View allAll Photos Tagged influence
I see a Keith Haring influence. You compare here: www.google.ca/search?q=keith+haring&espv=2&biw=11...
See Mikey G Ottawa's most popular Flickr Photo Albums HERE:
www.flickr.com/photos/mikeygottawa/albums
This link will always start with my Most Recent Flickr Photo. See Mikey G Ottawa's Flickr Slideshow HERE: www.flickr.com/mikeygottawa/show
CTV Regional Contact gave me 3 minutes on the local CTV News here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C2U_01ajdw
See my 10 minutes of local TV coverage on Rogers Cable's "Camera Talk" with Sandie Sharkey here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-s4ZpS_t1Y
Just received from Kred in February 2013 showing that we have joined the elite circle of top 1% social media influencer.
So... just how much can a person be influenced by the work of the Pictorialists? Well, it turns out, it is a field of photographic history that I completely ignored for decades, but have recently come to appreciate and understand they've been lurking in the back of my artistic mind for many many years.
Stieglitz, Steichen, Prodger, Boughton, de Meyer, Devens, Coburn, White, Puyo, Mortensen, and many others found creative ways of expressing their art through the photographic process.
These are my digital adaptations, given that I no longer work in a chemical darkroom, nor with film.
----
Photographer: C'est moi
Photog's Assistant: Judith Turano
Model/Hair/MUA/Couture: Eyerish Heather Collins
Sometimes the most important moments of your life pass you by without you ever marking them. It's difficult to know in the constant stream what will persist as memories, or what will influence us.
Nearly 4 years ago I walked through the eye of a gigantic typhoon that flooded the town in which I lived. It was an amazing spectacle. I had never seen nature's power in that way, but I never felt threatened, and never unsafe. 6 months later I travelled in Vietnam, along the Mekong. A recent storm had washed houses away, and it had been orders of magnitude smaller than the one I had strolled through 6 months previously.
8 months later I was studying climate and disasters, and here I still am. The images of the people I saw there are still with me, and will probably remain so for a long time. At the time, I was just a tourist. Now it's my life. I had no idea how much that would change me.
View large.
It's now become part of our travelling calendar - we go on a city break for Jayne’s birthday in January - no presents for birthday's and Christmas, we travel instead. This year it was Seville. We had to drive 180 miles south to Stansted to fly there though, Friday afternoon on the A1, such fun... It was a really good drive down in actual fact, the best day for months, glorious blue sky and a fantastic sunset- and I was in a car. We got stung for tea and drinks in the Radison Blu but we were overnighting and leaving the car so we didn't have much choice. Ryanair aagh! Again no choice. To be fair to the abrasive Irish man O Leary things are better than they used to be and it was an acceptable flight.
We were hoping for better weather than we got- don't you always? It was. cold, windy and after some initial beautiful sun on our first afternoon, it was mostly grey. The wind died but so did the sun. The other little problem was that it was my turn for the awful cold that Jayne had been trying to get over. I was under the weather in more ways than one all week, it was only a cold but it was the worst I've had for ages and it didn't help my mood, particularly when the sun was absent. We had a few hours of really nice light here and there and I made the most of it - I think!
Seville has miles and miles of narrow cobbled streets, they seem to go on for ever. They are almost random in layout and it is extremely difficult to find your way around, it's easier to just keep walking and see what you find. So we did! The architecture is stunning and the history is fascinating. Aside from the ancient history the two events that seem to have had a massive recent influence are the Expo's of 1929 and 1992. The incredible buildings or 'Pavilions' that were built for a one off event are now part of the reason that people visit the city. The 1929 pavilions are fantastic, each one is a story in itself and a destination in its own right but there are a lot of them in Parque Maria Luisa. Plaza Espana, built by the hosts of course, is the biggest and I would imagine that you could make a project out of photographing the individual ceramic tile displays around it on their own. These incredible buildings really need the light to be right to get images that people want to see, flat bright light from bright grey skies is good for certain things but dramatic architecture deserves better - or maybe I'm looking for the easy way option. The other discovery that we made, we found just down the road from the hotel, about an hour into the trip – The Metropol Parasol. A giant lattice work parasol, apparently called ‘The Mushrooms’ locally and apparently the world’s largest wooden structure. You have to look twice, having discovered that it is wood. Only later did we discover that we could get to the top and there is an extensive walkway around the top of it. It is built on top of ancient ruins, ( still intact and viewable) a food market and bars etc. and has a plaza around it and on it, that is buzzing on weekend evenings. Walking around the top, the first people up it one day and being back to watch the sunset later was one of the highlights of the trip for me.
The 1992 Expo also covered a massive area but left behind lots of modern - and some very strange - buildings and arenas. Some are of a temporary nature and get dismantled others find a new use. The land used was on an island between two branches of the River Guadalquivir – Isla de la Cartuja. The branch that goes through the city is now a canal, blocked at its northern end by a barrier with a motorway on it, and is used extensively for water sports, mainly rowing. Many of the buildings are now used by private companies as headquarters , others have a very derelict look. The whole area- even though it is home to the theme park- which was shut for the winter, has a neglected air about it. There are weeds growing everywhere but fountains are switched on, which seemed odd. Unlike the city a short distance away, there are no cafes or bars or other people around for that matter, just us meandering through. The car park that was created for the event is massive, it stretches for miles, and I really mean miles. Totally derelict, just the odd person or dog walker around. There is even a railway line terminating here, in the middle of nowhere a modern and apparently unmanned station, like a ghost station. At this point, across the river proper is open countryside, much flatter than I expected and very easy for local walkers and cyclists to get to - also very calm and quiet, a place to linger and enjoy the peace.
As usual I researched and discovered as we walked, we averaged around 13 miles a day and tried to get off the beaten track. We were out around 8.15, before sunrise, and had orange juice, coffee and Tostada with the locals for breakfast. The trouble is that there are many miles of walking in a relatively small area, some streets are only a few feet wide so there are a lot of them to explore. Incredible ancient churches and squares are around every corner- it's a very religious place - Catholicism rules in Spain. Unfortunately many are only a few feet away from the building next to it and it is difficult to get a decent shot of them. Seville is also famous, historically, as a producer of ceramic tiles. A building isn’t complete without a tile display of some sort and it would be very easy to make a project out of tiles alone. It may be a little boring for any companions though!
We walked the length of the embankment a couple of times, it has graffiti from end to end, several miles of massive concrete walls covered in everything imaginable, from marker pen scribbling to works of art. It was suggested to me that allowing people to paint here might prevent them from daubing property and monuments in the city- it hasn't! Most alleyways and shutters have been attacked to a greater or lesser degree. Spain has very high youth unemployment and maybe this plays a role. To be truthful though we haven't seen a city that's free of graffiti. The other problem is dogs- or what they produce, it's everywhere, absolutely everywhere, in a week we saw only one person remove his dogs mess. Fortunately the city streets are cleaned exceptionally well, some of the cleanest we have come across, men (and a lot of women) and machines are washing and sweeping endlessly.
Having had the wettest winter on record at home - almost three months of rain - we didn't want more rain but we got it. The upside was the water and the reflections that it created made photography on the cobbled streets more interesting, particularly at night. I usually find that it takes me a while to get into the groove on a trip and this one was no different, I didn't start shooting with total disregard - street shots- for a couple of days. Whilst the locals wore quilted jackets and scarves we got down to tee shirts at times, the warmer afternoons would be welcome in summer, never mind January, in Huddersfield. I envied the cyclists, being able to train in temperatures like this in winter - I wish! You need a lot less willpower to get out there and train hard in pleasant weather.
From a photography point of view I had a frustrating time, I never felt to get to grips with the place- other than on the streets at night. Writing this on my phone on the flight home, I haven't a clue what I've got to work with when I get back. I usually edit first and write later. Generally I have a first look, I'm disillusioned, I then revisit and see things differently- thankfully! Architectural shots with a grey sky could be destined for the monochrome treatment, we'll soon see. I'm still editing stuff from our London trip before Christmas, it's getting decent views in black and white and I quite enjoy looking at them myself.
We visited most of the notable tourist destinations, and went up anything that we could. Seville doesn't have a high point-it's flat! Nothing really stands head and shoulders above the city. The Cathedral tower is over 300 feet but the Cathedral itself fills a lot of the view on some aspects. Being square and having to look through bars in recesses you don't really get a completely open aspect. A new 600 foot tower is close to being finished, it's an office block and I couldn't find any mention of it being a viewing point in the future.
Oranges were the last thing on my mind when I suggested going to Seville. There are 25000 orange trees in Seville and now is the time that they are laden with big-and sour- Seville oranges, they are everywhere, apparently they are the property of the city authorities and will be harvested and sent to the UK to be made in to marmalade at some point in the near future. These trees will soon be covered in fragrant blossom, the city will smell beautiful for a couple of months. Studying the surrounding area it would be good to tour in March or April I would think, the scents, longer days and better weather would make for a fantastic trip. One for the future. The sunrise on our final morning was the best of the week, this was what we had looked forward to, we had to leave for the airport at 9.00...... Needless to say it was raining hard as we drove the last twenty miles home. Nothing new there then.
As usual I have aimed to present a pretty extensive collection of photographs of our chosen destination, some, at first glance will be pretty mundane shots of everyday life on the streets, often though, close inspection will reveal something humorous, something that needs a bit of thought. Others are definitely just people going about their holiday or work. Travelling with someone else it wouldn’t be fair to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to nail the perfect long exposure or HDR image of a cathedral or similar in perfect light – the one stunning shot to add to the portfolio- it’s not really my thing, I go for an overview of the place in the time available. Looking at the postcards locally it becomes obvious that stunning shots of some of these buildings are hard to come by. Heavily corrected converging verticals were quite obvious – and most likely will be in my own shots. As the owner of tilt and shift lenses I never travel with one – ever! My knees are already creaking from the weight of the bag.
Alien She
Photos and Video by Mario Gallucci
Alien She
Sep 3, 2015 – Jan 9, 2016
Alien She, curated by Astria Suparak + Ceci Moss, is the first exhibition to examine the lasting impact of Riot Grrrl on artists and cultural producers working today. A pioneering punk feminist movement that emerged in the early 1990s, Riot Grrrl has had a pivotal influence, inspiring many around the world to pursue socially and politically progressive careers as artists, activists, authors and educators. Emphasizing female and youth empowerment, collaborative organization, creative resistance and DIY ethics, Riot Grrrl helped a new generation to become active feminists and create their own culture and communities that reflect their values and experiences, in contrast to mainstream conventions and expectations.
Riot Grrrl formed in reaction to pervasive and violent sexism, racism and homophobia in the punk music scene and in the culture at large. Its participants adapted strategies from earlier queer and punk feminisms and ‘70s radical politics, while also popularizing discussions of identity politics occurring within academia, but in a language that spoke to a younger generation. This self-organized network made up of teenagers and twenty-somethings reached one another through various platforms, such as letters, zines, local meetings, regional conferences, homemade videos, and later, chat rooms, listservs and message boards. The movement eventually spread worldwide, with chapters opening in at least thirty-two states and twenty-six countries.* Its ethos and aesthetics have survived well past its initial period in the ‘90s, with many new chapters forming in recent years. Riot Grrrl’s influence on contemporary global culture is increasingly evident – from the Russian collective Pussy Riot’s protest against corrupt government-church relations to the popular teen website Rookie and the launch of Girls Rock Camps and Ladyfest music and art festivals around the world.
Alien She focuses on seven people whose visual art practices were informed by their contact with Riot Grrrl. Many of them work in multiple disciplines, such as sculpture, installation, video, documentary film, photography, drawing, printmaking, new media, social practice, curation, music, writing and performance – a reflection of the movement’s artistic diversity and mutability. Each artist is represented by several projects from the last 20 years, including new and rarely seen works, providing an insight into the development of their creative practices and individual trajectories.
Artists: Ginger Brooks Takahashi (Pittsburgh), Tammy Rae Carland (Oakland), Miranda July (Los Angeles), Faythe Levine (Milwaukee), Allyson Mitchell (Toronto), L.J. Roberts (Brooklyn), Stephanie Syjuco (San Francisco) and more.
Archival Materials from: dumba collective; EMP Museum, Seattle; Interference Archive; Jabberjaw; the Riot Grrrl Collection at the Fales Library & Special Collections, NYU; and many personal collections.
Collaborative Projects and Platforms include: Counterfeit Crochet Project, Feminist Art Gallery (FAG), General Sisters, Handmade Nation, Joanie 4 Jackie, Learning to Love You More, LTTR, projet MOBILIVRE-BOOKMOBILE project, Sign Painters and more
Women’s Studies Professors Have Class Privilege / I’m With Problematic, from the series Creep Lez, Allyson Mitchell, 2012.
Altered t-shirts with iron-on transfer and vinyl letters. Courtesy of the artist and Katharine Mulherin Gallery, Toronto.
Alien She is curated by Astria Suparak and Ceci Moss, and organized by the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
Alien She is presented in two parts:
Museum of Contemporary Craft
724 NW Davis
Portland, OR 97209
511 Gallery @ PNCA
511 NW Broadway
Portland, OR 97209
Both venues are open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 6pm.
Batuan (alternate: Batoeon) is a village in Bali, Indonesia. It is noted for its artwork and style of painting which originated in the village in the 1930s and has since emerged into a major Balinese artistic style, known as a Batuan painting.
Batuan is a major painting center and contains a number of art galleries and cooperative art societies which have played a key role in promoting the art of Batuan. The village is also known for its performance of the ancient Gambuh dance, performed every Full Moon day.
There are two temples on the western part of the village which are known as Pura Puseh and Pura Dasar. These temples are built in classical Balinese temple architecture style with elaborate carvings. Visitors are given vermilion sarongs to wear during visit to the temples. The town is also popular for carved teak wood furnishings. The village also has a "fat Buddha statue" (called the "Fat Baby Statue") at the cross road from Salah to Blahatu facing east.
The most notable landmark is the village temple, known as Pura Puseh, an ancient structure dated to the 11th century, embellished with intricate stone carvings.
Located in the northern part of the village, 200 metres (660 ft) off the main road, the temple also has an inscription that testifies to the date of founding of Batuan in 1022 AD. The temple underwent restoration in 1992. It is a five-tiered gateway tower, clearly influenced by Indian religious architecture. Its icons and decorations, however, are typically Balinese in style.
Notable depictions include a Bhoma head overlooking the main gateway, the god Wisnu astride a bull, great elephants on the central stairway balustrade, and Siwa standing amongst skulls.
The roof of the temple is made of the fibre of chromatic black palm tree. The maintenance of the temple is done by the residents of the village. The temple is situated on the main road from Denpasar to Ubud. From: wiki.
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island (strictly speaking, the province covers a few small neighbouring islands as well as the isle of Bali). From: wiki.
Originally known as the Hotel Ponce de Leon, this building now serves as a dormitory and meal service building for Flagler College, St. Augustine, Florida. It was built by Henry Flagler in 1888 in a Spanish Renaissance style of architecture. Viewed from the courtyard. See other photos of the college in my album for Flagler College.
PK3-3959-e1.
English | Français | Deutsch
Elaiussa Sebaste is an ancient Roman city on the Mediterranean coast, in now days it is Turkey neat city of Mersin. The first traces of human habitation dating from the 3rd century BC are Egyptian currencies from the days of Ptolemy III. To the second century BC the city fell under the roman administration, despite this the city is culturally close to Greece, there are many inscriptions in Greek, Corinthian capitals, greek amphitheatres and peripteral Hellenistic temples.
The city become to Christian era a major city in region with its port and probably trade fruits and olive oil (Elaiussa meaning olive). In fact even now found among the ruins many olive trees. From this period comes local currencies in bronze.
According to the historian Suetonius, the integration of the territory into the Roman Empire is done by Vespasian (reigned 69-79). The Emperor Hadrian (reign 117-138) have twice visited the region. The city's decline began towards the III century since the city was completely abandoned, only used as a stone quarry.
Architectural description
Roman city culturally influenced by Greece, the ruins visible now only allow assumptions to determine the use of the buildings. The best preserved are two tombs, the amphitheater and partially portions of both temples / basilicas.
The tombs are in blocks of massive stones of large dimensions generally 40cm high by 50 / 70cm long, the thickness is 30cm or more. One is the miniature image of a Greek house with a monumental entrance surmounted by a fronton. This grandiose entry looks like the main arch of a triumphal arch, also it can be assumed that the goal was to score a triumphal entry into immortality.
The buildings have Corinthian capitals, but not as developed as in dedicated buildings, their dimensions are smaller and the rebate is not so rich. The ruins of a semi-circular building, may indicate a spiritual purpose building (a temple or a basilica).
In the remaining walls we see the thickness of the stone (over 50cm) and boulder used as lintels where openings in the walls were created. On the site there is the base of a possible monument like Trajan's Column, because its shape remember the monument of Rome.
In writing the text, I used information from -Mechtidis Petros Paleothodoros Dimitris, "Elaeousa Sebaste (Antiquity)," Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor.
En Français
Elaiussa Sebaste c'est une ancienne ville romaine de la cote méditerranéenne, de nos jours elle se trouve en Turquie, à proximité de la ville de Mersin. Les premières traces d'habitation humaine datent depuis le 3ème siècle avant Jésus Christ et sont des monnaies égyptiennes du temps de Ptolémée III.
Vers le deuxième siècle avant Christ la ville tombe sous l'administration, malgré cela la ville est culturellement proche de la Grèce, on retrouve des nombreuses inscriptions en grecque, des chapiteaux corinthiens, des amphithéâtres grecs et des temples périptères hellénistiques.
La ville deviens autour de l'ère chrétienne une ville importante grâce à son port et probablement au commerce de fruits et d'huile d'olives (Elaiussa signifiant olive). D'ailleurs même actuellement parmi les ruines on retrouve des nombreux arbustes d'oliviers. De cette époque proviennent des monnaies locales en bronze.
Conformément à l'historien Suetonius, l'intégration de ce territoire dans l'empire romain est du à Vespasien (règne de 69 à 79). L'empereur Hadrien (règne 117 à 138) aurait visité deux fois la région. Le déclin de la ville commence vers le III siècle, depuis la ville a été totalement abandonnée, servant uniquement comme carrière de pierre.
Description architecturale
Ville romaine influencée culturellement par la Grèce, les ruines visibles actuellement ne permettent que des suppositions pour savoir l'usage des constructions. Les mieux conservées sont 2 tombeaux, l' amphithéâtre et partiellement des parties des deux temples/basiliques.
Les tombeaux sont en blocs de pierres massives de grandes dimensions généralement 40cm de haut par 50/70cm de long, l'épaisseur étant de 30cm voire plus. L'un est l'image en miniature d'une maison grecque ayant une entrée monumentale surmontée d'un fronton. Cette entrée grandiloquente ressemble à l'arche principale d'un arc de triomphe, d'ailleurs on peut supposer que le but était de marquer une entrée triomphale vers l'immortalité.
Les bâtiments ont des chapiteaux corinthiens, mais pas aussi développes que dans les bâtiments consacrés, leur dimensions sont plus petits et la feuillure n'est pas si riche. Les ruines d'un bâtiment de forme semi-circulaire, peut indiquer un bâtiment à usage spirituel (un temple où une basilique). La parti circulaire comporte dans l'axe deux petites ouvertures en arc romain.
Dans les murs restants on remarque l'épaisseur de la pierre (plus de 50cm) et gros bloc de pierre utilisés en tant que linteaux là où des ouvertures dans les murs ont été crées. Sur le site on retrouve le socle d'un possible monument de type Colonne Trajane, car sa forme rappelle bien le monument de Rome.
Dans la rédaction du texte, j'ai utilisé des information provenant de -Mechtidis Petros, Paleothodoros Dimitris , "Elaeousa Sebaste (Antiquity)", Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor.
Auf Deutsch
Elaiussa Sebaste ist eine ehemalige römische Stadt an der Mittelmeerküste, jetzt Tage ist es der Türkei ordentlich Stadt Mersin. Die ersten Spuren menschlicher Besiedlung aus dem 3. Jahrhundert vor Christus Ägyptische Währungen aus der Zeit des Ptolemaios III. Zum zweiten Jahrhundert vor Christus fiel die Stadt unter der römischen Verwaltung trotz dieser kulturell ist die Stadt in der Nähe von Griechenland gibt es viele Inschriften in griechischer Sprache, korinthischen Kapitellen, griechisch peripteral hellenistischen Tempel und Amphitheater.
Die Stadt Werden christlichen Ära zu einer Großstadt im Hafengebiet mit ict und Handels Wahrscheinlich Obst und Olivenöl (Oliven Elaiussa Bedeutung). Und zwar schon jetzt in den Ruinen Viele Olivenbäumen gefunden. Aus dieser Zeit stammt lokalen Währungen in Bronze.
Der Historiker Sueton selon, die Integration des Gebiets in das Römische Reich durch Vespasian getan (regierte von 69 bis 79). Der Kaiser Hadrian (117-138 Herrschaft) zweimal haben das Gebiet besucht. Niedergang der Stadt begann Bewertungen zum dritten Jahrhundert, da die Stadt komplett Anruf aufgegeben wurde, nur als Steinbruch verwendet.
Architekturbeschreibung
Römischen Stadt kulturell von Griechenland beeinflusst, die Ruinen zu sehen jetzt nur zulassen Annahmen, um die Nutzung der Gebäude zu bestimmen. Am besten erhalten sind zwei Gräber, das Amphitheater und teilweise Teile der beiden Bügeln / Basiliken.
Die Gräber sind in Blöcken von massiven Steinen der breiten Maße 40cm hoch Allgemeinen um 50/70 cm lang, die Stärke ist 30 cm oder mehr. Eine davon ist die Miniaturansicht einer griechischen Haus mit einem monumentalen Eingang von einem Giebel überwunden. Dieses große Eingangsbogen sieht aus wie die Hand eines Triumphbogens, kann es aussi que la wurde angenommen, Ziel, triumphalen Einzug in die Unsterblichkeit zu erzielen.
Die Gebäude-haben korinthischen Kapitellen, aber nicht so entwickelt wie in Gebäuden gewidmet, sind Ihre Abmessungen kleiner und der Rabatt ist nicht so reich. Die Ruinen von einer halbkreisförmigen Gebäude, Mai Anzeige weisen auf eine spirituelle Zweckgebäude (ein Tempel oder Basilika).
In den übrigen Wänden sehen wir die Dicke des Steins (über 50 cm) und Felsbrocken wie Stürze Wo Öffnungen in den Wänden wurden geschaffen, verwendet. Auf der Website gibt es die Basis eines Denkmals wie Trajanssäule, weil ihre Form erinnern, das Denkmal von Rom.
Im Schreiben des Textes, habe ich Informationen aus -Mechtidis Petros Paleothodoros Dimitris, "Elaeousa Sebaste (Antiquity)," Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor.
We recently had a week’s holiday to take – Jayne’s job dictates my holidays – we went through the usual process of leaving it late and then desperately selecting a shortlist of cities where we thought the weather might be ok, after a reasonably short flight and we can fly from the north of England. Budapest was the chosen destination.
Budapest is touted as possibly the most beautiful city in Europe and we had a stream of people tell us that it was fantastic. It is. I was looking forward to getting there, no agenda other than walking, photographing the sights and trying to get off the beaten track. We certainly walked – over 70 miles – I photographed it ( I’m a bit embarrassed to say how many shots but it was a lot ) but I’m not sure we got off the beaten track as much as I wanted to.
We flew over Eastern England (and home actually – a first for us) and out over Europe. It was a late afternoon flight on a stunning day, one of the more interesting flights I’ve had. I was glued to the window watching the world go by, wondering about all of lives being played out beneath us. It was dark when we arrived. We were staying on the Buda or Castle Hill side of the city. What we didn’t know was, we were staying in one of the most prominent hotels in the city, sat on the hilltop overlooking Budapest. The Hilton sits on an historic sight and features in every photo taken of the Castle District from Pest. We had time to get out before bedtime and photograph the Matthias Church next door – floodlit – like all of the major buildings in Budapest.
Unfortunately after leaving the best weather of the year in the UK, Budapest was forecast to be a bit dull and cool – not what we wanted. There was occasional sun over the first two days but it was generally grey. Now I have to admit, I let the dullness get me down, I took photos because I wasn’t sure how the week would unfold but I was fairly sure that I was wasting my time. The photos would be disappointing and if it was sunny later we would have to revisit all of the famous landmarks again to get something that I was happy with. This is essentially what happened. The next four days were gorgeous and we did revisit, more than once all of the places that we walked to in the first two days. This meant that we didn’t have the time to go “off piste” or venture further afield as much later in the week.
The sun was rising before seven and we were staying in the best location for watching it rise. By day three I was getting up at 6.00 (5.00 our time) and getting out there with my gear. By day four I was using filters and tripod, not something I usually bother with despite always having this gear with me, and dragging it miles in my backpack. One morning I was joined by a large and noisy party of Japanese photographers, they appeared to have a model with them who danced around the walls of the Fisherman’s Bastion being photographed. Once the orange circle started to appear above the city they started clicking at the horizon like machine guns. We all got on well though and said goodbye as we headed off for breakfast – still only 7.15am.
By 8.00am everyday we were out on foot wandering along the top of Castle Hill wondering where to go that day. We tend to discover the sights as we walk on a city break, frequently discovering things as we head for a distant park or building and research it afterwards with a glass of wine. It works for us. We walked out to Heroes’ Square and beyond, returning by less well known streets. We walked along the Danube to Rákóczi Bridge a couple of times then back into Pest using a different route. Having been under the thumb of Russia for so long and considering its turbulent past there are lots of large Russian style monuments, tributes to great struggles, or the working man – very socialist and very much like Prague in a lot of respects. The Railway stations were also very similar to Prague, you could walk across the tracks and no one bothered. In the main station, now famed for the migrant crisis a few weeks previously, there was a mixture of very new and very old rolling stock from the surrounding countries, all very interesting. Considering that this station is the first thing some visitors to the city will see it is an appalling state. One side of the exterior is shored up and fenced off. This contrasts with the expensive renovation work that has been well executed in the city centre. It really is like stepping into the past when you enter the station building. It all seems to work efficiently though, unlike the UK.
Transport in Budapest is fascinating. Trams everywhere, trolley buses, ancient and new, bendybuses, again, very old and very new, the underground metro, yellow taxis in enormous numbers and of course the river and boats. This never ending eclectic mix seems to operate like clockwork with people moved around in vast numbers seamlessly. The trams looked packed at any time of day. Anyone dealing with tourists seemed to speak very good English, which is just as well as we didn’t have any grasp of Hungarian. Cost wise it was a very economical week for us in a capital city.
Once the weather (or light, to be precise) improved, I cheered up and really enjoyed Budapest. A common comment after visiting is that , although you’ve “done Budapest” you wouldn’t hesitate to go back, which isn’t always the case after a city visit. As ever, I now have a lot of work to do to produce a competent album of work. I think I will end up discarding a lot of the early days material – but then again, I’m not renowned for my discarding skills.
Thank you for looking.
Motawi Tileworks exhibit at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. On display until June 12, 2011.
With the most influential fundraiser/popularity contest up and running, I thought it presented a rather interesting opportunity.
I’ve always been of the view than rather an opportunity to vote for mates, colleagues and famous faces, it should be presented as a means to introduce some of the most intelligent thinkers in our sector to a much wider audience.
Indeed, a number of years ago, I published a list of the fundraisers that have influenced me and hopefully bought some new ideas and views to people’s attention.
With the sector at the start of a new paradigm, i’m going to repeat the exercise, but this time with a different approach. I’m recommending a group of fundraisers who I strongly think should influence your fundraising over the coming years.
The group is made up of people who have taken a long-term focus on fundraising. Who care about the giving experience and who understand that connected and engaged donors are far more valuable that just another person who has agreed to a low value direct debit simply because they have struggled to say no to the request for help.
I’ve also focused on fundraisers who actively actually share thoughts and ideas through blogging, writing articles or books and through regular presentations at conferences.
This list is in no particular order of preference, but I do have one particular favourite who’ll be at my number one spot. I’ll tell you about them at the end.
Shannon Doolittle
Shannon is an absolute definite for a fundraiser that should influence you. She has focused on the need to reward, love and cherish donors since well before it became fashionable. In all my conversations with Shannon, I’ve found that everything she does and recommends is based on an incredibly deep understanding of why people give. Shannon was the first fundraiser who flagged up to me that people often give as a means to manage memories of a traumatic past. Together with the brilliant Beth Ann Locke (who is also worth voting for) Shannon also founded Gratitude Camp. Shannon can be found at shannondoolittle.com.
Tom Ahern
Tom is one of the greatest fundraisers around. Whether he focuses on copy, mailing packs, newsletters or even developing a case for support, his advice is some of the most effective you’ll ever receive. Tom has written a huge number of books that are all worth reading. At Bluefrog, we used Tom’s thinking shared in How to Raise More Money with Newsletters Then you Ever Thought Possible to develop our own very successful approach to super-charging newsletters. Read what Tom has to say and use it. Your donors will be more engaged and give more as a result. Tom can be found at aherncomm.com.
Simone Joyaux
Simone is fabulous. She has a speciality that I think many UK charities could benefit from. Simone (amongst other things) focuses on making your board as strong as it can possibly be, with a particular emphasis on how they should engage and enhance in fundraising. The title of her book, Firing Lousy Board Members: And Helping the Others Succeed should give a few clues to her approach. With Trustees needing to take much more interest in how charities raise funds, Simone is the person that will help you ensure they make the right decisions. Simone can be found at simonejoyaux.com.
Roger Craver
Roger, aside from being one half of The Agitator, published one of my favourite books on fundraising of recent years, Retention Fundraising: The New Art and Science of Keeping your Donors for Life. For years, Roger has been encouraging fundraisers to look behind the numbers and focus on what works in fundraising. In his writing, he highlights the futility of thinking that a ‘good cause’ will attract and retain donors without hard work. Roger has long pointed out the stupidity of recruiting new donors if you have no idea of how to retain them.
I’ve given Roger the nod over his equally brilliant Agitator, Tom Belford (who you should also follow) simply because of the book and the fact that I’m struggling to keep this list down to ten.
Jen Love
I think it was Jen, along with her father, David Love, who first coined the term donor love, which has now grown in to the #donorlove movement. Coming out of Canada, it is perhaps the most important fundraising initiative around today. It focuses on placing donors at the heart of the fundraiser’s world. Jen is also (along with the equally wonderful John Lepp) one of the founders of Agents of Good, one of the best fundraising agencies out there.
Rory Green
Rory is another key member of the #donorlove movement and is a fantastic fundraiser who focuses on the importance of answering the needs of donors when developing fundraising strategies and creative work. Rory is also known as the Fundraiser Grrl. Rory has a focus on higher value donors, but so much of what she shares can be applied across the spectrum of individual donors. Rory can be found at roryjmgreen.com.
Maeve Strathy
I’m sticking with the #donorlove movement with Maeve, who developed the mid-value donor programme at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario. Maeve is a fundraising strategist for the fantastic Canadian agency, Blakely, where she leads the thinking on mid-value donors. Understanding this wealthier group of charity supporters will be an essential area for fundraisers over the decade. Maeve shares her thoughts at whatgivesphilanthropy.com
Damian O’Broin
Damian has long been one of my favourite fundraisers. As founder of Ask Direct in Ireland, Damian puts a huge amount of effort into sharing ideas and promoting best practice. He’s the founder of the Fundraising Summer School in Ireland which looks like it’s going to be one of the best fundraising conferences of the year. When it comes to individual giving, Damian really understands what donors want. Damian can be found at AskDirect.ie.
Amanda Santer
I’ve worked with Amanda for many years. Where she excels is in asking the right questions. One of the key failings of the sector over the last few years has perhaps been the strategic targets we’ve chosen – far too often it’s simply been the bottom line. Amanda has always focused on what donors want and how we should deliver a fantastic experience to them. I personally owe Amanda a big thank you as it’s so often been her questions that have kept Bluefrog really focused on understanding donor needs. Amanda can be found at Zen and Inspiration.
Tony Elischer
Everyone knows Tony. He was an amazing force of energy that transformed any event or presentation he was involved with. His passing is a terrible loss to the world of fundraising. Tony has been a major influence on my thinking in recent years. In 2010 when he asked me to present a fundraising retrospective at the 30th anniversary IFC conference in Amsterdam, he inadvertently changed my approach to fundraising. I found many, many great fundraising ideas that were just waiting to be updated. Since then, whenever I need to solve problems, I look at our industry’s history as a starting point. We need to remember that the problems we face today have been seen and resolved by others before us. I shall always thank Tony for that insight. Tony is my vote for the number one spot.
Here's just a sample of Tony at his finest. On stage At AFP Congress in Toronto…
Honourable mentions
By restricting myself to just ten people, I've been forced to leave out some great people who really need a mention. I'm thinking of Jeff Brooks, whose blog, Future Fundraising Now is essential reading. Ken Burnett, the man who wrote Relationship Fundraising, set up Sofii.org and blogs at KenBurnett.com. Rachel Beer, who apart from creating the #NFPtweetup, was one of the few fundraisers to highlight the problems the sector was facing long before it became a front page news story. Howard Lake, who publishes the magnificent resource which is UK Fundraising and runs Fundraising Camp. Craig Linton, who regularly features the best of the web as the Fundraising Detective. Simon Scriver who shares some great advice on donor engagement at Changefundrasing.com. Adrian Salmon – another of my favourite fundraisers – who blogs at I Open My Mouth and Words Come Out and Pamela Grow who regularly offers great advice for small charities on how they can improve their fundraising at PamelaGrow.org.
I'd also like to flag up one for the future, Victoria Ward, who blogs at Flight of the Fundraiser. She's relatively new to the sector, but is already demonstrating great insight.
I've missed out loads of great people that you might like to vote for. If I have, why not suggest their names in the comments section so others can learn about them too.
So, please think carefully about who you think you'd really like to influence the sector and make your vote count. Anyone involved in fundraising from anywhere in the world can vote. The survey is here.
www.crowdfundforyou.co.uk/who-should-influence-the-future...
The Springfield Art Association will host an opening reception for a nationally juried ceramic exhibition entitled Shapes of Influence on Friday evening, August 3rd, from 5:30-7:30 PM. Awards and a gallery talk by juror Simon Levin will occur at 6:45 PM.
The show will be on display in the SAA's M.G. Nelson Family Gallery from August 3-September 1 and features work from over two dozen states and Canada.
Juried artists include Morgan Barton, Kenneth Baskin, Casey Beck, Irina Bondarenko, Robert Bruch, Danielle Callahan, Michelle Coakes, John Cohorst, Louis Colomarini, John Costanza, Paula Diaz-Sylvester, Auguste Elder, Karen Ellis-Phillips, Curtis and Karen Frederick, Verne Funk, John Gargano, Kaitlyn Getz, Sarah Gross, Lois Harbaugh, Ian Hazard-Bill, Jason Hess, Jennifer Holt, Drew Ippoliti, Iskra Ivanova, Anna Kats, Patty Kochaver, Robert Kokenyesi, Lucien Koonce, Joe Kraft, Annie Lee, Andrew Mcintyre, Jessie Martin, Paul McCoy, Avra Messe, Molly Morning-glory, Matthew Patton, Sara Prigodich, Jenny Reed, Masa Sasaki, Jessica Sallay-Carrington, Kourtney Stone, Suzanne Storer, Sam Thompson, Austin Wieland, Nicole Winning, Matthew Wright, Kensuke Yamada, Lisa York, and David Zahn.
Invited artists include Dan Anderson, Kahil Irving, Peter Pincus, and Kelsie Rudolph.
The M.G. Nelson Gallery is open to the public M-F from 9 AM-5 PM and Saturdays from 10 AM-3 PM.
Mumford & Sons’ Ted Dwane details the group’s new South African-influenced EP
| Plaincut | bit.ly/1DfNmQD
Marcus Mumford and his ramshackle rock crew became one of the biggest bands in the world with 2009’s wildly successful Sigh No More and 2012’s even…http://bit.ly/1SndBNT
Henna by Hand of Fatima 2003-2012 ©
Want to know more about Fatima Oulad Thami, Moroccan henna neqasha in the netherlands, visit www.handoffatima.nl
(if you can read Dutch ;-)
Sadao Hasegawa
if his images weren't superhypersaturated exercises in surreality, they would have starker colours and play with shadow and light almost to the point of seeming cold
hasegawa's darker works always stayed in my mind
Company A, 8th Kansas Infantry and Company K, 12th U. S. C. Infantry
JOSEPH JAGGER
Captain Joseph Jagger, of Blaine township, Ottawa county, Kansas, whose post office address is Minneapolis, and who has been prominent in local affairs since 1866, enjoys the distinction of being an Englishman who fought for the preservation of the American Union in the Civil war of 1861-5.
Captain Jagger comes of a good old English family and was born in Yorkshire, July 1820, a son of John Dowson Jagger, a cloth dresser and a man of honesty, industry, morality and enterprise, who was of local importance and influence. Mr. Jagger’s mother was Mary Bolton, also a native of Yorkshire, and she died at the age of sixty-seven years. His father was a soldier under the Duke of Wellington in the great commander’s operations against Napoleon, died at the advanced age of ninety-two years. They had two daughters and three sons. Mr. Jagger’s brother Edward died in England in 1899. His sister, Mrs. Fannie Rogers, a widow, lives in Buffalo, New York. His sister, Mrs. Saran Crossly, lives at Leavenworth, Kansas. His brother John came to the United States at the age of eighteen and settled at Alton, Illinois. The subject of this sketch was early employed in the dyeing and finishing works of dress goods, in which business he became a foreman at the age of twenty-one. He was employed at such work in England , until 1849, when he went to Belgium, being located near Brussels, where he followed his vocation. In 1854 he moved to France to follow his occupation and was located near Lille. In 1856, he returned to England; in 1857 he came to the United States on board the City of Washington, on of the steamers plying between Liverpool and New York, arriving in New York thirteen days after his embarkation. He remained for a short time with his brother-in-law in Boston and after that lived for a few months in Canada. In 1858 he went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he remained for a few weeks, then moved up the Missouri river by boat to Leavenworth, Kansas. The county was then new and in many sections of the new populous state Indians were more numerous than white men and in nearly all parts buffaloes and lesser wild animals abounded. Mr. Jagger was employed as occasion offered until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in a Kansas company which was organized to guard the fort at Leavenworth against an anticipated attack by rebels. August 27, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Eighth Kansas Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel John A. Martin, afterward governor of Kansas. His company commander was Captain Abernathy. He served with that regiment for nearly two years and made a good record as a soldier. He was then discharged for promotion in the Twelfth Regiment United States Colored Troops, in which he served with great credit until January 20, 1866, winning the commendation of his superiors as a brave soldier and able officer. He fought with his company in the battle of Nashville.
Captain Jagger was married during the war to Catherine Elizabeth Nall, a patriotic southern girl, who was born near Nashville, Tennessee, a daughter of William Nall, a native of that state, and a niece of two soldiers of the war of 1812. Mr. Nall, who was of English descent, married Isabelle Laughlin of Scotch-Irish descent, who was born in Indiana. He was a farmer and a man of enterprise and influence, a Republican and a member of the Baptist church. He and his wife both died in Tennessee, at the age of ninety and seventy-nine years respectively. They had children as follows: John; Linden; Joseph; Rufus; William, who died at the age of six years; James, who lives at Gainesville, Texas; Andrew Jackson; Catharine Elizabeth, who married Mr. Jagger; Mary, who became Mrs. Taylor; and Frances, who became Mrs. Brown.
In 1886, Mr. Jagger took up a homestead, to which he has added until he now owns three hundred and twenty acres. Now, at the age of eighty-one years, he is so well preserved that he appears to be fifteen years younger and his military bearing is often remarked. He has been an extensive traveler and a close observer and is a diligent reader of good literature, both English and French. His pleasant home is noted for its generous hospitality and he is honored as a pioneer, a soldier and that noblest work of God, an honest man. Mrs. Jagger, who has been to her husband a most worthy helpmate, shares with him the honors of his advancing years. They have four children, named as follows in the order of their nativity; Minnie E, who is a popular and successful teacher, well known in the educational circles of Ottawa county; and Rufus Sidney, Joseph Frederick and George Charles, the last mentioned of whom is twenty-one years of age, are members of their father’s household. Captain Jagger is a Republican, heartily in accord with the purposes and policy of his party. Josephy Frederick Jagger is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Spain first settled in California in the 18th century, setting up a string of Christian missions to try to convert the indigenous peoples. They brought their architectural styles to western North America where they continued to influence the look of the place, especially after a "revival" around 1900-1930.
Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Reykjavík. Reykjavík and the surrounding areas in the southwest of the country are home to over two-thirds of the population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate.
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (French pronunciation: [ɡoɡɛ̃]; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer. His bold experimentation with colouring led directly to the Synthetist style of modern art while his expression of the inherent meaning of the subjects in his paintings, under the influence of the cloisonnist style, paved the way to Primitivism and the return to the pastoral. He was also an influential proponent of wood engraving and woodcuts as art forms.
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty—the years 1420 to 1912. It is located in the center of what is now known as Beijing, (formerly Peking) China, and now houses the Palace Museum. It served as the home of emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government for almost 500 years.
Constructed from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 72 ha (180 acres).[1][not in citation given] The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture,[2] and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987,[2] and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.
Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artefacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's former collection is now located in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums descend from the same institution, but were split after the Chinese Civil War. With over 14 million annual visitors, the Palace Museum is the most visited Museum in the world.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
The Hall of Supreme Harmony (太和殿) at the centre of the Forbidden City
TypeCultural
Criteriai, ii, iii, iv
Reference439
UNESCO regionAsia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription1987 (11th Session)
Extensions2004
This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.
The common English name, "the Forbidden City", is a translation of the Chinese name Zijin Cheng (Chinese: 紫禁城; pinyin: Zǐjinchéng; literally: "Purple Forbidden City"). The name Zijin Cheng first formally appeared in 1576.[4] Another English name of similar origin is "Forbidden Palace".[5]
The name "Zijin Cheng" is a name with significance on many levels. Zi, or "Purple", refers to the North Star, which in ancient China was called the Ziwei Star, and in traditional Chinese astrology was the heavenly abode of the Celestial Emperor. The surrounding celestial region, the Ziwei Enclosure (Chinese: 紫微垣; pinyin: Zǐwēiyuán), was the realm of the Celestial Emperor and his family. The Forbidden City, as the residence of the terrestrial emperor, was its earthly counterpart. Jin, or "Forbidden", referred to the fact that no one could enter or leave the palace without the emperor's permission. Cheng means a city.[6]
Today, the site is most commonly known in Chinese as Gùgōng (故宫), which means the "Former Palace".[7] The museum which is based in these buildings is known as the "Palace Museum" (Chinese: 故宫博物院; pinyin: Gùgōng Bówùyùan).
History[edit]
Main article: History of the Forbidden City
The Forbidden City as depicted in a Ming dynasty painting
When Hongwu Emperor's son Zhu Di became the Yongle Emperor, he moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing, and construction began in 1406 on what would become the Forbidden City.[6]
Construction lasted 14 years and required more than a million workers.[8] Material used include whole logs of precious Phoebe zhennan wood (Chinese: 楠木; pinyin: nánmù) found in the jungles of south-western China, and large blocks of marble from quarries near Beijing.[9] The floors of major halls were paved with "golden bricks" (Chinese: 金砖; pinyin: jīnzhuān), specially baked paving bricks from Suzhou.[8]
From 1420 to 1644, the Forbidden City was the seat of the Ming dynasty. In April 1644, it was captured by rebel forces led by Li Zicheng, who proclaimed himself emperor of the Shun dynasty.[10] He soon fled before the combined armies of former Ming general Wu Sangui and Manchu forces, setting fire to parts of the Forbidden City in the process.[11]
By October, the Manchus had achieved supremacy in northern China, and a ceremony was held at the Forbidden City to proclaim the young Shunzhi Emperor as ruler of all China under the Qing dynasty.[12] The Qing rulers changed the names on some of the principal buildings, to emphasise "Harmony" rather than "Supremacy",[13] made the name plates bilingual (Chinese and Manchu),[14] and introduced Shamanist elements to the palace.[15]
In 1860, during the Second Opium War, Anglo-French forces took control of the Forbidden City and occupied it until the end of the war.[16] In 1900 Empress Dowager Cixi fled from the Forbidden City during the Boxer Rebellion, leaving it to be occupied by forces of the treaty powers until the following year.[16]
The East Glorious Gate under renovation as part of the 16-year restoration process
After being the home of 24 emperors – 14 of the Ming dynasty and 10 of the Qing dynasty – the Forbidden City ceased being the political centre of China in 1912 with the abdication of Puyi, the last Emperor of China. Under an agreement with the new Republic of China government, Puyi remained in the Inner Court, while the Outer Court was given over to public use,[17] until he was evicted after a coup in 1924.[18] The Palace Museum was then established in the Forbidden City in 1925.[19] In 1933, the Japanese invasion of China forced the evacuation of the national treasures in the Forbidden City.[20] Part of the collection was returned at the end of World War II,[21] but the other part was evacuated to Taiwan in 1948 under orders by Chiang Kai-shek, whose Kuomintang was losing the Chinese Civil War. This relatively small but high quality collection was kept in storage until 1965, when it again became public, as the core of the National Palace Museum in Taipei.[22]
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, some damage was done to the Forbidden City as the country was swept up in revolutionary zeal.[23] During the Cultural Revolution, however, further destruction was prevented when Premier Zhou Enlai sent an army battalion to guard the city.[24]
The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 by UNESCO as the "Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties",[25] due to its significant place in the development of Chinese architecture and culture. It is currently administered by the Palace Museum, which is carrying out a sixteen-year restoration project to repair and restore all buildings in the Forbidden City to their pre-1912 state.[26]
In recent years, the presence of commercial enterprises in the Forbidden City has become controversial.[27] A Starbucks store that opened in 2000 sparked objections and eventually closed on 13 July 2007.[28][29] Chinese media also took notice of a pair of souvenir shops that refused to admit Chinese citizens in order to price-gouge foreign customers in 2006.
wikipedia
Left-to-right, top to bottom: Smurfs; Stephen Biko; Apocalypse Now (which I first saw on an IMAX screen and left me speechless for hours); Gumby; Maurice Sendak's In the Night Kitchen (where he dared to show a naked boy falling into a world populated by Oliver Hardy clones); Aung San Suu Kyi; pewter miniature figures for Dungeons & Dragon and related role-playing games; Tank Girl; Steve Austin the Bionic Man; Godzilla; Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are; Marcus Garvey; Hogan's Heroes; Bugsy Malone (I wish all wars could be fought with cream puffs); Marty Feldman; HR Pufnstuf; Dr Who; Conan The Barbarian (sporting a CRASS tattoo); The Yellow Submarine; Planet of the Apes; Popeye; Killroy; Evil Kneivel; The A -Team.
Missing from this picture: Dr Seuss
blog.modernmechanix.com/1933-marvels-of-the-auto-speed-wo...
1933 Marvels of the Auto Speed World
Great things are stirring in the speed world! Streamlined race cars, modified stock car speed creations, incredibly fast custom-built racers for assaults against time, are all parts of the changing picture of the most heart-gripping, thrilling sport in the world today—auto racing!
by ROBERT M. ROOF and LEW HOLT
WITH a new automobile speed record of 273 miles an hour recently established by Malcolm Campbell, the internationally famous British speed king, and with several new speed creations along novel lines being groomed for entry in the forthcoming Memorial Day racing classic at Indianapolis, 1933 seems destined to be written down large in speedway history.
Just how extensive has been the influence of such ultra-speed cars as Campbell’s Blue Bird, Segrave’s Golden Arrow, and Kaye Don’s Silver Bullet, can be learned from a study of the pictures which accompany this article. On the opposite page is the latest creation of Harry Hartz, American speed pilot, which he calls “The Spirit of ’76.”
This name derives out of the fact that Hartz is going after Malcolm Campbell’s speed record with the intention of restoring the record to American hands. Several well known automotive engineers are behind Hartz in his effort. Trials will be conducted at Muroc Dry Lake in California.
Particular features of “The Spirit of ’76” are the streamlined body, the small radiator opening, the use of a vertical fin to stabilize steering control, and the top enclosure of half the cockpit opposite the driver to offer as slight air resistance as possible.
Much smaller in all dimensions than the Blue Bird, Hartz believes that his creation has an excellent chance to better Campbell’s record because the car is built to do just that one thing. It is much better streamlined than the Blue Bird, and has considerably less weight to push.
Because of its wide departure from A.A.A. specifications for speedway racers, it is unlikely that the Hartz machine will take part in the 500-mile Indianapolis race. But unquestionably it foreshadows the trend of race car development.
Three Types of Racing
Auto racing as it now stands falls into three general classes—races of custom-built superspeed cars against time (such as Campbell’s Blue Bird, which develops such terrific speeds that it would be suicidal to race a companion car simultaneously on the same track); races such as the Memorial Day classic, on speedways whose car specifications are rigidly specified by racing associations; and dirt track racing—likewise
controlled, to a certain degree, by associations, but allowing much more latitude to the individual driver.
In this latter field modified stock car racing is at present enjoying much popularity. Usually the races are run on a percentage basis, 40% of the gate receipts being appropriated as prizes. Stock car racing gives the amateur driver a chance to demonstrate his ability, and it is from these races that owners of high-priced racing cars pick the drivers to pilot their machines on the big-time speedways.
Modified Stock Car Races
Are modified stock cars fast? They most decidedly are. At Funk’s Motor Speedway, Winchester, Indiana, the fastest half-mile dirt track in the country, a Model A 1929 Ford turned one lap just under 26 seconds. Plenty of big time race cars can’t turn in as flashy a performance on the same track.
Certain well known machines are specially suited for modified stock car racing: Fords (Models A, T, and V8), four and six-cylinder Chevrolets, Plymouths, DeSotos, and Studebakers. Pontiacs also are adaptable.
Since this type of race gives the amateur his best chance, requiring nothing very expensive in the way of equipment, a few details will be given. On the morning of the race day stock cars must qualify for their positions in the race. Usually the ten fastest cars are allowed in the main event, the slower ones in a consolation race which gives them a chance to win some money to defray traveling expenses.
Two 10-mile sprints and a 20 or 30-mile feature race usually comprise the program, with a stunt such as a blindfold race occasionally added. In the latter the driver has a black hood completely covering his head, and he steers his race car entirely by sense of feel—that is, he is so familiar with the race track layout, and can sense position so accurately from the banked turns, that vision is unnecessary. When two blindfold drivers start tearing around the track at the same time, the roaring crowd realizes that it’s looking on a real thrill treat.
A white flag is used to start the regular race. The green flag means the driver is starting the last lap, and the checkered flag is the one the boys all hope for, signifying a winner.
Conduct of Dirt Track Races
When starting a race the drivers are lined up in the order they qualified for. The fastest qualifying car is the pole car, which leads the pack around the track until they are lined up for a flying start. The first lap is the most dangerous, as each driver strives to get into the turn first. After this lap they scatter out and the nerve tension of the drivers is somewhat relaxed.
In modifying stock cars for racing, all fenders, headlights, windshields, tops, and other parts that would cause resistance are removed. Beyond this, procedure varies with each model car. Valve ports of the engine are usually bored out, special valves and aluminum racing pistons installed, high compression obtained through use of special heads, and downdraft carburetor and oversize manifold added.
Ignition systems usually require some changes. Every driver knows that the magneto system is faster than the usual battery type. A special racing coil, which has a double winding with 30,000 turns, is usually used in conjunction with the double-breaker Mallory distributor. This combination generates a very hot and fast spark which requires a special metric racing spark plug to withstand it.
Special fuels are, of course, required to get the most out of the cars. High test gasoline would burn up the valves, so a special dope is added to regular gas.
Modified stock car racing has penetrated to all parts of the world. The Grand Prix Race at Stockholm, Sweden, traveling over mountains, frozen lakes, and dangerous passages, is run with stock cars. Even in far away Madagascar, an island off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, modified stock car races are held.
Editor’s note: Mr. Roof is chief engineer of the R & R Manufacturing Company, Anderson, Indiana, manufacturers of parts for dirt track racers.
Youtubere støtter Redningsselskapet i forbindelse med Giving Tuesday 2017 - www.ntbinfo.no/pressemelding/youtubere-hjelper-redningsse...
Christianity’s influence permeates western civilization, reaching into every nook and cranny of our history and culture. The Bible, Christianity’s scripture, is likely the best-selling book of all time. Even as American society has become more secular and many Americans turn away from organized religion, the Bible itself is available in an ever-expanding variety of languages, translations, and editions with all manner of supplements for its readers.
This exhibit explores not the history of the Bible itself but the history of the printing of the Bible. It begins with Gutenberg and other early printers in continental Europe, then moves across the English Channel to examine the publication of Bibles in England, Wales, and Scotland. The exhibit then turns its attention to Bibles and related scriptures, some in English, some not, in the American colonies and later the United States.
All of the Bibles in this exhibit are the property of Swem Library, except the Aitken Bible of 1782, which is the property of Bruton Parish Church but is normally stored at Swem. We thank Bruton Parish for permission to display it.
MORE EDITIONS OF THE KING JAMES VERSION
The copyright for the King James version belonged to the Crown. Initially, the King’s Printer, Robert Barker, enjoyed a monopoly on printing the King James version. In 1629, the universities at Cambridge and London won the right for their presses to publish it as well. This case displays several editions from the 1600s and 1700s, demonstrating the variety of sizes and visual appeal possible.
King James’s Psalms
While King James I (1566-1625) of England is credited in the title for this translation of the Psalms, William Alexander, Earl of Stirling, did most of the work. This 1636 version was bound with a Book of Common Prayer printed in Edinburgh in 1637, part of the heavy-handed attempt by William Laud (1573-1645), Archbishop of Canterbury, and King Charles I of England (1600-1649) to take control of the Church of Scotland.
Fore-edge painting, 1658
This tiny 1658 edition published by John Field at Cambridge has Moses, Aaron and a view of London on the title page. It also has a fore-edge painting of a church.
A King or a Commonwealth?
These 1660 editions printed in London by Henry Hills and John Field reflect the rapidly changing political situation. The turbulent era of Puritan rule was coming to end in 1660, with the restoration of the Stuart family in the person of Charles II (1630-1685) to the throne of England. One edition has no mention of royalty on the title page, while the other includes the royal motto “Dieu et mon Droit” and the royal symbol of a unicorn/lion.
A Baskett-ful of Errrors
John Baskett and later his son Mark Baskett were the printers for Oxford University in the 1700s. John Baskett’s editions were notorious for their sloppiness and were known as “Baskett-fuls of Errors.” The 1717 edition, displayed here, is known as the “Vinegar Bible” because the heading for Luke, chapter 20, reads “Parable of the Vinegar” instead of “Parable of the Vineyard.” Baskett provided some lavish illustrations for his editions, as seen in the 1732 edition.
Another Baskett
John Baskett and later his son Mark Baskett were the printers for Oxford University in the 1700s. The Basketts provided some lavish illustrations for their editions, as seen in this 1732 edition.
Martha Dandridge Bible
Families recorded their most important occasions—births, marriages, and deaths—in blank areas of their family Bibles. This 1765 Oxford edition, printed by Mark Baskett, belonged to the Dandridge family of Virginia. Note here the birth of Martha Dandridge, clearly not written at the time of her birth, since the book had not yet been printed. She is better known to us as Martha Washington, our first First Lady.
From the Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library at the College of William and Mary. See swem.wm.edu/scrc/ for further information and assistance.
The Athens Lunatic Asylum, now a mixed-use development known as The Ridges, was a Kirkbride Plan mental hospital operated in Athens, Ohio, from 1874 until 1993. During its operation, the hospital provided services to a variety of patients including Civil War veterans, children, and those declared mentally unwell. After a period of disuse the property was redeveloped by the state of Ohio. Today, The Ridges are a part of Ohio University and house the Kennedy Museum of Art as well as an auditorium and many offices, classrooms, and storage facilities.
The former hospital is perhaps best known as a site of the infamous lobotomy procedure, as well as various supposed paranormal sightings. After the hospital's original structure closed, the state of Ohio acquired the property and renamed the complex and its surrounding grounds The Ridges. According to The Guide of Repository Holdings,[2] the term "The Ridges" was derived from a naming contest in 1984 to re-describe the area and its purpose.
History
Design and architectural features
The architect for the original building was Levi T. Scofield of Cleveland. The hospital grounds were designed by Herman Haerlin of Cincinnati. Some of Haerlin's other landscape designs are seen in Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery and the Oval on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus.
The design of the buildings and grounds were influenced by Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride, a 19th-century physician who authored an influential treatise on hospital design called On the Construction, Organization and General Arrangements of Hospitals for the Insane. Kirkbride Plan asylums are most recognizably characterized by the staggered "bat-wing" floor plan of their wards, High Victorian Gothic architecture, and their sprawling grounds.
In accordance with the Kirkbride Plan, the main building was to include a central administration building with a wing for men on one side and a wing for women on the other, each with their own separate dining halls. There was room to house 572 patients in the main building, almost double Kirkbride's recommendation. The main building itself was 853 feet long and 60 feet in width.
Construction
The land where the hospital was built originally belonged to the Arthur Coates and Eliakim H. Moore farms. Ground was broken on November 5, 1868. The first iteration of the asylum consisted of only 141 acres (57 ha) and over the years, grew to occupy over 1,000 acres (400 ha) of land and 78 buildings.
Operating years (1874-1993)
Athens Lunatic Asylum began operation on January 9, 1874. Within two years of its opening, the hospital was renamed The Athens Hospital for the Insane. Later, the hospital would be called the Athens Asylum for the Insane, the Athens State Hospital, the Southeastern Ohio Mental Health Center, the Athens Mental Health Center, the Athens Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center, the Athens Mental Health and Developmental Center, and then (again) the Athens Mental Health Center.
The original hospital was in operation from 1874 to 1993. Although not a wholly self-sustaining facility, many Kirkbride Plan asylums functioned as cloistered communities, and for decades the hospital had livestock, farm fields and gardens, an orchard, greenhouses, a dairy, a physical plant to generate steam heat, and even a carriage shop. A large percentage of the work it took to maintain the facility was originally carried out by patients. Labor, especially skilled labor, was seen by the Kirkbride Plan as a form of therapy and was economically advantageous for the state.
The asylum expanded to include specialized and ancillary buildings such as the Dairy Barn (now an arts center), Beacon School, Athens Receiving Hospital, Center Hospital and the Tubercular Ward ("Cottage B"). Also built onto the main building were a laundry room and a boiler house. Seven cottages, including Cottage B, were constructed to house even more patients. While they had a smaller capacity than the main wards, they allowed for constructive grouping of patients in dormitory-like rooms.
By the 1950s the hospital was the town's largest employer, with 1,800 patients on a 1,019-acre, 78-building campus. At its peak the Athens Lunatic Asylum served Adams, Athens, Gallia, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Morgan, Perry, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton and Washington counties.
Decline and closure
The mental healthcare industry in the United States underwent a sea change in the 1950s. Research began to show that the mentally ill did not pose an inherent danger to their communities. The public became increasingly aware of procedures like electroshock therapy and the lobotomy, which would come to be seen as cruel, unnecessary, and inhumane. The availability of psychoactive drugs for the treatment of mental illnesses, as well as the increasing prevalence of psychological therapy, allowed for most patients to be treated without the need for internment in a prison-like institution. The asylum, among many others, declined throughout the latter half of the 20th century and eventually closed in 1993. However, the state hospital continued to function in Athens, with some patients and staff relocating to a newly constructed facility which, at the time of the transition in 1993, was called the Southeast Psychiatric Hospital. The psychiatric hospital in Athens - visible from the asylum - is now named Appalachian Behavioral Healthcare.
Modern history and present day
1990s
By the early 1990s, many of the original buildings had fallen into disrepair, following a similar pattern of decline and neglect among Kirkbride Plan asylums. As the mental healthcare industry transitioned away from large, centralized institutions, the will to support sprawling hospital complexes diminished. Large asylums were slowly phased out, with most operations shifting to small outpatient centers scattered throughout the community. Because the asylums were typically located on a hill outside of the nearest municipal center, their degradation was able to occur out of sight and out of mind. Under private ownership, abandoned Kirkbrides often languished unmaintained and unsecured, slowly being reclaimed by nature, as with Hudson River State Hospital in New York. Since abandoned structures represent a serious insurance liability, there is incentive for the property owner to secure them, and abandoned property owned by colleges and universities may be especially easy targets for urban exploration, squatting, or vandalism by members of the student body or the general public.
In 1993 the Athens Lunatic Asylum's property was deeded over to Ohio University in a land swap with the state's Department of Mental Health. Under the ownership of Ohio University, the property was kept in relatively good shape and was maintained for reuse.
2000s and 2010s
With urban exploration and modern ruins occupying a growing niche of public consciousness through entertainment and media, Kirkbride Plan asylums have enjoyed renewed public attention in the 2000s and 2010s. Two historically significant Kirkbrides, Danvers State Hospital in Massachusetts and the aforementioned Hudson River State Hospital in New York, fell into dangerous disrepair in the 1990s and 2000s and eventually underwent partial demolition to make way for new development.
At Athens, the ownership of a stable funding authority (Ohio University) has ensured restoration of much of the original grounds, as envisioned by the original planners, in a mixed-use university development called The Ridges.
Most buildings have been renovated and turned into classrooms and office buildings. The administration building is now the home of Kennedy Museum of Art , showcasing paintings and artwork of all different types of artists. The Dairy Barn Southeastern Ohio Cultural Arts Center, a nonprofit arts organization, is located in the old hospital's remodeled dairy barn; it is privately owned and operated. The Dairy Barn operates a calendar for sculpting and exhibits. The George V. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs is also located at The Ridges, in a set of three separate buildings across the area.
The old tubercular ward, "Cottage B", which sat on a hill separated from the other buildings, was demolished by Ohio University in 2013 due to the large number of college students exploring the dangerous structure. Cottage B was designed to early 1900s fireproofing standards and incorporated copious asbestos lining inside the walls, making it difficult to remediate.
Members of the Athens, Ohio, chapter of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, have worked to restore the three graveyards located on the grounds of The Ridges. School organizations provide tours of the facility around Halloween time each year. The preserve is also regularly used by the school's Army ROTC battalion.
Treatment and quality of care
The first patient of the Asylum was a 14-year-old girl with epilepsy, thought to be possessed by a demon. Epilepsy was considered a major cause of "insanity" and reason for admission to the hospital in the early years. The first annual report lists thirty-one men and nineteen women as having their insanity caused by epilepsy. General "ill health" accounted for the admission of thirty-nine men and forty-four women in the first three years of the hospital's operation.
Ailments such as menopause, alcohol addiction, and tuberculosis were cause for enrollment in the hospital. For the female patients hospitalized during these first three years of the asylum's operation, the three leading causes of insanity are recorded as "puerperal condition" (51 women), "change of life" (32 women), and "menstrual derangements" (29 women). Women with postpartum depression or "hysteria" were labeled insane and sent to recover in the institution. Women were often institutionalized for unnecessary or outright fallacious reasons.
The second-most common cause of insanity, as recorded in the first annual report, was "intemperance and dissipation". In the hospital's first three years of operation, according to the annual report of 1876, eighty-one men and one woman were diagnosed as having their insanity caused by masturbation. Fifty-six men and one woman were diagnosed as having their insanity caused by "intemperance and dissipation" during this same period of time.
Records from the asylum document some of the now-discredited theories of the causes of mental illness, as well as the practice of harmful treatments, such as lobotomy. The Ohio University archives collection information regarding employees' background training, which ranged from full training and qualification to a complete lack thereof. Most disturbing is the documentation of hydrotherapy, electroshock, lobotomy, and early psychotropic drugs, many of which have been discredited today as extremely inhumane ways of treating a patient.
Cemeteries
Myths and mystery surround a well-known site in southern Ohio, The Athens Lunatic Asylum. The mystery is fueled, perhaps, because the public cannot access a majority of the information about patients who were treated and lived at the asylum. With special permission and filling out paperwork that is required by the state of Ohio, some of the information can be accessed, however, those interested in finding out about the patients that walked through the doors of the Asylum can satisfy their curiosity by looking to the cemeteries.
"There are 1,930 people buried at the three cemeteries located at the Ridges. Of those, 700 women and 959 men lay under the headstones marked only with a number." There were some patients who had died that were reunited with their families and buried in cemeteries around their homes. By 1943, the State of Ohio began putting names, births, and deaths, on the markers of the patients who died. (Friends of Asylum, McCabe)It is unknown as to why the state switched from using only numbers to using names in order to verify who the deceased were, but this practice remained constant through the remainder of time that patients were buried up at the asylum. Although the newer stones had names, births, and deaths, the older stones that remained had not been replaced until recently.
By the 1980s the state no longer took care of the cemeteries which made it easy for outsiders to vandalize them. Natural occurrences also caused damage. The stones marking where patients were buried were in desperate need of repair. They were left to the elements and "hundreds of stones were left uprooted and broken." Beginning in 2000, the Athens, Ohio, chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) started the reclamation for the cemeteries, taking on the work that was once the responsibility of the Ohio Department of Mental Health." NAMI, Athens worked to help restore the cemeteries at the Asylum to its original state. The organization got "involved with other groups and organizations in a major effort to restore, beautify and demystify the three mental health grave yards located on the grounds of the old psychiatric hospital complex on The Ridges." "Since nearly the time of the opening of the cemeteries the State of Ohio has allowed families to erect private markers at the graves of their loved ones, There are very few graves marked in such a way, most likely because descendants are unaware of the opportunity."
Since the take over, more information has been found out about the patients that are buried in the three cemeteries. A large portion of the information that has been recovered is about the veterans that had spent the remaining days of their lives at the Asylum. Many of these veterans did not receive honors and only 19 have had any recognition. There are 80 veterans that are buried at the Ridges. Of these veterans two fought in the Mexican War, sixty-eight fought in the Civil War, one was a member in the Confederate Army and another two veterans served with the United States Colored infantry. There are three veterans who served in the Spanish–American War, and seven fought in World War I. Some of the other veterans that are buried here were active duty in the late 19th century and the early 20th century.
NAMI has also done other things to honor those who have served our country as well as the other patients who are buried in the cemeteries at the Ridges. Besides helping replace grave stones and keeping the grounds in proper condition, in 2005, the Ridges Cemeteries Committee has been organizing Memorial Day Ceremonies for the many veterans buried at the asylum. "Prior to 2005, the veterans had never received such honors. Indeed, neither they nor the others in those cemeteries had received more than a very austere burial - no personalized service whatsoever." NAMI started the Memorial Day Ceremonies to help restore dignity to the patients on the Ridges and to help recognize the sacrifice of the veterans, many who had probably suffered through post traumatic stress disorder as well as other post war symptoms.
"To find these "lost" veterans, they were found "through a special search within a broader research project to find background information on the over 1,900 patients buried in the Asylum's three cemeteries. With the Help of the Athens County Veterans Service Office and a special appropriation from the Athens county Commissioners flag stands and flags have been placed at the graves of all the veterans in the three cemeteries. [attribution needed]
In culture
Kirkbride Plan asylums occupy a unique niche in the culture. As more than 70 were built across the nation (with 25 surviving as of 2019) they are a uniquely accessible and idyllic representation of the allures of urban exploration. Kirkbride Plan asylums have appeared in films and television, been the subjects of notable photographers, and inspired fictional locations such as Arkham Asylum in Batman and Parsons State Insane Asylum in Fallout 4.
Stoneware fired to cone 10 in reduction.
Wood ash glaze recipe based on Richard Aerni's basic ash glaze with 3% red iron oxide added:
Wood Ash 50
Custer Feldspar 12.5
Whiting 12.5
Silica 12.5
Ball Clay 12.5
___________
Red Iron Oxide 3
St John the Baptist, Thaxted, Essex
The best church in Essex, and one of the best in England. The great spire rises above the gorgeous, prosperous little town, the big church surrounded closely on all sides by its busy life and a reminder that, like Lavenham in Suffolk, this was once a much more important place.
One of the touchstones of 20th Century Anglo-catholicism, with an influence which even today reaches out over adjoining parishes, this is a church full of light and space in the full confidence of its late 15th and early 16th Century rebuilding. The high, wide aisles extend to the full length of the chancel creating three parallel sanctuaries separated by the yawning of leaping, delicate arcades. The gathered paraphernalia of the Anglo-catholic tradition is shunted into corners and set boldly before pillars.
And yet, this does not feel like an urban church. Here, the wide spaces seem not to notice what has happened elsewhere. There are earlier details as well as later ones, among them late medieval glass and splendid 17th Century continental stalls brought here from the chapel of Easton Hall, but the overall impression is of serious High Church worship set within the frame of late-medieval Perpendicular harmony. And, perhaps also a sense of remoteness and distant loss, a recognition of what happened here once in another world, the world of lost Catholic England, an open airy emptiness which, as Pevsner observed, comes from the dearth of monuments as much as anything else. There is a sense here that there has not for a long time been a class in possession, and all in all it is a church which is much greater than the sum of its parts.
Like most of north Essex, the church and its town fell into a long sleep in the 18th and 19th Centuries, especially during the long agricultural recession in the second half of the latter century, but in 1910 a young London Priest called Father Conrad Noel was appointed to the living of Thaxted. He was a man of enormous energy and talent, and transformed Thaxted town and church into a maelstrom of political and cultural activity. He remained vicar of Thaxted until his death in 1942.
Conrad Noel set about galvanising the little town, making it a national centre for the English Crafts movement. When Arthur Mee visited Thaxted church in the 1940s he found the church hung and carpeted with colour, its tapestries, banners and vestments being the magnificent work of modern craftsmen inspired by the enterprise and fine judgement of the late incumbent (Conrad Noel) and his wife. Some of them we have all seen, for they were exhibited at the Wembley Exhibition (the Empire Exhibition of 1921). The surviving banners, now kept in storage to preserve them, are occasionally displayed and used in the church.
The parish became a centre for other revived English traditions. Fr Noel's undoubted charisma, and his insistence that Christianity was about beauty and ritual, attracted many well-known artists, musicians and folklorists to Thaxted. The folk revival was happening across Europe in the 1920s and 1930s, and it is no coincidence that the Morris Ring found a friendly home in the town. English Morris Dancing still sees Thaxted as its home.
The composer Gustav Holst moved to Thaxted, and Holst and Noel collaborated on musical events, creating the Thaxted Festival which still takes place every summer. Holst regularly played the organ at Mass in Thaxted church, and his compositon Thaxted, a reworking of the Jupiter theme in his Planets Suite, is best known today as a setting for the words of I Vow to thee my Country. When it was reused by the BBC for the Rugby World Cup anthem World in Union, the royalties went to Thaxted church.
Working with them was Percy Dearmer, another left-wing Priest and musicologist. He was responsible for popularising Anglo-Catholic forms of liturgy and worship based on his research into the music and liturgy of the medieval church. He was also editor of the Oxford Book of Carols which almost single-handedly reintroduced the idea of Christmas carol services to English churches.
Other musical figures who became associated with Thaxted included the composers Ralph Vaughan Williams and Martin Shaw. Vaughan WIlliams already had a considerable track record in collecting English folk tunes and working them into his own compositions. Shaw, best known today for hymn tunes like Little Cornard ('Hills of the North Rejoice') and Bunessan ('Morning has Broken'), wrote an Anglican Folk Mass for Thaxted church.
Another prominent figure in the Thaxted Movement was Joseph Needham, Cambridge professor and expert on Chinese Medicine, whose intellectual rigor gave a backbone to the folk tradition which Noel was allowing to live and breathe in his parish. Needham and his wife Dorothy were promoters of the Gymnosophist movement, in which young gymnasts would perform their routines naked, as in Ancient Greece. Gymnosophy was very popular in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s, but perhaps it is as well that it did not catch on in Thaxted.
Conrad Noel had been one of the founders of the Church Socialist League in 1906, but he left it in 1918 to found the Catholic Crusade. Like several Anglo-catholic Priests, Noel was also a member of the Independent Labour Party, and in 1911 he became a founding member of the British Socialist Party. In the 1920s, his most notorious action was to hang the Socialist Red Flag, the Irish Tricolor and the English Flag of St George side by side in the south transept.
It is worth saying that, even today, hanging the Flag of St George in a parish church is unusual, and in Noel's day it was considered suspicious, for the more usual flag to be hung in parish churches is the Union flag as a sign of the protestant credentials of the Established Church. The flag of St George was considered evidence of Anglo-Catholic sympathies. The Irish Tricolor was even more controversial of course, for Ireland, although not yet a republic, was a newly independent nation which had broken away from the Union, an aspiration which some in the Thaxted Movement held for their beloved England.
Flying the red flag was an act of provocation, and flying the three flags together was quite outrageous, and unforgiveable. On at least one occasion, Cambridge undergraduates travelled to Thaxted church to remove the flags, ceremoniously pulling them down, sparking off fist-fights and other disturbances. Noel himself was accused of sedition in the House of Commons. Eventually a consistory court ruled against his displaying the three flags, and Noel obeyed the ruling. Conrad was inevitably dubbed "The Red Rector" by the popular press as a result of his actions and beliefs.
Conrad Noel is almost forgotten today outside of church circles, but his influence on English culture and the revival of tradition in the 20th Century was immense. If England ever becomes a nation independent of the Union again, I hope that someone will remember him and put his face on the bank notes.
Kathmandu Durbar Square (Nepali: वसन्तपुर दरवार क्षेत्र, Basantapur Darbar Kshetra) in front of the old royal palace of the former Kathmandu Kingdom is one of three Durbar (royal palace) Squares in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Several buildings in the Square collapsed due to a major earthquake on 25 April 2015. Durbar Square was surrounded with spectacular architecture and vividly showcases the skills of the Newar artists and craftsmen over several centuries. The Royal Palace was originally at Dattaraya square and was later moved to the Durbar square.
The Kathmandu Durbar Square held the palaces of the Malla and Shah kings who ruled over the city. Along with these palaces, the square surrounds quadrangles, revealing courtyards and temples. It is known as Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square, a name derived from a statue of Hanuman, the monkey devotee of Lord Ram, at the entrance of the palace.
CONTENTS
HISTORY AND CONSTRUCTION
The preference for the construction of royal palaces at this site dates back to as early as the Licchavi period in the third century. Even though the present palaces and temples have undergone repeated and extensive renovations and nothing physical remains from that period. Names like Gunapo and Gupo, which are the names referred to the palaces in the square in early scriptures, imply that the palaces were built by Gunakamadev, a King ruling late in the tenth-century. When Kathmandu City became independent under the rule of King Ratna Malla (1484–1520), the palaces in the square became the Royal Palaces for its Malla Kings. When Prithvi Narayan Shah invaded the Kathmandu Valley in 1769, he favored the Kathmandu Durbar Square for his palace. Other subsequent Shah kings continued to rule from the square until 1896 when they moved to the Narayan Hiti Palace.
The square is still the center of important royal events like the coronation of King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah in 1975 and King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah in 2001.
Though there are no written archives stating the history of Kathmandu Durbar Square, construction of the palace in the square is credited to Sankharadev (1069–1083). As the first king of the independent Kathmandu City, Ratna Malla is said to have built the Taleju temple in the Northern side of the palace in 1501. For this to be true then the temple would have had to have been built in the vihara style as part of the palace premise surrounding the Mul Chok courtyard for no evidence of a separate structure that would match this temple can be found within the square.
Construction of the Karnel Chok is not clearly stated in any historical inscriptions; although, it is probably the oldest among all the courtyards in the square. The Bhagavati Temple, originally known as a Narayan Temple, rises above the mansions surrounding it and was added during the time of Jagajaya Malla in the early eighteenth century. The Narayan idol within the temple was stolen so Prithvi Narayan Shah replaced it with an image of Bhagavati, completely transforming the name of the temple.
The oldest temples in the square are those built by Mahendra Malla (1560–1574). They are the temples of Jagannath, Kotilingeswara Mahadev, Mahendreswara, and the Taleju Temple. This three-roofed Taleju Temple was established in 1564, in a typical Newari architectural style and is elevated on platforms that form a pyramid-like structure. It is said that Mahendra Malla, when he was residing in Bhaktapur, was highly devoted to the Taleju Temple there; the Goddess being pleased with his devotion gave him a vision asking him to build a temple for her in the Kathmandu Durbar Square. With a help of a hermit, he designed the temple to give it its present form and the Goddess entered the temple in the form of a bee.
His successors Sadasiva (1575–1581), his son, Shiva Simha (1578–1619), and his grandson, Laksmi Narsingha (1619–1641), do not seem to have made any major additions to the square. During this period of three generations the only constructions to have occurred were the establishment of Degutale Temple dedicated to Goddess Mother Taleju by Shiva Simha and some enhancement in the royal palace by Laksminar Simha.
UNDER PRATAP MALLA
In the time of Pratap Malla, son of Laksminar Simha, the square was extensively developed. He was an intellectual, a pious devotee, and especially interested in arts. He called himself a Kavindra, king of poets, and boasted that he was learned in fifteen different languages. A passionate builder, following his coronation as a king, he immediately began enlargements to his royal palace, and rebuilt some old temples and constructed new temples, shrines and stupas around his kingdom.During the construction of his palace, he added a small entrance in the traditional, low and narrow Newari style. The door was elaborately decorated with carvings and paintings of deities and auspicious sings and was later transferred to the entrance of Mohan Chok. In front of the entrance he placed the statue of Hanuman thinking that Hanuman would strengthen his army and protect his home. The entrance leads to Nasal Chok, the courtyard where most royal events such as coronation, performances, and yagyas, holy fire rituals, take place. It was named after Nasadya, the God of Dance, and during the time of Pratap Malla the sacred mask dance dramas performed in Nasal Chok were widely famed. In one of these dramas, it is said that Pratap Malla himself played the role of Lord Vishnu and that the spirit of the Lord remained in the king's body even after the play. After consulting his Tantric leaders, he ordered a stone image of Lord Vishnu in his incarnation as Nara Simha, the half-lion and half-human form, and then transferred the spirit into the stone. This fine image of Nara Simha made in 1673 still stands in the Nasal Chok. In 1650, he commissioned for the construction of Mohan Chok in the palace. This chok remained the royal residential courtyard for many years and is believed to store a great amount of treasure under its surface. Pratap Malla also built Sundari Chok about this time. He placed a slab engraved with lines in fifteen languages and proclaimed that he who can understand the inscription would produce the flow of milk instead of water from Tutedhara, a fountain set in the outer walls of Mohan Chok. However elaborate his constructions may have been, they were not simply intended to emphasize his luxuries but also his and the importance of others' devotion towards deities. He made extensive donations to temples and had the older ones renovated. Next to the palace, he built a Krishna temple, the Vamsagopala, in an octagonal shape in 1649. He dedicated this temple to his two Indian wives, Rupamati and Rajamati, as both had died during the year it was built. In Mohan Chok, he erected a three roofed Agamachem temple and a unique temple with five superimposing roofs. After completely restoring the Mul Chok, he donated to the adjoining Taleju Temple. To the main temple of Taleju, he donated metal doors in 1670. He rebuilt the Degutale Temple built by his grandfather, Siva Simha, and the Taleju Temple in the palace square. As a substitute to the Indreswara Mahadeva Temple in the distant village of Panauti he built a Shiva temple, Indrapura, near his palace in the square. He carved hymns on the walls of the Jagannath Temple as prayers to Taleju in the form of Kali.
At the southern end of the square, near Kasthamandap at Maru, which was the main city crossroads for early traders, he built another pavilion named Kavindrapura, the mansion of the king of poets. In this mansion he set an idol of dancing Shiva, Nasadyo, which today is highly worshipped by dancers in the Valley.
In the process of beautifying his palace, he added fountains, ponds, and baths. In Sundari Chok, he established a low bath with a golden fountain. He built a small pond, the Naga Pokhari, in the palace adorned with Nagakastha, a wooden serpent, which is said he had ordered stolen from the royal pond in the Bhaktapur Durbar Square. He restored the Licchavi stone sculptures such as the Jalasayana Narayana, the Kaliyadamana, and the Kala Bhairav. An idol of Jalasayana Narayana was placed in a newly created pond in the Bhandarkhal garden in the eastern wing of the palace. As a substitute to the idol of Jalasayana Narayana in Buddhanilkantha, he channeled water from Buddhanilkantha to the pond in Bhandarkhal due bestow authenticity. The Kalyadana, a manifestation of Lord Krishna destroying Kaliya, a water serpent, is placed in Kalindi Chok, which is adjacent to the Mohan Chok. The approximately ten-feet-high image of terrifyingly portrayed Kal Bhairav is placed near the Jagannath Temple. This image is the focus of worship in the chok especially during Durga Puja.
With the death of Pratap Malla in 1674, the overall emphasis on the importance of the square came to a halt. His successors retained relatively insignificant power and the prevailing ministers took control of most of the royal rule. The ministers encountered little influence under these kings and, increasingly, interest of the arts and additions to the square was lost on them. They focused less on culture than Pratap Malla during the three decades that followed his death, steering the city and country more towards the arenas of politics and power, with only a few minor constructions made in the square. These projects included Parthivendra Malla building a temple referred to as Trailokya Mohan or Dasavatara, dedicated to Lord Vishnu in 1679. A large statue of Garuda, the mount of Lord Vishnu, was added in front of it a decade later. Parthivendra Malla added a pillar with image of his family in front of the Taleju Temple.
Around 1692, Radhilasmi, the widowed queen of Pratap Malla, erected the tall temples of Shiva known as Maju Deval near the Garuda image in the square. This temple stands on nine stepped platforms and is one of the tallest buildings in the square. Then her son, Bhupalendra Malla, took the throne and banished the widowed queen to the hills. His death came early at the age of twenty one and his widowed queen, Bhuvanalaksmi, built a temple in the square known as Kageswara Mahadev. The temple was built in the Newari style and acted as a substitute for worship of a distant temple in the hills. After the earthquake in 1934, the temple was restored with a dome roof, which was alien to the Newari architecture.
Jayaprakash Malla, the last Malla king to rule Kathmandu, built a temple for Kumari and Durga in her virginal state. The temple was named Kumari Bahal and was structured like a typical Newari vihara. In his house resides the Kumari, a girl who is revered as the living goddess. He also made a chariot for Kumari and in the courtyard had detailed terra cotta tiles of that time laid down.
UNDER THE SHAH DYNASTY
During the Shah dynasty that followed, the Kathmandu Durbar Square saw a number of changes. Two of the most unique temples in the square were built during this time. One is the Nautale, a nine-storied building known as Basantapur Durbar. It has four roofs and stands at the end of Nasal Chok at the East side of the palace. It is said that this building was set as a pleasure house. The lower three stories were made in the Newari farmhouse style. The upper floors have Newari style windows, sanjhya and tikijhya, and some of them are slightly projected from the wall. The other temple is annexed to the Vasantapur Durbar and has four-stories. This building was initially known as Vilasamandira, or Lohom Chok, but is now commonly known as Basantapur or Tejarat Chok. The lower floors of the Basantapur Chok display extensive woodcarvings and the roofs are made in popular the Mughal style. Archives state that Prthivi Narayan Shah built these two buildings in 1770.
Rana Bahadur Shah was enthroned at the age of two. Bahadur Shah, the second son of Prithvi Narayan Shah, ruled as a regent for his young nephew Rana Bahadur Shah for a close to a decade from 1785 to 1794 and built a temple of Shiva Parvati in the square. This one roofed temple is designed in the Newari style and is remarkably similar to previous temples built by the Mallas. It is rectangular in shape, and enshrines the Navadurga, a group of goddesses, on the ground floor. It has a wooden image of Shiva and Parvati at the window of the upper floor, looking out at the passersby in the square. Another significant donation made during the time of Rana Bahadur Shah is the metal-plated head of Swet Bhairav near the Degutale Temple. It was donated during the festival of Indra Jatra in 1795, and continues to play a major role during the festival every year. This approximately twelve feet high face of Bhairav is concealed behind a latticed wooden screen for the rest of the year. The following this donation Rana Bahadur donated a huge bronze bell as an offering to the Goddess Taleju. Together with the beating of the huge drums donated by his son Girvan Yudha, the bell was rung every day during the daily ritual worship to the goddess. Later these instruments were also used as an alarm system. However, after the death of his beloved third wife Kanimati Devi due to smallpox, Rana Bahadur Shah turned mad with grief and had many images of gods and goddesses smashed including the Taleju statue and bell, and Sitala, the goddess of smallpox.
In 1908, a palace, Gaddi Durbar, was built using European architectural designs. The Rana Prime Ministers who had taken over the power but not the throne of the country from the Shahs Kings from 1846 to 1951 were highly influenced by European styles. The Gaddi Durbar is covered in white plaster, has Greek columns and adjoins a large audience hall, all foreign features to Nepali architecture. The balconies of this durbar were reserved for the royal family during festivals to view the square below.
Some of the parts of the square like the Hatti Chok near the Kumari Bahal in the southern section of the square were removed during restoration after the devastating earthquake in 1934. While building the New Road, the southeastern part of the palace was cleared away, leaving only fragments in places as reminders of their past. Though decreased from its original size and attractiveness from its earlier seventeenth-century architecture, the Kathmandu Durbar Square still displays an ancient surrounding that spans abound five acres of land. It has palaces, temples, quadrangles, courtyards, ponds, and images that were brought together over three centuries of the Malla, the Shah, and the Rana dynasties. It was destroyed in the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.
VISITING
Kathmandu's Durbar Square is the site of the Hanuman Dhoka Palace Complex, which was the royal Nepalese residence until the 19th century and where important ceremonies, such as the coronation of the Nepalese monarch, took place. The palace is decorated with elaborately-carved wooden windows and panels and houses the King Tribhuwan Memorial Museum and the Mahendra Museum. It is possible to visit the state rooms inside the palace.
Time and again the temples and the palaces in the square have gone through reconstruction after being damaged by natural causes or neglect. Presently there are less than ten quadrangles in the square. The temples are being preserved as national heritage sites and the palace is being used as a museum. Only a few parts of the palace are open for visitors and the Taleju temples are only open for people of Hindu and Buddhist faiths.
At the southern end of Durbar Square is one of the most curious attractions in Nepal, the Kumari Chok. This gilded cage contains the Raj Kumari, a girl chosen through an ancient and mystical selection process to become the human incarnation of the Hindu mother goddess, Durga. She is worshiped during religious festivals and makes public appearances at other times for a fee paid to her guards.
WIKIPEDIA
Photo taken by Susan Cseh
JAZZ - "Influence of Ragtime on Early Jazz"
Ragtime music had a brief but spectacular run of less than 20 years between 1899, with the release of Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag," and 1917, with Joplin's sad passing in a mental institution from tertiary syphilis. Part of the reason for ragtime's demise was the sobering effect of the First World War, which made ragtime seem outdated, coming as it did from a more innocent era. There were brief revivals of ragtime in the 1920s, 1950s and 1970s, but after 1930, it was largely consigned to musical history as a precursor of early jazz.
Early Jazz
•Early jazz was a widespread development that took place simultaneously in many parts of the country over a long period of time. It not only incorporated the syncopated beat of ragtime, but earlier field hollers and spirituals, the driving marches of brass bands, and instrumental horn-based blues. As the popularity of classic ragtime faded, its African influence became stronger, with added blues tones and more complex rhythms. Both ragtime and early jazz contained the elements of polyrhythms, syncopation and collective improvisation, in which musicians break away from the central theme. However, both forms lacked the element that defines the genre of jazz as we know it today -- solo improvisation.
Ragtime Definition: A predecessor of jazz, ragtime became popular in the late 1800s through wide distribution of printed music. Based on the march, popularized by John Philip Sousa, ragtime was written to accompany dancing. Its buoyant and cheerful style carried into stride piano and other early forms of jazz. Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton were the most famous composers of ragtime music.
www.piano-play-it.com/history-of-jazz-piano.html
This theme would be difficult for me as Rob and I were leaving to go camping. Barkerville was our destination and I knew or thought no where would I find JAZZ in that Old Historical Town. We had to go shopping and last minute packing and leaving Price Smart I saw this Yellow truck parked outside and the logo had a man with a trumpet and I thought, " Wow this could be my theme photo for JAZZ!". I quickly took the photo with my phone. I thought how lucky I was to have this shot just before leaving for our trip. However again as luck would have it , in Barkerville in a candy/ice cream shop I came across this CD just sitting on a window shelf. Nothing in this town represented JAZZ however there it was just waiting for me to take that shot. Of course this was quite exciting as this was like finding "GOLD" like back in the days of Gold Rush fever.
Read more : www.ehow.com/info_10031343_influence-ragtime-early-jazz.html
www.ehow.com/about_5127123_history-ragtime-jazz.html
simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Joplin
Theme by Sharleen, Photo by Sue
A repeat engagement of the Dartmouth Dance Theater Ensemble’s original dance-theater work Undue Influence examines the impulse, incidence and implications of sexual assault in a college social environment. Performances April 25-29, 2012, The Moore Theater, Hopkins Center.
(photo by Rob Strong)