shot these without realizing they're my new nemesis and my old best friend. love grapes, especially as wine and homemade grape jelly, but they're toxic to dogs (sorry, more dog stuff). those the birds haven't eaten are now all over the ground. hound boy doesn't miss a thing.

The impala lily is known in Africa and southern Africa as a source of fish poison and arrow poison. The poison is prepared from latex in the bark and fleshy parts of the trunk, but it is always used in combination with other poisons. Leaves and flowers are poisonous to goats and cattle, but the plants are sometimes heavily browsed and are not considered to be of much toxicological significance. Despite the toxicity, it is used in medicinal applications and in magic potions. Their striking forms and beautiful flowers borne in masses over a long period make them excellent garden and container plants.

Info source URL: pza.sanbi.org/adenium-multiflorum

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Photo capture date & Location: 2017-09 En-route to Transport Dam

my twin

wtf

DIGITAL CAMERA

IL FUNGO E' UNA RUSSULA TERENOPUS

  

Le russule costituiscono una sterminata categoria di funghi largamente diffusi e quindi facilmente visibili anche dai cercatori “alle prime armi”. Ma molte specie sono generalmente immangiabili a causa del sapore più o meno acre dei loro tessuti.

Nel dubbio si può tranquillamente assaggiare un piccolo frammento di tessuto mettendolo sulla punta della lingua. Questo test permette di scartare le russule dal sapore pepato che, anche se non velenose, sono certamente immangiabili.

Il test dell’assaggio, anche se empirico, può essere facilmente effettuato, senza correre nessun rischio di tipo tossicologico.

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THE MUSHROOM IS A TERENOPUS RUSSULA

  

The russulae constitute an immense category of widespread fungi and therefore easily visible even by "novice" hunters. But many species are generally inedible due to the more or less acrid taste of their fabrics.

When in doubt, you can safely taste a small piece of tissue by placing it on the tip of the tongue. This test allows you to discard peppery-tasting russulae which, although not poisonous, are certainly inedible.

The taste test, even if empirical, can be easily carried out, without running any toxicological risk.

  

In EXPLORE il 20/10/2022 al n. 149

  

Immagine realizzata con lo samartphone SAMSUNG NOTE 4

For an English intro, see this: www.flickr.com/photos/white-angel/51386904506/

My lil research here below will be steadily enriched with new details and bibliographic notes, as long as I deepen in the subject and I receive contacts by more expert ppl.

I'm adding more & more some of my notes while I'm making a number of new lil discoveries which will integrate this topic ...

©WhiteAngel Photography. All rights reserved for both photo and text.

 

⭐ Explored 2021/12/29 ⭐

www.flickr.com/photos/white-angel/51387911731/in/explore-...

(Manually chosen by the YBS21 Flickr Mgmt. among the photos in the thematic threads of the official Group Your Best Shot 2021).

Selected from the topic "Your Best Flower Shot 2021" , category #YBSNature21 : www.flickr.com/groups/yourbestshot2021/discuss/7215772191...

 

Explore on Fluidr # 400 > 378

All the photos explored on Dec. 29 from Fluidr :

www.fluidr.com/explore/interesting/2021/12/29

 

Questo mio post è stato ispirato da un fatto stupendo, verificatosi il giorno 15 agosto 2021, Ferragosto! Possiedo da oltre cinque anni un Filodendro che non era mai fiorito né aveva mai fruttificato. Questa pianta è molto diffusa anche in Italia, l’ho spesso vista ma non ne avevo mai notata nessuna che potesse fiorire. Il 1° luglio quella che pareva una nuova foglia sull’apice ha cominciato a prendere le sembianze di una pannocchia verde che è cresciuta e si è sviluppata per circa 45 giorni senza mai aprirsi. A Ferragosto da verde è diventata bianca, di un bianco quasi ottico, assumendo le sembianze di un fiore che in poche ore si è aperto rivelando il suo frutto.

Il fatto mi è sembrato piuttosto prodigioso, considerando che per 5 anni la mia pianta, pur crescendo rigogliosa e raggiungendo l’altezza di 150cm, non era mai fiorita.

Questo mi ha spinta dapprima a fotografarla da varie angolature e poi a compiere una piccola ricerca dovuta al grande entusiasmo e alla curiosità irrefrenabile causate da questo strano avvenimento.

Ho scoperto alcune informazioni che non conoscevo e che volentieri estendo, soprattutto nella speranza di essere letta da qualche fotografo/a presente su Flickr, con passione o esperienza botanica, il quale possa aggiungere qualche dettaglio maggiormente tecnico o qualche considerazione personale ma, soprattutto, convalidare quanto ho finora scoperto e se l’avvenimento da me descritto è davvero raro come penso.

Il linguaggio botanico è estremamente tecnico, di non facile conoscenza per i non esperti, così dapprima scriverò nella mia lingua madre, l’Italiano.

Ho ultimato questa ricerca empirica e compilativa poche ore fa, perciò sicuramente contiene inesattezze ed é passibile di ulteriori migliorie. Ringrazio pertanto fin d'ora tutti coloro che vorranno contribuire ad ampliarla.

 

White Angel

 

(Since the botanical language is extremely technical, not well known by non-experts, I will first of all write this post in Italian, my mother tongue).

More details will be added-on my post as soon as I deepen in this subject. Tuned!

White Angel

 

Ref. Paradise Flower 045 (post II macro)

 

©WhiteAngel Photography . All rights reserved for the photo and the text. Any reposting, reblogging, sharing, printing, publishing (on or offline) must be priorly authorized upon my written permission. Don't weak up my alter-ego because I'm capable to shame any offender through a copyright infringement iter with all its consequent legal ramifications.

  

MONSTERA DELICIOSA

Pianta fanerogama monocotiledone e autoimpollinante.

 

=> La mia ricerca é finalizzata anche a richiamare l'attenzione degli esperti su alcune caratteristiche morfologiche interessanti che, pur denotando l'altissimo stato di evoluzione raggiunto da questa pianta, la possono far ritenere una pianta ancestrale, tale da indurmi per il momento a prendere le distanze dal descriverla come appartenente alle spermatofite angiosperme (come sembrerebbe e come viene di solito classificata in botanica) ma piuttosto come una gimnosperma primordiale dove però l'inseminazione non é né entomofila né zoofila e nemmeno anemofila per via aerea come di solito avviene nelle gimnosperme da cui, tra l'altro, differisce in tanti aspetti, tra i quali, la marcata profumazione dei propri organi di diffusione (vedi fiore-frutto).

 

Classificazione, provenienza e descrizione

 

Specie: Monstera

Nome comune generico: Filodendro.

Genere: Philodendron (il nome del genere deriva dal greco antico "phileo" (amare) e "dendron" (albero), ossia si tratta di piante che amano gli alberi, tipicamente rampicanti.

Poiché la Monstera é spesso confusa con un albero dalle foglie strutturalmente simili, chiamato Philodendron bipinnatifidum (tossico per ingestione, inalazione e contatto) e produce un fiore a spadice che può richiamarsi allo Spatifillo, il quale a sua volta può avere una certa tossicità, sarebbe comunque meglio chiamarla con il suo nome specifico perché, per la confusione ingeneratasi con altre piante somiglianti, le vengono attribuiti erroneamente effetti dannosi.

Famiglia: Araceae.

Conosciuta anche come: Pianta del Pane

 

Etimologia: "Monstera" sembra possa derivare dal latino “monstrum”, cosa strana e prodigiosa (monstrum doesn't mean monster!), riferito forse all’altezza che può raggiungere nel suo habitat naturale (anche 6 metri!) o alle dimensioni delle foglie di alcune specie appartenenti al genere. Questo non è comunque accertato poiché altri testi parlano invece della impressionante estensione e lunghezza delle radici aeree che, nelle piante cresciute in habitat naturale, possono raggiungere la lunghezza e spessore di vere e proprie liane. Io ritengo che un altro prodigio sia il fatto che la foglia, crescendo, si scinde sempre più in lobi che a loro volta, crescendo, si scindono e moltiplicano sempre più (cifr. fenomeno eterofillia) quasi a ricordare la scissione cellulare nella maturazione dell’embrione.

Per le popolazioni che vivono nel suo habitat naturale , questa pianta ha una forte connotazione sacra, in quanto le ritengono un importanti “vettore” per portare agli Dei le loro preci e suppliche.

deliciosa: dal Latino

dēlĭcĭōsus [deliciosus], deliciosă, deliciosum

aggettivo I classe, nominativo fem. sing.

declinazione femminile singolare:

Nom deliciosă

Gen.deliciosae

Dat.deliciosae

Acc.deliciosam

Abl.deliciosā

Voc.deliciosă

 

Significato:

1 (di cosa) gradevole, piacevole, delizioso

2 (di persona) languido, effeminato, voluttuoso

 

Il lemma "deliciosa" nella sua declinazione é presente anche nel plurale neutro (nom. e voc.) deliciosa.

 

Breve digressione:

Una bufala (hoax) che gira sulla rete, anche purtroppo su certi Wiki nazionali e non del portale .org o del Paese originario dove é stata scritta la notizia fonte, é che viene chiamata "mostro", quindi si trova di tutto sul tema "come allevare un mostro", "posso tenere un mostro in camera" ecc. Come già evidenziato, il vocabolo latino monstrum non riflette il significato di mostro.

Ho scoperto che ciò é dovuto a cattive ripubblicazioni delle notizie alla fonte da parte di siti e blog che traducono per es. in Russo o Cinese senza attribuire la paternità dell'opera e senza linkare al sito originale, dopodiché, con sistemi automatici di traduzione, lo ritraducono nelle lingue per loro straniere (per es. l'Italiano o l'Inglese) generando così davvero mostri! Traduzioni automatiche che spesso si prestano alla diffusione di fake news o di fraintendimenti colossali !

 

***

 

Provenienza: regioni tropicali dell’America centro e meridionale, in particolare il Messico e le foreste pluviali del Guatemala. Foreste pluviali del Borneo e dell’Indonesia . Pur essendo una pianta tropicale, la sua particolare resistenza e, una volta cresciuta, anche la sua robustezza, riesce a crescere anche nella MittelEuropa e nell’Europa meridionale dove, però, la sua fioritura è molto rara. (Episodi interessanti e documentati esistono per es. in Sicilia e Sardegna).

 

Descrizione del genere: comprende circa 50 specie di piante rampicanti, sempreverdi, con fusti provvisti di internodi, dai quali prendono origine radici aeree che si posano fissandosi al supporto su cui si sviluppano, integrando in tal modo anche l’approvvigionamento di elementi nutritivi, in primo luogo l’acqua.

Le foglie, presentando il fenomeno dell’eterofillìa (con due "L" e da non confondersi con l'eterofilia). Allo stadio giovanile, hanno lamina e margini interi; mentre allo stadio adulto ogni foglia si suddivide in lobi come se si moltiplicasse. Quando i lobi crescono, a loro volta formano dei fori , nell’Italiano arcaico pertugi (da cui il nome in Latino di Philodendron pertusum), che nuovamente li separano fino a formare ulteriori lobi. 8, 12, anche 22 o più… Questo fenomeno può vagamente richiamare la Parabola evangelica della Moltiplicazione dei Pani e dei Pesci, (forse da questo il nome alternativo di “pianta del pane”?) o la forma della pannocchia può ricordare il mais utilizzato da molte popolazioni come "pane" ossia elemento base del loro nutrimento?

La specie più conosciuta del genere è Monstera deliciosa, comunemente denominata “filodendro”. E’ una pianta rampicante perenne dal fogliame sempreverde. I lobi della deliziosa possono sembrare delle dita o anche delle lance leggermente arrotondate, lunghe e strette che possono richiamare la forma di un ventaglio. Solo l’estremità centrale più lontana dal fusto è invece più corta e larga. La sua capacità di crescere e riprodursi con grande resistenza e robustezza la può rendere quasi infestante.

Monstera deliciosa o Philodendron pertusum: nel suo habitat originario e naturale può superare l’altezza di 6 m. e le foglie arrivano a misurare anche un metro di lunghezza e 60 cm. di larghezza. Nei nostri climi temperati ma piuttosto freddi nella stagione invernale le dimensioni sono notevolmente ridotte. Il fenomeno dell’eterofillia, in questa specie, è talmente accentuato che all’inizio fu classificata come appartenente al genere Philodendron albero e tutt’oggi volgarmente viene chiamata filodendro. Allo stadio giovanile infatti le foglie si presentano cuoriformi, con apice acuminato, lamina e margini interi (simili a quelle di molte specie di Philodendron).

Allo stadio adulto, invece, assumono l’aspetto caratteristico della specie con margini fortemente frastagliati e fori oblunghi sulla lamina sia lungo la nervatura centrale che nei segmenti.

A livello dei nodi emette radici avventizie sospese con funzione nutritiva e di sostegno.

In estate può produrre infiorescenze dapprima verdastre e poi bianche (anche se molto raramente avviene in appartamento), che compaiono isolate o a piccoli gruppi, costituite da uno spadice protetto da una spata (sorta di foglia modificata simile a un petalo unico molto spesso, carnoso e resistente) lunga 10-15 cm. di colore crema. Se sufficientemente maturo, il frutto di forma a pannocchia contenuto nel fiore ha un profumo e un aroma dolciastro che ricorda l’ananas, o un mix di frutta esotica con un sapore delizioso da cui probabilmente origina il suo nome (deliziosa). Questo frutto, se guardato attentamente, é immanicato in una specie di buccia con superficie granulosa a tessere penta o esagonali disposte e interconnesse a nido d'ape e la polpa interna é un aggregato di grani, simili ai chicchi di una pannocchia di mais. L’estremità di ogni granulo contiene dei piccolissimi “cristalli” aghiformi e pungenti, fastidiosi per lingua e palato, per cui, in genere, anche se molto buono come frutto, non viene venduto.

Quando il fiore si schiude rivela il frutto nel suo candore bianco, una volta caduto l’unico "petalo", lo spadice tende a prendere il colore verde ed inizia la sua lenta maturazione.

Di questa pianta in commercio se ne trovano alcune varietà tra le quali: “Borsigiana”, che presenta dimensioni più ridotte rispetto a quelle della specie tipo e ”Variegata”, che presenta foglie con striature gialle o bianco-crema, che tendono poi a diventare completamente verdi.

 

Benefici: la pianta produce una forte ionizzazione dell’ambiente dove viene inserita, purificando fortemente l’aria e arricchendola di molto ossigeno, rendendo la respirazione più facile e gradevole.

L’utilità del Filodendro nella depurazione e purificazione dell’aria è bene accertata e comunemente accettata in botanica.

Dal punto di vista emozionale, assistere alla fioritura del prodigioso frutto che raramente si presenta, contribuisce al fascino di questa pianta.

E’ una pianta sempreverde che di stagione in stagione cresce aumentando le sue dimensioni ed ha una vita che può raggiungere i 30 anni ed oltre. Le sue derivazioni germogliano facilmente, perciò è semplice ottenere sempre nuove piante per talea.

 

Posizionamento Essa va interrata o piantata in vaso in area umida e soleggiata ma mai in piena luce. Si acclimata approssimativamente entro i 10°C invernali ed i 30-35°C estivi in diffusa umidità. In Europa é quindi ideale come pianta d'appartamento o da esterni nelle zone più calde. Teme le gelate.

 

Proprietà farmacologiche maggiormente accertate: decotto di tutte le parti della pianta è benefico e curativo contro i reumatismi.

 

Controindicazioni : in soggetti allergici, come la maggioranza di tutte le piante, può produrre reazioni per via cutanea, digerente e, sembra, anche per inalazione anche se ciò appare non avere alcun fondamento in nessun trattato o ricerca medica o sperimentale sull’argomento.

Sono stati sporadicamente riscontrati alcuni casi di eritema e prurito a contatto con il lattice interno.

Non è invece assolutamente provato né documentato alcun sintomo o danno per via inalatoria nel caso di posizionamento della Monstera all’interno di abitazioni, anzi, tutti potranno frequentemente notarla negli ingressi, salottini e corsie di ambienti e uffici pubblici ed anche sanitari come gli ospedali e gli ambulatori.

Come ogni pianta, emette molto ossigeno durante il giorno ed una certa quantità di anidride carbonica durante la notte e questo la rende assimilabile al comportamento di qualsiasi altra pianta.

Taluni soggetti allergici possono aver riscontrato reazioni al contatto con la linfa (non la “rugiada” endogena pura emessa dalle foglie) o pruriginose a contatto con le minutissime spine del frutto, quando ancora acerbo, microscopici aghetti che spariscono a maturazione raggiunta.

E possibile, almeno secondo quanto la mia ricerca ha fatto emergere, che soprattutto online alcune cattive traduzioni e ripubblicazioni delle descrizioni sul Filodendron, in particolar modo a cura di blog che ripubblicano nella loro lingua e poi ritraducono nelle lingue straniere, spesso senza alcuna autorizzazione da parte della fonte, unitamente alla somiglianza con il fiore dello Spatifillo, abbia ingenerato confusioni che scambiano la reale media tossicità di quest’ultimo con il fiore frutto della Monstera deliciosa, molto simile nell’aspetto a quest’ultimo ma del tutto innocuo, salvo alcune attenzioni da osservare.

Nonostante il nome comune benefico dello Spatifillo (Lilium della Pace, Peace Lily) eccone infatti le controindicazioni tossicologiche principali. Se le confronterete con le "bufale" che si raccontano sulla Monstera, anche sui Wiki nazionali, troverete l’esatta corrispondenza!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spathiphyllum

=> Ergo: Spathiphyllum (altra pianta delle aracee con spata e spadice/oder plant beloging to the Arum Family but not to the genus Phylodendron) is not Monstera! “Although the Spathiphyllum is commonly called a "lily", the peace lily is not a true lily from the family Liliaceae. It still belongs to the Arum Family and is only midly toxic .

While true lilies are highly toxic (poisonous) to pets like cats and dogs, the peace lily spathiphyllum is only mildly toxic to humans and other animals when ingested. It contains calcium oxalate crystals, which can cause skin irritation, a burning sensation in the mouth, difficulty swallowing and nausea, but it does not contain the toxins found in true lilies, which could cause acute kidney failure in cats and some other animals”.

Solamente la presenza biunivoca degli ossalati di calico, confermata dagli esperti, potrebbe indurre a pensare che fra le due piante vi sia una qualche somiglianza benché lo Spatifillo non appartienga allo stesso genere Filodendro , pur facendo comunque parte della famiglia delle Araceae.

Agli appassionati di Wikipedia, consigliando di ricorrere sempre al sistema Wiki nella lingua principale della fonti, potrà intatti interessare che, se Wikipedia.org stressa molto sul concetto della tossicità di media portata dello Spathiphyllum, non eccepisce alcunché sulla purezza e non tossicità della Monsteria deliciosa, nonché sull'edibilità del suo frutto, raccomandando solo di mangiarlo unicamente se maturo, quando le tessere della sua buccia, ormai diventate da verdi a beige, cominciano da sole a separarsi e cadere e gli amidi della polpa diventano zuccherini e si é ormai liberato dei micro cristalli aghiformi che contengono Ossalato di Calcio. Un'unica segnalazione é menzionata per le foglie e le viti che, come in molte altre piante comuni, contengono Ossalato di Potassio e possono dare origine a rash cutanei pruriginosi in soggetti predisposti. Questo comunque potrebbe succedere solo venendo in contatto con il lattice interno al sistema linfatico della pianta.

 

Fioritura:

Pur essendo diffuse anche in Europa, la fioritura di queste piante rampicanti in casa è davvero molto rara e quasi impossibile se la pianta è in vaso anziché interrata. In alcune regioni del Sud Italia come in Sicilia e Sardegna, si può comunque assistere al proliferare di queste piante laddove trovano un microclima a loro favorevole ed anche alla crescita dei suoi fiori che, giunti a maturazione, possono superare le dimensioni di una grande pannocchia mentre nel resto dell’Italia il raro frutto rimane molto più piccolo e difficilmente supera i 15cm di lunghezza alla base del peduncolo.

Per assistere a questo insolito avvenimento, è necessario creare condizioni quasi ideali per la pianta: esposizione alla luce non diretta, creazione di un micro-clima tropicale caldo e umido, accortezza nel ripulire le foglie dalla polvere ed eventuali parassiti (usare un panno inumidito in acqua a temperatura ambiente, leggera ma frequente nebulizzazione, protezione in acqua delle radici aeree mediante ampolle finalizzate a conferire l’acqua di cui necessitano).

Nel suo habitat naturale, la Monstera fiorisce con bellissimi fiori di colore bianco crema.

In natura succede ogni anno, ma raramente è possibile assistere alla sua fioritura in ufficio o in casa, specie nelle zone non tropicali e non endemiche come l’Europa, salvo il ricorso alla serra specialistica o zone dell’Europa meridionale caratterizzate dal clima particolarmente caldo e umido.

  

Il fiore/frutto:

La maggiore attenzione va osservata per quanto riguarda l’ingestione del suo frutto che, seppur non velenoso ed edibile, non va mai mangiato quando è acerbo, sia perché non ha ancora eliminato i suoi piccoli cristallini interni, una sorta di micro aghetti che sono leggermente pungenti e tendono ad aderire fastidiosamente alla parete del palato e della lingua, ma soprattutto perché contiene molti ossalati di calcio dannosi soprattutto se ingeriti da chi ha deficit renali, calcoli e o nefropatie in essere.

Questo frutto in botanica è considerato edibile ed il nome “deliciosa” lo manifesta eloquentemente.

In Europa meridionale esso matura in un periodo molto lungo che può superare anche i 15 mesi e non va mai mangiato quando è giovane (colore bianco) e nemmeno quando, con la stagionatura, tende a diventare verde ma solo quando il peduncolo su cui poggia il frutto si piega verso il basso e inizia a seccare, la buccia verde ricoperta di scaglie comincia a staccarsi autonomamente rivelando così dei granuli biancastri simili ai chicchi del mais o a denti. Per poter separare i granuli, i soli edibili in questo frutto, è necessaria molta cautela e pazienza in quanto la struttura interna modulare di questo frutto possiede delle innumerevoli lamelle di cui è possibile riconoscere le estremità tutto attorno allo spadice dai piccoli puntini di colore scuro che accentano ogni micro-cella della buccia, fatta a forma di nido d’ape (mini esagoni connessi tra loro). Queste lamelle vanno tolte ad una ad una, separate dai chicchi e anche dallo scheletro interno (immaginatevi una sorta di gheriglio della noce), anch’esso da eliminare. Perciò, per poter gustare questa prelibatezza, occorre conoscerla e saperla trattare da veri intenditori.

Tuttavia, molti forum sull’argomento frutta, piante e fiori d’appartamento riportano l’esperienza sorprendente di chi è riuscito a far maturare la “pannocchia” di questo fiore e ad assaggiarlo. I più lo descrivono come uno tra i frutti più buoni al mondo, forse il migliore in assoluto così come lo è il suo succo che, se opportunamente spremuto in un tessuto a trama fine che funga da “filtro” dei cristalli, può rappresentare una metodologia più sicura per assaggiarlo, soprattutto per chi non è un esperto gourmet (esistono varie ricette di preparazione) e non sa trattarlo con le opportune cautele.

Il nome di Monstera “deliciosa” ossia deliziosa è indubbiamente dovuto al profumo e all’aroma del suo fiore-frutto.

In generale, nel riportare le descrizioni ad esso riferentesi, ritengo sia sconsigliabile vivamente l’ingestione, soprattutto per i non esperti in botanica ed alta cucina e per persone che possono essere soggette a reazioni allergiche o con disturbi, disfunzioni o patologie, in particolare renali, basti pensare come proprio gli ossalati di calcio sono i maggiori fautori responsabili della formazione di calcoli nei reni così come un altro importante responsabile è l’alto residuo fisso nonché l'abbinamento dei sali di calcio e sodio contenuto in molte acque, sia potabili a rubinetto sia in bottiglia.

 

Propagazione:

per radicazione di talea apicale o di germoglio o derivazione laterale (detto "pollone") accompagnata da min. una foglia che includa l’internodo o ancora per distacco e interramento di una radice aerea che va piantata assieme ad almeno un germoglio. Per i più esperti: margotta per piante che risultino particolarmente spoglie nella parte basale.

E' una pianta che, se trova il giusto habitat, può crescere molto e diventare mediamente infestante.

 

Le radici: possiede radici interrate e sospese. Le radici aeree sono a forma di liana. Vengono emesse dalla pianta per trovare maggiore umidità.

 

Le foglie: sono coriacee e in ambiente naturale possono oltrepassare il metro di lunghezza, in appartamento solitamente raggiungono approssimativamente i 30/40cm.

Le piante Aracee possono presentare forme e dimensioni diverse a seconda della specie: si possono trovare foglie lobate, lanciolate, pennatifide, ossia foglie pennate a margine intero o discontinuo, con la lamina perforata in modo regolare o irregolare da eleganti incisioni che raggiungono il nervo mediano .

Il caso limite è rappresentato dalla M. obliqua expilata che presenta la lamina fogliare ridotta a poco più di un sottile segmento a livello delle nervature con un margine ridottissimo, che spesso si rompe in corrispondenza dei fori.

Le foglie producono una sorta di "lacrimazione" di acqua dal sapore di acqua pura, talvolta leggermente dolciastra. La linfa può invece risultare tossica, specie in soggetti allergici, questo come quasi ogni altra pianta.

 

White Angel

 

Many thanks to my acquaintance and Flickr friend,

M° Hughes Songe, for having inspired me during a very interesting little debate on pareidolia and atmospheric Art.

  

#AtmosphericPhotography by ©WhiteAngel aka łwAE .

Image & text copyrighted ©WhiteAngel Photography . All rights reserved for boh the photo and the text. Any unauthorized use on social nets, blogs or sites, on any media on or offline without my written agreement and consent will be followed up by a copyright infringement iter with all its consequent legal ramifications.

 

******* Ed ora viene il bello! And now comes the magic! *******

PAREIDOLIA,spazio all’immaginazione! Power to imagination!

 

Qualche mia riflessione (non tecnica e non accertata) ed alcune curiose considerazioni:

Più nello specifico, quello che può sembrare un petalo unico è in realtà una spata (detta anche bratta), ossia una foglia modificata che nasce per proteggere e contenere il frutto, in questo caso fatto a forma di pannocchia e di tonalità bianco crema che, maturando, assume il colore verde ritornando di un colore beige a maturazione raggiunta..

Ma anche quello che può sembrare il petalo unico di un fiore è in realtà un monocotiledone, atto a contenere, nutrire e proteggere l’embrione che racchiude. E' una foglia unica, embrionale, visibilmente simile a un monopetalo che, in realtà, è l’espressione arborea di una foglia modificata atta a racchiudere il suo seme, in fase di sviluppo).

Le fanerogame come il Filodendro sono piante con organi riproduttivi visibili (tipicamente lo stame e i pistilli), caratterizzate dalla presenza del seme. Ma allora, cos’è quella pannocchia all’interno del cotiledone? Il fiore, il frutto o il seme? E quali esattamente sono i genitali in vista della pianta nella sua efflorescenza?

 

Se il cotiledone, è lo stame, che è generalmente l’organo maschile del fiore (Androecium), nelle piante come questa cosiddette fanerogame, lo stame è costituito dalla bratta, ossia la foglia esterna modificata che sembra il petalo del fiore la cui forma oblunga che si richiama ad una conchiglia di Strombo (in Inglese conch shell) e potrebbe essere analogicamente ricollegata all’immagine della vagina, è in realtà l’organo riproduttivo maschile del fiore.

Lo spadice, sorta di “pannocchia” interna, è invece l’organo femminile del fiore (Gynoecium). Difatti, il gametofito femminile nelle piante Fanerogame è costituito dal sacco embrionale, in qualche modo il suo ovaio e, in questo caso lo spadice si richiamerebbe in particolare proprio alla forma dell’utero femminile (la “pannocchia”, detta ovulo che si può notare all’interno della bratta!) Al suo interno infatti, lo spadice, di colore bianco contiene l’embrione e, crescendo, diventa esso stesso il frutto cambiando il suo colore da bianco a verde e poi beige, denotando così la sua raggiunta maturazione, mentre la spata o bratta, una volta apertasi mostrando il suo interno femminile, si secca progressivamente e cade perché ha terminato la sua funzione.

Aiuto! Qui le cose si complicano… Cos’è allora questo? Il fiore, il gametofito maschile, quello femminile (lo spadice), l’ovulo o l’embrione stesso? E’ il seme o é il suo frutto? Ebbene, in un certo qual modo è ogni cosa fin qui menzionata, solo in stadi diversi di crescita e maturazione. Ecco, lo sapevo, debbo per forza arrivare ad una conclusione fantasiosa: si tratta di un fiore e frutto pansessuale perché Pan in Greco antico significa TUTTO!

Questa sorta di interscambio o “interdisciplinarietà” dell’anatomia di questa foglia/fiore/frutto e seme di raffinata estetica nonché l’aroma dolciastro ed il suo sapore delizioso, unitamente alla rarità della sua comparsa, la rende a mio avviso assolutamente accattivante agli occhi ma anche idilliaca all’intelletto.

Se poi vi si aggiunge il richiamo biblico alla Parabola della moltiplicazione dei Pani e dei Pesci ed al fatto che in alcune credenze religiose dei Nativi del suo habitat endemico è considerata una pianta sacra poiché può fungere da medium verso gli Dei ed il suo fusto, di notevole altezza, le sue liane possono essere usate per condurre loro le preghiere ed i desideri degli umani, ho concluso che il fiore-frutto di questa pianta potrebbe essere definito come “Fiore del Paradiso” - "Paradise Flower" . Un fiore onnisciente e molto “inclusivo”, davvero meritevole di trovarsi proprio Lassù...

Del resto, se questa pianta viene chiamata con appellativi sciocchi come "Pianta del formaggio svizzero" o "gruyere" (vedi bufalate su Wikipedia) non posso io forse proporre un ben più edificante "Fiore de Paradiso" data la bellezza e pregnanza estetica e la sconvolgente semantica che può richiamare questo fiore ermafrodita che si auto-impollina e possiede entrambi gli organi riproduttivi - femminile e maschile - che con la crescita simbiotica diventano visibili?

Ridenominare o conferire nomi successivi ad una pianta, secondo le regole dell’attribuzione del nome botanico (vedi Lemmo) è vietato, o meglio é sempre riconosciuto e accreditato il primo nome scientifico con cui é stata chiamata, così manterrò questo appellativo solo in cuor mio, un soprannome speciale con meritevole licenza poetica! Soprattutto ripensando ad un piacevole aneddoto occorsomi nell’ormai lontano 2003 e che ora, finalmente, troverebbe una plausibile ipotesi di spiegazione o di condivisione romantica.

Sognai ad occhi aperti, o meglio, ebbi una sorta di ispirazione, di immagine che si fissò nella mia mente: un bellissimo fiore bianco, a forma di calla ma con il petalo non appuntito, non rigirato all’esterno bensì al suo interno che non mi permetteva di vedere lo stame e i pistilli. Raccontai di questa immagine ad una mia amica di nome Ines con qualche capacità nell’interpretazione dei sogni che, al tempo delle gloriose chat su MSN, amministrava una comunità molto seguita, la “Dea Community”. Glielo descrissi e disegnai un rapido schizzo. Lei mi rispose: “Ma questo è il Fiore del Paradiso!” Le chiesi: “Ma dove si trova in natura?” “Non c’è, per lo meno nella nostra realtà”, rispose lei. Io insistetti: “Ma allora come fai a conoscere il suo nome e come fai a saperlo?” “Perché lo so e basta!” Replicò lei. Ed io: “Ma come lo sai?” E lei con un lieve sorriso finalmente rispose: “Perché l’ho visto anch’io!”

E’ mai stato rivelato a quale pianta appartiene realmente il Fiore del Paradiso? Forse no, ma nella realtà terrena probabilmente la Monstera deliziosa è la pianta che, almeno secondo me, genera il fiore che si candida ad avere l’aspetto più simile ad esso. Vedrò poi, una volta ascesa nell’Altro Mondo, se avevo ragione.

Tempus fugit…

 

White Angel

 

P.S.: Ulteriori post con foto da diverse angolature in arrivo!

Ma la prossima ricerca non prima che sia maturato a compimento il frutto del primo fiore della mia Monstera, fiorito per la prima volta il 15.08.2021, dopo 5 anni.

 

Bibliografia:

  

DIZIONARIO LATINO OLIVETTI a cura di E. Olivetti

© 2003-2024 Olivetti Media Communication

 

edendeifiori.it “Filodendro” , by freelance webwriter ©Rita Bertacchini www.edendeifiori.it/1344/filodendro.php

 

antropocene.it del Prof. Guido Bissanti, Dottore Agronomo e Forestale, già nel Comitato Internazionale degli Ingegneri Agronomi Europei (CEDIA - Bruxelles) e ricercatore del CNR. Docente in Agraria presso l’Università di Palermo, ricercatore e specialista in Sviluppo Sostenibile, Termodinamica Ambientale ed Etica Socioeconomica, fondatore e Presidente dell’Associazione di volontariato per l’applicazione dello Sviluppo Sostenibile – "Terredelsud", coordinatore dell’Urban Center della Città di Agrigento. Dottore Agronomo, nel settore della Pianificazione Territoriale e della Progettazione Ambientale.

Si occupa in particolar modo di Sistemi Ambientali, Agricoltura Quantistica, Termodinamica Ambientale, Sviluppo Sostenibile e Analisi di Politiche Ambientali e Rurali.

© 2021 Un Mondo Ecosostenibile, di G. Bissanti con la collaborazione degli “Ideologi per un Mondo sostenibile”.

 

ISPESL Istituto Superiore per la Prevenzione e la Sicurezza sul Lavoro, Organo Tecnico Scientifico del Servizio Sanitario Nazionale Italiano alle dipendenze del Ministero della Sanità, ed in particolare in tema di Tossicologia delle Piante.

 

ISPESL, Dipartimento di MEDICINA DEL LAVORO

Ricerca “ Le Piante Ornamentali, pericolo misconosciuto per la Salute” (accompagnata da schede informative ed illustrative e da bibliografia)

Pubblicato a cura del Dipartimento DOCUMENTAZIONE,INFORMAZIONE E FORMAZIONE.

Edizione ondine apparsa nel 2005 con successive integrazioni, permesso di stampa e diffusione.

Autori:

A. R. BIANCHI, P.ERBA, C. GRANDI, A. MARINACCIO, S. PALMI, M. NESTI, N.MUCCI, V. DE IORIO

 

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

 

©Agraria.org istruzione agraria online

 

Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana. ©2018 UTET Grandi Opere Accademia della Crusca

 

Dizionario della lingua Italiana “©IL NUOVO DE MAURO”

 

DizionarioItaliano.it – ©NOMIX SRL

 

“Il Sabatini Coletti”, Dizionario della Lingua Italiana 2018

© Rizzoli Education S.p.A., Milano

 

©2021 - Giardinaggio.it

 

©2021 Tuttogreen S.r.l.

 

“Piante utili contro l’inquinamento domestico”,

dal Blog ©Il mondo in un Giardino a cura di Ilaria

ilmondoinungiardino.blogspot.com/2012/12/piante-utili-con...

 

FORUM ©Fruttama (decennale tematica sul frutto e sul fiore del Filodendro, tuttora arrichito di esperienze dirette, foto e consigli pratici)

 

Ricerca libera online aggiuntiva, Libre Internet Research on: Monstera miti e verità, leggende, superstizioni, credenze popolari, benefici, svantaggi, Monstera e Feng Shui. Scritti ripubblicati in una miriadi di siti e blog che non ne creditano la fonte, per cui è impossibile risalire agli autori, per es.:

 

it.blabto.com

flowers-it.designluxpro.com

it.womanexpertus.com

 

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

 

Enciclopedia Treccani, ©Giovanni Treccani S.p.A. de: Le piante Fanerogame

 

©www.ilgiardinocommestibile.it/famiglie/araceae/araceae/

 

Il frutto “proibito” del Paradiso. Che frutto mangiarono Adamo ed Eva nella Genesi ©usandculture.wordpress.com

 

«Sed fugit interea fugit irreparabile tempus» Le Georgiche. Poema in Latino di Virgilio, 1469

 

©2021 WhiteAngel own research (mia ricerca e compendio personale).

Compilazione terminata e pubblicata su Flickr il 19.08.2021

 

NOTE: questa piccola indagine potrà subire variazioni, integrazioni e commenti aggiuntivi grazie al concorso spot-on di altri membri di Flickr. Qualora il frutto giungesse a maturazione variando nuovamente il suo aspetto, sarà inoltre arricchita di ulteriori foto del frutto e delle sue componenti interne. L’autrice ringrazia fin d’ora tutti coloro che vorranno, anche con brevi commenti, proposte, suggerimenti o correzioni, contribuire per la valutazione di integrazioni.

 

Immagine e testo coperti da copyright ©WhiteAngel Photography. Tutti i diritti riservati.

Image & text copyrighted ©WhiteAngel Photography .

All rights reserved for both photo & text.

Any unauthorized use on social nets, blogs or sites, on any media on or offline without my written agreement and consent will be followed up by a copyright infringement iter with all its consequent legal ramifications.

The Indian cobra (Naja naja), also known as the spectacled cobra, Asian cobra, or binocellate cobra, is a species of the genus Naja found, in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan, and is a member of the "big four" species that inflict the most snakebites on humans in India.

 

The sun's rays are seen coming through its hood giving it an orange tint.

Here are some new chemistry titles that have been purchased over the past couple of months. Place your cursor over a book's cover to receive more information. Click on the "Check for availability" link in the note to see a book's status in the Library's online catalog.

6/5/2012 I shot this at the spot where Rudy Eugene was killed while eating the face off of 65-year-old Ronald E. Poppo on the Macarthur causeway Miami Florida.

I spoke to a local Haitian who told me "Rudy had people walking with him" he was suggesting demons possessed the man before the bizarre attack.

 

Regardless of what happened Rudy was loved by his family and friends, they are hurting right now.

Poppo's family thought he died 30 years ago, he's in a world of hurt right now, I sincerely hope he does well.

   

6/27/2012 Final Toxicology Results Find Only Marijuana:

Paris

2011 Paris

Peninsular Malaysia

 

This beauty was in great shape and coloration probably it just shed.

Toxicology: Mildly venomous (non fatal)

Behavior: Quite chill

Length: 0.7 - 0.8 m.

Reproduction: Ovovividparity

 

Distribution: Found in southern Vietnam from the provinces of Minh Hai and Song Be, in southern Thailand recorded from the provinces of Phang Nga, Pattani, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Tammarat, Narathiwat, and Yala, probably distributed throughout the Peninsula in west Malaysia, as well as the island of Penang, in Singapore and in Indonesia on Sumatra, the islands of the Riau Archipelago, Bangka, Billiton, Nias, the Mentawai Islands (Siberut), Natuna, and Karimata (Vogel, David, Lutz, van Rooijen, & Vidal, 2007) "In a revision by Vogel et al. (2007) the Tropidolaemus wagleri species complex was differentiated into several taxa, including the resurrection of T. subannulatus (Borneo).

 

The Western Philippine populations belong to T. subannulatus, but those from Mindanao include snakes assigned to both this species and T. philippensis. Tropidolaemus subannulatus has a wide distribution in Central Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines, T[ropidolaemus] wagleri is restricted to mainland Southeast Asia, down to Sumatra and Bangka, West Indonesia (Auliya, Dehling, Inger, Iskandar., Vogel, Diesmos, & Sy., 2012)

 

Borneo 1977

1977 Indonesia, Borneo, East-Kalimantan, swamp

The Eighties

Paris

1985 Paris

The year 1896 must've been a busy time for Johannes Antonius Jakobus Tonella (1868-1950). He was a scion of an originally Swiss family from the town of Cavergno in the Ticino that had settled in Groningen in the middle of the nineteenth century. Tonella followed in the footsteps of his father and studied pharmacy intent on becoming a pharmacist if not a toxicologist. Indeed, he went on and was awarded his doctorate at the Groningen University in 1896 for his important dissertation on physiological aspects of alpha-normal-propyl tetrahydrochinoline and coniine. The first is an antibacterial agent, the latter a potent poison, famous especially as the active agent in the poison hemlock which killed Socrates; interestingly it turns the mouth - used so much rhetorically by that great Philosopher - blue.

Anyway... back to Tonella's Pharmacy. In that same 1896, Tonella, apparently not penniless, built himself a villa-pharmacy just on the edge of Stad at Zuiderpark 18. When I lived in Groningen, those tile-tableaux in the photo weren't visible until perhaps the middle of the first decade of the 21st century when the building was restored. They were covered by white and yellowish paint. The other day, on a visit to Groningen, I noticed how fascinating they are; hence that composite photo.

Those tableaux (the photo shows three of four) clearly picture all the attributes of pharmacy. Contemplating them, I more or less assumed that Tonella had instructed his architect, well-known Kornelis Hoekzema (1844-1911), and the pictorial artist Franciscus Hermannus Bach (1865-1956), to pictify general pharmaceutical themes and the common names of historical persons important in the field. So I quite expected to see Lavoisier, Dioscorides, Galenus, Aesculapius, Hippokrates and Paracelsus; they're ordinary tropes in this context. But I was happily surprised to see that Tonella really knew what he was doing, and put his own mark on that 'common knowledge'. He had his artist add Orfila.

Orfila?! Who he, you might well ask. Well, Mathieu Joseph Bonaventura Orfila i Rotger (1787-1853) - or Mateu Josep Bonaventura in Catalan - was an eminent Minorcan-French toxicologist who worked in Paris from 1830 onwards. And that fits in precisely with Tonella's own interest in poisons as evidenced by his dissertation.

That the top tableau has a blue background... well, I don't think there's a connection there to Socrates. It would be nice to think so...

And I haven't even remarked on the botanical imagery!

Paris

2010 Paris

01 April 2018

Its into the 9th year since I shot this and the situation in the DTES has only deteriorated. Governments have worsened the situation by piling more social housing in the area adding to the “customers with no cash” syndrome. The area is named “Canada’s poorest postal code” by activists and the poverty pimps love the situation making the area one of “Canada’s richest postal codes”, the only differenence being the pimp money goes home at night. Helpful groups support too many by offering them food daily with zero obligation. Its become an impossible sitiuation to address given the current state of political governance.

I wish this was just a sick April Fools Day joke but unfortuantely not.

 

Sleeping on a sidewalk in the Downtown East Side (DTES) of Vancouver BC takes on a different sense of survival than is observed in many west side sleepers. A combination of mental issues, drug sale and use, area resident poverty and the resulting community of "Customers With No Cash" combine for a perfect locale to take advantage of people on the edge where living is not comparable to what most of us bring to mind in our own comfortable world. Prostitution and drugs are a large part of this community. One can not help feel sorry and remorseful this exists in self important Vancouver.

 

The irony of this photo is it was shot about 10 feet from the entrance of BC Housing's recently opened Orange Hall office (open 10 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday) 297 Hastings Street at Gore Ave. This situation has steadily gone downhill since the Federal Governemt cut back funding for social housing.

  

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH:

From BC Housing website:

October 3rd, 2014

VICTORIA – The B.C. government is strengthening the non-profit housing sector by transferring provincially-owned properties to non-profit housing providers.

 

The Province owns approximately 350 parcels of land throughout British Columbia that are currently leased long-term to non-profit housing providers who own and operate social housing buildings on these properties.

 

The non-profit housing sector has been asking for this step for many years. Having ownership of the land will improve a non-profit’s ability to support better long-term planning and selfsufficiency. Owning the lands they operate on will also help non-profits secure the financing they need to be sustainable.

 

In order to transfer title, the Province will end these leases, and then transfer ownership of the land to the societies. The properties will be transferred at fair market value. The Province will assist the societies to secure mortgages on the properties. The current operating agreement that BC Housing has with each non-profit society will remain in place. Approximately 115 properties will be transferred by March 31, 2015, and the rest will be transferred over the next three years.

 

In addition, the Province is looking to transfer ownership of two properties currently managed by BC Housing to non-profit societies. The Province will begin the process by posting Expressions of Interest for Nicholson Tower and Stamps Place in Vancouver shortly.

 

Tenants will not be impacted by these transfers, and the amount of affordable housing stock will remain stable. Non-profit societies have been providing social housing in B.C. for more than 60 years. Today more than 90% of social housing is managed by non-profit societies.

 

THE GLOBE & MAIL:

FRANCES BULA

VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail

Published Monday, Oct. 13 2014

 

Vancouver won’t solve street homelessness until both the city and province focus on targeting the limited supply of expensive social housing to those who need it most, say experts.

 

That means help can’t go to anyone who passes through a shelter or an outdoor camp or even to someone who sleeps outside temporarily. In the vast majority of cases, people who become homeless experience it briefly and are able to avoid losing housing again.

 

But people working on eliminating homelessness do not always understand that the thousands of people who experience homelessness in a year don’t all need expensive subsidized housing. That should be reserved for the chronically homeless, who are not sufficiently helped by temporary assistance with rent or other social supports.

 

“For nearly 90 per cent of people counted as homeless, they’ll get themselves out of homelessness on their own,” says Tim Richter, who led Calgary’s 10-year plan to end homelessness and is now the president of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. “It’s critical to set priorities. It shouldn’t be first-come, first-served.”

 

One of the region’s most experienced homelessness researchers, former Vancouver city-hall staffer Judy Graves, said the city is reaping the results of city and provincial staff not always setting the right priorities for the past six years. This past winter, Vancouver still had a count of 533 people sleeping outside (less than in 2008, but more than in 2011), even though the province and city have opened up thousands of new social-housing units rented at welfare-level rates.

 

It’s an issue that is returning to haunt Vision Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, who promised in 2008 to end street homelessness by 2015, during this fall’s civic-election campaign.

 

His administration, which has pushed the issue non-stop since he was first elected, has recently exceeded previous efforts by jumping last month into paying for all the costs of converting a downtown Quality Inn to transitional housing, as well as all the costs of a new shelter nearby. Usually the province covers the majority of costs for both of those kinds of housing.

 

But Ms. Graves said even that unusual effort, accompanied by several hundred other new provincial units about to open, isn’t going to solve the problem by January, 2015.

 

That’s because the province is only committed to using half of the incoming housing units for the chronically homeless. And city staff also don’t always correctly identify who is the most in need.

 

“Both the city and province have bought into housing by wait lists,” said Ms. Graves. “It just can’t work. You have to work as though you’re in a disaster zone.”

 

She said she had doubts that the majority of people who camped in Oppenheimer Park over the summer were homeless, but they got priority for the scarce number of rooms available.

 

As well, in the early stages of the province’s big social-housing construction push, which will see 14 towers completed with around 1,400 units by the end, non-profit operators were simply moving people from residential hotel rooms into the new buildings.

 

That meant the housing didn’t go to the chronically homeless and the most in need, but worse, it then allowed landlords in the residential hotels to do renovations, raise rents, or refuse new low-income tenants once the former tenants were relocated to social housing.

 

That then reduced the overall number of private, low-cost housing units in the city. Ms. Graves said the whole region is experiencing an acute shortage of those kinds of private units now. It has become a game of musical chairs for housing-outreach workers to get a low-cost unit for someone trying to get out of shelters or off the street, she said.

 

All cities are grappling with constant pressures that create more homelessness at the front end: low working-class incomes that can’t keep up with gentrification and rising rents key among them, said Ms. Graves. That has left cities trying to solve the problem at the back end, trying to house all the people made homeless as a result of many larger forces.

 

24 HRS VANCOUVER - 16 OCT 14

16 Oct 2014 24 Hours VancouverJANE DEACON Comment at vancouver.24hrs.c

Laura Dilley, PACE Society Action Week, PACE plans to draft housing recommendations for city council before the coming election.

“Oftentimes we will create housing models not including the voices of those we would be housing,” said Dilley.

Rising rent prices that force people out of SROs is a significant factor, as well as landlords who refuse to rent to sex workers out of legal concerns, said Dilley. Low- income housing conditions that require tenants stay in at night or guests to sign in are also significant barriers. She estimates between 10 to 15% of sex workers fall under the category of “survival” or street- based prostitution. For that vulnerable population, simply switching professions is often not an option, said Dilley.

“They’re really forced and entrenched to continuously do that work because they have no options out of it, because we have such stigma in our society that they can’t seek help, they can’t find affordable housing, so they’re really stuck in that situation,” she said.

 

17 April 2019:

 

B.C. drug users demand clean supply, but fear they won’t live to see it happen

By David P. BallStar Vancouver

Tues., April 16, 2019

  

VANCOUVER—Several hundred Vancouverites marked three years since the province declared a public health emergency over the thousands of people killed by overdoses.

 

But as they marched Tuesday from the safe-injection clinic Insite through downtown Vancouver, advocates say “contaminated” drugs have taken a toll on their own leaders.

 

For B.C. Association of People on Methadone member Garth Mullins, the losses are mounting, and it’s been destabilizing and “disorganizing” for the drug-reform movement.

 

“We’ve lost rank and file members and leaders in such high numbers over the last five years,” he said, wearing a distinctive black case of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone on his belt. “It’s hard to organize or think strategically when you’re always doing triage, planning a memorial.”

 

Just last month the president of his organization, Chereece Keewatin, died from a fentanyl overdose. Mullins knew Keewatin for at least six years, and invited her to join the editorial board of the podcast Crackdown, of which he is executive producer.

 

“Chereece was really little, but she had this tremendous capacity to lift people’s spirits,” he said in an interview. “You’d have meetings where we talk about really, really bleak subjects, but she had these funny asides to cut through the bleakness.

 

“She made people laugh. In that way, she took responsibility for the whole collective emotional state of the group.”

 

It’s not just the B.C. Association of People on Methadone that’s seen the direct “casualties” of what Mullins called “a war.” The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and the national Canadian Association of People who Use Drugs have also lost high-ranking board members in recent years.

 

Since 2016, nearly 11,000 people have died across Canada from opioid overdoses, according to the most recent federal and provincial data. The majority of those deaths were from opioids such as fentanyl or its more deadly variants, but B.C. remains the epicentre for roughly a third of those deaths, 1,500 of them last year alone.

 

On average, four British Columbians died every day from overdoses last year, much higher than the national average and largely unchanged since the province’s April 2016 declaration of a public health emergency.

 

11 May 2020

.

A wall mural in the DTES poses a valid question, "how do we end the drug crisis"? A more basic question, how did we get here?

 

Vancouver, B.C. is consistently ranked at the top of the list for the world’s most liveable cities - but not for many in the DTES.

 

The city has a dirty little secret that it has been trying to suppress for decades. The historic four-block area near East Hastings and Main Street — the DTES — known as one of the “poorest postal codes” in Canada, has a combination of drug use, HIV, homelessness, prostitution, mental illness, and crime all making up this poor off neighbourhood.

 

To be successful as a drug lord you need a steady, reliable, cheap supply of product, a location where you can operate relatively free from prosecution and away you go. The prime location ingredients Vancouver offers is the DTES.

 

Over the decades continuing city administrations have built a community of “customers with no cash” by loading the DTES with blocks of not for profit social housing. Along with the myriad of Single Room Occupancy hotels (SRO's) the area is prime territory for the drug trade.

 

Social housing should be spread throughout the city to provide a society of different financial means for common support - IMO.

 

Administrations over the years have been loath to attempt social housing in the rich city enclaves due to onerous push back. It was and still is more expedient to keep adding more social housing in the DTES where there is minimal opposition.

 

***** Today there are at least 6 City of Vancouver development permit applications on file for more social housing in the DTES.

 

The process is welcomed by the myriad of DTES support service groups who like their clientele close at hand and the clientele are fine with it as services are nearby.

 

DTES government and service support groups along with poverty pimp lawyers who have a hissy fit if anyone tries to change the dial, while also making money off the situation, has resulted in the perfect condition for drug dealers to flourish.

 

Social housing residents, many older, Asian and often mentally challenged are living in a hell hole neighbourhood with little individual voice.

 

In recent years, the area is seeing an east creeping gentrification. This is causing the DTES street population to be squeezed into a smaller footprint resulting in more confrontation and the appearance of a worsening situation even though overall the numbers of street people remains fairly constant.

 

The amount of taxpayer dollars spent in the area is staggering with little to show for the investment.

 

Vancouver has always had a drug problem. The opioids of choice — and the increasingly staggering death toll — have changed over the years.

 

In 2017 Fentanyl killed so many Canadians it caused the average life expectancy in B.C. to drop for the first time in decades. But for crime kingpins, it became a source of such astonishing wealth it disrupted the Vancouver-area real estate market.

 

SOME BACKGROUND:

Excerpt from the Province Newspaper by reporter Randy Shore 18 March, 2017.

 

When members of the Royal Commission to Investigate Chinese and Japanese Immigration came to Vancouver in 1901, they got an eyeful.

“There were whole rooms of Chinese lying stretched out on beds with the opium apparatus laid out before them — all unmindful that their attitudes and surrounding conditions are being taken note of to assist in keeping the remainder of their countrymen entirely out of Canada,” reported the Vancouver World newspaper.

 

The fringes of Vancouver’s Chinatown have always been the centre of Canada’s opiate trade. Ever more potent and easily smuggled versions emerged through the decades, culminating in the scourge of synthetic opiates — fentanyl and carfentanil — thousands of times more powerful and many times more deadly than opium.

 

Opium was a source of revenue for governments of the day. A federal duty imposed on importers fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars between 1874 and 1899. In B.C. ports, and cities charged hundreds of dollars to purveyors in the form of business licences.

 

Between 1923 and 1932, more than 700 Chinese men were deported for drug-related violations.

 

Under constant pressure from the police, opium users began to inject their hit, as the technique created no smoke or aroma and used smaller equipment, which could be easily hidden. In the 1920s and 1930s, white users tended to be young criminals, “racetrack hands, and circus and show people” who smoked opium or sniffed heroin.

 

By the mid-1930s, heroin was one of the most common drugs in circulation and white users were increasingly taking the drug intravenously, especially as prices rose due to scarcity brought about by vigorous law enforcement.

 

The outbreak of the Second World War put opiate addicts into a state of crisis, as opiate drugs were required in great quantities for the war wounded. The street price of a hit — whether heroin, morphine or codeine — shot up and crime along with it.

 

In the post-war period, right through to the mid-’60s, Vancouver was ground zero for Canada’s intravenous drug scene, made up mainly of petty criminals, troubled youths fed by drug lords.

 

Before the ’40s were over, highly refined white heroin had appeared and it was coming from overseas to satisfy a hungry market in Vancouver, home to half of the country’s drug users.

 

Heroin use remained a constant undercurrent in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside during the ’70s and ’80s, even as alcohol was the neighbourhood’s real drug of choice.

 

But a flood of a new and even more potent “China White” heroin arriving into the city reignited public outrage in the early ’90s. A spate of 331 overdose deaths in 1993 spurred B.C. coroner Vince Cain to call for the decriminalization of heroin and addicts be prescribed the drug to legally maintain their habit.

 

It would be nearly 15 years before the Study to Assess Long-term Opioid Maintenance Effectiveness (SALOME) began in Vancouver, just about the time a new threat emerged.

 

Up to 80 times as powerful as heroin, fentanyl hit the streets and reduced the risk for traffickers as it was so concentrated, transportation was easier.

 

The carnage wrought by fentanyl has been without precedent.

 

Heroin seized in drug busts is routinely cut with fentanyl and in recent months the presence of carfentanil.

 

SUMMARY:

 

Where will this go next, who knows ?

 

The richest of societies should be especially judged by how they treat their least fortunate, and Vancouver has its challenge set out for the foreseeable future.

 

UPDATE 23 MAY 2020 - VANCOUVER SUN

John Mackie: The Downtown Eastside is a war zone disaster — stop ghettoizing it.

John Mackie, Vancouver Sun 23 May 2020

Twenty years ago local musician Kuba Oms was recording at the Miller Block, a now defunct Hastings Street recording studio near Save-On-Meats.

 

He jaywalked and was stopped by a cop, who handed him a ticket.

 

“I said ‘Are you kidding me?’” Oms recounts. “You know there’s a guy shooting up over there, and a crack dealer over there. And the cop said ‘That’s a health issue.’”

 

That story pretty much sums up the city’s attitude toward the Downtown Eastside over the past few decades.

 

In some ways the cop was right — it is a Vancouver health issue. But letting people openly do drugs in public and turn Hastings and the wider Downtown Eastside into a ghetto is political correctness gone mad.

 

Drive down Hastings Street between Abbott and Gore and you’ll see dozens, even hundreds of people hanging out on the street, in various states of sobriety. They are definitely not social distancing. It’s a miracle that COVID-19 hasn’t swept the entire area.

 

The height of this madness was the recent occupation of Oppenheimer Park. Vancouver has real issues of homelessness, but to some degree Oppenheimer was about a fringe group of politicos manipulating the homeless.

 

Many police resources were diverted to the park and there was a crime wave in nearby Chinatown — one business closed because they were being robbed a dozen times a day.

 

The province recently made hotel rooms available for the homeless people occupying Oppenheimer Park, so things have calmed down somewhat. But the big question is what happens in a few months? Is government going to find permanent homes for them?

 

Odds are if they do, it will be in highrises in the Downtown Eastside. For decades that’s where the city and province have been concentrating social housing, especially for the mentally ill and drug addicted.

 

Their argument is these residents feel comfortable there. But the reality is the more poverty is concentrated, the worse the area seems to become.

 

Maybe it’s time for the city of Vancouver to give its head a shake and realize that its much-ballyhooed Downtown Eastside Plan is actually part of the problem, not the solution.

 

Part of the plan decrees you can’t build condos on Hastings between Carrall Street in Gastown and Heatley Avenue in Strathcona, or in historic Japantown around Oppenheimer Park.

 

Development in those areas has to be rental only, with at least 60 per cent social housing. This pretty much ensures that no market housing is built in the poorest area of the city.

 

When the plan was unveiled in 2014, Vancouver’s former head planner Brian Jackson said the aim was to ensure that low-income people in the Downtown Eastside weren’t displaced.

 

“The plan is attempting to achieve balance,” he explained then.

 

In fact, the plan does the exact opposite. There is no balance in the Downtown Eastside: It’s been turned into a ghetto. A friend who’s worked there for two decades calls it a war zone.

 

The city desperately need some market housing, co-ops and development on Hastings and around Oppenheimer. The anti-poverty activists will scream blue murder that it’s gentrification, but it’s actually normalization. You don’t have to displace anybody, you just have add a different mix to make it safer.

 

I live in Strathcona, where about 6,500 people live in social housing and about 3,500 in market homes. It’s a close-knit neighbourhood that has the balance Brian Jackson was taking about — it’s diverse and features a variety of incomes.

 

Japantown and the Downtown Eastside could be a real neighbourhood again if the city retained its stock of handsome historic buildings but allowed some development of its many non-descript structures.

 

It could be like Strathcona, even the West End. But I fear it could get even worse, if the planners and politicians continue to concentrate all the Lower Mainland’s poverty and social ills in one small area.

 

jmackie@postmedia.com

 

John Mackie is a veteran Postmedia reporter who has written several stories about Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Plan.

 

13 JULY, 2020

Vancouver can’t catch up to its housing crisis

 

ADRIENNE TANNER

SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL

PUBLISHED 13 JULY 2020

 

It is obvious now the cheers that erupted when Vancouver’s longest running tent city was dismantled were wildly premature. Fearing a COVID-19 outbreak would take hold in the overcrowded inner-city camp, the provincial government in April acquired emergency housing in hotels for homeless people living there and cleared the site.

 

Many camp residents embraced the offer of a clean room. Some refused and relocated outdoors. The camp shifted, first to some empty Port of Vancouver land, and when a court order quickly shut it down, finally landed in Strathcona Park. With each move, it grew.

 

Today there are about 150 tents Strathcona Park, roughly double the number there were in Oppenheimer Park. How many inhabitants are truly homeless is anyone’s guess. Some of the tents were erected by activists with homes. Others belong to people living in single room occupancy hotels, the worst of which are noisy, bug-infested and so hot that some residents prefer to spend summer outside.

  

There is already an air of permanence to the camp; the city has installed porta-potties, fresh drinking water and handwashing stations. Park rangers drop by a few times daily. The area is reasonably clean, but these are early days.

 

Strathcona residents are largely sympathetic to homeless people, but are understandably unhappy about losing a large chunk of park space. They fear the same violence and social disorder that cropped up at Oppenheimer is inevitable; there has already been a small fire and there appears to be a bike chop shop on site. There are cries for the city to sanction a permanent tent city location – elsewhere, of course.

 

So how exactly did the province’s efforts to shut down a tent city and house homeless people backfire so badly? The city and provincial officials have been out-manoeuvered and out-organized by anti-poverty activists who seized a COVID-19 opportunity when they saw it.

 

The pandemic raised fears the Oppenheimer tent city would turn into a reservoir of disease that could overwhelm the health system. The activists know that’s why the government cleared the camp and purchased hotels for social housing. They understand this is the moment to highlight society’s failure to solve homelessness, even if their end goals seem to differ. Some are calling for permanent housing – others prefer the idea of a permanent, free-wheeling tent city.

  

The sorry truth is, even with the addition of 600 units of temporary modular housing and, more recently, the purchase of three downtown hotels, there are still more homeless people than homes. Successions of governments at all levels have allowed this crisis to grow. They’ve failed to build enough social housing. Failed to provide adequate mental health services. Failed to fund enough drug rehabilitation programs for those who want to quit and provide a safe drug supply for those who can’t.

 

So, now here we are with the largest homeless camp the city has ever seen and another stressed-out neighbourhood. Legally, the new tent city may prove more difficult to dismantle – it’s a large park and the tents are well spaced so the pandemic may not wash as a valid reason. And unless housing is available for everyone who is homeless, it is unlikely the courts would grant an injunction.

 

Solving problems associated with homelessness is a huge challenge. We can start with housing, but that alone is not nearly enough. Many of the people living in the hotels and park are drug users. Many are mentally ill. Some are both. It takes money – and lots of it – to provide decent housing and supports for this segment of society.

  

But to cave to demands for a permanent tent city is an American-style admission of defeat. The park board seems resigned to tent cities in parks and is considering a bylaw seeking to control locations. City council has resisted sanctioning a permanent spot, instead offering up land for new social housing. The province has stepped up with money for temporary modular housing and purchases of hotels.

 

It will be tough to keep neighbourhoods onside if more parks are rendered unusable for recreation. There is only one palatable solution; the provincial government must stay the course and keep adding decent, affordable housing. It won’t be cheap or easy. Catchup never is.

 

01 APRIL 2022

More than 2,200 British Columbians lost to illicit drugs in 2021

 

The toxic illicit drug supply claimed the lives of at least 2,224 British Columbians in 2021, according to preliminary data released by the BC Coroners Service.

 

“Over the past seven years, our province has experienced a devastating loss of life due to a toxic illicit drug supply,” said Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner. “This public health emergency has impacted families and communities across the province and shows no sign of abating. In 2021 alone, more than 2,200 families experienced the devastating loss of a loved one. In the past seven years, the rate of death due to illicit drug toxicity in our province has risen more than 400%. Drug toxicity is now second only to cancers in B.C. for potential years of life lost. We cannot simply hope that things will improve. It is long past time to end the chaos and devastation in our communities resulting from the flourishing illicit drug market, and to ensure, on an urgent basis, access across the province to a safe, reliable regulated drug supply.”

 

The last two months of 2021 saw the largest number of suspected illicit drug deaths ever recorded in the province, with 210 deaths in November and an additional 215 in December. The 2,224 total number of deaths is 26% more than the 1,767 illicit drug-related deaths investigated by the BC Coroners Service in 2020, and equates to an average of 6.1 lives lost every day.

 

The provincewide death rate in 2021 was 42.8 per 100,000 residents. Every health authority in B.C. experienced a record loss of lives.

 

Since the public health emergency into substance-related harms was first declared in April 2016, more than 8,800 British Columbians have been lost to toxic drugs.

 

Toxicological testing once again underscores the reality that the illicit drug supply continues to be unstable and increasingly toxic. Fentanyl was detected in 83% of samples tested in 2021. Carfentanil was present in 187 results, almost triple the number recorded in 2020 (66).

 

Additionally, 50% of samples in December tested positive for etizolam, more than three times the rate of detection in July 2020 (15%). Benzodiazepines create significant challenges for life-saving efforts as naloxone does not reverse its effects. As with previous reporting, almost all test results included the presence of multiple substances.

 

“We need decision-makers at all levels to recognize and respond to this public health emergency with the level of urgency it demands,” Lapointe said. “The reality is this: every day we wait to act, six more people will die. COVID-19 has shown what is possible when goverments act decisively to save lives. And in order to save lives in this public-heath emergency, we need to provide people with access to the substances they need, where and when they need them. Time has run out for research and discussion. It is time to take action.”

 

Additional key preliminary findings are below. Data is subject to change as additional toxicology results are received:

 

In 2021, 71% of those who died as a result of suspected drug toxicity were between 30 to 59, and 78% were male.

The townships that experienced the highest number of illicit drug toxicity deaths in 2021 were Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria.

By health authority, in 2021, the highest numbers of illicit drug toxicity deaths were in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities (765 and 615 deaths, respectively), making up 62% of all such deaths during this period.

By health authority, in 2021, the highest rates of death were in Vancouver Coastal Health (49 deaths per 100,000 individuals) and Northern Health (48 per 100,000).

By Health Service Delivery Area, in 2021, the highest rates of death were in Vancouver, Thompson Cariboo, Northwest, Northern Interior and Fraser East.

By Local Health Area, in 2021, the highest rates of death were in Upper Skeena, Merritt, Enderby, Lillooet and North Thompson.

Quotes:

 

Dr. Nel Wieman, deputy chief medical officer, First Nations Health Authority –

 

“The number of deaths due to toxic drug poisonings for 2021 translates to devastating losses of First Nations people: daughters and sons, aunties and uncles, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and grandfathers and grandmothers. These are people who loved and were loved. In every year since this public health emergency was declared, B.C. First Nations people have been over-represented in toxic drug-poisoning events and deaths. We must change our understanding of the root causes of substance use and addiction, and work together to address the stigmas surrounding toxic drug use and the people who use drugs. We must continue to invest in Indigenous-specific, culturally safe harm-reduction, treatment and recovery services that are accessible, timely and free from discrimination and racism.”

 

Guy Felicella, peer clinical adviser, Vancouver Coastal Health –

 

“I join the thousands of British Columbians who are heartbroken, frustrated and angry over this unfathomable loss. Every one of these deaths was preventable and represents a failure to act, a failure to learn from mistakes. Change nothing and nothing changes. That’s been the story now for years as the approach throughout this crisis has been to meet policies where they’re at, rather than meeting people who use drugs where they’re at. This approach is killing and continues to kill people. Who has the courage to step forward and make this stop?”

 

AUGUST 2023

Today’s release of the report on drug toxicity deaths for the month of July 2023 by the BC Coroners Service is a stark reminder that the ongoing toxic-drug crisis continues to have a devastating impact on communities across our province. We hold in our hearts the memories of the 198 people lost in July in British Columbia.

 

The coroners service said the 1,455 deaths from January to July are the most ever reported in the first seven months of the year since a public health emergency over drug poisoning deaths in the province was declared in 2016.

 

It puts the province on pace to potentially exceed the 2,383 deaths recorded in 2022. A total of 12,739 people in the province have died from drug overdoses in the seven years.

 

30 NOVEMBER, 2023

At least 2,039 British Columbians have died from toxic drugs so far this year, according to preliminary figures released by the B.C. Coroners Service on Thursday, 29 November, 2023.

 

Of those, 189 people died in October, which is about 6.1 deaths a day. Most of the dead were between 30 and 59 years of age, and more than three-quarters were men, according to the coroner.

 

While the largest number of deaths reported so far has been in urban centres, such as Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria, the health authority with the highest rate of death in 2023 is Northern Health, with 61 deaths per 100,000 residents, according to the coroner.

 

As in previous months, fentanyl was found in most — 85 per cent — of the illicit drugs tested, often combined with other opioids or stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine.

 

Earlier this month, Interior Health issued a drug advisory warning for people who use drugs that some substances being advertised as hydromorphone on the black market contain isotonitazine, a drug the coroner says is as potent as fentanyl.

 

Unregulated drug toxicity is the leading cause of death in B.C. for people aged 10 to 59, accounting for more deaths than homicides, suicides, accidents and natural disease combined, the coroner said.

 

Since a public health emergency was declared in 2016, more than 13,000 people have died.

 

JANUARY 2024:

Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, has released the following statement regarding the BC Coroners Service year-end report on illicit drug toxicity deaths:

 

“Today, as we reflect on the year behind us, our hearts are heavy with the loss of 2,511 people in British Columbia to toxic drugs. Each of these lives was precious and important, each with their own story, their own dreams and people who love them. They were part of our community, and their loss is felt deeply by us all.

 

So what is the game plane to stop it?

 

C. seeks to keep cash seized from Downtown Eastside gang

 

Courtesy Kim Bolan and the Vancouver Sun.

  

Kim Bolan is an experienced and award-winning journalist who has covered gangs in British Columbia for the past 40 years. Bolan also investigated the Air India bombing for 25 years until the publication in 2005 of her book, Loss of Faith.

  

The B.C. government has filed a lawsuit against a group of alleged Downtown Eastside drug traffickers, seeking the forfeiture of more than $150,000 seized from them.

 

The lawsuit, filed this week by the director of civil forfeiture, names four defendants that it alleges are part of a criminal organization investigated by the Vancouver Police Department.

  

While the group is not named in the statement of claim, details of the VPD probe outlined in the court document match an investigation into Zone 43 — a gang that originated in Montreal but has taken over the Downtown Eastside in recent years. Zone 43 has connections to B.C.’s notorious Wolfpack gang alliance.

 

In June, the VPD announced arrests of several Zone 43 gangsters, though they were released pending approval of charges.

 

The VPD said it had seized firearms, 24 kilos of drugs and $150,000 in cash during searches on May 14 in Vancouver and Burnaby.

 

The civil forfeiture lawsuit refers to three VPD searches done on the same date in the same cities and alleges Shayne Cozier-Flanagan, Evantee Jevontee Eustace Stoney, Tristin Johnson and Raimon Geday were “participating in the activities of a criminal organization.”

 

When police searched Stoney’s apartment on the 30th floor at 2388 Madison Ave. in Burnaby, they found $143,910.75 in Canadian currency and $607 in U.S. currency, the lawsuit said.

  

Officers seized another $5,800 at Cozier-Flanagan’s suite, also on the 30th floor, at 5665 Boundary Rd. in Vancouver, it said.

 

About $3,417 was seized from Johnson, who also lives in the Madison apartment, when he was arrested in the 300-block of East Hastings. Another $1,920 was found in Geday’s room in a supportive housing building on Kaslo Street, the lawsuit said.

 

The VPD also seized a 2017 Acura RDX, of which Stoney is the registered owner and which was used “to facilitate the trafficking of controlled substances,” the civil forfeiture director alleged.

 

The statement of claim notes that both Stoney and Geday have previous trafficking convictions and are banned from possessing firearms.

 

All four men named in the lawsuit “trafficked in controlled substances in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and the surrounding areas,” the lawsuit alleges.

 

In the Boundary apartment, police also found a money counter and business cards with the number to call to purchase drugs — known as a ‘dialer’ number.

 

In the Madison suite, the VPD also found dilaudid pills, oxycodone pills and “score sheets” documenting drug sales, collection and debts.

 

In Geday’s room, police found crack cocaine, powdered cocaine, crystal methamphetamine and another 275 dilaudid pills, as well as score sheets, bear spray and “miscellaneous drug packaging materials.”

 

The cash and car should be forfeited to the government because they are proceeds of or were used for unlawful activity, the lawsuit alleged.

 

The crimes committed include possession for the purpose of trafficking and trafficking, committing offences for the benefit of a criminal organization, conspiracy, money laundering and failure to declare taxable income, it alleged

 

No statements of defence have yet been filed on behalf of the four men.

 

Vancouver Police Insp. Phil Heard said at the June news conference that Zone 43 gangsters “pose a very significant risk to the public. They’re involved in a well-documented conflict ongoing in the province of Quebec with a rival group.”

 

Sources say the gang is still selling drugs in the Downtown Eastside.

 

AUGUST 2025:

The law protects the rights of the most vulnerable among us to live in filth and despair

Pete McMartin: I'm tired of how homelessness and addiction take up so much oxygen in the social discourse.

 

Published Aug 03, 2025

 

In 2014, Vancouver Sun reporter Lori Culbert and I wrote a weeklong series of stories identifying the government social welfare programs — and their cost to taxpayers — in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

 

Over 100 programs existed just for housing. Thirty provided health care, 30 offered family services and a miscellany of another 100 services — including a food bank for pets — brought the total to 260 social welfare agencies operating solely within the eight square blocks of the DTES.

 

Those 260 programs served just 6,500 clients.

 

Five years earlier, in 2009, Province reporter David Carrigg also did a survey of the programs available in the DTES, and he identified 174 social welfare agencies offering services to about 5,000 clients.

 

In other words, in the five years between Carrigg’s survey and Culbert’s and mine, not only had the number of people needing help grown but so had the number of agencies serving them.

 

And the cost to taxpayers?

 

Over $360 million annually.

 

That astounding figure — almost a million dollars a day — did little to satisfy the DTES’s voracious appetite for tax dollars. More to the point, it did nothing to eradicate the misery and living conditions of the people who lived there.

 

Rather than winning the war on poverty — and what a quaint phrase that seems now — governments engineered a truce, with the unstated understanding that if they couldn’t solve the problem or spend their way out of it, they could contain it. Those 260 social service bureaucracies weren’t solutions to an intractable problem; they were barricades. They ghettoized their impoverished clientele by concentrating the services on which they depended.

 

And let’s be honest: The public was complicit in this, and content for it to continue as long as the misery stayed confined within the borders of the DTES.

 

And yet here we are. The squalor spreads. It corrodes a once-vibrant downtown core. It infiltrates the suburbs. Daily acts of random violence and vandalism have become normalized, while a cornucopia of drugs — some decriminalized, some tolerated, many deadly — act as accelerants.

 

In 2016, a year after our survey, provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall declared a public health emergency under the Public Health Act due to the alarming rise in opioid-related overdose deaths. Since then, over 16,000 people have died from those opioids. That’s not progress. It’s a plague.

 

Nothing, absolutely nothing, has worked. Over the decades, the problem has been studied to death — admittedly, a poor choice of words — with consultants and academics and the legions of poverty industry advocates offering up solutions that ultimately fail. They fail because they’re predicated on two simple criteria:

 

1. Give us more money.

 

2. Give us more of everything — housing, hospital beds, food banks, drugs, injection sites, counselling or — and this is always implicit — empathy, with a side order of collective guilt.

 

I’ve seen this in my own newspaper.

 

In one recent opinion piece, the author laments that it has been the public’s and governments’ norm “to daily bypass our downtrodden, our homeless, our addicted or mentally ill on the street as though they are either invisible or merely equivalent to lampposts” — to which I have to reply: ‘Are you f—ng kidding me?’

 

The public and its governments have done exactly the opposite and, short of bathing their feet with Christ-like piety, have directed billions of tax dollars not only to ease the suffering of the homeless, the addicted and the mentally ill, but also to make them completely dependent upon those dollars.

 

Another Sun story — this one again by Culbert — examined the merits of involuntary care through the experiences of three addicts who underwent the process, and while two saw it as beneficial and helped them get clean, the third condemned it as “dehumanizing” and a cause of her PTSD. Though she no longer does drugs, she said that if she relapses she would prefer to take her chances with street drugs that could possibly kill her rather than be readmitted to hospital against her will.

 

Well, OK, I thought, ‘You’re an adult. Good for you for having the honesty to express that choice, however idiotic I may find it.’

 

But what I thought was missing in her testimonial was (a) any appreciation of the monumentally expensive efforts governments and the public had tried to make on her behalf, however ill-informed she may have believed those attempts to be, and (b) her failure to recognize the destructive effects that a relapse would have not just on her own health and family, but, more importantly, also on the collective health of the public, who would be asked to offer up yet more money, and deal yet again with her relapse — providing she survives it.

 

Finally, in The Sun, there was another column, this one by Sam Sullivan, who wrote that, after 52 years, it was time to end the DTES “experiment” and the restrictive housing policies that he believes led to the homelessness and violence bedevilling it.

 

Funny thing about that.

 

Between 1993 and 2005, Sullivan was a Vancouver city councillor, and for three years after that, he was mayor. Yet despite the fact that his 15-year tenure at city hall placed him in the midst of that DTES experiment, if not close to its helm, it is only now, 20 years later, that he publicly declares the experiment to be a failure, and — as far as I could tell from reading his opinion piece — without taking any responsibility for it.

 

I will refrain here, in my own column, from claiming to speak for the public or with any inkling of what popular sentiment might be.

 

But this is how I feel:

 

My patience is Exhausted.

 

I’m tired of the endless, self-regenerating calls for more studies and more funding when all I see is a colossal waste of money and effort leading to no improvement. I’m tired of how homelessness and addiction take up so much oxygen in the social discourse. I’m tired of civil rights that supersede my own, and treat the right to defecate in the streets with greater regard than my right to be offended by it.

 

Finally, I’m tired of a social welfare system that not only encourages dependency, but refuses, out of moral timidity, to also admit its complicity in it, and which shies away from asking hard questions about personal responsibility and the consideration of measures more draconian than safe injection sites — measures like a return to complete drug criminalization, a higher threshold of minimum sentences for trafficking, the establishment of rehabilitation centres or work camps exclusively in wilderness areas far from the temptations of cities, the discontinuation of any efforts that facilitate drug use, and yes, the robust expansion of an involuntary care system.

 

It’s also my opinion that none of these measures, given the current legal climate, will become reality, at least for the foreseeable future. Under our Constitution and the Criminal Code, the law, in its majestic equality, protects the rights of the most vulnerable among us to live in filth and despair, and, as so often happens, bring about their own deaths.

 

How enlightened we have become! What progress we have made! We’ve reached that point when now sleeping under bridges, begging in the streets and stealing one’s daily bread are no longer evidence of a system’s failure.

 

They are the system.

  

Christopher Evgeniou 23rd September 2005 - 17th September 2023 🚳 My 17 year old Motorcycle Warrior 😭

  

My little big guy wanted to grow up fast, turned into a man overnight and paid the ultimate price 😭

  

My eldest boy Christopher who would have turned 18 yesterday Saturday 23rd September 2023 died at the scene of a horrific motorcycle accident at the corner of Forest Road and Roach Street in the Sydney suburb of Arncliffe whilst attempting to be resuscitated despite his injuries and best efforts to no avail 19:28 Sunday 17th September 2023 😭

 

Investigation is underway with the coroner to determine findings (accident investigation, cause of death and toxicology report) but we know after identifying Christopher’s body at the Coroner, Christopher’s body sustained violent high speed direct impact injuries both internal and external which are horrific at the least.... Christopher would have faced a poor quality of life and outcome if he survived but no matter what and unconditionally, I would have looked after and cared for my boy 😭 Christopher's body is yet to be released by the coroner

 

Christopher acquired his motorcycle license two weeks prior to his motorcycle accident, Christopher had never ridden motorcycles before.... We tried to brainwash Christopher into not buying a motorcycle but he was determined and would have gone down that path with or without my support so in light of his decision to buy a motorcycle commuting back and forth for work I took him shopping gifting him $700 for a helmet and gloves one week after acquiring his motorcycle license as an early birthday gift then we had lunch out spending the rest of day together…. Additionally I gave Christopher $1.5k towards the purchase of motorcycle which he would contribute $3k of savings…. Christopher went to buy a 2013 HONDA CB500F the following week 16:00 Sunday 17th September 2023 and on the way home lost control without any interference of another vehicle and violently slammed into a tree taking full brunt at 87kmh whilst in a 60kmh zone at 19:28 😭 It was a big motorcycle, I would have been afraid to ride it! Christopher had the motorcycle in his possession for less than four hours and never made it home down the driveway to show me in his enthusiasm 😭 You can’t imagine my guilt and feeling responsible regardless.... I can take it and own it! I will live with it and carry that shit on my back for the rest of my existence along with everything else accumulated thus far in my timeline and journey! 😐

 

All I wanted to do is support Christopher's effort and enthusiasm, he was making great strides, I wanted him to be happy and I contributed in killing him 😭 We discussed all week how I wanted to go with him to inspect and buy the motorcycle but insisted every time ‘no dad, my friend rides bikes’ and so they would go together.... I wanted to respect his decision and give him space to learn, be independent and grow not stepping on his toes so to speak but rather support him…. Christopher enthusiastically asked me the night before, when he comes home with the bike if I wanted to come downstairs to look at it with him and I said 'Christopher, its going to be dark by the time you get home but I'll wait for you downstairs on Monday to have a look when you get back from work' 😭 I am plagued and hunted by that conversation everyday! I knew Christopher was high risk, OMG what have I done, I can’t grasp and fathom it, I'm a fucking idiot and totally out of my mind supporting the idea of a motorcycle when I could have brought 10 cars for him! I am part of the chain of events that killed my lovely boy 😭

 

Christopher started his carpentry trade apprenticeship working 6 days per week a few months ago and was starting TAFE in October with officially being backdated…. Christopher would contribute 10% of earnings towards the household, would wake up for work on his own, clean up, wash and pick up after himself, was very pleasant to be around and was a fine young man to be proud of…. I am gutted and numb, how could this be a reality!

 

We talked for months about going out for lobster September 23rd to celebrate Christopher’s 18th birthday then have a few drinks at the bar, sadly we never made it for lobster and drinks 😭 Instead, Christopher’s friends and us 6 days after his death celebrated his 18th birthday roadside last night at the site of his accident which has turned into a shrine both day and night, setup a table with steamed dumplings and dim sims, Greek spanakopita (spinach and cheese pita) also spinach and cheese filled triangle puff pastries, mini meat pies and sausage rolls, custard layered sponge birthday cake with fruit and berries on top, baked his favorite homemade banana cake, icebox with beers and water also his favorite drink Galliano Sambuca…. Christopher’s inner circle of five all got the number 17 tattooed on their hand and they also ordered t-shirts to be made which were worn on the night

 

Christopher and I planned for so much, I use to make weekly BBQ smoked meats cooked low and slow with indirect charcoal, his favorite being pork ribs with honey, I would ask him every week what meat he wanted for the following week.... We were going to renovate, design and build an outdoors BBQ charcoal pit also wood fired oven, work on cars and bikes then develop a knockdown rebuild property turning into a duplex site or ideally terraces.... I told Christopher to keep his head down and keep doing what he was doing grinding out the routine because I was so proud of him and his progress, I told him that every day when he would come through the door after work.... I would buzz him up through the intercom and run to the door opening it to greet him then eager to warm up his food and serve him dinner, try to engage with 'how was your day and what were you working on?'…. I told Christopher we would go to Japan and South Korea for culture and street food next year also to Laos, Thailand and Vietnam another time.... I gave Christopher my old school custom lifted and locked 1995 Solid Axle LN106 Toyota Hilux yeah it was defected by police for illegal lift modifications and unregistered as a result which needed full pit inspection to pass for registration but it was going to be his (our) long term project and we were going to work on it together to restore and get it back on the road…. Christopher asked me to help him work on his bike when he got it and I said ‘yeah Christopher for sure’ 😭 I never got a chance to hear Christopher and the bike come down the driveway 😭

 

Christopher just started to get a taste for life - Girls, mateship, travel, work, money, responsibility, experimentation, vices, planning and decision making, independence and what a supporting family really meant in the real world outside of school as an adult and had the whole world in his palms 😭 Remember when you were 17? Christopher literally thought he turned into a man overnight and paid the ultimate price but in reality, Christopher was just a kid, my kid and I let him slip right through my fucking fingers and hands 😭

 

I must add and make no mistake, it was not all a bed of roses, strawberry cream, champagne, pot of gold at the end of a rainbow and certainly no fucking fairy tales! We had some tough times with Christopher after the last Sydney COVID lockdowns ended late 2021 after he was coerced like everyone one else in the population by our State Government into being jabbed twice with their vaccine poisons as this was in their own words 'the only path out of lockdown'.... Christopher started to smoke weed and drink alcohol also vape, skip school, not go to school, abruptly stopped doing homework and assignments, up until 4am on his phone, wake up at 2pm, became very aggressive and abusive, habitual lying, stealing money, street and park brawls, police coming to the house.... Christopher became an angry young man and we could not even talk to him without a supernova response.... Seems I was the source focus and cause to all his grievances.... Christopher's behavior increasingly exacerbated during the course of 2022, he had run away from home a few times then come back.... One time after coming back, Christopher crash tackled and assaulted me, ground and pounded on me whilst I was on the ground and stood over me like a UFC fighter, he meant it with hatred in his heart and had the eye of the tiger in his stare.... I cant even remember what was said for it to flare up and end up in a fight.... I know it sounds cowardly but Christopher was bigger, stronger, faster, unpredictable and extremely erratic…. I'm no push over, I grew up in tough migrant neighborhoods with hardship where violence, drugs and crime was normal along with the smell of death and misery filled the air so I've been around the block more than a few times and done it all, seen a lot in my time, more than most, self made and still going around the fucking block but I must admit and without shame, I was afraid of Christopher in my own home 😑 We didn’t know what to do but the fear of living in your home with your child like that was horrible…. I went away on a prospecting trip October 2022 for three weeks to have some respite and me time in the remote bush contemplating how to move forward, during this time things flared up at home and Christopher rampaged through the house destroying everything in his path, packed his bag and left again…. I cut my trip short to get back and try to deal with the aftermath…. Christopher’s behavior was out of control and I thought my boy would end up in the red light districts with needles in his arms overdosing in gutters, in/out of jail and mental health institutions or dead…. A week later Christopher returns, ends up at the door downstairs after moving from place to place sleeping on sofas and I tell him to put his bags down outside, to not bring his belongings in the house because we will go upstairs and talk in a civilized manner engaging and exchanging first and after hearing me out either he will agree to stay bringing his stuff up or he can take his stuff and go but he was to decide that and not us…. My terms were simple – No abusive behavior either verbally or physically, no slamming of doors or windows, no breaking of personal or household items, no drug use, phone off on or before 11pm and out of reach, finish school or find a job in a trade, respect and work around other people’s needs in the household, open communication so airing grievances and concerns, negotiation, when working contribute to the household also pay for personal and household items smashed in last rampage…. We never made it upstairs to talk, Christopher violently lashed out and came at me downstairs even before I got a chance to finish talking so my spouse and younger boy Constantine (16) intervened…. My spouse then drove Christopher to his grandmothers place where he stayed for a few months till they could no longer tolerate and support his behavior so Christopher voluntarily left before they kicked him out, went to stay at his mates place and that’s where he lived for the next five months till second week of May 2023 where I would take everyone out for dinner once per week including Christopher to figure out how to reintegrate him coming home and even if this proposal was possible…. We did that for six weeks once per week and I could not have asked for a better outcome, not for me or us but for Christopher whom made a complete turnaround, he was a changed man…. At Christopher's friend’s family house he would pay $100 per week in board, supply groceries along with toiletries and personal grooming items also cook his own meals and do his own laundry..... Christopher found a job in the early stages of moving into his friends family home, albeit unreliable work but was enough to pay his way week by week…. We monitored his progress behind the scenes through back channels trying to figure it all out with the good, the bad and the ugly.... That time away into the real world opened up his eyes to the reality of life outside of school and home changing his mindset perspective becoming reciprocal.... I was so proud of Christopher and his achievements moving forward…. As hard as it was for me as a parent, I supported him being away because it seems he was in a better frame of mind and became a better person being in the real world rather than at home with us and if that is what it took then so be it.... I was all for it, to sacrifice my needs to my child for his greater good, all the power to him.... Then when Christopher came home he was thin and malnourished but we nurtured him to good health and he continued to evolve, improve and positively progress, he was clearly not the same Christopher who left and we had also changed in the process…. Sadly, we only had Christopher at home for 10 weeks before he died 😭 and they were some of the best times I have had relating to Christopher as a man and mate, not a child I was raising.... What a privilege, honor and absolute pleasure! I didn't care that he drank and smoked weed explaining to him as long as it didn't interfere with his work, family, friends and relationships.... Young men will drink and smoke, that's what they do socially and I'm not a fucking fool, ignorant or arrogant as I too was a young man once upon a time.... What a waste of a young life with so much potential who barely touched and scratched the surface 😭

 

We have never been parents, the kids have never been kids, there are no rehearsals OR scripts OR 101 how to and guidebooks OR rules OR time on/off/out OR magic solutions OR money trees nor respawn only examples from our parents and what character traits along with values they possessed to display but that was all in a different time and generation so everything is trial and error but at the same time constantly challenging and changing dynamic settings/environments making the best decisions possible weighing up all the available information at hand in any given situation with so many directions to go in with variables

 

So now, once the Coroner releases Christopher’s body to our funeral director, I will inspect his body in full detail as I want to dress him then we will have a formal viewing another evening then when it is time for cremation, on the day Christopher will be driven past our home in the hearse also around where my mom Angeliki lived as they were very close right up to Angeliki’s death 31st October 2019, a few weeks before this SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) shit hit the fan in Wuhan, then the long slow drive to Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium where we will have a 1.5 hour service at the Lotus Pavilion outdoor undercover Chapel attended by a Chinese Buddhist Monk whom will send Christopher with spiritual chant and prayer then Christopher will be moved to the onsite Crematorium which we will do a Witness Insertion…. We will then collect Christopher’s ashes at a later date in an Urn, transport them to the Chinese Mingyue Lay Buddhist Temple in Bonnyrigg where another ceremony will be conducted again by a Chinese Buddhist Monk onsite in the location where Christopher’s ashes will finally reside and permanently

 

OMFG NONONONONONONOOOOOOOOOO, Christopher was ONLY 17! My son Christopher was taken away from us by a fucking tree GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR 👿

  

I was working on this pic for about a week back and forth, would show Christopher my progress at night, particularly when I figured out how to do the blades effects.... I was so excited to show him and he would say ‘yeah dad nice’ so this post is in honor of 🚳 My 17 year old Motorcycle Warrior 😭 RIP my lovely young man after your short existence in turmoil and toil, I LOVE YOU and MISS YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH 😭

  

If you have made it this far, I respectfully ask that you please share the link 🚳 My 17 year old Motorcycle Warrior 😭 with your friends, family, loved ones and other Flickr members so they can also read the description which for me helps keep the spirit and memory of Christopher alive

 

Thank you

 

India 2014

A year later, the rhododendrons are blooming again on our terrace.

 

This is the second consecutive year of blooming after my wife has been "working" on this plant for more than three years.

 

Rhododendron is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous.

 

Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan region, but smaller numbers occur elsewhere in Asia, and in North America, Europe and Australia.

 

It is the national flower of Nepal, the state flower of Washington and West Virginia in the United States, the state flower of Nagaland and Himachal Pradesh in India, the provincial flower of Jiangxi in China and the state tree of Sikkim and Uttarakhand in India.

 

Most species have brightly colored flowers which bloom from late winter through to early summer.

 

TOXICOLOGY: Some species of rhododendron are poisonous to grazing animals because of a toxin called grayanotoxin in their pollen and nectar.

 

People have been known to become ill from eating honey made by bees feeding on rhododendron and azalea flowers.

 

The Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian Xenophon described the odd behaviour of Greek soldiers after having consumed honey in a village surrounded by Rhododendron ponticum during the march of the Ten Thousand in 401 BCE.

 

Pompey's soldiers reportedly suffered lethal casualties following the consumption of honey made from Rhododendron deliberately left behind by Pontic forces in 67 BCE during the Third Mithridatic War. (Source: Wikipedia)

 

RODODENDROS EN CASA, 2025

 

Un año después, los rododendros vuelven a florecer en nuestra terraza.

 

Es el según año consecutivo de florecimiento después de haber estado mi mujer "trabajando" en esta planta durante más de tres años.

 

Rododendro es un género muy grande de aproximadamente 1.024 especies de plantas leñosas de la familia de los brezos (Ericaceae). Pueden ser de hoja perenne o de hoja caduca.

 

La mayoría de las especies son nativas del este de Asia y la región del Himalaya, pero se encuentran en menor número en otras partes de Asia, América del Norte, Europa y Australia.

 

Es la flor nacional de Nepal, la flor estatal de Washington y Virginia Occidental en los Estados Unidos, la flor estatal de Nagaland y Himachal Pradesh en la India, la flor provincial de Jiangxi en China y el árbol estatal de Sikkim y Uttarakhand en la India.

 

La mayoría de las especies tienen flores de colores brillantes que florecen desde finales del invierno hasta principios del verano.

 

TOXICOLOGÍA: Algunas especies de rododendro son venenosas para los animales que pastan debido a una toxina llamada grayanotoxina en su polen y néctar.

 

Se sabe que hay personas que enferman por comer miel elaborada por abejas que se alimentan de flores de rododendro y azalea.

 

El líder militar, filósofo e historiador griego Jenofonte describió el extraño comportamiento de los soldados griegos después de haber consumido miel en una aldea rodeada de Rhododendron ponticum durante la marcha de los Diez Mil en 401 a.C.

 

Según se informa, los soldados de Pompeyo sufrieron bajas letales tras el consumo de miel hecha de rododendro que las fuerzas pónticas dejaron deliberadamente en el 67 a. C. durante la Tercera Guerra Mitrídates. (Fuente: Wikipedia)

The smoke and pollution always affect large areas and last for a long time.

Since I was a very young child I loved and cared for Nature animals, plants, the environment and people and this led me to study Biology, Biochemistry, Toxicology and Psychotherapy.

Unfortunately a number of extremists with antisocial personalities are often involved in negative and damaging behaviours.

The latest London thing.

Lord Michael Jackson

King of Pop

R.I.P.

Slave4Britney

 

Hi!...

 

Bueno pes.. honestamente, nunca pensé hacer algun diseño de Michael Jackson, pero hoy tenia ganas de hacerlo, y lo hice xD...

 

Mas que nada es una especie de tributo y un regalo para sus fans, personalmente no me agrada mucho su musica pero acepto que es el "Rey del Pop" obviamente con sus grandes aportes a la música en general...

además q este shoot de la Ebony Magazine, me encantó :O!! es tan glam xD...

El titulo.. "Lord Michael Jackson"... pes queria salir del tipico "King" xD!...

 

Es todo... dejo capturas del proceso de edición, y las imagenes originales que utilizé para este diseño..

 

Gracias a todos por sus comments y otras cosas ;D!

 

Saludotes y abarazos a todos todos !

 

Me fuí :D!

"The mind is the voyager of journeys, the center of questioning, the conjurer of fear, the seed of desire, the door of compassion, the creator of joy." - Larry Kirkland, Sculptor.

 

This is the CROET (Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology) sculpture located on the campus of OHSU. Created out of marble by artist Larry Kirkland in 1993, it rests upon a plinth that depicts "images from throughout the ages and diverse cultures of the world".

 

Half Head, as it's often referred to, sits in a square surrounded by research buildings. The staff within these buildings work on very left brain ideas that stem from logic, critical thinking, numbers, and reasoning.....yet Vita Mensae is only a right brained. Is he meant to create balance, or maybe he represents the gathering of people and creative ideas in the square?

 

Here, his bald head has been dusted with snow and he is probably thinking, "Damn it's cold out. Can somebody grab me a hat?"

 

Image with my Hasselbald 500cm.

Having gun with some light painting tools from Lightpaintingbrushes.com

Assistant professor Dr. Abu Ahmed Adiluzzaman, department of forensic medicine & toxicology, SOMCH

# 208 EXPLORE (best position till now)

The laboratory work of the new undergraduates year is going to start so soon...

Oh..it's Tomorrow..!!

The rats are ready..

Rabbits, mice and guinea pigs aren't yet ready, but their time is coming soon ...

imagined core sample with top layer being plastic representative of the anthropocene epoch. Isla Chaney sculpture.

Aaliyah Dana Haughton - January 16, 1979 – August 25,

2001)

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6MEBi4ejTs

  

Aaliyah Dana Haughton was a multi-platinum recording artist, fashion icon, philanthropist,

 

and burgeoning actress. She left behind a body of work that made an undeniable impact on R&B

 

music and remains a testament to her many talents. Her debut album in 1994, “Age Ain’t

 

Nothing But a Number,” was a hit due to her debut single “Back and Forth.” However, it was

 

her collaboration with a then unknown Missy Elliott and Timbaland for the album “One in a A

 

Million” that blew her career up.

 

Before her death, she also had an up-and-coming acting career in films like “Romeo Must Die”

 

and a role in the “Matrix” sequel. Aaliyah once told VIBE, “Of course, I would love to get

 

into acting and I am talking to a few producers now. That would be really exciting to be a

 

jack of all trades and do music, movies and TV. I love drama and I think I could be a good

 

dramatic actress. I have to ‘act out’ emotions in my videos a lot and I try to seem as

 

realistic as possible.”

 

She continued, “I also would like to make bigger impact on the world by giving back, and

 

using my celebrity to raise money for people who need it the most. What good is having money

 

and being famous if you can’t share it with others less fortunate than yourself? I always

 

felt that you should treat others how you yourself want to be treated.”

 

Sadly, we lost the singer in a plane crash on August 25, 2001 in the Bahamas. She was only

 

22 years old.

  

Biography

  

Aaliyah Dana Haughton - January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress,

 

and model. Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Detroit, Michigan, she first gained

 

recognition at the age of 10, when she appeared on the television show Star Search and

 

performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At the age of 12, Aaliyah signed with Jive

 

Records and her uncle Barry Hankerson's Blackground Records. Hankerson introduced her to R.

 

Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album,

 

Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. The album sold 3 million copies in the United States and was

 

certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After

 

facing allegations of an illegal marriage with Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive

 

and signed with Atlantic Records.

 

Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One

 

in a Million, which sold 3 million copies in the United States and more than 8 million

 

copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah appeared in her first film, Romeo Must Die. She

 

contributed to the film's soundtrack, which spawned the single "Try Again". The song topped

 

the Billboard Hot 100 solely on airplay, making Aaliyah the first artist in Billboard

 

history to achieve this goal. "Try Again" also earned Aaliyah a Grammy Award nomination for

 

Best Female R&B Vocalist. After completing Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah filmed her role in Queen

 

of the Damned, and released her self-titled third and final studio album in 2001.

 

On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and eight others were killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas

 

after filming the music video for the single "Rock the Boat". The pilot, Luis Morales III,

 

was unlicensed at the time of the accident and toxicology tests revealed that he had traces

 

of cocaine and alcohol in his system. Aaliyah's family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit

 

against Blackhawk International Airways, which was settled out of court. Aaliyah's music

 

continued to achieve commercial success with several posthumous releases, and has sold an

 

estimated 24 to 32 million albums worldwide. She has been credited for helping redefine

 

contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop,[1] earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and

 

"Queen of Urban Pop". Billboard lists her as the tenth most successful female R&B artist of

 

the past 25 years, and the 27th most successful in history.

  

Early life

 

Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York,[2] and was the

 

younger child of Diane and Michael "Miguel" Haughton (1951–2012).[3] She was of African-

 

American descent, and had Native American (Oneida) heritage from a grandmother.[3][4][5] Her

 

name has been described as a female version of the Arabic "Ali", but the original Jewish

 

name "Aliya (Hebrew: אליה)" is derived from the Hebrew word "aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה)", meaning

 

"highest, most exalted one, the best."[6][7] The singer was highly fond of her Semitic name,

 

calling it "beautiful" and asserting she was "very proud of it" and strove to live up to her

 

name every day.[6] Aaliyah's mother enrolled Aaliyah in voice lessons at an early age.[2]

 

She started performing at weddings, church choir and charity events.[8] When Aaliyah was

 

five years old, her family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where she was reared along with her

 

older brother, Rashad.[9][10] She attended a Catholic school, Gesu Elementary, where in

 

first grade she was cast in the stage play Annie, which inspired her to become an

 

entertainer.[11] In Detroit, her father began working in the warehouse business, one of his

 

brother-in-law Barry Hankerson's widening interests. Her mother stayed home and raised

 

Aaliyah and her brother.[12]

 

Throughout Aaliyah's life, she had a good relationship with Rashad, who recalled Aaliyah

 

having a beautiful voice as a child.[11] Aaliyah's family was very close due to the

 

struggles of her grandparents and when they moved to Detroit, the Hankersons were ready to

 

take them in if necessary. These same bonds led to ties in the music industry, under the

 

Blackground Records label.[6]

 

Aaliyah's mother was a vocalist, and her uncle, Barry Hankerson, was an entertainment lawyer

 

who had been married to Gladys Knight.[10] As a child, Aaliyah traveled with Knight and

 

worked with an agent in New York to audition for commercials and television programs,

 

including Family Matters; she went on to appear on Star Search at the age of ten.[2] Aaliyah

 

chose to begin auditioning. Her mother made the decision to drop her surname.[12][13] She

 

auditioned for several record labels and at age 11 appeared in concerts alongside Knight.

 

[10][14] She had several pet animals during her childhood, including ducks, snakes and

 

iguanas. Her cousin Jomo had a pet alligator, which Aaliyah felt was too much, remarking,

 

"that was something I wasn't going to stroke."[6]

 

Her grandmother died in 1991. Years after her death, Aaliyah said her grandmother supported

 

everyone in the family and always wanted to hear her sing, as well as admitting that she

 

"spoiled" her and her brother Rashad. She also enjoyed Aaliyah's singing and would have

 

Aaliyah to sing for her. Aaliyah said she thought of her grandmother whenever she fell into

 

depression.[15] Aaliyah's hands reminded her of her aunt, who died when she was very young

 

and whom Aaliyah remembered as an "amazingly beautiful woman".[16]

 

Education

 

When she was growing up, Aaliyah attended Detroit schools and believed she was well-liked,

 

but got teased for her short stature. She recalled coming into her own prior to age 15 and

 

grew to love her height. Her mother would tell her to be happy that she was small and

 

compliment her. Other children disliked Aaliyah, but she did not stay focused on them. "You

 

always have to deal with people who are jealous, but there were so few it didn't even

 

matter. The majority of kids supported me, which was wonderful. When it comes to dealing

 

with negative people, I just let it in one ear and out the other. Those people were

 

invisible to me." Even in her adult life, she considered herself small. She had "learned to

 

accept and love" herself and added: "... the most important thing is to think highly of

 

yourself because if you don't, no one else will".[6]

 

During her audition for acceptance to the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing

 

Arts, Aaliyah sung the song "Ave Maria" in its entirety in the Italian language.[17]

 

Aaliyah, who maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average when graduating from high school,

 

felt education was important. She saw fit to keep her grades up despite the pressures and

 

time constraints brought on her during the early parts of her career. She labeled herself as

 

a perfectionist and recalled always being a good student. Aaliyah reflected: "I always

 

wanted to maintain that, even in high school when I first started to travel. I wanted to

 

keep that 4.0. Being in the industry, you know, I don't want kids to think, 'I can just sing

 

and forget about school.' I think it's very important to have an education, and even more

 

important to have something to fall back on." She did this in her own life, as she planned

 

to "fall back on" another part of the entertainment industry. She believed that she could

 

teach music history or open her own school to teach that or drama if she did not make a

 

living as a recording artist because, as she reasoned, "when you pick a career it has to be

 

something you love".[6]

 

Career

 

1991–1995: Age Ain't Nothing but a Number

     

R. Kelly was introduced to Aaliyah and became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and

 

producer on her debut album.

After Hankerson signed a distribution deal with Jive Records, he signed Aaliyah to his

 

Blackground Records label at the age of 12.[18][19] Hankerson later introduced her to

 

recording artist and producer R. Kelly,[14] who became Aaliyah's mentor, as well as lead

 

songwriter and producer of her first album, which was recorded when she was 14.[2][19][20]

 

Aaliyah's debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, was released under her mononym

 

"Aaliyah", by Jive and Blackground Records on May 24, 1994; the album debut at number 24 on

 

the Billboard 200 chart, selling 74,000 copies in its first week.[21][22] It ultimately

 

peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and sold over three million copies in the United

 

States, where it was certified two times Platinum by the RIAA.[22][23][24] In Canada, the

 

album sold over 50,000 copies and was certified gold by the CRIA.[25] Aaliyah's debut

 

single, "Back & Forth", topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for three weeks and

 

was certified Gold by the RIAA.[24][26] The second single, a cover of The Isley Brothers'

 

"At Your Best (You Are Love)", peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and was also

 

certified Gold by the RIAA.[24][26] The title track, "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number",

 

peaked at number 75 on the Hot 100.[26] Additionally, she released "The Thing I Like" as

 

part of the soundtrack to the 1994 film A Low Down Dirty Shame.[27]

 

Age Ain't Nothing But a Number received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Some

 

writers noted that Aaliyah's "silky vocals" and "sultry voice" blended with Kelly's new jack

 

swing helped define R&B in the 1990s.[28][29] Her sound was also compared to that of female

 

quartet En Vogue.[28][30] Christopher John Farley of Time magazine described the album as a

 

"beautifully restrained work", noting that Aaliyah's "girlish, breathy vocals rode calmly on

 

R. Kelly's rough beats".[31] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic felt that the album had its

 

"share of filler", but described the singles as "slyly seductive".[2] He also claimed that

 

the songs on the album were "frequently better" than that of Kelly's second studio album, 12

 

Play.[2] The single "At Your Best (You Are Love)" was criticized by Billboard for being out

 

of place on the album and for its length.[32]

 

1996–1999: One in a Million

     

"If Your Girl Only Knew" (1996)

  

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The first single released from her second studio album, "If Your Girl Only Knew" was

 

described as a sassy, organ-infused song.[33] Aaliyah was noted for having "smoother, more

 

seductive, and stronger" singing.[34]

  

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In 1996, Aaliyah left Jive Records and signed with Atlantic Records.[14] She worked with

 

record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott, who contributed to her second studio album,

 

One in a Million.[10] Missy Elliott recalled Timbaland and herself being nervous to work

 

with Aaliyah, since Aaliyah had already released her successful début album while Missy

 

Elliott and Timbaland were just starting out. Missy Elliott also feared she would be a diva,

 

but reflected that Aaliyah "came in and was so warming; she made us immediately feel like

 

family."[35] The album yielded the single "If Your Girl Only Knew", which topped the

 

Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for two weeks.[26] It also generated the singles "Hot Like

 

Fire" and "4 Page Letter". The following year, Aaliyah was featured on Timbaland & Magoo's

 

debut single, "Up Jumps da Boogie".[36] One in a Million peaked at number 18 on the

 

Billboard 200,[23] selling 3 million copies in the United States and over eight million

 

copies worldwide.[37][38] The album was certified double platinum by the RIAA on June 16,

 

1997, denoting shipments of two million copies.[24] The month prior to One in a Millions

 

release, on May 5, 1997, music publisher Windswept Pacific filed a lawsuit in U.S. District

 

Court against Aaliyah claiming she had illegally copied Bobby Caldwell's "What You Won't Do

 

for Love" for the single "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number".[39]

 

Aaliyah attended the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts, where she majored

 

in drama and graduated in 1997 with a 4.0 GPA.[14][40][41] Aaliyah began her acting career

 

that same year; she played herself in the police drama television series New York

 

Undercover.[42] During this time, Aaliyah participated in the Children's Benefit Concert, a

 

charity concert that took place at the Beacon Theatre in New York.[43] Aaliyah also became

 

the spokesperson for Tommy Hilfiger Corporation.[44] During Aaliyah's campaign for Tommy

 

Hilfiger the company had sold all 2,400 of the red, white and blue baggy jeans emblazoned

 

with the Hilfiger name that Aaliyah wore in their 1997 advertisements and they were

 

constantly restocking those jeans.[45] In 1997 Aaliyah performed the Christmas carol What

 

Child Is This at the annual holiday special Christmas in Washington.[46] She contributed on

 

the soundtrack album for the Fox Animation Studios animated feature Anastasia, performing a

 

cover version of "Journey to the Past" which earned songwriters Lynn Ahrens and Stephen

 

Flaherty a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.[27][38][47] Aaliyah

 

performed the song at the 1998 Academy Awards ceremony and became the youngest singer to

 

perform at the event.[48][49] The song "Are You That Somebody?" was featured on the Dr.

 

Dolittle soundtrack, which earned Aaliyah her first Grammy Award nomination.[50] The song

 

peaked at number 21 on the Hot 100.[51]

 

2000: Romeo Must Die

 

In 1999, Aaliyah landed her first film role in Romeo Must Die, released March 22, 2000.

 

Aaliyah starred opposite martial artist Jet Li, playing a couple who fall in love amid their

 

warring families. It grossed US$18.6 million in its first weekend, ranking number two at the

 

box office.[52] Aaliyah purposely stayed away from reviews of the film to "make it easier

 

on" herself, but she heard "that people were able to get into me, which is what I

 

wanted."[53] In contrast, some critics felt there was no chemistry between her and Jet Li,

 

as well as viewing the film was too simplistic.[54] This was echoed by Elvis Mitchell of The

 

New York Times, who wrote that while Aaliyah was "a natural" and the film was conceived as a

 

spotlight for both her and Li, "they have so little chemistry together you'd think they're

 

putting out a fire instead of shooting off sparks.[55] Her role was well received by Glen

 

Oliver by IGN who liked that she did not portray her character "as a victimized female" but

 

instead "as a strong female who does not come across as an over-the-top Women's Right

 

Advocate."[56]

     

Aaliyah in 2000

In addition to acting, Aaliyah served as an executive producer of the film's soundtrack,

 

where she contributed four songs.[57] "Try Again" was released as a single from the

 

soundtrack; the song topped the Billboard Hot 100, making Aaliyah the first artist to top

 

the chart based solely on airplay; this led the song to be released in a 12" vinyl and 7"

 

single.[26][58] The music video won the Best Female Video and Best Video from a Film awards

 

at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.[59] It also earned her a Grammy Award nomination for

 

Best Female R&B Vocalist.[60] The soundtrack went on to sell 1.5 million copies in the

 

United States.[61]

 

2001: Aaliyah

 

After completing Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah began to work on her second film, Queen of the

 

Damned. She played the role of an ancient vampire, Queen Akasha, which she described as a

 

"manipulative, crazy, sexual being".[19] Filming both Romeo Must Die and Queen of the Damned

 

delayed the release of the album. Aaliyah had not intended for her albums to have such a gap

 

between them. "I wanted to take a break after One in a Million to just relax, think about

 

how I wanted to approach the next album. Then, when I was ready to start back up, "Romeo"

 

happened, and so I had to take another break and do that film and then do the soundtrack,

 

then promote it. The break turned into a longer break than I anticipated."[62] Aaliyah

 

enjoyed balancing her singing and acting careers. Though she called music a "first" for her,

 

she also had been acting since she was young and had wanted to begin acting "at some point

 

in my career," but "wanted it to be the right time and the right vehicle" and felt Romeo

 

Must Die "was it".[61] Connie Johnson of the Los Angeles Times argued that Aaliyah having to

 

focus on her film career may have caused her to not give the album "the attention it

 

merited."[63] Collaborator Timbaland concurred, stating that he was briefly in Australia to

 

work on the album while Aaliyah was filming and did not feel the same production had gone

 

into Aaliyah as One in a Million had. He also said Virgin Records had rushed the album and

 

Aaliyah had specifically requested Missy Elliott and Timbaland work on Aaliyah with her.[64]

 

During the recording stages for the album, Aaliyah's publicist disclosed that the album's

 

release date was most likely in October 2000.[65] Ultimately she finished recording the

 

album in March 2001; after a year of recording tracks that began in March of the previous

 

year.[66] Aaliyah was released five years after One in a Million on July 17, 2001,[2] and it

 

debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 187,000 copies in its first week.[67]

 

The first single from the album, "We Need a Resolution", peaked at number 59 on the

 

Billboard Hot 100.[26] The week after Aaliyah's death, her third and self-titled studio

 

album, rose from number 19 to number one on the Billboard 200.[68] "Rock the Boat" was

 

released as a posthumous single. The music video premiered on BET's Access Granted; it

 

became the most viewed and highest rated episode in the history of the show.[69] The song

 

peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop

 

Songs chart.[70] It was also included on the Now That's What I Call Music! 8 compilation

 

series; a portion of the album's profits was donated to the Aaliyah Memorial Fund.[71]

 

Promotional posters for Aaliyah that had been put up in major cities such as New York and

 

Los Angeles became makeshift memorials for grieving fans.[72]

 

"More than a Woman" and "I Care 4 U" were released as posthumous singles and peaked within

 

the top 25 of the Billboard Hot 100.[70] The album was certified double Platinum by the RIAA

 

and sold 2.6 million copies in the United States.[24][73] "More than a Woman" reached number

 

one on the UK singles chart making Aaliyah the first female deceased artist to reach number

 

one on the UK singles chart.[74][75] "More than a Woman" was replaced by George Harrison's

 

"My Sweet Lord" which is the only time in the UK singles chart's history where a dead artist

 

has replaced another dead artist at number one.[76] In July 2001, she allowed MTV's show

 

Diary behind-the-scenes access to her life and stated "I am truly blessed to wake up every

 

morning to do something that I love; there is nothing better than that." She continued,

 

"Everything is worth it – the hard work, the times when you're tired, the times when you are

 

a bit sad. In the end, it's all worth it because it really makes me happy. I wouldn't trade

 

it for anything else in the world. I've got good friends, a beautiful family and I've got a

 

career. I thank God for his blessings every single chance I get."[77]

 

Aaliyah was signed to appear in several future films, including Honey,[78] a romantic film

 

titled Some Kind of Blue,[79] and a Whitney Houston-produced remake of the 1976 film

 

Sparkle.[4] Whitney Houston recalled Aaliyah being "so enthusiastic" about the film and

 

wanting to appear in the film "so badly". Houston also voiced her belief that Aaliyah was

 

more than qualified for the role and the film was shelved after she died, since Aaliyah had

 

"gone to a better place".[80] Studio officials of Warner Brothers stated that Aaliyah and

 

her mother had both read the script for Sparkle. According to them, Aaliyah was passionate

 

about playing the lead role of a young singer in a girl group.[81] The film was released in

 

2012, eleven years after Aaliyah's death. Before her death Aaliyah was cast in the sequels

 

of The Matrix as the character Zee.[14][82] She had filmed part of her role in The Matrix

 

Reloaded and was scheduled to film and reprise her role in The Matrix Revolutions as Zee.

 

[36] Aaliyah told Access Hollywood that she was "beyond happy" to have landed the role.[83]

 

The role was subsequently recast to Nona Gaye.[82] Aaliyah's scenes were included in the

 

tribute section of the Matrix Ultimate Collection series.[84]

 

In November 2001, Ronald Isley stated that Aaliyah and the Isley Brothers had discussed a

 

collaboration prior to her death. She had previously covered the Isley Brothers' single "At

 

Your Best (You Are Love)".[85] Prior to her death, she expressed the possibility of

 

recording songs for the Queen of The Damned soundtrack and welcomed the possibility of

 

collaborating with Jonathan Davis.[66] By 2001, Aaliyah had enjoyed her now seven-year

 

career and felt a sense of accomplishment. "This is what I always wanted," she said of her

 

career in Vibe magazine. "I breathe to perform, to entertain, I can't imagine myself doing

 

anything else. I'm just a really happy girl right now. I honestly love every aspect of this

 

business. I really do. I feel very fulfilled and complete."[54]

 

Artistry

 

Voice and style

     

"Are You That Somebody?" (1998)

  

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Timbaland's stuttering, idiosyncratic productions challenged Aaliyah to reveal her artistic

 

personality more than she had on R. Kelly's smoother musical settings.[30]

  

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Aaliyah had the vocal range of a soprano.[14] With the release of her debut album "Age Ain't

 

Nothing But a Number", writer Dimitri Ehrlich of Entertainment Weekly compared her style and

 

sound to R&B group En Vogue.[86] Ehrlich also expressed that Aaliyah's "silky vocals are

 

more agile than those of self-proclaimed queen of hip-hop soul Mary J. Blige."[86] In her

 

review for Aaliyah's second studio album One in a Million Vibe magazine, music critic Dream

 

Hampton said that Aaliyah's "deliciously feline" voice has the same "pop appeal" as Janet

 

Jackson's.[87] Aaliyah described her sound as "street but sweet", which featured her

 

"gentle" vocals over a "hard" beat.[88] Though Aaliyah did not write any of her own

 

material,[14] her lyrics were described as in-depth.[89][90] She incorporated R&B, pop and

 

hip hop into her music.[10][91][92][93][94][95][96] Her songs were often uptempo and at the

 

same time often dark, revolving around "matters of the heart".[97] After her R. Kelly-

 

produced debut album, Aaliyah worked with Timbaland and Missy Elliott, whose productions

 

were more electronic.[98] Sasha Frere-Jones of The Wire finds Aaliyah's "Are You That

 

Somebody?" to be Timbaland's "masterpiece" and exemplary of his production's start-stop

 

rhythms, with "big half-second pauses between beats and voices".[99] Keith Harris of Rolling

 

Stone cites "Are You That Somebody?" as "one of '90s R&B's most astounding moments".[30]

 

Aaliyah's songs have been said to have "crisp production" and "staccato arrangements" that

 

"extend genre boundaries" while containing "old-school" soul music.[100] Kelefah Sanneh of

 

The New York Times called Aaliyah "a digital diva who wove a spell with ones and zeroes",

 

and writes that her songs comprised "simple vocal riffs, repeated and refracted to echo the

 

manipulated loops that create digital rhythm", as Timbaland's "computer-programmed beats

 

fitted perfectly with her cool, breathy voice to create a new kind of electronic

 

music."[101] When she experimented with other genres on Aaliyah, such as Latin pop and heavy

 

metal, Entertainment Weekly's Craig Seymour panned the attempt.[97] While Analyzing her

 

eponymous album British publication NME (New Musical Express) felt that Aaliyah's radical

 

third album was intended to consolidate her position as U.S.R&B's most experimental artist.

 

[102] As her albums progressed, writers felt that Aaliyah matured, calling her progress a

 

"declaration of strength and independence".[90][103] ABC News noted that Aaliyah's music was

 

evolving from the punchy pop influenced Hip hop and R&B to a more mature, introspective

 

sound on her third album.[104] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described her eponymous

 

album, Aaliyah, as "a statement of maturity and a stunning artistic leap forward" and called

 

it one of the strongest urban soul records of its time.[90] She portrayed "unfamiliar

 

sounds, styles and emotions", but managed to please critics with the contemporary sound it

 

contained.[90] Ernest Hardy of Rolling Stone felt that Aaliyah reflected a stronger

 

technique, where she gave her best vocal performance.[100] Prior to her death, Aaliyah

 

expressed a desire to learn about the burgeoning UK garage scene she had heard about at the

 

time.[98]

 

Influences

 

As an artist, Aaliyah often voiced that she was inspired by a number of performers. These

 

include Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Sade, En Vogue, Nine Inch Nails, Korn, Prince,

 

Naughty by Nature, Johnny Mathis, Janet Jackson[105] and Barbra Streisand.[106] Aaliyah

 

expressed that Michael Jackson's Thriller was her "favorite album" and that "nothing will

 

ever top Thriller."[105] She stated that she admired Sade because "she stays true to her

 

style no matter what ... she's an amazing artist, an amazing performer ... and I absolutely

 

love her."[105] Aaliyah expressed she had always desired to work with Janet Jackson, whom

 

she had drawn frequent comparison to over the course of her career, stating "I admire her a

 

great deal. She's a total performer ... I'd love to do a duet with Janet Jackson."[105]

 

[107][108][109] Jackson reciprocated Aaliyah's affections, commenting "I've loved her from

 

the beginning because she always comes out and does something different, musically." Jackson

 

also stated she would have enjoyed collaborating with Aaliyah.[105]

 

Image

 

Aaliyah focused on her public image throughout her career. She often wore baggy clothes and

 

sunglasses, stating that she wanted to be herself.[110] She described her image as being

 

"important ... to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack".[111] She often wore

 

black clothing, starting a trend for similar fashion among women in United States and

 

Japan.[14][112] Aaliyah's fashionable style has been credited for being an influence on new

 

fashion trends called "Health Goth"[113][114] and "Ghetto Goth" also known as GHE20 GOTH1K

 

[115][116] Aaliyah participated in fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger's All America Tour and

 

was featured in Tommy Jean ads, which depicted her in boxer shorts, baggy jeans and a tube

 

top. Hilfiger's brother, Andy, called it "a whole new look" that was "classy but sexy".[112]

 

Carson Daly A former VJ on MTV's Total Request Live commented on Aaliyah's style by saying

 

that she was "cutting edge" ,"always one step ahead of the curve" and that "the TRL audience

 

looks to her to figure out what's hot and what's new".[117]

 

When she changed her hairstyle, Aaliyah took her mother's advice and covered her left eye,

 

much like Veronica Lake.[118] The look has become known as her signature and been referred

 

to as fusion of "unnerving emotional honesty" and "a sense of mystique".[119] In 1998, she

 

hired a personal trainer to keep in shape, and exercised five days a week and ate diet

 

foods.[120] Aaliyah was praised for her "clean-cut image" and "moral values".[121] Robert

 

Christgau of The Village Voice wrote of Aaliyah's artistry and image, "she was lithe and

 

dulcet in a way that signified neither jailbait nor hottie—an ingenue whose selling point

 

was sincerity, not innocence and the obverse it implies."[122]

 

Aaliyah was viewed by others as a role model. Emil Wilbekin, described by CNN as "a friend

 

of Aaliyah's" and follower of her career, explained: "Aaliyah is an excellent role model,

 

because she started her career in the public eye at age 15 with a gold album entitled Age

 

Ain't Nothing but a Number. And then her second album, One in a Million went double

 

platinum. She had the leading role in Romeo Must Die, which was a box office success. She's

 

won numerous awards, several MTV music video awards, and aside from her professional

 

successes, many of her lyrics are very inspirational and uplifting. She also carried herself

 

in a very professional manner. She was well spoken. She was beautiful, but she didn't use

 

her beauty to sell her music. She used her talent. Many young hip-hop fans greatly admire

 

her."[123]

 

She also was seen by others as a sex symbol. Aaliyah did not have a problem with being

 

considered one. "I know that people think I'm sexy and I am looked at as that, and it is

 

cool with me," she stated. "It's wonderful to have sex appeal. If you embrace it, it can be

 

a very beautiful thing. I am totally cool with that. Definitely. I see myself as sexy. If

 

you are comfortable with it, it can be very classy and it can be very appealing."[124] The

 

single "We Need a Resolution" was argued to have transformed "the once tomboy into a sexy

 

grown woman".[125] Aaliyah mentioned that her mother, during her childhood, would take

 

pictures of her and notice a sex appeal. She reinforced her mother's belief by saying that

 

she did feel "sexy for sure" and that she embraced it and was comfortable with this view of

 

her.[54]

 

Personal life

 

In her spare time, she was mostly a homebody, which dated back to her younger years, but on

 

occasion went out and played laser tag. She reasoned this was due to her liking "the simple

 

things in life".[54] Despite having a prosperous career that allowed her to purchase the

 

vehicle she wanted, Aaliyah revealed during her final interview on August 21, 2001 on 106 &

 

Park that she had never owned a car because she lived in New York City and could hire a car

 

or driver on a regular basis.[126]

 

Family

 

Aaliyah's family played a major role in the course of her career.[54] Aaliyah's father

 

Michael Haughton served as her personal manager. Her mother assisted her in her career while

 

brother Rashad Haughton and cousin Jomo Hankerson worked with her consistently.[127] Her

 

father's illness ended his co-management of Aaliyah with her mother Diane Haughton. She ran

 

all of her decisions by Rashad.[54]

 

Aaliyah was known to have usually been accompanied by members of her family and the "Rock

 

the Boat" filming was credited by Rashad Haughton as being the first and only time her

 

family was not present. In October 2001, Rashad stated: "It really boggles everyone [that]

 

from Day One, every single video she ever shot there's always been myself or my mother or my

 

father there. The circumstances surrounding this last video were really strange because my

 

mother had eye surgery and couldn't fly. That really bothered her because she always

 

traveled. My dad had to take care of my mom at that time. And I went to Australia to visit

 

some friends. We really couldn't understand why we weren't there. You ask yourself maybe we

 

could have stopped it. But you can't really answer the question. There's always gonna be

 

that question of why."[128] Her friend Kidada Jones said in the last year of her life her

 

parents had given her more freedom and she had talked about wanting a family. "She wanted to

 

have a family, and we talked about how we couldn't wait to kick back with our babies."[129]

 

Gladys Knight, who had been married to Aaliyah's uncle Barry Hankerson, was essential to the

 

start of Aaliyah's career as she gave her many of her earlier performances. One of their

 

last conversations concerned Aaliyah having difficulty with "another young artist" that she

 

was trying to work with. Knight felt the argument was "petty" and insisted that she remain

 

being who she was in spite of the conflict.[130]

 

Illegal marriage

 

With the release of Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, rumors circulated of a relationship

 

between Aaliyah and R. Kelly,[14][131] including the allegation that they had secretly

 

married without her parents' knowledge,[132][133][134][135] Vibe later revealed a marriage

 

certificate that listed the couple married on August 31, 1994, in Sheraton Gateway Suites in

 

Rosemont, Illinois.[14][133] Aaliyah, who was 15 at the time, was listed as 18 on the

 

certificate; the illegal marriage was annulled in February 1995 by her parents.[20][133]

 

[136] The pair continued to deny marriage allegations, stating that neither was married.

 

[131]

 

Aaliyah reportedly developed a friendship with Kelly during the recording of her debut

 

album. As she recalled to Vibe magazine in 1994, she and Kelly would "go watch a movie" and

 

"go eat" when she got tired and would then "come back and work". She described the

 

relationship between her and Kelly as being "rather close."[137] In 2016, Kelly said that he

 

was as in love with Aaliyah as he was with "anybody else."[138] In December 1994, Aaliyah

 

told the Sun-Times that whenever she was asked about being married to Kelly, she urged them

 

not to believe "all that mess" and that she and Kelly were "close" and "people took it the

 

wrong way."[139] In his 2011 book The Man Behind the Man: Looking From the Inside Out,

 

Demetrius Smith Sr., a former member of Kelly's entourage, wrote that Kelly told him "in a

 

voice that sounded as if he wanted to burst into tears" that he thought Aaliyah was

 

pregnant.[140]

 

Jamie Foster Brown in the 1994 issue of Sister 2 Sister wrote that "R. Kelly told me that he

 

and Aaliyah got together and it was just magic." Brown also reported hearing about a

 

relationship between them. "I've been hearing about Robert and Aaliyah for a while—that she

 

was pregnant. Or that she was coming and going in and out of his house. People would see her

 

walking his dog, 12 Play, with her basketball cap and sunglasses on. Every time I asked the

 

label, they said it was platonic. But I kept hearing complaints from people about her being

 

in the studio with all those men." Brown later added "at 15, you have all those hormones and

 

no brains attached to them."[141]

 

The 2019 documentary Surviving R. Kelly revealed new details about their relationship and

 

marriage. Jovante Cunningham, a former backup dancer, claimed to have witnessed Kelly having

 

sex with Aaliyah on his tour bus[142][143] while Demetrius Smith again recounted the time

 

Kelly feared that he had impregnated her.[142] Smith also described how he helped Aaliyah

 

forge the necessary documents to show she was 18 and that the wedding was short and

 

unceremonious, as neither was dressed up and Aaliyah looked "worried and scared" the whole

 

time.[142] Smith states that he is "not proud" of his role in facilitating their illegal

 

marriage.[142]

 

Aaliyah admitted in court documents that she had lied about her age. In May 1997, she filed

 

suit in Cook County seeking to have all records of the marriage expunged because she was not

 

old enough under state law to get married without her parents' consent. It was reported that

 

she cut off all professional and personal ties with Kelly after the marriage was annulled

 

and ceased having contact with him.[144] In 2014, Jomo Hankerson stated that Aaliyah "got

 

villainized" over her relationship with Kelly and the scandal over the marriage made it

 

difficult to find producers for her second album. "We were coming off of a multi-platinum

 

debut album and except for a couple of relationships with Jermaine Dupri and Puffy, it was

 

hard for us to get producers on the album." Hankerson also expressed confusion over why

 

"they were upset" with Aaliyah given her age at the time.[145]

 

Aaliyah was known to avoid answering questions regarding Kelly following the professional

 

split. During an interview with Christopher John Farley, she was asked if she was still in

 

contact with him and if she would ever work with him again. Farley said Aaliyah responded

 

with a "firm, frosty 'no'" to both of the questions.[146] Vibe magazine said Aaliyah changed

 

the subject anytime "you bring up the marriage with her".[147] A spokeswoman for Aaliyah

 

said in 2000 that when "R. Kelly comes up, she doesn't even speak his name, and nobody's

 

allowed to ask about it at all".[148] Kelly later commented that Aaliyah had opportunities

 

to address the pair's relationship after they separated professionally but chose not to.

 

[149] In 2019, Damon Dash revealed to Hip Hop Motivation that Aaliyah didn't even speak of

 

her relationship with Kelly in private; she tried multiple times to discuss it with him, but

 

was only able to find the courage to say that Kelly was a "bad man".[143] She told him that

 

she could only possibly discuss the relationship with a professional counselor.[143] Dash

 

said he was unable to watch Surviving R. Kelly because its interviews with visibly

 

traumatized girls struggling to discuss their encounters with Kelly reminded him of how

 

Aaliyah behaved when trying to recount her relationship with Kelly.[143]

 

R. Kelly would have other allegations made about him regarding underage girls in the years

 

following her death and his marriage to Aaliyah was used to evidence his involvement with

 

them. He has refused to discuss his relationship with her, citing her death. "Out of respect

 

for her, and her mom and her dad, I will not discuss Aaliyah. That was a whole other

 

situation, a whole other time, it was a whole other thing, and I'm sure that people also

 

know that."[150] Aaliyah's mother, Diane Haughton, reflected that everything "that went

 

wrong in her life" began with her relationship with Kelly.[139] Damon Dash also noted that

 

lasting trauma from her relationship with Kelly negatively affected their relationship.[143]

 

However, the allegations have been said to have done "little to taint Aaliyah's image or

 

prevent her from becoming a reliable '90s hitmaker with viable sidelines in movies and

 

modeling."[32]

 

Engagement

 

Aaliyah was dating co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records Damon Dash at the time of her death

 

and, though they were not formally engaged, in interviews given after Aaliyah's death, Dash

 

claimed the couple had planned to marry.[151] Aaliyah and Dash met in 2000[152] through his

 

accountant and formed a friendship.[153] Dash has said he is unsure of how he and Aaliyah

 

started dating and that the two just understood each other. "I don't know [how we got

 

involved], just spending time, you know, we just saw things the same and it was new, you

 

know what I mean? Meeting someone that is trying to do the same thing you are doing in the

 

urban market, in the same urban market place but not really being so urban. It was just; her

 

mind was where my mind was. She understood me and she got my jokes. She thought my jokes

 

were funny."[154]

 

Dash expressed his belief that Aaliyah was the "one" and claimed the pair were not

 

officially engaged, but had spoken about getting married prior to her death.[155] Aaliyah

 

publicly never addressed the relationship between her and Dash as being anything but

 

platonic. In May 2001, she hosted a party for Dash's 30th birthday at a New York City club,

 

where they were spotted together and Dash was seen escorting her to a bathroom. Addressing

 

this, Aaliyah stated that she and Dash were just "very good friends" and chose to "keep it

 

at that" for the time being.[147] Just two weeks before her death, Aaliyah traveled from New

 

Jersey to East Hampton, New York to visit Dash at the summer house he shared with Jay Z.

 

[129]

 

The couple were separated for long periods at a time, as Dash recalled that Aaliyah

 

continuously shot films and would be gone for months often to come back shortly and continue

 

her schedule. Dash was also committed to "his own thing", which did not make matters any

 

better. Despite this, they were understanding that the time they had together was special.

 

Dash remembered they would "be in a room full of people talking to each other and it felt

 

like everyone was listening but it would be just us. It would be like we were the only ones

 

in the room". Dash always felt their time together was essential and Aaliyah was the person

 

he was interested in being with, which is why, as he claimed, they had begun speaking about

 

engagement.[153] The relationship was mentioned in the lyrics of Jay-Z's remix to her song

 

"Miss You", released after her death.

 

Death

 

Main article: Death of Aaliyah

 

On August 25, 2001, at 6:50 p.m. (EDT), Aaliyah and the members of the record company

 

boarded a twin-engine Cessna 402B (registration N8097W) at the Marsh Harbour Airport in

 

Abaco Islands, the Bahamas, to travel to the Opa-locka Airport in Florida, after they

 

completed filming the music video for "Rock the Boat".[156] They had a flight scheduled the

 

following day, but with filming finishing early, Aaliyah and her entourage were eager to

 

return to the U.S. and made the decision to leave immediately. The designated airplane was

 

smaller than the Cessna 404 on which they had originally arrived, but the whole party and

 

all of the equipment were accommodated on board.[157] The plane crashed shortly after

 

takeoff, about 200 feet (60 m) from the end of the runway and exploded.[156]

 

Aaliyah and the eight others on board—pilot Luis Morales III, hair stylist Eric Forman,

 

Anthony Dodd, security guard Scott Gallin, family friend Keith Wallace, make-up stylist

 

Christopher Maldonado, and Blackground Records employees Douglas Kratz and Gina Smith—were

 

all killed.[158] Gallin survived the initial impact and spent his last moments worrying

 

about Aaliyah's condition, according to ambulance drivers.[159] The plane was identified as

 

being owned by Florida-based company Skystream by the US Federal Aviation Administration

 

(FAA) in Atlanta. Initial reports of the crash identified Luis Morales as "L Marael".[160]

 

According to findings from an inquest conducted by the coroner's office in the Bahamas,

 

Aaliyah suffered from "severe burns and a blow to the head", in addition to severe shock and

 

a weak heart.[161] The coroner theorized that she went into such a state of shock that even

 

if she had survived the crash, her recovery would have been nearly impossible given the

 

severity of her injuries.[162] The bodies were taken to the morgue at Princess Margaret

 

Hospital in Nassau, where they were kept for relatives to help identify them. Some of the

 

bodies were badly burned in the crash.[163]

 

As the subsequent investigation determined, when the aircraft attempted to depart, it was

 

over its maximum take-off weight by 700 pounds (320 kg) and was carrying one excess

 

passenger, according to its certification.[164] An informational report issued by the

 

National Transportation Safety Board stated, "The airplane was seen lifting off the runway,

 

and then nose down, impacting in a marsh on the south side of the departure end of runway

 

27."[165] It indicated that the pilot was not approved to fly the plane. Morales falsely

 

obtained his FAA license by showing hundreds of hours never flown, and he may also have

 

falsified how many hours he had flown in order to get a job with his employer, Blackhawk

 

International Airways.[166] Additionally, toxicology tests performed on Morales revealed

 

traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system.[167]

 

Aaliyah's funeral services were held on August 31, 2001, at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral

 

Chapel and St. Ignatius Loyola Church in Manhattan. Her body was set in a silver-plated

 

copper-deposit casket, which was carried in a glass horse-drawn hearse.[168] An estimated

 

800 mourners were in attendance at the procession.[20][169] Among those in attendance at the

 

private ceremony were Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Gladys Knight, Lil' Kim and Sean Combs.

 

[168][170][171] After the service, 22 white doves were released to symbolize each year of

 

Aaliyah's life.[172] Aaliyah was initially entombed in a crypt at the Ferncliff Mausoleum in

 

Hartsdale, New York; she was later moved to a private room at the left end of a corridor in

 

the Rosewood Mausoleum.[173] The inscription at the bottom of Aaliyah's portrait at the

 

funeral read: "We Were Given a Queen, We Were Given an Angel."[174]

 

After Aaliyah's death, the German newspaper Die Zeit published excerpts from an interview

 

done shortly before her death, in which she described a recurring dream: "It is dark in my

 

favorite dream. Someone is following me. I don't know why. I'm scared. Then suddenly I lift

 

off. Far away. How do I feel? As if I am swimming in the air. Free. Weightless. Nobody can

 

reach me. Nobody can touch me. It's a wonderful feeling."[175]

 

Posthumous career

 

Immediately after Aaliyah's death, there was uncertainty over whether the music video for

 

"Rock the Boat" would ever air.[176] It made its world premiere on BET's Access Granted on

 

October 9, 2001. She won two posthumous awards at the American Music Awards of 2002;

 

Favorite Female R&B Artist and Favorite R&B/Soul Album for Aaliyah.[177] Her second and

 

final film, Queen of the Damned, was released in February 2002. Before its release,

 

Aaliyah's brother, Rashad, re-dubbed some of her lines during post-production.[178][179] It

 

grossed US$15.2 million in its first weekend, ranking number one at the box office.[180] On

 

the first anniversary of Aaliyah's death, a candlelight vigil was held in Times Square;

 

millions of fans observed a moment of silence; and throughout the United States, radio

 

stations played her music in remembrance.[181] In December 2002, a collection of previously

 

unreleased material was released as Aaliyah's first posthumous album, I Care 4 U. A portion

 

of the proceeds was donated to the Aaliyah Memorial Fund, a program that benefits the Revlon

 

UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program and Harlem's Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.[182] It

 

debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 280,000 copies in its first week.[183]

 

The album's lead single, "Miss You", peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and

 

topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[70] In August of the following year, clothing

 

retailer Christian Dior donated profits from sales in honor of Aaliyah.[184]

 

In 2005, Aaliyah's second compilation album, Ultimate Aaliyah was released in the UK by

 

Blackground Records.[185] Ultimate Aaliyah is a three disc set, which included a greatest

 

hits audio CD and a DVD.[185] Andy Kellman of AllMusic remarked "Ultimate Aaliyah adequately

 

represents the shortened career of a tremendous talent who benefited from some of the best

 

songwriting and production work by Timbaland, Missy Elliott, and R. Kelly."[185] A

 

documentary movie Aaliyah Live in Amsterdam was released in 2011, shortly before the tenth

 

anniversary of Aaliyah's death. The documentary, by Pogus Caesar, contained previously

 

unseen footage shot of her career beginnings in 1995 when she was appearing in the

 

Netherlands.[186]

 

In March 2012, music producer Jeffrey "J-Dub" Walker announced on his Twitter account that a

 

song "Steady Ground", which he produced for Aaliyah's third album, would be included in the

 

forthcoming posthumous Aaliyah album. This second proposed posthumous album would feature

 

this song using demo vocals, as Walker claims the originals were somehow lost by his sound

 

engineer. Aaliyah's brother Rashad later refuted Walker's claim, claiming that "no official

 

album [is] being released and supported by the Haughton family."[187] On August 5, 2012, a

 

song entitled "Enough Said" was released online. The song was produced by Noah "40" Shebib

 

and features Canadian rapper Drake.[188] Four days later, Jomo Hankerson confirmed a

 

posthumous album is being produced and that it was scheduled to be released by the end of

 

2012 by Blackground Records.[189] The album was reported to include 16 unreleased songs and

 

have contributions from Aaliyah's longtime collaborators Timbaland and Missy Elliott, among

 

others.[189] On August 13, Timbaland and Missy Elliott dismissed rumors about being

 

contacted or participating for the project.[190] Elliott's manager Mona Scott-Young said in

 

a statement to XXL, "Although Missy and Timbaland always strive to keep the memory of their

 

close friend alive, we have not been contacted about the project nor are there any plans at

 

this time to participate. We've seen the reports surfacing that they have been confirmed to

 

participate but that is not the case. Both Missy and Timbaland are very sensitive to the

 

loss still being felt by the family so we wanted to clear up any misinformation being

 

circulated."[190] Elliott herself said, "Tim and I carry Aaliyah with us everyday, like so

 

many of the people who love her. She will always live in our hearts. We have nothing but

 

love and respect for her memory and for her loved ones left behind still grieving her loss.

 

They are always in our prayers."[190]

 

In June 2013, Aaliyah was featured on a new track by Chris Brown, titled "Don't Think They

 

Know"; with Aaliyah singing the song's hook. The video features dancing holographic versions

 

of Aaliyah. The song appears on Brown's sixth studio album, X.[191] Timbaland voiced his

 

disapproval for "Enough Said" and "Don't Think They Know" in July 2013. He exclaimed,

 

"Aaliyah music only work with its soulmate, which is me".[192] Soon after, Timbaland

 

apologized to Chris Brown over his remarks, which he explained were made due to Aaliyah and

 

her death being a "very sensitive subject".[193] In January 2014, producer Noah "40" Shebib

 

confirmed that the posthumous album was shelved due to the negative reception surrounding

 

Drake's involvement. Shebib added, "Aaliyah's mother saying, 'I don't want this out' was

 

enough for me ... I walked away very quickly."[194][195]

 

Aaliyah's vocals were reported to be featured on the T-Pain mixtape, The Iron Way, on the

 

track "Girlfriend", but were pulled after being met with criticism by fans and many in

 

attendance at a New York listening session that he hosted for the project. In response to

 

the criticism, T-Pain questioned if Aaliyah's legacy was driven by her death and claimed

 

that were she still alive, she would be seen as trying to emulate Beyoncé.[196] According to

 

T-Pain, he was given her vocals from a session she had done prior to her death after being

 

approached to work on a track for a posthumous Aaliyah album and completing the song,

 

calling the exchange "just like a swap."[197]

 

She was featured on the Tink track "Million", which was released in May 2015 and contained

 

samples from her song "One in a Million".[198] Collaborator Timbaland was involved in the

 

song's creation, having previously claimed that Aaliyah appeared to him in a dream and

 

stressed that Tink was "the one".[199]

 

In August 2015, Timbaland confirmed that he had unreleased vocals from Aaliyah and stated a

 

"sneak peek" would be coming soon.[200][201]

 

In September 2015, Aaliyah by Xyrena, an official tribute fragrance was announced.[202]

 

On December 19, 2015, Timbaland uploaded a snippet of a new Aaliyah song title "He Keeps Me

 

Shakin" on his Instagram account and said it would be released December 25, 2015, on the

 

Timbaland mixtape King Stays King.[203] On August 24, 2017 MAC Cosmetics announced that an

 

Aaliyah collection will be made available in the summer of 2018.[204] The Aaliyah for Mac

 

collection was released on June 20 online and June 21 in stores, along with the MAC

 

collection, MAC and i-D Magazine partnered up to release a short film titled "A-Z of

 

Aaliyah" which coincided with the launch.[205] The short film highlighted and celebrated the

 

legacy of Aaliyah with the help of select fans who were selected to be a part of the film

 

through a casting call competition held by Mac and i-d magazine.[206] The Aaliyah for Mac

 

collectors box was sold at $250 and it sold out within minutes during the first day of its

 

initial release.[207]

 

Legacy and influence

 

Aaliyah has been credited for helping redefine R&B, pop and hip hop in the 1990s, "leaving

 

an indelible imprint on the music industry as a whole."[1][89][208] According to Billboard,

 

Aaliyah revolutionized R&B with her sultry mix of pop, soul and hip hop.[209] In a 2001

 

review of her eponymous album, Rolling Stone professed that Aaliyah's impact on R&B and pop

 

has been enormous.[210] Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote Aaliyah ranks among the "elite" artists

 

of the R&B genre, as she "played a major role in popularizing the stuttering, futuristic

 

production style that consumed hip-hop and urban soul in the late 1990s."[211] Bruce Britt

 

of "music world" on Broadcast Music, Inc's. website stated that by combining "schoolgirl

 

charm with urban grit", Aaliyah helped define the teen-oriented sound that has resulted in

 

contemporary pop phenom's like Brandy, Christina Aguilera and Destiny's Child.[212]

 

Described as one of "R&B's most important artists" during the 1990s,[213] her second studio

 

album, One in a Million, became one of the most influential R&B albums of the decade.[33]

 

Music critic Simon Reynolds cited "Are You That Somebody?" as "the most radical pop single"

 

of 1998. Kelefah Sanneh of The New York Times wrote that rather than being the song's focal

 

point, Aaliyah "knew how to disappear into the music, how to match her voice to the bass

 

line", and consequently "helped change the way popular music sounds; the twitchy, beat-

 

driven songs of Destiny's Child owe a clear debt to 'Are You That Somebody'." Sanneh

 

asserted that by the time of her death in 2001, Aaliyah "had recorded some of the most

 

innovative and influential pop songs of the last five years."[101] Music publication Popdust

 

called Aaliyah an unlikely queen of the underground due mainly to her influence on the

 

underground alternative music scene, which consists of heavy sampling and references to her

 

music by underground artists. Popdust also mentioned that the forward-thinking music Aaliyah

 

did with Timbaland and the experimental music being made by many underground alternative

 

artists are somewhat cut from the same cloth.[214] While compiling a list of artists that

 

take cues from Aaliyah, MTV Hive mentioned that it's easy to spot her influence on

 

underground movements like dubstep, strains of indie pop, and lo-fi R&B movements.[215] With

 

sales of 8.1 million albums in the United States and an estimated 24 to 32 million albums

 

worldwide,[216][217][218][219][220] Aaliyah earned the nicknames "Princess of R&B" and

 

"Queen of Urban Pop",[221][222] as she "proved she was a muse in her own right".[223] Ernest

 

Hardy of Rolling Stone dubbed her as the "undisputed queen of the midtempo come-on".[19]

 

Aaliyah has been referred to as a pop icon and a R&B icon for her impact and contributions

 

to those respective genres.[224][225] Japanese pop singer Hikaru Utada has said several

 

times that "It was when I heard Aaliyah's Age Ain't Nothing but a Number that I got hooked

 

on R&B.", after which Utada released her debut album First Love with heavy R&B influences.

 

[226][227] Another Japanese pop singer Crystal Kay has expressed how she admired Aaliyah

 

when she was growing up and how she would practice dancing while watching her music videos.

 

[228]

 

Aaliyah was honored at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards by Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott,

 

Timbaland, Ginuwine and her brother, Rashad, who all paid tribute to her.[229] In the same

 

year, the United States Social Security Administration ranked the name Aaliyah one of the

 

100 most popular names for newborn girls.[230] Aaliyah was ranked as one of "The Top 40

 

Women of the Video Era" in VH1's 2003 The Greatest series.[231][232] She was also ranked at

 

number 18 on BET's "Top 25 Dancers of All Time".[233] Aaliyah appeared on both 2000 and 2001

 

list of Maxim Hot 100 in position 41 and the latter at 14.[234][235] In 2002 VH1 created the

 

100 sexiest artist list and Aaliyah was ranked at number 36.[236] In memory of Aaliyah, the

 

Entertainment Industry Foundation created the Aaliyah Memorial Fund to donate money raised

 

to charities she supported.[237][238] In December 2009, Billboard magazine ranked Aaliyah at

 

number 70 on its Top Artists of the Decade,[239] while her eponymous album was ranked at

 

number 181 on the magazine's Top 200 Albums of the Decade.[240] She is listed by Billboard

 

as the tenth most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years, and 27th most

 

successful R&B artist overall.[241] In 2012, VH1 ranked her number 48 in "VH1's Greatest

 

Women in Music".[242] Also in 2012, Aaliyah was ranked at number 10 on Complex magazine's

 

100 hottest female singers of all-time list[243] and number 22 on their 90 hottest women of

 

the 90's list.[244] In 2014, NME ranked Aaliyah at number 18 on NME's 100 most influential

 

artist list.[245] Aaliyah's dress that she wore at the 2000 MTV Video Music Award's was

 

featured in the most memorable fashion moments at the VMA's list by the fashion publication

 

Harper's Bazaar.[246] In October 2015 Aaliyah was featured in the 10 women who became Denim

 

Style icons list created by the fashion publication Vogue.[247] In August 2018 Billboard

 

ranked Aaliyah at number 47 on their Top 60 Female Artists of All-Time list.[248]

 

Aaliyah's music has influenced numerous artists including Adele,[249] The Weeknd,[250]

 

Ciara,[251] Beyoncé,[252] Monica,[253] Chris Brown,[191] Rihanna,[254] Azealia Banks,[255]

 

Sevyn Streeter,[256] Keyshia Cole,[257] J. Cole,[258] Ryan Destiny[259] Kelly Rowland,[260]

 

Zendaya,[261] Rita Ora,[262] The xx,[263][264][265] Arctic Monkeys,[266] Speedy Ortiz,[267]

 

Chelsea Wolfe,[268] Haim,[269] Angel Haze,[270] Kiesza,[271] Naya Rivera,[272] Normani[273]

 

Cassie,[274][275] Hayley Williams,[276] Jessie Ware,[277] Yeasayer,[278] Bebe Rexha,[279]

 

Omarion,[280] and Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander.[281] Canadian R&B singer Keshia

 

Chanté who was said to play as her in her pending biopic back in 2008, complimented the

 

singer's futuristic style in music and fashion.[282] Chanté backed out of the biopic after

 

speaking to Diane Haughton, but has expressed a willingness to do the project if "the right

 

production comes along and the family's behind it". Chanté also mentioned that Aaliyah had

 

been part of her life "since I was 6."[283] R&B singer and friend Brandy said about the late

 

singer "She came out before Monica and I did, she was our inspiration. At the time, record

 

companies did not believe in kid acts and it was just inspiring to see someone that was

 

winning and winning being themselves. When I met her I embraced her, I was so happy to meet

 

her."[284] Rapper Drake said that the singer has had the biggest influence on his career. He

 

also has a tattoo of the singer on his back.[285] Solange Knowles remarked on the tenth

 

anniversary of her death that she idolized Aaliyah and proclaimed that she would never be

 

forgotten.[286] Adam Levine, the lead vocalist of the pop rock group Maroon 5, remembers

 

that listening to "Are You That Somebody?" convinced him to pursue a more soulful sound than

 

that of his then-band Kara's Flowers.[287] Erika Ramirez, an associate editor of Billboard,

 

said at the time of Aaliyah's career "there weren't many artists using the kind of soft

 

vocals the ways she was using it, and now you see a lot of artists doing that and finding

 

success," her reasoning for Aaliyah's continued influence on current artists. She argued

 

that Aaliyah's second album One in a Million was "very much ahead of its time, with the bass

 

and electro kind of R&B sounds that they produced", referring to collaborators Timbaland and

 

Missy Elliott and that the sound, which "really stood out" at its time, was being

 

replicated.[288]

 

In 2012, British singer-songwriter Katy B released the song Aaliyah as a tribute to

 

Aaliyah's legacy and lasting impression on R&B music.[289] The song first appeared on Katy

 

B's Danger EP and featured Jessie Ware on guest vocals. In 2016, Swedish singer-songwriter

 

Erik Hassle released a song titled "If Your Man Only Knew" which serves as a tribute to

 

Aaliyah's 1996 single "If Your Girl Only Knew".[290]

 

There has been continuing belief that Aaliyah would have achieved greater career success had

 

it not been for her death. Emil Wilbekin mentioned the deaths of The Notorious B.I.G. and

 

Tupac Shakur in conjunction with hers and added: "Her just-released third album and

 

scheduled role in a sequel to The Matrix could have made her another Janet Jackson or

 

Whitney Houston".[291] Director of Queen of the Damned Michael Rymer said of Aaliyah, "God,

 

that girl could have gone so far" and spoke of her having "such a clarity about what she

 

wanted. Nothing was gonna step in her way. No ego, no nervousness, no manipulation. There

 

was nothing to stop her."[292]

 

On July 18, 2014, it was announced that Alexandra Shipp replaced Zendaya for the role of

 

Aaliyah for the Lifetime TV biopic movie Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B,

We rented half a house on an old farm while Joe was studying toxicology at the Vet school. Was a good place to be.

You can download or view Macroscopic Solutions’ images in more detail by selecting any image and clicking the downward facing arrow in the lower-right corner of the image display screen.

 

Three individuals of Macroscopic Solutions, LLC captured the images in this database collaboratively.

 

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Felice Fontana (15 April 1730 – 10 March 1805) was a roveretan physicist who discovered the water gas shift reaction in 1780. He is also credited with launching modern toxicology and investigating the human eye. His brother Gregorio Fontana (7 December 1735 – 24 August 1803) was a mathematician. He was chair of mathematics at the university of Pavia. He has been credited with the introduction of polar coordinates.

(from Wikipedia)

 

 

Saw The Power of Poison exhibit today at the American Museum of Natural History. I was impressed with the way technology was incorporated into the design. Here an oversized ancient looking book is really blank pages where the print appears from a projection. As you turn the page new text appears and by touching certain areas of the page you animate the pictures and more of the story appears.

 

A young woman next to me was viewing the book when I noticed that her journal looked as though it was part of the exhibit. She was nice enough to turn to a blank page and you can see how the text was projected on the journal and her hand.

Male and Female zebrafish morphological comparison

 

公斑馬魚和母斑馬魚外觀比較圖

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following descriptions of zebrafish quote from wikipedia website (URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebrafish). All Rights are belonging to "Wikipedia website".

 

Zebrafish:

 

1.Introduce: The zebrafish, Danio rerio, is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae). It is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio, and is an important vertebrate model organism in scientific research.

 

2.Distribution: The zebrafish is native to the streams of the southeastern Himalayan region., including the countries Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar. It arose in the Ganges region in Eastern India. It commonly inhabits streams, canals, ditches, ponds, and slow-moving to stagnant water bodies, including rice fields. Zebrafish have been introduced to parts of the United States, presumably by deliberate release or by escape from fish farms. They have also been sighted in Colombia.

 

3.Description: The fish is named for the five uniform, pigmented, horizontal blue stripes on the side of the body, all of which extend to the end of the caudal fin. Its shape can be described as fusiform and laterally compressed, with its mouth directed upwards. Males are torpedo shaped and have gold stripes between the blue stripes; females have a larger, whitish belly and have silver stripes instead of gold. Adult females will exhibit a small genital papilla in front of the anal fin origin. The zebrafish can grow to 6.4 centimetres (2.5 in), although it is uncommon for them to grow past 4 centimetres in captivity.

The approximate generation time for the Danio is 3–4 months. It has been observed that there must be a male present in order for ovulation and spawning of eggs to occur. Females are able to spawn as often as 2–3 days with hundreds of eggs being laid in each clutch. Upon release from the mother, developmental steps will be made, however without the presence of sperm growth will stop after the first few embryonic cleavages. Fertilized eggs will almost immediately become transparent, which is an important characteristic yielding D. rerio as a convenient research model. Development rapidly progresses, with precursors to all major organs appearing within 36 hours of fertilization. Hatching will take place anywhere from 48–72 hours post-fertilization, depending on the internal conditions of the embryo itself and the external temperature (ideally 28.5 °C). Swimming and feeding behavior are observed to occur approximately 72 hours post-fertilization. The sex of juvenile zebrafish cannot be distinguished except by dissection, and the genetic sex determinants are not clearly understood. The range of life-span for a zebrafish in captivity is around 2–3 years, although in ideal conditions, they may live up to 5 years. The zebrafish is omnivorous, and it primarily eats zooplankton, insects, and phytoplankton. It can eat a variety of foods if its main sources are not readily available.

 

4.Model organism for development and genetics: Zebrafish chromatophores, shown here mediating background adaptation, are studied by scientists D. rerio are a common and useful model organism for studies of vertebrate development and gene function. They may supplement higher vertebrate models, such as rats and mice. Pioneering work of George Streisinger at the University of Oregon established the zebrafish as a model organism; its importance was consolidated by large scale forward genetic screens (commonly referred to as the Tübingen/Boston screens). The scholarly journal Development devoted an issue to research using the fish in celebration of this landmark. An online database of zebrafish genetic, genomic, and developmental information, the Zebrafish Information Network (ZFIN), has been established. D. rerio is one of the few species of fish to have been flown into space.

A Zebrafish Pigment Mutant. The mutant called bleached blond was produced by insertional mutagenesis. The embryos in the picture are four days old. At the top is a wild-type embryo, below is the mutant. The mutant lacks black pigment in the melanocytes because it fails to synthesise melanin properly.

Research with D. rerio has allowed advances in the fields of developmental biology, oncology, toxicology, reproductive studies, teratology, genetics, neurobiology, environmental sciences, stem cell and regenerative medicine, and evolutionary theory. Perhaps its greatest advantages for use in the laboratory as a model system come from its now sequenced genetic code, well understood, easily observable and testable developmental behaviors, and the availability of well-characterized mutants. Zebrafish embryonic development provides advantages over other vertebrate model organisms as well. Although the overall generation time of zebrafish is comparable to that of mice, zebrafish embryos develop rapidly, progressing from eggs to larvae in under three days. The embryos are large, robust, and transparent and develop externally to the mother, characteristics which all facilitate experimental manipulation and observation. Their nearly constant size during early development facilitates simple staining techniques, and drugs may be administered by adding directly to the tank. Unfertilized eggs can be made to divide, and the two-celled embryo fused into a single cell, creating a fully homozygous embryo.

See link for pigmentation mutants of D rerio: www.nature.com/hdy/journal/v97/n3/fig_tab/6800867f5.html#...

A common reverse genetics technique is to reduce gene expression or modify splicing in zebrafish using Morpholino antisense technology. Morpholino oligonucleotides are stable, synthetic macromolecules that contain the same bases as DNA or RNA; by binding to complementary RNA sequences, they reduce the expression of specific genes. The journal Genesis devoted an issue to research using Morpholino oligos, mostly in D. rerio. Morpholino oligonucleotides can be injected into one cell of a zebrafish embryo after the 32-cell stage, producing an organism in which gene expression is reduced in only the cells descended from the injected cell. However, cells in the early embryo (www.flickr.com/photos/chenhowen/sets/72157618669794787/

awionline.org/content/fundamentals

 

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The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that in fiscal year 2010, there were 1,334,693 animals in research. This number included dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, pigs and sheep. It does not include rats of the genus Rattus, mice of the genus Mus, or birds—despite the fact that these animals make up the overwhelming majority of animals in research.

 

Studies with animals include basic research such as genetics, developmental biology and behavioral work, as well as applied research such as biomedical research, xenotransplantation (the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another), and toxicology and drug testing. In addition to research and testing, education is conducted with animals.

 

Overall, while research with a few species such as hamsters and rabbits appears to be trending down, the number of species other than rats and mice in research is at a five-year high. The number of nonhuman primates in research has increased, as has research conducted with fish, particularly zebrafish.

 

The number of rats and mice in research is believed to be increasing dramatically—in large part due to studies involving genetic modification. Estimates regarding the number of rats, mice and birds in research range from 25 million to over 100 million. As these animals are excluded from protection under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), there is no accounting to the USDA or any other federal agency of these millions of lives that are sacrificed for research, testing and teaching.

 

A tremendous number of rodents in research are the product of genetic engineering. Often the goal is to more closely mimic human diseases. There are welfare issues associated with breeding such animals (a large number of surplus animals are generated to achieve a small number with the desired genome), as well as issues encountered during the conduct of the research—as these animals have a strong potential for suffering and experience high premature death rates.

 

Most animals sold for research purposes are bred specifically for this purpose. Commercial breeders are licensed “Class A” by the USDA and required to meet minimum standards under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Other animals are wild-caught—among them birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians and some mammals as diverse as nonhuman primates, opossum, and deer mice. USDA-licensed “Class B” dealers also serve as middlemen, acquiring animals from other sources and then selling the animals to laboratories. Some dogs and cats are acquired directly from municipal pounds.

 

All animals in research should be treated as humanely as possible. Rats, mice and birds, in particular, deserve the legal protection afforded other species via the Animal Welfare Act. Researchers doing work with any animal species should use the “3R's” as their guiding principles: replacement (substitution with non-animal methods), reduction (methods of obtaining data using fewer animals), and refinement (methods that alleviate or minimize animal suffering and enhance animal welfare).

 

Photo credit: Chen, Ho-Wen, supported by Lin, Li-Yih Lab, the Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan, ROC

Male and Female zebrafish morphological comparison

 

公斑馬魚和母斑馬魚外觀比較圖

 

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The following descriptions of zebrafish quote from wikipedia website (URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebrafish). All Rights are belonging to "Wikipedia website".

 

Zebrafish:

 

1.Introduce: The zebrafish, Danio rerio, is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae). It is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio, and is an important vertebrate model organism in scientific research.

 

2.Distribution: The zebrafish is native to the streams of the southeastern Himalayan region., including the countries Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar. It arose in the Ganges region in Eastern India. It commonly inhabits streams, canals, ditches, ponds, and slow-moving to stagnant water bodies, including rice fields. Zebrafish have been introduced to parts of the United States, presumably by deliberate release or by escape from fish farms. They have also been sighted in Colombia.

 

3.Description: The fish is named for the five uniform, pigmented, horizontal blue stripes on the side of the body, all of which extend to the end of the caudal fin. Its shape can be described as fusiform and laterally compressed, with its mouth directed upwards. Males are torpedo shaped and have gold stripes between the blue stripes; females have a larger, whitish belly and have silver stripes instead of gold. Adult females will exhibit a small genital papilla in front of the anal fin origin. The zebrafish can grow to 6.4 centimetres (2.5 in), although it is uncommon for them to grow past 4 centimetres in captivity.

The approximate generation time for the Danio is 3–4 months. It has been observed that there must be a male present in order for ovulation and spawning of eggs to occur. Females are able to spawn as often as 2–3 days with hundreds of eggs being laid in each clutch. Upon release from the mother, developmental steps will be made, however without the presence of sperm growth will stop after the first few embryonic cleavages. Fertilized eggs will almost immediately become transparent, which is an important characteristic yielding D. rerio as a convenient research model. Development rapidly progresses, with precursors to all major organs appearing within 36 hours of fertilization. Hatching will take place anywhere from 48–72 hours post-fertilization, depending on the internal conditions of the embryo itself and the external temperature (ideally 28.5 °C). Swimming and feeding behavior are observed to occur approximately 72 hours post-fertilization. The sex of juvenile zebrafish cannot be distinguished except by dissection, and the genetic sex determinants are not clearly understood. The range of life-span for a zebrafish in captivity is around 2–3 years, although in ideal conditions, they may live up to 5 years. The zebrafish is omnivorous, and it primarily eats zooplankton, insects, and phytoplankton. It can eat a variety of foods if its main sources are not readily available.

 

4.Model organism for development and genetics: Zebrafish chromatophores, shown here mediating background adaptation, are studied by scientists D. rerio are a common and useful model organism for studies of vertebrate development and gene function. They may supplement higher vertebrate models, such as rats and mice. Pioneering work of George Streisinger at the University of Oregon established the zebrafish as a model organism; its importance was consolidated by large scale forward genetic screens (commonly referred to as the Tübingen/Boston screens). The scholarly journal Development devoted an issue to research using the fish in celebration of this landmark. An online database of zebrafish genetic, genomic, and developmental information, the Zebrafish Information Network (ZFIN), has been established. D. rerio is one of the few species of fish to have been flown into space.

A Zebrafish Pigment Mutant. The mutant called bleached blond was produced by insertional mutagenesis. The embryos in the picture are four days old. At the top is a wild-type embryo, below is the mutant. The mutant lacks black pigment in the melanocytes because it fails to synthesise melanin properly.

Research with D. rerio has allowed advances in the fields of developmental biology, oncology, toxicology, reproductive studies, teratology, genetics, neurobiology, environmental sciences, stem cell and regenerative medicine, and evolutionary theory. Perhaps its greatest advantages for use in the laboratory as a model system come from its now sequenced genetic code, well understood, easily observable and testable developmental behaviors, and the availability of well-characterized mutants. Zebrafish embryonic development provides advantages over other vertebrate model organisms as well. Although the overall generation time of zebrafish is comparable to that of mice, zebrafish embryos develop rapidly, progressing from eggs to larvae in under three days. The embryos are large, robust, and transparent and develop externally to the mother, characteristics which all facilitate experimental manipulation and observation. Their nearly constant size during early development facilitates simple staining techniques, and drugs may be administered by adding directly to the tank. Unfertilized eggs can be made to divide, and the two-celled embryo fused into a single cell, creating a fully homozygous embryo.

See link for pigmentation mutants of D rerio: www.nature.com/hdy/journal/v97/n3/fig_tab/6800867f5.html#...

A common reverse genetics technique is to reduce gene expression or modify splicing in zebrafish using Morpholino antisense technology. Morpholino oligonucleotides are stable, synthetic macromolecules that contain the same bases as DNA or RNA; by binding to complementary RNA sequences, they reduce the expression of specific genes. The journal Genesis devoted an issue to research using Morpholino oligos, mostly in D. rerio. Morpholino oligonucleotides can be injected into one cell of a zebrafish embryo after the 32-cell stage, producing an organism in which gene expression is reduced in only the cells descended from the injected cell. However, cells in the early embryo (www.flickr.com/photos/chenhowen/sets/72157618669794787/

Male and Female zebrafish morphological comparison

 

公斑馬魚和母斑馬魚外觀比較圖

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following descriptions of zebrafish quote from wikipedia website (URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebrafish). All Rights are belonging to "Wikipedia website".

 

Zebrafish:

 

1.Introduce: The zebrafish, Danio rerio, is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae). It is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio, and is an important vertebrate model organism in scientific research.

 

2.Distribution: The zebrafish is native to the streams of the southeastern Himalayan region., including the countries Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar. It arose in the Ganges region in Eastern India. It commonly inhabits streams, canals, ditches, ponds, and slow-moving to stagnant water bodies, including rice fields. Zebrafish have been introduced to parts of the United States, presumably by deliberate release or by escape from fish farms. They have also been sighted in Colombia.

 

3.Description: The fish is named for the five uniform, pigmented, horizontal blue stripes on the side of the body, all of which extend to the end of the caudal fin. Its shape can be described as fusiform and laterally compressed, with its mouth directed upwards. Males are torpedo shaped and have gold stripes between the blue stripes; females have a larger, whitish belly and have silver stripes instead of gold. Adult females will exhibit a small genital papilla in front of the anal fin origin. The zebrafish can grow to 6.4 centimetres (2.5 in), although it is uncommon for them to grow past 4 centimetres in captivity.

The approximate generation time for the Danio is 3–4 months. It has been observed that there must be a male present in order for ovulation and spawning of eggs to occur. Females are able to spawn as often as 2–3 days with hundreds of eggs being laid in each clutch. Upon release from the mother, developmental steps will be made, however without the presence of sperm growth will stop after the first few embryonic cleavages. Fertilized eggs will almost immediately become transparent, which is an important characteristic yielding D. rerio as a convenient research model. Development rapidly progresses, with precursors to all major organs appearing within 36 hours of fertilization. Hatching will take place anywhere from 48–72 hours post-fertilization, depending on the internal conditions of the embryo itself and the external temperature (ideally 28.5 °C). Swimming and feeding behavior are observed to occur approximately 72 hours post-fertilization. The sex of juvenile zebrafish cannot be distinguished except by dissection, and the genetic sex determinants are not clearly understood. The range of life-span for a zebrafish in captivity is around 2–3 years, although in ideal conditions, they may live up to 5 years. The zebrafish is omnivorous, and it primarily eats zooplankton, insects, and phytoplankton. It can eat a variety of foods if its main sources are not readily available.

 

4.Model organism for development and genetics: Zebrafish chromatophores, shown here mediating background adaptation, are studied by scientists D. rerio are a common and useful model organism for studies of vertebrate development and gene function. They may supplement higher vertebrate models, such as rats and mice. Pioneering work of George Streisinger at the University of Oregon established the zebrafish as a model organism; its importance was consolidated by large scale forward genetic screens (commonly referred to as the Tübingen/Boston screens). The scholarly journal Development devoted an issue to research using the fish in celebration of this landmark. An online database of zebrafish genetic, genomic, and developmental information, the Zebrafish Information Network (ZFIN), has been established. D. rerio is one of the few species of fish to have been flown into space.

A Zebrafish Pigment Mutant. The mutant called bleached blond was produced by insertional mutagenesis. The embryos in the picture are four days old. At the top is a wild-type embryo, below is the mutant. The mutant lacks black pigment in the melanocytes because it fails to synthesise melanin properly.

Research with D. rerio has allowed advances in the fields of developmental biology, oncology, toxicology, reproductive studies, teratology, genetics, neurobiology, environmental sciences, stem cell and regenerative medicine, and evolutionary theory. Perhaps its greatest advantages for use in the laboratory as a model system come from its now sequenced genetic code, well understood, easily observable and testable developmental behaviors, and the availability of well-characterized mutants. Zebrafish embryonic development provides advantages over other vertebrate model organisms as well. Although the overall generation time of zebrafish is comparable to that of mice, zebrafish embryos develop rapidly, progressing from eggs to larvae in under three days. The embryos are large, robust, and transparent and develop externally to the mother, characteristics which all facilitate experimental manipulation and observation. Their nearly constant size during early development facilitates simple staining techniques, and drugs may be administered by adding directly to the tank. Unfertilized eggs can be made to divide, and the two-celled embryo fused into a single cell, creating a fully homozygous embryo.

See link for pigmentation mutants of D rerio: www.nature.com/hdy/journal/v97/n3/fig_tab/6800867f5.html#...

A common reverse genetics technique is to reduce gene expression or modify splicing in zebrafish using Morpholino antisense technology. Morpholino oligonucleotides are stable, synthetic macromolecules that contain the same bases as DNA or RNA; by binding to complementary RNA sequences, they reduce the expression of specific genes. The journal Genesis devoted an issue to research using Morpholino oligos, mostly in D. rerio. Morpholino oligonucleotides can be injected into one cell of a zebrafish embryo after the 32-cell stage, producing an organism in which gene expression is reduced in only the cells descended from the injected cell. However, cells in the early embryo (www.flickr.com/photos/chenhowen/sets/72157618669794787/

Elvis Aaron Presley[a] (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), often referred to mononymously as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy.

 

Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family when he was 13 years old. His music career began there in 1954, recording at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African-American music to a wider audience. Presley, on rhythm acoustic guitar, and accompanied by lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, was a pioneer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. In 1955, drummer D. J. Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presley's classic quartet and RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage him for more than two decades. Presley's first RCA Victor single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. Within a year, RCA would sell ten million Presley singles. With a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records, Presley became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll; though his performative style and promotion of the then-marginalized sound of African Americans[6] led to him being widely considered a threat to the moral well-being of the White American youth.

 

In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender. Drafted into military service in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He held few concerts, however, and guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood films and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. Some of his most famous films included Jailhouse Rock (1957), Blue Hawaii (1961), and Viva Las Vegas (1964). In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed television comeback special Elvis, which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley gave the first concert by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world, Aloha from Hawaii. Years of prescription drug abuse and unhealthy eating habits severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 at his Graceland estate at the age of 42.

 

Having sold over 400 million records worldwide, Presley is recognized as the best-selling solo music artist of all time by Guinness World Records. He was commercially successful in many genres, including pop, country, rhythm & blues, adult contemporary, and gospel. Presley won three Grammy Awards, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. He holds several records, including the most RIAA-certified gold and platinum albums, the most albums charted on the Billboard 200, the most number-one albums by a solo artist on the UK Albums Chart, and the most number-one singles by any act on the UK Singles Chart. In 2018, Presley was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

 

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Vernon Elvis (April 10, 1916 – June 26, 1979) and Gladys Love (née Smith; April 25, 1912 – August 14, 1958) Presley in a two-room shotgun house that his father built for the occasion. Elvis's identical twin brother, Jesse Garon Presley, was delivered 35 minutes before him, stillborn. Presley became close to both parents and formed an especially close bond with his mother. The family attended an Assembly of God church, where he found his initial musical inspiration.

  

A photo of Elvis's parents at the Historic Blue Moon Museum in Verona, Mississippi

Presley's father Vernon was of German, Scottish and English origins. He was a descendant of the Harrison family of Virginia through his ancestor Tunis Hood. Presley's mother Gladys was Scots-Irish with some French Norman ancestry. His mother and the rest of the family believed that her great-great-grandmother, Morning Dove White, was Cherokee. This belief was restated by Elvis's granddaughter Riley Keough in 2017. Elaine Dundy, in her biography, supports the belief.

 

Vernon moved from one odd job to the next, showing little ambition. The family often relied on help from neighbors and government food assistance. In 1938, they lost their home after Vernon was found guilty of altering a check written by his landowner and sometime-employer. He was jailed for eight months, while Gladys and Elvis moved in with relatives.

 

In September 1941, Presley entered first grade at East Tupelo Consolidated, where his teachers regarded him as "average". He was encouraged to enter a singing contest after impressing his schoolteacher with a rendition of Red Foley's country song "Old Shep" during morning prayers. The contest, held at the Mississippi–Alabama Fair and Dairy Show on October 3, 1945, was his first public performance. The ten-year-old Presley stood on a chair to reach the microphone and sang "Old Shep". He recalled placing fifth. A few months later, Presley received his first guitar for his birthday; he had hoped for something else—by different accounts, either a bicycle or a rifle. Over the following year, he received basic guitar lessons from two of his uncles and the new pastor at the family's church. Presley recalled, "I took the guitar, and I watched people, and I learned to play a little bit. But I would never sing in public. I was very shy about it."

 

In September 1946, Presley entered a new school, Milam, for sixth grade; he was regarded as a loner. The following year, he began bringing his guitar to school on a daily basis. He played and sang during lunchtime and was often teased as a "trashy" kid who played hillbilly music. By then, the family was living in a largely black neighborhood. Presley was a devotee of Mississippi Slim's show on the Tupelo radio station WELO. He was described as "crazy about music" by Slim's younger brother, who was one of Presley's classmates and often took him into the station. Slim supplemented Presley's guitar instruction by demonstrating chord techniques. When his protégé was 12 years old, Slim scheduled him for two on-air performances. Presley was overcome by stage fright the first time, but succeeded in performing the following week.

 

In November 1948, the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. After residing for nearly a year in rooming houses, they were granted a two-bedroom apartment in the public housing complex known as the Lauderdale Courts. Enrolled at L. C. Humes High School, Presley received only a C in music in eighth grade. When his music teacher told him that he had no aptitude for singing, he brought in his guitar the next day and sang a recent hit, "Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Me", to prove otherwise. A classmate later recalled that the teacher "agreed that Elvis was right when he said that she didn't appreciate his kind of singing". He was usually too shy to perform openly and was occasionally bullied by classmates who viewed him as a "mama's boy".

 

In 1950, he began practicing guitar regularly under the tutelage of Lee Denson, a neighbor two and a half years his senior. They and three other boys—including two future rockabilly pioneers, brothers Dorsey and Johnny Burnette—formed a loose musical collective that played frequently around the Courts. That September, he began working as an usher at Loew's State Theater. Other jobs followed at Precision Tool, Loew's again, and MARL Metal Products. Presley also helped Jewish neighbors, the Fruchters, by being their shabbos goy.

 

During his junior year, Presley began to stand out more among his classmates, largely because of his appearance: he grew his sideburns and styled his hair with rose oil and Vaseline. In his free time, he would head down to Beale Street, the heart of Memphis's thriving blues scene, and gaze longingly at the wild, flashy clothes in the windows of Lansky Brothers. By his senior year, he was wearing those clothes. Overcoming his reticence about performing outside the Lauderdale Courts, he competed in Humes' Annual "Minstrel" show in April 1953. Singing and playing guitar, he opened with "Till I Waltz Again with You", a recent hit for Teresa Brewer. Presley recalled that the performance did much for his reputation: "I wasn't popular in school ... I failed music—only thing I ever failed. And then they entered me in this talent show ... when I came onstage I heard people kind of rumbling and whispering and so forth, 'cause nobody knew I even sang. It was amazing how popular I became in school after that."

 

Presley, who received no formal music training and could not read music, studied and played by ear. He also frequented record stores that provided jukeboxes and listening booths to customers. He knew all of Hank Snow's songs, and he loved records by other country singers such as Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb, Ted Daffan, Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmie Davis, and Bob Wills. The Southern gospel singer Jake Hess, one of his favorite performers, was a significant influence on his ballad-singing style. He was a regular audience member at the monthly All-Night Singings downtown, where many of the white gospel groups that performed reflected the influence of African-American spiritual music. He adored the music of black gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

 

Like some of his peers, he may have attended blues venues—of necessity, in the segregated South—only on nights designated for exclusively white audiences. He certainly listened to the regional radio stations, such as WDIA-AM, that played "race records": spirituals, blues, and the modern, backbeat-heavy sound of rhythm and blues. Many of his future recordings were inspired by local African-American musicians such as Arthur Crudup and Rufus Thomas. B.B. King recalled that he had known Presley before he was popular when they both used to frequent Beale Street. By the time he graduated from high school in June 1953, Presley had already singled out music as his future.

 

Graceland is a mansion on a 13.8-acre (5.6-hectare) estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by the rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Following Lisa Marie Presley's death in 2023, the mansion is to be inherited by her daughters. In addition to being the final resting place of Elvis Presley himself, the property contains the graves of his parents, paternal grandmother and grandson, and contains a memorial to Presley's stillborn twin brother. In addition, Lisa Marie Presley will be buried there.

 

Graceland is located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the Whitehaven neighborhood, about nine miles (14 kilometers) south of central Memphis and fewer than four miles (6.4 km) north of the Mississippi border.[5] It was opened to the public as a house museum on June 7, 1982. The site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1991, becoming the first site recognized for significance related to rock music. Graceland was declared a National Historic Landmark on March 27, 2006, also a first for such a site. Graceland attracts more than 650,000 visitors annually.

 

Graceland Farms was originally owned by Stephen C. Toof, founder of S.C. Toof & Co., the oldest commercial printing firm in Memphis. He worked previously as the pressroom foreman of the Memphis newspaper, the Memphis Daily Appeal. The "grounds" (before the mansion was built in 1939) were named after Toof's daughter, Grace. She inherited the farm/property from her father in 1894. After her death, the property was passed to her niece Ruth Moore, a Memphis socialite. Together with her husband, Thomas Moore, Ruth Moore commissioned construction of a 10,266-square-foot (953.7 m2) Colonial Revival style mansion in 1939. The house was designed by architects Furbringer and Ehrman.

 

After Elvis Presley began his musical career, he purchased a $40,000 home for himself and his family at 1034 Audubon Drive in Memphis. As his success and fame grew, especially after his appearances on television, the number of fans who would congregate outside the house multiplied. Presley's neighbors, although happy to have a celebrity living nearby, soon concluded that the constant gathering of fans and journalists was a nuisance.

 

In early 1957, Presley gave his parents, Vernon and Gladys Presley, a budget of $100,000 and asked them to find a "farmhouse"-like property to purchase, with buffer space around it. At the time, Graceland was located in southern Shelby County, several miles south of Memphis' main urban area. In later years, Memphis would expand with residential developments, resulting in Graceland being surrounded by other properties. Presley purchased Graceland on March 19, 1957, for the amount of $102,500.

 

Later that year, Presley invited Richard Williams and singer Buzz Cason to the house. Cason said: "We proceeded to clown around on the front porch, striking our best rock 'n' roll poses and snapping pictures with the little camera. We peeked in the not-yet-curtained windows and got a kick out of the pastel colored walls in the front rooms with shades of bright reds and purples that Elvis most certainly had picked out." Presley was fond of claiming that the US government had mooted a visit to Graceland by Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union, "to see how in America a fellow can start out with nothing and, you know, make good."

 

After Gladys died in 1958 aged 46, Presley's father Vernon remarried to Dee Stanley in 1960, and the couple lived at Graceland for a time. There was some discord between Presley and his stepmother Dee at Graceland, however. Elaine Dundy, who wrote about Presley and his mother, said that

 

"Vernon had settled down with Dee where Gladys had once reigned, while Dee herself – when Elvis was away – had taken over the role of mistress of Graceland so thoroughly as to rearrange the furniture and replace the very curtains that Gladys had approved of." This was too much for the singer, who still loved his late mother deeply. One afternoon, "a van arrived ... and all Dee's household's goods, clothes, 'improvements,' and her own menagerie of pets, were loaded on ... while Vernon, Dee and her three children went by car to a nearby house on Hermitage until they finally settled into a house on Dolan Drive which ran alongside Elvis' estate."

 

According to Mark Crispin Miller, Graceland became for Presley "the home of the organization that was himself, was tended by a large vague clan of Presleys and deputy Presleys, each squandering the vast gratuities which Elvis used to keep his whole world smiling." The author adds that Presley's father Vernon "had a swimming pool in his bedroom", that there "was a jukebox next to the swimming pool, containing Elvis' favorite records", and that the singer himself "would spend hours in his bedroom, watching his property on a closed-circuit television." According to the singer's cousin, Billy Smith, Presley spent the night at Graceland with Smith and his wife Jo many times: "we were all three there talking for hours about everything in the world! Sometimes he would have a bad dream and come looking for me to talk to, and he would actually fall asleep in our bed with us."

 

Priscilla Beaulieu lived at Graceland for five years before she and Presley wed in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 1, 1967. Their daughter Lisa Marie Presley was born on February 1, 1968, and spent the first years of her life on the estate. After her parents divorced in 1972, her mother moved with the girl to California. Every year around Christmas, Lisa Marie Presley and all her family would go to Graceland to celebrate Christmas together. Lisa Marie often returned to Graceland for visits.

 

When Elvis would tour, staying in hotels, "the rooms would be remodeled in advance of his arrival, so as to make the same configurations of space as he had at home – the Graceland mansion. His furniture would arrive, and he could unwind after his performances in surroundings which were completely familiar and comforting." 'The Jungle Room' was described as being "an example of particularly lurid kitsch."[

 

On August 16, 1977, Presley died aged 42 at Graceland. The official cause of death was cardiac arrhythmia, although later toxicology reports strongly suggested that polypharmacy was the primary cause of death; "fourteen drugs were found in Elvis' system, with several drugs such as codeine in significant quantities. Presley lay in repose in a 900-pound (410 kg), copper-lined coffin just inside the foyer; more than 3,500 of his mourning fans passed by to pay their respects. A private funeral with 200 mourners was held on August 18, 1977, in the house, with the casket placed in front of the stained glass doorway of the music room. Graceland continued to be occupied by members of the family until the death of Presley's aunt Delta in 1993, who had moved in at Elvis's invitation after her husband's death. Elvis's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited the estate in 1993 when she turned 25.

 

Presley's tombstone, along with those of his parents Gladys and Vernon Presley, and his grandmother Minnie Mae Presley, are installed in the Meditation Garden next to the mansion. They can be visited during the mansion tours or for free before the mansion tours begin. A memorial gravestone for Presley's stillborn twin brother, Jesse Garon, is also at the site.

 

In 2019, the owners of Graceland threatened to leave Memphis unless the city provided tax incentives. The Memphis City Council subsequently voted on a deal to help fund a $100 million expansion of Graceland.

 

Constructed at the top of a hill and surrounded by rolling pastures and a grove of oak trees, Graceland is designed by the Memphis architectural firm, Furbringer and Erhmanis. It's a two-story, five-bay residence in the Colonial Revival style, with a side-facing gabled roof covered in asphalt shingles, a central two-story projecting pedimented portico, and two one-story wings on the north and south sides. Attached to the wing is an additional one-story stuccoed wing, which was originally a garage that houses up to four cars. The mansion has two chimneys; one on the north side's exterior wall, the second rising through the south side's roof ridge. The central block's front and side facades are veneered with tan Tishomingo limestone from Mississippi and its rear wall is stuccoed, as are the one-story wings. The front facade fenestration on the first floor includes 9x9 double-hung windows set in arched openings with wooden panels above, and 6x6 double-hung windows on the second floor.

 

Flanked by two marble lions, four stone steps ascend from the driveway to the two-story central projecting pedimented portico. The pediment has dentils and a small, leaded oval window in the center while the portico contains four Corinthian columns with capitals modeled after architect James Stuart's conjectural porticos for the "Tower of the Winds" in Athens, Greece. The portico's cornered columns are matched by pilasters on the front facade. The doorway has a broken arched pediment, full entablature, and engaged columns while its transom and sidelights contain elaborate and colorful stained glass. And above the main entrance is another rectangular window, completed with a shallow iron balcony.

 

Graceland is 17,552 square feet (1,630.6 m2) and has a total of 23 rooms, including eight bedrooms and bathrooms. To the right of the Entrance Hall, through an elliptical-arched opening with classical details, is the Living Room. The Living Room contains a 15-foot-long (4.6 m) white couch against the wall overlooking the front yard. To the left are two white sofas, a china cabinet and a fireplace with a mirrored wall. The painting that hangs in the room was Elvis' last Christmas present from his father, Vernon, and also displayed are photographs of Elvis' parents Vernon and Gladys, Elvis and Lisa Marie. Behind an adjoined doorway is the Music Room, framed by vivid large peacocks set in stained glass and contains a black baby grand piano and a 1950s style TV. And the third adjacent room is a bedroom that was occupied by Elvis' parents. The walls, carpet, dresser, and queen size bed are bright white with the bed draped in a velvet-looking dark purple bedspread along with an en-suite full bathroom done in pink.

 

To the left of the Entrance Hall, mirroring the Living Room, is the Dining Room, headlined by a massive crystal chandelier. It features six plush chairs in golden metal frames set around a marble table, all of which are placed on black marble flooring in the center with carpet around the perimeter. Connected to the Dining Room is the Kitchen, which was used by Elvis' aunt Delta until her death in 1993 before it was opened to the public two years later.

 

The original one-story wing on the north end of the residence includes a mechanical room, bedroom, and bath. In the mid-1960s, Presley enlarged the house to create a den known as the Jungle Room which features an indoor waterfall of cut field stone on the north wall. The room also contains items both related to and imported from the state of Hawaii because, after starring in the tropical film "Blue Hawaii" (1961), the musician wanted to bring some memorabilia from The Aloha State to his mansion, which gives visitors the same feeling. In 1976, the Jungle Room was converted into a recording studio, where he recorded the bulk of his final two albums, From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (1976) and Moody Blue (1977); these were his final known recordings in a studio setting.[27] During the mid-1960s expansion of the house, Presley constructed a large wing on the south side of the main house that was a sidewalk, between the music room in the original one-story wing and the swimming pool area, that connected to the house by a small enclosed gallery. The new wing initially housed a slot car track and to store his many items of appreciation, but was later remodeled to what is now known as the Trophy Building, which now features an exhibit about the Presley family, and includes Priscilla's wedding dress, Elvis' wedding tuxedo, Lisa Marie's toy chest and baby clothes and more.

 

The Entrance Hall contains a white staircase leading to the house's second floor with a wall of mirrors. However, the second floor is not open to visitors, out of respect for the Presley family, and partially to avoid any improper focus on the bathroom which was the site of his death. Still, it features Elvis' bedroom at the southwest corner that connects to his dressing room and bathroom in the northwest. His daughter Lisa Marie's bedroom is in the northeast corner, and in the southeast is a bedroom that served as a private personal office for the musician. The floor has been untouched since the day Elvis died and is rarely seen by non-family members.

 

Downstairs in the basement is the TV room, where Elvis often watched three television sets at once, and was within close reach of a wet bar. The three TV sets are built into the room's south wall and there's a stereo, and cabinets for Elvis' record collection. And painted on the west wall is The King's 1970s logo of a lightning bolt and cloud with the initials TCB, both of which represent 'taking care of business in a flash'. And the last room in the mansion opposite of the TV room is the billiard room; an avid billiards player, Elvis bought the pool table in 1960 and had the walls and ceiling covered with 350–400 yards of pleated cotton fabric after the two basement rooms were remodeled in 1974. The pool balls are arranged just the way they were in the musician's final days along with a strict warning sign to visitors that says "Please Do Not Touch! Thank You!" in capital letters. And in one corner of the pool table, there's a rip in the green felt, which was caused by one of Elvis' friends in a failed attempt of a trick shot.

 

Critics such as Albert Goldman write: "Though it cost a lot of money to fill up Graceland with the things that appealed to Elvis Presley, nothing in the house is worth a dime." In chapter 1 of his book, Elvis (1981), the author describes Graceland as looking like a brothel: "it appears to have been lifted from some turn-of-the-century bordello down in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Lulu White or the Countess Willie Piazza might have contrived this plushy parlor for the entertainment of Gyp the Blood. The room is a gaudy mélange of red velour and gilded tassels, Louis XV furniture and porcelain bric-a-brac..." And he dismisses the interior as "bizarre," "garish" and "phony," adding that "King Elvis's obsession with royal red reaches an intensity that makes you gag."

 

In similar terms, Greil Marcus writes that people who visited the inside of Graceland—"people who to a real degree shared Elvis Presley’s class background, and whose lives were formed by his music—have returned with one word to describe what they saw: ‘Tacky.’ Tacky, garish, tasteless—words others translated as white trash."

 

According to Karal Ann Marling, Graceland is "a Technicolor illusion. The façade is Gone With the Wind all the way. The den in the back is Mogambo with a hint of Blue Hawaii. Living in Graceland was like living on a Hollywood backlot, where patches of tropical scenery alternated with the blackened ruins of antebellum Atlanta. It was like living in a Memphis movie theater... Diehard fans are sometimes disappointed by the formal rooms along the highway side of Graceland. They’re beautiful, in a chilly blue-and-white way, but remote and overarranged." The Jungle Room's "overt bad taste" lets nonbelievers "recoil in horror and imagine themselves a notch or two higher than Elvis on the class scale."

 

After purchasing the property Presley spent in excess of $500,000 carrying out extensive modifications to suit his needs including a pink Alabama fieldstone wall surrounding the grounds that has several years' worth of graffiti (signatures and messages) from visitors, who simply refer to it as "the wall". Designed and built by Abe Sauer is the wrought-iron front gate shaped like a book of sheet music, along with green colored musical notes and two mirrored silhouettes of Elvis playing his guitar. Sauer also installed a kidney shaped swimming pool and a racquetball court, which is reminiscent of an old country club, furnished in dark leather and a functional bar. There is a sunken sitting area with the ever-present stereo system found throughout Graceland, as well as the dark brown upright piano upon which Elvis played for what were to be his last songs, Willie Nelson's "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" and "Unchained Melody".

 

However, reports conflict about which one was the last song. The sitting area has a floor-to-ceiling shatterproof window designed to watch the many racquetball games that took place there when Elvis was alive. In the early hours of the morning on which Elvis died, he played a game of racquetball with his girlfriend Ginger Alden, his first cousin Billy Smith and Billy's wife Jo before ending the game with the song on the piano before walking into the main house to wash his hair and go to bed. Today the two story court has been restored to the way it was when Elvis used the building.

 

Elsewhere on the estate is a small white building that served as an office for Vernon, along with an old smokehouse that housed a shooting range and a fully functional stable of horses.

 

One of Presley's better known modifications was the addition of the Meditation Garden, designed and built by architect Bernard Grenadier. It was used by the musician to reflect on any problems or situations that arose during his life. It is also where his entire family is buried: himself (1935–1977), his parents Gladys (1912–1958) and Vernon (1916–1979), and grandmother Minnie Mae Hood (1890–1980) while a small stone memorializes his twin brother Jesse Garon, who died at birth thirty minutes before Elvis was born on January 8, 1935. In late 2020, Lisa Marie's son Benjamin Keough was laid to rest on the opposite end of the Meditation Garden after his death from suicide in July of that year. Lisa Marie Presley died from sudden cardiac arrest in January 2023 and is buried next to her son.

 

After Elvis Presley's death in 1977, Vernon Presley served as executor of his estate. Upon his death in 1979, he chose Priscilla to serve as the estate executor for Elvis's only child, Lisa Marie, who was only 11. Graceland itself cost $500,000 a year in upkeep, and expenses had dwindled Elvis's and Priscilla's daughter Lisa Marie's inheritance to only $1 million. Taxes were due on the property; those and other expenses due came to over $500,000. Faced with having to sell Graceland, Priscilla examined other famous houses/museums, and hired a CEO, Jack Soden, to turn Graceland into a moneymaker. Graceland was opened to the public on June 7, 1982. Priscilla's gamble paid off; after only a month of opening Graceland's doors the estate made back all the money it had invested. Priscilla Presley became the chairwoman and president of Elvis Presley Enterprises, or EPE, stating at that time she would do so until Lisa Marie reached 21 years of age. The enterprise's fortunes soared and eventually the trust grew to be worth over $100 million.

 

An annual procession through the estate and past Elvis's grave is held on the anniversary of his death. Known as Elvis Week, it includes a full schedule of speakers and events, including the only Elvis Mass at St. Paul's Church, the highlight for many Elvis fans of all faiths. The 20th Anniversary in 1997 had several hundred media groups from around the world that were present resulting in the event gaining its greatest media publicity.

 

One of the largest gatherings assembled on the 25th anniversary in 2002 with one estimate of 40,000 people in attendance, despite the heavy rain. On the 38th anniversary of Elvis's death, an estimated 30,000 people attended the Candlelight Vigil during the night of August 15–16, 2015. On the 40th anniversary of Elvis's death, on August 15–16, 2017, at least 50,000 fans were expected to attend the Candlelight Vigil. No official figure seems to have been released, maybe because, for the first time, attendees had to pay at least the lowest tour fare, $28.75, to cover the extra security costs due to a larger than usual crowd.

 

For many of the hundreds of thousands of people who visit Graceland each year, the visit takes on a quasi-religious perspective. They may plan for years to journey to the home of the 'King' of rock and roll. On site, headphones narrate the salient events of Elvis's life and introduce the relics that adorn the rooms and corridors. The rhetorical mode is hagiographic, celebrating the life of an extraordinary man, emphasizing his generosity, his kindness and good fellowship, how he was at once a poor boy who made good, an extraordinary musical talent, a sinner and substance abuser, and a religious man devoted to the Gospel and its music. At the meditation garden, containing Elvis's grave, some visitors pray, kneel, or quietly sing one of Elvis's favorite hymns. The brick wall that encloses the mansion's grounds is covered with graffiti that express an admiration for Presley as well as petitions for help and thanks for favors granted.

 

The Graceland grounds include a new exhibit complex, Elvis Presley's Memphis, which includes a new car museum, Presley Motors, which houses Elvis's Pink Cadillac. The complex features new exhibits and museums, as well as a studio for Sirius Satellite Radio's all-Elvis Presley channel. The service's subscribers all over North America can hear Presley's music from Graceland around the clock. Not far away on display are his two aircraft including Lisa Marie (a Convair 880 jetliner) and Hound Dog II (a Lockheed JetStar business jet). The jets are owned by Graceland and are on permanent static display.

 

In early August 2005, Lisa Marie Presley sold 85% of the business side of her father's estate. She kept the Graceland property itself, as well as the bulk of the possessions found therein, and she turned over the management of Graceland to CKX, Inc., an entertainment company (on whose board of directors Priscilla Presley sat) that also owns 19 Entertainment, creator of the American Idol TV show.

 

Graceland Holdings LLC, led by managing partner Joel Weinshanker, is the majority owner of EPE. Lisa Marie Presley's estate retains a 15% ownership in the company.

 

In August 2018, Gladys Presley's headstone, which contained the Jewish star of David on one side and a cross on the other and was designed by Elvis himself, which become publicly displayed when it placed in Graceland's Mediation Garden after being stored for many years in the Graceland Archive.

 

Lisa Marie Presley's estate, which is being held in trust for her daughters Riley Keough and Harper and Finley Lockwood, retain 100% sole personal ownership of Graceland Mansion itself and its over 13-acre original grounds as well as Elvis Presley's personal effects – including costumes, wardrobe, awards, furniture, cars, etc. Prior to her death in 2023, Lisa Marie Presley had made the mansion property and her father's personal effects permanently available for tours of Graceland and for use in all of EPE's operations.

 

According to Elvis Presley's Enterprises, staff at Graceland informally kept a list of celebrities who had visited in the first years following Elvis's death. This practice was not formalized for a decade. Muhammad Ali was an early celebrity visitor in 1978, as was singer Paul Simon. He toured Graceland in the early 80s and afterward wrote a song of the same name; it was the title track of his Grammy-winning album Graceland.

 

During the Joshua Tree Tour in 1987, U2 toured Graceland. The footage was filmed for the film Rattle & Hum. During the visit, drummer, Larry Mullen Jr., sat on Elvis Presley's motorcycle -- against the rules for Graceland visitors.

 

On June 30, 2006, then US President George W. Bush hosted Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for a tour of the mansion. It was one of the few private residences on United States soil to have been the site of an official joint-visit by a sitting US president and a serving head of a foreign government. On August 6, 2010, Prince Albert II, Head of State of the Principality of Monaco, and his fiancée (now Princess of Monaco) Charlene Wittstock, toured Graceland while vacationing in the US. On May 26, 2013, Paul McCartney of The Beatles visited Graceland. Prince William and Prince Harry, while in Memphis for a friend's wedding, visited Graceland on May 2, 2014.

 

The home has also been visited by former US President Jimmy Carter; the late Duchess of Devonshire, the sitting ambassadors of India, France, China, Korea and Israel to the United States; as well as several US governors, members of the US Congress, and at least two Nobel Prize winners, namely singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, a Literature Prize laureate, and the former President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, a Peace Prize honoree, who visited it on October 10, 2001.

 

In May 2016, Graceland welcomed a newlywed couple as its 20 millionth visitor.

 

In June 2022, actors Austin Butler and Tom Hanks visited the mansion and were interviewed virtually by the Good Morning America news program from the Jungle Room to talk about their biographical film Elvis.

 

In popular culture

Paul Simon named an album Graceland, as well as its title track. The song won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1987.

The song "Walking in Memphis" by Marc Cohn mentions Graceland; in the second verse, he refers to the mansion and the Jungle Room. This song was later covered by Cher and Lonestar, among others.

The film 3000 Miles to Graceland is about a group of criminals who plan to rob a casino during an international Elvis week, disguised as Elvis impersonators. No scenes take place at or near the estate.

The film Finding Graceland stars Harvey Keitel with Johnathon Schaech. Keitel is an impersonator who claims to be the real Elvis after Schaech picks him up as a hitch-hiker.

In the rock music "mockumentary" This Is Spinal Tap, band members gather around Presley's grave at Graceland and attempt to sing a verse of "Heartbreak Hotel".

Pop punk group Groovie Ghoulies have a song called "Graceland" on their 1997 album Re-Animation Festival.

In the movie Zombieland: Double Tap, the protagonists venture to Graceland in hopes of shelter during a zombie apocalypse, but are distressed to find it in a ruined state.

During the credits of Lilo & Stitch, there's a photograph of Lilo, Nani, David and Stitch visiting the front gates of Graceland. Almost 20 years later, the original painting of that shot was put on display as part of the traveling Walt Disney Archives exhibition at Graceland.

In the season three episode of American Dad “The Vacation Goo”, Steve Smith asks Stan Smith if they can go to Graceland for their next vacation and Stan says “Steve, if you want to pay your respects to a fat man who died on the toilet, we can visit your Aunt Mary’s grave.”

Phoebe Bridgers has a song "Graceland Too" on her second studio album Punisher.

In the third episode of National Treasure: Edge of History, "Graceland Gambit," the main protagonist, Jess (portrayed by Lisette Olivera) is on a treasure hunt that leads her and her friends to Graceland.

Florence + The Machine reference Graceland and Elvis in their song "Morning Elvis" on their 2022 album Dance Fever.

Los Angeles police have interviewed the private doctor who was with Michael Jackson when he apparently suffered cardiac arrest — and impounded the doctor's car because it may contain "medications or other evidence," police told us.

 

The news came as a coroner's investigator announced Friday that the cause of Jackson's death could not be determined without further testing, including toxicology results expected to take four to six weeks. Craig Harvey, chief investigator for the L.A. County Coroner's Office, said there was "no indication of any external trauma or any foul play."

  

The doctor's car, left at Jackson's home, was impounded because anything inside it "could be helpful to the coroner in determining the cause of death," Los Angeles Police Department officer Karen Rayner said. Detectives planned to talk again with the doctor, who was cooperative and is not under criminal investigation, she said.

 

"We spoke to the doctor briefly," on Thursday, Rayner said Friday. "We said that we need to conduct further follow-ups with that doctor to get a more in-depth interview and it's not like he's on the lam or we've got an APB out for him. It's just that we had not, as of this morning, had a chance to interview him at length."

   

The doctor, whose name has not been released, was present with Jackson when emergency workers were called to the singer's home Thursday. Jackson's brother, Jermaine Jackson, said the doctor was the first to try to resuscitate Jackson, followed by paramedics and doctors at the hospital where he was taken.

 

Jermaine Jackson said cardiac arrest was the likely cause of death, but that it wouldn't be certain until the coroner's examination was complete.

   

An attorney for Debbie Rowe, the mother of Jackson's children Prince Michael, 12, and Paris, 11, told People that Rowe is their legal parent and can gain custody of them if she wants. Iris Finsilver said she spoke with Rowe on Thursday but could not say what she would do. "She was inconsolable," Finsilver said.

   

Jackson manager, Frank DiLeo, told the magazine the children and Jackson's third child, 7-year-old Prince Michael II, have been with Jackson's mother, Katherine, since Jackson died.

 

Though questions about the death focused immediately on a possible drug overdose, Jackson had battled health problems for years — and even canceled the first in a series of planned comeback concerts because he was feeling ill, according to longtime friend Smokey Robinson.

 

"I was in London, and the promoter who was promoting those concerts, I was talking with him," Robinson told CNN's Larry King. "And he said, 'Well, we have to cancel the first five concerts because Michael isn't feeling well.' So I said, 'OK, fine, everybody is entitled not to feel well.'"

   

Michael Jackson, who was scheduled to perform 50 shows at London's O2 arena, rehearsed the night before he died, according to a report citing longtime manager Frank DiLeo. The concerts could have helped Jackson pay off his massive debts and remind fans of the talents that once made him the most beloved entertainer in the world.

 

Fueling the drug questions was a former attorney of Jackson's who admitted he had no knowledge of the singer's recent life. Brian Oxman, who parted ways with Jackson's legal team while the singer faced child molestation charges, told several media outlets he had warned relatives for years about Jackson's abuse of prescription drugs.

 

Michael Jackson was repeatedly rushed to the hospital during his 2005 molestation trial, for problems ranging from a bad back to what were described as "viral symptoms." At the time of his November 2003 arrest on child molestation charges, the six-foot singer weighed 120 pounds. By the time he was acquitted, in June 2005, his weight had dropped precipitously.

 

Jackson never bounced back from the trial. Though prosecutors failed to win their case, they did succeed, intentionally or not, in humiliating the biggest pop star in history. Witnesses testified that he drank wine from soda cans and called it Jesus juice. Prosecutors displayed pornographic magazines seized from his home on an overhead projector, for jurors, his parents, and worldwide media to view.

 

At one point a prosecutor querying potential jurors asked if any of them could name one of Jackson's songs from the last decade. None could.

 

Despite the singer's woes, fans were starved for comeback, Robinson noted.

 

"The proof of him being Michael Jackson, who he will always be, is the fact that he was going to do 50 concerts," said Robinson, Jackson's former Motown Records labelmate. "And the place he was playing is a big arena-type place over in London. OK? Ten minutes or so after the tickets went on sale, they were all sold out."

  

Since they're spread thin today, some strings are pulled, and a Collision Investigation Unit from the Medical Examiner's Office is dispatched to the scene to retrieve the body.

 

It might take a while for the toxicology report, but from the preliminary investigation, it appears heroin has claimed another victim.

 

Atlantic Walk

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Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II

Olympus M.14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II R

 

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Virus replication

Viruses replicate only in living cells. The use of the term 'replicate' infers that the process of virus multiplication is different from that of micro-organisms and tissue cells which divide by binary fission with or without mitotic division of their genetic components. Whilst the mode of entering the host cell varies from virus to virus the mode of replication is considered to be similar for all and has been most completely worked out for bacteriophage. The viral nucleic acid upon entering the cell takes over control of the cellular metabolic processes and codes for the separate synthesis of viral nucleic acid and protein which later combine to form the mature virus particle. The virus yield from a cell infected with a single virus particle varies widely but often ranges from 10 to 100 particles.

The host cell must be capable of supporting this sequence of steps in viral replication. Many viruses have a single or limited host cell requirement; others may replicate in a range of different host cells but the quantity of virus produced in each cell type may differ widely.

Viruses may be propagated in susceptible animals, plants or micro-organisms, or in tissue cultures made from animal or plant tissues.

When using animals it is necessary to consider:

(1) their natural susceptibility to infection or immune status to the virus;

(2) the possibility of latent infection with the same or other virus (often the challenge of another virus stimulates a latent virus to become active, as occurs with herpes simplex in man, the cause of the common cold sore on the lips which often erupts when the patient is challenged by a common cold virus);

(3) the most suitable route of inoculation which is usually related to the affinity of the virus for particular tissues. Infection is recognized by characteristic signs and symptoms of disease.

 

VIRUS DISEASES OF VERTEBRATE ANIMALS

General considerations of virus infection

Unlike the majority of plant virus diseases most animal virus diseases cannot be diagnosed solely on their signs and symptoms. Viruses do not produce exotoxins and the diseases they cause are the direct result of their primary and secondary replication cycles within the various tissue cells of the animal body. An understanding of how this replication occurs in tissue cells provides an understanding of the disease processes taking place in the animal body as a whole. Replication is studied in in vitro systems of animal tissue cultures.

The replication of viruses in tissue cells leads to the biological malfunctioning of those cells and if large numbers of cells are involved malfunctioning of the organ generally follows. This may result in the death of the animal.

Some animal viruses replicate in a limited range of tissue cells, e.g., influenza virus replicates only in cells of the respiratory tract, while others replicate in a wide variety of tissue cells, e.g., smallpox virus in cells of the skin, lungs, and other internal tissues. The latter category of viruses can therefore spread to other susceptible tissues by blood-borne dissemination from a primary site of infection. The presence of virus in the blood stream is not necessarily an indication of wide tissue susceptibility since viruses with a limited tissue range may 'spill-over' into the blood stream following replication in the susceptible tissues.

As with other microbial diseases the severity of a virus disease depends upon the size of the infecting dose, the state of health of the animal, its age, sex, and degree of immunity. The various aspects of the epidemiology of animal virus diseases are considered elsewhere.

Les Voûtes & Les Frigos — Paris

2011 Paris

 

"Mere withered stalks and fading trees,

And pastures spread with hills and rushes,

Are all my fading vision sees;

Gone, gone are rapture's flooding gushes!

When mushrooms they were fairy bowers,

Their marble pillars overswelling,

And Danger paused to pluck the flowers

That in their swarthy rings were dwelling.

Yes, Poesy is on the wane,

Nor joy nor fear is mine again."

 

- John Clare, 'Decay'.

 

www.lulu.com/shop/giles-watson/a-witchs-natural-history/p...

 

CHAPTER 9:

CRYPTOGAMS: THE SPORE-BEARING PLANTS

 

My over-active imagination was first influenced by the power of the non-flowering plants when I was nine years old. My father had picked some shaggy cap mushrooms, Coprinus comatus, growing under pines, and that evening, he seethed them in milk. I ate them with relish, then spat into my sleeve compulsively in fear of poison. I remember them well, still sizzling in their buttered bath, in a white dish, and the way their pink-white flesh slithered through my lips, a paroxysm of sense, the melting in the mouth of my first initiation.

 

Later that evening, the final episode of an adaptation of Robert Graves’ I, Claudius was on television. I watched with delicious horror, my limited knowledge of mycological toxicology throwing my fancy into convulsions. Suetonius, Tacitus and Dio Cassius all agreed that Claudius was poisoned with a dish of mushrooms. Some sources add that the emperor’s final meal was prepared by Locusta, at the command of his wife Agrippina. In all likelihood, Claudius thought that he was eating the prized esculent Amanita caesarea. A servant versed in elementary mycology would no doubt have found it easy to substitute one of these delectable orange-capped mushrooms for a specimen of the green-capped Amanita phalloides, aptly dubbed the Death Cap, the most poisonous mushroom in the world. Around ninety per cent of recorded deaths from mushroom poisoning are caused by this, and only a few grams are required for a fatal dose. It is hazardous even to breathe the spores, but the baleful effects of the poison do not exhibit themselves for around twelve hours after ingestion. By this time, there is normally irrevocable damage to the liver and other body tissues. After two or three days, the symptoms seem to subside, but this remission is the cruellest ruse of all, for afterwards comes delirium, coma, and slick and clammy death. Fortunately, my father knew his Coprinus from his Amanita; indeed, he knew one Coprinus from another, for had he and my mother consumed the Shaggy Cap’s near relative Coprinus atramentarius with their customary glass of wine, they would have been throwing up all night.

 

There can be few more fertile interchanges between science and lore than that which has revolved for centuries around cryptogams. The name itself is inspiring, for while on the surface it tells us, rightly enough, that the sexual lives of these plants are hidden and mysterious, the novice who begins to pay attention to them will quickly realise that so much more has been encrypted. Most witches, it is to be hoped, can identify a range of flowering plants, but spore-bearing plants are much more difficult to pin down. Perhaps we overestimate the difficulty sometimes, since it hardly matters if we cannot place a species of Geranium, but a misidentification of a species of fungus could be catastrophic. Ferns, with the exception of a few very common or remarkable species, are rarely differentiated in the folk mind at all, so much so that most of their ‘common names’ are merely translations of their generic and specific ones. Mosses, for most, are simply padding for plant pots, and the club mosses, despite their name, are only vaguely related. In order to become authoritative, one must be initiated into the mysteries, and this can only happen when one can speak the language, and distinguish a decurrent gill from one that is adnexed, or determine whether a rachis is branched or unbranched. And just when the arcane discipline seems to be mastered, more fundamental questions begin to vex the enquirer, such as whether fungi are really plants in the first place.

 

Nor is it surprising that Lewis Carroll placed his hookah-smoking caterpillar on top of a mushroom, for when it comes to exploring the lives and folklore of these plants, or researching the narcotic effects of a few of them, we really are through the looking glass. The Siberian shamans known as the Koryak, for example, revere the Fly Agaric mushroom, Amanita muscaria, eating it to achieve transcendental states, and they tell the tale of Big Raven, who is charged with the Herculean task of rescuing a whale, stranded far from the sea, by carrying it in a big grass bag. He turns to the god of existence, Vahïnin, for aid, who tells him to go to the plains before the sea and look for “the spirits of Wãpaq”, white soft stalks wearing spotted hats. Big Raven does as he is told, eats of the Wãpaq, and the gills turn and whirl like a kaleidoscope. He returns to the whale, finding that it has shrunk to a hundredth of its accustomed, blubber-threshing size. He dances for joy, flips up the grass bag with his little finger, and capers away with the whale like an archetypal eco-warrior, returning it to the deep. Amongst its other hallucinogenic and aphrodisiac effects, the alkaloid muscaridine does indeed cause partakers to perceive surrounding objects as either very large or very small, but any reader determined to test this should be warned that Fly Agarics also contain muscarine, a poison which causes acute gastro-intestinal distress. This, as the Koryac discovered, may be evaporated by baking or drying the mushrooms, and the hallucinogenic effects of the muscaridine can be accentuated by drinking the urine of someone who has partaken of the Fly Agaric.

 

Ergot, Claviceps purpurea, which grows on the seed heads of rye-grass, is another fungus containing psychedelic alkaloids: lysergic acid derivatives which cause the eater’s vision to be suffused with brilliance, and which give men incorrigible erections. Unfortunately, they also cause fever, delusions, convulsions, swollen blisters, and atrophy of the extremities leading to gangrene and death. During the Middle Ages, outbreaks of ergotism were commonly known as St. Antony’s Fire, after the wealthy Frenchman Gaston promised his fortune to the cult of St. Antony if the saint would miraculously cure him and his son of the disease. It is probably significant that medieval portrayals of the temptation of St. Antony, with their plagues of vicious-looking demons, so often appear to be depictions of hallucinations. It has also been suggested that the Eleusian mysteries were probably caused by ergot poisoning, and it is also possible that outbreaks of witchcraft persecution, such as the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts in the early 1690s were also responses to delusions brought on by eating flour contaminated with ergot.

 

Other mushrooms have gained an occult importance not through the efficacy of their active ingredients, but because of their appearance or life history. The stinkhorn mushroom, Phallus impudicus, has always been valued in sympathetic magic. Gerard, it seems, had a fit of doubt as to the propriety of the creator, in whom he appears to have believed, for he printed his diagram of this fungus upside down in an attempt to disguise the obvious resemblance, but gave the game away when he named it: “Pricke mushroom, Fungus Virilis, Penis effigie”. The undeveloped fungus is a round white ball, which reminds me of one of the devil’s testicles, dropped when he was in a hurry, or perhaps cast aside during one of his ritual folkloric geldings. Dodoens (1563) thought that these rounded earth-heavers were the eggs of spirits or devils (“Manium sive Daemonum ova”), and a tradition amongst German hunters, who called the stinkhorn “Hirschbrunst”, held that it grew where stags had rutted. Observation of this fungus over the period of a few days only serves to heighten its mystique. First it thrusts forth out of the ball, the shaft lengthens, and the sticky head aspires to sky. It grows foetid with the sweat of questing, quivers with the pulse of earth. If you listen, you can almost hear it groaning with sperm. At last, plied by flies, it is primed for its own sickly orgasm; the glans all green and engorged, as though a breath of wind could make it blow.

 

Folklore surrounds other mushrooms too: the Jew’s Ear Fungus, Hirneola auricularia-Judae, which, according to an anti-Semitic tradition, first grew on elder trees after Judas Iscariot hung from one, and is an everlasting commemoration of his suicide; and the fairy-ring champignon Marasmius oreades, whose spreading circular mycorrhiza have so long marked points of intersection with the otherworld. Some fungi, such as the Dryad’s Saddle, Polyporus squamosus, have evocative names suggestive of forgotten lore. Others have real life histories which seem stranger than folklore itself, such as Cordyceps militaris. Airborn spores of this insignificant fungus land at random on a champing caterpillar upon a leaf, and germinate. Thereafter, the fungus parasitizes the larva as it pupates underground, its guts and wings and compound eyes becoming a tangle of fungal hyphae, until at last the Cordyceps bursts out of the withered coffin of a chrysalis, and marks the caterpillar’s grave for long enough to spread the spores once more.

 

Reproduction by means of spores has itself become the stuff of legend. It has long been held that at certain appointed times, the “seed” or spores of ferns can give a person the power of invisibility. It is normally maintained that the spores must not be shaken from the frond, but persuaded to fall by means of a spell or “receipt”. Shakespeare alludes to this folk belief in 1 King Henry IV, Act 2, Scene 1, in which Gadshill insists that “we have the receipt of fern-seed, - we walk invisible.” His companion, the Chamberlain, appears to be something of a sceptic, for he replies “Nay, by my faith, I think you are more beholding to the night than to fern-seed for your walking invisible.” It seems likely that the belief was related to homoeopathic magic: the fact that fern spores are miniscule led to the assumption that they could confer invisibility. The theme is taken up in a little more detail by Richard Bovet’s remarkable Pandæmonium, or, The Devil's Cloyster, Being a further Blow to modern Sadduceism, proving the Existence of Witches and Spirits (1684). Bovet, a Puritan reacting to the scepticism of the rising Enlightenment, argued for the existence of various supernatural agencies, insisted that the spells of witches were potent, and then went on to argue that the Roman Catholic Church was practising a form of witchcraft.

 

Much discourse [he added] hath been about gathering of Fern-seed (which is looked upon as a Magical Herb) on the night of Midsummer Eve, and I remember I was told of one that went to gather it, and the Spirits whiskt by his Ears like Bullets, and sometimes struck his Hat, and other parts of his body: in fine, though he apprehended that he had gotten a quantity of it, and secured it in Papers, and a Box besides, when he came home, he found all empty. But most probable this appointing of times, and hours, is of the Devils [sic] own Institution, as well as the Fast, that having once ensnared people to an Obedience to his Rules, he may with more facility oblige them to a stricter Vassallage.

 

It appears that Bovet eventually fell prey to the notorious Judge Jeffreys, and thus may have ended his days wishing that times were more enlightened than he had hitherto been willing to concede.

 

More obscure ferns than the ubiquitous bracken have been attributed with magical powers. When gathered by moonlight, Moonwort, Botrychium lunaria, is said to be capable of opening locks and loosening nails on hinges, and the alchemists believed it had the power to turn mercury into silver. Culpepper recorded that the plant was colloquially known as “Unshoo the horse”, and insisted that Moonwort was responsible for an incident “On the White Down in Devonshire, near Tiverton, [in which] there was found thirty horse-shoes pulled off from the feet of the Earl of Essex his Horses…” Osmunda regalis, the royal or flowering fern is known in Cumberland as the Marsh Onion, because of the whitish mass which grows within its rootstock. In county Galway, this “onion” is called the “heart of Osmund”, which, when sliced, pounded and left to macerate, is said to be efficacious in cases of rheumatism. The Adder’s Tongue, Ophioglossum vulgatum, was a popular remedy for snakebite; a rather far-fetched application of the doctrine of signatures, given that the fern looks nothing like its namesake. Lowlier cryptogams even than these have been exploited in societies where anything of the remotest utility was appreciated. Sphagnum moss is more absorbent than cotton wool, and the wounded at the battles of Clonterf and Flodden were not misguided when they stuffed their wounds with green bog moss and soft grass. Surgeons on the western front used it too. The Dutch Rush, Equisetum hyemale, a horsetail, contains so much silica that it was imported to Britain from Holland as a scourer. The spores of club mosses (Lycopodium spp.) were used, under the name of Vegetable Brimstone, as a waterproof coating for pills, and since they are flammable, were invaluable for pyrotechnics, stage lighting, and for the special effects employed by conjuring magicians and charlatans alike.

 

There is, as any true witch will tell you, much to be said for the attitude of Tolkein’s Gollum, whose eyes were always cast down on the ground. The cryptogams were the first plants to colonise dry land. Once, there were club mosses which towered over dinosaurs, but now, the spore bearing plants are those which are most likely to be ignored. To know them is indeed to be initiated into the secrets of a living code, with permutations as infinite as spores. If we fail to notice them, it is our loss. They will still be here when we are gone, and some of them will be the prime agents of our dissolution.