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SAS BAHU TEMPLE

A 9th-century shrine, Saas-Bahu temple in the fort allures not only the devotees but also the tourists with its artistic value. Despite what its name may suggest, these temples are not dedicated to Sas (mother-in-law) and Bahu (daughter-in-law) but rather the short form of Shashtra Bahu, another name of Lord Vishnu. These temples situated adjacent to each other and the larger one is elaborately decorated with beautiful carvings and sculptures. The roof of the larger temple is adorned with a marvelous lotus carving which is very fascinating. These ancient temples display exceptional architectural brilliance and are a perfect destination for pious people.

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Gwalior Fort (Hindi: ग्वालियर क़िला Gwalior Qila) is an 8th-century hill fort near Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, central India. The fort consists of a defensive structure and two main palaces, Gurjari Mahal and Man Mandir, built by Man Singh Tomar. The fort has been controlled by a number of different rulers over time. The Gurjari Mahal palace was built for Queen Mrignayani. It is now an archaeological museum.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word Gwalior is derived from one of the Hindu words for saint, Gwalipa.

 

TOPOGRAPHY

The fort is built on an outcrop of Vindhyan sandstone on a solitary, rocky, long, thin, steep hill called Gopachal. The geology of the Gwalior range rock formations is ochre coloured sandstone covered with basalt. There is a horizontal strata, 104 m at its highest point (length 2.4 km and average width 910 m.The stratum forms a near perpendicular precipice. A small river, the Swarnrekha, flows close to the palace.

 

RULERS

Legend tells that Suraj Sen Kachwaha, chieftain of the nearby Silhonia village was on a hunting trip. He came upon the hermit, Gwalipa (Galava) who gave the chieftain healing water from the Surajkund reservoir. In gratitude for the healing of leprosy, the chieftain founded Gwalior, naming it after Gwalipa. The earliest record of the fort is 525 AD where it is mentioned in an inscription in the temple of the Hun) emperor, Mihirakula (510 AD). Near the fort is an 875 AD Chaturbhuj temple associated with Telika Mandir.

 

PAL DYNASTY OF KACHAWAHA

The Pal dynasty of 86 kings ruled for 989 years. It began with Budha Pal and concluded with Suraj Pal. Budha Pal's son was Tej Karan (1127 - 1128). Gwalipa prophesied that the Pal dynasty would continue while the patronym, Pal was kept. Tej Keran married the daughter of Ran Mul, ruler of Amber (Jaipur) and received a valuable dowry. Tej Keran was offered the reign of Amber as long as he made it his residence. He did so, leaving Gwalior under Ram Deva Pratihar.

 

GUJARA-PRATIHARA DYNASTY

The Gurjara-Pratihar dynasty at Gwalior included Pramal Dev, Salam Dev, Bikram Dev, Ratan Dev, Shobhang Dev, Narsinh Dev and Pramal Dev.

 

TURKIC CONQUEST

In 1023 AD, Mahmud of Ghazni unsuccessfully attacked the fort. In 1196 AD, after a long siege, Qutubuddin Aibak, first Turkic sultan of Delhi took the fort, ruling till 1211 AD. In 1231 AD, the fort taken by Iltumish, Turkic sultan of Delhi. Under attack from Timurlane, Narasingh Rao, a Jaina chieftain captured the fort.

 

TOMAR RULERS

The Rajput Tomara clan ruled Gwalior from 1398 (when Pramal Dev captured the fort from a Muslim ruler) to 1518 (when Vikramaditya was defeated by Ibrahim lodhi).

 

Pramal Dev (Ver Singh, Bir Sing Deo) 1375.

Uddhharan Dev (brother of Pramal Dev).

Lakshman Dev Tomar

Viramdev 1400 (son of Virsingh Dev).

Ganapati Dev Tomar 1419.

Dugarendra (Dungar) Singh 1424.

Kirti Singh Tomar 1454.

Mangal Dev (younger son of Kirti Singh).

Kalyanmalla Tomar 1479.

Man Singh Tomar 1486 - 1516 (builder of the Man mandir).

Vikramaditya Tomar 1516.

Ramshah Tomar 1526.

Salivahan Tomar 1576.

 

SURI DYNASTY

In 1519, Ibrahim Lodi took the fort. After his death, control passed to the Mughal emperor Babur. Barber's son, Humayun, was defeated by Sher Shah Suri. After Suri's death in 1540, his son, Islam Shah, moved power from Delhi to Gwalior for strategic reasons. After the death of Islam Shah in 1553, his incumbent, Adil Shah Suri, appointed the Hindu warrior, Hemu (Hem Chandra Vikramaditya) as manager of Gwalior. From 1553 - 1556, Hemu attacked Adil Shah Suri and others from the fort.

 

MUGHAL DYNASTY

When the Mughal leader, Akbar captured the fort, he made it a prison for political prisoners. For example, Kamran, Akbar's cousin was held and executed at the fort. Aurangzeb's brother, Murad and nephews Suleman and Sepher Shikoh were also executed at the fort. The killings took place in the Man Madir palace.

 

RANA JAT DYNASTY

The Jats of Gohad occupied the fort on three occasions between 1740 and 1783. (Maharaja Bhim Singh Rana 1740 - 1756; Maharaja Chhatra Singh Rana 1761 - 1767; and Maharaja Chhatra Singh Rana 1780 - 1783).

 

MARATHA RULE

In 1779, the Scindia clan of the Maratha Empire stationed a garrison at the fort however, it was taken by the East India Company. In 1784, the Marathas under Mahadji Sinde, recovered the fort. There were frequent changes in the control of the fort between the Scindias and the British between 1808 and 1844. In January 1844, after the battle of Maharajpur, the fort was occupied by the Marathas as protectorate of the British government.

 

REBELLION OF 1857

On 1 June 1858, Rani Lakshmi Bai led a rebellion. The Central India Field Force, under General Hugh Rose, besieged the fort. Bai died on 17 June 1858.

 

STRUCTURES

The fort and its premises are well maintained and house many historic monuments including palaces, temples and water tanks. There are eleven temples to Gautama Buddha and the tirthankaras of Jainism. There are also a number of palaces (mahal) including the Man mandir, the Gujari, the Jahangir, the Karan, and the Shah Jahan. The fort covers an area of 3 square kilometres and rises 11 m. Its rampart is built around the edge of the hill, connected by six bastions or towers. The profile of the fort has an irregular appearance due to the undulating ground beneath. On the southern side are 21 temples cut into the rock with intricately carved tirthankaras. One, Pārśva, the 23rd local saint, is 12 m high.

 

There are two gates; one on the northeast side with a long access ramp and the other on the southwest. The main entrance is the ornate Elephant gate (Hathi Pul). The other is the Badalgarh Gate. The Man Mandir palace or citadel is located at the northeast end of the fort. It was built in the 1400s and refurbished in 1648. The water tanks or reservoirs of the fort could provide water to a 15,000 strong garrison, the number required to secure the fort.

 

MAN MANDIR PALACE

The Man mandir palace was built by the King of Tomar Dynasty - Maharaja Man Singh.It is a big palace with wonderful architecture,and beautiful art work done on its front as well as some interior walls.

 

HATHI POL

The Hathi Pol gate (or Hathiya Paur), located on the southeast, leads to the Man mandir palace. It is the last of a series of seven gates. It is named for a life-sized statue of an elephant (hathi) that once adorned the gate. The gate was built in stone with cylindrical towers crowned with cupola domes. Carved parapets link the domes.

 

GUJARI MAHAL MUSEUM

Gujari Mahal was built by Raja Man Singh for his wife Mrignayani, a Gujar princess. She demanded a separate palace for herself with a regular water supply through an aqueduct from the nearby Rai River. The palace has been converted into an archaeological museum. Rare artefacts at the museum include Hindu and Jain sculptures dated to the 1st and 2nd centuries BC; miniature statue of Salabhanjika; Terracotta items and replicas of frescoes seen in the Bagh Caves.

 

TELI KA MANDIR

The Teli-ka mandir (the oilman’s temple or oil pressers' temple) is a Brahmanical sanctuary built in the 8th (or perhaps the 11th century) and was refurbished between 1881 and 1883. It is the oldest part of the fort and has a blend of south and north Indian architectural styles. Within the rectangular structure is a shrine with no pillared pavilions (mandapa) and a Buddhist barrel-vaulted roof on a Hindu mandir. Buddhist architectural elements are found in the Chitya type hall and torana decorations at the entrance. There is a masonry tower in the nagari architectural style with a barrel vaulted roof 25 metres in height. The niches in the outer walls once housed statues but now have gavakshas (horse shoe arch) ventilator openings in the north Indian style. The gavaksha has been compared to the trefoil, a honeycomb design with a series of receding pointed arches within an arch. The entrance door has a torana or archway with sculpted images of river goddesses, romantic couples, foliation decoration and a Garuda. Diamond and lotus designs are seen on the horizontal band at the top of the arch indicating an influence from the Buddhist period. The vertical bands on either side of the door are decorated in a simple fashion with figures that are now badly damaged. Above the door are a small grouping of discs representing the finial (damalaka) of an Indo-Aryan Shikhara. The temple was originally dedicated to Vishnu, but later converted to the worship of Siva.

 

GARUDA MONUMENT

Close to the Teli ka Mandir temple is the Garuda monument, dedicated to Vishnu, is the highest in the fort. It has a mixture of Muslim and Indian architecture. The word Teli comes from the Hindu word Taali a bell used in worship.

 

SAAS-BAHU TEMPLE

In 1093, the Pal Kachawaha rulers built two temples to Vishnu. The temples are pyramidal in shape, built of red sandstone with several stories of beams and pillars but no arches.

 

KAM MAHAL

The Karn mahal is another significant monument at Gwalior Fort. The Karn mahal was built by the second king of the Tomar dynasty, Kirti Singh. He was also known as Karn Singh, hence the name of the palace.

 

VIKRAM MAHAL

The Vikram mahal (also known as the Vikram mandir, as it once hosted a temple of Shiva) was built by Vikramaditya Singh, the elder son of Maharaja Mansingh.He was a devotee of Shiva. The temple was destroyed during Mughal period but now has been re-established in the front open space of the Vikram mahal.

 

CHHATRI OF BHIM SINGH RANA

This chhatri (cupola or domed shaped pavilion) was built as a memorial to Bhim Singh Rana (1707-1756), a ruler of Gohad state. It was built by his successor, Chhatra Singh. Bhim Singh occupied Gwalior fort in 1740 when the Mughal Satrap, Ali Khan, surrendered. In 1754, Bhim Singh built a bhimtal (a lake) as a monument at the fort. Chhatra Singh built the memorial chhatri near the bhimtal. Every year, the Jat Samaj Kalyan council (parishad) of Gwalior organises a fair on Rama Navami, in honor of Bhim Singh Rana.

 

OTHER MONUMENTS

There are several other monuments built inside the fort area. These include: the Scindia School (an exclusive school for the sons of Indian princes and nobles)that was founded by Madho Rao Scindia in 1897; and the Gurdwara Data Bandi, a memorial to the sixth Sikh, Guru Hargobind.

 

WIKIPEDIA

 

 

At Pevensey Castle

 

Pevensey Castle: a Saxon Shore fort, Norman defences, a medieval enclosure castle, and later associated remains

The monument includes Anderita Saxon Shore fort, traces of later, Norman defences, an enclosure castle, a 16th century gun emplacement and World War II defences situated on a low spur of sand and clay which now lies around 2km north west of the present East Sussex coastline at Pevensey. During the Roman and medieval periods the spur formed a peninsula projecting into a tidal lagoon and marshland, but coastal deposition and land reclamation have gradually built up the ground around it so that it is now completely land-locked. The roughly oval, north east-south west aligned Roman fort is the earliest of the structures which make up the monument and has been dated to the first half of the fourth century AD. Covering almost 4ha, the fort survives in the form of substantial ruins and buried remains. It is enclosed by a massive defensive wall with a flint and sandstone rubble core faced by coursed greensand and ironstone blocks, interspersed with red tile bonding courses. The whole is up to 3.7m thick and survives to a height of up to 8.1m. The wall was originally topped by a wall walk and parapet. Part excavation in 1906-8 showed that the wall was constructed on footings of rammed chalk and flints underpinned by oak piles and held together by a framework of wooden beams. Investigation of the internal face indicated that this was stepped upwards from a wide base so as to provide extra strength and support. Despite these precautions, a landslip on the south eastern side of the fort has resulted in the destruction of a c.180m length of the perimeter walls and, although fragments of the fallen masonry do survive, most have been removed over the years. Smaller sections of wall have also collapsed along the north western and eastern stretches. The defensive strength provided by the perimeter wall was enhanced by irregularly-spaced, externally projecting semicircular bastions with diameters of around 5m. There were originally at least 15 of these, of which 10 survive today. The fort was entered from its south western, landward approach by way of the main gateway. In front of this a protective ditch 5.5m wide was dug, and, although this became infilled over the years, a 40m stretch located towards its south eastern end has been recut and exposed. The ditch would have been spanned originally by a wooden bridge, although this no longer survives. The main gateway takes the form of a rectangular gatehouse set back between two solid semicircular bastions 8m apart. The 2.7m wide, originally arched entrance is flanked by two oblong guardrooms and the whole gateway structure projects beyond the inner face of the perimeter wall into the fort and is thought to have been originally two or even three storeys high. On the eastern side of the fort is a more simply designed subsidiary gateway, originally a 3m wide archway entrance, giving access to part of the adjacent Roman harbour, now overlain by Pevensey village. The extant archway is a modern reconstruction of the Norman rebuilding of the original entrance. Traces of a wooden causeway which led from it into the fort have been found during partial excavation. Midway along the north western stretch of perimeter wall is a now ruined postern c.2m wide, approached by a curved passage set within the wall. Part excavation between 1906-1908 indicated that the internal buildings which housed the garrison of up to 1,000 men, along with their livestock and supplies, were constructed of timber infilled with wattle and daub. A c.1m sq timber-lined Roman well was found in the south western sector of the fort, at the bottom of which were the remains of the wooden bucket with rope still attached. The well was found to have been filled with rubbish in Roman times and the presence of the bones of cattle, sheep, red deer, wild boar, wild birds, domestic dogs and cats, along with sea shells, gives some indication of the diet and lifestyle of the fort's original inhabitants. Anderita is thought to have been abandoned by its garrison by the latter half of the 4th century AD, and although little is known of its subsequent history until the 11th century, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records a massacre of Britons by the invading Saxons at the fort in AD 491. The Bayeux Tapestry states that William the Conquerer landed at Pevensey in 1066, and the Norman army are believed to have made use of the Roman fort as one of their first armed camps. The defences at Pevensey and the surrounding land were granted to King William's half-brother Robert, Count of Mortain. The medieval defences then went through at least 300 years of development, culminating in the construction of a stone built enclosure castle within the largely intact walls of the earlier Roman fort. It is thought that the first Norman defences took the form of a wooden palisade surrounded by a bank and ditch, and a c.40m length of partially infilled ditch up to 9m wide which survives across the north eastern sector of the earlier fort may indicate their original extent. Limited excavations in 1993-94 showed that the ground surface in the south eastern sector of the fort, in the vicinity of the later stone-built keep, was artificially raised some time before 1200, suggesting that a motte may also have been constructed. The original Roman gateways were rebuilt and a new ditch dug in front of the south western gate. Most of the Norman defences and interior wooden buildings will now survive in buried form beneath the later medieval castle, although herringbone-pattern repairs to the Roman masonry, by then serving as the outer bailey of the medieval defences, also date from this time. Around 1100 the defences were strengthened and the accommodation improved by the addition of a masonry keep in the south eastern sector of the earlier fort. The subject of a complex history of alteration, collapse and repair, the keep utilises part of the earlier, Roman perimeter wall and bastions. It takes the form of a rectangular block measuring c.16.8m by c.9m internally, reinforced by apsidal projections on all sides. Now surviving in ruined form up to first floor level, the keep originally took the form of a tall tower with an entrance on the first floor. A rectangular building measuring 7.6m by 6m was later constructed in the south eastern angle between the keep and the Roman wall. At around 1200 work began on the construction of a smaller, stone-built inner bailey in the south eastern sector of the earlier fort. An L-shaped ditch around 20m wide was dug to define the new enclosure, and this retains water in its northern arm. The material excavated from the ditch and from the destruction of the earlier bank was spread over much of the outer bailey to a depth of up to 1.5m. The ditch was recut during extensive renovations carried out during the early 20th century. The first structure to be built in this phase was the gatehouse to the south west which has an arched entrance between twin, semicircular external towers, now ruined. The basement chambers beneath each tower have ashlar-faced walls and barrel-vaulted ceilings, the southern chamber being entered by way of a newel staircase, the northern by a trapdoor. Both were used to house prisoners. Many subsequent alterations included the replacement, during the 15th century, of the wooden bridge over the outer ditch by a stone causeway. The originally embattled curtain wall enclosing the inner bailey was built within the ditch and inner berm around 1250. This survives almost to its full original height and is faced with coursed Greensand ashlar. Three semicircular external towers provided flanking cover from the narrow embrasures which pierce their walls. Each has a narrow staircase to a basement, a branch staircase off it into the ditch and a room and garderobe, or latrine, at ground floor level. Upper rooms were entered by way of the wall walk and were heated by fireplaces. The basement of the northernmost tower has two rib-vaulted bays, the keeled ribs resting on stiff-leaf corbels. The interior castle buildings continued to be built mainly of wood and these will survive in buried form, although the stone foundations of a chapel were exposed during partial excavation of the northern sector of the inner bailey. Around 20m south east of the chapel is a large stone-lined well at least 15.5m deep, and near this is a pile of medieval stone missile-balls, a selection of those recovered from the ditch. These were thrown from trebuchets during the four sieges of the castle. William, Count of Mortain forfeited Pevensey after an unsuccessful rebellion against Henry I in 1101 and the castle, which remained in the royal gift until the later Middle Ages, passed into the hands of the de Aquila family. The most famous siege took place in 1264-65 when the supporters of Henry III, fleeing from their defeat by the Barons at Lewes, took refuge in the castle. In 1372 the castle was given to John of Gaunt, and during his period of office was used to imprison James I, King of Scotland, who had been seized in 1406, and Joan, Queen of Navarre, accused of witchcraft by her stepson, Henry V. By 1300, the sea had gradually begun to recede from around the castle and its military importance declined as a result. Contemporary records show that the castle walls were constantly in need of expensive repair and by the end of the 14th century were not being properly maintained, although the roof leads were kept intact until the middle of the 15th century. By 1500 the castle had ceased to be inhabited and fell rapidly into decay. The threat of the Spanish Armada led to some renewed interest in the defensive value of the site, and a survey of 1587 records that the castle housed two demi-culverins, or heavy guns. These were sited on the contemporary, south east orientated, M-shaped earthen gun emplacement situated in the outer bailey around 90m north east of the main Roman gateway. This takes the form of a raised level platform c.20m long bounded on the seaward side by a slight bank c.0.4m high and around 3m wide. One of the cast iron guns, manufactured in the East Sussex Weald, is now housed within the inner bailey on a modern replica carriage. From the 17th century the castle passed through the hands of various private owners. Valued as a picturesque ruin during the 18th and 19th centuries, it features in many contemporary engravings and illustrations. In 1925 the Duke of Devonshire presented the monument to the state, and extensive repairs began with a view to opening the monument to the public. These were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, when the castle resumed its original military purpose of protecting the south coast. The castle was refortified in May 1940 as an observation and command post. It was continuously occupied by regular troops, including Canadian forces and the United States Army Air Corps, who used it as a radio direction centre, and by the Home Guard until 1944. The World War II defences include two pillboxes and three machine gun posts of concrete faced with rubble and flints, carefully concealed and camouflaged within the earlier Roman and medieval fabric. An internal tower was built just to the south of the Roman east gateway and a blockhouse housing anti-tank weapons was built in front of the main Roman gateway. The blockhouse no longer survives. Modifications carried out to the medieval mural towers included lining the interiors with brick and inserting wooden floors. In 1945 the monument was returned to peaceful use and is now in the guardianship of the Secretary of State and open to the public.

[Historic England]

The heritage value of the Mont Blanc Anchor Site lies in its commemoration of the Halifax Explosion of 1917 when the “Mont-Blanc,” an ammunitions vessel, collided with the Norwegian relief ship “Imo.” Over 2,000 people died, and an additional 5,000 were injured as a direct result of the explosion classifying the event as the largest manmade explosion prior to Hiroshima. The explosion projected the 1140 pound anchor shaft of the “Mont Blanc” approximately two and one half miles from the point of the explosion, a fact which attests to the power of the explosion. (Source: Halifax.ca)

The son - the future defender.

 

This is part of photo-set "

Family values".

______________________________

Family: Taho - father - Soom Heliot

Misteria - mother - Soom Nephelin

Aminael - daughter - Soom Kivi

Roland - son - Soom Trond

Blogged here: simplesewendipity.blogspot.com/2014/03/scrapbeelicious-st...

 

Our fourth winter visitor has arrived.

 

value on calculator. You are allowed to use this image on your website. If you do, please link back to my site as the source: creditscoregeek.com/

 

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Thank you!

Mike Cohen

Born 5/5/1837 Rotterdam

Died 11/11/1913 Auckland

 

"A painter of unestimable value for New Zealand art"

 

Petrus van der Velden was born at Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on 5 May 1837, the fifth child of a working-class Catholic family. His parents were Joannes van der Velden, a warehouse manager, and his wife, Jacoba van Essel. Petrus began drawing lessons at about the age of 13 at the Schilderkundig genootschap, and a year later commenced an apprenticeship in the lithographic trade. In 1858, in partnership with J. G. Zijderman, he established a lithographic printing firm in Rotterdam.

 

Van der Velden's earliest known, datable work was painted in 1864 or 1865, but it was not until 1867 that he wound up the printing firm and began painting full time. It was also in this year that he first exhibited, showing a harbour scene with the Arti et Amicitiae society in Amsterdam. His first subjects were maritime. In 1868 he published a lithograph, 'River scene', in the Dutch art periodical Kunstkronijk , and the same year registered at the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts. In 1869 van der Velden was registered at an academy in Berlin, having received a scholarship from King William III, and the following year was active in Honfleur and Normandy in France.

 

With the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, van der Velden returned to Dordrecht in the Netherlands, and commenced what was to become an important series of paintings on the lives of the fishing people of Marken. In manner and subject these works were in the style of European realism, depicting the ordinary lives of the Marken people and particularly the harshness and drama of their relationship with the sea.

 

On 28 December 1874 van der Velden was accepted as an ordinary member of the Pulchri Studio in The Hague, and moved to that city early the following year. On 3 August 1876, at Rotterdam, he married Sophia Wilhelmina Eckhart, also of Rotterdam and sister of the sculptor David Eckhart. After their marriage they moved to Wassenaar, near The Hague. They were to have three children: Wilhelm, Gerard and Hendrika Alice.

 

After his arrival in The Hague, van der Velden exhibited there and in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, London, Manchester and Scotland. From 1876 to 1878 he was superintendent of the drawing room at the Pulchri Studio, and in 1887 was superintendent of art appreciation. For two years between 1877 and 1882 he taught the Dutch impressionist Suze Bisschop (then Suze Robertson). He mixed with the most prominent artists of the Netherlands, coming to the attention of the young Vincent van Gogh in 1882 and 1883. During the 1880s he increasingly turned his attention to landscape painting. While his early work had been formed under the influence of Jozef Israels, this later painting was reminiscent of Hendrik Mesdag.

 

It is not certain what motivated van der Velden and his family to emigrate to New Zealand. However, dissatisfaction at the outcome of an art competition, which developed into a squabble with Mesdag, combined with an invitation from Gerrit van Asch, the pioneer teacher of the deaf at Sumner in Christchurch, appear to have been the principal causes. In April 1890 the family left the Netherlands and in London boarded the Orizaba for Melbourne, Australia. They arrived at Lyttelton, New Zealand, on the Waihora on 21 June. At first they lived with van Asch at Sumner, then at the end of the year made their home in Avonside.

 

Van der Velden brought to Christchurch the attitudes and concerns of one of Europe's most highly regarded artistic centres, and introduced the role of the professional artist. By the end of 1890 he had committed himself to the artistic life of the city. In November at the Canterbury Society of Arts' exhibition he exhibited the now legendary 'Dutch funeral', which is the largest, and perhaps the greatest, of his Marken studies.

 

In January 1891 van der Velden made his first trip to Otira Gorge, and discovered the new landscape motif which was to occupy his energies throughout the remainder of his life. Within a very short time he developed a major reputation in Christchurch, exhibiting regularly with the art societies there and in Dunedin. In 1893 he had a large studio built at the family's new home in Durham Street, and in February 1894 began taking private pupils. Robert Proctor, Elizabeth and Cecil Kelly, Leonard Booth, Charles Bickerton, Raymond McIntyre and Sydney Thompson all studied with him.

 

Although van der Velden was highly regarded in Christchurch, the material reward for his work fell short of expectation. Financial disputes began to occur. Finally, the prospect of greener fields in Australia proved irresistible and the family sailed for Sydney at the end of April 1898. At first things went well in Sydney, and the Christchurch painting 'Disillusioned', also known as 'The sorrowful future', was sold to the National Art Gallery of New South Wales for £400. Although little is known of the artist's life there, Sydney, it seems, was little better to the artist than Christchurch, and he remained there for only 5½ years. On 1 May 1899 Sophia van der Velden died. From January to March 1901 Petrus was ill and residing at the Carrington Hospital for Convalescents at Camden outside Sydney. He continued to exhibit regularly, however, and in 1903 was working at Bondi.

 

In January 1904, accompanied by Australia Wahlberg, he returned to New Zealand. On 4 February 1904, two weeks after their arrival in Wellington on the Victoria , the couple were married at the Wellington Registry Office. On Christmas Day the following year Australia van der Velden gave birth to a son, Noel, who died aged only 26 days on 19 January 1906.

 

Van der Velden exhibited at Christchurch and Wellington in 1904. He painted a portrait of Richard Seddon following the premier's death in 1906, but this was lost in the fire at Parliament Buildings in 1907. During the Wellington years he became progressively more reclusive, moving residence several times, but still continued to exhibit regularly. In March 1909 a self-portrait shown by the Canterbury Society of Arts in Christchurch was purchased by Nellie Melba, of whom the artist was greatly enamoured. When a second child, a daughter, was born in May that year she was named Melba after the diva.

 

During his final years van der Velden often repeated the Marken and Otira subjects, recognising them, it seems, as his greatest achievements. He was exhibited frequently, but often the selection of his works was retrospective. During a visit to Auckland in 1913 he contracted bronchitis and died (from heart failure) on 11 November. He was buried in an unmarked grave at Waikaraka cemetery three days later. Australia and Melba van der Velden returned to Sydney the following year

   

Wilson, T. L. Rodney. 'Velden, Petrus van der 1837 - 1913'. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007

URL: www.dnzb.govt.nz/

 

Podcast

Professor Jonathan Mane-Wheoki talks about the artist's life and legacy.

From Radio New Zealand Arts on Sunday on 10 Nov 2013

www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/2575844

   

 

Value Education Workshop at Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar District of West Bengal in April 2017

I found all this at Value Village, all told for $72 No sets are complete, all are missing at least 1 or two minifigs, smaller items in the set, and a couple cases had some glue on them, most notable the TIE advanced. Still one heck of a deal.

Benched ion Seattle Wa

“Spectrum”

Opening reception May 2, 2009, 7pm-9pm In conjunction with the Phantom Galleries LA Art Walk Night.

 

Artists:

Serge Armando, Lino Martinez, Erica Steiner

 

Curated by:

Edgar Varela Fine Arts

 

Artist Contact:

542 S. Alameda Street, LA CA 90013

213.494.7608

Edgar@EdgarVarelaFineArts.com

EdgarVarelaFineArts.com

    

Dates April 15 – May 15, 2009

 

Opening reception May 2, 2009, 7pm-9pm In conjunction with the Phantom Galleries LA Art Walk Night.

 

Pedestrian Viewing 24/7, Gallery Hours To be posted. Galleries open by appointment.

 

Location:

Phantom Galleries LA Long Beach on the Promenade. 170 North Promenade, Long Beach, 90802

  

About the Artists:

 

Serge Armando

 

NEO – GEO – CLASSICISM :

 

combines the following tenets of Neoclassicism with and expressed through geometric abstraction:

 

1. a regard for tradition and reverence for the classics, with an accompanying distrust of innovation

2. a sense of literature as art--that is, as something "artificed" or "artificial," made by craft; hence the value put on "rules," conventions, "decorum," the properties of received genres.

3. a concern for social reality, and the communal commonplaces of thought which hold it together.

4. a concern for "nature"--or the way things are (and should be). This relates back to the distrust of innovation and inherent conservatism of neoclassicism. The artistic rules of old, for instance, Pope describes as having been "discovered, not devised" and are "Nature methodized"; so too, "Nature and Homer" are "the same" (Essay on Criticism 88ff., 135). This belief in "nature" implies a conviction that there is a permanent, universal way things are (and should be), which obviously entails fundamental political and ethical commitments.

 

Born in Nice during a period of Existentialist post-war France, Serge Armando, from his earliest days, was steeped in a backdrop of the blue skies of la Côte d’Azur. From proximity, his way was ushered into first hand experience with Flux and Les Nouveaux Realists.

 

In 1989, Armando accepted a position at Laguna Art Museum as Exhibition Designer. His first assignment, "Turning the Tide," an exhibition of early Los Angeles Modernists, introduced him to the spiritually-charged abstract works of Peter Krasnow and the hard-edged geometric works of John McLaughlin.

Artist and scholar Michael McManus said this of Armando, "Frontal, blunt, and totemic, [Armando’s] works confront viewers as primal plus-minus icons, but are also perceptually elusive in how they activate the viewer’s peripheral vision. Their workman-like massing of precise, flat, polychromatic acrylic, creates an arresting abstract yet pictorial arena. Like many pure abstract artists of the late twentieth century, Armando regards the non-objective as a visual language–still in its infancy–whose potential equals that of representation." In this way, Armando’s works are invitations for viewers to impose upon them their own visual idiolects, complete with their own experiential lexicons which have arisen from the viewers’ own distinct inventories of “heres” and “nows”.

 

Armando’s latest works are, as always, iconic and kinetic. The works document his lifelong immersion in competitive systems of organization. Each work of the series propagates squarely steadfast abstract geometric immediacy.

Over his thirty-year residence in Laguna Beach, Armando has played a decisive role in the careers of significant area artists and gallery owners. His works have exhibited in key local galleries and Museums, and have sold to some of Southern California’s most distinguished collectors of contemporary art. His recent, 2005, first place showing at Laguna Art Museum’s twenty-third annual art auction is testimony to his continued impact and import on the local art scene.

Paraphrased from an interview/article by Mike Stice, Laguna Beach, 2005

   

Kristina E. King

 

Kristinaeking.com

 

A version of “Pillow Room” will be installed.

  

Lino Martinez Santiago

 

Lino Martinez Santiago was born on July 25, 1961 in Mexico City Mexico. In 1982, he attended ESDAP (Superior School of Drawing Artistic Historical) in Mexico City. Under Professor Mario Orozco Rivera he accomplished paintings and murals. He participated in the murals at the Ferrar Publication Building and the foyer of the Cultural Center Delegation Coyohacan and received a Certificate of Completion. Lino Martinez Santiago arrived in the United States from Mexico City in 1989 and began working with master printer and impression limited atelier. He currently works as a master printer in silkscreen and lithography. His own work is abstract contemporary and surrealistic in nature. Lino has been shown in various galleries throughout California and Mexico with over 15 shows in the past 3 years.

  

Erica Steiner

 

Erica Steiner is a professional artist living and working in the Bay Area. Having grown up on rural California farmland and lived much of her adult life in San Francisco, her work reflects both a passion for urban culture and aesthetics and an enduring love affair with the organic forms that compose the natural world. She is a graduate of Mills College in Oakland and New College of California, and has exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions around California and beyond.

 

Artist's Statement

 

My newest paintings, Reverie: Meditations on an Ornamental World, find conceptual grounding in the idea that the basic human drive to decorate and adorn the material world is a fundamentally sacred or devotional one. Whether this impulse is made manifest in the form of an everyday act like putting on jewelry, or in an overt act of ritual, such as the adornment of a religious icon with flower garlands, we as humans are ubiquitously driven to decorate our world, to sanctify it, and to beautify it with ornament.

 

Continually deferring and referring back to the language of nature, I use painting as a vehicle to explore my affinity for ornamentation, using natural elements such as trees, flowers, cells, and alien or marine-like forms. Highly detailed in oil and gold leaf, these elements function as visual building blocks of elaborate, dreamy, yet earth-bound realities, foreign yet viscerally familiar places where the consciousness can dwell and find new perspective.

 

Stylistically, my paintings are influenced by Chinese and Japanese landscape painting, contemporary graphics, textile design and art nouveau. The work also recalls a wide range of contemporary, folk and religious art, including traditional Indian and aboriginal painting, Tibetan Buddhist textiles, and medieval Catholic illuminations.

   

Partners

"The Long Beach Redevelopment Agency is proud to partner with Phantom Galleries LA, not only to revive empty storefronts along our major corridors, but also to showcase the arts and build a sense of community and culture in our Downtown," said Craig Beck, Executive Director of the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency. LongBeachRDA.org

 

Special Thank you to Hillcrest Development Partners, Pacifica HOA, Wokcano Restaurants, Charles Dunn Company.

  

In a far off fringe part of federation space a small autonomous community know as ”Backpackers” by the federation, they are basically a remnant of the old federation, named after their unnecessary use of oxygen tanks on the backs.

 

The high leaders of the Capital planet have not conquered their littles Zone, it is kind of strange since this expansive empire had either conquered all bordering states or was in the progress of doing so… like a malicious space-cancer the federation spread across space, forcing their culture and plundering their riches to send to the hub known as the Capital Planet…

 

But perhaps a few of the ruling companies in control had a soft spot for this innocent peaceful tribe reflecting the old culture of man when it took baby steps into the dark gigantic void called space…

 

One day at backpacker base a small double seated mini speeder applied for permission to land…

 

When the crew of the small craft had landed, the backpackers saw that it was two Space-police from their gigantic neighbour…

 

The backpackers gasped because they know it was trouble, the just wanted to continue their peaceful existence doing their own stuff, collecting moondust, measuring craters and building outdated scientific bases on distant asteroids…

 

But as always the Backpackers was polite and the yellow leader Tom stepped forwards and said:

 

-Be greeted, our fellow space explorers, may you enjoy our hospitality here in our far-off corner of space, what brings you here and how can we help you our fellow brothers?

 

The federal police commander replied:

 

-Spare us the pleasantry, scum backpacker, we are an empire and take what we want, you will crawl in the dust to appease our every move, that is why we are an expanding empire and you are backpacker fossils from a time when humans didn’t know good enough that imperial expansion is the only way forwards for a state…

 

-Ok Sir! Whatever you say, we are peaceful scientist, doing scientific stuff expanding knowledge rather than territory, so I ask again why are you here, dear brother of an expanding empire!

 

-Well, idiot pacifist and scientist stupid enough to be burdened by a heavy backpack, look at that clumsy idiot over there his heavy BP have taken him off balance, and that is exactly the thing, we know that you clumsy flat footed fools are always carrying you invalidating ox-packs… So tell me dear worm scientist, why has this vehicle over there got seating that is incompatible to your ox-weights you carry on your burdined backs!

 

-Oh! We bought those at Harry’s scrapyard, he sells all kinds of stuff, I love the second-hand market!!!

 

-Oh don’t lie to me wimp, I know very well about your dealings with the rebels…

 

-So dear officer is that a crime, we are an independent free nation, we have a supreme mini-state here, a thriving democracy, we are free to make deals with anyone are we not?

 

-Oh, resally, you know very well that you have no power, your idiotic section of space is completely surrounded på federation space, even a snapp of the fingers by a low level federal official like me and the fleet would bomb your sector to heaven!!!

 

-Eh, so what do you want???

 

-I want the coordinates of the rebel base! …and you’d better not lie!!!!

 

-But dear Sir Fascist bully-boy, I would give you the coordinates if I had them, but we haven’t been to their base… we know nothing, please Sir, we are peaceful scientists not rebels!

 

-Ok! Sign your confession on this mini-holo parchment, just a scribble down the corner!

 

…and so the scientist did

 

The two seated speeder went away and when outside the zone of backpacker space, he radioed his boss:

 

-Sir, they refused to sign the agreement, we suspect rebel activity at the base, obliterate the area with 52 anti-matter nukes, no rebels shall survive!!! We will take down a few federational miner colonies close by, a small loss of life, but worth it in the fight against those idealist rebels!!!

 

…and that was when the last relic of a more peaceful, democratic and friendly era was completely erased, the end of the peaceful scientists known as backpackers!

Collection: Cornell University Collection of Political Americana, Cornell University Library

 

Repository: Susan H. Douglas Political Americana Collection, #2214 Rare & Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, Cornell University

 

Title: Republican Party Election Day Watcher Ribbon, 1904

 

Political Party: Republican

 

Election Year: 1904

 

Date Made: 1904

 

Measurement: Ribbon: 10 x 3 1/4 in.; 25.4 x 8.255 cm

 

Classification: Costume

 

Persistent URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1813.001/60jj

 

There are no known U.S. copyright restrictions on this image. The digital file is owned by the Cornell University Library which is making it freely available with the request that, when possible, the Library be credited as its source.

internet

Gentlepersons:

 

The Kodachrome Pictures:

 

These recently uploaded Kodachrome pictures have no artistic value. They were just uploaded to be representative of consumer Kodachrome picture recording during about 70 of the 75 years that Kodachrome was commercially available to the public. Unlike in today’s digital world it took time, money and effort to make a Kodachrome slide. We took fewer pictures, trying to stretch resources, but some sere still frivolous.

 

I'm 97 (2106). In between health downturns, I fear this will be my last chance to post much. The ratio of today’s digital pictures that are kept for any length of time and/or printed is much less than the film photos taken in days past. History will be lost. Meanwhile you get to be bored by some old Kodachromes.

 

The Camera:

 

Most of these pictures are not very sharp. They were taken with an Argus AF 35mm miniature Bakelite camera bought in 1938 at the USNA by saving much of my small student stipend for about six months. It had a Cooke style three element lens of marginal quality for its day of laughable quality compared with any of today’s SLR lenses. It had slightly better resolving ability than today’s ever more scarce disposable film cameras. The AF was an Argus upgrade which enabled the camera to focus at different lengths from about 1.5 feet to infinity. Most consumer cameras of that day were what we call medium format today. Most of the cheaper consumer grade cameras were little more than box- cameras with single element non-focusing meniscus lenses. The larger film hid much of the softness. The then newer miniature cameras had to do better because of the smaller film exposure size.

 

This one was taken by an Instamatic.

 

It is one of the sacristies with the highest artistic value in Spain. At first it was the chapter house. Architecturally it is from the s. XVI. It began to be used as a sacristy at the end of the 17th century, a period from which almost all the painting that we can see. The frescoes on the ceiling and the central tables are from the 18th century. The abbot Fray José Fernández (1693-1697) adorned it with twelve coppers that are on the walnut drawers. The collection of coppers is completed until reaching twenty-four. He also enriched it with four large canvases that were brought from Naples. The baroque altarpiece is dominated by a carving of Our Lady Queen of the Angels with a scepter and crown.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Mill%C3%A1n_de_la_Cogolla

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monasteries_of_San_Mill%C3%A1n_de_l...

   

The cat (Felis catus), commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae. Recent advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the domestication of the cat occurred in the Near East around 7500 BC. It is commonly kept as a house pet and farm cat, but also ranges freely as a feral cat avoiding human contact. It is valued by humans for companionship and its ability to kill vermin. Because of its retractable claws it is adapted to killing small prey like mice and rats. It has a strong flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp teeth, and its night vision and sense of smell are well developed. It is a social species, but a solitary hunter and a crepuscular predator. Cat communication includes vocalizations like meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting as well as cat body language. It can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by small mammals. It also secretes and perceives pheromones.

 

Female domestic cats can have kittens from spring to late autumn in temperate zones and throughout the year in equatorial regions, with litter sizes often ranging from two to five kittens. Domestic cats are bred and shown at events as registered pedigreed cats, a hobby known as cat fancy. Animal population control of cats may be achieved by spaying and neutering, but their proliferation and the abandonment of pets has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, contributing to the extinction of bird, mammal and reptile species.

 

As of 2017, the domestic cat was the second most popular pet in the United States, with 95.6 million cats owned and around 42 million households owning at least one cat. In the United Kingdom, 26% of adults have a cat, with an estimated population of 10.9 million pet cats as of 2020. As of 2021, there were an estimated 220 million owned and 480 million stray cats in the world.

 

Etymology and naming

The origin of the English word cat, Old English catt, is thought to be the Late Latin word cattus, which was first used at the beginning of the 6th century. The Late Latin word may be derived from an unidentified African language. The Nubian word kaddîska 'wildcat' and Nobiin kadīs are possible sources or cognates. The Nubian word may be a loan from Arabic قَطّ‎ qaṭṭ ~ قِطّ qiṭṭ.

 

The forms might also have derived from an ancient Germanic word that was imported into Latin and then into Greek, Syriac, and Arabic. The word may be derived from Germanic and Northern European languages, and ultimately be borrowed from Uralic, cf. Northern Sámi gáđfi, 'female stoat', and Hungarian hölgy, 'lady, female stoat'; from Proto-Uralic *käďwä, 'female (of a furred animal)'.

 

The English puss, extended as pussy and pussycat, is attested from the 16th century and may have been introduced from Dutch poes or from Low German puuskatte, related to Swedish kattepus, or Norwegian pus, pusekatt. Similar forms exist in Lithuanian puižė and Irish puisín or puiscín. The etymology of this word is unknown, but it may have arisen from a sound used to attract a cat.

 

A male cat is called a tom or tomcat (or a gib, if neutered). A female is called a queen or a molly, if spayed, especially in a cat-breeding context. A juvenile cat is referred to as a kitten. In Early Modern English, the word kitten was interchangeable with the now-obsolete word catling.

 

A group of cats can be referred to as a clowder or a glaring.

 

Taxonomy

The scientific name Felis catus was proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for a domestic cat. Felis catus domesticus was proposed by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. Felis daemon proposed by Konstantin Satunin in 1904 was a black cat from the Transcaucasus, later identified as a domestic cat.

 

In 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature ruled that the domestic cat is a distinct species, namely Felis catus. In 2007, it was considered a subspecies, F. silvestris catus, of the European wildcat (F. silvestris) following results of phylogenetic research. In 2017, the IUCN Cat Classification Taskforce followed the recommendation of the ICZN in regarding the domestic cat as a distinct species, Felis catus.

 

Evolution

Main article: Cat evolution

The domestic cat is a member of the Felidae, a family that had a common ancestor about 10 to 15 million years ago. The evolutionary radiation of the Felidae began in Asia during the Miocene around 8.38 to 14.45 million years ago. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA of all Felidae species indicates a radiation at 6.46 to 16.76 million years ago. The genus Felis genetically diverged from other Felidae around 6 to 7 million years ago. Results of phylogenetic research shows that the wild members of this genus evolved through sympatric or parapatric speciation, whereas the domestic cat evolved through artificial selection. The domestic cat and its closest wild ancestor are diploid and both possess 38 chromosomes and roughly 20,000 genes.

 

Domestication

See also: Domestication of the cat and Cats in ancient Egypt

It was long thought that the domestication of the cat began in ancient Egypt, where cats were venerated from around 3100 BC, However, the earliest known indication for the taming of an African wildcat was excavated close by a human Neolithic grave in Shillourokambos, southern Cyprus, dating to about 7500–7200 BC. Since there is no evidence of native mammalian fauna on Cyprus, the inhabitants of this Neolithic village most likely brought the cat and other wild mammals to the island from the Middle Eastern mainland. Scientists therefore assume that African wildcats were attracted to early human settlements in the Fertile Crescent by rodents, in particular the house mouse (Mus musculus), and were tamed by Neolithic farmers. This mutual relationship between early farmers and tamed cats lasted thousands of years. As agricultural practices spread, so did tame and domesticated cats. Wildcats of Egypt contributed to the maternal gene pool of the domestic cat at a later time.

The earliest known evidence for the occurrence of the domestic cat in Greece dates to around 1200 BC. Greek, Phoenician, Carthaginian and Etruscan traders introduced domestic cats to southern Europe. During the Roman Empire they were introduced to Corsica and Sardinia before the beginning of the 1st millennium. By the 5th century BC, they were familiar animals around settlements in Magna Graecia and Etruria. By the end of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, the Egyptian domestic cat lineage had arrived in a Baltic Sea port in northern Germany.

 

The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) was tamed independently in China around 5500 BC. This line of partially domesticated cats leaves no trace in the domestic cat populations of today.

 

During domestication, cats have undergone only minor changes in anatomy and behavior, and they are still capable of surviving in the wild. Several natural behaviors and characteristics of wildcats may have pre-adapted them for domestication as pets. These traits include their small size, social nature, obvious body language, love of play, and high intelligence. Captive Leopardus cats may also display affectionate behavior toward humans but were not domesticated. House cats often mate with feral cats. Hybridisation between domestic and other Felinae species is also possible, producing hybrids such as the Kellas cat in Scotland.

 

Development of cat breeds started in the mid 19th century. An analysis of the domestic cat genome revealed that the ancestral wildcat genome was significantly altered in the process of domestication, as specific mutations were selected to develop cat breeds. Most breeds are founded on random-bred domestic cats. Genetic diversity of these breeds varies between regions, and is lowest in purebred populations, which show more than 20 deleterious genetic disorders.

 

Characteristics

Main article: Cat anatomy

Size

The domestic cat has a smaller skull and shorter bones than the European wildcat. It averages about 46 cm (18 in) in head-to-body length and 23–25 cm (9.1–9.8 in) in height, with about 30 cm (12 in) long tails. Males are larger than females. Adult domestic cats typically weigh 4–5 kg (8.8–11.0 lb).

 

Skeleton

Cats have seven cervical vertebrae (as do most mammals); 13 thoracic vertebrae (humans have 12); seven lumbar vertebrae (humans have five); three sacral vertebrae (as do most mammals, but humans have five); and a variable number of caudal vertebrae in the tail (humans have only three to five vestigial caudal vertebrae, fused into an internal coccyx).  The extra lumbar and thoracic vertebrae account for the cat's spinal mobility and flexibility. Attached to the spine are 13 ribs, the shoulder, and the pelvis.  Unlike human arms, cat forelimbs are attached to the shoulder by free-floating clavicle bones which allow them to pass their body through any space into which they can fit their head.

 

Skull

The cat skull is unusual among mammals in having very large eye sockets and a powerful specialized jaw.  Within the jaw, cats have teeth adapted for killing prey and tearing meat. When it overpowers its prey, a cat delivers a lethal neck bite with its two long canine teeth, inserting them between two of the prey's vertebrae and severing its spinal cord, causing irreversible paralysis and death. Compared to other felines, domestic cats have narrowly spaced canine teeth relative to the size of their jaw, which is an adaptation to their preferred prey of small rodents, which have small vertebrae.

 

The premolar and first molar together compose the carnassial pair on each side of the mouth, which efficiently shears meat into small pieces, like a pair of scissors. These are vital in feeding, since cats' small molars cannot chew food effectively, and cats are largely incapable of mastication.:  Cats tend to have better teeth than most humans, with decay generally less likely because of a thicker protective layer of enamel, a less damaging saliva, less retention of food particles between teeth, and a diet mostly devoid of sugar. Nonetheless, they are subject to occasional tooth loss and infection.

 

Claws

Cats have protractible and retractable claws. In their normal, relaxed position, the claws are sheathed with the skin and fur around the paw's toe pads. This keeps the claws sharp by preventing wear from contact with the ground and allows for the silent stalking of prey. The claws on the forefeet are typically sharper than those on the hindfeet. Cats can voluntarily extend their claws on one or more paws. They may extend their claws in hunting or self-defense, climbing, kneading, or for extra traction on soft surfaces. Cats shed the outside layer of their claw sheaths when scratching rough surfaces.

 

Most cats have five claws on their front paws and four on their rear paws. The dewclaw is proximal to the other claws. More proximally is a protrusion which appears to be a sixth "finger". This special feature of the front paws on the inside of the wrists has no function in normal walking but is thought to be an antiskidding device used while jumping. Some cat breeds are prone to having extra digits ("polydactyly"). Polydactylous cats occur along North America's northeast coast and in Great Britain.

 

Ambulation

The cat is digitigrade. It walks on the toes, with the bones of the feet making up the lower part of the visible leg. Unlike most mammals, it uses a "pacing" gait and moves both legs on one side of the body before the legs on the other side. It registers directly by placing each hind paw close to the track of the corresponding fore paw, minimizing noise and visible tracks. This also provides sure footing for hind paws when navigating rough terrain. As it speeds up from walking to trotting, its gait changes to a "diagonal" gait: The diagonally opposite hind and fore legs move simultaneously.

 

Balance

Cats are generally fond of sitting in high places or perching. A higher place may serve as a concealed site from which to hunt; domestic cats strike prey by pouncing from a perch such as a tree branch. Another possible explanation is that height gives the cat a better observation point, allowing it to survey its territory. A cat falling from heights of up to 3 m (9.8 ft) can right itself and land on its paws.

 

During a fall from a high place, a cat reflexively twists its body and rights itself to land on its feet using its acute sense of balance and flexibility. This reflex is known as the cat righting reflex. A cat always rights itself in the same way during a fall, if it has enough time to do so, which is the case in falls of 90 cm (3.0 ft) or more. How cats are able to right themselves when falling has been investigated as the "falling cat problem".

 

Coats

Main article: Cat coat genetics

The cat family (Felidae) can pass down many colors and patterns to their offspring. The domestic cat genes MC1R and ASIP allow for the variety of color in coats. The feline ASIP gene consists of three coding exons. Three novel microsatellite markers linked to ASIP were isolated from a domestic cat BAC clone containing this gene and were used to perform linkage analysis in a pedigree of 89 domestic cats that segregated for melanism.[citation needed]

 

Senses

Main article: Cat senses

Vision

A cat's nictitating membrane shown as it blinks

Cats have excellent night vision and can see at only one-sixth the light level required for human vision.  This is partly the result of cat eyes having a tapetum lucidum, which reflects any light that passes through the retina back into the eye, thereby increasing the eye's sensitivity to dim light. Large pupils are an adaptation to dim light. The domestic cat has slit pupils, which allow it to focus bright light without chromatic aberration. At low light, a cat's pupils expand to cover most of the exposed surface of its eyes. The domestic cat has rather poor color vision and only two types of cone cells, optimized for sensitivity to blue and yellowish green; its ability to distinguish between red and green is limited. A response to middle wavelengths from a system other than the rod cells might be due to a third type of cone. This appears to be an adaptation to low light levels rather than representing true trichromatic vision. Cats also have a nictitating membrane, allowing them to blink without hindering their vision.

 

Hearing

The domestic cat's hearing is most acute in the range of 500 Hz to 32 kHz. It can detect an extremely broad range of frequencies ranging from 55 Hz to 79 kHz, whereas humans can only detect frequencies between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. It can hear a range of 10.5 octaves, while humans and dogs can hear ranges of about 9 octaves. Its hearing sensitivity is enhanced by its large movable outer ears, the pinnae, which amplify sounds and help detect the location of a noise. It can detect ultrasound, which enables it to detect ultrasonic calls made by rodent prey. Recent research has shown that cats have socio-spatial cognitive abilities to create mental maps of owners' locations based on hearing owners' voices.

 

Smell

Cats have an acute sense of smell, due in part to their well-developed olfactory bulb and a large surface of olfactory mucosa, about 5.8 cm2 (0.90 in2) in area, which is about twice that of humans. Cats and many other animals have a Jacobson's organ in their mouths that is used in the behavioral process of flehmening. It allows them to sense certain aromas in a way that humans cannot. Cats are sensitive to pheromones such as 3-mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol, which they use to communicate through urine spraying and marking with scent glands. Many cats also respond strongly to plants that contain nepetalactone, especially catnip, as they can detect that substance at less than one part per billion. About 70–80% of cats are affected by nepetalactone. This response is also produced by other plants, such as silver vine (Actinidia polygama) and the herb valerian; it may be caused by the smell of these plants mimicking a pheromone and stimulating cats' social or sexual behaviors.

 

Taste

Cats have relatively few taste buds compared to humans (470 or so versus more than 9,000 on the human tongue). Domestic and wild cats share a taste receptor gene mutation that keeps their sweet taste buds from binding to sugary molecules, leaving them with no ability to taste sweetness. They, however, possess taste bud receptors specialized for acids, amino acids like protein, and bitter tastes. Their taste buds possess the receptors needed to detect umami. However, these receptors contain molecular changes that make the cat taste of umami different from that of humans. In humans, they detect the amino acids of glutamic acid and aspartic acid, but in cats they instead detect nucleotides, in this case inosine monophosphate and l-Histidine. These nucleotides are particularly enriched in tuna. This has been argued is why cats find tuna so palatable: as put by researchers into cat taste, "the specific combination of the high IMP and free l-Histidine contents of tuna" .. "produces a strong umami taste synergy that is highly preferred by cats". One of the researchers involved in this research has further claimed, "I think umami is as important for cats as sweet is for humans".[87]

 

Cats also have a distinct temperature preference for their food, preferring food with a temperature around 38 °C (100 °F) which is similar to that of a fresh kill; some cats reject cold food (which would signal to the cat that the "prey" item is long dead and therefore possibly toxic or decomposing).

 

Whiskers

To aid with navigation and sensation, cats have dozens of movable whiskers (vibrissae) over their body, especially their faces. These provide information on the width of gaps and on the location of objects in the dark, both by touching objects directly and by sensing air currents; they also trigger protective blink reflexes to protect the eyes from damage.: 47 

 

Behavior

See also: Cat behavior

Outdoor cats are active both day and night, although they tend to be slightly more active at night.[88] Domestic cats spend the majority of their time in the vicinity of their homes but can range many hundreds of meters from this central point. They establish territories that vary considerably in size, in one study ranging 7–28 ha (17–69 acres). The timing of cats' activity is quite flexible and varied but being low-light predators, they are generally crepuscular, which means they tend to be more active near dawn and dusk. However, house cats' behavior is also influenced by human activity and they may adapt to their owners' sleeping patterns to some extent.

 

Cats conserve energy by sleeping more than most animals, especially as they grow older. The daily duration of sleep varies, usually between 12 and 16 hours, with 13 and 14 being the average. Some cats can sleep as much as 20 hours. The term "cat nap" for a short rest refers to the cat's tendency to fall asleep (lightly) for a brief period. While asleep, cats experience short periods of rapid eye movement sleep often accompanied by muscle twitches, which suggests they are dreaming.

 

Sociability

The social behavior of the domestic cat ranges from widely dispersed individuals to feral cat colonies that gather around a food source, based on groups of co-operating females. Within such groups, one cat is usually dominant over the others. Each cat in a colony holds a distinct territory, with sexually active males having the largest territories, which are about 10 times larger than those of female cats and may overlap with several females' territories. These territories are marked by urine spraying, by rubbing objects at head height with secretions from facial glands, and by defecation. Between these territories are neutral areas where cats watch and greet one another without territorial conflicts. Outside these neutral areas, territory holders usually chase away stranger cats, at first by staring, hissing, and growling and, if that does not work, by short but noisy and violent attacks. Despite this colonial organization, cats do not have a social survival strategy or a herd behavior, and always hunt alone.

 

Life in proximity to humans and other domestic animals has led to a symbiotic social adaptation in cats, and cats may express great affection toward humans or other animals. Ethologically, a cat's human keeper functions as if a mother surrogate. Adult cats live their lives in a kind of extended kittenhood, a form of behavioral neoteny. Their high-pitched sounds may mimic the cries of a hungry human infant, making them particularly difficult for humans to ignore. Some pet cats are poorly socialized. In particular, older cats show aggressiveness toward newly arrived kittens, which include biting and scratching; this type of behavior is known as feline asocial aggression.

 

Redirected aggression is a common form of aggression which can occur in multiple cat households. In redirected aggression there is usually something that agitates the cat: this could be a sight, sound, or another source of stimuli which causes a heightened level of anxiety or arousal. If the cat cannot attack the stimuli, it may direct anger elsewhere by attacking or directing aggression to the nearest cat, dog, human or other being.

 

Domestic cats' scent rubbing behavior toward humans or other cats is thought to be a feline means for social bonding.

 

Communication

Main article: Cat communication

Domestic cats use many vocalizations for communication, including purring, trilling, hissing, growling/snarling, grunting, and several different forms of meowing. Their body language, including position of ears and tail, relaxation of the whole body, and kneading of the paws, are all indicators of mood. The tail and ears are particularly important social signal mechanisms in cats. A raised tail indicates a friendly greeting, and flattened ears indicate hostility. Tail-raising also indicates the cat's position in the group's social hierarchy, with dominant individuals raising their tails less often than subordinate ones. Feral cats are generally silent.: 208  Nose-to-nose touching is also a common greeting and may be followed by social grooming, which is solicited by one of the cats raising and tilting its head.

 

Purring may have developed as an evolutionary advantage as a signaling mechanism of reassurance between mother cats and nursing kittens, who are thought to use it as a care-soliciting signal. Post-nursing cats also often purr as a sign of contentment: when being petted, becoming relaxed, or eating. Even though purring is popularly interpreted as indicative of pleasure, it has been recorded in a wide variety of circumstances, most of which involve physical contact between the cat and another, presumably trusted individual. Some cats have been observed to purr continuously when chronically ill or in apparent pain.

 

The exact mechanism by which cats purr has long been elusive, but it has been proposed that purring is generated via a series of sudden build-ups and releases of pressure as the glottis is opened and closed, which causes the vocal folds to separate forcefully. The laryngeal muscles in control of the glottis are thought to be driven by a neural oscillator which generates a cycle of contraction and release every 30–40 milliseconds (giving a frequency of 33 to 25 Hz).

 

Domestic cats observed in a rescue facility have total of 276 distinct facial expressions based on 26 different facial movements; each facial expression corresponds to different social functions that are likely influenced by domestication.

 

Grooming

Cats are known for spending considerable amounts of time licking their coats to keep them clean. The cat's tongue has backward-facing spines about 500 μm long, which are called papillae. These contain keratin which makes them rigid so the papillae act like a hairbrush. Some cats, particularly longhaired cats, occasionally regurgitate hairballs of fur that have collected in their stomachs from grooming. These clumps of fur are usually sausage-shaped and about 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) long. Hairballs can be prevented with remedies that ease elimination of the hair through the gut, as well as regular grooming of the coat with a comb or stiff brush.

 

Fighting

Among domestic cats, males are more likely to fight than females. Among feral cats, the most common reason for cat fighting is competition between two males to mate with a female. In such cases, most fights are won by the heavier male. Another common reason for fighting in domestic cats is the difficulty of establishing territories within a small home. Female cats also fight over territory or to defend their kittens. Neutering will decrease or eliminate this behavior in many cases, suggesting that the behavior is linked to sex hormones.

 

When cats become aggressive, they try to make themselves appear larger and more threatening by raising their fur, arching their backs, turning sideways and hissing or spitting. Often, the ears are pointed down and back to avoid damage to the inner ear and potentially listen for any changes behind them while focused forward. Cats may also vocalize loudly and bare their teeth in an effort to further intimidate their opponents. Fights usually consist of grappling and delivering powerful slaps to the face and body with the forepaws as well as bites. Cats also throw themselves to the ground in a defensive posture to rake their opponent's belly with their powerful hind legs.

 

Serious damage is rare, as the fights are usually short in duration, with the loser running away with little more than a few scratches to the face and ears. Fights for mating rights are typically more severe and injuries may include deep puncture wounds and lacerations. Normally, serious injuries from fighting are limited to infections of scratches and bites, though these can occasionally kill cats if untreated. In addition, bites are probably the main route of transmission of feline immunodeficiency virus. Sexually active males are usually involved in many fights during their lives, and often have decidedly battered faces with obvious scars and cuts to their ears and nose. Cats are willing to threaten animals larger than them to defend their territory, such as dogs and foxes.

 

Hunting and feeding

See also: Cat food

The shape and structure of cats' cheeks is insufficient to allow them to take in liquids using suction. Therefore, when drinking they lap with the tongue to draw liquid upward into their mouths. Lapping at a rate of four times a second, the cat touches the smooth tip of its tongue to the surface of the water, and quickly retracts it like a corkscrew, drawing water upward.

 

Feral cats and free-fed house cats consume several small meals in a day. The frequency and size of meals varies between individuals. They select food based on its temperature, smell and texture; they dislike chilled foods and respond most strongly to moist foods rich in amino acids, which are similar to meat. Cats reject novel flavors (a response termed neophobia) and learn quickly to avoid foods that have tasted unpleasant in the past. It is also a common misconception that cats like milk/cream, as they tend to avoid sweet food and milk. Most adult cats are lactose intolerant; the sugar in milk is not easily digested and may cause soft stools or diarrhea. Some also develop odd eating habits and like to eat or chew on things like wool, plastic, cables, paper, string, aluminum foil, or even coal. This condition, pica, can threaten their health, depending on the amount and toxicity of the items eaten.

 

Cats hunt small prey, primarily birds and rodents, and are often used as a form of pest control. Other common small creatures such as lizards and snakes may also become prey. Cats use two hunting strategies, either stalking prey actively, or waiting in ambush until an animal comes close enough to be captured. The strategy used depends on the prey species in the area, with cats waiting in ambush outside burrows, but tending to actively stalk birds.: 153  Domestic cats are a major predator of wildlife in the United States, killing an estimated 1.3 to 4.0 billion birds and 6.3 to 22.3 billion mammals annually.

 

Certain species appear more susceptible than others; in one English village, for example, 30% of house sparrow mortality was linked to the domestic cat. In the recovery of ringed robins (Erithacus rubecula) and dunnocks (Prunella modularis) in Britain, 31% of deaths were a result of cat predation. In parts of North America, the presence of larger carnivores such as coyotes which prey on cats and other small predators reduces the effect of predation by cats and other small predators such as opossums and raccoons on bird numbers and variety.

 

Perhaps the best-known element of cats' hunting behavior, which is commonly misunderstood and often appalls cat owners because it looks like torture, is that cats often appear to "play" with prey by releasing and recapturing it. This cat and mouse behavior is due to an instinctive imperative to ensure that the prey is weak enough to be killed without endangering the cat.

 

Another poorly understood element of cat hunting behavior is the presentation of prey to human guardians. One explanation is that cats adopt humans into their social group and share excess kill with others in the group according to the dominance hierarchy, in which humans are reacted to as if they are at or near the top. Another explanation is that they attempt to teach their guardians to hunt or to help their human as if feeding "an elderly cat, or an inept kitten". This hypothesis is inconsistent with the fact that male cats also bring home prey, despite males having negligible involvement in raising kittens.:

 

Play

Main article: Cat play and toys

Domestic cats, especially young kittens, are known for their love of play. This behavior mimics hunting and is important in helping kittens learn to stalk, capture, and kill prey. Cats also engage in play fighting, with each other and with humans. This behavior may be a way for cats to practice the skills needed for real combat, and might also reduce any fear they associate with launching attacks on other animals.

 

Cats also tend to play with toys more when they are hungry. Owing to the close similarity between play and hunting, cats prefer to play with objects that resemble prey, such as small furry toys that move rapidly, but rapidly lose interest. They become habituated to a toy they have played with before. String is often used as a toy, but if it is eaten, it can become caught at the base of the cat's tongue and then move into the intestines, a medical emergency which can cause serious illness, even death. Owing to the risks posed by cats eating string, it is sometimes replaced with a laser pointer's dot, which cats may chase.

 

Reproduction

See also: Kitten

The cat secretes and perceives pheromones. Female cats, called queens, are polyestrous with several estrus cycles during a year, lasting usually 21 days. They are usually ready to mate between early February and August in northern temperate zones and throughout the year in equatorial regions.

 

Several males, called tomcats, are attracted to a female in heat. They fight over her, and the victor wins the right to mate. At first, the female rejects the male, but eventually, the female allows the male to mate. The female utters a loud yowl as the male pulls out of her because a male cat's penis has a band of about 120–150 backward-pointing penile spines, which are about 1 mm (0.039 in) long; upon withdrawal of the penis, the spines may provide the female with increased sexual stimulation, which acts to induce ovulation.

 

After mating, the female cleans her vulva thoroughly. If a male attempts to mate with her at this point, the female attacks him. After about 20 to 30 minutes, once the female is finished grooming, the cycle will repeat. Because ovulation is not always triggered by a single mating, females may not be impregnated by the first male with which they mate. Furthermore, cats are superfecund; that is, a female may mate with more than one male when she is in heat, with the result that different kittens in a litter may have different fathers.

 

The morula forms 124 hours after conception. At 148 hours, early blastocysts form. At 10–12 days, implantation occurs. The gestation of queens lasts between 64 and 67 days, with an average of 65 days.

 

Data on the reproductive capacity of more than 2,300 free-ranging queens were collected during a study between May 1998 and October 2000. They had one to six kittens per litter, with an average of three kittens. They produced a mean of 1.4 litters per year, but a maximum of three litters in a year. Of 169 kittens, 127 died before they were six months old due to a trauma caused in most cases by dog attacks and road accidents. The first litter is usually smaller than subsequent litters. Kittens are weaned between six and seven weeks of age. Queens normally reach sexual maturity at 5–10 months, and males at 5–7 months. This varies depending on breed. Kittens reach puberty at the age of 9–10 months.

 

Cats are ready to go to new homes at about 12 weeks of age, when they are ready to leave their mother. They can be surgically sterilized (spayed or castrated) as early as seven weeks to limit unwanted reproduction. This surgery also prevents undesirable sex-related behavior, such as aggression, territory marking (spraying urine) in males and yowling (calling) in females. Traditionally, this surgery was performed at around six to nine months of age, but it is increasingly being performed before puberty, at about three to six months. In the United States, about 80% of household cats are neutered.

 

Lifespan and health

Main articles: Cat health and Aging in cats

The average lifespan of pet cats has risen in recent decades. In the early 1980s, it was about seven years,: 33  rising to 9.4 years in 1995: 33  and an average of about 13 years as of 2014 and 2023. Some cats have been reported as surviving into their 30s, with the oldest known cat dying at a verified age of 38.

 

Neutering increases life expectancy: one study found castrated male cats live twice as long as intact males, while spayed female cats live 62% longer than intact females.: 35  Having a cat neutered confers health benefits, because castrated males cannot develop testicular cancer, spayed females cannot develop uterine or ovarian cancer, and both have a reduced risk of mammary cancer.

 

Disease

Main article: List of feline diseases

About 250 heritable genetic disorders have been identified in cats, many similar to human inborn errors of metabolism. The high level of similarity among the metabolism of mammals allows many of these feline diseases to be diagnosed using genetic tests that were originally developed for use in humans, as well as the use of cats as animal models in the study of the human diseases. Diseases affecting domestic cats include acute infections, parasitic infestations, injuries, and chronic diseases such as kidney disease, thyroid disease, and arthritis. Vaccinations are available for many infectious diseases, as are treatments to eliminate parasites such as worms, ticks, and fleas.

 

Ecology

Habitats

The domestic cat is a cosmopolitan species and occurs across much of the world. It is adaptable and now present on all continents except Antarctica, and on 118 of the 131 main groups of islands, even on the isolated Kerguelen Islands. Due to its ability to thrive in almost any terrestrial habitat, it is among the world's most invasive species. It lives on small islands with no human inhabitants. Feral cats can live in forests, grasslands, tundra, coastal areas, agricultural land, scrublands, urban areas, and wetlands.

 

The unwantedness that leads to the domestic cat being treated as an invasive species is twofold. On one hand, as it is little altered from the wildcat, it can readily interbreed with the wildcat. This hybridization poses a danger to the genetic distinctiveness of some wildcat populations, particularly in Scotland and Hungary, possibly also the Iberian Peninsula, and where protected natural areas are close to human-dominated landscapes, such as Kruger National Park in South Africa. However, its introduction to places where no native felines are present also contributes to the decline of native species.

 

Ferality

Main article: Feral cat

Feral cats are domestic cats that were born in or have reverted to a wild state. They are unfamiliar with and wary of humans and roam freely in urban and rural areas. The numbers of feral cats is not known, but estimates of the United States feral population range from 25 to 60 million. Feral cats may live alone, but most are found in large colonies, which occupy a specific territory and are usually associated with a source of food. Famous feral cat colonies are found in Rome around the Colosseum and Forum Romanum, with cats at some of these sites being fed and given medical attention by volunteers.

 

Public attitudes toward feral cats vary widely, from seeing them as free-ranging pets to regarding them as vermin.

 

Some feral cats can be successfully socialized and 're-tamed' for adoption; young cats, especially kittens and cats that have had prior experience and contact with humans are the most receptive to these efforts.

 

Impact on wildlife

Main article: Cat predation on wildlife

On islands, birds can contribute as much as 60% of a cat's diet. In nearly all cases, the cat cannot be identified as the sole cause for reducing the numbers of island birds, and in some instances, eradication of cats has caused a "mesopredator release" effect; where the suppression of top carnivores creates an abundance of smaller predators that cause a severe decline in their shared prey. Domestic cats are a contributing factor to the decline of many species, a factor that has ultimately led, in some cases, to extinction. The South Island piopio, Chatham rail, and the New Zealand merganser are a few from a long list, with the most extreme case being the flightless Lyall's wren, which was driven to extinction only a few years after its discovery. One feral cat in New Zealand killed 102 New Zealand lesser short-tailed bats in seven days. In the US, feral and free-ranging domestic cats kill an estimated 6.3 – 22.3 billion mammals annually.

 

In Australia, the impact of cats on mammal populations is even greater than the impact of habitat loss. More than one million reptiles are killed by feral cats each day, representing 258 species. Cats have contributed to the extinction of the Navassa curly-tailed lizard and Chioninia coctei.

 

Interaction with humans

Main article: Human interaction with cats

Cats are common pets throughout the world, and their worldwide population as of 2007 exceeded 500 million. As of 2017, the domestic cat was the second most popular pet in the United States, with 95.6 million cats owned and around 42 million households owning at least one cat. In the United Kingdom, 26% of adults have a cat, with an estimated population of 10.9 million pet cats as of 2020. As of 2021, there were an estimated 220 million owned and 480 million stray cats in the world.

 

Cats have been used for millennia to control rodents, notably around grain stores and aboard ships, and both uses extend to the present day.

 

As well as being kept as pets, cats are also used in the international fur trade and leather industries for making coats, hats, blankets, stuffed toys, shoes, gloves, and musical instruments. About 24 cats are needed to make a cat-fur coat. This use has been outlawed in the United States since 2000 and in the European Union (as well as the United Kingdom) since 2007.

 

Cat pelts have been used for superstitious purposes as part of the practice of witchcraft, and are still made into blankets in Switzerland as traditional medicine thought to cure rheumatism.

 

A few attempts to build a cat census have been made over the years, both through associations or national and international organizations (such as that of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies) and over the Internet, but such a task does not seem simple to achieve. General estimates for the global population of domestic cats range widely from anywhere between 200 million to 600 million. Walter Chandoha made his career photographing cats after his 1949 images of Loco, an especially charming stray taken in, were published around the world. He is reported to have photographed 90,000 cats during his career and maintained an archive of 225,000 images that he drew from for publications during his lifetime.

 

Shows

Main article: Cat show

A cat show is a judged event in which the owners of cats compete to win titles in various cat-registering organizations by entering their cats to be judged after a breed standard. It is often required that a cat must be healthy and vaccinated in order to participate in a cat show. Both pedigreed and non-purebred companion ("moggy") cats are admissible, although the rules differ depending on the organization. Competing cats are compared to the applicable breed standard, and assessed for temperament.

 

Infection

Main article: Feline zoonosis

Cats can be infected or infested with viruses, bacteria, fungus, protozoans, arthropods or worms that can transmit diseases to humans. In some cases, the cat exhibits no symptoms of the disease. The same disease can then become evident in a human. The likelihood that a person will become diseased depends on the age and immune status of the person. Humans who have cats living in their home or in close association are more likely to become infected. Others might also acquire infections from cat feces and parasites exiting the cat's body. Some of the infections of most concern include salmonella, cat-scratch disease and toxoplasmosis.

 

History and mythology

Main articles: Cultural depictions of cats and Cats in ancient Egypt

In ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped, and the goddess Bastet often depicted in cat form, sometimes taking on the war-like aspect of a lioness. The Greek historian Herodotus reported that killing a cat was forbidden, and when a household cat died, the entire family mourned and shaved their eyebrows. Families took their dead cats to the sacred city of Bubastis, where they were embalmed and buried in sacred repositories. Herodotus expressed astonishment at the domestic cats in Egypt, because he had only ever seen wildcats.

 

Ancient Greeks and Romans kept weasels as pets, which were seen as the ideal rodent-killers. The earliest unmistakable evidence of the Greeks having domestic cats comes from two coins from Magna Graecia dating to the mid-fifth century BC showing Iokastos and Phalanthos, the legendary founders of Rhegion and Taras respectively, playing with their pet cats. The usual ancient Greek word for 'cat' was ailouros, meaning 'thing with the waving tail'. Cats are rarely mentioned in ancient Greek literature. Aristotle remarked in his History of Animals that "female cats are naturally lecherous." The Greeks later syncretized their own goddess Artemis with the Egyptian goddess Bastet, adopting Bastet's associations with cats and ascribing them to Artemis. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, when the deities flee to Egypt and take animal forms, the goddess Diana turns into a cat.

 

Cats eventually displaced weasels as the pest control of choice because they were more pleasant to have around the house and were more enthusiastic hunters of mice. During the Middle Ages, many of Artemis's associations with cats were grafted onto the Virgin Mary. Cats are often shown in icons of Annunciation and of the Holy Family and, according to Italian folklore, on the same night that Mary gave birth to Jesus, a cat in Bethlehem gave birth to a kitten. Domestic cats were spread throughout much of the rest of the world during the Age of Discovery, as ships' cats were carried on sailing ships to control shipboard rodents and as good-luck charms.

 

Several ancient religions believed cats are exalted souls, companions or guides for humans, that are all-knowing but mute so they cannot influence decisions made by humans. In Japan, the maneki neko cat is a symbol of good fortune. In Norse mythology, Freyja, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, is depicted as riding a chariot drawn by cats. In Jewish legend, the first cat was living in the house of the first man Adam as a pet that got rid of mice. The cat was once partnering with the first dog before the latter broke an oath they had made which resulted in enmity between the descendants of these two animals. It is also written that neither cats nor foxes are represented in the water, while every other animal has an incarnation species in the water. Although no species are sacred in Islam, cats are revered by Muslims. Some Western writers have stated Muhammad had a favorite cat, Muezza. He is reported to have loved cats so much, "he would do without his cloak rather than disturb one that was sleeping on it". The story has no origin in early Muslim writers, and seems to confuse a story of a later Sufi saint, Ahmed ar-Rifa'i, centuries after Muhammad. One of the companions of Muhammad was known as Abu Hurayrah ("father of the kitten"), in reference to his documented affection to cats.

 

Superstitions and rituals

Many cultures have negative superstitions about cats. An example would be the belief that encountering a black cat ("crossing one's path") leads to bad luck, or that cats are witches' familiars used to augment a witch's powers and skills. The killing of cats in Medieval Ypres, Belgium, is commemorated in the innocuous present-day Kattenstoet (cat parade). In mid-16th century France, cats would be burnt alive as a form of entertainment, particularly during midsummer festivals. According to Norman Davies, the assembled people "shrieked with laughter as the animals, howling with pain, were singed, roasted, and finally carbonized". The remaining ashes were sometimes taken back home by the people for good luck.

 

According to a myth in many cultures, cats have multiple lives. In many countries, they are believed to have nine lives, but in Italy, Germany, Greece, Brazil and some Spanish-speaking regions, they are said to have seven lives, while in Arabic traditions, the number of lives is six. An early mention of the myth can be found in John Heywood's The Proverbs of John Heywood (1546)

 

Husband, (quoth she), ye studie, be merrie now,

And even as ye thinke now, so come to yow.

Nay not so, (quoth he), for my thought to tell right,

I thinke how you lay groning, wife, all last night.

Husband, a groning horse and a groning wife

Never faile their master, (quoth she), for my life.

No wife, a woman hath nine lives like a cat.

 

The myth is attributed to the natural suppleness and swiftness cats exhibit to escape life-threatening situations. Also lending credence to this myth is the fact that falling cats often land on their feet, using an instinctive righting reflex to twist their bodies around. Nonetheless, cats can still be injured or killed by a high fall.

UN VALUE: Human Rights

This is not to say that one with a great amount of experience is always going to have an accurate intuition, however, the chances of it being more reliable are definitely amplified. The boy is taught to obey his teacher. Credit: United Nations/Mondal Nitai

Alien She

 

Photos and Video by Mario Gallucci

 

Alien She

Sep 3, 2015 – Jan 9, 2016

 

Alien She, curated by Astria Suparak + Ceci Moss, is the first exhibition to examine the lasting impact of Riot Grrrl on artists and cultural producers working today. A pioneering punk feminist movement that emerged in the early 1990s, Riot Grrrl has had a pivotal influence, inspiring many around the world to pursue socially and politically progressive careers as artists, activists, authors and educators. Emphasizing female and youth empowerment, collaborative organization, creative resistance and DIY ethics, Riot Grrrl helped a new generation to become active feminists and create their own culture and communities that reflect their values and experiences, in contrast to mainstream conventions and expectations.

 

Riot Grrrl formed in reaction to pervasive and violent sexism, racism and homophobia in the punk music scene and in the culture at large. Its participants adapted strategies from earlier queer and punk feminisms and ‘70s radical politics, while also popularizing discussions of identity politics occurring within academia, but in a language that spoke to a younger generation. This self-organized network made up of teenagers and twenty-somethings reached one another through various platforms, such as letters, zines, local meetings, regional conferences, homemade videos, and later, chat rooms, listservs and message boards. The movement eventually spread worldwide, with chapters opening in at least thirty-two states and twenty-six countries.* Its ethos and aesthetics have survived well past its initial period in the ‘90s, with many new chapters forming in recent years. Riot Grrrl’s influence on contemporary global culture is increasingly evident – from the Russian collective Pussy Riot’s protest against corrupt government-church relations to the popular teen website Rookie and the launch of Girls Rock Camps and Ladyfest music and art festivals around the world.

 

Alien She focuses on seven people whose visual art practices were informed by their contact with Riot Grrrl. Many of them work in multiple disciplines, such as sculpture, installation, video, documentary film, photography, drawing, printmaking, new media, social practice, curation, music, writing and performance – a reflection of the movement’s artistic diversity and mutability. Each artist is represented by several projects from the last 20 years, including new and rarely seen works, providing an insight into the development of their creative practices and individual trajectories.

 

Artists: Ginger Brooks Takahashi (Pittsburgh), Tammy Rae Carland (Oakland), Miranda July (Los Angeles), Faythe Levine (Milwaukee), Allyson Mitchell (Toronto), L.J. Roberts (Brooklyn), Stephanie Syjuco (San Francisco) and more.

 

Archival Materials from: dumba collective; EMP Museum, Seattle; Interference Archive; Jabberjaw; the Riot Grrrl Collection at the Fales Library & Special Collections, NYU; and many personal collections.

 

Collaborative Projects and Platforms include: Counterfeit Crochet Project, Feminist Art Gallery (FAG), General Sisters, Handmade Nation, Joanie 4 Jackie, Learning to Love You More, LTTR, projet MOBILIVRE-BOOKMOBILE project, Sign Painters and more

Women’s Studies Professors Have Class Privilege / I’m With Problematic, from the series Creep Lez, Allyson Mitchell, 2012.

 

Altered t-shirts with iron-on transfer and vinyl letters. Courtesy of the artist and Katharine Mulherin Gallery, Toronto.

 

Alien She is curated by Astria Suparak and Ceci Moss, and organized by the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh

  

Alien She is presented in two parts:

 

Museum of Contemporary Craft

724 NW Davis

Portland, OR 97209

 

511 Gallery @ PNCA

511 NW Broadway

Portland, OR 97209

 

Both venues are open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 6pm.

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Islamic Holy Month of Ramadan Banner

Colorful Illuminating Lanterns,

Flower Patterns on Purple Textured Background.

Ramadan Kareem banner

Ramadan turquoise flowers banner

luxury geometrical ramadan banner

Ramadan kareem background

Happy Ramadan Kareem Greetings Banner

Ramadan Kareem Illustration Vector

Ramadan Sale Social Media Banner

Ramadan sale banner template

ramadan banner

A. Create a design that moves the value from light in the central area to dark in the outer perimeter.

B. Create a design that moves the value from dark in the central area to light at the outer perimeter. The following is what I came up with.

Manufacturing authentic cuckoo clocks in Black Forest #Triberg. The wood is completely carved by hand, making these clocks unique. An authentic cuckoo clock will not lose value over the next 30 years after its manufacture, even it will be increased over time.

Please be aware... I am no stamp expert. Posted titles are either what I was told or from a quick Google search. No claim is made of all being accurate, I do make an effort to be as factual as possible when posting. Some duplication of type or variety may occur. I try not to double post items. My feeble brain may slip on that from time to time. Very little actual value exists in most (if not all) of them.

 

Faith-filled learning environment leads to greater academic success, service to community, say supporters

 

By Ambria Hammel | Feb. 16, 2010 | The Catholic Sun

 

Catholic education doesn’t just help a student now. The full dividends play out over a lifetime.

 

That was the overarching theme students throughout the diocese celebratedduring Catholic Schools Week Jan. 31-Feb. 6. Students organized special activities, projects and dress-up days to honor the vital role a Catholic education plays.

 

“There’s more focus on God and religion, not just academics. I like that,” John Paul McCann, a fifth-grader at Blessed Pope John XXIII, said about his Catholic school experience. “I think it’d be good to have more people learn about God.”

 

Fr. Dan McBride, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Chandler and a St. Jerome School alumnus, concelebrated a special Mass at his alma mater Feb. 4. Six other priests, active and retired, joined him.

 

“When we celebrate Catholic Schools Week, we celebrate our identity not just as students in a private school. We celebrate our Catholic identity. We know that to learn and to grow in faith are part and parcel; they go together,” Fr. McBride said.

 

Fr. McBride recalled his daily outlook at St. Jerome: “I was going to learn something I didn’t know and I was expected to do things I didn’t know I could do.”

 

Other Catholic school alumni visited various campuses throughout the diocese touting the dividends Catholic school provided.

 

“Catholic education taught me that it’s OK to ask questions and open doors and explore options,” said Vickie Jennett, communications coordinator for St. Timothy Parish in Mesa. She shared her testimony with seventh- and eighth-graders at the parish school Feb. 2.

 

Jennett — who has worked for a university, several newspapers and now the Church — spent 15 years in Catholic school and still appreciates its focus on faith, the family and discipline.

 

“I cannot tell you how important my vocation of wife and mother is to me,” said Jennett, whose children are both in their mid-to-late 20s.

 

Deacons, priests and sisters at various campuses shared their vocation stories with students too. Deacon Dick Petersen also spoke at St. Timothy School.

 

The Catholic school alum has spent more than one-third of his life in Catholic education — including medical school. He told students that, among other benefits, the prayer life fostered at Catholic schools gives students an advantage in life.

 

Today’s Catholic high school students already appreciate the strict discipline. Bourgade senior Michael Weikamp is among them. He has grown up in Catholic education and is grateful for so many life lessons.

 

Weikamp already plans to finance a Catholic education for his future family.

 

Adelyne Gomez, a seventh-grader at St. Louis the King School in Glendale, also finds value in her Catholic education.

 

“I know what’s right and what’s not right. I know that if I’m ever in trouble, I can pray to God and He’ll help me,” she said.

 

Parents of the diocese’s youngest students don’t take that for granted either. They repeatedly named prayer and faith on their list of the top 10 reasons to choose a Catholic education at Our Lady of Joy in Carefree. They unveiled the top 10 list in the parish bulletin during Catholic Schools Week.

 

Some schools celebrated the week with breakfasts, lunches and spirit rallies saluting public servants and civic leaders.

 

Fr. Patrick Mowrer, pastor of San Francisco de Asís School in Flagstaff, blessed and recognized a 2005 alumnus during a student Mass Feb. 3. Vincent Johnson, who said his school experience gave him purpose, is joining the Navy next week.

 

Community service

 

Other students saw Catholic Schools Week as a chance to do a community service project of their own.

 

High school students made rosaries, collected toiletry items for André House and organized a blood drive. Students at Seton Catholic Preparatory High School in Chandler raised $5,000 for St. Vincent de Paul.

 

Elementary school students held benefit drives for Maggie’s Place, servicemen and women and the Department of Public Safety. Several collected food for neighborhood outreach ministries.

 

The St. Vincent de Paul chapter at St. Benedict Parish in Phoenix benefited from the “Cans Across Campus” project at St. John Bosco Interparish School. Students donated canned goods, toiletries and other non-perishables. Some 550 of them paraded items across campus to the parish food closet.

 

The student council also brought wagons heaped with donations for eighth-graders to sort and stock.

 

Students at Annunciation Catholic School in Cave Creek donated money to the Poor Clare Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Black Canyon City by paying to be “out of uniform” by sporting a hat.

 

Some of the sisters gave a vocations talk to the students Feb. 5. They gave a similar talk in several classrooms at Blessed Pope John XXIII School in Scottsdale earlier that week. They discussed their habits, hobbies and vows.

 

Priests throughout the diocese also shared their vocation stories with students at several campuses. A couple of priests said that simply praying, talking to priests and having good priest role models helped foster their vocations.

 

For Fr. Pat Robinson, that included a recap of his time at seminary. He addressed kindergarteners Feb. 2 at Blessed Pope John XXIII School. Wanting to expand their vocabulary, the teacher encouraged the boys and girls to put the word “vocations” in their head.

 

“I’m going to superglue it!” one young boy shouted.

 

--

 

Catherine E. Hanley in Flagstaff and Andrew Junker and J.D. Long-García in Phoenix contributed to this story.

 

More: www.catholicsun.org

 

ORDERING INFORMATION

Looking for a glossy/matte copy of this photo? Please call 602-354-2132 or send an e-mail for ordering information. Please note the photo's title when ordering. Download the order form here.

 

Copyright 2006-2010 The Catholic Sun. All rights reserved. This photo and all photos on this Web site credited to The Catholic Sun are provided for personal use only and may not be published, broadcasted, transmitted or sold without the expressed consent of The Catholic Sun.

Members of the embarked Air Detachment onboard HMCS FREDERICTON conduct visual inspection of the CH-148 Cyclone helicopter’s main rotor blades during Operation REASSURANCE on 21 February 2023 in Souda Bay, Greece.

  

Please credit: Cpl Noé Marchon, Canadian Armed Forces Photo

  

Des membres du détachement aérien embarqué à bord du NCSM FREDERICTON effectuent une inspection visuelle des pales du rotor principal de l’hélicoptère CH-148 Cyclone au cours de l’opération REASSURANCE, le 21 février 2023, dans la baie de Souda, en Grèce.

  

Photo : Cpl Noé Marchon, Forces armées canadiennes

 

© yohanes.budiyanto, 2013

 

The Hong Kong Flagship Hotels Battle

PART 4: THE PENINSULA HONG KONG

 

PERSONAL RATING:

1. Room: 95

2. Bathroom: 100

3. Bed: 95

4. Service: 90

5. In-room Tech: 100

6. In-room Amenities: 90

7. Architecture & Design: 90

8. Food: 90

9. View: 100

10. Pool: 100

11. Wellness: 90

12. Location: 100

13. Value: 90

 

Overall: 94.61

 

THE HONG KONG FLAGSHIP HOTELS BATTLE

l #1. The Peninsula: Deluxe Harbour View Suite: 94.61 l

I #2. Upper House: Upper Suite: 92.50 I

I #3. Grand Hyatt: Grand Executive Harbour Suite: 91.53 l

I #4. Mandarin Oriental: Deluxe Oriental Suite: 90.38 l

I #5. InterContinental: The Patio Suite: 90.00 l

 

My #1 ALL TIME FAVORITE HOTEL

Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong: 95.38

 

THE PENINSULA

Salisbury Road, Kowloon

SAR Hong Kong

 

General Manager: Rainy Chan

Hotel Manager: Xavier Pougnard

Executive Chef: Florian Trento

Executive Chef (Spring Moon): Frankie Tang

Chef de Cuisine (Gaddi's): Rémi van Peteghem

 

Architect (circa 1928): W.D. Goodfellow

Architect (Renovation 1994): Rocco Design Architects

Interior Designer (Room Renovation, 2012): Gettys

Interior Designer (Room Renovation, 1994): Richmond International, Arison Henry Design

Interior Designer (China Clipper): Denton Corker Marshall

Interior Designer (Felix): Phillipe Starck

 

Hotel Opening Date: 11 December 1928

Notable Owner: The Kadoorie Family; The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie

Total Rooms: 300 Rooms (168 at the Original Building and 132 at the Tower)

Total Suites: 54 Suites (27 at the Original Building and 27 at the Tower)

Signature Suites: 2 Suites (Marcopolo Suite and The Peninsula Suite)

Top Suites: The Marco Polo Suite, 206 m2, HKD 106,800 and The Peninsula Suite, 377 m2, HKD 128,000

Bathroom Amenities: Oscar de la Renta (since September 2013)

 

Restaurants: 8 (Gaddi's, Spring Moon, Felix, The Verandah, Chesa, Imasa, The Lobby and Sun Terrace)

Bars and Lounges: The Bar and Salon de Ning

Meeting & Banquets: Salisbury Rooms; Nathan Rooms; 5 Function Rooms, including The Garden Suite and The China Clipper

Health & Leisure: The Peninsula Spa (14 Spa Rooms), Fitness Centre, 18m Swimming Pool and Sun Terrace

Transport: 14 chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce Extended Wheelbase Phantoms; a 1934 Rolls Royce Phantom II; and 2 MINI Cooper S Clubman

 

Complimentary facilities: Wired and Wireless Internet, VOIP calls, HD Movies, Daily fruit Basket, Newspaper, Chauffeured MINI Cooper S Clubman for Suites guests; and Chauffeured Rolls Royce for The Marco Polo and The Peninsula Suites

 

www.peninsula.com/hongkong

  

DLDwomen Impact Award 2012: Maria Furtwängler-Burda (DLDwomen), Pat Mitchell (DLDwomen Chairwoman/Paley Center for Media), Gabi Zedlmayer (HP) and Steffi Czerny (DLDwomen). DLDwomen (Digital-Life-Design) Conference is taking place for 3rd time in Munich, July 11-12, 2012 "New Rules, New Values"

Abandoned Value City near Randall Park Mall in North Randall, Ohio.

 

August 29th, 2009

 

Click here for LARGE size

 

I found all this at Value Village, all told for $72 No sets are complete, all are missing at least 1 or two minifigs, smaller items in the set, and a couple cases had some glue on them, most notable the TIE advanced. Still one heck of a deal.

ART & SOCIETY REMIX:

 

Panel discussion with gallery owner David Castillo and independent curator Omar Lopez-Chahoud. Moderated by Dr. Carol Damian with introduction by Aesthetics and Values 2012 student Maya Castro at FIU on November 17, 2011.

Few people value, and a lot of people don't even use, their camera strap. But it can keep your expensive equipment safe, ensuring that you come home with pictures. It can also steady your camera by taking away hand shake, resulting in sharper pictures. Adjust the strap so when you look through the viewfinder it is snug around your back. With your hands on the camera, gently push it away from you, putting tension on the strap, then press the shutter.

 

Even some of the best pros have dropped their cameras, which is a very expensive ordeal. That need not happen if you make it a habit to wind the strap around your wrist as soon as you pick it up. Of all the pros I've watched, only Annie Leibovitz does it--because she herself once dropped an expensive camera.

 

I've had one of the better straps fail me twice, both times on intense photo trips half way around the world. Fortunately, by some minor miracle, both times the camera was in my lap and there was no damage. So I decided I would get the best made and most secure strap I could find. It wasn't cheap--but still a very small fraction of the cost of the equipment and travel. This strap is hand crafted by Tap&Dye.

 

Tap&Dye--0558--main-COMP--6x8-9--name

Gibson Releases "Playboy" Guitar

 

February 3, 2000

 

The pursuit of the "good life" as emulated by Playboy has always included rock stars, their music and their fans. However, today, it also includes rock stars' most prized instrument--the electric guitar.

 

Gibson's Custom, Art and Historic division has teamed up wtih Playboy Enterprises to design and produce a series of official Playboy guitars. The limited edition guitars are expected to be quickly snapped up by collectors and Playboy aficionados alike as the investment value of collectible instruments skyrockets.

 

The first run of limited edition guitars features Playboy's timeless Rabbit Head logo printed on it in a black and white high-gloss finish. In addition, the neck of the guitar is emblazoned with "PLAYBOY."

 

Only 10 of this first edition will be produced. The guitars will be presented as gifts to individuals who personify the Playboy lifestyle and a select number will be available through Playboy's auction web site and special Playboy promotions.

 

Subsequently, Gibson will design and produce additional limited-edition Playboy-themed guitars to be sold via its global dealer base.

 

"Playboy is the ultimate lifestyle brand," said Helen Isaacson, president of Product Marketing. "Through our association with Gibson, we will be able to translate Playboy's unique qualities of style and sexiness into a collector's item that is truly American. Like they say, 'after all is said and done... only a Gibson is good enough.'"

Value Education Workshop at Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar District of West Bengal in April 2017

Senator Jeff Sessions speaking at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC.

 

Please attribute to Gage Skidmore if used elsewhere.