Diving into the mesmerizing details of Panama's architectural wonders, this collection offers a symphonic display of lines, grids, and patterns. The black and white palette accentuates the interplay of light and shadow, turning ordinary building facades into captivating abstract canvases. From the mirrored reflections on glass to the rhythmic patterns of windows and structural lines, these images unveil the intricate beauty hidden within the towering structures of Panama's urban jungle.

Engine 4, 2018 E One Typhoon, P22 Structural Pumper

 

My photography page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhotoStudioRT

17.02 - 48/365

 

There’s something captivating about the raw charm of this old timber-framed wall, where aged bricks blend with dark, weathered wood. You can see incredible texture and a history hidden within every crack and crumbling mortar.

Structural Elements of Sydney Opera House

The Burgtheater at Dr.-Karl -Lueger-Ring (from now on, Universitätsring) in Vienna is an Austrian Federal Theatre. It is one of the most important stages in Europe and after the Comédie-Française, the second oldest European one, as well as the greatest German speaking theater. The original 'old' Burgtheater at Saint Michael's square was utilized from 1748 until the opening of the new building at the ring in October, 1888. The new house in 1945 burnt down completely as a result of bomb attacks, until the re-opening on 14 October 1955 was the Ronacher serving as temporary quarters. The Burgtheater is considered as Austrian National Theatre.

Throughout its history, the theater was bearing different names, first Imperial-Royal Theater next to the Castle, then to 1918 Imperial-Royal Court-Burgtheater and since then Burgtheater (Castle Theater). Especially in Vienna it is often referred to as "The Castle (Die Burg)", the ensemble members are known as Castle actors (Burgschauspieler).

History

St. Michael's Square with the old K.K. Theatre beside the castle (right) and the Winter Riding School of the Hofburg (left)

The interior of the Old Burgtheater, painted by Gustav Klimt. The people are represented in such detail that the identification is possible.

The 'old' Burgtheater at St. Michael's Square

The original castle theater was set up in a ball house that was built in the lower pleasure gardens of the Imperial Palace of the Roman-German King and later Emperor Ferdinand I in 1540, after the old house 1525 fell victim to a fire. Until the beginning of the 18th Century was played there the Jeu de Paume, a precursor of tennis. On 14 March 1741 finally gave the Empress Maria Theresa, ruling after the death of her father, which had ordered a general suspension of the theater, the "Entrepreneur of the Royal Court Opera" and lessees of 1708 built theater at Kärntnertor (Carinthian gate), Joseph Karl Selliers, permission to change the ballroom into a theater. Simultaneously, a new ball house was built in the immediate vicinity, which todays Ballhausplatz is bearing its name.

In 1748, the newly designed "theater next to the castle" was opened. 1756 major renovations were made, inter alia, a new rear wall was built. The Auditorium of the Old Burgtheater was still a solid timber construction and took about 1200 guests. The imperial family could reach her ​​royal box directly from the imperial quarters, the Burgtheater structurally being connected with them. At the old venue at Saint Michael's place were, inter alia, several works of Christoph Willibald Gluck, Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as well as Franz Grillparzer premiered .

On 17 February 1776, Emperor Joseph II declared the theater to the German National Theatre (Teutsches Nationaltheater). It was he who ordered by decree that the stage plays should not deal with sad events for not bring the Imperial audience in a bad mood. Many theater plays for this reason had to be changed and provided with a Vienna Final (Happy End), such as Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet. From 1794 on, the theater was bearing the name K.K. Court Theatre next to the castle.

1798 the poet August von Kotzebue was appointed as head of the Burgtheater, but after discussions with the actors he left Vienna in 1799. Under German director Joseph Schreyvogel was introduced German instead of French and Italian as a new stage language.

On 12 October 1888 took place the last performance in the old house. The Burgtheater ensemble moved to the new venue at the Ring. The Old Burgtheater had to give way to the completion of Saint Michael's tract of Hofburg. The plans to this end had been drawn almost 200 years before the demolition of the old Burgtheater by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach.

The "new" K.K. Court Theatre (as the inscription reads today) at the Ring opposite the Town Hall, opened on 14 October 1888 with Grillparzer's Esther and Schiller's Wallenstein's Camp, was designed in neo-Baroque style by Gottfried Semper (plan) and Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer (facade), who had already designed the Imperial Forum in Vienna together. Construction began on 16 December 1874 and followed through 14 years, in which the architects quarreled. Already in 1876 Semper withdrew due to health problems to Rome and had Hasenauer realized his ideas alone, who in the dispute of the architects stood up for a mainly splendid designed grand lodges theater.

However, created the famous Viennese painter Gustav Klimt and his brother Ernst Klimt and Franz Matsch 1886-1888 the ceiling paintings in the two stairwells of the new theater. The three took over this task after similar commissioned work in the city theaters of Fiume and Karlovy Vary and in the Bucharest National Theatre. In the grand staircase on the side facing the café Landtmann of the Burgtheater (Archduke stairs) reproduced ​​Gustav Klimt the artists of the ancient theater in Taormina on Sicily, in the stairwell on the "People's Garden"-side (Kaiserstiege, because it was reserved for the emperor) the London Globe Theatre and the final scene from William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". Above the entrance to the auditorium is Molière's The Imaginary Invalid to discover. In the background the painter immortalized himself in the company of his two colleagues. Emperor Franz Joseph I liked the ceiling paintings so much that he gave the members of the company of artists of Klimt the Golden Cross of Merit.

The new building resembles externally the Dresden Semper Opera, but even more, due to the for the two theaters absolutely atypical cross wing with the ceremonial stairs, Semper's Munich project from the years 1865/1866 for a Richard Wagner Festspielhaus above the Isar. Above the middle section there is a loggia, which is framed by two side wings, and is divided from a stage house with a gable roof and auditorium with a tent roof. Above the center house there decorates a statue of Apollo the facade, throning between the Muses of drama and tragedy. Above the main entrances are located friezes with Bacchus and Ariadne. At the exterior facade round about, portrait busts of the poets Calderon, Shakespeare, Moliere, Schiller, Goethe, Lessing, Halm, Grillparzer, and Hebbel can be seen. The masks which also can be seen here are indicating the ancient theater, furthermore adorn allegorical representations the side wings: love, hate, humility, lust, selfishness, and heroism. Although the theater since 1919 is bearing the name of Burgtheater, the old inscription KK Hofburgtheater over the main entrance still exists. Some pictures of the old gallery of portraits have been hung up in the new building and can be seen still today - but these images were originally smaller, they had to be "extended" to make them work better in high space. The points of these "supplements" are visible as fine lines on the canvas.

The Burgtheater was initially well received by Viennese people due to its magnificent appearance and technical innovations such as electric lighting, but soon criticism because of the poor acoustics was increasing. Finally, in 1897 the auditorium was rebuilt to reduce the acoustic problems. The new theater was an important meeting place of social life and soon it was situated among the "sanctuaries" of Viennese people. In November 1918, the supervision over the theater was transferred from the High Steward of the emperor to the new state of German Austria.

1922/1923 the Academy Theatre was opened as a chamber play stage of the Burgtheater. On 8th May 1925, the Burgtheater went into Austria's criminal history, as here Mentscha Karnitschewa perpetrated a revolver assassination on Todor Panitza.

The Burgtheater in time of National Socialism

The National Socialist ideas also left traces in the history of the Burgtheater. In 1939 appeared in Adolf Luser Verlag the strongly anti-Semitic characterized book of theater scientist Heinz Kindermann "The Burgtheater. Heritage and mission of a national theater", in which he, among other things, analyzed the "Jewish influence "on the Burgtheater. On 14 October 1938 was on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Burgtheater a Don Carlos production of Karl-Heinz Stroux shown that served Hitler's ideology. The role of the Marquis of Posa played the same Ewald Balser, who in a different Don Carlos production a year earlier (by Heinz Hilpert) at the Deutsches Theater in the same role with the sentence in direction of Joseph Goebbels box vociferated: "just give freedom of thought". The actor and director Lothar Müthel, who was director of the Burgtheater between 1939 and 1945, staged 1943 the Merchant of Venice, in which Werner Kraus the Jew Shylock clearly anti-Semitic represented. The same director staged after the war Lessing's parable Nathan the Wise. Adolf Hitler himself visited during the Nazi regime the Burgtheater only once (1938), and later he refused in pure fear of an assassination.

For actors and theater staff who were classified according to the Reich Citizenship Law of 1935 as "Jews ", were quickly imposed stage bans, within a few days, they were on leave, fired or arrested. The Burgtheater ensemble ​​between 1938 and 1945 did not put up significant resistance against the Nazi ideology, the repertoire was heavily censored, only a few joined the Resistance, as Judith Holzmeister (then also at the People's Theatre engaged) or the actor Fritz Lehmann. Although Jewish members of the ensemble indeed have been helped to emigrate, was still an actor, Fritz Strassny, taken to a concentration camp and murdered there.

The Burgtheater at the end of the war and after the Second World War

In summer 1944, the Burgtheater had to be closed because of the decreed general theater suspension. From 1 April 1945, as the Red Army approached Vienna, camped a military unit in the house, a portion was used as an arsenal. In a bomb attack the house at the Ring was damaged and burned down on 12th April 1945 completely. Auditorium and stage were useless, only the steel structure remained. The ceiling paintings and part of the lobby were almost undamaged.

The Soviet occupying power expected from Viennese City Councillor Viktor Matejka to launch Vienna's cultural life as soon as possible again. The council summoned on 23 April (a state government did not yet exist) a meeting of all Viennese cultural workers into the Town Hall. Result of the discussions was that in late April 1945 eight cinemas and four theaters took up the operation again, including the Burgtheater. The house took over the Ronacher Theater, which was understood by many castle actors as "exile" as a temporary home (and remained there to 1955). This venue chose the newly appointed director Raoul Aslan, who championed particularly active.

The first performance after the Second World War was on 30 April 1945 Sappho by Franz Grillparzer directed by Adolf Rott from 1943 with Maria Eis in the title role. Also other productions from the Nazi era were resumed. With Paul Hoerbiger, a few days ago as Nazi prisoner still in mortal danger, was shown the play of Nestroy Mädl (Girlie) from the suburbs. The Academy Theatre could be played (the first performance was on 19 April 1945 Hedda Gabler, a production of Rott from the year 1941) and also in the ball room (Redoutensaal) at the Imperial Palace took place performances. Aslan the Ronacher in the summer had rebuilt because the stage was too small for classical performances. On 25 September 1945, Schiller's Maid of Orleans could be played on the enlarged stage.

The first new productions are associated with the name of Lothar Müthel: Everyone and Nathan the Wise, in both Raoul Aslan played the main role. The staging of The Merchant of Venice by Müthel in Nazi times seemed to have been fallen into oblivion.

Great pleasure gave the public the return of the in 1938 from the ensemble expelled Else Wohlgemuth on stage. She performaed after seven years in exile in December 1945 in Clare Biharys The other mother in the Academy Theater. 1951 opened the Burgtheater its doors for the first time, but only the left wing, where the celebrations on the 175th anniversary of the theater took place.

1948, a competition for the reconstruction was tendered: Josef Gielen, who was then director, first tended to support the design of ex aequo-ranked Otto Niedermoser, according to which the house was to be rebuilt into a modern gallery theater. Finally, he agreed but then for the project by Michael Engelhardt, whose plan was conservative but also cost effective. The character of the lodges theater was largely taken into account and maintained, the central royal box but has been replaced by two balconies, and with a new slanted ceiling construction in the audience was the acoustics, the shortcoming of the house, improved significantly.

On 14 October 1955 was happening under Adolf Rott the reopening of the restored house at the Ring. For this occasion Mozart's A Little Night Music was played. On 15 and on 16 October it was followed by the first performance (for reasons of space as a double premiere) in the restored theater: King Ottokar's Fortune and End of Franz Grillparzer, staged by Adolf Rott. A few months after the signing of the Austrian State Treaty was the choice of this play, which the beginning of Habsburg rule in Austria makes a subject of discussion and Ottokar of Horneck's eulogy on Austria (... it's a good country / Well worth that a prince bow to it! / where have you yet seen the same?... ) contains highly symbolic. Rott and under his successors Ernst Haeusserman and Gerhard Klingenberg the classic Burgtheater style and the Burgtheater German for German theaters were finally pointing the way .

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Burgtheater participated (with other well-known theaters in Vienna) on the so-called Brecht boycott.

Gerhard Klingenberg internationalized the Burgtheater, he invited renowned stage directors such as Dieter Dorn, Peter Hall, Luca Ronconi, Giorgio Strehler, Roberto Guicciardini and Otomar Krejča. Klingenberg also enabled the castle debuts of Claus Peymann and Thomas Bernhard (1974 world premiere of The Hunting Party). Bernhard was as a successor of Klingenberg mentioned, but eventually was appointed Achim Benning, whereupon the writer with the text "The theatrical shack on the ring (how I should become the director of the Burgtheater)" answered.

Benning, the first ensemble representative of the Burgtheater which was appointed director, continued Klingenberg's way of Europeanization by other means, brought directors such as Adolf Dresen, Manfred Wekwerth or Thomas Langhoff to Vienna, looked with performances of plays of Vaclav Havel to the then politically separated East and took the the public taste more into consideration.

Directorate Claus Peymann 1986-1999

Under the by short-term Minister of Education Helmut Zilk brought to Vienna Claus Peymann, director from 1986 to 1999, there was further modernization of the programme and staging styles. Moreover Peymann was never at a loss for critical contributions in the public, a hitherto unusual attitude for Burgtheater directors. Therefore, he and his program within sections of the audience met with rejection. The greatest theater scandal in Vienna since 1945 occurred in 1988 concerning the premiere of Thomas Bernhard's Heldenplatz (Place of the Heroes) drama which was fiercly fought by conservative politicians and zealots. The play deals with the Vergangenheitsbewältigung (process of coming to terms with the past) and illuminates the present management in Austria - with attacks on the then ruling Social Democratic Party - critically. Together with Claus Peymann Bernhard after the premiere dared to face on the stage applause and boos.

Bernard, to his home country bound in love-hate relationship, prohibited the performance of his plays in Austria before his death in 1989 by will. Peymann, to Bernhard bound in a difficult friendship (see Bernhard's play Claus Peymann buys a pair of pants and goes eating with me) feared harm for the author's work, should his plays precisely in his homeland not being shown. First, it was through permission of the executor Peter Fabjan - Bernhard's half-brother - after all, possible the already in the schedule of the Burgtheater included productions to continue. Finally, shortly before the tenth anniversary of the death of Bernard it came to the revival of the Bernhard play Before retirement by the first performance director Peymann. The plays by Bernhard are since then continued on the programme of the Burgtheater and they are regularly newly produced.

In 1993, the rehearsal stage of the Castle theater was opened in the arsenal (architect Gustav Peichl). Since 1999, the Burgtheater has the operation form of a limited corporation.

Directorate Klaus Bachler 1999-2009

Peymann was followed in 1999 by Klaus Bachler as director. He is a trained actor, but was mostly as a cultural manager (director of the Vienna Festival) active. Bachler moved the theater as a cultural event in the foreground and he engaged for this purpose directors such as Luc Bondy, Andrea Breth, Peter Zadek and Martin Kušej.

Were among the unusual "events" of the directorate Bachler

* The Theatre of Orgies and Mysteries by Hermann Nitsch with the performance of 122 Action (2005 )

* The recording of the MTV Unplugged concert with Die Toten Hosen for the music channel MTV (2005, under the title available)

* John Irving's reading from his book at the Burgtheater Until I find you (2006)

* The 431 animatographische (animatographical) Expedition by Christoph Schlingensief and a big event of him under the title of Area 7 - Matthew Sadochrist - An expedition by Christoph Schlingensief (2006).

* Daniel Hoevels cut in Schiller's Mary Stuart accidentally his throat (December 2008). Outpatient care is enough.

Jubilee Year 2005

In October 2005, the Burgtheater celebrated the 50th Anniversary of its reopening with a gala evening and the performance of Grillparzer's King Ottokar's Fortune and End, directed by Martin Kušej that had been performed in August 2005 at the Salzburg Festival as a great success. Michael Maertens (in the role of Rudolf of Habsburg) received the Nestroy Theatre Award for Best Actor for his role in this play. Actor Tobias Moretti was awarded in 2006 for this role with the Gertrude Eysoldt Ring.

Furthermore, there were on 16th October 2005 the open day on which the 82-minute film "burg/private. 82 miniatures" of Sepp Dreissinger was shown for the first time. The film contains one-minute film "Stand portraits" of Castle actors and guest actors who, without saying a word, try to present themselves with a as natural as possible facial expression. Klaus Dermutz wrote a work on the history of the Burgtheater. As a motto of this season served a quotation from Lessing's Minna von Barnhelm: "It's so sad to be happy alone."

The Burgtheater on the Mozart Year 2006

Also the Mozart Year 2006 was at the Burgtheater was remembered. As Mozart's Singspiel Die Entführung aus dem Serail in 1782 in the courtyard of Castle Theatre was premiered came in cooperation with the Vienna State Opera on the occasion of the Vienna Festival in May 2006 a new production (directed by Karin Beier) of this opera on stage.

Directorate Matthias Hartmann since 2009

Since September 2009, Matthias Hartmann is Artistic Director of the Burgtheater. A native of Osnabrück, he directed the stage houses of Bochum and Zurich. With his directors like Alvis Hermanis, Roland Schimmelpfennig, David Bösch, Stefan Bachmann, Stefan Pucher, Michael Thalheimer, came actresses like Dorte Lyssweski, Katharina Lorenz, Sarah Viktoria Frick, Mavie Hoerbiger, Lucas Gregorowicz and Martin Wuttke came permanently to the Burg. Matthias Hartmann himself staged around three premieres per season, about once a year, he staged at the major opera houses. For more internationality and "cross-over", he won the Belgian artist Jan Lauwers and his Need Company as "Artists in Residence" for the Castle, the New York group Nature Theater of Oklahoma show their great episode drama Live and Times of an annual continuation. For the new look - the Burgtheater presents itself without a solid logo with word games around the BURG - the Burgtheater in 2011 was awarded the Cultural Brand of the Year .

  

steigiotto, kostybit und 6 weitere haben das als Favorite

These old, worn pillars of a pier at Portishead made for an interesting subject on a recent club photo-shoot.

NAVAL BASE GUAM (May 7, 2020) Chief Aviation Structural Mechanic Hyung Kim, from Los Angeles, watches an MH-60R Seahawk, assigned to the “Wolf Pack” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75, take off from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Theodore Roosevelt’s COVID-negative crew returned from quarantine beginning on April 29 and is making preparations to return to sea to continue their scheduled deployment to the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Julian Davis)

Angled concrete pillar at the L-Tower in downtown Toronto

 

www.JackLandau.com

Venice, Italy.

 

Notice the iron bars which have been used to draw the wall into a more level,position. Venice is built on foundations of wooden piers driven into mud, not an ideal structural support.

Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_the_Assumption_(Windsor,_Ontario):

 

Our Lady of the Assumption, currently located at 350 Huron Church Road in Windsor, Ontario, is a Roman Catholic church and is the oldest continuous parish in Canada, west of Montreal.

 

The current church, which opened in 1845, is the fourth to be built on the site. The building closed in 2014 when it was determined the building needed approximately C$15 million in restoration work.

 

After a fundraising campaign, construction began in early 2019 on the first phase of a four phase restoration plan and included the installation of a long-term copper roof, a new heating system, major electrical work, and structural repairs.

 

The building reopened for regular weekend mass on September 8, 2019.

 

The parish began the second phase of the restoration plan in 2020. The second phase includes restoration of the church's ceiling.

 

It was originally established as "The Mission of Our Lady of the Assumption among the Hurons in Detroit" in 1728 by the Jesuit missionary Fr. Armand De La Richardie, S.J. In 1765, a 60 by 30 feet (18 m × 9 m) church was erected for the Hurons and some sixty French settler families. Assumption became an official, canonical institution in 1767 under its first pastor, Fr. Pierre Potier S.J. who remained at his post until his death in 1781.

 

That year, the bishop of Quebec sent his Vicar-General, Fr. Francois-Xavier Hubert to be pastor of Assumption parish. Fr. Hubert initiated plans to build a rectory and a school. A shortage of land for this project was rectified by a donation of land from the Hurons on March 6, 1782. The rectory was built in 1785 and in 1786 as coadjutor to the bishop of Quebec, Fr. Hubert, who had since relocated for his new post, contributed to the building of a new church and sent two women from Quebec to establish a school.

 

The new church opened in 1787 under Fr. François-Xavier Dufaux, who had replaced the interim pastor, Fr. Pierre Fréchette in 1786. In 1796, Fr. Jean-Baptiste Marchand began his thirty-year pastorate of Assumption parish. Upon Fr. Marchand's death in 1825, his assistant, Fr. Joseph Crevier, succeeded him. Fr. Crevier was pastor until 1831 when he was replaced by Fr. Angus Macdonell.

 

On July 7, 1842, the cornerstone of the present church was laid. Three years later, on July 20, 1845, the new 60 by 120 feet (18 m × 37 m) rectangular church was inaugurated under Fr. Pierre Point S.J. This rectangular structure forms the nave of the present parish. In 1857, Assumption College was opened, and two years later, in 1859, the bishop of the London Diocese, the Most Reverend Pierre Adolphe Pinsonneault, transferred his see to Sandwich and made Assumption church his cathedral.

 

On November 10, 1867, following a year-long interregnum, the Most Reverend John Walsh became bishop. In 1869, he returned the see to London, leaving Assumption in the care of Fr. Pierre Dominic Laurent.

 

In 1870, the Basilian Fathers of Toronto took control of Assumption parish and college under their first superior, Fr. Dennis O’Connor, and parish priest Fr. Jean Joseph Marie Abouli. Four years later, in 1874, Fr. O’Connor oversaw the addition of the tower and sanctuary of the present church.

 

In 1893, Fr. François-Xavier Semande, an alumnus of Assumption College, became the pastor and installed a new tower bell. In 1896, a new, brick rectory was built and in 1902 both it, and the church, were wired for electricity. In 1907, Fr. Alfred J. Côté became pastor. During his tenure, rosary chapel and the sacristy, begun under Fr. Semande, were completed.

 

From 1921 to 1926, the pastor was Fr. Edmund Toussaint Burns, who expanded the side altars and added the communion rail of the present church. From 1926 to 1937, the pastor was Fr. Edward William Allor. He created the Sunday Bulletin, which began on May 6, 1927. Fr. Allor was succeeded by Fr. Luke Léon Beuglet, who was pastor until 1944.

 

Fr. James Alexander Donlon was pastor from 1944 to 1962. During this time, the statue of Our Lady of the Assumption was erected in the front courtyard. In relatively quick succession, from 1962 to 1973, Frs. Thomas Roland Janisse, Francis J. McCarty, and Clifford J. Crowley had terms as pastor. Fr. Crowley's term witnessed the building of a new rectory, and ended in 1973 with the succession of Fr. Roger F. deBilly, who was replaced two years later, in 1975, by Fr. Lawrence J. Carney, during whose pastorate Assumption church was named a historical building by the City of Windsor.

 

In 1982, Fr. Patrick J. Gorman was named Pastor, followed by Fr. John Burke in 1985, Fr. Steve Rus in 1986, and in recent years, Fr. George Beaune, Fr. Daniel Zorzi, Fr. John Reddy, Fr. Paul Walsh, Fr. William Riegel, Fr. Don McCleod and Fr. Maurice Restivo. Under Fr. Zorzi's administration, Rosary Chapel was completely redone.

 

In 2007, Assumption Church added to its schedule the celebration of the Tridentine Latin Mass on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. The church's high altar, sanctuary, communion rail, and pipe organ make it well-suited to this type of liturgy, which attracts churchgoers from throughout southern Ontario and southeastern Michigan. Assumption's Latin Mass Community hosts regular special events, and the Latin Mass Choir is regularly called upon to sing at special Latin Masses throughout the region.

 

In 2007, it was learned that Assumption church needed C$9.8 million in extensive restoration repairs. In 2012, a re-assessment of repair costs saw this amount rise to approximately C$15 million.

 

Assumption Church was closed in November 2014 after the building's condition deteriorated. Worship continued daily in the Rosary Chapel and on weekends at the former Holy Name of Mary Church. The Roman Catholic Diocese of London has stated its commitment to the church's restoration and reopening if a donor comes forward.

 

In 2017, Assumption parishioners began hosting a series of events to celebrate the parish's 250th year.

 

In early 2019, local lawyer Paul Mullins spearheaded a fundraising campaign and four-phase restoration plan for the church building.

 

Construction began in the spring of 2019 on the first phase. Work included the installation of a long-term copper roof, a new heating system, major electrical work, and structural repairs.

 

The parish moved back into the church on September 8, 2019, and began celebrating weekend masses there again.

 

The parish began the second phase of the restoration plan in 2020. The second phase includes restoration of the church's ceiling.

After I finished off the first wing prototyp I wanted to attach it to the cockpit pod just to notice that the wing turned out way to heavy for the joints I´ve build, as they immediatly cracked under the pressure.

So next thing to do is to get those joints stronger.

Otherwise the poor pilot will never ever know how it feels to fly among the stars, well at least among a planetary surface.

 

See the finished MOC here.

This wonderful little loco was built by fellow Flickr user (and a good friend!) Scotnick. I downloaded the model and removed the gears, motor, and all other Power Functions components. I replaced those parts with internal bracing, (just in case the structural integrity was compromised by me) I then redid the funnel design and dome mount, plus I added standard magnetic couplers. The second piston arm was removed to decease parts & cost.

Below are the facts and figures for Engine #5713:

 

Engine Number: 5713

Engine Type: steam, mixed traffic

Configuration: 2-6-2T

Engine Class: 2MT

Designer: George Ivatt

Build Date: 1949

Builder: Crewe Works

Current Owner: Lego Rail Transport Society (LRTS)

Length: 33 studs

Width: 7 studs

Height: 10 bricks

Top Speed: 70 MPH

 

Scotnick's original design / links to his WIP photos:

www.flickr.com/photos/94645638@N07/12461052724/in/faves-5...

 

EDIT: Reduced the top speed to 70 MPH, as per suggestion by ScotNick. Thanks again!

(Updated on March 20, 2025)

 

Looking northeastward from the unimproved rock-and-gravel one-laner called Old Ore Road. I'm here about 1.4 road mi (2.2 km) north of the intersection with Park Road 12 to Rio Grande Village.

 

For those wishing to traverse this former mule-team trail, the National Park Service website has this to say, in screaming caps:

 

"NOTICE: The Old Ore Road is currently in a very poor, unmaintained condition. Travel on this primitive road REQUIRES High Clearance AND true Four-Wheel Drive. It is NOT passable to passenger cars, minivans, motorhomes, and tiny crossover SUVs."

 

I think they really mean it. When I took a small tour group here in 2002, we were in a full-sized SUV. It was 4WD and qualified as high-clearance, I guess, but its Achilles' heel was its tires, which were designed for standard vacation driving on paved roads, and not for rough-country use. However, we'd already made it into the heart of the Solitario, albeit at the cost of one flat on the way back.

 

I'm happy and somewhat amazed to report that here also we were lucky, and were able to trek the whole, 26-mi / 42 km way, from Old Ore Road's southern end at Park Road 12 up to Dagger Flat Auto Trail, and then over to the Main Park Road connecting Persimmon Gap with Panther Junction. And not even a flat this time. That was much farther than I had expected. Still, there were a number of places where I had to get out and scout ahead on foot to make sure the vehicle could get through. And it was a very close call more than once.

 

All that duly noted, here's some emphasized text of my own: Do not assume that just because I was fortunate enough to get that far twenty-two years ago, you can do so now. The NPS rangers on site know best, and in my experience are spot-on in assessing road conditions. Were I trying get up Old Ore today, I'd use a helicopter or a blimp.

 

- - - - - - - -

 

In this first shot of the set, I'm recording the local geology just a few minutes' drive up from where this very unpaved track meets Park Road 12 between the big Tornillo Creek bridge and the Cuesta Carlota tunnel. And speaking of the latter, the tilted ridge shown above is indeed the Cuesta Carlota. In Big Bend Vistas, William MacLeod notes that this is the westernmost fault flock of the Sierra del Carmen range that is such an impressive and beautiful part of the Big Bend landscape.

 

Composed of upturned layers of the Buda Limestone and Del Rio Clay formations, both Upper Cretaceous in age, Cuesta Carlota has, as MacLeod aptly says, "an almost corrugated appearance" when seen from above.

 

This is due to the fact that it's been cross-punctuated at regular intervals by gullies—a reminder that, as ironic as it seems, erosion is the dominant terrain-shaper in desert environments. It may rain rarely, but when it does, its does so dramatically. Much downcutting takes place in short bursts.

 

At first glance that may be difficult to sense at this angle, but careful scrutiny reveals the existence of the crosscutting ravines where the ridge's deformed strata are visible.

 

In those ravines, and on the alluvial fans and the Tornillo Creek Graben floor as well, grows a wonderfully adapted Chihuahuan Desert plant community. I'm seriously tempted to focus on it for the rest of this description. But I have another photo better suited for that, and besides, I should review the general structural setting first.

 

The Sierra del Carmen owes its existence to various factors—among them two separate and especially significant tectonic episodes. The first, the Laramide Orogeny in late-Cretaceous and early-Cenozoic time. was a compressional phase in which preexisting rock units were pushed into a generally monoclinal orientation, with the strata bent into a stair-step shape that produced uplifted blocks bounded by basins.

 

Then, later in the Cenozoic (25-2 my ago), a large portion of western North American underwent an extensional phase that created the Basin-and-Range and Rio-Grande-Rift topography we see today. This activity extended as far inland as far as this area. The Sierra del Carmen was stretched and thinned into an alternation of down-dropped sections bounded by normal faults (grabens) and raised blocks (horsts).

 

While by no means as lofty of the central spine of the Sierra del Carmen, the Cuesta Carlota horst is still an impressive indicator of the park's Basin-and-Range tectonics.

 

To see the other photos and descriptions in this set, visit my my Integrative Natural History of Old Ore Road album.

      

I had about a half hour to kill before going to a show at Yoshi's in Oakland's Jack London Square last night (John Mayall), so how better to spend it than to take advantage of the low light.

© Andy Matthews

 

www.andymatthewsphotography.com

Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my written permission. © Toni_V. All rights reserved.

BIGGER

Thillai Natarajah Temple, Chidambaram or Chidambaram temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in the town of Chidambaram, East-Central Tamil Nadu, South India. The temple is known as the foremost of all temples (Kovil) to Saivites and has influenced worship, architecture, sculpture and performance art for over two millennium. The Sangam classics list chief architect Viduvelvidugu Perumthachchan as directing an early renovation of the shrine.

 

A major shrine of Lord Shiva worship since the classical period, there have been several renovations and offerings to Chidambaram by the Pallava, Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagara and Chera royals in the ancient and pre-medieval periods. The temple as it stands now is mainly of the 12th and 13th centuries, with later additions in similar style. Its bronze statues and stone sculptures depicting various deities and the famous Thillai trees (Excoecaria agallocha) of the surrounding forest reflect the highpoints of early Chola and Pallava art while its famed gold plated gopuram towers are medieval structural additions by the royals Aditya I, Parantaka Chola I, Kopperunchinga I, Krishnadevaraya and Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan. King Kocengannan Chola was born following prayers his parents offered at the temple and later in his life he refined its structure. The shrine gave the town its name.

 

The deity that presides here is கூத்தன் - Thillai Koothan (Thillai Nataraja - Shiva, The Lord of Dance). Chidambaram is the birthplace of the sculpture and bronze image representation of Lord Shiva as the cosmic dancer, a Tamilian concept and motif in Chola art that has since become notable as a symbol of Hinduism. The shrine is the only Shiva temple to have its main deity represented in this anthropomorphic form, as the supreme being who performs all cosmic activities. The consort deity here is Sivakami Amman (form of Amman - mother goddess and female energy). Two other forms of Lord Shiva are represented close to this in the vimana (inner sanctum) of the temple - as a crystallised lingam - the most common representation of Lord Shiva in temples, and as the aether space classical element, represented with empty space and a garland of fifty one hanging golden bilvam leaves (Aegle marmelos). Lord Shiva is captured in pose as Nataraja performing the Ananda Tandava ("Dance of Delight") in the golden hall of the shrine Pon Ambalam (பொன் அம்பலம்). The sculptures of Chidambaram inspired the postures of Bharatha Natyam. The Chidambaram complex is admired for its five famous halls (ambalam or sabhai), several grand smaller shrines to the Hindu deities Ganesh, Murugan, Vishnu and Sivakami Amman which contain Pandyan and Nayak architectural styles, and for its endowment from many water tanks, one of which links it to the Thillai Kali temple.

 

Chidambaram is one of the five Pancha Bootha Sthalams, the holiest Shiva temples each representing one of the five classical elements; Chidambaram represents akasha (aether). Chidambaram is glorified in Tirumular's Tirumandhiram and was visited by Patañjali and VyagjrapadharPulikaal Munivar. It is the primary shrine of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams - Shiva Sthalams glorified in the early medieval Tevaram poems by Tamil Saivite Nayanar saints Tirunavukkarasar, Thirugnana Sambandar and Sundarar. Hailed in the Tiruvacakam series by Manikkavacakar, these very volumes of the Tirumurai literature canon were themselves found in secret chambers of the temple. The Periya Puranam, a biography of these Nayanar saints by Sekkizhar commissioned by emperor Kulothunga Chola II, was written in the shrine's Thousand Pillared Hall. In Kanda Puranam, the epic authored by Kachiyappa Sivachariar of Kanchipuram, the Chidambaram shrine is venerated as one of the three foremost Shiva abodes in the world, alongside Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee and Mount Kailash.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The traditional name of the temple complex, Chidambaram Tillai Nataraja-koothan Kovil, alludes to the environment of its location and its origins and significance in Saivite worship. The mangrove of ancient Tillai (தில்லை) trees (Exocoeria agallocha) of the forest surrounding the shrine when it was first built inspired the shrine's name and early artistic inspiration; the Tillai trees of the nearby Pichavaram wetlands, the second largest mangrove in the world, extends to the temple area. The shrine is venerated as Tillai ambalam (தில்லை அம்பலம் ), literally meaning Tillai Open Stage, the open space surrounded by Tillai Vanam (தில்லை வனம்) (the Tillai forest) - the original name of this area.[9] The name of the town of this shrine, Chidambaram comes from the Tamil word Chitrambalam (சிற்றம்பலம்) - "small hall/stage"; also spelled Chithambalam (சிட்டம்பலம்), from citt/chitthu and ambalam - meaning "wisdom of this open stage/atmosphere". The shrine is where some devotees believe they will attain liberation, or chitaakasam - "wisdom/consciousness of the sky". "Nataraja" or "Koothan" mean "Lord of Dance".

 

LEGEND

The story of Chidambaram begins with Lord Shiva strolling into the Thillai Vanam (vanam meaning forest and thillai trees - botanical name Exocoeria agallocha, a species of mangrove trees - which currently grows in the Pichavaram wetlands near Chidambaram). In the Thillai forests resided a group of sages or 'rishis' who believed in the supremacy of magic and that God can be controlled by rituals and mantras or magical words. Lord Shiva strolled in the forest with resplendent beauty and brilliance, assuming the form of Bhikshatana, a simple mendicant seeking alms. He was followed by His consort, Vishnu as Mohini. The sages and their wives were enchanted by the brilliance and the beauty of The handsome mendicant and His consort. On seeing their womenfolk enchanted, the rishis got enraged and invoked scores of serpents (nāgas) by performing magical rituals. Lord Shiva lifted the serpents and donned them as ornaments on His matted locks, neck and waist. Further enraged, the sages invoked a fierce tiger, whose skins and dons were used by Lord Shiva as a shawl around His waist and then followed by a fierce elephant, which was devoured and ripped to death by Lord Shiva (Gajasamharamurthy).

 

The rishis gathered all their spiritual strength and invoked a powerful demon Muyalakan - a symbol of complete arrogance and ignorance. Lord Shiva wore a gentle smile, stepped on the demon's back, immobilized him and performed the Ánanda Tandava (the dance of eternal bliss) and disclosed his true form. The sages surrender, realizing that Lord Shiva is the truth and He is beyond magic and rituals.

 

PATRONAGE

To Saivites, primarily in Tamil Nadu, the very word koil refers primarily to Chidambaram Tillai Natarajar.

 

Chidambaram is a temple complex spread over 160,000 m2 in the heart of the city. The main complex to Lord Shiva Nataraja also contains shrines to deities such as Shivakami Amman, Ganesh, Murugan and Vishnu in the form Govindaraja Perumal. Chidambaram's earliest structures were designed and erected by ancient craftsmen called Perumtaccan. The golden tiled roof for the Chit Ambalam (the vimanam) was laid by the Chola King Parantaka I (907-950 CE) following which he was given the title - Thillaiyambalathhukku pon koorai veiyntha thevan (Tamil:தில்லையாம்பலதுக்கு பொன் கூரை வேய்ந்த தேவன், meaning the one who constructed the golden roof). In its floruit, kings Rajaraja Chola I (reign 985-1014 AD) and Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 AD) made significant donations to the temple. Gold and riches to the temple were donated by Rajaraja Chola's daughter Kundavai II while Chola king Vikrama Chola (1118-1135 AD) made donations for the conduct of the daily rituals.

 

Donations of gold and jewels have been made by various kings, rulers and patrons to the temple from 9th to 16th century - including the Maharaja of Pudukottai, Sethupathy (the emerald jewel still adorns the deity) and the British.

 

Naralokaviran, the general of king Kulothunga Chola I was responsible for building a shrine for child saint Thirugnana Sambanthar and installed a metal image inside it. He constructed a hall for recitation of Tevaram hymns and engraved the hymns in copper plates.

 

TEMPLE STRUCTURE

The temple is the only great temple complex to date mainly from the later Chola period, and contains the earliest examples of a number of features that are found in many later temples, including "the earliest known Devī or Amman shrine, nritta (dance) maṇḍapa, Sūrya shrine with chariot wheels, hundred-and-thousand pillared maṇḍapas, even the first giant Śiva Gangā tank".A classical Shiva temple as per Agama rules will have five prakarams (closed precincts of a temple) or circuits each separated by walls one within the other. The outer prakaram will be open to the sky except the innermost one. The innermost one will house the main deity as well as other deities. There will be a massive wooden or stone flag post exactly in line with the main deity. The innermost prakaram houses the sanctum sanctorum (தமிழ் = கருவரை).

 

Chidambaram is also referred to in various works such as Thillai (after the Thillai forest of yore in which the temple is now located), Perumpatrapuliyur or Vyagrapuram (in honour of Saint Vyagrapathar, Sanskrit: Vyaghrapada - "Tiger-Footed").

 

The temple is supposed to be located at the lotus heart of the Universe: Virat hridaya padma sthalam.

 

This gold-roofed stage is the sanctum sanctorum of the Chidambaram temple and houses the Lord in three forms:

 

- the "form" - the anthropomorphic form as an appearance of Nataraja, called the Sakala-thirumeni.

- the "semi-form" – the semi-anthropomorphic form as the Crystal linga of Chandramaulishvara, the Sakala-nishkala-thirumeni.

- the "formless" – as the space in Chidambara-rahasyam, an empty space within the sanctum sanctorum, the Nishkala-thirumeni.

 

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE DESIGN

The layout and architecture of the temple is replete with philosophical meanings.

 

Three of the five Panchaboothasthala temples, those at Kalahasti, Kanchipuram and Chidambaram all stand on a straight line exactly at 79 degree 41 minutes East longitude - truly an engineering, astrological and geographical wonder. Of the other two temples, Tiruvanaikkaval is located at around 3 degrees to the south and exactly 1 degree to the west of the northern tip of this divine axis, while Tiruvannamalai is around midway (1.5 degree to the south and 0.5 degree to the west).

 

The 9 gateways signify the 9 orifices in the human body.

The Chitsabai or Ponnambalam, the sanctum sanctorum represents the heart which is reached by a flight of 5 stairs called the Panchaatchara padi - pancha meaning 5, achhara – indestructible syllables – "SI VA YA NA MA", from a raised anterior dias - the Kanakasabai. The access to the Sabhai is through the sides of the stage (and not from the front as in most temples). The Chit sabha roof is supported by four pillars symbolic of the four Vedas.

 

The Ponnambalam or the Sanctum sanctorum is held by 28 pillars – representing the 28 agamas or set methodologies for the worship of Lord Shiva. The roof is held by a set of 64 beams representing the 64 forms of art and is held by several cross-beams representing the innumerable blood vessels. The roof has been laid by 21,600 golden tiles with the word SIVAYANAMA inscribed on them representing 21600 breaths. The golden tiles are fixed using 72,000 golden nails which represents the no. of nadis exists in human body. The roof is topped by a set of 9 sacred pots or kalasas, representing the 9 forms of energy. The artha mandapa(sanctum) has six pillars denoting the six shastras (holy texts).

 

The hall next to the artha mantapa has eighteen pillars symbolizing the eighteen Puranas.

 

TOWERS

The temple has nine gateways, and four of these have gateway towers or gopurams each with 7 storeys facing the East, South, West and North. The South gopuram called the Sokkaseeyan Thirunilai Ezhugopuram was constructed by a Pandya king identified from the presence of the dynasty's fish emblem sculpted on the ceiling. The Pandyas sculpted two fishes facing each other when they completed gopurams (and left it with one fish, in case it was incomplete). The earliest and smallest of the four is West gopuram constructed around 1150 and there are no reliable evidence on the construction. The sculptures shows goddess fighting the buffalo-demon and warlike Skanda astride his peacock. The North Gopuram was initiated around 1300 AD with the brick portion constructed by the Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya (1509-1530 AD) in the 16th century. The East Gopuram, was claimed to have been constructed by the Pallava King Koperunsingan II (1243-1279 AD) as per epigrahical records and was repaired by Subbammal, the mother-in-law of the famous philanthropist Pachaiyappa Mudaliar (1754-1794 AD). The idols of Pachaiappa Mudaliar and his wife Iyalammal have been sculpted on the eastern gopuram. The Pachaiappa Trust to date has been responsible for various functions in the temple and also maintain the temple car. The eastern gopuram is renowned for its complete enumeration of 108 poses of Indian classical dance – Bharathanatyam, detailed in small rectangular panels along the passage that leads to the gateway. Each gopuram has around fifty stone sculptures, with each repeating some portions from the other.

 

HALLS

There are 5 ambalams or sabhas (halls) inside the temple.

 

- Chit Ambalam or Chit Sabhai, which is the sanctum sanctorum housing Lord Nataraja and his consort Sivakami Sundari, and gave the temple town its name.

- Pon Ambalam or Kanaka Sabhai – the golden hall in front of the Chit Ambalam, from where the daily rituals are conducted.

- Nrithya sabhai or Natya sabhai, a 56-pillared hall lies to the south of the temple's flag mast (kodi maram or dwaja sthambam) where Nataraja outdanced Kali and established his supremacy

- Raja sabhai or the 1000-pillared hall which symbolizes the yogic chakra of thousand pillared lotus or Sahasraram (which in yoga is a chakra) at the crown of the head and is a seat where the soul unites with God. This chakra is represented as a 1000-petalled lotus. Meditating by concentrating at the Sahasrara Chakra is said to lead to a state of union with The Divine Force and is the pinnacle of yogic practice. The hall is open only on festive days.

- Deva Sabhai, which houses the Pancha moorthis (pancha - five, moorthis - deities, namely the deities of Ganesh, Somaskanda (seated posture of Lord Shiva with Pavarthi and Skanda), Sivananda Nayaki, Muruga and the image of Chandikeswarar.

 

SHRINES

- The shrines for the original Shivalingam worshipped by the saints Patanjali and Vyagrapathar – called the Thiru Aadhimoolanathar and his consort Umaiyammai

- The shrine of the 63 nayanars of Lord Shiva – called the Arubaththu moovar.

- Shrine of Sivagami.

- Ganesha shrine

- Shrine of Muruga or Pandiya nayakan

 

There are also several smaller shrines in the temple complex.

 

GOVINDARAJA SWAMY SHRINE

The Govindaraja shrine is dedicated to Vishnu and is one of the 108 holy temples of Lord Vishnu called divyadesam, revered by the 7th-9th-century saint poets of vaishnava (those worshipping Lord Vishnu) tradition, alwars. Kulashekara alwar mentions this temple as Tillai Chitrakutam and equates Chitrakuta of Ramayana fame with this shrine. King Kulothunga Chola II is believed to have uprooted the presiding Govindraja image from the shrine. The shrine has close connections with the Govindaraja temple in Tirupati dating back to saint Ramanuja of the 11-12th century. Ramanujar fled to Tirupati with the utsava (festival image) of the temple to escape punishment. Down the centuries, king Krishnappa Nayak (1564-1572 AD) was instrumental in installing the image of Govindaraja back in the temple. There was lot of resistance from the shaivites (those worshipping Shiva) against placing the Vishnu image in a revered Shiva temple, but the king was unmoved and the image was installed in the present form. There is no satisfactory evidence of co-existence of the Shiva and Vishnu shrines within the same temple built during the same time - there was a dispute even in last century during 1849 AD regarding the rights on the Govindaraja idol and Alwar Sannidhi(sanctum of azhwars) between Vaishnavas and Dikshitars and the position of Vaishnavas was upheld by the district court.

 

TEMPLE TANKS

The Chidambaram temple is well endowed with several water bodies within and around the temple complex.

 

- Sivaganga (சிவகங்கை) tank is in the third corridor of the temple opposite to the shrine of Shivagami. It is accessed by flights of stone steps leading from the shrine.

- Paramanandha koobham is the well on the eastern side of the Chitsabhai hall from which water is drawn for sacred purposes.

- Kuyya theertham is situated to the north-east of Chidambaram in Killai near the Bay of Bengal and has the shore called Pasamaruthanthurai.

- Pulimadu is situated around a kilometer and a half to the south of Chidambaram.

- Vyagrapatha Theertham is situated on to the west of the temple opposite to the temple of Ilamai Akkinaar.

- Anantha Theertham is situated to the west of the temple in front of the Anantheswarar temple.

- Nagaseri tank is situated to the west of the Anantha thirtham.

- Brahma Theertham is situated to the north-west of the temple at Thirukalaanjeri.

- Underground channels at the shrine drain excess water in a northeasterly direction to the Shivapiyai temple tank (சிவப்பியை குளம்) of the Thillai Kali Temple, Chidambaram. Due to poor maintenance, it has not been in use.

- Thiruparkadal is the tank to the south-east of the Shivapiyai tank.

 

TEMPLE CAR

The Chidambaram temple car is, perhaps, the most beautiful example of a temple car in all of Tamil Nadu. This car, on which Lord Nataraja descends twice a year, is drawn by several thousand devotees during the festivals.

 

ANANDA TANDAVA

The legend of the temple is same as the legend of Ānanda-tāṇḍava. Adhisesha, the serpent who serves as a bed of Lord Vishnu, hears about the Änanda thaandava and yearns to see and enjoy it. Lord Shiva beckons him to assume the saintly form of sage Patanjali and sends him to the Thillai forest, informing him that he will display the dance in due course. Patanjali who meditated in the Himalayas during krita age joins another saint, Vyaghrapada or Pulikaalmuni (Vyagra / Puli meaning "Tiger" and patha / kaal meaning "feet" – referring to the story of how he sought and got the feet and eyesight of a tiger to help climb trees well before dawn to pick flowers for The Lord before the bees visit them). The story of sage Patanjali as well as his great student sage Upamanyu is narrated in both Vishnu Purana as well as Shiva Purana. They move into the Thillai forest and worship Lord Shiva in the form of lingam, a deity worshipped today as Thirumoolataneswarar (Thiru - sri, Moolatanam - primordial or in the nature of a foundation, Eswarar- the Lord). Legends say that Lord Shiva displayed his dance of bliss (the Aananda Thaandavam) - as Nataraja to these two saints on the day of the poosam star in the Tamil month of Thai (January-February).

 

THE ANANDA TANDAVA POSTURE

The Ānanda-tāṇḍava posture of Nataraja represents pancikritya functions of the godhead believed to have created the dynamic force to create the world.

 

- The demon under Lord Nataraja's feet signifies that ignorance is under His feet.

- The fire in His hand (power of destruction) means He is the destroyer of evil.

- The raised hand (Abhaya or Pataka mudra) signifies that He is the savior of all life forms.

- The arc of fire called Thiruvashi or Prabhavati signifies the cosmos and the perpetual motion of the earth.

- The drum in His hand signifies the origin of life forms.

- The lotus pedestal signifies Om, the sound of the universe.

- His right eye, left eye and third eye signify the sun, moon and fire/knowledge, respectively.

- His right earring (makara kundalam) and left earring (sthri kundalam) signify the union of man and woman (right is man, left is woman).

- The crescent moon in His hair signifies benevolence and beauty.

- The flowing of river Ganges through His matted hair signifies eternity of life.

- The dreading of His hair and drape signify the force of His dance.

 

Another notable point of this posture is that it is based on the six point star. Nataraja's head forms the topmost point of the star, while His spreading hair and right hand form the upper side points. His drape and raised left leg form the lower points, and His right leg that rests on the demon Myalagga forms the lowest point. Surrounding this is the arc of fire.

 

RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE

Pancha Bhoota Stalam (Sanskrit: पन्च भूत स्थल) refers to the five Shiva temples, each representing the manifestation of the five prime elements of nature - land, water, air, sky, fire. Pancha indicates five, Bhoota means elements and Stala means place. All these temples are located in South India with four of these temples at Tamil Nadu and one at Andhra Pradesh. The five elements are believed to be enshrined in the five lingams and each of the lingams representing Lord Shiva in the temple have five different names based on the elements they represent. In the temple, Shiva is said to have manifested himself in the form of sky. The other four manifestations are Prithivi Lingam (representing land) at Ekambareswarar Temple, Appu Lingam (representing Water) at Thiruvanaikaval, Agni Lingam (representing fire) at Annamalaiyar Temple and Vayu Lingam (representing air) at Srikalahasti Temple.

 

Aathara Stala indicates the Shiva temples which are considered to be divine impersonification of Tantric chakras associated with human anatomy. Nataraja temple is called the Anthaga stalam associated with Anthagam - the third eye.

 

Pancha Sabhai refers to the five places where Lord Shiva is said to have displayed His cosmic dance and all these places have stages or ambalams, also known as Sabhai. Apart from Chidambaram which has the Ponna Ambalam - the Golden Hall, the others are the I-Ratthina Ambalam - the Jeweled Hall at Thiruvaalangadu (rathinam – ruby / red jewelled), the Chitra Ambalam - the Painted Hall at Thirukutralam (chitra – painting), the Velli Ambalam - the Silver Hall at Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple (velli – silver) and the Thaamira Ambalam - the Copper Hall at Nellaiappar Temple, Tirunelveli (Thaamiram – copper).

 

RELIGIOUS WORK AND SAINTS

There is no reference to the temple in Sangam literature of the 1st to 5th centuries and the earliest mention is found in 6th century Tamil literature. The temple and the deity were immortalized in Tamil poetry in the works of Thevaram by three poet saints belonging to the 7th century - Thirugnana Sambanthar, Thirunavukkarasar and Sundaramoorthy Nayanar. Thirugnana Sambanthar has composed 2 songs in praise of the temple, Thirunavukkarasar aka Appar 8 Tevarams in praise of Nataraja and Sundarar 1 song in praise of Nataraja. Sundarar commences his Thiruthondar thogai (the sacred list of Lord Shiva's 63 devotees) paying his respects to the priests of the Thillai temple - "To the devotees of the priests at Thillai, I am a devotee". The works of the first three saints, Thirumurai were stored in palm leaf manuscripts in the temple and were recovered by the Chola King Rajaraja Chola under the guidance of Nambiandarnambi. Manikkavasagar, the 10th century saivite poet has written two works, the first called Tiruvasakam (The sacred utterances) which largely has been sung in Chidambaram and the Thiruchitrambalakkovaiyar (aka Thirukovaiyar), which has been sung entirely in the temple. Manikkavasagar is said to have attained spiritual bliss at Chidambaram. The Chidambaram Mahatmiyam composed during the 12th century explain the subsequent evolution and de-sanskritization.

 

THE CHIDAMBARA RAHASIYAM

During the daily rituals, the Chief priest, of the day, himself in a state of Godliness - Shivohambhava (Shiva - the Lord, in His Sandhi form - Shivo-, aham – me / us, bhava - state of mind), parts the curtain, indicating the withdrawal of ignorance and reveals the space, and The Lord’s presence.

 

The Chidambara Rahasya, is hence representative of that time when one, in total surrender, allows God to intervene and remove our ignorance, even as we get to 'see and experience' His presence and hence - bliss.

Temple administration and daily rituals

 

WORSHIP FORMS

A unique feature of this temple is the bejeweled image of Lord Nataraja as the main deity. It depicts Lord Shiva as the master of Koothu-Bharata Natyam and is one of the few temples where Lord Shiva is represented by an anthropomorphic murthi rather than the classic, anionic Lingam.

 

At Chidambaram, the dancer dominates, not the linga as in other Shiva shrines. The Chitsabha houses a small sphatika(crystal) linga (Chandramoulisvara), believed to be a piece that fell from the crescent adorning Lord Shiva's head and installed by Adi Shankara. The linga is associated with the intangible fifth element, akasha (ether or space), the eternal infinite expanse where the dance of Lord Shiva takes place daily puja is offered to the linga and also to a small gem-carved figure of Ratnasabhapati.

 

Chidambaram offers a combination of the three apects of Shaiva worship - of the form Lord(Nataraja), of the form and the formlessness (linga) and of the formless omnipresence. The last is suggested by a "Chidambara rahasya", a chakra inscribed on a wall and blackened by applying "punugu" (civet) and over which hangs a string of golden bilva (bael) leaves. This can be viewed through the square chinks when the priest draws aside the dark "curtain of ignorance".

 

WORSHIP

The temple is managed and administered hereditarily by the Chidambaram Dikshitar – a class of Vaidika Brahmins whom, legends say, were brought here from Mt. Kailas, by Patanjali, specifically for the performance of the daily rituals and maintenance of the Chidambaram temple.

 

DIKSHITARS

The Dikshithars were supposed to be 3000 were called Tillai Muvayiram. Today they number around 360. These Dikshithars follow the Vedic rituals, unlike the Sivachariyars or Adhisaivars who follow the agamic rituals for the worship of Shiva and they sport a specific lopsided-to-the-left half shaved head. The rituals for the temple were collated from the Vedas and set by Patanjali, who is said to have inducted the Dikshithars into the worship of Lord Shiva as Nataraja. Every married male member of the Dikshithar family gets a turn to perform the rituals at the temple and can serve as the chief priest for the day. Married Dikshithars are also entitled a share of the temple's revenue. Though the temple is said to have been given endowments of almost 20 km2 of fertile land – having been patronized by various rulers for several centuries, it is managed almost entirely by privately run endowments.

 

DAILY RITUALS

The day begins with the chief priest of the day, performing required rituals to purify himself and assume the Shivoham bhava (Shiva-hood), after which he enters the temple to do the daily rituals. The day begins with Lord Shiva's footwear (padukas) brought at 7:00 am from the palliyarai (bedroom) to the sanctum sanctorum in a palanquin accompanied by devotees with cymbals, chimes and drums. The priest then performs the daily rituals with a yajna and a 'Gopujai' (worship of a cow and her calf). Worship (Puja) is done 6 times in a day. Before each puja, the spadika linga (crystal linga) or the semi form state of Lord Shiva is anointed with ghee, milk, curds, rice, sandal paste and holy ash. This is followed by presenting the naivedhyam or offering of freshly prepared food and sweets to the deity and the diparaadhana, a ritual of showing varied and decoratively set lamps, the reciting of Vedas in Sanskrit and the Panchapuranam (a set of 5 poems from a set of 12 works in Tamil – called the panniru thirumurai). The puja ends with the priest parting the curtains of the sanctum sanctorum to reveal the Chidambara Rahasyam (sanctum).

 

Before the 2nd puja, apart from the regular anointing of the crystal linga, a ruby Nataraja deity (the Rathinasabhapathy) is also anointed. The 3rd puja is at around 12.00 noon, after which the temple closes until around 4:30 pm. The 4th puja is performed at 6.00 pm, the 5th at 8:00 pm and the last puja of the day is performed at 10:00 pm, after which Lord Shiva’s footwear is taken in a procession for Him to ‘retire’ for the night. Before the 5th puja at night, the priest performs special rituals at the Chidambara Rahasya, where he anointed the yantra with aromatic substances and offers naivedyam. The last puja, called the arthajaama puja is performed with special fervor. It is believed that the entire divine force of the universe retires into the deity, when he retires for the night.

 

TEMPLE ADMINISTRATION

The Diskshithars one and fully responsible for the administration and pooja. Simply they mentioned their surname as the Sri Natarajar Temple Trustee and Pooja forever. Dikshithars life and temple tied as the nail and flesh relationship.

 

FESTIVALS

A whole year for men is said to be a single day for the gods. Just as six poojas are performed in a day at the sanctum sanctorum, six anointing ceremonies are performed for the principal deity - Nataraja in a year. They are the Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai (in December-January) indicating the first puja, the fourteenth day after the new moon (chaturdasi) of the month of Masi (February-March) indicating the second pooja, the Chittirai Thiruvonam (in April-May), indicating the third pooja or uchikalam, the Uthiram of Aani (June-July) also called the Aani Thirumanjanam indicating the evening or the fourth puja, the chaturdasi of Aavani (August-September) indicating the fifth puja and the chaturdasi of the month of Puratasi (October-November) indicating the sixth pooja or Arthajama. Of these the Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai (in December-January) and the Aani Thirumanjanam (in June-July ) are the most important. These are conducted as the key festivals with the main deity being brought outside the sanctum sanctorum in a procession that included a temple car procession followed by a long anointing ceremony. Several hundreds of thousands of people flock the temple to see the anointing ceremony and the ritualistic dance of Shiva when he is taken back to the sanctum sanctorum. Lord Shiva, in his incarnation of Nataraja, is believed to have born on full moon day in the constellation of Ardra, the sixth lunar mansion. Lord Shiva is bathed only 6 times a year, and on the previous night of Ardra, the bath rituals are performed on a grand scale. Pots full of milk, pomegranate juices, coconut water, ghee, oil, sandal paste, curds, holy ashes, and other liquids and solids, considered as sacred offering to the deity are used for the sacred ablution.

 

There are references in Umapathy Sivam's

Kunchithaangristhavam that the Maasi festival also had the Lord being carried out in procession, however this is not in vogue these days.

 

Natyanjali is a prominent festival celebrated during February every year when Bharatnatyam dancers from all over the country converge to present dance offering to Nataraja.

 

HISTORY

Constructed to signify where Tamil Shaivites identify the centre loci of the universe to be, the shrine, dedicated to Lord Shiva, has witnessed several significant events in the history of Tamil Nadu. A powerful legacy of Dravidian art, its structures and sculptures have attracted pilgrims to Chidambaram for over two millennium. The birthplace of Nataraja when Shaivite worship was highly popular during the Sangam period, Chidambaram had gained a reputation for holiness across the continent by the third century CE and the admiration of the Tamilakkam royals of the early Cholas, Chera dynasty and the early Pandyan Kingdom. Built by the early Cholas to one of their family deities - Nataraja-Koothan - it served as the king and queen's state temple and seat of their monarchs' coronations. The Chola royals underlined their non-partisan approach to religious iconography and faith by also patronizing the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple dedicated to Vishnu - their other Kuladheivam or "abode of family deity". Chola King Kocengannan who reigned in the first half of the 2nd century CE was born after his parents King Subhadevan and Kamaladevi worshipped in the Thillai Golden Hall (Pon Ambalam). He expanded the shrine in his later life and added to unfinished decorations. Saints Patañjali Tirumular and Vyaghrapada famously worshipped Nataraja at the shrine. The travelling Pallava-Chola king Simhavarman (II or III) who reigned in the 5th-6th century CE was cured of leprosy by bathing in the Shivagangai tank and in gratitude made extensive repairs and additions to the temple. He changed his name to Hiranyavarman or "golden bodied."

 

The Puranas, Sangam literature and the Tirumurai canon join several epigraphs and murals in highlighting the brilliance of the temple site and the devotion of Patañjali, Vyaghrapada-Pulikaalmunivar and patanjali to Nataraja at Thillai. The sthala puranam as well as umapathi sivacharya's koyil puranam give an account of how an ancient chola prince of kritayugam or first of epochal ages. Worshipped The Lord's feet at Chidambaram and being blessed with a vision of His was further helped by saint Vyaghrapada to consecrate a place of worship therewith. The temple murals and some cholan and pandyan literature refer to this sthala puranam. The chidambaram mahatyam as well as koyil puranam by the same author discuss as to how this prince who was presented with dhataki or atti garland and tiger flag in which Lord Indra would take abode to make him ever victorious was blessed with vision of lord and further attained mukti at this spot. This is very credible because all ancient literature and documents report that tiger flag and atti or dhataki (grislea tomentosa) garland as being emblematic with cholas. Some sangam period works also passingly refer to the krita age king's war with demons and his victory against them. The king also went by name Vyaghraketu after being gifted with the tiger flag.

 

Later during the 4th or 5th century CE, a pallava king called Simha Varman who was also a nayanmar saint by name Aiyatikal Kaadavarkon made some compositions and bathed in the tank and attained mukthi at tiru-perum-ppatra-puliyur or chidambaram. Aragalur Udaya Iraratevan Ponparappinan had refurbished most of the parts and rebuilt some parts of the temple around 1213 AD.

 

At periodical intervals (12 years in general), major repairs and renovation works are carried out, new facilities added and consecrated. Most old temples have also 'grown' over periods of time with additional facilities, more outer corridors and new gopurams (pagodas) were added by the rulers who patronized the temple. While this process has helped to keep the temples 'alive' as places of worship, from a purely archeological or historical perspective these renovations have unintentionally lead to destruction of the original works - which were not in sync with the latter and usually grander temple plans.

 

To this general trend, Chidambaram temple is no exception. The origins and developments of the temple are hence largely deduced from allied references in works of literature and poetry, the verbal information passed over generations by the Dikshithar community and from what little, of inscriptions and manuscripts that are available today.

The temple site is very ancient one is known to have been crafted time and again by the ancient craftsmen guild known as Perumthachchans. The reference to the same is available in sangam literature as well as other documents. The tevaram trio in particular have held this site to be of great sanctity with some like Tirugnanasambandar and Sundarar out of devotion being reluctant to set their foot in the place "because it would be an insult to the lord to put one's foot on his abode". The sangam works refer to the temple being favoured by all the three ancient crowns of south, the Neriyan (cholas), chezhiyan (pandyas) and uthiyan (cheras), even if the temple was in what was traditionally chola country.

 

INSCRIPTIONS

There are several inscriptions available in the temple and referring to the Chidambaram temple in neighbouring areas. Most inscriptions available pertain to the periods of Cholas - Rajaraja Chola I (985-1014 CE), Rajendra Chola I (1012-1044 CE), Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 CE), Vikrama Chola (1118-1135 CE), Rajadhiraja Chola II (1163 -1178 CE), Kulothunga Chola III (1178-1218 CE) and Rajaraja Chola III (1216-1256 CE). Pandya inscriptions date from Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Veerapandiyan, Jataavarman Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Sundarapaandiyan (1251-1268 CE) and Maaravarman Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Veerakeralanaagiya Kulashekara Pandiyan (1268-1308 CE). Pallava inscriptions are available for king Avani Aala Pirandhaan Ko-pperum-Singha (1216-1242 CE). Vijayanagara Kings mentioned in inscriptions are Veeraprathaapa Kiruttina Theva Mahaaraayar (1509-1529 CE), Veeraprathaapa Venkata Deva Mahaaraayar, Sri Ranga Theva Mahaaraayar, Atchyutha Deva Mahaaraayar (1529-1542 CE) and Veera Bhooopathiraayar. One of the inscriptions from the descendant of Cheramaan Perumal nayanar, Ramavarma Maharaja has been found.

 

KUMBHABISHEKAM 2015

The sacred Chidambaram Sri Sabanayagar Temple, which is also described as Boologa Kailaasam and Chithakasam

 

Sri Sivagamasundari Samaedha Sriman Anandha Nataraja Moorthy's Chitsabha Samprokshana Chithvilasa Maha Kumbhabishekam is about to happen in a great way On the auspicious day of Manmadha (Tamil) year Chithirai month 18th day (01-May-2015) Friday morning between 7:00 am and 8:30 am Hastha Nakshthra, Thrayodhasi Thithi, Amirtha yoga, Rishabha Lagna.

 

INVASIONS

The temple was severely vandalised during Malik Kafur's invasions of South India between 1311 and 1325. A garrison was set up within the temple precincts and the walls were fortified during the Carnatic Wars between the East India Company and the French and the Anglo-Mysore Wars that the British fought with Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.

 

WIKIPEDIA

View "Structurally Concrete" on black or on white.

 

© 2014 Jeff Stewart. All rights reserved.

(Fonquetá)

"Abandoned but not forgotten"

Astrowsky-Alvarado Residence

 

Project type: 2 story residential addition and remodel

Status: complete

>View from entry to living room

Location: Silver Lake, CA

Jeremy Levine Design

www.jeremylevine.com

~*Photography Originally Taken By: www.CrossTrips.Com Under God*~

 

A Ferris wheel (also known as an observation wheel or big wheel) is a nonbuilding structure consisting of an upright wheel with passenger gondolas suspended from the rim.

 

Ferris wheels are an amusement park ride and may also be found at urban parks and public places. Ferris wheels usually hold about 50-100 people.

 

History

 

The Ferris wheel is named after George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and he was a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania bridge-builder. He began his career in the railroad industry and then pursued an interest in bridge building. Ferris understood the growing need for structural steel and founded G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, a firm that tested and inspected metals for railroads and bridge builders.

 

Ferris designed and built the first 264 foot (80 meter) wheel for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois in 1893. The wheel was intended as a rival to the Eiffel Tower, the centerpiece of the 1889 Paris exhibition. This first wheel could carry 2,160 persons. The Ferris wheel was the largest attraction at the Columbian Exposition standing over 250' tall and powered by two 1000 HP steam engines. There were 36 cars accommodating 60 people each (40 seated, 20 standing). It took 20 minutes for the wheel to make two revolutions—the first to make six stops to allow passengers to exit and enter; the 2nd a single non-stop revolution—and for that, the ticket holder paid 50 cents. The wheel was moved twice after the 1893 Fair and was eventually destroyed (by controlled demolition) in 1906 after it was used at the St. Louis exposition of that year. At 70 tons, its axle was the largest steel forging of the time. It was 26 stories tall, only a quarter of the Eiffel Tower's height.[1]

 

Sections of this Ferris wheel were used to construct a bridge across the Kankakee River, about 45 miles south of Chicago just north of Tefft, Indiana. [2]

 

The Travels of Peter Mundy, 1608–1667 describes and illustrates "Several sorts of Swinginge used in their Publique rejoyceings att their feast of Biram" in the Ottoman Balkans. Among means "lesse dangerous and troublesome" only for children was a Ferris wheel "like a Craine wheele att Customhowse Key" where the passengers swing on short swings, sometimes sitting, sometimes hanging trapeze fashion. The illustration here is of a different Turkish design, apparently for adults.

 

Another Ferris wheel with a height of 65 meters (213 feet), dating back to 1897, is the Riesenrad in Vienna's Prater in the second district of Leopoldstadt. It was designed by Hubert Cecil Booth. See also World's Fair...

 

London, UK had its very own 'Gigantic Wheel' built at Earls Court in 1895, which was modelled on the original one in Chicago. This wheel stayed in service until 1906 by which time it had carried over 2.5 million passengers. It was built by two young Australian engineers named Adam Gaddelin and Gareth Watson and was the first of over 200 Ferris wheels that they built.

 

For the 1900 Paris Exposition a 'Grande Roue', of similar size and design to Ferris', was constructed. It was demolished in 1937. The wheel had 40 cars (as opposed to Chicago's 36), and is clearly visible in photos of the 1900 exhibition

 

Double and triple wheels

 

In the mid to late 1970s, coaster company Intamin AG invented a twist on the Ferris wheel. Using long arms to hold the wheels, they created a way to load and unload Ferris wheels more quickly. In 1976, 2 Sky Whirls opened at Marriott's Great America (IL, CA) and were the first triple wheels. Triple wheels were attached to three long arms mounted equal distance in a circle on a central tower. When loading/unloading passengers, the 3 arms would rotate until one arm was at the loading area and hydraulics would bring that arm/wheel to the ground.

 

A two-arm version titled "Zodiac" was also installed at Kings Island in Ohio as well as Hersheypark in PA titled "Giant Wheel." The double wheels were attached to a long, straight arm. The arm was mounted in the center on a central tower. When the hydraulics lowered one side, the other raised. The Kings Island Zodiac was relocated to Australia's Wonderland but closed in 2004.

 

All models featured 8-10 passenger cages. The cages were attached to the wheels by chains. When the wheel was in the loading position, it was horizontal and all cages could be loaded at once. As the arm raised or rotated, the wheel moved to a vertical position and provided a typical Ferris-wheel ride, only much higher from the ground.

 

Another version of this ride existed at Magic Mountain in California titled "Galaxy." This ride was similar to the Zodiac, except the arms did not raise as far off the ground. The arms on this ride were shaped more in a "V", than a straight line, and the central tower was shorter. On each wheel were 4 smaller wheels that also rotated, providing a double vertical rotating movement.

 

A fourth version of the ride was installed and removed at Astroworld in Texas titled "Morowheel." It was also similar to the Zodiac model, but had the shorter tower/"V" arm configuration of the Galaxy.

 

Observation wheels

 

Some operators prefer the term observation wheel to Ferris wheel, and large Ferris wheels are sometimes marketed as observation wheels to differentiate them from smaller Ferris wheels, however the two are actually the same, and any distinction between the two names is at the discretion of the wheel operator. Indeed, many of the wheels whose owners reject the term Ferris wheel actually have more in common with the original Chicago Ferris wheel of 1893, particularly in terms of being an iconic landmark for a city or event.

 

The world's tallest wheel, the Singapore Flyer, is described as an observation wheel by its operators.[4]

 

The London Eye (world's tallest, 1999-2006) is also described as an observation wheel by its operators.[5]

 

The Star of Nanchang (world's tallest, 2006-2008) is usually referred to as a Ferris wheel, and less commonly as an observation wheel.

 

World's tallest Ferris wheel installations

 

The world's tallest Ferris wheel is the Singapore Flyer, in Singapore. It is 165 metres (541 ft) high. It started rotating on February 11, 2008, and officially opened to the public on March 1, 2008.

 

The Star of Nanchang, in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China, previously held the record. It is 160 metres (520 ft) high and opened for business in May 2006.

 

The preceding record holder was the London Eye, in London, UK. It is 135 metres (440 ft) high, and is still the largest in the Western Hemisphere.[6] It was officially opened (by Tony Blair) on December 31, 1999, but did not open to the public until March 2000 because of technical problems.

 

The great popularity of the London Eye led to a number of other cities (including Belfast, Birmingham, Kuala Lumpur, Las Vegas, Manchester, Melbourne, Moscow, Nanchang, Shanghai, Singapore, and York) installing, or proposing to install, very tall (50 m or higher) wheels. The proposed Birmingham wheel would perhaps be the most unusual, as it would be fixed in place while the pods would move around the circumference along a rail track.

 

The Shanghai Star, initially planned as a 200 metres (660 ft) tall wheel to be built by 2005, was revised to 170 metres (560 ft) with a completion date set in 2007, but then cancelled in 2006 due to "political incorrectness"[7]. Plans to build a 183 metres (600 ft) wheel at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas were cancelled in May 2004. An approximately 150 metres (490 ft) wheel was proposed for the redevelopment of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino (also in Las Vegas) but the site has since been sold to another developer.

 

More Ferris wheels and manufacturers

 

* The Great Wheel Corporation

o Proposed wheel in Qingdao, China

o Proposed wheel in Orlando

* The Allan Herschell Company

o Seattle Wheel - has 15 cars with up to two people per car.

* Eli Bridge [3]

o Eagle Wheel - 16 cars with up to three people per car.

o Hy #5 Big Eli Wheel - some are cable driven, others are rim driven. Has 12 cars with up to three people per car.

o Little Wheel - much smaller in dimensions, but it still has 12 cars with up to two people per car.

* Ronald Bussink Professional Rides (formerly Nauta Bussink) [4]

o R60 - 60 meter wheel with 42 enclosed capsules with air conditioning. The largest transportable Ferris wheel in the world. Seen in Germany (Dresden), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Spain (Seville), UK (Belfast, Birmingham, London, Manchester, York) and elsewhere. It requires at least twenty 40ft containers to transport it and is ballasted with water.

* Chance Morgan

o Astro Wheel - 16 cars (8 facing one way, 8 facing the other way) with up to two people per car.

o Century Wheel - 15 cars with up to four people per car.

o Giant Wheel - 20 cars with up to six people per car. This is one of the biggest production Ferris wheels, and requires at least two 18-wheelers to transport it.

o Sky Wheel - a double wheel. There is a wheel on top, and bottom of the ride. There are eight cars per each wheel with up to two people for each car.

* Intamin AG

o Coaster Wheel - this type of Ferris wheel is a little different. Some of the 16 cars move on a track in the middle of the wheel. There are also 8 cars on the outside of the ride that do not move much, and do not have a track. One of these is located at Disney's California Adventure, and another is located at Coney Island. Each car can hold up to six people.

* Roger Wadkins (formerly Bob Childress - Expo Wheels LLC)

o Expo Wheel - 16 cars with up to two people per car. The seating on this wheel is much like the Eli Bridge Hy #5, or Chance's Astro Wheel.

 

Ferris wheels in popular culture

 

* The hero of Robert Lawson's children's book The Great Wheel is part of the construction crew for the original ferris wheel.

* The TV show Carnivàle deals with a circus in 1930's, which has its Ferris wheel as an important symbol, which plays an important role in the series finale.

* The main character from Stargate: Atlantis, John Sheppard, likes Ferris wheels.

* The Ferris wheel Riesenrad (in Vienna, Austria) is the stage for a key scene in the 1949 film noir The Third Man. It is also featured in the 1987 James Bond film, The Living Daylights, and appears in the 1995 Richard Linklater film Before Sunrise.

Structural system for my next model.

Rescue 6, 2004 Ford F550, Pierce Contender, P-32 Rescue Tender

This photo is taken in Infosys Bangalore Campus

Bolting / working hands

Single in May 2018 _Pentax DA 16-85

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

  

The aircraft that became known as ’The Jägermeister’ was an ambitious racing aircraft project from Germany, that took part in the US National Air Races at Reno during 1967-69.

 

The Jägermeister was built from a disassembled He 100D wreck which was found in 1962. It was found during constructions at the Heinkel plant at Bremen, buried in the ground, probably during the final days of WWII before Allied troops took over the site. The aircraft was in poor condition, but complete and still structurally intact.

The find was a minor sensation, since none of the few He 100 built were known to have survived the Second World War – but unfortunately no public funding for restoration could be achieved. In 1964 Heinkel finally sold the airframe to a private owner, the company Mast-Jägermeister SE and its respective owners, the Findel-Mast family. Mast was (and still is) famous for its herb flavored 70-proof (35%) liqueur Jägermeister, which was first brought to market in 1935.

The Wolfenbüttel-based company had been sponsoring car racing, and as an innovative PR measure it was decided to re-build the He 100D and attack the absolute air speed record!

 

What sounded like megalomania had a sound basis: The Heinkel He 100 was a German pre-World War II fighter aircraft design from Heinkel which proved to be one of the fastest fighter aircraft in the world at the time of its development. But the design was not ordered into series production, less than 20 prototypes and pre-production machines were built.

 

Re-building the aircraft proved to be difficult, though: Because there were no complete surviving examples, and since many factory documents - including all blueprints for the He 100 - were destroyed during a bombing raid, there was limited specific information about the aircraft’s design and its unique systems. The most significant feature of the original He 100 design (which was missing in the later D variant, though) was an evaporative cooling system. This installation under the wing surfaces and without a draggy radiator bath for the liquid-cooled Daimler Benz engine allowed a very clean airframe and high aerodynamic efficiency. For the re-built aircraft, this revolutionary system was to be re-constructed, as well as an original Daimler Benz DB 601 engine, tuned for high performance. The latter was expected to yield around 2.000hp instead of the original, pre-war 1.200hp, even though for just short periods.

 

Despite these challenges the project was tackled and the aircraft re-built as a civil high speed race plane. This reconstruction was done at Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke in Hamburg, an association of many former German aircraft manufacturers, including Heinkel.

 

The resurrected He 100D was christened ‘Jägermeister’ and made its maiden flight in August 1966, bearing the civil registration ‘D-WILD’. But by then the idea of attacking the air world speed record had been dropped – despite the theoretical potential of the aircraft to break the 800 km/h (500 mph) barrier. Funds for the project from the Mast family were reduced, and eventually the finished aircraft was sold to the United States. The aircraft kept its all-orange livery, though, as Mast-Jägermeister SE was still a sponsor and hoped for PR in the USA as a potential new market.

 

In September 1967 and with the American pilot George Fransworth at the controls, ‘The Jägermeister’ made its debut at Reno’s National Championship Air Races in the Unlimited Class with the grid number ‘43’, where it raced against several much bigger warbirds. The compact and slender aircraft looked diminutive between the much larger Mustangs, Corsairs and Sea Furies - but thanks to its good aerodynamics the aircraft was very competitive, despite only half of the “Big Birds’” power, and even though extra weight had to be added in order to reach the 4.500 lb minimum empty weight limit for the Unlimited Racer class!

 

During the 1969 Reno Air Races, The Jägermeister suffered a major engine failure. While Farnsworth could keep the aircraft under control and bring it down, the landing attempt ended in disaster and the airframe had to be written off.

  

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 26 ft 11 in (8.20 m)

Wingspan: 26 ft 5 1/2 in (8.08 m)

Height: 8 ft 2 in (2.5 m)

Wing area: 134 ft² (12.5 m²)

Empty weight: 4.361 lb (1.980 kg)*

Loaded weight: 5.420 lb (2.460 kg)

 

*raised to 4.500 lb when starting at the National Championship Air Races

 

Powerplant

1× modified DB 601M V12 race engine with up to 2.000hp (1.470kW), driving a five-bladed propeller

 

Performance

Maximum speed (theoretical): 800 km/h (432 kn, 496 mph) at 20.000 ft

Range: n/a

Service ceiling: 10.000 m (28.250 ft)

Rate of climb: n/a

Wing loading: 158,4 kg/m² (32,5 lb/ft²)

Power/mass: 742,4 W/kg (0.46 hp/lb)

  

The kit and its assembly

Primiraly, this fictional Unlimited Class Reno Air Racer was a contribution to an air racer group build at whatifmodelers.com, but also a nice distraction from military vehicles/aircraft. You rarely have the chance to turn a weapon into a sport item.

 

Conceptually it was clear from the start that I wanted to build something that would be plausible/realistic, still with a twist. When I wondered about a potential German type for the Reno Air Race after WWII (where a lot of US, British and recently some Soviet warbirds were used), I passed the 'typical candidates' of Bf 109 or Fw 190 and settled for the unlucky pre-war He 100.

 

Originally, the He 100 had been a rival to the Bf 109 and the He 112, and it was definitively the best aircraft of both of these. The real He 100 flew for the first time in early 1938, and it was used for record attempts (e .g. on a 100km round course, and also for the absolute speed record - and the eight prototype even reached 746,61 km/h (462,58 mph)! Anyway, the Bf 109 was preferred and the He 100 became a passed opportunity.

 

Since the He 100's DB 601 engine was reserved for the Bf 109, the He 100 was not 'allowed' into German service and serial production and only a few He 100D (slightly modified, with a new cooler and an enlarged tail fin) were built - even though the type was offered for export and license production, e .g. to Japan or the Soviet Union.

The fifteen built aircraft were primarily used for propaganda purposes, or ended up as local defense of the Heinkel plant in Rostock-Marienehe.

 

Anyway, the elegant and fast He 100D would be a perfect candidate for a fast racing aircraft. In order to make a Reno Racer from it, the kit (Special Hobby kit, the optional Lindberg kit is a joke) saw some basic modifications:

 

● Clipped wing tips, which would reduce the real life span by about 3'

● A new propeller with five blades and a bigger spinner

● New exhaust pipes

● A new, more modern and streamlined canopy

● A modern pilot figure

● Omittance of the belly radiator

  

Around the fuselage, any sign of armament disappeared. Clipped wings are a common practice on racing warbirds, as it reduces drag and G-forces in tight turns, so the wing span was reduced and new wing tips sculpted. The new propeller comes from a Griffon Spitfire: the spinner from a Pavla aftermarket kit, the propeller blades from a Special Hobby kit. In order to fit the slightly bigger diameter spinner onto the tiny He 100 fuselage I had to cut the latter by about 3mm, I wanted to use the original lines instead of adding a fat nose with putty.

The propeller was mounted with a metal axis in a styrene tube, so that it could rotate freely.

 

The cockpit was taken OOB, but a modern pilot from an Academy kit was used - this pilot wears a jumpsuit and a 'bone dome', but no oxygen mask, so it is a perfect choice for a low altitude racer.

The canopy actually is a rear canopy part from a Hobby Boss P-51, just facing rearwards. Fairings from styrene and putty had to be added to make the new piece fit, but its slender like looks much more aerodynamic than the original He 100 part, and such simple modifications are frequently done to warbird racers.

 

The rest of the kit was taken more or less OOB - I just left the water cooler under the fuselage away. The original He 100 did not have this piece either, as the DB 601 was cooled by a complicated but aerodynamically very effective evaporative cooling system - and for short race distances, falling back to this option would IMHO make sense. Actually, this has also been employed in real life Reno Racers, so it's plausible.

  

Painting and markings:

Well, a German Reno Racer was the idea, and I found a nice livery/sponsor option when I browsed through Germany's touring car history: thorough many years, the Rauch destilery sponsored race cars for their herbal liquor 'Jägermeister', and this old brand has orange as ID color, as well as promiment logos and typo. What else could you ask for?

Consequently, the He 100 racer became 'The Jägermeister; in a simple, all-orange livery, just like the respectice race cars. The original tone is, as far as I could find out, RAL 2004 (Reinorange). I used Testors 1595 (Semigloss Orange), since the tone comes pretty close. Panels were later emphasized through light dry-brushing with Humbrol 18 (Gloss Orange), which is slightly lighter, and some Humbrol 132 for depth. The intention was to make the kit not look too uniform, but not dirty or dented, as air racers are frequently kept clean and in best possible shape.

The logos, sponsor stickers and typo come from an aftermarket decal sheet for 1:43 race cars and were deliberately scattered across the aircraft, using real life racers as benchmark for details like grid number positions and orientation.

The German registration D-WILD is fictional and was created through single letters from TL Modellbau aftermarket sheets. These also provided the German flag on the tail.

The cockpit interior was painted in medium grey. The pilot received a dark brown jumpsuit with white and orange trim, as well as a white helmet.

The landing gear and the interior of the wells were painted in Aluminum (Humbrol 56), the wheel discs are black so that they'd not stand out too much.

The spinner tip was painted with glossy silver (Humbrol 11), the propeller blades were painted black from behind, light grey from the front, with yellow warning tips.

Finally, everything was sealed under a double coat of gloss acrylic varnish.

 

As the kit was built OOB and any ingredients at hand, the whole thing was puzzled together in less than three days – it actually took longer to wait for the right weather condition to take the pictures.

It is a nice and colorful whif that would have certainly looked great (if not somewhat dwarfish) among other Reno warbirds?

 

☁ ☂THE ADVANTAGE OF A BAD WEATHER DAY?☁ ☂

NOBODY AROUND!!!!!!!

 

FOR ALL THE REST

✒ THIS GALLERY IS THE MOST AMAZING ONE FOR EACH ASPECT:

EXPOSITION, NUMBER AND KIND OF ART WORKS, EVERYTHING PRESERVED IN A WONDERFUL ORDER...

✒THE POSSIBILITY TO TAKE PHOTOS EVERYWHERE....

  

The Musée du Louvre

is one of the world's largest museums, and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, France, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (district). Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet). With more than 8 million visitors each year, the Louvre is the world's most visited museum.

The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of antique sculpture.[6] In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum, to display the nation's masterpieces.

The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The size of the collection increased under Napoleon and the museum was renamed the Musée Napoléon. After the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, many works seized by his armies were returned to their original owners. The collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and gifts since the Third Republic. As of 2008, the collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATIONS, PLEASE, FOLLOW THIS LINK:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Louvre

  

The Tuileries Garden

is a public garden located between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. Created, in the heart of Paris, by the great and important Italian woman,

✿CATERINA DE MEDICI ✿ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_de'_Medici✿

as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, it was eventually first opened to the public in 1667, and became a public park after the French Revolution. In the 19th and 20th century, it was the place where Parisians celebrated, met, promenaded, and relaxed.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE, FOLLOW THIS LINK:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuileries_Garden

 

Le palais des Tuileries

était un palais parisien dont la construction commença en 1564 sous l'impulsion de

✿CATHERINE DE MEDICIS✿ fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_de_Médicis✿

à l'emplacement occupé auparavant par l'une des trois fabriques de tuiles établies en 1372 à côté des Quinze-Vingts et devant le Louvre. Agrandi sous les règnes successifs, il disposait d'une immense façade (266 mètres de long) et devint résidence royale de nombreux souverains (Henri IV, Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI ou encore Louis XVIII), et impériale (Napoléon Ier puis Napoléon III) jusqu'à sa destruction par un incendie en mai 1871. Ses ruines furent abattues en 1883 (début officiel des travaux de démolition en janvier).

fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_des_Tuileries

 

FOR THE AREA

PLEASE, FLOOW THIS LINK:

wikimapia.org/#lang=fr&lat=48.862301&lon=2.331398...

 

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“It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera…

they are made with the eye, heart and head.”

[Henry Cartier Bresson]

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Old brick building in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

The core tool of success in my business and personal life. Robert Fritz developed this tool, and Peter Senge included it in his book The Fifth Discipline.

Granite jointing with cross-cutting faulting in the Chilliwack Batholith of the Cascade Mountains

(Image: Jared Rodriguez / Truthout)

 

Image paired with the story:

The Structural Genocide That Is Capitalism

truth-out.org/opinion/item/16887-the-structural-genocide-...