Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

  

The CBS Building was built in 1961-64 as the headquarters for one of America's three historic radio and television networks. The last completed work designed by architect Eero Saarinen, it is one of New York's premier post-World-War-II-era skyscrapers and one of the country's great works of modern architecture. Saarinen's goal was to build what he called "the simplest skyscraper in New York." At the height of the popularity of the steel-cage office building, Saarinen designed the CBS Building as New York's first postwar reinforced concrete skyscraper. The 38-story tower is sheathed in dark gray granite, with gray-tinted vision glass - earning the building the sobriquet "Black Rock." When seen directly, the tower's bays appear open, with relatively narrow granite piers alternating with relatively narrow window bays of single sheets of plate glass, but when viewed from afar and necessarily at an angle, the V-shape of the piers effectively eclipses the view of the glass, creating the effect of a gray granite slab.

 

The austerity of the tower derives in part from its dark gray color and the almost complete absence of interruptions in the facades. Saarinen placed the main entrances on West 52nd and West 53rd Streets, rather than on Sixth Avenue, creating the effect of an absolutely pure granite slab on Sixth Avenue. Ground floor commercial uses are set behind the gray glass, making them barely visible from outside. Eero Saarinen died suddenly in 1961, leaving to his office the task of supervising the construction of the CBS

 

Building. Kevin Roche and John Dinkeioo, among others, oversaw the completion of the project from 1961 to 1964. The building remains the corporate headquarters of CBS.

 

DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS

 

William S. Paley and the Columbia Broadcasting System2

 

CBS traces its origins to the United Independent Broadcasters, a fledgling radio station network that was an early rival to NBC (the National Broadcasting Company), the network created by RCA's David Sarnoff. UIB incorporated in 1927, and, following its purchase later that year by the Columbia Phonograph Company, changed its name to the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System, making its radio debut on September 18. When Columbia, unenthusiastic about future prospects, sold back the broadcasting rights to UIB's owners a few months later, the sale included permission to use the "Columbia" name — hence the "Columbia Broadcasting System.7' In 1928, William S. Paley, connected by marriage to one of the company's owners, used half a million dollars from his portion of the proceeds from the sale of his family's Congress Cigar business to buy a 51 percent interest in the network. He took the title of president, and proceeded over the next half century to build CBS into one of the nation's major media conglomerates.

 

CBS's chief rival for its first several decades of existence remained the much larger NBC.3 RCA's Sarnoff initially saw NBC as a free service intended to encourage the purchase of RCA-manufactured radios. Paley, with only radio programming to sell, focused on the promotion of radio advertising and the creation of saleable programs. By the end of 1928, CBS had 47 affiliates. Highlights of CBS's growth over the following years, from tiny upstart to major network, include the creation of CBS's news department; experiments in television broadcasting as early as 1931 (the first regularly scheduled in the nation, even though almost no one could watch); putting the young Bing Crosby on the radio in 1932, opposite NBC's Amos 'n Andy; broadcasting the School of the Air to some six million children starting in 1934; initiating the Lux Radio Theater in 1935, with Helen Hayes in its first offering; in 1936 bringing the popular Major Bowes' amateur hour to the radio, as well as comedians Bums and Allen, Eddie Cantor, and Ed Wynn, while at the same time inaugurating the Columbia Workshop for serious drama, including the works of W.H. Auden, Stephen Vincent Benet, Maxwell Anderson and Edna St. Vincent Millay; and the infamous 1938 broadcast of Orson Welles' production, "War of the Worlds." During World War II, CBS emerged as a major news broadcaster, led by foreign correspondents William L. Shirer and

 

Edward R. Murrow, with Charles Collingwood reporting on D-day from the Normandy beaches.

 

After the war ended, William S. Paley became chairman of the board, while his protege Frank Stanton became president. CBS moved into television, broadcasting Arthur Godfrey, Ed Sullivan, I Love Lucy, and Walter Cronkite's series You Are There. In 1951, the CBS "eye" was developed as the network's television trademark. By the late 1950s, three decades after its founding, CBS had become firmly ensconced as a national institution. In 1966, the year following CBS's move into the new tower at 51 West 52nd Street, the corporation had over 17,000 employees, earned $64.1 million, and had net sales of over $800 million.

 

As early as 1929, while still in UIB's old offices in the Paramount Building, CBS had acquired Steinway Hall on West 57th Street for concert broadcasts.

 

Later that year, Paley arranged the move to offices at 485 Madison Avenue. As early as 1935, CBS planned a new headquarters to designs by prominent modem architect William Lescaze, but it was never built. ^By the late 1950s, however, a diversifying CBS had grown enormously, acquiring interests in record manufacturing, television sets, musical instruments, publishing and a talent agency. The network invested in theatrical productions, and for a time owned the New York Yankees baseball team. CBS operations occupied space in a number of buildings scattered around Manhattan. Paley decided that the company's rented space on Madison Avenue was neither adequate to the network's needs nor helpful to its image, and determined to build a new headquarters that could compete in architectural prestige with NBC's headquarters at Rockefeller Center. In his words: "I think we were . . . determined that if we went ahead on our own building for CBS, it would have to be of the highest aesthetic quality obtainable."4

 

Paley thought Park Avenue had "too cold a feeling," and considered Madison Avenue "too narrow to display good architecture." Nothing was available on Fifth Avenue. He found a site on the east side of Sixth Avenue between West 52nd and West 53rd Streets, just two blocks west of the network's old Madison Avenue headquarters, and a few blocks north of NBC, in an area Paley characterized as "emerging as the newest important business area in midtown."5 CBS bought the site in 1960, and hired Eero Saarinen, one of the most prestigious and best-known modem architects of the

 

day, to design the building. To PaJey, "not only was he one of this country's outstanding architects, he was also a creative artist in the deepest sense, and he won us over by the force of his personality, imagination and practicality."6

 

Eero Saarinen Associates

 

The American saga of the remarkable Saarinen family is framed by two skyscrapers, the Chicago Tribune Tower and the CBS Building. Eliel Saarinen's second-prize entry in the Chicago Tribune Tower competition of 1922 had enormous influence on subsequent skyscraper design; its critical American success helped convince the Finnish architect to bring his family, including his son Eero, to the United States. Eero Saarinen's CBS Building, the only skyscraper by either man to have been built, was completed only after its designer's untimely death, and has become recognized as one of the country's major monuments of modern skyscraper design.

 

A master architect of the mid-twentieth century, Eero Saarinen (1910-1961) was groomed from childhood to be a successful designer by his parents, textile artist Loja Gesellius Saarinen, and highly regarded international architect (Gottlieb) Eliel Saarinen (1873-1950). Eliel's early career is best remembered for his Helsinki Railroad Station (1904-c.1913, with Herman Gesellius) which successfully demonstrates his sympathies with the Arts and Crafts movement. The Saarinen family immigrated to the United States in 1923, but visited Finland annually. Eliel contributed significantly to the creation of the Cranbrook School and Academy of Art, a complex of children's schools and an advanced-level art academy, located at Bloomfield Hills, north of Detroit. Cranbrook was devoted to every field of design — textiles, metal work, architecture, and city planning. Eliel designed several buildings there, including the Cranbrook School for Boys (1924-30) and the Kingswood School for Girls (1929-30).

 

The latter project exemplifies the Arts and Crafts ideal of collaboration between the fine and applied arts: while Eliel oversaw all aspects of design, Loja designed and wove fabrics (in association with the Cranbrook Looms), Eero designed furniture, and his sister, Eva-Lisa, assisted with selecting wall and ceiling treatments.

 

During the early 1930s, Eero studied sculpture at the Parisian Academie de la Grand Chaumiere, completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the Beaux-A rts-oriented architecture program at Yale University, and toured Europe and Egypt on a travel fellowship, during which time he was influenced by the architecture of Erich Mendelsohn and Alvar Aalto — before joining his father's firm in 1936. Together, the Saarinens produced the much-praised Crow Island School (1939-40, with Perkins, Wheeler & Will) in Winnetka, Illinois. Eero entered many design competitions, and won several prizes. He collaborated with designer Charles O. Eames on the scheme for a molded plywood chair which won the Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition (1940-41), sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art. Recognized from that point on as an important furniture designer, Saarinen produced many designs for the Knoll furniture company, best represented by his Womb chair (1946-48) and Nos. 71 and 72 chair series (c.1956).

 

Eero Saarinen has been credited with developing the innovative "systems approach" to design; he carefully analyzed each problem, and usually relied on modern technology to find a unique form and structure to express a concept architecturally. As a result, each of his designs has a certain wholeness about it; he claimed to be concerned with the "esthetics of the whole organism" and sought an "expressive architecture, an antiassembly-Iine architecture," stating "each building should be as distinctive as each person should."8 The commission which firmly established his architectural career was the General Motors Technical Center (1945-56, with Smith, Hinchman & Grylls) in Warren, Michigan. Though the initial designs for the Center were begun in association with his father, the final scheme was largely Eero's.

 

The complex is ruled by its strictly modular design (structure, partitions, and mechanical systems are fully integrated) and features such technological innovations as neoprene window gaskets and walls of thin insulated panels sheathed in porcelainized sheet metal; the architect also added brightly colored brick surfaces and his signature element, a reflecting pool. During the GM project, the elder Saarinen died and Eero formed a successor firm', Eero Saarinen & Associates. An intensely devoted and methodical worker — he worked 365 days a year, according to his chief of design, Kevin Roche — Eero produced a number of buildings which have become American landmarks.

 

These include his Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (designed 1948, completed 1964), the famous parabolic arch in St. Louis, Missouri; the Kresge Auditorium and Chapel (1953-56, with Anderson & Beckwith), geometrically-derived enclosures highlighting different materials, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge; the David S. Ingalls Hockey Rink (1956-59), the undulating concrete roof of which expresses the exhilaration of a hockey game, at Yale University in New Haven; and two soaring reinforced concrete masterpieces associated with flight: the Trans World Airlines Flight Center9 (1956-62) at New York (now J.F.K.) International Airport — probably his most renowned design — and Dulles Airport (1958-62, with Ammann & Whitney) in Chantilly, Virginia. The last three commissions were completed after Saarinen's death in 1961, as was his other prominent New York project, the somber, granite-clad Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) Headquarters (1961-64) on Sixth Avenue between West 52nd and 53rd Streets.

 

Saarinen's buildings received extensive publicity in the press, and he was given several prestigious awards. Though many architects and architectural writers sympathetic to the International Style criticized Saarinen's work as lacking consistency, his oeuvre has withstood the test of time: by 1993, six of his designs had received the American Institute of Architects' 25-Year Award for "exemplifying] design of enduring significance." These include the Crow Island School, GM Technical Center, and Dulles Airport.10 Saarinen's successor firm, Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo Associates, founded by his colleagues, has been a significant force in American architecture during the second half of this century.

 

The CBS Building

 

Both Saarinen and Paley wanted a skyscraper that would differ from the established International Style of the 1950s represented by such New York towers as Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's Lever House and Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building." "After all," said Saarinen's widow Aline, "that's why they came to Eero and not to Skidmore."'

 

Saarinen experimented with models showing various possible shapes for the tower, ranging from the wedding-cake profile encouraged by then existing zoning laws to various square and rectangular towers rising from a plaza.13 Saarinen eventually settled on a rectangular tower, as he wrote to Paley in March of 1961:

 

I think I now have a really good scheme for C.B.S. The design is the simplest conceivable rectangular free-standing sheer tower. The vertically of the tower is emphasized by the relief made by the triangular piers between the windows. These piers start at the pavement and soar up 424 feet. Its beauty will be, I believe, that it will be the simplest skyscraper statement in New York.14 Paley later went out to Saarinen's office in Detroit to see a model, which he at first didn't like. On a second visit, however, Paley changed his mind: "I saw what I had first thought of as austerity really came through as strong, exquisite, ageless beauty. In July, 1961 I decided to go ahead with Saarinen."15

 

John Dinkeloo later said that Saarinen had been "especially excited about this design."16 In Saarinen's words: "I wanted a building that would be a soaring thing. I think Louis Sullivan was right to want the skyscraper to be a soaring thing. I wanted a building that would stand firmly on the ground and would grow straight up. Your eyes should be led up to comprehend a building as a whole thing."17

 

After Saarinen's sudden death, Paley met with chief designer Kevin Roche, and decided to continue with the firm. Paley was an actively involved client. In the words of a contemporary critic, Eric Larrabee: "Where CBS left off and Saarinen began is now difficult to determine, especially since he was the kind of architect . . . who . . . cared less who got credit for an idea than whether his own ideas prevailed."18 Of the building's completion, Paley wrote; "Participating in the creation of Black Rock was one of the great sources of satisfaction of my life."19

 

The premise of Saarinen's design, a freestanding tower in a plaza, was bound up in changes then being proposed to New York City's zoning laws. The 1916 zoning ordinance, in effect until 1961, had encouraged progressively set-back towers. The new ordinance encouraged tall towers set back in plazas. Saarinen met with the architects and planners working out the new zoning proposal, including Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and James Felt of the New York City Planning Commission, to explain the economics of his tower. CBS wasn't just one of the first towers to be built under the new zoning; Saarinen's designs and calculations for the tower actually helped shape the new regulations.20 In the words of New York Times architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable, the CBS Building "set the shape and standard for New York building today."21

 

Saarinen designed the CBS Building as New York's first postwar skyscraper built of reinforced concrete.22 Instead of an internal cage, from which to hang a seemingly weightless glass curtain wall, he designed exterior walls of triangular, weight-bearing concrete piers, which together with the interior service and elevator core support the building. By using the piers, he emphasized its verticality. Instead of a flat facade, Saarinen made the concrete piers in a three-dimensional projecting triangular V-shape, with the glass recessed behind them. And instead of creating a transparent glass, shiny steel, or aluminum facade, he sheathed the concrete piers in dark gray granite, and filled in the intervening window bays with gray-tinted vision glass. Instead of the illusion of a glass box, he created the illusion of a slab of dark granite — earning the building the sobriquet "Black Rock."

 

The five-foot widths of piers and window bays tied into the modular design of the entire structure. Each entrance on West 52nd and 53rd Street fit into one bay, and was planned with revolving doors, which required a minimum of five feet. Five-foot modules also met the needs of then standard office furniture arrangements.23 The precise dimensions of pier and window were carefully adjusted. Roche did a series of mock-ups of the proposed building in New Rochelle, New York, and Paley wrote he "must have gone out to New Rochelle at least thirty times to study the various mock-ups . . . when Roche, Stanton and I went out to look at [the mock-up], we realized that the difference between the window area and the column area was not right. Your eye could tell you that. We started then to change it. We got down to talking about a quarter of an inch or a sixteenth of an inch. We must have put up five or six different-sized mock-ups before we finally got it right."24

 

The use of dark gray granite was proposed by Saarinen, but the final selection was made by his successors. His widow suggested that Saarinen was thinking of executives in dark gray suits.25 Dinkeioo believed that dark stone projected strength better than glass.26 Saarinen himself wrote: "A dark building seemed more quiet and dignified and appropriate to this site."27 Paley recalls deciding in favor of true granite after rejecting a synthetic version, because "in the long run it would be worth it. The building would be built to last a hundred years. Granite would retain its beauty as long as the building stood." After examining granite from Africa, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, and the United States, they settled on Canadian Black granite from the Robitaille family quarry in Alma, Quebec.28

 

Saarinen's triangular piers and modular design created a three-dimensional study in architectural illusion. From directly across Sixth Avenue, for example, the tower's bays appear open, with five- foot-wide granite piers alternating with five-foot-wide window bays of single sheets of plate glass. When viewed from afar and necessarily at an angle, the V-shape of the piers effectively eclipses the view of the glass, creating the effect of a gray granite slab. The bays of any of the building's four sides thus appear to open directly in front of a viewer but appear to close up like a vertical Venetian blind to the right or left. As the viewer walks along the sidewalk, the bays appear to open and close in succession, rather like an accordion (as contemporary critics remarked). This optical effect was described by one contemporary writer as "trompe l'oeil,"29 and by another as "op-arch."30 Saarinen, describing the effect in motion, wrote: "We had learned the way a changing relief gives life to a facade."31

 

The austerity of the CBS Building derives in part from the almost complete absence of interruptions in the facades. There are no setbacks. The main entrances on the side streets are through doors set discreetly within bays and integrated into the facade's design. Saarinen created the effect of a pure glass and granite slab on Sixth Avenue. The commercial spaces at the ground floor, set behind gray glass, are rendered practically invisible from outside, with very discreet signage.32

 

Though he put the CBS Building in a sunken plaza, Saarinen tried in some measure to respect the street wall of Sixth Avenue, keeping the plaza small and siting the tower a little off-center. In the architect's words:

 

We tried to place the building on the site so that we could have a plaza and still not destroy the street line. A tower should not be tied in with lower street buildings. It should stand alone with air and light around it. A plaza is a very necessary thing in a city. It lets people sit in the sun and look at the sky. A plaza allows a building to be seen. Our buildings should be seen, because they are monuments of our time. But ... we have to remember the street line and we have to remember the space between is as important as the towers. These arrangements should be orderly and beautiful.33

 

Critical Reaction

 

CBS staff started moving into the new building at the end of 1964.34 That same year, the Architectural League of New York cited the building as one of eight recent CBS projects across the country built to high architectural standards, and

 

awarded a medal to CBS president Frank Stanton for "significant contributions and effective encouragement of the role of the arts in business and industry."35 Reporting on the award, the New York Times wrote: "Seeking to promote its corporate image, Columbia insisted on high architectural standards and employed some of the country's leading architects to achieve them."36

 

The following year, CBS won a Bronze Plaque from New York's Municipal Art Society for "an outstanding example of architecture befitting the city of New York." Stanton, accepting the award, explained: "The things we build should be beautiful for no better reason than man has created them as part of his work and places them beside the creation of nature as part of his life. The only goal for men who build should be to make nothing that is less than beautiful. In planning for the building, the one controlling idea from the outset was that we wanted a building actively, insistently, inexorably on the cutting edge in the evolution of the skyscraper."37

 

Critical reaction has varied somewhat, but the CBS Building has been generally accepted as one of New York's premier post-World-War-II-era skyscrapers and one of the country's great works of modern architecture. Even before its completion, the Times wrote that, "if buildings were rated like television programs, the Columbia Broadcasting System would have a new hit."38

 

The CBS Building represented a departure from the International Style, and some critics didn't understand that. Some thought that the building's piers did not explicitly express their function — an important concept in International Style design — because they didn't narrow towards the top (where they supported less weight than at the bottom).39 Yet others praised the piers as "directly expressed from plaza to sky, rather than concealed behind curtain walls as in neighboring office buildings."40 Similarly, Saarinen's biographer, Allan Temko, writing in 1962, faulted the tower for not growing "visually more open and light as it rises," and commented that though it had a plaza, the plaza was "scarcely more than a protective border for the freestanding tower, and is in no sense a real civic space."41 Temko opined that if Saarinen had had the opportunity to design additional skyscrapers, they would have overcome such weaknesses, making his untimely death "one of the cultural disasters of modern times."

 

Critic Bethami Probst, unhappy that the tower didn't "soar," compared it unfavorably with the Seagram Building ("If Seagram is the Rolls Royce of recent skyscrapers, CBS must be content with

 

being in the Bentley class (which is by no means bad)"). Nevertheless, in the critic's final judgment, "CBS is a building to be reckoned with, a powerful, brooding presence."43

 

David Jacobs described the impact of the opening-closing facades on a "fascinated" public: "They stroll back and forth, walk slowly then quickly, back and forth again, playing peek-a-boo." Though he found the CBS Building "impersonal and forbidding, and from close by, downright overwhelming," he noted that European cathedrals were overwhelming too, and he judged the building "a marvelous contribution to the city of New York, a splendid monument to the business of communications and the art of architecture."43

 

Ada Louise Huxtable, writing in 1966, thought the public was less favorable to the building than the critics: "The dark dignity that appeals to architectural sophisticates puts off the public, which tends to reject it as funereal," ascribing this fault to the corruption of "the public eye" which "takes bright and shiny as synonymous with new and good." Huxtable herself judged CBS "a building, in the true, classic sense: a complete design in which technology, function and esthetics are conceived and executed integrally for its purpose." She faulted the building's interior for being out of character with the exterior (it was not designed by Saarinen or his successor firm), but ultimately found the CBS Building a "first-rate work of architecture" and "an extraordinarily impressive structure."44

 

Description

 

The CBS Building is a freestanding, 38-story reinforced-concrete tower, sheathed in dark gray granite and gray-tinted vision glass, rising straight up 490 feet without setbacks. The tower, with a 135-foot by 160-foot footprint, is placed within a sunken plaza that occupies the entire western end of the block bounded by Fifth and Sixth Avenues and West 52nd and 53rd Streets on a site that is 200 feet-10 inches by 216 feet-10 inches. The tower occupies approximately 60 percent of the plaza's area and is set slightly towards the east. The plaza is set five steps (approximately three and a half feet) below the sidewalk level at Sixth Avenue, six steps below on West 52nd Street, seven steps below on West 53rd Street, and slopes downward to the east.

 

The building is rectangular in plan, with twelve bays on the eastern and western facades and fifteen bays on the wider northern and southern facades. Each facade is composed of five-foot-wide piers faced in "Canadian Black" granite flanking large, five-foot-wide panes of glass framed in bronze-

 

finished aluminum. The windows are 19 feet-10 inches high on the ground floor above bronze-finished aluminum sills, and nine feet high on the upper floors. At the first level above the ground floor, instead of glass the bays contain grilles.

 

The profile of each pier is a projecting triangular or V-shape; at each of the building's four corners the "V"s meet to form double-width piers, creating the effect of chamfered corners. Ground floor commercial uses behind gray glass are rendered practically invisible from outside.

 

There is no entrance to the CBS Building on Sixth Avenue. The building has fourteen ground floor entrances, seven on both West 52nd and West 53rd Streets. The entrances, containing three door types, are fitted unobtrusively into the narrow bays.

 

The entrances in the seven central bays on the West 52nd Street side are arranged as follows from west to east: 1) A single-door entry, flanked by sidelights, providing entrance to the commercial space; above it is a simple, modestly projecting light box. 2) A double-door entry with a simple, modestly projecting light box above. 3, 4, 5) Each has a revolving door with a simple, modestly projecting light box above with the raised letters "CBS." 6) A double-door entry with a simple, modestly projecting light box above. 7) A double-door entry with a simple, modestly projecting light box above, serving as entrance to a restaurant; there is a second simple, modestly projecting light box above, at the top of the bay. Discreet lettering on several windows identifies the restaurant. The single doors, double doors, revolving doors and their housings, and projecting light boxes are all of the same bronze-finished aluminum.

 

There are seven entrances and one window bay in the central bays on the West 53rd Street side, arranged as follows from west to east: 1) A double-door entry to the commercial space, with a simple, modestly projecting light box. 2) A double-door entry with a simple, modestly projecting light box above. 3, 4, 5) Revolving-door entrances with simple, modestly projecting light boxes above with the raised letters "CBS." 6) A double-door entry with a simple, modestly projecting light box above. 7) A window of the restaurant, with a simple, modestly projecting light box above it and

 

an additional simple, modestly projecting light box at the top of the bay. 8) A double-door entrance to the restaurant, with an angled projecting marquee with backlit letters indicating the restaurant's name, "China Grill."

 

The material of the doors and light boxes is the same as that used on West 52nd Street.

 

At the east elevation, the ground floor bays are as follows from south to north: 1, 2, 3) Glass windows. 4, 5, 6) Bronze-finished aluminum with a double door. 7) Bronze-finished aluminum with a grille. 8) Bronze-finished aluminum. 9) A glass double door, with bronze-finished aluminum above. 10,11,12) Glass windows for the restaurant. There are simple, modestly projecting light boxes in the 2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th bays.

 

The plaza is paved in a gray granite slightly lighter than that on the building's piers. The plaza is sunken below street level, forming a gray granite retaining wall with parapets and vertical slits on the inside faces. Wide steps lead down to the plaza from each street side; a narrower staircase with eight steps leads down to the plaza from the east.

 

Each set of steps has two freestanding bronze-finished aluminum railings. A ramp (not original) with a dark bronze-finished aluminum handrail has been added to the steps from West 52nd Street. The ends of the parapets above the retaining walls have polished bronze letters and numerals (replacements of the original) flanking the steps: "CBS" on Sixth Avenue, "51" for the address on West 52nd Street, and "52" for the address on West 53rd Street.

 

Planters with trees have been placed in the plaza, planters with bushes have been placed on the parapets of the retaining wall. At the eastern end of the plaza, the retaining wall has been enlarged, and includes a wheelchair-access ramp (a later addition), and a staircase leading down to a "messenger entrance." A portion of the tax lot has been excluded from the Landmark Site and has been re-landscaped as part of the plaza for the adjacent building to the east.

 

- From the 1997 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report

I'm looking to take these images (potentially) through another stage of production. It felt good, in a way, to photograph something with such simplicity and at a less hasty and more methodical pace. It doesn't hurt to try something different whenever possible!

Year 2088.

A revolutionary leap in advanced rocket propulsion had shattered old frontiers. Humanity, no longer bound by the confines of the Solar System, began reaching outward—toward the stars. The great powers turned their gaze to neighboring systems, launching expeditions with relentless ambition.

 

The Russian nuclear space fleet advanced methodically, planetoid by planetoid, laying down autonomous research outposts like breadcrumbs across the void. Each mission, another step into the unknown.

 

Sergey was just another crew member—an astronaut trained more by circumstance than destiny. He and a small team had been deployed to a nameless, rock-strewn world. It didn’t even earn the dignity of a name, only a five-character alphanumeric code. But it had an atmosphere—and in deep space, that alone was enough to warrant interest.

 

Above him, the sky ignited with the light of departing ships—bright arcs carving through the dark as the fleet accelerated toward the next target. Sergey trudged across the desolate stone wastes, unaware that just beneath his boots, something ancient and alive stirred.

 

Unaware that fate had chosen him—a quiet man from Bryansk—for a moment that would forever divide human history into two eras: Before Contact… and After.

on Instagram instagr.am/p/Rj9KfhgovI/

Saturday, February 11, 2012.Recap: No. 15 C'Town 87, No. 19 WC 69.By Brendan Hall..CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- At this time last year, Charlestown made the trek West, down Route 146, to deliver a haymaker to a Whitinsville Christian squad considered the state's tallest lineup. ..This afternoon, the Crusaders came East to Bunker Hill, with a different look for the Townies -- smaller, quicker, more surgical -- and the result was very nearly a different outcome. The Crusaders hung with Charlestown through three quarters, before the Townies pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Whitinsville 31-14 in the final frame en route to an 87-69 victory. .."That team's very good, I thought that was the best shooting team we saw," Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso said. "They're very well balanced, with a real good point guard, big man, two-guard, so I knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. I told the guys, 'You're going to see a team like this in the state tournament, eventually down the line." ..The Townies (14-3), played just seven due to health (Jawhari Dawan-Abdullah, stomach bug) and off the court issues (Gary Braham, suspension). But they saw all five of their regular starters reach double-figures, with senior point guard Rony Fernandez (26 points, four assists) leading the way. Senior forward Tyrik Jackson (12 points, 13 rebounds) came up big on the glass again, while Tyrese Hoxter (16 points, seven assists), Omar Orriols (13 points) and Iser Barnes (12) contributed some big shots from the perimeter to keep the defense stretched out. ..But early on, the Crusaders (12-2) gave them fits with the methodical way they broke through the Townie's 2-3 zone with some of the most disciplined and precise ball movement they'd seen in a while. Junior point guard Colin Richey (23 points) funneled the offense down to the baseline, finding a player planted right in the heart of the zone and kicking to either the baseline or either wing. ..Whitinsville shot nearly 40 percent from the field, getting good looks from the short side from Tyler VandenAkker (12 points, eight rebounds) and Jesse Dykstra. Grant Brown (10 points) came up with some big shots from the perimeter as well. .."We decided to extend a little bit more on the short corner, because they hit about four shots in a row from the short corner," Cardoso said. "We also decided to have the opposite guard extend even more on shooter No. 2 (Tim Dufficey). So we made some extensions in the second half, did a little better job -- not a great job, but it helped us get the victory." ..To start the fourth quarter, Barnes completed a 6-0 run by ripping the ball out of his defender's hands at midcourt and landing a breakaway layup. A few possessions later, Hoxter found Jackson underneath the rim for an easy tip-in and 68-59 advantage. ..Then with 1:37 to go, sophomore Taris Wilson hit the first of two monster breakaway slams, this one making it 76-63 to essentially put the game in hand. ..Hot from the field: The Townies outrebounded the Crusaders 16-7 in the final frame, giving way to many key transition points that helped ice the lead and the win. From the glass, WC still held a slim 35-33 advantage. ..But down at the other end, the Townies had a terrific night from the field, shooting nearly 58 percent overall. That was aided by a 7-for-17 effort from three-point range, including three 3's each from Fernandez and Orriols. ..Praise for Richey: Last season, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was throwing around high praise for the then-sophomore Richey, calling him "a suburban kid that plays urban". ..Consider Cardoso another Boston City League coach that's a fan. .."He's tough," Cardoso said. "He's one of the toughest guards coming out of his league, and I think he's going give a lot of teams problems in the state tournament, because how do you stop a kid like that?" ..Turning point? Following last season's loss to Charlestown in its home gym, WC coach Jeff Bajema greeted his players in the locker room and told them, "Guys, we can win states." ..Sure enough, the Crusaders never lost another game the rest of the way, picking up their first Division 3 state title since 2005 at the DCU Center in Worcester. After that game, Bajema spoke to reporters about how much the whitewashing by Charlestown seasoned them for what to expect in the state tournament. ..Given how much more competitive the Crusaders were this time around, could this be seen as another momentum shift? .."Hopefully, a game like this will lead us to better things," Bajema said. "But we've got a tough one Tuesday (against Holy Name), so we'll see."

 

Shot at ISO 1600, Aperture of 3.2, Shutter speed of 1/320 and Focal Length of 35.0 mm

Taken with a 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM lens and processed by Aperture 3.2.2 on Saturday February-11-2012 16:49 EST PM

Saturday, February 11, 2012.Recap: No. 15 C'Town 87, No. 19 WC 69.By Brendan Hall..CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- At this time last year, Charlestown made the trek West, down Route 146, to deliver a haymaker to a Whitinsville Christian squad considered the state's tallest lineup. ..This afternoon, the Crusaders came East to Bunker Hill, with a different look for the Townies -- smaller, quicker, more surgical -- and the result was very nearly a different outcome. The Crusaders hung with Charlestown through three quarters, before the Townies pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Whitinsville 31-14 in the final frame en route to an 87-69 victory. .."That team's very good, I thought that was the best shooting team we saw," Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso said. "They're very well balanced, with a real good point guard, big man, two-guard, so I knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. I told the guys, 'You're going to see a team like this in the state tournament, eventually down the line." ..The Townies (14-3), played just seven due to health (Jawhari Dawan-Abdullah, stomach bug) and off the court issues (Gary Braham, suspension). But they saw all five of their regular starters reach double-figures, with senior point guard Rony Fernandez (26 points, four assists) leading the way. Senior forward Tyrik Jackson (12 points, 13 rebounds) came up big on the glass again, while Tyrese Hoxter (16 points, seven assists), Omar Orriols (13 points) and Iser Barnes (12) contributed some big shots from the perimeter to keep the defense stretched out. ..But early on, the Crusaders (12-2) gave them fits with the methodical way they broke through the Townie's 2-3 zone with some of the most disciplined and precise ball movement they'd seen in a while. Junior point guard Colin Richey (23 points) funneled the offense down to the baseline, finding a player planted right in the heart of the zone and kicking to either the baseline or either wing. ..Whitinsville shot nearly 40 percent from the field, getting good looks from the short side from Tyler VandenAkker (12 points, eight rebounds) and Jesse Dykstra. Grant Brown (10 points) came up with some big shots from the perimeter as well. .."We decided to extend a little bit more on the short corner, because they hit about four shots in a row from the short corner," Cardoso said. "We also decided to have the opposite guard extend even more on shooter No. 2 (Tim Dufficey). So we made some extensions in the second half, did a little better job -- not a great job, but it helped us get the victory." ..To start the fourth quarter, Barnes completed a 6-0 run by ripping the ball out of his defender's hands at midcourt and landing a breakaway layup. A few possessions later, Hoxter found Jackson underneath the rim for an easy tip-in and 68-59 advantage. ..Then with 1:37 to go, sophomore Taris Wilson hit the first of two monster breakaway slams, this one making it 76-63 to essentially put the game in hand. ..Hot from the field: The Townies outrebounded the Crusaders 16-7 in the final frame, giving way to many key transition points that helped ice the lead and the win. From the glass, WC still held a slim 35-33 advantage. ..But down at the other end, the Townies had a terrific night from the field, shooting nearly 58 percent overall. That was aided by a 7-for-17 effort from three-point range, including three 3's each from Fernandez and Orriols. ..Praise for Richey: Last season, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was throwing around high praise for the then-sophomore Richey, calling him "a suburban kid that plays urban". ..Consider Cardoso another Boston City League coach that's a fan. .."He's tough," Cardoso said. "He's one of the toughest guards coming out of his league, and I think he's going give a lot of teams problems in the state tournament, because how do you stop a kid like that?" ..Turning point? Following last season's loss to Charlestown in its home gym, WC coach Jeff Bajema greeted his players in the locker room and told them, "Guys, we can win states." ..Sure enough, the Crusaders never lost another game the rest of the way, picking up their first Division 3 state title since 2005 at the DCU Center in Worcester. After that game, Bajema spoke to reporters about how much the whitewashing by Charlestown seasoned them for what to expect in the state tournament. ..Given how much more competitive the Crusaders were this time around, could this be seen as another momentum shift? .."Hopefully, a game like this will lead us to better things," Bajema said. "But we've got a tough one Tuesday (against Holy Name), so we'll see."

 

Shot at ISO 1600, Aperture of 3.2, Shutter speed of 1/400 and Focal Length of 70.0 mm

Taken with a 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM lens and processed by Aperture 3.2.2 on Saturday February-11-2012 16:23 EST PM

www.phaselis.org/en/about/about-project

Phaselis Research

 

Phaselis

 

When compared with the previous period of research on the history of the city over the past quarter century it has undergone radical changes. While modern scientists follow the path of their predecessors in collecting data through systematic processes and methodically analysing them, they change the route whereby they approach the city as a context- and a process-oriented structure, having economic, social, cultural, political and environmental dimensions which come together at different levels.

 

This considerably more inclusive definition expands the discipline concerning the city’s historical research, which consists of archaeology, epigraphy, ancient history and the other ancillary sciences and it encourages scientists from the natural and health sciences to participate within these studies. This is because in the course of the exploration of an ancient settlement the study of both the environment and the ecological setting which make human life possible; together with health issues, such as diet and epidemics, form the context within which human beings live, and which are thereby as important as the human actors.

 

Within the context of the planned Phaselis Research, even certain knowledge such as the settlement’s appearing on the stage of history as a favorite break-point with its three natural harbours, it being famous for its roses, the frequent seismic upheavals at sea and on its shores and its citizens leaving their homes because of a devastating malaria epidemic suggest the necessity of the application of this multi-dimensional research methodology in order to understand more fully the historical adventure of this city.

 

By presenting this research project, we aim to implement and realize this multi-dimensional research method, which as yet lacks widespread application in the field in our country, however conceptually and practically with a multi-disciplinary research team consisting of both national and international scientists, we intend to register systematically every kind of data/information regarding all contexts of the city employing modern methods and to present the results to the scientific world in the form of regular reports and monographic studies, thus forming a strong tie between past and future research.

 

Phaselis Territorium

 

The boundaries of the ancient city of Phaselis’ territorium are today within the administrative borders of the township of Tekirova, in Kemer District, determined from the archaeological, epigraphic and historical-geographical evidence, reaching the Gökdere valley to the north, continue on a line drawn from Üç Adalar to Mount Tahtalı to the south and extend along the Çandır valley to the west.

 

Phaselis was discovered in 1811-1812 by Captain F. Beaufort during his work of charting the southern coastline of Asia Minor for the British Royal Navy. Beaufort drew Phaselis’ plan and in the course of conducting his cartographic studies, he saw the word Φασηλίτης ethnikon on the inscriptions and consequently identified these ruins with Phaselis. C. R. Cockerell, the English architect, archaeologist and author came to Phaselis by ship and met Beaufort there. Then in 1838 C. Fellows, the English archaeologist visited the city. He found the fragments of the dedicatory inscription over the monumental gate built in honour of the Emperor Hadrianus and mistakenly thought the Imperial Period main street was the stadion due to the seats-steps on either side of the street. In 1842 Lt. T. A. B. Spratt, the English hydrographer and geographer, and the Rev. E. Forbes, the naturalist came to Phaselis via the Olympos and Khimaira routes. Due to the fact that they all came by sea and they only stayed for a short time, their descriptions of the topography inland are without detailed and there are serious errors in orientation.

 

PhaselisThose researchers who visited Phaselis between the late 19th and the early 20th centuries concentrated primarily upon the discovery of inscriptions. In 1881-1882 while the Austrian archaeologist and the epigraphist O. Benndorf, the founder of the Austrian Archaeological Institute, and his team were conducting research in southwestern Asia Minor, they examined Phaselis. In the winter of 1883 and 1884 F. von Luschan from the Austrian team took the first photographs which provide information concerning the regional features of Phaselis’ shoreline. In the same year the French scientist V. Bérard also visited Phaselis. In 1892 the members of the Austrian research team, O. Benndorf, E. Kalinka and their colleagues continued their architectural, archaeological and epigraphical studies in Phaselis. In 1904 they were followed by D. G. Hogarth, R. Norton and A. W. van Buren from the British research team. In 1908 the Austrian classical philologist E. Kalinka visited the settlement again, collected epigraphic documents and conducted research on the history of city (published in TAM II in 1944). The Italian researchers R. Paribeni and P. Romanelli visited Phaselis in1913 and C. Anti in 1921. Anti returned to Antalya overland and in consequence discovered several epigraphs and the ruins of structures within the territorium of Phaselis.

 

Further archaeological, epigraphical and historical-geographical studies of Phaselis were conducted by the English researchers F. M. Stark and G. Bean, who came to the region after World War II. In 1968 H. Schläger, the German architect and underwater archaeologist began exploring the topographical and architectural structures of Phaselis’s harbours. After Schläger’s death in 1969, the research was conducted under the leadership of the archaeologist J. Schäfer in 1970. H. Schläger, J. Schäfer and their colleagues obtained important data concerning the architecture and history of Phaselis through the surface exploration of the city and its periphery. Following the excavations conducted along the main axial street of the city, in 1980 under the direction of Kayhan Dörtlük, the then Director of the Antalya Museum and between 1981-1985 under the leadership of the archaeologist Cevdet Bayburtluoğlu; underwater exploration was carried out in the South Harbour under the direction of Metin Pehlivaner, the then Director of the Antalya Museum.

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaselis

 

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

The Char B1 was a French heavy tank manufactured before World War II. It was conceived as a specialized offensive vehicle, armed with a 75 mm howitzer in the hull. Later a 47 mm gun in a turret was added, to allow it to function also as a Char de Bataille, a ‘battle tank’ fighting enemy armour, equipping the armoured divisions of the Infantry Arm. Starting in the early twenties, its development and production were repeatedly delayed, resulting in a vehicle that was both technologically complex and expensive, and already obsolescent when real mass-production of a derived version, the Char B1 "bis", started in the late thirties.

 

The outer appearance of the Char B1 reflected the fact that development started in the twenties: like the very first tank, the British Mark I tank of World War I, it still had large tracks going around the entire hull and large armour plates protecting the suspension—and like all tanks of that decade it had no welded or cast hull armour. The similarity resulted partly from the fact that the Char B1 was a specialized offensive weapon, a break-through tank optimized for punching a hole into strong defensive entrenchments, so it was designed with good trench-crossing capabilities and therefore the hull and the tracks had considerable length. The French Army thought that dislodging the enemy from a key front sector would decide a campaign, and it prided itself on being the only army in the world having a sufficient number of adequately protected heavy tanks. The exploitation phase of a battle was seen as secondary and best carried out by controlled and methodical movement to ensure superiority in numbers, so that the heavy tank’s mobility was of secondary concern. Although the Char B1 had a reasonably good speed for the time of its conception, no serious efforts were made to improve it when much faster tanks appeared.

 

More important than the tank's limitations in tactical mobility, however, were its limitations in strategic mobility. The low practical range implied the need to refuel very often, limiting its operational capabilities. This again implied that the armoured divisions of the Infantry, the Divisions Cuirassées, were not very effective as a mobile reserve and thus lacked strategic flexibility. They were not created to fulfill such a role in the first place, which was reflected in the small size of the artillery and infantry components of the divisions.

 

Another explanation of the similarity to the British Mark I lies in the Char B1's original specification to create a self-propelled gun able to destroy enemy infantry and artillery. The main weapon of the tank was its 75 mm howitzer, and the entire design of the vehicle was directed to making this gun as effective as possible. When in the early 1930s it became obvious that the Char B1 also had to defeat counterattacking enemy armour, it was too late for a complete redesign. The solution was to add the standard cast APX-1 turret which also equipped the Char D2 and the Somua S35. Like most French tanks of the period the Char B thus had a small one-man turret. The commander not only had to command the tank, but also to aim and load the anti-tank gun, and if he was a unit leader, he had to command his other tanks as well. This was in contrast with the contemporary German, British and to a lesser extent Soviet policy to use two or three-man turret crews, in which these duties were divided amongst several men, or to use dedicated command vehicles.

 

Among the most powerfully armed and armoured tanks of its day, the Char B1 was very effective in direct confrontations with early German armour during the Battle of France. The 60 mm (2.36 in) frontal armor was sloped, giving it an effective strength of near 80 mm (3.15 in), and it proved to be almost invulnerable to the 1940 Panzer II and III as well as the early Panzer IV with its short 75mm close-support gun. There were no real weak spots, and this invulnerability helped the B1 to close on targets, then destroy them with the turret 47 mm (1.85 in) or the brute force of the howitzer HE shells. However, its slow speed and high fuel consumption made it ill-adapted to the war of movement then being fought.

 

In the meantime, plans had taken shape to improve the Char B1, and this led to two developments that eventually entered the hardware stage: A further up-armoured version, the Char B1 "ter", was designed with sloped and welded 70 mm armour, weighing 36.6 tonnes and powered by a 350 hp (260 kW) engine. It was meant to replace the B1 bis to accelerate mass production, a change first intended for the summer of 1940 but later postponed to March 1941 and finally abandoned.

In the course of the redesign, space was provided for a fifth crew member, a "mechanic". Cost was reduced by omitting the complex Neader transmission for aiming the howitzer and giving the hull gun a traverse of five degrees to each side instead. The first prototype was shown in 1937, but only three prototypes could be partly finished before the defeat of France. Serial production was rejected due to the need to build totally new production lines for the much-modified Char B1 ter, so that this development was a dead end, even more so because it did not really cure the vehicle’s weakness of the overburdened commander and the split armament.

 

The latter issues were addressed with another development, a modernized variant of the existing Char B1 bis with a new weapon layout, the Char B1 “tetre”. Work on this variant started in 1936, as an alternative concept to the one-man turret and as an experimental carrier for a new high velocity semi-automatic 75 mm multi-purpose gun with a long barrel. Such a weapon was direly needed, because the biggest caliber of an anti-tank gun was a mere 47 mm, the SA 35 gun. The only recent alternative was the infantry’s 47 mm APX anti-tank gun from 1937, which could pierce 60 mm (2.4 in) at 550 meters (600 yd) or 80 mm (3.1 in) at 180 meters (200 yd), but it had not been adapted to vehicle use yet and was not regarded to be powerful enough to cope with tanks like the Char B1 itself.

 

This new 75 mm tank gun was already under development at the Atelier de Construction de Rueil (ARL) for a new medium 20-ton-tank, the Char G1 from Renault, that was to replace the Char B1. The gun, called “ARL 37”, would be mounted in a new three-man turret, and ARL was developing prototypes of both a turret that could be taken by the Char B1’s and S35’s limited turret ring, as well as the gun itself, which was based on the 75 mm high velocity gun with hydro-pneumatic recoil compensation from the vintage heavy FCM 2C tank

 

The ARL 37 had a mass of 750 kg (1,653.5 lb) and a barrel length of 3,281 mm (129.2 in) with a bore of 43 calibers. Maximum muzzle velocity was 740 m/s (2,400 ft/s). The gun was fitted with an electric firing mechanism and the breech operated semi-automatically. Only one-piece ammunition was used, and both HE and AP rounds could be fired – even though the latter had to developed, too, because no such round was available in 1937/38 yet. However, with early experimental Armour Piercing Capped Ballistic Cap (APCBC) rounds, the ARL 37 was able to penetrate 133 mm (5.2 in) of vertical steel plate at 100 m range, 107 mm (4.2 in) at 1.000 m and still 85 mm (3.3 in) at 2.000 m, making it a powerful anti-tank weapon of its era.

 

Since the new weapon was expected to fire both HE and AP rounds, the Char B1’s howitzer in the hull was omitted, its opening faired over and instead a movable 7.5 mm Reibel machine gun was added in a ball mount, operated by a radio operator who sat next to the driver. Another 7.5mm machine gun was mounted co-axially to the main gun in the turret, which had a cupola and offered space for the rest of the crew: a dedicated commander as well as a gunner and loader team.

The hexagonal turret was cast and had a welded roof as well as a gun mantlet. With its 70 mm frontal armor as well as the tank’s new hull front section, the conversions added a total of four net tons of weight, so that the Char B1 tetre weighed 36 tons. To prevent its performance from deteriorating further, it received the Char B1 ter’s uprated 350 hp (260 kW) engine. The running gear remained unchanged, even though the fully rotating turret made the complex and expensive Neader transmission superfluous, so that it was replaced by a standard heavy-duty piece.

 

Although promising, the Char B1 tetre’s development was slow, delayed by the lack of resources and many teething troubles with the new 75 mm cannon and the turret. When the war broke out in September 1939, production was cleared and began slowly, but focus remained on existing vehicles and weapons. By the time there were perhaps 180 operational B1 and B1 bis in all. They were used for the Sarre offensive, a short-lived burst without serious opposition, with a massive force of 41 divisions and 2.400 tanks. The Char B1 served with the armoured divisions of the infantry, the Divisions Cuirassées (DCr). The First and Second DCR had 69 Char B1s each, the Third 68. These were highly specialized offensive units, to break through fortified positions. The mobile phase of a battle was to be carried out by the Divisions Légères Mécaniques (mechanised light divisions) of the cavalry, equipped with the SOMUA S35.

 

After the German invasion several ad hoc units were formed: the 4e DCr with 52 Char B1s and five autonomous companies (347e, 348e, 349e, 352e and 353e Compagnie Autonome de Chars) with in total 56 tanks: 12 B1s and 44 B1 bis; 28e BCC was reconstituted with 34 tanks. By that time, a very limited number of Char B1 tetre had been produced and delivered to operational units, but their tactical value was low since sufficient 75 mm AP rounds were not available – the tanks had to use primarily the same HE rounds that were fired with the Char B1’s howitzer, and these posed only a limited threat to German tanks, esp. the upgraded Panzer III and IVs. The Char B1 tertre’s potential was never fully exploited, even though most of the tanks were used as command vehicles.

 

The regular French divisions destroyed quite a few German tanks but lacked enough organic infantry and artillery to function as an effective mobile reserve. After the defeat of France, captured Char B1 of all variants would be used by Germany, with some rebuilt as flamethrowers, Munitionspanzer, or mechanized artillery.

  

Specifications:

Crew: Five (driver, radio operator/machine gunner, commander, gunner, loader)

Weight: 36 tonnes (40 short tons, 35 long tons)

Length: 6.98 m (22 ft 10½ in) overall with gun forward

6.37 m (20 ft 11 in) hull only

Width: 2.46 m (8 ft 1 in)

Height: 2.84 m (9 ft 3¾ in)

Ground clearance: 40 cm (1 ft 3¾ in)

Climbing: 93 cm (3 ft ½ in)

Trench crossing: 2,4 m (7 ft 10½ in)

Suspension: Bogies with a mixture of vertical coil and leaf springs

Steering: Double differential

Fuel capacity: 400 liters

 

Armour:

14 to 70 mm (0.55 to 2.75 in)

 

Performance:

28 km/h (17 mph) on road

21 km/h (13 mph) off-road

Operational range: 200 km (124 mi) on road

Power/weight: 9.7 hp/ton

 

Engine:

1× Renault inline 6 cylinder 16.5 litre petrol engine with 350 hp (260 kW)

 

Transmission:

5 forward and 1 rear gear

 

Armament:

1x 75 ARL 37 high-velocity cannon with 94 rounds

2x 7.5 mm (0.295 in) Reibel machine guns with a total of 5,250 rounds

  

The kit and its assembly:.

This fictional Char B1 variant was based on the question what the tank could have looked like if there had been a suitable 75 mm gun available that could replace both its howitzer in the hull and the rather light anti-tank gun in the turret? No such weapon existed in France, but I tried to extrapolate the concept based on the standard Char B1 hull.

 

Two big changes were made: the first concerned the hull howitzer, which was deleted, and its recessed opening faired over with 1 mm styrene sheet and putty. This sound easier as it turned out to be because the suspension for the front right idler wheel had to be retained, and the complex shape of the glacis plate and the opening called for patchwork. A fairing for the co-driver was added as well as a ball mount for the new hull machine gun. New shackles were added to the lower front and, finally, new rows of bolt heads (created with white glue).

 

The turret was completely replaced with a cast turret from a 1943 T-34/76 (Zvezda kit). While its shape and gun mantlet are quite characteristic, I still used it mostly OOB because its size and shape turned out to be a very good match to contemporary French tank turrets. However, the gun barrel was moved and a fairing for a hydro-pneumatic recoil damper was added, as well as a French commander cupola. And an adapter had to be scratched to attach the new turret to the hull, together with small fairings for the wider turret ring.

  

Painting and markings:

I wanted a rather unusual paint scheme for this Char B1 derivative, and found inspiration in an operational museum tank that depicts vehicle “311/Rhin”: it carries a three-tone livery in two greens and brown, instead of the more common sand, dark green and earth brown tones or just two-tone schemes.

 

The colors were adapted to an irregular pattern, and the paints I used were Humbrol 120 (FS 34227, a rather pale interpretation of the tone), 10 (Gloss Dark Brown) and ModelMaster 1764 (FS 34092). As a personal twist, the colors were edged in black, enhancing the contrast.

The markings were puzzled together from various sources in an attempt to create suitable tactical codes of the early 1940 era. The “Ace of Spades” emblem on the turret is, for example, are a marking of the 1st section. The dot in front of the “K” probably indicated a command vehicle, but I am not certain.

 

Some post-shading was done as well as dry-brushing with light earth brown to emphasize edges and details. Then the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and received some dusting with grey-brown artist pigments, simulating dust around the running gear.

  

Well, not too much was changed, but the new, bigger turret changes the Char B1’s look considerably – it looks somewhat smaller now? Its new silhouette also reminds me of a duck? Weird, but the conversion worked out well – esp. the modified glacis plate without the howitzer’s recessed opening looks very natural.

 

A must see here View large on black

 

"A TEST OF ENDURANCE"

 

Wave after wave of swimmers raced across the sand and dove headfirst into the sea. Arms churned as bodies sliced through the waves in a long line that went as far as my eyes could see. Then, they turned around and began to make their way back to the beach. Heads bobbed to the side as they took in fresh breaths of air. Finally, great splashes of water sprayed everywhere as the swimmers reached the shore, a mixture of grim determination and cheerful smiles etched across their faces. A series of cheers erupted from the crowd waiting for them on the beach as they raced across the sand once again to their bikes for the next leg of the competition.

 

This was the scene at Hwasun Beach where nearly 1100 men and women took part in the 2011 Iron Man Korea Jeju Triathlon. Participants swam 3.8 km, bicycled 180.2 km, and ran 42.2 km for a total of 226.195 km on a difficult course that wound its way over rolling hills between Daejeong-Eup and the World Cup stadium in Seogwipo.

 

Cyclists worked their way methodically up a steep incline just outside of Jungmun and then coasted down a hill, thumbs up as they passed me, clearly relieved to finish that part of the race. But, the hardest part was yet to come: a full marathon that would test the will and endurance of these athletes.

 

Five grueling hours later, the end in sight, Balazs Csoke from Hungary, using all his remaining strength, dragged his exhausted body across the finish line, completing the race in 8 hours, 48 minutes, and 18 seconds. Korean hopeful Yeun Sik Ham finished strong, clocking in at 9:36:02 while Kate Bevilaqua of Australia was the top woman, finishing the race in 9 hours, 39 minutes, and 42 seconds.

 

www.jejuweekly.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=1730

 

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More images from the race www.flickr.com/photos/dmacs_photos/sets/72157627105746342/

 

Slideshow www.flickr.com/photos/dmacs_photos/sets/72157627105746342...

 

Please view my stream LARGE on black:

 

DMac 5D Mark II's photos on Flickriver

 

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Saturday, February 11, 2012.Recap: No. 15 C'Town 87, No. 19 WC 69.By Brendan Hall..CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- At this time last year, Charlestown made the trek West, down Route 146, to deliver a haymaker to a Whitinsville Christian squad considered the state's tallest lineup. ..This afternoon, the Crusaders came East to Bunker Hill, with a different look for the Townies -- smaller, quicker, more surgical -- and the result was very nearly a different outcome. The Crusaders hung with Charlestown through three quarters, before the Townies pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Whitinsville 31-14 in the final frame en route to an 87-69 victory. .."That team's very good, I thought that was the best shooting team we saw," Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso said. "They're very well balanced, with a real good point guard, big man, two-guard, so I knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. I told the guys, 'You're going to see a team like this in the state tournament, eventually down the line." ..The Townies (14-3), played just seven due to health (Jawhari Dawan-Abdullah, stomach bug) and off the court issues (Gary Braham, suspension). But they saw all five of their regular starters reach double-figures, with senior point guard Rony Fernandez (26 points, four assists) leading the way. Senior forward Tyrik Jackson (12 points, 13 rebounds) came up big on the glass again, while Tyrese Hoxter (16 points, seven assists), Omar Orriols (13 points) and Iser Barnes (12) contributed some big shots from the perimeter to keep the defense stretched out. ..But early on, the Crusaders (12-2) gave them fits with the methodical way they broke through the Townie's 2-3 zone with some of the most disciplined and precise ball movement they'd seen in a while. Junior point guard Colin Richey (23 points) funneled the offense down to the baseline, finding a player planted right in the heart of the zone and kicking to either the baseline or either wing. ..Whitinsville shot nearly 40 percent from the field, getting good looks from the short side from Tyler VandenAkker (12 points, eight rebounds) and Jesse Dykstra. Grant Brown (10 points) came up with some big shots from the perimeter as well. .."We decided to extend a little bit more on the short corner, because they hit about four shots in a row from the short corner," Cardoso said. "We also decided to have the opposite guard extend even more on shooter No. 2 (Tim Dufficey). So we made some extensions in the second half, did a little better job -- not a great job, but it helped us get the victory." ..To start the fourth quarter, Barnes completed a 6-0 run by ripping the ball out of his defender's hands at midcourt and landing a breakaway layup. A few possessions later, Hoxter found Jackson underneath the rim for an easy tip-in and 68-59 advantage. ..Then with 1:37 to go, sophomore Taris Wilson hit the first of two monster breakaway slams, this one making it 76-63 to essentially put the game in hand. ..Hot from the field: The Townies outrebounded the Crusaders 16-7 in the final frame, giving way to many key transition points that helped ice the lead and the win. From the glass, WC still held a slim 35-33 advantage. ..But down at the other end, the Townies had a terrific night from the field, shooting nearly 58 percent overall. That was aided by a 7-for-17 effort from three-point range, including three 3's each from Fernandez and Orriols. ..Praise for Richey: Last season, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was throwing around high praise for the then-sophomore Richey, calling him "a suburban kid that plays urban". ..Consider Cardoso another Boston City League coach that's a fan. .."He's tough," Cardoso said. "He's one of the toughest guards coming out of his league, and I think he's going give a lot of teams problems in the state tournament, because how do you stop a kid like that?" ..Turning point? Following last season's loss to Charlestown in its home gym, WC coach Jeff Bajema greeted his players in the locker room and told them, "Guys, we can win states." ..Sure enough, the Crusaders never lost another game the rest of the way, picking up their first Division 3 state title since 2005 at the DCU Center in Worcester. After that game, Bajema spoke to reporters about how much the whitewashing by Charlestown seasoned them for what to expect in the state tournament. ..Given how much more competitive the Crusaders were this time around, could this be seen as another momentum shift? .."Hopefully, a game like this will lead us to better things," Bajema said. "But we've got a tough one Tuesday (against Holy Name), so we'll see."

 

Shot at ISO 1600, Aperture of 3.2, Shutter speed of 1/320 and Focal Length of 40.0 mm

Taken with a 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM lens and processed by Aperture 3.2.2 on Saturday February-11-2012 16:25 EST PM

Saturday, February 11, 2012.Recap: No. 15 C'Town 87, No. 19 WC 69.By Brendan Hall..CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- At this time last year, Charlestown made the trek West, down Route 146, to deliver a haymaker to a Whitinsville Christian squad considered the state's tallest lineup. ..This afternoon, the Crusaders came East to Bunker Hill, with a different look for the Townies -- smaller, quicker, more surgical -- and the result was very nearly a different outcome. The Crusaders hung with Charlestown through three quarters, before the Townies pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Whitinsville 31-14 in the final frame en route to an 87-69 victory. .."That team's very good, I thought that was the best shooting team we saw," Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso said. "They're very well balanced, with a real good point guard, big man, two-guard, so I knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. I told the guys, 'You're going to see a team like this in the state tournament, eventually down the line." ..The Townies (14-3), played just seven due to health (Jawhari Dawan-Abdullah, stomach bug) and off the court issues (Gary Braham, suspension). But they saw all five of their regular starters reach double-figures, with senior point guard Rony Fernandez (26 points, four assists) leading the way. Senior forward Tyrik Jackson (12 points, 13 rebounds) came up big on the glass again, while Tyrese Hoxter (16 points, seven assists), Omar Orriols (13 points) and Iser Barnes (12) contributed some big shots from the perimeter to keep the defense stretched out. ..But early on, the Crusaders (12-2) gave them fits with the methodical way they broke through the Townie's 2-3 zone with some of the most disciplined and precise ball movement they'd seen in a while. Junior point guard Colin Richey (23 points) funneled the offense down to the baseline, finding a player planted right in the heart of the zone and kicking to either the baseline or either wing. ..Whitinsville shot nearly 40 percent from the field, getting good looks from the short side from Tyler VandenAkker (12 points, eight rebounds) and Jesse Dykstra. Grant Brown (10 points) came up with some big shots from the perimeter as well. .."We decided to extend a little bit more on the short corner, because they hit about four shots in a row from the short corner," Cardoso said. "We also decided to have the opposite guard extend even more on shooter No. 2 (Tim Dufficey). So we made some extensions in the second half, did a little better job -- not a great job, but it helped us get the victory." ..To start the fourth quarter, Barnes completed a 6-0 run by ripping the ball out of his defender's hands at midcourt and landing a breakaway layup. A few possessions later, Hoxter found Jackson underneath the rim for an easy tip-in and 68-59 advantage. ..Then with 1:37 to go, sophomore Taris Wilson hit the first of two monster breakaway slams, this one making it 76-63 to essentially put the game in hand. ..Hot from the field: The Townies outrebounded the Crusaders 16-7 in the final frame, giving way to many key transition points that helped ice the lead and the win. From the glass, WC still held a slim 35-33 advantage. ..But down at the other end, the Townies had a terrific night from the field, shooting nearly 58 percent overall. That was aided by a 7-for-17 effort from three-point range, including three 3's each from Fernandez and Orriols. ..Praise for Richey: Last season, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was throwing around high praise for the then-sophomore Richey, calling him "a suburban kid that plays urban". ..Consider Cardoso another Boston City League coach that's a fan. .."He's tough," Cardoso said. "He's one of the toughest guards coming out of his league, and I think he's going give a lot of teams problems in the state tournament, because how do you stop a kid like that?" ..Turning point? Following last season's loss to Charlestown in its home gym, WC coach Jeff Bajema greeted his players in the locker room and told them, "Guys, we can win states." ..Sure enough, the Crusaders never lost another game the rest of the way, picking up their first Division 3 state title since 2005 at the DCU Center in Worcester. After that game, Bajema spoke to reporters about how much the whitewashing by Charlestown seasoned them for what to expect in the state tournament. ..Given how much more competitive the Crusaders were this time around, could this be seen as another momentum shift? .."Hopefully, a game like this will lead us to better things," Bajema said. "But we've got a tough one Tuesday (against Holy Name), so we'll see."

 

Shot at ISO 1600, Aperture of 3.2, Shutter speed of 1/500 and Focal Length of 70.0 mm

Taken with a 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM lens and processed by Aperture 3.2.2 on Saturday February-11-2012 16:24 EST PM

The Need for Roots: prelude towards a declaration of duties towards mankind (French: L'Enracinement, prélude à une déclaration des devoirs envers l'être humain) is a book by Simone Weil. It was first published in French in 1949, titled L'Enracinement. The first English translation was published in 1952. Like all of Weil's books it was published posthumously.

 

The work diagnoses the causes of the social, cultural and spiritual malaise which Weil saw as afflicting 20th century civilisation, particularly Europe but also the rest of the world. 'Uprootedness' is defined as a near universal condition resulting from the destruction of ties with the past and the dissolution of community. Weil specifies the requirements that must be met so that peoples can once again feel rooted, in a cultural and spiritual sense, to their environment and to both the past and to expectations for the future. The book discusses the political, cultural and spiritual currents that ought to be nurtured so that people have access to sources of energy which will help them lead fulfilling, joyful and morally good lives. A leading theme is the need to recognise the spiritual nature of work.

 

The Need for Roots is regarded as Weil's best known work and has provoked a variety of responses, from being described as a work of "exceptional originality and breadth of human sympathy" to "a collection of egregious nonsense."

 

The book was written in the early months of 1943. Its initial form was a report which Weil had been asked to write for the Free French Resistance movement concerning the possibilities for effecting a regeneration in France once the Germans had been driven back. The work was originally submitted along with a shorter companion essay called Draft for a statement of human obligations. "Spirituality of work", a leading theme in the book, was a concept that had occupied Weil throughout her career. According to biographer Richard Rees, her whole life's work can be viewed as an attempt to elucidate the concept, which she saw as the one great original idea of the West. Weil presented physical labour as the type of work most suited to develop a direct connection with God. Her analysis was informed by a year-long stretch as a factory hand and by several periods working as an agricultural labourer.

 

Synopsis

 

The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 is subdivided into fourteen sections, each dealing with a specific human need. Collectively these are referred to as 'needs of the soul'. Part 2 is subdivided into three sections, dealing with the concept of uprootedness in relation to urban life, to rural life and to nationhood. Part 3 is undivided and discusses the possibilities for inspiring a nation. Only a small part of the book discusses the specific solutions that were of unique applicability to France in the 1940s. Most of the work discusses the general case and is of broad and lasting relevance.

 

Part 1: The Needs of the Soul

 

Part 1 begins with a discussion of obligations and rights. Weil asserts that obligations are more fundamental than rights, as a right is only meaningful insofar as others fulfil their obligation to respect it. A man alone in the universe, she says, would have obligations but no rights. Rights are therefore "subordinate and relative" to obligations. Weil says that those directing the French Revolution were mistaken in basing their ideas for a new society on the notion of rights rather than obligations, suggesting that a system based on obligations would have been better. Weil claims that while rights are subject to varying conditions, obligations are "eternal", "situated above this world" and "independent of conditions", applying to all human beings. The actual activities which obligations require us to perform, however, may vary depending on circumstances. The most fundamental obligation involves respecting the essential needs of others - the "needs of the soul".

 

Weil backs up her ideas on the needs of the soul by mentioning that Christian, ancient Egyptian and other traditions have held similar moral views throughout history, particularly on the obligation to help those suffering from hunger. This, Weil says, should serve as a model for other needs of the soul. Weil also makes a distinction between physical needs (such as for food, heating and medical attention) and non-physical needs that are concerned with the "moral side" of life. Both kinds are vital, and the deprivation of these needs causes one to fall into a state "more or less resembling death".

 

Weil goes into some detail on collectives. She says that obligations are not binding to collectives, but to the individuals of which the collective is composed. Collectives should be respected, not for their own sake, but because they are 'food for mankind'. Collectives that are not 'food for mankind' - harmful or useless collectives - should be removed.

 

The remainder of Part 1 is divided into sections discussing the essential needs of the soul, which Weil says correspond to basic bodily needs like the requirements for food, warmth and medicine. She says such needs can mostly be grouped into antithetical pairs, such as the needs for rest and activity, or for warmth and coolness, and that they are best satisfied when a balance is struck allowing both needs to be met in turn. In communities where all essential needs are satisfied there will be a "flowering of fraternity, joy, beauty and happiness".

 

Order

 

Order is introduced as a preeminent need. Weil defines order as an arrangement of society which minimises the situations one encounters where a choice has to be made between incompatible obligations.

 

Liberty

 

Liberty is described as the ability to make meaningful choices. It is recognized that societies must inevitably have rules for the common good which restrict freedom to a certain degree. Weil argues that these rules do not truly diminish one's liberty if they meet certain conditions; if their purpose is easily grasped and there aren't too many, then mature individuals of good will should not find the rules oppressive. This is illustrated by describing the habit of "not eating disgusting or dangerous things" as not being an infringement of liberty. The only people who would feel restricted by such rules are characterized as childlike.

 

Obedience

 

Obedience is defined as an essential need of the soul as long as it's the sort of obedience that arises from freely given consent to obey a given set of rules or the commands of a leader. Obedience motivated by a fear of penalties or a desire for reward is mere servility and of no value. The author writes that it's important that the social structure has a common goal, the essence of which can be grasped by all, so people can appreciate the purpose of the rules and orders.

 

Responsibility

 

Weil says that everyone has a need to feel useful and even essential to others. They should ideally make at least some decisions and have opportunity to show initiative as well as carrying out work. She says the unemployed person is starved of this need. Weil advises that for people of a fairly strong character this need extends to a requirement to take a leadership role for at least part of their lives, and that a flourishing community life will provide sufficient opportunities for all to have their turn commanding others.

 

Equality

 

Equality is an essential need when defined as a recognition that everyone is entitled to an equal amount of respect as a human being, regardless of any differences. Weil advises that an ideal society ought to involve a balance of equality and inequality. While there should be social mobility both up and down, if children have a truly equal chance for self-advancement based purely on their own abilities, everyone who ends up in a low grade job will be seen as being there due to their own shortcomings. Weil says an ideal social organisation would involve holding those who enjoy power and privilege to a higher standard of conduct than those who don't; in particular a crime from an employer and against employees should be punished much more severely than a crime from an employee against his or her employer.

 

Hierarchism

 

Weil writes of the importance of a system of hierarchy in which one feels devotion towards superiors, not as individuals, but as symbols. Hierarchism represents the order of the heavenly realm, and it helps one to fit into their moral place.

 

Honour

 

Honour is the need for a special sort of respect over and above the respect automatically due to every human being. An individual's honour relates to how well their conduct measures up to certain criteria, which vary according to the social milieu inhabited by the individual. The need for honour is best satisfied when people are able to participate in a shared noble tradition. For a profession to satisfy this need, it should have an association able to "keep alive the memory of all the store of nobility, heroism, probity, generosity and genius spent in the exercise of that profession".

 

Punishment

 

Two sorts of necessary punishment are discussed. Disciplinary punishments help to reinforce an individual's good conscience, by providing external support in the battle against falling into vice. The second and most essential sort of punishment is the punitive. Weil considers that in a sense the committal of a crime puts the individual outside of the chain of obligations that form the good society, and that punishment is essential to re-integrate the individual into lawful society.

 

Freedom of Opinion

 

Weil says it's essential for people to be free to express any opinion or idea. However she advises that very harmful views should not be expressed in the part of the media that is responsible for shaping public opinion.

 

Security

 

Security is described as freedom from fear and terror, except under brief and exceptional circumstances. She says that permanent fear causes a "semi-paralysis of the soul".

 

Risk

 

Weil argues that risk, in the right amount, can be enough to protect one from a detrimental type of boredom and teach one how to appropriately deal with fear, but not be so much that one is overcome with fear.

 

Private Property

 

Weil writes that the soul suffers feelings of isolation if deprived of objects to call its own, which can serve as extensions of the body. She advises that where possible people should be able to own their own homes and the tools of their trade.

 

Collective Property

 

The need for collective property is satisfied when people, from the richest to the poorest, feel a shared sense of ownership as well as enjoyment of public buildings, land and events.

 

Truth

 

Weil asserts the need for truth is the most sacred of all needs. It is compromised when people don't have access to reliable and accurate sources of information. Because working people often lack the time to verify what they read in books and the mass media, writers who introduce avoidable errors should be held accountable. Propaganda should be banned and people who deliberately lie in the media should be liable to severe penalties.

 

Part 2: Uprootedness

 

Weil conceives uprootedness as a condition where people lack deep and living connections with their environment. It is aggravated if people also lack participation in community life. Uprooted people lack connections with the past and a sense of their own integral place in the world. Uprootedness has many causes, with two of the most potent being conquest of a nation by foreigners and the growing influence of money which tends to corrode most other forms of motivation.

 

Uprootedness in Towns

 

Sisteron in south east France. Weil considered that the nascent civilisation which existed in the Provence region before the Albigensian Crusade had a culture where labour was free from all "taint of slavery" and the spiritual dimension of work was recognised.

 

Weil asserts that in 20th century France and elsewhere the condition of uprootedness is most advanced in towns, especially among the lower paid workers who have a total dependence on money. Weil writes their uprootedness is so severe it's effectively as though they had been banished from their own country and then temporally reinstated on sufferance, forced by oppressive employers to have almost their entire attention taken up with drudgery and piecework. For the urban poor without work it's even worse, unemployment is described as "uprootedness squared."

 

The gulf between high culture from the mass of the people that has been widening since the renaissance is another factor contributing to up rootedness. Education now has only limited effect in helping to create roots as academic culture has lost its connection both with this world and the next. Many academics have become obsessed with learning not for a desire for knowledge for its own sake but due to the utility it offers for attaining social prestige.

 

Weil discussed how uprootedness is a self-propagating condition, giving the example of the Romans and Germans after World War I as uprooted people who set about uprooting others. Whoever is rooted doesn't uproot others - Weil opines that the worst examples of misconduct by the Spanish and English during the colonial age were from adventurers who lacked deep connections with the life of their own countries. Both the left and right include activists who want the working class to be rooted again, but on the left there is sizeable contingent who merely want everyone to be reduced to the same level of unrootedness as the proletariats, and on the right a section who want the workers to remain unrooted the better to be able to exploit them. Disunity prevents good intentioned activists from having much effect.

 

Another factor hampering reform efforts is the tendency of human nature not to pay attention to misfortune - she discusses how unions often spend most of their energies looking out for relatively well off special interests, neglecting the weak who were being most oppressed, such as youth, women and immigrant workers.

 

Weil proposes various measures to address urban uprootedness. She says little can be done for uprooted adults, but it would be easier to rescue the next generation. One of her first suggestions is to eliminate psychic shock experienced by young workers when they transition from school where authority figures care about their wellbeing to the world of work where they're effectively just a "cog in a machine." Another ill to remedy is the exclusion of workers from an imaginative share in their companies's strategy.

 

Machines should be designed with the needs of the workmen in mind, not just the demands of cost efficient production.[15] The author suggests that if people have a suitable introduction to work as children, who tend to see the workplace as an intriguing world reserved for adults, then their future experience of work would forever be "lit up by poetry". Weil also advises that a revival of apprenticeships and the original Tour de France would be of great value.

 

Weil says that many of the workers' complaints arise from obsessions created by distress and that the best of way of reacting is not to appease the obsessions but to fix the underlying distress - then all kinds of problems in society just disappear.

 

Reforms in education would also be needed. Weil says providing workers with high culture in a form they can suggest is much simpler than objectors expect. There is no need to try and relay large volumes of literature, as a little pure truth lights the soul just as much as a lot of pure truth. The relationships between various educational topics and everyday life as experienced by the workers should be explored. Without watering down high culture, its truths should be expressed in a language "perceptible to the heart".

 

Weil says that to abolish urban uprootedness it will be essential to establish forms of industrial production and culture where workers could feel at home, and she discussed various reforms that she advised for France after the war.

 

Uprootedness in the Countryside

 

Weil writes that though uprootedness is not as far advanced in the countryside as in towns, the needs of the peasants should receive equal attention to the need of industrial workers: firstly because it is contrary to nature for the land to be worked by uprooted individuals and secondly as one of the causes of the peasant's distress is the feeling that progressive movements ignore them in favour of industrial wokers.

 

A peasant's requirements include a strong need to own land, which is important for them to feel rooted. Boredom can be a problem as many peasants do the same work throughout their lives, starting from about age 14. Weil suggests a tradition should be established for peasant youths take a few months out for travel in their late teens, similar to the tour de France that used to exist for apprentice artisans. Those who desire it should also be able to return to education for a year or two.

 

Rural communities require different teaching methods compared to towns. Religious teaching should be made relevant to the countryside, with emphasis on the pastoral scenes in the Bible. Science should be presented in terms of the great natural cycles, such as the energy from the sun being captured by photosynthesis, being concentrated into seeds and fruit, passing into man and then partly returning to the soil as he expends energy working the land. Weil writes that if peasants have both well tailored scientific and religious ideas at the back of their minds while they work the fields, it will increase their appreciation of beauty and "Permeate their labour with poetry".

 

In the last few pages of this section the author dwells on her central theme - that the great vocation of our times is to create a civilisation which recognises the spiritual nature of work. She draws further parallels between spiritual mechanism and physical mechanism, referring to parables in the Bible concerning seeds and then discussing our scientific understanding about how plants reach the surface by consuming the energy in their seeds and then grow upwards towards the light. Weil suggests similar parallels could be targeted for urban workers. She says if people can have both spiritual and scientific ideas converging in the act of work, then even the fatigue associated with toil can be transformed for good, becoming "the pain that makes the beauty of the world penetrates right into the core of the human body."

 

Weil deplores the tendency for education to train workers so they only think intellectually in their leisure hours. She says that while fundamental ideas need not be given conscious attention while workers are busy, they should always be present in the background. Weil presents the case of two women both engaged in sewing; one being a happy expectant mother, the other being a prisoner. While both have their attention occupied by the same technical problems, the pregnant women never forgets the life growing inside her while the prisoner is always in fear of punishment. Weil says the whole social problem is mirrored in the women's contrasting attitudes. She discusses the two principal forms of greatness, the false greatness based on world conquest and true greatness which is spiritual.

 

Like any elevated idea, care should be taken when promoting the union of work and spirituality lest it become discredited due to cynicism and suspicion, and thereby impossible to achieve. But Weil suggests it wouldn't need over selling by the authorities as it would be a solution to the problem on everyone's lips concerning the lack of balance created by rapidly developing material science that hasn't been matched with social or spiritual progress. She also suggests the movement towards recognising the spirituality of work could be embraced by all section of society - it would be welcomed by progressives and conservatives alike, with even atheist communists not opposing the idea, as certain quotes from Marx deplored the lack of spirituality in the capitalist world of work - so the movement could create unity.

 

Uprootedness and Nationhood

 

At the start of this section Weil regrets the fact that the nation has become the only collectively accessible to most people which is still at least partially rooted. She discusses how institutions both larger and smaller than the nation have been uprooted, such as Christendom, regional and local life, and the family. With regards to the family for example, for most people it has contracted just to the nuclear unit of man, wife and children. Brothers and sisters are already a little bit distant, with very few ever giving the slightest consideration to relatives that died more than 10 years before they were born, or to those who will be born after they have died.

 

Weil discusses the particular problems affecting the French that result from their unique history: the hatred of kings and distrust of all forms of central authority due to the succession of mostly cruel kings that followed Charles V; the trend instigated by Richelieu which saw the state "sucking out all forms of life" from regional and local institutions; the distrust of religion caused by the Church siding with State; the revival in workers' spirits after the Revolution being undone by the 1871 massacre; the counter reaction that set in after World War I, because during the War the French people had exerted themselves beyond the extent provided for by the limited energies they could draw from their diminished patriotic feelings.

 

Various problems relating to patriotism are discussed: how some lack any patriotism at all, while for others patriotism is too weak a motivation for the demands of wartime. Yet another problem is that for some patriotism is based on a false conception of greatness, on the success one's nation has had in conquering others - this sort of patriotism can lead people to turning a blind eye to whatever evils their country has committed. Weil suggests the ideal form of patriotism should be based on compassion. She compares the often antagonised and prideful feelings resulting from a patriotism based on grandeur with the warmth of a patriotism based on tender feeling of pity and an awareness of how a country is ultimately fragile and perishable. A patriotism based on compassion allows one to still see the flaws in one's country, while still remaining ever ready to make the ultimate sacrifice.

 

Part 3: The growing of Roots

 

The final section is concerned with the methods by which a people might be inspired towards the good, and how a nation can be encouraged to re-establish its roots. Weil discussed how in contrast to the explosion in knowledge regarding methods for working with materials, folk have begun to think that there is no method for spiritual matters. She asserts that everything in creation is dependent on method, given the spiritual methods advised by St John of the Cross as an example..

 

Inspiring a nation is therefore a task that ought to be undertaken methodically. To accomplish the task it's essential to simultaneously point people in the direction of the good while at the same time providing the necessary motivation, so as to provide energy for the required effort. Accordingly, the methods available for inspiring a nation centre around public action by the authorities as a means of education. Weil writes this is a very difficult idea to grasp, as at least since the renaissance public action has been almost solely a means of exercising power. Weil enumerates five ways in which public action can serve to educate a nation:

 

By raising hopes and fears with promises and threat.

By suggestion.

By the official expression of previously unstated thoughts already in the minds of the people.

By example

By the modality of the actions.

 

Weil considers that while the first two ways are well understood, they are unsuitable for breathing inspiration into a people. The remaining three methods could be much more effective, but at present no administration has much experience of employing them. The third method, although not without superficial similarities to the suggestive power of propaganda, can in the right circumstances be a highly effective tool for good. Weil wrote that at the current time (writing in 1943), the French resistance authorities have a rare opportunity to inspire their people as while their actions have an official character, they are not the actual state authorities and so don't arouse the cynicism the French traditionally hold for their rulers.

 

Four obstacles are listed that make it difficult to inspire a people towards genuine goodness. First and foremost a false conception of greatness, based on the prestige of might and conquest. Weil opines that France was essentially still motivated by the same sense of greatness that drove Hitler. The other obstacles are idolisation of money, a degraded sense of Justice, and a lack of religious inspiration. Only the first and last problem are discussed at length.

 

Weil asserts that prior to about the 16th century religion and science were united by the search for Truth, but have since become separated and in some cases even mutually hostile, with religion often the loser in the battle for public opinion. She suggests religion and science could become reconciled if the spirit of truth is breathed into both; despite the assertions of some scientists to the contrary, the thirst for truth is not a common motivation for science. As an example she discussed the habit of mathematicians who deliberately obscure proofs for their discoveries, showing that they were motivated by competitive instincts and the desire to be recognised above their peers. Weil suggests that the highest study of science is the beauty of the world.

 

In the book's last few pages Weil returns to a discussion of the spirituality of work, presenting the case that physical labour is spiritually superior to all other forms of work such as technical planning, command, art or science.

 

Assessment and reception

 

General de Gaulle was Weil's ultimate boss in the Free French Movement, but he had little time for her work and refused to read the whole of 'Need for Roots'.

 

Weil's first English biographer Richard Rees has written that 'Need for Roots' can be described as an investigation into the causes of unhappiness and proposals for its cure. Writing in 1966 he says it contains more of what the present age needs to understand and more of the criticism it needs to listen to than any other writer of the 20th century has been able to express. According to Dr Stephen Plant, writing in 1996, 'Need for Roots' remains just as relevant today as it was in the 1940s when the majority of European workers were employed by heavy industry. T. S. Eliot praised the work's balanced judgement, shrewdness and good sense.

 

The Times Literary Supplement wrote that the book is about politics in the "widest Aristotelian understanding of the term" and that is displayed "exceptional originality and breath of human sympathy".

 

For Weil scholar Sian Miles the book is the most complete expression of Weil's social thought. Albert Camus was so taken with the work he wrote it seemed to him "impossible to imagine the rebirth of Europe without taking into consideration the suggestions outlined in it by Simone Weil." General De Gaulle on the other hand was less impressed, dismissing her recommendations and only half reading most of her reports. For the most part very few of Weils idea's were put into practice during the operations that followed the liberation of France, with one of few direct signs of her influence being that list of obligations was included along with a list of rights in a French free press release of August 1943. Poet and critic Kenneth Rexroth took a negative view of the book, writing in 1957 that it "was a collection of egregious nonsense" and "a weird, embarrassing relic of a too immediate past." (Wikipedia).

WESTCHESTER - Transients escape as fire consumes vacant auto dealership.

 

At 2:27 am the Los Angeles Fire department and the Los Angeles County Fire Department were called to 5208 West Centinela Avenue. Arriving fire companies were met with thick black smoke and flames billowing from a two story commercial structure. Three squatters were immediately spotted and rescued from the roof of the burning structure. After descending the fire department ladders the unidentified civilians fled the scene.

166 Firefighters under the command of Assistant Chief Ralph Terrazas battled this intense and stubborn fire. A partial roof collapse trapping flames beneath heavy debris made containment extremely challenging. A methodical and systematic approach completely extinguished the fire in three hours.

Licensed Image - Mandatory Credit: LAFD Photo by Harry Garvin

 

LAFD.ORG | Blog | Facebook | Twitter @LAFD @LAFDtalk

 

"A TEST OF ENDURANCE"

 

Wave after wave of swimmers raced across the sand and dove headfirst into the sea. Arms churned as bodies sliced through the waves in a long line that went as far as my eyes could see. Then, they turned around and began to make their way back to the beach. Heads bobbed to the side as they took in fresh breaths of air. Finally, great splashes of water sprayed everywhere as the swimmers reached the shore, a mixture of grim determination and cheerful smiles etched across their faces. A series of cheers erupted from the crowd waiting for them on the beach as they raced across the sand once again to their bikes for the next leg of the competition.

 

This was the scene at Hwasun Beach where nearly 1100 men and women took part in the 2011 Iron Man Korea Jeju Triathlon. Participants swam 3.8 km, bicycled 180.2 km, and ran 42.2 km for a total of 226.195 km on a difficult course that wound its way over rolling hills between Daejeong-Eup and the World Cup stadium in Seogwipo.

 

Cyclists worked their way methodically up a steep incline just outside of Jungmun and then coasted down a hill, thumbs up as they passed me, clearly relieved to finish that part of the race. But, the hardest part was yet to come: a full marathon that would test the will and endurance of these athletes.

 

Five grueling hours later, the end in sight, Balazs Csoke from Hungary, using all his remaining strength, dragged his exhausted body across the finish line, completing the race in 8 hours, 48 minutes, and 18 seconds. Korean hopeful Yeun Sik Ham finished strong, clocking in at 9:36:02 while Kate Bevilaqua of Australia was the top woman, finishing the race in 9 hours, 39 minutes, and 42 seconds.

 

www.jejuweekly.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=1730

 

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More images from the race www.flickr.com/photos/dmacs_photos/sets/72157627105746342/

 

Slideshow www.flickr.com/photos/dmacs_photos/sets/72157627105746342...

 

Please view my stream LARGE on black:

 

DMac 5D Mark II's photos on Flickriver

 

Follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/#!/dmac5dmark2

 

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Saturday, February 11, 2012.Recap: No. 15 C'Town 87, No. 19 WC 69.By Brendan Hall..CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- At this time last year, Charlestown made the trek West, down Route 146, to deliver a haymaker to a Whitinsville Christian squad considered the state's tallest lineup. ..This afternoon, the Crusaders came East to Bunker Hill, with a different look for the Townies -- smaller, quicker, more surgical -- and the result was very nearly a different outcome. The Crusaders hung with Charlestown through three quarters, before the Townies pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Whitinsville 31-14 in the final frame en route to an 87-69 victory. .."That team's very good, I thought that was the best shooting team we saw," Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso said. "They're very well balanced, with a real good point guard, big man, two-guard, so I knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. I told the guys, 'You're going to see a team like this in the state tournament, eventually down the line." ..The Townies (14-3), played just seven due to health (Jawhari Dawan-Abdullah, stomach bug) and off the court issues (Gary Braham, suspension). But they saw all five of their regular starters reach double-figures, with senior point guard Rony Fernandez (26 points, four assists) leading the way. Senior forward Tyrik Jackson (12 points, 13 rebounds) came up big on the glass again, while Tyrese Hoxter (16 points, seven assists), Omar Orriols (13 points) and Iser Barnes (12) contributed some big shots from the perimeter to keep the defense stretched out. ..But early on, the Crusaders (12-2) gave them fits with the methodical way they broke through the Townie's 2-3 zone with some of the most disciplined and precise ball movement they'd seen in a while. Junior point guard Colin Richey (23 points) funneled the offense down to the baseline, finding a player planted right in the heart of the zone and kicking to either the baseline or either wing. ..Whitinsville shot nearly 40 percent from the field, getting good looks from the short side from Tyler VandenAkker (12 points, eight rebounds) and Jesse Dykstra. Grant Brown (10 points) came up with some big shots from the perimeter as well. .."We decided to extend a little bit more on the short corner, because they hit about four shots in a row from the short corner," Cardoso said. "We also decided to have the opposite guard extend even more on shooter No. 2 (Tim Dufficey). So we made some extensions in the second half, did a little better job -- not a great job, but it helped us get the victory." ..To start the fourth quarter, Barnes completed a 6-0 run by ripping the ball out of his defender's hands at midcourt and landing a breakaway layup. A few possessions later, Hoxter found Jackson underneath the rim for an easy tip-in and 68-59 advantage. ..Then with 1:37 to go, sophomore Taris Wilson hit the first of two monster breakaway slams, this one making it 76-63 to essentially put the game in hand. ..Hot from the field: The Townies outrebounded the Crusaders 16-7 in the final frame, giving way to many key transition points that helped ice the lead and the win. From the glass, WC still held a slim 35-33 advantage. ..But down at the other end, the Townies had a terrific night from the field, shooting nearly 58 percent overall. That was aided by a 7-for-17 effort from three-point range, including three 3's each from Fernandez and Orriols. ..Praise for Richey: Last season, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was throwing around high praise for the then-sophomore Richey, calling him "a suburban kid that plays urban". ..Consider Cardoso another Boston City League coach that's a fan. .."He's tough," Cardoso said. "He's one of the toughest guards coming out of his league, and I think he's going give a lot of teams problems in the state tournament, because how do you stop a kid like that?" ..Turning point? Following last season's loss to Charlestown in its home gym, WC coach Jeff Bajema greeted his players in the locker room and told them, "Guys, we can win states." ..Sure enough, the Crusaders never lost another game the rest of the way, picking up their first Division 3 state title since 2005 at the DCU Center in Worcester. After that game, Bajema spoke to reporters about how much the whitewashing by Charlestown seasoned them for what to expect in the state tournament. ..Given how much more competitive the Crusaders were this time around, could this be seen as another momentum shift? .."Hopefully, a game like this will lead us to better things," Bajema said. "But we've got a tough one Tuesday (against Holy Name), so we'll see."

 

Shot at ISO 1600, Aperture of 3.2, Shutter speed of 1/320 and Focal Length of 70.0 mm

Taken with a 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM lens and processed by Aperture 3.2.2 on Saturday February-11-2012 17:17 EST PM

Saturday, February 11, 2012.Recap: No. 15 C'Town 87, No. 19 WC 69.By Brendan Hall..CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- At this time last year, Charlestown made the trek West, down Route 146, to deliver a haymaker to a Whitinsville Christian squad considered the state's tallest lineup. ..This afternoon, the Crusaders came East to Bunker Hill, with a different look for the Townies -- smaller, quicker, more surgical -- and the result was very nearly a different outcome. The Crusaders hung with Charlestown through three quarters, before the Townies pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Whitinsville 31-14 in the final frame en route to an 87-69 victory. .."That team's very good, I thought that was the best shooting team we saw," Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso said. "They're very well balanced, with a real good point guard, big man, two-guard, so I knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. I told the guys, 'You're going to see a team like this in the state tournament, eventually down the line." ..The Townies (14-3), played just seven due to health (Jawhari Dawan-Abdullah, stomach bug) and off the court issues (Gary Braham, suspension). But they saw all five of their regular starters reach double-figures, with senior point guard Rony Fernandez (26 points, four assists) leading the way. Senior forward Tyrik Jackson (12 points, 13 rebounds) came up big on the glass again, while Tyrese Hoxter (16 points, seven assists), Omar Orriols (13 points) and Iser Barnes (12) contributed some big shots from the perimeter to keep the defense stretched out. ..But early on, the Crusaders (12-2) gave them fits with the methodical way they broke through the Townie's 2-3 zone with some of the most disciplined and precise ball movement they'd seen in a while. Junior point guard Colin Richey (23 points) funneled the offense down to the baseline, finding a player planted right in the heart of the zone and kicking to either the baseline or either wing. ..Whitinsville shot nearly 40 percent from the field, getting good looks from the short side from Tyler VandenAkker (12 points, eight rebounds) and Jesse Dykstra. Grant Brown (10 points) came up with some big shots from the perimeter as well. .."We decided to extend a little bit more on the short corner, because they hit about four shots in a row from the short corner," Cardoso said. "We also decided to have the opposite guard extend even more on shooter No. 2 (Tim Dufficey). So we made some extensions in the second half, did a little better job -- not a great job, but it helped us get the victory." ..To start the fourth quarter, Barnes completed a 6-0 run by ripping the ball out of his defender's hands at midcourt and landing a breakaway layup. A few possessions later, Hoxter found Jackson underneath the rim for an easy tip-in and 68-59 advantage. ..Then with 1:37 to go, sophomore Taris Wilson hit the first of two monster breakaway slams, this one making it 76-63 to essentially put the game in hand. ..Hot from the field: The Townies outrebounded the Crusaders 16-7 in the final frame, giving way to many key transition points that helped ice the lead and the win. From the glass, WC still held a slim 35-33 advantage. ..But down at the other end, the Townies had a terrific night from the field, shooting nearly 58 percent overall. That was aided by a 7-for-17 effort from three-point range, including three 3's each from Fernandez and Orriols. ..Praise for Richey: Last season, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was throwing around high praise for the then-sophomore Richey, calling him "a suburban kid that plays urban". ..Consider Cardoso another Boston City League coach that's a fan. .."He's tough," Cardoso said. "He's one of the toughest guards coming out of his league, and I think he's going give a lot of teams problems in the state tournament, because how do you stop a kid like that?" ..Turning point? Following last season's loss to Charlestown in its home gym, WC coach Jeff Bajema greeted his players in the locker room and told them, "Guys, we can win states." ..Sure enough, the Crusaders never lost another game the rest of the way, picking up their first Division 3 state title since 2005 at the DCU Center in Worcester. After that game, Bajema spoke to reporters about how much the whitewashing by Charlestown seasoned them for what to expect in the state tournament. ..Given how much more competitive the Crusaders were this time around, could this be seen as another momentum shift? .."Hopefully, a game like this will lead us to better things," Bajema said. "But we've got a tough one Tuesday (against Holy Name), so we'll see."

 

Shot at ISO 1600, Aperture of 3.5, Shutter speed of 1/320 and Focal Length of 70.0 mm

Taken with a 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM lens and processed by Aperture 3.2.2 on Saturday February-11-2012 16:42 EST PM

Saturday, February 11, 2012.Recap: No. 15 C'Town 87, No. 19 WC 69.By Brendan Hall..CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- At this time last year, Charlestown made the trek West, down Route 146, to deliver a haymaker to a Whitinsville Christian squad considered the state's tallest lineup. ..This afternoon, the Crusaders came East to Bunker Hill, with a different look for the Townies -- smaller, quicker, more surgical -- and the result was very nearly a different outcome. The Crusaders hung with Charlestown through three quarters, before the Townies pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Whitinsville 31-14 in the final frame en route to an 87-69 victory. .."That team's very good, I thought that was the best shooting team we saw," Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso said. "They're very well balanced, with a real good point guard, big man, two-guard, so I knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. I told the guys, 'You're going to see a team like this in the state tournament, eventually down the line." ..The Townies (14-3), played just seven due to health (Jawhari Dawan-Abdullah, stomach bug) and off the court issues (Gary Braham, suspension). But they saw all five of their regular starters reach double-figures, with senior point guard Rony Fernandez (26 points, four assists) leading the way. Senior forward Tyrik Jackson (12 points, 13 rebounds) came up big on the glass again, while Tyrese Hoxter (16 points, seven assists), Omar Orriols (13 points) and Iser Barnes (12) contributed some big shots from the perimeter to keep the defense stretched out. ..But early on, the Crusaders (12-2) gave them fits with the methodical way they broke through the Townie's 2-3 zone with some of the most disciplined and precise ball movement they'd seen in a while. Junior point guard Colin Richey (23 points) funneled the offense down to the baseline, finding a player planted right in the heart of the zone and kicking to either the baseline or either wing. ..Whitinsville shot nearly 40 percent from the field, getting good looks from the short side from Tyler VandenAkker (12 points, eight rebounds) and Jesse Dykstra. Grant Brown (10 points) came up with some big shots from the perimeter as well. .."We decided to extend a little bit more on the short corner, because they hit about four shots in a row from the short corner," Cardoso said. "We also decided to have the opposite guard extend even more on shooter No. 2 (Tim Dufficey). So we made some extensions in the second half, did a little better job -- not a great job, but it helped us get the victory." ..To start the fourth quarter, Barnes completed a 6-0 run by ripping the ball out of his defender's hands at midcourt and landing a breakaway layup. A few possessions later, Hoxter found Jackson underneath the rim for an easy tip-in and 68-59 advantage. ..Then with 1:37 to go, sophomore Taris Wilson hit the first of two monster breakaway slams, this one making it 76-63 to essentially put the game in hand. ..Hot from the field: The Townies outrebounded the Crusaders 16-7 in the final frame, giving way to many key transition points that helped ice the lead and the win. From the glass, WC still held a slim 35-33 advantage. ..But down at the other end, the Townies had a terrific night from the field, shooting nearly 58 percent overall. That was aided by a 7-for-17 effort from three-point range, including three 3's each from Fernandez and Orriols. ..Praise for Richey: Last season, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was throwing around high praise for the then-sophomore Richey, calling him "a suburban kid that plays urban". ..Consider Cardoso another Boston City League coach that's a fan. .."He's tough," Cardoso said. "He's one of the toughest guards coming out of his league, and I think he's going give a lot of teams problems in the state tournament, because how do you stop a kid like that?" ..Turning point? Following last season's loss to Charlestown in its home gym, WC coach Jeff Bajema greeted his players in the locker room and told them, "Guys, we can win states." ..Sure enough, the Crusaders never lost another game the rest of the way, picking up their first Division 3 state title since 2005 at the DCU Center in Worcester. After that game, Bajema spoke to reporters about how much the whitewashing by Charlestown seasoned them for what to expect in the state tournament. ..Given how much more competitive the Crusaders were this time around, could this be seen as another momentum shift? .."Hopefully, a game like this will lead us to better things," Bajema said. "But we've got a tough one Tuesday (against Holy Name), so we'll see."

 

Shot at ISO 1600, Aperture of 3.5, Shutter speed of 1/500 and Focal Length of 50.0 mm

Taken with a 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM lens and processed by Aperture 3.2.2 on Saturday February-11-2012 16:37 EST PM

Saturday, February 11, 2012.Recap: No. 15 C'Town 87, No. 19 WC 69.By Brendan Hall..CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- At this time last year, Charlestown made the trek West, down Route 146, to deliver a haymaker to a Whitinsville Christian squad considered the state's tallest lineup. ..This afternoon, the Crusaders came East to Bunker Hill, with a different look for the Townies -- smaller, quicker, more surgical -- and the result was very nearly a different outcome. The Crusaders hung with Charlestown through three quarters, before the Townies pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Whitinsville 31-14 in the final frame en route to an 87-69 victory. .."That team's very good, I thought that was the best shooting team we saw," Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso said. "They're very well balanced, with a real good point guard, big man, two-guard, so I knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. I told the guys, 'You're going to see a team like this in the state tournament, eventually down the line." ..The Townies (14-3), played just seven due to health (Jawhari Dawan-Abdullah, stomach bug) and off the court issues (Gary Braham, suspension). But they saw all five of their regular starters reach double-figures, with senior point guard Rony Fernandez (26 points, four assists) leading the way. Senior forward Tyrik Jackson (12 points, 13 rebounds) came up big on the glass again, while Tyrese Hoxter (16 points, seven assists), Omar Orriols (13 points) and Iser Barnes (12) contributed some big shots from the perimeter to keep the defense stretched out. ..But early on, the Crusaders (12-2) gave them fits with the methodical way they broke through the Townie's 2-3 zone with some of the most disciplined and precise ball movement they'd seen in a while. Junior point guard Colin Richey (23 points) funneled the offense down to the baseline, finding a player planted right in the heart of the zone and kicking to either the baseline or either wing. ..Whitinsville shot nearly 40 percent from the field, getting good looks from the short side from Tyler VandenAkker (12 points, eight rebounds) and Jesse Dykstra. Grant Brown (10 points) came up with some big shots from the perimeter as well. .."We decided to extend a little bit more on the short corner, because they hit about four shots in a row from the short corner," Cardoso said. "We also decided to have the opposite guard extend even more on shooter No. 2 (Tim Dufficey). So we made some extensions in the second half, did a little better job -- not a great job, but it helped us get the victory." ..To start the fourth quarter, Barnes completed a 6-0 run by ripping the ball out of his defender's hands at midcourt and landing a breakaway layup. A few possessions later, Hoxter found Jackson underneath the rim for an easy tip-in and 68-59 advantage. ..Then with 1:37 to go, sophomore Taris Wilson hit the first of two monster breakaway slams, this one making it 76-63 to essentially put the game in hand. ..Hot from the field: The Townies outrebounded the Crusaders 16-7 in the final frame, giving way to many key transition points that helped ice the lead and the win. From the glass, WC still held a slim 35-33 advantage. ..But down at the other end, the Townies had a terrific night from the field, shooting nearly 58 percent overall. That was aided by a 7-for-17 effort from three-point range, including three 3's each from Fernandez and Orriols. ..Praise for Richey: Last season, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was throwing around high praise for the then-sophomore Richey, calling him "a suburban kid that plays urban". ..Consider Cardoso another Boston City League coach that's a fan. .."He's tough," Cardoso said. "He's one of the toughest guards coming out of his league, and I think he's going give a lot of teams problems in the state tournament, because how do you stop a kid like that?" ..Turning point? Following last season's loss to Charlestown in its home gym, WC coach Jeff Bajema greeted his players in the locker room and told them, "Guys, we can win states." ..Sure enough, the Crusaders never lost another game the rest of the way, picking up their first Division 3 state title since 2005 at the DCU Center in Worcester. After that game, Bajema spoke to reporters about how much the whitewashing by Charlestown seasoned them for what to expect in the state tournament. ..Given how much more competitive the Crusaders were this time around, could this be seen as another momentum shift? .."Hopefully, a game like this will lead us to better things," Bajema said. "But we've got a tough one Tuesday (against Holy Name), so we'll see."

 

Shot at ISO 1600, Aperture of 3.2, Shutter speed of 1/400 and Focal Length of 70.0 mm

Taken with a 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM lens and processed by Aperture 3.2.2 on Saturday February-11-2012 16:24 EST PM

Schweiz / Berner Oberland - Jungfrau

 

seen on the way from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg

 

gesehen auf dem Weg vom Männlichen zur Kleinen Scheidegg

 

(Wikipedia)

 

The Jungfrau (YOONG-frow[c], German pronunciation: [ˈjʊŋˌfʁaʊ̯], transl. "maiden, virgin"), at 4,158 meters (13,642 ft) is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönch, the Jungfrau forms a massive wall of mountains overlooking the Bernese Oberland and the Swiss Plateau, one of the most distinctive sights of the Swiss Alps.

 

The summit was first reached on August 3, 1811, by the Meyer brothers of Aarau and two chamois hunters from Valais. The ascent followed a long expedition over the glaciers and high passes of the Bernese Alps. It was not until 1865 that a more direct route on the northern side was opened.

 

The construction of the Jungfrau Railway in the early 20th century, which connects Kleine Scheidegg to the Jungfraujoch, the saddle between the Mönch and the Jungfrau, made the area one of the most-visited places in the Alps. Along with the Aletsch Glacier to the south, the Jungfrau is part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch area, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 2001.

 

Etymology

 

The name Jungfrau ("maiden, virgin"), which refers to the highest of the three prominent mountains overlooking the Interlaken region, along with the Mönch ("monk") and the Eiger ("ogre"), is most likely derived from the name Jungfrauenberg given to Wengernalp, the alpine meadow directly facing the huge northern side of the Jungfrau, across the Trummelbach gorge. Wengernalp was so named for the nuns of Interlaken Monastery, its historical owner. Contrary to popular belief, the name did not originate from the appearance of the snow-covered mountain, the latter looking like a veiled woman.

 

The "virgin" peak was heavily romanticized as "goddess" or "priestess" in late 18th to 19th century Romanticism. Its summit, considered inaccessible, remained untouched until the 19th century. After the first ascent in 1811 by Swiss alpinist Johann Rudolf Meyer, the peak was jokingly referred to as "Mme Meyer" (Mrs. Meyer).

 

Geographic setting

 

Politically, the Jungfrau (and its massif) is split between the municipalities of Lauterbrunnen (Bern) and Fieschertal (Valais). It is the third-highest mountain of the Bernese Alps after the nearby Finsteraarhorn and Aletschhorn, respectively 12 and 8 km (7.5 and 5 mi) away. But from Lake Thun, and the greater part of the canton of Bern, it is the most conspicuous and the nearest of the Bernese Oberland peaks; with a height difference of 3,600 m (11,800 ft) between the summit and the town of Interlaken. This, and the extreme steepness of the north face, secured for it an early reputation for inaccessibility.

 

The Jungfrau is the westernmost and highest point of a gigantic 10 km (6.2 mi) wall dominating the valleys of Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald. The wall is formed by the alignment of some of the biggest north faces in the Alps, with the Mönch (4,107 m or 13,474 ft) and Eiger (3,967 m or 13,015 ft) to the east of the Jungfrau, and overlooks the valleys to its north by a height of up to 3 km (1.9 mi). The Jungfrau is approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) from the Eiger; with the summit of the Mönch between the two mountains, 3.5 km (2.2 mi) from the Jungfrau. The Jungfraujoch is the saddle between the Jungfrau and the Mönch and the Eigerjoch is the saddle between the Mönch and the Eiger. The wall is extended to the east by the Fiescherwand and to the west by the Lauterbrunnen Wall, although it follows different directions from the Jungfrau and the Eiger.

 

The difference of altitude between the deep valley of Lauterbrunnen (800 m or 2,600 ft) and the summit is particularly visible from the area of Mürren. From the valley floor, west of the massif, the altitude gain is more than 3 km (1.9 mi) for a horizontal distance of 4 km (2.5 mi).

 

The landscapes around the Jungfrau are extremely contrasted. In contrast to the vertiginous precipices of its northwest, the mountain's southeastern side emerges from the upper snows of the Jungfraufirn, one of the main feeders of the Aletsch Glacier, at around 3,500 meters (11,500 ft). The 20-kilometer-long (12 mi) valley of Aletsch on the southeast is completely uninhabited, and is surrounded by neighboring valleys with similar landscapes. The area as a whole constitutes the largest glaciated area not just in the Alps, but in Europe as well.

 

Climbing history

 

In 1811, the brothers Johann Rudolf (1768–1825) and Hieronymus Meyer, sons of Johann Rudolf Meyer (1739–1813), the head of a rich merchant family of Aarau, along with several servants and a porter picked up at Guttannen, first reached the Valais by way of the Grimsel, and crossed the Beich Pass, a glacier pass over the Oberaletsch Glacier, to the head of the Lötschen valley. There, they added two local chamois hunters, Alois Volken and Joseph Bortis, to their party and traversed the Lötschenlücke before reaching the Aletschfirn (the west branch of the Aletsch Glacier), where they established the base camp, north of the Aletschhorn. After the Guttannen porter was sent back alone over the Lötschenlücke, the party finally reached the summit of the Jungfrau by the Rottalsattel on August 3. They then recrossed the two passes named to their point of departure in Valais, and went home again over the Grimsel.

 

The journey was a most extraordinary one for the time, and some persons threw doubts at its complete success. To settle these, another expedition was undertaken in 1812. In this the two sons, Rudolf (1791–1833) and Gottlieb (1793–1829), of Johann Rudolf Meyer, played the chief parts. After an unsuccessful attempt, defeated by bad weather, in the course of which the Oberaarjoch was crossed twice (this route being much more direct than the long detour through the Lötschental), Rudolf, with the two Valais hunters (Alois Volker and Joseph Bortis), a Guttannen porter named Arnold Abbühl, and a Hasle man, bivouacked on a depression on the southeast ridge of the Finsteraarhorn. Next day (August 16) the whole party attempted the ascent of the Finsteraarhorn from the Studer névé on the east by way of the southeast ridge, but Meyer, exhausted, remained behind. The following day the party crossed the Grünhornlücke to the Aletsch Glacier, but bad weather then put an end to further projects. At a bivouac, probably just opposite the present Konkordia Hut, the rest of the party, having come over the Oberaarjoch and the Grünhornlücke, joined the Finsteraarhorn party. Gottlieb, Rudolf's younger brother, had more patience than the rest and remained longer at the huts near the Märjelensee, where the adventurers had taken refuge. He could make the second ascent (September 3) of the Jungfrau, the Rottalsattel being reached from the east side as is now usual, and his companions being the two Valais hunters.

 

The third ascent dates from 1828, when several men from Grindelwald, headed by Peter Baumann, planted their flag upon the summit. Next came the ascent by Louis Agassiz, James David Forbes, Heath, Desor, and Duchatelier in 1841, recounted by Desor in his Excursions et Séjours dans les Glaciers. Gottlieb Samuel Studer published an account of the next ascent made by himself and Bürki in 1842.

 

In 1863, a party consisting of three young Oxford University graduates and three Swiss guides successfully reached the summit and returned to the base camp of the Faulberg (located near the present position of the Konkordia Hut) in less than 11 hours (see the section below, The 1863 Ascent). In the same year Mrs Stephen Winkworth became the first woman to climb the Jungfrau. She also slept overnight in the Faulberg cave prior to the ascent as there was no hut at that time.

 

Before the construction of the Jungfraujoch railway tunnel, the approach from the glaciers on the south side was very long. The first direct route from the valley of Lauterbrunnen was opened in 1865 by Geoffrey Winthrop Young, H. Brooke George with the guide Christian Almer. They had to carry ladders with them in order to cross the many crevasses on the north flank. Having spent the night on the rocks of the Schneehorn (3,402 m or 11,161 ft) they gained next morning the Silberlücke, the depression between the Jungfrau and Silberhorn, and thence in little more than three hours reached the summit. Descending to the Aletsch Glacier they crossed the Mönchsjoch, and passed a second night on the rocks, reaching Grindelwald next day. This route became a usual until the opening of the Jungfraujoch.

 

The first winter ascent was made on 23 January 1874, by Meta Brevoort and W. A. B. Coolidge with guides Christian and Ulrich Almer. They used a sled to reach the upper Aletsch Glacier, and were accompanied by Miss Brevoort's favorite dog, Tschingel.

 

The Jungfrau was climbed via the west side for the first time in 1885 by Fritz and Heinrich von Allmen, Ulrich Brunner, Fritz Graf, Karl Schlunegger and Johann Stäger—all from Wengen. They ascended the Rottal ridge (Innere Rottalgrat) and reached the summit on 21 September. The more difficult and dangerous northeast ridge that connects the summit from the Jungfraujoch was first climbed on 30 July 1911 by Albert Weber and Hans Schlunegger.

 

In July 2007, six Swiss Army recruits, part of the Mountain Specialists Division 1, died in an accident on the normal route. Although the causes of the deaths was not immediately clear, a report by the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research concluded that the avalanche risk was unusually high due to recent snowfall, and that there was "no other reasonable explanation" other than an avalanche for the incident.

 

The 1863 Ascent

 

The Führerbuch of the Alpine guide Peter Baumann records an ascent of the Jungfrau made by himself with three men from England in July 1863. The foreign climbers were long thought to have been John Tyndall, J.J. Hornby and T.H. Philpott, until in 1958 the records were checked by the Alpine Club and the following conclusion was reached:

 

On July 23, 1963, Phillpotts, with James Robertson and H.J. Chaytor, climbed the Jungfrau (the entry shown in A.J. 32. 227 was wrongly transcribed by Montagnier, who says ‘T.H. Philpott’ for J.S. Phillpotts). The entry in Peter Baumann’s Führerbuch (facsimile in A.C. archives) says that the trio crossed the Strahlegg Pass and the Oberaarjoch, and then climbed the Jungfrau from the Eggishorn.

 

Tyndall, Hornby and Philpott were well-known Alpinists, but there is no record of their having attempted the Jungfrau in 1863. Robertson, Chaytor and Phillpotts were novices; they had recently graduated from Oxford University where they had all been keen members of the Oxford University Boat Club.

 

William Robertson (1839–1892), the leader of the expedition (wrongly called ‘James’ in the Note quoted above), was an Australian by birth, and the first non-British national to take part in the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. He later became a barrister and member of parliament in Australia. He and H.J. Chaytor (possibly the father of the medievalist Henry John Chaytor) were both members of the victorious Oxford team in the 1861 Boat Race. James Surtees Phillpotts (1839–1930) was the third member of the team; he would later become headmaster of Bedford School. The trio had three Swiss guides, Peter Baumann, Peter Kaufmann ("Grabipeter", father of Peter Kaufmann the younger) and Rubi.

 

A description of the ascent of the Jungfrau is contained in a letter dated Sunday 26 July which Phillpotts wrote to his friend Alexander Potts (later to become the first headmaster of Fettes College). The letter is now in the possession of the Alpine Club. The following extracts are from that letter.

 

The Virgin certainly did not smile on the poor "fools who rushed in" on her sacred heights, i.e. in plain British, we had the treadmill slog, the biting wind, the half frost-bitten feet and the flayed faces that generally attend an Alpine ascent.

 

We got to the Faulberg hole about dark, and enjoyed the coffee the longman (Kauffmann) made, as one would in a hole in a rock in a cold evening. The "Faulberg Nachtlager" consists of two holes and a vestibule to the upper hole. The Upper Hole in which we lodged just contained Chay[tor], the Guv [Robertson] and myself, stretched at full length on a little hay over a hard rock mattress, convex instead of concave at the point where one likes to rest one's weight. Chaytor was in the middle, and as we were very close was warm and slept. The Guv and I courted Nature's soft nurse in vain. At two we got up and methodically put our feet into the stocks, i.e. our boots, breakfasted and shivered, then started (unwashed of course, as the cold gave us malignant hydrophobia) a little after 3:30.

 

The hole was about 150 feet [46 m] up one of the loose stone cliffs one now knows so well. So we groped our way down it and over the moraine – the stars still lingering, as day was just dawning. We could not start at 1:30, the proper time, as there was no moon and we wanted light as we had to tramp the glacier at once. Rubi led, and off we went, roped and in Indian file, in the old treadmill way over the slippery plowed-field-like snow that lay on the upper glacier, for a pull without a check of one or two hours.

 

At last we came to the region of bergschrunds and crevasses. They seemed to form at first an impassable labyrinth, but gradually the guides wound in and out between the large rifts, which were exquisitely lovely with their overhanging banks of snow and glittering icicles, and then trod as on pins and needles over a snowbridge here and there, or had to take a jump over the more feasible ones – and we found ourselves at the foot of the mountain; trudged up on the snow which ought to have been crisp but was even then more or less fresh fallen and sloppy; had to creep over about three crevasses, and after a tiresome pull, dragging one leg after another out of ankle or knee deep snow, we got on a crest of snow at right angles to the slope we had just come up. That slope with its crevasses on one side, and on the other a shorter and much steeper one which led in a few steps to a precipice.

 

All along this crest went a snakelike long crevasse, for which we had continually to sound, and go first one side and then the other; then we got to the foot of the saddle. Some twenty or thirty steps, some cut, some uncut, soon took us up a kind of hollow, and we got on a little sloping plateau of some six feet [1.8 m] large, where we left the grub and the knapsack, keeping my small flask of cognac only. Then up a steep ice slope, very steep I should say, down which the bits of ice cut out of the steps hopped and jumped at full gallop and then bounded over to some bottomless place which we could not see down. Their pace gave one an unpleasant idea of the possible consequence of a slip.

 

Here we encountered a biting bitter wind. Peter Baumann cut magnificent steps, at least he and Rubi did between them, the one improving on the other's first rough blows. After Rubi came Chaytor with Kauffmann behind him, then the Guv, and then myself, the tail of the string. Each step was a long lift from the last one, and as the snow was shallow they had to be cut in the ice which was like rock on this last slope.

 

Suddenly there burst upon us, on lifting our heads over the ridge, the green and cheerful valleys of Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken, of Grindelwald and a distant view of others equally beautiful stretching on for ever in one vast panorama. On the other side in grim contrast there was a wild and even awful scene. One gazed about one and tried in vain to see to the bottom of dark yawning abysses and sheer cliffs of ice or rock.

 

Tourism

 

Named after the Jungfrau, the Jungfrau Region of the Bernese Oberland is a major tourist destination in the Alps and includes a large number of railways and other facilities. While the mountain peak was once difficult to access, the Jungfrau Railway, a rack railway, now goes to the Jungfraujoch railway station at 3,454 m (11,332 ft), therefore providing an easy access to the upper Aletsch Glacier and a relatively short access to the Jungfrau itself, the height difference between the station and the summit being only 704 metres and the horizontal distance being slightly less than 2 kilometres. As a result, in the popular mind, the Jungfrau has become a mountain associated with the Bernese Oberland and Interlaken, rather than with Upper Valais and Fiesch.

 

In 1893, Adolf Guyer-Zeller conceived of the idea of a railway tunnel to the Jungfraujoch to make the glaciated areas on its south side more accessible. The building of the tunnel took 16 years and the summit station was not opened before 1912. The goal was in fact to reach the summit of the Jungfrau with an elevator from the highest railway station, located inside the mountain. The complete project was not realized because of the outbreak of the World War I. Nevertheless, it was at the time one of the highest railways in the world and remains today the highest in Europe and the only (non-cable) railway on Earth going well past the perennial snow-line.

 

The Jungfrau Railway leaves from Kleine Scheidegg, which can be reached from both sides by trains from Grindelwald, and Lauterbrunnen via Wengen. The train enters the Jungfrau Tunnel running eastward through the Eiger just above Eigergletscher, which is, since 2020, also accessible by aerial tramway from Grindelwald. Before arriving at the Jungfraujoch, it stops for a few minutes at two other stations, Eigerwand (on the north face of the Eiger) and Eismeer (on the south side), where passengers can see through the holes excavated from the mountain. The journey from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch takes approximately 50 minutes including the stops; the downhill return journey taking only 35 minutes.

 

A large complex of tunnels and buildings has been constructed at the Jungfraujoch, referred to as the "Top of Europe". There are several restaurants and bars, shops, multimedia exhibitions, a post office, and a research station with dedicated accommodation facilities. An elevator enables access to the top of the Sphinx and its observatory, at 3,571 m (11,716 ft), the highest viewing platform of the area. Outside, at the level of the Jungfraujoch, there is a ski school, and the "Ice Palace", a collection of elaborate ice sculptures displayed inside the Aletsch Glacier. Another tunnel leads to the east side of the Sphinx, where one can walk on the glacier up to the Mönchsjoch Hut, the only hotel infrastructure in the area.

 

Apart from the Jungfraujoch, many facilities have been built in the Jungfrau Region, including numerous mountain railways. In 1908, the first public cable car in the world, the Wetterhorn Elevator, opened at the foot of the Wetterhorn, but was closed seven years later. The Schilthorn above Mürren, the Männlichen above Wengen, and the Schynige Platte above Wilderswil, offer good views of the Jungfrau and the Lauterbrunnen valley. On the south side, the Eggishorn above Fiesch also offers views of the Jungfrau, across the Aletsch Glacier.

 

Climbing routes

 

The normal route follows the traces of the first climbers, but the long approach on the Aletsch Glacier is no longer necessary. From the area of the Jungfraujoch the route to the summit takes only a few hours. Most climbers start from the Mönchsjoch Hut. After a traverse of the Jungfraufirn the route heads to the Rottalsattel (3,885 m or 12,746 ft), from where the southern ridge leads to the Jungfrau. It is not considered a very difficult climb but it can be dangerous on the upper section above the Rottalsattel, where most accidents happen. The use of the Jungfrau Railway instead of the much more gradual approach from Fiesch (or Fieschertal), via the Konkordia Hut, can cause some acclimatization troubles as the difference of altitude between the railway stations of Interlaken and Jungfraujoch is almost 3 km (1.9 mi).

 

(Wikipedia)

 

The Schwarzmönch (German for "black monk") (2,649 m) is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland. It forms a huge buttress on the north-west side of the Jungfrau, to which it is connected by the ridge named Ufem Schwarzen Grat.

 

East the summit is located the Silberhorn Hut.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Die Jungfrau ist ein Berg in der Schweiz. Sie ist mit 4158 m ü. M. der dritthöchste Berg der Berner Alpen und bildet zusammen mit Eiger und Mönch eine markante Dreiergruppe, ein sogenanntes «Dreigestirn».

 

Am 13. Dezember 2001 wurde die Jungfrau zusammen mit südlich angrenzenden Gebieten als Schweizer Alpen Jungfrau-Aletsch in die Liste als UNESCO-Weltnaturerbe aufgenommen.

 

Lage und Umgebung

 

Über den Jungfrau-Gipfel verläuft die Grenze zwischen den Kantonen Bern und Wallis. Der Berg ist ausserordentlich vielgestaltig. Im Norden und Nordwesten, auf ihrer „weiblichen“ Schauseite (vgl. Foto) sind ihr Wengen-Jungfrau, Schneehorn, das Silberhorn, das Chly Silberhoren und der „Schwarzmönch“ vorgelagert sowie die zerrissenen Kühlauenen- und Giessengletscher. Im Westen erhebt sie sich fast eisfrei volle 3250 Meter über dem hinteren Lauterbrunnental. Es ist dies (nach dem Mont Blanc) der zweithöchste direkte Abhang in den Alpen. Ihre Südwand erhebt sich über dem versteckten Rottalgletscher und ihre Ostwand über den Firnen am Jungfraujoch.

 

Die Pläne, auf die Jungfrau eine Bergbahn zu bauen, wurden aufgrund finanzieller Schwierigkeiten nicht realisiert. Die ursprünglich bis unter den Gipfel geplante Jungfraubahn wurde bis 1912 mit Endstation Jungfraujoch fertiggestellt.

 

Auf dem untersten Absatz des Nordostgrats haben die PTT einen Funk-Umsetzer auf 3777 m ü. M. installiert.

 

Geologie

 

Die Jungfrau liegt im nördlichen Randbereich des Aarmassivs, eines der sogenannten Zentralmassive der Schweizer Alpen. Ihre höheren Lagen (Silberhorn, Wengen-Jungfrau und Hauptgipfel) sowie ihre Westflanke bis hinunter zum oberen Ende des Lauterbrunnentals sind weit überwiegend aus kristallinem Grundgebirge (prä-triassische Gneise, Glimmerschiefer u. ä.) der Helvetischen Zone aufgebaut. Die Nordwestflanke hingegen, der ganze «Vorbau» (Schwarzmönch, Rotbrett und Schneehorn) besteht aus sedimentärem, überwiegend jurassischem und kretazischem Deckgebirge des Helvetikums. Eine Besonderheit der Jungfrau ist, dass dort zwischen dem prinzipiell autochthonen Gipfel-Kristallin und dessen Deckschichten ein Überschiebungs-kontakt besteht; somit ist das Grundgebirge geringfügig auf sein Deckgebirge überschoben worden.

 

Name

 

Der Name Jungfrau dürfte sich von der Wengernalp am Fusse des Berges ableiten, die – nach den Besitzerinnen, den Nonnen vom Kloster Interlaken – früher Jungfrauenberg genannt wurde. Einer anderen Quelle zufolge leitet sich der Name vom Aussehen des Nordhanges des Berges ab, der aus der Ferne dem Schleier eines Mädchens ähneln soll.

 

Nach dem Berg ist die Jungfrau-Region benannt, die Tourismusorganisation der Orte Grindelwald, Wengen, Mürren und Lauterbrunnen, ausserdem die Jungfraubahn Holding AG, die neben der Jungfraubahn selbst auch die anderen Bergbahnen in der Region betreibt.

 

Besteigungsgeschichte

 

Bergsteiger auf dem Gipfel im Jahr 1878

Erstbesteiger waren Johann Rudolf Meyer und sein Bruder Hieronymus mit den Führern Joseph Bortis und Alois Volken, die am 3. August 1811 vom Lötschental her den Berg von Süden erklommen hatten. Sie folgten ungefähr der heutigen Normalroute. Der Volksmund taufte daraufhin die bis dahin unberührte Jungfrau «Madame Meyer».

 

1874 erfolgte die Winter-Erstbesteigung durch die Alpinistin Margaret Claudia Brevoort.

 

Die Jungfrau gilt, obwohl leicht erreichbar, als unfallträchtiger Berg. Bei einem der schwersten Unglücke stürzten am 12. Juli 2007 sechs Rekruten der Gebirgsspezialisten-Rekrutenschule Andermatt vom Rottalsattel 1000 Meter auf den darunterliegenden Rottalgletscher in den Tod, nachdem sie eine Lawine ausgelöst hatten. Das urteilende Militärgericht ging von einem falsch eingeschätzten, heimtückischen Lawinenrisiko aus und sprach in der Folge die verantwortlichen Bergführer frei.

 

Routen

 

Rottalsattel und Südostgrat (Normalroute)

 

Schwierigkeit: ZS-

Zeitaufwand: 4–5 Std. von der Mönchsjochhütte, 3½–4½ Std. vom Jungfraujoch

Ausgangspunkt: Mönchsjochhütte (3657 m)

Talort: Grindelwald (1034 m)

 

Innere Rottalgrat

 

Schwierigkeit: ZS

Zeitaufwand: 6–7 Stunden

Ausgangspunkt: Rottalhütte (2755 m)

Talort: Stechelberg (919 m)

 

Nordwestgrat oder „Rotbrettgrat“

 

Schwierigkeit: S

Zeitaufwand: 8–12 Stunden

Ausgangspunkt: Silberhornhütte (2663 m)

Talort: Stechelberg (919 m)

 

Nordostgrat

 

Schwierigkeit: S+, mit IV. UIAA-Grad Felskletterei

Zeitaufwand: 8–10 Stunden

Ausgangspunkt: Jungfraujoch (3454 m)

Talort: Grindelwald (1034 m)

 

Kunst

 

Erwähnt ist die Jungfrau unter anderem bei Friedrich Schiller, Wilhelm Tell, Vers 628 (1804). Lord Byrons Drama Manfred (1817) spielt am Fuss und auf dem Gipfel des Massivs. Ferdinand Hodler hat die Jungfrau mehrfach gemalt, darunter die perspektivisch verfremdete «Jungfrau über dem Nebelmeer». Alex Diggelmann gab 1958 eine Lithographienmappe unter dem Titel Die Jungfrau, mein Berg heraus. Stephan Bundi gestaltete 2005 eine Schweizer Gedenkmünze mit dem Bergmotiv.

 

Im Januar 2012 wurde zum 100-jährigen bestehen der Jungfraubahn eine übergrosse Schweizer Flagge vom Lichtkünstler Gerry Hofstetter an den Gipfel projiziert. Zeitweise waren neben dem Schweizer Kreuz auch ein Porträt des Zürcher Unternehmers Adolf Guyer-Zeller sowie ein Bild von einem der Züge zu sehen.

 

(Wikipedia)

Author: Moxon, Joseph, 1627-1691.

Title: A Tutor to Astronomy and Geography. Or An Easie and Speedy Way to Know the Use of Both the Globes, Caelestial and Terrestrial. In Six Books. 1. Teaching the Rudiments of Astronomy and Geography. 2. Astronomical and Geographical Problemes. 3. Problemes in Navigation. 4. Astrological Problemes. 5. Gnomonical Problemes. 6. Trigonometrical Problemes. More Fully and Amply Than Hath Yet Been Set Forth, Either By Gemma Frisus, Metius, Hues, Wright, Blaew, or Any Others That Have Taught the Use of the Globes: And That So Plainly and Methodically, That the Meanest Capacity May At First Reading Apprehend It and With a Little Practice Grow Expert In These Divine Sciences. With An Appendix Showing the Use of the Ptolomaick Sphere. The Third Edition Corrected and Enlarged. By Joseph Moxon, Hydrographer to the Kings' Most Excellent Majesty. Whereunto Is Added the Ancient Poetical Stories of the Stars: Showing Reasons Why the Several Shapes and Forms Are Pictured on the Celestial Globe. As Also a Discourse of the Antiquity, Progress and Augmentation of Astronomy. Job XXVI. 7.13. He Stretcheth Out the North Over the Empty Place, and Hangeth the Earth Upon Nothing. By His Spirit He Hath Garnished the Heavens: His Hand Hath Framed the Crooked Serpent.

Imprint: London : Printed by Tho. Roycroft, for Joseph Moxon, 1674. 3rd ed. corr. and enl.

Physical Description:

Page: P. 181

Call Number: QB41 .M937 1674 Rare Book

   

Rights Info: Public domain. No known copyright restrictions.

Please attribute this image to: Royal Ontario Museum Library & Archives.

Whenever possible, please provide a link to our Photostream.

 

For information about reproduction of this item for commercial use, please contact the Royal Ontario Museum's Rights and Reproductions department.

View large on black

 

"A TEST OF ENDURANCE"

 

Wave after wave of swimmers raced across the sand and dove headfirst into the sea. Arms churned as bodies sliced through the waves in a long line that went as far as my eyes could see. Then, they turned around and began to make their way back to the beach. Heads bobbed to the side as they took in fresh breaths of air. Finally, great splashes of water sprayed everywhere as the swimmers reached the shore, a mixture of grim determination and cheerful smiles etched across their faces. A series of cheers erupted from the crowd waiting for them on the beach as they raced across the sand once again to their bikes for the next leg of the competition.

 

This was the scene at Hwasun Beach where nearly 1100 men and women took part in the 2011 Iron Man Korea Jeju Triathlon. Participants swam 3.8 km, bicycled 180.2 km, and ran 42.2 km for a total of 226.195 km on a difficult course that wound its way over rolling hills between Daejeong-Eup and the World Cup stadium in Seogwipo.

 

Cyclists worked their way methodically up a steep incline just outside of Jungmun and then coasted down a hill, thumbs up as they passed me, clearly relieved to finish that part of the race. But, the hardest part was yet to come: a full marathon that would test the will and endurance of these athletes.

 

Five grueling hours later, the end in sight, Balazs Csoke from Hungary, using all his remaining strength, dragged his exhausted body across the finish line, completing the race in 8 hours, 48 minutes, and 18 seconds. Korean hopeful Yeun Sik Ham finished strong, clocking in at 9:36:02 while Kate Bevilaqua of Australia was the top woman, finishing the race in 9 hours, 39 minutes, and 42 seconds.

 

www.jejuweekly.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=1730

 

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More images from the race www.flickr.com/photos/dmacs_photos/sets/72157627105746342/

 

Slideshow www.flickr.com/photos/dmacs_photos/sets/72157627105746342...

 

Please view my stream LARGE on black:

 

DMac 5D Mark II's photos on Flickriver

 

Follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/#!/dmac5dmark2

 

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Saturday, February 11, 2012.Recap: No. 15 C'Town 87, No. 19 WC 69.By Brendan Hall..CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- At this time last year, Charlestown made the trek West, down Route 146, to deliver a haymaker to a Whitinsville Christian squad considered the state's tallest lineup. ..This afternoon, the Crusaders came East to Bunker Hill, with a different look for the Townies -- smaller, quicker, more surgical -- and the result was very nearly a different outcome. The Crusaders hung with Charlestown through three quarters, before the Townies pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Whitinsville 31-14 in the final frame en route to an 87-69 victory. .."That team's very good, I thought that was the best shooting team we saw," Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso said. "They're very well balanced, with a real good point guard, big man, two-guard, so I knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. I told the guys, 'You're going to see a team like this in the state tournament, eventually down the line." ..The Townies (14-3), played just seven due to health (Jawhari Dawan-Abdullah, stomach bug) and off the court issues (Gary Braham, suspension). But they saw all five of their regular starters reach double-figures, with senior point guard Rony Fernandez (26 points, four assists) leading the way. Senior forward Tyrik Jackson (12 points, 13 rebounds) came up big on the glass again, while Tyrese Hoxter (16 points, seven assists), Omar Orriols (13 points) and Iser Barnes (12) contributed some big shots from the perimeter to keep the defense stretched out. ..But early on, the Crusaders (12-2) gave them fits with the methodical way they broke through the Townie's 2-3 zone with some of the most disciplined and precise ball movement they'd seen in a while. Junior point guard Colin Richey (23 points) funneled the offense down to the baseline, finding a player planted right in the heart of the zone and kicking to either the baseline or either wing. ..Whitinsville shot nearly 40 percent from the field, getting good looks from the short side from Tyler VandenAkker (12 points, eight rebounds) and Jesse Dykstra. Grant Brown (10 points) came up with some big shots from the perimeter as well. .."We decided to extend a little bit more on the short corner, because they hit about four shots in a row from the short corner," Cardoso said. "We also decided to have the opposite guard extend even more on shooter No. 2 (Tim Dufficey). So we made some extensions in the second half, did a little better job -- not a great job, but it helped us get the victory." ..To start the fourth quarter, Barnes completed a 6-0 run by ripping the ball out of his defender's hands at midcourt and landing a breakaway layup. A few possessions later, Hoxter found Jackson underneath the rim for an easy tip-in and 68-59 advantage. ..Then with 1:37 to go, sophomore Taris Wilson hit the first of two monster breakaway slams, this one making it 76-63 to essentially put the game in hand. ..Hot from the field: The Townies outrebounded the Crusaders 16-7 in the final frame, giving way to many key transition points that helped ice the lead and the win. From the glass, WC still held a slim 35-33 advantage. ..But down at the other end, the Townies had a terrific night from the field, shooting nearly 58 percent overall. That was aided by a 7-for-17 effort from three-point range, including three 3's each from Fernandez and Orriols. ..Praise for Richey: Last season, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was throwing around high praise for the then-sophomore Richey, calling him "a suburban kid that plays urban". ..Consider Cardoso another Boston City League coach that's a fan. .."He's tough," Cardoso said. "He's one of the toughest guards coming out of his league, and I think he's going give a lot of teams problems in the state tournament, because how do you stop a kid like that?" ..Turning point? Following last season's loss to Charlestown in its home gym, WC coach Jeff Bajema greeted his players in the locker room and told them, "Guys, we can win states." ..Sure enough, the Crusaders never lost another game the rest of the way, picking up their first Division 3 state title since 2005 at the DCU Center in Worcester. After that game, Bajema spoke to reporters about how much the whitewashing by Charlestown seasoned them for what to expect in the state tournament. ..Given how much more competitive the Crusaders were this time around, could this be seen as another momentum shift? .."Hopefully, a game like this will lead us to better things," Bajema said. "But we've got a tough one Tuesday (against Holy Name), so we'll see."

 

Shot at ISO 1600, Aperture of 3.2, Shutter speed of 1/320 and Focal Length of 70.0 mm

Taken with a 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM lens and processed by Aperture 3.2.2 on Saturday February-11-2012 17:05 EST PM

LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU WHEN YOU'RE BUSY MAKING OTHER PLANS...

It's funny how much can change in a few years. I've been going through my archives to try and put some organization and structure around terabytes of images I have collected since mid-2010. Part of that effort is to put some words next to these images, to tell the pieces of the story that aren't recorded in pixels.

 

We moved to California in July of that year and spent a week before we started working exploring points north. In memory and in reality this was a charmed time: filled with the promise of a new start in California, unburdened by the responsibilities of work or the pressures of a changing professional landscape that eventually pushed us toward a career change. Driving north along the Avenue of the Giants where it winds without shoulder between coastal sequoias, to quote Dylan Thomas, we rode the daft and happy hills bareback.

 

Two weeks after the moving truck had departed, we slid over the Golden Gate northbound through Marin and then Sonoma and then Mendocino counties until we arrived at Prairie Creek Redwood State Park. Along the way we navigated the lost coast stopping and staring in awe at the giant redwood trees.

 

What can one add by writing a few words about the California redwoods that Muir or others haven't added already? What can I tell you that you can't already guess about the effect these giants have on the inner child that grew up on the great, flat expanses of the Midwest?

Note photographer for scale.

Note photographer for scale.

 

The Chandelier Tree.

The Chandelier Tree.

 

They were then and remain to me now the promise of the future and the lure of western lands made fibrous, ruddy flesh. Fragrant, seemingly-immortal and utterly silent they remain, basking even now in the California sun.

 

I've written previously about how I think there are at least two predominant modes of photographic consumption: the first being the instantaneous "this is what I'm doing" and the second being the "this is who we were." During the last few years advances in technology have driven the first of these to new heights. It is easier and faster and cheaper than ever to take and edit and share innumerable photographs. Despite these changes, however, it is my belief that the limitations on producing powerful imagery remain at the intersection of a photographer's capabilities and the import of what he or she documents. These photographs wouldn't be as precious to me if they weren't as crisp or if they didn't encapsulate so nicely our excitement at beginning a new chapter in our lives.

 

If I didn't take and instantly share some photographs with my iPhone of this first of our northbound adventures then I surely did in subsequent trips. But whatever became of those photographs is anyone's guess. The ones that survived are the ones you see here, made carefully and methodically for posterity and reminding me through the intervening years of stress and joy and change of who we once were and who we still are today.

 

justin-kern-onnz.squarespace.com/the-golden-sieve/memorie...

 

"THEY WERE THEN AND REMAIN TO ME NOW THE PROMISE OF THE FUTURE AND THE LURE OF WESTERN LANDS MADE FIBROUS, RUDDY FLESH."

 

I REMEMBER BEING TIRED...

 

The ride was a long one and we had made plans to set up camp that night at a spot inside the park. I'll admit now to being reticent to tackling a more cumbersome route when my wife first suggested the detour through the Avenue of the Giants. Whatever hesitation or frustration might have existed melted at the sight of these trees and the unceremonious way the more spectacular groves were marked with a simple plaque and a dusty patch of earth where you were expected to park, get out and walk among giants. I had learned by this point that my navigator was an adept at finding new and interesting spots via a small detour.

 

We found a felled tree and I climbed aboard, able to stand fully extended in the cavity formed by a fire scar or some other calamity scaled to the enormity of these pines. We stopped a bit later where a particularly rich patch of clover covered the forest floor like knotted carpet, I remember there was a road sign that reported the distance to San Francisco and one or two cars riding the ribbon of asphalt south. We drove on, through dappled sunlight and the late afternoon until we had to regain the main road to make camp.

 

If memory is indeed a golden sieve, then perhaps I was exhausted despite the excitement, but rather than fatigue I remember leaving the Avenue of the Giants filled with elation and wonder. I didn't know we were about to find an idyllic and utterly abandoned beach filled with driftwood and elk and fog. Nor did I anticipate the spectacular shape our hikes through the coastal redwood forests would take. And even if I did, the specifics, the 20/20 vision of hindsight has wiped whatever expectations I had from my mind. Instead I'm left with this collection of photographs that follow, breadcrumbs that trace a path I hope to re-blaze with Val, Oliver and whoever might follow in the years to come.

"Karlstadt is a town in the Main-Spessart in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia (Unterfranken) in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of Main-Spessart (Kreisstadt), and has a population of around 15,000.

 

Karlstadt lies on the River Main in the district (Landkreis) of Main-Spessart, roughly 25 km north of the city of Würzburg. It belongs to the Main-Franconian wine-growing region. The town itself is located on the right bank of the river, but the municipal territory extends to the left bank.

 

Since the amalgamations in 1978, Karlstadt's Stadtteile have been Gambach, Heßlar, Karlburg, Karlstadt, Laudenbach, Mühlbach, Rohrbach, Stadelhofen, Stetten, and Wiesenfeld.

 

From the late 6th to the mid-13th century, the settlement of Karlburg with its monastery and harbor was located on the west bank of the Main. It grew up around the Karlsburg, a castle perched high over the community, that was destroyed in the German Peasants' War in 1525.

 

In 1202, Karlstadt itself was founded by Konrad von Querfurt, Bishop of Würzburg. The town was methodically laid out with a nearly rectangular plan to defend Würzburg territory against the Counts of Rieneck. The plan is still well preserved today. The streets in the old town are laid out much like a chessboard, but for military reasons they are not quite straight.

 

In 1225, Karlstadt had its first documentary mention. In 1236, the castle and the village of Karlburg were destroyed in the Rieneck Feud. In 1244, winegrowing in Karlstadt was mentioned for the first time. From 1277 comes the earliest evidence of the town seal. In 1304, the town fortifications were finished. The parish of Karlstadt was first named in 1339. In 1369 a hospital was founded. Between 1370 and 1515, remodelling work was being done on the first, Romanesque parish church to turn it into a Gothic hall church. About 1400, Karlstadt became for a short time the seat of an episcopal mint. The former Oberamt of the Princely Electorate (Hochstift) of Würzburg was, after Secularization, in Bavaria's favour, passed in 1805 to Grand Duke Ferdinando III of Tuscany to form the Grand Duchy of Würzburg, and passed with this to the Kingdom of Bavaria.

 

The Jewish residents of the town had a synagogue as early as the Middle Ages. The town's synagogue was destroyed on Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass, 9 November 1938) by Nazi SA men, SS, and Hitler Youth, as well as other local residents. Its destruction is recalled by a plaque at the synagogue's former site. The homes of Jewish residents were attacked as well, the possessions therein were looted or brought to the square in front of the town hall where they were burned, and the Jews living in the town were beaten.

 

Lower Franconia (German: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. It consists of nine districts and 308 municipalities (including three cities).

 

After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally reorganised and, in 1808, divided into 15 administrative government regions (German: Regierungsbezirke, singular Regierungsbezirk), in Bavaria called Kreise (singular: Kreis). They were created in the fashion of the French departements, quite even in size and population, and named after their main rivers.

 

In the following years, due to territorial changes (e. g. loss of Tyrol, addition of the Palatinate), the number of Kreise was reduced to 8. One of these was the Untermainkreis (Lower Main District). In 1837 king Ludwig I of Bavaria renamed the Kreise after historical territorial names and tribes of the area. This also involved some border changes or territorial swaps. Thus the name Untermainkreis changed to Lower Franconia and Aschaffenburg, but the city name was dropped in the middle of the 20th century, leaving just Lower Franconia.

 

From 1933, the regional Nazi Gauleiter, Otto Hellmuth, (who had renamed his party Gau "Mainfranken") insisted on renaming the government district Mainfranken as well. He encountered resistance from Bavarian state authorities but finally succeeded in having the name of the district changed, effective 1 June 1938. After 1945 the name Unterfranken was restored.

 

Franconia (German: Franken, pronounced [ˈfʁaŋkŋ̍]; Franconian: Franggn [ˈfrɑŋɡŋ̍]; Bavarian: Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: Fränkisch).

 

Franconia is made up of the three Regierungsbezirke of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia in Bavaria, the adjacent, Franconian-speaking, South Thuringia, south of the Thuringian Forest—which constitutes the language boundary between Franconian and Thuringian— and the eastern parts of Heilbronn-Franconia in Baden-Württemberg.

 

Those parts of the Vogtland lying in Saxony (largest city: Plauen) are sometimes regarded as Franconian as well, because the Vogtlandian dialects are mostly East Franconian. The inhabitants of Saxon Vogtland, however, mostly do not consider themselves as Franconian. On the other hand, the inhabitants of the Hessian-speaking parts of Lower Franconia west of the Spessart (largest city: Aschaffenburg) do consider themselves as Franconian, although not speaking the dialect. Heilbronn-Franconia's largest city of Heilbronn and its surrounding areas are South Franconian-speaking, and therefore only sometimes regarded as Franconian. In Hesse, the east of the Fulda District is Franconian-speaking, and parts of the Oden Forest District are sometimes regarded as Franconian for historical reasons, but a Franconian identity did not develop there.

 

Franconia's largest city and unofficial capital is Nuremberg, which is contiguous with Erlangen and Fürth, with which it forms the Franconian conurbation with around 1.3 million inhabitants. Other important Franconian cities are Würzburg, Bamberg, Bayreuth, Ansbach and Coburg in Bavaria, Suhl and Meiningen in Thuringia, and Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg.

 

The German word Franken—Franconians—also refers to the ethnic group, which is mainly to be found in this region. They are to be distinguished from the Germanic people of the Franks, and historically formed their easternmost settlement area. The origins of Franconia lie in the settlement of the Franks from the 6th century in the area probably populated until then mainly by the Elbe Germanic people in the Main river area, known from the 9th century as East Francia (Francia Orientalis). In the Middle Ages the region formed much of the eastern part of the Duchy of Franconia and, from 1500, the Franconian Circle. The restructuring of the south German states by Napoleon, after the demise of the Holy Roman Empire, saw most of Franconia awarded to Bavaria." - info from Wikipedia.

 

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

 

Now on Instagram.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon or donate.

Prada Marfa

A small one story, one room adobe building with two large plate glass windows. Purses and shoes are sparsely and methodically placed inside.

ArtistElmgreen and Dragset

Year2005

TypeAdobe, plaster, paint, glass panes, aluminum frames, MDF, carpet

Dimensions15 ft × 25 ft (4.6 m × 7.6 m)

LocationUS 90, Valentine, Texas

30.60346°N 104.51850°WCoordinates: 30.60346°N 104.51850°W

Prada Marfa is a permanently installed sculpture by artists Elmgreen and Dragset, situated 1.4 miles (2.3 km) northwest of Valentine, Texas, just off U.S. Highway 90 (US 90), and about 26 miles (42 km) northwest of the city of Marfa.[1] The installation was inaugurated on October 1, 2005. The artists called the work a "pop architectural land art project."[2]

 

The sculpture, realized with the assistance of American architects Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello,[3] cost $120,000 and was intended to never be repaired, so it might slowly degrade back into the natural landscape.[4] This plan was deviated from when, the night the sculpture was completed, vandals graffitied the exterior, and broke into the building stealing handbags and shoes.[4]

 

Contents

1Sculpture

2Vandalism

3Response from Texas Department of Transportation

4References

5Further reading

6External links

Sculpture

Designed to resemble a Prada store, the building is made of "adobe bricks, plaster, paint, glass pane, aluminum frame, MDF, and carpet."[2] The installation's door is nonfunctional. On the front of the structure there are two large windows displaying actual Prada wares, shoes and handbags, picked out and provided by Miuccia Prada herself from the fall/winter 2005 collection; Prada allowed Elmgreen and Dragset to use the Prada trademark for this work.[1] The sculpture was financed by the Art Production Fund (APF) and Ballroom Marfa, a center of contemporary art and culture.

 

Prada had already collaborated with Elmgreen and Dragset in 2001 when the artists attached signage to the Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in New York City with the (false) message "Opening soon—PRADA". Prada Marfa is located relatively close to Donald Judd's Chinati Foundation. The minimalism of Prada's usual displays that are mimicked in this work play off the minimalism that Judd is known for as an artist. The site-specific of Prada Marfa invites for a comparison with other art movements such as minimalism and land art, which are equally dependent on the site where they are placed. Prada Marfa relies almost entirely on its context for its critical effect.[5] The "sculptural Intervention" can be interpreted as criticism of consumerism, luxury branding and gentrification, but whether intentionally or not, it reinforces the capitalist values it criticizes.[5] Therefore, this work of art experienced a change of meaning and gained an ambivalent moment, that the artists did not expect. Along a ledge that runs around the base of the building, hundreds of people have left business cards, weighed down by small rocks.[6]

 

Vandalism

The night after Prada Marfa officially debuted, the installation was vandalized. The building was broken into, its contents (six handbags and 14 right footed shoes) were stolen, and the word "Dumb" as well as the phrase "Dum Dum" were spray painted on the sides of the structure.[4] The sculpture was quickly repaired, repainted, and restocked. The new Prada purses do not have bottoms and instead hide parts of a security system that alerts authorities if the bags are moved.[4] The vandalism shows the strong reaction and interaction between the sculpture and the viewers, in this very specific and isolated context.[clarification needed] The direct physical relationship between the sculpture and the viewers achieved extensive local and international press coverage.[5]

 

The exhibition was again vandalized in March 2014. The structure was painted light blue, hung with fake logos for Toms Shoes from the awnings, and posted with a political manifesto on the door. Ballroom Marfa issued a statement decrying the vandalism and pledged to restore the site.[7] A Texas artist, 32-year-old Joe Magnano (using the pseudonym 9271977) was subsequently arrested and tried. Magnano pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor criminal mischief and agreed to pay Ballroom Marfa $10,700 in restitution as well as a $1,000 fine.[8]

 

Response from Texas Department of Transportation

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is currently discussing the fate of the installation now that it considers it to be a billboard that does not fit permitted specifications.[9] Michael Elmgreen commented on the allegations that Prada Marfa is an illegal advertisement for Prada. He stated: "There is no company behind the artwork. I was not commissioned by Prada [...] They never, ever asked me to do advertisement for them."[10] In September 2014, TxDOT officials announced that the structure would be reclassified as a museum, with the Prada Marfa as its only exhibit. This action exempts the structure from the same signage rules that forced the removal of a 40-foot-tall (12 m) neon bunny previously installed nearby by Playboy magazine.[clarification needed]

 

References

Wilson, Eric (September 29, 2005). "Front Row; Little Prada in the Desert". The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2010.

Jodidio, Philip (2007). Architecture Now! (5). Slovenia: Taschen. p. 202. ISBN 978-3-8228-1810-7. Missing or empty |title= (help)

Mendelsohn, Adam (October 2005). "Stealing the Show". Artforum.

Novovitch, Barbara (October 8, 2005). "Vandal Hated the Art, but, Oh, Those Shoes". The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2010.

Nicky, Ryan (April 2, 2009). "From New York to the Congo via Marfa: Branded Occupation" (PDF). Proceedings of the Conference held at the University of Brighton. Occupation: Negotiations with Constructed Space. pp. 3–4. Retrieved February 27, 2014.

Beal, Daphne (November 22, 2009). "In Marfa, Texas, Minimalist Art and Maximum Flavor". Boston Globe. Retrieved March 24, 2010.

Heddaya, Mostafa (March 11, 2014). "Prada Marfa Vandalized". Hyperallergic. Retrieved March 14, 2014.

Fetcher, Joshua (November 14, 2014). "Prada Marfa vandal who turned store into TOMS protest pleads guilty". San Antonio Express-News. San Antonio, TX. Retrieved December 9, 2014.

Llorca, Juan Carlos (September 23, 2013). "TxDOT: Prada Marfa Is Illegal Roadside Ad; Structure Installed in 2005 Along a Rural Highway". Austin, TX: KXAN-TV. Retrieved September 25, 2013.

Mari, Francesca (October 14, 2013). "So, Is it Art? Talking to Prada Marfa Artist Michael Elmgreen". Texas Monthly. Retrieved February 27, 2014.

Further reading

Dragset, Ingar/Elmgreen, Michael: A space called public, Köln 2013.

Elmgreen, Michael/Dragset, Ingar: Taking place. die Arbeiten von Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset; anlässlich der Ausstellungen Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset, Taking Place, Kunsthalle Zürich, 10 November 2001 - 20 January 2002, Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset, Prison Breaking/Powerless Structures, Fig. 333, 25th São Paulo Biennial, São Paulo, 23 March - 2 June 2002, Ostfildern-Ruit 2002.

Rael, Ronald. “House of Prada, House of Mud”, in Elmgreen and Dragset: PRADA MARFA, edited by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset. Berlin: Buchhandlung Walther Konig. May 2007.

Elmgreen, Michael: Prada Marfa. Elmgreen&Dragset, Köln 2007.

Gisbourne, Mark: Double Act- Künstlerpaare, München, Berlin 2007.

Szorcin, Pamela C.: Elmgreen&Dragset[permanent dead link], in: Künstler. Kritisches Lexikon der Gegen-wartskunst, Ausgabe 93, Heft 2, (2011).

External links

Save Prada Marfa[permanent dead link]

May Bug revisited. I decided to refold this model despite the arduous sequence. My first attempt was not intended to be published on Flickr, but during the process I realized that it may be very long before I folded another one so I decided to upload the picture anyway. I have been bringing all of my models up to the same level in folding effort, and I had to bring my most complex design up with the rest.

 

There was a much more refined and methodical shaping phase for this model, unlike its predecessor. I made a new technique for forming the wings that I haven't seen in anyone's insect designs. With the designs that I fold to this standard, I've grown to enjoy spending many days on the shaping. The pre-creasing and collapsing took about four hours, but I've been shaping this may bug for about a week. Additions to this model include a new head, and an extra layer of paper to distinguish the wings from the body.

 

Folded from a 40 cm square of Origamido. The paper once again kept up with me in the journey towards this presentation, and I'm thankful for the masters who made this paper more and more each day.

 

Any comments are greatly appreciated!

‎WESTLAKE - It took nearly 150 ‪Los Angeles‬ ‪Firefighters‬ nearly two and a half hours to extinguish a major emergency fire in a vacant 2 story office building west of downtown Los Angeles Monday evening.

 

The Los Angeles Fire Department was summoned at 7:01 PM on June 13, 2016 to a structure fire at 2411 West 8th Street in the Westlake neighborhood not far from MacArthur Park. LAFD responders arrived quickly to find intense fire on the upper floor of a long vacant 14,351 square-foot two story office building, the site of previous blazes.

 

Firefighters used ground ladders to assist several imperiled persons at windows of the burning structure, with LAFD responders entering the building to performing the rescue of three others.

 

While extending hoselines to aggressively battle the flames within, LAFD crews sadly discovered and retrieved a dead man from the inferno, before the failing structure forced then to switch to defensive exterior operations twenty minutes into the firefight.

 

A total of 147 LAFD personnel under the command of Battalion Chief Jaime Moore, confined the blaze to the heavily damaged building of fire origin - which had no functional fire sprinklers, extinguishing the bulk of flame in just 2 hours and 22 minutes.

 

As a result of witnesses statements, Los Angeles Police Department Officers later detained and arrested an adult male suspected of starting the fire. He and one of the persons earlier rescued by firefighters, were taken to an area hospital by ambulance for evaluation of non-life threatening injuries.

 

With the flames extinguished well past darkness, firefighters remained at the structurally unsound premises to douse hotspots, prevent public harm and prepare for a further search at daybreak.

 

Early Tuesday, investigation teams from the LAFD Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section methodically processed the large and still-smoldering site to determine the fire's cause and origin, as highly-trained Human Remains Detection Dog and Handler teams performed a relentless search of the collapsed structure for deceased victims.

 

With the canines' help, firefighters discovered the remains of four adult victims, two men and two women, amid the rubble on the second floor of the building. Their discovery, combined with the male victim found deceased by firefighters battling the blaze, brought the death tally to five, all of whom appeared to be transients.

 

No firefighters sustained injury in the firefight, investigation or recovery operations.

 

A positive identification of the dead persons, to include the cause, time and manner of their death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

 

© Photo by Mike Meadows

 

LAFD Incident: 061316-1267

 

Connect with us: LAFD.ORG | News | Facebook | Instagram | Reddit | Twitter: @LAFD @LAFDtalk

‎WESTLAKE - It took nearly 150 ‪Los Angeles‬ ‪Firefighters‬ nearly two and a half hours to extinguish a major emergency fire in a vacant 2 story office building west of downtown Los Angeles Monday evening.

 

The Los Angeles Fire Department was summoned at 7:01 PM on June 13, 2016 to a structure fire at 2411 West 8th Street in the Westlake neighborhood not far from MacArthur Park. LAFD responders arrived quickly to find intense fire on the upper floor of a long vacant 14,351 square-foot two story office building, the site of previous blazes.

 

Firefighters used ground ladders to assist several imperiled persons at windows of the burning structure, with LAFD responders entering the building to performing the rescue of three others.

 

While extending hoselines to aggressively battle the flames within, LAFD crews sadly discovered and retrieved a dead man from the inferno, before the failing structure forced then to switch to defensive exterior operations twenty minutes into the firefight.

 

A total of 147 LAFD personnel under the command of Battalion Chief Jaime Moore, confined the blaze to the heavily damaged building of fire origin - which had no functional fire sprinklers, extinguishing the bulk of flame in just 2 hours and 22 minutes.

 

As a result of witnesses statements, Los Angeles Police Department Officers later detained and arrested an adult male suspected of starting the fire. He and one of the persons earlier rescued by firefighters, were taken to an area hospital by ambulance for evaluation of non-life threatening injuries.

 

With the flames extinguished well past darkness, firefighters remained at the structurally unsound premises to douse hotspots, prevent public harm and prepare for a further search at daybreak.

 

Early Tuesday, investigation teams from the LAFD Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section methodically processed the large and still-smoldering site to determine the fire's cause and origin, as highly-trained Human Remains Detection Dog and Handler teams performed a relentless search of the collapsed structure for deceased victims.

 

With the canines' help, firefighters discovered the remains of four adult victims, two men and two women, amid the rubble on the second floor of the building. Their discovery, combined with the male victim found deceased by firefighters battling the blaze, brought the death tally to five, all of whom appeared to be transients.

 

No firefighters sustained injury in the firefight, investigation or recovery operations.

 

A positive identification of the dead persons, to include the cause, time and manner of their death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

 

Photo Use Permitted via Creative Commons - Credit: LAFD Photo | Christopher Wan

 

LAFD Incident: 061316-1267

 

Connect with us: LAFD.ORG | News | Facebook | Instagram | Reddit | Twitter: @LAFD @LAFDtalk

Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

  

The CBS Building was built in 1961-64 as the headquarters for one of America's three historic radio and television networks. The last completed work designed by architect Eero Saarinen, it is one of New York's premier post-World-War-II-era skyscrapers and one of the country's great works of modern architecture. Saarinen's goal was to build what he called "the simplest skyscraper in New York." At the height of the popularity of the steel-cage office building, Saarinen designed the CBS Building as New York's first postwar reinforced concrete skyscraper. The 38-story tower is sheathed in dark gray granite, with gray-tinted vision glass - earning the building the sobriquet "Black Rock." When seen directly, the tower's bays appear open, with relatively narrow granite piers alternating with relatively narrow window bays of single sheets of plate glass, but when viewed from afar and necessarily at an angle, the V-shape of the piers effectively eclipses the view of the glass, creating the effect of a gray granite slab.

 

The austerity of the tower derives in part from its dark gray color and the almost complete absence of interruptions in the facades. Saarinen placed the main entrances on West 52nd and West 53rd Streets, rather than on Sixth Avenue, creating the effect of an absolutely pure granite slab on Sixth Avenue. Ground floor commercial uses are set behind the gray glass, making them barely visible from outside. Eero Saarinen died suddenly in 1961, leaving to his office the task of supervising the construction of the CBS

 

Building. Kevin Roche and John Dinkeioo, among others, oversaw the completion of the project from 1961 to 1964. The building remains the corporate headquarters of CBS.

 

DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS

 

William S. Paley and the Columbia Broadcasting System2

 

CBS traces its origins to the United Independent Broadcasters, a fledgling radio station network that was an early rival to NBC (the National Broadcasting Company), the network created by RCA's David Sarnoff. UIB incorporated in 1927, and, following its purchase later that year by the Columbia Phonograph Company, changed its name to the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System, making its radio debut on September 18. When Columbia, unenthusiastic about future prospects, sold back the broadcasting rights to UIB's owners a few months later, the sale included permission to use the "Columbia" name — hence the "Columbia Broadcasting System.7' In 1928, William S. Paley, connected by marriage to one of the company's owners, used half a million dollars from his portion of the proceeds from the sale of his family's Congress Cigar business to buy a 51 percent interest in the network. He took the title of president, and proceeded over the next half century to build CBS into one of the nation's major media conglomerates.

 

CBS's chief rival for its first several decades of existence remained the much larger NBC.3 RCA's Sarnoff initially saw NBC as a free service intended to encourage the purchase of RCA-manufactured radios. Paley, with only radio programming to sell, focused on the promotion of radio advertising and the creation of saleable programs. By the end of 1928, CBS had 47 affiliates. Highlights of CBS's growth over the following years, from tiny upstart to major network, include the creation of CBS's news department; experiments in television broadcasting as early as 1931 (the first regularly scheduled in the nation, even though almost no one could watch); putting the young Bing Crosby on the radio in 1932, opposite NBC's Amos 'n Andy; broadcasting the School of the Air to some six million children starting in 1934; initiating the Lux Radio Theater in 1935, with Helen Hayes in its first offering; in 1936 bringing the popular Major Bowes' amateur hour to the radio, as well as comedians Bums and Allen, Eddie Cantor, and Ed Wynn, while at the same time inaugurating the Columbia Workshop for serious drama, including the works of W.H. Auden, Stephen Vincent Benet, Maxwell Anderson and Edna St. Vincent Millay; and the infamous 1938 broadcast of Orson Welles' production, "War of the Worlds." During World War II, CBS emerged as a major news broadcaster, led by foreign correspondents William L. Shirer and

 

Edward R. Murrow, with Charles Collingwood reporting on D-day from the Normandy beaches.

 

After the war ended, William S. Paley became chairman of the board, while his protege Frank Stanton became president. CBS moved into television, broadcasting Arthur Godfrey, Ed Sullivan, I Love Lucy, and Walter Cronkite's series You Are There. In 1951, the CBS "eye" was developed as the network's television trademark. By the late 1950s, three decades after its founding, CBS had become firmly ensconced as a national institution. In 1966, the year following CBS's move into the new tower at 51 West 52nd Street, the corporation had over 17,000 employees, earned $64.1 million, and had net sales of over $800 million.

 

As early as 1929, while still in UIB's old offices in the Paramount Building, CBS had acquired Steinway Hall on West 57th Street for concert broadcasts.

 

Later that year, Paley arranged the move to offices at 485 Madison Avenue. As early as 1935, CBS planned a new headquarters to designs by prominent modem architect William Lescaze, but it was never built. ^By the late 1950s, however, a diversifying CBS had grown enormously, acquiring interests in record manufacturing, television sets, musical instruments, publishing and a talent agency. The network invested in theatrical productions, and for a time owned the New York Yankees baseball team. CBS operations occupied space in a number of buildings scattered around Manhattan. Paley decided that the company's rented space on Madison Avenue was neither adequate to the network's needs nor helpful to its image, and determined to build a new headquarters that could compete in architectural prestige with NBC's headquarters at Rockefeller Center. In his words: "I think we were . . . determined that if we went ahead on our own building for CBS, it would have to be of the highest aesthetic quality obtainable."4

 

Paley thought Park Avenue had "too cold a feeling," and considered Madison Avenue "too narrow to display good architecture." Nothing was available on Fifth Avenue. He found a site on the east side of Sixth Avenue between West 52nd and West 53rd Streets, just two blocks west of the network's old Madison Avenue headquarters, and a few blocks north of NBC, in an area Paley characterized as "emerging as the newest important business area in midtown."5 CBS bought the site in 1960, and hired Eero Saarinen, one of the most prestigious and best-known modem architects of the

 

day, to design the building. To PaJey, "not only was he one of this country's outstanding architects, he was also a creative artist in the deepest sense, and he won us over by the force of his personality, imagination and practicality."6

 

Eero Saarinen Associates

 

The American saga of the remarkable Saarinen family is framed by two skyscrapers, the Chicago Tribune Tower and the CBS Building. Eliel Saarinen's second-prize entry in the Chicago Tribune Tower competition of 1922 had enormous influence on subsequent skyscraper design; its critical American success helped convince the Finnish architect to bring his family, including his son Eero, to the United States. Eero Saarinen's CBS Building, the only skyscraper by either man to have been built, was completed only after its designer's untimely death, and has become recognized as one of the country's major monuments of modern skyscraper design.

 

A master architect of the mid-twentieth century, Eero Saarinen (1910-1961) was groomed from childhood to be a successful designer by his parents, textile artist Loja Gesellius Saarinen, and highly regarded international architect (Gottlieb) Eliel Saarinen (1873-1950). Eliel's early career is best remembered for his Helsinki Railroad Station (1904-c.1913, with Herman Gesellius) which successfully demonstrates his sympathies with the Arts and Crafts movement. The Saarinen family immigrated to the United States in 1923, but visited Finland annually. Eliel contributed significantly to the creation of the Cranbrook School and Academy of Art, a complex of children's schools and an advanced-level art academy, located at Bloomfield Hills, north of Detroit. Cranbrook was devoted to every field of design — textiles, metal work, architecture, and city planning. Eliel designed several buildings there, including the Cranbrook School for Boys (1924-30) and the Kingswood School for Girls (1929-30).

 

The latter project exemplifies the Arts and Crafts ideal of collaboration between the fine and applied arts: while Eliel oversaw all aspects of design, Loja designed and wove fabrics (in association with the Cranbrook Looms), Eero designed furniture, and his sister, Eva-Lisa, assisted with selecting wall and ceiling treatments.

 

During the early 1930s, Eero studied sculpture at the Parisian Academie de la Grand Chaumiere, completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the Beaux-A rts-oriented architecture program at Yale University, and toured Europe and Egypt on a travel fellowship, during which time he was influenced by the architecture of Erich Mendelsohn and Alvar Aalto — before joining his father's firm in 1936. Together, the Saarinens produced the much-praised Crow Island School (1939-40, with Perkins, Wheeler & Will) in Winnetka, Illinois. Eero entered many design competitions, and won several prizes. He collaborated with designer Charles O. Eames on the scheme for a molded plywood chair which won the Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition (1940-41), sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art. Recognized from that point on as an important furniture designer, Saarinen produced many designs for the Knoll furniture company, best represented by his Womb chair (1946-48) and Nos. 71 and 72 chair series (c.1956).

 

Eero Saarinen has been credited with developing the innovative "systems approach" to design; he carefully analyzed each problem, and usually relied on modern technology to find a unique form and structure to express a concept architecturally. As a result, each of his designs has a certain wholeness about it; he claimed to be concerned with the "esthetics of the whole organism" and sought an "expressive architecture, an antiassembly-Iine architecture," stating "each building should be as distinctive as each person should."8 The commission which firmly established his architectural career was the General Motors Technical Center (1945-56, with Smith, Hinchman & Grylls) in Warren, Michigan. Though the initial designs for the Center were begun in association with his father, the final scheme was largely Eero's.

 

The complex is ruled by its strictly modular design (structure, partitions, and mechanical systems are fully integrated) and features such technological innovations as neoprene window gaskets and walls of thin insulated panels sheathed in porcelainized sheet metal; the architect also added brightly colored brick surfaces and his signature element, a reflecting pool. During the GM project, the elder Saarinen died and Eero formed a successor firm', Eero Saarinen & Associates. An intensely devoted and methodical worker — he worked 365 days a year, according to his chief of design, Kevin Roche — Eero produced a number of buildings which have become American landmarks.

 

These include his Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (designed 1948, completed 1964), the famous parabolic arch in St. Louis, Missouri; the Kresge Auditorium and Chapel (1953-56, with Anderson & Beckwith), geometrically-derived enclosures highlighting different materials, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge; the David S. Ingalls Hockey Rink (1956-59), the undulating concrete roof of which expresses the exhilaration of a hockey game, at Yale University in New Haven; and two soaring reinforced concrete masterpieces associated with flight: the Trans World Airlines Flight Center9 (1956-62) at New York (now J.F.K.) International Airport — probably his most renowned design — and Dulles Airport (1958-62, with Ammann & Whitney) in Chantilly, Virginia. The last three commissions were completed after Saarinen's death in 1961, as was his other prominent New York project, the somber, granite-clad Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) Headquarters (1961-64) on Sixth Avenue between West 52nd and 53rd Streets.

 

Saarinen's buildings received extensive publicity in the press, and he was given several prestigious awards. Though many architects and architectural writers sympathetic to the International Style criticized Saarinen's work as lacking consistency, his oeuvre has withstood the test of time: by 1993, six of his designs had received the American Institute of Architects' 25-Year Award for "exemplifying] design of enduring significance." These include the Crow Island School, GM Technical Center, and Dulles Airport.10 Saarinen's successor firm, Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo Associates, founded by his colleagues, has been a significant force in American architecture during the second half of this century.

 

The CBS Building

 

Both Saarinen and Paley wanted a skyscraper that would differ from the established International Style of the 1950s represented by such New York towers as Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's Lever House and Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building." "After all," said Saarinen's widow Aline, "that's why they came to Eero and not to Skidmore."'

 

Saarinen experimented with models showing various possible shapes for the tower, ranging from the wedding-cake profile encouraged by then existing zoning laws to various square and rectangular towers rising from a plaza.13 Saarinen eventually settled on a rectangular tower, as he wrote to Paley in March of 1961:

 

I think I now have a really good scheme for C.B.S. The design is the simplest conceivable rectangular free-standing sheer tower. The vertically of the tower is emphasized by the relief made by the triangular piers between the windows. These piers start at the pavement and soar up 424 feet. Its beauty will be, I believe, that it will be the simplest skyscraper statement in New York.14 Paley later went out to Saarinen's office in Detroit to see a model, which he at first didn't like. On a second visit, however, Paley changed his mind: "I saw what I had first thought of as austerity really came through as strong, exquisite, ageless beauty. In July, 1961 I decided to go ahead with Saarinen."15

 

John Dinkeloo later said that Saarinen had been "especially excited about this design."16 In Saarinen's words: "I wanted a building that would be a soaring thing. I think Louis Sullivan was right to want the skyscraper to be a soaring thing. I wanted a building that would stand firmly on the ground and would grow straight up. Your eyes should be led up to comprehend a building as a whole thing."17

 

After Saarinen's sudden death, Paley met with chief designer Kevin Roche, and decided to continue with the firm. Paley was an actively involved client. In the words of a contemporary critic, Eric Larrabee: "Where CBS left off and Saarinen began is now difficult to determine, especially since he was the kind of architect . . . who . . . cared less who got credit for an idea than whether his own ideas prevailed."18 Of the building's completion, Paley wrote; "Participating in the creation of Black Rock was one of the great sources of satisfaction of my life."19

 

The premise of Saarinen's design, a freestanding tower in a plaza, was bound up in changes then being proposed to New York City's zoning laws. The 1916 zoning ordinance, in effect until 1961, had encouraged progressively set-back towers. The new ordinance encouraged tall towers set back in plazas. Saarinen met with the architects and planners working out the new zoning proposal, including Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and James Felt of the New York City Planning Commission, to explain the economics of his tower. CBS wasn't just one of the first towers to be built under the new zoning; Saarinen's designs and calculations for the tower actually helped shape the new regulations.20 In the words of New York Times architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable, the CBS Building "set the shape and standard for New York building today."21

 

Saarinen designed the CBS Building as New York's first postwar skyscraper built of reinforced concrete.22 Instead of an internal cage, from which to hang a seemingly weightless glass curtain wall, he designed exterior walls of triangular, weight-bearing concrete piers, which together with the interior service and elevator core support the building. By using the piers, he emphasized its verticality. Instead of a flat facade, Saarinen made the concrete piers in a three-dimensional projecting triangular V-shape, with the glass recessed behind them. And instead of creating a transparent glass, shiny steel, or aluminum facade, he sheathed the concrete piers in dark gray granite, and filled in the intervening window bays with gray-tinted vision glass. Instead of the illusion of a glass box, he created the illusion of a slab of dark granite — earning the building the sobriquet "Black Rock."

 

The five-foot widths of piers and window bays tied into the modular design of the entire structure. Each entrance on West 52nd and 53rd Street fit into one bay, and was planned with revolving doors, which required a minimum of five feet. Five-foot modules also met the needs of then standard office furniture arrangements.23 The precise dimensions of pier and window were carefully adjusted. Roche did a series of mock-ups of the proposed building in New Rochelle, New York, and Paley wrote he "must have gone out to New Rochelle at least thirty times to study the various mock-ups . . . when Roche, Stanton and I went out to look at [the mock-up], we realized that the difference between the window area and the column area was not right. Your eye could tell you that. We started then to change it. We got down to talking about a quarter of an inch or a sixteenth of an inch. We must have put up five or six different-sized mock-ups before we finally got it right."24

 

The use of dark gray granite was proposed by Saarinen, but the final selection was made by his successors. His widow suggested that Saarinen was thinking of executives in dark gray suits.25 Dinkeioo believed that dark stone projected strength better than glass.26 Saarinen himself wrote: "A dark building seemed more quiet and dignified and appropriate to this site."27 Paley recalls deciding in favor of true granite after rejecting a synthetic version, because "in the long run it would be worth it. The building would be built to last a hundred years. Granite would retain its beauty as long as the building stood." After examining granite from Africa, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, and the United States, they settled on Canadian Black granite from the Robitaille family quarry in Alma, Quebec.28

 

Saarinen's triangular piers and modular design created a three-dimensional study in architectural illusion. From directly across Sixth Avenue, for example, the tower's bays appear open, with five- foot-wide granite piers alternating with five-foot-wide window bays of single sheets of plate glass. When viewed from afar and necessarily at an angle, the V-shape of the piers effectively eclipses the view of the glass, creating the effect of a gray granite slab. The bays of any of the building's four sides thus appear to open directly in front of a viewer but appear to close up like a vertical Venetian blind to the right or left. As the viewer walks along the sidewalk, the bays appear to open and close in succession, rather like an accordion (as contemporary critics remarked). This optical effect was described by one contemporary writer as "trompe l'oeil,"29 and by another as "op-arch."30 Saarinen, describing the effect in motion, wrote: "We had learned the way a changing relief gives life to a facade."31

 

The austerity of the CBS Building derives in part from the almost complete absence of interruptions in the facades. There are no setbacks. The main entrances on the side streets are through doors set discreetly within bays and integrated into the facade's design. Saarinen created the effect of a pure glass and granite slab on Sixth Avenue. The commercial spaces at the ground floor, set behind gray glass, are rendered practically invisible from outside, with very discreet signage.32

 

Though he put the CBS Building in a sunken plaza, Saarinen tried in some measure to respect the street wall of Sixth Avenue, keeping the plaza small and siting the tower a little off-center. In the architect's words:

 

We tried to place the building on the site so that we could have a plaza and still not destroy the street line. A tower should not be tied in with lower street buildings. It should stand alone with air and light around it. A plaza is a very necessary thing in a city. It lets people sit in the sun and look at the sky. A plaza allows a building to be seen. Our buildings should be seen, because they are monuments of our time. But ... we have to remember the street line and we have to remember the space between is as important as the towers. These arrangements should be orderly and beautiful.33

 

Critical Reaction

 

CBS staff started moving into the new building at the end of 1964.34 That same year, the Architectural League of New York cited the building as one of eight recent CBS projects across the country built to high architectural standards, and

 

awarded a medal to CBS president Frank Stanton for "significant contributions and effective encouragement of the role of the arts in business and industry."35 Reporting on the award, the New York Times wrote: "Seeking to promote its corporate image, Columbia insisted on high architectural standards and employed some of the country's leading architects to achieve them."36

 

The following year, CBS won a Bronze Plaque from New York's Municipal Art Society for "an outstanding example of architecture befitting the city of New York." Stanton, accepting the award, explained: "The things we build should be beautiful for no better reason than man has created them as part of his work and places them beside the creation of nature as part of his life. The only goal for men who build should be to make nothing that is less than beautiful. In planning for the building, the one controlling idea from the outset was that we wanted a building actively, insistently, inexorably on the cutting edge in the evolution of the skyscraper."37

 

Critical reaction has varied somewhat, but the CBS Building has been generally accepted as one of New York's premier post-World-War-II-era skyscrapers and one of the country's great works of modern architecture. Even before its completion, the Times wrote that, "if buildings were rated like television programs, the Columbia Broadcasting System would have a new hit."38

 

The CBS Building represented a departure from the International Style, and some critics didn't understand that. Some thought that the building's piers did not explicitly express their function — an important concept in International Style design — because they didn't narrow towards the top (where they supported less weight than at the bottom).39 Yet others praised the piers as "directly expressed from plaza to sky, rather than concealed behind curtain walls as in neighboring office buildings."40 Similarly, Saarinen's biographer, Allan Temko, writing in 1962, faulted the tower for not growing "visually more open and light as it rises," and commented that though it had a plaza, the plaza was "scarcely more than a protective border for the freestanding tower, and is in no sense a real civic space."41 Temko opined that if Saarinen had had the opportunity to design additional skyscrapers, they would have overcome such weaknesses, making his untimely death "one of the cultural disasters of modern times."

 

Critic Bethami Probst, unhappy that the tower didn't "soar," compared it unfavorably with the Seagram Building ("If Seagram is the Rolls Royce of recent skyscrapers, CBS must be content with

 

being in the Bentley class (which is by no means bad)"). Nevertheless, in the critic's final judgment, "CBS is a building to be reckoned with, a powerful, brooding presence."43

 

David Jacobs described the impact of the opening-closing facades on a "fascinated" public: "They stroll back and forth, walk slowly then quickly, back and forth again, playing peek-a-boo." Though he found the CBS Building "impersonal and forbidding, and from close by, downright overwhelming," he noted that European cathedrals were overwhelming too, and he judged the building "a marvelous contribution to the city of New York, a splendid monument to the business of communications and the art of architecture."43

 

Ada Louise Huxtable, writing in 1966, thought the public was less favorable to the building than the critics: "The dark dignity that appeals to architectural sophisticates puts off the public, which tends to reject it as funereal," ascribing this fault to the corruption of "the public eye" which "takes bright and shiny as synonymous with new and good." Huxtable herself judged CBS "a building, in the true, classic sense: a complete design in which technology, function and esthetics are conceived and executed integrally for its purpose." She faulted the building's interior for being out of character with the exterior (it was not designed by Saarinen or his successor firm), but ultimately found the CBS Building a "first-rate work of architecture" and "an extraordinarily impressive structure."44

 

Description

 

The CBS Building is a freestanding, 38-story reinforced-concrete tower, sheathed in dark gray granite and gray-tinted vision glass, rising straight up 490 feet without setbacks. The tower, with a 135-foot by 160-foot footprint, is placed within a sunken plaza that occupies the entire western end of the block bounded by Fifth and Sixth Avenues and West 52nd and 53rd Streets on a site that is 200 feet-10 inches by 216 feet-10 inches. The tower occupies approximately 60 percent of the plaza's area and is set slightly towards the east. The plaza is set five steps (approximately three and a half feet) below the sidewalk level at Sixth Avenue, six steps below on West 52nd Street, seven steps below on West 53rd Street, and slopes downward to the east.

 

The building is rectangular in plan, with twelve bays on the eastern and western facades and fifteen bays on the wider northern and southern facades. Each facade is composed of five-foot-wide piers faced in "Canadian Black" granite flanking large, five-foot-wide panes of glass framed in bronze-

 

finished aluminum. The windows are 19 feet-10 inches high on the ground floor above bronze-finished aluminum sills, and nine feet high on the upper floors. At the first level above the ground floor, instead of glass the bays contain grilles.

 

The profile of each pier is a projecting triangular or V-shape; at each of the building's four corners the "V"s meet to form double-width piers, creating the effect of chamfered corners. Ground floor commercial uses behind gray glass are rendered practically invisible from outside.

 

There is no entrance to the CBS Building on Sixth Avenue. The building has fourteen ground floor entrances, seven on both West 52nd and West 53rd Streets. The entrances, containing three door types, are fitted unobtrusively into the narrow bays.

 

The entrances in the seven central bays on the West 52nd Street side are arranged as follows from west to east: 1) A single-door entry, flanked by sidelights, providing entrance to the commercial space; above it is a simple, modestly projecting light box. 2) A double-door entry with a simple, modestly projecting light box above. 3, 4, 5) Each has a revolving door with a simple, modestly projecting light box above with the raised letters "CBS." 6) A double-door entry with a simple, modestly projecting light box above. 7) A double-door entry with a simple, modestly projecting light box above, serving as entrance to a restaurant; there is a second simple, modestly projecting light box above, at the top of the bay. Discreet lettering on several windows identifies the restaurant. The single doors, double doors, revolving doors and their housings, and projecting light boxes are all of the same bronze-finished aluminum.

 

There are seven entrances and one window bay in the central bays on the West 53rd Street side, arranged as follows from west to east: 1) A double-door entry to the commercial space, with a simple, modestly projecting light box. 2) A double-door entry with a simple, modestly projecting light box above. 3, 4, 5) Revolving-door entrances with simple, modestly projecting light boxes above with the raised letters "CBS." 6) A double-door entry with a simple, modestly projecting light box above. 7) A window of the restaurant, with a simple, modestly projecting light box above it and

 

an additional simple, modestly projecting light box at the top of the bay. 8) A double-door entrance to the restaurant, with an angled projecting marquee with backlit letters indicating the restaurant's name, "China Grill."

 

The material of the doors and light boxes is the same as that used on West 52nd Street.

 

At the east elevation, the ground floor bays are as follows from south to north: 1, 2, 3) Glass windows. 4, 5, 6) Bronze-finished aluminum with a double door. 7) Bronze-finished aluminum with a grille. 8) Bronze-finished aluminum. 9) A glass double door, with bronze-finished aluminum above. 10,11,12) Glass windows for the restaurant. There are simple, modestly projecting light boxes in the 2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th bays.

 

The plaza is paved in a gray granite slightly lighter than that on the building's piers. The plaza is sunken below street level, forming a gray granite retaining wall with parapets and vertical slits on the inside faces. Wide steps lead down to the plaza from each street side; a narrower staircase with eight steps leads down to the plaza from the east.

 

Each set of steps has two freestanding bronze-finished aluminum railings. A ramp (not original) with a dark bronze-finished aluminum handrail has been added to the steps from West 52nd Street. The ends of the parapets above the retaining walls have polished bronze letters and numerals (replacements of the original) flanking the steps: "CBS" on Sixth Avenue, "51" for the address on West 52nd Street, and "52" for the address on West 53rd Street.

 

Planters with trees have been placed in the plaza, planters with bushes have been placed on the parapets of the retaining wall. At the eastern end of the plaza, the retaining wall has been enlarged, and includes a wheelchair-access ramp (a later addition), and a staircase leading down to a "messenger entrance." A portion of the tax lot has been excluded from the Landmark Site and has been re-landscaped as part of the plaza for the adjacent building to the east.

 

- From the 1997 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report

Beren of Barely Methodical Troupe.

 

www.barelymethodical.com

@BMtroupe

 

I was lucky enough to get the fellas into a studio during their award-winning run of their debut show, "Bromance" at Ed Fringe 2014.

There seems to be less of this old barn to observe every time I drive by. It appears to be slowly and methodically dismantled.

Saturday, February 11, 2012.Recap: No. 15 C'Town 87, No. 19 WC 69.By Brendan Hall..CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- At this time last year, Charlestown made the trek West, down Route 146, to deliver a haymaker to a Whitinsville Christian squad considered the state's tallest lineup. ..This afternoon, the Crusaders came East to Bunker Hill, with a different look for the Townies -- smaller, quicker, more surgical -- and the result was very nearly a different outcome. The Crusaders hung with Charlestown through three quarters, before the Townies pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Whitinsville 31-14 in the final frame en route to an 87-69 victory. .."That team's very good, I thought that was the best shooting team we saw," Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso said. "They're very well balanced, with a real good point guard, big man, two-guard, so I knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. I told the guys, 'You're going to see a team like this in the state tournament, eventually down the line." ..The Townies (14-3), played just seven due to health (Jawhari Dawan-Abdullah, stomach bug) and off the court issues (Gary Braham, suspension). But they saw all five of their regular starters reach double-figures, with senior point guard Rony Fernandez (26 points, four assists) leading the way. Senior forward Tyrik Jackson (12 points, 13 rebounds) came up big on the glass again, while Tyrese Hoxter (16 points, seven assists), Omar Orriols (13 points) and Iser Barnes (12) contributed some big shots from the perimeter to keep the defense stretched out. ..But early on, the Crusaders (12-2) gave them fits with the methodical way they broke through the Townie's 2-3 zone with some of the most disciplined and precise ball movement they'd seen in a while. Junior point guard Colin Richey (23 points) funneled the offense down to the baseline, finding a player planted right in the heart of the zone and kicking to either the baseline or either wing. ..Whitinsville shot nearly 40 percent from the field, getting good looks from the short side from Tyler VandenAkker (12 points, eight rebounds) and Jesse Dykstra. Grant Brown (10 points) came up with some big shots from the perimeter as well. .."We decided to extend a little bit more on the short corner, because they hit about four shots in a row from the short corner," Cardoso said. "We also decided to have the opposite guard extend even more on shooter No. 2 (Tim Dufficey). So we made some extensions in the second half, did a little better job -- not a great job, but it helped us get the victory." ..To start the fourth quarter, Barnes completed a 6-0 run by ripping the ball out of his defender's hands at midcourt and landing a breakaway layup. A few possessions later, Hoxter found Jackson underneath the rim for an easy tip-in and 68-59 advantage. ..Then with 1:37 to go, sophomore Taris Wilson hit the first of two monster breakaway slams, this one making it 76-63 to essentially put the game in hand. ..Hot from the field: The Townies outrebounded the Crusaders 16-7 in the final frame, giving way to many key transition points that helped ice the lead and the win. From the glass, WC still held a slim 35-33 advantage. ..But down at the other end, the Townies had a terrific night from the field, shooting nearly 58 percent overall. That was aided by a 7-for-17 effort from three-point range, including three 3's each from Fernandez and Orriols. ..Praise for Richey: Last season, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was throwing around high praise for the then-sophomore Richey, calling him "a suburban kid that plays urban". ..Consider Cardoso another Boston City League coach that's a fan. .."He's tough," Cardoso said. "He's one of the toughest guards coming out of his league, and I think he's going give a lot of teams problems in the state tournament, because how do you stop a kid like that?" ..Turning point? Following last season's loss to Charlestown in its home gym, WC coach Jeff Bajema greeted his players in the locker room and told them, "Guys, we can win states." ..Sure enough, the Crusaders never lost another game the rest of the way, picking up their first Division 3 state title since 2005 at the DCU Center in Worcester. After that game, Bajema spoke to reporters about how much the whitewashing by Charlestown seasoned them for what to expect in the state tournament. ..Given how much more competitive the Crusaders were this time around, could this be seen as another momentum shift? .."Hopefully, a game like this will lead us to better things," Bajema said. "But we've got a tough one Tuesday (against Holy Name), so we'll see."

 

Shot at ISO 1600, Aperture of 3.2, Shutter speed of 1/400 and Focal Length of 50.0 mm

Taken with a 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM lens and processed by Aperture 3.2.2 on Saturday February-11-2012 17:11 EST PM

Saturday, February 11, 2012.Recap: No. 15 C'Town 87, No. 19 WC 69.By Brendan Hall..CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- At this time last year, Charlestown made the trek West, down Route 146, to deliver a haymaker to a Whitinsville Christian squad considered the state's tallest lineup. ..This afternoon, the Crusaders came East to Bunker Hill, with a different look for the Townies -- smaller, quicker, more surgical -- and the result was very nearly a different outcome. The Crusaders hung with Charlestown through three quarters, before the Townies pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Whitinsville 31-14 in the final frame en route to an 87-69 victory. .."That team's very good, I thought that was the best shooting team we saw," Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso said. "They're very well balanced, with a real good point guard, big man, two-guard, so I knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. I told the guys, 'You're going to see a team like this in the state tournament, eventually down the line." ..The Townies (14-3), played just seven due to health (Jawhari Dawan-Abdullah, stomach bug) and off the court issues (Gary Braham, suspension). But they saw all five of their regular starters reach double-figures, with senior point guard Rony Fernandez (26 points, four assists) leading the way. Senior forward Tyrik Jackson (12 points, 13 rebounds) came up big on the glass again, while Tyrese Hoxter (16 points, seven assists), Omar Orriols (13 points) and Iser Barnes (12) contributed some big shots from the perimeter to keep the defense stretched out. ..But early on, the Crusaders (12-2) gave them fits with the methodical way they broke through the Townie's 2-3 zone with some of the most disciplined and precise ball movement they'd seen in a while. Junior point guard Colin Richey (23 points) funneled the offense down to the baseline, finding a player planted right in the heart of the zone and kicking to either the baseline or either wing. ..Whitinsville shot nearly 40 percent from the field, getting good looks from the short side from Tyler VandenAkker (12 points, eight rebounds) and Jesse Dykstra. Grant Brown (10 points) came up with some big shots from the perimeter as well. .."We decided to extend a little bit more on the short corner, because they hit about four shots in a row from the short corner," Cardoso said. "We also decided to have the opposite guard extend even more on shooter No. 2 (Tim Dufficey). So we made some extensions in the second half, did a little better job -- not a great job, but it helped us get the victory." ..To start the fourth quarter, Barnes completed a 6-0 run by ripping the ball out of his defender's hands at midcourt and landing a breakaway layup. A few possessions later, Hoxter found Jackson underneath the rim for an easy tip-in and 68-59 advantage. ..Then with 1:37 to go, sophomore Taris Wilson hit the first of two monster breakaway slams, this one making it 76-63 to essentially put the game in hand. ..Hot from the field: The Townies outrebounded the Crusaders 16-7 in the final frame, giving way to many key transition points that helped ice the lead and the win. From the glass, WC still held a slim 35-33 advantage. ..But down at the other end, the Townies had a terrific night from the field, shooting nearly 58 percent overall. That was aided by a 7-for-17 effort from three-point range, including three 3's each from Fernandez and Orriols. ..Praise for Richey: Last season, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was throwing around high praise for the then-sophomore Richey, calling him "a suburban kid that plays urban". ..Consider Cardoso another Boston City League coach that's a fan. .."He's tough," Cardoso said. "He's one of the toughest guards coming out of his league, and I think he's going give a lot of teams problems in the state tournament, because how do you stop a kid like that?" ..Turning point? Following last season's loss to Charlestown in its home gym, WC coach Jeff Bajema greeted his players in the locker room and told them, "Guys, we can win states." ..Sure enough, the Crusaders never lost another game the rest of the way, picking up their first Division 3 state title since 2005 at the DCU Center in Worcester. After that game, Bajema spoke to reporters about how much the whitewashing by Charlestown seasoned them for what to expect in the state tournament. ..Given how much more competitive the Crusaders were this time around, could this be seen as another momentum shift? .."Hopefully, a game like this will lead us to better things," Bajema said. "But we've got a tough one Tuesday (against Holy Name), so we'll see."

 

Shot at ISO 1600, Aperture of 3.5, Shutter speed of 1/500 and Focal Length of 24.0 mm

Taken with a 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM lens and processed by Aperture 3.2.2 on Saturday February-11-2012 16:39 EST PM

Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

 

Fire Engine Company 39 and Ladder Company 16 Station House is an outstanding example of late nineteenth century civic architecture. Built in 1884-86, the six-story Romanesque Revival structure was designed by N. LeBrun & Son for the headquarters of the New York Fire Department and to provide fire protection in a neighborhood that was experiencing considerable growth and change. Between 1879 and 1894 LeBrun was closely associated with the department, designing more than 40 buildings. Unlike many modest mid-block firehouses, the East 67th Street building served multiple functions, providing space for two fire companies, the offices of the Commissioners, and various departmental bureaux. Restored in 1992, the East 67th Street building provides a superb centerpiece in one of New York's best-preserved rows of nineteenth century public architecture.'

 

The Fire Department of the City of New York

 

From its first days as a Dutch colony to the end of the Civil War, New York City relied on unpaid volunteers to help extinguish fires. While under Dutch rule all men were expected to participate, under the British, a force of thirty volunteers was organized by the General Assembly of the Colony in 1737 to operate two Newsham hand pumpers that had been recently imported from London. After the Revolution, a few tentative steps were taken to give fire- fighting a more professional character. Authorized by the New York State Legislature in 1798, the Volunteer Fire Department of the City of New York was placed under the supervision of a paid engineer and six subordinates.

 

Over the next half century, the city grew and so did the number of volunteer firemen, which increased from 600 in 1800 to more than 4,000 by I860. Despite growing numbers, the department was frequently criticized for its poor performance. Disapproval was especially strong during the Civil War, a period when many members of the force resigned to serve in the Union Army, leaving the department without sufficient personnel. Under such circumstances, interest grew in creating a paid, stable, professional force - like that of the Metropolitan Police District. Advocates maintained, based on recent experience in Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and London, a paid force would be better equipped to protect the city from fires.

 

On May 30, 1865, the New York State Legislature established the Metropolitan Fire District, comprising the cities of New York and Brooklyn. The act abolished the old volunteer system and created the Metropolitan Fire Department, under the jurisdiction of the state government. This action had two goals: first, to improve fire protection, and second, to limit the influence of the long-dominant Tammany political machine, whose members frequently used service in the department to advance their private careers. Results were immediate; by the end of 1865, thousands of volunteers had retired and numerous companies were disbanded, to be replaced by thirty-three engine companies and twelve ladder companies operated by a force of five hundred men. Furthermore, in an effort to filter out any lingering Tammany influence, the Commissioners banned firehouse construction for five years.

 

Under Genera! Alexander T. Shaler, who served as President of the Board of Fire Commissioners between 1867 and 1870, many important changes were initiated. A former volunteer fireman and decorated Civil War general who served in the prestigious Seventh Regiment, he reorganized the department "according to a military model in which specialization, discipline, and merit were encouraged by a system of daily advisory orders, trials for disobedience, and ranks.'"* Despite the Metropolitan Fire Department's generally excellent record, with a steady decline in annual property losses, the City sought and regained permanent control of the department under the Charter of 1870 .

 

During the 1860s and 1870s there was increasing pressure to expand and improve service. Not only did the city nearly double in size with the annexation of the western portion of the Bronx in 1874, but the growing number of tall buildings placed new demands on the practice of fire-fighting. In response, funds were spent to upgrade the department's equipment and training. An improved fire alarm telegraph was purchased, as well as gas floodlights, taller ladders, and steam engines with increased pumping pressure for all companies. Classes in the use of this equipment and life-saving techniques were organized, as well as a School of Instruction for Foremen and Engineers of steamers in 1878 and a school for uniformed men in 1883.^ Support for the paid department remained strong which resulted in increased public funding and growing pride among members of the force.

 

History of the Site

 

Since the late seventeenth century much of East 67th Street has been publicly owned. Despite discussion by the Common Council to lease the so-called "Dove Lots" for private development in April 1806/ by 1813 the blocks between Third and Fifth Avenue and from East 66th to East 68th Street had been set aside as a fifteen-acre square named after the former Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Following the Civil War, however, the park was closed. Streets were soon extended through the site and lots in the western half were sold to developers.

 

During the 1870s the Upper East Side underwent considerable development. While much of the area did become residential, the blocks east of Park Avenue between 66th Street and 68th Street retained their public and institutional character. Describing the site of the future headquarters, the New reported: "The neighborhood is a constant wonder to visitors to New-York because of the great group of public institutions — medical, charitable, and educational — that are built within a stone's throw of one another. These included Presbyterian, Mount Sinai and German Hospitals, the Normal College, Grammar School No. 76, and the Asylum for the Improved Instruction of Deaf-mutes, as well as the Lenox Library and the Seventh Regiment Armory .

 

Engine Company No. 39 was organized in a small building on the site in March 1875. Although the Upper East Side would become one of Manhattan's most prestigious neighborhoods by the turn of the century, at this time it was a district marked by strong contrasts. On the blocks immediately to the west of the firehouse were mostly private residences, and to the east, tenements, cigar factories, and "streets infested with gangs of the worst ruffians in the city."^

 

These differences may have been viewed as an obstacle to future residential development. East 67th street, consequently, became a logical location for the new department headquarters. Not only would such a public project serve to stabilize the neighborhood, but in terms of geography and access the area had other advantages as well. Set midway between the more-established districts and fire companies to the south and the new suburban companies in upper Manhattan and the Bronx, the slightly elevated site on Lenox Hill afforded extensive views in all directions. Furthermore, it was well- served by public transportation. With a station of the Third Avenue elevated train at the comer of East 67th Street, the site was convenient for both staff and visitors.

 

The Fire Department Headquarters

 

The East 67th Street structure was the first and only headquarters building constructed by the New York City Fire Department.^ It replaced the former Firemen's Hall, a three-story Italianate structure designed by the architects Field & Correjaat 155-157 Mercer Street .'" Built by the City of New York for the use of New York Hose Company No. 5 and Lafayette Hook and Ladder Company No. 6, it served primarily as gathering place for various groups associated with the volunteer department. The upper stories, which were known for their opulent interiors, contained a library, meeting hall, and committee rooms."

 

The Metropolitan Fire Department converted Firemen's Hall into its headquarters in 1865, replacing an earlier facility at 21 Elizabeth Street. This relocation symbolized a new era. No longer associated with the excesses of past political administrations, the building became an administrative center, with departmental offices, a library for the firemen, and a room for the fire alarm telegraph which had been repaired and moved from City Hall in 1867.

 

From Mercer Street the department directed an extremely ambitious building campaign. Although the Metropolitan Fire Department's ban on the construction of new firehouses ended in 1870, it took nearly a decade until building actually resumed. In 1884, approximately midway in the campaign, a design for the East 67th Street site was approved. The need for a much larger facility had been evident for more than a decade, but not until 1879 when a series of fires in the dry goods district came dangerously close to destroying the headquarters, was such a move justified.'^ Advocates were particularly concerned about the fate of the telegraph, a communications system that linked ail engine houses, watch towers, and fireboxes to the central headquarters.

 

Mayor Franklin Edson, who strongly supported relocation, addressed the problem in 1883 noting "the rather anomalous and startling fact that the Headquarters of the Fire Department is itself in danger of destruction at any time, the consequences of which might be disastrous beyond measure . . . the first step should be to provide a triplicate set of communicating apparatus and place it in a secure spot, and the next should be to erect a suitable fire-proof building, with proper provision in it for the important and growing Bureau of Inspection of Buildings, which is now crowded into a single room of this admirably arranged and methodically conducted Department."'^

 

Napoleon LeBrun & Sons, Architect

 

Napoleon Eugene Charles LeBrun was chosen to design the new headquarters, an architect known for both his ecclesiastical commissions and pioneering fireproof designs. Bom to French immigrant parents in Philadelphia, as a teenager he apprenticed with Thomas Ustick Walter , the Philadelphia architect responsible for numerous public commissions in the neo-classical style, including Girard College of Orphans , the United States Capitol Extension and dome . In 1841 LeBrun established his own firm, designing numerous churches and public buildings in the Philadelphia area, including the Roman Catholic Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul and the Academy of Music . After 1864 LeBrun relocated his firm to New York City where he received a number of high-profile commissions, including Masonic Hall , at the southeast comer of 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue.

 

Chosen by public competition, the French Second Empire design did much to establish the firm's reputation.'^

 

Over the next three decades, LeBrun designed a great variety of structures, including churches, tenements, and several office towers.'^ Among his clients, the New York City Fire Department proved to be the most significant. Contact began in 1879 when LeBrun served as the AIA representative on the Board of Examiners of the Building Bureau of the Fire Department. Between 1879 and 1894, he received more than forty commissions from the department, including numerous engine houses in Manhattan and the Bronx, a warehouse, and fire pier. It was during these productive years that both of his sons, Pierre LeBrun and Michel LeBrun joined the firm and its name was subsequently altered to N. LeBrun & Son to acknowledge their increasing roles.

 

The Building

 

Among the four public buildings that presently stand on East 67th Street between

 

Lexington and Third Avenues, the Fire Department's headquarters was the first to be completed. Construction commenced in 1884 and lasted nearly two years. Engine Company No. 39, newly organized Ladder Company 16,'^ and various departmental agencies were consolidated in the new "practically fire-proof building. As completed, the building and its furnishings cost more than $175,000.^ Most of the interior was devoted to administrative offices, which for several years had leased additional space on Mercer Street, and training facilities, that had been "kindly permitted the use of an unoccupied building at the foot of West One Hundred and Fifty-eighth street."'^

 

LeBrun, who is credited with standardizing firehouse design in New York, organized the building's plan as follows: the ground floor was used primarily to store fire-fighting apparatus for the engine companies and the second floor provided rooms for the uniformed men, including their dormitory, offices, and kitchen. Though most of the ground floor was set aside for the two companies, to the right at the base of the tower was the entrance to the fire headquarters. An hydraulic elevator and stairs led up to the third floor to the offices of the Commissioners and the Chief of the Department and staffs. On the fourth floor was the Department Attorney and the Bureau of Inspection of Buildings; the fifth was assigned to the Bureau of Combustibles, the School of Instruction and the Medical Officers; and the sixth provided space for the Fire Alarm Telegraph and the Bureau of the Fire Marshall.^

 

From the eastern side of the top floor, one ascended to the belfry by stairs, and then to the observatory, where a "fireman detailed as watchman constantly scanned the horizon for evidences of fire."*' Based more on fire-fighting tradition than actual use, the decision to erect a 150 foot-tall tower had much to do with civic imagery, symbolizing the department and its important public function. Within two decades of the building's construction, nearby apartment towers would start to obscure the observatory's once-panoramic views.

 

During his long career, LeBrun worked in a number of popular styles. As in many of his department commissions, he employed Romanesque Revival details — round-arched windows, drip molds, and organic ornament — juxtaposed against smooth red brick. Although the decoration owed a clear debt to H. H. Richardson and his much-praised public work of the late 1870s and after, Engine Company No. 39 also incorporated French Second Empire motifs such as the mansard roof and the pyramidally-capped tower. As one of LeBrun's earliest office buildings, the elevation has a somewhat tentative quality, reflecting the much- discussed Tribune Building designed by Richard Morris Hunt. Although LeBrun did not use neo-Grec detailing as Hunt did in his design, he did model its composition after the Renaissance palazzo formula the noted architect helped develop, placing a brick tower on a two-story brownstone base capped by a mansard roof pierced by dormers. In addition, both projects featured a tower with look-out balcony.

 

A reception was held to celebrate the building's completion in April 1887. Guests were invited to inspect the oak interiors, climb the tower, and watch a display in the rear yard of the latest fire-fighting techniques. 77te Record and GMidf commented: "The Fire Department headquarters would be worthy of praise whoever had built it. but it deserves special praise as having been done under the direction of a municipal department and giving the taxpayers something worth tooking at for their money.""

 

Subsequent History

 

By 1914 the headquarters had outgrown the upper floors of the East 67th Street building, retocating its offices to the eleventh floor of the recently completed Municipal Building at 1 Centre Street. The fire telegraph, however, remained until it was moved to Central Park in 1922. For much of the twentieth century the building served as the department's training center. With the introduction of motorized vehicles in 1907^ the stables at the rear were eliminated and replaced by a small brick extension. In 1913 several structures were constructed in the yard facing East 68th Street, including a sprinkler and ventilating test house. In 1949 the former headquarters' most prominent feature, the lookout tower, was removed from the top of the eastern bay.

 

During the early 1970s the city proposed to demolish the firehouse and adjacent police precinct station house and incorporate.them into the planned expansion of Hunter College designed by the architect Ulrich Franzen. In January 1980 the Landmarks Commission designated four buildings on the block as New York City Landmarks. Although the Board of Estimate overturned the designation of the firehouse and police precinct in June 1980, the various agencies involved did agree to meet to discuss alternative strategies. In 1982, a new scheme, designed by the Stein Partnership, was approved that preserved the facades of both structures while constructing a new combined facility behind them?* As completed in 1992, the building's facade was completely restored, including cast-stone replacements for its greatly deteriorated brownstone.

 

Although the building still serves its original function as an Engine and Ladder Company, the floors once occupied by the Commissioners and their staff are now connected to, and used by, the 19th Police Precinct, linked by a five-story granite structure set back thirty feet from the sidewalk. Originally used as a narrow passage to the rear yard on 68th Street, this recessed addition incorporates a new, third, apparatus bay for Fire Department vehicles.

 

Building Description

 

Fire Engine Company 39 and Ladder Company 16 Station house is a six-story Romanesque Revival structure with a red brick, gray granite, and brownstone facade. The first two floors, covered with rusticated brownstone, house the companies. The first floor has two equal-sized apparatus bays surfaced in cast iron that have been painted a bright red. Each garage door incorporates a pair of single-pane windows. The pier between the doors is also clad in cast iron and includes five narrow vertical panels with three leaf-like decorative motifs near the top. Above each entrance is an I-beam decorated with a string of five raised rosettes framed by a pair of salamander heads facing inward, a common symbol for fire fighters.^ Installed above these beams are two signs of nearly identical size with gold capital lettering on a black background that identify each company.

 

On the right side of the first floor is the former entrance to the fire department headquarters marked by an elaborate stone portico supported by a pair of pink polished granite columns set on engaged granite pedestals. The upper portion, which underwent extensive restoration, features an inset segmental arch crowned by checkerboard patterning. The swirling engaged basket capitals that spring from the freestanding columns are particularly elaborate, as are the wave flame motifs just above the capitals. Between the columns an office and firehouse entry has been inserted, consisting of a single door on the left and an iron bay window with visible rivets supported by a small girder set at an angle. Above this addition is an I-beam which creates a transom over which an open grille covers an air-conditioner. All of these 1992 additions have been painted dark green to match the window moldings on each of the five floors above.

 

The second floor, which is also used by the companies, has two sets of three double-hung windows aligned above the vehicular entrances. Between each set a flagpole has been installed. In the right-hand bay, above the original entrance to the headquarters, is a single window framed by a pair of recessed tablets, each surrounded by billet moldings arranged in the shape of an octagon with floral designs at each comer. The right inscription reads:

 

FIRE/ DEPARTMENT/ HEADQUARTERS/ LIFE-SAVING CORPS/ & SCHOOL OF/ PROBATION/ ORGANIZED/ 1882

 

The left:

 

A.D. 1886/ COMMISSIONERS/ HENRY D. PURROY/ PRESIDENT/ RICHARD CROKER/ ELWARD SMITH/ N.LEBRUN & SON/ ARCHITECTS

 

A continuous dentil molding divides the second and third stories, marking a clear division between the facilities for the companies and the former headquarters. As in the floor below, there are three groups of windows, all with brownstone surrounds and a continuous zigzag molding which ends in blocks carved with organic ornament at the impost level. The right- hand bay has a single round-arch window with a stone transom through which the zigzag molding intersects. Twisted columns frame this double- hung window, and its spandrel is decorated with a checkerboard panel. The much larger arched tripartite windows that align with the firehouse entries, have floral moldings on the surrounds and generously sized oval balconies which rest on piers that divide the second story windows below. Each balustrade, which was restored in 1992, has polished granite colonnettes with elaborate brownstone capitals and bases.

 

The fourth story has five double-hung windows of identical size. A single round-arch window is positioned at right, while two sets of paired round-arch windows are aligned above the apparatus bays. Each of these windows has brownstone sills terminating in bosses and identical lintels with raised billet work.

 

On the fifth floor are seven double-hung windows with brownstone arches. There is a single window in the right-hand bay, while the rest are arranged in groups of three, divided by four gray polished granite columns with brownstone capitals and bases. A continuous brownstone sill, terminating in bosses, extends beneath the six windows.

 

The top story is divided into two parts: the base that remains from the demolished tower, and a heavily ornamented cornice above which a dark slate roof rises. The mansard roof incorporates two brownstone dormers, each lighted by a pair of round-arch windows set beneath a triangular pediment carved with a diagonal grid of ornament and topped by circular medallions. Along the left edge of the slate roof, supported by the cornice, is a brownstone chimney. The tower bay at right has double- arched windows with a brownstone sill. Just above these windows is the building's highest point, marked by an unomamented brownstone cornice and a row of four small brownstone corbels.

 

The building's east and west elevations are almost entirely new brick construction. The east elevation, which is not visible, except from a narrow passage between the firehouse and synagogue, has two pairs of flat-arched tripartite windows with projecting gray granite sills that are located close to the front of the building on the fifth and sixth floors, as well as four windows set in row between the second and third floors.

 

To the west, set back approximately thirty feet from the street is a gray granite addition, linking the firehouse and police station. The ground level serves as a third apparatus bay for the firehouse, while the floors above, each with a set of two windows, are used by the police precinct. AH of these windows are set behind fiat-arched screens with transoms, except for the fifth floor which are shaped like rectangles. Here the west elevation of the firehouse is clearly visible, clad entirely in red brick. There is a single window at the second, third, and fourth levels, each with projecting granite sills. On the fourth floor is a second, smaller window in which a security camera has been installed.

 

- From the 1998 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report

from my tumblr blog

Catacombs, Montparnasse, Paris

 

I decided that today was a day for going underground, and I set off to Montparnasse to visit the catacombs. These are a vast maze of tunnels under Paris originally used for quarrying the stone out of which the city's main buildings are constructed. In the late 18th Century, the state of the city's churchyards had become so disgusting that the city removed the bones from all of them. They were brought here at night, the carts coming from the centre of the city accompanied by torch-bearing acolytes and priests chanting the requiem Mass. A skull count showed that almost six million corpses were removed in this way. They were buried deep underground, but these people being Parisians the skulls and bones were arranged in a neat and methodical way, a meaningful chaos. Layers of tibia and femurs are crowned by a layer of pelvises and skulls, and so on. Each churchyard was grouped together, and a plaque shows which parish provided the skeletons.

 

The work was interrupted by the French Revolution,which provided plenty more corpses for when the work was resumed. Altogether about a kilometre and a half of tunnels were filled with the remains of dead Parisians, and you can walk through them on a winding route under the streets around Montparnasse station. In fact, this is just a tiny fraction of the tunnels. The catacombs extend for hundreds of kilometres under the city, many of them rarely explored and difficult of access. Because of this, they are regularly broken into by intrepid adventurers, and many legends have grown up about parts of the network. However, my favourite story is one which is true.

 

In 2004, a group of police cadets on a training exercise were given the task of tracking an imaginary criminal in a part of the network which was little known. They got into the system through a manhole, and when they were about a hundred feet underground something rather odd happened. They triggered a motion sensor which set off the sound of barking dogs. Thinking that it was part of the exercise, they headed onwards only to come out into a vast cavern which had been fully equipped as a cinema. An anteroom had been equipped and fully stocked as a bar, and there was also a film storage room. When the cadets reported what they had seen, the electricity board were sent in to work out where the invaders were getting their electricity from. Instead, they found the wires all cut, the equipment removed, and a sign saying 'Don't try to follow us. You'll never find us.'

 

Perhaps the cineastes had got fed up with waiting to get into the system officially, because this was the only place all week that I encountered a serious queue. Worse, I was just in front of a small group of people who talked constantly in very loud voices. She was an American who obviously lived in Paris, and they appeared to be young relatives who'd come to stay. She was taking them down the catacombs, and the price to be paid for this by the poor kids was to suffer her pretentious nonsense. She went on about spirituality, and homeopathy, and psychoanalysis, and the inner energy, and so on. Fair play to the kids, they responded enthusiastically enough.

 

And then she got out some of her stream of consciousness poetry, and started reading it in a loud voice. Well, goodness me. I was put in mind of something the graphic artist Alan Moore said when he was in Hollywood helping turn his 'V for Vendetta' into a film, and he was asked at a director's lunch why he lived in Northampton, England. "Because it keeps me grounded", he replied, and I thought that this was exactly right. It was like the opposite of this pompous woman, although to be fair to her I expect that if I went to live in Paris I would also disappear up my own backside.

 

The catacombs are brilliant, worth every minute of the queuing time, worth every insufferable stream of consciousness adjective. And then I went and did some shopping.

 

You can read my account of my travels at pariswander.blogspot.co.uk.

A thangka, also known as tangka, thanka or tanka (Nepali pronunciation: [ˈt̪ʰaŋka]; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा) is a painting on cotton, or silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala of some sort. The thangka is not a flat creation like an oil painting or acrylic painting but consists of a picture panel which is painted or embroidered over which a textile is mounted and then over which is laid a cover, usually silk. Generally, thangkas last a very long time and retain much of their lustre, but because of their delicate nature, they have to be kept in dry places where moisture won't affect the quality of the silk. It is sometimes called a scroll-painting.

 

These thangka served as important teaching tools depicting the life of the Buddha, various influential lamas and other deities and bodhisattvas. One subject is The Wheel of Life, which is a visual representation of the Abhidharma teachings (Art of Enlightenment).

 

Thangka, when created properly, perform several different functions. Images of deities can be used as teaching tools when depicting the life (or lives) of the Buddha, describing historical events concerning important Lamas, or retelling myths associated with other deities. Devotional images act as the centerpiece during a ritual or ceremony and are often used as mediums through which one can offer prayers or make requests. Overall, and perhaps most importantly, religious art is used as a meditation tool to help bring one further down the path to enlightenment. The Buddhist Vajrayana practitioner uses a thanga image of their yidam, or meditation deity, as a guide, by visualizing “themselves as being that deity, thereby internalizing the Buddha qualities (Lipton, Ragnubs).”

 

Historians note that Chinese painting had a profound influence on Tibetan painting in general. Starting from the 14th and 15th century, Tibetan painting had incorporated many elements from the Chinese, and during the 18th century, Chinese painting had a deep and far-stretched impact on Tibetan visual art. According to Giuseppe Tucci, by the time of the Qing Dynasty, "a new Tibetan art was then developed, which in a certain sense was a provincial echo of the Chinese 18th century's smooth ornate preciosity."

 

HISTORY

Thangka is a Nepalese art form exported to Tibet after Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal, daughter of King Lichchavi, married Songtsän Gampo, the ruler of Tibet imported the images of Aryawalokirteshwar and other Nepalese deities to Tibet. History of thangka Paintings in Nepal began in the 11th century A.D. when Buddhists and Hindus began to make illustration of the deities and natural scenes. Historically, Tibetan and Chinese influence in Nepalese paintings is quite evident in Paubhas (Thangkas). Paubhas are of two types, the Palas which are illustrative paintings of the deities and the Mandala, which are mystic diagrams paintings of complex test prescribed patterns of circles an square each having specific significance. It was through Nepal that Mahayana Buddhism was introduced into Tibet during reign of Angshuvarma in the seventh century A.D. There was therefore a great demand for religious icons and Buddhist manuscripts for newly built monasteries throughout Tibet. A number of Buddhist manuscripts, including Prajnaparamita, were copied in Kathmandu Valley for these monasteries. Astasahas rika Prajnaparamita for example, was copied in Patan in the year 999 A.D., during the reign of Narendra Dev and Udaya Deva, for the Sa-Shakya monastery in Tibet. For the Nor monastery in Tibet, two copies were made in Nepal-one of Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita in 1069 A.D. and the other of Kavyadarsha in 1111 A.D. The influence of Nepalese art extended till Tibet and even beyond in China in regular order during the thirteenth century. Nepalese artisans were dispatched to the courts of Chinese emperors at their request to perform their workmanship and impart expert knowledge. The exemplary contribution made by the artisans of Nepal, specially by the Nepalese innovator and architect Balbahu, known by his popular name Araniko bear testimony to this fact even today. After the introduction of paper, palm leaf became less popular, however, it continued to be used until the eighteenth century. Paper manuscripts imitated the oblong shape but were wider than the palm leaves.

 

From the fifteenth century onwards, brighter colours gradually began to appear in Nepalese.Thanka / Thangka. Because of the growing importance of the Tantric cult, various aspects of Shiva and Shakti were painted in conventional poses. Mahakala, Manjushri, Lokeshwara and other deities were equally popular and so were also frequently represented in Thanka / Thangka paintings of later dates. As Tantrism embodies the ideas of esoteric power, magic forces, and a great variety of symbols, strong emphasis is laid on the female element and sexuality in the paintings of that period.

 

Religious paintings worshipped as icons are known as Paubha in Newari and Thanka / Thangka in Tibetan. The origin of Paubha or Thanka / Thangka paintings may be attributed to the Nepalese artists responsible for creating a number of special metal works and wall- paintings as well as illuminated manuscripts in Tibet. Realizing the great demand for religious icons in Tibet, these artists, along with monks and traders, took with them from Nepal not only metal sculptures but also a number of Buddhist manuscripts. To better fulfil the ever - increasing demand Nepalese artists initiated a new type of religious painting on cloth that could be easily rolled up and carried along with them. This type of painting became very popular both in Nepal and Tibet and so a new school of Thanka / Thangka painting evolved as early as the ninth or tenth century and has remained popular to this day. One of the earliest specimens of Nepalese Thanka / Thangka painting dates from the thirteenth /fourteenth century and shows Amitabha surrounded by Bodhisattva. Another Nepalese Thanka / Thangka with three dates in the inscription (the last one corresponding to 1369 A.D.), is one of the earliest known Thanka / Thangka with inscriptions. The "Mandalaof Vishnu " dated 1420 A.D., is another fine example of the painting of this period. Early Nepalese Thangkas are simple in design and composition. The main deity, a large figure, occupies the central position while surrounded by smaller figures of lesser divinities.

 

Thanka / Thangka painting is one of the major science out the five major and five minor fields of knowledge. Its origin can be traced all the way back to the time of Lord Buddha. The main themes of Thanka / Thangka paintings are religious. During the reign of Tibetan Dharma King Trisong Duetsen the Tibetan masters refined their already well-developed arts through research and studies of different country's tradition. Thanka painting's lining and measurement, costumes, implementations and ornaments are mostly based on Indian styles. The drawing of figures is based on Nepalese style and the background sceneries are based on Chinese style. Thus, the Thanka / Thangka paintings became a unique and distinctive art. Although the practice of thanka painting was originally done as a way of gaining merit it has nowadays only evolved into a money making business and the noble intentions it once carried has been diluted. Tibetans do not sell Thangkas on a large scale as the selling of religious artifacts such as thangkas and idols is frowned upon in the Tibetan community and thus non Tibetan groups have been able to monopolize on its (thangka's) popularity among Buddhist and art enthusiasts from the west.

 

Thanka / Thangka have developed in the northern Himalayan regions among the Lamas. Besides Lamas, Gurung and Tamang communities are also producing Tankas, which provide substantial employment opportunities for many people in the hills. Newari Thankas (Also known as Paubha) has been the hidden art work in Kathmandu valley from the 13th century. We have preserved this art and are exclusively creating this with some particular painter family who have inherited their art from their forefathers. Some of the artistic religious and historical paintings are also done by the Newars of Kathmandu Valley.

 

TYPES

Based on technique and material, thangkas can be grouped by types. Generally, they are divided into two broad categories: those that are painted (Tib.) bris-tan—and those made of silk, either by appliqué or embroidery.

 

Thangkas are further divided into these more specific categories:

 

- Painted in colors (Tib.) tson-tang - the most common type

- Appliqué (Tib.) go-tang

- Black Background - meaning gold line on a black background (Tib.) nagtang

- Blockprints - paper or cloth outlined renderings, by woodcut/woodblock printing

- Embroidery (Tib.) tsem-thang

- Gold Background - an auspicious treatment, used judiciously for peaceful, long-life deities and fully enlightened buddhas

- Red Background - literally gold line, but referring to gold line on a vermillion (Tib.) mar-tang

 

Whereas typical thangkas are fairly small, between about 18 and 30 inches tall or wide, there are also giant festival thangkas, usually Appliqué, and designed to be unrolled against a wall in a monastery for particular religious occasions. These are likely to be wider than they are tall, and may be sixty or more feet across and perhaps twenty or more high.

 

Somewhat related are Tibetan tsakli, which look like miniature thangkas, but are usually used as initiation cards or offerings.

 

Because Thangkas can be quite expensive, people nowadays use posters of Thangkas as an alternative to the real thangkas for religious purposes.

 

PROCESS

Thangkas are painted on cotton or silk. The most common is a loosely woven cotton produced in widths from 40 to 58 centimeters. While some variations do exist, thangkas wider than 45 centimeters frequently have seams in the support. The paint consists of pigments in a water soluble medium. Both mineral and organic pigments are used, tempered with a herb and glue solution. In Western terminology, this is a distemper technique.

 

The composition of a thangka, as with the majority of Buddhist art, is highly geometric. Arms, legs, eyes, nostrils, ears, and various ritual implements are all laid out on a systematic grid of angles and intersecting lines. A skilled thangka artist will generally select from a variety of predesigned items to include in the composition, ranging from alms bowls and animals, to the shape, size, and angle of a figure's eyes, nose, and lips. The process seems very methodical, but often requires deep understanding of the symbolism involved to capture the spirit of it.

 

Thangka often overflow with symbolism and allusion. Because the art is explicitly religious, all symbols and allusions must be in accordance with strict guidelines laid out in Buddhist scripture. The artist must be properly trained and have sufficient religious understanding, knowledge, and background to create an accurate and appropriate thangka. Lipton and Ragnubs clarify this in Treasures of Tibetan Art:

 

“Tibetan art exemplifies the nirmanakaya, the physical body of Buddha, and also the qualities of the Buddha, perhaps in the form of a deity. Art objects, therefore, must follow rules specified in the Buddhist scriptures regarding proportions, shape, color, stance, hand positions, and attributes in order to personify correctly the Buddha or Deities.”

“Morning’s Glow”

Berry College, Rome, Georgia

 

My day started super early. I was meeting a fellow photographer before sunrise at Berry College to photograph the deer. Berry boasts 27,000 acres of land that are abundant in wildlife, especially deer.

 

We wanted to capture the deer in the early morning light, so I left my house before four o’clock. When I arrived, I noticed they were everywhere—even very close to the road.

 

We drove around the campus for several hours trying to find and photograph them. A small group of deer meandered into a freshly cut field, and we stopped and began photographing.

 

I photograph wildlife very methodically. First, I make sure I get the shot and shoot right away. Then as I am in a low crouched position, I slowly take a few more steps toward the animal and shoot again. This is repeated over and over until I have framed my subject perfectly.

 

The fawn in front of me was very relaxed and enjoying the morning sun. It was not bothered by my presence, nor was its mother watching in the distance.

 

This is my favorite shot from the day. Thanks to Berry College for generously allowing photographers to enjoy their beautiful campus and abundant wildlife there.

  

To purchase wildlife and nature fine art prints, please visit my website: www.judyroyalglennphotography.com

 

#fawn #babydeer #deer #wildlife #wildlifephotographer #nature #naturephotographer #JudyRoyalGlenn #JudyRoyalGlennPhotography #BerryCollege #RomeGA #RomeGeorgia #morninglight #morningsun #dawn #animal #animals #mammal #whitetailedfawn #whitetaileddeer

SUN VALLEY - The Los Angeles Fire Department successfully

rescued a trapped construction worker and provided medical care to he and two of his injured colleagues, when a large volume of concrete and soil toppled into a four foot deep trench with makeshift shoring the men were working in or near on the morning of February 5, 2022.

 

The first call to 9-1-1 at 10:13 AM, brought scores of LAFD rescuers to 9031 El Dorado Avenue, including firefighters uniquely trained and equipped to handle specialized Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) tasks.

 

The two men initially trapped were working on an unspecified purpose trenching project alongside the one story home, , when the poorly shored trench wall and portions of a concrete walkway on the property suddenly gave way, causing them both to sustain serious leg injuries. Though both men were initially trapped, one was able to free himself prior to LAFD arrival.

 

As rescuers focused on the still-trapped man, care and ambulance transportation to a local hospital was provided to the worker who escaped, as well as another man who came forward with unspecified back pain.

 

The LAFD USAR trained personnel worked methodically with specialty tools and the support of fellow firefighters for nearly 80 minutes to skillfully free the man, who was taken to a regional trauma center in serious but stable condition.

 

© Photo by Shane Salzman

 

LAFD Incident 020522-0575

 

Connect with us: LAFD.ORG | News | Facebook | Instagram | Reddit | Twitter: @LAFD @LAFDtalk

Saturday, February 11, 2012.Recap: No. 15 C'Town 87, No. 19 WC 69.By Brendan Hall..CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- At this time last year, Charlestown made the trek West, down Route 146, to deliver a haymaker to a Whitinsville Christian squad considered the state's tallest lineup. ..This afternoon, the Crusaders came East to Bunker Hill, with a different look for the Townies -- smaller, quicker, more surgical -- and the result was very nearly a different outcome. The Crusaders hung with Charlestown through three quarters, before the Townies pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Whitinsville 31-14 in the final frame en route to an 87-69 victory. .."That team's very good, I thought that was the best shooting team we saw," Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso said. "They're very well balanced, with a real good point guard, big man, two-guard, so I knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. I told the guys, 'You're going to see a team like this in the state tournament, eventually down the line." ..The Townies (14-3), played just seven due to health (Jawhari Dawan-Abdullah, stomach bug) and off the court issues (Gary Braham, suspension). But they saw all five of their regular starters reach double-figures, with senior point guard Rony Fernandez (26 points, four assists) leading the way. Senior forward Tyrik Jackson (12 points, 13 rebounds) came up big on the glass again, while Tyrese Hoxter (16 points, seven assists), Omar Orriols (13 points) and Iser Barnes (12) contributed some big shots from the perimeter to keep the defense stretched out. ..But early on, the Crusaders (12-2) gave them fits with the methodical way they broke through the Townie's 2-3 zone with some of the most disciplined and precise ball movement they'd seen in a while. Junior point guard Colin Richey (23 points) funneled the offense down to the baseline, finding a player planted right in the heart of the zone and kicking to either the baseline or either wing. ..Whitinsville shot nearly 40 percent from the field, getting good looks from the short side from Tyler VandenAkker (12 points, eight rebounds) and Jesse Dykstra. Grant Brown (10 points) came up with some big shots from the perimeter as well. .."We decided to extend a little bit more on the short corner, because they hit about four shots in a row from the short corner," Cardoso said. "We also decided to have the opposite guard extend even more on shooter No. 2 (Tim Dufficey). So we made some extensions in the second half, did a little better job -- not a great job, but it helped us get the victory." ..To start the fourth quarter, Barnes completed a 6-0 run by ripping the ball out of his defender's hands at midcourt and landing a breakaway layup. A few possessions later, Hoxter found Jackson underneath the rim for an easy tip-in and 68-59 advantage. ..Then with 1:37 to go, sophomore Taris Wilson hit the first of two monster breakaway slams, this one making it 76-63 to essentially put the game in hand. ..Hot from the field: The Townies outrebounded the Crusaders 16-7 in the final frame, giving way to many key transition points that helped ice the lead and the win. From the glass, WC still held a slim 35-33 advantage. ..But down at the other end, the Townies had a terrific night from the field, shooting nearly 58 percent overall. That was aided by a 7-for-17 effort from three-point range, including three 3's each from Fernandez and Orriols. ..Praise for Richey: Last season, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was throwing around high praise for the then-sophomore Richey, calling him "a suburban kid that plays urban". ..Consider Cardoso another Boston City League coach that's a fan. .."He's tough," Cardoso said. "He's one of the toughest guards coming out of his league, and I think he's going give a lot of teams problems in the state tournament, because how do you stop a kid like that?" ..Turning point? Following last season's loss to Charlestown in its home gym, WC coach Jeff Bajema greeted his players in the locker room and told them, "Guys, we can win states." ..Sure enough, the Crusaders never lost another game the rest of the way, picking up their first Division 3 state title since 2005 at the DCU Center in Worcester. After that game, Bajema spoke to reporters about how much the whitewashing by Charlestown seasoned them for what to expect in the state tournament. ..Given how much more competitive the Crusaders were this time around, could this be seen as another momentum shift? .."Hopefully, a game like this will lead us to better things," Bajema said. "But we've got a tough one Tuesday (against Holy Name), so we'll see."

 

Shot at ISO 1600, Aperture of 3.2, Shutter speed of 1/400 and Focal Length of 50.0 mm

Taken with a 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM lens and processed by Aperture 3.2.2 on Saturday February-11-2012 16:26 EST PM

Saturday, February 11, 2012.Recap: No. 15 C'Town 87, No. 19 WC 69.By Brendan Hall..CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- At this time last year, Charlestown made the trek West, down Route 146, to deliver a haymaker to a Whitinsville Christian squad considered the state's tallest lineup. ..This afternoon, the Crusaders came East to Bunker Hill, with a different look for the Townies -- smaller, quicker, more surgical -- and the result was very nearly a different outcome. The Crusaders hung with Charlestown through three quarters, before the Townies pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Whitinsville 31-14 in the final frame en route to an 87-69 victory. .."That team's very good, I thought that was the best shooting team we saw," Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso said. "They're very well balanced, with a real good point guard, big man, two-guard, so I knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. I told the guys, 'You're going to see a team like this in the state tournament, eventually down the line." ..The Townies (14-3), played just seven due to health (Jawhari Dawan-Abdullah, stomach bug) and off the court issues (Gary Braham, suspension). But they saw all five of their regular starters reach double-figures, with senior point guard Rony Fernandez (26 points, four assists) leading the way. Senior forward Tyrik Jackson (12 points, 13 rebounds) came up big on the glass again, while Tyrese Hoxter (16 points, seven assists), Omar Orriols (13 points) and Iser Barnes (12) contributed some big shots from the perimeter to keep the defense stretched out. ..But early on, the Crusaders (12-2) gave them fits with the methodical way they broke through the Townie's 2-3 zone with some of the most disciplined and precise ball movement they'd seen in a while. Junior point guard Colin Richey (23 points) funneled the offense down to the baseline, finding a player planted right in the heart of the zone and kicking to either the baseline or either wing. ..Whitinsville shot nearly 40 percent from the field, getting good looks from the short side from Tyler VandenAkker (12 points, eight rebounds) and Jesse Dykstra. Grant Brown (10 points) came up with some big shots from the perimeter as well. .."We decided to extend a little bit more on the short corner, because they hit about four shots in a row from the short corner," Cardoso said. "We also decided to have the opposite guard extend even more on shooter No. 2 (Tim Dufficey). So we made some extensions in the second half, did a little better job -- not a great job, but it helped us get the victory." ..To start the fourth quarter, Barnes completed a 6-0 run by ripping the ball out of his defender's hands at midcourt and landing a breakaway layup. A few possessions later, Hoxter found Jackson underneath the rim for an easy tip-in and 68-59 advantage. ..Then with 1:37 to go, sophomore Taris Wilson hit the first of two monster breakaway slams, this one making it 76-63 to essentially put the game in hand. ..Hot from the field: The Townies outrebounded the Crusaders 16-7 in the final frame, giving way to many key transition points that helped ice the lead and the win. From the glass, WC still held a slim 35-33 advantage. ..But down at the other end, the Townies had a terrific night from the field, shooting nearly 58 percent overall. That was aided by a 7-for-17 effort from three-point range, including three 3's each from Fernandez and Orriols. ..Praise for Richey: Last season, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was throwing around high praise for the then-sophomore Richey, calling him "a suburban kid that plays urban". ..Consider Cardoso another Boston City League coach that's a fan. .."He's tough," Cardoso said. "He's one of the toughest guards coming out of his league, and I think he's going give a lot of teams problems in the state tournament, because how do you stop a kid like that?" ..Turning point? Following last season's loss to Charlestown in its home gym, WC coach Jeff Bajema greeted his players in the locker room and told them, "Guys, we can win states." ..Sure enough, the Crusaders never lost another game the rest of the way, picking up their first Division 3 state title since 2005 at the DCU Center in Worcester. After that game, Bajema spoke to reporters about how much the whitewashing by Charlestown seasoned them for what to expect in the state tournament. ..Given how much more competitive the Crusaders were this time around, could this be seen as another momentum shift? .."Hopefully, a game like this will lead us to better things," Bajema said. "But we've got a tough one Tuesday (against Holy Name), so we'll see."

 

Shot at ISO 1600, Aperture of 3.2, Shutter speed of 1/400 and Focal Length of 70.0 mm

Taken with a 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM lens and processed by Aperture 3.2.2 on Saturday February-11-2012 16:25 EST PM

Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656-1708) was a French botanist. He was born to a well-to-do family in Aix-en-Provence. Tournefort initially took up studies in theology. However, as he had a marked inclination towards natural sciences, he turned to medicine. He completed his studies at the University of Montpellier. In 1681, he was in Barcelona doing research in botany. In 1694 Tournefort published his first three-volume work, in which he classified 8846 plants. In 1698 he became Doctor in Medicine of the University of Paris. At that time his treatise was also translated into Latin. Tournefort became a famous physician and naturalist. He travelled extensively in Western Europe (Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, England). He had published a number of works on botany, and had acquired a fabulous collection of nearly 50.000 books, as well as costumes, arms, minerals, shells and various curiosities. Thus, he already had a very important career behind him when Louis XIV entrusted him with the mission to bring new plants to the Royal Botanical Garden.

 

Tournefort started out on his voyage to the Near East in the spring of 1700, at the age of 44, accompanied by a painter and a doctor. He visited thirty-eight islands of the Greek archipelago, as well as Northern Anatolia, Pontus and Armenia, and reached Tiflis in Georgia. Tournefort returned to Marseilles in June 1702.

 

His manuscript, composed of his letters to the Minister of the Exterior Count de Pontchartain, was published posthumously in 1717. A number of re-editions followed, while his work was also translated into English, German and Flemish. There is also a Greek translation of the first part. The fact that Tournefort had discovered new plants in his journey led him to publish a supplement to his main work of botanical classification in 1703. He taught Botany in the Académie, while continuing to practice medicine; at the same time, he was in charge of the Royal Gardens, where many plants he brought from his travels were cultivated with success. Having survived a multitude of adventures, Tournefort died of an accident in 1708. He did not live to see the publication of his travel chronicle, which in the following three centuries became the basic manual to all travellers to these regions. Until today, researchers from numerous fields turn to Tournefort’s text, as it remains an invaluable source of information. He describes the places he visited in a particular systematic manner.

 

The systematic way he organizes his information on topography, economy, administration, ethnic composition, customs and habits of everyday life shows how one can arrive at truth and knowledge through research, methodical study, classification and generalisation. To document his research, Tournefort cites a hundred and thirty-five texts by Greek and Latin authors as well as Byzantine writers, Humanists, and earlier travel accounts.

 

He methodically narrates his visit to each island, and describes the locations as well as events that he witnessed and encounters with locals. He then continues with the island’s history from ancient times to the current age, citing the corresponding myths, and comparing with the information provided by ancient coins. Subsequently, he writes on the island’s administration and taxes, commerce, products and prices thereof. An entire chapter is dedicated to the Greek church. Tournefort also writes on monasteries and churches, house architecture and caves. He also describes the customs, the dress and the occupations of the inhabitants. He concludes his chapters with geographical observations from the highest point of each main region.

 

Naturally, his work includes engravings of city views, locations and monuments as well as plants, instruments and costumes. The text becomes alive with vivid descriptions of his encounters with islanders, be it Turks, Franks, Greeks or privateers. Of special interest are his descriptions of fortresses, ports, safe havens and his information on map drawing.

 

The second volume is a publication of his thoroughly documented manuscripts. It was not edited by Tournefort himself as had happened with the first. On numerous occasions he refers to the politics, administration and ethnic composition of the Ottoman Empire. He continues with his journey on the southern coast of the Black Sea to Armenia. The work closes with a short description of Smyrna and Ephesus.

 

Tournefort is considered the first to have shown the islands of the Archipelago to be “travel material”, as he offered information which inspired the interest for further research, and also highlighed each location’s wealth and uniqueness.

 

Written by Ioli Vingopoulou

  

Fransız botanikçi Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656-1708) Aix-en-Provence'da varlıklı bir aile içinde doğar, ilk önce tanrıbilim (teoloji) dersleri izler ancak genç yaştan beri doğa bilimlerine eğilim gösterir. Bu yüzden Montpellier'de tıp öğrenimi görüp 1681'de botanik araştırmaları yapmak üzere Barcelona'ya gelir. 1694 yılında üç ciltlik ve 8.846 bitkinin sınıflandırmasına ilişkin ilk eserini yayınlar; 1698'de Paris Tıp Fakültesinden doktor unvanını alır ve bu kazanımı yapıtının latince çevirisi izler. Doktor ve doğa bilimcisi olarak ün salmış, Batı Avrupa'da (İspanya, Portekiz, Hollanda, İngiltere'ye) seyahat etmiş, botanoloji ile ilgili kitaplar yayınlamış, 50.000'e yakın kitaptan meydana gelen bir kitaplık oluşturmuş, ayrıca yerel kıyafet, silah, mineral, deniz kabuğu ve daha başka ilginç şeylerden oluşan hayranlık uyandıran koleksiyonlar sahibi olmuşken, kral 14. Louis ona Kraliyet Botanik Bahçesine yeni bitkiler getirme görevini verir. Tournefort 1700 yılının ilkbaharında, 44 yaşındayken, yanına yoldaş olarak bir ressam ve bir doktor alarak Yakın Doğu'ya doğru yola çıkar.

 

Ege adalarından 38 tanesini ziyaret eder, Kuzey Anadolu'nun her tarafını gezip Karadeniz ve Ermenistan yörelerine gelir, Tiflis'e varır. Tournefort, 1702 yılının Haziran ayında Marsilya'da karaya ayak basar.

 

Kaleme aldığı metin (Dışişleri bakanı Kont de Pontchartain'e yolladığı mektuplar biçiminde) ilk olarak 1717'de yayınlanır, bu ilk yayını bir çok yeni baskı izler ve eser ingilizce, almanca ve flamanca gibi dillere- ilk kısmı yunancaya da - çevrilir. Yeni keşfettiği bitkilerin daha önce belirlemiş olduğu sınıflandırma sistemine eklenmesi sonucu olarak 1703'te yeni bir cilt yayınlar. Tournefort botanik profesörü sıfatıyla Akademide dersler verir, doktorluk mesleğini ve bunlara koşut olarak Kraliyet Bahçesinin sorumluluğu görevini sürdürür. Gezilerinden getirmiş olduğu birçok yeni bitki bu bahçede başarılı bir şekilde yetiştirilir. Tournefort geçirdiği birçok maceradan kefeni yırtmışken, üç asır boyunca her gezginin bu bölge için başucu kitabı olacak seyahatnamesinin yayınlanmasını göremeden 1708'de bir kaza sonucu ölür. Bugün hâlâ çeşitli dallardan araştırmacılar Tournefort'un metnine başvurup son derece değerli bilgilerinden faydalanmak durumundalar. Eseri anında ingilizce, hollandaca ve almancaya çevrilmişti.

 

Gezdiği yerleri betimlerken belirli bir yöntem izleyerek topoğrafya, ekonomi, yönetim, milletler sentezi ve günlük yaşamdaki örf ve adetlere ilişkin bilgiler verirken, Tournefort, bilginin gerçeğe uyup uymadığı konusuna araştırma, düzenli okuma, sınıflandırma ve genelleştirme yoluyla yanaşılabileceğini kanıtlıyor. Kanıtlayıcı belgeleri arasında antik Yunan ve Latin yazarlarından, ayrıca Bizans yazarlarından ve daha eski hümanist bilgin ve gezginlerden 135 tane metin bulunmakta.

 

Ziyaret ettiği her ada için düzenli olarak ziyaretini anlatıp birçok yeri ve olayı hatta yerlilerle olan görüşmelerini de betimler. Bunlara ek olarak, adanın eski çağlardan gününe dek tarihi ve bununla ilintili efsaneler, sikkeler hakkında, yönetim, vergilendirme usulleri, ticaret, ürünler ve fiyatları hakkında bilgiler verir. Ayrıca Yunanistan'ın dinî (kilise) yaşamına başlıbaşına bir bölüm ayırır. Manastırlar, kiliseler, evlerin mimarisi, mağaralar hakkında yazar, adetler ve kıyafetleri betimleyip halkın uğraşlarından sözeder ve önemli yörelerin her birinin en yüksek irtifasından yaptığı coğrafya gözlemleri ile anlatımını bitirir.

 

Doğal olarak eserinde şehir, yer, anıt, bitki, alet, ve kıyafet görünümleri ile ilgili gravürler de yer almakta. Ayrıca metni ada halkıyla (Türkler, Latinler, Yunanlılar, korsanlarla) ilişkilerinden çarpıcı betimlemelerle de çeşitlenir. Kitabında hisarlar, gemi barınakları, güvenli limanlar hakkında yaptığı betimlemeler ve harita çizimi ile ilgili verdiği bilgiler özel ilgi uyandıran kısımlar arasındadır.

 

Eserinin birinci cildinin yayına hazırlığını kendisi denetlemişken ikinci cilt kendi ayrıntılı yazılarına sadık kalınarak basılır. Bu cildin başındaki birçok bölüm Osmanlıların siyasal, yönetimsel ve etnografik durumuna ayrılmıştır. Bunun devamında Karadeniz'in güney kıyılarında yaptığı Ermenistan'a kadar varan yolculuğunu anlatıp kitabı İzmir ve Efes'in kısa bir betimlemesi ile bitirir.

 

Böylece Tournefort, başkalarında arayış isteğini besleyecek nitelikte malzeme sağlamanın yanısıra, gördüğü her yerin sonsuz zengiliğini ve kendine özgü niteliklerini yüzeye çıkarması açısından Ege adalarına bir "yolculuk uknumu" veren ilk şahıs olarak bilinir.

 

Yazan: İoli Vingopoulou

 

With the skys along the north slope of the pass having cleared, a B.N. Santa Fe junker methodically negotiates the many curves that comprises the Allard horse shoe; all the while, keeping her speed at or below 23 mph.

 

The foothills, angled slopes, and imposing mountains still hold an emerald green color as an overnight rain has given the grass liquid life.

   

SUN VALLEY - The Los Angeles Fire Department successfully

rescued a trapped construction worker and provided medical care to he and two of his injured colleagues, when a large volume of concrete and soil toppled into a four foot deep trench with makeshift shoring the men were working in or near on the morning of February 5, 2022.

 

The first call to 9-1-1 at 10:13 AM, brought scores of LAFD rescuers to 9031 El Dorado Avenue, including firefighters uniquely trained and equipped to handle specialized Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) tasks.

 

The two men initially trapped were working on an unspecified purpose trenching project alongside the one story home, , when the poorly shored trench wall and portions of a concrete walkway on the property suddenly gave way, causing them both to sustain serious leg injuries. Though both men were initially trapped, one was able to free himself prior to LAFD arrival.

 

As rescuers focused on the still-trapped man, care and ambulance transportation to a local hospital was provided to the worker who escaped, as well as another man who came forward with unspecified back pain.

 

The LAFD USAR trained personnel worked methodically with specialty tools and the support of fellow firefighters for nearly 80 minutes to skillfully free the man, who was taken to a regional trauma center in serious but stable condition.

 

© Photo by Shane Salzman

 

LAFD Incident 020522-0575

 

Connect with us: LAFD.ORG | News | Facebook | Instagram | Reddit | Twitter: @LAFD @LAFDtalk

View large on black

 

"A TEST OF ENDURANCE"

 

Wave after wave of swimmers raced across the sand and dove headfirst into the sea. Arms churned as bodies sliced through the waves in a long line that went as far as my eyes could see. Then, they turned around and began to make their way back to the beach. Heads bobbed to the side as they took in fresh breaths of air. Finally, great splashes of water sprayed everywhere as the swimmers reached the shore, a mixture of grim determination and cheerful smiles etched across their faces. A series of cheers erupted from the crowd waiting for them on the beach as they raced across the sand once again to their bikes for the next leg of the competition.

 

This was the scene at Hwasun Beach where nearly 1100 men and women took part in the 2011 Iron Man Korea Jeju Triathlon. Participants swam 3.8 km, bicycled 180.2 km, and ran 42.2 km for a total of 226.195 km on a difficult course that wound its way over rolling hills between Daejeong-Eup and the World Cup stadium in Seogwipo.

 

Cyclists worked their way methodically up a steep incline just outside of Jungmun and then coasted down a hill, thumbs up as they passed me, clearly relieved to finish that part of the race. But, the hardest part was yet to come: a full marathon that would test the will and endurance of these athletes.

 

Five grueling hours later, the end in sight, Balazs Csoke from Hungary, using all his remaining strength, dragged his exhausted body across the finish line, completing the race in 8 hours, 48 minutes, and 18 seconds. Korean hopeful Yeun Sik Ham finished strong, clocking in at 9:36:02 while Kate Bevilaqua of Australia was the top woman, finishing the race in 9 hours, 39 minutes, and 42 seconds.

 

www.jejuweekly.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=1730

 

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More images from the race www.flickr.com/photos/dmacs_photos/sets/72157627105746342/

 

Slideshow www.flickr.com/photos/dmacs_photos/sets/72157627105746342...

 

Please view my stream LARGE on black:

 

DMac 5D Mark II's photos on Flickriver

 

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Saturday, February 11, 2012.Recap: No. 15 C'Town 87, No. 19 WC 69.By Brendan Hall..CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- At this time last year, Charlestown made the trek West, down Route 146, to deliver a haymaker to a Whitinsville Christian squad considered the state's tallest lineup. ..This afternoon, the Crusaders came East to Bunker Hill, with a different look for the Townies -- smaller, quicker, more surgical -- and the result was very nearly a different outcome. The Crusaders hung with Charlestown through three quarters, before the Townies pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Whitinsville 31-14 in the final frame en route to an 87-69 victory. .."That team's very good, I thought that was the best shooting team we saw," Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso said. "They're very well balanced, with a real good point guard, big man, two-guard, so I knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. I told the guys, 'You're going to see a team like this in the state tournament, eventually down the line." ..The Townies (14-3), played just seven due to health (Jawhari Dawan-Abdullah, stomach bug) and off the court issues (Gary Braham, suspension). But they saw all five of their regular starters reach double-figures, with senior point guard Rony Fernandez (26 points, four assists) leading the way. Senior forward Tyrik Jackson (12 points, 13 rebounds) came up big on the glass again, while Tyrese Hoxter (16 points, seven assists), Omar Orriols (13 points) and Iser Barnes (12) contributed some big shots from the perimeter to keep the defense stretched out. ..But early on, the Crusaders (12-2) gave them fits with the methodical way they broke through the Townie's 2-3 zone with some of the most disciplined and precise ball movement they'd seen in a while. Junior point guard Colin Richey (23 points) funneled the offense down to the baseline, finding a player planted right in the heart of the zone and kicking to either the baseline or either wing. ..Whitinsville shot nearly 40 percent from the field, getting good looks from the short side from Tyler VandenAkker (12 points, eight rebounds) and Jesse Dykstra. Grant Brown (10 points) came up with some big shots from the perimeter as well. .."We decided to extend a little bit more on the short corner, because they hit about four shots in a row from the short corner," Cardoso said. "We also decided to have the opposite guard extend even more on shooter No. 2 (Tim Dufficey). So we made some extensions in the second half, did a little better job -- not a great job, but it helped us get the victory." ..To start the fourth quarter, Barnes completed a 6-0 run by ripping the ball out of his defender's hands at midcourt and landing a breakaway layup. A few possessions later, Hoxter found Jackson underneath the rim for an easy tip-in and 68-59 advantage. ..Then with 1:37 to go, sophomore Taris Wilson hit the first of two monster breakaway slams, this one making it 76-63 to essentially put the game in hand. ..Hot from the field: The Townies outrebounded the Crusaders 16-7 in the final frame, giving way to many key transition points that helped ice the lead and the win. From the glass, WC still held a slim 35-33 advantage. ..But down at the other end, the Townies had a terrific night from the field, shooting nearly 58 percent overall. That was aided by a 7-for-17 effort from three-point range, including three 3's each from Fernandez and Orriols. ..Praise for Richey: Last season, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was throwing around high praise for the then-sophomore Richey, calling him "a suburban kid that plays urban". ..Consider Cardoso another Boston City League coach that's a fan. .."He's tough," Cardoso said. "He's one of the toughest guards coming out of his league, and I think he's going give a lot of teams problems in the state tournament, because how do you stop a kid like that?" ..Turning point? Following last season's loss to Charlestown in its home gym, WC coach Jeff Bajema greeted his players in the locker room and told them, "Guys, we can win states." ..Sure enough, the Crusaders never lost another game the rest of the way, picking up their first Division 3 state title since 2005 at the DCU Center in Worcester. After that game, Bajema spoke to reporters about how much the whitewashing by Charlestown seasoned them for what to expect in the state tournament. ..Given how much more competitive the Crusaders were this time around, could this be seen as another momentum shift? .."Hopefully, a game like this will lead us to better things," Bajema said. "But we've got a tough one Tuesday (against Holy Name), so we'll see."

 

Shot at ISO 1600, Aperture of 3.2, Shutter speed of 1/320 and Focal Length of 70.0 mm

Taken with a 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM lens and processed by Aperture 3.2.2 on Saturday February-11-2012 17:12 EST PM

Originally written September 17th. 2006

  

Last night as I was finishing up on the latest polishing project I’d lined up, I struck on a thought, or rather I’d recounted a particular event, that had taken place sometime ago. The event had actually happened last summer, and I hadn’t thought much on it since. They say the body has a way of forgetting pain, and perhaps that’s why I don’t dwell on the particular memory much. I think I can laugh about it now, but at the time, dry giggles, and hick up like chuckles were far from the state my mind was lingering on.

 

Now, I do quite frequently make mistakes, life is full of trial and error. The way I see it, if you aren’t making mistakes from time to time, you are not taking the necessary risks that you need to further evolve, and as such, by making though’s mistakes, one is equally capable of learning from though’s mistakes and applying the new found knowledge in future life adventures. Admittedly however, there are more then a few mistakes I make on a regular near frequent basis that I would seem unable to learn from. But we’re not going to talk about them today. No, today is all about exploration, mistake making, and "learning".

 

The story in mention, takes place one fine sunny day...at work, of course, and the boys in blue (no, the other blue guys, the shop hands) had dropped off a headache rack for polishing... Headache rack, bang board, bulk head, whatever it is they call them in your neck of the woods. Ah ha, there in point made. When I’d started all though’s years ago, one of the first questions I’d asked was "why do they call them headache racks?" After standing up underneath one a few times, I "discovered" by my own part as to why such a piece of equipment might have garnered such a title. Whether that was the original reasoning behind the title makes little difference to me, I just knew I didn’t want to hit my head on one anymore. But now I’m getting off subject.

 

Some of these headache racks have cases for one to hang his or her’s tire chains off of, and most of these cases have hinged doors, so that one might pad lock the chains down in order to detour would be chain thieves. The particular headache rack they’d dropped off, had such hinged doors. The particular grinder I was using that day for my polishing was a Porter Cable that turned about 5,500 rpm, for some reason that little tid bit it slightly important to the story, as these days I prefer to cut at much lower rpm’s unless such circumstances arise that I have to break out the red wheel, and get dirty. The Porter Cable was a fine piece of equipment as far as I was concerned at the time, but I never really liked the way it felt in my hands. It was a little hard to hang on to, and felt bulky. At times I think it had actually conspired against me with particular polishing projects in an attempt to oust me as head of operations. Take for example...This headache rack.

 

Thinking back to the hinged doors, as I was getting round about where I’d opened them to get around the edges, and for some reason that would equally be important to the story, because as I was working my way around the edge, I’d already begun to eye ball the opened doors, and think to myself, "I should really try to find something to bolt those down with, before the buffing wheel grabs hold of one, and swings it into my – – BANG!!!

 

Everything went black, and I recall an out right obnoxious ringing had appeared in my ears. The ringing crescendoed in pitch, and the strange and rather sudden black veil that had for one reason or another over taken me began to fade, and I was no longer in the detail bay. I’d somehow teleported myself into...a...Cracker commercial. Yes I’m quite certain of it, I was suddenly hovering over an endless buffet of crackers. Snake wells, Wheat Thin’s and Ritz as far as the eye could see, garnished with spreads of all countless tasty sorts, while Frank Sinatra serenaded me in the far off distance with something that resembled "New York, New York." Clearly this could not be right, but at the time, it seemed to make perfect sense. That is until, the Sinatra distorted back into an ear splitting ring, and the crackers formed themselves into the rather depressing shape of unpolished aluminum diamond plate. Clearly something had gone terribly wrong, but for the life of me I could not recount what it was. Well to be completely honest at that moment I wasn't even entirely sure why I was staring at unpolished aluminum diamond plate, that had only moments ago been tasty snake crackers adorned with countless mouth watering spreads. One of the first thoughts I recall having though, was that for reasons very unknown to me, my head was throbbing, which in most cases meant that someone or something was trying to hurt me, and by the level of pain emanating from inside my skull, they were doing a pretty damn good job of it.

 

Then another thought hit me. Yes. The diamond plate. I was suppose to be polishing the diamond plate. It was part of a headache rack that I’d been commissioned to polish. That is what I was suppose to be doing. But why was I not polishing it, and more importantly, why would someone or something suddenly decide to hurt me while I was trying to polish a headache rack? Thought’s began to rush through my mind, some more gradual then others, but after what had seemed like a good ten minutes, I’d finally settled on the very possible fact that the hinged door I’d been thinking about bolting down before the polishing wheel was able to grab hold of it and slam it into my face, had in fact done that very thing right as I was thinking it...Well lets be honest, I was the one running the grinder, I done it to myself.

 

So there was no one trying to hurt me. No evil plot outside of my rebellious Porter Cable. No one hurting me, besides myself...And there were no crackers either, I think that was quite possibly the most disappointing part of all my split second discoveries. There was one final thought that had finally worked it’s way to the surface, that by all accounts I could not find an answer too. Based off of all the knowledge I had gained on polishing over the years, and I realize though sources are some what limited, but for the time, they would simply have to do. Based off of that knowledge, if I was in fact suppose to be polishing this particular diamond plated headache rack, why didn’t I have a grinder in my hands?

 

Now you have to keep one very important fact in mind. While all of this seems to have taken me near a life time to assemble in my brain, out in the real world, there had only been the passing of perhaps one maybe two seconds at best.

 

I’m still trying to collect myself, and work out why I would be trying to polish a diamond plate headache rack, without the aid of a grinder, when beyond the insane ringing in my ears I hear yet another sound. It’s the sound of a grinder running at near 5,500 rpm’s. Fallowing the sound to it’s source I cock my head up, and find my mighty Porter Cable some what near three feet above my head. After the grinder had caught the edge of the door, slamming it shut in my face, it had rather than staying firmly secured in the grip of my hands, continued on climbing up the headache rack, and was now headed up and over my shoulder, in an attempt to what I can only assume was, escape. My first thought to that was some what benign. I figured as soon as it hit the concrete floor of the detail bay, it would most likely be a powerful enough jolt to disengage the trigger lock...Apparently they build them suckers mighty strong, or that grinder was just hell bent on escaping, because it was off and runnin’ the moment it hit the ground, making a strait as an arrow bee line for the front door.

 

I’m not sure if it was the proper thing to do, being I’d just had by ass kicked by and electrical tool, but then again my mind was still a bit cloudy, and the thought of chasing after it simply didn’t make any sense at all. So I chose instead to simply stand there and watch it bee line for the front door, and laugh, while shouting "Go, go, go, you little som’bitch." You see. Determined as that little grinder might have been...the extension cord it’s life blood coursed through was only fifteen feet long. It sucked in it’s last free breath eight feet from the door.

 

So you see I am capable of learning things, though be it more commonly from uncomfortable if not usually painful experiences. I acquire such knowledge, and from that day hence am able to apply it there after, and as such I’ve never had my ass kicked by another headache rack since (though I think that grinder still tried to kill me a couple of more times)...It would seem this little grinder revolution is getting more and more methodical every passing day.

 

Experience, learn, apply knowledge. Create a perpetual loop.

 

Static

The ANA C-IED Task Force Badge.

 

Members of the UK's Explosive Ordnance Disposal & Search Task Force (EOD&S TF) are stepping back from their frontline role to develop the Afghan National Army's counter IED capability.

 

British advisors have been deployed to train, mentor and 'authorise-for-action' Afghan National Army Explosive Hazard Reduction Teams (EHRTs). The Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers complete an initial four week course provided by US forces before graduating onto the advanced training given by British specialists.

 

They are put through their paces by an experienced instructor pairing from EOD & Search to ensure they are confident, methodical, professional and aware of current threats. To complete the course the ANA team have to pass three assessed tasks either in camp or 'live' on patrol before they can be utilised as a team.

  

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