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A talented student showcases her artistic ability in Creative Clay Creations as she sculpts an elephant.
2012 Kids’ College, offered through JCC's Center for Continuing Education.
While President Magsaysay continued using the Executive Office for official meetings, he preferred a more informal style, dropping the use of the Council of State Room for cabinet meetings in favor of unstructured conferences in the Family Dining Room.
(Photo and text from Malacañan Palace: The Official Illustrated History)
We’re continuing to ensure we’re prepared to keep you safe at the thousand-plus large-scale events that we police in Greater Manchester every year with the specialist training of hundreds of our officers.
Our rigorous week-long public order training programme has been nationally-recognised as properly equipping us for a whole variety of events – such as sporting fixtures, festivals, carnivals, and protests – to maintain order in circumstances where there is a risk to ourselves and the public.
Each year we police around 1200 such events in GM that mostly pass without any significant incident; however, we ensure that in the rare instances issues do arise, we have officers specially trained in maintaining order with the tactics and skills to keep the wider public and our officers safe.
As well as putting 500 new officers through their paces every year, we have many more experienced officers who also go through the intensive course to refresh their knowledge and skills so that we have the necessary number of qualified cops to be deployed to such big events.
Chief Inspector Kirsten Buggy, of our Specialist Operational Training, People and Development Branch said: “All our officers will police major events given the nature of serving for one of the largest communities in the country, but we also ensure that a high amount of those officers is trained in using the enhanced tactics that may be needed on some occasions.
“Part of the training our officers do here is very-much a last resort and can seem excessive to some, but we’ve seen in the past how valuably important it is that we can call on such an insurance policy for the rare situations where public order needs to be regained and maintained to keep you safe.
“This is the kind of policing that goes to show just how brave and committed our officers are at being on the front line and doing what they can to keep communities safe from those who may look to cause harm, and year-on-year we’re making sure that more of our officers gain the experience that this vital training can offer to the benefit of us all.”
We’re currently recruiting more officers than ever – fancy joining our team too? Find out how you can here: www.gmp.police.uk/recruitment
©Russell Pritchard 9th August 2013
2013 World Police and Fire Games continue across Belfast and Northern Ireland.
Dodgeball at Queens PEB, Belfast
Northern Ireland Fire Service Dale Ashford
©Russell Pritchard / Presseye
Continuing the theme of my being super-slow to process or edit anything shot on film lately, this random lot o' things is totally empty these days.
I liked how casual these two were. Cosplay doesn't have to be intense in order to be effective and enjoyable.
(I also like the fact that his wings stuck out behind him. Some choices work out well for the person with the camera.)
Interesting, isn't it, that genderflipping isn't even a "thing" any more. If he wants to wear the wings and she wants to wear the horns, why not? It's still "Saga."
Still too wet to go out a shoot much here in "sunny" Southern California.
These are the Enkei NT03+M's on my Subie. Run through nature's rinse cycle.
Canon 50D
135mm f/2L
I mean... That isn't ALL it is. Its keeping people safe... Keeping people happy... Doing what I can to make the world a better place. "He really built a legacy... *gasp*! I know... I will carry that legend... For I... Am Robin. The boy wonder..." Dick Grayson thinks, as he is at Tommy Elliot's funeral... And for every hero... The world gets better.
~Scarecrow
Life continues for this kid and many more kids like him who sell magazines, newspaper & novels on traffic signals.
Future of these kids looks bright & positive with many social organizations and individuals coming together to impart education to them.
Recent continuing rains have created some persistent standing puddles. If there is fine soil, the puddle edges will be muddy... just what this species wants for nest building. Most of our Swallow species construct and/or repair globular mud/clay nests as if they were potters... a bill full at a time!
IMG_2548; Barn Swallow
©Russell Pritchard 9th August 2013
2013 World Police and Fire Games continue across Belfast and Northern Ireland.
Tennis at The Boat Club, Belfast
GB's Andrew King
©Russell Pritchard / Presseye
Cosmic Rays Hit Space Age High
Energetic iron nuclei counted by the Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer on NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft reveal that cosmic ray levels have jumped 19% above the previous Space Age high.
An artist's concept of the heliosphere, a magnetic bubble that partially protects the solar system from cosmic rays.
"In 2009, cosmic ray intensities have increased 19% beyond anything we've seen in the past 50 years," says Richard Mewaldt of Caltech. "The increase is significant, and it could mean we need to re-think how much radiation shielding astronauts take with them on deep-space missions."
The cause of the surge is solar minimum, a deep lull in solar activity that began around 2007 and continues today. Researchers have long known that cosmic rays go up when solar activity goes down. Right now solar activity is as weak as it has been in modern times, setting the stage for what Mewaldt calls "a perfect storm of cosmic rays."
Full Story:
www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/ray_surge.html
Credit: Richard Mewaldt/Caltech
Voyager solar system graphic: NASA/GSFC/Walt Feimer
For Paulo Mellett, on his birthday, as he continues the cycle...
Pen on paper, 17.5 x 17.5 cm. And a rather lengthy interpretation of the imagery...
The Triskelle or Triskellion, is a pre-celtic spiral design. It consists of three separate spirals rotating in the same direction around a central, circular point, and themselves forming a circle. The three spirals consist of a single, continuous line. For thousands of years, it has represented the continuum of life and various three-fold elements: life, death, rebirth; past, present, future; spirit, mind, body etc. More than any other meaning, though, it represents the three elements of Air, Water and Earth, and the flow of energy through these.
Because of the inter-connectedness of the three spirals, it is sometimes said to represent three threes, or nines, particularly the nine months of pregnancy that result in life and continue the three-fold cycle of life, death and rebirth. It is observable that the various three-fold natures it represents can interact with each other in this multiplicitous way... ie, the three elements of air, water and earth can all pass through life, death and rebirth, or the way in which our spirit, mind and body are influenced by past, present future. So the significance of the Triskellion is always exponential, growing and expanding within its continuum.
Within this design, all three of the physical elements are present.
Water is represented by waves, bubbles, a ship journeying and three fish. The bubbles show it’s interaction with air, and the ship journeys between two points of land or earth. The waves and journeying represent transience and movement in this malleable element. In Irish mythology, three ancient salmon were said to be the oldest creatures in the world. They lived in a pool under an oak tree. The Oak was older even than the salmon, and contained all wisdom. As the oak dropped its acorns into the pool, the salmon fed on them, and thus they came to hold all wisdom themselves.
Rocks, minerals and fossils represent Earth, rising to high mountains and producing plants and life. Most prominent of these plants is an apple tree, and curling amongst its branches is a snake, the most earthly and earthbound of creatures. This image is usually interpreted in terms of the biblical genesis account as the first moment of ‘sin’. I prefer to see it as an allegory of the moment of awakening of human consciousness... choosing independence to eat of the tree of knowledge. The bible also uses the image of a snake in a tree as a symbol of healing, though this more positive notion of earth and fruitfulness gets forgotten!
The trees roots grow out of the water, and its leaves are blown away by the third element of Air. Here, air is made visible in terms of curling winds, stars, a flock of wild geese and a rainbow. The latter of these is always seen as a promise of good things, light in the rain. Wild geese are often used as a Celtic symbol of the spirit... it is wild, untameable, strong, it travels huge distances. It represents the enduring, eternal nature of that spirit as whilst the goose disappears and is absent for many months of the year, it always returns. Therefore its long journeying represents travel of a spiritual nature. Very loosely, the stars form part of the constellation of Draco, the dragon, the largest constellation. It is suggested that the layout of the many ancient Cambodian temples form a map of the constellation of Draco across the land.
In the centre of all this lies the sun, representing the fourth element of fire. Its rays spread out through the picture, energising the other elements. All four elements are again represented in the corner pieces.
Circling the whole image is a snake swallowing its tale. For millennia, this continuous circle has represented eternity and the cycle of life, death and rebirth.
Guests were invited to take a fresh look at ‘furnishing’ the eco-friendly way (whilst helping those in need) by merging the pre-loved and the contemporary and shown first-hand exactly what can be achieved with a little TLC and a sprinkle of imagination!
Leading Australian visionaries joined us for the event, and brought ‘Furnish With A Conscience’ to life by dedicating their time and talents to the campaign and creating a variety of pieces for the home using hand-picked finds sourced from various Salvos Stores throughout Sydney. These included the likes of:
Patchwork cushions made from sweaters, knitwear and fashion garments by fashion designer Kirrily Johnston; a chandelier made using silver knives, forks and spoons by interior designer Gregory Mellor; a throw and two lamps (all which had an “I Dream of Genie on holiday in Hawaii, feel about them”) by Interiors mentor and Orson & Blake owner David Heimann; a four-foot picture frame which was turned into a mirror / reference board by Megan Morton (who lives and breathes all matters of the home); a dressing table and stool by professional ballerina and model Natalie Decorte; two foot stools called ‘Arthur & Martha’ by Julie Paterson from ‘Cloth Fabric’; a complete dining room setting including tables, chairs and a side board which was completely revamped and upholstered by Better Homes and Gardens DIY expert Tara Dennis; a hat stand which was dressed in cheerful bits and bobs to create an eclectic unique look to your home, wardrobe and style, by Pip Edwards, as well as four extraordinary, complete room set-ups (a sitting room, a bedroom, a terrace and a dining room, all of which were shot at Rose Seidler House, Wahroonga, for the Furnish With A Conscience campaign), by the highly creative and talented interiors stylist Sibella Court.
These unique pieces assisted in transforming the St Peters Salvos Store into a serene and magical place for a relaxed and thought-provoking sit-down ‘brunch by bills’ to celebrate the official launch of ‘Furnish With A Conscience’. Chairs were a mixture of ‘reclaimed and refurbished’ ones from Salvos Stores, as well as a handful of bentwood style and button linen chairs brand new from Orson & Blake. This mix of the vintage and reclaimed combined with modern furniture, “gives a sense of whimsy, playfulness and humour” as David Heimann from Orson & Blake expressed.
However, ‘furnishing with a conscience’ did not stop there…. The table for 60 guests was decorated in a simple and casually elegant fashion – all fairly fun, quirky and unexpected, similar in style to an impromptu English garden party. Red and pink roses and a selection of small and sweet flowers with a, “clipped straight from the garden type feel”, were popped into various small low-to-table vessels and vintage cut glass, mixed up with a sprinkle of silver objects (from Salvos Stores) and a selection of modern white ceramics such as tall bird vases, pear shaped bud vases and various other objects including little birds, large white, elephants and other animals. Napkins were placed on vintage, irregular china plates with a different pattern for everyone, (sourced at Salvos Stores), half were white Linen and Moore (from Orson & Blake) and the other half were a selection of assorted napkins of various fabrics with a sunny Sunday feel to them, which had been created by-hand especially for the occasion. Glasses were also mixed and matched adding to the fun, relaxed and summery feel of the morning.
Guests were treated to a delicious brunch by bills including Fresh strawberries with yoghurt and honey; Crusty white baguettes filled with a fine herb omelette; Open sandwiches of our cured ocean trout, fresh ricotta with a caper and parsley salad; a selection of fresh fruit muffins, Parkers Organic Juice and a ‘Sunrise Smoothie” of orange juice, banana, yoghurt and berries; as well as a small ‘Coffee and Tea Cart” – all of which was served with a sweet smile.
Even the goodie bags continued the ‘Something old, Something new” theme. They included a variety of cherry picked individual pieces selected from Salvos Stores, various gifts from Orson & Blake, Murobond Paint samples, paintbrushes, measuring tapes, Guylian chocolates, Parkers Organic orange juice, as well as a selection of other bits and bobs which would assist in a day of home renovation and DIY!
The event was certainly a success and an elegant reminder of what can be achieved when you put your mind to it – AND whilst helping those in need!
Photo Credit: TITO MEDIA
Event organiser and PR: PLUME PR - Philippa Morfitt
My write up on photographing the new Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas here
On the weekend of November 20-21, 2010, I was invited to photograph the new Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas prior to their opening December 15, 2010 in Las Vegas NV.
This set of images represents my efforts that weekend to showcase this newest resort property opening up on the Las Vegas Strip. Thanks to David Scherer from The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas for showing me around, to Miiko Mentz at Katalyst Films for helping to arrange the shoot, and to my wife for modeling for me.
To learn more about The Cosmpolitan of Las Vegas, check out their website here or their Facebook page here.
Organisations across Greater Manchester have joined forces in the continued crackdown on organised crime.
Over the past five days, Greater Manchester Police has worked in partnership with Home Office Immigration Enforcement, the National Crime Agency, Europol and other local and national partner agencies to undertake a series of raids, visits and safeguarding checks as part of 'Challenger' - the region’s biggest ever approach to tackling organised crime.
Over the past five days, more than 40 warrants have been carried out to disrupt and dismantle organised crime groups involved in illegal immigration, illegal marriages, drugs and the exploitation of some of the most vulnerable in society.
The week of action not only utilised close collaboration between partner agencies to identify and detain known criminals but to visit high risk areas and work with potential victims of exploitation to offer protection and prevention advice.
The week was also an effective tool in gathering further evidence and intelligence in the continuing attack on the criminal networks operating in Greater Manchester.
Since Monday 24 March there have been 78 arrests – 45 immigration-related and 33 for other organised crimes. Drugs with a street value of more than £285,000 and more than £70,000 of cash has also been seized. Further disruption to organised crime groups has been delivered in the form of £100,000 in fines served to businesses in the region. Further arrests and seizures are likely to be declared in coming days.
Chief Superintendent Rebekah Sutcliffe, who heads Challenger for Greater Manchester Police said:
“This has been another hugely successful week for Challenger and we would like to thank Immigration Enforcement, Europol, all other agencies and the local communities for their support.
“Organised crime groups do not assume a certain appearance or status; they take many different forms and often masquerade behind what appears to be a legitimate business, where they launder their ill-gotten gains.
“They do not specialise in a particular type of crime either and will pursue anything that offers the least risk and highest reward, from selling counterfeit goods and loan sharking to human trafficking and drug dealing.
“Those orchestrating illegal immigration will be involved in other criminality – there is often an overlap so this is why our multi-agency partnership and our close collaboration with Immigration Enforcement was integral to a quick and effective week of action.
“These criminals operate by preying on the most vulnerable in society - and this is why activity such as this is really important to us.”
The partnership approach to this week of action has been prevalent throughout, its effectiveness has been particularly highlighted by the success around visits to car washes across Greater Manchester, where the link between illegal immigration and other forms of organised crime has been most clearly illustrated.
Car washes in Salford, Wigan and Oldham were visited during the week, where a number of illegal workers were discovered. With the quick response and assistance of partner agencies, offences including drugs, benefit fraud and a potential sham marriage have also been uncovered through those visits – an effective and successful example of Challenger in action.
In addition to arrests and raids, Challenger’s delivery of effective prevention and enforcement activity has been most prominently reflected this week via operations in a number of local areas.
In Wigan, whilst conducting Harm Reduction visits, the GMP Child Sexual Exploitation Unit arrested one man for both CSE and drugs offences, and another man was arrested for grooming offences.
Tuesday saw a flurry of activity in Bolton, where six arrests were made for offences including human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Throughout the week, Europol – the European Law Enforcement Agency - was present with two officers based with GMP to carry out cross checks of the data and provide forensic support, which vastly increased the speed that analysis was performed, greatly enhancing the investigation process.
Dave Magrath, Head of the Home Office North West Criminal Investigations team, said: “This week we have made more than 20 arrests in the North West in connection with various investigations into suspected immigration crime.
“These arrests, and the Challenger operations, demonstrate the effectiveness of working alongside partner agencies such as Great Manchester Police. This work will continue to make life as tough as possible for those who seek to abuse our immigration laws.”
Chief Superintendent Sutcliffe added:
“Challenger is crucial in giving communities the confidence to speak out and report this destructive and intimidating behaviour that threatens our neighbourhoods.
“By working in partnership with so many agencies we have attacked these gangs from every angle, exposing them whilst at the same time protecting those that they exploit for their own gain.
“But the job isn’t over yet. With the public’s help, we’ll continue to work hard to uncover the criminal activity and bring these individuals to justice.”
Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
©Russell Pritchard 10th August 2013
2013 World Police and Fire Games continue across Belfast and Northern Ireland.
Pool, at Newforge, Belfast
Belfast Harbour Police, Neil McKelvey
©Russell Pritchard / Presseye
The quest continues to create long exposure multiple image panoramic. Stitching 2 images together to create a 3:1 panoramic. The lack of clouds was a big plus because that's what creates all the problems in the stitch. I used Photoshop to alight and merge the images into one. My favorite pano software Autopano Giga 2 did not do well with these images.
I guess you can call this my Miami Vice stage with the pastel colors cira 1980’s…
Matheson Hammock Park, Miami FL
Canon 40D
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
ND110 - 10 stops
Exposure: 133sec
Aperture: f/13
Focal Length: 42 mm
Software:
DxO Optics Pro 6 used for RAW conversion
Photoshop
The Postcard
A carte postale that was published by E. L. D. that was posted in Paris on Tuesday the 13th. November 1945 to:
Mr. Archie Newbury,
Albion House,
Bay Road,
Sholing,
Southampton,
England.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"My mother and I are
always very pleased
to hear from you.
I hope you are getting
accustomed to school
and are very good, at
least in talking and
reading French.
I give you my approval".
The message continues on the front of the card.
Francis Garnier
Marie Joseph François Garnier (25th. July 1839 – 21st. December 1873) was a French officer, inspector of Indigenous Affairs of Cochinchina, and explorer.
He eventually became mission leader of the Mekong Exploration Commission in 19th. century Southeast Asia.
Francis Garnier - the Early Years
Garnier was born at Saint-Étienne, Loire, and entered the French Navy. After voyaging in Brazilian waters and the Pacific, he obtained a post on the staff of Admiral Léonard Victor Charner, who from February 1860 to November 1861 was campaigning in Cochinchina.
After some time spent in France, Garnier returned to the East, and in 1862, he was appointed inspector of native affairs in Cochinchina, and entrusted with the administration of Cholon, a suburb of Saigon.
Exploration of the Mekong and Yangtze rivers
It was at his suggestion that the Marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat determined to send a mission to explore the valley of the Mekong River, but as Garnier was not considered old enough to be put in command, the chief authority was entrusted to Captain Ernest Doudard de Lagrée.
In the course of the expedition – to quote the words of Sir Roderick Murchison that were addressed to the youthful traveller when, in 1870, he was presented with the Patron's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society of London:
"From Kratié in Cambodia to Shanghai, 5,392 miles
were traversed, and of these, 3,625 miles, chiefly of
country unknown to European geography, were
surveyed with care, and the positions fixed by
astronomical observations, nearly the whole of the observations being taken by Garnier himself".
A year earlier he received an award to be shared with David Livingstone at the 1869 Geographical Congress in Antwerp.
Volunteering to lead a detachment to Dali, the capital of Sultan Suleiman, the sovereign of the Muslim rebels in Yunnan, Garnier successfully carried out the more-than-adventurous enterprise. When shortly afterwards Lagrée died, Garnier naturally assumed the command of the expedition, and he conducted it in safety to the Yangtze River, and thus to the Chinese coast.
On his return to France, he was received with enthusiasm. The preparation of his narrative was interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War, and during the siege of Paris, Garnier served as principal staff officer to the admiral in command of the eighth sector.
Returning to Cochinchina, he found the political circumstances of the country unfavourable for further exploration, so accordingly, he went to China, and in 1873 followed the upper course of the Yangtze River to the waterfalls.
Intervention in Tonkin
In late 1873 Garnier was sent by Admiral Dupré, the governor of Cochinchina, to Tonkin, to resolve a dispute between the Vietnamese authorities and the French entrepreneur Jean Dupuis.
Persuaded that the time was ripe for a French conquest of Tonkin, Garnier captured Hanoi, the capital of Tonkin, on the 20th. November 1873. In the next few weeks a small French force under Garnier's command captured most of the citadels of the Red River Delta.
The Vietnamese authorities, despairing of meeting the French with their own forces, appealed to the notorious Chinese soldier of fortune Liu Yongfu to come to their aid with his Black Flag Army.
The Defeat and Death of Francis Garnier
On the 21st. December 1873, Liu Yongfu and around 600 Black Flags, marching beneath an enormous black banner, approached the west gate of Hanoi. A large Vietnamese army followed in their wake.
Garnier began shelling the Black Flags with a field piece mounted above the gate, and when they began to fall back he led a party of 18 French marine infantrymen out of the city to chase them away.
The attack failed. Garnier, leading three men uphill in a bayonet attack on a party of Black Flags, was stabbed and hacked to death by several Black Flag soldiers after stumbling in a watercourse.
The youthful Adrien-Paul Balny d'Avricourt led an equally small column out of the citadel to support Garnier, but was also killed at the head of his men. Three French soldiers were also killed in these sorties, and the others fled back to the citadel after their officers fell.
Colonel Thomazi, the historian of French Indochina, gave the following detailed description of Garnier's last moments:
"At midday on the 21st. December he was in
conference with the ambassadors when an
interpreter ran up, announcing that bands of
Black Flags were attacking the town by the
western gate.
Garnier immediately hurried to the spot, but
some of his men had got there before him, and
their fire had sufficed to force the bandits to
retreat behind the bamboo hedges.
A 40-millimetre gun arrived at this moment.
Garnier rallied a dozen men, three of whom
dragged this small cannon, and left the town
at a run to pursue the enemy. As the gun could
not move quickly enough across the fields, he
left it behind with its gunners.
Garnier then divided the nine men who remained
with him into three groups. The first two groups
moved off to the left and the right, to re-join one
another further on, while he marched in the middle,
followed only by two men.
One and a half kilometres from the town he found
himself in front of a dyke, and slipped and fell while
trying to cross it. Some Black Flags hidden behind
the dyke ran out, while others opened fire.
At this moment the two men who were accompanying
Garnier were 100 metres behind him. One of them
was killed by a bullet and the other wounded. Garnier
cried:
'To me, brave boys, and
we'll give them a thrashing!'
He then fired the six rounds from his revolver in an
attempt to rescue himself, but the bandits surrounded
him, pierced him with thrusts of sabres and lances, cut
off his head, odiously mutilated his corpse, and ran
away.
The two other groups, rushing up to the sound of the
shooting, were only able to recover his bloodied
corpse and bring it back to Hanoi".
Garnier's death effectively ended the first French adventure in Tonkin. The French government disavowed Garnier's adventure, and hastened to conclude a peace settlement with the Vietnamese, abandoning most of its claims in Tonkin.
Francis Garnier's Achievement
Garnier's chief fame rests on the fact that he both conceived the idea of exploring the Mekong and carried out the larger portion of the work himself.
During the French colonial period he was also honoured for his feats of arms in Tonkin, which paved the way for the eventual French conquest of Tonkin in the 1880's.
Commemoration of Francis Garnier
In 1883, nine years after Francis Garnier's death, the French naval officer Henri Rivière was also killed by the Black Flags in Tonkin, in remarkably similar circumstances.
Garnier and Rivière were honoured during the French colonial period as the two pre-eminent French martyrs of the conquest of Tonkin. In 1884, during the Sino-French War, two gunboats of the Tonkin Flotilla were named after the two men.
During the siege of Tuyên Quang (November 1884–March 1885), Liu Yongfu's Black Flags, who formed part of the besieging Chinese army, taunted the men of the French garrison by chanting the names of their two most famous victims: 'Garnier! Rivière! Garnier! Rivière!'
In 1943, French Indochina issued a postage stamp commemorating Garnier.
A warship was named after him during World War II but was scuttled after a fight with the Japanese, near the Cambodian town of Kratié.
In 1973 a new ship, Francis Garnier, was built. It is still in service, and assisted the humanitarian efforts following the 2010 Haiti earthquake as part of Opération Séisme Haiti 2010. She left Martinique carrying 60 Army personnel, land vehicles and excavators; and various relief shipments.
Charles de Gaulle
So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?
Well, on the 13th. November 1945, the French Constituent Assembly unanimously elected Charles de Gaulle president of the Provisional Government.
So busy with other things right now that weaving has taken a back seat. With little bits here and there I'm about half way on the "Having a Party" cowl.
Construction work continues in the Cannon Building's west wing.
Phase 1 of the Cannon Renewal Project began in January 2017 and is scheduled to be complete in November 2018. The entire west side of the building, from the basement to the fifth floor, is closed. Work includes demolishing and rebuilding the fifth floor, conserving the exterior stonework and rehabilitating the individual office suites.
Full project details at www.aoc.gov/cannon.
-----
This official Architect of the Capitol photograph is being made available for educational, scholarly, news or personal purposes (not advertising or any other commercial use). When any of these images is used the photographic credit line should read “Architect of the Capitol.” These images may not be used in any way that would imply endorsement by the Architect of the Capitol or the United States Congress of a product, service or point of view. For more information visit www.aoc.gov/terms.
Reference: 477781
Moth Trapping down on the farm part 3 - This place continues to show me new moths!
I was back at my parents on Tuesday night armed with 5 traps and enough cable to spread them around to try and maximise light coverage.
The day was scorching hot and quite unbearable for work as I had to drive around a giant greenhouse on wheels, a minibus!
At setting up time at 9pm it was still a Mediterranean 25 degrees and it only dropped to 20c at 4am so it was absolutely perfect, bar the full moon and gusty wind. But you can't have everything can you?
The moths were quick to the lights and the list was creeping up steadily and by midnight we had over 100 species which was pleasing indeed.
Some local species were nice to see, such as Waved Black and Dotted Fan-foot.
Best moth was probably my second ever Anarsia lineatella, having seen my first a few weeks ago at the same location and in the same trap! It was to be the 3rd County record.
I was pleased to get a fresh example of Grapholita funebrana, a first for me and possibly may have been over-looked in the past.
Another new moth for me was a Cochylis flaviciliana/roseana. It is more likely to be roseana as this is local in the County but I will get it double-checked just to be sure, still a really pretty moth but o so tiny!
I also potted up an unusual looking Scoparia, which seems to resemble subfusca but it still doesn't look quite right for any of the British species, it most likely is an aberrant form of one of the commoner Scoparids. Again it will be checked to verify the record.
The farm never disappoints and this visit was no different with 166 species recorded.
Catch Report - 19/07/16 - Farmland - Braughing Friars - 2x 125w MV Robinson Trap 1x 160w MBT Robinson Trap 1x 80w Actinic Briefcase Trap & 1x 40w Actinic/26w BLB Trap
Macro Moths - 72 Species
Angle Shades 1
August Thorn 1
Barred Red 1
Barred Straw 2
Beautiful Hook-tip 5
Blue-bordered Carpet 1
Brimstone Moth 4
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 2
Brown-line Bright-eye 3
Brown-tail 4
Buff Arches 2
Buff Ermine 1
Buff Footman 1
Burnished Brass 2
Cinnabar 3
Clay 10
Cloaked Minor 20+
Clouded Border 3
Clouded Silver 2
Common Carpet 2
Common Footman 15+
Common Rustic 15+
Common Wainscot 1
Common Wave 1
Dark Arches 5
Dark Umber 4
Dingy Footman 25+
Dingy Shears 1
Dot Moth 20+
Dotted Fan-foot 1
Double Square-spot 3
Drinker 5
Dun-bar 4
Dusky Sallow 3
Dwarf Cream Wave 10
Early Thorn 1
Elephant Hawk-moth 1
Engrailed 6
Fan-foot 2
Fern 5
Flame 2
Green Pug 1
Haworth's Pug 1
Heart & Dart 2
July Highflyer 6
Large Emerald 4
Large Twin-spot Carpet 6
Large Yellow Underwing 10
Latticed Heath 1
Least Carpet 3
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 2
Lesser Common Rustic - Gen Det
Lesser Yellow Underwing 4
Light Arches 1
Light Emerald 5
Maple Pug 2
Marbled Minor 2
Mottled Beauty 5
Mottled Rustic 7
Nutmeg 1
Nut-tree Tussock 1
Peppered Moth 1
Poplar Grey 1
Riband Wave 4
Rustic 2
Scarce Footman 5
Shaded Broad-bar 10
Short-cloaked Moth 2
Shoulder-striped Wainscot 1
Smoky Wainscot 5
Sycamore 1
White Satin Moth 8
Micro Moths - 94 Species
Acentria ephemerella 30+
Acleris forsskaleana 5
Acrobasis advenella 1
Aethes cnicana 6
Aethes rubigana 1
Agapeta hamana 20+
Agonopterix heracliana 1
Agonopterix nervosa 1
Agriphila straminella 1
Anania coronata 2
Anania hortulata 2
Anarsia lineatella 1
Ancylis achatana 2
Anthophila fabriciana 1
Aphomia sociella 5
Apotomis capreana 1
Archips podana 2
Argyrotaenia ljungiana 1
Blastobasis adustella 3
Blastobasis lacticolella 3
Blastodacna hellerella 1
Borkhausenia fuscescens 2
Brachmia blandella 6
Bryotropha affinis 4
Bryotropha terrella 10
Cacoecimorpha pronubana 1
Calamotropha paludella 2
Caloptilia semifascia 2
Catoptria falsella 30+
Catoptria pinella 6
Cedestis gysseleniella 1
Celypha lacunana 20+
Celypha rosaceana 1
Celypha striana 2
Chrysoteuchia culmella 50+
Clepsis consimilana 8
Cochylis flaviciliana/roseana 1 (to check…) [NEW!]
Cochylis hybridella 15+
Cochylis molliculana 1
Coleophora mayrella 1
Coleophora sp (white) 5
Crambus perlella 4
Crassa unitella 12
Cydia splendana 1
Depressaria sp 1
Dicrorampha sp 2
Ditula angustiorana 15+
Endotricha flammealis 4
Endrosis sarcitrella 2
Epiblema costipunctana 2
Epinotia siignatana 2
Eucosma cana 50+
Eucosma obumbratana 2
Eudonia lacustrata 4
Eudonia mercurella 5
Eudonia pallida 1
Euzophora pinguis 3
Galleria mellonella 1
Grapholita funebrana 1 [NEW!]
Hedya nubiferana 5
Helycystogramma rufescens 2
Hofmannophila pseudospretella 5
Hypsopygia costalis 1
Limnaecia phragmitella 4
Lobesia abscisana 8
Metzneria lappella 2
Metzneria metzneriella 1
Mompha ochraceella 20+
Monochroa palustrella 2
Morophaga choragella 1
Nemapogon cloacella 1
Notocelia uddmanniana 3
Pandemis cerasana 1
Pandemis heparana 20
Paraswammerdamia albicapitella 2
Paraswammerdamia nebulella 1
Phtheochroa inopiana 1
Phycita roborella 4
Phycitodes binaevella 2
Pleuroptya ruralis 10
Plutella xylostella 50+
Pseudargyrotoza conwagana 2
Pterophorus pentadactyla 10
Recurvaria leucatella 1
Scoparia ambigualis 2
Scoparia subfusca 8
Spilonota ocellana 15
Stigmella sp 1
Teleiodes vulgella 2
Tinea pellionella 5
Udea olivalis 1
Udea prunalis 6
Yponomeuta evonymella 2
Yponomeuta sp 1
Construction work continues in the Cannon Building's west wing.
Phase 1 of the Cannon Renewal Project began in January 2017 and is scheduled to be complete in November 2018. The entire west side of the building, from the basement to the fifth floor, is closed. Work includes demolishing and rebuilding the fifth floor, conserving the exterior stonework and rehabilitating the individual office suites.
Full project details at www.aoc.gov/cannon.
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This official Architect of the Capitol photograph is being made available for educational, scholarly, news or personal purposes (not advertising or any other commercial use). When any of these images is used the photographic credit line should read “Architect of the Capitol.” These images may not be used in any way that would imply endorsement by the Architect of the Capitol or the United States Congress of a product, service or point of view. For more information visit www.aoc.gov/terms.
Reference: 470773
Senior Ugandan general meets with U.S. Army Africa leaders; continues cooperative partnership
VICENZA, Italy – When Ugandan Brig. Gen. Silver Kayemba arrived at U.S. Army Africa headquarters on April 27, he was met by familiar faces.
Kayemba, 53, the chief of training and operations for the Ugandan People’s Defense Force, was a key player during Natural Fire 10, a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise co-led by the UPDF and U.S. Army Africa, held in Uganda in Oct. 2009.
“This visit strengthens our relationship with the U.S. Armed Forces, particularly with U.S. Army Africa,” Kayemba said. “We are looking forward to even closer cooperation in the future.”
One of the first people Kayemba met was Maj. Gen. William B. Garrett III, commander of U.S. Army Africa.
“As part of our engagement strategy, U.S. Army Africa invites senior military leaders from partner land forces to see how our command operates,” Garrett said. “We create opportunities to discuss the way forward, as the U.S. Army continues to work with Ugandan land forces to strengthen their capacity to support security missions in Africa.”
U.S. Army Africa leaders briefed Kayemba on the command’s mission, its ongoing partnerships with African land forces to foster securing, stability and peace on the African continent. During his two-day visit, Kayemba also toured Caserma Ederle, stopping first at training simulators used by Soldiers prior to deploying.
In 2006, Kayemba visited several military sites in the United States, to include the Pentagon, National Defense University, and a U.S. Marine Corps base. As a junior officer then, Kayemba also attended the basic transportation officer course in the United States.
During Natural Fire, Kayemba served as exercise deputy director and worked closely with Garrett.
“We’ve been reviewing lessons learned from Natural Fire,” Kayemba said. “We are going to benefit from what I’ve seen here and I look forward to working with U.S. Army Africa in future.”
U.S. Army Photo - Cleared for public release.
I've done away with moving prongs in order to attach them to the back sections. Missing tail, jets, greebles, back landing gears.
Silver denarius
Minted after Nero's accession, the second coin presents mother and son facing each other. Only Agrippina's names and titles appear on the front, stressing her continued pre-eminence.
[British Museum]
Nero: the Man Behind the Myth
(May - Oct 2021)
Nero is known as one of Rome's most infamous rulers, notorious for his cruelty, debauchery and madness.
The last male descendant of the emperor Augustus, Nero succeeded to the throne in AD 54 aged just 16 and died a violent death at 30. His turbulent rule saw momentous events including the Great Fire of Rome, Boudicca's rebellion in Britain, the execution of his own mother and first wife, grand projects and extravagant excesses.
Drawing on the latest research, this major exhibition questions the traditional narrative of the ruthless tyrant and eccentric performer, revealing a different Nero, a populist leader at a time of great change in Roman society.
Through some 200 spectacular objects, from the imperial palace in Rome to the streets of Pompeii, follow the young emperor’s rise and fall and make up your own mind about Nero. Was he a young, inexperienced ruler trying his best in a divided society, or the merciless, matricidal megalomaniac history has painted him to be?
Nero was the 5th emperor of Rome and the last of Rome’s first dynasty, the Julio-Claudians, founded by Augustus (the adopted son of Julius Caesar). Nero is known as one of Rome’s most infamous rulers, notorious for his cruelty and debauchery. He ascended to power in AD 54 aged just 16 and died at 30. He ruled at a time of great social and political change, overseeing momentous events such as the Great Fire of Rome and Boudica’s rebellion in Britain. He allegedly killed his mother and two of his wives, only cared about his art and had very little interest in ruling the empire.
Most of what we know about Nero comes from the surviving works of three historians – Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio. All written decades after Nero’s death, their accounts have long shaped our understanding of this emperor’s rule. However, far from being impartial narrators presenting objective accounts of past events, these authors and their sources wrote with a very clear agenda in mind. Nero’s demise brought forward a period of chaos and civil war – one that ended only when a new dynasty seized power, the Flavians. Authors writing under the Flavians all had an interest in legitimising the new ruling family by portraying the last of the Julio-Claudians in the worst possible light, turning history into propaganda. These accounts became the ‘historical’ sources used by later historians, therefore perpetuating a fabricated image of Nero, which has survived all the way to the present.
Nero was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus on 15 December AD 37.
He was the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger. Both Gnaeus and Agrippina were the grandchildren of Augustus, making Nero Augustus’ great, great grandson with a strong claim to power.
Nero was only two years old when his mother was exiled and three when his father died. His inheritance was taken from him and he was sent to live with his aunt. However, Nero’s fate changed again when Claudius became emperor, restoring the boy’s property and recalling his mother Agrippina from exile.
In AD 49 the emperor Claudius married Agrippina, and adopted Nero the following year. It is at this point that Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus changed his name to Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus. In Roman times it was normal to change your name when adopted, abandoning your family name in favour of your adoptive father’s. Nero was a common name among members of the Claudian family, especially in Claudius’ branch.
Nero and Agrippina offered Claudius a politically useful link back to Augustus, strengthening his position.
Claudius appeared to favour Nero over his natural son, Britannicus, marking Nero as the designated heir.
When Claudius died in AD 54, Nero became emperor just two months before turning 17.
As he was supported by both the army and the senate, his rise to power was smooth. His mother Agrippina exerted a significant influence, especially at the beginning of his rule.
The Roman historians Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio all claim that Nero, fed up with Agrippina’s interference, decided to kill her.
Given the lack of eyewitnesses, there is no way of knowing if or how this happened. However, this did not stop historians from fabricating dramatic stories of Agrippina’s murder, asserting that Nero tried (and failed) to kill her with a boat engineered to sink, before sending his men to do the job.
Agrippina allegedly told them to stab her in the womb that bore Nero, her last words clearly borrowed from stage plays.
It is entirely possible, as claimed by Nero himself, that Agrippina chose (or was more likely forced) to take her own life after her plot against her son was discovered.
Early in his rule, Nero had to contend with a rebellion in the newly conquered province of Britain.
In AD 60–61, Queen Boudica of the Iceni tribe led a revolt against the Romans, attacking and laying waste to important Roman settlements. The possible causes of the rebellion were numerous – the greed of the Romans exploiting the newly conquered territories, the recalling of loans made to local leaders, ongoing conflict in Wales and, above all, violence against the family of Prasutagus, Boudica’s husband and king of the Iceni.
Boudica and the rebels destroyed Colchester, London and St Albans before being heavily defeated by Roman troops. After the uprising, the governor of Britain Suetonius Paulinus introduced harsher laws against the Britons, until Nero replaced him with the more conciliatory governor Publius Petronius Turpilianus.
The marriage between Nero and Octavia, aged 15 and 13/14 at the time, was arranged by their parents in order to further legitimise Nero’s claim to the throne. Octavia was the daughter of the emperor Claudius from a previous marriage, so when Claudius married Agrippina and adopted her son Nero, Nero and Octavia became brother and sister. In order to arrange their marriage, Octavia had to be adopted into another family.
Their marriage was not a happy one. According to ancient writers, Nero had various affairs until his lover Poppaea Sabina convinced him to divorce his wife. Octavia was first exiled then executed in AD 62 on adultery charges. According to ancient writers, her banishment and death caused great unrest among the public, who sympathised with the dutiful Octavia.
No further motives were offered for Octavia’s death other than Nero’s passion for Poppaea, and we will probably never know what transpired at court. The fact that Octavia couldn’t produce an heir while Poppaea was pregnant with Nero’s daughter likely played an important role in deciding Octavia’s fate.
On 19 July AD 64, a fire started close to the Circus Maximus. The flames soon encompassed the entire city of Rome and the fire raged for nine days. Only four of the 14 districts of the capital were spared, while three were completely destroyed.
Rome had already been razed by flames – and would be again in its long history – but this event was so severe it came to be known as the Great Fire of Rome.
Later historians blamed Nero for the event, claiming that he set the capital ablaze in order to clear land for the construction of a vast new palace. According to Suetonius and Cassius Dio, Nero took in the view of the burning city from the imperial residence while playing the lyre and singing about the fall of Troy. This story, however, is fictional.
Tacitus, the only historian who was actually alive at the time of the Great Fire of Rome (although only 8 years old), wrote that Nero was not even in Rome when the fire started, but returned to the capital and led the relief efforts.
Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio all describe Nero as being blinded by passion for his wife Poppaea, yet they accuse him of killing her, allegedly by kicking her in an outburst of rage while she was pregnant.
Interestingly, pregnant women being kicked to death by enraged husbands is a recurring theme in ancient literature, used to explore the (self) destructive tendencies of autocrats. The Greek writer Herodotus tells the story of how the Persian king Cambyses kicked his pregnant wife in the stomach, causing her death. A similar episode is told of Periander, tyrant of Corinth. Nero is just one of many allegedly ‘mad’ tyrants for which this literary convention was used.
Poppaea probably died from complications connected with her pregnancy and not at Nero’s hands. She was given a lavish funeral and was deified.
Centred on greater Iran, the Parthian empire was a major political and cultural power and a long-standing enemy of Rome. The two powers had long been contending for control over the buffer state of Armenia and open conflict sparked again during Nero’s rule. The Parthian War started in AD 58 and, after initial victories and following set-backs, ended in AD 63 when a diplomatic solution was reached between Nero and the Parthian king Vologases I.
According to this settlement Tiridates, brother of the Parthian king, would rule over Armenia, but only after having travelled all the way to Rome to be crowned by Nero.
The journey lasted 9 months, Tiridates’ retinue included 3,000 Parthian horsemen and many Roman soldiers. The coronation ceremony took place in the summer of AD 66 and the day was celebrated with much pomp: all the people of Rome saw the new king of Armenia kneeling in front of Nero. This was the Golden Day of Nero’s rule
In AD 68, Vindex, the governor of Gaul (France), rebelled against Nero and declared his support for Galba, the governor of Spain. Vindex was defeated in battle by troops loyal to Nero, yet Galba started gaining more military support.
It was at this point that Nero lost the support of Rome’s people due to a grain shortage, caused by a rebellious commander who cut the crucial food supply from Egypt to the capital. Abandoned by the people and declared an enemy of the state by the senate, Nero tried to flee Rome and eventually committed suicide.
Following his death, Nero’s memory was condemned (a practice called damnatio memoriae) and the images of the emperor were destroyed, removed or reworked. However, Nero was still given an expensive funeral and for a long time people decorated his tomb with flowers, some even believing he was still alive.
After Nero’s death, civil war ensued. At the end of the so-called ‘Year of the Four Emperors’ (AD 69), Vespasian became emperor and started a new dynasty: the Flavians.
[Francesca Bologna, curator, for British Museum]
Taken in the British Museum