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An Infrared black and white of the very large array to make up for the previous crappy camphone pic.
Microscopy images taken during my fall quarter rotation in Stephen Smith's lab at Stanford. The technique is array tomography, which produces for these crisp, 3D, high resolution, large scale, many-channel fluorescence images.
smithlab.stanford.edu
Legend:
White: DAPI (cell nuclei)
Green: YFP (Subpopulation of layer V pyramidal neurons)
Purple: Tubulin
Blue/Red: Neurofilament
Orange: Myelin Basic Protein
Graphic Arrays
media: paper, aluminum dibond,
dimensions: 54 x 72 cm, 90 x 56 cm,
Aram Bartholl 2013
240x320, 240x400, 320x480, 480x640, 480x800, 540x960, 600x960, 600x1024, 640x960, 768x1024, 720x1280, 1366x768, 800x1280, 1080x1920, 1536x2048
640x480, 768x576, 800x600, 1024x600, 1024x768, 1152x720, 1280x720, 1280x768, 1280x800, 1152x864, 1280x960, 1280x1024, 1360x768, 1366x768, 1440x900, 1600x900, 1400x1050, 1680x1050, 1600x1200, 1920x1080, 2048x1152, 1920x1200, 1920x1440, 2560x1440, 2560x1600
Luke 12:22-40
22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. 23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. 24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? 25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? 26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? 29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. 32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; 36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. 40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
This image: For more than a century, astronomers have categorized galaxies near and far, both by comparing their shapes by eye and precisely measuring their properties with data known as spectra. For example, Edwin Hubble created the Hubble Tuning Fork in 1926 to begin to sort the shapes and sizes of nearby galaxies, showing that many are spirals and ellipticals.
As telescopes’ instruments have become increasingly more sensitive, it is easier to more accurately classify their shapes. New data from the James Webb Space Telescope have added nuances to astronomers’ classifications. Since Webb observes in infrared light, many more extremely distant galaxies appear in its images. Plus, the images are finely detailed, allowing researchers to identify if there are additional areas of star formation – or confirm they aren’t present.
A team led by Viraj Pandya, a NASA Hubble Fellow at Columbia University in New York, recently analyzed hundreds of distant galaxies in Webb’s Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey. CEERS intentionally covers much of the same area as the Hubble Space Telescope’s Extended Groth Strip, which was one of the five fields used to create the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS). This allowed them to double-check Webb’s results where the telescopes’ observations overlap.
“Our analysis of Webb’s galaxies was very consistent with galaxies in the Hubble Space Telescope catalog,” Pandya confirmed. “Two sets of data allowed us to fully vet our models as we ran our analysis, and better understand and categorize galaxies that only Webb detected.” The team began their analysis by sorting the galaxies into broad classes based on similar characteristics. (They did not classify each galaxy’s individual appearance since that would require detailed information from data known as spectra.)
They found an array of odd shapes when the universe was 600 million to 6 billion years old. The galaxy shapes that dominate look flat and elongated, like pool noodles or surfboards. These two galaxy types make up approximately 50 to 80% of all the distant galaxies they studied – a surprise, since these shapes are rare closer to home.
Other galaxies Webb detected appear round but also flattened, like frisbees. The least populated category is made up of galaxies that are shaped like spheres or volleyballs.
Webb’s data also resolved a riddle that was introduced by the Hubble Space Telescope’s observations decades ago. Why do so many distant galaxies appear like long lines? Was there more to the galaxies that didn’t appear in its images? Webb answered this in short order: Hubble hasn’t missed anything.
“Webb confirmed what Hubble has long shown us, but in greater detail in infrared light,” Pandya said. “Their combined observations show that in the early universe, many more galaxies appear flat and elongated. This has profound implications, since we usually assume that galaxies like our own Milky Way started out as disks, but that may not be the case.”
Why do galaxies have such different shapes early in the history of the universe? This question remains unanswered for now, but research is underway to better understand how galaxies evolved over all of cosmic time.
Read more: www.nasa.gov/missions/webb/webb-shows-many-early-galaxies...
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Steve Finkelstein (UT Austin), Micaela Bagley (UT Austin), Rebecca Larson (UT Austin)
Image description: In the far-left column are two galaxies that have been magnified. The top left galaxy appears circular and light pink with a slightly whiter central region, taking up less than one-sixth of the box. The bottom galaxy is elongated, stretching almost from top left to bottom right. It has a white line at the center that has a pink outline that transitions into bluish edges at far left and right. Thin lines from each magnified galaxy point to their appearances in the broader field. The top galaxy appears as a tiny dot at the upper center, and the bottom galaxy toward the left. Thousands of galaxies appear across most of this view, which is set against the black background of space. There are many overlapping objects at various distances. They include large, blue foreground stars, with Webb’s signature eight-pointed diffraction spikes, and white and pink spiral and elliptical galaxies. Numerous tiny red dots appear throughout the scene. This is a portion of a vast survey known as CEERS.
This is a shot of the enemy; The London Array, which, in time, will steal our title of biggest offshore wind farm in the world. They are building their depot next door, and each day we lose a bit more of our view of the harbour.
I guess this will be their warehouse, they have been building this for a few months, but now the piles are done and the metal frame up, it will soon be finished.
These are the LED arrays we put together this weekend...designed on Tuesday, got parts and PCBs on Thursday, assembled them Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
This photo shows the buildings of the ALMA Array Operations Site in the Chilean Atacama Desert surrounded by snow. Wait a minute — there’s snow in the desert?
The Atacama Desert is one of the driest places in the world — more specifically, the driest place on Earth outside the polar regions in terms of average rainfall. The very low levels of water vapour in the atmosphere and the almost constantly clear skies make it an ideal location for astronomical observations. However, as this photo from August 2023 — wintertime in Chile — shows, snow can occasionally visit the desert.
The Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner, is one of the largest astronomical projects in the world. The telescope’s 66 radio antennas are located at the Array Operations Site (AOS) on Llano de Chajnantor, an impressive 5000 metres above sea level and about 40 km east of San Pedro de Atacama. The large yellow truck in this picture is one of the two transporters used to periodically rearrange the antennas into different configurations.
The telescope’s signals are processed in a supercomputer in the nearby AOS Technical Building, pictured above — one of the highest-altitude buildings in the world! The digitised signals are then transmitted to the data storage facilities housed at the Operations Support Facility (OSF) site, at a more benign altitude of 2900 metres.
Credit: S. Otarola/ESO
A z-pinch wire array is prepared for shooting on Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine, the world's most powerful and efficient laboratory radiation source.
The Solar array will be used to trickle charge the lithium battery bank in the Kimberly Kamper trailer while in storage. www.kimberleykampers.com/
A future project will be to add a battery and separate MPPT charger to power a 12 v garden fountain pump and outdoor LED lighting.
Components
2 x Uni-Solar Amorphous 62 W ES-62T $420 (sourced on ebay $210 each)
1 x Heavy Duty Universal Solar Panel Pole Mount kit from affordablesolarmounts.com/ $150
2.7 m (0.7 m in the ground) galvanised pole (MGPE 32NB) (42.4 MM) from EDCON Steel www.edconsteel.com.au/ $30
2 x MC3 Solar Panel Cable Branch Connectors sourced on ebay $19
2 x MC3 Solar Panel 6' Cable 1 End Male/Stripped 12 AWG sourced on ebay $40
10m 15A auto cable and Anderson plug from Jaycar $40
3 x 20 Kg ready mix cement from Bunnings $19.5
Total $719
See an overview video @
These sailors must get ALL the channels!
In reality these are the radar illuminators used for terminal homing of many of the ship's surface to air missiles.
The Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) was an astronomical instrument comprising 23 radio telescopes. These telescopes formed an astronomical interferometer where all the signals are combined in a purpose-built computer (a correlator) to produce high-resolution astronomical images. The telescopes ceased operation in April 2015 and were relocated to the Owens Valley Radio Observatory for storage.
The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is a radio astronomy observatory located about 50 miles (64 km) west of Socorro, New Mexico. The VLA consists of twenty-seven 25-meter (82 feet) diameter radio telescopes deployed in a Y-shaped array, together with all the equipment needed to process the collected data and function as an interferometer. Each of the radio telescopes is mounted along double parallel railroad tracks, which allows changing the configuration of the system. Placing the radio telescopes closer together increases surface brightness sensitivity. Spreading them out increases angular resolution. The system was built from 1973 to 1980 and is being modernized, starting in 2011.
The Dakshinkali Temple is located 22 kilometers from Kathmandu next to the village of Pharping. It's one of the main temples in Nepal. Twice every week thousands of people come here to worship the goddess Kali by sacrificing life animals, particularly cockerels and uncastrated male goats.
GODDESS KALI
Kālī (/ˈkɑːli/; Sanskrit: काली & Bengali: কালী; IPA: [kɑːliː]), also known as Kālikā (Sanskrit: कालिका), is the Hindu goddess associated with empowerment, or shakti. She is the fierce aspect of the goddess Durga. The name of Kali means black one and force of time; she is therefore called the Goddess of Time, Change, Power, Creation, Preservation, and Destruction. Her earliest appearance is that of a destroyer principally of evil forces. Various Shakta Hindu cosmologies, as well as Shākta Tantric beliefs, worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman; and recent devotional movements re-imagine Kāli as a benevolent mother goddess. She is often portrayed standing or dancing on her husband, the god Shiva, who lies calm and prostrate beneath her. Worshipped throughout India but particularly South India, Bengal, and Assam, Kali is both geographically and culturally marginal.
ETYMOLOGY
Kālī is the feminine form of kālam ("black, dark coloured"). Kāla primarily means "time", but also means "black"; hence, Kālī means "the black one" or "beyond time". Kāli is strongly associated with Shiva, and Shaivas derive the masculine Kāla (an epithet of Shiva) from her feminine name. A nineteenth-century Sanskrit dictionary, the Shabdakalpadrum, states: कालः शिवः। तस्य पत्नीति - काली। kālaḥ śivaḥ। tasya patnīti kālī - "Shiva is Kāla, thus, his consort is Kāli".
Other names include Kālarātri ("black night"), as described above, and Kālikā ("relating to time"), and Kallie ("black alchemist"). Coburn notes that the name Kālī can be used as a proper name, or as a description of color.
Kāli's association with darkness stands in contrast to her consort, Shiva, whose body is covered by the white ashes of the cremation ground (Sanskrit: śmaśāna) where he meditates, and with which Kāli is also associated, as śmaśāna-kālī.
ORIGINS
Hugh Urban notes that although the word Kālī appears as early as the Atharva Veda, the first use of it as a proper name is in the Kathaka Grhya Sutra (19.7). Kali is the name of one of the seven tongues of Agni, the [Rigvedic] God of Fire, in the Mundaka Upanishad (2:4), but it is unlikely that this refers to the goddess. The first appearance of Kāli in her present form is in the Sauptika Parvan of the Mahabharata (10.8.64). She is called Kālarātri (literally, "black night") and appears to the Pandava soldiers in dreams, until finally she appears amidst the fighting during an attack by Drona's son Ashwatthama. She most famously appears in the sixth century Devi Mahatmyam as one of the shaktis of Mahadevi, and defeats the demon Raktabija ("Bloodseed"). The tenth-century Kalika Purana venerates Kāli as the ultimate reality.
According to David Kinsley, Kāli is first mentioned in Hinduism as a distinct goddess around 600 CE, and these texts "usually place her on the periphery of Hindu society or on the battlefield." She is often regarded as the Shakti of Shiva, and is closely associated with him in various Puranas. The Kalika Purana depicts her as the "Adi Shakti" (Fundamental Power) and "Para Prakriti" or beyond nature.
WORSHIP AND MANTRA
Kali could be considered a general concept, like Durga, and is mostly worshiped in the Kali Kula sect of worship. The closest way of direct worship is Maha Kali or Bhadra Kali (Bhadra in Sanskrit means 'gentle'). Kali is worshiped as one of the 10 Mahavidya forms of Adi Parashakti (Goddess Durga) or Bhagavathy according to the region. The mantra for worship is
Sanskrit: सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके । शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥
ॐ जयंती मंगल काली भद्रकाली कपालिनी । दुर्गा शिवा क्षमा धात्री स्वाहा स्वधा नमोऽस्तुते ॥
(Sarvamaṅgalamāṅgalyē śivē sarvārthasādhikē . śaraṇyē tryambakē gauri nārāyaṇi namō'stu tē.
Oṃ jayantī mangala kālī bhadrakālī kapālinī . durgā śivā ksamā dhātrī svāhā svadhā namō'stutē.)
YANTRA
Goddesses play an important role in the study and practice of Tantra Yoga, and are affirmed to be as central to discerning the nature of reality as are the male deities. Although Parvati is often said to be the recipient and student of Shiva's wisdom in the form of Tantras, it is Kali who seems to dominate much of the Tantric iconography, texts, and rituals. In many sources Kāli is praised as the highest reality or greatest of all deities. The Nirvana-tantra says the gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva all arise from her like bubbles in the sea, ceaselessly arising and passing away, leaving their original source unchanged. The Niruttara-tantra and the Picchila-tantra declare all of Kāli's mantras to be the greatest and the Yogini-tantra, Kamakhya-tantra and the Niruttara-tantra all proclaim Kāli vidyas (manifestations of Mahadevi, or "divinity itself"). They declare her to be an essence of her own form (svarupa) of the Mahadevi.In the Mahanirvana-tantra, Kāli is one of the epithets for the primordial sakti, and in one passage Shiva praises her:At the dissolution of things, it is Kāla [Time]. Who will devour all, and by reason of this He is called Mahākāla [an epithet of Lord Shiva], and since Thou devourest Mahākāla Himself, it is Thou who art the Supreme Primordial Kālika. Because Thou devourest Kāla, Thou art Kāli, the original form of all things, and because Thou art the Origin of and devourest all things Thou art called the Adya [the Primordial One]. Re-assuming after Dissolution Thine own form, dark and formless, Thou alone remainest as One ineffable and inconceivable. Though having a form, yet art Thou formless; though Thyself without beginning, multiform by the power of Maya, Thou art the Beginning of all, Creatrix, Protectress, and Destructress that Thou art. The figure of Kāli conveys death, destruction, and the consuming aspects of reality. As such, she is also a "forbidden thing", or even death itself. In the Pancatattva ritual, the sadhaka boldly seeks to confront Kali, and thereby assimilates and transforms her into a vehicle of salvation. This is clear in the work of the Karpuradi-stotra, a short praise of Kāli describing the Pancatattva ritual unto her, performed on cremation grounds. (Samahana-sadhana)He, O Mahākāli who in the cremation-ground, naked, and with dishevelled hair, intently meditates upon Thee and recites Thy mantra, and with each recitation makes offering to Thee of a thousand Akanda flowers with seed, becomes without any effort a Lord of the earth. Oh Kāli, whoever on Tuesday at midnight, having uttered Thy mantra, makes offering even but once with devotion to Thee of a hair of his Shakti [his energy/female companion] in the cremation-ground, becomes a great poet, a Lord of the earth, and ever goes mounted upon an elephant.The Karpuradi-stotra clearly indicates that Kāli is more than a terrible, vicious, slayer of demons who serves Durga or Shiva. Here, she is identified as the supreme mistress of the universe, associated with the five elements. In union with Lord Shiva, she creates and destroys worlds. Her appearance also takes a different turn, befitting her role as ruler of the world and object of meditation. In contrast to her terrible aspects, she takes on hints of a more benign dimension. She is described as young and beautiful, has a gentle smile, and makes gestures with her two right hands to dispel any fear and offer boons. The more positive features exposed offer the distillation of divine wrath into a goddess of salvation, who rids the sadhaka of fear. Here, Kali appears as a symbol of triumph over death.
BENGALI TRADITION
Kali is also a central figure in late medieval Bengali devotional literature, with such devotees as Ramprasad Sen (1718–75). With the exception of being associated with Parvati as Shiva's consort, Kāli is rarely pictured in Hindu legends and iconography as a motherly figure until Bengali devotions beginning in the early eighteenth century. Even in Bengāli tradition her appearance and habits change little, if at all.
The Tantric approach to Kāli is to display courage by confronting her on cremation grounds in the dead of night, despite her terrible appearance. In contrast, the Bengali devotee appropriates Kāli's teachings adopting the attitude of a child, coming to love her unreservedly. In both cases, the goal of the devotee is to become reconciled with death and to learn acceptance of the way that things are. These themes are well addressed in Rāmprasād's work. Rāmprasād comments in many of his other songs that Kāli is indifferent to his wellbeing, causes him to suffer, brings his worldly desires to nothing and his worldly goods to ruin. He also states that she does not behave like a mother should and that she ignores his pleas:
Can mercy be found in the heart of her who was born of the stone? [a reference to Kali as the daughter of Himalaya]
Were she not merciless, would she kick the breast of her lord?
Men call you merciful, but there is no trace of mercy in you, Mother.
You have cut off the heads of the children of others, and these you wear as a garland around your neck.
It matters not how much I call you "Mother, Mother." You hear me, but you will not listen.
To be a child of Kāli, Rāmprasād asserts, is to be denied of earthly delights and pleasures. Kāli is said to refrain from giving that which is expected. To the devotee, it is perhaps her very refusal to do so that enables her devotees to reflect on dimensions of themselves and of reality that go beyond the material world.
A significant portion of Bengali devotional music features Kāli as its central theme and is known as Shyama Sangeet ("Music of the Night"). Mostly sung by male vocalists, today even women have taken to this form of music. One of the finest singers of Shyāma Sāngeet is Pannalal Bhattacharya.
In Bengal, Kāli is venerated in the festival Kali Puja, the new moon day of Ashwin month which coincides with Diwali festival.
In a unique form of Kāli worship, Shantipur worships Kāli in the form of a hand painted image of the deity known as Poteshwari (meaning the deity drawn on a piece of cloth).
LEGENDS
SLAYER AND RAKTABIJA
In Kāli's most famous legend, Devi Durga (Adi Parashakti) and her assistants, the Matrikas, wound the demon Raktabija, in various ways and with a variety of weapons in an attempt to destroy him. They soon find that they have worsened the situation for with every drop of blood that is dripped from Raktabija he reproduces a clone of himself. The battlefield becomes increasingly filled with his duplicates. Durga, in need of help, summons Kāli to combat the demons. It is said, in some versions, that Goddess Durga actually assumes the form of Goddess Kāli at this time. The Devi Mahatmyam describes:
Out of the surface of her (Durga's) forehead, fierce with frown, issued suddenly Kali of terrible countenance, armed with a sword and noose. Bearing the strange khatvanga (skull-topped staff ), decorated with a garland of skulls, clad in a tiger's skin, very appalling owing to her emaciated flesh, with gaping mouth, fearful with her tongue lolling out, having deep reddish eyes, filling the regions of the sky with her roars, falling upon impetuously and slaughtering the great asuras in that army, she devoured those hordes of the foes of the devas.
Kali consumes Raktabija and his duplicates, and dances on the corpses of the slain. In the Devi Mahatmya version of this story, Kali is also described as a Matrika and as a Shakti or power of Devi. She is given the epithet Cāṃuṇḍā (Chamunda), i.e. the slayer of the demons Chanda and Munda. Chamunda is very often identified with Kali and is very much like her in appearance and habit.
DAKSHINA KALI
In her most famous pose as Daksinakali, popular legends say that Kali, drunk on the blood of her victims, is about to destroy the whole universe when, urged by all the gods, Shiva lies in her way to stop her, and she steps upon his chest. Recognizing Shiva beneath her feet, she calms herself. Though not included in any of the puranas, popular legends state that Kali was ashamed at the prospect of keeping her husband beneath her feet and thus stuck her tongue out in shame. The Devi-Bhagavata Purana, which goes into great depths about the goddess Kali, reveals the tongue's actual symbolism.
The characteristic icons that depict Kali are the following; unbridled matted hair, open blood shot eyes, open mouth and a drooping tongue; in her hands, she holds a Khadga (bent sword or scimitar) and a human head; she has a girdle of human hands across her waist, and Shiva lies beneath her feet. The drooping out-stuck tongue represents her blood-thirst. Lord Shiva beneath her feet represents matter, as Kali energy. The depiction of Kali on Shiva shows that without energy, matter lies "dead". This concept has been simplified to a folk-tale depicting a wife placing her foot
on her husband and sticking her tongue out in shame. In tantric contexts, the tongue is seen to denote the element (guna) of rajas (energy and action) controlled by sattva.
If Kali steps on Shiva with her right foot and holds the sword in her left hand, she is considered to be Dakshina Kali. The Dakshina Kali Temple has important religious associations with the Jagannath Temple and it is believed that Daksinakali is the guardian of the kitchen of the Lord Jagannath Temple. Puranic tradition says that in Puri, Lord Jagannath is regarded as Daksinakalika. Goddess Dakshinakali plays an important role in the 'Niti' of Saptapuri Amavasya.
One South Indian tradition tells of a dance contest between Shiva and Kali. After defeating the two demons Sumbha and Nisumbha, Kali takes up residence in the forest of Thiruvalankadu or Thiruvalangadu. She terrorizes the surrounding area with her fierce, disruptive nature. One of Shiva's devotees becomes distracted while performing austerities, and asks Shiva to rid the forest of the destructive goddess. When Shiva arrives, Kali threatens him, and Shiva challenges Kali to a dance contest, wherein Kali matches Shiva until Shiva takes the "Urdhvatandava" step, vertically raising his right leg. Kali refuses to perform this step, which would not befit her as a woman, and becomes pacified.
SMASHAN KALI
If the Kali steps out with the left foot and holds the sword in her right hand, she is the terrible form of Mother, the Smashan Kali of the cremation ground. She is worshiped by tantrics, the followers of Tantra, who believe that one's spiritual discipline practiced in a smashan (cremation ground) brings success quickly. Sarda Devi, the consort of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, worshipped Smashan Kali at Dakshineshwar.
MATERNAL KALI
At the time of samundra manthan when amrit came out, along with that came out poison which was going to destroy the world hence on the request of all the gods, Lord Shiva drank it to save the world but as he is beyond death he didn't die but was very much in pain due to the poison effect hence he became a child so that Kali can feed him with her milk which will sooth out the poison effect.
MAHAKALI
Mahakali (Sanskrit: Mahākālī, Devanagari: महाकाली), literally translated as Great Kali, is sometimes considered as a greater form of Kali, identified with the Ultimate reality of Brahman. It can also be used as an honorific of the Goddess Kali, signifying her greatness by the prefix "Mahā-". Mahakali, in Sanskrit, is etymologically the feminized variant of Mahakala or Great Time (which is interpreted also as Death), an epithet of the God Shiva in Hinduism. Mahakali is the presiding Goddess of the first episode of the Devi Mahatmya. Here she is depicted as Devi in her universal form as Shakti. Here Devi serves as the agent who allows the cosmic order to be restored.
Kali is depicted in the Mahakali form as having ten heads, ten arms, and ten legs. Each of her ten hands is carrying a various implement which vary in different accounts, but each of these represent the power of one of the Devas or Hindu Gods and are often the identifying weapon or ritual item of a given Deva. The implication is that Mahakali subsumes and is responsible for the powers that these deities possess and this is in line with the interpretation that Mahakali is identical with Brahman. While not displaying ten heads, an "ekamukhi" or one headed image may be displayed with ten arms, signifying the same concept: the powers of the various Gods come only through Her grace.
ICONOGRAPHY
Kali is portrayed mostly in two forms: the popular four-armed form and the ten-armed Mahakali form. In both of her forms, she is described as being black in color but is most often depicted as blue in popular Indian art. Her eyes are described as red with intoxication, and in absolute rage, her hair is shown disheveled, small fangs sometimes protrude out of her mouth, and her tongue is lolling. She is often shown naked or just wearing a skirt made of human arms and a garland of human heads. She is also accompanied by serpents and a jackal while standing on a seemingly dead Shiva, usually right foot forward to symbolize the more popular Dakshinamarga or right-handed path, as opposed to the more infamous and transgressive Vamamarga or left-handed path.
In the ten-armed form of Mahakali she is depicted as shining like a blue stone. She has ten faces, ten feet, and three eyes for each head. She has ornaments decked on all her limbs. There is no association with Shiva.
The Kalika Purana describes Kali as possessing a soothing dark complexion, as perfectly beautiful, riding a lion, four-armed, holding a sword and blue lotuses, her hair unrestrained, body firm and youthful.
In spite of her seemingly terrible form, Kali Ma is often considered the kindest and most loving of all the Hindu goddesses, as she is regarded by her devotees as the Mother of the whole Universe. And because of her terrible form, she is also often seen as a great protector. When the Bengali saint Ramakrishna once asked a devotee why one would prefer to worship Mother over him, this devotee rhetorically replied, "Maharaj", when they are in trouble your devotees come running to you. But, where do you run when you are in trouble?"
According to Ramakrishna, darkness is the Ultimate Mother, or Kali:
My Mother is the principle of consciousness. She is Akhanda Satchidananda;
indivisible Reality, Awareness, and Bliss. The night sky between the stars is perfectly black.
The waters of the ocean depths are the same; The infinite is always mysteriously dark.
This inebriating darkness is my beloved Kali.
—Sri Ramakrishna
This is clear in the works of such contemporary artists as Charles Wish, and Tyeb Mehta, who sometimes take great liberties with the traditional, accepted symbolism, but still demonstrate a true reverence for the Shakta sect.
POPULAR FORM
Classic depictions of Kali share several features, as follows:
Kali's most common four armed iconographic image shows each hand carrying variously a sword, a trishul (trident), a severed head, and a bowl or skull-cup (kapala) catching the blood of the severed head.
Two of these hands (usually the left) are holding a sword and a severed head. The Sword signifies Divine Knowledge and the Human Head signifies human Ego which must be slain by Divine Knowledge in order to attain Moksha. The other two hands (usually the right) are in the abhaya (fearlessness) and varada (blessing) mudras, which means her initiated devotees (or anyone worshipping her with a true heart) will be saved as she will guide them here and in the hereafter.
She has a garland consisting of human heads, variously enumerated at 108 (an auspicious number in Hinduism and the number of countable beads on a Japa Mala or rosary for repetition of Mantras) or 51, which represents Varnamala or the Garland of letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, Devanagari. Hindus believe Sanskrit is a language of dynamism, and each of these letters represents a form of energy, or a form of Kali. Therefore, she is generally seen as the mother of language, and all mantras.
She is often depicted naked which symbolizes her being beyond the covering of Maya since she is pure (nirguna) being-consciousness-bliss and far above prakriti. She is shown as very dark as she is brahman in its supreme unmanifest state. She has no permanent qualities - she will continue to exist even when the universe ends. It is therefore believed that the concepts of color, light, good, bad do not apply to her - she is the pure, un-manifested energy, the Adi-shakti.
Kali as the Symbol of Creation , Freedom , Preservation and Destruction
The head that hangs in Kali's hand is a symbol of Ego and the scimitar which she is holding represents power and energy.It is believed that Kali is protecting the human race by that scimitar and also destroying the negativity and ego within human being. The body lying under Kali symbolizes ruination, is actually a form of Shiva. Kali steps her leg on the chest of the body and suppress ruination . Since she is standing on the pure white chest of Lord Shiva who, as pure primal awareness, lays in a passive reclining position, peacefully lies with his eyes half open in a state of bliss. Her hair is long, black and flowing freely depicting Her freedom from convention and the confines of conceptualization. The white teeth which Kali has stands for conscience and her red tongue represents greed. By pressing her white teeth on her tongue Kali refers to control greed.The goddess may appear terrible from outside but every symbol in Kali signifies truth of life. Since the earth was created out of darkness, the dark black color of Kali symbolizes the color from which everything was born. Her right hand side arms she shows the Abhaya mudra(gesture of fearlessness) and Vara mudra (gesture of welcome and charity) respectively . But on the other arm in left side she holds a bloody scimitar and a severed head depicting destruction and end of ego.
Kali as the Symbol of Mother Nature
The name Kali means Kala or force of time. When there were neither the creation, nor the sun, the moon, the planets, and the earth, there was only darkness and everything was created from the darkness. The Dark appearance of kali represents the darkness from which everything was born. Her complexion is deep blue, like the sky and ocean water as blue. As she is also the goddess of Preservation Kali is worshiped as mother to preserve the nature.Kali is standing calm on Shiva, her appearance represents the preservation of mother nature. Her free, long and black hair represents nature's freedom from civilization. Under the third eye of kali, the signs of both sun, moon and fire are visible which represent the driving forces of nature.
SHIVA IN KALI ICONOGRAPHY
In both these images she is shown standing on the prone, inert or dead body of Shiva. There is a legend for the reason behind her standing on what appears to be Shiva's corpse, which translates as follows:
Once Kali had destroyed all the demons in battle, she began a terrific dance out of the sheer joy of victory. All the worlds or lokas began to tremble and sway under the impact of her dance. So, at the request of all the Gods, Shiva himself asked her to desist from this behavior. However, she was too intoxicated to listen. Hence, Shiva lay like a corpse among the slain demons in order to absorb the shock of the dance into himself. When Kali eventually stepped upon Shiva, she realized she was trampling and hurting her husband and bit her tongue in shame.
The story described here is a popular folk tale and not described or hinted in any of the puranas. The puranic interpretation is as follows:
Once, Parvati asks Shiva to chose the one form among her 10 forms which he likes most. To her surprise, Shiva reveals that he is most comfortable with her Kali form, in which she is bereft of her jewellery, her human-form, her clothes, her emotions and where she is only raw, chaotic energy, where she is as terrible as time itself and even greater than time. As Parvati takes the form of Kali, Shiva lies at her feet and requests her to place her foot on his chest, upon his heart. Once in this form, Shiva requests her to have this place, below her feet in her iconic image which would be worshiped throughout.
This idea has been explored in the Devi-Bhagavata Purana [28] and is most popular in the Shyama Sangeet, devotional songs to Kali from the 12th to 15th centuries.
The Tantric interpretation of Kali standing on top of her husband is as follows:
The Shiv tattava (Divine Consciousness as Shiva) is inactive, while the Shakti tattava (Divine Energy as Kali) is active. Shiva and Kali represent Brahman, the Absolute pure consciousness which is beyond all names, forms and activities. Kali, on the other hand, represents the potential (and manifested) energy responsible for all names, forms and activities. She is his Shakti, or creative power, and is seen as the substance behind the entire content of all consciousness. She can never exist apart from Shiva or act independently of him, just as Shiva remains a mere corpse without Kali i.e., Shakti, all the matter/energy of the universe, is not distinct from Shiva, or Brahman, but is rather the dynamic power of Brahman. Hence, Kali is Para Brahman in the feminine and dynamic aspect while Shiva is the male aspect and static. She stands as the absolute basis for all life, energy and beneath her feet lies, Shiva, a metaphor for mass, which cannot retain its form without energy.
While this is an advanced concept in monistic Shaktism, it also agrees with the Nondual Trika philosophy of Kashmir, popularly known as Kashmir Shaivism and associated most famously with Abhinavagupta. There is a colloquial saying that "Shiva without Shakti is Shava" which means that without the power of action (Shakti) that is Mahakali (represented as the short "i" in Devanagari) Shiva (or consciousness itself) is inactive; Shava means corpse in Sanskrit and the play on words is that all Sanskrit consonants are assumed to be followed by a short letter "a" unless otherwise noted. The short letter "i" represents the female power or Shakti that activates Creation. This is often the explanation for why She is standing on Shiva, who is either Her husband and complement in Shaktism or the Supreme Godhead in Shaivism.
To properly understand this complex Tantric symbolism it is important to remember that the meaning behind Shiva and Kali does not stray from the non-dualistic parlance of Shankara or the Upanisads. According to both the Mahanirvana and Kularnava Tantras, there are two distinct ways of perceiving the same absolute reality. The first is a transcendental plane which is often described as static, yet infinite. It is here that there is no matter, there is no universe and only consciousness exists. This form of reality is known as Shiva, the absolute Sat-Chit-Ananda - existence, knowledge and bliss. The second is an active plane, an immanent plane, the plane of matter, of Maya, i.e., where the illusion of space-time and the appearance of an actual universe does exist. This form of reality is known as Kali or Shakti, and (in its entirety) is still specified as the same Absolute Sat-Chit-Ananda. It is here in this second plane that the universe (as we commonly know it) is experienced and is described by the Tantric seer as the play of Shakti, or God as Mother Kali.
From a Tantric perspective, when one meditates on reality at rest, as absolute pure consciousness (without the activities of creation, preservation or dissolution) one refers to this as Shiva or Brahman. When one meditates on reality as dynamic and creative, as the Absolute content of pure consciousness (with all the activities of creation, preservation or dissolution) one refers to it as Kali or Shakti. However, in either case the yogini or yogi is interested in one and the same reality - the only difference being in name and fluctuating aspects of appearance. It is this which is generally accepted as the meaning of Kali standing on the chest of Shiva.
Although there is often controversy surrounding the images of divine copulation, the general consensus is benign and free from any carnal impurities in its substance. In Tantra the human body is a symbol for the microcosm of the universe; therefore sexual process is responsible for the creation of the world. Although theoretically Shiva and Kali (or Shakti) are inseparable, like fire and its power to burn, in the case of creation they are often seen as having separate roles. With Shiva as male and Kali as female it is only by their union that creation may transpire. This reminds us of the prakrti and purusa doctrine of Samkhya wherein prakāśa- vimarśa has no practical value, just as without prakrti, purusa is quite inactive. This (once again) stresses the interdependencies of Shiva and Shakti and the vitality of their union.
Gopi Krishna proposed that Kali standing on the dead Shiva or Shava (Sanskrit for dead body) symbolised the helplessness of a person undergoing the changing process (psychologically and physiologically) in the body conducted by the Kundalini Shakti.
DEVELOPMENT
In the later traditions, Kali has become inextricably linked with Shiva. The unleashed form of Kali often becomes wild and uncontrollable, and only Shiva is able to tame her just as only Kali can tame Shiva. This is both because she is often a transformed version of one of his consorts and because he is able to match her wildness.
The ancient text of Kali Kautuvam describes her competition with Shiva in dance, from which the sacred 108 Karanas appeared. Shiva won the competition by acting the urdva tandava, one of the Karanas, by raising his feet to his head. Other texts describe Shiva appearing as a crying infant and appealing to her maternal instincts. While Shiva is said to be able to tame her, the iconography often presents her dancing on his fallen body, and there are accounts of the two of them dancing together, and driving each other to such wildness that the world comes close to unravelling.
Shiva's involvement with Tantra and Kali's dark nature have led to her becoming an important Tantric figure. To the Tantric worshippers, it was essential to face her Curse, the terror of death, as willingly as they accepted Blessings from her beautiful, nurturing, maternal aspect. For them, wisdom meant learning that no coin has only one side: as death cannot exist without life, so life cannot exist without death. Kali's role sometimes grew beyond that of a chaos - which could be confronted - to that of one who could bring wisdom, and she is given great metaphysical significance by some Tantric texts. The Nirvāna-tantra clearly presents her uncontrolled nature as the Ultimate Reality, claiming that the trimurti of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra arise and disappear from her like bubbles from the sea. Although this is an extreme case, the Yogini-tantra, Kamakhya-tantra and the Niruttara-tantra declare her the svarupa (own-being) of the Mahadevi (the great Goddess, who is in this case seen as the combination of all devis).The final stage of development is the worshipping of Kali as the Great Mother, devoid of her usual violence. This practice is a break from the more traditional depictions. The pioneers of this tradition are the 18th century Shakta poets such as Ramprasad Sen, who show an awareness of Kali's ambivalent nature. Ramakrishna, the 19th century Bengali saint, was also a great devotee of Kali; the western popularity of whom may have contributed to the more modern, equivocal interpretations of this Goddess. Rachel McDermott's work, however, suggests that for the common, modern worshipper, Kali is not seen as fearful, and only those educated in old traditions see her as having a wrathful component. Some credit to the development of Devi must also be given to Samkhya. Commonly referred to as the Devi of delusion, Mahamaya or Durga, acting in the confines of (but not being bound by) the nature of the three gunas, takes three forms: Maha-Kali, Maha-Lakshmi and Maha-Saraswati, being her tamas-ika, rajas-ika and sattva-ika forms. In this sense, Kali is simply part of a larger whole.
Like Sir John Woodroffe and Georg Feuerstein, many Tantric scholars (as well as sincere practitioners) agree that, no matter how propitious or appalling you describe them, Shiva and Devi are simply recognizable symbols for everyday, abstract (yet tangible) concepts such as perception, knowledge, space-time, causation and the process of liberating oneself from the confines of such things. Shiva, symbolizing pure, absolute consciousness, and Devi, symbolizing the entire content of that consciousness, are ultimately one and the same - totality incarnate, a micro-macro-cosmic amalgamation of all subjects, all objects and all phenomenal relations between the "two." Like man and woman who both share many common, human traits yet at the same time they are still different and, therefore, may also be seen as complementary.
Worshippers prescribe various benign and horrific qualities to Devi simply out of practicality. They do this so they may have a variety of symbols to choose from, symbols which they can identify and relate with from the perspective of their own, ever-changing time, place and personal level of unfolding. Just like modern chemists or physicists use a variety of molecular and atomic models to describe what is unperceivable through rudimentary, sensory input, the scientists of ontology and epistemology must do the same. One of the underlying distinctions of Tantra, in comparison to other religions, is that it allows the devotee the liberty to choose from a vast array of complementary symbols and rhetoric which suit one's evolving needs and tastes. From an aesthetic standpoint, nothing is interdict and nothing is orthodox. In this sense, the projection of some of Devi's more gentle qualities onto Kali is not sacrilege and the development of Kali really lies in the practitioner, not the murthi.
A TIME magazine article of October 27, 1947, used Kali as a symbol and metaphor for the human suffering in British India during its partition that year. In 1971, Ms. Magazine used an image of Kali, her multiple arms juggling modern tasks, as a symbol of modern womanhood on its inaugural issue.
Swami Vivekananda wrote his favorite poem Kali the Mother in 1898.
KALI IN NEOPAGAN AND NEW AGE PRACTICE
An academic study of Western Kali enthusiasts noted that, "as shown in the histories of all cross-cultural religious transplants, Kali devotionalism in the West must take on its own indigenous forms if it is to adapt to its new environment."[60] The adoption of Kali by the West has raised accusations of cultural appropriation:
A variety of writers and thinkers have found Kali an exciting figure for reflection and exploration, notably feminists and participants in New Age spirituality who are attracted to goddess worship. [For them], Kali is a symbol of wholeness and healing, associated especially with repressed female power and sexuality. [However, such interpretations often exhibit] confusion and misrepresentation, stemming from a lack of knowledge of Hindu history among these authors, [who only rarely] draw upon materials written by scholars of the Hindu religious tradition. The majority instead rely chiefly on other popular feminist sources, almost none of which base their interpretations on a close reading of Kali's Indian background. The most important issue arising from this discussion - even more important than the question of 'correct' interpretation - concerns the adoption of other people's religious symbols. It is hard to import the worship of a goddess from another culture: religious associations and connotations have to be learned, imagined or intuited when the deep symbolic meanings embedded in the native culture are not available.
INCARNATIONS OF KALI
Draupadi, Wife of Pandavas, was an avatar of Kali, who born to assist Lord Krishna to destroy arrogant kings of India. There is a temple dedicated to this incarnation at Banni Mata Temple at Himachal Pradesh. The vedic deity Nirriti or the Puranic deity Alakshmi is often considered as incarnations of Kali.
WIKIPEDIA
Best viewed 'Original' size.
Waiting the call to duty. An array of classes 85, 86 & 87 Bo-Bo electrics at Longsight depot, Manchester - 06/12/1981.
AS we move into autumn, a bright and colourful scene like this one from the late spring makes the thoughts drift back through the year and the preceding seasons that seem to have passed by so quickly…..
This effervescent array of colour was captured in the grounds of Bushbury Crematorium in my hometown of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands during a few days back there towards the end of May and really goes to show how, even amongst the obvious sadness associated with a place such as this, the inspirational wonders of Mother Nature’s beauty can still stand out to lift the heart and sooth the soul…..
An array of lamp shades!!
Sorry friends for not visiting your photostream. . , Very busy at home with the little ones . . . But I shall catch your stream soon!
It is a long, long time ago that we were last here. I did manage to take about a dozen shots that day.
You'll be glad to know I took more this time.
Sheppy is other-worldly. It is an island, but now there are two bridges onto it, the last being a dual carriageway, getting you to the delights of Sheerness and Queensborough doubly quickly.
Away from the western end, the island barely rises above the waters of the Thames and Swale that surround it, except at one place; Minster, where a monastery was built to look down on the fenland all around.
As we were nearby in Iwade, it was a ten minute drive to get to Minster, find our way up the hill and a vacant parking space. The museum in the gatehouse was open, but we pass by that to the church and mister beyond, with its wide and squat tower rising from the graveyard.
I pushed the door of the church, and it swung open, revealing a huge space; once two churches, but now full of details worthy of investigating.
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The large, almost square, medieval gatehouse to the west of the church tells the visitor that here is no ordinary parish church. For nearly a thousand years this was both Minster Abbey and Minster parish church. Today it is one building, but formerly the present south aisle formed the parish church, whilst the north aisle belonged to the nuns and was part of the monastic enclosure. The parish church side has a distinct nineteenth-century feel to it, the result of a much-needed restoration of 1879 by Ewan Christian to which Queen Victoria contributed. It contains some notable old monuments; especially interesting is that to Sir Robert de Shurland (d. 1310) which is an effigy of a knight under a wall recess. Between the nuns' aisle and the parish church is the Cheyne tomb, commemorating Sir Thomas Cheyne (d. 1559). This imposing marble and alabaster table tomb shows him wearing his Order of the Garter. The north aisle - or nuns' church - has altogether more atmosphere with substantial remains of the original church built by St Sexburga, widow of King Erconbert of Kent in AD 670. The arched heads of two Saxon windows survive in the southern wall, and the 'chancel' of the nuns' church has had its plaster removed to show the early rubble construction. It is separated from the rest of the church by a fine oak screen of about 1400. The whole church has a well-cared-for atmosphere and should be near the top of all visitors' lists.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Minster+in+Sheppey
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Minster Abbey or, to give it its full title, The Abbey Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Sexburgha, occupies the highest hilltop position on the otherwise flat Isle of Sheppey in Kent and has been a place of worship for over 1,400 years.
Founded as a nunnery by the widowed Queen Sexburgha in 664AD it was endowed with land given by her son Ercombert, King of Kent. With no stone on the island the building material was hewn at Boughton Monchelsea and brought down the River Medway and the Swale. Examples of early Saxon stone and Roman tiles, (from an earlier Roman outpost of the garrison at Reculver which earlier occupied this hilltop,) can also be found in the walls of the St Sexburgha chapel. Three still functioning wells from the priory are located by the Gatehouse, under a shop in Minster High Street and in the garden of a house in the adjacent Falcon Gardens.
The priory was badly damaged, but not destroyed, by Danish Vikings in the ninth century and was further damaged in the 11th century.
Following the Norman invasion of 1066, King William the Conqueror partly rebuilt the church and priory and allowed nuns from Newington to take up residence. It remained impoverished, though, until Archbishop de Corbeuil rebuilt it between 1123 and 1139. He is credited with the unusual arrangement of two adjacent 'churches' with the northern church for the nuns and the southern for the parishioners. It is thought curtains were originally hung to cover the arches which separate the two churches. The stone for the Norman part of the church was imported from Caen from the same quarry that provided the stone for Canterbury Cathedral
During the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII the two adjacent churches led directly to the saving of the Abbey church. Because the two churches shared a common wall and were linked by arches in the wall, the Abbey church was spared the destruction wrought on the rest of the Abbey
Following the Dissolution, the abbey came into the ownership of Sir Thomas Cheyne (or Cheney) and he was first buried in the now lost chapel of Saint Katherine on this site in 1559. Most of the Abbey was eventually demolished except for the church and the adjacent Abbey Gatehouse. The gatehouse survived because it was used as a private residence and now contains an interesting local history museum.
Repairs to the church were neglected in the mid 19th century, but Rev William Bramston restored the church in 1881 and the Abbey is now a Grade 1 listed building which provides protection but also limits the modernisation work which can be done (e.g. the installation of a disabled toilet)
Internally there is no chancel arch in the southern aisle while the northern aisle retains both chancel arch and a carved timber screen. At the eastern end of the southern aisle there is a niche which has traces of a medieval wall painting of St. Nicholas.
The north-east Sexburgha chapel (also known as the Nuns' chapel) is separated from North aisle by a 12th century oak screen
The church has an interesting array of monuments displaying English armour from the 14th to the 16th centuries. The earliest is Baron Robert de Shurland [died 1327] who reclines on an altar tomb on the southside. At his feet is the head of his horse, Grey Dolphin. According to local legend, Sir Robert killed a monk and resolved to ask the King for a pardon. In 1326 he rode to where the King's ship was anchored, off the Isle of Sheppey, and rode out through the water to gain forgiveness from the King. Returning, he met a witch who said that de Shurland's horse, Grey Dolphin, which had borne him so bravely to the ship, would be the death of him. Sir Robert immediately killed the horse and cut off its head. A year later Sir Robert was walking along the shore when a shard of the horse's bone pierced his foot. Blood poisoning set in and Sir Robert died, killed by his horse as predicted by the witch.
In the arches between the two churches is the final resting place of Sir Thomas Cheyne KG [1485-1558]. As Sherriff of Kent from 1516 and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports from 1536 until his death, (a position he held through the reigns of all five of the Tudor monarchs), he became one of the most powerful men in the South-East of England. For many years he served as Treasurer of the Household for Henry VIII and remarkably retained this post under Mary 1.
In the north-east corner of the northern aisle there is the effigy of a man dressed in high Gothic armour from the late 15th century. Some sources suggest it might be Sir Hugh de Badlesemere, a Yorkist soldier who fought in the War of the Roses. However others say that it might be George, 1st Duke of Clarence, as George was constable of nearby Queenborough Castle. Supposedly executed at the Tower of London by drowning in a Butt of Malmsley, there is evidence, though, that George was buried with his wife in Tewksbury. The effigy is of very high quality and clearly reflects wealth, but all the shields and heraldry have been hacked off, which might suggest Tudor vandalism of a supposed Yorkist tomb. This could support the 'Clarence' theory, but the effigy also rests with his feet on a curly haired ram and not a bull - the bull badge being traditionally associated with George, Duke of Clarence.
Another effigy of early 15th century date was dug up in the churchyard in 1833 and this lies against the north wall. Some sources suggest this is General Geronimo who appears in the Register as being buried in December 1591. He was captured in a Spanish galleon by Sir Edward Hoby in 1588 and held hostage in Queenborough Castle. The ransom was never paid and he died in captivity. He clasps a small egg shaped image in his hands which is said to represent his soul
Other rough hewn tombs recovered at this time are thought to be tombs of abbesses of the Abbey.
www.minsterabbey.org.uk/3.html
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MINSTER
IS the principal parish in the Island of Shepey. It lies on high ground near the middle of the north side of it.
The parish takes its name from the monastery founded very early within it, Minstre in the Saxon language signifying a monastery or religious house.
The manor of Newington claims over a small part of this parish, but the paramount manor over the whole of it is that of Milton.
THE PARISH of Minster is by far the largest of any in the island. The village is situated on high ground near the middle of it, with the church, and ruins of the monastery close on the northern side of it; of the latter there is little more than the gate-house remaining.
THE VILLE of Sheerness is situated at the western bounds, as well of this parish as of the whole island, a further account of which will be given hereafter. It was formerly accounted as part of this parish, but it has long since been made a ville of itself, and as to its civil jurisdiction, entirely separate from this parish.
The cliffs on the northern side of this island, are likewise the northern boundaries of this parish; Queenborough and Sheerness bound it towards the west, and the Swale and the island of Elmley southward.
In June 1756, a monstrous fish, thought to be a young whale, was driven on shore at this place. It measured thirty-six feet and upwards in length, twentytwo feet in circumserence, and eight feet from the eyes to the tip of the nose. It was supposed to yield twenty hogsheads of oil.
King Edward III. in his 17th year, granted a fair to be held here on Palm Monday, which is still continued for toys and such like merchandize.
SEXBURGA, one of the daughters of Annas, king of East Anglia, and widow of Ercombert, king of Kent, between the years 664 and 673, having obtained lands in this parish of her son king Egbert, founded A MONASTERY here, which she finished and got well endowed for seventy-seven nuns, whom she placed in it, king Egbert himself adding several lands to it, and she became herself the first abbess. Soon after which, about the year 675, she resigned her government of it to her daughter Ermenilda, who became the second abbess, and then retired, in the year 699, to the Isle of Ely, to the monastery there, over which her sister Etheldred presided. (fn. 1)
During the times of the Danish invasions, the religious of this monastery were subject to continual instances of cruelty and oppression, and at last their house was in a great measure destroyed by them, and the nuns dispersed. In which situation it seems nearly to have remained till the reign of the Conqueror, who, on the prioress of the nunnery of Newington near Sittingborne having been strangled in her bed, consiscated their possessions, and removed the few remaining nuns to this ruinated monastery, which continued but in a very mean condition till the year 1130, when it was reedified and replenished with Benedictine nuns, by archbishop Corboil, and dedicated to St. Mary and St. Sexburg.
In the 8th year of king Richard II. anno 1384, the temporalities of this monastery were valued at 66 l. 8s. and the spiritualities at 73l. 6s. 8d. Total 139l. 14s. 8d.
¶In the 27th year of king Henry VIII. an act having passed for the suppression of all religious houses, whose revenues did not amount to the clear yearly value of two hundred pounds, this monastery, whose revenues amounted to no more than 129l. 7s. 10½d. annual re venue, or 122l. 14s. 6d. clear yearly income, being then ten pounds less than they were near two hundred years before, was surrendered up to the king, at which time it was in so indigent a state, that there were but a prioress and ten nuns in it. To the former, Alicia Crane, the king granted a pension of fourteen pounds for her life, towards her proper support and maintenance.
MINSTER is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Sittingborne.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary and St. Sexburg, (as was the monastery) is supposed by some to have been the very church of it, but by others, that it only adjoined to it; at present it consists of two isles and two chancels. The steeple is at the west end, being a large square tower, with a turret at the top, in which there is a clock, and a ring of five bells. It was formerly higher than it is at present, as appears by the remains. There was formerly a building adjoining to the east end of the north chancel, as appears by a doorcase and some ornaments on the outside of it. In the north chancel, on the south side, is the tomb of Sir Thomas Cheney, knight of the garter, &c. who was buried with great state, in a chapel which had been the conventual church, adjoining to the north east part of this parish; but his son Henry, lord Cheney, having in 1581, anno 24 Elizabeth, obtained a licence to remove the coffins and bones of his father and ancestors from thence, he having sold the materials of the chapel to Sir Humphry Gilbert, and placed them in this parish church, the coffin of his father was, among others removed, and deposited in this chancel. On the north side, under an arch in the wall, on a grey marble, lies the figure of a man, habited in armour. In the south, or high chancel, against the south wall, is an antient tomb, with the effigies of a man lying at length crosslegged, and in armour; on his right side is the figure of a horse's head, carved alike in alabaster, and fixed to the tomb, concerning which many idle reports are current. (fn. 10) On a stone in the middle of the chancel, are the figures in brass of a man and woman; his in armour, cross-legged, with large spurs, his sword by his side, and this coat of arms, Ermine, a pale, engrailed, (perhaps it might have been originally a cross, the rest of it having been rubbed out); on her mantle, Three bars, wavy; under his feet a lion, under her's a talbot; the inscription underneath is gone, except the word Hic at the beginning of it. At the upper end of the north isle is a small stone, seemingly very antient, with a cross bottony on it.
In the year 1489, there was a chapel, dedicated to St. John Baptist, Situated within the cemetery of Minster, in Shepey.
The church of Minster seems to have been part of the endowment of the monastery at the first foundation of it.
¶This church was not many years afterwards appropriated to it, (fn. 11) the cure of it being esteemed as a donative, in which state it continued at the time of the dissolution of the monastery, when it came, together with the rest of the possessions of it, into the king's hands, where it remained till the king granted the rectory of Minster, with its rights, members, and appurtenances, and the advowson of the church there, to Sir Thomas Cheney, knight of the garter, &c. to hold in capite by knight's service, whose son Henry, lord Cheney, of Tuddington, alienated this rectory, with the advowson, to Robert Levesey, esq. in whose descendants it continued sometime afterwards, till at length it was sold to Gore, and William Gore, esq. of Boxley, died possessed of the rectory impropriate, with the advowson, in 1768. He died s.p. and by his will devised it to his relation Robert Mitchell, esq. who dying likewise. s.p. in 1779, gave his estates to his three nephews, Robert, Christopher, and Thomas, sons of his brother Thomas, the eldest of whom, Robert Mitchell, esq. became afterwards the sole proprietor of them.
The parsonage at present consists of a house, barns, &c. and one hundred and eighty-eight acres of arable, meadow, and pasture belonging to it, together with all the great and small tithes of the parish, of all kinds whatsoever.
The ecclesiastical jurisdiction of this parish extends over the ville of Sheerness, the populousness of which adds greatly to the burials in it, insomuch that in some years of late, they have amounted to between two and three hundred.
The church of Queenborough was formerly esteemed as a chapel to this church, but it has long since been independent of it. The cure of it is still esteemed as a donative, the yearly stipend of the curate being 16l. 13s. 4d. In 1578 the communicants were three hundred and eight.
In 1640 the stipend of the curate was 16l. 13s. 4d. Communicants two hundred and sixty-five. It is not in charge in the king's books.
Roger, abbot of St. Augustine's, in 1188 let to Agnes, prioress, and the convent of St. Sexburg, certain tithes within this parish, to hold in perpetual ferme at fourteen shillings yearly rent, &c. These tithes were those of Westlande; being those of Sir Adam de Shurlande, and of Adam Rusin (fn. 12)
The Solar array will be used to trickle charge the lithium battery bank in the Kimberly Kamper trailer while in storage. www.kimberleykampers.com/
A future project will be to add a battery and separate MPPT charger to power a 12 v garden fountain pump and outdoor LED lighting.
Components
2 x Uni-Solar Amorphous 62 W ES-62T $420 (sourced on ebay $210 each)
1 x Heavy Duty Universal Solar Panel Pole Mount kit from affordablesolarmounts.com/ $150
2.7 m (0.7 m in the ground) galvanised pole (MGPE 32NB) (42.4 MM) from EDCON Steel www.edconsteel.com.au/ $30
2 x MC3 Solar Panel Cable Branch Connectors sourced on ebay $19
2 x MC3 Solar Panel 6' Cable 1 End Male/Stripped 12 AWG sourced on ebay $40
10m 15A auto cable and Anderson plug from Jaycar $40
3 x 20 Kg ready mix cement from Bunnings $19.5
Total $719
See an overview video @
View this virtual tour of 152 images as a Slideshow
Glittering mirror ball array and supporting timber frame casting shadows on the ceiling, and reflecting white and blue stars. A lattice frame speaker array (with silver capped driver domes) is suspended in front of the fireplace. An HDR (High Dynamic Range) photograph.
See also the related "Brian Eno 77 Million Paintings" set, - an exhibition that ran concurrently at Fabrica Gallery during the festival.
This image is part of a set of photos of the Brian Eno Speaker Flowers Sound Installation at Marlborough House (and also of the house itself) on the Old Steine, Brighton, East sussex, UK. The exhibition was presented by Fabrica Art Gallery, as part of the Brighton Festival, May 2010. The installation includes the poems and words of Rick Holland.
The Grade I listed house was built circa 1765 , purchased at one time by the Duke of Marlborough, and substantially remodelled by the Scottish architect Robert Adam.
More links:
Arena TV series theme tune video by Brian Eno.
Microsoft Windows Start-Up Sounds collection video (Including Windows 95 music by Brian Eno).
Marlborough House (My Brighton and Hove)
The Architecture of Robert Adam (1728-1792) from RCAHMS (the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland)
Humberts Leisure Brochure on property [.pdf download]
Some of the photos in this set are presented in multiple versions made possible using HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography - these variations are displayed with more than one exposure, gamma, "local adaptation" compression or "unsharp mask" process.
Many rooms had their windows screened using coloured Crêpe paper / tissue paper. This gave their illumination a colour cast - which has been exaggerated (or neutralised) on an image by image basis. The actual experience of the coloured light was one of only a slight and soft hue.
In some instances the photos have modified to give an architectural, classical, "two-point" perspective - with forced, parallel verticals.
Ziegelstein is German for building blocks or bricks. I use the nickname Brick Stone in many of my multiplayer online gaming titles that I enjoy.... With that, I am essentially calling myself Ziegelstein. This has proven to be the perfect name for my new array of Hi Fidelity Audiophile PC speakers.
What's the deal here?
The design goals of this system was to allow for extremely clear, yet warm and robust, 3D positional audio in either 5.1 or 7.1 titles in a near field delivery scheme, as well as serve as a part of our multimedia experience in the family/game room area of our home. I use this worksation for video and audio editing and creation, 2D and 3D graphics development for web and video games, media and entertainment such as movies, and TV via Slingbox, Netflix, Hulu and many other sources. And, yes, I also use it for state-of-the-art hardcore video gaming as this PC currently features hardware that is at the "top-of-the-line" enthusiast level for all of the installed components. This system is custom-built by myself and is designed for maximum performance on the bleeding edge of tomorrow's tech.
Delivering the Goods...
As for audio sources, The Ziegelstein-Array is powered currently by a single Harmon Kardon AVR1600 Receiver which has, at its heart, a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series 24 Bit Soundcard. This device has modes of operation that accomodate specific areas of use such as Entertainment Mode, Audio Creation Mode, and the highly controversial Gaming Mode. While there are sound cards specifically designed for audio playback of 5.1 source media in a home theater environment, this X-fi has been crafted around a set of core components and features designed to augment the experience for the hardcore PC gamer.
Realistic EAX® 5.0 sound effects Hear crackling gunfire and earth-shattering explosions. EAX® 5.0 delivers realistic sound effects that will engage you in long hours of gameplay
EAX® and 3D audio restoration for Windows Vista® Using Windows Vista®? Creative ALchemy restores the surround sound effect for the same great gaming experience.
Accurate 3D positional audio Listen to 3D positional audio so accurate, you can locate your enemies through mere sound alone! Plus, the X-Fi CMSS®-3D gives you amazing surround sound even with normal stereo headphones.
Hardware accelerated performance
Get unbeatable performance with hardware accelerated audio that blows motherboard audio away.
Boost your performance even further in games like Quake 4, Battlefield 2, Prey, Unreal Tournament 3 and others that take advantage of X-RAM.
Clearer voice chats
Plug in your headset or microphone and hear the difference immediately. With high-quality input and hardware audio processing, your teammates will definitely hear you loud and clear.
We also take advantage of a host of features that cross the genre and benefit not just the PC gamer but the music and movie enthusiast as well.
24 Bit Crystalizer Restore the details and vibrance your music and movies lost during compression. X-Fi technology intelligently enhances the highs and lows so you'll hear it all-crisp cymbal crashes, wailing guitar solos, screeching tires and booming explosions.
CMSS-3D - Surround sound from your stereo music and movies? Yes! Expand your stereo music and movies into surround sound. Voices are centered in front of you. Ambient sound appears all around you... just like a live performance. Listen on a pair of desktop speakers or a full 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system.
Experience cinematic surround sound from Blu-Ray & DVD movies Watch your Media in cinematic surround sound with PowerDVD software featuring DTS™ and Dolby Digital® -EX decoding.
X-Fi Powers The Ziegelstein-Array!
Utilizing the AVR1600's 8-channel direct in and its digital inputs in its current state, The Ziegelstein-Array is able to shine as a true hi-fidelity "Studio Monitor" set of speakers capable of 4000 watts output in any traditional home theater/game room layout chosen - a system capable of handling anything thrown at it and able to deliver it cleanly in any setting, meeting any demand.
The Ziegelstein-Array is made from 70% Recycled Materials!
Aside from using recycled wire from dismantled electronics, recycled pressboard for crossover mounting, recycled sofa polyester filling and recycled self adhesive sound dampening materials, we are also using vintage gear at the heart of every unit built. Utilizing the principle of the 5 R's (which we'll cover later in this segment), we can effectively recycle vintage audio gear from the 1970's and 80's for use in our current lineup. This prototype Z-Array is featuring recycled Optimus Pro LX5 Bookshelf speakers with original refurbished Linaeum DiPole Tweeters, Peerless SDS shielded drivers, specialized 2-way crossovers and original cast aluminum cabinets. We are also using recycled Minimus 7 bookself speakers with original cast aluminum cabinets, original cloth dome tweeters, custom aluminum cone drivers and specialized 2-way crossovers.
The Ziegelstein-Array featured here builds a 5.1/7.1 system with 24 speakers across the 6 side channels. A Center Channel (currently 1 Unit with upgradeability to 4) and Subwoofer array (1 or 2 Units).
The channel array utilizes wiring in a series/parallel hybrid configuration to allow four 8 Ohm speakers to be wired together to maintain an 8 Ohm load on the Harmon Kardon.
Alterative methods. We are experimenting with using solid state chip amps on each channel and driving them separately.
The Ziegelstein-Array featured in this article is a prototype array used for additional testing of design concepts that will lead to the future development of a retail offering that will feature custom cabinets and crossover designs that will position us within reach of the proverbial Golden Ring!
The Ziegelstein-Array prototype will pave the way for our future products and will position us to firmly grasp a reasonable market share of the High End Audio Component niche. "High End Audio without the High Cost" - the Credo that will propel us into the 22nd Century and beyond!
Interrogative
I've spent 30 years building and testing speakers. Over that very same set of years, I have slowly built this array with components and parts that I've acquired when others have tossed them away. Really fantastic finds in my opinion for someone that can actually utilize all their hidden abilities, secrets and cost effectiveness. This is not everyone's cup of tea though. DIY Audio is a serious hobby not for the fainthearted or impatient and, though The Ziegelstein-Array protoype is a cost effective alternative to systems costing tens of thousands of dollars, it takes some time to get everything together and then you have to learn how to do it right. That can take considerable time for some. Time that, in most cases, many of us working class folk do not even posess enough of to simply sit and enjoy a meal with each other or pray together much less take on an extremely self-engrossing hobby such as DIY Audio. This oftentimes unfair trade-off is time spent initiating one particular ritual. One that I refer to as the 5 R's. This is comprised of the time and energy it takes to Recon, Recycle, Refurb, Retrofit and Refinish the units. This is where the patience and determination play a major role in the outcome of the final product. Trust me when I say that it will all pay off in the end. Recycling these discarded ebay treasures and utilizing some science, I was easily able to create a personalized system that can be manipulated in scope and size to fit any budget or space limitations. The 24-unit array featured in our shown system, excluding the front channel and subs has a DIY build cost average of approximately $75 per bookshelf unit. With the additional DIY build cost averaging to $150 for each MTM TL 3 foot tower.
Unrivaled Versatility
Another unique feature set of The Z-Array, with its multiple amplifiers driving each channel, is the ability to break up these channels sets into completely separate bookshelf systems for nearly every room in my home. By separating the channels into smaller complete bookshelf units, 6 such individual units in fact then become available for usage in a complete multi-zone audio distribution scenario. The Ziegelstein-Array becomes a complete audio experience for the entire home by allowing every room to have sublime audio in a smaller form factor with no additional cost to the owner and without sacrificing the original clarity and power of the main unit.
Ziegelstein FTW!
The most exciting news is that, our recycled Z-Array is easily showing a professional-grade "Studio Quality" output from each unit that is easily toppling the performance levels of some well-known high-end audiophile systems with units that have an ownership cost usually in the $250 to $800 range for each bookshelf unit and $1000 to multiples of that can amount into unheard-of figures for larger more exotic tower units.
It gets worse. The market is driven by snobs! - What's a poor boy to do?
Believe it or not.... Some " Extreme" audiophiles would even snub a $50K system, let alone even look at a $15K system. Labeling even the big name entry-level Home Theater offerings as cheap knockoffs or downright worthless.
Keeping it Real...
Fortunately for anyone who can appreciate the recent global financial debacles and subsequent ripples that are affecting everyone, we all can surely appreciate the cost savings delivered when one considers tackling a DIY Audio project. When you are then fortunate enough to add recycling to the mix, your cost savings can increase to 300% more overall and those old under-appreciated speaker cabinets are also not ending up in land-fills.
My overall total cost for all of the units in The Z-Array was in the sensible range of $800 to $1000 total for the entire set of 30 speakers. This set was also accumulated over a 6-year time frame. One must know: I did not drop $1000 all at once. It is interesting to note, though, that if I were to have bought comparable units for this array from a "High End", high cost well-known provisioner of "Professional" studio-grade speakers...
I would have easily had a unit cost of approximately $400 each for a small bookshelf units and $750 each for the medium sized satellite units. The cost comes to an approximate $15,000 Just for speakers! and I haven't included MY 2 $150 towers which would have cost about $900 each if I had purchased them from the same provisioner.
In Closing...
I'm very proud of my $1700 (Custom speaker array, Sony sub and HK AVR1600 AV Receiver) 7.1 PC Audiophile System. It takes any home theater system that could have easily cost me $16,000 to the cleaners for a fraction of the cost. The Z-Array wins - hands down! I am so very glad I decided to go forward with my DIY aspirations. I have learned so much while traveling this path and have made some great new friends. I am thankful that I have had the patience, determination and the know-how to build The Ziegelstein-Array!
Thanks for reading!
The Orion crew and service module stack for Artemis I was lifted out of the Final Assembly and Test (FAST) cell on Monday, November 11. The spacecraft has been stationed in the FAST cell since July for mating and closeout processing. The service module and crew module were moved separately into the cell, stacked and connected together for the mission. After lifting out of the cell, Orion will be attached to a tool called a verticator that rotates the stack from its vertical configuration to a horizontal configuration for transport to NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, where it will undergo full environmental testing to certify the complete vehicle for flight. Once the vehicle returns to Kennedy in several months, it will return to the FAST cell for installation of final panels left off for environmental testing purposes and the service module’s four solar arrays.
Credit: NASA/Rad Sinyak
Zeigelsteine is German for building blocks or bricks. I use the nickname Brick Stone in many of my multiplayer online gaming titles that I enjoy.... With that, I am essentially calling myself Zeigelsteine. This has proven to be the perfect name for my new array of Hi Fidelity Audiophile PC speakers.
What's the deal here?
The design goals of this system was to allow for extremely clear, yet warm and robust, 3D positional audio in either 5.1 or 7.1 titles in a near field delivery scheme, as well as serve as a part of our multimedia experience in the family/game room area of our home. I use this worksation for video and audio editing and creation, 2D and 3D graphics development for web and video games, media and entertainment such as movies, and TV via Slingbox, Netflix, Hulu and many other sources. And, yes, I also use it for state-of-the-art hardcore video gaming as this PC currently features hardware that is at the "top-of-the-line" enthusiast level for all of the installed components. This system is custom-built by myself and is designed for maximum performance on the bleeding edge of tomorrow's tech.
Delivering the Goods...
As for audio sources, The Zeigelsteine-Array is powered currently by a single Harmon Kardon AVR1600 Receiver which has, at its heart, a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series 24 Bit Soundcard. This device has modes of operation that accomodate specific areas of use such as Entertainment Mode, Audio Creation Mode, and the highly controversial Gaming Mode. While there are sound cards specifically designed for audio playback of 5.1 source media in a home theater environment, this X-fi has been crafted around a set of core components and features designed to augment the experience for the hardcore PC gamer.
Realistic EAX® 5.0 sound effects Hear crackling gunfire and earth-shattering explosions. EAX® 5.0 delivers realistic sound effects that will engage you in long hours of gameplay
EAX® and 3D audio restoration for Windows Vista® Using Windows Vista®? Creative ALchemy restores the surround sound effect for the same great gaming experience.
Accurate 3D positional audio Listen to 3D positional audio so accurate, you can locate your enemies through mere sound alone! Plus, the X-Fi CMSS®-3D gives you amazing surround sound even with normal stereo headphones.
Hardware accelerated performance
Get unbeatable performance with hardware accelerated audio that blows motherboard audio away.
Boost your performance even further in games like Quake 4, Battlefield 2, Prey, Unreal Tournament 3 and others that take advantage of X-RAM.
Clearer voice chats
Plug in your headset or microphone and hear the difference immediately. With high-quality input and hardware audio processing, your teammates will definitely hear you loud and clear.
We also take advantage of a host of features that cross the genre and benefit not just the PC gamer but the music and movie enthusiast as well.
24 Bit Crystalizer Restore the details and vibrance your music and movies lost during compression. X-Fi technology intelligently enhances the highs and lows so you'll hear it all-crisp cymbal crashes, wailing guitar solos, screeching tires and booming explosions.
CMSS-3D - Surround sound from your stereo music and movies? Yes! Expand your stereo music and movies into surround sound. Voices are centered in front of you. Ambient sound appears all around you... just like a live performance. Listen on a pair of desktop speakers or a full 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system.
Experience cinematic surround sound from Blu-Ray & DVD movies Watch your Media in cinematic surround sound with PowerDVD software featuring DTS™ and Dolby Digital® -EX decoding.
X-Fi Powers The Zeigelsteine-Array!
Utilizing the AVR1600's 8-channel direct in and its digital inputs in its current state, The Zeigelsteine-Array is able to shine as a true hi-fidelity "Studio Monitor" set of speakers capable of 4000 watts output in any traditional home theater/game room layout chosen - a system capable of handling anything thrown at it and able to deliver it cleanly in any setting, meeting any demand.
The Zeigelsteine-Array is made from 70% Recycled Materials!
Aside from using recycled wire from dismantled electronics, recycled pressboard for crossover mounting, recycled sofa polyester filling and recycled self adhesive sound dampening materials, we are also using vintage gear at the heart of every unit built. Utilizing the principle of the 5 R's (which we'll cover later in this segment), we can effectively recycle vintage audio gear from the 1970's and 80's for use in our current lineup. This prototype Z-Array is featuring recycled Optimus Pro LX5 Bookshelf speakers with original refurbished Linaeum DiPole Tweeters, Peerless SDS shielded drivers, specialized 2-way crossovers and original cast aluminum cabinets. We are also using recycled Minimus 7 bookself speakers with original cast aluminum cabinets, original cloth dome tweeters, custom aluminum cone drivers and specialized 2-way crossovers.
The Zeigelsteine-Array featured here builds a 5.1/7.1 system with 24 speakers across the 6 side channels. A Center Channel (currently 1 Unit with upgradeability to 4) and Subwoofer array (1 or 2 Units).
The channel array utilizes wiring in a series/parallel hybrid configuration to allow four 8 Ohm speakers to be wired together to maintain an 8 Ohm load on the Harmon Kardon.
Alterative methods. We are experimenting with using solid state chip amps on each channel and driving them separately.
The Zeigelsteine-Array featured in this article is a prototype array used for additional testing of design concepts that will lead to the future development of a retail offering that will feature custom cabinets and crossover designs that will position us within reach of the proverbial Golden Ring!
The Zeigelsteine-Array prototype will pave the way for our future products and will position us to firmly grasp a reasonable market share of the High End Audio Component niche. "High End Audio without the High Cost" - the Credo that will propel us into the 22nd Century and beyond!
Interrogative
I've spent 30 years building and testing speakers. Over that very same set of years, I have slowly built this array with components and parts that I've acquired when others have tossed them away. Really fantastic finds in my opinion for someone that can actually utilize all their hidden abilities, secrets and cost effectiveness. This is not everyone's cup of tea though. DIY Audio is a serious hobby not for the fainthearted or impatient and, though The Zeigelsteine-Array protoype is a cost effective alternative to systems costing tens of thousands of dollars, it takes some time to get everything together and then you have to learn how to do it right. That can take considerable time for some. Time that, in most cases, many of us working class folk do not even posess enough of to simply sit and enjoy a meal with each other or pray together much less take on an extremely self-engrossing hobby such as DIY Audio. This oftentimes unfair trade-off is time spent initiating one particular ritual. One that I refer to as the 5 R's. This is comprised of the time and energy it takes to Recon, Recycle, Refurb, Retrofit and Refinish the units. This is where the patience and determination play a major role in the outcome of the final product. Trust me when I say that it will all pay off in the end. Recycling these discarded ebay treasures and utilizing some science, I was easily able to create a personalized system that can be manipulated in scope and size to fit any budget or space limitations. The 24-unit array featured in our shown system, excluding the front channel and subs has a DIY build cost average of approximately $75 per bookshelf unit. With the additional DIY build cost averaging to $150 for each MTM TL 3 foot tower.
Unrivaled Versatility
Another unique feature set of The Z-Array, with its multiple amplifiers driving each channel, is the ability to break up these channels sets into completely separate bookshelf systems for nearly every room in my home. By separating the channels into smaller complete bookshelf units, 6 such individual units in fact then become available for usage in a complete multi-zone audio distribution scenario. The Zeigelsteine-Array becomes a complete audio experience for the entire home by allowing every room to have sublime audio in a smaller form factor with no additional cost to the owner and without sacrificing the original clarity and power of the main unit.
Zeigelsteine FTW!
The most exciting news is that, our recycled Z-Array is easily showing a professional-grade "Studio Quality" output from each unit that is easily toppling the performance levels of some well-known high-end audiophile systems with units that have an ownership cost usually in the $250 to $800 range for each bookshelf unit and $1000 to multiples of that can amount into unheard-of figures for larger more exotic tower units.
It gets worse. The market is driven by snobs! - What's a poor boy to do?
Believe it or not.... Some " Extreme" audiophiles would even snub a $50K system, let alone even look at a $15K system. Labeling even the big name entry-level Home Theater offerings as cheap knockoffs or downright worthless.
Keeping it Real...
Fortunately for anyone who can appreciate the recent global financial debacles and subsequent ripples that are affecting everyone, we all can surely appreciate the cost savings delivered when one considers tackling a DIY Audio project. When you are then fortunate enough to add recycling to the mix, your cost savings can increase to 300% more overall and those old under-appreciated speaker cabinets are also not ending up in land-fills.
My overall total cost for all of the units in The Z-Array was in the sensible range of $800 to $1000 total for the entire set of 30 speakers. This set was also accumulated over a 6-year time frame. One must know: I did not drop $1000 all at once. It is interesting to note, though, that if I were to have bought comparable units for this array from a "High End", high cost well-known provisioner of "Professional" studio-grade speakers...
I would have easily had a unit cost of approximately $400 each for a small bookshelf units and $750 each for the medium sized satellite units. The cost comes to an approximate $15,000 Just for speakers! and I haven't included MY 2 $150 towers which would have cost about $900 each if I had purchased them from the same provisioner.
In Closing...
I'm very proud of my $1700 (Custom speaker array, Sony sub and HK AVR1600 AV Receiver) 7.1 PC Audiophile System. It takes any home theater system that could have easily cost me $16,000 to the cleaners for a fraction of the cost. The Z-Array wins - hands down! I am so very glad I decided to go forward with my DIY aspirations. I have learned so much while traveling this path and have made some great new friends. I am thankful that I have had the patience, determination and the know-how to build The Zeigelsteine-Array!
Thanks for reading!