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The Dayak or Dyak or Dayuh /ˈdaɪ.ək/ are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily identifiable. Dayak languages are categorised as part of the Austronesian languages in Asia. The Dayak were animist in belief; however many converted to Islam and since the 19th century, mass conversion to Christianity.
HISTORY
The Dayak people of Borneo possess an indigenous account of their history, mostly in oral literature, partly in writing in papan turai (wooden records), and partly in common cultural customary practices. Among prominent accounts of the origin of the Dayak people includes the mythical oral epic of "Tetek Tahtum" by the Ngaju Dayak of Central Kalimantan, it narrates the ancestors of the all Dayak people descended from the heavens before dispensing from the inland to the downstream shores of Borneo.
In the southern Kalimantan flourished the independent state of Nansarunai established by the Ma'anyan Dayaks prior to the 12th century. The kingdom suffered two major attacks from the Majapahit forces that caused the decline and fall of the kingdom by the year 1389, the attacks are known as Nansarunai Usak Jawa (meaning the destruction of the Nansarunai by the Javanese) by the oral accounts of the Ma'anyan people. This contributed to the migration of the Ma'anyans to the Central and South Borneo region.
The colonial accounts and reports of Dayak activity in Borneo detail carefully cultivated economic and political relationships with other communities as well as an ample body of research and study considering historical Dayak migrations. In particular, the Iban or the Sea Dayak exploits in the South China Seas are documented, owing to their ferocity and aggressive culture of war against sea dwelling groups and emerging Western trade interests in the 19th and 20th centuries.
In 1824, as a result of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 to settle their commercial regional disputes by switching Java from British to Dutch in return for Malacca, the Malay Archipelago was permanently divided into formerly Dutch-colonized Indonesia and British-colonized Malaysia to this day.
In 1838, British adventurer James Brooke arrived to find the Sultan of Brunei fending off rebellion from warlike inland tribes. Sarawak was in chaos. Brooke put down the rebellion, and was made Governor of Sarawak in 1841, with the title of Rajah. Brooke pacified the natives, including the Dayaks, who became some of his most loyal followers. He suppressed headhunting and piracy. Brooke's most famous Iban enemy was Libau "Rentap"; Brooke led three expeditions against him and finally defeated him at Sadok Hill. Brooke had many Dayaks in his forces at this battle, and famously said "Only Dayaks can kill Dayaks." Sharif Mashor, a Melanau from Mukah, was another enemy of Brooke.
During World War II, Japanese forces occupied Borneo and treated all of the indigenous peoples poorly - massacres of the Malay and Dayak peoples were common, especially among the Dayaks of the Kapit Division. In response, the Dayaks formed a special force to assist the Allied forces. Eleven US airmen and a few dozen Australian special operatives trained a thousand Dayaks from the Kapit Division in guerrilla warfare. This army of tribesmen killed or captured some 1,500 Japanese soldiers and provided the Allies with vital intelligence about Japanese-held oil fields.
Coastal populations in Borneo are largely Muslim in belief, however these groups (Tidung, Banjarese, Bulungan, Paser, Melanau, Kutainese, Kedayan, Bakumpai, Bisayah) are generally considered to be Malayised and Islamised Dayaks, native to Borneo, and heavily amalgated by the Malay people, culture and sultanate system.
Other groups in coastal areas of Sabah and northeastern Kalimantan; namely the Illanun, Tausūg, Sama and Bajau, although inhabiting and (in the case of the Tausug group) ruling the northern tip of Borneo for centuries, have their origins from the southern Philippines. These groups though may be indigenous to Borneo, they are nonetheless not Dayak, but instead are grouped under the separate umbrella term of Moro.
ETHNICITY
The Indigenous people of the Heart of Borneo are commonly known as Dayak. The term was coined by Europeans referring to the non-Malay inhabitants of Borneo. There are seven main ethnic divisions of Dayaks according to their respective native language which are the Ngaju, Apau Kayan, Iban (Sea Dayak), Klemantan (Land Dayak), Murut, Punan and Ot Danum groups. Under the main classification, there are dozens of ethnics and hundreds of sub-ethnics dwelling in the Borneo island. There are over 50 ethnic Dayak groups speaking different languages. This cultural and linguistic diversity parallels the high biodiversity and related traditional knowledge of Borneo.
LANGUAGES
Dayaks do not speak just one language, even if just those on the island of Borneo (Kalimantan) are considered.[16] Their indigenous languages belong in the general classification of Malayo-Polynesian languages and to diverse groups of Bornean and Sabahan languages (including Land Dayak), and the Ibanic languages of the Malayic branch. The Dayak are very adaptable and also speak the lingua franca of the place such as those of Malay, Chinese and European origin.
Many of Borneo’s languages are endemic (which means they are spoken nowhere else). It is estimated that around 170 languages and dialects are spoken on the island and some by just a few hundred people, thus posing a serious risk to the future of those languages and related heritage.
HEADHUNTING
In the past, the Dayak were feared for their ancient tradition of headhunting practices (the ritual is also known as Ngayau by the Dayaks) . Among the Iban Dayaks, the origin of headhunting was believed to be meeting one of the mourning rules given by a spirit which is as follows:
- The sacred jar is not to be opened except by a warrior who has managed to obtain a head, or by a man who can present a human head, which he obtained in a fight; or by a man who has returned from a sojourn in enemy country.
Often, a war leader had at least three lieutenants (called manuk sabong) who in turn had some followers. The war (ngayau) rules among the Iban Dayaks are listed below:
- If a warleader leads a party on an expedition, he must not allow his warriors to fight a guiltless tribe that has no quarrel with them.
- If the enemy surrenders, he may not take their lives, lest his army be unsuccessful in future warfare and risk fighting empty-handed war raids (balang kayau).
- The first time that a warrior takes a head or captures a prisoner, he must present the head or captive to the warleader in acknowledgement of the latter's leadership.
- If a warrior takes two heads or captives, or more, one of each must be given to the warleader; the remainder belongs to the killer or captor.
- The warleader must be honest with his followers in order that in future wars he may not be defeated (alah bunoh).
There were various reasons for headhunting as listed below:
- For soil fertility so Dayaks hunted fresh heads before paddy harvesting seasons after which head festival would be held in honour of the new heads.
- To add supernatural strength which Dayaks believed to be centred in the soul and head of humans. Fresh heads can give magical powers for communinal protection, bountiful paddy harvesting and disease curing.
- To avenge revenge for murders based on "blood credit" principle unless "adat pati nyawa" (customary compensation token) is paid.
- To pay dowry for marriages e.g. "derian palit mata" (eye blocking dowry) for Ibans once blood has been splashed prior to agreeing to marriage and of course, new fresh heads show prowess, bravery, ability and capability to protect his family, community and land.
- For foundation of new buildings to be stronger and meaningful than the normal practice of not putting in human heads.
- For protection against enemy attacks according to the principle of "attack first before being attacked".
- As a symbol of power and social status ranking where the more heads someone has, the respect and glory due to him. The warleader is called tuai serang (warleader) or raja berani (king of the brave) while kayau anak (small raid) leader is only called tuai kayau (raid leader) whereby adat tebalu (widower rule) after their death would be paid according to their ranking status in the community.
- For territorial expansion where some brave Dayaks intentionally migrated into new areas such as Mujah "Buah Raya" migrated from Skrang to Paku to Kanowit while infighting among Ibans themselves in Batang Ai caused the Ulu Ai Ibans to migrate to Batang Kanyau River in Kapuas, Kalimantan and then proceeded to Katibas and later on Ulu Rajang in Sarawak. The earlier migrations from Kapuas to Batang Ai, Batang Lupar, Batang Saribas and Batang Krian rivers were also made possible by fighting the local tribes like Bukitan.
Reasons for abandoning headhunting are:
- Peacemaking agreements at Tumbang Anoi, Kalimantan in 1874 and Kapit, Sarawak in 1924.
- Coming of Christianity, with education where Dayaks are taught that headhunting is murder and against the Christian Bible's teachings.
- Dayaks' own realisation that headhunting was more to lose than to gain.
Among the most prominent legacy during the colonial rule in the Dutch Borneo (present-day Kalimantan) is the Tumbang Anoi Agreement held in 1874 in Damang Batu, Central Kalimantan (the seat of the Kahayan Dayaks). It is a formal meeting that gathered all the Dayak tribes in Kalimantan for a peace resolution. In the meeting that is reputed taken several months, the Dayak people throughout the Kalimantan agreed to end the headhunting tradition as it believed the tradition caused conflict and tension between various Dayak groups. The meeting ended with a peace resolution by the Dayak people.
After mass conversions to Christianity, and anti-headhunting legislation by the colonial powers was passed, the practice was banned and appeared to have disappeared. However, it should be noted that the Brooke-led Sarawak government, although banning unauthorized headhunting, actually allowed "ngayau" headhunting practices by the Brooke-supporting natives during state-sanctioned punitive expeditions against their own fellow people's rebellions throughout the state, thereby never really extinguished the spirit of headhunting especially among the Iban natives. The state-sanctioned troop was allowed to take heads, properties like jars and brassware, burn houses and farms, exempted from paying door taxes and in some cases, granted new territories to migrate into. This Brooke's practice was in remarkable contract to the practice by the Dutch in the neighbouring West Kalimantan who prohibited any native participation in its punitive expeditions. Initially, James Brooke (the first Rajah of Sarawak) did engage the British Navy troop in the Battle of Beting Maru against the Iban and Malay of the Saribas region and the Iban of Skrang under Rentap's charge but this resulted in the Public Inquiry by the British government in Singapore. Thereafter, the Brooke government gathered a local troop who were its allies.
Subsequently, the headhunting began to surface again in the mid-1940s, when the Allied Powers encouraged the practice against the Japanese Occupation of Borneo. It also slightly surged in the late 1960s when the Indonesian government encouraged Dayaks to purge Chinese from interior Kalimantan who were suspected of supporting communism in mainland China and also in the late 1990s when the Dayak started to attack Madurese emigrants in an explosion of ethnic violence. After formation of Malaysia, some Iban became trackers during the Malayan Emergency against the Communist Insurgency and thereafter they continue to be soldiers in the armed forces.
Headhunting resurfaced in 1963 among Dayak soldiers during the Confrontation Campaign by President Sukarno of Indonesia against the newly created formation of Malaysia between the pre-existing Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak in 16 September 1963. Subsequently, Dayak trackers recruited during the Malayan Emergency against the Communists' Insurgency wanted to behead enemies killed during their military operations but disallowed by their superiors.
It should be noted headhunting or human sacrifice was also practised by other tribes such as follows:
- Toraja community in Sulawesi used adat Ma’ Barata (human sacrifice) in Rambu Solo’ ritual which is still held until the arrival of the Hindi Dutch which is a custom to honour someone with a symbol of a great warrior and bravery in a war.
- In Gomo, Sumatra, there ware megalithic artefacts where one of them is "batu pancung" (beheading stone) on which to tie any captive or convicted criminals for beheading.
- One distinction was their ritual practice of head hunting, once prevalent among tribal warriors in Nagaland and among the Naga tribes in Myanmar. They used to take the heads of enemies to take on their power.
AGRICULTURE
Traditionally, Dayak agriculture was based on actually Integrated Indigenous Farming System. Iban Dayaks tend to plant paddy on hill slopes while Maloh Dayaks prefer flat lands as discussed by King. Agricultural Land in this sense was used and defined primarily in terms of hill rice farming, ladang (garden), and hutan (forest). According to Prof Derek Freeman in his Report on Iban Agriculture, Iban Dayaks used to practice twenty seven stages of hill rice farming once a year and their shifting cultivation practices allow the forest to regenerate itself rather than to damage the forest, thereby to ensure the continuity and sustainability of forest use and/or survival of the Iban community itself. The Iban Dayaks love virgin forests for their dependency on forests but that is for migration, territorial expansion and/or fleeing enemies.
Dayaks organised their labour in terms of traditionally based land holding groups which determined who owned rights to land and how it was to be used. The Iban Dayaks practice a rotational and reciprocal labour exchange called "bedurok" to complete works on their farms own by all families within each longhouse. The "green revolution" in the 1950s, spurred on the planting of new varieties of wetland rice amongst Dayak tribes.
To get cash, Dayaks collect jungle produce for sales at markets. With the coming of cash crops, Dayaks start to plant rubber, pepper, cocoa, etc. Nowadays, some Dayaks plant oil palm on their lands while others seek employment or involve in trade.
The main dependence on subsistence and mid-scale agriculture by the Dayak has made this group active in this industry. The modern day rise in large-scale monocrop plantations such as palm oil and bananas, proposed for vast swathes of Dayak land held under customary rights, titles and claims in Indonesia, threaten the local political landscape in various regions in Borneo.
Further problems continue to arise in part due to the shaping of the modern Malaysian and Indonesian nation-states on post-colonial political systems and laws on land tenure. The conflict between the state and the Dayak natives on land laws and native customary rights will continue as long as the colonial model on land tenure is used against local customary law. The main precept of land use, in local customary law, is that cultivated land is owned and held in right by the native owners, and the concept of land ownership flows out of this central belief. This understanding of adat is based on the idea that land is used and held under native domain. Invariably, when colonial rule was first felt in the Kalimantan Kingdoms, conflict over the subjugation of territory erupted several times between the Dayaks and the respective authorities.
RELIGION
The Dayak indigenous religion has been given the name Kaharingan, and may be said to be a form of animism. The name was coined by Tjilik Riwut in 1944 during his tenure as a Dutch colonial Resident in Sampit, Dutch East Indies. In 1945, during the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese referred Kaharingan as the religion of the Dayak people. During the New Order in the Suharto regime in 1980, the Kaharingan is registered as a form of Hinduism in Indonesia, as the Indonesian state only recognises 6 forms of religion i.e. Islam, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Hindusim, Buddhism and Confucianism respectively. The integration of Kaharingan with Hinduism is not due to the similarities in the theological system, but due to the fact that Kaharingan is the oldest belief in Kalimantan. Unlike the development in Indonesian Kalimantan, the Kaharingan is not recognised as a religion both in Malaysian Borneo and Brunei, thus the traditional Dayak belief system is known as a form of folk animism or pagan belief on the other side of the Indonesian border.
Underlying the world-view is an account of the creation and re-creation of this middle-earth where the Dayak dwell, arising out of a cosmic battle in the beginning of time between a primal couple, a male and female bird/dragon (serpent). Representations of this primal couple are amongst the most pervasive motifs of Dayak art. The primal mythic conflict ended in a mutual, procreative murder, from the body parts of which the present universe arose stage by stage. This primal sacrificial creation of the universe in all its levels is the paradigm for, and is re-experienced and ultimately harmoniously brought together (according to Dayak beliefs) in the seasons of the year, the interdependence of river (up-stream and down-stream) and land, the tilling of the earth and fall of the rain, the union of male and female, the distinctions between and co-operation of social classes, the wars and trade with foreigners, indeed in all aspects of life, even including tattoos on the body, the lay-out of dwellings and the annual cycle of renewal ceremonies, funeral rites, etc.
The best and still unsurpassed study of a traditional Dayak religion in Kalimantan is that of Hans Scharer, Ngaju Religion: The Conception of God among a South Borneo People; translated by Rodney Needham (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1963). The practice of Kaharingan differs from group to group, but shamans, specialists in ecstatic flight to other spheres, are central to Dayak religion, and serve to bring together the various realms of Heaven (Upper-world) and earth, and even Under-world, for example healing the sick by retrieving their souls which are journeying on their way to the Upper-world land of the dead, accompanying and protecting the soul of a dead person on the way to their proper place in the Upper-world, presiding over annual renewal and agricultural regeneration festivals, etc. Death rituals are most elaborate when a noble (kamang) dies. On particular religious occasions, the spirit is believed to descend to partake in celebration, a mark of honour and respect to past ancestors and blessings for a prosperous future.
Among Iban Dayaks, their belief and way of life can be simply called the Iban religion as per Jenson's book with the same title and has been written by Benedict Sandin and others extensively. It is characterised by a supreme being in the name of Bunsu (Kree) Petara who has no parents and creates everything in this world and other worlds. Under Bunsu Petara are the seven gods whose names are: Sengalang Burong as the god of war and healing, Biku Bunsu Petara as the high priest and second in command, Menjaya as the first shaman (manang) and god of medicine, Selampandai as the god of creation, Sempulang Gana as the god of agriculture and land along with Semarugah, Ini Inda/Inee/Andan as the naturally born doctor and god of justice and Anda Mara as the god of wealth.
The life actions and decision-making processes of Iban Dayaks depend on divination, augury and omens. They have several methods to receive omens where omens can be obtained by deliberate seeking or chance encounters. The first method is via dream to receive charms, amulets (pengaroh, empelias, engkerabun) or medicine (obat) and curse (sumpah) from any gods, people of Panggau Libau and Gelong and any spirits or ghosts. The second method is via animal omens (burong laba) which have long-lasting effects such as from deer barking which is quite random in nature. The third method is via bird omens (burong bisa) which have short term effects that are commonly limited to a certain farming year or a certain activity at hands. The forth method is via pig liver divination after festival celebration At the end of critical festivals, the divination of the pig liver will be interpreted to forecast the outcome of the future or the luck of the individual who holds the festival. The fifth but not the least method is via nampok or betapa (self-imposed isolation) to receive amulet, curse, medicine or healing.
There are seven omen birds under the charge of their chief Sengalang Burong at their longhouse named Tansang Kenyalang (Hornbill Abode), which are Ketupong (Jaloh or Kikeh or Entis) (Rufous Piculet) as the first in command, Beragai (Scarlet-rumped trogon), Pangkas (Maroon Woodpecker) on the righthand side of Sengalang Burong's family room while Bejampong (Crested Jay) as the second in command, Embuas (Banded Kingfisher), Kelabu Papau (Senabong) (Diard's Trogon) and Nendak (White-rumped shama) on the lefthand side. The calls and flights of the omen birds along with the circumstances and social status of the listeners are considered during the omen interpretations.[38]
The praying and propitiation to certain gods to obtain good omens which indicate God's favour and blessings are held in a series of three-tiered classes of minor ceremonies (bedara), intermediate rites (gawa or nimang) and major festivals (gawai) in ascending order and complexity. Any Iban Dayak will undergo some forms of simple rituals and several elaborate festivals as necessary in their lifetime from a baby, adolescent to adulthood until death. The longhouse where the Iban Dayaks stay is constructed in a unique way to function as for both living or accommodation purposes and ritual or religious practices. Nearby the longhouse, there is normally a small and simple hut called langkau ampun/sukor (forgiveness/thanksgiving hut) built to place offerings to deities. Sometimes, when potentially bad omens are encountered, a small hut is quickly built and a fire is started before saying prayers to seek good outcomes.Common among all these propitiations are that prayers to gods and/or other spirits are made by giving offerings ("piring"), certain poetic leka main and animal sacrifices ("genselan") either chickens or pigs. The number (leka or turun) of each piring offering item is based on ascending odd numbers which have meanings and purposes as below:
- piring 3 for piring ampun (mercy) or seluwak (wastefulness spirit)
- piring 5 for piring minta (request) or bejalai (journey)
- piring 7 for piring gawai (festival) or bujang berani (brave warrior)
- piring 9 for sangkong (including others) or turu (leftover included)
Piring contains offering of various traditional foods and drinks while genselan is made by sacrificing chickens for bird omens or pigs for animal omens.
Bedara is commonly held for any general purposes before holding any rites or festivals during which a simple "miring" ceremony is done to prepare and divide piring offerings into certain portions followed by a "sampi ngau bebiau" (prayer and cleansing) poetic speeches. This most simple ceremonies have categories such as bedara matak held at the longhouse family bilek room, bedara mansau performed at the family ruai gallery, berunsur (cleansing) carried out at the tanju and river, minta ujan tauka panas (request for rain or sunniness).
The intermediate and medium-sized propitiatory rites are known as "gawa" (ritually working) with its main highlight called "nimang" (poetic incantation) that is recited by lemambang bards besides miring ceremonies. This category is smaller than or sometimes relegated from the full-scaled and thus costly festivals for cost savings but still maintaining the effectiveness to achieve the same purpose. Included in this category are "sandau ari" (mid-day ritual) held at the tanju verandah, gawai matak (unripe feast), gawa nimang tuah (Luck feast), enchaboh arong (head feast) and gawa timang beintu-intu (life caring feasts.
The major festivals comprise at least seventh categories which are related to major aspects of Iban's traditional way of life i.e. agriculture, headhunting, fortune, health, death, procreation and weaving.
With paddy being the major sustenance of life among Dayaks, so the first major category comprises the agricultural-related festivals which are dedicated to paddy farming to honour Sempulang Gana who is the deity of agriculture. It is a series of festivals that include Gawai Batu (Whetstone Festival), Gawai Ngalihka Tanah (Soil Ploughing Festival), Gawai Benih (Seed Festival), Gawai Ngemali Umai (Farm Healing Festival), Gawai Matah (Harvest Initiation Festival) and Gawai Basimpan (Paddy Storing Festival). According to Derek Freeman, there are 27 steps of hill paddy farming. One common ritual activity is called "mudas" (making good) any omens found during any farming stages especially the early bush clearing stage.
The second category includes the headhunting-related festivals to honour the most powerful deity of war, Sengalang Burong that comprises Gawai Burong (Bird Festival) and Gawai Amat/Asal (Real/Original Festival) with their successive ascending stages with most famous one being Gawai Kenyalang (Hornbill Festivla). This is perhaps the most elaborate and complex festivals which can last into seven successive days of ritual inchantation by lemambang bards. It is held normally after instructed by spirits in dreams. It is performed by tuai kayau (raid leader) called bujang berani (leading warriors) and war leader (tuai serang) who are known as "raja berani" (bravery king). In the past, this festival is vital to seek divine intervention to defeat enemies such as Baketan, Ukit and Kayan during migrations into new territories.
With the suppression of headhunting, the next important and third category relates to the death-related rituals among which the biggest celebration is the Soul Festival (Gawai Antu) to honour the souls of the deads especially the famous and brave ones who are invited to visit the living for the Sebayan (Haedes) to feast and to bestow all sorts of helpful charms to the living relatives. The raja berani (brave king) can be honoured by his descendants up to three times via Gawai Antu. Other mortuary ceremonies are "beserara bungai" (flower separation) held 3 days after burial, ngetas ulit (mourning termination), berantu (Gawai Antu) or Gawai Ngelumbong (Entombing Festival).
The fourth category in term of complexity and importance is the fortune-related festivals which consist of Gawai Pangkong Tiang (Post Banging Festival) after transferring to a new longhouse, Gawai Tuah (Luck Festival) with three ascending stages to seek and to welcome lucks, and Gawai Tajau (Jar Festival) to welcome newly acquired jars.
The fifth category consists of the health-related festivals to request for curing from sickness by Menjaya or Ini Andan such as in Gawai Sakit (Sickness Festival) which is held after other smaller attempts have failed to cure the sicked persons such as begama (touching), belian (various manang rituals), Besugi Sakit (to ask Keling for curing via magical power) and Berenong Sakit (to ask for curing by Sengalang Burong) in the ascending order. Manang is consecrated via an official ceremony called "Gawai Babangun" (Manang Consecration Festival). The shaman (manang) of the Iban Dayaks have various types of pelian (ritual healing ceremony) to be held in accordance with the types of sickness determined by him through his glassy stone to see the whereabouts of the soul of the sick person. Besides, Gawai Burung can also be used for healing certain difficult-to-cure sickness via magical power by Sengalang Burong especially nowadays after headhunting has been stopped. Other self-caring ritual ceremonies that are related to wellness and longevity are Nimang Bulu (Hair Adding Ceremony), Nimang Sukat (Destiny Ceremony) and Nimang Buloh Ayu (Life-Bamboo Ceremony).
The sixth category of festivals pertains to procreation. Gawai Lelabi (River Turtle Festival) is held to pray to the deity of creation called Selampadani, toannounce the readiness of daughters for marriage and to solicit a suitable suitor. This is where those men with trophy head skulls become leading contenders. The wedding ceremony is called Melah Pinang (Areca nut Splitting). The god of creation Selampandai is invoked here for fertility of the daughters to bear many children. There is a series of ritual rites from birth to adolescence of children.
The last and seventh category is Gawai Ngar (Cotton-Dyeing Festival) which is held by women who are involved in weaving pua kumbu for conventional use and ritual purposes. Ritual textiles woven by Iban women are used in the Bird Festival and in the past used to receive trophy heads. The ritual textiles have specific "enkeramba" (anthropomorphic) motifs that represent igi balang (trophy head), tiang ranyai (shrine pole), cultural heroes of Panggau and Gelong, deities and antu gerasi (demon figure).
Over the last two centuries, some Dayaks converted to Christianity, abandoning certain cultural rites and practices. Christianity was introduced by European missionaries in Borneo. Religious differences between Muslim and Christian natives of Borneo has led, at various times, to communal tensions. Relations, however between all religious groups are generally good.
Muslim Dayaks have however retained their original identity and kept various customary practices consistent with their religion. However many Christian Dayak has changed their name to European name but some minority still maintain their ancestors traditional name.
An example of common identity, over and above religious belief, is the Melanau group. Despite the small population, to the casual observer, the coastal dwelling Melanau of Sarawak, generally do not identify with one religion, as a number of them have Islamised and Christianised over a period of time. A few practise a distinct Dayak form of Kaharingan, known as Liko. Liko is the earliest surviving form of religious belief for the Melanau, predating the arrival of Islam and Christianity to Sarawak. The somewhat patchy religious divisions remain, however the common identity of the Melanau is held politically and socially. Social cohesion amongst the Melanau, despite religious differences, is markedly tight within their small community.
Despite the destruction of pagan religions in Europe by Christians, most of the people who try to conserve the Dayaks' religion are missionaries. For example Reverend William Howell contributed numerous articles on the Iban language, lore and culture between 1909 and 1910 to the Sarawak Gazette. The articles were later compiled in a book in 1963 entitled, The Sea Dayaks and Other Races of Sarawak.
WIKIPEDIA
Starring Richard Egan, Constance Dowling, Herbert Marshall, John Wengraf, Philip Van Zandt, and William Schallert. Directed by Herbert L. Strock.
When two scientists at a top-secret government installation devoted to space research are killed -- in their own test chamber, seemingly by an experiment gone awry -- Dr. David Sheppard (Richard Egan) is sent out from Washington to investigate. Sheppard mixes easily enough with the somewhat eccentric team of scientists, though he always seems in danger of being distracted by the presence of Joanne Merritt (Constance Dowling), who serves as the aide to the project director Dr. Van Ness (Herbert Marshall) but is, in reality, another security agent. Sheppard is as puzzled as anyone else by the seemingly inexplicable series of events overtaking the installation -- properly operating equipment suddenly undergoing lethal malfunctions, and the radar tracking aircraft that aren't there -- until he puts it together with the operations of NOVAC (Nuclear Operated Variable Automatic Computer), the central brain of the complex. But the mystery deepens when he discovers that NOVAC was shut down during one of the "accidents" -- and even the computer's operators can't account fully for the whereabouts of GOG and MAGOG, the two robots under the computer's control.
"...and then without warning, the machine became a frankenstein of steel," says the sensationalist poster text. This is the third story in Ivan Tors' OSI trilogy. His first "Office of Scientific Investigation" story was Magnetic Monster in early 1953. The second was Riders to the Stars in early '54. With Gog the loose trilogy is complete. Unlike the Star Wars trilogy in which the stories build upon each other, each of the three OSI stories are separate tales which have nothing to do with each other. The common thread is the idea of there being a sort of Science FBI agency whose job it is, is to check out the scientifically strange. In that regard, Tors' OSI is a bit like a foreshadowing of the X-Files TV series, but without any of the New Age paranormal focus.
In keeping with the previous two stories, Gog is more of a detective murder mystery movie. Tors was a huge fan of "hard" science, not fanciful fiction fluff, so Gog, like the other two movies, is chock full of reveling in sciencey stuff in an almost geeky way. This reverence for real science keeps things from getting out on shaky limb, as many sci-fi films to. The events are much more plausible, less fantastic.
Synopsis
At a secret underground research facility, far out in the desert, scientists working on preparations for a manned space mission, are getting murdered mysteriously. Two agents from the OSI are dispatched to solve the mystery and keep the super secret space station program on track. The scientists are killed in various ways, mostly through equipment malfunctions. The facility director and the agents suspect sabotage. Small transmitter/receiver boxes are found within equipment in different parts of the facility. They suggest that someone on the outside is transmitting in the "malfunctions" in order to kill off the program's scientists. Occasional alarms indicate some flying high intruder, but nothing is clearly found. One of the base's two robots, named Gog, kills another technician while it's mate, Magog, tries to set up an overload within the base's atomic pile. The OSI agents stop Magog with a flame thrower. Meanwhile, interceptor jets scramble and find the highflying spy jet and destroy it with missiles. Once the trouble is past, the Director announces that they will be launching their prototype space station the next day, despite the sabotage attempts to stop it. The End.
The time spent reveling in techno-geekery has a certain Popular Science charm to it. There's an evident gee-whiz air about space and defense sciences which is fun to see. People were fascinated with things rockety and atomic. For various fun bits, see the Notes section.
Gog oozes Cold War from every frame. First is the base's underground location to make them safe from A-bombs. Next is the mysterious killer trying to stop the space station program. The high-flying mystery plane is "not one of ours." (that leaves: Them, and we all knew who they were.) The space station is to be powered by a solar mirror. Even that benign mirror has sinister possibilities. While demonstrating the mirror, the scientists use it to burn a model of a city. "This could happen...if we're not the first to reach space," says the Director. Space is the next "high ground" to be contested. At the end of the movie, when discussing the launch (despite the sabotage attempt) of the prototype space station, the Director says, "Through it's eye, we'll be able to see everything that goes on upon this tired old earth." The Defense Secretary says, "Nothing will take us by surprise again." An obvious reference to Pearl Harbor.
B-films often re-used props and sets from prior films in order to save on their budgets. Gog, even though shot in Eastman Color, was no exception. Two old prop friends show up in Gog. One is our venerable old friend, the space suits from Destination Moon ('50). Look for the centrifuge scene. The research assistants are dressed in them, and as an added bonus, they wear the all-acrylic fish bowl helmets used in Abbot and Costello Go to Mars ('53). Our second old friend is scene in the radar / security room, (the one with the annoying tuning fork device). Check out the monitor wall. It's been gussied up a bit, but it is the spaceship control panel wall from Catwomen of the Moon and Project Moon Base -- complete with the empty 16mm film reels on the right side. It's fun to see old friends.
B-films often include stock footage of military units, tanks, jets, battleships, etc. to fill things out. Gog is no different, and even commits the common continuity error of showing one type of plane taking off, but a different kind in the air.
What amounts to a small treat amid the usual stock footage of jets, some shots of a rather obscure bit of USAF hardware -- the F-94C Starfire with its straight wings and huge wing tanks. In 1954, the Starfire was one of America's coolest combat jets, yet we hear little about it. The swept-wing F-86 Sabers (which we see taxiing and taking off) were the agile fighter which gained fame over Korea. They're common stock footage stars. The F-94, with its onboard radar (in the nose cone) was deemed too advanced to risk falling into enemy hands. So, it didn't see much action , and therefore little fame. The heavier, yet powerful F-94C (one of the first US jets to have an afterburner) was 1954 America's hottest Interceptor -- designed to stop high flying Soviet bombers. It's blatant cameo appearance in Gog, intercepting the high-flying mystery plane, was a fun little bit of patriotic showing off.
The very name of the movie, Gog, is charged with meaning to American audiences of the mid 50s, though virtually lost on viewers of the 21st century. The names of the two robots, Gog and Magog, come from the Bible. More specifically, from the prophecies of Ezekiel (Chapter 38) and the Book of Revelation (chapter 20). While just who they are (nations? kings?) has been debated for centuries, their role as tools of Satan in the battle of Armageddon is clear. Mainstream American patriotic Christendom had settled on the idea that the Soviet Union was the prophesied "nations from the north" who would join Satan to oppose God. This gives the title of the movie a special Cold War significance. It also puts an interesting spin on the Dr. Zeitman character for having named the two robots in the first place. Since they were tools of the mega-computer NOVAC, what was he saying about NOVAC?
It is interesting that the base's radar could not detect the mystery plane (which was beaming in the 'kill' instructions to NOVAC) because it was made of "fiberglass" which rendered it invisible to radar. Now, fiberglass itself isn't sturdy enough for high-speed jets, and it would take until the 1990s before composite materials advanced to make the dream of a stealth aircraft a reality. Nonetheless, the dream (or nightmare) of stealth aircraft was on-screen in 1954 in Gog.
The super computer, NOVAC, controlled everything on the base. Even though the machines were not really killing scientists on their own, but following human orders from the mystery plane, there was the on-screen depiction of machines having a murderous mind of their own. (all pre-Steven King) In the techno starry-eyed 50s, it was fairly uncommon for the technology itself to be turning on its masters. This idea would gain traction later in the 50s, and especially in the 60s, but in '54, it was unusual.
A cautionary subtext to Gog is the danger of trusting in a supercomputer to manage defenses and a whole base. NOVAC doesn't go bad on its own, as the computer will in The Invisible Boy, Hal in 2001 or Colossus in The Forbin Project. In this movie, it was the nefarious "others" who hacked into NOVAC to make it do the killing, but this just demonstrates the danger. People were getting a little nervous about letting machines take over too much responsibility. We were starting to distrust our creations.
Until Gog, robots were fairly humanoid.
They had two legs, two arms, a torso and a head. Audiences had seen the mechanical Maria in Metropolis ('27), the fedora-wearing metal men in Gene Autrey's Phantom Empire serial ('35). The water-heater-like Republic robot appeared in several rocketman serials. There was the gleaming giant Gort in The Day the Earth Stood Still ('51) and the cute left over fedora-dudes in Captain Video ('51). The metal giant in Devil Girl from Mars ('54) was also humaniod, in a chunky way. Gog and Magog were a departure from the stereotype. They were noticeably in-human, which was part of the mood.
Bottom line? Gog seems a bit bland, as far as sci-fi tends to go, but it has a lot in it for fans of 50s sci-fi.
Grumman AF-2S Guardian, former US Navy 123088
This aircraft was owned by the now-defunct Aero Union company when I photographed it at Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) in August 2002.
Until they were replaced by the Grumman S2F Tracker, US Navy aircraft carriers were protected from submarines by "hunter/killer" teams of AF-2 Guardians in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
AF-2W Guardians were equipped with radar for detecting submarines, and AF-2S Guardians were equipped with a choice of torpedoes, bombs or depth charges in their weapons bays.
For more about this particular AF-2S, see:
www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=5829
For more about the Guardian in general, see:
www.navalaviationmuseum.org/attractions/aircraft-exhibits...
Owned by: BFI Browning-Ferris Industries
Chassis: Mack
Body manufacturer: N/A
Type of truck: Transfer Tractor
Additional notes: Ex Superior Services Inc.
Location of photo: N/A
Warrington's Own Buses - DAF DB250 / Wright Pulsar Gemini - CSZ 7913 seen in Warrington whilst not in service on March 18th 2024
New to Arriva London South as their DW54 / LJ04 LEF
The Creature Walks Among Us, 1956 One Sheet
youtu.be/cfLKIq8XZ0M?t=2s Full Feature
This is the third "Creature" movie. Universal left their options open at the end of second with the exact same ambiguous ending. While sequels to sequels tend to be poor fare, gill-man fans tend to regard Creature Walks Among Us (CWAU) as being as good as the first.
CWAU shares many B-movie weaknesses. It follows formula plot elements that were hallmarks of the first movie, but it also ventures into some new material. This new ground gives CWAU some muscle of its own. The first movie had a tiny bit of science blather about evolution. The second movie didn't bother. The third, however, tried to re-inject some science into the fiction.
Synopsis
A rich scientist mounts an expedition to find the gill-man who has escaped into the Florida swamps. A local fisherman reports being attacked by a man-like "diablo" so they investigate. Using an underwater radar device (not sonar), they track him down to a narrow bayou. Here he attacks their small boat, but is set on fire by spilled gasoline. Badly burned, the gill-man collapses. The scientists take him back aboard their 100' yacht and head for San Francisco. They've bandaged him up (head to toe) and are monitoring his vital signs. During the trip the complex soap opera develops. Dr. Barton (Jeff Morrow) is the rich, but jealous husband. Mrs. Barton (Liegh Snowden) is the blonde babe no longer in love and resentful of her husbands attempts to control her. Dr. Morgan (Rex Reason) is the concerned friend. Jed Grant is the buff playboy helper. Innuendo and misunderstandings keep the pot simmering.
Along the way, the doctors find that gill-man's gills are too badly burned to supply his body with oxygen. An x-ray reveals that he has lungs but that they're collapsed and closed off. They operate to open them. He can breathe air now. They also comment about how the burns have cause the fish-like layer to fall away, and a more human-like layer of skin to develop. Gillman awakens and interrupts Jed forcing himself on Marcia. He then dives into the sea, but must be rescued before he drowns.
Back in San Francisco, Gill is taken to Dr. Barton's estate and put into an electrified pen with some other animals. He looks somewhat longingly to the water's edge, but is docile. When a mountain lion gets into the pen and kills a sheep, Gill kills the big cat. When Dr. Barton pistol-whips Jed and puts the body in Gill's cage (to frame him for the murder), Gill goes nuts, tears up the house looking for Dr. Barton, finally killing him. Gill then wanders off the estate. With everyone in funeral attire, there's a mild suggestion that Dr. Morgan will come to call on the widow Barton when a respectful time has passed. The movie closes with Gill walking down the beach towards the sea. The End.
Once you've gotten into the gill-man saga, the plot of CWAU takes it to a new level which is more thoughtful than simply another monster movie. It's also fun to see the team of Jeff Morrow and Rex Reason again -- two good actors -- who starred in This Island Earth ('54).
The original movie had two gill-man suits -- a smaller one for the underwater shots, and a larger one for the above-water shots. The second movie, Revenge, made two new gill-man suits along the same lines. For the third movie, they didn't put too much into a new gill-man suit. They created a new gill-man head and hands, but dressed him the crude sailcloth shirt and pants so as to not have to make more. For the pre-changed gill-man, they used footage from the first two movies. The only scenes which needed a new gill-man suit was where he attacked the small boat and was burned. These scenes are so quick and dark, that the lower quality Gill-Man III is not apparent.
Arthur Ross, who co-wrote the original opted for a more thoughtful script. Are we what we are because of our genes, or because of our environment? Dr. Barton is excited that the gill-man is becoming more human. The fire burned away his "old self", releasing the new. "Change the metabolism and man will change." Dr. Morgan disagrees. Science can't create a new species. They may have altered gillman's skin, but inside he's the same. As though mankind would not be fit for space travel until he evolved into something better. This is a natural sort of thought for scientism which denies there being any divine element to man. How else to define man? Our human physiology is all we have. This is reminiscent of the premise underlying The Island of Dr. Moreau. Give animals human shape, human features, and they'll become people.
The Nurture part comes where the scientists theorize that the Gill-man as a "new" man will behave good or bad, depending on how he's treated. The assumption of the Tabula Rasa.
A notion floated in the dialogue is that ordinary humans are "built" for the earth and not suitable to space. The scientists pontificate about how the aquatic gill-man was "built" for life in the water. Man, therefore, was "built" for terrestrial life. That build would not work in space, they say. "We all stand at a crossroads between the jungle and the stars." If gill-man could become a new creature, maybe man could too. Since the changed gill-man could not really become human, the inference is that man can't become this Nietzchean over-man either.
Some aspects of CWAU have spiritual parallels. The before-creature is the old "animal" nature -- rash, violent, lustful. The after-creature is the new "human" self. He's no longer lustful or rash. He's violent only as defense. At the end, he's violent but driven by a sense of justice. There's also a parallel to the biblical "fall of man" described in the Book of Genesis, in that the before creature was innocent. He needed no clothes. After the change, he needed clothing. There's also a parallel to New Testament verses which talk of the old man having to die (metaphorically) before the new man could emerge. This adds some twist to the movie's title. Our own struggles with our animal side with our divine. Dr. Barton and Jed Grant are examples of those who gives in to their animal side. Dr. Morgan and even Marcia Barton are examples of people who maintained morality.
Old Home -- Dr. Barton's estate was one of Universal's stock houses. Used in many movies, such as Tarantula
Bottom line? CWAU will appeal to gill-man fans. Since it's not simply a re-remake of the first two "Creature" films, it has some appeal to others too. It's a bit lighter on the action but more cerebral. It's worth a watch.
Better than REVENGE, but nowhere near the glorious heights of the first film (which is really the only CREATURE that you absolutely must see).
Owned and operated by the Shuttleworth Collection in RAF Central Flying School markings.
It's genuine RAF serial is K3215.
Seen on the morning of the 2013 Autumn Airshow.
Old Warden.
06-10-2013
Hit 'L' to view on large.
An early Saturday explore with Wiffsmith and Martyn. Dai back from Urbex retirement.
Full small set here: www.flickr.com/photos/timster1973/sets/72157633230690305/
Also on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/TimKniftonPhotography
Setra S415 seen here in bath.this coach was owned by Williams coaches of Brecon and was for sale and has been sold but I do not know who to
The Lobkowicz Palace[1] (Czech: Lobkowický palác) is a part of the Prague Castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the only privately owned building in the Prague Castle complex and houses the Lobkowicz Collections and Museum.
The palace was built in the second half of the 16th century by the Czech nobleman Jaroslav of Pernštejn (1528–1569) and completed by his brother, Vratislav of Pernštejn (1530–1582), the chancellor of the Czech Kingdom. It was opened to the public for the first time on 2 April 2007 as the Lobkowicz Palace Museum. Set in 22 galleries, the museum displays a selection of pieces from the Lobkowicz Collections, including works by artists such as Antonio Canaletto, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Lucas Cranach the Elder, and Diego Velázquez, as well as decorative art, military paraphernalia, musical instruments, and original scores of composers including Beethoven and Mozart.
History
Lobkowicz Palace was built in the second half of the 16th century by the Czech nobleman Jaroslav of Pernštejn (1528-1569) and completed by his brother, Vratislav of Pernštejn (1530–1582), the chancellor of the Czech Kingdom. Vratislav's wife, Maria Maximiliana Manrique de Lara y Mendoza, brought the Infant Jesus of Prague statue, thought to have healing powers, from her homeland of Spain to the Palace. The statue was later given by Vratislav and Maria Maximiliana's daughter, Polyxena (1566-1642), to the Church of Our Lady Victorious in Prague, where it remains on display as a popular tourist attraction. A replica of the Infant Jesus of Prague is on permanent display in the Lobkowicz Palace Museum.
Martinic, in the Lobkowicz Palace on 23 May 1618, Rudolf Vejrych after Václav Brožík
The Palace came into the Lobkowicz family through the marriage of Polyxena to Zdeněk Vojtěch, 1st Prince Lobkowicz (1568-1628). In 1618, Protestant rebels threw the Catholic Imperial Ministers from the windows of the Royal Palace at Prague Castle, known as the Second Defenestration of Prague. Surviving the fall, the ministers took refuge in Lobkowicz Palace, where they were protected from further assault by Polyxena.
Following the defeat of the Protestant faction at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, the Catholic Lobkowicz family grew in influence and power for the next three centuries. Lobkowicz Palace took on a more formal, imperial role and functioned as the Prague residence when the family needed to be present at the seat of Bohemian power for political and ceremonial purposes. With the exception of the 63 years (1939-2002) during which the property was confiscated and held by Nazi and then Communist authorities, the Palace has belonged to the Lobkowicz family.
After World War I, and the abolition of hereditary titles in 1918, Maximilian Lobkowicz (1888-1967), son of Ferdinand Zdenko, 10th Prince Lobkowicz (1858-1938), demonstrated his support for the fledgling First Republic of Czechoslovakia by making several rooms at the palace available to the government headed by Tomas G. Masaryk. In 1939, the occupying Nazi forces confiscated the Palace, along with all other Lobkowicz family properties. The Palace was returned in 1945, only to be seized again after the Communist takeover in 1948. For the next forty years, the Palace was used for a variety of purposes, including State offices and as a museum of Czech history.
After the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and the fall of the Communist government, President Václav Havel enacted a series of laws that allowed for the restitution of confiscated properties. Following a twelve-year restitution process, the palace returned to the ownership of the Lobkowicz family in 2002. On 2 April 2007, after four years of restoration and refurbishment, the palace was opened to the public for the first time as the Lobkowicz Palace Museum, home to one part of The Lobkowicz Collections. The 17th century baroque Concert Hall of the Lobkowicz Palace hosts regular concerts of classical music, and the premises are also used for weddings.
Architecture
After the Thirty Years War, the Palace underwent a number of significant changes, particularly under Václav Eusebius, 2nd Prince Lobkowicz. He was responsible for the palace’s significant baroque alterations and some of its more lavishly decorated salons. Václav Eusebius redesigned the palace in the Italianate style. His design influence can be seen today in the Imperial Hall, whose walls are painted in fresco with trompe l'oeil statues of emperors surrounded by geometric designs, floral and other decorative motifs. Additional examples of the Italianate style are the Concert Hall and the Balcony Room, whose ceilings are adorned with elaborate painted stuccowork and frescoes by F.V. Harovník.
In the 18th century, Joseph František Maximilian, 7th Prince Lobkowicz commissioned the reconstruction of the exterior of the Palace in preparation for the coronation at Prague Castle of Emperor Leopold II as King of Bohemia in 1791. The alterations included the addition of the palace's panoramic balconies. Despite the various alterations made through the years, remnants of original 16th-century murals and graffito work can still be seen in both of the interior courtyards.
The Lobkowicz Collection
Haymaking, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, oil on panel, The Lobkowicz Collections
The oldest and largest privately owned art collection in the Czech Republic, the Lobkowicz Collection draws its significance from its comprehensive nature, reflecting the cultural, social, political and economic life of Central Europe for over seven centuries. In 1907, Max Dvořák, a prominent member of the Vienna School of Art History, created the first complete catalogue of The Collections.[2] After the restitution laws in the early 1990s, the Lobkowicz family was able to reassemble most of the collection, subsequently making it available to the public for the first time.
Paintings
The Lobkowicz Collections comprise approximately 1,500 paintings, including famous works by artists including Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Bellotto,[which?] Lucas Cranach the Elder, Lucas Cranach the Younger, Diego Velázquez Peter Paul Rubens, Paolo Veronese and Canaletto. The collections also include: an extensive collection of Spanish portraits; Central European portraits by Hans von Aachen and the School of Prague; Dutch, Flemish and German genre paintings; and over 50 paintings and watercolors of Lobkowicz residences by Carl Robert Croll.
The three most prestigious artworks in the collection are Haymaking (1565) by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, and two panoramic views of London by Canaletto. Other notable works include: Hygieia Nourishing the Sacred Serpent (c. 1614) by the Flemish master, Peter Paul Rubens; The Virgin and Child with Saints Barbara and Catherine (c. 1520) by Lucas Cranach the Elder; Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery (c. 1530) by Lucas Cranach the Younger; Caritas Romana (early-mid 16th century) by Georg Pencz and smaller paintings such as A Village in Winter (c. 1600) by Pieter Brueghel the Younger and St. Martin Dividing his Cloak (1611) by Jan Brueghel the Elder. Venetian painting of the 16th century is represented by Paolo Veronese's David with the Head of Goliath (1575).
The Italian baroque collection includes a prayerful Madonna by Giovanni Battista Salvi, and paintings by Francesco del Cairo, Antonio Zanchi and Giovanni Paolo Pannini. The principal Lobkowicz residences and estates—Roudnice nad Labem, Nelahozeves, Jezeří and Bílina—are depicted in oils and watercolors, commissioned from the 19th-century German painter Carl Robert Croll.
The portraits contained in The Collections reflect the Lobkowicz family's participation in European political and cultural life. The collection includes full-length Spanish portraits of Pernstejns, Lobkowiczes, Rožmberks and related members of European and ruling Habsburg dynasties by painters such as Alonso Sánchez Coello, Juan Pantoja de la Cruz, Jacob Seisenegger and Hans Krell. Among the 17th and the 18th century works in the collection is the Spanish Infanta Margarita Theresa (c. 1655), attributed to Diego Velázquez. Later portraits of members of the Lobkowicz family are by Viennese portraitists of the 19th century such as Franz Schrotzberg and Friedrich von Amerling.
The collection of paintings is accompanied by an extensive collection of graphics and drawings, including a set of engravings of Rome by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.
Decorative Arts
While not as well known as the paintings, books and music associated with the Lobkowiczes, decorative and sacred arts objects, dating from the 13th through the 20th centuries, form a significant part of The Collections.
During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia and the later period of Communist rule, the private chapels in the family’s principal residences were desecrated and their contents dispersed. Important artefacts survived, including a 12th-century reliquary cross of rock crystal and gilded copper. The gold reliquary head of a female saint, possibly St. Ursula, dated c. 1300 and known as the Jezeri Bust, was found in a trunk of theatrical props. It is now on display in the Lobkowicz Palace.
Late-Renaissance and early-baroque ceramics from Italy feature prominently in the collections. Several pieces of colorful Deruta ware are considered to be among the earliest Italian ceramics brought back to Bohemia. Ordered during a trip to Italy in 1551, the pieces are colourfully decorated with an image of a bull, which was the Pernstejn family crest.
By the late 17th century, Chinese hard-paste porcelain had become the great obsession of European rulers and aristocrats. The Dutch workshops at Delft created tin-glazed earthenware that was an early European imitation of the expensive Chinese ware. Around 1680 when he was Imperial Envoy to the Netherlands, Wenzel Ferdinand, Count Lobkowicz of Bilina, commissioned a personalized work, designed with intricate overlapping letters of his initials WL. With 150 pieces, the set is the largest surviving Delft dinner service. A selection of pieces are on display at the Lobkowicz Palace Museum. In the spring of 2000, over sixty pieces from this service were lent to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, to be displayed as part of the "Glory of the Golden Age" exhibition.
The Meissen factory outside Dresden discovered how to produce hard-paste porcelain in the first decade of the 18th century, for the first time outside of Asia. As a result of the factory’s proximity to the Lobkowicz landholdings and castles, 18th and 19th century examples of these porcelain works are prevalent in the collections, ranging from the earlier delicate chinoiserie motifs to the more traditional European elements and designs with fruits and flowers.
Some of the cabinetmaking and marquetry in the Collections come from the Eger craftsmen who worked in Western Bohemia in the 17th century. Several Eger jewelry cabinets are considered among the finest ever produced.[citation needed] Other pieces include caskets, tables and games boards, which are lavishly inlaid with ivory, mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell, depicting landscapes, animals and classical motifs.
Music
The Music Archive of the Lobkowicz Collection holds over 5,000 items. Originally housed in The Lobkowicz Library at the principal family seat of Roudnice Castle, the entire archive was confiscated, first by the Nazis in 1941, and again by the Communist regime, which sent it to the Museum of Czech Music. In October 1998, the Music Archive was returned to the family in its entirety and moved to Nelahozeves Castle under the auspices of the Roudnice-Lobkowicz Foundation.
The Music Archive, established by Ferdinand August, 3rd Prince of Lobkowicz, was assembled over three centuries by principal members of the family who were not only enthusiastic collectors, but patrons of the arts and also often talented performers. The Music Archive contains works by over five hundred composers and musicians. These include a rare collection of late 17th- and early 18th-century lute, mandolin and guitar scores. This collection, regarded as the world’s largest private collection of baroque music for plucked instruments, has a particularly extensive collection of works by French composers, including Denis and Ennemond Gaultier, St. Luc, Charles Mouton, and Jacques Gallot. The Music Archive is most noted, however, for its late 18th- and early 19th-century collection, including works by Handel, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, including Beethoven’s Third (Eroica), Fourth and Fifth symphonies, and Mozart’s hand written re-orchestration of Handel’s Messiah.
Philip Hyacinth, 4th Prince of Lobkowicz, and his second wife, Anna Wilhelmina Althan, were both distinguished lutenists and the prince an accomplished composer as well. Both were both taught by some of the finest contemporary lutenists, including Sylvius Leopold Weiss and Andreas Bohr, and their fine period instruments remain part of the collections. Their son, Ferdinand Philip, the sixth prince, played the glass harmonica and championed the son of one of the family's foresters, the opera composer Christoph Willibald Gluck.
The family member who had the greatest impact on the history of Western music, however, was the 7th Prince, Joseph Franz Maximilian. A talented singer, violinist and cellist, the 7th Prince was the major patron of Beethoven, who dedicated his Third (Eroica), Fifth, and Sixth (Pastoral) symphonies to the Prince, as well as other works. It was the annual stipend provided by the Prince (and continued by his son until the composer’s death), supplemented by support from the Archduke Rudolf and Prince Kinsky, that allowed Beethoven the freedom to compose without dependence on commissions and time-consuming teaching.[citation needed]
In addition to the manuscripts and printed music, the Collections include musical instruments from house orchestras that performed in the various family residences at Jezeří and Roudnice nad Labem in Northern Bohemia, as well as in Vienna. Also on display are lutes from the 16th and 17th centuries by Maler, Tieffenbrucker and Unverdorben; a 17th-century guitar; violins of Italian, German and Czech origin (Gasparo da Salo, Jacob Stainer, Eberle, Hellmer, Rauch); contrabasses from Edlinger[disambiguation needed] and Jacob Stainer; Guarneri and Kulik violoncelli; 18th-century Viennese wind instruments and a pair of copper martial kettledrums. A rare item in the collection is a suite of six elaborately decorated silver trumpets made in 1716 by Michael Leichamschneider of Vienna – one of only two documented sets in existence.
The Nelahozeves Castle Music Room displays a spinet, a contrabass by Posch[disambiguation needed] and other string instruments as well as two pairs of copper and bronze kettledrums.
Military equipment
Hunting was an important activity for Central European nobility from the late Renaissance period onwards, and all of the major Lobkowicz properties served as venues for hunting. Bearing witness to these hunting parties and their participants are hundreds of mounted trophies in the Lobkowicz Collections, dating from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. The social aspects of the hunt are also reflected in the numerous paintings and graphics by local artists in the collection, among them pictures of favourite horses, dogs and trophies. The central part of the hunting-related exhibitions, however, is the firearms themselves, which are displayed in two armoury rooms at Lobkowicz Palace, while further items from the collection are held at Nelahozeves Castle.
The majority of these rifles and pistols were produced locally for the family between 1650 and 1750, by the 17th-century Prague workshops of Adam Brand, Paul Ignatius Poser, the Neireiter family and Leopold Becher, as well as Roudnice craftsmen such as Johannes Lackner and Adel Friedrich during the mid-18th century. These exhibits reflect the patronage of the Lobkowicz family, who provided the gun makers with large orders for guns for many centuries.
The collection features a group of identical flintlock rifles produced for the Lobkowicz Militia in the 18th century, one of the largest collections of such items. Additional weapons came from Silesia, while the most elaborate 18th-century rifles and pistols (some in the Turkish manner) with mother-of-pearl inlay were produced in Vienna. Goldsmiths and silversmiths specializing in inlay were employed to decorate guns, rifles, crossbows and powder flasks of the finest quality.
The palace housed an exhibition of the work Illustrated geography and history of Bohemia by Bavarian cartographer Mauritius Vogt. The exhibition ran until 31 May 2015.
Lobkowicz Collections o.p.s.
In 1994, a non-profit organisation, Lobkowicz Collections o.p.s. (previously the Roudnice Lobkowicz Foundation), was established to curate and maintain the Lobkowicz Collection, recently returned to the family after the Velvet Revolution. The organisation also works to provide access to the art, music and literature contained in the collection to academic researchers and the general public. Lobkowicz Collections o.p.s. has co-ordinated the installation of the collections at both Lobkowicz Palace and Nelahozeves Castle.
The organisation's responsibilities include:
•overseeing the preservation and installation of the objects in The Collections
•developing education programs for students
•promoting and facilitating academic research around The Collections
•administering loans to other cultural institutions
•curating exhibitions of works included in the collections for the public
Significant restoration projects include the restoration of Peter Paul Rubens’ Hygieia Nourishing the Sacred Serpent, restored by Hubert von Sonnenburg of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This project was funded by the American Friends for the Preservation of Czech Culture (AFPCC).
Lobkowicz Collections o.p.s. also administers lending of artworks to exhibitions. Since 1993, over 200 works of art have been lent to museums in the Czech Republic and abroad, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, the Royal Academy of Art in London and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
One of his trademark is to create buildings within IKEA glass domes. But he really puts his own personal touch on all his creations. Great work on this one!
WHAT IS BRIXTAR?
Our goal is to create the best community for us LEGO® lovers all over the world. We created Brixtar to give you a social platform where you can share your amazing creations and be inspired by other builders. For us the brix is so much more than just a toy, it’s a tool with endless possibilities.
Everyday, our community is expanding with new LEGO® lovers sharing the same passion. If you already joined our community, we hope you like it! If not, why don’t you try us out?
Link for downloading the app:
App Store: itunes.apple.com/app/id1169133487
Google Play: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brixtar.brixtar
More info about us:
www.facebook.com/brixtarofficial
www.instagram.com/brixtar_official
If you have any questions or feedback on BriXtar, please send us an email info@brixtar.com
Have a creative day!
// The BriXtar Team
Bank Owned Tractor Trailer Trucks are for sale with Financing Options
for start ups and seasoned businesses with bad credit!!
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natures own sculpture - a living art form
The oldest and most famous trees at City Park are, of course, the amazing live oaks. Draped with Spanish moss and lined with resurrection fern, the Park’s live oaks set a romantic and mysterious mood on the Park grounds.
The particular species of live oak that grows in City Park is Quercus virginiana, the southern live oak. These magnificent trees provide a huge canopy of shade and shallow roots spreading to match the size of the canopy.
They thrive in sandy soils or clay, can withstand moderate floods and hurricanes, and are resistant to salt spray. The wood is so heavy and strong, it was once used for ship building.
The Park’s oldest live oaks first sprouted around 1200 AD! That’s the early 13th century when the Crusades sacked Constantinople and King John signed the Magna Carta. It’s hard to imagine the passage of history since these tiny acorns developed into the towering trees of today.
So come and visit. Pick a favorite tree. Peer up into the canopy. Experience the breath-taking beauty and the sense of wonder found among the spectacular trees of City Park. neworleanscitypark.wordpress.com/2014/02/
++ ++ ++ ++ ++
Resurrection fern grows on the live oaks of the City Park. Pleopeltis polypodioides (syn. Polypodium polypodioides), also known as the resurrection fern, is a species of creeping, coarse-textured fern native to the Americas and Africa.
This fern is an epiphyte, or air plant, which means it attaches itself to other plants and gets its nutrients from the air and from water and nutrients that collect on the outer surface of bark. The resurrection fern lives on the branches of large trees such as cypresses and can often be seen carpeting the shady areas on limbs of large oak trees. However, it is known to grow on the surfaces of rocks and dead logs as well. It is often found in the company of other epiphytic plants such as Spanish moss.
The RESURRECTION FERN GETS ITS NAME because it can survive long periods of drought by curling up its fronds and appearing desiccated, grey-brown and dead. However, when just a little water is present, the fern will uncurl and reopen, appearing to "resurrect" and restoring itself to a vivid green color within about 24 hours. It has been estimated that these plants could last 100 years without water and still revive after a single exposure.
The resurrection fern is also known by the common names of little gray polypod, scaly polypody and miracle fern.
This plant has been taken on a space shuttle mission to watch its resurrection in zero gravity. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleopeltis_polypodioides
++ ++ ++ ++ ++
The Helis Foundation Enrique Alférez Sculpture Garden In the New Orleans Botanical Garden
- See more at: neworleanscitypark.com/Botanical-garden/the-helis-foundat...
++ ++ ++ ++ ++
image by Photo George
©2015/2017 GCheatle
all rights reserved
locator: GAC_7664_Default
The M-emperors are never seen outside, it happened with the release of the I-M-phone after the Invisible revolution.
So there's not much to say about that aspect, except that the last seen M-emperors looked real young, infantile, sort of sexy in their childish absorption in a game played on the old i-phone when they still walked on the streets.
Such nostalgic memory of seeing it happening in the open.
Nobody could see the m-emperor unless one is subscribed to the channel. And that would be the hardest thing in the Universe we have to admit, dear corporate genius.
I doubt that even your personal Super Collider could work out a solution to this.
It would be same as if you could finally see inside your own physical body and observe your every organ that is a universe of its own to find there one specific cell you don't know by name or number. Impossible. This is what futurism had overlooked.
M-emperor could be subscribed by so many m-fans that a fan or a solicitor would have hard time locating the m-emperor. plus.google.com/photos?pid=6122854360480967042&oid=11...
From Wikipedia.com:
Santa Cruz Island was the largest privately owned island off the continental United States, but is currently part-owned by the National Park service (NPS owns 24%, and the Nature Conservancy owns 76%).[1] The island, located off the coast of California, is 22 miles (35 km) long and from 2 to 6 miles (3.2 to 9.7 km) wide. It is part of the northern group of the Channel Islands of California,[1] and at 61,764.6 acres (249.952 km2) or 96.507 sq mi) is the largest of the eight islands in the chain. Santa Cruz Island is located within Santa Barbara County, California. The coastline has steep cliffs, gigantic sea caves, coves, and sandy beaches. Defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block 3000, Block Group 3, Census Tract 29.10 of Santa Barbara County, the 2000 census showed an official population of two persons.[2] The highest peak is Devils Peak, at 2450+ feet (747+ m).
A central valley splits the island along the Santa Cruz Island Fault, with volcanic rock on the north and older sedimentary rock on the south.
Santa Cruz is the only place where the Island Scrub Jay is found.
Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Early history
1.2 Mexican land grant
1.3 Ranching
1.4 Other uses
1.5 National park
2 Wildlife
3 Reintroduced bald eagles
4 References
4.1 Notes
4.2 Bibliography
5 External links
[edit]History
[edit]Early history
Archaeological investigations indicate that Santa Cruz Island has been occupied for at least 9,000 years. People, of the Chumash Indian tribe lived on the island and developed a highly complex society dependent on marine harvest, craft specialization and trade with the mainland population. The Santa Cruz Island Chumash produced shell beads that they used for currency, which formed an important part of the overall Chumash economy. Native villagers had no known contact with Europeans until the 16th and early 17th centuries. Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, who is credited with the first European exploration of the California coast, observed at least six villages, though he and his crew did not come ashore. Cabrillo named the island San Lucas, although the Chumash called it Limuw.[3]
In 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno led the last Spanish expedition to California. His map named Santa Cruz Island the Isla de Gente Barbuda (island of the bearded people). Between 1602 and 1769 there was no recorded European contact with the island. Finally, in 1769, the land-and-sea expedition of Don Gaspar de Portolà reached Santa Cruz Island. Traveling with him were Father Juan González Vizcaíno and Father Francisco Palóu. Father Palóu wrote of Father Vizcaíno’s visit to the Santa Cruz village of Xaxas that the missionaries on ship went ashore and “they were well received by the heathen and presented with fish, in return for which the Indians were given some strings of beads.” The island was considered for establishment of a Catholic mission to serve the large Chumash population. When Mission San Buenaventura was founded across the channel in 1782, it commenced the slow religious conversion of the Santa Cruz Chumash. In 1822, the last of the Chumash left the island for mainland California.[3]
With Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1821, the Mexican government asserted its control over California. In an effort to increase the Mexican presence, the government began sending convicted criminals to populate many areas. Around 40 prisoners were sent to Santa Barbara where, upon arrival, they were sent to Santa Cruz Island. They lived for a short time in an area now known as Prisoners Harbor.[3]
[edit]Mexican land grant
Governor Juan Alvarado made a Mexican land grant of the Island of Santa Cruz to his aide Captain Andrés Castillero in 1839. When California became a state in 1850, the United States government, through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, required that land previously granted by Spanish and Mexican governments be proved before the Board of Land Commissioners. A claim was filed with the Land Commission in 1852,[4] confirmed by the US Supreme Court[5] and the grant was patented to Andrés Castillero in 1867.[6] For twelve years Castillero’s claim to Santa Cruz Island was disputed, even after his property had been sold. During Castillero’s ownership, Dr. James B. Shaw, an English physician, acted as manager of the island. He built the island’s first ranch house by 1855 and is thought to have brought the first French Merino sheep to the island.[3]
[edit]Ranching
See also: Santa Cruz (sheep)
Scorpion Ranch, 2009
Castillero sold the island to William Barron, a San Francisco businessman and co-owner of the company Barron, Forbes & Co., in 1857. During the twelve years that Barron owned the island, Dr. Shaw continued to manage it as superintendent and was charged by Barron to expand the sheep ranching operation begun during the Castillero era. The Civil War significantly increased the demand for wool and by 1864 some 24,000 sheep grazed the hills and valleys of Santa Cruz Island.[3]
Shaw’s island sheep ranch was well known by 1869, the year he left Santa Cruz. He imported cattle, horses, and sheep to the island and erected one of the earliest wharves along the California coast at Prisoners Harbor by 1869. He built corrals and houses for himself and his employees and expanded the road system. Shaw was the first rancher to ship sheep to San Francisco by steamer, some selling at $30 per animal. When Barron sold the island in 1869 to ten investors from San Francisco for $150,000, Shaw left for San Francisco and Los Alamos where he continued ranching. At that time, the gross proceeds from the ranch on Santa Cruz Island were supposedly $50,000.[3]
One of the investors, Justinian Caire, was a French immigrant and founder of a successful San Francisco hardware business that sold equipment to miners. By the late 1880s Caire had acquired all of the shares of the Santa Cruz Island Company which he and his colleagues had founded in 1869. He continued a successful livestock and ranching industry on the island for many years.[3]
An extended and complicated series of litigation among Caire family members resulted in the division of the island and the sale of most of it in 1937. Justinian Caire's descendents retained 6,000 acres (24 km2) on the east end of the island, on which they continued the sheep ranching operation. Other family members sold the remaining 90 percent of the island to Los Angeles oilman Edwin Stanton in 1937.[3]
Edwin Stanton’s purchase of the major part of Santa Cruz Island brought a major shift in agricultural production on the island. After trying for a short time to continue the sheep operation, he decided to switch to beef production. At the time, the beef industry in California was growing rapidly, with Santa Barbara County among the top ten beef producers in the state.[3]
Edwin Stanton’s ranch on Santa Cruz Island saw changes that reflected the evolution of cattle ranching in a working landscape. While retaining most of the 19th century structures dating from the Caire period, Stanton constructed a few buildings to meet the needs of his cattle ranch, the most notable of which is Rancho del Norte on the isthmus. Pasture fencing and corrals were altered to suit the cattle operation and an extensive water system was added to provide water to the cattle.[3]
The Gherini family, descendents of Justinian Caire, continued their sheep ranching operations on the east end of Santa Cruz Island until 1984, using Scorpion Ranch as their base. They managed the island with resident managers and laborers and often worked as a family during shearing and during the summer. Production dropped during the 1970s and 80s and the expense of ranching on a remote island rose. By 1984 the last ranch lessee vacated the island and a newly formed hunting club called Island Adventures leased the facilities from the Gherinis. The hunt club used the ranch houses at Scorpion and Smugglers to house guests who came to hunt the feral pigs and remaining sheep.[3] The fight between the Gherinis and the federal government started in 1980, when the northern Channel Islands were designated a national park and Congress authorized the purchase of the family's remaining acreage. But the purchase agreement stalled for years as family members pushed the federal government to pay what they believed was the appropriate amount for the land. In the early 1990s, the government managed to buy the interests of Francis Gherini's three siblings for about $4 million apiece. But the former Oxnard attorney rejected the offer as too low, keeping his 25% interest in the 6,264-acre (25.35 km2) ranch and leaving the park service with 75%. Park officials continued negotiations in recent years, but said they were constrained by law from paying more than fair market value. In 1995, park officials were still reviewing appraisals of the land, hoping they could meet Gherini's price and snatch up the last privately owned land in the national park. In November 1996, government officials settled with Mr. Gherini for 14 million dollars which included 2 million dollars in back interest.[7]
With Edwin Stanton’s death in 1964, his widow and son, Carey, re-incorporated the Santa Cruz Island Company and continued the cattle operations on the island. Carey Stanton died unexpectedly in 1987 at the ranch and was buried in the family plot in the island chapel yard at the Main Ranch. The real property passed to The Nature Conservancy through a prior agreement that Carey Stanton had established with the non-profit organization. The Nature Conservancy rapidly liquidated the cattle operation and ended the ranching era on the island.[3]
[edit]Other uses
Santa Cruz was a base for otter hunters, fishermen, and smugglers. The Channel Islands often provided smugglers and bootleggers with convenient yet isolated hideaways where they could store their goods, one area is known today as Smugglers Cove.[3]
George Nidever recalled hunting otter at Santa Cruz in the winter of 1835-1836. Working from a base camp at Santa Rosa Island, he and two others obtained 60 skins that season. Fishermen encamped on the island, trading fish for other goods from passing boats.[3]
The United States military began to use Santa Cruz Island during World War II, and has constructed and maintained strategic installations on the island. Like all of the Channel Islands, Santa Cruz Island was used as an early warning outpost for observing enemy planes and ships during World War II. During the Cold War a communications station was installed as a part of the Pacific Missile Range Facility. This station remains in operation, although not at the levels of use seen in the 1950s and 1960s.[3]
[edit]National park
In 1936 the Caire family reportedly offered their 90% of the island for $750,000 to the state of California for use as a state or federal park. Nothing came of this proposal and the property was sold to Edwin Stanton. Stanton's son and heir was not interested in a government purchase of his island and took steps to avoid such events by forging an agreement with The Nature Conservancy and the property was transferred to the organization upon his death. Although Santa Cruz Island is included within the boundaries of Channel Islands National Park, The Nature Conservancy portion of the island does not belong to the park. A transfer of 8,500 acres (34 km2) from the Nature Conservancy to the park was completed in 2000.[3]
Channel Islands National Park owns and operates approximately 24% of Santa Cruz Island. The remaining land is managed by a combination of organizations which includes The Nature Conservancy, the University of California Field Station, and the Santa Cruz Island Foundation.
[edit]Wildlife
Lichen encrusted rocks upon the cliffs of Santa Cruz Island
Introduced and invasive species on Santa Cruz Island include:
Golden Eagle (invader), which replaced the native bald eagle, and hunted island foxes to threatened status.
Fennel (introduced), served as cover for Island Foxes, but as forage for the feral pigs.
Feral Pigs (introduced), displaced native island foxes.
Santa Cruz sheep
Native species include:
Island Scrub-jay
Hoffman's rockress, which is known only from Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands.[8]
Island manzanita[9] and whitehair manzanita,[10] shrubs which are endemic to Santa Cruz Island.
Island fence lizard,[11] endemic to the Channel Islands of California[12]
[edit]Reintroduced bald eagles
Bald eagles were once numerous on California's Channel Islands. Because of eggshell thinning caused by DDT and other factors, the last known successful bald eagle nesting in the northern Channel Islands was in 1949. By the 1960s, bald eagles could no longer be found on any of the Channel Islands.
The Institute for Wildlife Studies started a program in 2002 to reintroduce bald eagles to the Channel Islands, funded by money from a $25 million fund to deal with the lingering effects of tons of DDT dumped by the Montrose Chemical Corporation of California into the ocean near Santa Catalina Island. Since June 2002, 46 young bald eagles have been released on Santa Cruz Island. On 17 March 2006, wildlife biologists for the Institute announced that for the first time in over 50 years there has been a successful hatching on Santa Cruz Island.[13][14]
In April 2007, the Nature Conservancy announced another successful chick hatching.[15] The chick broke free of its shell on 13 April 2007.
My own custom design for a new 2015 version of the classic Bionicle set 8537 Nui-Rama.
I first started brainstorming this on LDD before settling on a design which I could recreate in real life. I'd say it's quite an impressive improvement over the original.
My own book, 96 pages offset printed with ISBN !!!
If somebody knows the way to promote my book in foreign countries (UK, USA, all European countries, Asia etc ; please let me know!! Have a look at www.luctenklooster.com/BoekSHE.htm
Get Your Own Back - A show which children could get their revenge on a mom/dad/teacher/dentist etc.
The children will play some fun games and at the end of all the rounds it's the child with the highest score that will get the ultimate dream that will see their grown up in the gunge.
In this series in the late 90's viewers also got the chance to get involve by either becoming co-presenters or sending their ideas for new games.
The series was filmed at Shepherds Bush Stadium.
in their own way :)
My Little Miss No Name family and Susie family come together
in one shot. Missing a little Susie on the way! Jillybug Manor
is always happy to adopt wayward Susie's (and most other dolls!) :D
An interesting read about LMNN...
A French registered Mercedes with its own lifeboat.
Parked up at Exeter services.
It was late evening,the sun was low.
This was the first picture i took and noted down the date and location.
I continued to do so till i obtained a digital camera.
July 16 1984
Heavy Construction Equipment Rent to Own Financing is available for start ups and seasoned businesses with bad credit!!
If you're looking to finance a new and/or used heavy construction equipment and have bad credit USCCLG can help.
Whether you have suffered a past bankruptcy, repossessions, or are a first time buyer you can get a heavy construction equipment by putting down a substantial down payment or offering additional collateral.
This collerateral can be in the form of other free and clear construction equipment, trucks, trailers, or equity in real estate.
Don't let the Economy keep you down, we are here to assist you with all your heavy construction equipment financing needs...
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The Plaza, A Fairmont Managed Hotel
Fifth Avenue at Central Park South, New York, NY 10019
Flags flying at entrance to the Fairmont Plaza Hotel
--------------------------
The Plaza Hotel in New York City is jointly owned by Elad Properties and Kingdom Holdings, a Saudia Arabia based corporation. It derives its name from the Grand Army Plaza which sits in front of the hotel. It has been managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts since 1999.
History of the Plaza from the Fairmont Plaza web site:
The Plaza opened its doors on October 1, 1907, amid a flurry of impressive reports describing it as the greatest hotel in the world. Located at Fifth Avenue and Central Park South, this luxury hotel was constructed in the most fashionable residential section of New York City.
The Plaza was the dream of financier Bernhard Beinecke, hotelier Fred Sterry, and Harry S. Black, President of the Fuller Construction Company. The Fuller Company also built the Pennsylvania Station, the Flatiron Building, R.H. Macy's flagship store on Broadway and 34th Street, the Savoy-Plaza Hotel across Fifth Avenue, the biggest hotel in the world at the time, designed by McKim, Mead & White, and demolished in 1964. In Chicago, Fuller built the Stevens Hotel, designed by Holabird & Roche.
They purchased a 15-year-old hotel of the same name on the site. The three men set out to replace it with what is surely one of the most elegant hotels in the world. Construction of the 19-story building (a skyscraper back then) took two years at a cost of $12 million - an unprecedented sum in those days. The architect was Henry Janeway Hardenbergh. Hardenbergh also designed the Dakota apartments, the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. and The Fairmont Copley Plaza Boston, set about his task to provide all the pomp, glory, and opulence of a French chateau. No cost was spared. The largest single order in history for gold-encrusted china was placed with L. Straus & Sons, and no less than 1,650 crystal chandeliers were purchased.
Originally, The Plaza, a Manhattan luxury hotel, served as a residence for wealthy New Yorkers. Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt were the first to sign the register. For guests who chose to rent on a nightly basis at the time, this New York City luxury hotel's single rooms started at $2.50 per night.
Kings, presidents, ambassadors, stars of stage, screen and sports, as well as business executives and travellers from all parts of the world have gathered and stayed at The Plaza. The Plaza was so well known that Ernest Hemingway once advised F. Scott Fitzgerald to give his liver to Princeton and his heart to The Plaza.
Although The Plaza appeared fleetingly in earlier films, this Manhattan luxury hotel's true movie debut was in Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 classic North by Northwest - the first time a crew, director and cast assembled on site to make a picture. Before then, movies were shot almost entirely on Hollywood soundstages and rarely on location. The Plaza has provided the location for other motion pictures such as Plaza Suite, The Way We Were, The Great Gatsby, Barefoot in the Park, Funny Girl, Cotton Club, Crocodile Dundee I and II and Home Alone II: Lost In New-York.
Designated a New York City Landmark in 1969, The Plaza is listed on the Register of Historic Places and the only New York City hotel to be designated as a National Historic Landmark.
According to Wikipedia Conrad Hilton bought the Plaza for US$7.4 million in 1943 ($94 million in today's dollars) and spent US$6.0 million ($76.2 million in today's dollars) refurbishing it. The Childs Company, a national restaurant chain which partnered in the development of the neighboring Savoy-Plaza Hotel,(now the site of the General Motors Building), purchased the Plaza Hotel in 1955 for 1,100,000 shares of Childs common stock, valued at approximately $6,325,000 ($51.9 million in today's dollars). Childs subsequently changed its name to Hotel Corporation of America, now known as Sonesta International Hotels Corporation. Donald Trump bought the Plaza for $407.5 million in 1988 ($756 million in today's dollars).
Trump commented on his purchase in a full-page open letter he published in The New York Times: "I haven't purchased a building, I have purchased a masterpiece — the Mona Lisa. For the first time in my life, I have knowingly made a deal that was not economic — for I can never justify the price I paid, no matter how successful the Plaza becomes."
After Trump's divorce from wife Ivana Trump, the Plaza's president, Trump sold the hotel for $325 million in 1995 ($468 million in today's dollars) to Troy Richard Campbell, from New Hampshire. He sold it in 2004 for $675 million ($785 million in today's dollars) to a Manhattan developer, El Ad Properties. El Ad bought the hotel with plans of adding residential and commercial sections. Since The Plaza Hotel is a New York landmark, Tishman Construction Corporation, the construction management company hired to complete the renovations and conversions, had to comply with landmark regulations.
El Ad temporarily closed The Plaza on April 30, 2005, for extensive renovations. The Plaza reopened on March 1, 2008. Today the Plaza offers 282 hotel rooms and 152 private condo hotel units; it is managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. Diamond retailer Lev Leviev put in the first bid for a Plaza apartment at $10 million. In May 2007, a new apartment in the Plaza was sold for a record $50 million, but prices dropped through 2009.
Exodus 4:18-23 (ANIV)
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Let me go back to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive." Jethro said, "Go, and I wish you well."
19 Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead." 20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
21 The Lord said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, "Let my son go, so that he may worship me." But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.' "
DRAWING NOTES:
TIME OF DAY:
Early morning, just before sun rise.
LIGHTING NOTES:
The rising sun, which is still below the horizon, behind the figures, illuminates this scene.
Cast shadows from the sunshine coming off the clouds radiate towards the viewer.
CHARACTERS PRESENT:
From left to right: Zipporah (Moses’ wife) is waving to her family at the tent in the background. Gershom (Moses and Zipporah’s first son) is riding on a donkey, Moses is walking towards the viewer.
RESEARCH/ADDITIONAL NOTES:
I was very pleased with the landscape and sunrise cloud effects achieved in this scene. The cast shadows add drama to the beginning of Moses and his family’s early morning trek, back to Egypt.
I enjoyed drawing the two blue, male Sinai agama lizards, standing on a rock in the foreground, watching the small family party leaving for Egypt.
Exodus 4:20 tells us that Moses had “sons”, not “a son”. Although only one son (Gershom) had been mentioned in the initial account of Moses’ marriage to Zipporah (Exodus 2:21-22), clearly Moses second son Eliezer had been born during Moses’ forty-year stay in Midian. This being the case I have drawn Zipporah carrying a large bag-like piece of luggage over her shoulder. Although we can not see it, it is in fact a carry bag for her newly born son Eliezer.
There is no biblical account of when Zipporah and her two sons returned to her father (Jethro (aka Reuel)) from Egypt. Many Bible commentators think that Moses sent his family back for safety, although some believe the circumcision incident (see the next scene) may have caused an argument/tension between Moses and his wife Zipporah, and they suggest she may have returned to her father in Midian after she, Moses and her children eventually reached Egypt.
Robert Jamieson (writing in the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary) writes this:
“There is no express mention of Zipporah and her sons having been sent back to remain with her father. But it is certain that she was sent back; and whether, as the Jewish rabbis say, this was done by the advice of Aaron; whether the motive for it was a tender regard for the safety of the family, to keep them away from the intensely agitating and engrossing scenes of the exodus, or, as some suppose, a domestic feud, caused by the circumcision of the younger son, had produced a sudden strife and alienation between Moses and Zipporah, there is no doubt that she returned to sojourn under her father’s roof.”
After Zipporah leaves Moses, we have the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh; the miraculous signs and plagues; the escape of the Hebrew people and the parting of the Red Sea. Then the beginning of the wilderness wanderings.
The next mention of Zipporah and her sons is found in Exodus 18:2 where Jethro/Reuel takes Zipporah and her two sons, Gershom and Eleazer, back to Moses at the Mount of God.
1 Chronicles 23:14-16 mentions Moses’ sons...
“14 But the sons of Moses the man of God were named among the tribe of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.”
Did Moses Have a Second Wife?
The only other reference found in the Bible relating to Moses’ wife is found in Numbers 12:1...
12 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.
It is possible that this reference is made regarding Zipporah, but it is equally possible that this relates to a second wife of Moses. we really can’t be sure either way, since the words “Cushite” and “Midian” may be synonymous.
Whatever the truth of the matter, the Bible does not record what became of Zipporah, and her and Moses’ sons, Gershom and Eliezer.
Sinai agama (Pseudotrapelus sinaitus, formerly Agama sinaita)
The Sinai agama (Pseudotrapelus sinaitus, formerly Agama sinaita) is an agamid lizard found in arid areas of southeastern Libya, eastern Egypt, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, eastern Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti.
The length of the lizard including its long slender tail is 18 cm (7 in), the tail accounting for up to two-thirds of its total length. The limbs and tail are long and thin and allow for good climbing and running capability.
Pseudotrapelus sinaitus is active during daytime and feeds on insects and other arthropods and plants. During the breeding season, males become a striking blue colour to attract females. The female has brownish-red spots on her sides.
[source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinai_agama]
See this & many more cartoon illustrations on my website: www.biblecartoons.co.uk
Hero City: Voronezh.
From 10 to 17 September 2011, Voronezh celebrated its 425th anniversary. The anniversary of the city was given the status of a federal scale celebration that helped attract large investments from the federal and regional budgets for development. On December 17, 2012, Voronezh became the fifteenth city in Russia with a population of over one million people. Today Voronezh is the economic, industrial, cultural, and scientific center of the Central Black Earth Region. As part of the annual tradition in the Russian city of Voronezh, every winter the main city square is thematically drawn around a classic literature. In 2020, the city was decorated using the motifs from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. In the year of 2021, the architects drew inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen as well as the animation classic The Snow Queen from the Soviet Union.
we own nothing / nothing is ours
not even love so fierce / it burns like baby stars
but this poverty / is our greatest gift
the weightlessness of us / as things around begin to shift
-indigo girls
Owned and operated by Gabriella Karillion and Gooch1435. We are proud and privilaged to bring you Just Darling weddings. We built this sim from bottom to top and are ready for you to come have a look and see all that we have to offer. Featured in SL destinations our wedding venue is available to rent for your special day. Please stop by the sim and have a look, or message one of us for further details. We hope to hear from you soon to start planning your special day.
This BC Rich bass was owned by Warrant's bass player Jerry Dixon, and can be seen in MANY of the music videos by the 80s heavy metal band WARRANT. It was also used on many live shows and tours as well as a magazine ad for Dean Markley Bue Steel strings. It features a painted graphic of a sort of vintage cigarette ad parody featuring a woman and the logo: "smoke Mypole" (get it...?) on the front, and the graphic "WE WANT HEAD!" on the back (this was really an open invite to groupies to meet up later after the show). It is signed on the back electronics cover by Jerry. Here's a close-up image of the front graphic.
*(It came with a hard case with the stencilled-on words: "WARRANT Smoke My Pole " on the sides.)
#WOMENINSTEM WEDNESDAY - #CONSERVATIONLANDS15 STYLE: BLM EMPLOYEE LARA KOBELT IN HER OWN WORDS
“Five years ago, at just 22, I moved from Ohio to Rock Springs, Wyoming, to work for the BLM under the chicagobotanicgarden’s Conservation and Land Management Internship Program. I was a Seeds of Success Intern, so my field partner and I traveled around the field office collecting hundreds of thousands of seeds for restoration, research, and native plant materials development.
I worked back east for a year, but…the west is the best! So I applied to the CLM internship program again, and requested to work in one of the southwest deserts. I ended up in Needles, California, collecting seeds for the SOS program.
I was offered a Student Career Experience Program (now Pathways Program) position in Needles, was accepted into the Master of Science in Forestry program at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, and I’ve been here ever since.
At work, I’m researching the genetic study of sky island white fir populations in the Kingston Range Wilderness of the Needles Field Office. A fir is one of the more popular species used as Christmas trees – picture that in the middle of the Mojave Desert! These mountains are so special – they serve as “rest areas” for migratory bird species and are a hide-out for mountain lions, bobcats, and desert bighorn sheep. There are several plants that grow in this wilderness and nowhere else in the world.
At the end of the day, though, National Conservation Lands are important to me because, whether at work or on the weekends, I spend a lot of time in, on, and around National Conservation Lands. I’ve backpacked up crazy scary mountains in the Kingston Range Wilderness to look for the elusive white fir trees. During a backpacking trip in the Chemehuevi Mountains Wilderness, it rained for almost 12 hours, and I got to hike in fog in the middle of the desert. I’ve been to all the wilderness areas in the Needles Field Office, and I always find something new and interesting - be it a tiny flower, a new water source seeping up from the ground, or bighorn sheep peering at me from the next ridge over.
When I get stressed out by school or overwhelmed at work, the only thing that truly fixes me is getting out into the wilderness. I ditch my phone, my computer, and my proximity to roads and cars and electricity. National Conservation Lands and Wilderness make you get out of your car, and totally surrounded by nature. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Starring Lara Turner and Ray Milland
Here's a description of the movie from imdb.com:
Small town Kansas girl, Lily James, is the latest model working for the Thomas Callaway Agency in New York City. Despite her small town roots, Lily is street-wise because of her tough growing up experiences, and as such she is a good judge of character. She believes she can escape her troubles through professional success. Because of her hard work ethic, she quickly does rise to the top of her profession. She attracts the attention of Steve Harleigh, a wealthy copper mine owner. Despite they both knowing that nothing can come between them, they fall in love. The issues are that he lives and works in Montana, and that he is already married. Steve feels guilty about his marital infidelity as his wife, Nora, is physically disabled from a car accident in which he was the cause. Lily has to decide if her own happiness is worth destroying the life of a woman - an invalid - she's never met.