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Clifford D. Simak - Heritage of Stars - cover artist Paul Lehr - reviewed by Cadwalader Ringgold

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SFBC hardbound published 1977 Berkley

Review by CR

"The completeness of the destruction and the apparent methodical manner in which it was carried out indicate an unreasoning rage and a fine-honed fanaticism...Armed with incalculable engines of destruction, the major powers of that olden day possessed the capability to annihilate one another. This however did not come about. From all indications the collapse of civilization came about because of an outrage on the part of what must have been a substantial portion of the populace against the kind of world that technology has created." from "A Heritage of Stars".

In "A Heritage of Stars"(1977) author Simak uses an extensive quotation from a long deceased historians text to postulates a future years after "The Collapse" of technological civilization. I was very impressed by the certain tenor of Simak's prose in these introductory passages used to introduce us to the place, time, location and atmosphere where the story takes place. The author's choice of words captures significant nuances of meaning that encourages one to appreciate the story he desires to tell us.

Mankind has regressed back to the Stone Age from the space age in a few hundred years. It would be easy to just write about a war or a plague that derailed mankind progress and then jump into the story. Many a SF author has used, truthfully overused, that story device as many readers of this type literature are, I'm sure, acquainted. Simak's historian details in six pages how "perhaps five-hundred years ago, Earth was possessed of an intricate and sophisticated technological civilization. Of this nothing operational remains. The machines and the technology were destroyed, perhaps in a few months' time".

The story that unfolds is engaging but fairly routine: a quest to find a remnant of man's technology - the fabled "Place of Going to the Stars". Our protagonist, the spunky, self assured Tom Cushing transverses though the Mid-West (in fact the journey starts and returns to Minneapolis-St Paul Simak's home territory). Along the way Cushing acquires a menagerie of fellow travelers: an elderly witch who questions her skills and her docile horse with very peculiar talents; the last upright robots who has overcome the prohibition to take life and now is a fearless bear hunter, and a man who converses with flowers and trees and his very strange grand daughter.

It seems apparent to this reader that Simak wanted to convey to us some deeply held concepts about our current society and some dangers he perceived. Without becoming a shrill alarmists he presents this fascinating and engaging story. We can then mull over and decide if we "buy-in" to his world view. Buy-in or not the story told and the method of the telling make this a highly recommended book.

Two Men Dead, Two Others Severely Burned in Canoga Park Industrial Fire by Los Angeles Fire Department

CANOGA PARK- The Los Angeles Fire Department battled a Major Emergency Structure Fire in the west San Fernando Valley on Monday, October 18, 2021.

The fire at 8423 Canoga Avenue in Canoga Park, was first noted at 12:18 PM by an LAFD Paramedic Ambulance crew returning from a nearby emergency. Within moments of their reporting the fire, flames were through the roof of the 125' x 125' one-story industrial building that also housed an adjoining but unrelated business at 8425 Canoga Avenue.

As that first-arriving LAFD Paramedic crew circled the structure to gain situational awareness and guide fellow responders, they encountered the first of three adult male civilians with severe burn injuries outside the burning building. Two proved to be in critical condition and the other in serious condition. All three were taken to area hospitals. Sadly, one of the critically injured men died later while undergoing hospital care.

The rapid spread of intense flames and multiple explosions heard within the building guided first-arriving firefighters to quickly commence defensive operations, applying multiple large diameter hose streams from the exterior, including two from atop extended aerial ladders, to prevent flames from extending beyond the well involved structure.

With the exception of a forty square-foot section of the roof at 8427 Canoga Avenue destroyed by surface fire, the tactics proved successful in holding the blaze to the pair of unrelated businesses under one roof at 8423 and 8425 Canoga Avenue.

It took 150 Los Angeles Firefighter just 75 minutes to extinguish the flames.

Firefighters remained active through the night extinguishing hotspots and minimizing hazards at the structurally compromised building with the help of LAFD's robotic firefighting vehicle and heavy equipment.

At daylight Tuesday, LAFD crews resumed a systematic search within the largely destroyed premises. During their methodical search among tons of burnt debris inside the structure, firefighters discovered the remains of an adult male, bringing the overall patient count to four, with a total of two deceased and two remaining hospitalized.

No other injuries were reported.

Scientific testing of materials inside the building of fire origin yielded positive results for hemp, and it appears that the operation inside involved the extraction from hemp, not dissimilar to that used in the Butane Honey Oil extraction process.

Though the business was a legal enterprise, the operation inside appeared to be illegal, as it did not adhere to established permitting processes and safety requirements.

Pursuant to protocol, the fire's cause remains the focus of a joint active investigation by the Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force (L.A. Impact).

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

LAFD Incident 101821-0791

2013 4.3 Jeju Massacre Memorial Day by Douglas

It's nearly one year ago to the day that I drove my car up a narrow, winding road about 20 minutes southeast of Jeju City. It was an uncharacteristically cold April morning, spring having yet to make it's appearance on the island.

I parked my car and struggled to the entrance of the Jeju April 3rd Peace Memorial Hall, relentless winds and freezing temperatures battering me along the way. It reminded me how perfectly the weather conditions matched this somber day.

Once inside, I made my way to a massive room where a large crowd of people had already formed. I scanned the room and my eyes were immediately drawn to the endless rows of names inscribed along its back wall. Flowers and offerings of fruit lay below the names, all of it lit by flickering candles. People had begun to pray.

This marked my introduction to a ceremony commemorating the 64 years since the Jeju Massacre, or "4.3", broke out on Jeju Island on April 3rd, 1948. One of the deadliest conflicts in Korean history, it continued for 6 bloody years, during which time an estimated 30,000 Jeju residents died at the hands of South Korean forces as punishment for perceived sympathy towards communism and the newly formed North Korea.

The conflict came to an end in 1954 but the pain and suffering caused by the loss of loved ones did not. How could something like this happen? For decades after any discussion of the massacre was censored with the threat of torture or imprisonment for those who chose to speak out.

The passage of time has healed some wounds. Since the 1990's the South Korean government has made a series of apologies and, in 2006, then President Roh Moo-Hyun officially apologized to the people of Jeju. But, apologies will never bring back those who lost their lives in the uprising.

With these thoughts in my mind, I slowly worked my way through the crowd and began to focus my attention on an elderly couple desperately trying to find the name of somebody lost in those attacks so many years ago. The pain of their loss clearly etched on their faces, they methodically scanned the names on the wall row by painstaking row.

I followed them for nearly 30 minutes until, finally, the husband's eyes showed a spark of recognition and his arm shot up into the air, his finger shaking as it pointed at a name on the wall. I saw a brief flicker of satisfaction, even triumph, on the elderly couples' faces that, after so many years, at least they could pay their respects to a fallen loved one.

It was at this moment I took a photo, my best of the day and one that would win at prize in the 2012 Jeju Sasam Photo Contest. When I look at that photo today I'm reminded of magnitude of the loss this terrible event had on so many families on Jeju Island and I pray that nothing like this will ever happen again.

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Astronomy by Science and Technology

Astronomy (from Greek: αστρονομία) is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It applies mathematics, physics, and chemistry, in an effort to explain the origin of those objects and phenomena and their evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, galaxies, and comets; while the phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, all astronomical phenomena that originate outside Earth's atmosphere are within the purview of astronomy. A related but distinct subject, physical cosmology, is concerned with the study of the Universe as a whole.

Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history, such as the Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, Nubians, Iranians, Chinese, and Maya performed methodical observations of the night sky. Historically, astronomy has included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy and the making of calendars, but professional astronomy is now often considered to be synonymous with astrophysics.

During the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring data from observations of astronomical objects, which is then analyzed using basic principles of physics. Theoretical astronomy is oriented toward the development of computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. The two fields complement each other, with theoretical astronomy seeking to explain the observational results and observations being used to confirm theoretical results.

Astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs can still play an active role, especially in the discovery and observation of transient phenomena. Amateur astronomers have made and contributed to many important astronomical discoveries, such as finding new comets.

Astronomy (from the Greek ἀστρονομία from ἄστρον astron, "star" and -νομία -nomia from νόμος nomos, "law" or "culture") means "law of the stars" (or "culture of the stars" depending on the translation). Astronomy should not be confused with astrology, the belief system which claims that human affairs are correlated with the positions of celestial objects.[5] Although the two fields share a common origin, they are now entirely distinct.

Use of terms "astronomy" and "astrophysics"

Generally, either the term "astronomy" or "astrophysics" may be used to refer to this subject.

Based on strict dictionary definitions, "astronomy" refers to "the study of objects and matter outside the Earth's atmosphere and of their physical and chemical properties"

and "astrophysics" refers to the branch of astronomy dealing with "the behavior, physical properties, and dynamic processes of celestial objects and phenomena".

In some cases, as in the introduction of the introductory textbook The Physical Universe by Frank Shu, "astronomy" may be used to describe the qualitative study of the subject, whereas "astrophysics" is used to describe the physics-oriented version of the subject.

However, since most modern astronomical research deals with subjects related to physics, modern astronomy could actually be called astrophysics.

Few fields, such as astrometry, are purely astronomy rather than also astrophysics. Various departments in which scientists carry out research on this subject may use "astronomy" and "astrophysics," partly depending on whether the department is historically affiliated with a physics department,

and many professional astronomers have physics rather than astronomy degrees.

Some titles of the leading scientific journals in this field includeThe Astronomical Journal, The Astrophysical Journal and Astronomy and Astrophysics.

In early times, astronomy only comprised the observation and predictions of the motions of objects visible to the naked eye. In some locations, early cultures assembled massive artifacts that possibly had some astronomical purpose. In addition to their ceremonial uses, these observatories could be employed to determine the seasons, an important factor in knowing when to plant crops, as well as in understanding the length of the year.

Before tools such as the telescope were invented, early study of the stars was conducted using the naked eye. As civilizations developed, most notably in Mesopotamia, Greece, Persia, India, China, Egypt, and Central America, astronomical observatories were assembled, and ideas on the nature of the Universe began to be explored. Most of early astronomy actually consisted of mapping the positions of the stars and planets, a science now referred to as astrometry. From these observations, early ideas about the motions of the planets were formed, and the nature of the Sun, Moon and the Earth in the Universe were explored philosophically. The Earth was believed to be the center of the Universe with the Sun, the Moon and the stars rotating around it. This is known as the geocentric model of the Universe, or the Ptolemaic system, named after Ptolemy.

A particularly important early development was the beginning of mathematical and scientific astronomy, which began among the Babylonians, who laid the foundations for the later astronomical traditions that developed in many other civilizations.[15] The Babylonians discovered that lunar eclipses recurred in a repeating cycle known as a saros.

Following the Babylonians, significant advances in astronomy were made in ancient Greece and the Hellenistic world. Greek astronomy is characterized from the start by seeking a rational, physical explanation for celestial phenomena.

In the 3rd century BC, Aristarchus of Samos estimated the size and distance of the Moon and Sun, and was the first to propose a heliocentric model of the solar system.

In the 2nd century BC, Hipparchus discovered precession, calculated the size and distance of the Moon and invented the earliest known astronomical devices such as the astrolabe.

Hipparchus also created a comprehensive catalog of 1020 stars, and most of the constellations of the northern hemisphere derive from Greek astronomy

The Antikythera mechanism (c. 150–80 BC) was an early analog computer designed to calculate the location of the Sun, Moon, and planets for a given date. Technological artifacts of similar complexity did not reappear until the 14th century, when mechanical astronomical clocks appeared in Europe.more

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomy

Brno, Czech Republic (the art of very historic buildings not far away from the core of downtown Brünn), Modern and Contemporary Art - Moravská galerie v Brně (Husova/Besední) by Alfred Lex

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Modern and Contemporary Art

The origins of the Moravian Gallery collections go back to the Francis Museum (now the Moravian Provincial Museum) in Brno, established in 1818. However, systematic acquisition only started under Dr. Jaroslav Helfert, the first director of the museum (from 1923) and curator of its picture gallery. His methodical approach enabled a more consistent structure to be brought to the collections and their expansion with topical works representing Czech modernism. The first acquisitions included, for example, the sculpture Before the Bath (1906) by Jan Štursa. The picture gallery permanent exhibition was installed in the Dietrichstein Palace in the late 1920's.

Helfert's successor in the gallery management was Dr. Albert Kutal, who (apart from building a collection of Moravian Gothic art) compiled a series of modern Czech art at the end of the 1920's and the beginning of the 1930's. Among major acquisitions in these years were Procházka's Players (1909) and Prometheus (1911), as well as further works of Czech modernism by Emil Filla, Josef Šíma and Jaroslav Král.

In 1948 Albert Kutal was succeeded by Dr. Karel Krejčí, followed by Dr. Jiří Hlušička, Dr. Vlasta Kratinová, Dr. Marie Dohnalová, Dr. Kateřina Svobodová and Dr. Jitka Sedlářová. The period after 1945 was associated with unprecedented expansion of the collections; for example, in 1945 the gallery received donations of Kubišta's Still Life with a Lamp (1909), and in 1948 Haymaking (1939) by Jaroslav Král. The complicated administrative situation of the picture gallery, part of the Moravian Provincial Museum, improved under Director Jiří Hlušička in 1961 when the Moravian Gallery in Brno came into existence, through the separation of the picture gallery of the museum and its merging with the Museum of Applied Arts.

The gallery activities centre upon the documentation of the main features of the development of 20th- and 21st-century art. A remarkable series of sculptures and a collection of drawings and graphic art gradually developed alongside the painting collection. The first permanent exhibition of Czech 20th-century art was created in 1970 (in the Moravian Provincial Museum building) by Jiří Hlušička; the collection had later to be stored in a depository.

The collection of modern and contemporary art boasts masterpieces by the luminaries of Czech modern art: Jan Štursa, Jan Preisler, Josef Mařatka and František Bílek, leading protagonist of Czech symbolism. It contains a series of major works by the members of the Osma [Eight] group and the Group of Visual Artists (paintings by Filla, Kubišta, Kubín, Špála, Čapek, early pieces by Antonín Procházka and Jan Zrzavý and cubist sculptures by Otto Gutfreund such as Anxiety, 1911). A large collection of works by Antonín Procházka enables viewers to observe changes in his artistic approaches, largely associated with Brno culture. The Czech interwar avant-garde is represented by works of Czech poetism, by the artificialism of Jindřich Štyrský and Toyen (Dawn, 1931) and reflections of surrealism (sculpture Girl with Child by Vincenc Makovský, Josef Šíma's painting Europe, works by František Muzika, František Foltýn and others). The 1940's are represented by echoes of the war (Emil Filla, Jan Bauch), works by members of Skupina 42 [Group 42] (František Gross, Bohumír Matal, Jan Smetana and others) and the Ra Group (Bohdan Lacina, Václav Zykmund). The Czech informel is illustrated with works of Mikuláš Medek, Robert Piesen, Josef Istler and others, while art trends in the second half of the 20th century are represented by selected works by Adriena Šimotová, Jiří John, Václav Boštík, Jiří Kolář, Michael Rittstein, Brno artists Dalibor Chatrný, Miroslav Štolfa and others.

A new permanent exhibition of modern and contemporary Czech art was opened in 1994 in the reconstructed Pražák Palace. A section mapping the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century was opened, in revised form, in 2001. A year later it was supplemented with a further section spanning the mid-20th century and the present.

www.moravska-galerie.cz/moravska-galerie/o-galerii/sbirky...

Wien, 5. Bezirk (l’arte delle facciate di Vienna) - Margaretenhof/Margaretenstraße/Margaretenplatz by Josef Lex (El buen soldado Švejk)

The story of Margareten

For the first time in 1373 has been an estate named, the in contrast to an "upper court" at the height of the Viennese mountain (Wienerberg) as "lower court" on (today) Margaretenplatz is designated. 1395 donated Rudolf Tirna, an owner of the facility, together with his wife Anna and his brother Louis one to Saint Margaret of Antioch dedicated chapel. As other early mentions of the "Lower Court" and the chapel we find in 1411 the St. Margaretenkapelln to Metzleinstorff, 1548 St. Margareten, 1568 Sandt Margareten and in 1594 hoff to St Margareten. The around this Margaretner Hof in todays area Margaretenplatz - Hofgasse - Schlossgasse emerged estate hamlet constituted the starting point for the development of the suburb. The estate, it is shown on the circular plan of Niklas Meldemann in 1530 armed with a mighty tower, has been at the siege of 1529 of Turkish groups of fighters set on fire - a commemorative plaque on the house Margaretenplatz 3 remembers at it. The court subsequently changed hands several times until it purchsed Olav Nicholas, Archbishop of Gran, 1555 commercially. Olai had the courtyard and the chapel partially rebuild and he layed out a large castle garden.

He appointed settlers to Margareten and founded south of his farm Nikolsdorf. In the middle of the 17th Century, 1647-1667, finally completed the envoy to the Sublime Porte, Johann Rudolf Schmidt von Schwarzhorn the building. In the 1662 appeared "Topographia Archiducatus Austriae Inferioris Modernae" by Georg Matthäus Vischer the present castle is represented as a two-storey building whose siebenachsiger (7-axle) residential wing in the east is reinforced by a corner tower with loggia-like ambulatory and to the west is surmounted by an onion-shape crowned clock tower. In this figure, however, lacks the this very day preserved with mighty rusticaded stones cladded castle portal. After the destruction of the Türkenjahr (Siege of Vienna) 1683 the construction was rebuilt. Already about 1725 had in the front of the castle developed in the run of today Margaretenstraße through building development the methodic rectangular shape of today's Margaret Square.

1727 sold Earl of Sonnau the manorial system Margareten to the city of Vienna. Between 1749 and 1783 was located in the large deserted castle garden, which served partly as a grain field and pasture, the first Mulberry School in Vienna. In the premises of the castle in 1751 a factory of Leonean goods was established, but which burned down in 1768. 1786 Anton Schwarzleithner moved the factory to Mannersdorf (Lower Austria). Thereafter, the entire reality was measured and came up for auction. The largest parcel, the old castle at Margaretenplatz with the adjacent factory building at 23 Schlossgasse, bought the silk ribbon maker and judge of Margareten, Francis Plumper. By a daughter Prallers, Elizabeth, married Pichler, the building complex came into the possession of a book printer family, which to 1869 handled a print shop here. The new factory building at 21 Schlossgasse was purchased by auction by Johann Brauneck who in the same year petitioned for an increase. On the neighbouring to the west to the castle connecting parcel (Margaretenplatz 3) the silk stuff promoter Paul Hochholzer in 1787 by architect Johann Michael Adelpodinger the existing buildings had adapted, over the entrance gate the building inscription of the old castle of 1651 was immured. The to the west adjoining parcel with the in 1783 deconsecrated St Margaret's Chapel acquired the Samtmacher (velvet maker) Leopold Urspringer, who had the chapel demolished and the ground for the construction of a residential building (77 Margaret Street) used. Also the area of the small castle garden that had the Vienna municipal judge Leopold van Ghelen on lease, was parceled out and developed through newly created streets. In the period from 1781 to 1788 arised on the site of the great palace garden in the of the Gartengasse and Schlossgasse on the one hand and Margaretenstraße and Siebenbrunnengasse surrounded territory on the other not less than 41 parcels.

Margaretenplatz as a historical center of Margareten is particularly accentuated by the 1835/36 before the House Margaretenplatz 3 built well, on those square base the by Johann Nepomuk Schaller modelled statue of the over the dragon triumphant hl. Margaret, the eponym of the suburb rises. As part of the regulation of 1886, the Margaret Square fountain was offset by 20m to the southwest, and received its present location .

In the west the square is surrounded by the instead of the in 1883 demolished brewery according to plans of the architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer by builder Joseph Müller for Baroness Amalie Lipthay 1884/85 established Margartenhof. The castle-like complex occupies an extremely important position as regards urban development in the district. Historically, it represents the symbolic succession building of the old, today only in fragments existing Margaretner Castle (Margaretenplatz 2,3). The large residential complex with the street-like designed "Zierhof" is an early example of urban development concepts, which in Vienna otherwise only could unfold in the interwar period.

To the east the Margaretenplatz is dominated by an according to plans of Ferdinand Seif 1898 built monumental palace-like structured tenement, where forms of the Venetian city palace of the 16th Century were used. Buildings of the Gründerzeit round off the Margaretenplatz in the north.

www.bezirksmuseum.at/default/index.php?id=376

TOURNEFORT Joseph Pitton (51) by Amida Collection

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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

Don't Set Him Off: Keanu Reeves Takes Aim For New JOHN WICK Poster by screen relish

Following last week’s first fun, if extremely violent trailer, we’ve another new poster for the action-packed revenge thriller JOHN WICK. SPEED, THE MATRIX and POINT BREAK star Keanu Reeves leads the film, coming from Summit Entertainment, as a methodical former hit man forced out of ...

bit.ly/1reSiPX

Shoes of a Good Man by photomajik

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Earlier this month a co-worker of mine for 22 years suddenly died. It is hard to find words to describe him but a few would be steadfast, methodical, caring, spiritual, devoted, exacting. He rarely did anything in a hurry because he always took the time to think things through. At times this could be exasperating especially if I was in a hurry for an answer but I learned over the years to really trust his judgment because he did take the time to think. He was a father, a husband, a person who was depended upon greatly by his family, his church and by those who he worked with. One day after he passed away I went into his office to take care of his email and saw his work shoes under his desk where he always left them when he went home. It made me very sad to think that when he left them there this time he had no idea he would never wear them again and neither did we. It is still hard to believe he is gone. Farewell Narendra you will be missed greatly by all….

Osprey Nesting (2 of 2) at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Galloway (commonly referred as Brigantine) New Jersey by M & E Raine

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In spite of struggles with terribly annoying allergies, we headed down south, 113 miles, to Brigantine’s wildlife refuge, for we knew that there would only be several more weeks before weekend drives to anywhere along the Shore would be horrific, and not to mention, the aggressive green flies that appear in the summer months. Granted, one can appreciate a good deal from within the vehicles when driving the 8-mile loop, but trying to take shots behind the thick glass causes the loss of one or two F-Stops, making the photos less sharp.

Ospreys were in abundance, seemingly claiming every raised nesting tower available, in addition to natural trees that serve perfectly for their kinds of nest construction. It certainly appeared that a number of the mating couples had already eggs that needed attending, which was a rather common sight during our visit. Also, we saw many Ospreys flying high above, surveying the water below in search of nice fish to enjoy. Unfortunately, we never had the chance to see any successful catches—as was the case with the Great Egrets we saw. Occasionally we would see a few scavengers—Gulls—at the foot of these raised platforms, waiting to grab any morsels dropped from above as the Ospreys would methodically eat the fish.

The Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Galloway Township, but commonly known as Brigantine, New Jersey, was originally established in 1939 with the Brigantine name, and again in 1967 as a combination with the Barnegat Division, in order to protect the natural wetlands for the regular wildlife inhabitants and the migratory birds that follow the Atlantic Flyway as they travel north and south throughout the year. Later in 1984, the two joined under the name of the current Edwin B Forsythe in honoring the late NJ Congressman and Conservationist.

The overwhelming majority of the area is wetlands and the within that, most of it is of a salt marsh nature. The roughly 47,000 acres of protective landscape is quite vast—wonderfully seen from the observation towers—and a well maintained 8-mile main drive, with several shorter extensions and songbird trails for hikers are available for more exploration. There are a number of raised platform nesting sites away from the drive for some of the raptors (eagles, ospreys, falcons, etc.) and a few observation towers along the driving route. These do offer better wide range vantage points; however, given the way the vegetative growth by the roadside is nicely trimmed back within reason, much of the wildlife can be appreciated right from the vehicles. And speaking of wildlife, there is a wealth of fascinating birds and other critters to admire.

One does not need to be a birder to enjoy the visit, for the overall landscape is so very beautiful and peaceful. The famous Atlantic City with its numerous casino resorts and attractive skyline sits mostly to the south and east, depending on where you are at the time, and, of course, just beyond that is the great Atlantic Ocean. When capturing AC or any of the vast landscape under the right lighting conditions, namely “Magic Hour” toward the end of the day or early morning, the overall scenery can be captivating.

Wien, 5. Bezirk (l’arte delle facciate di Vienna) - Margaretenhof/Margaretenstraße/Margaretenplatz by Josef Lex (El buen soldado Švejk)

The story of Margareten

For the first time in 1373 has been an estate named, the in contrast to an "upper court" at the height of the Viennese mountain (Wienerberg) as "lower court" on (today) Margaretenplatz is designated. 1395 donated Rudolf Tirna, an owner of the facility, together with his wife Anna and his brother Louis one to Saint Margaret of Antioch dedicated chapel. As other early mentions of the "Lower Court" and the chapel we find in 1411 the St. Margaretenkapelln to Metzleinstorff, 1548 St. Margareten, 1568 Sandt Margareten and in 1594 hoff to St Margareten. The around this Margaretner Hof in todays area Margaretenplatz - Hofgasse - Schlossgasse emerged estate hamlet constituted the starting point for the development of the suburb. The estate, it is shown on the circular plan of Niklas Meldemann in 1530 armed with a mighty tower, has been at the siege of 1529 of Turkish groups of fighters set on fire - a commemorative plaque on the house Margaretenplatz 3 remembers at it. The court subsequently changed hands several times until it purchsed Olav Nicholas, Archbishop of Gran, 1555 commercially. Olai had the courtyard and the chapel partially rebuild and he layed out a large castle garden.

He appointed settlers to Margareten and founded south of his farm Nikolsdorf. In the middle of the 17th Century, 1647-1667, finally completed the envoy to the Sublime Porte, Johann Rudolf Schmidt von Schwarzhorn the building. In the 1662 appeared "Topographia Archiducatus Austriae Inferioris Modernae" by Georg Matthäus Vischer the present castle is represented as a two-storey building whose siebenachsiger (7-axle) residential wing in the east is reinforced by a corner tower with loggia-like ambulatory and to the west is surmounted by an onion-shape crowned clock tower. In this figure, however, lacks the this very day preserved with mighty rusticaded stones cladded castle portal. After the destruction of the Türkenjahr (Siege of Vienna) 1683 the construction was rebuilt. Already about 1725 had in the front of the castle developed in the run of today Margaretenstraße through building development the methodic rectangular shape of today's Margaret Square.

1727 sold Earl of Sonnau the manorial system Margareten to the city of Vienna. Between 1749 and 1783 was located in the large deserted castle garden, which served partly as a grain field and pasture, the first Mulberry School in Vienna. In the premises of the castle in 1751 a factory of Leonean goods was established, but which burned down in 1768. 1786 Anton Schwarzleithner moved the factory to Mannersdorf (Lower Austria). Thereafter, the entire reality was measured and came up for auction. The largest parcel, the old castle at Margaretenplatz with the adjacent factory building at 23 Schlossgasse, bought the silk ribbon maker and judge of Margareten, Francis Plumper. By a daughter Prallers, Elizabeth, married Pichler, the building complex came into the possession of a book printer family, which to 1869 handled a print shop here. The new factory building at 21 Schlossgasse was purchased by auction by Johann Brauneck who in the same year petitioned for an increase. On the neighbouring to the west to the castle connecting parcel (Margaretenplatz 3) the silk stuff promoter Paul Hochholzer in 1787 by architect Johann Michael Adelpodinger the existing buildings had adapted, over the entrance gate the building inscription of the old castle of 1651 was immured. The to the west adjoining parcel with the in 1783 deconsecrated St Margaret's Chapel acquired the Samtmacher (velvet maker) Leopold Urspringer, who had the chapel demolished and the ground for the construction of a residential building (77 Margaret Street) used. Also the area of the small castle garden that had the Vienna municipal judge Leopold van Ghelen on lease, was parceled out and developed through newly created streets. In the period from 1781 to 1788 arised on the site of the great palace garden in the of the Gartengasse and Schlossgasse on the one hand and Margaretenstraße and Siebenbrunnengasse surrounded territory on the other not less than 41 parcels.

Margaretenplatz as a historical center of Margareten is particularly accentuated by the 1835/36 before the House Margaretenplatz 3 built well, on those square base the by Johann Nepomuk Schaller modelled statue of the over the dragon triumphant hl. Margaret, the eponym of the suburb rises. As part of the regulation of 1886, the Margaret Square fountain was offset by 20m to the southwest, and received its present location .

In the west the square is surrounded by the instead of the in 1883 demolished brewery according to plans of the architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer by builder Joseph Müller for Baroness Amalie Lipthay 1884/85 established Margartenhof. The castle-like complex occupies an extremely important position as regards urban development in the district. Historically, it represents the symbolic succession building of the old, today only in fragments existing Margaretner Castle (Margaretenplatz 2,3). The large residential complex with the street-like designed "Zierhof" is an early example of urban development concepts, which in Vienna otherwise only could unfold in the interwar period.

To the east the Margaretenplatz is dominated by an according to plans of Ferdinand Seif 1898 built monumental palace-like structured tenement, where forms of the Venetian city palace of the 16th Century were used. Buildings of the Gründerzeit round off the Margaretenplatz in the north.

www.bezirksmuseum.at/default/index.php?id=376

TOURNEFORT Joseph Pitton (52) by Amida Collection