View allAll Photos Tagged perishable
Photo Series: www.flickr.com/photos/natzpix/sets/72157631292136520/show/
Koyambedu boasts of having one of Asia's largest perishable goods market complex called the "Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex (KWMC)". The KWMC spreads over an area of 295 acres (1.19 km2). Inaugurated in 1996, the KWMC consists of more than 1,000 wholesale shops and 2,000 retail shops. It abuts Poonamalee High Road and Nesapakkam Road and can be easily accessed from all parts of City. In Phase-I, the Wholesale Market for Perishables have been developed in an area of around 70 acres (280,000 m2) by constructing 3,194 shops. The market has two blocks for vegetable shops and one each for fruit and flower shops. In Phase-II, a textile market[1] and in Phase-III, a food grain market[2] is planned to be developed in the complex.
The market has over 100,000 visitors daily.
Subject: Pennington, Mary Engle 1872-1952
American Chemical Society
University of Pennsylvania
United States Dept. of Agriculture
Type: Black-and-white photographs
Date: 1940
Topic: Chemistry
Women scientists
Local number: SIA Acc. 90-105 [SIA2009-1451]
Summary: Chemist Mary Engle Pennington (1872-1952), an expert on the refrigeration of perishable foods, had just been chosen by the American Chemical Society as the 1940 recipient of the Francis P. Garvan Gold Medal to honor outstanding achievement in science by a woman. Pennington had attended the University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D., 1895) and worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1905-1919, before becoming a private consultant in 1922
Cite as: Acc. 90-105 - Science Service, Records, 1920s-1970s, Smithsonian Institution Archives
Persistent URL:Link to data base record
Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives
My house, my fairy
palace, is
of perishable
clapboards with
three rooms in all,
my gray wasps' nest
of chewed-up paper
glued with spit.
My home, my love-nest,
is endowed
with a veranda
of wooden lace,
adorned with ferns
planted in sponges,
and the front room
with red and green
left-over Christmas
decorations
looped from the corners
to the middle
above my little
center table
of woven wicker
painted blue,
and four blue chairs
and an affair
for the smallest baby
with a tray
with ten big beads.
Then on the walls
two palm-leaf fans
and a calendar
and on the table
one fried fish
spattered with burning
scarlet sauce,
a little dish
of hominy grits
and four pint tissue-
paper roses.
Also I have
hung on a hook,
an old French horn
repainted with
aluminum paint.
I play each year
in the parade
for José Marti.
At night you'd think
my house abandoned.
Come closer. You
can see and hear
the writing-paper
lines of light
and the voices of
my radio
singing flamencos
in between
lottery numbers.
When I move
I take these things,
not much more, from
my shelter from
the hurricane.
--Elizabeth Bishop, Jeronimo's House, 1946
This one was inspired by the group Illusions. Is this right side up or upside down? How do we know what we know? How much of what we think we know is based on assumptions..
This photo is being used to illustrate the Group "How we Think" of the 16 guidelines for a happy life Parent's kit.
A non-perishable apple for the teachers....
It's one of those it's been done, but it's still fun shots, an apple half in shadow...with a twist. I put a few other photos that have a bit of a twist to them in my With a Twist set.
Oostelijk Havengebied | Piet Heinkade
Pakhuis de Zwijger is a former cold warehouse in the Eastern Docklands. It was built for the storage of perishable goods, and at the time was one of the most modern storehouses of its time.
Arch. J. de Bie Leuveling Tjeenk and K. Baker.
1933-34.
In September 2006, the building was put into use again after a recovery / revitalization project by André van Stigt. It now houses various cultural institutions, including Salto (Amsterdam local broadcasting), and activities.
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Trident Seafoods Wild Alaskan Red King Crab, 10 lbs.
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Due to the perishable nature of this item orders do NOT ship over the weekend. Orders will only ship Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Delivery
The choice of seafood lovers around the world! Trident Seafoods® Alaskan Red King Crab is wild caught by daring fishermen in the icy waters of the North Pacific. Known for their sweet, succulent legs and claws. Cleaned, cooked and frozen at the peak of freshness, these generous portions are perfect as an entree or appetizer, gift, special occasion, or family-style crab feed. This season's Red King Crab is sustainable and was wild caught from October - November 2016 making for maximum meat fill. Net weight: 10 lbs.
Wild Caught in Alaska
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Weight: 160 oz.
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STS042-17-001 (22 Jan 1992) --- Astronaut David C. Hilmers, mission specialist, looks over a checklist at the Johnson Space Center refrigerator/freezer, in which perishable samples are stowed. The view gives an overall perspective of the science module -- heavily utilized for eight-days of scientific research supporting the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-1) -- in Discovery's cargo bay.
All rights reserved - Copyright © Ankur Bhushan
All photographs present here are exclusive property of Ankur Bhushan and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed, written permission from Ankur Bhushan. Copyright infringement is punishable by law and is strictly enforced.
RD15928. A long way from its home territory in North Norfolk is this Great Western Railway 'Fruit D' four wheel van.
These vehicles were introduced in 1939 and have air vents to allow air to circulate within the vehicle and thus keep perishable produce fresh when en route from the farms and orchards in the countryside to markets in the cities.
I don't suppose the North Norfolk Railway carries much fresh fruit or any other perishable goods to market, but it's a useful van for conveying prams, pushchairs, buggies, bicycles and other bulky items that won't easily fit into the passenger carriages.
Sheringham Station, North Norfolk Railway, Friday, 25th August, 2017. Copyright © Ron Fisher.
Faith-filled learning environment leads to greater academic success, service to community, say supporters
By Ambria Hammel | Feb. 16, 2010 | The Catholic Sun
Catholic education doesn’t just help a student now. The full dividends play out over a lifetime.
That was the overarching theme students throughout the diocese celebratedduring Catholic Schools Week Jan. 31-Feb. 6. Students organized special activities, projects and dress-up days to honor the vital role a Catholic education plays.
“There’s more focus on God and religion, not just academics. I like that,” John Paul McCann, a fifth-grader at Blessed Pope John XXIII, said about his Catholic school experience. “I think it’d be good to have more people learn about God.”
Fr. Dan McBride, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Chandler and a St. Jerome School alumnus, concelebrated a special Mass at his alma mater Feb. 4. Six other priests, active and retired, joined him.
“When we celebrate Catholic Schools Week, we celebrate our identity not just as students in a private school. We celebrate our Catholic identity. We know that to learn and to grow in faith are part and parcel; they go together,” Fr. McBride said.
Fr. McBride recalled his daily outlook at St. Jerome: “I was going to learn something I didn’t know and I was expected to do things I didn’t know I could do.”
Other Catholic school alumni visited various campuses throughout the diocese touting the dividends Catholic school provided.
“Catholic education taught me that it’s OK to ask questions and open doors and explore options,” said Vickie Jennett, communications coordinator for St. Timothy Parish in Mesa. She shared her testimony with seventh- and eighth-graders at the parish school Feb. 2.
Jennett — who has worked for a university, several newspapers and now the Church — spent 15 years in Catholic school and still appreciates its focus on faith, the family and discipline.
“I cannot tell you how important my vocation of wife and mother is to me,” said Jennett, whose children are both in their mid-to-late 20s.
Deacons, priests and sisters at various campuses shared their vocation stories with students too. Deacon Dick Petersen also spoke at St. Timothy School.
The Catholic school alum has spent more than one-third of his life in Catholic education — including medical school. He told students that, among other benefits, the prayer life fostered at Catholic schools gives students an advantage in life.
Today’s Catholic high school students already appreciate the strict discipline. Bourgade senior Michael Weikamp is among them. He has grown up in Catholic education and is grateful for so many life lessons.
Weikamp already plans to finance a Catholic education for his future family.
Adelyne Gomez, a seventh-grader at St. Louis the King School in Glendale, also finds value in her Catholic education.
“I know what’s right and what’s not right. I know that if I’m ever in trouble, I can pray to God and He’ll help me,” she said.
Parents of the diocese’s youngest students don’t take that for granted either. They repeatedly named prayer and faith on their list of the top 10 reasons to choose a Catholic education at Our Lady of Joy in Carefree. They unveiled the top 10 list in the parish bulletin during Catholic Schools Week.
Some schools celebrated the week with breakfasts, lunches and spirit rallies saluting public servants and civic leaders.
Fr. Patrick Mowrer, pastor of San Francisco de Asís School in Flagstaff, blessed and recognized a 2005 alumnus during a student Mass Feb. 3. Vincent Johnson, who said his school experience gave him purpose, is joining the Navy next week.
Community service
Other students saw Catholic Schools Week as a chance to do a community service project of their own.
High school students made rosaries, collected toiletry items for André House and organized a blood drive. Students at Seton Catholic Preparatory High School in Chandler raised $5,000 for St. Vincent de Paul.
Elementary school students held benefit drives for Maggie’s Place, servicemen and women and the Department of Public Safety. Several collected food for neighborhood outreach ministries.
The St. Vincent de Paul chapter at St. Benedict Parish in Phoenix benefited from the “Cans Across Campus” project at St. John Bosco Interparish School. Students donated canned goods, toiletries and other non-perishables. Some 550 of them paraded items across campus to the parish food closet.
The student council also brought wagons heaped with donations for eighth-graders to sort and stock.
Students at Annunciation Catholic School in Cave Creek donated money to the Poor Clare Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Black Canyon City by paying to be “out of uniform” by sporting a hat.
Some of the sisters gave a vocations talk to the students Feb. 5. They gave a similar talk in several classrooms at Blessed Pope John XXIII School in Scottsdale earlier that week. They discussed their habits, hobbies and vows.
Priests throughout the diocese also shared their vocation stories with students at several campuses. A couple of priests said that simply praying, talking to priests and having good priest role models helped foster their vocations.
For Fr. Pat Robinson, that included a recap of his time at seminary. He addressed kindergarteners Feb. 2 at Blessed Pope John XXIII School. Wanting to expand their vocabulary, the teacher encouraged the boys and girls to put the word “vocations” in their head.
“I’m going to superglue it!” one young boy shouted.
--
Catherine E. Hanley in Flagstaff and Andrew Junker and J.D. Long-García in Phoenix contributed to this story.
More: www.catholicsun.org
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Some of the great learnings come from unexpected beings. Working with the bacteria has given me a deep insight into life. Just like E. coli has a division cycle of about 20mins where they grow and multiply; similarly, our life evolves through multiple stages between home and the world. However, during this process of evolution our living becomes obscure, it is this neglect which is depicted through a declining bar graph after a steep increase crafted with white E. coli. Drawing inspiration from the romantic maxim, If winter comes can spring be far behind? The depiction of a withered tree juxtaposed with the springing flowers signifies hope in distress, like a bacteria conquers the stress even after high dosage of antibiotics by developing resistance.
Through various stages of evolution, human emotions are bottled up as depicted through red colour of Serratia denoting a state of trauma. However, unlike humans, the microbes communicate and share signals as chemicals through the process of quorum sensing. The microbes instill their niche wherever they go and also convince other similar species to attack and capture the space. Contrarily, humans are caught in the endless process of making and re-making themselves through material gains. This vicious bait is depicted through a monstrous earth in green colour of P. aeruginosa and money highlighted through white E. coli. Here, the art depicts the trajectory of life and affirms a sense of acceptance in life, through the symbolic representation of the lotus flower which blooms in the muddy water just as these bacteria thrives even more on perishable surfaces.
New Uploaded:-Ab workout routine, by: Abtekk Gym ___ Intense Abs Workout Routine
Ab workout routine - Lower ab workouts - abtekk.com/abtekk-give-away - Win a FREE Ab Workout set worth a whopping £100. Many people say that improving your personal fitness is so tough to do, but that is only true if you don't know the right way to get into shape. Just like anything, improving your fitness involves improving your knowledge and getting the right advice. This article contains a number of tips to improve your personal fitness. Listen to fast-paced music when doing anything physical. Studies have shown that music with a quick pace will help to increase your heart rate, therefore helping you burn more calories. It may also put you in a more energetic mood, helping you keep moving longer. Don't be afraid to "bump some jams" while you vacuum! For more Info on Ab workout routine see here: www.youtube.com/playlist?playnext=1&list=PLvR-rVWiRMP... One way to maximize your fitness routine is to work out with a friend. This will help with positive thinking and also help to push you further than you might have gone otherwise. Humans typically are competitive in nature. This will add a sense of camaraderie and competition to your workouts. Weight training is vital in a well-rounded fitness program. While not every program needs to concentrate on building muscle mass like a pro weightlifter, some attention to weight training is necessary for every fitness regimen. Weight training tones the muscles and makes them work efficiently. This has a positive impact on overall health and fitness at even the most modest levels of weight training. It is important to walk properly if you want to reduce your risk of injury. Walk up straight and draw your shoulders back. Hold your forearms perpendicular to your upper arms while swinging them. Be sure that your arms are opposite your forward foot. Your heel should touch the ground first. Then, use your heel's momentum to move the rest of your foot forward. One of the most common and preventable causes of muscle strain and injury during workouts, is exercising while wearing old, worn-out shoes that are no longer able to cushion and support the foot. Think of your workout shoes as any other perishable item and assign an "expiration date". For even the highest quality shoes, five hundred miles is the typical lifespan. When running as part of your exercise routine you need to give yourself a break every now and then. Cut your weekly training frequency and mileage in half one out of every six weeks. This will allow your body a better chance to recover, and will help to keep away permanent injuries. Ab workout routine When pursuing your fitness goals, you should always make sure that the bench is not too hard when performing bench presses. If the bench is too hard, it can cause T4 syndrome. This is when your thoracic spine becomes misaligned, and your arm is weakened. Therefore, before you lift, you should see if you can feel the wood of the bench by pressing your thumb on the bench. If you can, it is too hard. If you enjoy watching television, try adding a little workout to your TV watching. Watching TV while working out may help you forget that you are working out, which will increase the length of your workout. Try using television shows as a timer. If you know that a show runs for half an hour, tell yourself that you will work out for two shows. Keep a nice upbeat pace when cycling. Try to keep your pace between 80 and 110 rpm. This will help you ride longer without becoming too tired since you are not going too fast. You can keep track of this number while riding by counting how many times one of your feet's pedal hits the top in 10 seconds. Then take that number and multiply it by 6 to get your pedal rpms. Choose the best time to exercise. While most people like to get exercise out of the way in the morning, sometimes it's better to wait. Lung function peaks in most people between 4pm and 5pm, so this may be better for you. Interestingly, midday is the time when exercise returns the lowest lung function. That being said, you should exercise at a time that suits you - your body will indicate that to you. Before using a bench for lifts, take the time to test it. Give it a good press with your thumb. If you feel wood instead of padding, then move to another bench. Padding is important in bench workouts as it helps prevent T4 Syndrome. This is a misalignment in the thoracic spine which impacts nerve function with your arms, thus weakening them. Ab workout routine When lifting weights, especially when working your biceps, it is important that you use the proper technique. If you aren't, you can damage your muscles. Extend the wrists backward slightly, and hold it in that position while lifting. Then, slowly relax the wrist into its normal position. That assists you in properly building bicep muscles.
via, YouTube: youtu.be/JyhHLb_Pr3A
Source/Repost=>
abtekkgym.blogspot.com/2016/11/ab-workout-routine.html ** Mark D. Smith / MarkDSmith / MarkSmith ** abtekkgym.blogspot.com/
Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets may be known as basket makers and basket weavers. Basket weaving is also a rural craft.
Basketry is made from a variety of fibrous or pliable materials—anything that will bend and form a shape. Examples include pine, straw, willow, oak, wisteria, forsythia, vines, stems, animal hair, hide, grasses, thread, and fine wooden splints. There are many applications for basketry, from simple mats to hot air balloon gondolas.
Many Indigenous peoples are renowned for their basket-weaving techniques.
HISTORY
While basket weaving is one of the widest spread crafts in the history of any human civilization, it is hard to say just how old the craft is, because natural materials like wood, grass, and animal remains decay naturally and constantly. So without proper preservation, much of the history of basket making has been lost and is simply speculated upon.
MIDDLE EAST
The earliest reliable evidence for basket weaving technology in the Middle East comes from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic phases of Tell Sabi Abyad II and Çatalhöyük. Although no actual basketry remains were recovered, impressions on floor surfaces and on fragments of bitumen suggest that basketry objects were used for storage and architectural purposes. The extremely well-preserved Early Neolithic ritual cave site of Nahal Hemar yielded thousands of intact perishable artefacts, including basketry containers, fabrics, and various types of cordage. Additional Neolithic basketry impressions have been uncovered at Tell es-Sultan (Jericho), Netiv HaGdud, Beidha, Shir, Tell Sabi Abyad III, Domuztepe, Umm Dabaghiyah, Tell Maghzaliyah, Tepe Sarab, Jarmo, and Ali Kosh.
The oldest known baskets were discovered in Faiyum in upper Egypt and have been carbon dated to between 10,000 and 12,000 years old, earlier than any established dates for archaeological evidence of pottery vessels, which were too heavy and fragile to suit far-ranging hunter-gatherers. The oldest and largest complete basket, discovered in the Negev in the Middle East, dates to 10,500 years old. However, baskets seldom survive, as they are made from perishable materials. The most common evidence of a knowledge of basketry is an imprint of the weave on fragments of clay pots, formed by packing clay on the walls of the basket and firing.
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
During the Industrial Revolution, baskets were used in factories and for packing and deliveries. Wicker furniture became fashionable in Victorian society.
WORLD WARS
During the World Wars some pannier baskets were used for dropping supplies of ammunition and food to the troops.
TYPES
Basketry may be classified into four types:
Coiled basketry, using grasses, rushes and pine needles
Plaiting basketry, using materials that are wide and braid-like: palms, yucca or New Zealand flax
Twining basketry, using materials from roots and tree bark. This is a weaving technique where two or more flexible weaving elements ("weavers") cross each other as they weave through the stiffer radial spokes.
Wicker and Splint basketry, using materials like reed, cane, willow, oak, and ash
MATERIALS USED IN BASKETRY
Weaving with rattan core (also known as reed) is one of the more popular techniques being practiced, because it is easily available. It is pliable, and when woven correctly, it is very sturdy. Also, while traditional materials like oak, hickory, and willow might be hard to come by, reed is plentiful and can be cut into any size or shape that might be needed for a pattern. This includes flat reed, which is used for most square baskets; oval reed, which is used for many round baskets; and round reed, which is used to twine; another advantage is that reed can also be dyed easily to look like oak or hickory.
Many types of plants can be used to create baskets: dog rose, honeysuckle, blackberry briars once the thorns have been scraped off and many other creepers. Willow was used for its flexibility and the ease with which it could be grown and harvested. Willow baskets were commonly referred to as wickerwork in England.
Water hyacinth is used as a base material in some areas where the plant has become a serious pest. For example, a group in Ibadan led by Achenyo Idachaba have been creating handicrafts in Nigeria.
VINE
Because vines have always been readily accessible and plentiful for weavers, they have been a common choice for basketry purposes. The runners are preferable to the vine stems because they tend to be straighter. Pliable materials like kudzu vine to more rigid, woody vines like bittersweet, grapevine, honeysuckle, wisteria and smokevine are good basket weaving materials. Although many vines are not uniform in shape and size, they can be manipulated and prepared in a way that makes them easily used in traditional and contemporary basketry. Most vines can be split and dried to store until use. Once vines are ready to be used, they can be soaked or boiled to increase pliability.
WICKER
The type of baskets that reed is used for are most often referred to as "wicker" baskets, though another popular type of weaving known as "twining" is also a technique used in most wicker baskets.
Popular styles of wicker baskets are vast, but some of the more notable styles in the United States are Nantucket Baskets and Williamsburg Baskets. Nantucket Baskets are large and bulky,[citation needed] while Williamsburg Baskets can be any size, so long as the two sides of the basket bow out slightly and get larger as it is weaved up.
PROCESS
The parts of a basket are the base, the side walls, and the rim. A basket may also have a lid, handle, or embellishments.
Most baskets begin with a base. The base can either be woven with reed or wooden. A wooden base can come in many shapes to make a wide variety of shapes of baskets. The "static" pieces of the work are laid down first. In a round basket, they are referred to as "spokes"; in other shapes, they are called "stakes" or "staves". Then the "weavers" are used to fill in the sides of a basket.
A wide variety of patterns can be made by changing the size, colour, or placement of a certain style of weave. To achieve a multi-coloured effect, aboriginal artists first dye the twine and then weave the twines together in complex patterns.
Basketry around the world
ASIA
SOUTH ASIA
Basketry exists throughout the Indian subcontinent. Since palms are found in the south, basket weaving with this material has a long tradition in Tamil Nadu and surrounding states.
EAST ASIA
Chinese bamboo weaving, Taiwanese bamboo weaving, Japanese bamboo weaving and Korean bamboo weaving go back centuries. Bamboo is the prime material for making all sorts of baskets, since it is the main material that is available and suitable for basketry. Other materials that may be used are ratan and hemp palm.
In Japan, bamboo weaving is registered as a traditional Japanese craft (工芸, kōgei) with a range of fine and decorative arts.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Southeast Asia has thousands of sophisticated forms of indigenous basketry produce, many of which use ethnic-endemic techniques. Materials used vary considerably, depending on the ethnic group and the basket art intended to be made. Bamboo, grass, banana, reeds, and trees are common mediums.
OCEANIA
POLYNESIA
Basketry is a traditional practice across the Pacific islands of Polynesia. It uses natural materials like pandanus, coconut fibre, hibiscus fibre, and New Zealand flax according to local custom. Baskets are used for food and general storage, carrying personal goods, and fishing.
AUSTRALIA
Basketry has been traditionally practised by the women of many Aboriginal Australian peoples across the continent for centuries.
The Ngarrindjeri women of southern South Australia have a tradition of coiled basketry, using the sedge grasses growing near the lakes and mouth of the Murray River.
The fibre basketry of the Gunditjmara people is noted as a cultural tradition, in the World Heritage Listing of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape in western Victoria, Australia, used for carrying the short-finned eels that were farmed by the people in an extensive aquaculture system.
NORTH AMERICA
NATIVE AMERICAN BASKETRY
Native Americans traditionally make their baskets from the materials available locally.
ARCTIC AND SUBARCTIC
Arctic and Subarctic tribes use sea grasses for basketry. At the dawn of the 20th century, Inupiaq men began weaving baskets from baleen, a substance derived from whale jaws, and incorporating walrus ivory and whale bone in basketry.
NORTHEASTERN
In New England, they weave baskets from Swamp Ash. The wood is peeled off a felled log in strips, following the growth rings of the tree. Maine and Great Lakes tribes use black ash splints. They also weave baskets from sweet grass, as do Canadian tribes. Birchbark is used throughout the Subarctic, by a wide range of tribes from Dene to Ojibwa to Mi'kmaq. Birchbark baskets are often embellished with dyed porcupine quills. Some of the more notable styles are Nantucket Baskets and Williamsburg Baskets. Nantucket Baskets are large and bulky,[citation needed] while Williamsburg Baskets can be any size, so long as the two sides of the basket bow out slightly and get larger as it is woven up.
Kelly Church (Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians)
SOUTHEASTERN
Southeastern tribes, such as the Atakapa, Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chitimacha, traditionally use split river cane for basketry. A particularly difficult technique for which these tribes are known is double-weave or double-wall basketry, in which each basketry is formed by an interior and exterior wall seamlessly woven together. Doubleweave, although rare, is still practiced today, for instance by Mike Dart (Cherokee Nation).
Rowena Bradley (Cherokee Nation)
Mike Dart (Cherokee Nation)
NORTHWESTERN
Northwestern tribes use spruce root, cedar bark, and swampgrass. Ceremonial basketry hats are particularly valued by Northeast tribes and are worn today at potlatches. Traditionally, women wove basketry hats, and men painted designs on them. Delores Churchill is a Haida from Alaska who began weaving in a time when Haida basketry was in decline, but she and others have ensured it will continue by teaching the next generation.
Delores Churchill (Haida)
Joe Feddersen (Colville)
Boeda Strand (Snohomish)
CALIFORNIAN AND GREAT BASIN
Indigenous peoples of California and Great Basin are known for their basketry skills. Coiled baskets are particularly common, woven from sumac, yucca, willow, and basket rush. The works by Californian basket makers include many pieces in museums.
Elsie Allen (Pomo people)
Mary Knight Benson (Pomo people)
William Ralganal Benson (Pomo people)
Carrie Bethel (Mono Lake Paiute)
Loren Bommelyn (Tolowa)
Nellie Charlie (Mono Lake Paiute/Kucadikadi)
Louisa Keyser "Dat So La Lee" (Washoe people) is arguably the most famous Native American weaver.
Lena Frank Dick (1889-1965) (Washoe people) followed behind Keyser by one generation, and her baskets were frequently mistaken for Keyser's.
L. Frank (Tongva-Acagchemem)
Mabel McKay (Pomo people)
Essie Pinola Parrish (Kashaya-Pomo)
Lucy Telles (Mono Lake Paiute - Kucadikadi)
SOUTHWESTERN
Annie Antone (Tohono O'odham)
Damian Jim (Navajo)
Terrol Dew Johnson (Tohono O'odham)
MEXICO
In northwestern Mexico, the Seri people continue to "sew" baskets using splints of the limberbush plant, Jatropha cuneata.[
OTHER NORTH AMERICAN BASKETRY
Matt Tommey is a North American artist who weaves sculptural baskets out of kudzu.
Mary Jackson is a world-famous African-American sweetgrass basket weaver. In 2008, she was named a MacArthur Fellow for her basket weaving.
EUROPE
In Greece, basket weaving is practiced by the anchorite monks of Mount Athos.
AFRICA
SENEGAL
Wolof baskets are a coil basket created by the Wolof tribe of Senegal. These baskets is considered a women's craft, which have been passed across generations. The Wolof baskets were traditionally made by using thin cuts of palm frond and a thick grass called njodax; however contemporary Wolof baskets often incorporate plastic as a replacement for the palm fronds and/or re-use of discarded prayer mat materials. These baskets are strong and used for laundry hampers, planters, bowls, rugs, and more.
SOUTH AFRICA
Zulu baskets are a traditional craft in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa and were used for utilitarian purposes including holding water, beer, or food; the baskets can take many months to weave. Starting in the late 1960s, Zulu basketry was a dying art form due to the introduction of tin and plastic water containers. Kjell Lofroth, a Swedish minister living in South Africa, noticed a decline in the local crafts, and after a drought in the KwaZulu-Natal province and he formed the Vukani Arts Association (English: wake up and get going) to financially support single women and their families. In this time period of the late 1960s, only three elderly women knew the craft of Zulu basket weaving but because of the Vukani Arts Association they taught others and revived the art. Beauty Ngxongo is the most renowned living Zulu basket weaver
Zulu telephone wire baskets are a contemporary craft. These are often brightly colored baskets and made with telephone wire (sometimes from a recycled source), which is a substitute for native grasses.
WIKIPEDIA
A Cryo-Trans refrigerator car on CP train 459, and no grafitti either. This car is named "Panther Hollow". August 25, 2013, Wilkes-Barre, PA. Milepost 688 on CP's Sunbury Subdivision.
This super market background music was rescued from old analog audio tapes from 1975 and transferred into a Digital Medium (MP3s). This music was originally sold to local Super Markets and Grocery Stores to play on the store's loudspeakers while shoppers browsed for food items. It was supposed to create a calm care free sound environment so shoppers could spend more money.
The original company that produced this music is out of business - along with most of the stores that once used this music (Thanks to Wall Mart). It is now in the Public Domain so please feel free to pass it on and share the memories.
-Story and photo by Jen Rovanpera, Archaeologist for the BLM Applegate Field Office
The BLM Applegate Field Office just completed stabilizing and preserving a 1930s root cellar on the historic Bitner Ranch located in Washoe County, Nevada. The root cellar was built in the 1930s to store food and other perishables. It consists of a large cavity (cellar) built into the side of a hill just east of the ranch house. Juniper poles were laid across the top of the cavity, the covered with hay from the nearby meadow. Dirt was then piled onto the roof into order to insulate it further. A small wooden structure with steps leads down into the cellar. Once inside, the maximum height of the cellar is about 6 feet. Shelving units were built along three of the walls.
Little is known about the beginnings of Bitner Ranch. A structure in Badger Meadows appears on a survey map as early as 1873/1874; however the land was not patented from the state of Nevada until 1900. Based on the style of barbed wire, some of the older corrals and fences were probably built sometime between 1874 and 1892. The ranch hosts a ranch house, a black smith shop with a bunk house for workers, a milk barn, a root cellar, an outhouse, corrals, and a small animal pen. Most of the remaining structures on the property were built in the 1920s, except for the root cellar which was built in the 1930s and the milk barn which might be one of the oldest standing structures on the ranch.
The Bureau of Land Management acquired the Bitner Ranch in 1995. Bitner Ranch is an excellent example of a high desert, homestead era ranch and one of the few remaining ranches to be managed by the Bureau of Land Management in northwestern Nevada. The goal is to preserve the historic ranch, continue research, and establish an interpretive center about the history and wildlife of the meadow.
The preservation project included removing the dirt that had caved into the cellar through the collapsed roof, stabilizing the wooden structure, and rebuilding the steps into the cellar. The project was completed in two weeks by Jed Mauldin, Dane Mauldin, and Kody Smith of S.T. Rhoades Construction, Inc.
Pictured here, findings in the root cellar: bottles, cans, horse liniment, household cleaners, pans, bottle fragments, bones, and even a half carton of chicken eggs.
MAHAVATAR BABAJI CAVE
Mahāvatār Bābājī (literally; Great Avatar Dear Father) is the name given to an Indian saint and yogi by Lahiri Mahasaya and several of his disciples,[2] who reported meeting him between 1861 and 1935. Some of these meetings were described by Paramahansa Yogananda in his book Autobiography of a Yogi, including a first-hand report of Yogananda's own meeting with the yogi.[3]Another first hand account was given by Yukteswar Giri in his book The Holy Science.[4] According to Sri M's autobiography (Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master) Babaji, was Shiva. In the second last chapter of his book, he mentions Babaji changing his form to that of Shiva. All of these accounts, along with additional reported meetings, are described in various biographies.[5][6][7]According to Yogananda's autobiography, Babaji has resided for at least hundreds of years in the remote Himalayan regions of India, seen in person by only a small number of disciples and others.[3][8] The death less Master is more than 2000 years old. He belongs to a very powerful lineage of Siddha Boganthar and Rishi Agastya as his Gurus. He acquired this deathless, non perishable body through tough yogik kriyas.
Again, according to his autobiography, shortly before Yogananda left for America in 1920, Babaji came to his home in Calcutta, where the young monk sat deeply praying for divine assurance regarding the mission he was about to undertake. Babaji said to him: "Follow the behest of your guru and go to America. Fear not; you shall be protected. You are the one I have chosen to spread the message of Kriya Yoga in the West
There are very few accounts of Babaji's childhood. One source of information is the book Babaji and the 18 Siddha Kriya Yoga tradition by Marshal Govindan.[9]According to Govindan, Babaji was named Nagarajan (king of serpents) by his parents. [8] V.T. Neelakantan and S.A.A. Ramaiah founded on 17 October 1952, (they claim – at the request of Babaji) a new organization, "Kriya Babaji Sangah," dedicated to the teaching of Babaji's Kriya Yoga. They claim that in 1953 Mahavatar Babaji told them that he was born on 30 November 203 CE in a small coastal village now known as Parangipettai, Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, India.[10] Babaji's Kriya Yoga Order of Acharyas Trust (Kriya Babaji Sangah) and their branch organizations claim his place and date of birth.[10] He was a disciple of Bogar and his birth name is Nagarajan.[9][10]
In Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, many references are made to Mahavatar Babaji, including from Lahirī and Sri Yukteshwar.[3] In his book The Second Coming of Christ, Yogananda states that Jesus Christ went to India and conferred with Mahavatar Babaji.[8] This would make Babaji at least 2000 years old.[11] According to Govindan's book, Babaji Nagaraj's father was the priest of the village's temple. Babaji revealed only those details which he believed to be formative as well as potentially instructive to his disciples. Govindan mentioned one incident like this: "One time Nagaraj's mother had got one rare jackfruit for a family feast and put it aside. Babaji was only 4 years old at that time. He found the jackfruit when his mother was not around and ate it all. When his mother came to know about it, she flew in blind rage and stuffed a cloth inside Babaji's mouth, nearly suffocating him, but he survived. Later on he thanked God for showing him that she was to be loved without attachment or illusion. His Love for his mother became unconditional and detached."[9]
When Nagaraj was about 5 years old, someone kidnapped him and sold him as a slave in Calcutta (now Kolkata). His new owner however was a kind man and he freed Nagaraj shortly thereafter. Nagaraj then joined a small group of wandering sannyāsin due to their radiant faces and love for God. During the next few years, he wandered from place to place, studying holy scriptures like the Vedas, Upanishad, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita.
According to Marshall Govindan's book, at the age of eleven, he made a difficult journey on foot and by boat with a group of ascetics to Kataragama, Sri Lanka. Nagaraj met Siddha Bhogarnathar and became his disciple. Nagaraj performed intensive yogic sadhana for a long time with him. Bhogarnathar inspired Nagaraj to seek his initiation into Kriya Kundalini Pranayam from Siddha Agastya. Babaji became a disciple of Siddha Agastya. Nagaraj was initiated into the secrets of Kriya Kundalini Pranayama or "Vasi Yogam". Babaji made a long pilgrimage to Badrinath and spent eighteen months practising yogic kriyataught to him by Siddha Agastya and Bhogarnathar. Babaji attained self-realization shortly thereafter.[9]
It is claimed that these revelations were made by Babaji himself to S.A.A. Ramaiah, a young graduate student in geology at the University of Madras and V.T. Neelakantan, a famous journalist, and close student of Annie Besant, President of the Theosophical Society and mentor of Krishnamurti. Babaji was said to have appeared to each of them independently and then brought them together to work for his Mission in 1942
By Kailash Mansarovar Foundation Swami Bikash Giri www.sumeruparvat.com , www.naturalitem.com
Angkor Wat or "Capital Temple" is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. It was first a Hindu and later a Buddhist temple. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura, present-day Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum.
Breaking from the Shiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early Dravidian architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.
The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer; Angkor, meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor (នគរ), which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara (नगर). Wat is the Khmer word for "temple grounds" (Sanskrit: वाट vāṭa ""enclosure").
HISTORY
Angkor Wat lies 5.5 kilometres north of the modern town of Siem Reap, and a short distance south and slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred at Baphuon. It is in an area of Cambodia where there is an important group of ancient structures. It is the southernmost of Angkor's main sites.
According to one legend, the construction of Angkor Wat was ordered by Indra to act as a palace for his son Precha Ket Mealea.
According to the 13th century Chinese traveler Daguan Zhou, it was believed by some that the temple was constructed in a single night by a divine architect. The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-C. 1150). Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as the king's state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation stela nor any contemporary inscriptions referring to the temple have been found, its original name is unknown, but it may have been known as "Varah Vishnu-lok" after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended shortly after the king's death, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished.
In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king, Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and the Bayon respectively) a few kilometers to the north.
In the late 13th century, Angkor Wat gradually moved from Hindu to Theravada Buddhist use, which continues to the present day. Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle.
One of the first Western visitors to the temple was António da Madalena, a Portuguese monk who visited in 1586 and said that it "is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of."
In the mid-19th century, the temple was visited by the French naturalist and explorer, Henri Mouhot, who popularised the site in the West through the publication of travel notes, in which he wrote:
"One of these temples - a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo - might take an honorable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged."
Mouhot, like other early Western visitors, found it difficult to believe that the Khmers could have built the temple, and mistakenly dated it to around the same era as Rome. The true history of Angkor Wat was pieced together only from stylistic and epigraphic evidence accumulated during the subsequent clearing and restoration work carried out across the whole Angkor site. There were no ordinary dwellings or houses or other signs of settlement including cooking utensils, weapons, or items of clothing usually found at ancient sites. Instead there is the evidence of the monuments themselves.
Angkor Wat required considerable restoration in the 20th century, mainly the removal of accumulated earth and vegetation. Work was interrupted by the civil war and Khmer Rouge control of the country during the 1970s and 1980s, but relatively little damage was done during this period other than the theft and destruction of mostly post-Angkorian statues.The temple is a powerful symbol of Cambodia, and is a source of great national pride that has factored into Cambodia's diplomatic relations with France, the United States and its neighbor Thailand. A depiction of Angkor Wat has been a part of Cambodian national flags since the introduction of the first version circa 1863. From a larger historical and even transcultural perspective, however, the temple of Angkor Wat did not become a symbol of national pride sui generis but had been inscribed into a larger politico-cultural process of French-colonial heritage production in which the original temple site was presented in French colonial and universal exhibitions in Paris and Marseille between 1889 and 1937. Angkor Wat's aesthetics were also on display in the plaster cast museum of Louis Delaporte called musée Indo-chinois which existed in the Parisian Trocadero Palace from C. 1880 to the mid-1920s. The splendid artistic legacy of Angkor Wat and other Khmer monuments in the Angkor region led directly to France adopting Cambodia as a protectorate on 11 August 1863 and invading Siam to take control of the ruins. This quickly led to Cambodia reclaiming lands in the northwestern corner of the country that had been under Siamese (Thai) control since 1351 AD (Manich Jumsai 2001), or by some accounts, 1431 AD. Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953 and has controlled Angkor Wat since that time.
ARCHITECTURE
SITE AND PLAN
Angkor Wat, located at 13°24′45″N 103°52′0″E, is a unique combination of the temple mountain, the standard design for the empire's state temples and the later plan of concentric galleries. The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods: the central quincunx of towers symbolises the five peaks of the mountain, and the walls and moat the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean. Access to the upper areas of the temple was progressively more exclusive, with the laity being admitted only to the lowest level. Unlike most Khmer temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west rather than the east. This has led many (including Maurice Glaize and George Coedès) to conclude that Suryavarman intended it to serve as his funerary temple.Further evidence for this view is provided by the bas-reliefs, which proceed in a counter-clockwise direction - prasavya in Hindu terminology - as this is the reverse of the normal order. Rituals take place in reverse order during Brahminic funeral services. The archaeologist Charles Higham also describes a container which may have been a funerary jar which was recovered from the central tower. It has been nominated by some as the greatest expenditure of energy on the disposal of a corpse. Freeman and Jacques, however, note that several other temples of Angkor depart from the typical eastern orientation, and suggest that Angkor Wat's alignment was due to its dedication to Vishnu, who was associated with the west.
A further interpretation of Angkor Wat has been proposed by Eleanor Mannikka. Drawing on the temple's alignment and dimensions, and on the content and arrangement of the bas-reliefs, she argues that the structure represents a claimed new era of peace under King Suryavarman II: "as the measurements of solar and lunar time cycles were built into the sacred space of Angkor Wat, this divine mandate to rule was anchored to consecrated chambers and corridors meant to perpetuate the king's power and to honor and placate the deities manifest in the heavens above." Mannikka's suggestions have been received with a mixture of interest and scepticism in academic circles. She distances herself from the speculations of others, such as Graham Hancock, that Angkor Wat is part of a representation of the constellation Draco.
STYLE
Angkor Wat is the prime example of the classical style of Khmer architecture - the Angkor Wat style - to which it has given its name. By the 12th century Khmer architects had become skilled and confident in the use of sandstone (rather than brick or laterite) as the main building material. Most of the visible areas are of sandstone blocks, while laterite was used for the outer wall and for hidden structural parts. The binding agent used to join the blocks is yet to be identified, although natural resins or slaked lime has been suggested. The temple has drawn praise above all for the harmony of its design. According to Maurice Glaize, a mid-20th-century conservator of Angkor, the temple "attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality of its finely balanced elements and the precise arrangement of its proportions. It is a work of power, unity and style." Architecturally, the elements characteristic of the style include: the ogival, redented towers shaped like lotus buds; half-galleries to broaden passageways; axial galleries connecting enclosures; and the cruciform terraces which appear along the main axis of the temple. Typical decorative elements are devatas (or apsaras), bas-reliefs, and on pediments extensive garlands and narrative scenes. The statuary of Angkor Wat is considered conservative, being more static and less graceful than earlier work. Other elements of the design have been destroyed by looting and the passage of time, including gilded stucco on the towers, gilding on some figures on the bas-reliefs, and wooden ceiling panels and doors.
FEATURES
OUTER ENCLOSURE
The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is surrounded by a 30 m apron of open ground and a moat 190 m wide. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge. There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far the largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form of the temple proper. Under the southern tower is a statue of Vishnu, known as Ta Reach, which may originally have occupied the temple's central shrine.Galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on either side of the gopura often referred to as "elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between the pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth. The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres, which besides the temple proper was originally occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace. Like all secular buildings of Angkor, these were built of perishable materials rather than of stone, so nothing remains of them except the outlines of some of the streets. Most of the area is now covered by forest. A 350 m causeway connects the western gopura to the temple proper, with naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the city on either side. Each side also features a library with entrances at each cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the entrance, and a pond between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later additions to the design, as is the cruciform terrace guarded by lions connecting the causeway to the central structure.
CENTRAL STRUCTURE
The temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries as being dedicated to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu.
Each gallery has a gopura at each of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming a quincunx with the central tower. Because the temple faces west, the features are all set back towards the east, leaving more space to be filled in each enclosure and gallery on the west side; for the same reason the west-facing steps are shallower than those on the other sides.
The outer gallery measures 187 by 215 m, with pavilions rather than towers at the corners. The gallery is open to the outside of the temple, with columned half-galleries extending and buttressing the structure. Connecting the outer gallery to the second enclosure on the west side is a cruciform cloister called Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand Gods"). Buddha images were left in the cloister by pilgrims over the centuries, although most have now been removed. This area has many inscriptions relating the good deeds of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small courtyards marked out by the cloister may originally have been filled with water.
North and south of the cloister are libraries.
Beyond, the second and inner galleries are connected to each other and to two flanking libraries by another cruciform terrace, again a later addition. From the second level upwards, devatas abound on the walls, singly or in groups of up to four. The second-level enclosure is 100 by 115 m, and may originally have been flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru.
Three sets of steps on each side lead up to the corner towers and gopuras of the inner gallery. The very steep stairways represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods. This inner gallery, called the Bakan, is a 60 m square with axial galleries connecting each gopura with the central shrine, and subsidiary shrines located below the corner towers. The roofings of the galleries are decorated with the motif of the body of a snake ending in the heads of lions or garudas. Carved lintels and pediments decorate the entrances to the galleries and to the shrines. The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m to a height of 65 m above the ground; unlike those of previous temple mountains, the central tower is raised above the surrounding four. The shrine itself, originally occupied by a statue of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in when the temple was converted to Theravada Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing Buddhas. In 1934, the conservator George Trouvé excavated the pit beneath the central shrine: filled with sand and water it had already been robbed of its treasure, but he did find a sacred foundation deposit of gold leaf two metres above ground level.
DECORATION
Integrated with the architecture of the building, and one of the causes for its fame is Angkor Wat's extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes. The inner walls of the outer gallery bear a series of large-scale scenes mainly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Higham has called these, "the greatest known linear arrangement of stone carving".
From the north-west corner anti-clockwise, the western gallery shows the Battle of Lanka (from the Ramayana, in which Rama defeats Ravana) and the Battle of Kurukshetra (from the Mahabharata, showing the mutual annihilation of the Kaurava and Pandava clans). On the southern gallery follow the only historical scene, a procession of Suryavarman II, then the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu mythology.
On the eastern gallery is one of the most celebrated scenes, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, showing 92 asuras and 88 devas using the serpent Vasuki to churn the sea under Vishnu's direction (Mannikka counts only 91 asuras, and explains the asymmetrical numbers as representing the number of days from the winter solstice to the spring equinox, and from the equinox to the summer solstice). It is followed by Vishnu defeating asuras (a 16th-century addition). The northern gallery shows Krishna's victory over Bana (where according to Glaize, "The workmanship is at its worst"). and a battle between the Hindu gods and asuras. The north-west and south-west corner pavilions both feature much smaller-scale scenes, some unidentified but most from the Ramayana or the life of Krishna. Angkor Wat is decorated with depictions of apsaras and devata; there are more than 1,796 depictions of devata in the present research inventory. Angkor Wat architects employed small apsara images (30–40 cm) as decorative motifs on pillars and walls. They incorporated larger devata images (all full-body portraits measuring approximately 95–110 cm) more prominently at every level of the temple from the entry pavilion to the tops of the high towers. In 1927, Sappho Marchal published a study cataloging the remarkable diversity of their hair, headdresses, garments, stance, jewelry and decorative flowers, which Marchal concluded were based on actual practices of the Angkor period.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
The stones, as smooth as polished marble, were laid without mortar with very tight joints that are sometimes hard to find. The blocks were held together by mortise and tenon joints in some cases, while in others they used dovetails and gravity. The blocks were presumably put in place by a combination of elephants, coir ropes, pulleys and bamboo scaffolding. Henri Mouhot noted that most of the blocks had holes 2.5 cm in diameter and 3 cm deep, with more holes on the larger blocks. Some scholars have suggested that these were used to join them together with iron rods, but others claim they were used to hold temporary pegs to help manoeuvre them into place. The monument was made out of millions of tonnes of sandstone and it has a greater volume as well as mass than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. The Angkor Wat Temple consumes about 6 million to 10 million blocks of sandstone with an average weight of 1.5 tons each. In fact, the entire city of Angkor used up far greater amounts of stone than all the Egyptian pyramids combined, and occupied an area significantly greater than modern-day Paris. Moreover, unlike the Egyptian pyramids which use limestone quarried barely half a km away all the time, the entire city of Angkor was built with sandstone quarried 40 km (or more) away. This sandstone had to be transported from Mount Kulen, a quarry approximately 40 km to the northeast. The route has been suggested to span 35 kilometres along a canal towards Tonlé Sap lake, another 35 kilometres crossing the lake, and finally 15 kilometres upstream and against the current along Siem Reap River, making a total journey of 90 kilometres. However, Etsuo Uchida and Ichita Shimoda of Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan have discovered in 2012 a shorter 35-kilometre canal connecting Mount Kulen and Angkor Wat using satellite imagery. The two believe that the Khmer used this route instead.
Virtually all of its surfaces, columns, lintels even roofs are carved. There are miles of reliefs illustrating scenes from Indian literature including unicorns, griffins, winged dragons pulling chariots as well as warriors following an elephant-mounted leader and celestial dancing girls with elaborate hair styles. The gallery wall alone is decorated with almost 1000 square metres of bas reliefs. Holes on some of the Angkor walls indicate that they may have been decorated with bronze sheets. These were highly prized in ancient times and were a prime target for robbers. While excavating Khajuraho, Alex Evans, a stonemason and sculptor, recreated a stone sculpture under 1.2 m, this took about 60 days to carve. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehner also conducted experiments to quarry limestone which took 12 quarrymen 22 days to quarry about 400 tons of stone. The labor force to quarry, transport, carve and install so much sandstone must have run into the thousands including many highly skilled artisans. The skills required to carve these sculptures were developed hundreds of years earlier, as demonstrated by some artifacts that have been dated to the seventh century, before the Khmer came to power.
ANGKOR WAT TODAY
The Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on the temple between 1986 and 1992. Since the 1990s, Angkor Wat has seen continued conservation efforts and a massive increase in tourism. The temple is part of the Angkor World Heritage Site, established in 1992, which has provided some funding and has encouraged the Cambodian government to protect the site. The German Apsara Conservation Project (GACP) is working to protect the devatas and other bas-reliefs which decorate the temple from damage. The organisation's survey found that around 20% of the devatas were in very poor condition, mainly because of natural erosion and deterioration of the stone but in part also due to earlier restoration efforts. Other work involves the repair of collapsed sections of the structure, and prevention of further collapse: the west facade of the upper level, for example, has been buttressed by scaffolding since 2002, while a Japanese team completed restoration of the north library of the outer enclosure in 2005. World Monuments Fund began conservation work on the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery in 2008 after several years of conditions studies. The project restored the traditional Khmer roofing system and removed cement used in earlier restoration attempts that had resulted in salts entering the structure behind the bas-relief, discoloring and damaging the sculpted surfaces. The main phase of work ended in 2012, and the final component will be the installation of finials on the roof of the gallery in 2013. Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan. Angkor Wat has become a major tourist destination. In 2004 and 2005, government figures suggest that, respectively, 561.000 and 677.000 foreign visitors arrived in Siem Reap province, approximately 50% of all foreign tourists in Cambodia for both years. The site has been managed by the private SOKIMEX group since 1990, which rented it from the Cambodian government. The influx of tourists has so far caused relatively little damage, other than some graffiti; ropes and wooden steps have been introduced to protect the bas-reliefs and floors, respectively. Tourism has also provided some additional funds for maintenance - as of 2000 approximately 28% of ticket revenues across the whole Angkor site was spent on the temples - although most work is carried out by foreign government-sponsored teams rather than by the Cambodian authorities. Since Angkor Wat has seen significant growth in tourism throughout the years UNESCO and its International Co-ordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC), in association with representatives from the Royal Government and APSARA, organized seminars to discuss the concept of "cultural tourism". Wanting to avoid commercial and mass tourism, the seminars emphasized the importance of providing high quality accommodation and services in order for the Cambodian government to benefit economically, while also incorporating the richness of Cambodian culture. In 2001, this incentive resulted in the concept of the "Angkor Tourist City" which would be developed with regard to traditional Khmer architecture, contain leisure and tourist facilities, and provide luxurious hotels capable of accommodating large amounts of tourists. The prospect of developing such large tourist accommodations has encountered concerns from both APSARA and the ICC, claiming that previous tourism developments in the area have neglected construction regulations and more of these projects have the potential to damage landscape features. Also, the large scale of these projects have begun to threaten the quality of the nearby town's water, sewage, and electricity systems. It has been noted that such high frequency of tourism and growing demand for quality accommodations in the area, such as the development of a large highway, has had a direct effect on the underground water table, subsequently straining the structural stability of the temples at Angkor Wat. Locals of Siem Reap have also voiced concern over the charming nature and atmosphere of their town being compromised in order to entertain tourism. Since this charming local atmosphere is the key component to projects like Angkor Tourist City, local officials continue to discuss how to successfully incorporate future tourism without sacrificing local values and culture. At the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2012, both parties have agreed Borobudur and Angkor Wat to become sister sites and the provinces will become sister provinces. Two Indonesian airlines are considering the opportunity to open a direct flight from Yogyakarta, Indonesia to Siem Reap.
WIKIPEDIA
This super market background music was rescued from old analog audio tapes from 1975 and transferred into a Digital Medium (MP3s). This music was originally sold to local Super Markets and Grocery Stores to play on the store's loudspeakers while shoppers browsed for food items. It was supposed to create a calm care free sound environment so shoppers could spend more money.
The original company that produced this music is out of business - along with most of the stores that once used this music (Thanks to Wall Mart). It is now in the Public Domain so please feel free to pass it on and share the memories.
017 Solar cold room storage with solar panel and sandwich panel:
Our innovation, FOCUSUN 20ft and 40ft solar container cold room is a “plug and play” modular, solar-powered walk-in cold room, for 24/7 off-grid storage and preservation of perishable foods. It adequately addresses the problem of post- harvest losses in fruits, vegetables and other perishable food.
The solar powered walk-in cold room is made of 120mm insulating cold room panels to retain cold. Energy from solar panels mounted on the roof-top of the cold room are stored in high capacity batteries, these batteries feeds an inverter which in turn feeds the refrigerating unit.
Product Name
Solar-powered container cold room in 20ft or 40ft
Material stainless steel
Color Whilte & Blue
Capacity 1T to 20T
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Applicarion area Sea food/fish/meat/fresh fruits/vegetables
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Core density 40~42kg/m3
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Page 2 of 2: When preparing for a possible emergency situation, it's best to think first about the basics of survival: fresh water, food, clean air and warmth.
Recommended Items to Include in a Basic Emergency Supply Kit:
* Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
* Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
* Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
* Flashlight and extra batteries
* First aid kit
* Whistle to signal for help
* Dust mask, to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
* Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
* Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
* Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)
* Local maps
Additional Items to Consider Adding to an Emergency Supply Kit:
* Prescription medications and glasses
* Infant formula and diapers
* Pet food and extra water for your pet
* Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container
* Cash or traveler's checks and change
* Emergency reference material such as a first aid book or information from www.ready.gov
* Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. Consider additional bedding if you live in a cold-weather climate.
* Complete change of clothing including a long sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes. Consider additional clothing if you live in a cold-weather climate.
* Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper – When diluted nine parts water to one part bleach, bleach can be used as a disinfectant. Or in an emergency, you can use it to treat water by using 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.
* Fire Extinguisher
* Matches in a waterproof container
* Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
* Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils, paper towels
* Paper and pencil
* Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children
The schooner Lady Maryland will be dockside at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and out on the Miles River with local students from Sun., Oct. 21 through Thurs., Oct. 25, 2018.
Built in 1985 by the Living Classrooms Foundation, Lady Maryland is a replica of a Chesapeake Bay pungy schooner. Pungies were considered fast sailing vessels in the 1800s, and were primarily used as workboats carrying perishable cargo such as oysters, watermelons, tomatoes, fish, peaches, and grain.
Throughout the warmer months, CBMM's campus is host to marina guests and numerous visiting tall ships and vessels, with on-board programming and dockside tour opportunities. For more information, visit cbmm.org or call 410-745-2916. For more about Lady Maryland and the Living Classroom Foundation, go to livingclassrooms.org.
The betel (Piper betle) is the leaf of a vine belonging to the Piperaceae family, which includes pepper and kava. Betel leaf is mostly consumed in Asia, and elsewhere in the world by some Asian emigrants, as betel quid or in paan, with Areca nut and/or tobacco.
In India and Sri Lanka a sheaf of betel leaves is traditionally offered as a mark of respect and auspicious beginnings. Occasions include, greeting elders at wedding ceremonies, New Year, offering payment to Ayurvedic physicians and astrologers where usually money and/or areca nut are kept on top of the sheaf of leaves and offered to the elders for their blessings.
The betel plant is an evergreen perennial, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkin. The betel plant originated in South and South East Asia.
ETYMOLOGY
Betel, derived from the Tamil/Malayalam word vettila, via Portuguese.
CULTIVATION
The betel leaf is cultivated mostly in South and Southeast Asia, from Pakistan to Papua New Guinea. It needs a compatible tree or a long pole for support. Betel requires well-drained fertile soil. Waterlogged, saline and alkali soils are unsuitable for its cultivation.
In Bangladesh, farmers called barui prepare a garden called a barouj in which to grow betel. The barouj is fenced with bamboo sticks and coconut leaves. The soil is plowed into furrows of 10 to 15 metres' length, 75 centimetres in width and 75 centimetres' depth. Oil cakes, manure, and leaves are thoroughly incorporated with the topsoil of the furrows and wood ash. The cuttings are planted at the beginning of the monsoon season.
Proper shade and irrigation are essential for the successful cultivation of this crop. Betel needs constantly moist soil, but there should not be excessive moisture. Irrigation is frequent and light, and standing water should not remain for more than half an hour.
Dried leaves and wood ash are applied to the furrows at fortnightly intervals and cow dung slurry is sprinkled. Application of different kinds of leaves at monthly intervals is believed advantageous for the growth of the betel. In 3 to 6 months the vines reach 150 to 180 centimeters in height and they will branch. Harvest begins, with the farmer plucking the leaf and its petiole with his right thumb. The harvest lasts 15 days to one month. Betel plant has made its way to research labs of many Bangladesh chemical and food nutrition companies.
The harvested leaves are consumed locally and exported to other parts of Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. Betel is grown and cultivated as an important crop in rural Bangladesh.
USAGE AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
The primary use of betel leaf is as a wrapper for the chewing of areca nut or tobacco where it is mainly used to add flavour. It may also be used in cooking, usually raw, for its peppery taste.
HEALTH EFFECTS
Some reports may suggest that betel leaf by itself has adverse health effects, in part because of tannins delivered by the leaf and for reasons currently not fully understood. For example, one research paper studied chromosome damaging effect of betel leaf in human leukocyte cultures. These researchers report an increase in the frequency of chromatid aberrations when the leaf extract was added to cultures. Another scientific study from Japan indicates that the lab rats that ate a mixture of betel leaf and areca nuts all had severe thickening of the upper digestive tract whereas after undergoing a diet of betel leaves alone, only one laboratory rat ended up having a forestomach papilloma.
ECONOMICS
Betel vines are cultivated throughout southeast Asia in plots whose area is typically 20 to 2000 square metres (0.005 to 0.5 acre).
Malaysian farmers cultivate four types of betel plants: sirih India, sirih Melayu, sirih Cina and sirih Udang. The harvest is then sold in bundles of 10 leaves, each bundle costing in 2011 between MYR 0.30 to 0.50 ($0.07 to $0.12 per bundle).
In Sri Lanka, betel is grown all over the country but the commercial production of betel, with bigger leaves with dark green colour combined with thickness, known as “kalu bulath” is confined to a few districts such as Kurunagala, Gampaha, Kegalle, Kalutara and Colombo. These are sold at a whole seller lots of 1000 leaves. In a report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a successful betel farm in Sri Lanka can provide a supplemental income to a farmer by providing six days of work every six months and net income when the leaf prices are attractive. The FAO study found the successful farm’s yield to be 18,000 leaves per 150 square feet (14 m2). The additional salary and income to the Sri Lankan betel grower, assuming he or she provides all needed labor and keeps all net profit, to be SL Rs. 1635 per 150 square feet (14 m2) of betel farm every 6 months ($90 per "decimal" per year, or $9000 per acre per year). If the farmer hires outside labor to tend the betel vines, and harvest the crop, the FAO found the net income to the betel farm owner to be SL Rs. 735 per 150 square feet (14 m2) of betel farm every 6 months ($40 per decimal per year, or $4000 per acre per year). According to FAO, the market prices for betel leaves vary with wet and dry season in Sri Lanka, and in 2010 averaged SL Rs. 200–400 per 1000 leaves ($1.82 to $3.64 per 1000 leaves).[11] The FAO study assumes no losses from erratic weather, and no losses during storage and transportation of perishable betel leaves. These losses are usually between 35% to 70%.
In Bangladesh, betel leaf farming yields vary by region and vine variety. In one region where betel leaf cultivation is the main source of income for farmers, a total of 2,825 hectares of land is dedicated to betel vine farming. The average production cost for these betel farms in Bangladesh are about Tk 300,000 per hectare ($4000 per hectare, $16 per decimal), and the farm owners can earn a profit of over Tk 100,000 per hectare ($1334 per hectare, $5.34 per decimal).
In India, a 2006 research reported betel vines being cultivated on about 55000 hectares of farmland, with an annual production worth of about IN Rs. 9000 million ($200 million total, averaging $1455 per acre). The betel farming industry, the report claims, supports about 400,000 – 500,000 agricultural families.
A March 2011 report claims that betel farming is on a decline in India. While in ideal conditions, some farms may gross annual incomes after expenses of over IN Rs. 26,000 per 10 decimal farm ($5,780 per acre), a betel farm income is highly erratic from year to year, because of rainfall patterns, temperature, and spoilage rates of 35% to 70% during transport over poor infrastructure. Simultaneously, the demand for betel leaves has been dropping in India because of acceptance of gutkha (chewing tobacco) by consumers over betel leaf-based ‘‘paan’’ preparation; the report cites betel leaf trading has dropped by 65% from 2000 to 2010, and created an over supply. As a result, the report claims Indian farmers do not find betel farming lucrative anymore.
NAMES IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
The betel leaf is known as Pan in Bengali and Paan in Urdu and Hindi, Tambula and Nagavalli in Sanskrit, and Tanbul in Persian. Some of the names in the regions in which it is consumed are: "ម្លូរ" (Mlou) in Cambodian, Vetrilai (Tamil வெற்றிலை), (vettrilai – வெற்றி(vettri, "victory") + இலை (ilai, "leaf") (Leaf of victory,- Plant has only leaf with rudimentary flowers)),Tamalapaku తమలపాకు (Telugu), विड्याचे पान or "नागलीचे पान"(Marathi), નાગરવેલ ના પાન or Naagarvel na paan (Gujarati), veelyada yele ವೀಳ್ಯದ ಎಲೆ (Kannada), Vettila "വെറ്റില" (Malayalam), Kun (ကွမ်း) in Burmese, Plū (Mon), Malus (Tetum), Maluu (Khmer), Plū (Thai: พลู), Bulath බුලත් (Sinhalese), Malu (Tokodede), Bileiy (Dhivehi: ބިލެތް), bulung samat (Kapampangan), daun sirih (Malaysian), daun sirih/suruh (Indonesian), Kebui (Palauan), Pupulu (Chamorro), Ikmo (Tagalog), Gawed (Ilokano), Pu (ພູ) in Lao, and Trầu (Vietnamese), Gaweud/Gawed in (Kalinga), Buyo (Bikol).
WIKIPEDIA
Mỹ Sơn is a cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples constructed between the 4th and the 14th century AD by the kings of Champa (Chiêm Thành in Vietnamese). The temples are dedicated to the worship of the god Shiva, known under various local names, the most important of which is "Bhadresvara".
Mỹ Sơn is located near the village of Duy Phú, in the administrative district of Duy Xuyên in Quảng Nam Province in Central Vietnam, 69 km southwest of Da Nang, and approximately 10 km from the historic town of Trà Kiệu. The temples are in a valley roughly two kilometres wide that is surrounded by two mountain ranges.
From the 4th to the 14th century AD, the valley at Mỹ Sơn was a site of religious ceremony for kings of the ruling dynasties of Champa, as well as a burial place for Cham royalty and national heroes. It was closely associated with the nearby Cham cities of Indrapura (Đồng Dương) and Simhapura (Trà Kiệu). At one time, the site encompassed over 70 temples as well as numerous stele bearing historically important inscriptions in Sanskrit and Cham.
Mỹ Sơn is perhaps the longest inhabited archaeological site in Indochina, but a large majority of its architecture was destroyed by US carpet bombing during a single week of the Vietnam War.
The Mỹ Sơn temple complex is regarded one of the foremost Hindu temple complexes in Southeast Asia and is the foremost heritage site of this nature in Vietnam. It is often compared with other historical temple complexes in Southeast Asia, such as Borobudur of Java in Indonesia, Angkor Wat of Cambodia, Bagan of Myanmar and Ayutthaya of Thailand. As of 1999, Mỹ Sơn has been recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site. At its 23rd meeting, UNESCO accorded Mỹ Sơn this recognition pursuant to its criterion C (II), as an example of evolution and change in culture, and pursuant to its criterion C (III), as evidence of an Asian civilisation which is now extinct.
HISTORY
The over 70 temples and tombs extant at Mỹ Sơn have been dated to the period between the 4th century and the 14th century AD. However, the inscriptions and other evidence indicate that earlier now defunct constructions probably were present from the 4th century. The complex may have been the religious and cultural centre of historical Champa, while the government was based in nearby Trà Kiệu or Đồng Dương.
BHADRAVARMAN ("FANHUDA") AND BHADRESVARA
The earliest historical events documented by the evidence recovered at Mỹ Sơn relate to the era of King Fànhúdá (Chinese: 范胡达; pinyin: Fànhúdá; Vietnamese: Phạm Hồ Đạt, Sanskrit Bhadravarman, literally "Blessed armour" but also meaning the Jasminum sambac flower), who ruled from 380 until 413, and who spent the latter part of his reign waging war against the population of Chinese-occupied northern Vietnam. At Mỹ Sơn, Bhadravarman built a hall containing a lingam to worship Shiva under the Sanskrit name Bhadreśvara "Blessed Lord", a composite created from the king's own name and the word īśvara "lord" commonly used to refer to Shiva.
King Bhadravarman caused a stele to be erected at Mỹ Sơn the inscription on which recorded his foundation. The stele indicates that the king dedicated the entire valley of Mỹ Sơn to Bhadreśvara. The text ends with a plea from Bhadravarman to his successors: "Out of compassion for me do not destroy what I have given." Drawing upon the doctrines of saṃsāra and karma, he added, "If you destroy [my foundation], all your good deeds in your different births shall be mine, and all the bad deeds done by me shall be yours. If, on the contrary, you properly maintain the endowment, the merit shall belong to you alone."[9] Bhadravarman's successors heard his plea, it seems, for Mỹ Sơn became the religious hub of Champa for many generations.
SAMBHUVARMAN
More than two centuries after Bhadravaman's foundation, the temple to Bhadresvara was destroyed by fire. In the 7th century, King Sambhuvarman (Phạm Phạn Chi in Vietnamese, Fan Che as transcribed from the Chinese), who reigned from 577 until 629, rebuilt the temple, reinstalled the god under the name Sambhu-Bhadresvara, and erected a stele to document the event. The stele affirmed that Sambhu-Bhadresvara was the creator of the world and the destroyer of sin, and expressed the wish that he "cause happiness in the kingdom of Champa." The stele also applauded the king himself, claiming that he was "like a terrestrial sun illuminating the night" and that his glory rose "like the moon on an autumn evening."
Ironically, perhaps, Sambhuvarman's reign was marred by one of the most devastating invasions ever suffered by the country of Champa. In 605 AD, the Chinese general Liu Fang led an army southwards from the area of what is now northern Vietnam, defeated the elephant-riders of Sambhuvarman, and sacked the Cham capital, making off with an enormous booty that included over one thousand Buddhist books as well as the gold tablets commemorating the reigns of the previous eighteen kings. Heading back north with their heist, the Chinese invaders were struck by an epidemic that felled a large number of them, including Liu Fang. Sambhuvarman, for his part, returned home to his kingdom, began the process of rebuilding, and made sure to send regular shipments of tribute to the Chinese court, in order through appeasement to prevent a recurrence of the recent disaster.
French scholars investigating Mỹ Sơn at the beginning of the 20th century identified a then still existent edifice distinguished for "its majestic proportions, the antiquity of its style, and the richness of its decoration" as the temple of Sambhu-Bhadresvara constructed by King Sambhuvarman. Unfortunately, the edifice, which is known to scholars as "A1," was practically destroyed by US aerial bombing in the Vietnam War and is now little more than a formless pile of bricks.
PRAKASADHARMA
King Prakasadharma (Po Kia Pho Pa Mo, as transcribed from the Chinese) ruled Champa from 653 AD to approximately 687. Upon ascending to the throne, he also assumed the name Vikrantavarman. During his reign, he expanded the borders of Champa toward the South and sent ambassadors and tribute (including tame elephants) to China. Inscriptions link him not only to Mỹ Sơn, but also to the nearby urban settlements of Trà Kiệu and Đồng Dương. He began the religious practice of donating "kosas" or decorated metallic sleeves to be placed over a lingam. Unusually for a king of Champa, he was devoted not only to Shiva, but also to Vishnu.
One of the most important steles to be found at Mỹ Sơn is that erected by Prakasadharma in 657 AD. The purpose of the stele was to commemorate the king's establishment of a god identified as the ruler of the world, i.e. Shiva, with a view to overcoming the seeds of karma that lead to rebirth. The stele is important because it sets forth the king's ancestry and is of great help in reconstructing the sequence of Champa's rulers. Among his ancestors, notably, the king claimed a Cambodian king named Isanavarman I. And like the Cambodian kings, he traced his ancestry to the legendary couple of the brahman Kaundinya and the nāga-princess Soma.
LATER DEVELOPMENTS
Subsequent kings renovated the older temples and constructed additional ones. For many centuries, the building of temples and shrines of varying sizes continued, and Mỹ Sơn served as the religious and cultural center of the Cham civilization in central Vietnam, as well as the burial place of kings and religious leaders.Most of the extant temples at Mỹ Sơn, such as the Isanabhadresvara, were built in the 10th century AD. Unfortunately, the inscriptions from this period have not survived, except in fragmentary form. At the beginning of the 10th century, the Cham center of power was at Đồng Dương, not far from Mỹ Sơn. By the end of the century, it had been displaced southward to Bình Định Province on account of military setbacks in wars with the Viet. However, Cham kings continued periodically to renovate the temples at Mỹ Sơn and even to build new foundations. The latest significant Cham record at Mỹ Sơn is a pillar inscription of King Jaya Indravarman V dated 1243 AD. By the early 15th century, the Cham had lost their northernmost lands, including the area of Mỹ Sơn, to the Viet.
MODERN SCHOLARSHIP
Following the conquest of central Vietnam by the Viet and the decline and eventual fall of Champa, the Mỹ Sơn complex fell into disuse and was largely forgotten. It was rediscovered in 1898 by the Frenchman M. C. Paris. A year later, members of the scholarly society called École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO) began to study the inscriptions, architecture, and art of Mỹ Sơn. In 1904, they published their initial findings in the journal of the society called Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême Orient (BEFEO). Henri Parmentier gave a description of the ruins at Mỹ Sơn, and M. L. Finot published the inscriptions that had been found there.
RESTAURATION
In 1937, French scholars began to restore the temples at Mỹ Sơn. In 1937 and 1938, the main temple known as "A1" and the smaller temples surrounding it were restored. Other major temples were restored between 1939 and 1943. However, many historical buildings were destroyed during the Vietnam War. United States B52 aircraft carpet-bombed the region in August 1969. The surrounding area is still rendered dangerous through the presence of unexploded land mines.
The majority of the temple sites in the centre of the complex have survived to this day. However, worries persist regarding the structural soundness of the remaining temples, some of which are vulnerable to collapse. Although many statues have been removed to France or to historical museums in Vietnam, such as the Museum of Cham Sculpture in Da Nang, others can be viewed in a temporary museum that has been set up on site in two of the temples, with the funding of benefactors from Germany and Poland.
From 2002 to 2004, the Ministry of Culture of Vietnam allotted around 440,000 USD to maintain the site. A draft plan of UNESCO was funded by the Government of Italy and sponsors from Japan to prevent further degradation. These efforts are also funded by the World Monuments Fund.
ARCHEOLOGY AND ARCHITECTURE
TYPES OF BUILDINGS
All of the remaining buildings at Mỹ Sơn are believed to be religious buildings. They are of the following types:
- A kalan is a brick sanctuary, typically in the form of a tower, used to house a deity.
- A mandapa is an entry hallway contiguous with a sanctuary.
- A kosagrha or "fire-house" is a construction, typically with a saddle-shaped roof, used to house the valuables belonging to the deity or to cook for the deity.
- A gopura is a gate-tower leading into a walled temple complex.
SYSTEM FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF BUILDINGS
When he began his studies of Mỹ Sơn in 1899, Henri Parmentier found the remnants of 71 temples. He classified them into 14 groups, including 10 principal groups each consisting of multiple temples. For purposes of identification, he assigned a letter to each of these principal groups: A, A', B, C, D, E, F, G, H, K. Within each group, he assigned numbers to the edifices comprising it. Thus "My Son E1" refers to the edifice at My Son belonging to group "E" that has been assigned the number "1."
ARCHITECTURAL STYLES
Art historians have classified the architectural and artistic legacy of Champa into seven artistic styles or phases of development.[26] Six of the styles are represented at Mỹ Sơn, and two are believed to have originated from there. They are known as the Mỹ Sơn E1 Style and the Mỹ Sơn A1 Style. In particular the temple known as "A1" is often referred to as the architectural masterpiece of the Cham. The six styles of Cham architecture represented at Mỹ Sơn are the following:
- The style of Mỹ Sơn E1 and F1 dates to the 8th century AD. Unfortunately, the temple known as "E1" is now ruined. The style which it established is represented today by two works of art that formerly belonged to the temple but today are housed in the Museum of Cham Sculpture in Da Nang: a pedestal and a tympanum.
- The style exemplified by My Son A2, C7 and F3 is similar to the style of Hòa Lai from the turn of the 9th century.
- The Đồng Dương style of the late 9th century is reflected in Mỹ Sơn A10, A11-13, B4, and B12. This style is named after the Vietnamese town that occupies the site of the 9th century city and Buddhist monastery of Indrapura. The archeological site of the monastery has been largely destroyed; fortunately, French scholars of the early 20th century were able to create diagrams of its layout and the disposition of its buildings. Numerous striking works of sculpture belonging to this style survive in Vietnamese museums.
- The Mỹ Sơn A1 style of the 10th century is exemplified by Mỹ Sơn B5, B6, B7, B9, C1, C2, C5, D1, D2, and D4. It is the most heavily represented style at My Son, and is known for its elegance and grace. The style's namesake and most important architectural exemplar, the once magnificent tower known as "A1," is largely ruined. It is a mound of earth, surrounded by rubble and the outline of a wall, at the center of which stands a whitish pedestal. A scale model of the former temple created by Japanese researchers as well as a schematic frontal view are exhibited in the Museum of Cham Sculpture in Da Nang. The most striking of the remaining buildings belonging to the style may be the storehouse B5, which exemplifies the saddle-shaped roof peculiar to Cham artchitecture. The My Son A1 style is sometimes also known as the Tra Kieu Style, after the nearby town of Trà Kiệu which may be the site of the historical Cham city of Simhapura. Many architectural ornaments from this style survive and are displayed in the Museum of Cham Sculpture.
- A transitional style of the early 11th century to the middle of the 12th century is exhibited in Mỹ Sơn E4, F2, and the K group of sites.
- The style of Bình Định that prevailed in Cham architecture from the end of the 11th century, when the center of the Cham polity was displaced southward from the area around My Son to Vijaya in Bình Định Province, to the start of the 14th is represented by Mỹ Sơn B1 and groups G and H.
BUILDING TECHNIQUES
Most of the temples at Mỹ Sơn were made of red brick, and only one (the temple labelled "B1") was made of stone. Even the decorative carvings on the Cham temples were cut directly onto the bricks themselves, rather than onto sandstone slabs inserted into brick walls as is observable for example in the 9th century Cambodian temple of Bakong.
To this day, the construction techniques used by the Cham builders are not completely understood.[29] Issues that have not been completely resolved include issues about the firing of the bricks, the mortar between the bricks, and decorative carvings found on the bricks.
At what point in the building process were the bricks hardened by fire? Were the bricks hardened first, and then arranged in order to build the structures, or were the structures built out of partially hardened bricks, after which the entire structures were heated by fire to finish the hardening of the bricks? The hypothesis that the entire structures were reheated following assembly is supported by evidence that the mortar between the bricks was at some point subjected to high temperatures. The contrary hypothesis is supported by the observation that the structures bear no signs of scarring from large intense fires such as would be needed in order to reheat them as whole.
How were the bricks stuck together? One hypothesis is that the builders at Mỹ Sơn developed a way to glue bricks together using tree resin native to central Vietnam. Another hypothesis is that the builders used a sticky mortar made from the same clay as the bricks themselves. The latter hypothesis is supported by chemical tests that have found no trace of any organic substance between the bricks, but instead have found mineral substances similar to those present in the core of the bricks. Today the mortar that once held the bricks together has largely decayed, and even a strong wind can knock loose bricks from the structures.
At what point in the process were the decorative carvings made? Were the walls constructed and then carved, or were the bricks carved first and then assembled so as to create the walls? An examination of the carvings reveals no broken lines as would be expected if the bricks were carved first and then assembled; and as a result scholars have concluded that the Cham craftsmen made their carvings directly onto finished brick walls.
INSCRIPTIONS
The people of Champa maintained written records in both Sanskrit and old Cham. They wrote on perishable materials, such as large leaves, and also created inscriptions in stone. They used scripts borrowed from India. None of the writings on perishable materials have survived. However, numerous stone inscriptions have been preserved, transcribed, and translated into modern languages.
Many of Champa's most important inscriptions are on steles, that is to say on slabs or pillars of stone erected precisely for the purpose of hosting inscriptions. Scholars have found approximately 32 steles at Mỹ Sơn, dated between the 5th and the 12th century AD.
The subject-matter of Cham inscriptions is mostly political and religious. They are written from the perspective of kings or very high potentates seeking to affirm their legitimacy and their relationship to the divine. Many of the inscriptions document a gift to a god, such as a gift of land, of people, or of treasure, or a foundation dedicated to a god, such as the foundation of a temple, an altar, or a pedestal. The inscriptions also provide us with important information such as the name of the country (typically Campadesa in the Sanskrit inscriptions, nagara Campa in the Cham inscriptions), and the names of some of its most important cities: Simhapura ("Lion City"), Virapura ("Knight City"), Rajapura ("King City"), Vijaya ("District"). Finally, a number of the inscriptions allude to or describe interesting historical events, such as the ongoing wars between Champa and Cambodia in the 12th century.
WIKIPEDIA
Transport Arts Corporation
REA Hunter Green Steel Express Reefer
A refrigerator car (or "reefer") is a refrigerated boxcar, a piece of railroad rolling stock designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures. Refrigerator cars differ from simple insulated boxcars and ventilated boxcars (commonly used for transporting fruit), neither of which are fitted with cooling apparatus. Reefers can be ice-cooled, come equipped with any one of a variety of mechanical refrigeration systems, or utilize carbon dioxide (either as dry ice, or in liquid form) as a cooling agent.
Transport Arts Corp. used the TACX reporting mark on a total of 44 cars between April 1972 and April 1988. Home ports were listed as: Des Plaines, IL ,Jacksonville, FL, and Peoria, IL. So these cars were most likely used to haul perishable foods (bananas?) from Florida to the Midwest.
2016 Feds Feed Families U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Kickoff with initial donations on stage in the Whitten Building patio, Washington, D.C. on Friday, June 17, 2016. This year’s theme is "Feds Fighting Hunger." 2016 USDA Feds Feed Families Chair Sabrina Ferguson-Ward (green outfit) opens, moderates and closes the event. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration Yeshimebet Abebe (white blouse) talks about the impact of hunger and food insecurity. Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) Marketing and Communications Director Kristen Bourne (grey outfit) speaks about the impact of the food drive. USDA Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (FFAS) Deputy Under Secretary Lanon Baccam (red, white and blue striped tie) addresses the importance of partners and USDA’s commitment. Departmental Management (DM) Office of Human Resource Management (OHRM) Chief Human Capital Officer Roberta (Bobbi) Jeanquart (turquoise outfit) remarks about her personal experiences that emphasizes the effects of donation. Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP) Deputy Under Secretary Elvis Cordova (orange, white and blue tie) talks about the small actions people can do and the importance of giving. Mid-Atlantic Gleaning Network (MAGNET) President and CEO Rev. Thomas Chandler (yellow tie) provides the history of gleaning, that local farms produce more than can be commercially harvested, and how with more USDA volunteers, tons more produce can be gleaned in 2016, surpassing last year’s record. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Associate Deputy Administrator/Acting Director Douglas Keeler (blue tie) motivates the audience to organize and team up in activities with the spirit of “Yes We Will (End Hunger).”
USDA once again will lead the 2016 Feds Feed Families (FFF) campaign with the support of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council and other agency partners. The campaign will run through August 30, 2016. Launched in 2009 as part of President Obama's United We Serve campaign, Feds Feed Families was designed to help food banks and pantries stay stocked during summer months when they traditionally see a decrease in donations and an increase in need. In Washington, D.C., the Capital Area Food Bank receives collections and distributes them through its network of more than 500 partner organizations. Through the amazing generosity of federal employees, since 2009 the food drive has collected nearly 57.2 million pounds of food for those in need. Last year alone, more than 17.9 million pounds were donated and provided to food banks and pantries. All Federal agencies, including field components, are asked to participate in the campaign. The field agencies will share their collections with their local food banks with the goal of ensuring that the FFF campaign will stretch across America and be visible and active in every state. As in every year, employees are asked to bring non-perishable food items and place them into a designated collection box located in the Federal workplace or take them directly to a local food bank. Donations of fresh food (fruit, vegetables, herbs, nuts) can be made directly to a food pantry in your community - please visit www.ampleharvest.org to find one near you.
Learn more about most wanted items in area food banks from the Capital Area Food Bank . For those outside of the National Capital Area, visit www.feedingamerica.org for a list of regional food banks (non-perishable food only) or www.ampleharvest.org , for a list of local food pantries (fresh produce as well as non-perishable food) in your area to partner with and to send donations. They assist with arranging pick-up and weighing of your donations. In 2016, as part of Feds Feed Families, employees are encouraged to take advantage of gleaning (clearing fields of unused produce). Field employees can reach out to Society of St. Andrew for gleaning opportunities in their area. The Mid-Atlantic Gleaning Network (MAGNET) is another great partner at www.midatlanticgleaningnetwork.org . Volunteers can pick, sort and deliver fresh produce to food banks, churches and other partners. USDA Media by Lance Cheung.
OM PARVAT
Om Parvat (also Adi Kailash, Little Kailash, Jonglingkong Peak,Baba Kailash, chhota Kailash)[3] is a mountain in the Himalayanmountain range, lying in the Darchula district of western Nepal and inPithoragarh District, Uttarakhand, India. It is considered sacred by Hindusand its snow deposition pattern resembles the sacred 'OM' (ॐ). Its appearance is distinctly similar to Mount Kailash in Tibet.[4] Near Om Parvat lie Parvati Lake and Jonglingkong Lake. Jonglingkong Lake is sacred, as Mansarovar, to the Hindus. Opposite to this peak is a mountain called Parwati Muhar. The Om Parvat is the fruit of discord between India and Nepal who do not reach agreement about the border line between the two countries. The Om Parvat is currently on the Indo-Nepalese border face "Om/ॐ" in India and the back of the mountain inNepal.
This peak was attempted for the first time by an Indo-British team including Martin Moran, T. Rankin, M. Singh, S. Ward, A. Williams and R. Ausden. The climbers promised not to ascend the final 10 metres (30 ft) out of respect for the peak's holy status. However, they were stopped around 200 m (660 ft) short of the summit by very loose snow and rock conditions.[4]
The first ascent of Adi Kailash came on October 8, 2004. The team comprised Tim Woodward, Jack Pearse, Andy Perkins (UK); Jason Hubert, Martin Welch, Diarmid Hearns, Amanda George (Scotland); and Paul Zuchowski (USA). They did not ascend the final few metres, again out of respect for the sacred nature of the summit.
Om Parvat can be viewed en route to the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra from the last camp below Lipu Lekh pass at Nabhidhang. Many trekkers to Adi Kailash often make a diversion to view Om Parvat. Om Parvat and Adi Kailash or Baba Kailash are not one and the same. Om Parvat is located near Nabhi Dhang (Nepal),The Chhota Kailash is located near Sinla pass, Near Brahma Parvat.
The best view of Om Parvat which "Om" drawn by the snow is the view from the district of Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand, India), which faces the mountain and hence to the "Om". By Kailash Mansarovar Foundation Swami Bikash Giri www.sumeruparvat.com , www.naturalitem.com
OM
Auṃ or Oṃ, Sanskrit: ॐ) is a sacred sound and a spiritual icon in Indian religions. It is also a mantra in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
Om is part of the iconography found in ancient and medieval era manuscripts, temples, monasteries and spiritual retreats in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The symbol has a spiritual meaning in all Indian dharmas, but the meaning and connotations of Om vary between the diverse schools within and across the various traditions.
In Hinduism, Om is one of the most important spiritual symbols (pratima). It refers to Atman (soul, self within) andBrahman (ultimate reality, entirety of the universe, truth, divine, supreme spirit, cosmic principles, knowledge). The syllable is often found at the beginning and the end of chapters in the Vedas, the Upanishads, and other Hindu texts. It is a sacred spiritual incantation made before and during the recitation of spiritual texts, during puja and private prayers, in ceremonies of rites of passages (sanskara) such as weddings, and sometimes during meditative and spiritual activities such as Yoga.
Vedic literature
The syllable "Om" is described with various meanings in the Vedas and different early Upanishads.[19] The meanings include "the sacred sound, the Yes!, the Vedas, the Udgitha (song of the universe), the infinite, the all encompassing, the whole world, the truth, the ultimate reality, the finest essence, the cause of the Universe, the essence of life, theBrahman, the Atman, the vehicle of deepest knowledge, and Self-knowledge".
Vedas
The chapters in Vedas, and numerous hymns, chants and benedictions therein use the syllable Om. The Gayatri mantra from the Rig Veda, for example, begins with Om. The mantra is extracted from the 10th verse of Hymn 62 in Book III of the Rig Veda.These recitations continue to be in use, and major incantations and ceremonial functions begin and end with Om.
ॐ भूर्भुवस्व: |
तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यम् |
भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि |
धियो यो न: प्रचोदयात् ||
Om. Earth, atmosphere, heaven.
Let us think on that desirable splendour
of Savitr, the Inspirer. May he stimulate
us to insightful thoughts.
Om is a common symbol found in the ancient texts of Hinduism, such as in the first line of Rig veda (top), as well as a icon in temples and spiritual retreats.
The Chandogya Upanishad is one of the oldest Upanishads of Hinduism. It opens with the recommendation that "let a man meditate on Om". It calls the syllable Om as udgitha (उद्गीथ, song, chant), and asserts that the significance of the syllable is thus: the essence of all beings is earth, the essence of earth is water, the essence of water are the plants, the essence of plants is man, the essence of man is speech, the essence of speech is the Rig Veda, the essence of the Rig Veda is the Sama Veda, and the essence of Sama Veda is the udgitha (song, Om).
Rik (ऋच्, Ṛc) is speech, states the text, and Sāman (सामन्) is breath; they are pairs, and because they have love and desire for each other, speech and breath find themselves together and mate to produce song. The highest song is Om, asserts section 1.1 of Chandogya Upanishad. It is the symbol of awe, of reverence, of threefold knowledge because Adhvaryu invokes it, the Hotr recites it, and Udgatr sings it.
The second volume of the first chapter continues its discussion of syllable Om, explaining its use as a struggle between Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons). Max Muller states that this struggle between gods and demons is considered allegorical by ancient Indian scholars, as good and evil inclinations within man, respectively. The legend in section 1.2 of Chandogya Upanishad states that gods took the Udgitha (song of Om) unto themselves, thinking, "with this [song] we shall overcome the demons". The syllable Om is thus implied as that which inspires the good inclinations within each person.
Chandogya Upanishad's exposition of syllable Om in its opening chapter combines etymological speculations, symbolism, metric structure and philosophical themes. In the second chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad, the meaning and significance of Om evolves into a philosophical discourse, such as in section 2.10 where Om is linked to the Highest Self, and section 2.23 where the text asserts Om is the essence of three forms of knowledge, Om is Brahman and "Om is all this [observed world]".
Katha Upanishad
The Katha Upanishad is the legendary story of a little boy, Nachiketa – the son of sage Vajasravasa, who meetsYama – the Indian deity of death. Their conversation evolves to a discussion of the nature of man, knowledge,Atman (Soul, Self) and moksha (liberation). In section 1.2, Katha Upanishad characterizes Knowledge/Wisdom as the pursuit of good, and Ignorance/Delusion as the pursuit of pleasant, that the essence of Veda is make man liberated and free, look past what has happened and what has not happened, free from the past and the future, beyond good and evil, and one word for this essence is the word Om.
The word which all the Vedas proclaim,
That which is expressed in every Tapas (penance, austerity, meditation),
That for which they live the life of a Brahmacharin,
Understand that word in its essence: Om! that is the word.
Yes, this syllable is Brahman,
This syllable is the highest.
He who knows that syllable,
Whatever he desires, is his.
— Katha Upanishad,
Maitri Upanishad
The Maitrayaniya Upanishad in sixth Prapathakas (lesson) discusses the meaning and significance of Om. The text asserts that Om represents Brahman-Atman. The three roots of the syllable, states the Maitri Upanishad, are A + U + M. The sound is the body of Soul, and it repeatedly manifests in three: as gender-endowed body - feminine, masculine, neuter; as light-endowed body - Agni, Vayu and Aditya; as deity-endowed body - Brahma, Rudra and Vishnu; as mouth-endowed body - Garhapatya, Dakshinagni and Ahavaniya; as knowledge-endowed body - Rig, Saman and Yajur; as world-endowed body - Bhūr, Bhuvaḥ and Svaḥ; as time-endowed body - Past, Present and Future; as heat-endowed body - Breath, Fire and Sun; as growth-endowed body - Food, Water and Moon; as thought-endowed body - intellect, mind and pysche. Brahman exists in two forms - the material form, and the immaterial formless. The material form is changing, unreal. The immaterial formless isn't changing, real. The immortal formless is truth, the truth is the Brahman, the Brahman is the light, the light is the Sun which is the syllable Om as the Self.
The world is Om, its light is Sun, and the Sun is also the light of the syllable Om, asserts the Upanishad. Meditating on Om, is acknowledging and meditating on the Brahman-Atman (Soul, Self).
Mundaka Upanishad
The Mundaka Upanishad in the second Mundakam (part), suggests the means to knowing the Self and the Brahman to be meditation, self-reflection and introspection, that can be aided by the symbol Om.
That which is flaming, which is subtler than the subtle,
on which the worlds are set, and their inhabitants –
That is the indestructible Brahman. It is life, it is speech, it is mind. That is the real. It is immortal.
It is a mark to be penetrated. Penetrate It, my friend.
Taking as a bow the great weapon of the Upanishad,
one should put upon it an arrow sharpened by meditation,
Stretching it with a thought directed to the essence of That,
Penetrate that Imperishable as the mark, my friend.
Om is the bow, the arrow is the Soul, Brahman the mark,
By the undistracted man is It to be penetrated,
One should come to be in It,
as the arrow becomes one with the mark.
— Mundaka Upanishad, 2.2.2 - 2.2.4
Adi Shankara, in his review of the Mundaka Upanishad, states Om as a symbolism for Atman (soul, self).
Mandukya Upanishad
The Mandukya Upanishad opens by declaring, "Om!, this syllable is this whole world". Thereafter it presents various explanations and theories on what it means and signifies. This discussion is built on a structure of "four fourths" or "fourfold", derived from A + U + M + "silence" (or without an element).
Aum as all states of time
In verse 1, the Upanishad states that time is threefold: the past, the present and the future, that these three are "Aum". The four fourth of time is that which transcends time, that too is "Aum" expressed.
Aum as all states of Atman
In verse 2, states the Upanishad, everything is Brahman, but Brahman is Atman (the Soul, Self), and that the Atman is fourfold. Johnston summarizes these four states of Self, respectively, as seeking the physical, seeking inner thought, seeking the causes and spiritual consciousness, and the fourth state is realizing oneness with the Self, the Eternal.
Aum as all states of consciousness
In verses 3 to 6, the Mandukya Upanishad enumerates four states of consciousness: wakeful, dream, deep sleep and the state of ekatma (being one with Self, the oneness of Self). These four are A + U + M + "without an element" respectively.
Aum as all of knowledge
In verses 9 to 12, the Mandukya Upanishad enumerates fourfold etymological roots of the syllable "Aum". It states that the first element of "Aum" is A, which is from Apti (obtaining, reaching) or from Adimatva (being first). The second element is U, which is from Utkarsa (exaltation) or from Ubhayatva(intermediateness). The third element is M, from Miti (erecting, constructing) or from Mi Minati, or apīti (annihilation). The fourth is without an element, without development, beyond the expanse of universe. In this way, states the Upanishad, the syllable Om is indeed the Atman (the self).
Shvetashvatara Upanishad
The Shvetashvatara Upanishad, in verses 1.14 to 1.16, suggests meditating with the help of syllable Om, where one's perishable body is like one fuel-stick and the syllable Om is the second fuel-stick, which with discipline and diligent rubbing of the sticks unleashes the concealed fire of thought and awareness within. Such knowledge, asserts the Upanishad, is the goal of Upanishads. The text asserts that Om is a tool of meditation empowering one to know the God within oneself, to realize one's Atman (Soul, Self).
Epics
The Bhagavad Gita, in the Epic Mahabharata, mentions the meaning and significance of Om in several verses. For example, Fowler notes that verse 9.17 of the Bhagavad Gita synthesizes the competing dualistic and monist streams of thought in Hinduism, by using "Om which is the symbol for the indescribable, impersonal Brahman".
I am the Father of this world, Mother, Ordainer, Grandfather, the Thing to be known, the Purifier, the syllable Om, Rik, Saman and also Yajus.
— Krishna to Arjuna, Bhagavad Gita 9.17,
The significance of the sacred syllable in the Hindu traditions, is similarly highlighted in various of its verses, such as verse 17.24 where the importance of Omduring prayers, charity and meditative practices is explained as follows,
Therefore, uttering Om, the acts of yajna (fire ritual), dāna (charity) and tapas (austerity) as enjoined in the scriptures, are always begun by those who study the Brahman.
— Bhagavad Gita
Yoga Sutra
The aphoristic verse 1.27 of Pantanjali's Yogasutra links Om to Yoga practice, as follows,
तस्य वाचकः प्रणवः ॥२७॥
His word is Om.
— Yogasutra 1.27,
Johnston states this verse highlights the importance of Om in the meditative practice of Yoga, where it symbolizes three worlds in the Soul; the three times – past, present and future eternity, the three divine powers – creation, preservation and transformation in one Being; and three essences in one Spirit – immortality, omniscience and joy. It is, asserts Johnston, a symbol for the perfected Spiritual Man (his emphasis). BY KAILASH MANSAROVAR FOUNDATION SWAMI BIKASH GIRI www.sumeruparvat.com , www.naturalitem.com
Melissa Lee,Student Administrative Assistant at the College of Engineering, displays the containers inside a box of non-perishable food items donated by Food Gatherers as she volunteers for a twice monthly food distribution in front of Northwood 2 parking lot NW10 inside North Campus in Ann Arbor, MI. on October 21, 2020.
Photo: Robert Coelius/Michigan Engineering, Communications and Marketing
Before air freight and the highways took control, the railroads moved premium perishable shipments in refrigerator cars or express reefers.
Oostelijk Havengebied | Piet Heinkade
Pakhuis de Zwijger is a former cold warehouse in the Eastern Docklands. It was built for the storage of perishable goods, and at the time was one of the most modern storehouses of its time.
Arch. J. de Bie Leuveling Tjeenk and K. Baker.
1933-34.
In September 2006, the building was put into use again after a recovery / revitalization project by André van Stigt. It now houses various cultural institutions, including Salto (Amsterdam local broadcasting), and activities.
This super market background music was rescued from old analog audio tapes from 1975 and transferred into a Digital Medium (MP3s). This music was originally sold to local Super Markets and Grocery Stores to play on the store's loudspeakers while shoppers browsed for food items. It was supposed to create a calm care free sound environment so shoppers could spend more money.
The original company that produced this music is out of business - along with most of the stores that once used this music (Thanks to Wall Mart). It is now in the Public Domain so please feel free to pass it on and share the memories.
2016 Feds Feed Families U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Kickoff with initial donations on stage in the Whitten Building patio, Washington, D.C. on Friday, June 17, 2016. This year’s theme is "Feds Fighting Hunger." 2016 USDA Feds Feed Families Chair Sabrina Ferguson-Ward (green outfit) opens, moderates and closes the event. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration Yeshimebet Abebe (white blouse) talks about the impact of hunger and food insecurity. Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) Marketing and Communications Director Kristen Bourne (grey outfit) speaks about the impact of the food drive. USDA Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (FFAS) Deputy Under Secretary Lanon Baccam (red, white and blue striped tie) addresses the importance of partners and USDA’s commitment. Departmental Management (DM) Office of Human Resource Management (OHRM) Chief Human Capital Officer Roberta (Bobbi) Jeanquart (turquoise outfit) remarks about her personal experiences that emphasizes the effects of donation. Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP) Deputy Under Secretary Elvis Cordova (orange, white and blue tie) talks about the small actions people can do and the importance of giving. Mid-Atlantic Gleaning Network (MAGNET) President and CEO Rev. Thomas Chandler (yellow tie) provides the history of gleaning, that local farms produce more than can be commercially harvested, and how with more USDA volunteers, tons more produce can be gleaned in 2016, surpassing last year’s record. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Associate Deputy Administrator/Acting Director Douglas Keeler (blue tie) motivates the audience to organize and team up in activities with the spirit of “Yes We Will (End Hunger).”
USDA once again will lead the 2016 Feds Feed Families (FFF) campaign with the support of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council and other agency partners. The campaign will run through August 30, 2016. Launched in 2009 as part of President Obama's United We Serve campaign, Feds Feed Families was designed to help food banks and pantries stay stocked during summer months when they traditionally see a decrease in donations and an increase in need. In Washington, D.C., the Capital Area Food Bank receives collections and distributes them through its network of more than 500 partner organizations. Through the amazing generosity of federal employees, since 2009 the food drive has collected nearly 57.2 million pounds of food for those in need. Last year alone, more than 17.9 million pounds were donated and provided to food banks and pantries. All Federal agencies, including field components, are asked to participate in the campaign. The field agencies will share their collections with their local food banks with the goal of ensuring that the FFF campaign will stretch across America and be visible and active in every state. As in every year, employees are asked to bring non-perishable food items and place them into a designated collection box located in the Federal workplace or take them directly to a local food bank. Donations of fresh food (fruit, vegetables, herbs, nuts) can be made directly to a food pantry in your community - please visit www.ampleharvest.org to find one near you.
Learn more about most wanted items in area food banks from the Capital Area Food Bank . For those outside of the National Capital Area, visit www.feedingamerica.org for a list of regional food banks (non-perishable food only) or www.ampleharvest.org , for a list of local food pantries (fresh produce as well as non-perishable food) in your area to partner with and to send donations. They assist with arranging pick-up and weighing of your donations. In 2016, as part of Feds Feed Families, employees are encouraged to take advantage of gleaning (clearing fields of unused produce). Field employees can reach out to Society of St. Andrew for gleaning opportunities in their area. The Mid-Atlantic Gleaning Network (MAGNET) is another great partner at www.midatlanticgleaningnetwork.org . Volunteers can pick, sort and deliver fresh produce to food banks, churches and other partners. USDA Media by Lance Cheung.
Of all things I thought would be first to sell out and people would stock pile on, toilet paper was pretty low on the list. I haven't seen toilet paper on the store shelves in Calgary for a few weeks now, TP is going to be the new currency in the post apocalyptic world. You can't even eat toilet paper! But I guess it doesn't expire.
The springhouse on the grounds of the Conrad Weiser Homestead in Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania. The homestead celebrates and interprets the life and times of Conrad Weiser, a colonial diplomat who mediated the peace between Pennsylvania and the powerful Iroquois Nation prior to 1760. Weiser was also Berks County's first judge. Springhouses were an essential part of every farm, A pipe would carry water from a nearby stream and channel the water through a trough in the springhouse floor. Milk and butter and other perishables would be sitting on the floor in containers and would be kept cool by the running water underneath. When the homestead is open they sometimes have historical reenactors who show visitors how the operation works in the springhouse.
4x5 for 365 Project details: greggobst.photography/4x5-for-365
Camera: Calumet 45NX 4x5 large format monorail view camera.
Lens: Rodenstock Geronar 150mm F6.3 lens in a Copal 0 shutter. Yellow filter on lens.
Film: Kodak Ektascan BR/A single-sided X-Ray film. Purchased from zzmedical.com as 8x10" sheets and cut down to 4x5". Film rated at 80 ISO.
Exposure: 1/4 @ F45. Zone III placed on shadows of the overhang above the top center window.
Development: Rodinal 1:100 in three reel Paterson Universal Tank using Mod54 six sheet 4x5 insert. Semi-Stand for 15 minutes with initial minute of inversions then 10 seconds of inversion on minutes one and two then let it sit until minute 14 when I do a final ten seconds of inversions. Kodak indicator stop bath. Ilford Rapid Fixer. Photo-Flo. Hung to dry.
Scanning: Negative scanned with Epson V600 in two scans and merged back together in PhotoShop since the V600 doesn't natively support 4x5 scans in one pass.
A sculpture created out of non-perishable canned and boxed foods by NASA’s Launch Services Program is on display at Kennedy Space Center in Florida as part of the 2019 Feds Feeds Families campaign. Kennedy employees had the opportunity to work in teams to construct sculptures reflecting this year’s theme – The Moon Lights the Way – to pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo Moon landing. As part of the theme, the can sculptures highlighted the accomplishments of the Apollo Program while incorporating aspects of NASA’s aim to return to the Moon and beyond to Mars. On Aug. 2, 2019, all sculptures will be deconstructed and boxed for donation. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Angkor Wat or "Capital Temple" is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. It was first a Hindu and later a Buddhist temple. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura, present-day Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum.
Breaking from the Shiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early Dravidian architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.
The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer; Angkor, meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor (នគរ), which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara (नगर). Wat is the Khmer word for "temple grounds" (Sanskrit: वाट vāṭa ""enclosure").
HISTORY
Angkor Wat lies 5.5 kilometres north of the modern town of Siem Reap, and a short distance south and slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred at Baphuon. It is in an area of Cambodia where there is an important group of ancient structures. It is the southernmost of Angkor's main sites.
According to one legend, the construction of Angkor Wat was ordered by Indra to act as a palace for his son Precha Ket Mealea.
According to the 13th century Chinese traveler Daguan Zhou, it was believed by some that the temple was constructed in a single night by a divine architect. The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-C. 1150). Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as the king's state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation stela nor any contemporary inscriptions referring to the temple have been found, its original name is unknown, but it may have been known as "Varah Vishnu-lok" after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended shortly after the king's death, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished.
In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king, Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and the Bayon respectively) a few kilometers to the north.
In the late 13th century, Angkor Wat gradually moved from Hindu to Theravada Buddhist use, which continues to the present day. Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle.
One of the first Western visitors to the temple was António da Madalena, a Portuguese monk who visited in 1586 and said that it "is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of."
In the mid-19th century, the temple was visited by the French naturalist and explorer, Henri Mouhot, who popularised the site in the West through the publication of travel notes, in which he wrote:
"One of these temples - a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo - might take an honorable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged."
Mouhot, like other early Western visitors, found it difficult to believe that the Khmers could have built the temple, and mistakenly dated it to around the same era as Rome. The true history of Angkor Wat was pieced together only from stylistic and epigraphic evidence accumulated during the subsequent clearing and restoration work carried out across the whole Angkor site. There were no ordinary dwellings or houses or other signs of settlement including cooking utensils, weapons, or items of clothing usually found at ancient sites. Instead there is the evidence of the monuments themselves.
Angkor Wat required considerable restoration in the 20th century, mainly the removal of accumulated earth and vegetation. Work was interrupted by the civil war and Khmer Rouge control of the country during the 1970s and 1980s, but relatively little damage was done during this period other than the theft and destruction of mostly post-Angkorian statues.The temple is a powerful symbol of Cambodia, and is a source of great national pride that has factored into Cambodia's diplomatic relations with France, the United States and its neighbor Thailand. A depiction of Angkor Wat has been a part of Cambodian national flags since the introduction of the first version circa 1863. From a larger historical and even transcultural perspective, however, the temple of Angkor Wat did not become a symbol of national pride sui generis but had been inscribed into a larger politico-cultural process of French-colonial heritage production in which the original temple site was presented in French colonial and universal exhibitions in Paris and Marseille between 1889 and 1937. Angkor Wat's aesthetics were also on display in the plaster cast museum of Louis Delaporte called musée Indo-chinois which existed in the Parisian Trocadero Palace from C. 1880 to the mid-1920s. The splendid artistic legacy of Angkor Wat and other Khmer monuments in the Angkor region led directly to France adopting Cambodia as a protectorate on 11 August 1863 and invading Siam to take control of the ruins. This quickly led to Cambodia reclaiming lands in the northwestern corner of the country that had been under Siamese (Thai) control since 1351 AD (Manich Jumsai 2001), or by some accounts, 1431 AD. Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953 and has controlled Angkor Wat since that time.
ARCHITECTURE
SITE AND PLAN
Angkor Wat, located at 13°24′45″N 103°52′0″E, is a unique combination of the temple mountain, the standard design for the empire's state temples and the later plan of concentric galleries. The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods: the central quincunx of towers symbolises the five peaks of the mountain, and the walls and moat the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean. Access to the upper areas of the temple was progressively more exclusive, with the laity being admitted only to the lowest level. Unlike most Khmer temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west rather than the east. This has led many (including Maurice Glaize and George Coedès) to conclude that Suryavarman intended it to serve as his funerary temple.Further evidence for this view is provided by the bas-reliefs, which proceed in a counter-clockwise direction - prasavya in Hindu terminology - as this is the reverse of the normal order. Rituals take place in reverse order during Brahminic funeral services. The archaeologist Charles Higham also describes a container which may have been a funerary jar which was recovered from the central tower. It has been nominated by some as the greatest expenditure of energy on the disposal of a corpse. Freeman and Jacques, however, note that several other temples of Angkor depart from the typical eastern orientation, and suggest that Angkor Wat's alignment was due to its dedication to Vishnu, who was associated with the west.
A further interpretation of Angkor Wat has been proposed by Eleanor Mannikka. Drawing on the temple's alignment and dimensions, and on the content and arrangement of the bas-reliefs, she argues that the structure represents a claimed new era of peace under King Suryavarman II: "as the measurements of solar and lunar time cycles were built into the sacred space of Angkor Wat, this divine mandate to rule was anchored to consecrated chambers and corridors meant to perpetuate the king's power and to honor and placate the deities manifest in the heavens above." Mannikka's suggestions have been received with a mixture of interest and scepticism in academic circles. She distances herself from the speculations of others, such as Graham Hancock, that Angkor Wat is part of a representation of the constellation Draco.
STYLE
Angkor Wat is the prime example of the classical style of Khmer architecture - the Angkor Wat style - to which it has given its name. By the 12th century Khmer architects had become skilled and confident in the use of sandstone (rather than brick or laterite) as the main building material. Most of the visible areas are of sandstone blocks, while laterite was used for the outer wall and for hidden structural parts. The binding agent used to join the blocks is yet to be identified, although natural resins or slaked lime has been suggested. The temple has drawn praise above all for the harmony of its design. According to Maurice Glaize, a mid-20th-century conservator of Angkor, the temple "attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality of its finely balanced elements and the precise arrangement of its proportions. It is a work of power, unity and style." Architecturally, the elements characteristic of the style include: the ogival, redented towers shaped like lotus buds; half-galleries to broaden passageways; axial galleries connecting enclosures; and the cruciform terraces which appear along the main axis of the temple. Typical decorative elements are devatas (or apsaras), bas-reliefs, and on pediments extensive garlands and narrative scenes. The statuary of Angkor Wat is considered conservative, being more static and less graceful than earlier work. Other elements of the design have been destroyed by looting and the passage of time, including gilded stucco on the towers, gilding on some figures on the bas-reliefs, and wooden ceiling panels and doors.
FEATURES
OUTER ENCLOSURE
The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is surrounded by a 30 m apron of open ground and a moat 190 m wide. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge. There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far the largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form of the temple proper. Under the southern tower is a statue of Vishnu, known as Ta Reach, which may originally have occupied the temple's central shrine.Galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on either side of the gopura often referred to as "elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between the pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth. The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres, which besides the temple proper was originally occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace. Like all secular buildings of Angkor, these were built of perishable materials rather than of stone, so nothing remains of them except the outlines of some of the streets. Most of the area is now covered by forest. A 350 m causeway connects the western gopura to the temple proper, with naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the city on either side. Each side also features a library with entrances at each cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the entrance, and a pond between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later additions to the design, as is the cruciform terrace guarded by lions connecting the causeway to the central structure.
CENTRAL STRUCTURE
The temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries as being dedicated to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu.
Each gallery has a gopura at each of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming a quincunx with the central tower. Because the temple faces west, the features are all set back towards the east, leaving more space to be filled in each enclosure and gallery on the west side; for the same reason the west-facing steps are shallower than those on the other sides.
The outer gallery measures 187 by 215 m, with pavilions rather than towers at the corners. The gallery is open to the outside of the temple, with columned half-galleries extending and buttressing the structure. Connecting the outer gallery to the second enclosure on the west side is a cruciform cloister called Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand Gods"). Buddha images were left in the cloister by pilgrims over the centuries, although most have now been removed. This area has many inscriptions relating the good deeds of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small courtyards marked out by the cloister may originally have been filled with water.
North and south of the cloister are libraries.
Beyond, the second and inner galleries are connected to each other and to two flanking libraries by another cruciform terrace, again a later addition. From the second level upwards, devatas abound on the walls, singly or in groups of up to four. The second-level enclosure is 100 by 115 m, and may originally have been flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru.
Three sets of steps on each side lead up to the corner towers and gopuras of the inner gallery. The very steep stairways represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods. This inner gallery, called the Bakan, is a 60 m square with axial galleries connecting each gopura with the central shrine, and subsidiary shrines located below the corner towers. The roofings of the galleries are decorated with the motif of the body of a snake ending in the heads of lions or garudas. Carved lintels and pediments decorate the entrances to the galleries and to the shrines. The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m to a height of 65 m above the ground; unlike those of previous temple mountains, the central tower is raised above the surrounding four. The shrine itself, originally occupied by a statue of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in when the temple was converted to Theravada Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing Buddhas. In 1934, the conservator George Trouvé excavated the pit beneath the central shrine: filled with sand and water it had already been robbed of its treasure, but he did find a sacred foundation deposit of gold leaf two metres above ground level.
DECORATION
Integrated with the architecture of the building, and one of the causes for its fame is Angkor Wat's extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes. The inner walls of the outer gallery bear a series of large-scale scenes mainly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Higham has called these, "the greatest known linear arrangement of stone carving".
From the north-west corner anti-clockwise, the western gallery shows the Battle of Lanka (from the Ramayana, in which Rama defeats Ravana) and the Battle of Kurukshetra (from the Mahabharata, showing the mutual annihilation of the Kaurava and Pandava clans). On the southern gallery follow the only historical scene, a procession of Suryavarman II, then the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu mythology.
On the eastern gallery is one of the most celebrated scenes, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, showing 92 asuras and 88 devas using the serpent Vasuki to churn the sea under Vishnu's direction (Mannikka counts only 91 asuras, and explains the asymmetrical numbers as representing the number of days from the winter solstice to the spring equinox, and from the equinox to the summer solstice). It is followed by Vishnu defeating asuras (a 16th-century addition). The northern gallery shows Krishna's victory over Bana (where according to Glaize, "The workmanship is at its worst"). and a battle between the Hindu gods and asuras. The north-west and south-west corner pavilions both feature much smaller-scale scenes, some unidentified but most from the Ramayana or the life of Krishna. Angkor Wat is decorated with depictions of apsaras and devata; there are more than 1,796 depictions of devata in the present research inventory. Angkor Wat architects employed small apsara images (30–40 cm) as decorative motifs on pillars and walls. They incorporated larger devata images (all full-body portraits measuring approximately 95–110 cm) more prominently at every level of the temple from the entry pavilion to the tops of the high towers. In 1927, Sappho Marchal published a study cataloging the remarkable diversity of their hair, headdresses, garments, stance, jewelry and decorative flowers, which Marchal concluded were based on actual practices of the Angkor period.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
The stones, as smooth as polished marble, were laid without mortar with very tight joints that are sometimes hard to find. The blocks were held together by mortise and tenon joints in some cases, while in others they used dovetails and gravity. The blocks were presumably put in place by a combination of elephants, coir ropes, pulleys and bamboo scaffolding. Henri Mouhot noted that most of the blocks had holes 2.5 cm in diameter and 3 cm deep, with more holes on the larger blocks. Some scholars have suggested that these were used to join them together with iron rods, but others claim they were used to hold temporary pegs to help manoeuvre them into place. The monument was made out of millions of tonnes of sandstone and it has a greater volume as well as mass than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. The Angkor Wat Temple consumes about 6 million to 10 million blocks of sandstone with an average weight of 1.5 tons each. In fact, the entire city of Angkor used up far greater amounts of stone than all the Egyptian pyramids combined, and occupied an area significantly greater than modern-day Paris. Moreover, unlike the Egyptian pyramids which use limestone quarried barely half a km away all the time, the entire city of Angkor was built with sandstone quarried 40 km (or more) away. This sandstone had to be transported from Mount Kulen, a quarry approximately 40 km to the northeast. The route has been suggested to span 35 kilometres along a canal towards Tonlé Sap lake, another 35 kilometres crossing the lake, and finally 15 kilometres upstream and against the current along Siem Reap River, making a total journey of 90 kilometres. However, Etsuo Uchida and Ichita Shimoda of Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan have discovered in 2012 a shorter 35-kilometre canal connecting Mount Kulen and Angkor Wat using satellite imagery. The two believe that the Khmer used this route instead.
Virtually all of its surfaces, columns, lintels even roofs are carved. There are miles of reliefs illustrating scenes from Indian literature including unicorns, griffins, winged dragons pulling chariots as well as warriors following an elephant-mounted leader and celestial dancing girls with elaborate hair styles. The gallery wall alone is decorated with almost 1000 square metres of bas reliefs. Holes on some of the Angkor walls indicate that they may have been decorated with bronze sheets. These were highly prized in ancient times and were a prime target for robbers. While excavating Khajuraho, Alex Evans, a stonemason and sculptor, recreated a stone sculpture under 1.2 m, this took about 60 days to carve. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehner also conducted experiments to quarry limestone which took 12 quarrymen 22 days to quarry about 400 tons of stone. The labor force to quarry, transport, carve and install so much sandstone must have run into the thousands including many highly skilled artisans. The skills required to carve these sculptures were developed hundreds of years earlier, as demonstrated by some artifacts that have been dated to the seventh century, before the Khmer came to power.
ANGKOR WAT TODAY
The Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on the temple between 1986 and 1992. Since the 1990s, Angkor Wat has seen continued conservation efforts and a massive increase in tourism. The temple is part of the Angkor World Heritage Site, established in 1992, which has provided some funding and has encouraged the Cambodian government to protect the site. The German Apsara Conservation Project (GACP) is working to protect the devatas and other bas-reliefs which decorate the temple from damage. The organisation's survey found that around 20% of the devatas were in very poor condition, mainly because of natural erosion and deterioration of the stone but in part also due to earlier restoration efforts. Other work involves the repair of collapsed sections of the structure, and prevention of further collapse: the west facade of the upper level, for example, has been buttressed by scaffolding since 2002, while a Japanese team completed restoration of the north library of the outer enclosure in 2005. World Monuments Fund began conservation work on the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery in 2008 after several years of conditions studies. The project restored the traditional Khmer roofing system and removed cement used in earlier restoration attempts that had resulted in salts entering the structure behind the bas-relief, discoloring and damaging the sculpted surfaces. The main phase of work ended in 2012, and the final component will be the installation of finials on the roof of the gallery in 2013. Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan. Angkor Wat has become a major tourist destination. In 2004 and 2005, government figures suggest that, respectively, 561.000 and 677.000 foreign visitors arrived in Siem Reap province, approximately 50% of all foreign tourists in Cambodia for both years. The site has been managed by the private SOKIMEX group since 1990, which rented it from the Cambodian government. The influx of tourists has so far caused relatively little damage, other than some graffiti; ropes and wooden steps have been introduced to protect the bas-reliefs and floors, respectively. Tourism has also provided some additional funds for maintenance - as of 2000 approximately 28% of ticket revenues across the whole Angkor site was spent on the temples - although most work is carried out by foreign government-sponsored teams rather than by the Cambodian authorities. Since Angkor Wat has seen significant growth in tourism throughout the years UNESCO and its International Co-ordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC), in association with representatives from the Royal Government and APSARA, organized seminars to discuss the concept of "cultural tourism". Wanting to avoid commercial and mass tourism, the seminars emphasized the importance of providing high quality accommodation and services in order for the Cambodian government to benefit economically, while also incorporating the richness of Cambodian culture. In 2001, this incentive resulted in the concept of the "Angkor Tourist City" which would be developed with regard to traditional Khmer architecture, contain leisure and tourist facilities, and provide luxurious hotels capable of accommodating large amounts of tourists. The prospect of developing such large tourist accommodations has encountered concerns from both APSARA and the ICC, claiming that previous tourism developments in the area have neglected construction regulations and more of these projects have the potential to damage landscape features. Also, the large scale of these projects have begun to threaten the quality of the nearby town's water, sewage, and electricity systems. It has been noted that such high frequency of tourism and growing demand for quality accommodations in the area, such as the development of a large highway, has had a direct effect on the underground water table, subsequently straining the structural stability of the temples at Angkor Wat. Locals of Siem Reap have also voiced concern over the charming nature and atmosphere of their town being compromised in order to entertain tourism. Since this charming local atmosphere is the key component to projects like Angkor Tourist City, local officials continue to discuss how to successfully incorporate future tourism without sacrificing local values and culture. At the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2012, both parties have agreed Borobudur and Angkor Wat to become sister sites and the provinces will become sister provinces. Two Indonesian airlines are considering the opportunity to open a direct flight from Yogyakarta, Indonesia to Siem Reap.
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