kay Gardella in August 1969, "I think we're all Jews at heart ... I wanted to convert for a long time."

 

Sources: Jon C. Hopwood (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.

- Albert Schweitzer

  

"Paris, May 15, 1908: After several incidents with robbers and uninvited visitors, several jewellers and hotels have decided to use guardian robots for their and their guests' safety. Please cooperate with the guardians in order to avoid misunderstandings."

 

A series of AI-generated pictures of guardian robots, in different art styles.

To be continued.

Pictures made with Midjourney.

 

I'm always happy to accept invites to groups as long as I can see their content. Should I see "this group is not available to you", my pictures won't be made available to that group. Thanks for your understanding.

"Paris, May 15, 1908: After several incidents with robbers and uninvited visitors, several jewellers and hotels have decided to use guardian robots for their and their guests' safety. Please cooperate with the guardians in order to avoid misunderstandings."

 

A series of AI-generated pictures of guardian robots, in different art styles.

To be continued.

Pictures made with Midjourney.

 

I'm always happy to accept invites to groups as long as I can see their content. Should I see "this group is not available to you", my pictures won't be made available to that group. Thanks for your understanding.

"I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings"

The wings began to appear when she was aged about five - small hard nubs round her shoulder blades, which confounded doctors, and who eventually concluded that it was some rare bone disorder. She was simultaneously fascinated and concerned.

By age eight, the wings were enormous, and even when folded tight against her back, were concealable only under huge baggy jumpers or pashminas.

She took her first tentative flights at night, away from the curious or misunderstanding stares of the locals, wary of judgement or ridicule.

But then, as the starlings flocked in huge sweeping clouds each day, performing their elegant dusk ballet in the air, she began to fly with them.

One evening in early Spring, when the air was clean and bright, and the day full of refreshing playful gusts, she walked down onto the rickety pier and pulled off her coat, unashamed, and proud. She smiled as her wings stretched fully, enjoying the feeling of the strong muscles and hollow light bones beneath the feathers, the wind lifting and pulling at them as she stood still for a time.

She took the pier at a slow run, then sped up as she reached the edge, unfurled her wings as a flock of birds came to meet her.

And she flew...

....................

 

I drew this with The Woods' sea-sprayed, wave-washed first album and the haunting, mesmeric Rodriguez pretty much on loop.

 

And Maya Angelou's glorious, unrepentant, joyfully defiant 'And Still I Rise' was whispering in the back of my head throughout. You can watch her performing it here - which is marvelously uplifting.

Elephants on the run

 

Elefanten auf der Flucht

 

Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,485 km2 (7,523 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 km (220 mi) from north to south and 65 km (40 mi) from east to west. The administrative headquarters are in Skukuza. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926.

 

To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is Mozambique. It is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Kruger National Park with the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and with the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique.

 

The park is part of the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere an area designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an International Man and Biosphere Reserve (the "Biosphere").

 

The park has nine main gates allowing entrance to the different camps.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Name

 

African Elephant or African Bush Elephant [Loxodonta africana]

 

Introduction

 

The Elephant is the world's largest land mammal, and weighs up to 7 tonnes and reaches heights of 3.3 m at the shoulder. Elephants can live to a potential age of 70 years. The massive tusks of older bulls can weigh up to 50 or 60 kilograms, but tusks weighing up to 90 kilograms have been recorded.

 

Appearance

 

What is the trunk and what is it used for?

The Elephant's trunk is a modified nose which is very sensitive and can even detect water under ground. There are as many as 50 000 muscles in an Elephant trunk. The sensitive finger-like appendages at the tip of the trunk enables them to pick the smallest twig or flower, pull the toughest reed of grass or even pick out a thorn from their feet.

 

Do elephants have knees or elbows?

 

The joints that are perceived as 'knees', are in fact wrists. This is a common misunderstanding due to the belief that a leg joint that bends between the foot and the body must be a knee. The main difference between us and the elephants is that our foot bones and hand bones are separate, whereas those of the elephant are one in the same, and have evolved to suit this four-legged mammal.

 

Why do elephants have tusks?

 

The tusks are used for obtaining food, fighting (amongst males) and for self defence. They are actually their upper incisors, and grow continuously until they die at around 60 years old. Although their skin is up to 3cm (1 inch) thick, it is quite sensitive.

 

Diet

 

Elephants are voracious feeders which in a day consume up to 272 kg (600 pounds) of grass, tender shoots and bark from trees. An adult Elephant can drink up to 200 litres of water in a single session. A single Elephant deposits up to 150kg (330 pounds) of dung every day - about one dollop every 15 minutes!

 

Breeding

 

African Elephant are not seasonal breeders. Generally they produce one calf every 3 to 4 years. The gestation period is about 22 months. At birth calves weigh about 100 kg (220 pounds) and are fully weaned between 18-24 months. An orphaned calf will usually be adopted by one of the family's lactating females or suckled by various females. Elephants are very attentive mothers, and because most Elephant behavior has to be learned, they keep their offspring with them for many years. Tusks erupt at 16 months but do not show externally until 30 months. Once weaned, usually at age 4 or 5, the calf still remains in the maternal group. Females mature at about 11 years and stay in the group, while the males, which mature between 12 and 15, are usually expelled from the maternal herd. Even though these young males are sexually mature, they do not breed until they are in their mid, or late 20s or even older and have moved up in the social hierarchy.

 

Behaviour

 

Mature males form bachelor groups and become solitary bulls. Elephant form strong family units of cows, calves and young offspring. Such herds are always led by an old female. Apart from drinking large quantities of water they also love wading or swimming in it. Elephants clearly relish mud baths.

It was once thought that family groups were led by old bull elephants, but these males are most often solitary. The female family groups are often visited by mature males checking for females in oestrus. Several interrelated family groups may inhabit an area and know each other well.

 

How do you tell an elephant's mock charge from a serious one?

 

It is imperative to keep in mind that Elephant are extremely intelligent, and each individual has a distinct character. Although there will be exceptions to the rules, the common signs of a mock charge are bush-bashing, dust-throwing, trumpeting and other vocalizations, open ears and an intimidating presence, can be considered a mock-display. Aggressive or startled elephants usually make sudden headshakes and flap their large ears against their head. Serious charges usually occur after all attempts to intimidate have failed, and the Elephant feels threatened. The ears are pinned back and head and trunk are lowered. Ultimately, the key lies in the intelligence of the animal and how they will react to the 'target' and unfamiliar actions, and a conscious decision is made.

 

Why do elephants rhythmically flap their ears?

 

Contrary to common belief, it is not an expression of anger. Being an animal of such a large size, with no sweat glands and a dark body colour, elephants flap their ears to cool the body and rid themselves of irritating insects.

 

Where are they found?

 

Once ranging across most of Africa the Elephant population has declined dramatically across the continent. In South Africa the Addo Elephant and Kruger National Park protect large herds. Due to rigorous conservation measures the Elephant population in South Africa has grown from a estimated 120 in 1920 in 4 locations, to 10 000 at 40 locations to date.

 

Notes

 

The African Elephant has recently been classified into two separate species, the more common African Bush Elephant [Loxodonta Africana] and the smaller African Forest Elephant [Loxodonta cyclotis] of the rainforest of Central Africa.

 

(krugerpark.co.za)

 

Der Kruger-Nationalpark (deutsch häufig falsch Krüger-Nationalpark) ist das größte Wildschutzgebiet Südafrikas. Er liegt im Nordosten des Landes in der Landschaft des Lowveld auf dem Gebiet der Provinz Limpopo sowie des östlichen Abschnitts von Mpumalanga. Seine Fläche erstreckt sich vom Crocodile-River im Süden bis zum Limpopo, dem Grenzfluss zu Simbabwe, im Norden. Die Nord-Süd-Ausdehnung beträgt etwa 350 km, in Ost-West-Richtung ist der Park durchschnittlich 54 km breit und umfasst eine Fläche von rund 20.000 Quadratkilometern. Damit gehört er zu den größten Nationalparks in Afrika.

 

Das Schutzgebiet wurde am 26. März 1898 unter dem Präsidenten Paul Kruger als Sabie Game Reserve zum Schutz der Wildnis gegründet. 1926 erhielt das Gebiet den Status Nationalpark und wurde in seinen heutigen Namen umbenannt. Im Park leben 147 Säugetierarten inklusive der „Big Five“, außerdem etwa 507 Vogelarten und 114 Reptilienarten, 49 Fischarten und 34 Amphibienarten.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Der Afrikanische Elefant (Loxodonta africana), auch Afrikanischer Steppenelefant oder Afrikanischer Buschelefant, ist eine Art aus der Familie der Elefanten. Er ist das größte gegenwärtig lebende Landsäugetier und gleichzeitig das größte rezente landbewohnende Tier der Erde. Herausragende Kennzeichen sind neben den Stoßzähnen und dem markanten Rüssel die großen Ohren und die säulenförmigen Beine. In zahlreichen morphologischen und anatomischen Merkmalen unterscheidet sich der Afrikanische Elefant von seinen etwas kleineren Verwandten, dem Waldelefanten und dem Asiatischen Elefanten. Das Verbreitungsgebiet umfasst heute große Teile von Afrika südlich der Sahara. Die Tiere haben sich dort an zahlreiche unterschiedliche Lebensräume angepasst, die von geschlossenen Wäldern über offene Savannenlandschaften bis hin zu Sumpfgebieten und wüstenartigen Regionen reichen. Insgesamt ist das Vorkommen aber stark fragmentiert.

 

Die Lebensweise des Afrikanischen Elefanten ist durch intensive Studien gut erforscht. Sie wird durch einen stark sozialen Charakter geprägt. Weibliche Tiere und ihr Nachwuchs leben in Familienverbänden (Herden). Diese formieren sich wiederum zu einem enger verwandten Clan. Die einzelnen Herden treffen sich zu bestimmten Gelegenheiten und trennen sich danach wieder. Die männlichen Tiere bilden Junggesellengruppen. Die verschiedenen Verbände nutzen Aktionsräume, in denen sie teils im Jahreszyklus herumwandern. Für die Kommunikation untereinander nutzen die Tiere verschiedene Töne im niedrigen Frequenzbereich. Anhand der Lautgebung, aber auch durch bestimmte chemische Signale können sich die einzelnen Individuen untereinander erkennen. Darüber hinaus besteht ein umfangreiches Repertoire an Gesten. Hervorzuheben sind auch die kognitiven Fähigkeiten des Afrikanischen Elefanten.

 

Die Nahrung besteht sowohl aus weicher wie auch harter Pflanzenkost. Die genaue Zusammensetzung variiert dabei regional und jahreszeitlich. Generell verbringt der Afrikanische Elefant einen großen Teil seiner Tagesaktivitäten mit der Nahrungsaufnahme. Die Fortpflanzung erfolgt ganzjährig, regional gibt es Tendenzen zu einer stärkeren Saisonalisierung. Bullen kommen einmal jährlich in die Musth, während deren sie auf Wanderung zur Suche nach fortpflanzungswilligen Kühen gehen. Während der Musth ist die Aggressivität gesteigert, es finden dann auch Rivalenkämpfe statt. Der Sexualzyklus der Kühe dauert vergleichsweise lange und weist einen für Säugetiere untypischen Verlauf auf. Nach erfolgter Geburt setzt er in der Regel mehrere Jahre aus. Zumeist wird nach fast zweijähriger Tragzeit ein Jungtier geboren, das in der mütterlichen Herde aufwächst. Junge weibliche Tiere verbleiben später in der Herde, die jungen männlichen verlassen diese.

 

Die wissenschaftliche Erstbeschreibung des Afrikanischen Elefanten erfolgte im Jahr 1797 mit einer formalen artlichen Trennung des Afrikanischen vom Asiatischen Elefanten. Der heute gebräuchliche Gattungsname Loxodonta wurde offiziell erst dreißig Jahre später eingeführt. Die Bezeichnung bezieht sich auf markante Zahnunterschiede zwischen den asiatischen und den afrikanischen Elefanten. Im Verlauf des 20. Jahrhunderts wurden mehrere Unterarten unterschieden, darunter auch der Waldelefant des zentralen Afrikas. Letzterer gilt heute genetischen Untersuchungen zufolge als eigenständige Art, die weiteren Unterarten sind nicht anerkannt. Stammesgeschichtlich lässt sich der Afrikanische Elefant erstmals im beginnenden Mittleren Pleistozän belegen. Der Gesamtbestand gilt als gefährdet. Ursachen hierfür sind hauptsächlich die Jagd nach Elfenbein und Lebensraumverlust durch die zunehmend wachsende menschliche Bevölkerung. Der Afrikanische Elefant zählt zu den sogenannten „Big Five“ von Großwildjagd und Safari.

 

(Wikipedia)

NOTE - Do not use this picture without permission !

Its a common misunderstanding that this iconic sculpture in Reykjavik is a viking ship. Solfar or the Sun Voyager is a dreamboat. It praises the sun, and it is fascinating to watch the sun setting behind it. Reykjavik is known for cloudy skies and rain, this was another such day in the capital of Iceland as you can see from the skies.

This image looks roughly south-west over Manly, a beach-side suburb of northern Sydney. It is 17 km north-east of the central business district (the world-famous Harbour Bridge can just be made out in the very top left corner of the image).

 

Manly was named by Captain Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, for the indigenous people living there. He stated that "their confidence and manly behaviour made me give the name of Manly Cove to this place". These men were of the Kay-ye-my clan (of the Guringai people). While scouting for fresh water in the area in 1788, Phillip encountered members of the clan, and after a misunderstanding he was speared in the shoulder by one of the clan; to his lasting credit, the progressively-minded Phillip ordered his men not to retaliate. I wonder how many would be so tolerant today?

 

Manly is, of course, most notable for its beaches which are popular tourist destinations. It features a long stretch of sand on the ocean side. Whilst researching the elements in the photograph I came across a couple of quirky items. Despite the typical Australian images of beaches, surf, barbies and sunshine, Manly has almost a month more of rainy days than London (my home) (133 days to 109) and more than double the precipitation (1218mm to 601mm).

 

And surprisingly (to me, at least), until 1903 daylight sea bathing was banned in Australia. When it was finally challenged at Manly, and then allowed by the authorities there later that year, 17 people were drowned within 12 months, leading to the creation of one of Australia's earliest life-saving surf clubs. Manly's life-saving club is on the left end of the beach as seen above. Bathing on Sundays, Easter and Christmas were apparently only permitted from the 1920s and mixed bathing was not given official approval until the 1940s!

 

- all details from various Wikipedia pages.

Dutch postcard. Photo: MGM. Eleanor Parker in Lizzie (Hugo Haas, 1957).

 

American actress Eleanor Parker (1922-2013) appeared in some 80 films and television series. She was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, for Caged (1950), Detective Story (1951) and Interrupted Melody (1955). Her role in Caged also won her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. One of her most memorable roles was that of the Baroness in The Sound of Music (1965). Her biographer Doug McClelland called her ‘Woman of a Thousand Faces’, because of her versatility.

 

Eleanor Jean Parker was born in 1922, in Cedarville, Ohio. She was the daughter of Lola (Isett) and Lester Day Parker. Her family moved to East Cleveland, Ohio, where she attended public schools and graduated from Shaw High School. She appeared in a number of school plays. When she was 15 she started to attend the Rice Summer Theatre on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. After graduation, she moved to California and began appearing at the Pasadena Playhouse. There she was spotted by a Warners Bros talent scout, Irving Kumin. The studio signed her to a long-term contract in June 1941. She was cast that year in They Died with Their Boots On (Raoul Walsh, 1941), but her scenes were cut. Her actual film debut was as Nurse Ryan in the short Soldiers in White (B. Reeves Eason, 1942). She was given some decent roles in B films, Busses Roar (D. Ross Lederman, 1942) and The Mysterious Doctor (Benjamin Stoloff, 1943) opposites John Loder. She also had a small role in one of Warner Brothers' biggest productions for the 1943 season, the pro-Soviet Mission to Moscow (Michael Curtiz, 1943) as Emlen Davies, daughter of the U.S. ambassador to the U.S.S.R (Walter Huston). On the set, she met her first husband, Navy Lieutenant. Fred L. Losse, but the marriage turned out to be a brief wartime affair. Parker had impressed Warners enough to offer her a strong role in a prestige production, Between Two Worlds (Edward A. Blatt, 1944), playing the suicidal wife of Paul Henreid's character. She played support roles for Crime by Night (William Clemens, 1944) and The Last Ride (D. Ross Lederman, 1944). Then she got the starring role opposite Dennis Morgan in The Very Thought of You (Delmer Daves, 1944). She was considered enough of a ‘name’ to be given a cameo in Hollywood Canteen (Delmer Daves, 1944). Warners gave her the choice role of Mildred Rogers in a new version of Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage (Edmund Goulding, 1946), but previews were not favourable and the film sat on the shelf for two years before being released. She had her big break when she was cast opposite John Garfield in Pride of the Marines (Delmer Daves, 1945). However, two films with Errol Flynn that followed, the romantic comedy Never Say Goodbye (James V. Kern, 1946) and the drama Escape Me Never (Peter Godfrey, 1947), were box office disappointments. Parker was suspended twice by Warners for refusing parts in films – in Stallion Road (James V. Kern, 1947), where she was replaced by Alexis Smith and Love and Learn (Frederick De Cordova, 1947). She made the comedy Voice of the Turtle (Irving Rapper, 1947) with Ronald Reagan, and the mystery The Woman in White (Peter Godfrey, 1948). She refused to appear in Somewhere in the City (Vincent Sherman, 1950) so Warners suspended her again; Virginia Mayo played the role. Parker then had two years off, during which time she married and had a baby. She turned down a role in The Hasty Heart (Vincent Sherman, 1949) which she wanted to do, but it would have meant going to England and she did not want to leave her baby alone during its first year.

 

Eleanor Parker returned in Chain Lightning (Stuart Heisler, 1950) with Humphrey Bogart. Parker heard about a women-in-prison film Warners were making, Caged (John Cromwell, 1950), and actively lobbied for the role. She got it, won the 1950 Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award. She also had a good role in the melodrama Three Secrets (Robert Wise, 1950). In February 1950, Parker left Warner Bros. after having been under contract there for eight years. Parker had understood that she would star in a film called Safe Harbor, but Warner Bros. apparently had no intention of making it. Because of this misunderstanding, her agents negotiated her release. Parker's career outside of Warners started badly with Valentino (Lewis Allen, 1951) playing a fictionalised wife of Rudolph Valentino for producer Edward Small. She tried a comedy at 20th Century Fox with Fred MacMurray, A Millionaire for Christy (George Marshall, 1951). In 1951, Parker signed a contract with Paramount for one film a year, with an option for outside films. This arrangement began brilliantly with Detective Story (William Wyler, 1951) playing Mary McLeod, the woman who doesn't understand the position of her unstable detective husband (Kirk Douglas). Parker was nominated for the Oscar in 1951 for her performance. Parker followed Detective Story with her portrayal of an actress in love with a swashbuckling nobleman (Stewart Granger) in Scaramouche (George Sidney, 1952), a role originally intended for Ava Gardner. Wikipedia: “Parker later claimed that Granger was the only person she didn't get along with during her entire career. However, they had good chemistry and the film was a massive hit. “MGM cast her into Above and Beyond (Melvin Frank, Norman Panama, 1952), a biopic of Lt. Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. (Robert Taylor), the pilot of the aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It was a solid hit. While Parker was making a third film for MGM, Escape from Fort Bravo (John Sturges, 1953), she signed a five-year contract with the studio. She was named as star of a Sidney Sheldon script, My Most Intimate Friend and of One More Time, from a script by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin directed by George Cukor, but neither film was made. Back at Paramount, Parker starred with Charlton Heston as a 1900s mail-order bride in The Naked Jungle (Byron Haskin, 1954), produced by George Pal. Parker returned to MGM where she was reunited with Robert Taylor in an Egyptian adventure film, Valley of the Kings (Robert Pirosh, 1954), and a Western, Many Rivers to Cross (Roy Rowland, 1955). MGM gave her one of her best roles as opera singer Marjorie Lawrence struck down by polio in Interrupted Melody (Curtis Bernhardt, 1955). This was a big hit and earned Parker a third Oscar nomination; she later said it was her favourite film. Also in 1955, Parker appeared in the film adaptation of the National Book Award-winner The Man with the Golden Arm (Otto Preminger, 1955), released through United Artists. She played Zosh, the supposedly wheelchair-bound wife of heroin-addicted, would-be jazz drummer Frankie Machine (Frank Sinatra). It was a major commercial and critical success. In 1956, she co-starred with Clark Gable in the Western comedy The King and Four Queens (Raoul Walsh, 1956), also for United Artists. It was then back at MGM for two dramas: Lizzie (Hugo Haas, 1957), in the title role, as a woman with a split personality; and The Seventh Sin (Ronald Neame, 1957), a remake of The Painted Veil in the role originated by Greta Garbo and, once again, intended for Ava Gardner. Both films flopped at the box office and, as a result, Parker's plans to produce her own film, L'Eternelle, about French resistance fighters, did not materialise.

 

Eleanor Parker supported Frank Sinatra in a popular comedy, A Hole in the Head (Frank Capra, 1959). She returned to MGM for Home from the Hill (Vincente Minnelli, 1960), co-starring with Robert Mitchum, then took over Lana Turner's role of Constance Rossi in Return to Peyton Place (José Ferrer, 1961), the sequel to the hit 1957 film. That was made by 20th Century Fox who also produced Madison Avenue (H. Bruce Humberstone, 1961) with Parker. In 1960, she made her TV debut, and in the following years, she worked increasingly in television, with the occasional film role such as Panic Button (George Sherman, Giuliano Carnimeo, 1964) with Maurice Chevalier and Jayne Mansfield. Parker's best-known screen role is Baroness Elsa Schraeder in the Oscar-winning musical The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 1965). The Baroness was famously and poignantly unsuccessful in keeping the affections of Captain Georg von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) after he falls in love with Maria (Julie Andrews). In 1966, Parker played an alcoholic widow in the crime drama Warning Shot (Buzz Kulik, 1967), a talent scout who discovers a Hollywood star in The Oscar (Russell Rouse, 1966), and a rich alcoholic in An American Dream (Robert Gist, 1966). However, her film career seemed to go downhill. A Playboy Magazine reviewer derided the cast of The Oscar as "has-beens and never-will-be". From the late 1960s, she focused on television. In 1963, Parker appeared in the medical TV drama about psychiatry The Eleventh Hour in the episode Why Am I Grown So Cold?, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. She also appeared in episodes of Breaking Point (1964). And The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1968). In 1969–1970, Parker starred in the television series Bracken's World, for which she was nominated for a 1970 Golden Globe Award. Parker also appeared on stage in the role of Margo Channing in Applause, the Broadway musical version of the film All About Eve. In 1976, she played Maxine in a revival of The Night of the Iguana. Her last film role was in a Farrah Fawcett bomb, Sunburn (Richard C. Sarafian, 1979). Subsequently, she appeared very infrequently on TV, most recently in Dead on the Money (Mark Cullingham, 1991). Eleanor Parker was married four times. Her first husband was Fred Losee (1943-1944). Her second marriage to Bert E. Friedlob (1946-1953) produced three children Susan Eleanor Friedlob (1948), Sharon Anne Friedlob (1950), and Richard Parker Friedlob (1952). Her third marriage was to American portrait painter Paul Clemens, (1954-1965) and the couple had one child, actor Paul Clemens (1958). Her fourth marriage with Raymond N. Hirsch (1966-2001) ended when Hirsch died of oesophagal cancer. She was the grandmother of actor/director Chasen Parker. Eleanor Parker died in 2013 at a medical facility in Palm Springs, California of complications of pneumonia. She was 91. Parker was raised a Protestant and later converted to Judaism, telling the New York Daily News columnist Kay Gardella in August 1969, "I think we're all Jews at heart ... I wanted to convert for a long time."

 

Sources: Jon C. Hopwood (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Best True Fact Detective magazine cover, January circa 1950

HOWELL DODD

 

The study below was derived from facts uncovered while doing research for the following Doctorial dissertation:

Light to the shadows of their mind:

Criminal tatics and strategies

Criminology Department Dept.

Chatwick University

 

**************************** Story ***************************

 

Mae, had been having quite a rewarding chat with a charmingly attired young lady, all of seventeen, whom Mae had caught scurrying unsupervised amongst the Mansions’ other guests, when she suddenly felt a shocking vibe.

 

At the same time the seventeen year old turned her head away, her long hair swirling to behind her back, as she gazed at a sobbing lady treaded past her. The forlorn figure woefully alighting on a small stone bench located along a back wall. Mae, for a second blinded as the diamond in the girls swaying pearl earring caught the light of a chandelier, turned her head to watch also.

 

Making a call in judgment, Mae then finished her conversation with the fidgety young thing, letting her go on to rejoin the party. As she watched the silken and lace clad youth swirled away, a curiously pained expression crossed Mae’s face. She had almost convinced the pretty young thing to….

 

Oh well ,Mae said to herself, Trust in instinct. She then turned, focusing her attention to the limp, sobbing form now seated on the bench.

 

Oozing with compassion, Mae walked over to the weeping young lady. Sitting on the bench next to her Mae placed a comforting arm around her and drew her close. She handed the girl her silky laced handkerchief, to dry her eyes with,” Here my dear, you don’t want to stain that pretty gown!” Mae said, while lovingly pulling back the sobbing girls wave of corn silk coloured hair. The young lady took it, gratefully accepting this unknown woman’s sympathy. Taking the handkerchief with a gloved hand she buried her eyes into it ,rings and a bracelet twinkling merrily , mutely ignorant of their mistress’s wretchedness. Mae meet the girls sad gaze with her kind gypsy like eyes, gaining the poor young things’ confidence. Slowly Mae calmed her down enough to begin extracting the girl’s source of woe between racking sobs.

 

It seemed that the ladies fiancé had been dancing too close with a female friend of hers, and she was afraid he was going to call off the wedding after he snapped at her for bringing the matter to his attention. Mae patted the girl matronly on the back, telling her to go to the powder room to freshen up while she had a word with him on her account. The girl cheered up a little, really she said, hugging Mae that would be wonderful, and she obediently swept off without any question, so strong was Mae’s persuasiveness.

 

Ten minutes later Mae joined the girl in the powder room, telling her that it had all been a misunderstanding, and he wanted to meet with her in private to patch things up. As Mae spoke she helped straighten the girls luxuriously long satin gown, you want to look good for him she explained, watching a smile enchantingly brighten up her pretty face.

 

Collecting the girls wrap, Mae accompanied her out the back door leading into an ancient garden. Along one side an alley edged the street that separated the garden from the surrounding, rundown neighborhoods. The alley passed an old greenhouse, and it was there that Mae pointed out to the girl, “your fiancé awaits”, and without hesitation, the young lady allowed Mae to start to escort her there.

 

It was then that Mae saw the cop across the street by a vacant lot heading their way, although he had yet to spot the pair of ladies. Mae turned towards the young lady and explained that the policeman over there was a friend of hers and she wanted a word with him, besides, she winked, you don’t need my company inside there with him, she nodded towards the greenhouse, the girl smiled fetchingly, pressed Mae’s hand in thanks, and headed off, her gown swishing, stiletto heels clicking, along the cobblestone path. For a moment, Mae stared as the young lady, the flowing satin gown whispering along her petite figure as she went to the greenhouse to meet with her lover, and entirely different sort of stare, and then crossed the street to intercept the copper.

 

Mae walked past the copper tossing his way the sorta glance that she knew would pique his natural distrust, making him follow to see what mischief was going on!

 

*********

As Mae happily led the harness bull away from the garden she marveled over her good fortune, wondering over how things had worked to her benefit:

 

How such a lavish affair had been planned on that side of town in an old mansion, turned club.

 

How easily she had been able to slip through the tight security and crash the upscale party.

 

How lucky she had been to spy the young lady deep in misery before anyone else.

 

How easy it had been to convince the guilt ridden fiancé on what steps to take to win back his ladies hand, starting with waiting an hour in the upstairs gentlemen’s smoke lounge.

 

How pretty the young lady had looked when seductively she headed down the path to the greenhouse, the luxuriously sleek gown fluidly flowing, while opulent jewels flickered fire with each step.

 

How noisy those stiletto heels of the young lady were on the path, giving a loud notice of her approach as she went to the green house.

 

How quickly the look of lust upon the girls face would change to horror when she entered the greenhouse and encounter, not her fiancé, but Mae’s two masked partners lying in wait to rob anyone unlucky enough to cross their path.

 

How wicked the smiles would be of Mae’s confederates as one held the slippery, squirming figure of the young lady, while the other groped her body, picking it clean of anything of value.

  

Mae looked back and smiled smugly at the copper hot on her heels. Someone is going to be in trouble for leaving his post she thought. Just a couple more blocks should give them enough time in the greenhouse, and then Mae would easily give this flatfoot the slip. Mae’s mind went deliciously back to what should now be happening to the luckless lady in the long glossy gown, and how much Mae’s cut of the take would amount to. It was too bad she would miss the boys at work; Mae did so enjoy watching a good mugging.

 

********************

 

It had been the boys who had first spotted the ladies in colorfully long shiny gowns. Those gowns fluidly rustling along shapely figures crossing the street leading to ornate front doors of the old Hampton East club Mansion. But it had been their “sparklers” the glittering jewelry the ladies all seemed to be temptingly showing off, that had made their mouths wolfishly drool.

 

But, what they had seen when stealing peeks through slits in a velvet curtained window, had made them run to find Mae. They then breathlessly babbled on about the halfcocked, half-baked scheme they had dreamed up. “Even the young’uns had jools” they had excitedly told Mae. She figured that most of it was probably paste, who wears anything of value on the eastside she thought to herself. But just a glimmer of a possibility began to take seed, as she maternally continued to listen to the excited pair.

 

Mae decided to humor the pair of excitable petty thieves, she owed them some favors anyway, and Mae hated leaving a debt unpaid. Besides, business had been slow lately; it seemed that no one well to do these days need their fortune read. So, for no rhythm or reason other than to see what all the chatter had been about, Mae crashed the upscale event. She slipped inside through the large matching oak doors, without even a second glance from the old man wearing a loose uniform “guarding” the entrance.

 

Mae was amazed, even she could not have predicted the amazing displays of wealth, so tantalizingly close, and yet seemingly so far out of reach. Even the dangling “jools” worn with careless abandon by the “Young’uns” appeared to be the real McCoy! Although she had thought they were talking about girls a little younger than the solely 16 through 20 year olds she observed among the multitude of guests.

 

Mae was also surprised that she had been able to get this far, and so was now just beginning to think of ways to profit from the situation. One idea was also the simplest, find a tipsy lady shimmering in jewels and offer to read her fortune, targeting selected jewel adorned areas to do her readings and hope opportunity knocks. Another thought was to just wait by an exit and hope an inquisitive type wanders out, then follow and force them to the shed. If it was one of the “youn’uns” Mae could than renter and convince her wealthy mother to go and collect her daughter that Mae had seen going into the shed with a , gasp, boy! This last one was not as far-fetched as it sounded, given the antics that a lot of the guests were performing under Mae’s watchful eyes…

 

All in all, Mae was glad she had positioned the boys to wait in the old greenhouse, promising it would be worth their while. Mainly Mae had wanted to keep them out of mischief, too avoid having them upset her apple cart, and it appeared to have been a canny move on her part.

 

Still with no real purpose yet, she had started to shadow a fetchingly gowned young lady of about seventeen who was timidly weaving in and out amongst the groups of happily chatting guests. What Mae mostly desired was a closer scrutiny of the prettily dressed young girls savory pearls and delectable rings, so enticingly slippery upon the sweat glistened figure. Suddenly Mae had an epiphany, realizing exactly what to say to the pretty little miss to satisfy those desires, and more. Eagerly, she caught up to the darting little darling, and literally grabbed the young things attention.

 

The young miss, nervously looked around, as she played with her necklace, holding it with slender ringed fingers, as she innocently listened to the captivating dark haired stranger. Overly pretty teenage girls were so naïve and easy to manipulate, Mae thought, as she began to weave her story around the young thing that had fallen into the gypsies grasp.

 

The plan that had developed Mae’s in mind concerning the girl, was in her opinion, brilliant : for girls like this always travelled about in packs. And it was a good bet that if she ventured out into the night she would not be alone. Mae began to envision two or three similarly attired young ladies walking in the moonlit garden. Shimmering as they approached the garden shed, like so many high heeled, well jeweled Gretel’s heading to the witches’ tempting cottage. And Mae had the perfect fairy tale to tell this pretty girl, one that would spin around her like sticky strands of web that Mae would use to pull her away out into the night.

 

Mae started by charismatically complimented the teenager on her fine dress of silk and lace , she pleasantly straitening it for a “better look”, greedy emotions rising as she looked over the young ladies jewels. As she did this performance, Mae subtly started guiding the unquestioningly obedient girl towards a rear exit. But the girl innocently let out a squeal and pulled Mae over to the “cute little stone bench” one of several that lines a back, potted palm lined , wall . Mae helped the squirming young thing to a seat. As Mae started then to work on the girl, she scanned the area to see if anyone was watching. Seeing no signs of intervention, Mae asked for and obediently received, in turn, each of the girl’s excitedly sweaty palms.

 

Deeper and deeper the seventeen year old fell under Mae’s spell, listening enraptured as Mae began to “read” the girls fortune using her quivering palms. Mae, never letting the girls eyes fall away from her almost hypnotic gaze, began to delicately tug at the pretty rings encircling the slender fingers of the palms as she gently caressed them.

  

As the girl was told her fortune, the pretty young miss was totally caught under the enchantment of Mae’s eyes and sing-song way of speaking. Mae could see that she had captured the girl’s imagination as she wove her fortune telling into a romantic saga that would hopefully peak with the girl sneaking out to the cold shed where the hoodlums were waiting. Then, with delight, Mae saw a special gleam in the girl’s eyes that she knew all too well. A look she had seen before in previous clients, one that told her they were no longer completely aware of what was going on around them. The look that usually had her try to make a little extra profit from the situation!

 

She now did so by ever so slightly tighten her grip on the palm she held. Than with baited breath Mae began to work the girl’s jeweled rings over the knuckles of her warm slender fingers, her practiced eye watching the girls face for any sign that she was catching on to what was happening. Mae thought to herself, this is just coming together perfectly. Mae smiled broadly as she had a habit of doing when one of her wicked schemes was coming to fruitation. The girl smiled impishly in response, totally misinterpreting what that smile stood for. Never in her wildest dreams would she have guessed what this nice lady: with the deep black eyes from which she could not pull away from, who was so pleasantly stroking her palms while telling her fortune so enjoyably, was smiling about! Nor did she have the slightest of inklings that her Grandmother’s pretty rings were starting to vanish!

  

And that’s when It happened!

  

The girl’s deep concentration was broken as she saw a woeful figure heading to a nearby stone bench. Mae felt vibes coursing electrically through her body, her adrenalin mounting! Watching the sobbing newcomer, curled up on the bench, her long shiny gown splayed out over her knees, pooling around her feet. Her hands cupped her face, hiding it beneath waves of long corn silk coloured hair.

 

Mae’s eyes darted back to the young girl who was now innocently looking at Mae, with pretty questioning violet coloured eyes. Mae quickly weighed the consequences. Keep her bird in hand, or let it fly away and take a chance on enveloping the newcomer under her spell. Once again she envisioned a gaggle of Gretel’s in the garden, but then, with a sobering realization, a couple of Hansel’s horned in on the group. That would never do the Gypsy reasoned. Mae made her decision.

 

“Off you go my pretty miss; I see a friend is looking me.” Mae told her dismissingly. The girl looked around, still confused, but she gave Mae a chirping “okay” Mae, a warm smile spreading across her face, lifted up the girls long pearl necklace, fingering it as the girl’s violet eyes traveled to watch it. “C'est la vie, my pretty one “Not today, anyway she finished, sighing to herself, the girl only looked confused. Mae let the necklace go, watching the pearls fall back onto the girls lace covered chest. Without thinking more of it, she scampered off out of sight, her long gown flowing out.

 

Mae’s eyes changed from sparkly to pained, then to dead serious as she scanned the area around the miserable wretch in the corner. Then, a putting a smile across her face, she turned her focus totally on solacing and prizing the unhappy soul.

 

As Mae had sat next to the rich girl, her long fingers soothingly stroked the young lady into submission Mae faked an interest in consoling her and pretending to be concerned about the wretches sob story. She had actually been looking her over, appraising the shimmering jewels that had adorned the weeping young lady. The necklace and earrings dripped with small, but real flashy diamonds. The same size as the ones glistening on the thin tiara that held up the rich girl’s luxuriantly long hair. While she sniffled into Mae’s conveniently produced hankie, the young lady’s gem encrusted rings, wide diamond bracelet, and the fine jeweled brooch that held up the front of the slick satin gown were also closely examined.

 

Mae looked at the girl now walking next to her, innocently unaware of the fact that she had been led out here for one reason only, oblivious to the fact that she now presented nothing more than to the seemingly sweet lady walking next to her than the value of the jewels she wore. Mae smiled to herself, knowing that in the greenhouse her two muggers would miss nothing, the young girls jewels, her mink stole, fat silken purse, even the gown would all fetch a sweet price when sold.

 

While contemplating all this Mae had stayed ahead of the nosey cop and now had reached her destination. She quickly turned down a foggy alley she knew all too well. Just before she disappeared from view she gave the unfortunate girl one last thought.

 

Contemplating on whether her luck would change and she would be found first by her errant fiancé once he finished with his cigars and brandy, , or if her bad luck would hold she would be found by someone like that scoundrel Renauld, who specialized in kidnapping and white slavery among other nefarious activities?

  

Renauld to whom Mae owed a huge favor! Mae figured that some foreign sheik would bid high to add a petite fair skinned blond to his harem back in his country. Mae smiled smugly, licking her lips, It had shaped up to be ,indeed, a very good evening.

 

Coming soon

What fate had in mind

Please list as a favorite and comment if interested in the final act

******************************************************

addendum est

 

As fate would have it, it was neither.

 

The flatfoot who had been following Mae was the first one to find the unconscious young lady. He had snuck into the shed for a nip from his flask. He started a little as he saw the heap on the floor.

 

Quickly making sure he was alone, he bent down and promptly searched the silky slip clad figure for anything left of value. Finding nothing, he slipped off her long satin gloves, pocketing them before he checked her pulse and pulled out his whistle to signal for help. He stopped when he saw something shine in a corner by the door.

 

Picking up the object he thought to himself, “A few more minutes wouldn’t hurt the poor lass” as he pocketed the item and left the greenhouse. The cop headed quickly to a nearby bar which was the hangout of a man that the policeman knew would put the Lass’s hotel key, dropped by whoever had stripped her of her valuables ( and he did not doubt they had been plentiful), to good use.

 

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Fam. Asparagaceae, Subfam. Agavoideae

Probably a short-day plant, it begins to bloom usually until September / October, never in the period from May to July! This year these starts to bloom very early!

Yucca x glorifolia nom. nud.

(not an valid name, and there can be misunderstandings because also used for Y. gloriosa x recurvifolia hybrids)

In the Botany of the Bermudas by H. B. Small, 1913, is listed

Yucca Glorifolia. Linn. - but these is probably a possible reading error from Carl Linnaeus handwritten record in his Species Plantarum 1748!/

Similar forms are also called Yucca gloriosa 'aloifolia form'.

 

Fam. Asparagaceae Juss. 1789

Subfam. Agavoideae Herb. 1837

Probably a 'short-day' plant, it begins to bloom usually until September / October, never in the period from May to July! This year these starts to bloom very early! An flower initiation at this Yucca I never observed if was a day length 15 hours or a night length of less than 9 hours.

Yucca x vomerensis C. Sprenger in Cat., 1901

In his "Mitteilungen über meine Yucca-Hibriden und -Formen" (Mitt. Deutsch. Dendrol. Ges. Nr. 29: 119. 1920) he wrote:.

"Yucca aloifolia x gloriosa gave me a large number of seedlings, but among themselves mostly very consistent, so that one could call them without further ado, one and all as 'vomerensis'."

Yucca x glorifolia nom. nud.

(not an valid name, and there can be misunderstandings because also used for Y. gloriosa x recurvifolia hybrids)

In the Botany of the Bermudas by H. B. Small, 1913, is listed

Yucca Glorifolia. Linn. - but these is probably a possible reading error from Carl Linnaeus handwritten record in his Species Plantarum 1748!/

Similar forms are also called Yucca gloriosa 'aloifolia form'.

The fruits of these, although, among other features, forming the typical crown, but are shorter and less drooping than typical fruits of both, Y. aloifolia or gloriosa. Whether this is only because of the lack of heat? Or maybe it's a different hybrid combination than expected!

St Mary's Lighthouse is on the tiny St Mary's (or Bait) Island, just north of Whitley Bay on the coast of North East England. The small rocky tidal island is linked to the mainland by a short concrete causeway which is submerged at high tide.

 

The first light here was in the priory - an 11th-century monastic chapel, whose monks maintained a lantern on the tower to warn passing ships of the danger of the rocks. A lighthouse was built here in 1664 using stone from the priory. This was demolished when the current lighthouse and adjacent keepers' cottages were built in 1898 by the John Miller company of Tynemouth, using 645 blocks of stone and 750,000 bricks. A first-order 'bi-valve' rotating optic was installed by Barbier & Bénard of Paris, very similar to the one they had provided the previous year for Lundy North Lighthouse; it displayed a group-flashing characteristic, flashing twice every 20 seconds. The lamp was powered by paraffin, and was not electrified until 1977; St Mary's was by then the last Trinity House lighthouse lit by oil.

 

As part of the electrification process the fine first-order fresnel lens was removed by Trinity House (it was later put on display in their National Lighthouse Museum in Penzance). Its place in the tower was taken by a four-tier revolving sealed beam lamp array, manufactured by Pharos Marine; it was powered by two 12-volt batteries, charged from the mains electricity supply.

 

The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1984 (two years after its conversion to automatic operation). The revolving sealed beam array was reused two years later (in reduced form) on the Inner Dowsing light platform in the North Sea, as part of its conversion to become 'the first major lighthouse to be run using solar power'. In 1986 a blue plaque was created to record its early history.

 

A few years later, St Mary's was opened as a visitor attraction by the local council. In place of the original optic, Trinity House offered a smaller one from their decommissioned lighthouse at Withernsea, and this can still be seen at the top of the tower.

 

Following closure of the Penzance lighthouse museum, the original lens was returned to St Mary's in 2011 to be put on display.

 

Since 2012 St Mary's lighthouse has been grade II listed. While it no longer functions as a working lighthouse, it is easily accessible (when the tide is out) and regularly open to visitors; in addition to the lighthouse itself there is a small museum, a visitor's centre, and a café. The cottage was upgraded with a wood pellet boiler in 2014.

 

In 2017 a renovation plan for the site (including roof-top viewing platforms and various glass-covered extensions) was rejected by the local planning authority due to environmental concerns. A new refurbishment proposal (to include rebuilding the original optic) was presented in 2018; however the Heritage Lottery Fund later turned down North Tyneside Council's £2.1m funding application.

 

Another Victorian lighthouse may be found a few miles to the south of the River Tyne. Souter Lighthouse is also now decommissioned, and open to visitors. Souter Lighthouse can be seen with the naked eye from the top of St Mary's Lighthouse.

 

St Mary's Island, sometimes referred to as Bait Island is a small sandstone island near the seaside resort of Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, England. It is a Local Nature Reserve.

 

St Mary's Island was originally called Bates Island, Hartley Bates or Bates Hill as it was originally owned by the Bates family who were prominent locally, and the area of coastal mainland lying between the Brierdene Burn and Seaton Burn formed the township of Hartley. It is sometimes known as Bait Island, probably due to a misunderstanding of the meaning of the name. The island is opposite Curry's Point on the mainland and is connected to the coast at low tide by a rocky causeway for about 16 hours a day. The main feature of the island is St Mary's Lighthouse which was built in 1898.

 

In medieval times there was a chapel on the island dedicated to St Helen. Within the chapel was the Lady Light, also known as St Katherine's Light. The light was later, wrongly, ascribed to St Mary and, as a result, the island became known as St Mary's Island. It is debatable whether the light was used as a warning to shipping or was purely religious. Next to the chapel was a burial ground where monks and local people were interred. Traces of St. Helen's Chapel were destroyed when the lighthouse was built in 1898.

 

During the 19th century there was an inn, known as the 'Square and Compass', on the island, run by a Mr George Ewen. In 1895, after complaints about rowdy customers trespassing on nearby land, the landlord, Lord Hastings, had Mr Ewen and his family evicted from the island.

 

The lighthouse continued to function until 1984, when it was taken out of service. The lighthouse is now open to visitors who can climb the steps to the lantern room, if they wish, or see the Visitors' Centre.

 

Tyne and Wear is a ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.

 

The county is largely urbanised. It had a population of 1.14 million in 2021. After Newcastle (300,125) the largest settlements are the city of Sunderland (170,134), Gateshead (120,046), and South Shields (75,337). Nearly all of the county's settlements belong to either the Tyneside or Wearside conurbations, the latter of which also extends into County Durham. Tyne and Wear contains five metropolitan boroughs: Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, North Tyneside and South Tyneside, and is covered by two combined authorities, North of Tyne and North East. The county was established in 1974 and was historically part of Northumberland and County Durham, with the River Tyne forming the border between the two.

 

The most notable geographic features of the county are the River Tyne and River Wear, after which it is named and along which its major settlements developed. The county is also notable for its coastline to the North Sea in the east, which is characterised by tall limestone cliffs and wide beaches.

 

In the late 600s and into the 700s Saint Bede lived as a monk at the monastery of St. Peter and of St. Paul writing histories of the Early Middle Ages including the Ecclesiastical History of the English People.

 

Roughly 150 years ago, in the village of Marsden in South Shields, Souter Lighthouse was built, the first electric structure of this type.

 

The Local Government Act 1888 constituted Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and Sunderland as county boroughs (Newcastle had "county corporate" status as the "County and Town of Newcastle upon Tyne" since 1400). Tynemouth joined them in 1904. Between the county boroughs, various other settlements also formed part of the administrative counties of Durham and of Northumberland.

 

The need to reform local government on Tyneside was recognised by the government as early as 1935, when a Royal Commission to Investigate the Conditions of Local Government on Tyneside was appointed. The three commissioners were to examine the system of local government in the areas of local government north and south of the river Tyne from the sea to the boundary of the Rural District of Castle Ward and Hexham in the County of Northumberland and to the Western boundary of the County of Durham, to consider what changes, if any, should be made in the existing arrangements with a view to securing greater economy and efficiency, and to make recommendations.

 

The report of the Royal Commission, published in 1937, recommended the establishment of a Regional Council for Northumberland and Tyneside (to be called the "Northumberland Regional Council") to administer services that needed to be exercised over a wide area, with a second tier of smaller units for other local-government purposes. The second-tier units would form by amalgamating the various existing boroughs and districts. The county boroughs in the area would lose their status. Within this area, a single municipality would be formed covering the four county boroughs of Newcastle, Gateshead, Tynemouth, South Shields and other urban districts and boroughs.

 

A minority report proposed amalgamation of Newcastle, Gateshead, Wallsend, Jarrow, Felling, Gosforth, Hebburn and Newburn into a single "county borough of Newcastle-on-Tyneside". The 1937 proposals never came into operation: local authorities could not agree on a scheme and the legislation of the time did not allow central government to compel one.

 

Tyneside (excluding Sunderland) was a Special Review Area under the Local Government Act 1958. The Local Government Commission for England came back with a recommendation to create a new county of Tyneside based on the review area, divided into four separate boroughs. This was not implemented. The Redcliffe-Maud Report proposed a Tyneside unitary authority, again excluding Sunderland, which would have set up a separate East Durham unitary authority.

 

The White Paper that led to the Local Government Act 1972 proposed as "area 2" a metropolitan county including Newcastle and Sunderland, extending as far south down the coast as Seaham and Easington, and bordering "area 4" (which would become Tees Valley). The Bill as presented in November 1971 pruned back the southern edge of the area, and gave it the name "Tyneside". The name "Tyneside" proved controversial on Wearside, and a government amendment changed the name to "Tyne and Wear" at the request of Sunderland County Borough Council.

 

Tyne and Wear either has or closely borders two official Met Office stations, neither located in one of the major urban centres. The locations for those are in marine Tynemouth where Tyne meets the North Sea east of Newcastle and inland Durham in County Durham around 20 kilometres (12 mi) south-west of Sunderland. There are some clear differences between the stations temperature and precipitation patterns even though both have a cool-summer and mild-winter oceanic climate.

 

Tyne and Wear contains green belt interspersed throughout the county, mainly on the fringes of the Tyneside/Wearside conurbation. There is also an inter-urban line of belt helping to keep the districts of South Tyneside, Gateshead, and Sunderland separated. It was first drawn up from the 1950s. All the county's districts contain some portion of belt.

 

Although Tyne and Wear County Council was abolished in 1986, several joint bodies exist to run certain services on a county-wide basis. Most notable is the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority, which co-ordinates transport policy. Through its passenger transport executive, known as Nexus, it owns and operates the Tyne and Wear Metro light rail system, and the Shields ferry service and the Tyne Tunnel, linking communities on either side of the River Tyne. Also through Nexus, the authority subsidises socially necessary transport services (including taxis) and operates a concessionary fares scheme for the elderly and disabled. Nexus has been an executive body of the North East Joint Transport Committee since November 2018.

 

Other joint bodies include the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service and Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, which was created from the merger of the Tyne and Wear Archives Service and Tyne and Wear Museums. These joint bodies are administered by representatives of all five of the constituent councils. In addition the Northumbria Police force covers Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.

 

There have been occasional calls for Tyne and Wear to be abolished and the traditional border between Northumberland and County Durham to be restored.

 

Tyne and Wear is divided into 12 Parliamentary constituencies. Historically, the area has been a Labour stronghold; South Shields is the only Parliamentary constituency that has never returned a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons since the Reform Act of 1832.

 

Newcastle and Sunderland are known for declaring their election results early on election night. Therefore, they frequently give the first indication of nationwide trends. An example of this was at the 2016 European Union referendum. Newcastle was the first large city to declare, and 50.6% of voters voted to Remain; this proportion was far lower than predicted by experts. Sunderland declared soon after and gave a 62% vote to Leave, much higher than expected. These two results were seen as an early sign that the United Kingdom had voted to Leave.

 

Offshore Group Newcastle make oil platforms. Sage Group, who produce accounting software, are based at Hazlerigg at the northern end of the Newcastle bypass. Northern Rock, which became a bank in 1997 and was taken over by Virgin Money in November 2011, and the Newcastle Building Society are based in Gosforth. The Gosforth-based bakery Greggs now has over 1,500 shops. The Balliol Business Park in Longbenton contains Procter & Gamble research and global business centres and a tax credits call centre for HMRC, and is the former home of Findus UK. The Government National Insurance Contributions Office in Longbenton, demolished and replaced in 2000, had a 1 mile (1.6 km) long corridor.

 

Be-Ro and the Go-Ahead Group bus company are in central Newcastle. Nestlé use the former Rowntrees chocolate factory on the east of the A1. BAE Systems Land & Armaments in Scotswood, formerly Vickers-Armstrongs, is the main producer of British Army tanks such as the Challenger 2. A Rolls-Royce apprentice training site is next door.[18] Siemens Energy Service Fossil make steam turbines at the CA Parsons Works in South Heaton. Sir Charles Parsons invented the steam turbine in 1884, and developed an important local company. Domestos, a product whose main ingredient is sodium hypochlorite, was originated in Newcastle in 1929 by William Handley, and was distributed from the area for many years.

 

Clarke Chapman is next to the A167 in Gateshead. The MetroCentre, the largest shopping centre in Europe, is in Dunston. Scottish & Newcastle was the largest UK-owned brewery until it was bought by Heineken and Carlsberg in April 2008, and produced Newcastle Brown Ale at the Newcastle Federation Brewery in Dunston until production moved to Tadcaster in September 2010. At Team Valley are De La Rue, with their largest banknote printing facility, and Myson Radiators, the second largest in the UK market. Petards make surveillance equipment including ANPR cameras, and its Joyce-Loebl division makes electronic warfare systems and countermeasure dispensing systems such as the AN/ALE-47. Sevcon, an international company formed from a part of Smith Electric, is a world leader in electric vehicle controls. AEI Cables and Komatsu UK construction equipment at Birtley.

 

J. Barbour & Sons make outdoor clothing in Simonside, Jarrow. SAFT Batteries make primary lithium batteries on the Tyne in South Shields. Bellway plc houses is in Seaton Burn in North Tyneside. Cobalt Business Park, the largest office park in the UK, is at Wallsend, on the former site of Atmel, and is the home of North Tyneside Council. Swan Hunter until 2006 made ships in Wallsend, and still designs ships. Soil Machine Dynamics in Wallsend on the Tyne makes Remotely operated underwater vehicles, and its Ultra Trencher 1 is the world's largest submersible robot.

 

The car dealership Evans Halshaw is in Sunderland. The car factory owned by Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK between North Hylton and Washington is the largest in the UK. Grundfos, the world's leading pump manufacturer, builds pumps in Sunderland. Calsonic Kansei UK, formerly Magna, make automotive instrument panels and car trim at the Pennywell Industrial Estate. Gestamp UK make automotive components. Smith Electric Vehicles originated in Washington. The LG Electronics microwave oven factory opened in 1989, closed in May 2004, and later became the site of the Tanfield Group. Goodyear Dunlop had their only UK car tyre factory next to the Tanfield site until its 2006 closure. BAE Systems Global Combat Systems moved to a new £75 million factory at the former Goodyear site in 2011, where they make large calibre ammunition for tanks and artillery.

 

The government's child benefit office is in Washington. Liebherr build cranes next to the Wear at Deptford. The outdoor clothing company Berghaus is in Castletown. Vaux Breweries, who owned Swallow Hotels, closed in 1999. ScS Sofas are on Borough Road. There are many call centres in Sunderland, notably EDF Energy at the Doxford International Business Park, which is also the home of the headquarters of the large international transport company Arriva and Nike UK. Rolls-Royce planned to move their production of fan and turbine discs to BAE Systems' new site in 2016.

Ryōan-ji (龍安寺 o 竜安寺 El templo del dragón tranquilo y pacífico) es un templo Zen situado en Kioto, Japón. Forma parte del conjunto de Monumentos históricos de la antigua Kioto (ciudades de Kioto, Uji y Otsu) declarados Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Unesco en el año 1994. El templo fue creado por la escuela Myoshinji de los Rinzai, pertenecientes al Budismo Zen.

Dentro de este templo existe uno de los karesansui (jardines secos) más famosos del mundo, construido a finales del siglo XV, en torno al 1488. El creador de este jardín no dejó ninguna explicación sobre su significado, por lo que durante siglos ha sido un misterio descubrir el verdadero sentido o el porqué de su gran belleza.

Se trata de un jardín rectangular construido frente al edificio principal. La composición utiliza arena rastrillada, musgo y rocas. Existe un predominio de formas alargadas colocadas en paralelo a la posición del edificio.

Los tres lados restantes están cerrados por muros, lo que -junto a la línea inferior de la plataforma desde la que se debe contemplar el edificio- permite acotar la visión del jardín en un marco longitudinal.

Durante muchos años se pensó que la mejor interpretación del sentido de la disposición de las piedras en el jardín era el de una especie de "Tigre cruzando un río". En el 2002, unos científicos de la Universidad de Kioto utilizaron ordenadores para buscar formas usando la disposición de las zonas vacías del jardín en vez de la disposición de las piedras y encontraron el patrón de un árbol escondido dentro de la estructura del jardín. Dicen que por eso es tan placentero presenciar el jardín, nuestro subconsiciente capta el patrón del árbol sin que lo notemos.

El mismo equipo de investigación probó moviendo algunas piedras de forma aleatoria y vieron que enseguida se perdía la armonía de la configuración inicial. Por ello creen que la construcción del jardín está muy bien pensada y no es un acto de la casualidad.

Aunque el jardín de rocas es el más conocido de Ryōan-ji, el templo también tiene un jardín acuático; el estanque Kyoyochi, construido en el siglo XII como parte de la finca Fujiwara. Recientemente se han plantado cerezos al noroeste del estanque.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dan-ji

japonismo.com/blog/viajar-japon-el-templo-ryoanji-de-kioto

  

Ryōan-ji (Shinjitai: 竜安寺, Kyūjitai: 龍安寺, The Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Myōshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. The Ryōan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui ("dry landscape"), a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles (small, carefully selected polished river rocks) raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation. The temple and its gardens are listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

There is controversy over who built the garden and when. Most sources date it to the second half of the 15th century. The conclusive history, though, based on documentary sources, is as follows: Hosokawa Katsumoto (1430–1473), deputy to the shōgun, founded in 1450 the Ryōan-ji temple, but the complex was burnt down during the Ōnin War. His son Masamoto rebuilt the temple at the very end of the same century. It is not clear whether any garden was constructed at that time facing the main hall. First descriptions of a garden, clearly describing one in front of the main hall, date from 1680–1682. It is described as a composition of nine big stones laid out to represent Tiger Cubs Crossing the Water. As the garden has fifteen stones at present, it was clearly different from the garden that we see today. A great fire destroyed the buildings in 1779, and rubble of the burnt buildings was dumped in the garden. Garden writer and specialist Akisato Rito (died c. 1830) redid the garden completely on top of the rubble at the end of the eighteenth century and published a picture of his garden in his Celebrated Gardens and Sights of Kyoto (Miyako rinsen meisho zue) of 1799, showing the garden as it looks today. One big stone at the back was buried partly; it has two first names carved in it, probably names of untouchable stone workers, so called kawaramono. There is no evidence of Zen monks having worked on the garden, apart from the raking of the sand.

The temple's name is synonymous with the temple's famous Zen garden, the karesansui (dry landscape) rock garden, thought to have been built in the late 15th century.

The garden is a rectangle of 248 square meters (2,670 square feet), twenty-five meters by ten meters. Placed within it are fifteen stones of different sizes, carefully composed in five groups; one group of five stones, two groups of three, and two groups of two stones. The stones are surrounded by white gravel, which is carefully raked each day by the monks. The only vegetation in the garden is some moss around the stones.

The garden is meant to be viewed from a seated position on the veranda of the hōjō, the residence of the abbot of the monastery. The stones are placed so that the entire composition cannot be seen at once from the veranda. They are also arranged so that when looking at the garden from any angle (other than from above) only fourteen of the boulders are visible at one time. It is traditionally said that only through attaining enlightenment would one be able to view the fifteenth boulder.

The wall behind the garden is an important element of the garden. It is made of clay, which has been stained by age with subtle brown and orange tones. In 1977, the tile roof of the wall was restored with tree bark to its original appearance. When the garden was rebuilt in 1799, it came up higher than before and a view over the wall to the mountain scenery behind came about. At present this view is blocked by trees.

Like any work of art, the artistic garden of Ryōan-ji is also open to interpretation or research into possible meanings. Many different theories have been put forward inside and outside Japan about what the garden is supposed to represent, from islands in a stream, a tiger family crossing a river, mountain peaks, to theories about secrets of geometry or the rules of equilibrium of odd numbers. Garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote: "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize anything, or more precisely, to avoid any misunderstanding, the garden of Ryōan-ji does not symbolize, nor does it have the value of reproducing a natural beauty that one can find in the real or mythical world. I consider it to be an abstract composition of 'natural' objects in space, a composition whose function is to incite meditation."

In an article published by the science journal Nature, Gert van Tonder and Michael Lyons analyze the rock garden by generating a model of shape analysis (medial axis) in early visual processing.

Using this model, they show that the empty space of the garden is implicitly structured, and is aligned with the temple's architecture. According to the researchers, one critical axis of symmetry passes close to the centre of the main hall, which is the traditionally preferred viewing point. In essence, viewing the placement of the stones from a sightline along this point brings a shape from nature (a dichotomously branched tree with a mean branch length decreasing monotonically from the trunk to the tertiary level) in relief.

The researchers propose that the implicit structure of the garden is designed to appeal to the viewer's unconscious visual sensitivity to axial-symmetry skeletons of stimulus shapes. In support of their findings, they found that imposing a random perturbation of the locations of individual rock features destroyed the special characteristics.

While the rock garden is the best-known garden of Ryōan-ji, the temple also has a water garden; the Kyoyochi Pond, built in the 12th century as part of the Fujiwara estate. Cherry trees have recently been planted northwest of the pond.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dan-ji

 

Mrs. Frida Fox is living in a log cabin in the middle of a forest - together with some whimsical creatures: A neurotic hedgehog who is afraid of needlings and other spikey things, a snail who dislikes fruits, vegetables and salad (and who is only eating toast with sausage every day) and her stepdaughter Gisela Goose (and the name is already telling it: She is a goose. It's a widespread misunderstanding that foxes use to eat geese, most of them don't eat meat at all: Frida Fox is a vegeterian already her whole life).

And depending on the season - there is also a wild duck living in Frida's house: Wilma Wanderingduck. And she always knows the best stories from exciting things around the world: Whether a princess marries a garbageman, a super star gets her thirteenth divorce or the hot womanizer actor finally admits that he is gay.

  

Get her: en.dawanda.com/product/12442354-Madame-Frida-Fuchs

Addo Elephant National Park is a diverse wildlife conservation park situated close to Port Elizabeth in South Africa and is one of the country's 19 national parks. It currently ranks third in size after Kruger National Park and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.

 

The original section of the park was founded in 1931, in part due to the efforts of Sydney Skaife, in order to provide a sanctuary for the eleven remaining elephants in the area. The park has proved to be very successful and currently houses more than 600 elephants and a large number of other mammals.

 

The original park has subsequently been expanded to include the Woody Cape Nature Reserve that extends from the Sundays River mouth towards Alexandria and a marine reserve, which includes St. Croix Island and Bird Island, both important breeding habitat for gannets and penguins, not to mention a large variety of other marine life. Bird Island is home to the world's largest breeding colony of gannets - about 120,000 birds - and also hosts the second largest breeding colony of African penguins, the largest breeding colony being St. Croix island. These marine assets form part of the plan to expand the 1,640 km² Addo National Elephant Park into the 3,600 km² Greater Addo Elephant National Park.

 

The expansion will mean not only that the park contains five of South Africa's seven major vegetation zones (biomes), but also that it will be the only park in the world to house Africa's "Big 7" (elephant, rhinoceros, lion, buffalo, leopard, whale and great white shark) in their natural habitat.

 

More than 600 elephants, 400 Cape buffaloes, over 48 endangered black rhinos as well as a variety of antelope species. Transvaal lion and spotted hyena have also recently been re-introduced to the area. The largest remaining population of the flightless dung beetle (Circellium bacchus) is located within the park. The flora within the AENP is quite varied, and like all plant life, is a central factor to the ecological system in place. Several species of rare and endemic plants, particularly succulent shrubs and geophytes are native to the South African region within the AENP. Many species are under environmental pressure, however, and are facing possible extinction.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Name

 

African Elephant or African Bush Elephant [Loxodonta africana]

 

Introduction

 

The Elephant is the world's largest land mammal, and weighs up to 7 tonnes and reaches heights of 3.3 m at the shoulder. Elephants can live to a potential age of 70 years. The massive tusks of older bulls can weigh up to 50 or 60 kilograms, but tusks weighing up to 90 kilograms have been recorded.

 

Appearance

 

What is the trunk and what is it used for?

The Elephant's trunk is a modified nose which is very sensitive and can even detect water under ground. There are as many as 50 000 muscles in an Elephant trunk. The sensitive finger-like appendages at the tip of the trunk enables them to pick the smallest twig or flower, pull the toughest reed of grass or even pick out a thorn from their feet.

 

Do elephants have knees or elbows?

 

The joints that are perceived as 'knees', are in fact wrists. This is a common misunderstanding due to the belief that a leg joint that bends between the foot and the body must be a knee. The main difference between us and the elephants is that our foot bones and hand bones are separate, whereas those of the elephant are one in the same, and have evolved to suit this four-legged mammal.

 

Why do elephants have tusks?

 

The tusks are used for obtaining food, fighting (amongst males) and for self defence. They are actually their upper incisors, and grow continuously until they die at around 60 years old. Although their skin is up to 3cm (1 inch) thick, it is quite sensitive.

 

Diet

 

Elephants are voracious feeders which in a day consume up to 272 kg (600 pounds) of grass, tender shoots and bark from trees. An adult Elephant can drink up to 200 litres of water in a single session. A single Elephant deposits up to 150kg (330 pounds) of dung every day - about one dollop every 15 minutes!

 

Breeding

 

African Elephant are not seasonal breeders. Generally they produce one calf every 3 to 4 years. The gestation period is about 22 months. At birth calves weigh about 100 kg (220 pounds) and are fully weaned between 18-24 months. An orphaned calf will usually be adopted by one of the family's lactating females or suckled by various females. Elephants are very attentive mothers, and because most Elephant behavior has to be learned, they keep their offspring with them for many years. Tusks erupt at 16 months but do not show externally until 30 months. Once weaned, usually at age 4 or 5, the calf still remains in the maternal group. Females mature at about 11 years and stay in the group, while the males, which mature between 12 and 15, are usually expelled from the maternal herd. Even though these young males are sexually mature, they do not breed until they are in their mid, or late 20s or even older and have moved up in the social hierarchy.

 

Behaviour

 

Mature males form bachelor groups and become solitary bulls. Elephant form strong family units of cows, calves and young offspring. Such herds are always led by an old female. Apart from drinking large quantities of water they also love wading or swimming in it. Elephants clearly relish mud baths.

It was once thought that family groups were led by old bull elephants, but these males are most often solitary. The female family groups are often visited by mature males checking for females in oestrus. Several interrelated family groups may inhabit an area and know each other well.

 

How do you tell an elephant's mock charge from a serious one?

 

It is imperative to keep in mind that Elephant are extremely intelligent, and each individual has a distinct character. Although there will be exceptions to the rules, the common signs of a mock charge are bush-bashing, dust-throwing, trumpeting and other vocalizations, open ears and an intimidating presence, can be considered a mock-display. Aggressive or startled elephants usually make sudden headshakes and flap their large ears against their head. Serious charges usually occur after all attempts to intimidate have failed, and the Elephant feels threatened. The ears are pinned back and head and trunk are lowered. Ultimately, the key lies in the intelligence of the animal and how they will react to the 'target' and unfamiliar actions, and a conscious decision is made.

 

Why do elephants rhythmically flap their ears?

 

Contrary to common belief, it is not an expression of anger. Being an animal of such a large size, with no sweat glands and a dark body colour, elephants flap their ears to cool the body and rid themselves of irritating insects.

 

Where are they found?

 

Once ranging across most of Africa the Elephant population has declined dramatically across the continent. In South Africa the Addo Elephant and Kruger National Park protect large herds. Due to rigorous conservation measures the Elephant population in South Africa has grown from a estimated 120 in 1920 in 4 locations, to 10 000 at 40 locations to date.

 

Notes

 

The African Elephant has recently been classified into two separate species, the more common African Bush Elephant [Loxodonta Africana] and the smaller African Forest Elephant [Loxodonta cyclotis] of the rainforest of Central Africa.

 

(krugerpark.co.za)

 

Der Addo-Elefanten-Nationalpark (afrikaans: Addo Olifant Nasionale Park, englisch: Addo Elephant National Park) liegt im Distrikt Cacadu, im westlichen Teil der Provinz Ostkap in Südafrika, 70 Kilometer nordöstlich von Port Elizabeth im Sundays River Valley. Der Elefanten-Nationalpark ist mit 1640 km² der größte Nationalpark im Ostkap.

 

Der Nationalpark wurde 1931 zum Schutz der elf letzten überlebenden Elefanten der Region eingerichtet, die bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch nicht zum Opfer von Elfenbeinjägern oder Farmern geworden waren. Der Gründung vorausgegangen war eine von Seiten der Regierung initiierte Jagd auf die hier heimischen Kap-Elefanten, die auf der Suche nach Nahrung immer wieder die Felder und Gärten der hier ansässigen Farmer verwüsteten. Nachdem es zu öffentlichen Protesten gekommen war, als der „letzte große weiße Jäger“ Major P. J. Pretorius in einem Jahr 130 Elefanten erlegte, wurde im Addo-Busch das seitdem mehrfach erweiterte Wildreservat eingerichtet. Im Jahr 1954, als es 22 Elefanten gab, ließ der damalige Parkmanager Graham Armstrong eine Fläche von 2270 Hektar mit Elefantenzäunen umgeben. Dieser Zaun wird noch heute vom Park genutzt und wird nach seinem Erfinder Armstrong-Zaun genannt.

 

Im Jahr 2004 lebten im Park etwa 350 Elefanten; 2006 wurden bereits knapp über 400 Elefanten gezählt. Damit erreichte der Nationalpark das ökologisch vertretbare Maximum an Elefanten.

 

Langfristig soll der Addo Elephant Park der drittgrößte Park Südafrikas werden. Der Park soll auf eine Größe von 3600 km² anwachsen.

 

Neben Elefanten leben im Addo-Elefanten-Nationalpark Kudus, Afrikanischer Büffel, Elenantilopen, Südafrikanische Kuhantilopen, Buschböcke, Warzenschweine, Steppenzebras, Spitzmaulnashörner, Hyänen und Leoparden. In einigen Randgebieten, etwa im Bereich des Darlington-Dammes beziehungsweise in der Nähe der Zuurberg Mountains, leben auch einige für das Kapgebiet typische Huftierarten, wie Bergzebras, Weißschwanzgnus, Oryxantilopen und Springböcke. Am Sundays River leben Flusspferde. 2003 wurden Löwen im Park angesiedelt, so dass man seither die sogenannten Big Five im Park antreffen kann. Fleckenhyänen wurden ebenfalls angesiedelt, und auch die Wiederansiedlung von Wildhunden und Geparden ist geplant.

 

Der Nationalpark beherbergt mehr als 500 verschiedene Pflanzenarten aus rund 70 Familien. Man findet hier vorrangig kleine Pflanzenarten sowie verschiedene Buscharten wie Schotia afra und Portulacaria afra.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Der Afrikanische Elefant (Loxodonta africana), auch Afrikanischer Steppenelefant oder Afrikanischer Buschelefant, ist eine Art aus der Familie der Elefanten. Er ist das größte gegenwärtig lebende Landsäugetier und gleichzeitig das größte rezente landbewohnende Tier der Erde. Herausragende Kennzeichen sind neben den Stoßzähnen und dem markanten Rüssel die großen Ohren und die säulenförmigen Beine. In zahlreichen morphologischen und anatomischen Merkmalen unterscheidet sich der Afrikanische Elefant von seinen etwas kleineren Verwandten, dem Waldelefanten und dem Asiatischen Elefanten. Das Verbreitungsgebiet umfasst heute große Teile von Afrika südlich der Sahara. Die Tiere haben sich dort an zahlreiche unterschiedliche Lebensräume angepasst, die von geschlossenen Wäldern über offene Savannenlandschaften bis hin zu Sumpfgebieten und wüstenartigen Regionen reichen. Insgesamt ist das Vorkommen aber stark fragmentiert.

 

Die Lebensweise des Afrikanischen Elefanten ist durch intensive Studien gut erforscht. Sie wird durch einen stark sozialen Charakter geprägt. Weibliche Tiere und ihr Nachwuchs leben in Familienverbänden (Herden). Diese formieren sich wiederum zu einem enger verwandten Clan. Die einzelnen Herden treffen sich zu bestimmten Gelegenheiten und trennen sich danach wieder. Die männlichen Tiere bilden Junggesellengruppen. Die verschiedenen Verbände nutzen Aktionsräume, in denen sie teils im Jahreszyklus herumwandern. Für die Kommunikation untereinander nutzen die Tiere verschiedene Töne im niedrigen Frequenzbereich. Anhand der Lautgebung, aber auch durch bestimmte chemische Signale können sich die einzelnen Individuen untereinander erkennen. Darüber hinaus besteht ein umfangreiches Repertoire an Gesten. Hervorzuheben sind auch die kognitiven Fähigkeiten des Afrikanischen Elefanten.

 

Die Nahrung besteht sowohl aus weicher wie auch harter Pflanzenkost. Die genaue Zusammensetzung variiert dabei regional und jahreszeitlich. Generell verbringt der Afrikanische Elefant einen großen Teil seiner Tagesaktivitäten mit der Nahrungsaufnahme. Die Fortpflanzung erfolgt ganzjährig, regional gibt es Tendenzen zu einer stärkeren Saisonalisierung. Bullen kommen einmal jährlich in die Musth, während deren sie auf Wanderung zur Suche nach fortpflanzungswilligen Kühen gehen. Während der Musth ist die Aggressivität gesteigert, es finden dann auch Rivalenkämpfe statt. Der Sexualzyklus der Kühe dauert vergleichsweise lange und weist einen für Säugetiere untypischen Verlauf auf. Nach erfolgter Geburt setzt er in der Regel mehrere Jahre aus. Zumeist wird nach fast zweijähriger Tragzeit ein Jungtier geboren, das in der mütterlichen Herde aufwächst. Junge weibliche Tiere verbleiben später in der Herde, die jungen männlichen verlassen diese.

 

Die wissenschaftliche Erstbeschreibung des Afrikanischen Elefanten erfolgte im Jahr 1797 mit einer formalen artlichen Trennung des Afrikanischen vom Asiatischen Elefanten. Der heute gebräuchliche Gattungsname Loxodonta wurde offiziell erst dreißig Jahre später eingeführt. Die Bezeichnung bezieht sich auf markante Zahnunterschiede zwischen den asiatischen und den afrikanischen Elefanten. Im Verlauf des 20. Jahrhunderts wurden mehrere Unterarten unterschieden, darunter auch der Waldelefant des zentralen Afrikas. Letzterer gilt heute genetischen Untersuchungen zufolge als eigenständige Art, die weiteren Unterarten sind nicht anerkannt. Stammesgeschichtlich lässt sich der Afrikanische Elefant erstmals im beginnenden Mittleren Pleistozän belegen. Der Gesamtbestand gilt als gefährdet. Ursachen hierfür sind hauptsächlich die Jagd nach Elfenbein und Lebensraumverlust durch die zunehmend wachsende menschliche Bevölkerung. Der Afrikanische Elefant zählt zu den sogenannten „Big Five“ von Großwildjagd und Safari.

 

(Wikipedia)