Every navy needs logistics. Here we have the Eifel class repair ship (left) and the Lüneburg class fleet tender (right).

 

Credit to Lego Pilot for much of the hull design.

"Wherever You Go, There You Are" Jon Kabat-Zinn

I freeze for these places, windswept and restless as they are. The breeze off the river is almost neverending, high on this hilltop field. The stone of Susan Messinger withstands it all, and all alone, hosting growing lichen for 150 years – a century-and-a-half holding her own against every storm. You might start thinking it's impossible, that time had taken every toll by now, but some backs are stiff and restraining. Resistant to changing, porous limestone making welcome for every passing spore and particle of dust. They settle in the letters, take shelter in numbers, find persistent life in the home of the dead. I stayed for only ten minutes, but lost most of my warmth in that time. I felt a chill that Alfred would have known well, at the grave of his wife, lost at 32.

 

January 8, 2021

Messinger Burial Ground

Centrelea, Nova Scotia

 

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Every man is an island in a sea of souls. By Arthur Tugman

 

The wind of humanity washes over me

Tugging at my clothes, sucking the breath from my lungs.

My brain is numb with its coldness

 

The stream of chatter, Cascades down the escalators

Deafening, drowning.

I am jettisoned into the sea

You ask me to believe in magic

Expect me to commit suicide of the heart

And you ask me to play this game without question

Raising the stakes on this shotgun roulette

But you came to me like the ways of children

Simple as breathing, easy as air

Now the years hold no fears, like the wind they pass over

Loved, forgiven, washed, saved

Every river I try to cross

Every hill I try to climb

Every ocean I try to swim

Every road I try to find

All the ways of my life

I'd rather be with you

There's no way

Without you

...................Runrig...............

View On Black

Every year when summer arrives in Dubai (yes, it’s already 40 Celsius outside!), my mind starts to wonder, thinking about all the places with better weather that I could be enjoying. Photography in Dubai over the summer also slows down a lot so I get a chance to post more images from my recent (and not so recent) trips.

 

More than a year ago, I spent a few days on a safari in Tanzania and the experience was every bit as amazing as I have imagined. During the first day while driving through the Tarangire National Park, we came across this heard of elephants crossing one of the many rivers. In the group there were a couple of baby elephants who were way to small compared to the depth of the river and it was so cool to see the full-grown elephants waiting for them or trying to find a new route suitable for the little ones.

 

To view the original shot (straight from the camera) visit the blog entry here: www.momentaryawe.com/blog/?p=3488

Returned to Firenze was one of the most exciting things during this trip.At first I didn't expect such beatiful weather here coz in Rome it was gloomy and cloudy.The toscan sun really made us enjoy 120% of our stay.Before sunset, we got to the piazzale michelangelo (or michelangiolo, I was confused by its name).There were some people waiting for the sunset sitting on the steps, most of them were pairs, lovers or friends.It was getting dark and the color of sky changed in every instant.Romantic.

Every creative person should carry around a journal to keep a permanent record of ideas, designs, and musings. I have stacks of them.

Water & Light at Sassi Mazar Balochistan May30, 2015

 

SUN SHINES IN THE NIGHT

Sassi punnu mausoleum got Solar Energy

Every year thousands of peoples from various parts of Sindh, Baluchistan and Punjab gather at the shrine of Sassi and Punnu in Singher village to attend a 3 days carnival. Singher village is , 52 Kilometers away from Hub town. Singher means chain, as the village is surrounded by the chain of hills where it is believed that Sassi and Punnu were buried under a landslide.

Before the monsoon a carnival organizing committee receives donation from the Baloch tribal chiefs of Sindh and Balochistan to bear the expenditures of the event. Collected funds are mostly used for providing food, water and accommodation to all the devotees there. Sufi Faqirs (singers) from Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab travel to perform songs on the occasion to pay homage to Sassi Punnu, the popular tragic romance of Sindh and Balochistan. Besides folk songs, a traditional Sindhi game malakhro similar to Japanese wrestling sumo also attracts a large number of the people to come there.

 

Lands from mountains with old graves scattered in the area and rainy water ways are quite difficult to cross for the travellers. Despite this, devotees, males and females, travel long distance to visit the site the entire year. For the local people, camel is the only means of transport and people gather there during the occasion.

 

There is only one well, which is useful for the communities otherwise the entire area underground water level is unsafe for human consumption. In case the area receives monsoon rains the people use rainy water from ponds.

 

For the benefit of peoples living in surroundings as well as devotees who visit during carnival and over the year, Masood Lohar, country Manager UNDP, GEF small grant program decided to use solar energy for providing clean and safe water and lighting on the mausoleum.

 

On 30th May 2015, Shaan Technologies Private Limited installed a 3 HP Solar Powered pump on a 250 ft deep well that is located near the tomb. Operating on a 3 kilowatt solar panel bank this pump provide 30 Gallon water per minutes & eliminates requirement of diesel generator operated pump that organizing committee previously used to supply water during the festival.

 

Now solar pump serves as a continuous source of clean water without any additional cost. A water tank is provided to store pumped water. This tank helped as a 24 hours ready source of water for the local people.

 

In addition to that 2 solar powered floodlights were also installed in front yard of tomb. These 14 watt LED lights runs on a 35 watt solar panel that provide sufficient power to run LED lamps up to 12 hours. Dusk to Dawn photo sensors is also used in the system that automatically turns on the light just before the sunset and turns off at dawn. This project was financed by the UNDP GEF Small grant program. Lodhie foundation contributed 10% cost of the project under its poverty alleviation initiative.

  

Project Summary

 

Location: Sassi Punnu Moseleum, Singher Village, Near Hub Dam, Baluchistan

Coordinates: 25°18'41"N 66°53'21"E

Nearby cities: Karachi, Hub City, Sonmiani / Winder city

Initiated By: UNDP, GEF Small Grant Program in association of Lodhie Foundation

Implemented by: Shaan Technologies Private Limited Karachi

Implantation Date: 30Th May 2015

Equipment installed:

(1) One 3HP DC Submersible water pump with 3KW Solar panels and Pump Controller

(2) Two Solar Powered LED Floodlights

Beneficiaries: Up to 2500 people living in the Singher village and surroundings

    

Folktale of Sassi & Punnu

 

Sassi Punnu is a famous folktale of love told in the length and breadth of Sindh, Pakistan. The story is about a faithful wife who is ready to undergo all kinds of troubles that would come her way while seeking her beloved husband who was separated from her by the rivals

Sassi was the daughter of a Brahman Hindu Rajah from Rohri . Upon Sassui's birth, astrologers predicted that she was a curse for the royal family’s prestige. The Raja ordered that the child be put in a wooden box and thrown in the Sindhu, present day’s river Indus. However, she was saved by a washer-man belonging to Bhanbhor, near Gharo district, Thatta . The washer-man raised her as his own daughter.

When Sassui became a young girl, she was as beautiful as the fairies of heaven. Stories of her beauty reached Punhun a prince from Kech Makran Balochistan and he became desperate to meet Sassi. The handsome young Prince therefore travelled to Bhambore. He sent his clothes to Sassi's father (a washerman) so that he could catch a glimpse of Sassi. When he visited the washerman's house, they fell in love at first sight. Sassui's father was dispirited, hoping that Sassi would marry a washerman and no one else. He asked Punnhun to prove that he was worthy of Sassui by passing the test as a washerman. Punnhun agreed to prove his love. While washing, he tore all the clothes as, being a prince, he had never washed any clothes; he thus failed the agreement. But before he returned those clothes, he hid gold coins in the pockets of all the clothes, hoping this would keep the villagers quiet. The trick worked, and Sassui's father agreed to the marriage.

At last Punnu (Punhoon) married her. However, his father, Ari, the King of Ketch, did not like his son getting married to a low-caste girl, so he instructed his other sons to go to Bhanbhor and bring back Punnu at any cost. They visited Punnu as his guests and during the night they intoxicated him and his wife. Later, they put their brother on one of the camels and left. When Sassi woke up in the morning, she was shocked to find Punnu missing and all his brothers gone. She understood their trickery. She left Bhambhor immediately to Kech Makran on foot in search of him. The Kech Makran is located along the Makran Coastal Highway in Baluchistan, Pakistan.

After crossing Pab Mountain, she reached the Harho range. She could not proceed further when her path was blocked by the Phor River. So she started retracing her steps. Soon she was accosted by a beastly goatherd who intended to molest her. Sassi prayed to God for protection. Immediately the ground below her feet started caving in like quicksand and she disappeared within seconds. Seeing the miracle, the goatherd repented sincerely, and to make amends for his misconduct, he made a grave in the site and became its custodian.

Punnu found no peace of mind at Kech. He languished and soon became an invalid. Under the circumstances, his father allowed him to return to Bhambhor.

During his return journey, Punnu happened to pass by the site where Sassi had met her death. When the goatherd came to know his story, he told him as to what had happened to Sassi. Punnu was beside himself on hearing the horrible news.

He prayed to God to unite him with Sassi. Again the ground became quicksand and he soon disappeared into the bowels of the earth. So came to an end the tragic love story of Sassi and Punnu. The legendary grave still exists in this valley.

The famous Sufi saint and poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai sings this historic tale in his sufi poetry “Shah jo Risalo” as an example of eternal love and union with Divine.

Sassi’s resting place is said to be about 45 miles away in the Pub range to the west of Karachi. A local man of some importance constructed a simple mausoleum in 1980 over the joint grave of Sassi and Punnu. It is often visited by tourists.

Every now and then I just dive into an older folder on my hard drive and rummage around - and here's what I found from our 2010 trip to Grand Teton National Park that I had never posted. On the day we visited the Moulton Barns on Mormon Row, we wandered around the homestead and found this old wood pile. A curious little weasel was scurrying around squeaking and playing peek-a-boo with us.

 

I tried to figure out why weasels have such a bad rep; indeec labelling someone as a "weasel" is an insult.

 

While the word "weasel" in English often has negative connotations of someone who is devious or treacherous, and these carnivores have earned a bad reputation as consumers of poultry, weasels provide many values for ecosystems and humans. Ecologically, they are vital components in many terrestrial and aquatic food chains, consuming rodents, fish, frogs, and eggs, and being consumed by foxes, coyotes, and predatory birds (hawks and owls). They help greatly in the reduction of rodent populations, including mice, rats, squirrels, shrews, and rabbits, even chasing them into their burrows—a benefit that likely exceeds their detriment to poultry farmers.

 

www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/weasel

 

There are no poultry pens in Mormon Row so I assume he was earning his keep chasing mice - as we did see a few of those too.

Extras at the Ministry

Every inch of the Ministry of Magic was seen on camera and to give it even more grandeur, the Visual Effects team digitally constructed set extensions. Because of its enormous size, hundreds of extras were needed to fill the Ministry – many more than anticipated, so filmmakers had to improvise.

During Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, instead of hiding his crew, director David Yates put them to work as wizards and witches, milling about in the atrium. One minute, the on-set crew would be hammering and re-painting, the next, costumers were fitting them with long cloaks, white beards and wizard hats.

 

Ministry of Magic Atrium

Built in 2007 for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry of Magic was one of the largest sets ever constructed for the films, which took nearly twice as long to build as the Great Hall.

For Harry Potter artists, inspiration came from everywhere. These office towers were based on a 19th century Victorian building on Tottenham Court Road, in London's West End. Set decorators also dressed each of the offices with cardboard desks and filing cabinets, because the weight of regular props would have been far too heavy for the tall sets.

To create what he calls 'the Ministry Look' Stuart Craig drew his inspiration from the oldest London Tube stations which are covered in ceramic tile. After months of research, the construction team mimicked that look using more than 30,000 green tiles made of wood.

 

Ministry of Magic Fireplaces

The Ministry of Magic's enormous fireplaces stand at over 30 feet tall and are part of the Floo Network, a magical mode of transport that allows witches and wizards to travel throughout the wizarding world. Although there are only two presented here, the actual Ministry set included 17 of these massive fireplaces.

 

People the world-over have been enchanted by the Harry Potter films for nearly a decade. The wonderful special effects and amazing creatures have made this iconic series beloved to both young and old - and now, for the first time, the doors are going to be opened for everyone at the studio where it first began. You'll have the chance to go behind-the-scenes and see many things the camera never showed. From breathtakingly detailed sets to stunning costumes, props and animatronics, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London provides a unique showcase of the extraordinary British artistry, technology and talent that went into making the most successful film series of all time. Secrets will be revealed.

 

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London provides an amazing new opportunity to explore the magic of the Harry Potter films - the most successful film series of all time. This unique walking tour takes you behind-the-scenes and showcases a huge array of beautiful sets, costumes and props. It also reveals some closely guarded secrets, including facts about the special effects and animatronics that made these films so hugely popular all over the world.

 

Here are just some of the things you can expect to see and do:

- Step inside and discover the actual Great Hall.

- Explore Dumbledore’s office and discover never-before-seen treasures.

- Step onto the famous cobbles of Diagon Alley, featuring the shop fronts of Ollivanders wand shop, Flourish and Blotts, the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Gringotts Wizarding Bank and Eeylops Owl Emporium.

- See iconic props from the films, including Harry’s Nimbus 2000 and Hagrid’s motorcycle.

- Learn how creatures were brought to life with green screen effects, animatronics and life-sized models.

- Rediscover other memorable sets from the film series, including the Gryffindor common room, the boys’ dormitory, Hagrid’s hut, Potion’s classroom and Professor Umbridge’s office at the Ministry of Magic.

 

Located just 20 miles from the heart of London at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the very place where it all began and where all eight of the Harry Potter films were brought to life. The Studio Tour is accessible to everyone and promises to be a truly memorable experience - whether you’re an avid Harry Potter fan, an all-round movie buff or you just want to try something that’s a little bit different.

 

The tour is estimated to take approximately three hours (I was in there for 5 hours!), however, as the tour is mostly self guided, you are free to explore the attraction at your own pace. During this time you will be able to see many of the best-loved sets and exhibits from the films. Unique and precious items from the films will also be on display, alongside some exciting hands-on interactive exhibits that will make you feel like you’re actually there.

 

The magic also continues in the Gift Shop, which is full of exciting souvenirs and official merchandise, designed to create an everlasting memory of your day at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.

 

Hogwarts Castle Model - Get a 360 degree view of the incredible, hand sculpted 1:24 scale construction that features within the Studio Tour. The Hogwarts castle model is the jewel of the Art Department having been built for the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It took 86 artists and crew members to construct the first version which was then rebuilt and altered many times over for the next seven films. The work was so extensive that if one was to add all the man hours that have gone into building and reworking the model, it would come to over 74 years. The model was used for aerial photography, and was digitally scanned for CGI scenes.

 

The model, which sits at nearly 50 feet in diameter, has over 2,500 fibre optic lights that simulate lanterns and torches and even gave the illusion of students passing through hallways in the films. To show off the lighting to full effect a day-to-night cycle will take place every four minutes so you can experience its full beauty.

 

An amazing amount of detail went into the making of the model: all the doors are hinged, real plants are used for landscaping and miniature birds are housed in the Owlery. To make the model appear even more realistic, artists rebuilt miniature versions of the courtyards from Alnwick Castle and Durham Cathedral, where scenes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone were shot.

Every day around 6am all monks and novices in Luang Prabang go for Tak Bat – the collecting of alms, a very special cultural and religious act. Barefoot they walk on the streets to receive the food offerings from the laypeople who in turn receive merit for their part. No matter what weather, the monks and novices walk in single file down the roads of the town, silently and humbly receiving sticky rice and other food such as cookies. Every house has a fire going in their yard, with big charred pots and bamboo baskets sitting on top of a coal fire to steam the sticky rice for Tak Bat. The locals usually get up around 5am and particularly older women give alms every single day.

There has been a church on this site for around 1000 years, before then the grounds were part of a Benidictine Monastery, legend says that the body of St Cuthbert was carried here to the west coast for safety during the time of the Viking invasions on the East coast.

 

In the shadowed dawn, the Vikings came with flame,

To Lindisfarne’s holy land where Cuthbert’s fame

Was kept in sacred relics, prayers, and name—

But to save the saint, the monks began their claim.They lifted up his coffin, holy and revered,

Through tidal flats and shadows, their hearts steered

To Lytham’s arms, a safer place appeared,

Where Cuthbert’s rest from Viking wrath was cleared.With whispered chants and steady, measured pace,

The monks carried hope through trials time couldn't erase,

From island shrine to Lytham's quiet grace—

A sanctuary found, a sacred resting place.Though Vikings raged and storms would roam,

The faithful moved their saintly home,

To keep St Cuthbert safe and known,

Through every step, their love was shown.From Lindisfarne’s besieged shore to Lytham's shore so calm,

The saint was borne in care and faith’s warm balm,

Till peace prevailed, a lasting psalm—

St Cuthbert’s journey, a sacred, steadfast calm.This poem reflects the monks carrying St Cuthbert's coffin from Lindisfarne to sites including Lytham to protect it from Viking raids, part of the long peregrination of his remains during the Viking invasions in the 9th century.

Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres (1,901.972 sq mi; 4,926.08 km2) of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than six million recreational visitors in 2017, which is the second highest count of all American national parks after Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 26, 2019.

 

The Grand Canyon became well known to Americans in the 1880s after railroads were built and pioneers developed infrastructure and early tourism. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt visited the site and said,

 

The Grand Canyon fills me with awe. It is beyond comparison—beyond description; absolutely unparalleled through-out the wide world ... Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. Do nothing to mar its grandeur, sublimity and loveliness. You cannot improve on it. But you can keep it for your children, your children's children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see.

 

Despite Roosevelt's enthusiasm and strong interest in preserving land for public use, the Grand Canyon was not immediately designated as a national park. The first bill to establish Grand Canyon National Park was introduced in 1882 by then-Senator Benjamin Harrison, which would have established Grand Canyon as the third national park in the United States, after Yellowstone and Mackinac. Harrison unsuccessfully reintroduced his bill in 1883 and 1886; after his election to the presidency, he established the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve in 1893. Theodore Roosevelt created the Grand Canyon Game Preserve by proclamation on November 28, 1906, and the Grand Canyon National Monument on January 11, 1908. Further Senate bills to establish the site as a national park were introduced and defeated in 1910 and 1911, before the Grand Canyon National Park Act was finally signed by President Woodrow Wilson on February 26, 1919. The National Park Service, established in 1916, assumed administration of the park.

 

The creation of the park was an early success of the conservation movement. Its national park status may have helped thwart proposals to dam the Colorado River within its boundaries. (Later, the Glen Canyon Dam would be built upriver.) A second Grand Canyon National Monument to the west was proclaimed in 1932. In 1975, that monument and Marble Canyon National Monument, which was established in 1969 and followed the Colorado River northeast from the Grand Canyon to Lees Ferry, were made part of Grand Canyon National Park. In 1979, UNESCO declared the park a World Heritage Site. The 1987 the National Parks Overflights Act found that "Noise associated with aircraft overflights at the Grand Canyon National Park is causing a significant adverse effect on the natural quiet and experience of the park and current aircraft operations at the Grand Canyon National Park have raised serious concerns regarding public safety, including concerns regarding the safety of park users."

 

In 2010, Grand Canyon National Park was honored with its own coin under the America the Beautiful Quarters program. On February 26, 2019, the Grand Canyon National Park commemorated 100 years since its designation as a national park.

 

The Grand Canyon had been part of the National Park Service's Intermountain Region until 2018.[citation needed] Today, the Grand Canyon is a part of Region 8, also known as the Lower Colorado Basin.

 

The Grand Canyon, including its extensive system of tributary canyons, is valued for its combination of size, depth, and exposed layers of colorful rocks dating back to Precambrian times. The canyon itself was created by the incision of the Colorado River and its tributaries after the Colorado Plateau was uplifted, causing the Colorado River system to develop along its present path.

 

The primary public areas of the park are the South and North Rims, and adjacent areas of the canyon itself. The rest of the park is extremely rugged and remote, although many places are accessible by pack trail and backcountry roads. The South Rim is more accessible than the North Rim and accounts for 90% of park visitation.

 

The park headquarters are at Grand Canyon Village, not far from the South Entrance to the park, near one of the most popular viewpoints.

 

Most visitors to the park come to the South Rim, arriving on Arizona State Route 64. The highway enters the park through the South Entrance, near Tusayan, Arizona, and heads eastward, leaving the park through the East Entrance. Interstate 40 provides access to the area from the south. From the north, U.S. Route 89 connects Utah, Colorado, and the North Rim to the South Rim. Overall, some 30 miles of the South Rim are accessible by road.

 

The North Rim area of the park is located on the Kaibab Plateau and Walhalla Plateau, directly across the Grand Canyon from the principal visitor areas on the South Rim. The North Rim's principal visitor areas are centered around Bright Angel Point. The North Rim is higher in elevation than the South Rim, at over 8,000 feet (2,400 m) of elevation. Because it is so much higher than the South Rim, it is closed from December 1 through May 15 each year, due to the enhanced snowfall at elevation. Visitor services are closed or limited in scope after October 15. Driving time from the South Rim to the North Rim is about 4.5 hours, over 220 miles (350 km).

 

There are few roads on the North Rim, but there are some notable vehicle-accessible lookout points, including Point Imperial, Roosevelt Point, and Cape Royal. Mule rides are also available to a variety of places, including several thousand feet down into the canyon.

 

Many visitors to the North Rim choose to make use of the variety of hiking trails including the Widforss Trail, Uncle Jim's Trail, the Transept Trail, and the North Kaibab Trail. The North Kaibab Trail can be followed all the way down to the Colorado River, connecting across the river to the South Kaibab Trail and the Bright Angel Trail, which continue up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

 

The Toroweap Overlook is located in the western part of the park on the North Rim. Access is via unpaved roads off Route 389 west of Fredonia, Arizona. The roads lead through Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument and to the overlook.

 

A variety of activities at the South Rim cater to park visitors. A driving tour (35 miles (56 km)) along the South Rim is split into two segments. The western drive to Hermit's Point is eight miles (13 km) with several overlooks along the way, including Mohave Point, Hopi Point, and the Powell Memorial. From March to December, access to Hermit's Rest is restricted to the free shuttle provided by the Park Service. The eastern portion to Desert View is 25 miles (40 km), and is open to private vehicles year round.

 

Walking tours include the Rim Trail, which runs west from the Pipe Creek viewpoint for about eight miles (13 km) of paved road, followed by seven miles (11 km) unpaved to Hermit's Rest. Hikes can begin almost anywhere along this trail, and a shuttle can return hikers to their point of origin. Mather Point, the first view most people reach when entering from the south entrance, is a popular place to begin.

 

Private canyon flyovers are provided by helicopters and small airplanes out of Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Grand Canyon National Park Airport. Due to a crash in the 1990s, scenic flights are no longer allowed to fly within 1,500 feet (460 m) of the rim within the Grand Canyon National Park. Flights within the canyon are still available outside of park boundaries.

 

Arizona is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States. Arizona is part of the Four Corners region with Utah to the north, Colorado to the northeast, and New Mexico to the east; its other neighboring states are Nevada to the northwest, California to the west and the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest. It is the 6th-largest and the 14th-most-populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix.

 

Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912. Historically part of the territory of Alta California and Nuevo México in New Spain, it became part of independent Mexico in 1821. After being defeated in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded much of this territory to the United States in 1848, where the area became part of the territory of New Mexico. The southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase.

 

Southern Arizona is known for its desert climate, with very hot summers and mild winters. Northern Arizona features forests of pine, Douglas fir, and spruce trees; the Colorado Plateau; mountain ranges (such as the San Francisco Mountains); as well as large, deep canyons, with much more moderate summer temperatures and significant winter snowfalls. There are ski resorts in the areas of Flagstaff, Sunrise, and Tucson. In addition to the internationally known Grand Canyon National Park, which is one of the world's seven natural wonders, there are several national forests, national parks, and national monuments.

 

Arizona's population and economy have grown dramatically since the 1950s because of inward migration, and the state is now a major hub of the Sun Belt. Cities such as Phoenix and Tucson have developed large, sprawling suburban areas. Many large companies, such as PetSmart and Circle K, have headquarters in the state, and Arizona is home to major universities, including the University of Arizona and Arizona State University. The state is known for a history of conservative politicians such as Barry Goldwater and John McCain, though it has become a swing state since the 1990s.

 

Arizona is home to a diverse population. About one-quarter of the state is made up of Indian reservations that serve as the home of 27 federally recognized Native American tribes, including the Navajo Nation, the largest in the state and the United States, with more than 300,000 citizens. Since the 1980s, the proportion of Hispanics in the state's population has grown significantly owing to migration from Mexico. A substantial portion of the population are followers of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 

The history of Arizona encompasses the Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Post-Archaic, Spanish, Mexican, and American periods. About 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, Paleo-Indians settled in what is now Arizona. A few thousand years ago, the Ancestral Puebloan, the Hohokam, the Mogollon and the Sinagua cultures inhabited the state. However, all of these civilizations mysteriously disappeared from the region in the 15th and 16th centuries. Today, countless ancient ruins can be found in Arizona. Arizona was part of the state of Sonora, Mexico from 1822, but the settled population was small. In 1848, under the terms of the Mexican Cession the United States took possession of Arizona above the Gila River after the Mexican War, and became part of the Territory of New Mexico. By means of the Gadsden Purchase, the United States secured the northern part of the state of Sonora, which is now Arizona south of the Gila River in 1854.

 

In 1863, Arizona was split off from the Territory of New Mexico to form the Arizona Territory. The remoteness of the region was eased by the arrival of railroads in 1880. Arizona became a state in 1912 but was primarily rural with an economy based on cattle, cotton, citrus, and copper. Dramatic growth came after 1945, as retirees and young families who appreciated the warm weather and low costs emigrated from the Northeast and Midwest.

 

In the Mexican–American War, the garrison commander avoided conflict with Lieutenant Colonel Cooke and the Mormon Battalion, withdrawing while the Americans marched through the town on their way to California. In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), Mexico ceded to the U.S. the northern 70% of modern-day Arizona above the Sonora border along the Gila River. During the California Gold Rush, an upwards of 50,000 people traveled through on the Southern Emigrant Trail pioneered by Cooke, to reach the gold fields in 1849. The Pima Villages often sold fresh food and provided relief to distressed travelers among this throng and to others in subsequent years.

 

Paleo-Indians settled what is now Arizona around 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. According to most archaeologists, the Paleo-Indians initially followed herds of big game—megafauna such as mammoths, mastodons, and bison—into North America. The traveling groups also collected and utilized a wide variety of smaller game animals, fish, and a wide variety of plants. These people were likely characterized by highly mobile bands of approximately 20 or 50 members of an extended family, moving from place to place as resources were depleted and additional supplies needed. Paleoindian groups were efficient hunters and created and carried a variety of tools, some highly specialized, for hunting, butchering and hide processing. These paleolithic people utilized the environment that they lived in near water sources, including rivers, swamps and marshes, which had an abundance of fish, and drew birds and game animals. Big game, including bison, mammoths and ground sloths, also were attracted to these water sources. At the latest by 9500 BCE, bands of hunters wandered as far south as Arizona, where they found a desert grassland and hunted mule deer, antelope and other small mammals.

 

As populations of larger game began to diminish, possibly as a result of intense hunting and rapid environmental changes, Late Paleoindian groups would come to rely more on other facets of their subsistence pattern, including increased hunting of bison, mule deer and antelope. Nets and the atlatl to hunt water fowl, ducks, small animals and antelope. Hunting was especially important in winter and spring months when plant foods were scarce.

 

The Archaic time frame is defined culturally as a transition from a hunting/gathering lifestyle to one involving agriculture and permanent, if only seasonally occupied, settlements. In the Southwest, the Archaic is generally dated from 8000 years ago to approximately 1800 to 2000 years ago. During this time the people of the southwest developed a variety of subsistence strategies, all using their own specific techniques. The nutritive value of weed and grass seeds was discovered and flat rocks were used to grind flour to produce gruels and breads. This use of grinding slabs in about 7500 BCE marks the beginning of the Archaic tradition. Small bands of people traveled throughout the area, gathering plants such as cactus fruits, mesquite beans, acorns, and pine nuts and annually establishing camps at collection points.

 

Late in the Archaic Period, corn, probably introduced into the region from central Mexico, was planted near camps with permanent water access. Distinct types of corn have been identified in the more well-watered highlands and the desert areas, which may imply local mutation or successive introduction of differing species. Emerging domesticated crops also included beans and squash.

 

About 3,500 years ago, climate change led to changing patterns in water sources, leading to a dramatically decreased population. However, family-based groups took shelter in south facing caves and rock overhangs within canyon walls. Occasionally, these people lived in small semisedentary hamlets in open areas. Evidence of significant occupation has been found in the northern part of Arizona.

 

In the Post-Archaic period, the Ancestral Puebloan, the Hohokam, the Mogollon and Sinagua cultures inhabited what is now Arizona. These cultures built structures made out of stone. Some of the structures that these cultures built are called pueblos. Pueblos are monumental structures that housed dozens to thousands of people. In some Ancestral Puebloan towns and villages, Hohokam towns and villages, Mogollon towns and villages, and Sinagua towns and villages, the pueblo housed the entire town. Surrounding the pueblos were often farms where farmers would plant and harvest crops to feed the community. Sometimes, pueblos and other buildings were built in caves in cliffs.

 

The Ancestral Puebloans were an ancient Pre-Columbian Native American civilization that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado. The Ancestral Puebloans are believed to have developed, at least in part, from the Oshara tradition, who developed from the Picosa culture.

 

They lived in a range of structures that included small family pit houses, larger structures to house clans, grand pueblos, and cliff-sited dwellings for defense. The Ancestral Puebloans possessed a complex network that stretched across the Colorado Plateau linking hundreds of communities and population centers. They held a distinct knowledge of celestial sciences that found form in their architecture. The kiva, a congregational space that was used chiefly for ceremonial purposes, was an integral part of this ancient people's community structure. Some of their most impressive structures were built in what is now Arizona.

 

Hohokam was a Pre-Columbian culture in the North American Southwest in what is now part of Arizona, United States, and Sonora, Mexico. Hohokam practiced a specific culture, sometimes referred to as Hohokam culture, which has been distinguished by archeologists. People who practiced the culture can be called Hohokam as well, but more often, they are distinguished as Hohokam people to avoid confusion.

 

Most archaeologists agree that the Hohokam culture existed between c. 300 and c. 1450 CE, but cultural precursors may have been in the area as early as 300 BC. Whether Hohokam culture was unified politically remains under controversy. Hohokam culture may have just given unrelated neighboring communities common ground to help them to work together to survive their harsh desert environment.

 

The Mogollon culture was an ancient Pre-Columbian culture of Native American peoples from Southern New Mexico and Arizona, Northern Sonora and Chihuahua, and Western Texas. The northern part of this region is Oasisamerica, while the southern span of the Mogollon culture is known as Aridoamerica.

 

The Mogollon culture was one of the major prehistoric Southwestern cultural divisions of the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico. The culture flourished from c. 200 CE, to c. 1450 CE or 1540 CE, when the Spanish arrived.

 

The Sinagua culture was a Pre-Columbian culture that occupied a large area in central Arizona from the Little Colorado River, near Flagstaff, to the Verde River, near Sedona, including the Verde Valley, area around San Francisco Mountain, and significant portions of the Mogollon Rim country, between approximately 500 CE and 1425 CE. Besides ceremonial kivas, their pueblos had large "community rooms" and some featured ballcourts and walled courtyards, similar to those of the Hohokam culture. Since fully developed Sinagua sites emerged in central Arizona around 500 CE, it is believed they migrated from east-central Arizona, possibly emerging from the Mogollon culture.

 

The history of Arizona as recorded by Europeans began in 1539 with the first documented exploration of the area by Marcos de Niza, early work expanded the following year when Francisco Vásquez de Coronado entered the area as well.

 

The Spanish established a few missions in southern Arizona in the 1680s by Father Eusebio Francisco Kino along the Santa Cruz River, in what was then the Pimería Alta region of Sonora. The Spanish also established presidios in Tubac and Tucson in 1752 and 1775. The area north of the Gila River was governed by the Province of Las California under the Spanish until 1804, when the Californian portion of Arizona became part of Alta California under the Spanish and Mexican governments.

 

In 1849, the California Gold Rush led as many as 50,000 miners to travel across the region, leading to a boom in Arizona's population. In 1850, Arizona and New Mexico formed the New Mexico Territory.

 

In 1853, President Franklin Pierce sent James Gadsden to Mexico City to negotiate with Santa Anna, and the United States bought the remaining southern strip area of Arizona and New Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase. A treaty was signed in Mexico in December 1853, and then, with modifications, approved by the US Senate in June 1854, setting the southern boundary of Arizona and of New Mexico.

 

Before 1846 the Apache raiders expelled most Mexican ranchers. One result was that large herds of wild cattle roamed southeastern Arizona. By 1850, the herds were gone, killed by Apaches, American sportsmen, contract hunting for the towns of Fronteras and Santa Cruz, and roundups to sell to hungry Mexican War soldiers, and forty-niners en route to California.

 

During the Civil War, on March 16, 1861, citizens in southern New Mexico Territory around Mesilla (now in New Mexico) and Tucson invited take-over by the Confederacy. They especially wanted restoration of mail service. These secessionists hoped that a Confederate Territory of Arizona (CSA) would take control, but in March 1862, Union troops from California captured the Confederate Territory of Arizona and returned it to the New Mexico Territory.

 

The Battle of Picacho Pass, April 15, 1862, was a battle of the Civil War fought in the CSA and one of many battles to occur in Arizona during the war among three sides—Apaches, Confederates and Union forces. In 1863, the U.S. split up New Mexico along a north–south line to create the Arizona Territory. The first government officials to arrive established the territory capital in Prescott in 1864. The capital was later moved to Tucson, back to Prescott, and then to its final location in Phoenix in a series of controversial moves as different regions of the territory gained and lost political influence with the growth and development of the territory.

 

In the late 19th century the Army built a series of forts to encourage the Natives to stay in their territory and to act as a buffer from the settlers. The first was Fort Defiance. It was established on September 18, 1851, by Col. Edwin V. Sumner to create a military presence in Diné bikéyah (Navajo territory). Sumner broke up the fort at Santa Fe for this purpose, creating the first military post in what is now Arizona. He left Major Electus Backus in charge. Small skirmishes were common between raiding Navajo and counter raiding citizens. In April 1860 one thousand Navajo warriors under Manuelito attacked the fort and were beaten off.

 

The fort was abandoned at the start of the Civil War but was reoccupied in 1863 by Colonel Kit Carson and the 1st New Mexico Infantry. Carson was tasked by Brigadier-General James H. Carleton, Commander of the Federal District of New Mexico, to kill Navajo men, destroy crops, wells, houses and livestock. These tactics forced 9000 Navajos to take the Long Walk to a reservation at Bosque Redondo, New Mexico. The Bosque was a complete failure. In 1868 the Navajo signed another treaty and were allowed to go back to part of their former territory. The returning Navajo were restocked with sheep and other livestock. Fort Defiance was the agency for the new Navajo reservation until 1936; today it provides medical services to the region.

 

Fort Apache was built on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation by soldiers from the 1st Cavalry and 21st Infantry in 1870. Only one small battle took place, in September 1881, with three soldiers wounded. When the reservation Indians were granted U.S. citizenship in 1924, the fort was permanently closed down. Fort Huachuca, east of Tucson, was founded in 1877 as the base for operations against Apaches and raiders from Mexico. From 1913 to 1933 the fort was the base for the "Buffalo Soldiers" of the 10th Cavalry Regiment. During World War II, the fort expanded to 25,000 soldiers, mostly in segregated all-black units. Today the fort remains in operation and houses the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and the U.S. Army Network.

 

The Pueblos in Arizona were relatively peaceful through the Navajo and Apache Wars. However, in June 1891, the army had to bring in troops to stop Oraibi from preventing a school from being built on their mesa.

 

After the Civil War, Texans brought large-scale ranching to southern Arizona. They introduced their proven range methods to the new grass country. Texas rustlers also came, and brought lawlessness. Inexperienced ranchers brought poor management, resulting in overstocking, and introduced destructive diseases. Local cattleman organizations were formed to handle these problems. The Territory experienced a cattle boom in 1873–91, as the herds were expanded from 40,000 to 1.5 million head. However, the drought of 1891–93 killed off over half the cattle and produced severe overgrazing. Efforts to restore the rangeland between 1905 and 1934 had limited success, but ranching continued on a smaller scale.

 

Arizona's last major drought occurred during Dust Bowl years of 1933–34. This time Washington stepped in as the Agricultural Adjustment Administration spent $100 million to buy up the starving cattle. The Taylor Grazing Act placed federal and state agencies in control of livestock numbers on public lands. Most of the land in Arizona is owned by the federal government which leased grazing land to ranchers at low cost. Ranchers invested heavily in blooded stock and equipment. James Wilson states that after 1950, higher fees and restrictions in the name of land conservation caused a sizable reduction in available grazing land. The ranchers had installed three-fifths of the fences, dikes, diversion dams, cattleguards, and other improvements, but the new rules reduced the value of that investment. In the end, Wilson believes, sportsmen and environmentalists maintained a political advantage by denouncing the ranchers as political corrupted land-grabbers who exploited the publicly owned natural resources.

 

On February 23, 1883, United Verde Copper Company was incorporated under New York law. The small mining camp next to the mine was given a proper name, 'Jerome.' The town was named after the family which had invested a large amount of capital. In 1885 Lewis Williams opened a copper smelter in Bisbee and the copper boom began, as the nation turned to copper wires for electricity. The arrival of railroads in the 1880s made mining even more profitable, and national corporations bought control of the mines and invested in new equipment. Mining operations flourished in numerous boom towns, such as Bisbee, Jerome, Douglas, Ajo and Miami.

 

Arizona's "wild west" reputation was well deserved. Tombstone was a notorious mining town that flourished longer than most, from 1877 to 1929. Silver was discovered in 1877, and by 1881 the town had a population of over 10,000. Western story tellers and Hollywood film makers made as much money in Tombstone as anyone, thanks to the arrival of Wyatt Earp and his brothers in 1879. They bought shares in the Vizina mine, water rights, and gambling concessions, but Virgil, Morgan and Wyatt were soon appointed as federal and local marshals. They killed three outlaws in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, the most famous gunfight of the Old West.

 

In the aftermath, Virgil Earp was maimed in an ambush and Morgan Earp was assassinated while playing billiards. Walter Noble Burns's novel Tombstone (1927) made Earp famous. Hollywood celebrated Earp's Tombstone days with John Ford's My Darling Clementine (1946), John Sturges's Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) and Hour of the Gun (1967), Frank Perry's Doc (1971), George Cosmatos's Tombstone (1993), and Lawrence Kasdan's Wyatt Earp (1994). They solidified Earp's modern reputation as the Old West's deadliest gunman.

 

Jennie Bauters (1862–1905) operated brothels in the Territory from 1896 to 1905. She was an astute businesswoman with an eye for real estate appreciation, and a way with the town fathers of Jerome regarding taxes and restrictive ordinances. She was not always sitting pretty; her brothels were burned in a series of major fires that swept the business district; her girls were often drug addicts. As respectability closed in on her, in 1903 she relocated to the mining camp of Acme. In 1905, she was murdered by a man who had posed as her husband.

 

By 1869 Americans were reading John Wesley Powell's reports of his explorations of the Colorado River. In 1901, the Santa Fe Railroad reached Grand Canyon's South Rim. With railroad, restaurant and hotel entrepreneur Fred Harvey leading the way, large-scale tourism began that has never abated. The Grand Canyon has become an iconic symbol of the West and the nation as a whole.

 

The Chinese came to Arizona with the construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1880. Tucson was the main railroad center and soon had a Chinatown with laundries for the general population and a rich mix of restaurants, groceries, and services for the residents. Chinese and Mexican merchants and farmers transcended racial differences to form 'guanxi,' which were relations of friendship and trust. Chinese leased land from Mexicans, operated grocery stores, and aided compatriots attempting to enter the United States from Mexico after the Mexican Revolution in 1910. Chinese merchants helped supply General John Pershing's army in its expedition against Pancho Villa. Successful Chinese in Tucson led a viable community based on social integration, friendship, and kinship.

 

In February 1903, U.S. Senator Hamilton Kean spoke against Arizona's statehood. He said Mormons who fled from Idaho to Mexico would return to the U.S. and mix in the politics of Arizona.

 

In 1912, Arizona almost entered the Union as part of New Mexico in a Republican plan to keep control of the U.S. Senate. The plan, while accepted by most in New Mexico, was rejected by most Arizonans. Progressives in Arizona favored inclusion in the state constitution of the initiative, referendum, recall, direct election of senators, woman suffrage, and other reforms. Most of these proposals were included in the constitution that was rejected by Congress.

 

A new constitution was offered with the problematic provisions removed. Congress then voted to approve statehood, and President Taft signed the statehood bill on February 14, 1912. State residents promptly put the provisions back in. Hispanics had little voice or power. Only one of the 53 delegates at the constitutional convention was Hispanic, and he refused to sign. In 1912 women gained suffrage in the state, eight years before the country as a whole.

 

Arizona's first Congressman was Carl Hayden (1877–1972). He was the son of a Yankee merchant who had moved to Tempe because he needed dry heat for his bad lungs. Carl attended Stanford University and moved up the political ladder as town councilman, county treasurer, and Maricopa County sheriff, where he nabbed Arizona's last train robbers. He also started building a coalition to develop the state's water resources, a lifelong interest. A liberal Democrat his entire career, Hayden was elected to Congress in 1912 and moved to the Senate in 1926.

 

Reelection followed every six years as he advanced toward the chairmanship of the powerful Appropriations Committee, which he reached in 1955. His only difficult campaign came in 1962, at age 85, when he defeated a young conservative. He retired in 1968 after a record 56 years in Congress. His great achievement was his 41-year battle to enact the Central Arizona Project that would provide water for future growth.

 

The Great Depression of 1929–39 hit Arizona hard. At first local, state and private relief efforts focused on charity, especially by the Community Chest and Organized Charities programs. Federal money started arriving with the Federal Emergency Relief Committee in 1930. Different agencies promoted aid to the unemployed, tuberculosis patients, transients, and illegal immigrants. The money ran out by 1931 or 1932, and conditions were bad until New Deal relief operations began on a large scale in 1933.

 

Construction programs were important, especially the Hoover Dam (originally called Boulder Dam), begun by President Herbert Hoover. It is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border with Nevada. It was constructed by the Federal Bureau of Reclamation between 1931 and 1936. It operationalized a schedule of water use set by the Colorado River Compact of 1922 that gave Arizona 19% of the river's water, with 25% to Nevada and the rest to California.

 

Construction of military bases in Arizona was a national priority because of the state's excellent flying weather and clear skies, large amounts of unoccupied land, good railroads, cheap labor, low taxes, and its proximity to California's aviation industry. Arizona was attractive to both the military and private firms and they stayed after the war.

 

Fort Huachuca became one of the largest nearly-all-black Army forts, with quarters for 1,300 officers and 24,000 enlisted soldiers. The 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions, composed of African-American troops, trained there.

 

During the war, Mexican-American community organizations were very active in patriotic efforts to support American troops abroad, and made efforts to support the war effort materially and to provide moral support for the American servicemen fighting the war, especially the Mexican-American servicemen from local communities. Some of the community projects were cooperative ventures in which members of both the Mexican-American and Anglo communities participated. Most efforts made in the Mexican-American community represented localized American home front activities that were separate from the activities of the Anglo community.

 

Mexican-American women organized to assist their servicemen and the war effort. An underlying goal of the Spanish-American Mothers and Wives Association was the reinforcement of the woman's role in Spanish-Mexican culture. The organization raised thousands of dollars, wrote letters, and joined in numerous celebrations of their culture and their support for Mexican-American servicemen. Membership reached over 300 during the war and eventually ended its existence in 1976.

 

Heavy government spending during World War II revitalized the Arizona economy, which was still based on copper mining, citrus and cotton crops and cattle ranching, with a growing tourist business.

 

Military installations peppered the state, such as Davis-Monthan Field in Tucson, the main training center for air force bomber pilots. Two relocation camps opened for Japanese and Japanese Americans brought in from the West Coast.

 

After World War II the population grew rapidly, increasing sevenfold between 1950 and 2000, from 700,000 to over 5 million. Most of the growth was in the Phoenix area, with Tucson a distant second. Urban growth doomed the state's citrus industry, as the groves were turned into housing developments.

 

The cost of water made growing cotton less profitable, and Arizona's production steadily declined. Manufacturing employment jumped from 49,000 in 1960 to 183,000 by 1985, with half the workers in well-paid positions. High-tech firms such as Motorola, Hughes Aircraft, Goodyear Aircraft, Honeywell, and IBM had offices in the Phoenix area. By 1959, Hughes Aircraft had built advanced missiles with 5,000 workers in Tucson.

 

Despite being a small state, Arizona produced several national leaders for both the Republican and Democratic parties. Two Republican Senators were presidential nominees: Barry Goldwater in 1964 and John McCain in 2008; both carried Arizona but lost the national election. Senator Ernest McFarland, a Democrat, was the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate from 1951 to 1952, and Congressman John Rhodes was the Republican Minority Leader in the House from 1973 to 1981. Democrats Bruce Babbitt (Governor 1978–87) and Morris Udall (Congressman 1961–90) were contenders for their party's presidential nominations. In 1981 Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court; she served until 2006.

 

Retirement communities

Warm winters and low cost of living attracted retirees from the so-called snowbelt, who moved permanently to Arizona after 1945, bringing their pensions, Social Security, and savings with them. Real estate entrepreneurs catered to them with new communities with amenities pitched to older people, and with few facilities for children. Typically they were gated communities with controlled access and had pools, recreation centers, and golf courses.

 

In 1954, two developers bought 320 acres (1.3 km2) of farmland near Phoenix and opened the nation's first planned community dedicated exclusively to retirees at Youngtown. In 1960, developer Del Webb, inspired by the amenities in Florida's trailer parks, added facilities for "active adults" in his new Sun City planned community near Phoenix. In 1962 Ross Cortese opened the first of his gated Leisure Worlds. Other developers copied the popular model, and by 2000 18% of the retirees in the state lived in such "lifestyle" communities.

 

The issues of the fragile natural environment, compounded by questions of water shortage and distribution, led to numerous debates. The debate crossed traditional lines, so that the leading conservative, Senator Barry Goldwater, was also keenly concerned. For example, Goldwater supported the controversial Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP). He wrote:

 

I feel very definitely that the [Nixon] administration is absolutely correct in cracking down on companies and corporations and municipalities that continue to pollute the nation's air and water. While I am a great believer in the free competitive enterprise system and all that it entails, I am an even stronger believer in the right of our people to live in a clean and pollution-free environment. To this end, it is my belief that when pollution is found, it should be halted at the source, even if this requires stringent government action against important segments of our national economy.

 

Water issues were central. Agriculture consumed 89% of the state's strictly limited water supply while generating only 3% of the state's income. The Groundwater Management Act of 1980, sponsored by Governor Bruce Babbitt, raised the price of water to farmers, while cities had to reach a "safe yield" so that the groundwater usage did not exceed natural replenishment. New housing developments had to prove they had enough water for the next hundred years. Desert foliage suitable for a dry region soon replaced grass.

 

Cotton acreage declined dramatically, freeing up land for suburban sprawl as well as releasing large amounts of water and ending the need for expensive specialized machinery. Cotton acreage plunged from 120,000 acres in 1997 to only 40,000 acres in 2005, even as the federal treasury gave the state's farmers over $678 million in cotton subsidies. Many farmers collect the subsidies but no longer grow cotton. About 80% of the state's cotton is exported to textile factories in China and (since the passage of NAFTA) to Mexico.

 

Super Bowl XXX was played in Tempe in 1996 and Super Bowl XLII was held in Glendale in 2008. Super Bowl XLIX was also held in Glendale in 2015.

 

Illegal immigration continued to be a prime concern within the state, and in April 2010, Arizona SB1070 was passed and signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer. The measure attracted national attention as the most thorough anti-illegal immigration measure in decades within the United States.

 

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head during a political event in Tucson on January 8, 2011. The shooting resulted in six deaths and several injuries. Giffords survived the attack and became an advocate for gun control.

 

On June 30, 2013, nineteen members of the Prescott Fire Department were killed fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire. The fatalities were members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a hotshot crew, of whom only one survived as he was working in another location.

 

Border crisis: by 2019 Arizona was one of the states most affected by the border crisis, with a high number of migrant crossings and detentions.

Fonte: Wikipedia

The band was established by brothers Keith and Jordan Buckley, whose father, Michael Buckley, lectures Computer Science and Engineering at the University at Buffalo. They added to the initial lineup with guitarist Andy Williams, bassist John McCarthy, and drummer Michael "Ratboy" Novak. In their first short tour covering the Buffalo, New York and Toronto, Ontario, Canada vicinities, the band met Goodfellow Records producer Chris Logan, who released the band's debut EP Burial Plot Bidding War in 2000. The following year, Aaron Ratajczak replaced McCarthy as bassist before the band released its debut full-length album Last Night in Town that year under Ferret Records, leading to a tour for that album in collaboration with Killswitch Engage the following year.[1]

 

In 2001, Stephen Micciche, of Kid Gorgeous replaced Ratajczak as bassist for the band's second full-length Hot Damn! and the band's subsequent American tour supporting Jackass star Steve-O. This era brought about their first mini Warped Tour stint, overseas tours with NORA and Chimaira, numerous U.S tours with bands such as Bleeding Through, Norma Jean, Dillinger Escape Plan, and a spot on the 2004 Ozzfest tour. However, Micciche resigned from his position in 2005. Micciche was replaced by Kevin Falk. However, three months after recording sessions for the band's third album Gutter Phenomenon and a European tour, he was replaced by Chris Byrnes of NORA, who left the band after touring with them at the Warped Tour 2006. Their sixth bassist, Keller Harbin (formerly of The Chariot), replaced Byrnes and played with the band for its tour with Atreyu on the World Championship Tour along with From First to Last and Chiodos. The band was featured on the 2007 Sounds of the Underground tour. Josh Newton, was inducted in September 2007 as the band's seventh bassist for a tour with Underoath.

 

In 2006, their song "The New Black" was featured as a bonus track in Guitar Hero 2 and also in the PlayStation 3 game MotorStorm. The band performed the song "We'rewolf" live on the ABC late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Halloween of 2007. From January–February 2008, Every Time I Die went on a tour with Killswitch Engage, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Parkway Drive. They also headlined the Take Action Tour, playing alongside From First to Last, August Burns Red, The Bled, and The Human Abstract. The band played the entire Warped Tour 2008.

 

During the 2009 UK tour with Gallows, a song titled "Buffalo 666" from their then-upcoming album New Junk Aesthetic was played for the first time. The album also included guest vocals by Pete Wentz, Matt Caughthran and Greg Puciato. At the end of June it was announced that drummer Mike "Ratboy" Novak had left the band due to "personal conflicts".

 

On August 23, Ryan "Legs" Leger was added as the new drummer.[9] The band was part of the European Taste of Chaos Tour at the end of 2009, supporting headliners Killswitch Engage and In Flames.

 

Every Time I Die headlined the 2010 Australian Boys of Summer Tour. In support of Every Time I Die were Australian bands 50 Lions, House vs. Hurricane and Mary Jane Kelly. The band toured across Australia playing shows in Sydney, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

 

Josh Newton announced on October 12, 2011 that he was no longer in the band. For the remainder of the tour, Stephen Micciche filled his role as bassist. On December 12, they released a video on Warped Tour's YouTube channel announcing they were playing all dates on the 2012 Warped Tour.

 

In January 2012, Every Time I Die released their video for "Underwater Bimbos from Outer Space", from their album Ex Lives, which was released on March 6, 2012. On February 23, Every Time I Die posted a film clip to another new song, "Revival Mode". In January, the band made a tour in South America with Four Year Strong and New Found Glory. Rio de Janeiro's show, the last one in Brazil was recorded and will be the next DVD of the band.

 

On October 15, 2013, the band was announced to be a support act for A Day to Remember on their European Tour 2014.

 

In the spring of 2014, the band announced that they were starting production on their seventh studio album From Parts Unknown with producer Kurt Ballou which was released July 8, 2014 along with their 6th run on the Vans Warped Tour 20th edition. The album peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200, their second top 25 in the band's existence. Following their time on Warped Tour Every Time I Die started a Canadian tour in mid September with Expire and Counterparts. Following their Canadian tour they co-headlined a winter tour with The Ghost Inside along with support from Architects, Backtrack and Hundredth as their openers.

 

In February 2015 the band announced Ryan Leger's departure to be replaced by Daniel Davison, formerly of Norma Jean and Underoath. On March 29, the band revealed that they would be releasing an EP exclusively for Record Store Day titled Salem.

Every Christmas Longwood Gardens becomes a magical place, longwoodgardens.org/ Christmas @ Longwood Gardens. It's that time of year, have you planned your visit to Longwood yet? Located in Kennett Square, PA, Longwood Gardens is the premier botanical garden in the USA. Merry Christmas! You are welcome to share. www.lancerogersphotos.com www.instagram.com/lancerogersphotos

Strawberry Summer Sheet Cake on smittenkitchen.com

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY

 

In many homes around the world, photographs of young men in uniforms sit in albums or in boxes or at the back of draws. How many times have we seen the smiling or sombre faces of our relations with their brothers-in-arms and wondered just who those men were and what they endured? Neil Berrett possessed one such photograph of his great-uncle taken “somewhere in France” in 1918. He set himself the task of tracing the lives of each of the men that stared back at him from almost 100 years ago, and uncovered some remarkable stories.

 

A marvellous article. Five stars from the Drake.

Every guest recieved a band

The Postcard

 

A postcard bearing no studio name that was posted in Forest Hill, London S.E. The photograph is high-definition.

 

Forest Hill is a leafy residential area near its namesake railway station. Set in landscaped gardens with a weekly farmers’ market and outdoor summer concerts, the family-friendly Horniman Museum has an aquarium, a beloved stuffed walrus, and a musical instrument collection. At the edge of the neighbourhood, Blythe Hill Fields park has sweeping views of the city skyline.

 

The house number is 51; if anyone recognises exactly where is is, please leave a note.

 

The card was posted on Friday the the 20th. October 1911 to:

 

Mother Ursula,

Ursuline Convent,

Westgate-on-Sea,

Kent.

 

The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:

 

"Dear Mother Ursula,

Please accept all kind

thoughts and best wishes

for a very happy feast.

Yours sincerely,

S. & J. Gibbons & little ones".

 

The writer would have been referring to the Feast of St. Ursula which takes place every year on the 21st. October.

 

Ursuline Convent

 

Ursuline College (formerly Ursuline Convent School) is a Catholic secondary school located in Westgate-on-Sea, in north-east Kent. Aimed at pupils aged 11 to 19, the college is based within the Ursuline and Catholic ethos, aiding and teaching its pupils within this regime.

 

The school in Westgate-on-Sea was established in 1904 when a group of Ursuline Sisters fled Boulogne-sur-Mer with a number of their pupils. Although their school in Boulogne-sur-Mer had existed since 1624, laws passed in France had made it impossible for the Sisters to continue their work of Christian education in France.

 

Initially the school was set up as a boarding school for girls, meeting the needs of parents working in the Colonies or serving in the Forces.

 

The Actor Bill Shine

 

So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?

 

Well, the 20th. October 1911 marked the birth of Bill Shine.

 

Born Wilfred William Dennis Shine in London, Bill was a British theatre, film and television actor.

 

Bill was born into a family of theatre actors; his father, mother, grandmother, two uncles and an aunt had worked in theatre. His father Wilfred Shine also appeared in films during the 1920's and the 1930's.

 

Bill Shine made his film debut in 1929, since when he appeared in over 160 films and television series.

 

Towards the end of his career, he was best known for playing Inventor Black on the children's television series Super Gran.

 

Bill Shine's Films

 

Bill's films include the following:

 

The Flying Scotsman (1929) - Barman (uncredited)

High Seas (1929) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Under the Greenwood Tree (1929) - Leaf

The Loves of Robert Burns (1930) - (uncredited)

Harmony Heaven (1930) - Rejected Actor (uncredited)

The Last Hour (1930) - Ben

The Yellow Mask (1930) - Sunshine

These Charming People (1931) - Ulysses Wiggins

Many Waters (1931) - Registry Office Junior Clerk (uncredited)

The Bells (1931)

Money for Nothing (1932) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Verdict of the Sea (1932) - Slim

The Man from Toronto (1933) - Butcher's Delivery Boy

Waltzes from Vienna (1934) - Carl (uncredited)

The Private Life of Don Juan (1934) - Minor Role (uncredited)

My Old Dutch (1934) - Cousin 'Arry

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934) - An Aristocrat (uncredited)

It Happened in Paris (1935) - Albert (uncredited)

Old Roses (1935) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Late Extra (1935) - Fred (uncredited)

Music Hath Charms (1935) - Minor Role (uncredited)

It's a Bet (1935) - Arthur - Citizen of Doveton (uncredited)

Blue Smoke (1935) - Ted

Gaol Break (1936)

Find the Lady (1936) - (uncredited)

Highland Fling (1936) - Lizards

To Catch a Thief (1936) - (uncredited)

Rembrandt (1936) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Sensation (1936) - Quirk

You Must Get Married (1937) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Take a Chance (1937) - Minor Role (uncredited)

The Compulsory Wife (1937) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Strange Adventures of Mr. Smith (1937) - Rodney Broadbent

Farewell Again (1937) - Cpl. Edrich

Cotton Queen (1937) - Telephone Operator (uncredited)

First Night (1937) - Minor Role (uncredited)

The Squeaker (1937) - Alfie (uncredited)

There Was a Young Man (1937) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Dinner at the Ritz (1937) - Minor Role (uncredited)

The Last Adventurers (1937) - Joe Hanson

Young and Innocent (1937) - Manager of Tom's Hat Café (uncredited)

The Green Cockatoo (1937) - Lightning (uncredited)

The Terror (1938) - (uncredited)

You're the Doctor (1938) - (uncredited)

His Lordship Goes to Press (1938)

They Drive by Night (1938) - Minor Role (uncredited)

The Villiers Diamond (1938) - Joe

Second Thoughts (1938) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Over the Moon (1939) - Minor Role (uncredited)

The Face at the Window (1939) - Pierre, Babette's Beau

Let George Do It! (1940) - Untipped Steward (uncredited)

Crook's Tour (1940) - Bit Role (uncredited)

Three Silent Men (1940) - Bystander at Accident (uncredited)

Garrison Follies (1940) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Spare a Copper (1940) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Old Bill and Son (1941) - Pub Customer (uncredited)

Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It (1941) - Hotel Porter

Turned Out Nice Again (1941) - (uncredited)

Champagne Charlie (1944) - Mogador Stage Manager

Fiddlers Three (1944) - Minor Role (uncredited)

For You Alone (1945) - Captain (uncredited)

Perfect Strangers (1945) - Webster

Wanted for Murder (1946) - Det. Ellis

Captain Boycott (1947) - Press Photographer (uncredited)

Vice Versa (1948) - Lord Gosport

The Red Shoes (1948) - Her Mate

The Winslow Boy (1948) - Fred (uncredited)

The Small Voice (1948) - Maitland

Another Shore (1948) - Bats Vere-Brown

Passport to Pimlico (1949) - Captain Willow

Private Angelo (1949) - Col. Michael

Under Capricorn (1949) - Mr. Banks

The Chiltern Hundreds (1949) - Reporter

The Woman with No Name (1950) - Major

Something in the City (1950) - Reporter

Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure (1950) - F / O Prang

Talk of a Million (1951) - (uncredited)

Scarlet Thread (1951) - Basil (uncredited)

The Woman's Angle (1952) - (uncredited)

Never Look Back (1952) - Willie

No Haunt for a Gentleman (1952) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Mother Riley Meets the Vampire (1952) - Mugsy's Assistant

Love's a Luxury (1952) - Clarence Mole

Hot Ice (1952)

There Was a Young Lady (1953) - Charlie, Duke of Chiddingford

Melba (1953) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Innocents in Paris (1953) - Customs Officer (uncredited)

The Clue of the Missing Ape (1953) - Henchman in Opening Sequence (uncredited)

Devil on Horseback (1954) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Knave of Hearts (1954) - Pub Barman (uncredited)

Father Brown (1954) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Knave of Hearts (1954) - Saxby

Duel in the Jungle (1954) - Bill Shine (uncredited)

Raising a Riot (1955) - Dotty (uncredited)

As Long as They're Happy (1955) - P.C. Bowker (uncredited)

Where There's a Will (1955) - Porter

John and Julie (1955) - Car Driver

The Deep Blue Sea (1955) - Golfer

The Gold Express (1955) - (uncredited)

The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955) - Trois-Eschelles

Richard III (1955) - Beadle

An Alligator Named Daisy (1955) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Not So Dusty (1956) - Alistair

Women Without Men (1956) - Reveller

Bond of Fear (1956) - Man Hiker

Blonde Bait (1956) - Lindbergh (uncredited)

The Last Man to Hang (1956) - The Jury: Underhay

Around the World in 80 Days (1956) - Minor Role (uncredited)

The Tommy Steele Story (1957) - Minor Role (uncredited)

High Flight (1957) - Policeman

The House in the Woods (1957) - Colonel Shellaby

Blue Murder at St. Trinian's (1957) - Policeman (uncredited)

The Diplomatic Corpse (1958) - Humphrey Garrad

The Man Inside (1958) - English Husband

Blow Your Own Trumpet (1958) - Drummer (uncredited)

Make Mine a Million (1959) - Outside Broadcast Producer (uncredited)

Idol on Parade (1959) - Ticket Collector

Jack the Ripper (1959) - Lord Tom Sopwith

Left Right and Centre (1959) - Centre - Basingstoke

The Boy and the Bridge (1959) - Bridge Mechanic

Libel (1959) - The Guide

Trouble with Eve (1960) - Alonzo, Artist

The Challenge (1960) - Farm Labourer

Not a Hope in Hell (1960) - Pettigrew

The Pure Hell of St Trinian's (1960) - Usher

Double Bunk (1961) - 2nd Thames Conservancy Officer

The Rescue Squad (1963)

The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Joey Boy (1965) - Ticket Collector (uncredited)

The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery (1966) - Minor Role (uncredited)

Bindle (One of Them Days) (1966) - Man in country pub

The Sky Bike (1967) - Wingco

Not Tonight, Darling (1971) - Captain Harrison

Burke & Hare (1971) - Landlord

The Jigsaw Man (1983) - Commissionaire

 

The Death of Bill Shine

 

Bill died at the age of 85 on the 24th. July 1997 in Kensington, London.

On the Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden is what is now London St Pancras International Station.

 

It is on the corner of Euston Road and Pancras Road and lies next to London King's Cross Station.

  

Grade I listed building.

 

St Pancras Station and Former Midland Grand Hotel, Camden

 

CAMDEN

 

TQ3082NW EUSTON ROAD

798-1/90/421 (North side)

07/11/67 St Pancras Station and former

Midland Grand Hotel

(Formerly Listed as:

EUSTON ROAD

St Pancras Station (incl. train

shed, Chambers & ancillary buildings)

 

GV I

 

Railway terminus and hotel, comprising train shed, terminus

facilities and offices, ancillary buildings, taxi stand,

warehousing: including substructure and storage areas to sides

and rear, and structures to the forecourt.

Station, 1865-1869; former Midland Grand Hotel, 1868-76, both

by George Gilbert Scott. Train shed, 1865-8 by William Henry

Barlow (engineer). Deep red Gripper's patent Nottingham bricks

with Ancaster stone dressings and shafts of grey and red

Peterhead granite; slated roofs renewed in 1994 in carefully

diminishing courses.

STYLE: monumental, picturesquely composed Gothic Revival

building of 23 windows flanked by towers and a curved 10

window wing to the west.

EXTERIOR: 4 main storeys with 2 extra storeys in the roof lit

by stacks of gabled dormers. Station entered through 2

pointed, vaulted vehicle arches, flanked by pedestrian arches,

one in the left hand tower and one to the right. Arches with

recessed, elaborately patterned cast-iron pedestrian

footbridges with cast-iron plate tracery windows on foliated

cast-iron brackets. Hotel facade with round-arched ground

floor openings linked by impost bands; 2nd floor, pointed

2-light windows with plate tracery & colonnettes; 3rd floor,

cusped with colonnettes; 4th floor, arcaded windows of 3

lights. Articulated vertically and horizontally with strings

and with much elaborate carving. Lombard frieze below

balustraded parapet. Western curve similar to south elevation

of west range, that nearest Euston Road with elaborate stepped

gable over right hand entrance bay with similar gable.

South-east tower with 2-storey oriel, gabled clocks on each

face with pinnacles at each corner and spire. Left hand tower,

3 storeys of elaborately arcaded windows above the entrance

with Lombard friezes and bartizans with spires at angles.

Mansard roof with gabled windows to the south; other sides

with gables and chimneys. Main hotel entrance on end of curve

to Euston Road; arcaded porte-cochere above which 3 cusped

arches with small gabled roofs. Carved, stepped gable above

balustraded parapet flanked by turrets with spires and gables

over pointed windows.

West return elevation along Midland Road: first 3 bays

reproduce elevation found on principal facade. After the first

three bays of the return, the long elevation angles back to

follow the line of Midland Road with 8-window range followed

by a full height stepped gabled range marking the line of the

grand staircase. Former entrance from Midland Road simplified:

on first floor level above three segmental arches filled with

traceried windows; above this rising nearly to the top of the

gable is tripartite light with stone tracery.

This system of fenestration continues for one bay to the north

at which point the elevation begins to step down towards the

ancillary railway buildings to the north.

4 storeys over basement terminating in a corbelled parapet, a

total of 6 window ranges comprised of 2 and 3-light

double-height windows. 3-storey polygonal wing set between 2

storey blocks, that block to the right having one window range

and that to the left with 3-window range. St Pancras Station

is unusual in retaining a good deal of its related former

warehousing facilities. These are concentrated to the north of

the Hotel along Midland Road and Pancras Road, located at and

below track level. Although the elevation to Midland Road is

quite varied, a consistent feature is the pointed blind arcade

to ground floor.

Towards the Euston Road end there is a set-back which also has

blind pointed arcade; this section runs for roughly 11 bays of

the arched ground-floor structure. More elaborate 2-storey

structure of 8 window range with a flat arched opening for

vehicles consisting of a wrought-iron lintel set in the fifth

window range. To either side of this entrance the pointed

blinded arcade previously noted is continued.

Continuing north along Midland Road, there is another

carriageway entrance: a pointed arch with wooden doors and

hinges of original design. There follows railway arches Nos 17

through 25. To the first floor of this range is a blind

pointed arch arcade. Railway arches 14, 15 and 16 have been

rebuilt. Railway arches 4 through 9 have received a

first-floor brick addition.

Pancras Road elevation to the east.

Hotel elevation: the design of the main elevation continues

for 5 window ranges along the return, concluding in an

octagonal turret. On the east flank of the train shed a

2-storey structure with a lean-to roof, numbering Nos 9-91

Pancras Road. It is roofed in slate and on alternate bays

there are stacks. This structure has a 45-window range. At the

north it curves slightly. The elevation of every bay is

identical: on the ground floor a pointed segmental arch

carried on plain piers rebated to accommodate attached

columns. Above is a pointed arched window set in a shallow

pointed recess; all of the openings and recesses linked by a

carved impost. Many of the original shopfronts to the railway

arches survive intact. Also surviving are carriageway arches

to storage vaults under the station, originally for Burton

beer; these have double wooden doors with original ironwork,

grilles and hinges. North of No.91, the elevation steps up to

a tower with a blind arcade near the top. The substructure of

the station continues northwards to the first railway bridge.

The ground floor being articulated into bays pierced by

pointed arches. This arrangement continues to No.111. There is

an additional blind arch, formerly a carriageway, north of

this. There are 4 rectangular chimneys on the parapet line of

Nos 93 to 111. The original shopfronts have been altered,

though the structure itself is intact. Drinking fountain

comprising gabled stone block with granite eared and

shouldered inscribed aedicule having a semicircular basin.

Station approached by dramatic ramp rising from the western

end with arcaded retaining wall having inset shops. Ramp

gained by steps from the eastern end with pair of original

iron gates at the foot and bollards.

25-bay train shed a single 240 foot span in cast-iron arched

braces manufactured by the Butterley Iron Company (dated 1867)

and tied together by the floor girders of the station floor

which is effectively at 1st floor level. Ribs in the form of

pointed arches and whole structure supported under the

platform floor by a grid of iron columns; the structure of the

space was determined by the module of the Burton beer barrel.

Screen wall between concourse and hotel with pointed arch,

plate traceried windows which continue along the sides of the

shed at the southern end.

INTERIORS: booking hall: rectangular in plan and having 6 bays

and double height. Linenfold panelling to ground floor level

dates to the 1880s as does the curving wood screen of the

ticket office. Elaborately carved corbels to serving as

springers for former vaulting. The elevations of the booking

hall on north, south, east and west intact, that of greatest

interest to the east since it features 2 double-height, glazed

pointed arches with mullions and transoms: the glazing pattern

of original design; this forms a screen wall between the

booking hall and the platform. To west, decorative cast-iron

glazed canopy to taxi rank, narrow exit under arch to Midland

Road (qv). At east of concourse, Ladies' lavatories with

tiling and early C20 fittings.

Former hotel: painted decoration begun late in 1872 by

Frederick Sang at the suggestion of Scott; in December of 1873

Sang was replaced by Gillow and Co., who were also supplying

the furniture and fittings to the Hotel. Andrew Benjamin

Donaldson, a painter, oversaw the completion of the interior

decorations for Gillow and himself painted the figures at the

top of the grand staircase in 1876-77. By the summer of 1877

the interiors were largely complete. The interiors were

redecorated when electric light was installed between 1885 and

1889, the overseeing architects being Trubshaw and Towles.

This affected most of the principal public rooms; the entrance

hall from Euston Road and the lounge above did retain the

painted decoration from the first half of the 1870s. The

500-bedroomed hotel closed in 1935 and was used as offices but

has retained many original features, fixings and fittings

including tiles in fine ecclesiastical Gothic and Queen Anne

Revival styles. There are several interiors of exceptional

architectural interest. The entrance hall of Euston Road in

the west wing and the ladies' saloon above are said to have

been decorated by F Sang. Saloon with arcaded paired columns,

trabeated ceilings and other decorations, with balcony over

entrance. The Grand Staircase, also in the west wing, is of

stone supported on exposed and decorated cast-iron. It is set

in a rib-vaulted well, the spandrels to the vaults filled with

paintings of the virtues dressed in medieval and classicising

garb with the spandrel to the east depicting the arms of the

Midland Railway (being consolidated and restored at time of

inspection in September 1994). The Coffee Room on the ground

floor of the west wing has a crescent-shaped, square-ended

plan. It was altered with an overlay of Classical ornament in

the late C19 or possibly early C20, but many of the original

elements survive, the cornices and ceilings protected behind

later partitioning and false ceilings. Main staircase the most

dramatic space, the stone treads supported on exposed and

expressed cast-iron beams.

HISTORICAL NOTE: St Pancras was the terminus of the Midland

Railway and when built was the largest station roof in the

world without internal supports. In terms of both architecture

and engineering, it has claim to be Britain's most impressive

station. Dramatic roof line with gables and spires forms an

important landmark.

(Hunter M and Thorne R: Change at King's Cross: London: -1990:

65-74).

  

Listing NGR: TQ2980782564

  

This text is a legacy record and has not been updated since the building was originally listed. Details of the building may have changed in the intervening time. You should not rely on this listing as an accurate description of the building.

 

Source: English Heritage

 

Listed building text is © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under licence.

When I was a little girl we didn't go on many outings, due to the fact there was six kids. Two trips I do remember fondly, however, were a trip to Buffalo Bill's Grave. It was windy, but fun! It's probably one of my earliest memories. The other trip was here... Red Rocks Amphitheatre. It seemed so big and beautiful when I was a kid (I still think it's big and beautiful). It's another of my earliest memories with my mom and brothers and sisters, running up and down the stairs. Looking at the huge rocks, reaching up to the Heaven's.

I have gone to many concerts here. And I've enjoyed every single one of them. Scottie and I went on our first "real" date here! It was fabulous. This place holds so many wonderful memories for me. Sunday was no exception. It was a beautiful day out. I got to enjoy the company of my man and my granddaughter at one of my favorite places on earth. It doesn't get any better then that!

The best place in the world to see a concert!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rocks_Amphitheatre

every so often vehicles required servicing and on 6.8.98 after being attend to i was asked if i would use fleet no 10 on the Bayston Hill S19 service, here is no 10m at the begin of the S19 at Lythwood road prior to the start of the run,

Lingering Garden, Suzhou, China

See that big black thing - that is an Australian black cockatoo that has just left that girls head.

 

It was trying to get a grip after landing on the back of her head, but I think it was slipping, so doing a lot of flapping, trying to get traction.

 

It would have made the perfect photo, but in the seconds it took me to get the camera out, it decided to leave for solid ground.

 

The girl looks terrified, but was actually quite calm about it, but her mother was standing next to me and freaking out.

 

They are definitely a BIG bird.

  

every single day i feel like a never ending book. there's always something to add and to say. i want a happy ending. my happy ending.

   

[march 3, 2010]

106/365

 

Every style, every attraction;)

You will have to reset your life every now and then!!

Created for DUC

DUC #442

 

With kind Thanks to ~Claude Edwards for the source image~

Claude Edwards

 

Little Girl~Childatplaystock~

Childatplaystock

 

Mask by ~SkeletalMess~

SkeletalMess

 

-

Update 01: 2018-08-19

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This series ...

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Read on at: emulsive.org/reviews/film-reviews/every-single-film-stock...

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Trojans FC has been providing top class Southampton Rugby for 142 years! Established in 1874 Trojans operates 3 Senior Men's, a Senior Ladies and teams at every youth age group.

#proudtobeatrojan

The Trojans Club was founded in 1874 initially as a rugby club - The Trojans Football Club.

There are now four very active sporting sections, Rugby, Cricket, Hockey and Squash with a total membership of well over one thousand.

During its long and proud history, Trojans has done much to foster amateur sport and has, over the years, produced many county and international players.

The original minute books are still in existence and are held in the Southampton City archives and there are many other documents and press reports that have been used extensively to create the following documents, broken into two sections, the History and the Playing Archives.

This is not intended to be a definitive history of the Trojans Football Club, the oldest rugby club in Hampshire, but more a selection of the highlights of the early years and a brief review of the past few years.

The Beginning

On the 3rd of September 1874 a meeting was held at the Antelope Hotel, Southampton, by members of a previous club, with a view to forming the "Trojans".

The previous Club was the "Southampton Football Club" which existed for one season under that name having previous been the "Grammar School Old Boys". The earliest recorded game so far found was the Old Boys against the Shirley Club on 5th October 1872 at Porter's Meadow. The match was won by Shirley by 2 touchdowns to one. H F Gibbs was captain of both of these forerunners.

H F Gibbs was voted the first Captain of the Trojans Football Club and the Club colours were voted as blue and red. It was agreed that the first annual subscription should be five shillings per year. The first rugby games of the Club were played at Porters Mead, which is now called Queens Park, Southampton.

The first Annual Meeting of the Club took place on the 24th September 1875 when the Treasurer reported a small credit balance of five pence halfpenny (2.29p). The results for the 1874/75 season produced five victories and three defeats.

The Club joined the Rugby Football Union in 1881.

Change the Laws

At a committee Meeting on the 5th September 1874 the Playing Rules of Rugby Football were read through and the worthy members of the Trojans decided to make an amendment to Rule number 15 which read "It is lawful to run in anywhere across the goal line". The addition made by the Trojans at that stage was "except between the goal posts". The Club soon found it necessary to alter this!

The First Results

Southsea (A) lost by two punts out and seven touch downs

Salisbury (A) Won by one goal and two touch downs to nil.

Salisbury (H) Lost by one goal, one try and two touch downs to two tries and four touch downs.

Magpies Won by three tries and seven touch downs to nil.

Southsea (H) Won by one goal to nil

Springhill Won by one goal and three touch downs to one goal.

Royal Academy Gosport Lost by four tries and six touch downs to one try.

First Floodlit game

On the evening of 28th November 1878, a match was played against the Rovers Football Club by electric light, having been cancelled the night before because of rain. This was the first exhibition of electric light in Southampton, and believed to be the first ever game of rugby under lights. The local newspaper reported that "at times the light was very brilliant and players could be seen plainly".

Ban the Game!

During the 1880 season, S E Gibbs died as a result of an injury while playing against Romsey. There was much local comment and the then Mayor of Southampton issued a handbill, published in full in "The Times", condemning the game as follows:

"The Mayor in consequence of the many serious accidents and the recent deplorable death in Southampton resulting from the dangerous practice of playing football requests the Heads of Families, the Principals of Scholastic Establishments in the Town and Members of Clubs to take such steps as may be necessary for preventing the game being played in future according to Rugby Union, Association and other rules of a dangerous character. The Mayor considers it his duty to use every means in his power for prohibiting the game as hitherto played being continued in the Porters Meadow field or upon any other of the Public lands in Southampton".

At the Committee Meeting of 16th December 1880 "It was decided to play as usual unless we found out before that the Mayor had given any instruction to the police. In that case it was thought best to summons any offending "arm of the law" for assault".

The Formation of the Hampshire Rugby Football Union

At the Trojan Club's initiative, a meeting was held on 13th April 1883 to discuss the formation of "The Hampshire County Rugby Football Union". In the first season of the County Club, at least seven Trojans represented the County.

In 1901 County activities ceased and it was again the Trojans, along with United Services, who, in 1910, convened a meeting at the Trojans Club for the purpose of forming a Rugby Football Union in Hampshire.

Over 400 Trojan members have represented the county at rugby at the various levels and 140 at senior level.

“International” Football"

Although a rugby club, Trojans were known, on occasions, to play with the round ball. The following team was selected to play Curries French team (from Havre) on the New Football Ground, Archers Road (the Dell) on Tuesday 1st November 1898. Scotney, goal, Denning & Maundrell, backs, Densham, Ellerby & Colson, halfs, Ellaby, Page, Macdonald, Gamble & Hussey (councillor and later Sir George), forwards. Trojans were allowed to take half the gate money. The Echo reported this as a game against a team of French players and thus it claimed the honour of being the first international match played at the Dell.

The First Hampshire Cup

 

In May 1888 the Trojans Committee proposed the starting of a Rugby Union Cup Competition in the interests of Rugby Football. The County Challenge Cup (Presented by Tankerville Chamberlayne M.P., President of Trojans, and pictured here) was started in the 1889/1890 season and the Club entered the same. During this year, not only was the pitch enclosed by rope, but a charge of sixpence was made to all spectators. The Cup was duly won by Trojans in March 1890. Whether it was ever played for again is not sure as, in 1891, Trojans decided not to enter because " it was felt that it was a farce putting up the cup at the fag end of the season to be competed for by three clubs"! The present whereabouts of the grand cup is not known, although it is believed it was presented back to Tankerville Chamberlayne.

Service to the County

As well as forming the County Union (twice), Trojan members have served the County well and it can be said that there has always been a Trojan involved in Hampshire Rugby since its formation.

In particular, over the 108 active years of the Union, six Trojan members have served as President of the Union serving a total of 49 years. Six Secretaries served a total of 36 years and for the first sixty-two years of County representation on the RFU Committee the Hampshire representative was a Trojan.

Mr. Hampshire

There can be no more respected and faithful servant of the County and the Game than one particular Trojan, Dudley Kemp, as the following record illustrates -

Captain of Trojans 1927-34, 1935-38

Captain of Hampshire 1935

Played for England 1935.

Barbarian

President of the Rugby Football Union 1969

Member of the International Board 1971-77

Hampshire representative on the RFU Committee 1955-69

President HRFU 1973-76

Secretary HRFU 1946-67

Assistant Secretary HRFU 1967-68

Team Secretary HRFU 1946-53

Match Secretary HRFU 1953-56

Dudley died at his home in Devon in January 2003 aged 93.

Doggy Spectators

During a match between Trojans and Portsmouth Victoria in 1886, the ball was kicked into the Trojans' in-goal area where it rebounded off a stray dog. One of the Portsmouth players gathered it and touched down to claim a try. The Trojans protested, and claimed "dead-ball" the ball having struck a "spectator". The objection was later referred to the RFU Committee who ruled that the try should stand, as dogs could not be classed as spectators!

The Barbarians

H A Haigh-Smith was elected Trojans Captain in 1912. He was instrumental in forming the Barbarians Club and was later made president of that Club. He was also assistant Manager of the Lions tour in 1935.

Trojans played the Barbarians on January 9th 1895 but the result does not appear to have been recorded for posterity!

The Wars!

Trojans Rugby had to be suspended three times because of wars - in 1897 because of the Boer War, 1914, the Great War and 1939 the World War.

Moving Home

Although always considered a Southampton Club, Trojans actually now play in the Test Valley District. Over the years there have been many homes -

1874 the first games were played at Porters Mead, which is now called Queens Park on Queens Terrace. (by the Dock Gates)

1884 the Club donated the sum of two guineas towards the purchase of the proposed Cricket Ground in Bannister Park, until recently, the County Cricket Ground, and commenced playing rugby there in the 1884/85 season.

1897 Freemantle Ground, Stafford Road

1905 County Cricket Ground, Northlands Road

1923 G H Brown's farm in Wide Lane, Swathling with Atlantic Park (now Southampton Airport) being used for the dressing accommodation.

1929 Southampton Stadium, Banister Road

1931 Bannister Court as well as G H Brown's farm

1933 11 acres of land purchased in Cemetery Road, Swaythling (sold in 1945)

1946 County Cricket Ground, Northlands Road

1947 Sports Centre, Southampton

1958 Stoneham Park (the present ground). The ground, 22.8 acres, was purchased in 1953 for £1,205 and was another example of the members' foresight, as the timber in the ground was sold for sums almost sufficient to cover the cost of purchase! In 1958, a temporary corrugated iron changing room was completed and the foundations of the pavilion commenced. The pavilion was officially opened by A.T. Voyce, President of the Rugby Football Union, on 27th December 1960.

The Prime Years

Throughout the early and mid 1900s, Trojans went from strength to strength and provided many County Players as well a number of Internationals.

The modern peak was probably reached in the early 1960s when the Club could justifiably consider itself to be the premier civilian rugby club in the South of England (outside London). In 1961, seven rugby sides were fielded with over 200 players available for selection.

Before league tables were introduced in 1987/88, local newspapers ran Merit Tables, the Wessex Merit Table and the Hampshire Merit Table both being won in the 1978/79 and the 1980/81 seasons.

The Lean Years

There were many reasons for the decline from that peak which started in the early 80s. More local clubs, easier transport and a change of working patterns (Trojans being very much a "transit camp" in those days) were some of them. The introduction of leagues in 1987 hit the Club at the worst possible time. In the first year, the Club was put into London Division 3 but could not cope at that level and dropped straight into Hampshire Division One. Luck was also in short supply when the Club, having finished fifth, seventh from bottom (!), the team was still relegated to Hampshire Division Two (a quirk of the league structure). There the Club stayed, battling for promotion with the other strong clubs to be relegated in the mass drop, until the 1992/93 season when the league was won with a record of played 10, won 10, for 353, against 37 which included a league record win of 91-0 against Waterlooville.

Three seasons were spent in Hampshire One but the 1995/96 season saw what was probably

the strongest ever Hampshire Division 1 and relegation again befell the team. 1996/97 season saw us just lose out on promotion but success was achieved in 1997/98.

The Revival Years

Success was achieved in the 2000/2001 season when promotion was achieved to London Division 4SW (The old Division 3SW having been broken into two divisions). The first season at that level was quite successful, ending mid-table, but the next was not when Hampshire 1 again beckoned. Promotion and relegation followed over a number of seasons until London Division 1 was achieved in the 2011/12 season.

Competition is maintained throughout the Senior Club with the 2nd XV being in the Hampshire Senior merit table and the 3rd XV being in the Hampshire Division 1 merit table.

One significant advance was the introduction of Women's rugby which has developed into the strongest team in Southern England. The end of the 2006/07 season saw them promoted to the Championship 1 South (National level 2) and in 2009/10 a second team was entered into the leagues.

The Strength of Youth

One thing that has remained a strength since it's formation in the mid 70s is the Youth Section. Being one of the first clubs to introduce Mini Rugby in England (imported from Wales) the Mini and Junior Sections have encouraged many thousands of youngsters into the game and the Youth section now runs teams in every year group from under 8s to under 17s, holds annual tournaments and is generally held up to be a model of organization.

Stevenson square, Manchester.

Every year on January 1st a new marker is placed at the new location of the Geographic South Pole (it moves 15-30ft per year due to the ice shelf). The Pole Marker is voted on and machined by the previous Winter-season's personel.

Every time I see Tree Swallows they look like they really have an attitude. In-your-face birds. It looked as if they had taken over all the Bluebird boxes at Montezuma NWR.

Tram Vu

All Saints, Easton, Suffolk

 

Almost every Suffolk child knows Easton, for here is Easton Farm Park, beloved of school trips and Sunday family outings. At the farm, you get to see cows milked, sheep shorn and horses shoed, mostly in the old ways, a remembrance of times past. Of particular interest are the dairy and the forge, both conjuring up something of what it must have been like to live on a large Suffolk estate a century ago.The Farm Park is on the road to Letheringham, a wild, remote place, but Easton itself is urbane and polite.

 

Even if you don't have children, you might still know of Easton for the 18th century crinkle-crankle wall which surrounds the former estate of the Dukes of Hamilton, and their house, Easton Hall. Norman Scarfe tells me that the wall is the longest of its kind in the world. The Hall itself was demolished in the 1920s, and shipped off to America to be rebuilt on a ranch. The Farm Park was the Hall farm, and the estate's pack of hounds is still housed in the village, although of course these days they must do without foxes. In addition, the wall goes right up to the church, so that no ordinary folk needed to see the Hamiltons on their way to and from Divine Service. It surrounds three sides of the graveyard.

 

All Saints sits on a mound, evidence of an early foundation, and you climb to the south porch. There is a north porch, too, but that was for the exclusive use of the Hall. Like so many in this part of the world, this is a 13th century church extensively refurbished two centuries later. Symptomatic of this is the octagonal 15th century belfry, familiar from several Suffolk round towers, but here built on to a square base of 200 years earlier.

 

There is no chancel arch, the nave and chancel being continuous as is common in east Suffolk. The interior is essentially a 19th century refurbishment, although the pew set is pre-Victorian, dating from the Regency period. The dark wood and gentle cinema curves is a reminder of how the period was to influence Jazz Modern and Art Deco with its neo-classical clean lines, an understandable reaction to the stifling late Victorianism which Art Nouveau never really escaped. To see them, you might almost detect the 1930s hand of Diocesan architect Monro Cautley, but it predates his work by more than a hundred years.

 

14th Century glass is not common in Suffolk, but a small panel depicting St Helen is set in one of the upper lights in contemporary tracery. A nave window depicting the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Magi is by Hardman & Co. There is a beautiful Annunciation window by M Farrar Bell of 1964 for Susan Carrie Stone, who died in 1962. Her ashes lie at Easton, the simple inscription reads.

 

Opposite it is another simple modern window, for Phyllis Hill who died in 1965. It illustrates verses from the Benedicite. A poppy and a cornflower are at the heart of irregular roundels depicting the sun and alpha on one side, and the moon and omega on the other. It is by Andrew Anderson.

 

There are of course memorials of the Dukes of Hamilton here, and of their predecessors the Earls of Rochford. But their predecessors at the Hall, the Wingfields, thought so highly of themselves in the 17th century that they actually had their family pews built up in the sanctuary. These are quite extraordinary objects, one either side, quite unlike anything else in Suffolk. Mortlock thinks that they were put there during the Commonwealth period, which makes you wonder what was going on between. Perhaps there is a case for them being slightly earlier, as the need to be close to the altar would be in keeping with Laudian sacramentalism.

 

No less than nine hatchments for all three families are displayed in the chancel; combined with the pews, there would be no doubt who was in charge around here. So, yet another snapshot of life in a Suffolk village in years gone by.

Every couple of moths we grab a camera and take pictures as we go through the market. This is again a trip about the market

OM PARVAT

Om Parvat (also Adi Kailash, Little Kailash, Jonglingkong Peak,Baba Kailash, chhota Kailash)[3] is a mountain in the Himalayanmountain range, lying in the Darchula district of western Nepal and inPithoragarh District, Uttarakhand, India. It is considered sacred by Hindusand its snow deposition pattern resembles the sacred 'OM' (ॐ). Its appearance is distinctly similar to Mount Kailash in Tibet.[4] Near Om Parvat lie Parvati Lake and Jonglingkong Lake. Jonglingkong Lake is sacred, as Mansarovar, to the Hindus. Opposite to this peak is a mountain called Parwati Muhar. The Om Parvat is the fruit of discord between India and Nepal who do not reach agreement about the border line between the two countries. The Om Parvat is currently on the Indo-Nepalese border face "Om/ॐ" in India and the back of the mountain inNepal.

This peak was attempted for the first time by an Indo-British team including Martin Moran, T. Rankin, M. Singh, S. Ward, A. Williams and R. Ausden. The climbers promised not to ascend the final 10 metres (30 ft) out of respect for the peak's holy status. However, they were stopped around 200 m (660 ft) short of the summit by very loose snow and rock conditions.[4]

The first ascent of Adi Kailash came on October 8, 2004. The team comprised Tim Woodward, Jack Pearse, Andy Perkins (UK); Jason Hubert, Martin Welch, Diarmid Hearns, Amanda George (Scotland); and Paul Zuchowski (USA). They did not ascend the final few metres, again out of respect for the sacred nature of the summit.

Om Parvat can be viewed en route to the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra from the last camp below Lipu Lekh pass at Nabhidhang. Many trekkers to Adi Kailash often make a diversion to view Om Parvat. Om Parvat and Adi Kailash or Baba Kailash are not one and the same. Om Parvat is located near Nabhi Dhang (Nepal),The Chhota Kailash is located near Sinla pass, Near Brahma Parvat.

The best view of Om Parvat which "Om" drawn by the snow is the view from the district of Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand, India), which faces the mountain and hence to the "Om". By Kailash Mansarovar Foundation Swami Bikash Giri www.sumeruparvat.com , www.naturalitem.com

  

OM

Auṃ or Oṃ, Sanskrit: ॐ) is a sacred sound and a spiritual icon in Indian religions. It is also a mantra in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.

Om is part of the iconography found in ancient and medieval era manuscripts, temples, monasteries and spiritual retreats in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The symbol has a spiritual meaning in all Indian dharmas, but the meaning and connotations of Om vary between the diverse schools within and across the various traditions.

In Hinduism, Om is one of the most important spiritual symbols (pratima). It refers to Atman (soul, self within) andBrahman (ultimate reality, entirety of the universe, truth, divine, supreme spirit, cosmic principles, knowledge). The syllable is often found at the beginning and the end of chapters in the Vedas, the Upanishads, and other Hindu texts. It is a sacred spiritual incantation made before and during the recitation of spiritual texts, during puja and private prayers, in ceremonies of rites of passages (sanskara) such as weddings, and sometimes during meditative and spiritual activities such as Yoga.

Vedic literature

The syllable "Om" is described with various meanings in the Vedas and different early Upanishads.[19] The meanings include "the sacred sound, the Yes!, the Vedas, the Udgitha (song of the universe), the infinite, the all encompassing, the whole world, the truth, the ultimate reality, the finest essence, the cause of the Universe, the essence of life, theBrahman, the Atman, the vehicle of deepest knowledge, and Self-knowledge".

Vedas

The chapters in Vedas, and numerous hymns, chants and benedictions therein use the syllable Om. The Gayatri mantra from the Rig Veda, for example, begins with Om. The mantra is extracted from the 10th verse of Hymn 62 in Book III of the Rig Veda.These recitations continue to be in use, and major incantations and ceremonial functions begin and end with Om.

ॐ भूर्भुवस्व: |

तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यम् |

भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि |

धियो यो न: प्रचोदयात् ||

 

Om. Earth, atmosphere, heaven.

Let us think on that desirable splendour

of Savitr, the Inspirer. May he stimulate

us to insightful thoughts.

Om is a common symbol found in the ancient texts of Hinduism, such as in the first line of Rig veda (top), as well as a icon in temples and spiritual retreats.

The Chandogya Upanishad is one of the oldest Upanishads of Hinduism. It opens with the recommendation that "let a man meditate on Om". It calls the syllable Om as udgitha (उद्गीथ, song, chant), and asserts that the significance of the syllable is thus: the essence of all beings is earth, the essence of earth is water, the essence of water are the plants, the essence of plants is man, the essence of man is speech, the essence of speech is the Rig Veda, the essence of the Rig Veda is the Sama Veda, and the essence of Sama Veda is the udgitha (song, Om).

Rik (ऋच्, Ṛc) is speech, states the text, and Sāman (सामन्) is breath; they are pairs, and because they have love and desire for each other, speech and breath find themselves together and mate to produce song. The highest song is Om, asserts section 1.1 of Chandogya Upanishad. It is the symbol of awe, of reverence, of threefold knowledge because Adhvaryu invokes it, the Hotr recites it, and Udgatr sings it.

The second volume of the first chapter continues its discussion of syllable Om, explaining its use as a struggle between Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons). Max Muller states that this struggle between gods and demons is considered allegorical by ancient Indian scholars, as good and evil inclinations within man, respectively. The legend in section 1.2 of Chandogya Upanishad states that gods took the Udgitha (song of Om) unto themselves, thinking, "with this [song] we shall overcome the demons". The syllable Om is thus implied as that which inspires the good inclinations within each person.

Chandogya Upanishad's exposition of syllable Om in its opening chapter combines etymological speculations, symbolism, metric structure and philosophical themes. In the second chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad, the meaning and significance of Om evolves into a philosophical discourse, such as in section 2.10 where Om is linked to the Highest Self, and section 2.23 where the text asserts Om is the essence of three forms of knowledge, Om is Brahman and "Om is all this [observed world]".

Katha Upanishad

The Katha Upanishad is the legendary story of a little boy, Nachiketa – the son of sage Vajasravasa, who meetsYama – the Indian deity of death. Their conversation evolves to a discussion of the nature of man, knowledge,Atman (Soul, Self) and moksha (liberation). In section 1.2, Katha Upanishad characterizes Knowledge/Wisdom as the pursuit of good, and Ignorance/Delusion as the pursuit of pleasant, that the essence of Veda is make man liberated and free, look past what has happened and what has not happened, free from the past and the future, beyond good and evil, and one word for this essence is the word Om.

The word which all the Vedas proclaim,

That which is expressed in every Tapas (penance, austerity, meditation),

That for which they live the life of a Brahmacharin,

Understand that word in its essence: Om! that is the word.

Yes, this syllable is Brahman,

This syllable is the highest.

He who knows that syllable,

Whatever he desires, is his.

— Katha Upanishad,

Maitri Upanishad

The Maitrayaniya Upanishad in sixth Prapathakas (lesson) discusses the meaning and significance of Om. The text asserts that Om represents Brahman-Atman. The three roots of the syllable, states the Maitri Upanishad, are A + U + M. The sound is the body of Soul, and it repeatedly manifests in three: as gender-endowed body - feminine, masculine, neuter; as light-endowed body - Agni, Vayu and Aditya; as deity-endowed body - Brahma, Rudra and Vishnu; as mouth-endowed body - Garhapatya, Dakshinagni and Ahavaniya; as knowledge-endowed body - Rig, Saman and Yajur; as world-endowed body - Bhūr, Bhuvaḥ and Svaḥ; as time-endowed body - Past, Present and Future; as heat-endowed body - Breath, Fire and Sun; as growth-endowed body - Food, Water and Moon; as thought-endowed body - intellect, mind and pysche. Brahman exists in two forms - the material form, and the immaterial formless. The material form is changing, unreal. The immaterial formless isn't changing, real. The immortal formless is truth, the truth is the Brahman, the Brahman is the light, the light is the Sun which is the syllable Om as the Self.

The world is Om, its light is Sun, and the Sun is also the light of the syllable Om, asserts the Upanishad. Meditating on Om, is acknowledging and meditating on the Brahman-Atman (Soul, Self).

Mundaka Upanishad

The Mundaka Upanishad in the second Mundakam (part), suggests the means to knowing the Self and the Brahman to be meditation, self-reflection and introspection, that can be aided by the symbol Om.

That which is flaming, which is subtler than the subtle,

on which the worlds are set, and their inhabitants –

That is the indestructible Brahman. It is life, it is speech, it is mind. That is the real. It is immortal.

It is a mark to be penetrated. Penetrate It, my friend.

 

Taking as a bow the great weapon of the Upanishad,

one should put upon it an arrow sharpened by meditation,

Stretching it with a thought directed to the essence of That,

Penetrate that Imperishable as the mark, my friend.

 

Om is the bow, the arrow is the Soul, Brahman the mark,

By the undistracted man is It to be penetrated,

One should come to be in It,

as the arrow becomes one with the mark.

— Mundaka Upanishad, 2.2.2 - 2.2.4

Adi Shankara, in his review of the Mundaka Upanishad, states Om as a symbolism for Atman (soul, self).

Mandukya Upanishad

The Mandukya Upanishad opens by declaring, "Om!, this syllable is this whole world". Thereafter it presents various explanations and theories on what it means and signifies. This discussion is built on a structure of "four fourths" or "fourfold", derived from A + U + M + "silence" (or without an element).

Aum as all states of time

In verse 1, the Upanishad states that time is threefold: the past, the present and the future, that these three are "Aum". The four fourth of time is that which transcends time, that too is "Aum" expressed.

Aum as all states of Atman

In verse 2, states the Upanishad, everything is Brahman, but Brahman is Atman (the Soul, Self), and that the Atman is fourfold. Johnston summarizes these four states of Self, respectively, as seeking the physical, seeking inner thought, seeking the causes and spiritual consciousness, and the fourth state is realizing oneness with the Self, the Eternal.

Aum as all states of consciousness

In verses 3 to 6, the Mandukya Upanishad enumerates four states of consciousness: wakeful, dream, deep sleep and the state of ekatma (being one with Self, the oneness of Self). These four are A + U + M + "without an element" respectively.

Aum as all of knowledge

In verses 9 to 12, the Mandukya Upanishad enumerates fourfold etymological roots of the syllable "Aum". It states that the first element of "Aum" is A, which is from Apti (obtaining, reaching) or from Adimatva (being first). The second element is U, which is from Utkarsa (exaltation) or from Ubhayatva(intermediateness). The third element is M, from Miti (erecting, constructing) or from Mi Minati, or apīti (annihilation). The fourth is without an element, without development, beyond the expanse of universe. In this way, states the Upanishad, the syllable Om is indeed the Atman (the self).

Shvetashvatara Upanishad

The Shvetashvatara Upanishad, in verses 1.14 to 1.16, suggests meditating with the help of syllable Om, where one's perishable body is like one fuel-stick and the syllable Om is the second fuel-stick, which with discipline and diligent rubbing of the sticks unleashes the concealed fire of thought and awareness within. Such knowledge, asserts the Upanishad, is the goal of Upanishads. The text asserts that Om is a tool of meditation empowering one to know the God within oneself, to realize one's Atman (Soul, Self).

Epics

The Bhagavad Gita, in the Epic Mahabharata, mentions the meaning and significance of Om in several verses. For example, Fowler notes that verse 9.17 of the Bhagavad Gita synthesizes the competing dualistic and monist streams of thought in Hinduism, by using "Om which is the symbol for the indescribable, impersonal Brahman".

I am the Father of this world, Mother, Ordainer, Grandfather, the Thing to be known, the Purifier, the syllable Om, Rik, Saman and also Yajus.

— Krishna to Arjuna, Bhagavad Gita 9.17,

The significance of the sacred syllable in the Hindu traditions, is similarly highlighted in various of its verses, such as verse 17.24 where the importance of Omduring prayers, charity and meditative practices is explained as follows,

Therefore, uttering Om, the acts of yajna (fire ritual), dāna (charity) and tapas (austerity) as enjoined in the scriptures, are always begun by those who study the Brahman.

— Bhagavad Gita

Yoga Sutra

The aphoristic verse 1.27 of Pantanjali's Yogasutra links Om to Yoga practice, as follows,

तस्य वाचकः प्रणवः ॥२७॥

His word is Om.

— Yogasutra 1.27,

Johnston states this verse highlights the importance of Om in the meditative practice of Yoga, where it symbolizes three worlds in the Soul; the three times – past, present and future eternity, the three divine powers – creation, preservation and transformation in one Being; and three essences in one Spirit – immortality, omniscience and joy. It is, asserts Johnston, a symbol for the perfected Spiritual Man (his emphasis). BY KAILASH MANSAROVAR FOUNDATION SWAMI BIKASH GIRI www.sumeruparvat.com , www.naturalitem.com

  

Every summer season coming , the weather of north coast of Taiwan always fine , full of bright sunlight ,morning or sunset moment , the strange rocks was beautiful and amazing

Behind the Scenes shoot for the Panasonic GH3 Middle East Launch Film "Every Lost Breath"

youtu.be/TH_YbBHVF4g