I know its not the most Amazing car but I quite like the shot and its all I got as far as car shots go! I am going to a classic carshow tomorrow, so expect some nice car shots then!

Cars and Coffee, Co.Dublin,Ireland

I don't know why the three females in front of me had stopped. I had seen them earlier at the top of Glastonbury Tor. At the time I had been considering approaching them for my project, but then Ivy (my stranger 288) had crossed my path. By the time I had finished with Ivy they had gone. As I passed them, on the road back to Glastonbury High Street, I was drawn by Jess's hair again.

 

A few yards beyond them I turned around and thought about it again. There was no shade and the sun was strong, nevertheless I decided to ask Jess if I might take her photograph. She agreed and I asked if I might walk with them until we found some shade, where I might take her portrait.

 

I asked if they were family and discovered that Naomi is the girlfriend of Jess. The other lady with them was Naomi's Mum. They were headed to the Blue Note Cafe in Glastonbury, so I suggested that I could take the photos near there.

 

Jess is studying art and will be going to university in the Autumn. She enjoys photography and has a large polaroid camera with her. She is also an illustrator. These days she enjoys doing portraits of people. When she first started at college she was encouraged to move in to this challenging area, from the more cartoon style work that she had been doing before.

 

Naomi is studying photography. Naomi has a Nikon camera and she likes to use a 50mm prime. Jess has modeled for her. Naomi said that her shoots are less spontaneous than mine – they are all planned out. She showed me some shots of Jess in a bath with lots of black paint. Evidently it took a bit of time to clean Jess's bath afterwards. They have also both shared a love of Cosplay and I saw a shot of them dressed up too.

 

After I had photographed Jess, I asked if she would like a photo with Naomi. Although Naomi had been a little reluctant (being more comfortable behind the camera rather then in front), she agreed and liked the photos when we reviewed them on my camera.

 

Thank you Jess for agreeing to be in my project. I am glad that you liked the photos. It was good to meet you, Naomi and her mum. I wish you well in your continuing studies.

 

You can view more portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family

 

Know Your Rights!

 

Various iterations of this large mural of Joe Strummer have graced the corner of 6th Street and Ave. A since his death in 2002.

 

Avenue A

Feb. 2005

Anyone know what type of fish this is?

 

(about 10" long, found in a freshwater lake in Michigan, early spring)

I know this is the 35th Fighter Group but I'm not sure where this is. Seeing how the men are dressed in jackets, in this series of four photos, I believe it to be some where in Australia and not New Guinea. But when I tried to identify the P-39 the facts get a little thin. All there is to search with is the name 'Pat' and a little cartoon man with a sling-shot on the nose. Also nose number 175, which is seen on an engine panel leaning against a tree. A tree limb is covering the tail number. I've only been able to find one P-39 named 'Pat' and that was flown by Lieutenant Eugene Wahl, but references I've found list it as 'Wahl Eye II/Pat' with a shark mouth painted on the nose. Could this P-39 be the first 'Pat' or 'Wahl Eye I'? I can't find any reference of a P-39 nose number 175. I welcome any one with information about this.

 

My Dad's first combat deployment as a Master Sergeant was with the 41st Squadron of the 35th Fighter Group in Port Moresby, New Guinea from July 1942 until the 475th Fighter Group was formed in May 1943. The 35th Fighter Group was only one of two Fighter Groups available to defend Australia against the Japanese advance in early 1942 and was the first to use the P-38 Lighting in the Pacific. The 35th Fighter Group flew P-38 Lightning's, P-39/P-400 Airacobra's,P-40 Warhawk's, P-47 Thunderbolt's and P-51 Mustang's. The 35th Fighter Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations for outstanding performance in the line of action during WWII with 397 Japanese aircraft shot down and with 20 Aces produced. The 35th Fighter Group's, 39th Squadron was the first combat home for USA's greatest Ace of all time, the 'Ace of Ace's' and Medal of Honor recipient, Maj. Richard Bong. With 40 kills in the P-38 Lightning, the first five while in the 39th Squadron. The P-38's of 39th Squadron would later be absorbed into the 475th Fighter Group in November 1943. Major Bong died test piloting a new jet fighter, the P-80, on Aug-6th-1945, the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

 

My Dad was then assigned to the 433rd Squadron of the 475th Fighter Group 'Satan's Angels', formed May 1943, until March 1944 when he got his orders to 'go home'. The 475th Fighter Group flew the Lockheed P-38 Lightning out bases from New Guinea to the Philippines during WWII. In just two years they flew 3042 missions, 21,701 sorties and shot down 551 Japanese aircraft while only losing 56 of their own in combat and was awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations for outstanding performance in the line of action. By the end of the war the 475th Fighter Group had produced 38 Aces and was home of USA's second greatest Ace, Maj. Thomas McGuire, with 38 kills. The Major was KIA over Los Negros Island on January 7th 1945 and received the Medal of Honor posthumously. Charles Lindbergh also flew over 20 combat missions dive bombing, strafing and two combat victories, with the 433rd as a civilian 'observer'. Amazingly he did it with out even the President's or anyone in Washington DC's knowledge.

 

www.475th.org/

 

www.acepilots.com/usaaf_mcguire.html

 

www.ozatwar.com/35pursuit.htm

 

www.acepilots.com/usaaf_bong.html

 

www.charleslindbergh.com/wwii/

 

www.acepilots.com/usaaf_bong.html

Photograph by: Ryan Nyenhuis

 

Sunday June 15th 2008, Fathers Day. Ryan and I woke with a plan. The plan being to sneak into the abandon R.L. Hearn Thermal Generation Power Plant which is located in the south east area of downtown Toronto. We wanted to photograph the beauty of decay.

 

We had made a trip over to the power plant a week prior to scout out the area, to see where guards were located and to find easy access inside.

 

Sneaking past the guard house located at the front of the property and making our way along the north west section of property towards the back of the plant where the barbed wire fence was weakest.

 

We then smoked three quarters of a joint together before working up the nerve to hop the fence. Ryan went first, watching him hop the fence and dart out into the yard and hiding behind scrap metal for cover then finally making it to the back of the building. Then it was my turn. What excitement that was, knowing your breaking the law to do something adventurous.

 

After getting onto the property we were standing at the back of the Hearn and looking for our way inside. To do so we had to hop up onto a metal fence post and from there had to reach up and grab a hold of plywood that covered up the tall entrance area. A good 15 foot climb up, over and in.

 

Once inside the first photo that was taken was the one of Ryan and I standing together, titled "final hours".

 

This place was like no other we had ever explored together. The shear size of it all was breathtaking and mind blowing at the same time. The beauty of destruction.

 

After the first photo was taken we started exploring the plant. Taking the necessary precautions we had come prepared with asbestos masks and flashlights.

 

We had made our way around on the ground floor, through locker rooms, showers, storage rooms. Then we started making our way up stairs to the 2nd and 3rd level offices, had the remainder of our joint together.

 

From the office levels we went back onto the factory area and started climbing the metal stairs up further still. Some photos show how high up we were in that building.

 

We then made ourselves up onto the roof. What a view from there looking out over the city core. Looking out over Lake Ontario we saw really dark storm clouds. Ryan pulled out a cigarette and had a smoke.

 

We were up on the roof for about a half hour before Ryan asked me "what do you want to do now man?". "Do you want to go home now or stay a bit longer and explore?". My camera battery had died at this point and being there any longer served no purpose for me. I was hesitant on a response because at the same time I wanted to keep exploring because the plan was to keep coming back weekend after weekend to explore and document the old structure.

 

I then agreed to keep exploring. We came in off the roof, coming down a level, walked through a doorway into a long looking dark room. All across the top level of The Hearn runs conveyor belts that run coal from one end to the other. Walking together along the metal grating flooring. Ryan was 2 feet in front of me.

 

I then ended up tripping over a small extruded piece of metal on the floor, and from that second on I pointed my flashlight directly onto the floor to see where I was walking.

 

Very shortly after this happens, in mid sentence Ryan just falls into blackness. All I see is from his waist up as he plunges into complete blackness and followed by about 4-5 seconds before hearing a sick crash far below.

 

I then look 2 feet in front of me and see there is no more floor. My imediant thought is that he is dead. Then my brain clicks "I have to get my best friend out of here".

 

I then tried my best to back track to get out of the building, taking a route that he and I had not taken to get to this point. All I knew is I had to get out of The Hearn and find someone that could help.

 

I don't even know how I got out of that place. When I did I came out on the back side of the building, ran around to the guard house screaming for help.

 

I screamed to the guard that my best friend just fell in there and is hurt really bad, he asked what we were doing in there and I told him we were just taking photos.

 

The guard then called like every paramedic, fire and police officer in the city. About 10 minutes after the call was made all I could hear were the sirens. Scared and relived at the same time I was.

 

Once they all showed up I told them Ryan was in there, that we were up high in the building and he fell. All the cops were telling me to retrace my steps, they wanted to see where we came in from. I screamed at them "we don't have time for that right now, my best friend is dying in there". I then started leading them to the front of the Hearn because I knew it was the closet way inside. We get to the front and all entrances were boarded up. One cops said to me "Ian there is no way in through this way, you have to show us where you came in from". I then demanded to the fire fighters that they bust this plywood down to get inside.

 

Once inside the cops started fucking with my mind, me being in total shock at the time they started asking me where we had explored, they wanted me to take them on what would have been a few hours of exploration, which we didn't have time for.

 

Then an officer finds his asbestos mask and glasses. My first thought is he was okay, that he somehow managed to crawl out under his own power. I was wrong. His mask and glasses had bounced off of objects on the fall and Ryan was nowhere to be found.

 

The police tried getting a hold of Rogers Communication to see if they could pin point his location with the cell phone he had on him. They ended up using thermal vision to locate him. He was trapped in a coal hopper located high up in the building.

 

I was escorted out at this point in time because I was too "hysterical" for the cops liking.

 

Two and a half hours went by, a fierce thunderstorm was passing through.

 

While they were working on getting Ryan out I was giving my statement to the police. Never gave one of those in my life. I told them everything that I am writing here right now, everything, even the joint smoking. I had Nothing to hide.

 

We went in undetected but I didn't care if the whole world was watching at this point, I was doing what any best friend would do. I was trying to save him. City Pulse News was there and I was trying to hide from them. I was scared that this is how his family would find out and how my family would find out, being Fathers days and all.

 

After two and a half hours of hell they finally got Ryan out. I watched them carry him out on a backboard and I yelled to him that I loved him.

 

Ryan was rushed to St. Micheal's Hospital, the best in all the city for trauma.

 

I followed about an hour after him, being escorted in a police car. On the drive one officer said to me "this is going to cost you and your buddy about a hundred thousand dollars for all that had to be done here today". What a jackass thing to say. I responded by saying "I don't give a fuck about money, take all I have from me I don't care, I'm loosing the most important person in my life right now".

 

We get to the hospital, I enter the trauma wing of St. Micheal's. They told me that I was going to be the one to call the home of the Nyenhuis'. I thought that was insane, and told them I could not make that call, that they would have to.

 

I then went into the waiting room, sat down. I remember the NBA finals were on the televisions in there and I ended up falling asleep somehow.

 

Waking to Stevie and Tammy's faces hours later (Stevie being Ryan's room mate and Tammy being Ryan's girlfriend).

 

Stevie told me that John and Cheryl were on their way and that we could go up stairs to the trauma ward to see Ryan.

 

The trauma centre, located on the 9th floor of St. Micheal's Hospital.

 

Hours passed by, as the night went on the news kept getting worse and worse about his condition.

 

I ended up leaving to come back to my apartment at 6am the following morning, I had to talk to my parents and try and shovel some food into my system. Still being in shock and never got treatment for shock when it happened.

 

I returned to the hospital at 3pm that day. Only to find nothing had changed with his condition.

 

Then came the worst words I ever had to hear, Ryan's father coming in the room and telling me it was time to say goodbye to Ryan.

 

We made our way into where he was being cared for. To see my best friend in the state he was in broke my heart. Blood coming out the back of his head, body black and blue bruised from head to toe, internal damage that could not be repaired, feeling his forehead and it being ice cold. He was laying there in front of us, dead. Machines were the only thing keeping him "alive".

 

I said my goodbyes to him, telling him that he can't leave me here, he can't leave the creation of Studies In Comfort behind, something that is so brilliant, that we were supposed to take over the world together and do all that was planned. I told him to haunt me.

 

I then looked at his eyes and saw tears. He may have been brain dead but I know he heard every word I said. Doctors did not give an explanation to what was coming out of his eyes.

 

If only I had said to Ryan "hey man watch your step" he might still be alive today. I have been told over and over again that I can not blame myself for what happened that day. I sometimes still do.

 

Ryan and I once had a conversation that if something ever happened to one of us that Studies In Comfort would stop, without a core creator there is no sense to continue it. Well I am going against those wishes. I can't lose what he and I created even before it took off the ground.

 

I now know my purpose in life. To carry on Studies In Comfort. I must continue on for him, finish off the 3 studio albums we had in the works and continue on with this art form.

 

Ryan died at the wheel and I have moved his lifeless body to the passengers seat and now a fucking insane madman is driving.

 

Ryan Nyenhuis, whos favourite artist was Nine Inch Nails, who lived on floor number 9, who wore a roman numeral 9 on his right arm, who died on the 9th floor at St. Micheal's Hospital, Toronto.

 

Thank you to 55 Division and all the paramedics and fire fighters who helped get Ryan out of that terrible dark place.

 

Ryan Nyenhuis is survived by his father, John, mother Cheryl, sisters, Jennifer and Leah, their beautiful children, myself and Studies In Comfort.

  

Ryan John Nyenhuis

July 28th 1981 - June 15th 2008

 

We love and miss you.

___________________________

 

All photographs were taken by Ryan Nyenhuis & Ian Levack with a Casio EX-Z1050 camera.

THE GUIDE! - CLICK HERE: → howtogetbacktomyex.com/exguide

 

In this video, discusses eight signs that will let you know if your ex wants you back.

 

1. Is your ex contacting you regularly?

 

If your ex is making telephone calls or personal visits to you, it is a very good sign that they still care about you? Of course, you must understand that if they are making these contacts to discuss unpaid bills or personal property that may have left behind, it’s probably not because they’re still in love.

 

2. Does your ex want to hang out with you?

 

If your ex wants to do social things with you, you may assume that he or she is trying to bridge the gap between you.

 

3. Do they ask to be friends with you?

 

If your ex says he or she wants to remain friends and do things with you as “friends” you may assume that there is still something about you that he or she is unwilling to give up completely.

 

4. Is your ex talking about you to friends?

 

If you have mutual friends or co-workers and your ex is talking to them about you in positive ways, it is a clue that you are still on their mind and they are still concerned about you.

 

5. Do they bring up inside jokes or make sexual innuendos?

 

If, when your ex is interacting with you, they may bring up things that only the two of you know about…memories of good times together, a particular event that was romantic and happy for you…or if they toss in a reference to sex, you may be certain that he or she is hoping to connect with you again.

 

6. Does your ex flirt with you or often touch you?

 

These are courting postures which are generally invitations to become more closely involved. Particularly after a break-up they are not likely to be leftover behaviors, but rather new signs that there might be hope of rekindling your relationship.

 

7. Is he or she jealous of you?

 

Jealousy of your activities and of whom you might be seeing is not necessarily a dead give away that there is a make-up in your future. Some people just like to own others. That being said, if your ex is showing signs of jealousy, it probably does mean that he or she wants to renew your relationship.

 

8. Does your ex seem “down” about your breakup?

 

If your ex is showing outward signs of not handling the break-up well – if he or she appears depressed or cries when you are around – it’s a good sign that he or she is not happy with the decision to break up.

 

By being aware of these eight signs that your ex still wants you, you can either take the opportunity to get closer, or to move away, depending upon what you want.

 

KNOW MORE !! - CLICK HERE: → howtogetbacktomyex.com/exguide

Experienced joggers know that new running shoes wear out quickly. After just a few runs, their cushioning capacity starts to decline because the foam that is normally used in the midsole gradually gets compressed. BASF researchers have solved this problem with a new open-cell foam that provides the same running shoe characteristics and offers longer-lasting shock absorption. Thanks to small openings in the cell walls of the polyurethane foam (PU), shown in the picture, the midsole can be manufactured so that under pressure it remains stable over a much longer period of time. The low density posed a particular challenge for the researchers: the material must not only be stable and absorb shocks, it also has to be extremely light. Biomechanical tests carried out by Chemnitz University of Technology confirmed that PU with enhanced shock absorption improves the quality of the running experience compared with conventional running shoes. When joggers walk on air, it’s because at BASF, we create chemistry.

If you know where this photograph was taken or can identify anyone in the image, please contact the Halifax Municipal Archives or leave a comment below.

 

Date: late 1950s or early 1960s

Photographer: Building Inspector, Works Department

Format: 1 photograph : b&w negative, 8.25 x 10.8 cm (3.25 x 4.25 inches)

Retrieval Code: Halifax Works Works Department photograph, 102-39-1-1401.25

I know Davy was the shortest Monkee, but I didn't think he'd have the shortest life.

 

I think I'll tell you my whole Davy story.

 

When I was younger, I thought The Monkees were better than The Beatles. Then I realized the Beatles actually wrote their own stuff and that they were kind of cute, too. This was when I decided The Beatles were better and I would completely disassociate myself from The Monkees. Forever. There couldn't be anything The Monkees could offer me that the Beatles hadn't done better.

 

Fast forward ten years to the moment God led me to find a videotape in my crawlspace; it was dusty, the footage was blurry, bad quality. I had to find a VCR to play it, too, and on top of all that, I was actually too embarrassed to watch it with anybody else. Who knew what this was going to be. I was older, but I still wondered why I had liked them so much for all that time. I couldn't remember their faces or names or any of the reasons they had made me laugh. I mean, I was only about five or six when this seemed like the greatest show on earth (it was kind of a circus). Was it possible it could be even a tiny bit funny to me now?

 

On that tape were four episodes of The Monkees: Monkee vs. Machine, Hitting the High Seas, Fairy Tale and Mijacogeo. There was one episode from the first season and the other three from the second. These were the only four episodes I'd watched over and over as a kid (and on that same tape, too). Sometimes, as I watched them, I could remember a line or someone mugging, definitely that time when the plastic pie explodes ...

 

I'd wanted to enjoy the show but when I sat down to watch it, I thought that would be hard work. The whole thing hit me over the head: I didn't even have to try. They were having fun; I was having fun. For real? Was it possible that some show from the 60s was actually entertaining me? I'd never watched old television! Why was I laughing so much? What was going on?! These ridiculous boys - truly, just the most absurd mix of personalities - just ran around surrounded in bizarre shenanigans and witty banter, all at the same time singing and "Want to read my palm?" "No, I'll wait 'til they make it into a movie." They weren't swearing or smoking and all we ever saw them drink was milk. They were in the middle of the 1968 craze of "love" (sex) and "peace" (political unrest), and whatever happened off screen, I'll never know. But to me? When you put them all together, I just saw four good-natured, lovable and unreasonably hilarious boys. They were funny! So funny!

 

That was when I realized: I could have both. The Beatles and The Monkees. OBVIOUSLY!

 

Micky was my favorite when I was little. Micky and Davy are soo tied for first.

 

But you guys - Davy Jones isn't very difficult to fall in love with, especially since that's what they wanted to happen. Obviously, he was the cute one, but there was more than that because he was the performer. He was the one who was there and knew what he'd signed up for. This little guy with this huge personality and this glow and, of course, his british accent. Davy Jones...

 

I got the seasons - the first for my birthday, the second for Christmas - and after

I'd seen all the episodes, their music defined my summer.

 

Then, a year and a half ago, I got to see Davy in concert. Nerves. For one reason or another, I was terrified, maybe because we had third row seats and I wasn't sure I could handle it. But did you know that when he was younger, he was on broadway in Oliver! and played the Artful Dodger? It just so happens that the Artful Dodger is my favorite Oliver! character, and his character's big song is called, "Consider Yourself". When Davy Jones walked out on stage and started talking, he welcomed everybody and then started singing that song. The air conditioner was broken in the theater he was performing at, and on a June night outside Chicago, everywhere was pretty humid. But when I think back on that concert, it doesn't seem like anything could have gone better.

 

Once, during the concert, a hysterical fan in the balcony screeched, "I LOVE YOU, DAVY" and there was a second of silence while he squinted up there. And then, Davy said, "Ahh, well. Looks like my sister's here again."

 

A week ago, a little after 12:30 pm, everything changed for me again. While I was curling my hair or sitting in French class, Davy was having a heart attack. And at some point during my regular Wednesday routine - stapling papers, filling in vocab blanks - he just went.

 

There's this moment in the show that keeps popping into my head. The episode's called "Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers" - the fourth episode of the first season. They still matched their outfits, no one was famous, they were just starting out. This is how I always think of them. So, imagine: there's the four boys in their scarce, high-ceilinged beach house. Mike's jumping around on a pogo stick, Peter's shaking a soapy drink tumbler (which, to him, is just a device in which you wash your socks), Micky's impersonating Groucho Marx, and Davy - Davy's on an armchair balancing on his head. A scheming publicist walks in, trying to get on their good side so that he can walk all over them. And then, the publicist asks them, "Don't you want to be famous? The idol of millions?" And then Davy, still balancing on his head, simply replies, "No. We just want to be revered by a small minority."

 

"No. We just want to be revered by a small minority."

 

I'm happy to be part of that minority. I'm happy for all the people that they have made laugh, once or a thousand times, and for the people who can see the joy in their humor. That we get to love them, not idolize them. We get to laugh with them. They're still the underdog.

 

----

 

There's another episode in the first six episodes aired on TV. It's called Success Story, and it's about how the boys had to lie to Davy's grandpa; Davy had told him that he was rich and famous. Davy wasn't. When all is said and done, his grandpa calls their bluff and tries to take Davy back to England with him. At the foot of the spiral staircase, the boys all stand there to see Davy off. That's when Davy said it: "I hate good-byes."

 

He is still such a part of my life and I know he will continue to be.

 

Davy: "I hate good-byes."

Micky: "Okay. Welcome to America, Davy."

About 10 miles east of Gravesend on the River Thames: the river wall at Cliffe Marshes. Below the wall are a few places where whatever is in the river and shouldn't be gathers: bits of wood from small to huge, bits of boats, fire extinguishers, oil cans and pressurized metal containers - and plastic things.

There are a great many Smartie tube tops, for example: for those beyond the UK Smarties are (were ?) a brand of chocolate 'beans' in various colours, which came in a paper tube with a brightly coloured 'top' - on the inside of the 'top' was a letter, sometimes a capital, sometimes lower case. I suppose you were meant to collect them and perhaps they would help you "learn your letters" or spell polysyllabic scientific words, who knows.

And this: the song, of course, is "Big Yellow Taxi" but I doubt this is actually it (THE big yellow taxi) but it might be. I mean, she would never chuck a toy in the sea ?

 

[DSC_7579b]

I know I'm flooding my photostream with too-many-apple photos...

Views

*****************

Hello Welcome to the land of magic and fantasy.

The land of the cradle of religions and the first civilizations.

The land of Egypt

Today you go to a spot of Bhalla diligent in seeking described by you and by the private Mattmiz from other spots.

It is a land of green in the inner Western Desert of Egypt it

. Bahariya Oasis.

(I) lines for the blogger ,,,,,,,

Dear reader

I know you myself .......

Name / Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed Abbas

Area of work / artist automorphic revelation of the nature

Place of Birth / Albawity Bahariya Oasis Giza, Egypt

Artist automorphic inspiring talent drew inspiration from nature. God has blessed me with great artistic talent from an early age and that helped me that I was born in the Oasis and I lived and grew up under the skies and on the soil and between the folds of mountains and sand Abott and drank water from groundwater wells may like it so loving. And I hope the remains Sewa and Volkolorha People by nature and by the habits and traditions carries with it the fragrance of small oases of history and a solid go along with urbanization and civil rights. As for my paintings art, I cut many of the valleys and paths until you get the natural raw materials as well as gum trees, as well as stones from the slopes of the mountains in order to Ichkeul my paintings by the technical nature of all raw materials so that they are expressing a model of the oasis and its people and their customs and traditions. God has helped me in that he created many works even earn any great admiration of the Egyptians and foreigners from all over the world. It is also vBExperience I Ichkeul sculpture on the stone figures of important people and oases to be expressed in the model house Ziafti realize my dream and now that I have obtained a great admiration for all lovers of nature.

This little to acknowledge it and impart a quick look, which collected the proceeds from scientific about this spot (Bahariya Oasis) while working and going to the valleys and roads and mountains on foot on foot for the acquisition of natural raw materials such as sand, full colors and stones from the mountains and the gum trees to the drawing boards to the oasis, the old to remain a memory in the history of Egypt .........

Welcome to the oasis of art and dreams ...............( Bahariya Oasis Committee of God in the home)

For communication

mop: +20124671367

mop: +20172993345

deserteagle121@hotmail.com

mo_5070@yahoo.com

 

Mohamed_12199@yahoo.com

  

(II) - geographic location

***************************************

Bahariya Oasis is located in Western Sahara, Arab Republic of Egypt

And away from Cairo, 360 km south west of the Nile Valley and about 220 km away with the alignment of the country west of the Nile Valley, such as Matay and Samalut at a latitude 0''21''28%''0''28 longitude & North Tropic of Cancer.

It is the third time of configurations as described geological maps.

(III) - Description of natural

**************************

This oasis is a low rectangle extending from the northeast to the southwest and the length along the low-about 130 km 'and a maximum width of the north side of this low about 45 km' and expand in the northeast it has significantly expanded and gradually narrows towards the southwest until it is finished south of the space, which is Part of the Oasis 'The area around the low (4000 km) four thousand square kilometers and in expanding the region is populated metropolitan' and this low four entrances and exits of vehicles are: -

(1) - from the north east the main road leading to Cairo, about 360 km.

(2) - Nabq coracoid and this way Mudug Sandstone was formerly the main entrance to the oasis before the paved road which passes next to the chirp coracoid from the north south of the Qattara Depression and ends on the outskirts of low oases, as well as Mount coracoid and then passes the road next to the tomb of Sidi | Muhammad Gaddafi, and people were Oasis formerly make this the tomb of Sheikh comfort station at the coming and going to and from Cairo, where the travel takes more than a week of heavy transport vehicles on this road.

(3) - Nabq Siwa in the north west and this meant to the oasis of Siwa, about 420 km and this goes towards the western direction informed Gharwd jacket and an oasis of Siwa and the lame even

Oasis Jacket (located low and Oasis jacket on the progress of 225 k m from the Bahariya Oasis, 162 KM east of the Oasis of Siwa and 55 KM to the east of the Oasis of the lame, one of the surrounded break important caravan, which is located on the road to Siwa _ Bahariya Oasis, as cut off convoys the distance between them and the Bahariya Oasis in 4 days and between the jacket and the lame in the leap from the stability of the sun Mushargaha to the west and the oasis is low on the body and led a long rosette Lake area of 12 km, the depth of this lake is not more than 14:00 either eye jacket rises the water level on the level of surface lake, a little oasis plantations neglected palm poor resorted to the Bedouin in the case of lack of food during a crossing of the oasis and the area of grassland, but no one inhabited only by going through convoys to rest first, and provide water II in the case of having, as the water-metal situation makes it unfit for drinking ...

(4) - peace in the south west and this meant the way to Farafra Oasis, about 200 km and this passes on the continent of Sheikh Abdullah and then mount the crystal and then the White Desert ......

For this low-eleven trail and a corridor to the beauty of the past and they

(1) - from the south east

* Path Manfalouty

* Path Aldchloty

* Path Roby

* Darb El Bahnasawy

They are paths leading to the Nile Valley and pass on Ahtaya acacia and chirp Eboumhariq routes and Rayyan north valley, watermelon stone and the cave south note that routes the four mentioned above be on the path to one while crossing Pegrd Eboumhariq, which has a length of about 375 km in the maximum display a 3 km, which starts from the eye sea sand as far north end on the outskirts of the Valley to the south and Eboumhariq Kharga oasis away from the Navy about 60 kilometers to the east is the tallest grade sand in the desert of Egypt in general note that Grude Western Sahara start from the northwest and ends in the south east.

(2) - and to the north

* Path cupola and ladle

* Path Seiwy

* Rummage thirteen

They Mwdien to El Alamein, Matrouh and Siwa and pass the valley of Abu Abosnan Algradik Qattara Depression, which lies about 320 km from Bahariya Oasis and gave a description of this area, not to my arrival there.

(3) - from the west

* Path Aletbinip

* Path of the continent of Gallstone

They Mwdien to Siwa Oasis and the jacket and eye function and Farafra.

Eye function) known to the Bedouin into misguided as guided her convoy was misguided in the desert and away its location from the Farafra Oasis 72 km M and Oasis Bahrain 173 km m which is strange really as it explodes in the top of a hill of sand is composed of 3 degrees with a rise in the first one meter on the surface of easily located in the north either second-class-oriented production by 3 m above the first layer and the third rise 5:00 p.m. on the second and stem the eye in a low place about two meters on the top of the hill, which is almost repression around him prevented him from tear and water, this eye is the finest water the desert and no eye on the bushes of palms and tamarind and jungle station, excellent for convoys traveling between the oasis of Farafra and Siwa through the paths of jacket _ lame they are of the wonders of the desert they really the headquarters for the convenience of convoys and tourism and to provide some water them if necessary, but no one reward them.

(4) - from the south west

* Trail corridor continent Sheikh Abdullah Mohammed

* White cave trail

They are doing to the mountain crystal cave and Beer White as the cave and Beer White is located in the northwest of the desert white and along the plateau Rev. Abu Saeed Al-Western set in the middle through the eye of stray and this is the second cave and white desert and the oasis of Farafra, where the mountain crystal away from the lower Bahariya Oasis 30 km, a the pearl of the desert where it emits light after the impact of sunlight at noon and in the moon nights, especially in winter, when the moon is vertically resurrected light on the crystal reflects the light of the north and south and the White Desert 60 km ......

Albawity .. ..

***************

City Center is the Bahariya Oasis was named Albawity proportion to the name of the Sheikh of the righteous to accept the oases of the ancient lands of the East and he stayed. He has suffered a lot until he reached the oasis and had the generosity and love of the people of the oases and settled and his name (Sidi Hassan Abu Ya'qub Yusuf ibn Yahya Albuwayty), one of the disciples of Imam Shafie his doctrine may God bless him 'and when he passed away of Imam Shafie year 819 AH blessings Sidi Albuwayty people Amama He was among the worshipers of the homes Ms. Karima (Nafisa may Allah be pleased with her). The stability of the land of Oasis request of her family buried them when dies did not fail the people of the oasis on the implementation of his will and has already set up a shrine to him was buried at the time of his death there Balbauwayty and close to the three eyes of their secrets Pmaihm they are a cure for every disease and belongs also their names to him what he was doing where they are : -

Water and wells and springs

*****************

Eye Prayer

************

Dubbed this name because he was wudoo including Sheikh Albawity and prayed beside her, because it close to him.

Appointed companion

************

And named after Sheikh Albuwayty because he was sitting is the people of the oasis after receiving prayer tool for science and religion to the day you see people sitting Oasis after the Asr prayer in this place.

Appointed bucket eye and spears

**********************

Already are medicine and healing every disease, even if neglected them, but remaining so far as to walk one night and by the way stray finds lantern lights the way for him and guide him even up to safety and their many blessings and secrets ........ Aynak Iain bucket and spears ........

Appointed Alepeshmo

************

Roman is a term attributed to Sheikh Albuwayty means (00000000)

It is ironic that this hot Mjerian her eye on the boiling hot and cold stems from the earth from the same place and cold in its course, came from the south until it meets the hot and cold water in the course of one

That place is already Albawity oasis for hundreds of years old does not change Volklorh, customs and traditions, yet the old buildings where there are rocky hills, which was a natural oasis people exploit natural basis for their homes and taken them to the walls of the stones also.

There is this place the tomb of Shaykh (Ahmad Bin Ali) from the north.

It is the south west there is an area called the Western Wall, where the small hill called the continent blacksmiths because they are set up by some of the Accept from the west to Libya an ancient Vantsb name of that place to the title of this family blacksmiths, one of the oldest and largest families, the oasis and the area Albawity Indeed, so far, is the largest residence mismatch Sheikh (Sidi Mohammed Abbas) is a very Li Mohammed Abdullah. There is that area recently from the northern side resorts overlooking the orchards and palm trees directly from the old Oasis Hotel, which was established a few years this area has not changed from the folklore of this beautiful thing is our motto. There is also the oasis water springs from the eyes of groundwater and springs such as the ancient Roman male and listed their names

* Appointed Alepeshmo

* Appointed or snake

* Appointed Muftlp

Many of eyes Romanian old and modern groundwater wells of hot and cold.

After the study discovered that high ground water, sulfurous water treatment of some diseases.

There Trough Oasis sand dunes called chirp. Of which included his name, such as

* Grade debt

* Chirp horse

* Chirp or tippet

As well as the oasis there is a chain of mountains, and every mountain has a name, for example: -

 Mount Hofuf

******************

This mountain is the tallest mountain oases Trough 12 kilometers long, and if you look a closer look you see snaking. It is apparent that the events with me his old Pharaohs. There are on this mountain paths of two-way and corridors, including the apparent meaning of them work there and there at the top of this mountain

Some of the stones heavy sand diabetes Iskhaddmunha apparent that the pharaohs in the making of their parentage .....

And you see there on the top of the mountain roads are paved from the top to the bottom of the visible than that of the easy workflow Abgal to flatten the stones mentioned earlier even Liato them to the place of their own making and see the many things that go on to explain the absence of the mind and pulls her thought and imagination and finally really a certificate of the Pharaohs and the ancient Egyptian.

oasesMount Pyramid

***********************

And his name folks at Oasis cupola and ladle because they resemble cooking pots, three parts of this mountain fleece the first cupola and the eastern and western East scoop by scoop, and this configuration from God and not by humans.

Mount coracoid

****************

, Named so because it takes the form of a bird the crow, and this mountain is considered the main gate to the entrance of the oases of date by the way is paved as Zchrisabaka.

And the headquarters of this mountain in the northeast and on the outskirts of the entrance of low oases.

Mount Hammad

****************

Originally named Mount of Praise because convoys to express if they arrived to this area will praise the name of Allaah (God)

Maanoh because of the hardship in their travels.

Mount equitable

****************

And named this mountain of that name because it is located in the middle of the road between Albawity and space, therefore, called Mouncef.

Mount Giadp

****************

He called this name because it is different from the mountain, despite being the color black in the desert.

 Mount Mtila Radwan

******************

This mountain, named so because the trail corridor as mentioned conducive to Grude jacket and Siwa. White and well appointed function and in the name of the original eye stray south of Farafra. Mark and has no known only to those knowledgeable ....

Mountain English

*****************

It is situated Balbauwayty and called by that name, because this mountain, saw a lot of the suffering of the English up and down in the Second World War where she was their stay on this mountain black color steadfast and so far the remains of their buildings, it was called that name because he is a black box, which saw the course of things years of war and still tells us over the years about the events, which is formed by the configurations of factors, however, natural or man.

Effects.

*************

There are many of the Bahariya Oasis, the pharaonic, Coptic, and Romanian. Pharaonic it .......

Caves carved in the mountains, the bodies of the dead mummified in the coffins of pottery and stone valley, mummies, gold and Maqil of archaeologists that the oasis was inhabited (33) Thirty-three families in the era of the Pharaohs, Romans and were used as warehouses for grains, including wheat, had come to her arrivals request it. So far, and discovered by the Antiquities Authority, no more than (10%) ten percent and the rest in the ground and we conservers of him because he first civilizations of the world at large.

Heritage

*****************

There are Roman ruins of buildings visible from and Coptic churches, it was a mud-brick and are found in the area of space and Mendicp. There are also oases ruins of buildings for the people of the old Oasis and that does not change the folklore arts of sculpture, drawing, art and customs and traditions. You see the buildings of each family and the shrine of sheikh mediates their buildings and see the ruins of buildings by Sqhob influenced by the gunshot wounds and of the ancients knew that it addressed the effects of the people of the oasis of Raiders of the target. There are also after the gates at the entrances to some of the areas and streets on the outside, which indicate that these places and streets were closed for fear of the invaders and intruders and bandits coming from the tracks and the mountains at night. There are also oases ancient mosques hundreds of years such as the Mosque Albawity and inclusive country and a mosque likeness and Elsafaip and inclusive angle Elsnose It was the first mosque raises his minaret of brick and this mosque is said to have been built at the hands of men (of the family Senussi) who Accept from the West, past and stayed here for several years and received a very generous and familiarity of the people of the oases and the intensity of their love

The people of the oases if one of them had a child called Senosy note that the oasis is famous generosity to all entrants, such as Mackerm by Sheikh and Sheikh Albuwayty obstacle

Many of the generosity of those who want oases best enjoyed where it is wanted by the evil out of them and so far there in the fields of the pulpit to the Eid prayer, as to condemn the people of Bahariya Oasis religion Islamic Blsttina and there is no other religions except arrivals from other countries There is no difference between Muslim and Christian and deals Oasis people with love and tolerance ...

Features singled out by God oases

*******************************

There are oases of marine black desert which is about rock formations and mountainous highlands, a black

Consists of the age of volcanoes. It is natural beauty you see white sand in the embrace of the black mountains. Highlands and ranges between 150 meters to 366 meters. There is a mountain rose mountain poses the problem of small pieces

And as if a rose and take her visitors already from the people of the oasis and different races. The generosity of the mountain and put a lot a lot every year.

There is also a mountain and the mystery of physical Rabbani, this mountain has a small door, if entered women who do not give birth took place about seven times the wrap sections give birth to the orders of God. If the newcomer wished him from the people of the oasis and anything outside of it and took some stones and Kara receive what he wants them on the orders of God and has many secrets and this is true from the mouths of veterans. There are white desert oasis, a beautiful landscape, a mountainous, white limestone composed by the nature of the problem Kalnkhalp, sentences, and the tent. Sahara and the white eye are green and the secret of long Idem. And there is a mountain crystal, mushrooms and whole landscapes. And there are oases Mnottaghat and tourist hotels Mjhzp fit for all arrivals from tourists and succession. Note that the oases and put on the tourist map by the competent authorities. And held for visitors from different races all necessary means of entertainment and comfort in order to be in safety and security, thanks so dear to our beloved Egypt.

Welcome to the oasis of my dreams ..............

 

Central Park South, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America

 

If you want to know more about my walks and photos, check out my blog.

 

Summary

 

The Gainsborough Studios is a rare surviving example of artists' cooperative housing, a building type popular in Manhattan for a brief period in the early twentieth century.- Built during the heyday of its type, in 1907-08, the Gainsborough provided both living and working spaces.

 

The handsome, distinctive design of the building reflects its unusual purpose. Large, double-height windows provide an abundance of northern light to the artists' studios. Designed , managed and inhabited by artists, the building was given artistic connotations via its name and the proliferation of exterior ornament.

 

The latter includes a bust of the artist Thomas Gainsborough in an ornate setting, multi-colored tile embedded in the brick facade, and an inpressive frieze entitled "A Festival Procession of the Arts" by the successful sculptor Isidore Konti. The building was designed by architect Charles Buckham, a promoter of and innovator in apartment design utilizing the duplex plan.

 

Cooperative Apartments

 

Cooperatively owned apartment buildings existed in various European cities frcra the early nineteenth century. Among the earliest examples were those in Edinburgh; by the mid-century others were found in Vienna.1 New York, however, was much slower to accept the idea of apartment living at all, while cooperative apartments came even later. It was not until late in the nineteenth century that apartments became acceptable for the middle and upper income groups. By this time, the advent of spacious, well-designed apartments, together with the rising cost of land for individual hones in the city and a shortage of capable domestic help, brought a wealthier clientele to apartment life.

 

At the the end of the nineteenth century, housing conditions in New York City were undergoing rapid and drastic change. Residential areas were being taken over by businesses, with housing beccming increasingly expensive and single-family home construction being forced into more distant, northern locations. Thus apartments were, by necessity, becoming a more acceptable living solution for those who wanted to remain in the heart of the city.

 

Cooperatively-owned apartments became one way of making this new type of living arrangement more attractive to a wealthy clientele. The idea of being able to choose one's neighbors and thus achieve a certain degree of exclusivity was appealing. In addition, cooperative ownership inspired better architecture than had generally been seen in New York apartments, since the owners would be living in the buildings and not just investing in them in hopes of a large profit.

 

Cooperative owners turned to well-qualified architects and required that they create large spaces with luxurious details.

 

The cooperative idea quickly became accepted for midle class housing as well. Developers, were attracted to the idea because they could realize a quick return on their investment.

 

In 1907 cooperative apartments were declared "a prominent feature of the realty situation in New York." Two years later The Nev York Times reported that fifteen to twenty cooperative apartments had been erected in New York during the last few years.

 

Early New York Co-Operative Ventures

 

The first cooperative apartment house in New York was the Knickerbocker, located on Fifth Avenue at 28th Street; and built in 1882. The Gramercy Park Apartments at 34 Gramercy Park followed the next year.8 The Gramercy Park, developed and promoted by Charles A. Gerlach, was quite successful, returning a large profit for its original investors.

 

At the same time, Hubert, Pirssen & Company, architects and "builders, were developing a similar type of apartment, called the Hubert Home Clubs. One of these, built in 1883, was located at 121 Madison Avenue. In this building each two floors accommodated five duplex apartments.10 Another Hubert Home Club was the Chelsea Apartments (now the Chelsea Hotel, a New York City Landmark) at 222 West 23rd Street, built in 1883.

 

The next cooperative venture, the Navarre Apartments of 1883, (also designed by Hubert, Pirssen & Company) located between 58th and 5Sth Streets, on Seventh Avenue, was a financial disaster. Unlike the usual cooperative organization, the apartment cwners did not have sole control of the building, thus creating a difficult and ultimately unworkable arrangement.

 

Despite this difference, the failure of the Navarre Apartments effectively put a stop to the further developiaant of cooperative apartments until the twentieth century.

 

Artists' Housing and Studios

 

"People have no conception of how difficult it is for one to find a suitable studio in New York," the artist V.V. Sewell was quoted in a 1903 article.12 Artists could find little space adequate for creating and displaying their works, and even less space that supplied the desirable northern light.

 

The possibility of living and working in the same quarters was rare indeed. In 1857 Richard Morris Hunt designed the first New York building specifically for artists. The Tenth Street Studios, located at 15 West 10th Street, was privately owned by art oollector James B. Johnson.

 

It contained twenty-five studios, some with bedrocsns attached. later in the century, sorue artists found working space at the few studios which existed: the Bryant Park Studios (80 West 40th Street), the Sherwood, the Rembrartit or the Carnegie Studios, all on 57th Street. These studios were always fully occupied and did not begin to meet the demand for such spaces.

 

These two factors — the growing need for artists' working and living space, and the increasing popularity of cooperative apartment ownership first came together in the 67th Street Studio Building at 27 West 67th Street, built in 1901-03, to the designs of architects Sturgis & Simonson.

 

It was designed to meet the specific needs of artists, with double-height studios lit by northern light and attached living quarters. When no speculative builder could be interested in this project, the landscape artist Henry W. Ranger organized a group of artists to irate subscriptions to finance the new building.

 

The artists' initial investment provided construction money and entitled each investor to a permanent lease on an apartment, and shares in the corporation which controlled the building. Seme of the apartments were retained as rental units, and the income thus produced provided the capital for the building's maintenance.

 

The venture at 27 West 67th Street proved so successful that as soon as it was completed, Ranger organized another group of artist-investors to build the Atelier Building at 33 West 67th Street, on a similar plan. A third studio building, called the Central Park Studios, followed in 1904-05 at 15 West 67th Street. In 1906, a fourth studio building was built on the same street, the Colonial Studios, at 39 West 67th Street, also containing duplex studio spaces.

 

Thus a secluded and prosperous artists' living and working colony was established on this short block off Central Park.

 

The success of the 67th Street studio buildings led to the development of other similar arrangements in different parts of the city, designed to appeal to both the artist and the layman. The large spaces produced by the duplex arrangements meant that residents could enjoy living spaces comparable to those in a private house, but at much less expense.

 

The double-height rooms, when not used as artists' studio space (and thus restricted to the north side of the building), could be placed anywhere in the plan, creating interesting spaces which were highly prized for entertaining. Examples of this type, intended for general use included, on the east side, 777 Madison Avenue, 863 Park Avenue, 901 Lexington Avenue, 471 Park Avenue, and the Apthorp and the Belnord (both New York City larrimarks) on upper Broadway.

 

Other cooperatives had spaces designed specifically for use by artists, with large working areas lit by northern light. Examples of this type were the National Arts Club Studio Building (19 Gramercy Park West, within the

 

Gramercy Park Historic District), the Rodin Studios (200 West 57th Street), and the building at 131-135 East 66th Street (a New York City Landmark, designed by Charles A. Piatt). The Gainsborough Studies were part of this latter group.

 

The Gainsborough Studios

 

Probably in response to the success of the studio buildings on 67th Street, and a need for more living and working arrangements of a similar type, a corporation was organized in 1907 to plan and oversee the construction of another artists' studio building, on 59th Street.14 Ihus the Gainsborough Studios were begun and the officers for the corporation included three prominent artists, August Franzen, Elliott Dair.gerfield, and Colin C. Cooper, ard a businessman, Barron G. Collier.

 

Planned as a cooperative venture, to include studios, offices and apartments, the Gainsborough's address at 222 Central Park South was an ideal location for such a structure. Central Park South (or 59th Street) was a wide boulevard, with Central Park to the north.

 

Thus the studios which overlooked the street could be assured of a continuous supply of northern light, with no fear that tall buildings might block this important amenity. With the completion, in 1907, of the Plaza Hotel on 59th Street, off Fifth Avenue, and other similar, elegant buildings, the area was a prestigious one also. In addition, located just two blocks south, on 57th Street, was New York's artistic center, including the American Fine Arts Society building (a New York City Landmark) and ether studio buildings mentioned above, the Osborne Apartments (205 West 57th Street) and Carnegie Hall (a New York City landmark).

 

August Franzen, the president of the Gainsborough Corporation, was a portrait painter whose work today is in the collections of the Brooklvn Museum, Yale University and the National* Gallery cf Art, among others. Horn in Sweden in 1863, Franzen studied there and in Paris before coming to the United States in 1890. By February 1891 he had his first exhibition in America, at the Ortgies Gallery on Fifth'Avenue.

 

A member of the National Academy of Art, as well as the Century, Players and lotos Clubs, Franzen became a well-established member of New York's art world. He won numerous prizes and honors for his work including nedals at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, at the Paris Exposition in 1900 and another at the Pan-Arrerican Exposition in Buffalo in 1901.

 

In New York, Franzen lived and worked in a variety of locations. Upon his arrival in the city, he took a studio in the Holbein Building at 146 West 55th Street. By 1894, Franzen had a studio and apartment built atop 1 West 30th Street. In 1900, he moved to a studio in Carnegie Hall. His involvement in the Gainsborough Studios seems to stem, at least in part, from a desire for a more suitable location for his own work space, for he "was one of the first to occupy a studio there."

 

Franzen was deeply involved in the planning of the Gainsborough.18 It is also possible that Franzen was responsible for the name of this building. He admired Thomas Gainsborough's portraits immensely and, in a magazine interview cited the English artist's work as a inooel for his own.^

 

Elliott Daingerfield, the vice-president of the Gainsborough Corporation, was a painter best known for his poetic, mystical landscapes.2 Born in West Virginia in 1859, Daingerfield came to New York to study art while still young.

 

His first exhibition at the National Academy of Design occurred in 1880. In 1902 he painted the murals of the lady Chapel of the Church of Mary the Virgin on West 46th Street in New York. Other works of his are represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Los Angeles Museum.

 

The winner of numerous prizes and awards, Daingerfield was also a member of the many clubs and associations which corprised the New York art world: the National Academy of Design, the Society of American Artists, the New York Water Color Club, and the Lotos Club.

 

From the Gainsborough Studios' opening until his death in 1932, Daingerfield maintained his studio and living quarters there.

 

Colin Campbell Cooper, who served as the Gainsborough Corporation treasurer, was a painter of landscapes, figures and portraits. After early training in his native city of Philadelphia, Cooper studied in Paris. His work won prizes at the Atlanta Exposition in 1895, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1904, and the Buenos Aires Exposition in 1910, among many others.

 

His work forms part of the collection of the Dallas Art Association, the St. Louis Museum of Fine Arts and the Boston Arts Club. Cooper was also a member of the Lotos and Salmagundi Clubs, the New York Water Color Club and the National Academy of Design.

 

The fourth officer of the original corporation was Barron Collier, who served as secretary. Unlike the others in this organization, Collier was a businessman, involved in numerous ventures throughout the east coast.

 

As head of Barron G. Collier, Inc., he was responsible for placing the first advertising placards in subway cars, and also served as head of numerous hotel, railroad, and real estate development companies in Florida and elsewhere. Collier's public service contribution was also substantial. It may be supposed that Collier supplied" the financial expertise for the Gainsborough Studios building, although the precise link which brought him into this endeavor has not yet been uncovered.

 

The artists of the Gainsborough Corporation had all achieved a certain level of success in their professions and travelled in the sane social and professional circles. They were likely to encounter each other in any number of settings throughout New York and even exhibited their works at the same gallery - the MacBeth Gallery at 450 Fifth Avenue.

 

The building they were planning was meant to house artists of the same stature, those who could afford the spaciousness and status of a location on 59th Street.

 

The Gainsborough Studio Corporation purchased the lot on 59th Street in April 1907 and, after the demolition of an existing building, the studio building was begun November 3, 1907, and completed a year later, on October 31, 1908.24 To design this special type of structure, the members of the corporation chose architect Charles W. Buckham (1869-1951).25 Buckham was educated at the University of Vermont, and later studied architecture at the National Academy of Design and at Columbia University. Further studies were undertaken at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

 

Buckham's early work consisted of residences and public buildings in Vermont, including the Pathological Building in Waterbury and the State Office Building in Montpelier- In 1900, Buckham moved to New York and joined the firm of

 

Warren & Wetmore. Later he worked for Carrere & Hastings, serving as superintendent of construction of several Camegie Branch Libraries- Other examples of his work include the Hicmas Scott Buckham Memorial Library in Faribault, Minnesota, named for his uncle, and the redesign of the Salmagureii Club in New York-

 

Buckham was a very appropriate choice for the Gainsborough Studios- His interest in duplex apartments is reflected in magazine articles which he wrote promoting the type. While the Gainsborough was his first such project, he later designed another duplex cooperative building at 471 Park Avenue (1909), and two other apartment-hotels on Central Park South, including the Plaza Home Club Apartments (1911).

 

Interested in the structural aspect of this building type, Buckham patented (in 1928) an interlocking floor type of construction- He also developed and patented an inclined ramp as a substitute for stairs in school buildings, and a multilevel garage for parking cars.

 

The Gainsborough's Design

 

Buckham's design for the Gainsborough studios incorporated many of the ideas used so successfully in the 67th Street studios, but he also introduced certain changes. Because the only available northern light shone cn the 59th Street facade, only those roars fronting on 59th Street were made double-height and labeled studios, with smaller apartments located to the rear of the building. Thus, each pair of floors contained two duplex and four single apartments.

 

Another change also resulted from the experiences of the earlier 67th Street studios. Those buildings had faced legal problems because they were too tall for the street they faced- According to the tenement house law, such apartment buildings could be no more than one and one-half times as high as the width of the street. Hie Gainsborough organization, in order to forestall such problems, had its building classified as a hotel, with communal kitchen and dining room on the gound floor and minimal kitchen facilities in each of the apartments.

 

On the exterior, Buckham's design and the use of ornament were not only reflective of the building's interior design, but of the building's purpose as well. A contemporary source called the building's exterior "unique" and "a credit to the ingenuity of the designer."

 

The large expanses of glass (included in the design to bring in as much light as possible) indicated the double-height rooms of the artist's studios The use of the name Gainsborough, the bust and artist's palette over the entranceway, ard the frieze with its artistic theme further indicated the artistic leanings of those who lived in the building.

 

The grouping of colorful, glazed tiles inlaid near the top of the building was a motif Buckham also used on other buildings. Buckham, as well as numerous other contemporary designers, used tiles produced by the Moravian Tile Works of Doylestown, Pennsylvannia.

 

This decorative trend was noted in a 1907 newspaper article in which the author remarked upon the increased use of glazed terra cotta, tiles and faience in New York buildings of many types, including the Madison Square Church, buildings at the Bronx Zoo, Manhattan subway stations, and a Bronx police station.

 

All of these examples were favorably regarded by the author for the color and texture they added to the streetscape. The Gainsborough, with its profusion of exterior ornament and multi-colored tiles, fits into this group.

 

The author of the article attributed the presence of this colorful, clay-based ornament to the influence of the fifteenth century artist, Luca Delia Eobbia and his followers, and saw the trend toward this type of decoration to be also on the increase in Europe.

 

The Frieze

 

Perhaps the most striking feature of the building's exterior is the frieze which separates the first story from those above it. This bas-relief was designed by the Austrian-bom artist Isidore Konti, Konti was active in New. York artistic circles, showing his work at the same gallery (the Macbeth) as the other artists involved in planning the Gainsborough. Letters still extant in the Archives of American Art shew that Konti was a friend of August Franzen and of Elliot Daingerfield, who are likely to have been responsible for bringing the the sculptor into this project.

 

Konti was born in 1862 in Vienna but passed most of his childhood in Hungary. His artistic training took place at the Imperial Academy in Vienna, under the tutelage of Edmond Von Hellmer.

 

Two years of study in Rome sharpened his talents so that when he returned to Vienna in 1838, Konti received numerous important sculptual commissions. This prosperity was short lived however, and in 1892, Konti left for America where he hoped to find more abundant work in architectural sculpture. For the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Konti modelled many sculptural pieces and worked with several established sculptors who helped him get started in this country.

 

After the fair, Konti lived in New York where, in 1896, he was elected to the National Sculpture Society. Kbnti's submission of two small pieces to the Society's-1898 exhibition established his reputation as a creator of small ideal figures, while his large-scale work for the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo in 1901 reinforced his standing as a sculptor of strong, monumental figures.

 

For the rest of his long career, Konti continued to produce both types of work. Included in his oeuvre are several memorial statues, as well as fountain and garden figures, such as 'The Brook," a nude figure which embodied Konti's ideal of womanhood, the fountains of the Atlantic and the Pacific for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904, and a pair of monumental figures for the court house in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as more intimate works such as his "Genius of Immortality," a quiet study of a seated youth which was shown at the International Exposition of Art and History in Rome in 1911.

 

Today, examples of his art can be seen in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Detroit Institute of Arts, and the National Museum of Art, as well as in Trinity Church and in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. During his long career, Konti was a member of the National Arts Club, the Architectural league of New York, the Salmagundi Club, a director of the Municipal Arts Society, and an academician of the National Academy of Design.

 

Konti's "Festival Procession" terra-cotta frieze for the Gainsborough Studios shews people of all ages carrying gifts to the altar of the arts, an appropriate theme for a building for artists. His delicacy of line ard graceful forms add much to the distinctiveness of this building.

 

Description

 

The Gainsborough Studios is a narrow building, fifty feet wide on 59th Street, arri rising eight double-height stories. Its limestone-faced base is enhanced by numerous carved decorative features including the bas-relief at the second story. Above this the facade is divided into two bays by narrow brick piers which rise continuously to the cornice.

 

Between the piers are two series of large window openings subdivided by narrow mull ions and decorative panels. A slight distinction is made between the top and mid-section of the building by a shallow' arch above the sixth story windows. Above this level the decorated brick piers and carved stone cornice terminate the composition.

 

At the ground floor level, two area ways flanking the entrance are marked off by low, curving ceiraent fences topped by wooden planters with hedges. A decorative, wrought-iron lantern crowned by a white glass globe is mounted on each of the fences, near the doorway. The westernmost hedge shields a stairway which leads to the basement of the building.

 

The first floor of the building, faced with ashlar limestone, is three bays wide, with a central entrance flanked by a group of windows to each side.

 

Each set of windows is divided vertically by deep stone mullions into three narrow openings, while the top third of each opening is also set off by a stone muntin. The squared entrance-way is partially enframed by a garlard carved in the stone. The doorway is set within a deep reveal which is adorned by panels of carved foliate designs. Enclosing the entrance is an iron door which replaced the original in a very sympathetic manner.

 

A portico supported on two polished granite Ionic columns extends in front of the entrance. The columns support a lintel on which are engraved the words "Gainsborough Studios." A full entablature with dentils and a Greek key divides the facade at this level, separating the' ground floor from these above.

 

Centered above the portico is a paneled plinth, which is further embellished by a carved painter's palette. This, in turn, is surmounted by a bust of Thomas Gainsborough, the eighteenth century painter for whom the building is named. The bust is set within an aedicular shell niche which rises to the third story level.

 

To either side of the plinth, a wide bas-relief extends across the building, interrupted only by a small wirdew, centered in each half of the building. The frieze, carved in a classical style, is entitled "A Festival Procession of the Arts" ard portrays youths, maidens, children, and old people bringing gifts to the altar of the arts.

 

Both the bust and the frieze were executed by the well-known sculptor, Isidore Konti.

 

Above the level of the bas-relief, the facade is divided into two bays by three narrow brick piers which rise continuously to the top of the building. A narrow frieze in a Greek key motif forms a small base for the two outer piers while the Gainsborough bust ard its surround are located at the bottom of the middle, slightly wider pier. Between the piers at this level are two large windows, recently changed to a single expanse of glass in each.

 

From this level to the top of the building, large window openings are arranged in broad vertical columns between the piers.

 

A narrow stone reveal runs continuously along each side of the windows from the second through the sixth story, joining together in a shallow arch above the sixth floor windows. Above the sixth floor, stone reveals continue until the cornice level. Each double-height story is ccjnposed of a variety of window shapes.

 

Centrally located in the lower half of each window space, is a vertical panel which is filled with stone quatrefoils set in circles. A shallow pediment carried on narrow brackets surmounts each of these panels. Plain, single pane windows have recently been installed to each side of these panels and each is topped by a narrow cornice which separates the two sections of the window.

 

The entire windcw opening above this is subdivided into narrow vertical lights by metal mull ions. A narrow, metal spandrel, subdivided into three sections, fills the lowest part of each floor level, serving as a clear visual break between the floors.

 

The top section of the building starts above the sixth story. Here the piers are enhanced by a variety of multi-colored tiles set in geometric patterns, including diamonds and rectangles, within the brick. The tiles are in shades of red, yellow, green and grey with the more elaborate designs occurring in the central pier. Between the piers, the window arrangement is similar to that on the floors below, with the following diffferences.

 

The central decorative panels are not topped by pediments, and the seventh floor has narrow balconies fronting full length windows to either side of these central panels.

 

Above the eighth floor, the building is finished by a corbel table inset with a series of shells. Three decorative acroteria are placed above the three piers and serve as a finishing element to the facade composition.

 

Conclusion

 

The Gainsborough Studios is an unusual building, well-adapted ard suitably decorated for its specific purpose — cooperatively-owned working and living spaces for artists. Designed by architect Charles W. Buckham, who had a special interest in duplex apartments, the Gainsborough has been a desirable address and an attractive neighbor on Central Park South since its opening in 1908. Its elaborate decorative scheme, with the bust of Gainsborough, the distinctive bas-relief and colorful tiles, distinguishes this building as a fine example of its type.

 

- From the 1988 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report

I don't know why - but it seems that Little Lupe comes up a lot in conversation.

 

This one's for you Little Lupe - thanks for all the joy you bring to the listeners of The Howard Stern Show and for all your great sound bytes that spice up our conversations.

Knower live in Paris @Le Point Ephemere

He loves to maul my straw hat. I want a new one anyway...

:)

unidentified Blackpool Tram wearing Warburtons Livery, around 1988,

anybody know the number ? has she survived ?

 

No.Into ServiceLiveryLast RepaintPower ConductorCurrent Status

600January 1934Original Green & CreamJune 2008TrolleyUndergoing Overhaul

602July 1934Yellow & BlackNovember 1998TrolleyOperational

604August 1934Green & CreamJune 1999TrolleyOperational

605August 1934Wartime Green & CreamOctober 1998TrolleySold

607August 1934Advert for Blackpool Transport TravelcardFebruary 1996TrolleySold

 

Notes:

602 & 604 are available for service between Pleasure Beach and Bispham only.

600 is currently undergoing a full overhaul and should be completed by the summer. When it returns to service it will be fitted with a Low Voltage system and will be available for use on the entire tramway.

605 has been acquired by the Lancastrian Transport Trust for preservation.

607 is to join the national collection at the Crich Tramway Village.

600 is named Duchess of Cornwall. It carries traditional white on black destination blinds thanks to a private donation and has a string of lights held from a pole in each corner of the tram

 

BRUSH CARS

No.Into ServiceLiveryLast RepaintPower ConductorCurrent Status

621July 1937Advert for The Hot Ice Show, Pleasure BeachMarch 2000PantographSold

622July 1937Advert for PontinsAugust 2006PantographSold

623July 1937Wartime Green & CreamApril 2007PantographSold

625July 1937Green & CreamJanuary 1998PantographSold

626August 1937Half Green & Half CreamFebruary 2010PantographOperational

627August 1937Advert for Coral Island Buccaneer BarApril 2001PantographSold

630August 1937Advert for Karting 2000June 2007PantographOperational

631August 1937Advert for Walls Ice CreamJuly 2007PantographOperational

632August 1937Advert for the SeaLife CentreMarch 2003PantographSold

637September 1937Advert for Blackpool ZooAugust 1998PantographSold

 

Notes:

626, 630 & 631 are available for service on the entire tramway.

632 is owned by the Lancastrian Transport Trust. The tram is to return to service in a deal between the LTT, Trams Magazine and Blackpool Transport and is currently in the Paint Shop where it is to receive a late 1970s half green/half cream livery. It will be restricted to the Bispham-Pleasure Beach section.

621, 622, 625, 627 & 637 are all believed to have been sold. Some reports state that 622 may be used in service in 2010.

623 has been acquired for preservation by the Heaton Park Tramway, Manchester.

626 is expected to become the “Tram Driving Experience” car for 2010 following the acquisition of 623 by Heaton Park. The livery carried by the tram is an approximation of the 1970s fleet livery.

630 is to be acquired by the Tramway Museum Society, however it will remain in Blackpool until at least November 2011.

 

CENTENARY CARS

No.Into ServiceLiveryLast ReliveryPower ConductorCurrent Status

641April 1984All Over OrangeFebruary 2010PantographOperational

642December 1986All Over YellowJuly 2006PantographReserve Fleet

643November 1986Black & WhiteMay 2009PantographOperational

644November 1986Advert for Fleetwood Market/ Farmer Parrs Animal WorldDecember 2002PantographOperational

645September 1987All Over RedMarch 2010PantographOperational

646September 1987Advert for Paul Gaunt FurnitureApril 2007PantographOperational

647January 1988Advert for B&M BargainsJuly 2009PantographReserve Fleet

648January 1990All Over WhiteMarch 2009PantographOperational

 

Notes:

All trams are available for service on the entire network.

All trams (in this order 642, 641, 646, 643, 644, 647, 645 & 648) have undergone midlife overhauls. The first two had a different look featuring large destination boxes and roof advert boards and then from the third overhaul a total transformation in style was unveiled with flat windscreens. Then due to HSE concerns the front of 645 was changed again with more curved corners. And then the refurbishment of 648 was different again with the front completed in a sympathetic manner for future restoration to original style.

641, 642, 643, 645 & 648 are in plain base coats (either painted that way or the remnants of an all over advertising livery). All except 641 & 645 are adorned with Metro Coastlines vinyls

648 has been acquired by the Tramway Museum Society. It will not be available for Crich until after 2015 (because of its book value).

 

TWIN CARS

TOWING CARS

No.Into ServiceLiveryLast RepaintPower ConductorCurrent Status

671November 1960Green & YellowApril 2003PantographStored

672September 1960Orange & YellowFebruary 2003PantographOperational

673June 1961Turquoise & YellowSeptember 2003PantographStored

674May 1962Cadbury Blue & YellowJune 2003PantographStored

675March 1958Red & YellowOctober 2004PantographOperational

676March 1958Green & CreamAugust 1991PantographSold

 

TRAILER CARS

No.Into ServiceLiveryLast RepaintCurrent Status

681July 1960Green & YellowApril 2003Stored

682August 1960Orange & YellowFebruary 2003Operational

683September 1960Turquoise & YellowSeptember 2003Stored

684October 1960Cadbury Blue & YellowJune 2003Stored

685October 1960Red & YellowOctober 2004Reserve Fleet

686November 1960Green & CreamOctober 1991Sold

687November 1960Green & CreamJanuary 1992Sold

Notes:

672+682 & 675+685 are available for service on the entire tramway.

671+681, 673+683 & 674+684 are stored.

672+682 have been acquired by the Tramway Museum Society for the national collection. They will be available for Crich by 2012.

676+686 & 687 (for spares) have been acquired for preservation by the Lancastrian Transport Trust.

 

EX-TOWING RAILCOACHES

No.Into ServiceLiveryLast RepaintPower ConductorCurrent Status

678September 1961Advert for Radio WaveJuly 2004PantographSold

680December 1960All Over BlueApril 2008PantographSold

Notes:

678 has been sold.

680‘s livery features yellow chevrons at each end following the cancellation of an advertising contract for the Merrie England Bar, North Pier. The tram has been acquired for preservation at the Heaton Park Tramway, Manchester.

 

BALLOON CARS

No.Into ServiceLiveryLast ReliveryPower ConductorCurrent Status

700February 1934Wartime Green & CreamOctober 2003PantographUnder Attention

701September 1934All Over YellowApril 2009PantographOperational

702September 19341970s Green & CreamAugust 2004PantographSold

703September 19341980s Green & CreamOctober 2003PantographSold

704September 1934Advert for Eclipse at the Globe, Pleasure BeachApril 2000PantographSold

706September 1934Original Green & CreamJuly 2003TrolleyOperational

707September 1934Advert for Coral Island Buccaneer BarJuly 2008PantographOperational

708September 19341970s Green & CreamMay 1999PantographSold

709October 1934Advert for Sealife CentreMarch 2009PantographOperational

710October 1934Purple & YellowNovember 2003PantographSold

711October 1934Dark Green & YellowDecember 2007PantographOperational

712April 1935Original Green & CreamMarch 2010PantographSold

713December 1934Purple & YellowApril 2008PantographUnder Attention

715January 1935Light Blue & YellowApril 2008PantographSold

716March 1935Green & CreamJanuary 1999PantographSold

717December 1934Original Green & CreamFebruary 2008PantographOperational

718December 1934Blue & YellowAugust 2008PantographUnder Attention

719February 1935All Over Light BlueMarch 2009PantographOperational

720February 1935All Over WhiteDecember 2009PantographUnder Attention

721April 1935Advert for Pleasure Beach ResortApril 2009PantographSold

723January 19351980s Green & CreamMarch 2008PantographOperational

724February 1935Advert for Lyndene HotelMay 2009PantographOperational

726February 1935Advert for HM CoastguardJune 2007PantographOperational

Notes:

707, 709, 711, 717, 718, 719, 723 & 724 are available for service on the entire tramway.

701 & 706 are available for service between Bispham and Pleasure Beach only.

700, 713, 718 & 720 are in various stages of being fitted with the new centre porches to enable them to operate on the upgraded tramway. It is not yet known whether they will be able to operate in 2010, if they can they will be able to be used on the entire tramway. Of these only 720 has had the porches and doors completely fitted. Up to 10 Balloons are expected to receive this work with the remaining six likely to be taken from 701, 707, 709, 711, 719, 723 & 724 (although there are no guarantees all will be treated or that this is a definitive list).

715 is owned by the Lancastrian Transport Trust. It is to enter the Paint Shop in May for a repaint into 1970s Green and Cream. When completed it will be available for service between Bispham and Pleasure Beach only.

707, 709, 718 & 724 have undergone rebuilds unofficially been called the “Millennium Class”. The main differences on these rebuilds have seen the ends become completely flat and new large indicators.

702 & 704 have been acquired for preservation at the Heaton Park Tramway in Manchester.

703 is owned by the Lancastrian Transport Trust. It is currently in the Paint Shop where it is to receive Sunderland’s streamlined livery before moving to Beamish on an initial five year loan. It is expected to operate a farewell tour before departing.

708, 710, 716, 721 & 726 have been sold.

700, 702, 706 and 712 (one end only) all carry traditional white on black destination blinds and their former number thanks to a private donation.

700 received a heritage refurbishment to Wartime standard in 1996. This included double destination blinds, original style interiors and window frames. The tram was originally fitted with a trolley but from April 2005 a Pantograph has been used for operational reasons. As noted above the trams is currently receiving the new centre entrance “bulges” and will also receive new lifeguards and fibreglass skirts.

701 & 719 are in plain base coats (either painted that way or the remnants of an all over advertising livery) and are adorned with Metro Coastlines vinyls leading to these liveries being at least semi permanent.

706 was rebuilt into an open topper and named Princess Alice for the 1985 Blackpool Tram Centenary. The tram is due to visit the Heaton Park Tramway briefly in November.

712 moved to the Crich Tramway Village on 26-27th March 2010. At the next fleet list update this will be removed from above.

713 returned to service in September 2005 following a major overhaul. The tram has a “hybrid” appearance with the traditional streamlined shape but with modern safety features including a new bumper at front and rear of the tram.

716 has become a kind of stores tram.

717 underwent a major overhaul to near original condition, although with a few modern safety features. It is named Philip R Thorpe – who made a bequest to Blackpool Transport for the tram to be restored. The tram was originally fitted with a trolley but not carries a pantograph.

719 carries the name Donna’s Dream House (formerly carried by 723) – a local charity – and associated side adverts.

720 has undergone a major overhaul in a style similar to 713 but featuring new enlarged centre entrances.

 

JUBILEE CARS

No.Into ServiceLiveryLast RepaintPower ConductorCurrent Status

761July 1979Advert for Wynsors World of ShoesJuly 2008PantographOperational

762April 1982Advert for ReBlackpoolFebruary 2009PantographOperational

 

Notes:

761 & 762 are available for service on the entire tramway.

761 has been overhauled and is fitted with new larger destination screens.

762 has been overhauled and is fitted with new larger destination screens as well as inbuilt roof advert boards to try and prevent pantograph grease. It is named Stuart L Pillar after the former Chief Engineer of Blackpool Transport heavily involved in the rebuild of the trams. The tram has been acquired for preservation at the Crich Tramway Village, although will not transfer to the TMS before 2015 because of its book value.

 

ILLUMINATED TRAMS

No.Into ServiceLiveryLast RepaintNamePower ConductorCurrent Status

732September 1961GreenAugust 1985The RocketTrolleySold

733September 1962Red, Green & YellowJanuary 2009The Western Train LocomotiveTrolleyOperational

734September 1962Red, Green & YellowJanuary 2009The Western Train CarriagePulled by 733Operational

736August 1965WhiteApril 2004The WarshipPantographOperational

737August 2001Blue, Red, Black & WhiteJuly 2001The TrawlerPantographOperational

 

Notes:

733+734, 736 & 737 are available for service over the entire tramway.

732 is owned by the Lancastrian Transport Trust but remains at Rigby Road for storage purposes only. There are currently negotiations which may see the tram return to Blackpool Transport ownership and onto the rails again.

733+734 were officially relaunched on Thursday 14th May 2009 following a major restoration after a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £278,000. The tram has been restored to original 1962 style externally including adverts for ABC Television but internally the carriage (former Pantograph 174) has been stripped back to show off its original Pantograph panelling. It has been withdrawn after the 1999 season.

736 returned to service in September 2004 following 3 years out of service and a major rebuild.

737 was officially renumbered in winter 2007/8 having previously been numbered 633 from 2001-2007.

 

TRAMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST

TramInto ServiceLiveryLast RepaintPower ConductorCurrent Status

Stockport 51901

(1996)Red & Off-White1996TrolleyStored

Blackpool & Fleetwood Box 401914

(1996)Varnished Woodwork & CreamDecember 2005TrolleyOperational

Bolton 661901

(1981)Maroon & CreamMay 1996TrolleyOperational

Blackpool Standard 1471924

(October 2000)Green & CreamFebruary 2006TrolleyOperational

Blackpool Coronation 3041952

(9 June 2002)Cream & GreenJanuary 2009TrolleyStored

Sheffield Roberts 5131950

(February 2001)Blue & WhiteJanuary 2003TrolleyStored

Blackpool Replica Vanguard 619August 1987Chocolate & CreamJune 1998PantographStored

Blackpool Coronation 660July 1953Cream & GreenOctober 2004TrolleyOperational

 

Notes:

Bolton 66 & Standard 147 are available for service on the entire tramway.

Blackpool & Fleetwood Box 40 & Coronation 660 are available for service between Bispham and Pleasure Beach only.

Stockport 5, Coronation 304 & Sheffield 513 are stored but may see some service during the 125th anniversary celebrations

Vanguard 619 is to go on loan to the Heaton Park Tramway in 2010 as a swap for Manchester 765.

Stockport 5 is on long term loan but has only seen limited initially because of an off centre trolley tower leading to frequent de-wirements. This was re-set but seemed to make very little difference to the amount of use.

Box 40 arrived in Blackpool in 1996 from the TMS collection for a 10 year stay, which has since been extended for a further 10. Standard 147 returned to Blackpool from America after an absence of 33 years in two parts in October 2000. The tram was restored and returned to service in April 2002. It is named Michael Airey.

Coronation 304 returned to the resort on 9 June 2002 and was the star of the February 2003 Channel 4 program Salvage Squad.

Sheffield Roberts 513 returned to Blackpool on 15 February 2001 from Beamish, having previously been in Blackpool for the 1985 Centenary. The tram is expected to be in the resort for not less than 15 years.

Vanguard 619 has roof advert boards attached and wrought iron sides.

Coronation 660 has roof windows. The tram last underwent overhaul in 2004/5.

The dates in brackets refer to the year that these trams arrived in Blackpool for their current visit.

  

ENGINEERING VEHICLES

No.Into ServiceLiveryPurposePower ConductorCurrent Status

259July 1937Works GreenPermanent Way CarTrolleySold

260March 1973Works YellowRail CraneTowed by 259Operational

7501907YellowReel WagonTowed by 940Operational

754August 1992YellowOverhead Line CarTrolley/DieselOperational

938August 2005YellowOverhead InspectionDiesel EngineOperational

939August 2003Yellow and OrangeRoad/Rail VehicleDiesel EngineOperational

 

Notes:

259 is owned by the Lancastrian Transport Trust. It is to start having a new underframe constructed in the Blackpool Transport workshops before it is moved to the LTT’s own depot for further work.

260 has received a new braking system, similar to that fitted to 750.

750 underwent a rebuild/overhaul Summer 2004 – believed to be its first ever!

938 is a Brecknell Willis Overhead Inspection vehicle, which has previously seen use on the Midland Metro system.

939 originally arrived in December 2002. However it had to leave Blackpool for modifications before finally entering service summer 2004. It is a Mercedes Benz Unimog with a bucket hoist.

The Postcard

 

A postcard that was produced by Adrian that was posted in New York on Sunday the 31st. July 1938 to:

 

Miss F. Quaddel,

38, Ladbroke Grove,

London W. 11,

England.

 

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

 

"Dear Frida,

Just a word to let you

know I'm alive & kicking.

The weather has been

miserable but pretty

warm here.

We're leaving tomorrow

for Halifax on a cruise

and arrive back Friday.

We will be back on the

12th.

Love,

Bunny."

 

Grant's Tomb

 

Grant's Tomb, officially the General Grant National Memorial, is the final resting place of Ulysses S. Grant, 18th. president of the United States, and his wife, Julia Grant.

 

It is a classical domed mausoleum in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in NYC. The structure is in the middle of Riverside Drive at 122nd. Street, across from Riverside Church to the southeast and Riverside Park to the west.

 

Upon Grant's death in 1885, his widow declared that he had wished to be buried in New York, and a new committee, the Grant Monument Association, appealed for funds. Progress was slow at first, since many believed the tomb should be in Washington, D.C., and also because there was no architectural design to show.

 

Eventually they selected a proposal by John Hemenway Duncan for a tomb of "unmistakably military character," modeled after the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, with twin sarcophagi based on Napoleon’s tomb at Les Invalides.

 

The tomb was completed in 1897, and the National Park Service has managed it since 1958. After a period of neglect, it has been restored and re-dedicated.

 

The mausoleum is a prominent architectural land feature visible from the Hudson River. In addition to being a national memorial since 1958, Grant's Tomb was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, and was designated an official New York City landmark in 1975.

 

The Creation of the Grant Monument Association

 

On the 23rd. July 1985, Ulysses S. Grant died of throat cancer at the age of 63 in Wilton, New York.

 

Within hours of Grant's death, William Russell Grace, the Mayor of New York City, sent a telegram to Julia Grant offering NYC to be the burial ground for both Ulysses and Julia.

 

Grant's only real wish when he died was to be next to his wife when he was buried. In practice this eliminated all military cemeteries and installations (such as West Point) from consideration, as they did not permit women to be interred at the time. Grant's family agreed to have his remains interred in NYC.

 

Grace wrote a letter to prominent New Yorkers the following day in order to gather support for a national monument in Grant's honor:

 

"Dear Sir: In order that the City of New York, which

is to be the last resting place of General Grant,

should initiate a movement to provide for the

erection of a National Monument to the memory of

the great soldier, and that she should do well and

thoroughly her part, I respectfully request you as

one of a Committee to consider ways and means

for raising the quota to be subscribed by the

citizens of New York City for this object, and beg

that you will attend a meeting to be held at the

Mayor's office on Tuesday next, 28 inst., at three

o'clock."

 

The preliminary meeting was attended by 85 New Yorkers who established the Committee on Organization. Its chairman was former President Chester A. Arthur; its secretary was Richard Theodore Greener. The organization came to be known as the Grant Monument Association (GMA).

 

Funding of the Monument

 

The Grant Monument Association did not originally announce the function or structure of the monument; however, the idea of any monument in Grant's honor drew public support. Western Union donated $5,000 on the 29th. July, the day the committee announced its proposal.

 

The GMA continued to receive donations of large and small amounts. At a membership meeting, former New York State governor Alonzo Cornell proposed a fundraising goal of one million dollars.

 

Private enterprises such as insurance and iron-trading companies donated funds to the project. For every ton of coal the Consumers Coal Company sold, it gave a donation of 37½ cents to the GMA.

 

However although there was great enthusiasm for a monument to President Grant, early fundraising efforts were stifled by growing negative public opinion expressed by out-of-state press. The Clay County Enterprise in Brazil, Indiana, wrote:

 

"We have not a cent for New York in the

undertaking, and would advise that not

a dollar of help be sent to the millionaire

city from Indiana. If the billions of New York

are not sufficient to embellish the city, let

the remains be placed in Washington or

some other American city."

 

The opposition was vocal in the view that the monument should be in Washington, D.C. Mayor Grace tried to calm the controversy by publicly releasing Mrs. Grant's justification for the New York site as the resting place for her husband:

 

"Riverside was selected by myself and my family

as the burial place of my husband, General Grant.

First, because I believed New York was his preference. Second, it is near the residence that I hope to occupy

as long as I live, and where I will be able to visit his

resting place often. Third, I have believed, and am

now convinced, that the tomb will be visited by as

many of his countrymen there as it would be at any

other place. Fourth, the offer of a park in New York

was the first which observed and unreservedly

assented to the only condition imposed by General

Grant himself, namely, that I should have a place by

his side."

 

Criticism was not limited to the debate about the monument's location. According to The New York Times, there was discontent even with the internal management of the GMA.

 

Although the GMA members were among the wealthiest in New York, they were making comparatively small donations to the effort that they themselves were promoting. The New York Times characterized the members as:

 

"Sitting quietly in an office and signing

receipts for money voluntarily tendered."

 

At this early stage, the GMA did not have a model for what the monument was to be; it continued to ask for donations without explaining its purpose, which frustrated and discouraged donors. Joan Waugh captured the feelings of the average citizen in her book, 'American Hero American Myth':

 

"Why should citizens give money to

build a monument whose shape was

still a mystery?"

 

The GMA did not propose a definitive plan for the monument until five years later. During its first few years, the GMA fell short of the fundraising expectations originally set by Alonzo Cornell. In the first year, 1885, the GMA raised just over $111,000, 10% of its goal. In the two years that followed, it raised just $10,000.

 

The slow pace of fundraising caused some trustees to resign. No design for the structure yet existed, and without such a design, it was believed that fundraising efforts would continue to remain low.

 

The Design Competition

 

On the 4th. February 1888, after a year's delay, the GMA publicly announced the details of a design competition, in a newsletter entitled 'To Artists, Architects, and Sculptors'.

 

This information was made public to the entire nation; it was also published in Europe. The GMA also proposed a new estimate for the monument's cost, which ranged from $500,000 to $1 million. The deadline for all designs was rescheduled three times, and was then set for a final date of the 10th. January 1889.

 

The competition received 65 designs, 42 of which came from international entries. The GMA did not award an overall winner, and a second design competition was ordered.

 

In April 1890, the GMA selected, from only five commissioned entries, the design of John Hemenway Duncan, who estimated his design would cost between $496,000 and $900,000. In 1883, Duncan designed the Washington Monument at Newburgh, the Newburgh Monument, and the Tower of Victory.

 

Duncan built these structures to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the U.S. Revolutionary War, and he became a member of the Architectural League in 1887. Duncan cited as his design's objective:

 

"To produce a monumental structure

that should be unmistakably a tomb

of military character."

 

He claimed that he wanted to avoid "resemblance of a habitable dwelling," as the structure was meant to be the epitome of reverence and respect.

 

The tomb's granite exterior is modeled after the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus with Persian elements, and but for the Ionic columns of the exterior rotunda and the Doric columns of the porch, it resembles the Tropaeum Alpium.

 

Within the tomb, the twin sarcophagi of Grant and his wife are based on the sarcophagus of Napoleon Bonaparte at Les Invalides.

 

Construction of the Monument

 

By 1890, the GMA had a defined design and architect. Although the GMA was becoming more organized and the reality of the monument was becoming clearer, the debate over the monument's location re-opened in Congress.

 

In October 1890, U.S. Senator Hale introduced legislation to have the sarcophagi placed at a monument in Washington, DC. The legislation did not pass, but the effort re-opened the debate over the proper place for the remains of Grant.

 

A ground-breaking ceremony had already been scheduled for the 27th. April 1891, and although the parties had not agreed on a location for the monument by that date, a ground-breaking ceremony was nevertheless held.

 

In June 1891, deliberations ended; the monument was to be built in NYC, and that month, the GMA hired a contractor named John T. Brady.

 

Construction began that summer, and by August, preliminary excavation was complete. Construction was on schedule until the GMA asked Duncan to alter his design in the spring of 1892. This was because the design could not be as elaborate as originally planned, because of the Association's inability to raise sufficient funds.

 

Construction was also slowed by a stonecutters' strike in 1892. After 1894, construction proceeded at a faster pace, and by 1896, work on the outside of the tomb was nearly complete. One innovative feature of the tomb construction was the use of Guastavino tile vaulting to support the circular floor above the perimeter of the downstairs atrium.

 

On the 17th. April 1897, Grant's remains were quietly transferred to an 8.5-ton red granite sarcophagus and placed in the mausoleum. The monument was dedicated ten days later on the 27th. April 1897, on the 75th.-anniversary ceremony of Grant's birth on the 27th. April 1822.

 

Julia Grant, Grant's wife of nearly 40 years, died five years later in 1902, and was placed in a matching sarcophagus and laid to rest in the mausoleum beside her husband.

 

The sarcophagi are placed above ground, leading to a common riddle by comedian Groucho Marx, who often asked contestants on his radio and television quiz show You Bet Your Life:

 

"Who was buried in Grant's Tomb?"

 

The riddle is based on the use of the word "buried", and since neither of the Grants' tombs are underground, the correct answer is "no one".

 

However, Marx often accepted the answer "Grant" and awarded a consolation prize to those who gave it. He used the question, among several other easy ones, to ensure that everyone won a prize on the show.

 

Decay and Restoration of the Monument

 

The initial restoration project began in December 1935 (38 years after the tomb opened), when Works Progress Administration laborers installed new marble flooring in the atrium. The WPA played a large role in sustaining the monument.

 

Joan Waugh explains that:

 

"In the 1930's the tomb was barely

maintained by funds from the Works

Progress Administration."

 

Shortly after the restoration project began, the old New York City Post Office was being demolished, and donated two statues of eagles to decorate the front of the Grant Monument.

 

The laborers of the WPA worked on several projects throughout the 1930's, including roof restoration, electric lighting and heating systems, and removal of the purple stained glass windows. The Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company installed amber glass to replace the purple stained glass.

 

Toward the end of the 1930's, a project began to restore the two reliquary rooms, where battle flags were displayed in trophy cases, and murals of a map in each marked Civil War battles.

 

In 1938, the Federal Art Project selected artists William Mues and Jeno Juszko to design the busts of William T. Sherman, Phillip H. Sheridan, George H. Thomas, James B. McPherson, and Edward Ord. The WPA installed the five busts in the circular wall of the atrium surrounding the sarcophagi.

 

After the many contributions of the WPA, the Grant Monument Association held a re-dedication of the tomb on the 27th. April 1939.

 

National Park Service Control

 

In 1958, the National Park Service (NPS) was granted authority to oversee the monument. According to an NPS report, a historian admitted that when the NPS first assumed authority over the tomb, they "had no program for the site."

 

Combined with the mismanagement and devastation that NYC was going through financially in the 1960's to the 1990's, that led to great neglect of the site, particularly in the maintenance of the monument.

 

By the 1970's, the tomb was marred by vandalism and graffiti. Many places in the city, including Times Square, were in the same condition. Trash had heaped up around the monument, its exterior recesses were being used by drug users, the homeless, and criminals for hideouts. Graffiti covered the walls and pedestals, and vandals chipped away at the masonry.

 

The NPS undertook a plan to remove the trophy cases in the reliquary rooms.

 

Restoration in the 1990's

 

The abuse of the monument continued until renewed restoration efforts began in the early 1990's; in 1991, Frank Scaturro, a student at Columbia University and volunteer with the NPS, launched an effort to restore the tomb, and brought his concerns to Congress.

 

The tomb was still marred by graffiti and, at the time, there were only three maintenance workers and three rangers on daytime duty, with a yearly budget of $235,000.

 

For over two years, Scaturro battled the National Park Service, which was charged with maintaining Grant's Tomb. He sent weekly memos, including a 26-page report in the summer of 1992. After two years of unsuccessful attempts to navigate the bureaucracy of the NPS, Scaturro published a 325-page whistle-blower report, which he sent to Congress and the President.

 

Scaturro's efforts drew national media attention, and resulted in a $1.8 million grant to restore Grant's Tomb. According to Mr. Scaturro:

 

"Whistle-blowing was the last resort.

I only did what I did because I had no

other resort ... the only thing left was

abandoning the site and that was not

an alternative to me."

 

The tomb was in great need of renovation.

 

Scaturro's efforts to expose the monument's poor condition caught the attention of two Illinois state lawmakers. State Sen. Judy Baar Topinka and State Rep. Ron Lawfer sponsored a resolution to compel the NPS to meet its obligations in maintaining and restoring Grant's tomb.

 

If the NPS did not comply, then Topinka and Lawfer demanded that Grant's remains be transported to the state of Illinois. Senator Topinka said:

 

"He would be better off anywhere

than New York, but my argument

is not with New York; it's with the

National Park Service."

 

The demands for restoration did not stop at the state level. In 1994, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation to:

 

"Restore, complete, and preserve in

perpetuity the Grant's Tomb National

Memorial and surrounding areas."

 

The legislation set by the House required that the restoration be completed by the 27th. April 1997, the tomb's 100th. anniversary and Grant's 175th. birthday. On the 27th. April 1997, the restoration effort sanctioned by Congress was completed and the tomb re-dedicated.

 

General Grant's descendants, who were appalled by the condition of the tomb, called Scaturro a hero for his efforts.

 

Accessibility

 

The visitor center is located about 100 yards to the west of the mausoleum and contains a bookstore, memorabilia, a movie about Grant's life, and restrooms. The visitor center is accessible to people with disabilities, but the mausoleum is not.

 

Both are open Wednesday through Sunday, year-round; the visitor center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. while the tomb is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 

Photography is allowed in the tomb, but cellphone use, eating, drinking, smoking, and gum chewing are prohibited. Flash photography is discouraged inside the tomb.

 

Events

 

Concerts are regularly held at or right outside Grant's Tomb. Examples include Jazzmobile's annual Free Outdoor Summer Mobile Concerts at Grant's Tomb, and the annual Grant's Tomb Summer Concert, which in 2009 featured West Point's United States Military Academy Band.

 

Every year on the 27th. April, the anniversary of Grant's birth, a ceremony celebrating his life is held at the memorial.

 

Art

 

A sculpture consisting of seventeen concrete benches bearing colorful mosaics was created around the monument in the early 1970's. The sculpture, entitled The Rolling Bench, was designed by artist Pedro Silva and the architect Phillip Danzig, and was built with the help of hundreds of neighborhood children over a period of three years.

 

The sculpture underwent restoration during the summer of 2008 under the supervision of Silva. According to NYC Parks:

 

"Some popular local folk art in

Riverside Park contrasts strikingly

with the Tomb's severity".

 

The Comedian Lee Wilson

 

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

 

Well, the 31st. July 1938 marked the birth in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, of Lee Wilson.

 

Lee was an English stand-up comedian best known for his performances on the ITV Television show The Comedians.

 

Lee attended King's Hill School, Wednesbury and served in Malaya with the Cheshire Regiment of the British Army where he was in an entertainment troupe.

 

After winning talent contests as a singer and forming a band called The Kingsford Four, he added comedy to his act. He then won New Faces in 1976.

 

Wilson later performed on cruise ships for P&O and became an after-dinner speaker.

 

Lee died of pancreatic cancer on the 3rd. June 2013, at the age of 74.

 

Final Thoughts From Ulysses S. Grant

 

"The friend in my adversity I shall always

cherish most. I can better trust those who

helped to relieve the gloom of my dark

hours than those who are so ready to enjoy

with me the sunshine of my prosperity."

 

"My failures have been errors in judgment,

not of intent."

 

"If you see the President, tell him from me

that whatever happens, there will be no

turning back."

 

"I have nothing to do with opinions. I deal

only with armed rebellion and its aiders

and abettors."

 

"I propose to fight it out on this line

if it takes all summer."

 

"If men make war in slavish obedience

to rules, they will fail."

 

"Nations, like individuals, are punished

for their transgressions."

 

"In every battle there comes a time when

both sides consider themselves beaten,

then he who continues the attack wins."

 

"The art of war is simple enough. Find out

where your enemy is. Get at him as soon

as you can. Strike him as hard as you can,

and keep moving on."

 

"Everyone has his superstitions. One of mine

has always been when I started to go anywhere,

or to do anything, never to turn back or to stop

until the thing intended was accomplished."

 

"I suffer the mortification of seeing myself

attacked right and left by people at home

professing patriotism and love of country

who never heard the whistle of a hostile

bullet.

I pity them and the nation dependent on

such for its existence. I am thankful,

however that, though such people make a

great noise, the masses are not like them."

 

"There never was a time when, in my opinion,

some way could not be found to prevent the

drawing of the sword."

 

"Leave the matter of religion to the family

altar, the church, and the private school,

supported entirely by private contributions.

Keep the church and state forever separate."

 

"I appreciate the fact, and am proud of it,

that the attentions I am receiving are

intended more for our country than for me

personally."

 

"I have never advocated war except

as a means of peace."

 

"I know only two tunes: one of them is

'Yankee Doodle', and the other isn't."

 

"I know no method to secure the repeal

of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as

their stringent execution."

 

"It was my fortune, or misfortune, to be called

to the office of Chief Executive without any

previous political training."

I know this looks like the next Jurassic world bad-guy (or bad-animal), but it was actually some really cool courtship behavior.

Next is some video of this guy.

hi.kingdomsalvation.org/how-peter-came-to-know-jesus.html

  

उस समय के दौरान जो पतरस ने यीशु के साथ बिताया, उसने यीशु में अनेक प्यारे अभिलक्षणों, अनेक अनुकरणीय पहलुओं, और अनेक ऐसी चीजों को देखा जिन्होंने उसे आपूर्ति की। यद्यपि पतरस ने कई तरीकों से यीशु में परमेश्वर के अस्तित्व को देखा, और कई प्यारे गुण देखे, किन्तु पहले वह यीशु को नहीं जानता था। पतरस जब 20 वर्ष का था तब उसने यीशु का अनुसरण करना आरम्भ किया, और छः वर्ष तक वह ऐसा करता रहा। उस समय के दौरान, उसे यीशु के बारे में कभी भी पता नहीं चला, किन्तु वह केवल उसके प्रति आदर और प्रशंसा के भाव के कारण उसका अनुसरण करने को तैयार रहता था। जब यीशु ने गलील के तट पर उसे पहली बार बुलाया, तो उसने पूछाः "शमौन, योना के पुत्र, क्या तू मेरा अनुसरण करेगा?" पतरस ने कहा: "मुझे उसका अनुसरण अवश्य करना चाहिए जिसे स्वर्गिक पिता द्वारा भेजा जाता है। मुझे उसे अवश्य अभिस्वीकृत करना चाहिए जिसे पवित्र आत्मा के द्वारा चुना जाता है। मैं तेरा अनुसरण करूँगा।" उस समय, पतरस ने यीशु नाम के महानतम नबी, परमेश्वर के प्रिय पुत्र के बारे में सुना था, और पतरस उसे खोजने की निरंतर आशा कर रहा था, उसे देखने के अवसर की आशा कर रहा था (क्योंकि तब इसी तरह से पवित्र आत्मा के द्वारा उसकी अगुवाई की गई थी)। यद्यपि उसने उसे कभी भी नहीं देखा था और केवल उसके बारे में अफ़वाहें ही सुनी थी, किन्तु धीरे-धीरे उसके हृदय में यीशु के लिए लालसा और श्रद्धा पनप गई, और वह किसी दिन यीशु को देखने के लिए अक्सर लालायित रहता था। और यीशु ने पतरस को कैसे बुलाया? उसने भी पतरस नाम के व्यक्ति के बारे में सुना था, और ऐसा नहीं था कि उसे पवित्र आत्मा ने निर्देशित किया थाः "गलील की झील के पास जाओ, जहाँ शमौन नाम का योना का पुत्र है।" यीशु ने किसी को यह कहते सुना कि वहाँ पर शमौन नाम का योना का पुत्र है और यह कि लोगों ने उसका धर्मोपदेश सुना है, यह कि उसने भी स्वर्ग के राज्य का सुसमाचार सुनाया, और यह कि जिन लोगों ने भी उसे सुना वे सभी खुशी से रो पड़े। इसे सुनने के बाद, यीशु उस व्यक्ति के पीछे गया, और गलील की झील तक गया; जब पतरस ने यीशु के बुलावे को स्वीकार किया, तब उसने उसका अनुसरण किया।

 

यीशु का अनुसरण करने के दौरान, उसके बारे में उसके कई अभिमत थे और वह अपने परिप्रेक्ष्य से आँकलन करता था। यद्यपि पवित्रात्मा के बारे में उसकी एक निश्चित अंश में समझ थी, तब भी पतरस बहुत प्रबुद्ध नहीं था, इसलिए वह अपनी बातों में कहता हैः "मुझे उसका अवश्य अनुसरण करना चाहिए जिसे स्वर्गिक पिता द्वारा भेजा जाता है। मुझे उसे अवश्य अभिस्वीकृत करना चाहिए जो पवित्र आत्मा के द्वारा चुना जाता है। मैं तेरा अनुसरण करूँगा।" उसने यीशु के द्वारा किये गए कामों को नहीं समझा और उसमें इनके बारे में स्पष्टता का अभाव था। कुछ समय तक उसका अनुसरण करने के बाद उसकी उसके द्वारा किये गए कामों और उसके द्वारा कही गई बातों में और यीशु में रुचि बढ़ी। उसे महसूस होने लगा कि यीशु ने अनुराग और सम्मान दोनों प्रेरित किए; वह उसके साथ सम्बद्ध होना और उसके साथ ठहरना पसंद करता था, और यीशु के वचनों को सुनना उसे आपूर्ति और सहायता प्रदान करते थे। यीशु का अनुसरण करने के दौरान, पतरस ने उसके जीवन के बारे में हर चीज़ का अवलोकन किया और उसे हृदय से लगाया: उसके कार्यों को, वचनों को, गतिविधियों को, और अभिव्यक्तियों को। उसने एक गहरी समझ प्राप्त की कि यीशु साधारण मनुष्य जैसा नहीं है। यद्यपि उसका मानवीय प्रकटन अत्यधिक साधारण था, वह मनुष्यों के लिए प्रेम, अनुकम्पा और सहिष्णुता से भरा हुआ था। उसने जो कुछ भी किया या कहा वह दूसरों के लिए बहुत मददगार था, और उसके साथ रहते हुए पतरस ने उन चीज़ों को देखा और सीखा जिन्हें उसने पहले कभी देखा या सीखा नहीं था। उसने देखा कि यद्यपि यीशु की न तो कोई भव्य कद-काठी है न ही असाधारण मानवता है, किन्तु उसका हाव-भाव सच में असाधारण और असामान्य था। यद्यपि पतरस इसे पूरी तरह से नहीं समझ सका था, लेकिन वह देख सकता था कि यीशु बाकी सब से भिन्न कार्य करता है, क्योंकि उसके काम करने का तरीका किसी साधारण मनुष्य द्वारा किए गए कामों के तरीकों से कहीं अधिक भिन्न था। यीशु के साथ सम्पर्क के दौरान, पतरस ने यह भी महसूस किया कि उसका चरित्र किसी भी साधारण मनुष्य से भिन्न था। उसने हमेशा स्थिरता से कार्य किया, और कभी भी जल्दबाजी नहीं की, किसी भी विषय को बढ़ा-चढ़ा कर नहीं बताया, न ही कम करके आँका, और अपने जीवन को इस तरह से संचालित किया जिससे ऐसा चरित्र उजागर हुआ जो सामान्य और सराहनीय दोनों था। बातचीत में, यीशु शिष्ट, आकर्षक, स्पष्ट और हँसमुख मगर शान्त था, और अपने कार्य के निष्पादन में कभी भी गरिमा नहीं खोता था। पतरस ने देखा कि यीशु कभी-कभी अल्प-भाषी रहता था, जबकि किसी अन्य समय में लगातार बात करता था। कई बार वह इतना प्रसन्न होता था कि वह कबूतर की तरह चपल और उल्लसित बन जाता था, और कभी-कभी इतना दुःखी होता था कि वह बिल्कुल भी बात नहीं करता था, मानो दुख के बोझ से लदी और बेहद थकी कोई माँ हो। कई बार वह क्रोध से भरा होता था, जैसे कि कोई बहादुर सैनिक शत्रुओं को मारने के लिए मुस्तैद हो, और कई बार तो एक गरजने वाले सिंह की तरह होता था। कभी-कभी वह हँसता था; फिर कभी वह प्रार्थना करता और रोता था। इससे कोई फ़र्क नहीं पड़ता कि यीशु का आचरण कैसा था, पतरस का उसके प्रति प्रेम और आदर असीमित रूप से बढ़ता गया। यीशु की हँसी उसे खुशी से भर देती थी, उसका दुःख उसे दुःख में डुबा देता था, उसका क्रोध उसे डरा देता था, जबकि उसकी दया, क्षमा, और लोगों से उसकी सख्त अपेक्षा, उसके भीतर एक सच्ची श्रद्धा और लालसा को बढ़ाते हुए, उसे यीशु से सच्चा प्यार करवाने लगते थे। निस्संदेह, पतरस को इस सब का एहसास धीरे-धीरे तब हुआ जब एक बार वह कुछ वर्षों तक यीशु के साथ रह लिया था।

 

पतरस, प्राकृतिक समझ के साथ पैदा हुआ, विशेष रूप से एक समझदार व्यक्ति था, फिर भी यीशु का अनुसरण करते समय उसने कई प्रकार के मूर्खतापूर्ण काम किये। आरम्भ में, यीशु के बारे में उसकी कुछ अवधारणाएँ थी। उसने पूछाः "लोग कहते हैं कि तू एक नबी है, इसलिए जब तू आठ साल का और चीज़ों को समझने के लिए पर्याप्त उम्र का था, तब क्या तुझे पता था कि तू परमेश्वर है? क्या तुझे पता था कि तुझे पवित्र आत्मा द्वारा गर्भ में धारण किया गया था?" यीशु ने उत्तर दियाः "नहीं, मैं नहीं जानता था। क्या मैं तुझे एक साधारण व्यक्ति के समान नहीं लगता हूँ? मैं अन्य लोगों के जैसा ही हूँ। जिस व्यक्ति को परमपिता भेजता है वह एक सामान्य व्यक्ति होता है, न कि एक असाधारण व्यक्ति। और यद्यपि जो काम मैं करता हूँ वह मेरे स्वर्गिक पिता का प्रतिनिधित्व करता है, किन्तु मेरी छवि, मेरा व्यक्तित्व, और मेरी देह, स्वर्गिक पिता को पूरी तरह से व्यक्त नहीं कर सकती हैं, केवल उसका एक भाग ही व्यक्त कर सकती हैं। यद्यपि मैं पवित्रात्मा से आया, किन्तु मैं तब भी एक सामान्य व्यक्ति हूँ, और मेरे परमपिता ने मुझे एक साधारण व्यक्ति के रूप में इस धरती पर भेजा है, न कि एक असाधारण व्यक्ति के रूप में।" जब पतरस ने यह सुना केवल तभी उसे यीशु के बारे में एक थोड़ी समझ प्राप्त हुई। यीशु के कार्य के, अनगिनत घंटों की उसकी शिक्षा को देखने, उसकी चरवाही, उसके पोषण के बाद ही उसे अधिक गहरी समझ प्राप्त हुई। अपने 30वें साल में, यीशु ने पतरस को अपने आगामी क्रूसीकरण के बारे में बताया और बताया कि वो काम के एक चरण को अंजाम देने आया था, यह कि वह समस्त मानवजाति के छुटकारे के लिए क्रूसीकरण के कार्य को करने आया है। उसने उसे यह भी बताया कि सलीब पर चढ़ाए जाने के तीन दिन बाद, मनुष्य का पुत्र फिर से जी उठेगा, और उठ जाने पर 40 दिन तक वह लोगों को दिखाई देगा। इन वचनों को सुनकर पतरस दुःखी था और उसने इन वचनों को हृदय से लगा लिया; तब से वह यीशु के और भी करीब हो गया। कुछ समय तक अनुभव करने के बाद, पतरस को पता चला कि यीशु ने जो किया वह सब कुछ परमेश्वर की ओर से था, और उसे यह लगा कि यीशु असाधारण रूप से प्यारा है। जब उसमें यह समझ आ गई केवल तभी पवित्र आत्मा ने उसे अंदर से प्रबुद्ध किया। तब यीशु अपने शिष्यों और अन्य अनुयायियों की ओर मुड़ा और पूछाः "यूहन्ना, तू बता मैं कौन हूँ?" उसने उत्तर दियाः "तू मूसा है।" फिर वह लूका की ओर मुड़ाः "और, लूका, तू क्या कहता है कि मैं कौन हूँ?" लूका ने उत्तर दियाः "तू नबियों में सबसे महान है।" फिर उसने एक बहन से पूछा और उस बहन ने उत्तर दियाः "तू नबियों में सबसे महान है जो अनन्त से अनन्त तक अनेक वचन कहता है। तेरी भविष्यवाणियों से बढ़कर और किसी की भविष्यवाणियाँ नहीं हैं, न ही किसी का ज्ञान तुझसे ज़्यादा है; तू एक नबियों है।" फिर यीशु पतरस की ओर मुड़ा और पूछाः "पतरस, तू बता मैं कौन हूँ?" पतरस ने उत्तर दियाः "तू, जीवित परमेश्वर का पुत्र, मसीह है। तू स्वर्ग से आया है, तू पृथ्वी का नहीं है, तू परमेश्वर के सृजनों के समान नहीं है। हम पृथ्वी पर हैं और तू हमारे साथ यहाँ है, किन्तु तू स्वर्ग का है। तू इस संसार का नहीं है, और तू इस पृथ्वी पर का नहीं है।" यह उसके अनुभव के माध्यम से था कि पवित्र आत्मा ने उसे प्रबुद्ध किया, जिसने उसे इस समझ को प्राप्त करने में समर्थ बनाया। इस प्रबुद्धता के बाद, उसने यीशु के द्वारा किए गए सभी कार्यों की और भी अधिक सराहना की, उसे और भी अधिक प्यारे के रूप में विचार किया, और कभी भी यीशु से अलग नहीं होना चाहता था। इसलिए, सलीब पर चढ़ाए जाने और पुनर्जीवित होने के बाद जब यीशु ने अपने आप को सबसे पहले पतरस पर प्रकट किया तो पतरस असाधारण प्रसन्नता से चिल्ला उठाः "प्रभु, तू उठ गया!" उसके बाद रोते हुए, उसने एक बहुत बड़ी मछली को पकड़ा और उसे पकाया और यीशु के सामने परोसा। यीशु मुस्कुराया, किन्तु कुछ नहीं बोला। यद्यपि पतरस जानता था कि यीशु पुनर्जीवित हो गया है, किन्तु इसका रहस्य उसकी समझ में नहीं आया। जब उसने यीशु को मछली खाने के लिए दी, तो यीशु ने उसे मना नहीं किया मगर बात नहीं की, न ही खाने के लिए बैठा, बल्कि अचानक ग़ायब हो गया। यह पतरस के लिए बहुत बड़ा झटका था और केवल तभी उसकी समझ में आया कि पुनर्जीवित यीशु पहले वाले यीशु से भिन्न है। यह जान लेने के बाद पतरस दुःखी हो गया, किन्तु उसे यह जानकर सांत्वना भी मिली कि प्रभु ने अपना कार्य पूरा कर लिया है। वह जानता था कि यीशु ने अपना कार्य पूरा कर लिया है, उसका मनुष्यों के साथ रहने का समय समाप्त हो गया है, और कि इसके बाद से मनुष्य को स्वयं ही अपने मार्ग चलना होगा। यीशु ने एक बार उसे कहा थाः "तुझे भी उस कड़वे प्याले से अवश्य पीना चाहिए जिससे मैंने पीया है (उसने पुनरुत्थान के बाद यही कहा था), तुझे भी उस मार्ग पर चलना होगा जिस पर मैं चला हूँ, तुझे मेरे लिए अपना जीवन त्यागना होगा।" अब के विपरीत, उस समय तक कार्य ने आमने-सामने के वार्तालाप का रूप नहीं लिया था। अनुग्रह के युग के दौरान, पवित्र आत्मा का कार्य बहुत अधिक छिपा हुआ था, और पतरस ने बहुत मुश्किलें सहीं थीं और कभी-कभी तो चिल्ला कर यह कहता: "परमेश्वर! मेरे पास इस जीवन के अलावा और कुछ नहीं है। यद्यपि तेरे लिए इसका अधिक महत्व नहीं है, फिर भी मैं इसे तुझे समर्पित करना चाहता हूँ। यद्यपि मनुष्य तुझे प्रेम करने के योग्य नहीं हैं, और उनका प्रेम और हृदय बेकार हैं, तब भी मुझे विश्वास है कि तू मनुष्यों के हृदय के मनोरथों को जानता है। भले ही मनुष्य के शरीर तेरी स्वीकृति को प्राप्त नहीं करते हैं, फिर भी मैं चाहता हूँ कि तू मेरे हृदय को स्वीकार कर ले।" इन प्रार्थनाओं को करने पर उसे उत्साह मिलता, खासतौर पर जब वह प्रार्थना करता था: "मैं अपने हृदय को पूरी तरह से परमेश्वर को समर्पित करने को तैयार हूँ। भले ही मैं परमेश्वर के लिए कुछ करने में असमर्थ हूँ, फिर भी मैं परमेश्वर को ईमानदारी से संतुष्ट करने और अपने आप को पूरे हृदय से उसके प्रति समर्पित करने के लिए तैयार हूँ। मुझे विश्वास है कि परमेश्वर अवश्य मेरे हृदय को देखता है।" उसने कहाः "मैं अपने जीवन में कुछ नहीं माँगता हूँ किन्तु माँगता हूँ कि परमेश्वर के प्रेम के लिए मेरे विचार और मेरे हृदय की अभिलाषा परमेश्वर के द्वारा स्वीकार की जाए। मैं काफी समय तक प्रभु यीशु के साथ था, फिर भी मैंने उसे कभी भी प्रेम नहीं किया, यह मेरा सबसे बड़ा कर्ज़ है। यद्यपि मैं उसके साथ रहा, फिर भी मैंने उसे नहीं जाना, यहाँ तक कि उसकी पीठ पीछे कुछ अनुचित बातें भी कही। ये बातें सोचकर मैं प्रभु यीशु के प्रति अपने आप को और भी अधिक ऋणी समझता हूँ।" उसने हमेशा इसी तरह से प्रार्थना की। उसने कहा: "मैं धूल से भी कम हूँ। मैं अपने समर्पित हृदय को परमेश्वर को सौंपने के अलावा और कुछ नहीं कर सकता हूँ।"

 

पतरस के अनुभवों में एक पराकाष्ठा थी, जब उसका शरीर लगभग पूरी तरह से टूट गया था, किन्तु यीशु ने उसे प्रोत्साहन दिया। और वह उसके सामने एक बार प्रकट हुआ। जब पतरस अत्यधिक पीड़ा में था और महसूस करता था कि उसका हृदय टूट गया है, तो यीशु ने उसे निर्देश दिया: "तू पृथ्वी पर मेरे साथ था, और मैं यहाँ तेरे साथ था। यद्यपि पहले हम स्वर्ग में एक साथ थे, यह सब कुछ आध्यात्मिक संसार के बारे में है। अब मैं आध्यात्मिक संसार में लौट आया हूँ, परन्तु तू पृथ्वी पर है। क्योंकि मैं पृथ्वी का नहीं हूँ, और यद्यपि तू भी पृथ्वी का नहीं है, किन्तु तुझे पृथ्वी पर अपना कार्य पूरा करना होगा। क्योंकि तू एक सेवक है, इसलिए तुझे अपना कर्तव्य अपनी पूरी योग्यता से निभाना होगा।" पतरस को यह सुनकर सांत्वना मिली कि वह परमेश्वर की ओर लौट सकता है। जब पतरस ऐसी पीड़ा में था कि वह लगभग बिस्तर पर पड़ा था, तो उसने पछतावा किया और यहाँ तक कहा: "मैं बहुत भ्रष्ट हूँ, मैं परमेश्वर को संतुष्ट करने में असमर्थ हूँ।" यीशु ने उसके सामने प्रकट होकर कहा: "पतरस, कहीं ऐसा तो नहीं कि तू उस संकल्प को भूल गया जो तूने एक बार मेरे सामने लिया था? क्या तू वास्तव में वह सब कुछ भूल गया जो मैंने कहा था? क्या तू उस संकल्प को भूल गया है जो तूने मुझसे किया था?" पतरस ने देखा कि यह यीशु है और वह बिस्तर से उठ गया, और यीशु ने उसे सांत्वना दी: "मैं पृथ्वी का नहीं हूँ, मैं तुझे पहले ही कह चुका हूँ—यह तुझे समझ जाना चाहिए, किन्तु क्या तू कोई और बात भी भूल गया जो मैंने तुझसे कही थी? 'तू भी पृथ्वी का नहीं है, संसार का नहीं है।' अभी यहाँ पर जो कार्य है उसे तुझे करना है, तू इस तरह से दुःखी नहीं हो सकता है, तू इस तरह से पीड़ित नहीं हो सकता है। हालाँकि मनुष्य और परमेश्वर एक ही संसार में एक साथ नहीं रह सकते हैं, मेरे पास मेरा कार्य है और तेरे पास तेरा कार्य है, और एक दिन जब तेरा कार्य समाप्त हो जाएगा, तो हम दोनों एक क्षेत्र में एक साथ रहेंगे, और मैं हमेशा मेरे साथ रहने के लिए तेरी अगुवाई करूँगा।" इन वचनों को सुनने के बाद पतरस को सांत्वना मिली और वह आश्वस्त हुआ। वह जानता था कि यह पीड़ा कुछ ऐसी थी जो उसे सहन और अनुभव करनी ही थी, और वह तब से प्रेरित था। यीशु हर महत्वपूर्ण क्षण में उसके सामने प्रकट हुआ, उसे विशेष प्रबुद्धता और मार्गदर्शन दिया, और उसमें अत्यधिक कार्य किया। और पतरस ने सबसे अधिक किस बात का पछतावा किया? पतरस के यह कहने के तुरंत बाद कि "तू जीवित परमेश्वर का पुत्र है", यीशु ने पतरस से एक और प्रश्न पूछा (यद्यपि यह बाइबल में इस प्रकार से दर्ज नहीं है), और वह प्रश्न यह था: "पतरस! क्या तूने कभी मुझे प्रेम किया है?" पतरस समझ गया कि क्या अभिप्राय है और, उसने कहाः "प्रभु! मैंने एक बार स्वर्गिक पिता से प्रेम किया था, किन्तु मैं स्वीकार करता हूँ कि मैंने तुझे कभी भी प्रेम नहीं किया।" फिर यीशु ने कहा, "यदि लोग स्वर्गिक परमेश्वर से प्रेम नहीं करते हैं, तो वे पृथ्वी पर पुत्र को कैसे प्रेम कर सकते हैं? यदि लोग परमपिता परमेश्वर द्वारा भेजे गए पुत्र को प्रेम नहीं करते हैं, तो वे स्वर्गिक पिता से कैसे प्रेम कर सकते हैं? यदि लोग वास्तव में पृथ्वी पर पुत्र से प्रेम करते हैं, तो फिर वे स्वर्गिक पिता को भी वास्तव में प्रेम करते हैं।" जब पतरस ने इन वचनों को सुना तो उसने अपनी कमी को महसूस किया। उसे अपने वचनों पर हमेशा इतना पछतावा महसूस होता था कि उसकी आँखों में आँसू आ जाते थे। "मैंने एक बार स्वर्गिक पिता से प्रेम किया, किन्तु मैंने तेरे से कभी भी प्रेम नहीं किया है।" यीशु के पुनर्जीवन और स्वर्गारोहण के बाद उसने उन पर और भी अधिक पछतावा और दुःख महसूस किया। अपने अतीत के कार्यों को, अपनी वर्तमान कद-काठी को याद कर, वह प्रार्थना करने के लिए प्रायः यीशु के पास आता, परमेश्वर की इच्छा को संतुष्ट न कर पाने और परमेश्वर के मानकों पर खरा न उतर पाने के कारण हमेशा पछतावा और आभार महसूस करता। ये मामले उसका सबसे बड़ा बोझ बन गए। उसने कहा, "एक दिन मैं तुझे वह सब अर्पित कर दूँगा जो मेरे पास है और सब कुछ जो मैं हूँ, मैं तुझे वह दूँगा जो सबसे अधिक मूल्यवान है।" उसने कहा, "परमेश्वर! मेरे पास केवल एक ही विश्वास और केवल एक ही प्रेम है। मेरे जीवन का कुछ भी मूल्य नहीं है, और मेरे शरीर का कुछ भी मूल्य नहीं है। मेरे पास केवल एक ही विश्वास और केवल एक ही प्रेम है। मेरे मन में तेरे लिए विश्वास है और हृदय में तेरे लिए प्रेम है; ये ही दो चीज़ें मेरे पास तुझे देने के लिए हैं, इसके अलावा और कुछ नहीं है।" पतरस यीशु के वचनों से बहुत प्रोत्साहित हुआ, क्योंकि यीशु के क्रूसीकरण से पहले उसने उससे कहा थाः "मैं इस संसार का नहीं हूँ, और तू भी इस संसार का नहीं है।" बाद में, जब पतरस एक अत्यधिक पीड़ा वाली स्थिति तक पहुँचा, तो यीशु ने उसे स्मरण दिलायाः "पतरस, क्या तू भूल गया है? मैं इस संसार का नहीं हूँ, और मैं सिर्फ अपने कार्य के लिए ही पहले चला गया। तू भी इस संसार का नहीं है, क्या तू भूल गया है? मैंने तुझे दो बार बताया है, क्या तुझे याद नहीं है?" पतरस ने उसे सुना और कहाः "मैं नहीं भूला हूँ!" तब यीशु ने कहाः "तूने एक बार मेरे साथ स्वर्ग में एक खुशहाल समय और मेरे बगल में एक समयावधि बितायी था। तू मुझे याद करता है और मैं तुझे याद करता हूँ। यद्यपि प्राणी मेरी दृष्टि में उल्लेख किए जाने के योग्य नहीं हैं, फिर भी मैं किसी निर्दोष और प्यार करने योग्य प्राणी को कैसे प्रेम न करूँ? क्या तू मेरी प्रतिज्ञा को भूल गया है? तुझे धरती पर मेरे आदेश को स्वीकार करना होगा; तुझे वह कार्य पूरा करना होगा जो मैंने तुझे सौंपा है। एक दिन मैं तुझे अपनी ओर करने के लिए निश्चित रूप से तेरी अगुवाई करूँगा" इसे सुनने के बाद, पतरस और भी अधिक उत्साहित हो गया तथा उसे और भी अधिक प्रेरणा मिली, इतनी कि जब वह सलीब पर था, तो वह यह कहने में समर्थ थाः "परमेश्वर! मैं तुझे बेहद प्यार करता हूँ! यहाँ तक कि यदि तू मुझे मरने के लिए कहे, तब भी मैं तुझे बेहद प्यार करता हूँ! तू जहाँ कहीं भी मेरी आत्मा को भेजे, चाहे तू अपनी पिछली प्रतिज्ञाओं को पूरा करे या न करे, इसके बाद तू चाहे जो कुछ भी करे, मैं तुझे प्यार करता हूँ और तुझ पर विश्वास करता हूँ।" उसने जो थामे रखा वह था उसका विश्वास और सच्चा प्रेम।

 

एक शाम, पतरस सहित कई अन्य चेले मछली पकड़ने वाली नाव में थे। वे सभी यीशु के साथ थे, और पतरस ने यीशु से एक बहुत ही निष्कपट प्रश्न पूछाः "प्रभु! काफी समय से मेरा एक प्रश्न है जो मैं तुझसे पूछना चाहूँगा।" यीशु ने उत्तर दिया: "तो पूछ!" तब पतरस ने पूछा: "क्या व्यवस्था के युग में किया गया कार्य तेरा कार्य था?" यीशु मुस्कुराया, मानो कि कह रहा हो, "यह बच्चा, कितना भोला है!" फिर वह सोद्देश्य बोला: "वह मेरा नहीं था, वह यहोवा और मूसा का कार्य था।" पतरस ने यह सुना और चिल्लायाः "ओह! तो यह तेरा कार्य नहीं था।" एक बार जब पतरस ने यह कह दिया, तो यीशु और नहीं बोला। पतरस ने स्वयं में सोचाः "यह तू नहीं था जिसने यह किया, तो कोई आश्चर्य नहीं कि तू व्यवस्था को नष्ट करने आया है, क्योंकि यह तेरा कार्य नहीं था।" उसका हृदय भी हल्का हो गया था। बाद में, यीशु ने महसूस किया कि पतरस बहुत निष्कपट है, किन्तु क्योंकि उस समय उसके पास कोई अंतर्दृष्टि नहीं थी, इसलिए यीशु ने और कुछ नहीं कहा या सीधे-सीधे उसका खण्डन नहीं किया। एक बार यीशु ने एक आराधनालय में धर्मोपदेश दिया, जहाँ पतरस सहित कई लोग उपस्थित थे। अपने धर्मोपदेश में, यीशु ने कहाः "एक जो अनन्त से अनन्त तक आएगा वही समस्त मानवजाति को पाप से छुटकारा देने के लिए, अनुग्रह के युग में छुटकारे का कार्य करेगा, किन्तु मनुष्य को पाप से बाहर लाने में वह किसी नियम से बँधा नहीं होगा। वह व्यवस्था से बाहर चलेगा और अनुग्रह के युग में प्रवेश करेगा। वह सम्पूर्ण मानवजाति को छुटकारा देगा। वह व्यवस्था के युग से अनुग्रह के युग में आगे बढ़ेगा, फिर भी कोई उसे नहीं जानेगा, उसे जो यहोवा से आता है। जो कार्य मूसा ने किया वह यहोवा द्वारा प्रदान किया गया; यहोवा ने जो कार्य किया था उसके कारण मूसा ने व्यवस्था का प्रारूप बनाया।" एक बार यह कहने के बाद, उसने कहना जारी रखा: "जो लोग अनुग्रह के युग के दौरान अनुग्रह के युग के आदेशों को समाप्त करेंगे उन्हें आपदा मिलेगी। उन्हें मंदिर में खड़े होकर परमेश्वर द्वारा विनाश को प्राप्त करना होगा, और उन पर आग गिरेगी।" यह सब सुनना समाप्त करने के बाद पतरस के अंदर कुछ प्रतिक्रिया हुई। अपने अनुभव के समय में, यीशु ने पतरस की चरवाही की और उसे सम्भाला, उसके साथ आत्मीयता से बातचीत की, जिससे पतरस को यीशु के बारे में थोड़ी बेहतर समझ प्राप्त हुई। जब पतरस ने यीशु के उस दिन के उपदेश के बारे में विचार किया, उसके बाद जब वे मछली पकड़ने वाली नाव में सवार थे तब उसने उससे जो प्रश्न पूछा था और यीशु ने जो उत्तर दिया था, और साथ ही जिस तरह से वह हँसा था, उसके बाद ही यह सब उसकी अब समझ में आया। बाद में पवित्र आत्मा ने पतरस को प्रबुद्ध किया, और केवल इसके माध्यम से ही उसकी समझ में आया कि यीशु जीवित परमेश्वर का पुत्र है। पवित्र आत्मा द्वारा प्रबुद्धता से पतरस की समझ विकसित हुई किन्तु उसकी समझ के लिए एक प्रक्रिया थी। यह प्रश्नों को पूछने, यीशु के उपदेश को सुनने से, उसके बाद यीशु की विशेष सहभागिता प्राप्त करने और उसकी विशेष चरवाही प्राप्त करने से विकसित हुई थी, जिससे पतरस को यह अनुभव हुआ कि यीशु जीवित परमेश्वर का पुत्र है। यह रातों-रात विकसित नहीं हुई थी; यह एक प्रक्रिया थी, और यह उसके बाद के अनुभवों में उसके लिए सहायक बनी। यीशु ने क्यों अन्य लोगों के जीवन में पूर्णता का कार्य नहीं किया, बल्कि केवल पतरस में ही किया? क्योंकि केवल पतरस ने ही समझा था कि यीशु जीवित परमेश्वर का पुत्र है, और अन्य कोई यह नहीं जानता था। यद्यपि कई शिष्य थे जो उसके अनुसरण के समय में काफी कुछ जानते थे, किन्तु उनका ज्ञान सतही था। इसी कारण पूर्ण बनाए जाने के एक उदाहरण के रूप में यीशु द्वारा पतरस को ही चुना गया था। तब यीशु ने पतरस से जो कहा वही आज वह उन लोगों से कहता है, जिनका ज्ञान और जीवन प्रवेश पतरस के स्तर तक अवश्य पहुँचना चाहिए। इसी अपेक्षा और इस मार्ग के अनुसार ही परमेश्वर हर एक को पूर्ण बनाएगा। आज लोगों से क्यों वास्तविक विश्वास और सच्चे प्रेम की अपेक्षा की जाती है? पतरस ने जो अनुभव किया है वह तुम लोगों को भी अनुभव अवश्य करना चाहिए, पतरस ने अपने अनुभवों से जो फल प्राप्त किए वे तुम लोगों में भी अभिव्यक्त अवश्य होने चाहिए, और पतरस ने जो पीड़ा सही उससे तुम लोगों को भी अवश्य गुज़रना चाहिए। जिस मार्ग पर तुम लोग चलते हो उसी मार्ग पर पतरस भी चला। जिस पीड़ा को तुम लोग सहते हो वही पीड़ा पतरस ने सही। जब तुम लोग महिमा को प्राप्त करते हो और जब तुम लोग वास्तविक जीवन व्यतीत करते हो, तब तुम लोग पतरस की छवि को जीते हो। मार्ग वही है, और इसी के अनुसार किसी को पूर्ण बनाया जाता है। हालाँकि, तुम लोगों की क्षमता में पतरस की क्षमता की अपेक्षा कुछ कमी है, क्योंकि समय बदल गया है, और इसीलिए भ्रष्टता की सीमा भी बदल गयी है। और यहूदिया के लिए भी एक प्राचीन सभ्यता के साथ लम्बे समय का राज्य था। इसलिए तुम लोगों को अपनी क्षमता को बढ़ाने का प्रयास अवश्य करना चाहिए।

 

पतरस एक बहुत ही समझदार व्यक्ति था, उसने जो कुछ किया उसमें वह दक्ष, और अत्यधिक ईमानदार भी था। वह कई असफलताओं से पीड़ित रहा। वह 14 वर्ष की उम्र में समाज के सम्पर्क में आया, जब वह स्कूल जाता था तो प्रायः आराधनालय में भी जाता था। उसमें अत्यधिक उत्साह था और सभाओं में उपस्थित होने के लिए हमेशा इच्छुक रहता था। उस समय तक यीशु ने अपना कार्य आधिकारिक रूप से आरम्भ नहीं किया था; यह अनुग्रह काल का मात्र आरम्भ ही था। जब पतरस 14 वर्ष का था तो वह धार्मिक लोगों के सम्पर्क में आने लगा था; जब वह 18 वर्ष का हुआ तो वह धार्मिक कुलीन लोगों के सम्पर्क में आ गया, किन्तु जब उसने पर्दे के पीछे की धार्मिक अराजकता को देखा, तो उसने छोड़ दिया। यह देख कर कि ये लोग कितने चालाक, धूर्त और बैर में गढ़े हुए हैं, वह अत्यंत निराश हो गया (उसे पूर्ण बनाने के लिए, उस समय पवित्र आत्मा ने इसी तरह से कार्य किया था। उसने विशेष रूप से उसे द्रवित किया और उसमें कुछ विशेष कार्य किया), और इसलिए वह 18 वर्ष की उम्र में आराधनालय से हट गया। उसके माता-पिता उसे सताते थे और उसे आस्था रखने से रोकते थे। (वे शैतान के संबंधी थे, और उनमें कोई आस्था नहीं थी)। अंततः, पतरस ने घर छोड़ दिया और इच्छानुसार यात्रा की, दो साल तक मछली पकड़ी और उपदेश दिया, जिस दौरान उसने कुछ ईमानदार लोगों की अगुवाई की। अब तुम्हें उस मार्ग को स्पष्ट रूप से देखने में समर्थ हो जाना चाहिए जो पतरस द्वारा लिया गया था। यदि तुमने इसे स्पष्ट रूप से से देख लिया, तो तुम उस कार्य के बारे में निश्चित होगे जो आज किया जा रहा है, इसलिए तुम शिकायत नहीं करोगे या निष्क्रिय नहीं होगे, या किसी भी चीज़ की लालसा नहीं करोगे। तुम्हें पतरस की उस समय की मनोदशा का अनुभव करना चाहिएः वह दुख से व्यथित था; उसने किसी भविष्य या किसी आशीष के लिए अब और नहीं कहा था। उसने संसारी लाभ, प्रसन्नता, प्रसिद्धि या धन-दौलत की कामना नहीं की, और केवल एक अर्थपूर्ण जीवन जीना चाहा, जो कि परमेश्वर के प्रेम को चुकाने और परमेश्वर के प्रति अपने सबसे बहुमूल्य को समर्पित करने के लिए था। तब वह अपने हृदय में संतुष्ट हो होगा। उसने प्रायः इन शब्दों के साथ परमेश्वर से प्रार्थना कीः "प्रभु यीशु मसीह, मैंने एक बार तुझे प्रेम किया, किन्तु मैंने तुझे वास्तव में प्रेम नहीं किया था। यद्यपि मैंने कहा था कि तुझ पर मेरा विश्वास है, किन्तु मैंने तुझे कभी भी एक सच्चे हृदय से प्रेम नहीं किया। मैंने केवल तेरी ओर देखा, तेरी सराहना की, और तुझे याद किया, किन्तु कभी भी तुझे प्रेम नहीं किया या तुझ पर वास्तव में विश्वास नहीं किया।" वह हमेशा इस प्रकार का संकल्प करने के लिए प्रार्थना करता था, वह यीशु के वचनों के द्वारा निरंतर प्रोत्साहित होता था और उन्हें प्रेरणा में बदलता था। बाद में, एक अवधि तक अनुभव करने के बाद, यीशु ने, अपने लिए उसमें और अधिक तड़प पैदा करते हुए, उसकी परीक्षा ली। उसने कहाः "प्रभु यीशु मसीह! मैं तुझे कितना याद करता हूँ, तुझे देखने के लिए कितना लालायित रहता हूँ। मुझमें बहुत कमी है, और तेरे प्रेम को पूरा नहीं कर सकता हूँ। मैं तुझसे प्रार्थना करता हूँ कि मुझे शीघ्र ही ले जा। तुझे मेरी कब आवश्यकता होगी? तू मुझे कब ले जाएगा? मैं कब एक बार फिर से तेरा चेहरा देखूँगा? मैं, भ्रष्ट होते रहने के लिए, इस शरीर में अब और नहीं जीना चाहता हूँ, और न ही अब और विद्रोह करना चाहता हूँ। मेरे पास जो कुछ भी है वह मैं जितना शीघ्र कर सकता हूँ तुझे समर्पित करने के लिए तैयार हूँ, और अब मैं तुझे और उदास नहीं करना चाहता हूँ।" इस तरह से उसने प्रार्थना की, किन्तु उस समय उसे नहीं पता था कि यीशु उसमें क्या पूर्ण बनाएगा। अपनी परीक्षा की पीड़ा के दौरान, यीशु पुनः उसके सामने प्रकट हुआ और उसने कहाः "पतरस, मैं तुझे पूर्ण बनाना चाहता हूँ, इतना कि तू फल का एक टुकड़ा बन जाए, एक ऐसा जो मेरे द्वारा तेरी पूर्णता का ठोस रूप हो, और जिसका मैं आनन्द लूँगा। क्या तू वास्तव में मेरे लिए गवाही दे सकता है? क्या तूने वह किया जो मैं तुझे करने के लिए कहता हूँ? क्या मेरे कहे वचनों को तूने जीया है? तूने एक बार मुझे प्रेम किया, किन्तु यद्यपि तूने मुझे प्रेम किया, क्या तूने मुझे जिया है? तूने मेरे लिए क्या किया है? तू महसूस करता है कि तू मेरे प्रेम के अयोग्य है, किन्तु तूने मेरे लिए क्या किया है?" पतरस ने देखा कि उसने यीशु के लिए कुछ नहीं किया था और परमेश्वर के लिए अपना जीवन देने का पिछला वादा स्मरण किया। और इसलिए, उसने अब और शिकायत नहीं की, और उसकी प्रार्थनाएँ बाद में और बेहतर हो गईं। उसने यह कहते हुए प्रार्थना कीः "प्रभु यीशु मसीह! एक बार मैंने तुझे छोड़ा था, और एक बार तूने भी मुझे छोड़ा था। हमने अलग होकर, और साहचर्य में एक साथ समय बिताया। फिर भी तू मुझे अन्य सभी की अपेक्षा सबसे ज्यादा प्रेम करता है। मैंने बार-बार तेरे विरुद्ध विद्रोह किया और तुझे बार-बार दुःखी किया। ऐसी बातों को मैं कैसे भूल सकता हूँ? जो कार्य तूने मुझमें किया है और जो कुछ तूने मुझे सौंपा है मैं उसे हमेशा मन में रखता हूँ, मैं कभी नहीं भूलता हूँ। जो कार्य तूने मुझमें किया है उसके साथ मैंने अपना सर्वोत्तम प्रयास किया है। तू जानता है कि मैं क्या कर सकता हूँ, और तू यह भी जानता है कि मैं क्या भूमिका निभा सकता हूँ। तेरी इच्छा मेरे लिए आदेश है और मेरे पास जो कुछ भी है वह सब मैं तेरे प्रति समर्पित कर दूँगा। केवल तू ही जानता है कि मैं तेरे लिए क्या कर सकता हूँ। यद्यपि शैतान ने मुझे बहुत अधिक मूर्ख बनाया और मैंने तेरे विरूद्ध विद्रोह किया, किन्तु मुझे विश्वास है कि तू मुझे उन अपराधों के लिए स्मरण नहीं करेगा, कि तू मेरे साथ उनके आधार पर व्यवहार नहीं करेगा। मैं अपना सम्पूर्ण जीवन तुझे समर्पित करना चाहता हूँ। मैं कुछ नहीं माँगता हूँ, और न ही मेरी अन्य आशाएँ या योजनाएँ हैं; मैं केवल तेरे इरादे के अनुसार कार्य करना चाहता हूँ और तेरी इच्छा को पूरा करना चाहता हूँ। मैं तेरे कड़वे कटोरे में से पीऊँगा और मैं तेरे आदेशों के लिए हूँ।"

  

स्रोत: सर्वशक्तिमान परमेश्वर की कलीसिया

उपयोग की शर्तें: hi.kingdomsalvation.org/disclaimer.html

  

सम्बन्धित सामग्री:

यीशु की कहानी—परमेश्वर के दिल की वाणी—बाइबल की कथाओं की व्याख्या

 

Photo by: Carlo Damocles

"THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT" by Lydia Stryk

 

Diverse City Theater Company (DCT) presents its August 2007 production of "SNAPSHOTS," directed by Gregory Simmons at Theatre Row's Beckett Theatre in New York City. Recipient of the 2006 Disney Cast Community Fund Award for its critically acclaimed production of FOUR PLAYS: The Equality Playwrights Festival, DCT dedicates its upcoming production to the late Founder and Former Artistic Director of Ensemble Studio Theatre, Curt Dempster.

 

This year, DCT turns its attention to women in their 50s, 70s and 90s. "SNAPSHOTS" is a presentation of three one-act plays about five women and their generation:

 

* COLLEEN IRELAND by Stuart Harris: Colleen, a 95-year old woman living in an assisted-living home, receives a surprise visit from her great granddaughter.

Starring: Shirley Bodke & Larisa Polonsky

 

* THE “A” WORD by Linda Faigao-Hall: A mother is confronted by her son about her past.

Starring: Melanie Nicholls-King & Antwan Ward

 

* THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT by Lydia Stryk: Two women, who share a common secret, attend their grandson’s wedding.

Starring: Meg Myles & Maxine Prescott

 

"We are excited to present these original, extraordinary plays about five women, each from her own generation, grappling with universal issues of aging, identity and family. These are provocative and poignant plays about mature women rarely seen onstage today," said Victor Lirio, DCT's Artistic & Producing Director. He adds: "This year, we also pay tribute to Curt Dempster who championed our company since its inception. He was a creative force ... a great artist whose legacy continues at DCT and among our artists."

  

"SNAPSHOTS" will perform on the following dates:

August 16th to September 1st, 2007

 

Producers: Liz Casasola, Victor Lirio and Natasha Marco; Associate Producer: Debra Derr; Line Producer: Megan Kingery; Set & Lighting Design: Maruti Evans; Sound Design: Elizabeth Rhodes; Costume Design: Arnulfo Maldonado; Production Stage Manager: Amy Kaskeski; Assistant Stage Manager: Phil Gutierrez; Creative Director: David Derr, D2 Studios Inc.

 

Website:

www.diversecitytheater.org

 

Press:

www.diversecitytheater.org/template/pr_epf_20070809.htm

Do not get pregnant unless you have drunk 2.6 UK units.

Knower live in Paris @Le Point Ephemere

Photo by: Carlo Damocles

"THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT" by Lydia Stryk

 

Diverse City Theater Company (DCT) presents its August 2007 production of "SNAPSHOTS," directed by Gregory Simmons at Theatre Row's Beckett Theatre in New York City. Recipient of the 2006 Disney Cast Community Fund Award for its critically acclaimed production of FOUR PLAYS: The Equality Playwrights Festival, DCT dedicates its upcoming production to the late Founder and Former Artistic Director of Ensemble Studio Theatre, Curt Dempster.

 

This year, DCT turns its attention to women in their 50s, 70s and 90s. "SNAPSHOTS" is a presentation of three one-act plays about five women and their generation:

 

* COLLEEN IRELAND by Stuart Harris: Colleen, a 95-year old woman living in an assisted-living home, receives a surprise visit from her great granddaughter.

Starring: Shirley Bodke & Larisa Polonsky

 

* THE “A” WORD by Linda Faigao-Hall: A mother is confronted by her son about her past.

Starring: Melanie Nicholls-King & Antwan Ward

 

* THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT by Lydia Stryk: Two women, who share a common secret, attend their grandson’s wedding.

Starring: Meg Myles & Maxine Prescott

 

"We are excited to present these original, extraordinary plays about five women, each from her own generation, grappling with universal issues of aging, identity and family. These are provocative and poignant plays about mature women rarely seen onstage today," said Victor Lirio, DCT's Artistic & Producing Director. He adds: "This year, we also pay tribute to Curt Dempster who championed our company since its inception. He was a creative force ... a great artist whose legacy continues at DCT and among our artists."

  

"SNAPSHOTS" will perform on the following dates:

August 16th to September 1st, 2007

 

Producers: Liz Casasola, Victor Lirio and Natasha Marco; Associate Producer: Debra Derr; Line Producer: Megan Kingery; Set & Lighting Design: Maruti Evans; Sound Design: Elizabeth Rhodes; Costume Design: Arnulfo Maldonado; Production Stage Manager: Amy Kaskeski; Assistant Stage Manager: Phil Gutierrez; Creative Director: David Derr, D2 Studios Inc.

 

Website:

www.diversecitytheater.org

 

Press:

www.diversecitytheater.org/template/pr_epf_20070809.htm

What is it Mel ????

View On Black

Young men with "White Pride" flag

Inauguration 1/20/2017

© 2009 | Rodel Joselito Manabat | All Rights Reserved

 

EXPLORE #370 FEBRUARY 4 2009

Thanks to all who made this photo to Explore.

 

"Yahweh, i know YOU are near, standing always at my side..."

 

Happy 37th Imagoism Thursday Friends!

 

Exposure

EV[0], f/2.8, ISO 400

 

Toys

Canon 400D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8

 

Processing

PS CS4 Adjustment layers - curves, selective colours

Borders

I know it looks like I'm looking at the Ryvita but I can promise you I was looking at the Belgian choccie biccies, after all, why would I need ryvita ; ))

 

See where this picture was taken. [?]

Life as I know it 2013 2014

Anyone know what this large African bird might be? See below.

 

We drove from Johannesburg to Kruger Park for a short break spending just one night at Pretoriuskop in the park. With no particular plan we just drove around for the day and were surprised how many animals were about although we didn't see any big cats.

There is so much I know nothing about - such as women, life, etc. - but especially cars. We were traveling through Tucson, AZ and read on Trip Advisor about a museum dedicated to Franklin cars. I had never heard of the museums or Franklins, but the write-ups made it sound like a cool place to visit - so we did - and both Heather and I are glad we did! What a lovely place to check out. It was a bit hard to find, in a residential section in a maze of one-way streets but we're glad we stuck to it. We were greeted by a volunteer guide that told us the history of the Franklin Motor Company - they were luxury autos from the 1920s to 1950s. The cars are in great shape - we wanted to go cruising in them. The guide told us it was a busy day for the museum - they had about 20 visitors. That is a shame - the place is fantastic and well worth the $5 admission. Check it out!! I took these photos in March 2014.

 

Did you know that you are supposed to brush your dog’s tooth every day?

 

Our dogs companions are renowned for their halitosis. With an easy yawn, a dog may vomit forth an atrocious smell so strong it could drive a human out from the room. Stinky breath is not the top reasons why you need to brush your dog’s teeth.

 

Just like humans, plaque build-up in a dog’s mouth may reveal plaque build-up in its arteries – foreshadowing a heart trouble or other serious health problems later in life. Having your dog’s tooth professionally cleaned is an extremely tumultuous and expensive effort, as they’ve to be put to sleep to ensure that a doggie dentist to work.

 

The very best defense is to get in the practice of cleaning your dog tooth every day. Whilst it appears like a silly habit to adopt, it’ll assist your dog be far healthy and happier in the long term – and it’ll reduce the degree of stank breath you’ve to cope with on a regular basis. You probably brush your very own tooth every single night and each morning, so simply pick one of those moments to add your dog in the dental fun. Though he does not enjoy having his tooth brushed just as much as digging throughout the trash or eating bird poop, you put up with the rapid brush since the tooth paste tastes good and he knows there is a crunchy treat waiting for him when it is over.

 

The key to a happy dog with clean tooth is to find a kind of tooth paste it likes. Some industrial dog toothpastes feature a spearmint or peppermint flavour, this will work for humans, but not so much for an animal that prefers the odor of rotten trash to essential oils.

 

Eschew the pricey dog toothpastes available on the market and instead, make your very own natural dog toothpaste. Put a little quantity of paste on a special brush, let your dog taste dog before with a little lick, and after that gently cram the toothbrush in its mouth and scrub away. Make soft, cooing noises while you brush, and speak in simple tones the whole time.

 

The post Even our dogs need to brush their teeth everyday appeared first on Daily Addtion.

Definitely not happy about the weather at West Point circa 1990. I was going to try to use this for a Bershon thing (I saw it on Mirka's photos) but I don't know if I look old enough or cool enough. I think the giant polka dot raincoat my negate the whole thing. I think I look too much like I am either going to crack into a smile or burst into tears?

Norio knows that attention is just as important as cat snacks. He loves getting attention and does his best to pay attention to us as well (his routine in the morning is to sit on my lap and make sure I get enough attention from him).

I know all the knobs & twiddly bits & acronyms & jargon. She knows how to point it.

I know you aren't supposed to look right into the sun, but it was just so pretty, I didn't care.

 

We had tornados again today and once again it touched down about 4 miles from our house.

 

There was a lot of rain, wind, lightening and hail this time and many, many trees down and power outages. Ours for a little bit.

 

When it all settled, I took a walk out in our yard to see if there was any damage and fog had started coming in and the sun was coming through the trees with it.

 

There was such a beautiful glow and to catch all the rays, I had to look straight into it!! I have a lot more of the rays, but this one is my favorite.

It’s unsettling to see such a young boy in a cigarette ad and it wasn't accidental. It was a deliberate postwar advertising strategy to re-domesticate cigarettes, shifting it from a symbol of wartime masculinity to a staple of peaceful American family life. The mother and child in the ad were meant to imply that Dad’s smoking was part of the family’s shared happiness, as natural and wholesome as a birthday cake. They were props in a scene of domestic approval. It’s a striking example of how aggressively tobacco companies sought to normalize smoking through family imagery.

 

The mother and child are handing Dad a box of something we now know is profoundly harmful. That tension is part of what makes these old ads so powerful today. They’re windows into a world where cigarettes were woven into the fabric of domestic life, not yet shadowed by the medical consensus that would emerge in the 1950s and 60s.

 

Stanford Research into the “Impact of Tobacco Advertising” notes that children were used to “reinforce the respectability of smoking as part of normal family life” and to project “purity, vibrancy, and life” onto the product. The ad is unusually brazen even for the 1940s in its use of a very young child. A child this young is rare but it fits the larger strategy: soften the product by surrounding it with love and innocence and reclaim prewar market share.

 

Cigarettes were still widely accepted, but the industry was already aware of early medical rumblings. Using a cherubic child softened the product’s edges — a way of saying, “This is safe, normal, part of everyday life.” And the “We know your ABC’s” line works better with a child who is just learning letters. The boy’s age reinforces the pun.

 

You know you're getting bored of maths when you put a tripod on your table to take photos of you working on maths... what can I say, series/sequences are boring.

 

The reason this is in a portrait mode is so that it portrays the point of view from my horizontal head that is resting on my other hand due to pure boredom :-)

Tee hee hee.......but I don't know what is Kapibara san's favourite food??

 

Kapibara San belongs to Akane.

You know, when dreams shatter, which part hurts the most ?

-Uh, I guess...the 'dagger-in-the-heart' part?

-Nope, it's the 'I-was-not-good-enough' part... and afterwards when we invent a million of excuses trying to convince ourselves in believing the opposite...

 

Being a mediocre is (almost) the worst thing on earth to be. You have so many lofty dreams that you can never even try to achieve...

“To know yourself is the ultimate quest, so if I feel bored I know I need to up my game. At the end of our lives, we’re looking at how well we’ve loved. We’re examining our relationship to our intimate experiences in our life. My intention is always to love more deeply. My reservation is always I don’t know who I will be if I crack myself open more and really let loose and really let that happen. There’s a liberation to it, but there’s also distrust. And that’s about relationship to spirit. How much do I really trust that everything will be okay if I let go?” 3/3