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From: Pilgrimage to Russia 1988
"In Cathedral Square the oldest church is Assumption of the Dornition. The Tsars were baptized and crowned there. It was completed in 1479. There was a fire and the bell was not put up yet. It was still on the ground. It was so hot the men tried to cool it off by pouring water on it. Of course it cracked and still sits there. It's really big - it weighs 200 tons."
Touring The Kremlin: www.musement.com/us/moscow/moscow-kremlin-entry-ticket-to...
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Tzar Bell History:
The Tsar Bell (Russian: Царь–колокол, Tsar-kolokol), also known as the Tsarsky Kolokol, Tsar Kolokol III, or Royal Bell, is a 6.14-metre (20.1 ft) tall, 6.6-metre (22 ft) diameter bell on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin. The bell was commissioned by Empress Anna Ivanovna, niece of Peter the Great.
It has never been in working order, suspended, or rung.
The present bell is sometimes referred to as Kolokol III (Bell III), because it is the third generation.[citation needed]
General description
The Tsar Bell is located between the Ivan the Great Bell Tower and the Kremlin Wall. Made of bronze, the bell cracked during a fire after being completed and has never been rung. The bell is the largest bell in the world,[1] weighing 201,924 kilograms (445,166 lb),[citation needed] with a height of 6.14 metres (20.1 ft) and diameter of 6.6 metres (22 ft), and thickness of up to 61 centimetres (24 in). The broken piece weighs 11,500 kilograms (25,400 lb). [Note 1]
The bell is decorated with relief images of baroque angels, plants, oval medallions with saints, and nearly life-size images of Empress Anna and Tsar Alexey, who was reigning at the time the previous Tsar Bell was cast.
History
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The history of Russian bell founding goes back to the 10th century, but in the medieval Russian Orthodox Church, bells were not typically rung to indicate church service, but to announce important ceremonies, celebrations, and as an alarm in case of fire or enemy attack. One of the largest of the early bells was the original Tsar Bell, cast in the 16th century. Completed in 1600, it weighed 18,000 kilograms (40,000 lb) and required 24 men to ring its clapper. Housed in the original wooden Ivan the Great Bell Tower in the Moscow Kremlin, it crashed to the ground in a fire in the mid-17th century and was broken to pieces.[citation needed]
The second Tsar Bell was cast in 1655, using the remnants of the former bell, but on a much larger scale. This bell weighed 100,000 kilograms (220,000 lb), but was again destroyed by fire in 1701.[citation needed]
After becoming Empress, Anna ordered that the pieces be cast into a new bell with its weight increased by another hundred tons, and dispatched the son of Field Marshal Münnich to Paris to solicit technical help from the master craftsmen there. However, a bell of such size was unprecedented, and Münnich was not taken seriously. In 1733, the job was assigned to local foundry masters, Ivan Motorin and his son Mikhail, based on their experience in casting a bronze cannon.[citation needed]
A pit 10 metres (33 ft) deep was dug (near the location of the present bell), with a clay form, and walls reinforced with rammed earth to withstand the pressure of the molten metal. Obtaining the necessary metals proved a challenge, for in addition to the parts of the old bell, an additional 525 kilograms (1,157 lb) of silver and 72 kilograms (159 lb) of gold were added to the mixture. After months of preparation, casting work commenced at the end of November 1734. The first attempt was not successful, and the project was incomplete when Ivan Motorin died in August, 1735. His son Mikhail carried on the work, and the second attempt at casting succeeded on November 25, 1735. Ornaments were added as the bell was cooling while raised above the casting pit through 1737.
However, before the last ornamentation was completed, a major fire broke out at the Kremlin in May 1737. The fire spread to the temporary wooden support structure for the bell, and fearing damage, guards threw cold water on it, causing eleven cracks, and a huge 10,432.6 kilograms (23,000 lb) slab to break off. The fire burned through the wooden supports, and the damaged bell fell back into its casting pit. The Tsar Bell remained in its pit for almost a century. Unsuccessful attempts to raise it were made in 1792 and 1819. Napoleon Bonaparte, during his occupation of Moscow in 1812, considered removing it as a trophy to France, but was unable to do so, due to its size and weight.[citation needed]
It was finally successfully raised in the summer of 1836 by the French architect Auguste de Montferrand and placed on a stone pedestal. The broken slab alone is nearly three times larger than the world's largest bell hung for full circle ringing, the tenor bell at Liverpool Cathedral.
For a time, the bell served as a chapel, with the broken area forming the door.[2]
Computational simulation of sound
Voltaire joked that the Kremlin's two greatest items were a bell which was never rung and a cannon (the Tsar Pushka) that was never fired.[3] In the spring of 2016, a team of UC Berkeley, Stanford, and University of Michigan researchers publicly performed an electronic reproduction of how the Tsar Bell would sound if it had not been damaged during casting.[4] To simulate the sound of the bell, the team researched the bell's material characteristics and constructed a polygon mesh that modeled the shape of the bell. The team then used finite element analysis to compute the component frequencies of the bell when rung.[5] For the first public performance, a stack of twelve speakers installed below the campanile on the UC Berkeley campus played the digital simulation of the Tsar Bell. The fundamental frequency of the sound was approximately 81 Hz.[6]
她不是你能看的形象，
能聽到歌聲，
卻是你雖閉目時也能看見的形象，
雖掩耳時也能聽見的歌聲。__________Kahlil Gibran
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......underwater on top a hill - Murphy Lane & Westport Road, Louisville, Kentucky, USA - the Ford plant is across the street.
This tragic train vs. auto accident occurred a few weeks ago and a young life was taken - he was only 19 years old. He apparently attempted to make a right hand turn crossing the tracks. From looking at the scene it appears the train pushed the car with such a force it went airborne and landed over a hundred feet into a deep ditch. My sincerest condolences to all involved. But there are *no* gates. The following photos depict the scene and are quite disturbing considering this loss of a promising young life could have and should have been prevented and was not.
There have been similar accidents at this same crossing in the past.
This is what is confusing to me:
East Blue Lick Road Add gates to existing flashing lights and bell system at CSX Railroad Crossing on East Blue Lick Road. (343 526X) Add to TIP as part of KIPDA #174 Various general rail/highway protection improvement program projects. Add FY2014 Construction $240,000 federal; RHPD funding
So WHERE ARE THE GATES? Better yet where is our $240,000 and the BIDS for a $50,000 job.
www.kipda.org/files/PDF/Transportation_Division/TIP/FY201...
State - KENTUCKY County - All January To December, 2015
Total fatalities: 16 Total nonfatal conditions: 90 (42 civilians)
Total train miles: 854,031
1 killed every 53,377 train miles
1,873 killed in 100 million miles
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www.wlky.com/news/bullitt-county-officials-at-scene-of-de...
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UPDATE: I was informed today June 7, 2018, that gates have been installed at this crossing now - unsure how long ago they were installed, but they're up and hopefully functioning correctly. Thank you.
0/0
(List of Board of Directors Below)
Reps from CSX, ATT attempting to find a resolution to the "Poltergeist Gates" that have been malfunctioning for close to a decade. There are numerous oil spills visible along these tracks as far as the eye can see. There have been many auto accidents/fatalities on/near this corner. There is one unregistered "American Towers" cell mast to the left of these trucks and at least 4 within a one-mile area. This is typical for Jefferson County, Kentucky. Drunk driving, cancer, auto fatalities and suicide rates are skewered yet still rank among the highest in the Nation. Air, water and environmental quality due to lack of local and State Government enforcement is atrocious - this County is still dumping raw sewage into streams, rivers and brooks. There is no oversight or enforcement to local industries or quarries nor is there enforcement of laws in place to protect the environment or The People from further destruction to air and water pollution other than to place a lighted sign over freeways stating "air quality warning". Quarry roadways are not watered down as required, roadways are not swept, maintained, repaired or cleaned, no dust or erosion control measures are practiced, trucks are not correctly tarped or not tarped at all and the public's best interests are not being protected. Yet the medical profession is making a killing. And all they'll say is, "Welcome to the Ohio Valley".
I will say the response, communication and investigation from the above agencies was swift and thorough after receiving a call from a concerned resident - kudos to them!
Corner of LaGrange Road, Factory Lane, Chamberlain Lane,
Louisville, Kentucky 40245
Louisville Kentucky is only #6 in the top ranked "Sinful Cities" in the Nation. We've got to do better if we want to be #1! www.trulia.com/blog/trends/sin-cities/ only to be beat out by Toledo, Tampa, Philadelphia, Atlantic City and New Orleans. #pollution #corruption #cancer #crime #plasticsurgery #substanceabuse #alcoholabuse #prescriptiondrugs #medicalmalpractice #suicides #kamikaze #realtors #e.coli #disease #autoimmune #lupus #MS #braintumors #leukemia #EPA #DEP #hazardouswaste #toxicspills #nonresponsive #letsguide
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CSX Divestitures and Distinuations:
CSX Hotels, Inc.
Greenbrier Hotel Corporation sold to Justice Family Group in 2009
Sea-Land Corporation split into two shipping lines and a terminal operator:
CSX Lines, LLC (Domestic liner, sold and renamed Horizon Lines, Inc.)
Sea-Land Corporation (International liner, sold to the A. P. Moller-Maersk Group in 1999)
CSX World Terminals, LLC (International Terminals business)[7]
SL Services, Inc. (“SLSI”) sold to Dubai Ports International FZE (“DPI”) in 2005[8]
Orange Blossom Investment Company, Ltd sold to Dubai Ports International FZE (“DPI”) in 2005
CSA Acquisition Corp.
Texas Gas Transmission Corporation bought in 1983, sold in 1988 to Transco.[9]
Energy and utilities
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CSX Board of Directors:
Mr. Steven T. Halverson
Steven T. Halverson, 57, has served as a director of CSX since September 2006. Mr. Halverson is the Chief Executive Officer of The Haskell Company, one of the largest design and construction firms in the United States. Prior to joining the Haskell Company in 1999, Mr. Halverson served as a Senior Vice President of M.A. Mortenson, a national construction firm.
Mr. Halverson also serves as a director for PSS World Medical, Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, ACIG Insurance Co., the Florida Counsel of 100 (chair), and the Florida Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Halverson is also a St. John's University regent.
Through his roles with key organizations in the state of Florida, Mr. Halverson provides broad leadership capabilities to the CSX Board. He also provides insight and perspective on the economy in general and the construction industry in particular.
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Mr. John D. McPherson
John D. McPherson, 65, joined the Board in July 2008. He served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Florida East Coast Railway, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries, Inc., from 1999 until his retirement in 2007. From 1993-1998, Mr. McPherson served as Senior Vice President-Operations, and from 1998-1999, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Illinois Central Railroad. Prior to joining the Illinois Central Railroad, Mr. McPherson served in various capacities at Santa Fe Railroad for 25 years. As a result of his extensive career in the rail industry, Mr. McPherson serves as an expert in railroad operations.
Mr. McPherson currently serves on the board of directors of Las Vegas Railway Express, a start-up passenger railroad which will operate between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. From 1997-2007, Mr. McPherson served as a member of the board of directors of TTX Company, a railcar provider and freight car management services joint venture of North American railroads.
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Mr. David M. Moffet
David M. Moffett served as the Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation from September 2008 until his retirement in March 2009. He previously served as a Senior Advisor with the Carlyle Group LLC from May 2007 to September 2008, as the Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of U.S. Bancorp from 2001 to 2007, after its merger with Firstar Corporation where he served as Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer from 1998 to 2001. Mr. Moffett also served as Chief Financial Officer of StarBanc Corporation, a predecessor to Firstar Corporation, from 1993 to 1998.
In addition to the directorships noted above, Mr. Moffett currently serves as a trustee on the boards of Columbia Fund Series Trust I and Columbia Funds Variable Insurance Trust, overseeing approximately 52 funds within the Columbia Funds mutual fund complex. He also serves as a trustee for the University of Oklahoma Foundation.
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Mr. Timothy T. O'Toole
Timothy T. O'Toole, 56, joined the Board in September 2008. Mr. O'Toole is currently the Chief Executive Officer of FirstGroup, plc, a leading transportation company that primarily provides rail and bus services. FirstGroup, a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange, employs approximately 130,000 staff throughout the U.K. and North America and transports some 2.5 billion passengers a year. Mr. O'Toole previously served as the Managing Director of the London Underground from 2003 through April 2009, where he was responsible for operating and rebuilding the Tube, the world's oldest metropolitan railway. Mr. O'Toole brings to the Board over 25 years of railroad industry experience. He also provides invaluable operational experience in crisis management evidenced by his leadership following a terror attack on the London Underground in 2005.
Previously, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Conrail from 1998 to 2001. During his more than 20 years at Conrail, he served in various senior management roles, including Senior Vice President of Law and Government Affairs, Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Vice President and Treasurer, and Vice President and General Counsel. Mr. O'Toole also serves as a member of the board of FirstGroup.
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Mr. David M. Ratcliffe
David M. Ratcliffe, 63, has served as a director of CSX since January 2003. Mr. Ratcliffe retired from his position as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Company, one of America's largest producers of electricity, in December of 2010. He had held that position since 2004. From 1999 until 2004, Mr. Ratcliffe was President and Chief Executive Officer of Georgia Power, Southern Company's largest subsidiary. Prior to becoming President and Chief Executive Officer of Georgia Power in 1999, Mr. Ratcliffe served as Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer.
Mr. Ratcliffe serves on the board of SunTrust Bank. He also serves as a member of the boards of various organizations, including GRA Venture Fund, LLC, Georgia Research Alliance, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Urjanet, a software startup company, and the Centers for Disease Control Foundation. As Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Company, Mr. Ratcliffe participated in a heavily regulated industry with operations in substantial portions of our service territory. Through this experience, he provides expertise in an ever-changing regulatory environment, which includes important public policy matters such as climate change legislation.
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Ms. Donna M. Alvarado
Donna M. Alvarado, 63, has served as a CSX director since September 2006. Ms. Alvarado is the founder and current President of Aguila International, a business-consulting firm.
Previously, Ms. Alvarado served as President and Chief Executive Officer of a global educational publishing company from 1989-1993. She has served on corporate boards in the manufacturing, banking, transportation, and services industries. During the past five years, she has also led state and national workforce policy boards. Ms. Alvarado currently serves on the board of directors of Corrections Corporation of America and as immediate past Chairwoman of the Ohio Board of Regents.
Following executive and legislative staff appointments at the U.S. Department of Defense and in the U.S. Congress, Ms. Alvarado was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to lead the federal agency ACTION, the nation's premier agency for civic engagement and volunteerism, a position which she held from 1985-1989.
As a result of her experience in the public and private sector, Ms. Alvarado brings to the Board significant workforce planning expertise, as evidenced by her previous high-level government appointments, which is complemented by her role with the Ohio Board of Regents.
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Senator John B. Breaux
Senator John B. Breaux, 68, has served as a director of CSX since shortly after his retirement from the U.S. Senate in 2005. Senator Breaux held numerous leadership positions during his 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and 18-year tenure in the U.S. Senate, where he served on the House Public Works and Transportation Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Senate Commerce Committee. Senator Breaux also founded the Centrist Coalition of Senate Democrats and Republicans and served as chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council. He brings extensive public policy and regulatory experience to the CSX Board at a time when Congress is considering additional legislation that could have a material effect on railroad operations.
From 2005 through 2007, Senator Breaux served as Senior Counsel at Patton Boggs LLP. Currently, Senator Breaux is a partner in the Breaux-Lott Leadership Group, a private consulting firm in Washington, DC. In 2010, the Breaux-Lott Leadership Group was purchased by Patton Boggs LLP. He also serves as a director of LHC Group, Inc.
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Ms. Pamela L. Carter
Pamela L. Carter, 62, joined the Board in June 2010. Ms. Carter is President of Cummins Distribution, a division of Cummins, Inc., a designer, manufacturer and marketer of diesel engines and related components and power systems. Ms. Carter joined Cummins in 1997 as Vice President - General Counsel and held various management positions up until her appointment as President of Cummins Distribution in 2008.
Prior to her career with Cummins, Ms. Carter served in various capacities with the State of Indiana and in the private practice of law. Ms. Carter was the first woman and the first African-American to hold the office of Attorney General in Indiana. Ms. Carter also served as Parliamentarian in the Indiana House of Representatives, Deputy Chief-of-Staff to Governor Evan Bayh, Executive Assistant for Health Policy & Human Services and Securities Enforcement Attorney for the Office of the Secretary of State.
Ms. Carter currently serves on the board of directors of Spectra Energy Corporation. She brings strong operational experience to the Board via her career with Cummins, Inc. Her extensive experience in government allows Ms. Carter to provide in-depth knowledge and insight into regulatory and public policy matters.
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Mr. Edward J. Kelly, III
Edward J. Kelly, III, 58, has served as a director of CSX since July 2002. Mr. Kelly is currently Chairman of the Institutional Clients Group at Citigroup, Inc. He has previously served as Vice Chairman, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Global Banking at Citigroup, Inc., as well as Chief Executive Officer of Citi Alternative Investments, an integrated alternative investments platform within Citigroup, Inc.
Mr. Kelly previously served as a Managing Director at The Carlyle Group and Vice Chairman of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. following PNC's acquisition of Mercantile Bankshares Corporation in March 2007. At Mercantile, Mr. Kelly held the offices of Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President from March 2003 until March 2007, and was Chief Executive Officer and President from March 2001 to March 2003. Before joining Mercantile, Mr. Kelly served as Managing Director and co-head of Investment Banking Client Management at J.P. Morgan Chase and Managing Director and Head of Global Financial Institutions at J.P. Morgan. Previously, Mr. Kelly was a partner at the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell, where he specialized in matters related to financial institutions. Early in his career, Mr. Kelly served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Clement F. Haynsworth, Jr.
Mr. Kelly has previously served on the boards of directors for The Hartford Financial Services Group, The Hershey Company and Paris RE Holdings. As an executive in the banking industry, Mr. Kelly provides extensive financial and regulatory experience to the Board. He offers important perspective on global financial markets.
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Mr. Donald J. Shepard
Donald J. Shepard, 65, has served as a director of CSX since January 2003. In 2008, Mr. Shepard retired as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of AEGON, N.V., an international life insurance and pension company.
He currently serves as a member of the boards of directors of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. ("PNC") and the Travelers Companies, Inc. Mr. Shepard was also a director of Mercantile Bankshares Corporation until 2007, when the company was acquired by PNC. He is also a director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Through his executive positions with AEGON, Mr. Shepard brings financial and risk management expertise to the CSX Board. Through his leadership role with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Shepard also brings significant insight into developing business trends and opportunities.
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Mr. Michael J. Ward
Michael J. Ward is chairman and chief executive officer of CSX Corporation, one of the nation's premier transportation and logistics companies. Over his 39-year career, Mr. Ward has headed CSX's operations, coal sales and marketing, and finance departments.
Under Mr. Ward's leadership, the company continues to achieve record safety performance while providing vital services to customers and posting strong financial results for shareholders.
The company's commitment to safety and preparing its network for increasing freight demand is demonstrated by its planned 2016 capital investment of $2.4 billion and its long-term plan to invest approximately 16 to 17 percent of its revenues back into its core business to support growth.
A native of Baltimore, Md., Mr. Ward's commitment to personal philanthropy and corporate citizenship has been recognized with City Year's prestigious Lifetime of Idealism Award. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland in 1972, and received a master's degree in business administration from the Harvard Business School in 1976. Mr. Ward is a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of American Railroads, and also serves on the boards of Ashland Inc., City Year, United Way of Northeast Florida, and Hubbard House. His other business affiliations include The Florida Council of 100 and The Business Roundtable.
CSX, based in Jacksonville, Florida, is a premier transportation company. It provides rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services and solutions to customers across a broad array of markets, including energy, industrial, construction, agricultural, and consumer products. For nearly 190 years, CSX has played a critical role in the nation's economic expansion and industrial development. Its network connects every major metropolitan area in the eastern United States, where nearly two-thirds of the nation's population resides. It also links more than 240 short-line railroads and more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports with major population centers and farming towns alike. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at www.csx.com..
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Mr. J. Steven Whisler
J. Steven Whisler, 57, is the retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Phelps Dodge Corporation, a mining and manufacturing company, where he served in many roles from 1981 until being named Chief Executive Officer in 2000. During his tenure at Phelps Dodge, Mr. Whisler was instrumental in the implementation of its "Zero and Beyond" safety program designed to eliminate workplace injuries and its "Quest for Zero" process-improvement program designed to, among other things, eliminate environmental waste while enhancing product quality.
Mr. Whisler currently serves on the boards of directors of Brunswick Corporation and International Paper Co. He also served as director of US Airways Group, Inc. from 2005 until 2011, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe from 1995 until its acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway in 2010. Through his tenure on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe board of directors and as a former executive in the mining industry, Mr. Whisler brings invaluable railroad knowledge to the CSX Board and a strong understanding of one of the Company's largest customer bases. Mr. Whisler's support of safety and environmental programs aligns closely with the Company's goals.
CSX parking their trains working on the malfunctioning gates - corner of Chamberlain Ln. & LaGrange Road, Louisville, KY, USA.
Update:::::: As of August 2017 these gates do appear to be functioning correctly. CSX has been working diligently in this area and it appears the Poltergeist Gates problem at this crossing has been resolved.
Quality masonry spotted in Middletown, Louisville, KY
Some of the "improvement" funds allocated throughout the State (2012) - many were for crosswalks, pedestrian walkways and road restriping - funds were to be matched by the local Municipalities: webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:eHq4NrczXD8...
And another - in 2008 - by previous Mayor Jerry Abramson (now in Washington, DC) agendas.louisvilleky.gov/sirepub/cache/2/t3ugavl5sodeqbbh...
This KFC is directly across the street from one of the many malfunctioning railroad crossing gates throughout Kentucky. CSX did start to to work on these gates again recently and just put up a new tower next to the existing out of spec ATT (previously Bellsouth) unregistered cell tower shown in the photo here.
These malfunctioning gates are affectionately known locally as "The Poltergeist Gates" as they randomly raise and lower for no known reason. A rep from CSX indicated it's a "phenomenon" referred to as "Tail Ring" - hopefully the addition of this new tower will correct these malfunctioning gates. There have been multiple accidents and fatalities in this immediate area. There are 5 liquor retail outlets on this corner alone. It appears to be exempt from any Local, State, or Federal, Zoning and Planning requirements and laws.
On every railroad crossing there is a blue sign posted with each specific crossing number along with a telephone number - that number is for citizens to call and report any type of gate or crossing malfunction, problem as well as trains blocking a crossing - this number is your friend - don't be afraid to call it.
There is a memorial cross placed at the site of one of the more recent fatalities on LaGrange Road near Chamberlain Lane.
UPDATE: As of 18 June 2016 the Poltergeist Gates do appear to have been bought under control. CSX (along with AT&T) had worked on them for quite a few weeks and so far I've not seen any further malfunctions although I've not had the opportunity to pass this crossing frequently. So far so good.
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If you work for McDonald’s, Jimmy John’s, Pizza Hut, Little Caesar, Papa John’s, Dominos, Burger King, Arby’s or another franchise restaurant and were prevented from moving to a different franchise that is part of the same company, you may have been the victim of a no-poach agreement. If so, you may qualify to participate in this employee poaching class action lawsuit investigation.
topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/investigations/85...
Cheltenham Wetlands Park was once part of the U.S. Naval Radio Station, Cheltenham, Maryland. It was commissioned in 1939.
“The original antenna fields, comprising creosoted wood telephone poles and metal antenna towers, were located in the acreage surrounding the buildings. All metal antenna poles have been removed from the installation. Some abandoned creosoted wood poles remain in the wooded and swampy sections of the installation.
Established as a radio receiving station before World War II, the installation's mission evolved to administration during the Cold War era.”
Churchill Downs - Oaks Day (for the fillies) - Friday, May 6, 2016
Kentucky Derby - Saturday, May 7, 2016
....the popularity of Saturnalia continued into the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, and as the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, many of its customs were recast into or at least influenced the seasonal celebrations surrounding Christmas and the New Year.[9]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia
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Saturnalia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Saturnalia (disambiguation).
Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their slaves.[1] The poet Catullus called it "the best of days".[2] It was the Roman equivalent to the earlier Greek holiday of Kronia, which was celebrated during the Attic month of Hekatombaion in late midsummer.
Contents [hide]
1Origins
2Public religious observance
2.1Io Saturnalia
3Private festivities
3.1Gift-giving
4On the calendar
5Historical context
5.1King of the Saturnalia
6Theological and philosophical views
6.1Munera
6.2Other ancient interpretations
7Influence
8See also
9References
10Bibliography
11External links
Origins[edit]
In Roman mythology, Saturn was an agricultural deity who was said to have reigned over the world in the Golden Age, when humans enjoyed the spontaneous bounty of the earth without labor in a state of innocence. The revelries of Saturnalia were supposed to reflect the conditions of the lost mythical age, not all of them desirable. The Greek equivalent was the Kronia,[3] which was celebrated on the twelfth day of the month of Hekatombaion,[4][3] which occurred from around mid-July to mid-August on the Attic calendar.[3][4]
The ancient Roman historian Justinus credits Saturn with being a historical king of the pre-Roman inhabitants of Italy:
The first inhabitants of Italy were the Aborigines, whose king, Saturnus, is said to have been a man of such extraordinary justice, that no one was a slave in his reign, or had any private property, but all things were common to all, and undivided, as one estate for the use of every one; in memory of which way of life, it has been ordered that at the Saturnalia slaves should everywhere sit down with their masters at the entertainments, the rank of all being made equal."
— Justinus, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus 43.3[5]
Although probably the best-known Roman holiday, Saturnalia as a whole is not described from beginning to end in any single ancient source. Modern understanding of the festival is pieced together from several accounts dealing with various aspects.[6] The Saturnalia was the dramatic setting of the multivolume work of that name by Macrobius, a Latin writer from late antiquity who is the major source for information about the holiday. In one of the interpretations in Macrobius's work, Saturnalia is a festival of light leading to the winter solstice, with the abundant presence of candles symbolizing the quest for knowledge and truth.[7] The renewal of light and the coming of the new year was celebrated in the later Roman Empire at the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, the "Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun", on 23 December.[8] Although we are now led to believe that Saturnalia is the holiday, in which people, during the winter, conserved the kindling of mother nature by bringing evergreens into their home.
The popularity of Saturnalia continued into the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, and as the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, many of its customs were recast into or at least influenced the seasonal celebrations surrounding Christmas and the New Year.[9]
Public religious observance[edit]
See also: Religion in ancient Rome
Ruins of the Temple of Saturn (eight columns to the far right), with three columns from the Temple of Vespasian and Titus (left) and the Arch of Septimius Severus (center)
The statue of Saturn at his main temple normally had its feet bound in wool, which was removed for the holiday as an act of liberation.[10] The official rituals were carried out according to "Greek rite" (ritus graecus). The sacrifice was officiated by a priest,[11] whose head was uncovered; in Roman rite, priests sacrificed capite velato, with head covered by a special fold of the toga.[12] This procedure is usually explained by Saturn's assimilation with his Greek counterpart Cronus, since the Romans often adopted and reinterpreted Greek myths, iconography, and even religious practices for their own deities, but the uncovering of the priest's head may also be one of the Saturnalian reversals, the opposite of what was normal.[13]
Following the sacrifice the Roman Senate arranged a lectisternium, a ritual of Greek origin that typically involved placing a deity's image on a sumptuous couch, as if he were present and actively participating in the festivities. A public banquet followed (convivium publicum).[14]
The day was supposed to be a holiday from all forms of work. Schools were closed, and exercise regimens were suspended. Courts were not in session, so no justice was administered, and no declaration of war could be made.[15]
After the public rituals, observances continued at home.[16] On 18 and 19 December, which were also holidays from public business, families conducted domestic rituals. They bathed early, and those with means sacrificed a suckling pig, a traditional offering to an earth deity.[17]
Io Saturnalia[edit]
The phrase io Saturnalia was the characteristic shout or salutation of the festival, originally commencing after the public banquet on the single day of 17 December.[18] The interjection io (Greek ἰώ, ǐō) is pronounced either with two syllables (a short i and a long o) or as a single syllable (with the i becoming the Latin consonantal j and pronounced yō). It was a strongly emotive ritual exclamation or invocation, used for instance in announcing triumph or celebrating Bacchus, but also to punctuate a joke.[19]
Private festivities[edit]
"Meanwhile the head of the slave household, whose responsibility it was to offer sacrifice to the Penates, to manage the provisions and to direct the activities of the domestic servants, came to tell his master that the household had feasted according to the annual ritual custom. For at this festival, in houses that keep to proper religious usage, they first of all honor the slaves with a dinner prepared as if for the master; and only afterwards is the table set again for the head of the household. So, then, the chief slave came in to announce the time of dinner and to summon the masters to the table."[20]
Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.24.22–23
Saturnalia is the best-known of several festivals in the Greco-Roman world characterized by role reversals and behavioral license.[21] Slaves were treated to a banquet of the kind usually enjoyed by their masters. Ancient sources differ on the circumstances: some suggest that master and slave dined together,[22] while others indicate that the slaves feasted first, or that the masters actually served the food. The practice might have varied over time,[23] and in any case slaves would still have prepared the meal.[citation needed]
Saturnalian license also permitted slaves to disrespect their masters without the threat of a punishment. It was a time for free speech: the Augustan poet Horace calls it "December liberty".[24] In two satires set during the Saturnalia, Horace has a slave offer sharp criticism to his master.[25] Everyone knew, however, that the leveling of the social hierarchy was temporary and had limits; no social norms were ultimately threatened, because the holiday would end.[26]
The toga, the characteristic garment of the male Roman citizen, was set aside in favor of the Greek synthesis, colourful "dinner clothes" otherwise considered in poor taste for daytime wear.[27] Romans of citizen status normally went about bare-headed, but for the Saturnalia donned the pilleus, the conical felt cap that was the usual mark of a freedman. Slaves, who ordinarily were not entitled to wear the pilleus, wore it as well, so that everyone was "pilleated" without distinction.[28]
The participation of freeborn Roman women is implied by sources that name gifts for women, but their presence at banquets may have depended on the custom of their time; from the late Republic onward, women mingled socially with men more freely than they had in earlier times. Female entertainers were certainly present at some otherwise all-male gatherings.[29]
Role-playing was implicit in the Saturnalia's status reversals, and there are hints of mask-wearing or "guising".[30] No theatrical events are mentioned in connection with the festivities, but the classicist Erich Segal saw Roman comedy, with its cast of impudent, free-wheeling slaves and libertine seniors, as imbued with the Saturnalian spirit.[31]
Dice players in a wall painting from Pompeii
Gambling and dice-playing, normally prohibited or at least frowned upon, were permitted for all, even slaves. Coins and nuts were the stakes. On the Calendar of Philocalus, the Saturnalia is represented by a man wearing a fur-trimmed coat next to a table with dice, and a caption reading: "Now you have license, slave, to game with your master."[32][33] Rampant overeating and drunkenness became the rule, and a sober person the exception.[34]
Seneca looked forward to the holiday, if somewhat tentatively, in a letter to a friend:
"It is now the month of December, when the greatest part of the city is in a bustle. Loose reins are given to public dissipation; everywhere you may hear the sound of great preparations, as if there were some real difference between the days devoted to Saturn and those for transacting business. … Were you here, I would willingly confer with you as to the plan of our conduct; whether we should eve in our usual way, or, to avoid singularity, both take a better supper and throw off the toga."[35]
Some Romans found it all a bit much. Pliny describes a secluded suite of rooms in his Laurentine villa, which he used as a retreat: "...especially during the Saturnalia when the rest of the house is noisy with the licence of the holiday and festive cries. This way I don't hamper the games of my people and they don't hinder my work or studies."[36]
Gift-giving[edit]
The Sigillaria on 19 December was a day of gift-giving.[37] Because gifts of value would mark social status contrary to the spirit of the season, these were often the pottery or wax figurines called sigillaria made specially for the day, candles, or "gag gifts", of which Augustus was particularly fond.[38] Children received toys as gifts.[39] In his many poems about the Saturnalia, Martial names both expensive and quite cheap gifts, including writing tablets, dice, knucklebones, moneyboxes, combs, toothpicks, a hat, a hunting knife, an axe, various lamps, balls, perfumes, pipes, a pig, a sausage, a parrot, tables, cups, spoons, items of clothing, statues, masks, books, and pets.[40] Gifts might be as costly as a slave or exotic animal,[41] but Martial suggests that token gifts of low intrinsic value inversely measure the high quality of a friendship.[42] Patrons or "bosses" might pass along a gratuity (sigillaricium) to their poorer clients or dependents to help them buy gifts. Some emperors were noted for their devoted observance of the Sigillaria.[43]
In a practice that might be compared to modern greeting cards, verses sometimes accompanied the gifts. Martial has a collection of poems written as if to be attached to gifts.[44] Catullus received a book of bad poems by "the worst poet of all time" as a joke from a friend.[45]
Gift-giving was not confined to the day of the Sigillaria. In some households, guests and family members received gifts after the feast in which slaves had shared.[46]
On the calendar[edit]
Drawing from the Calendar of Philocalus depicting the month of December, with Saturnalian dice on the table and a mask (oscilla) hanging above
As an observance of state religion, Saturnalia was supposed to have been held ante diem xvi Kalendas Ianuarias, sixteen days before the Kalends of January, on the oldest Roman religious calendar,[47] which the Romans believed to have been established by the legendary founder Romulus and his successor Numa Pompilius. It was a dies festus, a legal holiday when no public business could be conducted.[48] The day marked the dedication anniversary (dies natalis) of the Temple to Saturn in the Roman Forum in 497 BC.[49] When Julius Caesar had the calendar reformed because it had fallen out of synchronization with the solar year, two days were added to the month, and Saturnalia fell on 17 December. It was felt, however, that the original day had thus been moved by two days, and so Saturnalia was celebrated under Augustus as a three-day official holiday encompassing both dates.[50]
By the late Republic, the private festivities of Saturnalia had expanded to seven days,[51] but during the Imperial period contracted variously to three to five days.[52] Caligula extended official observances to five.[53]
The date 17 December was the first day of the astrological sign Capricorn, the house of Saturn, the planet named for the god.[54] Its proximity to the winter solstice (21 to 23 December on the Julian calendar[when?]) was endowed with various meanings by both ancient and modern scholars: for instance, the widespread use of wax candles (cerei, singular cereus) could refer to "the returning power of the sun's light after the solstice".[55]
Historical context[edit]
Saturnalia underwent a major reform in 217 BC, after the Battle of Lake Trasimene, when the Romans suffered one of their most crushing defeats by Carthage during the Second Punic War. Until that time, they had celebrated the holiday according to Roman custom (more Romano). It was after a consultation of the Sibylline books that they adopted "Greek rite", introducing sacrifices carried out in the Greek manner, the public banquet, and the continual shouts of io Saturnalia that became characteristic of the celebration.[56] Cato the Elder (234–149 BC) remembered a time before the so-called "Greek" elements had been added to the Roman Saturnalia.[57]
It was not unusual for the Romans to offer cult (cultus) to the deities of other nations in the hope of redirecting their favor (see evocatio), and the Second Punic War in particular created pressures on Roman society that led to a number of religious innovations and reforms.[58] Robert Palmer has argued that the introduction of new rites at this time was in part an effort to appease Ba'al Hammon, the Carthaginian god who was regarded as the counterpart of the Roman Saturn and Greek Cronus.[59] The table service that masters offered their slaves thus would have extended to Carthaginian or African war captives.[60]
King of the Saturnalia[edit]
Ave, Caesar! Io, Saturnalia! (1880) by Lawrence Alma-Tadema, with the Praetorian Guard hailing Claudius (veiling himself in a curtain) as the new emperor after the assassination of Caligula[61]
Imperial sources refer to a Saturnalicius princeps who ruled as master of ceremonies for the proceedings. He was appointed by lot, and has been compared to the medieval Lord of Misrule at the Feast of Fools. His capricious commands, such as "Sing naked!" or "Throw him into cold water!", had to be obeyed by the other guests at the convivium: he creates and (mis)rules a chaotic and absurd world. The future emperor Nero is recorded as playing the role in his youth.[62]
Since this figure does not appear in accounts from the Republican period, the princeps of the Saturnalia may have developed as a satiric response to the new era of rule by a princeps, the title assumed by the first emperor Augustus to avoid the hated connotations of the word "king" (rex). Art and literature under Augustus celebrated his reign as a new Golden Age, but the Saturnalia makes a mockery of a world in which law is determined by one man and the traditional social and political networks are reduced to the power of the emperor over his subjects.[63] In a poem about a lavish Saturnalia under Domitian, Statius makes it clear that the emperor, like Jupiter, reigns a temporary term, until the return of Saturn.[64]
Theological and philosophical views[edit]
Saturn driving a four-horse chariot (quadriga) on the reverse of a denarius issued in 104 BC by the plebeian tribune Saturninus, with the head of the goddess Roma on the obverse: Saturninus was a popularist politician whose Saturnian imagery played on his name and evoked both his program of grain distribution to aid the poor and his intent to subvert the social hierarchy.[65]
The Saturnalia reflects the contradictory nature of the deity Saturn himself: "There are joyful and utopian aspects of careless well-being side by side with disquieting elements of threat and danger."[66]
As a deity of agricultural bounty, Saturn embodied prosperity and wealth in general. The name of his consort Ops meant "wealth, resources". Her festival, Opalia, was celebrated on 19 December. The Temple of Saturn housed the state treasury (aerarium Saturni) and was the administrative headquarters of the quaestors, the public officials whose duties included oversight of the mint. It was among the oldest cult sites in Rome, and had been the location of "a very ancient" altar (ara) even before the building of the first temple in 497 BC.[67]
The Romans regarded Saturn as the original and autochthonous ruler of the Capitolium,[68] and the first king of Latium or even the whole of Italy.[69] At the same time, there was a tradition that Saturn had been an immigrant deity, received by Janus after he was usurped by his son Jupiter (Zeus) and expelled from Greece.[70] His contradictions—a foreigner with one of Rome's oldest sanctuaries, and a god of liberation who is kept in fetters most of the year—indicate Saturn's capacity for obliterating social distinctions.[71]
Roman mythology of the Golden Age of Saturn's reign differed from the Greek tradition. He arrived in Italy "dethroned and fugitive",[72] but brought agriculture and civilization and became a king. As the Augustan poet Vergil described it:
"[H]e gathered together the unruly race [of fauns and nymphs] scattered over mountain heights, and gave them laws … . Under his reign were the golden ages men tell of: in such perfect peace he ruled the nations."[73]
Munera[edit]
Saturn also had a less benevolent aspect. Another of his consorts was Lua, sometimes called Lua Saturni ("Saturn's Lua") and identified with Lua Mater, "Mother Destruction", a goddess in whose honor the weapons of enemies killed in war were burned, perhaps in expiation.[74] Saturn's chthonic nature connected him to the underworld and its ruler Dis Pater, the Roman equivalent of Greek Plouton (Pluto in Latin) who was also a god of hidden wealth.[75] In sources of the third century AD and later, Saturn is recorded as receiving dead gladiators as offerings (munera) during or near the Saturnalia.[76] These gladiator events, ten days in all throughout December, were presented mainly by the quaestors and sponsored with funds from the treasury of Saturn.[77] The practice of gladiator munera was criticized by Christian apologists as a form of human sacrifice.[78] Although there is no evidence of this practice during the Republic, the offering of gladiators led to later theories that the primeval Saturn had demanded human victims. Macrobius says that Dis Pater was placated with human heads and Saturn with sacrificial victims consisting of men (virorum victimis).[79] During the visit of Hercules to Italy, the civilizing demigod insisted that the practice be halted and the ritual reinterpreted. Instead of heads to Dis Pater, the Romans were to offer effigies or masks (oscilla); a mask appears in the representation of Saturnalia in the Calendar of Filocalus. Since the Greek word phota meant both vir (man) and lumina (lights), candles were a substitute offering to Saturn for the light of life.[80] The figurines that were exchanged as gifts (sigillaria) may also have represented token substitutes.[81]
In The Golden Bough, J.G. Frazer interpreted an incident from the Acts of Saint Dasius, an early martyrological text, as indicative of human sacrifice in connection with the Saturnalia. Dasius was a Christian soldier who refused to play the part of the King of the Saturnalia when it was allotted to him, and for his refusal was killed. From this anecdote, Frazer surmises that the King of the Saturnalia was originally a scapegoat victim who was killed as a human sacrifice to Saturn at the end of his festival.[82] Since the role of the "king" is not attested before the Imperial period, this interpretation is not generally accepted by modern specialists of Roman religion. The martyrdom of Dasius took place at Durostorum in the province of Moesia Inferior on 20 November 303 AD, the anniversary of Diocletian's accession as emperor (dies imperii) and nearly a month before the date of the communal sacrifice for the Saturnalia (December 17).[83] The execution occurred more broadly in the context of general harassment of Christians in the Roman military during the Diocletianic Persecution, the edict for which had been issued in February of that year, and only after Dasius refused to venerate Imperial icons.[84] K.M. Coleman regards the martyrdom of Dasius as an enactment of scapegoat ritual, but likens it to the ritualized executions that took place as mythological scenarios in the arena, with the costuming and role of the Christian meant to enhance the purposes of retributive justice and the restoration of the pax deorum.[85] As an element of martyr narrative, the torture of the mock "king" may recall the mocking of Jesus of Nazareth by Roman soldiers in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew.[86]
Other ancient interpretations[edit]
Roman disc in silver depicting Sol Invictus (from Pessinus in Phrygia, 3rd century AD)
The Neoplatonic philosopher Porphyry took an allegorical view of the Saturnalia. He saw the festival's theme of liberation and dissolution as representing the "freeing of souls into immortality"—an interpretation that Mithraists may also have followed, since they included many slaves and freedmen.[87] According to Porphyry, the Saturnalia occurred near the winter solstice because the sun enters Capricorn, the astrological house of Saturn, at that time.[88] In the Saturnalia of Macrobius, the proximity of the Saturnalia to the winter solstice leads to an exposition of solar monotheism,[89] the belief that the Sun (see Sol Invictus) ultimately encompasses all divinities as one. Perceived relations among the Mithraic mysteries, the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (the "Birthday of the Unconquered Sun") on December 23, and the Christian Nativity as celebrated on December 25 are a matter of long-standing and complex scholarly debate.[citation needed]
The Mishna and Talmud (Avodah Zara 8a) describe a pagan festival called Saturna which occurs for eight days before the winter solstice. It is followed for eight days after the solstice with a festival called Kalenda culminating with the Kalends of January. The Talmud ascribes the origins of this festival to Adam, who saw that the days were getting shorter and thought it was punishment for his sin. He was afraid that the world was returning to the chaos and emptiness that existed before creation. He sat and fasted for eight days. Once he saw that the days were getting longer again he realized that this was the natural cycle of the world, so made eight days of celebration. The Talmud states that this festival was later turned into a pagan festival.[90][91]
Influence[edit]
Saturnalia by Ernesto Biondi (1909), in the Buenos Aires Botanical Gardens
Unlike several Roman religious festivals which were particular to cult sites in the city, the prolonged seasonal celebration of Saturnalia at home could be held anywhere in the Empire.[92] Saturnalia continued as a secular celebration long after it was removed from the official calendar.[93] As William Warde Fowler noted: "[Saturnalia] has left its traces and found its parallels in great numbers of medieval and modern customs, occurring about the time of the winter solstice."[94]
Some modern British Christmas customs bear similarities to traditions associated with the Saturnalia.[95] The custom of gift giving at Christmas time resembles the Roman tradition of giving sigillaria[95] and the lighting of Advent candles resembles the Roman tradition of lighting torches and wax tapers.[95] Likewise, Saturnalia and Christmas both share associations with eating, drinking, singing, dancing, and gambling.[95]
*Because it's always been done that way* - www.jeffbridges.com/because.html