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This masterpiece of Gothic architecture is one of the finest in England – it’s certainly my favourite of those that I’ve visited. Construction began in 1175 on the site of an earlier cathedral and an even earlier church dating from 705AD. The main part of the cathedral was finished in 1306 although additions continued until the 15th century. In the 14th century, the central pillars were found to be sinking under the weight of the main tower which had been damaged by an earthquake in the previous century. Scissor arches were inserted to brace and stabilise these pillars supporting the tower. These elegant arches form a very unusual, but very beautiful, centre to the cathedral.
This is a very rare PFM Crown model in HO scale. This represents one of only twenty five models made in the first run (1958). Made under the United Models name plate, the premier Japanese maker, Toby Models, made these semi-hand made models to extreme precision and high quality. For it's time, this was one of the top of the line models. Stamped #10 on the left side of the rear frame rail, this model has many features that the subsequent runs did not have (or, where in various stages of these features). Highly detailed cab interior for one. Other details which point to the run year is the hand built train control box mounted on the boiler, the absence of window sashes (all of the following runs had window sashes), a single generator (although two later runs had a single generator, this combination of details gives it away as the 1958 model.
Scale: HO
Category: Steam
Subcategory:
Road: Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q)
Whyte: 4-8-4
Description: O-5 NORTHERN
Importer: Pacific Fast Mail (PFM)
Catalog: CROWN
MANUFACTURE
Builder: Toby
Year(s): 1958
Qty Made: 25
NOTES: UNPAINTED - SERIAL # ON LEFT REAR OF FRAME - GREEN BOX - NO WINDOW SASHES IN CAB - SINGLE GENERATOR - BUILT-UP ATC BOX ON TOP OF BOILER - UNITED PLATE ON RETAINER PLATE
BLU T59 arrives at Enterprise just east of Sylva NC on the former Southern Railway Murphy Branch. This train has just descended Balsam Mountain Grade, which according to track charts peaks at 4.3%. Before going down the mountain they have to set retainers at Balsam, similar to what SOU & NS Crews had to do before going down the nearby Saluda Grade.
I guess all babies need naps & it was hot. It was funny to see this baby suddenly sit down and wiggle, wiggle, wiggle until it had made a little hollow nest for itself in the cool loose dirt and bird feeder debris. It would close one eye at a time, resting and cooling off, while keeping watch with the other eye. Good survival skills.
Juvenile American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com
The walls were made of bamboo and mud, so the rooves and straw on the sides are needed to protect them from the elements. One disadvantage of the watering system on the streets to melt the snow: you have to shovel heavy slush instead of light snow.
Canadian Pacific's train 281, muscles out of Reeseville after checking their train for a set retainer just east of town.
Number 7 for 115 Pictures in 2015 : The Number Seven
Most of these newish huts at Alum Chine don't have a view of the beach.
They have what estate agents describe as 'sea glimpses'.
My beachhut has a view of the sea much impaired this season by the placing of two industrial bin retainers right opposite.
The council moved the bins but the metal remains,
I don't really want to sit there any more, so I shall remind the powers that be that they promised to remove it !
Might delete later...
I have to go to bed now. I'm exhausted and tired of seeing men in too-tight outfits flaunting their armpit hair (haha olympics).
Ummm I'm going to Lillie's to stay for a few days and then going camping depending on the condition of Wendy's ankle (just found out it's been broken since our beach trip...OUCH poor Wendy), but I'll be back for postivers sometime next week and Lillie and I will have shoots if we go camping at TIMOTHY LAKE. Whoop whoop! So bye bye until soon, loves.
I HATE CLEAR RETAINERS.
Explored #217.
"Your everlasting summer you can see it fading fast
So you grab a piece of something that you think is gonna last"
By Steely Dan, (from 1972),
The glass retainer/fastener at bottom right of the image, is largely responsible for this image, i thought it resembled a Fishing reel, and that set a thought chain in motion. ;-))
Bludd is a hitman and bounty hunter that Cobra Commander had on retainer to solve problems he couldn't solve on his own.
Some places encourage quiet contemplation. The people in this photo scarcely moved during the six second exposure.
There are plans afoot to demolish this and replace it all with an exclusive five star hi-rise hotel. There are rumours afoot some on the Town Council are being paid a retainer by a rival seaside town to the east.
It was in the Pavilion shown here that Archie Christie first proposed to the young Agatha Miller. Two years later he was a Royal Flying Corps pilot home on a short leave and they married on Christmas eve 1914. Archie returned to France on Boxing Day.
The naval vessels HMS ARK ROYAL , RFA RETAINER and HMS SALISBURY in company in the Far East, in the Singapore region in August 1963.
HMS ARK ROYAL had arrived at Singapore on the 11 July 1963 in preparation for the FOTEX 63 (Flag Officers Tactical Exercise) exercise. She left Singapore for the exercise on 25 July, returning on the 6 August. She also conducted further exercises off Singapore in August.( Information from www.axfordsabode.org.uk/pdf-docs/arkroy17.pdf)
HMS ARK ROYAL was on her Forth Commission (1962-64) and one note worthy item was that in January 1963 she conducted the first landing on of the Hawker P1127 (Sea Harrier trial aircraft) on her flight deck. This occurred in the Lyme Bay area while Ark Royal was working up prior to her trip to the Far East.
Dropping downgrade into Two Harbors, Minnesota a trainload of BFT - blast furnace trim in older 1950 vintage cars smokes it up with retainers set down the 2.9% grade in the last beams of sunlight of the day 10-24-17.
Church of St. Mary & St. Gregory, Frithelstock Devon stands next to the ruins of the earlier 13c Augustinian priory of St Gregory founded c1220 for the repose of his soul by Sir Roger de Beauchamp (or Sir Robert de Bello Campo ) and endowed for a small community of Augustinian Canons. In c 1229 he donated a large part of it to Hartland Abbey in North Devon (These are the only substantial remains of a monastic house in Devon) Bishop Walter de Stapledon who was born at Annery, the great house near Monkleigh, increased the endowments and is considered a co-founder with Sir Robert.
The church building that followed was probably built for the families of the Priory retainers and the inhabitants of the village which grew up nearby.
The village name derives from the Anglo-Saxon Frithulac's Stocc.
The church was enlarged in the 15c and restored c1870.
Built of coursed rubble, it comprises a chancel, nave, west tower south aisle , south chapel / vestry and south porch.
The north wall survives from the 13c lit with early 14c windows
The chancel was rebuilt in the early 14c when the south aisle was added.
The four stage tower with studded door dated 1676 & topped with 18c pinnacles, was rebuilt in 15c . It has 6 medieval bells , one dedicated to the Archangels Michael and Gabriel.
The porch followed in the late 15c - it has a reset 12c stoup and 1741 sundial with the message "Umbra Sumus" - " we are shadows".- www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/T9jfV1tU68 Its 18c panelled door has a 14c sanctuary knocker.
The 1086 Domesday Survey lists Frelelestoch as one of the 79 Devonshire holdings of Robert, Count of Mortain half-brother of William the Conqueror. His tenant was Robert FitzIvo.
At the 16c dissolution of the monasteries, the prior relinquished possession of the priory and its demesne lands on 27 August 1536. and these passed through the hands of John Wynslade, Sir George Carew of Mohuns Ottery, and Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle being later owned by Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford, (son of the 1st prime minister), whose wife was Margaret Rolle, 15th Baroness Clinton 1781, daughter and sole heiress of Samuel Rolle 1719 of nearby Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe. The lands later descended to Margaret Rolle's heirs, the Barons Clinton.
Henry Stevens 1748 of the wealthy and influential family of Little Torrington, lived at Smythacott in the parish. He married Christiana Maria Rolle 1780 a sister of Henry Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle.1759 of Stevenstone. Their inscribed ledger stone survives in the floor of the south aisle
The 16c plank and studded priest' s door in the south wall is set in a chamfered pointed arch
The interior 15c waggon roofs have moulded ribs and floral-carved bosses. three early 14c bays to the west, between the nave and south aisle, have crocketed canopies over image niches, www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/X2223120dp and foliate-carved capitals including Green Man and vine trail. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/Z69Ci0Es30
The plasterwork Royal Arms of Charles ll on the north nave wall, framed by Corinthian columns are by John Abbot of Culleigh and dated 1677 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/A10wDt5r9Q
The late 15c / early 16c bench ends and fronts in choir and south east chapel; are carved with tracery patterns, foliate ribs, heraldry, which include the arms of Hartland Abbey (owner of the Priory) and crowned double-rose of Henry VII, Instruments of the Passion, crown of thorns figures including man with liripipe; There is also the figure of a hart which recalls our connection with Hartland Abbey and the two heads of ecclesiastics facing each other with their tongues out. This is said to be an allusion to a dispute between the Bishop of Exeter and the Prior of Frithelstock in the Middle Ages. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/vde86J2L9x
The late 17c Jacobean pulpit may have been brought here from another church. - it has reeded pilasters framing blind arches with egg and dart carving to architraves, reset on late 19c base. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/2rs1VDYJvN
The 13c quatrefoil-shaped font with cabled herringbone decoration to stem; reset on late 19c base. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/42K74LcDZF
The late 18c west screen to the tower has 3 pointed-arched doorways and panelled doors. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/16C1T2Q4G9
2025 UPDATE - FUNDRAISING IS ONGOING FOR REPAIRS TO THE TOWER (ABOUT £300,.000 IS NEEDED)
Roger A Smith CCL www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5350535
This is a very rare PFM Crown model in HO scale. This represents one of only twenty five models made in the first run (1958). Made under the United Models name plate, the premier Japanese maker, Toby Models, made these semi-hand made models to extreme precision and high quality. For it's time, this was one of the top of the line models. Stamped #10 on the left side of the rear frame rail, this model has many features that the subsequent runs did not have (or, where in various stages of these features). Highly detailed cab interior for one. Other details which point to the run year is the hand built train control box mounted on the boiler, the absence of window sashes (all of the following runs had window sashes), a single generator (although two later runs had a single generator, this combination of details gives it away as the 1958 model.
Scale: HO
Category: Steam
Subcategory:
Road: Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q)
Whyte: 4-8-4
Description: O-5 NORTHERN
Importer: Pacific Fast Mail (PFM)
Catalog: CROWN
MANUFACTURE
Builder: Toby
Year(s): 1958
Qty Made: 25
NOTES: UNPAINTED - SERIAL # ON LEFT REAR OF FRAME - GREEN BOX - NO WINDOW SASHES IN CAB - SINGLE GENERATOR - BUILT-UP ATC BOX ON TOP OF BOILER - UNITED PLATE ON RETAINER PLATE
Time to photograph this ancient beech tree for my year-long challenge. The buds are not much more advanced than this time last month. There has been a lot of rain lately and more came this evening.
_____________________________________________________________________________
~ The Tunnel ~
Zenkai, the son of a samurai, journeyed to Edo and there became the retainer of a high official. He fell in love with the official’s wife and was discovered. In self-defense, he slew the official. Then he ran away with the wife.
Both of them later became thieves. But the woman was so greedy that Zenkai grew disgusted. Finally, leaving her, he journeyed far away to the province of Buzen, where he became a wandering mendicant.
To atone for his past, Zenkai resolved to accomplish some good deed in his lifetime. Knowing of a dangerous road over a cliff that had caused the death and injury of many persons, he resolved to cut a tunnel through the mountain there.
Begging food in the daytime, Zenkai worked at night digging his tunnel. When thirty years had gone by, the tunnel was 2,280 feet long, 20 feet high, and 30 feet wide.
Two years before the work was completed, the son of the official he had slain, who was a skillful swordsman, found Zenkai out and came to kill him in revenge.
“I will give you my life willingly,” said Zenkai. “Only let me finish this work. On the day it is completed, then you may kill me.”
So the son awaited the day. Several months passed and Zenkai kept on digging. The son grew tired of doing nothing and began to help with the digging. After he had helped for more than a year, he came to admire Zenkai’s strong will and character.
At last the tunnel was completed and the people could use it and travel in safety.
“Now cut off my head,” said Zenkai. “My work is done.”
“How can I cut off my own teacher’s head?” asked the younger man with tears in his eyes.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you, you make me stronger and stronger .....
_____________________________________________________________________________
Source: www.101zenstories.com/
Ivy Retainer set Available at the Cosmopolitan Event in Second Life
and at my store at Overdrive Island when the event ends
Photo Copyright 2012, dynamo.photography.
All rights reserved, no use without license
++++ FROM WIKIPEDIA ++++
Jiufen, also spelled Jioufen or Chiufen (Chinese: 九份; pinyin: Jiǔfèn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Káu-hūn; literally: "nine portions"), is a mountain area in Ruifang
History
During the first years of the Qing Dynasty, the isolated village housed nine families, thus the village would request "nine portions" every time shipments arrived from town. Later Kau-hun (meaning "nine portions" in Hokkien) would become the name of the village.
Despite the earliest reference to the production of gold in the island dating to 1430,[1] and multiple rediscoveries by early inhabitants, visiting Japanese, Dutch occupiers, and Koxinga's retainers, awareness of the wealth of Taiwan's gold districts did not develop until the late Qing era. In 1890, workmen discovered flakes of gold while constructing the new Taipeh-Kelung railway,[2] and in 1893 a rich placer district was discovered in the hills of Kau-hun that produced several kilograms[a] of gold a day. In the next year, the promise became greater than ever after a Chinese "expert" with experience gained in California found gold-bearing quartz in the said hills.
The resulting gold rush hastened the village's development into a town, and reached its peak during the Japanese era. In The Island of Formosa, Past and Present (1903), American diplomat James W. Davidson wrote, "Kyu-fun [Kau-hun] is as odd looking a settlement as one could find. [...] never before has the writer seen so many houses in such a small space. Some appear to be partially telescoped in adjoining buildings, other standing above as though unable to force their way to the group, and each structure seems to be making a silent appeal to its neighbor to move over."[4] Water ran "in many small streams, directed so as to provide each building with a little rivulet, passing sometimes by the doorway or even over the floor of the building." The claim was owned by the Fujita Company, the first Japanese company to mine quartz in Taiwan and which occasionally made an income of a few thousand yen per month from the Kau-hun gold operations.
Many present features of Jiufen reflect the era under Japanese colonization, with many Japanese inns surviving to this day. During World War II, a POW camp named Kinkaseki was set up in the village, holding Allied soldiers captured in Singapore (including many British) who worked in the nearby gold mines. Gold mining activities declined after World War II, and the mine was shut off in 1971. Jiufen quickly went into decline, and for a while the town was mostly forgotten.
In 1989, Hou Hsiao-hsien's A City of Sadness, the first film to touch on the February 28 Incident, then a taboo subject in Taiwan, became a big hit in the theatres. As a result, Jiufen, where the film was set, revived due to the film's popularity. The nostalgic scenery of Jiufen as seen in the film, as well as appearances in other media, charmed many people into visiting Jiufen. For the beginning of the 1990s, Jiufen experienced a tourist boom that has shaped the town as a tourist attraction. Soon retro-Chinese style cafés, tea houses, and souvenir stores bearing the name "City of Sadness" were built.
Jiufen also became popular in 2001 due to its resemblance to the downtown in the anime movie Spirited Away. Jiufen soon attracted Japanese tourists. Many Japanese travel magazines and guide books about Taiwan introduced Jiufen. It became a must visit place among Japanese tourists. However, Miyazaki himself denied that Jiufen was the model city of the movie.[5] [6]
At present, Jiufen is a renowned tourist attraction representative of Taiwan. It draws many tourists from Taipei during the weekends.
Transportation
As Jiufen is a mountain town, the roads that lead there are mostly steep, curving, narrow, and possibly dangerous.
The town is served by buses that run from Keelung, Taipei, etc.
The nearest train station is Rueifang Station of the TRA Yilan Line, which is 15 minutes away by bus.
Taiwan /ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ (About this sound listen)), officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a state in East Asia. Its neighbors include the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the west, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taiwan is the most populous state and largest economy that is not a member of the United Nations.
The island of Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa, was inhabited by aborigines before the 17th century, when Dutch and Spanish colonies opened the island to mass Han immigration. After a brief rule by the Kingdom of Tungning, the island was annexed by the Qing dynasty, the last dynasty of China. The Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895 after the Sino-Japanese War. While Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the Republic of China (ROC) was established on the mainland in 1912 after the fall of the Qing dynasty. Following the Japanese surrender to the Allies in 1945, the ROC took control of Taiwan. However, the resumption of the Chinese Civil War led to the ROC's loss of the mainland to the Communists, and the flight of the ROC government to Taiwan in 1949. Although the ROC continued to claim to be the legitimate government of China, its effective jurisdiction has, since the loss of Hainan in 1950, been limited to Taiwan and its surrounding islands, with the main island making up 99% of its de facto territory. As a founding member of the United Nations, the ROC continued to represent China at the United Nations until 1971, when the PRC assumed China's seat, causing the ROC to lose its UN membership.
In the early 1960s, Taiwan entered a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization, creating a stable industrial economy. In the 1980s and early 1990s, it changed from a one-party military dictatorship dominated by the Kuomintang to a multi-party democracy with a semi-presidential system. Taiwan is the 22nd-largest economy in the world, and its high-tech industry plays a key role in the global economy. It is ranked highly in terms of freedom of the press, healthcare,[16] public education, economic freedom, and human development.[d][14][17] The country benefits from a highly skilled workforce and is among the most highly educated countries in the world with one of the highest percentages of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree.[18][19]
The PRC has consistently claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and asserted the ROC is no longer in legitimate existence. Under its One-China Policy the PRC refuses diplomatic relations with any country that recognizes the ROC. Today, 20 countries maintain official ties with the ROC but many other states maintain unofficial ties through representative offices and institutions that function as de facto embassies and consulates. Although Taiwan is fully self-governing, most international organizations in which the PRC participates either refuse to grant membership to Taiwan or allow it to participate only as a non-state actor. Internally, the major division in politics is between the aspirations of eventual Chinese unification or Taiwanese independence, though both sides have moderated their positions to broaden their appeal. The PRC has threatened the use of military force in response to any formal declaration of independence by Taiwan or if PRC leaders decide that peaceful unification is no longer possible.[20]
Etymology
See also: Chinese Taipei, Formosa, and Names of China
Taiwan
Taiwan (Chinese characters).svg
(top) "Taiwan" in Traditional Chinese characters and Kyūjitai Japanese Kanji. (bottom) "Taiwan" in Simplified Chinese characters and Japanese Kanji.
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 臺灣 or 台灣
Simplified Chinese 台湾
[show]Transcriptions
Japanese name
Kanji 台湾
Kana たいわん
Kyūjitai 臺灣
[show]Transcriptions
Republic of China
ROC (Chinese characters).svg
"Republic of China" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese 中華民國
Simplified Chinese 中华民国
Postal Chunghwa Minkuo
[show]Transcriptions
China
Traditional Chinese 中國
Simplified Chinese 中国
Literal meaning Middle or Central State[21]
[show]Transcriptions
There are various names for the island of Taiwan in use today, derived from explorers or rulers by each particular period. The former name Formosa (福爾摩沙) dates from 1542,[verification needed] when Portuguese sailors sighted the main island of Taiwan and named it Ilha Formosa, which means "beautiful island".[22] The name "Formosa" eventually "replaced all others in European literature"[23] and was in common use in English in the early 20th century.[24]
In the early 17th century, the Dutch East India Company established a commercial post at Fort Zeelandia (modern-day Anping, Tainan) on a coastal sandbar called "Tayouan",[25] after their ethnonym for a nearby Taiwanese aboriginal tribe, written by the Dutch and Portuguese variously as Taiouwang, Tayowan, Teijoan, etc.[26] This name was also adopted into the Chinese vernacular (in particular, Hokkien, as Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tāi-oân/Tâi-oân) as the name of the sandbar and nearby area (Tainan). The modern word "Taiwan" is derived from this usage, which is seen in various forms (大員, 大圓, 大灣, 臺員, 臺圓 and 臺窩灣) in Chinese historical records. The area of modern-day Tainan was the first permanent settlement by Western colonists and Chinese immigrants, grew to be the most important trading centre, and served as the capital of the island until 1887. Use of the current Chinese name (臺灣) was formalized as early as 1684 with the establishment of Taiwan Prefecture. Through its rapid development, the entire Formosan mainland eventually became known as "Taiwan".[27][28][29][30]
In his Daoyi Zhilüe (1349), Wang Dayuan used "Liuqiu" as a name for the island of Taiwan, or the part of it near to Penghu.[31] Elsewhere, the name was used for the Ryukyu Islands in general or Okinawa, the largest of them; indeed the name Ryūkyū is the Japanese form of Liúqiú. The name also appears in the Book of Sui (636) and other early works, but scholars cannot agree on whether these references are to the Ryukyus, Taiwan or even Luzon.[32]
The official name of the state is the "Republic of China"; it has also been known under various names throughout its existence. Shortly after the ROC's establishment in 1912, while it was still located on the Chinese mainland, the government used the short form "China" Zhōngguó (中國), to refer to itself, which derives from zhōng ("central" or "middle") and guó ("state, nation-state"), [e] A term which also developed under the Zhou Dynasty in reference to its royal demesne[f] and the name was then applied to the area around Luoyi (present-day Luoyang) during the Eastern Zhou and then to China's Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qingera .[34] During the 1950s and 1960s, after the government had fled to Taiwan due to losing the Chinese Civil War, it was commonly referred to as "Nationalist China" (or "Free China") to differentiate it from "Communist China" (or "Red China").[36] It was a member of the United Nations representing "China" until 1971, when it lost its seat to the People's Republic of China. Over subsequent decades, the Republic of China has become commonly known as "Taiwan", after the island that comprises 99% of the territory under its control. In some contexts, especially official ones from the ROC government, the name is written as "Republic of China (Taiwan)", "Republic of China/Taiwan", or sometimes "Taiwan (ROC)."[37] The Republic of China participates in most international forums and organizations under the name "Chinese Taipei" due to diplomatic pressure from the People's Republic of China. For instance, it is the name under which it has competed at the Olympic Games since 1984, and its name as an observer at the World Health Organization.[38]
History
Main articles: History of Taiwan and History of the Republic of China
See the History of China article for historical information in the Chinese Mainland before 1949.
Prehistoric Taiwan
Main article: Prehistory of Taiwan
A young Tsou man
Taiwan was joined to the mainland in the Late Pleistocene, until sea levels rose about 10,000 years ago. Fragmentary human remains dated 20,000 to 30,000 years ago have been found on the island, as well as later artefacts of a Paleolithic culture.[39][40][41]
Around 6,000 years ago, Taiwan was settled by farmers, most likely from mainland China.[42] They are believed to be the ancestors of today's Taiwanese aborigines, whose languages belong to the Austronesian language family, but show much greater diversity than the rest of the family, which spans a huge area from Maritime Southeast Asia west to Madagascar and east as far as New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island. This has led linguists to propose Taiwan as the urheimat of the family, from which seafaring peoples dispersed across Southeast Asia and the Pacific and Indian Oceans.[43][44]
Han Chinese fishermen began settling in the Penghu islands in the 13th century.[45] Hostile tribes, and a lack of valuable trade products, meant that few outsiders visited the main island until the 16th century.[45] By the 1700's visits to the coast by fishermen from Fujian, as well as Chinese and Japanese pirates, became more frequent.[45]
Opening in the 17th century
The Dutch East India Company attempted to establish a trading outpost on the Penghu Islands (Pescadores) in 1622, but were militarily defeated and driven off by the Ming authorities.[46]
In 1624, the company established a stronghold called Fort Zeelandia on the coastal islet of Tayouan, which is now part of the main island at Anping, Tainan.[30] David Wright, a Scottish agent of the company who lived on the island in the 1650s, described the lowland areas of the island as being divided among 11 chiefdoms ranging in size from two settlements to 72. Some of these fell under Dutch control, while others remained independent.[30][47] The Company began to import labourers from Fujian and Penghu (Pescadores), many of whom settled.[46]
In 1626, the Spanish Empire landed on and occupied northern Taiwan, at the ports of Keelung and Tamsui, as a base to extend their trading. This colonial period lasted 16 years until 1642, when the last Spanish fortress fell to Dutch forces.
Following the fall of the Ming dynasty, Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong), a self-styled Ming loyalist, arrived on the island and captured Fort Zeelandia in 1662, expelling the Dutch Empire and military from the island. Koxinga established the Kingdom of Tungning (1662–1683), with his capital at Tainan. He and his heirs, Zheng Jing, who ruled from 1662 to 1682, and Zheng Keshuang, who ruled less than a year, continued to launch raids on the southeast coast of mainland China well into the Qing dynasty era.[46]
Qing rule
In 1683, following the defeat of Koxinga's grandson by an armada led by Admiral Shi Lang of southern Fujian, the Qing dynasty formally annexed Taiwan, placing it under the jurisdiction of Fujian province. The Qing imperial government tried to reduce piracy and vagrancy in the area, issuing a series of edicts to manage immigration and respect aboriginal land rights. Immigrants mostly from southern Fujian continued to enter Taiwan. The border between taxpaying lands and "savage" lands shifted eastward, with some aborigines becoming sinicized while others retreated into the mountains. During this time, there were a number of conflicts between groups of Han Chinese from different regions of southern Fujian, particularly between those from Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, and between southern Fujian Chinese and aborigines.
Northern Taiwan and the Penghu Islands were the scene of subsidiary campaigns in the Sino-French War (August 1884 to April 1885). The French occupied Keelung on 1 October 1884, but were repulsed from Tamsui a few days later. The French won some tactical victories but were unable to exploit them, and the Keelung Campaign ended in stalemate. The Pescadores Campaign, beginning on 31 March 1885, was a French victory, but had no long-term consequences. The French evacuated both Keelung and the Penghu archipelago after the end of the war.
In 1887, the Qing upgraded the island's administration from Taiwan Prefecture of Fujian to Fujian-Taiwan-Province (福建臺灣省), the twentieth in the empire, with its capital at Taipei. This was accompanied by a modernization drive that included building China's first railroad.[48]
Japanese rule
Main articles: Taiwan under Japanese rule and Republic of Formosa
Japanese colonial soldiers march Taiwanese captured after the Tapani Incident from the Tainan jail to court, 1915.
As the Qing dynasty was defeated in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), Taiwan, along with Penghu and Liaodong Peninsula, were ceded in full sovereignty to the Empire of Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Inhabitants on Taiwan and Penghu wishing to remain Qing subjects were given a two-year grace period to sell their property and move to mainland China. Very few Taiwanese saw this as feasible.[49] On 25 May 1895, a group of pro-Qing high officials proclaimed the Republic of Formosa to resist impending Japanese rule. Japanese forces entered the capital at Tainan and quelled this resistance on 21 October 1895.[50] Guerrilla fighting continued periodically until about 1902 and ultimately took the lives of 14,000 Taiwanese, or 0.5% of the population.[51] Several subsequent rebellions against the Japanese (the Beipu uprising of 1907, the Tapani incident of 1915, and the Musha incident of 1930) were all unsuccessful but demonstrated opposition to Japanese colonial rule.
Japanese colonial rule was instrumental in the industrialization of the island, extending the railroads and other transportation networks, building an extensive sanitation system, and establishing a formal education system.[52] Japanese rule ended the practice of headhunting.[53] During this period the human and natural resources of Taiwan were used to aid the development of Japan and the production of cash crops such as rice and sugar greatly increased. By 1939, Taiwan was the seventh greatest sugar producer in the world.[54] Still, the Taiwanese and aborigines were classified as second- and third-class citizens. After suppressing Chinese guerrillas in the first decade of their rule, Japanese authorities engaged in a series of bloody campaigns against the mountain aboriginals, culminating in the Musha Incident of 1930.[55] Intellectuals and laborers who participated in left-wing movements within Taiwan were also arrested and massacred (e.g. Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水) and Masanosuke Watanabe (渡辺政之輔)).[56]
Around 1935, the Japanese began an island-wide assimilation project to bind the island more firmly to the Japanese Empire and people were taught to see themselves as Japanese under the Kominka Movement, during which time Taiwanese culture and religion were outlawed and the citizens were encouraged to adopt Japanese surnames.[57] The "South Strike Group" was based at the Taihoku Imperial University in Taipei. During World War II, tens of thousands of Taiwanese served in the Japanese military.[58] For example, former ROC President Lee Teng-hui's elder brother served in the Japanese navy and was killed in action in the Philippines in February 1945. The Imperial Japanese Navy operated heavily out of Taiwanese ports. In October 1944, the Formosa Air Battle was fought between American carriers and Japanese forces based in Taiwan. Important Japanese military bases and industrial centres throughout Taiwan, like Kaohsiung, were targets of heavy American bombings.[59] Also during this time, over 2,000 women were forced into sexual slavery for Imperial Japanese troops, now euphemistically called "comfort women."[60]
In 1938, there were 309,000 Japanese settlers in Taiwan.[61] After World War II, most of the Japanese were expelled and sent to Japan.[62]
Republic of China
On 25 October 1945, the US Navy ferried ROC troops to Taiwan in order to accept the formal surrender of Japanese military forces in Taipei on behalf of the Allied Powers, as part of General Order No. 1 for temporary military occupation. General Rikichi Andō, governor-general of Taiwan and commander-in-chief of all Japanese forces on the island, signed the receipt and handed it over to General Chen Yi of the ROC military to complete the official turnover. Chen Yi proclaimed that day to be "Taiwan Retrocession Day", but the Allies considered Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to be under military occupation and still under Japanese sovereignty until 1952, when the Treaty of San Francisco took effect.[63][64] Although the 1943 Cairo Declaration had envisaged returning these territories to China, in the Treaty of San Francisco and Treaty of Taipei Japan has renounced all claim to them without specifying to what country they were to be surrendered. This introduced the problem of the legal status of Taiwan.
The ROC administration of Taiwan under Chen Yi was strained by increasing tensions between Taiwanese-born people and newly arrived mainlanders, which were compounded by economic woes, such as hyperinflation. Furthermore, cultural and linguistic conflicts between the two groups quickly led to the loss of popular support for the new government, while the mass movement led by the working committee of the Communist Party also aimed to bring down the Kuomintang government.[65][66] The shooting of a civilian on 28 February 1947 triggered island-wide unrest, which was suppressed with military force in what is now called the February 28 Incident. Mainstream estimates of the number killed range from 18,000 to 30,000. Those killed were mainly members of the Taiwanese elite.[67][68]
The Nationalists' retreat to Taipei: after the Nationalists lost Nanjing (Nanking) they next moved to Guangzhou (Canton), then to Chongqing (Chungking), Chengdu (Chengtu) and Xichang (Sichang) before arriving in Taipei.
After the end of World War II, the Chinese Civil War resumed between the Chinese Nationalists (Kuomintang), led by Chiang Kai-shek, and the Communist Party of China, led by Mao Zedong. Throughout the months of 1949, a series of Chinese Communist offensives led to the capture of its capital Nanjing on 23 April and the subsequent defeat of the Nationalist army on the mainland, and the Communists founded the People's Republic of China on 1 October.[69]
On 7 December 1949, after the loss of four capitals, Chiang evacuated his Nationalist government to Taiwan and made Taipei the temporary capital of the ROC (also called the "wartime capital" by Chiang Kai-shek).[70] Some 2 million people, consisting mainly of soldiers, members of the ruling Kuomintang and intellectual and business elites, were evacuated from mainland China to Taiwan at that time, adding to the earlier population of approximately six million. In addition, the ROC government took to Taipei many national treasures and much of China's gold reserves and foreign currency reserves.[71][72][73]
After losing most of the mainland, the Kuomintang held remaining control of Tibet, the portions of Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Yunnan provinces along with the Hainan Island until 1951 before the Communists subsequently captured both territories. From this point onwards, the Kuomintang's territory was reduced to Taiwan, Penghu, the portions of the Fujian province (Kinmen and Matsu Islands), and two major islands of Dongsha Islands and Nansha Islands. The Kuomintang continued to claim sovereignty over all "China", which it defined to include mainland China, Taiwan, Outer Mongolia and other areas. On mainland China, the victorious Communists claimed they ruled the sole and only China (which they claimed included Taiwan) and that the Republic of China no longer existed.[74]
A Chinese man in military uniform, smiling and looking towards the left. He holds a sword in his left hand and has a medal in shape of a sun on his chest.
Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Kuomintang from 1925 until his death in 1975
Chinese Nationalist one-party rule
Martial law, declared on Taiwan in May 1949,[75] continued to be in effect after the central government relocated to Taiwan. It was not repealed until 1987,[75] and was used as a way to suppress the political opposition in the intervening years.[76] During the White Terror, as the period is known, 140,000 people were imprisoned or executed for being perceived as anti-KMT or pro-Communist.[77] Many citizens were arrested, tortured, imprisoned and executed for their real or perceived link to the Communists. Since these people were mainly from the intellectual and social elite, an entire generation of political and social leaders was decimated. In 1998 law was passed to create the "Compensation Foundation for Improper Verdicts" which oversaw compensation to White Terror victims and families. President Ma Ying-jeou made an official apology in 2008, expressing hope that there will never be a tragedy similar to White Terror.[78]
Initially, the United States abandoned the KMT and expected that Taiwan would fall to the Communists. However, in 1950 the conflict between North Korea and South Korea, which had been ongoing since the Japanese withdrawal in 1945, escalated into full-blown war, and in the context of the Cold War, US President Harry S. Truman intervened again and dispatched the US Navy's 7th Fleet into the Taiwan Strait to prevent hostilities between Taiwan and mainland China.[79] In the Treaty of San Francisco and the Treaty of Taipei, which came into force respectively on 28 April 1952 and 5 August 1952, Japan formally renounced all right, claim and title to Taiwan and Penghu, and renounced all treaties signed with China before 1942. Neither treaty specified to whom sovereignty over the islands should be transferred, because the United States and the United Kingdom disagreed on whether the ROC or the PRC was the legitimate government of China.[80] Continuing conflict of the Chinese Civil War through the 1950s, and intervention by the United States notably resulted in legislation such as the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty and the Formosa Resolution of 1955.
With President Chiang Kai-shek, the US President Dwight D. Eisenhower waved to crowds during his visit to Taipei in June 1960.
As the Chinese Civil War continued without truce, the government built up military fortifications throughout Taiwan. Within this effort, KMT veterans built the now famous Central Cross-Island Highway through the Taroko Gorge in the 1950s. The two sides would continue to engage in sporadic military clashes with seldom publicized details well into the 1960s on the China coastal islands with an unknown number of night raids. During the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in September 1958, Taiwan's landscape saw Nike-Hercules missile batteries added, with the formation of the 1st Missile Battalion Chinese Army that would not be deactivated until 1997. Newer generations of missile batteries have since replaced the Nike Hercules systems throughout the island.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the ROC maintained an authoritarian, single-party government while its economy became industrialized and technology oriented. This rapid economic growth, known as the Taiwan Miracle, was the result of a fiscal regime independent from mainland China and backed up, among others, by the support of US funds and demand for Taiwanese products.[81][82] In the 1970s, Taiwan was economically the second fastest growing state in Asia after Japan.[83] Taiwan, along with Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore, became known as one of the Four Asian Tigers. Because of the Cold War, most Western nations and the United Nations regarded the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China until the 1970s. Later, especially after the termination of the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, most nations switched diplomatic recognition to the PRC (see United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758).
Up until the 1970s, the government was regarded by Western critics as undemocratic for upholding martial law, for severely repressing any political opposition and for controlling media. The KMT did not allow the creation of new parties and those that existed did not seriously compete with the KMT. Thus, competitive democratic elections did not exist.[84][85][86][87][88] From the late 1970s to the 1990s, however, Taiwan went through reforms and social changes that transformed it from an authoritarian state to a democracy. In 1979, a pro-democracy protest known as the Kaohsiung Incident took place in Kaohsiung to celebrate Human Rights Day. Although the protest was rapidly crushed by the authorities, it is today considered as the main event that united Taiwan's opposition.[89]
Democratization
Chiang Ching-kuo, Chiang Kai-shek's son and successor as the president, began to liberalize the political system in the mid-1980s. In 1984, the younger Chiang selected Lee Teng-hui, a Taiwanese-born, US-educated technocrat, to be his vice-president. In 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was formed and inaugurated as the first opposition party in the ROC to counter the KMT. A year later, Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law on the main island of Taiwan (martial law was lifted on Penghu in 1979, Matsu island in 1992 and Kinmen island in 1993). With the advent of democratization, the issue of the political status of Taiwan gradually resurfaced as a controversial issue where, previously, the discussion of anything other than unification under the ROC was taboo.
After the death of Chiang Ching-kuo in January 1988, Lee Teng-hui succeeded him as president. Lee continued to democratize the government and decrease the concentration of government authority in the hands of mainland Chinese. Under Lee, Taiwan underwent a process of localization in which Taiwanese culture and history were promoted over a pan-China viewpoint in contrast to earlier KMT policies which had promoted a Chinese identity. Lee's reforms included printing banknotes from the Central Bank rather than the Provincial Bank of Taiwan, and streamlining the Taiwan Provincial Government with most of its functions transferred to the Executive Yuan. Under Lee, the original members of the Legislative Yuan and National Assembly(a former supreme legislative body defunct in 2005）,[90] elected in 1947 to represent mainland Chinese constituencies and having held the seats without re-election for more than four decades, were forced to resign in 1991. The previously nominal representation in the Legislative Yuan was brought to an end, reflecting the reality that the ROC had no jurisdiction over mainland China, and vice versa. Restrictions on the use of Taiwanese Hokkien in the broadcast media and in schools were also lifted.[citation needed]
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Taiwan's special envoy to the APEC summit, Lien Chan, November 2011
Democratic reforms continued in the 1990s, with Lee Teng-hui re-elected in 1996, in the first direct presidential election in the history of the ROC.[91] During the later years of Lee's administration, he was involved in corruption controversies relating to government release of land and weapons purchase, although no legal proceedings commenced. In 1997,"To meet the requisites of the nation prior to national unification",[92] the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China was passed and then the former "constitution of five powers" turns to be more tripartite. In 2000, Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party was elected as the first non-Kuomintang (KMT) President and was re-elected to serve his second and last term since 2004. Polarized politics has emerged in Taiwan with the formation of the Pan-Blue Coalition of parties led by the KMT, favouring eventual Chinese reunification, and the Pan-Green Coalition of parties led by the DPP, favouring an eventual and official declaration of Taiwanese independence.[93][clarification needed] In early 2006, President Chen Shui-bian remarked: “The National Unification Council will cease to function. No budget will be ear-marked for it and its personnel must return to their original posts...The National Unification Guidelines will cease to apply."[94]
The ruling DPP has traditionally leaned in favour of Taiwan independence and rejects the "One-China policy".
On 30 September 2007, the ruling DPP approved a resolution asserting a separate identity from China and called for the enactment of a new constitution for a "normal country". It also called for general use of "Taiwan" as the country's name, without abolishing its formal name, the Republic of China.[95] The Chen administration also pushed for referendums on national defence and UN entry in the 2004 and 2008 elections, which failed due to voter turnout below the required legal threshold of 50% of all registered voters.[96] The Chen administration was dogged by public concerns over reduced economic growth, legislative gridlock due to a pan-blue, opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan and corruption involving the First Family as well as government officials.[97][98]
The KMT increased its majority in the Legislative Yuan in the January 2008 legislative elections, while its nominee Ma Ying-jeou went on to win the presidency in March of the same year, campaigning on a platform of increased economic growth and better ties with the PRC under a policy of "mutual nondenial".[96] Ma took office on 20 May 2008, the same day that President Chen Shui-bian stepped down and was notified by prosecutors of possible corruption charges. Part of the rationale for campaigning for closer economic ties with the PRC stems from the strong economic growth China attained since joining the World Trade Organization. However, some analysts say that despite the election of Ma Ying-jeou, the diplomatic and military tensions with the PRC have not been reduced.[99]
On 24 May 2017, the Constitutional Court ruled that current marriage laws have been violating the Constitution by denying Taiwanese same-sex couples the right to marry. The Court ruled that if the Legislative Yuan does not pass adequate amendments to Taiwanese marriage laws within two years, same-sex marriages will automatically become legitimate in Taiwan.[100]
Geography
Taiwan is mostly mountainous in the east, with gently sloping plains in the west. The Penghu Islands are west of the main island.
The total area of the current jurisdiction of the Republic of China is 36,193 km2 (13,974 sq mi),[9] making it the world's 137th-largest country/dependency, smaller than Switzerland and larger than Belgium.
The island of Taiwan has an area of 35,883 km2 (13,855 sq mi), and lies some 180 kilometres (110 mi) from the southeastern coast of mainland China across the Taiwan Strait.[9] The East China Sea lies to the north, the Philippine Sea to the east, the Bashi Channel of the Luzon Strait directly to the south, and the South China Sea to the southwest. Its shape is similar to a sweet potato, giving rise to the name sweet potato used by Taiwanese Hokkien speakers for people of Taiwanese descent.[101]
The island is characterized by the contrast between the eastern two-thirds, consisting mostly of rugged mountains running in five ranges from the northern to the southern tip of the island, and the flat to gently rolling Chianan Plains in the west that are also home to most of Taiwan's population. Taiwan's highest point is Yu Shan (Jade Mountain) at 3,952 metres (12,966 ft),[102] making Taiwan the world's fourth-highest island.
The Penghu Islands, 50 km (31.1 mi) west of the main island, have an area of 126.9 km2 (49.0 sq mi). More distant islands controlled by the Republic of China are the Kinmen, Wuchiu and Matsu Islands off the coast of Fujian, with a total area of 180.5 km2 (69.7 sq mi), and the Pratas Islands and Taiping Island in the South China Sea, with a total area of 2.9 km2 (1.1 sq mi) and no permanent inhabitants.[9] The ROC government also claims the Senkaku Islands to the northeast, which are controlled by Japan.
Climate
Taiwan lies on the Tropic of Cancer, and its general climate is marine tropical.[8] The northern and central regions are subtropical, whereas the south is tropical and the mountainous regions are temperate.[103] The average rainfall is 2,600 millimetres (100 inches) per year for the island proper; the rainy season is concurrent with the onset of the summer East Asian Monsoon in May and June.[104] The entire island experiences hot, humid weather from June through September. Typhoons are most common in July, August and September.[104] During the winter (November to March), the northeast experiences steady rain, while the central and southern parts of the island are mostly sunny.
Geology
Main article: Geology of Taiwan
Dabajian Mountain
The island of Taiwan lies in a complex tectonic area between the Yangtze Plate to the west and north, the Okinawa Plate on the north-east, and the Philippine Mobile Belt on the east and south. The upper part of the crust on the island is primarily made up of a series of terranes, mostly old island arcs which have been forced together by the collision of the forerunners of the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. These have been further uplifted as a result of the detachment of a portion of the Eurasian Plate as it was subducted beneath remnants of the Philippine Sea Plate, a process which left the crust under Taiwan more buoyant.[105]
The east and south of Taiwan are a complex system of belts formed by, and part of the zone of, active collision between the North Luzon Trough portion of the Luzon Volcanic Arc and South China, where accreted portions of the Luzon Arc and Luzon forearc form the eastern Coastal Range and parallel inland Longitudinal Valley of Taiwan respectively.[106]
The major seismic faults in Taiwan correspond to the various suture zones between the various terranes. These have produced major quakes throughout the history of the island. On 21 September 1999, a 7.3 quake known as the "921 earthquake" killed more than 2,400 people. The seismic hazard map for Taiwan by the USGS shows 9/10 of the island as the highest rating (most hazardous).[107]
Political and legal status
Main article: Political status of Taiwan
The political and legal statuses of Taiwan are contentious issues. The People's Republic of China (PRC) claims that the Republic of China government is illegitimate, referring to it as the "Taiwan Authority" even though current ROC territories have never been controlled by the PRC.[108][109] The ROC has its own constitution, independently elected president and armed forces. It has not formally renounced its claim to the mainland, but ROC government publications have increasingly downplayed it.[110]
Internationally, there is controversy on whether the ROC still exists as a state or a defunct state per international law due to the lack of wide diplomatic recognition. In a poll of Taiwanese aged 20 and older taken by TVBS in March 2009, a majority of 64% opted for the "status quo", while 19% favoured "independence" and 5% favoured "unification".[111]
Relations with the PRC
The political environment is complicated by the potential for military conflict should Taiwan declare de jure independence; it is the official PRC policy to use force to ensure unification if peaceful unification is no longer possible, as stated in its anti-secession law, and for this reason there are substantial military installations on the Fujian coast.[112][113][114][115][116]
On 29 April 2005, Kuomintang Chairman Lien Chan travelled to Beijing and met with Communist Party of China (CPC) Secretary-General Hu Jintao,[117] the first meeting between the leaders of the two parties since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. On 11 February 2014, Mainland Affairs Council Head Wang Yu-chi travelled to Nanjing and met with Taiwan Affairs Office Head Zhang Zhijun, the first meeting between high-ranking officials from either side.[118] Zhang paid a reciprocal visit to Taiwan and met Wang on 25 June 2014, making Zhang the first minister-level PRC official to ever visit Taiwan.[119] On 7 November 2015, Ma Ying-jeou (in his capacity as Leader of Taiwan) and Xi Jinping (in his capacity as Leader of Mainland China) travelled to Singapore and met up,[120] marking the highest-level exchange between the two sides since 1949.
OK, so I'm overreacting... Just bored and stressed out with the freaking thesis. I'm missing my cigarettes SO MUCH. And the dentist says I have to use a sort of plastic retainer on my teeth during sleep for the rest of my life. Nothing too serious. I guess it's PMS.
This grand old Beech tree in Shireoaks park is still looking alright and so far hasn't lost any limbs this winter.
A long unexpected Journey (4 mile hike through the woods) brought us to this nicely paved path with a beautiful sandstone retainer wall.
Since the last time I did one of those "10 things" things, I've been tagged 32 more times.
So, here are 320 things I love (in no particular order):
1. harry potter
2. a very potter musical
3. a very potter sequel
4. photography (no way!)
5. my camera
6. my friends
7. my family
8. clouds
9. the sky
10. fuzzy socks
11. chuck berry
12. william fitzsimmons
13. rosi golan
14. elizabeth & the catapult
15. paleo
16. Jesus
17. God
18. The Holy Spirit
19. oversized belts
20. jason reeves
21. the smell of fresh hotel sheets
22. hotel rooms in general
23. prancing cera
24. the camera lens mug
25. darren criss
26. lauren lopez
27. emma watson
28. feltbeats
29. guitars
30. the ukulele
31. awkward love
32. swedish fish
33. sour patch kids
34. anthony rapp
35. neil patrick harris
36. jim parsons
37. laying in fields (as seen above)
38. sassy people
39. music videos
40. looking up new artists
41. finding one i love
42. not taking drugs
43. being in the darkroom
44. photo chemicals
45. my iphone
46. proverbs 4:23
47. words with friends
48. doodle jump
49. purple
50. donnie darko
51. mentally correcting my friends' grammar
52. spelling words correctly
53. living
54. carnivals
55. carnival lights
56. ferris wheels
57. the starship 2000
58. not puking on the zipper
59. quotes
60. extremely loud and incredibly close
61. the history of love
62. wreck this journal
63. this is not a book
64. how to be an explorer of the world
65. lakes
66. the pacific ocean
67. waking up to the smell of pancakes and bacon
68. trying to dig a hole to China
69. weekends
70. coke zero
71. highlighters
72. crayola markers
73. printing out quotes, sticking them to photos, and scanning them
74. doing nothing
75. sleep
76. letting my feet get wet
77. oregon
78. discovering something new
79. collecting dust
80. string
81. magazines
82. collages
83. not being in my business class
84. headbands
85. TEMPORARY TATTOOS OF DINOSAURS
86. AND SPIDERMAN
87. taking photos
88. 35mm film
89. 120mm film
90. smiley faces
91. SHMILY
92. braids
93. my dog
94. dizzy lizzy's dog, sparky
95. flickr messages
96. tumblr messages
97. facebook messages (sometimes)
98. inspiration tumblrs
99. harry potter tumblrs
100. being awesome
101. mix cds
102. mix tapes
103. mouse pads
104. york peppermint patties
105. milkyways
106. stars
107. laying on a blanket on the grass and looking up at the stars
108. curls
109. journals
110.diaries
111. emotions
112. prints
113. keri smith
114. double oak
115. shag carpet
116. scanners
117. my car
118. blinds
119. curtains
120. lace
121. skirts
122. jean shorts
123. cut offs
124. pillows
125. pillow cases
126. granola bars
127. chocolate covered strawberries
128. art
129. not losing my retainer
130. filters
131. gimp
132. autumn
133. spring
134. winter
135. snow
136. rain
137. storms
138. seeing lightning in the clouds
139. thunder
140. road trips
141. road maps
142. bracelets that i never take off
143. gifts
144. the bible
145. soft towels
146. refrigerators
147. modern medicine
148. how i met your mother
149. the big bang theory (show)
150. glee
151. febreeze commercials
152. mirrors
153. haunted houses
154. abandoned buildings
155. old peoples' stories
156. closing my eyes
157. relaxing
158. owls
159. jk rowling
160. the scarlet letter
161. the great gatsby
162. hair clips
163. bobby pins
164. deodorant
165. perfume
166. searching
167. exploring
168. trying to get lost
169. having a full tank of gas
170. driving around
171. long hair
172. straighteners
173. blank cds
174. how my legs feel after i shave them
175. boys who smell good
176. showers
177. notepads
178. pens
179. sharpies
180. glue sticks
181. thrift stores
182. being stress free
183. oversized bags
184. over the shoulder bags
185. fake leather purses
186. notebook paper
187. old books
188. poetry
189. antiques
190. cardboard boxes
191. the sun
192. the moon
193. STAR WARS
194. star trek
195. zachary quinto
196. heros
197. milo ventimiglia
198. hayden panitierre
199. gyffindor scarves
200. dancing in the rain
201. puddles
202. gray skies
203. raindrops keep falling on my head
204. spiderman
205. peter parker
206. jason bourne
207. matt damon
208. good will hunting
209. jake gyllenhaal
210. the office
211. steve carrel
212. jim halpert
213. john krasinski
214. pam beesly
215. dwight schrute
216. stanley
217. criminal minds
218. spencer reed
219. rearview mirrors
220. side mirrors
221. printers
222. computers
223. imacs
224. cowboys
225. cowboy hats
226. empty soda cans
227. lava lamps
228. walmart
229. target
230. philosophy club
231. tripods
232. peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
233. nacho cheese doritos
234. tv
235. high fives!
236. windows
237. tinted glass
238. black lights
239. oversized t shirts
240. local artists
241. lamps
242. hair conditioner
243. hermione granger
244. draco malfoy's angst position
245. bathroom sinks
246. privacy
247. reading
248. getting lost in books
249. among the hidden
250. and the rest of that book series
251. orange and blue together
252. cardigans
253. desks
254. cool days
255. naps
256. college football
257. sam bradford
258. crosses
259. mugs that say funny things
260. aggie jokes
261. canon
262. heirlooms
263. watching and rewatching movies
264. flickr
265. birthday wishes
266. candy wrappers
267. magazine clippings
268. headphones
269. english
270. raspberry lemonade
271. cherry limeades
272. the number 272
273. the shops in highland village
274. movie theaters
275. midnight premieres
276. the midnight premiere of the seventh harry potter movie (i hope)
277. the trailer of the seventh harry potter movie
278. not being rick rolled
279. stop motions
280. trains
281. busses
282. airplanes
283. air travel
284. driving as the sun rises
285. sitting down
286. being tan
287. mason jars
288. funny country songs
289. indie music
290. mellow songs
291. songs i can go to sleep to
292. a warm bed
293. comfy comforters
294. old school stereos
295. when my foot's asleep
296. cupcakes
297. not being sweaty
298. vertical stripes
299. blogging film photos from flickr
300. when people credit you when they blog your photo
301. six flags
302. texas
303. air fresheners
304. car fresheners
305. lavender
306. the first season of lost
307. colorful wrapping paper
308. triangles
309. curly hair
310. the notebook
311. nicholas sparks
312. tragic love stories
313. william shakespeare
314. hamlet
315. romeo and juliet
316. leonardo dicaprio
317. titanic
318. a walk to remember
319. life
320. boy meets world
This grave can be found on the grounds of Isshin-ji Temple in Osaka.
Honda Tadatomo (1582 - June 3, 1615) was the second son of Tokugawa Ieyasu's famous retainer and general, Honda Tadakatsu. Following the battle of Sekigahara, in 1601 Tadakatsu was given the fief of Kuwana and Tadatomo was granted control of his father's old fief of Ōtaki in Kazusa Province (present-day Chiba Prefecture), valued at 100,000 koku.
Tadatomo was known to be a quite valiant on the battlefield and quite a capable commander when not under the influence of sake. His love of sake earned him the ire of Ieyasu during the Winter Siege of Osaka (Osaka Fuyu no Jin) in 1614, who blamed Tadatomo's drunkenness for a defeat. As a proud samurai from an illustrious house and living in the shadow and memory of a larger-than-life father, this criticism from the shogun himself must have hit a nerve with Tadatomo, who during the Summer Siege of Osaka (Osaka Natsu no Jin) in 1615, would make up for his previous blunder and save his reputation.
During the final day of fighting at Osaka in Tennōji, Tadatomo's forces were in the vanguard of the main Tokugawa body when the Toyotomi launched a vicious, last-ditch general assault. The Toyotomi tore into the Tokugawa forces to the point where Osaka samurai under the command of the famed Sanada Yukimura were pressing dangerously close to Ieyasu's headquarters. Seeing the perilous situation that his liege lord was in, Tadatomo regrouped his troops and led a hammering counter-attack on Yukimura's forces, blunting his advance and changing the tide of the battle. Neither Yukimura nor Tadatomo would survive this furious clash and a few hours later, the massive Osaka Castle keep would be engulfed in flames , bringing an end to the Toyotomi clan.
However, before he fell in battle, Tadatomo was said to be dying and he knew it. His love of sake had nearly ruined his career and was now supposedly taking his life. Shortly before he died, he allegedly said something along the lines, "Liquor should be banned. All those who stand before my grave will undoubtedly abhor it." As a result, Tadatomo's grave became a place of worship for alcoholics trying to go sober.
La 11ème Convention Manga Geek du Centre Bretagne à Pontivy : Rencontre avec White-haired Cloud Retainer du manga Genshin Impact.
This is a very rare PFM Crown model in HO scale. This represents one of only twenty five models made in the first run (1958). Made under the United Models name plate, the premier Japanese maker, Toby Models, made these semi-hand made models to extreme precision and high quality. For it's time, this was one of the top of the line models. Stamped #10 on the left side of the rear frame rail, this model has many features that the subsequent runs did not have (or, where in various stages of these features). Highly detailed cab interior for one. Other details which point to the run year is the hand built train control box mounted on the boiler, the absence of window sashes (all of the following runs had window sashes), a single generator (although two later runs had a single generator, this combination of details gives it away as the 1958 model.
Scale: HO
Category: Steam
Subcategory:
Road: Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q)
Whyte: 4-8-4
Description: O-5 NORTHERN
Importer: Pacific Fast Mail (PFM)
Catalog: CROWN
MANUFACTURE
Builder: Toby
Year(s): 1958
Qty Made: 25
NOTES: UNPAINTED - SERIAL # ON LEFT REAR OF FRAME - GREEN BOX - NO WINDOW SASHES IN CAB - SINGLE GENERATOR - BUILT-UP ATC BOX ON TOP OF BOILER - UNITED PLATE ON RETAINER PLATE
A perfect example of the smaller type of fortified manor house, Penhow was developed from a heavily-built keep necessary to protect the knightly retainers of the local earl, who lived in almost impregnable majesty at nearby Chepstow Castle. This great Norman stronghold and bridgehead into Wales was the first castle with a stone keep to be built in Britain by the conquering Normans in 1070. "Knight's Fee" manors and castles like Penhow were established to protect the outlying farmlands and give advance warning of any Welsh uprising. The area that is now known as Gwent was settled by families that had come over from France with or in the wake of William the Conqueror, and we know that Sir Roger de St Maur was at Penhow by 1129, for he witnessed the charter that founded the priory of Monmouth in that year. In return for the task of keeping down the Welsh, providing a quota of men for guard duty at Chepstow every month, and for supplying one man mounted on a horse in times of War, Sir Roger was permitted to usurp the Manor of Penhow from its native Welsh prince, and gain a toehold on the feudal ladder. Sir Roger's home was a cold stone Pele tower that stood alone on its rocky knoll, and directly overlooked the conquered natives in their 'Welshry' at Talgarth. It was the first home in Britain of a family destined to become one of the greatest in the land.
Source: www.castlewales.com/penhow.html
For TOTW: Tiny Words
For tHe VeNt: Anything but blood? Jamie rocks.
Round 2 bitches.
I wore braces as a teenager. I didn’t wear my retainer. My stupid teeth shifted back to their dumb ass original placement. And at the age of 31, single father, full blown adult, very much a MAN, in charge of many people at my job, I today got my braces on.
Bam!!!
A 31-year-old man with braces. Suck it baby.
But I couldn’t help but think I could pull the “cute” look off. Some girls dig the braces look. Or at least I heard that when I was 17. My kid thinks they are hilarious. Almost scary.
This reminds me back when I was a teenager. A high school kid. Those were by far the worst years of my life.
I was always a quiet kid in high school. I walked around in fear. I kept to myself. I didn’t understand anything. I was petrified of the other kids. I hated life. I was confused. I didn’t understand my penis any more than did I understand these girls I was suddenly much attracted to.
It was so confusing. I hated all those fucks I was surrounded by everyday. High school for me was a complete nightmare. I was unhappy, confused, and dorky. I didn’t have much friends. And the friends I did have were nerds like me. I guess I wasn’t a “nerd” in the true sense of the word, but I sure was quiet. I hated the peer pressure. I hated the assholes that seemed to rule me till I got out of high school.
I’m 31 now. I’m an adult. I’m so far removed from that high school horseshit. I love being 31. My teenage years were so confusing and fucked up. I hated every minute of it. Seriously.
And it’s so funny. People that I meet right now in my life that LOVED high school typically end up to be losers and people who HATED high school typically end up to be rock stars.
Not true across the board, but that’s just my experience.
High school kids can suck my cock. They are usually immature dickwads who are a pain in my ass.
In any case, here I am with my BRAND NEW braces looking like a total high school kid. By next year my teeth will be PERFECTLY straight.
I CAN’T WAIT!!!!! Actually it sucks right now. I have a headache. My teeth hurt. I can’t eat carrots or hard nuts anymore (my favorite snack foods?).
Yeah…It’s worth it.
STRAIGHT TEETH HERE I COME!!
This time I’ll wear my retainer when I’m done. Fuck me for not doing it the first time I had braces. This time it’s costing my $6000 out of pocket.
ARGHGHHGHGHHHGHGHHGHGHHGHG!!!!
June 2nd, 2009
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I had a wander around the garden this morning and grabbed a shot of this dandelion head losing seeds more quickly than I'm losing hair!
I'm really rather pleased with the way this one's turned out and think it makes a great addition to my month of iPhoneography for my project 365!
Shot using my iPhone's excellent macro lens!
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