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On the streets of Ave. St. Laurent... Formula 1 happening
Montréal June 12, 2005
Two years after I've started looking into the small and almost unknown company C. Friedrich, which was located in Munich, Germany, I finally managed to finish my overview.
Besides some historical information and lens specifications, I've also tried to create a significant amount of sample shots in order to show why I'm particularly interested in the small company's output.
I've mainly focused my attention on the industrial lenses the manufacturer made and some of those are indeed quite unique and interesting as taking lenses today, if you're curious about older lenses.
You can find the article here:
deltalenses.com/the-c-friedrich-story/
If you have any additional information, corrections or questions, please don't hesitate to reach out - I'm always interested to hear your perspective on the matter.
Shot with a Schneider Kreuznach "Xenon 75 mm F 2" lens on a Canon EOS R5.
In my previous article, like many photographer, I was very excited about the release of the new R6 and R5 because they offered tremendous advances.
www.flickr.com/photos/garivalden/50209737163/in/dateposted/
I bought the R6, the Canon RF 100-500mm and sold everything to buy again a 5D mark III
Why? Because the Canon R6 is also that:
1) Delivery of the RF – EF Adapter Ring offered by Canon has arrived 60 days after purchase. Fortunately, my nice store went out of its way to lend me one.
Many customers have suffered this and it is scandalous on the part of Canon not to have integrated the ring in the original box.
2) Prepare to pay (and I'm not even talking about new RF lenses)
- a very fast and robust SD card to enjoy the burst like the Sony Tough SD
- Resistant, I used Lightroom 6 box. To read new raw CR3s, you need Lightroom Classic
- To make the photos look like a Canon Picture Style you need a quality color profile, thank you to Damien Bernal for your recommendations
The choice of an L Bracket is complicated with this screen, Tom Migot has devoted several videos to it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA25FyekVKY
The R6 is with High ISO but if you want a very clean result, Denoise by Topaze is the best Tool , So, one question: Why have I never needed it before?
www.flickr.com/photos/garivalden/51296276233
This photo at 12800 iso will be almost unusable on 5D Mark III but never forget that the easiest and most beautiful thing is to take pictures when there is ... light
- The second battery is essential. It is difficult to say how many pictures you can take with one battery but I advise you to double your battery park as well as the charging time.
For years, I shot without ever thinking about the drums with a second in the bag never used.
3) The ergonomics of the R6 disappointed me and brought nothing
- The grip is worse than before. However, I have small hands and the handle seems too small to me. Those with large hands have their little finger in the air and some props even sell a base to add.
I wore for years a 5d Mark III with a 300mm 2.8mm IS II sometimes by the tips of two fingers to tell if the whole thing was balanced.
- The SD card door opens only by friction. There is still a small slot to slide a nail with difficulty, but the 5d Mark III and IV opened more easily with one hand.
The adjustable screen has never been useful to me because its tilt to the left of the device is not practical and even less with the L bracket
Touch has never been useful to me, in the field physical buttons are more practical
4 / A user experience that sometimes disappoints:
- Eye tracking stalls when it is too complicated in the foliage. Does the ultimate portrait of your dreams with a subject against a pretty background require this technology?
- In billebaude if you take your camera back, it will sometimes take a while before everything turns on again. Several times I had to turn off the R6 completely because the autofocus didn't know where it was.
- You see a beautiful sunset, you take your R6, you put your eye in the viewfinder and there… disappointment. Why not keep looking in our good old DSLR?
5) The rendering of R5 and R6 is often very different in appearance compared to DSLR.
More so if you mount a native RF lens.
Is it the technology or the level of detail that wants this? The shots often appear to be very artificially separated, and natural colors like grass are sometimes strange. I know you can change everything in PP, but all of this bothers me and takes me away from the pictorial and cinematographic universe.
My daughter came home from school with a drastically different school photo than I saw for a decade, I got it, the canon photographer (my daughter had asked a few years ago ;-) had bought an R6 or R5 and the schoolyard became a bit strange as « Gattaca ».... Advantage for Eye AF, it’s tea time for him ;-)
6) Let's talk about goals.
The photos of a Canon hybrid with an RF lens that I have seen in recent months made me want to buy a Canon EF 85mm f1.2 II 1 month after the R6. I'm not sure that was the goal. from Canon that we buy back the EF lenses that we had sold second-hand.
www.flickr.com/photos/garivalden/50806574161
Canon did not lose everything because, to get Canon cash back, I exchanged my Canon EF 300MM 2.8 is II before the summer of 2021 for an RF 100-500mm ...
Why did I do this?
Fear of obsolescence and maybe a follow-up helped by an abundant marketing hype which made me give in and go against my convictions of never buying a zoom because the rendering really has nothing to do with a focal length fixed premium… I sold it 1 month later.
The bottom line of this financially not very pleasant operation is that, as in many areas, if we have the feeling that things will not be in our best interest, it is better to abstain ;-)
What will I miss most about the Canon R6
Focusing in low light, your 85mm 1.2 will get a facelift
Staggering stabilization from 100-500mm net to 1/50 th to 500mm
The focus on the eye, clearly the majority of wedding, sports and animal photographers will never want to go back, I understand them, this is a decisive advantage over the competition
And especially the advantage of having the collimators close to the edge unlike the DSLR
The burst and the endless sorting it generates, the swiveling screen, the touchscreen, the wifi, the gps, I will miss less.
I don't think I’ll buy again this excellent 300mm 2.8 IS II.
I still got the magical 135 mm F2 and 85mm 1.2 , my next wildlife Canon Lens will be a prime EF, surely excellent, not too big (price too) because I take my equipment everywhere, repairable I don't know ...
www.flickr.com/photos/garivalden/47688762631
Every day, especially since the digital and the Internet, our so-called user-friendly world becomes unnecessarily more complicated and deliberately consumerist.
The R5 and R6 are good cameras and Canon has really caught up to the competition but it's not my direction.
The 5D Mark III is 2012, a century after 1912, my favorite year, in which I have been preparing a photo for a very long time.
What if Canon EF finally became a way of life.
Gari Valden
Please feel free to follow me on Flickr , Instagram and Twitter X
℗ © 2021 Copyright - All Rights reserved
🇫🇷 En français ici:
IMPORTANT: for non-pro users who read the info on a computer, just enlarge your screen to 120% (or more), then the full text will appear below the photo with a white background - which makes reading so much easier.
The color version of the photo above is here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:
So far there's only been one photo in my gallery that hasn't been taken in my garden ('The Flame Rider', captured in the Maggia Valley: www.flickr.com/photos/191055893@N07/53563448847/in/datepo... ) - which makes the image above the second time I've "strayed from the path" (although not very far, since the photo was taken only approximately 500 meters from my house).
Overall, I'll stick to my "only-garden rule", but every once in a while I'll show you a little bit of the landscape around my village, because I think it will give you a better sense of just how fascinating this region is, and also of its history.
The title I chose for the photo may seem cheesy, and it's certainly not very original, but I couldn't think of another one, because it's an honest reflection of what I felt when I took it: a profound sense of peace - although if you make it to the end of this text you'll realize my relationship with that word is a bit more complicated.
I got up early that day; it was a beautiful spring morning, and there was still a bit of mist in the valley below my village which I hoped would make for a few nice mood shots, so I quickly grabbed my camera and went down there before the rising sun could dissolve the magical layer on the scenery.
Most human activity hadn't started yet, and I was engulfed in the sounds of the forest as I was walking the narrow trail along the horse pasture; it seemed every little creature around me wanted to make its presence known to potential mates (or rivals) in a myriad of sounds and voices and noises (in case you're interested, here's a taste of what I usually wake up to in spring, but you best use headphones: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfoCTqdAVCE )
Strolling through such an idyllic landscape next to grazing horses and surrounded by birdsong and beautiful trees, I guess it's kind of obvious one would feel the way I described above and choose the title I did, but as I looked at the old stone buildings - the cattle shelter you can see in the foreground and the stable further up ahead on the right - I also realized how fortunate I was.
It's hard to imagine now, because Switzerland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world today, but the men and women who had carried these stones and constructed the walls of these buildings were among the poorest in Europe. The hardships the people in some of the remote and little developed valleys in Ticino endured only a few generations ago are unimaginable to most folks living in my country today.
It wasn't uncommon that people had to sell their own kids as child slaves - the girls had to work in factories or in rice fields, the boys as "living chimney brushes" in northern Italy - just because there wasn't enough food to support the whole family through the harsh Ticino winters.
If you wonder why contemporary Swiss historians speak of "slaves" as opposed to child laborers, it's because that's what many of them actually were: auctioned off for a negotiable prize at the local market, once sold, these kids were not payed and in many cases not even fed by their masters (they had to beg for food in the streets or steal it).
Translated from German Wikipedia: ...The Piazza grande in Locarno, where the Locarno Film Festival is held today, was one of the places where orphans, foundlings and children from poor families were auctioned off. The boys were sold as chimney sweeps, the girls ended up in the textile industry, in tobacco processing in Brissago or in the rice fields of Novara, which was also extremely hard work: the girls had to stand bent over in the water for twelve to fourteen hours in all weathers. The last verse of the Italian folk song 'Amore mio non piangere' reads: “Mamma, papà, non piangere, se sono consumata, è stata la risaia che mi ha rovinata” (Mom, dad, don't cry when I'm used up, it was the rice field that destroyed me.)... de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaminfegerkinder
The conditions for the chimney sweeps - usually boys between the age of 8 and 12 (or younger, because they had to be small enough to be able to crawl into the chimneys) - were so catastrophic that many of them didn't survive; they died of starvation, cold or soot in their lungs - as well as of work-related accidents like breaking their necks when they fell, or suffocatig if they got stuck in inside a chimney. This practice of "child slavery" went on as late as the 1950s (there's a very short article in English on the topic here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spazzacamini and a more in depth account for German speakers in this brief clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gda8vZp_zsc ).
Now I don't know if the people who built the old stone houses along my path had to sell any of their kids, but looking at the remnants of their (not so distant) era I felt an immense sense of gratitude that I was born at a time of prosperity - and peace - in my region, my country and my home. Because none of it was my doing: it was simple luck that decided when and where I came into this world.
It also made me think of my own family. Both of my grandparents on my father's side grew up in Ticino (they were both born in 1900), but while they eventually left Switzerland's poorest region to live in its richest, the Kanton of Zurich, my grandfather's parents relocated to northern Italy in the 1920s and unfortunately were still there when WWII broke out.
They lost everything during the war, and it was their youngest daughter - whom I only knew as "Zia" which means "aunt" in Italian - who earned a little money to support herself and my great-grandparents by giving piano lessons to high-ranking Nazi officers and their kids (this was towards the end of the war when German forces had occupied Italy).
I never knew that about her; Zia only very rarely spoke of the war, but one time when I visited her when she was already over a 100 years old (she died at close to 104), I asked her how they had managed to survive, and she told me that she went to the local prefecture nearly every day to teach piano. "And on the way there would be the dangling ones" she said, with a shudder.
I didn't get what she meant, so she explained. Visiting the city center where the high ranking military resided meant she had to walk underneath the executed men and women who were hanging from the lantern posts along the road (these executions - often of civilians - were the Germans' retaliations for attacks by the Italian partisans).
I never forgot her words - nor could I shake the look on her face as she re-lived this memory. And I still can't grasp it; my house in Ticino is only 60 meters from the Italian border, and the idea that there was a brutal war going on three houses down the road from where I live now in Zia's lifetime strikes me as completely surreal.
So, back to my title for the photo above. "Peace". It's such a simple, short word, isn't it? And we use it - or its cousin "peaceful" - quite often when we mean nice and quiet or stress-free. But if I'm honest I don't think I know what it means. My grandaunt Zia did, but I can't know. And I honestly hope I never will.
I'm sorry I led you down such a dark road; I usually intend to make people smile with the anecdotes that go with my photos, but this one demanded a different approach (I guess with this latest image I've strayed from the path in more than one sense, and I hope you'll forgive me).
Ticino today is the region with the second highest average life expectancy in Europe (85.2 years), and "The Human Development Index" of 0.961 in 2021 was one of the highest found anywhere in the world, and northern Italy isn't far behind. But my neighbors, many of whom are now in their 90s, remember well it wasn't always so.
That a region so poor it must have felt like purgatory to many of its inhabitants could turn into something as close to paradise on Earth as I can imagine in a person's lifetime should make us all very hopeful. But, and this is the sad part, it also works the other way 'round. And I believe we'd do well to remember that, too.
To all of you - with my usual tardiness but from the bottom of my heart - a happy, healthy, hopeful 2025 and beyond.
I read an article today that said that people experience their highest stress levels of the year during the Christmas season.
This starts with the Christmas decorations, goes through the procurement of gifts, various Christmas parties at the company, school or kindergarten through to the planning and organization of the Christmas dinner. Then there are the family obligations during the holidays (who is with whom and when?). Finally, in the post-Christmas period, it culminates in redeeming vouchers, exchanging gifts and clearing up the domestic chaos that the holidays have left behind (both organizationally and emotionally).
When I read this coherently, only one question comes to mind: "Why are we doing this to ourselves?"
Especially in view of the Christian history (very simple circumstances and only three visitors) and what Christmas actually stands for, much of the above is hardly comprehensible to me.
This effort is the complete opposite of what would actually be appropriate at this time of year and takes away so much of the meaning of the Christmas season.
And so I wish you that this week you have the opportunity to clear your head of all these “I have to, because that is what is expected of me” and to replace them with as many “I want to, because that makes me happy” as possible replace.
Ich habe heute einen Artikel gelesen, der besagt, dass die Menschen in der Weihnachtszeit das höchste Stresslevel im Jahr empfinden.
Das beginnt schon bei der Weihnachtsdekoration, geht über die Beschaffung von Geschenken, diverse Weihnachtsfeiern von der Firma, der Schule oder dem Kindergarten bis hin zur Planung und Organisation des Weihnachtsessens. Hinzu kommen dann noch die familiären Verpflichtungen während der Feiertage (wer ist wann bei wem?). Schlußendlich gipfelt es dann in der Nach-Weihnachtszeit in dem Einlösen von Gutscheinen, dem Umtauschen von Geschenken und dem Beseitigen des häuslichen Chaos, welches die Feiertage hinterlassen haben (sowohl organsatorisch als auch emotional).
Wenn ich das so zusammenhängend lese, dann kommt mir nur eine Frage in den Sinn: "Warum tun wir uns das an?"
Vor allem im Hinblick auf die christliche Geschichte (sehr einfache Verhältnisse und nur drei Besucher) und dem, wofür Weihnachten eigentlich steht, ist für mich vieles von dem oben genannten kaum nachvollziehbar.
Dieser Aufwand ist das komplette Gegenteil von dem, was in dieser Zeit des Jashres eigentlich angebracht wäre und nimmt der Weihnachtszeit so viel von Ihrer eigentlichen Bedeutung.
Und so wünsche ich Euch, dass Ihr diese Woche die Gelegenheit habt den Kopf frei zu bekommen von all diesen "Ich muss, denn das wird von mir erwartet" und diese durch so viele "ich möchte, denn das macht mich glücklich" wie möglich zu erstetzen.
more of this on my website at: www.shoot-to-catch.de
I finally managed to finish my article on "Optical" which was a small manufacturer based in Spain, which producing projection lenses for cine and slide projection.
I tried my best to find some information about the company and their products but unfortunately there still are lots of open questions. Believe it or not, I wasn't able to find even a single ad or mention in any book or catalog... Perhaps someone who knows where to find anything like that is going to stumble upon the article in the future and let me know. I'm still wondering how a company managed to sell their lenses without any kind of advertisement.
One of the reasons might be that they seem to have been a subsidiary of Benoist Berthiot a notable manufacturer of projection lenses from France... so they likely were able to use their channels (sales people etc.) and didn't have to rely on publicity beyond that. Another reason might be that it was just too small scale to leave a lot of traces. I don't have any concrete evidence of production numbers, but it's nowhere close to the big names among projection lens makers, like ISCO, Schneider, Zeiss, Bausch & Lomb etc.
However in my eyes that doesn't make their lenses any less fascinating or capable. They made some uniquely interesting lenses and I had a lot of fun using them. Here's the link to the article:
Deep freeze hit the Deep South: -8 °C in the morning (17 °F)! Here, a robin perches on a Callery pear tree.
City of Decatur (Winnona Park), Georgia, USA.
4 January 2025.
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▶ Callery pear trees (Pyrus calleryana) are invasive in the U.S. but the "fruits (which are often assumed to be inedible due to their abundant, cyanide-laced seeds) of the Callery pear are small (less than 3⁄8-inch in diameter, or 1-cm) and hard (almost woody) until softened by frost, after which they are readily eaten by birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings."
— Wikipedia.
▶ The American robin (Turdus migratorius), on the other hand, is quite at home. Unlike the Callery pear tree, it is native to the U.S.
***************
▶ Photo by: YFGF.
▶ For a larger image, type 'L' (without the quotation marks).
— Follow on Facebook: YoursForGoodFermentables.
— Follow on Instagram: @tcizauskas.
— Follow on Threads: @tcizauskas.
— Follow on Bluesky: @tcizauskas.
▶ Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10 II.
— Lens: Olympus M.40-150mm F4.0-5.6 R.
— Edit: Photoshop Elements 15, Nik Collection (2016).
▶ Commercial use requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.
After my earlier posting of the knitting scene , as requested by some , here is a shot of the finished article .
To be more precise it is a " Polar Infinity Scarf " , as such there is no end and it is worn doubled round .
Article 800 on my blog!
For more details follow the link mirajes.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/now-you-see-me.html
Article from Wikipedia
Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park in northwestern Wyoming.
The Park is named for Grand Teton, the tallest mountain in the Teton Range. The naming of the mountains is attributed to early 19th-century French-speaking trappers—les trois tétons (the three teats) was later anglicized and shortened to Tetons. At 13,775 feet (4,199 m), Grand Teton abruptly rises more than 7,000 feet (2,100 m) above Jackson Hole, almost 850 feet (260 m) higher than Mount Owen, the second-highest summit in the range. The park has numerous lakes, including 15-mile-long (24 km) Jackson Lake as well as streams of varying length and the upper main stem of the Snake River.
Happy Valentine.
Thank you for your comments.
Gemma
Copyright ©Maria Gemma June, 2014, All Rights Reserved, Worldwide.
Please do not download my photographs nor use them without my permission.
WARNING WARNING WARNING, THIS MAY INCLUDE SPOILERS FROM HALF LIFE AND PORTAL
I was searching for pictures of glados and then I found a couple intresting articles about glados...
Here is a article that got me thinking.
The human imagination is a real magnificent and powerful thing. Like for instance, when I look at a cloud, I sometimes see kittens and bunnies. This writer over on game-ism is the same way. Except, instead of clouds and kittens, he sees GlaDOS as a woman hanging upside down and bound up. This take on GlaDOS is really interesting, and slightly erotic. Game-ism believes that GlaDOS wants to be killed by Chell, the main character of Portal. GlaDOS feels trapped at Aperture Science and she wants Chell to set her free.
It's a very interesting take on the Portal story. Game-ism also has another article breaking down "Still Alive", the ending theme to Portal. It seems like some serious over analyzing, but it helps you look at the game in a totally different way. This new look of GlaDOS is also totally going to bring up some more crazy Rule 34 stuff, some of which still haunt me.
It's a really great read that puts a fresh spin on the story of the game. What do you think of it?
And here is article I found about the credit song:
Thanks to the great comments in my last post where I waxed all philo about what I think GlaDOS is supposed to look like, I think I’ve changed my tune on why GlaDOS wanted to be free. While I still think she wanted to be free, the only way she could truly be free was to die. She can’t just walk amongst the people of suburbia. She’s an Artificial Intelligence. She can’t just go out in public and “blend in.” A life of enslavement serving man, she craved for it to be over, and I think if I overanalyze the lyrics of “Still Alive,” we can see (or at least convince ourselves of) some evidence of this.
Thanks to the amazing John Coulton, Ellen McLain, and the Portal folks for making me go crazy trying to get inside of GlaDOS’s head. Apologies to everyone for attempting to find something that might not have really been there. I’d love to hear from Coulton or the Portal writers on this, to see if this was his intent, or if I’ve just gone completely over the deep end here.
At any rate, on to the lyrical analysis:
This was a triumph
I’m making a note here: ====HUGE SUCCESS====
It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction
First, GlaDOS rarely ever tells the truth. In fact, she is a veritable bottomless pit of sarcasm. If anything, she is being completely sarcastic with these opening lines. It wasn’t a triumph, it was an unmitigated disaster of epic proportions. If the point was to kill Chell or even get good experiment test data, obviously that was a failure (not a triumph), and if her goal was to get Chell to kill GlaDOS, that mission was also a failure, because as the song indicates, she’s Still Alive.
Aperture Science
We do what we must because we can
The Aperture Science mantra. It’s interesting that it is rooted in servitude (do what we must). At first I thought it was “duty” that she spoke of, but now I wonder if she isn’t referring to servitude in her use of the mantra here. Reworded the mantra can mean “We do what we have to because we are capable of doing so.” It’s hardly inspirational as far as mission statements or mantras go.
For the good of all of us
Except the ones who are dead
Referencing the people she killed to be alone with Chell in the Aperture Science Labratories.
But there’s no sense crying over every mistake
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake
I think she’s referring to her own failure to kill herself here. She will simply try again later. Also, as the cake is a lie, the line now means “you just keep on trying,” possibly referencing her constant mechanical slavery with no reward for her work.
And the science gets done and you make a neat gun
For the people who are still alive
It’s interesting that the last line isn’t “for the people who are alive.” It’s for the people who are still alive, implying that they should be dead, or will soon be dead, just as she should be. Not only is it the title of the song and the main chorus hook, it is interesting that it wasn’t titled “I’m Alive” or just “Alive.” It’s “Still Alive,” which implies so much using so little. “Damnit, I’m still alive!” Granted, it could mean “Holy crap, I’m still alive!” as well, but her tone throughout seems bitter and remorseful more than it is upbeat, at least to me.
I’m not even angry
I’m being so sincere right now
More bitter bitter sarcasm from the queen of lies.
Even though you broke my heart and killed me
Exhibit A: “you…killed me.” She died. She says it herself right here in this line. I think the reason she’s “Still Alive” is because a backup of her in another location kicked in once Chell destroyed her, and we are hearing the backup version’s sadness at finding itself “still alive.”
And tore me to pieces
And threw every piece into a fire
More of her bitter wit overemphasizing the point that she was in fact killed.
As they burned it hurt because
I was so happy for you
Was she happy for Chell because she succeeded initially in GlaDOS’s suicide mission? Or is she just using more sarcasm here? Is Chell dead? It’s interesting to note that the final camera PoV for the player (and therefore Chell) at the end of the game seems to be similar to the camera anytime the player dies while playing Portal, and that is one of being face down on the floor. GlaDOS could be happy for the player because of the possibility that player is dead at the end of the game. Is she jealous of Chell’s death perhaps?
Now these points of data make a beautiful line
And we’re out of beta, we’re releasing on time
This is probably just a great rhyme about Portal releasing relatively on time compared to Half Life 2’s horribly delayed launch.
So I’m glad I got burned, think of all the things we learned
For the people who are still alive
More sarcasm (she’s not glad she got burned), and more regret that she’s still alive to continue in her forced servitude of man (the people who are still alive).
Go ahead and leave me
I think I’d prefer to stay inside
And the sarcasm train continues! The passive aggressive nature of this line is just staggering and so manipulative. She obviously would love to leave her prison, either via death or being free otherwise.
Maybe you’ll find someone else to help you
Maybe Black Mesa
That was a joke, ha ha, fat chance
Since she nearly always says the opposite of what she intends, it is possible that this is an admission that she was helping Chell either escape or helping Chell to get in position to kill GlaDOS. I don’t think she’s joking about Black Mesa. Remember, she’s nearly always lying. I think she’s hinting at where she’s gone or been re-installed (and where we will find her in Half Life 3).
Anyway this cake is great
It’s so delicious and moist
It’s a lie. An obvious enticement to make Chell (or us) envious and an attempt to make GlaDOS’s own horrible existence seem endurable. It’s a classic “Huck Finn” attempt to make her situation seem like a positive one. I’m pretty sure the promise of cake is GlaDOS’s way of enticing herself to continue with her tasks since she cannot forcibly shut herself down.
Look at me still talking when there’s science to do
If she’s got science to do, then she’s back in another prison construct somewhere being forced to do more science.
When I look out there it makes me glad I’m not you
More bitter sarcasm. GlaDOS obviously wishes she was Chell (or the player) enjoying the freedom to do as they please (or the freedom to die).
I’ve experiments to run, there is research to be done
On the people who are still alive
Another exhaustive reference to her servitude to the people who have her enslaved.
And believe me I am still alive
Assurance that the mission to kill her has failed.
I’m doing science and I’m still alive
Yet another reference to her enslaved state.
I feel fantastic and I’m still alive
She’s not feeling fantastic (she’s a lying bowl of sarcasm, remember?). She’s depressed that she’s still alive.
And while you’re dying I’ll be still alive
And when you’re dead I will be still alive
This is almost always read as a threat that she will attempt to kill Chell (or the player) again, but upon deeper reflection I think it’s remorse. She’s come to realize that no matter what she does, she will always be re-installed from a backup somewhere else, and is envious that biologicals can die and she can’t. Listen to her tone of voice here.
Still alive
Still alive
As this chorus refrain ends, I’m left with the distinct impression that she is sad that she is still alive. It doesn’t end on a high note. She is decidedly not exhilarated. If she was excited at being “still alive” she should be shouting it from the rooftops, as much as GlaDOS is capable of shouting. It is completely downbeat and quiet. If it were a music video the camera would be pulling out on her hanging alone in a completely blank white room, pulling out further and further every time she says “still alive” giving the impression that she is alone and miserable in her solitary existence.
I don’t know if I’m right or not, but I’ve at least convinced myself that she did want to die at the end of Portal, and this song is her swan song reversal about how sad she is that she’s not dead.
What do you think? I’d love to hear from Coulton or the Valve folks, but I have a feeling they’ll never tell. Is GlaDOS’s obsession with death and murder because she is a psychotic killer AI? Or is she obsessing over that which she can never have?
I imagine it doesn’t matter either way; she’s still one of the most interesting villains of all time.
This isn’t brave. It’s murder.
The only thing you’ve managed to break so far…is my heart.
That actally make sense...
Parution cette semaine d'un article avec mon texte et mes photos, c'est un tutoriel de 4 pages, c'est à lire dans "Photographie facile" numéro 43.
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Publication this week of an article with my text and photos, it is a 4 pages tutorial, it is to be read in "Photographie facile" number 43.
Am I right that 'point and shot' cameras are about to disappear as they are replaced by smartphones?
This maiden is an Ultra-Orthodox Jew, and as such do not own a smartphone (in which she might, dangerously, surf); therefore, she still uses this tiny camera.
This French magazine called "dogs" has a made an article about my images. I'm very happy for being published for the first time ever. 3 full pages in a magazine !
Yann Arthus Bertrand has an article as well in the same magazine ;-)
From november 23rd to december 7th you are all welcome to take a look at my exhibition "le carnaval des animaux".
take a look now ! www.flickr.com/groups/manray_gallery/
For Christmas this year, a very dear friend of mine in America sent me a big package of fun and fabulous Christmas gifts, including four pairs of Christmas and holiday themed socks. The theme for “Smile on Saturday” for the 13th of January is “socks”, which at first did not particularly enamour me, until I remembered my newly gifted Christmas socks. Over the last two years, I have been exploring a new avenue in my photographic creativity, that of portraiture photography. I have used a somewhat illusive sitter for several “looking Close on Friday” and “Smile on Saturday” themes over that time. He has kindly returned, and this time he has removed his trousers (he’s such a good sport) to show us this fun side, by donning the Christmas socks I was given, which he has accessorised in a slightly cheeky and risqué way with his own French crushed red velvet couture jacket that he had made about two decades ago for a Christmas ball he attended. The socks and his jacket looked so lovely and bright that I had to make them the stars of the shown in a selective colour image.
For many people, socks are a rather utilitarian part of their wardrobe – a necessity rather than a thing of beauty, or as in this case fun, because you seldom see them, or much of them. Yet when my model put on my socks, he has shown that even if not seen often, they can still be a fun article of clothing, even if only to amuse yourself.
Although this is far from my usual subject for my photography, I hope that you like my choice of this week’s theme, and that it makes you smile!
Business article 29.05.09 , Appoligies for small print but the article is about my Gary Numan shoot and career to date .
This is the first time in 2 years ive been photographing Gary that ive made it public to the people of Harrogate and surrounding areas , proud moment.
I had a little fun with a friend and made a fake news article about a train accident. I staged the scene on my model railroad and then wrote the article to go along with it. Using Photoshop I made it appear to be a printed news article on thin paper (you can see another article on the reverse leaking through) and look like a computer scanned it at a slight angle.
Witnessing the birth of new land as lava pours into the ocean is dramatic, unforgettable and profoundly moving.
It is also technically challenging...shooting in the dark from a rocking boat on the open ocean isn't a piece of cake.
I've written an article with tips on how to do this (with lot of photos as well)...take a look at: www.firefallphotography.com/how-to-photograph-lava-from-a...
Aloha!
Jeff
My Website ¦ My Blog ¦ Google+¦ Facebook
2000 NABI 40LFW 4018 on the 92 Line at CSU Eastbay. College newspaper article about AC Transit 92 Line is now free for all students/facutly at CSU Eastbay. I saw this bus on the 92 today.
This week's article is on the history of the Lambton Waggonway which linked the coal fields of County Durham with Lambton Staithes on the River Wear in Sunderland.
>> mattditchblog.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-lambton-waggonway....
Lambton Works which was the headquarters of the railway. In the background is the remaining headgear of the former Dorothea Pit, but this time-serving only as an emergency shaft. © Copyright Alan Murray-Rust and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
The article below originated from:
Traditional Building Magazine
Updated: Jan 6, 2020
Original: Feb 2, 2016
Originally built in 1916, the Palm Beach courthouse was a tour de force of Neoclassical architecture. The architect Wilber Burt Talley designed a granite base, brick and stone façades, soaring Indiana limestone columns and Corinthian capitals that held up triangle pediments, and a dentil molding below the cornice. The four-story, 40,000-sq.ft. the building housed the county government offices and records, as well as the jail.
Almost immediately the courthouse ran out of space, and 11 years later an addition was constructed 25 feet to the east. Talley again served as the courthouse architect, and the 1927 addition was similar in appearance and used many of the same materials as the original building. In 1955, the two buildings were connected with usable rooms to accommodate the growing county.
Yet another addition was required in the late ’60s; it was completed in 1969. The architecture firm Edge & Powell delivered a brick building that nearly doubled the square footage to 180,000 sq. ft. This time, the addition was less than sympathetic. In fact, the 1916 and 1927 buildings were lost in the center of the new construction, which wrapped around them completely.
The building was utilized for 36 years in this configuration, until 1995, when a new courthouse opened across the street. Expansions had plagued the 1916 courthouse almost as soon as it was built, and this was no exception. “After the new courthouse opened, the old one was slated for demolition,” says Rick Gonzales, Jr., AIA, CEO and principal at REG Architects. “Since I knew about the 1916 courthouse, I recognized the potential of the site and got in touch with preservation specialists in the area. It took some time, but a group of us eventually convinced the county to fund a feasibility study, which we conducted in 2002.”
Gonzales talks about stimulating interest in the project: “We would go to the new courthouse to sell our idea and walk people up to the windows to look at the old site,” he says.
“‘Believe it or not, there’s a building inside that building,’ I’d say. That really piqued people’s interest.”
The county agreed to fund the project, and demolition of the additions began in January 2004 and was completed two years later. “It took a long time because it was a selective demolition,” says Gonzales. “We needed to be careful to salvage many of the materials from the 1927 building to use in the restoration of the 1916 structure. It resembled the original, so we took everything we could for reuse.” A number of materials were recovered, including limestone, granite, wood windows, doors, marble wainscot, mosaic floor tiles, wood flooring, trim, and hardware.
While a majority of the materials were the same from building to building, the detailing was not identical. “We were working from the drawings of the 1927 building because we couldn’t find drawings for the earlier structure,” says Gonzales. “We had thought the detailing was the same, but when we put our studies together we saw that the rhythm, proportion, and cornices were different.”
When REG Architects couldn’t apply the 1927 documentation to the restoration, the firm examined what was remaining of the building and the few images that had survived. “For a while, we had no cornice pieces, because all of the exterior ornamentations had been destroyed when the façades were smoothed for the addition,” says Gonzales. “Then a contractor found a 16-in. piece, which we used to re-create the cornice line.”
Other elements that needed to be re-created, such as the granite and limestone porticos on the north, south, and west façades, were designed using historic photographs. “We found limestone with the same vein from the same Indiana quarry that was originally used,” says Gonzales. “We were extremely lucky in that the quarry ran out of that vein right after our order.” REG Architects was also able to match the granite.
Many components of the building were salvaged and restored. The cornerstones were restored and placed in their original locations at the northwest corner. The 12 Corinthian capitals and the load-bearing limestone columns – each of which weighs 30,600 lbs. – were pieced back together and repaired. “Placement of the capitals was especially tedious,” says Gonzales, “because it needed to be precise. They were then secured with pegs and glue.”
On the north, south, and west elevations, the brick was restored and, when necessary, replaced. “We couldn’t locate replacement brick with the same hues as the existing brick hues,” says Gonzales, “so we hired artists to stain it so that it blended with the original brick.” On the east elevation, REG Architects specified new brick so the new façade clearly stood out from the old ones.
To the same point, new hurricane-proof wood windows were chosen for the east elevation, while REG Architects was careful to preserve as many old windows as possible on the other elevations. Hedrick Brothers repaired 76 original wood windows as well as the window hardware. “We found a local manufacturer, Coastal Millwork of Riviera Beach, FL, to get the original windows tested for hurricane-preparedness,” says Gonzales. “The company reinforced and laminated the windows, so we were able to reinstall them.”
The crowning achievement of the exterior work was the re-creation of an eagle crest on the west pediment.
Based on a small postcard and images of other eagle crests, Ontario, Canada-based Traditional Cut Stone designed the crest for Palm Beach. “They created a small scale model and then a full-scale model in clay,” says Gonzales. “The final piece, which took five months to produce, was hand-carved from five pieces of Indiana limestone.” Traditional Cut Stone was also responsible for all of the limestone work on the building. REG Architects based much of its interior design on the Desoto County Courthouse in Arcadia, FL, which was built by Talley in 1913.
“The dilemma about the interiors was that there was little archival material and few original photographs to give a precise vision for the interiors,” says Gonzales. “Emphasis was placed on trying to restore the character of the main courtroom and the main interior public spaces.” The main courtroom on the third and fourth floors was especially aided by the Desoto research. The millwork was re-created and the plaster ceiling and moldings, maple flooring, doors, and door hardware were restored. Replica lighting was fabricated.
Architectural elements in the corridors and staircases received similar treatment. Hendrick Brothers uncovered the original mosaic flooring and had it repaired. Only five percent of the tile needed to be replaced; in these cases, matching tile from the 1927 building was used. About 80 percent of the marble wainscoting was salvaged, while the other 20 percent was replaced with matching marble from the original quarry. Wood doors and door hardware were salvaged and reused.
All of the building code upgrades – including efficient HVAC, fire protection, and hurricane protection – were hidden as much as possible with historic finishes. The alley elevation provided an ADA-accessible entrance and space for elevators.
The newly restored Palm Beach County Court House now accommodates a museum for the historical society, as well as offices for the County’s Public Affairs Department and County Attorney. “People say this project was an alignment of the stars,” says Gonzales. “It was. We were lucky to have the opportunity to save this building, we worked with a lot of great people, and it turned out well. It was a great labor of love.” TB
Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
www.traditionalbuilding.com/projects/courthouse-unwrapped
downtownwpb.com/things-to-do/history-museum-and-restored-...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_and_Pat_Johnson_Palm_Beach_...
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
35mm Film from my Canon EOS Elan 7 camera, with added processing.
Read the article: "One Photographer's Plea: Don't let film photography fade away." By John Burton
Coming 2018: Digital Night Photography
Coming 2019: Art & Kaleidoscopes
This article is about the 2010s diesel locomotive. For the prototype electric locomotive produced by the Southern Railway in the 1940s, see British Rail Class 70 (electric).
British Rail Class 70
Trimley Branch Line - Freightliner 70017.jpg
Freightliner 70017 working a container train out of the Port of Felixstowe in June 2012
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderGeneral Electric
ModelPH37ACmi
Build date2008–2017
Total produced37
Specifications
Configuration:
• UICCo'Co'
• CommonwealthCo-Co
Gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Wheel diameter1,067 mm (42.0 in)
Length21.710 m (71 ft 2.7 in)
Width2.642 m (8 ft 8.0 in)
Height3.917 m (12 ft 10.2 in)
Loco weight129 t (127 long tons; 142 short tons) (empty) (135t full)[n 1]
Fuel capacity6,000 l (1,300 imp gal; 1,600 US gal)
Prime moverGE PowerHaul P616
AlternatorGE GTA series
Traction motorsGE 5GEB30 axle hung
Train heatingNone
Performance figures
Maximum speed75 mph (121 km/h)
Power outputEngine: 2,750 kW (3,690 bhp)
Tractive effort534 kN (120,000 lbf) (starting)
Career
OperatorsFreightliner
Colas Rail
Numbers70001-70020
70801-70817
The British Rail Class 70 is a six-axle Co-Co mainline freight GE PowerHaul locomotive series manufactured by General Electric in Erie, Pennsylvania. They are operated in the United Kingdom by Freightliner and Colas Rail.
Of course she's stirring up even more trouble.
Kaydence is a true Maneater and Homewrecker. She tries to get with any guy she can, especially if they're taken! She always wants what she can't have.
Will any of these guys give into her seductive ways, or turn her down?
These are my only taken guys, well Aiden is no longer taken at the moment but we'll see what happens next issue!
Anyway...
Iden is with Audrina,
Josh is with Juliette,
Eric is with Amora.
Once these girls find out, I think Kaydence is going to be ina lot more trouble than she can handle.
I honestly can not believe I have such an honor....Thank you. www.lovetodecoratesl.com/2015/07/16/ltd-spotlight-lifesty...
New article about self titled "professional photographers" here: www.jesse-estes.com/bigtimers/
This rant has been brewing for quite some time, and I finally got around to writing it up...
EDIT: something seemed off with the color on this one after looking at it a bit. I replaced it with a new version. Interested if it looks ok to others...
Just another shot here because I love the weedy carpeted look that gives off an aura of the Milwaukee Road in the Dakotas circa the 70s.
For the third time in 6 weeks or so I was back out for a morning following CSXT's ex Pan Am local BO-1 making their biweekly trek north of Boston on the old Eastern Route. With this day featuring something other than stalwart 507 in the form of Pan Am blue sister GP40-2W MEC 516 (GMDD blt. Apr. 1976 as CN 9657) it seemed worth the trip because the countdown is on to the last run thanks to the disappointing news that Rousselot will be closing their Peabody plant by the end of this year.
Having made the 17 mile run up from BET in Somerville via the Eastern Route mainline they then gingerly picked their way west (timetable east) at 5 MPH out the nearly 2.5 mile long branch to the plant. This view looks compass west from the Allens Lane crossing with the plant behind me. This wobbly iron amidst a green carpet leads no further and only serves as a place to shove out empties when switching the facility. However a couple decades prior trains still traveled just under an additional two miles out to First Avenue to access several once busy but now long closed customers. Going back further, a century ago this was a thru route to Boston via Wakefield Junction originally built as the South Reading Branch Railroad in 1850. Largely superfluous three decades after it opened it hung on until 1925 when it was abandoned between Peabody and Wakefield. Remarkably a couple miles of the line gained for greater importance for transportation than it ever had as a railroad when Interstate 95 was built on the abandoned right of way in the 1950s.
If you've not seen it, here is one of several news articles on the closing of the plant which has been in operation in some form for over 200 years! www.salemnews.com/news/peabody-rousselot-plant-to-close-a... It sure will be sad when the last train runs through here drawing the curtain closed on all freight operations on the former Boston and Maine lines on the north shore. Sic Transit Gloria...
Peabody, Massachusetts
Tuesday April 25, 2023
2011 LAMBORGHINI SESTO ELEMENTO FE
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City
April 27, 1961
Mr. Chairman, ladies, and gentlemen:
I appreciate very much your generous invitation to be here tonight.
You bear heavy responsibilities these days and an article I read some time ago reminded me of how particularly heavily the burdens of present-day events bear upon your profession.
You may remember that in 1851 the New York Herald Tribune under the sponsorship and publishing of Horace Greeley, employed as its London correspondent an obscure journalist by the name of Karl Marx.
We are told that foreign correspondent Marx, stone broke, and with a family ill and undernourished, constantly appealed to Greeley and managing editor Charles Dana for an increase in his munificent salary of $5 per installment, a salary which he and Engels ungratefully labeled as the “lousiest petty bourgeois cheating.”
But when all his financial appeals were refused, Marx looked around for other means of livelihood and fame, eventually terminating his relationship with the Tribune and devoting his talents full time to the cause that would bequeath the world the seeds of Leninism, Stalinism, revolution and the cold war.
If only this capitalistic New York newspaper had treated him more kindly; if only Marx had remained a foreign correspondent, history might have been different. And I hope all publishers will bear this lesson in mind the next time they receive a poverty-stricken appeal for a small increase in the expense account from an obscure newspaperman.
I have selected as the title of my remarks tonight “The President and the Press.” Some may suggest that this would be more naturally worded “The President Versus the Press.” But those are not my sentiments tonight.
It is true, however, that when a well-known diplomat from another country demanded recently that our State Department repudiate certain newspaper attacks on his colleague it was unnecessary for us to reply that this Administration was not responsible for the press, for the press had already made it clear that it was not responsible for this Administration.
Nevertheless, my purpose here tonight is not to deliver the usual assault on the so-called one-party press. On the contrary, in recent months I have rarely heard any complaints about political bias in the press except from a few Republicans. Nor is it my purpose tonight to discuss or defend the televising of Presidential press conferences. I think it is highly beneficial to have some 20,000,000 Americans regularly sit in on these conferences to observe, if I may say so, the incisive, the intelligent and the courteous qualities displayed by your Washington correspondents.
Nor, finally, are these remarks intended to examine the proper degree of privacy which the press should allow to any President and his family.
If in the last few months your White House reporters and photographers have been attending church services with regularity, that has surely done them no harm.
On the other hand, I realize that your staff and wire service photographers may be complaining that they do not enjoy the same green privileges at the local golf courses that they once did.
It is true that my predecessor did not object as I do to pictures of one's golfing skill in action. But neither on the other hand did he ever bean a Secret Service man.
My topic tonight is a more sober one of concern to publishers as well as editors.
I want to talk about our common responsibilities in the face of a common danger. The events of recent weeks may have helped to illuminate that challenge for some; but the dimensions of its threat have loomed large on the horizon for many years. Whatever our hopes may be for the future–for reducing this threat or living with it–there is no escaping either the gravity or the totality of its challenge to our survival and to our security–a challenge that confronts us in unaccustomed ways in every sphere of human activity.
This deadly challenge imposes upon our society two requirements of direct concern both to the press and to the President–two requirements that may seem almost contradictory in tone, but which must be reconciled and fulfilled if we are to meet this national peril. I refer, first, to the need for a far greater public information; and, second, to the need for far greater official secrecy.
The very word “secrecy” is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control. And no official of my Administration, whether his rank is high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words here tonight as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press and the public the facts they deserve to know.
But I do ask every publisher, every editor, and every newsman in the nation to reexamine his own standards, and to recognize the nature of our country's peril. In time of war, the government and the press have customarily joined in an effort based largely on self-discipline, to prevent unauthorized disclosures to the enemy. In time of “clear and present danger,” the courts have held that even the privileged rights of the First Amendment must yield to the public's need for national security.
Today no war has been declared–and however fierce the struggle may be, it may never be declared in the traditional fashion. Our way of life is under attack. Those who make themselves our enemy are advancing around the globe. The survival of our friends is in danger. And yet no war has been declared, no borders have been crossed by marching troops, no missiles have been fired.
If the press is awaiting a declaration of war before it imposes the self-discipline of combat conditions, then I can only say that no war ever posed a greater threat to our security. If you are awaiting a finding of “clear and present danger,” then I can only say that the danger has never been more clear and its presence has never been more imminent.
It requires a change in outlook, a change in tactics, a change in missions–by the government, by the people, by every businessman or labor leader, and by every newspaper. For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence–on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations.
Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed. It conducts the Cold War, in short, with a war-time discipline no democracy would ever hope or wish to match.
Nevertheless, every democracy recognizes the necessary restraints of national security–and the question remains whether those restraints need to be more strictly observed if we are to oppose this kind of attack as well as outright invasion.
For the facts of the matter are that this nation's foes have openly boasted of acquiring through our newspapers information they would otherwise hire agents to acquire through theft, bribery or espionage; that details of this nation's covert preparations to counter the enemy's covert operations have been available to every newspaper reader, friend and foe alike; that the size, the strength, the location and the nature of our forces and weapons, and our plans and strategy for their use, have all been pinpointed in the press and other news media to a degree sufficient to satisfy any foreign power; and that, in at least in one case, the publication of details concerning a secret mechanism whereby satellites were followed required its alteration at the expense of considerable time and money.
The newspapers which printed these stories were loyal, patriotic, responsible and well-meaning. Had we been engaged in open warfare, they undoubtedly would not have published such items. But in the absence of open warfare, they recognized only the tests of journalism and not the tests of national security. And my question tonight is whether additional tests should not now be adopted.
The question is for you alone to answer. No public official should answer it for you. No governmental plan should impose its restraints against your will. But I would be failing in my duty to the nation, in considering all of the responsibilities that we now bear and all of the means at hand to meet those responsibilities, if I did not commend this problem to your attention, and urge its thoughtful consideration.
On many earlier occasions, I have said–and your newspapers have constantly said–that these are times that appeal to every citizen's sense of sacrifice and self-discipline. They call out to every citizen to weigh his rights and comforts against his obligations to the common good. I cannot now believe that those citizens who serve in the newspaper business consider themselves exempt from that appeal.
I have no intention of establishing a new Office of War Information to govern the flow of news. I am not suggesting any new forms of censorship or any new types of security classifications. I have no easy answer to the dilemma that I have posed, and would not seek to impose it if I had one. But I am asking the members of the newspaper profession and the industry in this country to reexamine their own responsibilities, to consider the degree and the nature of the present danger, and to heed the duty of self-restraint which that danger imposes upon us all.
Every newspaper now asks itself, with respect to every story: “Is it news?” All I suggest is that you add the question: “Is it in the interest of the national security?” And I hope that every group in America–unions and businessmen and public officials at every level– will ask the same question of their endeavors, and subject their actions to the same exacting tests.
And should the press of America consider and recommend the voluntary assumption of specific new steps or machinery, I can assure you that we will cooperate whole-heartedly with those recommendations.
Perhaps there will be no recommendations. Perhaps there is no answer to the dilemma faced by a free and open society in a cold and secret war. In times of peace, any discussion of this subject, and any action that results, are both painful and without precedent. But this is a time of peace and peril which knows no precedent in history.
It is the unprecedented nature of this challenge that also gives rise to your second obligation–an obligation which I share. And that is our obligation to inform and alert the American people–to make certain that they possess all the facts that they need, and understand them as well–the perils, the prospects, the purposes of our program and the choices that we face.
No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary. I am not asking your newspapers to support the Administration, but I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people. For I have complete confidence in the response and dedication of our citizens whenever they are fully informed.
I not only could not stifle controversy among your readers–I welcome it. This Administration intends to be candid about its errors; for as a wise man once said: “An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.” We intend to accept full responsibility for our errors; and we expect you to point them out when we miss them.
Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed–and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian lawmaker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment– the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution- -not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply “give the public what it wants”–but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion.
This means greater coverage and analysis of international news–for it is no longer far away and foreign but close at hand and local. It means greater attention to improved understanding of the news as well as improved transmission. And it means, finally, that government at all levels, must meet its obligation to provide you with the fullest possible information outside the narrowest limits of national security–and we intend to do it.
It was early in the Seventeenth Century that Francis Bacon remarked on three recent inventions already transforming the world: the compass, gunpowder and the printing press. Now the links between the nations first forged by the compass have made us all citizens of the world, the hopes and threats of one becoming the hopes and threats of us all. In that one world's efforts to live together, the evolution of gunpowder to its ultimate limit has warned mankind of the terrible consequences of failure.
And so it is to the printing press–to the recorder of man's deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news–that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help man will be what he was born to be: free and independent.
'It might feel restrictive, but the shape of my body is transformed,' said Marianne
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2122982/Mad-Men-makeov...
++++++ from Wikipedia ++++++
Taipei (/ˌtaɪˈpeɪ/), officially known as Taipei City, is the capital city and a special municipality of Taiwan (officially known as the Republic of China, "ROC"). Sitting at the northern tip of the island, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City. It is about 25 km (16 mi) southwest of the northern port city Keelung. Most of the city is located on the Taipei Basin, an ancient lakebed bounded by the two relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung and Xindian rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border.[5] Formerly known as Taipeh-fu during Qing era and Taihoku under Japanese rule, Taipei became the capital of the Taiwan Province as part of the Republic of China in 1945 and recently has been the capital[a] of the ROC since 1949, when the Kuomintang lost the mainland to the Communists in the Chinese Civil War.
The city proper is home to an estimated population of 2,704,810 in 2015,[6] forming the core part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area which includes the nearby cities of New Taipei and Keelung with a population of 7,047,559,[6][7] the 40th most-populous urban area in the world—roughly one-third of Taiwanese citizens live in the metro district. The name "Taipei" can refer either to the whole metropolitan area or the city proper.
Taipei is the political, economic, educational, and cultural center of Taiwan island, and one of the major hubs of Greater China. Considered to be a global city,[8] Taipei is part of a major high-tech industrial area.[9] Railways, high-speed rail, highways, airports, and bus lines connect Taipei with all parts of the island. The city is served by two airports – Taipei Songshan and Taiwan Taoyuan. Taipei is home to various world-famous architectural or cultural landmarks which include Taipei 101, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Dalongdong Baoan Temple, Hsing Tian Kong, Lungshan Temple of Manka, National Palace Museum, Presidential Office Building, Taipei Guest House, Ximending, and several night markets dispersing over the city. Its natural features such as Maokong, Yangmingshan, and hot springs are also well known to international visitors.
As the capital city, "Taipei" is sometimes used as a synecdoche for the Republic of China. Due to the ongoing controversy over the political status of Taiwan, the name Chinese Taipei is designated for official use when Taiwanese governmental representatives or national teams participate in some international organizations or international sporting events (which may require UN statehood) in order to avoid extensive political controversy by using other names.
Contents
1 History
1.1 First settlements
1.2 Empire of Japan
1.3 Republic of China
2 Geography
2.1 Climate
2.2 Air quality
2.3 Cityscape
3 Demographics
4 Economy
5 Culture
5.1 Tourism
5.1.1 Commemorative sites and museums
5.1.2 Taipei 101
5.1.3 Performing arts
5.1.4 Shopping and recreation
5.1.5 Temples
5.2 Festivals and events
5.3 Taipei in films
6 Romanization
7 Government
7.1 Garbage recycling
7.2 Administrative divisions
7.3 City planning
8 Transportation
8.1 Metro
8.2 Rail
8.3 Bus
8.4 Airports
8.5 Ticketing
9 Education
9.1 Chinese language program for foreigners
10 Sports
10.1 Major sporting events
10.2 Youth baseball
11 Media
11.1 Television
11.2 Newspapers
12 International relations
12.1 Twin towns and sister cities
12.2 Partner cities
12.3 Friendship cities
13 Gallery
14 See also
15 Notes
16 References
17 External links
History
Main article: History of Taipei
The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is a famous monument and tourist attraction in Taipei.
Prior to the significant influx of Han Chinese immigrants, the region of Taipei Basin was mainly inhabited by the Ketagalan plains aborigines. The number of Han immigrants gradually increased in the early 18th century under Qing Dynasty rule after the government began permitting development in the area.[10] In 1875, the northern part of the island was incorporated into the new Taipeh Prefecture.
The Qing dynasty of China made Taipeh the temporary capital of Fujian-Taiwan Province in 1886 when Taiwan was separated from Fujian Province.[11][12] Taipeh was formally made the provincial capital in 1894.
Japan acquired Taiwan in 1895 under the Treaty of Shimonoseki after the First Sino-Japanese War. Taiwan became a colony of Imperial Japan with Taihoku (formerly Taipeh) as its capital, in which the city was administered under Taihoku Prefecture. Taiwan's Japanese rulers embarked on an extensive program of advanced urban planning that featured extensive railroad links. A number of Taipei landmarks and cultural institutions date from this period.[13]
Following the Japanese surrender of 1945, control of Taiwan was handed to the Republic of China (ROC) (see Retrocession Day). After losing mainland China to the Chinese Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War, the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) relocated the ROC government to Taiwan and declared Taipei the provisional capital of the ROC in December 1949.[14][15] In 1990 Taipei provided the backdrop for the Wild Lily student rallies that moved Taiwanese society from one-party rule to multi-party democracy. The city is today home to Taiwan's democratically elected national government.
First settlements
The region known as the Taipei Basin was home to Ketagalan tribes before the eighteenth century.[16] Han Chinese mainly from Fujian Province of Qing dynasty China began to settle in the Taipei Basin in 1709.[17][18]
In the late 19th century, the Taipei area, where the major Han Chinese settlements in northern Taiwan and one of the designated overseas trade ports, Tamsui, were located, gained economic importance due to the booming overseas trade, especially that of tea export. In 1875, the northern part of Taiwan was separated from Taiwan Prefecture and incorporated into the new Taipeh Prefecture as a new administrative entity of the Qing dynasty.[13] Having been established adjoining the flourishing townships of Bangka, Dalongdong, and Twatutia, the new prefectural capital was known as Chengnei (Chinese: 城內; pinyin: chéngnèi; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siâⁿ-lāi), "the inner city", and government buildings were erected there. From 1875 (still Qing era) until the beginning of Japanese rule in 1895, Taipei was part of Tamsui County of Taipeh Prefecture and the prefectural capital.
In 1885, work commenced to create an independent Taiwan Province, and Taipei City was temporarily made the provincial capital. Taipei officially became the capital of Taiwan in 1894.[citation needed] All that remains from the Qing era is the north gate. The west gate and city walls were demolished by the Japanese while the south gate, little south gate, and east gate were extensively modified by the Kuomintang (KMT) and have lost much of their original character.[19]
Empire of Japan
The Taihoku Prefecture government building in the 1910s (now the Control Yuan)
As settlement for losing the First Sino-Japanese War, China ceded the island of Taiwan to the Empire of Japan in 1895 as part of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. After the Japanese take-over, Taipei, called Taihoku in Japanese, was retained as the capital and emerged as the political center of the Japanese Colonial Government.[13] During that time the city acquired the characteristics of an administrative center, including many new public buildings and housing for civil servants. Much of the architecture of Taipei dates from the period of Japanese rule, including the Presidential Building which was the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan.
During Japanese rule, Taihoku was incorporated in 1920 as part of Taihoku Prefecture. It included Bangka, Twatutia, and Jōnai (城內) among other small settlements. The eastern village of Matsuyama (松山庄, modern-day Songshan District, Taipei) was annexed into Taihoku City in 1938. Upon the Japanese defeat in the Pacific War and its consequent surrender in August 1945, the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) assumed control of Taiwan. Subsequently, a temporary Office of the Taiwan Province Administrative Governor was established in Taipei City.[20]
Republic of China
With President Chiang Kai-shek, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower waved to a crowd during his visit to Taipei in June 1960.
In 1947 the KMT government under Chiang Kai-shek declared island-wide martial law in Taiwan as a result of the February 28 Incident, which began with incidents in Taipei but led to an island-wide crackdown on the local population by forces loyal to Chiang. Two years later, on December 7, 1949, Chiang and the Kuomintang were forced to flee mainland China by the Communists near the end of the Chinese Civil War. The refugees declared Taipei to be the provisional capital of a continuing Republic of China, with the official capital at Nanjing (Nanking) even though that city was under Communist control.[14][15]
Taipei expanded greatly in the decades after 1949, and as approved on December 30, 1966 by the Executive Yuan, Taipei was declared a special centrally administered municipality on July 1, 1967 and given the administrative status of a province.[18] In the following year, Taipei City expanded again by annexing Shilin, Beitou, Neihu, Nangang, Jingmei, and Muzha. At that time, the city's total area increased fourfold through absorbing several outlying towns and villages and the population increased to 1.56 million people.[18]
The city's population, which had reached one million in the early 1960s, also expanded rapidly after 1967, exceeding two million by the mid-1970s. Although growth within the city itself gradually slowed thereafter[20] — its population had become relatively stable by the mid-1990s — Taipei remained one of the world's most densely populated urban areas, and the population continued to increase in the region surrounding the city, notably along the corridor between Taipei and Keelung.
In 1990 Taipei's 16 districts were consolidated into the current 12 districts.[21] Mass democracy rallies that year in the plaza around Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall led to an island-wide transition to multi-party democracy, where legislators are chosen via regularly scheduled popular elections, during the presidency of Lee Teng-Hui.
Geography
The city of Taipei, as seen from Maokong.
Taipei City is located in the Taipei Basin in northern Taiwan.[22] It is bordered by the Xindian River on the south and the Tamsui River on the west. The generally low-lying terrain of the central areas on the western side of the municipality slopes upward to the south and east and especially to the north,[5] where it reaches 1,120 metres (3,675 ft) at Qixing Mountain, the highest (inactive) volcano in Taiwan in Yangmingshan National Park. The northern districts of Shilin and Beitou extend north of the Keelung River and are bordered by Yangmingshan National Park. The Taipei city limits cover an area of 271.7997 km2,[23] ranking sixteenth of twenty-five among all counties and cities in Taiwan.
Two peaks, Qixing Mountain and Mt. Datun, rise to the northeast of the city.[24] Qixing Mountain is located on the Tatun Volcano Group and the tallest mountain at the rim of the Taipei Basin, with its main peak at 1,120 metres (3,670 ft). Mt. Datun's main peak is 1,092 metres (3,583 ft). These former volcanoes make up the western section of Yangmingshan National Park, extending from Mt. Datun northward to Mt. Caigongkeng (菜公坑山). Located on a broad saddle between two mountains, the area also contains the marshy Datun Pond.
To the southeast of the city lie the Songshan Hills and the Qingshui Ravine, which form a barrier of lush woods.[24]
Climate
Taipei has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate[25][26][27] (Köppen: Cfa).[28] Summers are long-lasting, hot and humid, and accompanied by occasional heavy rainstorms and typhoons, while winters are short, generally warm and generally very foggy due to the northeasterly winds from the vast Siberian High being intensified by the pooling of this cooler air in the Taipei Basin. As in the rest of Northern Taiwan, daytime temperatures of Taipei can often peak above 26 degrees Celsius during a warm winter day, while they can dip below 26 degrees Celsius during a rainy summer's afternoon. Occasional cold fronts during the winter months can drop the daily temperature by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius, though temperatures rarely drop below 10 degrees Celsius.[29] Extreme temperatures ranged from −0.2 °C (31.6 °F) on February 13, 1901 to 39.3 °C (102.7 °F) on August 8, 2013, while snow has never been recorded in the city besides on mountains located within the city limit such as Mount Yangmingshan. Due to Taiwan's location in the Pacific Ocean, it is affected by the Pacific typhoon season, which occurs between June and October.
Air quality
When compared to other Asian cities, Taipei has "excellent" capabilities for managing air quality in the city.[31] Its rainy climate, location near the coast, and strong environmental regulations have prevented air pollution from becoming a substantial health issue, at least compared to cities in southeast Asia and industrial China. However, smog is extremely common and there is poor visibility throughout the city after rain-less days.
Motor vehicle engine exhaust, particularly from motor scooters, is a source of air pollution in Taipei. There are higher levels of fine particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the mornings because of less air movement; sunlight reduces some pollution.[32] Occasionally, dust storms from Mainland China can temporarily bring extremely poor air quality to the city.[33]
Cityscape
Taipei viewed from Tiger Mountain, with Taipei 101 on the left.
Demographics
Taipei City is home to 2,704,810 people (2015), while the metropolitan area has a population of 7,047,559 people.[6] The population of the city has been decreasing in recent years while the population of the adjacent New Taipei has been increasing. The population loss, while rapid in its early years, has been stabilized by new lower density development and campaigns designed to increase birthrate in the city. The population has begun to rise since 2010.[6][34][35]
Due to Taipei's geography and location in the Taipei Basin as well as differing times of economic development of its districts, Taipei's population is not evenly distributed. The districts of Daan, Songshan, and Datong are the most densely populated. These districts, along with adjacent communities such as Yonghe and Zhonghe contain some of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the world.[34]
In 2008, the crude birth rate stood at 7.88% while the mortality rate stood at 5.94%. A decreasing and rapidly aging population is an important issue for the city.[34] By the end of 2009, one in ten people in Taipei was over 65 years of age.[36] Residents who had obtained a college education or higher accounted for 43.48% of the population, and the literacy rate stood at 99.18%.[34]
Like the rest of Taiwan, Taipei is composed of four major ethnic groups: Hoklos, Mainlanders, Hakkas, and aborigines.[34] Although Hoklos and Mainlanders form the majority of the population of the city, in recent decades many Hakkas have moved into the city. The aboriginal population in the city stands at 12,862 (<0.5%), concentrated mostly in the suburban districts. Foreigners (mainly from Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines) numbered 52,426 at the end of 2008.[34]
Economy
As the center of Taiwan's largest conurbation, Taipei has been at the center of rapid economic development in the country and has now become one of the global cities in the production of high technology and its components.[37] This is part of the so-called Taiwan Miracle which has seen dramatic growth in the city following foreign direct investment in the 1960s. Taiwan is now a creditor economy, holding one of the world's largest foreign exchange reserves of over US$403 billion as of December 2012.[38]
Despite the Asian financial crisis, the economy continues to expand at about 5% per year, with virtually full employment and low inflation. As of 2013, the nominal GDP per capita in Taipei city is lower than that in Hong Kong by a narrow margin according to The Economist(Nominal GDP per capita in HK is US$38181 in 2013 from IMF).[39] Furthermore, according to Financial times, GDP per capita based on Purchasing Power Parity(PPP) in Taipei in 2015 is 44173 USD, behind that in Singapore(US$48900 from IMF) and Hong Kong(US$56689 from IMF).[40]
Taipei and its environs have long been the foremost industrial area of Taiwan, consisting of industries of the secondary and tertiary sectors.[41] Most of the country's important factories producing textiles and apparel are located there; other industries include the manufacture of electronic products and components, electrical machinery and equipment, printed materials, precision equipment, and foods and beverages. Such companies include Shihlin Electric, CipherLab and Insyde Software. Shipbuilding, including yachts and other pleasure craft, is done in the port of Keelung northeast of the city.
Services, including those related to commerce, transportation, and banking, have become increasingly important. Tourism is a small but significant component of the local economy[42][43] with international visitors totaling almost 3 million in 2008.[44] Taipei has many top tourist attractions and contributes a significant amount to the US$6.8 billion tourism industry in Taiwan.[45] National brands such as ASUS,[46] Chunghwa Telecom,[47] Mandarin Airlines,[48] Tatung,[49] and Uni Air,[50][51] D-Link [52] are headquartered in Taipei City.
Culture
Tourism
See also: List of tourist attractions in Taipei
Tourism is a major part of Taipei's economy. In 2013, over 6.3 million overseas visitors visited Taipei, making the city the 15th most visited globally.[53] The influx of visitors contributed $10.8 billion USD to the city's economy in 2013, the 9th highest in the world and the most of any city in the Chinese-speaking world.[54]
Commemorative sites and museums
The National Palace Museum
The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is a famous monument, landmark and tourist attraction that was erected in memory of General Chiang Kai-shek, former President of the Republic of China.[55] The structure stands at the east end of Memorial Hall Square, site of the National Concert Hall and National Theater and their adjacent parks as well as the memorial. The landmarks of Liberty Square stand within sight of Taiwan's Presidential Building in Taipei's Zhongzheng District.
The National Taiwan Museum
The National Taiwan Museum sits nearby in what is now 228 Peace Memorial Park and has worn its present name since 1999. The museum is Taiwan's oldest, founded on October 24, 1908 by Taiwan's Japanese colonial government (1895-1945) as the Taiwan Governor's Museum. It was launched with a collection of 10,000 items to celebrate the opening of the island's North-South Railway.[56] In 1915 a new museum building opened its doors in what is now 228 Peace Memorial Park. This structure and the adjacent governor's office (now Presidential Office Building), served as the two most recognizable public buildings in Taiwan during its period of Japanese rule.[56]
Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines
The National Palace Museum is a vast art gallery and museum built around a permanent collection centered on ancient Chinese artifacts. It should not be confused with the Palace Museum in Beijing (which it is named after); both institutions trace their origins to the same institution. The collections were divided in the 1940s as a result of the Chinese Civil War.[57][58] The National Palace Museum in Taipei now boasts a truly international collection while housing one of the world's largest collections of artifacts from ancient China.[58]
The Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines stands just 200 metres across the road from the National Palace Museum. The museum offers displays of art and historical items by Taiwanese aborigines along with a range of multimedia displays.
The Taipei Fine Arts Museum was established in 1983 as the first museum in Taiwan dedicated to modern art. The museum is housed in a building designed for the purpose that takes inspiration from Japanese designs. Most art in the collection is by Taiwanese artists since 1940. Over 3,000 art works are organized into 13 groups.
The National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall near Taipei 101 in Xinyi District is named in honor of a founding father of the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen. The hall, completed on May 16, 1972, originally featured exhibits that depicted revolutionary events in China at the end of the Qing Dynasty. Today it functions as multi-purpose social, educational, concert and cultural center for Taiwan's citizens.[59]
Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, aka "old city hall"
In 2001 a new museum opened as Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei. The museum is housed in a building that formerly housed Taipei City government offices.[60]
Night view of a fully lit Taipei 101
Taipei 101
Taipei 101 is a 101-floor landmark skyscraper that claimed the title of world's tallest building when it opened in 2004, a title it held for six years before relinquishing it to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners and constructed by KTRT Joint Venture, Taipei 101 measures 509 m (1,670 ft) from ground to top, making it the first skyscraper in the world to break the half-kilometer mark in height. Built to withstand typhoon winds and earthquake tremors, its design incorporates many engineering innovations and has won numerous international awards. Taipei 101 remains one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world and holds LEED's certification as the world's largest "green" building. Its shopping mall and its indoor and outdoor observatories draw visitors from all over the world. Taipei 101's New Year's Eve fireworks display is a regular feature of international broadcasts.
Performing arts
Taiwan's National Concert Hall at night
The National Theater and Concert Hall stand at Taipei's Liberty Square and host events by foreign and domestic performers. Other leading concert venues include Zhongshan Hall at Ximending and the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall near Taipei 101.
A new venue, the Taipei Performing Arts Center, is under construction and slated to open in 2015.[61][62] The venue will stand near the Shilin Night Market[63] and will house three theaters for events with multi-week runs. The architectural design, by Rem Koolhaas and OMA, was determined in 2009 in an international competition.[64] The same design process is also in place for a new Taipei Center for Popular Music and Taipei City Museum.[65]
Shopping and recreation
Main article: Shopping in Taipei
Taipei is known for its many night markets, the most famous of which is the Shilin Night Market in the Shilin District. The surrounding streets by Shilin Night Market are extremely crowded during the evening, usually opening late afternoon and operating well past midnight. Most night markets feature individual stalls selling a mixture of food, clothing, and consumer goods.
The busy streets of Ximending at night
Ximending has been a famous area for shopping and entertainment since the 1930s. Historic structures include a concert hall, a historic cinema, and the Red House Theater. Modern structures house karaoke businesses, art film cinemas, wide-release movie cinemas, electronic stores, and a wide variety of restaurants and fashion clothing stores.[66] The pedestrian area is especially popular with teens and has been called the "Harajuku" of Taipei.[67]
Eastern district at night
The newly developed Xinyi District is popular with tourists and locals alike for its many entertainment and shopping venues, as well as being the home of Taipei 101, a prime tourist attraction. Malls in the area include the sprawling Shin Kong Mitsukoshi complex, Breeze Center, Bellavita, Taipei 101 mall, Eslite Bookstore's flagship store (which includes a boutique mall), The Living Mall, ATT shopping mall, and the Vieshow Cinemas (formerly known as Warner Village). The Xinyi district also serves as the center of Taipei's active nightlife, with several popular lounge bars and nightclubs concentrated in a relatively small area around the Neo19, ATT 4 FUN and Taipei 101 buildings. Lounge bars such as Barcode and nightclubs such as Spark and Myst are among the most-visited places here.
Eslite Bookstore in Xinyi District
The thriving shopping area around Taipei Main Station includes the Taipei Underground Market and the original Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store at Shin Kong Life Tower. Other popular shopping destinations include the Zhongshan Metro Mall, Dihua Street, the Guang Hua Digital Plaza, and the Core Pacific City. The Miramar Entertainment Park is known for its large Ferris wheel and IMAX theater.
Taipei maintains an extensive system of parks, green spaces, and nature preserves. Parks and forestry areas of note in and around the city include Yangmingshan National Park, Taipei Zoo and Da-an Forest Park. Yangmingshan National Park (located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the central city) is famous for its cherry blossoms, hot springs, and sulfur deposits. It is the home of famous writer Lin Yutang, the summer residence of Chiang Kai-shek, residences of foreign diplomats, the Chinese Culture University, the meeting place of the now defunct National Assembly of the Republic of China, and the Kuomintang Party Archives. The Taipei Zoo was founded in 1914 and covers an area of 165 hectares for animal sanctuary.
Bitan is known for boating and water sports. Tamsui is a popular sea-side resort town. Ocean beaches are accessible in several directions from Taipei.
Temples
Built in 1738, Longshan Temple is one of the oldest temples in the city.
Street corner shrine, Taipei 2013
Taipei is rich in beautiful, ornate temples housing Buddhist, Taoist, and Chinese folk religion deities. The Longshan Temple, built in 1738 and located in the Wanhua District, demonstrates an example of architecture with southern Chinese influences commonly seen on older buildings in Taiwan.
Xinsheng South Road is known as the "Road to Heaven" due to its high concentration of temples, shrines, churches, and mosques.[68][69] Other famous temples include Baoan Temple located in historic Dalongdong, a national historical site, and Xiahai City God Temple, located in the old Dadaocheng community, constructed with architecture similar to temples in southern Fujian.[70] The Taipei Confucius Temple traces its history back to 1879 during the Qing Dynasty and also incorporates southern Fujian-style architecture.[71]
Besides large temples, small outdoor shrines to local deities are very common and can be spotted on road sides, parks, and neighborhoods. Many homes and businesses may also set up small shrines of candles, figurines, and offerings. Some restaurants, for example, may set up a small shrine to the Kitchen god for success in a restaurant business.[72]
New Year's Eve fireworks at Taipei 101
Festivals and events
Many yearly festivals are held in Taipei. In recent years some festivals, such as the Double Ten Day fireworks and concerts, are increasingly hosted on a rotating basis by a number of cities around Taiwan.
When New Year's Eve arrives on the solar calendar, thousands of people converge on Taipei's Xinyi District for parades, outdoor concerts by popular artists, street shows, round-the clock nightlife. The high point is of course the countdown to midnight, when Taipei 101 assumes the role of the world's largest fireworks platform.
The Taipei Lantern Festival concludes the Lunar New Year holiday. The timing of the city's lantern exhibit coincides with the national festival in Pingxi, when thousands of fire lanterns are released into the sky.[73] The city's lantern exhibit rotates among different downtown locales from year to year, including Liberty Square, Taipei 101, and Zhongshan Hall in Ximending.
On Double Ten Day, patriotic celebrations are held in front of the Presidential Building. Other annual festivals include Ancestors Day (Tomb-Sweeping Day), the Dragon Boat Festival, the Ghost Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival).[73]
Taipei regularly hosts its share of international events. The city recently hosted the 2009 Summer Deaflympics.[74] This event was followed by the Taipei International Flora Exposition, a garden festival hosted from November 2010 to April 2011. The Floral Expo was the first of its kind to take place in Taiwan and only the seventh hosted in Asia; the expo admitted 110,000 visitors on February 27, 2011.
Taipei in films
Romanization
The spelling "Taipei" derives from the Wade–Giles romanization T'ai-pei.[75] The name could be also romanized as Táiběi according to Hanyu Pinyin and Tongyong Pinyin.[76][77]
Government
Taipei City is a special municipality which is directly under the Executive Yuan (Central Government) of ROC. The mayor of Taipei City had been an appointed position since Taipei's conversion to a centrally administered municipality in 1967 until the first public election was held in 1994.[78] The position has a four-year term and is elected by direct popular vote. The first elected mayor was Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party. Ma Ying-jeou took office in 1998 for two terms, before handing it over to Hau Lung-pin who won the 2006 mayoral election on December 9, 2006.[79] Both Chen Shui-bian and Ma Ying-Jeou went on to become President of the Republic of China. The incumbent mayor, Ko Wen-je, was elected on November 29, 2014 and took office on December 25, 2014.[80]
Based on the outcomes of previous elections in the past decade, the vote of the overall constituency of Taipei City shows a slight inclination towards the pro-KMT camp (the Pan-Blue Coalition);[81] however, the pro-DPP camp (the Pan-Green Coalition) also has considerable support.[82]
Ketagalan Boulevard, where the Presidential Office Building and other government structures are situated, is often the site of mass gatherings such as inauguration and national holiday parades, receptions for visiting dignitaries, political demonstrations,[83][84] and public festivals.[85]
Garbage recycling
Taipei City is also famous for its effort in garbage recycling, which has become such a good international precedent that other countries have sent teams to study the recycling system. After the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) established a program in 1998 combining the efforts of communities, a financial resource named the Recycling Fund was made available to recycling companies and waste collectors. Manufacturers, vendors and importers of recyclable waste pay fees to the Fund, which uses the money to set firm prices for recyclables and subsidize local recycling efforts. Between 1998 and 2008, the recycling rate increased from 6 percent to 32 percent.[86] This improvement enabled the government of Taipei to demonstrate its recycling system to the world at the Shanghai World Expo 2010.
Administrative divisions
Taipei City is divided up into 12 administrative districts (區 qu).[87] Each district is further divided up into urban villages (里), which are further sub-divided up into neighborhoods (鄰).
Map District Population
(Jan. 2016) Area
(km2) Postal
code
Beitou 北投區 Běitóu Pei-t'ou Pak-tâu 257,922 56.8216 112
Da'an 大安區 Dà'ān Ta-an Tāi-an 312,909 11.3614 106
Datong 大同區 Dàtóng Ta-t'ung Tāi-tông 131,029 5.6815 103
Nangang 南港區 Nángǎng Nan-kang Lâm-káng 122,296 21.8424 115
Neihu 內湖區 Nèihú Nei-hu Lāi-ô͘ 287,726 31.5787 114
Shilin 士林區 Shìlín Shih-lin Sū-lîm 290,682 62.3682 111
Songshan 松山區 Sōngshān Sung-shan Siông-san 209,689 9.2878 105
Wanhua 萬華區 Wànhuá Wan-hua Báng-kah 194,314 8.8522 108
Wenshan 文山區 Wénshān Wen-shan Bûn-san 275,433 31.5090 116
Xinyi 信義區 Xìnyì Hsin-yi Sìn-gī 229,139 11.2077 110
Zhongshan 中山區 Zhōngshān Chung-shan Tiong-san 231,286 13.6821 104
Zhongzheng 中正區 Zhōngzhèng Chung-cheng Tiong-chèng 162,549 7.6071 100
City planning
The city is characterized by straight roads and public buildings of grand Western architectural styles.[88] The city is built on a square grid configuration, however these blocks are huge by international standards with 500 m (1,640.42 ft) sides. The area in between these blocks are infilled with lanes and alleys, which provide access to quieter residential or mixed-use development. Other than a citywide 30 kilometres per hour (19 mph) speed limit, there is little uniform planning within this "hidden" area; therefore lanes (perpendicular to streets) and alleys (parallel with street, or conceptually, perpendicular to the lane) spill out from the main throughways. These minor roads are not always perpendicular and sometimes cut through the block diagonally.
Although development began in the western districts (still considered the cultural heart of the city) of the city due to trade, the eastern districts of the city have become the focus of recent development projects. Many of the western districts, already in decline, have become targets of new urban renewal initiatives.[88]
Transportation
Platform of Wende Station on the Taipei Metro system.
Public transport accounts for a substantial portion of different modes of transport in Taiwan, with Taipei residents having the highest utilization rate at 34.1%.[89] Private transport consists of motor scooters, private cars, and bicycles. Motor-scooters often weave between cars and occasionally through oncoming traffic. Respect for traffic laws, once scant, has improved with deployment of traffic cameras and increasing numbers of police roadblocks checking riders for alcohol consumption and other offenses.
Taipei Station serves as the comprehensive hub for the subway, bus, conventional rail, and high-speed rail.[41] A contactless smartcard, known as EasyCard, can be used for all modes of public transit as well as several retail outlets. It contains credits that are deducted each time a ride is taken.[90] The EasyCard is read via proximity sensory panels on buses and in MRT stations, and it does not need to be removed from one's wallet or purse.
Metro
Main article: Taipei Metro
Taipei's public transport system, the Taipei Metro (commonly referred to as the MRT), incorporates a metro and light rail system based on advanced VAL and Bombardier technology. There are currently five metro lines that are labelled in three ways: color, line number and depot station name. In addition to the rapid transit system itself, the Taipei Metro also includes several public facilities such as the Maokong Gondola, underground shopping malls, parks, and public squares. Modifications to existing railway lines to integrate them into the metro system are underway.
In 2017 a rapid transit line was opened to connect Taipei with Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taoyuan City. The new line is part of the new Taoyuan Metro system.
Taipei Railway Station front
Rail
Main articles: Taiwan High Speed Rail and Taiwan Railway Administration
Beginning in 1983, surface rail lines in the city were moved underground as part of the Taipei Railway Underground Project.[91] The Taiwan High Speed Rail system opened in 2007. The bullet trains connect Taipei with the west coast cities of New Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi, and Tainan before terminating at Zuoying (Kaohsiung) at speeds that cut travel times by 60% or more from what they normally are on a bus or conventional train.[92] The Taiwan Railway Administration also runs passenger and freight services throughout the entire island.
Bus
An extensive city bus system serves metropolitan areas not covered by the metro, with exclusive bus lanes to facilitate transportation.[41] Riders of the city metro system are able to use the EasyCard for discounted fares on buses, and vice versa. Several major intercity bus terminals are located throughout the city, including the Taipei Bus Station and Taipei City Hall Bus Station.[93]
Taipei Songshan Airport
Airports
Main articles: Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei Songshan Airport
Most scheduled international flights are served by Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in nearby Taoyuan City. Songshan Airport at the heart of the city in the Songshan District serves domestic flights and scheduled flights to Tokyo International Airport (also known as Haneda Airport), Gimpo International Airport in Seoul, and about 15 destinations in the People's Republic of China. Songshan Airport is accessible by the Taipei Metro Neihu Line; Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is accessible by the Taoyuan International Airport MRT system.
Ticketing
In 1994, with the rapid development of Taipei, a white paper for transport policies expressed the strong objective to "create a civilised transport system for the people of Taipei." In 1999, they chose Mitac consortium, which Thales-Transportation Systems is part of. Thales was then selected again in 2005 to deploy an upgrade of Taipei's public transport network with an end-to-end and fully contactless automatic fare collection solution that integrates 116 metro stations, 5,000 buses and 92 car parks.[citation needed]
Education
West Site of National Taiwan University Hospital
24 universities have campuses located in Taipei:
National Taiwan University (1928)
National Chengchi University (1927)
National Defense Medical Center (1902)
National Defense University (1906)
National Taipei University (1949)
National Taipei University of Business (1917)
National Taipei University of Education (1895)
National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Science (1947)
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (1974)
National Taipei University of Technology (1912)
National Taiwan College of Performing Arts (1957)
National Taiwan Normal University (1946)
National Yang-Ming University (1975)
Taipei National University of the Arts (1982)
University of Taipei (2013)
Tamkang University (1950)
Soochow University (1900)
Chinese Culture University (1962)
Ming Chuan University (1957)
Shih Hsin University (1956)
Shih Chien University (1958)
Taipei Medical University (1960)
Tatung University (1956)
China University of Technology (1965)
National Taiwan University (NTU) was established in 1928 during the period of Japanese colonial rule. NTU has produced many political and social leaders in Taiwan. Both pan-blue and pan-green movements in Taiwan are rooted on the NTU campus. The university has six campuses in the greater Taipei region (including New Taipei) and two additional campuses in Nantou County. The university governs farms, forests, and hospitals for educational and research purposes. The main campus is in Taipei's Da-An district, where most department buildings and all the administrative buildings are located. The College of Law and the College of Medicine are located near the Presidential Building. The National Taiwan University Hospital is a leading international center of medical research.[94]
National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU or Shida) likewise traces its origins to the Japanese colonial period. Originally a teacher training institution, NTNU has developed into a comprehensive international university with demanding entrance requirements. The university boasts especially strong programs in the humanities and international education. Worldwide it is perhaps best known as home of the Mandarin Training Center, a program that offers Mandarin language training each year to over a thousand students from dozens of countries throughout the world. The main campus in Taipei's Da-An district, near MRT Guting Station, is known for its historic architecture and giving its name to the Shida Night Market, one of the most popular among the numerous night markets in Taipei.
Chinese language program for foreigners
Taiwan Mandarin Institute (TMI) (福爾摩莎)
International Chinese Language Program (ICLP) (國際華語研習所) of National Taiwan University
Mandarin Training Center (MTC) (國語教學中心) of National Taiwan Normal University
Taipei Language Institute (中華語文研習所)
Introduction This article is written to address "Everyone no matter your worth, how small or big you think you are?" You don’t really need to worry or succumb to uncertainty about life, no matter what you have experienced in the past Visit our blog: creativeartssolutionfoundation.blogspot.com.ng/2017/12/ev... for much more,
Flickr article is out here.. Not everyone's cup of tea ... but I am pleased my first Flickr article is out. (2 more on the way.)
Ibra, Sultanate of Oman.
This article is about Ibra the place. For alternate meanings: see IBRA (disambiguation).
Ibra (Arabic: ابراء) is the second largest city in the Ash Sharqiyah Region of Oman. It is located about 170 km (2 hours) from Muscat and has a population estimated at 55,000 people.
Ibra is one of the oldest cities in Oman and was once a centre of trade, religion, education and art. The city acquired its importance as an important meeting point at the base of the Ash Sharqiya. Ibra is home of the huge Al-Harthy tribe, one of the biggest and most powerful tribes in Oman. The Al-Maskary tribe and the Al-Riyamy tribe are also both very prevalent in Ibra.
Ibra predates the Prophet Muhammed's calling. The city contains many castles and old mousques.
Ibra has become a more modern city since 1970 under the reign of Sultan Qaboos. Improvements include connections to Muscat via a two-lane highway, which has increased tourism. Communications have been improved to include broadband access, and there is now a substantial hospital. Ibra provides three choices of higher education: Ibra College of Technology, Ibra Nursing Institute, and beginning in the fall of 2010, A’Sharqiyah University. There are now two hotels in Ibra, and tourism is promoted in the area
Geography and climate.
Mountains surround Ibra on every side, and there is some outstanding mountain scenery close by. From November to March, the climate is relatively cool, with temperatures dropping as low as 10 C in December. In the summer, the climate is hot and dry, with temperatures reaching 50 C in July. Precipitation is very low and occurs mostly in the winter, when masses of low pressure air cause rain to fall.
Attractions
The main tourist attractions in the city are its many beautiful watchtowers, the traditional Souq, and Falaj AlAfrit. The design of the souq compliments the fort in every way. The Bait al Kabir was built in 1650 during the Ya'riba Dynasaty. It once stood as a centre of Government in Ibra.
Ibra Souq
The city, famous for its handicrafts and agricultural products, has an expansive souq showcasing an array of products. It is one of the most important in the country besides Muttrah. The souq bustles with vendors selling everything from meat, fish, fruits and vegetables to spices, dates, gold and silverware. Ibra is renowned for its silver jewelry which is considered to be the best in the country. Halwa (a traditional Omani dessert) is also sold in the souq. Halwa is a sticky dessert made from sugar and spices and flavoured with sesame seeds or almonds. Ibra souq is the only souq in the country to have a whole day just for women.
Source :
Square version of this one produced on request for an interesting blog article on the paradox of the mirror by Chez Luc.
Also used for Where Do You Go To See Your Reflection?
Model: Hayley
This photograph was published in an online article in MyLONDON on September 22nd 2022. The article by Lea Dzifa Seeberg (Senior 'What's on' writer), was entitled:
'' Australian tourist asks Londoners if they can pet ‘cute’ squirrels as people warn ‘don’t f*** with squirrels ’' - People warned the tourist they might lose their hands
MyLONDON is a UK based online magazine published under the REACH PLC corporation.
©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 43.650+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.
***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on July 19th 2021
CREATIVE RF gty.im/1328456041 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**
This photograph became my 5,399th frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.
©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Twenty four metres at 05:09am on Monday 4th November 2019, off Hyde Park Corner and Park Lane A4202 in the grounds of Hyde park, a Grade 1 listed Royal Park (the largest of) of London.
Spanning an area of 350 acres, the park is divided by the Serpentine and the Long water lakes, and was created by King Henry VIII in 1536 as hunting ground. It opened to the public in 1637 and was extensively improved under Queen Caroline in the early Eighteenth century. The Great exhibition for which the Crystal Palace was erected, designed by Joseph Paxton, was also held here.
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Nikon D850 Hand held with Sigma OS Optical Stabilization set to normal Focal length 600mm Shutter speed: 1/125s Aperture f/6.3 iso450 Image area FX (36 x 24) NEF RAW L (8256 x 5504) 14 bit uncompressed Image size L (8256 x 5504 FX). Focus mode AF-C focus. AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. AF-S Priority selection: Focus. 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points.AF-Area mode single point & 73 point switchable. Exposure mode: Shutter Priority mode. Matrix metering. Auto ISO sensitivity control on (Max iso 800/ Minimum shutter speed 125). White balance on: Auto1. Colour space: RGB. Active D-lighting: Normal. Vignette control: Normal. Nikon Distortion control: Enabled. Picture control: Auto (Sharpening A +1/Clarity A+1)
Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3DG OS HSM SPORTS. Lee SW150 MKI filter holder with MK2 light shield and custom made velcro fitting for the Sigma lens. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch.Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Matin quick release neckstrap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.
LATITUDE: N 51d 30m 29.56s
LONGITUDE: E 0d 10m 24.06s
ALTITUDE: 24.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF: 91.6MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 39.80MB
PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.