To think, all these events were set in motion by one simple action. Caused by one simple man. It’s interesting to consider that this could have all been avoided, had he not caught that blade in mid-air. Then again, I act as if the decision to train him was then out of my hands when it was anything but. I could have simply said no.

 

But I didn’t, and now the consequences of my inability to say no are becoming back to haunt us all. Does that make all this my fault?

 

The pain Talia’s been forced to endure.

 

The pain of being abandoned.

 

The pain of losing a child.

 

Would this all have been prevented were I simply able to say no?

 

I knew from the moment I lay eyes on him that he was no ordinary man. The fire in his eyes. The rage. It was clear as day that he was a tortured soul who sought to lash out at the world. A world that had taken everything he held most dear. For most, that would be a sign of much needed caution. One with volatile potential should never be underestimated. But of course, that was not enough to dissuade my intrigue.

 

Both Talia and I knew, whether we liked to admit it or not, that Bruce was a rare specimen. Chances are we would never find another like him for decades, and given my declining health.

 

Time was not something I had the pleasure of. Nor do I currently.

 

Despite my concern, I agreed to have him join our order. In fact, I went further. I took it upon myself to train him. Such an action made Bruce a target almost instantaneously, after all, who wouldn’t want to learn why the Head of the Demon would part with tradition and choose to train a complete stranger. It’s arguable that the target I placed on Bruce all but guaranteed his alienation from the rest of the League, and would eventually lead to his attempt to escape. You’d have to be foolish to trust the same people who have all tried to take your life after all.

 

However, the alienation also accomplished something of far greater significance. It pushed both Bruce and Talia closer together. Just as I’d hoped. The fire in his heart would burn many of his foes. But his passion for Talia would keep the blaze alight, and guarantee her own safety when my time finally came. At least…that was what I hoped for.

 

Instead the results where the opposite.

 

Rather than Talia forging him into the man he was destined to become, he began to change her. I should have seen it sooner. The greater hesitancy she showed when I would demand her to make an example of an enemy. Her reluctance to dine with both Nyssa and I on an evening. All because of him.

 

How I did not see it, that night she begged me to not force Bruce to undergo the final trial, I do not know. My own arrogance blinded me from the reality that lay before my eyes. My own daughter was in love, and she would have done anything for him.

 

To this day, I cannot be certain that the feelings were mutual between them. Part of me likes to think that they were, if only to know that Talia loved a man who cared greatly for her. But his actions speak far louder than his words ever did. If he truly cared for her, why did he abandon her? Why did he never come back for her? Most of all, where was he when she almost lost her life, giving birth to Damian?

 

It’s only when I properly consider his actions that I’m forced to accept the brutal reality.

 

He never loved her.

 

He simply used her to accomplish his own goals.

 

Now he swings around the streets of that vermin infested disgrace that his father cherished until the day he died. For a while, I regretted having Thomas Wayne be killed for Marcus to complete his trial. After all, Thomas Wayne held a significant sway across a large part of the United States and no doubt would have been a powerful ally. But with what his son has done to my family. The pain he’s caused. The lives he’s ruined.

I wish I’d made the man suffer for an eternity. Just as I will make his son suffer for all he's done to my family.

 

Fifteen years earlier….Twenty three hours after Bruce and Talia fled from Nanda Parbat…

 

Ubu: My Lord!

 

RG: Speak, Ubu.

 

Ubu: They’ve found her.

 

RG: And him?

 

Ubu: Gone sir. According to Talia, he left her in the middle of the night whilst she was asleep.

 

RG: He’ll likely have fled to his own castle, believing it a suitable bastion to protect him from my wrath. How naïve. Where is she now?

 

Ubu: The honour guard is bringing her back now.

 

RG: Good. Have her brought to me the moment they return.

 

Ubu: Yes, Master.

 

It would take the honour guard two hours to return her to Nanda Parbat. By all accounts she came willingly, which only cemented my view of what had transpired to lead up to this. Talia hadn’t chosen to help him flee, she’d be coerced by her own feelings towards him. Feelings which I had a significant influence in creating. In many regards, the events that caused Talia to betray my trust and help Bruce escape were my own doing. Had I known that the feelings Talia felt for him outweighed her loyalty to me, I would have separated them immediately.

 

A daughter who would choose the love of a stranger over blood is a danger to all. It was my duty as Head of the Demon to remind her of her place. Whether she was my child or not, no-one betrays the Demon without severe repercussions. Nyssa had learnt this long ago. But I couldn’t help but feel heartbroken knowing that my precious Talia would have to be taught this lesson herself.

 

By the time the honour guard returned Talia to Nanda Parbat, my body was beginning to falter. It had been two days since I had last entered the pit and the sands of time were taking their toll on my body. I knew then and there that once I had dealt with Talia, I would need to bathe in the pit’s waters. At least, that’s what I like to keep telling myself. It helps to justify what I did to her that day.

 

As she entered my chambers I couldn’t help but feel conflicted. She was after all, my own flesh and blood. Regardless of what it is you hear about me, you must remember that above all else. I always consider myself a father first, and a teacher second. Even if my actions say contradict that at times.

 

TG: Father……

 

I say nothing.

 

If there’s one thing I know, it’s that Talia is always worried when I do not answer her, and for good reason. My silence implies uncertainty, which almost always guarantees a struggle between my desire to lash out and the necessity to remain composed before my followers.

 

TG: Father?

 

RG: I did not expect this Talia. Not from you.

 

TG: I’m…..sorry…..

 

RG: I expect Nyssa to disappoint me. That poor child can do little else besides fight and kill. But you, I expected so much more from you, Talia.

 

TG: I know, father.

 

RG: It pains me to know that after everything I’ve done, all that I seek to accomplish to make your life better, this is how you treat me. You cast me aside, as if I were nothing.

 

TG: I didn’t want to do this, father. But I was left with no choice.

 

RG: LIAR!

 

Before I can coin my next response I reach out with my right hand and slap Talia in the face, causing her to collapse on the ground.

 

To this day I do not know whether I slapped her out of choice, or out of blind rage. But what I do know, is that she didn’t see me as her father in that moment. She saw me as Head of the Demon.

 

RG: Belief in lack of choice is a sign of weakness. A demonstration of a lack of spirit to force an alternative solution.

 

TG: Like when you lacked the spirit to offer an alternative to killing Dusan?

 

How willingly Talia mentioned his name did catch me off guard at that moment. She of all people was aware of my desire to have a son as a suitable heir. But that could never have been Dusan. The birth deformities meant he was too weak to survive even with exposure to the pit. But regardless, to have taken his life to ensure Bruce’s ascension to Demon’s Heir was perhaps the most painful decision I’d ever had to make. For her to mock me with him…it surprised me.

 

I’d never known her to be so cruel.

 

RG: Dusan was a disgrace to our family.

 

TG: Then what does that make me then, father?

 

RG: …..A disappointment.

 

The idea of stepping on her as she lay on the ground was tempting for having tried to use Dusan against me. Evidently she learnt more from Bruce than simply blind stupidity.

 

RG: Where is he?

 

TG: He’s gone.

 

RG: So I have been told. Where?

 

TG: How should I know?

 

RG: You risked your own legacy to help him escape, there’s no way you’d just allow him to leave without at least telling you where he was going. Now, where is he?

 

TG: What makes you think I let him leave?

 

RG: Nothing, because I know he left you in the middle of the night. All on your own.

 

TG: Don´t…

 

RG: In a land ruled by a tyrant who would be more than happy to make an example of my family.

 

TG: Father….

 

RG: How fortunate we found you, after he left you to die.

 

TG: HE DIDN’T LEAVE ME TO DIE!

 

RG: His actions say otherwise.

 

It was at that moment that I noticed a piece of paper sticking out from a pocket in her clothes. Obviously, it was from him. No doubt explaining his intentions for abandoning her. Before she has a chance to notice that I’ve spotted it, I grab hold of it and remove it from her pocket.

 

RG: How quaint. He claims he loves you, and that’s why he couldn’t bring himself to put you through such pain by forcing you to abandon your family.

 

TG: At least he cares for those he loves, unlike some.

 

RG: I saved your life during childbirth.

 

TG: By allowing mother to die.

 

RG: You’re welcome.

 

TG: Why do you care, father? Bruce is gone. He’s beyond your reach. You’ll never see him again.

 

RG: Oh my dear Talia. We both know, there’s no-one who is beyond my reach. Ubu!

 

Ubu: Yes, master?

 

RG: Take Talia to Pagan Mar.

 

Ubu: Master?

 

RG: She has chosen her path. She wises to act like a traitor, so she must be punished like a traitor.

 

TG: Father you can’t!

 

RG: Actions have consequences, Talia. It saddens me that I have to remind you, but if you cannot respect me as your father. Then I shall force you to respect me as the Demon’s head.

 

To this day I regret sending Talia to Pagan Mar. It’s a fate worse than death to be sent there. Death is swift and painless. Pagan Mar is anything but, which is why so few in the League have ever dared to oppose me. And after I’m done with Gotham, no-one else ever will….

 

she has a birthday sometime around now (she was feral as a kitten, so uncertain of date), and is 10 years old!

 

happy birthday, soph!

 

Raffaello Sanzio (Urbino, 6 de abril de 1483-Roma, 6 de abril de 1520),​ también conocido como Rafael de Urbino o simplemente como Rafael,​ fue un pintor y arquitecto italiano del Renacimiento. Además de su labor pictórica, que sería admirada e imitada durante siglos, realizó importantes aportes en la arquitectura y, como inspector de antigüedades, se interesó en el estudio y conservación de los vestigios grecorromanos.​

 

Hijo de un pintor de modesta relevancia, fue considerado un niño prodigio por su precoz habilidad y al quedar huérfano se formó en los talleres de varios artistas de prestigio. A los 25 años obtuvo su primer encargo oficial, la decoración de las Estancias Vaticanas, donde pintó algunos frescos como La escuela de Atenas, considerada una de sus obras cumbre.4​5​6​ Es célebre por la perfección y gracia de sus artes visuales, destacando en trabajos de pintura y dibujo artístico.​ Junto con Miguel Ángel y Leonardo da Vinci forma el trío de los grandes maestros del período.​

 

Nació en Viernes Santo y falleció en esta misma festividad el día que cumplía 37 años.​ Fue un artista muy productivo, en parte gracias a que dirigió un taller conformado por numerosos colaboradores, y, a pesar de su muerte prematura, dejó una extensa obra que en gran parte aún se conserva. La mayor parte de su trabajo está alojado en los Museos Vaticanos, ya que decoró con frescos las habitaciones conocidas como las Estancias de Rafael, el principal encargo de su carrera, que quedó sin terminar a causa de su muerte y fue completado por ayudantes.

 

Después de sus años de juventud en Roma, gran parte de su obra, a pesar de haber sido diseñada por él, fue ejecutada por su taller, con una considerable pérdida de calidad. Ejerció gran influencia en su época; aunque fuera de Roma su obra fue conocida sobre todo a través de la producción que hicieron los talleres de grabado que colaboraban con él. Después de su muerte, la influencia de su principal rival, Miguel Ángel, se intensificó hasta los siglos XVIII y XIX, cuando las cualidades más serenas y armoniosas de Rafael fueron consideradas de nuevo como un modelo superior.

Su carrera se dividió de manera natural en tres fases y tres estilos, descritos así por Giorgio Vasari: sus primeros años en Umbría, el periodo posterior de cuatro años en Florencia (1504-1508), donde absorbió las tradiciones artísticas de la ciudad, y finalmente su último y triunfal período de doce años en Roma, trabajando para los papas y su corte.

Nació en Urbino —una pequeña ciudad de la Italia central—, en la región de Marcas, localidad pequeña, pero importante desde el punto de vista artístico, donde su padre Giovanni Santi era pintor de la corte del duque. En la pequeña corte de Urbino, Giovanni fue integrado en el círculo íntimo de la familia en un grado superior al que era habitual en otras cortes italianas, bajo un gobierno con un importante centro de cultura literaria y artística.​

 

Crecer en el seno de esta pequeña corte le dio a Rafael la oportunidad de aprender las maneras pulidas y las habilidades sociales tan alabadas en él por Vasari.La vida cortesana de Urbino en esta época sería poco después considerada por Baldassare Castiglione, (en su obra El Cortesano​ en 1528), como modelo de virtudes de una corte humanista italiana. Castiglione se instaló en Urbino en el año 1504, cuando Rafael ya no residía en ella; sin embargo, la visitaba muy a menudo, lo que dio como resultado una extensa amistad. Otros visitantes habituales de la corte también se convirtieron en sus amigos: Pietro Bibbiena y Pietro Bembo, nombrados ambos cardenales más tarde, eran conocidos entonces como buenos escritores y vivieron en Roma al mismo tiempo que Rafael.

 

Se movió con comodidad en las altas esferas sociales durante toda su vida, lo que ha sido uno de los factores que han contribuido a dar una falsa impresión de una carrera artística fácil. Sin embargo, no recibió una completa educación humanística, por lo tanto no se sabe con claridad si leía fácilmente en latín.​

 

Biografía Primeros años (1483-1504)

 

Los desposorios de la Virgen de Rafael Sanzio, en la Pinacoteca de Brera en Milán. En esta obra, se puede apreciar la influencia de Perugino en la manera de pintar del joven.

Su madre, Magia di Battista di Nicola Ciarla, murió en 1491, y el 1 de agosto de 1494, Giovanni Santi, su padre, volvió a casarse. Con tan solo 11 años, quedó huérfano y bajo la custodia legal de su tío Bartolomeo, sacerdote, que inició un litigio con la madrastra del chico. Sin embargo, Rafael continuó viviendo con ella cuando no acudía a su aprendizaje con un maestro. Aun así, ya había dado muestra de su talento, según Giorgio Vasari, quien cuenta que había sido "una gran ayuda para su padre".16​17​ Un brillante autorretrato de su adolescencia muestra su precoz talento.​ El taller de su padre continuó y, probablemente en compañía de su madrastra, jugó un relevante papel en su gestión desde su juventud. En Urbino tuvo la oportunidad de conocer la obra de Paolo Uccello, el precedente pintor de la corte († 1475), y de Luca Signorelli, quien hasta el año 1498 residió y trabajó en la próxima Città di Castello.​

 

Según Vasari, su padre lo colocó en el taller del maestro de Umbria Pietro Perugino como aprendiz, «a pesar de las lágrimas de su madre». La evidencia de un periodo de aprendizaje viene solo de Vasari y de otra fuente,​ y ha sido discutida, porque su madre murió cuando él tenía ocho años, lo que sería demasiado pronto para comenzar a formarse. Una teoría alternativa es que recibió algún adiestramiento de Timoteo Viti, un pintor de la corte de Urbino desde 1495.Pero los historiadores modernos están de acuerdo en que Rafael trabajó al menos como ayudante de Perugino desde alrededor de 1500; la influencia de Perugino en sus primeras obras es muy evidente: "probablemente ningún otro discípulo de talento había absorbido las enseñanzas de su maestro como lo hizo Rafael, aún comparándolo con Leonardo da Vinci y Miguel Ángel", según Wölfflin.Vasari escribe que, en cuanto a este período, era imposible distinguir las obras de ambos artistas, pero muchos historiadores del arte modernos afirman haber detectado las partes que Rafael pintó como ayudante en obras de Perugino o de su taller. Aparte de la similitud estilística, sus técnicas eran también muy similares, por ejemplo, en la densa aplicación de la pintura, con el uso de un medio a base de barniz, en las sombras y los adornos oscuros, pero con una aplicación más ligera en las partes de carne. Sin embargo, el exceso de resina en el barniz ha causado a menudo grietas en áreas de las pinturas de ambos maestros.​ El taller de Perugino estaba activo tanto en Perugia como en Florencia, quizá con dos sucursales permanentes.Se considera que en 1501 Rafael era un Maestro de Pleno Derecho, completamente formado.

 

Su primera obra documentada fue el Retablo Baronci —aunque hay una controversia con La resurrección de Cristo que fue realizada entre los años 1499 y 1501— para la Iglesia de San Nicolás de Tolentino en Città di Castello, una ciudad a medio camino entre Perugia y Urbino. Evangelista di Pian di Meleto, quien había trabajado para su padre, compartió el encargo de la obra, que data de 1500 y fue terminada en 1501; hoy en día solo quedan algunas porciones y un boceto preparatorio. Durante los siguientes años pintó obras para otras iglesias, incluyendo la Crucifixión Mond —alrededor de 1503— y Los desposorios de la Virgen de la Pinacoteca di Brera, así como obras para Perugia, como el Retablo Oddi —La anunciación , La Adoración de los Magos y La coronación de la Virgen 1501-1503—. Probablemente visitó Florencia en esta época. Se trata de obras mayores, algunas de ellas como frescos, en las que Rafael limita la composición al estático estilo de Perugino. En estos años pintó muchas pequeñas y exquisitas pinturas de caballete, la mayor parte posiblemente para amantes de la pintura de la corte de Urbino, como Las Gracias, El sueño del caballero o San Miguel, y empezó a pintar Virgen con el Niño entronizados y santos.​

 

En el año de 1502 fue a Siena por invitación de otro discípulo de Perugino, Pinturicchio, "al ser amigo de Rafael y conocedor de su capacidad como artista de la más elevada calidad", porque le ayudó con las obras, y muy probablemente con los dibujos, para una serie de frescos en la Biblioteca Piccolomini de la Catedral de Siena.​ Es evidente que en esta etapa temprana de su carrera ya era un artista solicitado.

 

Retrato de un joven, acaso Francesco Maria della Rovere, antaño perteneciente al Museo Czartoryski de Cracovia y actualmente desaparecido.

Rafael llevó una vida de "nómada", trabajando en distintos lugares del norte de Italia, pero pasando una buena parte de su tiempo en Florencia, quizás desde el año 1504. Así, aunque se habla de su "período florentino" entre 1504 y 1508, cabe mencionar que nunca residió ahí de forma continua.​ En cualquier caso, tal vez de tanto en tanto, tenía que visitar la ciudad para proveerse de materiales. Existe una carta de recomendación, fechada en octubre de 1504, de la madre del siguiente duque de Urbino al confaloniero de Florencia: "El portador de ésta es Rafael, pintor de Urbino, quien ha sido dotado para esta profesión y que ha determinado pasar algún tiempo en Florencia para continuar con sus estudios. Su padre fue muy honesto y yo lo quería mucho, y el hijo es un joven sensible y pulido; tanto por una cosa como para la otra le tengo gran afecto...".

 

Como anteriormente con Perugino y otros, fue capaz de asimilar la influencia del arte florentino, respetando la evolución de su propio estilo. Los frescos que hizo en Perugia alrededor de 1505 muestran una nueva calidad monumental en las figuras, que podría evidenciar la influencia de Fra Bartolomeo, de quien Vasari dice fue amigo. Pero la influencia más asombrosa en este período fue la de Leonardo da Vinci, quien volvió a la ciudad entre 1500 y 1506. Las figuras de Rafael comenzaron a tomar posiciones más complejas y dinámicas, aunque todavía los temas eran mayoritariamente "reposados". Comenzó a hacer bocetos de hombres desnudos luchando, una de sus mayores obsesiones de este período florentino. Otro dibujo es el retrato de una mujer joven, utilizando la composición piramidal en tres cuartos de la reciente Mona Lisa, pero con una apariencia completamente rafaelesca. Otra de las invenciones compositivas de Leonardo, la piramidal Sagrada Familia, se repitió en una serie de obras que se consideran entre sus más famosas pinturas de caballete. En la Royal Collection hay un dibujo de Rafael de la obra perdida de Leonardo Leda y el cisne, de la que tomó la postura en contrapposto para su Santa Catalina de Alejandría.​También perfeccionó su propia versión del sfumato de Leonardo, para dar más sutileza a la representación de la carne, y desarrollar el intercambio de miradas entre los grupos, aunque mucho menos enigmáticos que los conseguidos por Leonardo. Además, supo conservar en sus obras la suave y clara luz de Perugino.​

 

Leonardo era poco menos de una treintena de años mayor que Rafael, pero Miguel Ángel, que en esa época residía en Roma, era solo ocho años mayor. Miguel Ángel detestaba a Leonardo, y en Roma empezó a detestar a Rafael incluso más aún, atribuyendo conspiraciones contra él.32​ Rafael debió conocer sus obras en Florencia, pero sus trabajos más originales de esta época apuntan en una dirección muy diferente. En su Santo Entierro sitúa, al modo clásico de los sarcófagos, todas las figuras en el frente, en un arreglo complejo y no del todo exitoso. Wöllflin detecta la influencia de la Virgen de Miguel Ángel en el Tondo Doni en la figura arrodillada de la derecha, pero el resto de la composición se aleja mucho de su estilo, o del de Leonardo. Aunque fue obra muy considerada en su época, y mucho después retirada a la fuerza de Perugia por los Borghese, se trata de una obra aislada en su producción. Su clasicismo tomaría después una dirección menos "literal".

 

A finales de 1508 se trasladó a Roma, donde entró al servicio del papa Julio II, probablemente gracias a la recomendación de su arquitecto Donato Bramante, quien por entonces trabajaba en la basílica de San Pedro, era natural de Urbino y tenía alguna relación con Rafael.​ A diferencia de Miguel Ángel, que no realizó trabajo artístico alguno durante cierto tiempo en Roma antes de recibir los primeros encargos,​ el joven artista recibió rápidamente el encargo de decorar al fresco la que habría de ser la biblioteca privada del pontífice en el Vaticano Era un proyecto mucho más importante y extenso que cualquiera en el que hubiera trabajado hasta ese momento, pues hasta la fecha no había pasado de hacer algún retablo en Florencia. En su equipo había otros artistas trabajando en diferentes estancias, muchos de ellos pintando sobre obras encargadas por el odiado predecesor de Julio II, el papa español Alejandro VI. El nuevo pontífice había decidido borrar cualquier vestigio del papa Borgia, hasta sus escudos de armas.​ Uno de ellos fue Miguel Ángel, que recibió el encargo de pintar la cúpula de la Capilla Sixtina.

 

La primera de las célebres stanze que comenzó a pintar, es la conocida como Stanza della Segnatura —por el uso que tenía en tiempos de Giorgio Vasari—, produjo un impacto extraordinario en el arte romano. Hoy día continúa siendo considerada la obra maestra del pintor, pues contiene La Escuela de Atenas, El Parnaso y La disputa del Sacramento, que son algunas de las obras más conocidas del pintor. Como consecuencia de este gran éxito, le fueron encargadas nuevas estancias, desplazando a otros artistas previamente contratados, como Perugino o Luca Signorelli. Concluyó tres de ellas, todas con pinturas en sus muros y, a menudo, también en los techos. Sin embargo, la inmensidad del trabajo asumido le obligó a delegar la ejecución práctica de sus detallados diseños (que siempre realizó en persona) en los miembros del numeroso taller que había formado. Eran estos artistas de sobrada capacidad, que con posterioridad a la muerte del propio Rafael, se encargarían de la decoración de la cuarta estancia, basándose en los diseños que el maestro había dejado. La muerte de Julio II (1513) no interrumpió los trabajos, pues su sucesor, el papa León X, un Medici, estableció una relación cercana con el artista, que continuó recibiendo encargos. El amigo de Rafael, el cardenal Bibbiena, era uno de los antiguos tutores del nuevo papa, y su íntimo amigo y consejero.

 

Es evidente que Rafael se dejó influir por los frescos del techo de la Capilla Sixtina de Miguel Ángel. Vasari dice que Bramante lo introdujo en dicha capilla secretamente. La bastida correspondiente a la primera sección en ser terminada fue retirada el año 1511. La reacción de los demás artistas ante la superior fuerza expresiva de Buonarroti fue la cuestión dominante en el arte italiano en las dos décadas posteriores, y Rafael, que ya había demostrado su capacidad de asimilación de influencias externas a su propio estilo, aceptó el reto tal vez con mayor intensidad que cualquier otro artista. Uno de los primeros y más claros ejemplos fue el retrato del mismo Miguel Ángel como Heráclito en La Escuela de Atenas, que parece sacado directamente de la Sibilas o los ignudi del techo de la Capilla Sixtina. Otras figuras de esta y otras obras posteriores en las estancias acusan la misma influencia, pero todavía más integradas en el estilo personal de Rafael.Buonarroti lo acusó de plagio y unos años antes de la muerte de Rafael se quejaba en una carta del siguiente tenor: «todo lo que sabe de arte lo ha aprendido de mí», aunque en otras ocasiones se mostró más generoso.

 

Estas enormes y complejísimas composiciones pueden ser consideradas entre las obras supremas del Renacimiento. Proporcionan una visión extremadamente idealizada de los sujetos representados, y las composiciones, aunque ya perfectamente concebidas en dibujo, parecen sufrir de sprezzatura, un término ideado por su amigo Baldassare Castiglione, que el definía como «una cierta indiferencia que impregna toda la obra y que nos hace pensar o decir que ha fluido sin ningún esfuerzo».​ Según Michael Levey, «Rafael les da a sus figuras una gracia y claridad sobrehumanas en un universo de certezas Euclidianas». La pintura es de la máxima calidad en las dos primeras estancias, pero las composiciones posteriores, especialmente las que contienen acción de tinte dramático, no son completamente perfectas por lo que atañe a la concepción, como tampoco en la ejecución por parte de sus ayudantes.

 

Otros proyectos

 

La Galatea, una de sus principales obras mitológicas.

Los proyectos en el Vaticano ocuparon la mayor parte de su tiempo, pero aun así pintó algunos retratos, incluyendo los de sus mecenas, los papas Julio II y León X, el primero de los cuales es considerado como uno de sus mejores retratos. Otros retratos fueron los de sus amigos, como Castiglione, o de personajes del círculo de los papas. Algunos gobernantes lo presionaron con hacer sus respectivos encargos, como a Francisco I de Francia que le fueron enviados dos pinturas como presente diplomático del papado. ​ Para Agostino Chigi, el inmensamente rico tesorero del papa, Rafael pintó La Galatea, diseñó frescos decorativos para su Villa Farnesina y pintó dos capillas en las iglesias de Santa Maria della Pace y Santa Maria del Popolo.​ También diseñó parte de la decoración de la Villa Madama, sin embargo, la obra de ambas villas fue realizada por su taller.

 

Uno de los encargos papales más importantes fue la serie de los Cartones de Rafael (actualmente en el Victoria and Albert Museum), una serie de 10 cartones para tapices, de los cuales han sobrevivido 7, y que representan escenas de las vidas de San Pablo y San Pedro, hechas para la Capilla Sixtina. Los cartones fueron enviados a Bruselas para ser tejidos en el taller de Pieter van Aelst el Viejo (padre del luego famoso pintor Pieter Coecke). Es posible que Rafael viera la serie completa terminada antes de su muerte. Probablemente fueron terminados en 1520.​ También diseñó y pintó las Logias vaticanas, una galería larga y estrecha entonces abierta a un patio a un lado y decorada en el estilo grotesco​ típico de Roma. Pintó también ciertos retablos importantes, como por ejemplo el Éxtasis de Santa Cecilia y la Madonna Sixtina. Su última obra, en la que estuvo trabajando hasta la muerte, fue La Transfiguración, que en compañía de El Pasmo de Sicilia muestra la dirección que había tomado su arte en las postrimerías de su vida: un estilo más proto-barroco que manierista.n.

 

El cardenal Bernardo Dovizi di Bibbiena obtuvo del papa León X, a cambio del apoyo concedido para su elección, la autorización para reestructurar su apartamento en el interior de los palacios Vaticanos. Culto humanista y literato, de gustos refinados, el cardenal deseaba que su apartamento estuviese a la altura de la tradición romana y encargó el proyecto a Rafael. Corría el año 1516; Rafael, con sus ayudantes se ocupó del conjunto decorativo, inspirándose en la Villa de Adriano en Tívoli y en la Domus Aurea, alcanzando resultados de gran refinamiento y elegancia en el entrelazamiento de motivos clásicos y elementos ornamentales de gusto antiguo, que constituirán durante tiempo un imitado motivo decorativo. Igual decoración desarrolló en las Logias vaticanas (1519). La estructura del conjunto refleja la cultura y el gusto de Rafael; la ejecución es de sus alumnos: Giovanni da Udine, G. Romano y G. F. Penni.

  

Retrato de Andrea Navagero y Agostino Beazzano o Retrato Doble, obra hecha por Rafael Sanzio durante su periodo romano. El retrato parece haber sido hecho en abril de 1516 estando los dos humanistas retratados en Roma, poco antes de que Andrea Navagero regresara a Venecia con motivo de su nombramiento como bibliotecario de la República Serenísima. La magna obra del italiano está hecha al óleo sobre lienzo. Mide 76 cm de alto y 107 de ancho y se conserva actualmente en la Galería Doria Pamphili de Roma.​

Vasari dice que Rafael llegó a tener un taller con cincuenta pupilos y ayudantes, muchos de los cuales llegarían a ser después importantes artistas por su propio derecho. Fue, posiblemente, el mayor taller reunido bajo el magisterio de un único gran maestro de la pintura, y mucho mayor de lo habitual. Incluía destacados pintores provenientes de otras regiones de Italia, que probablemente trabajaban con sus propios equipos como subcontratistas, así como aprendices y obreros. Hay poca información sobre el taller y sobre su organización interna, aparte de las mismas obras de arte, a menudo difíciles de atribuir a la intervención de un artista concreto.

 

Tras la muerte de Rafael, la actividad del taller continuó, sin embargo, muchas de sus pinturas quedaron incompletas, así como algunas de sus posesiones. Los miembros más destacados fueron Giulio Romano, joven discípulo de origen romano —de 21 años—, y Gianfrancesco Penni, ya considerado un maestro, de origen florentino. Penni no alcanzó el mismo nivel de reputación personal que Giulio, y después de la muerte de Rafael, ocupó el puesto de ayudante de Giulio Romano durante la mayor parte de su carrera. Perino del Vaga, ya un maestro, y Polidoro da Caravaggio, quien supuestamente ascendió a la posición de pintor luego de ocupar el humilde oficio de trasportar materiales para los obreros, también llegaron a ser importantes pintores. Maturino da Firenze, como en el caso de Penni, fue eclipsado por la fama de su compañero Polidoro. Giovanni da Udine gozaba de un estatus más independiente, y fue responsable de la decoración en estuco y los grotescos que decoraban los principales frescos.​ La mayor parte de los artistas se dispersaron, y algunos de ellos tuvieron una muerte violenta a raíz del saqueo de Roma de 1527.​ Esto contribuyó a la difusión del estilo de Rafael por toda Italia y a lugares más lejanos.

 

Vasari da mucha importancia al hecho de que Rafael logró un armonioso y eficiente taller, y al igual su habilidad y paciencia en la resolución de los conflictos o disputas entre los clientes y sus ayudantes, algo que carecía Miguel Ángel con ambos colectivos.​ Aun así, hoy en día, es casi imposible descifrar las partes que Rafael y sus ayudantes realizaron, ya que, tanto Giulio como Penn, eran diestros, no hay duda de que muchas de las últimas obras murales de Rafael, y probablemente algunas de sus obras de caballete, destacan más por el dibujo que por la ejecución. Sin embargo, muchos de sus retratos, que se encuentran en buenas condiciones, muestran la brillante técnica de ejecución que alcanzó al final de su vida.

 

Otros de sus destacados discípulos y ayudantes fueron Raffaellino del Colle, Andrea Sabbatini, Bartolomeo Ramenghi, Pellegrino Aretusi, Vincenzo Tamagni, Battista Dossi, Tommaso Vincidor, Timoteo Viti—pintor de Urbino—, así como el escultor y arquitecto Lorenzetto —cuñado de Giulio Romano—.n. 7​ Se ha dicho que el flamenco Bernard van Orley trabajó durante un tiempo para Rafael, y que Luca Penni, hermano de Gianfrancesco, tal vez fue miembro del taller.58​

 

Retratos

A lo largo de su vida realizó varios retratos donde mostró una gran medida de gracia y armonía, ejemplo de esto fue el de Baltasar de Castiglione. Las Madonne y los bambini llenos de belleza y elegancia fueron un tema recurrente tanto en sus retratos como en sus pinturas. En la "Última Cena" dio un gran protagonismo a la figura de los apóstoles. De igual manera realizó retratos de grandes personajes como: del Cardenal Bibbiena (c. 1516), el Retrato de Andrea Navagero y Agostino Beazzano (c. 1516), Retrato de Bindo Altoviti (c. 1514), Retrato de Tommaso Inghirami (1515-1516), Retrato de cardenal (1510-1511), Retrato de Julio II (1511-1512) y Retrato del cardenal Alessandro Farnese (1509-1511). Muchos de ellos se encuentran hoy dispersos en los museos y galerías de Europa.

 

La relación de Rafael con Leonardo da Vinci en Florencia a principios del siglo xvi fue muy significativa. El modelo inspirador es la Gioconda, que por el efecto emocional de su mirada y sobre todo la integración entre la figura y el paisaje constituyó un modelo de reflexión para Rafael. Pero en los retratos de Rafael la línea establece netamente las formas, que gracias a su certeza se convierten en "módulo" espacial, en equilibrio entre lleno y vacío, en medida de la relación entre lo particular y lo universal, en síntesis perfecta de las verdades de la persona. También la trayectoria de Rafael se concreta en la superación de las formas poco convencionales de Perugino, en la adquisición de una pintura autónoma, libre, que sea expresión del perfecto equilibrio existente entre el hombre y la naturaleza. Los comitentes del artista son representantes de la alta burguesía de los banqueros y los mercaderes o de la aristocracia menor, mientras la sociedad más elevada se dirige a pintores de más fama, como Ghirlandaio.

 

El encargo papal acrecienta enormemente la fama y el prestigio de Rafael, que entre 1509 y 1513 recibe numerosas peticiones de cardenales y nobles más o menos próximos a la curia romana. Realizaba dichos retratos al mismo tiempo que ejecutaba las estancias. En este ámbito es interesante la evolución del retrato. La novedad es que se advierte en ellos una mayor propensión a representar los rasgos como indicadores de la interioridad, más allá de la preocupación por la afirmación del estado social; además, resulta evidente la representación de la figura como presencia más cierta y consciente.

 

Arquitectura

 

Tras la muerte de Bramante, en 1514, fue nombrado arquitecto de la basílica de San Pedro. La mayor parte de sus obras arquitectónicas han sido derrumbadas o modificadas después de su muerte y a raíz de la aceptación de los diseños de Miguel Ángel, pero, sobreviven unos pocos diseños. Para el análisis de estos, se llevó a cabo el examen de un templo que se encontraba muy oscuro, con grandes pilares a lo largo, «como un callejón» según un análisis crítico y póstumo de Antonio da Sangallo el Joven. Existe también la hipótesis de que el templo tiene un parecido con el santuario de La expulsión de Heliodoro del templo. Rafael diseñó otros edificios, y durante un corto tiempo se le consideró el arquitecto más importante de Roma y el preferido del círculo social del papa. Julio había hecho cambios en la disposición urbanística de la ciudad, creando varias vías públicas, las cuales aparentaban esplendorosos palacios.60​

 

Un importante edificio, el Palazzo Branconio dell'Aquila del chambelán de León X, fue completamente derrumbado para hacer lugar a la plaza diseñada por Bernini para San Pedro, obra que jamás se realizó, pero se han conservado dibujos de la fachada y del patio. La fachada gozaba de una abigarrada decoración, inusual para la época, incluyendo tanto paneles pintados en el piso superior (de tres) como profusión de esculturas en el piso intermedio.​ El diseño básico de la Villa Farnesina no fue de Rafael, pero él diseñó y pintó la Capilla Chigi para el propietario, Agostino Chigi, tesorero del papa. Otro edificio, para el doctor del papa León, el Palazzo di Jacobo da Brescia, el cual fue trasladado en la década de 1930, y actualmente se mantiene en pie; dicho edificio fue diseñado como complemento de un palacio de la misma calle, obra de Bramante, donde el mismo Rafael residió durante un tiempo.La Villa Madama, una espléndida residencia de recreo del cardenal Julio de Médicis, posteriormente del papa Clemente VII, nunca fue terminada, pero sus planos revelan su propósito. Se hizo un diseño a partir de los planos constructivos por Antonio da Sangallo el Joven y aunque incompleta, era la villa más sofisticada diseñada hasta el momento en Italia. De este modo, influyó de manera importante en los diseños posteriores de este tipo de edificio. (este parece ser el único edificio moderno de Roma del cual Palladio hizo un dibujo medido). ​ Solo quedan los planos de la planta baja de un gran palacio diseñado por él mismo a la nueva «Via Giulia», en el Borgo, para el cual estuvo acumulando el terreno en sus últimos años. Se encontraba en una manzana irregular cerca del río Tíber. Parece que las fachadas debían incluir una orden gigante de pilastras elevándose al menos dos plantas hasta la altura completa de la planta noble, «un estilo grandilocuente sin precedentes en un palacio de carácter privado».​ En 1515, le fueron otorgados poderes como "Prefecto" sobre todas las antigüedades que se desenterraran en la ciudad y hasta una milla alrededor de esta. Rafael escribió una carta al papa León sugiriendo medidas para impedir la destrucción de los monumentos antiguos, y propuso una inspección visual de la ciudad para registrar las antigüedades de manera organizada. La opinión del Papa era diferente, quería seguir reutilizando las antiguas fábricas para la construcción de San Pedro, pero quería que todas las inscripciones antiguas quedaran documentadas, así como también conservar las esculturas, antes de dar permiso para el uso de la piedra.​

  

Return of direct operations….

 

Local transport authorities (LTAs) in Scotland have been encouraged by Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth to consider operating municipal bus services after the Scottish Government commenced such powers under Section 34 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019.

 

Municipal operation is among the options outlined in the Act that, it is hoped, will arrest bus patronage decline in Scotland and lead to improved services. Collaborative working via a Bus Service Improvement Partnership (BSIP) is another avenue, as is reregulation via the franchised model. Transport Scotland earlier said that secondary legislation to enable both the latter will be introduced “before the end of 2023.”

 

Where Scottish LTAs take up the ability to run local bus services themselves, they may do so “in any way they see fit within the wider context of their obligations,” says Transport Scotland. Such activities were previously prohibited under the Transport Act 1985. The new power sits alongside LTAs’ existing scope to subsidise services.

 

During passage of the Bill that subsequently became the 2019 Act, some LTAs in Scotland had indicated a desire for “a clearer legal framework to afford the option to run their own buses,” Transport Scotland said in an earlier consultation.

 

The 2019 Act “is not restrictive” in the way that those LTAs can run their own buses. As a result, they may choose to do so directly or via an arm’s length external organisation in which the LTA is the main shareholder but is not involved in day-to-day operation.

 

Under the Act, Scottish ministers may issue guidance in relation to exercising the new functions. Responses to the same consultation showed that four themes are dominant among the information that LTAs need for possible municipal operation: Legislative requirements, financial implications, competition impacts and bus service business models.

 

While Ms Gilruth has encouraged all LTAs in Scotland to consider using the new power to run their own bus services, she has acknowledged that not all will wish to do so, and that some will opt for alternative BSIP or reregulation approaches. However, “what is key is that LTAs will soon have greater tools at their disposal to revitalise bus services where required,” she adds.

 

First Glasgow is already part of a partnership (GlasGo) with Stagecoach Western Buses, Craig of Campbeltown, McGill’s Buses and Whitelaws Coaches to improve bus travel in partnership with the local authorities. Of course for some, who view private companies providing bus services as some sort of anti-Christ, no amount of partnership will be good enough. They want direct ownership run by local authorities, thinking that’ll solve everything. Of course some of us can recall when buses were last owned that way in the 1970s and 1980s. And it wasn’t all milk and honey then…

 

Of course life has changed considerably since then and it’s clear with things such as the end of diesel and the rush for zero emissions, as well as changes due to ways of working following the pandemic, what worked even as recently as 2019 may not work now. So some sort of change needs for happen, even if ridership is slowly recovering. Although no one who advocates the direct ownership model has explained how the private companies would be suitably compensated for having their bus fleets taken off them at a time when public finances are under so much strain. Remember when the big four rail companies were nationalised at the formation of British Railways back in 1948, the shareholders received millions of pounds in compensation at that time. It would be similar such sums possibly in the billions if it happened again to the bus fleets of First, Stagecoach, Arriva and others. Or if the companies declined to play ball - as is their right of course - and transferred their bus fleets elsewhere to local authorities advocating the partnership avenue, new vehicles would need to sourced by the local authorities. Political dogma isn’t cheap after all.

 

As if to emphasise how the bus industry has changed, here’s 64108 (LG71DLX). This time last year, the service it’s on was run by Euro III-engined Volvo B7RLEs. Now it’s clean electric buses.

"Consider how Jesus, after having been scourged and crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilate to die on the Cross.

 

My adorable Jesus, it was not Pilate, no, it was my sins that condemned Thee to die. I beseech Thee, by the merits of this sorrowful journey, to assist my soul in its journey towards eternity. I love Thee, my beloved Jesus; I repent with my whole heart for having offended Thee. Never permit me to separate myself from Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt."

-St Alphonsus Ligouri.

 

Mosaic station from the Basilica of Sacre Coeur, Montmartre in Paris.

 

During Passiontide, I will be posting one Station of the Cross a day, each taken from a different location in the world.

Please consider leaving a comment if you fave, it is lovely to hear from you! xx

 

A night in black and white!

 

Trying out a few different angles and poses in my black and white palm tree print dress.

"Consider this first fall of Jesus under His Cross. His flesh was torn by the scourges, His head crowned with thorns, and He had lost a great quantity of blood. He was so weakened that he could scarcely walk, and yet he had to carry this great load upon His shoulders. The soldiers struck Him rudely, and thus He fell several times in His journey.

 

My beloved Jesus, it is not the weight of the Cross, but my sins, which have made Thee suffer so much pain. Ah, by the merits of this first fall, deliver me from the misfortune of falling into mortal sin. I love Thee, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to separate myself from Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt."

– Reflection by St Alphonsus Liguori.

 

This station is from St Emma Monastery in Greensburg, PA.

 

During Passiontide, I will be posting one Station of the Cross a day, each taken from a different location in the world.

Taken in the old park in my hometown 2 weeks ago :)

Consider your words carefully before you ask

Question: Whose opinions and guesses are better than yours?

 

Consider below before inserting your

Answer: ________________

 

Macho Mentality Persists, Says Pope

Notes Attitude Ignores the Novelty of Christianity

 

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 10, 2008 (Zenit.org).- A discriminatory macho mentality continues to persist in cultures that ignore the novelty of Christianity to recognize the equal dignity of men and women, says Benedict XVI.

 

The Pope said this Saturday upon receiving in audience participants from the international conference titled "Woman and Man, the 'Humanum' in Its Entirety," which marked the 20th anniversary of the publication of Pope John Paul II's apostolic letter "Mulieris Dignitatem."

 

The conference, sponsored by the Pontifical Council for the Laity, ended Saturday.

 

"From the second half of the 20th century until today," said the Pope, "the movement for women's rights in the various settings of social life has generated countless reflections and debates, and it has seen the multiplication of many initiatives that the Catholic Church has followed and often accompanied with attentive interest."

 

In the apostolic letter "Mulieris Dignitatem," the Pontiff said John Paul II saw the need to "delve into the fundamental anthropological truths of men and women, the equality in dignity and their unity, the rooted and profound difference between the masculine and the feminine, and their vocation to reciprocity and complementarity, collaboration and communion."

 

The Holy Father continued: "In the face of cultural and political currents that attempt to eliminate, or at least to obfuscate and confuse, the sexual differences written into human nature, considering them to be cultural constructions, it is necessary to recall the design of God that created the human being male and female, with a unity and at the same time an original and complementary difference.

 

"Human nature and the cultural dimension are integrated in an ample and complex process that constitutes the formation of the identity of each, where both dimensions -- the feminine and the masculine -- correspond to and complete each other."

 

Mom and dad

 

Benedict XVI, however, insisted that discrimination continues: "There still persists a macho mentality that ignores the novelty of Christianity, which recognizes and proclaims the equal dignity and responsibility of women with respect to men. There are certain places and cultures where women are discriminated against and undervalued just for the fact that they are women.

 

"In the face of such grave and persistent phenomena the commitment of Christians appears all the more urgent, so that they become everywhere the promoters of a culture that recognizes the dignity that belongs to women in law and in reality."

 

"God entrusts to women and to men," said the Pope, "according to the characteristics that are proper to each, a specific vocation in the mission of the Church and in the world. I think here of the family, community of love, open to life, fundamental cell of society.

 

"In it, woman and man, thanks to the gift of maternity and paternity, together play an irreplaceable role in regard to life."

 

The Pontiff affirmed the right of children to have a father and a mother, and the state's role to "sustain with adequate social policies all that which promotes the stability of matrimony, the dignity and the responsibility of the husband and wife, their rights and irreplaceable duty to educate their children."

 

EXPLORE # 159 on Sunday, March 2, 2008; # 460 on S03-01-2008

I recently got reacquainted with a fellow photographer who I consider a good friend and have a lot of respect for. He has been absent from Flickr for the better part of a year and a half now. It was a pleasant surprise to see him again, and it was good talking to him. He has long been a fellow whose perceptions I respect and admire. He wrote this e-mail for a friend of his, and forwarded it to me because he knew I would appreciate reading it as well. I did and do. And I think it important. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing it, though I will keep him anonymous unless he chooses to reveal himself. It is lengthy, but it is insightful and I suggest taking a moment to read the whole piece. Thanks E for sending this along to me.

 

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But, somewhere along the way, something changed for me. I've had many friends ask me why I quit, and I usually start the story at the end. I usually start by saying, I still shoot (usually with a holga), but I don't put film in my camera anymore. This usually leads to some very puzzled expressions and I have to back up and tell the story from the beginning. Really, I often carry a camera and wander the streets of Portland like I have for the past few years. But, I don't want to see the results of my shots. What I want, is to see the world. My camera changes the way I do that.

 

When I was 16, I went to Greece for a three week school trip. I brought my camera and, after shooting some pics at the Parthenon, and on Santorini, I started to realize that I was missing the experience of seeing the places I was visiting because I was so focused on trying to save an image to look at later. I put my camera down and didn't take a single shot of the last two weeks of the trip. Or, the next ten years of my life. I just soaked in the scenes and tried my best to live in the moment.

 

That changed the way I thought about photography and, for the next 14 years, I never owned a camera. I spent almost a decade immersed in wilderness and outdoor activity, climbing and backpacking in Mexico and throughout the western United States, and I have only a few snapshots, given to me by friends, to record any of the experiences. My move to Portland was a dramatic lifestyle adjustment as well. I decided to see how green the grass really is on the more urban side. I rarely backpack anymore (as my photo stream attests) and I gave up rock climbing completely.

 

But I've always loved photography. I love it for the art. I love the moods, the way Steven Shore can capture a series of lines and patterns in what superficially appears to be a mundane scene and launches the viewer into a different mental space... Ed Weston, transforming a bell pepper or a thigh into a tonal voyage.... and the incredible work of the people I admire so much on Flickr, each image, an experiment, and each photo stream, a progressive map and tale of discovery. I'm sounding melodramatic again. But, these pictures really have changed the way I view the world. And so I wanted in. I started sharing too.

 

And I started wandering the streets of Portland, looking with fresh eyes at cracks in the sidewalk, streaks on a wall, buildings and, best of all, people. I saw light, lines, and structures in a way that I hadn't previously seen them. Unlike my days in Greece, trying to capture a snapshot for posterity and thus pulling myself away from a moment, this new way of using the camera had the opposite effect. Now, I was being pulled in. And I started to examine the constantly evolving scenes of my daily walk to work with new appreciation. It's hard not to keep sounding melodramatic. But it's true.

 

We've never met. At least not face-to-face. And I have no idea if we'd even be friends if we lived a few blocks apart (but I suspect we would). But in your photostream, I found such tremendous inspiration because you constantly capture the things I'm talking about. And, as I aimed my lens at the sidewalk and buildings of Portland, it not only changed the way I would see my own town, through Flickr, it changed the way I would see the world. I had a blurred pigeon, flying past a column, as my desktop background for a year. Because that pigeon was such an awesome example of something I would encounter every day, but would never have thought to capture the art of it like you did. So, on Flickr I found inspiration and a wealth of new art.

 

Until it became too much. And something changed. At first I liked the attention. No, not just at first, I still like it. When an image hits the explore page, or when I get mail from someone who requests to use an image in a publication, or someone leaves a sincerely flattering comment, or a zillion of them, I like it. And I like to reciprocate. I like being able to tell someone how truly inspirational they are. But the attention doesn't have anything to do with the cracks in the sidewalk. Once again, my reasons for taking pictures started to shift. I wasn't taking snapshots to put in a photo album like I was in Greece when I quit shooting. I was still trying to capture something artistic, and I was still experiencing the moment of the shoot. But the attention of a Flickr page vied for my energy as much as, and sometimes more than, the shoot itself. I started to feel an obligation to produce something. This has an upside, it kept me shooting. But it has a downside as well. If my images didnt get attention I'd get bummed out. And I started to think about "my audience" more. I started to cater my shots to the Flickr folks who were looking at my stream. Steadily my number of contacts grew. I couldn't keep up (which I'm sure you are familiar with) and then, the final straw, was when I realized that I wasn't shooting cracks in the sidewalk anymore. As I was shooting, I was thinking about what might attract attention. My post process became less about my own ideas and visions, and more about trying to speak to an audience that I was rapidly realizing I didn't know. I feel like, on some level, I know you. I know Dan. I know Angie, and Noicework (Allison), and Zeb, and Sati. But I don't know most of the 200-something people on my contact list. But I want to. And so it all spiraled until one day, I took the film out of my holga. I can't say that I don't care about the attention a photographer on Flickr receives. But I can say that it isn't why I started taking pictures again.

 

So, it wasn't a conscious decision to stop posting images. It was a gradual realization that I actually felt more inspired when I didn't have film in my camera. I don't need the snapshot. I want to see a moment. My camera helps transform the way I do that so I will keep playing with my camera. And, I might start posting images again. I really do love the comments, the feedback, the sharing. But I don't want that to be my reason for shooting pictures.

 

Anyway, this got long. I've felt like explaining myself for a while now. I still love to quietly surf the pages of Flickr. I love spending hours in the photography section of Powell's Books. And I still love to stop to think about the lighting on the buildings as I walk to work. I'll keep shooting. And on occasion, I'll keep posting. And I hope that people will keep looking. I know I will.

Considerada como una de las ciudades más bellas de Europa, Budapest cuenta con varios sitios que son Patrimonio de la Humanidad, entre los que se incluyen, a orillas del Danubio, el barrio del Castillo de Buda, la avenida Andrássy, la Plaza de los Héroes y el Metropolitano del Milenio, el segundo más antiguo del mundo.

 

CROMEO

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En Khajuraho se encuentra el mayor conjunto de templos hinduistas de India, famosos por sus esculturas eróticas. Los templos están considerados por la UNESCO como Patrimonio de la Humanidad, desde el año 1986. El nombre de la ciudad proviene de la palabra Kajur que en idioma hindi significa "palmera datilera". Entre los siglos X y XII fue la capital religiosa de los Chandella, una dinastía que gobernó esta parte de la India y a la que se les debe estas construcciones.

Los templos se construyeron en un espacio de tiempo de unos cien años, entre el 950 y el 1050. Toda la zona está amurallada, con ocho puertas que permiten la entrada al recinto. Cada una de estas puertas está flanqueada por dos palmeras. Originalmente había unos 80 templos de los que quedan 22 en buen estado de conservación. Toda la zona ocupa un área total de 21 km². Tal vez por encontrarse en una zona poco habitual para la construcción de templos (lejos del Ganges), consiguieron sobrevivir a la destrucción masiva de elementos hinduistas llevada a cabo por el Imperio Mogol musulmán. Poco a poco los templos fueron quedando abandonados y permanecieron ocultos en medio de la vegetación. Fueron redescubiertos en 1838 por el capitán I. S. Burt, ingeniero del ejército británico.

Los templos están situados sobre plataformas elevadas, de una anchura considerable, pensadas para facilitar el paseo ritual alrededor del templo que deben realizar los fieles antes de entrar a orar. Las torres de los templos se elevan sobre estas plataformas, dando una sensación de verticalidad si se observan desde lejos. Están orientados según los puntos cardinales, estando la entrada en dirección Este para facilitar la entrada de la primera luz solar. Fueron construidos con bloques de granito y arenisca roja traídos especialmente hasta la zona. Las uniones de los diferentes bloques se realizaron mediante abrazaderas metálicas. Las paredes de los templos de Khajuraho tienen una forma ondulada ya que están formadas por numerosos salientes. Además, los muros están divididos en franjas horizontales mediante molduras y bajorrelieves.

Las esculturas que decoran los templos de Khajuraho se pueden clasificar en cinco tipos diferentes. Por un lado están los dibujos geométricos y florales, utilizados en los techos, molduras y en la decoración de las columnas. Otro tipo de esculturas son las que representan la vida de la corte, como los bailes o la música, así como actividades cotidianas o la guerra. Un tercer grupo está compuesto por las figuras de animales, que suelen estar colocadas en las molduras exteriores e inferiores de los templos. Las imágenes de dioses y diosas forman el cuarto grupo y suelen estar situadas al fondo del templo o en los nichos situados en diferentes enmarcaciones por las fachadas de los templos. Finalmente se encuentran las figuras femeninas y las que representan a parejas amatorias.

No se sabe a ciencia cierta cuál fue el motivo por el que los templos se decoraron con diversos motivos eróticos. Algunos estudiosos creen que la decoración tenía un motivo educativo: enseñar el Kāmasūtra a los más jóvenes; para otros, los templos son un homenaje al matrimonio entre Śiva y Pārvātī.

Los 22 templos que aún quedan en pie están distribuidos en tres grupos: Oeste, Este y Sur.

En el grupo del Oeste destacan: el Templo Lakshmana (año 954) dedicado a Vişņu; el Templo Varāha, dedicado a la encarnación del dios Vişņu en forma de jabalí; el Templo Matangesvara, dedicado al dios Śiva; el Templo Visvanatha (950-1002) dedicado a Śiva; el Templo Nandi (950-1002) comparte plataforma con el de Visvanatha, y en su interior se encuentra una estatua del toro Nandi, que sirve de montura al dios Śiva; el Templo Kandariya Mahadeva (1025), dedicado a Śiva consta de 872 estatuas diferentes; el Templo Devi Jagadambi (1000), dedicado a Pārvātī, y el Templo Chitragupta (1010), dedicado a Sūrya, dios del sol.

El grupo del Este está compuesto por tres templos hinduistas y tres jainistas. Y de ellos cabe destacar el Templo Parsvanatha, dedicado al 23 Tirthankara Jaina, y el Templo de Adinatha, dedicado al primer Tirthankara Jaina.

El grupo del Sur está situado a un kilómetro del grupo Este y consta de dos templos de pequeño tamaño: el Templo Duladeo, decorado con esculturas eróticas, y el Templo Chaturbhuja que contiene una estatua de Vişņu de tres metros de altura.

 

via Instagram ift.tt/2d2b8sW

Though many of us consider wildfires to be adverse, the positive impact on the environment cannot be over looked. Among other things, wildfires result in removal of old growth that can choke out desirable trees. During a wildfire, nutrients are released into the soil by burning dead or decaying matter. In turn, the added nutrients results in productive new plant growth.

 

However, statistics show that four out of five wildfires are started by humans. I think it is best to let Mother Nature determine its own course in this matter.

I did consider knocking of the door of the house by the loco and asking if I could put my lights on the garden wall to illuminate the loco when it arrived, but I chickened out!

 

27/12/2018 (Thur) 1630 Harrington (South of Workington)

 

37425 Sir Robert McAlpine / Concrete Bob.

 

2C59 1452 Barrow In Furness - Carlisle

  

(Samyang 85mm f1.4 IF UMC)

 

If you like railway pictures that are a bit different to the norm, try the Phoenix Railway Photographic circle website;

  

www.phoenix-rpc.co.uk/index.html

 

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin...”

 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:28‬‬

. . . if you were bitten three times by dogs, like me,

you would love this photo

I was bitten as a young child and later as a grown up and I was bitten in India.

The doctor cannot do anything, he just gives you an injection. The wound has to heal by itself - no band-aid. This is not funny.

______________________________________________

 

Dog meat refers to the flesh and other edible parts derived from dogs. Historically, human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world, including East and Southeast Asia, West Africa, Europe, Oceania and the Americas.

 

In the 21st century, dog meat is consumed in many parts of China, Korea and Vietnam, parts of Switzerland, as well as parts of Europe, Americas, the African continent, such as Cameroon, Ghana and Liberia.

 

Today, a number of cultures view the consumption of dog meat to be a part of their traditional and day-to-day cuisine, while others - such as Western culture - consider consumption of dog to be a taboo, although they have been consumed in times of war and/or other hardships or in rural areas where food is scarce. It was estimated in 2014 that worldwide, 25 million dogs are eaten each year by humans.

 

DOG BREEDS USED FOR MEAT

NUREONGI

The Nureongi is a yellowish landrace from Korea. Similar to other native Korean dog breeds, such as the Jindo, nureongi are medium-sized spitz-type dogs, but are larger, with greater musculature and a distinctive coat pattern. They are quite uniform in appearance, yellow hair and melanistic masks. Nureongi are most often used as a livestock dog, raised for its meat, and not commonly kept as pets.

 

HAWAIIAN POI

The Hawaiian Poi Dog or ʻīlio (ʻīlio mākuʻe for brown-furred Poi dogs) is an extinct breed of pariah dog from Hawaiʻi which was used by Native Hawaiians as a spiritual protector of children and as a source of food.

 

XOLOITZCUINTLE (Mexican Hairless)

The Xoloitzcuintle, or Xolo for short, is a hairless breed of dog, found in toy, miniature and standard sizes. The Xolo also comes in a coated variety and all three sizes can be born to a single litter. It is also known as Mexican hairless dog in English speaking countries, is one of several breeds of hairless dog and has been used as a historical source of food for the Aztec Empire.

 

BY REGION

AFRICA

CAMEROON

The Mandara mountains people like dog meat. The Mayo-Plata (Mayo Sava district) market is well known for its dog meat outlets. Among the Vame people, domestic dogs are only eaten for specific rituals.

 

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Despite tests showing 156 dogs were infected with Ebola, the consumption of dog meat is no longer taboo. Several families may chip in to purchase a whole large dog.

 

GHANA

The Tallensi, the Akyim's, the Kokis, and the Yaakuma, one of many cultures of Ghana, consider dog meat a delicacy. While the Mamprusi generally avoid dog meat, it is eaten in a "courtship stew" provided by a king to his royal lineage. Two Tribes in Ghana, Frafra and Dagaaba are particularly known to be "tribal playmates" and consumption of dog meat is the common bond between the two tribes. Every year around September, games are organised between these two tribes and the Dog Head is the trophy at stake for the winning tribe

 

LIBERIA

Liberians are said to lump the term dog meat and bushmeat together. A local animal welfare group. Anti Pet & Bush Meat Coalition, claimed 75% of Liberians consume dog meat. 75% of Liberians rely on bush and pet meat as a staple diet.

 

MOROCCO

Islamic law bans the eating of dog meat as does the government of Morocco, however the consumption of dog meat still occurs particularly in poorer regions, often being passed off as other meats as was the case in 2013 and 2009 cases

 

NIGERIA

Dogs are eaten by various groups in some states of Nigeria, including Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Plateau, Ondo, Kalaba, Taraba and Gombe of Nigeria. They are believed to have medicinal powers.

 

In late 2014, the fear of contracting the Ebola virus disease from bushmeat led at least one major Nigerian newspaper to imply that eating dog meat was a healthy alternative. That paper documented a thriving trade in dog meat and slow sales of even well smoked bushmeat.

 

AMERICAS

CANADA

It is legal to sell and serve dog meat, providing that it must be killed and gutted in front of federal inspectors. If a dog is killed out of the view of federal inspectors, the killing might involve cruelty, which would be a violation of the Criminal Code, and those convicted may be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison.

 

ANCIENT MEXICO

In the time of the Aztec Empire in what is now central Mexico, Mexican Hairless Dogs were bred, among other purposes, for their meat. Hernán Cortés reported when he arrived in Tenochtitlan in 1519, "small gelded dogs which they breed for eating" were among the goods sold in the city markets. These dogs, Xoloitzcuintles, were often depicted in pre-Columbian Mexican pottery. The breed was almost extinct in the 1940s, but the British Military Attaché in Mexico City, Norman Wright, developed a thriving breed from some of the dogs he found in remote villages.

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The term "dog" has been used as a synonym for sausage since 1884 and accusations that sausage makers used dog meat date to at least 1845. The belief that sausages contained dog meat was occasionally justified.

 

In the late 19th century, a cure for tuberculosis (then colloquially termed "consumption") using an exclusive diet of dog meat was tried. Reports of families eating dog meat out of choice, rather than necessity, were rare and newsworthy. Stories of families in Ohio and Newark, New Jersey who did so made it into editions of The New York Times in 1876 and 1885.

 

In the early 20th century, dog meat was consumed during times of meat shortage.

 

NATIVE AMERICANS

The traditional culture surrounding the consumption of dog meat varied from tribe to tribe among the original inhabitants of North America, with some tribes relishing it as a delicacy, and others (such as the Comanche) treating it as a forbidden food. Native peoples of the Great Plains, such as the Sioux and Cheyenne, consumed it, but there was a concurrent religious taboo against the meat of wild canines.

 

During their 1803–1806 expedition, Meriwether Lewis and the other members of the Corps of Discovery consumed dog meat, either from their own animals or supplied by Native American tribes, including the Paiutes and Wah-clel-lah Indians, a branch of the Watlatas, the Clatsop, the Teton Sioux (Lakota), the Nez Perce Indians, and the Hidatsas. Lewis and the members of the expedition ate dog meat, except William Clark, who reportedly could not bring himself to eat dogs.

 

The Kickapoo people include puppy meat in many of their traditional festivals. This practice has been well documented in the Works Progress Administration "Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma".

 

AUSTRALIA

It is legal to eat dogs in most States and Territories, except for South Australia. However, it is illegal to sell dog meat in any Australian State or Territory.

 

ARTIC AND ANTARTIC

Dogs have historically been emergency food sources for various peoples in Siberia, northern Canada, and Greenland. Sled dogs are usually maintained for pulling sleds, but occasionally are eaten when no other food is available.

 

British explorer Ernest Shackleton and his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition became trapped, and ultimately killed their sled dogs for food. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was known to have eaten sled dogs during his expedition to the South Pole. By eating some of the sled dogs, he required less human or dog food, thus lightening his load. When comparing sled dogs to ponies as draught animals he also notes:

 

"...there is the obvious advantage that dog can be fed on dog. One can reduce one's pack little by little, slaughtering the feebler ones and feeding the chosen with them. In this way they get fresh meat. Our dogs lived on dog's flesh and pemmican the whole way, and this enabled them to do splendid work. And if we ourselves wanted a piece of fresh meat we could cut off a delicate little fillet; it tasted to us as good as the best beef. The dogs do not object at all; as long as they get their share they do not mind what part of their comrade's carcass it comes from. All that was left after one of these canine meals was the teeth of the victim – and if it had been a really hard day, these also disappeared."

 

Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz were part of the Far Eastern Party, a three-man sledging team with Lieutenant B.E.S. Ninnis, to survey King George V Land, Antarctica. On 14 December 1912 Ninnis fell through a snow-covered crevasse along with most of the party's rations, and was never seen again. Mawson and Mertz turned back immediately. They had one and a half weeks' food for themselves and nothing at all for the dogs. Their meagre provisions forced them to eat their remaining sled dogs on their 507 km return journey. Their meat was tough, stringy and without a vestige of fat. Each animal yielded very little, and the major part was fed to the surviving dogs, which ate the meat, skin and bones until nothing remained. The men also ate the dog's brains and livers. Unfortunately eating the liver of sled dogs produces the condition hypervitaminosis A because canines have a much higher tolerance for vitamin A than humans do. Mertz suffered a quick deterioration. He developed stomach pains and became incapacitated and incoherent. On 7 January 1913, Mertz died. Mawson continued alone, eventually making it back to camp alive.

 

ASIA/PACIFIC

CHINA

Selling dog meat for consumption is legal in Mainland China and approximately 10 million dogs each year are slaughtered for consumption. The eating of dog meat in China dates back thousands of years. Dog meat (Chinese: 狗肉; pinyin: gǒu ròu) has been a source of food in some areas from around 500 BC and possibly even earlier. It has been suggested that wolves in southern China may have been domesticated as a source of meat. Mencius, the philosopher, talked about dog meat as being an edible, dietary meat. It is thought to have medicinal properties, and is especially popular in winter months in northern China, as it is believed to raise body temperature after consumption and promote warmth. Historical records have moreover shown how in times of food scarcities (as in war-time situations), dogs could also be eaten as an emergency food source.

 

Dog meat is sometimes called "fragrant meat" (香肉 xiāng ròu) or "mutton of the earth" (地羊 dì yáng) in Mandarin Chinese and "3–6 fragrant meat" (Chinese: 三六香肉; Cantonese Yale: sàam luhk hèung yuhk) in Cantonese (3 plus 6 is 9 and the words "nine" and "dog" have close pronunciation. In Mandarin, "nine" and "dog" are pronounced differently).

 

In modern times, the extent of dog consumption in China varies by region, most prevalent in Guangdong, Yunnan and Guangxi, as well as the northern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning. It is still common to find dog meat served in restaurants in Southern China, where dogs are specially raised on farms. However, there are instances of finding stolen pet meat on menus. Chinese netizens and the Chinese police intercepted trucks transporting caged dogs to be slaughtered in localities such as Chongqing and Kunming. In 2014, 11 people in the Hunan province were sentenced to prison for allegedly poisoning over 1,000 dogs and selling the poisonous meat to restaurants. Since 2009, Yulin, Guangxi has held an annual festival of eating dog meat. This purportedly celebrates the summer solstice, however, in 2014, the municipal government published a statement that the festival is not a cultural tradition, rather, a commercial event held by restaurants and the public. Various dog meat dishes (and more recently, cats) are eaten, washed down by lychees wine. The festival in 2011 spanned 10 days, during which 15,000 dogs were consumed. Estimates of the number of dogs eaten during the festival range between 10 and 15 thousand. Festival organisers say that only dogs bred specifically for consumption are used, however, there are claims that some of the dogs purchased for slaughter and consumption are strays or stolen pets, as evidenced by their wearing collars. Some of the dogs eaten at the festival are burnt or boiled alive and there are reports that the dogs are sometimes clubbed or beaten to death in the belief that the increased adrenalin circulating in the dog's body adds to the flavour of the meat. At the 2015 festival, there were long queues outside large (300-seat) eateries which sold the dog meat for around £4 (€5.60) per kilogram. Prior to the 2014 festival, eight dogs (and their two cages) sold for 1,150 yuan ($185) and six puppies for 1,200 yuan. Prior to the 2015 festival, a protester bought 100 dogs for 7,000 yuan ($1,100; £710). The animal rights NGO Best Volunteer Centre claims the city has more than 100 slaughterhouses, processing between 30 and 100 dogs a day. However, the Yulin Centre for Animal Disease Control and Prevention claims the city has only eight dog slaughterhouses selling approximately 200 dogs, although this increases to about 2,000 dogs during the Yulin festival. There are several campaigns to stop the festival; more than 3,000,000 people have signed petitions against it on Weibo (China’s version of Twitter) and a petition to stop the festival (addressed to the Chinese Minister of Agriculture, Chen Wu) reads "Do the humane thing by saying no to this festival and save the lives of countless dogs that will fall victim to this event - an event that will butcher, skin alive, beat to death etc. thousands of innocent dogs." Prior to the 2014 festival, doctors and nurses staff were ordered not to eat dog meat there, and local restaurants serving dog meat were ordered to cover the word "dog" on their signs and notices.

 

The movement against the consumption of cat and dog meat was given added impetus by the formation of the Chinese Companion Animal Protection Network (CCAPN). Expanded to more than 40 member societies, CCAPN in 2006 began organizing protests against eating dogs and cat, starting in Guangzhou and following up in more than ten other cities with a positive response from the public. Before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, officials ordered dog meat to be taken off the menu at its 112 official Olympic restaurants to avoid offending visitors from various nations who might have been concerned by the offering of dog meat.

 

In 2010, draft legislation was proposed to prohibit the consumption of dog meat. The legislation, however, was not expected to be enforced, making the consumption of dog meat illegal if it passed. In 2010, the first draft proposal of the legislation was introduced, with the rationale to protect animals from maltreatment. The legislation includes a measure to jail people for up to 15 days for eating dog meat. However, certain cultural food festivals continue to promote the meat. For example, in 2014, 10,000 dogs were killed for the Yulin dog eating festival.

 

As of the early 21st century, dog meat consumption is declining or disappearing. In 2014, dog meat sales decreased by a third compared to 2013. It was reported that in 2015, one of the most popular restaurants in Guangzhou serving dog meat was closed after the local government tightened regulations; the restaurant had served dog meat dishes since 1963. Other restaurants that served dog and cat meat dishes in the Yuancun and Panyu districts also stopped serving these in 2015.

 

HONG KONG

In Hong Kong, the Dogs and Cats Ordinance was introduced by the British Hong Kong Government on 6 January 1950. It prohibits the slaughter of any dog or cat for use as food, whether for mankind or otherwise, on pain of fine and imprisonment. In February 1998, a Hong Konger was sentenced to one month imprisonment and a fine of two thousand HK dollars for hunting street dogs for food. Four local men were sentenced to 30 days imprisonment in December 2006 for having slaughtered two dogs.

 

TAIWAN

In 2001, the Taiwanese government imposed a ban on the sale of dog meat, due to both pressure from domestic animal welfare groups and a desire to improve international perceptions, although there were some protests. In 2007, another law was passed, significantly increasing the fines to sellers of dog meat. However, animal rights campaigners have accused the Taiwanese government of not prosecuting those who continue to slaughter and serve dog meat at restaurants. Although the slaughter and consumption of dog meat is illegal in Taiwan, there are reports that suggest the practice continues as of 2011. In Taiwan, dog meat is called "fragrant meat" (Chinese: 香肉; pinyin: xiāngròu). In 2007, legislators passed a law to fine sellers of dog meat NT$250,000 (US$7,730). Dog meat is believed to have health benefits, including improving circulation and raising body temperature.

 

INDIA

In India, dog meat is eaten by certain communities in the Northeast Indian border states of Mizoram, Nagaland, and Manipur where it is considered to be a delicacy. These states border Burma and may have been influenced by Chinese culture and traditions.

 

INDONESIA

Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, a faith which considers dog meat, along with pork to be "haraam" (ritually unclean) and therefore do not eat it. However, dog meat is eaten by several of Indonesia's non-Muslim minorities.

 

The consumption of dog meat is associated with the Minahasa culture of northern Sulawesi, Maluku culture, and the Bataks of northern Sumatra, where dog meat is considered a festive dish usually reserved for occasions such as weddings and Christmas.

 

Popular Indonesian dog-meat dishes are rica-rica, also called rintek wuuk or "RW", rica-rica waung, guk-guk, and "B1". On Java, there are several dishes made from dog meat, such as sengsu (tongseng asu), sate jamu, and kambing balap.

 

Dog consumption in Indonesia gained attention in United States where dog is a taboo food, during 2012 Presidential election when incumbent Barack Obama was pointed by his opponent to have eaten dog meat served by his Indonesian stepfather Lolo Soetoro during his stay in the country.

 

JAPAN

The consumption of dog meat is not a feature of modern Japanese culture because Japanese people believe that certain dogs have special powers in their religion of Shintoism and Buddhism. Dog meat was consumed in Japan until 675 AD, when Emperor Temmu decreed a prohibition on its consumption during the 4th–9th months of the year. Normally a dog accompanied the emperor for battle, so it was believed that eating a dog gave emperors bad luck. In Japanese shrines certain animals are worshipped, such as dogs as it is believed they will give people a good luck charm. Animals are described as good luck in scrolls and Kakemono during the Kofun period, Asuka period and Nara period. According to Meisan Shojiki Ōrai (名産諸色往来) published in 1760, the meat of wild dog was sold along with boar, deer, fox, wolf, bear, raccoon dog, otter, weasel and cat in some regions of Edo. Ōta Nampo recorded witnessing puppies being eaten in Satsuma Province in a dish called Enokoro Meshi (えのころ飯).

 

KOREA

Gaegogi (개고기) literally means "dog meat" in Korean. The term itself, however, is often mistaken as the term for Korean soup made from dog meat, which is actually called bosintang (보신탕; 補身湯, Body nourishing soup) (sometimes spelled "bo-shintang").

 

The consumption of dog meat in Korean culture can be traced through history. Dog bones were excavated in a neolithic settlement in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. A wall painting in the Goguryeo Tombs complex in South Hwangghae Province, a World Heritage site which dates from the 4th century AD, depicts a slaughtered dog in a storehouse. The Balhae people also enjoyed dog meat, and the modern-day tradition of canine cuisine seems to have come from that era.

 

Although their Mohe ancestors did not respect dogs, the Jurchen people began to respect dogs around the time of the Ming dynasty and passed this tradition on to the Manchu. It was prohibited in Jurchen culture to use dog skin, and forbidden for Jurchens to harm, kill, and eat dogs, as the Jurchens believed the "utmost evil" was the usage of dog skin by Koreans.

 

SOUTH KOREA

Dog meat is often consumed during the summer months and is either roasted or prepared in soups or stews. The most popular of these soups is bosintang and gaejang-guk, a spicy stew meant to balance the body's heat during the summer months. This is thought to ensure good health by balancing one's "Qi", the believed vital energy of the body. A 19th-century version of gaejang-guk explains the preparation of the dish by boiling dog meat with vegetables such as green onions and chili pepper powder. Variations of the dish contain chicken and bamboo shoots.

 

Over 100,000 tons of dog meat, or 2.5 million dogs, are consumed annually in South Korea. Although a fair number of South Koreans (approximately 42% to 60%) have eaten dog meat at least once in their lifetime, only a small percentage of the population is believed to eat it on a regular basis.

 

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety recognizes any edible product other than drugs as food. South Korean Food Sanitary Law (식품위생법) does not include dog meat as a legal food ingredient. In the capital city of Seoul, the sale of dog meat was outlawed by regulation on February 21, 1984 by classifying dog meat as 'repugnant food' (혐오식품), but the regulation was not rigorously enforced except during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In 2001, the Mayor of Seoul announced there would be no extra enforcement efforts to control the sale of dog meat during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which was partially hosted in Seoul. In March 2008, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced its plan to put forward a policy suggestion to the central government to legally classify slaughter dogs as livestock, reigniting debate on the issue.

 

The primary dog breed raised for meat, the Nureongi (누렁이), or Hwangu (황구); is a non-specific, mixed breed.

 

There is a large and vocal group of Koreans (consisting of a number of animal welfare groups) who are against the practice of eating dogs. Popular television shows like 'I Love Pet' have documented, in 2011 for instance, the continued illegal sale of dog meat and slaughtering of dogs in suburban areas. The program also televised illegal dog farms and slaughterhouses, showing the unsanitary and horrific conditions of caged dogs, several of which were visibly sick with severe eye infections and malnutrition. However, despite this growing awareness, there remain some in Korea that do not eat or enjoy the meat, but do feel that it is the right of others to do so, along with a smaller but still vocal group of pro-dog cuisine people who want to popularize the consumption of dog in Korea and the rest of the world. A group of pro-dog meat individuals attempted to promote and publicize the consumption of dog meat worldwide during the run-up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, which prompted retaliation from animal rights campaigners and prominent figures such as Brigitte Bardot to denounce the practice. Opponents of dog meat consumption in South Korea are critical of the eating of dog meat, as some dogs are beaten, burnt or hanged to make their meat more tender.

 

The restaurants that sell dog meat, often exclusively, do so at the risk of losing their restaurant licenses. A case of a dog meat wholesaler, charged with selling dog meat, arose in 1997 where an appeals court acquitted the dog meat wholesaler, ruling that dogs were socially accepted as food. According to the National Assembly of South Korea, more than 20,000 restaurants, including the 6,484 registered restaurants, served soups made from dog meat in Korea in 1998. In 1999 the BBC reported that 8,500 tons of dog meat were consumed annually, with another 93,600 tons used to produce a medicinal tonic called gaesoju (개소주).

 

NORTH KOREA

Daily NK reported that the North Korean government included dog meat in its new list of one hundred fixed prices, setting a fixed price of 500 won per kilogram in early 2010.

 

NEW ZEALAND

Dog meat is rarely eaten in New Zealand but has been said to be becoming more popular as it is not illegal as long as the dog is humanely killed.

 

A Tongan man living in New Zealand caused public outrage when he was caught cooking his pet dog in his backyard; this event led to calls for change in the law.

 

PHILIPPINES

The “Malays”, a sea-faring population that is now scattered throughout South-East Asia, introduced the practice of domesticating dogs for meat consumption to the indigenous population of the Philippines.

 

In the capital city of Manila, Metro Manila Commission Ordinance 82-05 specifically prohibits the killing and selling of dogs for food. Generally however, the Philippine Animal Welfare Act 1998 prohibits the killing of any animal other than cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles, with exemptions for religious, cultural, research, public safety and/or animal health reasons. Nevertheless, the consumption of dog meat is not uncommon in the Philippines, reflected in the occasional coverage in Philippine newspapers,.

 

The Province of Benguet specifically allows cultural use of dog meat by indigenous people and acknowledges this might lead to limited commercial use.

 

Asocena is a dish primarily consisting of dog meat originating from the Philippines.

 

In the early 1980s, there was an international outcry about dog meat consumption in the Philippines after newspapers published photos of Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, with a dog carcass hanging beside her on a market stall. The British Government discussed withdrawing foreign aid and other countries, such as Australia, considered similar action. To avoid such action, the Filipino government banned the sale of dog meat, despite dog meat being the third most consumed meat, behind pork and goat. The ban eventually became totally disregarded, although it was reinstated by President Ramos in 1998 in the Animal Welfare Act (Republic Act 8485).

 

POLYNESIA

Dogs were historically eaten in Tahiti and other islands of Polynesia, including Hawaii at the time of first European contact. James Cook, when first visiting Tahiti in 1769, recorded in his journal, "few were there of us but what allow'd that a South Sea Dog was next to an English Lamb, one thing in their favour is that they live entirely upon Vegetables". Calwin Schwabe reported in 1979 that dog was widely eaten in Hawaii and considered to be of higher quality than pork or chicken. When Hawaiians first encountered early British and American explorers, they were at a loss to explain the visitors' attitudes about dog meat. The Hawaiians raised both dogs and pigs as pets and for food. They could not understand why their British and American visitors only found the pig suitable for consumption. This practice seems to have died out, along with the native Hawaiian breed of dog, the unique Hawaiian Poi Dog, which was primarily used for this purpose. The consumption of domestic dog meat is still commonplace in the Kingdom of Tonga, and has also been noted in expatriate Tongan communities in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.

 

THAILAND

Unlike other countries where dog meat consumption has been shown to have historical precedents, Thailand does not have a mainstream culture of dog eating. However, in recent years, the consumption of dog meat in certain areas of the country, especially in certain northeastern provinces like Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom, notably Sakon Nakhon province's Tha Rae sub-district, which has been identified as the main center for the country's illegal, albeit lucrative, dog meat trade, has attracted widespread attention from the Thai population and local news media. This has led large groups of Thai citizens to become increasingly vocal against the consumption of dog meat and the selling of dogs that are transported through Laos to neighbouring Mekong countries, including Vietnam and China. According to news reports, a considerable number of these dogs continue to be stolen from people's homes by illegal carriers. This was also the case following the 2011 Thailand Floods. Dubbed as the country's 'Trade of Shame', Thai netizens, in particular, have now formed several informal animal welfare and rescue groups in an attempt to stop this illegal trade, with the collective attitude being that 'Dogs are not food'. Established not-for-profit animal charity organizations like the Soi Dog Foundation have also been active in raising awareness and working in conjunction with local Thai authorities to rehabilitate and relocate dogs rescued from trucks attempting to transport live dogs across the border to nearby countries. Significantly, this issue has strengthened the nation's animal rights movement, which continues to call on the Thai government to adopt a stricter and more comprehensive animal rights law to prevent the maltreatment of pets and cruelty against all animals.

 

TIMOR LESTE

Dog meat is a delicacy popular in East Timor.

 

UZBEKISTAN

Although not commonly eaten, dog meat is sometimes used in Uzbekistan in the belief that it has medicinal properties.

 

VIETNAM

Dog meat is consumed more commonly in the northern part of Vietnam than in the south, and can be found in special restaurants which specifically serve dog meat. Dog meat is believed to bring good fortune in Vietnamese culture. It is seen as being comparable in consumption to chicken or pork. In urban areas, there are sections that house a lot of dog meat restaurants. For example, on Nhat Tan Street, Tây Hồ District, Hanoi, many restaurants serve dog meat. Groups of customers, usually male, seated on mats, will spend their evenings sharing plates of dog meat and drinking alcohol. The consumption of dog meat can be part of a ritual usually occurring toward the end of the lunar month for reasons of astrology and luck. Restaurants which mainly exist to serve dog meat may only open for the last half of the lunar month. Dog meat is also believed to raise the libido in men. The Associated Press reported in October 2009 that a soaring economy has led to the booming of dog restaurants in Hanoi, and that this has led to a proliferation of dognappers. Reportedly, a 20 kilograms dog can sell for more than $100 — roughly the monthly salary of an average Vietnamese worker. The Vietnamese Catholic Church is a major consumer of dog meat during the Christmas holiday. There is a large smuggling trade from Thailand to export dogs to Vietnam for human consumption.In 2009, dog meat was found to be a main carrier of the Vibrio cholerae bacterium, which caused the summer epidemic of cholera in northern Vietnam. Prior to 2014, more than 5 million dogs were killed for meat every year in Vietnam according to the Asia Canine Protection Alliance. However, there are indications that the desire to eat dog meat in Vietnam is waning. Part of the decline is thought to be due to an increased number of Vietnamese people keeping dogs as pets, as their incomes have risen in the past few decades. “[People] used to raise dogs to guard the house, and when they needed the meat, they ate it. Now they keep dog as pets, imported from China, Japan, and other countries. One pet dog might cost hundreds of millions of dong [100 million dong is $4,677].”

 

EUROPE

BRITAIN & IRELAND

Eating dog meat is considered entirely taboo, as is common with most European societies, and has been taboo for many centuries outside of times of scarcity such as sieges or famines. However, early Brittonic and Irish texts which date from the early Christian period suggest that dog meat was sometimes consumed but possibly in ritual contexts such as Druidic ritual trance. Sacrificial dog bones are often recovered from archaeological sites however they were typically treated differently, as were horses, from other food animals. One of Ireland's mythological heroes Cuchulainn, had two geasa, or vows, one of which was to avoid the meat of dogs. The breaking of his geasa led to his death in the Irish mythology.

 

BELGIUM

A few meat shops sold dog meat during the German occupation of Belgium in World War I, when food was extremely scarce. According to The New York Times, in the 19th century the Council of the Veterinary School of Belgium occasionally recommended dog meat for human consumption after being properly inspected.

 

FRANCE

Although consumption of dog meat is uncommon in France, and is now considered taboo, dog meat has been consumed in the past by the Gauls. The earliest evidence of dog consumption in France was found at Gaulish archaeological sites, where butchered dog bones were discovered. French news sources from the late 19th century carried stories reporting lines of people buying dog meat, which was described as being "beautiful and light." During the Siege of Paris (1870–1871), there were lines at butcher's shops of people waiting to purchase dog meat. Dog meat was also reported as being sold by some butchers in Paris, 1910.

 

GERMANY

Dog meat has been eaten in every major German crisis since, at least, the time of Frederick the Great, and is commonly referred to as "blockade mutton". In the early 20th century, high meat prices led to widespread consumption of horse and dog meat in Germany.

 

The consumption of dog meat continued in the 1920s. In 1937, a meat inspection law targeted against trichinella was introduced for pigs, dogs, boars, foxes, badgers, and other carnivores. Dog meat has been prohibited in Germany since 1986.

 

SAXONY

In the latter part of World War I, dog meat was being eaten in Saxony by the poorer classes because of famine conditions.

 

THE NETHERLANDS

During severe meat shortages coinciding with the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, sausages found to have been made of dog meat were confiscated by authorities in the Netherlands.

 

POLAND

While dog meat is not eaten, some rural areas of Poland especially Lesser Poland, dog fat can be made into lard, which by tradition is believed to have medicinal properties — being good for the lungs, for instance. Since the 16th century, fat from various animals, including dogs, was used as part of folk medicine, and since the 18th century, dog fat has had a reputation as being beneficial for the lungs. It is worth noting that the consumption of such meat is considered taboo in Polish culture, also making lard out of dogs' fat is illegal. In 2009, a scandal erupted when a farm near Częstochowa was discovered rearing dogs to be rendered down into lard. According to Grazyna Zawada, from Gazeta Wyborcza, there were farms in Czestochowa, Klobuck, and in the Radom area, and in the decade from 2000 to 2010 six people producing dog lard were found guilty of breaching animal welfare laws (found guilty of killing dogs and animal cruelty) and sentenced to jail. As of 2014 there have been new cases prosecuted.

 

SWITZERLAND

Dogs, as well as cats, are eaten regularly by farmers in rural areas for personal consumption. While commercial slaughter and sale of dog meat is illegal, cultural attitudes toward slaughtering of animals for meat is traditionally liberal in Switzerland. The favorite type of meat comes from a dog related to the Rottweiler and consumed as 'mostbrockli' a form of marinated meat. Animals are slaughtered by butchers and either shot or bludgeoned.

 

In his 1979 book Unmentionable Cuisine, Calvin Schwabe described a Swiss dog meat recipe gedörrtes Hundefleisch served as paper-thin slices, as well as smoked dog ham, Hundeschinken, which is prepared by salting and drying raw dog meat.

 

It is illegal in Switzerland to commercially produce food made from dog meat, or to produce such food for commercial purposes.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Considerada como a obra arquitetônica de maior porte empreendida no Brasil durante o período colonial, é hoje um dos cartões postais da cidade, símbolo mais representativo do Rio de Janeiro Antigo preservado na região boêmia da Lapa. Os primeiros estudos para trazer as águas do Rio Carioca para a cidade remontam a 1602, por determinação do então governador da Capitania do Rio de Janeiro, Martim Correia de Sá (1602-1608). Em 1624, um contrato para a construção do primitivo conduto foi firmado com Domingos da Rocha, que não chegou a iniciar os trabalhos. Em 1718, sob o governo de Antônio de Brito Freire de Menezes (1717-1719), iniciaram-se as obras de instalação dos canos de água através da antiga Rua dos Barbonos (atual Rua Evaristo da Veiga). Sob o governo de Aires de Saldanha e Albuquerque Coutinho Matos e Noronha (1719-1725), em 1720, o encanamento alcançava o Campo da Ajuda (atual Cinelândia), ainda nos arrabaldes da cidade à época. Foi este governador quem, alterando o projeto original, defendeu a vantagem de se prolongar a obra até ao Campo de Santo Antônio (atual Largo da Carioca), optando pelos chamados Arcos Velhos – um aqueduto ligando o morro do Desterro (atual morro de Santa Teresa) ao morro de Santo Antônio, inspirado no Aqueduto das Águas Livres, que então começava a se erguer em Lisboa. A obra estava concluída em 1723, levando as águas à Fonte da Carioca, chafariz erguido também nesse ano, que as distribuía à população no referido Campo de Santo Antônio.A solução foi paliativa, uma vez que já em 1727 se registram reclamações de falta de água, atribuindo-se à ação de quilombolas (escravos fugitivos, que viviam ocultos nas matas) a responsabilidade pela quebra dos canos. O governador Gomes Freire de Andrade (1733-1763) determinou, em 1744, a reconstrução do Aqueduto da Carioca com pedra do país, diante do elevado custo da cantaria vinda do reino. Com risco atribuído ao brigadeiro José Fernandes Pinto Alpoim, recebeu a atual conformação, em arcaria de pedra e cal. A Carta Régia de 2 de maio de 1747 determinou que as águas fossem cobertas por abóbada de tijolos, para evitar o seu desvio mal-intencionado. Inaugurado em 1750, as águas brotaram aos pés do Convento de Santo Antônio, em um chafariz de mármore, através de 16 bicas de bronze. Mais tarde essa água foi estendida, através da Rua do Cano (atual Rua Sete de Setembro), até ao Largo do Paço (atual Praça XV de Novembro), onde os navios vinham abastecer-se. Na segunda metade do século XIX, durante o Império e, posteriormente, diante do advento da República, novas alternativas para o abastecimento de água aos moradores da cidade do Rio de Janeiro foram sendo utilizadas. O aqueduto, a partir de 1896, passou a ser utilizado como viaduto para os novos bondes de ferro da Companhia de Carris Urbanos, principal meio de acesso do centro aos altos do bairro de Santa Teresa, até os dias de hoje.

 

Fonte: Wikipedia.

 

Copyright © Marcia Rosa – All Rights Reserved.

Reprodução proibida – Todos os direitos reservados.

Contato: marcia_rosa@hotmail.com

"Imagine" is a song written and performed by the English musician John Lennon. The best-selling single of his solo career, its lyrics encourage the listener to imagine a world at peace without the barriers of borders or the divisiveness of religions and nationalities, and to consider the possibility that the focus of humanity should be living a life unattached to material possessions.Lennon and Yoko Ono co-produced the song and album of the same name with Phil Spector. Recording began at Lennon's home studio at Tittenhurst Park, England, in May 1971, with final overdubs taking place at the Record Plant, in New York City, during July.Lennon and Ono co-produced the song and album with Phil Spector, who commented on the track: "We knew what we were going to do ... It was going to be John making a political statement, but a very commercial one as well ... I always thought that 'Imagine' was like the national anthem."[14] Lennon described his working arrangement with Ono and Spector: "Phil doesn't arrange or anything like that—[Ono] and Phil will just sit in the other room and shout comments like, 'Why don't you try this sound' or 'You're not playing the piano too well'... I'll get the initial idea and ... we'll just find a sound from [there]."[15]

 

Recording began at Ascot Sound Studios, Lennon's newly built home studio at Tittenhurst Park, in May 1971, with final overdubs taking place at the Record Plant, in New York City, during July.[15] Relaxed and patient, the sessions began during the late morning, running to just before dinner in the early evening. Lennon taught the musicians the chord progression and a working arrangement for "Imagine", rehearsing the song until he deemed the musicians ready to record.[4] In his attempt to recreate Lennon's desired sound, Spector had some early tapings feature Lennon and Nicky Hopkins playing in different octaves on one piano. He also initially attempted to record the piano part with Lennon playing the white baby grand in the couple's all-white room. However, after having deemed the room's acoustics unsuitable, Spector abandoned the idea in favour of the superior environment of Lennon's home studio.[5] They completed the session in minutes, recording three takes and choosing the second one for release.[16] The finished recording featured Lennon on piano and vocal, Klaus Voormann on bass guitar, Alan White on drums and the Flux Fiddlers on strings.[17]

 

Issued by Apple Records in the United States in October 1971, "Imagine" became the best-selling single of Lennon's solo career.[18] It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100[19] and reached number one in Canada on the RPM national singles chart, remaining there for two weeks.[20] Upon its release the song's lyrics upset some religious groups, particularly the line: "Imagine there's no heaven".[21] When asked about the song during one of his final interviews, Lennon said he considered it to be as strong a composition as any he had written with the Beatles.[7] He described the song's meaning and explicated its commercial appeal: "Anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic, but because it is sugarcoated it is accepted ... Now I understand what you have to do. Put your political message across with a little honey."[22] In an open letter to Paul McCartney published in Melody Maker, Lennon said that "Imagine" was "'Working Class Hero' with sugar on it for conservatives like yourself".[23] On 30 November 1971, the Imagine LP reached number one on the UK chart.[24] It became the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album of Lennon's solo career. One month after the September release of the LP, Lennon released "Imagine" as a single in the United States; the song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and the LP reached number one on the UK chart in November, later becoming the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album of Lennon's solo career. Although not originally released as a single in the United Kingdom, it was released in 1975 to promote a compilation LP and it reached number six in the chart that year. The song has since sold more than 1.6 million copies in the UK; it reached number one following Lennon's death in December 1980.BMI named "Imagine" one of the 100 most-performed songs of the 20th century. The song ranked number 30 on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of the 365 Songs of the Century bearing the most historical significance. It earned a Grammy Hall of Fame Award and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. A UK survey conducted by the Guinness World Records British Hit Singles Book named it the second best single of all time, and Rolling Stone ranked it number 3 in their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Since 2005, event organisers have played it just before the New Year's Times Square Ball drops in New York City. Dozens of artists have performed or recorded versions of "Imagine", including Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Joan Baez, Elton John, and Diana Ross. Emeli Sandé recorded a cover for the BBC to use during the end credits montage at the close of the 2012 Summer Olympics coverage in August 2012. "Imagine" subsequently re-entered the UK Top 40, reaching number 18.A 1971 Billboard advertisement for "Imagine"

Lennon and Ono co-produced the song and album with Phil Spector, who commented on the track: "We knew what we were going to do ... It was going to be John making a political statement, but a very commercial one as well ... I always thought that 'Imagine' was like the national anthem."Lennon described his working arrangement with Ono and Spector: "Phil doesn't arrange or anything like that—[Ono] and Phil will just sit in the other room and shout comments like, 'Why don't you try this sound' or 'You're not playing the piano too well'... I'll get the initial idea and ... we'll just find a sound from [there]."Recording began at Ascot Sound Studios, Lennon's newly built home studio at Tittenhurst Park, in May 1971, with final overdubs taking place at the Record Plant, in New York City, during July. Relaxed and patient, the sessions began during the late morning, running to just before dinner in the early evening. Lennon taught the musicians the chord progression and a working arrangement for "Imagine", rehearsing the song until he deemed the musicians ready to record. In his attempt to recreate Lennon's desired sound, Spector had some early tapings feature Lennon and Nicky Hopkins playing in different octaves on one piano. He also initially attempted to record the piano part with Lennon playing the white baby grand in the couple's all-white room. However, after having deemed the room's acoustics unsuitable, Spector abandoned the idea in favour of the superior environment of Lennon's home studio. They completed the session in minutes, recording three takes and choosing the second one for release. The finished recording featured Lennon on piano and vocal, Klaus Voormann on bass guitar, Alan White on drums and the Flux Fiddlers on strings.Issued by Apple Records in the United States in October 1971, "Imagine" became the best-selling single of Lennon's solo career It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It reached number 1 in Canada on the RPM national singles chart, remaining there for two weeks.[16] Upon its release the song's lyrics upset some religious groups, particularly the line: "Imagine there's no heaven". When asked about the song during one of his final interviews, Lennon said he considered it to be as strong a composition as any he had written with the Beatles. He described the song's meaning and explicated its commercial appeal: "Anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic, but because it is sugarcoated it is accepted ... Now I understand what you have to do. Put your political message across with a little honey." Lennon once told Paul McCartney that "Imagine" was "'Working Class Hero' with sugar on it for conservatives like yourself".[19] On 30 November 1971, the Imagine LP reached number one on the UK chart.[20] It became the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album of Lennon's solo career.

Recognition and criticism

The John Lennon Peace Monument, Liverpool, England

Rolling Stone described "Imagine" as Lennon's "greatest musical gift to the world", praising "the serene melody; the pillowy chord progression; [and] that beckoning, four-note [piano] figure" Included in several song polls, in 1999, BMI named it one of the top 100 most-performed songs of the 20th century.] Also that year, it received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Triple J ranked it number 11 on its Hottest 100 of All Time list. "Imagine" ranked number 23 in the list of best-selling singles of all time in the UK, in 2000.[32] In 2002, a UK survey conducted by the Guinness World Records British Hit Singles Book ranked it the second best single of all time behind Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".[33] Gold Radio ranked the song number 3 on its "Gold's greatest 1000 hits" list.

Rolling Stone ranked "Imagine" number 3 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", describing it as "an enduring hymn of solace and promise that has carried us through extreme grief, from the shock of Lennon's own death in 1980 to the unspeakable horror of September 11th. It is now impossible to imagine a world without 'Imagine', and we need it more than he ever dreamed." Despite that sentiment, Clear Channel Communications included the song on its post-9/11 "do not play" list.On 1 January 2005, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation named "Imagine" the greatest song in the past 100 years as voted by listeners on the show 50 Tracks. The song ranked number 30 on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of the 365 Songs of the Century bearing the most historical significance. Virgin Radio conducted a UK favourite song survey in December 2005, and listeners voted "Imagine" number 1.[38] Australians selected it the greatest song of all time on the Nine Network's 20 to 1 countdown show on 12 September 2006. They voted it eleventh in the youth network Triple J's Hottest 100 Of All Time on 11 July 2009.Jimmy Carter said, "in many countries around the world—my wife and I have visited about 125 countries—you hear John Lennon's song 'Imagine' used almost equally with national anthems." On 9 October 2010, which would have been Lennon's 70th birthday, the Liverpool Signing Choir performed "Imagine" along with other Lennon songs at the unveiling of the John Lennon Peace Monument in Chavasse Park, Liverpool England. Beatles producer George Martin praised Lennon's solo work, singling out the composition: "My favourite song of all was 'Imagine'". Music critic Paul Du Noyer described "Imagine" as Lennon's "most revered" post-Beatles song. Urish and Bielen called it "the most subversive pop song recorded to achieve classic status."Fricke commented: "'Imagine' is a subtly contentious song, Lennon's greatest combined achievement as a balladeer and agitator."Authors Ben Urish and Ken Bielen criticised the song's instrumental music as overly sentimental and melodramatic, comparing it to the music of the pre-rock era and describing the vocal melody as understated. According to Blaney, Lennon's lyrics describe hypothetical possibilities that offer no practical solutions; lyrics that are at times nebulous and contradictory, asking the listener to abandon political systems while encouraging one similar to communism. Author Chris Ingham indicated the hypocrisy in Lennon, the millionaire rock star living in a mansion, encouraging listeners to imagine living their lives without possessions. Others argue that Lennon intended the song's lyrics to inspire listeners to imagine if the world could live without possessions, not as an explicit call to give them up Blaney commented: "Lennon knew he had nothing concrete to offer, so instead he offers a dream, a concept to be built upon."Blaney considered the song to be "riddled with contradictions. Its hymn-like setting sits uncomfortably alongside its author's plea for us to envision a world without religion." Urish and Bielen described Lennon's "dream world" without a heaven or hell as a call to "make the best world we can here and now, since this is all this is or will be." In their opinion, "because we are asked merely to imagine—to play a 'what if' game, Lennon can escape the harshest criticisms".Former Beatle Ringo Starr defended the song's lyrics during a 1981 interview with Barbara Walters, stating: "[Lennon] said 'imagine', that's all. Just imagine it."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagine_(John_Lennon_song)

 

Comment Imagine de John Lennon est devenu un hymne universel…Par Daniel Ichbiah Article écrit pour le magazine STARfan - janvier 2011

"Dans de nombreux pays du monde et j'en ai visité près de 125, vous pouvez entendre 'Imagine' presque aussi souvent que l'hymne national."Ainsi s'est exprimé l'ancien président américain Jimmy Carter en 2006.Comment la chanson de Lennon a-t-elle acquis ce statut mythique ?Au moment de sa sortie en 1971, le single Imagine a connu un joli succès. C'était une chanson agréable avec un jolie partie de piano, une mélodie agréable et un tempo lent.Tandis que la chanson passe alors sur les ondes du monde entier, peu d'attention est réellement prêtée à ses paroles. Or, "Imagine" , sous des dehors romantiques et calmes, est une chanson fortement subversive. Lennon y distille des propos qui vont à l'encontre des principales valeurs de la société Américaine..

"Imaginez qu'il n'y ait pas de pays"

"Ce n'est pas si difficile"

"Rien qui nécessite de tuer et de mourir"

"Et pas de religion non plus".

C'est dans un livre de poèmes publié par Yoko Ono, Grapefruit, que Lennon a dit avoir trouvé l'inspiration pour "Imagine". L'artiste japonaise y distillait des instructions pour une nouvelle vie, telles que "imagine que tu es un fruit."

"Imagine" se classe n°3 au hit parade américain et l'album atteint même la position n°1. Cet hymne à la paix atteint la troisième position du hit parade américain et lui permet de renouer avec le succès. Pourtant, sur le moment, son message semble se diluer dans la quiétude des harmonies. Une jolie chanson, voilà tout.

C'est au fil du temps que "Imagine" va acquérir un statut particulier. Plus le temps passe et plus il semble qu'elle représente davantage qu'une chanson, qu'elle soit un hymne à part entière avec un message transcendant le temps…

Le 8 décembre 1980, Lennon est interviewé par Dave Sholin, un DJ de la station RKO. Au même moment, un désaxé fait le guet devant l'immeuble Dakota où réside le couple Lennon, son revolver enfoui dans une poche de sa parka. Au terme d'un cheminement intérieur chaotique, Chapman a fini par se persuader qu'il lui fallait éliminer John…C'est en quittant ce monde que Lennon révèle combien il était précieux. Quelques jours après sa disparition, cent mille fans se réunissent dans Central Park et devant l'immeuble Dakota dans un ultime hommage au Beatle disparu. Tous chantent l'hymne pour la paix "Give peace a chance". 10 minutes de silence sont observées et des milliers de ballons blancs sont libérés dans le ciel.Pour sa part, la ville de New York tient à célébrer la mémoire de Lennon à plus grande échelle. À Central Park, près de l'immeuble où habitait Lennon, une mosaïque est placée sur le sol avec ce mot "Imagine".

En Angleterre, le single était sorti en 1975 mais n'avait atteint que la 6ème position. Peu après la mort de Lennon en 1980, il ressort et se classe classe n°1 durant trois semaines. Il n'est délogé que par Lennon lui-même et le single "Woman".

En 1982, WABC, l'une des principales radios américaine - elle est née en 1921 - décide de changer de format et de ne plus diffuser de chansons, uniquement des talk-shows. Un long débat est organisé en interne afin de décider de la toute dernière chanson qui sera jouée par la station. C'est "Imagine" qui est choisi.Au cours de l'année 1988, le film Imagine : John Lennon retrace l'histoire du chanteur et remet la chanson au goût du jour. Il inclut une séquence où Lennon interprète ce titre sur son grand piano blanc Steinway.

Dans le très populaire film Forrest Gump qui sort en 1994, grâce à la magie de l'image de synthèse, Tom Hanks se retrouve face à John Lennon dans un show télévisé et le chanteur parle d'un endroit où il n'y aurait "pas de possessions", "pas de religions". La référence à la chanson fétiche de Lennon apparaît explicite.

Plus les années s'écoulent et plus il apparaît que la popularité de "Imagine" est devenue universelle et ne cesse de grandir. À l'occasion du changement de millenium, alors que les classements se multiplient, il va progressivement ressortir que"Imagine"occupe une place particulière dans le cœur du public.En 2002, Guiness World Records organise une enquête pour connaître le single préféré des britanniques. "Imagine" termine n°2 derrière "Bohemian Rhapsody" du groupe Queen.Le 9 décembre 2004, le magazine Rolling Stone publie sa liste des 500 meilleures chansons de tous les temps. "Imagine" y est classé à la 3ème position derrière "Like a Rolling Stone"de Bob Dylan et "Satisfaction" des Rolling Stones, loin devant la première chanson des Beatles figurant dans ce classement, "Hey Jude" qui est à la 8ème position.Au Canada, un sondage est mené la même année afin de déterminer la meilleure chanson des 100 dernières années. C'est "Imagine" qui arrive en tête. Un an plus tard, Virgin Radio conduit un sondage auprès du public britannique et là encore, c'est "Imagine" qui se classe n°1, devant "Hey Jude" des Beatles. En Australie, rebelotte : le 12 septembre 2006, "Imagine" est votée meilleure chanson de tous les temps."La chanson fait par ailleurs l'objet de très nombreuses reprises et assez souvent au cours d'occasions de soutien à une cause humanitaire. Le 21 septembre 2001, Neil Young l'interprète au cours d'un télethon organisé au profit des victimes de l'attaque sur les deux tours. Madonna intègre la chanson "Imagine" au programme de son Re-invention Tour de 2004 et la chante lors d'un concert en aide aux victimes du tsunami, le 15 janvier 2005 à Londres, concert auquel participent Norah Jones, Mary J. Bilge, Elton John, Lenny Kravitz, Stevie Wonder… Pour l'occasion Madonnna cite Lennon parmi les personnalités auxquelles elle aimerait ressembler. La chanson est également reprise par Liza Minelli, Randy Crawford, Jack Johnson, Herbie Hancock et le groupe A Perfect Circle.Fait rare, la chanson obtient une reconnaissance de la part de politiciens et gouvernants. Le 8 décembre 2000, une statue de John Lennon est inaugurée au Havana Park de Cuba et pour l'occasion le président Fidel Castro rend hommage au chanteur en indiquant :"Je partage totalement ses rêves".

En 2003, pour célébrer le 80ème anniversaire de Shimon Peres, Bill Clinton chante"Imagine"en compagnie de 40 enfants israéliens et 40 enfants arabes. Trois ans plus tard, un autre ancien président américain, Carter déclare qu'au cours de ses parcours dans le monde, c'est "Imagine" qu'il entend le plus souvent, davantage que l'hymne national du pays !Lennon qui souhaitait laisser derrière lui un message de fraternité universel pouvait-il rêver mieux ?Daniel Ichbiah

ichbiah.online.fr/extraits/divers/imagine.htm

   

I'm starting to consider options for the ship that will be under repair in my dry dock SHIP. I'm toying with the idea of building a ship from a well-known sci-fi franchise. Here are 3 of my favoirites -- the Rodger Young, the Pegasus, and a Vor'cha class cruiser. Anyone have any opinions on what they'd like to see (including possibly something not on this list)? Keep in mind that, given the size of my dry dock SHIP, the ship being repaired will probably be only about 60 studs in length.

 

I'm leaning toward the Rodger Young right now -- it has the most industrial feel.

Please consider leaving a comment if you fave, it is lovely to hear from you! xx

 

A night in black and white!

 

Trying out a few different angles and poses in my black and white palm tree print dress.

(Fuente: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen @RosLehtinen)

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Día de la Independencia

 

Mediante la firma del Acta de la Declaración de Independencia el 5 de julio de 1811, los venezolanos de la época toman la decisión, apoyados por varias circunstancias políticas, de desprenderse del reino español y construir una nueva nación a partir de premisas de igualdad entre los individuos, abolición de la censura y consagración de la libertad de expresión como principio constitucional, premisas radicalmente opuestas a las prácticas políticas, culturales y sociales que habían regido durante trescientos años anteriores.

 

Acto de significativo valor para todos los venezolanos, herederos legítimos del más imperecedero e inalienable legado del 5 de julio: entregarle a los habitantes de este territorio, a la sociedad toda, la soberanía sobre sus asuntos públicos.

   

Acta de Independencia de Venezuela

 

Firmada el 5 de Julio de 1811

 

En el nombre de Dios Todopoderoso, nosotros, los representantes de las provincias Unidas de Caracas, Cumaná, Barinas, Margarita, Barcelona, Mérida y Trujillo, que forman la Confederación Americana de Venezuela en el continente meridional, reunidos en Congreso, y considerando la plena y absoluta posesión de nuestros derechos, que recobramos justa y legítimamente desde el 19 de Abril de 1810, es consecuencia de la jornada de Bayona y la ocupación del trono sin nuestro consentimiento, queremos, antes de usar de los derechos de que nos tuvo privados las fuerzas, por más de tres siglos, y nos ha restituido el orden político de los acontecimientos humanos, patentizar al universo las razones que han emanado de estos mismos acontecimientos y autorizan el libre uso que vamos a hacer de nuestra soberanía.

 

No queremos, sin embargo, empezar alegando los derechos que tiene todo país conquistado, para recuperar su estado de propiedad e independencia; olvidamos generosamente la larga serie de males, agravios y privaciones que el derecho funesto de conquista ha causado indistintamente a todos los descendientes de los descubridores, conquistadores y pobladores de estos países, hechos de peor condición, por la misma razón que debía favorecerlos; y corriendo un velo sobre los trescientos años de dominación española en América, sólo presentaremos los hechos auténticos y notorios que han debido desprender y han desprendido de derecho a un mundo de otro, en el trastorno, desorden y conquista que tiene ya disuelta la nación española.

 

Este desorden ha aumentado los males de la América, inutilizándole los recursos y reclamaciones, y autorizando la impunidad de los gobernantes de España para insultar y oprimir esta parte de la nación, dejándola sin el amparo y garantía de las leyes.

 

Es contrario al orden, imposible al gobierno de España, y funesto a la América, el que, teniendo ésta un territorio infinitamente más extenso, y una población incomparablemente más numerosa, dependa y esté sujeta a un ángulo peninsular del continente europeo.

 

Las sesiones y abdicaciones de Bayona, las jornadas del Escorial y de Aranjuez, y las órdenes del lugarteniente Duque de Berg, a la América, debieron poner en uso de los derechos que hasta entonces habían sacrificado los americanos a la unidad e integridad de la nación española.

 

Venezuela, antes que nadie, reconoció y conservó generosamente esta integridad para no abandonar la causa de sus hermanos, mientras tuvo la menor apariencia de salvación.

 

América volvió a existir de nuevo, desde que pudo y debió tomar a cargo su suerte y conservación; como España pudo conocer, o no, los derechos de un Rey que había apreciado más su existencia que la dignidad de la nación que gobernaba.

 

Cuántos Borbones concurrieron a las inválidas estipulaciones de Bayona, abandonando el territorio español, contra la voluntad de los pueblos, faltaron, despreciaron y hollaron el deber sagrado que contrajeron con los españoles de ambos mundos, cuando, con su sangre y sus tesoros, los colocaron en el trono a despechos de la Casa de Austria; por esta conducta quedaron inhábiles e incapaces de gobernar a un pueblo libre, a quien entregaron como un rebaño de esclavos.

 

Los intrusos gobiernos que se abrogaron la representación nacional aprovecharon pérfidamente las disposiciones que la buena fe, la distancia, la opresión y la ignorancia daban a los americanos contra la nueva dinastía que se introdujo en España por la fuerza; y contra sus mismos principios, sostuvieron entre nosotros la ilusión a favor de Fernando, para devorarnos y vejarnos impunemente cuando más nos prometía la libertad, la igualdad y la fraternidad, en discursos pomposos y frases estudiadas, para encubrir el lazo de una representación amañada, inútil y degradante.

 

Luego que se disolvieron, sustituyeron y destruyeron entre sí las varias formas de gobierno de España, y que la ley imperiosa de la necesidad dictó a Venezuela el conservarse a sí misma para ventilar y conservar los derechos de su Rey y ofrecer un asilo a sus hermanos de Europa contra los males que les amenazaban, se desconoció toda su anterior conducta, se variaron los principios, y se llamó insurreción, perfidia e ingratitud, a lo mismo que sirvió de norma a los gobiernos de España, porque ya se les cerraba la puerta al monopolio de administración que querían perpetuar a nombre de un Rey imaginario.

 

A pesar de nuestras propuestas, de nuestra moderación, de nuestra generosidad, y de la inviolabilidad de nuestros principios, contra la voluntad de nuestros hermanos de Europa, se nos declara un estado de rebelión, se nos bloquea, se nos hostiliza, se nos envían agentes a amotinarnos unos contra otros, y se procura desacreditarnos entre las naciones de Europa implorando su auxilio para oprimirnos.

 

Sin hacer el menor aprecio de nuestras razones, sin presentarlas al imparcial juicio del mundo, y sin otros jueces que nuestros enemigos, se nos condena a una dolorosa incomunicación con nuestros hermanos; y para añadir el desprecio a la calumnia se nos nombra apoderados, contra nuestra expresa voluntad, para que en sus Cortes dispongan arbitrariamente de nuestros intereses bajo el influjo y la fuerza de nuestros enemigos.

 

Para sofocar y anonadar los efectos de nuestra representación, cuando se vieron obligados a concedérnosla, nos sometieron a una tarifa mezquina y diminuta y sujetaron a la voz pasiva de los ayuntamientos, degradados por el despotismo de los gobernadores, la forma de la elección; lo que era un insulto a nuestra sencillez y buena fe, más bien que una consideración a nuestra incontestable importancia política.

 

Sordos siempre a los gritos de nuestra justicia, han procurado los gobiernos de España desacreditar todos nuestros esfuerzos declarando criminales y sellando con la infamia, el cadalso y la confiscación, todas las tentativas que, en diversas épocas, han hechos algunos americanos para la felicidad de su país, como fue la que últimamente nos dictó la propia seguridad, para no ser envueltos en el desorden que presentíamos, y conducidos a la horrorosa suerte que vamos ya a apartar de nosotros para siempre; con esta atroz política, han logrado hacer a nuestros hermanos insensibles a nuestras desgracias, armarlos contra nosotros, borrar de ellos las dulces impresiones de la amistad y de la consanguinidad, y convertir en enemigos una parte de nuestra gran familia.

 

Cuando nosotros, fieles a nuestras promesas, sacrificábamos nuestra seguridad y dignidad civil por no abandonar los derechos que generosamente conservamos a Fernando de Borbón, hemos vistos que a las relaciones de las fuerzas que le ligaban con el Emperador de los franceses ha añadido los vínculos de sangre y amistad, por lo que hasta los gobiernos de España han declarado ya su resolución de no reconocerle sino condicionalmente.

 

En esta dolorosa alternativa hemos permanecido tres años en una indecisión y ambigüedad política, tan funesta y peligrosa, que ella sola bastaría a autorizar la resolución que la fe de nuestras promesas y de los vínculos de la fraternidad nos habían hecho diferir; hasta que la necesidad nos ha obligado a ir más allá de lo que nos propusimos, impelidos por la conducta hostil y desnaturalizada de los gobiernos de España, que nos ha relevado del juramento condicional con que hemos sido llamados a la augusta representación que ejercemos.

 

Mas nosotros, que nos gloriamos de fundar nuestro proceder en mejores principios, y que no queremos establecer nuestra felicidad sobre la desgracia de nuestros semejantes, miramos y declaramos como amigos nuestros, compañeros de nuestra suerte, y partícipes de nuestra felicidad, a los que, unidos con nosotros por los vínculos de la sangre, la lengua y la religión, han sufrido los mismos males en el anterior orden; siempre que, reconociendo nuestra absoluta independencia de él y de otra dominación extraña, nos ayuden a sostenerla con su vida, su fortuna y su opinión, declarándolos y reconociéndolos (como a todas las demás naciones) en guerra enemigos, y en paz amigos, hermanos y compatriotas.

 

En atención a todas estas sólidas, públicas e incontestables razones de política, que tanto persuaden la necesidad de recobrar la dignidad natural, que el orden de los sucesos nos han restituido, en uso de los imprescriptibles derechos que tienen los pueblos para destruir todo pacto, convenio o asociación que no llenan los fines para que fueron instituidos los gobiernos, creemos que no podemos ni debemos conservar los lazos que nos ligaban al gobierno de España, y que, como todos los pueblos del mundo, estamos libres y autorizados para no depender de otra autoridad que la nuestra, y tomar entre las potencias de la tierra, el puesto igual que el Ser Supremo y la naturaleza nos asignan y a que nos llama la sucesión de los acontecimientos humanos y nuestro propio bien y utilidad.

 

Sin embargo de que conocemos las dificultades que trae consigo y las obligaciones que nos impone el rango que vamos a ocupar en el orden político del mundo, y la influencia poderosa de las formas y actitudes a que hemos estado, a nuestro pesar, acostumbrados, también conocemos que la vergonzosa sumisión a ellas, cuando podemos sacudirlas, sería más ignominiosa para nosotros, y más funesta para nuestra posterioridad, que nuestra larga y penosa servidumbre, y que es ya de nuestro indispensable deber proveer a nuestra conservación, seguridad y felicidad, variando esencialmente todas las formas de nuestra anterior constitución.

 

Por tanto, creyendo con todas estas razones satisfecho el respeto que debemos tener a las opiniones del género humano y a la dignidad de las demás naciones, en cuyo número vamos entrar, y con cuya comunicación y amistad contamos, nosotros, los representantes de las Provincias Unidas de Venezuela, poniendo por testigo al Ser Supremo de la justicia de nuestro proceder y de la rectitud de nuestras intenciones, imploramos sus divinos y celestiales auxilios, y ratificándole, en el momento en que nacemos a la dignidad, que su providencia nos restituye el deseo de vivir y morir libres, creyendo y defendiendo la santa, católica y apostólica religión de Jesucristo. Nosotros, pues, a nombre y con la voluntad y la autoridad que tenemos del virtuoso pueblo de Venezuela, declaramos solemnemente al mundo que sus Provincias Unidas son, y deben ser desde hoy, de hecho y de derecho, Estados libres, soberanos e independientes y que están absueltos de toda sumisión y dependencia de la Corona de España o de los que se dicen o dijeren sus apoderados o representantes, y que como tal Estado libre e independiente tiene un pleno poder para darse la forma de gobierno que sea conforme a la voluntad general de sus pueblos, declarar la guerra, hacer la paz, formar alianzas, arreglar tratados de comercio, límites y navegación, hacer y ejecutar todos los demás actos que hacen y ejecutan las naciones libres e independientes. Y para hacer válida, firme y subsistente unas provincias a otras, nuestras vidas, nuestras fortunas y el sagrado de nuestro honor nacional. Dada en el Palacio Federal y de Caracas, firmada de nuestra mano, sellada con el gran sello provisional de la Confederación, refrendada por el Secretario del Congreso, a cinco días del mes de julio del año de mil ochocientos once, el primero de nuestra independencia.

diaspatrios.yaia.com/venezuela57.html

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ACT OF INDEPENDENCE.

In the Name of the All-powerful God,

 

WE the Representatives of the united Provincesof CARACAS, CUMANA, VARINAS, MARGARITA, BARCELONA, MERIDA, and

TRUXILLO, forming the American Confederation of Venezuela, in the South Continent, in Congress assembled, considering the full and absolute possession of our Rights, which we recovered justly and legally from the 19th of April, 1810, in consequence of the occurrences in Bayona, and the occupation of the Spanish Throne by conquest, and the succession of a new Dynasty, constituted without our consent: are desirous, before we make use of those Rights, of which we have been deprived by force for more than three centuries, but now restored to us by the political

order of human events, to make known to the world the reasons which have emanated from these same occurrences, and which authorise us in the free use we are now about to make of our own Sovereignty.

 

5

 

We do not wish, nevertheless, to begin by alleging the rights inherent in every conquered country, to recover its state of property and independence; we generously forget the long series of ills, injuries, and privations, which the sad right of conquest has indistinctly caused, to all the descendants of the Discoverers, Conquerors, and Settlers of these Countries,

plunged into a worse state by the very same cause that ought to have favoured them; and, drawing a veil over the 300 years of Spanish dominion in America, we will now only present to view the authentic and well-known facts, which ought to have wrested from one world, the right over the other, by the inversion, disorder, and conquest, that have already dissolved the Spanish Nation.

 

This disorder has increased the ills of America, by rendering void its claims and remonstrances, enabling the Governors of Spain to insult and oppress this part of the Nation, thus leaving it without the succour and guarantee of the Laws.

 

It is contrary to order, impossible to the Government of Spain, and fatal to the welfare of America, that the latter, possessed of a range of country infinitely more extensive, and a population incomparably more numerous, should depend and be subject to a Peninsular Corner of the European Continent.

 

The Cessions and Abdications at Bayona, the Revolutions of the Escorial and Aranjuez, and the Orders of the Royal Substitute, the Duke of Berg, sent to America, suffice to give virtue to the rights, which

 

7

 

till then the Americans had sacrificed to the unity and integrity of the Spanish Nation.

 

Venezuela was the first to acknowledge, and generously to preserve, this integrity; not to abandon the cause of its brothers, as long as the same retained the least hope of salvation.

 

America was called into a new existence, since she could, and ought, to take upon herself the charge of her own fate and preservation; as Spain might acknowledge, or not, the rights of a King, who had preferred his own existence to the dignity of the Nation over which he governed.

 

All the Bourbons concurred to the invalid stipulations of Bayona, abandoning the country of Spain, against the will of the People;—they violated, disdained, and trampled on the sacred duty they had contracted with the Spaniards of both Worlds, when with their blood and treasure they had placed them on the Throne, in despite of the House of Austria. By such conduct, they were left disqualified and incapable of governing a Free People, whom they delivered up like a flock of Slaves.

 

The intrusive Governments that arrogated to themselves

the National Representation, took advantage of the dispositions which the good faith, distance, oppression, and ignorance, created in the Americans, against the new Dynasty that had entered Spain by means of force; and, contrary to their own principles, they sustained amongst us the illusion in favour

of Ferdinand, in order to devour and harass us with

 

9

 

impunity: at most, they promised to us liberty, equality, and fraternity, conveyed in pompous discourses and studied phrases, for the purpose of covering the snare laid by a cunning, useless, and degrading Representation.

 

As soon as they were dissolved, and had substituted and destroyed amongst themselves the various forms of the Government of Spain; and as soon as the imperious law of necessity had dictated to Venezuela the urgency of preserving itself, in order to guard and maintain the rights of her King, and to offer an asylum to her European brethren against the ills that

threatened them; their former conduct was divulged: they varied their principles, and gave the appellations of insurrection, perfidy, and ingratitude, to the same acts that had served as models for the Governments of Spain; because then was closed to them the gate to the monopoly of administration, which they meant to perpetuate under the name of an imaginary King.

 

Notwithstanding our protests, our moderation, generosity, and the inviolability of our principles, contrary to the wishes of our brethren in Europe, we were declared in a state of rebellion; we were blockaded; war was declared against us; agents were sent amongst us, to excite us one against the other, endeavouring to take away our credit with the other Nations of Europe, by imploring their assistance to oppress us.

 

Without taking the least notice of our reasons, without presenting them to the impartial judgment of

 

11

 

the world, and without any other judges than our own enemies, we are condemned to a mournful incommunication with our brethren; and, to add contempt to calumny, empowered agents are named for us, against our own express will, that in their Cortes they may arbitrarily dispose of our interests, under the influence and force of our enemies.

 

In order to crush and suppress the effects of our Representation, when they were obliged to grant it to us, we were submitted to a paltry and diminutive scale; and the form of election was subjected to the passive voice of the Municipal Bodies, degraded by the despotism of the Governors: which amounted to an insult to our plain dealing and good faith, more than a consideration of our incontestible political importance.

 

Always deaf to the cries of justice on our part, the Governments of Spain have endeavoured to discredit all our efforts, by declaring as criminal, and stamping with infamy, and rewarding with the scaffold and confiscation, every attempt, which at different periods some Americans have made, for the felicity of their country: as was that which lately our own security dictated to us, that we might not be driven into a state of disorder which we foresaw, and hurried to that horrid fate which we are about to remove for ever from before us. By means of such atrocious policy, they have succeeded in making our brethren insensible

to our misfortunes; in arming them against us; in erasing from their bosoms the sweet impressions of

 

13

 

friendship, of consanguinity; and converting into enemies a part of our own great family.

 

At a time that we, faithful to our promises, were sacrificing our security and civil dignity, not to abandon the rights which we generously preserved to Ferdinand of Bourbon, we have seen that, to the relations of force which bound him to the Emperor of

the French, he has added the ties of blood and friendship; in consequence of which, even the Governments of Spain have already declared their resolution only to acknowledge him conditionally*.

 

In this mournful alternative we have remained three years, in a state of political indecision and ambiguity, so fatal and dangerous, that this alone would suffice to authorise the resolution, which the faith of our promises and the bonds of fraternity had caused us to defer, till necessity has obliged us to go beyond what we at first proposed, impelled by the hostile and unnatural conduct of the Governments of Spain, which have disburdened us of our conditional oath, by which circumstance, we are called to the august representation we now exercise.

 

But we, who glory in grounding our proceedings on better principles, and not wishing to establish our felicity on the misfortunes of our fellow-beings, do consider and declare as friends, companions of our fate, and participators of our felicity, those who, united to us by the ties of blood, language, and religion,

 

15

 

have suffered the same evils in the anterior order of things, provided they acknowledge our absolute independence of the same, and of any other foreign power whatever; that they aid us to sustain it with their lives, fortune, and sentiments; declaring

and acknowledging them (as well as to every other nation,) in war enemies, and in peace friends, brothers, and co-patriots.

 

In consequence of all these solid, public, and incontestible

reasons of policy, which so powerfully urge the necessity of recovering our natural dignity, restored to us by the order of events; and in compliance with the imprescriptible rights enjoyed by nations, to destroy every pact, agreement, or association, which does not answer the purposes for which governments were established; we believe that we cannot, nor ought not, to preserve the bonds which hitherto kept us united to the Government of Spain; and that, like all the other nations of the world, we are free, and authorised not to depend on any other authority than our own, and to take amongst the powers of the

earth the place of equality which the Supreme Being and Nature assign to us, and to which we are called by the succession of human events, and urged by our own good and utility.

 

Notwithstanding we are aware of the difficulties that attend, and the obligations imposed upon us, by the rank we are about to take in the political order of the world; as well as the powerful influence of forms and habitudes, to which unfortunately we have been

 

17

 

accustomed: we at the same time know, that the shameful submission to them, when we can throw them off, would be still more ignominious for us, and more fatal to our posterity, than our long and painful slavery; and that it now becomes an indispensable duty to provide for our own preservation, security,

and felicity, by essentially varying all the forms of our former constitution.

 

In consequence whereof, considering, by the reasons thus alleged, that we have satisfied the respect which we owe to the opinions of the human race, and the dignity of other nations, in the number of whom we are about to enter, and on whose communication and friendship we rely: We, the Representatives of the United Provinces of Venezuela, calling on the SUPREME BEING to witness the justice of our proceedings and the rectitude of our intentions, do implore His divine and celestial help; and ratifying, at the moment in which we are born to the dignity which his Providence restores to us, the desire we have of living and dying free, and of believing and defending the holy Catholic and Apostolic Religion of Jesus Christ. We, therefore, in the name and by the will and authority which we hold from the virtuous People of Venezuela, DO declare solemnly to the world, that its united Provinces are, and ought to be, from this day, by act and right, Free, Sovereign, and Independent States; and that they are absolved from every submission and dependence on the Throne of Spain, or on those who do, or may call

 

19

 

themselves its Agents and Representatives; and that a free and independent State, thus constituted, has full power to take that form of Government which may be conformable to the general will of the People, to declare war, make peace, form alliances, regulate treaties of commerce, borders, and navigation; and to do and transact every act, in like manner as other free and independent States. And that this, our solemn Declaration, may be held valid, firm, and durable, we hereby mutually bind each Province to the other, and pledge our lives, fortunes, and the sacred tie of our national honour.

 

Done in the Federal Palace of Caracas; signed by our own hands, sealed with the great Provisional Seal of the Confederation, and countersigned by the Secretary of Congress, this 5th day of July, 1811, the first of our Independence.—

 

For the Province of Caracas, Isidoro Antonio Lopez Mendez,

Deputy of the City of Caracas.—

 

Juan German Roscio, for the district of the Town of Calabozo.—

 

Felipe Fermin Paul, for the district of San Sebastian.

 

Francisco Xavier Uztariz, for the district of San

Sebastian.—

 

Nicolas De Castro, Deputy for Caracas.

 

Juan Antonio Rodriguez Dominguez, President,

and Deputy for Nutrias in Barinas.—

 

Luis Ignacio Mendoza, Vice-President, Deputy of Obispos in Barinas.

 

Fernando de Peñalver, Deputy for Valencia.

 

Gabriel Perez de Pagola, Deputy of Ospino.—

 

Salvador Delgado, Deputy for Nirgua.—

 

The Marquis del Toro, Deputy for the City of Tocuyo.—

 

Juan Antonio Dias Argote, Deputy for the Town of Cura.—

 

21

 

Gabriel de Ponte, Deputy for Caracas.—

 

Juan José Maya, Deputy of San Felipe.—

 

Luis José de Cazorla, Deputy of Valencia.—

 

Dr. José Vicente Unda, Deputy of Guanare.—

 

Francisco Xavier Yanes, Deputy

of Araure.—

 

Fernando Toro, Deputy of Caracas.

 

Martin Tovar Ponte, Deputy of San Sebastian.—

 

Juan Toro, Deputy of Valencia.—

 

José Angel de Alamo, Deputy for Barquisimeto.—

 

Francisco Hernandez, Deputy for San Carlos.—

 

Lino De Clemente, Deputy of Caracas.—

 

For the Province of Cumaná

—Francisco Xavier de Mayz, Deputy for the

Capital.—Jozé Gabriel de Alcalà, Deputy for ditto.

 

Juan Bermudez, Deputy for the South.—

 

Mariano de la Cova, Deputy for the North —

 

For Barcelona— Francisco Miranda, Deputy of Pao.—

 

Francisco Policarpo Ortiz, Deputy for San Diego.—

 

For Barinas— Juan Nepomuceno de Quintana, Deputy for Achaguas.

 

Ignacio Fernandez, Deputy for the Capital of

Barinas.—

 

Ignacio Ramon Briceño, Representative

of Pedraza.

 

José de Sata y Bussy, Deputy for San Fernando de Apure.—

 

José Luis Cabrera, Deputy for Guanarito.—

 

Ramon Ignacio Mendez, Deputy for Guasdualito.—

 

Manuel Palacio, Deputy for Mijagual.

 

For Margarita—Manuel Placido Maneyro.—

 

For Merida.—Antonio Nicolas Briceño, Deputy for

Merida.—

 

Manuel Vicente de Maya, Deputy for La

Grita—

 

For Trujillo Juan Pablo Pacheco—

 

For the Town of Aragua, in the Province of Barcelona.—

Jozé Maria Ramirez. (Seal.)

 

Legalised.—Francisco Isnardy, Secretary.

 

scholarship.rice.edu/jsp/xml/1911/9253/1/aa00032.tei.html...

Some people call Alvin a wizard. Some call him an alchemist. Some whisper about him being a magician or a warlock. Almost everyone agrees that he’s slightly insane.

What Alvin considers himself to be is something much nobler, however. “A Man of Science” is his self-applied title: a great experimenter, a brilliant scholar, a modern incarnation of Plato, Socrates, Archimedes and all the rest. Although, in his day and age, a successful “scientist” is usually someone who’s either very lucky, or has experienced a lot of “trial and error”.

Whatever he is, Alvin is certainly not a very safe person to be around. His wild experimenting can often be very dangerous for a casual bystander. After he almost burned an entire village to the ground, the king decided it would be safer for everybody if Alvin was kept somewhere a little more “secluded”.

Naturally a dark, empty room in the basement of the royal castle would be the perfect place to hide away an annoying wizard; the thick stone walls and ceiling should be strong enough to protect the rest of the world from the wild antics of the mad pseudoscientist…right?

******

Alvin scuffled back and forth between shelves stocked with wizardish appliances, hastily gathering the necessary ingredients for his latest concoction. According to his precise calculations—and some wild guessing—Alvin determined that the elixir for eternal life was within his grasp! Hustling franticly about the room, the old wizard snatched up a few final items, and then hurried to the center of the room, where a large cauldron was brewing. Alvin added ingredients one at a time, lifting the lid carefully with each thing he slipped into the cauldron. The great pot sizzled and bubbled, and a pungently foul odor spread about the room.

******

Smiling as he greeted his dinner guests, the king gestured for all present to have a seat. The tall, ornate wooden chairs squeaked slightly as the lords and ladies dropped into them. The king explained that dinner was still being prepared, but that the guests should all have a drink; his best wine was being served. As the guests took up conversations with one another and lifted their goblets for a toast, a slight rumbling shook the room.

******

The lid on the cauldron was shaking wildly now as Alvin slipped the last item into the huge pot. He stepped back carefully, as a huge grin spread across his silly face. His thoughts racing, he imagined the great power he would have with this mighty elixir. Suddenly, a loud pop sounded from within the cauldron. Without warning, the heavy metal lid was blown violently into the air, knocking Alvin roughly backward and causing the pot’s contents to spill out over the side. The lid continued its upward course until reaching the brick ceiling, which it subsequently blasted through.

******

The king let a counterfeit smile spread across his features as he raised his glass for another toast. Seriously, he grumbled to himself, this is the most boring dinner party I’ve ever been at! He touched the goblet to his lips, but before he could swallow any of the wine he was suddenly hit with an enormous wave of intense heat! The goblet fell from his grasp when suddenly a heavy iron pot-lid exploded through the table in front of him. It was followed by a ball of flame and a long line of smoke, leading back through the floor into the chambers of…the king closed his eyes and fervently wished to be someplace else.

______________________________

Here’s my second and last entry to the CCCXI! Category: Trial and Error.

This was really a blast to build, haha. Thanks to my Dad for scientific advice and general encouragement.

Happy new year everybody! :)

Soli Deo Gloria!

Nikolái Andréyevich Rimski-Kórsakov (Tijvin, 6 de marzo/ 18 de marzo de 1844greg. - finca Lubensk, 8 de juniojul./ 21 de junio de 1908greg.) fue un compositor, director de orquesta y pedagogo ruso miembro del grupo de compositores conocido como Los Cinco. Considerado un maestro de la orquestación, sus obras orquestales más conocidas —el Capricho español, la Obertura de la gran Pascua rusa y la suite sinfónica Scheherezade— son valoradas entre las principales del repertorio de música clásica, así como las suites y fragmentos de alguna de sus quince óperas. Scheherezade es un ejemplo de su empleo frecuente de los cuentos de hadas y temas populares.

Rimski-Kórsakov, al igual que su colega compositor Mili Balákirev o el crítico Vladímir Stásov, creía firmemente en el desarrollo de un estilo nacionalista de música clásica. Este estilo consistía en el empleo de canciones populares tradicionales rusas, así como de elementos armónicos, melódicos y rítmicos exóticos —práctica conocida como orientalismo musical—, evitando los métodos compositivos tradicionales occidentales. Sin embargo, Rimski Kórsakov llegaría a valorar también las técnicas occidentales al ocupar el puesto de profesor de composición, armonía e instrumentación (orquestación) musical en el Conservatorio de San Petersburgo a partir de 1871. Con objeto de perfeccionarse y de forma autodidacta estudió la armonía y el contrapunto occidentales, incorporando al mismo tiempo las influencias de Mijaíl Glinka y el resto de compañeros de Los Cinco. Posteriormente sus técnicas compositivas y de orquestación se vieron enriquecidas con el descubrimiento de las obras de Richard Wagner.

Rimski-Kórsakov combinó la composición y la enseñanza con la carrera militar, primero como oficial de la Armada Imperial Rusa, luego como inspector civil de bandas de música navales. Escribió en sus memorias que la pasión por el océano comenzó en su niñez, al leer libros y escuchar las hazañas de su hermano mayor en la marina. Su amor por el mar pudo haberle influido para escribir dos de sus obras orquestales más conocidas, el cuadro musical Sadkó (no confundir con su ópera posterior del mismo nombre) y Scheherezade. Su labor como inspector de bandas navales le sirvió para ampliar su conocimiento técnico de los instrumentos de viento-madera y metal, perfeccionando sus habilidades en el campo de la orquestación. Además de transmitir estos conocimientos a sus estudiantes, los pudo transmitir póstumamente a través de un manual sobre orquestación que fue finalizado por su yerno Maksimilián Steinberg.

Rimski-Kórsakov legó muchas composiciones nacionalistas rusas de gran creatividad y originalidad. Además, realizó arreglos de las obras de Los Cinco para que pudieran ser interpretadas en público, convirtiéndolas en parte del repertorio clásico (aunque existe controversia acerca de sus correcciones en las obras de Modest Músorgski). Formó una generación de jóvenes compositores y músicos durante las décadas que ejerció como pedagogo, por lo que se le ha llegado a calificar como el «principal arquitecto» de lo que el público aficionado a la música clásica considera el estilo ruso de composición.1 El estilo de Rimski Kórsakov se basaba en el de Glinka, Balákirev, Hector Berlioz y Franz Liszt, «transmitiendo este estilo directamente a dos generaciones de compositores rusos» e influyendo en compositores no rusos, tales como Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Paul Dukas y Ottorino Respighi.

Rimski-Kórsakov nació en Tijvin, unos 140 km al este de San Petersburgo, en el seno de una familia aristocrática con antecedentes militares. Su hermano mayor, Voin, veintidós años mayor que él, fue un conocido navegante y explorador marino.

Rimski-Kórsakov hace referencia en sus memorias que su madre tocaba un poco el piano y su padre sabía tocar de oído algunas piezas en este instrumento. Según el musicólogo Abraham, Rimski Kórsakov heredó la tendencia de su madre de tocar demasiado despacio. A la edad de seis años empezó a tomar clases de piano con varios profesores locales y mostró talento en destrezas auditivas, pero manifestaba poco interés, tocando, como más tarde escribiría, «mal, de manera descuidada,[...] manteniendo un tempo correcto a duras penas».

En el periodo en que fue a la escuela, Rimski Kórsakov tomó lecciones de piano de un hombre llamado Ulij. Estas clases recibieron la aprobación de Voin, director de la escuela en aquel entonces, porque ayudarían al joven a desarrollar sus habilidades sociales y a superar su timidez. Rimski Kórsakov escribe que mientras se mostraba «indiferente» a las lecciones, creció dentro de él el amor por la música, fomentada por las asiduas visitas a la ópera y a conciertos orquestales. Ulij se dio cuenta de que tenía un importante talento musical y le recomendó un nuevo profesor, F. A. Canille (Théodore Canillé). Empezó las lecciones de piano y composición en otoño de 1859 con Canille, del que más tarde diría ser el motivo por el que dedicó su vida a la composición. Gracias a Canille accedió a gran cantidad de música nueva para él, incluyendo la de Mijaíl Glinka y Robert Schumann. A pesar de que al joven músico le gustaban las clases de música, Voin las canceló cuando Rimski Kórsakov contaba con diecisiete años, al no parecerle ya de utilidad práctica. Canille le pidió a Rimski Kórsakov que continuara yendo a su casa cada domingo, no para clases formales, sino para tocar duetos y hablar de música. En noviembre de 1861, Canille presentó al joven de dieciocho años a Mili Balákirev. Balákirev a su vez le presentó a César Cui y Modest Músorgski. Estos tres hombres eran ya conocidos compositores a pesar de estar en la veintena. Rimski Kórsakov posteriormente escribió: «¡Con qué deleite escuchaba discusiones de temas de verdad [cursiva enfática de Rimski Kórsakov] sobre instrumentación, escritura de partes, etc.! ¡Y además, la mayor parte de lo que se hablaba era sobre asuntos musicales de actualidad! De golpe me sumergí en un nuevo mundo, desconocido para mí, del cual sólo había oído hablar en la sociedad de mis amigos diletantes. Me causó una gran impresión».

Balákirev animó a Rimski Kórsakov a que compusiera y le enseñó lo básico para empezar, aprovechando el tiempo que no pasaba en alta mar Balákirev también le urgió a que se enriqueciera leyendo libros de historia, literatura y crítica literaria. Cuando le mostró a Balákirev los primeros compases de una primera sinfonía (en mi bemol mayor) que había compuesto, éste insistió en que debía seguir trabajando en ella a pesar de su desconocimiento de las formas musicales. Durante dos años y ocho meses Rimski Kórsakov navegó en el velero clíper Almaz. A finales de 1862, ya había completado y orquestado tres movimientos de la sinfonía. Compuso el movimiento lento durante una escala en Inglaterra y le envió por correo la partitura a Balákirev antes de volver a alta mar. Al principio, el trabajo en la sinfonía mantuvo al joven ruso ocupado durante su travesía. Compró partituras en cada puerto en el que hacían escala, así como un piano para interpretarlas y ocupaba sus horas de ocio estudiando el tratado de orquestación de Berlioz. Encontró tiempo para leer las obras de Homero, William Shakespeare, Friedrich Schiller y Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, visitando Londres, las Cataratas del Niágara y Río de Janeiro durante sus escalas en puertos. Finalmente, la falta de estímulo musical exterior apagó las ansias de aprender del joven marinero y le confesó a Balákirev que tras dos años en el mar había descuidado sus clases de música por meses. «La idea de ser un músico y compositor poco a poco fue perdiendo fuerza», recordaría posteriormente, «las tierras lejanas me empezaron a seducir, de alguna forma, aunque, siendo sincero, el servicio naval nunca me gustó mucho y a duras penas se adecuaba a mi forma de ser».

De vuelta en San Petersburgo en mayo de 1865, las obligaciones de Rimski Kórsakov consistían en un par de horas de tareas de oficina cada día, pero recordaba que su deseo de componer «había sido reprimido [...] ya no tengo ningún interés por la música». En sus memorias cuenta que el contacto con Balákirev en septiembre de 1865 lo alentó «a habituarse a la música para más adelante sumergirse de lleno en ella». Siguiendo una indicación de Balákirev, compuso el trío restante del scherzo de su Primera Sinfonía y revisó la orquestación por completo. En diciembre de ese mismo año, la obra se estrenó bajo la dirección de Balákirev en San Petersburgo. Hubo una segunda interpretación en marzo de 1866 bajo la batuta de Konstantín Liádov (padre del compositor Anatoli Liádov).

El intercambio epistolar entre Rimski Kórsakov y Balákirev claramente muestra que algunas de las ideas para la sinfonía surgieron gracias a Balákirev. Este siempre iba más allá y no se limitaba a corregir la pieza musical, recomponiéndola al piano en algunas ocasiones. Rimski Kórsakov recordaba lo siguiente:

Un alumno como yo tenía que presentar a Balákirev una propuesta de composición en forma embrionaria, esto es, aunque fueran tan sólo los primeros cuatro u ocho compases. Balákirev se dedicaba a hacer correcciones, indicando cómo rehacer dicho embrión: lo examinaba de arriba a abajo, alabando y ensalzando los primeros dos compases, pero censuraba los siguientes dos, los ridiculizaba y hacía todo lo posible para que el autor se sintiera a disgusto con ellos. Que la composición fuera viva y fértil no siempre era un factor a favor, se requerían frecuentes correcciones y la tarea de componer se alargaba durante un largo periodo de tiempo bajo el frío control de la autocrítica.

Rimski-Kórsakov recuerda que «Balákirev y yo nos llevábamos bastante bien y sin problemas. A instancias de él accedí de buena gana a reescribir los movimientos sinfónicos que compuse y logré acabarlos con la ayuda de sus consejos e improvisaciones». Aunque posteriormente la influencia de Balákirev le llegó a resultar agobiante a Rimski Kórsakov y se desligó de él, esto no impidió que en sus memorias reconociera y alabara el talento de su mentor como crítico e improvisador. Bajo la guía de Balákirev, Rimski Kórsakov cambió su enfoque hacia otro tipo de composiciones. Comenzó una sinfonía en si menor, pero resultó ser demasiado parecida a la Novena Sinfonía de Beethoven y la abandonó. Completó una Obertura sobre tres temas rusos basándose en las oberturas sobre temas populares de Balákirev, así como una Fantasía sobre temas serbios, obras que se estrenaron en un concierto en honor de los delegados del Congreso Eslavo de 1867. En su artículo sobre el concierto, el crítico nacionalista Vladímir Stásov acuñaría la frase Mogúchaya kuchka para el círculo de Balákirev (Mogúchaya kuchka se suele traducir como «El Gran Puñado» o «Los Cinco»). Rimski Kórsakov también compuso las versiones primigenias (serían posteriormente revisadas) de Sadkó y Antar, que cimentaron su reputación como compositor de obras orquestales.

Rimski-Kórsakov se relacionaba y discutía sobre música con otros miembros de Los Cinco; criticaban las piezas de cada uno de ellos y colaboraban en la creación de nuevas obras. Se hizo amigo de Aleksandr Borodín —cuya música le «fascinaba»—, y cada vez pasaba más tiempo con Músorgski. Balákirev y este último tocaban música para piano a cuatro manos, Músorgski a veces cantaba y continuamente opinaban sobre la música de otros compositores, siendo sus gustos favoritos «cercanos a Glinka, Schumann y los últimos cuartetos de cuerda de Beethoven». Felix Mendelssohn no era considerado de categoría elevada, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart y Joseph Haydn «estaban pasados de moda y componían una música ingenua» y Johann Sebastian Bach era pura matemática carente de sentimientos. Berlioz «era muy apreciado», Liszt era «un minusválido pervertido desde un punto de vista musical [...] una burda caricatura» y apenas se hablaba de Wagner. Rimski Kórsakov «escuchaba estas opiniones con avidez y absorbía los gustos de Balákirev, Cui y Músorgski sin cuestionarlos ni ponerlos en duda». A menudo, las obras musicales discutidas «eran tocadas ante mí, pero sólo algunos fragmentos y no podía formarme una opinión en profundidad». Esto, escribe, no le impidió aceptar estos juicios al pie de la letra y repetirlos «como si estuviera profundamente convencido de su verdad».

Rimski-Kórsakov fue especialmente apreciado dentro de Los Cinco y por todos aquellos que visitaban el círculo, debido a su talento como orquestador. Balákirev le pidió que orquestara una marcha de Franz Schubert para un concierto en mayo de 1868; de Cui, su ópera William Ratcliff y de Aleksandr Dargomyzhski, cuyas obras eran muy apreciadas por Los Cinco y estaba a punto de fallecer, su ópera El convidado de piedra.

En el otoño de 1871, Rimski Kórsakov se trasladó al anterior apartamento de su hermano Voin e invitó a Músorgski a que fuera su compañero de habitación. Llegaron a un acuerdo de trabajo que consistía en que Músorgski usaba el piano por las mañanas mientras Rimski Kórsakov trabajaba copiando u orquestando. Cuando su compañero de habitación se iba para realizar su trabajo de funcionario civil al mediodía, el piano quedaba entonces a disposición de Rimski Kórsakov. El tiempo por las tardes se distribuyó de mutuo acuerdo. «Ese otoño e invierno los dos llegamos a un buen acuerdo», escribe Rimski Kórsakov, «con un intercambio constante de ideas y proyectos. Músorgski compuso y orquestó el acto polaco de Borís Godunov y la escena popular "Cerca de Kromy". Yo orquesté y acabé mi Dama de Pskov».

En 1871, el compositor, que contaba con 27 años, fue nombrado Catedrático de composición e instrumentación (orquestación) en el Conservatorio de San Petersburgo, así como director de la clase de orquesta. Mantuvo su puesto en el servicio naval activo e impartía sus clases en uniforme (los oficiales militares estaban obligados a llevar su uniforme durante todo el día, dado que se consideraba que siempre estaban en servicio).

Rimski Kórsakov explica en sus memorias que Mijaíl Azanchevski, al tomar el puesto de director del Conservatorio ese año, quería sangre nueva para refrescar la enseñanza de esas asignaturas, y le había hecho una generosa oferta por sus servicios. El biógrafo Mijaíl Zetlin sugiere que Azanchevski había tenido un doble motivo. En primer lugar, Rimski Kórsakov fue el miembro de Los Cinco menos criticado por sus oponentes e invitarlo a dar clases en el Conservatorio habría sido una manera segura de decir a todos los músicos serios que eran bienvenidos allí. En segundo lugar, la oferta pudo haber sido deliberada para exponerlo a un clima académico en el cual él compondría en un estilo occidental más conservador. Balákirev se oponía a la enseñanza académica de la música con tremendo vigor, pero lo animó a que aceptara el puesto para convencer a otros a que se unieran a la causa nacionalista musical.

La reputación de Rimski Kórsakov en ese momento era la de un maestro de la orquestación, sobre la base de sus obras Sadkó y Antar. Sin embargo, había compuesto esas obras en su mayor parte de manera intuitiva. Sus conocimientos de teoría musical eran elementales; nunca había escrito ningún contrapunto, no podía armonizar una simple coral ni siquiera sabía los nombres o intervalos de los acordes musicales. Nunca había dirigido una orquesta y la marina le había disuadido de que lo hiciera, porque no aprobaban que saliera al podio en uniforme. Consciente de sus limitaciones técnicas, Rimski Kórsakov pidió consejo a Piotr Ilich Chaikovski, con el que había mantenido algún contacto ocasional. Chaikovski, a diferencia de Los Cinco, había recibido enseñanzas académicas de composición en el Conservatorio de San Petersburgo, y ejercía de catedrático de Teoría Musical en el Conservatorio de Moscú. Chaikovski le aconsejó que estudiara.

Rimski-Kórsakov escribe que mientras daba clases en el Conservatorio pronto «¡me convertí posiblemente en su mejor pupilo [cursiva enfática de Rimski Kórsakov], a juzgar por la cantidad y calidad de la información que me suministró!». Para prepararse a sí mismo, y para mantenerse al menos un paso por delante de sus estudiantes, se tomó tres años sabáticos en los que no compuso nada propio, y estudió con asiduidad en casa mientras seguía impartiendo lecciones en el Conservatorio. De manera autodidacta aprendió de manuales de texto, y siguió una estricta rutina de componer ejercicios de contrapunto, fugas, corales y coros a capela.

Rimski-Kórsakov finalmente llegó a ser un maestro excelente y un ferviente defensor de las enseñanzas académicas. Revisó todo lo que había compuesto anterior a 1874, incluso obras aclamadas por el público como Sadkó y Antar, en una búsqueda de la perfección que perseguiría hasta el final de su vida. Al haber sido asignado para dirigir los ensayos de la clase de orquesta, perfeccionó el arte de la dirección orquestal. Enfrentarse a las texturas orquestales como director y el hecho de tener que hacer arreglos adecuados de obras musicales para dicha clase, lo llevó a interesarse cada vez más en el arte de la orquestación, un área que le haría descuidar sus estudios como inspector de orquestas navales. La partitura de su Tercera Sinfonía, escrita justo después de haber completado su programa de tres años de superación personal, refleja la experiencia de sus prácticas con la orquesta.

La cátedra en el Conservatorio conllevó seguridad económica para Rimski Kórsakov, lo cual le indujo a asentarse y formar una familia. En diciembre de 1871 le pidió matrimonio a Nadezhda Purgold, con quien había mantenido una estrecha relación a través de las reuniones semanales de Los Cinco en la residencia de la familia Purgold. Contrajeron matrimonio en julio de 1872, siendo Músorgski el padrino. La familia Rimski Kórsakov tuvo seis hijos; uno de los cuales, Andréi, se hizo musicólogo, se casó con la compositora Yulia Veisberg y escribió un estudio en varios volúmenes de la vida y obra de su padre.

En la primavera de 1873, la marina creó el puesto de inspector naval de bandas y designó a Rimski Kórsakov para el cargo. A pesar de que se mantuvo en la nómina de la marina y en las listas del Ministerio de la Marina, le dieron permiso para que dejara de prestar sus servicios militares. Como inspector, hacía visitas periódicas a las bandas navales de toda Rusia, supervisaba a los directores de las bandas y sus compromisos, revisaba su repertorio e inspeccionaba la calidad de sus instrumentos. Redactó un programa de estudios como complemento a los estudiantes de música que tenían una beca de la marina en el Conservatorio e hizo de intermediario entre el Conservatorio y la marina. El puesto de inspector de bandas vino con una promoción a asesor colegiado, un rango de funcionario. «Me desprendí con alegría tanto de mi estatus militar como de mi uniforme de oficial», escribió posteriormente. «Desde ese momento en adelante fui músico oficialmente y de manera indiscutible».

Rimski-Kórsakov se dedicó con celo a sus deberes y satisfizo el antiguo deseo de familiarizarse con la construcción y la técnica interpretativa de los instrumentos musicales. Estos estudios lo llevaron a escribir un libro de texto sobre orquestación. Usó los privilegios del rango para ejercitar y extender su conocimiento. Debatía sobre arreglos musicales para banda militar con los directores, animó y revisó sus esfuerzos, celebró conciertos para oír estas piezas y orquestó obras originales y de otros compositores para bandas militares.

En marzo de 1884, una orden imperial abolió el cargo de Inspector de bandas navales, y Rimski Kórsakov quedó relevado de sus funciones. Trabajó a las órdenes de Balákirev en la Capilla de la Corte como director adjunto hasta 1894, lo que le permitió estudiar la música ortodoxa rusa. También impartió clases en la Capilla y escribió un manual sobre armonía para su empleo allí y en el Conservatorio.

os estudios de Rimski Kórsakov y su cambio de actitud hacia la educación musical provocaron el desdén de sus colegas nacionalistas, que opinaban que estaba abandonando su herencia rusa para componer fugas y sonatas. Tras esforzarse «por meter el máximo contrapunto posible» en su Tercera Sinfonía, compuso obras de música de cámara adheridas estrictamente a modelos clásicos, incluyendo un sexteto de cuerdas, un cuartero de cuerdas en fa menor y un quinteto para flauta, clarinete, trompa, fagot y piano. Sobre el cuarteto y la sinfonía Chaikovski escribió a su mecenas Nadezhda von Meck que «estaban llenas de cosas inteligentes pero [...] [estaban] imbuidas de un carácter seco y pedante». Tras escuchar la sinfonía, Borodín comentó que mantuvo «la sensación de que se trata de la obra de un tipo alemán Herr Professor que se ha puesto sus gafas y está a punto de escribir Eine grosse Symphonie in C».

Según Rimski-Kórsakov, los otros miembros de Los Cinco mostraron escaso entusiasmo por la sinfonía, y menos aún por el cuarteto. Tampoco lo fue su debut en público como director en un concierto benéfico en 1874 en el cual dirigió a la orquesta con la nueva sinfonía, considerado positivamente por sus compatriotas rusos. Posteriormente escribiría que «comenzaron, de hecho, a mirarme por encima del hombro como si fuera un fracasado». Peor aún para el ruso fueron los débiles elogios dados por Antón Rubinstein, un compositor opuesto a la música y filosofía de los nacionalistas. Rimski Kórsakov escribió que después de que Rubinstein escuchara el cuarteto, este comentó que ya «podría llegar a algo» como compositor. Escribió también que Chaikovski continuó dándole apoyo moral, diciéndole que aplaudía sin reparos todo lo que hacía y admiraba tanto su modestia artística como su fuerte personalidad. De manera privada, Chaikovski le confió a Nadezhda von Meck lo siguiente: «aparentemente ahora [Rimski Kórsakov] está pasando por una crisis y cómo acabará será difícil de predecir. O bien surge de él un gran maestro o quedará atrapado al final en sus trucos contrapuntísticos».

Dos proyectos hicieron que Rimski Kórsakov se centrara menos en hacer música de estilo académico. El primero de ellos fueron dos colecciones de canciones populares en 1874. Transcribió cuarenta canciones rusas para voz y piano a partir de las interpretaciones del cantante folclórico Tvorti Filípov, a sugerencia de Balákirev. Tras esta recopilación realizó una segunda más ambiciosa de cien canciones que le proporcionaron amigos y sirvientes, o que extrajo de colecciones raras o descatalogadas. Posteriormente, Rimski Kórsakov escribiría que haber realizado este trabajo tuvo una gran influencia en él como compositor; además le proporcionó una ingente cantidad de material al cual podría recurrir en futuros proyectos, bien para citarlos directamente o como modelos para componer pasajes «fakelóricos» (del inglés fake, falso, traducido como «pseudo-folclore» o «folclore de pega»). El segundo proyecto consistió en la edición de partituras del pionero compositor ruso Mijaíl Glinka (1804–1857) con la colaboración y ayuda de Balákirev y Anatoli Liádov. La hermana de Glinka, Liudmila Ivánovna Shestakova, quería preservar el legado musical de su hermano mediante su publicación e impresión y pagó de su propio bolsillo todos los gastos del proyecto. No se había realizado ningún proyecto similar en la historia de la música rusa, y tuvieron que establecerse y ponerse de acuerdo en pautas y directrices para la edición escolástica de las obras. Balákirev era partidario de realizar cambios en la música de Glinka con el fin de «corregir» lo que él veía como defectos de composición, mientras que Rimski Kórsakov defendía un punto de vista menos intrusivo, que, finalmente, acabaría prevaleciendo. Como posteriormente escribiría: «la oportunidad de trabajar sobre las partituras de Glinka fue una inesperada fuente de aprendizaje para mí. Incluso antes de esto ya conocía y adoraba sus óperas; pero, como editor de las partituras que iban a publicarse, tuve que analizar hasta la última nota, con lo que pude apreciar el estilo e instrumentación de Glinka. Y esto fue un trabajo beneficioso para mí, conduciéndome al camino de la música moderna, tras mis vicisitudes con el contrapunto y un estilo más estricto».

Durante el verano de 1877, Rimski Kórsakov reflexionaba sobre la historia corta titulada La noche de mayo de Nikolái Gógol. Era uno de sus cuentos favoritos desde hacía mucho tiempo y su mujer Nadezhda le había estado insistiendo en que escribiera una ópera basada en dicha historia desde el día en que se comprometieron, cuando la leyeron juntos. Las ideas musicales para tal obra databan de antes de 1877, pero ahora surgían con mayor persistencia. En invierno, La noche de mayo obtuvo cada vez más su atención; en febrero de 1878 empezó a componer en serio y acabó la ópera a principios de noviembre de ese año. Rimski Kórsakov dijo de La noche de mayo que fue de gran importancia porque, a pesar de que la obra contenía bastante música contrapuntísitca, logró «liberarse de los grilletes del contrapunto [cursivas enfáticas de Rimski Kórsakov]». Ideó la ópera en un idioma que imitaba las melodías populares y la orquestó de una manera transparente, más del estilo de Glinka. Sin embargo, pese a la facilidad con la que escribió esta ópera y la siguiente, La doncella de nieve, de vez en cuando sufrió parálisis creativas en el periodo desde 1881 a 1888. Se mantuvo ocupado durante este tiempo editando las obras de Músorgski y completando la ópera de Borodín titulada El príncipe Ígor (Músorgski falleció en 1881 y Borodín en 1887).

Rimski Kórsakov escribe que entabló relaciones con el mecenas musical en ciernes Mitrofán Beliáyev en Moscú en 1882. Beliáyev pertenecía a un creciente círculo de empresarios nuevos ricos rusos que llegaron a ser mecenas de las artes a mediados y finales del siglo XIX en Rusia, entre los que se cuentan el magnate de los ferrocarriles Sava Mámontov y el fabricante textil Pável Tretiakov. Beliáyev, Mámontov y Tretiakov «querían contribuir notablemente en la vida pública». Los tres habían labrado su camino hasta lograr la fortuna y al ser «eslavófilos» en su perfil cultural creían en la gran gloria de Rusia. Debido a esta creencia, estaban más predispuestos que la aristocracia a apoyar al talento autóctono y más inclinados a ayudar económicamente a artistas nacionalistas por encima de los más cosmopolitas. Esta preferencia era paralela al resurgimiento general del nacionalismo y la «rusofilia» que era la corriente más extendida en el arte y la sociedad rusas.

Hacia el invierno de 1883, Rimski Kórsakov era asiduo a «los cuartetos de los viernes» (Les Vendredis) que tenían lugar en la casa de Beliáyev en San Petersburgo cada semana. Beliáyev, quién había mostrado un gran interés en el futuro musical del joven Aleksandr Glazunov, alquiló una sala y una orquesta en 1884 para estrenar la Primera Sinfonía (1881) de Glazunov así como una suite orquestal que dicho compositor acababa de componer. Este concierto y los ensayos del año anterior hicieron que Rimski Kórsakov tuviera la idea de ofrecer conciertos en los que las composiciones rusas fueran las protagonistas, perspectiva que a Beliáyev le parecía excelente. Los Conciertos Sinfónicos Rusos se inauguraron durante la temporada 1886–87, siendo Rimski Kórsakov codirector junto con Anatoli Liádov. Logró dar por concluida la revisión de la Una noche en el Monte Pelado de Músorgski y la dirigió en el concierto inaugural. Estos conciertos lo sacaron de su sequía creativa, para ellos compuso ex profeso sus obras más notables: Scheherezade, el Capricho español y la Obertura de la gran Pascua rusa. Hace referencia en sus memorias que estas obras «muestran un considerable desuso de recursos contrapuntísticos [...] [reemplazados] por un desarrollo poderoso y virtuosístico de cualquier tipo de figuración, sosteniendo el interés técnico de mis composiciones».

Rimski-Kórsakov recibió una petición de consejo y asesoramiento, no sólo sobre los Conciertos Sinfónicos, sino en otros proyectos en los que Beliáyev ayudaba a compositores rusos. «Dentro de las cuestiones puramente musicales resultó que yo era la cabeza del círculo Beliáyev», escribe el compositor. «También Baliáyev me consideraba así, consultándome sobre cualquier cosa y todo el mundo se refería a mí según a ese puesto». En 1884, Beliáyev creó con carácter anual el Premio Glinka y en 1885 fundó su propia editorial de partituras de música, en la cual publicó obras de Borodín, Glazunov, Liádov y Rimski Kórsakov corriendo con todos los gastos. Para elegir a qué compositores había que ayudar económicamente, publicar o interpretar sus obras de los muchos que solicitaban su asistencia, Beliáyev estableció un consejo formado por Glazunov, Liádov y Rimski Kórsakov. Su función era la de revisar todas las composiciones y solicitudes presentadas y sugerir qué compositores eran merecedores del patrocinio y la atención pública.

El grupo de compositores que aglutinaba a Glazunov, Liádov y Rimski Kórsakov era conocido con el nombre de Círculo Beliáyev, en honor a su benefactor. Dichos compositores eran nacionalistas desde el punto de vista musical como Los Cinco. Como ellos, creían en un estilo ruso singular de música clásica que empleara temas populares y elementos melódicos, armónicos y rítmicos exóticos, cuyo paradigma es la música de Balákirev, Borodín y Rimski Kórsakov. Pero, a diferencia de Los Cinco, estos compositores creían en la necesidad de una base académica influida por la música occidental a la hora de componer, la cual Rimski Kórsakov había inculcado durante los años que ejerció en el Conservatorio de San Petersburgo. En comparación con los compositores revolucionarios del Círculo Balákirev, a Rimski Kórsakov le pareció que los del Círculo Beliáyev eran «progresivos [...] eso, unido a una gran consideración a la perfección técnica, pero [..] al mismo tiempo abriendo nuevos caminos, de manera más segura, aunque no tan rápidamente [...]».

En noviembre de 1887, Chaikovski llegó al Conservatorio de San Petersburgo, y pudo asistir a varios de los Conciertos Sinfónicos Rusos. Uno de ellos incluía una interpretación completa de su Primera Sinfonía, subtitulada Sueños de invierno, en su última versión. Otro concierto estuvo protagonizado por el estreno de la Tercera Sinfonía de Rimski Kórsakov en una versión revisada. Rimski Kórsakov y Chaikovski intercambiaron correspondencia antes de la visita y pasaron mucho tiempo juntos, también en compañía de Glazunov y Liádov. Aunque Chaikovski ya había sido un huésped habitual en casa de Rimski Kórsakov desde 1876, y que se ofreció a organizar el nombramiento de Rimski Kórsakov como director del Conservatorio de Moscú, esto supuso el comienzo de una relación más cercana entre ambos. «En cuestión de dos años», escribe Rimski Kórsakov, «las visitas de Chaikovski se volvieron mucho más frecuentes».

Durante esas visitas y sobre todo en público, Rimski Kórsakov se ocultaba tras una máscara de simpatía. En privado, la situación se le antojaba complicada emocionalmente y le confesó sus miedos y temores a su amigo, el crítico musical moscovita Semión Krúglikov. Estaba fresco en el recuerdo la tensión entre Chaikovski y Los Cinco sobre las diferencias en sus filosofías musicales; tensión tan aguda que Modest, el hermano de Chaikovski, comparó su relación en esa época como «la de dos Estados vecinos y amigos [...] preparados cuidadosamente para encontrarse en terreno neutral, pero guardando celosamente sus intereses particulares». Rimski Kórsakov observaba, no sin evitar sentirse irritado, cómo Chaikovski cada vez era más y más popular entre sus propios seguidores. Esta envidia personal se tornó también en profesional, dado que la música de Chaikovski ganaba popularidad entre los compositores del Círculo Beliáyev y permaneció en conjunto más exitosa que la de él. A pesar de todo, cuando Chaikovski asistió a la fiesta del santo de Rimski Kórsakov en mayo de 1893, este le preguntó a Chaikovski personalmente si querría dirigir cuatro conciertos de la Sociedad Musical Rusa en San Petersburgo durante la siguiente temporada. Tras pensárselo detenidamente, aceptó. Su muerte repentina a finales de 1893 evitó que cumpliera con su compromiso en su totalidad, no obstante, en la lista de obras que había pensado dirigir se contaba la Tercera Sinfonía de Rimski Kórsakov.

En marzo de 1889, el «teatro ambulante Richard Wagner» de Angelo Neumann llegó a San Petersburgo, ofreciendo cuatro ciclos de El anillo del nibelungo bajo la dirección de Karl Muck. Los Cinco habían ignorado la música de Wagner, pero dicha obra impresionó a Rimski Kórsakov, que quedó asombrado con su dominio de la orquestación. Asistió a los ensayos con Glazunov e iba siguiendo la partitura. Tras escuchar estas interpretaciones, Rimski Kórsakov se dedicó prácticamente sólo a componer óperas por el resto de su vida creativa. El uso de la plantilla instrumental por parte de Wagner influyó en su orquestación, comenzando con el arreglo que Rimski Kórsakov hizo de la polonesa de la ópera Borís Godunov de Músorgski con el fin de emplearla en conciertos en 1889.

Rimsky-Korsakov mantenía su mente cerrada en lo referente a música más aventurada que la de Wagner, especialmente la de Richard Strauss y más tarde Claude Debussy. Llegó a mostrarse enojado durante días cuando escuchó al pianista Félix Blumenfeld tocar Estampes, de Debussy, tras lo cual escribió en su diario: «pobre y mezquino hasta más no poder; no hay técnica, y mucho menos imaginación.» Esto se debía a un creciente conservadurismo por su parte (su «conciencia musical», tal y cómo él mismo lo describió), bajo el cual ahora escrutaba su música, así como la de otros. Las composiciones de sus antiguos compatriotas en Los Cinco no eran inmunes a esto; en 1895, mientras se encontraba trabajando en su primera revisión de Borís Godunov, de Músorgski, le dijo a su amanuense Vasily Yastrebtsev: «Es increíble que alguna vez me hubiera podido gustar esta música y aun así parece que hubo un tiempo en que lo hizo.» En 1901 escribiría acerca de estar crecientemente «indignado con todos los desatinos [de Wagner] para el oído», sobre la misma música que había acaparado su atención en 1889.

En 1892 Rimski Kórsakov padeció una segunda sequía creativa, debido a una enfermedad psicosomática. Se le subía la sangre a la cabeza, tenía pérdidas de memoria, confusiones y desagradables obsesiones, que lo llevaron al diagnóstico médico de neurastenia. Las crisis dentro del círculo familiar de Rimski Kórsakov podrían haber sido el factor desencadenante: las graves enfermedades de su mujer y uno de sus hijos debido a la difteria en 1890, las muertes de su madre e hijo de menor edad, así como el comienzo de una prolongada y finalmente fatal enfermedad de su segundo hijo más joven. Dejó sus puestos tanto en los Conciertos Sinfónicos Rusos como en la Capilla de la Corte de San Petersburgo y se planteó dejar de componer para siempre. Tras realizar la tercera versión del cuadro musical Sadkó y la ópera La doncella de Pskov, dio por cerrada su cuenta musical con el pasado, ninguna de sus obras previas a La noche de mayo conservaba su edición original.

Otro fallecimiento, el de Chaikovski, fue sin embargo la causa que lo llevó de nuevo a componer, puesto que esta defunción se presentó como una doble oportunidad: por un lado compondría para los Teatros Imperiales y además una ópera basada en la historia corta de Nikolái Gógol titulada La noche de Navidad (Nochebuena), una obra en la que Chaikovski también se había inspirado para componer su ópera Vakula el herrero. El éxito de la ópera La noche de Navidad lo animó a completar una ópera cada 18 meses de media entre 1893 y 1908, con un total de once a lo largo de este periodo. También comenzó otro borrador sobre su tratado de orquestación que finalmente abandonó, pero hizo un tercer intento y lo dejó casi acabado en sus últimos cuatro años de vida (lo completaría su yerno Maksimilián Steinberg en 1912). El tratamiento científico y académico de la orquestación que hace Rimski Kórsakov, ilustrado con más de 300 ejemplos de su propia obra, se convirtió en referencia para los textos de su categoría.

En 1905, hubo manifestaciones en el Conservatorio de San Petersburgo como parte de la Revolución de 1905; éstas, escribe Rimski Kórsakov, fueron desencadenadas por disturbios de la misma índole en la Universidad Estatal de San Petersburgo, en la que los estudiantes solicitaban reformas políticas y el establecimiento de una monarquía constitucional en Rusia. «Fui elegido como miembro del comité que debía solventar las diferencias con los agitados pupilos», recuerda; sin embargo, tan pronto como el comité se hubo formado, «se recomendaron todo tipo de medidas para que los cabecillas fueran expulsados, alojar a la policía en el conservatorio o cerrar el conservatorio entero». Considerado a sí mismo de siempre un liberal en lo político, escribió que sentía que alguien debía proteger el derecho de los estudiantes a manifestarse, especialmente cuando las disputas y riñas con las autoridades cada vez eran más violentas. En una misiva abierta, se puso de lado de los estudiantes en contra de lo que él veía como una interferencia sin justificación alguna en la dirección del conservatorio y la Sociedad Musical Rusa. En una segunda carta, esta vez firmada por todo el cuerpo docente Rimski Kórsakov inclusive, exigía la dimisión del director del conservatorio. En parte debido a las consecuencias de ambas cartas, escribe, aproximadamente 100 alumnos fueron expulsados y él fue destituido de su cátedra. Justo antes de que la dimisión fuera efectiva, Rimski Kórsakov recibió una carta de uno de los miembros de la directiva del centro, sugiriéndole que tomara la dirección con fines de calmar el descontento estudiantil. «Probablemente el miembro de la directiva que envió la carta representaría una opinión minoritaria, pero la firmó de todas formas» escribe. «Respondí con una negativa».

No mucho después de la destitución de Rimski Kórsakov, una producción estudiantil de su ópera Kaschéi, el inmortal provocó, en lugar del concierto que estaba programado, una manifestación política, lo que causó que la policía prohibiera la obra de Rimski Kórsakov. A consecuencia, gracias en parte a la cobertura que hizo la prensa de estos eventos, inmediatamente surgió por toda Rusia y el extranjero una ola de indignación frente a la prohibición; liberales e intelectuales inundaban la residencia del compositor con cartas de apoyo y simpatía, e incluso campesinos que nunca habían oído una sola nota de la música de Rimski Kórsakov enviaron pequeñas donaciones monetarias. Varios miembros del profesorado del Conservatorio de San Petersburgo renunciaron a su empleo en señal de protesta, incluyendo Glazunov y Liádov. Al final, unos 300 estudiantes abandonaron el conservatorio en señal de solidaridad con Rimski Kórsakov Hacia diciembre había sido rehabilitado en su cargo bajo un nuevo director, Glazunov; pero se retiró en 1906. La controversia política continuó con su ópera El gallo de oro, cuya crítica implícita a la monarquía, al imperialismo ruso y a la Guerra Ruso-Japonesa daban escasas posibilidades a pasar la censura. El estreno se retrasó hasta 1909, después del fallecimiento del compositor, e incluso entonces se interpretó en una versión adaptada.

En abril de 1907, Rimski Kórsakov dirigió un par de conciertos en París, organizados por el empresario Serguéi Diáguilev, en donde se ponía de relieve la música de la escuela nacionalista rusa. Dichos conciertos tuvieron un gran éxito a la hora de popularizar la música clásica rusa de este género en Europa, particularmente la de Rimski Kórsakov. Al año siguiente, su ópera Sadkó fue puesta en escena en la Ópera de París y La doncella de nieve en la Opéra-Comique. También tuvo la oportunidad de escuchar los últimos estrenos de compositores europeos; silbó sin tapujos al escuchar la ópera de Richard Strauss Salomé y le dijo a Diáguilev tras escuchar la ópera Pelléas et Mélisande de Claude Debussy: «¡no me hagas escuchar todos estos horrores o acabarán gustándome!» El hecho de escuchar dichas obras le permitió comprender su lugar dentro de la música clásica. Admitió ser «un kuchkista convencido» —en alusión al término kuchka (puñado), una manera en ruso de referirse a Los Cinco— y que sus obras pertenecían a una era cuyas tendencias musicales ya habían quedado atrás.

Desde principios de 1890, Rimski Kórsakov venía padeciendo angina de pecho. Este mal al principio lo iba desgastando lentamente, pero el estrés que le ocasionaron los sucesos que tuvieron lugar en la Revolución de 1905 y sus secuelas aceleraron el proceso, llegando en diciembre de 1907 a ser la enfermedad de tal gravedad que ya no podía trabajar. Falleció en 1908 en su finca de Liúbensk, cerca de Luga (hoy en día Pliúski, distrito de la Óblast de Pskov), unos 200 km al sur de San Petersburgo, y fue enterrado en el Cementerio Tijvin en el Monasterio de Alejandro Nevski de San Petersburgo, cerca de las tumbas de Borodín, Glinka, Músorgski y Stásov.

 

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Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (Russian: Николай Андреевич Римский-Корсаков; 18 March [O.S. 6 March] 1844 – 21 June [O.S. 8 June] 1908) was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five. He was a master of orchestration. His best-known orchestral compositions—Capriccio Espagnol, the Russian Easter Festival Overture, and the symphonic suite Scheherazade—are staples of the classical music repertoire, along with suites and excerpts from some of his 15 operas. Scheherazade is an example of his frequent use of fairy-tale and folk subjects.

Rimsky-Korsakov believed in developing a nationalistic style of classical music, as did his fellow-composer Mily Balakirev and the critic Vladimir Stasov. This style employed Russian folk song and lore along with exotic harmonic, melodic and rhythmic elements in a practice known as musical orientalism, and eschewed traditional Western compositional methods. Rimsky-Korsakov appreciated Western musical techniques after he became a professor of musical composition, harmony, and orchestration at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1871. He undertook a rigorous three-year program of self-education and became a master of Western methods, incorporating them alongside the influences of Mikhail Glinka and fellow members of The Five. Rimsky-Korsakov's techniques of composition and orchestration were further enriched by his exposure to the works of Richard Wagner.

For much of his life, Rimsky-Korsakov combined his composition and teaching with a career in the Russian military—at first as an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, then as the civilian Inspector of Naval Bands. He wrote that he developed a passion for the ocean in childhood from reading books and hearing of his older brother's exploits in the navy. This love of the sea may have influenced him to write two of his best-known orchestral works, the musical tableau Sadko (not to be confused with his later opera of the same name) and Scheherazade. As Inspector of Naval Bands, Rimsky-Korsakov expanded his knowledge of woodwind and brass playing, which enhanced his abilities in orchestration. He passed this knowledge to his students, and also posthumously through a textbook on orchestration that was completed by his son-in-law, Maximilian Steinberg.

Rimsky-Korsakov left a considerable body of original Russian nationalist compositions. He prepared works by The Five for performance, which brought them into the active classical repertoire (although there is controversy over his editing of the works of Modest Mussorgsky), and shaped a generation of younger composers and musicians during his decades as an educator. Rimsky-Korsakov is therefore considered "the main architect" of what the classical-music public considers the "Russian style" of composition. His influence on younger composers was especially important, as he served as a transitional figure between the autodidactism exemplified by Glinka and The Five, and professionally trained composers which would become the norm in Russia by the closing years of the 19th century. While Rimsky-Korsakov's style was based on those of Glinka, Balakirev, Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt and, for a brief period, Wagner, he "transmitted this style directly to two generations of Russian composers" and influenced non-Russian composers including Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Paul Dukas, and Ottorino Respighi.

Rimsky-Korsakov was born in Tikhvin, 200 kilometers (120 miles) east of Saint Petersburg, into a Russian noble family. The Rimsky-Korsakov dynasty traced their roots to Zhigimunt Korsak, a Czech who arrived in Lithuania from the Holy Roman Empire and founded the Polish-Lithuanian Korsak coat of arms. In 1390, his sons Vyacheslav (originally Vaclav) and Miloslav escorted Sophia of Lithuania, then a wife of Vasily I Dmitriyevich, to Moscow and took Russian citizenship under the Korsakov and Miloslavsky surnames, respectively. Some of Vyacheslav's descendants were granted permission to add "Rimsky" to their surnames in 1677 to celebrate their so-called Roman roots.

Throughout history, members of the family served in Russian government and took various positions as governors and war generals. Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov was famously a lover of Catherine the Great.

The father of the composer, Andrei Petrovich Rimsky-Korsakov (1784–1862), was one of the six illegitimate sons of Avdotya Yakovlevna, daughter of a simple Orthodox priest from Pskov, and lieutenant general Peter Voinovich Rimsky-Korsakov who had to officially adopt his own children as he couldn't marry their mother because of her lower social status. Using his friendship with Aleksey Arakcheyev, he managed to grant them all the privileges of the noble family. Andrei went on to serve in the Interior Ministry of the Russian Empire, then as the vice-governor of Novgorod, and then in the Volhynian Governorate. The composer's mother, Sofya Vasilievna Rimskaya-Korsakova (1802–1890), was also born as an illegitimate daughter of a peasant serf and Vasily Fedorovich Skaryatin, a wealthy landlord who belonged to the noble Russian family that originated during the 16th century.

She was raised by her father in full comfort, yet under an improvised surname Vasilieva and with no legal status. By the time Andrei Petrovich met her, he was already a widower: his first wife, knyazna Ekaterina Meshcherskaya, died just nine months after their marriage. Nevertheless, they fell in love with each other at first sight. Since Skaryatin found him unsuitable for his daughter, Andrei secretly "stole" his bride from the father's house and brought her to Saint Petersburg where they got married.

The Rimsky-Korsakov family had a long line of military and naval service. Nikolai's older brother Voin, 22 years his senior, became a well-known navigator and explorer and had a powerful influence on Nikolai's life. He later recalled that his mother played the piano a little, and his father could play a few songs on the piano by ear. Beginning at six, he took piano lessons from local teachers and showed a talent for aural skills, but he showed a lack of interest, playing, as he later wrote, "badly, carelessly, ... poor at keeping time".

Although he started composing by age 10, Rimsky-Korsakov preferred literature over music. He later wrote that from his reading, and tales of his brother's exploits, he developed a poetic love for the sea "without ever having seen it". This love, and prompting from Voin, encouraged the 12-year-old to join the Imperial Russian Navy. He studied at the School for Mathematical and Navigational Sciences in Saint Petersburg and, at 18, took his final examination in April 1862.

While at school, Rimsky-Korsakov took piano lessons from a man named Ulikh. These lessons were sanctioned by Voin, who now served as director of the school, because he hoped they would help the youth to develop social skills and overcome his shyness. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote that, while "indifferent" to lessons, he developed a love for music, fostered by visits to the opera and, later, orchestral concerts.

Ulikh perceived Rimsky-Korsakov's musical talent and recommended another teacher, Feodor A. Kanille (Théodore Canillé). Beginning in late 1859, Rimsky-Korsakov took lessons in piano and composition from Kanille, whom he later credited as the inspiration for devoting his life to musical composition. Through Kanille, he was exposed to a great deal of new music, including Mikhail Glinka and Robert Schumann. Voin cancelled his younger brother's musical lessons when the latter reached the age of 17, feeling they no longer served a practical purpose.

Kanille told Rimsky-Korsakov to continue coming to him every Sunday, not for formal lessons but to play duets and discuss music. In November 1861, Kanille introduced the 18-year-old Nikolai to Mily Balakirev. Balakirev in turn introduced him to César Cui and Modest Mussorgsky; all three were known as composers, despite only being in their 20s. Rimsky-Korsakov later wrote, "With what delight I listened to real business discussions [Rimsky-Korsakov's emphasis] of instrumentation, part writing, etc! And besides, how much talking there was about current musical matters! All at once I had been plunged into a new world, unknown to me, formerly only heard of in the society of my dilettante friends. That was truly a strong impression."

Balakirev encouraged Rimsky-Korsakov to compose and taught him the rudiments when he was not at sea. Balakirev prompted him to enrich himself in history, literature and criticism. When he showed Balakirev the beginning of a symphony in E-flat minor that he had written, Balakirev insisted he continue working on it despite his lack of formal musical training.

By the time Rimsky-Korsakov sailed on a two-year-and-eight-month cruise aboard the clipper Almaz in late 1862, he had completed and orchestrated three movements of the symphony. He composed the slow movement during a stop in England and mailed the score to Balakirev before going back to sea.

At first, his work on the symphony kept Rimsky-Korsakov occupied during his cruise. He purchased scores at every port of call, along with a piano on which to play them, and filled his idle hours studying Berlioz's Treatise on Instrumentation. He found time to read the works of Homer, William Shakespeare, Friedrich Schiller and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; he saw London, Niagara Falls, and Rio de Janeiro during his stops in port. Eventually, the lack of outside musical stimuli dulled the young midshipman's hunger to learn.

Once back in Saint Petersburg in May 1865, Rimsky-Korsakov's onshore duties consisted of a couple of hours of clerical duty each day, but he recalled that his desire to compose "had been stifled ... I did not concern myself with music at all." He wrote that contact with Balakirev in September 1865 encouraged him "to get accustomed to music and later to plunge into it". At Balakirev's suggestion, he wrote a trio to the scherzo of the E-flat minor symphony, which it had lacked up to that point, and reorchestrated the entire symphony. Its first performance came in December of that year under Balakirev's direction in Saint Petersburg. A second performance followed in March 1866 under the direction of Konstantin Lyadov (father of composer Anatoly Lyadov).

Correspondence between Rimsky-Korsakov and Balakirev clearly shows that some ideas for the symphony originated with Balakirev. Balakirev seldom stopped at merely correcting a piece of music, and would often recompose it at the piano. Rimsky-Korsakov recalled,

Rimsky-Korsakov recalled that "Balakirev had no difficulty in getting along with me. At his suggestion I most readily rewrote the symphonic movements composed by me and brought them to completion with the help of his advice and improvisations". Though Rimsky-Korsakov later found Balakirev's influence stifling, and broke free from it, this did not stop him in his memoirs from extolling the older composer's talents as a critic and improviser. Under Balakirev's mentoring, Rimsky-Korsakov turned to other compositions. He began a symphony in B minor, but felt it too closely followed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and abandoned it. He completed an Overture on Three Russian Themes, based on Balakirev's folksong overtures, as well as a Fantasia on Serbian Themes that was performed at a concert given for the delegates of the Slavonic Congress in 1867. In his review of this concert, nationalist critic Vladimir Stasov coined the phrase Moguchaya kuchka for the Balakirev circle (Moguchaya kuchka is usually translated as "The Mighty Handful" or "The Five"). Rimsky-Korsakov also composed the initial versions of Sadko and Antar, which cemented his reputation as a writer of orchestral works.

Rimsky-Korsakov socialized and discussed music with the other members of The Five; they critiqued one another's works in progress and collaborated on new pieces. He became friends with Alexander Borodin, whose music "astonished" him. He spent an increasing amount of time with Mussorgsky. Balakirev and Mussorgsky played piano four-hand music, Mussorgsky would sing, and they frequently discussed other composers' works, with preferred tastes running "toward Glinka, Schumann and Beethoven's late quartets". Mendelssohn was not thought of highly, Mozart and Haydn "were considered out of date and naïve", and J.S. Bach merely mathematical and unfeeling. Berlioz "was highly esteemed", Liszt "crippled and perverted from a musical point of view ... even a caricature", and Wagner discussed little. Rimsky-Korsakov "listened to these opinions with avidity and absorbed the tastes of Balakirev, Cui and Mussorgsky without reasoning or examination". Often, the musical works in question "were played before me only in fragments, and I had no idea of the whole work". This, he wrote, did not stop him from accepting these judgments at face value and repeating them "as if I were thoroughly convinced of their truth".

Rimsky-Korsakov became especially appreciated within The Five, and among those who visited the circle, for his talents as an orchestrator. He was asked by Balakirev to orchestrate a Schubert march for a concert in May 1868, by Cui to orchestrate the opening chorus of his opera William Ratcliff and by Alexander Dargomyzhsky, whose works were greatly appreciated by The Five and who was close to death, to orchestrate his opera The Stone Guest.

In late 1871, Rimsky-Korsakov moved into Voin's former apartment, and invited Mussorgsky to be his roommate. The working arrangement they agreed upon was that Mussorgsky used the piano in the mornings while Rimsky-Korsakov worked on copying or orchestration. When Mussorgsky left for his civil service job at noon, Rimsky-Korsakov then used the piano. Time in the evenings was allotted by mutual agreement. "That autumn and winter the two of us accomplished a good deal", Rimsky-Korsakov wrote, "with constant exchange of ideas and plans. Mussorgsky composed and orchestrated the Polish act of Boris Godunov and the folk scene 'Near Kromy.' I orchestrated and finished my Maid of Pskov."

In 1871, the 27-year-old Rimsky-Korsakov became Professor of Practical Composition and Instrumentation (orchestration) at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, as well as leader of the Orchestra Class. He retained his position in active naval service, and taught his classes in uniform (military officers in Russia were required to wear their uniforms every day, as they were considered to be always on duty).

Rimsky-Korsakov explained in his memoirs that Mikhaíl Azanchevsky had taken over that year as director of the Conservatory, and wanting new blood to freshen up teaching in those subjects, had offered to pay generously for Rimsky-Korsakov's services. Biographer Mikhail Zetlin suggests that Azanchevsky's motives might have been twofold. First, Rimsky-Korsakov was the member of the Five least criticized by its opponents, and inviting him to teach at the Conservatory may have been considered a safe way to show that all serious musicians were welcome there. Second, the offer may have been calculated to expose him to an academic climate in which he would write in a more conservative, Western-based style. Balakirev had opposed academic training in music with tremendous vigor, but encouraged him to accept the post to convince others to join the nationalist musical cause.

Rimsky-Korsakov's reputation at this time was as a master of orchestration, based on Sadko and Antar. He had written these works mainly by intuition. His knowledge of musical theory was elemental; he had never written any counterpoint, could not harmonize a simple chorale, nor knew the names or intervals of musical chords. He had never conducted an orchestra, and had been discouraged from doing so by the navy, which did not approve of his appearing on the podium in uniform. Aware of his technical shortcomings, Rimsky-Korsakov consulted Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, with whom he and the others in The Five had been in occasional contact. Tchaikovsky, unlike The Five, had received academic training in composition at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and was serving as Professor of Music Theory at the Moscow Conservatory. Tchaikovsky advised him to study.

Rimsky-Korsakov wrote that while teaching at the Conservatory he soon became "possibly its very best pupil [Rimsky-Korsakov's emphasis], judging by the quantity and value of the information it gave me!" To prepare himself, and to stay at least one step ahead of his students, he took a three-year sabbatical from composing original works, and assiduously studied at home while he lectured at the Conservatory. He taught himself from textbooks, and followed a strict regimen of composing contrapuntal exercises, fugues, chorales and a cappella choruses.

Rimsky-Korsakov eventually became an excellent teacher and a fervent believer in academic training. He revised everything he had composed prior to 1874, even acclaimed works such as Sadko and Antar, in a search for perfection that would remain with him throughout the rest of his life. Assigned to rehearse the Orchestra Class, he mastered the art of conducting. Dealing with orchestral textures as a conductor, and making suitable arrangements of musical works for the Orchestra Class, led to an increased interest in the art of orchestration, an area into which he would further indulge his studies as Inspector of Navy Bands. The score of his Third Symphony, written just after he had completed his three-year program of self-improvement, reflects his hands-on experience with the orchestra.

Professorship brought Rimsky-Korsakov financial security, which encouraged him to settle down and to start a family. In December 1871 he proposed to Nadezhda Purgold, with whom he had developed a close relationship over weekly gatherings of The Five at the Purgold household. They married in July 1872, with Mussorgsky serving as best man. The Rimsky-Korsakovs had seven children. One of their sons, Andrei, became a musicologist, married the composer Yuliya Veysberg and wrote a multi-volume study of his father's life and work.

Nadezhda became a musical as well as domestic partner with her husband, much as Clara Schumann had been with her own husband Robert. She was beautiful, capable, strong-willed, and far better trained musically than her husband at the time they married—she had attended the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in the mid-1860s, studying piano with Anton Gerke (one of whose private students was Mussorgsky) and music theory with Nikolai Zaremba, who also taught Tchaikovsky. Nadezhda proved a fine and most demanding critic of her husband's work; her influence over him in musical matters was strong enough for Balakirev and Stasov to wonder whether she was leading him astray from their musical preferences. Musicologist Lyle Neff wrote that while Nadezhda gave up her own compositional career when she married Rimsky-Korsakov, she "had a considerable influence on the creation of [Rimsky-Korsakov's] first three operas. She travelled with her husband, attended rehearsals and arranged compositions by him and others" for piano four hands, which she played with her husband. "Her last years were dedicated to issuing her husband's posthumous literary and musical legacy, maintaining standards for performance of his works ... and preparing material for a museum in his name."

In early 1873, the navy created the civilian post of Inspector of Naval Bands, with a rank of Collegiate Assessor, and appointed Rimsky-Korsakov. This kept him on the navy payroll and listed on the roster of the Chancellery of the Navy Department but allowed him to resign his commission. The composer commented, "I parted with delight with both my military status and my officer's uniform", he later wrote. "Henceforth I was a musician officially and incontestably." As Inspector, Rimsky-Korsakov applied himself with zeal to his duties. He visited naval bands throughout Russia, supervised the bandmasters and their appointments, reviewed the bands' repertoire, and inspected the quality of their instruments. He wrote a study program for a complement of music students who held navy fellowships at the Conservatory, and acted as an intermediary between the Conservatory and the navy. He also indulged in a long-standing desire to familiarize himself with the construction and playing technique of orchestral instruments. These studies prompted him to write a textbook on orchestration. He used the privileges of rank to exercise and expand upon his knowledge. He discussed arrangements of musical works for military band with bandmasters, encouraged and reviewed their efforts, held concerts at which he could hear these pieces, and orchestrated original works, and works by other composers, for military bands.

In March 1884, an Imperial Order abolished the navy office of Inspector of Bands, and Rimsky-Korsakov was relieved of his duties. He worked under Balakirev in the Court Chapel as a deputy until 1894, which allowed him to study Russian Orthodox church music. He also taught classes at the Chapel, and wrote his textbook on harmony for use there and at the Conservatory.

Rimsky-Korsakov's studies and his change in attitude regarding music education brought him the scorn of his fellow nationalists, who thought he was throwing away his Russian heritage to compose fugues and sonatas. After he strove "to crowd in as much counterpoint as possible" into his Third Symphony,[70] he wrote chamber works adhering strictly to classical models, including a string sextet, a string quartet in F minor and a quintet for flute, clarinet, horn, bassoon and piano. About the quartet and the symphony, Tchaikovsky wrote to his patroness, Nadezhda von Meck, that they "were filled with a host of clever thi

Dan Kitchener at work on his wall for Blackpool's Sand Sea & Spray festival

Please consider leaving a comment if you fave, it is lovely to hear from you! xx

 

Friday night ready to go out in my favourite pink dress!

Please consider leaving a comment if you fave, it is lovely to hear from you! xx

 

Mid-week girly casual, trying on my new 'Airheads' T-shirt. :-)

Auguste Rodin est le premier à accorder une légitimité plastique au fragment et à le considérer comme une œuvre définitive, au plus près de la combinatoire de l'atelier. Sans visage, sans regard, le torse est ce signe plastique irréductible où se concentrent la présence et l'énergie vitale.... Extrait du cartel de salle

 

à gauche,

Héraklès archer (détail)

Torse d'Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929)

1909

Bronze, fonte Godard, 1969

Legs Rhodia Dufet Bourdelle, 2002

Paris; musée Bourdelle

www.navigart.fr/bourdelle/artwork/emile-antoine-bourdelle...

 

au centre :

L'Amphore ou l'Urne

Torse, modèle à grandeur d'exécution, inachevé

œuvre d'Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929)

1927-1929

Plâtre recouvert d'un agent démoulant

Legs Rhodia Dufet Bourdelle, 2002

Paris; musée Bourdelle

www.navigart.fr/bourdelle/artwork/emile-antoine-bourdelle...

 

à droite :

Torse féminin dit du Victoria and Albert Museum

œuvre d'Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)

Vers 1910-1914

Plâtre

Paris, Musée Rodin

collections.musee-rodin.fr/document/torse-feminin-dit-du-...

 

----------

 

Salle "L'esthétique du fragment"

Exposition "Rodin / Bourdelle. Corps à corps"

Musée Bourdelle, Paris

À travers plus de 160 œuvres, dont 96 sculptures, 38 dessins, 3 peintures et 26 photographies, la confrontation Rodin / Bourdelle donne à voir, avec une ambition et une ampleur inédites, les fraternités et réciprocités comme les divergences et antagonismes de deux créateurs, de deux univers plastiques, porteurs des enjeux majeurs de la modernité... Extrait du site de l'exposition

www.bourdelle.paris.fr/visiter/expositions/rodin-bourdell...

Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, tr. Sankt-Peterburg,) is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow, with 5 million inhabitants in 2012, part of the Saint Petersburg agglomeration with a population of 6.2 million (2015). An important Russian port on the Baltic Sea, it has a status of a federal subject (a federal city).

Situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May [O.S. 16 May] 1703. During the periods 1713–1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of Imperial Russia. In 1918, the central government bodies moved to Moscow, which is about 625 km (388 miles) to the south-east.

Saint Petersburg is often considered Russia's cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saint Petersburg is home to the Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. Many foreign consulates, international corporations, banks and businesses have offices in Saint Petersburg.

A proponent of westernising Russia, Peter the Great, who established the city, originally named it, Sankt-Peterburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербург; note that the Russian name lacks the letter s between Peter and burg). On 1 September 1914, after the outbreak of World War I, the Imperial government renamed the city Petrograd (Russian: Петрогра́д, meaning "Peter's city", in order to expunge the German name Sankt and Burg. On 26 January 1924, shortly after the death of Vladimir Lenin, it was renamed to Leningrad (Russian: Ленингра́д), meaning "Lenin's City". On 6 September 1991, the original name, Sankt-Peterburg, was returned. Today, in English the city is known as "Saint Petersburg". Local residents often refer to the city by its shortened nickname, Piter (Russian: Пи́тер,).

The city's traditional nicknames among Russians are the Window to the West and the Window to Europe. The northernmost metropolis in the world St. Petersburg is often called the Venice of the North or Russian Venice because of its structure which is built on water and its strongly European-inspired architecture, which is combined with the Russian heritage too. Furthermore, St. Petersburg is called Venice of the North because of an annual natural phenomenon called White Nights which arise due to the closeness to the polar region. Just as Venice is associated with romance, in St. Petersburg the White Nights have a high value for love couples.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg

www.thoughtco.com/when-was-st-petersburg-known-as-petrogr...

 

San Petersburgo (en ruso, Санкт-Петербург /sankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk/ Sankt-Peterburg) es la segunda ciudad más poblada de Rusia después de la capital nacional Moscú, con 5 351 935 habitantes (2018) y un área metropolitana de 5,85 millones. Está situada en la Región de Leningrado, nombre que compartía con la ciudad durante la época soviética (1924-1991). Los otros nombres de la ciudad fueron Petrogrado (en ruso, Петроград, Petrograd; del 31 de agosto de 1914 hasta el 24 de enero de 1924) y Leningrado (en ruso, Ленинград, Leningrad; después de la muerte de Lenin, el 24 de enero de 1924 hasta el 6 de septiembre de 1991). Conocida también como la “Venecia del Norte”, debido a sus más de 400 puentes que atraviesan a los numerosos canales que por ella pasan.

Fue fundada por el zar Pedro el Grande el 27 de mayo de 1703 con la intención de convertirla en la "ventana de Rusia hacia el mundo occidental". A partir de entonces se convirtió en capital del Imperio ruso durante más de doscientos años. Cuando estalló la Revolución rusa, la ciudad fue el centro de la rebelión. En marzo de 1918 la capital fue trasladada a Moscú. En enero de 1924, tras la victoria bolchevique, la creación de la Unión Soviética (1922) y el fallecimiento de Lenin (1924), San Petersburgo (en ese entonces llamado Petrogrado) cambió su nombre a Leningrado, en honor al dirigente comunista Lenin. Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, tuvo lugar el sitio de Leningrado, que duró 29 meses, en los cuales los alemanes bombardearon constantemente la ciudad y la bloquearon para que no pudiera abastecerse. Tras la derrota de Alemania en 1945, la ciudad fue nombrada Ciudad heroica por las autoridades soviéticas. Al desaparecer la URSS con el consiguiente colapso del comunismo, la ciudad fue renombrada San Petersburgo y se ha convertido en un importante centro económico y político de la actual Rusia.

San Petersburgo es hoy en día la segunda ciudad más grande de la Federación Rusa y una de las más grandes de Europa. El centro de la ciudad y otros monumentos de sus alrededores son considerados Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO desde 1990. San Petersburgo es, además, sede de la Corte Constitucional de Rusia.

El nombre de San Petersburgo es de origen alemán y significa "ciudad de San Pedro". Pedro el Grande la nombró así en honor a su santo patrono, rechazando el de Petrograd, que quisieron darle, en su honor, sus súbditos alemanes que había contratado para construir y trabajar en los astilleros y la ciudad.

La ciudad cambió de nombre varias veces: Se llamó Petrogrado (Петроград Petrograd, que significa ciudad de Pedro, adaptación al ruso del alemán Petersburg) entre 1914 y 1924, a raíz del conflicto con Alemania durante la Primera Guerra Mundial, y Leningrado (Ленинград Leningrad tras la muerte de Lenin) entre 1924 y 1991; y nuevamente San Petersburgo después de un plebiscito. Coloquialmente los peterburgueses y rusos en general llaman a esta metrópolis Peterburg o de manera aún más familiar Piter (en ruso Питер).

Fue fundada por el zar Pedro el Grande el 16 (27) de mayo de 1703 con el propósito de deslocalizar la capital ubicada en Moscú, y de hecho fue capital de Rusia de 1712 a 1918. Por ello y por su ubicación geográfica le dio el sobrenombre de "La ventana a Europa". Pedro había vivido y estudiado en los Países Bajos por algún tiempo, por eso decidió bautizar su nueva ciudad con un nombre derivado del holandés Sint Pietersburg: Sankt Piterburj; pero pronto se germanizó a Sankt Petersburg.

En la misma desembocadura del río Nevá los suecos tenían anteriormente una fortaleza llamada Nyenschantz (Nevanlinna en finés) y un arrabal llamado Nyen. Todo el entorno geográfico de la desembocadura del Nevá estaba ocupado por marismas antes de que se construyese la ciudad.

A fines del siglo XVII, Rusia veía estancado su crecimiento económico por no tener salida al mar. El sueño del joven zar, Pedro el Grande, era corregir la situación abriendo una “ventana a Europa”. Dado que no podía hacerlo por el sur, pues el Imperio otomano impedía el acceso al mar Negro, apuntó en dirección contraria, a un territorio de Suecia cercano al Báltico. A fin de materializar sus aspiraciones, en agosto de 1700 declaró la guerra a los suecos, Guerra del Norte, quienes al principio lograron repeler sus ataques. Pero él no se dio por vencido, y en octubre de 1702 los hizo retirarse del Ládoga, el mayor lago de Europa, que está unido por el Nevá al Báltico, del cual dista unos 60 kilómetros. Aunque los suecos se atrincheraron en la fortaleza insular de Nóteburg, cerca del punto donde el río sale del lago, Pedro logró tomar aquella plaza militar y le cambió el nombre a Shlissel’burg (ciudad clave).

Posteriormente, una guarnición sueca defendió el fortín de Nienshants, cerca de la desembocadura del Nevá. Rusia la derrotó el 26 de abril de 1703 y asumió el dominio de todo el delta. Sin demora, Pedro comenzó a construir una ciudadela en la cercana isla Záyachi (de las liebres) para controlar la boca del río. Así, el 16 de mayo de 1703, hace poco más de tres siglos, puso la primera piedra de lo que hoy se conoce como la Fortaleza de San Pedro y San Pablo. Esta es la fecha aceptada de la fundación de San Petersburgo, llamada así en honor del apóstol Pedro, santo patrón del zar.

La construcción de la ciudad bajo condiciones climáticas adversas produjo una intensa mortalidad entre los trabajadores y requirió un continuo aporte de nuevos obreros. Dado que aquella zona estaba muy poco poblada, Pedro el Grande utilizó su prerrogativa de zar para atraer forzosamente a siervos trabajadores de todas las partes del país. Una cuota anual de 40.000 siervos llegaba a la ciudad equipados con sus herramientas y sus propios suministros de comida. Habitualmente recorrían cientos de kilómetros a pie en filas, escoltados por guardas que, para evitar las deserciones, no dudaban en usar la violencia física. Como consecuencia de su exposición al clima, las deficientes condiciones higiénicas y las enfermedades, la mortalidad durante estos primeros años fue muy elevada, llegando a perecer año tras año hasta el 50% de los trabajadores que llegaban.

Dado que la construcción de la ciudad se inició en tiempos de guerra, el primer edificio nuevo de la ciudad fue un fuerte militar que se llamaría fortaleza de San Pedro y San Pablo y que se levanta aún sobre la isla Záyachi en la ribera derecha del río Nevá. Los diseñadores de la nueva fortaleza eran ingenieros alemanes invitados por el propio Zar, pero la mayor parte de la mano de obra la pusieron los siervos rusos también para las labores de drenaje de los alrededores del río y los palacios y otros edificios de piedra de las afueras. Era la ciudad más artificial del mundo, diseñada para convertirse en la capital de Rusia. Una ciudad con relativo paralelismo es Venecia, en la cual se inspiró asimismo el zar Pedro, que prohibió los puentes permanentes sobre el Nevá para que se asemejase al Gran Canal y fomentó la construcción de canales en las calles siguiendo el patrón de Ámsterdam.

Pese a los inconvenientes de su ubicación en el lejano norte, el zar siguió adelante con su empresa. Trajo la madera de la región del Ládoga y de Nóvgorod. Las piedras para las edificaciones las obtuvo de diversos modos. Uno de ellos fue estipular que todo ruso que introdujera productos comerciales en la localidad aportara unas cuantas a modo de cuota. Además, prohibió hacer viviendas de este material, primero en Moscú y luego en el resto de su imperio, lo que indujo a los albañiles desempleados a mudarse a la nueva población.

Según la Bol’shaya Sovyetskaya Entsiklopedia (la gran enciclopedia soviética), los trabajos marcharon “a un ritmo vertiginoso para la época”. No tardaron en aparecer canales de drenaje, pilotes, calles, casas, iglesias, hospitales y oficinas del gobierno. El mismo año de la fundación se iniciaron las obras de un astillero, conocido como el Almirantazgo, que llegaría a ser el cuartel general de la armada rusa.

En 1710 se comenzó el Palacio de verano, residencia estival de los zares. En 1712, la capitalidad pasó de Moscú a San Petersburgo, y con ella muchas dependencias oficiales. Como fue el caso del traslado de la Casa de la Moneda de Moscú a San Petersburgo en 1724. El primer palacio de piedra, construido en 1714 y aún en pie, tenía por ocupante a Aleksandr Ménshikov, primer gobernador de la zona. Aquel mismo año se colocaron en la Fortaleza de Pedro y Pablo los cimientos de la catedral de igual nombre, cuya imponente aguja dorada se distingue en la silueta urbana. También se erigió a orillas del Nevá el Palacio de Invierno, que fue reedificado en diversas ocasiones. Más tarde se levantó en su lugar el actual, que cuenta con unas mil cien habitaciones y que hoy forma parte de un céntrico museo estatal, el famosísimo Ermitage.

En su primer decenio de existencia, San Petersburgo registró un asombroso crecimiento, hasta el punto de estimarse en 34.500 el número de edificios existentes en 1714. Siguieron añadiéndose palacios e inmensas construcciones, muchas de las cuales demuestran el gran influjo de la religión en la historia de Rusia.

Entre ellas figura la catedral de Kazán, con su columnata frontal en semicírculo. Su imponente presencia contribuye a que la arteria más famosa de la ciudad, la avenida Nevski, sea considerada una de las más grandiosas avenidas del mundo. De fecha posterior es la catedral de San Isaac, edificada sobre 24.000 pilotes hundidos en suelo pantanoso y que ostenta una enorme cúpula revestida de 100 kilos de oro puro.

La arquitectura avanzó igualmente a pasos agigantados en el extrarradio. Así, en 1714 se empezó a edificar una residencia para el zar, el palacio Peterhof, en Peterhof (hoy Petrodvoréts). Al mismo tiempo, en la cercana localidad de Tsárskoye Seló (hoy Pushkin) se construía el suntuoso palacio de Catalina, la esposa de Pedro el Grande. En la segunda mitad del siglo XVIII se concluyeron otras dos lujosas mansiones en las afueras: Pávlovsk y Gátchina.

Realzaban la belleza de la nueva capital los centenares de puentes que cruzaban los brazos fluviales y los múltiples canales, por los que se ha ganado el apelativo de “Venecia del norte”. Arquitectos franceses, alemanes e italianos colaboraron con colegas rusos de gran talento para producir “uno de los núcleos urbanos más espléndidos y armoniosos de Europa”

La abolición de la servidumbre en 1861 por el zar Alejandro II de Rusia provocó una fuerte corriente de inmigrantes pobres provenientes de todas las regiones del país. La mano de obra barata permitió un intenso incremento de la industria en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX y San Petersburgo llegó a ser uno de los ejes industriales más grandes de Europa. En consecuencia, surgieron a su vez los movimientos obreros radicales.

La revolución de 1905 tras la derrota en la guerra ruso-japonesa comenzó en San Petersburgo y se extendió rápidamente por otras provincias. Como consecuencia el zar Nicolás II autorizó la creación del primer parlamento ruso o Duma.

Durante la Primera Guerra Mundial, se decidió que San Petersburgo era un nombre demasiado germánico para la ciudad y se le cambió por el de Petrogrado el 31 de agosto de 1914.

En 1917 San Petersburgo vio los primeros movimientos de la Revolución rusa. En primer lugar se destituyó al zar Nicolás II de su trono y se instaló en la ciudad el Gobierno provisional. En octubre una segunda fase de la revolución hizo que el poder pasase a los Sóviets y se formó el primer gobierno soviético de bolcheviques y socialistas revolucionarios (SR) de izquierda, el Sovnarkom. El líder bolchevique Lenin decidió trasladar la sede del gobierno de San Petersburgo a Moscú, por estar más alejada de los frentes de la Guerra Mundial y de los núcleos antirrevolucionarios. Moscú se convirtió en capital desde entonces hasta el día de hoy. Al morir Lenin en 1924, San Petersburgo tomó el nombre de Leningrado en su honor.

La pérdida de la capitalidad trajo un descenso poblacional a la ciudad, que se redujo a un tercio de lo que era en 1915.

Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, Leningrado fue sitiada por las fuerzas armadas de la Alemania nazi (Wehrmacht) desde el 8 de septiembre de 1941 hasta el 27 de enero de 1944, un total de 29 meses. Por orden de Adolf Hitler, la ciudad era constantemente bombardeada y sistemáticamente privada de sus suministros. Se calcula que este asedio produjo la muerte de más de 1.500.000 personas, de las cuales cerca de 1.000.000 eran civiles. El 1 de mayo de 1945 (oficialmente el 8 de mayo de 1965) le fue otorgado a la ciudad el título de Ciudad Heroica.

Antes de la disolución de la Unión Soviética el 12 de junio de 1991, el 54 % de la población decidió restaurar el antiguo nombre de la ciudad, los de 39 calles emblemáticas y los de seis puentes. Tres meses después también se recuperó el escudo concedido a la ciudad por la emperatriz Catalina la Grande en 1780.

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Petersburgo

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/División_administrativa_de_San_Pet...

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centro_histórico_de_San_Petersburgo

 

Please consider leaving a comment if you fave, it is lovely to hear from you! xx

 

Back in Leeds for the Christmas Leeds First Friday,which was really busy and a huge success!

 

In our hotel room ready to go out, with Gemma getting well and truly into the Christmas spirit!

Consider her ways, and be wise.

.. is simply just not enough for me!

Most of the time I consider this old Brazilian man as my "imaginary guru" !!

  

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TOO MANY or TOO MUCH is the topic for 26th July 2011

 

ODC

   

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The Man and Matter Series:

 

The Man and Matter series consist of 12 steel sculptures installed along the Kangaroo Point Cliffs Boardwalk. Originally, these sculptures were commissioned for the riverside promenade of Brisbane’s World Expo '88.

 

Referencing the World Expo '88 theme of ‘Leisure in the Age of Technology’, Cole considers the relationships between humans and technology through simple visual symbology and the redressing of traditional limitations of sculpture.

 

The iconic red figures are a lasting homage to World Expo '88, and a recognition of Brisbane’s advancement into the 21st century.

 

This artwork has recently been restored, as part of Council’s artwork restoration and relocations works for the 30th anniversary.

 

The Kangaroo Point Cliffs:

 

The Kangaroo Point Cliffs below Main Street, River Terrace, and Lower River Terrace, Kangaroo Point, are the remnant evidence of extensive non-indigenous quarrying over 150 years (1826 - 1976). They have played a significant role in the development of the city and port of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, since the 1820s. They are a distinctive landscape feature which, along with the Story Bridge and the Brisbane City Hall, has acquired iconoclastic status in the Brisbane townscape. The cliffs contain the best known outcrop of Brisbane Tuff, the distinctive pink and green building stone used in some of Brisbane's earliest (1820s and 1830s) public buildings; in base courses, retaining walls, side walls, and cellars of 19th century free settlement buildings; and in later municipal and government works such as roadmaking, kerbing, wharves, and marine walls.

 

The Kangaroo Point 'Cliffs' which Aborigines knew prior to European settlement, were steep rocky slopes with boulder outcrops and vegetation. The earliest identified historical reference to the Kangaroo Point Cliffs was made by New South Wales Surveyor-General John Oxley, during his exploration of the Brisbane River in early December 1823, when he noted in his field book a "high, rocky bank" below what is now River Terrace, Kangaroo Point. An 1844 survey plans prepared by surveyor James Warner, the high ground of Kangaroo Point was described as a "bold rocky ridge", much of which is still evident in late 19th century photographs of Kangaroo Point.

 

Following the removal of the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement from Red Cliff Point to the Brisbane River (North Brisbane) around May 1825, the river flats at the northern end of Kangaroo Point were cleared and planted with wheat and maize to supply food for the new settlement, and 1826 Commandant Logan opened a quarry at the base of the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, to supply stone for his building works at North Brisbane. According to Allan Cunningham's August 1829 survey of Brisbane Town, this early quarry was located opposite the Botanical Gardens, at the "highest point of a wooded ridge", in the vicinity of the later Naval Stores. The rock was punted across the river to Stone Wharf, about 150 metres upstream from the present Edward Street ferry landing.

 

The stone quarried from the Kangaroo Point Cliffs was known as 'porphyry (later Brisbane Tuff), a consolidated volcanic ash or rhyolitic ignimbrite deposited during the late Triassic age following a Nuee Ardent (glowing cloud) eruption. These eruptions are generally violent and voluminous and the erupted body moves with great speed for long distances, up to 100km if the relief is sufficient. The Kangaroo Point Cliffs are made up of such a flow or of two almost consecutive flows. These volcanic rocks are of the same age and chemical composition as the more coarsely crystallized Enoggera Granite and other granite bodies north-west of Brisbane. All may have originated from the same parent meltrock and magma in the final stages of consolidation of the eastern Australian mountain belt, 230 - 220 million years ago.

 

During the 1820s and 1830s stone from the Kangaroo Point quarry was used to construct a number of government buildings at the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, including the Commissariat Store (1828-1829) and its William Street retaining wall.

 

Following the closure of the penal colony and the opening of Moreton Bay to free settlement in February 1842, Brisbane's earliest suburb, Kangaroo Point, was surveyed into suburban allotments, auctioned in December 1843. The lower areas of the Point, which had been cleared during the convict era for cropping purposes, and which had easy access to the river, attracted various early industries, including a boiling down works, a soap and candle factory, ship building, foundries, and sawmills. By the 1850s, there were some 80 to 90 houses on the peninsula, including several fine residences along Main Street.

 

From 1842 the Kangaroo Point Quarry was rented to private builders, including John Petrie, until placed under the control of the newly established (September 1859) Brisbane Municipal Council in 1860. By this date, however, only two small quarry faces had been opened - one below Saint Mary's Church and the other below the later TAFE college (now demolished). The Municipal Council continued to sub-lease the quarry to private builders, under whom the quarry mainly supplied stone ballast to ships. This wasteful use of the stone and the manner in which it was quarried was of particular concern to the Rector of Saint Mary's Church located on the cliff above, resulting in the Colonial Government resuming control of the quarry in 1864. By the mid-1880s the quarry face extended a little over 100 metres, or about one-eighth the length of the present worked-out quarry face.

 

In 1880 the entire length of the Kangaroo Point Cliffs below River Terrace from Leopard Street to Saint Mary's Church was placed under control of the Brisbane Municipal Council as a Temporary Reserve for Public Purposes subject to the right of the Government to use it for works in progress and to resume any land it might require for wharfage, railway and quarrying purposes (QGG 26 June 1880). This heralded Government construction in the early 1880s of new coal wharves at the foot of the southern end of the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, adjacent to the South Brisbane Dry Dock. The new wharves were serviced by a branch rail line and siding, which necessitated the cutting back of the Kangaroo Point Cliffs below Lower River Terrace.

 

Until the mid-1880s the export of coal from the West Moreton district was frustrated by a lack of direct access to deep water wharves for bunkering of coal onto ships for export from Brisbane. Coal came into Brisbane and was loaded onto drays for transport to the wharves. To facilitate the more efficient handling of coal for export, various extensions to the railway system were proposed and in 1880 an extension to the Ipswich-Brisbane lin,e branching off at South Brisbane Junction (later known as Corinda) between Sherwood and Oxley, and coming around to Woolloongabba and South Brisbane via Yeerongpilly, was approved. The project included a sidings branch to new coal wharves adjacent to the Dry Dock at South Brisbane. The contract for the wharves and sidings branch was awarded to Acheson Overend & Co. After a number of delays, the line was finally opened in 1884.

 

After construction of the wharf, it was found necessary to remove a bar of rock in the river which prevented the proper use of the two 4.5 tonne (10-ton) steam cranes installed on the wharf. Overend & Co. undertook the removal of the rock bar and constructed an additional 18mx12m (60ft x 40ft) jetty with a 6.8 tonne (15-ton) steam crane for coaling large ocean vessels. Coal traffic from the wharf at South Brisbane flourished and in 1900 additional siding accommodation was constructed and a travelling crane installed replacing crane number 4. This travelling crane dominated the South Brisbane vista along the river for many years. By the mid-20th century oil fuel was replacing coal and the bunkering of coal declined. In 1960 the rails were removed from the wharf and the wharf was demolished in 1974.

 

In 1886 - 1888, as part of Queensland's marine defence strategy, the Colonial Government constructed a depot for the Queensland Marine Defence Force at the foot of the northern end of the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, on the floor of the earlier Kangaroo Point Quarry. Established to provide storage, repair, and training facilities for the colony's modest but growing fleet of marine defence vessels and newly established Naval Brigade, the Depot originally comprised two two-storeyed timber buildings roofed with galvanized corrugated iron and resting on stone foundation walls with concrete footings. These buildings contained lecture rooms; a gun battery for training; store rooms; carpenters' shops; workshops for ship repairs; and a torpedo storeroom/workshop. A wharf was erected in 1887 - 1888, and a flight of timber stairs was constructed 1890 to provide access up the cliff to Amesbury Street and Saint Mary's Church, which served as the Naval Chapel for many years. A concrete boatslip was constructed 1900.

 

The Depot remained the operational base of the Queensland Marine Defence Force until the formation of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) after Federation in 1901. The Kangaroo Point Depot remained the principal training facility for Queensland naval reservists until the construction of a depot at Alice Street in the 1920s. On the 31st of October 1959 the RAN handed over the Kangaroo Point Depot to the Australian Army, which used it to accommodate its 32nd Small Ships Squadron. In 1984 the Army removed its Small Ships Squadron to Bulimba, and the Kangaroo Point Depot was vacated. In 1986/87 the site was transferred to the Brisbane City Council.

 

Only one of the former Naval Depot buildings (No.2 Store) survives. The former Naval Brigade Depot was entered permanently in the Queensland Heritage Register in October 1992.

 

In 1898 the Marine Department opened a new quarry south of the Naval Depot, about halfway along River Terrace, to supply rock for river walls at Hamilton. This was the start of the scheme of dredging and training walls devised by EA Cullen, appointed Engineer of Harbours and Rivers in 1902, to complete the development of the river port of Brisbane. The Department of Harbours and Rivers (later the Department of Harbours and Marine) used the Kangaroo Point Cliffs quarry for marine work until 1976. In the period 1898 to 1919, this work included: the training walls or revetments which contain the dredgings of the reclamation of the tidal flats for industry at Hamilton (1898 - 1900), Doughboy (1900), Coxen Point, and Lytton; the training walls which regulate tidal flow and link Parker, Bulwer, Gibson, and other estuarine islands with the mainland; and the stone pitching of the river banks at the City Botanic Gardens. By 1919, more than half a million tones of stone for these walls had been removed from the Kangaroo Point Quarry. In 1928, stone from the Kangaroo Point Quarry was used to double the height of the Lytton training wall and to shape and maintain other early 20th century training walls. Other Harbours and Marine projects utilising stone from Kangaroo Point included the Manly Boat Harbour and the new port at Fisherman Islands in the 1970s.

 

The rock for these projects was loaded onto punts at the quarry and towed to the work sites. Extensive quarrying by the Marine Department opened the rock face of the Kangaroo Point Cliffs between the Naval Stores at the northern end of the site and the coal wharves at the southern end, creating the dramatic length of perpendicular drop that distinguishes the Kangaroo Point Cliffs today. By 1976, when control of the Brisbane River passed to the Port of Brisbane Authority, most of the available Kangaroo Point rock had been exploited and the quarry was closed.

 

Brisbane Tuff is now exposed along the cliff face, providing an important source of geological information. The quarry floors and ridge of the cliffs are now important public park reserves and enjoyed as places of informal recreation. The cliffs are popular for abseiling and rock climbing, and are valued as a riverside walkway, picnic area, and vantage point - especially for Brisbane River and Southbank festivities.

 

Scout Place, the lookout on the top of the cliffs adjacent to River Terrace, between Llewellyn and Bell Streets, was erected in 1982 to designs prepared by the Brisbane City Council's Landscape Architecture Section, to commemorate seventy-five years of scouting in Queensland.

 

Source: Brisbane City Council World Expo '88 Public Art Trail & Queensland Heritage Register.

When one considers the beating heart of the Australian continent, the mind races to the beautiful red centre and Uluru. But, much to our delight, we finally got to see what could be another special place in the geography of our land, especially the eastern states. Crossing from Mildura in Victoria back to Wentworth which is about 25 kilometres away in New South Wales, you come across the confluence of two great river systems, the Darling which rises with tributaries way to the north in Queensland and the Murray which flows from the east and it’s source in the Great Divide in eastern Victoria. With their various tributaries they drain an enormous portion of the Australian mainland and yet, because Australia is such a dry continent, the driest in fact, the amount of water even in flood would be nowhere near as much as the Mississippi and associated rivers in the United States. The Darling River comes in from the left.

 

The whole area is known as the Murray-Darling Basin and it is a water lifeline for so much of Australian life. It is a political football as infighting continues over the allocation of its waters for the many agricultural, grazing and population centre demands placed on it. It suffers terribly from water degradation and misuse, and environmentally, many of its areas are under stress from various factors right down to the possible impacts of coal seam gas extraction, one of the newest threats. The Darling is rather drier and temperamental given it depends so much on rain in the drier areas of inland Queensland and New South Wales and it’s is not uncommon for it to run dry in parts and in recent times to be the subject of mass fish kills because of the drought and it’s impact on the quality of the remaining water. Some idea of the impact of drought on the Murray can be gained from the fact that the very large Hume Daw, way upstream in proximity to Albury-Wodonga is currently sitting at 14% capacity. Frightening really.

 

The whole history, use and politics of the river is too long and complicated for me to go further on it here. But attached below is a link to Wikipedia and you will also find much more on the web about the river and it’s governance.

 

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray%E2%80%93Darling_basin

Through the shop window at Chmielna Street in Warsaw, Poland

 

SPNC - Year 2 - Instruction # 13:

"Consider other avenues and venture off the pavement" - David Solomons

 

kulbowski.com

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If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged for the New Year!

 

I was tagged by [http://www.flickr.com/photos/bearpicnic] Thanks for the tag!!!

 

1. How long have you been in the BJD hobby?

My first doll, which was a second hand Minifee Soo, arrived July 22, 2011

 

2. How many dolls do you have at home?

5 I guess? But officially 3... I'm trying to sell my Pukifee and I'm not sure what will happen with my floating Chloe head.

 

3. What are their names and sculpts?

Berlin - Minifee Woosoo

Wren - Realpuki Soso

*Unnamed* - Minifee Nanuri 2014

Floating head - Chloe

Outgoing (hopefully) - Pukifee Ante

 

4. Which doll have you had the longest? How long has it been?

Berlin - My Minifee Woosoo arrived in November 2011

 

5. Which doll is your favorite?

I think Berlin. Nanuri doesn't have a name and I'm not sure she is "complete" but I do love her. I really do love all my dollies.

 

6. Are you waiting on any dolls now? If yes, which one(s)?

No dolls incoming. I'm thinking on getting an SD - a Zaoll Luv or a Supia girl but I don't know much about bodies. Realistic posing is very important. I also want a doll that fits lots and lots of clothing options!!!

 

7. What is your grail doll?

I don't think I have one... I do like Juri 08.

 

8. Did you learn something new because of this hobby?

Not really, but I'm totally in it for the photography. I sometimes enjoying doing faceups but I get a little frustrated my when is comes to eyebrows and eyelashes. I wish I was getting better faster!!! I also really love collecting clothes and shoes for the dollies.

 

9. Have you made any friends you might otherwise not have because of this hobby?

I'm trying to get more involved in the community and chatting with other hobbyists on Flickr, DoA and YouTube, so I hope so!!

 

10. What are your doll plans for this coming year?

My plans are to maybe get a SD, continue collecting and photographing dolly clothes. Maybe start making videos?

Consider this a companion piece to yesterday's shot. Got off work a bit early today so I captured the sun going down over Silver Lake.

along Las Conchas Trail

The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, is a triangular 22-story, 285-foot-tall (86.9 m) steel-framed landmarked building located at 175 Fifth Avenue in the eponymous Flatiron District neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan, New York City. Designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick Dinkelberg, it was one of the tallest buildings in the city upon its 1902 completion, at 20 floors high, and one of only two "skyscrapers" north of 14th Street—the other being the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, one block east. The building sits on a triangular block formed by Fifth Avenue, Broadway, and East 22nd Street—where the building's 87-foot (27 m) back end is located—with East 23rd Street grazing the triangle's northern (uptown) peak. As with numerous other wedge-shaped buildings, the name "Flatiron" derives from its resemblance to a cast-iron clothes iron.

 

Called "one of the world's most iconic skyscrapers and a quintessential symbol of New York City", the building anchors the south (downtown) end of Madison Square and the north (uptown) end of the Ladies' Mile Historic District. The neighborhood around it is called the Flatiron District after its signature, iconic building. The building was designated a New York City landmark in 1966, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

 

The Flatiron Building sits on a triangular block formed by Fifth Avenue to the west, Broadway to the east, and East 22nd Street to the south. The western and eastern facades converge, forming a "peak" at its northern corner where Fifth Avenue and Broadway intersect with East 23rd Street. The shape of the site arises from Broadway's diagonal alignment relative to the Manhattan street grid. The site measures 197.5 feet (60.2 m) on Fifth Avenue, 214.5 feet (65.4 m) on Broadway, and 86 feet (26 m) on 22nd Street. Above the ground level, all three corners of the triangle are curved.

 

Adjacent buildings include the Toy Center to the north, the Sohmer Piano Building to the southwest, the Scribner Building to the south, and Madison Green to the southeast. Entrances to the New York City Subway's 23rd Street station, served by the R and ​W trains, are adjacent to the building. The Flatiron Building is at the northern end of the Ladies' Mile Historic District, which extends between 15th Street to the south and 24th Street to the north. By the 1990s, the blocks south of the building had also become known as the Flatiron District

 

At the beginning of March 1901, media outlets reported that the Newhouse family was planning to sell "Eno's flatiron" for about $2 million to Cumberland Realty Company, an investment partnership created by Harry S. Black, CEO of the Fuller Company. The Fuller Company was the first true general contractor that dealt with all aspects of buildings' construction (except for design), and they specialized in erecting skyscrapers. Black intended to construct a new headquarters building on the site, despite the recent deterioration of the surrounding neighborhood. At the end of that March, the Fuller Company organized a subsidiary to develop a building on the site. The sale was finalized in May 1901.

 

Black hired Daniel Burnham's architectural firm to design a 21-story building on the site in February 1901. It would be Burnham's first in New York City, the tallest building in Manhattan north of the Financial District, and the first skyscraper north of Union Square (at 14th Street). The Northwestern Salvage and Wrecking Company began razing the site in May 1901, after the majority of existing tenants' leases had expired. Most of the Cumberland's remaining tenants readily vacated the building in exchange for monetary compensation. The sole holdout was Winfield Scott Proskey, a retired colonel who refused to move out until his lease expired later that year. Cumberland Realty unsuccessfully attempted to deactivate Proskey's water and gas supply, and Proskey continued to live in the Cumberland while contractors demolished all of the surrounding apartments. By the end of May 1901, Cumberland Realty discovered that Proskey was bankrupt, and his creditors took over the lease and razed the rest of the Cumberland that June.

 

The New York Herald published an image of the site on June 2, 1901, with the caption "Flatiron Building". The project's structural engineer, Corydon Purdy, filed plans for a 20-story building on the site were filed that August. The Flatiron Building was not the first building of its triangular ground-plan, although it was the largest at the time of its completion. Earlier buildings with a similar shape include a triangular Roman temple built on a similarly constricted site in the city of Verulamium, Britannia; Bridge House, Leeds, England (1875); the I.O.O.F. Centennial Building (1876) in Alpena, Michigan; and the English-American Building in Atlanta (1897). The Real Estate Record and Guide published a drawing of the building in October 1901; though the drawing was captioned "The Cumberland", it was very similar to the Flatiron Building's final design.

 

The Atlantic Terra Cotta Company began producing architectural terracotta pieces for the building in August 1901. Around the same time, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) indicated that it would refuse to approve Purdy's initial plans unless the engineers submitted detailed information about the framework, fireproofing, and wind-bracing systems. Purdy complied with most of the DOB's requests, submitting detailed drawings and documents, but he balked at the department's requirement that the design include fire escapes. For reasons that are unclear, the DOB dropped its requirement that the building contain fire escapes. In addition, the building was originally legally required to contain metal-framed windows, although this would have increased the cost of construction. The city's Board of Building Commissioners had granted an exemption to Black's syndicate, prompting allegations of favoritism. A new Buildings Department commissioner was appointed at the beginning of 1902, promising to enforce city building codes; this prompted general contractor Thompson–Starrett Co. to announce that the building's window frames would be made of fireproof wood with a copper coating.

 

The building's steel frame was manufactured by the American Bridge Company in Pennsylvania. The frame had risen above street level by January 1902. Construction was then halted for several weeks, first because of a delay in steel shipments, then because of a blizzard that occurred in February. Further delays were caused by a strike at the factory of Hecla Iron Works, which was manufacturing elevators and handrails for the building. The steel was so meticulously pre-cut that, according to The New York Times, the steel pieces could be connected "without so much as the alteration of a bored hole, or the exchange of a tiny rivet". Workers used air-powered tools to rivet the steel beams together, since such equipment was more efficient than steam-powered tools at conducting power over long distances. The frame was complete by February 1902, and workers began installing the terracotta tiles as the framework of the top stories were being finished. By mid-May, the building was half-covered by terracotta tiling. The terracotta work was completed the next month, and the scaffolding in front of the building was removed. The Fifth Avenue Building Company had invested $1.5 million in the project.

 

Officials of the Fuller Company announced in August 1902 that the structure would be officially named after George A. Fuller, founder of the Fuller Company and "father of the skyscraper", who had died two years earlier. By then, the site had been known as the "flatiron" for several years; according to Christopher Gray of The New York Times, Burnham's and Fuller's architectural drawings even labeled the structure as the "Flatiron Building". Although the Fuller name was used for some time after the building's completion, locals persisted in calling it the Flatiron, to the displeasure of Harry Black and the building's contractors. In subsequent years, the edifice officially came to be known as the Flatiron Building, and the Fuller name was transferred to a newer 40-story structure at 597 Madison Avenue.

 

In the weeks before the official opening, the Fuller Company distributed six-page brochures to potential tenants and real-estate brokers. The brochures advertised the building as being "ready for occupancy" on October 1, 1902. The Fuller Company took the 19th floor for its headquarters. When completed, the Flatiron Building was much taller than others in the neighborhood; when New York City Fire Department officials tested the building's standpipes in November 1902, they found that "the 'flat-iron' building would be of great aid in fighting the fire" in any surrounding buildings. Following the building's completion, the surrounding neighborhood evolved from an entertainment district to a commercial hub. Initially, the building was topped by a flagpole, which was maintained by one man, "Steeplejack" Kay, for four decades. Henry Clay Frick expressed interest in purchasing the structure in 1904 for $5 million, but he ultimately withdrew his offer.

 

During the building's construction, Black had suggested that the "cowcatcher" retail space be installed at the northern tip of the building, occupying 93 square feet (8.6 m2) of unused space at the extreme northern end of the lot. This would maximize use of the building's lot and produce some retail income. Burnham initially refused to consider Black's suggestion, and, in April 1902, Black asked a draftsman at the Fuller Company to draw up plans for the retail space. Black submitted plans for the annex to the DOB in May 1902. The DOB rejected the initial plans because the walls were too thin, but the department approved a revised proposal that June, to Burnham's disapproval. The retail space in the "cowcatcher" was leased by United Cigar Stores.

 

Another addition to the building not in the original plan was the penthouse, which was constructed after the rest of the building had been completed. By 1905, the Fuller Company needed to expand its technical drawing facilities. As a result, the company filed plans for a penthouse with the New York City Department of Buildings that March. The penthouse would cost $10,000 and would include fireproof partitions and a staircase from the existing 20th floor. The penthouse, intended for use as artists' studios, was quickly rented out to artists such as Louis Fancher, many of whom contributed to the pulp magazines which were produced in the offices below.

 

New York, often called New York City or simply NYC, is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each of which is coextensive with a respective county. It is a global city and a cultural, financial, high-tech, entertainment, and media center with a significant influence on commerce, health care, scientific output, life sciences, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, dining, art, fashion, and sports. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy, and is sometimes described as the world's most important city and the capital of the world.

 

With an estimated population in 2022 of 8,335,897 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km2), the city is the most densely populated major city in the United States. New York has more than double the population of Los Angeles, the nation's second-most populous city. New York is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. by both population and urban area. With more than 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York City is one of the world's most populous megacities. The city and its metropolitan area are the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. In 2021, the city was home to nearly 3.1 million residents born outside the U.S., the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world.

 

New York City traces its origins to Fort Amsterdam and a trading post founded on the southern tip of Manhattan Island by Dutch colonists in approximately 1624. The settlement was named New Amsterdam (Dutch: Nieuw Amsterdam) in 1626 and was chartered as a city in 1653. The city came under English control in 1664 and was renamed New York after King Charles II granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York. The city was temporarily regained by the Dutch in July 1673 and was renamed New Orange; however, the city has been named New York since November 1674. New York City was the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. The modern city was formed by the 1898 consolidation of its five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island, and has been the largest U.S. city ever since.

 

Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City has been called both the world's premier financial and fintech center and the most economically powerful city in the world. As of 2022, the New York metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan economy in the world with a gross metropolitan product of over US$2.16 trillion. If the New York metropolitan area were its own country, it would have the tenth-largest economy in the world. The city is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by market capitalization of their listed companies: the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. New York City is an established safe haven for global investors. As of 2023, New York City is the most expensive city in the world for expatriates to live. New York City is home to the highest number of billionaires, individuals of ultra-high net worth (greater than US$30 million), and millionaires of any city in the world

 

The written history of New York City began with the first European explorer, the Italian Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. European settlement began with the Dutch in 1608 and New Amsterdam was founded in 1624.

 

The "Sons of Liberty" campaigned against British authority in New York City, and the Stamp Act Congress of representatives from throughout the Thirteen Colonies met in the city in 1765 to organize resistance to Crown policies. The city's strategic location and status as a major seaport made it the prime target for British seizure in 1776. General George Washington lost a series of battles from which he narrowly escaped (with the notable exception of the Battle of Harlem Heights, his first victory of the war), and the British Army occupied New York and made it their base on the continent until late 1783, attracting Loyalist refugees.

 

The city served as the national capital under the Articles of Confederation from 1785 to 1789, and briefly served as the new nation's capital in 1789–90 under the United States Constitution. Under the new government, the city hosted the inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States, the drafting of the United States Bill of Rights, and the first Supreme Court of the United States. The opening of the Erie Canal gave excellent steamboat connections with upstate New York and the Great Lakes, along with coastal traffic to lower New England, making the city the preeminent port on the Atlantic Ocean. The arrival of rail connections to the north and west in the 1840s and 1850s strengthened its central role.

 

Beginning in the mid-19th century, waves of new immigrants arrived from Europe dramatically changing the composition of the city and serving as workers in the expanding industries. Modern New York traces its development to the consolidation of the five boroughs in 1898 and an economic and building boom following the Great Depression and World War II. Throughout its history, New York has served as a main port of entry for many immigrants, and its cultural and economic influence has made it one of the most important urban areas in the United States and the world. The economy in the 1700s was based on farming, local production, fur trading, and Atlantic jobs like shipbuilding. In the 1700s, New York was sometimes referred to as a breadbasket colony, because one of its major crops was wheat. New York colony also exported other goods included iron ore as a raw material and as manufactured goods such as tools, plows, nails and kitchen items such as kettles, pans and pots.

 

The area that eventually encompassed modern day New York was inhabited by the Lenape people. These groups of culturally and linguistically related Native Americans traditionally spoke an Algonquian language now referred to as Unami. Early European settlers called bands of Lenape by the Unami place name for where they lived, such as "Raritan" in Staten Island and New Jersey, "Canarsee" in Brooklyn, and "Hackensack" in New Jersey across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan. Some modern place names such as Raritan Bay and Canarsie are derived from Lenape names. Eastern Long Island neighbors were culturally and linguistically more closely related to the Mohegan-Pequot peoples of New England who spoke the Mohegan-Montauk-Narragansett language.

 

These peoples made use of the abundant waterways in the New York region for fishing, hunting trips, trade, and occasionally war. Many paths created by the indigenous peoples are now main thoroughfares, such as Broadway in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Westchester. The Lenape developed sophisticated techniques of hunting and managing their resources. By the time of the arrival of Europeans, they were cultivating fields of vegetation through the slash and burn technique, which extended the productive life of planted fields. They also harvested vast quantities of fish and shellfish from the bay. Historians estimate that at the time of European settlement, approximately 5,000 Lenape lived in 80 settlements around the region.

 

The first European visitor to the area was Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian in command of the French ship La Dauphine in 1524. It is believed he sailed into Upper New York Bay, where he encountered native Lenape, returned through the Narrows, where he anchored the night of April 17, and left to continue his voyage. He named the area New Angoulême (La Nouvelle-Angoulême) in honor of Francis I, King of France of the royal house of Valois-Angoulême and who had been Count of Angoulême from 1496 until his coronation in 1515. The name refers to the town of Angoulême, in the Charente département of France. For the next century, the area was occasionally visited by fur traders or explorers, such as by Esteban Gomez in 1525.

 

European exploration continued on September 2, 1609, when the Englishman Henry Hudson, in the employ of the Dutch East India Company, sailed the Half Moon through the Narrows into Upper New York Bay. Like Christopher Columbus, Hudson was looking for a westerly passage to Asia. He never found one, but he did take note of the abundant beaver population. Beaver pelts were in fashion in Europe, fueling a lucrative business. Hudson's report on the regional beaver population served as the impetus for the founding of Dutch trading colonies in the New World. The beaver's importance in New York's history is reflected by its use on the city's official seal.

 

The first Dutch fur trading posts and settlements were in 1614 near present-day Albany, New York, the same year that New Netherland first appeared on maps. Only in May 1624 did the Dutch West India Company land a number of families at Noten Eylant (today's Governors Island) off the southern tip of Manhattan at the mouth of the North River (today's Hudson River). Soon thereafter, most likely in 1626, construction of Fort Amsterdam began. Later, the Dutch West Indies Company imported African slaves to serve as laborers; they were forced to build the wall that defended the town against English and Indian attacks. Early directors included Willem Verhulst and Peter Minuit. Willem Kieft became director in 1638 but five years later was embroiled in Kieft's War against the Native Americans. The Pavonia Massacre, across the Hudson River in present-day Jersey City, resulted in the death of 80 natives in February 1643. Following the massacre, Algonquian tribes joined forces and nearly defeated the Dutch. Holland sent additional forces to the aid of Kieft, leading to the overwhelming defeat of the Native Americans and a peace treaty on August 29, 1645.

 

On May 27, 1647, Peter Stuyvesant was inaugurated as director general upon his arrival and ruled as a member of the Dutch Reformed Church. The colony was granted self-government in 1652, and New Amsterdam was incorporated as a city on February 2, 1653. The first mayors (burgemeesters) of New Amsterdam, Arent van Hattem and Martin Cregier, were appointed in that year. By the early 1660s, the population consisted of approximately 1500 Europeans, only about half of whom were Dutch, and 375 Africans, 300 of whom were slaves.

 

A few of the original Dutch place names have been retained, most notably Flushing (after the Dutch town of Vlissingen), Harlem (after Haarlem), and Brooklyn (after Breukelen). Few buildings, however, remain from the 17th century. The oldest recorded house still in existence in New York, the Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House in Brooklyn, dates from 1652.

 

On August 27, 1664, four English frigates under the command of Col. Richard Nicolls sailed into New Amsterdam's harbor and demanded New Netherland's surrender, as part of an effort by King Charles II's brother James, Duke of York, the Lord High Admiral to provoke the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Two weeks later, Stuyvesant officially capitulated by signing Articles of Surrender and in June 1665, the town was reincorporated under English law and renamed "New York" after the Duke, and Fort Orange was renamed "Fort Albany". The war ended in a Dutch victory in 1667, but the colony remained under English rule as stipulated in the Treaty of Breda. During the Third Anglo-Dutch War, the Dutch briefly recaptured the city in 1673, renaming the city "New Orange", before permanently ceding the colony of New Netherland to England for what is now Suriname in November 1674 at the Treaty of Westminster.

 

The colony benefited from increased immigration from Europe and its population grew faster. The Bolting Act of 1678, whereby no mill outside the city was permitted to grind wheat or corn, boosted growth until its repeal in 1694, increasing the number of houses over the period from 384 to 983.

 

In the context of the Glorious Revolution in England, Jacob Leisler led Leisler's Rebellion and effectively controlled the city and surrounding areas from 1689 to 1691, before being arrested and executed.

 

Lawyers

In New York at first, legal practitioners were full-time businessmen and merchants, with no legal training, who had watched a few court proceedings, and mostly used their own common sense together with snippets they had picked up about English law. Court proceedings were quite informal, for the judges had no more training than the attorneys.

 

By the 1760s, the situation had dramatically changed. Lawyers were essential to the rapidly growing international trade, dealing with questions of partnerships, contracts, and insurance. The sums of money involved were large, and hiring an incompetent lawyer was a very expensive proposition. Lawyers were now professionally trained, and conversant in an extremely complex language that combined highly specific legal terms and motions with a dose of Latin. Court proceedings became a baffling mystery to the ordinary layman. Lawyers became more specialized and built their reputation, and their fee schedule, on the basis of their reputation for success. But as their status, wealth and power rose, animosity grew even faster. By the 1750s and 1760s, there was a widespread attack ridiculing and demeaning the lawyers as pettifoggers (lawyers lacking sound legal skills). Their image and influence declined. The lawyers organized a bar association, but it fell apart in 1768 during the bitter political dispute between the factions based in the Delancey and Livingston families. A large fraction of the prominent lawyers were Loyalists; their clientele was often to royal authority or British merchants and financiers. They were not allowed to practice law unless they took a loyalty oath to the new United States of America. Many went to Britain or Canada (primarily to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) after losing the war.

 

For the next century, various attempts were made, and failed, to build an effective organization of lawyers. Finally a Bar Association emerged in 1869 that proved successful and continues to operate.

 

By 1700, the Lenape population of New York had diminished to 200. The Dutch West Indies Company transported African slaves to the post as trading laborers used to build the fort and stockade, and some gained freedom under the Dutch. After the seizure of the colony in 1664, the slave trade continued to be legal. In 1703, 42% of the New York households had slaves; they served as domestic servants and laborers but also became involved in skilled trades, shipping and other fields. Yet following reform in ethics according to American Enlightenment thought, by the 1770s slaves made up less than 25% of the population.

 

By the 1740s, 20% of the residents of New York were slaves, totaling about 2,500 people.

 

After a series of fires in 1741, the city panicked over rumors of its black population conspiring with some poor whites to burn the city. Historians believe their alarm was mostly fabrication and fear, but officials rounded up 31 black and 4 white people, who over a period of months were convicted of arson. Of these, the city executed 13 black people by burning them alive and hanged the remainder of those incriminated.

 

The Stamp Act and other British measures fomented dissent, particularly among Sons of Liberty who maintained a long-running skirmish with locally stationed British troops over Liberty Poles from 1766 to 1776. The Stamp Act Congress met in New York City in 1765 in the first organized resistance to British authority across the colonies. After the major defeat of the Continental Army in the Battle of Long Island in late 1776, General George Washington withdrew to Manhattan Island, but with the subsequent defeat at the Battle of Fort Washington the island was effectively left to the British. The city became a haven for loyalist refugees, becoming a British stronghold for the entire war. Consequently, the area also became the focal point for Washington's espionage and intelligence-gathering throughout the war.

 

New York was greatly damaged twice by fires of suspicious origin, with the Loyalists and Patriots accusing each other of starting the conflagration. The city became the political and military center of operations for the British in North America for the remainder of the war. Continental Army officer Nathan Hale was hanged in Manhattan for espionage. In addition, the British began to hold the majority of captured American prisoners of war aboard prison ships in Wallabout Bay, across the East River in Brooklyn. More Americans lost their lives aboard these ships than died in all the battles of the war. The British occupation lasted until November 25, 1783. George Washington triumphantly returned to the city that day, as the last British forces left the city.

 

Starting in 1785 the Congress met in the city of New York under the Articles of Confederation. In 1789, New York became the first national capital under the new Constitution. The Constitution also created the current Congress of the United States, and its first sitting was at Federal Hall on Wall Street. The first Supreme Court sat there. The United States Bill of Rights was drafted and ratified there. George Washington was inaugurated at Federal Hall. New York remained the national capital until 1790, when the role was transferred to Philadelphia.

 

During the 19th century, the city was transformed by immigration, a visionary development proposal called the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 which expanded the city street grid to encompass all of Manhattan, and the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, which connected the Atlantic port to the vast agricultural markets of the Midwestern United States and Canada. By 1835, New York had surpassed Philadelphia as the largest city in the United States. New York grew as an economic center, first as a result of Alexander Hamilton's policies and practices as the first Secretary of the Treasury.

 

In 1842, water was piped from a reservoir to supply the city for the first time.

 

The Great Irish Famine (1845–1850) brought a large influx of Irish immigrants, and by 1850 the Irish comprised one quarter of the city's population. Government institutions, including the New York City Police Department and the public schools, were established in the 1840s and 1850s to respond to growing demands of residents. In 1831, New York University was founded by U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin as a non-denominal institution surrounding Washington Square Park.

 

This period started with the 1855 inauguration of Fernando Wood as the first mayor from Tammany Hall. It was the political machine based among Irish Americans that controlled the local Democratic Party. It usually dominated local politics throughout this period and into the 1930s. Public-minded members of the merchant community pressed for a Central Park, which was opened to a design competition in 1857; it became the first landscape park in an American city.

 

During the American Civil War (1861–1865), the city was affected by its history of strong commercial ties to the South; before the war, half of its exports were related to cotton, including textiles from upstate mills. Together with its growing immigrant population, which was angry about conscription, sympathies among residents were divided for both the Union and Confederacy at the outbreak of war. Tensions related to the war culminated in the Draft Riots of 1863 led by Irish Catholics, who attacked black neighborhood and abolitionist homes. Many blacks left the city and moved to Brooklyn. After the Civil War, the rate of immigration from Europe grew steeply, and New York became the first stop for millions seeking a new and better life in the United States, a role acknowledged by the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in 1886.

 

From 1890 to 1930, the largest cities, led by New York, were the focus of international attention. The skyscrapers and tourist attractions were widely publicized. Suburbs were emerging as bedroom communities for commuters to the central city. San Francisco dominated the West, Atlanta dominated the South, Boston dominated New England; Chicago dominated the Midwest United States. New York City dominated the entire nation in terms of communications, trade, finance, popular culture, and high culture. More than a fourth of the 300 largest corporations in 1920 were headquartered here.

 

In 1898, the modern City of New York was formed with the consolidation of Brooklyn (until then an independent city), Manhattan, and outlying areas. Manhattan and the Bronx were established as two separate boroughs and joined with three other boroughs created from parts of adjacent counties to form the new municipal government originally called "Greater New York". The Borough of Brooklyn incorporated the independent City of Brooklyn, recently joined to Manhattan by the Brooklyn Bridge; the Borough of Queens was created from western Queens County (with the remnant established as Nassau County in 1899); and the Borough of Richmond contained all of Richmond County. Municipal governments contained within the boroughs were abolished, and the county governmental functions were absorbed by the city or each borough. In 1914, the New York State Legislature created Bronx County, making five counties coterminous with the five boroughs.

 

The Bronx had a steady boom period during 1898–1929, with a population growth by a factor of six from 200,000 in 1900 to 1.3 million in 1930. The Great Depression created a surge of unemployment, especially among the working class, and a slow-down of growth.

 

On June 15, 1904, over 1,000 people, mostly German immigrant women and children, were killed when the excursion steamship General Slocum caught fire and sank. It is the city's worst maritime disaster. On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Greenwich Village took the lives of 146 garment workers. In response, the city made great advancements in the fire department, building codes, and workplace regulations.

 

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the city became a world center for industry, commerce, and communication, marking its rising influence with such events as the Hudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909. Interborough Rapid Transit (the first New York City Subway company) began operating in 1904, and the railroads operating out of Grand Central Terminal and Pennsylvania Station thrived.

 

From 1918 to 1920, New York City was affected by the largest rent strike wave in its history. Somewhere between several 10,000's and 100,000's of tenants struck across the city. A WW1 housing and coal shortage sparked the strikes. It became marked both by occasional violent scuffles and the Red Scare.  It would lead to the passage of the first rent laws in the nations history.

 

The city was a destination for internal migrants as well as immigrants. Through 1940, New York was a major destination for African Americans during the Great Migration from the rural American South. The Harlem Renaissance flourished during the 1920s and the era of Prohibition. New York's ever accelerating changes and rising crime and poverty rates were reduced after World War I disrupted trade routes, the Immigration Restriction Acts limited additional immigration after the war, and the Great Depression reduced the need for new labor. The combination ended the rule of the Gilded Age barons. As the city's demographics temporarily stabilized, labor unionization helped the working class gain new protections and middle-class affluence, the city's government and infrastructure underwent a dramatic overhaul under Fiorello La Guardia, and his controversial parks commissioner, Robert Moses, ended the blight of many tenement areas, expanded new parks, remade streets, and restricted and reorganized zoning controls.

 

For a while, New York ranked as the most populous city in the world, overtaking London in 1925, which had reigned for a century.[58] During the difficult years of the Great Depression, the reformer Fiorello La Guardia was elected as mayor, and Tammany Hall fell after eighty years of political dominance.

 

Despite the effects of the Great Depression, some of the world's tallest skyscrapers were built during the 1930s. Art Deco architecture—such as the iconic Chrysler Building, Empire State Building, and 30 Rockefeller Plaza— came to define the city's skyline. The construction of the Rockefeller Center occurred in the 1930s and was the largest-ever private development project at the time. Both before and especially after World War II, vast areas of the city were also reshaped by the construction of bridges, parks and parkways coordinated by Robert Moses, the greatest proponent of automobile-centered modernist urbanism in America.

 

Returning World War II veterans and immigrants from Europe created a postwar economic boom. Demands for new housing were aided by the G.I. Bill for veterans, stimulating the development of huge suburban tracts in eastern Queens and Nassau County. The city was extensively photographed during the post–war years by photographer Todd Webb.

 

New York emerged from the war as the leading city of the world, with Wall Street leading the United States ascendancy. In 1951, the United Nations relocated from its first headquarters in Flushing Meadows Park, Queens, to the East Side of Manhattan. During the late 1960s, the views of real estate developer and city leader Robert Moses began to fall out of favor as the anti-urban renewal views of Jane Jacobs gained popularity. Citizen rebellion stopped a plan to construct an expressway through Lower Manhattan.

 

After a short war boom, the Bronx declined from 1950 to 1985, going from predominantly moderate-income to mostly lower-income, with high rates of violent crime and poverty. The Bronx has experienced an economic and developmental resurgence starting in the late 1980s that continues into today.

 

The transition away from the industrial base toward a service economy picked up speed, while the jobs in the large shipbuilding and garment industries declined sharply. The ports converted to container ships, costing many traditional jobs among longshoremen. Many large corporations moved their headquarters to the suburbs or to distant cities. At the same time, there was enormous growth in services, especially finance, education, medicine, tourism, communications and law. New York remained the largest city and largest metropolitan area in the United States, and continued as its largest financial, commercial, information, and cultural center.

 

Like many major U.S. cities, New York suffered race riots, gang wars and some population decline in the late 1960s. Street activists and minority groups such as the Black Panthers and Young Lords organized rent strikes and garbage offensives, demanding improved city services for poor areas. They also set up free health clinics and other programs, as a guide for organizing and gaining "Power to the People." By the 1970s the city had gained a reputation as a crime-ridden relic of history. In 1975, the city government avoided bankruptcy only through a federal loan and debt restructuring by the Municipal Assistance Corporation, headed by Felix Rohatyn. The city was also forced to accept increased financial scrutiny by an agency of New York State. In 1977, the city was struck by the New York City blackout of 1977 and serial slayings by the Son of Sam.

 

The 1980s began a rebirth of Wall Street, and the city reclaimed its role at the center of the worldwide financial industry. Unemployment and crime remained high, the latter reaching peak levels in some categories around the close of the decade and the beginning of the 1990s. Neighborhood restoration projects funded by the city and state had very good effects for New York, especially Bedford-Stuyvesant, Harlem, and The Bronx. The city later resumed its social and economic recovery, bolstered by the influx of Asians, Latin Americans, and U.S. citizens, and by new crime-fighting techniques on the part of the New York Police Department. In 1989, New York City elected its first African American Mayor, David Dinkins. He came out of the Harlem Clubhouse.

 

In the late 1990s, the city benefited from the nationwide fall of violent crime rates, the resurgence of the finance industry, and the growth of the "Silicon Alley", during the dot com boom, one of the factors in a decade of booming real estate values. New York was also able to attract more business and convert abandoned industrialized neighborhoods into arts or attractive residential neighborhoods; examples include the Meatpacking District and Chelsea (in Manhattan) and Williamsburg (in Brooklyn).

 

New York's population reached an all-time high in the 2000 census; according to census estimates since 2000, the city has continued to grow, including rapid growth in the most urbanized borough, Manhattan. During this period, New York City was a site of the September 11 attacks of 2001; 2,606 people who were in the towers and in the surrounding area were killed by a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, an event considered highly traumatic for the city but which did not stop the city's rapid regrowth. On November 3, 2014, One World Trade Center opened on the site of the attack. Hurricane Sandy brought a destructive storm surge to New York in the evening of October 29, 2012, flooding numerous streets, tunnels, and subway lines in Lower Manhattan. It flooded low-lying areas of Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Electrical power was lost in many parts of the city and its suburbs.

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A new eBay purchase, a pretty blue V-necked skater dress. Only worn in the house though, this was a night in.

Considerando que la libertad, la justicia y la paz en el mundo tienen por base el reconocimiento de la dignidad intrínseca y de los derechos iguales e inalienables de todos los miembros de la familia humana;

 

Considerando que el desconocimiento y el menosprecio de los derechos humanos han originado actos de barbarie ultrajantes para la conciencia de la humanidad, y que se ha proclamado, como la aspiración más elevada del hombre, el advenimiento de un mundo en que los seres humanos, liberados del temor y de la miseria, disfruten de la libertad de palabra y de la libertad de creencias;

 

Considerando esencial que los derechos humanos sean protegidos por un régimen de Derecho, a fin de que el hombre no se vea compelido al supremo recurso de la rebelión contra la tiranía y la opresión;

 

Parte del preámbulo de la DUDDHH

  

Bandera multicolor, rua del día del orgullo gay en Barcelona. Reclamando su normalidad

Mobius Arch Alabama Hills Nonlocal Light Cone Entanglement Spacetime Sculpture dx4/dt=ic -- Elliot McGucken Drone Light Painting Fine Art Landscape Photography Logos Fuji GFX100s! Lone Pine California Long Exposure Night Photography DJI Mavic 2 Pro Light Cones UFOs

 

The "Nonlocal Light Cone Entanglement" fine art photography series celebrates my physics theory: Light, Time, Dimension Theory dx4/dt=ic: The fourth dimension is expanding at the velocity of light c, giving rise to quantum nonlocality and entanglement, as well as relativity.

 

Please read more about my theoretical physics research here:

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I've penned a few books centered around Light, Time, Dimension Theory dx4/dt=ic:

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Proof of the Nonlocality of a Light Cone’s Surface:

geni.us/mcgucken-light-cone

 

Consider a pair of entangled photons which travel in opposite directions from the origin in the x1, x2 plane.

 

No matter how far apart they travel, they will remain entangled, meaning that their two positions will define a nonlocality.

 

Now consider numerous entangled pairs of photons, wherein the two photons in each pair travel away from the origin in opposite directions.

 

Together, the positions of the photons in all the entangled pairs of photons will by and by define a circle of nonlocality as the number of pairs of photons approaches infinity.

 

Now consider a third axis which is time. Together, the positions of the photons in all the entangled pairs of photons will define a conical surface of nonlocality.

 

Ergo, the surface of a light cone is a nonlocality.

 

The surface of a light cone is thus nonlocal.

 

QED

 

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All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .

 

Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

 

Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q

 

"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir

 

Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism

 

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir

 

Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey

 

“The mountains are calling and I must go.” --John Muir

 

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Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ... Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!

 

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Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!

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Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!

 

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A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)

 

All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)

 

The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)

 

Best wishes on your Epic Odyssey!

 

Homer: Tell me, O muse, of that ingenious hero who traveled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy. Many cities did he visit, and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was acquainted; moreover he suffered much by sea while trying to save his own life and bring his men safely home. . . --Homer's Odyssey, Book I

 

Photographs available as epic fine art luxury prints. For prints and licensing information, please send me a flickr mail or contact drelliot@gmail.com with your queries! All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey!

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After attending the wedding itself in 'drab' (trousers, shirt, tie and shoes - boy clothes are drab!), I loved going to the evening reception in a pretty dress!

 

With my lovely friends Steve and Sally.

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La iglesia de Santa María de Bendones situada en el centro de la aldea Bendones, parroquia perteneciente al municipio de Oviedo (Asturias, España) es un templo construido entre 792 y 842, considerado una de las joyas del arte prerrománico asturiano.

Fue declarada monumento nacional en diciembre del año 1958.

Su construcción no está bien definida en el tiempo ya que no se conserva ningún documento en el que quede reflejado el año de su construcción, pero gracias a su estilo la podemos datar dentro de la época del reinado de Alfonso II de Asturias, debido a su gran similitud con otra obra prerrománica del municipio de Oviedo como es San Julián de los Prados. Durante el reinado de Alfonso III de Asturias se halla la primera base documental del templo ya que viene reflejada en un documento de donación del templo por parte del monarca a la catedral de Oviedo.Durante la guerra civil sufrió grandes daños que acabaron con un incendio en el año 1936, con lo que la iglesia se derrumbó parcialmente, quedando en el olvido hasta que en el año 1954, Joaquín Manzanares, cronista oficial de Asturias y director del Tabularium Artis Asturiensis descubrió sus ruinas y se puso a trabajar en la restauración que le llevó cuatro años de trabajo bajo la dirección del arquitecto Luis Menéndez Pidal. En ese mismo año su valía es reconocida cuando se le otorga el reconocimiento de monumento nacional.

 

Este templo prerrómanico tiene un claro parentesco con San Julián de los Prados o Santullano, tiene planta rectangular, distribuida de la siguiente forma: Un pórtico de ingreso, que es triple, está formado por un arco de medio punto, pilares y contrafuertes, tras este pórtico descendemos hasta la nave de menor altura y más ancha que larga. La nave tiene al sur y al norte dos segmentos o capillas rectangulares, que a su vez están también a menos altura que la nave y el cabecero ó ábside con tres capillas. En esta capilla mayor se encuentra la ara prerrománica, segunda más antigua de las existentes, después de la de Santianes de Pravia. En la capilla sur se encuentra el altar original de la iglesia que todavía mantiene restos de decoración pictórica.

En el exterior del templo, en la esquina suroeste se encuentra una torre campanario de forma rectangular, también se ven celosías reconstruidas que iluminan a la nave central. El techo de la iglesia está cubierto con madera en todos los segmentos (nave transversal y capillas laterales) excepto en el ábside, que está rematado con una bóveda de cañón. Como otros templos prerrománicos también estuvo decorada con pinturas murales, desgraciadamente sólo se conservan pequeños restos sobre el arco situado en el lado sur de la iglesia y en la que se puede ver una espiga saliendo de una copa en colores amarillo y rojo silueteados en negro

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A wonderful picture compilation of our weekend out and about in Hull. All credit for these goes to Gemma - thank you for all the time you put in to this!

 

In two parts due to Flickr restrictions. See it complete on Gemma's Youtube channel: youtu.be/q2Fq0m4HacY

 

There are so many amazing memories for both of us in this - out and about in town, at a park feeding the geese, pub lunches, shopping, catching a bus, plus all of our nights out at Fuel and Propaganda!

 

Such a special weekend, I will remember it for ever!

One thing a lot of people know about me is that I’m an early bird. It’s partly how much I love watching the rest of the world get up and to be honest I’m just physically incapable of sleeping in. Almost everyday I’m awake between 4am and 5am. I like to think I get more done than a lot of others do before their morning coffee. I check emails, schedule meetings, post pictures and there is one daily ritual that I consider to be an key to my portfolio of postcard greetings from around the world. That is my routine morning walk – Room 602 at the Hotel Mirador, Barcelona, Spain.