“There are the barn stars, and then there are the hex signs.”

 

There are two opposing schools of belief regarding the derivation of the name. The term hex with occult connotations may derive from the Pennsylvania German word "hex" (German "Hexe", Dutch "Heks"), meaning "witch". However, the term "hex sign" was not used until the 20th century, after 1924 when Wallace Nutting's book Pennsylvania Beautiful was published.[8] Nutting, who was not a Pennsylvania native, interviewed farmers about their distinctive barn decoration. Before this time there was no standardized term and many Pennsylvania German farmers simply called the signs "blume" or "sterne" (meaning flowers or stars). However one farmer used the term "Hexefoos" (meaning 'witch foot') in his description.[9] The term became popular with Pennsylvania Germans themselves during the blossoming tourist trade of southeastern Pennsylvania.

 

These signs were traditionally adorned with six-pointed stars. There is also the belief that the origin leading to the word "hex sign" is that English settlers mispronounced the German word for six, "sechs", as "hex".

 

In recent years, hex signs have come to be used by non–Pennsylvania Dutch persons as talismans for folk magic rather than as items of decoration. Some believe that both the Pennsylvania German barn design and hex designs originate with the Alpine Germans. They note that hexes are of pre-Christian Germanic origin; for instance, a circled rosette is called the Sun of the Alps in Padania (the Po Valley). Based on this history, neopagans have taken up the practice of creating hex signs, incorporating other pre-Christian signs and symbols into the hex work. Gandee, in his book Strange Experience, Autobiography of a Hexenmeister, described hex signs as "painted prayers".

 

Some view the designs as decorative symbols of ethnic identification, possibly originating in reaction to 19th century attempts made by the government to suppress the Pennsylvania German language. Anabaptist sects, such as the Amish and Mennonites, in the region have a negative view of hex signs, and they are rarely, if ever, seen on an Amish or Mennonite household or farm.

Residents of Chesterfield will know that the Chesterfield Hotel is no more. I've photographed this through the last few years until its demolition. The following history is courtesy of Chesterfield Civic Society:

The Chesterfield Hotel was built in 1876–7, a few years after the Midland Railway rebuilt its station at Chesterfield on its present site.

The hotel, which is built of brick with pitched slate roofs on a quadrangular plan around a central courtyard, was extended three times.

Known for most of its life as the Station Hotel, it was renamed the Chesterfield Hotel in the 1980s, presumably because the older name had rather down-at-heel connotations, although the later name was essentially meaningless.

The Station Hotel set out from the start to be Chesterfield’s leading hotel. For much of the twentieth century it was one of Mansfield Brewery’s leading residential houses and was featured a good deal in the company’s advertising. It was a three-star hotel, whereas its nearest rival, the Hotel Portland of 1899, also a railway hotel, was Chesterfield’s two-star hotel.

For many local people, the hotel is probably most affectionately remembered as a function venue, rather than as somewhere to stay.

The setting of the hotel was not improved by the decision to sever Corporation Street as a motor road when the Inner Relief Road was built, separating it from the other commercial buildings higher up the street, and leaving it in not very splendid isolation, flanked by minor roads on three sides and the Inner Relief Road on the fourth.

Hotels of this sort in not particularly wealthy medium-sized provincial towns have not had an easy time in recent decades and for most local people it was probably disappointing, rather than surprising, when it ceased trading. It must have been a very expensive building to maintain and, despite the efforts of recent operators, was arguably doomed from the day the Casa opened on Whittington Moor. These show the start of its demolition.

Jami Masjid, Champaner, Gujarat, India

 

Jami Masjid (also known as, Jama Masjid; meaning "public mosque") in Champaner, Gujarat state, western India, is part of the Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is among the 114 monuments there which are listed by the Baroda Heritage Trust. It is located about 150 feet (46 m) east of the city walls (Jahdnpandh), near the east gate.

 

The mosque dates to 1513; construction was carried out over 25 years. It is one of the most notable monuments built by Sultan Mahmud Begada. The Mughal architecture is said to have drawn from the architecture of the Sultanates, which is a blend of Hindu religious connotations and workmanship with Muslim ethos; the large domes are indicative of such a mix.Restoration works were carried out in the 1890s.

SN/NC: Corvus Brachyrhynchos, Corvidae Family

 

The American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) is a large passerine bird species of the family Corvidae. It is a common bird found throughout much of North America. American crows are the New World counterpart to the carrion crow and the hooded crow. Although the American crow and the hooded crow are very similar in size, structure and behavior, their calls and visual appearance are different. The American crow, nevertheless, occupies the same ecological niche that the hooded crow and carrion crow do in Eurasia.

Males tend to be larger than females. The most usual call is CaaW!-CaaW!-CaaW!. Plumage is all black, with iridescent feathers. It looks much like other all-black corvids. They are very intelligent, and adaptable to human environments. They have the same brain-weight-to-body ratio as humans. They are considered an agricultural pest, and are subject to hunting and management. The actual effect of crows on agriculture though, has been poorly studied. There is some suggestion that they may be a benefit to farmers, by eating insect pests and chasing off livestock predators like hawks.

The American crow was described by German ornithologist Christian Ludwig Brehm in 1822. Its scientific name means literally 'short-billed crow', from Ancient Greek βραχυ- brachy- ('short-') and ρυνχος rhynchos ('billed'). The most usual call is a loud, short, and rapid caaw-caaw-caaw. Usually, the birds thrust their heads up and down as they utter this call. American crows can also produce a wide variety of sounds and sometimes mimic noises made by other animals, including other birds such as barred owls.

They are able to steal food from other species, often in creative ways. One example shows a group of crows stealing a fish from a Northern river otter: one bird pecked the otter's tail to distract it while other birds swooped in and stole the fish. They are able to use and modify tools.

Crows are a motif in human culture, often associated with death, thieves, graveyards, bad luck, and other negative connotations.

 

O corvo americano é um pássaro comum encontrado em grande parte da América do Norte. Os corvos americanos são a contrapartida do Novo Mundo para o corvo carniça e o corvo encapuzado. Os machos tendem a ser maiores que as fêmeas. A chamada mais comum é CaaW!-CaaW!-CaaW!. A plumagem é toda preta, com penas iridescentes. Parece muito com outros corvídeos totalmente pretos. Eles são muito inteligentes e adaptáveis aos ambientes humanos. Eles têm a mesma proporção cérebro-peso-corpo que os humanos. O corvo americano foi descrito pelo ornitólogo alemão Christian Ludwig Brehm em 1822. Seu nome científico significa literalmente 'corvo de bico curto', do grego antigo βραχυ- brachy- ('curto-') e ρυνχος rhynchos ('faturado'). Os corvos são um motivo na cultura humana, muitas vezes associados à morte, ladrões, cemitérios, má sorte e outras conotações negativas.

 

Il corvo americano è un uccello comune che si trova in gran parte del Nord America. I corvi americani sono la controparte del Nuovo Mondo della cornacchia nera e della cornacchia grigia. I maschi tendono ad essere più grandi delle femmine. La chiamata più comune è CaaW!-CaaW!-CaaW!. Il piumaggio è tutto nero, con piume cangianti. Assomiglia molto ad altri corvidi completamente neri. Sono molto intelligenti e adattabili agli ambienti umani. Hanno lo stesso rapporto cervello-peso-corpo degli esseri umani. Il corvo americano fu descritto dall'ornitologo tedesco Christian Ludwig Brehm nel 1822. Il suo nome scientifico significa letteralmente \"corvo dal becco corto\", dal greco antico βραχυ- brachy- (\"corto\") e ρυνχος rhynchos (\"fatturato\"). I corvi sono un motivo nella cultura umana, spesso associati a morte, ladri, cimiteri, sfortuna e altre connotazioni negative.

 

De Amerikaanse kraai is een veel voorkomende vogel die in een groot deel van Noord-Amerika voorkomt. Amerikaanse kraaien zijn de tegenhanger van de Nieuwe Wereld van de zwarte kraai en de bonte kraai. Mannetjes zijn meestal groter dan vrouwtjes. De meest gebruikelijke aanroep is CaaW!-CaaW!-CaaW!. Het verenkleed is helemaal zwart, met iriserende veren. Het lijkt veel op andere volledig zwarte corvids. Ze zijn erg intelligent en passen zich aan de menselijke omgeving aan. Ze hebben dezelfde verhouding tussen hersengewicht en lichaam als mensen. De Amerikaanse kraai werd in 1822 beschreven door de Duitse ornitholoog Christian Ludwig Brehm. De wetenschappelijke naam betekent letterlijk 'kortsnavelkraai', uit het Oudgrieks βραχυ- brachy- ('kort-') en ρυνχος rhynchos ('gefactureerd'). Kraaien zijn een motief in de menselijke cultuur, vaak geassocieerd met de dood, dieven, begraafplaatsen, pech en andere negatieve connotaties.

 

La corneille d'Amérique est un oiseau commun que l'on trouve dans une grande partie de l'Amérique du Nord. Les corbeaux d'Amérique sont l'homologue du Nouveau Monde de la corneille noire et de la corneille mantelée. Les mâles ont tendance à être plus gros que les femelles. L'appel le plus courant est CaaW!-CaaW!-CaaW!. Le plumage est tout noir, avec des plumes irisées. Il ressemble beaucoup aux autres corvidés entièrement noirs. Ils sont très intelligents et adaptables aux environnements humains. Ils ont le même rapport cerveau-poids-corps que les humains. Le corbeau d'Amérique a été décrit par l'ornithologue allemand Christian Ludwig Brehm en 1822. Son nom scientifique signifie littéralement « corbeau à bec court », du grec ancien βραχυ- brachy- ('court-') et ρυνχος rhynchos ('facturé'). Les corbeaux sont un motif dans la culture humaine, souvent associé à la mort, aux voleurs, aux cimetières, à la malchance et à d'autres connotations négatives.

 

El cuervo americano es un ave común que se encuentra en gran parte de América del Norte. Los cuervos americanos son la contraparte del Nuevo Mundo del cuervo carroñero y el cuervo encapuchado. Los machos tienden a ser más grandes que las hembras. La llamada más habitual es CaaW!-CaaW!-CaaW!. El plumaje es todo negro, con plumas iridiscentes. Se parece mucho a otros córvidos completamente negros. Son muy inteligentes y adaptables a los entornos humanos. Tienen la misma proporción cerebro-peso-cuerpo que los humanos. El cuervo americano fue descrito por el ornitólogo alemán Christian Ludwig Brehm en 1822. Su nombre científico significa literalmente 'cuervo de pico corto', del griego antiguo βραχυ- brachy- ('corto-') y ρυνχος rhynchos ('pico'). Los cuervos son un motivo en la cultura humana, a menudo asociados con la muerte, los ladrones, los cementerios, la mala suerte y otras connotaciones negativas.

 

Die amerikanische Krähe ist ein weit verbreiteter Vogel, der in weiten Teilen Nordamerikas vorkommt. Amerikanische Krähen sind das Gegenstück zur Rabenkrähe und der Nebelkrähe in der Neuen Welt. Männchen sind tendenziell größer als Weibchen. Der gebräuchlichste Ruf ist CaaW!-CaaW!-CaaW!. Das Gefieder ist ganz schwarz mit schillernden Federn. Es sieht aus wie andere komplett schwarze Rabenvögel. Sie sind sehr intelligent und anpassungsfähig an menschliche Umgebungen. Sie haben das gleiche Gehirn-Gewicht-zu-Körper-Verhältnis wie Menschen. Die amerikanische Krähe wurde 1822 vom deutschen Ornithologen Christian Ludwig Brehm beschrieben. Ihr wissenschaftlicher Name bedeutet wörtlich „Kurzschnabelkrähe", aus dem Altgriechischen βραχυ- brachy- („kurz") und ρυνχος rhynchos („berechnet"). Krähen sind ein Motiv in der menschlichen Kultur, das oft mit Tod, Dieben, Friedhöfen, Pech und anderen negativen Konnotationen in Verbindung gebracht wird.

 

الغراب الأمريكي هو طائر شائع موجود في معظم أنحاء أمريكا الشمالية. الغربان الأمريكية هي نظير العالم الجديد لغراب الجيف والغراب المقنع. تميل الذكور إلى أن تكون أكبر من الإناث. المكالمة الأكثر شيوعًا هي CaaW! -CaaW! -CaaW !. الريش كله أسود ، مع ريش قزحي الألوان. يشبه إلى حد كبير الغرابيات السوداء الأخرى. إنهم أذكياء للغاية وقابلون للتكيف مع البيئات البشرية. لديهم نفس نسبة وزن الدماغ إلى الجسم مثل البشر. وصف عالم الطيور الألماني كريستيان لودفيج بريم الغراب الأمريكي في عام 1822. ويعني اسمه العلمي حرفياً "الغراب قصير المنقار" ، من اليونانية القديمة βραχυ- brachy- ("short-") و ρυνχος rhynchos ("تمت الفاتورة"). الغربان هي فكرة في الثقافة الإنسانية ، وغالبًا ما ترتبط بالموت واللصوص والمقابر والحظ السيئ وغيرها من الدلالات السلبية.

 

アメリカのカラスは、北アメリカの大部分で見られる一般的な鳥です。 アメリカのカラスは、ハシボソガラスとフード付きのカラスに対応する新世界のカラスです。 男性は女性よりも大きい傾向があります。 最も一般的な呼び出しは CaaW!-CaaW!-CaaW! です。 羽毛はすべて黒く、虹色の羽があります。 他の真っ黒なカラスとよく似ています。 彼らは非常に知的で、人間の環境に適応します。 彼らは人間と同じ脳重量対体比を持っています。 アメリカのカラスは、1822 年にドイツの鳥類学者 Christian Ludwig Brehm によって記述されました。その学名は、古代ギリシャ語の βραχυ-brachy- (「短い」) と ρυνχος rhynchos (「請求された」) に由来し、文字通り「短い請求のカラス」を意味します。 カラスは人間文化のモチーフであり、しばしば死、泥棒、墓地、不運、その他の否定的な意味合いに関連付けられています.

 

R.I.P. George (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008).

 

George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, actor and author who won four Grammy Awards for his comedy albums.

 

Carlin was especially noted for his political and black humor and his observations on language, psychology, and religion along with many taboo subjects. Carlin and his "Seven Dirty Words" comedy routine were central to the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, in which a narrow 5-4 decision by the justices affirmed the government's right to regulate Carlin's act on the public airwaves.

 

Carlin's most recent stand-up routines focused on the flaws in modern-day America. He often took on contemporary political issues in the United States and satirized the excesses of American culture.

 

He placed second on the Comedy Central cable television network list of the 10 greatest stand-up comedians, ahead of Lenny Bruce and behind Richard Pryor. He was a frequent performer and guest host on The Tonight Show during the three - decade Johnny Carson era, and was also the first person to host Saturday Night Live.

 

Early life and career -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

 

George Denis Patrick Carlin was born in New York City, the son of Mary (née Bearey), a secretary, and Patrick Carlin, a national advertising manager for the New York Sun. Carlin was of Irish descent and was raised in the Roman Catholic faith.

 

Carlin grew up on West 121st Street, in a neighborhood of Manhattan which he later said, in a stand-up routine, he and his friends called "White Harlem", because that sounded a lot tougher than its real name of Morningside Heights. He was raised by his mother, who left his father when Carlin was two years old. At age 14 Carlin dropped out of Cardinal Hayes High School and later joined the United States Air Force, training as a radar technician. He was stationed at Barksdale AFB in Bossier City, Louisiana.

 

During this time he began working as a disc jockey on KJOE, a radio station based in the nearby city of Shreveport. He did not complete his Air Force enlistment. Labeled an "unproductive airman" by his superiors, Carlin was discharged on July 29, 1957. In 1959, Carlin and Jack Burns began as a comedy team when both were working for radio station KXOL in Fort Worth, Texas. After successful performances at Fort Worth's beat coffeehouse, The Cellar, Burns and Carlin headed for California in February 1960 and stayed together for two years as a team before moving on to individual pursuits.

 

1960s

 

In the 1960s, Carlin began appearing on television variety shows, notably The Ed Sullivan Show. His most famous routines were:

* The Indian Sergeant ("You wit' the beads... get outta line")

* Stupid disc jockeys ("Wonderful WINO...") — "The Beatles' latest record, when played backwards at slow speed, says 'Dummy! You're playing it backwards at slow speed!'"

* Al Sleet, the "hippie-dippie weatherman" — "Tonight's forecast: Dark. Continued dark throughout most of the evening, with some widely-scattered light towards morning."

* Jon Carson — the "world never known, and never to be known"

 

Variations on the first three of these routines appear on Carlin's 1967 debut album, Take Offs and Put Ons, recorded live in 1966 at The Roostertail in Detroit, Michigan.

 

During this period, Carlin became more popular as a frequent performer and guest host on The Tonight Show during the Johnny Carson era, becoming one of Carson's most frequent substitutes during the host's three-decade reign. Carlin was also cast on Away We Go, a 1967 comedy show.

 

Carlin was present at Lenny Bruce's arrest for obscenity. According to legend the police began attempting to detain members of the audience for questioning, and asked Carlin for his identification. Telling the police he did not believe in government issued IDs, he was arrested and taken to jail with Bruce in the same vehicle.

 

Eventually, Carlin changed both his routines and his appearance. He lost some TV bookings by dressing strangely for a comedian of the time, wearing faded jeans and sporting a beard and earrings at a time when clean-cut, well-dressed comedians were in vogue. Using his own persona as a springboard for his new comedy, he was presented by Ed Sullivan in a performance of "The Hair Piece," and quickly regained his popularity as the public caught on to his sense of style.

 

In this period he also perfected what is perhaps his best-known routine, "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television", recorded on Class Clown. Carlin was arrested on July 21, 1972 at Milwaukee's Summerfest and charged with violating obscenity laws after performing this routine.[28] The case, which prompted Carlin to refer to the words for a time as, "The Milwaukee Seven", was dismissed in December of that year; the judge declared the language indecent, stating that the language was indecent but cited free speech, as well as the lack of any disturbance. In 1973, a man complained to the FCC that his son had heard a later, similar routine, "Filthy Words", from Occupation: Foole, broadcast one afternoon over WBAI, a Pacifica Foundation FM radio station in New York City. Pacifica received a citation from the FCC, which sought to fine Pacifica for allegedly violating FCC regulations which prohibited broadcasting "obscene" material. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the FCC action, by a vote of 5 to 4, ruling that the routine was "indecent but not obscene" and the FCC had authority to prohibit such broadcasts during hours when children were likely to be among the audience. F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978). The court documents contain a complete transcript of the routine.

 

The controversy only increased Carlin's fame (or notoriety). Carlin eventually expanded the dirty-words theme with a seemingly interminable end to a performance (ending with his voice fading out in one HBO version and accompanying the credits in the Carlin at Carnegie special for the 1982-83 season) and a set of 49 web pages organized by subject and embracing his "Incomplete List Of Impolite Words".

 

Carlin was the first-ever host of NBC's Saturday Night Live, debuting on October 11, 1975. (He also hosted SNL on November 10, 1984, where he actually appeared in sketches. The first time he hosted, he only appeared to perform stand-up and introduce the guest acts.) The following season, 1976-77, Carlin also appeared regularly on CBS Television's Tony Orlando & Dawn variety series.

 

Carlin unexpectedly stopped performing regularly in 1976, when his career appeared to be at its height. For the next five years, he rarely appeared to perform stand-up, although it was at this time he began doing specials for HBO as part of its On Location series. His first two HBO specials aired in 1977 and 1978. It was later revealed that Carlin had suffered the first of his three non-fatal heart attacks during this layoff period.

 

1980s and 1990s ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

 

In 1981, Carlin returned to the stage, releasing A Place For My Stuff, and he returned to HBO and New York City with the Carlin at Carnegie TV special, videotaped at Carnegie Hall and airing during the 1982-83 season. Carlin continued doing HBO specials every year or every other year over the following decade-and-a-half. All of Carlin's albums from this time forward are the HBO specials.

 

Carlin's acting career was primed with a major supporting role in the 1987 comedy hit Outrageous Fortune, starring Bette Midler and Shelley Long; it was his first notable screen role after a handful of previous guest roles on television series. Playing drifter Frank Madras, the role poked fun at the lingering effect of the 1960s psychedelic counterculture. In 1989, he gained popularity with a new generation of teens when he was cast as Rufus, the time-traveling mentor of the titular characters in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and reprised his role in the film sequel Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey as well as the first season of the cartoon series. In 1991, he provided the narrative voice for the American version of the children's show Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, a role he continued until 1998. He played "Mr. Conductor" on the PBS children's show Shining Time Station which featured Thomas from 1991 to 1993 as well as Shining Time Station TV specials in 1995 and Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales in 1996. Also in 1991, Carlin had a major supporting role in the movie The Prince of Tides along with Nick Nolte and Barbra Streisand.

 

Carlin began a weekly Fox Broadcasting sitcom, The George Carlin Show, in 1993, playing New York City cab driver "George O'Grady". He quickly included a variation of the "Seven Words" in the plot. The show ran 27 episodes through December 1995.

 

In 1997, his first hardcover book, Brain Droppings, was published, and sold over 750,000 copies as of 2001. Carlin was honored at the 1997 Aspen Comedy Festival with a retrospective George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy hosted by Jon Stewart.

 

In 1999, Carlin played a supporting role as a satirically marketing-oriented Roman Catholic cardinal in filmmaker Kevin Smith's movie Dogma. He worked with Smith again with a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and later played an atypically serious role in Jersey Girl, as the blue collar dad of Ben Affleck's character.

 

2000's --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

 

In 2001, Carlin was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 15th Annual American Comedy Awards.

 

In December 2003, California U.S. Representative Doug Ose introduced a bill (H.R. 3687) to outlaw the broadcast of Carlin's seven "dirty words", including "compound use (including hyphenated compounds) of such words and phrases with each other or with other words or phrases, and other grammatical forms of such words and phrases (including verb, adjective, gerund, participle, and infinitive forms)". (The bill omits "tits", but includes "ass" and "asshole", which were not part of Carlin's original routine.)

 

The following year, Carlin was fired from his headlining position at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas after an altercation with his audience. After a poorly received set filled with dark references to suicide bombings and beheadings, Carlin stated that he couldn't wait to get out of "this fucking hotel" and Las Vegas in general, claiming he wanted to go back East "where the real people are". He continued to insult his audience, stating:

 

"People who go to Las Vegas, you've got to question their fucking intellect to start with. Traveling hundreds and thousands of miles to essentially give your money to a large corporation is kind of fucking moronic. That's what I'm always getting here is these kind of fucking people with very limited intellects."

 

An audience member shouted back that Carlin should "stop degrading us", at which point Carlin responded "Thank you very much, whatever that was. I hope it was positive; if not, well blow me." He was immediately fired by MGM Grand and soon after announced he would enter rehab for drug and alcohol addiction.

 

For years, Carlin had performed regularly as a headliner in Las Vegas. He began a tour through the first half of 2006, and had a new HBO Special on November 5, 2005 entitled Life is Worth Losing, which was shown live from the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Topics covered included suicide, natural disasters (and the impulse to see them escalate in severity), cannibalism, genocide, human sacrifice, threats to civil liberties in America, and how an argument can be made that humans are inferior to animals.

 

On February 1, 2006, Carlin mentioned to the crowd, during his Life is Worth Losing set at the Tachi Palace Casino in Lemoore, California, that he had been discharged from the hospital only six weeks previously for "heart failure" and "pneumonia", citing the appearance as his "first show back".

 

Carlin provided the voice of Fillmore, a character in the Disney / Pixar animated feature Cars, which opened in theaters on June 9, 2006. The character Fillmore is a VW Microbus with a psychedelic paint job, whose front license plate reads "51237" — Carlin's birthday.

 

Carlin's last HBO stand-up special, It's Bad for Ya, aired live on March 1, 2008 in Santa Rosa, CA at the Wells Fargo Center For The Arts. Many of the themes that appeared in this HBO special included "American Bullshit", "Rights", "Death", "Old Age", and "Child Rearing". Carlin had been working the new material for this HBO special for several months prior in concerts all over the country.

 

On June 18, 2008, four days before his death, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC announced that Carlin would be the 2008 honoree of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to be awarded in November of that year.

 

Personal life ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

 

In 1961, Carlin married Brenda Hosbrook (born June 12, 1939, died May 11, 1997), whom he had met while touring the previous year, in her parents' living room in Dayton, Ohio. The couple had a daughter, Kelly, in 1963. In 1971, George and Brenda renewed their wedding vows in Las Vegas, Nevada. Brenda died of liver cancer a day before Carlin's 60th birthday, in 1997.

 

Carlin later married Sally Wade on June 24, 1998, and the marriage lasted until his death - two days before their tenth anniversary.

 

In December 2004, Carlin announced that he would be voluntarily entering a drug rehabilitation facility to receive treatment for his dependency on alcohol and painkillers.

 

Carlin did not vote and often criticized elections as an illusion of choice. He said he last voted for George McGovern, who ran for President in 1972 against Richard Nixon.

 

Religion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

 

Although raised in the Roman Catholic faith, Carlin often denounced the idea of God in interviews and performances, most notably with his "Invisible Man in the Sky" and "There Is No God" routines. In mockery, he invented the parody religion Frisbeetarianism for a newspaper contest. He defined it as the belief that when a person dies "his soul gets flung onto a roof, and just stays there", and cannot be retrieved.

 

Carlin also joked that he worshipped the Sun, because he could actually see it, but prayed to Joe Pesci (a good friend of his in real life) because "he's a good actor", and "looks like a guy who can get things done!"

 

Carlin also introduced the "Two Commandments", a revised "pocket-sized" list of the Ten Commandments in his HBO special Complaints and Grievances, ending with the additional commandment of "Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself."

 

Themes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

 

Carlin's themes have been known for causing considerable controversy in the American media. His most usual topic was (in his words) humanity's "bullshit", which might include murder, genocide, war, rape, corruption, religion and other aspects of human civilization. His delivery frequently treated these subjects in a misanthropic and nihilistic fashion, such as in his statement during the Life is Worth Losing show: "I look at it this way... For centuries now, man has done everything he can to destroy, defile, and interfere with nature: clear-cutting forests, strip-mining mountains, poisoning the atmosphere, over-fishing the oceans, polluting the rivers and lakes, destroying wetlands and aquifers... so when nature strikes back, and smacks him on the head and kicks him in the nuts, I enjoy that. I have absolutely no sympathy for human beings whatsoever. None. And no matter what kind of problem humans are facing, whether it's natural or man-made, I always hope it gets worse."

 

Language, from the obscene to the innocuous, had always been a focus of Carlin's work. Euphemisms that seek to distort and lie, and generally the use of pompous, presumptuous and downright silly language are often the target of Carlin's works.

 

Carlin also gave special attention to prominent topics in American Culture and Western Culture, such as: obsession with fame and celebrity, consumerism, Christianity, political alienation, corporate control, hypocrisy, child raising, fast food diet, news stations, self-help publications, patriotism, sexual taboos, certain uses of technology and surveillance, and pro-life, among many others.

 

Carlin openly communicated in his shows and in his interviews that his purpose for existence was entertainment, that he was "here for the show". He professed a hearty schadenfreude in watching the rich spectrum of humanity slowly self-destruct, in his estimation, of its own design; saying, "When you're born, you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America, you get a front-row seat." He acknowledged that this is a very selfish thing, especially since he included large human catastrophes as entertainment.

 

In a late-1990s interview with radio talk show host Art Bell, he remarked about his view of human life: "I think we're already 'circling the drain' as a species, and I'd love to see the circles get a little faster and a little shorter."

 

In the same interview, he recounted his experience of a California earthquake in the early-1970s as: "...an amusement park ride. Really, I mean it's such a wonderful thing to realize that you have absolutely no control... and to see the dresser move across the bedroom floor unassisted... is just exciting." Later he summarized: "I really think there's great human drama in destruction and nature unleashed and I don't get enough of it."

 

A routine in Carlin's 1999 HBO special You Are All Diseased focusing on airport security leads up to the statement: "Take a fucking chance! Put a little fun in your life! ... most Americans are soft and frightened and unimaginative and they don't realize there's such a thing as dangerous fun, and they certainly don't recognize a good show when they see one."

 

Carlin had always included politics as part of his material (along with the wordplay and sex jokes), but by the mid-1980s had become a strident social critic, in both his HBO specials and the book compilations of his material. His HBO viewers got an especially sharp taste of this in his take on the Ronald Reagan administration during the 1988 special What Am I Doing In New Jersey? broadcast live from the Park Theatre in Union City, New Jersey.

 

Death ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

 

On June 22, 2008, Carlin was admitted to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California after complaining of chest pain. He died later that day at 5:55 p.m. PDT of heart failure at the age of 71.

 

*************************************************************************************************

 

Comics Remember George Carlin: George Carlin Inspired a Generation of Comedians with His Groundbreaking Humor

By CLOE SHASHA

June 23, 2008

 

George Carlin gave more to his fellow comedians, actors and writers than a good laugh.

 

Responding to news of Carlin's death from heart failure at the age of 71, fellow funny men and women spoke about his groundbreaking humor, his brilliant mind, his big heart, and the effect he had on them and their profession.

 

"If there was ever a comedian who was a voice of their generation it was George Carlin," comedian and "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno told ABCNEWS.com. "Before George, comedians aspired to put on nice suits and perform in Las Vegas. George rebelled against that life. His comedy took on privilege and elitism, even railing against the game of golf. He never lost that fire. May he continue to inspire young people never to accept the status quo."

 

"George Carlin was a hugely influential force in stand-up comedy, actor Ben Stiller told ABCNEWS.com. "He had an amazing mind, and his humor was brave, and always challenging us to look at ourselves and question our belief systems, while being incredibly entertaining. He was one of the greats and he will be missed."

 

Comedian Mike Myers, currently starring in "The Love Guru," told ABCNEWS.com: "George Carlin is one of the greatest comedians that ever lived. His irreverence, bravery, and the fact that he was his own man, has served as an inspiration to me and he will be sorely missed."

 

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel concisely expressed his esteem for Carlin. "Free speech never had a better or funnier friend than George Carlin," he told ABCNEWS.com.

 

Jack Burns, who performed in a comedy duo with Carlin, called Carlin a genius.

 

"I will miss him dearly," Burns told the Associated Press. "We were working in Chicago, and we went to see Lenny (Bruce), and we were both blown away. It was an epiphany for George. The comedy we were doing at the time wasn't exactly groundbreaking, and George knew then that he wanted to go in a different direction."

 

Whoopi Goldberg, co-host of "The View," paid tribute to Carlin on Monday's show.

 

"George Carlin was one of the first guys to inspire me that you could actually talk about stuff you knew," Goldberg said. "Him and Rich [Pryor], for me, two of the greats are gone, and I wanted to acknowledge that they're gone."

 

"The View" co-host Joy Behar also said she was affected by Carlin's death. "I just feel terrible when a comedian dies," Behar said. "Especially George Carlin, a wonderful comedian -- a trailblazer and an extremely brave comedian."

 

"The last of the great comics has left us, only to join the great comedy club in the sky," Rain Pryor, Richard Pryor's daughter, told ABCNEWS.com. "I will miss you, Mr. Carlin, as the world missed my father. Give Dad a hug for me!"

 

"Carlin was brilliant," Richard Pryor's writer Paul Mooney told ABCNEWS.com. "The world has lost a genius; the world has lost a mensch."

 

Caroline Hirsch, a comedian on Broadway who produced the show "Caroline's Comedy Hour" and started Caroline's Comedy Club in New York for rising comedians, commented on Carlin's success.

 

"He was so prolific," she told ABCNEWS.com. "He had so many stand-up specials, was just smart, brilliant and really a social commentator of the time. I remember in the 60s -- I mean, that's how I really got hooked on comedy -- he was a major factor in that. And it felt so good to meet this legend years later."

 

"George Carlin was The Beatles of stand-up comedy," Bill Hader, an actor ("Superbad") and comedian on "Saturday Night Live," told ABCNEWS.com. "His influence can be felt in every stand-up comedian today. His jokes were the first act I ever learned. I would spend recess performing it for all my friends."

 

Judd Apatow, a director of comedies, such as "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up," recalled his childhood days following Carlin's comedy. "Nobody was funnier than George Carlin," Apatow told ABCNEWS.com. "I spent half my childhood in my room listening to his records, experiencing pure joy. And he was as kind as he was funny."

 

"He was one of the big ones," celebrity comedian Joan Rivers told ABCNEWS.com. "He was fearless in his comedy."

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Carlin's `7 words you can't say on TV': Overheard?

 

By FRAZIER MOORE.

 

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 30 years after George Carlin pronounced "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television," some of those words have lost their sting.

 

Some of those words still aren't welcome on the public airwaves (or, for that matter, in print) and they are still being debated in the courts.

 

But you can hear those words voiced in everyday discourse more than ever.

 

Carlin, who died Sunday at age 71, observed in his routine: "We have thoughts, but thoughts are fluid. Then we assign a word to a thought and we're stuck with that word for that thought — so be careful with words."

 

Good advice.

 

Carlin's seven words, he would caution ironically, "are the ones that'll infect your soul, curve your spine, and keep the country from winning the war."

 

Or course, times — and wars — have changed. At least one of Carlin's words (a rude term for urine) wouldn't raise an eyebrow on much of broadcast TV now.

 

Meanwhile, none of them is alien to premium cable. For many viewers, hearing those Words You Can't Say On Television being said on television helps make pay cable worth paying for.

 

Those words were heard on television in 1977, on Carlin's first HBO comedy special.

 

They fall into predictable categories: bodily waste; sexual acts (both socially acceptable and frowned upon); and female body parts.

 

"When he used those words he wasn't just trying to shock," said Richard Zoglin, who wrote about Carlin in his recent book, "Comedy at the Edge: How Standup in the 1970s Changed America."

 

"He was trying to make a statement that's familiar today, but wasn't so familiar back then: 'Why do we have this irrational fear of words?'"

 

Of this Magnificent Seven, only one, which refers to the female anatomy, retains the power to jolt nearly anyone within earshot. On an HBO sitcom a couple of years ago, the angry husband used this word to insult his wife. It nearly wrecked their marriage. More tellingly, the studio audience emitted an audible gasp.

 

Premium cable, and even basic cable, have far more freedom with content than broadcast programming, which is carried on public airwaves by stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission.

 

For broadcast, The Words are actually words the FCC says can't be heard before 10 p.m. — when the "safe harbor" for young viewers applies. But exactly what those words are, and under what circumstances they may be permissible, is currently unclear.

 

"The networks are being careful, because even in this kind of flux, you don't want to push too far," said T. Barton Carter, Boston University professor of communications and law. "Vagueness and inconsistencies in regulation can have a chilling effect on broadcasters."

 

The picture is further muddied by the fact that 80 to 90 percent of viewers get all their programming (from broadcast stations as well as cable networks) through their cable or satellite subscription, Carter added. Different indecency standards apply to channels whose difference is often undetectable to the audience.

 

The uncertain regulatory climate led to PBS distributing two versions of the Ken Burns documentary series "The War" last fall. Stations could choose the original version, or opt for a sanitized version of World War II, one that was free of any Words You'd Be Safer Not Saying On Television.

 

The FCC changed its policy on indecency following a January 2003 broadcast of the Golden Globes awards show by NBC when U2 lead singer Bono uttered the phrase "f------ brilliant." The FCC said the "f-word" in any context "inherently has a sexual connotation" and can trigger enforcement." That case has yet to be resolved.

 

Recently the U.S Supreme Court has entered a legal fight over curse words aired by Fox in 2002 and 2003 on the live broadcasts of "The Billboard Music Awards." Cher used the phrase, "F--- 'em." And Nicole Richie said, "Have you ever tried to get cow s--- out of a Prada purse? It's not so f------ simple."

 

Scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court this fall, the case would decide whether the government can ban "fleeting expletives," one-time uses of familiar but profane words.

 

Dropping an "f-bomb" on a broadcast won't automatically blast open the floodgates, said Tim Winter, president of Parents Television Council, but he warned, "It's a slow accumulation. First it's once every several months. Then it becomes once a month. Then it becomes once a night."

 

"That's our concern for some of the words that are at issue here," said Winter, who's also an avowed George Carlin fan: "It's unfortunate that a brilliant comedian like George Carlin is a poster child for the lawsuits that are out there."

 

(I just wish wish wish the car wasn't there!)

Jami Masjid, Champaner, Gujarat, India

 

Jami Masjid (also known as, Jama Masjid; meaning "public mosque") in Champaner, Gujarat state, western India, is part of the Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is among the 114 monuments there which are listed by the Baroda Heritage Trust. It is located about 150 feet (46 m) east of the city walls (Jahdnpandh), near the east gate.

 

The mosque dates to 1513; construction was carried out over 25 years. It is one of the most notable monuments built by Sultan Mahmud Begada. The Mughal architecture is said to have drawn from the architecture of the Sultanates, which is a blend of Hindu religious connotations and workmanship with Muslim ethos; the large domes are indicative of such a mix.Restoration works were carried out in the 1890s.

This Hubble Picture of the Week features NGC 2814, an irregular galaxy that lies about 85 million light years from Earth. In this image, which was captured using Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), the galaxy appears to be quite isolated: visually, it looks a little like a loose stroke of bright paint across a dark background. However, looks can be deceiving. NGC 2814 actually has three close (in astronomical terms) galactic neighbours: a side-on spiral galaxy known as NGC 2820; an irregular galaxy named IC 2458; and a face-on non-barred spiral galaxy called NGC 2805. Collectively, the four galaxies make up a galaxy group known as Holmberg 124. In some literature these galaxies are referred to as a group of ‘late-type galaxies’.

 

The terminology ‘late-type’ refers to spiral and irregular galaxies, whilst ‘early-type’ refers to elliptical galaxies. This rather confusing terminology has led to a common misconception within the astronomy community. It is still quite widely believed that Edwin Hubble inaccurately thought that elliptical galaxies were the evolutionary precursors to spiral and irregular galaxies, and that that is the reason why ellipticals are classed as ‘early-type’ and spirals and irregulars are classed as ‘late-type’. This misconception is due to the Hubble ‘tuning fork’ of galactic classification, which visually shows galaxy types proceeding from elliptical to spiral, in a sequence that could easily be interpreted as a temporal evolution. However, Hubble actually adopted the terms ‘early-type’ and ‘late-type’ from much older astronomical terminology for stellar classifications, and did not mean to state that ellipticals were literally evolutionary precursors to spiral and irregular galaxies. In fact, he explicitly said in his 1927 paper that ‘the nomenclature … [early and late] … refers to position in the sequence, and temporal connotations are made at one’s peril’.

 

Despite Hubble himself being quite emphatic on this topic, the misunderstanding persists almost a hundred years later, and perhaps provides an instructive example of why it is helpful to classify things with easy-to-interpret terminology from the get-go!

 

[Image Description: An irregular galaxy, a narrow streak of stars crossed by faint dust lanes. It is surrounded by a bright glow, appearing like a beam of light in the centre of a dark background. A scatter of small, distant galaxies and a single, bright star surround the galaxy.]

 

Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick; CC BY 4.0

Good Luck !!!!!

Some images are just for fun,but some others have a much deeper connotation ...

 

Loschwitz Bridge (Loschwitzer Brücke) is a cantilever truss bridge over the river Elbe in Dresden the capital of Saxony in Germany. It connects the city districts of Blasewitz and Loschwitz, two affluent residential areas, which around 1900 were amongst the most expensive in Europe. It is located close to Standseilbahn Dresden funicular railway and the world's oldest suspension railway Schwebebahn Dresden, as well as near the Dresden TV tower.

 

The bridge is colloquially referred to as Blaues Wunder ("Blue Wonder"). This common name purportedly referred to the bridge's original blue colour and being seen as a technological miracle at the time; it is also understood to carry the cynical connotation referencing the German idiom ein blaues Wunder erleben meaning "to experience an unpleasant surprise" (literally: "to experience a blue wonder"), reflecting the skeptical view of contemporary commentators. There is also a bridge in Wolgast known as Blaues Wunder. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Chiesa di San Pietro a Gemonio (sec. X-XI)

 

La Chiesa di San Pietro a Gemonio, nata probabilmente come cappella in epoca carolingia (VIII sec.) subì varie fasi di rifacimento e ampliamento nel corso del X-XI secolo, fino a raggiungere nel XVI secolo l'attuale connotazione.

L'esterno presenta una facciata romanica, con tetto a capanna, affiancata da un imponente campanile romanico a cinque ordini.

L'interno è a tre navate asimmetriche, divise tra loro da archi di dimensioni e stili diversi, con relative absidi interamente affrescate.

Nell'abside centrale, antico altare (X sec.) in muratura intonacata e decorata da disegni e simboli non ancora decifrati.

Alle pareti affreschi del XIV-XVI sec. di varia fattura e di autori ignoti ma verosimilmente di scuola lombarda.

 

The Church of San Pietro in Gemonio, most likely originally built as a chapel in the Carolingian period (VIII sec.), has undergone various phases of renovation and expansion during the X-XI century, until reaching the current connotation in the sixteenth century,

The exterior features a Romanesque façade, with a gabled roof, flanked by an imposing Romanesque bell tower of five orders.

The interior has three asymmetric naves, divided by arches of different sizes and styles, with their frescoed apses.

In the main aspe,an ancient altar (X sec.) with plastered masonry decorated with drawings and symbols still to be deciphered.

Various unknown artists, presumably of the Lombard school, painted the XIV-XVI century frescoes.

 

Today i have a couple of paintings by Olivier Roubieu.

It is unusual to find Street art with religious connotations A very fine artist, Olivier 's work can often be found in Leake Street in Waterloo.

Sergiyev Posad

is a city and the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia.

It grew in the 15th century around one of the greatest of Russian monasteries, the Trinity Lavra established by St. Sergius of Radonezh.

The town status was granted to it in 1742.

As the town's name, alluding to St. Sergius, had strong religious connotations, the Soviet authorities changed first to just Sergiyev in 1919, and then to Zagorsk in 1930, in memory of the revolutionary Vladimir Zagorsky.

@Wikipedia

Loschwitz Bridge (Loschwitzer Brücke) is a cantilever truss bridge over the river Elbe in Dresden the capital of Saxony in Germany. It connects the city districts of Blasewitz and Loschwitz, two affluent residential areas, which around 1900 were amongst the most expensive in Europe. It is located close to Standseilbahn Dresden funicular railway and the world's oldest suspension railway Schwebebahn Dresden, as well as near the Dresden TV tower.

 

The bridge is colloquially referred to as Blaues Wunder ("Blue Wonder"). This common name purportedly referred to the bridge's original blue colour and being seen as a technological miracle at the time; it is also understood to carry the cynical connotation referencing the German idiom ein blaues Wunder erleben meaning "to experience an unpleasant surprise" (literally: "to experience a blue wonder"), reflecting the skeptical view of contemporary commentators. There is also a bridge in Wolgast known as Blaues Wunder. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Cornelia Parker RA.

8.2 x 9.4 x 7.2m

Courtesty the artist &

Frith Street Gallery, London.

 

Originally commissioned in 2016 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art for its roof garden, this work was first seen against New York's iconic skyline. Presented here in the Royal Academy's Annenberg Courtyard the structure is every bit as compeling & unsettling.

 

For Parker, the found object is key. Here she dismantled a traditional red barn & appropriated its components: the planks of the long sidings became the house's walls & its corrugated roof provided material for the roof tiles. The design is based on the house in Alfred Hithcocks's 1960 film Psycho, which in turn was modelled on a painting by Edward Hopper, House by the Railroad (1925). Hopper's painting was also a reference point for Parker who was drawn to its pared-back presentation & sense of eerie isolation.

 

Like Hitchcock's stage set, Parker's PsychoBarn is a facade, with the supporting framework left deliberately visible. The structures also share a slightly reduced scale & both these characteristics add to the illusionary effect. The combination of the red barn's symbolism, with all its connotations of rural idyll & wholesomeness, with the sinister psychological complexity of Hitchcock's house presents a series of deliberate paradoxes. The work's title references a term from developmental pschology - the "transitional object" - which refers to something which brings comfort, while being a substitute for reality.

 

Commisions for the Iris & Gerald B Cantor Roof Garden at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 

Nikon F4. AF Nikkor 24mm F2.8D lens. CineStill 50 35mm C41 film.

La capilla del Condestable o capilla de los Condestables es la denominación habitual de una de las capillas de la catedral de Burgos, (España), aunque su verdadera advocación es Capilla de la Purificación de la Virgen.

Es una capilla funeraria de planta centralizada, levantada en la girola de la catedral, en estilo Gótico flamígero y un incipiente Renacimiento.

Fue mandada construir por don Pedro Fernández de Velasco y Manrique de Lara, condestable de Castilla, y doña Mencía de Mendoza y Figueroa, hija del Marqués de Santillana y hermana del Cardenal Mendoza, que dirigió los trabajos durante las ausencias de su marido. La ejecución del proyecto corrió a cargo del artista burgalés Simón de Colonia, entre 1482 y 1494.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capilla_del_Condestable_(catedral_de_Burgos)

 

The Chapel of the Constable or Chapel of the Constables is the usual name for one of the chapels of the cathedral of Burgos, (Spain), although its true dedication is Chapel of the Purification of the Virgin.

It is a funerary chapel with a centralized plan, built in the ambulatory of the cathedral, in flamboyant Gothic style and an incipient Renaissance.

It was ordered to be built by Don Pedro Fernández de Velasco and Manrique de Lara, Constable of Castile, and Mrs. Mencía de Mendoza y Figueroa, daughter of the Marquis of Santillana and sister of Cardinal Mendoza, who directed the works during the absences of her husband. The project was carried out by the Burgos artist Simón de Colonia, between 1482 and 1494.

  

Condestable de Castilla fue un título de condestable creado por el rey Juan I de Castilla para sustituir al de Alférez mayor del Reino. En él recaía el mando supremo del ejército y tenía el derecho de llevar pendón, mazas y rey de armas. El condestable era el máximo representante del rey en ausencia del mismo.

El 6 de julio de 1382 Juan I concedió el título a Alfonso de Aragón el Viejo, primer marqués de Villena, teniendo carácter vitalicio pero no hereditario. Este tipo de transmisión se llevaría a cabo hasta 1473, cuando Enrique IV nombra condestable a Pedro Fernández de Velasco, a partir del cual el título se haría hereditario.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condestable_de_Castilla

 

Constable of Castile (Spanish: Condestable de Castilla) was a title created by John I, King of Castile in 1382, to substitute the title Alférez Mayor del Reino. The constable was the second person in power in the kingdom, after the King, and his responsibility was to command the military in the absence of the ruler.

In 1473 Henry IV of Castile made the title hereditary for the Velasco family and the dukes of Frías. After these changes, the title ceased to have any military or administrative connotations, and was simply an honorific title.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constable_of_Castile

 

I almost wanted to give the title "dead nature" to this picture, because in french, "nature morte" (dead nature) means "still life", and I find really interesting to note the different ways to describe a same concept.

Still life has a positive connotation, but "nature morte"... I've always hated this expression... Even if there is something true about the choice of these words.

And how a picture could illustrate better these thoughts than a "portrait" of a false plant in a urban environment?

Chiesa di San Pietro a Gemonio (sec. X-XI)

 

La Chiesa di San Pietro a Gemonio, nata probabilmente come cappella in epoca carolingia (VIII sec.) subì varie fasi di rifacimento e ampliamento nel corso del X-XI secolo, fino a raggiungere nel XVI secolo l'attuale connotazione.

L'esterno presenta una facciata romanica, con tetto a capanna, affiancata da un imponente campanile romanico a cinque ordini.

L'interno è a tre navate asimmetriche, divise tra loro da archi di dimensioni e stili diversi, con relative absidi interamente affrescate.

Nell'abside centrale, antico altare (X sec.) in muratura intonacata e decorata da disegni e simboli non ancora decifrati.

Alle pareti affreschi del XIV-XVI sec. di varia fattura e di autori ignoti ma verosimilmente di scuola lombarda.

 

The Church of San Pietro in Gemonio, most likely originally built as a chapel in the Carolingian period (VIII sec.), has undergone various phases of renovation and expansion during the X-XI century, until reaching the current connotation in the sixteenth century,

The exterior features a Romanesque façade, with a gabled roof, flanked by an imposing Romanesque bell tower of five orders.

The interior has three asymmetric naves, divided by arches of different sizes and styles, with their frescoed apses.

In the main aspe,an ancient altar (X sec.) with plastered masonry decorated with drawings and symbols still to be deciphered.

Various unknown artists, presumably of the Lombard school, painted the XIV-XVI century frescoes.

 

Saint Anthony the Great

 

Chiesa di San Pietro a Gemonio (sec. X-XI)

 

La Chiesa di San Pietro a Gemonio, nata probabilmente come cappella in epoca carolingia (VIII sec.) subì varie fasi di rifacimento e ampliamento nel corso del X-XI secolo, fino a raggiungere nel XVI secolo l'attuale connotazione.

L'esterno presenta una facciata romanica, con tetto a capanna, affiancata da un imponente campanile romanico a cinque ordini.

L'interno è a tre navate asimmetriche, divise tra loro da archi di dimensioni e stili diversi, con relative absidi interamente affrescate.

Nell'abside centrale, antico altare (X sec.) in muratura intonacata e decorata da disegni e simboli non ancora decifrati.

Alle pareti affreschi del XIV-XVI sec. di varia fattura e di autori ignoti ma verosimilmente di scuola lombarda.

 

The Church of San Pietro in Gemonio, most likely originally built as a chapel in the Carolingian period (VIII sec.), has undergone various phases of renovation and expansion during the X-XI century, until reaching the current connotation in the sixteenth century,

The exterior features a Romanesque façade, with a gabled roof, flanked by an imposing Romanesque bell tower of five orders.

The interior has three asymmetric naves, divided by arches of different sizes and styles, with their frescoed apses.

In the main aspe,an ancient altar (X sec.) with plastered masonry decorated with drawings and symbols still to be deciphered.

Various unknown artists, presumably of the Lombard school, painted the XIV-XVI century frescoes.

  

Sometimes I coerce images into being and then have to sit with them for a while. I delay putting them up, or put them up privately, not making them public, until I can work out what I am actually talking about. I know the kernel, but in writing text to go with it, I work out whether it should be there or not. Sometimes I delete them. The image of Piri, the soprano chicken singing on the stage of 'La Scala,' is such an image. It sort of made itself worthy for me whilst working out the text. And as I said John, yes, this is hugely ‘personal’. It refers back to that doctorate completed over twenty years ago, which in turn referred back to the HIV pandemic in New York in the mid-eighties. The metaphorical lightbulb suddenly flickered into life, and light, though I wasn’t fully aware of the connotations then.

 

That’s when I first began to look at ‘shamelessness’ relative to sex and death. Perhaps, that ‘shameless’ aspect is the most important part of what I have been trying to do in the intervening years. You know I have been looking at Joyce, he is recently all over my stream with Mr. Duchamp. I am most interested in the theory that he 'suffered' his whole life from, the then untreatable, syphilis. This has been written about, most recently in Kevin Birmingham’s masterly book ‘The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce’s Ulysses’. There were earlier examples too, Kathleen Ferris’s ‘James Joyce and the Burden of Disease’, and others.

 

These books cause quite the furor amongst Joyce scholars. The suggestion that Saint James, exiled but now beloved to the extent that there is a ferry taking the ‘diaspora’ across the Irish sea, back to the Dublin he ran away from, named after him. I have sat writing in the ‘Ulysses’ lounge on the same ferry on quite a few trips back, in the past, multiple times even. That is over.

 

James left permanently, as have I. But then so did half of Kilburn, Liverpool, New York and Boston, and countless other cities, most of which I have lived in. Those ‘Wild Geese’ soared, took off; okay, some tried to soar, but rather squawked and nose-dived. Don’t worry, I am not comparing myself to Joyce, I am more of an ungainly nose-diver.

 

Those other writers named above, Birmingham and Ferris, were more or less heaped with opprobrium relative to their suggestion that Joyce might have contracted the ‘HIV of the beginnings of the 20th century’, that 'fatal' sexual lurgy. This is where my hackles rise. I react to the shame attached to any virus attained in the drive towards hormonally generated bliss, and the generator of that shame, which in the Ireland of my childhood was principally the Catholic church. I also react to the virulence of the Joyce fraternity in denying Joyce that essential part of his nature, that glorious wantonness (see his erotic letters to Nora, and hear his Molly moan “Yes, yes, yes”). But, perhaps, the last straw was to name a ferry after him, to convey the diaspora back, from that other heathen island, and to turn ‘Bloom’s Day’ into a day of national celebration. But, initially, for it to be of any use as a ‘tourist draw’, somehow a type of beatification had become essential.

 

James was a glorious pig, even describing Ireland as "the old sow that eats her farrow".

 

I love his letters to Nora, and love that in the first story of 'Dubliners', ‘The Sisters’, he opens with the death of a priest from syphilis. Could he have said it more clearly? I love him for this.

 

Three 'loves' in one short paragraph, I told you I wasn't a writer.

Regardless, I seem to have nose-dived into James and Marcel.

Hari-kari how are ye? As we say in the old sod.

 

James trysts with the prostitutes in Dublin have been well documented too. I mention these but need to say that it has been my experience, and privilege, to know some prostitutes, both male and female, glorious whores all, whom I would consider to be noble and honest friends. I cannot say this about the clergy, or nuns for that matter. It’s been somewhat stunning to watch the demise of their kind on the 'Emerald Isle', that 'Island of Saints and Scholars', from afar, as scandal after scandal breaks relative to extreme child abuse, possibly culminating in the recent ‘Tuam Babies’ atrocity, up to 800 bodies thrown into a septic tank, or unmarked graves, and the survivors sold to the highest bidders.

 

As you know, I was sexually abused as a child, incestuously even, and this is where ‘Chickenman’ comes from. I was also ‘driven’ into the world in search of HIV, which I found eventually, and made my own. I have no shame as far as that is concerned and will expand on that in time. One gets as far as one gets. The question was, and is, how do you move forward from this? This is, as it would happen, the selfsame question I ask myself every morning, and it always generates images and words. I am happiest doing this. I think this will reverberate for you.

 

So ‘Chickenman’ is going through a metamorphosis. Luckily, we are coming into an age when ‘He', 'She', or 'They’ might not matter anymore, as we evolve towards bifurcation. I can only see this as good, though the teething pains are pretty awful, mangling our common language to a painful degree. Anyway, ‘she’ can now be female and sing at ‘La Scala’ if she wants, or even if I want, and need, to leaven what could become unpalatably serious.

 

She, her wonderful fowl personage, is equal to the sheep, my beloved Dolly, the silverfish, the amoeba, Messrs. Joyce and Duchamp, and you and me.

 

So, there’s a start. There will be more. You always ask the most pertinent questions. I suspect this is because we are both currently enjoying our mortality in a consciously ‘immediate’ sort of way. We might surprise ourselves.

 

It ain't over until the fat chicken sings.

 

I like to write in answer form, to have a dialogue. This is how I would prefer to do it. I know it's not the prescribed way, but hey ho. I also like the images to grow out of the words and vice versa, like an aberrational marriage.

 

I love not knowing what is coming next. These bots have totally surprised me, almost like a re-birth.

The emblem of Lanyang Museum attempts to convey “The Harmony and Symbiosis between Mankind and Nature” and “Association between Mankind and History”. During initial stages of design, discussions were made among experts in museology, literature and history, natural ecology, local painters, CIS designers and dignitaries in the County before the decision was made to adopt the traditional wooden sculpture human-figure totem from the Kavalan Tribe, which most aptly expresses the above-mentioned connotations. Furthermore, the Lanyang Museum emblem also implies another meaning: countless people from all over Taiwan “selflessly contributed their efforts to make the creation of the museum possible.” Within such a small human-figure totem, it also conceals the profound respect towards them.

[ Blog ]

 

About

 

Right, back from our Coffs Harbour weekend trip...... what a great place Coffs is, fun had by all, great shots had by all, stay tuned, here is a funny one to get the ball moving, no pun ;)

 

OK..........

 

So I was running to this beach pool, hoping to grab a shot while the light was still good. Just as I arrived this bloke was about to take a dip, cheered on by his friends, and after I asked him to wait a minute while I setup, he dived in!

 

Dam cold!

 

- Canon 50D.

- ISO 100, f9, 1/250, 10mm

- Sigma 10-20 f4/5.6 lens.

- Tripod.

- Cokin Grad System, p121s for sky.

 

Enjoy.

 

Processing

 

- Saturation.

- Soft Light Layer in Photoshop 6.0.

 

About Skinny Dipping

 

The term skinny dip, first recorded in English in the 1950s, includes the somewhat archaic word skinny, known since 1573, meaning "having to do with skin", as it exposed the naked hide; in World War II skinny was also used for the "naked" truth.

 

The term is commonly used with a neutral tone to describe swimming in unheated water, but is also used when referring to going naked in hot tubs and hot springs.

 

It has a more mischievous connotation when describing swimming excursions (often under cover of darkness) in swimming pools or at beaches where one would be expected to wear swimsuits. In this sense, skinny dipping in mixed company (i.e. both males and females) has an element of sexual rebelliousness to it, though sexual activity does not necessarily take place.

 

In the UK skinny-dipping is often known as "wild swimming" though this can also refer to simply swimming in nature.

The Islamic concept of himmah, as many Gülen scholars have noted, is central to the operation and growth of the Fethullah Gulen movement. This is the name for the regular local fundraising activities to finance its wide educational network or other cultural activities within Turkey or abroad. The concept of himmah (himmet in Turkish), a spiritual virtue in the Islamic Sufi tradition, also holds a key role in Fethullah Gülen‘s understanding of Islam and teaching on the moral education of an ideal Muslim. The Sufi connection should not be surprising as it is well recorded that Gülen’s understanding of Islam has been deeply shaped by the Sufi tradition, which has been an undercurrent of Turkish Islam since its beginning.Despite its significance for Gülen’s teaching, the conceptual meaning of himmah has been given little attention by Gülen scholars. A quick survey of the works conducted on Fethullah Gülen‘s thought or the movement he inspired delivers few results. This is understandable as apart from scholars studying the Sufi tradition, the conceptual meaning and significance of himmah is not well known even among students of Islamic thought. Compounding its relative obscurity among scholars is the challenge of translation. Frequently rendered as spiritual “aspiration,” “yearning,” or “resolve,” this richly suggestive concept is difficult to translate into English with one single word.

 

This paper attempts to clarify the conceptual meaning of himmah in the context of Gülen’s thought through a cross-cultural comparison with the more familiar Christian virtue of “charity.” This paper begins with a discussion of the contemporary meaning of himmah within the Gülen movement, and moves on to discuss its meaning within the Sufi tradition in the second section. The third section examines the Christian virtue of charity, and the fourth compares charity with himmah. The last and concluding part will raise some questions about the practice of the inter-faith dialogue in relation to this comparison of the two key concepts of Islam and Christianity.

I. The Role of Himmet in the Gülen Movement

It is widely known that the Gülen movement identifies itself as hizmet (hizmāt in Arabic), which means “service” in Turkish. Hizmet is the generic name for all the disinterested public activities conducted by the members of this community to fulfill their duties to religion and nation. Specific examples of hizmet are inter-faith dialogue initiatives and the educational network set up in Turkey and abroad. The term is also used more broadly for self-identification by the community members. Hence, a member of the Gülen movement often identifies himself or herself as a member of hizmet.Related to this concept and less known to the outsiders but perhaps more important in terms of Islamic history is the concept of himmet. It has been noted that the twin concepts of hizmet and himmet provide a general conceptual framework for all the economic, cultural, and religious activities of the Gülen community both inside and outside Turkey.[2] Himmet, as another student of this movement notes, is the technical name used for the fundraising gatherings of the community: “The meetings organized by the Gülen community to obtain financial support for its activities, especially its educational activities, are called himmet meetings.”The organizers of these meetings present the past achievements and future goals or projects of the community, and appeal to the religious sentiments of the participants to collect funds for their activities. The participants, mostly local affluent business owners, pledge to make donations for the cause.

 

The Turkish word himmet derives from the Arabic word al-himmah (in Persian himmat). The original Arabic word denotes several interrelated meanings. More commonly it is translated as spiritual “aspiration” or “resolve.” Its other renderings by contemporary translators and commentators include “diligence,” “power,” “will,” “yearning,” “desire,” “purpose,” “ambition,” “intention,” “concentration,” and “determination,” all of which are used with a spiritual connotation. Common to all these translations of himmah is the connotation of spiritual or mystical quest for the divine. This quest requires turning one’s attention and efforts from worldly business toward more noble and urgent matters.There are numerous phrases in the Islamic literature in which himmah appears with this connotation of rising above the affairs of the world. The phrase uluww-i himmat (lofty aspiration) was used by the Persian Sufi poet Farid al-Din Attar to mean “setting oneself high goals and not being satisfied with trivial things.”Another phrase in which himmat appears in relation to rulers is himmat-i buland which can be compared to the virtue known as high-mindedness or magnanimity in the Western tradition. For the first moralist of Islam, Miskawaih, izam alhimmah (composure) stands for “a virtue of the soul which causes it to sustain calmly both the happiness of good fortune and its opposites, including the distress which accompanies death.” Miskawaih defines himmah as a kind of courage.

In a short article entitled “Himmet: Teveccüh, İnfak ve Gayret,” (“Aspiration: Orientation, Charity, and Perseverance”), Gülen appeals to the theological roots of himmet in the Islamic tradition.Gülen puts great emphasis here on the fact that there is a deeper spiritual aspect of himmet beyond its popular aspect associated with spending one’s wealth in God’s path. Gülen particularly notes that himmet must be understood first and foremost in its tasawwufi sense. The common practical usage among public as charity (infak) and perseverance (gayret) is subordinate to this older theological meaning. Gülen further points out the connection between himmet and another tasawwufi term teveccüh (tawajjuh in Arabic). Translated as spiritual “concentration,” “orientation,” or “attentiveness,” tawajjuh literally means turning the face toward something.Tawajjuh is often used in the context of turning one’s face toward God or God’s disclosing itself to the Sufi wayfarer (salik) in return.It is also used in relation to the very personal relationship between the Sheikh (master) and the murid (disciple) in the Sufi orders.[9] In both senses it means the spiritual concentration or attention of the salik through which he hopes to receive the grace of God (either directly or indirectly through the sheikh). In relation to tawajjuh, himmet means orientation toward God with all one’s powers by opening one’s heart to God, and purifying oneself from all material or even spiritual interests and pleasures. One must even put aside the thought of heavenly rewards or spiritual powers, and commit his every deed for the sake of gaining Allah’s pleasure.Gülen also notes a second related sense of himmet in the context of social relationships. Himmet means doing a favor, helping one another, coming to the rescue of another, or reaching out to the needy. This social sense of himmet refers to committing oneself to benevolent action with sincerity on the one hand and God’s reciprocating the tawajjuh and sincerity (ikhlās) of his servant (kul) on the other. The servant’s inaba (turning to God with repentance) is reciprocated by God’s merciful tawajjuh toward the servant. God’s favors and care depends on servant’s constant orientation toward God (tawajjuh) as well as God’s reciprocal tawajjuh in mercy. It is this sense of himmet which bridges over the public meaning of doing good deeds through financial means and the tasawwufi sense conceived by sufis as “spiritual power,” which will be explored in the next section.Gülen stresses that contrary to the popular opinion that equates himmet merely with infaq (spending in the service of God) the latter must be understood only as one aspect of the former.Reminding us of the fact that himmet did not have this specific meaning in the past, Gülen points out that both the public calls for assistance and people’s response to these calls have come to be called himmet through time. The theological aspect of himmet, according to Gülen, subsumes the more practical religious virtues and duties of beneficence such as “infaq,” (charity) “sadaqa” (voluntary almsgiving), and “zakat” (obligatory almsgiving).

 

Gülen also notes that himmet (in the second restricted sense of beneficence) can be conducted not only through wealth but also knowledge, deeds, health, and intelligence. Combining its spiritual and practical sense, himmet can be construed to mean making efforts in the service of one’s religion and nation. Himmet in this sense carries the connotation of striving toward God through serving one’s fellow compatriots, co-religionists, and even all humanity. Gülen concludes his discussion of himmet by remembering Bediüzzaman Said Nursî’s words in the “The Damascus Sermon.” Here Nursî discusses the notion of himmet in the context of national solidarity or fraternity and laments how this notion was successfully applied at his time in the West and almost forgotten in the Islamic world. To quote the important passage on himmet from his sermon in full:

 

[B]ecause of the idea of nationhood which those foreigners obtained from us, an individual becomes as valuable as a nation. For a person’s value is relative to his endeavour [himmet]. If a person’s endeavour is his nation, that person forms a miniature nation on his own. Because of the heedlessness of some of us and the foreigners’ damaging characteristics that we have acquired, and, despite our strong and sacred Islamic nationhood, through everyone saying: “Me! Me!” and considering personal benefits and not the nation’s benefits, a thousand men have become like one man.Said Nursî goes on to emphasize the Aristotelian notion (incorporated later by Aquinas into the Catholic tradition) that man is a political or social being by nature and must act accordingly to become fully human:If a man’s endeavour is limited to himself, he is not a human being, for human beings are by nature social. Man is compelled to consider his fellow humans. His personal life continues through social life.

It can safely be claimed that Gülen is in agreement with the importance of the virtue of putting the service to others before oneself in the name of God. This virtue indeed constitutes the heart of Gülen’s teaching on the moral education of an ideal Muslim.

 

II. Himmah in the Sufi Tradition

 

As Gülen implies in his article, the concept of himmah holds a significant place in the Sufi tradition within Islam. Scholars of Sufism have noted that this is a technical term employed by greatest Sufis of history. Various late medieval Sufi masters such as Ibn Arabi, Suhrawardi, Najm al-Din Kubra, and Abdul-Karim al-Jili or Sufi poets such as Farid al-Din Attar employed this concept in their works.The spiritual powers of earlier mystics such as Hasan al-Basri and Rabi’a al-Adawiyya are also referred to as himmah in the hagiographical literature.This crucial term was often used by Sufis to signify the “determination of the heart to incline itself entirely to God.” Himmah in this sense is an essential quality to possess to be able to follow the arduous Sufi path. A contemporary scholar draws our attention to the significance of himmah to Sufism: “He who has no spiritual aspiration [himmah] or sincere will in seeking God in gratitude or in love cannot have an ambition to follow the path of Sufi walâya [authority].”

 

Various definitions of the term agree in their emphasis on the fact that himmah involves the spiritual quest for God, and this quest demands first and foremost the further qualities of purity, sincerity, and concentration. According to a contemporary scholar of Islam, himmah implies “total commitment to the goal of achieving spiritual perfection and closeness to God.”[18] In a classic work of Sufism Istilahat al-Sufiya (A Glossary of Sufi Technical Terms), himmah was defined as a term “applied to the freeing of the heart for the desired objects . . .; to the primal sincerity of the aspirant…; and to the concentration of the spiritual aspirations to insure the purity of inspirations.”[19] According to still another scholarly source, himmah is “the quality of perseverance or striving towards God” and “its opposite is al-hiss,” which means “distraction or inattention from concentration upon God.”

 

For the famous thirteenth century Andalusian Sufi Ibn al-Arabi, who exerted great influence on the course of Sufism after him, himmah is a pure force peculiar to the human being, which is either natural or acquired later in life.As an Ibn Arabi scholar notes, “The phenomenon of himmah is . . . something of much more than marginal significance in Ibn al-Arabi’s thought.”Ibn Arabi held that “it was only possible for human beings to come to a true understanding of the relationship that exists and should exist between creature and Creator if they were to become endowed with this power of himmah themselves.”

 

Ibn Arabi uses himmah in his major work al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya (The Meccan Illuminations) especially in reference to the ideal of perfect man (al-insan al-kamil), which is characterized by “the inner condition of sidq [truthfulness] or pure spiritual intention (himma).” Himmah, according to Arabi, is the preserve of the spiritual elite as it is “one of the distinguishing signs of the highest forms of true faith in God” and the “natural effect of divine ‘victorious support’ (nasr).”[24] Nasr is a term that combines “the notions of divine assistance and the ‘victory’ resulting from that support.”Ibn Arabi’s coupling of himmah and nasr is especially important for the purposes of this paper as this relationship between the two roughly corresponds to the close connection between charity and grace in the Christian tradition.In Futuhat Ibn Arabi uses the phrase al-fi’l bi’l-himma to refer to the act of “producing effects . . . in the outside world through concentration.” This somewhat supernatural ability is closely related to the development of the faculty of imagination. The 20th century French orientalist Henry Corbin highlights this active (poetic) sense of himmah in Ibn Arabi’s work and uses the phrase “the creative power of the heart” to capture its richly suggestive meaning.[27] According to Corbin, this creative power is essentially “the very power with which God creates and sustains the cosmos, the power by means of which God brought all the cosmic domains, subtle, physical, and intellectual into existence,” but is also something that human beings can partake of.[28] The difference between the mystic’s himmah and the divine himmah is that “God exercises this creative power with perfect attentiveness and concentration whereas the mystic always exercises it with some admixture of inattentiveness.”

rumiforum.org/islamic-himmah-and-christian-charity-an-att...

 

Although I've played with monochrome off and on for years, I didn't really appreciate it until about a year ago. It brings your attention to different things, and sometimes it's a better expression of composition or texture. It also has cultural connotations: politics, historicity, intimacy, struggle, noir, minimalism.

 

High-minded things aside: I visited three buildings like this in the Indiana countryside, but I'm only posting pictures from two. I stopped at the third but didn't stay long, as it sounded like someone may have been testing out a variety of assault rifles behind a nearby barn.

This male lesser goldfinch is very offended by his name. He thinks he is every bit the equal of an American goldfinch and he resents the connotations of the term lesser.

 

These finches can be found in Mexico and the southwestern United States.

 

An interesting fact about these birds from the Cornell Lab is that "Male Lesser Goldfinches in the eastern part of their range in the U.S. tend to have black backs. Along the West Coast, their backs are green, with only a black cap. Elsewhere, the amount of black varies, with many birds having partly green backs. South of central Mexico, all of the males are black-backed."

 

I photographed this black backed lesser goldfinch at Laguna Seca ranch in southern Texas.

In October 1981, flying tiger ancient human remains from Guizhou Provincial Museum trial excavation, the accumulation of complex, broadly divided into early and late phases. Early formation of yellow or grayish yellow, unearthed panda, Stegodon fossils, stone products are made for the late Paleolithic culture era. Advanced formation is black, black, unearthed animal genetic pulp for extant species, and human mandibular and chipped stone, grinding stone, grinding bone, pottery and other large, geological time for the Holocene, culture in the age of the Neolithic age, that about 4000 years ago to 6000 years.

 

Unearthed stone products made a total of 532 pieces of raw materials, mainly to flint stone, there is, nuclear, stone etc.. The stone to stone, with the forward direction of processing processing, types of hit device, a scraper, tip like device and dolabriform etc.. The scraper accounted for 76%, tip like device is small but fine processing. The axe is a symbol of the transformation of Neolithic culture. 27 pieces of polished stone, delicate process, a stone axe, stone adzes, stone spinning wheels, stone scraper, stone arrow head, small stones (spear) 8. The number of stone adzes, regular shape, with long oblique cutting tool representative. 79 pieces of bone, in addition to the 1 pieces of grinding residual bone scraper, are making bone, bone and bone shovel cone. The three notches in the teeth may be scratching the porcupine symbol. In addition to pottery and ball spinning round round cake 1, the rest are all pieces of artifacts. 1494 tablets. The uneven thickness, thickness of 1.2 cm, thickness of only 0.2 cm, high temperature, hard texture. About 70% of sand pottery, pottery sand shale pottery class accounted for 30%, very little. Sand and sand are mainly sand. Pottery ornamentation is complicated, there are thick rope lines and Fang Gewen cone, tattoo, carved lines and lines and other additional cone. There are 3 pieces of pottery pottery, which has 1 pieces of orange powder is subjected to pottery coating inside and outside the grey clay, on the exterior is painted with two parallel red bands. This is the first time in Guizhou, Guizhou is also the earliest pottery record.

 

The site has a new and old stone formation, and the cultural connotation is rich. Pottery appear more attractive, but considerable differences in advanced culture. These have great significance to the study of the relationship between the new and the old stone culture in Guizhou and the time continuity of the times.

 

In February 23, 1982, the Guizhou Provincial People's Government approved the publication of the provincial cultural relics protection units. 1981年10月，飞虎山古人类遗址由贵州省博物馆试掘，洞内堆积复杂，大致分早、晚两期。早期地层呈黄色或灰黄色，出土大熊猫、剑齿象等化石，石制品均为打制，文化时代为旧石器时代晚期。晚期地层呈黑色、灰黑色，出土动物遗髓为现生属种，并出人类下颌件和打制石器、磨制石器、磨制骨器、大量的陶片等，地质时代为全新世，文化时代属新石器时代，推测距今约4000年至6000年。

遗址出土打制的石制品共532件，原料以燧石为主，有是核、石片、石器等。石器以石片为主，加工方向以正向加工为主，类型有砸器、刮削器、尖状器和斧形器等。其中刮削器占76%，尖状器虽少但加工精细。斧形器似为向新石器文化转化的象征。磨制石器27件，加工精致，有石斧、石锛、石纺轮、石刮刀、石箭(矛)头、小石块等8种。石锛数量多，形制规整，以长形斜刃具代表性。骨器79件，除1件残的磨制骨刮刀外，均为打制骨器，有骨锥和骨铲。其中豪猪牙上的三道刻痕可能是刻划符。陶器除圆饼式及圆珠纺轮各1件外，其余全是器物碎片。计1494片。其厚度不匀，厚者达1.2厘米，薄者仅0.2厘米，火候高，质地坚硬。夹砂灰陶约占70%，夹砂黑陶占30%，泥质类陶极少。夹砂陶以夹细砂为主。陶片纹饰复杂多样，有粗细绳纹、方格纹、锥刺纹、刻划纹和附加锥纹等。陶片中有3片彩陶，其中有1片是在泥质灰陶的内外施以粉澄色陶衣，再于外表绘有两条平行的红色条带。这是贵州首次发现，也是贵州迄今最早的彩陶记录。

遗址具有新、旧石器地层叠压，文化内涵丰富。彩陶的出现更引人瞩目，但中、晚期文化差异颇大。这些对研究贵州新、旧石器文化的相互关系和时代延续问题具有重要的意义。

1982年2月23日，经贵州省人民政府批准公布为省级文物保护单位。

 

In October 1981, flying tiger ancient human remains from Guizhou Provincial Museum trial excavation, the accumulation of complex, broadly divided into early and late phases. Early formation of yellow or grayish yellow, unearthed panda, Stegodon fossils, stone products are made for the late Paleolithic culture era. Advanced formation is black, black, unearthed animal genetic pulp for extant species, and human mandibular and chipped stone, grinding stone, grinding bone, pottery and other large, geological time for the Holocene, culture in the age of the Neolithic age, that about 4000 years ago to 6000 years.

 

Unearthed stone products made a total of 532 pieces of raw materials, mainly to flint stone, there is, nuclear, stone etc.. The stone to stone, with the forward direction of processing processing, types of hit device, a scraper, tip like device and dolabriform etc.. The scraper accounted for 76%, tip like device is small but fine processing. The axe is a symbol of the transformation of Neolithic culture. 27 pieces of polished stone, delicate process, a stone axe, stone adzes, stone spinning wheels, stone scraper, stone arrow head, small stones (spear) 8. The number of stone adzes, regular shape, with long oblique cutting tool representative. 79 pieces of bone, in addition to the 1 pieces of grinding residual bone scraper, are making bone, bone and bone shovel cone. The three notches in the teeth may be scratching the porcupine symbol. In addition to pottery and ball spinning round round cake 1, the rest are all pieces of artifacts. 1494 tablets. The uneven thickness, thickness of 1.2 cm, thickness of only 0.2 cm, high temperature, hard texture. About 70% of sand pottery, pottery sand shale pottery class accounted for 30%, very little. Sand and sand are mainly sand. Pottery ornamentation is complicated, there are thick rope lines and Fang Gewen cone, tattoo, carved lines and lines and other additional cone. There are 3 pieces of pottery pottery, which has 1 pieces of orange powder is subjected to pottery coating inside and outside the grey clay, on the exterior is painted with two parallel red bands. This is the first time in Guizhou, Guizhou is also the earliest pottery record.

 

The site has a new and old stone formation, and the cultural connotation is rich. Pottery appear more attractive, but considerable differences in advanced culture. These have great significance to the study of the relationship between the new and the old stone culture in Guizhou and the time continuity of the times.

 

In February 23, 1982, the Guizhou Provincial People's Government approved the publication of the provincial cultural relics protection units. 1981年10月，飞虎山古人类遗址由贵州省博物馆试掘，洞内堆积复杂，大致分早、晚两期。早期地层呈黄色或灰黄色，出土大熊猫、剑齿象等化石，石制品均为打制，文化时代为旧石器时代晚期。晚期地层呈黑色、灰黑色，出土动物遗髓为现生属种，并出人类下颌件和打制石器、磨制石器、磨制骨器、大量的陶片等，地质时代为全新世，文化时代属新石器时代，推测距今约4000年至6000年。

遗址出土打制的石制品共532件，原料以燧石为主，有是核、石片、石器等。石器以石片为主，加工方向以正向加工为主，类型有砸器、刮削器、尖状器和斧形器等。其中刮削器占76%，尖状器虽少但加工精细。斧形器似为向新石器文化转化的象征。磨制石器27件，加工精致，有石斧、石锛、石纺轮、石刮刀、石箭(矛)头、小石块等8种。石锛数量多，形制规整，以长形斜刃具代表性。骨器79件，除1件残的磨制骨刮刀外，均为打制骨器，有骨锥和骨铲。其中豪猪牙上的三道刻痕可能是刻划符。陶器除圆饼式及圆珠纺轮各1件外，其余全是器物碎片。计1494片。其厚度不匀，厚者达1.2厘米，薄者仅0.2厘米，火候高，质地坚硬。夹砂灰陶约占70%，夹砂黑陶占30%，泥质类陶极少。夹砂陶以夹细砂为主。陶片纹饰复杂多样，有粗细绳纹、方格纹、锥刺纹、刻划纹和附加锥纹等。陶片中有3片彩陶，其中有1片是在泥质灰陶的内外施以粉澄色陶衣，再于外表绘有两条平行的红色条带。这是贵州首次发现，也是贵州迄今最早的彩陶记录。

遗址具有新、旧石器地层叠压，文化内涵丰富。彩陶的出现更引人瞩目，但中、晚期文化差异颇大。这些对研究贵州新、旧石器文化的相互关系和时代延续问题具有重要的意义。

1982年2月23日，经贵州省人民政府批准公布为省级文物保护单位。

 

Transformative - Life Force

 

Astral Projection is a term used in esotericism to describe a willful out-of-body experience (OBE), a supposed form of telepathy, that assumes the existence of a soul or consciousness called an "astral body" that is separate from the physical body and capable of travelling outside of it throughout the universe.

 

Out-of-Body Experience is an experience that typically involves a feeling of floating outside one's body and, in some cases, the feeling of perceiving one's physical body as if from a place outside one's body.

 

Autoscopy is the experience in which an individual perceives the surrounding environment from a different perspective, from a position outside of his or her own body.

 

Dualism or Duality is the position that mental phenomena are, in some respects, non-physical, or that the mind and body are not identical. Thus, it encompasses a set of views about the relationship between mind and matter, and between subject and object, and is contrasted with other positions, such as physicalism and enactivism, in the mind–body problem.

 

Dualism denotes the state of two parts. The term dualism was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been more generalized in other usages to indicate a system which contains two essential parts.

  

Believing that a human soul can survive death and live again in another body and time, is not that unusual if you understand physics. Photons have no matter. Waves can transmit information. And if you have something to extract the information and translate the information, then you could receive a message, similar to how you receive television shows on your TV and receive messages on your smartphone. The Human Brain is a receiver of information. So maybe not being able to remember your past life is part of the design. This way life will always feels fresh, new and exciting. The written language is a reincarnation tool. You don't really need to remember all the details of your past life, you just need to know what were the most important things that you have learned in your previous life. So how do you make your knowledge and information accessible in your next life? Write down everything important that your learned in your life and then make sure you leave plenty of copies behind so that you will eventually find it. It doesn't need to have your name on it, but some catchy name like Basic Knowledge 101. Kind of like in that movie Total Recall, you should leave yourself a clue somewhere, so it will not have to totally start all over again.

Multiverse is the hypothetical set of possible universes, including the universe in which we live. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The various universes within the multiverse are called "parallel universes", "other universes", or "alternative universes".

Parallel Universe is a hypothetical self-contained reality co-existing with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes are called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality. While the terms "parallel universe" and "alternative reality" are generally synonymous and can be used interchangeably in most cases, there is sometimes an additional connotation implied with the term "alternative reality" that implies that the reality is a variant of our own.

The strongest belief a human can have, besides Believing in God, is that people believe that they are not bound to the human body and that their soul will continue to live after the body dies. The only problem with that belief is that our brain and body creates our consciousness, so how will our Soul, or Consciousness, survive without our body and mind? People who have a near death experience recall feeling complete calmness and tranquility, which also shows how our body effects and influences our mind. So if our soul does survive the death of our body, it will be nothing like we feel now. Consciousness will take on a whole new meaning, which is kind of exciting to think about. I wouldn't want to fear death because I wouldn't want to ruin the experience of dying, I mean I would fight to live, but if faced with death, I want to be wide awake and aware and to be proud to have lived.

 

"I might not know when I'll die, but I sure know that I lived. "It's amazing how everyone is Living and Dying Simultaneously."

 

We should focus more on Life itself and not so much on the Afterlife. We know more about Life then we know about the Afterlife, so we should stick with what we know and not waste so much time on things that we may never know. Pretending to know what happens when you die does not solve any problems or make life better, it only seems to make life better, which will keep you from actually making life better.

 

Why do people all of a sudden become more interested in someone when they die? Don't wait to tell someone how you feel.

 

No one was given a choice to be born, and you're not given a choice when you die. You may choose a time to die, but what happens after you die, no one knows. But seeing that everything alive has cycles, I would think that some part of us lives on, because humans have more then just an evolution of the body, humans have an evolution of the mind. So something wonderful is going to happen, something wonderful.

 

The death of a loved one is a very Traumatic event, and everyone Grieves differently. Everyone experiences death, and over time those experiences shape who we are and shape our perception of the world. All I can say is please don't give up. The memories of our loved ones will always be there, but make sure they are good memories and not painful memories. The memories of loved ones should bring us smiles, and if they are tears, let them be tears of joy. Everyone has something to give, and our life means more now then ever, so please don't waste it on sorrow.

Impermanence is one of the essential doctrines and a part of three marks of existence in Buddhism. The doctrine asserts that all of conditioned existence, without exception, is "transient, evanescent, inconstant". All temporal things, whether material or mental, are compounded objects in a continuous change of condition, subject to decline and destruction.

The similarity or even the interchangeability of sacred and erotic language has often been observed, also in the field of visual language. This image taken in a room called Chevy Chase (the old refectorium of a Benedictine priory) at St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall, depicts Hell in a rather medieval fashion. I was told that the stained glass pane is of Flemish origin (Bruges perhaps) and dating to around 1500. But what kind of place is hell? People are stark naked and squeezed together. Even the devils have an erotic connotation, though a negative one. Is Hell a more interesting place than we thought?

An elaborate pun on the meaning of "corpuscle"; its connotations to blood; and its synonymity to "cell", a homonym for a small space; Bloodtron service stations were dubbed suchly by their users. The compact space was compatible with a variety of specially engineered ships within the vampire fleet, but the most popular among pilots was the Fearful Symmetry. A top-line fighter from Chiroptech Industries, it was revered for its advanced maneuverability, powerful weapons, and revolutionary H-SADME (High Surface Area Dark Matter Engine), which distributed antimatter nanothrusters across the wing structure. This configuration allowed the ship to function without a bulky fuselage and could divert power to cloak the entire craft.

 

#AB_FAV_romantic_ ♥️

  

A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object.

Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, sexual activity, sexual arousal, affection, respect, greeting, friendship, peace and good luck, among many others.

In some situations, a kiss is a ritual, formal or symbolic gesture indicating devotion, respect, or sacrament.

The word came from Old English cyssan (“to kiss”), in turn from coss (“a kiss”).

 

Here two mini pink roses, kissing…

  

Thank you, M, (*_*)

 

For more: www.indigo2photography.com

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

 

Roses, mini, flowers, pink, two, kissing, touching, black-background, studio, "conceptual art", colour, square, design, "Nikon D7200", "Magda indigo"

Delano, Jack,, photographer.

 

A view of the old sea town, Stonington, Conn.

 

1940 Nov.

 

1 slide : color.

 

Notes:

Title from FSA or OWI agency caption.

Transfer from U.S. Office of War Information, 1944.

 

Subjects:

United States--Connecticut--Stonington (Town)

 

Format: Slides--Color

 

Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.

 

Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

 

Part Of: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Collection 11671-2 (DLC) 93845501

 

General information about the FSA/OWI Color Photographs is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsac

 

Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsac.1a33828

 

Call Number: LC-USF35-28

  

I will admit it. I am having more than a little trouble absorbing that salute, and the possible connotations. But then, who isn't?

 

The way forward seems to be to move on with the 'story' regardless. Jarry can show us the way, perhaps.

 

Jarry inspired both Duchamp and Joyce, he was a common thread to both. He seems more relevant now than ever.

 

The newly imported golden doors for the royal residency appear to have been fitted (here reflected in a mirror behind the sculpture). They are, of course, a gift, from you know where.

 

SOON THE NEW ONES!

I was putting the garden 'to bed' for its Winter sleep!

I saw a few roses still trying, being beaten by wind and rain, I cut them and brought them in, the pink one especially fragrances of raspberries...

The white roses are the symbol of Yorkshire (traditionally the origins of the emblem are said to go back to Edmund of Langley in the 14th century, the first Duke of York and the founder of the House of York as a Cadet branch of the then ruling House of Plantagenet.

The actual symbolism behind the rose has religious connotations as it represents the Virgin Mary, who was often called the Mystical Rose of Heaven. The York rose is white in colour, because in Christian liturgical symbolism, white is the symbol of light, typifying innocence and purity, joy and glory.

During the civil wars of the 15th century, the White Rose was the symbol of York forces opposed to the rival House of Lancaster, whose symbol was the Red Rose of Lancaster.

The opposition of the two roses gave the wars their name: the Wars of the Roses. The conflict was ended by King Henry VII of England, who symbolically united the White and Red Roses to create the Tudor Rose, symbol of the Tudor dynasty.

At the Battle of Minden on August 1, 1759, Yorkshire-men of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry's predecessor the 51st Regiment picked white roses from bushes near to the battlefields as a tribute to their fallen comrades who had died.

They stuck the plucked white roses in their coats as a tribute.

Yorkshire Day is held on this date each year.)

Have a great long w-e and thanx for viewing, M, (*_*)

For more of my other work or if you want to PURCHASE, visit here: www.indigo2photography.com

IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN (BY LAW!!!) TO USE ANY OF MY images or TEXT on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. If you do, without accreditation, it is STEALING © All rights reserved

 

   

Today, in many countries, All Saints' Day, the 1st of November, sees families gathering to visit cemeteries to clean and decorate tombs.

And they decorate them mainly with chrysanthemums.

The tradition of using chrysanthemums is a relatively recent one, dating from 1919 when the then President, Raymond Poincaré, declared that all war memorials should be decorated with floral tributes. As one of the rare flowers still in bloom in November it became the flower of choice for cemeteries, with hundreds of thousands of widows laying blooms at their fallen husbands' memorials. The chrysanthemum is now known as the widow's flower and is forever associated with Toussaint and death. With such connotations, chrysanthemums are not usually given at other occasions and should be avoided as a gift - many's the time an innocent foreigner has unwittingly caused offence (or at least surprise) by offering a hostess these colourful flowers!

The chrysanthemum is the most sold flower in the world and each year around 25 million pots are placed on French graves on the 1st of November, jollying up cemeteries all over the country. Particularly when placed together in great bunches I think they look lovely and happily the chrysanthemum isn't associated with death all over the world.

In fact, in direct contrast in Asia where it originates from, it is the flower of joy, elegance and eternity.

  

Love the lightplay in these 3D white spider-Chrysanthemums.

 

Like natural fireworks, always a great accent in the house.

Enjoy and thanx, M, (*_*)

For more of my other work or if you want to purchase, visit here: www.indigo2photography.com

IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN (BY LAW!!!) TO USE ANY OF MY image or TEXT on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

   

Sérguiev Posad (en ruso: Се́ргиев Поса́д), entre 1930 y 1991 llamada Zagorsk, es una ciudad rusa, al nordeste de Moscú. Contaba con 109.252 habitantes en el censo de 2008. Posee un importante conjunto monumental, el monasterio de la Trinidad y de San Sergio (siglos XV-XVIII), declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sérguiev_Posad

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anillo_de_Oro_de_Rusia

 

Sergiyev Posad (Russian: Се́ргиев Поса́д) is a city and the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population: 111,179 (2010 Census); 113,581 (2002 Census); 114,696 (1989 Census).

It was previously known as Sergiyev Posad (until 1919), Sergiyev (until 1930), Zagorsk (until 1991).

Sergiyev Posad grew in the 15th century around one of the greatest of Russian monasteries, the Trinity Lavra established by St. Sergius of Radonezh, still (as of 2015) one of the largest monasteries in Russia. Town status was granted to Sergiyev Posad in 1742. The town's name, alluding to St. Sergius, has strong religious connotations. Soviet authorities changed it first to just Sergiyev in 1919, and then to Zagorsk in 1930, in memory of the revolutionary Vladimir Mikhailovich Zagorsky

The original name was restored in 1991.

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Sergiyev Posad serves as the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District. As an administrative division, it is, together with twenty-six rural localities, incorporated within Sergiyevo-Posadsky District as the City of Sergiyev Posad. As a municipal division, the City of Sergiyev Posad is incorporated within Sergiyevo-Posadsky Municipal District as Sergiyev Posad Urban Settlement.

Tourism associated with the Golden Ring plays a role in the regional economy. There is also an important toy factory.

The Moscow–Yaroslavl railway and highway pass through the town. Sergiyev Posad Bus Terminal is located in the city.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergiyev_Posad

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Ring_of_Russia

  

El monasterio de la Trinidad y San Sergio (en ruso Тро́ице-Се́ргиева Ла́вра; o Tróitse-Sérguieva Lavra) en la ciudad de Sérguiev Posad (antiguo Zagorsk) es un importante monasterio ruso y centro espiritual de la iglesia ortodoxa rusa. Sérguiev Posad se encuentra a unos 70 kilómetros al noreste de Moscú en la carretera que va a Yaroslavl. Actualmente alberga a unos 300 monjes. Según la Unesco, que lo declaró Patrimonio de la Humanidad en 1993, se trata de «un buen ejemplo de monasterio ortodoxo en funcionamiento, con rasgos militares típicos de los siglos XV al XVIII, período durante el que se desarrolló.»

La iglesia principal de la Laura (monasterio), la catedral de la Asunción, recuerda la homónima catedral del Kremlin y alberga las tumbas de los Godunov.

Siendo monje de la Laura, Andréi Rubliov pintó, para el iconostasio de la catedral, su más célebre icono La Trinidad que actualmente se expone en la Galería Tretiakov de Moscú.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_de_la_Trinidad_y_San_Sergio

 

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (Russian: Тро́ице-Се́ргиева Ла́вра) is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Posad, about 70 km to the north-east from Moscow by the road leading to Yaroslavl, and currently is home to over 300 monks.

The monastery was founded in 1337 by one of the most venerated Russian saints, Sergius of Radonezh, who built a wooden church in honour of the Holy Trinity on Makovets Hill. Early development of the monastic community is well documented in contemporary lives of Sergius and his disciples.

In 1355, Sergius introduced a charter which required the construction of auxiliary buildings, such as refectory, kitchen, and bakery. This charter was a model for Sergius' numerous followers who founded more than 400 cloisters all over Russia, including the celebrated Solovetsky, Kirillov, and Simonov monasteries.

St. Sergius supported Dmitri Donskoi in his struggle against the Tatars and sent two of his monks, Peresvet and Oslyabya, to participate in the Battle of Kulikovo (1380). At the outbreak of the battle, Peresvet died in a single combat against a Tatar bogatyr. The monastery was devastated by fire, when a Tatar unit raided the area in 1408.

St. Sergius was declared patron saint of the Russian state in 1422. The same year the first stone cathedral was built by a team of Serbian monks who had found refuge in the monastery after the Battle of Kosovo. The relics of St. Sergius still may be seen in this cathedral, dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The greatest icon painters of medieval Russia, Andrei Rublev and Daniil Chyorny, were summoned to decorate the cathedral with frescoes. Traditionally, Muscovite royals were baptized in this cathedral and held thanksgiving services here.

In 1476, Ivan III invited several Pskovian masters to build the church of the Holy Spirit. This graceful structure is one of the few remaining examples of a Russian church topped with a belltower. The interior contains the earliest specimens of the use of glazed tiles for decoration. In the early 16th century, Vasily III added the Nikon annex and the Serapion tent, where several of Sergius' disciples were interred.

It took 26 years to construct the six-pillared Assumption Cathedral, which was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible in 1559. The cathedral is much larger than its model and namesake in the Moscow Kremlin. The magnificent iconostasis of the 16th–18th centuries features Simon Ushakov's masterpiece, the icon of Last Supper. Interior walls were painted with violet and blue frescoes by a team of Yaroslavl masters in 1684. The vault contains burials of Boris Godunov, his family and several 20th-century patriarchs.

As the monastery grew into one of the wealthiest landowners in Russia, the woods where it had stood were cleared and a village (or posad) sprang up near the monastery walls. It gradually developed into the modern town of Sergiyev Posad. The cloister itself was a notable centre of chronicle-writing and icon painting. Just opposite the monastery walls St. Paraskeva's Convent was established, among whose buildings St. Paraskeva's Church (1547), Introduction Church (1547), and a 17th-century chapel over St. Paraskeva's well are still visible.

In 1550s, a wooden palisade surrounding the cloister was replaced with 1.5 km-long stone walls, featuring twelve towers, which helped the monastery to withstand a celebrated 16-month Polish-Lithuanian siege in 1608–1610. A shell-hole in the cathedral gates is preserved as a reminder of Wladyslaw IV's abortive siege in 1618.

By the end of the 17th century, when young Peter I twice found refuge within the monastery from his enemies, numerous buildings had been added. These include a small baroque palace of the patriarchs, noted for its luxurious interiors, and a royal palace, with its facades painted in checkerboard design. The refectory of St. Sergius, covering 510 square meters and also painted in dazzling checkerboard design, used to be the largest hall in Russia. The five-domed Church of John the Baptist's Nativity (1693–1699) was commissioned by the Stroganovs and built over one of the gates. Other 17th-century structures include the monks' cells, a hospital topped with a tented church, and a chapel built over a holy well discovered in 1644.

In 1744, Empress Elizabeth conferred on the cloister the dignity of a Lavra. The metropolitan of Moscow was henceforth also the Archimandrite of the Lavra. Elizabeth particularly favoured the Trinity and annually proceeded afoot from Moscow to the cloister. Her secret spouse Alexey Razumovsky accompanied her on such journeys and commissioned a baroque church to the Virgin of Smolensk, the last major shrine to be erected in the Lavra. Another pledge of Elizabeth's affection for the monastery is a white-and-blue baroque belltower, which, at 88 meters, was one of the tallest structures built in Russia up to that date. Its architects were Ivan Michurin and Dmitry Ukhtomsky.

Throughout the 19th century, the Lavra maintained its status as the richest Russian monastery. A seminary founded in 1742 was replaced by an ecclesiastical academy in 1814. The monastery boasted a supreme collection of manuscripts and books. Medieval collections of the Lavra sacristy attracted thousands of visitors. In Sergiyev Posad, the monastery maintained several sketes, one of which is a place of burial for the conservative philosophers Konstantin Leontiev and Vasily Rozanov.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Soviet government closed the lavra in 1920. Its buildings were assigned to different civic institutions or declared museums. In 1930, monastery bells, including the Tsar-Bell of 65 tons, were destroyed. Pavel Florensky and his followers prevented the authorities from stealing and selling the sacristy collection but overall many valuables were lost or transferred to other collections.

In 1945, following Joseph Stalin's temporary tolerance of the church during World War II, the Lavra was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. On April 16, 1946 divine service was renewed at the Assumption Cathedral. The lavra continued as the seat of the Moscow Patriarchate until 1983, when the patriarch was allowed to settle at the Danilov Monastery in Moscow. After that, the monastery continued as a prime centre of religious education. Important restoration works were conducted in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, the Trinity Lavra was inscribed on the UN World Heritage List.

The Lavra has a number of representative churches (podvorie or metochia) in its vicinity and throughout Russia. The Lavra's hieromonks have manned a number of sketes at remote locations (such as the Anzer Island in the Solovki Archipelago in the White Sea), as well as the Trinity Church on the King George Island in the Antarctic.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_Lavra_of_St._Sergius

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Westminster

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament, is the seat of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Palace lies on the north bank of the River Thames[note 1] in the London borough of the City of Westminster, close to the government buildings of Whitehall.

The palace contains around 1,100 rooms, 100 staircases and 5 kilometres (3 mi) of corridors. Although the building mainly dates from the 19th century, remaining elements of the original historic buildings include Westminster Hall, used today for major public ceremonial events such as lyings in state, and the Jewel Tower.

Control of the Palace of Westminster and its precincts was for centuries exercised by the Queen's representative, the Lord Great Chamberlain. By agreement with the Crown, control passed to the two Houses in 1965. Certain ceremonial rooms continue to be controlled by the Lord Great Chamberlain.

After a fire in 1834, the present Houses of Parliament were built over the next 30 years. They were the work of the architect Sir Charles Barry (1795–1860) and his assistant Augustus Welby Pugin (1812–52). The design incorporated Westminster Hall and the remains of St Stephen's Chapel.

The Old Palace

The Palace of Westminster site was strategically important during the Middle Ages, as it was located on the banks of the River Thames. Buildings have occupied the site since at least Saxon times.[citation needed] Known in medieval times as Thorney Island, the site may have been first-used for a royal residence by Canute the Great (reigned 1016–35). St Edward the Confessor, the penultimate Saxon monarch of England, built a royal palace on Thorney Island just west of the City of London at about the same time as he built Westminster Abbey (1045–50). Thorney Island and the surrounding area soon became known as Westminster (a contraction of the words West Minster). After the Norman Conquest in 1066, King William I established himself at the Tower of London, but later moved to Westminster.[citation needed] Neither the buildings used by the Saxons nor those used by William I survive. The oldest existing part of the Palace (Westminster Hall) dates from the reign of William I's successor, King William II.

The Palace of Westminster was the monarch's principal residence in the late Medieval period. The predecessor of Parliament, the Curia Regis (Royal Council), met in Westminster Hall (although it followed the King when he moved to other palaces). The Model Parliament, the first official Parliament of England, met in the Palace in 1295;[1] almost all subsequent Parliaments have met there.

The Jewel Tower was built approximately in 1365 to house the treasures of King Edward III.[2]

Westminster remained the monarch's chief London residence until a fire destroyed part of the complex in 1512.[citation needed] In 1530, King Henry VIII acquired York Palace from Thomas Cardinal Wolsey,[3] a powerful minister who had lost the King's favour. Renaming it the Palace of Whitehall, Henry used it as his principal residence. Although Westminster officially remained a royal palace, it was used by the two Houses of Parliament and as a law court.

Because it was originally a royal residence, the Palace included no purpose-built chambers for the two Houses. Important state ceremonies were held in the Painted Chamber. The House of Lords originally met in the Queen's Chamber, a modest Medieval hall at the south end of the complex. In later years the Upper House met in the larger White Chamber, which had formerly housed the Court of Requests; the expansion of the Peerage by King George III during the 18th century necessitated the move as the original chamber could not accommodate the increased number of peers.

The House of Commons, which did not have a chamber of its own, sometimes held its debates in the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey. The Commons acquired a permanent home at the Palace in the form of St Stephen's Chapel during the reign of Edward VI. The Chantries Act 1547 (passed as a part of the Protestant Reformation) dissolved the religious order of the Canons of St Stephen's,[citation needed] among other institutions; thus, the building became available for the Commons' use. Alterations were made to St Stephen's Chapel for the convenience of the Lower House. Sir Christopher Wren was commissioned to carry out major work on the chapel in the late 17th century. During these works the chapel's clerestory was removed and its Gothic interiors concealed behind oak panelling. More seating was added over the years to accommodate the new MPs created by the Acts of Union with Scotland (1707) and Ireland (1800), including an upper-level gallery.

The palace complex was substantially remodelled by Sir John Soane during the early 19th century. The medieval House of Lords chamber, which had been the target of the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, was demolished as part of this work in order to create a new ceremonial entrance at the southern end of the palace. The original undercroft where Guy Fawkes was discovered guarding the barrels of gunpowder was also lost during the reconstruction. Soane's work at the palace included new law courts adjoining Westminster Hall and a new Members' entrance to St. Stephen's Chapel.

Fire and reconstruction

J. M. W. Turner watched the fire of 1834 and painted several canvases depicting it, including The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons (1835).

On 16 October 1834, a fire broke out in the Palace[1] after a stove used to destroy the Exchequer's stockpile of tally sticks ignited panelling in the Lords Chamber. In the resulting conflagration both houses of Parliament were destroyed along with most of the other buildings in the palace complex. Westminster Hall was saved largely due to heroic firefighting efforts. The Jewel Tower, the crypt of St Stephen's Chapel and the cloisters were the only other parts of the palace to survive.

At one stage, King William IV considered converting Buckingham Palace, which was being renovated at the time, into the new Houses of Parliament.[4]

A Royal Commission was appointed to study the rebuilding of the Palace and a heated public debate over the proposed styles ensued. The neo-Classical design, similar to that of the White House and the federal Capitol in the United States, was popular at the time, but had connotations of revolution and republicanism, whereas Gothic design embodied conservative values. The Commission announced in June 1835 that "the style of the buildings would be either Gothic or Elizabethan".[5]

In 1836, after studying 97 rival proposals, the Royal Commission chose Charles Barry's plan for a Gothic-style palace. The foundation stone was laid in 1840;[6] the Lords Chamber was completed in 1847, and the Commons Chamber in 1852 (at which point Barry received a knighthood). Although most of the work had been carried out by 1860, construction was not finished until a decade afterwards. Barry (whose own architectural style was more classical than Gothic) relied heavily on Augustus Pugin for the sumptuous and distinctive Gothic interiors, including wallpapers, carvings, stained glass and furnishings, like the royal thrones and canopies.

During the Second World War, the Palace of Westminster was hit fourteen times by bombs (see The Blitz). The worst of these was on 10 May 1941, when the Commons Chamber was destroyed and three people were killed.[7] The chamber was re-built under the architect Giles Gilbert Scott in a similar but more austere style; the work was completed in 1950.[1]

As the need for office space in the Palace increased, Parliament acquired office space in the nearby Norman Shaw Building in 1975,[8] and more recently in the custom-built Portcullis House, completed in 2000. This increase has now allowed all MPs to have their own office facilities.[1]

Exterior

Sir Charles Barry's collaborative design for the Palace of Westminster uses the Perpendicular Gothic style, which was popular during the 15th century and returned during the Gothic revival of the 19th century. Barry was a classical architect, but he was aided by the Gothic architect Augustus Pugin. Westminster Hall, which was built in the 11th century and survived the fire of 1834, was incorporated in Barry's design. Pugin was displeased with the result of the work, especially with the symmetrical layout designed by Barry; he famously remarked, "All Grecian, sir; Tudor details on a classic body".[9]

Stonework

The stonework of the building was originally Anston, a sand-coloured magnesian limestone quarried in the village of Anston in South Yorkshire.[10] The stone, however, soon began to decay due to pollution and the poor quality of some of the stone used. Although such defects were clear as early as 1849, nothing was done for the remainder of the 19th century. During the 1910s, however, it became clear that some of the stonework had to be replaced.

In 1928 it was deemed necessary to use Clipsham Stone, a honey-coloured limestone from Rutland, to replace the decayed Anston. The project began in the 1930s but was halted due to the Second World War, and completed only during the 1950s. By the 1960s pollution had once again begun to take its toll. A stone conservation and restoration programme to the external elevations and towers began in 1981, and ended in 1994.[11] The House Authorities have since been undertaking the external restoration of the many inner courtyards, a task due to continue until approximately 2010.

Towers

Sir Charles Barry's Palace of Westminster includes several towers. The tallest is the 98.5-metre (323 ft)[10] Victoria Tower, a square tower at the south-western end of the Palace. It was named after the reigning monarch at the time of the reconstruction of the Palace, Queen Victoria; today, it is home to the Parliamentary Archives. Atop the Victoria Tower is an iron flagstaff, from which either the Royal Standard (if the Sovereign is present in the Palace) or the Union Flag is flown. At the base of the tower is the Sovereign's Entrance to the Palace, used by the monarch whenever entering the Palace of Westminster for the State Opening of Parliament or for any other official ceremony.

Over the middle of the Palace, immediately above the Central Lobby, stands the octagonal Central Tower. At 91.4 metres (300 ft),[10] it is the shortest of the Palace's three principal towers. Unlike the other towers, the Central Tower culminates in a spire, and was designed as a high-level air intake.

At the north end of the Palace is the most famous of the towers, the Clock Tower, commonly known as Big Ben after its main bell. The Clock Tower is 96.3 metres (316 ft)[10] tall. Pugin's drawings for the tower were the last work he did for Barry. The Clock Tower houses a large, four-faced clock—the Great Clock of Westminster—also designed by Pugin. The tower also houses five bells, which strike the Westminster Chimes every quarter hour. The largest and most famous of the bells is Big Ben (officially The Great Bell of Westminster), which strikes the hour. This is the third-heaviest bell in England, weighing 13.8 tonnes (13.6 long tons).[10] Although Big Ben properly refers only to the bell, it is colloquially applied to the whole tower. A light, called the Ayrton Light, is located at the top of the Clock Tower. The Ayrton Light is lit when either the House of Commons or the House of Lords is sitting after dark. The light takes its name from Thomas Ayrton, the first Commissioner of Works who installed a gas lamp in the tower soon after it was built in 1885. It was installed at the request of Queen Victoria, so she could see from Buckingham Palace whether the members were "at work".

A small tower, St. Stephen's Tower, is positioned at the front of the Palace, between Westminster Hall and Old Palace Yard, and contains the main entrance to the House of Commons at its base, known as St. Stephen's Entrance.[12] Other towers include Speaker's and Chancellor's Towers, at the north and south ends of the building's river front respectively.[13] They are named after the presiding officers of the two Houses of Parliament at the time of the Palace's reconstruction, the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord High Chancellor.

Grounds

There are a number of small gardens surrounding the Palace of Westminster. Victoria Tower Gardens is open as a public park along the side of the river south of the palace. Black Rod's Garden (named after the office of Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod) is closed to the public and is used as a private entrance. Old Palace Yard, in front of the Palace, is paved over and covered in concrete security blocks (see security below). Cromwell Green (also on the frontage, and in 2006 enclosed by hoardings for the construction of a new visitor centre), New Palace Yard (on the north side) and Speaker's Green (directly north of the Palace) are all private and closed to the public. College Green, opposite the House of Lords, is a small triangular green commonly used for television interviews with politicians.

Interior

The Palace of Westminster includes over 1,100 rooms, 100 staircases and 4.8 kilometres (3 mi) of passageways.[10] The building includes four floors; the ground floor includes offices, dining rooms and bars. The "first floor" (known as the principal floor) houses the main rooms of the Palace, including the Chambers, the lobbies and the libraries. The Robing Room, the Royal Gallery, the Prince's Chamber, the Lords Chamber, the Peers' Lobby, the Central Lobby, the Members' Lobby and the Commons Chamber all lie in a straight line on this floor, from south to north, in the order noted. (Westminster Hall lies to a side at the Commons end of the Palace.) The top-two floors are used for committee rooms and offices.

Formerly, the Palace was controlled by the Lord Great Chamberlain,[citation needed] as it was (and formally remains) a royal residence. In 1965, however, it was decided that each House should control its own rooms;[citation needed] the Speakers now exercise control on behalf of their respective Houses. The Lord Great Chamberlain retains custody of certain ceremonial rooms.

Lords Chamber

The Chamber of the House of Lords is located in the southern part of the Palace of Westminster. The lavishly decorated room measures 13.7 by 24.4 metres (45 by 80 ft).[10] The benches in the Chamber, as well as other furnishings in the Lords' side of the Palace, are coloured red. The upper part of the Chamber is decorated by stained glass windows and by six allegorical frescoes representing religion, chivalry and law.

At the south end of the Chamber are the ornate gold Canopy and Throne; although the Sovereign may theoretically occupy the Throne during any sitting, he or she attends only the State Opening of Parliament. Other members of the Royal Family who attend the State Opening use Chairs of State next to the Throne. In front of the Throne is the Woolsack, a backless and armless red cushion stuffed with wool, representing the historical importance of the wool trade. The Woolsack is used by the officer presiding over the House (the Lord Speaker since 2006, but historically the Lord Chancellor or a deputy). The House's mace, which represents royal authority, is placed on the back of the Woolsack. In front of the Woolsack are the Judges' Woolsack, a larger red cushion occupied by the Law Lords during the State Opening, and the Table of the House, at which the clerks sit.

Members of the House occupy red benches on three sides of the Chamber. The benches on the Lord Speaker's right form the Spiritual Side and those to his left form the Temporal Side. The Lords Spiritual (archbishops and bishops of the established Church of England) all occupy the Spiritual Side. The Lords Temporal (nobles) sit according to party affiliation: members of the Government party sit on the Spiritual Side, while those of the Opposition sit on the Temporal Side. Some peers, who have no party affiliation, sit on the benches in the middle of the House opposite the Woolsack; they are accordingly known as cross-benchers.

The Lords Chamber is the site of important ceremonies, the most important of which is the State Opening of Parliament, which occurs at the beginning of each annual parliamentary session. The Sovereign, seated on the Throne, delivers the Speech from the Throne, outlining the Government's legislative agenda for the forthcoming parliamentary session. The Commons do not enter the Lords' debating floor; instead, they watch the proceedings from beyond the Bar of the House, just inside the door. A similar ceremony is held at the end of a parliamentary session; the Sovereign, however, does not normally attend, and is instead represented by a group of Lords Commissioners.

Commons Chamber

The Chamber of the House of Commons is at the northern end of the Palace of Westminster; it was opened in 1950 after the Victorian chamber had been destroyed in 1941 and re-built under the architect Giles Gilbert Scott. The Chamber measures 14 by 20.7 metres (46 by 68 ft)[10] and is far more austere than the Lords Chamber; the benches, as well as other furnishings in the Commons side of the Palace, are coloured green. Members of the public are forbidden to sit on the red benches, which are reserved for members of the House of Lords. Other parliaments in Commonwealth nations, including those of India, Canada and Australia, have copied the colour scheme under which the Lower House is associated with green, and the Upper House with red.

At the north end of the Chamber is the Speaker's Chair, a present to Parliament from the Commonwealth of Australia. The current British Speaker's Chair is an exact copy of the Speaker's Chair given to Australia, by the House of Commons, on the celebration of Australia's Parliamentary opening. In front of the Speaker's Chair is the Table of the House, at which the clerks sit, and on which is placed the Commons' ceremonial mace. The dispatch boxes, which front-bench Members of Parliament (MPs) often lean on or rest notes on during Questions and speeches, are a gift from New Zealand. There are green benches on either side of the House; members of the Government party occupy benches on the Speaker's right, while those of the Opposition occupy benches on the Speaker's left. There are no cross-benches as in the House of Lords. The Chamber is relatively small, and can accommodate only 427 of the 646 Members of Parliament[14]—during Prime Minister's Questions and in major debates MPs stand at either end of the House.

By tradition, the British Sovereign does not enter the Chamber of the House of Commons. The last monarch to do so was King Charles I, in 1642. The King sought to arrest five Members of Parliament on charges of high treason, but when he asked the Speaker, William Lenthall, if he had any knowledge of the whereabouts of these individuals, Lenthall famously replied: "May it please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here."[15]

The two red lines on the floor of the House of Commons are 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in)[10] apart, which, by (probably apocryphal) tradition, is intended to be just over two sword-lengths. Protocol dictates that MPs may not cross these lines when speaking. Historically, this was to prevent disputes in the House from devolving into duels. If a Member of Parliament steps over this line while giving a speech he or she will be lambasted by opposition Members. This is a possible origin for the expression "to toe the line".

Westminster Hall

Westminster Hall, the oldest existing part of the Palace of Westminster, was erected in 1097,[16] at which point it was the largest hall in Europe, though it was subsequently overtaken by the Palais de la Cité in Paris (1301-6) and a hall in Padua of similar date.[17] The roof was probably originally supported by pillars, giving three aisles, but during the reign of King Richard II, this was replaced by a hammerbeam roof by the royal carpenter Hugh Herland, "the greatest creation of medieval timber architecture", which allowed the original three aisles to be replaced with a single huge open space, with a dais at the end. Richard's architect Henry Yevele left the original dimensions, refacing the walls, with fifteen life-size statues of kings placed in niches.[18] The rebuilding had been begun by Henry III in 1245, but had by Richard's time been dormant for over a century.

Westminster Hall has the largest clearspan medieval roof in England, measuring 20.7 by 73.2 metres (68 by 240 ft).[10] Despite an Essex legend that the oak timber came from woods in Thundersley, Essex, it is known that the original roof was constructed with Irish black oak from County Galway and the chestnut roof timberwork was framed in 1395 at Farnham in Surrey, 56 kilometres (35 mi) south-west of London.[19] Accounts record the large number of wagons and barges which delivered the jointed timbers to Westminster for assembly.[20]

Westminster Hall has served numerous functions. It was primarily used for judicial purposes, housing three of the most important courts in the land: the Court of King's Bench, the Court of Common Pleas and the Court of Chancery. In 1875, these courts were amalgamated into the High Court of Justice,[21] which continued to meet in Westminster Hall until it moved to the Royal Courts of Justice in 1882.[22] In addition to regular courts, Westminster Hall also housed important trials, including impeachment trials and the state trials of King Charles I at the end of the English Civil War, Sir William Wallace, Sir Thomas More, John Cardinal Fisher, Guy Fawkes, the Earl of Strafford, the rebel Scottish Lords of the 1715 and 1745 uprisings, and Warren Hastings.

Westminster Hall has also served ceremonial functions. From the twelfth century to the nineteenth, coronation banquets honouring new monarchs were held here. The last coronation banquet was that of King George IV, held in 1821;[23] his successor, William IV, abandoned the idea because he deemed it too expensive. The Hall has been used for lyings-in-state during state and ceremonial funerals. Such an honour is usually reserved for the Sovereign and for their consorts; the only non-royals to receive it in the twentieth century were Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts (1914) and Sir Winston Churchill (1965). The most recent lying-in-state was that of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002.

The two Houses have presented ceremonial Addresses to the Crown in Westminster Hall on important public occasions. For example, Addresses were presented at Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee (1977) and Golden Jubilee (2002), the 300th anniversary of the Glorious Revolution (1988), and the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War (1995).

Under reforms made in 1999, the House of Commons uses the Grand Committee Room next to Westminster Hall as an additional debating chamber. (Although it is not part of the main hall, the room is usually spoken of as such.) The room is shaped like an elongated horseshoe; it stands in contrast with the main Chamber, in which the benches are placed opposite each other. This pattern is meant to reflect the non-partisan nature of the debates held in Westminster Hall. Westminster Hall sittings occur thrice each week; controversial matters are not usually discussed.

Other Rooms

There are several other important rooms that lie on the first floor of the Palace. At the extreme southern end of the Palace is the Robing Room, the room in which the Sovereign prepares for the State Opening of Parliament by donning official robes and wearing the Imperial State Crown. Paintings by William Dyce in the Robing Room depict scenes from the legend of King Arthur. Immediately next to the Robing Room is the Royal Gallery, which is sometimes used by foreign dignitaries who wish to address both Houses. The walls are decorated by two enormous paintings by Daniel Maclise: "The Death of Nelson" (depicting Lord Nelson's demise at the Battle of Trafalgar) and "The Meeting of Wellington and Blücher" (showing the Duke of Wellington meeting Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher at the Battle of Waterloo).

To the immediate south of the Lords Chamber is the Prince's Chamber, a small anteroom used by members of the Lords. The Prince's Chamber is decorated with paintings of members of the Tudor dynasty by Richard Burchett and his pupils, and features a marble statue of Queen Victoria. To the immediate north of the Lords Chamber is the Peers' Lobby, where Lords informally discuss or negotiate matters during sittings of the House.

The centrepiece of the Palace of Westminster is the octagonal Central Lobby, which lies immediately beyond the Peers' Lobby. The lobby, which lies directly below the Central Tower, is adorned with statues of statesmen and with mosaics representing the United Kingdom's constituent nations' patron saints: St George for England, St Andrew for Scotland, St David for Wales and St Patrick for Ireland.[note 2] Constituents may meet their Members of Parliament in the Central Lobby. Beyond the Central Lobby, next to the Commons Chamber, lies the Members' Lobby, in which Members of Parliament hold discussions or negotiations. The Members' Lobby contains statues of several former Prime Ministers, including David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee and Margaret Thatcher.

There are two suites of libraries on the Principal Floor, overlooking the river, for the House of Lords Library and House of Commons Library.

The Palace of Westminster also includes state apartments for the presiding officers of the two Houses. The official residence of the Speaker stands at the northern end of the Palace; the Lord Chancellor's apartments are at the southern end. Each day, the Speaker and Lord Speaker take part in formal processions from their apartments to their respective Chambers.[24][25]

There are 19 bars and restaurants in the Palace of Westminster,[26] many of which never close while the House is sitting. There is also a gymnasium, and even a hair salon; the rifle range closed in the 1990s.[27] Parliament also has a souvenirs shop, where items on sale range from House of Commons key-rings and china to House of Commons Champagne.

Security

The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod oversees security for the House of Lords, and the Serjeant at Arms does the same for the House of Commons. These officers, however, have primarily ceremonial roles outside the actual chambers of their respective Houses. Security is the responsibility of the Palace of Westminster Division of the Metropolitan Police, the police force for the Greater London area. Tradition still dictates that only the Serjeant at Arms may enter the Commons chamber armed.

With rising concern about the possibility of a lorry full of explosives being driven into the building, a series of concrete blocks was placed in the roadway in 2003.[28] On the river, an exclusion zone extending 70 metres (77 yd) from the bank exists, which no vessels are allowed to enter.[29]

Despite recent security breaches, members of the public continue to have access to the Strangers' Gallery (public gallery) in the House of Commons. Visitors pass through metal detectors and their possessions are scanned. Police from the Palace of Westminster Division of the Metropolitan Police, supported by some armed police from the Diplomatic Protection Group, are always on duty in and around the Palace.

Under a provision of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, it has been illegal since 1 August 2005 to hold a protest, without the prior permission of the Metropolitan Police, within a designated area extending approximately one kilometre (0.6 mi) around the Palace.[30]

Eating, drinking and smoking

The Palace has accumulated many rules and traditions over the centuries. Smoking has not been allowed in the chambers of the House of Lords and the Commons since the 17th century.[38] As a result, Members may take snuff instead and the doorkeepers still keep a snuff-box for this purpose. Despite persistent media rumours, it has not been possible to smoke anywhere inside the Palace since 2005.[39] Members may not eat or drink in the chamber; the exception to this rule is the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who may have an alcoholic drink while delivering the Budget statement.[40]

Dress code

Hats must not be worn (although they formerly were when a point of order was being raised),[41] and Members may not wear military decorations or insignia. Members are not allowed to have their hands in their pockets—Andrew Robathan was heckled by opposing MPs for doing this on 19 December 1994.[42] Swords may not be worn in the Palace, and each MP has a loop of ribbon in the cloakroom for storing weapons.

Forms of address

Members may not refer to each other by name and use either "my honourable friend" (if a member of the same party) or "the honourable lady/gentleman" (for members from other parties); alternatively, "the honourable member for [the constituency]" is used. Members of the Privy Council are referred to as "the right honourable". Barrister MPs are entitled to be styled "my learned friend" or "the learned lady/gentleman".

In the House of Lords, members are referred to as "the noble lord/lady", or "my noble friend".

Other traditions

No animals may enter the Palace of Westminster, with the exception of guide dogs for the blind;[38] sniffer dogs and police horses are also allowed on the grounds.[43]

Speeches may not be read out during debate, although notes may be referred to. Similarly, the reading of newspapers is not allowed. Visual aids are discouraged in the chamber.[44]

Applause is not normally allowed in the Lords and Commons. Some notable exceptions to this were when Robin Cook gave his resignation speech in 2003,[45], when Prime Minister Tony Blair appeared for the last time at Prime Minister's Questions and when Speaker Michael Martin gave his leaving speech on 17 June 2009.[46]

It is a convention that MPs do not discuss the Sovereign nor use the name of the monarch as a point of debate without prior permission from the Speaker. This comes from 19th-century constitutionalist Erskine May, who said, "the irregular use of the Queen's name to influence a decision of the House is unconstitutional in principle and inconsistent with the independence of Parliament ... Any attempt to use her name in debate to influence the judgement of Parliament is immediately checked and censured." Vincent Cable was reprimanded for breaking this convention during a session of Prime Minister's Questions in 2008.[47]

The nearest London Underground station is Westminster on the District, Circle and Jubilee Lines.

 

urbex Benelux -

 

A cottage is, typically, a small house. It may carry the connotation of being an old or old-fashioned building. In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cosy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie (also known by its code-names as AM-RB 001 and Nebula) is a limited production hybrid sports car collaboratively built by British automobile manufacturers Aston Martin, Red Bull Racing Advanced Technologies and several others. The sports car is a product of collaboration between Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing to develop a track-oriented car entirely usable and enjoyable as a road car, conceived by Adrian Newey, Dr Andy Palmer, Christian Horner and Simon Spoule. An incredibly special car with an equally remarkable name. One that immediately evokes connotations of power and honor, of being chosen by the Gods.

Khalil Chishtree’s installation of ethereal life-sized figures offers an upbeat and humanitarian take on plastic pollution and our threatened ecosystem. Chishtree wields one of the most ordinary and ubiquitous materials of our era, the plastic bag, to explore both the material’s possibilities and connotations for the well-being of the human race. Realizing only one figure in its entirety, and leaving the others incomplete, Chishtree accentuates the importance of progress and change as we encounter the challenges of that plastic pollution has wrought on our land and oceans. We greet his figures holding hands in a circle facing towards us in an expression of mutual support and empathy. Composed entirely of white plastic garbage bags, their material denotes man’s responsibility to the environment, and the need to act together towards a cleaner ecosystem.

Una aldaba es una pieza articulada de metal situada en las puertas exteriores de las casas y que sirve para llamar a sus ocupantes por medio de golpes en la puerta

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldaba

 

A door knocker is an item of door furniture that allows people outside a house to alert those inside to their presence. A door knocker has a part fixed to the door, and a part (usually metal) which is attached to the door by a hinge, and may be lifted and used to strike a plate fitted to the door, or the door itself, making a noise. The struck plate, if present, would be supplied and fitted with the knocker. Door knockers are often ornate, but may be no more than a simple fitting with a metal bob, or ring.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Door_knocker

 

Monasterio de la Trinidad y San Sergio - Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius - Тро́ице-Се́ргиева Ла́вра

 

Sérguiev Posad (Rusia) - Sergiyev Posad (Russia) - Се́ргиев Поса́д (Россия)

 

Sérguiev Posad (en ruso: Се́ргиев Поса́д), entre 1930 y 1991 llamada Zagorsk, es una ciudad rusa, al nordeste de Moscú. Contaba con 109.252 habitantes en el censo de 2008. Posee un importante conjunto monumental, el monasterio de la Trinidad y de San Sergio (siglos XV-XVIII), declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sérguiev_Posad

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anillo_de_Oro_de_Rusia

 

Sergiyev Posad (Russian: Се́ргиев Поса́д) is a city and the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population: 111,179 (2010 Census); 113,581 (2002 Census); 114,696 (1989 Census).

It was previously known as Sergiyev Posad (until 1919), Sergiyev (until 1930), Zagorsk (until 1991).

Sergiyev Posad grew in the 15th century around one of the greatest of Russian monasteries, the Trinity Lavra established by St. Sergius of Radonezh, still (as of 2015) one of the largest monasteries in Russia. Town status was granted to Sergiyev Posad in 1742. The town's name, alluding to St. Sergius, has strong religious connotations. Soviet authorities changed it first to just Sergiyev in 1919, and then to Zagorsk in 1930, in memory of the revolutionary Vladimir Mikhailovich Zagorsky

The original name was restored in 1991.

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Sergiyev Posad serves as the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District. As an administrative division, it is, together with twenty-six rural localities, incorporated within Sergiyevo-Posadsky District as the City of Sergiyev Posad. As a municipal division, the City of Sergiyev Posad is incorporated within Sergiyevo-Posadsky Municipal District as Sergiyev Posad Urban Settlement.

Tourism associated with the Golden Ring plays a role in the regional economy. There is also an important toy factory.

The Moscow–Yaroslavl railway and highway pass through the town. Sergiyev Posad Bus Terminal is located in the city.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergiyev_Posad

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Ring_of_Russia

  

El monasterio de la Trinidad y San Sergio (en ruso Тро́ице-Се́ргиева Ла́вра; o Tróitse-Sérguieva Lavra) en la ciudad de Sérguiev Posad (antiguo Zagorsk) es un importante monasterio ruso y centro espiritual de la iglesia ortodoxa rusa. Sérguiev Posad se encuentra a unos 70 kilómetros al noreste de Moscú en la carretera que va a Yaroslavl. Actualmente alberga a unos 300 monjes. Según la Unesco, que lo declaró Patrimonio de la Humanidad en 1993, se trata de «un buen ejemplo de monasterio ortodoxo en funcionamiento, con rasgos militares típicos de los siglos XV al XVIII, período durante el que se desarrolló.»

La iglesia principal de la Laura (monasterio), la catedral de la Asunción, recuerda la homónima catedral del Kremlin y alberga las tumbas de los Godunov.

Siendo monje de la Laura, Andréi Rubliov pintó, para el iconostasio de la catedral, su más célebre icono La Trinidad que actualmente se expone en la Galería Tretiakov de Moscú.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_de_la_Trinidad_y_San_Sergio

 

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (Russian: Тро́ице-Се́ргиева Ла́вра) is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Posad, about 70 km to the north-east from Moscow by the road leading to Yaroslavl, and currently is home to over 300 monks.

The monastery was founded in 1337 by one of the most venerated Russian saints, Sergius of Radonezh, who built a wooden church in honour of the Holy Trinity on Makovets Hill. Early development of the monastic community is well documented in contemporary lives of Sergius and his disciples.

In 1355, Sergius introduced a charter which required the construction of auxiliary buildings, such as refectory, kitchen, and bakery. This charter was a model for Sergius' numerous followers who founded more than 400 cloisters all over Russia, including the celebrated Solovetsky, Kirillov, and Simonov monasteries.

St. Sergius supported Dmitri Donskoi in his struggle against the Tatars and sent two of his monks, Peresvet and Oslyabya, to participate in the Battle of Kulikovo (1380). At the outbreak of the battle, Peresvet died in a single combat against a Tatar bogatyr. The monastery was devastated by fire, when a Tatar unit raided the area in 1408.

St. Sergius was declared patron saint of the Russian state in 1422. The same year the first stone cathedral was built by a team of Serbian monks who had found refuge in the monastery after the Battle of Kosovo. The relics of St. Sergius still may be seen in this cathedral, dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The greatest icon painters of medieval Russia, Andrei Rublev and Daniil Chyorny, were summoned to decorate the cathedral with frescoes. Traditionally, Muscovite royals were baptized in this cathedral and held thanksgiving services here.

In 1476, Ivan III invited several Pskovian masters to build the church of the Holy Spirit. This graceful structure is one of the few remaining examples of a Russian church topped with a belltower. The interior contains the earliest specimens of the use of glazed tiles for decoration. In the early 16th century, Vasily III added the Nikon annex and the Serapion tent, where several of Sergius' disciples were interred.

It took 26 years to construct the six-pillared Assumption Cathedral, which was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible in 1559. The cathedral is much larger than its model and namesake in the Moscow Kremlin. The magnificent iconostasis of the 16th–18th centuries features Simon Ushakov's masterpiece, the icon of Last Supper. Interior walls were painted with violet and blue frescoes by a team of Yaroslavl masters in 1684. The vault contains burials of Boris Godunov, his family and several 20th-century patriarchs.

As the monastery grew into one of the wealthiest landowners in Russia, the woods where it had stood were cleared and a village (or posad) sprang up near the monastery walls. It gradually developed into the modern town of Sergiyev Posad. The cloister itself was a notable centre of chronicle-writing and icon painting. Just opposite the monastery walls St. Paraskeva's Convent was established, among whose buildings St. Paraskeva's Church (1547), Introduction Church (1547), and a 17th-century chapel over St. Paraskeva's well are still visible.

In 1550s, a wooden palisade surrounding the cloister was replaced with 1.5 km-long stone walls, featuring twelve towers, which helped the monastery to withstand a celebrated 16-month Polish-Lithuanian siege in 1608–1610. A shell-hole in the cathedral gates is preserved as a reminder of Wladyslaw IV's abortive siege in 1618.

By the end of the 17th century, when young Peter I twice found refuge within the monastery from his enemies, numerous buildings had been added. These include a small baroque palace of the patriarchs, noted for its luxurious interiors, and a royal palace, with its facades painted in checkerboard design. The refectory of St. Sergius, covering 510 square meters and also painted in dazzling checkerboard design, used to be the largest hall in Russia. The five-domed Church of John the Baptist's Nativity (1693–1699) was commissioned by the Stroganovs and built over one of the gates. Other 17th-century structures include the monks' cells, a hospital topped with a tented church, and a chapel built over a holy well discovered in 1644.

In 1744, Empress Elizabeth conferred on the cloister the dignity of a Lavra. The metropolitan of Moscow was henceforth also the Archimandrite of the Lavra. Elizabeth particularly favoured the Trinity and annually proceeded afoot from Moscow to the cloister. Her secret spouse Alexey Razumovsky accompanied her on such journeys and commissioned a baroque church to the Virgin of Smolensk, the last major shrine to be erected in the Lavra. Another pledge of Elizabeth's affection for the monastery is a white-and-blue baroque belltower, which, at 88 meters, was one of the tallest structures built in Russia up to that date. Its architects were Ivan Michurin and Dmitry Ukhtomsky.

Throughout the 19th century, the Lavra maintained its status as the richest Russian monastery. A seminary founded in 1742 was replaced by an ecclesiastical academy in 1814. The monastery boasted a supreme collection of manuscripts and books. Medieval collections of the Lavra sacristy attracted thousands of visitors. In Sergiyev Posad, the monastery maintained several sketes, one of which is a place of burial for the conservative philosophers Konstantin Leontiev and Vasily Rozanov.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Soviet government closed the lavra in 1920. Its buildings were assigned to different civic institutions or declared museums. In 1930, monastery bells, including the Tsar-Bell of 65 tons, were destroyed. Pavel Florensky and his followers prevented the authorities from stealing and selling the sacristy collection but overall many valuables were lost or transferred to other collections.

In 1945, following Joseph Stalin's temporary tolerance of the church during World War II, the Lavra was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. On April 16, 1946 divine service was renewed at the Assumption Cathedral. The lavra continued as the seat of the Moscow Patriarchate until 1983, when the patriarch was allowed to settle at the Danilov Monastery in Moscow. After that, the monastery continued as a prime centre of religious education. Important restoration works were conducted in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, the Trinity Lavra was inscribed on the UN World Heritage List.

The Lavra has a number of representative churches (podvorie or metochia) in its vicinity and throughout Russia. The Lavra's hieromonks have manned a number of sketes at remote locations (such as the Anzer Island in the Solovki Archipelago in the White Sea), as well as the Trinity Church on the King George Island in the Antarctic.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_Lavra_of_St._Sergius

  

Comic City Exhibit,

Oregon Historical Society Museum

--------------

Creeping Death has Negative Connotations, what other alternatives might the author have used, eg slime attack, sightless panic from Neptune, bad smells from Neptune, cold blood, etc? It would be fun to see alternative titles from Flickr folk.

-- Steve (below)

This is a long exposure stack of the Visy recycling plant at Smithfield NSW. I imagine this is only steam rising up here and not a stream of pollution but I like the catchy name I've come up with so I'm sticking with it. Sorry for any negative connotations Visy haha :)

 

This was shot on the X-T1 + 10-24mm. It is a stack of 8 x 6.5 second exposures. There was heavy white balance adjustment and perspective correction as well as shadow recovery needed to get the image to where it was usable followed by colour and B+W work with NIK Color and Silver Efex.

First time I had laid my eyes on an Edsel 1960 Ranger was at the 2021 Heartland Car Show held in Paola Kansas. It wasn't the only Edsel at the show but was the "Lone Ranger”.

 

"Edsel," as a word, comes with a lot of baggage, both for car people and the general public alike. The short-lived division of Ford Motor Company has the connotation of being a colossal loser--not quite on par with the Titanic, but doomed nonetheless--and that's grossly unfair. Perhaps the great shame is that, by the time Ford had fixed the actual product for the 1960 model year, introducing a sleeker and more sophisticated design, the automaker pulled the plug almost immediately, making just a few thousand cars.

 

At the Edsel introduction in 1957--production of the 1958s started early, in July of 1957--the new division featured 18 different models across seven ranges that were based on both Ford and Mercury chassis. Ford's intent was to create a new division between the Ford and Mercury lines while moving Mercury a bit upmarket to better compete with Buick and Oldsmobile. It essentially had two lines within Edsel, the "Junior" models, Ranger and Pacer, based on the shorter Ford chassis and the "Senior" models, Citation and Corsair, based on the longer Mercury full-size chassis, as well as station wagons in multiple ranges. Curiously, Ford priced the "Junior" models between Ford and Mercury and the "Senior" models between Mercury and Lincoln, somewhat confusing the direction the division was headed.

 

For 1959, Edsel included just 10 models across three ranges, and for 1960 the Corsair models were dropped, with just the Ranger and Villager series remaining. Down from the 18 offered in the first year, just seven body styles were available--including the Ranger sedans, hardtops and convertible as well as the Villager station wagons--and all were based on Ford chassis. Edsel production ended for good on November 19, 1959, and the 1960 models were scarce even then, with just 2,846 Edsels rolling out of Ford's Louisville plant, including a mere 76 Ranger convertibles, the rarest of all Edsels and, ironically, perhaps the most elegant looking of them all.With the horse-collar grille not very well received by the buying, or, more correctly, the non-buying public, a massive last-minute redesign came for 1960, and the results were handsome when compared to contemporary competitors. Although the split front grille may look more appropriate to a Pontiac, it certainly represented a vast improvement over the previous Edsels.Based on the full-size Ford Fairlane and Galaxie 119-inch-wheelbase chassis, the Ranger itself rode on a 120-inch wheelbase, with slightly modified chassis and suspension mounting points, and had thicker rear coil springs. The Edsel did get unique tail and reverse lamps, formed from the tips of mini-wings that emerged from the trunk, but most body panels and glass were shared with Fords. Only the four-door, pillarless hardtop Ranger Sedan, of which just 135 were made in both standard and deluxe trim levels, had no direct Ford model counterpart. The overall effect of the longer and lower look and other contemporary design elements made Edsel less aesthetically polarizing and more pleasing.Under the hood, all 1960 Ranger models came standard with the Ranger V-8, a two-barrel 185-hp, 292-cu.in. V-8, also known as the Thunderbird 292 when under the hood of a Ford-badged car. Buyers could opt for a high-compression V-8 from the FE engine family, the 352-cu.in. engine with the enthusiastic "Super Express V-8" moniker. Featuring a 9.6:1 compression ratio and a four-barrel carburetor, the Super Express made 300 horsepower and a healthy wallop of torque--381-pound feet. This one, when in Ford model cars, was called the Thunderbird 352 Special V-8. Except for the convertible, a reduced-cost 223-cu.in, 145-hp straight-six was made available for thrifty buyers. The top V-8 with the three-speed Dual-Power Drive automatic transmission could reach 60 MPH from a standstill in about nine seconds, while the Ranger V-8, when equipped with the two-speed Mile-O-Matic Drive automatic, could hit a mile-a-minute in about 12.5 seconds. Along with those automatics, a three-speed manual remained optional.Although Ford had promised an all-new car for the 1958 Edsel and heavily advertised it in the run up to job one, it turned out to be largely conventional, but with some unique touches, such as a floating, compass-like speedometer in the center of the instrument panel and an optional, Chrysler-like pushbutton automatic transmission. By 1960, features that had occasionally been troublesome had been abandoned for more conventional fare. Likewise, early quality issues had been fixed for the 1960 models, and the cooling problems, which were not isolated to Edsels, were eliminated when Ford debuted its all-new cross-flow pressurized radiator across all lines in 1960.

 

Critics will point out that the 1960 Ranger is in many ways little more than a warmed-over Fairlane, but in doing so they will miss the design features, subtle though they are, that made the Edsel unique. From that distinctive split grille to the chrome spear that tapered from just aft of the front wheel well all the way back to the bumper and finally to the protruding taillamps, the final Edsels had their own style. But the spin-off division had the deck stacked against it from the start, as Ford limited its freedom to creating designs that didn't require extensive new tooling. Given these restrictions, the 1960 re-design showed plenty of promise.

 

Article from Hemmings

Sérguiev Posad (Rusia) - Sergiyev Posad (Russia) - Се́ргиев Поса́д (Россия)

 

Sérguiev Posad (en ruso: Се́ргиев Поса́д), entre 1930 y 1991 llamada Zagorsk, es una ciudad rusa, al nordeste de Moscú. Contaba con 109.252 habitantes en el censo de 2008. Posee un importante conjunto monumental, el monasterio de la Trinidad y de San Sergio (siglos XV-XVIII), declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sérguiev_Posad

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anillo_de_Oro_de_Rusia

 

Sergiyev Posad (Russian: Се́ргиев Поса́д) is a city and the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population: 111,179 (2010 Census); 113,581 (2002 Census); 114,696 (1989 Census).

It was previously known as Sergiyev Posad (until 1919), Sergiyev (until 1930), Zagorsk (until 1991).

Sergiyev Posad grew in the 15th century around one of the greatest of Russian monasteries, the Trinity Lavra established by St. Sergius of Radonezh, still (as of 2015) one of the largest monasteries in Russia. Town status was granted to Sergiyev Posad in 1742. The town's name, alluding to St. Sergius, has strong religious connotations. Soviet authorities changed it first to just Sergiyev in 1919, and then to Zagorsk in 1930, in memory of the revolutionary Vladimir Mikhailovich Zagorsky

The original name was restored in 1991.

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Sergiyev Posad serves as the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District. As an administrative division, it is, together with twenty-six rural localities, incorporated within Sergiyevo-Posadsky District as the City of Sergiyev Posad. As a municipal division, the City of Sergiyev Posad is incorporated within Sergiyevo-Posadsky Municipal District as Sergiyev Posad Urban Settlement.

Tourism associated with the Golden Ring plays a role in the regional economy. There is also an important toy factory.

The Moscow–Yaroslavl railway and highway pass through the town. Sergiyev Posad Bus Terminal is located in the city.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergiyev_Posad

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Ring_of_Russia

  

El monasterio de la Trinidad y San Sergio (en ruso Тро́ице-Се́ргиева Ла́вра; o Tróitse-Sérguieva Lavra) en la ciudad de Sérguiev Posad (antiguo Zagorsk) es un importante monasterio ruso y centro espiritual de la iglesia ortodoxa rusa. Sérguiev Posad se encuentra a unos 70 kilómetros al noreste de Moscú en la carretera que va a Yaroslavl. Actualmente alberga a unos 300 monjes. Según la Unesco, que lo declaró Patrimonio de la Humanidad en 1993, se trata de «un buen ejemplo de monasterio ortodoxo en funcionamiento, con rasgos militares típicos de los siglos XV al XVIII, período durante el que se desarrolló.»

La iglesia principal de la Laura (monasterio), la catedral de la Asunción, recuerda la homónima catedral del Kremlin y alberga las tumbas de los Godunov.

Siendo monje de la Laura, Andréi Rubliov pintó, para el iconostasio de la catedral, su más célebre icono La Trinidad que actualmente se expone en la Galería Tretiakov de Moscú.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_de_la_Trinidad_y_San_Sergio

 

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (Russian: Тро́ице-Се́ргиева Ла́вра) is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Posad, about 70 km to the north-east from Moscow by the road leading to Yaroslavl, and currently is home to over 300 monks.

The monastery was founded in 1337 by one of the most venerated Russian saints, Sergius of Radonezh, who built a wooden church in honour of the Holy Trinity on Makovets Hill. Early development of the monastic community is well documented in contemporary lives of Sergius and his disciples.

In 1355, Sergius introduced a charter which required the construction of auxiliary buildings, such as refectory, kitchen, and bakery. This charter was a model for Sergius' numerous followers who founded more than 400 cloisters all over Russia, including the celebrated Solovetsky, Kirillov, and Simonov monasteries.

St. Sergius supported Dmitri Donskoi in his struggle against the Tatars and sent two of his monks, Peresvet and Oslyabya, to participate in the Battle of Kulikovo (1380). At the outbreak of the battle, Peresvet died in a single combat against a Tatar bogatyr. The monastery was devastated by fire, when a Tatar unit raided the area in 1408.

St. Sergius was declared patron saint of the Russian state in 1422. The same year the first stone cathedral was built by a team of Serbian monks who had found refuge in the monastery after the Battle of Kosovo. The relics of St. Sergius still may be seen in this cathedral, dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The greatest icon painters of medieval Russia, Andrei Rublev and Daniil Chyorny, were summoned to decorate the cathedral with frescoes. Traditionally, Muscovite royals were baptized in this cathedral and held thanksgiving services here.

In 1476, Ivan III invited several Pskovian masters to build the church of the Holy Spirit. This graceful structure is one of the few remaining examples of a Russian church topped with a belltower. The interior contains the earliest specimens of the use of glazed tiles for decoration. In the early 16th century, Vasily III added the Nikon annex and the Serapion tent, where several of Sergius' disciples were interred.

It took 26 years to construct the six-pillared Assumption Cathedral, which was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible in 1559. The cathedral is much larger than its model and namesake in the Moscow Kremlin. The magnificent iconostasis of the 16th–18th centuries features Simon Ushakov's masterpiece, the icon of Last Supper. Interior walls were painted with violet and blue frescoes by a team of Yaroslavl masters in 1684. The vault contains burials of Boris Godunov, his family and several 20th-century patriarchs.

As the monastery grew into one of the wealthiest landowners in Russia, the woods where it had stood were cleared and a village (or posad) sprang up near the monastery walls. It gradually developed into the modern town of Sergiyev Posad. The cloister itself was a notable centre of chronicle-writing and icon painting. Just opposite the monastery walls St. Paraskeva's Convent was established, among whose buildings St. Paraskeva's Church (1547), Introduction Church (1547), and a 17th-century chapel over St. Paraskeva's well are still visible.

In 1550s, a wooden palisade surrounding the cloister was replaced with 1.5 km-long stone walls, featuring twelve towers, which helped the monastery to withstand a celebrated 16-month Polish-Lithuanian siege in 1608–1610. A shell-hole in the cathedral gates is preserved as a reminder of Wladyslaw IV's abortive siege in 1618.

By the end of the 17th century, when young Peter I twice found refuge within the monastery from his enemies, numerous buildings had been added. These include a small baroque palace of the patriarchs, noted for its luxurious interiors, and a royal palace, with its facades painted in checkerboard design. The refectory of St. Sergius, covering 510 square meters and also painted in dazzling checkerboard design, used to be the largest hall in Russia. The five-domed Church of John the Baptist's Nativity (1693–1699) was commissioned by the Stroganovs and built over one of the gates. Other 17th-century structures include the monks' cells, a hospital topped with a tented church, and a chapel built over a holy well discovered in 1644.

In 1744, Empress Elizabeth conferred on the cloister the dignity of a Lavra. The metropolitan of Moscow was henceforth also the Archimandrite of the Lavra. Elizabeth particularly favoured the Trinity and annually proceeded afoot from Moscow to the cloister. Her secret spouse Alexey Razumovsky accompanied her on such journeys and commissioned a baroque church to the Virgin of Smolensk, the last major shrine to be erected in the Lavra. Another pledge of Elizabeth's affection for the monastery is a white-and-blue baroque belltower, which, at 88 meters, was one of the tallest structures built in Russia up to that date. Its architects were Ivan Michurin and Dmitry Ukhtomsky.

Throughout the 19th century, the Lavra maintained its status as the richest Russian monastery. A seminary founded in 1742 was replaced by an ecclesiastical academy in 1814. The monastery boasted a supreme collection of manuscripts and books. Medieval collections of the Lavra sacristy attracted thousands of visitors. In Sergiyev Posad, the monastery maintained several sketes, one of which is a place of burial for the conservative philosophers Konstantin Leontiev and Vasily Rozanov.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Soviet government closed the lavra in 1920. Its buildings were assigned to different civic institutions or declared museums. In 1930, monastery bells, including the Tsar-Bell of 65 tons, were destroyed. Pavel Florensky and his followers prevented the authorities from stealing and selling the sacristy collection but overall many valuables were lost or transferred to other collections.

In 1945, following Joseph Stalin's temporary tolerance of the church during World War II, the Lavra was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. On April 16, 1946 divine service was renewed at the Assumption Cathedral. The lavra continued as the seat of the Moscow Patriarchate until 1983, when the patriarch was allowed to settle at the Danilov Monastery in Moscow. After that, the monastery continued as a prime centre of religious education. Important restoration works were conducted in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, the Trinity Lavra was inscribed on the UN World Heritage List.

The Lavra has a number of representative churches (podvorie or metochia) in its vicinity and throughout Russia. The Lavra's hieromonks have manned a number of sketes at remote locations (such as the Anzer Island in the Solovki Archipelago in the White Sea), as well as the Trinity Church on the King George Island in the Antarctic.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_Lavra_of_St._Sergius

 

I hate the word chinky. Regardless of context - whether used as a racial slur against Chinese people, or when used without racist connotations to mean a Chinese takeaway or a meal bought from one - it makes me feel a bit sick every time I hear it. That said, I don't believe in the coward's philosophy "I am offended therefore you must stop", and I respect people's freedom to use the word if they want. If I hear it in the company of people I know or people they know, I just ask, out of sensitivity, that they don't use it around me.

 

On weekend nights, Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street can be a brutal place. I walked there on Friday night, on my way to Nice'n'Sleazy, behind a group of Chinese people who I didn't know, and passed three boys sitting at a bus stop. They were maybe 19 or 20. One of them said, with the tone but not the volume of a shout, "Chinkyyys!" to his friends. It was intended I suppose to amuse his friends but not to be heard by the group of Chinese who had walked past. Because I was behind them, I heard it, and it stopped me mid-stride. I turned round, took a couple of steps back and looked at the boy. I told him he was scum, which perhaps was harsh, but the pertinent question "what are you so insecure about that you racially insult people behind their backs on the street to get your laughs?" didn't occur to me at the time.

 

I was so angry I wanted to hit him. I wanted him to get up off his seat at the bus stop and hit me, so that I'd have a legal, if not moral, justification for hitting him back. But he just laughed. So I went to the pub, had a beer and took this photograph.

 

Glasgow, 2010.

 

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Nice housing by the harbour at Strangford. The name has Viking connotations. A ferry plies between Strangford and Portaferry.