View allAll Photos Tagged Succeed
German cigarette card by Ross Verlag in the 'Künstler im Film' series for Zigarettenfabrik Monopol, Dresden, Serie 1, image 152 (of 200). Photo: Paramount. Lupe Velez in The Broken Wing (Lloyd Corrigan, 1932).
Lupe Velez (1908-1944), was one of the first Mexican actresses to succeed in Hollywood. Her nicknames were 'The Mexican Spitfire' and 'Hot Pepper'. She was the leading lady in such silent films as The Gaucho (1927), Lady of the Pavements (1928), and Wolf Song (1929). During the 1930s, her well-known explosive screen persona was exploited in a series of successful films like Hot Pepper (1933), Strictly Dynamite (1934), and Hollywood Party (1934). In the 1940s, Vélez's popularity peaked after appearing in the Mexican Spitfire films, a series created to capitalise on Vélez's well-documented fiery personality. She had several highly publicised romances and a stormy marriage. In 1944, Vélez died of an intentional overdose of the barbiturate drug Seconal. Her death and the circumstances surrounding it have been the subject of speculation and controversy.
Lupe Vélez was born María Guadalupe Villalobos Vélez in 1908 in the city of San Luis Potosí in Mexico. She was the daughter of Jacobo Villalobos Reyes, a colonel in the army of the dictator Porfirio Diaz, and his wife Josefina Vélez, an opera singer according to some sources, or vaudeville singer according to others. She had three sisters: Mercedes, Reina and Josefina and a brother, Emigdio. The family was financially comfortable and lived in a large home. At the age of 13, her parents sent her to study at Our Lady of the Lake (now Our Lady of the Lake University) in San Antonio, Texas. It was at Our Lady of the Lake that Vélez learned to speak English and began to dance. She later admitted that she liked dance class, but was otherwise a poor student. Denny Jackson at IMDb: "Life was hard for her family, and Lupe returned to Mexico to help them out financially. She worked as a salesgirl for a department store for the princely sum of $4 a week. Every week she would turn most of her salary over to her mother, but kept a little for herself so she could take dancing lessons. By now, she figured, with her mature shape and grand personality, she thought she could make a try at show business." She began her career as a performer in Mexican vaudeville in 1924. She initially performed under her paternal surname, but after her father returned home from the war, he was outraged that his daughter had decided to become a stage performer. She chose her maternal surname, "Vélez", as her stage name and her mother introduced Vélez and her sister Josefina to the popular Spanish Mexican vedette María Conesa, "La Gatita Blanca". Vélez debuted in a show led by Conesa, where she sang 'Oh Charley, My Boy' and danced the shimmy. Aurelio Campos, a young pianist and friend of the Vélez sisters, recommended Lupe to stage producers Carlos Ortega and Manuel Castro. Ortega and Castro were preparing a season revue at the Regis Theatre and hired Vélez to join the company in March 1925. Later that year, Vélez starred in the revues 'Mexican Rataplan' and '¡No lo tapes!', both parodies of the Bataclan's shows in Paris. Her suggestive singing and provocative dancing was a hit with audiences, and she soon established herself as one of the main stars of vaudeville in Mexico. After a year and a half, Vélez left the revue after the manager refused to give her a raise. She then joined the Teatro Principal, but was fired after three months due to her "feisty attitude". Vélez was quickly hired by the Teatro Lirico, where her salary rose to 100 pesos a day. In 1926, Frank A. Woodyard, an American who had seen Vélez perform, recommended her to stage director Richard Bennett, the father of actresses Joan and Constance Bennett. Bennett was looking for an actress to portray a Mexican cantina singer in his upcoming play 'The Dove'. He sent Vélez a telegram inviting her to Los Angeles to appear in the play. Vélez had been planning to go to Cuba to perform, but quickly changed her plans and traveled to Los Angeles. However, upon arrival, she discovered that she had been replaced by another actress.
While in Los Angeles, Lupe Vélez met the comedian Fanny Brice. Brice recommended her to Flo Ziegfeld, who hired her to perform in New York City. While Vélez was preparing to leave Los Angeles, she received a call from MGM producer Harry Rapf, who offered her a screen test. Producer and director Hal Roach saw Vélez's screen test and hired her for a small role in the comic Laurel and Hardy short Sailors, Beware! (Fred Guiol, Hal Yates, 1927). After her debut, Vélez appeared in another Hal Roach short, What Women Did for Me (James Parrott, 1927), opposite Charley Chase. Later that year, she did a screen test for the upcoming Douglas Fairbanks feature The Gaucho (F. Richard Jones, 1927). Fairbanks was impressed by Vélez and hired her to appear in the film with him. The Gaucho was a hit and critics were duly impressed with Vélez's ability to hold her own alongside Fairbanks, who was well known for his spirited acting and impressive stunts. Her second major film was Stand and Deliver (Donald Crisp, 1928), produced by Cecil B. DeMille. That same year, she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars. Then she appeared in Lady of the Pavements (1929), directed by D. W. Griffith, and Where East Is East (Tod Browning, 1929), starring Lon Chaney as an animal trapper in Laos. In the Western The Wolf Song (Victor Fleming, 1929), she appeared alongside Gary Cooper. As she was regularly cast as 'exotic' or 'ethnic' women that were volatile and hot-tempered, gossip columnists took to referring to Vélez as "Mexican Hurricane", "The Mexican Wildcat", "The Mexican Madcap", "Whoopee Lupe" and "The Hot Tamale". Lupe Vélez made the transition to sound films without difficulty. Studio executives had predicted that her accent would likely hamper her ability to make the transition. That idea was dispelled after she appeared in the all-talking Rin Tin Tin vehicle, Tiger Rose (George Fitzmaurice, 1929). The film was a hit and Vélez's sound career was established. Vélez appeared in a series of Pre-Code films like Hell Harbor (Henry King, 1930), The Storm (William Wyler, 1930), and the crime drama East Is West (Monta Bell, 1930) opposite Edward G. Robinson. The next year, she appeared in her second film for Cecil B. DeMille, Squaw Man (Cecil B. DeMille, 1931), opposite Warner Baxter, in Resurrection (Edwin Carewe, 1931), and The Cuban Love Song (W.S. Van Dyke, 1931), with the popular singer Lawrence Tibbett. She had a supporting role in Kongo (William J. Cowen, 1932) with Walter Huston, a sound remake of West of Zanzibar (Tod Browning, 1928) which tries to outdo the Lon Chaney original in morbidity. She also starred in Spanish-language versions of Universal films like Resurrección (Eduardo Arozamena, David Selman, 1931), the Spanish version of Resurrection (1931), and Hombres en mi vida (Eduardo Arozamena, David Selman, 1932), the Spanish version of Men in Her Life (William Beaudine, 1931) in which Lois Moran had starred.
In 1932, Lupe Vélez took a break from her film career and traveled to New York City where she was signed by Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. to take over the role of "Conchita" in the musical revue 'Hot-Cha!'. The show also starred Bert Lahr, Eleanor Powell, and Buddy Rogers. Back in Hollywood, Lupe switched to comedy after playing dramatic roles for five years. Denny Jackson at IMDb: "In 1933 she played the lead role of Pepper in Hot Pepper (1933). This film showcased her comedic talents and helped her to show the world her vital personality. She was delightful." After Hot Pepper (John G. Blystone, 1933) with Edmund Lowe and Victor McLaglen, Lupe played beautiful, but volatile, characters in a series of successful films like Strictly Dynamite (Elliott Nugent, 1934), Palooka (Benjamin Stoloff, 1934) both opposite Jimmy Durante, and Hollywood Party (Allan Dwan, a.o., 1934) with Laurel and Hardy. Although Vélez was a popular actress, RKO Pictures did not renew her contract in 1934. Over the next few years, Vélez worked for various studios as a freelance actress; she also spent two years in England where she filmed The Morals of Marcus (Miles Mander, 1935) and Gypsy Melody (Edmond T. Gréville, 1936). She returned to Los Angeles the following year where she appeared in the final part of the Wheeler & Woolsey comedy High Flyers (Edward F. Cline, 1937). In 1938, Vélez made her final appearance on Broadway in the musical You Never Know, by Cole Porter. The show received poor reviews from critics but received a large amount of publicity due to the feud between Vélez and fellow cast member Libby Holman. Holman was irritated by the attention Vélez garnered from the show with her impersonations of several actresses including Gloria Swanson, Katharine Hepburn, and Shirley Temple. The feud came to a head during a performance in New Haven, Connecticut after Vélez punched Holman in between curtain calls and gave her a black eye. The feud effectively ended the show. Upon her return to Mexico City in 1938 to star in her first Mexican film, Vélez was greeted by ten thousand fans. The film La Zandunga (Fernando de Fuentes, 1938) co-starring Arturo de Córdova, was a critical and financial success. Vélez was slated to appear in four more Mexican films, but instead, she returned to Los Angeles and went back to work for RKO Pictures. In 1939, Lupe Vélez was cast opposite Leon Errol and Donald Woods in the B-comedy, The Girl from Mexico (Leslie Goodwins, 1939). Despite being a B film, it was a hit with audiences and RKO re-teamed her with Errol and Wood for a sequel, Mexican Spitfire (Leslie Goodwins, 1940). That film was also a success and led to a series of eight Spitfire films. Wikipedia: "In the series, Vélez portrays Carmelita Lindsay, a temperamental yet friendly Mexican singer married to Dennis 'Denny' Lindsay (Woods), an elegant American gentleman. The Spitfire films rejuvenated Vélez's career. Moreover, they were films in which a Latina headlined for eight films straight –a true rarity." In addition to the Spitfire series, she was cast in such films as Six Lessons from Madame La Zonga (John Rawlins, 1941), Playmates (David Butler, 1941) opposite John Barrymore, and Redhead from Manhattan (Lew Landers, 1943). In 1943, the final film in the Spitfire series, Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event (Leslie Goodwins, 1943), was released. By that time, the novelty of the series had begun to wane. Velez co-starred with Eddie Albert in the romantic comedy, Ladies' Day (Leslie Goodwins, 1943), about an actress and a baseball player. In 1944, Vélez returned to Mexico to star in an adaptation of Émile Zola's novel Nana (Roberto Gavaldón, Celestino Gorostiza, 1944), which was well-received. It would be her final film. After filming wrapped, Vélez returned to Los Angeles and began preparing for another stage role in New York.
Lupe Vélez's temper and jealousy in her often tempestuous romantic relationships were well documented and became tabloid fodder, often overshadowing her career. Vélez was straightforward with the press and was regularly contacted by gossip columnists for stories about her romantic exploits. Her first long-term relationship was with actor Gary Cooper. Vélez met Cooper while filming The Wolf Song in 1929 and began a two-year affair with him. The relationship was passionate but often stormy. Reportedly Vélez chased Cooper around with a knife during an argument and cut him severely enough to require stitches. By that time, the rocky relationship had taken its toll on Cooper who had lost 45 pounds and was suffering from nervous exhaustion. Paramount Pictures ordered him to take a vacation to recuperate. While he was boarding the train, Vélez showed up at the train station and fired a pistol at him. During her marriage to actor Johnny Weissmuller, stories of their frequent physical fights were regularly reported in the press. Vélez reportedly inflicted scratches, bruises, and love-bites on Weissmuller during their fights and "passionate love-making". In July 1934, after ten months of marriage, Vélez filed for divorce citing cruelty. She withdrew the petition a week later after reconciling with Weissmuller. In January 1935, she filed for divorce a second time and was granted an interlocutory decree that was dismissed when the couple reconciled a month later. In August 1938, Vélez filed for divorce for a third time, again charging Weissmuller with cruelty. Their divorce was finalised in August 1939. After the divorce became final, Vélez began dating actor Guinn "Big Boy" Williams in late 1940. They were reportedly engaged but never married. Vélez was also linked to author Erich Maria Remarque and the boxers Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey. In 1943, Vélez began an affair with her La Zandunga co-star Arturo de Córdova. De Córdova had recently moved to Hollywood after signing with Paramount Pictures. Despite the fact that de Córdova was married to Mexican actress Enna Arana with whom he had four children, Vélez granted an interview to gossip columnist Louella Parsons in September 1943 and announced that the two were engaged. Vélez ended the engagement in early 1944, reportedly after de Córdova's wife refused to give him a divorce. Vélez then met and began dating a struggling young Austrian actor named Harald Maresch (who went by the stage name Harald Ramond). In September 1944, she discovered she was pregnant with Ramond's child. She announced their engagement in late November 1944. On 10 December, four days before her death, Vélez announced she had ended the engagement and kicked Ramond out of her home. On the evening of 13 December 1944, Vélez dined with her two friends, the silent film star Estelle Taylor and Venita Oakie. In the early morning hours of 14 December, Vélez retired to her bedroom, where she consumed 75 Seconal pills and a glass of brandy. Her secretary, Beulah Kinder, found the actress's body on her bed later that morning. A suicide note addressed to Harald Ramond was found nearby. Lupe Vélez was only 36 years old. More than four-thousand people filed past her casket during her funeral. Her body was interred in Mexico City, at Panteón Civil de Dolores Cemetery. Velez' estate, valued at $125,000 and consisting mostly of her Rodeo House home, two cars, jewelry, and personal effects were left to her secretary Beulah Kinder with the remainder in trust for her mother, Mrs. Josephine Velez. Together with Dolores del Rio, Ramon Novarro, and José Mojica, she was one of the few Mexican people who had made history in the early years of Hollywood.
Sources: Denny Jackson (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
During bull jumping ceremony, Hamer girls show that they do not fear anything. So they drink a lot, they dance with guns and they ask the men to whip them to blood...
The Hamar is a catlle herder tribe which lives on the Eastern side of the Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia. Honey collection is their major activity and their cattle is the meaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle ! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
The Hamar have very unique rituals such as a bull-leaping ceremony, that a young men has to succeed in order to get married. The cow jumping is an initiation rite of passage for boys coming of age in Hamar tribe. Cows are lined up in a row. The initiate, naked, has to leap on the back of the first cow, then from one bull to another, until he finally reaches the end of the row. He must not fall of the row and must repeat successfully the test four times to have the right to become a husband. While the boys walk on cows, Hamar women accompany him: they jump and sing. Totally committed to their initiated sons, the mothers are whipped to blood, in order to prove their courage and accompany their sons during the test.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. You can see them walking with it everywhere ! It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also usefulas a seat ! Even if there is a chair close to them, they prefer to use the head rest !
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It's also an iron and leather ring, which has a phallic-shape end. But this jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
I remember a woman I have met. On her neck, there were three necklaces. According to what I just explained about the bignere, the biggest one at the top means she was "First Wife". This is important, as her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. But as she has two more simple necklaces around her neck: that means her husband took two more wives... The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives... During my trip, I could see some of these women, working like slaves for the men: their skin were covered with clay, butter and animal fat... So they were a little scary ! Another thing to know about these women: the more scars one has on her back, the higher is her status.
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait three months, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers ! They cannot go out of the house, let alone the village.That's why it is very rare to see or take a photo of a Uta. A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: unmarried women can have babies to test their fertility, but some of them are just abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO still save abandonned new borns. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned. This kind of beliefs can also be observed in other Ethiopan tribes: many parents prefer to sacrifice their own child rather than risk being affected by the evil eye.
© Eric Lafforgue
USS Wasp (CV-7)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other ships of the same name, see USS Wasp.
This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2010)
USS Wasp (CV-7).jpg
USS Wasp entering Hampton Roads
Class overview
Name: Wasp-class aircraft carrier
Operators: United States Navy
Preceded by: Yorktown class
Succeeded by: Essex class
Built: 1936–40
In commission: 1940–42
Planned: 1
Completed: 1
Lost: 1
History
United States
Name: Wasp
Namesake: USS Wasp (1814)
Ordered: 19 September 1935
Builder: Fore River Shipyard
Laid down: 1 April 1936
Launched: 4 April 1939
Sponsored by: Mrs. Charles Edison[1]
Commissioned:
25 April 1940
(first Commanding Officer: Captain John W. Reeves, Jr.)
Struck: 15 September 1942
Honors and
awards: American Defense Service Medal ("A" device) / American Campaign Medal/European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (1 star) / Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1 star) / World War II Victory Medal
Fate: Sunk by IJN I-19, 15 September 1942
General characteristics
Type: Aircraft carrier
Displacement:
As built: 14,700 long tons (14,900 t) (standard)
19,116 long tons (19,423 t) (full load)
Length:
688 ft (210 m) (waterline)
741 ft 3 in (225.93 m) (overall)
Beam:
80 ft 9 in (24.61 m) (waterline)
109 ft (33 m) (overall)
Draft: 20 ft (6.1 m)
Installed power: 70,000 shp (52,000 kW)
Propulsion:
2 × Parsons steam turbines
6 × boilers at 565 psi
2 × shafts
Speed: 29.5 kn (54.6 km/h; 33.9 mph)
Range: 12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement:
1,800 officers and men (peacetime)
2,167 (wartime)
Sensors and
processing systems: CXAM-1 radar[2]
Armament:
As Built:
8 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal guns
16 × 1.1 in (28 mm)/75 cal anti-aircraft guns
24 × .50 in (13 mm) machine guns
Armor:
As Built:
60 lb (27 kg) STS conning tower
3.5 in side and 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)50 lb deck over steering gear
Aircraft carried: As built: Up to 100
Aviation facilities:
3 × elevators
4 × hydraulic catapults (2 flight deck, 2 hangar deck)
USS Wasp (CV-7) was a United States Navy aircraft carrier commissioned in 1940 and lost in action in 1942. She was the eighth ship named USS Wasp, and the sole ship of a class built to use up the remaining tonnage allowed to the U.S. for aircraft carriers under the treaties of the time. As a reduced-size version of the Yorktown-class aircraft carrier hull, Wasp was more vulnerable than other United States aircraft carriers available at the opening of hostilities. Wasp was initially employed in the Atlantic campaign where Axis naval forces were perceived as less capable of inflicting decisive damage. After supporting the occupation of Iceland in 1941, Wasp joined the British Home Fleet in April 1942 and twice ferried British fighter aircraft to Malta. Wasp was then transferred to the Pacific in June 1942 to replace losses at the battles of Coral Sea and Midway. After supporting the invasion of Guadalcanal, Wasp was sunk by the Japanese submarine I-19 on 15 September 1942.
Contents
1 Design
2 Service history
2.1 Inter-war period
2.2 World War II
2.2.1 Atlantic Fleet
2.2.2 Pacific Fleet
3 Loss
4 Awards
5 References
6 External links
Design
Wasp was a product of the Washington Naval Treaty. After the construction of the carriers Yorktown and Enterprise, the U.S. was still permitted 15,000 long tons (15,000 t) to build a carrier.
Wasp was the first carrier fitted with a deck edge elevator.
The Navy sought to squeeze a large air group onto a ship with nearly 25% less displacement than the Yorktown-class. In order to save weight and space, Wasp was constructed with low-power machinery (compare Wasp's 75,000 shp (56,000 kW) machinery with Yorktown's 120,000 shp (89,000 kW), Essex-class's 150,000 shp (110,000 kW), and the Independence-class's 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)).
Additionally, Wasp was launched with almost no armor, modest speed and, more significantly, no protection from torpedoes. Absence of side protection of the boilers and internal aviation fuel stores "doomed her to a blazing demise". These were inherent design flaws that were recognized when constructed but could not be remedied within the allowed tonnage.[3] These flaws, combined with a relative lack of damage control experience in the early days of the war, were to prove fatal.[citation needed]
Wasp was the first carrier fitted with a deck edge elevator. The elevator consisted of a platform for the front wheels and an outrigger for the tail wheel. The two arms on the sides moved the platform in a half-circle up and down between the flight deck and the hangar deck.
Service history
Inter-war period
She was laid down on 1 April 1936 at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts; launched on 4 April 1939, sponsored by Carolyn Edison (wife of Assistant Secretary of the Navy Charles Edison), and commissioned on 25 April 1940 at the Army Quartermaster Base, South Boston, Massachusetts, Captain John W. Reeves, Jr. in command.
Wasp remained at Boston through May, fitting out, before she got underway on 5 June 1940 for calibration tests on her radio direction finder gear. After further fitting out while anchored in Boston harbor, the new aircraft carrier steamed independently to Hampton Roads, Virginia; anchoring there on 24 June. Four days later, she sailed for the Caribbean in company with destroyer Morris.
En route, she conducted the first of many carrier qualification tests. Among the earliest of the qualifiers was Lieutenant, junior grade David McCampbell, who later became the Navy's top-scoring "ace" in World War II. Wasp arrived at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in time to "dress ship" in honor of Independence Day.
A fatal incident marred the carrier's shakedown. On 9 July, one of her Vought SB2U-2 Vindicator dive bombers crashed 2 nautical miles (2.3 mi; 3.7 km) from the ship. Wasp bent on flank speed to close, as did the plane-guarding destroyer Morris. The latter's boats recovered items from the plane's baggage compartment, but the plane itself had gone down with its crew of two.
Wasp departed Guantanamo Bay on 11 July and returned to Hampton Roads four days later. There, she embarked planes from the 1st Marine Air Group and took them to sea for qualification trials. Operating off the southern drill grounds, the ship and her planes honed their skills for a week before the Marines and their planes were disembarked at Norfolk, and the carrier moved north to Boston for post-shakedown repairs.
While at Boston, she fired a 21-gun salute and rendered honors to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose yacht, Potomac, stopped briefly at the Boston Navy Yard on 10 August.
Wasp departed the Army Quartermaster Base on the 21st to conduct steering drills and full-power trials. Late the following morning, she got underway for Norfolk, Virginia. For the next few days, while destroyer Ellis operated as plane guard, Wasp launched and recovered her aircraft: fighters from Fighter Squadron 7 (VF-7) and scout bombers from Scouting Squadron 72 (VS-72). The carrier put into the Norfolk Navy Yard on 28 August for repair work on her turbines – alterations which kept the ship in dockyard hands into the following month. Drydocked from 12–18 September, Wasp ran her final sea trials in Hampton Roads on 26 September 1940.
Now ready to join the fleet and assigned to Carrier Division 3, Patrol Force, Wasp shifted to Naval Operating Base, Norfolk (NOB Norfolk) from the Norfolk Navy Yard on 11 October. There she loaded 24 Curtiss P-40 fighters from the Army Air Corps' 8th Pursuit Group and nine North American O-47A reconnaissance aircraft from the 2nd Observation Squadron, as well as her own spares and utility unit Grumman J2F Duck flying boats on the 12th. Proceeding to sea for maneuvering room, Wasp flew off the Army planes in a test designed to compare the take-off runs of standard Navy and Army aircraft. That experiment, the first time that Army planes had flown from a Navy carrier, foreshadowed the use of the ship in the ferry role that she performed so well in World War II.
Wasp then proceeded on toward Cuba in company with destroyers Plunkett and Niblack. Over the ensuing four days, the carrier's planes flew routine training flights, including dive-bombing and machine gun practices. Upon arrival at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Wasp's saluting batteries barked out a 13-gun salute to Rear Admiral Hayne Ellis, Commander, Atlantic Squadron, embarked in battleship Texas on 19 October.[1]
For the remainder of October and into November, Wasp trained in the Guantanamo Bay area. Her planes flew carrier qualification and refresher training flights, while her gunners sharpened up their skills in short-range battle practices at targets towed by the new fleet tug Seminole.
Wasp on 27 December 1940
Her work in the Caribbean finished, Wasp sailed for Norfolk and arrived shortly after noon on 26 November. She remained at the Norfolk Navy Yard through Christmas of 1940. Then, after first conducting degaussing experiments with the survey ship Hannibal, she steamed
independently to Cuba.
Arriving at Guantanamo Bay on 27 January 1941, Wasp conducted a regular routine of flight operations into February. With destroyer Walke as her plane guard, Wasp operated out of Guantanamo and Culebra, conducting her maneuvers with an impressive array of warships—battleship Texas, carrier Ranger, heavy cruisers Tuscaloosa, Wichita, and a host of destroyers. Wasp ran gunnery drills and exercises, as well as routine flight training evolutions into March. Underway for Hampton Roads on 4 March, the aircraft carrier conducted a night battle practice into the early morning hours of the 5th.
During the passage to Norfolk, heavy weather sprang up on the evening of 7 March. Wasp was steaming at standard speed, 17 knots (20 mph; 31 km/h). Off Cape Hatteras, a lookout spotted a red flare at 22:45, then a second set of flares at 22:59. At 23:29, with the aid of her searchlights, Wasp located the stranger in trouble. She was the lumber schooner George E. Klinck, bound from Jacksonville, Florida, to Southwest Harbor, Maine.
The sea, in the meantime, worsened from a state 5 to a state 7. Wasp lay to, maneuvering alongside at 00:07 on 8 March. At that time, four men from the schooner clambered up a swaying Jacob's ladder buffeted by gusts of wind. Then, despite the raging tempest, Wasp lowered a boat, at 00:16, and brought the remaining four men aboard from the foundering 152 ft (46 m) schooner.[1]
Later that day, Wasp disembarked her rescued mariners and immediately went into drydock at the Norfolk Navy Yard. The ship received vital repairs to her turbines. Portholes on the third deck were welded over to provide better watertight integrity, and steel splinter shielding around her 5 in (130 mm) and 1.1 in (28 mm) batteries was added. Wasp was one of 14 ships to receive the early RCA CXAM-1 radar.[2] After those repairs and alterations were finished, Wasp got underway for the Virgin Islands on 22 March, arriving at St. Thomas three days later. She soon shifted to Guantanamo Bay and loaded maritime supplies for transportation to Norfolk.[1]
Returning to Norfolk on 30 March, Wasp conducted routine flight operations out of Hampton Roads over the ensuing days, into April. In company with Sampson, the carrier conducted an abortive search for a downed patrol plane in her vicinity on 8 April. For the remainder of the month, Wasp operated off the eastern seaboard between Newport, Rhode Island, and Norfolk conducting extensive flight and patrol operations with her embarked air group. She shifted to Bermuda in mid-May, anchoring at Grassy Bay on the 12th. Eight days later, the ship got underway in company with the heavy cruiser Quincy and the destroyers Livermore and Kearny for exercises at sea before returning to Grassy Bay on 3 June. Wasp sailed for Norfolk three days later with the destroyer Edison as her anti-submarine screen.
After a brief stay in the Tidewater area, Wasp headed back toward Bermuda on 20 June. Wasp and her escorts patrolled the stretch of the Atlantic between Bermuda and Hampton Roads until 5 July, as the Atlantic Fleet's neutrality patrol zones were extended eastward. Reaching Grassy Bay on that day, she remained in port a week before returning to Norfolk, sailing on 12 July in company with heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa and destroyers Grayson, Anderson, and Rowan.
Following her return to Norfolk on 13 July 1941, Wasp and her embarked air group conducted refresher training off the Virginia Capes. Meanwhile, the situation in the Atlantic had taken on a new complexion, with American participation in the Battle of the Atlantic only a matter of time, when the United States took another step toward involvement on the side of the British. To protect American security and to free British forces needed elsewhere, the United States made plans to occupy Iceland. Wasp played an important role in the move.
Late on the afternoon of 23 July, while the carrier lay alongside Pier 7, NOB Norfolk, 32 Army Air Forces (AAF) pilots reported on board "for temporary duty". At 06:30 the following day, Wasp's crew watched an interesting cargo come on board, hoisted on deck by the ship's cranes: 30 P-40Cs and three PT-17 trainers from the AAF 33rd Pursuit Squadron, 8th Air Group, Air Force Combat Command, home-based at Mitchel Field, New York. Three days later, four newspaper correspondents – including the noted journalist Fletcher Pratt — came on board.
The carrier had drawn the assignment of ferrying those vital army planes to Iceland because of a lack of British aircraft to cover the American landings. The American P-40s would provide the defensive fighter cover necessary to watch over the initial American occupying forces. Wasp slipped out to sea on 28 July, with the destroyers O'Brien and Walke as plane guards. The heavy cruiser Vincennes later joined the formation at sea.
Within a few days, Wasp's group joined the larger Task Force 16—consisting of the battleship Mississippi, the heavy cruisers Quincy and Wichita, five destroyers, the auxiliary Semmes, the attack transport American Legion, the stores ship Mizar, and the amphibious cargo ship Almaack. Those ships, too, were bound for Iceland with the first occupation troops embarked. On the morning of 6 August, Wasp, Vincennes, Walke, and O'Brien parted company from Task Force 16 (TF 16). Soon thereafter, the carrier turned into the wind and commenced launching the planes from the 33rd Pursuit Squadron. As the P-40s and the trio of trainers droned on to Iceland, Wasp headed home for Norfolk, her three escorts in company. After another week at sea, the group arrived back at Norfolk on 14 August.
Wasp put to sea again on 22 August for carrier qualifications and refresher landings off the Virginia capes. Two days later, Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, Commander Cruisers, Atlantic Fleet, shifted his flag from the light cruiser Savannah to Wasp while the ships lay anchored in Hampton Roads. Underway on the 25th, in company with Savannah and the destroyers Monssen and Kearny, the aircraft carrier conducted flight operations over the ensuing days. Scuttlebutt on board the carrier had her steaming out in search of the German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, which was reportedly roaming the western Atlantic in search of prey. Suspicions were confirmed for many on the 30th when the British battleship HMS Rodney was sighted some 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) away, on the same course as the Americans.
In any event, if they had been in search of a German raider, they did not make contact with her. Wasp and her escorts anchored in the Gulf of Paria, Trinidad on 2 September, where Admiral Hewitt shifted his flag back to Savannah. The carrier remained in port until 6 September, when she again put to sea on patrol "to enforce the neutrality of the United States in the Atlantic".
While at sea, the ship received the news of a German U-boat unsuccessfully attempting to attack the destroyer Greer. The U.S. had been getting more and more involved in the war; American warships were now convoying British merchantmen halfway across the Atlantic to the "mid-ocean meeting point" (MOMP).
Wasp's crew looked forward to returning to Bermuda on 18 September, but the new situation in the Atlantic meant a change in plans. Shifted to the colder climes of Newfoundland, the carrier arrived at Placentia Bay on 22 September and fueled from the oiler Salinas the following day. The respite in port was a brief one, however, as the ship got underway again, late on the 23rd, for Iceland. In company with Wichita, four destroyers, and the repair ship Vulcan, Wasp arrived at Hvalfjörður, Iceland, on the 28th. Two days earlier, Admiral Harold R. Stark, the Chief of Naval Operations had ordered American warships to do their utmost to destroy whatever German or Italian warships they found.
With the accelerated activity entailed in the US Navy's conducting convoy escort missions, Wasp put to sea on 6 October in company with Vincennes and four destroyers. Those ships patrolled the foggy, cold, North Atlantic until returning to Little Placentia Bay, Newfoundland on the 11th, anchoring during a fierce gale that lashed the bay with high winds and stinging spray. On 17 October, Wasp set out for Norfolk, patrolling en route, and arrived at her destination on the 20th. The carrier soon sailed for Bermuda and conducted qualifications and refresher training flights en route. Anchoring in Grassy Bay on 1 November, Wasp operated on patrols out of Bermuda for the remainder of the month.
October had seen the incidents involving American and German warships multiplying on the high seas. The Kearny was torpedoed on 17 October, the Salinas on the 28th, and in the most tragic incident that autumn, Reuben James was torpedoed and sunk with heavy loss of life on 30 October. Meanwhile, in the Pacific, tension between the U.S. and Japan increased almost with each passing day.
Wasp slipped out to sea from Grassy Bay on 3 December and rendezvoused with Wilson. While the destroyer operated as plane guard, Wasp's air group flew day and night refresher training missions. In addition, the two ships conducted gunnery drills before returning to Grassy Bay two days later, where she lay at anchor on 7 December 1941 during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.[1]
World War II
Atlantic Fleet
Wasp and the heavy cruiser Wichita in Scapa Flow.
Meanwhile, naval authorities felt considerable anxiety that French warships in the Caribbean and West Indies were prepared to make a breakout and attempt to get back to France. Accordingly, Wasp, the light cruiser Brooklyn, and the destroyers Sterett and Wilson, departed Grassy Bay and headed for Martinique. Faulty intelligence gave American authorities in Washington the impression that the Vichy French armed merchant cruiser Barfleur had gotten underway for sea. The French were accordingly warned that the auxiliary cruiser would be sunk or captured unless she returned to port and resumed her internment. As it turned out, Barfleur had not departed after all, but had remained in harbor. The tense situation at Martinique eventually dissipated, and the crisis abated.
With tensions in the West Indies lessened considerably, Wasp departed Grassy Bay and headed for Hampton Roads three days before Christmas, in company with the Long Island, and escorted by the destroyers Stack and Sterett. Two days later, the carrier moored at the Norfolk Navy Yard to commence an overhaul that would last into 1942.
After departing Norfolk on 14 January 1942, Wasp headed north and touched at NS Argentia, Newfoundland, and Casco Bay, Maine. On 16 March, as part of Task Group 22.6 (TG 22.6), she headed back toward Norfolk. During the morning watch the next day, visibility lessened considerably; and, at 06:50, Wasp's bow plunged into the Stack's starboard side, punching a hole and completely flooding the destroyer's number one fireroom. Stack was detached and proceeded to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where her damage was repaired.
Meanwhile, Wasp made port at Norfolk on the 21st without further incident. Shifting back to Casco Bay three days later, she sailed for the British Isles on 26 March, with TF 39 under the command of Rear Admiral John W. Wilcox, Jr., on the Washington. That force was to reinforce the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy. While en route, Rear Admiral Wilcox was swept overboard from the battleship and drowned. Although hampered by poor visibility conditions, Wasp planes took part in the search. Wilcox's body was spotted an hour later, face down in the raging seas, but it was not recovered due to the weather and the heavy seas.[1]
Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen, who flew his flag on the Wichita, assumed command of TF 39. The American ships were met by a force based around the light cruiser HMS Edinburgh on 3 April. Those ships escorted them to Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. While there, a Gloster Gladiator flown by Captain Henry Fancourt of the Royal Navy made the first landing of the war by a British plane on an American aircraft carrier when it landed on Wasp.[citation needed]
While the majority of TF 39 joined the British Home Fleet — being renumbered to TF 99 in the process — to cover convoys routed to North Russia, Wasp departed Scapa Flow on 9 April, bound for the Clyde estuary and Greenock, Scotland. On the following day, the carrier sailed up the Clyde River, past the John Brown Clydebank shipbuilding facilities. There, shipyard workers paused long enough from their labors to accord Wasp a tumultuous reception as she passed. Wasp's impending mission was an important one – one upon which the fate of the island bastion of Malta hung. That key isle was then being pounded daily by German and Italian planes. The British, faced with the loss of air superiority over the island, requested the use of a carrier to transport planes that could wrest air superiority from the Axis aircraft. Wasp drew ferry duty once again to participate in Operation Calendar, one of many Malta Convoys.
Spitfires and Wildcats aboard Wasp on 19 April 1942.
Having landed her torpedo planes and dive bombers at Hatston in Orkney, Wasp loaded 47 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V fighters of No. 603 Squadron RAF at Glasgow on 13 April, then departed on the 14th, this was the start of "Operation Calendar". Her screen consisted of Force "W" of the Home Fleet – a group that included the battlecruiser HMS Renown and the anti-aircraft cruisers HMS Cairo and Charybdis. Madison and Lang also served in Wasp's screen.
Wasp and her consorts passed through the Straits of Gibraltar under cover of the pre-dawn darkness on 19 April, avoiding the possibility of being discovered by Spanish or Axis agents. At 04:00 on 20 April, Wasp spotted 11 Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters on her deck and quickly launched them to form a combat air patrol (CAP) over Force "W". Meanwhile, the Spitfires were warming up their engines in the hangar deck spaces below. With the Wildcats patrolling overhead, the Spitfires were brought up singly on the after elevator, spotted for launch, and then given the go-ahead to take off. One by one, they roared down the deck and over the forward rounddown, until each Spitfire was aloft and winging toward Malta.
HMS Eagle accompanies Wasp on her second voyage to Malta
When the launch was complete, Wasp retired toward Gibraltar, having safely delivered her charges. However, those Spitfires, which flew in to augment the dwindling numbers of Gladiator and Hurricane fighters, were tracked by efficient Axis intelligence and their arrival pinpointed. Most of the Spitfires were destroyed by heavy German air raids which caught many planes on the ground.
As a result, it looked as if the acute situation required a second ferry run to Malta. Accordingly, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, fearing that Malta would be "pounded to bits", asked President Roosevelt to allow Wasp to have "another good sting." Roosevelt responded in the affirmative. Wasp loaded another contingent of Spitfire Vs at King George V Dock Glasgow and sailed for the Mediterranean on 3 May. Again, Wasp proceeded unmolested. This time, the British carrier HMS Eagle accompanied Wasp, and she, too, carried a contingent of Spitfires bound for Malta. The Spitfires for Eagle had been loaded at Greenock, James Watt Dock, from lighters. This was the start of Operation Bowery.
The two Allied carriers reached their launching points early on Saturday, 9 May, with Wasp steaming in column ahead of Eagle at a distance of 1,000 yards (910 m). At 06:30, Wasp commenced launching planes – 11 Wildcats of VF-71 to serve as CAP over the task force. First, Eagle flew off her 17 Spitfires in two waves; then Wasp flew off 47 more. The first Spitfire took off at 06:43, piloted by Sergeant-Pilot Herrington, but lost power soon after takeoff and plunged into the sea, with loss of pilot and aircraft. The other planes flew off safely and formed up to fly to Malta. An auxiliary fuel tank on another aircraft failed to draw; without the additional fuel the pilot could not make Malta, and his only alternatives were to land on board Wasp – with no tailhook – or to ditch and take his chances in the water.
Pilot Officer Jerrold Alpine Smith chose the former. Wasp bent on full speed and recovered the plane at 07:43. The Spitfire came to a stop just 15 feet (4.6 m) from the forward edge of the flight deck, making what one Wasp sailor observed to be a "one wire" landing. With her vital errand completed, Wasp set sail for the British Isles while a German radio station broadcast the startling news that the American carrier had been sunk; on 11 May, Prime Minister Churchill sent a message to Wasp: "Many thanks to you all for the timely help. Who said a wasp couldn't sting twice?"[1]
Pacific Fleet
Early in May 1942, almost simultaneously with Wasp's second Malta run—Operation Bowery—the Battle of the Coral Sea had been fought, then the Battle of Midway a month later. These battles reduced the U.S. to three carriers in the Pacific, and it became imperative to transfer Wasp.
Wasp was hurried back to the U.S. for alterations and repairs at the Norfolk Navy Yard. During the carrier's stay in the Tidewater region, Captain Reeves – who had been promoted to flag rank – was relieved by Captain Forrest P. Sherman on 31 May. Departing Norfolk on 6 June, Wasp sailed with TF 37 which was built around the carrier and the battleship North Carolina and escorted by Quincy, San Juan and six destroyers. The group transited the Panama Canal on 10 June, at which time Wasp and her consorts became TF 18, the carrier flying the two-star flag of Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes.
Arriving at San Diego on 19 June, Wasp embarked the remainder of her complement of aircraft, Grumman TBF-1 Avengers and Douglas SBD-3 Dauntlesses, the former replacing the old Vindicators. On 1 July, she sailed for the Tonga Islands as part of the convoy for the five transports carrying the 2nd Marine Regiment.
Meanwhile, preparations to invade the Solomon Islands were proceeding to disrupt the Japanese offensive to establish a defensive perimeter around the edge of their "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere".
Wasp's flight deck, 1942.
On 4 July, while Wasp was en route to the South Pacific, the Japanese landed on Guadalcanal. Allied planners realized Japanese operation of land-based aircraft from that key island would imperil Allied control of the New Hebrides and New Caledonia area. Plans were made to evict the Japanese before their Guadalcanal airfield became operational. Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley — with experience as Special Naval Observer in London— was detailed to take command of the operation; and he established his headquarters at Auckland, New Zealand. Since the Japanese had a foothold on Guadalcanal, time was of the essence; preparations for an allied invasion proceeded with secrecy and speed.
Wasp — together with the carriers Saratoga and Enterprise — was assigned to the Support Force under Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. Under the tactical command of Rear Admiral Noyes, embarked on Wasp, the carriers were to provide air support for the invasion and initiation of the Guadalcanal campaign.
Wasp and her airmen practiced day and night operations to hone their skills until Captain Sherman was confident that his airmen could perform their mission. "D-day" had originally been set for 1 August, but the late arrival of some of the transports carrying Marines pushed the date to 7 August.[1]
En route, Wasp's engines became a problem with a 14 July message from CTF 18 to CINCPAC reporting that she had suffered a casualty to her starboard high pressure turbine that even at lowest speeds was making a loud scraping noise limiting speed to only fifteen knots under her port engine thus making air operations entirely dependent on favorable wind. The ship's company was undertaking repairs, including lifting the turbine casing. Repairs to the rotor itself were proposed at "BLEACHER" (Tongatapu, Tonga Islands),[4] where the destroyer tender USS Whitney (AD-4) was stationed, with four days estimated for the work there. Wasp arrived 18 July for those repairs and on 21 July (21 0802 July) CTF 18 reported Wasp had successfully completed a trial making turns for twenty-seven knots with pre-casualty twenty-five knot operations possible with reduced reliability. Replacement blades available at Pearl Harbor and replacement of all three rows of blading was recommended after the ongoing operations were completed.[1][5][6]
Wasp, screened by the heavy cruiser San Francisco and Salt Lake City, and four destroyers, steamed westward toward Guadalcanal on the evening of 6 August until midnight. Then, she changed course to the eastward to reach her launch position 84 nautical miles (97 mi; 156 km) from Tulagi one hour before dawn. Wasp's first combat air patrol fighter took off at 05:57.
The early flights of Wildcats and Dauntlesses were assigned specific targets: Tulagi, Gavutu, Tanambogo, Halavo, Port Purvis, Haleta, Bungana, and the radio station dubbed "Asses' Ears".
The Wildcats, led by Lieutenant Shands and his wingman Ensign S. W. Forrer, patrolled the north coast toward Gavatu. The other two headed for the seaplane facilities at Tanambogo. The Grummans, arriving simultaneously at daybreak, surprised the Japanese and strafed patrol planes and fighter-seaplanes in the area. Fifteen Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boats and seven Nakajima A6M2-N "Rufe" floatplane fighters were destroyed by Shands' fighters during low-level strafing passes. Shands was credited with four "Rufes" and one "Emily", while his wingman, Forrer, was credited with three "Rufes" and an "Emily". Lieutenant Wright and Ensign Kenton were credited with three patrol planes apiece and a motorboat tending the "Emilys"; Ensigns Reeves and Conklin were each credited with two and shared a fifth patrol plane between them. The strafing Wildcats also destroyed an aviation fuel truck and a truck loaded with spare parts.
Post-attack assessment estimated that the antiaircraft and shore battery sites pinpointed by intelligence had been destroyed by the Dauntless dive bombers in their first attack. None of Wasp's planes was shot down; but Ensign Reeves, landed his Wildcat aboard Enterprise after running low on fuel.
At 07:04, Wasp launched 12 Avengers loaded with bombs for use against land targets, and led by Lieutenant H. A. Romberg. The Avengers silenced resistance by bombing Japanese troop concentrations east of the knob of land known as Hill 281, in the Makambo-Sasapi sector, and the prison on Tulagi Island.
Some 10,000 men had been put ashore during the first day's operations against Guadalcanal, and met only slight resistance. On Tulagi, however, the Japanese resisted stoutly, retaining about 1⁄5 of the island by nightfall. Wasp, Saratoga, and Enterprise — with their screens – retired to the southward at nightfall.
F4Fs launching off Guadalcanal, 7 August 1942.
Wasp fighters led by Lieutenant C. S. Moffett maintained a continuous CAP over the transport area until noon on 8 August. Meanwhile, a scouting flight of 12 Dauntlesses led by Lieutenant Commander E. M. Snowden searched a sector to a radius of 220 nautical miles (250 mi; 410 km) from their carrier, extending it to include all of the Santa Isabel Island and the New Georgia groups.
The Dauntless pilots made no contact with the Japanese during their two hours in the air; but at 08:15, Snowden sighted a "Rufe" some 40 nautical miles (46 mi; 74 km) from Rekata Bay and shot the plane down with fixed .50 in (13 mm) machine guns.
Meanwhile, a large group of Japanese planes approached from Bougainville to attack the transports off Lunga Point. Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner ordered all transports to get underway and to assume cruising disposition. Eldridge was leading a formation of Dauntlesses from VS-71 against Mbangi Island, off Tulagi. His rear seat gunner, Aviation Chief Radioman L. A. Powers, assumed the formation of Japanese planes were friendly until six Zeroes bounced the first section with 12 unsuccessful firing passes.
Meanwhile, the leader of the last section of VS-71 – Lieutenant, junior grade Robert L. Howard – unsuccessfully attacked twin-engined Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" medium bombers heading for the American transports, and was engaged by four Zeroes escorting the bombers. Howard shot down one Zero with his fixed .50 in (13 mm) guns while his rear gunner, Seaman 2nd Class Lawrence P. Lupo, discouraged Japanese fighters attacking from astern.[1]
Wasp's casualties for the entire action on 7 and 8 August were:
One fighter pilot, Ens. Thaddeus J. Capowski, missing in action when he was separated from the formation. His parents (Mr and Mrs Walter Capowski of Yonkers NY) were notified of TJC's MIA status in early September 1942; shortly thereafter TJC was found safe and alive.
One scout bomber shot down; pilot Lieut. Dudley H. Adams wounded by explosive bullets and recovered by Dewey; Radioman-gunner Harry E. Elliott, ARM3c, missing, reported to have been killed before the crash.
One fighter landed in the water due to propeller trouble; pilot recovered.
One fighter crashed on deck; pilot injured; plane jettisoned overboard.
One fighter crashed into barrier first day; repaired and flown second day.
Total plane losses for Wasp were 3 Wildcat fighters and 1 Dauntless scout bomber. Against these, her planes destroyed 15 enemy flying boats, 8 floatplane fighters, and 1 Zero.[7]
At 18:07 on 8 August, Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher recommended to Ghormley, at Nouméa, that the air support force be withdrawn. Fletcher, concerned by the large numbers of Japanese planes that had attacked on the 8th, reported that he had only 78 fighters left (he had started with 99) and that fuel for the carriers was running low. Ghormley approved the recommendation, and Wasp joined Enterprise and Saratoga in retiring from Guadalcanal. By midnight, the landing had attained the immediate objectives. Japanese resistance – except for a few snipers – on Gavutu and Tanombogo had been overcome. Early on 9 August, a Japanese surface force engaged an American one in the Battle of Savo Island and retired with minimal damage after sinking four Allied heavy cruisers off Savo Island, including two that had served with Wasp in the Atlantic: the Vincennes and the Quincy. The early and unexpected withdrawal of the support force, including Wasp, when coupled with Allied losses in the Battle of Savo Island, jeopardized the success of the operation in the Solomons.
After the initial day's action in the Solomons campaign, the carrier spent the next month engaged in patrol and covering operations for convoys and resupply units headed for Guadalcanal. The Japanese began transporting reinforcements to contest the Allied forces.
Wasp was ordered south by Vice Admiral Fletcher to refuel and did not participate in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24 August. After fueling on 24 August Wasp hurried to the battle zone. Her total aircraft group was 26 Wildcats, 25 SBD Dauntlesses, and 11 TBF Avengers. (One SBD was earlier lost on 24 August by ditching in the sea because of engine trouble).[8] On the morning of 25 August, Wasp launched a search mission. The SBD of pilot Lieut. Chester V. Zalewski shot down two of Aichi E13A1 "Jake" floatplanes of the Atago (Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondō's flagship). But the SBDs sighted no ships. The Japanese fleet had withdrawn out of range. At 13:26 on 25 Augustus, Wasp launched a search/attack mission of 24 SBDs and 10 TBFs against the convoy of Rear Admiral Raizo Tanaka that seemed to be still within range. Although the SBDs shot down a flying boat, they couldn't find the enemy ships anymore.[8]
During the battle on 24 August Enterprise was damaged and had to return to port for repairs. Saratoga was torpedoed a week later and departed the South Pacific war zone for repairs as well. That left only two carriers in the southwest Pacific: Hornet—which had been in commission for only a year—and Wasp.[1]
Loss
On Tuesday, 15 September 1942, the carriers Wasp and Hornet and battleship North Carolina—with 10 other warships—were escorting the transports carrying the 7th Marine Regiment to Guadalcanal as reinforcements. Wasp had drawn the job of ready-duty carrier and was operating some 150 nautical miles (170 mi; 280 km) southeast of San Cristobal Island. Her gasoline system was in use, as planes were being refueled and rearmed for antisubmarine patrol missions; and Wasp had been at general quarters from an hour before sunrise until the time when the morning search returned to the ship at 10:00. Thereafter, the ship was in condition 2, with the air department at flight quarters. There was no contact with the Japanese during the day, with the exception of a Japanese four-engined flying boat downed by a Wasp Wildcat at 12:15.
About 14:20, the carrier turned into the wind to launch eight Wildcats and 18 Dauntlesses and to recover eight Wildcats and three Dauntlesses that had been airborne since before noon. Lt. (jg) Roland H. Kenton, USNR, flying a F4F3 of VF-71 was the last aircraft off the deck of Wasp. The ship rapidly completed the recovery of the 11 planes, she then turned easily to starboard, the ship heeling slightly as the course change was made. At 14:44 a lookout reported "three torpedoes ... three points forward of the starboard beam".[1]
A spread of six Type 95 torpedoes were fired at Wasp at about 14:44 from the tubes of the B1 Type submarine I-19. Wasp put over her rudder hard to starboard to avoid the salvo, but it was too late. Three torpedoes struck in quick succession about 14:45; one actually broached, left the water, and struck the ship slightly above the waterline. All hit in the vicinity of the ship's gasoline tanks and magazines. Two of the spread of torpedoes passed ahead of Wasp and were observed passing astern of Helena before O'Brien was hit by one at 14:51 while maneuvering to avoid the other. The sixth torpedo passed either astern or under Wasp, narrowly missed Lansdowne in Wasp's screen about 14:48, was seen by Mustin in North Carolina's screen about 14:50, and struck North Carolina about 14:52.[9]
Wasp on fire shortly after being torpedoed.
There was a rapid succession of explosions in the forward part of the ship. Aircraft on the flight and hangar decks were thrown about and dropped on the deck with such force that landing gears snapped. Planes suspended in the hangar overheads fell and landed upon those on the hangar deck; fires broke out almost simultaneously in the hangar and below decks. Soon, the heat of the intense gasoline fires detonated the ready ammunition at the forward anti-aircraft guns on the starboard side, and fragments showered the forward part of the ship. The number two 1.1 in (28 mm) mount was blown overboard.
Water mains in the forward part of the ship had been rendered inoperable: there was no water available to fight the fire forward, and the fires continued to set off ammunition, bombs, and gasoline. As the ship listed 10-15° to starboard, oil and gasoline, released from the tanks by the torpedo hit, caught fire on the water.
Captain Sherman slowed to 10 knots (12 mph; 19 km/h), ordering the rudder put to port to try to get the wind on the starboard bow; he then went astern with right rudder until the wind was on the starboard quarter, in an attempt to keep the fire forward. At that point, flames made the central station unusable, and communication circuits went dead. Soon, a serious gasoline fire broke out in the forward portion of the hangar; within 24 minutes of the initial attack, there were three additional major gasoline vapor explosions. Ten minutes later, Sherman decided to abandon ship, as all fire-fighting was proving ineffectual. The survivors would have to be disembarked quickly to minimise loss of life.
After consulting with Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes, Captain Sherman ordered "abandon ship" at 15:20. All badly injured men were lowered into rafts or rubber boats. Many unwounded men had to abandon from aft because the forward fires were burning with such intensity. The departure, as Sherman observed it, looked "orderly", and there was no panic. The only delays occurred when many men showed reluctance to leave until all the wounded had been taken off. The abandonment took nearly 40 minutes, and at 16:00—satisfied that no one was left on board—Sherman abandoned the ship.
Although the submarine hazard caused the accompanying destroyers to lie well clear or to shift position, they carried out rescue operations until Laffey, Lansdowne, Helena, and Salt Lake City had 1,946 men embarked. The fires on Wasp, drifting, traveled aft and there were four violent explosions at nightfall. Lansdowne was ordered to torpedo the carrier and stand by until she was sunk.[1] Lansdowne's Mark 15 torpedoes had the same unrecognized flaws reported for the Mark 14 torpedo. The first two torpedoes were fired perfectly, but did not explode, leaving Lansdowne with only three more. The magnetic influence exploders on these were disabled and the depth set at 10 feet (3.0 m). All three detonated, but Wasp remained afloat for some time, sinking at 21:00.[10] 193 men had died and 366 were wounded during the attack. All but one of her 26 airborne aircraft made a safe trip to carrier Hornet nearby before Wasp sank, but 45 aircraft went down with the ship. Another Japanese submarine, I-15, duly observed and reported the sinking of the Wasp, as other US destroyers kept I-19 busy avoiding 80 depth charges. I-19 escaped safely.[1][11]
Succeeding the Franklin half dollar, the Kennedy half dollar is a coin of the United States first minted in 1964, the year following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It features the face of President John F. Kennedy on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse. The obverse was designed by Gilroy Roberts and the reverse was designed by Frank Gasparro.
This coin was a souvenir from my first trip to the United States.
Today's Bible Verse:
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
2 CHRONICLES 7:14
James Beaton was succeeded by his nephew, the celebrated Cardinal David Beaton. Celebrated by some, despised by many others, Beaton was an undeniably brilliant man, who made it his life's work to oppose the Reformation and the spread of Protestantism.
The story of his eventual assassination is well known. The cardinal had been actively engaged in strengthening the fortifications of the castle against the threatened attack from his implacable enemy, King Henry VIII. One morning in May 1546, a group of conspirators, some eight or ten in number, loitered about in the early morning near the entrance, and then taking advantage of the arrival of the masons employed at the castle, gained admittance via the postern door (see photo 5). They then stabbed the porter and threw his body into the moat, and sent the workmen quietly off the premises, leaving them in complete possession of the castle, before its inmates were astir, following which they dismissed the servants and other inmates one by one.
In this manner, says Tytler, a hundred workmen and fifty household servants were disposed of by a handful of men, who, closing the gates and dropping the portcullis, became complete masters of the castle. The Cardinal was then dispatched (and, some sources say, his body left hanging out of a window of the main tower), after which the murderers kept possession of the castle, their numbers being somewhat augmented. Assistance was sent by King Henry, which enabled the castle's occupants to withstand a siege that was to last nearly a year.
In October 1546, the Earl of Arran and the Scottish Privy Council met at St Andrews, and siege operations commenced in earnest. A tunnel was started by Arran's men, with the intention of undermining the Fore Tower, however the defenders heard the digging and started digging a counter-mine to intercept it and on the third attempt, they were successful. Both the mine and counter-mines were cut through solid rock and were rediscovered in 1879. They are open to the public today.
An account written by one of those besieged in the castle describes how:
"In the month of December, being about six months after the cardinal's murder, and immediately following an attempt at a compromise, the governor (Arran) sent to the west (siege) trenches, four cannons, a battering culverin, two smaller culverins, and some double falcons, in order to batter the sea-tower that is at the north-west and the west wall.
This was on a Friday, and on Wednesday, they began, and shot from seven in the morning continually, till four in the evening. That day they shot down all the battlements, and the tophouse of the sea-tower, and the whole roof of the chambers next the sea; and all this day, they shot upon the east side of the castle with fedderit ballatlis* at the hall and chapel, and dislodged us from that part by the down-putting of the roof and slates."
(*A balista was an enormous cross-bow that fired heavy iron bolts, fletched like arrows, to increase their accuracy.)
In the meanwhile, the English and French Governments were both active in their preparations, the former to succour the garrison in the castle, the latter to attack them, but the French were ready first. In the summer of 1547 they sent twenty-one galleys, under the command of Leon Stronzius, Prior of Capua, both a priest and a warrior, to assist the Governor of Scotland in reducing the castle.
The French mounted their lighter ordnance both upon the college steeple, and also upon the walls of the abbey kirk, from where they could see and fire into the castle courtyard "so that no man durst walk therein, or go up to the wall head."
The French captain told the governor, that "they had been unexpert warriors who had not mounted their ordnance on the steeple-heads in that manner earlier, and that he wondered at the keepers of the castle; that they had not first broken down the heads of the steeples." He then set up "the great battery", consisting of the two Scottish cannons and six French; and to prevent slaughter while they were being moved into position, he devised that the cannons should pass down the streets by engines, without any man with them.
Upon opening fire, the battery, within a few hours made such breaches in the wall that, despairing of their strength, after consultation, they yielded the castle and themselves to the King of France. The French captain entered and spoiled the castle very rigorously ; wherein they found great store of vivers, clothes, armour, silver, and plate, which, with the captives, they carried away in their galleys to France. The governor, by the advice of the council, demolished the castle, least it should be a receptacle of rebels."
Cardinal Beaton's successor, Archbishop John Hamilton, rebuilt the castle, building fine Renaissance style work on top of the remains of the earlier walls, but in 1587 the Act of Annexation was passed which transferred the castle of St. Andrews, along with other church property, to the Crown. In the mid-17th century, the Town Council ordered stone to be taken from the castle for use in repairing the harbour walls.
alternate titles:
"it's the end of summer and i'm thinking i would love to be Peter Pan" edition
"loving being loved by my husband as he looks at fences that i might like to photograph" edition
"not feeling funny, just feeling grateful" edition
and the piece d'resistance (sp?) -- not politically correct:
"how can you look at all this beauty without knowing that there is a God" edition
Sedos presents the classic Broadway musical comedy How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying.
BRIDEWELL THEATRE | | 15-25 May 2019
www.sedos.co.uk/2019/howtosucceed.htm
Photo by Stephen Russell
Today my subject was : The bee .I was so happy that I succeed to surprise her in the air , full with pollen and also if you look closely you will see a drop of pollen fallen from her body
Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved.
I succeeded to get this picture of a pupa of a ladybug. I did not know what it was, so I googled to find out.
The life of a ladybug goes through various stages from egg, larvae, pupa to adult. The average life expectancy of a ladybug is actually 1-2 years.
This picture is when the larvae starts to stick itself to a leaf. At this point, the larvae will attach itself belly-first and slowly cease all motions. It will stop eating, moving and after a while, it will even stop any wiggling motion. After the Ladybug has matured to adult form within the pupa, it will begin to break out from the front of the pupa with the help of its mandibles.
Once it breaks out, the Ladybug is still quite vulnerable. It will need around 2 to 3 hours for it’s shell to harden and for it’s colors to take shape.
Hier is de larve van een lieveheersbeestje in een pop veranderd. Voor het verpoppen hechten de larven zich met behulp van een schijnvoet vast. Daarom lijkt de pop vastgeplakt aan het blad, ze blijft daar onbeweeglijk liggen gedurende de hele verpoppingstijd. Dit duurt tussen 7 en 10 dagen. De pop is ongeveer 3,5 mm groot en ze variëren eveneens van kleur: geel, oranje, grijs, bruin of zwart met al dan niet stippen op de achtergrondkleur.
Uiteindelijk komt het volwassen dier tevoorschijn door de pophuid te scheuren. Op het moment dat het lieveheersbeestje uit de pop komt, heeft het gele dekschilden zonder patronen.
The eagle did not succeed and soon disappeared in the nerby forest.
Image is croped quite a bit, the sce was happening 300m away.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are interested in a digital copy or a print of this photograph (or other photographs), please drop me an Email: derliebewolf@web.de
Wenn jemand Interesse an einem digitalen Abzug oder einem Ausdruck von diesem Foto (auch von anderen Fotos von mir) hat, schreibt mir einfach eine Email an derliebewolf@web.de
I was so lucky this year. The New Mexico Geological Society Fall Field Conference was early because it was located in the high mountains of Southwest Colorado. The planners wanted to time the conference with the height of the Aspen colors and they succeeded! The early date also meant that I might catch the last of the summer monsoon season further south in the Chihuahuan desert on my way back home.
The previous photograph showed that the clouds and monsoon were still active at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The drive from the park to Van Horn was spectacular. The road travels straight down a graben named Salt Valley. Mountains parallel the road to the west and form a blockade to the south causing the road to swerve 15 miles to the east after streaking south for 50 miles straight as an arrow. There are only two or three big ranches on the west side of the road and Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame has bought all of them land along the east side of the road and has built the Blue Origin Space Port there.
This valley is dazzling at dusk especially if the heat of the day has fired up thunderstorms. Towering castles of white shot up into the deep blue of the west Texas dusk on the day I drove through this valley and I could see the tongues of rain licking the dusty soil of the valley. As the dusk deepened, the darkness was shattered by the lightning strokes probing the floor of the valley. What a delight for all of my senses. I turned off the air conditioning and rolled down the windows as I drove. The cool air refreshed me as it blew across my skin. The smell of rain was spread across the valley by the down drafts cascading out of the storms, crashing into the valley floor and fanning out in giant dust tsunamis undulating across the valley. I went to sleep that night hoping the monsoon would hold out until I drove to Big Bend the next day.
I was not disappointed!
As soon as I crested the rise at Tornillo Flat in Big Bend, I could see storms forming over Mariscal Mountain and drifting north-east over the Sierra del Carmens. They looked like they could sail past Ernst Tinaja on their course so I decided to head South and drive up the bumpy Old Ore road to Ernst Canyon to see if I could experience the canyon in a thunder shower.
The Old Ore road was rougher than I remembered. It has been a wet two years in the park and the water has washed many areas moving soil, sand, and rocks from one area and then depositing them in another., carving channels and adding bumps.
Many of the ruts contained a lot of water so I knew that some showers had already swept through the area. When I finally bounced into the trail head parking, I turned and was greeted by this wonderful sight.
One thunder shower was headed right for me and about to crest the two low hills that guard the trail head parking lot. To the north, another shower was washing across The Pine Canyon Caldera and the Chisos Mountains on the far right of the photograph.
D0A0925-3
It's easy to pick holes in the legend of Thomas the Rhymer. Many of the references to him and his predictions were written centuries after his death, but folklore is not necessarily unreliable just because it's verbal, and there's a good argument that in this case, where there's smoke there may once have been fire!
The problem is that the historical reality of True Thomas has been almost completely submerged in the tidal wave of myth and legend that has grown up around him over the centuries since. While it seems reasonable to dismiss the story that he "disappeared for seven years to live with the Queen of Elfland and returned to Ercildoune with the gift of prophecy", there are plenty of predictions attributed to him that may either be genuine or may have contained some degree of truth.
Popular lore recounts that he prophesied some of the great events in Scottish history, including the death of Alexander III of Scotland in 1286. He is said to have told the Earl of Dunbar:
"On the morrow, afore noon, shall blow the greatest wind that ever was heard before in Scotland."
There having been no significant change in the weather by the time his lordship sat down for his lunch the following day, a "please explain" was sent to Thomas, who replied that the appointed hour had not yet come, shortly after which, news arrived from Fife of the king's death.
Another of the Rhymer's predictions is said to go like this:
"When the Yowes o' Gowrie come to land,
The Day o' Judgment's near at hand"
A "Yowe" in the country parts of Scotland, is a ewe and the Yowes of Gowrie were two large rounded ovine looking rocks in the Tay estuary, just off the shore from Invergowrie, close to the outlet of the Fowlis Burn. Why and how should two large rocks ever come ashore you might well wonder? Well they had been observed over a period of many years to be getting slowly but surely closer to the shoreline! Or to be more precise, the shoreline was getting closer to them! Then in the 19th century they finally did come ashore. The Dundee to Perth railway line was built along that part of the coast line, seemingly just offshore of the yowes, after which the area to landward of the railway was used as a rubbish dump - supposedly burying the yowes in the process. So technically the yowes have "come to land", without triggering the Day of Judgement, although there are parts of Dundee where it probably can't come soon enough!
Perhaps my favourite of the Rhymer's prophecies, concerns Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire. He is said to have said:
"Fyvie, Fyvie thou'se never thrive,
lang's there's in thee stanes three :
There's ane intill the highest tower,
There's ane intill the ladye's bower,
There's ane aneath the water-yett,
And thir three stanes ye'se never get."
What does that mean when translated loosely into understandable English?
It is believed that there were three special stones at Fyvie - weeping stones. They remained permanently damp, whatever the weather and the whereabouts of two of them are unknown. The Rhymer's prediction is interpreted as meaning that until all three were located, no eldest son would succeed to his father at Fyvie. The 'Ladye's bower' is the castle's charter room, and the one surviving stone is kept there to this day. Whether there is another one built into the castles 'highest tower', nobody seems to know, but the biggest problem is the one said to be underneath the water-gate. This would place it in the River Ythan, which runs around the castle, and trying to identify a damp stone is a river is of course a difficult task!
So what about the prediction, that no oldest son would inherit? I have known this story, without questioning it, for most of my life, having been solemnly told that indeed, no eldest son had ever inherited the castle. But in the interests of science, I though I would spend some time now trying to find out whether that's true!
Fyvie was originally (before the time of the Rhymer a royal castle. We know that King Alexander II signed charters here in February 1222 and The Bruce stayed here in the early years of the 14th century. Since then, it has been owned by five families - the Prestons, the Meldrums, the Setons, the Gordons and the Forbes-Leiths.
Actually, technically, there were six families! In 1370, King Robert II granted Fyvie to his son and heir John (later Robert III), who in turn passed the castle to his cousin, Sir James Lindsay. However, in 1388 the Scots had a rare victory over the English at the Battle of Otterburn, during which Ralph de Percy was captured by Sir Henry Preston, the brother-in-law of Sir James Lindsay. When Robert III came to the throne two years later in 1390 he purchased the rights to Ralph de Percy's ransom by transferring ownership of Fyvie Castle from Sir James Lindsay to Sir Henry Preston. This would seem rather unfair, although I imagine Sir James would have been adequately compensated, but it does of course set the prophesy off in the right direction - Sir James' heir never inherited Fyvie!
So leaving Sir James Lyndsay to one side, the first effective owner of Fyvie in the post royal era, was Sir Henry Preston. When he died around the year 1433, he wasn't succeeded by his son, because he didn't have any! Fyvie went to Sir Alexander Meldrum of that ilk, who had married one of Sir Henry's two daughters.
Fyvie remained in the hands of the Meldrums for about 160 years, passing through the hands of several (probably five) generations of the family, but as we don't know the genealogy of this part of the Meldrum family, we can't say whether an eldest son ever inherited. Probably yes, but the accuracy of the prophesy can't be disproved! In 1596, Fyvie was sold by the Meldrums to Alexander Seton, later Chancellor of Scotland.
Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline and Chancellor of Scotland, was born in 1555. His first wife, to whom he was already married when he bought Fyvie, was Lillias Drummond and after producing five children for him, all girls, it is said that Lord Seton, blaming his wife for the lack of a son and heir, began an affair with her cousin (and future wife) Grizel Leslie. Betrayed and heartbroken Lillias died not long after learning of the affair, .
Lillias Drummond died in May 1601 and Lord Seton married Grizel Leslie a few months later in October 1601. On their wedding night at Fyvie it is said that they were both distracted by a 'mournful moaning' from outside their bedroom window. A search for the source of the noises produced no results but the next morning the words D. LILLIAS DRUMMOND were found carved into the stone sill outside their bedroom window, in letters three inches high and upside down, the window being over 50 feet above ground level. The letters remain visible to this day and since that time, Fyvie Castle is said to have been haunted by a lady in green, roaming the corridors of the castle, crying at her betrayal by her husband and leaving behind the scent of Rose petals!
How much of that is true, I don’t know, but what is true is that before her death in 1606, Grizel Leslie produced two daughters and a son Charles, and that Charles died young! It was up to Lord Seton's third wife to produce his successor, another Charles.
The eldest son and heir of Charles Seton, 2nd Earl of Dunfermline, also named Charles, died in 1672, just before his father! Alexander, the 2nd son became 3rd Earl of Dunfermline, but dying unmarried, the title passed to his brother James.
James Seton, 4th Earl of Dunfermline, died in 1694, also unmarried - which was somewhat immaterial because, having supported the Jacobite cause in the 1689 Rising, his castle and estate had already been confiscated by the crown. Fyvie remained a crown property until it was sold in 1733.
The purchaser in 1733 was William Gordon, 2nd Earl of Aberdeen. His wife at the time was Anne Gordon, daughter of the 2nd Duke of Gordon and their eldest son William inherited Fyvie from his father. But those that have read this far and are hoping the Rhymer's prophesy will hold true will be delighted to learn that Lord William Gordon had already been married, twice and had two sons by his 2nd wife. So once again, the eldest son and heir didn't inherit Fyvie.
General William Gordon, 1st of Fyvie died in 1816 when, unfortunately for Thomas the Rhymer, who now can never be taken seriously again, was succeeded by his only son William Gordon, 2nd of Fyvie Castle. He died without children in 1847, whereupon Fyvie passed to his nephew, Charles Gordon 3rd of Fyvie.
When the 3rd laird died in 1851, Fyvie passed to his son and heir, for the 2nd (and last) time that we know of in five centuries, William Cosmo Gordon. Either he or his executors put Fyvie up for sale and it sold in 1889 to the 5th and last family to own it.
Fyvie's new owner was Alexander John Forbes-Leith, later 1st Baron Leith of Fyvie. He was a local boy who had made his fortune in the steel industry in the US of A and used Fyvie to house his huge collection of paintings, tapestries, armour and furniture. His only son and heir, Percy Forbes-Leith, 2nd Lt Royal Dragoons, was killed aged 19 in 1900 during the Boer War.
In 1982 Fyvie Castle was once again placed on the market, and in 1984 it was purchased by the National Trust for Scotland.
So could Thomas the Rhymer predict the future? Well it's my belief he could do so every bit as accurately as Nostradamus!
Letter A ; These people are full of the courage it takes to succeed and have the daring to try what ever they believe to be best for them. Not only are they clever but also they can put their thoughts into action.
Letter B ; Peace and quiet is something they have to have in order to recharge their batteries. Also she allows others to make choices so that she can make them feel better about themselves.
Letter C ; These are good-humored people who are willing to help you if they can and they may have you thinking twice with their dry sense of humor.
Letter D ; They have a determination for life with a sense of purpose, which few others have. Needing a firm foundation, they work hard to build this in their life.
They are intelligent and understanding with very good judgment.
Letter E ; Delightful people, they tend to build you up, not bring you down.
Letter F ; Represents love. Cheerful and hospitable. They are good friends to have. Showing sympathy towards others, they are good listeners and want to be helpful.
Letter G ; Being tidy people, they expect others in their lives to do the same also They are wise people without their truly knowing it.
Letter H ; Being as independent as they are, they generally choose to work alone and are quite capable of doing so. Self motivated and in control of their actions, these people feel complete in their efforts.
Letter I ; Elegant and stylish, they always look expensive even when they are working in the yard. Others tend to copy their style consciousness because of their tastefulness in clothing and life.
Letter J ; The “J” person has a hard time being still.They are fair and honest to a fault. If you want the truth, ask a person with a “J” in their name. Valuing honesty above all else, they do not lie.
Letter K ; Represents extremes.Very forceful, these people get their point across with their energetic interpretations. Their strong wills lead them on to greater goals. They expect others to see things their way because they know their way is right.
Letter L ; Represents action. The person with this letter in their name is a self-starter. Motivated and energetic, they are able to work in groups or alone.
Letter M ; Represents spiritual leadership.If you want a courageous friend, a person with an “M” in their name is the one to have. Spirituality has to be brave and sometimes a little bold. People with this letter in their name usually are.
Letter N ; Represents clever imagination. They have the ability to get to the heart of the matter.Their ideal profession could be as a reporter, writer or record keeper. They love the written word. One of their prime sources of entertainment is a good book.
Letter O ; The person wearing the name has a great respect for law and order. They need everything in its place. Their approach to life is matter of fact.
Letter P ; Bright and clever, these people find a way to get what they want in this world. Not only are they shrewd but they have the intelligence to back up whatever they want. They do not quit until they have achieved their goals.
Letter Q ; Represents innovation.New ideas is this letter’s forte. Always looking for a new, more efficient way to apply themselves is their goal in life.
Letter R ; Represents potential.All things are possible with these warm-hearted individuals. They are completely unselfish and want to help anyone who will let them. Their being of assistance to others is a reward unto itself.
Letter S ; Represents inspiration.These attractive people win others over with their charm. Influence is an aphrodisiac to them. Others doting on them is the most sensual feeling they can achieve.
Letter T ; Represents development.Bustle and activity motivate this letter. Persons having this letter in their name tend to be restless. They need to keep busy. Idle hands, to them, are truly the devils workers.
Letter U ; People wearing this letter in their name are talented enough to do anything they can imagine. Their imagination plays a strong role in their lives. Not only are they intelligent but they have the luck of the Irish.
Letter V ; Represents fabrication.These, with this letter in their names, are honest and fair people. They make wonderful allies. They are loyal to a fault. What you see is what you get with them. Genuine behavior is a better quality of theirs.
Letter W ; Represents self-expression and resourcefulness.With persistence, a person with a “W” in their name goes after what they want. These are some of the most determined people around. Like the crab, they do not give up but instead circle until they find other ways to accomplish their goal.
Letter X ; Represents sensuality.These pleasure lovers crave luxury. They can be self-indulgent only because comfort is a need, not an entertainment.
Letter Y ; Representing independence.As enterprising people, they are daring. With ambition they have what it takes to obtain their goals. Knowing what they want and going after it is one of their stronger traits.
Letter Z ; Represents hope.People with “Z” letters in their names are trusting and trustworthy. This quality makes them sought after by many as a friend. They seem to do better in life when they have people who care around them.
Edited By ; Me XD
Kii Battleship
Class overview
Operators: Imperial Japanese Navy
Preceded by: Ise class
Succeeded by: Iburi Class
Planned: 8
Completed: 8
General characteristics
Type: Fast battleship
Displacement: 51,500 tons (normal)
Length: 250.4 m
Beam: 34.8 m
Draft: 9.8 m
Installed power: 170,000 shp
Propulsion: 4 shafts
4 × geared steam turbines
Speed: 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Armament:
4 × twin 460 mm (18.1 in) guns;
12 155mm guns in four triple turrets;
6 double 127 mm AA guns;
102 47mm guns in 34 triple turrets;
Armor:
Waterline belt: 400 mm
Deck: 180 mm (5 in)
This is the second battleship class used by Japan during the “Alternate World” Second Russo-Japanese war, the Kii Battleship, in 1947.
More images here: www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=535949
And now a “little” of What if Story:
In 1919, shortly after the end of the First World War, the Americans invited the World Powers of the time to a conference in Boston to stop the “Battleships Race” in existence at the time between the US and the empires of Japan and the United Kingdom (in the real world, this appended in Washington in 1921). The US had an ambitious plan of building 50 battleships on the next 10 years; so costly that would make the United States almost bankrupt. Therefore, the Americans decided to reduce their battleship fleet to only 15 battleships and stop all new ships under construction. Therefore, the Colorado Battleships were sunk as targets, together with many other older battleships. However, things were even worst for Japan; after the conference, Japan was only allowed to have 8 ships-of-line and one of them needed to be converted into a training vessel. The two almost complete battleships of the Nagato class were cancelled and their hulls used for target practice and numerous testings. The Amagi battlecruisers, the Tosa and Kii battleships, which were just starting to be built, were immediately cancelled. With only 7 operational battleships, Japan virtually lost any chance of ever winning a war against the US.
Therefore, attempts were made to transform the US into a new ally, especially after Britain refused to continue the defensive treaty with Japan after 1921. To achieve this, Japan supported all interests of the United States on the Pacific region, while Japan could advance and expand to China. This was only possible because the dangerous and charismatic Mao Tze Tung achieved power in China in 1926, transforming China into a huge and dangerous enemy for both Japan and the US. American and British relations also became worst, after the Americans demanded the payment of every guns, ammo and food sent to England during the war, with very high Taxes…
With this, Japan could effectively expand into China… but things got a little different in 1928. In 1928, the Kzarin of Russia decided to revenge the Romanov family and above all else, the loss of the First Russo-Japanese war. To achieve this, she started a huge naval program (52 battleships and battlecruisers, 10 huge aircraft carriers, almost 80 cruisers and 400 other ships!). Amongst other things, the Kzarin wanted to conquer both China and Japan (and maybe prepare a massive invasion of the United States in 1950)…
With such a large fleet, Japan was simply doomed. Since Russia wasn’t at the Boston Conference (and since the Kzarin did everything she wanted), Russia was free to start its huge naval program. First, the Russians decided to build their new ships with the help of the British, which supported Russia, starting with 16 battleships of the Sevastopol class, armed with nine 406mm (16,0”) guns, 28knots of speed and 320mm of armour, faster and better protected than any battleship in the world at the time (only Hood, Renown and Repulse were faster).
If Japan wanted to survive, new ships needed to be built as a response immediately; but how? At the time, the Japanese industry represented just 3% of the world Industrial Power while Russia (after the so called Russian Miracle) represented 31% (4% more than the US). It was just a matter of time before the 50 Russian battleships were completed and ready to destroy Japan. So if quantity wasn’t the solution, quality was.
Japan therefore decided to build their new battleships with more armour, speed and guns than any other nation in the world. Since the United States were at the time crossing the crash of the Wall Street in 1929, Japan was free to start the construction of the new ships.
Still, during that period, the Japanese never stopped developing and testing new things, for example the construction of a series of aircraft carriers for training and extensive tests on the hulls of the two Nagatos to develop new techniques to improve the defence of their battleships. Much was also learn with the help of many American designers who started working for Japan during the Wall Street chaos.
The Japanese therefore started the construction of a powerful class of 8 new battleships, based on the cancelled No. 13 design, which was extremely secret at the time. They called to this new ship class, the “Kii”s. The 8 old battleships and battlecruisers of the Japanese navy were slowly removed from service since they were considered by now obsolete; every time a Kii was completed, one old ship was removed. New tests were performed on those old ships and the new lessons learn were applied to the next battleship class, the “Iburi”s and some improvements were also performed on the “Kii”s.
Heavily armoured to survive 406mm shells and heavy weight torpedoes, the “Kii”s were designed to fight various enemy ships at the same time. The main belt of armor along the side of the vessel was 400mm (16 in) thick, with additional bulkheads 305mm (12.0 in) thick beyond the main-belt. Furthermore, the top hull shape was very advanced, the peculiar sideways curving effectively maximizing armor protection and structural rigidity while optimizing weight, a techninc recently developed in Japan. Armor plates in both the main belt and main turrets were made of Vickers Hardened, which was a face-hardened steel armor. Deck armour—180 millimetres thick—was composed of a nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy.
The ship was also heavily protected against Torpedoes; special bulges and a great number of counter flooding devices were installed. In total, the vessels of the kii class contained 970 watertight compartments to help control flooding. The most recent battleship completed by the United States at the time, the USS West Virginia (BB-48) had only maximum armour of 457mm (turret face) and 343mm on belt armor while the typical Russian battleship of time had a maximum belt armor of 320mm.
The primary armament of the Kii class was eight 45-caliber 460mm (18,1”) guns in four twin-gun turrets, two each fore and aft of the superstructure, firing a 1,550-kilogram (3,420 lb) shell at a muzzle velocity of 800 meters per second (2,600 ft/s). These huge guns, the largest in the world at the time, were kept in secret and special covers were put on the front of the barrels to deceive every body about their true size. The Russians only discovered the size of those guns during the Second battle of Tsushima, when 18,1” started to pierce the Russian battleships. The secondary battery consisted of 12 155mm guns mounted in triple turrets on the sides of the ship. The ships' anti-aircraft defenses consisted of twelve 127mm guns mounted in 6 double turrets.
In addition, the “Kii”s carried 24 47mm automatic anti-aircraft guns, primarily mounted amidships. When refitted in 1944 for the naval engagements against Russia, the number of 47 mm anti-aircraft guns was increased to 102.
To direct and control the main and secondary artillery against the enemy ships initially the ships had a very old and ineffective system with very high shell dispersion. The Americans therefore provided an advanced targeting radar to Japan in 1942 together with the latest (for the time at least) analogic targeting computers, providing unparallel precision for the Japanese warships at the time.
With the recent appearance of the Aircraft Carrier and the British Battlecruiser Hood (armed with eight 380mm guns and 30knots of maximum speed), the new Japanese battleship needed to be faster than the preceding class. To achieve this, 170 000 horsepower was provided through four huge steam turbines. Although all Japanese aircraft carriers were still faster, the Kiis were at the time the fastest battleships in the world, achieving 30,5knots during trials fully armed. That feature was also kept in secret until 1937, everybody thinking that they were only capable of achieving 25 knots.
Operational Story:
Once the new ships became operational during the 30´s, they were heavily used on naval games, trainings and occasionally strikes against the Communist China. A number of times these ships travelled to Pearl Harbor and even to the San Diego Naval Base, to perform courtesy visits. The American admirals became great friends of their Japanese equivalents, because Japan was in every way the shield of the United States on the Pacific against Russia and China.
When war was declared by Russia, all 8 “Kii”s were operational and ready to defend the nation. They formed two separate naval squadrons; each one with four “Kii” battleships (eight 460mm guns each), four “Nishi” Heavy Cruisers (fifteen 254mm guns each ship), 1 “Iwate” Aviation heavy cruiser (nine 254mm guns each ship), 4 “Osasa” Light cruisers (fifteen 155mm guns each ship), 2 Aso Anti-aircraft cruiser and 10/14 destroyers, therefore a very powerful battery of 32 460mm guns, 60 254mm guns, 108 155mm guns and around 300 torpedo tubes, plus reloads.
Hope you like it! Don´t forget to see my other MOCs at: www.flickr.com/photos/einon/
Eínon
LNER Gresley V2 2-6-2 60831 (Darlington/1938) inside York shed (50A) where it was allocated.
Someone has made an attempt to find the paint and lining underneath all the grime but has only partly succeeded - not an easy task in those conditions!
04/10/1964 [GB 627].
We found detailed plans on the abandoned Milk Factory which helped us find new and special areas to explore
'Fatehpur Sikri' (Hindi: फ़तेहपुर सीकरी, Urdu: فتحپور سیکری) is a city and a municipal board in Agra district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.
Built near the much older Sikri, the historical city of Fatehabad, as it was first named, was constructed by Mughal emperor Akbar beginning in 1570. It was built in honour of Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chisti, who lived in a cavern on the ridge at Sikri, and foretold the birth of his son, who was named Prince Salim after the saint. He later succeeded Akbar to the throne of the Mughal Empire, as Emperor Jahangir. Fatehabad later acquired the name Fatehpur, and gave rise to present name Fatehpur Sikri. It was the first planned city of the Mughals and also the first one designed in Mughal architecture, an amalgamation of Indian architecture, Persian and Islamic architecture. It served as the Mughal Empire's capital from 1571 until 1585.
Admiral George Hope died on 2 May 1818 and was succeeded by his son James, who was only ten at that time. James Hope was to be away for most of his life, pursuing his own military career, however he found time to continue the improvements at home - the most notable of which was the construction of a school for girls on the estate, which they maintained at their own expense.
The final touches were also made to the house. In 1849 the rather awkward access connection between the c.1570 block and the 1682 wing was overcome by placing a small rectangular, 3 storey insert into the courtyard. You can just see it here, with its flat lead roof, surrounded by a simple battlemented parapet. At the same the two-storey porch extension was put into the front re-entrant angle.
The armorial panel on the porch, containing a coat of arms over the date 1863, are those of James Hope, who in the 45 years since succeeding his father, had become Admiral Sir James Hope - not only was his father an admiral, his mother was the daughter of an admiral!. He led a fairly dashing career, his most famous exploit, when still a young lieutenant, occurring while stationed at the River Plate in South America. The enemy had thrown a cable across the river and under a tremendous fire he personally cut the boom with a chisel enabling the fleet to pass up the river.
In his retirement James Hope did much to improve the lot of those around Carriden. He bought up many of the poor-quality houses in the adjacent village of Muirhouses which belonged to the Cadell family and were occupied by miners. These were demolished and replaced by substantial stone cottages.
Admiral Sir James Hope died in 1881 without children, following which his wife lived here until her death in 1890. Carriden then passed to Colonel George Lloyd Verney, Sir James' great-nephew. The Colonel died in 1896 and was succeeded by his son James, who died in 1909 and was succeeded by his brother Harry Verney. Having estates elsewhere, the Verneys had spent little time at Carriden and it was put up for sale in 1912.
It was bought by Joseph Constant, a London businessman and entrepreneur (yes, they even had them back then!), who became an absentee landlord (surprise surprise!). His real interest lay in the shore line, on which he wanted to build ships. The estate farms were let and the contents of the house put up for auction.
Auctioning off the contents of a house in this day and age is an unremarkable event, but in those days, the contents of a grand house or castle were expected to remain with the house. The Motherwell Times of 3 October 1913 considered that this was a case of asset stripping and reported that Carriden House “is this week to be robbed of its internal splendor through the operations of the auctioneer.” All the contents, including the library of over a thousand books, were duly sold off!
Joseph Constant did not live to enjoy the fruits of the sale! With the outbreak of the Great War, his widow furnished the house as an auxiliary hospital for wounded soldiers. Following the war, the estate farms were sold off - the death knell for many a grand house, as without the farms, there is usually insufficient income to maintain the house. By 1925, the house was standing empty.
After the Second World War the demand for electricity soared. Coal-powered generating stations were built at Longannet and Kincardine on the north shore of the Forth and in anticipation of further demand, the South of Scotland Electricity Board bought what remained of the Carriden estate in the late 1960s. Carriden power station was never required and the house survived, although it was allowed to deteriorate further.
Since being sold by the Electricity Board in the late 1970s, Carriden has had three sets of owners, all of whom have played their parts in restoring it to its former glory.
Editorial for the cover of The Marker Week special annual supplement. The whole issue deals with the technological and social changes in the world: industrial and technological progress, the family and working structure and individual process.
For licensing on my images see: Getty images.
www.gettyimages.co.uk/search/2/image?artist=sandra%20stan...
Juvenile Gannet. Learning the ropes of flying and catching fish.
Happy Christmas and new year to everyone.
succeeding photos were from a hands on lighting tutorial by ken go.
we set up our lights. you figure out what lighting ratio for the desired effect
the first pose was a little straight forward. this time i requested if she could be more carefree
the whitening part is well the background never really gets clean white so its whitened via PP haha
model : Ann Legasto
Riesci a vedere?
Apri gli occhi e guarda il mondo
Impara a volare
E non tornare
Rimani libero e vola
Perditi nel sogno e non tornare
C'è sempre il sole ad illuminare la strada
E tu, che vedi solo le tenebre
Osserva oltre le nubi
E vedrai il mondo splendere..
You succeed to see?
You open the eyes and watches the world It learns to fly
And not to return
You remain free and flies Losses in the dream and not to return
it is always the sun to illuminate the road and you, that you see only the darkness It observes beyond clouds And you will see the world to shine.
Model: Antonio Dognini
Photo by Marco Cortesi - marcortesi@tiscali.it
Photo concept: Antonio Dognini & Marco Cortesi
Artwork: Andrea Assanelli - www.webalice.it/groove
Taken from the "Beyond Appearances" project.
Discover more on www.youtube.com/watch?v=je6r913kxyc and www.myspace.com/antoniodognini
CDV, early - mid 1870s
Photographer: Robert Melchers
Charleroi
Place Verte 20
Belgium
Carbon print (charbon - inaltérable) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_print
Louis-Xavier Bufquin des Essarts, (?, France - 1880, Charleroi, Belgium)
His family was of French origin of Republican conviction which had taken refuge in Charleroi during the July Monarchy. Louis-Xavier Bufquin des Essarts was the director of Journal of Charleroi. He died in 1880. Son, Jules Charles Louis Bufquin des Essarts succeeded his father as director of Journal of Charleroi. He gave the newspaper a progressive liberal and socialist orientation.
Other notable members of Bufquin des Essarts family in Charleroi to the 20th century: maitron-en-ligne.univ-paris1.fr/spip.php?article166973
In the 1870s when the French poet, Arthur Rimbaud arrived in Belgium he got acquainted with the family of Louis-Xavier Bufquin des Essarts and stayed with them for a time.
His wife, the Hungarian origin Laura von Vrabély was born in Pozsony (Pressburg, back then Hungary, now Bratislava, Slovakia) in a notable and talented Hungarian family. Her father, Karl von Vrabély, was privy councellor and director of the Royal Hungarian Mail, her sisters, Countess Stephanie von Wurmbrand-Stuppach Vrabély and Seraphine von Tausig-Vrabély were famous pianists and composers of the period, students of Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms. Her nephew, Armand Vrabély was under secretary of state and a popular writer of those years.
She died on 22. February 1901 in Charleroi.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Louis-Xavier Bufquin des Essarts, (?, Franciaország - 1880, Charleroi, Belgium)
Vizitkártya, 1870-es évek eleje-közepe
Fényképész: Robert Melchers
Charleroi
Place Verte 20
Belgium
Szénnyomat (pigmennyomat, a nemes eljárások közé tartozik. Több információ az eljárásról itt: fotomult.c3.hu/pozitiv/pigmentnyomat/
Francia, köztársasági meggyőződésű francia családból származik, akiknek el kellett menekülniük a Júliusi Monarchia idején Franciaországból. Belgiumban, Charleroi-ban találtak menedéket.
Louis-Xavier Bufquin des Essarts itt a Journal de Charleroi igazgatója lett, egészen 1880-ban bekövetkezett haláláig. Fia, Jules Bufquin des Essarts vette át a lapot, amelynek erős, progresszív liberális és szocialista orientációt adott.
Más neves családtagok Charleroi-ban, a XX. századig: maitron-en-ligne.univ-paris1.fr/spip.php?article166973
Az 1870-es években, belgiumi tartózkodása idején Arthur Rimbaud megismerkedett a Bufquin des Essarts családdal és egy ideig charleroi-i otthonukban vendégeskedett.
Louis-Xavier Bufquin des Essarts felesége, Vrabély Laura, neves pozsonyi családból származik, (? Pozsony - 1901, Charleroi, Belgium), Vrabély Károly m. kir. tanácsos és postaigazgató lánya, Vrabély Szerafina (Tausig Károlyné) és Vrabély Stefánia (Ernst Wurmbrand-Stuppach grófné) zongoraművészek nővére, valamint Vrabély Armand h. államtitkár és író nagynénje.
Halálhíre a charleroi-i sajtóban, 1901. február 22-én: "Nous apprenons ia mort de Mme Laura Vrabely, veuve de M. Louis-Xavier Bufquin des Essarts, ancien directeur du Journal de Charleroi."
"Most értesültünk Vrabély Laura, Louis-Xavier Bufquin des Essarts, a Journal de Charleroi korábbi igazgatója özvegyének haláláról."
This wide expanse of water was only created to make the manor look better. It's only about 0.5 m deep. Otherwise the river should be deep and narrow, to give maximum power to the hammersmithies,
Lövstabruk is a village on a common in the parish of Österlövsta, Tierp Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden. In 2010 it had a population of 96, compared to some 1300 at its height during the 18th century. The word lövsta is derived from lösta, an old Swedish word for "glade". The contemporary spelling in the 18th century was Leufsta, with French orthography reflecting the Walloon origin of the workforce. The latter part of the name, bruk, means both "mill town" and "ironworks".
The settlement was founded as an ironworks by local farmers during the 16th century, from then on relying primarily upon the quality Dannemora ore. The ownership changed hands to the crown and back again. Another forgery was later built by the crown, which from time to time was leased to various tenants, most notably Wellam de Besche, governmental inspector over most ironworks in Sweden, in 1626 and to him and his partner Louis De Geer in the succeeding year. They introduced Walloon forging here, with at most five pairs of hearths (finery and cafery). In 1641 Louis de Geer, by then Swedish citizen, purchased Lövstabruk from the crown as part of a land sale to relieve the government's shortage of cash, and in 1668 his son Emanuel was able to negotiate a purchase of the other forge from the farmers. During his time, the facility was expanded considerably, and a park was created along the swamped sides of Risforsån, the creek from which power was supplied in four waterfalls, in total falling over 15 meters. Due to a shortage of charcoal, the blast furnaces were relocated to neighbouring villages, where various other expansion also took place. However, Lövstabruk remained the main production facility, and was the biggest ironworks in the country during a number of years in the 18th century. The iron produced at Leusta was of a kind known in England as oregrounds iron, after the port town of Öregrund. The brand mark used at Leufsta was an 'L' inscribed in an open circle, so that its products were known in England as "Hoop L iron". It was classified as first oregrounds and at the height of its power most of the products were exported to England, where it was converted to blister steel by the cementation process.
The ironworks was sold to Gimo-Österby AB in 1917, and the lion share of the woodlands to Korsnäs AB in 1935. Iron production ceased on 20 November 1926. All production facilities were torn down shortly after, while virtually all surrounding buildings remain intact. The manor and the land next to it was owned by the de Geer family for thirteen generations until 1986, when it was transformed into a foundation made up of the local county, Uppsala University, Tierp Municipality, and the de Geer family. Since 1997 most buildings are managed by National Property Board Sweden A number of apartments can be rented from Tierpsbyggen AB.
The Manor
Around 1615 the first timbered mansion was erected by the crown. 1702 the second wooden manor with six wings, possibly designed by Johan Hårleman, was finished during the ownership of Emmanuel's nephew Charles. In July 1719 Lövstabruk, along with most other locations of economic importance along the eastern coast of Uppland from Norrtälje to Harnäs bruk just south of Gävle, were burnt down by the northern half of a Russian fleet in an attempt by the Czar to move forward with the peace negotiations that were stalled by Sweden. This effort was ill responded to by the unenterprising Swedish government in the political vacuum after the death of King Charles XII. At first Charles de Geer was sceptical about rebuilding the ironworks in Lövstabruk, and considered giving up, going back to Wallonia. However, his able manager Georg Svebilius, who had successfully saved Skebo bruk by a civil militia of his during his employment there, persuaded him to go on. Within four years the ironworks was producing again, and in the 1730s the current Manor house, now built in stone with four wings, and other less important buildings were also reconstructed. The baron Charles de Geer was bestowed head of county in addition to many years of tax exemption for his efforts. Lövstabruk was made a fideicommiss during his ownership. When the childless bachelor died after a stroke in 1730, his nephew Charles de Geer inherited Lövstabruk at an age of 10. Charles studied entomology in the Netherlands, and was a reputed researcher in addition to running the ironworks from the age of 19. He knew Olof Rudbeck and Carl von Linne, and started a famous scientific library in Lövstabruk, including the 'Flower Book', now owned by Carolina Rediviva, as well as an Aviary. The Manor was improved upon during his ownership, primarily to the design of Jean-Eric Rehn, the dining room perhaps being the most notable effort. His son, also named Charles, preserved the estate while he concentrated upon his interest in politics, agitating against the king. At the turn of the century the ironworks business went well, and the Manor was once more overhauled, this time by Isak Gustaf Clason. As the economy turned worse again a planned overall renovation of all buildings in a Dutch renaissance style never took place, except for the new warehouse and the bookkeeper's lodge.
The park was originally laid out in renaissance style, but later remodeled into barock style. After a period of decline it was yet again transformed during the end of the 19th century, this time with inspiration from Germany. During 1970-71 the park was restored inspired by its barock past as of 1769 under the lead of Walter Bauer, using drawings of Adolf-Fredrik Barnekow and Emanuel de Geer.
The church in Lövstabruk, built twice by the first Charles de Geer, houses a well-preserved organ by Niclas Cahman, constructed 1726-1728 with 28 ranks of pipes, where almost all of the visible pipes are used to make sounds.
The largest and most interesting Swedish collection of horse-drawn carriages still in private hands can be found in the stables.
__________________________________
Lövstabruk (äldre stavning Leufsta bruk) är en småort i Österlövsta socken i Tierps kommun med cirka 100 invånare.
Lövstabruk är ett internationellt känt vallonbruk. Här finns bland annat Leufsta herrgård. I Lövstabruks kyrka finns en berömd orgel, den så kallade Cahmanorgeln. Lövstabruk är i dag ett byggnadsminne. Herrgården och herrgårdsparken med flera byggnader förvaltas av Statens fastighetsverk.
Redan tidigt hade Leufsta en ansenlig järntillverkning. Bruket ligger där det ligger för att Risforsån kunde bistå med kraft till hammare och smedjor. Under de äldre De Geerarnas tid var Leufsta landets största järnverk och hade 1660 två masugnar och tre hamrar för vallonsmide.
Herrgården på Leufsta består av en tvåvånings huvudbyggnad och två med denna sammanbyggda flygelbyggnader samt på något avstånd två halvrunda flyglar, allt av sten.
Där Lövstabruk nu ligger har sedan urminnes tid funnits hyttor, som tillhört bönder i kringliggande gårdar. Det så kallade bondebruket, ett stycke längre upp i strömmen, omtalas första gången 1578. Kronobruket anlades 1596 och drevs för kronans räkning. Före 1610 drevs det tillsammans med Österby, där fogden bodde. 1615 fick det en mer självständig ställning sedan bruket förpantats till Kristina av Holstein-Gottorp. Willem de Besche arrenderade Olands härad samt Lövsta och Hållnäs socknar av staten 1626 tillsammans med Österby och Lövsta bruk. År 1627 fick De Besche och Louis De Geer detta kontrakt förlängt på sex år. År 1633 övertog De Geer ensam arrendet som pant för en sin fordran hos kronan, och detta förnyades 1636, 1639 och 1642. År 1643 köpte han kronobruket vid Lövsta, Österby och Gimo bruk samt en mängd kronohemman i Uppland. År 1646 bekräftades köpeavtalet av drottning Kristina, sedan hon blivit myndig.
Louis De Geers son Emanuel De Geer (1624-1692) köpte 1668 även det ovannämnda Bondebruket och anlade Tobo masugn. Han satte sin brorson Charles De Geer som arvtagare av hela sin förmögenhet. Denne Charles De Geer var son Louis De Geer den yngre (1622-1659). Under Charles De Geers tid brände ryssarna den 25-26 juli 1719 såväl Lövstabruk som nästan hela socknen med kyrka och prästgård. Charles De Geer återuppbyggde inte bara bruket utan även herrgården och kyrkan. Genom testamente förordnade han att Leufsta, Åkerby nu rivna bruk och Karlholmsbruk skulle tillfalla hans brorson, sedermera friherre Charles De Geer och efter honom hans manliga avkomma, kammarherre Charles De Geer (1720-1778), som fideikommiss. Under Charles De Geers tid förenades Hillebola, Strömsbergs, Västlands och Ullfors bruk med stamgodset, men ingick inte i fideikommisset. Komplexen hölls emellertid samman under hans son, kammarherre Charles De Geer (1720-1778). Då dennes son, excellensen greve Carl De Geer, inte efterlämnade någon son, ärvdes bruken samt flera andra gods av hans enda dotter, Charlotte De Geer (1813-1888), gift med excellensen greve Baltzar von Platen. Baltzar von Platen var gift med friherrinnan Sofia Eleonora Charlotta De Geer af Leufsta. Genom sitt arv och sitt gifte var von Platen en av tidens rikaste män. Fideikommisset övergick till excellensens kusins son Emanuel De Geer (1817-1877), död ogift 1877. Han efterträddes av sin bror, hovmarskalken friherre Louis De Geer (1824-1887), vars son, friherre Carl De Geer (1859-1914) övertog ägarskapet.
Lövstabruks sista smedja byggdes 1887 och var sedan i drift till den 5 november 1926, då lancashiresmidet slutligen lades ned.
1917 hade bruket sålts av från Lövsta gods till Gimo-Österby bruks AB och utarrenderades till Fagersta bruk AB.
Den äldsta herrgården var den fogdegård som uppfördes omkring 1615, vanligen kallad "Konungsgården". Den bestod av en kringbyggd gård av grått timmer, snarast liknande en bergsmansgård. Den var belägen på en liten holme mellan mellersta och nedre dammen. Den var av mellansvensk gårdstyp och hade ladugården placerad på annat håll, troligen i öster, där senare under 1600-talet stallgården var belägen. Ett kapell uppfördes vid gården 1615, men revs i början av 1660-talet. Den gamla fogdebyggnaden förefaller ha rivits omkring 1700, då arbetet på den nya herrgården framskridit så pass att den helt kunde ersätta de äldre husen.
Louis De Geer vistades aldrig vid Lövsta, och den första mera ståndsmässiga herrgården uppfördes troligen av Emanuel De Geer men början omkring 1650. Trädgården blev det första att anläggas, två lusthus tillkom på 1660-talet, två till på 1670-talet. En flygel till den planerade herrgården uppfördes på 1670-talet, men därefter låg arbetet länge nere. Efter Emanuel De Geers död 1692 återupptogs dock arbetet efter en storstilad plan med en herrgård med inte mindre än sex flyglar och två paviljonger. 1701 insattes 186 fönster i stora byggnaden, och 1704 92 fönster i södra flygelns våningsrum samt 44 på vinden. Av bevarade kartor framgår dock att det planerade bygget inte riktigt fick de storskaliga proportioner som var tänkt och som bland annat avbildas i Suecia antiqua et hodierna. Bland annat fanns bara fem flyglar och inget tyder på att fler någonsin blev uppförda.
25 juli 1719 lades herrgården och bruket i aska av ryska trupper. Återuppbyggnaden startade ganska snart, även om arbetet med att återuppta bruksdriften prioriterades. Herrgården, som upplades efter en plan snarlik den äldre anläggningen, ritades troligen av Göran Josuæ Adelcrantz. Av de äldre byggnaderna förefaller orangeriet ha återuppförts kring murarna av sin 1719 nedbrända föregångare. Herrgården var dock inte färdigställd vid Charles De Geers död 1730. 1730 blev Lövstabruks herrgård fideikommiss inom den friherrliga ätten De Geer af Leufsta. På 1740-talet lades golven in i huvudbyggnaden, och 1744 inköptes stofttapeter för tre rum i byggnaden hos tapetfabrikör Johan H. Kock. Samma år gipsas golv och tak i förstugan, och slaguret på huvudbyggnadens mittrisalit sätts upp. Johan Pasch betalades 1747 för måleriarbeten på herrgården, och den franske skulptören Caillon, som annars arbetade på kungliga slottet med dekorationsarbeten betalades 1748 för arbeten på Lövsta. På 1750-talet levererades kakelugnar till herrgården. Jean Eric Rehn kom från 1750-talet att engageras för herrgårdens färdigställande, utifrån hans ritningar utfördes biblioteket 1757-58, en voliére uppfördes i trädgården utanför södra flygeln 1759, och 1762 färdigställdes de båda paviljongerna. Den södra paviljongen kom att inrymma Charles de Geers naturaliekabinett, med en mängd amfibier, ormar, ödlor, grodor, fjärilar, insekter med mera. Efter de Geers död skänktes samlingen till Vetenskapsakademien. Biblioteket på Lövsta står dock ännu till stora delar orört, fyllt av böcker, planschverk och kartor, samt ett par av Åkermans himmels- och jordglober. 1765 omgestaltade Rehn även den vid det här laget föråldrade inredningen i huvudbyggnaden. Vid denna tid var Lövsta bland de modernaste och mest imponerande herrgårdarna man kunde se i Sverige. Gustav III, som 1768 besökte Lövsta skrev i ett brev till sin mor "jag vågar säga, att min kära moder inte sett något i Sverige, om hon inte sett Leufstad".
Under 1800-talet genomgick Lövsta få förändringar. Trädgården, anlagd av Johan Hårleman, moderniserades 1880-1920 av trädgårdsarkitekt J. O. Strindberg (författarens yngre bror). På 1970-talet restaurerades trädgården för att återge den dess 1700-talsform.
The Teen Titans formed when the three young heroes called Robin (Dick Grayson), Kid Flash (Wally West), and Aqualad (Garth), succeeded in fighting the villain Mister Twister. Their mentors (Batman, Flash and Aquaman) and the rest of the Justice League were impressed with this effort, and they decided to let the boys form their own team. Kid Flash came up with the Teen Titans, and they rest liked the sound of that. The three of them decided that Robin should be teamleader, and they went on numerous adventures together. They later decided to expand, and to have team try-outs. The ones who were chosen to join their team were Wonder Girl (Donna Troy), Speedy (Roy Harper), Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire. The team noticed rather quickly that Starfire had a crush on Robin, and that Robin didn't really seem to mind. This brought him at odds with Garth and Wally. Wally however was rather quickly quiet when Raven revealed that he had a crush on Donna himself. Against all odds, Robin and Starfire started dating, and it went rather well. When the team faced the villain group H.I.V.E. they got help from two other heroes: Lilith Clay, aka Omen, and Bumblebee. After the main court of H.I.V.E. escaped, the two heroïnes were invited in the group. Aqualad would be the first one to quit the team, because Atlantis was under attack by Oceanmaster, and Aquaman needed everyone he could get. The next one who would quit was Bumblebee, who decided to join the Doom Patrol. A few months later, Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl was shot by the Joker. Because she was Dick's long time friend, he gave Barbara more attention than Starfire, and the two started a fight. The fight ended in Dick breaking up with Star, giving Roy the leadership over the team, and he himself to quit the Teen Titans. Later on, Lilith was kidnapped and brainwashed by the timetravelling villain Harvest. The team were able to rescue Lilith, but because she was too emotionally damaged, she couldn't function normal on the team anymore. Raven decided to also quit the team, to give Lilith mental support. The team now consisted of Speedy, Kid Flash, Cyborg, Wonder Girl, and Starfire. Donna decided it was also time for her to quit the team, since she was asked in assisting Wonder Woman in the fight against Ares. Dick came back however with the new Robin: Jason Todd. He left Jason in the Titan's care, and then left again. Wally, Roy and Vic inmediatly saw that Starfire and Jason were hitting it of, thus continuing Starfire the line of dating Robins. The team functioned really well however, but They did notice, that Jason Todd, was no Dick Grayson. When Jason was killed by the Joker, the team were all broken down, especially Starfire, who quit the team, because she emotionally couldn't handle it anymore. Roy, Wally and Vic decided to hold new trials again. The members who were chosen to join the new team were: Miss Martian, Superboy, Beast Boy, the new Aqualad, and the new Wonder Girl. Cyborg quit the team after the recruitment however, because he was invited to join the Justice League. Roy changed his name to Red Arrow, and he continued to lead the Titans for several missions, but eventually he and Wally also decided to quit the team, making Wally the one who lasted the longest on the team. Roy did however hand the leadership over to the new Robin: Tim Drake. He joined the Teen Titans with other recruits: Artemis, Impulse, and Blue Beetle. Wally soon became the Silver Flash, and he gave the Kid Flash title to Impulse.
So the team currently consists out of:
Robin (Tim Drake, leader)
Superboy (Kon-El/Conner Kent)
Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark)
Aqualad (Kaldur'ahm)
Miss Martian (M'gann M'orzz)
Kid Flash (Bart Allen)
Beast Boy (Garfield 'Gar' Logan)
Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)
Artemis (Evelyn Crock)
Should be viewed large. I have been trying to photograph one of these for some time and finally succeeded. They are very difficult to sneak up on with those massive eyes!
Vaulted cellars under the 16th century extension.
The Hepburns
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, succeeded his father in 1556. He had an interesting life!!
In 1559 he visited Copenhagen and fell in love with a woman named Anna Tronds, a Norwegian noblewoman whose father, Kristoffer Trondson, was a Norwegian admiral. They are believed to have subsequently married. They then travelled to Flanders, where Bothwell ran out of money and asked Anna to sell all her possessions. She complied and subsequently visited her family in Denmark to ask for more money. His treatment of Anna was to play a part in his eventual downfall.
Back in Scotland, Bothwell sided with Mary of Guise (widow of King James V and mother of Mary Queen of Scots) during the Scottish Reformation. In October 1559, Bothwell and 24 followers took 6000 crowns of English money destined to be used against Mary of Guise, from the Laird of Ormiston, following an ambush near Haddington. The Protestant faction were not amused. The Earl of Arran and Master of Maxwell besieged and captured Crichton Castle, whereupon the castle was ransacked and Bothwell's legal charters and evidences taken away.
Bothwell met Queen Mary when he visited the French Court in the autumn of 1560, after leaving Anna Tronds in Flanders. Mary was then Queen of France and she and her husband, King Francis II, granted Bothwell 600 Crowns and the post and salary of a gentleman of the French King's Chamber. The following year Bothwell was back in Paris, to escort the widowed queen back to Scotland.
In a reversal of fortunes, Crichton Castle was the scene of wedding festivities in January 1562, when Bothwell's sister Jean married John Stewart, Prior of Coldingham and illegitimate son of King James V. John Stewart's half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, spent a few nights at the castle while attending this wedding. I'll come back to John Stewart and Jean Hepburn in a couple more photos.
Kells Priory.
Kells Priory is one of the largest and most magnificent medieval monuments in Ireland. Situated on the bank of the King's River, it comprises a collection of mediaeval tower houses spaced at intervals along and within walls which enclose a site of some three acres.
Kells Priory was founded by Geoffrey FitzRobert in 1193. FitzRobert was brother-in-law to Strongbow and the priory succeeded an earlier church which was dedicated to St. Mary, the Blessed Virgin and served as parish church to nearby Kells village.
During it's first century and a half the priory was attacked and burned on three occasions, firstly by Lord William de Bermingham in 1252, by the Scots army of Edward Bruce on Palm Sunday 1326, and by a second William de Bermingham in 1327. It seems likely then that the walls and fortifications date back to this period of unrest.
In 1324 the Bishop of Ossory Richard de Ledrede paid a lenten visit to the priory. Following an inquisition into a Kilkenny sect of heretics, Alice Kytler and William Outlaw were ordered to appear before the Bishop to answer charges of witchcraft. Outlaw was supported by Arnold de Paor, Lord of Kells who arrested the Bishop and had him imprisoned in Kilkenny Castle for 17 days. This caused great scandal and on his release the Bishop successfully prosecuted the heretics. Alice Kytler fled to England and remained there, Alice Smith also fled, but her mother Petronella de Meath became Ireland's first heretic to be burned at the stake.
Dissolution of Kells Priory finally took place in March 1540 and the chuch and property were surrendered to James Butler, Ninth Earl of Ormonde.
Do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my permission.
© All rights reserved.
A LINK TO MY GALLERY ON PBASE
The Hunting Percival Jet Provost is a British jet trainer aircraft that was in use with the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1955 to 1993. It was originally developed by Hunting Percival from the earlier piston engine-powered Percival Provost basic trainer, and later produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). In addition to the multiple RAF orders, the Jet Provost, sometimes with light armament, was exported to many air forces worldwide. The design was also further developed into a more heavily armed ground attack variant under the name BAC Strikemaster.
In early 1951, Hunting Percival began work on the design studies that would ultimately lead to the Jet Provost. At the time, the company in the process of establishing mass production for the earlier piston-engined Percival Provost basic trainer, but had anticipated that demand for a jet-powered trainer aircraft would be on the horizon. The design team aimed to produce an aircraft capable of equaling the handling characteristics of operational jet fighters of the era while also possessing modest approach and stall speeds and remaining simple to handle, as opposed to aiming to obtain maximum performance.
The prototype Jet Provost T.1 with the initial longer undercarriage at the Farnborough Air Show in 1954
During the early design process, a series of increasingly frequent liaisons with RAF Flying Training Command took place, helping to gauge the considerations required to succeed in aspects of the proposed aircraft's design, such as instructional processes and maintenance requirements. During development, Hunting Percival had intentionally reused as many existing components and subsystems of the Percival Provost as possible, including the tail surfaces, main planes and main undercarriage legs, to speed development through to the prototype stage. The initial design work was performed as a private venture, independent of any service requirement; in March 1953, sponsorship from the British Government to support the development was made available as a result of interest from the Ministry of Supply. That same month, an order for service-test quantity of Jet Provosts was received.
On 16 June 1954, the prototype XD674 conducted its maiden flight from the factory at Luton Airport, flown by Dick Wheldon. A series of seven flights were flown in quick succession over the following three days. By early November 1954, a total of 123 flying hours had been accumulated by the prototype during Hunting Percival's own flight test program, after which the prototype was submitted for official trials at RAF Boscombe Down. While testing proved the overall performance of the Jet Provost to be satisfactory, refinements such as shortening the legs of the landing gear for a smoother ride when deployed at semi-prepared airstrips.
On 19 February 1955, the first of ten pre-production aircraft, designated as the Jet Provost T1, performed its first flight. In May 1955, three of the pre-production aircraft were assigned for the first stage of service trials with the Central Flying School (CFS) of the RAF to determine the value of the Jet Provost in the ab initio training role and to develop a syllabus for the training program. During the second stage of CFS trials using the same three aircraft, actual students were introduced to the type for practical evaluation purposes, which was performed at RAF Hullavington until the successful completion of trials on 2 July 1956. According to feedback from CFS examiners, the Jet Provost had noticeably improved the performance of students during its trial deployment
"Not ALL plan will succeed." a very strong statement Drew said on her interview upon arriving in modollville. The aspiring model admitted that she heard the fashion industry in Modollville is rising. "yes that is true that I came here for all of you to see how good Iam. so be proud. I modeled in different places, but this is where I my roots came from, so I better give this place my H2T now!" A boastful statement from her. Her mother is an actress in modollville and her father is the producer of her movies. Rumors says that her mother is a B*** that would do everything to be famous -- even seducing her father and asked to divorce his wife to marry her -- (what a shameful root ei? ) Drew NEVER gets any job in modelling, it was her friends that took pictures of her and posted it as a modelling hoax! well isnt it obvious with how I write this news about her ?? She is a MAJOR BYOTCH!! Everyone hates her, I remember when I was an intern and we are tryn to have an interview with her mother who that time is settling abroad, and she threw her hamburger on me! im sorry if this is getting personal, but, yea, anyway, Reporting from ModollVilleNews
Kim Jong-il succeeded his father Kim il-Sung as leader of North Korea in 1994. He ruled North Korea with an iron fist and had a personality cult built up around himself in a similar fashion to his father. During his rule North Korea suffered a terrible famine in which millions may have perished whilst Kim and the elite who run the country lived in luxury. He died in 2011 and was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Un.
The Schoolchildren's Palace features on most tours of Pyongyang and is meant to impress visitors with the talent on display. The children who were performing were indeed very talented but I found this to be the most disturbing part of my visit to North Korea. There didn't seem to be a lot of fun about the place and I didn't enjoy seeing young kids who were being brainwashed.
[Blogged on http://dharmafly.com/blog/how-to-save-the-world-and-succeed-in-business]
Madhava and I ran an interactive workshop at BarCamp Brighton:
"How to Save the World and Succeed in Business"
This is the perennial question for our own startup web development company, Dharmafly, and instead of telling anything, we wanted to get the answers from the crowd...
We split people into groups and got everyone mind-mapping. Each group had a sheet with 'How to Save the World' written in the centre and another sheet with 'How to Succeed in Business'. On each sheet, with limited time, people wrote down related concepts and then connected them together...
There often seems to be a conflict between running a thriving business and working in an ethical way. Much of our society is cut-throat and ruthlessly capitalistic. But we found that many practices complement both needs and there is a common desire for collaboration, integrity and taking an ethical approach.
The future looks bright...
Dutch postcard by Croeze Bosman Universal, no. 61.
Lupe Velez (1908-1944), was one of the first Mexican actresses to succeed in Hollywood. Her nicknames were 'The Mexican Spitfire' and 'Hot Pepper'. She was the leading lady in such silent films as The Gaucho (1927), Lady of the Pavements (1928), and Wolf Song (1929). During the 1930s, her well-known explosive screen persona was exploited in a series of successful films like Hot Pepper (1933), Strictly Dynamite (1934), and Hollywood Party (1934). In the 1940s, Vélez's popularity peaked after appearing in the Mexican Spitfire films, a series created to capitalise on Vélez's well-documented fiery personality. She had several highly publicised romances and a stormy marriage. In 1944, Vélez died of an intentional overdose of the barbiturate drug Seconal. Her death and the circumstances surrounding it have been the subject of speculation and controversy.
Lupe Vélez was born María Guadalupe Villalobos Vélez in 1908 in the city of San Luis Potosí in Mexico. She was the daughter of Jacobo Villalobos Reyes, a colonel in the army of the dictator Porfirio Diaz, and his wife Josefina Vélez, an opera singer according to some sources, or vaudeville singer according to others. She had three sisters: Mercedes, Reina and Josefina, and a brother, Emigdio. The family was financially comfortable and lived in a large home. At the age of 13, her parents sent her to study at Our Lady of the Lake (now Our Lady of the Lake University) in San Antonio, Texas. It was at Our Lady of the Lake that Vélez learned to speak English and began to dance. She later admitted that she liked dance class, but was otherwise a poor student. Denny Jackson at IMDb: "Life was hard for her family, and Lupe returned to Mexico to help them out financially. She worked as a salesgirl for a department store for the princely sum of $4 a week. Every week she would turn most of her salary over to her mother, but kept a little for herself so she could take dancing lessons. By now, she figured, with her mature shape and grand personality, she thought she could make a try at show business." She began her career as a performer in Mexican vaudeville in 1924. She initially performed under her paternal surname, but after her father returned home from the war, he was outraged that his daughter had decided to become a stage performer. She chose her maternal surname, "Vélez", as her stage name and her mother introduced Vélez and her sister Josefina to the popular Spanish Mexican vedette María Conesa, "La Gatita Blanca". Vélez debuted in a show led by Conesa, where she sang 'Oh Charley, My Boy' and danced the shimmy. Aurelio Campos, a young pianist, and friend of the Vélez sisters recommended Lupe to stage producers, Carlos Ortega and Manuel Castro. Ortega and Castro were preparing a season revue at the Regis Theatre and hired Vélez to join the company in March 1925. Later that year, Vélez starred in the revues 'Mexican Rataplan' and '¡No lo tapes!', both parodies of the Bataclan's shows in Paris. Her suggestive singing and provocative dancing was a hit with audiences, and she soon established herself as one of the main stars of vaudeville in Mexico. After a year and a half, Vélez left the revue after the manager refused to give her a raise. She then joined the Teatro Principal but was fired after three months due to her "feisty attitude". Vélez was quickly hired by the Teatro Lirico, where her salary rose to 100 pesos a day. In 1926, Frank A. Woodyard, an American who had seen Vélez perform, recommended her to stage director Richard Bennett, the father of actresses Joan and Constance Bennett. Bennett was looking for an actress to portray a Mexican cantina singer in his upcoming play 'The Dove'. He sent Vélez a telegram inviting her to Los Angeles to appear in the play. Vélez had been planning to go to Cuba to perform, but quickly changed her plans and traveled to Los Angeles. However, upon arrival, she discovered that she had been replaced by another actress.
While in Los Angeles, Lupe Vélez met the comedian Fanny Brice. Brice recommended her to Flo Ziegfeld, who hired her to perform in New York City. While Vélez was preparing to leave Los Angeles, she received a call from MGM producer Harry Rapf, who offered her a screen test. Producer and director Hal Roach saw Vélez's screen test and hired her for a small role in the comic Laurel and Hardy short Sailors, Beware! (Fred Guiol, Hal Yates, 1927). After her debut, Vélez appeared in another Hal Roach short, What Women Did for Me (James Parrott, 1927), opposite Charley Chase. Later that year, she did a screen test for the upcoming Douglas Fairbanks feature The Gaucho (F. Richard Jones, 1927). Fairbanks was impressed by Vélez and hired her to appear in the film with him. The Gaucho was a hit and critics were duly impressed with Vélez's ability to hold her own alongside Fairbanks, who was well known for his spirited acting and impressive stunts. Her second major film was Stand and Deliver (Donald Crisp, 1928), produced by Cecil B. DeMille. That same year, she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars. Then she appeared in Lady of the Pavements (1929), directed by D. W. Griffith, and Where East Is East (Tod Browning, 1929), starring Lon Chaney as an animal trapper in Laos. In the Western The Wolf Song (Victor Fleming, 1929), she appeared alongside Gary Cooper. As she was regularly cast as 'exotic' or 'ethnic' women that were volatile and hot-tempered, gossip columnists took to referring to Vélez as "Mexican Hurricane", "The Mexican Wildcat", "The Mexican Madcap", "Whoopee Lupe" and "The Hot Tamale". Lupe Vélez made the transition to sound films without difficulty. Studio executives had predicted that her accent would likely hamper her ability to make the transition. That idea was dispelled after she appeared in the all-talking Rin Tin Tin vehicle, Tiger Rose (George Fitzmaurice, 1929). The film was a hit and Vélez's sound career was established. Vélez appeared in a series of Pre-Code films like Hell Harbor (Henry King, 1930), The Storm (William Wyler, 1930), and the crime drama East Is West (Monta Bell, 1930) opposite Edward G. Robinson. The next year, she appeared in her second film for Cecil B. DeMille, Squaw Man (Cecil B. DeMille, 1931), opposite Warner Baxter, in Resurrection (Edwin Carewe, 1931), and The Cuban Love Song (W.S. Van Dyke, 1931), with the popular singer Lawrence Tibbett. She had a supporting role in Kongo (William J. Cowen, 1932) with Walter Huston, a sound remake of West of Zanzibar (Tod Browning, 1928) which tries to outdo the Lon Chaney original in morbidity. She also starred in Spanish-language versions of Universal films like Resurrección (Eduardo Arozamena, David Selman, 1931), the Spanish version of Resurrection (1931), and Hombres en mi vida (Eduardo Arozamena, David Selman, 1932), the Spanish version of Men in Her Life (William Beaudine, 1931) in which Lois Moran had starred.
In 1932, Lupe Vélez took a break from her film career and traveled to New York City where she was signed by Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. to take over the role of "Conchita" in the musical revue 'Hot-Cha!'. The show also starred Bert Lahr, Eleanor Powell, and Buddy Rogers. Back in Hollywood, Lupe switched to comedy after playing dramatic roles for five years. Denny Jackson at IMDb: "In 1933 she played the lead role of Pepper in Hot Pepper (1933). This film showcased her comedic talents and helped her to show the world her vital personality. She was delightful." After Hot Pepper (John G. Blystone, 1933) with Edmund Lowe and Victor McLaglen, Lupe played beautiful but volatile, characters in a series of successful films like Strictly Dynamite (Elliott Nugent, 1934), Palooka (Benjamin Stoloff, 1934) both opposite Jimmy Durante, and Hollywood Party (Allan Dwan, a.o., 1934) with Laurel and Hardy. Although Vélez was a popular actress, RKO Pictures did not renew her contract in 1934. Over the next few years, Vélez worked for various studios as a freelance actress; she also spent two years in England where she filmed The Morals of Marcus (Miles Mander, 1935) and Gypsy Melody (Edmond T. Gréville, 1936). She returned to Los Angeles the following year where she appeared in the final part of the Wheeler & Woolsey comedy High Flyers (Edward F. Cline, 1937). In 1938, Vélez made her final appearance on Broadway in the musical You Never Know, by Cole Porter. The show received poor reviews from critics but received a large amount of publicity due to the feud between Vélez and fellow cast member Libby Holman. Holman was irritated by the attention Vélez garnered from the show with her impersonations of several actresses including Gloria Swanson, Katharine Hepburn, and Shirley Temple. The feud came to a head during a performance in New Haven, Connecticut after Vélez punched Holman in between curtain calls and gave her a black eye. The feud effectively ended the show. Upon her return to Mexico City in 1938 to star in her first Mexican film, Vélez was greeted by ten thousand fans. The film La Zandunga (Fernando de Fuentes, 1938) co-starring Arturo de Córdova, was a critical and financial success. Vélez was slated to appear in four more Mexican films, but instead, she returned to Los Angeles and went back to work for RKO Pictures. In 1939, Lupe Vélez was cast opposite Leon Errol and Donald Woods in the B-comedy, The Girl from Mexico (Leslie Goodwins, 1939). Despite being a B film, it was a hit with audiences and RKO re-teamed her with Errol and Wood for a sequel, Mexican Spitfire (Leslie Goodwins, 1940). That film was also a success and led to a series of eight Spitfire films. Wikipedia: "In the series, Vélez portrays Carmelita Lindsay, a temperamental yet friendly Mexican singer married to Dennis 'Denny' Lindsay (Woods), an elegant American gentleman. The Spitfire films rejuvenated Vélez's career. Moreover, they were films in which a Latina headlined for eight films straight –a true rarity." In addition to the Spitfire series, she was cast in such films as Six Lessons from Madame La Zonga (John Rawlins, 1941), Playmates (David Butler, 1941) opposite John Barrymore, and Redhead from Manhattan (Lew Landers, 1943). In 1943, the final film in the Spitfire series, Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event (Leslie Goodwins, 1943), was released. By that time, the novelty of the series had begun to wane. Velez co-starred with Eddie Albert in the romantic comedy, Ladies' Day (Leslie Goodwins, 1943), about an actress and a baseball player. In 1944, Vélez returned to Mexico to star in an adaptation of Émile Zola's novel Nana (Roberto Gavaldón, Celestino Gorostiza, 1944), which was well-received. It would be her final film. After filming wrapped, Vélez returned to Los Angeles and began preparing for another stage role in New York.
Lupe Vélez's temper and jealousy in her often tempestuous romantic relationships were well documented and became tabloid fodder, often overshadowing her career. Vélez was straightforward with the press and was regularly contacted by gossip columnists for stories about her romantic exploits. Her first long-term relationship was with actor Gary Cooper. Vélez met Cooper while filming The Wolf Song in 1929 and began a two-year affair with him. The relationship was passionate but often stormy. Reportedly Vélez chased Cooper around with a knife during an argument and cut him severely enough to require stitches. By that time, the rocky relationship had taken its toll on Cooper who had lost 45 pounds and was suffering from nervous exhaustion. Paramount Pictures ordered him to take a vacation to recuperate. While he was boarding the train, Vélez showed up at the train station and fired a pistol at him. During her marriage to actor Johnny Weissmuller, stories of their frequent physical fights were regularly reported in the press. Vélez reportedly inflicted scratches, bruises, and love-bites on Weissmuller during their fights and "passionate love-making". In July 1934, after ten months of marriage, Vélez filed for divorce citing cruelty. She withdrew the petition a week later after reconciling with Weissmuller. In January 1935, she filed for divorce a second time and was granted an interlocutory decree that was dismissed when the couple reconciled a month later. In August 1938, Vélez filed for divorce for a third time, again charging Weissmuller with cruelty. Their divorce was finalised in August 1939. After the divorce became final, Vélez began dating actor Guinn "Big Boy" Williams in late 1940. They were reportedly engaged but never married. Vélez was also linked to author Erich Maria Remarque and the boxers Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey. In 1943, Vélez began an affair with her La Zandunga co-star Arturo de Córdova. De Córdova had recently moved to Hollywood after signing with Paramount Pictures. Despite the fact that de Córdova was married to Mexican actress Enna Arana with whom he had four children, Vélez granted an interview to gossip columnist Louella Parsons in September 1943 and announced that the two were engaged. Vélez ended the engagement in early 1944, reportedly after de Córdova's wife refused to give him a divorce. Vélez then met and began dating a struggling young Austrian actor named Harald Maresch (who went by the stage name Harald Ramond). In September 1944, she discovered she was pregnant with Ramond's child. She announced their engagement in late November 1944. On 10 December, four days before her death, Vélez announced she had ended the engagement and kicked Ramond out of her home. On the evening of 13 December 1944, Vélez dined with her two friends, the silent film star Estelle Taylor and Venita Oakie. In the early morning hours of 14 December, Vélez retired to her bedroom, where she consumed 75 Seconal pills and a glass of brandy. Her secretary, Beulah Kinder, found the actress's body on her bed later that morning. A suicide note addressed to Harald Ramond was found nearby. Lupe Vélez was only 36 years old. More than four-thousand people filed past her casket during her funeral. Her body was interred in Mexico City, at Panteón Civil de Dolores Cemetery. Velez' estate, valued at $125,000 and consisting mostly of her Rodeo House home, two cars, jewelry, and personal effects were left to her secretary Beulah Kinder with the remainder in trust for her mother, Mrs. Josephine Velez. Together with Dolores del Rio, Ramon Novarro, and José Mojica, she was one of the few Mexican people who had made history in the early years of Hollywood.
Sources: Denny Jackson (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
If at first you don't succeed, redefine your objectives then celebrate your success. I spent three solid days trying to coax Redpolls to my feeders. There aren't many around, so I wan't really hopeful. Still, I hear them going over my yard about once a day. I put out lots of treats for them. Thistle, sunflower seed, cracked whatever that stuff is in the shed, suet. No luck. Tons of other birds are happy. Loads of Goldfinch. Twenty differnt species of things I wasn't interested in.
There is a group of about 20 Bluebirds hanging around as well. Lots of holly and cedar berries and I occasionally throw out some dried meal worms. I have a few bird houses up that they are using at night and spend half the day fighting over. Going to put up a few more tomorrow. Gotta be crowded in there on cold nights.
Anyway, I took this shot towards the end of the day as a consolation prize. It's actually the first time I had the camera out, despite my Redpoll quest. Most of the time, I was sitting in my Jeep in the middle of the lawn. Warmer and drier. I'll have to look for a nicer perch. Most of the time, they just sit on the old bird house (or the handle of the wheel barrel or the mirror on my car).
The Carolina Wrens seemed to get really pissed when I spend much time in my blind. They seem to think that it belongs to them. They certainly left enough crap in there to lay claim to the place. I suppose I could hang a couple of roosting thingies in there for them. I have a bunch in the shed.
© Steve Byland 2015 all rights reserved
I've been trying to visit this church few times so far but could never succeed to get inside because it was closed.
it was a surprise to find the main door open today while i passed by to go to my meeting.
What i like in churches is their rich decorations, the paintings, the statues, the frescoes... Beside, I know that churches are not my place nor my home. I'm not a believer or a faithful person. I go to churches to visit them and enjoy the art they have inside, I'm definitely a guest while I visit a church
This church was empty, almost naked, but nevertheless I felt immediately attracted to it once I was inside . it was like feeling in a familiar place, like home. it was, however, a strong, unexpected, feeling.
I was standing there, camera in my hands no will to take photos. Instead, a strong desire to sit and let my mind go.
There was a priest behind me. At first i didn't notice him since he was sitting in a corner ready to give confession to whoever would ask for it.
He approached me asking whether I needed anything. "I'd like to take few pictures but I cannot" was my answer (I myself was surprised i said so....) he understood my mood and invited me to sit and talk.
it was a short intense moment, me feeling totally open, defenceless and willing to talk (I talk a lot but this time was different)
I had in front of me this very old, tired, white haired man who was looking straight into my eye while i was looking straight into his eyes. But more important, it was like we knew each-other since ever.
And he got me. he understood where I was in my life, he understood I wasn't a believer but he accepted me as his guest for a short while.
He worked in Africa, South America and China building new churches there and was sent back home to this church since few months due to health problems. He told me about his life, I told him about my life (including my love life).
"Go home and stay beside those who love you and you love most", he said to me...!
it is difficult to explain but we had (at least I had) an incredible exchange of positive energy!
In Opuwo, Namibia, lot of Herero people were wandering around the central market. I started to ask for pictures, everything was ok. But as soon as i started to take the pictures, flocks of drunk (and more) men came, arguing they were the sons, the husbands, the uncle, of those women. And they asked for delirious amount of money.
So, now you're warned!
Of course, all the Herero people are not acting like this, but in this touristic part of Namibia, they do! Avoid!
The Hereros are an ethnic group belonging to the Bantu speaking group. The 320,000 Herero people mainly live in Namibia (representing about 7 per cent of the namibian population), but some of them live in Botswana and Angola. They mostly earn their money as workers on big farms or in the cities as merchants and tradesmen. They are famous for dressing in a victorian style with full length coloured dresses and hats.
According to their oral history, Hereros have come from Betschanaland (the current Botswana) with Himbas in the 15th and 16th centuries, and maybe formerly from eastern Africa from Tanganikya Lake area. Both ethnic groups used to be a unique one. Hereros belong to the bantu linguistic group, and as all Bantus, are sedentary farmers and pastoral people. Himbas and Hereros got different and went separate ways. One of the subgroups crossed the Okavango River and became known as the Mbanderu (Eastern Herero) while the other group went to the northwestern part of Namibia and became known as the Himba. During the 18th century, a group of the Himba migrated to central Namibia and there met again with the Mbanderu. The two combined groups settled in the Kalahari Desert and became known as the Herero. At the end of the 18th century Herero people settled in the area of Okahandja (nearby the current capital city : Windhoek). During the 19th century Hereros have been in perpetual conflict with the neighbouring tribes, in particular with the Oorlams and the Namas. Oorlams were an ethnic group of descendants of Boers and Khoikhois (the original inhabitants of south west Africa) migrating from Cape colony in order to escape from the discriminatory laws. They arrived in Okahandja area during the 1820 s led by their chief Jonker Afrikaner. Their modern military organization and the fact the had fire arms (rifles and guns) gave them a big advantage over the Hereros. The latter under Oorlam domination, however the conflict lasted for 50 years, with a break between 1842 and 1850, after a peace treaty was signed. After the death of Jonker Afrikaner in 1861, Hereros and Namas became allies against the Oorlam which led to a peace treaty in 1870, which confirmed the new supremacy of Hereros and their leader Maharero. A conflict the started with the Namas and their leader Hendrik Witbooi.
At the Berlin conference in 1884, which is the climax of the Scramble for Africa, western powers decided that South West Africa (current Namibia) would become a german protectorate, meant to protect Hereros from the neighbouring tribes (especially from the Namas who didn't sign any treaty with the Germans) in exchange of lands for German settlers. Numerous German settlers arrived on Hereros lands in addition to the missionaries that were already there for a few decades. In the beginning Samuel Maharero (who succeeded his father as chief in 1890) sold good lands and farms to German settlers for money. Soon after, conflicts between the German colonists and the Herero herdsmen began. Controversies frequently arose because of disputes about access to land and water, but also the legal discrimination against the native population by the white immigrants (with the creation of the first reservations in 1903) and the liberation of the Damaras slaves (a tribe which was under Herero rule). The growing dissatisfaction among Herero people led Samuel Mahaero to rise up his people against German colonialists in january 1904, by slaughtering about 150 german settlers during the attack of a garrison in Okahandja. In the beginning Hereros had some military successes against the Germans. But when General Von Trotha arrived with reinforcement troops (called Schutztruppe meaning Protective Force) from Germany in june 1904 in order to put down the uprising ; war became a genocide.
Herero were victims of the first genocide of the 20th century before the one suffered by armenians or Jews. Von Trotha gave the following order to his soldiers : "Any Herero found within the German borders with or without a gun, with or without cattle, will be shot". Herero resistance was broke down during the Waterberg battle. German troops encircled Herero warriors giving them no other choice than escaping in Omaheke desert. Von Trotha gave the order of poisoning all the waterholes and sources. Of an estimated 65,000 Herero, only 15,000 survived from hunger and thirst in the desert. The survivors became prisoners of war and were put in concentration camps (that were inspired by the ones used by the british during the war against the Boers in South Africa a few years earlier). When these exactions became public in Germany, it provoked protests and indignation which led the Chancellor to resign Von Trotha s duties. Germany made an apology in 2006 for the massacres that occurred, and proposed a multi million dollar development deal for Namibia. The remaining Hereros became tenant farmers in german farms and afterwards in south african ones. Indeed South West Africa switched under south african rule (as part of the british colonial empire) after the german defeat in World War I. Under south african rule Herero people also were also subjected to Apartheid policies. Lots of Hereros joined the SWANU and the NUDO which fought for the independence of Namibia from South Africa. In 1968, South african authorities create the bantustan ( a self governing homeland) of Hereroland to restrict Herero claims. Nevetherless Hereros kept fighting until the complete independence of Namibia.
Nowadays most of the Herero customs dates back to the times they were evangelized by german missionaries. It had an influence on the way Herero people dress, they wear victorian style clothes (hats and dresses), called Hererotracht. Most of the customs and the traditional beliefs are no longer observed by Hereros, as a result of active missionary work. Some of the traditional features of traditional religion (rituals that Himbas still respect and accomplish nowadays) has been mixed with christianity.
© Eric Lafforgue
The Greatest
Mumbaikar of All..
Huge and Tall
Hears you Cry
Hears Your Call
Saves you each Time
before You Fall
whatever your religiosity
he removes obstacles
he sees there are no pitfalls
no terrorists can breach
our city's walls
Mutual Coexistence
Be Proud Indians
on our Souls he scrawls
our greatest enemy
our bigotry
our narrow mindedness
our hate for each other
that hits the nation
first of all
before being
a hindu muslim christian
be an Indian
says it all
miljul ke rehne
main hi bhaliee hai
our mantra
of peace
the greatest cure all
dont sell your country
for american dollars
or saudi riyal
from wikipedia
Ganesha (Sanskrit: गणेश; Gaṇeśa; listen (help·info), also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh) is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in Hinduism[8]. Although he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify.[9] Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits, and explain his distinct iconography. Ganesha is worshipped as the lord of beginnings and as the lord of obstacles (Vighnesha),[10] patron of arts and sciences, and the god of intellect and wisdom.[11] He is honoured with affection at the start of any ritual or ceremony and invoked as the "Patron of Letters" at the beginning of any writing.[12]
Ganesha appears as a distinct deity in clearly-recognizable form beginning in the fourth to fifth centuries, during the Gupta Period. His popularity rose quickly, and he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the ninth century. During this period, a sect of devotees (called Ganapatya; Sanskrit: गाणपत्य; gāṇapatya) who identify Ganesha as the supreme deity was formed.[13] The principal scriptures dedicated to his worship are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.
Ganesha is one of the most-worshipped divinities in India.[14][15] Worship of Ganesha is considered complementary with the worship of other forms of the divine, and various Hindu sects worship him regardless of other affiliations.[16][17][18] Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.
Ganesha has many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneśvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri (Sanskrit: श्री; śrī, also spelled Sri or Shree) is often added before his name. One popular form of Ganesha worship is by chanting one of the Ganesha Sahasranamas, which literally means "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. There are at least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama. One of these is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture that venerates Ganesha.[24]
The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana (Sanskrit: गण; gaṇa), meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha (Sanskrit: ईश; īśa), meaning lord or master.[25][26] The word gaņa in association with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva (also spelled "Śiva").[27] The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation.[28] Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of created categories," such as the elements, etc.[29] The translation "Lord of Hosts" may convey a familiar sense to Western readers. Ganapati (Sanskrit: गणपति; gaṇapati) is a synonym for Ganesha, being a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord").[30]
Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras.[31] This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha (aṣṭavināyaka) temples in Maharashtra.[32] The name Vignesha, meaning "Lord of Obstacles", refers to his primary function in Hindu mythology as being able to both create and remove obstacles (vighna).
One of the main names for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pille or Pillaiyar, which means "Little Child".[33] A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pille means a "child" and pillaiyar a "noble child", and adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk of an elephant" but more generally "elephant".[34] In discussing the name Pillaiyar, Anita Raina Thapan notes that since the Pali word pillaka has the significance of "a young elephant" it is possible that pille originally meant "the young of the elephant".[35]
Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art.[36] Unlike some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variation with distinct patterns changing over time.[37][38][39] He may be portrayed standing, dancing, taking heroic action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down, or engaging in a remarkable range of contemporary situations.
Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the sixth century.[40] The figure shown to the right is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900-1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own cult. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973-1200 by Martin-Dubost[41] and another similar statue is dated circa twelfth century by Pal.[42] He has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha . He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds some form of delicacy, which he samples with his trunk in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet which he holds in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature.[43] A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century.[44] Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown; in this standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds either an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a noose in the other upper arm as symbols of his ability to cut through obstacles or to create them as needed.
The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but rather is turned toward the viewer in the gesture of protection or "no fear" (abhaya mudra).[45][46] The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing,[47] which is a very popular theme.[48]
Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art.[50] Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got this form.[51] One of his popular forms (called Heramba-Ganapati) has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known.[52]
While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, in most stories he acquires the head later, with several accounts given.[53] The most common motif in these stories is that Ganesha was born with a human head and body and that Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant.[54] Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary according to different sources.[55] In another story, when Ganesha was born his mother Parvati showed off her new baby to the other gods. Unfortunately, the god Shani (Saturn) – who is said to have the "evil eye" – looked at him, causing the baby's head to be burned to ashes. The god Vishnu came to the rescue and replaced the missing head with that of an elephant.[56] Another story tells that Ganesha is created directly by Shiva's laughter. Shiva became concerned that Ganesha was too alluring, so he cursed Ganesha to have the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.[57]
The earliest name referring to Ganesha is Ekadanta ("One Tusk"), noting his single tusk; the other is broken off. [58] Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk.[59] The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta.[60]
Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries).[61] This feature is so important that according to the Mudgala Purana two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it, Lambodara ("Pot Belly", or literally "Hanging Belly") and Mahodara ("Great Belly").[62] Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly (Sanskrit: udara).[63] The Brahmanda Purana says that he has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs; Sanskrit brahmāṇḍas) of the past, present, and future are present in Ganesha.[64][65]
The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms.[66] Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts.[67] His earliest images had two arms.[68][69] Forms with fourteen and twenty arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and 10th century.[70]
The serpent is a common element in Ganesha iconography, where it appears in many forms.[71][72] According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vāsuki around his neck.[73][74] Other common depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread (Sanskrit: yajñyopavīta),[75][76] wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, and as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead there may be either a third eye or a sectarian mark (Sanskrit: tilaka) of Shiva showing three horizontal lines.[77][78] The Ganesha Purana prescribes both a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon for the forehead.[79][80][81] A distinct form called Bhālacandra ("Moon on the Forehead") includes that iconographic element.[82][83]
The colors most often associated with Ganesha are red [84] and yellow, but specific other colors are prescribed in certain forms.[85] Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on iconography that includes a section on variant forms of Ganesha. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati.("Ganapati Who Releases From Bondage").[86] Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation on that form.[
The earliest Ganesha images are without a Vahana (mount).[88] Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha has a mouse in five of them, but uses a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation of Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja.[89] Of the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana, Mohotkata has a lion, Mayūreśvara has a peacock, Dhumraketu has a horse, and Gajanana has a rat.[90][91] Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse,[92] an elephant,[93] a tortoise, a ram, or a peacock.[94]
Mouse as vahana
Ganesha riding on his mouse. A sculpture at the Vaidyeshwara temple in Talakkadu, Karnataka, India. Note the red flowers offered by the devotees.Ganesha is often shown riding on, or attended by a mouse.[95][96] Martin-Dubost says that in central and western India the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Gaṇeśa in the 7th century A.D., where the rat was always placed close to his feet.[97] The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana, and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle only in his last incarnation.[98] The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag.[99] The names Mūṣakavāhana ("Mouse-mount") and Ākhuketana ("Rat-banner") appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.[100]
Devotee literature provides a variety of interpretations regarding what the mouse means. Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish.[101] Martin-Dubost thinks it is a symbol of the fact that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.[102] Krishan gives a completely different interpretation, noting that the rat is a destructive creature and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ which means "stealing, robbing". It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. In this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat proclaims his function as Vigneshvara and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāmata-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence.[103]
Buddhi
Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of Intelligence.[108] In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect.[109] The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, where many stories showcase his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya.[110] This name also appears in a special list of twenty-one names that Gaṇeśa says are of special importance at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama.[111] The word priya can mean "fond of", but in a marital context, it can mean "lover" or "husband". Buddhipriya probably refers to Ganesha's well-known association with intelligence.
This association with wisdom also appears in the name Buddha, which appears as a name of Ganesha in the second verse of the Ganesha Purana version of the Ganesha Sahasranama.[112] The positioning of this name at the beginning of the Ganesha Sahasranama reveals the name's importance. Bhaskararaya's commentary on the Ganesha Sahasranama says that this name means that the Buddha was an avatar of Ganesha.[113] This interpretation is not widely known even among Ganapatya. Buddha is not mentioned in the lists of Ganesha's incarnations given in the main sections of the Ganesha Purana and Mudgala Purana. Bhaskararaya also provides a more general interpretation of this name as simply meaning that Ganesha's very form is "eternal elightenment" (nityabuddaḥ), so he is named Buddha.
[edit] Aum
Ganesha (Devanagari) Aum jewelGanesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum (ॐ, also called Om, Omkara, oṃkāra, or Aumkara). The term oṃkārasvarūpa ("Aum is his form") in connection with Ganesha refers to this belief that he is the personification of the primal sound.[114] This association is attested in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. The relevant passage is translated by Paul Courtright as follows:
You are Brahmā, Vişņu, and Rudra [Śiva]. You are Agni, Vāyu, and Sūrya. You are Candrama. You are earth, space, and heaven. You are the manifestation of the mantra "Oṃ".[115]
A variant version of this passage is translated by Chinmayananda as follows:
(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire and air. You are the sun and the moon. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka, Antariksha-loka, and Swargaloka. You are Om. (that is to say, You are all this).[116]
Some devotees see similarities between the shape of his body and the shape of Om in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.[117]
[edit] First chakra
Ganesha is associated with the first or "root" chakra (mūlādhāra). This association is attested in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. As translated by Courtright this passage reads:
You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra].[118]
A variant version of this passage is translated by Chinmayananda:
You have a permanent abode (in every being) at the place called "Muladhara".[119]
[edit] Family and consorts
Shiva and Pārvatī giving a bath to Gaṇeśa. Kangra miniature, 18th century. Allahbad Museum, New Delhi.[120]For more details on this topic, see Consorts of Ganesha.
While Ganesha is popularly considered to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths relate several different versions of his birth.[121][122] These include versions in which he is created by Shiva,[123] by Parvati,[124] by Shiva and Parvati,[125] or in a mysterious manner that is discovered by Shiva and Parvati.[126]
The family includes his brother Skanda, who is also called Karttikeya, Murugan, and other names.[127][128] Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In North India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder brother while in the South, Ganesha is considered the first born.[129] Prior to the emergence of Ganesha, Skanda had a long and glorious history as an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when his worship declined significantly in North India. The period of this decline is concurrent with the rise of Ganesha. Several stories relate episodes of sibling rivalry between Ganesha and Skanda[130] and may reflect historical tensions between the respective sects.[131]
Ganesha's marital status varies widely in mythological stories and the issue has been the subject of considerable scholarly review.[132] One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as a brahmacharin (brahmacārin; celibate).[133] Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified by goddesses who are considered to be Ganesha's wives. A third pattern couples Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati, and the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi, symbolically indicating that these qualities always accompany one other. A fourth pattern mainly prevalent in the Bengal region links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.
[edit] Buddhi, Siddhi, and Riddhi
Shri Mayureshwar, MorgaonThe Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana contain descriptions of Ganesha flanked by Buddhi and Siddhi.[134] In Chapter I.18.24-39 of the Ganesha Purana, Brahmā performs worship in honour of Ganesha. During the puja, Ganesha himself causes Buddhi and Siddhi to appear so that Brahmā can offer them back to Ganesha. Ganesha accepts them as offerings.[135] In a variant, the two are born from Brahmā's mind and are given by Brahmā to Ganesha.[135] Buddhi and Siddhi are best identified as his consorts in the Shiva Purana, where Ganesha cleverly wins the two desirable daugters of Prajāpati over Skanda.[136] The Shiva Purana version says that Ganesha had two sons: Kshema (Kşema, prosperity) and Labha (profit). The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. However, this story has no Puranic basis. Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.[137][138]
Representations of Ganesha's consorts can be found aside from Puranic texts. In the Ganesha Temple at Morgaon (the central shrine for the regional aṣṭavināyaka complex), Buddhi and Siddhi stand to the right and left sides of the Ganesha image.[139] In northern India, the two female figures are said to be Siddhi and Riddhi; Riddhi substitutes for Buddhi with no Puranic basis.[140] The Ajitāgama describes a Tantric form of Ganesha called Haridra Ganapati as turmeric-colored and flanked by two unnamed wives distinct from shaktis.[141] The word "wives" (Sanskrit: दारा; dārā) is specifically used (Sanskrit: दारायुगलम्; dārāyugalam).[142]
[edit] Interpretations of relationships
Ganesha with the Ashta (meaning eight) Siddhi. The Ashtasiddhi are associated with Ganesha. Painted by Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906).In discussing the Shiva Purana version, Courtright comments that while Ganesha is sometimes depicted as sitting between these two feminine deities, "these women are more like feminine emanations of his androgynous nature, Shaktis rather than spouses having their own characters and spouses."[143] Ludo Rocher says that "descriptions of Gaṇeśa as siddhi-buddhi-samanvita 'accompanied by, followed by siddhi and buddhi.' often seem to mean no more than that, when Gaṇeśa is present, siddhi 'success' and buddhi 'wisdom' are not far behind. Such may well have been the original conception, of which the marriage was a later development."[144] In verse 49a of the Ganesha Purana version of the Ganesha Sahasranama, one of Ganesha's names is Ŗddhisiddhipravardhana ("Enhancer of material and spiritual success"). The Matsya Purana identifies Gaṇesha as the "owner" of Riddhi (prosperity) and Buddhi (wisdom).[145] In discussing the northern Indian sources, Cohen remarks:
They are depersonalized figures, interchangeable, and given their frequent depiction fanning Gaṇeśa are often referred to as dasīs — servants. Their names represent the benefits accrued by the worshipper of Gaṇeśa, and thus Gaṇeśa is said to be the owner of Ṛddhi and Siddhi; he similarly functions as the father of Śubha (auspiciousness) and Lābha (profit), a pair similar to the Śiva Purāṇa's Kṣema (prosperity) and Lābha. Though in Varanasi the paired figures were usually called Ṛddhi and Siddhi, Gaṇeśa's relationship to them was often vague. He was their mālik, their owner; they were more often dasīs than patnīs (wives).[146]
His relationship with the Ashtasiddhi — the eight spiritual attaintments obtained by the practice of yoga — is also of this depersonalized type. In later iconography, these eight marvellous powers are represented by a group of young women who surround Ganesha.[147] Raja Ravi Varma's painting (shown in this section) illustrates a recent example of this iconographic form. The painting includes fans, which establish the feminine figures as attendants.
[edit] Motif of shaktis
Ganesha in his form as Mahāganapati with a shakti. From the Sritattvanidhi (19th century).A distinct type of iconographic image of Ganesha shows him with a single human-looking shakti (śakti).[148] According to Ananda Coomaraswamy, the oldest known depiction of Ganesha with a shakti of this type dates from the sixth century.[149] The consort lacks a distinctive personality or iconographic repertoire. According to Cohen and Alice Getty, the appearance of this shakti motif parallels the emergence of tantric branches of the Ganapatya cult. Six distinct forms of "Shakti Ganapati" can be linked to the Ganapatyas.[150] Of the thirty-two standard meditation forms for Ganesha that appear in the Sritattvanidhi (Śrītattvanidhi), several include a shakti.[151][152] A common form of this motif shows Ganesha seated with the shakti upon his left hip, holding a bowl of flat cakes or round sweets, with him turning his trunk to his left to touch the tasty food. In some tantric forms of this image, the gesture is modified to take on erotic overtones.[153] Some tantric variants of this form are described in the Śāradātilaka Tantram.[154]
Prithvi Kumar Agrawala has traced at least six different lists of fifty or more aspects or forms of Ganesha each with their specific female consorts or shaktis.[155][156] In these lists, goddess names such as Hrī, Śrī, and Puṣṭī are found. However, Buddhi, Siddhi, and Riddhi do not appear on any of these lists, which also do not provide any details about the personalities or distinguishing iconographic forms for these shaktis. Agrawala concludes that all of the lists were derived from one original set of names. The earliest of the lists appears in the Nārada Purāṇa (I.66.124-38), and a similar list with minor variations appears in the Ucchiṣṭagaṇapati Upāsanā. These lists are of two types. In the first type the names of various forms of Ganesha are given with a clear-cut pairing of a named shakti for that form. The second type, as found in the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa (II.IV.44.63-76) and the commentary of Rāghavabhaṭṭa on the Śāradātilaka (I.115), gives fifty or more names of Ganesha collectively in one group, with the names of the shaktis provided collectively in a second group. The second type of list poses problems in separating and properly connecting the names into pairs due to ambiguities in the formation of Sanskrit compound words.
[edit] Worship and festivals
Celebrations of Ganesh by the Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil community in Paris, FranceWhether the reason has to do with a religious ceremony, a new vehicle, students taking exams, sessions of devotional chanting, or beginning a business, Ganesha is worshipped. Throughout India and the Hindu culture, Ganesha is the first icon placed into any new home or abode. Devotees widely believe that wherever there is Ganesha, there is success and prosperity. By calling on him people believe that he will come to their aid and grant them success in their endeavours.
The worship of Ganesha is considered complementary with the worship of other deities.[157] Hindus of all sects begin prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies with an invocation to Ganesha. Ganesha is also adored by dancers and musicians, who begin their performances of arts such as Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to him, particularly in South India.[158] Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah ("Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha"), and others, are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (literally, "Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts").
Devotees offer Ganesha various sweets, such as modaka, small sweet balls (laddus) and others.[159]. He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra, which is one of his iconographic elements.[160] Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with things such as red sandalwood paste (raktacandana),[161] or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and various other materials are used in his worship.[162]
[edit] Ganesh Chaturthi
A large Ganesha statue at a Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, 2004There is an important festival honouring Ganesha that is celebrated for ten days starting from Ganesh Chaturthi.[163] This festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi when images (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed into the most convenient body of water.
The Ganapati festival is celebrated by Hindus with great devotional fervour. While it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra,[164] it is performed all over India.[165] In Mumbai, the festival assumes huge proportions. On the last day of the festival, millions of people of all ages descend onto the streets leading up to the sea, dancing and singing, to the rhythmic accompaniment of drums and cymbals.
In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak reshaped the annual Ganesh festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. [166] He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropiate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra.[167][168] Thus, Tilak chose Ganesha as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule because of his wide appeal as "the god for Everyman".[169][170] Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavillions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day.[171]
[edit] Rise to prominence
[edit] First appearance
Ganesha appears in his classic form as a clearly-recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes from the early fourth to fifth centuries.[172] Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known cult image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period.[173]. By about the tenth century his independent cult had come into existence.[174] Narain sums up controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:
[W]hat is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence or the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.[175]
[edit] Possible influences
Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:
In this search for a historical origin for Gaņeśa, some have suggested precise locations outside the Brāhmaṇic tradition.... These historical locations are intriguing to be sure, but the fact remains that they are all speculations, variations on the Dravidian hypothesis, which argues that anything not attested to in the Vedic and Indo-European sources must have come into Brāhmaṇic religion from the Dravidian or aboriginal populations of India as part of the process that produced Hinduism out of the interactions of the Aryan and non-Aryan populations. There is no independent evidence for an elephant cult or a totem; nor is there any archaeological data pointing to a tradition prior to what we can already see in place in the Purāṇic literature and the iconography of Gaņeśsa.[176]
Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India, but concludes that:
Although by the second century AD the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut.[177]
One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vināyakas.[178][179] In Hindu mythology the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties,[180] but who were easily propitiated.[181] The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras.[182] Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha that "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th-4th century B.C.) who cause various types of evil and suffering."[183]
[edit] Vedic and epic literature
5th C Ganesh by Shahi King Khingala, found at Gardez, Afghanistan now at Dargah Pir Rattan NathGanesha as we know him today does not appear in the Vedas. The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, the teacher of the gods. H. H. Wilson translates the Sanskrit verse "gaṇānāṃ tvā gaṇapatiṃ havāmahe kaviṃ kavīnāmupamaśravastamam" (RV 2.23.1 [2222]) as "We invoke the Brahmaṇaspati, chief leader of the (heavenly) bands; a sage of sages".[184] While there is no doubt that this verse refers to Brahmanaspati, the verse was later adopted for worship of Ganesha even to this day.[185][186] In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati - who is the deity of the hymn - and Bṛhaspati only."[187] The second passage (RV 10.112.9) equally clearly refers to Indra.[188] Wilson translates the Sanskrit verse "ni ṣu sīda gaṇapate gaṇeṣu tvāmāhurvipratamaṃ kavīnām" as "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts), sit down among the companies (of the worshippers), they call you the most sage of sages".[189]
Ganesha does not appear in epic literature. There is a late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata, saying that the sage Vyāsa asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed, but only on the condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, without pausing. The sage agreed to this, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages in order to get Ganesha to ask for clarifications. This is the single passage in which Ganesha appears in that epic. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata,[190] where the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote to an appendix.[191] Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation to the text.[192] Richard L. Brown dates the story as 8th century, and Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900 but he maintains that it had not yet been added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Moriz Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature of Southern manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend.[193]
[edit] Puranic period
Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, circa 600- 1300.[194] Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he came to acquire an elephant's head are in the later Puranas composed from about 600 onwards, and that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.[195]
In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature Ludo Rocher notes that:
Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.[196]
Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The ninth-century philosopher Śaṅkarācārya popularized the "worship of the five forms" (pañcāyatana pūjā) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smārta tradition.[197][198] This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devī, and Sūrya.[199][200] Śaṅkarācārya instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity. The monistic philosophy preached by Śaṅkarācārya made it possible to choose one of these as a preferred principal deity and at the same time worship the other four deities as different forms of the same all-pervading Brahman.
[edit] Ganesha Scriptures
Statue of Ganesha with a flowerFor more detail see: Ganesha Purana and Mudgala Purana
Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some brāhmaṇas chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.[201]
The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana, and their dating relative to one another, has sparked academic debate. Both works developed over periods of time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews different views on dating and provides her own judgement. She states that it appears likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana came into existence around the 12th and 13th centuries but was subject to interpolations during the succeeding ages.[202] Lawrence W. Preston considers that the period 1100-1400 is the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana because that period agrees with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by it.[203]
R. C. Hazra suggested that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana which he dates between 1100 and 1400 A.D.[204] However Phillis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha because, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas that deal at length with Ganesha (these are the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala puranas).[205] The Mudgala Purana, like many other Puranas, contains multiple age strata. While the kernel of the text must be old it continued to receive interpolations until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions.[206] Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries A.D.[207]
[edit] Beyond India and Hinduism
For more on this topic, see Ganesha outside Hinduism.
Tibetan depiction of Dancing Ganesha[208] This form is also known as Maharakta ("The Great Red One")[209]India had an impact on the regions of West and Southeast Asia as a result of commercial and cultural contacts. Ganesha is one of many Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.[210] The worship of Ganesha by Hindus outside of India shows regional variation.
Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures.[211] The period from approximately the tenth century onwards was marked by the development of new networks of exchange, the formation of trade guilds, and a resurgence of money circulation. It was during this time that Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders.[212] The earliest inscription where Ganesha is invoked before any other deity is by the merchant community.[213]
Hindus spread out to the Malay Archipelago and took their culture with them, including Ganesha.[214] Statues of Ganesa are found throughout the Malay Archipelago in great numbers, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences.[215] The gradual emigration of Hindus to Indochina established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side-by-side and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region.[216] In Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles.[217] Even today, in Buddhist Thailand Ganesha is regarded as remover of obstacles and thus god of success.[218]
Before the arrival of Islam, Afganistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. A few examples of sculptures from the period 5th-7th century have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was in vogue in the region at that time.[219][220]
Ganesha appears in Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also portrayed as a Hindu demon form with the same name (Vināyaka).[221] His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period.[222] As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing, a form called Nṛtta Ganapati that was popular in North India, later adopted in Nepal and then in Tibet.[223] In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha known as Heramba is very popular, where he appears with five heads and rides on a lion.[224] Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him.[225] In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākala, a popular Tibetan deity.[226][227] Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, sometimes dancing.[228] Ganesha appears in both China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In North China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated 531 CE.[229] In Japan the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806 CE.[230]
The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the cult of Ganesha.[231] However Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera.[232] Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up the worship of Ganesha as a result of commercial connections.[233] The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century.[234] A 15th century Jain text provides procedures for the installation of Ganapati images.[235] Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.[236]
You succeed when you work together!
______________________________________________
The Quest Takes Wing
They lift our spirits. They adorn our world. They are revered as the messengers of heaven. Yet, you might not know that birds and their beautiful songs have long been deep in the fight against the Unweaver.
And now, the Bard Queen is worried.
The Unweaver’s latest bit of malice is taking its toll across the realms. And an ancient deterrent created by birds has fallen victim. Unless an intrepid adventurer steps up to help, the result could be heartbreaking.
Could that adventurer be you?
Experience The Fairelands Quest: The Language of Birds, flying high this year across the Fairelands. Both parts of the Quest are now open, and the Quest can be completed. The Quest continues through May 9, the closing day of the Faire.
Take heart and take wing — your challenge awaits!
Begin the quest by purchasing Hunt HUD in any of the landing points in the Fairelands, for example here in the Fairelands Junction.
Are you stuck? Do you need help?
Read the FAQ & Troubleshooting Page!
Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank people will try to cheat you: Be honest anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight: Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous of you: Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten by tomorrow: Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough: Give your best anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
― Mother Teresa
The baptismal gown worn by my mother, her brothers & sisters, and all subsequent generations, excluding my son because he and my daughter were baptized at the same time.
Church of St Bridget / St Bride, Bridestowe Devon is the last of 3 churches here - the first was probably of wood sited to the west near the stream.
The second, of stone, was nearby - In 1830 Rev Luxmore wrote of it “The old church remained in the churchyard and was converted by the addition of chimneys into a poorhouse After 30 years of exertion to get the nuisance removed, I succeeded”. He also reported having the arch, which divided the chancel from the body of the church, rebuilt at the principal entrance to the churchyard. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/2YmD1HnMdY
The present church having some fragments of 13c Norman work, was rebuilt c1450 - It consists of a chancel, nave of three bays, aisles, south porch and an embattled unbuttressed 3 stage western tower built of local stone - the aisles, porch and chancel are of granite ashlar. It seats 200.
it was much changed when the building "suffered savage 19c restorations" from c1820 judging from the comments of Rev Coryndon Luxmore who wrote "the church has undergone very considerable repairs within the last 10 years", the "old windows were replaced by new about 4 years since" and "the tower lately has been raised many feet and is now 40" high
with battlements and pinnacles upon it". ( the tenor bell has the inscription “these bells re-hung and the tower heightened and beautified, 1828”) There are 6 bells in total, all cast from a smaller peal, with additions in 1828
He describes the rood screen which was then in situ but was removed in 1869. The base of the screen has been preserved but in very fragmentary form behind the pulpit , reusing the tracery in the panels. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/290wa6VMq0
The old rood stairs still exist
The chancel was restored and the vestry added in 1866 sited against the north wall of the chancel.
The church was further partially restored in 1890 at a cost of £620, by Fulford and Harvey of Exeter for Rev John Loveband Francis.
New-roofed in 1893 & the tower restored at a cost of £500,
In 1900 renovations were carried out to mullions and pinnacles and much internal plaster was removed, leaving the building as we see it today.
The nave and aisle roofs are ceiled but probably have wagon roofs although not necessarily original. The chancel has a restored wagon roof.
Set into the floor of the chancel is a slate memorial slab to Thomas and Henry Burneford who died 1727 and 1757. with rhyming epitaph and carved skull and cross-bones below flanked by a winged angel's head.
In the chancel is a memorial to Honor Fortesque 1663, widow of Humphrey Prideaux of Soldon 1617 & Sir Shilston Calmady www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/1jDcK5nw2S
Nearby is a heraldic memorial to John Wrey 1576 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/U1VNH2dE7Z
The register dates from the year 1696.
There are six Table Tombs’ in the churchyard five of them being listed, and two 18c of brick .https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/7WuS9aE368
In the village is the Georgian mansion, Millaton House, the childhood home of Lord Carrington which served as a hospital run by American soldiers during the Second World War
Also within the parish is an Elizabethan mansion Great Bidlake, the seat of the Bidlake family since 1268.
There are disused mine-workings which once produced lead and copper.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnS3lDAOP3k
Picture with thanks - copyright Tim britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101326297-church-of-st-bridg...
All my photographs are Copyrighted! You need my permission to use any photo.
Often walked here around the Oostvaardersplassen but never succeeded to photograph a Red Deer. Today was a very lucky day!
Vaak gewandeld hier bij de Oostvaardersplassen maar nooit gelukt een Edelhert te fotograferen. Vandaag was een mooie geluksdag!
Lanarch Castle.
William Lanarch was a merchant, shipper, pastoralist, farmer and politician for over 25 years including the holding of Cabinet posts and he was land speculator. He succeeded at all but did not find happiness or ultimate success. He married three times with his first two wives dying. When one of his six children, a daughter died early, he was devastated. He was born of Scottish parents in NSW in 1833 and made his first fortune as a banker on the Victorian goldfields. In 1867 he moved to Dunedin to be a banker of the Otago goldfields. He stayed on as a Dunedin merchant and commissioned the prominent Dunedin architect Robert Lawson to build a mansion on the Peninsula. The house was built between 1871 and 1887 but occupied around 1872. It eventually contained 43 rooms including a lavish ballroom added in 1887 for favourite daughter Kate. Lanarch employed 46 servants in the house and the interior had floor tiles from England, slate from Wales, marble from Italy, glass from France and Venice and NZ kauri ceilings, NZ rimu floors and ZN honeysuckle panelling. The interior feature many panels of painted and stained glass. After Kate Lanarch died in 1892 her father suffered financial difficulties and he eventually committed suicide in the NZ parliament building in 1898. As he died intestate it took some years of family arguing before his estate was settled and Lanarch Castle was only sold in 1906. After a series of owners it fell into disrepair until it was purchased by Barry and Margaret Barker in 1967. They set about restoring the only castle in NZ. Since then they have added function facilities and accommodation to make the castle pay its way. The Barkers are still the current owners. Some believe that Kate Lanarch’s ghost appears in the castle from time to time. Another nearby historical house and garden is the Glenfalloch estate which was also established in 1871. The garden is known for its rhododendrons, magnolias, fuchsias, garden flowers, native ferns and NZ trees. In Scottish Gaelic Glenfalloch means “hidden valley” which aptly describes the location on the Otago peninsula.