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Want to own this custom figure, or one like it? Head on over to my eBay auctions to see what's available this week! ---> rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=...
To see more, visit ---> www.mintconditioncustom.com/batman-arkham-origins-shock-g...
To see exclusive WIP pics and more, check out the video ---> www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAqk_EePBnk
This custom Arkham Origins Batman action figure was really fun to work on, because I just got to go crazy with my dremel. Well, not completely. I wanted Batman to look battle damaged, as he does late in the game. I actually researched stills from the game to make sure the battle damage was accurate. To achieve the damage, I used my dremel on some parts (such as the bullet mark on the chest), but for most of it I used my carbide scriber to dig into the figure to actually give the damage dimension. I then painted inside each damage mark with some silver paint to show the metal plating underneath shining through. I also gave Batman his shock gloves. In the game, Batman gets these from the Electrocutioner. Once again, I wanted to make sure they were accurate. I used a combination of some styrene rods, Aves Apoxie Sculpt, and some electronic wiring to put the gloves together. I made sure they wouldn't interfere with articulation, and would be nice and sturdy. All that was left was to paint up the gloves, and dry brush some gray shades all over the figure to give it more of a weathered look, and now Batman, while tired I'm sure, is ready to fight for his life against Black Mask's assassins!
إذا كنتم من مشتركي أي من خدمة EA Access أو Origin Access فأنتم الأن تملكون الفرصة لتحميل لعبة Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 الكاملة بمساحة 20 جيجا بايت تقريبا لتجربة اللعبة لمدة 10 ساعات في طور اللعب التعاوني والجماعي.
ما قمتم به سيتم حفظه ونقله إلى اللعبة الكاملة في حال قررتم أن تقوموا ب...
www.7aya.net/2016/02/19/plants-vs-zombies-garden-warfare-...
Performed by Drum Feng at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre during Moonfest 2018 for the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations.
From 8th to 31st January
Centre Villiot-Rapée
36 quai de la Rapée
75012 Paris
Join me for the opening reception from 7pm to 10pm on Monday, January 8th !
Carol VanHook
Where I am From
I am from amusement parks and hula dancing in the streets
with cousins up North at Grandma's and Pa's
My memory treasure chest is filled with their shiny bush-coins
making playtime wealthy
I am from ancient pecans trees down South
bearing wheel barrow tree houses up high
Hearing the jingle
of the ice cream truck coming down the lane
I am from the Georgia - Florida line where a cold spring takes my breath away, dock fishing is a delight, and swimming in the seaweed is OK to do
I am from trips to the Piggly-Wiggly with Grand-papa and to the old pristine library in search of Nancy Drew
My home life featured a red Cocker, Flash, who would play hide and seek and a Siamese, Lucifer, who'd leave headless gifts in my closet
I am from country ham and biscuits, pecan pie, boiled peanuts, and pinto beans -- real soul food
I am from teenage shopping trips with Mom in search of Bobby Brooks
I am from big oaks and pines and rows of rainbow-colored flowers
I am from Daddy’s royal harvest of silver queen, red juicy tomatoes, and purple crowders just waiting for a scrumptious Sunday dinner
I am from visits to aunts and uncles who adored their nieces and nephews and offered words of wisdom to boost spirit and confidence
I am from the mindset that there is something good in everyone and that when you find your true love,
it's a 50/50 “give and take” relationship
I am from a family mix spanning all across America!
The memories are precious and give tribute to a happy childhood!
Origin - Taking the first guns to make landfall, and adapting them to the modern battlefield.
~ 2073
The G36A50, a direct successor of the G36A6, is Origin's answer to both the suitable weapons shortage, and the question of what to do with the 12,000 or so G36A6s brought by original settlers. The A50 variant is chambered in a .50BMG cartridge, and so is powerful enough to take down the toughest foes. To compensate for the bigger round, the reciever was lengthened and internally braced, as well as a completely new bolt system.
To combat recoil, a shrouded muzzle break works in harmony with a spring-buffered stock, allowing for the heavy forces of firing to be kept low enough for the relatively light weight and size of this weapon. As with the G36A6, the integral 6x zoom optic and carrying handle are present, as well as the same trigger group, pistol grip and fire select. Because of this, fully automatic fire is possible, but not recommended.
The weapon operates with a short-stroke gas piston system, and fires from a 14 round magazine. Both 20 round sticks and a 32 round drum are available for this weapon.
----------------------------
I don't really know how to feel about this one. It's something I've just wanted to do for ages, take a bunch of modern guns, and then convert them to a completely new environment. How did I do?
©2011, FUSINA Dominik
Publishing date : 16/12/2011
Location : Gleizé (France)
Don't use or publish that photo without my permission.
Thank you for your favs (F) en comments ;)
Zwy Milshtein | peintre & écrivain
Ce matin, immersion dans l'univers du peintre et écrivain d'origine Moldave Zwy Milshtein.
Au tout premier abord, dans son atelier (en partie en travaux à l'étage supérieur), on est surpris par la dimension des toiles. Immenses, elles sont disposées verticalement, les unes derrière les autres, et coulissent astucieusement sur de longs rails. Au fur et à mesure des enchainements, on découvre des portraits, des scènes, des décors... Sur ses tables de travail se mêlent pinceaux, tubes, perceuses, outils, bombes de peinture. Un véritable capharnaüm créatif qui permet de donner naissance à des oeuvres parfois déroutantes et toujours très originales.
C'est une peinture de femme (un ange) réalisée sur une immense planche de bois, un volet sans doute, qui a attiré mon attention : elle ressemble à une icône géante, mêlant des couleurs bleus et roses pastels avec des incrustations de feuille d'or.
Ensemble, on se prend une petite pose. Zwy s'assoie sur un canapé. Entre deux coups de marteaux et des bruits de pas à l'étage, on discute des tags, de Picasso, de l'essor de l'art de rue, de l'anticonformisme. Puis il reprend son travail, une commande en cours. Il façonne un lavabo en verre peint sur chacune de ses faces. On y retrouve un dessin de soldat, une femme presque nue, des visages...
Le bruit à l'étage reprend. Le chien se remet à aboyer. Swy se reconcentre. Il est temps que je m'éclipse. Quoiqu'il en soit, il est l'heure pour moi d'y aller.
Je franchi le pas de la porte avec des images pleins la tête et la promesse de revenir après les fêtes. Il me doit un chocolat et un café :)
Pour en savoir plus...
dominikfoto's photos on Flickriver
D3s NIKON
Lens : 35mm/1.4 NIKON
Settings : f2.2 - 1/80e - 400 ISO - 35mm
natural light
No tripod.
Today is the 200th birthday of biologist Charles Darwin.
It is a little known fact that he actually had already written down the first draft of his theory of evolution at his family home in Shrewsbury before he went aboard the HMS Beagle. He came up with the revolutionary theory of the Origin of Species after he had observed how adaptable the local sheep were to their surroundings.
Specially one sheep, who seemed to have managed to use some form of throwing stars to pick down apples from trees, took his interest.
He had never seen anything like it before and that got him thinking... a few days later the first draft was finished.
He only went on the 5 year cruise on the Beagle because... well who would turn down a free cruise!
Happy Darwin Day everyone, may the quest for knowledge never cease.
St Editha, Tamworth, Staffordshire.
Grade l listed.
Monument to Sir John Ferrers (1629-1680) of Tamworth Castle & his son Humphrey (1652-1678).
By Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721) and the Flemish sculptor Arnold Quellin (1653-1686).
Sir John was MP for Derbyshire and later for Tamworth in the Restoration Parliament. His son drowned in the River Trent.
--------------------------------------
CHURCH OF ST EDITHA, CHURCH STREET, TAMWORTH
Heritage Category: Listed Building
Grade: I
List Entry Number: 1207856
Details
SK 2004 SE; 670-1/7/57
TAMWORTH, CHURCH STREET (north side), Church of St. Editha
11/05/50
GV
I
Former collegiate church. C9 origins shown in plan of former crossing tower; Norman crossing arches and chancel south wall and part of north wall; Early English north porch; most of church mid to late C14 following fire of 1345; late C14-early C15 west tower; C15 clerestories and roofs; extensively restored by B. Ferrey and G.G. Scott, 1850s, and W. Butterfield, c1871. Moulded plinths and plain parapets. 3-bay chancel with crossing and 7-bay clerestory over both; 4-bay north chapel and north transept; 2-bay south chapel and vestry; nave with clerestory and 5-bay aisles; west tower. Chancel has plinth and 6-light east window with king mullion and Perpendicular tracery, mid C14 crocketed hood mould with stops, flanking niches with crocketed ogee hoods and offset diagonal buttresses; C14 two-light south windows and C19 four-light clerestory windows, most with crocketed ogee hoods, plain parapet; north chapel has hollow-chamfered plinth and 7-light Perpendicular east window and 4-light north windows with head stops to hoods between offset buttresses; north transept has 4-light window, embattled parapet; south chapel has offset buttresses flanking windows with renewed tracery of unusual form, blocked east window, gabled vestry has straight-headed windows, of three round-headed lights to east and of 2+2 lights and three traceried lights to south, plain south door. North aisle has plinth and plain parapet, 3-light windows with Geometrical tracery between offset buttresses and 2-storey porch with round-headed entrance with C20 glazed infill and door, 1st floor light with crocketed hood with stops, stair turret in buttress to right, 5-light transomed west window with Perpendicular tracery interrupted by tower buttress; south aisle has plinth and 3-light windows with early Perpendicular tracery between offset buttresses, end gabled buttresses with stack to east, crocketed pinnacle to west, pointed entrance with continuous leaf-trail moulding, entrance to crypt, slate sundial to plain parapet, clerestory as to chancel, 4-light west window with pinnacle to parapet. 3-stage tower has gabled angle buttresses incorporating stair turrets, plinth and string courses, C19 west entrance has hollow-chamfered architrave with arms of diocese and province to spandrels and Tudor flower, paired doors, embattled parapet to wall passage below 6-light window with Perpendicular tracery; C19 south-west stair entrance has niche with St George; 4-light transomed south window with Perpendicular tracery, small lights to second stage; bell stage has paired Y-tracery louvred openings, cornice with gargoyles, embattled parapet with crocketed pinnacles with wind vanes and truncated spire.
INTERIOR: chancel has three unglazed 2-light windows to north over three mid-C14 arched tomb recesses with cusping, all open to north chapel; east window flanked by two tiers of niches with crocketed ogee heads, similar niches alternate with clerestory windows, panelled roof has stop-chamfered members, with bosses to sanctuary; crossing has round-headed north and south arches with flat responds, jambs of west arch have chevron moulding with C15 cusped panels to former arch abutments, squint to south aisle; north chapel has glazed C19 screen with brattishing, C15 panelled roof with bosses, 1882 sedilia and piscina project with cusped arches and gables, niches flank east window; transept has C19 panelled roof; south chapel has C14 two-bay west arcade with filleted quatrefoil piers, north wall has round-headed entrance to chancel with blocked deeply splayed window above and shafted buttress to vestry, C14 south piscina, C15 roof with few bosses; aisles have C15 panelled roofs with bosses, pointed entrance to porch with rib vaulting; similar panelled roof to nave, arcades with quatrefoil piers with fillets, clerestory as to chancel, C19 west wall has unglazed traceried opening over doorway with continuous moulding; tower has rib vault and deeply splayed windows and blind arch to north; crypt has single-chamfered vaulting.
FITTINGS: chancel has 1852 reredos by G.G. Scott and J.B. Philip, cusped arcading with marble shafts flanking five cusped gabled arches with mosaic, 1887, by Salviati, encaustic tiles to sanctuary, C19 traceried rail; crossing has stalls with C20 book rests; north chapel has late C19 traceried timber altar and reredos with riddel posts; south chapel has free-standing organ; nave has rich C19 timber pulpit with detached shafts, 1854 font by G.G. Scott, octagonal with shafted pier and enriched panels.
MEMORIALS: chancel has three tombs to recesses: to east, Sir Baldwin de Freville, d.c1400, and wife, chest with figures under gablets with pinnacles, inscription to cornice and two effigies to top; C15 tomb, chest with cusped panels and shields and moulded square balusters to angles, effigy of woman with kennel head-dress; to west, Sir John Ferrers, d.1512, and wife, chest with Tudor flower and shields, Tudor flower to cornice and 2 effigies, the male now without legs; to north a wall tablet to Elizabeth Adderley, d.1661, oval panel with flanking scrolls and foliage with cartouche to apron and segmental pediment with swan-neck pediment above; to south tablet to Henry Michel, d.1629, and wives, round-headed panel; Thomes Willington, d.1696, cartouche with Latin inscription and flanking drapery, apron in form of drapery with further inscription and armorial bearing above; Francis Blick, d.1842, rich Gothic Revival tablet in form of niche; north chapel has tomb recess with effigy of priest, Baldwin de Witney, d.1369; C14 floor slab with indents for missing brasses; transept has fragment of C15 effigy of knight; wall tablet to members of Comberford family, d.1671-1725, in form of drapery with Latin inscription; south chapel has wall tablet to Elizabeth Hood, d.1899, in early C19 style with stole and weeping figure by draped urn and willow; north aisle has war memorial wall slabs; tablet to John Horner, d.1769, obelisk with putto and portrait medallion and apron with palms; other C18 tablets to west wall; tower has large monument to John Ferrers, d.1680, and his son, Humphrey, d.1678, by Arnold Quellin of Grinling Gibbons' studio, chest with cartouches flanking trophy of arms supporting tablet with Latin inscription, flanked by free-standing kneeling figures in Roman armour, top sarcophagus with gadrooning, festoons, putti and flaming urn, with free-standing armorial bearing to front; tablet to John Clarke, d.1818, weeping figure by tomb with armorial bearing. Stained glass: medieval fragments to vestry east window; chancel east window, 1870, by Wailes; good south clerestory windows, 1873, by Ford Madox Brown for Morris and Co; good north chapel east window, 1874, by E.Burne-Jones for Morris and Co., also 2 windows to north, 1901 and 1925, and 2 windows by Messrs Camm, 1939 and 1940; 2 north aisle windows by H. Holiday, 1919, and one by G.E. Smith, 1945; 3 south aisle windows by H. Holiday for Powell and Son, 1881-6; also C19 windows to transept and south chapel. One of the largest parish churches in Staffordshire, especially notable for its Norman work and for its monuments.
(Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Staffordshire: London: 1974-: P.274-77; Pace GG: The Collegiate and Parish Church of St Editha, Tamworth: Tamworth).
Listing NGR: SK2078604090
This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Register. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 30 October 2017.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number: 386462
Legacy System: LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Pace, G G, The Collegiate and Parish Church of St Editha Tamworth
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Staffordshire, (1974), 274-77
Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 30 October 2017 from www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/13745
À l’origine de la cathédrale, il y a le présent fait aux environs de l’an 925, par le roi de Francie orientale, Henri l’Oiseleur au duc Venceslas Ier, une relique de Saint Vit et que celui-ci place dans une église en forme de rotonde qu’il fait édifier à cet effet sur un lieu de culte païen.
Lorsqu’en 973, Prague est élevée au rang d’évêché, c’est cette rotonde, plutôt que l’église Saint-Georges qui est celle des ducs de Bohême, qui est choisie par le nouvel évêque pour y abriter sa chaire, le trône épiscopal. En 1060, une basilique romane à trois nefs s’élève à la place de la rotonde originelle ; construite sur ordre de Spytihněv II, elle est en pierre blanche, sa nef fait 70 mètres de long et l’admiration de ses contemporains.
Le 30 avril 1344, Prague est élevée au rang d’archevêché par le pape Clément VI et sous l’impulsion du roi Jean, la construction d’une cathédrale métropolitaine est entreprise le 21 novembre de la même année. Un français, Mathieu d’Arras, en est le premier architecte (1344-52) puis Peter Parler (1356-99). Comme pour nombre de cathédrales, le chantier s’étale sur plusieurs siècles; celui de la Cathédrale de Prague ne s’achève qu’en 1929. Mathieu d’Arras s’inspire du plan de la cathédrale Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur de Narbonne. Peter Parler apporte une innovation en faisant du triforium un élément autonome qui, au lieu du buter sur les piliers, se brise et les contourne pour créer un mouvement ondulatoire sur toute la longueur de la nef.
À la mort de Parléř, ses fils prennent la tête du chantier mais, en 1420, les guerres hussites mettent un terme à la construction. Elle ne reprend qu’en 1560, après le grand incendie qui a ravagé Malá Strana et le Château, avec l’architecte Bonifác Wohlmut qui coiffe la tour sud d’un bulbe renaissance à tourelles d’angles. En 1770, Nicolò Pacassi reconstruit la tour sud incendiée par la foudre et la surmonte d’un toit baroque en forme de bulbe.
C’est entre 1861 et 1929, avec le voûtement de la nef et construction de la façade ouest et de ses tours néogothiques que la cathédrale est finalement achevée. Le pouvoir impérial s’est désintéressé de Prague et c’est essentiellement grâce à une souscription populaire que le chantier est achevé, à temps pour célébrer le millénaire de saint Venceslas qui la fonda et qui lui donne aussi partiellement son nom.
From my Luminescent Motion series. This photograph was taken at the Albuquerque NM BioPark during an annual event called "River of Lights" which takes place during the winter holiday season.
This photo taken with the Olympus E-30 using the Zuiko 12-60 f2.8 Digital Zoom lens, 2 sec. @ f8. Night scene.
Processed using Camera Raw, Photoshop CS5, Topaz Adjust 5, and FastStone Editor.
This photo is © copyright-registered material and cannot be used for any purpose without the express written permission of the copyright holder, Kevin D. Renz!
My New Website is now ready and I would certainly appreciate your visits!
Operator: Abellio Greater Anglia
Location: Norwich
Platform: 1
Class: 82
Number: 121
Type: Driving Van Trailer
Origin: London Liverpool Street
Destination: Norwich
Date: 29th December 2014
✖ inGame Photography 🎮📷
• Germany📍• Ps4 • Games • Screenshot • Art • Virtual • Adventure • Images • Photography • All Shots taken by me. 🌹
Game × Assassins Creed Origins
Place × Black Desert
✖ Instagram: @herakleopolites_
❌ www.herakleopolites.wordpress.com
✖ TAGS × #desertingame
#Assassinscreedorigins #Assassinscreed #acorigins #aco #ubisoft #Playstation #ps4 #ps4share #game #games #gamescreenshot #photomode #photography #photographyart #ingamephotography #image #photooftheday #art #adventure #adventuretime #virtualphotography #virtual #selfmade #myshots #myworks #art_in_the_game #ps4sharingpanda #herakleopolites_ #herakleopolitesshots #videogames #screenshot #mywork #eagle #instagood #playstation #photo #images #landscape
The origin of Wiggenhall St Germans' parish church is lost in Norfolk history but its dedication to St Germanus suggests an Anglo-Saxon date - at least pre-1066. The lower part of the tower is 13th century but the upper tower is 15th century while the rest of the church dates from the late 14th to mid 16th centuries.
www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/albums/7215767437485... to see the full set.
There are two fonts - the current one is Victorian but the old font bowl on the floor is believed to come from the now-ruined Wiggenhall St. Peter's which is about a mile south of St Germans.
The woodwork is an especial feature of St Germans with many old and high decorated pews from the 15th century. Some pew ends are carved to show the deadly sins. More pews from the 19th century show images from the life of St Germanus. The wooden pulpit is Jacobean, as is a chair.
The 14th century north aisle once contained a chapel to St Thomas Becket.
The church sits hard up against the bank of the River Ouse and the elevated bank commands a fine view of the river, the adjacent bridge and the church.
#NP : ♫♪ ❝ That's the price you pay
Leave behind your heartache, cast away
Just another product of today
Rather be the hunter than the prey❞ 🌺🌿💛✨ #ImagineDragons #Natural #Origins
@imaginedragons 😘
#Throwback #MeMyselfAndI #Gay #MeGay #GayMe #GayBoy #GayGuy #GayMan #GayCub #HairyChest #GuyGay #GayBear #BearGay #HairyChest #BeardedGay #HairyBoy #HairyMan #HairyGuy #GayScruff #FrenchGay #GayFrance #InstaGay #GayStagram #GaySnap #BoyGay #ManGay
Read the comic Red Origins now on Webtoons at bit.ly/redoriginschapter and listen to the soundtrack at bit.ly/redorigins music as you read.
This is a supplemental, the third of what's turned out to be three ... we'll call it part 13c of 50 in an occasional series.
The idea to do a supplemental discussion of American independence came to me early in the process of writing these state things, as independence marks a transition in how states came about that I thought might need some context. It's just a nice coincidence brought on by my glacial writing pace that I get to this one today. Today happens to be Independence Day in the United States, and that little building with the steeple across the lawn in the picture up above is Philadelphia's Independence Hall. In that building 241 years ago, on July 4, 1776, a batch of mostly rich guys in wigs representing each of the 13 colonies I've discussed gathered to sign the Declaration of Independence, the founding document of the United States of America that erased the Colonies and changed them into states. For people from foreign lands who don't know, that anniversary's a big deal for us, and we all get today off work to go eat hot dogs and blow our fingers off with illegal fireworks.
But why, exactly, did all those rich guys in wigs gather in that building at the start of a hot summer in the first place, and how did they accomplish what they set out to do?
The why's a more complicated question than it seems in a lot of the stories we tell about our national origin. I tend to simplify the whole thing myself in discussions with a short answer that tracks back to those consequences I mentioned after the French and Indian War: Americans have a long history of not wanting to pay for anything. This answer tends to bother people who prefer their history to have things like context or depth, as there's a lot more to it than just a tax revolt. Honestly, I think the whole thing was inevitable anyway. The colonists had been away from the homeland for too long, and the cultures on their separate continents were evolving in too many different ways. The increasing tensions just needed a trigger, and the heart of that trigger turned out to be a tax revolt. So I cling to the underlying truth of the statement. The Americans didn't want to pay for anything.
Let's backtrack a little. It's 1763, and young King George III and his Parliament have just spent an enormous amount of money defending the colonies from the French. (They also tossed a ton of cash at Europe they maybe didn't have to spend, something a lot of Americans would bring up, but to George III, that was beside the point.) Meanwhile, the colonists have been paying almost nothing in taxes--the average American in 1763 payed about 1/25th as much in taxes as his cousins back in England. So the British came up with a perfectly fair idea. Why not ask just a little more? Not a lot. It's not like they were going to make the colonies pay off the entire national debt. Just little things, a couple of tiny taxes here and there to help balance the books. You know, for King, and country and all that.
They started with a tax on imported molasses, the main ingredient in the production of rum, among other things. Of course, there'd already been a tax on imported molasses since 1733, but the Americans had gotten really good at smuggling molasses past the authorities, and when smuggling wasn't an option they just bribed the tax guys into overlooking the shipment. The Molasses Act of 1764 would cut that 1733 tax in half--it was actually a tax cut--but would make evasion a lot more difficult to manage. So the colonists would owe less tax ... but they'd actually have to pay it.
Well, this got everybody into a snit, so Parliament repealed the tax in 1766. But they kept trying other taxes. The Stamp Act of 1765 required all the paper sold in the colonies to have a stamp you had to pay the government to get. The Townsend Acts of 1767 instituted taxes on all sorts of things, including glass, lead, paint, paper and tea. Every new tax ticked the Americans off just a little more than the last one, and people started organizing increasingly more effective boycotts of this or that. In turn, every protest and boycott ticked off the guys in Parliament, who responded with increasingly more peevish acts that just made things worse. None of it made any sense to Parliament. It wasn't like they were asking the Americans to surrender their first-born sons. All they wanted was just a couple of cents here and there. Just pennies a day, the price of a cup of tea, and you, too, can have an army of British regulars to keep the Indians on their side of the mountains.
So what was the American problem? The most popular explanation among today's historians and yesterday's Patriots involves the popular slogan on the tips of every colonist's tongue in 1776: "No taxation without representation." The problem, this argument said, wasn't that colonists didn't want to pay their taxes, but that taxes were being imposed on the colonists by a body (Parliament) the colonists did not elect and in which they weren't represented. And to be sure, It's true that while every colony had always had its own elected assembly--the Virginia House of Burgesses, for instance, was 145 years old when the Molasses Act came down--these assemblies had no say in Parliament. There was no place in the system for the will of the colonial people, and any duty imposed on the people without their consent was nothing short of tyranny. (The word "tyranny" is always very popular among hyperbolic anti-tax folks, but in this case, it was particularly funny coming from so many people who owned slaves.)
The thing is, while I'm sure a lot of colonists believed this line of thought with every fiber of their being, I tend to think this was more a rhetorical dodge than anything. It was an argument with just enough truth to make the colonists feel justified in their indignation, but I think the issue ran much deeper than that. Sure, maybe King George could have done something crazy like maybe give the colonists a few seats in Parliament or something, but that wouldn't have fixed the underlying problem. The greater problem was simply that for too long, the various British governments of various kings, queens, and lords protector had left the colonists to pretty much fend for themselves. The guys in London had a tendency to get caught up in European affairs--and, at least once, in a decade-long revolution of their own--and administering a bunch of colonies full of (let's be honest) religious nuts and backwoods dopes took a lot of effort. For more than a century, it had made more sense to let the colonies just take care of themselves. And the colonies had gotten used to that freedom and had taken great advantage of it, spreading themselves out into the woods wherever they wanted to go, waging wars against the Indians and against each other, making money, losing money, building little plantation empires and city-states and personal fiefdoms that acted more and more like there wasn't anybody named George worth worrying about. Most of them were still loyal to the Crown in the 1763, sure, but that was only because the Crown had little to no effect on their lives. The minute some George tried to change that ... well, look out!
The final straw came after Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773. This one wasn't so much a tax as it was a trade regulation designed to prop up the failing British East India Company by helping it sell down its massive backlog of unsold tea, while at the same time providing a subtle political dig at the whole anti-tax movement. There'd long been this convoluted process involving the sale of tea in the colonies that depended in part on smuggling, and the Tea Act would result in a lot of middle men losing a lot of money. So one night in December of 1773, a bunch of rowdy Boston guys went aboard a ship full of tea parked in Boston harbor and tossed the whole shipment overboard. They were orderly about the whole thing, being careful not to damage any cargo but the tea, and they even left money to pay for a padlock they had to break, but they got their point across. And from that moment, it was on. A lot of people in Great Britain who'd been sympathetic to the colonists' argument decided suddenly they were all a bunch of hooligans, and Parliament passed a quick set of laws designed to isolate and punish Massachusetts. This only unified a bunch of colonials who usually didn't agree on much around a common enemy. Things escalated quickly, and in April of 1775 somebody in the Massachusetts militia fired a shot heard round the world.
I haven't spent a lot of time giving the Revolutionary play-by-play on these pages, but the shorthand version is that just before all those rich guys in wigs signed their Declaration, they told George Washington to turn about 10,000 farmers into soldiers so they could go shoot British people. Washington's men spent the next six years between recurring episodes of starvation and frostbite not getting cornered by a better trained and better equipped force run by idiots. Now, I mean no disrespect to the soldiers of the Mother Country, but even a brief glance at the actions of the British military leadership and its ministers back in London is more than enough to prove this was far from Great Britain's finest hour. One general managed to lose an entire army of 7,000 men in 1777 because he couldn't figure out how to march from Canada into upstate New York. Another in 1778 let an army of barefoot farmers who only lasted more than a week because George Washington was some kind of wizard corner him in New York City. And then there was Cornwallis, who got chased out of the Carolinas by a bunch of hillbillies in 1780 and picked the most indefensible spot in Virginia to set up base in 1781. And this doesn't even take into account the large and powerful navy the British had available that they hardly used. They used the navy for troop transport, like, one time. Most powerful navy in the world, and the British used it as a ferry. So, yeah ... Yorktown.
Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, and representatives of Great Britain and the former colonies signed the Treaty of Paris that ended the war in 1783. The United States of America were finally their own thing, independent and free and ready to take their place in the world. And it was full of people who were no longer colonists, optimistic people who saw a vast continent to their west that was just waiting to be tamed, and that's what they set out to do. The West was waiting for them, just waiting for them to triumphantly carve it all up into new states with names nobody yet knew. There were states out there just waiting to be made, and it was finally time for them all to go do it.
Devenu Centre Culturel depuis 2015, ce lieu, situé au 4bis de la rue de Mars à Reims et construit en 1898 par l'architecte rémois Ernest Kalas, a été bâti à l'origine pour abriter les celliers de la société Jules Mumm & Cie, puis repris par la Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin puis par le Champagne Jacquart, Sa façade est inscrite depuis 1997 aux Monuments Historiques.
La partie supérieure décorative présente en cinq scènes les étapes de la fabrication du champagne:
la vendange, la vinification, le remuage, le bouchage et le ficelage, enfin l'expédition. Il s'agit d'une mosaïque réalisée par Auguste Guilbert-Martin, sur des dessins de Joseph Blanc et d'Octave Guillonnet.
Source: eli-paseosartnouveau.blogspot.com/2016/07/art-nouveau-et-...
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A Cultural Center since 2015, this venue, located at 4bis rue de Mars in Reims and built in 1898 by Reims-based architect Ernest Kalas, was originally built to house the cellars of the Jules Mumm & Cie company. It was later taken over by Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin and then by Champagne Jacquart. Its façade has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1997.
The decorative upper part presents the stages of champagne production in five scenes:
harvest, vinification, riddling, corking and tying, and finally shipping. This is a mosaic created by Auguste Guilbert-Martin, based on designs by Joseph Blanc and Octave Guillonnet.
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism, a monotheistic religion which originated during the 15th century in the Punjab region. The term "Sikh" has its origin in the Sanskrit words शिष्य (śiṣya; disciple, student) or शिक्ष (śikṣa; instruction). A Sikh is a disciple of a guru. According to Article I of the Sikh Rehat Maryada (the Sikh code of conduct), a Sikh is "any human being who faithfully believes in One Immortal Being; ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh; Guru Granth Sahib; the teachings of the ten Gurus and the baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru". "Sikh" properly refers to adherents of Sikhism as a religion, not an ethnic group. However, because Sikhs often share strong ethno-religious ties, many countries, such as the U.K., recognize Sikh as a designated ethnicity on their censuses. The American non-profit organization United Sikhs has fought to have Sikh included on the U.S. census as well, arguing that Sikhs "self-identify as an 'ethnic minority'" and believe "that they are more than just a religion".
Male Sikhs usually have "Singh" (Lion), and female Sikhs have "Kaur" (Princess) as their middle or last name. Sikhs who have undergone the khanḍe-kī-pahul (the Sikh initiation ceremony) may also be recognized by the five Ks: uncut hair (kesh); an iron or steel bracelet (kara); a kirpan (a sword tucked into a gatra strap); kachehra, a cotton undergarment, and kanga, a small wooden comb. Baptized male Sikhs must cover their hair with a turban, which is optional for baptized female Sikhs. The greater Punjab region is the historic homeland of the Sikhs, although significant communities exist around the world.
HISTORY
Sikh political history may be said to begin with the death of the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan Dev, in 1606. Guru Nanak was a religious leader and social reformer in the 15th-century Punjab. Religious practices were formalized by Guru Gobind Singh on 30 March 1699. Singh baptized five people from a variety of social backgrounds, known as the Panj Piare (the five beloved ones) to form the Khalsa, or collective body of initiated Sikhs. Sikhism has generally had amicable relations with other religions, except for the period of Mughal rule in India (1556–1707). Several Sikh gurus were killed by the Mughals for opposing their persecution of minority religious communities including Sikhs. Sikhs subsequently militarized to oppose Mughal rule. The emergence of the Sikh Confederacy under Ranjit Singh was characterized by religious tolerance and pluralism, with Christians, Muslims and Hindus in positions of power. The confederacy is considered the zenith of political Sikhism, encompassing Kashmir, Ladakh and Peshawar. Hari Singh Nalwa, the commander-in-chief of the Sikh army in the North West Frontier, expanded the confederacy to the Khyber Pass. Its secular administration implemented military, economic and governmental reforms. The months leading up to the partition of India in 1947 were marked by conflict in the Punjab between Sikhs and Muslims. This caused the religious migration of Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus from West Punjab, mirroring a similar religious migration of Punjabi Muslims from East Punjab.
The 1960s saw growing animosity between Sikhs and Hindus in India, with the Sikhs demanding the creation of a Punjab state on a linguistic basis similar to other states in India. This was promised to Sikh leader Master Tara Singh by Jawaharlal Nehru, in return for Sikh political support during negotiations for Indian independence. Although the Sikhs obtained the Punjab, they lost Hindi-speaking areas to Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. Chandigarh was made a union territory and the capital of Haryana and Punjab on 1 November 1966.
Tensions arose again during the late 1970s, fueled by Sikh claims of discrimination and marginalisation by the Hindu-dominated Indian National Congress party and tactics adopted by the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
According to Katherine Frank, Indira Gandhi's assumption of emergency powers in 1975 resulted in the weakening of the "legitimate and impartial machinery of government", and her increasing "paranoia" about opposing political groups led her to institute a "despotic policy of playing castes, religions and political groups against each other for political advantage". Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale articulated Sikh demands for justice, and this triggered violence in the Punjab. The prime minister's 1984 defeat of Bhindranwale led to an attack on the Golden Temple in Operation Blue Star and to her assassination by her Sikh bodyguards. Gandhi's assassination resulted in an explosion of violence against Sikh communities and the killing of thousands of Sikhs throughout India. Khushwant Singh described the riots as a Sikh pogrom; he "felt like a refugee in my country. In fact, I felt like a Jew in Nazi Germany". Since 1984, relations between Sikhs and Hindus have moved toward a rapprochement aided by economic prosperity. However, a 2002 claim by the Hindu right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that "Sikhs are Hindus" disturbed Sikh sensibilities. The Khalistan movement campaigns for justice for the victims of the violence, and for the political and economic needs of the Punjab.
In 1996, United Nations Commission on Human Rights Freedom of Religion or Belief Special Rapporteur Abdelfattah Amor (Tunisia, 1993–2004) visited India to report on religious discrimination. The following year Amor concluded, "In India it appears that the situation of the Sikhs in the religious field is satisfactory, but that difficulties are arising in the political (foreign interference, terrorism, etc.), economic (in particular with regard to sharing of water supplies) and even occupational fields. Information received from nongovernment (sic) sources indicates that discrimination does exist in certain sectors of the public administration; examples include the decline in the number of Sikhs in the police force and the military, and the absence of Sikhs in personal bodyguard units since the murder of Indira Gandhi".
Although Sikhs comprise 10 to 15 percent of all ranks of the Indian Army and 20 percent of its officers, they make up 1.87 percent of the Indian population.
During the 1999 Vaisakhi, Sikhs worldwide celebrated the 300th anniversary of the creation of the Khalsa. Canada Post honoured Sikh Canadians with a commemorative stamp in conjunction with the 300th anniversary of Vaisakhi. On April 9, 1999, Indian president K.R. Narayanan issued a stamp commemorating the 300th anniversary of the Khalsa.
DEFINITION
According to Guru Granth Sahib:
One who calls himself a Sikh of the Guru, the True Guru, shall rise in the early morning hours and meditate on the Lord's Name. Upon arising early in the morning, the Sikh is to bathe, and cleanse himself in the pool of nectar. Following the Instructions of the Guru, the Sikh is to chant the Name of the Lord, Har. All sins, misdeeds and negativity shall be erased. Then, at the rising of the sun, the Sikh is to sing Gurbani; whether sitting down or standing up, the Sikh is to meditate on the Lord's Name. One who meditates on my Lord, Har, with every breath and every morsel of food – that Gursikh becomes pleasing to the Guru's Mind. That person, unto whom my Lord and Master is kind and compassionate – upon that Gursikh, the Guru's Teachings are bestowed. Servant Nanak begs for the dust of the feet of that Gursikh, who himself chants the Naam, and inspires others to chant it.
Simran of the Lord's name is a recurring theme of Guru Granth Sahib, and Sukhmani Sahib were composed to allow a devotee to recite Nam throughout the day. Rising at Amrit Velā (before sunrise) is a common Sikh practice. Sikhism considers the spiritual and secular lives to be intertwined: "In the Sikh Weltanschauung ... the temporal world is part of the Infinite and partakes of its characteristics." According to Guru Nanak, living an "active, creative, and practical life" of "truthfulness, fidelity, self-control and purity" is superior to a purely contemplative life.
FIVE Ks
The five Ks (panj kakaar) are five articles of faith which all baptized Sikhs (Amritdhari Sikhs) are obliged to wear. The symbols represent the ideals of Sikhism: honesty, equality, fidelity, meditating on God and never bowing to tyranny. The five symbols are:
- Kesh: Uncut hair, usually tied and wrapped in a Dastar
- Kanga: A wooden comb, usually worn under a Dastar
- Katchera: Cotton undergarments, historically appropriate in battle due to increased mobility when compared to a dhoti. Worn by both sexes, the katchera is a symbol of chastity.
- Kara: An iron bracelet, a weapon and a symbol of eternity
- Kirpan: An iron dagger in different sizes. In the UK Sikhs can wear a small dagger, but in the Punjab they might wear a traditional curved sword from one to three feet in length.
MUSIC & INSTRUMENTS
The Sikhs have a number of musical instruments: the rebab, dilruba, taus, jori and sarinda. Playing the sarangi was encouraged in Guru Har Gobind. The rubab was first played by Bhai Mardana as he accompanied Guru Nanak on his journeys. The jori and sarinda were designed by Guru Arjan. The taus was made by Guru Hargobind, who supposedly heard a peacock singing and wanted to create an instrument mimicking its sounds (taus is the Persian word for peacock). The dilruba was made by Guru Gobind Singh at the request of his followers, who wanted a smaller instrument than the taus. After Japji Sahib, all of the shabda in the Guru Granth Sahib were composed as ragas. This type of singing is known as Gurmat Sangeet.
When they marched into battle, the Sikhs would play a Ranjit Nagara (victory drum) to boost morale. Nagaras (usually two to three feet in diameter, although some were up to five feet in diameter) are played with two sticks. The beat of the large drums, and the raising of the Nishan Sahib, meant that the singhs were on their way.
DISTRIBUTION
Numbering about 27 million worldwide, Sikhs make up 0.39 percent of the world population; approximately 83 percent live in India. About 76 percent of all Sikhs live in the north Indian State of Punjab, where they form a majority (about two-thirds) of the population. Substantial communities of Sikhs (more than 200,000) live in the Indian states or union territories of Haryana (more than 1.1 million), Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.
Sikh migration from British India began in earnest during the second half of the 19th century, when the British completed their annexation of the Punjab. The British Raj recruited Sikhs for the Indian Civil Service (particularly the British Indian Army), which led to Sikh migration throughout India and the British Empire. During the Raj, semiskilled Sikh artisans were transported from the Punjab to British East Africa to help build railroads. Sikhs emigrated from India and Pakistan after World War II, most going to the United Kingdom but many to North America. Some Sikhs who had settled in eastern Africa were expelled by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 1972. Economics is a major factor in Sikh migration, and significant communities exist in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Malaysia, East Africa, Australia and Thailand.
Although the rate of Sikh migration from the Punjab has remained high, traditional patterns of Sikh migration favouring English-speaking countries (particularly the United Kingdom) have changed during the past decade due to stricter immigration laws. Moliner (2006) wrote that as a consequence of Sikh migration to the UK "becom[ing] virtually impossible since the late 1970s", migration patterns evolved to continental Europe. Italy is a rapidly growing destination for Sikh migration, with Reggio Emilia and Vicenza having significant Sikh population clusters. Italian Sikhs are generally involved in agriculture, agricultural processing, the manufacture of machine tools and horticulture.
Primarily for socio-economic reasons, Indian Sikhs have the lowest adjusted growth rate of any major religious group in India, at 16.9 percent per decade (estimated from 1991 to 2001). Johnson and Barrett (2004) estimate that the global Sikh population increases annually by 392,633 (1.7 percent per year, based on 2004 figures); this percentage includes births, deaths and conversions.
REPRESENTATION
Sikhs have been represented in Indian politics by former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh and the deputy chairman of the Indian Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is also a Sikh. Past Sikh politicians in India include former president Giani Zail Singh, Sardar Swaran Singh (India's first foreign minister), Speaker of Parliament Gurdial Singh Dhillon and former Chief Minister of Punjab Pratap Singh Kairon.
Politicians from the Sikh diaspora include the first Asian American member of the United States Congress, Dalip Singh Saund, British MPs Piara Khabra, Parmjit Dhanda and Paul Uppal, the first couple to sit together in a Commonwealth parliament (Gurmant Grewal and Nina Grewal, who requested a Canadian government apology for the Komagata Maru incident), former Canadian Shadow Social Development Minister Ruby Dhalla, Canadian Minister of State for Sport Baljit Singh Gosal and Legislative Assembly of Ontario members Vic Dhillon and Jagmeet Singh. Ujjal Dosanjh was the New Democratic Party Premier of British Columbia from July 2004 to February 2005, and was later a Liberal frontbench MP in Ottawa. In Malaysia, two Sikhs were elected MPs in the 2008 general elections: Karpal Singh (Bukit Gelugor) and his son, Gobind Singh Deo (Puchong). Two Sikhs were elected assemblymen: Jagdeep Singh Deo (Datuk Keramat) and Keshvinder Singh (Malim Nawar).
Sikhs comprise 10 to 15 percent of all ranks in the Indian Army and 20 percent of its officers, while making up 1.87 percent of the Indian population. The Sikh Regiment is one of the most-decorated regiments in the army, with 73 Battle Honours, 14 Victoria Crosses, 21 first-class Indian Orders of Merit (equivalent to the Victoria Cross), 15 Theatre Honours, five COAS Unit Citations, two Param Vir Chakras, 14 Maha Vir Chakras, five Kirti Chakras, 67 Vir Chakras and 1,596 other awards. The highest-ranking general in the history of the Indian Air Force is a Punjabi Sikh, Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh. Plans by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence for a Sikh infantry regiment were scrapped in June 2007.
Historically, most Indians have been farmers and 66 percent of the Indian population are engaged in agriculture. Indian Sikhs are employed in agriculture to a lesser extent; India's 2001 census found 39 percent of the working population of the Punjab employed in this sector. The success of the 1960s Green Revolution, in which India went from "famine to plenty, from humiliation to dignity", was based in the Punjab (which became known as "the breadbasket of India"). The Punjab is the wealthiest Indian state per capita, with the average Punjabi income three times the national average. The Green Revolution centred on Indian farmers adopting more intensive and mechanised agricultural methods, aided by the electrification of the Punjab, cooperative credit, consolidation of small holdings and the existing, British Raj-developed canal system. According to Swedish political scientist Ishtiaq Ahmad, a factor in the success of the Indian green revolution was the "Sikh cultivator, often the Jat, whose courage, perseverance, spirit of enterprise and muscle prowess proved crucial". However, not all aspects of the green revolution were beneficial. Indian physicist Vandana Shiva wrote that the green revolution made the "negative and destructive impacts of science [i.e. the green revolution] on nature and society" invisible, and was a catalyst for Punjabi Sikh and Hindu tensions despite a growth in material wealth.
Punjabi Sikhs are engaged in a number of professions which include science, engineering and medicine. Notable examples are nuclear scientist Piara Singh Gill (who worked on the Manhattan Project), fibre-optics pioneer Narinder Singh Kapany and physicist, science writer and broadcaster Simon Singh.
In business, the UK-based clothing retailers New Look and the Thai-based Jaspal were founded by Sikhs. India's largest pharmaceutical company, Ranbaxy Laboratories, is headed by Sikhs. UK Sikhs have the highest percentage of home ownership (82 percent) of any religious community. UK Sikhs are the second-wealthiest (after the Jewish community) religious group in the UK, with a median total household wealth of £229,000. In Singapore Kartar Singh Thakral expanded his family's trading business, Thakral Holdings, into total assets of almost $1.4 billion and is Singapore's 25th-richest person. Sikh Bob Singh Dhillon is the first Indo-Canadian billionaire. The Sikh diaspora has been most successful in North America, especially in California’s fertile Central Valley. American Sikh farmers such as Harbhajan Singh Samra and Didar Singh Bains dominate California agriculture, with Samra specialising in okra and Bains in peaches.
Sikh intellectuals, sportsmen and artists include writer Khushwant Singh, England cricketer Monty Panesar, former 400m runner Milkha Singh, Indian wrestler and actor Dara Singh, former Indian hockey team captains Ajitpal Singh and Balbir Singh Sr., former Indian cricket captain Bishen Singh Bedi, Harbhajan Singh (India's most successful off spin cricket bowler), Bollywood actress Neetu Singh, Sunny Leone, actors Parminder Nagra, Neha Dhupia, Gul Panag, Mona Singh, Namrata Singh Gujral, Archie Panjabi and director Gurinder Chadha.
Sikhs have migrated worldwide, with a variety of occupations. The Sikh Gurus preached ethnic and social harmony, and Sikhs comprise a number of ethnic groups. Those with over 1,000 members include the Ahluwalia, Arain, Arora, Bhatra, Bairagi, Bania, Basith, Bawaria, Bazigar, Bhabra, Chamar, Chhimba, Darzi, Dhobi, Gujar, Jatt, Jhinwar, Kahar, Kalal, Kamboj, Khatri, Kumhar, Labana, Lohar, Mahtam, Mazhabi, Megh, Mirasi, Mochi, Nai, Rajput, Ramgarhia, Saini, Sarera, Sikligar, Sunar, Sudh, Tarkhan and Zargar.
An order of Punjabi Sikhs, the Nihang or the Akalis, was formed during Ranjit Singh's time. Under their leader, Akali Phula Singh, they won many battles for the Sikh Confederacy during the early 19th century.
IN THE INDIAN & BRITISH ARMIES
Sikhs supported the British during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. By the beginning of World War I, Sikhs in the British Indian Army totaled over 100,000 (20 percent of the force). Until 1945 fourteen Victoria Crosses were awarded to Sikhs, a per-capita regimental record. In 2002 the names of all Sikh VC and George Cross recipients were inscribed on the monument of the Memorial Gates on Constitution Hill, next to Buckingham Palace. Chanan Singh Dhillon was instrumental in campaigning for the memorial.
During World War I, Sikh battalions fought in Egypt, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Gallipoli and France. Six battalions of the Sikh Regiment were raised during World War II, serving in the Second Battle of El Alamein, the Burma and Italian campaigns and in Iraq and receiving 27 battle honours. Around the world, Sikhs are commemorated in Commonwealth cemeteries.
In the last two world wars 83,005 turban wearing Sikh soldiers were killed and 109,045 were wounded. They all died or were wounded for the freedom of Britain and the world, and during shell fire, with no other protection but the turban, the symbol of their faith.
—General Sir Frank Messervy
British people are highly indebted and obliged to Sikhs for a long time. I know that within this century we needed their help twice [in two world wars] and they did help us very well. As a result of their timely help, we are today able to live with honour, dignity, and independence. In the war, they fought and died for us, wearing the turbans.
—Sir Winston Churchill
IN THE WEST
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Sikhs began to emigrate to East Africa, the Far East, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1907 the Khalsa Diwan Society was established in Vancouver, and four years later the first gurdwara was established in London. In 1912 the first gurdwara in the United States was founded in Stockton, California.
Since Sikhs (like Middle Eastern men) wear turbans, some in Western countries have been mistaken for Muslim or Arabic men since the September 11 attacks and the Iraq War. Several days after the 9/11 attacks Sikh Balbir Singh Sodhi was murdered by Frank Roque, who thought Sodhi was connected with al-Qaeda. CNN suggested an increase in hate crimes against Sikh men in the United States and the UK after the 9/11 attacks.
Since Sikhism has never actively sought converts, the Sikhs have remained a relatively homogeneous ethnic group. The Kundalini Yoga-based activities of Harbhajan Singh Yogi in his 3HO (Happy, Healthy, Holy) organisation claim to have inspired a moderate growth in non-Indian adherents of Sikhism. In 1998 an estimated 7,800 3HO Sikhs, known colloquially as ‘gora’ (ਗੋਰਾ) or ‘white’ Sikhs, were mainly centred around Española, New Mexico and Los Angeles, California. Sikhs and the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund overturned a 1925 Oregon law banning the wearing of turbans by teachers and government officials.
In an attempt to foster Sikh leaders in the Western world, youth initiatives by a number of organisations have begun. The Sikh Youth Alliance of North America sponsors an annual Sikh Youth Symposium, a public-speaking and debate competition held in gurdwaras throughout the U.S. and Canada.
ART & CULTURE
Sikh art and culture are nearly synonymous with that of the Punjab, and Sikhs are easily recognised by their distinctive turban (Dastar). The Punjab has been called India’s melting pot, due to the confluence of invading cultures (Greek, Mughal and Persian) from the rivers from which the region gets its name. Sikh culture is therefore a synthesis of cultures. Sikhism has forged a unique architecture, which S. S. Bhatti described as "inspired by Guru Nanak’s creative mysticism" and "is a mute harbinger of holistic humanism based on pragmatic spirituality".
During the Mughal and Afghan persecution of the Sikhs during the 17th and 18th centuries, the latter were concerned with preserving their religion and gave little thought to art and culture. With the rise of Ranjit Singh and the Sikh Raj in Lahore and Delhi, there was a change in the landscape of art and culture in the Punjab; Hindus and Sikhs could build decorated shrines without the fear of destruction or looting.
The Sikh Confederacy was the catalyst for a uniquely Sikh form of expression, with Ranjit Singh commissioning forts, palaces, bungas (residential places) and colleges in a Sikh style. Sikh architecture is characterised by gilded fluted domes, cupolas, kiosks, stone lanterns, ornate balusters and square roofs. A pinnacle of Sikh style is Harmandir Sahib (also known as the Golden Temple) in Amritsar.
Sikh culture is influenced by militaristic motifs (with the Khanda the most obvious), and most Sikh artifacts - except for the relics of the Gurus - have a military theme. This theme is evident in the Sikh festivals of Hola Mohalla and Vaisakhi, which feature marching and displays of valor.
Although the art and culture of the Sikh diaspora have merged with that of other Indo-immigrant groups into categories like "British Asian", "Indo-Canadian" and "Desi-Culture", a minor cultural phenomenon which can be described as "political Sikh" has arisen. The art of diaspora Sikhs like Amarjeet Kaur Nandhra and Amrit and Rabindra Kaur Singh (the "Singh Twins") is influenced by their Sikhism and current affairs in the Punjab.
Bhangra and Giddha are two forms of Punjabi folk dancing which have been adapted and pioneered by Sikhs. Punjabi Sikhs have championed these forms of expression worldwide, resulting in Sikh culture becoming linked to Bhangra (although "Bhangra is not a Sikh institution but a Punjabi one").
PAINTING
Sikh painting is a direct offshoot of the Kangra school of painting. In 1810, Ranjeet Singh (1780–1839) occupied Kangra Fort and appointed Sardar Desa Singh Majithia his governor of the Punjab hills. In 1813 the Sikh army occupied Guler State, and Raja Bhup Singh became a vassal of the Sikhs. With the Sikh kingdom of Lahore becoming the paramount power, some of the Pahari painters from Guler migrated to Lahore for the patronage of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh and his Sardars.
The Sikh school adapted Kangra painting to Sikh needs and ideals. Its main subjects are the ten Sikh gurus and stories from Guru Nanak's Janamsakhis. The tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, left a deep impression on the followers of the new faith because of his courage and sacrifices. Hunting scenes and portraits are also common in Sikh painting.
WIKIPEDIA
Vézelay (Yonne)
Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine.
La façade occidentale.
La façade d'origine (XIIIe) a été profondément remaniée au XIXe siècle.
Au début du IXe siècle, alors que le comte de Paris Girard de Roussillon* obtenait du roi Louis le Pieux un domaine au pied de la colline de Vézelay, un oratoire consacré à saint Jean-Baptiste, construit sur l'emplacement d'un ancien sanctuaire païen, existait déjà.
Vers 859, Girard et sa femme Berthe fondent deux monastères, l'un de moines à Pothières (au nord de
Châtillon-sur-Seine), et l'autre, de moniales, sur son domaine de Vézelay, à l'emplacement actuel de Saint-Père, au bord de la Cure. Une bulle pontificale place les domaines de ces deux monastères sous la protection du Pape, privilèges confirmés, dans une charte de janvier 868, par le successeur de Louis le Pieux, Charles le Chauve.
Vers 873, les moniales de Vézelay sont remplacées par des moines bénédictins de Saint-Martin d'Autun.
Dans la seconde moitié du IXe siècle, les reliques de sainte Marie-Madeleine sont apportées à l'église de Vézelay, ce qui y fit accourir un grand nombre de pèlerins. Les aumônes qu'ils y laissèrent , les donations fréquentes, enrichirent l'abbaye ; mais elles excitèrent la convoitise de ses voisins.
En 887, pour mieux protéger les reliques de sainte Marie-Madeleine** des attaques normandes, l'abbaye est transférée sur la hauteur. L'abbaye se développa sur la colline, autour d'une église de plan basilical.
En 907, l'église carolingienne est détruite dans un incendie. Elle est restaurée un siècle plus tard par l'abbé de Saint-Bénigne de Dijon, Guillaume de Volpiano***.
En 1050, l'abbé Geoffroy obtient du pape Léon IX l'authenticité des reliques, ce qui entraîne un afflux encore plus important de pèlerins. L'accumulation de richesses par le commerce, les foires et le développement du vignoble, va permettre d'ambitieux projets de reconstruction de l'abbaye.
Vers 1093 ou 1096, l'abbé Artaud fait édifier un chœur avec déambulatoire greffé sur la nef, pour permettre aux nombreux pèlerins de circuler autour de la crypte abritant les reliques. Les travaux seront achevés en 1104.
La richesse de l'abbaye suscitait bien des convoitises et jalousies. Celles des habitants du bourg, qui pourtant profitaient aussi de la manne des pèlerinages, mais devaient soumission et argent à l'abbaye. Celles des comte de Nevers et des évêques jaloux de l'indépendance de l'abbaye et du pouvoir temporel des abbés.
En 1098, l'évêque d'Autun jeta l'interdit sur les pèlerinages, interdit qui fut levé quelques années plus tard par le pape Pascal II, mais l'abbé Renaud de Semur**** devra, plus tard, reconnaître l'autorité spirituelle de Cluny
En 1104, l'abbé Artaud procède à la dédicace du chœur roman. Ce même Artaud sera assassiné deux ans plus tard par des villageois révoltés. On ne connaît pas les détails, mais une lettre, en date du 25 octobre 1106, du pape Pascal II aux évêques de France, leur demande de "chasser de leurs diocèses respectifs les meurtriers d'Artaud, abbé de Vézelay. L'exil et, en cas de résistance à la sommation épiscopale , l'excommunication, doivent être le châtiment d'hommes assez pervers pour avoir tué leur seigneur, prêtre et abbé. Etrangement, les évêques auxquels cette lettre est adressée sont accusés de protéger et de recueillir dans leurs diocèses les auteurs de ce meurtre. L'envie des diocèses voisins devant la grande richesse de l'abbaye explique certainement cette protection. Presque à la même époque fut assassiné, dans une révolte villageoise, l'évêque de Laon.
Le 22 juillet 1120, un incendie détruisit ce qui restait de la nef carolingienne. La construction d'une nouvelle nef, la nef actuelle, se termina vers 1140, sous l'abbé Ponce de Montboissier. L'ensemble était alors entièrement de style roman et le resta jusqu'à ce que le chœur fut remplacé par un chœur gothique, sous l'abbé Girard d'Arcy, vers 1185-1190. Ce dernier chœur demeure aujourd'hui.
En 1136-1137, sous l'abbé Albéric, par une transaction entre l'abbé et les habitants du bourg coalisés avec les paysans de l'abbaye, les bourgeois ne furent plus astreints à l'obligation de gîte des pèlerins qu'à l'une des deux fêtes de Pâques ou de Marie-Madeleine. Ils obtinrent également des diminutions de charges. Ils demandèrent également à pouvoir payer en nature, et non plus en argent, le cens sur les vignes. Ils obtinrent également certains droits civils, par exemple, les filles des bourgeois de Vézelay ne furent plus obligées, lorsqu'elles se
mariaient, de payer une certaine somme au doyen ou au prévôt...
De nouvelles révoltes, soutenues par les comtes de Nevers, se reproduisirent en 1147, 1149, 1152. Lors de cette dernière révolte, l'abbaye fut pillée, ce qui entraîna l'excommunication de l'ensemble de la population en 1161.
Au XIIe siècle, l'abbaye était devenue un centre de pèlerinage et une étape majeure sur le chemin de Compostelle depuis les pays du Nord de l'Europe. A Pâques 1146, Bernard de Clairvaux prêcha la deuxième croisade depuis la colline de Vézelay. En 1190, Philippe Auguste et Richard Cœur de Lion partent de Vézelay pour la troisième croisade.
En 1217, fut fondée la Cordelle, première communauté de franciscains (La chapelle est du XIIe).
En 1244, 1248, 1267 et 1270, Saint-Louis fit le pèlerinage de Vézelay.
A partir de 1260, les moines de Saint-Maximin (Provence) mettent en doute l'authenticité des reliques de Vézelay, ce qui entraîne un déclin des pèlerinages, malgré le soutien de Saint-Louis qui authentifiera ces reliques en 1267.
Malgré les protections des successeurs de Saint-Louis, Philippe le Hardi et Philippe le Bel, une bulle papale de 1295 confirme l'authenticité des reliques de Marie-Madeleine de Saint-Maximin et non de Vézelay. Les pèlerins s'orientent dorénavant vers la Provence. C'est le déclin de l'abbaye de Vézelay.
Le pape Paul III, finira par accorder la sécularisation de l'abbaye en 1537, sécularisation d'ailleurs demandée par les moines eux-mêmes. Des chanoines remplaceront les moines.
En 1519, le futur réformateur protestant Théodore de Bèze naît à Vézelay. En 1555, la ville est ouverte aux huguenots. Pendant les guerre de Religion, l'abbaye est pillée.
En 1760, après une longue période d'abandon de l'abbaye, une partie des bâtiments est détruite et le reste vendu. 20 ans plus tard, le collège de chanoines est supprimé. L'église abbatiale, puis collégiale, devient une église paroissiale. Ce qui reste des bâtiments conventuels est détruit ou vendu.
Au XIXe siècle, le jeune architecte Viollet-le-Duc, est chargé de grands travaux de restauration commandé par l'écrivain Prosper Mérimée alors inspecteur des Monuments historiques. L'église est dans un état alarmant : «Les murs sont déjetés, fendus, pourris par l'humidité. On a peine à comprendre que la voûte toute crevassée subsiste encore. Lorsque je dessinais dans l'église, j'entendais à chaque instant des petites pierres se détacher et tomber autour de moi. La toiture est dans un état pitoyable ; enfin, il n'est aucune partie de ce monument qui n'ait besoin de réparations.» (Prosper Mérimée - Notes de voyages , 1835). La restauration complète, y compris les sculptures sera terminée en 1859.
Le don de nouvelles reliques de Marie-Madeleine en 1870-1876, relance les pèlerinages et l'église est érigée en basilique par le Vatican en 1920.
Après1945, diverses communautés monastiques (bénédictins, franciscains, fraternités monastiques de Jérusalem) s'installent de nouveau à Vézelay.
L'Unesco inscrit la basilique en 1979.
* Girard de Roussillon, héros d'une chanson de geste provençale, fut comte de Roussillon (Girard possède le canton de Lassois, près de Châtillon-sur-Seine, une chapelle et son château sont bâtis sur les flancs du mont Roussillon) et duc de Bourgogne. Il reçut le comté de Paris de Louis le Débonnaire ou Louis le Pieux (fils de Charlemagne et de Hildegarde de Vintzgau). Il fera plusieurs expéditions contre les Sarrasins qui s'étaient établis dans le delta du Rhône. Girard (Girart) de Vienne, de Roussillon, etc, était régent du comte de Provence, et son épouse Berthe, fille du comte de paris. Issus de la haute aristocratie franque et proches du pouvoir royal, ces deux personnages possédaient d’immenses domaines notamment en Bourgogne.
** Ces reliques auraient été, soit ramenées d'Arles par Girard de Roussillon, soit dérobée à Saint-Maximin, en Provence, par un moine nommé Badilon.
*** Abbé réformateur de nombreux monastères, Guillaume de Volpiano ou Guillaume de Dijon ou encore Guillaume de Cluny , fera de ces monastères des puits d'érudition et des asiles de sainteté. Guillaume de Volpiano tint les rênes de quarante maisons bénédictines et assura la direction de douze cents moines.
*** ll s'agit bien de Semur-en-Brionnais (Saône-et-Loire) et non de Saumur comme on l'écrit parfois. Renaud de Semur est élu en 1106 abbé de Vézelay. Il sera nommé archevêque de Lyon en 1128. Il rédigera une "vie" de son oncle saint Hugues de Cluny.
Recherches sur l'insurrection communale de Vézelay au XIIe siècle - Léon de Bastard d'Estang. In: Bibliothèque de l'école des chartes. 1851, tome 12.