Tenta, also referred to as Kalavasos-Tenta or Tenda, is an Aceramic Neolithic settlement located in modern Kalavasos near the southern coast of Cyprus. The settlement is approximately 38 kilometres southwest of Larnaca and approximately 45 kilometres south of Nicosia. Tenta occupies a small natural hill on the west side of the Vasilikos valley, close to the Nicosia–Limassol highway.

 

The earliest occupation at the site has been dated to around 8000 BC, which is contemporary with the sites Shillourokambos and Mylouthkia, and notably predating Khirokitia by almost a millennium. It was still settled during the 6th millennium BC, but deserted at some point before the advent of the Cypriotic Ceramic Neolithic.

 

Six seasons of excavation in Tenta occurred from 1947 to 1984. The obtained data is of interest to studies of cultural change in Prehistoric Cyprus because Tenta's architectural remains, artefacts, human burials, flora and fauna have been "virtually unchanged for two millennia, suggesting that there was considerable continuity in social organisation as well as technological and economic practices."

 

Today, the site is open to visitors (with entrance fee), and protected by a characteristic, modern cone-shaped roof. The roof is considered a local landmark, and the site a popular tourist attraction

 

The Vasilikos valley is located in the Larnaca District of southern Cyprus. The valley was known to be abundant in archaeological sites from numerous extensive surveys conducted due to excavations of accidentally discovered sites; however these sites were widely scattered in Cyprus.

 

According to local tradition, the name of the location refers back to 327 AD when Saint Helena, mother of Constantine I, stayed there in a tent (Greek: Tέντα). Helena supposedly pitched her tent after walking up the Vasilikos valley (Greek: Βασιλικός), vasilikos meaning "royal place or land".

 

The archealogical site of Tenta was first reported by Porphyrios Dikaios in 1940 when artefacts were discovered during the construction of a mining railway line. In 1947, Dikaios undertook a two-week archaeological excavation focused 25 metres south of the summit of Tenta. Eleven locals and several students from Brandeis University were employed to assist with the excavation. A detailed report of the excavation was never published, but a plan of the excavation was released in 1960, which showed a trench being excavated approximately five metres below and adjacent to a curvilinear wall.

 

Since many sites of Cyprus had only been fleetingly explored, Vassos Karageorghis, the Director of the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, worked with Ian Todd, who had previously assisted in numerous excavations in Turkey and Iran, to direct the Vasilikos Valley project which included five seasons of excavation in Tenta between 1976 and 1984. The project was sponsored by Brandeis University and funded by the National Science Foundation.

 

To locate sites, Todd walked nineteen different transects across the valley from east to west – from the Kalavasos Dam to the coast. Each transect was positioned equidistant from each other. Problems of the archaeological field survey in Cyprus include erosion as many sites were situated on different gradients, which often affects the estimation of the size of a site as well as makes it more challenging for surveyors to find where artefacts are located. Furthermore, aggradation was also considered to be a potential problem impacting the discovery of sites due to the increase in land elevation.

 

Although the excavations ended in 1984, details about the findings were published as late as 2005.

 

All structures discovered in Tenta are curvilinear and thus from the Aceramic Neolithic period due to neighbouring Neolithic settlements like Khirokitia exhibiting similar features. From the excavations, it was discovered that public buildings were constructed at the summit of Tenta's natural hill, "first in stone and mudbrick, then entirely in mudbrick and finally entirely in stone." Furthermore, homes at the site were unearthed to find that the stone structures were built of limestone with a mixture of diabase locally accessible in the Vasilikos river. The walls of the curvilinear structures stood to one metre or more in height and were determined to vary thickness between 25 and 60 centimetres as well as varied in colour including grey, reddish-brown, light brown, and dark brown. The floors and walls of the buildings were often made of gypsum, lime, or a combination of both as well as "coated with a thin, whitish plaster layer laid on a base of friable mud plaster". The stones of the buildings were predominately found to be laid neatly in parallel as well as had within them platforms, benches and seats. The flat as well as domed roofs of the buildings in Tenta were constructed from branches, reeds, and rammed earth and the surfaces of the walls of the buildings were often intricately decorated such as a "painting depicting two human figures with upraised hands." Furthermore, approximately 40 to 45 structures were excavated in total, and it was estimated that the population in Tenta never exceeded 150 people based on the size and shape of the structures.

 

Approximately one thousand man-made artefacts crafted with stone, animal bone or shell were recovered from the Tenta excavations. The artefacts were found within and outside buildings as well as within soil deposits. All objects were retrieved using a sieve, which assisted in recovering many of the objects which were small and fragmented due to the rubbish that had enveloped them, especially in soil deposits. The artefacts found are predominantly from the Aceramic Neolithic period with the exception of two clay plugs, a characteristic of the Chalcolithic period, which were found in the wall of a building. Artefacts discovered on the settlement include stone vessels, axes, hammerstones, and chipped stone tools like blades. Furthermore, there is evidence of proficiency from the inhabitants of Tenta such as their complex shapes carved in stone vessels. Rare artefacts were also found inside the walls of structures "including pendants, beads, large arrowheads and ground-stone implements covered with ochre." Copious picrolite, a crystal varying from dark green to grey most commonly found in the Kouris Dam, was likely used by the villagers to make jewellery during the Aceramic Neolithic period. Furthermore, chert was used as a tool by the villagers of Tenta to break things by force as well as to start fires because sparks ignite easily when the rock is struck on a hard surface.

A selection of artefacts are displayed in the Cyprus Museum and the Larnaca District Archaeological Museum.

 

Fourteen human burials containing eighteen individuals were excavated at Tenta. The eighteen skeletons were buried in contracted positions and positioned to the internal house walls, within oval pits not accompanied with any gifts or offerings, just beneath the floors or outside the structures. The burials include adults, children and infants buried separately, except the remains of four infants buried together in one pit.

 

The average age at death for males and females was 30.5 years and 36.5 years respectively. This six-year gap between the sexes may be due to limitations of a small sample size as well as poor preservation and age averaging techniques, especially due to the differences in neighbouring Neolithic settlements in which the longevity of males is greater than females. Furthermore, the average height for males and females was 162.9 centimetres (5 ft 4.1 in) and 153.8 centimetres (5 ft 0.6 in), respectively. Analysis of the skeletons' teeth suggest that the inhabitants had generally good dental health as well as a diet sufficient in protein and carbohydrates. This is due to the inhabitants' main diet consisting of plants as well as domesticated or hunted animals like fallow deer, pig and cattle. Moreover, analysis of the eighteen skeletons determined that the inhabitants of Tenta may have suffered from hemolytic anemia and iron-deficiency anemia, as well as having practiced artificial cranial deformation due to 11.1% of them having their skulls bound. Such practices were also common in the neighbouring Neolithic settlement of Khirokitia, and also during later periods in Cyprus such as the Late Bronze Age.

 

The botanical remains from Tenta revealed the subsistence practices in the Aceramic Neolithic period. It was expected that the botanical remains of wheat, barley and various legumes would be found in Tenta based on the earlier excavations from the neighbouring Neolithic settlements of Kastros and Khirokitia. The remains were recovered using a froth flotation process designed by Anthony Legge. According to Todd, "[a]pproximately 10 litres of every excavated deposit were examined and sorted under low power (10×–50×) magnification using a Bausch and Lomb stereo microscope." Components of the plant such as roots, stems and seeds were analysed separately and were compared with modern samples. Only 175 from the 416 botanical remains recovered via froth flotation contained carbon to analyse accurately. There was a smaller amount of carbonised remains to analyse compared to neighbouring Neolithic settlements due to the damage from excavating the remains with picks and trowels. From the 2074 litres sieved out of 7764 litres of carbonised botanical remains via froth flotation, it was discovered that "domesticated plants from the site consist of emmer and einkorn wheat, barley (probably two-row), lentil and possibly pea."

 

The distribution of botanical remains as well as the fire pits and hearths inside and outside the architectural remains were examined and compared to neighbouring Neolithic settlements. It was discovered that more hearths and fire pits were outside and between buildings than inside them, suggesting that the cooking in the period was conducted outside. Two hearths from the site revealed that civilians had gathered wild resources for cooking such as fig, pistachio, grape, olive and plum, but the analysis of the botanical remains did not indicate the specific cooking process or storage practices in the Aceramic Neolithic period

 

From the excavations at Tenta, 2817 faunal bone fragments were recovered. As shown in the table below, the majority of bone fragments (99.7%) were from deer, pig and caprinae (sheep and goat), which highlights that the civilians of Tenta predominately surrounding these mammals coupled with the remaining 0.3% of fragments being cat, fox and rodent. From epiphyseal plate data obtained from the faunal remains, it was found that 72% of deer, 28% of pig, 60% of caprinae were culled as adults. A collection of antlers from deer were also found intact inside three buildings and believed to have been possibly showcased by villagers in Tenta as an achievement of their hunting.

 

The process of recovering the faunal remains involved sieving excavated deposits through all 1 cm, 5 mm and 3 mm meshes.[13] Despite this high standard process of retrieving faunal remains, the bone fragments recovered were fragile and there was a high risk of the bone splitting, which resulted in many of the bones breaking and splintering. Thus, the veracity of any interpretation of the faunal remains may contribute to preservation bias during faunal assemblage. The range of animals recovered in the neighbouring Neolithic settlement of Khirokitia similarly was mostly deer, pig and caprinae with a small representation of cat, fox and rodent in the bone fragments. Hence, the same array of animals – based on the husbanding of pigs and caprines and the hunting of deer – provided the basis for subsistence economies in the Aceramic Neolithic period. The main aim of culling these animals for the Tenta and Khirokitia villagers was to consume their meat, but also most likely use their skin and bones for clothes and tools. Furthermore, cats and foxes were most likely to have been imported by colonists and used for their pelts as well as exterminators of vermin such as rodents.

 

In 1994 to 1995, Vassos Karageorghis commissioned and the Anastasios G. Leventis Foundation funded the construction of a tent-like conical or "pyramidal" structure that improved the protection of the remnants of Tenta from the elements. The shelter consists of glulam beams coated by a PVC membrane and cost US$340,000 over the two year construction phase. The structure has been called a local landmark.

 

Aceramic is defined as "not producing pottery". In archaeology, the term means "without pottery". Aceramic societies usually used bark, basketry, gourds and leather for containers.

 

"Aceramic" is used to describe a culture at any time prior to its development of pottery as well as cultures that lack pottery altogether. A preceramic period is traditionally regarded as occurring in the early stage of the Neolithic period of a culture, but recent findings in Japan and China have pushed the origin of ceramic technology there well back into the Paleolithic era.

 

West Asia

In Western Asian archaeology it is used to refer to a specific early Neolithic period before the development of ceramics, the Middle Eastern Pre-Pottery Neolithic, in which case it is a synonym of preceramic or pre-pottery.

 

The Western Asian Pre-Pottery Neolithic A began roughly around 8500 BC and can be identified with over a half a dozen sites. The period was most prominent in Western Asia in an economy based on the cultivation of crops or the rearing of animals or both. Outside Western Asia Aceramic Neolithic groups are more rare. Aceramic Neolithic villages had many attributes of agricultural communities: large settlement size, substantial architecture, long settlement duration, intensive harvesting of seeds with sickles, equipment and facilities for storing and grinding seeds, and containers. Morphological evidence for domestication of plants comes only from Middle PPNB (Pre-Pottery Neolithic B), and by Late PPNB some animals, notably goats, were domesticated or at least managed in most of the sites.

 

Cyprus

Some of the most famous Aceramic sites are located in the Republic of Cyprus. There was an Early Aceramic Neolithic phase beginning around 8200 BC. The phase can be best thought of as a "colony", or initial settlement of the island. Until the relatively recent discoveries of the Akrotiri and the Early Aceramic Neolithic phases, the Aceramic Neolithic culture known as the Khirokitia culture was thought to be the earliest human settlement on Cyprus, from 7000 to 5000 BC.[5] There are a number of Late Aceramic Neolithic sites throughout the island. The two most important are called Khirokitia and Kalavasos-Tenta. Late Aceramic Cyprus did not have much external contact because of a lack of settlement in the west or northwest during the period. However, Late Aceramic Cyprus was a well-structured society.

 

Americas

The specific term Pre-Ceramic is used for a period in many chronologies of the archaeology of the Americas, typically showing some agriculture and developed textiles but no fired pottery. For example, in the Norte Chico civilization and other cultures of Peru, the cultivation of cotton seems to have been very important in economic and power relations, from around 3200 BC. Here, Cotton Pre-Ceramic may be used as a period. The Pre-Ceramic may be followed by "Ceramic" periods or a formative stage.

 

The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek νέος néos 'new' and λίθος líthos 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Europe, Asia and Africa. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts of the world. This "Neolithic package" included the introduction of farming, domestication of animals, and change from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one of settlement. The term 'Neolithic' was coined by Sir John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system.

 

The Neolithic began about 12,000 years ago when farming appeared in the Epipalaeolithic Near East, and later in other parts of the world. It lasted in the Near East until the transitional period of the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) from about 6,500 years ago (4500 BC), marked by the development of metallurgy, leading up to the Bronze Age and Iron Age.

 

In other places, the Neolithic followed the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) and then lasted until later. In Ancient Egypt, the Neolithic lasted until the Protodynastic period, c. 3150 BC. In China, it lasted until circa 2000 BC with the rise of the pre-Shang Erlitou culture, and in Scandinavia, the Neolithic lasted until about 2000 BC

The Turkana s inhabit the arid territories of northern Kenya, on the boundary with Sudan. Nilotic-speaking people, they have for a long time stayed outside of the influence of the main foreign trends. Nomad shepherds adapted to a almost totally desert area, some also fish in Lake Turkana. They are divided in 28 clans. Each one of them is associated with a particular brand for its livestock, so that any Turkana can identify a relative in this way.The majority of the Turkana still follow their traditional religion: they believe in a God called Kuj or Akuj, associated with the sky and creator of all things. He is thought to be omnipotent but rarely intervenes in the lives of people. Contact between God and the people is made though a diviner (emeron). Diviners have the power to interpret dreams, forecast the future, heal, and make rain. However, the Turkana doubt about those who say they have powers, but fail to prove it in the everyday life. According to estimates, about 15% of the Turkana are Christian. Evangelism has started among the Turkana since the 1970s. Various church buildings have been built since then. The most astonishing element one can notice in the villages, is that the only permanent structures are churches, with huts all around. Infact, in the late 1970s, feeding projects as well as literacy courses and other services have been provided by Baptist workers. This easily explains the importance acquired by the Church.The Turkana don't have any physical initiations. They have only the asapan ceremony, transition from youth to adulthood, that all men must perform before marriage. The Turkana are polygamous. Homestead consists of a man, his wives and children, and often his mother. When a new wife comes, she stays at the hut of the mother or first wife until she has her first child. The high bride-wealth payment (30 to 50 cattle, 30 to 50 camels and 100 to 200 small stock) often means that a man cannot marry until he has inherited livestock from his dead father. It also implies that he collect livestock from relatives and friends, which strengthens social ties between them. Resolution is found to conflicts through discussions between the men living in proximity to one another. Men of influence are particularly listened, and decisions are enforced by the younger men of the area. Each man belongs to a specific generation set. If a man is a Leopard, his son will be a Stone, so that there is approximately an equal number of each category. The Turkana make finely carved wooden implements, used in the daily life. During the rainy season, moonlight nights' songs have a particular place in the Turkana's life. The songs often refer to their cattle or land, but they are sometimes improvised and related to immediate events. The Turkana have a deep knowledge of plants and products they use as medicine. The fat-tailed sheep is often called "the hospital for the Turkana".

  

Les Turkanas habitent les territoires arides du nord du Kenya, à la frontière avec le Soudan.Peuple de langue nilotique, ils sont pendant longtemps restés hors de l’influence des principaux courants étrangers. Pasteurs nomades adaptés à une zone presque totalement déserte, certains pêchent également dans le lac Turkana. Ils sont divisés en 28 clans. Chacun d’entre eux est associé à une marque particulière donné à son bétail, de telle façon que tout Turkana peut identifier un parent de cette manière.La majorité des Turkana suit encore leur religion traditionnelle : ils croient en un Dieu appelé Kuj ou Akuj, associé au ciel et créateur de toute chose. Les Turkana le voient comme omnipotent mais intervenant rarement dans la vie des gens. Le contact entre Dieu et les hommes se fait par l’intermédiaire d’un divin (emeron). Les devins ont le pouvoir d’interpréter les rêves, prédire l’avenir, soigner et faire pleuvoir. Toutefois, les Turkana doutent de ceux qui disent qu’ils ont des pouvoirs, mais échouent à le prouver dans la vie de tous les jours. Selon des estimations, environ 15% des Turkana sont chrétiens. L’évangélisme a commencé chez les Turkana depuis les années 1970. Diverses églises ont depuis été construites. L’élément le plus étonnbant que l’on peut noter dans les villages est que les seules structures en dur sont les églises, avec des huttes tout autour. En fait, à la fin des années 1970, des projets alimentaires ainsi que des cours d’alphabétisation et d’autres services ont été menés par des travailleurs baptistes. Cela explique facilement l’importance acquise par l’Eglise.Les Turkana n’ont aucune initiation physique. Ils ont seulement la cérémonie asapan, transition de la jeunesse à l’âge adulte, que chaque homme doit suivre avant le mariage. Les Turkana sont polygames. La propriété familiale est composée d’un homme, ses femmes et enfants, et souvent sa mère. Quand une nouvelle femme arrive, elle loge dans la hutte de la mère ou de la première femme jusqu’à ce qu’elle ait son premier enfant. Le paiement élevé pour la mariée (30 à 50 têtes de gros bétail, 30 à 50 dromadaires, et 100 à 200 têtes de petit bétail) signifie souvent qu’un homme ne peut se permettre de se marier jusqu’à ce qu’il ait hérité le bétail de son père décédé. Cela implique également qu’il collecte le bétail requis de parents et amis, ce qui renforce les liens sociaux entre eux. La résolution des conflits se fait par la discussion entre les hommes vivant à proximité.Les hommes d’influence sont particulièrement écoutés, et les décisions sont mises en application par les hommes plus jeunes de la zone. Chaque homme appartient à une classe d’âge spécifique. Si un homme est un Léopard, son fils deviendra une Pierre, de telle façon qu’il y a approximativement un même nombre de chaque catégorie. Les Turkana font des outils en bois finement taillés, utilisés dans la vie de tous les jours. Durant la saison des pluies, les chansons des nuits de pleine lune ont une place particulière dans la vie des Turkana. Elles font souvent référence à leur bétail et terres, mais sont parfois improvisées ou liées à des événements immédiats. Les Turkana ont une connaissance intime des plantes et des produits qu’ils utilisent comme médicaments. La queue grasse des moutons est souvent appelée « l’hôpital pour les Turkana ».

  

© Eric Lafforgue

www.ericlafforgue.com

  

I picked this RPPC yesterday, and I adore everything about it, the resolution, the rug in the background, and the little bit of brick wall showing in the lower right-hand corner, suggesting that it was taken outside somewhere, maybe in a back garden. I would guess that these two are father and son. The dad looks like a confident, decisive kind of guy. The son comes across as more gentle, at least in my estimation.

 

There isn't anything on the back aside from a particularly emphatic reminder that the correspondence section is for inland postage ONLY. The portion where the stamp is meant to go mentions that inland postage is half penny and foreign postage is a one whole penny.

 

Harry Morey Callahan (October 22, 1912 – March 15, 1999) was an influential twentieth century American photographer. Born in Detroit, Michigan, he began teaching himself photography in 1938. He formed a friendship with Todd Webb who was also destined to become a photographer.[1] A talk given by Ansel Adams in 1941 inspired him to take his work seriously. In 1941, Callahan and Webb visited Rocky Mountain State Park but didn't return with any photographs.[1] In 1946 he was invited to teach photography at the Institute of Design in Chicago by László Moholy-Nagy. He moved to New York in 1961 to establish a photography program at the Rhode Island School of Design, teaching there until his retirement in 1977.

 

Callahan left almost no written records—no diaries, letters, scrapbooks or teaching notes. His technical photographic method was to go out almost every morning, walk the city he lived in and take numerous pictures. He then spent almost every afternoon making proof prints of that day's best negatives. Yet, for all his photographic activity, Callahan, at his own estimation, produced no more than half a dozen final images a year.

 

He photographed his wife, Eleanor, and daughter, Barbara, and the streets, scenes and buildings of cities where he lived, showing a strong sense of line and form, and light and darkness. He also worked with multiple exposures. Callahan's work was a deeply personal response to his own life. He encouraged his students to turn their cameras on their own lives, leading by example. Callahan photographed his wife over a period of fifteen years, as his prime subject. Eleanor was essential to his art from 1947 to 1960. He photographed her everywhere - at home, in the city streets, in the landscape; alone, with their daughter, in black and white and in color, nude and clothed, distant and close. He tried several technical experiments - double and triple exposure, blurs, large and small format film.

 

In 1950 his daughter Barbara, was born. Even prior to her birth she showed up in photographs of Eleanor's pregnancy. From 1948 to 1953 Eleanor, and sometimes Barbara, were shown out in the landscape as a tiny counterpoint to large expanses of park, skyline or water.

 

Callahan was one of the few innovators of modern American photography noted as much for his work in color as for his work in black and white.[2]

 

In 1996, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.[3]

 

Callahan died in Atlanta in 1999. He left behind 100,000 negatives and over 10,000 proof prints. The Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, which actively collects, preserves and makes available individual works by 20th-century North American photographers, maintains his photographic archives. His estate is represented in New York by the Pace/MacGill Gallery.

Moment-free Sharpe ratio estimation with total drawdown durations. Challet arxiv.org/abs/1505.01333 #q-fin

Belgian collectors card by De Beukelaere, Antwerp, no. A 11. Photo: United Artists. John Wayne in Red River (Howard Hawks, 1948).

 

American actor John Wayne (1907-1979) was one of the most popular film stars of the 20th century. He received his first leading film role in The Big Trail (1930). Working with John Ford, he got his next big break in Stagecoach (1939). His career as an actor took another leap forward when he worked with director Howard Hawks in Red River (1948). Wayne won his first Academy Award in 1969. He He starred in 142 films altogether and remains a popular American icon to this day.

 

John Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison in 1907, in Winterset, Iowa. Some sources also list him as Marion Michael Morrison and Marion Mitchell Morrison. He was already a sizable presence when he was born, weighing around 13 pounds. The oldest of two children born to Clyde and Mary 'Molly' Morrison, Wayne moved to Lancester, California, around the age of seven. The family moved again a few years later after Clyde failed in his attempt to become a farmer. Settling in Glendale, California, Wayne received his distinctive nickname 'Duke' while living there. He had a dog by that name, and he spent so much time with his pet that the pair became known as 'Little Duke' and 'Big Duke', according to the official John Wayne website. In high school, Wayne excelled in his classes and in many different activities, including student government and football. He also participated in numerous student theatrical productions. Winning a football scholarship to University of Southern California (USC), Wayne started college in the fall of 1925. Unfortunately, after two years, an injury, a result of a bodysurfing accident, took him off the football field and ended his scholarship. While in college, Wayne had done some work as a film extra, appearing as a football player in Brown of Harvard (Jack Conway, 1926) with William Haines, and Drop Kick (Millard Webb, 1927), starring Richard Barthelmess. Out of school, Wayne worked as an extra and a prop man in the film industry. He first met director John Ford while working as an extra on Mother Machree (John Ford, 1928). With the early widescreen film epic The Big Trail (Raoul Walsh, 1930), Wayne received his first leading role, thanks to director Walsh. Raoul Walsh is often credited with helping him create his now legendary screen name, John Wayne. Unfortunately, the Western was a box office failure. For nearly a decade, Wayne toiled in numerous B-films. He played the lead, with his name over the title, in many low-budget Poverty Row Westerns, mostly at Monogram Pictures and serials for Mascot Pictures Corporation. By Wayne's own estimation, he appeared in about 80 of these horse operas from 1930 to 1939. In Riders of Destiny (Robert N. Bradbury, 1933), he became one of the first singing cowboys of film, named Sandy Saunders, although via dubbing. During this period, Wayne started developing his man of action persona, which would serve as the basis of many popular characters later on.

 

Working with John Ford, John Wayne got his next big break in Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939). Because of Wayne's B-film status and track record in low-budget Westerns throughout the 1930s, Ford had difficulty getting financing for what was to be an A-budget film. After rejection by all the major studios, Ford struck a deal with independent producer Walter Wanger in which Claire Trevor, who was a much bigger star at the time, received top billing. Wayne portrayed the Ringo Kid, an escaped outlaw, who joins an unusual assortment of characters on a dangerous journey through frontier lands. During the trip, the Kid falls for a dance hall prostitute named Dallas (Claire Trevor). The film was well received by filmgoers and critics alike and earned seven Academy Award nominations, including one for Ford's direction. In the end, it took home the awards for Music and for Actor in a Supporting Role for Thomas Mitchell. Wayne became a mainstream star. Reunited with Ford and Mitchell, Wayne stepped away from his usual Western roles to become a Swedish seaman in The Long Voyage Home (John Ford, 1940). The film was adapted from a play by Eugene O'Neill and follows the crew of a steamer ship as they move a shipment of explosives. Along with many positive reviews, the film earned several Academy Award nominations. Around this time, Wayne made the first of several films with German star Marlene Dietrich. The two appeared together in Seven Sinners (Tay Garnett, 1940) with Wayne playing a naval officer and Dietrich as a woman who sets out to seduce him. Off-screen, they became romantically involved, though Wayne was married at the time. There had been rumours about Wayne having other affairs, but nothing as substantial as his connection to Dietrich. Even after their physical relationship ended, the pair remained good friends and co-starred in two more films, Pittsburgh (Lewis Seiler, 1942) and The Spoilers (Ray Enright, 1942). Wayne's first color film was Shepherd of the Hills (Henry Hathaway, 1941), in which he co-starred with his longtime friend Harry Carey. The following year, he appeared in his only film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, the Technicolor epic Reap the Wild Wind (1942), in which he co-starred with Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard; it was one of the rare times he played a character with questionable values. Wayne started working behind the scenes as a producer in the late 1940s. The first film he produced was Angel and the Badman (James Edward Grant, 1947) with Gail Russell. Over the years, he operated several different production companies, including John Wayne Productions, Wayne-Fellows Productions and Batjac Productions.

 

John Wayne's career as an actor took another leap forward when he worked with director Howard Hawks in Red River (1948). The Western drama provided Wayne with an opportunity to show his talents as an actor, not just an action hero. Playing the conflicted cattleman Tom Dunson, he took on a darker sort of character. He deftly handled his character's slow collapse and difficult relationship with his adopted son played by Montgomery Clift. Also around this time, Wayne also received praise for his work in John Ford's Fort Apache (1948) with Henry Fonda and Shirley Temple. Taking on a war drama, Wayne gave a strong performance in Sands of Iwo Jima (Allan Dwan, 1949), which garnered him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He also appeared in more two Westerns by Ford now considered classics: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (John Ford, 1949) and Rio Grande (John Ford, 1950) with Maureen O'Hara. Wayne worked with O'Hara on several films, perhaps most notably The Quiet Man (John Ford, 1952). Playing an American boxer with a bad reputation, his character moved to Ireland where he fell in love with a local woman (Maureen O'Hara). This film is considered Wayne's most convincing leading romantic role by many critics. A well-known conservative and anticommunist, Wayne merged his personal beliefs and his professional life in Big Jim McLain (Edward Ludwig, 1952). He played an investigator working for the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee, which worked to root out communists in all aspects of public life. Off screen, Wayne played a leading role in the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals and even served as its president for a time. The organisation was a group of conservatives who wanted to stop communists from working in the film industry, and other members included Gary Cooper and Ronald Reagan. In 1956, Wayne starred in another Ford Western, The Searchers (John Ford, 1956). He played Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards whose niece is abducted by a tribe of Comanches and he again showed some dramatic range as the morally questionable veteran. He soon after reteamed with Howard Hawks for Rio Bravo (1959). Playing a local sheriff, Wayne's character must face off against a powerful rancher and his henchmen who want to free his jailed brother. The unusual cast included Dean Martin and Angie Dickinson.

 

John Wayne made his directorial debut with The Alamo (John Wayne, 1960). Starring in the film as Davy Crockett, he received decidedly mixed reviews for both his on- and off-screen efforts. Wayne received a much warmer reception for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962) in which he played a troubled rancher competing with a lawyer (James Stewart) for a woman's hand in marriage. Some other notable films from this period include The Longest Day (Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki, 1962) and How the West Was Won (John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, 1962). Continuing to work steadily, Wayne refused to even let illness slow him down. He successfully battled lung cancer in 1964. To defeat the disease, Wayne had to have a lung and several ribs removed. In the later part of the 1960s, Wayne had some great successes and failures. He co-starred with Robert Mitchum in El Dorado (Howard Hawks, 1967), which was well received. The next year, Wayne again mixed the professional and the political with the pro-Vietnam War film The Green Berets (Ray Kellogg, John Wayne, 1968). He directed and produced as well as starred in the film, which was derided by critics for being heavy handed and clichéd. Viewed by many as a piece of propaganda, the film still did well at the box office. Around this time, Wayne continued to espouse his conservative political views. He support friend Ronald Reagan in his 1966 bid for governor of California as well as his 1970 re-election effort. In 1976, Wayne recorded radio advertisements for Reagan's first attempt to become the Republican presidential candidate. Wayne won his first Academy Award for Best Actor for True Grit (Henry Hathaway, 1969). He played Rooster Cogburn, an one-eyed marshal and drunkard, who helps a young woman named Mattie (Kim Darby) track down her father's killer. A young Glen Campbell joined the pair on their mission. Rounding out the cast, Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper were among the bad guys the trio had to defeat. A later sequel with Katherine Hepburn, Rooster Cogburn (Stuart Millar, 1975), failed to attract critical acclaim or much of an audience. Wayne portrayed an aging gunfighter dying of cancer in his final film, The Shootist (Don Siegel, 1976), with James Stewart and Lauren Bacall. His character, John Bernard Books, hoped to spend his final days peacefully, but got involved one last gunfight. In 1978, life imitated art with Wayne being diagnosed with stomach cancer. John Wayne died in 1979, in Los Angeles, California. He was survived by his seven children from two of his three marriages. During his marriage to Josephine Saenz from 1933 to 1945, the couple had four children, two daughters Antonia and Melinda and two sons Michael and Patrick. Both Michael and Patrick followed in their father's footsteps Michael as a producer and Patrick as an actor. With his third wife, Pilar Palette, he had three more children, Ethan, Aissa, and Marisa. Ethan has worked as an actor over the years.

 

Sources: Biography.com, Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

PA_1463 [30 points]

A Speedy Conzales themed space invader in the 5ème arrondissement. A bit hidden away from the crowds.

Onscreen FlashInvaders message: ARIBA RIBA, ANDALE YIPA YIPA

 

All my photos of PA_1463:

PA_1463 (Close-up, August 2021)

PA_1463 (Wide shot, August 2021)

 

Date of invasion: 13/05/2021 (estimation)

 

[ Found Speedy Conzales more than 3 months after its invasion ]

I didn‘t know much about Fujinon lenses when I first heard about the EX (high end) enlarging lens series, but after I read some enthusiastic endorsements and saw a couple of great sample shots I was certainly intrigued. That said, it was quite some time after this moment, when I found one at a somewhat reasonable price, because it seems like they aren‘t available in large quantities. I think they are among the best enlarging lenses out there and thankfully easy to adapt as well. I don‘t remember if there is any longer focal length but I have got them in 50, 75, 90, 105 and 135 mm (the latter being a lot bigger and in my estimation heavier than all others combined...).

 

The two large-format lenses are a „Fujinon-SWD 65 mm F 5.6“ and a „Fujinon-W 135 mm F 5.6“ and they are absolutely brilliant lenses as well from my limited experience: Wonderfully sharp with good contrast, colors and seemingly very good from close-up to infinity!

 

Fuji has certainly gained my trust when it comes to lenses as they really seem to be consistently good as far as I can tell.

 

Shot with a Yashica "Auto Yashinon DX 50 mm F 1.7" lens on a Canon EOS R5.

I have always liked cameras with direct vision viewfinders. I do use SLRs too particularly for close up photography and their versatility.

 

Since I was young I was fascinated by the viewfinder on our family camera, a boots Instamatic which took 126 film. I like a clear bright viewfinder and an uninterrupted view when the exposure is being made.

 

These cameras use range finders, autofocus or distance estimation. My prefference is either rangefinder or single point AF where I can identify the point of focus and hold the focus until the exposure is made.

 

Befoer this photograph was made I had just finished a roll of Portra 160 in the Super Isolette, the last frame being a portrait of my son at St Albans Abbey.

 

Most of these cameras are Olympus, my favourite camera maker. I have OM SLRs too. Any Olympus camera from the Maitani years I find a delight to use and I can rely on it havong a good lens. I Prefer the MJU-1 over the MJU-II, MJU-1 is so smooth and ealy to use, just lift it to my eye and make a photograph.

Lacking spiral arms but boasting a galactic bulge and prominent disk, lenticular galaxies like Caldwell 53 (NGC 3115) are intermediates between the more familiar spiral and elliptical galaxies. This galaxy, like most of its kind, hosts an elderly stellar population and has used up nearly all of its star-forming material. Appearing edge-on to us, the galaxy is located 32 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Sextans and has an apparent magnitude of 9.9. Discovered by William Herschel in 1787, it is most easily observed during early spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. As one of the brighter galaxies, Caldwell 53 can be easily seen in a small telescope, which will display the galaxy’s spindle-like form and bright central region.

 

Caldwell 53 is perhaps most notable for the supermassive black hole that lurks at its center. One of the ways astronomers are able to estimate the mass of a black hole is by observing the temperature of the hot gas being dragged toward it. Using this method, astronomers estimate that the black hole within Caldwell 53 has a mass roughly one billion times the mass of our Sun. This estimation means that Caldwell 53 hosts the closest billion-solar-mass black hole to Earth.

 

This image of Caldwell 53 is a composite of observations taken by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys at infrared and visible wavelengths. Scientists used information gathered from these observations to constrain the temperature and density of the gas that surrounds the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy.

 

Credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Erwin (University of Alabama); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

 

For Hubble's Caldwell catalog website and information on how to find these objects in the night sky, visit:

 

www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-caldwell-catalog

 

A wonderful rarely published/seen photograph taken by Apollo 9 Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) Rusty Schweickart, during his Extravehicular Activity (EVA). Based on the view/perspective, possibly taken while he was still secured to Lunar Module “Spider’s” porch, using the foot restraint apparatus referred to as the “golden slippers”.

 

Obviously, the photograph hasn't been properly cared for/stored, but it's retained reasonable gloss & I'm just glad that it survived.

 

A fascinating & pleasant discovery - to me - is that a portion of Commander Jim McDivitt’s face is visible in the triangular LMP window. By my estimation, the following features/items are present & identifiable in my labeled version of the photo:

 

1. coiled 16mm Data Acquisition Camera (DAC) electrical/power cable

2. white Communications Carrier Assembly (CCA)/“Snoopy Cap” microphone boom base

3. helmet neck ring

4. helmet attaching neck ring

5. possible sun reflection along the surface of McDivitt’s bubble helmet

6. NASA Meatball/Vector patch on his A7L pressure suit

7. McDivitt’s partially opened mouth (teeth & lips visible)

The green outlines are of the double reflection of the LM RCS thruster’s nozzle.

 

Linked to below, in order:

- my labeled version of the image

- the same image, from the “Project Apollo Archive”

- a similar image, however, without McDivitt at the window & more clearly showing the double reflection of the LM RCS thruster nozzle, also from the “Project Apollo Archive”

- a cropped & edited high resolution version of the image taken from the “March To The Moon” website

 

The rest of the window’s surface reflects the clouds (and possibly water) of the earth below. The conical Kapton-covered surface of the docked Command Module, with its protruding umbilical fairing, are visible to the upper left. Finally, the large circular feature to the far right is the flashing tracking light, which apparently was inoperative during the flight. The smaller circular feature to its left is the white docking light, the colors of the other three docking lights being yellow, red & green. Who knew?!

 

I wonder if this photo is in Andy Saunders' book, "APOLLO REMASTERED", which looks to be fantastic. I'd better pick up a copy.

 

Last, but NOT least. THANK YOU MR. ARMSTRONG:

 

www.collectspace.com/news/news-020915a-neil-armstrong-art...

 

Sort of similar stuff going on, with great discussion & information:

 

www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/001958.html

Both above credit: collectSPACE website

A round up of some visits from nearly a decade ago when I just posted general shots, to my surprise I took shots of details too, and didn't post them at the time.

 

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Monday 10th September 2012

I can now reveal that being on Holiday is officially better than being at work. It is a Monday morning, and we have bottled another batch of beer, and i have mopped the floor as we did manage to mess it up, slightly. The house now smells like a brewery, which would not be a bad thing only it was just eight in the morning, and it is a tad early for beer, even for me. In an exciting move, we are heading to Tesco in a while to get ingredients for out Christmas cakes.

 

Yes, cakes. One is never enough. A couple of years ago, we tried one in November and had to bake another one to replace it. We don't marzipan or ice them, and just leave them with their cakey goodness and Christmas spiciness.

 

Friday seemed to go on forever until it got to five to four and it was time to head home. The technicians had come ashore early and gone home, so I had the office to myself, therefore my hearty laughing at the Kermode and Mayo film review went unheard except by me.

 

So, off to Tesco for a week's shopping, and ended up getting enough stuff to last the weekend. And once that was done and paid for, loaded up the car and back home and now the holiday could really begin.

 

And Friday night was spent watching football. Yes, now the Olympics and Paralympics are coming to an end, it means we must return, ashamed like a unfaithful lover to the old dependable. And England began their World Cup qualifying campaign with an away game against Moldova. I did have to ask Jools to Google Moldova to find where it was, as I really didn't have a clue.

 

Anyway, it is behind the fridge just to the lest of Romania, apparently.

 

And England strung together at least 5 passes, played well, and scored 5 goals; and yet managed to look unconvincing switching off several times, just before half time and in the second half and could have easily conceded goals. Just to remind you, by some quirk, England are currently ranked the third best team IN THE WORLD, which I suppose goes to show just how much you should trust information coming out of FIFA towers.

 

Saturday morning after breakfast we headed to Mongeham for some foraging action, so we can make jam and jellies. We knew of a footpath behind a garage that is just lined with plum and greengage trees. We picked a couple of pounds and then headed on up the A20 and M20 to head to The Weald for a tour of 'interesting' churches.

 

Each year English Heritage organises a long weekend where many buildings are open for people like us to visit and photograph. Last spring we visited St Lawrence at Mereworth; and while is it a wonderfully beautiful church, the doors were locked and we wanted to see inside.

 

First of all we headed inside the M25 to a tiny, but beautiful village on the edge of the Weald where stockbrokers and hedge fund managers have their homes with fine views onto the Garden of england. All along the main road huge gates with security cameras guarded the mock-Tudor mansions hidden behind mature trees.

 

We turned off down a narrow lane and headed towards to small village of Trottiscliffe; which is not pronounced the way it is spelt so to make the unwary visitor appear stupid. It is pronounced 'Trozli', if Wiki is to be believed.

 

At the end of a long dead end road leading to a row of cottages and an old stable block is the church. I don't think i have ever seen a church in a more perfect location, it is one of those places that you have to be going as you'll never just pass it.

 

There was a churchwarden waiting at the door and happy to answer questions and tell us the history of the church. Dominating the tiny church is, what I now know to be from Westminister Abbey is the biggest pulpit I have seen outside a er, cathedral.

 

We take our leave and head to Mereworth.

 

We were the only visitors at the church, we parked the car on the verge outside, took in the glorious design of the church before going in. First thing you do see is a pair of spiral staircases; one to the gallery and the other to the bell tower. And straight ahead is a simple wooden door leading to the main body of the church.

 

I won't try to describe the church, please use the link on the pictures to go to my Flickrstream. The design is glorious, and looking pristine as it has just been restored to its former glory. Or original glory.

 

Once again there was a churchwarden to greet us, offer us refreshments and answer any questions.

 

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One of the few eighteenth-century churches in Kent, built in 1746 by the 7th Earl of Westmoreland. Surprisingly for so late a date the name of the architect is not known although it is in the style of Colen Campbell who designed the nearby castle, but as he died in 1722 it is probably by someone in his office. The main feature of the church is a tall stone steeple with four urns at the top of the tower, whilst the body of the church is a plain rectangular box consisting of an aisled nave and chancel. Inside is an excellent display of eighteenth-century interior decoration - especially fine being the curved ceiling which is painted with trompe l'oeil panels. At the west end is the galleried pew belonging to the owners of Mereworth Castle - it has organ pipes painted on its rear wall. The south-west chapel contains memorials brought here from the old church which stood near the castle, including one to a fifteenth-century Lord Bergavenny, and Sir Thomas Fane (d. 1589). The latter monument has a superb top-knot! The church contains much heraldic stained glass of sixteenth-century date, best seen with binoculars early in the morning. Of Victorian date is the excellent Raising of Lazarus window, installed in 1889 by the firm of Heaton, Butler and Bayne. In the churchyard is the grave of Charles Lucas, the first man to be awarded the Victoria Cross, while serving on the Hecla during the Crimean War.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Mereworth

 

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MEREWORTH.

EASTWARD from West, or Little Peckham, lies Mereworth, usually called Merrud. In Domesday it is written Marourde, and in the Textus Roffensis, MÆRUURTHA, and MERANWYRTHE.

 

THE PARISH of Mereworth is within the district of the Weald, being situated southward of the quarry hills. It is exceedingly pleasant, as well from its naturalsituation, as from the buildings, avenues, and other ornamental improvements made throughout it by the late earl of Westmoreland, nor do those made at Yokes by the late Mr. Master contribute a little to the continued beauty of this scene. The turnpike road crosses this parish through the vale from Maidstone, towards Hadlow and Tunbridge, on each side of which is a fine avenue of oaks, with a low neatly cut quick hedge along the whole of it, which leaves an uninterrupted view over the house, park, and grounds of lord le Despencer, the church with its fine built spire, and the seat of Yokes, and beyond it an extensive country, along the valley to Tunbridge, making altogether a most beautiful and luxuriant prospect.

 

Mereworth house is situated in the park, which rises finely wooded behind it, at a small distance from the high road, having a fine sheet of water in the front of it, being formed from a part of a stream which rises at a small distance above Yokes, and dividing itself into two branches, one of them runs in front of Mereworth house as above mentioned, and from thence through Watringbury, towards the Medway at Bow-bridge; the other branch runs more southward to East Peckham, and thence into the Medway at a small distance above Twiford bridge.

 

Mereworth-house was built after a plan of Palladio, designed for a noble Vicentine gentleman, Paolo Almerico, an ecclesiastic and referendary to two popes, who built it in his own country about a quarter of a mile distance from the city of Venice, in a situation pleasant and delightful, and nearly like this; being watered in front with a river, and in the back encompassed with the most pleasant risings, which form a kind of theatre, and abound with large and stately groves of oak and other trees; from the top of these risings there are most beautiful views, some of which are limited, and others extend so as to be terminated only by the horizon. Mereworth house is built in a moat, and has four fronts, having each a portico, but the two side ones are filled up; under the floor of the hall and best apartments, are rooms and conveniences for the servants. The hall, which is in the middle, forms a cupola, and receives its light from above, and is formed with a double case, between which the smoke is conveyed through the chimnies to the center of it at top. The wings are at a small distance from the house, and are elegantly designed. In the front of the house is an avenue, cut through the woods, three miles in length towards Wrotham-heath, and finished with incredible expence and labour by lord Westmoreland, for a communication with the London road there: throughout the whole, art and nature are so happily blended together, as to render it a most delightful situation.

 

In the western part of this parish, on the high road is the village, where at Mereworth cross it turns short off to the southward towards Hadlow and Tunbridge, at a small distance further westward is the church and parsonage, the former is a conspicuous ornament to all the neighbouring country throughout the valley; hence the ground rises to Yokes, which is most pleasantly situated on the side of a hill, commanding a most delightful and extensive prospect over the Weald, and into Surry and Sussex.

 

Towards the north this parish rises up to the ridge of hills, called the Quarry-hills, (and there are now in them, though few in number, several of the Martin Cats, the same as those at Hudson's Bay) over which is the extensive tract of wood-land, called the Herst woods, in which so late as queen Elizabeth's reign, there were many wild swine, with which the whole Weald formerly abounded, by reason of the plenty of pannage from the acorns throughout it. (fn. 1)

 

¶The soil of this parish is very fertile, being the quarry stone thinly covered with a loam, throughout the northern part of it; but in the southern or lower parts, as well as in East Peckham adjoining, it is a fertile clay, being mostly pasture and exceeding rich grazing land, and the largest oxen perhaps at any place in this part of England are bred and fatted on them, the weight of some of them having been, as I have been informed, near three hundred stone.

  

THIS PLACE, at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, was part of the possessions of Hamo Vicecomes, under the general title of whose lands it is thus entered in that book.

 

In Littlefield hundred. Hamo holds Marourde. Norman held it of king Edward, and then, and now, it was and is taxed at two sulings. The arable land is ninecarucates. In demesne there are two, and twenty-eight villeins, with fifteen borderers, having ten carucates. There is a church and ten servants, and two mills of ten shillings, and two fisheries of two shillings. There are twenty acres of meadow, and as much wood as is sufficient for the pannage of sixty hogs. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, it was worth twelve pounds, and afterwards ten pounds, now nineteen pounds.

 

This Hamo Vicecomes before-mentioned was Hamo de Crevequer, who was appointed Vicecomes, or sheriff of Kent, soon after his coming over hither with the Conqueror, which office he held till his death in the reign of king Henry I.

 

¶In the reign of king Henry II. Mereworth was in the possession of a family, which took their surname from it, and held it as two knights fees, of the earls of Clare, as of their honour of Clare.

 

Roger, son of Eustace de Mereworth, possessed it in the above reign, and then brought a quare impedit against the prior of. Leeds, for the advowson of the church of Mereworth. (fn. 3)

 

William de Mereworth is recorded among those Kentish knights, who assisted king Richard at the siege of Acon, in Palestine, upon which account it is probable the cross-croslets were added to the paternal arms of this family.

  

MEREWORTH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester and deanry of Malling.

 

The church was dedicated to St. Laurence. It was an antient building, and formerly stood where the west wing of Mereworth-house, made use of for the stables, now stands. It was pulled down by John, late earl of Westmoreland, when he rebuilt that house, and in lieu of it he erected, about half a mile westward from the old one, in the center of the village, the present church, a most elegant building, with a beautiful spire steeple, and a handsome portico in the front of it, with pillars of the Corinthian order. The whole of it is composed of different sorts of stone; and the east window is handsomely glazed with painted glass, collected by him for this purpose.

 

In the reign of king Henry II. the advowson of this church was the property of Roger de Mereworth, between whom and the prior and convent of Ledes, in this county, there had been much dispute, concerning the patronage of it: at length both parties submitted their interest to Gilbert, bishop of Rochester, who decreed, that the advowson of it should remain to Roger de Mereworth; and he further granted, with his consent, and that of Martin then parson of it, to the prior and convent, the sum of forty shillings, in the name of a perpetual benefice, and not in the name of a pension, in perpetual alms, to be received yearly for ever, from the parson of it. (fn. 13)

 

The prior and the convent of Ledes afterwards, anno 12 Henry VII. released to Hugh Walker, rector of this church, their right and claim to this pension, and all their right and claim in the rectory, by reason of it, or by any other means whatsoever.

 

In the reign of king Henry VI. the rector and parishioners of this church petitioned the bishop of Ro chester, to change the day of the feast of the dedication of it, which being solemnized yearly on the 4th day of June, and the moveable seasts of Pentecost, viz. of the sacred Trinity, or Corpus Christi, very often happening on it; the divine service used on the feasts of dedications could not in some years be celebrated, but was of necessity deferred to another day, that these solemnities of religion and of the fair might not happen together. Upon which the bishop, in 1439, transferred the feast to the Monday next after the exaltation of the Holy Cross, enjoining all and singular the rectors, and their curates, as well as the parishioners from time to time to observe it accordingly as such. And to encourage the parishioners and others to resort to it on that day, he granted to such as did, forty days remission of their sins.

 

Soon after the above-mentioned dispute between Roger de Mereworth and the prior and convent of Ledes, the church of Mereworth appears to have been given to the priory of Black Canons, at Tunbridge. (fn. 14) And it remained with the above-mentioned priory till its dissolution in the 16th year of king Henry VIII. a bull having been obtained from the pope, with the king's leave, for that purpose. After which the king, in his 17th year, granted that priory, with others then suppressed for the like purpose, together with all their manors, lands, and possessions, to cardinal Wolsey, for the better endowment of his college, called Cardinal college, in Oxford. But four years afterwards, the cardinal being cast in a præmunire; all the estates of that college, which for want of time had not been firmly settled on it, became forfeited to the crown. (fn. 15) After which, the king granted the patronage of the church of Mereworth, to Sir George Nevill, lord Abergavenny, whose descendant Henry, lord Abergavenny, died possessed of it in the 29th year of queen Elizabeth, leaving an only daughter and heir Mary, married to Sir Thomas Fane, who in her right possessed it. Since which it has continued in the same owners, that the manor of Mereworth has, and is as such now in the patronage of the right hon. Thomas, lord le Despencer.

 

It is valued in the king's books at 14l. 2s. 6d. and the yearly tenths at 1l. 8s. 3d.

 

¶It appears by a valuation of this church, and a terrier of the lands belonging to it, subscribed by the rector, churchwardens, and inhabitants, in 1634, that there belonged to it, a parsonage-house, with a barn, &c. a field called Parsonage field, a close, and a garden, two orchards, four fields called Summerfourds, Ashfield, the Coney-yearth, and Millfield, and the herbage of the church-yard, containing in the whole about thirty acres, that the house and some of the land where James Gostlinge then dwelt, paid to the rector for lord's rent twelve-pence per annum; that the houses and land where Thomas Stone and Henry Filtness then dwelt, paid two-pence per annum; that there was paid to the rector the tithe of all corn, and all other grain, as woud, would, &c. and all hay, tithe of all coppice woods and hops, and all other predial tithes usually paid, as wool, and lambs, and all predials, &c. in the memory of man; that all tithes of a parcel of land called Old-hay, some four or five miles from the church, but yet within the parish, containing three hundred acres, more or less; and the tithe of a meadow plot lying towards the lower side of Hadlow, yet in Mereworth, containing by estimation twelve acres, more or less, commonly called the Wish, belonged to this church.

 

The parsonage-house lately stood at a small distance north-eastward from Mereworth-house; but obstructing the view from the front of it, the late lord le Despencer obtained a faculty to pull the whole of it down, and to build a new one of equal dimensions, and add to it a glebe of equal quantity to that of the scite and appurtenances of the old parsonage, in exchange. Accordingly the old parsonage was pulled down in 1779, and a new one erected on a piece of land allotted for the purpose about a quarter of a mile westward from the church, for the residence of the rector of Mereworth and his successors.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol5/pp70-90

 

Colorado River, Water In the Desert – The desert is no place to be without water – one of man’s basic needs for survival. We think of deserts as areas of extreme heat and dryness. Deserts characteristically receive less than 10 inches of rainfall annually. In some deserts, the amount of evaporation is greater than the amount of rainfall. Typically, desert moisture occurs in brief intervals and is unpredictable from year to year.

 

The Colorado River starts off as melted snow in the Colorado rocky mountains. It covers an estimated amount 250,000 square miles across seven states. There are a lot of indigenous tribes around the Colorado River.

20% of the Colorado’s river dissolves from resevoirs behind dams each year.

Many wildlife surrounding the river are either extinct or endangered.

The river frequently shortly evaporates into Mexico.

 

STATES COLORADO PASSES THROUGH

 

The Colorado River passes through seven states Colorado, Utah,Wyoming,Nevada, Arizona,New Mexico,& California.

The Colorado river is one of the largest and most important rivers in the United States. More than 25 million people rely on Colorado river. About 73,000 miles of the Colarados waterways is open to pollution.

 

THE LAW OF THE RIVER

 

“The Colorado River is managed and operated under numerous compacts, federal laws, court decisions and decrees, contracts, and regulatory guidelines collectively known as the ‘Law of the River.’ This collection of documents apportions the water and regulates the use and management of the Colorado River among the seven basin states and Mexico.” – U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on The Law of the River

 

The Colorado River Compact of 1922 is the cornerstone of the Law of the River. It was negotiated by the seven Colorado River Basin states and the federal government. However, it put the river on an unsustainable course. “Based on flows from a wetter time, the 1922 Colorado River Compact divvied out one-fifth more river water than what exists today.”

 

EFFORTS TO END POLLUTION

 

Air pollution has shifted into the Grand Canyon from metropolitan areas and close coal fired power plants.

Water in some of the Colorado streams have been tainted with fecal coliform from trespass cattle and human waiste.

 

As a result of all this pollution today there have been many laws passed along with programs to protect the river. The point of these programs is to restore natural wonders for future generations.

The pollution as a result of negligence is horrible because an estimation of about forty million people depend on the Colorado River for drinking water.

 

Thus review of the colorado river, might be a reference destination for those who want to find sites that blend with nature and also unique.

 

by New Hotel Travel in ift.tt/2306VqF

Chassis no. 130944

Engine no. 130944

Body no. 200355

 

115/180 hp, 5,401 cc supercharged overhead valve inline eight-cylinder engine, four-speed manual transmission, four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes, independent coil spring front and rear suspension. Wheelbase: 129.5"

 

- Offered from the Lyon Family Collection

- Single-family ownership for two decades

- The 1936 Paris Salon car

- Complete with copy of original build sheet; delivered new to Jean-Claude Solvay of Belgium

- Inspected in person by experts from Mercedes-Benz Classic Germany

- Matching-numbers

- One of a limited few 540 Ks with coupe coachwork

 

The abundant power, stiff, rugged frame and supple fully-independent suspension made Mercedes-Benz’s supercharged 540 K suitable for a vast array of coachwork. Sindelfingen was more than capable of building anything and doing so in the finest materials and to the highest standards of fit, finish, function and luxury in the world.

 

Yet despite Sindelfingen’s designers’ demonstrated ability to create exceptionally beautiful closed cars, the vast majority of Mercedes-Benz 540 Ks were fitted with open bodies in one of the several styles of Cabriolets. Most of those were four-seat Cabriolet Bs with blind rear quarters. Surprisingly, only a precious few 540 Ks – just 42 in four years’ production – received closed coachwork.

 

Only about seven of those were coupes, making them exceptionally rare examples of Sindelfingen’s creativity and style. One of the foremost examples is this 1935 Mercedes-Benz 540 K, the car Mercedes-Benz chose for its 1935 display at the important Paris Salon to show the quality and beauty of its premier product.

 

Sindelfingen

 

Daimler-Benz concentrated automobile coachwork production at Sindelfingen, a massive facility that had developed a combination of medium volume production methods for high quality coachwork and a select group of designers and craftsmen who conceived, created and built low volume, nearly custom, bodies for the finest chassis in the Mercedes-Benz line and crafted a few highly specialized bodies for the most demanding clients.

 

Sindelfingen had been constructed during the First World War to build aircraft. The Treaty of Versailles ending the war prohibited aircraft construction in Germany on the industrial scale for which Sindelfingen had been constructed and equipped, so Hanns Klemm, the factory’s manager, eventually reorganized the factory to build automobile, truck and bus bodies. Sindelfingen continued to employ classic coachwork construction techniques with wood frameworks and sheet metal panels throughout its history, but Mercedes-Benz also added high capacity steel presses of 750- and even 1,000-tons to stamp out large, complex panels, particularly fenders.

 

Sindelfingen’s aircraft-building history manifested itself in a facility-wide devotion to quality that remained central to its operation throughout the Thirties. Specialized tools, fixtures and machines were designed and built in its own shops. Processes were meticulously planned and documented. A strict quality-control system inspected every body, whether it was for a modest 170 H or an elegant “Großer Mercedes” 770 Pullman-Limousine.

 

Klemm was succeeded by Josef Bildstein, who later took over Daimler-Benz’s Mannheim factory and turned over management of Sindelfingen to Wilhelm Haspel under whose leadership the factory became a major success for Daimler-Benz. It was a complicated undertaking in which every aspect of coachbuilding was integrated, from selecting and drying the beech and ash used for framing through stamping and forming metal panels to final assembly and painting. And Sindelfingen did every kind of bodywork, from one-off and low-production bodies for the 500 K, 540 K and Großer Mercedes to volume production of Mannheim’s 170H and V, truck cabs, specialized truck bodies, buses and even contract work in volume for BMW and Wanderer. Haspel’s success at coordinating this diverse facility was evident in his later promotion to Daimler-Benz managing director in 1942.

 

In September 1932 Hermann Ahrens joined Mercedes-Benz from Horch to head the Sonderwagen (special vehicles) section, designing and building limited production coachwork for the top Mercedes-Benz models. Ahrens would design and oversee construction of all limited-production Mercedes-Benz coachwork for nearly 40 years, including the great sports roadsters and coupes on the eight-cylinder supercharged chassis. It is his artistry that created the magnificent sweeping partially-skirted fenders, integrated running boards and deftly-shaped passenger compartments and doors that so effectively complemented the imposing long hoods and exterior exhaust pipes of the supercharged 500 K and 540 K.

 

Mercedes-Benz produced almost all the coachwork for even the most expensive and luxurious of its automobiles. According to the research of Jan Melin, just 89 of the 928 380, 500 K and 540 K chassis built were supplied to outside coachbuilders. That is just 9.6%, a tiny portion of the total production and largely unprecedented among luxury automobile manufacturers in the Thirties.

 

The combination of superb engineering, high quality materials, meticulous quality control and inspired design of the supercharged eight-cylinder Mercedes-Benzes with the limited-production coachwork of Sindelfingen brought into existence some of the finest and most respected automobiles of all time.

 

Enthusiast magazines of the time were unremitting in their praise. One described the 500 K with these words: “[T]his is a master car for the very few. The sheer insolence of its great power affords an experience on its own. The design and construction throughout are typically thorough and well-executed.” Of the 540 K another said: “As a piece of engineering, it stands unsurpassed. It is amongst the most luxurious, as well as the fastest, touring cars in the world.”

 

S/n 130944

 

With so few of the 540 Ks bodied as coupes, the selection of this car to represent Mercedes-Benz at the important Paris Auto Salon in October 1936 was unusual. Yet, upon consideration, it is completely appropriate and even sensible. Indeed, according to the Mercedes-Benz archives’ delivery papers and internal documents, the car is referred to as a “Spezial Coupe.”

 

Paris was then the center of art, design, literature, style and society in Europe. The aerodynamic revolution in automobile design was then at its inception and was practiced eloquently by French coachbuilders, whose combination of Machine Design principles, Art Deco embellishment and aerodynamic refinement was the center of attention. The 1936 Paris Auto Show brought some of the most imaginative designs, like Marcel Letourneur’s Aerosport coupe on the Delage D8 120 chassis and Jean Bugatti’s Type 57 Atalante, to the public’s eye. This Mercedes-Benz 540 K Coupe was more than competitive with the French salon’s best.

 

Prior Mercedes-Benz coupes had included one for the Mercedes-Benz “Silver Arrows” team driver Rudi Caracciola, an eminently practical automobile for a driver who needed to criss-cross Europe in all weather conditions to race the W 25 model GP car. In 1934 Wilhelm Haspel had suggested the Autobahn-Kurier, a fastback five-window design with teardrop fenders of which two were built on each of the 500 K and 540 K chassis. Hermann Ahrens’ Sonderwagen facility completed the first Autobahn-Kurier in only ten weeks in order to make its auto show debut, an example of the shop’s ability to create a completely new and dramatically different design on an abbreviated schedule.

The Paris show coupe is another example of the creativity and masterful execution of which Sindelfingen was capable. Its sweeping front fenders merge into small running boards, then curve upwards into teardrop-flared rear fenders. The rear wheels are skirted, with a chrome emblem repeating the look of the front wheel’s centerlock hub. A tasteful chrome beltline molding accents the break of the hood side and extends back across the door to end near the top of the rear fender where its termination parallels the curve of the fender top. The roofline is rounded at the rear but merges nicely with the tapering rear deck, which contains a stacked pair of spare wheels and tires set nearly flush with the deck surface.

 

An attractive styling feature is the swage line which accents the sides of the fenders. It parallels the fender tops from the front valence the full length of the car, curving up and around the rear wheel skirts then down across the full width of the rear valence. The effect draws attention, visually reducing the fenders’ tall profiles.

 

Bosch headlights in chrome nacelles nestle between the fenders and the gently raked vee radiator. A single small fog light is directly in front of the radiator, and a pair of long chrome horn trumpets also sit between the fenders above a split chrome bumper which is repeated at the rear.

 

The interior is invitingly upholstered in tan leather with a plain white instrument panel in the highly finished wood dashboard. The steering wheel is leather covered. A transverse rear seat accommodates one passenger, in addition to the two in the front, or makes room for luggage.

 

After being displayed in Paris, the 540 K Coupe was first returned to Sindelfingen and then in December delivered to Jean-Claude Solvay of the Belgian chemical company dynasty in Belgium. Subsequently it became part of the collection of American Connie Bouchard in the 1960s, who undertook its restoration before selling it to John Mozart. It then was acquired by the Imperial Palace Collection from whom the Lyon family acquired it in the late 1990s. Since then, it has remained in the Lyon Collection, always treated to professional maintenance and climate-controlled storage.

 

Inspection

 

In preparation for the car’s offering in Monterey this August, this car was inspected in person by two veteran experts from Mercedes-Benz Classic Germany. Their findings were very positive. In their expert opinion, they concluded that although the car had been restored, it retained a great deal of originality in its components. The engine is matching numbers (130944) and retains its original number plate. In fact, they believe the body has never been off the car and the rear axle itself never removed – testament to the car’s originality. The transmission is original to the car, and it was determined that the steering is of the correct series. Minor modern improvements were made, including modern telescopic shocks, but the workmanship was professional and well done in their estimation. Again, the overall impression imparted on these Mercedes experts was very favorable.

 

Its deep red livery dramatically accents the sweeping lines of Hermann Ahrens’ dramatic coupe coachwork. One of only about seven coupes built on the Mercedes-Benz 540 K chassis, its effect today is, if anything, even more dramatic than it was at the Paris Salon of 1936.

 

It is the perfect complement to Ahrens’ high door, long tail Spezial Roadster, a vivid example of Mercedes-Benz’s mastery of power, speed, handling, comfort and design at the height of the golden age of classic automobiles.

 

[Text from RM Auctions]

 

www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1057377

 

This Lego miniland-scale Mercedes-Benz 540K Spezial Coupe (1936 - Sindelfingen), has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 89th Build Challenge, - "Over a Million, Under a Thousand", - a challenge to build vehicles valued over one million (US) dollars, or under one thousand (US) dollars.

 

This particular vehicle was auctioned by the RM Auction house on Saturday, August 20, 2011, where is sold for $3,080,000.

 

As I watched them chant "Lock Her Up!" I wondered -- for what purpose have they come together? What are they doing? Is there some kind of platform?

 

And then I began to wonder is this all they have to offer the country? A tribal Lord of the Flies-type chant calling for the spearing of a former first lady and Secretary of State? A Bush-style dynasty to feed the insatiable ego of Donald Trump and, by extension, really fu%k up the world? Is that what these people want for themselves, their families and neighbors? Do they even know what they're asking for? What quality of leader would incite an assembled crowd into this kind of collective madness?

 

But then ...

 

1. This is the kind of behavior that has led to assassinations.

 

2. This is the kind of behavior that follows Donald Trump. These are his people.

 

So one may wonder ...

 

HOW DO YOU

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN

WHEN YOU

IGNORE AND

LIE ABOUT ...

 

The economy

Jobs

Affordable health care

Gender fairness and respect

Effective Public Education

Affordable college

Diplomacy -- in general

Homeland security

Science

Orphaned refugees

Peace and justice

Racial inequality

Economic inequality

Social inequality

National and local infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc)

Warming

 

direction ... conviction? ... leadership?

 

ideas? ... solutions? ... facts?

 

competence ... ?

 

WHAT IS THEIR PLATFORM?

Unruly Sophomoric Hatred is their platform — and why not, it aligns with the flaming unsteadiness of their chosen candidate. What is assembled in Cleveland right now is the bottom of the American barrel. These are the people who have been messing up our country for years from their stinky smoke-filled double-wide trailers and envious, spiteful, superstitious church halls and bowling alleys sitting inside jerrymandered districts drawn up for their qualities of low curiosity and high combustibility. They are pissed off and shallow; they're drawn to flags and symbols and collective scapegoating. They'd been marginalized their whole lives until Republican red pens drew them into a sense of empowerment -- and it seemed they finally grew a voice, or so they thought, but instead they had bitten into an empty promise, pinning their hopes on evaporating shape shifters who hold nothing but money as sacred. Courted by the wolf they have given away their options, living by words and quoting tenets that were never intended for them. They had never been invited to the table and are not welcomed there. Right now they are in the middle of this and have just crowned their most perfect leader -- a man who would name his son Baron -- a deranged, unsteady, thin-skinned narcissist whose talents are found mainly in his barking, overtanning and self-congratulatory puffery.

 

I hope to share here David Brooks' recent thinking on Trump's behavior. I beg my liberal friends to grant dispensation for my sharing a Republican's column, but Brooks is the old-style Republican, the real Republican -- not some twisted freak's acolyte. Please read this and re-post it or pass it on. — Peter.

 

________________________________________________

 

www.nytimes.com/2016/07/19/opinion/trump-is-getting-even-...

 

TRUMP IS GETTING EVEN TRUMPIER!

 

By David Brooks

July 19, 2016

The New York Times

 

Does anybody else have the sense that Donald Trump is slipping off the rails? His speeches have always had a rambling, free association quality, but a couple of the recent ones have, as the Republican political consultant Mike Murphy put it, passed from the category of rant to the category of full on “drunk wedding toast.”

 

Trump’s verbal style has always been distinct. He doesn’t really speak in sentences or paragraphs. His speeches are punctuated by five- or six-word jabs that are sort of strung together by connections that can only be understood through chaos theory: “They want the wall … I dominated with the evangelicals … I won in a landslide … We can’t be the stupid people anymore.”

 

Occasionally Trump will attempt a sentence longer than eight words, but no matter what subject he starts the sentence with, by the end he has been pulled over to the subject of himself. Here’s an example from the Mike Pence announcement speech: “So one of the primary reasons I chose Mike was I looked at Indiana, and I won Indiana big.” There’s sort of a gravitational narcissistic pull that takes command whenever he attempts to utter a compound thought.

 

Trump has also always been a little engine fueled by wounded pride. For example, writing in BuzzFeed, McKay Coppins recalls the fusillade of abuse he received from Trump after writing an unflattering profile (he called Mar-a-Lago a “nice, if slightly dated, hotel”).

 

Trump was so inflamed he tweeted retaliation at Coppins several times a day and at odd hours, calling him a “dishonest slob” and “true garbage with no credibility.” The attacks went on impressively for over two years, which must rank Coppins in the top 100,000 on the list of people Donald Trump resents.

 

Over the past few weeks these longstanding Trump patterns have gone into hyperdrive. This is a unique moment in American political history in which the mental stability of one of the major party nominees is the dominating subject of conversation.

 

Everybody is telling Trump to ratchet it down and be more sober, but at a rally near Cincinnati this month and in his Pence announcement speech on Saturday, Trump launched his verbal rocket ship straight through the stratosphere, and it landed somewhere on the dark side of Planet Debbie.

 

Every weekday, get thought-provoking commentary from Op-Ed columnists, The Times editorial board and contributing writers from around the world.

 

The Pence announcement was truly the strangest vice-presidential unveiling in recent political history. Ricocheting around the verbal wilds for more than twice as long as the man he was introducing, Trump even refused to remain onstage and gaze on admiringly as Pence flattered him. It was like watching a guy lose interest in a wedding when the bride appears.

 

The structure of his mental perambulations also seems to have changed. Formerly, as I said, his speeches had a random, free-form quality. But on Saturday his remarks had a distinct through line, anchored by the talking points his campaign had written down on pieces of paper. But Trump could not keep his attention focused on this through line — since the subject was someone else — so every 30 seconds or so he would shoot off on a resentment-filled bragging loop.

 

If you had to do a rough diagram of the Trump remarks it would be something like this: Pence … I was right about Iraq … Pence … Hillary Clinton is a crooked liar … I was right about “Brexit” … Pence … Hillary Clintons ads are filled with lies … We’re going to bring back the coal industry … Christians love me … Pence … I talk to statisticians … Pence is good looking … My hotel in Washington is really coming along fantastically … Pence.

 

Donald Trump is in his moment of greatest triumph, but he seems more resentful and embattled than ever. Most political conventions are happy coronations, but this one may come to feel like the Alamo of aggrieved counterattacks.

 

It’s hard to know exactly what is going on in that brain, but science lends a clue. Psychologists wonder if narcissists are defined by extremely high self-esteem or by extremely low self-esteem that they are trying to mask. The current consensus seems to be that they are marked by unstable self-esteem. Their self-confidence can be both high and fragile, so they perceive ego threat all around.

 

Maybe as Trump has gotten more successful his estimation of what sort of adoration he deserves has increased while the outside criticism has gotten more pronounced. This combination is bound to leave his ego threat sensors permanently inflamed. So even if Candidate Trump is told to make a normal political point, Inner Boy Trump will hijack the microphone for another bout of resentful boasting.

 

Suddenly the global climate favors a Trump candidacy. Some forms of disorder — like a financial crisis — send voters for the calm supple thinker. But other forms of disorder — blood in the streets — send them scurrying for the brutal strongman.

 

If the string of horrific events continues, Trump could win the presidency. And he could win it even though he has less and less control over himself.

  

Atlantic Ocean | KL642 03/05/2015 10h18 (EST) / 04h18 (CET)

A photo taken through the window of the KLM Boeing 777 PH-BVA during the night flight between New York City (JFK) and Amsterdam (AMS) during the transatlantic crossing. Full moon, stars, a flashing wing light and the reflections of the moon on the clouds and parts of the sea. What a great way of traveling this is. The geotag of this photo is a very rough estimation. Made around 4 hours after take-off from JFK and 2.5 hours before landing at AMS. The cabin lights were still in night mode and most people were sleeping.

 

The last photo of the album New York April 2015.

 

____________________________________________________

The last photo (the 778th) of the "New York April 2015" album was uploaded on 15/12/2015. The first photo was uploaded on 04/05/2015. Exactly 225 days (=32 weeks) ago with an average of 3.45 photos a day.

  

Missbehav'n has live models in their window Saturdays. The last couple have been, in my estimation, very photogenic.

Taken with my CZJ 135mm F/3.5 Sonnar and converted to black and white in Luminar 4. I did some additional cleanup in Photoshop. The image just worked better in B&W in my estimation.

Inside of about 5 minutes time these 3 NS trains went through Chesterton, Indiana on Monday, May 9th at around 1 pm. I was just running to the Hardware store and got caught by all 3. I don't leave home without my camera living around here.

 

In this photo, the 1st train of 3 is seen coming eastbound through Chesterton. Train had NS 1815-4540 and had in my estimation at least 2 miles of empty spine and tub cars behind the loads on the front end.

 

NS SD70ACC #1815 was built by EMD as NS SD70 #2541 in September of 1994.

 

NS AC44C6M #4540 was built by GE.

Extrema Outoor 2011, Aquabest Best, 16-07-2011. Showcasing my set (Extrema Outdoor 2011) here!

 

In deze set een selectie van de beste 90 foto's van de totale shoot van > 320 foto's. Staat je foto in deze set er niet tussen? Je vindt jouw foto zeker terug in de set @ Dancegids.nl (www.dancegids.nl/). Wanneer je je foto niet terugvindt op Dancegids.nl, dan is die buiten de selectie gevallen, helaas! Better luck next time :)

 

Line-up: partyflock.nl/party/187230:Extrema_Outdoor.html

Organisatie: nl.extrema-outdoor.com/

 

Check ook eens ook mijn YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/dutchpartypics en mijn eigen showgallery: www.dutchphotogallery.net/ (online soon, estimation: End 2011).

 

Foto's nabestellen:

 

Foto's in high res nabestellen? Leuk voor gebruik voor allerlei creatieve doeleinden. Denk aan een speciaal kado voor een speciaal iemand (bijvoorbeeld je geliefde), zoals het afdrukken van jouw/jullie foto op Canvas, Mokken, Muismat etc. Wat je je maar kunt voorstellen! Maar ook een kwalitatieve afdruk op een printer thuis of bij een fotozaak kan natuurlijk met je nabestelling. Voor maar 2,50 Euro stuur ik je de high res. foto(s) toe. Geef het betreffende fotonummer(s) door, of stuur mij de link van de betreffende foto(s) op Dancegids.nl, wanneer die hier op Flickr er niet tussen staat. Stuur deze info (fotonummer(s) en/of link) naar: dutchpartypics@yahoo.com/k.punt@telfort.nl. Alvast hartelijk dank! Hope 2 Cya @ the dancefloor next party!

 

© Dutchpartypics | Korsjan Punt 2010. Powered by Nikon D50/D80/D3000 DSLR; Lenses @ fl. range 10 - 300 mm: Nikon D AF 50 mm, f 1.8; Nikon AF-S 18 - 55 mm, f 3.5 - 5.6; Nikon AF-S 18 - 105 mm VR, f: 3.5 - 5.6; Nikon AF-S 55 - 200 mm VR, f 4.0 - 5.6; Nikon D AF 70 - 300 mm, f 4.0 - 5.6; Tamron SP XR DiII 17 - 50 mm, f 2.8; Tamron XR Di 28 - 75 mm, f: 2.8; Sigma Super Wide II 24 mm, f 2.8; Sigma EX DC-HSM 10 - 20 mm, f 4.0 - 5.6 and Sigma EX DC Macro 105 mm, f 2.8. Flash: Nikon Speedlight SB600 (Nikon D80) | Sunpak PZ42X (Nikon D3000) | Sunpak PF30X (Nikon D50), all including Stofen omnibounce. Compact: Nikon Coolpix L110 and Panasonic Lumix FX500. Flash Full HD Video: Kodak Zi8.

 

NIKON: At the heart of the image! & DUTCHPARTYPICS: Power of Imagination, for Pounding, Vivid Pictures! Make your photos come alive! And... ! Relive your most intense moments, over again! See my unique look on peoples, situations and things!

Belgian collectors card. Photo: Argosy / M.G.M. John Wayne in 3 Godfathers (John Ford, 1948).

 

American actor John Wayne (1907-1979) was one of the most popular film stars of the 20th century. He received his first leading film role in The Big Trail (1930). Working with John Ford, he got his next big break in Stagecoach (1939). His career as an actor took another leap forward when he worked with director Howard Hawks in Red River (1948). Wayne won his first Academy Award in 1969. He He starred in 142 films altogether and remains a popular American icon to this day.

 

John Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison in 1907, in Winterset, Iowa. Some sources also list him as Marion Michael Morrison and Marion Mitchell Morrison. He was already a sizable presence when he was born, weighing around 13 pounds. The oldest of two children born to Clyde and Mary 'Molly' Morrison, Wayne moved to Lancester, California, around the age of seven. The family moved again a few years later after Clyde failed in his attempt to become a farmer. Settling in Glendale, California, Wayne received his distinctive nickname 'Duke' while living there. He had a dog by that name, and he spent so much time with his pet that the pair became known as 'Little Duke' and 'Big Duke', according to the official John Wayne website. In high school, Wayne excelled in his classes and in many different activities, including student government and football. He also participated in numerous student theatrical productions. Winning a football scholarship to University of Southern California (USC), Wayne started college in the fall of 1925. Unfortunately, after two years, an injury, a result of a bodysurfing accident, took him off the football field and ended his scholarship. While in college, Wayne had done some work as a film extra, appearing as a football player in Brown of Harvard (Jack Conway, 1926) with William Haines, and Drop Kick (Millard Webb, 1927), starring Richard Barthelmess. Out of school, Wayne worked as an extra and a prop man in the film industry. He first met director John Ford while working as an extra on Mother Machree (John Ford, 1928). With the early widescreen film epic The Big Trail (Raoul Walsh, 1930), Wayne received his first leading role, thanks to director Walsh. Raoul Walsh is often credited with helping him create his now legendary screen name, John Wayne. Unfortunately, the Western was a box office failure. For nearly a decade, Wayne toiled in numerous B-films. He played the lead, with his name over the title, in many low-budget Poverty Row Westerns, mostly at Monogram Pictures and serials for Mascot Pictures Corporation. By Wayne's own estimation, he appeared in about 80 of these horse operas from 1930 to 1939. In Riders of Destiny (Robert N. Bradbury, 1933), he became one of the first singing cowboys of film, named Sandy Saunders, although via dubbing. During this period, Wayne started developing his man of action persona, which would serve as the basis of many popular characters later on.

 

Working with John Ford, John Wayne got his next big break in Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939). Because of Wayne's B-film status and track record in low-budget Westerns throughout the 1930s, Ford had difficulty getting financing for what was to be an A-budget film. After rejection by all the major studios, Ford struck a deal with independent producer Walter Wanger in which Claire Trevor, who was a much bigger star at the time, received top billing. Wayne portrayed the Ringo Kid, an escaped outlaw, who joins an unusual assortment of characters on a dangerous journey through frontier lands. During the trip, the Kid falls for a dance hall prostitute named Dallas (Claire Trevor). The film was well received by filmgoers and critics alike and earned seven Academy Award nominations, including one for Ford's direction. In the end, it took home the awards for Music and for Actor in a Supporting Role for Thomas Mitchell. Wayne became a mainstream star. Reunited with Ford and Mitchell, Wayne stepped away from his usual Western roles to become a Swedish seaman in The Long Voyage Home (John Ford, 1940). The film was adapted from a play by Eugene O'Neill and follows the crew of a steamer ship as they move a shipment of explosives. Along with many positive reviews, the film earned several Academy Award nominations. Around this time, Wayne made the first of several films with German star Marlene Dietrich. The two appeared together in Seven Sinners (Tay Garnett, 1940) with Wayne playing a naval officer and Dietrich as a woman who sets out to seduce him. Off-screen, they became romantically involved, though Wayne was married at the time. There had been rumours about Wayne having other affairs, but nothing as substantial as his connection to Dietrich. Even after their physical relationship ended, the pair remained good friends and co-starred in two more films, Pittsburgh (Lewis Seiler, 1942) and The Spoilers (Ray Enright, 1942). Wayne's first color film was Shepherd of the Hills (Henry Hathaway, 1941), in which he co-starred with his longtime friend Harry Carey. The following year, he appeared in his only film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, the Technicolor epic Reap the Wild Wind (1942), in which he co-starred with Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard; it was one of the rare times he played a character with questionable values. Wayne started working behind the scenes as a producer in the late 1940s. The first film he produced was Angel and the Badman (James Edward Grant, 1947) with Gail Russell. Over the years, he operated several different production companies, including John Wayne Productions, Wayne-Fellows Productions and Batjac Productions.

 

John Wayne's career as an actor took another leap forward when he worked with director Howard Hawks in Red River (1948). The Western drama provided Wayne with an opportunity to show his talents as an actor, not just an action hero. Playing the conflicted cattleman Tom Dunson, he took on a darker sort of character. He deftly handled his character's slow collapse and difficult relationship with his adopted son played by Montgomery Clift. Also around this time, Wayne also received praise for his work in John Ford's Fort Apache (1948) with Henry Fonda and Shirley Temple. Taking on a war drama, Wayne gave a strong performance in Sands of Iwo Jima (Allan Dwan, 1949), which garnered him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He also appeared in more two Westerns by Ford now considered classics: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (John Ford, 1949) and Rio Grande (John Ford, 1950) with Maureen O'Hara. Wayne worked with O'Hara on several films, perhaps most notably The Quiet Man (John Ford, 1952). Playing an American boxer with a bad reputation, his character moved to Ireland where he fell in love with a local woman (Maureen O'Hara). This film is considered Wayne's most convincing leading romantic role by many critics. A well-known conservative and anticommunist, Wayne merged his personal beliefs and his professional life in Big Jim McLain (Edward Ludwig, 1952). He played an investigator working for the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee, which worked to root out communists in all aspects of public life. Off screen, Wayne played a leading role in the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals and even served as its president for a time. The organisation was a group of conservatives who wanted to stop communists from working in the film industry, and other members included Gary Cooper and Ronald Reagan. In 1956, Wayne starred in another Ford Western, The Searchers (John Ford, 1956). He played Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards whose niece is abducted by a tribe of Comanches and he again showed some dramatic range as the morally questionable veteran. He soon after reteamed with Howard Hawks for Rio Bravo (1959). Playing a local sheriff, Wayne's character must face off against a powerful rancher and his henchmen who want to free his jailed brother. The unusual cast included Dean Martin and Angie Dickinson.

 

John Wayne made his directorial debut with The Alamo (John Wayne, 1960). Starring in the film as Davy Crockett, he received decidedly mixed reviews for both his on- and off-screen efforts. Wayne received a much warmer reception for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962) in which he played a troubled rancher competing with a lawyer (James Stewart) for a woman's hand in marriage. Some other notable films from this period include The Longest Day (Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki, 1962) and How the West Was Won (John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, 1962). Continuing to work steadily, Wayne refused to even let illness slow him down. He successfully battled lung cancer in 1964. To defeat the disease, Wayne had to have a lung and several ribs removed. In the later part of the 1960s, Wayne had some great successes and failures. He co-starred with Robert Mitchum in El Dorado (Howard Hawks, 1967), which was well received. The next year, Wayne again mixed the professional and the political with the pro-Vietnam War film The Green Berets (Ray Kellogg, John Wayne, 1968). He directed and produced as well as starred in the film, which was derided by critics for being heavy handed and clichéd. Viewed by many as a piece of propaganda, the film still did well at the box office. Around this time, Wayne continued to espouse his conservative political views. He support friend Ronald Reagan in his 1966 bid for governor of California as well as his 1970 re-election effort. In 1976, Wayne recorded radio advertisements for Reagan's first attempt to become the Republican presidential candidate. Wayne won his first Academy Award for Best Actor for True Grit (Henry Hathaway, 1969). He played Rooster Cogburn, an one-eyed marshal and drunkard, who helps a young woman named Mattie (Kim Darby) track down her father's killer. A young Glen Campbell joined the pair on their mission. Rounding out the cast, Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper were among the bad guys the trio had to defeat. A later sequel with Katherine Hepburn, Rooster Cogburn (Stuart Millar, 1975), failed to attract critical acclaim or much of an audience. Wayne portrayed an aging gunfighter dying of cancer in his final film, The Shootist (Don Siegel, 1976), with James Stewart and Lauren Bacall. His character, John Bernard Books, hoped to spend his final days peacefully, but got involved one last gunfight. In 1978, life imitated art with Wayne being diagnosed with stomach cancer. John Wayne died in 1979, in Los Angeles, California. He was survived by his seven children from two of his three marriages. During his marriage to Josephine Saenz from 1933 to 1945, the couple had four children, two daughters Antonia and Melinda and two sons Michael and Patrick. Both Michael and Patrick followed in their father's footsteps Michael as a producer and Patrick as an actor. With his third wife, Pilar Palette, he had three more children, Ethan, Aissa, and Marisa. Ethan has worked as an actor over the years.

 

Sources: Biography.com, Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

© All Rights Reserved - Erik Symes Photography

 

Is better no?

 

I am still attempting to catch up. Not enough time. Where do the weekends go. I'll comment on your streams later this evening. Hope you all had a great weekend.

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French Journal Day 86 (Travel Diary Day 166)

 

(travel blog - strange-lands.com/daily/2012/12/27/jagged-peaks/)

 

In a swirl of coffee fuelled excitement, this morning Rachel and I exchanged ideas that would eventually come to form the spine of our new European journey. We were, by some people’s estimations, getting carried away with ourselves. Stopping short of unicorns and castles in the sky, the possible 6 month road trip is shaping up to be something special.

 

It’s a journey Betsy may never return from, sadly. We won’t say that in front of her, of course.

 

Come the end of March, we’ll navigate through the great Pyrenees wall and down through Spain, finally reaching Portugal. From there we’ll begin our road trip through Europe – flexibility is our goal – our final destination will be Iceland in September. It will be expensive. It will be challenging. It will be the adventure we’ve been looking for.

 

We’ll be arriving on Latin American soil a year earlier than planned, and the trip will end in the US and Canada, where I plan to co-teach HDR workshops with a great selection of fantastic local photographers.

 

Trying in earnest to avoid exaggeration, this adventure will be the ultimate test of our success in trying to carve out for ourselves a life that we truly want to lead. We have no idea if our voices will be heard above the noise of our heavily saturated markets, but we should at least try.

 

Our goals for the next two months are ambitious. I aim to finish my HDR photography book. Rachel is developing her blog and ESL site. And working together, we are to search high and low for publishers who may consider our journey book-worthy…and my writing publishable.

 

An unexpected pressure comes from this blog, in laying our plans and goals out for anyone to see. It surprises me when people I’ve never encountered email me to say they enjoyed reading my journal. It makes me realise that not all of my readers leave comments and that my readership may be slightly bigger than I’d expected. The downside of this is that if our grand plan fails, it will do so in front of a much larger audience.

 

We’ll look forward to the challenge, win or lose, and take inspiration from the things we see and the people we meet. And who knows, maybe somewhere, at some point, a publisher may come knocking at our email.

 

Today’s Photo – A jagged peak

 

On the Pyrenees, close to the Pic du Midi observatory, this was one of the photos I salvaged from Christmas Eve

Bristlecone Pine Forest, CA

 

Since dark and moody, better on black (click on the image)

 

This was in the opposite direction from my previous post. Dark storm clouds were coming in from the southeast, and one was dropping rain in the Owens valley, all the while the setting sun was cutting through clouds over the Sierra and lighting things up the way you see here. This is why I love landscape photography! One gets to witness the greatest shows on earth, and actually be a participant. Cameras are for catching memories, and on rare ocassions, be able to inspire others with images. This represents one of my best captures, at least in my own estimation, but I hope you it enables you to share in a small way what I was overwhelmed with.

This is a single exposure, with no HDR, but a lot of effort in photoshop to tame the lighting.

Thank you for your visit and interest in my work.

Empilements de 81 photos en mode manuel 65mm - f/6,3 - 1/10è s - ISO 400 - rapport 4:1

Boitier Canon EOS 5D Mark IV + Objectif Canon MP-E 65 mm f/2,8 1:1 ~ 5:1 + flash Canon MT-24EX Macro Twin Lite + lumière arrière LED diffusée + rail macro motorisé et contrôleur Cognisys Stackshot 3X.

Logiciel de stacking : ZereneStacker (DMap estimation radius 9/smoothing radius 15).

Post traitement : ZereneStacker, Lightroom, Photoshop.

PA_1458 [30 points]

A duo space invader on a greenish background in the 9ème arrondissement of Paris.

Onscreen FlashInvaders message: BAZINGA!

 

All my photos of PA_1458:

PA_1458 (Close-up, September 2021)

PA_1458 (Wide shot, September 2021)

 

Date of invasion: 24/02/2021 (estimation)

 

[ Visited PA_1458 within 7 months after invasion ]

About 14 foot tall by my estimations

This young man ran his dirtbike up to the crossing to catch the train. By my estimation, no less than 8 people were out taking pictures of the train today.

..... if your favourite leaves are high above the ground and you have a nice long neck.

 

The giraffe (Giraffa) is a genus of African even-toed ungulate mammals, the tallest living terrestrial animals and the largest ruminants. The genus currently consists of one species, Giraffa camelopardalis, the type species. Seven other species are extinct, prehistoric species known from fossils. Taxonomic classifications of one to eight extant giraffe species have been described, based upon research into the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, as well as morphological measurements of Giraffa, but the IUCN currently recognizes only one species with nine subspecies.

 

The giraffe's chief distinguishing characteristics are its extremely long neck and legs, its horn-like ossicones, and its distinctive coat patterns. It is classified under the family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant relative, the okapi. Its scattered range extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, fruits and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species, which they browse at heights most other herbivores cannot reach. They may be preyed on by lions, leopards, spotted hyenas and African wild dogs. Giraffes live in herds of related females and their offspring, or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males, but are gregarious and may gather in large aggregations. Males establish social hierarchies through "necking", which are combat bouts where the neck is used as a weapon. Dominant males gain mating access to females, which bear the sole responsibility for raising the young.

 

The giraffe has intrigued various cultures, both ancient and modern, for its peculiar appearance, and has often been featured in paintings, books, and cartoons. It is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as Vulnerable to extinction, and has been extirpated from many parts of its former range. The UN backed Convention of Migratory Species selected giraffes for protection in 2017. Giraffes are still found in numerous national parks and game reserves but estimations as of 2016 indicate that there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild, with around 1,144 in captivity.

The name "giraffe" has its earliest known origins in the Arabic word zarafah (?????), perhaps borrowed from the animal's Somali name geri. The Arab name is translated as "fast-walker". There were several Middle English spellings, such as jarraf, ziraph, and gerfauntz. The Italian form giraffa arose in the 1590s. The modern English form developed around 1600 from the French girafe. "Camelopard" is an archaic English name for the giraffe deriving from the Ancient Greek for camel and leopard, referring to its camel-like shape and its leopard-like colouring.

 

Fully grown giraffes stand 4.3-5.7 m (14.1-18.7 ft) tall, with males taller than females. The tallest recorded male was 5.88 m (19.3 ft) and the tallest recorded female was 5.17 m (17.0 ft) tall. The average weight is 1,192 kg (2,628 lb) for an adult male and 828 kg (1,825 lb) for an adult female with maximum weights of 1,930 kg (4,250 lb) and 1,180 kg (2,600 lb) having been recorded for males and females, respectively. Despite its long neck and legs, the giraffe's body is relatively short. Located at both sides of the head, the giraffe's large, bulging eyes give it good all-round vision from its great height. Giraffes see in colour and their senses of hearing and smell are also sharp. The animal can close its muscular nostrils to protect against sandstorms and ants.

 

The giraffe's prehensile tongue is about 45 cm (18 in) long. It is purplish-black in colour, perhaps to protect against sunburn, and is useful for grasping foliage, as well as for grooming and cleaning the animal's nose. The upper lip of the giraffe is also prehensile and useful when foraging and is covered in hair to protect against thorns. The tongue and inside of the mouth are covered in papillae.

The coat has dark blotches or patches (which can be orange, chestnut, brown, or nearly black in colour separated by light hair (usually white or cream in colour. Male giraffes become darker as they age. The coat pattern has been claimed to serve as camouflage in the light and shade patterns of savannah woodlands. While adult giraffes standing among trees and bushes are hard to see at even a few metres' distance, they actively move into the open to gain the best view of an approaching predator, obviating any benefit that camouflage might bring. Instead, the adults rely on their size and ability to defend themselves. However, camouflage appears to be important for calves, which spend a large part of the day in hiding, away from their mothers; further, over half of all calves die within a year, so predation is certainly important. It appears, therefore, that the spotted coat of the giraffe functions as camouflage for the young, while adults simply inherit this coloration as a by-product. The skin underneath the dark areas may serve as windows for thermoregulation, being sites for complex blood vessel systems and large sweat glands. Each individual giraffe has a unique coat pattern.

 

The skin of a giraffe is mostly grey. Its thickness allows the animal to run through thorn bush without being punctured. The fur may serve as a chemical defence, as its parasite repellents give the animal a characteristic scent. At least 11 main aromatic chemicals are in the fur, although indole and 3-methylindole are responsible for most of the smell. Because the males have a stronger odour than the females, the odour may also have sexual function. Along the animal's neck is a mane made of short, erect hairs. The one-metre (3.3-ft) tail ends in a long, dark tuft of hair and is used as a defence against insects.

 

Giraffe gestation lasts 400-460 days, after which a single calf is normally born, although twins occur on rare occasions. The mother gives birth standing up. The calf emerges head and front legs first, having broken through the fetal membranes, and falls to the ground, severing the umbilical cord. The mother then grooms the new-born and helps it stand up. A new-born giraffe is 1.7-2 m (5.6-6.6 ft) tall. Within a few hours of birth, the calf can run around and is almost indistinguishable from a one-week-old. However, for the first 1-3 weeks, it spends most of its time hiding; its coat pattern providing camouflage. The ossicones, which have lain flat while it was in the womb, become erect within a few days.

 

Mabalingwe

Bela Bela

South Africa

I've been trying for a wee while to get a shot of the starlings TtV and finally managed to get this not 15mins ago.

They're travelling at speed, by my estimation anywhere from between 25-30 mph.(I'm guessing here but not long ago i was travelling by taxi as they flew overhead and glanced at the speedo).

Not easy to judge particularly when left is right etc with ttv.

I also like that this is a B&W colour shot.

Without a doubt, my favorite photo purchase of 2009. I paid $5 for it at the Shenandoah Antique Show in the Shenandoah Valley. It has grown and grown in my estimation, and now, well, I wouldn't part with it.

Châssis n°ZA9RE31A0XLA12183

 

Estimation :

250.000 - 300.000 €

 

Invendu

Chassis no. 130944

Engine no. 130944

Body no. 200355

 

115/180 hp, 5,401 cc supercharged overhead valve inline eight-cylinder engine, four-speed manual transmission, four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes, independent coil spring front and rear suspension. Wheelbase: 129.5"

 

- Offered from the Lyon Family Collection

- Single-family ownership for two decades

- The 1936 Paris Salon car

- Complete with copy of original build sheet; delivered new to Jean-Claude Solvay of Belgium

- Inspected in person by experts from Mercedes-Benz Classic Germany

- Matching-numbers

- One of a limited few 540 Ks with coupe coachwork

 

The abundant power, stiff, rugged frame and supple fully-independent suspension made Mercedes-Benz’s supercharged 540 K suitable for a vast array of coachwork. Sindelfingen was more than capable of building anything and doing so in the finest materials and to the highest standards of fit, finish, function and luxury in the world.

 

Yet despite Sindelfingen’s designers’ demonstrated ability to create exceptionally beautiful closed cars, the vast majority of Mercedes-Benz 540 Ks were fitted with open bodies in one of the several styles of Cabriolets. Most of those were four-seat Cabriolet Bs with blind rear quarters. Surprisingly, only a precious few 540 Ks – just 42 in four years’ production – received closed coachwork.

 

Only about seven of those were coupes, making them exceptionally rare examples of Sindelfingen’s creativity and style. One of the foremost examples is this 1935 Mercedes-Benz 540 K, the car Mercedes-Benz chose for its 1935 display at the important Paris Salon to show the quality and beauty of its premier product.

 

Sindelfingen

 

Daimler-Benz concentrated automobile coachwork production at Sindelfingen, a massive facility that had developed a combination of medium volume production methods for high quality coachwork and a select group of designers and craftsmen who conceived, created and built low volume, nearly custom, bodies for the finest chassis in the Mercedes-Benz line and crafted a few highly specialized bodies for the most demanding clients.

 

Sindelfingen had been constructed during the First World War to build aircraft. The Treaty of Versailles ending the war prohibited aircraft construction in Germany on the industrial scale for which Sindelfingen had been constructed and equipped, so Hanns Klemm, the factory’s manager, eventually reorganized the factory to build automobile, truck and bus bodies. Sindelfingen continued to employ classic coachwork construction techniques with wood frameworks and sheet metal panels throughout its history, but Mercedes-Benz also added high capacity steel presses of 750- and even 1,000-tons to stamp out large, complex panels, particularly fenders.

 

Sindelfingen’s aircraft-building history manifested itself in a facility-wide devotion to quality that remained central to its operation throughout the Thirties. Specialized tools, fixtures and machines were designed and built in its own shops. Processes were meticulously planned and documented. A strict quality-control system inspected every body, whether it was for a modest 170 H or an elegant “Großer Mercedes” 770 Pullman-Limousine.

 

Klemm was succeeded by Josef Bildstein, who later took over Daimler-Benz’s Mannheim factory and turned over management of Sindelfingen to Wilhelm Haspel under whose leadership the factory became a major success for Daimler-Benz. It was a complicated undertaking in which every aspect of coachbuilding was integrated, from selecting and drying the beech and ash used for framing through stamping and forming metal panels to final assembly and painting. And Sindelfingen did every kind of bodywork, from one-off and low-production bodies for the 500 K, 540 K and Großer Mercedes to volume production of Mannheim’s 170H and V, truck cabs, specialized truck bodies, buses and even contract work in volume for BMW and Wanderer. Haspel’s success at coordinating this diverse facility was evident in his later promotion to Daimler-Benz managing director in 1942.

 

In September 1932 Hermann Ahrens joined Mercedes-Benz from Horch to head the Sonderwagen (special vehicles) section, designing and building limited production coachwork for the top Mercedes-Benz models. Ahrens would design and oversee construction of all limited-production Mercedes-Benz coachwork for nearly 40 years, including the great sports roadsters and coupes on the eight-cylinder supercharged chassis. It is his artistry that created the magnificent sweeping partially-skirted fenders, integrated running boards and deftly-shaped passenger compartments and doors that so effectively complemented the imposing long hoods and exterior exhaust pipes of the supercharged 500 K and 540 K.

 

Mercedes-Benz produced almost all the coachwork for even the most expensive and luxurious of its automobiles. According to the research of Jan Melin, just 89 of the 928 380, 500 K and 540 K chassis built were supplied to outside coachbuilders. That is just 9.6%, a tiny portion of the total production and largely unprecedented among luxury automobile manufacturers in the Thirties.

 

The combination of superb engineering, high quality materials, meticulous quality control and inspired design of the supercharged eight-cylinder Mercedes-Benzes with the limited-production coachwork of Sindelfingen brought into existence some of the finest and most respected automobiles of all time.

 

Enthusiast magazines of the time were unremitting in their praise. One described the 500 K with these words: “[T]his is a master car for the very few. The sheer insolence of its great power affords an experience on its own. The design and construction throughout are typically thorough and well-executed.” Of the 540 K another said: “As a piece of engineering, it stands unsurpassed. It is amongst the most luxurious, as well as the fastest, touring cars in the world.”

 

S/n 130944

 

With so few of the 540 Ks bodied as coupes, the selection of this car to represent Mercedes-Benz at the important Paris Auto Salon in October 1936 was unusual. Yet, upon consideration, it is completely appropriate and even sensible. Indeed, according to the Mercedes-Benz archives’ delivery papers and internal documents, the car is referred to as a “Spezial Coupe.”

 

Paris was then the center of art, design, literature, style and society in Europe. The aerodynamic revolution in automobile design was then at its inception and was practiced eloquently by French coachbuilders, whose combination of Machine Design principles, Art Deco embellishment and aerodynamic refinement was the center of attention. The 1936 Paris Auto Show brought some of the most imaginative designs, like Marcel Letourneur’s Aerosport coupe on the Delage D8 120 chassis and Jean Bugatti’s Type 57 Atalante, to the public’s eye. This Mercedes-Benz 540 K Coupe was more than competitive with the French salon’s best.

 

Prior Mercedes-Benz coupes had included one for the Mercedes-Benz “Silver Arrows” team driver Rudi Caracciola, an eminently practical automobile for a driver who needed to criss-cross Europe in all weather conditions to race the W 25 model GP car. In 1934 Wilhelm Haspel had suggested the Autobahn-Kurier, a fastback five-window design with teardrop fenders of which two were built on each of the 500 K and 540 K chassis. Hermann Ahrens’ Sonderwagen facility completed the first Autobahn-Kurier in only ten weeks in order to make its auto show debut, an example of the shop’s ability to create a completely new and dramatically different design on an abbreviated schedule.

The Paris show coupe is another example of the creativity and masterful execution of which Sindelfingen was capable. Its sweeping front fenders merge into small running boards, then curve upwards into teardrop-flared rear fenders. The rear wheels are skirted, with a chrome emblem repeating the look of the front wheel’s centerlock hub. A tasteful chrome beltline molding accents the break of the hood side and extends back across the door to end near the top of the rear fender where its termination parallels the curve of the fender top. The roofline is rounded at the rear but merges nicely with the tapering rear deck, which contains a stacked pair of spare wheels and tires set nearly flush with the deck surface.

 

An attractive styling feature is the swage line which accents the sides of the fenders. It parallels the fender tops from the front valence the full length of the car, curving up and around the rear wheel skirts then down across the full width of the rear valence. The effect draws attention, visually reducing the fenders’ tall profiles.

 

Bosch headlights in chrome nacelles nestle between the fenders and the gently raked vee radiator. A single small fog light is directly in front of the radiator, and a pair of long chrome horn trumpets also sit between the fenders above a split chrome bumper which is repeated at the rear.

 

The interior is invitingly upholstered in tan leather with a plain white instrument panel in the highly finished wood dashboard. The steering wheel is leather covered. A transverse rear seat accommodates one passenger, in addition to the two in the front, or makes room for luggage.

 

After being displayed in Paris, the 540 K Coupe was first returned to Sindelfingen and then in December delivered to Jean-Claude Solvay of the Belgian chemical company dynasty in Belgium. Subsequently it became part of the collection of American Connie Bouchard in the 1960s, who undertook its restoration before selling it to John Mozart. It then was acquired by the Imperial Palace Collection from whom the Lyon family acquired it in the late 1990s. Since then, it has remained in the Lyon Collection, always treated to professional maintenance and climate-controlled storage.

 

Inspection

 

In preparation for the car’s offering in Monterey this August, this car was inspected in person by two veteran experts from Mercedes-Benz Classic Germany. Their findings were very positive. In their expert opinion, they concluded that although the car had been restored, it retained a great deal of originality in its components. The engine is matching numbers (130944) and retains its original number plate. In fact, they believe the body has never been off the car and the rear axle itself never removed – testament to the car’s originality. The transmission is original to the car, and it was determined that the steering is of the correct series. Minor modern improvements were made, including modern telescopic shocks, but the workmanship was professional and well done in their estimation. Again, the overall impression imparted on these Mercedes experts was very favorable.

 

Its deep red livery dramatically accents the sweeping lines of Hermann Ahrens’ dramatic coupe coachwork. One of only about seven coupes built on the Mercedes-Benz 540 K chassis, its effect today is, if anything, even more dramatic than it was at the Paris Salon of 1936.

 

It is the perfect complement to Ahrens’ high door, long tail Spezial Roadster, a vivid example of Mercedes-Benz’s mastery of power, speed, handling, comfort and design at the height of the golden age of classic automobiles.

 

[Text from RM Auctions]

 

www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1057377

 

This Lego miniland-scale Mercedes-Benz 540K Spezial Coupe (1936 - Sindelfingen), has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 89th Build Challenge, - "Over a Million, Under a Thousand", - a challenge to build vehicles valued over one million (US) dollars, or under one thousand (US) dollars.

 

This particular vehicle was auctioned by the RM Auction house on Saturday, August 20, 2011, where is sold for $3,080,000.

 

Châssis n°WDB2973971Y000023

 

Estimation :

1.800.000 - 2.000.000 €

 

Invendu

The Statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree (in Spanish “El Oso y el Madroño”) is a sculpture from the second half of the 20th century, situated in the Spanish city of Madrid. It represents the coat of arms of Madrid and is found on the east side of the Puerta del Sol, between Calle de Alcalá and Carrera de San Jerónimo, in the historical centre of the capital.

 

The statue is a work of the sculptor Antonio Navarro Santafé (1906-1983) and it was inaugurated on 19 January 1967. It was promoted by the section of Culture of the City council of Madrid, which wanted to represent the main heraldic symbols of the city in a monument.

 

The first appearance of a wild bear and a strawberry tree on the coat of arms of the city was in the 13th century. Previously, it only incorporated a bear in passant attitude, until it was replaced in the aforementioned century by the two current figures. With this change, they wanted to symbolise the resolution adopted by the municipality and the Chapter of Priests and Beneficiaries after a long litigation about the control of Madrilenian pastures and trees. Since this agreement, the former became property of the Chapter and the latter of the council. From here they modified the arms, including a strawberry tree and of a bear in a new posture: leaning on the tree with both paws.

 

The sculpture has always been in the Puerta del Sol, but in two locations inside the square. Before 1986, it was situated in the east side of it, in the vicinity of the building between the Calle de Alcalá and the Carrera St. Jerónimo. That year, it was moved to the front of Carmen Street for the square's reform and remodeling, promoted by mayor Enrique Tierno Galván. In September 2009, with the integral renewal of the square promoted by Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, it has gone back to its original location.

 

The Statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree is made of stone and bronze. It weighs approximately 22 tons (20 tonnes) and stands 13 ft (4 m) tall. It rests on a staggered cubic pedestal of granite.

 

It represents in a real-life form the coat of arms of Madrid, with the tree taller than the bear, who supports his paws on the trunk and directs his attention towards one of the fruits.

 

Antonio Navarro Santafé ( Villena , Alicante , December 22, 1906-id., November 16, 1983) was a Spanish sculptor . On April 24, 1983 he was named Favorite Son of the city of Villena.

 

Born into a humble farming family, he was the seventh child of nine siblings. The family did not have enough money and that is why they had financial problems and to cure his problems, his father and his two older brothers emigrated to Argentina. Some time later, his mother sold the rest of the family assets and, after time, they moved to Madrid in 1913 at Atocha Street , No. 9.

 

In Madrid, from the age of eleven, he had to work to help with the needs of the house. Shortly afterward he went to the studio of the Castellón sculptor José Ortells López , a disciple of Benlliure , and there he made his first sculpture, a head he titled "Peasant". From 1930 he began to carry out important works. He later went to Valencia to the San Carlos School of Fine Arts and then joined the Madrid School of Ceramics as a teacher. Later he was appointed Professor of Drawing at the Colegio de San Ildefonso in Madrid and Master Stonemason of the Villa City Council.

 

He suffered from stuttering, which gave him a shy character and little given to creating "social relationships." This earned him a certain dependence on intermediaries who did not always know how to adequately pay for his work or accept modeling jobs for the firms of other sculptors.

 

About this, he himself wrote:

"When I started to get older, having been living in Madrid for years, and I wanted to fight against the tremendous defect that I already noticed was hurting me, I corrected it somewhat by doing respiratory gymnastics; then someone recommended that I read aloud, syllable, and I read I complete Don Quixote in this way, and breathing deeply. At the height of my life I must admit that the use of such a practice that I have always maintained constantly has helped me on occasions, but any physical weakness, any moment or occasion that affected my nerves, made me fall into the abyss of that evil."

 

His mother was his great supporter in following his vocation in sculpture. She entrusted all of her projects and assignments to her mother and she was the one who first saw her work and gave her her opinion on them. Her mother took care of the order and cleanliness of the sculptor's work studio, as well as acting as secretary when necessary. 5 His death in February 1945 in Madrid was an emotional blow for the sculptor.

 

Navarro Santafé was a sculptor who cultivated diverse themes, ranging from the imagery of virgins and saints, in carving and marble, to the portrait bust, in which he achieved sensational achievements, with an exact resemblance to his sitters, both in stone and in bronze.

 

Monument to the Horse. Jerez de la Frontera

1939. Virgin of the Virtues , Patroness of Villena.

1947. Monument to Ruperto Chapí , monument to the music of Villena in his native Villena .

1959. Virgin of Santa María La Blanca for the burial of the Dukes of Marchena , in San Sebastián .

1967. Statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree in the Puerta del Sol square in Madrid .

1968. Monument to the Berlin Bear, in the Berlin Park , in Madrid.

1968. Bust of Doctor Lafuente Chaos, at the headquarters of the Medical College of the city of Guadalajara .

1970. Monument to the Horse of Jerez de la Frontera , considered one of his crowning works.

1973. Monument to the Fighting Bull in Puerto de Santa María

1983. Hunting Dream, at the Villena Museum.

 

The Puerta del Sol is a public square in Madrid, one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre (Km 0) of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year. The New Year's celebration has been broadcast live since 31 December 1962 on major radio and television networks including Atresmedia and RTVE.

 

The Puerta del Sol originated as one of the gates in the city wall that surrounded Madrid in the 15th century. Outside the wall, medieval suburbs began to grow around the Christian Wall of the 12th century. The name of the gate came from the rising sun which decorated the entry, since the gate was oriented to the east.

 

Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the area was an important meeting place: as the goal for the couriers coming from abroad and other parts of Spain to the Post Office, it was visited by those eager for the latest news. The stairs to the Saint Philip church at the square were known as the Gradas de San Felipe, and were among the most prolific mentideros de la Corte (this Spanish idiom sounds as "lie-spreaders of the Court", but it is related with the verb mentar, "to say about someone", not mentir, "to lie", so it is more appropriately translated as "places of the City where people gossip").

 

The House of the Post Office was built by French architect Jacques Marquet between 1766 and 1768. The building was the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior and State Security in Francoist Spain. It is currently the seat of the Presidency of the Madrid Community.

 

Sol has seen protests against the March 11th 2004 attacks on commuter trains, and Spain's involvement in the Iraq War . In 2011, the square became established as a focal point and a symbol for the ongoing Spanish democracy demonstrations. The demonstrations included camping in the middle of the plaza (@acampadasol), which began on 15 May 2011 amidst the election campaign for city halls and Autonomous Communities governments and which was fueled by social media, particularly Twitter and Facebook. The demonstrations then spread to more than sixty other cities throughout Spain. Since 12 June 2011, the square has held a free-standing domed structure made from pallets, which served as an information point for the 15-M Movement. This continued throughout the summer of 2011 until the dawn of 2 August, when the national police decided to evict the structure and protestors. Currently, dozens of committees have their assemblies in the iconic square.

 

Despite once being the meeting point of the six major radial roads of Spain, in 2020 the square was pedestrianized and closed to most traffic. Exceptions are made for supplies to shops, emergency services and blood donation campaigns.

 

The Puerta del Sol contains a number of well known sights both domestically and internationally associated with Spain. On the south side, the old Post Office was the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior and State Security in Francoist Spain. The basement of the DGS (Spanish: Dirección General de Seguridad, lit. 'General Directorate of Security') was infamous for being a place where Dissidents to the regime were subjected to torture. The building now serves as the office of the President of Madrid, the head of the regional government of the Autonomous Community of Madrid (not to be confused with the Madrid City Council, which is housed in the Palacio de Cibeles). There are two commemorative plaques in the front of the Royal House of the Post Office: one is devoted to the neighbours of Madrid who rose up against the Napoleonic invasion of Spain on May 2, 1808; the other one is a memorial of the victims of the March 11th, 2004 terrorist attacks.

 

Also on its south side, the square holds a mounted statue of Charles III of Spain, nicknamed "el rey alcalde" ("the mayor-king") due to the extensive public works program he set in motion. The famous Tío Pepe lighted sign was above the square's eastern building between the Calle de Alcalá and the Carrera de San Jerónimo (Apple Store today) for a long time, now is on top of the former Paris Hotel. Also on the east side lies the statue of The Bear and the Strawberry Tree (in Spanish, el Oso y el Madroño), the heraldic symbol of Madrid. Until 2009, the statue stood on the north side at the entrance to Calle del Carmen. The Mariblanca (a female figure named for its white marble) is a copy of a statue (possibly of Venus, and so the restored pedestal claims), which marks the place of a former fountain displaying that figure.

 

The kilómetro cero is a plaque on the ground directly north of the Post Office serving as the symbolic center of Spain, and the point from which kilometer distances are numbered in the Spanish road system.

 

The Puerta is located in the very heart of Madrid. It serves as the kilometre zero from which all radial roads in Spain are measured. This is demonstrated by a plaque on the floor of the square, marking the exact point of Km.0. This was established in 1857, setting six major radial roads, clockwise:

 

N-1 (Northern Road) to Irun, border town with France, via Burgos, starting from Calle Montera and continuing through Calle de Fuencarral and Calle de Bravo Murillo

N-2 (Northeastern Road) to La Jonquera, border town with France, via Zaragoza and Barcelona, starting from Calle de Alcalá

N-3 (Eastern Road) to Valencia, starting from Carrera de San Jerónimo, where the Congress of Deputies is located, and continuing through Paseo del Prado

N-4 (Southern Road) to Córdoba, Seville and Cádiz, starting from Calle Carretas, Calle Concepción Jerónima and Calle de Toledo

N-5 (Southwestern Road) to Badajoz, border town with Portugal, starting from Calle Mayor

N-6 (Northwestern Road) to A Coruña, starting from Calle Preciados, continuing through Gran Vía and Calle de la Princesa

The old plaque was replaced in 2009, as it had become faded after years of foot traffic. It is also the reference for street numbers in Madrid, which begin at the street-end that is closest to Puerta del Sol.

 

Immediately to the southwest lies the Plaza Mayor; the Palacio Real, the official home of the Royal Family, is further west. Parliament and the museum district are to the east and the train station Atocha is to the southeast.

 

Under the square lies a public transport hub served by lines 1, 2 and 3 of the Madrid Metro. A commuter service was inaugurated on 27 June 2009, four years behind schedule. The lateness of the construction was in part due to the discovery of the remains of the Church of Our Lady of Good Success during the excavation of the main chamber. The new station connects the Puerta to Madrid's commuter rail system and, by extension, to Spain's railroads via direct connections to Atocha and Chamartín railway stations.

 

The square connects several commercial and recreational areas together, and thus both it and the surrounding streets consist mainly of shopping establishments catering to locals and tourists alike, like the several El Corte Inglés department store buildings in Preciados Street, La Mallorquina cafe, and numerous, ever-changing restaurants. The area remains active late into the night and early morning since nearby bars and dance clubs often only start entertainment at 1 am. Street music is also common in the area.

 

Side streets close to the square also contain residential flats, some small offices, and tourist hostels.

 

During New Year's Eve 2018–2019, the clock of the Puerta del Sol for the first time in history rang the bells according to the schedule of the Canary Islands. After the traditional twelve strokes of midnight, the clock delayed one hour its needles to adjust to the Canary hour and also gave the chimes at the same time as this archipelago.

 

Madrid is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and its monocentric metropolitan area is the second-largest in the EU. The municipality covers 604.3 km2 (233.3 sq mi) geographical area. Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula at about 650 meters above mean sea level. The capital city of both Spain and the surrounding autonomous community of Madrid (since 1983), it is also the political, economic, and cultural centre of the country. The climate of Madrid features hot summers and cool winters.

 

The Madrid urban agglomeration has the second-largest GDP in the European Union and its influence in politics, education, entertainment, environment, media, fashion, science, culture, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. Due to its economic output, high standard of living, and market size, Madrid is considered the major financial centre and the leading economic hub of the Iberian Peninsula and of Southern Europe. The metropolitan area hosts major Spanish companies such as Telefónica, Iberia, BBVA and FCC. It concentrates the bulk of banking operations in the country and it is the Spanish-speaking city generating the largest amount of webpages. For innovation, Madrid is ranked 19th in the world and 7th in Europe from 500 cities, in the 2022–2023 annual analysts Innovation Cities Index, published by 2ThinkNow.

 

Madrid houses the headquarters of the UN's World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), and the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB). It also hosts major international regulators and promoters of the Spanish language: the Standing Committee of the Association of Spanish Language Academies, headquarters of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), the Instituto Cervantes and the Foundation of Urgent Spanish (FundéuRAE). Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI and the Madrid Fashion Week. Madrid is home to two world-famous football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.

 

While Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Its landmarks include the Plaza Mayor, the Royal Palace of Madrid; the Royal Theatre with its restored 1850 Opera House; the Buen Retiro Park, founded in 1631; the 19th-century National Library building (founded in 1712) containing some of Spain's historical archives; many national museums, and the Golden Triangle of Art, located along the Paseo del Prado and comprising three art museums: Prado Museum, the Reina Sofía Museum, a museum of modern art, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which complements the holdings of the other two museums. Cibeles Palace and Fountain has become one of the monument symbols of the city. The mayor is José Luis Martínez-Almeida from the People's Party.

 

The documented history of Madrid dates to the 9th century, even though the area has been inhabited since the Stone Age. The primitive nucleus of Madrid, a walled military outpost in the left bank of the Manzanares, dates back to the second half of the 9th century, during the rule of the Emirate of Córdoba. Conquered by Christians in 1083 or 1085, Madrid consolidated in the Late Middle Ages as a middle to upper-middle rank town of the Crown of Castile. The development of Madrid as administrative centre began when the court of the Hispanic Monarchy was settled in the town in 1561.

 

The primitive urban nucleus of Madrid (Majriṭ) was founded in the late 9th century (from 852 to 886) as a citadel erected on behalf of Muhammad I, the Cordobese emir, on the relatively steep left bank of the Manzanares. Originally it was largely a military outpost for the quartering of troops. Similarly to other fortresses north of the Tagus, Madrid made it difficult to muster reinforcements from the Asturian kingdom to the unruly inhabitants of Toledo, prone to rebellion against the Umayyad rule. Extending across roughly 8 ha, Muslim Madrid consisted of the alcázar and the wider walled citadel (al-Mudayna) with the addition of some housing outside the walls. By the late 10th century, Majriṭ was an important borderland military stronghold territory with great strategic value, owing to its proximity to Toledo. The most generous estimates for the 10th century tentatively and intuitively put the number of inhabitants of the 9 ha settlement at 2,000. The model of repopulation is likely to have been by the Limitanei, characteristic of the borderlands.

 

The settlement is mentioned in the work of the 10th-century Cordobese chronicler Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Razi, with the latter locating the Castle of Madrid within the district of Guadalajara. After the Christian conquest, in the first half of the 12th century Al-Idrisi described Madrid as a "small city and solid fortress, well populated. In the age of Islam, it had a small mosque where the khuṭbah was always delivered," and placed it in the province of the sierra, "al-Sārrāt". It was ascribed by most post-Christian conquest Muslim commentators, including Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi, to Toledo. This may tentatively suggest that the settlement, part of the cora of Guadalajara according to al-Razi, could have been transferred to Toledo following the Fitna of al-Andalus.

 

The city passed to Christian control in the context of the conquest of Toledo; historiography debates whether if the event took place in 1083, before the conquest of Toledo, in the wake of negotiations between Alfonso VI and al-Qadir, or afterwards, as a direct consequence of the seizure of Toledo in 1085.

 

The mosque was reconsecrated as the church of the Virgin of Almudena (almudin, the garrison's granary). The society in the 11th and 12th centuries was structured around knight-villeins as a leading class in the local public, social and economic life. The town had a Muslim and mozarabic preexisting population (a number of the former would remain in the town after the conquest while the later community would remain very large throughout the high middle ages before merging with the new settlers). The town was further repopulated by settlers with a dominant Castilian-Leonese extraction. Frank settlers were a minority but influential community. The Jewish community was probably smaller in number than the mudéjar one, standing out as physicians up until their expulsion. By the end of the middle ages, the best-positioned members of the mudéjar community were the alarifes ('master builders'), who were tasked with public works (including the management of the viajes de agua), and had a leading role in the urbanism of the town in the 15th century.

 

Since the mid-13th century and up to the late 14th century, the concejo of Madrid vied for the control of the Real de Manzanares territory against the concejo of Segovia, a powerful town north of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range, characterised by its repopulating prowess and its husbandry-based economy, contrasted by the agricultural and less competent in repopulation town of Madrid. After the decline of Sepúlveda, another concejo north of the mountain range, Segovia had become a major actor south of the Guadarrama mountains, expanding across the Lozoya and Manzanares rivers to the north of Madrid and along the Guadarrama river course to its west.

 

The society of Madrid before the 15th century was an agriculture-based one (prevailing over livestock), featuring a noteworthy number of irrigated crops.[16] Two important industries were those of the manufacturing of building materials and leather.

 

John I of Castile gifted Leo V of Armenia the lordship of Madrid together with those of Villa Real and Andújar in 1383. The Madrilenian concejo made sure that the privilege of lordship did not become hereditary, also presumably receiving a non-sale privilege guaranteeing never again to be handed over by the Crown to a lord.

 

Later, Henry III of Castile (1379–1406) rebuilt the town after it was destroyed by fire, and he founded El Pardo just outside its walls.

 

During the 15th century, the town became one of the preferred locations of the monarchs of the Trastámara dynasty, namely John II of Castile and Henry IV of Castile (Madrid was the town in which the latter spent more time and eventually died). Among the appeals the town offered, aside from the abundant game in the surroundings, the strategic location and the closed link between the existing religious sites and the monarchy, the imposing alcázar frequently provided a safe for the Royal Treasure. The town briefly hosted a medieval mint, manufacturing coins from 1467 to 1471. Madrid would also become a frequent seat of the court during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, spending reportedly more than 1000 days in the town, including a 8-month long uninterrupted spell.

 

By the end of the Middle Ages, Madrid was placed as middle to upper-middle rank town of the Castilian urban network in terms of population. The town also enjoyed a vote at the Cortes of Castile (one out of 18) and housed many hermitages and hospitals.

 

Facing the 1492 decree of expulsion, few local Jews opted for leaving, with most preferring to convert instead, remaining as a non-fully assimilated converso community, subject to rejection by Old Christians. Likewise, adoption of Christianism by the mudéjar community facing the 1502 pragmatic law of forced conversion was also widespread. Seeking to protect its economic interests, the council actively promoted assimilation in the latter case by awarding tax and economic benefits, and gifts.

 

The 1520–21 Revolt of the Comuneros succeeded in Madrid, as, following contacts with the neighbouring city of Toledo, the comunero rebels deposed the corregidor, named Antonio de Astudillo, by 17 June 1520. Juan Zapata and Pedro de Montemayor found themselves among the most uncompromising supporters of the comunero cause in Madrid, with the former becoming the captain of the local militias while the later was captured by royalists and executed by late 1520. The end of revolt came through a negotiation, though, and another two of the leading figures of the uprising (the Bachelor Castillo and Juan Negrete) went unpunished.

 

Philip II (1527–1598), moved the court to Madrid in 1561. Although he made no official declaration, the seat of the court became the de facto capital. Unlikely to have more than 20,000 inhabitants by the time, the city grew approaching the 100,000 mark by the end of the 16th century. The population plummeted (reportedly reduced to a half) during the 5-year period the capital was set in Valladolid (1601–1606), with estimations of roughly 50–60,000 people leaving the city. The move (often framed in modern usage as a case of real estate speculation) was promoted by the valido of Philip III, Duke of Lerma, who had previously acquired many properties in Valladolid. Madrid undertook a mammoth cultural and economic crisis and the decimation of the price of housing ensued. Lerma acquired then cheap real estate in Madrid, and suggested the King to move back the capital to Madrid. The king finally accepted the additional 250,000 ducats offered by the town of Madrid in order to help financing the move of the royal court back to Madrid.

 

During the 17th century, Madrid had a estate-based society. The nobility, a quantitatively large group, swarmed around the royal court. The ecclesial hierarchy, featuring a nobiliary extraction, shared with the nobility the echelon of the Madrilenian society. The lower clergy, featuring a humble extraction, usually had a rural background, although clerics regular often required certifications of limpieza de sangre if not hidalguía. There were plenty of civil servants, who enjoyed considerable social prestige. There was a comparatively small number of craftsmen, traders and goldsmiths. Domestic staff was also common with servants such as pages, squires, butlers and also slaves (owned as symbol of social status). And lastly at the lowest end, there were homeless people, unemployed immigrants, and discharged soldiers and deserters.

 

During the 17th century, Madrid grew rapidly. The royal court attracted many of Spain's leading artists and writers to Madrid, including Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and Velázquez during the so-called cultural Siglo de Oro.

 

By the end of the Ancient Regime, Madrid hosted a slave population, tentatively estimated to range from 6,000 to 15,000 out of total population larger than 150,000. Unlike the case of other Spanish cities, during the 18th century the slave population in Madrid was unbalanced in favour of males over females.

 

In 1739 Philip V began constructing new palaces, including the Palacio Real de Madrid. Under Charles III (1716–1788) that Madrid became a truly modern city. Charles III, who cleaned up the city and its government, became one of the most popular kings to rule Madrid, and the saying "the best mayor, the king" became widespread. Besides completing the Palacio Real, Charles III is responsible for many of Madrid's finest buildings and monuments, including the Prado and the Puerta de Alcalá.

 

Amid one of the worst subsistence crises of the Bourbon monarchy, the installation of news lanterns for the developing street lighting system—part of the new modernization policies of the Marquis of Esquilache, the new Sicilian minister—led to an increase on oil prices. This added to an increasing tax burden imposed on a populace already at the brink of famine.[42] In this context, following the enforcing of a ban of the traditional Spanish dress (long cape and a wide-brimmed hat) in order to facilitate the identification of criminal suspects, massive riots erupted in March 1766 in Madrid, the so-called "Mutiny of Esquilache".

 

During the second half of the 18th century, the increasing number of carriages brought a collateral increment of pedestrian accidents, forcing the authorities to take measures against traffic, limiting the number of animals per carriage (in order to reduce speed) and eventually decreeing the full ban of carriages in the city (1787).

 

On 27 October 1807, Charles IV and Napoleon signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau, which allowed French troops passage through Spanish territory to join Spanish troops and invade Portugal, which had refused to obey the order for an international blockade against England. In February 1808, Napoleon used the excuse that the blockade against England was not being respected at Portuguese ports to send a powerful army under his brother-in-law, General Joachim Murat. Contrary to the treaty, French troops entered via Catalonia, occupying the plazas along the way. Thus, throughout February and March 1808, cities such as Barcelona and Pamplona remained under French rule.

 

While all this was happening, the Mutiny of Aranjuez (17 March 1808) took place, led by Charles IV's own son, crown prince Ferdinand, and directed against him. Charles IV resigned and Ferdinand took his place as King Ferdinand VII. In May 1808, Napoleon's troops entered the city. On 2 May 1808 (Spanish: Dos de Mayo), the Madrileños revolted against the French forces, whose brutal behavior would have a lasting impact on French rule in Spain and France's image in Europe in general. Thus, Ferdinand VII returned to a city that had been occupied by Murat.

 

Both the king and his father became virtual prisoners of the French army. Napoleon, taking advantage of the weakness of the Bourbons, forced both, first the father and then the son, to meet him at Bayonne, where Ferdinand VII arrived on 20 April. Here Napoleon forced both kings to abdicate on 5 May, handing the throne to his brother Joseph Bonaparte.

 

On 2 May, the crowd began to concentrate at the Palacio Real and watched as the French soldiers removed the royal family members from the palace. On seeing the infante Francisco de Paula struggling with his captor, the crowd launched an assault on the carriages, shouting ¡Que se lo llevan! (They're taking him away from us!). French soldiers fired into the crowd. The fighting lasted for hours and is reflected in Goya's painting, The Second of May 1808, also known as The Charge of the Mamelukes.

 

Meanwhile, the Spanish military remained garrisoned and passive. Only the artillery barracks at Monteleón under Captain Luis Daoíz y Torres, manned by four officers, three NCOs and ten men, resisted. They were later reinforced by a further 33 men and two officers led by Pedro Velarde y Santillán, and distributed weapons to the civilian population. After repelling a first attack under French General Lefranc, both Spanish commanders died fighting heroically against reinforcements sent by Murat. Gradually, the pockets of resistance fell. Hundreds of Spanish men and women and French soldiers were killed in this skirmish.

 

On 12 August 1812, following the defeat of the French forces at Salamanca, English and Portuguese troops entered Madrid and surrounded the fortified area occupied by the French in the district of Retiro. Following two days of Siege warfare, the 1,700 French surrendered and a large store of arms, 20,000 muskets and 180 cannon, together with many other supplies were captured, along with two French Imperial Eagles.

 

"In the early years of this century, Madrid was a very ugly town, with few architectural monuments, with horrible housing."

 

Antonio Alcalá Galiano. Recuerdos de un anciano.

 

On 29 October, Hill received Wellington's positive order to abandon Madrid and march to join him. After a clash with Soult's advance guard at Perales de Tajuña on the 30th, Hill broke contact and withdrew in the direction of Alba de Tormes. Joseph re-entered his capital on 2 November.

 

After the war of independence Ferdinand VII returned to the throne (1814). The projects of reform by Joseph Bonaparte were abandoned; during the Fernandine period, despite the proposal of several architectural projects for the city, the lack of ability to finance those led to works often being postponed or halted.

 

After a liberal military revolution, Colonel Riego made the king swear to respect the Constitution. Liberal and conservative government thereafter alternated, ending with the enthronement of Isabella II.

 

At the time the reign of Isabella II started, the city was still enclosed behind its walls, featuring a relatively slow demographic growth as well as very high population density. After the 1833 administrative reforms for the country devised by Javier de Burgos (including the configuration of the current province of Madrid), Madrid was to become the capital of the new liberal state.

 

Madrid experienced substantial changes during the 1830s. The corregimiento and the corregidor (institutions from the Ancien Regime) were ended for good, giving rise to the constitutional alcalde in the context of the liberal transformations. Purged off from Carlist elements, the civil office and the military and palatial milieus recognised legitimacy to the dynastic rights of Isabella II.

 

The reforms enacted by Finance Minister Juan Álvarez Mendizábal in 1835–1836 led to the confiscation of ecclesiastical properties and the subsequent demolition of churches, convents and adjacent orchards in the city (similarly to other Spanish cities); the widening of streets and squares ensued.

 

In 1854, amid economic and political crisis, following the pronunciamiento of group of high officers commanded by Leopoldo O'Donnell garrisoned in the nearby town of Vicálvaro in June 1854 (the so-called "Vicalvarada"), the 7 July Manifesto of Manzanares, calling for popular rebellion, and the ousting of Luis José Sartorius from the premiership on 17 July, popular mutiny broke out in Madrid, asking for a real change of system, in what it was to be known as the Revolution of 1854. With the uprising in Madrid reaching its pinnacle on 17, 18 and 19 July, the rebels, who erected barricades in the streets, were bluntly crushed by the new government.

 

1858 was a marked year for the city with the arrival of the waters from the Lozoya. The Canal de Isabel II was inaugurated on 24 June 1858. A ceremony took place soon after in Calle Ancha de San Bernardo to celebrate it, unveiling a 30-metre-high water source in the middle of the street.

 

The plan for the Ensanche de Madrid ('widening of Madrid') by Carlos María de Castro was passed through a royal decree issued on 19 July 1860. The plan for urban expansion by Castro, a staunch Conservative, delivered a segregation of the well-off class, the middle class and the artisanate into different zones. The southern part of the Ensanche was at a disadvantage with respect to the rest of the Ensanche, insofar, located on the way to the river and at a lower altitude, it was a place of passage for the sewage runoff, thereby being described as a "space of urban degradation and misery". Beyond the Ensanches, slums and underclass neighborhoods were built in suburbs such as Tetuán, Prosperidad or Vallecas.

 

Student unrest took place in 1865 following the ministerial decree against the expression of ideas against the monarchy and the church and the forced removal of the rector of the Universidad Central, unwilling to submit. In a crescendo of protests, the night of 10 April 2,000 protesters clashed against the civil guard. The unrest was crudely quashed, leaving 14 deaths, 74 wounded students and 114 arrests (in what became known as the "Night of Saint Daniel"), becoming the precursor of more serious revolutionary attempts.

 

The Glorious Revolution resulting in the deposition of Queen Isabella II started with a pronunciamiento in the bay of Cádiz in September 1868. The success of the uprising in Madrid on 29 September prompted the French exile of the queen, who was on holiday in San Sebastián and was unable to reach the capital by train. General Juan Prim, the leader of the liberal progressives, was received by the Madrilenian people at his arrival to the city in early October in a festive mood. He pronounced his famous speech of the "three nevers" directed against the Bourbons, and delivered a highly symbolical hug to General Serrano, leader of the revolutionary forces triumphant in the 28 September battle of Alcolea, in the Puerta del Sol.

 

On 27 December 1870 the car in which General Prim, the prime minister, was travelling, was shot by unknown hit-men in the Turk Street, nearby the Congress of Deputies. Prim, wounded in the attack, died three days later, with the elected monarch Amadeus, Duke of Aosta, yet to swear the constitution.

 

The creation of the Salamanca–Sol–Pozas tram service in Madrid in 1871 meant the introduction of the first collective system of transportation in the city, predating the omnibus.

 

The economy of the city further modernized during the second half of the 19th century, consolidating its status as a service and financial centre. New industries were mostly focused in book publishing, construction and low-tech sectors. The introduction of railway transport greatly helped Madrid's economic prowess, and led to changes in consumption patterns (such as the substitution of salted fish for fresh fish from the Spanish coasts) as well as further strengthening the city's role as a logistics node in the country's distribution network.

 

The late 19th century saw the introduction of the electric power distribution. As by law, the city council could not concede an industrial monopoly to any company, the city experienced a huge competition among the companies in the electricity sector. The absence of a monopoly led to an overlapping of distribution networks, to the point that in the centre of Madrid 5 different networks could travel through the same street. Electric lighting in the streets was introduced in the 1890s.

 

By the end of the 19th century, the city featured access to water, a central status in the rail network, a cheap workforce and access to financial capital. With the onset of the new century, the Ensanche Sur (in the current day district of Arganzuela) started to grow to become the main industrial area of the municipality along the first half of the 20th century.

 

In the early 20th century Madrid undertook a major urban intervention in its city centre with the creation of the Gran Vía, a monumental thoroughfare (then divided in three segments with different names) whose construction slit the city from top to bottom with the demolition of multitude of housing and small streets. Anticipated in earlier projects, and following the signature of the contract, the works formally started in April 1910 with a ceremony led by King Alfonso XIII.

 

Also with the turn of the century, Madrid had become the cultural capital of Spain as centre of top knowledge institutions (the Central University, the Royal Academies, the Institución Libre de Enseñanza or the Ateneo de Madrid), also concentrating the most publishing houses and big daily newspapers, amounting for the bulk of the intellectual production in the country.

 

In 1919 the Madrid Metro (known as the Ferrocarril Metropolitano by that time) inaugurated its first service, which went from Sol to the Cuatro Caminos area.

 

In the 1919–1920 biennium Madrid witnessed the biggest wave of protests seen in the city up to that date, being the centre of innumerable strikes; despite being still surpassed by Barcelona's, the industrial city par excellence in that time, this cycle decisively set the foundations for the social unrest that took place in the 1930s in the city.

 

The situation the monarchy had left Madrid in 1931 was catastrophic, with tens of thousands of kids receiving no education and a huge rate of unemployment.

 

After the proclamation of the Second Republic on 14 April 1931 the citizens of Madrid understood the free access to the Casa de Campo (until then an enclosed property with exclusive access for the royalty), was a consequence of the fall of the monarchy, and informally occupied the area on 15 April. After the signing of a decree on 20 April which granted the area to the Madrilenian citizens in order to become a "park for recreation and instruction", the transfer was formally sealed on 6 May when Minister Indalecio Prieto formally delivered the Casa de Campo to Mayor Pedro Rico. The Spanish Constitution of 1931 was the first legislating on the state capital, setting it explicitly in Madrid. During the 1930s, Madrid enjoyed "great vitality"; it was demographically young, but also young in the sense of its relation with the modernity. During this time the prolongation of the Paseo de la Castellana towards the north was projected. The proclamation of the Republic slowed down the building of new housing. The tertiary sector gave thrust to the economy. Illiteracy rates were down to below 20%, and the city's cultural life grew notably during the so-called Silver Age of Spanish culture; the sales of newspaper also increased. Anti-clericalism and Catholicism lived side by side in Madrid; the burning of convents initiated after riots in the city in May 1931 worsened the political environment. The 1934 insurrection largely failed in Madrid.

 

In order to deal with the unemployment, the new Republican city council hired many jobless people as gardeners and street cleaners.

 

Prieto, who sought to turn the city into the "Great Madrid", capital of the Republic, charged Secundino Zuazo with the project for the opening of a south–north axis in the city through the northward enlargement of the Paseo de la Castellana and the construction of the Nuevos Ministerios administrative complex in the area (halted by the Civil War, works in the Nuevos Ministerios would finish in 1942). Works on the Ciudad Universitaria, already started during the monarchy in 1929, also resumed.

 

The military uprising of July 1936 was defeated in Madrid by a combination of loyal forces and workers' militias. On 20 July armed workers and loyal troops stormed the single focus of resistance, the Cuartel de La Montaña, defended by a contingent of 2,000 rebel soldiers accompanied by 500 falangists under the command of General Fanjul, killing over one hundred of rebels after their surrender. Aside from the Cuartel de la Montaña episode, the wider scheme for the coup in the capital largely failed both due to disastrous rebel planning and due to the Government delivering weapons to the people wanting to defend the Republic, with the city becoming a symbol of popular resistance, "the people in arms".

 

After the quelling of the coup d'état, from 1936–1939, Madrid remained under the control of forces loyal to the Republic. Following the seemingly unstoppable advance towards Madrid of rebel land troops, the first air bombings on Madrid also started. Immediately after the bombing of the nearing airports of Getafe and Cuatro Vientos, Madrid proper was bombed for the first time in the night of the 27–28 August 1936 by a Luftwaffe's Junkers Ju 52 that threw several bombs on the Ministry of War and the Station of the North. Madrid "was to become the first big European city to be bombed by aviation".

 

Rebel General Francisco Franco, recently given the supreme military command over his faction, took a detour in late September to "liberate" the besieged Alcázar de Toledo. Meanwhile, this operation gave time to the republicans in Madrid to build defenses and start receiving some foreign support.

 

The summer and autumn of 1936 saw the Republican Madrid witness of heavy-handed repression by communist and socialist groups, symbolised by the murder of prisoners in checas and sacas directed mostly against military personnel and leading politicians linked to the rebels, which, culminated by the horrific Paracuellos massacres in the context of a simultaneous major rebel offensive against the city, were halted by early December. Madrid, besieged from October 1936, saw a major offensive in its western suburbs in November of that year.

 

In the last weeks of the war, the collapse of the republic was speeded by Colonel Segismundo Casado, who, endorsed by some political figures such as Anarchist Cipriano Mera and Julián Besteiro, a PSOE leader who had held talks with the Falangist fifth column in the city, threw a military coup against the legitimate government under the pretext of excessive communist preponderance, propelling a mini-civil war in Madrid that, won by the casadistas, left roughly 2,000 casualties between 5–10 March 1939.

 

The city fell to the nationalists on 28 March 1939.

 

Following the onset of the Francoist dictatorship in the city, the absence of personal and associative freedoms and the heavy-hand repression of people linked to a republican past greatly deprived the city from social mobilization, trade unionism and intellectual life. This added to a climate of general shortage, with ration coupons rampant and a lingering autarchic economy lasting until the mid 1950s. Meat and fish consumption was scarce in Post-War Madrid, and starvation and lack of proteins were a cause of high mortality.

 

With the country ruined after the war, the Falange command had nonetheless high plans for the city and professionals sympathetic to the regime dreamed (based on an organicist conception) about the notion of building a body for the "Spanish greatness" placing a great emphasis in Madrid, what they thought to be the imperial capital of the New State. In this sense, urban planners sought to highlight and symbolically put in value the façade the city offered to the Manzanares River, the "Imperial Cornice", bringing projects to accompany the Royal Palace such as the finishing of the unfinished cathedral (with the start of works postponed to 1950 and ultimately finished in the late 20th century), a never-built "house of the Party" and many others. Nonetheless these delusions of grandeur caught up with reality and the scarcity during the Post-War and most of the projects ended up either filed, unfinished or mutilated, with the single clear success being the Gutiérrez Soto's Cuartel del Ejército del Aire.

 

The intense demographic growth experienced by the city via mass immigration from the rural areas of the country led to the construction of plenty of housing in the peripheral areas of the city to absorb the new population (reinforcing the processes of social polarization of the city), initially comprising substandard housing (with as many as 50,000 shacks scattered around the city by 1956). A transitional planning intended to temporarily replace the shanty towns were the poblados de absorción, introduced since the mid-1950s in locations such as Canillas, San Fermín, Caño Roto, Villaverde, Pan Bendito [es], Zofío and Fuencarral, aiming to work as a sort of "high-end" shacks (with the destinataries participating in the construction of their own housing) but under the aegis of a wider coordinated urban planning.

 

Together with the likes of Cairo, Santiago de Chile, Rome, Buenos Aires or Lisbon, Francoist Madrid became an important transnational hub of the global Neofascist network that facilitated the survival and resumption of (neo)fascist activities after 1945.

 

In the 1948–1954 period the municipality greatly increased in size through the annexation of 13 surrounding municipalities, as its total area went up from 68,42 km2 to 607,09 km2. The annexed municipalities were Chamartín de la Rosa (5 June 1948), Carabanchel Alto (29 April 1948), Carabanchel Bajo (29 April 1948), Canillas (30 March 1950), Canillejas (30 March 1950), Hortaleza (31 March 1950), Barajas (31 March 1950), Vallecas (22 December 1950), El Pardo (27 March 1951), Vicálvaro (20 October 1951), Fuencarral (20 October 1951) Aravaca (20 October 1951) and Villaverde (31 July 1954).

 

The population of the city peaked in 1975 at 3,228,057 inhabitants.

 

Benefiting from prosperity in the 1980s, Spain's capital city has consolidated its position as the leading economic, cultural, industrial, educational and technological center of the Iberian peninsula. The relative decline in population since 1975 reverted in the 1990s, with the city recovering a population of roughly 3 million inhabitants by the end of the 20th century.

 

Since the late 1970s and through the 1980s Madrid became the center of the cultural movement known as la Movida. Conversely, just like in the rest of the country, a heroin crisis took a toll in the poor neighborhoods of Madrid in the 1980s.

 

On 11 March 2004, three days before Spain's general elections and exactly 2 years and 6 months after the September 11 attacks in the US, Madrid was hit by a terrorist attack when Islamic terrorists belonging to an al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist cell placed a series of bombs on several trains during the morning rush hour, killing 191 people and injuring 1,800.

 

The administrations that followed Álvarez del Manzano's, also conservative, led by Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón and Ana Botella, launched three unsuccessful bids for the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. Madrid was a centre of the anti-austerity protests that erupted in Spain in 2011. As consequence of the spillover of the 2008 financial and mortgage crisis, Madrid has been affected by the increasing number of second-hand homes held by banks and house evictions. The mandate of left-wing Mayor Manuela Carmena (2015–2019) delivered the renaturalization of the course of the Manzanares across the city.

 

Since the late 2010s, the challenges the city faces include the increasingly unaffordable rental prices (often in parallel with the gentrification and the spike of tourist apartments in the city centre) and the profusion of betting shops in working-class areas, equalled to an "epidemics" among the young people.

The Turkana s inhabit the arid territories of northern Kenya, on the boundary with Sudan. Nilotic-speaking people, they have for a long time stayed outside of the influence of the main foreign trends. Nomad shepherds adapted to a almost totally desert area, some also fish in Lake Turkana. They are divided in 28 clans. Each one of them is associated with a particular brand for its livestock, so that any Turkana can identify a relative in this way.The majority of the Turkana still follow their traditional religion: they believe in a God called Kuj or Akuj, associated with the sky and creator of all things. He is thought to be omnipotent but rarely intervenes in the lives of people. Contact between God and the people is made though a diviner (emeron). Diviners have the power to interpret dreams, forecast the future, heal, and make rain. However, the Turkana doubt about those who say they have powers, but fail to prove it in the everyday life. According to estimates, about 15% of the Turkana are Christian. Evangelism has started among the Turkana since the 1970s. Various church buildings have been built since then. The most astonishing element one can notice in the villages, is that the only permanent structures are churches, with huts all around. Infact, in the late 1970s, feeding projects as well as literacy courses and other services have been provided by Baptist workers. This easily explains the importance acquired by the Church.The Turkana don't have any physical initiations. They have only the asapan ceremony, transition from youth to adulthood, that all men must perform before marriage. The Turkana are polygamous. Homestead consists of a man, his wives and children, and often his mother. When a new wife comes, she stays at the hut of the mother or first wife until she has her first child. The high bride-wealth payment (30 to 50 cattle, 30 to 50 camels and 100 to 200 small stock) often means that a man cannot marry until he has inherited livestock from his dead father. It also implies that he collect livestock from relatives and friends, which strengthens social ties between them. Resolution is found to conflicts through discussions between the men living in proximity to one another. Men of influence are particularly listened, and decisions are enforced by the younger men of the area. Each man belongs to a specific generation set. If a man is a Leopard, his son will be a Stone, so that there is approximately an equal number of each category. The Turkana make finely carved wooden implements, used in the daily life. During the rainy season, moonlight nights' songs have a particular place in the Turkana's life. The songs often refer to their cattle or land, but they are sometimes improvised and related to immediate events. The Turkana have a deep knowledge of plants and products they use as medicine. The fat-tailed sheep is often called "the hospital for the Turkana".

  

Les Turkanas habitent les territoires arides du nord du Kenya, à la frontière avec le Soudan.Peuple de langue nilotique, ils sont pendant longtemps restés hors de l’influence des principaux courants étrangers. Pasteurs nomades adaptés à une zone presque totalement déserte, certains pêchent également dans le lac Turkana. Ils sont divisés en 28 clans. Chacun d’entre eux est associé à une marque particulière donné à son bétail, de telle façon que tout Turkana peut identifier un parent de cette manière.La majorité des Turkana suit encore leur religion traditionnelle : ils croient en un Dieu appelé Kuj ou Akuj, associé au ciel et créateur de toute chose. Les Turkana le voient comme omnipotent mais intervenant rarement dans la vie des gens. Le contact entre Dieu et les hommes se fait par l’intermédiaire d’un divin (emeron). Les devins ont le pouvoir d’interpréter les rêves, prédire l’avenir, soigner et faire pleuvoir. Toutefois, les Turkana doutent de ceux qui disent qu’ils ont des pouvoirs, mais échouent à le prouver dans la vie de tous les jours. Selon des estimations, environ 15% des Turkana sont chrétiens. L’évangélisme a commencé chez les Turkana depuis les années 1970. Diverses églises ont depuis été construites. L’élément le plus étonnbant que l’on peut noter dans les villages est que les seules structures en dur sont les églises, avec des huttes tout autour. En fait, à la fin des années 1970, des projets alimentaires ainsi que des cours d’alphabétisation et d’autres services ont été menés par des travailleurs baptistes. Cela explique facilement l’importance acquise par l’Eglise.Les Turkana n’ont aucune initiation physique. Ils ont seulement la cérémonie asapan, transition de la jeunesse à l’âge adulte, que chaque homme doit suivre avant le mariage. Les Turkana sont polygames. La propriété familiale est composée d’un homme, ses femmes et enfants, et souvent sa mère. Quand une nouvelle femme arrive, elle loge dans la hutte de la mère ou de la première femme jusqu’à ce qu’elle ait son premier enfant. Le paiement élevé pour la mariée (30 à 50 têtes de gros bétail, 30 à 50 dromadaires, et 100 à 200 têtes de petit bétail) signifie souvent qu’un homme ne peut se permettre de se marier jusqu’à ce qu’il ait hérité le bétail de son père décédé. Cela implique également qu’il collecte le bétail requis de parents et amis, ce qui renforce les liens sociaux entre eux. La résolution des conflits se fait par la discussion entre les hommes vivant à proximité.Les hommes d’influence sont particulièrement écoutés, et les décisions sont mises en application par les hommes plus jeunes de la zone. Chaque homme appartient à une classe d’âge spécifique. Si un homme est un Léopard, son fils deviendra une Pierre, de telle façon qu’il y a approximativement un même nombre de chaque catégorie. Les Turkana font des outils en bois finement taillés, utilisés dans la vie de tous les jours. Durant la saison des pluies, les chansons des nuits de pleine lune ont une place particulière dans la vie des Turkana. Elles font souvent référence à leur bétail et terres, mais sont parfois improvisées ou liées à des événements immédiats. Les Turkana ont une connaissance intime des plantes et des produits qu’ils utilisent comme médicaments. La queue grasse des moutons est souvent appelée « l’hôpital pour les Turkana ».

  

© Eric Lafforgue

www.ericlafforgue.com

  

The remains of Class 73 E6027 pictured at Eastleigh Works. The repair estimation came in at an unsurprising £88,850 which resulted in the loco being scrapped.

 

The loco was destroyed in a collision on 8 January 1972 at Horsham with the loco (working an engineers train with E6010) struck the rear of the stationary 1202 London Victoria to Portsmouth Harbour being worked by 4CIG 7362 and 4BEP 7004 on the rear which took the hit. Whilst there were some minor injuries, thankfully no lives were lost in the accident.

 

The full report can be read here: www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_Horsham1972.pdf

 

27 March 1972

Taken during a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing, this is a test of the Depth of Focus using the 35mm PC Nikkor on the Fuji TX-1 (Xpan). The focus was set by estimation on the first speaker, or about 15 feet. The aperture was set at f/5.6, and shutter was at 1/30 sec handheld. Since a 35mm lens shot wide open on a Leica is my favorite, I am used to seeing the way the lens renders in a situation like this, but was very surprised to see just how quickly the lens fell away, even stopped down to f/5.6. Since on the Xpan format I have to scale focus, the target area of sharp focus is smaller than I expected, given that the focus scale on the lens lead me to believe that focus should have been acceptable from a point just shy of infinity to about 8 feet.

 

Fuji Tx-1 (Xpan), 35mm PC Nikkor

f/5.6 at 1/30 sec handheld

Fuji Neopan 400, developed in Kodak Xtol 1:1

Nikon LS 9000 film scanner

The Destitution of Service

 

"…though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved." [2 Corinthians 12:15]

 

Natural human love expects something in return. But Paul is saying, “It doesn’t really matter to me whether you love me or not. I am willing to be completely destitute anyway; willing to be poverty-stricken, not just for your sakes, but also that I may be able to get you to God.” “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor…” (2Co.8:9). And Paul’s idea of service was the same as our Lord’s. He did not care how high the cost was to himself— he would gladly pay it. It was a joyful thing to Paul. The institutional church’s idea of a servant of God is not at all like Jesus Christ’s idea. His idea is that we serve Him by being the servants of others. Jesus Christ actually “out-socialized” the socialists. He said that in His kingdom the greatest one would be the servant of all (see Matthew 23:11). The real test of a saint is not one’s willingness to preach the gospel, but one’s willingness to do something like washing the disciples’ feet— that is, being willing to do those things that seem unimportant in human estimation but count as everything to God. It was Paul’s delight to spend his life for God’s interests in other people, and he did not care what it cost. But before we will serve, we stop to ponder our personal and financial concerns— “What if God wants me to go over there? And what about my salary? What is the climate like there? Who will take care of me? A person must consider all these things.” All that is an indication that we have reservations about serving God. But the apostle Paul had no conditions or reservations. Paul focused his life on Jesus Christ’s idea of a New Testament saint; that is, not one who merely proclaims the gospel, but one who becomes broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for the sake of others. Hallelujah, God bless

_____

Is it possible to have "too many" mutations? What about "too few"? While mutations are necessary for evolution, they can damage existing adaptations as well. What is a mutation?

A photograph shows approximately 100 different species of beetle arranged in an oval pattern against a black background. The beetles vary in the size of their bodies, the length of their legs, their coloration, and the shape and size of their mandibles.

The diversity of beetle species.

Genetic mutation is the basis of species diversity among beetles, or any other organism.

© 2009 Courtesy of John C. Abbot, Abbott Nature Photography. All rights reserved. View Terms of Use

Mutations are changes in the genetic sequence, and they are a main cause of diversity among organisms. These changes occur at many different levels, and they can have widely differing consequences. In biological systems that are capable of reproduction, we must first focus on whether they are heritable; specifically, some mutations affect only the individual that carries them, while others affect all of the carrier organism's offspring, and further descendants. For mutations to affect an organism's descendants, they must: 1) occur in cells that produce the next generation, and 2) affect the hereditary material. Ultimately, the interplay between inherited mutations and environmental pressures generates diversity among species.

 

Although various types of molecular changes exist, the word "mutation" typically refers to a change that affects the nucleic acids. In cellular organisms, these nucleic acids are the building blocks of DNA, and in viruses they are the building blocks of either DNA or RNA. One way to think of DNA and RNA is that they are substances that carry the long-term memory of the information required for an organism's reproduction. This article focuses on mutations in DNA, although we should keep in mind that RNA is subject to essentially the same mutation forces.

 

If mutations occur in non-germline cells, then these changes can be categorized as somatic mutations. The word somatic comes from the Greek word soma which means "body", and somatic mutations only affect the present organism's body. From an evolutionary perspective, somatic mutations are uninteresting, unless they occur systematically and change some fundamental property of an individual--such as the capacity for survival. For example, cancer is a potent somatic mutation that will affect a single organism's survival. As a different focus, evolutionary theory is mostly interested in DNA changes in the cells that produce the next generation.

 

Are Mutations Random?

The statement that mutations are random is both profoundly true and profoundly untrue at the same time. The true aspect of this statement stems from the fact that, to the best of our knowledge, the consequences of a mutation have no influence whatsoever on the probability that this mutation will or will not occur. In other words, mutations occur randomly with respect to whether their effects are useful. Thus, beneficial DNA changes do not happen more often simply because an organism could benefit from them. Moreover, even if an organism has acquired a beneficial mutation during its lifetime, the corresponding information will not flow back into the DNA in the organism's germline. This is a fundamental insight that Jean-Baptiste Lamarck got wrong and Charles Darwin got right.

 

However, the idea that mutations are random can be regarded as untrue if one considers the fact that not all types of mutations occur with equal probability. Rather, some occur more frequently than others because they are favored by low-level biochemical reactions. These reactions are also the main reason why mutations are an inescapable property of any system that is capable of reproduction in the real world. Mutation rates are usually very low, and biological systems go to extraordinary lengths to keep them as low as possible, mostly because many mutational effects are harmful. Nonetheless, mutation rates never reach zero, even despite both low-level protective mechanisms, like DNA repair or proofreading during DNA replication, and high-level mechanisms, like melanin deposition in skin cells to reduce radiation damage. Beyond a certain point, avoiding mutation simply becomes too costly to cells. Thus, mutation will always be present as a powerful force in evolution.

 

Types of Mutations

So, how do mutations occur? The answer to this question is closely linked to the molecular details of how both DNA and the entire genome are organized. The smallest mutations are point mutations, in which only a single base pair is changed into another base pair. Yet another type of mutation is the nonsynonymous mutation, in which an amino acid sequence is changed. Such mutations lead to either the production of a different protein or the premature termination of a protein.

 

As opposed to nonsynonymous mutations, synonymous mutations do not change an amino acid sequence, although they occur, by definition, only in sequences that code for amino acids. Synonymous mutations exist because many amino acids are encoded by multiple codons. Base pairs can also have diverse regulating properties if they are located in introns, intergenic regions, or even within the coding sequence of genes. For some historic reasons, all of these groups are often subsumed with synonymous mutations under the label "silent" mutations. Depending on their function, such silent mutations can be anything from truly silent to extraordinarily important, the latter implying that working sequences are kept constant by purifying selection. This is the most likely explanation for the existence of ultraconserved noncoding elements that have survived for more than 100 million years without substantial change, as found by comparing the genomes of several vertebrates (Sandelin et al., 2004).

 

Mutations may also take the form of insertions or deletions, which are together known as indels. Indels can have a wide variety of lengths. At the short end of the spectrum, indels of one or two base pairs within coding sequences have the greatest effect, because they will inevitably cause a frameshift (only the addition of one or more three-base-pair codons will keep a protein approximately intact). At the intermediate level, indels can affect parts of a gene or whole groups of genes. At the largest level, whole chromosomes or even whole copies of the genome can be affected by insertions or deletions, although such mutations are usually no longer subsumed under the label indel. At this high level, it is also possible to invert or translocate entire sections of a chromosome, and chromosomes can even fuse or break apart. If a large number of genes are lost as a result of one of these processes, then the consequences are usually very harmful. Of course, different genetic systems react differently to such events.

 

Finally, still other sources of mutations are the many different types of transposable elements, which are small entities of DNA that possess a mechanism that permits them to move around within the genome. Some of these elements copy and paste themselves into new locations, while others use a cut-and-paste method. Such movements can disrupt existing gene functions (by insertion in the middle of another gene), activate dormant gene functions (by perfect excision from a gene that was switched off by an earlier insertion), or occasionally lead to the production of new genes (by pasting material from different genes together).

 

Effects of Mutations

A line graph shows the probability density of mutational effects. A log scale of mutational effects is shown on the x-axis, and probability density is shown on the y-axis. The line follows the shape of a right-skewed bell curve. Probability density increases as mutational effects increase from 10-10 to 10-4, where the curve peaks. As mutational effects increase from 10 4 to 1, probability density decreases. All mutational effects equal to or less than 10-10 are shown as a spike at 10-10 on the x-axis.

View Full-Size ImageFigure 1: The overwhelming majority of mutations have very small effects.

This example of a possible distribution of deleterious mutational effects was obtained from DNA sequence polymorphism data from natural populations of two Drosophila species. The spike at 10-10 includes all smaller effects, whereas effects are not shown if they induce a structural damage that is equivalent to selection coefficients that are 'super-lethal' (see Loewe and Charlesworth 2006 for more details).

© 2008 Nature Education All rights reserved. View Terms of Use

A single mutation can have a large effect, but in many cases, evolutionary change is based on the accumulation of many mutations with small effects. Mutational effects can be beneficial, harmful, or neutral, depending on their context or location. Most non-neutral mutations are deleterious. In general, the more base pairs that are affected by a mutation, the larger the effect of the mutation, and the larger the mutation's probability of being deleterious.

 

To better understand the impact of mutations, researchers have started to estimate distributions of mutational effects (DMEs) that quantify how many mutations occur with what effect on a given property of a biological system. In evolutionary studies, the property of interest is fitness, but in molecular systems biology, other emerging properties might also be of interest. It is extraordinarily difficult to obtain reliable information about DMEs, because the corresponding effects span many orders of magnitude, from lethal to neutral to advantageous; in addition, many confounding factors usually complicate these analyses. To make things even more difficult, many mutations also interact with each other to alter their effects; this phenomenon is referred to as epistasis. However, despite all these uncertainties, recent work has repeatedly indicated that the overwhelming majority of mutations have very small effects (Figure 1; Eyre-Walker & Keightley, 2007). Of course, much more work is needed in order to obtain more detailed information about DMEs, which are a fundamental property that governs the evolution of every biological system.

 

Estimating Rates of Mutation

Many direct and indirect methods have been developed to help estimate rates of different types of mutations in various organisms. The main difficulty in estimating rates of mutation involves the fact that DNA changes are extremely rare events and can only be detected on a background of identical DNA. Because biological systems are usually influenced by many factors, direct estimates of mutation rates are desirable. Direct estimates typically involve use of a known pedigree in which all descendants inherited a well-defined DNA sequence. To measure mutation rates using this method, one first needs to sequence many base pairs within this region of DNA from many individuals in the pedigree, counting all the observed mutations. These observations are then combined with the number of generations that connect these individuals to compute the overall mutation rate (Haag-Liautard et al., 2007). Such direct estimates should not be confused with substitution rates estimated over phylogenetic time spans.

 

Summary

Mutation rates can vary within a genome and between genomes. Much more work is required before researchers can obtain more precise estimates of the frequencies of different mutations. The rise of high-throughput genomic sequencing methods nurtures the hope that we will be able to cultivate a more detailed and precise understanding of mutation rates. Because mutation is one of the fundamental forces of evolution, such work will continue to be of paramount importance.

 

References and Recommended Reading

Drake, J. W., et al. Rates of spontaneous mutation. Genetics 148, 1667–1686 (1998)

 

Eyre-Walker, A., & Keightley, P. D. The distribution of fitness effects of new mutations. Nature Reviews Genetics 8, 610–618 (2007) doi:10.1038/nrg2146 (link to article)

 

Haag-Liautard, C., et al. Direct estimation of per nucleotide and genomic deleterious mutation rates in Drosophila. Nature 445, 82–85 (2007) doi:10.1038/nature05388 (link to article)

 

Loewe, L., & Charlesworth, B. Inferring the distribution of mutational effects on fitness in Drosophila. Biology Letters 2, 426–430 (2006)

 

Lynch, M., et al. Perspective: Spontaneous deleterious mutation. Evolution 53, 645–663 (1999)

 

Orr, H. A. The genetic theory of adaptation: A brief history. Nature Review Genetics 6, 119–127 (2005) doi:10.1038/nrg1523 (link to article)

 

Sandelin, A., et al. Arrays of ultraconserved non-coding regions span the loci of key developmental genes in vertebrate genomes. BMC Genomics 5, 99 (2004)

 

www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetic-mutation-1127

 

"Consider, for example, the dragon. Basic physics will almost certainly combine with biological constraints to prevent the creation of flying or fire-breathing dragons.

 

But is it possible dragons could ever exist beyond the pages of Celtic mythology or the celluloid of fantasy film?

Academics have suggested in a recent essay the creation of large, winged dragons using cutting-edge genome editing is not beyond the realms of possibility.

Is the seemingly far-fetched idea a flier or, like dragon's breath, just hot air? The BBC asked the authors.

'Not impossible'

The essay in The American Journal of Bioethics said spectacular animals could be brought to life using a targeted gene-editing system known as CRISPR-CAS9.

Co-authors Prof Hank T Greely, director of the Centre for Law and the Biosciences at Stanford Law School, and Prof R Alta Charo, Professor of Bioethics and Law at Wisconsin Law School, said their dragon suggestion was "somewhat tongue-in-cheek" but "not impossible".

"There are the possibilities of spectacles," they wrote. "Animals and plants not created for personal use but to be exhibited.

 

"But a very large reptile that looks at least somewhat like the European or Asian dragon (perhaps with flappable if not flyable wings) could be someone's target of opportunity."

And it may not be as improbable as it seems at first blush.

CRISPR and other similar techniques involve DNA being inserted, replaced, or removed from a genome using artificially engineered nucleases.

 

The method has been adopted by scientists around the world.

CRISPRs (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) are sections of DNA, while CAS-9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) is an enzyme.

They are found in bacteria, which use them to disable attacks from viruses.

linebreak

They have led to the creation of patented "GloFish" that shine under UV light, the eradication of horns from certain cattle species, manipulation of crops and attempts to produce hypo-allergenic cats.

Artist Eduardo Kac even commissioned a French geneticist to create Alba, a genetically modified "glowing" rabbit.

Debate

Debate has raged over whether CRISPR, which occurs as part of a bacterial process, could be safely and ethically used on humans since 2012.

But professors Greely and Charo argue its potential to produce "CRISPR critters" is "likely to be overlooked" by legislators and regulators "because they are unexpected".

The method is "cheaper and easier" than older forms of genetic engineering and can be done "outside the traditional laboratory setting".

Their essay looks at the possible uses of CRISPR for de-extinction of wild species - such as 700,000-year-old horses - for domestic de-extinction - such as tomato species - and for making creatures of "personal whim".

They point out that Harvard geneticist George Church is using CRISPR to edit Asian elephant cell lines to give them some woolly mammoth genes.

Woolly mammothsImage copyrightTHINKSTOCK

Image caption

Geneticist are working on cloning or engineering woolly mammoths

Asked about the likelihood of dragons, the co-authors said: "We imagine it would be low although not impossible with respect to appearance (the fire-breathing and flying aspects are undoubtedly beyond any plausible genetic engineering).

"In the US, the determining factor is usually cost as compared to return-on-investment, where cost can be substantial given the regulatory hurdles.

"Does this mean some determined and well-funded geneticist might do this as an artistic experiment, similar to the work done on the fluorescing rabbit?

"Yes. But the operative word is 'might'."

A potential process could involve modifications to an existing large reptile - for instance, a Komodo dragon.

Problems

The professors said, even if scientists knew how to make them larger, there would likely be problems with the creature's mass increasing faster than its surface area or its bone cross-sections.

The first issue could make the animals overheat; the second might mean the edited reptile's bones would be too weak to hold its weight.

"If and when we actually come to understand in detail what every specific DNA sequence does and how they all fit together, though, all bets are off - things could move more quickly," they added.

linebreak

What does a CRISPR expert think?

Thinkstock

Dr Sam Sternberg - formerly of the University of California's Doudna Lab, which pioneered work with CRISPR-CAS9 - said his boundaries were stretched when Minnesota firm Recombinetics announced it had used a gene-editing technology to dehorn certain types of cattle.

However, he is not hopeful genetic engineers could ever cross the Rubicon to create dragons.

"You're talking about, not just one or a few changes, you're talking about massive changes and it gets to the point where, how much can you cut and paste the DNA that causes some of the traits of one species to another?

"I would say it's probably bordering on impossible/never going to happen."

linebreak

Even if the difficulties connected with gene editing could be overcome, there remains the tricky task of assisted reproduction with an existing lizard species.

Giving birth to any edited dragon would involve taking stem cells from, say, a Komodo dragon before inserting an altered nucleus into an egg for in vitro fertilization (IVF) in an adult komodo.

GloFish in an aquariumImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image caption

Bright GloFish were genetically modified for fluorescence in aquariums

That would be no mean feat; in December scientists carried out the first successful IVF on dogs after decades of trying.

"If you got access to Komodo dragons and could quickly resolve the regulatory, stem cell, and assisted reproduction problems, you could start tinkering.

"But it would likely take a very long time before you could hope to get something that looked much like a dragon," Prof Greely and Prof Charo said.

So, how far off might all this be?

"A while," they said.

  

www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-35111760

This is the second of six cabinet cards that I have that I believe are all of of this little San Antonio girl (or, if not, of her and siblings that look very, very similar to her) a few months of age and the age of 5 years and five months. (at least I think that's last picture of her. Her name and age is only identified on one of the pictures and four of them were taken very close together (over the span of no more than two years and very possibly less, by my estimation)). the picture is not in quite as good condition as the first one and i had to fiddle with the contrast and color a bit to make it clearer hence the difference in color between the backings. they're actually practically identical. Despite the fact that the picture is somewhat faded and it looks like the photographer may have smudged the picture with some of the color from the backing when he was putting it on, this is my favorite of the photos. I just love the rustic backdrop, her little earring and what looks like a wooden bird whistle in her hand.

 

I was only able to find record of two Emma Hannigs in Texas, both born in 1892 One died in 1914 and the other lived until 1975 with the married name of Schumacher)

 

Treasure for your soul

(Henry Law, "The Raven" 1869)

 

Blessed are those who find their constant

pleasure-ground in the luxuries of the Bible!

 

They commune with the mind of God.

 

They listen to a heavenly voice.

 

They bask in rays of purest light.

 

They feed in wholesome pastures of refreshment.

 

They fear no poison from the weeds of error.

 

No devious path can lead their steps astray.

 

Wisdom from above sweetly guides them.

 

The Spirit, the ultimate Teacher of His people,

instructs the students. They advance safely,

happily—from grace to grace.

 

The lessons are as vast as the mine from which

they spring. They are as pure as the realms to

which they call. They warn of sin—its filth, its

misery, its end. They unfold Jesus—in all the

glories of His redeeming love. They exhibit

holiness—as the only road to a holy heaven.

 

Reader, heed a salutary admonition. Study the

Bible, as holding treasure for your soul. Study

in the earnestness of prayer. Study with eternity

outspread before you. Study with the humility of

a poor sinner before a speaking God. Study with

faith devoutly grasping every word.

 

Do not close the volume without inquiring . . .

Is sin more hateful to me?

Is the world more worthless in my estimation?

Is the flesh more treacherous in my sight?

Is Jesus brought nearer to my adoring soul?

Is my heart won to more entire devotedness?

Am I more resolute to live for Him, who died for me?

French postcard by P.I., Paris, presented by Les Carbones Korès, no. 482. Photo: Warner Bros, 1953. John Wayne in Trouble Along the Way (Michael Curtiz, 1953).

 

American actor John Wayne (1907-1979) was one of the most popular film stars of the 20th century. He received his first leading film role in The Big Trail (1930). Working with John Ford, he got his next big break in Stagecoach (1939). His career as an actor took another leap forward when he worked with director Howard Hawks in Red River (1948). Wayne won his first Academy Award in 1969. He He starred in 142 films altogether and remains a popular American icon to this day.

 

John Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison in 1907, in Winterset, Iowa. Some sources also list him as Marion Michael Morrison and Marion Mitchell Morrison. He was already a sizable presence when he was born, weighing around 13 pounds. The oldest of two children born to Clyde and Mary 'Molly' Morrison, Wayne moved to Lancester, California, around the age of seven. The family moved again a few years later after Clyde failed in his attempt to become a farmer. Settling in Glendale, California, Wayne received his distinctive nickname 'Duke' while living there. He had a dog by that name, and he spent so much time with his pet that the pair became known as 'Little Duke' and 'Big Duke', according to the official John Wayne website. In high school, Wayne excelled in his classes and in many different activities, including student government and football. He also participated in numerous student theatrical productions. Winning a football scholarship to University of Southern California (USC), Wayne started college in the fall of 1925. Unfortunately, after two years, an injury, a result of a bodysurfing accident, took him off the football field and ended his scholarship. While in college, Wayne had done some work as a film extra, appearing as a football player in Brown of Harvard (Jack Conway, 1926) with William Haines, and Drop Kick (Millard Webb, 1927), starring Richard Barthelmess. Out of school, Wayne worked as an extra and a prop man in the film industry. He first met director John Ford while working as an extra on Mother Machree (John Ford, 1928). With the early widescreen film epic The Big Trail (Raoul Walsh, 1930), Wayne received his first leading role, thanks to director Walsh. Raoul Walsh is often credited with helping him create his now legendary screen name, John Wayne. Unfortunately, the Western was a box office failure. For nearly a decade, Wayne toiled in numerous B-films. He played the lead, with his name over the title, in many low-budget Poverty Row Westerns, mostly at Monogram Pictures and serials for Mascot Pictures Corporation. By Wayne's own estimation, he appeared in about 80 of these horse operas from 1930 to 1939. In Riders of Destiny (Robert N. Bradbury, 1933), he became one of the first singing cowboys of film, named Sandy Saunders, although via dubbing. During this period, Wayne started developing his man of action persona, which would serve as the basis of many popular characters later on.

 

Working with John Ford, John Wayne got his next big break in Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939). Because of Wayne's B-film status and track record in low-budget Westerns throughout the 1930s, Ford had difficulty getting financing for what was to be an A-budget film. After rejection by all the major studios, Ford struck a deal with independent producer Walter Wanger in which Claire Trevor, who was a much bigger star at the time, received top billing. Wayne portrayed the Ringo Kid, an escaped outlaw, who joins an unusual assortment of characters on a dangerous journey through frontier lands. During the trip, the Kid falls for a dance hall prostitute named Dallas (Claire Trevor). The film was well received by filmgoers and critics alike and earned seven Academy Award nominations, including one for Ford's direction. In the end, it took home the awards for Music and for Actor in a Supporting Role for Thomas Mitchell. Wayne became a mainstream star. Reunited with Ford and Mitchell, Wayne stepped away from his usual Western roles to become a Swedish seaman in The Long Voyage Home (John Ford, 1940). The film was adapted from a play by Eugene O'Neill and follows the crew of a steamer ship as they move a shipment of explosives. Along with many positive reviews, the film earned several Academy Award nominations. Around this time, Wayne made the first of several films with German star Marlene Dietrich. The two appeared together in Seven Sinners (Tay Garnett, 1940) with Wayne playing a naval officer and Dietrich as a woman who sets out to seduce him. Off-screen, they became romantically involved, though Wayne was married at the time. There had been rumours about Wayne having other affairs, but nothing as substantial as his connection to Dietrich. Even after their physical relationship ended, the pair remained good friends and co-starred in two more films, Pittsburgh (Lewis Seiler, 1942) and The Spoilers (Ray Enright, 1942). Wayne's first color film was Shepherd of the Hills (Henry Hathaway, 1941), in which he co-starred with his longtime friend Harry Carey. The following year, he appeared in his only film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, the Technicolor epic Reap the Wild Wind (1942), in which he co-starred with Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard; it was one of the rare times he played a character with questionable values. Wayne started working behind the scenes as a producer in the late 1940s. The first film he produced was Angel and the Badman (James Edward Grant, 1947) with Gail Russell. Over the years, he operated several different production companies, including John Wayne Productions, Wayne-Fellows Productions and Batjac Productions.

 

John Wayne's career as an actor took another leap forward when he worked with director Howard Hawks in Red River (1948). The Western drama provided Wayne with an opportunity to show his talents as an actor, not just an action hero. Playing the conflicted cattleman Tom Dunson, he took on a darker sort of character. He deftly handled his character's slow collapse and difficult relationship with his adopted son played by Montgomery Clift. Also around this time, Wayne also received praise for his work in John Ford's Fort Apache (1948) with Henry Fonda and Shirley Temple. Taking on a war drama, Wayne gave a strong performance in Sands of Iwo Jima (Allan Dwan, 1949), which garnered him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He also appeared in more two Westerns by Ford now considered classics: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (John Ford, 1949) and Rio Grande (John Ford, 1950) with Maureen O'Hara. Wayne worked with O'Hara on several films, perhaps most notably The Quiet Man (John Ford, 1952). Playing an American boxer with a bad reputation, his character moved to Ireland where he fell in love with a local woman (Maureen O'Hara). This film is considered Wayne's most convincing leading romantic role by many critics. A well-known conservative and anticommunist, Wayne merged his personal beliefs and his professional life in Big Jim McLain (Edward Ludwig, 1952). He played an investigator working for the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee, which worked to root out communists in all aspects of public life. Off screen, Wayne played a leading role in the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals and even served as its president for a time. The organisation was a group of conservatives who wanted to stop communists from working in the film industry, and other members included Gary Cooper and Ronald Reagan. In 1956, Wayne starred in another Ford Western, The Searchers (John Ford, 1956). He played Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards whose niece is abducted by a tribe of Comanches and he again showed some dramatic range as the morally questionable veteran. He soon after reteamed with Howard Hawks for Rio Bravo (1959). Playing a local sheriff, Wayne's character must face off against a powerful rancher and his henchmen who want to free his jailed brother. The unusual cast included Dean Martin and Angie Dickinson.

 

John Wayne made his directorial debut with The Alamo (John Wayne, 1960). Starring in the film as Davy Crockett, he received decidedly mixed reviews for both his on- and off-screen efforts. Wayne received a much warmer reception for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962) in which he played a troubled rancher competing with a lawyer (James Stewart) for a woman's hand in marriage. Some other notable films from this period include The Longest Day (Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki, 1962) and How the West Was Won (John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, 1962). Continuing to work steadily, Wayne refused to even let illness slow him down. He successfully battled lung cancer in 1964. To defeat the disease, Wayne had to have a lung and several ribs removed. In the later part of the 1960s, Wayne had some great successes and failures. He co-starred with Robert Mitchum in El Dorado (Howard Hawks, 1967), which was well received. The next year, Wayne again mixed the professional and the political with the pro-Vietnam War film The Green Berets (Ray Kellogg, John Wayne, 1968). He directed and produced as well as starred in the film, which was derided by critics for being heavy handed and clichéd. Viewed by many as a piece of propaganda, the film still did well at the box office. Around this time, Wayne continued to espouse his conservative political views. He support friend Ronald Reagan in his 1966 bid for governor of California as well as his 1970 re-election effort. In 1976, Wayne recorded radio advertisements for Reagan's first attempt to become the Republican presidential candidate. Wayne won his first Academy Award for Best Actor for True Grit (Henry Hathaway, 1969). He played Rooster Cogburn, an one-eyed marshal and drunkard, who helps a young woman named Mattie (Kim Darby) track down her father's killer. A young Glen Campbell joined the pair on their mission. Rounding out the cast, Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper were among the bad guys the trio had to defeat. A later sequel with Katherine Hepburn, Rooster Cogburn (Stuart Millar, 1975), failed to attract critical acclaim or much of an audience. Wayne portrayed an aging gunfighter dying of cancer in his final film, The Shootist (Don Siegel, 1976), with James Stewart and Lauren Bacall. His character, John Bernard Books, hoped to spend his final days peacefully, but got involved one last gunfight. In 1978, life imitated art with Wayne being diagnosed with stomach cancer. John Wayne died in 1979, in Los Angeles, California. He was survived by his seven children from two of his three marriages. During his marriage to Josephine Saenz from 1933 to 1945, the couple had four children, two daughters Antonia and Melinda and two sons Michael and Patrick. Both Michael and Patrick followed in their father's footsteps Michael as a producer and Patrick as an actor. With his third wife, Pilar Palette, he had three more children, Ethan, Aissa, and Marisa. Ethan has worked as an actor over the years.

 

Sources: Biography.com, Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

The 1st May is the kommemoration Day of Work in Germany. There are different Stories and Histories surrounding this Day - but I use this Date just to say Thanks to the Workers, Engineers, Explorers and all the other quite Heros of our Cities... In my World you would be the Stars on TV, the Medias and every daylife! ;O)

 

You have my deepest Respekt and now you know, that at least one Man is watching on you and your silent Deeds with Estimation and Verve!

 

You do well,

Thanks

  

pART of pAn.K.A*esthetik ##############

_________________________________

©1999-2006 all Rights reserved, Krystian

 

Italian postcard in the Photocards series by Edizioni Beatrice d'Este, no. 20096.

 

American actor John Wayne (1907-1979) was one of the most popular film stars of the 20th century. He received his first leading film role in The Big Trail (1930). Working with John Ford, he got his next big break in Stagecoach (1939). His career as an actor took another leap forward when he worked with director Howard Hawks in Red River (1948). Wayne won his first Academy Award in 1969. He He starred in 142 films altogether and remains a popular American icon to this day.

 

John Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison in 1907, in Winterset, Iowa. Some sources also list him as Marion Michael Morrison and Marion Mitchell Morrison. He was already a sizable presence when he was born, weighing around 13 pounds. The oldest of two children born to Clyde and Mary 'Molly' Morrison, Wayne moved to Lancester, California, around the age of seven. The family moved again a few years later after Clyde failed in his attempt to become a farmer. Settling in Glendale, California, Wayne received his distinctive nickname 'Duke' while living there. He had a dog by that name, and he spent so much time with his pet that the pair became known as 'Little Duke' and 'Big Duke', according to the official John Wayne website. In high school, Wayne excelled in his classes and in many different activities, including student government and football. He also participated in numerous student theatrical productions. Winning a football scholarship to University of Southern California (USC), Wayne started college in the fall of 1925. Unfortunately, after two years, an injury, a result of a bodysurfing accident, took him off the football field and ended his scholarship. While in college, Wayne had done some work as a film extra, appearing as a football player in Brown of Harvard (Jack Conway, 1926) with William Haines, and Drop Kick (Millard Webb, 1927), starring Richard Barthelmess. Out of school, Wayne worked as an extra and a prop man in the film industry. He first met director John Ford while working as an extra on Mother Machree (John Ford, 1928). With the early widescreen film epic The Big Trail (Raoul Walsh, 1930), Wayne received his first leading role, thanks to director Walsh. Raoul Walsh is often credited with helping him create his now legendary screen name, John Wayne. Unfortunately, the Western was a box office failure. For nearly a decade, Wayne toiled in numerous B-films. He played the lead, with his name over the title, in many low-budget Poverty Row Westerns, mostly at Monogram Pictures and serials for Mascot Pictures Corporation. By Wayne's own estimation, he appeared in about 80 of these horse operas from 1930 to 1939. In Riders of Destiny (Robert N. Bradbury, 1933), he became one of the first singing cowboys of film, named Sandy Saunders, although via dubbing. During this period, Wayne started developing his man of action persona, which would serve as the basis of many popular characters later on.

 

Working with John Ford, John Wayne got his next big break in Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939). Because of Wayne's B-film status and track record in low-budget Westerns throughout the 1930s, Ford had difficulty getting financing for what was to be an A-budget film. After rejection by all the major studios, Ford struck a deal with independent producer Walter Wanger in which Claire Trevor, who was a much bigger star at the time, received top billing. Wayne portrayed the Ringo Kid, an escaped outlaw, who joins an unusual assortment of characters on a dangerous journey through frontier lands. During the trip, the Kid falls for a dance hall prostitute named Dallas (Claire Trevor). The film was well received by filmgoers and critics alike and earned seven Academy Award nominations, including one for Ford's direction. In the end, it took home the awards for Music and for Actor in a Supporting Role for Thomas Mitchell. Wayne became a mainstream star. Reunited with Ford and Mitchell, Wayne stepped away from his usual Western roles to become a Swedish seaman in The Long Voyage Home (John Ford, 1940). The film was adapted from a play by Eugene O'Neill and follows the crew of a steamer ship as they move a shipment of explosives. Along with many positive reviews, the film earned several Academy Award nominations. Around this time, Wayne made the first of several films with German star Marlene Dietrich. The two appeared together in Seven Sinners (Tay Garnett, 1940) with Wayne playing a naval officer and Dietrich as a woman who sets out to seduce him. Off-screen, they became romantically involved, though Wayne was married at the time. There had been rumours about Wayne having other affairs, but nothing as substantial as his connection to Dietrich. Even after their physical relationship ended, the pair remained good friends and co-starred in two more films, Pittsburgh (Lewis Seiler, 1942) and The Spoilers (Ray Enright, 1942). Wayne's first color film was Shepherd of the Hills (Henry Hathaway, 1941), in which he co-starred with his longtime friend Harry Carey. The following year, he appeared in his only film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, the Technicolor epic Reap the Wild Wind (1942), in which he co-starred with Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard; it was one of the rare times he played a character with questionable values. Wayne started working behind the scenes as a producer in the late 1940s. The first film he produced was Angel and the Badman (James Edward Grant, 1947) with Gail Russell. Over the years, he operated several different production companies, including John Wayne Productions, Wayne-Fellows Productions and Batjac Productions.

 

John Wayne's career as an actor took another leap forward when he worked with director Howard Hawks in Red River (1948). The Western drama provided Wayne with an opportunity to show his talents as an actor, not just an action hero. Playing the conflicted cattleman Tom Dunson, he took on a darker sort of character. He deftly handled his character's slow collapse and difficult relationship with his adopted son played by Montgomery Clift. Also around this time, Wayne also received praise for his work in John Ford's Fort Apache (1948) with Henry Fonda and Shirley Temple. Taking on a war drama, Wayne gave a strong performance in Sands of Iwo Jima (Allan Dwan, 1949), which garnered him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He also appeared in more two Westerns by Ford now considered classics: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (John Ford, 1949) and Rio Grande (John Ford, 1950) with Maureen O'Hara. Wayne worked with O'Hara on several films, perhaps most notably The Quiet Man (John Ford, 1952). Playing an American boxer with a bad reputation, his character moved to Ireland where he fell in love with a local woman (Maureen O'Hara). This film is considered Wayne's most convincing leading romantic role by many critics. A well-known conservative and anticommunist, Wayne merged his personal beliefs and his professional life in Big Jim McLain (Edward Ludwig, 1952). He played an investigator working for the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee, which worked to root out communists in all aspects of public life. Off screen, Wayne played a leading role in the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals and even served as its president for a time. The organisation was a group of conservatives who wanted to stop communists from working in the film industry, and other members included Gary Cooper and Ronald Reagan. In 1956, Wayne starred in another Ford Western, The Searchers (John Ford, 1956). He played Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards whose niece is abducted by a tribe of Comanches and he again showed some dramatic range as the morally questionable veteran. He soon after reteamed with Howard Hawks for Rio Bravo (1959). Playing a local sheriff, Wayne's character must face off against a powerful rancher and his henchmen who want to free his jailed brother. The unusual cast included Dean Martin and Angie Dickinson.

 

John Wayne made his directorial debut with The Alamo (John Wayne, 1960). Starring in the film as Davy Crockett, he received decidedly mixed reviews for both his on- and off-screen efforts. Wayne received a much warmer reception for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962) in which he played a troubled rancher competing with a lawyer (James Stewart) for a woman's hand in marriage. Some other notable films from this period include The Longest Day (Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki, 1962) and How the West Was Won (John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, 1962). Continuing to work steadily, Wayne refused to even let illness slow him down. He successfully battled lung cancer in 1964. To defeat the disease, Wayne had to have a lung and several ribs removed. In the later part of the 1960s, Wayne had some great successes and failures. He co-starred with Robert Mitchum in El Dorado (Howard Hawks, 1967), which was well received. The next year, Wayne again mixed the professional and the political with the pro-Vietnam War film The Green Berets (Ray Kellogg, John Wayne, 1968). He directed and produced as well as starred in the film, which was derided by critics for being heavy handed and clichéd. Viewed by many as a piece of propaganda, the film still did well at the box office. Around this time, Wayne continued to espouse his conservative political views. He support friend Ronald Reagan in his 1966 bid for governor of California as well as his 1970 re-election effort. In 1976, Wayne recorded radio advertisements for Reagan's first attempt to become the Republican presidential candidate. Wayne won his first Academy Award for Best Actor for True Grit (Henry Hathaway, 1969). He played Rooster Cogburn, an one-eyed marshal and drunkard, who helps a young woman named Mattie (Kim Darby) track down her father's killer. A young Glen Campbell joined the pair on their mission. Rounding out the cast, Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper were among the bad guys the trio had to defeat. A later sequel with Katherine Hepburn, Rooster Cogburn (Stuart Millar, 1975), failed to attract critical acclaim or much of an audience. Wayne portrayed an aging gunfighter dying of cancer in his final film, The Shootist (Don Siegel, 1976), with James Stewart and Lauren Bacall. His character, John Bernard Books, hoped to spend his final days peacefully, but got involved one last gunfight. In 1978, life imitated art with Wayne being diagnosed with stomach cancer. John Wayne died in 1979, in Los Angeles, California. He was survived by his seven children from two of his three marriages. During his marriage to Josephine Saenz from 1933 to 1945, the couple had four children, two daughters Antonia and Melinda and two sons Michael and Patrick. Both Michael and Patrick followed in their father's footsteps Michael as a producer and Patrick as an actor. With his third wife, Pilar Palette, he had three more children, Ethan, Aissa, and Marisa. Ethan has worked as an actor over the years.

 

Sources: Biography.com, Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffon_vulture

  

The griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It is also known as the Eurasian griffon. It is not to be confused with a different species, Rüppell's griffon vulture (Gyps rueppellii). It is closely related to the white-backed vulture (Gyps africanus).

  

Description

  

The griffon vulture is 93–122 cm (37–48 in) long with a 2.3–2.8 m (7.5–9.2 ft) wingspan. In the nominate race the males weigh 6.2 to 10.5 kg (14 to 23 lb) and females typically weigh 6.5 to 11.3 kg (14 to 25 lb), while in the Indian subspecies (G. f. fulvescens), the vultures average 7.1 kg (16 lb). Extreme adult weights have been reported from 4.5 to 15 kg (9.9 to 33.1 lb), the latter likely a weight attained in captivity.[2][3] Hatched naked, it is a typical Old World vulture in appearance, with a very white head, very broad wings and short tail feathers. It has a white neck ruff and yellow bill. The buff body and wing coverts contrast with the dark flight feathers.

  

Behaviour

  

Like other vultures, it is a scavenger, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals which it finds by soaring over open areas, often moving in flocks. It establishes nesting colonies in cliffs that are undisturbed by humans while coverage of open areas and availability of dead animals within dozens of kilometres of these cliffs is high.[4][5] It grunts and hisses at roosts or when feeding on carrion.

 

The maximum recorded lifespan of the griffon vulture is 41.4 years for an individual in captivity.[6]

 

It breeds on crags in mountains in southern Europe, north Africa, and Asia, laying one egg. Griffon vultures may form loose colonies. The population is mostly resident. Juveniles and immature individuals may migrate far or embark on long-distance movements.

  

Status in Europe and Asia

  

In Italy, the species managed to survive only in the island of Sardinia, but a few attempts at reintroducing the griffon in the peninsula have been recently made, too. As a result, several specimens have been spotted again in August 2006 on the Gran Sasso massif (central Italy). Populations in Italy are thought to be undergoing a vigorous increase, thanks to reintroduction schemes in neighbouring countries taking effect, and a ban on hunting the species.

 

In Croatia, a colony of griffon vultures can be found near the town of Beli on the island of Cres.[9] There they breed at lower elevations, with some nests just 10 m (33 ft) above sea level. Therefore, contact with people is common. The population makes frequent incursions in the Slovenian territory, especially in the mountain Stol above Kobarid. The bird is protected in an area called Kuntrep on the Croatian island of Krk [10]

 

In the United Kingdom, griffon vultures were made extinct at some point before the 1600s. Occasional vagrants appear in the UK,[citation needed] and in 2000 a vulture took up residence on the Channel Island of Guernsey.[11]

 

In Cyprus, there is an unsustainable colony of fewer than 30 birds (2016) at Episkopi, in the south of the island.[citation needed]

Colonies of griffon vultures can be found in northern Israel and in the Golan Heights, where a large colony breeds in the Carmel Mountains, the Negev desert and especially at Gamla, where reintroduction projects are being carried out at breeding centers in the Carmel and Negev.

 

In Greece, there are nearly 1000 birds[citation needed]. On Crete they can be found in most mountainous areas, sometimes in groups of up to 20.

Griffon vultures have been reintroduced successfully into the Massif Central in France; about 500 are now found there. Griffon vultures are regularly spotted over the Millau bridge.

 

In Belgium and the Netherlands, around 100 birds were present in the summer of 2007. These were vagrants from the Pyrenees population (see below).[12]

 

In Germany, the species died out in the mid-18th century. Some 200 vagrant birds, probably from the Pyrenees, were sighted in 2006,[13] and several dozen of the vagrants sighted in Belgium the following year crossed into Germany in search for food.[14] There are plans to reintroduce the species in the Alps. In September 2008, pieces of a griffon vulture bone, about 35,000 years old, were excavated from Hohle Fels cave in southern Germany, which are believed to form a flute.[15][16]

 

In Serbia, there are around 60–65 pairs of griffon vultures in the western parts of the country, around Zlatar mountain and also 35 birds in the canyon of the Trešnjica river.[17] They are under legal protection from hunting.[18]

 

In Switzerland, there is a population of several dozen birds.

 

In Austria, there is a remnant population around Salzburg Zoo, and vagrants from the Balkans are often seen.

 

In Spain and France, in 2008, there were 25.000 birds, from a low of a few thousand around 1980. Spain has the biggest colony of Griffon vultures in all Europe. It is located at Hoces del Río Duratón Natural Park (Province of Segovia).

The Pyrenees population has apparently been affected by an EC ruling that due to danger of BSE transmission, no carcasses must be left on the fields for the time being. This has critically lowered food availability, and consequently, carrying capacity. Although the griffon vulture does not normally attack larger living prey, there are reports of Spanish griffon vultures killing weak, young or unhealthy living animals as they do not find enough carrion to eat.[19] In May 2013, a 52-year-old woman who was hiking in the Pyrenees and had fallen off a cliff to her death was eaten by griffon vultures before rescue workers were able to recover her body, leaving only her clothes and a few of her bones. Due to her being the first human to be documented being eaten by griffon vultures, the story brought worldwide attention to the griffon vulture problems in Southern Europe.[20]

 

In Armenia there are 46-54 pairs according to last estimation of population; the trend demonstrates slight increasing.[21]

The main cause of the rapid decline in the griffon vulture population is the consumption of poisoned baits set out by people. Wildlife conservation efforts have attempted to increase awareness of the lethal consequences of using illegally poisoned baits through education about the issue

  

Physiology

  

Griffon vultures have been used as model organisms for the study of soaring and thermoregulation. The energy costs of level flight tend to be high, prompting alternatives to flapping in larger birds. Vultures in particular utilize more efficient flying methods such as soaring. Compared to other birds, which elevate their metabolic rate to upwards of 16 times their basal metabolic rate in flight,[23] soaring griffon vultures expend about 1.43 times their basal metabolic rate in flight. Griffon vultures are also efficient flyers in their ability to return to a resting heart rate after flight within ten minutes.[24]

 

As large scavengers, griffon vultures have not been observed to seek shelter for thermoregulation. Vultures use their bald heads as a means to thermoregulate in both extreme cold and hot temperatures. Changes in posture can increase bare skin exposure from 7% to 32%. This change allows for the more than doubling of convective heat loss in still air.[25] Griffon vultures have also been found to tolerate increased body temperatures as a response to high ambient temperatures. By allowing their internal body temperature to change independently of their metabolic rate, griffon vultures minimize their loss of water and energy in thermoregulating.[26] One study in particular (Bahat 1995) found that these adaptations have allowed the Griffon vulture to have one of the widest thermal neutral zones of any bird.[27]

  

Intraspecific competition

  

In respect to varying age ranges, the griffon vultures evidently show no difference in feeding rates. Inevitably, as resource availability increases, feeding rates tend to follow the same pattern. Upon studying the reintroduction of this species and its impact on the intraspecific competition, old adults are more inclined to display aggressive behavior and signs of dominance in comparison to the other age ranges. In terms of comparing the male and female sexes, there are no observed differences in competitive behaviors. Lastly, the reintroduced individuals of the species and the wild-bred do not differ in dominance or feeding rate despite the differences in upbringing.

Last estimations of damages: $76,345,611,279,154.50

 

The 50 cents coming from a Mint air freshener left in a C7-Dart.

Item nº 53206.

Renault 4L "Guardia Civil" (España).

Escala 1/43.

Mondo S.p.A. (Italia).

Made in China.

Año 2014 (?)

 

More info about Mondo Motors 1:43 diecast collections:

www.mondomotors.org/products_category.cfm?id=827

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

 

Renault 4

 

"La Renault 4 (couramment appelée 4L) est une petite voiture populaire de grande diffusion de conception simple et pratique. Ce fut aussi la première application de la traction sur une voiture automobile de tourisme de la marque Renault après que cette technique a été adoptée sur l'Estafette en 1958.

 

Elle est construite d'août 1961 à la fin 1992 dans 28 pays, initialement avec la Dauphine sur l'île Seguin à Boulogne-Billancourt ainsi qu'à l'usine Renault de Flins, en Espagne (par Fasa-Renault), en Argentine par IKA-Renault, en Italie par Alfa Romeo (sous licence), au Maroc, à Madagascar, en Afrique du Sud, puis en Slovénie pour les dernières années de sa production.

 

La Renault 4 connut un grand succès auprès des PME, des artisans, de la gendarmerie (c'était l'une des voitures françaises de l'époque qui permettait de conduire avec le képi sur la tête), mais également auprès des PTT, de France Télécom ou EdF dans sa version fourgonnette F4 ; ces contrats lui donnèrent une très grande visibilité.

 

En France, la Renault 4 fut en tête des ventes de 1962 à 1965 (succédant à la Renault Dauphine), puis de 1967 à 1968. Elle reste aujourd'hui [Quand ?] la deuxième voiture française la plus vendue avec 8 135 424 exemplaires derrière la Peugeot 206 et juste devant le duo Renault 9 et 11."

(...)

 

"Moteurs utilisés sur la Renault 4 au fil des années4 :

 

- 603 cm3 (49 x 80) : puissance 23 ch et couple de 4,3 mkg. Monté sur R3 (modèles 1962) ;

- 747 cm3 (54,5 x 80) : puissance 27,6 ch à 30 ch et couple de 5,1 à 5,6 mkg ;

- 782 cm3 (55 x 80) à partir des modèles 1972 : puissance 30 ch et couple de 5,4 mkg ;

- 845 cm3 (58 x 80) avec option 5 CV : puissance 30 ch et couple de 5,9 mkg. Montée en série pour 1983 ;

- 956 cm3 (65 x 72) : puissance 34 ch et couple de 6,2 mkg. Monté sur les derniers modèles TL Savane à partir de mai 1986 ;

- 1 108 cm3 (70 x 72) : puissance 34 ch et couple de 7,5 mkg. Équipe en série la 4 GTL à partir du début 1978."

(...)

 

Versions

 

- La R3

"La R3 est une déclinaison économique avec le petit « moteur Billancourt » de 603 cm³ « sous-alésé » dérivé du moteur de la 4 CV. (...) Elle ne fut produite que de 1961 à 1962, le nombre total d'exemplaires construits varie selon les estimations entre 2 526 et 2 571, ce qui en fait un modèle extrêmement recherché par les collectionneurs aujourd'hui."

 

- La R4 L

"À côté de la R3 et de la R4 de base — sensiblement équivalente à la R3 dans sa présentation — il existait une déclinaison « Luxe » dite R4 L, elle se caractérisait par sa troisième vitre latérale et différents accessoires et baguettes inox, qui la rendait plus luxueuse.

Cette version, qui s'appela bientôt R4 L Export, fut la plus vendue. À tel point que l'appellation générique de la Renault 4 deviendra progressivement 4L. Par rapport à la version de base, qui possédait des sièges du type « strapontins suspendus » de même type que la 2 CV, la R4 L Export possédait des sièges plus élaborés et plus confortables (séparés à l'avant) et une banquette arrière rabattable."

 

- La Parisienne (1963)

 

- Les R4 Export, 4 TL et TL Savane

"Hormis le modèle de base, la Renault traverse la fin des années 1960 et les années 1970 sous la forme de la R4 « Export », qui devint la 4 TL pour 1976. (...)

En 1986, le modèle TL est rebaptisé « TL Savane » (...) En 1989, Renault équipe ce modèle du « pack sécurité » (...) "

 

- La 4 GTL

"Début 1978, la 4 GTL reprend la formule qui a fait le succès de la Renault 5 GTL : un gros « moteur Cléon-Fonte » de 1 108 cm3 retravaillé pour consommer moins (5,4 litres aux 100) et des bandes de protection latérales grises avec pare-chocs et crosses avant assortis. La version GTL supplantera rapidement la 4 TL.

En mai 1986, lors du remaniement de la gamme, la GTL devient « GTL Clan », (...)

En 1989, Renault revient à de plus banales jantes tôles, et équipe ce modèle du même « pack sécurité » que la version TL Savane.

Trop âgée pour pouvoir respecter les normes antipollution qui doivent arriver en 1993 (pot catalytique obligatoire), la production de Renault 4 est arrêtée fin 1992 avec une série « Bye-Bye » de R4 GTL Clan, des modèles numérotés de 1 à 1 000 devenus collectors."

 

- Séries spéciales

"Dès le début de la production, Renault propose des modèles à diffusion limitées, afin de relancer les ventes, ou encore rajeunir l'image de la voiture. Plusieurs séries spéciales sont ainsi créées : la « Safari » (1976), la « Jogging » (1981), la « Sixties » (1985) avec sa sellerie flashy et ses deux toits ouvrants, la « Carte jeune » (1991)...

Durant les années 1960, d'autres modèles nettement plus rares ont été produits, tels la « Plein air », la « Parisienne » ou encore des adaptations 4x4 produites par Sinpar."

(...)

 

Source: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_4

 

More info:

www.renaultclassiccarclub.com/ModelsRegister/r4_history.html

www.r4-4l.com/tous-les-modeles-de-4l/histoire-de-la-4l/

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

 

50 aniversario del Renault 4L en España [1964-2014]

 

Emilio Salmoral

Periodista especializado en el mundo del motor. Colaborador en AUTO BILD

 

02/05/2014 - 10:35

 

"Aunque el Renault 4L llevaba fabricándose desde finales de 1963 (se hicieron 250 unidades), hasta el año siguiente no comenzaron las primeras entregas a los clientes.

Pero el Renault 4 no era un coche desconocido, ya que llevaba desde 1961 fabricándose en Francia.

Es posible que circularan algunas unidades construidas en el país vecino, pero tuvieron que pasar tres años para fabricar en España.

Por cierto, en Portugal también se construyó en la planta de Guarda y los aficionados sienten devoción por él.

 

Respecto a la versión francesa, el Renault 4L de FASA es diferente. Los parachoques son de un diseño distinto y tiene una especie de bigote en la placa de la matrícula posterior. Además, los coches españoles tampoco tienen los intermitentes laterales que sí tenían los franceses.

La historia nos ha demostrado que lo que buscaban los ingenieros españoles era, sobre todo, una mecánica con mayores capacidades. Por ello, nuestro 4L utilizó un motor de 845 centímetros cúbicos y 30 CV de potencia con los que podía ofrecer unas capacidades dinámicas superiores que los del 0,7 litros que también se vendía en Francia como versión de acceso.

Asimismo, todos los coches comercializados en España tienen un sistema eléctrico de 12 voltios que permite una mayor iluminación.

En 1965, Renault lanza al mercado la versión Super que ofrecía a su conductor unos asientos más lujosos y en 1967 empieza a utilizar los paragolpes del Renault 8."

(...)

 

"En 1968 se introduce al mercado el primer restyling del Renault 4. Las principales diferencias son una parrilla totalmente nueva que se hace evidente en todo el frontal del vehículo.

Pero los mayores cambios se encuentran en la mecánica: el R4 abandona el motor originario del 4/4 y estrena el tipo Sierra del Renault 8 que ofrecía una elevadísima fiabilidad. Con este bloque, la potencia se incrementó hasta los 35 CV. También era muy alabado por los conductores de su época el excelente sincronizado de su caja de cambios.

 

Así se mantuvo el Renault 4 hasta que en 1978 se sometió a su segunda puesta al día. La bonita parrilla de aluminio dejó paso a una de plástico; los intermitentes adoptaron el color naranja y ganaron en tamaño. Por cierto, volvió a cambiar de paragolpes. Como el Renault 8 ya no se fabricaba, recurrió a los que usaba el Renault 4 francés de 1968.

En 1982 se produjo un hecho histórico, ya que el 4L adoptó el motor de 1,1 litros con 40 CV. Este bloque es legendario para la marca francesa, ya que lo han usado coches como el 8 TS, Renault 5 o Twingo.

 

Pero el interior del Renault 4L seguía siendo el mismo y muchos conductores estaban cansados de ese salpicadero de tono beige que era demasiado simple.

En 1983 FASA decidió darle a su coche un aspecto visual más moderno y apostó el plástico negro, una renovada instrumentación y unos asientos más cómodos que llegaron a incluir hasta reposacabezas.

El último Renault 4 se fabricó en Valladolid en 1989.

Aunque el coche se comercializó hasta 1992, el que quería un 4L tenía que comprarse la versión Clan que estaba fabricada en Eslovenia y no tenía la calidad de construcción de nuestro paisano castellano."

(...)

 

Fuente: www.autobild.es/reportajes/50-aniversario-renault-4l-espa...

 

More info:

elautomovilenespana.blogspot.com.es/2010/06/renault-4-ii....

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_4

www.ocio.net/motor/historia-del-renault-4-un-automovil-un...

 

Chassis no. 130944

Engine no. 130944

Body no. 200355

 

115/180 hp, 5,401 cc supercharged overhead valve inline eight-cylinder engine, four-speed manual transmission, four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes, independent coil spring front and rear suspension. Wheelbase: 129.5"

 

- Offered from the Lyon Family Collection

- Single-family ownership for two decades

- The 1936 Paris Salon car

- Complete with copy of original build sheet; delivered new to Jean-Claude Solvay of Belgium

- Inspected in person by experts from Mercedes-Benz Classic Germany

- Matching-numbers

- One of a limited few 540 Ks with coupe coachwork

 

The abundant power, stiff, rugged frame and supple fully-independent suspension made Mercedes-Benz’s supercharged 540 K suitable for a vast array of coachwork. Sindelfingen was more than capable of building anything and doing so in the finest materials and to the highest standards of fit, finish, function and luxury in the world.

 

Yet despite Sindelfingen’s designers’ demonstrated ability to create exceptionally beautiful closed cars, the vast majority of Mercedes-Benz 540 Ks were fitted with open bodies in one of the several styles of Cabriolets. Most of those were four-seat Cabriolet Bs with blind rear quarters. Surprisingly, only a precious few 540 Ks – just 42 in four years’ production – received closed coachwork.

 

Only about seven of those were coupes, making them exceptionally rare examples of Sindelfingen’s creativity and style. One of the foremost examples is this 1935 Mercedes-Benz 540 K, the car Mercedes-Benz chose for its 1935 display at the important Paris Salon to show the quality and beauty of its premier product.

 

Sindelfingen

 

Daimler-Benz concentrated automobile coachwork production at Sindelfingen, a massive facility that had developed a combination of medium volume production methods for high quality coachwork and a select group of designers and craftsmen who conceived, created and built low volume, nearly custom, bodies for the finest chassis in the Mercedes-Benz line and crafted a few highly specialized bodies for the most demanding clients.

 

Sindelfingen had been constructed during the First World War to build aircraft. The Treaty of Versailles ending the war prohibited aircraft construction in Germany on the industrial scale for which Sindelfingen had been constructed and equipped, so Hanns Klemm, the factory’s manager, eventually reorganized the factory to build automobile, truck and bus bodies. Sindelfingen continued to employ classic coachwork construction techniques with wood frameworks and sheet metal panels throughout its history, but Mercedes-Benz also added high capacity steel presses of 750- and even 1,000-tons to stamp out large, complex panels, particularly fenders.

 

Sindelfingen’s aircraft-building history manifested itself in a facility-wide devotion to quality that remained central to its operation throughout the Thirties. Specialized tools, fixtures and machines were designed and built in its own shops. Processes were meticulously planned and documented. A strict quality-control system inspected every body, whether it was for a modest 170 H or an elegant “Großer Mercedes” 770 Pullman-Limousine.

 

Klemm was succeeded by Josef Bildstein, who later took over Daimler-Benz’s Mannheim factory and turned over management of Sindelfingen to Wilhelm Haspel under whose leadership the factory became a major success for Daimler-Benz. It was a complicated undertaking in which every aspect of coachbuilding was integrated, from selecting and drying the beech and ash used for framing through stamping and forming metal panels to final assembly and painting. And Sindelfingen did every kind of bodywork, from one-off and low-production bodies for the 500 K, 540 K and Großer Mercedes to volume production of Mannheim’s 170H and V, truck cabs, specialized truck bodies, buses and even contract work in volume for BMW and Wanderer. Haspel’s success at coordinating this diverse facility was evident in his later promotion to Daimler-Benz managing director in 1942.

 

In September 1932 Hermann Ahrens joined Mercedes-Benz from Horch to head the Sonderwagen (special vehicles) section, designing and building limited production coachwork for the top Mercedes-Benz models. Ahrens would design and oversee construction of all limited-production Mercedes-Benz coachwork for nearly 40 years, including the great sports roadsters and coupes on the eight-cylinder supercharged chassis. It is his artistry that created the magnificent sweeping partially-skirted fenders, integrated running boards and deftly-shaped passenger compartments and doors that so effectively complemented the imposing long hoods and exterior exhaust pipes of the supercharged 500 K and 540 K.

 

Mercedes-Benz produced almost all the coachwork for even the most expensive and luxurious of its automobiles. According to the research of Jan Melin, just 89 of the 928 380, 500 K and 540 K chassis built were supplied to outside coachbuilders. That is just 9.6%, a tiny portion of the total production and largely unprecedented among luxury automobile manufacturers in the Thirties.

 

The combination of superb engineering, high quality materials, meticulous quality control and inspired design of the supercharged eight-cylinder Mercedes-Benzes with the limited-production coachwork of Sindelfingen brought into existence some of the finest and most respected automobiles of all time.

 

Enthusiast magazines of the time were unremitting in their praise. One described the 500 K with these words: “[T]his is a master car for the very few. The sheer insolence of its great power affords an experience on its own. The design and construction throughout are typically thorough and well-executed.” Of the 540 K another said: “As a piece of engineering, it stands unsurpassed. It is amongst the most luxurious, as well as the fastest, touring cars in the world.”

 

S/n 130944

 

With so few of the 540 Ks bodied as coupes, the selection of this car to represent Mercedes-Benz at the important Paris Auto Salon in October 1936 was unusual. Yet, upon consideration, it is completely appropriate and even sensible. Indeed, according to the Mercedes-Benz archives’ delivery papers and internal documents, the car is referred to as a “Spezial Coupe.”

 

Paris was then the center of art, design, literature, style and society in Europe. The aerodynamic revolution in automobile design was then at its inception and was practiced eloquently by French coachbuilders, whose combination of Machine Design principles, Art Deco embellishment and aerodynamic refinement was the center of attention. The 1936 Paris Auto Show brought some of the most imaginative designs, like Marcel Letourneur’s Aerosport coupe on the Delage D8 120 chassis and Jean Bugatti’s Type 57 Atalante, to the public’s eye. This Mercedes-Benz 540 K Coupe was more than competitive with the French salon’s best.

 

Prior Mercedes-Benz coupes had included one for the Mercedes-Benz “Silver Arrows” team driver Rudi Caracciola, an eminently practical automobile for a driver who needed to criss-cross Europe in all weather conditions to race the W 25 model GP car. In 1934 Wilhelm Haspel had suggested the Autobahn-Kurier, a fastback five-window design with teardrop fenders of which two were built on each of the 500 K and 540 K chassis. Hermann Ahrens’ Sonderwagen facility completed the first Autobahn-Kurier in only ten weeks in order to make its auto show debut, an example of the shop’s ability to create a completely new and dramatically different design on an abbreviated schedule.

The Paris show coupe is another example of the creativity and masterful execution of which Sindelfingen was capable. Its sweeping front fenders merge into small running boards, then curve upwards into teardrop-flared rear fenders. The rear wheels are skirted, with a chrome emblem repeating the look of the front wheel’s centerlock hub. A tasteful chrome beltline molding accents the break of the hood side and extends back across the door to end near the top of the rear fender where its termination parallels the curve of the fender top. The roofline is rounded at the rear but merges nicely with the tapering rear deck, which contains a stacked pair of spare wheels and tires set nearly flush with the deck surface.

 

An attractive styling feature is the swage line which accents the sides of the fenders. It parallels the fender tops from the front valence the full length of the car, curving up and around the rear wheel skirts then down across the full width of the rear valence. The effect draws attention, visually reducing the fenders’ tall profiles.

 

Bosch headlights in chrome nacelles nestle between the fenders and the gently raked vee radiator. A single small fog light is directly in front of the radiator, and a pair of long chrome horn trumpets also sit between the fenders above a split chrome bumper which is repeated at the rear.

 

The interior is invitingly upholstered in tan leather with a plain white instrument panel in the highly finished wood dashboard. The steering wheel is leather covered. A transverse rear seat accommodates one passenger, in addition to the two in the front, or makes room for luggage.

 

After being displayed in Paris, the 540 K Coupe was first returned to Sindelfingen and then in December delivered to Jean-Claude Solvay of the Belgian chemical company dynasty in Belgium. Subsequently it became part of the collection of American Connie Bouchard in the 1960s, who undertook its restoration before selling it to John Mozart. It then was acquired by the Imperial Palace Collection from whom the Lyon family acquired it in the late 1990s. Since then, it has remained in the Lyon Collection, always treated to professional maintenance and climate-controlled storage.

 

Inspection

 

In preparation for the car’s offering in Monterey this August, this car was inspected in person by two veteran experts from Mercedes-Benz Classic Germany. Their findings were very positive. In their expert opinion, they concluded that although the car had been restored, it retained a great deal of originality in its components. The engine is matching numbers (130944) and retains its original number plate. In fact, they believe the body has never been off the car and the rear axle itself never removed – testament to the car’s originality. The transmission is original to the car, and it was determined that the steering is of the correct series. Minor modern improvements were made, including modern telescopic shocks, but the workmanship was professional and well done in their estimation. Again, the overall impression imparted on these Mercedes experts was very favorable.

 

Its deep red livery dramatically accents the sweeping lines of Hermann Ahrens’ dramatic coupe coachwork. One of only about seven coupes built on the Mercedes-Benz 540 K chassis, its effect today is, if anything, even more dramatic than it was at the Paris Salon of 1936.

 

It is the perfect complement to Ahrens’ high door, long tail Spezial Roadster, a vivid example of Mercedes-Benz’s mastery of power, speed, handling, comfort and design at the height of the golden age of classic automobiles.

 

[Text from RM Auctions]

 

www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1057377

 

This Lego miniland-scale Mercedes-Benz 540K Spezial Coupe (1936 - Sindelfingen), has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 89th Build Challenge, - "Over a Million, Under a Thousand", - a challenge to build vehicles valued over one million (US) dollars, or under one thousand (US) dollars.

 

This particular vehicle was auctioned by the RM Auction house on Saturday, August 20, 2011, where is sold for $3,080,000.

 

Empilements de 130 photos de 31 µm/step en mode manuel 65mm - f/2,8 - 0,5” - ISO 100 - rapport 5:1

Boitier Canon EOS 5D Mark IV + Objectif Canon MP-E 65 mm f/2,8 1:1 ~ 5:1 + flash Canon MT-24EX Macro Twin Lite diffusé + rail macro motorisé et contrôleur Cognisys Stackshot 3X.

Logiciel de stacking : ZereneStacker (DMap estimation radius 8/smoothing radius 4).

Post traitement : ZereneStacker, Lightroom, Photoshop.