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Self taught artist from Israel Mirit Ben-Nun by Deborah Shallman

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A free Spirit

Mirit Ben-Nun was born in Beer- Sheva in 1966. Over the years she has presented in solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions in Israel and around the world.

When she was six, her father was killed in a car accident, leaving behind his wife and two daughters, Mirit and Dana.

Ben-Nun had difficulty concentrating on studies, which caused behavioral problems, and at the age of fourteen she dropped out of the education system and went to work. The colors and writing tools gave her a quiet private space and her own way of surviving. Creativity eased her tumultuous soul.

Until her early 30’s she worked as a telemarketer and for the next fourteen years she doodled and doodled. While talking to customers she filled thousands of pages with lines and dots that resembled hundreds of compressed eggs and seeds which she threw away.

In a large portion of each page she would pick a random word and would write it down over and over while concentrating on her hand movements.

Even then she noticed the rising of her need and obsession as she practiced the endless doodling and writing.

Ben-Nun testifies that the lack of artistic training to paint "correctly" freed her from adhering to the rules of painting and allowed her freedom and spirit of rebellion.

In 1998, she received a bunch of canvases and acrylic paints as a gift from her sister.

She brought the acrylic into her world of lines and dots; she went back to painting women and masks that appeared in her childhood paintings and flooded them with lines and dots without separating body and background.

This is also the moment when Ben-Nun began to refer to herself as a painter.

and when art became the center of her life.

The intense colors in Ben-Nun's paintings sweep the viewer into a sensual experience. The viewer traces the surge of dots and lines formed in packed layers of paint. The movement leads to a kind of female-male hormonal dance within the human body and to a communion with an artistic experience of instinct, passion, conceiving and birth.

Contributing to this experience is the wealth of characteristics reminiscent of tribal art. Ben-Nun merges these with a humorous and kicking contemporary Western Pop art. In the language of unique art, Ben-Nun creates an unconventional conversation between past and present cultures.

It is evident that the paintings emerge from a regenerated need and desire, a force that erupts from her soul, a subconscious survival instinct to which she cannot or does not want to resist.

Ben-Nun places women at the center stage where they are her work focus. The paintings obsessively deal with the existential experience of being a woman in the world. A few of the women's paintings carry feminist slogans stressing the women's struggle in society, a critique for being held to perfection and being required to perform as a model of "beauty, purity and motherhood". Feminism pulsates in Ben-Nun's psyche, through her diverse female images and the play between beauty and unsightliness; Ben-Nun assimilates the consciousness of feminine possibility, of not being "perfect", of being powerful, influential, and outside social norms. This mandates a departure from acceptable limitations where Ben-Nun creates a new world of free spirit for women.

Mirit Ben-Nun is a mother of three and the grandmother of three grandchildren.

Mirela Tal

West Plains Bank and W.J. & Ed Smith Building (West Plains, Missouri) by courthouselover

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The red structure on the left is the former West Plains Bank. It stands at 107 Washington Avenue and was built in 1883. The yellow structure on the right is the J.W. and Ed Smith Building. It stands at 109-113 Washington Avenue, and was built in 1894 by W.J. Smith.

Both feature Italianate style, and both were individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. They are also contributing properties to the Courthouse Square Historic District, which was listed in 2003.

West Plains is a charming Missouri Ozarks town that serves as the seat of Howell County.

PBWA Kensington and Chelsea by Ian Wood

Rossetti Studios are rare surviving artist’s studios in the heart of Chelsea. Their famous namesake, the pre-Raphaelite artist Rossetti, was based a stone’s throw away from the site as were other titans of the arts world, including JMW Turner and James McNeil Whistler – at the beginning of the 19th century Chelsea was the artistic quarter of London.

The studios were recently purchased by Cadogan and rescued from near dereliction with a £4million renovation and restoration; respecting their original function, enhancing their character and history and refurbishing them to a modern-day standard. The complex of 8 studios will be fully occupied by practicing artists to contribute further towards Chelsea’s rich artistic pedigree.

English Heritage listing: Rossetti Studios, built by Edward Holland and dated 1894, are recommended for designation at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Architectural interest: the studios, in late-C19 Queen Anne Revival manner, are designed and built to a high standard, uncommon in speculatively built, multiple studios; * Intactness: the position, layout of the site, internal studio plans and fittings clearly describe the hierarchy within two types of studio; * Rarity: survival of working studios, in an area where these were once common, with rare surviving features including unusual slit doors for access for canvasses, galleries for storing canvasses, living accommodation, changing rooms; * Historic interest: Chelsea Art School, founded at the studios by Augustus John and William Orpen in 1904, attracted a wide range of literary and artistic figures; notable post-war tenants included theatre director George Devine and photographer Ronald Traeger.

Crocodile Farm QLD by Lancashire Photographer

In Cairns Queensland.

HARTLEY'S CREEK

CROCODILE FARM

Hartley’s Creek Crocodile Farming Company Pty Ltd has operated a commercial crocodile farm since 1989.

Saltwater (Estuarine) Crocodiles are bred and raised on the property for their skins and meat. Visitors have the opportunity to participate in a guided tour of nearby farm to learn how it works and why the sustainable utilisation of farmed crocodiles contributes to the conservation of wild populations and their habitats.

ABOUT THE FARM

HOW DOES THE FARM WORK?

The skin from the Estuarine Crocodile is highly sought after within the fashion industry due to its comparatively small scale and lack of osteoderm (small bones within the skin).

Adult crocodiles are kept in pairs or colonies for breeding. Female estuarine crocodiles reach sexual maturity at lengths of 2.2 to 2.5m. while males mature later at approximately 3.2m.

Approximately six weeks before nesting, the female will signal the male by using body language. Mating takes place in the water.

Between the months of November and March, the female Estuarine crocodile builds a nest of soil and grass about one-metre-high, using her feet. Mounding the nest helps to keep the clutch of about 50 eggs safe from flooding during the wet season and assists in maintaining the correct temperature for incubation.

Each morning, during the nesting season, the breeding enclosures are checked for nests. The eggs are removed from the nest and placed in an incubator. Removing the eggs from the nest gives the embryos the best chance of survival. In wild ecosystems, nests are susceptible to flooding, overheating and predation. The sex of a crocodile is determined by incubation temperature. Males are produced with an incubation temperature around 32 degrees Celsius, while females are produced above and below that temperature. For farming purposes, the majority of eggs are incubated to produce the faster growing males. A clutch of crocodile eggs takes around 86 days to hatch.

The hatchlings are housed in a specially designed building called a Hatchery where the environment is carefully controlled. The air and water temperatures are maintained at a constant 32-degree C and the water is regularly changed and reused. The hatchlings are fed special mince, five times a week made from red meat and chicken with a mineral and vitamin supplement.

The hatchlings are relocated to a Grow Out Building once they reach a length of 70cm at approximately six months of age and remain there until they are ready for market. Strict hygiene and good quality foods are essential for health, fast growth and superior quality skins.

The crocodiles reach market size of 1.5 to 1.8 metres at approximately 3 years of age. They are humanely euthanised and transported to a registered processing plant. The average carcass produces 4kg of saleable meat, which is popular with local restaurants. The skins used for our Croctique leather goods are cleaned, salted and graded before export to Japan for tanning and production into premium quality leather goods under our own brands.

Riga - Art Nouveau by Martin

Riga has the highest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture in the world. Most of the Art Nouveau buildings in Riga, built during a period of rapid economic growth, date from between 1904 and 1914, with influences from what is now Austria, Finland and Germany.The establishment of an architecture faculty in Riga in 1869 contributed significantly to the city's well-trained architect base.

By the end of the 19th century, Riga was an important city in the Russian Empire. Between 1897 and 1913, the city grew by 88%, reaching a population of 530,000 in 1914.

In the mid-19th century, the city began to expand beyond medieval Riga, which was once surrounded by gates and walls. These were demolished and replaced by a belt of boulevards and gardens, and the growing city developed according to a grid that followed strict building regulations. Between 1910 and 1913, 300 to 500 new buildings were erected each year, most of them in Art Nouveau style, and most of them outside the old town.

Today, Art Nouveau architecture accounts for one third of all the buildings in the centre of Riga.

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REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE METIS

Beautiful flowers at Reford Gardens.

Azalées.

Visit : www.refordgardens.com/

From Wikipedia:

Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.

Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.

Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.

She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.

In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.

During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.

In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.

Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.

To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.

Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.

In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)

Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford

LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS

Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.

Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.

Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada

This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.

Severs Block- Okmulgee OK by Kevin Stewart

nrhp # 91000311- Built between 1904 and 1907, the Severs Block at 101 E. 6th St. in Okmulgee, Oklahoma is a two-story generally rectangular brick building which incorporates an earlier two-story stone building (now the west wall and a part of the rear wall). The 1882 F.B. Severs’ General Store was a Romanesque structure, the second stone building in all of Okmulgee and the first two-story stone building. Frederick Severs himself expanded his building with the new construction that included storefronts and office space. The canted corner entrance faces the Creek National Capitol. The building was rehabilitated in 1989; that renovation reversed extensive remodeling efforts made in 1954, reconstructed the entry from historical photographs, and generally returned the building to its appearance at the time of its construction.

Severs Block is significant in the area’s history. The original Severs Building was the primary supplier of general goods in the Creek Nation from 1882 until the turn of the century, and the Severs Block played a significant role In Okmulgee’s commercial development through the first half of the 20th Century. It is also an excellent example of pre-Statehood commercial buildings.

The Severs Block was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 3, 1991.

It was further included on the National Register again as a contributing building in the 1992 listing of the Okmulgee Downtown Historic District.

from Wikipedia

Clouds on my head bring dreams to my mind by Gaurav Agrawal

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This is what happens when it rains in the magnificent Yellowstone National Park. We were traveling through the park and were witnessing how the hot and smoky steam uprising from the geysers appeared to form fresh white floating clouds eventually contributing to the dark and heavy overcast. At one of the turns I pulled over as it was pouring heavily. My wife wanted to go up there and take a peek onto the other side. There she was. She was immersed. I felt the connection. She inoculated a soul in my landscape.

Street scene | Kolkata | India by dynamo.photography

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++++++++++ FROM WKIPEDIA +++++++++

Kolkata /koʊlˈkɑːtə/ ([kolkata] (About this soundlisten), also known as Calcutta /kælˈkʌtə/, the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River approximately 75 kilometres (47 mi) west of the border with Bangladesh, it is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of East India, while the Port of Kolkata is India's oldest operating port and its sole major riverine port. The city is widely regarded as the "cultural capital" of India, and is also nicknamed the "City of Joy".[1][2][3].According to the 2011 Indian census, it is the seventh most populous city. the city had a population of 4.5 million, while the population of the city and its suburbs was 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. Recent estimates of Kolkata Metropolitan Area's economy have ranged from $60 to $150 billion (GDP adjusted for purchasing power parity) making it third most-productive metropolitan area in India, after Mumbai and Delhi.[11][12][13]

In the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Calcutta were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading licence in 1690,[15] the area was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified trading post. Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah occupied Calcutta in 1756, and the East India Company retook it the following year. In 1793 the East India company was strong enough to abolish Nizamat (local rule), and assumed full sovereignty of the region. Under the company rule, and later under the British Raj, Calcutta served as the capital of British-held territories in India until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages, combined with growing nationalism in Bengal, led to a shift of the capital to New Delhi. Calcutta was the centre for the Indian independence movement; it remains a hotbed of contemporary state politics. Following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata, which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics, suffered several decades of economic stagnation.

As a nucleus of the 19th- and early 20th-century Bengal Renaissance and a religiously and ethnically diverse centre of culture in Bengal and India, Kolkata has local traditions in drama, art, film, theatre, and literature. Many people from Kolkata—among them several Nobel laureates—have contributed to the arts, the sciences, and other areas. Kolkata culture features idiosyncrasies that include distinctively close-knit neighbourhoods (paras) and freestyle intellectual exchanges (adda). West Bengal's share of the Bengali film industry is based in the city, which also hosts venerable cultural institutions of national importance, such as the Academy of Fine Arts, the Victoria Memorial, the Asiatic Society, the Indian Museum and the National Library of India. Among professional scientific institutions, Kolkata hosts the Agri Horticultural Society of India, the Geological Survey of India, the Botanical Survey of India, the Calcutta Mathematical Society, the Indian Science Congress Association, the Zoological Survey of India, the Institution of Engineers, the Anthropological Survey of India and the Indian Public Health Association. Though home to major cricketing venues and franchises, Kolkata differs from other Indian cities by giving importance to association football and other sports.

Etymology

The word Kolkata derives from the Bengali term Kôlikata (Bengali: কলিকাতা) [ˈkɔlikat̪a], the name of one of three villages that predated the arrival of the British, in the area where the city eventually was to be established; the other two villages were Sutanuti and Govindapur.[16]

There are several explanations about the etymology of this name:

The term Kolikata is thought to be a variation of Kalikkhetrô [ˈkalikʰːet̪rɔ] (Bengali: কালীক্ষেত্র), meaning "Field of [the goddess] Kali". Similarly, it can be a variation of 'Kalikshetra' (Sanskrit: कालीक्षेत्र, lit. "area of Goddess Kali").

Another theory is that the name derives from Kalighat.[17]

Alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term kilkila (Bengali: কিলকিলা), or "flat area".[18]

The name may have its origin in the words khal [ˈkʰal] (Bengali: খাল) meaning "canal", followed by kaṭa [ˈkata] (Bengali: কাটা), which may mean "dug".[19]

According to another theory, the area specialised in the production of quicklime or koli chun [ˈkɔlitɕun] (Bengali: কলি চুন) and coir or kata [ˈkat̪a] (Bengali: কাতা); hence, it was called Kolikata [ˈkɔlikat̪a] (Bengali: কলিকাতা).[18]

Although the city's name has always been pronounced Kolkata [ˈkolkat̪a] (Bengali: কলকাতা) or Kôlikata [ˈkɔlikat̪a] (Bengali: কলিকাতা) in Bengali, the anglicised form Calcutta was the official name until 2001, when it was changed to Kolkata in order to match Bengali pronunciation.[20] (It should be noted that "Calcutt" is an etymologically unrelated place name found at several locations in England.)

History

The discovery and archaeological study of Chandraketugarh, 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Kolkata, provide evidence that the region in which the city stands has been inhabited for over two millennia.[21][22] Kolkata's recorded history began in 1690 with the arrival of the English East India Company, which was consolidating its trade business in Bengal. Job Charnock, an administrator who worked for the company, was formerly credited as the founder of the city;[23] In response to a public petition,[24] the Calcutta High Court ruled in 2003 that the city does not have a founder.[25] The area occupied by the present-day city encompassed three villages: Kalikata, Gobindapur, and Sutanuti. Kalikata was a fishing village; Sutanuti was a riverside weavers' village. They were part of an estate belonging to the Mughal emperor; the jagirdari (a land grant bestowed by a king on his noblemen) taxation rights to the villages were held by the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family of landowners, or zamindars. These rights were transferred to the East India Company in 1698.[26]:1

In 1712, the British completed the construction of Fort William, located on the east bank of the Hooghly River to protect their trading factory.[27] Facing frequent skirmishes with French forces, the British began to upgrade their fortifications in 1756. The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, condemned the militarisation and tax evasion by the company. His warning went unheeded, and the Nawab attacked; he captured Fort William which led to the killings of several East India company officials in the Black Hole of Calcutta.[28] A force of Company soldiers (sepoys) and British troops led by Robert Clive recaptured the city the following year.[28] Per the 1765 Treaty of Allahabad following the battle of Buxar, East India company was appointed imperial tax collector of the Mughal emperor in the province of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, while Mughal-appointed Nawabs continued to rule the province.[29] Declared a presidency city, Calcutta became the headquarters of the East India Company by 1773.[30] In 1793, ruling power of the Nawabs were abolished and East India company took complete control of the city and the province. In the early 19th century, the marshes surrounding the city were drained; the government area was laid out along the banks of the Hooghly River. Richard Wellesley, Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William between 1797 and 1805, was largely responsible for the development of the city and its public architecture.[31] Throughout the late 18th and 19th century, the city was a centre of the East India Company's opium trade.[32]

By the 1850s, Calcutta had two areas: White Town, which was primarily British and centred on Chowringhee and Dalhousie Square; and Black Town, mainly Indian and centred on North Calcutta.[33] The city underwent rapid industrial growth starting in the early 1850s, especially in the textile and jute industries; this encouraged British companies to massively invest in infrastructure projects, which included telegraph connections and Howrah railway station. The coalescence of British and Indian culture resulted in the emergence of a new babu class of urbane Indians, whose members were often bureaucrats, professionals, newspaper readers, and Anglophiles; they usually belonged to upper-caste Hindu communities.[34] In the 19th century, the Bengal Renaissance brought about an increased sociocultural sophistication among city denizens. In 1883, Calcutta was host to the first national conference of the Indian National Association, the first avowed nationalist organisation in India.[35]

Bengali billboards on Harrison Street. Calcutta was the largest commercial centre in British India.

The partition of Bengal in 1905 along religious lines led to mass protests, making Calcutta a less hospitable place for the British.[36][37] The capital was moved to New Delhi in 1911.[38] Calcutta continued to be a centre for revolutionary organisations associated with the Indian independence movement. The city and its port were bombed several times by the Japanese between 1942 and 1944, during World War II.[39][40] Coinciding with the war, millions starved to death during the Bengal famine of 1943 due to a combination of military, administrative, and natural factors.[41] Demands for the creation of a Muslim state led in 1946 to an episode of communal violence that killed over 4,000.[42][43][44] The partition of India led to further clashes and a demographic shift—many Muslims left for East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh), while hundreds of thousands of Hindus fled into the city.[45]

During the 1960s and 1970s, severe power shortages, strikes, and a violent Marxist–Maoist movement by groups known as the Naxalites damaged much of the city's infrastructure, resulting in economic stagnation.[46] The Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 led to a massive influx of thousands of refugees, many of them penniless, that strained Kolkata's infrastructure.[47] During the mid-1980s, Mumbai (then called Bombay) overtook Kolkata as India's most populous city. In 1985, prime minister Rajiv Gandhi dubbed Kolkata a "dying city" in light of its socio-political woes.[48] In the period 1977–2011, West Bengal was governed from Kolkata by the Left Front, which was dominated by the Communist Party of India (CPM). It was the world's longest-serving democratically elected communist government, during which Kolkata was a key base for Indian communism.[49][50][51] In the West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, 2011, Left Front was defeated by the Trinamool Congress. The city's economic recovery gathered momentum after the 1990s, when India began to institute pro-market reforms. Since 2000, the information technology (IT) services sector has revitalised Kolkata's stagnant economy. The city is also experiencing marked growth in its manufacturing base.[52]

Geography

Spread roughly north–south along the east bank of the Hooghly River, Kolkata sits within the lower Ganges Delta of eastern India approximately 75 km (47 mi) west of the international border with Bangladesh; the city's elevation is 1.5–9 m (5–30 ft).[53] Much of the city was originally a wetland that was reclaimed over the decades to accommodate a burgeoning population.[54] The remaining undeveloped areas, known as the East Kolkata Wetlands, were designated a "wetland of international importance" by the Ramsar Convention (1975).[55] As with most of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the soil and water are predominantly alluvial in origin. Kolkata is located over the "Bengal basin", a pericratonic tertiary basin.[56] Bengal basin comprises three structural units: shelf or platform in the west; central hinge or shelf/slope break; and deep basinal part in the east and southeast. Kolkata is located atop the western part of the hinge zone which is about 25 km (16 mi) wide at a depth of about 45,000 m (148,000 ft) below the surface.[56] The shelf and hinge zones have many faults, among them some are active. Total thickness of sediment below Kolkata is nearly 7,500 m (24,600 ft) above the crystalline basement; of these the top 350–450 m (1,150–1,480 ft) is Quaternary, followed by 4,500–5,500 m (14,760–18,040 ft) of Tertiary sediments, 500–700 m (1,640–2,300 ft) trap wash of Cretaceous trap and 600–800 m (1,970–2,620 ft) Permian-Carboniferous Gondwana rocks.[56] The quaternary sediments consist of clay, silt, and several grades of sand and gravel. These sediments are sandwiched between two clay beds: the lower one at a depth of 250–650 m (820–2,130 ft); the upper one 10–40 m (30–130 ft) in thickness.[57] According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, on a scale ranging from I to V in order of increasing susceptibility to earthquakes, the city lies inside seismic zone III.[58]

Urban structure

Howrah Bridge from the western bank of the Ganges

The Kolkata metropolitan area is spread over 1,886.67 km2 (728.45 sq mi)[59]:7 and comprises 3 municipal corporations (including Kolkata Municipal Corporation), 39 local municipalities and 24 panchayat samitis, as of 2011.[59]:7 The urban agglomeration encompassed 72 cities and 527 towns and villages, as of 2006.[60] Suburban areas in the Kolkata metropolitan area incorporate parts of the following districts: North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, and Nadia.[61]:15 Kolkata, which is under the jurisdiction of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), has an area of 185 km2 (71 sq mi).[60] The east–west dimension of the city is comparatively narrow, stretching from the Hooghly River in the west to roughly the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass in the east—a span of 9–10 km (5.6–6.2 mi).[62] The north–south distance is greater, and its axis is used to section the city into North, Central, and South Kolkata. East Kolkata is also a section.

North Kolkata is the oldest part of the city. Characterised by 19th-century architecture, dilapidated buildings, overpopulated slums, crowded bazaars, and narrow alleyways, it includes areas such as Shyambazar, Hatibagan, Maniktala, Kankurgachi, Rajabazar, Shobhabazar, Shyampukur, Sonagachi, Kumortuli, Bagbazar, Jorasanko, Chitpur, Pathuriaghata, Cossipore, Kestopur, Sinthee, Belgachia, Jorabagan, and Dum Dum.[63]:65–66 The northern suburban areas like Baranagar, Durganagar, Noapara, Dunlop, Dakshineswar, Nagerbazar, Belghoria, Agarpara, Sodepur, Madhyamgram, Barasat, Birati, Khardah up to Barrackpur are also within the city of Kolkata (as a metropolitan structure).

Central Kolkata

Central Kolkata hosts the central business district. It contains B. B. D. Bagh, formerly known as Dalhousie Square, and the Esplanade on its east; Strand Road is on its west.[64] The West Bengal Secretariat, General Post Office, Reserve Bank of India, High Court, Lalbazar Police Headquarters, and several other government and private offices are located there. Another business hub is the area south of Park Street, which comprises thoroughfares such as Chowringhee, Camac Street, Wood Street, Loudon Street, Shakespeare Sarani, and A. J. C. Bose Road.[65] The Maidan is a large open field in the heart of the city that has been called the "lungs of Kolkata"[66] and accommodates sporting events and public meetings.[67] The Victoria Memorial and Kolkata Race Course are located at the southern end of the Maidan. Other important areas of Central Kolkata are Park Circus, Burrabazar, College Street, Sealdah, Taltala, Janbazar, Bowbazar, Entally, Chandni Chowk, Lalbazar, Chowringhee, Dharmatala, Tiretta Bazar, Bow Barracks, Mullick Bazar, Park Circus, Babughat etc. Among the other parks are Central Park in Bidhannagar and Millennium Park on Strand Road, along the Hooghly River.

South Kolkata

South Kolkata developed after India gained independence in 1947; it includes upscale neighbourhoods such as Ballygunge, Alipore, New Alipore, Lansdowne, Bhowanipore, Kalighat, Dhakuria, Gariahat, Tollygunge, Naktala, Jodhpur Park, Lake Gardens, Golf Green, Jadavpur, Garfa, Kalikapur, Haltu, Nandi Bagan, Santoshpur, Baghajatin, Garia, Ramgarh, Raipur, Kanungo Park, Ranikuthi, Bikramgarh, Bijoygarh, Bansdroni and Kudghat.[16] Outlying areas of South Kolkata include Garden Reach, Khidirpur, Metiabruz, Taratala, Majerhat, Budge Budge, Behala, Sarsuna, Barisha, Parnasree Pally, Thakurpukur, Maheshtala and Joka. The southern suburban neighbourhoods like Mahamayatala, Pratapgarh, Kamalgazi, Narendrapur, Sonarpur, Subhashgram and Baruipur are also within the city of Kolkata (as metropolitan, urban agglomeration area). Fort William, on the western part of the city, houses the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army;[68] its premises are under the jurisdiction of the army.

East Kolkata

East Kolkata is largely composed of newly developed areas and neighbourhoods of Saltlake, Rajarhat, Tangra, Topsia, Kasba, Anandapur, Mukundapur, Picnic Garden, Beleghata, Ultadanga, Phoolbagan, Kaikhali, Lake Town, etc. Two planned townships in the greater Kolkata region are Bidhannagar, also known as Salt Lake City and located north-east of the city; and Rajarhat, also called New Town and sited east of Bidhannagar.[16][69] In the 2000s, Sector V in Bidhannagar developed into a business hub for information technology and telecommunication companies.[70][71] Both Bidhannagar and New Town are situated outside the Kolkata Municipal Corporation limits, in their own municipalities.[69]

Climate

Kolkata is subject to a tropical wet-and-dry climate that is designated Aw under the Köppen climate classification. According to a United Nations Development Programme report, its wind and cyclone zone is "very high damage risk".[58]

Temperature

The annual mean temperature is 26.8 °C (80.2 °F); monthly mean temperatures are 19–30 °C (66–86 °F). Summers (March–June) are hot and humid, with temperatures in the low 30s Celsius; during dry spells, maximum temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in May and June.[72] Winter lasts for roughly two-and-a-half months, with seasonal lows dipping to 9–11 °C (48–52 °F) in December and January. May is the hottest month, with daily temperatures ranging from 27–37 °C (81–99 °F); January, the coldest month, has temperatures varying from 12–23 °C (54–73 °F). The highest recorded temperature is 43.9 °C (111.0 °F), and the lowest is 5 °C (41 °F).[72] The winter is mild and very comfortable weather pertains over the city throughout this season. Often, in April–June, the city is struck by heavy rains or dusty squalls that are followed by thunderstorms or hailstorms, bringing cooling relief from the prevailing humidity. These thunderstorms are convective in nature, and are known locally as kal bôishakhi (কালবৈশাখী), or "Nor'westers" in English.[73]

Rains brought by the Bay of Bengal branch of the south-west summer monsoon[74] lash Kolkata between June and September, supplying it with most of its annual rainfall of about 1,850 mm (73 in). The highest monthly rainfall total occurs in July and August. In these months often incessant rain for days brings live to a stall for the city dwellers. The city receives 2,528 hours of sunshine per year, with maximum sunlight exposure occurring in March.[75] Kolkata has been hit by several cyclones; these include systems occurring in 1737 and 1864 that killed thousands.[76][77]

Environmental issues

Pollution is a major concern in Kolkata. As of 2008, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide annual concentration were within the national ambient air quality standards of India, but respirable suspended particulate matter levels were high, and on an increasing trend for five consecutive years, causing smog and haze.[80][81] Severe air pollution in the city has caused a rise in pollution-related respiratory ailments, such as lung cancer.[82]

Economy

Kolkata is the main commercial and financial hub of East and North-East India[61] and home to the Calcutta Stock Exchange.[83][84] It is a major commercial and military port, and is the only city in eastern India, apart from Bhubaneswar to have an international airport. Once India's leading city, Kolkata experienced a steady economic decline in the decades following India's independence due to steep population increases and a rise in militant trade-unionism, which included frequent strikes that were backed by left-wing parties.[52] From the 1960s to the late 1990s, several factories were closed and businesses relocated.[52] The lack of capital and resources added to the depressed state of the city's economy and gave rise to an unwelcome sobriquet: the "dying city".[85] The city's fortunes improved after the Indian economy was liberalised in the 1990s and changes in economic policy were enacted by the West Bengal state government.[52]

Flexible production has been the norm in Kolkata, which has an informal sector that employs more than 40% of the labour force.[16] One unorganised group, roadside hawkers, generated business worth ₹ 8,772 crore (US$ 2 billion) in 2005.[86] As of 2001, around 0.81% of the city's workforce was employed in the primary sector (agriculture, forestry, mining, etc.); 15.49% worked in the secondary sector (industrial and manufacturing); and 83.69% worked in the tertiary sector (service industries).[61]:19 As of 2003, the majority of households in slums were engaged in occupations belonging to the informal sector; 36.5% were involved in servicing the urban middle class (as maids, drivers, etc.), and 22.2% were casual labourers.[87]:11 About 34% of the available labour force in Kolkata slums were unemployed.[87]:11 According to one estimate, almost a quarter of the population live on less than 27 rupees (equivalent to 45 US cents) per day.[88] As of 2010, Kolkata, with an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) by purchasing power parity of 150 billion dollars, ranked third among South Asian cities, after Mumbai and Delhi.[89] Kolkata's GDP in 2014 was Rs 1.84 trillion, according to a collaborative assessment by multiple universities and climate agencies.[90] As in many other Indian cities, information technology became a high-growth sector in Kolkata starting in the late 1990s; the city's IT sector grew at 70% per annum—a rate that was twice the national average.[52] The 2000s saw a surge of investments in the real estate, infrastructure, retail, and hospitality sectors; several large shopping malls and hotels were launched.[91][92][93][94][95] Companies such as ITC Limited, CESC Limited, Exide Industries, Emami, Eveready Industries India, Lux Industries, Rupa Company, Berger Paints, Birla Corporation and Britannia Industries are headquartered in the city. Philips India, PricewaterhouseCoopers India, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Steel have their registered office and zonal headquarters in Kolkata. Kolkata hosts the headquarters of three major public-sector banks: Allahabad Bank, UCO Bank, and the United Bank of India; and a private bank Bandhan Bank. Reserve Bank of India has its eastern zonal office in Kolkata, and India Government Mint, Kolkata is one of the four mints in India.

Panoramic view of the Down town Sector V one of the major IT hubs of Kolkata as seen from the lakes surrounding Bidhannagar. Major Buildings such as Technopolis, Godrej Waterside, TCS Lords, Eden and Wanderers Park, Gobsyn Crystal, South City Pinnacle, RDB Boulevard, West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation (WEBEL) Bhawan can be seen.

Demographics

See also: Health care in Kolkata

A big building in cream colour with many columns and a portico

Calcutta Medical College, the second institution in Asia to teach modern medicine(after 'Ecole de Médicine de Pondichéry')

IPGMER and SSKM Hospital, Kolkata is the largest hospital in West Bengal and one of the oldest in Kolkata.

As of 2011, the health care system in Kolkata consists of 48 government hospitals, mostly under the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal, and 366 private medical establishments;[177] these establishments provide the city with 27,687 hospital beds.[177] For every 10,000 people in the city, there are 61.7 hospital beds,[178] which is higher than the national average of 9 hospital beds per 10,000.[179] Ten medical and dental colleges are located in the Kolkata metropolitan area which act as tertiary referral hospitals in the state.[180][181] The Calcutta Medical College, founded in 1835, was the first institution in Asia to teach modern medicine.[182] However, These facilities are inadequate to meet the healthcare needs of the city.[183][184][185] More than 78% in Kolkata prefer the private medical sector over the public medical sector,[117]:109 due to the poor quality of care, the lack of a nearby facility, and excessive waiting times at government facilities.[117]:61

According to the Indian 2005 National Family Health Survey, only a small proportion of Kolkata households were covered under any health scheme or health insurance.[117]:41 The total fertility rate in Kolkata was 1.4, The lowest among the eight cities surveyed.[117]:45 In Kolkata, 77% of the married women used contraceptives, which was the highest among the cities surveyed, but use of modern contraceptive methods was the lowest (46%).[117]:47 The infant mortality rate in Kolkata was 41 per 1,000 live births, and the mortality rate for children under five was 49 per 1,000 live births.[117]:48

Among the surveyed cities, Kolkata stood second (5%) for children who had not had any vaccinations under the Universal Immunization Programme as of 2005.[117]:48 Kolkata ranked second with access to an anganwadi centre under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme for 57% of the children between 0 and 71 months.[117]:51 The proportion of malnourished, anaemic and underweight children in Kolkata was less in comparison to other surveyed cities.[117]:54–55

About 18% of the men and 30% of the women in Kolkata are obese—the majority of them belonging to the non-poor strata of society.[117]:105 In 2005, Kolkata had the highest percentage (55%) among the surveyed cities of anaemic women, while 20% of the men in Kolkata were anaemic.[117]:56–57 Diseases like diabetes, asthma, goitre and other thyroid disorders were found in large numbers of people.[117]:57–59 Tropical diseases like malaria, dengue and chikungunya are prevalent in Kolkata, though their incidence is decreasing.[186][187] Kolkata is one of the districts in India with a high number of people with AIDS; it has been designated a district prone to high risk.[188][189]

As of 2014, because of higher air pollution, the life expectancy of a person born in the city is four years fewer than in the suburbs.[190]

Education

Kolkata's schools are run by the state government or private organisations, many of which are religious. Bengali and English are the primary languages of instruction; Urdu and Hindi are also used, particularly in central Kolkata.[191][192] Schools in Kolkata follow the "10+2+3" plan. After completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in schools that have a higher secondary facility and are affiliated with the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, the ICSE, or the CBSE.[191] They usually choose a focus on liberal arts, business, or science. Vocational programs are also available.[191] Some Kolkata schools, for example La Martiniere Calcutta, Calcutta Boys' School, St. James' School (Kolkata), St. Xavier's Collegiate School, and Loreto House, have been ranked amongst the best schools in the country.[193]

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

As of 2010, the Kolkata urban agglomeration is home to 14 universities run by the state government.[194] The colleges are each affiliated with a university or institution based either in Kolkata or elsewhere in India. Aliah University which was founded in 1780 as Mohammedan College of Calcutta is the oldest post-secondary educational institution of the city.[195] The University of Calcutta, founded in 1857, is the first modern university in South Asia.[196] Presidency College, Kolkata (formerly Hindu College between 1817 and 1855), founded in 1855, was one of the oldest and most eminent colleges in India. It was affiliated with the University of Calcutta until 2010 when it was converted to Presidency University, Kolkata in 2010. Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) is the second oldest engineering institution of the country located in Howrah.[197] An Institute of National Importance, BESU was converted to India's first IIEST. Jadavpur University is known for its arts, science, and engineering faculties.[198] The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, which was the first of the Indian Institutes of Management, was established in 1961 at Joka, a locality in the south-western suburbs. Kolkata also houses the prestigious Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, which was started here in the year 2006.[199] The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences is one of India's autonomous law schools,[200][201] and the Indian Statistical Institute is a public research institute and university. State owned Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, West Bengal (MAKAUT, WB), formerly West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT) is the largest Technological University in terms of student enrollment and number of Institutions affiliated by it. Private institutions include the Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute and University of Engineering & Management (UEM).

Notable scholars who were born, worked or studied in Kolkata include physicists Satyendra Nath Bose, Meghnad Saha,[202] and Jagadish Chandra Bose;[203] chemist Prafulla Chandra Roy;[202] statisticians Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis and Anil Kumar Gain;[202] physician Upendranath Brahmachari;[202] educator Ashutosh Mukherjee;[204] and Nobel laureates Rabindranath Tagore,[205] C. V. Raman,[203] and Amartya Sen.[206]

Kolkata houses many premier research institutes like Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bose Institute, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP), All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI), S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS), Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM), National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Kolkata, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) and Indian Centre for Space Physics. Nobel laureate Sir C. V. Raman did his groundbreaking work in Raman effect in IACS.

Culture

Kolkata is known for its literary, artistic, and revolutionary heritage; as the former capital of India, it was the birthplace of modern Indian literary and artistic thought.[207] Kolkata has been called the "City of Furious, Creative Energy"[208] as well as the "cultural [or literary] capital of India".[209][210] The presence of paras, which are neighbourhoods that possess a strong sense of community, is characteristic of the city.[211] Typically, each para has its own community club and, on occasion, a playing field.[211] Residents engage in addas, or leisurely chats, that often take the form of freestyle intellectual conversation.[212][213] The city has a tradition of political graffiti depicting everything from outrageous slander to witty banter and limericks, caricatures, and propaganda.[214][215]

Kolkata has many buildings adorned with Indo-Islamic and Indo-Saracenic architectural motifs. Several well-maintained major buildings from the colonial period have been declared "heritage structures";[216] others are in various stages of decay.[217][218] Established in 1814 as the nation's oldest museum, the Indian Museum houses large collections that showcase Indian natural history and Indian art.[219] Marble Palace is a classic example of a European mansion that was built in the city. The Victoria Memorial, a place of interest in Kolkata, has a museum documenting the city's history. The National Library of India is the leading public library in the country while Science City is the largest science centre in the Indian subcontinent.[220]

The popularity of commercial theatres in the city has declined since the 1980s.[221]:99[222] Group theatres of Kolkata, a cultural movement that started in the 1940s contrasting with the then-popular commercial theatres, are theatres that are not professional or commercial, and are centres of various experiments in theme, content, and production;[223] group theatres use the proscenium stage to highlight socially relevant messages.[221]:99[224] Chitpur locality of the city houses multiple production companies of jatra, a tradition of folk drama popular in rural Bengal.[225][226] Kolkata is the home of the Bengali cinema industry, dubbed "Tollywood" for Tollygunj, where most of the state's film studios are located.[227] Its long tradition of art films includes globally acclaimed film directors such as Academy Award-winning director Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha, and contemporary directors such as Aparna Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Goutam Ghose and Rituparno Ghosh.[228]

During the 19th and 20th centuries, Bengali literature was modernised through the works of authors such as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.[229] Coupled with social reforms led by Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, and others, this constituted a major part of the Bengal Renaissance.[230] The middle and latter parts of the 20th century witnessed the arrival of post-modernism, as well as literary movements such as those espoused by the Kallol movement, hungryalists and the little magazines.[231] Large majority of publishers of the city is concentrated in and around College Street, "... a half-mile of bookshops and bookstalls spilling over onto the pavement", selling new and used books.[232]

Kalighat painting originated in 19th century Kolkata as a local style that reflected a variety of themes including mythology and quotidian life.[233] The Government College of Art and Craft, founded in 1864, has been the cradle as well as workplace of eminent artists including Abanindranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, and Nandalal Bose.[234] The art college was the birthplace of the Bengal school of art that arose as an avant garde and nationalist movement reacting against the prevalent academic art styles in the early 20th century.[235][236] The Academy of Fine Arts and other art galleries hold regular art exhibitions. The city is recognised for its appreciation of Rabindra sangeet (songs written by Rabindranath Tagore) and Indian classical music, with important concerts and recitals, such as Dover Lane Music Conference, being held throughout the year; Bengali popular music, including baul folk ballads, kirtans, and Gajan festival music; and modern music, including Bengali-language adhunik songs.[237][238] Since the early 1990s, new genres have emerged, including one comprising alternative folk–rock Bengali bands.[237] Another new style, jibonmukhi gaan ("songs about life"), is based on realism.[221]:105 Key elements of Kolkata's cuisine include rice and a fish curry known as machher jhol,[239] which can be accompanied by desserts such as roshogolla, sandesh, and a sweet yoghurt known as mishti dohi. Bengal's large repertoire of seafood dishes includes various preparations of ilish, a fish that is a favourite among Calcuttans. Street foods such as beguni (fried battered eggplant slices), kati roll (flatbread roll with vegetable or chicken, mutton, or egg stuffing), phuchka (a deep-fried crêpe with tamarind sauce) and Indian Chinese cuisine from Chinatown are popular.[240][241][242][243]

Though Bengali women traditionally wear the sari, the shalwar kameez and Western attire is gaining acceptance among younger women.[244] Western-style dress has greater acceptance among men, although the traditional dhoti and kurta are seen during festivals. Durga Puja, held in September–October, is Kolkata's most important and largest festival; it is an occasion for glamorous celebrations and artistic decorations.[245][246] The Bengali New Year, known as Poila Boishak, as well as the harvest festival of Poush Parbon are among the city's other festivals; also celebrated are Kali Puja, Diwali, Holi, Jagaddhatri Puja, Saraswati Puja, Rathayatra, Janmashtami, Maha Shivratri, Vishwakarma Puja, Lakshmi Puja, Ganesh Chathurthi, Makar Sankranti, Gajan, Kalpataru Day, Bhai Phonta, Maghotsab, Eid, Muharram, Christmas, Buddha Purnima and Mahavir Jayanti. Cultural events include the Rabindra Jayanti, Independence Day(15 August), Republic Day(26 January), Kolkata Book Fair, the Dover Lane Music Festival, the Kolkata Film Festival, Nandikar's National Theatre Festival, Statesman Vintage & Classic Car Rally and Gandhi Jayanti.

Media

See also: Kolkata in the media and List of Bengali-language television channels

A five storied building in cream colour with multiple columns in front

Akashvani Bhawan, the head office of state-owned All India Radio, Kolkata

The first newspaper in India, the Bengal Gazette started publishing from the city in 1780.[247] Among Kolkata's widely circulated Bengali-language newspapers are Anandabazar Patrika, Bartaman, Sangbad Pratidin, Aajkaal, Dainik Statesman and Ganashakti.[248] The Statesman and The Telegraph are two major English-language newspapers that are produced and published from Kolkata. Other popular English-language newspapers published and sold in Kolkata include The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Indian Express, and the Asian Age.[248] As the largest trading centre in East India, Kolkata has several high-circulation financial dailies, including The Economic Times, The Financial Express, Business Line, and Business Standard.[248][249] Vernacular newspapers, such as those in the Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Odia, Punjabi, and Chinese languages, are read by minorities.[248][103] Major periodicals based in Kolkata include Desh, Sananda, Saptahik Bartaman, Unish-Kuri, Anandalok, and Anandamela.[248] Historically, Kolkata has been the centre of the Bengali little magazine movement.[250][251]

All India Radio, the national state-owned radio broadcaster, airs several AM radio stations in the city.[252] Kolkata has 12 local radio stations broadcasting on FM, including two from AIR.[253] India's state-owned television broadcaster, Doordarshan, provides two free-to-air terrestrial channels,[254] while a mix of Bengali, Hindi, English, and other regional channels are accessible via cable subscription, direct-broadcast satellite services, or internet-based television.[255][256][257] Bengali-language 24-hour television news channels include ABP Ananda, Tara Newz, Kolkata TV, 24 Ghanta, News Time and Channel 10.[258]

Sports

See also: Football in Kolkata, Kolkata Marathon, and Kolkata derby

Salt Lake Stadium during Indian Super League opening ceremony

The most popular sports in Kolkata are football and cricket. Unlike most parts of India, the residents show significant passion for football.[259] The city is home to top national football clubs such as Mohun Bagan A.C., East Bengal F.C., Prayag United S.C., and the Mohammedan Sporting Club.[260][261] Calcutta Football League, which was started in 1898, is the oldest football league in Asia.[262] Mohun Bagan A.C., one of the oldest football clubs in Asia, is the only organisation to be dubbed a "National Club of India".[263][264] Football matches between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, dubbed as the Kolkata derby, witness large audience attendance and rivalry between patrons.[265]

A Twenty20 cricket match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors during Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens

As in the rest of India, cricket is popular in Kolkata and is played on grounds and in streets throughout the city.[266][267] Kolkata has the Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders; the Cricket Association of Bengal, which regulates cricket in West Bengal, is also based in the city. Kolkata also has an Indian Super League franchise known as Atlético de Kolkata. Tournaments, especially those involving cricket, football, badminton, and carrom, are regularly organised on an inter-locality or inter-club basis.[211] The Maidan, a vast field that serves as the city's largest park, hosts several minor football and cricket clubs and coaching institutes.[268]

Eden Gardens, which has a capacity of 68,000 as of 2017,[269] hosted the final match of the 1987 Cricket World Cup. It is home to the Bengal cricket team and the Kolkata Knight Riders.

The multi-use Salt Lake Stadium, also known as Yuva Bharati Krirangan, is India's largest stadium by seating capacity. Most matches of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup were played in the Salt Lake Stadium including both Semi-Final matches and the Final match. Kolkata also accounted for 45% of total attendance in 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup with an average of 55,345 spectators.[270] The Calcutta Cricket and Football Club is the second-oldest cricket club in the world.[271][272]

Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium served as host of the 1981 Asian Basketball Championship, where India's national basketball team finished 5th, ahead of teams that belong to Asia's basketball elite, such as Iran. The city has three 18-hole golf courses. The oldest is at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, the first golf club built outside the United Kingdom.[273][274] The other two are located at the Tollygunge Club and at Fort William. The Royal Calcutta Turf Club hosts horse racing and polo matches.[275] The Calcutta Polo Club is considered the oldest extant polo club in the world.[276][277][278] The Calcutta Racket Club is a squash and racquet club in Kolkata. It was founded in 1793, making it one of the oldest rackets clubs in the world, and the first in the Indian subcontinent.[279][280] The Calcutta South Club is a venue for national and international tennis tournaments; it held the first grass-court national championship in 1946.[281][282] In the period 2005–2007, Sunfeast Open, a tier-III tournament on the Women's Tennis Association circuit, was held in the Netaji Indoor Stadium; it has since been discontinued.[283][284]

The Calcutta Rowing Club hosts rowing heats and training events. Kolkata, considered the leading centre of rugby union in India, gives its name to the oldest international tournament in rugby union, the Calcutta Cup.[285][286][287] The Automobile Association of Eastern India, established in 1904,[288][289] and the Bengal Motor Sports Club are involved in promoting motor sports and car rallies in Kolkata and West Bengal.[290][291] The Beighton Cup, an event organised by the Bengal Hockey Association and first played in 1895, is India's oldest field hockey tournament; it is usually held on the Mohun Bagan Ground of the Maidan.[292][293] Athletes from Kolkata include Sourav Ganguly and Pankaj Roy, who are former captains of the Indian national cricket team; Olympic tennis bronze medallist Leander Paes, golfer Arjun Atwal, and former footballers Sailen Manna, Chuni Goswami, P. K. Banerjee, and Subrata Bhattacharya.

MISSION: Waterdrop by Buzz Fisher

7 37

Finally got somthing to contribute to the MISSION: Water! Not entirely thrilled....but it'll work for now.

More Lady Diva as Photo Art by LD's Slave Carl

43 5

Contributed by an admirer

Mazda RX-7 (FD) by von Erics

I missed out on contributing for awhile

so I'll try to be back here n there!

Hope you don't mind the little clipping of the 1/4 round tiles for headlights; as easily stickered IRL as they are "beta versions" in my current(ly outdated) Ldraw folder ;D

Kerkini National Park near Serres, Greece - August 2014 by Saffy H

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www.birdwatchingkerkini.com/kerkini-lake/#

Lake Kerkini is situated in Northern Greece, about 20km from Greek-Bulgarian border. The lake and the surrounding wetlands are nestled between the Kerkini Mountains to the north and the Marvovouni Mountains to the south. The lake occupies an area of about 50 to 73 sq km, depending on water levels.www.kerkinilake.com

Kerkini Lake is an artificial reservoir. It was formed in 1932 by men’s technical intervention on the Strymon River, which is the greatest lake’s water provider. In addition, there is Kerkinitis river from Krousia Mountain that flows into Kerkini Lake. The lake was created on site that previously was an extensive marshland. As the time went by, the river substances were washed up, so the rising of the banks a new dam construction took place in 1982, which gave the lake its present look. Although the human intervention in the nature usually takes a harmful action against the natural development, Kerkini Lake is an atypical example where the human intervention had an opposite effect, since after the construction of the dam on the river the hydro-biosphere entirely changed. Today it has a reputation as one of the best places for birdwatching in Greece due to its position. It is located along the migratory flyway to the Agean Sea, the Black Sea, Balkan region and Hungarian steppes. This area is famous for its biodiversity and nowadays is one of the major Greece’s wetlands. It is considered a miracle of nature with thousands of birds, fish variety, more than ten amphibian species, nineteen reptile species, five snail species, hundreds of butterfly species along with riverside forest, variety of water lilies and a great diversity of insects which play an important element in the food chain and contribute to the biological diversity of the Kerkini Lake.

The hydro-biosphere of the Lake Kerkini is of great international importance – the water level of the lake is valuable as a hydro-biosphere for thousands of water fowls, variety of fish and other species and it has a great agricultural function alike.

The Kerkini lake area is also an important recreational area and nice vacation spot. Besides birdwatching, other available activities on the lake include hiking nearby mountains and forests, lake boating, cycling or horse riding.

Birdwatching on Kerkini Lake

Lake Kerkini is a real paradise for bird watchers. The lake hosts more than 300 sorts of birds, including 140 non-migrants species, including some endangered species and 170 species that migrate every year. At least 31 of bird species are protected by EEC’s Directive in relation to wild life and 76 of them are recorded in the National Red catalogue.

Non-migrating species of birds include Black Storks, Squacco Herons, Purple Herons, Spoonbills, Little Bitterns, and a variety of Warblers. There are also two endangered non-migrating species, the Pygmy Cormorant and the Dalmatian Pelican that can be observed here. In the nearby mountains, even more birds can be founded, including diversity of Eagles like White-tailed Eagles, Lesser Spotted Eagles, Golden Eagles, Blue Rock Thrush, Peregrine Falcons, Black Woodpeckers and Nutcrackers. Birdwatching tours regularly include walking tours around the lakeside as well as hiking into the hillside and lake boat rides.

There are numerous guided birdwatching tours in this region available and number of hotels nearby ideal for bird watchers’ accommodation, such as hotel Eroditos on a hill of the village Lithotopos, offering an exclusive panoramic view of the Kerkini Lake.

The Birdwatching Seasons

Almost every season of the year is good for birdwatching in this area, but you may prefer to visit Lake Keriki at certain times of the year, depending on what do you want to see. If you want to see migrating of the birds than the April is particularly good month for visiting the lake. On the other hand, if you are interested in birds breeding, than you should plan your visit for May and June. And if you would like to see different non-native birds that migrate to this area, you should plan a winter trip to the Lake Kerkini.

How to Get to Kerkini Lake

Lake Kerkini is positioned a little more than an hour’s drive from Thessalonika international airport, some 20 km from Bulgarian border and about 100 km from the international highway E75, which makes it easy accessible by car or by plane, if you are coming from abroad.

Birdwatching in Lake Kerkini

About Kerkini Lake

Lake Kerkini is located in Northern Greece, some 20km from Greek-Bulgarian border and it stretches on an area of approximately 50 to 73 square kilometers. Kerkini Lake is an artificial water reservoir fed by Strymon River, created in 1930s. Today, Kerkini Lake area is well-known among nature lovers for its biodiversity and it is one of the major wetlands in Greece of great biological importance. It is also considered the best birdwatching spot in the country. It is protected by the Ramsar Convention and it is a part of the “Narura 2000” network.

One of the most popular birding spots in Europe is Kerkini Lake region in Northern Greece. It is famous due to its position on a migratory way that birds follow to the Black Sea, Aegean Sea, Balkan region and Hungarian steppes. Lake and its surroundings has been popular over decades among birders from country and abroad because of its biodiversity with hundreds of bird species, variety of fish, diversity of snail species, more than 120 species of butterflies, insects and diverse flora in the lake area and nearby mountains as well. Lake Kerkini itself is very dynamic bird environment with thousands of migrating and non-migrating bird species. It usually takes two or three weeks to see all this area has to offer and if you are planning your birdwatching trip to Lake Kerkini, the best would be to set aside at least a week or two of your vacation for this. Furthermore, a vacation in this area wouldn’t be complete without visiting nearby mountains of Krousia and Marvovouni with breathtaking panoramic views, diverse flora and fauna and challenging paths for hiking, cycling or walking. At the end, because of Lake Kerkini’s relatively close proximity to the Aegean Coast, you shouldn’t miss going to the beaches if you come during summer season.

But the main reason why lots of people visit this area every year is recreational birding and enjoying in observing the spectacular diversity of breeding or wintering bird species. No wonder this lake is considered an authentic paradise for birdwatchers and photograph lovers alike. It is home to more than 10.000 birds and you can find in more than 300 bird species there, from which 140 are non-migrants species and 170 species that migrate every year. Non-migrating bird species include some endangered species like Pygmy Cormorant and the Dalmatian Pelican. Some 31 of bird species are protected by EEC’s Directive in relation to wild life and 76 of them are recorded in the National Red catalogue.

Kerkini Lake provides shelter to a large number of waterfowl, thousands of Night Herons, several hundred pairs of Squacco and Grey Herons, Purple Herons, few hundred pairs of Pygmy Cormorant, more than two thousand pairs of Cormorants, about one hundred pairs of Spoonbil, Glossy Ibies, hundreds of Dalmatian and white Pelicans, Black Storks, Ferruginous Ducks and many other species. If you go to nearby mountains, you can find Black Kite, penguline Tit, Sparrowhawk, Golden Oriole, Black-headed Bunting, Cirl Bunting, Red-Rumped Swallow, Woodchat Shrike, Masked Shrike, Lesser Grey Shrike, Olivaceous Warbler, Black-eared Wheatear, Semi-collared Flycatcher etc. Large numbers of waders and other raptors on passageway could also be observed early in spring.

You can enjoy birdwatching activity in Lake Kerkini during the whole year. If you come in Winter, you’ll have the opportunity to see a great number of birds that call this area home, such as Greater Flamingos, Dalmatian Pelicans, Greater Spotted Eagles, White-tailed Eagles, Ferruginous Duck, White-fronted Geese, Pygmy Cormorant, Cormorant, Black Kite, Pochard, Teal, Wigeon, Crested Grebe, Shoveler, Peregrine, Golden Eagle, Goshawk, Marsh Harrier, etc.

If you visit this region in early spring, you’ll be on time for observing the bird migration. Migration begins in early March, with the arrival of pioneering Garganey and Osprey. White Storks arrive towards the end of the month. Migration continues through April into beginning of May. Glossy Ibis are expected and thousands of both species of Pelican can be seen.

There are some great accommodation alternatives available nearby Kerkini Lake with excellent services offered to birders, to fully enjoy your birdwatching experience in Greece.

Louis Block (Orangeburg, South Carolina) by courthouselover

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Built ca. 1904, this commercial block is a contributing property to the Orangeburg Downtown Historic District. The district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Orangeburg, South Carolina is located to the south-southeast of Columbia in the central part of the state, where the sandhills transition from the piedmont to the coastal plains. The community is home to South Carolina State University and the Edisto Memorial Gardens.

Orangeburg is the seat of its namesake County.

2019 - Cambodia - Sihanoukville - Wat Krom - 1 of 6 by Ted McGrath

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The fourth and final stop at Sihanoukville on our cruise ship purchased tour was to Wat Krom (Wat IntNhean) Buddhist temple.

Wat Krom means 'lower wat' and lys on a small hill on Santipheap St. overlooking the ocean.

Wat Krom in Sihanoukville is dedicated to Ya-Mao, a local deity.

Wat Krom houses a large reclining Buddha, and a shrine dedicated to the local deity Yeah Mao.

When you entering, please remember to following:

Take off shoes when come into the building.

Do not disturb prayers.

Women are not allowed to touch the monks.

Bow slightly in the presence of elder monks.

Do not point to the monks or Buddha statues.

Sit with feet tucked behind

Speak and walk softy.

Contribute to donation box if you can.

The Aurora Named STEVE by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

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STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) is seen as a thin purple ribbon of light accompanied by green light.

Credit: ©Megan Hoffman

NASA image use policy.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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2014 - Cartagena Columbia - Plaza Santo Domingo by Ted McGrath

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This is the lovely Plaza Santo Domingo adjacent to the church of Santo Domingo in Centro Catagena's UNESCO designated old town.

The church of Santo Domingo, built in 1539, is the oldest in Cartagena. Legend has it that the Devil, unhappy with the building of this holy place, appeared one day to take matters into his own hand. He leaped up to the tower and made every effort to wrench it from its base. It remained firm, although cocked somewhat from its orientation flush with the façade. The Devil is then said to have descended in wrath upon the well in the plaza, located where now there is an ornate lamppost. His passage left the water tasting of sulfur, making it necessary to seal up the well. That's what the legend says. Today the Plaza of Santo Domingo is one of the most attractive points in the city, both by day and night. Fernando Botero, a well-known Colombian artist, contributed one of his "heavy" sculptures to adorn the Plaza. His statute La Gordita (The Fat Lady) "Gertrudis" (Gertrude) is on a pedestal just past the second garbage container.

Surrounded by some of the city’s finest architecture, and filled with umbrella-shaded café tables, the plaza is also a magnet for souvenir vendors. Be sure to bargain.

Vigilant by Bill McBride

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Strobist: Metz mecablitz 50 AF-1 off camera flash with umbrella reflector, above and to the right of subject, triggered by the camera’s pop-up flash that I covered with a cardboard reflector so the pop-up flash would not contribute direct flash to the subject (Bowie).

Contax Tix by Nobby knipst

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Kompakte kleine Kamera mit dem Adlerauge im Titankleid für APS Filme. Ca 1997 der letzter Versuch, der Digitalfotografie noch etwas entgegen zu setzen, er scheiterte und kam auch wohl etwas spät. Alle Innovationen wie Speicherung von Aufnahmedaten, verlustfreier Wechsel von teilbelichteten Filmen etc hat den Untergang der Zelluloidfotografie nicht stoppen können, bei ernsthaften Fotografen wohl sowieso nicht wegen des kleineren Filmformats als 35mm. Immerhin hat dieses letzte Aufbäumen der Digitalfotografie das meistverbreitete Sensorformat beschert: APS! Und der mittlerweile wieder stark wachsenden Fangemeinde des althergebrachten Fotografierens die Möglichkeit, günstig an ehemals sündhaft teure Schmuckstücke von Contax zu kommen. 3000 DM für diesen winzigen Knipskasten waren doch wohl etwas überzogen - Zeiss Optik hin oder her. In Deutschland ist die obige APS Kamera eher selten und dann meist zu überhöhten Preisen zu kriegen, in Japan geht sie ab dem Gegenwert von zwei Stangen Zigaretten relativ häufig über die Ladentheke. Die verhältnissmäßig teuren Filme werden zwar nicht mehr produziert, aber der Lagerbestand dürfte noch eine kurze Zeit (Stand 12/2021) reichen.

Compact small camera with the ZEISS "eagle eye" made of titanium for APS film. Ca 1997 that was the last attempt to contribute to digital photography, but he failed and probably came a bit late. All innovations such as storage of recording data, lossless change of partially exposed films etc have not stopped the destruction of celluloid photography, with serious photographers probably not because of the smaller film format as 35mm. After all, this last volume of digital photography has brought the most widespread sensor format: APS! And the now strongly growing fan base of the old photography again the opportunity to get favorable on formerly sinfully expensive jewels of Contax. 3000 DM for this tiny snapkast was probably somewhat coated - ZEISS optics or ago. In Germany, the above APS camera is rather rare and then usually to get excessive prices, in Japan, it is relatively common from the equivalent of two rods of cigarettes relatively often over the bar counter. The relatively expensive films are no longer produced, but the inventory should still be enough for a small time.

Bilder mit dieser Kamera hier!

J-Tac Concept IRCD by R4mos

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The Individual Research and Combat Device is designed to help the operator get the most from the environment serving not only as a weapon but as an extension of the user's own body.

The IRCD features the J-Tac's TAT-5 (Telemetry Aiming Tool). Inspired by technology made for space probes, this small computer makes readings of the surrounding area, indicating levels of H2O, O2, C and other elements. This way, the operators can find not only hostile individuals but important resources for the exploration mission. The readings are constantly updated and the data is sent to the main research center, contributing for further reconnaissance of the ambient. The TAT-5 also works as a red dot sight unit and has a built in compass.

Due to concerns with ammo, J-Tac installed an ultra sonic repellent in the stock, similar to the one used against bats but with more efficiency. It's able to stun the creatures living in the forest due to their enhanced hearing, allowing an emergency escape if ammo runs out. It's battery lasts for 2 hours, leaving the soldiers with plenty of time for a back-up plan.

The IRCD can be used for a great number of roles from Assault Squads to Security Teams due to its folding and collapsible stock and barrel extension.

Sorry for any mistakes. I'm not used to a more formal and technical language.

The Disaster Artist 2/2- Gotham Central by Killer Moth

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A special credit to this issue goes to Lord Allo, who contributed to and provided a couple of my favourite Injustice League moments in this issue. Enjoy.

==GCPD. Major Crimes Precinct==

"Yo, Mac, Sarge said you're the go-to for the Kyle case?"

Macdonald looked up from her desk, smirking. "Sure am. Been chasing that one for years. Reports can't seem to decide whether he's dead, alive or something in-between-"

"-Need those files on the Arkham escapees. Crane and Dent may be in custody, but that doesn't mean we get to rest easy. Joker, Day, and a dozen others are still in the wind," Captain Sawyer yelled, drowning them out, as she exited her office.

"Yes, Captain," the bullpen replied in chorus, as the station erupted into a flurry of activity. On the balcony above, a couple more officers talked to one another. The first approaching his superior, report in hand. "Sir, I need a signature on the Radium gear before we can transport it, anyone know where the DA's hiding?"

"That's a negative, kid. Forensics wanted to go over the toxicity levels one last time before they let them go. No stone unturned kinda deal-" Sarge explains, as he makes his way towards the break room.

Down the hall, three more cops stood outside the interview room, coffees in hand. Behind the glass, the inmate, had been yammering all morning, a high pitched melody echoing throughout the room. "Frabjous Day, callooh callay! The time is now, the world shall pay.

Societies are on the move with leagues in hot pursuit! Their armies dream of winning, with a world beneath their boot!

Other factions chart a course- the base atop the hill. Men once filled with honour, care only who they kill."

"What's his problem?" a cop asks, peering into the interview room. Inside, the small, red haired man taps his fingers on the table, singing tunelessly to himself.

"Who, Tetch? Some rookie forgot to take his hat off when he booked him. The wee bastard mind controlled him into raiding the kitchens. Stole all our teabags. Think he got a sugar rush, or something," a second cop explains.

"Teabags? Why not the armoury? Why not free himself?"

"Paranoid schizo, Tom. I'll sleep easy when they open another loony bin," the third cop mutters.

"Like that'll happen, Nate. Their last one nearly killed all the inmates."

"If it works, it works," Nate mutters as he walks past the interview room. "Chandler, let me know if you need some back-up in there," he calls back to his partner.

"He's four foot tall, Nate, I think I'll manage," she smiles back, opening the door. Hatter gazes up at her, and joyfully bursts into song once more.

"Assassins! Misfits! Knights and Thugs, across Earth far and wide! But no one could forever live, and many of them died!

Darkness grew in hearts of men, promises were made! The bug, now just a widower knew vengeance must be paid.

The Caped Crusader, pointed ears, remembered his first vow. Though evil's power grew and grew, never would he bow.

The Merc to once have broke the bat, had a heart now snapped in two. He thought about the daughter, and his attempts to woo.

Disaster rose, his powers grew, forgotten he may be. But now he yearned for his own seat, and, just in time for tea."

Outside, the main door opens, pushed inwards by an invisible hand. Making their way past cop after cop, the unseen figure arrives at the evidence room, a home run, he thinks. But just as he steps through the doorframe, the metal detector sets off, and a loud, ear piercing siren erupts throughout the precinct. He looks down to the ground, and mutters under his breath, as the cops swarm his way.

"Shit."

=====Star City====

Far from the hustle and bussle of the Financial District, Starling Court Drive is situated in the middle of suburbia. The people are kind, honest, unassuming and unsuspecting. The perfect cover for any supervillain hoping to maintain a low profile.

William Tockman was one such man. He exits his house at 10:30 exactly- as he did every day, his red dressing gown draped around his shoulders, a cup of hot cocoa in his hand. He walks down the driveway and opens his mailbox, wrapping the contents under his free arm: bills, bills and the newest issue of his favourite clock magazine (His newest German antique was coming along wonderfully).

Across the road, exiting a shabby old ford, three gaudily dressed men slam the car door closed, and proceed to bicker with each other.

"Hey King," their leader, Disaster, yells cheerily.

Tockman looks at the trio, then at his watch- waving, then promptly running back inside.

“Cmon man, let us in! We just wanna talk!” Disaster calls out, rapping at the door impatiently.

“I haven’t the time!” Tockman exclaims, now barricading the door with whatever he can find.

“Of course you do, man, you always have the time, it’s your thing!” Disaster fires back indignantly.

“Right right, I’m looking at the clock now, it says it’s time to leave me the fuck alone o’clock!” Tockman bellows.

Cluemaster pauses, letting go off the doorknob. “He said ‘o’clock’, Maj., that’s solid proof of the time. Let’s go get a burger or something,” he mutters sheepishly.

“Shut up Artie, and help me kick this idiot’s door in.”

With a single strike the door falls off it's hinges. Big Sir beams at Disaster proudly. It's not returned. Tockman sighs to himself, just add that to the list of repairs... The trio push him aside, track dirt across the floor, and make themselves comfortable on his coach. The group finally static, he gets a good look at Cluemaster.

"Good god, Arthur, what happened to your face?"

"Plane crash," he mutters.

"Ah. Again?"

"No, no, this time it was Black Adam."

Tockman lowers his glasses, confused. "What was he doing flying a plane? The man can fly!"

"No, really- Did you text Multi Man?" Cluemaster asks Disaster, desperate to change the subject to something other than his latest embarrassment.

"I did he hasn't- Wait, hang on that's him now."

"Give me that, it's... a YouTube link."

"Well, dammit man, spit it out, what did he want?" Disaster yells expectantly.

Cluemaster braces himself, clicks the link, and the noise of Rick Astley fills the room.

-----

Disaster sits down in the kitchen, now a makeshift confessional, camera aimed at his face. "Multi-Man... Has been getting into memes. Old memes. It's harmless, really. Well, physically. Mentally, it's very, very draining."

------

"You brought a camera crew..." Tockman scowls.

"I *bought* a camera crew! You remember Bruce don't you? Bruce is heavy into cinematography!"

"I, uh, I wouldn't say "heavy," I mean, I dabble, I guess-" The once mighty Bruce stammers.

"Sure he is! Don't you get it, King, I want the final, brilliant downfall of the JLI to be televised. Live! On Netflix."

...

"Major, the JLI has been disbanded for years."

...

"I... I did not know that," Disaster pauses, as he returns to the kitchen confessional.

"Well how was I supposed to know, Bruce? I was in community service! Big Sir traded my TV for some magic beans Queen of Fables gave him, and- What? Oh, no, I don't know how Netflix works. Ironically it's the one thing Big Sir's good at. His password's pasword. With one "S" "

=The Headquarters of the Secret Society=

"The armies are ready," Kuttler says, as he struggles to keep up with Bane. He's wearing his costume- *that* he hadn't worn in a while. It was heavier than he remembered.

"Good, we depart in an hour. First, I need to make a stop in Gotham," he replies, as they enter his quarters. It's sparse, filled mainly with training equipment, books, a couple of chairs, and a small television.

"An hour? What could we possibly need now?" Kuttler asks, as the two sit down.

"Who. A useful distraction."

With that, Kuttler immediately knows who he's talking about. He sighs, and places his glasses on the desk. "Bane, I'm all for power, control, order. But I also want to *live.* You've seen the files, after what he pulled with the Walker kids-on our watch I might add-"

Bane raises a hand to stop him. "Walker will come for Ra's. When he does, with his band of Outcasts-"

"-Misfits."

"-Rejects... we will need someone to occupy them," he mutters calmly.

"Zod's in the brig, guarded by Corben and Jones. I can fetch him. He could rip them *all* in half," Noah interjects

"Excessive."

"From you, Bane, that's a compliment. I'll inform the council. But, by now, The Justice League will be right on our tails... I'd like to be free, too, when this is all said and done. I'd say unharmed, but I suppose that's an... impossibility." Kuttler trails off, as he looks at the TV screen, and reaches for the remote.

"-interrupt this broadcast to bring you to the GCPD Cauldron Precinct, where, just ten minutes ago, a hail of gunfire was reported from within- No reported casualties yet, but-"

A frown appears on Bane's face. His confidence falters. "Get me Tetch on the line."

======GCPD=======

"I need a run down on everything that was in that evidence room, understand? Guns, gizmos, you name it. This skel thinks they can bust into our house, they've got another thing coming."

"One for every freak in Gotham, ma'am," a young cop yells feverishly. "Freeze rays, shock gloves, think we've got one of Quakemaster's drills in there. But ain't none of them got any juice in them."

"Not good enough officer, we need a list, and we need it now. Sooner we know what we're up against, the... better." She runs her hand against the wall where Pinkey'd been shot. Webs-?

"Listen up people, we've reason to believe that Black Spider, aka Johnny LaMonica has infiltrated our precinct. Already, six of our brothers have been incapacitated. Let's not let him get anyone else."

Blam. Blam. Another two down.

"Boss, I just got off my cell. Blackgate says he's been in isolation for months."

"Call him again. Could be a shape-shifter. Probson, I want the files on Needham. Webs, knives, all of it. Probson-?"

Sawyer turns around. Strung up against the wall.

"They're not webs... They're cocoons," the voice mutters, as he pins her to the wall.

====Star City====

Disaster sits at Tockman's computer, trying to break the dozens of firewalls Netflix has set up. All around him, King's clocks tick, making it hard for him to concentrate. "Could you maybe turn those clocks down? Do you even have to have so many?"

Sir nods in agreement. "Big Sir stop the ticker," he smiles, as he rips a clock off the wall, and tries taking the battery out without breaking it. At this, King leaps from his armchair, and starts wrestling it out of Sir's enormous fist.

"No, you brute, if even one of those clocks is a second out of place, the entire space time equilibrium will become imbalanced!"

...

Cluemaster leans back in his chair. "You're shitting us," he remarks tiredly.

"Time is my life, dammit!" yells King in-between screams of exertion.

"Ach, Sir, leave King alone and give me a hand, will you?" Disaster calls back, agitated.

"Coming Major," Sir replies cheerily, as he marches towards the computer, clock still in his hand.

"Give me that," Tockman hisses, successfully snatching it from Sir's hands now that his attention has been diverted.

“Big Sir also has YouTube. Free to upload. Maybe easier?”

“Shut up, Big Sir, let me think!” Disaster screams, battling with Netflix *and* Tockman's poor WiFi.

“Perhaps it *is* time we gave YouTube our consideration. It would only take five minutes and twenty three seconds," Tockman suggests, still panting, as he examines his clock.

“Now we’re talking. Good idea, King, now the world will see the Justice League brought to its knees! And we won’t even have to wait for a submission process!”

Artie turns to Big Sir, his massive arms now wrapped around him passionately. “What’s the password to your YouTube account, Biggie?”

“Pasword. One S”

--------

Once more, Disaster takes a seat at the kitchen, Artie at his side- their work done for now. "Sir said that the Society was rendezvousing at this place called "Panda or Rat." I think it's Chinese or something."

Artie turns to him, defeated. "Nanda Parbat... I told you, he means *Nanda* Parbat."

Disaster looks away from the camera, as the cogs turn in his head. "That, makes a little bit more sense. Here, I thought it was a Takeaway."

=======GCPD=====

One cop left... The cloaking tech did wonders, it must be said, the figure thought. The kid was young, no older than... Simon. His breath trickled down the boy's neck. Though he couldn't see him, the kid knew he was right behind him, an invisible gun pressed into the back on his head.

"I want everything you have on the Dan Twag case, his gear, his assets, everything he stole."

The boy stammered, as he turned around. "Y-you mean the moth gear? Why... Why would anyone want that."

The voice sighed, as it deactivated the cloaking tech. "Call it, uh, personal reasons. Where are they?"

The boy fell out of his seat, backing slowly away from the purple clad assailant. "Oh, jeez, I didn't mean, I- The impound lot, it's by Port Addams!"

"Thanks."

...

"Are you going to kill me?" The cop stuttered suddenly.

Drury was taken aback. He'd not... He'd never... He looked at the bullpen, dozens of incapacitated officers. In one corner, The Mad Hatter squealed in delight, a phone in one hand, a cup of tea in the other. He lowered the gun, and whispered, maybe to the kid, maybe to himself, in reassurance.

"I- no. Never."

The cop had closed his eyes as soon as he'd seen Drury. When he felt safe enough to open them again, Killer Moth was gone, leaving just him and Tetch, singing to himself.

====Van Cleer Manor, later====

"You can't go in there."

Gar stood guard at the door, flamethrower in hand. In the basement, Drury remained hard at work. Though he'd not told him where he'd got the new gear, to Gar it didn't matter. He had a drive, something he'd not had in weeks. That had to mean something.

Gaige stared at him for a moment, then, with alarming strength, he flung him- and the door aside. "Fuck off Freddy. Walker, I'm coming in. Put down your hankie, zip up your trousers and turn off A Bug's Life!"

"Ah, Gaige," Drury murmured, blowtorch in hand, a large piece of metal propped up by Rigger.

"I don't care what you've been told, an AC/DC montage isn't going to make you a badass. That requires training, perseverance and an attention span longer than your namesake- Is that kinetic armour?" Gaige pauses, as he examines his son in-laws' handiwork.

"I mastered in electrical engineering, how do you think I built the car?"

"To be frank, I thought you had it commissioned," Gaige murmurs.

Drury turns around, as he rests the metal against the wall. "Oh, and who'd I commission to slap a big Moth face and half a dozen stripes of pink and yellow to a Roll's Royce? ...Don't answer that."

"Lady Gaga?"

"I said don't answer that, Gar."

...

Gaige stammers- a rarity, as he ponders Drury's words. "Wait, fuck... A Royce? That mother fucking eyesore was once a Roll's Royce? ...I've seen a Doll-o-Tron in progress... But that, that's the most disgusting transformation I've ever heard of! Fuck! How the hell did you even get a Roll's Royce?!"

"Probably the same place he got the house."

"*Cough* The Mob *Cough*" Chancer interjects, as he finishes loading their guns onto a cart.

"I got the house for dirt cheap really, the money was just for refurbishments," Drury says, trying to ignore Gaige's shrieks of utter disbelief.

"Hang on, you had the chance to make a spy car and you didn't choose an Aston Martin? Shame," Sharpe muses.

"I've told you, not all Aston Martins come equipped with machine guns and scuba gear," Chuck adds, as he finishes sketching some new kite designs.

"How'd you know, Working Class, you've never set foot in one," Chancer shoots back, as The Misfits start bickering with one another. The last to arrive, Ten, taps Drury on the shoulder, as he glances at the various guns, swords and kites.

"Drury, can I talk to you?"

"Ten, we can re-enact Riverdale later, right now I'm kinda busy," Drury mutters.

"It's important, please. Riverdale-?"

"Oh, right, prison. Best you don't know."

Ten cocks his head to one side, confused. "Right. Anyway, Drury, what I wanted to say was... I know what it's like. The allure of vengeance, to hurt those who hurt you.

When Deacon Blackfire had me drink his elixir, each word he spoke made it seem oh so... appealing. Beautiful. I had Harry Simms at my mercy, and if I hadn't fought his programming... He'd be dead, and I'd be left with nothing. Are you *sure* this is what you want?"

Drury looks at him, and whispers coldly "More than anything."

Needham's the next to speak. "Revenge... Ha. Revenge doesn't make it better. I tried. Had Sionis dead to rights. But the thing is, killing him wouldn't bring my family back, and killing Ra's won't bring back yours,"

"Ra's is staying alive somehow, if I find that machine, I don't know, maybe I could."

Ten places his hand on his shoulder, the Misfits are all looking at them now. "Drury! She's gone."

...

"I can save Norbert, I have to save Norbert," Drury repeats to himself.

"Then save him for god's sake! You don't need to fight Ra's to do that," Reardon pleads.

...

Drury nudges past Ten, and stares Needham dead in the eye. "You. You should've killed Roman. Think about all the other families he's killed. Think of everyone Simms will keep hurting. Tell me, how did mercy work out for Roman? He threw Chuck off a building."

At this Needham, punches Drury in the face, blood pouring from his nose. As he tries to get up, he trips him over again. "Bam. Punch to the gut. You're disorientated, barely on your feet. Bam. Strike to the throat, you can't breathe, you're choking. Bam. Sword in your chest, blood on the floor. Miranda was a fighter, trained by Ra's himself. You aren't. She couldn't have lasted, what, three minutes? You won't even last one. It doesn't matter how vengeful you are, you fight the Demon's Head and you're done."

"You got a point to this-?" Drury wheezes, as Gar rushes to his aid.

"Yeah. Your path of self-destruction only ends one way. I know, I lived it. You want to save your brother? Avenge your wife? Then you'll need all of us."

Drury looked up at Needham. At Chancer and Rigger. Chuck and Gar. Gaige... The Misfits, his Misfits stood assembled... Maybe Ten was right. Maybe this was a suicide mission, but they, *they* believed in him, just like she did. And that, that was all he needed.

"The game was set, the players poised, the battle had begun!

The Moth sat with his Misfits, for his colleagues, this was fun.

The Bat prepared to fight a war he'd prepped for like the rest.

The Luchador stood in the sun, his armies were the best.

The Major led his underlings, though folly was his quest

The Demon in his quarters smirked, and so began the test."

Pinhole Photography Day.... 116/365 by Marie Carr

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Here is one of many I took that day. Although I'm not sure if this is what I'm going to contribute to the WPPD site since i shot some on colour too that I haven't gotten developed yet!

Website /Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Blog / Instagram / 500px

View from Space Shows Winter Storm Sweep Over U.S. East Coast by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

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This GOES-East image from March 5 at 17:30 UTC (12:30 p.m. EST) shows clouds associated with a cold front push east and south that brought winter weather to the U.S. East Coast.

Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project

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A Little Log Rolling by Bonnie Ott

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Such an amazing number of Salamanders and Newts today! I wonder if the dry conditions contributed to our luck? Frederick County, Maryland

"Eastern newts inhabit both deciduous and coniferous forests. Immature larvae and adult newts live in small bodies of freshwater (ponds, small lakes, ditches, and marshes), usually with mud bottoms. Adults can survive on land if their watery habitat dries up; adults may move onto land when the water is low."

Coneflower by Tommie

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Contributed to Floral Friday

More Lady Diva as Photo Art by LD's Slave Carl

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Contributed by an admirer

Radisson Blu Riverside, Göteborg by Anders Bengtsson

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Architect: Reflex Arkitekter

Built in: 2013

Builder: Skanska Sverige AB

Contributing to the ongoing growth and development of Lindholmen Science Park, the Radisson Blu Riverside is a 266 room hotel with additional conference facilities, bar and restaurant with outdoor seating by the Göta river, and a rooftop Spa.

The building’s volume, raised above ground-level, and glimmering façade create a landmark in the surrounding landscape of city and port. The façade is perceived as a sculpture of abstract scale, clad in glimmering scales. The building is oriented towards the centre of Gothenburg, and the glazed end façade facing the estuary becomes a glowing beacon facing the city.

The hotel is planned with sustainability in mind, and designed so as to achieve the internationally-recognised LEED “Gold” certification.

Source: Reflex Arkitekter

Ramsdell (Manistee, Michigan) by courthouselover

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This structure is considered a contributing property to the 1982 listing of the Manistee Central Business District on the National Register of Historic Places.

Manistee, Michigan is a lovely town located on the northeast shore of Lake Michigan in the northwest of the Lower Peninsula. It serves as the seat of Manistee County.

Lago Maggiore - Isole Borromee viste da Streasa by Andrea Mucelli

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If you like my photograph, feel free to download it (for personal use only, no commercial, no print).

Just click the link down below in case you wish to contribute with a donation. That would be highly appreciated, thank you :)

Make a donation

If you want us it for print or commercial use, email me: andrea.mucelli@gmail.com

Architecture (I) | Paul Klee Zentrum by Daniel Wildi

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I rarely do architecture and when I did, i ruefully failed...So it's time to make an new attempt and to start a new series on this - in my eyes - very difficult subject of photography.

This first pic is a rear/side view of the Paul Klee Zentrum in Bern, Switzerland, which consists of three undulations blending seamlessly into the landscape. And it's the first pic I took with my new 5D Mark II.

______________________________________________________________________________

The Zentrum Paul Klee is a museum dedicated to the artist Paul Klee, located in Bern, Switzerland and designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano. It features about 40 percent of Paul Klee’s entire pictorial oeuvre.

Livia Klee-Meyer, Paul Klee's daughter-in-law, donated her inheritance of almost 690 works to the city and canton of Bern in summer 1997. Additional works and documents donated and loaned by the family and the Paul-Klee-Foundation and a further 200 loans from private collections contributed to creating a very large collection of works by the artist. The decision to build the museum in the Schöngrün site on the eastern outskirts of the city was made in 1998, and renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano was contracted the same year. A preliminary project was elaborated in 2000. The building was completed in 2005. It takes the form of three undulations blending into the landscape.

Paul Klee (18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was born in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, and is considered both a German and a Swiss painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was, as well, a student of orientalism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented with and eventually mastered colour theory, and wrote extensively about it; his lectures Writings on Form and Design Theory (Schriften zur Form und Gestaltungslehre), published in English as the Paul Klee Notebooks, are considered so important for modern art that they are compared to the importance that Leonardo da Vinci's A Treatise on Painting had for Renaissance. He and his colleague, the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, both taught at the German Bauhaus school of art, design and architecture. His works reflect his dry humour and his sometimes childlike perspective, his personal moods and beliefs, and his musicality.

[Source: Wikipedia]

Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM

Aperture: f/8

Exposure time: 1/250s

Focal length: 105mm

ISO Speed: 100

Processed with PS CS5

Space Shuttle Discovery DC Fly-Over by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

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Space Shuttle Discovery DC Fly-Over Washington, DC. Posted via Instagram and shot with an iPhone. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Rebecca Roth

Space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) flies near the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, April 17, 2012, in Washington. Discovery, the first orbiter retired from NASA’s shuttle fleet, completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles. NASA will transfer Discovery to the National Air and Space Museum to begin its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and to educate and inspire future generations of explorers.

NASA image use policy.

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Elizabeth Fry by Dan Harris

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On this day in 1780 the English prison reformer, social reformer & Quaker Elizabeth Fry was born.

Elizabeth Fry was one of Britain's most influential 19th century social reformers and is best known for her work on improving the conditions of Britain's gaols. Because of her work, first on the treatment of female prisoners at Newgate Prison and then more generally on the conditions in British and European gaols, she has often been referred to as the "angel of prisons".

Elizabeth was born on May 21st 1780 in Gurney Court, off Magdalen Street, Norwich, Norfolk, England into a prominent Quaker family, the Gurneys. Her father, John Gurney (1749–1809), was a partner in Gurney's Bank. Her mother, Catherine, was a member of the Barclay family who were among the founders of Barclays Bank. Her mother died when Elizabeth was twelve years old so as one of the oldest girls in the family, she was partly responsible for the care and education of the younger children.

She married Joseph Fry, who was also a Quaker, in August 1800 at the Norwich Goat Lane Friends Meeting House and moved to St Mildred's Court in the City of London. In 1811 she was recorded as a minister of the Religious Society of Friends.

Prompted by a family friend, Stephen Grellet, Fry visited Newgate Prison in 1813. The conditions she saw there horrified her. The women's section was overcrowded with women and children, some of whom had not even received a trial. The prisoners did their own cooking and washing in the small cells in which they slept on straw.

She returned the following day with food and clothes for some prisoners. She was unable to personally further her work for nearly four years because of difficulties within the Fry family, including financial difficulties in the Fry bank.

Fry returned in 1816 and was eventually able to fund a prison school for the children who were imprisoned with their mothers. Rather than attempt to impose discipline on the women, she suggested rules and then asked the prisoners to vote on them. In 1817 she helped found the Association for the Reformation of the Female Prisoners in Newgate. This association provided materials for women so that they could learn to sew patchwork which was calming and also allowed skills to develop, such as needlework and knitting which could offer employment when they were out of prison and then could earn money for themselves. This approach was copied elsewhere and led to the eventual creation of the British Ladies' Society for Promoting the Reformation of Female Prisoners in 1821. She also promoted the idea of rehabilitation instead of harsh punishment which was taken on by the city authorities in London as well as many other authorities and prisons.

Elizabeth Fry also campaigned for the rights and welfare of prisoners who were being transported. The women of Newgate Prison were taken through the streets of London in open carts, often in chains, huddled together with their few possessions. They were pelted with rotten food and filth by the people of the city. The fear was often enough to make women condemned to transportation riot on the evening before. Fry's first action was to persuade the Governor of Newgate prison to send the women in closed carriages and spare them this last indignity before transportation. She visited prison ships and persuaded captains to implement systems to ensure each woman and child would at least get a share of food and water on the long journey. Later she arranged each woman to be given scraps of material and sewing tools so that they could use the long journey to make quilts and have something to sell as well as useful skills when they reached their destination. She also included a bible and useful items such as string and knives and forks in this vital care package. Elizabeth Fry visited 106 transport ships and saw 12,000 convicts. Her work helped to start a movement for the abolition of transportation. Transportation was officially abolished in 1837, however Elizabeth Fry was still visiting transportation ships until 1843.

Fry wrote in her book Prisons in Scotland and the North of England that she stayed the night in some of the prisons and invited nobility to come and stay and see for themselves the conditions prisoners lived in. Her kindness helped her gain the friendship of the prisoners and they began to try to improve their conditions for themselves. Thomas Fowell Buxton, Fry's brother-in-law, was elected to Parliament for Weymouth and began to promote her work among his fellow MPs. In 1818 Fry gave evidence to a House of Commons committee on the conditions prevalent in British prisons, becoming the first woman to present evidence in Parliament.

Her humanitarian work didn’t stop at prisons. For example, she helped the homeless, establishing a "nightly shelter" in London after seeing the body of a young boy in the winter of 1819/1820. She also campaigned for the abolition of the slave trade and opened a training school for nurses. Her programme inspired Florence Nightingale, who took a team of Fry's nurses to assist wounded soldiers in the Crimean War.

Her work gained her admiration from people in high places. One such was Queen Victoria, who granted her an audience a few times before she was Queen and contributed money to her cause after she ascended to the throne. Another admirer was Robert Peel who passed several acts to further her cause including the Gaols Act 1823. The act was however largely ineffective, because there were no inspectors to make sure that it was being followed.

Fry died from a stroke in Ramsgate, England, on October 12th 1845. From 2001–2016, Fry was depicted on the reverse of £5 notes issued by the Bank of England.

Summer Colours - Dahlias in our Garden 2024 by Brian @ BSE (UK) (No images or Invites, please)

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To view more of my photographs of Dahlias , please click

"here" !

I would be most grateful if you would refrain from inserting images, and/or group invites, thank you!

Dahlias are a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico. A member of the Asteraceae (or Compositae), dicotyledonous plants, related species include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia. There are 42 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. Flower forms are variable, with one head per stem; these can be as small as 2 in (5.1 cm) diameter or up to 1 ft (30 cm) ("dinner plate"). This great variety results from dahlias being octoploids—that is, they have eight sets of homologous chromosomes, whereas most plants have only two. In addition, dahlias also contain many transposons—genetic pieces that move from place to place upon an allele—which contributes to their manifesting such great diversity. The stems are leafy, ranging in height from as low as 12 in (30 cm) to more than 6–8 ft (1.8–2.4 m). The majority of species do not produce scented flowers or cultivars. Like most plants that do not attract pollinating insects through scent, they are brightly colored, displaying most hues, with the exception of blue. Perennial plants, with mostly tuberous roots. While some have herbaceous stems, others have stems which lignify in the absence of secondary tissue and resprout following winter dormancy, allowing further seasons of growth. As a member of the Asteraceae the flower head is actually a composite (hence the older name Compositae) with both central disc florets and surrounding ray florets. Each floret is a flower in its own right, but is often incorrectly described as a petal, particularly by horticulturalists. The modern name Asteraceae refers to the appearance of a star with surrounding rays. The dahlia was declared the national flower of Mexico in 1963. The tubers were grown as a food crop by the Aztecs, but this use largely died out after the Spanish Conquest. Attempts to introduce the tubers as a food crop in Europe were unsuccessful.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Would anyone like to contribute to my polaroid wall? by India Rose

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I would send two prints to anybody who contributed a polaroid for my wall! : ) Anyone who wants to just flickrmail me! Or you can just comment if you'd rather. I would be eternally grateful and happy!

If you have one you don't want or

whatever the case may be I would love it for my wall! I would be quite happy : ) So a print exchange! But you give me a Polaroid and I give you any two prints of mine you would like!

Thanks!

Svalbard Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) by Mark Carmody

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The Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) is a reindeer subspecies found on the Svalbard archipelago of Norway. They are the smallest subspecies of reindeer. Males average 65-90 kg in weight, females 53-70 kg, while for reindeer generally body mass is 159–182 kg for males and 80–120 kg for females.

The subspecies is endemic to the Svalbard islands, where it has lived for at least 5,000 years, and become well adapted to the harsh climate, being found on nearly all non-glaciated areas of the archipelago. It is the most northern living herbivore mammal in the world.

They remain short-legged and have a relatively small, rounded, head. Their fur is also lighter in colour and thicker during winter. The thickness of the coat contributes to the short-legged appearance and makes even starved animals appear fat in the winter. The males develop large antlers during the period from April to July and shed the velvet during August-September. Males lose their antlers in early winter. Females develop antlers starting in June and they are usually retained for a whole year. (wikipedia)

This was taken at Bellsund (77° 40′ 0″ N, 14° 15′ 0″ E), a 20 km long sound on the west coast of Spitsbergen, part of the Svalbard archipelago of Norway. It is separated from Van Mijenfjorden by the islands of Akseløya and Mariaholmen. Bellsund is located south of Nordenskiöld Land and north of Wedel Jarlsberg Land. An amazing place.

The World Has Changed by Jason Evans

Thank you Dawne-O, Michael, Pravin, Michelle, Bazz, James, Lucas, Janice, John and Gregg for contributing your ideas, talents and time in helping me with this challenging assignment. And of course thanks Tora-Bean for being such a good boy while we shot it.

Abruzzo II | Italy by dynamo.photography

++++ from WIKIPEDIA ++++++

Abruzzo (UK: /æˈbrʊtsoʊ/,[5] US: /ɑːˈbruːtsoʊ, əˈ-/; Italian: [aˈbruttso]; Abbrùzze [abˈbruttsə], Abbrìzze [abˈbrittsə] or Abbrèzze [abˈbrɛttsə] in Neapolitan Abruzzese; Aquilano: Abbrùzzu) or Abruzzi is a region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four provinces: L'Aquila, Teramo, Pescara, and Chieti. Its western border lies 80 km (50 mi) east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Geographically, Abruzzo is divided into a mountainous area in the west, which includes the Gran Sasso d'Italia, and a coastal area in the east with beaches on the Adriatic Sea.

Abruzzo is considered a region of Southern Italy in terms of its culture, language, history and economy, although geographically it may also be considered central.[8] The Italian Statistical Authority (ISTAT) also deems it to be part of Southern Italy, partly because of Abruzzo's historic association with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Abruzzo is known as "the greenest region in Europe" as almost half of its territory, the largest in Europe,[9] is set aside as national parks and protected nature reserves. There are three national parks, one regional park, and 38 protected nature reserves. These ensure the survival of 75% of Europe's living species, including rare species such as the golden eagle, the Abruzzo (or Abruzzese) chamois, the Apennine wolf and the Marsican brown bear.[10] Abruzzo is also home to Calderone, Europe's southernmost glacier.

The visiting nineteenth-century Italian diplomat and journalist Primo Levi (1853–1917) said that the adjectives "forte e gentile" (strong and kind) best describe the beauty of the region and the character of its people. "Forte e gentile" has since become the motto of the region and its inhabitants.

Provinces and politics

Abruzzo provinces

Provinces

Abruzzo is divided into four administrative provinces:

Province Area (km2) Population Density (inh./km2)

Chieti 2,588 396,190 153.1

L'Aquila 5,034 308,876 61.3

Pescara 1,225 318,701 260.1

Teramo 1,948 308,769 158.5

Politics

History

Human settlements in Abruzzo have existed since at least the Neolithic times. A skeleton from Lama dei Peligni in the province of Chieti dates back to 6,540 BC under radiometric dating.[13] The name Abruzzo appears to be derivative of the Latin word "Aprutium". In Roman times, the region was known as Picenum, Sabina et Samnium, Flaminia et Picenum, and Campania et Samnium.[14] The region was known as Aprutium in the Middle Ages, arising from four possible sources: it is a combination of Praetutium, or rather of the name of the people Praetutii, applied to their chief city, Interamnia, the old Teramo.

Many cities in Abruzzo date back to ancient times. Corfinio was known as Corfinium when it was the chief city of the Paeligni, and later was renamed Pentima by the Romans. Chieti is built on the site of the ancient city of Teate, Atri was known as Adria. Teramo, known variously in ancient times as Interamnia and Teramne, has Roman ruins which attract tourists.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, a string of invasions and rulers dominated the region, including the Lombards, Byzantines, and Hungarians. Between the 9th and 12th centuries, the region was dominated by the popes. Subsequently, the Normans took over, and Abruzzo became part of the Kingdom of Sicily, later the Kingdom of Naples. Spain ruled the kingdom from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The French Bourbon dynasty took over in 1815, establishing the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and ruled until Italian unification (also known as the Risorgimento) in 1860.

Until 1963, Abruzzo was part of the combined Abruzzi e Molise region. The term Abruzzi (plural of Abruzzo) derives from the time when the region was part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The territory was administered as Abruzzo Citeriore (nearer Abruzzo) and Abruzzo Ulteriore I and II (farther Abruzzo I and II) from Naples, the capital of the kingdom.[14] Abruzzo Citeriore is now Chieti province. Teramo and Pescara provinces now comprise what was Abruzzo Ulteriore I. Abruzzo Ulteriore II is now the province of L'Aquila.

In the twentieth century, war had a great impact on the region. During the Second World War, Abruzzo was on the Gustav Line, part of the German's Winter Line. One of the most brutal battles was the Battle of Ortona. Abruzzo was the location of two prisoner of war camps, Campo 21 in Chieti,[18] and Campo 78 in Sulmona. The Sulmona camp also served as a POW camp in World War 1; much of the facility is still intact and attracts tourists interested in military history.

Geography

Geographically, Abruzzo is located in central Italy and southern Italy, stretching from the heart of the Apennines to the Adriatic Sea, and includes mainly mountainous and wild land. The mountainous land is occupied by a vast plateau, including Gran Sasso, at 2,912 metres (9,554 ft) the highest peak of the Apennines, and Mount Majella at 2,793 metres (9,163 ft). The Adriatic coastline is characterized by long sandy beaches to the North and pebbly beaches to the South. Abruzzo is well known for its landscapes and natural environment, parks and nature reserves, characteristic hillside areas rich in vineyards and olive groves, and one of the highest densities of Blue Flag beaches.

Climate

The Abruzzo region has two types of climate that are strongly influenced by the Apennine Mountains, dividing the climate of the coastal and sub-Apennine hills from the interior's high mountain ranges. Coastal areas have a Mediterranean climate with hot dry summers and mild winters and rainy hills with a sublittoral climate where temperatures decrease progressively with increasing altitude and precipitation with altitude. Precipitation is also strongly affected by the presence of the Apennines mountain ridges of the region; it increases with the proportion being more abundant in the field and on the slopes exposed to the west, instead of decreasing towards the east and east-facing slopes. Often the Adriatic coast are sidelined rainfall from the west to the barrier effect of the Apennines undergoing the action of gentle winds descending from it (or Libeccio).[21] The minimum annual rainfall, however, is found in some inland valleys, sheltered from much disturbance to the blocking action of mountain ridges, such as the Peligna Valley, or the valley of the river Tirino, which in some places (Ofena, Capestrano) showed barely 500 millimetres (19.7 inches), and not along the coast where it never falls below 600 millimetres (23.6 inches); for if Teramo is relatively little watered by rain (Teramo less than 800 millimetres (31.5 inches)), the metre is exceeded in Chieti, reaching maximum levels in the Adriatic, while between Ortona and Vasto in Costa dei Trabocchi decrease again.[21] The highest rainfall occurs in upland areas on the border with Lazio; they are especially vulnerable to Atlantic disturbances. Around 1,500 to 2,000 millimetres (59 to 79 inches) of precipitation is typical (Pescara in 2010 showed a value close to 2,800 millimetres (110.2 inches)).

Flora and fauna

As with many Mediterranean regions, Abruzzo's vegetation is characterized by different Mediterranean ecosystems. The coast and the surrounding areas are characterized by the presence of typical plants of Mediterranean shrubland, such as myrtle, heather and mastic, while in the hilly areas other species grow, including olive, pine, willow, oak, poplar, alder, arbutus, broom, acacia, capers, rosemary, hawthorn, licorice and almond trees, interspersed with oak trees. At elevations between 600 and 1,000 metres (2,000 and 3,300 ft) there is sub-montane vegetation, mainly characterized by mixed forests of oak and turkey oak, maple and hornbeam; shrubs include dog rose and red juniper. Elevations between 1,000 and 1,900 metres (3,300 and 6,200 ft) are dominated by beech trees. In the Apennine Mountains at elevations above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) species include alpine orchid, mountain juniper, silver fir, black cranberry and the Abruzzo edelweiss.

The fauna of Abruzzo is highly varied, including the region's symbol, the Abruzzo chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata), which has recovered from near-extinction. Animals typical of this region include: marsican brown bear, along with Italian wolf, deer, lynx, roe deer, snow vole, fox, porcupine, wild cat, wild boar, badger, otter, and viper.

The natural parks of the region include the Abruzzo National Park, the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park,[24] the Maiella National Park and the Sirente-Velino Regional Park, as well as many other natural reserves and protected areas.

Economy

Until a few decades ago, Abruzzo was a region of poverty in Southern Italy; over the past decades, however, it has developed to such an extent that it has escaped from the spiral of underdevelopment to become the 'first' region of the 'Italian Mezzogiorno'. This confirms its pivotal role in the national economic system. Since the 1950s, Abruzzo has had steady economic growth. In 1951, Abruzzo per capita income or GDP was 53% of that of Northern Italy, the nation's richest region. By 1971, Abruzzo was at 65% and, by 1994, per capita income was at 76% of Northern Italy's per capita income, giving Abruzzo the highest per capita GDP of Southern Italy and surpassing the growth of every other region of Italy. The construction of autostrade (motorways) from Rome to Teramo (A24) and Rome to Pescara (A25) opened Abruzzo to easy access. State and private investment in the region increased, and Abruzzo attained higher per capita education levels and greater productivity growth than the rest of the South. As of 2003, Abruzzo's per capita GDP was €19,506 or 84% of the national average of €23,181 and well outpacing that of the South (€15,808). The region's average GDP per capita was approximately 20,100 EUR.

The 2009 L'Aquila earthquake led to a sharp economic slowdown. However, according to statistics at the end of 2010, it seems that the economy of Abruzzo is recovering, despite the negative on regarding employment.[28] In fact, at the end of 2010, Abruzzo's growth was 1.47%, which placed it fourth among the Italian regions with the highest annual growth rates after Lazio, Lombardy and Calabria.[30] In 2011 Abruzzo's economic growth was +2.3%, the highest percentage among the regions of Southern Italy.[31] The region is also the richest region of Southern Italy, with a GDP per capita of €25,700.[21]

Travel poster from the 1920s.

Abruzzo's industrial sector expanded rapidly, especially in mechanical engineering, transportation equipment and telecommunications. The structure of production in the region reflects the transformation of the economy from agriculture to industry and services. Although industry has developed strongly, it retains weak points due to the existence of only a few large businesses alongside a huge fabric of small and medium-sized businesses. Both pure and applied research are carried out in the region, where there are major institutes and factories involved in research in the fields of pharmaceutics, biomedicine, electronics, aerospace and nuclear physics. The industrial infrastructure is spread throughout the region in industrial zones. The most important of these are: Val Pescara, Val Sangro, Val Trigno, Val Vibrata and Conca del Fucino. A further activity worthy of note is seaside and mountain tourism, which is of considerable importance to the economy of the region.[33] Agriculture, involving small holdings, has succeeded in modernising and offering high-quality products. The mostly small, agricultural holdings produce: wine, cereals, sugar beet, potatoes, olives, vegetables, fruit and dairy products. Traditional products are saffron and liquorice. Most famous in the world is Abruzzo's wine Montepulciano d'Abruzzo; in the late 20th and early 21st century, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo earned a reputation as being one of the most widely exported DOC classed wine in Italy.[34]

In the past decade, tourism has increased, in particular by internal and European arrivals. Abruzzo is world-famous for its wildlife parks (Abruzzo National Park, Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, Maiella National Park) and regional park (Sirente Velino), and 38 protected areas between oasis, regional reserves, and state reserves. The inland mountainous region contains several ski resorts, and coastal tourism is also well-developed, in particular, the Trabocchi Coast. Abruzzo's castles and medieval towns, especially around the town of L'Aquila, have earned it in some quarters the nickname of "Abruzzoshire", by analogy with the "Chiantishire", nickname sometimes used to refer to the Chianti area of Tuscany, but Abruzzo is still off the beaten path for most visitors to Italy.[35]

Chieti

Although the population density of Abruzzo has increased over recent decades, it is still well below the Italian national average: in 2008, 123.4 inhabitants per km2, compared to 198.8. In the provinces, the density varies: as of 2008 Pescara is the most densely populated with 260.1 inhabitants per km2, whereas L'Aquila is the least densely populated with 61.3 inhabitants per km2, although it has the largest area. After decades of emigration from the region, the main feature of the 1980s is immigration from third world countries. The population increase is due to the positive net migration. Since 1991 more deaths than births were registered in Abruzzo (except for 1999, when their numbers were equal).[36] In 2008, the Italian national institute of statistics ISTAT estimated that 59,749 foreign-born immigrants live in Abruzzo, equal to 4.5% of the total regional population.

The most serious demographic imbalance is between the mountainous areas of the interior and the coastal strip. The largest province, L'Aquila, is situated entirely in the interior and has the lowest population density. The movement of the population of Abruzzo from the mountains to the sea has led to the almost complete urbanization of the entire coastal strip especially in the province of Teramo and Chieti. The effects on the interior have been impoverishment and demographic aging, reflected by an activity rate in the province of L'Aquila which is the lowest among the provinces in Abruzzo – accompanied by geological degradation as a result of the absence of conservation measures. In the coastal strip, however, there is such a jumble of accommodations and activities that the environment has been negatively affected. The policy of providing incentives for development has resulted in the setting-up of industrial zones, some of which (Vasto, Avezzano, Carsoli, Gissi, Val Vibrata, Val di Sangro) have made genuine progress, while others (Val Pescara, L'Aquila) have run into trouble after their initial success. The zones of Sulmona and Guardiagrele have turned out to be more or less failures. Outside these zones, the main activities are agriculture and tourism.

Main settlements

L'Aquila is both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila and second largest city (pop. 73,000). L'Aquila was hit by an earthquake on 6 April 2009, which destroyed much of the city centre. The other provincial capitals are Pescara, which is Abruzzo's largest city and major port (pop. 123,000); Teramo (pop. 55,000) and Chieti (pop. 55,000). Other large municipalities in Abruzzo include the industrial and high tech center Avezzano (pop. 41,000), as well as three important industrial and touristic centers such as Vasto (pop. 40,636), Lanciano (pop. 36,000), and Sulmona (pop. 25,000).

Transport

Airports

Abruzzo International Airport is the only international airport in the region. Open to civilian traffic since 1996, the number of passengers has increased over the years because of low-cost air carriers' use of the facility. Today, the airport has a catchment area of over 500,000 passengers annually and connects the city of Pescara and the entire region with many Italian and Europe destinations.

L'Aquila-Preturo Airport is located in the nearby village of Courts and was recently renovated and modernized to accommodate presidential flights for G8 activities.

Ports

There are four main ports in Abruzzo: Pescara, Ortona, Vasto and Giulianova.

Over the years the Port of Pescara became one of the most important tourist ports of Italy and the Adriatic Sea. Heavily damaged in World War II, it underwent some sixty years of major restoration and was reborn as a modern marina with advanced moorings and shipbuilding facilities. It has been honored with the European Union's blue flag for the quality of services offered. The port of Pescara has lost passenger traffic because of its shallowness and silting, but its fishery and aquaculture activities are thriving.[38]

Railways

There is a significant disparity between the railways of the Abruzzo coast and the inland areas, which badly need modernization to improve the service, in particular, the Rome-Pescara line.

Existing railway lines:

Adriatic railway runs through the whole of Italy from north to south, along the Adriatic Sea.

Train Rome – Sulmona – Pescara

Sulmona – Carpinone

Sulmona–Terni railway

Avezzano railroad – Roccasecca

Giulianova – Teramo

Sangritana (Lanciano – Castel di Sangro)

Highways

There are three highways that serve the region:

Highway A24 Rome – L'Aquila – Teramo, was built in the 1970s and connects Rome with Lazio and more specifically to the Abruzzo Teramo via L'Aquila. It performs an important liaison function of the region, both Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic, due to the presence of several interchanges of connecting roads and highways. The Gran Sasso tunnel, the longest road tunnel entirely on Italian territory, was opened in 1984. It connects L'Aquila and Teramo on the A24 making the northern Abruzzo coast reachable within two hours from Rome.

Highway A25 Turin – Avezzano – Pescara makes the connection between Rome and Pescara. The road running out of Turin begins its journey where it branches off the A24, runs into the Conca del Fucino, crosses the Abruzzo Apennines, comes to the valley of Peligna, and ends at the exit for Pescara-Villanova to join the A14.

Motorway A14 Bologna – Taranto known as the A14 "Adriatica", includes 743 km (461.68 mi) of road, including lengths in the cities of Bologna and Taranto. Opened to traffic in 1965, it is now a major tourist road, running through the coastal towns of Emilia Romagna, Marche, Abruzzo, Molise, and Apulia.

Culture

Castel del Monte, one of Abruzzo's little-known hill towns

Gabriele d'Annunzio from Pescara

Abbazia di San Liberatore a Majella (Serramonacesca)

Ovid from Sulmona

Cathedral of San Giustino (Chieti)

Fishing trabucco of San Vito Chietino

The museum Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo in Chieti houses the famed warrior statue Warrior of Capestrano which was found in a necropolis from 6th century B.C. Of cultural importance are: Teramo Cathedral, its archeological museum and Roman theater, the Castello della Monica, the Collurania-Teramo Observatory, the famous L'Aquila Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio (which holds the remains of Pope Celestine V), the Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Santa Maria del Suffragio, the Forte Spagnolo, the Fountain of 99 Spouts, Gabriele D'Annunzio's house in Pescara, Campli's Scala Sancta and its church, the church of Santissima Annunziata in Sulmona, the cathedrals of Chieti, Lanciano, Guardiagrele, Atri and Pescara along with the castles of Ortona, Celano and Ortucchio.

Every 28–29 August, L'Aquila's Santa Maria di Collemaggio commemorates the Perdonanza Celestiniana, the indulgence issued by Pope Celestine V to any who, "truly repentant and confessed" would visit that Church from the Vespers of the vigil to the vespers of 29 August.[39] Sulmona's Holy Week is commemorated with traditional celebrations and rituals, such as 'La Madonna che Scappa in Piazza', where a large statue of the Madonna, carried by a group of Sulmonesi part of Confraternities, is taken through the square towards her resurrected Son.[40] Cocullo, in the province of L'Aquila, holds the annual 'Festa dei serpari' (festival of snake handlers) in which a statue of St. Dominic, covered with live snakes, is carried in a procession through the town; it attracts thousands of Italian and foreign visitors. In many Abruzzo villages, Anthony the Great's feast is celebrated in January with massive and scenic bonfires.[41] In the past, the region of Abruzzo was well known for the transumanza, the migratory movement of sheep principally south to the region of Puglia during the cold winter months.[42] The Feast of St. Biagio, protector of wool dealers, is the most widespread in Abruzzo. On the third of February in Taranta Peligna every year since the sixteenth century an evocative ritual is carried out, entailing the distribution of panicelle, which are small loaves made of flour and water, in the shape of a blessing hand, which are distributed to the faithful.

Historical figures include: the Roman orator Asinius Pollio; Latin poets Sallust and Ovid, who were born in L'Aquila and Sulmona respectively, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman senator and leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar; and Pontius Pilate, who was born in the province of Teramo and is best known for authorizing the crucifixion of Jesus. Abruzzo's religious personalities include Saint Berardo; John of Capistrano, who led a crusade against the Ottoman Empire; Thomas of Celano, author of three hagiographies about Saint Francis of Assisi; and Alessandro Valignano, who introduced Catholicism to the Far East and Japan. The Polish Pope John Paul II loved the mountains of Abruzzo, where he would retire often and pray in the church of San Pietro della Ienca. When he died, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, gave the local Abruzzo community some of the late pontiff's blood as a token of the love he had felt for the mountainous area.[43] The greatest Italian poet of the 20th century Gabriele D'Annunzio was from Pescara; other notable Abruzzo personalities in the field of humanities include: poet Ignazio Silone, director Ennio Flaiano who co-wrote La dolce vita, philosopher Benedetto Croce, composer Sir Paolo Tosti and the sculptor Venanzo Crocetti.

American artists and celebrities such as: Madonna, Dean Martin, Bradley Cooper, Perry Como, Henry Mancini, Nancy Pelosi, Rocky Marciano, Rocky Mattioli, Bruno Sammartino, Mario Batali, John and Dan Fante, Tommy Lasorda, Dan Marino, Mario Lanza, Garry Marshall, Penny Marshall, Al Martino, Ariana Grande and Canadian Michael Bublé have Abruzzo origins.

Some international movies shot in Abruzzo include The American, Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose, Fellini's La Strada and I Vitelloni, Schwarzenegger's Red Sonja, Ladyhawke, King David, Francesco, Keoma, The Barbarians, The Fox and the Child and Krull.

Medieval and Renaissance hill towns

The fortress of Civitella is the most visited monument in Abruzzo

For most of its history, a large number of the Abruzzese people have been hill people, often working as shepherds in mountainous areas, or establishing hill towns, especially in the parts of Abruzzo further from the Adriatic coast.[citation needed] Before the 2009 earthquake, Abruzzo was the region with the highest number of castles and hill towns in Italy, but it still holds many of Italy's best-preserved medieval and Renaissance hill towns, twenty-three of which are among The Most Beautiful Villages in Italy.[44] These awards are not only for aesthetic beauty but also for art and culture, historical importance and livability.

The abrupt decline of Abruzzo's agricultural economy in the early to mid-20th-century saved some of the region's historic hill towns from modern development. Many lie entirely within regional and national parks. Among the most well preserved are Castel del Monte and Santo Stefano di Sessanio, which lie in the Gran Sasso National Park on the edge of the high plain of Campo Imperatore and nestled beneath the Apennines' highest peaks. Both hill towns, which were ruled by the Medicis for over a century-and-a-half, have relatively little tourism. Between the two towns sits Rocca Calascio, the ruin of an ancient fortress popular with filmmakers. Both Monteferrante and Roccascalegna are two of the most representative Abruzzo villages in the province of Chieti. Within the Gran Sasso National Park is also found Castelli, an ancient pottery center whose artisans produced ceramics for most of the royal houses of Europe.

Civitella del Tronto played a crucial role in the history of the unification of Italy. The fortress of Civitella is the most visited monument in the Abruzzo region today.[45] Other medieval hill towns located fully within Abruzzo's park system are Pacentro in the Maiella National Park and Pescasseroli in the Abruzzo National Park. Pacentro, which features a 14th-century castle with two intact towers, has been little touched by modernisation. The Shrine of Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, in the province of Teramo, which attracts some two million visitors per year, is one of the 15 most-visited sanctuaries in the world.[46] Capestrano, a small town in the province of L'Aquila, is the hometown of Saint John of Capistrano, Franciscan friar and Catholic priest, as well as the namesake of the Franciscan missions San Juan Capistrano in Southern California, the mission Mission San Juan Capistrano (Texas) and the city of San Juan Capistrano in Orange County. Giulianova is a notable example of a Renaissance "ideal city."

The proximity to Rome, the protected natural reserves and landscapes which make the region one of the greenest in Europe, the presence of some of the most beautiful Italian villages, its rich and heterogeneous gastronomy, along with a long history of deep-rooted local tradition and authentic Italian culture, make Abruzzo fifth among Italian regions for tourist visits after Calabria, Marche, Sardinia and Trentino. In 2010, visitors included 6,381,067 Italians and 925,884 foreign tourists.

In 2015, the American organization Live and Invest Overseas included Abruzzo on its list of World's Top 21 Overseas Retirement Havens. The study was based on such factors as climate, infrastructure, health care, safety, taxes, cost of living and more. In 2017 the Chamber of Commerce of Pescara presented Abruzzo region to the Annual conference of Live and Invest Overseas in Orlando (USA). One year later, in October 2018, Live and Invest Overseas held its first conference in Abruzzo.

Universities

There are three universities in the Abruzzo region:

University of L'Aquila

D'Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara

University of Teramo

Harvard University bases an intensive summer Italian language and culture program in Vasto, a resort town on Abruzzo's southern coast.

Science

Between the province of Teramo and L'Aquila, under the Gran Sasso Tunnel, is the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) of the INFN, one of the three underground astroparticle laboratories in Europe.

The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "Giuseppe Caporale", which conducts research in veterinary and environmental public health, is located in Teramo.

The Gran Sasso Science Institute, located in L'Aquila, is an advanced research institute which offers doctorates in astroparticle physics, computer science, and mathematics as well as urban studies and regional science, and which also conducts scientific research.

Sports

Interamnia World Cup, the largest international youth handball competition worldwide, takes place yearly in Teramo.[51]

There are several football clubs in Abruzzo. Delfino Pescara 1936 is a Serie B club; based in Pescara, its home stadium is Stadio Adriatico – Giovanni Cornacchia.

Dialects

The regional dialects of Abruzzo include Teramano, Abruzzese Orientale Adriatico and Abruzzese Occidentale. The first two form part of the dialect of southern Italy also known simply as "Neapolitan" since the region has been part of the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, while Aquilano is related to the Central Italian dialects including Romanesco. The dialects spoken in the Abruzzo region can be divided into three main groups:

Sabine dialect, in the province of L'Aquila (central Italian dialects)

Abruzzo Adriatic dialect, in the province of Teramo, Pescara and Chieti, that is virtually abandoned in the province of Ascoli Piceno (southern Italian dialects)

Abruzzo western dialect, in the province of L'Aquila (southern Italian dialects)

Cuisine

Renowned for its variety and richness due to the heterogeneity of its territory, Abruzzo's cuisine is among the best in Italy. In 2013 an Italian organization Confesercenti survey of foreign tourists showed that Abruzzo is the best Italian region to eat in. Both the agricultural and coastal aspects of Abruzzo have contributed to its cuisine. Due to the mountains, much of Abruzzo was isolated from international influence until the 20th century. As a result, the region's cuisine remained unique.

Popular dishes

One of the most popular regional dishes is spaghetti alla chitarra which is made by pressing or cutting pasta through a chitarra, an implement to form long thin noodles similar to spaghetti. The pasta is served with a tomato-based sauce, often flavored with peppers, pork, goose, or lamb. This dish is complemented by regional side dishes, such as the bean and noodle soup, sagne e fagioli. This soup is traditionally flavored with tomatoes, garlic, oil, and peperoncini. In terms of common ingredients, cuisine in Abruzzo often includes:

Lamb and mutton, primarily in the mountains.[54] Sheep's milk (or ricotta) is an important source of Abruzzese cheese, and lamb intestines are used as sausage casing or for stuffed meat rolls.[54][55] Mountain goat meat is also common in Abruzzo.

Truffles and mushrooms, particularly wild mushrooms from the forests and hills

Garlic, especially red garlic

Rosemary

Hot chili pepper or peperoncini, regionally known as diavolilli or diavoletti, is common in Abruzzese cuisine and often used to add spice to dishes. Abruzzo residents are well known for frequently adding peperoncini, or hot peppers, to their meals.

Vegetables such as lentils, grasspeas and other legumes, artichoke, eggplant, and cauliflower[54][55][56][57]

Other popular dishes include:

Gnocchi carrati, flavored with bacon, eggs and pecorino cheese

Scrippelle, a rustic French-style crêpe served either mbusse (a type of soup) or used to form a sort of soufflé with some ragù and stuffed with chicken liver, meatballs, hard-boiled eggs, and cheese

Pastuccia, a polenta stew with sausage, eggs, and cheese

Across the region, roast lamb is enjoyed in several variations. Some of these variations include:

Arrosticini, a skewered lamb dish

Pecora al cotturo, lamb stuffed with a variety of mountain herbs and cooked in a copper pot

Lamb cooked whole in a bread oven

Agnello cacio e ovo, a lamb-based fricassee

Mazzerella: lamb intestines stuffed with lamb, garlic, marjoram, lettuce, and spices

Le virtù: a soup from Teramo filled with legumes, vegetables and pork, usually eaten in the spring at celebrations

Timballo abruzzese: lasagna-like dish with pasta sheets (scrippelle) layered with meat, vegetables and rice; often served for Christmas and Easter[58]

Porchetta abruzzese: moist boneless-pork roast, slow-roasted with rosemary, garlic, and pepper[58]

Seafood is also popular, especially in coastal areas. The variety of fish available to the area has resulted in several fish-based Brodetti (broths), coming from such places as Vasto, Giulianova, and Pescara. These broths are often made by cooking fish, flavored with tomatoes, herbs, and peperoncino, in an earthenware pot. Rustic pizzas are also very common. Some of these are:

Easter Pizza, a rustic cake with cheese and pepper from the Teramo area

Fiadoni from Chieti, a dough of eggs and cheese well risen, cooked in the oven in a thin casing of pastry

A rustic tart pastry filled with everything imaginable: eggs, fresh cheeses, ricotta, vegetables, and all sorts of flavorings and spices.

Also from Teramo are the spreadable sausages flavored with nutmeg, and liver sausages tasting of garlic and spices. The ventricina from the Vasto area is made with large pieces of fat and lean pork, pressed and seasoned with powdered sweet peppers and fennel all encased in the dehydrated stomach of the pig itself. Atri and Rivisondoli are famous for cheeses. Mozzarella, either fresh or seasoned, is made from ewe's milk, although a great number of lesser known varieties of these cheeses can be found all over Abruzzo and Molise.

Sweets

The Abruzzo's sweets are world-famous and include:

Confetti, sugar-coated almonds, from Sulmona

Torrone Nurzia, a chocolate nougat from L'Aquila

Parrozzo , a cake-like treat made from a mixture of crushed almonds, and coated in chocolate.

Ferratelle (also known as Pizzelle). A wafer cookie, often flavored with anise

Croccante, a type of nougat made from almonds and caramelized suger, often flavored with lemon[59]

A Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wine labelled as being made from old vines.

Olive oil

The extra-virgin olive oil produced in Colline Teramane (Teramo hills) is marked by the DOP.[60]

The region has several cultivars that includes Carboncella, Dritta (Dritta Francavillese and Dritta di Moscufo), Gentile del Chieti, Nostrana (Nostrana di Brisighella), and Sargano olive cultivars.[61]

Wines and liquors

Renowned wines like Montepulciano DOCG and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC are judged to be amongst the world's finest.[62] In 2012, a bottle of Trebbiano d'Abruzzo ranked No. 1 in the top 50 Italian wine awards.[63] In recent decades these wines have been joined, particularly, by wines from lesser known (heritage) white grapes, such as, Pecorino, Cococciola, Passerina, Montonico Bianco and Fiano.[64]

The region is also well known for the production of liquors such as Centerbe, Limoncello, Ratafia and Genziana.

Certification of Participation of Summer Olympic Games. My younger brother, Atsushi - Fencing and his wife, Yoshie - Gymnastics 　夫婦で同じオリンピック種目の役員を努めたことはあっても、夫婦でそれぞれ違うオリンピック種目で役員を務めたことは例がないという。 by Snowbird1972

8 9

Certificate of Participation of Yoshie, wife of Atsushi, who contributed as a gymnastics official to the five consecutive Olympic Games. Top row from left to right: Sydney Olympic Games 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016.

And my brother Atsushi also contributed to the three Olympic Games as a fencing official and served five terms (20 years) as an official of the international Federation of Fencing and my brother wanted to retire at the end of the Tokyo Olympic Games.

There have been times when a couple has served as an officer in the same Olympic event, but there have not been times when a couple has served as an officer in a different Olympic event ever.

9 to 5 ... BFA Style ~ by Heidi @ Blythe Fifth Avenue

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Blythe-A-Day

JUNE 2016

DAY 13: "9 to 5"

Thanks again to Leslie and Karin, taking the Blythe-A-Day ball and running with it ... and for the entire "team" of Blythe-A-Day regulars ... faithful supporters, and those who keep the fun alive <3

BFA had fun contributing this month (only a palmful of entries!), but it's a start ... :)

Hope to see you in July for Deb's month !

(Here is the link):

www.flickr.com/groups/2964756@N25/

More Lady Diva as Photo Art by LD's Slave Carl

25 5

Contributed by an admirer

The thinker II by Hugo Carvoeira

147 8

The Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus), Barbary ape, or magot, is a species of macaque unique for its distribution outside Asia and for its vestigial tail. Found in the Atlas Mountains of Algeria and Morocco along with a small population that were introduced from Morocco to Gibraltar, the Barbary macaque is one of the best-known Old World monkey species.

Skull and brain, as illustrated in Gervais' Histoire naturelle des mammifères.

The Barbary macaque is of particular interest because males play an atypical role in rearing young. Because of uncertain paternity, males are integral to raising all infants. Generally, Barbary macaques of all ages and sexes contribute in alloparental care of young.

Macaque diets consist primarily of plants and insects and they are found in a variety of habitats. Males live to a maximum of 25 years while females may live up to 30 years. Besides humans, they are the only free-living primates in Europe. Although the species is commonly referred to as the "Barbary ape", the Barbary macaque is actually a true monkey. Its name refers to the Barbary Coast of North West Africa.

Source: Wikipedia

Rossio Square - Column of Pedro IV by lukedrich_photography

9 2

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisbon

Lisbon (Portuguese: Lisboa) is the capital and the largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 505,526 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Its urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits with a population of around 2.8 million people, being the 11th-most populous urban area in the European Union. About 3 million people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (which represents approximately 27% of the country's population). It is mainland Europe's westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the River Tagus. The westernmost areas of its metro area form the westernmost point of Continental Europe, which is known as Cabo da Roca, located in the Sintra Mountains.

Lisbon is recognized as an alpha-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Study Group because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education and tourism. Lisbon is the only Portuguese city besides Porto to be recognized as a global city. It is one of the major economic centres on the continent, with a growing financial sector and one of the largest container ports on Europe's Atlantic coast. Additionally, Humberto Delgado Airport served 26.7 million passengers in 2017, being the busiest airport in Portugal, the 3rd busiest in the Iberian Peninsula and the 20th busiest in Europe, and the motorway network and the high-speed rail system of Alfa Pendular links the main cities of Portugal (such as Braga, Porto and Coimbra) to Lisbon. The city is the 9th-most-visited city in Southern Europe, after Rome, Istanbul, Barcelona, Milan, Venice, Madrid, Florence and Athens, with 3,320,300 tourists in 2017. The Lisbon region contributes with a higher GDP PPP per capita than any other region in Portugal. Its GDP amounts to 96.3 billion USD and thus $32,434 per capita. The city occupies the 40th place of highest gross earnings in the world. Most of the headquarters of multinational corporations in Portugal are located in the Lisbon area. It is also the political centre of the country, as its seat of Government and residence of the Head of State.

Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, and one of the oldest in Western Europe, predating other modern European capitals such as London, Paris, and Rome by centuries. Julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, it was captured by the Moors in the 8th century. In 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural centre of Portugal. Unlike most capital cities, Lisbon's status as the capital of Portugal has never been granted or confirmed officially – by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as de facto capital a part of the Constitution of Portugal.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rossio_Square

Rossio Square is the popular name of the Pedro IV Square (Portuguese: Praça de D. Pedro IV) in the city of Lisbon, in Portugal. It is located in the Pombaline Downtown of Lisbon and has been one of its main squares since the Middle Ages. It has been the setting of popular revolts and celebrations, bullfights and executions, and is now a preferred meeting place of Lisbon natives and tourists alike.

The current name of the Rossio pays homage to Pedro IV, King of Portugal. The Column of Pedro IV is in the middle of the square.

20161027T11-18-45Z-DSCF5279 by Peter Foster

A fine citizen contributes to his chosen society.

Continental Motors Mk. I Machine Pistol (Alt-Timeline) by Archkyrie - Coffee

23 9

(Comments and Notes welcome)

(current Alt-Timeline up to this point posted on a previous weapon)

Automobile companies contributing to the war effort by aiding in weapons manufacture was not a new thing. Nevertheless, Continental Motors surprised American news agencies when it announced in 1983 that it would be submitting a design for upcoming military weapons trials.

The Mark 1 received much criticism, many papers commented that Continental had gone about building a gun like it was a motor, more fit to be strapped to four wheels then held by two hands. A military officer commented, "I thought we gave our soldiers guns, not clubs." Yet despite the Mark 1's heavy, bulky shape, it proved itself well in the trials. It was certainly not as pretty as the Browning P69, the other front runner of the trials, nor did it have the propaganda appeal of the Browning, but the heavy weight and muzzle device allowed the Continental machine pistol to be easily controlled at a fire rate far higher than the competition.

Cheap to manufacture, high fire rate, and great control made it a serious contender. Ultimately, money would do the talking, and the Army selected the Mark 1 over the far more expensive P69. The Continental Motors Mark 1 would go into service in 1984, as hostilities began to break out once more.

A Sunset on Pismo Beach!! by medaibl (Meedo)

11 132

A California wild fire at the time contributed to the hot colors in this picture!!

torino outlet village by Andrea Mucelli

If you like my photograph, feel free to download it (for personal use only, no commercial, no print).

Just click the link down below in case you wish to contribute with a donation. That would be highly appreciated, thank you :)

Make a donation

If you want us it for print or commercial use, email me: andrea.mucelli@gmail.com

Jump! by Sara

22 116

Day 154: I had to get a jump shot at some point of this 365, especially since one of my flickr friends Nicci is all about the jump shots and has a group I wanted to contribute something too. This isn't me though, lol, I am still not comfortable with selfies yet but I promise I will be the one in the next jump shot..and I had no idea how hard it would be to find train tracks that were not visible from the street around here!

Anyway, this is for Cliche Saturday's scavenger hunt #29: Jumping, however aren't balloons, train tracks and vintage tones pretty cliche? HCS

Press on.. by Souvenir's

… contribute to the outcome.

2019 NCAA Day 2 Semi-Finals by John Sachs

2019 NCAA Division 1 Wrestling National Championships. Held at the PPG Arena in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Photos by Tech-Fall contributing photographers

American Museum of Natural History by lukedrich_photography

3 1

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City

New York City (NYC), often called the City of New York or simply New York (NY), is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2018 population of 8,398,748 distributed over about 302.6 square miles (784 km2), New York is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the U.S. state of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass. With almost 20 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and approximately 23 million in its combined statistical area, it is one of the world's most populous megacities. New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, significantly influencing commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy.

Situated on one of the world's largest natural harbors, New York City is composed of five boroughs, each of which is a county of the State of New York. The five boroughs—Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island—were consolidated into a single city in 1898. The city and its metropolitan area constitute 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. New York is home to more than 3.2 million residents born outside the United States, the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world as of 2016. As of 2019, the New York metropolitan area is estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of $2.0 trillion. If greater New York City were a sovereign state, it would have the 12th highest GDP in the world. New York is home to the highest number of billionaires of any city in the world.

New York City traces its origins to a trading post founded by colonists from the Dutch Republic in 1624 on Lower Manhattan; the post was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York. New York was the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790, and has been the largest U.S. city since 1790. The Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the U.S. by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the U.S. and its ideals of liberty and peace. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a global node of creativity and entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability, and as a symbol of freedom and cultural diversity. In 2019, New York was voted the greatest city in the world per a survey of over 30,000 people from 48 cities worldwide, citing its cultural diversity.

Many districts and landmarks in New York City are well known, including three of the world's ten most visited tourist attractions in 2013. A record 62.8 million tourists visited New York City in 2017. Times Square is the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District, one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Many of the city's landmarks, skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattan's real estate market is among the most expensive in the world. New York is home to the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia, with multiple distinct Chinatowns across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service and contributing to the nickname The City that Never Sleeps, the New York City Subway is the largest single-operator rapid transit system worldwide, with 472 rail stations. The city has over 120 colleges and universities, including Columbia University, New York University, Rockefeller University, and the City University of New York system, which is the largest urban public university system in the United States. Manhattan is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, namely the New York Stock Exchange, located on Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, and NASDAQ, headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.

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