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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlestown,_Boston
Charlestown is a part of the city of Boston, Massachusetts located on a peninsula north of Boston proper. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874. While it has had a substantial Irish American population since the migration of Irish during the Irish famine of the 1840s, since the late 1980s the neighborhood has changed dramatically because of its close proximity to downtown, and its colonial architecture.
Contents
Thomas and Jane Walford[1] were the original English settlers of Mishawaum (later Charlestown); they settled there in 1625. They were given a grant by Sir Robert Gorges, with whom they had settled at Wessagusset (Weymouth) in September 1623. John Endicott, first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, had sent William, Richard and Ralph Sprague to Mishawaum to lay out a settlement. Thomas Walford, acting as an interpreter with the Massachusetts Indians, negotiated with the local sachem Wonohaquaham for Endicott and his people to settle there. Although Walford had a virtual monopoly on the region's available furs, he welcomed the newcomers and helped them in any way he could, unaware that his Episcopalian religious beliefs would cause him to be banished from Massachusetts to Portsmouth, New Hampshire within three years.
Originally a Puritan English city during the Colonial era (a time to which many of the neighborhood's structures date), Charlestown was founded in 1628, and settled July 4, 1629, by Thomas Graves, Increase Nowell, Rev. Francis Bright, Ralph, Richard and William Sprague and about 100 others who preceded the Great Migration. John Winthrop's company stopped here for some time in 1630, before deciding to settle across the Charles River at Boston.
1629 site of Puritan leader John Winthrop's "Great House" in City Square, uncovered during the Big Dig
Birdseye view of Boston, Charlestown, and Bunker Hill, between 1890 and 1910
The territory of Charlestown originally included what is now Stoneham (until 1725), Somerville (until 1842), Medford, Malden, Everett, Woburn, Burlington, and parts of Arlington and Cambridge.[2]
On June 17, 1775 the Charlestown Peninsula was the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill. In fact, the battle actually took place on Breed's Hill, which overlooked the harbor and the town and was only about 400 yards from the southern end of the peninsula; Bunker Hill was near the northwest end of the peninsula, close to Charlestown Neck and about a mile from the Charles River. The town, including its wharves and dockyards, was destroyed by fire during the battle.
Around the 1860s an influx of Irish immigrants arrived in Charlestown. The neighborhood remained an Irish stronghold in the cultural, economic, and Catholic traditions of neighborhoods like South Boston, Somerville, and Dorchester. On October 7, 1873, a vote was held to determine whether Charlestown should join Boston; Boston residents approved the question, 5960-1868, and Charlestown residents also approved, 2240-1947.[3]
During the early 1960s, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) initiated plans to demolish and redevelop sixty percent of the housing in Charlestown.[4] In 1963, the BRA held a town meeting to discuss their plans with the community. The BRA's dealings with Boston's West End had created an atmosphere of distrust towards urban renewal in Boston, and Charlestown residents opposed the plan by an overwhelming majority. By 1965, the plan had been reduced to tearing down only eleven percent of the neighborhood, including the removal of the elevated rail tracks.
Throughout the 1960s until the middle 1990s, Charlestown was infamous for its Irish Mob presence. Charlestown's McLaughlin Brothers were involved in a gang war with neighboring Somerville's Winter Hill Gang, during the Irish Mob Wars of the 1960s. In the late 1980s, however, Charlestown underwent a massive gentrification process similar to that of the South End. Drawn to its proximity to downtown and its colonial, red-brick, row-house housing stock, similar to that of Beacon Hill, many upper-middle class professionals moved to the neighborhood. In the late 1990s, additional gentrification took place, similar to that in neighboring Somerville.[citation needed] Today the neighborhood is a mix of upper-middle and middle-class residences, housing projects, and a large working class Irish-American demographic and culture that is still predominant.
Stewart Brand, Ryan Phelan, and Walter Isaacson respond to Sylvia Earle's question from the front row.
Photo credit - Jay Heritage Center
Where can one go to learn about "Living in the New Normal" and protecting our ever increasingly fragile environment? For the Jay Heritage Center, that destination was Colorado and the 2012 Aspen Environmental Forum presented by the Aspen Institute (AI) and the National Geographic Society.
E. O. "Ed" Wilson, Pulitzer Prize winner, Harvard biologist and author of "The Social Conquest of the Earth" kicked off the opening session on Friday, June 22nd. His lively conversation with AI's Executive Vice President of Policy and Public Partners, Elliot Gerson, drew an attentive audience that included scientific colleagues like renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle. Wilson touched on everything from inspiring young people to study nature through his new biology textbook app "Life on Earth" with its Pixar-quality images to his own current efforts to protect biodiversity through establishing wildlife corridors: "American flora and fauna need room to expand." Beyond online access, Wilson was adamant "You've got to get the kid out in the woods, in the natural environment, as much as you can." Looking back on his own childhood, he declared that every child goes through a "bug period" and confessed that when he was young he viewed entomologists as "demi-gods." That passionate advice is harnessed in his latest book project, previewed in his "Letter to a Young Scientist."
When we asked him to weigh in on threats endangering our native species today, Wilson enumerated the following primary factors which can be remembered by the acronym HIPPO (Habitat destruction, Invasive species, Population, Pollution, Overharvesting). He was emphatic - if we continue at the present rate of eliminating species, half of them will be gone by the end of the century.
Other superb presentations featured Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary David Hayes, Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta, Director of the Water and Wetlands Program of Pronatura Noroeste, and Jonathan Overpeck, Director of the Institute of the Environment at the University of Arizona. With the news of the Colorado wildfires very much on everyone's mind, these 3 individuals candidly balanced the continued threat of severe droughts and unpredictable water shortages in the coming years with optimistic news of collaborative initiatives to reclaim and redirect water in new ways that benefit people and the natural environment.
Overpeck shaped the discourse clearly and forcefully with an overview of the Colorado River Basin which is home to 40 million people. Some of the fastest growing states in our country are in this region along with many Native Nations. The 7 states dependent upon the river's flow include California (southern), Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Water here is already over-allocated or inequitably apportioned and unfortunately it is impossible to model the epic droughts that are almost certain to hit us in the next century. But what was most heartening to hear was the positive exchange between Hayes and Hinojosa-Huerta discussing the innovative avenues the US and Mexican governments are exploring now to conserve water for cities and habitats, creating models that eventually may be used coast to coast.
The conference was 4 days long and there were also sessions to explore the environmental impact of natural gas development; groups for brainstorming about solutions for cleaning up marine debris in our oceans; news and healthy debate about the creation of a 3.5 million acre wildlife preserve and open prairie in Montana; and opportunities to hear directly from the DOI Deputy Secretary Hayes about climate event preparedness and safeguarding our most vulnerable American places like the Everglades. All of these discussions had universal resonance with an audience that hailed from almost every state. We left inspired to spread the news to live more sustainably in our own home towns wherever we are because the "new normal" seems here to stay.
Learn more about The Aspen Environmental Forum at:
Learn how we are doing our part to promote environmental education in Rye, New York at:
Jay Heritage Center
210 Boston Post Road
Rye, NY 10580
(914) 698-9275
Email: jayheritagecenter@gmail.com
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A National Historic Landmark since 1993
Member of the African American Heritage Trail of Westchester County since 2004
Member of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area since 2009
On NY State's Path Through History (2013)
110,000 Throughout Ireland Protested Against 64 Billion Euro Bank Debt - Were You There?
Have you ever noticed how often the number 64 appears in headlines and on posters. We in Ireland have a 64 Billion Euro debt, or so we are told. It is interesting to note that "The $64,000 Question" was an American game show broadcast from 1955–1958, which became embroiled in the scandals involving TV quiz shows of the day.
The organisers of today's protest march claimed that over 110,000 people took part in the demonstrations.but according to local media and police estimates the total country wide turnout was about 50,000.
The largest event took place in Dublin and according to local police about 25,000 took part while the organisers claim that at least 60,000 took part (maybe 64,000 took part). Today an experienced journalist explained to me that the police count the number of legs and divide by two and the protest organisers count the number of legs and divide by one (BTW that's a joke).
To be honest I do not know if anyone is even trying to be accurate but the following statement was issued by the ITCU:
9 Feb 2013
More than 110,000 people took part in demonstrations across the country today, in protest at the country’s continued bank debt burden.
The protests were organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and took place in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Sligo.
Over 60,000 took part in the Dublin protest, while at least 15,000 turned out in Cork, 13,000 in Waterford, 10,000 in Limerick, 7,000 in Sligo and 5,000 I Galway.
Congress General Secretary David Begg told protestors at a rally in Dublin’s Merrion Square that bank debt problem had not been solved by the recent deal.
He vowed Congress would continue its bank debt campaign until the link between private bank debt and national debt was clearly broken.
Script:
U.P. Breaking News: K. I. Sawyer Latest KC-135 Emergency Landing/Raising Safety Concerns
The following exclusive information was not reported yet by Upper Peninsula TV stations and other media.
Many safety questions remain and a military plane is officially grounded after an emergency in the skies over Marquette County, Michigan on Tues. July 8, 2014
The emergency landing of a KC-135 refueling tanker is the latest in a series of similar hydraulic incidents involving the aging fleet of Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing, Upper Peninsula Breaking News has learned.
Veteran Investigative Reporter Greg Peterson has the story:
upperpeninsulabreakingnews.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/u-p-b...
-----
Essentially a flying gas station – this Air National Guard KC-135 is grounded – following an emergency that has happened at least 5 times in the past two years to KC 135 refueling tankers from the 128th Air Refueling Wing in Milwaukee.
That's right – at least 5 times in the past two years – a KC-135 from the 128th has developed hydraulic problems resulting in emergency landings at airports around the Midwest.
The tankers are all about 50 years old.
In fact in June 2013, a reporter for Milwaukee Television station WISN TV-12 investigated a rash of KC-135 emergency landings after hydraulic warning.
Upper Peninsula Breaking News called the 128th's public affairs office to verify this important safety problem.
With overcast skies, the three-member crew of this KC-135 declared a hydraulic emergency:
Chief Don Hutchens, Forsyth Township Volunteer Fire Department:
Emergency officials from across Marquette County responded to the plane's call for help – fearing it might crash while landing – which would have been catastrophic.
The KC -135 was among several planes from the 128th Refueling Wing that have been practicing touch and goes on K.I. Sawyer's long runways.
Now the Marquette County Airport, the once vibrant K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base was a Strategic Air Command base – constantly on alert - with bomber crews ready to fly in moments.
This reporter has had the pleasure of riding on two KC-135 Refueling Tankers – as show in this photo when I worked at WLUC TV-6 in Marquette.
We refueled F-16 Jets over Lake Huron.
Then this reporter became one of only a handful of civilians to ride aboard a B-52 Bomber – this while I did features stories for the Mining Journal newspaper.
I was given this official coin of the Sawyer bomber wing and a patch – after as 12-hour flight that included Fourth of July Parades and an airshow in Grand Rapids.
This reporter hopes the officials at Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing get to the bottom of this hydraulic issues before there is a tragedy – as the large number of emergencies on this flying gas station is scary to all involved.
Greg Peterson, Upper Peninsula Breaking News
Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing
Public Affairs Office
414-944-8715
128 HQ/Public Affairs
mailto:128HQ.PublicAffairs@ang.af.mil
Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing on Facebook
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/128th_Air_Refueling_Wing
Forsyth Township Volunteer Fire Department; Forsyth Township Police department
www.forsythtwpmi.org/FT%20POLICE%20DEPT.htm
Local News Coverage
abc10up.com/air-national-guard-plane-makes-emergency-land...
www.upmatters.com/story/d/story/news/15079/3fYz_NNJ0kmTs-...
www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=1067608
WISN TV-12 Investigation in June 2013:
Emergency landing prompts questions about KC-135 safety
Hydraulic problems lead to 4th in-flight emergency
June 19, 2013
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/emergenc...
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/emergenc...
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/emergenc...
Military plane makes emergency landing in Indiana
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/Military...
A plane from Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard is grounded and undergoing repairs after an in-flight emergency Tuesday.
For the fourth time in two months a KC-135 from Milwaukee makes an emergency landing, this time in Indiana.
The flight crew lost control of the hydraulic system and made an emergency landing in Indiana.
It's the fourth in-flight emergency in recent weeks involving four KC-135 refueling tankers.
Each of the planes is about 50 years old, which has some wondering if the aging aircraft are as safe as they should be.
Upper Peninsula Breaking News
U.P. Breaking News
Gmail:
UpperPeninsulaBreakingNews@gmail.com
Wordpress:
upperpeninsulabreakingnews.wordpress.com
youtube:
www.youtube.com/UPBreakingNews
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tocLjvEslBA
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/UpperPeninsulaBreakingNews
Twitter:
Greg Peterson
@UPBreakingNews
flickr
Question Mark. Aus der Serie „Satzzeichen“ 2014
Rotierende Skulptur aus Lianen Findling, fluoriszierendes Klebeband, schwarze Totenkopf Büchse und Schwarz Licht
Skulptur, Objekt, Video, Installation, Fotografie
Markus Wintersberger 2014
I often feel like the one on the left, especially when it comes to putting together an Ikea dresser.
Part of the lovely Art Deco De La Warr Pavillion, I thought this view of the spiral staircase made it look like a large question mark. Taken with a Canon EOS 300D. Ref: D169-049
Script:
U.P. Breaking News: K. I. Sawyer Latest KC-135 Emergency Landing/Raising Safety Concerns
The following exclusive information was not reported yet by Upper Peninsula TV stations and other media.
Many safety questions remain and a military plane is officially grounded after an emergency in the skies over Marquette County, Michigan on Tues. July 8, 2014
The emergency landing of a KC-135 refueling tanker is the latest in a series of similar hydraulic incidents involving the aging fleet of Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing, Upper Peninsula Breaking News has learned.
Veteran Investigative Reporter Greg Peterson has the story:
upperpeninsulabreakingnews.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/u-p-b...
-----
Essentially a flying gas station – this Air National Guard KC-135 is grounded – following an emergency that has happened at least 5 times in the past two years to KC 135 refueling tankers from the 128th Air Refueling Wing in Milwaukee.
That's right – at least 5 times in the past two years – a KC-135 from the 128th has developed hydraulic problems resulting in emergency landings at airports around the Midwest.
The tankers are all about 50 years old.
In fact in June 2013, a reporter for Milwaukee Television station WISN TV-12 investigated a rash of KC-135 emergency landings after hydraulic warning.
Upper Peninsula Breaking News called the 128th's public affairs office to verify this important safety problem.
With overcast skies, the three-member crew of this KC-135 declared a hydraulic emergency:
Chief Don Hutchens, Forsyth Township Volunteer Fire Department:
Emergency officials from across Marquette County responded to the plane's call for help – fearing it might crash while landing – which would have been catastrophic.
The KC -135 was among several planes from the 128th Refueling Wing that have been practicing touch and goes on K.I. Sawyer's long runways.
Now the Marquette County Airport, the once vibrant K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base was a Strategic Air Command base – constantly on alert - with bomber crews ready to fly in moments.
This reporter has had the pleasure of riding on two KC-135 Refueling Tankers – as show in this photo when I worked at WLUC TV-6 in Marquette.
We refueled F-16 Jets over Lake Huron.
Then this reporter became one of only a handful of civilians to ride aboard a B-52 Bomber – this while I did features stories for the Mining Journal newspaper.
I was given this official coin of the Sawyer bomber wing and a patch – after as 12-hour flight that included Fourth of July Parades and an airshow in Grand Rapids.
This reporter hopes the officials at Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing get to the bottom of this hydraulic issues before there is a tragedy – as the large number of emergencies on this flying gas station is scary to all involved.
Greg Peterson, Upper Peninsula Breaking News
Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing
Public Affairs Office
414-944-8715
128 HQ/Public Affairs
mailto:128HQ.PublicAffairs@ang.af.mil
Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing on Facebook
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/128th_Air_Refueling_Wing
Forsyth Township Volunteer Fire Department; Forsyth Township Police department
www.forsythtwpmi.org/FT%20POLICE%20DEPT.htm
Local News Coverage
abc10up.com/air-national-guard-plane-makes-emergency-land...
www.upmatters.com/story/d/story/news/15079/3fYz_NNJ0kmTs-...
www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=1067608
WISN TV-12 Investigation in June 2013:
Emergency landing prompts questions about KC-135 safety
Hydraulic problems lead to 4th in-flight emergency
June 19, 2013
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/emergenc...
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/emergenc...
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/emergenc...
Military plane makes emergency landing in Indiana
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/Military...
A plane from Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard is grounded and undergoing repairs after an in-flight emergency Tuesday.
For the fourth time in two months a KC-135 from Milwaukee makes an emergency landing, this time in Indiana.
The flight crew lost control of the hydraulic system and made an emergency landing in Indiana.
It's the fourth in-flight emergency in recent weeks involving four KC-135 refueling tankers.
Each of the planes is about 50 years old, which has some wondering if the aging aircraft are as safe as they should be.
Upper Peninsula Breaking News
U.P. Breaking News
Gmail:
UpperPeninsulaBreakingNews@gmail.com
Wordpress:
upperpeninsulabreakingnews.wordpress.com
youtube:
www.youtube.com/UPBreakingNews
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tocLjvEslBA
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/UpperPeninsulaBreakingNews
Twitter:
Greg Peterson
@UPBreakingNews
flickr
DSRSG Moustapha Soumura interacted with children in a session questions and answers in Plan B at UNMISS Tomping at the occussion the Day of the African Child under the theme “protecting the rights of children in conflict and Crisis situation”
A children’s Baraza, designed to empower children and make their voices heard, was the key highlight of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan – UNMISS Radio Miraya’ station events to commemorate the Day of the African Child in South Sudan.
The occasion broadcast live from the UN Mission compound in Tomping – Juba, drew Students from St Thomas Nursery and Primary School, Comboni Secondary school, Juba Diocesan Model secondary school and Juba Christian Center Model Primary school.
What Is Theosophy?
The Secrets of The Universe Laid Bare By The Accumulated Wisdom Of The Ages
The question “What is Theosophy?” must have risen to the lips of some thousands of persons during the last three or four years, if the world is anything like what it used to be, and it is only reasonable to suppose that in nearly as many instances as the question has been put the answer has not been forthcoming, or, at least, that no satisfactory solution has been proffered. From the vastness of the subject and its utter newness to Western minds this state of things is not very much to be wondered at, but apart from that, the extreme difficulty of giving anything approaching an intelligible explanation of the word to minds permeated with WEstern ideas and moulded by Western thought and associations is so great as to render the task well nigh hopeless. Theosophy was unknown to Western intelligence – except in the form of the wildest and most improbable narratives, and those of the most fragmentary character – till some 14 years since, when Madame H. P. Blavatsky, a Russian lady who had spent the greater part of her previous life picking up strange stores of still strangers knowledge among the speculative peoples of the far East, settled in New York, and commenced the diffusion of her ideas in regard to her occult knowledge. Her most active disciple was a Colonel Olcott, in conjunction with whom the Theosophical Society was formed for objects stated below. A singular fact came out in reference to this very singular organization not very long ago; it appears that Madame Blavatsky, the president-founder, is practically the Theosophical Society one and indivisible, for while the members may be expelled to any extent, the president-founder cannot be removed, the consequence being that notwithstanding the possible loss of every single member, the society can never suffer annihilation as long as Madame Blavatsky lives, the wishes of the rest of the organization to the contrary. Theosophy has apparently produced the first and only society which it is impossible to suppress or abolish. Madame Blavatsky is now located in London, where her teachings have been met with more amusement than reverence, but the president-founder appears proof against any amount of that kind of “argument,” and disposes of it as being of as little value as the wanton smoke-curls of the weed she loves so well. Among the orthodox and the indifference – who may be placed upon pretty much the same plane as far as honest inquiry is concerned – theosophy has made no convert, but in the ranks of the ever-increasing class of speculative thinkers who have been forced to abandon the old traditional creeds the “new” gospel has received a large number of earnest followers, perhaps the most noticeable being Mrs. Annie Besant, whose succession to theosophical ranks proves – if it proves anything – that there is “something in it” worthy of investigation. In America, where the cult has taken a firmer root, the theosophists claim Edison, the great electrician, as one of their disciples, and his certificate of membership is enrolled among the society’s archives.
The subject was laid before the Croydon Socratic Society on Tuesday night, at their usual meeting at West Croydon, by no less an authority than Mr. Herbert Burrows, who, in addition to being a highly-valued friend of the society and a fellow socialistic worker with Mrs. Besant, is also an enthusiastic theosophist and a brilliant young thinker in more than one branch. The Socratics are a more than ordinarily hard-headed body, but it was plain to see that on Tuesday evening there was a lack of sympathy with the subject that boded trouble ahead, as the sequel showed. Mr. Burrows first spoke of the difficulties of handling a subject which comprehended the concentrated knowledge of the East extending over a period of possibly 20,000 years in about forty minutes, and expressed the opinion that he was quite prepared to find at the concussion fo the lecture that his hearers only matter of doubt was as to whether he was a fool or a madman, or a combination of both. He then passed on the deal with the question in the way most suited to the assembly, namely, from it scientific aspect, and remarked that theosophy was utterly and entirely opposed to the Darwinian theory, and that it dealt with the more recondite forces and laws of nature in respect of which Western investigators were as ignorant as Newton’s child upon the seashore, aye, and more so, because, to speak figuratively, they had not even the knowledge to pick up the stones. Wisely keeping clear of the phenomenal portion of his subject – for theosophical wonder-working, even if it were possible to him, would be no more convincing of the truth of theosophy than the working of a material miracle was proof of any sort of moral truth – he explained in passing that theosophy claimed to be the underlying truth of which all the great and varied religious systems were but the exoteric side, and that the Theosophical Society had been founded to accomplish three objects, (1) To be the nucleus of a universal brotherhood; (2) To promote the study of Aryan and other Eastern literatures, religions, and sciences; and (3) To investigate unexplained laws of nature and the physical powers latent in man. Now, Western science failed to accomplish the latter object in some very essential particulars, and that principally because its investigations were conducted on imperfect lines, while theosophy, working upon an entirely different lines, not only agreed with the conclusions of the Western scientist, but could find a passage beyond the dead wall which blocked the path of all our scientists at a certain point, and beyond which wall no single Western investigator had yet been able to penetrate. What was the reason of this? Possibly because Western scientists started on too limited a basis. Personally he had long ago been led to the conclusion – from the study of Huxlye’s treaties on protoplasm forces, and from Professor Huxley’s own showing the material physical sciences of the body proved rather a barrier than an assistance to the study of the powers of nature. For example, when a note of music was struck it was accompanied by numbers of other miner sounds which it was impossible for the ear to distinguish because of its inherent of its inherent defects, while at the same time the existence of the minor notes had been demonstrated ad nauseam. A defect of this kind must prove an obstacle to true investigation because of its misleading results. If that were the case man practically knew nothing at all about the forces which were behind those of which we do know or fancy we know something. This naturally led to the conclusion that if our senses were only refined and acute enough it would be possible to perceive and understand the unseen forces of nature. On the other hand, the scientists of the West, everyone of them, however profound their investigations, were met at one point in their inquiries by a dead wall which they found it impossible to pass, in a very large class of phenomena, which they found to be absolutely inexplainable by their modern science.
Theosophy boasted that it could pass this wall by reason of the storehouse of actual mental knowledge, not mere theory only, which had been stored in the minds of a few men in India and of late years in Tibet, and handed on from one to the other for thousands of years. These men were investigators themselves, and they made a secret of their knowledge for obvious reasons, because by virtue of their knowledge there were few of the processes of nature that were secret to them; they asserted that they could explain phenomena whose solution was regarded as hopeless, and that simply and entirely by their knowledge of the laws of nature. In these things they owned no supernatural influences – there is no personal god in theosophy, which is purely pantheistic – but could give a rational explanation from the phenomena of nature, according to the laws of nature, though doubtless not according to the laws of Western scientists, and by this means they claimed to obtain a clue to both the spiritual and physical nature of man. The western scientist, up to a certain point, could state how certain phenomena were manifested, but the theosophist went further, and could tell why these things were. Science was absolutely unable to explain phenomena such as hypnotism, clairvoyance, and mesmerism to anything like an adequate extent and while he knew the majority of people dismissed these things as a result of trickery and fraud, they were nevertheless established facts, and rapidly establishing themselves as practical agents of surgical treatment. Apart from that theosophy could give a clear and adequate reason why for these things, and until people could give a better explanation it was both foolish and unphilosophic for people to deny that theosophy could do so.
Mr. Burrows then divided into an intensely interesting disquisition with regard to the numerous laws of nature whose existence and demonstration is known to our modern scientists, but which have entirely baffled them in their efforts to comprehend and tabulate the same. For instance, by means of a definite arrangement of a violin, a turning for, a strong light, and a sort of sheet suspended after the style of a “magic lantern” sheet, it was found that a note of music possesses distinct and unmistakable colours, which vary with different notes. Another instrument, the pendulagram, demonstrates that a musical note possess force. The apparatus is constructed upon vibrating principles, and is fitted with a universal-jointed pen. Upon a certain note being struck certain spiral curves are recorded by the pen. Strike another not, and a different class of spirals is produced; strike the first not again, and the spirals are produced similar to those registered on the first occasion. Now, why are these spiral? That is what theosophy alone can tell, and the man who has this knowledge can practically control the forces of nature! The materialist failed to surmount the wall that stopped him, and why? Partly because he failed to recognize that there was no rigid line of demarcation between the spiritual and the material part of man. Judging by the state of clairvoyance, when the physical material senses of man were in a certain sense paralysed, the intelligent, spiritual, mental faculties of man were sharpened. Man dealt in two worlds, the outward visible world, and the inward invisible world. The latter could only come into play when the other was deadened, or, in other words, purified and refined of the presence of the material outer world. Taking another line, he showed that the theosophist and the Western scientist, by widely differing methods, agreed, step by step, that under the whole nature lay some widely-diffused basic force, and that while the Western could only tell the relation between things – as in the molecular theory – the theosophist could explain the essence of the things themselves, or rather, could get behind the relation of the things and explain why they were so related. This method, produced to its natural conclusion, must lead up to the explanation of the spiritual nature of man, and thus theosophy was seen to comprehend the great truths that underlie all the great religions of the world.
At this stage the speaker left the relatively-scientific part of the question – which is at once its explanation and its raison d’eire – and passed on to deal with the teachings of theosophy, which is much more easy to follow. The very name is a clue, for “theosophy” (knowledge of or about God – the term God being universally accepted, not in the sense of a personal anthromorphic God, but as including the whole of both the known and the unknown) implies knowledge or wisdom respecting the absolute. It is sometimes also called the wisdom-religion because it professes to have had from time immemorial the knowledge of all the laws governing the spiritual, the moral, and the material. The reason why this knowledge has not been imparted to all is obvious – a man with such knowledge would have the lives and interests of his fellows who were not equally enlightened entirely at his disposal. The existence of three abnormal powers has been recognised, as a matter of fact, in plain, practical, prosy Germany, where stringent laws have already been passed against the exercise of hypnotic powers – such as those demonstrated by the Rev. Arthur Tooth at Woodside the other day – by unqualified persons. It is easily seen that if such laws are necessary to restrain the persons who do not fully comprehend the feeble powers they undoubtedly possess, the necessity would be vastly greater in the case of persons who have exhaustive knowledge of far greater powers. Hence in the interests of the race, the theosophists say, the knowledge is jealousy guarded in a few minds, although it is acquirable by anyone who will go through the long and tedious mental, physical, and spiritual training necessary to that end, for theosophists hold that the knowledge they possess can only be obtained by the careful refinement of the spiritual entity from the obscurations of the material physical, a process involving purity of word, thought, idea, and action. It is claimed that the theosophist has ascertained by actual experience that man, instead of consisting simply of body, soul, and spirit, is a septenary, or seven-partite being. The first division is the physical body, which acts as the vehicle for all the other principles; then there is the vital principle common to all animals; and the next is the astral, or the double or phantom body. Theosophists believe that the adept (a person who has attained to the higher knowledge) can separate his higher spiritual principle from the physical, and travel whither he will in the guise of the astral body, leaving the physical in a state of trance. The fourth, which forms the last of what is called the lower principles, is the seat of the animal desires and passions. Teh three higher principles consist (1) of the mind or intelligence (which has two aspects, one towards the lower and one towards the higher) ; (2) the spiritual soul, which forms the vehicle for (3) the spirit itself. Now, with regard to this “spirit” may be introduced one of the vital principles of theosophy. It is believed as an actual fact that the spirit in man is the only real and permanent part of his being, the rest of his nature being variously compounded, nad consequently always resolving into other compounds. The spirit of every man is said to spark fo the Divine Whole, whence it comes by cyclic or evolutionary procedure through every form of matter till it reaches its highest form – self-consciousness – in man. From the human enthrallment the spirit, according to its efforts while in that condition, passes at the death of the body towards the higher (i.e. towards re-absorption in the Divine Whole), or else downwards into the lower forms of matter, thence to “work out its own salvation,” or return to self-consciousness in the human. In its upward course the divine spark is u undergoing repeated incarnations through the vegetable, mineral, animal, and human states ; in each of these it is latent, but it is only manifest in man. The spirit retains its individuality during the whole progress from its origin to its reunion to the Divine, and exists successively in various races and planets.
The discussion that ensued beggars description from the fact that nearly everybody who spoke seemed to have failed to grasp the bearings of the subject. This was only natural under the circumstances – the explanation of a single page of a theosophical “educational” tract is sufficient to make a man’s hair curl if he has not been initiated – but the lecturer dealt lightly with his critics in his reply. The latter, by the way, did not commence till nearly 11 o’clock, and was principally devoted to the removal of misconceptions. From a quantity of propagandist leaflets – on of which (“Karma as a Cure for Trouble”) strangely reminded one of a patent medicine puff – it was seen that the practical side of theosophy is of no little importance from teh social point of view. One of the essentials to spiritual development is “the entire eradication of selfishness in all forms, and the cultivation of broad, generous sympathy in and effor for the good of others,” and another stipulates for “the careful performance of every duty belonging to one’s station in life, without desire for reward, leaving results for Divine law.” Apart from this, theosophy professes to explain the contrast and unisions of the world’s faiths and the common foundations underlying them all ; the existence of evil, suffering, and sorrow; social and individual inequalities, contrasts, and antithesis; accidents, misfortunes, and untimely deaths; the failure of conventional religions to greatly extend their areas, reform abuses, reorganize society, expand to the idea of brotherhood, abate discontent, diminish crime, elevate humanity, and adequately realise in individual lives the ideal they professedly uphold. These form only a small portion of the large order theosophists are ready to fill, but if they can only get believers in their strange tremendous system to go heartily in for spiritual development on the lines mentioned above, there are plenty of folks in this world who will be glad to find a place for them.
shot: my sister, Andi, edit: me
-.-
"Ki figyel rám
Ha a térdem fáj
A szívem megszakad
A bordám kiáll
Ha csúnya az orrom
A hangom se szép
És önmagamból is elég, elég
Ki figyel rám
Ha ijeszt a rém
Hogy a holnap
Akár a lépcső, kemény
S csak ülök és nézek
És fázik a kezem
És várok; tán ez a szerelem..."
(Zorán)
/
bad English translation:
"Who'll take care of me
If my knee hurts
My heart is broken
My rib protrudes
My nose is ugly
My voise isn't nice
And I've had enough of me, enough
Who'll take care of me
If the monster scares
That tomorrow is
As a stair, hard
And I just sit and watch
An my hand feels cold
And waiting - maybe that' love..."
Tricks of the Mind | March 2013TRICKS OF THE MIND - March 2013
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Hi,
A question we're often asked is what is Mind Magic? Mind Magic is using magic (of the conjuring variety) to create the illusion that you can read minds, influence people and demonstrate paranormal & extraordinary powers, e.g. ESP, moving objects with the power of your mind and predicting the future.
It is sometimes called mentalism, although we use the term Psychological Artistry, and has been shown to be popular in the programmes of Derren Brown and other magicians. The workshops we run not only reveal these often guarded tricks and secrets, but merge them with psychology and neuroscience so that we can use and apply these approaches in therapy, coaching, business etc. For more information on these workshops, please see mindsways.com/SMS/
All of our workshops, Sleight of Mind Set and The Fascination all use Mind Magic tricks, tools and techniques and Psychological Artistry. There is one overriding theme within them all; that is the Show Not Tell principle. The Show Not Tell principle is all about making people experience and feel the message rather than just be told. The Show Not Tell principle is about engaging through emotions, not just logic and reasoning. The intellect finds the logic to justify what the emotions have decided.
To see more information about The Fascination, please see mindsways.com/the-fascination. For more on Sleight of Mind Set workshops, please go to mindsways.com/SMS/ and for more about the Show Not Tell principle, please look at mindsways.com/SNT/
TRICKS OF THE MIND
The real power of Mind Magic and Psychological Artistry lies not with just the tricks, but the effect that the delivery of the tricks have on people. On the workshops and in the packs we give you the tricks, however, learning to use them and turn them into effects is where the real power lies.
Delivering these effects, you can evoke the making of the extraordinary. By combining the tricks with the energy of your words, your message and your personality, you make yourself stand out, stimulate fascination and create interest in you. This is when the real magic happens, in the minds of others. To see what other's have said about the workshops, please see mindsways.com/about/what-people-say/
To see a few interesting examples of how magic can be used in communication, please see mindsways.com/the-fascination# PsychologicalTED
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL ARTISTRY?
To start with there are many definitions of psychology, but the one that sums it up for me is "the science of how we think". Next is the Artistry part, again, there have been many definitions but I like to think that artistry is a blend of:
Creating connection, rapport and emotions
Telling stories
Gaining and holding attention
Producing insights
Displaying human nature
Cognition
Show, Not Tell
Multiple Moments of Interest, Interaction and Insights (MMI's)
Therefore, Psychological Artistry is the blending of these two to create a method for successful communication. Psychological Artistry is where science and art meet Mind Magic.
Psychological Artistry is a route to form:
New Ideas
New Voices
New Questions
New Perspectives
New Expressions for our Passions
New Experiments
Expanded horizons
Emotional Engagement
Using Psychological Artistry is a way to express your personality, it:
Improves personal delivery
Increases your visibility
Enhances personal image and style
Powerful differential
Creates presence and raises profile
Increases perceptual awareness
Learning Psychological Artistry and Mind Magic is all about gaining access to valuable and guarded secrets.
Interesting examples of how all is not as it appears are the McGurk effect and Prof. Richard Wiseman's "The Incredible Colour Changing Card Effect", a well-known Fred Astaire clip and Rory Sutherland's Perspective Is Everything talk. Please take a look here or go to mindsways.com/SMS. These illustrate both the power and the approach of Psychological Artistry. I would love to know what you think.
MINDFUL ILLUSIONS
Understanding how powerful a role illusions can play in our life is extremely important. We can get dragged into the illusion that we cannot change ourselves, and this can affect us very deeply. We have to keep in mind that these beliefs are based on neuro-pathways that have wired themselves together in our past, and though they may even dominate our thoughts now, brain plasticity means we do not have to have this in our future. To see more about this, please mindsways.com/SMS#InfiniteMind
The SNT kit, which you get included in the price for the Sleight of Mind Set workshop, clearly illustrates that this previous wiring does not have to equal the future. It clearly shows us that we cannot believe what we see, but we see what we believe. For more on the SNT kit, please see mindsways.com/SNT/
THE ART OF CRITICAL THINKING
Our mind is our greatest strength, but is also the root of many of our flaws and weaknesses. We are emotional beings and do not always follow logic and critical thinking. However, logic and critical thinking are learned skills that still play an important role in our lives. This is another benefit of learning about Mind Magic and Psychological Artistry, because logic and critical thinking are skills and abilities that can be deliberately practised and developed through Mind Magic.
We all have flaws in thinking, including;
Logical fallacies
False assumptions
Unreliable memories
Rule of thumbs thinking
Beliefs through illusions
These fallacies are all used and highlighted by magicians. Learning and understanding Mind Magic is about applying a rational and logical system to our emotional situation. It is this ability that allows you to demonstrate you value, engage people on a deeply interesting level and help others which dramatically increases with your understanding of Mindful Illusions, Mind Magic and Psychological Artistry.
THE WORKSHOPS
All the workshops start at 10:00 a.m. and finish at 4:30 p.m. These are being held around the country, in:
Sleight of Mind Set
Scunthorpe | 29th March 2013
London | 2nd May 2013 (NEW DATE)
Birmingham | 7th May 2013 (NEW DATE)
To register your place on the Sleight of Mind Set, please go to mindsways.com/SMS#BookNow
The Fascination
London | 2nd April 2013
Bath | 10th April 2013
Birmingham | 16th April 2013
To register your place on The Fascination, please see mindsways.com/the-fascination#BookNow
REGISTER YOUR PLACE NOW
In the workshops, we will explore how Psychological Artistry and Mind Magic provide important insights into how we think, how we learn and how we experience the world, whilst training you in the tricks of the trade. As part of this workshop, you are supplied with whole new sets of routines and ideas in The Fascination Pack. This pack has been purpose-built to combine the psychology of fascination with the allure of Mind Magic.
To register your place on either of the workshops, please go to mindsways.com/SMS and mindsways.com/the-fascination
Thanks,
George
P.S. Both the SNT kit and The Fascination Pack are available separately. To see more, please go to mindsways.com/SNT and mindsways.com/TFP
07976 356 082
Iverley Road, Halesowen, United Kingdom, B63 3EP
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Le 18 septembre 2019 en début de soirée, j'arrive ā Sion par un bus assurant la liaison Avignon-Lyon-Genève-Sion. Alors que je m'apprête à rejoindre mon hôte du soir je profite du paysage que je surplombe. Le coucher de soleil donne ā la ville de Sion un caractère surnaturel, les nuages changent de couleur, les lampadaires s'allument, le château de Tourbillon illumine le paysage. Après avoir fait du couchsurfing -première expérience très positive-, je débute le lendemain mon excursion de deux semaines de balade dans le Val d'Hérens au cœur du Valais. Chargé de mon paquetage d'une dizaine de kilos, j'occupe la matinée de mon premier jour d'excursion par l'achat de produits locaux. Pas question de tomber en panne sèche ā 3000 mètres d'altitudes. Un saucisson, du fromage de la région – l'Étivaz-, du chocolat noir -Ovomaltine « C'est de la dynamite ! »-, des fruits secs et c'est parti. Avant de quitter Sion je profite de l'ambiance du centre ville de bon matin. Un passant solitaire traverse la place de la Planta. Du ciel transparaissent quelques rayons du soleil. Atemporel. En début d'après-midi, l'autobus m'amène ā Thyon-les-collons. Arrivé ā environ 2000 mètres d'altitude, je débute ma marche dans un paysage grandiose. Première impression : la connexion avec le ciel, l'impression d' être au dessus de tout... ou presque. Des nuages au loin m'invitent ā monter plus haut, les cols des montagnes ā les gravir pour y découvrir ce qui s'y cache derrière. Je traverse les steppes et gazons alpins, il y a beau temps. La végétation que je croise est luxuriante, colorée et diversifiée. Je croise peu de touristes.
Durant les trois premiers jours, j'essaye de prendre un rythme. J'essaye d'atteindre en fin de journée les points que je me suis fixé comme but en début de journée. Je n'y parviens pas. Non pas que physiquement je sois éreinté par le dénivelé que je commence ā ressentir dans les cuisses et ischio-jambier, mais par les nombreux arrêts que je m'autorise pour faire des sessions photographiques. Poser ā terre les bâtons de marche, enlever le sac ā dos, sortir l'appareil photo, cadrer, faire la photographie, ranger l'appareil, réajuster les sangles de maintient, remettre le sac sur le dos, s'abaisser et prendre les bâtons de marche. Reprendre la marche. Toute une opération qui au bout d'un temps me fait plutôt jeter ā terre les bâtons, poser un peu ā la va vite le sac ā terre et répéter toutes ces opérations. Mais cette légère contrainte est largement compensée par l'étonnement, l'admiration, l'ébahissement que j'ai d'être face ā un tel paysage. Une faune et une flore sauvage, laissée ā l'état de liberté. C'est un paysage de caractère qui invite ā la plénitude. Quelques rares habitations qui se perdent dans un paysage montagneux. Le voisinage ne semble pas être une question contraignante. Je m'imagine alors le mode de vie que doivent avoir ces gens qui vivent dans ces habitats le temps d'une saison... peut-être ā l'année. Je prends conscience qu'en montagne, la fraîcheur se fait rapidement sentir dès que le soleil n'illumine plus le flanc de montagne sur lequel vous êtes. En septembre, selon ou l'on se trouve, 17h est l'heure à laquelle il est légitime de se soucier de l'endroit du coucher. Le premier jour, je fais l'erreur de tarder dans le choix du lieu du bivouac. À 19h je commence ma recherche. Après une heure et demie je parviens ā trouver un compromis. En sous-bois, sur le flanc d'un sol pentu, je compense alors les aléas du terrains en mettant en boule quelques habits dans la tente. Je dîne - bien grand mot quand la casserole est ā la fois l'outil de cuisson, l'assiette pour le plat principal et le contenant du thé en fin de repas. Ma première nuit est fraîche, l'idée de dormir dans un sous-bois rend l'atmosphère humide, le froid ressenti comme étant davantage prégnant.
Le lendemain je repars en bonne forme. Je continue de longer le fleuve de la Dixence qui se trouve en contrebas du chemin que j'empreinte. Pause ravitaillement pour récupérer ā une source de l'eau et remplir ma gourde de 2 litres. Il n'est pas rare de croiser des troupeaux sur mon chemin mené ou pas par des éleveurs. Au deuxième jour de marche, Thyon-les-collons est ā peine visible. Je croise de-ci, de-là des maisonnettes, des troupeaux sur mon chemin. Le dénivelé se fait plus marqué et le poids du sac se fait davantage sentir sur les épaules. Pause déjeuner. Le paysage se fait de plus en plus montagneux, les roches noires contrastent avec les couleurs ocres, jaunes pétantes des fourrages. Il me faudra trois jours pour arriver au niveau du Lac des Dix (2365m) et de son barrage aux dimensions impressionnantes. D'une hauteur de 235 mètres, long comme deux terrains de football mis bout ā bout, ce barrage est d'une profondeur de 200 mètres ā sa base et d'une quinzaines de mètres ā son point le plus haut. Son poids serait égal ā celui de la grande pyramide de Khéops en Egypte. De telles dimensions permettent au barrage de la Grande Dixence de contenir les 400 millions de m3 d'eau du lac, développant une puissance électrique record de 2000 MW ce qui lui permet d'être considéré comme le plus haut barrage-poids du monde. Un tel spectacle est étonnant. 15 mètres de marche permettent de constater de l'exploit de cette architecture. D'un coté distant de quelques mètres le lac de la Dixence calme et paisible, de l'autre côté la vallée qui s'étend 200 mètres plus bas. À perte de vue des vallons, montagnes, des pics. Au loin, la ville de Sion.
Première nuit ou les étoiles se révèlent avec une pollution lumineuse réduite. La voûte céleste se laisse prendre en photographie en pause lente. Il n'est pas rare durant les quelques nuit que je passe proche d'une forêt, d'un bois ou d'un ruisseau de me réveiller plusieurs fois la nuit, saisi par le froid. La couche supérieure de la tente gèle parfois. Par mégarde je laisse deux habits posés sur la tente pour qu'ils sèchent à l'extérieur. Durant la nuit, les cristaux de glaces se forment et les gèlent entièrement. Les débuts de journées sont fraîches et reculent mon heure de départ. La solution ā défaut d'avoir des moufles pour maintenir les mains au chaud : avoir des chaussettes aux mains. À 10h le soleil réchauffe l'atmosphère, les habits sèchent et je peux faire ma toilette et un petit bain frigorifique dans le Torrent de Chenna ā 10h du matin. La route qui mène au barrage de la Grande Dixence est tortueuse, je n'aurai pas ā l'emprunter, prenant un chemin de terre qui y mène directement. Il me fait passer par une succession de tunnel creusé dans des flancs de montagne. Le soir, sans réseau 4G, je campe ā la pointe du lac de Dix. Seul, sans pollution lumineuse, sonore, humaine. J'ai l'impression d'être en proie ā la nature, à une solitude qui ne fait pas peur, mais ou tout est possible. Le passé ou le futur lointain n'est pas dans mes pensée. Seul le présent et ses alternatives temporelles proches m'occupent l'esprit. Je trouve un lieu où dormir et installe la tente. Rapidement je me lave grâce ā l'eau d'un ruisseau qui coule. Je prépare à manger, déguste face à un paysage qui s'obscurcit. La nuit tombe, des nuages se découpent sur les pics des montagnes. Je m'endors avec le seul bruit du vent qui tapote sur la toile de tente.
4ème journée, je quitte le lac des Dix pour me rendre au col de Riedmatten en passant par le pas de chèvre (2919m). Je me lève ā 5h du matin. Ma première action ? Prendre un petit-déjeuner à base de chocolat, fruits secs variés, fajitas, patte d'amande avec un peu de chocolat aussi. Un petit coup de toilette puis je m'occupe de trier, ranger le matériel pour qu'il tienne dans les 50 litres du sac ā dos. Au fur et à mesure des jours qui passent je dois avouer que cette action répétitive me lasse un peu mais devient un rituel qui marque le début et la fin de la journée. Je débute la marche alors que le soleil se lève sur les pics de montagnes et la vallée au loin. La montée se fait de plus en plus pentue. Je traverse le Torrent de Cheilon. Peu ā peu, le chemin de caillou se transforme en chemin symbolique ou seul les balises en indiquent concrètement la trajectoire. La flore se fait plus rare, le paysage imposant se fait plus abrupte, le dénivelé s'affirme. Je ne m'aide plus seulement de mes jambes mais aussi de mes mains pour gravir. Je m'attarde un temps face au mont Blanc de Cheilon et ā son glacier. Observation contemplative. Arrivé au Col de Riedmatten, je laisse derrière moi les roches, pierres et une flore qui se fait rare pour y découvrir les steppes qui mènent vers le lac de Moiry. Le paysage environnant est entrecoupé de pics et de pentes dans un écrin de nature sauvage. Je vois dans le Glacier de Tsijore Nouve une tête de mort... En début d'après-midi j'entame ma descente vers Arolla (2000m) dominée par le mont Collon en arrière plan. Arrivé ā Arolla, les nuages s'obscurcissent... J'empreinte un pont de singe qui tangue ā chaque pas dans un rebond lancinant. Une sensation amusante qui donne l'impression d’être plus léger, d'avoir le pas hésitant.
Je campe le soir près de la Sage, dans un champs qui en apparence semble appartenir à personne. La nuit fut entrecoupée par une pluie battante et des rafales de vent. Le lendemain je me réveille avec une brume qui se dissipe. Ayant plutôt l'habitude de côtoyer des architectures de béton je quitte la Sage et ses chalets de bois qui semblent venir d'une autre époque. L'objectif que je me fixe ā la mi-journée c'est d'arriver au Lac Bleu, réputé pour se situer dans un écrin de nature sauvage, avec une eau d'une couleur bleu vive - résultant de l'action conjuguée des algues et des argiles glaciaires-. Sur le chemin qui monte au lac, en pleine forêt, alors que je remets une sangle de mon sac à dos, je me fais surprendre par le bond d'un cerf adulte qui fend les fourrages à une vitesse éclair. La scène se déroule face à moi à une trentaine de mètres. Pas un seul bâtiment aux alentours. La nature. Elle m'invite ā un imaginaire digne des films de fantasy comme le Seigneur des Anneaux ou encore à me plonger dans l'ambiance cinématographique d'une période Moyenâgeuse où les croyances et rituels étaient connectés à la nature. Une époque où la démographie humaine était moins importante, où la valeur humaine était autre. Peu de temps m'en faut pour arriver au Lac Bleu. Vu l'heure, je décide de laver et faire sécher au soleil mes vêtements sales. Je mets en place un dispositif d'étendoir assez incongru en utilisant mes bâtons de marche et la table de camping qui se trouve sur une butte en surplombant le lac. 1h. 2h. Le soleil se couvre peu ā peu, malgré des rafales de vent bien présentes, le linge ne sèche pas. 3H, je commence ā me dire que je ne pourrais pas continuer plus loin ma marche de la journée. 19h30. J'installe la tente pour me réchauffer – connaissant la fraicheur des nuits proches d'une source d'eau-. Je décide de faire du feu avec un briquet, quelques brindilles et des branches ramassées de ci de-là. Sans succès. Nuit tombante depuis le lac bleu. Cette nuit fut la plus difficile. Je me réveille plusieurs fois durant la nuit, me réchauffe les doigts en allumant un briquet, entasse mes habits les uns par dessus les autres. À quelques centaines de mètres je traverse ce qui semble être un village abandonné. Une inscription surplombe l'un des chalets : « Le petit chalet ». Le lendemain je prends la route pour les Haudères (1454m), charmant village de vallée où tous les bâtis ou presque sont en bois. Traversant les forêts Valaisannes, je prête l'oreille ā plusieurs coups de feu. En cette basse saison, les chasseurs sont plus présent dans les forêts que les randonneurs. Je fais d'ailleurs la rencontre de trois d'entres eux. Le premier est pris en photographie sur smartphone par sa femme alors qu'il porte ā bout de bras un cerf tel un trophée. Le second lorsque je croise un chasseur porter sur son dos un cerf. Cette rencontre me permets de discuter avec lui sur sa pratique. Je suis notamment étonné de le voir redescendre de si bonne heure (8h) avec déjà un cervidé mort sur le dos. Il m'explique qu'il a tué l'animal la veille, l'a vidé de ses entrailles, a dormi dans une cabane de chasseur et qu'il redescend ā son véhicule pour aller vendre la bête ce matin. Curieux de son arme, il me montre ses cartouches et son viseur d'une précision de plus de 500 mètres. Je le prends en photographie avant que chacun nous reprenions nos routes. À la mi-journée, je décide que je dormirai dans un camping avec plus de confort ā la clef. Avant d'entrer dans les Haudères, je fais la rencontre de plusieurs chalets fleuris nichés sur le flanc de la montagne. Je pourrais presque m'attendre ā ce que Bilbon Sacquet sorte avec un lot de pinte de Gandalf’s Ale, de Bilbo’s Beer ou encore de Frodo’s Lager. Ca n’arrivera pas, mais je m'amuse ā me l'imaginer. Arrivé ā Les Haudères je découvre un centre-village tout fait de bois et de pierres. Deux artères coupent le village d'Est en Ouest et du Nord au Sud. Je passe face au Garage des Alpes, atelier de réparation automobile pour me rendre jusqu’à l'auberge-camping Molignon, endroit ou je dormirai pour la nuit.
À minuit il se met à pleuvoir durant plusieurs heures. De bon matin je croise dans le camping un touriste qui me déconseille de randonner jusqu'au Col de Torrent avec la météo qu'il y a eu la veille. Les sommets sont enneigés. Je décide de me prendre une journée de repos et vais en direction d'Evolène (1371m) pour m'y acheter des moufles afin d'éviter le froid ressenti parfois durant la nuit ou pour éviter le frottement de la paume sur les bâtons de marche. Le lendemain en direction de La Sage je croise les dernières maisons. Alors que je continue mon ascension, derrière moi l'orage semble se profiler sur les Haudères et Evolène. Je continue la marche en espérant que la météo ne se dégrade pas trop. Arrivée dans les nuages.
J'expérimente ma première nuit à 0 degré à 2700 mètres d'altitude sur le flanc de montagne ā 300 mètres du Col de Torrent. Les nuage sont en formation, j'ai la tête dans les nuages. Levé ā 7h du matin je pars en direction le Col de Torrent ā 2916 mètres d'altitude. Le chemin de traverse me mène jusqu'au lac de Moiry (2249m) d'un bleu étonnant et son barrage qui surplombe la vallée. Son barrage voûte situé dans le canton du Valais en Suisse est localisé au-dessus du village de Grimentz. Il a été mis en service en 1958 après 4 ans de construction. Je m'endors près du pas de Lona (2787m) sous une nuit étoilée. Le lendemain matin, c'est la tête dans les nuages et le brouillard que je débute mon excursion matinale avec l'impression d'assister ā un spectacle, un ballet où les nuages glissent cotonneusement sur les flancs de montagne. Quelle sensation de solitude. Dans l'après-midi j'atteins la cabane des Becs de Bosson ā 2983 mètres d'altitude puis la pointe de la Tsevalire ā 3026 mètres. Je finis la journée bien fatigué proche de la Becca de Lovegno à près de 2700m ou j'y passe la nuit. 18h, le soleil se couche derrière les crêtes. Je passe ma nuit la plus fraiche, -2 degré était annoncé par la météo locale. Je ne dors pas bien, me réveille souvent. Mon pantalon, le sac ā dos et tout ce qui peut tenir chaud est empilé au dessus de moi sur le sac de couchage. Durant un court moment, je décide d'allumer le réchaud pour réchauffer mes doigts.
Le lendemain je me repose durant deux heures proche du lac du Louché (2567m), situé dans un écrin de nature marécageux, isolé et préservé de toute activité humaine. Cet endroit est l'un des plus silencieux de toute mon excursion. Pas de bruit. Celui du vent par intermittence. Seul les trainées de condensation d'un avion haut dans le ciel marque la réalité de notre époque et renforce mon extase sonore et visuelle face à un tel lieu. Je prends en photographie la Gentiana Verna, première de la saison qui occupe avec parcimonie les prairies subalpines. Je reprends la marche pour me rendre au Mont-Noble ā près de 2670m. Une fois franchie cette étape je ne cesse de descendre en altitude en passant par Mase (1301m) pour me rendre aux grottes de Combioula qui se trouvent dans les gorges de la Borgne. La source chaude de ces grottes permet de profiter d'une eau à une vingtaine de degrés tout en admirant le paysage environnant. La rivière Borgne qui passe ā quelques mètres est bien plus froide. Le lendemain je me rends direction Hérémence pour y découvrir les pyramides d'Euseigne qui font partie des caractéristiques géologiques impressionnantes du territoire. Je me rends ā Vex (939m). Plus tôt dans la journée j'avais passé un coup de téléphone pour y réserver une nuit en camping.
Arrivé lā-bas, je suis reçu par le gérant. Il a l'allure imposante d'un biker de film américain des années 80. Le bandana autour de la tête, assez petit et trapu, la bedaine en supplément. Débute alors un quiproquo où je lui annonce avoir réservé un emplacement de tente pour la nuit. Lui me dit que non. La fatigue n'aidant pas, j'affirme mon point de vue. Quiproquo qui abouti ā ce que la discussion se dégrade. Je décide de partir promptement, n'ayant pas envie d'avoir à faire à ses chiens. Je me rends compte que l'erreur venais de moi et que le camping en question où j'avais une place de réservée était ā Sion au camping Valcentre (500m). Je repense ā cet épisode ubuesque tout en marchant. En bande dessinée ça aurait fait le gag. 17h. Vite il me faut accélérer le pas pour me rendre sur place. Le coup du sort jouant en ma défaveur ou bien car j'étais désinformé, je prends un chemin balisé pour les randonneurs qui me mène à... un cul de sac ou plutôt à un chemin condamné. Du fait de la chute de pierres il y avait quelques mois de cela, la passerelle qui surplombe La Borgne n'est plus. Voyant l'heure filer, je décide tout de même de traverser la rivière le sac ā dos tenu les bras en l'air. Me croyant libéré de cette histoire d'éboulis de pierres je fais face à deux autres reprises à des culs de sac ou des portions de chemin fragilisés. Je me dépêche de les franchir en prenant un maximum conscience des points d'équilibres qui sont optimum pour ma traversée de ces obstacles. Je quitte la rivière et rejoint les champs de vigne. En fin de journée sur les coups de 19 heures j'arrive au camping de Sion fatigué mais content d'avoir réussi à atteindre mon point d'étape de la journée. Les deux jours qui suivent me permettent de faire des emplettes (surtout des plaquettes de chocolat) et de préparer mon retour en France. Je prends le bus le 4 octobre tout en me disant que je reviendrais un de ces jours parmi ces paysages Suisse afin d'en découvrir davantage.
This photograph was taken by Nicholson Museum curator William J Woodhouse in Greece between 1890 and 1935.
Can you help us catalogue the Woodhouse photographic archive? Contribute by adding tags and answering the following questions in the comments below:
•What do you see? Write a brief description for this image.
•Where was this photograph taken?
•Can you find the geo co-ordinates (latitude and longitude) of this exact place? Let us know by linking to the google maps or add the co-ordinates in your comment.
•Do you know what year this photograph was taken?
About the archive:
The Nicholson Museum holds over 1800 glass-plate negatives taken by Woodhouse while in Greece in 1890s and early 1900s. A small portion of the archive also includes photographs of his family in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia. The collection documents important archaeological sites, significant landscapes of the Greek mainland, contemporary buildings and the people he met along the way. His archive is a rich resource capturing many sites pre-archaeological excavation and before modern industrial development. Some of the photographs were published by Woodhouse in his book 'Aetolia: its geography, topography, and antiquities' published in 1897. His desire to capture Greece on 'film', was simply put in his introduction: "History only attains its full value by borrowing actuality from geography and topography". The archive shows his love not only for the sites but also for the people and spirit of Greece.
About the project:
We are asking you to contribute to our documentation of this collection and assist us with the identification of the hundreds of different monuments and places in Greece. The title of each photograph will include the museum registration number (NM2007.##.##) and may already include a place name where museum staff or Woodhouse himself have titled the image.
All of our flikr contributors will be acknowledged when the collection is published through our online collections at the completion of the project.
The question on everyone' mind is "Can you look sexy while eating chocolate chips cookies?"
I'm no prude, but these images show a little too much cleavage. I'm sure that your favorite AI ladies would wear something like this for a special occasion. However, the dresses don't strike me as accurate for a lady from the1930s and a 50's teenager sitting in the kitchen, nibbling on baked goods.
The Concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy & paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.
The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Rachel
2. What is your favorite food? Homemade Pasta
3. What high school did you go to? Colchester Christian Academy
4. What is your favorite color? Lilac
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Darren Hayes
6. Favorite drink? Whiskey
7. Dream vacation? Ancient Egypt
8. Favorite dessert? Dark Chocolate
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Mother & Artist
10. What do you love most in life? God & People
11. One Word to describe you: Curious
12. Your Flickr name: SeaOrchid
----------------------------
1. Rachel, 2. Homemade Pasta, 3. St Botolphs, Colchester, 4. For Sam, 5. Darren Hayes - Insatiable, 6. Whiskey Sour, 7. Idyllic, 8. Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Cake & Chocolate-Ginger Mousse, 9. Mother Earth - Unknown Artist, 10. `169 | High.., 11. Stay away from me weirdo !!, 12. Saying Goodbye
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
Most people know this, but: photos are not mine, of course. Meant for tribute/inspiration/linkage purposes only.
At the "Born in Lewisham" protest on March 16, 2013, organised by the "Save Lewisham Hospital" campaign, the protest outside the hospital was followed by a rally in Ladywell Fields, behind the hospital, with speakers, musicians and stalls. The star turn was local rapper Question (aka Question Musiq), singing the official "Save Lewisham Hospital A&E" song with his friend and colleague Snipez, in which they successfully encouraged the crowd to make the "L' sign in support of Lewisham Hospital, and got everyone singing along.
As the description accompanying the video on YouTube explains, "Question tells the true story of how Lewisham Hospital saved his life at age 13 when his appendix burst. The doctors managed to operate in time but said he was lucky as 20 minutes more and he wouldn't be alive today, If the plans to close Lewisham A&E go ahead the closest hospital will be another 30-40 mins away, which means he wouldn't be here today -- and If the government are successful more lives will be lost."
The campaign was established in October 2012, when Matthew Kershaw, an NHS Special Administrator appointed to deal with the financial problems of a neighbouring trust, the South London Healthcare Trust (based in Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley), recommended that Lewisham Hospital -- which is not part of the SLHT and has no financial problems -- should merge with one of the SLHT's hospitals, the Queen Elizabeth in Woolwich, and should have its A&E Department closed and other frontline services -- including maternity -- severely downgraded. In Lewisham, this would mean tens of thousands of emergencies having to be dealt with elsewhere, as well as 90 percent of Lewisham's mothers having to give birth outside the borough.
The "Born in Lewisham" event on March 16 followed two huge marches, in November and January, and although Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, approved Matthew Kershaw's plans on January 31, judicial reviews have been launched by Lewisham Council and the Save Lewisham Hospital campaign, on the basis that the Special Administrator exceeded his remit when he included Lewisham in his proposals.
For more on Andy Worthington, see: www.andyworthington.co.uk/
For the video, see: www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3vsE8n1A-k
You can also buy the song on iTunes: itunes.apple.com/gb/album/save-lewisham-a-e-single/id5975...
For the Save Lewisham Hospital campaign, see: www.savelewishamhospital.com/
Also see my most recent articles: www.andyworthington.co.uk/2013/02/01/tories-endorse-nhs-p...
and: www.andyworthington.co.uk/2013/02/19/defend-londons-nhs-m...
and: www.andyworthington.co.uk/2013/03/04/save-lewisham-hospit...
For my photos of the march in November, see: www.flickr.com/photos/andyworthington/sets/72157632089076...
And for the march in January, see: www.flickr.com/photos/andyworthington/sets/72157632616078...
and: www.flickr.com/photos/andyworthington/sets/72157632628284...
For the first set of photos from March 16, 2013, see: www.flickr.com/photos/andyworthington/sets/72157633009043...
For my most interesting photos, see: www.flickriver.com/photos/andyworthington/popular-interes...
It's physically impossible to implement John Tory's plan to put heavy rail down Eglinton West without tunnelling or taking away street space. (Photo by Marc Demouy)
For any question or request:
bankvideo@yahoo.com
The Mangyongdae Schoolchildren’s Palace was opened in 1989 as a “comprehensive extracurricular educational center for schoolchildren.” It consists of an eight-story central building and various annex buildings totaling over 1,108,000 sq. ft. / 103,000 sq. m. The annexes house a science block, an art block, a gymnasium, an indoor swimming pool and a 2,000 seat theater. There are 700 rooms for various purposes including music and dance practice rooms, mathematics, chemistry, astronomy, computer science, automotive, machine tool, sports, etc.
Over 12,000 pupils visit the palace each day, cared for by over 500 teachers and several hundred more lecturers and assistants. The shape of the building is that of encircling arms, with a statue of a “Flower Carriage of Happiness” in the center.It is located in Pyongyang.
Question Mark. Aus der Serie „Satzzeichen“ 2014
Rotierende Skulptur aus Lianen Findling, fluoriszierendes Klebeband, schwarze Totenkopf Büchse und Schwarz Licht
Skulptur, Objekt, Video, Installation, Fotografie
Markus Wintersberger 2014
I am not sure which Barbie she is and her head is very loose. Should I rebody her or what? Can someone identify the steffie head, I might rebody her on a fashionista body.
Doris Leuthard, Federal Councillor, Federal Department of Environment and Transports, Switzerland answers journalists' questions after the Follow-up Zurich Process - Meeting of the Ministers of the Alpine Region during the 2012 Summit on “Seamless Transport: Making Connections” of the International Transport Forum at the OECD in Leipzig, Germany on 02 May 2012.
August 22, 2012, Marblemount, Washington - NCNP rangers field questions from visitors to the Wilderness Information Center at the Marblemount Ranger Station. The station provides all manner of information about hikes and camping within the park.
NPS/©David Snyder
From the autumn 2016 trip to Vietnam:
Upon waking up and checking out around 8:00 in the morning, we found a bright, sunny day; great for a road trip down to Hoi An. After a quick breakfast (also known as me watching Junebug drink coffee), we went back to the store where we’d met Mr. Trung on Monday night.
Mr. Trung & Mr. Trong were there, as they said they would be, and we were off for a quick stop at the Danang Cathedral a few blocks away. This particular cathedral, also called Con Ga Church (Rooster Church) by the locals is slightly peculiar. For starters, it’s a lovely pastel pink. Aside from that, it’s a rather nice looking cathedral, though we couldn’t go inside; it wasn’t open that early in the morning, I suppose. (Some of the windows were open, though, and it was dark inside, so we didn’t miss much.)
The other aspect of this church – that lends to its local name – is the weathercock on top of the steeple. This isn’t an old church (as far as churches go). It was buily for Danang’s French residents in 1923 and today serves a Catholic community of over 4000. (Thanks to LP for this information…)
After 5-10 minutes at the church, we headed off to the Museum of Cham Sculpture, which is a place I was quite interested in seeing. This museum was founded in 1915 and has the largest collection of Cham artefacts in the world. (Before you allow that to excite you, I doubt there are more than a handful of museums in the world that even have Cham art.)
A quick note about the Cham. This is an ancient empire that rivaled the neighboring Khmer empire at Angkor. The Champa empire was nowhere near as large in scope or size as the Khmer empire, though it persevered. The Chams controlled the region on the Vietnamese coast from central to southern Vietnam between the 2nd and the 19th century (before finally being assimilated into Vietnam).
The art from this museum comes from sites all over the country including Phu Quoc and My Son. I was quite impressed by the collection and spent about an hour slowly walking around. It’s not a huge museum, but what they have is excellent.
From the museum, we finally headed off from Danang and made our way south towards Hoi An. Thanks to the advice of Mr. Trung, we stopped at Marble Mountain on the way to Hoi An. (I kept thinking it sounds like an amusement park…) Instead, I’ll give an excerpt from LP Vietnam about the Marble Mountains as it’s fairly succinct and says most of what you need to know:
“Just off the China Beach coastal road, the Marble Mountains (Ngu Hanh Son) consist of five craggy marble outcrops topped with pagodas. Each mountain is named for the natural element it’s said to represent: Thuy Son (Water), Moc Son (Wood), Hoa Son (Fire), Kim Son (Metal or Gold) and Tho Son (Earth). The villages that have sprung up at the base of the mountains specialize in marble sculpture, though they now astutely use marble from China rather than hacking away at the mountains that bring the visitors (and buyers) in.”
When you say you’re going to the Marble Mountains, what you really mean to say is that you’re going to Thuy Son. For about $2-3, you take an elevator up to the top of the mountain. This is the “crowded” mountain in terms of sites and, therefore, people, though it didn’t feel crowded at all – especially by Chinese standards that I’m accustomed to.
The first thing you see upon exiting the elevator at the top of the mountain is a pavilion that affords a nice view of the sea. The Sea Watch Tower & Xa Loi Pagoda are a good introduction to this mountain.
After that, you come to the first temple & cave. The Linh Ung Pagoda is directly in front of the Tang Chon Cave. From there, it’s a short, and not too strenuous, walk upstairs towards the peak. En route, you pass Van Thong Cave (which we skipped), exiting a “gorge” through a masonry gate.
At this point, you come to an area that can go off in quite a few directions. Immediately to the right of the gate is a short walk up to Linh Nham Cave (which we skipped); a relaxation area with another walk off that to the peak (skipped…); a path to Tam Thai Pagoda, Tam Ton Pagoda, and Tu Tom Pagoda (visited all). In addition, the River Watch Tower is off in this direction with its views of the other 4 Marble Mountains and Danang in the distance.
After visiting the pagodas, we returned to the main junction and visited the last two caves (past the relaxation area). Hoa Nghiem Cave guards the entrance to Huyen Khong Cave, which is a somewhat large cavern with a natural oculus.
From there, we walked down to the village at the base, and I bought a little marble Buddha. We talked with Mr. Trong for a few minutes about getting from Hoi An to Hue on Thursday. With very little negotiation, we paid 1.35 million VND/person (~$60). For a point of comparison, the domestic flights in Vietnam all seem to be less than $50, so this was a bit pricy, but also worth it.
With “negotiating” done, we were off again to Hoi An, about 20 kilometers off to the south. The Hoang Trinh Hotel was – by far – the best customer service I’ve had at a hotel on this trip (and possibly anywhere). It felt like we were being welcomed on Fantasy Island. The only thing missing was Tattoo shouting, “De plane! De plane!”
Madam An’s hotel is a wonderful experience. Buffet breakfast; comfortable, trendy rooms; tour arrangements and other advice; and the friendliest demeanor you could wish for. They even gave me a free tie when we checked out. The cost for this? About $25/night.
The Hoang Trinh hotel is right across the street from the Confucian Temple (which was incredibly unappealing to me) and, more importantly, close to the Old Town, which is the reason most people come to Hoi An.
Every full moon, Hoi An has a lantern festival which is supposed to be quite lovely, though we weren’t here during a full moon. That, however, didn’t keep me from enjoying myself. The Old Town is just a section of town near the river where all the buildings appear as they did centuries ago. Inside the buildings now, though, are restaurants (Vietnamese & western), bars, souvenir shops, and the like.
The Old Town is photogenic during day or night, but I liked it best at dusk. On Tuesday, after a quick rest at the hotel, we went to the Old Town in the early afternoon after grabbing some banh mi on the street.
Admission to the Old Town is 120,000 VND (~$5-6 US) and covers a full week. We spent the afternoon watching the sun go by, wandering around shops, and drinking beer (or coffee) on the riverside opposite Old Town. As the sun got lower, we wandered around the Old Town again, eventually eating a less-than-satisfying pizza (thank God I wasn’t too hungry) at one of the restaurants next to the river before passing by the Japanese Bridge on the way back to the hotel.
When we got back to the hotel, we had the fellow at the front desk (whose English wasn’t nearly as fluent as Jean, the day girl, but he was just as helpful) arrange a day trip on Wednesday to My Son, which is “Vietnam’s version of Angkor Wat.” More on that in the next installation.
As always, thanks for dropping by and viewing these pictures. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments and I’ll answer as I have time.