(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

Virtually everyone in America, as well as millions of other people around the world, know that Thanksgiving is one of the main occasions for organizing a huge parade.

 

It’s especially true in New York City, where I live — hundreds of parade workers converge on a one-block stretch between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West on 77th Street on the night before Thanksgiving to assemble the floats, and pump the huge balloons full of helium, so they’ll be ready to go the next morning. The parade itself lasts for hours, and stretches all the way down Central Park West and Broadway, and ultimately through Herald Square and past the main entrance to Macy’s on 34th Street. The whole thing is televised for the benefit of viewers all around the world, with TV commentators and an endless procession of marching bands, baton-twirlers, singers, dancers, jugglers, magicians, Broadway actors, and other forms of entertainment…

 

While New York City may be the only example of a Thanksgiving-Day parade that people around the world actually see on their TV screen, it’s definitely not the only such parade that takes place in this country. I’m sure that every big city has its own version of the turkey-day parade, as do most of the medium-size cities, and quite a few smaller towns and villages, too. They may not be visible on television, but a lot of local citizens and visitors turn out to watch such parades, if only because their sons and daughters are typically marching in the high-school bands that form a big part of the event.

 

On this particular occasion — in November of 2013 — I happened to be in one such medium-size city, where the parade took place on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. It was in Portland, Oregon where we were spending the holiday period with one of our sons and his family; the parade took place in the “Pearl District” of downtown Portland … and, to our amazement, we were able to park our car about a block from the parade route, and walk right up to the corner (at Davis St and NW Park, if you want to track it down on Google Maps) where all of the bands and floats and costumed marchers walked by. In fact, I was able to take the “parade experience” even one step further: the people were friendly enough, and the security was light enough, that I was able to walk right out into the middle of the street with my camera, to photograph the floats and bands and marchers as they approached me … scampering out of the way only at the last moment.

 

Admittedly, Portland is a much bigger city than a tiny village of a thousand people somewhere in the midwest … but it still felt like “small town America” to me, and it was a great spectacle to watch. I got the impression that many of the visitors and observers standing along the street actually knew the people marching past them … and in any case, the marchers laughed and smiled and walked right up to us, handing out little pieces of candy to all of the children. Maybe next year I’ll go looking for a really small Thanksgiving parade in one of those tiny midwest-America villages, before retreating back to the Big Apple to watch the spectacle of thousands of marchers parading past millions of observers, and a TV audience of tens of millions …

 

I wish that I had taken some video clips of the parade, because the sounds and the music and the motion were a big part of what we experienced. But for better or worse, all I took was a bunch of traditional still photos. Actually, I took a LOT of still photos — nearly a thousand, altogether — but I’ve winnowed the collection down to 50 “keepers” that I hope will give you a sense of what Thanksgiving is all about…

 

Actually, if you live anywhere besides New York City here in the U S of A, you already know what Thanksgiving is all about, at least to the extent that it’s symbolized by the parade. But for those of us who spend most our time in New York City, it was a very pleasant experience indeed. After an hour, it was all over; we walked back to our car a block away, and drove back to our son’s house … and a day later, we were back in New York City. And thus ended another Thanksgiving holiday, at least until 2014.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

This is the continuation of a photo-project that I began in the summer of 2008: a random collection of "interesting" people in a broad stretch of the Upper West Side of Manhattan -- between 72nd Street and 104th Street, especially along Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.

 

As I indicated when I started this project in 2008, I don't like to intrude on people's privacy, so I normally use a telephoto lens in order to photograph them while they're still 50-100 feet away from me; but that means I have to continue focusing my attention on the people and activities half a block away, rather than on what's right in front of me.

 

I've also learned that, in many cases, the opportunities for an interesting picture are very fleeting -- literally a matter of a couple of seconds, before the person(s) in question move on, turn away, or stop doing whatever was interesting. So I've learned to keep the camera switched on (which contradicts my traditional urge to conserve battery power), and not worry so much about zooming in for a perfectly-framed picture ... after all, once the digital image is uploaded to my computer, it's pretty trivial to crop out the parts unrelated to the main subject.

 

Thus far, I've generally avoided photographing bums, drunks, crazies, and homeless people. There are a few of them around, and they would certainly create some dramatic pictures; but they generally don't want to be photographed, and I don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage of them. I'm still looking for opportunities to take some "sympathetic" pictures of such people, which might inspire others to reach out and help them. We'll see how it goes ...

 

The only other thing I've noticed, thus far, is that while there are lots of interesting people to photograph, there are far, far, far more people who are not so interesting. They're probably fine people, and they might even be more interesting than the ones I've photographed ... but there was just nothing memorable about them.

View of The Shard across the River Thames at night

 

PERMISSION TO USE: Please check the licence for this photo on Flickr. If the photo is marked with the Creative Commons licence, you are welcome to use this photo free of charge for any purpose including commercial. I am not concerned with how attribution is provided - a link to my flickr page or my name is fine. If used in a context where attribution is impractical, that's fine too. I enjoy seeing where my photos have been used so please send me links, screenshots or photos where possible. If the photo is not marked with the Creative Commons licence, only my friends and family are permitted to use it.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

Virtually everyone in America, as well as millions of other people around the world, know that Thanksgiving is one of the main occasions for organizing a huge parade.

 

It’s especially true in New York City, where I live — hundreds of parade workers converge on a one-block stretch between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West on 77th Street on the night before Thanksgiving to assemble the floats, and pump the huge balloons full of helium, so they’ll be ready to go the next morning. The parade itself lasts for hours, and stretches all the way down Central Park West and Broadway, and ultimately through Herald Square and past the main entrance to Macy’s on 34th Street. The whole thing is televised for the benefit of viewers all around the world, with TV commentators and an endless procession of marching bands, baton-twirlers, singers, dancers, jugglers, magicians, Broadway actors, and other forms of entertainment…

 

While New York City may be the only example of a Thanksgiving-Day parade that people around the world actually see on their TV screen, it’s definitely not the only such parade that takes place in this country. I’m sure that every big city has its own version of the turkey-day parade, as do most of the medium-size cities, and quite a few smaller towns and villages, too. They may not be visible on television, but a lot of local citizens and visitors turn out to watch such parades, if only because their sons and daughters are typically marching in the high-school bands that form a big part of the event.

 

On this particular occasion — in November of 2013 — I happened to be in one such medium-size city, where the parade took place on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. It was in Portland, Oregon where we were spending the holiday period with one of our sons and his family; the parade took place in the “Pearl District” of downtown Portland … and, to our amazement, we were able to park our car about a block from the parade route, and walk right up to the corner (at Davis St and NW Park, if you want to track it down on Google Maps) where all of the bands and floats and costumed marchers walked by. In fact, I was able to take the “parade experience” even one step further: the people were friendly enough, and the security was light enough, that I was able to walk right out into the middle of the street with my camera, to photograph the floats and bands and marchers as they approached me … scampering out of the way only at the last moment.

 

Admittedly, Portland is a much bigger city than a tiny village of a thousand people somewhere in the midwest … but it still felt like “small town America” to me, and it was a great spectacle to watch. I got the impression that many of the visitors and observers standing along the street actually knew the people marching past them … and in any case, the marchers laughed and smiled and walked right up to us, handing out little pieces of candy to all of the children. Maybe next year I’ll go looking for a really small Thanksgiving parade in one of those tiny midwest-America villages, before retreating back to the Big Apple to watch the spectacle of thousands of marchers parading past millions of observers, and a TV audience of tens of millions …

 

I wish that I had taken some video clips of the parade, because the sounds and the music and the motion were a big part of what we experienced. But for better or worse, all I took was a bunch of traditional still photos. Actually, I took a LOT of still photos — nearly a thousand, altogether — but I’ve winnowed the collection down to 50 “keepers” that I hope will give you a sense of what Thanksgiving is all about…

 

Actually, if you live anywhere besides New York City here in the U S of A, you already know what Thanksgiving is all about, at least to the extent that it’s symbolized by the parade. But for those of us who spend most our time in New York City, it was a very pleasant experience indeed. After an hour, it was all over; we walked back to our car a block away, and drove back to our son’s house … and a day later, we were back in New York City. And thus ended another Thanksgiving holiday, at least until 2014.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

As I've noted in other sets of photos here on Flickr, I've been lucky enough to visit Rome dozens of times since I first celebrated a solitary birthday there back in 1972. Since then, I've often come alone (usually on business trips to lecture about various aspects of software development), and I've sometimes managed to bring various children and/or my wife. This time, like many other trips, I was alone.

 

On most of my trips, I make a point of visiting Piazza del Popolo at least once -- because there are always interesting scenes to photograph, with a combination of tourists, students, lovers, and amateur musicians. But I thought I would try some alternatives this time, and for some reason I was particularly determined to photograph St. Peter's at dawn. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate: it rained for a good portion of the entire week of my visit, and the clouds were thick, dark, and gloomy most of the time.

 

I did have one brief occasion to visit St. Peters on the first Sunday morning that I was in the city, and managed to get a few HDR shots as the darkness ended and the first shades of purple and blue filled the sky between 6 AM and 7 AM. But I couldn't understand why most of the open square was filled with barricades and metal fences; it was only later that I learned of the massive crowds that that fill the square every Sunday, to listen to the weekly address at Sunday noon, from their beloved new Pope. By noon, I was long gone, back in my hotel.

 

I also brought along a new camera on the trip, which I had rented for the week: a small, full-frame, fixed-lens, incredibly expensive Sony RX-1R camera. It worked as advertised, and I got a few interesting shots with it; but it quickly became clear that I really need a zoom lens for the street photography that I do -- and if I was going to use it for a tripod-based, wide-angle "landscape" shot, I might as well have used the larger, heavier Sony A-65 DSLR camera that I had brought along (which also has the advantage of built-in geotagging, with its GPS sensor)

 

On the final afternoon of my trip, after I had finished the last day of lecturing about nuances of project management and software development that I imagine nobody will care about when the Eternal City is still welcoming new visitors a thousand years hence, I parked myself at the center of Piazza del Popolo, at the massive obelisk and surrounding water fountains, and took some 600 photos of tourists and visitors, students and romantic couples. The people of Rome, and the visitors to this city, always seem happy, and it was nice to able to capture their joy and warmth in the camera once again.

permit to operate belonging to The Selangor Omni Bus Co Berhad

El 9 de Diciembre de 1997 se promulgó la ley Nº 19.542, que permite la participación del sector privado en el desarrollo y explotación de los puertos estatales, mediante el régimen de concesiones.

En agosto de 1999, tuvo lugar la licitación por la que se adjudicó la concesión por 20 años del Terminal Nº1 del puerto de Valparaíso al consorcio integrado por Inversiones Cosmos Ltda.- del grupo Ultramar (www.Ultramar.cl) - y la empresa alemana HHLA - Puerto de Hamburgo (www.hhla.de)-, lo que impulsó la creación de nuestra empresa TPS Valparaíso SA, cuya fecha de creación data del 25 de Octubre de 1999.

  

El primero de enero del año 2000, TPS inició la administración del Terminal Nº1 de Valparaíso, diseñado para el manejo de naves porta contenedores y multipropósito. TPS cuenta con una superficie mayor a 16 hectáreas, donde se emplazan cinco sitios con una longitud total de 985 metros. Esta infraestructura permite atender alrededor del 85% de la carga que se moviliza por este puerto, que hoy representa más de 5,3 millones de toneladas anuales.

 

En julio de 2002, la institución financiera estatal alemana DEG-Deutsche Investitions Und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH- también se incorporó a la propiedad de TPS.

 

TPS es una empresa nueva en cuanto a sus años de historia, pero con un servicio de excelencia basado en la experiencia de sus accionistas, que han estado relacionados al transporte marítimo por varias décadas. El alto estándar de servicio que presta TPS está sustentado por un ritmo constante de inversiones en sistemas, maquinarias e infraestructura portuaria que potencian la eficiencia del terminal.

  

al lado derecho de la fotografia se encuentra la torre de la iglesia la matriz de valparaiso

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

As I've noted in other sets of photos here on Flickr, I've been lucky enough to visit Rome dozens of times since I first celebrated a solitary birthday there back in 1972. Since then, I've often come alone (usually on business trips to lecture about various aspects of software development), and I've sometimes managed to bring various children and/or my wife. This time, like many other trips, I was alone.

 

On most of my trips, I make a point of visiting Piazza del Popolo at least once -- because there are always interesting scenes to photograph, with a combination of tourists, students, lovers, and amateur musicians. But I thought I would try some alternatives this time, and for some reason I was particularly determined to photograph St. Peter's at dawn. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate: it rained for a good portion of the entire week of my visit, and the clouds were thick, dark, and gloomy most of the time.

 

I did have one brief occasion to visit St. Peters on the first Sunday morning that I was in the city, and managed to get a few HDR shots as the darkness ended and the first shades of purple and blue filled the sky between 6 AM and 7 AM. But I couldn't understand why most of the open square was filled with barricades and metal fences; it was only later that I learned of the massive crowds that that fill the square every Sunday, to listen to the weekly address at Sunday noon, from their beloved new Pope. By noon, I was long gone, back in my hotel.

 

I also brought along a new camera on the trip, which I had rented for the week: a small, full-frame, fixed-lens, incredibly expensive Sony RX-1R camera. It worked as advertised, and I got a few interesting shots with it; but it quickly became clear that I really need a zoom lens for the street photography that I do -- and if I was going to use it for a tripod-based, wide-angle "landscape" shot, I might as well have used the larger, heavier Sony A-65 DSLR camera that I had brought along (which also has the advantage of built-in geotagging, with its GPS sensor)

 

On the final afternoon of my trip, after I had finished the last day of lecturing about nuances of project management and software development that I imagine nobody will care about when the Eternal City is still welcoming new visitors a thousand years hence, I parked myself at the center of Piazza del Popolo, at the massive obelisk and surrounding water fountains, and took some 600 photos of tourists and visitors, students and romantic couples. The people of Rome, and the visitors to this city, always seem happy, and it was nice to able to capture their joy and warmth in the camera once again.

Weather permitting, Dawn Patrols take place every morning during the AIBF, weather permitting. Launch operations for hot air balloons under the Waiver shall be under Visual Flight Rules with the following weather conditions:

 

1. Surface winds at Balloon Fiesta Park not in excess of 10 knots; 2. Visibility at least 3 statute miles; and 3. Ceiling of at least 1,500 feet AGL; and 4. No other known conditions contrary to the safety of flight operations at the time of launch.

 

A group of approximately ten to twenty registered AIBF balloons launch prior to sunrise on the days of Mass Ascensions; when 500+ balloons lift off from the Fiesta Park. They do so in areas at or near Balloon Fiesta Park-North thirty to sixty minutes prior to sunrise. The balloons fly for one to one and one half-hours and land after sunrise.

  

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

Once upon a time, I had serious intentions of running the New York marathon. It was back in 1979, and the whole thing was much less formal than it is now. Indeed, it was sufficiently informal that Rosie Ruiz was accidentally given a “finished time” of 2:56:29 for the New York event that year, which qualified her for the 1980 Boston marathon. It was later discovered that she had not run the entire NYC course (nor did she do so up in Boston on April 21, 1980), and her time was ultimately rescinded in both races. Had her times stayed in the record books, her Boston time of 2:31:56 would have been the fastest female time ever in the Boston marathon and the third-fastest female time ever recorded in any marathon...

 

Informal as the New York marathon was in those ancient days, you still couldn’t just show up at the starting line and expect to be welcomed. On the other hand, all that was necessary to get an official invitation was going down to the main branch of the U.S. Post Office on 34th Street at midnight on some long-forgotten summer night,and waiting in line with a bunch of equally crazy people. I got my entry ticket (or letter, or certificate, or whatever it was) a few days later, and began following a fairly serious training regimen, working my way up to a modest 10-mile race … until a business trip took me to Sydney, Australia for most of the month of August, 1979. Between business and social events, and the cold, wet weather of Sydney’s winter season, I didn’t do any running at all for that whole month … and with my training regimen broken, I wisely decided not to run the marathon at all.

 

But since then, I’ve always had a fondness for the NYC marathon — especially considering how much it has grown, and what a city-wide celebration it has become. I missed the event in 2013 and 2012, so it has been three years since I watched on the sidelines in 2011. With the promise of cold-but-sunny weather this year, I decided to return once again — and, as in 2011, I positioned myself at roughly the 24.5-mile point, at the beginning of a downhill run at roughly 78th Street, at the side of the Central Park “inner roadway.”

 

The runners pass by all afternoon, and well into the evening; but it’s a little more difficult to anticipate when the lead runners will reach any particular point. There are now so many participants in the marathon (about 50,000) that the runners are released in “waves,” beginning with those on hand-operated wheelchair/bicycles, and the “elite” women, the elite men, and three or four waves of mere mortals. There was an additional delay this year, because the headwinds were so strong that the initial wave had great difficulty propelling their wheeled vehicles up over the “hump” of the Tappan Zee bridge. So if you’re standing somewhere along the route, at the 10-mile mark, or the 20-mile mark, or (as I was) the 24.5 mile mark, you can only guess at the moment when the lead runners — or a friend or family member whom you want to cheer onward to the finish line — might be coming near you.

 

On the other hand, there are some clues. Helicopters hover above the lead runners, low enough that you can hear the roar of their blades; and there are two or three waves of police cars and motorcycles zooming ahead of the runners, pushing people back to the sidelines, and ensuring that there are no disruptions or obstacles to slow them down. Then — and it’s always an adrenaline rush! — you see the official race car, driving just a few feet ahead of the lead runners, with a huge race clock mounted on its roof, showing those fast-moving runners the exact number of hours, minutes, and seconds since they started their journey back at the edge of Staten Island.

 

The lead runners, of whom there are often two or three or four even up to the last mile, are often several minutes ahead of the next ones; but those who are in positions three, four, five or ten, and who will get no recognition at all from the press, the media, or the crowd when they finish … well, they still run as if their lives depend on it. And the crowd cheers them on, clapping and calling out their names and urging them onward.

 

One of the differences I noticed this year was the widespread use of bicycle horns and cow-bells that the onlookers used to create a cacophony of merry noise; I don’t know if the runners took it as a sign of encouragement, but it sure sounded that way to me …

 

I stayed longer than I had intended, and took several hundred more photos that I had planned … but they’re all just bits on the camera’s digital memory card, so it doesn’t really matter. One might argue that I should have stayed for eight or ten hours, until the last runner had straggled by. And perhaps I should have photographed each of the 50,000 runners, for I’m sure they each had their own story to tell. But after a while, it gets overwhelming — and the faces and bodies and brightly colored shirts and tights and shoes begin to blur…

 

I think I got a representative collection of photos; and the video clips will give you a sense of the noise and the motion of what seemed like an endless stream of humanity racing past … but to really understand it, you need to be there in person. Barring a crippling storm (like Hurricane Sandy, which forced the cancellation of the 2012 marathon), you’ll find another crowd of 50,000 runners racing through Central Park at the end of next year’s marathon, on the first Sunday in November. And with any luck, I’ll be there with my camera …

 

Who knows: maybe even Rosie Ruiz will be there, too. It turns out that she was arrested in 1982 for embezzling $60,000 from a real estate company where she worked; after a week in jail and a sentence of five years’ probation, she moved back to south Florida, where she was arrested in 1983 for her involvement in a cocaine deal. But as of the year 2000, she still insisted that she had run the entire 1980 Boston marathon. C’est la vie...

When time permits I'll try to track down what kind of beetle this is.

 

If anyone in the insect identification group can help that would be much appreciated. Map & date picture taken data here is correct. The screw head is approximately 4mm in diameter. Thanks.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

Once upon a time, I had serious intentions of running the New York marathon. It was back in 1979, and the whole thing was much less formal than it is now. Indeed, it was sufficiently informal that Rosie Ruiz was accidentally given a “finished time” of 2:56:29 for the New York event that year, which qualified her for the 1980 Boston marathon. It was later discovered that she had not run the entire NYC course (nor did she do so up in Boston on April 21, 1980), and her time was ultimately rescinded in both races. Had her times stayed in the record books, her Boston time of 2:31:56 would have been the fastest female time ever in the Boston marathon and the third-fastest female time ever recorded in any marathon...

 

Informal as the New York marathon was in those ancient days, you still couldn’t just show up at the starting line and expect to be welcomed. On the other hand, all that was necessary to get an official invitation was going down to the main branch of the U.S. Post Office on 34th Street at midnight on some long-forgotten summer night,and waiting in line with a bunch of equally crazy people. I got my entry ticket (or letter, or certificate, or whatever it was) a few days later, and began following a fairly serious training regimen, working my way up to a modest 10-mile race … until a business trip took me to Sydney, Australia for most of the month of August, 1979. Between business and social events, and the cold, wet weather of Sydney’s winter season, I didn’t do any running at all for that whole month … and with my training regimen broken, I wisely decided not to run the marathon at all.

 

But since then, I’ve always had a fondness for the NYC marathon — especially considering how much it has grown, and what a city-wide celebration it has become. I missed the event in 2013 and 2012, so it has been three years since I watched on the sidelines in 2011. With the promise of cold-but-sunny weather this year, I decided to return once again — and, as in 2011, I positioned myself at roughly the 24.5-mile point, at the beginning of a downhill run at roughly 78th Street, at the side of the Central Park “inner roadway.”

 

The runners pass by all afternoon, and well into the evening; but it’s a little more difficult to anticipate when the lead runners will reach any particular point. There are now so many participants in the marathon (about 50,000) that the runners are released in “waves,” beginning with those on hand-operated wheelchair/bicycles, and the “elite” women, the elite men, and three or four waves of mere mortals. There was an additional delay this year, because the headwinds were so strong that the initial wave had great difficulty propelling their wheeled vehicles up over the “hump” of the Tappan Zee bridge. So if you’re standing somewhere along the route, at the 10-mile mark, or the 20-mile mark, or (as I was) the 24.5 mile mark, you can only guess at the moment when the lead runners — or a friend or family member whom you want to cheer onward to the finish line — might be coming near you.

 

On the other hand, there are some clues. Helicopters hover above the lead runners, low enough that you can hear the roar of their blades; and there are two or three waves of police cars and motorcycles zooming ahead of the runners, pushing people back to the sidelines, and ensuring that there are no disruptions or obstacles to slow them down. Then — and it’s always an adrenaline rush! — you see the official race car, driving just a few feet ahead of the lead runners, with a huge race clock mounted on its roof, showing those fast-moving runners the exact number of hours, minutes, and seconds since they started their journey back at the edge of Staten Island.

 

The lead runners, of whom there are often two or three or four even up to the last mile, are often several minutes ahead of the next ones; but those who are in positions three, four, five or ten, and who will get no recognition at all from the press, the media, or the crowd when they finish … well, they still run as if their lives depend on it. And the crowd cheers them on, clapping and calling out their names and urging them onward.

 

One of the differences I noticed this year was the widespread use of bicycle horns and cow-bells that the onlookers used to create a cacophony of merry noise; I don’t know if the runners took it as a sign of encouragement, but it sure sounded that way to me …

 

I stayed longer than I had intended, and took several hundred more photos that I had planned … but they’re all just bits on the camera’s digital memory card, so it doesn’t really matter. One might argue that I should have stayed for eight or ten hours, until the last runner had straggled by. And perhaps I should have photographed each of the 50,000 runners, for I’m sure they each had their own story to tell. But after a while, it gets overwhelming — and the faces and bodies and brightly colored shirts and tights and shoes begin to blur…

 

I think I got a representative collection of photos; and the video clips will give you a sense of the noise and the motion of what seemed like an endless stream of humanity racing past … but to really understand it, you need to be there in person. Barring a crippling storm (like Hurricane Sandy, which forced the cancellation of the 2012 marathon), you’ll find another crowd of 50,000 runners racing through Central Park at the end of next year’s marathon, on the first Sunday in November. And with any luck, I’ll be there with my camera …

 

Who knows: maybe even Rosie Ruiz will be there, too. It turns out that she was arrested in 1982 for embezzling $60,000 from a real estate company where she worked; after a week in jail and a sentence of five years’ probation, she moved back to south Florida, where she was arrested in 1983 for her involvement in a cocaine deal. But as of the year 2000, she still insisted that she had run the entire 1980 Boston marathon. C’est la vie...

(More details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

As I've noted in other sets of photos here on Flickr, I've been lucky enough to visit Rome dozens of times since I first celebrated a solitary birthday there back in 1972. Since then, I've often come alone (usually on business trips to lecture about various aspects of software development), and I've sometimes managed to bring various children and/or my wife. This time, like many other trips, I was alone.

 

On most of my trips, I make a point of visiting Piazza del Popolo at least once -- because there are always interesting scenes to photograph, with a combination of tourists, students, lovers, and amateur musicians. This time, there was a Michael Jackson impersonator -- who, at least from a distance, seemed to mimic MJ's fluid moves pretty well. And there was an electric guitarist, but it turned out that he could only play instrumentals -- and he tended to play the same songs, over and over again.

 

I photographed people in Piazza del Popolo on the first and last days of my visit; but I also spent a couple hours in Piazza Santa Margarita in Trastevere, where there was a wedding underway. And I strolled a block or two from my hotel to Piazza Cavour, where the entire piazza had been off-limits for years because of reconstruction work. But the reconstruction is over, the piazza is open, and I was lucky enough to be there during the "golden hour" before sunset, where I got some interesting photos of the local people enjoying a balmy early-summer evening.

 

On Sunday morning, I decided to visit the enormous "flea market" at Porta Portensa, where I did my best to get a few interesting shots of the shoppers, tourists, and long rows of merchant stalls filled with various forms of cheap, tacky merchandise. It was quite an experience...

 

As I have on past occasions, I took thousands of photos during my week-long visit, from which I select a few dozen to upload to Flickr. Hopefully they'll give you a sense of what it's like here in the Eternal City ...

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

I have a confession to make: I’ve lived in New York City for 45 years — but until last night, I had never attended, observed, photographed, or participated in the annual Halloween Parade that takes place in Greenwich Village. I can’t be blamed for the first few years: I moved to NYC in the late 60’s (on Bleecker Street, right in the middle of the West Village), and the parade did not begin until 1974. But that means last night’s parade was the 40th such event … and for some reason, I missed them all.

 

But I was there last night … a little unsure of myself, for the parade did not actually begin until 7 PM, an hour after sunset. Even at 5 PM, the sun has usually dropped so low (in the fall and winter months) that the light is pretty mediocre for photography — and it was a cold, gray, overcast day as well. So I brought my flash along, even though I’ve rarely used it, and wandered through the crowd to see what I could find.

 

And it was a crowd: as early as 1985, it was estimated that some 250,000 people were participating in the event; I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a million people there last night. But at first, I couldn’t find any of them: the newspaper had announced that people could arrive at a pre-parade “staging” area on Canal Street and Sixth Avenue … but when I got there (early, as usual), there was not a soul to be seen. But I eventually noticed some costumed people who seemed to know where they were going … and I could hear music in the distance … so so I began heading north, and found the beginning of the crowd scene about three blocks further north, on Broome Street.

 

After that, it was sheer bedlam for the next couple of hours — until the parade officially began moving north on Sixth Avenue, right at 7 PM. The costumes were overwhelming — everything from witches and goblins, monsters, the GhostBusters, kings and queens and pirates and aliens. There were a few topless women with thick psychedelic body-paint to provide a small amount of modesty, and there were several groups of dancers who had obviously practiced dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” which blared loudly from several sound systems. Meanwhile, there were drummers and samba bands, steel bands, and informal groups doing their best to provide the crowd with Italian, Chinese, Irish, Dixieland, and African music…

 

After I left the parade, I took the subway from Canal Street up to 14th Street to meet my wife for a quiet dinner at a small Italian restaurant in the neighborhood. But everywhere I went — streets, sidewalks, subway stations — it seemed that all of Greenwich Village had been caught up in the revelry.

 

Beyond that, it’s impossible for me to describe the noise, the music, the costumes, and the overall revelry. For an overall summary, you might want to look at this Wikipedia article

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York's_Village_Halloween_Parade

 

But I think the only way to really understand what the NYC Halloween Parade is all about is to be there. Words don’t really suffice ...

   

Goethe's Secret Revelation PART TWO THE RIDDLE IN FAUST Esoteric Two Addresses given 11nth and 12th March, 1909, at Berlin . It was in August, 1831, that Goethe sealed up a packet and handed it to his faithful secretary Eckermann and prepared his testamentary directions for the editing of this sealed-up treasure. This packet contained in a comprehensive way the whole striving of Goethe's life. It contained the second part of Goethe's Faust; which was not to be published until after Goethe's death. Goethe was aware that in this work he had given the contents of his rich, many-sided, far-reaching and deeply-penetrating life to human existence, and the importance of this moment for him may be gathered from the words he uttered at the time, ‘I am now finished my life's true work, anything I do further and whether I do it or not, is all the same!’ If we permit a fact such as this to work on the soul we can say: It would not be easy for a human life to become fruitful for the rest of humanity in a more beautiful, harmonious way, or indeed to become fruitful in a more conscious manner. There is something deeply affecting in the thought of Goethe's life at this point of time — for he lived barely one year longer — in that he should have visited Ilmenau once more and there re-read the beautiful verse he had written on the 7th of September, 1783, when he was still a comparatively young man.‘Above all heights Is rest, In the tree tops Thou feelest Scarce a breath,The birds are silent in the woods, Only wait, soon Thou too shalt rest.’One may well ask whether these lines may not have signified at that time a frame of mind regulating Goethe's ideas in a new way as he re-read them in the evening of his life with affecting tears.Goethe's Faust is truly a testament of the very first order when considered with reference to its literary and intellectual standpoint.In 1831 Goethe finished the work which had occupied him from his earliest youth, having worked energetically from the year 1824 at the second part of Faust. We find that Goethe knew from the beginning of 1770 that he had what may be called the Faust disposition and that he began in 1774 to write down the first part of Faust, returning again and again to this poem in the most important moments of his life.Notably he took the first part of Faust with him when he went to Weimar and owing to his position there entered the great world. Certainly it was not produced there. But because one of the Weimar Court ladies, Fräulein von Göchhausen, preserved a copy of the Faust which Goethe took with him to Weimar, we to-day possess the form in which it was when he took it there. We therefore know the form in which Faust was printed for the first time and published in 1790, and further we know the setting in which the whole of Goethe's works appeared in 1808 in the first edition. All that we have of Faust, including that very important document which Goethe left as his testament, shows us the different stages of Goethe's growth. It is endlessly interesting to observe how these four stages of Goethe's Faust-creation appear to us in different ways, according to its inner nature, and how they represent a crescendo in the whole of Goethe's life-endeavour. What Goethe took with him to Weimar is a literary work of a quite personal character into which he had poured the feelings, the degrees of knowledge and also the despair of knowledge, as they went with him through the Frankfort time into the Strassburg time and also into the first Weimar period. It is the work of a man hotly striving after knowledge, striving to feel himself into life, experiencing every despair that an upright honourable man can go through, and all this he had poured into this work. All this is in the first part of Faust. But when Faust appeared in 1790 as a fragment, it was recognized that Goethe had worked at it and transformed it out of a longing lying deep in his soul and inner life which had become enlightened through his contemplation of Italian nature and of Italian works of Art. Out of this personal work of one who had been tossed to and fro in life's storms there emerged the work of one, who to a certain degree, had become unshackled and who had a very clear view of life before his soul.Then came the time of Goethe's friendship with Schiller. The time when in his inner being he learned to know and experience a world which had long become rooted within him. A world of which one can say that he who experiences it has had his spiritual eyes opened, so that he can see into the surrounding spiritual world. And now Faust's personality becomes a being placed between two worlds, between the spiritual world to which man can raise himself through purification, through the ennobling of himself and that world which drags him down. Faust becomes a being placed between the world of good and the world of evil. And while previously we saw in Faust the life of the single striving personality, now we see before us a great conflict carried on between the good and evil powers around man. Man is thus placed in the centre as the worthiest object for which the good and evil beings fight in the world. Though in the very beginning Faust is seen as a man doubting all knowledge, he now comes before us as one placed between heaven and hell. Thus the poem reaches an essentially higher stage and a higher existence.In the form in which Faust appears in 1808 it seems as if thousands of years of human development resound. We are reminded of the great dramatic representation of man's life produced in ancient times in the Book of Job, where the evil spirit went among men and stood up before God, and God said to him: ‘Thou hast been to and fro on the earth, hast thou considered my servant Job?’ What is here said we find in the poem, ‘The Prologue in Heaven’ where God speaks with Mephistopheles, the messenger of the evil spirituality: ‘The self in them expands to a spiritual universe.’ At that time at Frankfort he had the feeling, ‘Away from the mere striving after ideas! Away from the merely perceptive sense observation! There must be a path to the sources of existence!’ and he came into touch with what one can call alchemistic, mystical and theosophical literature. He himself attempted the practice of alchemy. He relates how he came to know of a work through which many sought for similar knowledge at that time, Welling's ‘Opus Mago-Cabalisticum et Theosophicum.’ This book was much thought of then as giving a knowledge of the sources of existence. Goethe studied by degrees Paracelsus, Valentinus and above all a work which from its whole method must have produced a deep impression on all those who strove after such knowledge, ‘Aurea Catena Homeri.’ This was a representation of nature the Mystics in the Middle Ages believed to see. The study of these mystical, alchemistic, theosophical books must have had a similar effect on Goethe to that which a man striving to-day after the same things would experience if he took up the books of Eliphas Levy or any other thinker on the same lines. Indeed at that time these things must have had an even more bewildering effect upon Goethe because these different writers no longer really understood the magic, theosophy, etc., of which they wrote. It was impossible to speak in direct way of the real grandeur and meaning of these things, proceeding from an ancient wisdom which had lived in human souls, for the meaning was hidden under an outer garb which included all kinds of physical and chemical forms. For those who merely saw what appeared outwardly in these books it was the greatest nonsense, and at that time it was most difficult to penetrate behind these secrets and arrive at the real meaning. But we must not forget that Goethe from his deep striving for knowledge had developed an intuitive mind. He must have been greatly pleased when on opening the ‘Aurea Catena Homeri’ he saw on the first page a symbol which had a deep effect on his soul; two triangles interlaced; in the corners the signs of the planets, drawn in a wonderful way, a flying dragon wound round in a circle, beneath which another dragon had fixed stiffening itself, and when he read the words on the first page, saying that the flying dragon symbolizes the stream which sends those forces which stream down from out of the Cosmos to the stiffened dragon, showing how heaven and earth hang together, or as it is expressed there: ‘How the spiritual forces of heaven pour into the earth's centre.’These mysterious signs and words must have made a great impression upon Goethe. For instance, those which depict the whole growth of the earth: ‘From chaos to that which is called the universal quintessence’ — a remarkable sentence, curiously mixed up with signs of a chaotic nature, still undifferentiated right through the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms, right up to man and to that perspective to which man is developing in ever greater refinement. But it was not easy to find a way of penetrating to the deeper meaning. So Goethe left Frankfort in a frame of mind which can be described in the following words: I have found nothing. These seekers into nature can only give me dry, empty ideas; anything that can be squeezed out of them is but life's water. I have busied myself with much that has come down to us from the past from those who declare that they saw into the secrets of life. But the way, the way drives one to despair!This was sometimes the mood in Goethe's soul. He was not to be bewitched by easy speculations or philosophizing, or by confused symbols and explanations from those old books, which worked so wonderfully and forebodingly on him. They looked at him with their mysteries as something to which he could find no way. But anyone who knew Goethe's soul, knew the seed was already sown in his soul which was to germinate later. But he felt himself as one who was rejected and unworthy to unravel the secrets of life. Then he went to Strassburg.There he met people who must have interested him in one way or the other. He got to know Jung-Stilling with his deeply mystical soul, who owing to the development of peculiar forces generally found sleeping in men, had looked deeply into the hidden side of existence. He met Herder at Strassburg, who had gone through similar moods and who in times of desperation had often been at the point of a denial of future life. In Herder he learnt to know a man who suffered from a surfeit of life and who said, I have studied much, discerning sundry things connected with men's works and men's strivings on the earth. But he was unable to say to himself, I have had one moment when my longing after the sources of life has been satisfied. This was when he was ill and inclined to deny everything with bitter irony. Yet it was Herder who pointed out many depths in the riddles of life, and Goethe found in him a truly human Faust. But that side of negation which is not the outcome of mockery and scorn Goethe learnt to know later through his friend Merck. Goethe's mother who disliked criticism of people and all moralizing said of Merck, he can never leave Mephistopheles at home, in him we are quite used to it. In Merck Goethe found a disclaimer of much that is worth striving for in life. Over against all these impressions which Goethe received from the Strassburg people, it was through Nature and his observation of Nature that many of life's puzzles were cleared up for him.At the same time we must think of Goethe as a man possessed of a sharp, penetrating mind; he was not an unpractical man. He was an advocate, but only practised for a short time. Those who knew Goethe's work as an advocate and later as a Minister, were acquainted with his eminently practical mind. As advocate he knew little more than what he had learnt by heart from law books. But he was a man able to decide very quickly on any point laid before him; such a man can also map out clearly life's course.Let us consider Goethe when during his Italian journey, he gradually arrived at the discovery of the primeval plant, he collected stones, prepared himself diligently to take up the work of research, and did not seek to know immediately ‘how one thing strives to enter another’ but said to himself: ‘If you would gain a premonition’ of ‘how one thing works and lives in another’ as heavenly powers rise and fall, offering each the ‘golden urn,’ examine the vertebras of the spinal column and the way in which one bone is connected with the next; and how one faculty helps another. Seek in the smallest thing the picture of the greatest.Goethe became a very diligent student during his travels in Italy, examining everything. He formed the opinion that if an artist acted ‘according to the laws which are followed by nature herself’ and understood by the Greeks, the divine will be present in his works even as it is in the works of creation. For Goethe, art is a ‘manifestation of the secret laws of nature.’ The creations of the artists are works of nature on a higher stage of perfection. Art is man's continuation and conclusion of nature. ‘For since man is the head of nature so he regards himself as a complete nature, but also as one which can call forth a further rise. He strives for this through the acquisition of all accomplishments and virtues which call for choice, order, harmony, and meaning, and at last rises to the production of the work of art.’

We can say that during the Italian journey everything that came before Goethe took on definite forms and through inner soul experiences appeared clearly before him. So once again he took up ‘Faust,’ and we perceive how he endeavoured to bring the separate parts into union. But we also perceive how he interested himself in an objective manner in what Faust could become for the people of the North. In Italy he became particularly conscious of the great difference between people who had been brought up amid classical surroundings and those who had not. He found it strange that so little should be heard in Rome of ghost stories such as were common in the North. In the Villa Borghese he wrote at this time the ‘Witches Kitchen’ scene, as one who had lost touch with all such things, but also as one who recalled to memory the spirit of the earth. When he had previously written about the earth spirit, he represented it in such a way that Faust turned away from it, as from a ‘hideous worm.’ But the fact of turning away from it, even without understanding why, remains in the soul and works on further, as it did in Goethe. But those who become impatient and refuse to wait until after long years the seed grows, are unable to see the way clearly. And when in Italy Goethe knew that a turning away from the terrible countenance would have its effect upon his soul, and now these words arise:‘Sublime Spirit, thou gavest me, gavest me all For which I begged. It was not without reason That thou didst turn thy face in fire to me And for a kingdom gavest me the glorious nature With strength to feel it and to enjoy it. Not A coldly astonished gaze didst thou grant to me But didst permit me to look into her profound bosom As into that of a friend. Past me didst thou lead the ranks of the living And didst teach me to know, in the quiet bushes, In air, and in water, my brother. And when the storm roared and rattled in the woods And there fell the neighbouring branches of the giant fir Squashing the undergrowth and in their fall Sounding like thunder in the hollow of the hills, Thou didst lead me to a safe Grotto, where Thou didst show me myself and opened my heart To deep and secret wonders.’Before Goethe, there stands the possibility of the human soul, through its own development expanding to a spiritual universe. Through a patient sacrificial resigned search, the fruits stand before his soul which as germs were planted when he came into touch with the earth spirit. We can see through this monologue in ‘Wald und Höhle’ (wood and grotto) what a forward jerk this was towards the ripening of the fruits in his soul, for it shows us that the seed already sown was not sown in vain. And as a warning to have patience, to wait until such seeds had ripened in his soul, that fragment of ‘Faust’ meets us which appeared with this setting in 1790. And now we see how Goethe finds the way step by step after being led to his ‘safe grotto where the secret deep wonders of his own heart were opened to him,’ he obtains that comprehensive survey which bids him no longer abide with his own sorrow, but teaches him to rise above his sorrow, to send his foreseeing spirit out into the Macrocosmos, watch the fighting of the good and evil spirits and see men on their battle ground. And in ‘Faust’ in 1808 he sent out beforehand the ‘Prologue in Heaven:’Raphael: ‘The sun-orb sings, in emulation, 'Mid brother-spheres, his ancient round: His path predestined through Creation He ends with step of thunder-sound.’We next see how the macrocosmic Mights oppose the forces of the great world. We see too from out the experiences of Goethe's soul, what a remarkable light falls on the two dragons with which at one time in his youth he came in touch.‘Faust’ is such a universal poem because it contains so many warnings. It also gives us that golden saying: ‘Wait in confidence for the development of thy inner forces, even if that means waiting a very long time!’ These words also sound as a warning which stand as an attribute before Faust, when Goethe looks back to those ‘fluctuating figures which in early days had once shown a troubled countenance’ but which now are flooded with light. Now he had waited so long that the friends who had taken such a vivid interest in Faust as he had appeared to them in the first form, had died, and those who had not died were very far away. Goethe had been obliged to wait for the development of the seed already sown in him.Now these striking words meet us:‘My sorrow speaks to an unknown crowd, Their applause e'en makes my heart feel heavy, And those who once delighted in my song If they still live, in other lands are scattered.’No longer did it matter to those who in youth had felt with him. He had had to wait, as the last lines of this dedication so beautifully express it — ‘What was once a reality to me, has gone into the unreal: but what has remained for me and appears to outer vision as unreal, that to me is now true, and it is only now that I can give it as truth.’ So we see how this poem, even if only looked at in such an external manner as we have to-day, leads us into the depths of the human soul.‘Faust’ was begun in a desultory manner, some parts being pushed in between others, and therefore Goethe was unable to show in a continuous way what he had experienced in his soul. But something else led to the fact that Goethe expressed his deepest experiences in ‘Faust.’The ‘Helena scene’ also belongs to the first part of ‘Faust’ written by Goethe. But we find it was not included even in the ‘Faust’ of 1808. Why not? Because the manner in which Goethe had finished ‘Faust’ at that time would not allow it. What Goethe wished to say through the Helena scene was the expression of such a deep premonition of the deepest riddle of existence, that the first part was not sufficiently prepared to allow of this. Only when Goethe had reached an advanced age, was he able to give a true form to what really was the inner work of his life.We see how his mind had expanded so that he was able to grasp the worlds of the macrocosm, as expressed in the ‘Prologue in Heaven.’ We shall also see the way in which Goethe represents the stages of the soul's experience, leading men from the first stage up to that of imaginative vision, where the soul penetrating ever deeper and deeper, bursts at last the doors of the spiritual world, which Mephistopheles would close. Goethe also represents these inner experiences. For he places in the second part of ‘Faust’ the experiences of a soul through secret scientific study, and we see here one of the deepest riddles of existence, which if recognized, would be found to be an announcement of Western spiritual science given in imposing language. One is tempted to place such a poem as the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ and the second part of ‘Faust’ side by side. For great and powerful wisdom speaks out of such Eastern writings. It seems as if the gods themselves desired in them to speak with men to express the wisdom out of which the world was formed. Indeed it is so.Now let us look at the second part of ‘Faust.’ Here we see a striving human soul which has raised itself to spiritual vision from outer physical perception; we see how it has worked its way up to true clairvoyance when Faust enters the spiritual world and finds the spiritual choir around him ...‘Hearken! Hark! — The Hours careering Sounding loud to spirit-hearing. See the new-born day appearing! Rocky portals jarring shatter, Phœbus' wheels in rolling clatter, With a crash the Light draws near! Pealing rays and trumpet-blazes — Eye is blinded, ear amazes: The Unheard can no one hear!’Faust II, Act I.to that passage where Faust is outwardly dazzled, so that the outer world is lost to his perception and he says to himself: ‘Only within shines clear light! ...’ up to that passage in which the soul works itself up to the spheres of world existence, where the spiritual worlds are to be seen in all their purity, and the riddle of the world discloses itself to the soul. This is a way which we must designate as an esoteric one.The way in which we can penetrate from the outer to the inner life of Goethe's world enigma, we shall see to-morrow, and we shall also see from out of what depths Goethe spoke the word which at last gave him the certainty he needed with reference to all the longings, all the sorrows, pains and strivings for knowledge in his life.‘Whoever zealously strives We can redeem him; And if love from above Feels an interest in him, The blest choir will be there With a friendly greeting.’We shall consider to-morrow how Goethe solved this riddle of existence, and how that which lives in the soul can rise up to its true home. It will give us the answer to what Goethe placed as the riddle of his existence and about which he gives us such a hopeful answer at the end of the second part of ‘Faust:’‘For the spiritual world, That noble member, Is saved from evil. Whoever strives zealously We can redeem him! ...’This tells us Faust can be saved and those spirits will not conquer who by bringing men into the material bring them also to destruction.

 

On April 1-2, 2017, the Los Angeles Fire Department held it second LAFD Girls Camp to introduce teen girls from across Southern California to the exciting possibilities in the fire and EMS service. Dozens of girls age 14-18 attended the two-day camp experience, where they were mentored by female firefighters from across the country as they were introduced to the fundamentals of firefighting and emergency medical services.

 

Photo Use Permitted via Creative Commons - Credit: LAFD Photo | Jorge Arellano, a member of the LAFD Volunteer Photographer Program

 

Connect with us: LAFD.ORG | News | Facebook | Instagram | Reddit | Twitter: @LAFD @LAFDtalk

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

I have a confession to make: I’ve lived in New York City for 45 years — but until last night, I had never attended, observed, photographed, or participated in the annual Halloween Parade that takes place in Greenwich Village. I can’t be blamed for the first few years: I moved to NYC in the late 60’s (on Bleecker Street, right in the middle of the West Village), and the parade did not begin until 1974. But that means last night’s parade was the 40th such event … and for some reason, I missed them all.

 

But I was there last night … a little unsure of myself, for the parade did not actually begin until 7 PM, an hour after sunset. Even at 5 PM, the sun has usually dropped so low (in the fall and winter months) that the light is pretty mediocre for photography — and it was a cold, gray, overcast day as well. So I brought my flash along, even though I’ve rarely used it, and wandered through the crowd to see what I could find.

 

And it was a crowd: as early as 1985, it was estimated that some 250,000 people were participating in the event; I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a million people there last night. But at first, I couldn’t find any of them: the newspaper had announced that people could arrive at a pre-parade “staging” area on Canal Street and Sixth Avenue … but when I got there (early, as usual), there was not a soul to be seen. But I eventually noticed some costumed people who seemed to know where they were going … and I could hear music in the distance … so so I began heading north, and found the beginning of the crowd scene about three blocks further north, on Broome Street.

 

After that, it was sheer bedlam for the next couple of hours — until the parade officially began moving north on Sixth Avenue, right at 7 PM. The costumes were overwhelming — everything from witches and goblins, monsters, the GhostBusters, kings and queens and pirates and aliens. There were a few topless women with thick psychedelic body-paint to provide a small amount of modesty, and there were several groups of dancers who had obviously practiced dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” which blared loudly from several sound systems. Meanwhile, there were drummers and samba bands, steel bands, and informal groups doing their best to provide the crowd with Italian, Chinese, Irish, Dixieland, and African music…

 

After I left the parade, I took the subway from Canal Street up to 14th Street to meet my wife for a quiet dinner at a small Italian restaurant in the neighborhood. But everywhere I went — streets, sidewalks, subway stations — it seemed that all of Greenwich Village had been caught up in the revelry.

 

Beyond that, it’s impossible for me to describe the noise, the music, the costumes, and the overall revelry. For an overall summary, you might want to look at this Wikipedia article

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York's_Village_Halloween_Parade

 

But I think the only way to really understand what the NYC Halloween Parade is all about is to be there. Words don’t really suffice ...

   

flickriver.com/photos/javier1949/popular-interesting/

 

Casa del Lector. Centro Internacional para la Investigación, el Desarrollo y la Difusión de la Lectura de la Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez. Antiguas naves 13 y 14, 17b y tres crujías de la nave 17c.

 

Arquitecto Antón García Abril (Ensamble Studio). Diseño gráfico y señalización: Alberto Corazón. Interiorismo Jesús Moreno y Asociados 2012

 

Centro de información, formación, investigación, experimentación y difusión de la lectura. La esencia de este proyecto arquitectónico es la conectividad de personas, tanto público general como profesional, ideas, espacios y lugares. Para la realización del proyecto arquitectónico se invitó a cinco estudios de arquitectos a participar en el concurso inicial de ideas, siendo finalmente elegida la propuesta de Antón García-Abril (Ensamble Studio), arquitecto y responsable de la ejecución de toda la infraestructura arquitectónica. La comunicación se basa en el principio de conectividad. Conectar personas, ideas, espacios y lugares. Y esta es la esencia del diseño que Antón García-Abril ha plasmado en Casa del Lector, un proyecto que es capaz de integrar la actividad futura de investigación, educación y comunicación con la esencia del espacio, construyendo por tanto en la ciudad de Madrid un centro inédito de creación en torno a la lectura.

Los espacios de Casa del Lector se acogen en las antiguas naves 13 y nave 14, y espacio de conexión de nueva planta entre ambas, la nave 17b y tres crujías de la nave 17c, con una superficie total de 8.000 m2. Ampara actividades literarias, que abarcan desde el papel impreso a los nuevos soportes comunicativos; de lo lingüístico a lo audiovisual, con especial interés en el papel desempeñado por las nuevas tecnologías y soportes. Para el desarrollo de su actividad, la Casa del Lector cuenta con aulas de formación, biblioteca y área de consulta, talleres, salas de motivación lectora, sets de radio y tv, sala de exposición y auditorio con capacidad para 300 personas, donde cine, música, teatro, performances e instalaciones se dan cita siempre desde la óptica de la mirada lectora.

Conectar transversalmente las dos naves fue la primera acción que se resolvió trazando puentes; y provocando el encuentro entre las dos estructuras, la previa de la nave, de corte longitudinal, frágil y vertical, con la incisión transversal de las vigas de hormigón pretensado, que confrontan su naturaleza pesada, horizontal y lineal. Es en la conexión ente las dos estructuras donde surge la conectividad que crea la comunicación entre el edificio y el lector, que percibe un espacio único a doble altura, una doble escala, entre el gran espacio continuo del plano del suelo de la nave y las líneas de los puentes por las que se transita entre las naves que se asientan al borde del río Manzanares.

La posibilidad de trabajar en colaboración directa con los equipos de arquitectura y diseño gráfico, y la elección de un lenguaje común de materiales y cromático, han permitido el mutuo enriquecimiento de las propuestas y la integración de todas ellas para generar la definitiva.

 

MATADERO MADRID - CENTRO DE CREACIÓN CONTEMPORÁNEA Antiguos Matadero y Mercado Municipal de Ganados

Pº de la Chopera, 2 a 14 C/V a Pza. de Legazpi 8, Vado de Santa Catalina y Av. del Manzanares. Madrid.

Actuación inicial: Luis Bellido González, arquitecto y José Eugenio Ribera Autaste, ingeniero. 1910 (Proyecto) 1910-1925 (Obras).

Matadero de aves y gallinas: Luis Bellido González y Francisco Javier Ferrero Llusiá: 1926 (Proyecto) 1932-1933 (Obras).

Acondicionamiento de la Casa del Reloj, Nave de Terneras y pabellones de acceso para Junta Municipal del Distrito de Arganzuela y salas culturales y deportivas: Rafael Fernández-Rañada Gándara: 1983 (Proyecto) 1983-1984 (Obras).

Rehabilitación de la “nave de patatas” para Invernadero-Palacio de Cristal, antiguo parque del matadero y consolidación estructural de naves del recinto sur: Guillermo Costa Pérez-Herrero: 1990 (Proyecto) 1990-1992 (Obras).

Adaptación de naves para sedes del Ballet Nacional y Compañía Nacional de Danza: Antonio Fernández-Alba y José Luis Castillo-Puche Figueira 1990 (Proyecto) 1993-1999 (Obras)

Vestíbulo y Espacio Intermediae. (nave 17c) Arquitectos Arturo Franco y Fabrice Van Teslaar en colaboración con el arquitecto de interiores Diego Castellanos 2006-07

Naves del Español (naves 10, 11 y 12) Arquitectos Emilio Esteras 2007-10 y Justo Benito 2009-10

Central de Diseño (nave 17) Arquitecto José Antonio García Roldán 2007

Taller y Oficina de Coordinación (parte de la nave 8) Arquitecto Arturo Franco 2010

Calle y Plaza Matadero Arquitectos Ginés Garrido, Carlos Rubio y Fernando Porras 2011

ESCARAVOX Andrés Jaque Arquitectos 2012

Depósito de especies y nuevo acceso por Legazpi. BCP Ingenieros -Luis Benito Olmeda y Francisco Calderón- con María Langarita y Víctor Navarro arquitectos. 2011

Nave 16 Arquitectos: Alejandro Vírseda, José Ignacio Carnicero e Ignacio Vila Almazán, 2011

Nave de Música (Nave 15) Arquitectos: María Langarita y Víctor Navarro, en colaboración con el diseñador mexicano Jerónimo Hagerman, 2011

Cineteca y Cantina Archivo Documenta (nave 17 c, d, e y f) Arquitectos: José María Churtichaga y Cayetana de la Quadra Salcedo 2011

Casa del Lector. Centro Internacional para la Investigación, el Desarrollo y la Difusión de la Lectura de la Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez. (naves 13 y 14, 17b y tres crujías de la nave 17. Arquitecto Antón García Abril. Diseño gráfico y señalización: Alberto Corazón. Interiorismo Jesús Moreno y Asociados 2012

 

El arquitecto Joaquín Saldaña resulta ganador del concurso convocado por el Ayuntamiento de Madrid el año 1899 para la realización de los nuevos matadero y mercado municipal de ganados en la Dehesa de La Arganzuela, junto al Manzanares, si bien, finalmente las obras se realizan de acuerdo con el proyecto redactado en 1910 por Luis Bellido, arquitecto de propiedades del Ayuntamiento, con la colaboración de J. Eugenio Ribera, ingeniero de reconocido prestigio. El conjunto arquitectónico se compone de 48 edificios agrupados en cinco sectores de producción: dirección y administración, matadero, mercado de abastos, mercado de trabajo y sección sanitaria, cuenta además con viviendas para el personal y capilla; también de sistema de circulaciones y ferrocarril propios... una autentica ciudad laboral.

Sigue el sistema alemán de pabellones aislados, relacionados por medio de viales y presididos por un edificio administrativo, la "Casa del Reloj" situado sobre el eje principal de la composición. Por sus características arquitectónicas y por su escala es uno de los conjuntos edificados más significativos de Madrid. Se advierte en él una unidad estilística y constructiva derivada del uso racional en sus fábricas de tres materiales esenciales ladrillo, mampostería y cerámica, y una cuidadosa introducción de elementos metálicos en la estructura; además de otros aspectos significativos como el empleo de un lenguaje de inspiración neomudéjar muy atenuado, habitual en la arquitectura industrial de la época. El matadero de Madrid sirve de modelo para la construcción en España de este tipo de edificios.

Para el crítico González Amezqueta "Es un ejemplo de gran calidad de arquitectura industrial perfectamente insertado en los procedimientos del ladrillo, con derivaciones hacia el neomudéjar. La mecánica funcional de los procesos laborales no impide discretas acentuaciones ornamentales, ya que todo el proceso constructivo es estrictamente artesanal, con predominio de las técnicas fabricadas del ladrillo en las partes más acertadas".

En 1926, en zona próxima al Vado de Santa Catalina, proyecta Bellido el matadero de gallinas y aves, siendo realizadas las obras, entre 1932 y 1933, bajo la dirección de Francisco Javier Ferrero con la introducción de una clara y cuidada estructura de hormigón pionera en la ciudad y en la que reside uno de sus valores principales.

A partir de 1940 se llevan a cabo diferentes remodelaciones y ampliaciones, entre ellas la de la nave de patatas, el pabellón de autopsias y los abrevaderos.

En la década de 1980, perdida su función original, el Departamento de Conservación de Edificios del Ayuntamiento comienza la rehabilitación sistemática de los edificios del conjunto para su uso como contenedores de actividades culturales, sociales, deportivas y administrativas propias del Ayuntamiento; primero bajo la dirección de Rafael Fernández-Rañada, que acondiciona la Casa del Reloj para Junta Municipal del Distrito de Arganzuela y la nave de terneras para sala cultural y deportiva, y después, de Guillermo Costa que realiza el Palacio de Cristal (rehabilitación de la nave de patatas para invernadero) y el parque del matadero, con la colaboración del ingeniero, también municipal, M. Ángel Martínez Lucio.

Desde 1996 Costa continúa la consolidación estructural de fachadas y cubiertas de 7 naves del recinto sur, sin un uso predeterminado y en distintas fases, a la espera de la realización del proyecto para su adecuación a nuevas actividades de carácter cultural, comercial o de ocio. Finalmente, el conjunto edificado se incluye en el catálogo de bienes a conservar dentro del Plan General de Ordenación Urbana de 1997.

En el extremo norte parte de las antiguas naves de estabulación son cedidas al Instituto Nacional de Artes Escénicas y de la Música (INAEM) para establecer en ellas las sedes del Ballet Nacional de España y de la Compañía Nacional de Danza, según proyecto de Fernández Alba y Castillo-Puche, concluyéndose las obras de adaptación en 1999.

En 2005 se aprueba la modificación del Plan Especial de Intervención, Adecuación Arquitectónica y Control Urbanístico-Ambiental de Usos del recinto del antiguo matadero municipal, que incrementa el uso cultural hasta el 75% del total.

A partir de 2006 el Ayuntamiento se plantea rehabilitar en distintas fases, mediante proyectos derivados de concursos de arquitectura, este inmenso contenedor de casi 150.000 m2, para albergar multitud de eventos y encuentros, fomentando la creatividad de artistas de múltiples especialidades. El conjunto se convierte en un núcleo de actividad cultural que alberga las más importantes citas de la ciudad. Así, se inician actuaciones para convertir el recinto en centro de apoyo a la creación, en campo de experimentación de la nueva arquitectura, pero siguiendo los criterios de intervención del Plan Especial, que establece la preservación de la envolvente de las naves. La línea maestra que ha guiado las intervenciones es la reversibilidad, de modo que los edificios pueden ser fácilmente devueltos a su estado original. Las actuaciones mantienen expresamente las huellas del pasado para reforzar el carácter experimental de las nuevas instituciones que alojan. Se ha buscado el equilibrio entre el respeto máximo al espacio, y una dotación específica, que lo distinga, a través del uso limitado de materiales industriales directos y que, al mismo tiempo, dé servicio a los diferentes usos que pueda albergar.

En 2012, tras la visita del jurado de los premios FAD a Matadero Madrid, decidió reconocer la labor en conjunto de todos los arquitectos que han participado en el proceso de reforma. El fallo valora “tanto la actitud global de la propuesta, que apuesta de una forma valiente por la experimentación y el respeto a los espacios de libertad gestionados desde la sociedad civil, como la conceptualización del proyecto, desde su inicio en el 2007 con la rehabilitación del vestíbulo y el espacio Intermediae, hasta las recientes intervenciones de la Nave 16 y la Nave de Música finalistas en la presente edición de los Premios FAD”. Así mismo, el jurado destacó de Matadero Madrid “la inteligencia colectiva, la unidad que le viene inferida por la arquitectura industrial preexistente, y que con un mínimo de protagonismo exterior de las nuevas intervenciones, en el interior resuelve con rigor y autenticidad las diversas necesidades del extenso programa del centro, buscando no sólo mantener los espacios arquitectónicos y formas estructurales, sino también el carácter, la atmósfera y sobre todo el irrepetible paso del tiempo”.

Ese mismo año el Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid otorgó uno de sus premios a las intervenciones en la Cineteca y Archivo Documenta, y en la Nave 16. Por último, destaca la interconexión de Matadero Madrid y Madrid Río mediante la urbanización de los espacios públicos -Calle y Plaza Matadero- por el mismo equipo de arquitectos -Ginés Garrido, Carlos Rubio y Fernando Porras- que proyectó Madrid Río. Está previsto además que dicha conexión, gracias a dos nuevos accesos, se amplíe entre diciembre de 2012 y julio de 2013. Madrid Río ha recibido, entre otros premios, el International Architecture Award 2012 del Chicago Athenaeum of Architecture and Design y el European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, el Premio de Diseño Urbano y Paisajismo Internacional otorgado por el Comité de Críticos de Arquitectura CICA, en el marco de la XIII Bienal de Buenos Aires; o el Premio FAD de Ciudad y Paisaje 2012, entre otros galardones.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

I have a confession to make: I’ve lived in New York City for 45 years — but until last night, I had never attended, observed, photographed, or participated in the annual Halloween Parade that takes place in Greenwich Village. I can’t be blamed for the first few years: I moved to NYC in the late 60’s (on Bleecker Street, right in the middle of the West Village), and the parade did not begin until 1974. But that means last night’s parade was the 40th such event … and for some reason, I missed them all.

 

But I was there last night … a little unsure of myself, for the parade did not actually begin until 7 PM, an hour after sunset. Even at 5 PM, the sun has usually dropped so low (in the fall and winter months) that the light is pretty mediocre for photography — and it was a cold, gray, overcast day as well. So I brought my flash along, even though I’ve rarely used it, and wandered through the crowd to see what I could find.

 

And it was a crowd: as early as 1985, it was estimated that some 250,000 people were participating in the event; I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a million people there last night. But at first, I couldn’t find any of them: the newspaper had announced that people could arrive at a pre-parade “staging” area on Canal Street and Sixth Avenue … but when I got there (early, as usual), there was not a soul to be seen. But I eventually noticed some costumed people who seemed to know where they were going … and I could hear music in the distance … so so I began heading north, and found the beginning of the crowd scene about three blocks further north, on Broome Street.

 

After that, it was sheer bedlam for the next couple of hours — until the parade officially began moving north on Sixth Avenue, right at 7 PM. The costumes were overwhelming — everything from witches and goblins, monsters, the GhostBusters, kings and queens and pirates and aliens. There were a few topless women with thick psychedelic body-paint to provide a small amount of modesty, and there were several groups of dancers who had obviously practiced dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” which blared loudly from several sound systems. Meanwhile, there were drummers and samba bands, steel bands, and informal groups doing their best to provide the crowd with Italian, Chinese, Irish, Dixieland, and African music…

 

After I left the parade, I took the subway from Canal Street up to 14th Street to meet my wife for a quiet dinner at a small Italian restaurant in the neighborhood. But everywhere I went — streets, sidewalks, subway stations — it seemed that all of Greenwich Village had been caught up in the revelry.

 

Beyond that, it’s impossible for me to describe the noise, the music, the costumes, and the overall revelry. For an overall summary, you might want to look at this Wikipedia article

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York's_Village_Halloween_Parade

 

But I think the only way to really understand what the NYC Halloween Parade is all about is to be there. Words don’t really suffice ...

   

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

I have a confession to make: I’ve lived in New York City for 45 years — but until last night, I had never attended, observed, photographed, or participated in the annual Halloween Parade that takes place in Greenwich Village. I can’t be blamed for the first few years: I moved to NYC in the late 60’s (on Bleecker Street, right in the middle of the West Village), and the parade did not begin until 1974. But that means last night’s parade was the 40th such event … and for some reason, I missed them all.

 

But I was there last night … a little unsure of myself, for the parade did not actually begin until 7 PM, an hour after sunset. Even at 5 PM, the sun has usually dropped so low (in the fall and winter months) that the light is pretty mediocre for photography — and it was a cold, gray, overcast day as well. So I brought my flash along, even though I’ve rarely used it, and wandered through the crowd to see what I could find.

 

And it was a crowd: as early as 1985, it was estimated that some 250,000 people were participating in the event; I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a million people there last night. But at first, I couldn’t find any of them: the newspaper had announced that people could arrive at a pre-parade “staging” area on Canal Street and Sixth Avenue … but when I got there (early, as usual), there was not a soul to be seen. But I eventually noticed some costumed people who seemed to know where they were going … and I could hear music in the distance … so so I began heading north, and found the beginning of the crowd scene about three blocks further north, on Broome Street.

 

After that, it was sheer bedlam for the next couple of hours — until the parade officially began moving north on Sixth Avenue, right at 7 PM. The costumes were overwhelming — everything from witches and goblins, monsters, the GhostBusters, kings and queens and pirates and aliens. There were a few topless women with thick psychedelic body-paint to provide a small amount of modesty, and there were several groups of dancers who had obviously practiced dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” which blared loudly from several sound systems. Meanwhile, there were drummers and samba bands, steel bands, and informal groups doing their best to provide the crowd with Italian, Chinese, Irish, Dixieland, and African music…

 

After I left the parade, I took the subway from Canal Street up to 14th Street to meet my wife for a quiet dinner at a small Italian restaurant in the neighborhood. But everywhere I went — streets, sidewalks, subway stations — it seemed that all of Greenwich Village had been caught up in the revelry.

 

Beyond that, it’s impossible for me to describe the noise, the music, the costumes, and the overall revelry. For an overall summary, you might want to look at this Wikipedia article

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York's_Village_Halloween_Parade

 

But I think the only way to really understand what the NYC Halloween Parade is all about is to be there. Words don’t really suffice ...

   

This guy says so.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

I’m writing these notes about halfway through the 2014 World Cup, and I can’t help wondering if anyone will have the slightest interest in seeing photos about a bunch of guys running around the streets of New York as they hit a small pink rubber ball with what looks like a broomstick. Indeed, the Wikipedia article on stickball (which you can find at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stickball ) tells us that

 

"Stickball is a street game related to baseball, usually formed as a pick-up game played in large cities in the Northeastern United States, especially New York City and Philadelphia. The equipment consists of a broom handle and a rubber ball, typically a spaldeen, pensy pinky, high bouncer or tennis ball. The rules come from baseball and are modified to fit the situation, for example, a manhole cover may be used as a base, or buildings for foul lines. The game is a variation of stick and ball games dating back to at least the 1750s. This game was widely popular among youths growing up from the 20th century until the 1980s."

 

So, what I was photographing here was definitely not soccer; nor was it the more “traditional” American sport of baseball … and definitely not (American-style) football either. It’s a game of its own, though the particular game that I happened to watch and photograph was a variation typically referred to as “fungo” — where the batter tosses the ball into the air and hits it on the way down, or after one or more bounces.

 

Like many of the other really, really good days on my 1+ years of photo-walking in NYC, today’s experience was completely unexpected. I was trudging along 109th Street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side — and shortly after walking through a tunnel that supports the overhead train tracks carrying MetroNorth trains (and Amtrak/Acela, too, I guess) up and down Park Avenue to the final stopping point in Grand Central — I found myself at a corner that has come to be known as the “Stickball Hall of Fame Place,” at 109th Street and Third Avenue. Two different stickball games were underway, but I was reasonably safe as long as I stayed on the sidewalks. (If you’re interested in the Stickball Hall of Fame, check out this web site: northattan.com/2013/10/07/keeping-a-tradition-alive-in-ea... )

 

As I’ve learned, you can never tell when unexpected occasions like this will happen — and they may indeed happen only once a year. Most days out on the street with my camera are relatively blah; and many (like most of Manhattan's west side, especially the area from 57th Street down to 14th Street) are frustratingly unproductive. There are a few good days, and a few good shots — but a concentrated burst like today happens only on rare occasions …

 

Thus, when such occasions do occur, it's important to exploit them for every bit they’re worth. Thankfully I realized that today — and decided that I’d be happy to stay on that one street (109th, between 2nd and 3rd Avenue) for the entire afternoon. In particular, I made no effort whatsoever to leave quickly in order to walk 108th Street, too; after all, it will be there tomorrow (and the next day, and the day after that), whereas the photo opportunity may never come back again.

 

Fortunately, I was given the opportunity to meet some of the stickball players, chat with them, learn about their friends and relatives (several told me of starting to play the game with their own fathers, many years earlier) and offer to send them some photos (which, thus far, nobody has done). Maybe one of the reasons that I have not gotten involved with many NYC people on the street before is that I really wasn’t particularly interested in what they were doing, and there was no obvious way they could continue doing what they were doing without my being an obvious intrusion. Not so today …

 

In addition to the still photos, I took about a dozen video clips, though I didn’t actually think of doing so until roughly halfway through the photo episode. But in retrospect, it should have been obvious: it’s a sports-game, so it depend on motion; and the yelling, shouting, and overall noise is a very important part of the experience, too. So I finally started shooting short 10-20 second clips when each of the batters was about to wallop the ball, and then run on to first base …

 

I was tempted to go back to watch the game again next weekend, weather permitting; but I already had other commitments for those days, so it didn’t happen. Maybe 2 weeks from now, or 2 months … or whenever.

 

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

 

This set of photos is based on a very simple concept: walk every block of Manhattan with a camera, and see what happens. To avoid missing anything, walk both sides of the street.

 

That's all there is to it …

 

Of course, if you wanted to be more ambitious, you could also walk the streets of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx. But that's more than I'm willing to commit to at this point, and I'll leave the remaining boroughs of New York City to other, more adventurous photographers.

 

Oh, actually, there's one more small detail: leave the photos alone for a month -- unedited, untouched, and unviewed. By the time I actually focus on the first of these "every-block" photos, I will have taken more than 8,000 images on the nearby streets of the Upper West Side -- plus another several thousand in Rome, Coney Island, and the various spots in NYC where I traditionally take photos. So I don't expect to be emotionally attached to any of the "every-block" photos, and hope that I'll be able to make an objective selection of the ones worth looking at.

 

As for the criteria that I've used to select the small subset of every-block photos that get uploaded to Flickr: there are three. First, I'll upload any photo that I think is "great," and where I hope the reaction of my Flickr-friends will be, "I have no idea when or where that photo was taken, but it's really a terrific picture!"

 

A second criterion has to do with place, and the third involves time. I'm hoping that I'll take some photos that clearly say, "This is New York!" to anyone who looks at it. Obviously, certain landscape icons like the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty would satisfy that criterion; but I'm hoping that I'll find other, more unexpected examples. I hope that I'll be able to take some shots that will make a "local" viewer say, "Well, even if that's not recognizable to someone from another part of the country, or another part of the world, I know that that's New York!" And there might be some photos where a "non-local" viewer might say, "I had no idea that there was anyplace in New York City that was so interesting/beautiful/ugly/spectacular."

 

As for the sense of time: I remember wandering around my neighborhood in 2005, photographing various shops, stores, restaurants, and business establishments -- and then casually looking at the photos about five years later, and being stunned by how much had changed. Little by little, store by store, day by day, things change … and when you've been around as long as I have, it's even more amazing to go back and look at the photos you took thirty or forty years ago, and ask yourself, "Was it really like that back then? Seriously, did people really wear bell-bottom jeans?"

 

So, with the expectation that I'll be looking at these every-block photos five or ten years from now (and maybe you will be, too), I'm going to be doing my best to capture scenes that convey the sense that they were taken in the year 2013 … or at least sometime in the decade of the 2010's (I have no idea what we're calling this decade yet). Or maybe they'll just say to us, "This is what it was like a dozen years after 9-11".

 

Movie posters are a trivial example of such a time-specific image; I've already taken a bunch, and I don't know if I'll ultimately decide that they're worth uploading. Women's fashion/styles are another obvious example of a time-specific phenomenon; and even though I'm definitely not a fashion expert, I suspected that I'll be able to look at some images ten years from now and mutter to myself, "Did we really wear shirts like that? Did women really wear those weird skirts that are short in the front, and long in the back? Did everyone in New York have a tattoo?"

 

Another example: I'm fascinated by the interactions that people have with their cellphones out on the street. It seems that everyone has one, which certainly wasn't true a decade ago; and it seems that everyone walks down the street with their eyes and their entire conscious attention riveted on this little box-like gadget, utterly oblivious about anything else that might be going on (among other things, that makes it very easy for me to photograph them without their even noticing, particularly if they've also got earphones so they can listen to music or carry on a phone conversation). But I can't help wondering whether this kind of social behavior will seem bizarre a decade from now … especially if our cellphones have become so miniaturized that they're incorporated into the glasses we wear, or implanted directly into our eyeballs.

 

Oh, one last thing: I've created a customized Google Map to show the precise details of each day's photo-walk. I'll be updating it each day, and the most recent part of my every-block journey will be marked in red, to differentiate it from all of the older segments of the journey, which will be shown in blue. You can see the map, and peek at it each day to see where I've been, by clicking on this link

 

URL link to Ed's every-block progress through Manhattan

 

If you have any suggestions about places that I should definitely visit to get some good photos, or if you'd like me to photograph you in your little corner of New York City, please let me know. You can send me a Flickr-mail message, or you can email me directly at ed-at-yourdon-dot-com

 

Stay tuned as the photo-walk continues, block by block ...

Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any religion.

 

The freedom to leave or discontinue membership in a religion or religious group —in religious terms called "apostasy" —is also a fundamental part of religious freedom, covered by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

 

Freedom of religion is considered by many people and nations to be a fundamental human right.

 

In a country with a state religion, freedom of religion is generally considered to mean that the government permits religious practices of other sects besides the state religion, and does not persecute believers in other faiths.

 

Historically freedom of religion has been used to refer to the tolerance of different theological systems of belief, while freedom of worship has been defined as freedom of individual action.

  

Each of these have existed to varying degrees. While many countries have accepted some form of religious freedom, this has also often been limited in practice through punitive taxation, repressive social legislation, and political disenfranchisement.

 

Most of the early American colonies were generally not tolerant of dissident forms of worship, with Maryland being the only exception. For example, Roger Williams found it necessary to found a new colony in Rhode Island to escape persecution in the theocratically dominated colony of Massachusetts.

 

The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were the most active of the New England persecutors of Quakers, and the persecuting spirit was shared by the Plymouth Colony and the colonies along the Connecticut river. In 1660, one of the most notable victims of the religious intolerance was English Quaker Mary Dyer who was hanged in Boston, Massachusetts for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony. As one of the four executed Quakers known as the Boston martyrs, the hanging of Dyer on the Boston gallows marked the beginning of the end of the Puritan theocracy and New England independence from English rule, and in 1661 King Charles II explicitly forbade Massachusetts from executing anyone for professing Quakerism.

 

Another example of religious persecution by Puritans in Massachusetts was the Salem witch trials in 1692 and 1693. Thirty-one witchcraft trials were held, convicting twenty-nine people of the capital felony of witchcraft. Nineteen of the accused, fourteen women and five men, were hanged. One man who refused to enter a plea was crushed to death under heavy stones in an attempt to force him to do so.

 

Adam Smith, in his book The Wealth of Nations, (using an argument first put forward by his friend and contemporary David Hume) states that in the long run it is in the best interests of society as a whole and the civil magistrate (government) in particular to allow people to freely choose their own religion as it helps prevent civil unrest and reduces intolerance. So long as there are enough different religions and/or religious sects operating freely in a society then they are all compelled to moderate their more controversial and violent teachings, so as to be more appealing to more people and so have an easier time attracting new converts. It is this free competition amongst religious sects for converts that ensures stability and tranquillity in the long run.

 

Smith also points out that laws that prevent religious freedom and seek to preserve the power and believe in a particular religion will, in the long run, only serve to weaken and corrupt that religion. As its leaders and preachers become complacent, disconnected and unpractised in their ability to seek and win over new converts.

 

The Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life performed a study on religious freedom in the world, for which data were gathered from 16 governmental and non-governmental organisations – including the United Nations, the U.S. State Department and Human Rights Watch - and representing over 99.5 percent of the world's population. According to the results, that were published in December 2009, about one-third of the countries in the world have high or very high restrictions on religion, and nearly 70 percent of the world's population lives in countries with heavy restrictions on freedom of religion. This concerns restrictions on religion originating from both national authorities and social hostilities undertaken by private individuals, organisations and social groups. Government restrictions included constitutional limitations or other prohibitions on free speech.

 

Roger Williams (c. 1603 – between January and March 1683) was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state.

 

In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America, the First Baptist Church of Providence.

 

He was a student of Native American languages and an advocate for fair dealings with Native Americans.

 

When Roger and Mary Williams arrived in Boston on February 5, 1631, he was welcomed and almost immediately invited to become the Teacher (assistant minister) in the Boston church to officiate while Rev. John Wilson returned to England to fetch his wife.

 

He shocked them by declining the position, saying that he found that it was "an unseparated church." In addition he asserted that the civil magistrates may not punish any sort of "breach of the first table [of the Ten Commandments]," such as idolatry, Sabbath-breaking, false worship, and blasphemy, and that every individual should be free to follow his own convictions in religious matters. Right from the beginning, he sounded three principles which were central to his subsequent career: Separatism, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state.

 

As a Separatist he had concluded that the Church of England was irredeemably corrupt and that one must completely separate from it to establish a new church for the true and pure worship of God. His search for the true church eventually carried him out of Congregationalism, the Baptists, and any visible church. From 1639 forward, he waited for Christ to send a new apostle to reestablish the church, and he saw himself as a "witness" to Christianity until that time came. He believed that soul liberty freedom of conscience, was a gift from God, and that everyone had the natural right to freedom of religion. Religious freedom demanded that church and state be separated. Williams was the first to use the phrase "wall of separation" to describe the relationship of the church and state. He called for a high wall of separation between the "Garden of Christ" and the "Wilderness of the World." This idea might have been one of the foundations of the religion clauses in the U.S. Constitution, (although the language used by the founders is quite different) and First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Years later, in 1802 Thomas Jefferson, writing of the "wall of separation" echoed Roger Williams in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association.

 

In October 1635 he was tried by the General Court and convicted of sedition and heresy. The Court declared that he was spreading "diverse, new, and dangerous opinions." He was ordered to be banished. (This order was not repealed until 1936 when Bill 488 was passed by the Massachusetts House.) The execution of the order was delayed because Williams was ill and winter was approaching, and he was allowed to stay temporarily provided he ceased his agitation. He did not cease, so in January 1636 the sheriff came to pick him up only to discover that Williams had slipped away three days before. He walked through the deep snow of a hard winter the 105 miles from Salem to the head of Narragansett Bay. There he was rescued by his friends, the Wampanoags, and taken to the winter camp of their chief sachem, Massasoit.

 

The outcasts rowed over to Narragansett territory, and having secured land from Canonicus and Miantonomi, chief sachems of the Narragansetts, Williams established a settlement with twelve "loving friends." He called it "Providence" because he felt that God's Providence had brought him there. (He would later name his third child, the first born in his new settlement, "Providence" as well.) He said that his settlement was to be a haven for those "distressed of conscience," and it soon attracted quite a collection of dissenters and otherwise-minded individuals.

 

From the beginning, the settlement was governed by a majority vote of the heads of households, but "only in civil things," and newcomers could be admitted to full citizenship by a majority vote. In August 1637 they drew up a town agreement, which again restricted the government to "civil things." In 1640, another agreement was signed by thirty-nine "freemen," (men who had full citizenship and voting rights) which declared their determination "still to hold forth liberty of conscience." Thus, Williams had founded the first place in modern history where citizenship and religion were separated, a place where there was religious liberty and separation of church and state.

 

In 1643, the neighboring colonies formed a military alliance called the United Colonies and pointedly excluded the towns around Narragansett Bay. The object was to extend their power over the heretic settlements and put an end to the infection. In response Williams was sent to England by his fellow citizens to secure a charter for the colony. The English Civil War was in full swing in England when Williams arrived. The Puritans were then in power in London, and through the offices of Sir Henry Vane a charter was obtained despite strenuous opposition from agents from Massachusetts. Historians agree that the key that unlocked the door for Williams was his first published book, A Key Into the Language of America (1643). Printed by John Milton's publisher the book was an instant "best-seller," and gave Williams a large and favorable reputation. This little book was the first dictionary of any Indian tongue in the English language and fed the great hunger of the English about the Native Americans. Having secured his precious charter for "Providence Plantations" from Parliament, in July 1644 Williams then published his most famous book, The Bloody Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience. This produced a great uproar, and Parliament responded in August by ordering the book to be burned by the public hangman. By then, Williams was already on his way home to Providence Plantations. Also, by then, the settlers on Aquidneck Island had renamed their island "Rhode Island."

 

Williams intended to become a missionary to the Native Americans and set out to learn their language. He studied their language, customs, religion, family life and other aspects of their world. As a result he came to see their point of view about colonization and developed a deep appreciation of them as people. He wrote his A Key into the Language of America (1643) as a kind of phrase book coupled with observations about life and culture as an aid in communication with the Indians. In it he talked about everything from salutations in the first chapter to death and burial in chapter 32. The book also sought to instruct the English, who thought of themselves as vastly superior to the Native Americans, that they were mistaken. He repeatedly made the point that the Indians were just as good as the English, even superior in some respects.

"Boast not proud English, of thy birth & blood;

Thy brother Indian is by birth as Good.

Of one blood God made Him, and Thee and All,

As wise, as fair, as strong, as personal."

Having learned their language and customs, Williams gave up the idea of being a missionary and never baptized a single Indian. He was severely criticized by the Puritans for failing to Christianize them, but Williams had arrived at the place in his own thinking that no valid church existed. He said he could have baptized the whole country, but it would have been hypocritical and false. He formed firm friendships and developed deep trust among the Native Americans, especially the Narragansetts. He was able to keep the peace between the Indians and English in Rhode Island for nearly forty years because of his constant mediation and negotiation. He twice surrendered himself as a hostage to the Indians to guarantee the safe return of a great sachem from a summons to a court: Pessicus in 1645 and Metacomet (King Philip) in 1671. He more than any other Englishman was trusted by the Native Americans and proved to be trustworthy. In the end King Philip’s War (1675–1676) was one of the bitterest events in his life as his efforts ended with the burning of Providence in March 1676, including his own house.

Permitid que os presente a la última adquisición de la familia, un Nosferatu! Es el regalo de cumpleaños de mis niños de Granada, y me encanta! Como se había agotado decidí quitarlo de la WL y ahora está aquí, conmigo, así que imaginaos la sorpresa que me he pegado cuando lo he visto xDD no sé que hacerle y me muero por trastearlo, jaja.

Muchísimas gracias niños! Habéis acertado de lleno ^3^ esta foto va dedicada a por vosotros por cutes :3

Espero que os guste a todos! Un ! besico, y ah! Feliz año nuevo! ^__^

SWITCH. HUISA. SD17 BOY.

JST Truck Permits is a trucking company that helps trucking companies and owners operators file their IFTA fuel tax hassle free. We are based in the USA, easy to use and we follow the FMCSA guidelines for filing fuel tax.

 

Contact: 559-389-7772

Mail: jst1@jsttruckpermits.com

Website: jsttruckpermits.com/ifta-fuel-tax-return/

  

On the grounds of the El Castillo (The Castle) Museum, Medellín, Colombia.

 

It's an interesting window into the life (and death) of the Colombian oligarchy during the 20th century.

 

Alas, photography is not permitted in the mansion, so I can't show photos of its most notable feature, a king's ransom of Baccarat chandeliers.

 

Born in Medellín as the scion of an industrial fortune, Diego Echavarría Misas was educated in Germany and married a German woman, Benedikta zur Nieden, known as Doña Dita. They had but one child, a daughter, Isolde. Don Diego bought El Castillo in 1943 as a home for his family.

 

If the interior spaces are dark and the furnishings ostentatious without being stylish or comfortable, it's memories of Isolde that bring warmth to the place.

 

El Castillo is in many ways a museum to Isolde, who died of a rare disease at 19 while attending university in the US a year after being presented to society in the early '70s. The chic beaded white gown she wore on the occasion of her debut is laid out on her bed. A photo of her in that outfit shows a beautiful, poised young blonde whose early-'70s bouffant hairdo makes her accessible to those of my generation. There are photos of Isolde growing up in the house: playing the piano, having her portrait painted, and sitting with her family and other notables on the archaic furniture in the main rooms.

 

Notable for their absence are Colombian antiques (European Victorian pieces abound) and pre-Columbian antiquities, which were widely available and could have been had for a song back in the day.

 

The furnishings seem intended to awe by virtue of their costliness (a Meissen dinner service pained with Colombian flowers, a different one on each plate) or abundance (scores of pieces of dainty porcelain figurines) rather than their good taste.

 

As for Don Diego, on August 8, 1971, as his car was turning into the long drive of El Castillo, it was stopped by armed men and he was kidnapped. A month and a half later his body was found in a field. The kidnappers belonged to the gang of "Mono" ("Monkey") Trejo.

 

It was an era when Colombian oligarchs were targeted for kidnapping and ransom by criminals, narco-traffickers and the leftist insurgency. Almost 20 years later, Echavarrías were still making the headlines in Medellín as victims of kidnapping.

 

Wikipedia, who knows a whole lot more than this about El Castillo, has chosen to make that information available only in Spanish. Here's my translation:

 

The El Castillo Museum is a museum in the Colombian city of Medellín that has permanent exhibits of objects of porcelain and crystal, glassware, tapestries, antiques, paintings and sculptures, among other things.

 

The building was built around 1930. It was designed by the architect Nel Rodríguez in the medieval gothic style similar to the chateaux of the Loire Valley in France. It has French-style formal gardens, libraries and exhibition and concert halls.

 

El Castillo was built for José Tobón Uribe, who lived there until 1943, when Diego Echavarría Misas, an important Medellín industrialist, bought it as a home for his family.

 

In 1971 it became a museum when Don Diego decided to gift it with all its furnishings and accessories. Nine areas are open to the public: the Louis XV Room, the Music Room, the Colonial Room, the Entrance Hall, the Tapestry Room, Don Diego’s Bedroom, Isolde Echavarría’s Bedroom, Doña Dita’s Bedroom, and the Memento Room.

 

There are also exhibits of decorative arts, a concert space, and fine-arts classrooms.

Ranger Annette helps a visitor plan their trip at the Wilderness Permit Center. To learn more: www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/backcountry.htm

Original Caption: Dams and canals on the Colorado River have permitted a vast reclamation of desert lands in California and Arizona, May 1972

 

U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 412-DA-6457

 

Photographer: O'Rear, Charles, 1941-

  

Subjects:

Blythe (California)

Environmental Protection Agency

Project DOCUMERICA

  

Persistent URL: research.archives.gov/description/548944

 

Repository: Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001.

 

For information about ordering reproductions of photographs held by the Still Picture Unit, visit: www.archives.gov/research/order/still-pictures.html

 

Reproductions may be ordered via an independent vendor. NARA maintains a list of vendors at www.archives.gov/research/order/vendors-photos-maps-dc.html

 

Access Restrictions: Unrestricted

Use Restrictions: Unrestricted

The Cathedral of St. Martina

St. Martina - National Historic Landmark

1221-1452

St. Martina is one of the landmarks of the city. For centuries it was the center of cultural, religious and social life. The place where the Cathedral stands today was ambiguous center of the emerging urban settlements. They met here a trip arose market, located here thus the core of the then town, where we can assume the chapel. However, the townspeople used to go to church on the castle, where it established a prepoštstvo chapter. Only when it visits have become unbearable and endangered the safety of the castle headquarters, asked the king Imrich by Pope Innocent III. Permit the transfer prepoštstva to the castle. This permit was also issued in 1204. After prepoštstve to place the issuing and procuring documentary material to the approval of Pope Honorius III. In 1221 moved the church. Construction has not yet begun in the Romanesque style and dedication most Holy Saviour was in continuity with the church of the castle. December 2, 1291 King Andrew III. Podhradie granted town privileges, and the city began to develop in the open easterly direction. The historic town but has remained at the foot of the castle hill. Sacred Temple Saviour in their size was not sufficient and therefore less Romanesque building, which since 1302 has served as the city temple, started in 1311-1314 attaches the current Gothic cathedral. This was solemnly consecrated by bishop of Esztergom Gregory in 1452 in honor of the Sacred Saviour and St . Martin. At that time there was also the sanctuary of what we know today. It was probably just a little more than 1/3 of today, that the sanctuary built by Matthias Corvinus in the years 1467-1487. These years also today we can read on his ceiling plate fixed to the terminal bars ribs. Here also we find the provincial and noble coats of that period Today's Cathedral - Cathedral of Saint Martin - passed since its dedication in 1452 many variables and minor alterations, or extensions. Today there are more in state redevelopment of the years 1863-1878 led canon Charles Heiller - Dómská priest, held in collaboration with the architect Joseph Lippert (1826-1902).

Overall internal dimensions of St. Martina are:

length including the sacristy - 69.37 m

width - 22.85 m

Nave wall thickness - 1.5 m

Thickness of the walls of the sanctuary - 926 mm

Ships height - 16.02 m

Height sanctuary - 18.5 m

Interior

Support

Support (three-legged) consists of two floors. Upon arrival to the interior of a large northern portal, we find ourselves directly beneath the choir organ. On the soffit we can see the exposed fragment baroque layers. The only color, but also historically linked with decorative baroque clock above the entrance to the sacristy. Doors are decorated with relief carving ornamentation except Hungary and municipal coat of arms. These doors lead into the three-legged sacristy formed on the north side of the chapel Canons (Chapel of Our Lady) and the first floor treasure in southern podveží chapel. Joseph and floor chapel Czech Queen Sophia, the widow of Wenceslas IV., and staircase accessible from the choir. Here is exposure of Dómská treasure. Is it possible to go from here to the space tower. Sometimes there is also a capitular archive that even in 1950 contained 3285 medieval documents, and more than 23,000 documents dated after the battle of Mohacs. Also, they contain rare, hand painted decorated liturgical books. Among them the famous Bratislava quoted Missal. To the south chapel of St. Joseph leads a separate entrance with decorative decorative grille from the turn of the century, 16 and 17 at the top. Over medium sakristiovým (space of sacristy) on the ground floor, the floor is placed organ machine.

South vessel (right)

Just opposite the main entrance to the temple is isosceles missionary cross planted 25 February 1990 which was drawn up following a visit to Vienna by Pope John Paul II. in 1988. Going along the south wall one comes to the South portal, which is the last, even medieval extension to the house. It was built around 1510. In each field divided bowed ribs separately placed signs four evangelists. Right next to the southern entrance is the original box and the stone stoup in the form of shells. In southern ship is still Sorrows Altar P. Mary, created as opposite northern altar of Calvary Tyrolean workshop F. Prinoth in St.Ulrich.

Shrine of the Virgin Mary on the south side of the central seated statue of the Pieta that their origin prior to 1642 is due to the ghost 's story. It's already the fourth altar created for this work. On the altar in addition to the aforementioned statues are even statues of other saints. From left are in the bottom row sv. Apolonia, Vol. Genovéva? , Vol. Rozalia Palermo and light. Cecilia, in the top shroud by even two, vol. left St. Lucia and Filomena right. Statues of saints supplement relief scenes from the life of Christ juxtaposed threes. At left are the scenes of childhood as: Escape to Egypt, twelve Christ in the temple and sacrifice in the temple. On the right side of the end scenes of Christ's life: Carrying the Cross, storing the grave and crucifixion. In mid nike attachment is a statue of an angel holding a veraikon.

In the corner of the south aisle is a jewel of Baroque art admired and coveted by thousands of visitors - equestrian statue of St . Martin, dividing his cloak with a beggar created by Juraj Rafael Donner of the 1735th. Build sv . Martina bears portrait features of donor - Archbishop Imre Esterházy.

Juraj Rafael Donner

(* 24.05.1693 - † 02.15.1741)

Crafts George Raphael Donner is a decade firmly tied to Bratislava, the then Prešburg, which creates a number of wonderful works of art. To a large extent its creation was heading for the needs of the church, which is a donor it works. Perhaps the greatest of the reservation was archbishop of Esztergom Imrich Esterházy, for whom creating here in the house in the years 1719-1731 chapel of St. . John the Merciful, and whose order is the leading work on the Baroque reconstruction of the house. In 1735 creates the St. Martina main-Baroque altar with a statue of St. Martin, as well as a pair of worshiping angels, who are part of the collections of the National Museum in Budapest. In his workshop on Firšnáli (now Freedom Square) created in 1736 for the abbey church altar in Marianka, became canonical and altars Piety and light. For Michael 's Cathedral St. Martin Donner ten year stay in Bratislava meant the emergence of the so-called Donner school, which is associated with an expired late Baroque Epoch Times Cinquecento, while anticipating future development of classicism. From its rich formation in the St. Martina has been preserved except the chapel of St. Martin decoration, Statue of St. John the Merciful. Its original position was at the end of the presbytery, which was part of the main Baroque altar.

Once near the triumphal arch in the southern ship is one of kovolejárskych Gothic monuments, which is the baptismal font in 1409 92 cm high. The cover consists of neo helm of 1878.

Sanctuary

The sanctuary is only three steps of red marble separated from the nave and aisles. After the two sides are still neo-Gothic. The main altar in the shape of a Gothic shrine and altar of St. Andrew podveží in northern naves are made ​​by J. Lippert. It is on the main altar, found its place six saints - patron of the city. These are light. Juraj, Vol. Elizabeth Hungarian, Vol. Vojtech the left of the tabernacle with the emblems of the four Evangelists with Christ in the middle, and light. Nicholas, Vol. Catherine of Alexandria, St . Florian on the right side. Extension creates richly towering architecture trúbiacimi by angels. On the south wall is placed neo-Gothic pastophorium closed door of a Gothic tower-like shape pastofória originally located on the opposite, that the north side of the sanctuary. There is now a wall mural with a list of heads are crowned king, supplemented AD coronation, created in the 19th century. Below the list is a little north portal. Pillars on either side of the sanctuary windows are placed neo-Gothic sculpture of St. Peter and Paul. For northern stall are two epitaphs. The year 1601 is the epitaph Nicholas Palffy in this niche and clothed in armor. To his right is the epitaph Peter Pázmány - Cardinal, Archbishop of Esztergom, scholar, founder of the Pázmáneum in Vienna, the founder of the University of Trnava and Bratislava Jesuit college. The epitaph is the work of sculptor of Bratislava A. Riegele. Among them is the inscription forming tombstone Archbishops Lippaya, Szécsényi, and Pázmaňa. Northern part of the stall is a small positive organ workshop Karla Kölner created in 1867 From inside the triumphal arch is equipped with a secondary epitaph Bishop of Eger, a Hungarian viceroy Francis Ujlakyho made ​​of red marble around 1555 and also from red marble epitaph created Martina Peth, displayed with Episcopal insignia.

North Ship (left)

North ship has a so-called dominant Altar or Altar of the Cross of Calvary Tyrolean workshop F. Prinoth in St. Ulrich. In the center is a statue of Calvary, so cross with the Corpus of Christ, under which it is Mary 's mother left and right Apostle John. It is shown here moments when Jesus Christ in John passed under the protection of Mary's motherhood mankind and us through John gives Mary the mother. About four- relief scenes creating the impression sash opening Gothic altar, showing four trpiteľskej painful moments of Jesus' journey to Calvary. The lower left corner is Jesus' encounter with the Mother of the crowning with thorns. On the right side is down prayer on the Mount of Olives, where Christ receives the chalice of suffering at the hands of an angel. The last scene is flogging Christ. The bulkhead under the cross is embossed painting the Last Supper. It is created by the famous fresco of Leonardo Da Vinci. Towers soaring above the altar are equipped with four statues. Amid cross over the Sacred Heart of Jesus, of whom the angel with folded hands. On the sides are statues of Jesus statues of two deacons. On the right is the first deacon of St. Stephen and on the opposite side of St . Lawrence, who was consecrated to the one now defunct church in Bratislava.

On the altar of St . Andrew made ​​by J. Lippert, instead of the central statue of that saint ever stood a statue of the Pieta, now standing at a larger (already mentioned), splendid altar in the south of the ship. Sv. Andrew crossed with typical crossbar behind obstupujú niches in the side altar of St. Alojz and St. Imrich.

On the northern front of the ships is still a chapel. John the Merciful.

Right next to the altar of St . Andrew is the entrance to the chapel of St . Anny.

Chapel. John the Merciful

Chapel. John the Merciful, the only comprehensive monument of the baroque period. The chapel stands on the site of the former Gothic sacristy. Build it gave the archbishop Imrich Esterházy, as his funeral chapel and also the place where the remains of St. John the Merciful. Its decoration is the work of J. R. Donner. Ceiling fresco attributed to D. Grant, shows the personification of divine virtues: faith, hope and love over the entrance, accompanied justice. On the predella of the altar of the Refectory are seven scenes from the Passion, which also includes door tabernákula. These relief sculptures are like eternal light, and two large candlesticks of foundry workshop J. R. Donner. His, however, stoneware sculpture workshop come putitov a large angels. A gem of stonework is carved in white marble statue forever adoring donor. Archbishop Imrich Esterházy is carved from white marble in a sumptuous robe kneeling on kľakadle of red marble. The silver coffin remarkable, under a canopy consisting of a crown and drapery of it merging into stored relics of St. John the Merciful. Entrance to the chapel is formed by a large arch lined with rich drapery, again, kept little angel. The hole closes heavy baroque metal gate.

The remains of St. Martin and of St. John the Merciful were by tradition gift Turkish sultan King Matthias Corvinus and from 15 century have been deposited in the royal chapel in Buda. In 1526 they were moved to Bratislava, Buda was because after the defeat of the Hungarian army at Mohács threatened by the Turks. The Bratislava castle remains were deposited up to 5 June 1530, when they were at the command of Ferdinand I. moved to St. Martin.

Anny Chapel

Anne Chapel is the in the the northern site of the former so-called small portal , whose precious stone mason gothic decor is still preserved, despite various modifications to the temple. Under the floor there are two entrances to Dómská crypts and also the foundations of the former Romanesque Karner. At present, in addition epitaph J. I. Bajza established academic sculptor J. Pospíšilom rare Gothic epitaph provost J. Schoenberg from 1470 probably made ​​by Nicolaus Gerhaereta of Leyden, provost Michael Marovitza epitaph and epitaph George Nagy. The front wall is a statue of St . Anne with P. Mary, who was part of the now defunct neo-Gothic altar.

Preserved Gothic tympanum above the transition into the aisle, showing God the Father seated on his seat in the hands of the tree of the cross - holding of the new fruit of eternal life - Christ, for it outstretched. Adore that two angels. In vrchnejšej section contains two more so prefigurácie Christ, namely: lioness revitalizing their stillborn baby on the left side of the pelican and her young vourus own flesh and blood on the right side. God the Father above floats depicting a dove - third divine person of the Holy Spirit.

Vaulted Hall

Three nave is divided in two rows ranking - all eight columns, resembling the eight Beatitudes which is built cross vault, which is almost without bolts. Its author is most likely Hans Puchsbaum, who also worked on the construction of Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral, where he built a similar vault. The focus is on cross-nave circular opening covered with a shield with a dove St. Spirit hovering on clouds surrounded by a circle of stars. The central ship is richly carved pulpit obtáčajúca one of the main pillars. From the ceiling hangs mnohoramenný metal chandelier from the turn of the 16th and 17th century.

Organ chorus

Organ chorus is created according to F. Liszt so on it could be placed great interpretive apparatus symphony orchestra and choir. For this reason, the big 34 registering body - most of the workshops Vincent possible from the years 1880-82, as it were closed and placed in the tower. Cannot fail to mention that the musical events in Bratislava was closely connected with the house just Saint Martin. With music Mass in the cathedral all developments related to church music in Bratislava. Already a document from 1491 mentions the mass supported by the city council. Model for the local musical events are also elements coming from the coronation ceremony near Vienna. In 1833 was established at the house - church music association called. Kirchenmusikverain (in German language - Kirchenmusikverein). Under the guidance of outstanding conductors Joseph Kumlika, Thiarda-Laforesta and Eugene Kossovo gained European recognition of the association. And In the house conducted his coronation Mass itself Ferenz Liszt. This body several times successfully explained Beethoven's IX Symphony and Missa Solemn. Even in 1950 it was in the archives of over 2,700 songs in custody conductor Alexander Albrecht.

Gothic windows

The temple is illuminated with several Gothic windows, filled with stained glass from years of neo-Gothic reconstruction (1874).

Crypts

Crypts are mysterious underground church built on a former cemetery. So far we know three crypts at a depth of nearly six meters. Is input to the two already mentioned chapel of St. Anne, third - Palffy family crypt located in front of the main altar has entry from the exterior. This is the north wall of the house covered with white marble top with Palffy family coat of arms (which was the Diet of Bratislava in 1599 elected hereditary lords of the castle), above which there is a funerary statue of John Draškovcha from 1613 depicting the knight located in nike completed the top of shells. The chapel of St. Anny is entered into so-called Jesuit crypt, which is situated below the road between the house and the catholic seminary. There is also only accessible entrance to the underground section so-called Archbishop crypt branched into four corridors. There are more than 90 graves. The last three are buried here: Provost Joseph Dankó († 1895), canon Geza Navratil († 1984) and Joseph parish administrator Beitl († 1991). The graves are in rows of three. There are also temporarily stored the remains of Bishop Buzalka. Under the chapel of Saint John the Merciful in bulk coffin Archbishops Imre Esterházy († 1745), Nicholas Csaky († 1757), Francis Barkóczy († 1765) and Cardinal Jozef Batthyány († 1799). Restoration work 12 September 1859 found under the pavement of the sanctuary graves of archbishops Pázmáňa, Lippayho and Szécsényi. In the sixties have been found the graves of archbishops Fejerköviho († 1596) and Christian Augustine († 1721). At the tomb of Bratislava canon J. I. Bajza (1754-1836) was located in the summer of 2003 and the empty coffin glazed Catholic priest, nationalist Andrej Hlinka.

Tower

Tower towering over the house of St . Martina is 87 meters high. In the distant past had fortification-defensive character. As part of the walls were present in it guns and other protective and defensive equipment. Injury suffered mainly fires. A fire in 1760 caused by lightning, was repeated in 1833, and subsequently damaged the tower whirlwind. The current state of the tower is from the years 1835-1849, when the builder Ignatius St. Feigler edited by Neo-Gothic tower to form the completed pyramid. Brand new top of the form, instead of the cross when it is equiped with gilded decorative pillow Hungarian crown weighing 300 kg. Below the clock face is the bell tower. The oldest bell tower is located at 2513 kg weighing Wedderin, cast Baltazar Herold in 1675th. On the occasion of the Great Jubilee of 2000 the tower was planted another 5 new bells, gifts neighboring countries. They are also a symbol of a united Europe and jointly bear the motto:

We are born with you - I'm dying with you

I rejoice with you - I am crying with you

I'm calling you together with your heart.

Listen to my voice their hearts,

Are all people of good will, Listen!

These bells are the work from the workshop of Maria Tomášková-Dytrichovej in Brodek u Company.

Coronation

Coronations were certainly the most famous period in the history of St. Martin. It is bordered ago period 1563-1830, which was the coronation church of Hungarian Kingdom. It took place there nineteen coronation. From here, the eleven kings were crowned, including Maria Theresa and eight royal wives.

JEWELS OF THE CATHEDRAL

Jewellery house, which is in the treasury collected for 550 years existence of the temple, are hidden in the bowels of the rough walls. In addition to the artistic, historic and cultural value of the building itself forms a considerable number of objects characterized by high craftsmanship and artistic quality. Perhaps the greatest gem is 109 cm tall Gothic monstrance, accompanied by a variety of liturgical objects, including chalices and Episcopal Berio, pacifikálov, cibórií, or reliquary. Also there are different painting gems. For all let us at least Gothic panel paintings originating from the altar in the Vienna New Town, whose authorship is attributed to "master Winkler epitaph" from around the 1480th Special kind of jewelry is the amount of liturgical vestments decorated with rich hand embroidery technique so-called paintings needle. These valuables can be seen at special ceremonial worship, which again become part of the celebration of the liturgy.

__________

 

[ 1 ] Pope in the years 1198-1216

[ 2 ] Pope in the years 1216-1227

[ 3 ] Hungarian king in the years 1290-1301

[ 4 ] Joseph Lippert (* 21 January 1826v Arad in Romania, + August 15, 1902 in Gutensteine ​​in Austria) architect and restorer. He studied in Hamburg and Vienna.

[ 5 ] She died on 12.25.1428 and was buried in the Cathedral of St. . Martin.

[ 6 ] Bohemian king from 1378 to 1400 and in 1378 a German Roman emperor of the dynasty of Luxemburg.

[ 7 ] 1526 AD

[ 8 ] See File: Thomas Bielavý , rather marvelous Loans, which became one soul in Prešpurk, 1643

[ 9 ] Shape church. Lawrence can be found marked in the pavement of the square in front of the Old Market .

Editor - Tue, 2006a - 08-29 11:15

Printable version

( c ) The parish of St . Martina in Bratislava

dom.fara.sk/?q=dom/o_dome

My previous work permit for Canada

A volunteer stands behind the desk at the Apgar Wilderness Permit Center, holding the Wilderness Camping Guide.

Bridge Bay Ranger Station/Backcountry permit office;

Diane Renkin;

August 2014

(More details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

After photographing some of the people and scenes on Camden High Street and Piccadilly Circus (which you can see in this Flickr set and this Flickr set), I decided that my next stop should be Trafalgar Square, which you can learn more about here on Wikipedia. Located in the center of London, the square is a public space and tourist attraction, and is also used for political demonstrations and community gatherings, such as the celebration of New Year's Eve.

 

The name commemorates the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, a major British naval victory during the Napoleonic Wars. The original name was to have been "King William the Fourth's Square," but George Ledwell Taylor suggested the name "Trafalgar Square." In the 1820s the Prince Regent hired the architect John Nash to redevelop the area, and Nash cleared the square as part of his Charing Cross Improvement Scheme. The current architecture of the square is due to Sir Charles Barry and was completed in 1845.

 

Nelson's Column is in the center of the square, flanked by fountains designed in 1937 as replacements for two earlier fountains, and guarded by four monumental bronze lions. The column is topped by a statue of Horatio Nelson, the vice admiral who commanded the British Fleet at Trafalgar. The square has become a social and political focus for visitors and Londoners alike; its symbolic importance was demonstrated in 1940 when the Nazi SS developed secret plans to transfer Nelson's Column to Berlin following an expected German invasion

 

Since its construction, Trafalgar Square has been a popular spot for political demonstrations, though the authorities have often attempted to ban them. The same that year Nelson's column opened, for example, the authorities started banning Chartist meetings in the square. A general ban on political rallies remained in effect until the 1880s, when the emerging Labour movement, particularly the Social Democratic Federation, began holding protests there.

 

One of the first significant demonstrations of the modern era was held in the square in September 1961 by the Committee of 100, which included the philosopher Bertrand Russell. The protesters rallied for peace and against war and nuclear weapons. The square was also scene to a large vigil held shortly after the terrorist bombings in London on July 7, 2005. On March 27, 2011, the square was occupied by protesters using the square to rally against the UK Budget and its proposed budget cuts. During the night, the situation turned violent as the escalation by riot police and protesters damaged major portions of the square.

 

With all of this historical background, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I got to Trafalgar Square. But it turned out to be mostly students and tourists from various countries, wandering around peacefully, as well as various "locals" who were enjoying a sunny afternoon in the square. I took some 200 photos, and decided that 40 of them were sufficiently interesting to warrant uploading to Flickr...

 

So that's it for Trafalgar Square. Maybe I'll come back someday, maybe I won't. Meanwhile, there are still other places to see here in London -- but they'll have to wait for my next trip. For now, it's time to head back to New York City.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

About a year ago, I created Flickr album for photos that I had started taking with my iPhone5s; and now I’m creating a new Flickr album for photos that I’ve begun taking with myiPhone6, which just arrived from T-Mobile this morning.

 

In last year’s album, I wrote, "Whether you’re an amateur or professional photographer, it’s hard to walk around with a modern smartphone in your pocket, and not be tempted to use the built-in camera from time-to-time. Veteran photographers typically sneer at such behavior, and most will tell you that they can instantly recognize an iPhone photo, which they mentally reject as being unworthy of any serious attention.

 

"After using many earlier models of smartphones over the past several years, I was inclined to agree; after all, I always (well, almost always) had a “real” camera in my pocket (or backpack or camera-bag), and it was always capable of taking a much better photographic image than the mediocre, grainy images shot with a camera-phone.

 

"But still … there were a few occasions when I desperately wanted to capture some photo-worthy event taking place right in front of me, and inevitably it turned out to be the times when I did not have the “real” camera with me. Or I did have it, but it was buried somewhere in a bag, and I knew that the “event” would have disappeared by the time I found the “real" camera and turned it on. By contrast, the smart-phone was always in my pocket (along with my keys and my wallet, it’s one of the three things I consciously grab every time I walk out the door). And I often found that I could turn it on, point it at the photographic scene, and take the picture much faster than I could do the same thing with a “traditional” camera.

 

"Meanwhile, smartphone cameras have gotten substantially better in the past few years, from a mechanical/hardware perspective; and the software “intelligence” controlling the camera has become amazingly sophisticated. It’s still not on the same level as a “professional” DSLR camera, but for a large majority of the “average” photographic situations we’re likely to encounter in the unplanned moments of our lives, it’s more and more likely to be “good enough.” The old adage of “the best camera is the one you have with you” is more and more relevant these days. For me, 90% of the success in taking a good photo is simply being in the right place at the right time, being aware that the “photo opportunity” is there, and having a camera — any camera — to take advantage of that opportunity. Only 10% of the time does it matter which camera I’m using, or what technical features I’ve managed to use.

 

"And now, with the recent advent of the iPhone5s, there is one more improvement — which, as far as I can tell, simply does not exist in any of the “professional” cameras. You can take an unlimited number of “burst-mode” shots with the new iPhone, simply by keeping your finger on the shutter button; instead of being limited to just six (as a few of the DSLR cameras currently offer), you can take 10, 20, or even a hundred shots. And then — almost magically — the iPhone will show you which one or two of the large burst of photos was optimally sharp and clear. With a couple of clicks, you can then delete everything else, and retain only the very best one or two from the entire burst.

 

"With that in mind, I’ve begun using my iPhone5s for more and more “everyday” photo situations out on the street. Since I’m typically photographing ordinary, mundane events, even the one or two “optimal” shots that the camera-phone retains might not be worth showing anyone else … so there is still a lot of pruning and editing to be done, and I’m lucky if 10% of those “optimal” shots are good enough to justify uploading to Flickr and sharing with the rest of the world. Still, it’s an enormous benefit to know that my editing work can begin with photos that are more-or-less “technically” adequate, and that I don’t have to waste even a second reviewing dozens of technically-mediocre shots that are fuzzy, or blurred.

 

"Oh, yeah, one other minor benefit of the iPhone5s (and presumably most other current brands of smartphone): it automatically geotags every photo and video, without any special effort on the photographer’s part. Only one of my other big, fat cameras (the Sony Alpha SLT A65) has that feature, and I’ve noticed that almost none of the “new” mirrorless cameras have got a built-in GPS thingy that will perform the geotagging...

 

"I’ve had my iPhone5s for a couple of months now, but I’ve only been using the “burst-mode” photography feature aggressively for the past couple of weeks. As a result, the initial batch of photos that I’m uploading are all taken in the greater-NYC area. But as time goes on, and as my normal travel routine takes me to other parts of the world, I hope to add more and more “everyday” scenes in cities that I might not have the opportunity to photograph in a “serious” way.

 

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

 

Okay, so now it’s September of 2014, and I’ve got the iPhone 6. They say that the camera is better, and that the internal camera-related hardware/firmware/software is better, too. Obviously, I’ve got the newer iOS, too, and even on the “old” phones, it now supports time-lapse videos along with everything else.

 

I’ve still got my pocket camera (an amazing little Sony ERX-100 Mark III), and two larger cameras (Sony RX-10, and Sony A7), but I have a feeling that I won’t even be taking them out of the camera bag when I’m out on the street for ordinary day-to-day walking around.

 

That will depend, obviously, on what kind of photos and videos the iPhone6 is actually capable of taking … so I’m going to try to use it every day, and see what the results look like …

 

Like I said last year, “stay tuned…"

KOREATOWN - Los Angeles Firefighters safely rescued a pet dog while tackling flames in a 4th floor apartment at 525 South Gramercy Place on March 20, 2015. The burning apartment was equipped with both functional smoke alarms and fire sprinklers - which aided firefighter's efforts in alerting occupants and extinguishing the flames without injury in just 20 minutes.

 

Photo Use Permitted via Creative Commons - Credit: LAFD Photo by David Ortiz

 

Connect with us: LAFD.ORG | News | Facebook | Instagram | Reddit | Twitter: @LAFD @LAFDtalk

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

About a year ago, I created Flickr album for photos that I had started taking with my iPhone5s; and now I’m creating a new Flickr album for photos that I’ve begun taking with myiPhone6, which just arrived from T-Mobile this morning.

 

In last year’s album, I wrote, "Whether you’re an amateur or professional photographer, it’s hard to walk around with a modern smartphone in your pocket, and not be tempted to use the built-in camera from time-to-time. Veteran photographers typically sneer at such behavior, and most will tell you that they can instantly recognize an iPhone photo, which they mentally reject as being unworthy of any serious attention.

 

"After using many earlier models of smartphones over the past several years, I was inclined to agree; after all, I always (well, almost always) had a “real” camera in my pocket (or backpack or camera-bag), and it was always capable of taking a much better photographic image than the mediocre, grainy images shot with a camera-phone.

 

"But still … there were a few occasions when I desperately wanted to capture some photo-worthy event taking place right in front of me, and inevitably it turned out to be the times when I did not have the “real” camera with me. Or I did have it, but it was buried somewhere in a bag, and I knew that the “event” would have disappeared by the time I found the “real" camera and turned it on. By contrast, the smart-phone was always in my pocket (along with my keys and my wallet, it’s one of the three things I consciously grab every time I walk out the door). And I often found that I could turn it on, point it at the photographic scene, and take the picture much faster than I could do the same thing with a “traditional” camera.

 

"Meanwhile, smartphone cameras have gotten substantially better in the past few years, from a mechanical/hardware perspective; and the software “intelligence” controlling the camera has become amazingly sophisticated. It’s still not on the same level as a “professional” DSLR camera, but for a large majority of the “average” photographic situations we’re likely to encounter in the unplanned moments of our lives, it’s more and more likely to be “good enough.” The old adage of “the best camera is the one you have with you” is more and more relevant these days. For me, 90% of the success in taking a good photo is simply being in the right place at the right time, being aware that the “photo opportunity” is there, and having a camera — any camera — to take advantage of that opportunity. Only 10% of the time does it matter which camera I’m using, or what technical features I’ve managed to use.

 

"And now, with the recent advent of the iPhone5s, there is one more improvement — which, as far as I can tell, simply does not exist in any of the “professional” cameras. You can take an unlimited number of “burst-mode” shots with the new iPhone, simply by keeping your finger on the shutter button; instead of being limited to just six (as a few of the DSLR cameras currently offer), you can take 10, 20, or even a hundred shots. And then — almost magically — the iPhone will show you which one or two of the large burst of photos was optimally sharp and clear. With a couple of clicks, you can then delete everything else, and retain only the very best one or two from the entire burst.

 

"With that in mind, I’ve begun using my iPhone5s for more and more “everyday” photo situations out on the street. Since I’m typically photographing ordinary, mundane events, even the one or two “optimal” shots that the camera-phone retains might not be worth showing anyone else … so there is still a lot of pruning and editing to be done, and I’m lucky if 10% of those “optimal” shots are good enough to justify uploading to Flickr and sharing with the rest of the world. Still, it’s an enormous benefit to know that my editing work can begin with photos that are more-or-less “technically” adequate, and that I don’t have to waste even a second reviewing dozens of technically-mediocre shots that are fuzzy, or blurred.

 

"Oh, yeah, one other minor benefit of the iPhone5s (and presumably most other current brands of smartphone): it automatically geotags every photo and video, without any special effort on the photographer’s part. Only one of my other big, fat cameras (the Sony Alpha SLT A65) has that feature, and I’ve noticed that almost none of the “new” mirrorless cameras have got a built-in GPS thingy that will perform the geotagging...

 

"I’ve had my iPhone5s for a couple of months now, but I’ve only been using the “burst-mode” photography feature aggressively for the past couple of weeks. As a result, the initial batch of photos that I’m uploading are all taken in the greater-NYC area. But as time goes on, and as my normal travel routine takes me to other parts of the world, I hope to add more and more “everyday” scenes in cities that I might not have the opportunity to photograph in a “serious” way.

 

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

 

Okay, so now it’s September of 2014, and I’ve got the iPhone 6. They say that the camera is better, and that the internal camera-related hardware/firmware/software is better, too. Obviously, I’ve got the newer iOS, too, and even on the “old” phones, it now supports time-lapse videos along with everything else.

 

I’ve still got my pocket camera (an amazing little Sony ERX-100 Mark III), and two larger cameras (Sony RX-10, and Sony A7), but I have a feeling that I won’t even be taking them out of the camera bag when I’m out on the street for ordinary day-to-day walking around.

 

That will depend, obviously, on what kind of photos and videos the iPhone6 is actually capable of taking … so I’m going to try to use it every day, and see what the results look like …

 

Like I said last year, “stay tuned…"

Seeking F22 Raptors, we only found F15's and plenty of them.

 

The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit the Air Force to gain and maintain air supremacy over the battlefield.

 

Features

The Eagle's air superiority is achieved through a mixture of unprecedented maneuverability and acceleration, range, weapons and avionics. It can penetrate enemy defense and outperform and outfight any current enemy aircraft. The F-15 has electronic systems and weaponry to detect, acquire, track and attack enemy aircraft while operating in friendly or enemy-controlled airspace. The weapons and flight control systems are designed so one person can safely and effectively perform air-to-air combat.

 

The F-15's superior maneuverability and acceleration are achieved through high engine thrust-to-weight ratio and low wing loading. Low wing-loading (the ratio of aircraft weight to its wing area) is a vital factor in maneuverability and, combined with the high thrust-to-weight ratio, enables the aircraft to turn tightly without losing airspeed.

 

A multimission avionics system sets the F-15 apart from other fighter aircraft. It includes a head-up display, advanced radar, inertial navigation system, flight instruments, ultrahigh frequency communications, tactical navigation system and instrument landing system. It also has an internally mounted, tactical electronic-warfare system, "identification friend or foe" system, electronic countermeasures set and a central digital computer.

 

The pilot's head-up display projects on the windscreen all essential flight information gathered by the integrated avionics system. This display, visible in any light condition, provides information necessary to track and destroy an enemy aircraft without having to look down at cockpit instruments.

 

The F-15's versatile pulse-Doppler radar system can look up at high-flying targets and down at low-flying targets without being confused by ground clutter. It can detect and track aircraft and small high-speed targets at distances beyond visual range down to close range, and at altitudes down to treetop level. The radar feeds target information into the central computer for effective weapons delivery. For close-in dogfights, the radar automatically acquires enemy aircraft, and this information is projected on the head-up display. The F-15's electronic warfare system provides both threat warning and automatic countermeasures against selected threats.

 

A variety of air-to-air weaponry can be carried by the F-15. An automated weapon system enables the pilot to perform aerial combat safely and effectively, using the head-up display and the avionics and weapons controls located on the engine throttles or control stick. When the pilot changes from one weapon system to another, visual guidance for the required weapon automatically appears on the head-up display.

 

The Eagle can be armed with combinations of different air-to-air weapons: AIM-120 advanced medium range air-to-air missiles on its lower fuselage corners, AIM-9L/M Sidewinder or AIM-120 missiles on two pylons under the wings, and an internal 20mm Gatling gun in the right wing root.

 

The F-15E is a two-seat, dual-role, totally integrated fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and deep interdiction missions. The rear cockpit is upgraded to include four multi-purpose CRT displays for aircraft systems and weapons management. The digital, triple-redundant Lear Siegler flight control system permits coupled automatic terrain following, enhanced by a ring-laser gyro inertial navigation system.

 

For low-altitude, high-speed penetration and precision attack on tactical targets at night or in adverse weather, the F-15E carries a high-resolution APG-70 radar and low-altitude navigation and targeting infrared for night pods

 

Background

The first F-15A flight was made in July 1972, and the first flight of the two-seat F-15B (formerly TF-15A) trainer was made in July 1973. The first Eagle (F-15B) was delivered in November 1974. In January 1976, the first Eagle destined for a combat squadron was delivered.

 

The single-seat F-15C and two-seat F-15D models entered the Air Force inventory beginning in 1979. These new models have Production Eagle Package (PEP 2000) improvements, including 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms) of additional internal fuel, provision for carrying exterior conformal fuel tanks and increased maximum takeoff weight of up to 68,000 pounds (30,600 kilograms).

 

The F-15 Multistage Improvement Program was initiated in February 1983, with the first production MSIP F-15C produced in 1985. Improvements included an upgraded central computer; a Programmable Armament Control Set, allowing for advanced versions of the AIM-7, AIM-9, and AIM-120A missiles; and an expanded Tactical Electronic Warfare System that provides improvements to the ALR-56C radar warning receiver and ALQ-135 countermeasure set. The final 43 included a Hughes APG-70 radar.

 

F-15C, D and E models were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm where they proved their superior combat capability. F-15C fighters accounted for 34 of the 37 Air Force air-to-air victories. F-15E's were operated mainly at night, hunting SCUD missile launchers and artillery sites using the LANTIRN system.

 

They have since been deployed for air expeditionary force deployments and operations Southern Watch (no-fly zone in Southern Iraq), Provide Comfort in Turkey, Allied Force in Bosnia, Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Iraqi Freedom in Iraq.

 

General Characteristics

Primary function: Tactical fighter

Contractor: McDonnell Douglas Corp.

Power plant: Two Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-100, 220 or 229 turbofan engines with afterburners

Thrust: (C/D models) 23,450 pounds each engine

Wingspan: 42.8 feet (13 meters)

Length: 63.8 feet (19.44 meters)

Height: 18.5 feet (5.6 meters)

Weight: 31,700 pounds

Maximum takeoff weight: (C/D models) 68,000 pounds (30,844 kilograms)

Fuel Capacity: 36,200 pounds (three external plus conformal fuel tanks)

Payload: depends on mission

Speed: 1,875 mph (Mach 2 class)

Ceiling: 65,000 feet (19,812 meters)

Range: 3,450 miles (3,000 nautical miles) ferry range with conformal fuel tanks and three external fuel tanks

Crew: F-15A/C: one. F-15B/D/E: two

Armament: One internally mounted M-61A1 20mm 20-mm, six-barrel cannon with 940 rounds of ammunition; four AIM-9 Sidewinder and four AIM-120 AMRAAMs or eight AIM-120 AMRAAMs, carried externally.

Unit Cost: A/B models - $27.9 million (fiscal 98 constant dollars);C/D models - $29.9 million (fiscal 98 constant dollars)

Initial operating capability: September 1975

Inventory: Total force, 249

One of the many beautiful locations for your wedding at Glacier National Park.

 

Peak season is between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Locations are subject to restrictions on the length of the ceremony and the number of people and vehicles permitted.

 

For more information regarding the wedding permit process visit the park's Wedding Permit Page.

 

Photo: NPS/Gabriel Morrow

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

Ironically, Strawberry Fields was the farthest thing from my mind when I decided to head over to Central Park last weekend to take some photographs. It had occurred to me that the intersection of the north-south "loop road" inside the park, with the 72nd Street east-west transverse road was likely to be a good spot where I could find an unobtrusive place to watch the usual weekend activities moving past me. On a mild, pleasant Saturday afternoon, there were bound to be a nearly infinite number of people jogging, biking, skating, and walking west towards the park exit on 72nd Street -- or east towards Fifth Avenue, or south toward the Sheep Meadow, or north towards the Great Lawn and ultimately around the north end of the park at 110th Street.

 

I, too, entered the park at 72nd Street, and strolled a couple blocks to the east to find my convenient spot at the intersection -- and paid no attention to the fact that I had entered the park just across the street from the massive Dakota apartment building where John Lennon once lived, or that my path led me past the Strawberry Fields memorial a little above me. I didn't see the sign marking the eastern boundary of the field, even though it was plainly visible, and even though I began taking photos almost immediately of the bikers and joggers and skaters as they moved past me with the sign just behind them. And as you'll see from the photos in this set, it's pretty clear that most of them didn't see the sign either; they were too busy concentrating on the roadway in front of them, or on the conversation they were having with the people next to them.

 

Along with the bikers, joggers, and skaters, there were also a large number of "pedicabs," with energetic young men (and a few young women) pedaling their way across the east-west transverse, while simultaneously keeping up a non-stop monologue about whatever noteworthy things they thought their passengers (who were mostly tourists) would be interested in. After a while, I began to notice a pattern; actually, I began to hear a pattern, when I realized that I had heard snatches of the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" over and over again ... and then I listened a little more closely to the pedicab-drivers' chatter, which almost always involved their pointing to the hilly area straight ahead of them and saying, "Strawberry Fields - it's right there!"

 

I didn't really notice the pattern from a photographic perspective until I got home, and uploaded the nearly 2,000 photos I had taken during the course of my two-hour visit (yes, I really can take a thousand photos an hour). As usual, I kept less than 10% of the photos that I shot ... and as it turns out, nearly half of what I kept involved cyclists, joggers, or skaters moving past the small "Strawberry Fields" sign in the background.

 

When I was finished photographing, I walked back towards Central Park West along a small sidewalk -- instead of the more "obvious" path of following the wide east-west roadway transverse to the 72nd Street exit. As a result, I came directly into the center of the Strawberry Fields memorial area, where a few people were picnicking, and a much larger number of people were standing around the huge "Imagine" plaque that had been laid into the paved stones. All in all, it seemed like a nice way to wrap up the set of photos ...

Tintin is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Tintin is the protagonist of the series, a reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog Snowy.

 

Tintin debuted in Le Petit Vingtième on 10 January 1929. Tintin was largely based on an earlier character created by Hergé, a chubby boy-scout named Totor. The comics starring Totor, Les aventures de Totor, chef de patrouille des Hannetons (The Adventures of Totor, Leader of the Cockchafer Patrol), appeared in the magazine Le Boy-Scout Belge between 1926 and 1929.

 

In the later comic book series, Tintin is a young reporter who is drawn to dangerous international intrigues in which his quick thinking, bravery and chronic good luck save the day. Almost every adventure features Tintin sent off to investigate an assignment, but rarely does he actually turn in a story without first getting caught up in an adventure.[1] Although the strip was Belgian, Hergé was inconsistent or vague about assigning Tintin a nationality, depicting him instead as broadly European. In some of the early books, like Tintin in the Congo or The Black Island, a Belgian identity is fairly explicit. In The Secret of the Unicorn, the reader can unmistakably recognise the streets of Brussels at the beginning of the story. In the television series, Tintin states that he and Snowy are from Brussels in the episode of The Crab with the Golden Claws. Brussels is also explicitly mentioned as Tintin's home address in Tintin in the Land of the Soviets. In later adventures, as with other aspects of his character's history and family, Tintin's nationality is usually not directly stated, although some of the street scenes in The Red Sea Sharks have been identified as happening in Brussels.

 

Readers and critics have described Tintin as a well-rounded, yet open-ended character, noting that his rather neutral personality—sometimes labelled as bland—permits a balanced reflection of the evil, folly and foolhardiness which surrounds him. His boy-scout ideals, which represent Hergé's own, are never compromised by the character, and his status allows the reader to assume his position within the story, rather than merely following the adventures of a strong protagonist.Tintin's iconic representation enhances this aspect, with Scott McCloud noting that it "allows readers to mask themselves in a character and safely enter a sensually stimulating world."

 

Tintin is an intelligent and imaginative character with good powers of deduction. However, while in deep thought, he tends to be absent-minded and fails to notice things around him. He seems to know multiple foreign languages and reads extensively on a variety of subjects. He is skilled at driving automobiles (including a tank), riding horses or motorcycles, and flying aeroplanes and helicopters. Despite his generally delicate and unassuming appearance, Tintin is quite athletic and possesses great physical strength, often getting into fights where he is able to knock out enemies much larger than himself with a single blow. Although he is small as opposed to the other characters, he is an excellent swimmer, has been shown to be a skilled mountaineer, has been shown to do yoga,[4] and can survive falls that would normally cause serious injuries.

 

Tintin's age is never accurately revealed. Other characters treat him as a worldly young adult, as shown by the absence of concerns like parents or school, as well as by his wide solo travels all over the globe. He's old enough to enter a pub and drink a beer (The Black Island) and old enough to live alone with his dog in his own apartment. However, he is still referred to as a "young boy", and a "puppy" in The Crab with the Golden Claws. A 1979 television interview with Hergé settled the matter, when Hergé stated that when he first thought about Tintin he was 14 or 15 years old, "but now, let's say that he is 17." In one shot in the television series episode The Secret of the Unicorn, Tintin's passport states his birth year as 1929 (the year of his print debut).

 

Tintin has no family members: any mention of a mother, father or siblings is noticeably absent. He makes no mention of his family throughout the series. Nowhere is it implied that he is an orphan; it could be argued that he meets his family between adventures. Tintin's lack of relatives is irrelevant to his adventuring; it is the adopted family of friends he makes through his exploits that makes up his family unit.

 

Unlike other characters such as Captain Haddock or Professor Calculus, Tintin has no discernible past prior to the beginning of the series. Whereas Haddock can recall a particularly fierce storm at sea or Calculus can boast of his athletic past, Tintin's roots prior to Land of the Soviets are never discussed. His companions encounter old friends like Captain Chester or Hercule Tarragon, yet Tintin only meets friends or enemies whom he met in previous adventures.

 

Even the name "Tintin" remains a mystery. Whether it is a first name or a surname is unknown. A possibility is that it is not actually the reporter's real name, but rather a pseudonym that the character uses to protect his identity while writing columns for his newspaper: Le Petit Vingtième. At the time when the stories first came out, journalists' usage of pseudonyms was commonplace. The possibility that it may not be his real name is also hinted in Cigars of the Pharaoh when Tintin is accused of poisoning one of a notable sheik's servants. Having been captured and brought to his tent, the enraged sheik demands Tintin's name. Tintin's characteristically placid answer is: "My name? It won't mean a thing to you... but at home they call me Tintin." A simpler theory for his name is the fact that Franco-Belgian comics at the time generally had heroes with eccentric, memorable single names that could pass off as first names or surnames. Many people tend to think of "Tintin" as a surname, but it is likely that Hergé meant to keep it a mystery. Hergé was a great admirer of Benjamin Rabier and may have derived the name (and hairstyle) from Rabier's Tintin lutin (1897). There also have been theories that Tintin is a nickname for Martin or Augustin. One last theory holds that the name "Tintin" signifies nothing, pointing to the character's cipherous nature. As Paul LaFarge writes,

 

Tintin was a word before it was a name; it means 'nothing,' and the phrase faire tintin loosely means "to go without." Hergé's boy reporter does not bear the name by accident.

Throughout much of the series, Tintin's attitude is characterised by inquisitive tendencies and a noble, forgiving nature. While his idealism earns him the admiration of many people he meets, it also places him in danger on occasion and serves as a foil to the more sceptical demeanour of other characters such as Captain Haddock. And unlike nearly every other character he meets, Tintin can be relied upon to remain calm and cool-headed, even in the worst of circumstances. Only on very rare occasions, such as after Haddock's drunken antics threatened his friend's lives (Explorers on the Moon), could Tintin actually lose his temper.

 

Tintin's political views are generally ambiguous in many of the books and specific expression of his opinions are rare. While in earlier books such as Tintin in the Land of the Soviets and Tintin in the Congo Tintin is characterised as a proud Belgian Catholic, later books avoid specific mention of his views (see Ideology of Tintin). His opinions appear to change over time, though in many situations he can be classified as a pacifist, reflecting a dislike of war. At the beginning of Tintin and the Picaros, he is seen wearing a motorcycle helmet with a Peace symbol on it.

 

Readers of Tintin books have speculated about his sexuality. Marcel Wilmet, spokesperson of Studios Hergé, has confirmed that Tintin is not gay and, while he has many male friends, they are not boyfriends. However, many still question his ambiguous sexuality.

 

Towards the end of the series, Tintin's character changes to a degree. In later stories, Tintin no longer actively seeks out adventure but is rather forced into a situation by events beyond his control (such as being kidnapped[10] or motivated to rescue a friend). This is especially evident in Flight 714 and Tintin and the Picaros, where Tintin's loss of enthusiasm for adventure is apparent, and his youthful idealism appears to have been replaced by a somewhat more cynical outlook. There has been much debate among readers and critics about this shift in characterisation, as these final adventures have received varying and sometimes negative responses. Critics argue that these books represent either a late period of eccentricity, or puzzling disappointments, while others claim that Tintin's shift represents a more complex depiction of his character. Hergé commented upon this change, noting that in the late phases of his career, "Tintin has lost control, he is not on top of events anymore, he is subjected to them." However, in the unfinished album Tintin and Alph-Art, Tintin regained much of his old adventurous personality, actively investigating suspicious events and murder threats.

 

The earlier version of Tintin was apparently inspired, at least in part, by Hergé's younger brother, Paul Remi, a career soldier. Tired of being referred to as "Major Tintin" by his colleagues, Paul later shaved his hair and adopted a more Erich von Stroheim look. Hergé subsequently used Paul's appearance as a model for the villainous Colonel Sponsz in The Calculus Affair. Tintin and Sponsz, although physically very different, have actually quite similar hair spikes.

 

Hergé may have also been inspired by a Danish boy scout and later actor Palle Huld who was 15 years old when he travelled around the world and wrote Around the World in 44 days by Palle. In the book he describes his tour to Soviet, America, China, Africa etc. and about his dramatic adventures. It was translated into 11 languages and it was read by Hergé. Palle Huld died in 2010 at the age of 98.

 

However, the inspiration for the clothing Hergé dressed Tintin in lay elsewhere. A fellow student of Hergé's from St Boniface, named Charles, had adopted a similar style of plus fours and argyle socks, which caused him to be the subject of no little ridicule. Harry Thompson notes the inspiration may be tinged slightly, suggesting that if "Hergé had been one of the laughers, an element of guilt was involved."

 

The first 3 adventures of Tintin visit places visited by photographer-reporter Robert Sexé, recorded in the Belgian press from the mid to late 1920s. Sexé was born in 1890 in La Roche-sur-Yon in Vendée in Western France. Janpol Schulz wrote a biography of Robert Sexé titled "Sexé au pays des Soviets" (Sexé in the Land of the Soviets) to mimic the name of the first Tintin Adventure. This was published in 1996.

 

Robert Sexé has been noted to have a similar appearance to Tintin, and the Hergé Foundation in Belgium has admitted that it is not too hard to imagine how Hergé could have been influenced by the exploits of Sexé.[16] At that time Sexé had been round the world on a motorcycle made by Gillet of Herstal. René Milhoux was a Grand-Prix champion and motorcycle record holder of the era, and in 1928, while Sexé was in Herstal speaking with Léon Gillet about his future projects, Mr. Gillet put him in contact with his new champion, Milhoux, who had just left Ready motorcycles for Gillet of Herstal. The two men quickly struck up a friendship, and spent hours talking about motorcycles and voyages, Sexé explaining his needs and Milhoux giving his knowledge on mechanics and motorbikes pushed beyond their limits.

 

Thanks to this union of knowledge and experience, Robert Sexé would head off on numerous trips throughout the world, writing countless press accounts. The General Secretary of the Hergé Foundation in Belgium has admitted that it is not too hard to imagine how a young George Rémi, better known as Hergé, could have been inspired by the well-publicized exploits of these two friends, Sexé with his trips and documentaries and Milhoux with his triumphs and records, to create the characters of Tintin the famous travelling reporter, and his faithful companion Milou (Snowy).

 

Hergé himself has noted that Tintin existed as his personal expression, and although he recorded in 1947 that he knew "Tintin is no longer me, that, if he is to go on living, it will be by a sort of artificial respiration that I will have to practice constantly and which exhausts me, and will exhaust me more and more",[17] he was also fond of stating "Tintin, c'est moi!" ("Tintin, that's me!").

 

Shortly before his death, former Belgian Nazi collaborator Léon Degrelle created controversy by stating that the Tintin character was originally based on himself. Degrelle had indeed known Hergé during his early career as a journalist, but this allegation is generally considered a fabrication of the notorious self-booster Degrelle

 

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It would be very much appreciated (though not required) if you provide a link back to my photo. Send me a message on Flickr or at thisisbossi@gmail.com if you use my image & I'll add a link on the photo's page back to your article.

 

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================================

 

In response to the Congressional budget debacle which proved that DC is but a colony -- prone to being singled out unlike any other city in the country -- a number of activists, elected officials, and general citizens came out in force upon the grounds of Capitol Hill.

 

The crowd first formed on the sidewalk, but after some opening remarks by elected officials and activists: they quickly spilled into the street. The Capitol Police had been on hand & I'd thought it amusing that a couple were taking photos & videos... it wasn't until I saw the wristbands come out when I realised these weren't officers enjoying the moment; they were recording evidence.

 

With many minutes of warning, large portions of the group shifted over the sidewalk; whilst a core of dedicated supporters -- including our Mayor, a number of councilmembers, and members of DC Vote -- remained behind to block the roadway. The officers began to surround the group & repeated their warnings to get back on the sidewalk or face arrest.

 

Now in all fairness to the Capitol Police: they were doing their job. They were quite courteous about it & the protest was similarly jubilant right back. One woman was first to be bound, soon followed by several other activists. Then came Muriel Bowser: first councilmember to be arrested.

 

In general, I tend to dislike political grandstanding... but this was different. If our council was being arrested by our own police, I'd think it a cheesy photo op... but now our locally-elected officials were being arrested by the very forces we were out to protest: the Feds. This wasn't a mere photo op arrest; this was actually a legitimate arrest... the kind of thing that goes on your record; the kind of thing you spent a night in jail for.

 

Now granted, I don't expect anyone will be in jail longer than tomorrow; I'd be surprised if any were still locked up by midnight tonight. But it was Councilmember Bowser's arrest which really hit a moment... you could see the look on her face was of some worried concern: someone who had never been arrested before & didn't show up here today expecting to be arrested. As she was placed into the police van: her look of concern changed to a bit more worry. I mean this as no knock against Councilmember Bowser's committment; rather I felt it really help to humanise the entire event. It made me respect her all the more.

 

Yvette Alexander stood right beside us for quite some time, complicated in that she didn't have her ID on her. While it was entertaining to see our top officials being frisked, it was also quite entertaining that our easily-recognisable councilmember needed her ID... prompting a standerby to call one of her staffers with the best introduction I've ever heard over a phone: "Hi, your councilmember has been arrested." Also, kudos to Councilmember Alexander for going to jail in high heels!

 

There is a lot I can complain about with the council in general; and certainly with individual councilmembers & even the mayor. Heck, that's what politicians are for: you're not supposed to always like them. But this was an opportunity to set aside some of those issues (frankly, I'd say DC was glad to have a unifying moment after the past couple weeks) and cheer on our own brothers & sisters as they stood up in support of our rights.

 

It was certainly a proud moment to be a DC resident and a fine boost to our collective esteem after several weeks of turmoil within our local & federal levels of government. It's aggravating that my support for small & local government is inhibited by those in Congress whom advocate small & local government. If I wanted to live in a colony, I'd have moved to Williamsburg.

www.arts.ufl.edu/art/Programs/ceramics.asp

 

www.nansmith.com

 

www.arts.ufl.edu

 

Artist Statement and bio:

 

Artist Statement

Figurative sculptures set within tableaux reflect my search for serenity and the quiet moments when this inner state becomes apparent. Sculpting the human body and placing it within a context permits me to explore consciousness by mirroring it outwardly. It also reflects my perspective about the universal connectedness within our inner and outer worlds. As a sculptor my intent is to convey a sense of the psychology of the female attribute and intuitive nature. The temporal quality of human existence is an underlying theme implicit in the choice of clay as a sculptural material. Contemplative in nature the sculptures combine sepia toned photo decal imagery with the female figure to picture memory and to indicate a sense of its timelessness.

 

Biography                                                                                          

Nan Smith is a figurative sculptor and installation artist who is a professor of art at the University of Florida. Born and raised in Philadelphia she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Tyler School of Art and her Master of Fine Arts from The Ohio State University. She holds degrees in Ikebana and Japanese Tea Ceremony having completed independent studies at the Japan House at the University of Illinois. Prior to joining the faculty at UF, Smith taught at the University of Illinois and The Ohio State University.

 

Nan Smith has exhibited her sculpture in over 100 exhibitions throughout the United States. Most recently her sculpture was included in the World Ceramics Exposition, Yeoju, Korea, "Taking Measure: American Ceramic Art at the New Millennium", 2001, “RAWSPACE “ and The Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts Special Exhibit; “Intuitive Balance”, SOFA Chicago 2004, “21st Century Ceramics in the United States and Canada”, Canzani Center Gallery, Columbus College of Art and Design, 2003, “Clay Body Rhetoric: Ceramic Figures of Speech”, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, “Figured Ceramics”, a national invitational of figurative ceramics presented by the Northern Iowa University, 2002, and the national installation exhibition "Beyond the Physical: Substance, Space and  Light" (during NCECA Charlotte 2001). Her sculpture also appeared in the NCECA Invitational 2000, "A Glimpse of the Invisible", and in solo exhibitions at the Appleton Museum of Art and Hand Workshop, Virginia Center for Crafts.

 

Nan Smith was the 2000 University of Florida Research Foundation Professor from the College of Fine Arts. Other awards include a National Endowment for the Arts regional award for sculpture sponsored by the Southern Arts Federation, three Florida Individual Artists' Fellowships, and Humanities and Fine Arts Faculty Scholarship Enhancement Fund Awards, 1998 – 2001, and 2003. In 2002 she received an award from the UF Academic Technology Faculty Development Program – Notebook Track. She has presented workshops on latex and airbrush for Ceramics throughout the U.S. Nan Smith was a conference Demonstrator at the 1999 NCECA Conference. She was a resident artist at the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, in 1999 and 2004. Selected collections include: The WOCEK International Ceramics Collection housed at the Ichon Ceramics Center, Korea, American Express/IDS Corporation, Minneapolis, MN; Lamar Dodd Art Center, La Grange College, La Grange, GA.

 

Selected Publications:

 

Books including publication of images: "Smashing Glazes", "The Craft and Art of Clay" and "Contemporary Ceramics", author Susan Peterson, "Clay and Glazes for the Potter", co‑authors Daniel Rhodes and Robin Hopper, "Ceramics: Mastering the Craft", author Richard Zakin, "Making Ceramic Sculpture", author Raul Acero, "Resist and Masking Techniques", an AC Black Publication authored by Peter Beard.

 

Periodicals: World Sculpture News; Volume 7 Number 2, Spring 2001. "Articulating Consciousness", by Glen R. Brown, Ceramics Technical; No. 11, 2000, "Color, Air, Illusion", by Nan Smith, The Studio Potter; v.28 No 1, December 1999, "Flexible Mold Making" by Nan Smith, The Studio Potter; v.26 No 2, June, 1998, Cover and feature page "Potters of Northern Florida", Ceramics: Art and Perception; Issue 25, 1996, "Feminist Visions in Clay" by Nancy Kapitanoff, Ceramics: Art and Perception; Issue 21, 1995, "Transforming Consciousness: Nan Smith's Spiritual Ceramics", by William Doty, Ceramics Monthly; "Controlled Drying and Firing", May 2000, by Nan Smith, Ceramics Monthly; February 1996, "Flexible Molds for Ceramics" by Nan Smith, Ceramics Monthly; March 1991, Cover and feature article "Blending Intuition and Logic" by Nan Smith, Sculpture; May ‑ June 1994, "Nan Smith" an essay by Donald Kuspit, American Craft; June ‑ July 1993, Portfolio page.

 

Photographer is Allen Cheuvront

 

1992 (part 3 of 3)

 

September 1, 1992

It was reported that Ottawa Rough Rider Glenn Kulka had appeared at the Hazeldean Mall along with eight other home team football players. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Sept. 1, 1992:1.

 

September 1, 1992

It was announced that Kanata City Council had approved a line of credit for the Children’s Art Centre totalling $15,000. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Sept. 1, 1992:1.

 

September 1, 1992

Kanata City Council announced that it had permitted the installation of satellite dishes in Katimavik-Hazeldean. Kanata Kourier-Standard, September 1, 1992:5.

 

September 4, 1992

It was reported that the Ontario Amateur Softball Association Squirt A championship had been held at Jack Charron and A.Y. Jackson ball diamonds. St. Catherines captured the provincial title. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Sept. 4, 1992:1.

 

September 8, 1992

The Kanata OPP announced that a Kanata couple, James McGrath, 46, and his wife Eveline, 55, of 51 Inuvik Cres., had been charged with producing and distributing what police called “the most violent and degrading” pornographic videotapes ever seized by the OPP. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Sept. 8, 1992:1.

 

September 8, 1992

It was announced that plans for the new $2.5 million bowling and billiards centre in Kanata’s north end, near the Kanata Legion building, had been put on hold. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Sept. 8, 1992:5.

 

September 9, 1992

Kanata resident Mario Iacovitti won second prize in the Lotto 649 draw, worth $146,000. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Sept. 18, 1992:6.

 

September 11, 1992

An article appeared in the Kourier-Standard detailing the reaction of Inuvik Cres. neighbours to the charging of James and Eveline McGrath with the making, mailing and selling of obscene material. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Sept. 11, 1992:1.

 

September 11, 1992

It was announced that the Carleton Roman Catholic School Board had opened an “store-front” school in the Hazeldean Mall, providing an alternative to the traditional high school environment. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Sept. 11, 1992:5.

 

September 11, 1992

The Kanata OPP announced that Jan Durand, 27, of Kanata, had been charged with assault causing bodily harm and unlawful confinement after he held a 20-year-old woman hostage for three hours on September 7 in her apartment at 100 Varley Lane. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Sept. 11, 1992:5.

 

September 12, 1992

Residents of Morgan’s Grant and Briarbrook helped to build for their park a new play structure in Morgan’s Grant Woods. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 6, 1992:22.

 

September 22, 1992

Residents protested after Huntsman Park, one of six parks Kanata residents had fought hard to get the city to label pesticide-free, was spot sprayed with the pesticide Roundup. Kanata Kourier-Standard, September 22, 1992:1.

 

September 20, 1992

Mayor Merle Nicholds wrote a letter to the president of Terrace Investments Ltd. that was leaked to the public. The letter, addressed to Bernard Ash, extended their August 24 deadline for payment of $988,000 for securities by 90 days. Kanata Kourier-Standard, September 22, 1992:1.

 

September 20, 1992

King Carl Gustaf of Sweden visited the Carleton Area’s camporee for Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, and Venturers. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Sept. 29, 1992: 17.

 

September 22, 1992

It was announced that Kanata City Council had urged Kanata citizens to vote to keep Canada together by voting “Yes” in the Oct. 26 constitutional referendum. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Sept. 22, 1992:5.

 

September 29, 1992

It was reported that Dennis Mooney had placed the winning bid to become Kanata’s Mayor For A Morning during a Kiwanis Television Auction for Charity. Dennis Mooney was to take office October 1. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Sept. 29, 1992:1.

 

September 29, 1992

Kanata’s community groups told Kanata City Council that they would not accept paying user fees for hall rentals. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 2, 1992:1.

 

September 30, 1992

Rick Baker, director of parks and recreation for the City of Kanata, brought fee recommendations to Council at a public pricing policy workshop. A yearly five per cent increase in fees for arenas and sports fields was proposed. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 6, 1992:1.

 

October 2, 1992

The first parenting fair was held at Earl of March High School. The day featured displays by about 26 exhibitors. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 9, 1992:6.

 

October 6, 1992

It was announced that the City of Kanata would dedicate a peace grove in Walter Baker Park as part of the Peace Parks Across Canada program. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 6, 1992:5.

 

October 6, 1992

The Bridlewood Community Association announced that it had elected a new executive: President—Paul Van Steen, 1st Vice-President—James Abbott, 2nd Vice-President—Sam Sheldrick. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 6, 1992:12.

 

October 6, 1992

Representatives of three non-profit groups protested the opening of a second bingo hall in Kanata, at a Kanata Council meeting. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 9, 1992:1.

 

October 7, 1992

Kanata resident Ron MacDonald beat David Banks, in a 120-102 vote, for the Lanark-Carleton Reform Party’s nomination for the next federal election. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 13, 1992:1.

 

October 13, 1992

It was reported that Kanata residents had told Graeme Kirby, appointed by Ontario Municipal Affairs Minister David Cooke to study the ramifications of moving toward a one-tier government in Ottawa-Carleton, that they were happy with the City of Kanata remaining its own entity. They did not want to take part in the paring down of Ottawa-Carleton’s 11 municipalities into five larger centres. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 13, 1992:1.

 

October 13, 1992

It was announced that Gerry Umbach, a local scout, had been chosen to represent Scouts Canada in Florida for the launch of the space shuttle Columbia. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 13, 1992:3.

 

October 14, 1992

Joyce Halpin of Penfield Drive won the draw for a miniature of the “Watcher” sculpture at the Kanata Beaverbrook Community Association meeting. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 20, 1992:5.

 

October 16, 1992

Glen Cairn mother Dawn Goodridge announced that she was tired of racial conflicts in Kanata schoolyards. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 16, 1992:1.

 

October 16, 1992

The Carleton Board of Education reported that it had agreed to a provincial ruling stating that they had to do more to get information to visually impaired parents. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 16, 1992:1.

 

October 20, 1992

It was announced that Kanata had been given a one-time grant of $78,000 to help soften tax increases for residents after regional council approved plans to revamp Ottawa-Carleton’s property tax system. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 20, 1992:1.

 

October 20, 1992

It was announced that the new Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps in Kanata would celebrate its official opening October 23, 1992. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 20, 1992:7.

 

October 23, 1992

The City of Kanata announced that it would investigate the possibility of naturalizing its parks. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 23, 1992:1.

 

October 23, 1992

A number of articles appeared in the Kourier-Standard advising Kanata residents whether they should vote yes or no in the upcoming referendum. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 23, 1992:5-6.

 

October 27, 1992

The Kanata Kourier-Standard reported that furnaces in older Kanata communities needed replacement. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 27, 1992:1.

 

October 30, 1992

Barrhaven resident Elizabeth Stutt announced that she would continue her environmental battle with the Carleton Board of Education. She wanted the board to better deal with her children’s environmental hyper-sensitivities. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 30, 1992:1.

 

October 30, 1992

Elections Canada announced that on October 26, 34,847 voters in Lanark-Carleton said “yes” to the Charlottetown Accord, while 34,414 said “no.” Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 30, 1992:1.

 

October 30, 1992

It was announced that the City of Kanata had hired a new chief administrative officer. Bert Meunier had previously been the CAO of Kingston. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Oct. 30, 1992:1.

 

November 3, 1992

Mayor Merle Nicholds announced the possibility of creating a task force to look into racial discrimination in Kanata. Kanata Kourier-Standard , Nov. 3, 1992:1.

 

November 3, 1992

Castlefrank Elementary School student Jonathan Spicer, 11, presented a cheque to Frank Driscoll and Jim Shotton of the Kiwanis Club of Kanata for $1,864.34. The school raised the money during their Terry Fox Run. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 3, 1992:3.

 

November 3, 1992

Ian Murray, a nine-year resident of Lanark-Carleton, announced his candidacy for the federal Liberal nomination in the riding. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 3, 1992:7.

 

November 4, 1992

Kanata residents James McGrath, 46, and his wife Eveline, 55, pled guilty to a charge of selling pornographic tapes. Additional counts of making, possessing and mailing obscene material were dropped by the Crown attorney’s office. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 10, 1992:1.

 

November 5, 1992

A number of Kanata residents met to discuss the most effective ways of dealing with racial discrimination in the city. The meeting consisted of representatives from local schools, the Carleton Board of Education, community resource centres, the Ontario Anti-Racism Secretariat, and many other concerned groups. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 10, 1992:1.

 

November 6, 1992

Peter Brockmann, president of the Katimavik-Hazeldean Community Association announced that he hoped residents would consider paying the estimated $130,000 cost of saving a small portion of Young’s Pond Park between McCurdy Drive and Young Road. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 6, 1992:1.

 

November 6, 1992

It was announced that three merchants in the Kanata Town Centre had been given 30 days to vacate their locations. Write Travel, Kanata Opticians, and VCR Repair Centre were told by CamDev that a new development had been slotted for the space they occupied. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 6, 1992:1.

 

November 6, 1992

It was announced that new housing legislation introduced by the province would allow Kanata homeowners to create garden suites – “granny flats” – or apartments in their houses. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 6, 1992:2.

 

November 10, 1992

Seven Kanata Ontario Provincial Police officers were warned that they would face disciplinary action if they continued to support a province-wide police protest. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 10, 1992:3.

 

November 10, 1992

It was announced that Kanata City Council had approved rezoning of the Terry Fox Business Park to permit light industrial uses, including an auto mall campus. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 10, 1992:7.

 

November 10, 1992

Kanata City Council endorsed the Katimavik-Hazeldean Community Association’s request to circulate a local improvement petition in hopes of saving a portion of Young’s Pond Park. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 13, 1992:1.

 

November 10, 1992

Kanata City Council approved the Public Participation Task Force’s final recommendations. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 17, 1992:1.

 

November 13, 1992

An article appeared in the Kourier-Standard describing how Kanata resident Keith Milne, 34, found inspiration for his cartoons. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 13, 1992:5.

 

November 17, 1992

Kanata City Council gave its final approval to a public pricing policy to establish a framework for the city to follow for the following five years. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 24, 1992:1.

 

November 18-22, 1992

Jane Dowling of the Glen Cairn Skating Club and her partner Shawn Winter of the Minto Skating Club won a gold medal at the Sectionals Junior Dance Competition. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 1, 1992:27.

 

November 20, 1992

It was announced that the new bingo hall slated to open March 1 at the Recreation Complex had raised concerns from the Kanata Chamber of Commerce. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 20, 1992:1.

 

November 20, 1992

The City of Kanata announced that it would issue a stop-work order on the Palladium November 24, even though no work had begun since the ground-breaking ceremony in June. The deadline for Terrace to pay the city $1.2 million was November 23, 1992. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 20, 1992:1.

 

November 20, 1992

It was announced that a new sports and entertainment centre had been slated for the Kanata Town Centre. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 20, 1992:3.

 

November 20, 1992

The provincial government ignored an appeal by Bridlewood for funding to construct two new elementary schools. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 24, 1992:1.

 

November 20, 1992

Andrew Ladanowski, 25, a Montreal-area native, went looking for employment in the high-tech industry by standing by March Road during rush hours holding a sign that said, “Please pull over if you want my resume.” Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 27, 1992:1.

 

November 24, 1992

Georges Vanier and Erskine Johnston representatives met to discuss solutions to improve area bus safety for students. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 24, 1992:3.

 

November 26, 1992

The Kanata Novice Blue Blazer hockey team won the annual Upper Ottawa Valley Muskrat Hockey Tournament in Cobden. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 4, 1992:12.

 

November 27, 1992

It was announced that Michael Joiner and Alden Thomlinson had been honoured by the Ontario Provincial Police with the OPP Commissioner’s Citation award at a ceremony in Manotick. The award was for their assistance after a March 20 accident east of Perth killed a Renfrew woman and seriously injured the five-member Best family of Kanata. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 27, 1992:11.

 

November 27, 1992

It was announced that Earl of March students had raised around $7,000 for the United Way with help from Bell Northern Research. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nov. 27, 1992:16.

 

November 27, 1992

Commissioner Graeme Kirby officially released his final report on regional reform. Among his 41 recommendations was the plan to see if Kanata and Goulbourn should amalgamate. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 1, 1992:1.

 

December 1, 1992

It was announced that Regional Council had approved the acquisition of 5.5 acres of land in Briarbrook for co-operative housing. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 1, 1992:18.

 

December 1, 1992

It was announced that the Nepean-Kanata Barracudas swim club had placed second among 15 swim teams at the Division 1 Championships held in Etobicoke, Ontario. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 1, 1992:27.

 

December 3, 1992

Funeral services were held for Mike Bray, 18, of Katimavik-Hazeldean after he was killed when his car left the Queensway and struck a stack of cement construction barriers. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 4, 1992:1.

 

December 4, 1992

It was announced that Tom Carroll had resigned as chairperson of the Committee of Adjustment after Councillor Marianne Wilkinson was re-appointed to the committee. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 4, 1992:1.

 

December 4, 1992

It was announced that the Kanata Girls Hockey Association Novice team had won a silver medal in the Cornwall Girls Hockey Tournament. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 4, 1992:13.

 

December 4, 1992

Kanata fire-fighters used the Jaws of Life to free Allan Kyd of Ottawa whose vehicle was involved in an accident near Eagleson and Teron Roads. The accident involved eight people in four cars. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 8, 1992:1.

 

December 8, 1992

It was announced that the Reform Party of Lanark-Carleton had elected its new directors. Kanata residents on the board were: David Banks, Betty MacDonald, Richard Leslie, Wayne Moorhead, Ed Mulhall, John Perocchio, and Newton Steacy. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 8, 1992:25.

 

December 8, 1992

Mayor Merle Nicholds announced the resignation of city treasurer Gerry Taylor. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 11, 1992:1.

 

December 9, 1992

Jaye Ventresca, 11, a student at Georges Vanier School, died suddenly of meningococcal disease. The student was believed to have been inoculated against the disease during a massive campaign that year. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 11, 1992:1.

 

December 11, 1992

It was announced that Kanata resident Mark Yakabuski, formerly playing defence for the Brockville Braves, had accepted a schooling package to play for the Ottawa 67’s. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 11, 1992:19.

 

December 15, 1992

It was reported that Andrew Ladanowski, 25, of Montreal, who had been looking for a job in high-tech by holding up a sign on March Road, had landed a job with Newbridge Networks as a CAD engineer. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 15, 1992:1.

 

December 15, 1992

It was announced that the Katimavik-Hazeldean Community Association had voted in favour of forming an ad-hoc committee to examine community interest in purchasing a portion of Young’s Pond Park. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 15, 1992:6.

 

December 19, 1992

Members of the Police Services Board gave final approval to a proposed crossbow amendment to the guns discharge bylaw. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Jan. 5, 1993:7.

 

December 22, 1992

It was announced that city treasurer Gerry Taylor had suggested a 2.75 per cent tax increase for Kanata ratepayers. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Dec. 22, 1992:1.

 

December 29, 1992

The Kanata Kanucks Major Peewees of the L.C.M.H.A. participated in the Richmond Peewee House “A” tournament, taking the “A” division championship. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Feb. 2, 1993:23.

 

December 30, 1992

Kanata City Council endorsed a staff recommendation to set up a task force to solicit public opinion on the Kirby report -- a report that recommended the amalgamation of a number of communities including Kanata. Kanata Kourier-Standard, Jan. 5, 1993:7.

  

Demolition permits have been issued for two General Iron Industries properties: 1909 N. Clifton Ave. (actually located on N. Kingsbury Street) and 1910 N. Clifton Ave. (on the other side of fenced-in property). Demolition permits were also issued for General Metals properties at 1806 and 1836 N. Kingsbury St. The controversial General Iron facilities had been closed since January 2021 and had sought to move to E. 116th Street on the city’s far Southeast Side. The city has since rescinded that permit. The North Side property was the scene of a massive explosion in 2020, which hastened calls for the city to shut down the scrap operations.

 

The four-story 1909 building is 76,000 square feet. The 1910 property, although listed as a one-story building, is being marketed as three land parcels totaling 20.3 acres.

 

Window with shutters and planter seen on the Isola di Burano in the Venetian Laguna in Italy.

 

Burano is known for its small, brightly painted houses. The colors of the houses follow a specific system established many years ago. If someone wishes to paint their home, they must make a request to the local government; the government will specify the particular colors permitted for that lot.

Even though Wales is currently in the midst of one of the most rigorous lockdowns in Western Europe daily exercise is allowed. When the sun shone this morning I was out like a shot to take a walk along the Montgomery Canal between Welshpool and Pool Quay. Perfect conditions.