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Because I only had one full day in New York I took back to back Hop On Hop Off Buses. Some of the images are not very good as the bus would go over bumps etc,.I have kept them in as memorises of the day. I only got off the bus once so most of the photos were taken as we were travelling along. Sadly I just didn't have time to have a good walk around.
I woke to a lovely sunny day and not too cold with around 16c. As the day went on it clouded over a bit and cooled down. November 7, 2018 USA.
By Scott Beveridge
DANANG, Vietnam – The frail boy can barely crawl or play with toys because of his lack of coordination.
His skin is pale and slightly gray from birth defects, similar to that of his older brother.
Vo Tan Hau, 4, and his 13-year-old sibling, Tri, are among many disabled children in impoverished farm villages in Danang, a former U.S. military base on the coast of Central Vietnam.
Their deformities are unofficially attributed to Agent Orange, the herbicide that was sprayed over the country during the Vietnam War. More than 20 million gallons of herbicides that contained toxic dioxin and other acidic chemicals were used by U.S. troops to defoliate forests and root the enemy out of their hiding places between 1961 and 1970, the Vietnamese government claims.
"Many of these children have brain damage," said Kenneth J. Herrmann Jr., a social sciences professor at State University of New York-Brockport, who founded a college for Americans in Danang in 2000. His students are required to perform community service to suspected Agent Orange victims, as well as attend lectures by Danang University professors.
"Many of these children are wasting away. Many of them are emaciated," said Herrmann, who served as a U.S. Army sergeant in the war.
Vietnam War veterans from Washington County also are reaching out to deformed children in the Danang area. Members of the Friends of Danang of McMurray have set a goal to raise $192,600 to provide the children with surgery to relax their twisted and tight tendons so they might be able to walk.
Anthony W. Accamando Jr., a founder of the Friends of Danang, said his group is only chipping away at the many problems facing these children.
"We are not miracle workers," said Accamando, 60, of Eighty Four.
A $150 donation from his group eased the suffering of Dang Ngo Tien Dung, 15, whose deformed legs prevented him from sitting upright until his surgery in April 2003.
Despite his progress, Dung spends endless hours on a straw mat spread across his wood-slat bed. His bedroom has a dirt floor lined with walls that are barely covered with recycled boards and sheet metal. He has a view through his door of a television in the next room, a gift from Accamando.
Friends of Danang also underwrites the cost of counseling for mothers of children like Dung to make it easier for them to care for their children. These women can barely afford rice and nuoc mam (fermented fish sauce), the cheapest staples in Vietnam. Some have been abandoned by their husbands because of their unhealthy children, relief workers said.
They sometimes resort to wishing death upon their children as their only hope to relieve the suffering, said Nguyen Thi Lan of World Vision International. The Christian nonprofit organization administers the Friends of Danang's Let Them Walk Again project.
"I used to cry. I decided it was fate. I had to quit crying to care for my children," said To Thi Phuong, 29, of Danang's Hoa Vang village.
Two of her three children were born with birth defects. Her 9-month-old daughter has leukemia and a tumor on her left cheek, while her 6-year-old son has brain damage and deformed arms and legs.
Hoa Vang was sprayed with Agent Orange during Marine and Army patrols, Herrmann said. Today, 70 of the village's 110 children have disabilities that could be associated with the herbicide, according to him.
It is difficult to prove the cause of these birth defects, he said, because genetic testing costs as much as $1,500.
"They don't have that kind of money," Herrmann said. "Most of these kids have no access to a doctor."
Thirty of the 2,400 children under age 16 in Hoa Lien have similar birth defects, said Dr. Le Van Hy, the district physician. He has indentified 13 other deformed children here who need surgery, and countless others who should be evaluated by a physician.
"We don't have enough money," Hy said. "We are trying our best."
A poster promoting condom use hangs from a porch column at his clinic, a modest stucco building with donated American medical supplies and stainless steel furnishings. Birth control is a difficult concept to sell in a culture that places a high moral responsibility on children to be devoted to their parents. Parents with many children are thus ensured they will be properly cared for when they are old and worshiped in the afterlife.
The culture and the plight of the children in Danang have left lasting impressions on Herrmann's students.
"How lucky we are to have been born in the right place," said Joseph Lapaix, 21, a history student at SUNY-Brockport, after delivering noodles and money to suspected Agent Orange victims in Hoa Vang in July.
"We need to see these things to be affected," said his classmate, Ashley Dahl, 22, an English student at the University of Denver.
"We see it. We feel it – so we do something about it," she said.
Note: Reprinted from the Observer-Reporter, August 2004
From the May 2016 trip to Thailand and Cambodia:
After five days in Thailand (3 in Bangkok, which included the day trip to Ayuthaya, and 2 nights on Koh Chang), it was time to make our way to Cambodia. There were two places in Cambodia I was looking forward to seeing: Angkor Wat (which pretty much everyone who comes to southeast Asia wants to see) and Phnom Penh’s Killing Field memorials.
First, though, was the matter of getting from a semi-remote tropical island in Thailand to the national capital of Cambodia, about 400 kilometers to the east. There isn’t a direct, easy way to do this, so being able to get it done in the time I hoped for was the biggest concern of the whole trip to me. Part of the reason time was such a factor is because I had only planned to spend Friday evening and all day Saturday (until early afternoon) in Phnom Penh before flying out to Siem Reap. With so little time there, I wanted to have as much as possible. With that in mind on waking up, I wasn’t sure how the day would turn out. I’m glad to say, it went very well.
The first thing we needed to do was get from the Arunee Resort to the pier on the opposite side of a small mountain at 6:00 in the morning…on an island with no taxis. (It is a tropical place to relax, after all.) The hotel drove us over in a truck for 300 baht. After another 40 baht/person ferry ride across the gulf, we got back to the mainland sometime around 7:40. From there, another 50 baht/person via tuktuk/van to the main bus terminal in Trat, about 45 minutes away found us in good time to grab a bus. (This is the terminal to come to for buses returning to Bangkok or going on to the Cambodian border.)
The minibus to the Cambodian border was roughly an hour and a half ride, and I was another 120 baht/person lighter. The time flew by, though, as we only passed through one very small town between Trat and Hat Lek (the border town).
The border crossing at Hat Lek is a bit interesting. Lonely Planet advised me ahead of time that this is the most expensive (and only truly expensive) border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia. (Unfortunately for me, it was also the only practical/logical one to use, so I didn’t have an option.) Via airports and at all other border crossings, the Cambodian visa costs about $25-30. Here at Hat Lek, though – and I don’t know why – it’s over $50. The fact that there isn’t uniform regulations at border crossings seemed suspect to me to begin with, but it doesn’t change the fact that you still have to do what they say. (You just get the feeling that you’re being fleeced unnecessarily…and by government officials, at that.)
On arriving at the border, the first thing you do is pass through the Thai exit post, which is quick and painless (and free). Walking a few meters farther, you come to the Cambodian entry office, which has a lot of folding tables set up outside. The first thing you do (as US citizen, anyway) is hand over your passport to someone who does NOT look official – yet, he is. You pay him 1600 baht for the visa, plus another 200 baht if you don’t have a passport picture on hand (which I didn’t). So…that was $60 more out of pocket.
Also, while sitting at these tables having your passport/visa processed, people will come up and ask where you’re going and offer private cars to get there. There are supposedly three buses from Hat Lek to Phnom Penh, the last leaving at 11:30 in the morning (and taking 5 hours to get to the capital), and you would have to take a car to the town/bus stop which is about 10 km away. (Not knowing, precisely, how to do that, I went for the easiest way there and just agreed to pay a guy 1000 baht/person to drive us in his Camry all the way – 300 km – to Phnom Penh. It ended up costing 2000 baht (close to $65) plus another $25US in total. Now, $90 may seem a bit expensive, but this was a personal car, what amounted to be a 4 hour ride, and he dropped us off right at our hotel. (I put this in perspective simply by thinking of the cost of a taxi ride from Newark International Airport to JFK in New York City…and this deal was much, much better.) The only thing that was slightly disconcerting is that we didn’t actually know this guy and could have possibly been taken advantage of. However, my charmed life seems to continue…
We got to our hotel and checked in by 4:00 in the afternoon on Friday, so things – though slightly pricy by local standards – went very, very well. The Number 9 Hotel (on St. 258) is less than a five minute walk from the Royal Palace in downtown Phnom Penh. There are quite a few monuments around the area as well (Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Monument, Independence Monument, etc.) The hotel itself was also a bit no-frills, and advertised a Jacuzzi/spa on the roof…which they said was under repair after we checked in. No worries, though; the restaurant at the hotel was quite good and I think it’s the only place we ate for the ~24 hours that we were there. The staff and service were top notch.
As I was still getting over the previous day’s bug/virus/whatever, I didn’t go out on Friday night. Saturday, though, was a different story. Just outside the hotel (and there are quite a few boutique guesthouses on the rather short St 258) are a group of tuktuk drivers all happy to get your business.
Now, Phnom Penh isn’t actually much of a tourist destination. In total, there’s the Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda (within walking distance) and the National Museum (just north of the palace). Additionally, there’s the Russian Market (which we didn’t get to). The main reason I really wanted to come to Phnom Penh, though, was to go to the Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. (I won’t give a long history lesson here, though highly encourage anyone reading this to do a quick Wikipedia search for “Choeung Ek Killing Fields” or, for something slightly more in depth, try to find information from the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975-1979.)
The only things I’ll mention about that era is that, in 1975, the population of Cambodia was about 8 million people. In the five years of the Khmer Rouge regime, they saw fit to assassinate close to 3 million of their countrymen. (Think about that for a minute…imagine your country’s population, whatever the number, then imagine the country is taken over by a military regime that commences to slaughter 35% of the populace. The most conservative numbers I’ve seen are 2 million killed, which is still 25%.)
With that as background info, we arranged one of the tuktuks to take us to the Tuol Sleng Museum, then to the Killing Fields, 15 km southwest of downtown Phnom Penh. Our driver, Ron (perhaps Ran, but pronounced like the former) agreed to be our driver for the day. He took us to the museum, then the killing field, then in the early afternoon to the National Museum and picked us up at the Royal Palace around 3:00. At 4:00, he ushered us about 15 km north of town to the airport. We met his wife as we went to the airport. Total cost for the day: $33.
Our first stop was the Tuol Sleng Museum. This is a former high school (a place of optimism, aspiration) that the Khmer Rouge converted into a torture chamber. (Additional psychological trauma, I guess?) I’ll give no details, save to say that I likened it to a Nazi concentration camp minus the gas chamber. To visit here, though, you are spared no detail in the presentation. I’ll commend (perhaps not the best word) the Cambodians for owning up to their atrocities. Other countries in the region could learn a lot from this. (They say it’s important to bare all so that people can see the horror and it will be less likely to happen again.) Anyway, after paying the admission ($6, I think?), you wander through the buildings with your audio guide and the many well-presented exhibits. At the end, about an hour later, there’s a man selling a book for $10. He’s a survivor of this place. I really had no words; just hugged the guy. He and his daughter said he was spared simply because he knew how to fix and use a typewriter.
After leaving Tuol Sleng, in quite a somber mood, Ran took us across town to the Choeung Ek Killing Fields (this is probably the most famous one in the nation, though there are literally hundreds here…and also still many active landmines from the war in the 1970s, so…I wouldn’t wander around too freely).
If the Tuol Sleng Museum was somber, this place is equally, if not more, harrowing. The admission here was also around $6 or so, and comes with another audio guide. There’s also a small room/museum with a 15 minute informative video. After that, you wander from point to point where you learn that this place was the former mass grave for Chinese. You also see mass graves for women, for babies…a tree (still standing) where babies were murdered, and so on. The final stop is a memorial stupa which contains the skulls and other bones of countless victims, classified by gender and method of murder (though all victims are still unidentified). However, the presentation is more than powerful enough to make its point.
The morning touring done, we returned to Number 9, had a leisurely lunch, then had Ran take us up to the National Museum. It’s a rather small museum, though quite good – especially if you like stone Buddhas. The museum admission is around $5, and the building has four small wings, that visitors tend to visit beginning on the left and going in a clockwise manner. No picures are allowed to be taken inside the museum (which I thought rather unfortunate, as it really was quite interesting and tasteful, as far as museums go), but you could take pictures of the museum itself and the internal courtyard. Leisurely seeing the entire museum takes less than an hour.
From there, it was about a 5-10 minute walk along the palace wall (north side, around the east wall that runs parallel to the river). After paying to enter the Royal Palace at the southeast gate, you’re allowed entry to the grounds and have access to view buildings such as the Coronation Hall, the Crown Room, and the Silver Pagoda. This is essentially quite similar to Thailand’s Royal Palace in terms of how much (and what) you can see, though it wasn’t quite as nice as Thailand’s to me. (I don’t mean to imply that it’s not nice, though; it was an enjoyable afternoon, though with temps around 40 degrees, my energy waned rather quickly.)
After an hour or so here at the Royal Palace, we made our way back to Number 9 (at this point, barely a 2 minute ride by tuktuk), where we rested until 4:00 and had Ran take us to the airport for our 7:30 flight to Siem Reap, 45 minutes away.
En route, though – and also from observations riding around on the way back from Choeung Ek – I got the impression that while Phnom Penh may not be the most touristy place in the world, it sure seemed like a great place to live (as much for expats as anyone). There’s still a lot of French influence, so my first abstract impression is that it reminded me of a combination of the French Quarter in New Orleans, Fuxing in Shanghai, and just some trendy/hippie areas in general. There were lots of cool little boutique hotels, restaurants, stores…and the Cambodians are exceptionally friendly and pleasant (as are Thais). I don’t know that I’ll ever come back here, but I certainly wouldn’t feel bad if I did…
At any rate, those were just my impressions on the way out of town. Getting to the airport, I was ready for the final stop: Siem Reap & Angkor Wat. The only thing standing between me and my ultimate destination…a prop jet.
The A55 Cambridge Mark II, known as the first "Farina" model because of its Pininfarina design, was produced from 1959 through to 1961. It was a rebadged Morris Oxford and retained the 1.5 L B-Series engine, now with an SU carburettor, and producing 55 bhp (41 kW) at 4350 rpm.
The interior had individual leather trimmed seats in front spaced closely together to allow a central passenger to be carried. The gear change was either on the column or floor mounted and the handbrake lever between the driver's seat and the door. Other improvements highlighted at the time included an enlarged luggage compartment with counterbalanced lid and increased elbow width on both front and rear seats. A heater could be fitted as an optional extra.
A "Countryman" estate model appeared in 1960. Austin Cambridge Estates were called "Countryman". (Morris Oxford Estates were called "Traveller".) A55 Mark II and A60 Estates were identical from the windscreen back; the later models never got the reduced rear fins and modified rear lights of the A60 saloons.
The engineering of the car was conventional with coil sprung independent front suspension and a live axle at the rear with semi elliptic leaf springs. The braking used a Girling system with 9 in (229 mm) drums all round.
Just under 150,000 were built in total.
A MkII A55 was tested by The Motor magazine in 1959 had a top speed of 75.5 mph (121.5 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 24.5 seconds. A fuel consumption of 31.0 miles per imperial gallon (9.11 L/100 km; 25.8 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £878 including taxes of £293.
(Wikipedia)
- - -
1959 wurde der Austin A55 Cambridge Mark II angeboten. Er hatte eine neue, gegenüber dem Vorgänger deutlich vergrößerte Karosserie in Trapezform mit Heckflossen. Pininfarina in Italien hatte sie entworfen. Mit der gleichen Karosserie und Technik wurde auch der Morris Oxford angeboten. Ganz ähnliche Karosserien wurden auch bei den zeitgenössischen Peugeot 404 und Fiat 2100 verwendet.
Neben der viertürigen Limousine gab es nun auch einen fünftürigen Kombi. (Estate).
Die Motorleistung war durch Einsatz eines SU-Vergasers (anstatt des bisherigen Zenith-Exemplars) auf 55 bhp (40 kW) angehoben worden.
1961 erschien der Nachfolger Austin A60 mit gleicher Karosserie, aber einem stärkeren Motor.
(Wikipedia)
Because nothing is more perfect than getting a gun during the holiday where suicides are the highest.....
Because the weather was really fine and sunny, I decided to take a 5 minute climb up Signal Hill to see if I could photograph MS Legend of the Seas berthed at Main Wharf 7.
From this angle, the cruise ship is indeed taller than the port warehouse just next to it. The sea was really blue too. One interesting thing I noticed about Legend of the Seas is the rock climbing wall at the back part. A group of tourists were at Signal Hill too, and some of them took photos of this cruise ship.
The Golden Ratio in Dr. Elliot McGucken's Fine Art Ballet Photography!
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Dr. E's: Golden Number Ratio Principle--Why the Fibonacci Numbers Exalt Beauty: The golden ratio exalts beauty because the number is a characteristic of the mathematically and physically most efficient manners of growth and distribution, on both evolutionary and purely physical levels. The golden ratio ensures that the proportions and structure of that which came before provide the proportions and structure of that which comes after, thusly providing symmetry over not only space but time, and exalting life’s foundational dynamic symmetry. Robust, ordered, symmetric growth is naturally associated with health and beauty, and thus we evolved to perceive the golden ratio harmonies as inherently beautiful, as we saw and felt their presence in all vital growth and life—in the salient features and proportions of humans and nature alike, from the distribution of our facial features and bones to the arrangements of petals, leaves, and sunflowers seeds. As ratios between Fibonacci Numbers offer the closest whole-number approximations to the golden ratio, and as seeds, cells, leaves, bones, and other physical entities appear in whole numbers, the Fibonacci Numbers oft appear in the arrangement of nature’s discrete elements as “growth’s numbers.” From the dawn of time, humanity sought to salute their gods in art and temples exalting the same proportion by which they and all their vital sustenance, as well as all the flowers and nature’s epic beauty, had been created—the golden ratio.
Fine Art Ballet Photography: Nikon D810 Elliot McGucken Fine Art Ballerina Dancer Dancing Classical Ballet Seascape Landscape Photography!
Fine Art Ballet Photography: Nikon D810 Elliot McGucken Fine Art Ballerina Dancer Dancing Classical Ballet Seascape Landscape Photography!
White leotard and flowy dress!
Dancing for Dynamic Dimensions Theory dx4/dt=ic: The fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions at the rate of c!
New ballet & landscape instagrams!
www.instagram.com/elliotmcgucken/
Nikon D810 Epic Fine Art Ballerina Goddess Dancing Ballet! Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Ballet!
Marrying epic landscape, nature, and urban photography to ballet!
Nikon D810 with the Nikon MB-D12 Multi Battery Power Pack / Grip for D800 and D810 Digital Cameras allows one to shoot at a high to catch the action FPS! Ballerina Dance Goddess Photos! Pretty, Tall Ballet Swimsuit Bikini Model Goddess! Captured with the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II from Nikon, and the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Nikon! Love them both!
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A pretty goddess straight out of Homer's Iliad & Odyssey!
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New facebook: www.facebook.com/45surfAchillesOdysseyMythology
Join my new fine art ballet facebook page! www.facebook.com/fineartballet/
The 45EPIC landscapes and goddesses are straight out of Homer's Iliad & Odyssey!
I'm currently updating a translation with the Greek names for the gods and goddesses--will publish soon! :)
"RAGE--Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Zeus fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another. " --Homer's Iliad capturing the rage of the 45EPIC landscapes and seascapes! :)
Ludwig van Beethoven: "Music/poetry/art should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman."
We started taking notes at how bad everything was because it was so much, it was hard to remember everything.
BACKSTORY: We had a gift card for Macaroni Grill (we usually have one every year, and have gone for over a decade). This year was the most god-awful experience of our lives! No wonder Macaroni Grill is going out of business. But we have to wonder if it was transgender & LGBT discrimination, because not only were we never treated like that at that same Macaroni Grill, but we saw the waiter treat others better.
I'm not that picky. I get a taco or two at Taco Bell almost every day I go out, and am very pleased with that experience. When I go out, I often go to buffets, because I don't mind what food I eat, as long as it's not completely messed up.
But taking my wife to Macaroni Grill on Valentine's Day was the absolute worst "romantic" restaurant trip of my entire life. I am frankly surprised at how much text I need to write just to explain everything that happened.
Note that the restaurant was NOT packed. We go there almost every Valentine's Day, for 10+ years. Last year it was a 45 minute wait and totally packed. This year it was a 5 minute wait, and there were empty tables in the restaurant. It was literally the least packed we've ever seen it on Valentine's Day. There are no "busy" excuses for this treatment
1) We didn't notice at the time, but going back: The first way we were treated differently was that the waiter didn't write his name on our placemat. Did he intend to give us bad service because we are visibly LGBT? Because he wrote it for the people next to us, on both sides. Just not for us. It seemed like he was so unwilling to even get near us, that he wouldn't approach us, write his name on the placemat, or visit our table -- ***even when visiting the one next to us repeatedly***, or give us good service.
2) Immediately he puts the olive oil and pepper on the saucer for the bread. This is a fun Macaroni Grill theatric that makes the customer feel good... Unless the saucer full of olive oil is merely pointing out how you have no bread for 20 minutes. Again, never in our life. Other people have bread. We don't.
Later, I explicitly ask for bread, because it's absolutely clear that it's NOT going to come, because this guy will serve the tables on both sides of us, but not us. It still doesn't come. Bread only finally arrives with our appetizer. Again: Never in our lives.
3) And then, guess what? The bread was too salty to eat! First time in 40 years that I have ever disliked restaurant bread. Later, when the waiter stopped coming to our table, we managed to ask *the cook* for more bread. It, too, was too salty to not eat. No amount of dipping it or mixing it with other ingredients made it edible. The bread I get from the dollar store is better. Why is Macaroni Grill so awful to us today?
4) The second thing the waiter actually does is ask us for a drink. Immediately. We don't know our drink order yet, but later, when we order everything at once, we do order ONE drink. But it doesn't come with the bread. It doesn't come with the appetizers. It doesn't even come with the entree! Later, while we are eating, the drink finally shows up. We had forgotten about it by that time. Who the hell serves drinks, appetizers, and an entree at the same time?
5) But at least we had water, right? Well, sort of. We asked for water with lemon. It took awhile -- an annoying amount of time if you have dysphagia -- but the finally water came. Most restaurants give you water without asking, or allow you access to a tap. We were left thirsty. So thirst. And when it finally came, NO LEMONS!
We asked for lemons. It took awhile, but finally he came back and said, "We're out of lemons, so I had to give you limes". I am unsure what to do, so I squeeze some of the lime juice in my water to try it out. It's awful. I can't drink it.
Meanwhile, I see lemons come out with water orders just 2 tables away. My drink (a mule) that comes later has a lemon in it--because the drink comes like that automatically. It is clearly our server who won't ask for stuff for us -- even while giving the same stuff to adjoining tables! My salmon that came with lemon on it! Why is this bigoted server telling us the restaurant doesn't have lemons? Macaroni Grill is most definitely NOT out of lemons. Why would he lie to us? There's a bar. Bars have lemon wedges for drinks. The restaurant is NOT out of lemon wedges.
But for the majority of the time I was there, I couldn't even sip my water, because it turns out lime water is awful. Who drinks that? Not me. I didn't know. I tried, and that was a mistake. And since our alcohol drink never came until the entree, I literally had nothing to drink that didn't taste awful. And getting water refill was nigh impossible. And of course no bread. Nothing enjoyable whatsoever - but the people 2 tables away got their water with lemon. EVERYONE who wasn't LGBT did.
6) Eventually, when the waiter disappeared, we actually had to go and ask THE COOK for lemons, and he brought them out and apologized. This was after the entree came. It's like the waiter was unwilling to do his job. Why is the cook bringing us our food and serving us? Where is our server? We were ALSO out of water at that point, and needed any kind of liquid to drink. I am prone to choking because I have dysphagia. Last time I had a choking episode, I had to grab the drink of a stranger off their table in an emergency. This is the kind of thing that happens when human beings are denied water, and have no way to get it.
7) We ordered the calamari appetizer. The menu says it comes with 2 sauces. A pepper sauce and a citrus aoli. We got the pepper sauce, but the other stuff? It was a red, thick mixture that was very obviously mostly spicy Sri Racha sauce. My girlfriend doesn't like spicy stuff as much as me. That's why we didn't order something spicy. That's why we use the menu to decide what to order. But what good is the menu, if the items on it aren't what it says they are? We needed at least one non-spicy dipping sauce.
8) By this point, the waiter had disappeared. He did not come around. Most restaurants check up on you to see if you are okay. They often do it TOO much. This guy? Despite the fact that we very obviously were not getting what we wanted, and had to ask for very basic things like bread and water -- he still wouldn't show up. Twice in a row, after minutes of being gone, he came and SERVED THE TABLE NEXT TO US, BUT KEPT HIS BACK TO US, THEN DISAPPEARED to the back again without even giving us an opportunity for service. Every time this happened, we needed something, and couldn't get it.
9) The salmon finally came. It was not even brought by our server (named Labrim), it was brought by the cook! (Who we had to ask for water, lemons, and more bread. Most of the food brought to our table WAS NOT BROUGHT by our actual server!)
It was the absolute worst salmon I've ever eaten in my life. It was so burned that each and every bite was a chore to get down. I woke up at 4AM nauseated, which is an unusual thing for me. We even tried cutting up the salmon and putting it inside our shrimp alfredo noodles, to mask the burning taste. It was impossible to mask. We have now messed up: water, bread, lemons, calamari dipping sauce, and salmon. Incredible.
10) At this point, we're done with our food, and we just want the dessert cake & ice cream, and a check. But he's nowhere to be found. For a good 5 minutes, we're just sitting there, unhappy with the experience, wanting to at least have a good piece of cake and ice cream, and leave. But the pause here is one of the longest service pauses during this entire visit.
During this time, 2 tables down, another couple was extremely angry at Labrim's service, and got up to leave. So atleast it wasn't JUST us having a bad time, even if they actually got lemons & drinks. Someone, either Labrim or a manager, intervened and convinced them to sit back down and have their meal.
The couple 1 table down? They ALSO were extremely unhappy with Labrim, and were complaining about the service a lot of the time. For example, they got the merchant receipt for their credit card, so there was no place for them to sign it, and they had to ask for the correct receipt. That's never happened in my life, but again, now at least THREE tables were having a bad time, so at least there was some incompetence mixed in with the malevolence. We just seemed to be getting the worst of it, and it felt like discrimination to be treated so differently the first year we were visibly LGBT.
11) It's finally time for dessert. Does he bring it? No! He brings us to go containers, and says, "You wanted the cheesecake, right?"
Literally, when we ordered the food, we gave him the complete order. I wrote it down on my placemat. I pointed at the words as I ordered them to him. He acted as if he was writing down the words I was saying and pointing at. His job is to take the order. He couldn't even do that! I never said cheesecake! WTF?! Not only was our dessert not here, but he didn't even know what we ordered! Just what was Labrim doing?!?!?!
12) So we tell him we wanted the chocolate cake & ice cream. It seems to take awhile, but it finally comes. HE THEN TAKES ALL OUR SILVERWARE! We manage to snag one fork, but how are we supposed to share this item between the two of us? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, LABRIM?
He comes back in a couple minutes to help the table next to us, but in typical fashion, keeps his back to us and doesn't offer any help. As he walks away, we have to raise our voice and ask for another fork. I don't think it ever came.
13) And the "cake" and "ice cream"? It's not a cake, it's some Costco store bought chocolate muffin, with a cup of chocolate drizzle next to it. And the "ice cream"? Literally one fork full of ice cream. Granted, it tasted good - but this is your "$45 Valentine's Day Special For Couples", so you are literally advertising and serving a valentine's day ice cream dessert to couples with ONE FORK that has ONE FORKFUL of ice cream. So yes. You found a way to make ice cream and cake disappointing, Macaroni Grill.
14) Labrim then asked us if the food was good, and we said, "No, it wasn't", and told him we didn't like the bread, water, salmon, or cake. He said he would get the manager to do something about it. Minutes later, a check came. No manager. No manager ever came. Just another lie.
15) Finally, it came time to pay. We don't trust him to ring up our money right, so we decide to use our $50 gift card, and pay the $5.14 balance in cash. I went off to change my $10 into two $5s, and my wife went off to change her $5 into five $1s. I approached the bartender, waited for eye contact, and asked, "Can I get two 5s for a 10?" He said, "Wait a minute", then "How are you?" {I'm sorry, do I need to have a conversation to ask for change? It seemed like he was chiding me for being short with him and not having a conversation. I'm not here to talk with you, guy. I'm here to pay you for your bad food}. The bartender then turned his back to me. He messed around with the register for an unacceptably long time, completely ignoring me. Obviously he decided NOT to make the change I needed made -- or even to tell me. This, too, is a treatment I've never experienced in my life. As I slowly moved away -- because I'm not going to sit there like an idiot holding a $10 bill out for minutes at a time -- I went to the hostess. She checks HER OWN POCKETS and somehow has two $5 bills, and makes change for me.
My wife fared no better. She asked someone for five $1s for her $5. Multiple people told herthey couldn't do it. She was finally told "only the bartender" can do this. She goes to the bar. Nobody is there. She looks around. Nobody to be found. This restaurant is full of aholes who won't do their job.
Finally, someone goes into the bar and starts doing stuff. She asks them if they can make change. "I'm not the bartender", the person tending the bar said, refusing to make her change. WHAT IS THIS PLACE?
We almost left the restaurant with a $5 shortchanging -- but then Carolyn ran into a random employee, who, also, had to get the money out of his personal money from his own pocket.
IN SUMMARY: You messed up in about 15 different ways, messing up: water, lemon, salmon, dipping sauce, cake, ice cream, properly keeping our order, making change... even the unhappiness of the people around us was a bring-down. This restaurant is not being managed properly, and Labrim is the 2nd worst server I've had in my entire lifetime.
I wish I'd had change, because the 85 cent tip Labrim got was an *incredible* overtip. It should have been a single penny. Frankly, I should be filing a credit card dispute for the cost of this meal... but we paid with a pre-paid gift card bought 2 years ago, so we take solace in knowing that no 2018 income went to Macaroni Grill for this awful 2018 visit.
Our annual almost-20-year tradition [based on our parents giving us gift cards every Christmas] is now over. We will not be returning to Macaroni Grill. Not on Valentine's Day. Not ever. The gift cards are apparently valid at several other restaurants... so we'll be going to one of those, from now on.
And I can't help but think some of this is because I am visibly transgender, because of the way he would repeatedly approach the table next to us (a straight couple), but not us. I was not visibly transgender a year ago, and was not treated like this during previous visits to Macaroni Grill. It just seems like that was a component, because we definitely got it the worst of everyone there.
notes, placemat.
Macaroni Grill, restaurant, Springfield, Virginia.
February 14, 2018.
... Read my blog at clintjcl at wordpress dot com
Because What Happens at Dragon*Con Stays at Dragon*Con.
...except when it gets plastered all over the internet, of course.
Because this building was once used for welding ships, there's many elements that relate to that era, such as railroad rails in the floor. Here is a crane that was once used to move heavy steel pieces.
While in Amsterdam for a vacation in April 2022, we visited Straat:the museum for street art and graffiti. We intended to spend a couple hours here; it was so interesting that we spent most of the day.
If you are interested in more info about the art on this page, check out the museum's database at
straatmuseum.com/en/collection-database
You can then scroll to find the artwork shown above, click on it, and read many more details about it.
Thanks for viewing my photos!
From the museum's website:
From Keith Haring to Banksy, street art has made tons of headlines in recent history. Its impact on art, fashion, design, advertising and culture at large is stronger than ever.
Enter STRAAT: the museum for graffiti and street art. We aim to share our passion for this radical art movement with the public, showcasing some of the biggest names and upcoming talent from all over the world. STRAAT is a graffiti and street art museum for everyone, made possible by a dedicated team of enthusiasts.
Our current exhibition displays more than 150 artworks by 130+ artists. The artworks were created on-site and most of these mind blowing visual experiences are as big as outdoor walls. As a museum, we provide the added value of context and information. Here’s your chance to get to know the stories that remain untold in the streets!
(Wet Edition)
Because of the dull weather I used the vintage EOS 1D Mk.III today. After the 5D Mk.III debacle with rain in New York I dont dare to use the 5D Mk.IV in the rain anymore. The 1D however, is a beast. It has had no problem with todays severe rain....
Note: if you are in this photo and you want to be off the internet just mail me and it will be deleted.
Because of the great fire wall of Chinese policy, it's so hard to cross the limit to visit flickr, so I could not reply my dear friends, I'm so sorry about that and please forgive me,thank you so much and hope my friends can still hit on me！由于中国网络原因，访问flickr很困难，速度很慢，所有暂时没有办法一一回应各位好友，请朋友们见谅！还请各位好友继续关注我！
My pro account is out of time，thank you my friends here for supporting me what a long time！！May I have a pleasure to receive a pro gift from you？我的pro账号到期了，感谢朋友们长期以来的热心支持！！有好心人能赞助一个pro账号给我吗，在此先表感谢！！
If you want to use or buy this image，please contact me. 版权所有，转载请联系本人。
especially when you only slept 3 hours.
I was feeling so terrible in my stomach this morning since hubby and I are night owls but we had to take his mom to the airport this morning for her morning flight back home.
Hopefully I can recover back to normal in the next few days.
This is my final photo for the 366 Days of 2008 group on Flickr. It does "sum up" my year because I spend a lot of time in this spot when I'm home. Since the hard drive on my other computer died, I'm very happy to be "back in business" and able to work with my photos and upload them to Flickr. I do feel that my future is bright. I have met many nice people in the 366 Days of 2008 group and hope to see them again in the 365 Days of 2009 group.
I will start the New Year 2009 learning to use my new Mac Pro. This photo was edited using iPhoto and uploaded with Safari. Today my brother-in-law is coming to set up more things on my Mac Pro: my email, download necessary software (Open Office) and other things. I'm excited.
NOTE: Bobby has downloaded Open Office, we've set up my email, he connected my speakers and got my new HP Photosmart C8180 All-in-One printer connected to the wireless Internet. After a brief break, Bobby came back over and set up my Treo Smartphone and my iPod.
For the wdydwyd? (why do you do what you do?) pool, part of a large-scale and wonderfully revealing project by Tony Deifell.
BECAUSE I SEE, I take pictures.
More specifically: Because since birth I have seen everything in two dimensions (using only one eye), I love photography and all forms of art that involve a flat surface. Or at least that's the explanation that makes the most sense to me! I have never minded having no depth perception -- it's just the way it's always been, and I believe it has defined me and perhaps even given me certain advantages.
It's why I do what I do!
Keep drinking coffee, stare me down across the table
While I look outside
So many things I’d say if only I were able
But I just keep quiet and count the cars that pass by
You’ve got opinions, man
We’re all entitled to ‘em, but I never asked
So let me thank you for your time, and try not to waste anymore of mine
And get out of here fast
I hate to break it to you babe, but I’m not drowning
There’s no one here to save
Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?
You sound so innocent, all full of good intent
Swear you know best
But you expect me to jump up on board with you
And ride off into your delusional sunset
I’m not the one who’s lost with no direction
But you’ll never see
You’re so busy making maps with my name on them in all caps
You got the talking down, just not the listening
And who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?
All my life I’ve tried to make everybody happy
While I just hurt and hide
Waiting for someone to tell me it’s my turn to decide
Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?
Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?
Let me hold your crown, babe.
Sara Bareilles
King of Anything
Would you really like to know why I am looking so happy on this photo? Its because I am feeling well and healthy and happy and contented and guess what? I am going to stay blonde. Ive been "Red Ed" for years, and although I have loved being a red head I felt like a complete and utter change. This means I can wear scarlet and hot pinks now without it clashing with the hair!
So now no one on flickr can call me Lucy (Lucille Ball) anymore........I think its the spirit of one of my heroines, and guides: Miss Diana Dors.
ALSO Guess what?!!!!! Now Fluffy has built the pergola we are now spending the next month of Sundays filling it in and its going to be.......
The Ancient Egyptian Healing Therapy room!
We are building the roof as a pyramid, putting in double glazed windows and doors and the floor is going to be gold...there will be orange voile at the windows, armchairs all of an Ancient Egyptian theme. I am going to purchase a therapy bed and hopefully wicker table and chairs. A ceiling fan will hang from the centre point of the pyramid and everywhere you look, on the walls there will be Egyptian paintings...and And Ancient Egyptian figures and memorabilia.
We will set up a surround sound system so that when I give treatments the client can lie there and drift into another world. The therapies will include: facials, massage, aromatherapy massage, hand on healing, colour and sound healing, crystal healing, hypnotherapy and Past Life Regression, and of course, in depth tarot and crystal ball readings using "Ishbels Temple of Isis Egyptian Tarot", which I believe are very rare and hard to get these days. I shall also read with the Egyptian Cartouche. Also...makeup, face, neck and shoulder massage...in fact everything anyone could need for mind, body and spirit enlightenment and rejuvenation.
Now I need to invest in a new beauticians tunic although if it is the ancient egyptian room then maybe I should wear a galabea?
Whatever...I am thrilled to bits...and its going to be a haven of peace.....and a joy to work in.
You could say I am relaunching myself big time and what so many of you didnt know, was that I have actually had a period of very poor health. Colonoscopy`s, Endoscopy`s, CT scans........at one time I was so ill I thought that "that was it" and then `something` happened..something spiritual...I applied the Universal laws of attraction to heal me..and well..what do you think? Do I look ok to you?
Well I feel it and ready to take up my healing work I used to do regulary many years ago.
As far as the room is concerned.......its only a bit of work...isnt it???? And a fair bit of cash too.but hey ho!
Lets GO for it!!!!!!!!!
Blessings and Love to ALL xx
Because of the expected snow storms tonight, NSR started its special winter service today. Trains are running every 30 minutes only and many commuter trains are cancelled. For the commuter stop of Voorhout this means Intercity trains are stopping here now to pick up passengers.
Because today is Butter & Egg Day Parade in #Petaluma I was thought I would share chicken photos to celebrate the occasion. This Leghorn was obviously the toughest on the block showing his prowess. These photos were taken at Tolay Lake Regional Park. They completely removed the fence on the chicken coop and the chickens are pretty well free to roam wherever they want.
This week was assessment week at swim, and because I am always prepared for the worst case scenario, I assumed that this would be the week Olive decided she hated the pool. But, as usually happens in life, what happened was something I didn’t foresee.
When it was our turn for class, her instructor told the moms to stay on the deck and let the kids enter the pool on their own. “Let’s just see what happens,” she said. We slowly sat down, awkward in our bathing suits, and held our breath a little while we watched our kids handle this new challenge. Which they all did with aplomb.
Ten minutes passed, then twenty and slowly the moms started trickling back to the locker room to change as it became apparent that we weren’t needed. As I watched Olive run through her drills, take turns waiting on the side of the pool and play on the steps with her friends, it dawned that the week before was my last class in the pool with Olive.
I know that we all hate getting into our bathing suits every week and managing getting us both dried and changed at the end of class, but I loved being in the pool with Olive. I loved being right there with her when she mastered something or found joy in something. And like so many things in parenthood, I didn’t realize the last time had already happened.
It was funny to see how all the moms reacted after class. After we had greeted our confident and yet slightly bewildered students with warm towels and high fives. After changing them into their clothes and telling them how proud we were of them. We all slowly left the locker room and sort of congregated in front of the teacher’s area, a little bewildered ourselves. Ms Gigi told us that there would be no more moms in the pool and that all the kids were moving up to their first independent swim class. While we were all excited, we were all a bit stunned, too. Weren’t they just in the water for the first time yesterday? Wasn’t there years of Mommy & Me classes left?
The fact is, this is just the beginning of the letting go process for me. Olive goes to school twice a week but she’s carefully monitored there and her snap decisions don’t put her in danger. At swim, sitting on the side of the pool, I see her making choices. Do I sit in listen, patiently wait my turn and follow directions or do I take a risk and jump in the pool on my own? Do I give into worry and cry a little or do I suck it up and put on a brave face? I’m proud to watch her make good choices even when I’m not there to remind her.
The last few weeks have been emotional ones for me as Olive takes so many steps away from being the baby I’ve always known. But they’ve also been exciting weeks that have shown me a lot about her personality. This summer, her independence will grow even more and my role will change (notice how I didn’t give in and use the word “diminish”). She’ll hopefully start soccer lessons at the end of May and she’ll do two weeks of summer camp later in the summer. We’re going to try swim lessons at night for our next session and she’ll have an instructor we’ve had before who I know will expect a lot out of her.
I’ll have to get used to my new job as mom on the sidelines. I’ll need to brush up on my snack packing and cheerleading. And I’ll be learning to fine tune my ability to derive joy from watching and not experiencing.
(more information and another picture you can see by going to the end of page - and not by clicking on the link because the reaction will not be immediate, first a copy!)
Orangerie (Vienna Schonbrunn)
The Orangerie in castle park Schloss Schönbrunn is the oldest of the four plant houses on the castle grounds in Vienna-Hietzing.
History
A precursor structure of Schönbrunn Palace was the so-called "Katterburg". It was converted into an ornamental pleasure garden. For example, in 1573 wood was demanded to built "fruit rooms".
After prevention of the Turkish threat from Vienna, began work on the castle Schönbrunn under Emperor Leopold I. As in 1700 the Royal household moved into the castle, which had been built according to plans by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, the building still had no orangery and garden design was deeply flawed.
To remedy this circumstance, was Jean Trehet, a French gardener, sent to Paris to inspect the local castle gardens and buy thousands of "taxi-trees" (yews or Taxus baccata).
Although the then by Trehet created garden plan provided an orangery and there is also correspondence concerning the accommodation of bitter orange plants (Pomeranzenpflanzen) in winter, but why just the Schönbrunn Palace not got an orangery, in Baroque period so in vogue, is unclear.
Under Maria Theresa, the main building of Schönbrunn Palace was redesigned by Nicholas Pacassi. By Dutchman Adrian van Hoven the gardens were remodelled and he also carried on the construction of greenhouses in the western part of the complex in the area where today the Sundial House and the Palm House are located.
The construction of the Orangery of Schönbrunn Palace remains opaque.
Unclear is for example from what architect the plans for the building are stemming, since both Jean Nicolas Jadot de Ville-Issey and Nicholas Pacassi worked for the Court at this time. Although Jadot at his departure from Vienna in 1753 left over 100 different plans, but which Pacassi probably did not realize, supported is this by style comparisons.
Another puzzle is the date of the construction of the Orangerie. By the year 1750 can be found in the files of the Court and Construction Authority no evidence for preparatory work or its financing. Between 1754 and 1755, however, the survey officer Jean-Baptiste de Brequin Demenge produced a map that already shows the Orangerie in its present form. A document of Generalhofbaudirektion (General court building directorate) however, complained on July 6, 1783 that the 28-year-old windows of the Orangery have rotted and therefore needed to be replaced. For this reason, up to the present remained unclear when exactly the completion between 1753 and 1755 occured.
The building extends over a length of 189 meters, with the northern Orangery Parterre in front of it a width of 68 meters and a height of 4.7 meters. The south side consists of 39 window axes (20 narrower and lower ones as well as 19 wider and higher ones, alternating with each other). The ten-meter wide interior space is spanned by a vault.
At the east end of the Orangerie adjoins seamlessly the semicircular Cedrathaus. It was built to protect the Pomeranzengarten against the cold easterly winds. The probably later built building was likely used for rearing tropical plants, because it was better suited for this task and the smaller rooms were easier to climatize and to maintain.
Heated was the Schönbrunn Orangery by a hypocaust heating system. The warm air of ten heating chambers was distributed through channels in the floor that were covered with iron plates. The floor is made of bricks, storing the heat. In winter temperatures between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius have been reached.
For events during the cold season, this was not enough, because the Imperial feasts needed additional heating. For this reason, Emperor Franz I. in 1823 another heating system had introduced but which did not meet the requirements of overwintering plants and so Court garden director Philip Welle on December 3, 1839 requested to reactivate the old heating system.
In the Biedermeier, the importance of the Orangerie sank. In the hall, only the plants were hibernated, the orange ground floor was used as a park and orchard.
In the revolutionary year of 1848, military took quarters in Schönbrunn neighborhood and the Orangerie served as a horse stable. One showed increasingly less interested in the building and it was even thought to demolish it.
Saved was the Orangerie by Emperor Franz Joseph I, who stopped the decline of the Orangerie.
Today it is looked after by the Federal Gardens, a department of the Ministry of Life. After a thorough renovation in the 80s, today the Orangerie is a sought-after venue. Since 1997, the company IMaGE Performing Arts Inc. is the sole tenant of the Orangerie. Every night here the Schoenbrunn Palace Concerts take place, which especially with guests from Asian region enjoy great popularity. In addition, the Orangery can also be rented for events, corporate parties, weddings, etc. (see "Orangerie as a venue").
Orangery Parterre
Historic engraving of the gardens of the Orangerie
The term Orangery Parterre refers to the outdoor area of the Orangerie, in those times the plants of the Orangerie invited to stroll - important was their symmetrical placement. However, it was also used for vegetable gardens, as orchard and for smaller greenhouses, which over time became more and more intense.
Originally it extended on both sides of the so-called "Meidling Avenue", which extends from Meidling gate at the end of the Schönbrunner street to the prestigious forecourt of Schönbrunn Palace.
While the citrus trees around 1905 increasingly have been put up in the Castle park of Schönbrunn, was the actual orangery ground floor converted into a fruit and vegetable garden.
Since 1951/1952 the Reserve garden of Schönbrunn had to give way for an extension of the Tiergarten (zoological garden) Schönbrunn, greenhouses and hotbeds were built. The needed boiler house was installed in the most eastern part of the Orangerie, where it remained until 1995. On this occasion, the roof was repaired too.
Rehabilitation
Between 1980 and 1985, these greenhouses were removed again and green spaces laid out in the form in which they had existed during the reign of Maria Theresa.
The by the Schlosshauptmannschaft (administrative authority of the castle) commissioned study on the renovation of the Orangerie could not be realized because the needed funds out of the federal budget were not made available.
Only through the establishment of the Castle Schönbrunn Culture and Operation limited corporation on 1 October 1992 one became independent from the budget plans of the various ministries and could begin working.
The glass doors were replaced. The hall was divided along its length by a glass wall into two sections, which serve for the storage of the plants and as an event hall. For the event hall the necessary ancillary rooms such as cloakrooms and toilets were created.
Orangerie as a venue
Jerome Löschenkohl: The Feast in the Orangerie of Schönbrun - February 7, 1786
During an incognito visit of the Russian heir to the throne - the later Tsar Paul - to Emperor Joseph II in late autumn 1781 there has been feasted in the Orangerie.
On February 6, 1785 organized Emperor Joseph II. in Orangerie a "spring festival on a winter day", which was immortalized by graphic artist Hieronymus Löschenkohl in an engraving. However, he condensed the events in the long room vigorously.
On the occasion of a visit of his sister Marie Christine of Austria and Albert Casimir of Sachsen-Teschen, her husband, organized Emperor Joseph II. on February 7, 1786 another spring festival in winter, which went down in music history. Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart entered into a musical contest to each other.
During the Congress of Vienna on October 11, 1814 was held a feast which served the pastime.
In 1905, in Vienna took place the first International Botanical Congress, with participation of all European countries, the USA, Argentina, China and the Congo. In the Orangery was set up a trade exhibition, which was attended by 13,000 people.
Today, the Orangerie is a sought-after venue for international events, political events, receptions and corporate events, as well as gala dinners and weddings. With "La Vera" an in-house catering is available. At events, on request, also the baroque Orangerie garden can be used. In addition, the Orangery is the parent house of "Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra Vienna", whose concerts have already seen more than 1 million visitors (female and male ones).
Bride myrtle of Maria Theresa
A foster child with an unusual history in the Schoenbrunn Orangery is the Bride myrtle of Maria Theresa.
As from other dynasties, received Maria Theresia in 1736 from the Ottoman Sultan in Constantinople bride gifts that have been brought to Vienna with a mule caravan. Among them was as a living gift a myrtle tree as a symbol of love, which, thanks to the good care, up to now grows well. Just in the fall of 2006 was announced in the news that the Brautmyrte of Maria Theresa had been repotted once again.
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orangerie_(Wien-Sch%C3%B6nbrunn)
the French building near the border of China and Vietnam.. (●'◡'●)
I may have posted similar pics to this with my DSLR, sometimes I will take a pic with my phone first to see if I want to take it again with the DSLR camera.
This is just a cell pic from my Huawei cell phone. I never thought I would be posting my cell pics, but I was not able to travel last year because of Covid, so I am going thru my cell looking for old pics to post.
Our rear living room window, now repainted, from the inside. The only true single-pane window left in the house; this one would be over $1000 to replace thanks to government building codes requiring much more expensive tempered glass to be used, because this window is over stairs and could hurt someone on the stairs when it breaks. So government safety regulations actually made it so expensive to replace that we changed our mind and didn't -- actually making things less safe and less energy efficient. This is how government regulation often has the opposite effect, and are not a magic silver bullet that solves all societal problems. A non-tempered $500 would be safer than these loose panes! But no! Big Brother won't let me get that. So instead it's technically way more dangerous, as any pane could fall out once the glazing compound dries out.
Oops, painted this window shut too.
Sacrificial boards are used a lot in my house. I guess it's an "old wood window thing". I paid a good $5+ for another piece of crown moulding to put over the sill. The idea is that the sacrificial wood rots before the actual sill, much like sacrificial anodes on boats. In this window's case, the old sacrificial board was so rotten you could rip it off the nails and into pieces with your pinky finger. The sill itself was rotted out too. I spent a week or two building it up with successive layers of Elmer's wood filler. It kept raining on my wood filler and I'd have to start over! Eventually, though, it was built up enough to be flat enough to nail a NEW sacrificial board to. Hopefully this is the last paint job this sill will ever need. At some point in the future when we have more disposable income, we'll replace this window. (We need about $5,000 in new windows, so it's going to be awhile...)
And no, we didn't use edgers. We just got paint on the glass. BFD. I'm not focused on the window when I'm looking out of it. That stuff could be razor-bladed off if we cared enough. But what's the point? This window will likely be replaced someday. If we really wanted to, we could fix this with a scraper and a ladder. It would take at least 30 minutes (20 scraping, 10 ladder setup), and require 2 people (Carolyn as the ladder stabilizer, me as the elbow grease). Don't care enough to do that.
house maintenance, kudzu, living room window, sacrificial board.
upstairs, Clint and Carolyn's house, Alexandria, Virginia.
October 14, 2011.
... Read my blog at ClintJCL.wordpress.com
... Read Carolyn's blog at CarolynCASL.wordpress.com
BACKSTORY: So our homeowners insurance (Farmers) got dropped due to having peeling paint on our window sills (among other things). Weak. It was a LOT of work AND money for us to repaint all our sills. Wood windows SUCK!! Modern vinyl windows are MAINTANENCE-FREE!! Wood windows... You gotta re-glaze the panes when they fall out, and then the wood itself is always going to slowly rot away. We already had our cats knock a pane out, so we already had glazing compound for pane repairs. This came in handy when we painted our various window sills, as some also needed glazing compound.
It was quite a pain because it cost so much money and had our living room in disarray for so many months, and the whole insurance basis for the situation was pretty bullshitty in the first place. We're not going to make a property damage claim due to moisture that occurs because our windows let in moisture because their paint was peeling! Ridiculous... Is paint really all that's holding us back from having property damage through our windows? I DON'T THINK SO, as no moisture was getting in prior to repainting. Just total hassling from Farmers *AND* Progressive Insurance. NationWide, however, appears to finally be on my side.
(for further information please click on the link at the end of page!)
Palais Daun-Kinsky
If the Freyung once has been one of the most prestigious residential addresses in town, so for it was next to the Palais Harrach especially the Grand Palais Kinsky responsible. In its place in the middle ages were two parcels, each with a small building. The front part of the Freyung was since the 16th Century always in aristocratic in hands (Bernhard Menesis Freiherr von Schwarzeneck, Countess Furstenberg, Counts Lamberg). 1686 acquired Karl Ferdinand Count Waldstein the house of Count Lamberg. His son bought also the adjacent house in Rose Street (Rosengasse) and united both plots to one parcel. He had three granddaughters, who sold the site in 1709 to Wirich Philipp Laurenz Graf Daun. This came from an old Rhenish nobility. His ancestors were mostly working for the Elector of Trier as officers. In the battle of the Habsburgs against the Turks, Spanish and Frenchmen, he acquired great military merit. He brought it to the General Feldzeugmeister (quartermaster) and Viceroy of Naples. In 1713 he had the house at the Freyung demolished and by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt built in its place until 1716 a palace, him serving as Vienna's city residence. Down may have been Antonio Beduzzi requested the creation of reconstruction plans, but was eventually Hildebrandt entrusted with the work. In 1719, the palace was largely completed. Daun lived there but rarely because he stayed a lot in Italy and in Austria preferred his country castles Ladendorf, Kirchstetten and Pellendorf. In 1746 acquired Johann Joseph Count von Khevenhüller the Palais from Leopold Joseph von Daun, the son of the owner, who happened to be in financial difficulty. The Reichsgraf (count of empire) was appointed in 1763 by the Empress Maria Theresa for his services to the Lord Steward and Lord Chamberlain, and raised to the hereditary imperial princes (princes of the Holy Roman Empire).
Door knocker
He sold the palace in 1764 to the Imperial Councilor President Ferdinand Bonaventura Harrach Count II. This worked as a diplomat, especially in Holland and Italy. At times of Maria Theresa, the building was inhabited by her Swiss Guards until they 1784 moved to their new quarters in Hofstallgebäude (court stable building). Ferdinand Bonaventura's daughter Rosa brought the palace in 1790 into her marriage to Josef Graf Kinsky. Whose family belonged to the Bohemian nobility. Its members appear at the beginning of the 13th Century documented. Wilhelm Freiherr von Kinsky was a colonel and friend of Wallenstein. He was murdered with this 1634 in Eger. His confiscated estates were divided among the assassins. Only two masteries (Chlumez and Bohemian Kamnitz ) remained through the timely change of front of his nephew, Johann Octavian with the family. The Kinsky but succeeded soon to rise again. They occupied again high positions in the administration and the military. 1798 the had modernized their Viennese palace by the architect Ernst Koch inside. Thus, the original Baroque interior was lost. As in 1809 the Frenchmen had occupied Vienna, a french Marshal and General were billeted in the palace. Prince Ferdinand Kinsky was a great patron of Beethoven, which he paid an annual salary of 4,000 florins for life along with two other nobles. In 1856, the Palace was refurbished in the interior by the architect Friedrich Stache. In the 19th Century lived the Princes Kinsky mostly on their Bohemian goods or in Prague. The building was therefore temporarily rented to some posh tenants. So lived here temporarily Field Marshal Radetzky and Archduke Albrecht. 1904 redecorated the French interior designer Armand Decour the piano nobile.
Staircase - second floor
With the end of World War II began a tough time for the Kinsky family. Almost all goods and industrial holdings, with the exception of the hunting lodge Rosenhof at Freistadt lay in Bohemia. By 1929, 50 % of the extensive Bohemian possessions were expropriated. There were still about 12,000 acres, a sugar factory and breweries. 1919 had to be a part of Vienna's Palais force-let. During World War II it was requisitioned by the German army. For fear of air raids the in the palace remaining objects of art were transferred to some Bohemian castles. The Palais Kinsky was not destroyed, its art treasures but remained in Bohemia. After the Second World War, the remaining Czech possessions were lost by nationalization for the family. In the Viennese palace were temporarily housed the embassies of China and Argentina. In 1986 it was sold by Franz Ulrich Prince Kinsky. After several short-term owners, the palace was acquired by the Karl Wlaschek private foundation in 1997. It was generously restored from 1998 to 2000 and adapted for offices and shops. The Grand Ballroom is often used because of its excellent acoustics as a concert hall. Since 1992, acclaimed art auctions are held at the Palais.
The Palais Kinsky is probably next to the Belvedere the most prominent secular work of the great Baroque architect and one of the best preserved baroque palaces in Vienna. Despite multiple changes of ownership and of numerous rearrangements inside the main components such as Baroque facade, vestibule, staircase, hall and gallery remained largely unchanged. The building extends between Freyung and Rosengasse. The property is only 30 meters wide, but three times longer. It was therefore not an easy task to build on it a representative palace with a grand staircase. Hildebrandt but has brilliantly overcome by putting up four floors at 24 m height, and yet preserving the proportions. He grouped the construction with two long side wings and a cross section around two consecutive large courtyards. The pomp and living rooms of the palace are mounted around the first courtyard, while the second contained carriage houses and stables. Here have yet been preserved the marble wall panels with the animal waterings made of cast iron and enamel from the late 19th century. Hildebrandt integrated various parts of the previous building into the new building. The seven-axle face side at the Freyung is divided several times. Stability is procured by the rusticated ground floor with its inserted diamond blocks. On it sit the two residential floors. They are embraced by Corinthian Riesenpilaster (giant pilasters). The mezzanine floor above it features in comparison with the underlying main floor tiny windows.
Hercules
The large windows on the main floor are particularly detailed designed. While the outer pairs of windows possess pagoda-like over roofings, those of the three windows of the central projection are round-arched. The trophies and weapons depicted in the lintel fields refer to the military profession of the owner. Vertically is the extensive looking facade accented by the slightly protruding, tri-part central risalite, the pilasters are decorated much richer than that of the side projections. In the Fantasiekapitelle (fantasy capital) of the pilasters are diamond lattices incorporated, an important component of the coat of arms of the Counts Down. The with figures and trophies decorated attica is over the central part formed as balustrade. The sculptures are believed to originate from Joseph Kracker, representing the gods Minerva, Juno, Hercules, Neptune, Diana and Constantia. Very elegant looks the plastically protruding portal. Its composition goes back to Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt. It is considered one of the most beautiful Baroque portals of Vienna. The draft was submitted in 1713 and carried out until 1715. The richly decorated wooden gate dates from the period around 1856, when it was renewed. It is outside flanked by two, obliquely placed Doric columns that match the rusticated ground floor. Sloped to the inside carry two, on pillar stumps standing atlases (also from Kracker) the entablature with the overlying structured segment gable. On it sit the stone figures of Prudence and Justice. The middle window in between is much richer decorated than the rest of the window openings on the first floor. Instead of the usual trapezoidal over roofings here it is crowned by a cartouche held by two putti. The originally thereon located coat of arms of the owner was replaced after the change of ownership by that of the Kinsky family with three boar's teeth. Above the shield hangs an chain with the Order of the Golden Fleece. Both the gusset of the archway as well as the overlying triglyph frieze are decorated with trophies.
Banquet Hall
If someone passes the portal, so one gets into one, by strong pillars divided three-aisled gatehouse. The massive spatial impression is something mitigated by the large sculptures in the niches. They were created by Joseph Kracker. Among the somewhat restrained stucco decorations you can see the coat of arms of the owner, with its characteristic diamond motif. At this gate hall adjoins the widely embedded and more than twice as high vestibule with its domed ceiling. This transverse oval space is divided by pilasters and Doric columns. The rich stucco decoration of the ceiling provided with lunettes could come from Alberto Camesina or from his workshop. The here used motifs are again relating to the career of the client as a commander. For instance, in the lunette caps are reliefs of Roman soldiers. On the left side of the vestibule leads an anteroom to the grand staircase. It is dominated by a vault carrying Hercules, a work by Lorenzo Mattielli. As the monogram of Charles VI proves, with it the Emperor was meant to be worshiped. In two oval niches stand above the two double doors of the Treppenvorhauses (stairway hall way) busts of Caesar and Emperor Titus Flavius Vespasian. The elongated stairway occupies almost the entire length of the left wing of the first courtyard. In the stairwell are eleven statues of Roman deities in stucco niches. The relatively narrow, crossed grand stairway is considered one of the most beautiful of Vienna. It overall design might go back to Antonio Beduzzi. On the second floor stand on the from winded perforated volute forms constructed stone balustrade four groups of playing or scrapping putti. They serve in part as a lantern holders, partly just as a decoration. The statue cycle in the staircase is a work of Lorenzo Mattielli, but the cherubs are believed to stem from Joseph Kracker. This type of decoration already points to the coming Rococo. A fresco by Carlo Innocenzo Carlone adorns the ceiling. The simulated architecture painted Antonio Beduzzi. The large wall mirror of the staircase were added after 1907 .
Staircase/ceiling fresco
The somewhat playful balustrade leads to the reception rooms on the second floor. The large oval ballroom above the entrance hall is oriented towards the courtyard. Its allegorical ceiling painting stems from Carlo Innocenzo Carlone. The other frescoes are of him and Marcantonio Chiarini. The walls are covered with marble. The room was several times, most recently in 1904 changed structurally. In front of the banquet hall is the former dining room. It is now called Yellow Salon. In 1879/80 was installed in it a choir stalls from the Pressburg Cathedral by Georg Raphael Donner ( 1736) and partly completed. The also acquired confessionals were converted into boxes that are in the antechamber of the second floor today. In the chapel, designed by Hildebrandt, was until 1741 as altarpiece Francesco Solimena's "Holy Family with the Infant John the Baptist". 1778 the sacred space, however, was already desecrated. The altarpiece is already since the 18th Century in Wiener Neustadt Neuklosterkirche (church in Lower Austria). In the cross-section between the first and the second courtyard lay the paneled gallery whose spatial effect in 1856 by an attached conservatory was changed something. Its vaulted ceiling is decorated with frescoes by Carlo Innocenzo Carlone. Marcantonio Chiarini created 1716/18 the quadrature paintings. At it followed a larger hall in which Francesco Solimena's oil painting "Phaeton and Apollo" was located. It can be admired today in the National Gallery in Prague. The hall was later used as a library. Part of the state rooms 1714 was equipped with ceiling paintings by Peter Strudel. In the course of a radical redesign of the building's interior Ernest Koch has cut off all stucco ceilings of the staterooms 1798-1800 and also redesigned the walls. Since 1879 Carl Gangolf Kayser tried to restore the original spatial impression by the of Rudolf von Weyr created new Neo-Baroque stucco ceilings. Only in a few areas (vestibule, staircase, ballroom), the original substance remained. In the palace there are numerous Mamorkamine (marble fireplaces) and stoves from the 18th and 19th Century. The star parquet floors and many original door fittings date from the third quarter of the 19th Century. The facades of the first courtyard are structured by Tuscan pilasters. The arcades on the ground floor have already been closed in 1753. The with a mascaron decorated wall fountain is a work of Rudolf von Weyr. The second courtyard is kept simple. Remarkable at it rear end is the cenotaph for the current owner Karl Wlaschek.
Location/Address: 1010 Vienna, Freyung 4
Activities: The courtyards are freely accessible, the staircase usually also. A look at the state rooms is only possible if these are not just rented.