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View On Black RECOMMENDED!
This is a non-HDR project. I did take different exposures for HDR shots, but in the end I decided to go with a regular version. I did make some edits in Lightroom and Photoshop to bring out the colors in the scene.
I was there with my cousin and friend who is the 350z owner. The place was really dirty with dust and there were some janitors with hoses and wipers but they weren't really doing anything. So we gave them some encouragement and they ended up cleaning that part of the parking lot level. During the whole shoot the janitors and security guards were watching us as we set up our gear and the car. Surprisingly enough the guards were quite helpful and didn't bother us at all. Unlike some other experiences I've had in similar lots before.
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Canon EOS 40D.
Lens: EF 24-105 F4 L IS.
ISO: 100.
Shutter Speed: 1.3 seconds.
Aperture: F/5.6.
Focal length: 24mm.
Ex: Shot on a tripod with cable shutter release.
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS2 - Adobe Lightroom.
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Rupit, Barcelona (Spain).
This duck not yet has class, and must swim in dangerous waters of the river.
Este pato aún no tiene categoría, y tiene que nadar en las peligrosas aguas del río.
ENGLISH
Aluminium foil (known as aluminum foil in North America) is aluminium prepared in thin sheets with a thickness less than 0.2 mm / 0.008 in, although much thinner gauges down to 0.006 mm are commonly used. As a result of this, the foil is extremely pliable, and can be bent or wrapped around objects with ease. However, thin foils are fragile and easily damaged, and are usually laminated to other materials such as plastics or paper to make them useful. It replaced tin foil towards the end of the 19th century.
Foil made from a thin leaf of tin was commercially available before its aluminium counterpart. In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, tin foil was in common use, and some people continue to refer to the new product by the old name. Tin foil is much stiffer than aluminium foil. It tends to give a slight tin taste to the food wrapped in it, which is one major reason it has largely been supplanted by aluminium and other materials for wrapping food. The first audio recordings on phonograph cylinders were made on tin foil.
Tin was first replaced by aluminium in 1910, when the first aluminium foil rolling plant, “Dr. Lauber, Neher & Cie. and Emmishofen.” was opened in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. The plant, owned by J.G. Neher & Sons, the aluminium manufacturers, started in 1886 in Schaffhausen and Switzerland, at the foot of the Rhine Falls - capturing the falls' energy to produce aluminium. Neher's sons together with Dr. Lauber discovered the endless rolling process and the use of aluminium foil as a protective barrier on December 1907.
The first use of foil in the United States was in 1913 for wrapping Life Savers, candy bars and gum. Processes evolved over time to include the use of print, colour, lacquer, laminate and the embossing of the aluminium.
The extensive use of aluminium foil has been criticised by some environmentalists because of the high resource cost of extracting aluminium, primarily as a result of the large amount of electricity used to decompose bauxite. However, this cost is greatly reduced via recycling, reduced energy requirements during transport due to lighter weight packages, and the fact that many foods that would otherwise perish can be protected over long periods without refrigeration. Many aluminium foil products can be recycled at around 5% of the original energy cost, although many aluminium laminates are not recycled due to difficulties in separating the components and low yield of aluminium metal.
More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_foil
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CASTELLANO
El papel aluminio (conocido también como papel plateado) es una hoja fina de aluminio que, a consecuencia de ello, es extremadamente maleable y permite numerosos usos en la vida cotidiana, entre las que está la de poder hacer de envoltorio de diversos objetos. conductor de electricidad y se utiliza también como papel de embalaje para envolver alimentos. En España se conoce popularmente como "papel Albal" por la marca Albal, que lo comercializa. Millones de toneladas de papel de aluminio se emplean a diario en todo el mundo en el embalaje y protección de alimentos, cosméticos y productos químicos diversos. Por regla general con una capa extremadamente delgada que suele rondar desde los 20 µm a los 6.5 µm, en algunos casos es laminado con otros materiales tales como plástico o papel.
Mucho antes que el moderno papel de aluminio, se empleaban y distribuían hojas finas de estaño para propósitos similares. A finales del siglo XIX y comienzos del siglo XX las hojas delgadas de estaño eran ya muy populares y cuando empezaron a aparecer en el mercado las nuevas hojas de papel de aluminio la gente las seguía denominando como hojas de estaño. El nuevo producto era mejor que las antiguas hojas de estaño debido a diversas razones, el estaño dejaba sabores 'extraños' en los alimentos envueltos con este papel y su resistencia y prestaciones eran mejores. No obstante, las primeras grabaciones de audio en los fonógrafos de cilindro se hicieron en finas hojas de estaño.
Las láminas de estaño se reemplazaron por las de aluminio en el año 1910, justo cuando se estableció la primera planta de elaboración de láminas de aluminio bajo la empresa Dr. Lauber, Neher & Cie., Emmishofen, que fue instalada en Kreuzlingen (Suiza). La planta pertenecía J.G. Neher & Sons (manufactureros del aluminio) que comenzaron su trabajo ya en el año 1886 en los alrededores de la ciudad de Schaffhausen, Suiza cerca de las cataratas del Rhine - capturaban la energía de las cataratas para producir el aluminio-. Los hermanos Neher junto con el Dr. Lauber descubrieron el proceso de laminado sin fin y el uso del papel de aluminio como barrera protectora. Los primeros usos de estas hojas fueron el embalaje de los productos del tabaco, las barras de chocolate. a lo largo del tiempo los productores fueron añadiendo lacas que coloreaban las hojas de aluminio.
Más info: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papel_de_aluminio
Visit my blog for advice on how on how to take photographs of your children or submit a photo for inclusion in "Ken's Tips On Your Pics": www.kensharp.com/blog/category/kens-tips-on-your-pics-2/
© Ken Sharp. Please do not use or download without permission. If you have any queries please contact me: www.kensharp.com
You really need to View On Black
This marks the 52nd shot of my 52 weeks of self portraits. It was the toughest one to do (although there were some about 3/4 the way through that seemed impossible to do as well). I have to say I'm sick of seeing myself and sick of doing self portraits. I honestly don't know how all the 365 'ers manage to do it. 52 is nothing in comparison. Still, I'm going to take a break from selfies for a while. [insert applause track here] I'm not sure for how long. Just long enough to be motivated. This may occur sooner than later since the pressure to take a weekly shot is off. I say pressure because after you've taken about 15 weekly portraits, you start to run out of original ideas. Not that original ideas won't surface, it's just that they take time to develop. I noticed that even after I had taken this photo, the creativity started seeping back in. Anyway, I chose this tunnel for the final shot. I'd had it in mind for over a month because I felt it symbolized both beginning and end in that you can see the light, yet I also have the choice to turn around and go the opposite way, not towards the end, but to the entry. There's light there too. I think there are certain times when you want to see the light at the end but often, the journey needs to continue. So you either wander around in the tunnel or proceed back to the entry. Me? I'm headed back to the entry. It also seemed fitting since this is New Year's Eve -- another end and beginning. With that, I wish everyone a very happy and safe New Year. Cheers!
[side note: the tunnel was quite busy with people passing by. I waited for quite a bit before I setup my equipment. Once others saw the tripod and camera bag, and that this might be a cool place to photograph, it was like a feeding frenzy -- people started snapping photos all over the tunnel (not of me, but of the tunnel). One guy even set his tripod up about 10 feet behind me. I had to check to make sure there wasn't one of those 'Kodak Picture Spot' signs nearby.]
Ramadan ends today.
Eid ul-Fitr or Id-Ul-Fitr (Arabic: عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fiṭr), often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiṭr means "to break the fast" (and can also mean "nature", from the word "fitrah"); and so the holiday symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period.
May there be peace in Mindanao, in the entire Philippines, and in the whole world!
Kylie Minogue Live ~ Zenith Arena ~ Lille ~ France ~ Wednesday November 5th 2014.
Click here to see My most interesting images
Purchase some of my images here ~ www.saatchionline.com/art/view/artist/24360/art/1259239 ~ Should you so desire...go on, make me rich..lol...Oh...and if you see any of the images in my stream that you would like and are not there, then let me know and I'll add them to the site for you..:))
You can also buy my WWT cards here (The Otter and the Sunset images) or in the shop at the Wetland Centre in Barnes ~ London ~ www.wwt.org.uk/shop/shop/wwt-greeting-cards/sunset-at-the...
OMG!!! What an incredible night!!! Best 200 Euros I EVER spent lol..:) See what a difference being at the front makes, compared to my last Kylie Gig!! I took over 2000!!! photos last night, that's a lot of editing lol.:)
One things for sure, my usual hit rate of taking around 1000 images and ending up with 5!! I like is going to be smashed this time around! I'm gonna have enough images to bore you all until Christmas probably, Bwhahahaha..:)
Torre de la Vela - La Alhambra, Granada (Spain).
The last shot of The Alhambra / La última foto de La Alhambra.
ENGLISH
The ground plan of the Watch Tower (Torre de la Vela) is of 16 meters x 16 meters and its elevation is of 26,80 meters. It has a solid base and four floors with arches supported by pillars. During some time this tower was used as a dwelling, so it was modified. On the second floor there were merlons until the 16th century. In 1840 the current bell was put on the western façade and it had to be rebuilt in 1882 because a bolt of lightning damaged it.
The bell is an important element of this tower. Its chime used to indicate the farmers of the Vega, the meadow of the valley, the hours when they had to water the fields at night. The bell started striking at 8 or 9.30 p. m. and it kept doing so at different intervals with different chimes until 3 or 4 a. m., depending on the season. This bell was also used to call the inhabitants of Granada in case of danger. Nowadays, it is only on January 2nd that the Watch Tower and its bell are in the minds of all the inhabitants of the city. That was the date when the Catholic Monarchs took the city and the tradition says that every young woman who is still single and who strikes the bell, will get married before the end of the year.
The view from the top of the tower is marvellous, as it is possible to enjoy at the same time, the city of Granada, the Sierra Nevada, the Vega and the villages of the surroundings.
Source: www.alhambradegranada.org/historia/alhambratvela_en.asp
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CASTELLANO
La planta de la Torre de la Vela mide 16 metros de lado y 26,80 metros de alto. La base es maciza y tiene cuatro pisos con arcos apeados por pilares. Durante algún tiempo, esta torre se convirtió en vivienda, por lo que su aspecto ha cambiado con respecto al que tuvo en sus orígenes. En el segundo piso tuvo almenas hasta el siglo XVI. La ubicación actual de la campana en la fachada occidental es de 1840 y tuvo que ser reconstruída posteriormente debido a la caida de un rayo en 1882.
La campana es la gran protagonista de esta torre. Antiguamente, su toque servía como reloj nocturno a los agricultores de la Vega para regar sus campos. Comenzaba a sonar de 8 a 9:30 de la noche, y seguía sonando a distintos intervalos y con distintos toques hasta las 3 o las 4 de la mañana, según la estación del año. Esta campana también ha servido para llamar a los granadinos en caso de peligro. Hoy en día, es el día 2 de enero de cada año cuando la torre de la Vela y su campana recuperan el protagonismo que tuvo antaño. En conmemoración de la fecha en la que los Reyes Católicos tomaron Granada, existe una tradición por la cual todas las muchachas solteras de la ciudad que hagan sonar la campana el 2 de enero de cada año, contraerán matrimonio antes de que termine el año.
El paisaje que podemos observar desde la torre es maravilloso, ya que es posible disfrutar de un solo vistazo de una panorámica de la ciudad, Sierra Nevada, la vega y los pueblos de los alrededores.
Fuente: www.alhambradegranada.org/historia/alhambraTVela.asp
Explore 01-01-2010 bighugelabs.com/dna.php?username=KTS+Nguyen+Phu+Duc
Comments
01 Hot boi says:
Đi ra những chỗ mờ mờ
Ngồi gần con gái không sờ là ngu
Thà rằng cắt tóc đi tu
Ngồi gần con gái sao ngu ... không sssss
(comment này chỉ mang tính minh hoạ .... hihihi....)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink | delete )
02. nguyentuong.linh says:
Thơ.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink | delete )
03. ANDY LEDDY says:
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called CONTINENT: ASIA! ! ! post 1, award 2 (sweeper active), and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink | delete )
04. Hoang troc says:
đường viền ảnh đẹp anh ạ
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink | delete )
05. Hoàng Uy - Lag says:
Ý thật sâu .... !!!! Ẩn hiện, có và không có .......
--
Seen in the group"Vietnam - Vẻ đẹp tiềm ẩn - Cuộc thi số 1" ( ?² )
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink | delete )
Hoàng Uy - Lag says:
Cảm ơn anh đã ADD ảnh vào
Vietnam - Vẻ đẹp tiềm ẩn - The hidden charm
Những ảnh xuất sắc của anh sẽ là
thông điệp giới thiệu về nét đẹp tiềm ẩn
mang tên Việt Nam gửi đến bạn bè khắp nơi.
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink | delete )
www.meucat.com/maps/mapa_satelite.php?COD=roma&NOME=P...
Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi
Following, a text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or "Fountain of the Four Rivers" is a fountain in Rome, Italy, located in the Piazza Navona. Designed by Gianlorenzo Bernini, it is emblematic of the dynamic and dramatic effects sought by High Baroque artists. It was erected in 1651 in front of the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, and yards from the Pamphilj Palace belonging to this fountain's patron, Innocent X (1644-1655).
The four gods on the corners of the fountain represent the four major rivers of the world known at the time: the Nile, Danube, Ganges, and Plate. The design of each god figure has symbolic importance.
Design
Bernini's design was selected in competition. The circumstances of his victory are described as follows:
So strong was the sinister influence of the rivals of Bernini on the mind of Innocent that when he planned to set up in Piazza Navona the great obelisk brought to Rome by the Emperor Caracalla, which had been buried for a long time at Capo di Bove for the adornment of a magnificent fountain, the Pope had designs made by the leading architects of Rome without an order for one to Bernini. Prince Niccolò Ludovisi, whose wife was niece to the pope, persuaded Bernini to prepare a model, and arrange for it to be secretly installed in a room in the Palazzo Pamphili that the Pope had to pass. When the meal was finished, seeing such a noble creation, he stopped almost in ecstasy. Being prince of the keenest judgment and the loftiest ideas, after admiring it, said: “This is a trick … It will be necessary to employ Bernini in spite of those who do not wish it, for he who desires not to use Bernini’s designs, must take care not to see them.”
Paraphrase from Filippo Baldinucci, The life of Cavaliere Bernini (1682)
Public fountains in Rome served multiple purposes: first, they were highly needed sources of water for neighbors in the centuries prior to home plumbing. Second, they were monuments to the papal patrons. Earlier Bernini fountains had been the Fountain of the Triton in Piazza Barberini, the fountain of the Moor in the southern end of Piazza Navona erected during the Barberini papacy, and the Neptune and Triton for Villa Montalto, whose statuary now resides at Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Each has animals and plants that further carry forth the identification, and each carries a certain number of allegories and metaphors with it. The Ganges carries a long oar, representing the river's navigability. The Nile's head is draped with a loose piece of cloth, meaning that no one at that time knew exactly where the Nile's source was. The Danube touches the Papal coat of arms, since it is the large river closest to Rome. And the Río de la Plata is sitting on a pile of coins, a symbol of the riches America could offer to Europe (the word plata means silver in Spanish). Also, the Río de la Plata looks scared by a snake, showing rich men's fear that their money could be stolen. Each is a river god, semi-prostrate, in awe of the central tower, epitomized by the slender Egyptian obelisk (built for the Roman Serapeum in AD 81), symbolizing by Papal power surmounted by the Pamphili symbol (dove). In addition, the fountain is a theater in the round, a spectacle of action, that can be strolled around. Water flows and splashes from a jagged and pierced mountainous disorder of travertine marble. A legend, common with tour-guides, is that Bernini positioned the cowering Rio de la Plata River as if the sculpture was fearing the facade of the church of Sant'Agnese by his rival Borromini could crumble against him; in fact, the fountain was completed several years before Borromini began work on the church.
The dynamic fusion of architecture and sculpture made this fountain revolutionary when compared to prior Roman projects, such as the stilted designs Acqua Felice and Paola by Fontana in Piazza San Bernardo (1585-87) or the customary embellished geometric floral-shaped basin below a jet of water such as the Fontanina in Piazza Campitelli (1589) by Giacomo della Porta.
Unveiling
he Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi was unveiled to the populace of Rome on 12 June 1651. According to a report from the time, an event was organised to draw people to the Piazza Navona. Beforehand, wooden scaffolding, overlaid with curtains, had hidden the fountain, though probably not the obelisk, which would have given people an idea that something was being built, but the precise details were unknown. Once unveiled, the full majesty of the fountain would be apparent, which the celebrations were designed to advertise. The festival was paid for by the Pamphili family, to be specific, Innocent X, who had sponsored the erection of the fountain. The most conspicuous item on the Pamphili crest, an olive branch, was brandished by the performers who took part in the event.
The author of the report, Antonio Bernal, takes his readers through the hours leading up to the unveiling. The celebrations were announced by a woman, dressed as the allegorical character of Fame, being paraded around the streets of Rome on a carriage or float. She was sumptuously dressed, with wings attached to her back and a long trumpet in her hand. Bernal notes that "she went gracefully through all the streets and all the districts that are found among the seven hills of Rome, often blowing the round bronze [the trumpet], and urging everyone to make their way to that famous Piazza." A second carriage followed her; this time another woman was dressed as the allegorical figure of Curiosity. According to the report, she continued exhorting the people to go towards the piazza. Bernal describes the clamour and noise of the people as they discussed the upcoming event.
The report is actually less detailed about the process of publicly unveiling the fountain. However, it does give ample descriptions of the responses of the spectators who had gathered in the Piazza. Once there, Bernal notes, the citizens of the city were overwhelmed by the massive fountain, with its huge life-like figures. The report mentions the "enraptured souls" of the population, the fountain, which "gushes out a wealth of silvery treasures" causing "no little wonder" in the onlookers. Bernal then continues to describe the fountain, making continuous reference to the seeming naturalism of the figures and its astonishing effect on those in the piazza.
The making of the fountain was met by opposition by the people of Rome for several reasons. First, Innocent X had the fountain built at public expense during the intense famine of 1646-48. Throughout the construction of the fountain, the city murmurred and talk of riot was in the air. Pasquinade writers protested the construction of the fountain in September 1648 by attaching hand-written invectives on the stone blocks used to make the obelisk. These pasquinades read, "We do not want Obelisks and Fountains, It is bread that we want. Bread, Bread, Bread!" Innocent quickly had the authors arrested, and disguised spies patrol the Pasquino statue and Piazza Navona
The streetvendors of the market also opposed the construction of the fountain, as Innocent X expelled them from the piazza. The Pamphilij pope believed they detracted from the magnificence of the square. The vendors refused to move, and the papal police had to chase them from the piazza. Roman Jews, in particular, lamented the closing of the Navona, since they were allowed to sell used articles of clothing there at the Wednesday market.
Navona Square (Piazza Navona).
Following, a text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in first century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium.[1] The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones ("games"), and hence it was known as 'Circus Agonalis' (competition arena). It is believed that over time the name changed to 'in agone' to 'navone' and eventually to 'navona'.
Defined as a public space in the last years of 15th century, when the city market was transferred to it from the Campidoglio, the Piazza Navona is a significant example of Baroque Roman architecture and art. It features sculptural and architectural creations: in the center stands the famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or Fountain of the Four Rivers (1651) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini; the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone by Francesco Borromini and Girolamo Rainaldi; and the Pamphilj palace also by Rainaldi and which features the gallery frescoed by Pietro da Cortona.
The Piazza Navona has two additional fountains: at the southern end is the Fontana del Moro with a basin and four Tritons sculpted by Giacomo della Porta (1575) to which, in 1673, Bernini added a statue of a Moor, or African, wrestling with a dolphin, and at the northern end is the Fountain of Neptune (1574) created by Giacomo della Porta. The statue of Neptune in the northern fountain, the work of Antonio Della Bitta, was added in 1878 to make that fountain more symmetrical with La Fontana del Moro in the south.
At the southwest end of the piazza is the ancient 'speaking' statue of Pasquino. Erected in 1501, Romans could leave lampoons or derogatory social commentary attached to the statue.
During its history, the piazza has hosted theatrical events and other ephemeral activities. From 1652 until 1866, when the festival was suppressed, it was flooded on every Saturday and Sunday in August in elaborate celebrations of the Pamphilj family. The pavement level was raised in the 19th century and the market was moved again in 1869 to the nearby Campo de' Fiori. A Christmas market is held in the piazza.
Other monuments on the Piazza Navona are:
Stabilimenti Spagnoli
Palazzo de Cupis
Palazzo Torres Massimo Lancellotti
Church of Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore
Palazzo Braschi (Museo di Roma)
Sant'Agnese in Agone
Literature and films
The piazza is featured in Dan Brown's 2000 thriller Angels and Demons, in which the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi "The Fountain of the four rivers"(the Danube, the Gange, the Nile and the River Plate) is listed as one of the Altars of Science. During June 2008, Ron Howard directed several scenes of the film adaptation of Angels and Demons on the southern section of the Piazza Navona, featuring Tom Hanks.
The piazza is featured in several scenes of director Mike Nichols' 1970 adaptation of Joseph Heller's novel, Catch-22.
The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi was used in the 1990 film Coins in the Fountain. The characters threw coins into the fountain as they made wishes. The Trevi Fountain was used in the 1954 version of the film.
A Fontana Dei Quattro Fiumi, é maior das três fontes, localizada no centro da praça. Na fonte dos rios, Bernini projetou quatro estátuas representando os rios dos quatro continentes: o Nilo, o Danúbio, o rio da Prata e o Ganges. As estátuas estão montadas sobre um obelisco egípcio, sendo circundadas por leões e outros animais fantásticos, tendo no cume uma pomba em bronze, símbolo da paz no mundo e da família Pamphili. Para realçar a rivalidade entre Bernini e Borromini, que fez a igreja de Santa Agnese, os romanos criaram uma lenda em torno da fonte dos rios, que fica em frente a esta igreja. Segundo os romanos, as estátuas duvidam da solidez do projeto de Borromini. A que retrata o rio da Prata, tem a mão erguida, a proteger o corpo do desabamento da igreja; a que retrata o Nilo, traz a cabeça coberta por um véu, a recusar a ver a obra de Borromini.
A seguir um texto, em português, da Wikipédia a Enciclopédia Livre:
Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi
Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fonte dos Quatro Rios), foi esculpida por Gian Lorenzo Bernini entre 1648 e 1651, artista do barroco italiano, foi concebida por uma ordem do Papa Inocencio X o Papa da familia Pamphili, cujo tinha sua casa nesta praça.
Esta localizada na Praça de Navona, em Roma. Ela representa os quatro principais continentes do mundo cortados por seus principais rios: Rio Nilo, na África; Rio Ganges, na Ásia, Rio da Prata, na América e o Rio Danúbio, na Europa.
A seguir, texto em português do site Wiki lingue:
A escultura da Fonte dos Quatro Rios, encontra-se na Piazza Navona de Roma (Itália) e foi criada e talhada pelo escultor e pintor Gian Lorenzo Bernini em 1651 baixo o papado de Inocencio X, em plena época barroca, durante o período mais prolífico do genial artista e cerca da que em outro tempo fué a Chiesa dei San Giacomo de gli Spagnoli
A fonte compõe-se de uma base formada de uma grande piscina elíptica, coroada em seu centro de uma grande mole de mármol, sobre a qual se eleva um obelisco egípcio de época romana, o obelisco de Domiciano .
As estátuas que compõem a fonte, têm umas dimensões maiores que na realidade e são alegorias dos quatro rios principais da Terra (Nilo, Ganges, Danubio, Rio da Prata), a cada um deles em um dos continentes conhecidos na época. Na fonte a cada um destes rios está representado por um gigante de mármol .
As árvores e as plantas que emergem da água e que se encontram entre as rochas, também estão em uma escala maior que na realidade. Os animais e vegetales, gerados de uma natureza boa e útil, pertencem a espécies grandes e potentes (como o leão, cavalo, cocodrilo, serpente, dragão, etc.). O espectador, girando em torno da fonte, descobre novas formas que dantes estavam escondidas ou cobertas pela massa rocosa. Com esta obra, Bernini quer suscitar admiração em quem olha-a, criando um pequeno universo em movimento a imitação do espaço da realidade natural.
A fonte foi submetida a restauração, um trabalho que se deu por concluído em dezembro de 2008. Constitui um dos palcos finque da novela e o filme Anjos e Demónios, à qual é arrojado um dos cardeais sequestrados, e Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) se lança à água para lhe salvar.
Os animais da fonte
A fonte apresenta figuras de sete animais, além de uma pequena pomba e o emblema dos Pamphili. Para poder observá-las basta com dar uma volta ao redor da fonte. As figuras são: um cavalo, uma serpente de terra (na parte mais alta, cerca do obelisco), uma serpente de mar, um delfín (que funciona também como desagüe), um cocodrilo, um leão e um dragão. Notar também a vegetación esculpida que parece real.
Praça Navona.
A seguir, um texto em português, da Wikipédia a Enciclopédia livre:
A Praça Navona (em italiano: Piazza Navona) é uma das mais célebres praças de Roma. A sua forma assemelha-se à dos antigos estádios da Roma Antiga, seguindo a planificação do Estádio de Domiciano (também denominado entre os italianos de Campomarzio, em virtude da natureza rude e esforçada dos exercícios - manejo de armas - e desportos atléticos que aí se realizavam). Albergaria até 20 mil espectadores sentados nas bancadas. A origem do nome deve-se ao nome pomposo que lhe foi dado ao tempo do Imperador Domiciano (imperador entre 81-96 d.c.): "Circo Agonístico" (do étimo grego Agonia, que significa precisamente - exercício, luta, combate). Actualmente o nome corresponde à corruptela da forma posterior in agone, depois nagone e finalmente navone, que por mero acaso significa também "grande navio" na língua italiana.
As casas que entretanto e com o passar dos anos foram sendo construídas sobre as bancadas, delimitariam e circunscreveriam até à actualidade o tão afamado Circo Agonístico.
A Navona passou de fato a caracterizar-se como praça nos últimos anos do século XV, quando o mercado da cidade foi transferido do Capitólio para aí. Foi remodelada para um estilo monumental por vontade do Papa Inocêncio X, da família Pamphili e é motivo de orgulho da cidade de Roma durante o período barroco. Sofreu intervenções de Gian Lorenzo Bernini (a famosa Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fonte dos Quatro Rios, 1651) ao centro); de Francesco Borromini e Girolamo Gainaldi (a igreja de Sant'Agnese in Agone); e de Pietro de Cortona, que pintou a galeria no Palácio Pamphilj, sede da embaixada do Brasil na Itália desde 1920.
O mercado tradicional voltou a ser transferido em 1869 para o Campo de' Fiori, embora a praça mantenha também um papel fundamental em servir de palco para espectáculos de teatro e corridas de cavalos. A partir de 1652, em todos os Sábados e Domingos de Agosto, a praça tornava-se num lago para celebrar a própria família Pamphili.
A praça dispõe ainda duas outras fontes esculpidas por Giacomo della Porta - a Fontana di Nettuno (1574), na área norte da praça, e a Fontana del Moro (1576), na área sul.
Na extremidade norte da praça, por debaixo dos edifícios, foram postas a descoberto ruínas antiquíssimas, a uma cota muito abaixo da actual, comprovando a primeva utilização daquele imenso terreiro. Outros monumentos com entrada para a praça:
Stabilimenti Spagnoli
Palazzo de Cupis
Palazzo Torres Massimo Lancellotti
Church of Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore
Curiosidades
Na Piazza Navona, está localizado o Palazzo Pamphilj, propriedade da República Federativa do Brasil, sede da Embaixada Brasileira e da Missão Diplomática do Brasil para a Itália.
"The objects, in a house, they are an extension of us. Inanimate, but strangely intimate. They mark the time and they enclose emotions."
(Hayat, Faíza)
This isn't my grandfather's house... but it has a signboard with the name of the house 'Casa do Avô', or in english 'grandfather's house'.
view large!!!!!! unless you are stupid
makin up for 137/365
that dress is from urban outfitters.
i'm all caught up on my 365 again :D still haven't figured out the nightmare of how i'm going to post 3 weeks worth of 365s when i get back from the internetless nerd camp...any ideas?
AGAIN, 1 HOUR IN THE LIFE OF A PHOTOGRAPHER.
On the MONT ST MICHEL.
There are many special moments in your life, of many different kinds… but some just surpass everything.
Often unexpected, and yet so intense that they stay with you like it happened yesterday, etched in the front-room (lol) of your brain.
You know when it happens, it alters your state of mind, your are in a HYPER mode, alert, you’ll remember the sounds, the smells… and record the ‘visual’, because you are a photographer!
Such an experience happened to me on the Mont St Michel.
It was getting later but not cooler, we decided to linger on in the church a while longer, we’d been around, so we sat on the benches, soaking up the atmosphere, admiring this in history-seeped monument.
Suddenly amongst the lazy crowds, I saw a fast movement, a nun dressed in a pale blue habit, a white veil… and a pair of boots!
My camera was up before I realised it, lol. I must be the fastest ‘shooter’ in the West?
Then she was gone, through another door I saw another, she walked reverently, went and stood for a moment in front of the Madonna. And left.
More activity, I saw a young monk dressed all in black, there was a coming and going, I waited with a real sense of expectation; the ropes had been removed from around the beautifully ceramic-tiled floor in front of the altar.
A silence has descended, people whisper, the odd child cries, hushed quickly by the parents…
Another nun appears, she is wearing a white cape, carrying books and what seems like a small stool.
We watch as she enters the center of the church, she bows and greats the holy cross, then takes her place, kneels down and, puts the stool under her thighs..
Why not listen to this and watch the whole set as a slideshow? www.youtube.com/watch?v=drU7ESj4HvY&feature=related
(… a suivre… more to follow)
THANX, M, (*_*)
Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
For the story of Day 1:
magdaindigo.blogspot.com/2009/09/start-of-our-adventures-...
For the story of Day 2, part 1:
magdaindigo.blogspot.com/2009/09/day-2-of-our-adventures-...
For the story of Day 2, part 2:
magdaindigo.blogspot.com/2009/10/day-2-of-our-adventures-...
See where this picture was taken. [?]
GHOSTS OF THE PRAIRIE
HAUNTED ILLINOIS
BLOODY HISTORY OF CAVE-IN-ROCK
The History & Hauntings of Southern Illinois
The rivers and waterways of southern Illinois have always played a dominant role in its history and folklore. The early settlers, like the French, established themselves along the rivers and later, farmers would come to realize how much more simple it was to use the river to transport grain to market. The era of the steamboat created towns like Chester, Elizabethtown, Cairo, Metropolis, Golconda and Shawneetown. These towns became shipping ports with flour and lumber mills and even an iron foundry in Grand Tower. Travelers came to the towns by boat and hotels and establishments on the riverfront flourished.
Many stories have emerged from the rivers and the towns surrounding them, of wrecks, lawlessness, pirates and even ghosts. Perhaps the most famous pirate location on the river was an outlaw hideout called Cave-in-Rock, which is located along the Ohio River at the southeastern edge of the state. The cave became the stronghold of pirates who plundered flatboats on the river and who murdered and robbed travelers. It was also here, around 1800, that a robber named Samuel Mason began operating a tavern and gambling parlor in the cave. He used whiskery, cards and prostitutes to lure travelers in off the river and many of these customers found themselves beaten, robbed and sometimes dead, after tying up at the crude wharf.
Cave-in-Rock, located close to the town of the same name, was a perfect place for criminal enterprises along the river. At that time, it boasted a partially concealed entrance and a wide view up and down the river. The cave is about one hundred feet deep, with a level floor and a vertical chimney that ascends to the bluff above.
Samuel Mason operated here for several years. He was said to be a man of gigantic size and possessing no conscience, he killed for both pleasure and profit. He also operated along the Mississippi River and on the fabled Natchez Trace, a series of trails in the south that became known as a haven for thieves and pirates. Eventually a reward was offered for Mason, $1000 dead or alive, and a hatchet was put into his back by one of his own men. This traitorous wretch never collected the reward though as he was in turn killed by other members of the gang. Mason’s cronies eventually scattered to the wind and other outlaws took their place at Cave-In-Rock.
The pirates were also said to have preyed upon ferryboat passengers at Ford’s Ferry, a few miles upriver. The ferryman himself, James Ford, was said to have been in league with the pirates. He was also said to be one of the “slave catchers” in the employ of John Hart Crenshaw. Ford eventually came under attack by the vigilante “Regulators” and this would lead to his demise. One night, in 1834, he was having dinner at the home of a Mrs. Vincent Simpson, the widow of one of Ford’s men. He was eating his food at the table and someone brought him a candle and asked that he read a letter aloud for him. Using the candle as a signal, the “Regulators” outside opened fire, aiming between the logs of the cabin. Ford died with 17 bullets in his body!
For years after his death, the slaves told stories about how Jim Ford had died and “landed in Hell head first”. At his funeral, attended only by his widow, a few family members, neighbors and some slaves, a terrible thunderstorm came up. Just as Ford’s coffin was being lowered into the ground, lightning flashed and a deafening clap of thunder filled the air, causing one of the slaves to loose his grip on the rope holding the coffin. The box dropped into the grave head first and wedged there at a strange angle. The heavy rain that began to fall made it impossible to move the casket, so it was covered over the way that it had fallen. This left Ford to spend eternity standing on his head.
Ford’s death would not bring an end to the thievery at Cave-in-Rock. Many of the remaining pirates continued to prey on travelers from the sanctuary of the cave, while others joined with villains like John Murrell and his “Mystic Band”. Murrell was a “slave catcher”, thief and murderer, who killed his first man when he was only sixteen. He later died after serving time in prison.
By the late 1830’s, most of the outlaws, pirates and counterfeiters were driven away from Cave-in-Rock and the bloody past of the place began to fade with time. As years passed, the cave became more of a recreation area than a den of thieves and remains a natural attraction in southern Illinois today. The legends have never died completely though and many still remember the area’s blood-soaked past... and the stories of ghosts. In years gone by, travelers passing on the river often claimed to hear the keening moans of the dead echoing out from the mouth of the cave. These same cries are still sometimes reported today. Do these eerie voices belong to the crime victims of long ago, who were lured to their death at Cave-in-Rock? That answer remains as mysterious as the history of the cave itself.
(C) Copyright 2002 by Troy Taylor. All Rights Reserved.
From Wikipedia:
The Cave
Cave-in-Rock's primary feature is a striking 55-foot-wide cave, formed by water. The first European to come across it was M. de Lery of France, who found it in 1739 and called it "caverne dans Le Roc".
History
From the 1790s to the 1870s the area around Cave-in-Rock was plagued by what historians as early as the 1830s referred to as the "Ancient Colony of Horse-Thieves, Counterfeiters and Robbers", and better known today due to Otto Rothert's history early in the 20th Century as the "Outlaws of Cave-in-Rock".
Other names for the cave include Rocking Cave, Rock-and-Cave and House of Nature.
In 1790 counterfeiters Philip Alston and John Duff (John McElduff) used the cave as some type of rendezvous, though details are scarce. Although folklore printed in 19th Century histories failed to establish a prior connection between the two men, both lived in the area of Natchez, Mississippi, at the start of the Revolutionary War.
By the arrival of Samuel Mason at the cave in 1797 Duff was living upriver a few miles either at Battery Rock, or across the Ohio River at what would become Caseyville, Kentucky. Mason had previously made Diamond Island and Red Banks his headquarters. In 1797 he moved his base of operations to the cave and made it the home of river pirates. Two of Mason's brothers had been business partners of Duff at Kaskaskia, Illinois, in the 1780s.
James Wilson is the next leader of the Cave-in-Rock band, and may have been the Wilson who married one of Capt. Mason's nieces. In 1799 he's remembered for installing a sign reading "Wilson's Liquor Vault and House of Entertainment" over the cave entrance. Rather than be the actual leader he may have simply been the front man for the operation.
By this time in either 1798 or in the spring of 1799 Duff and his associates had been making salt (or looking for silver) at the Great Salt Springs area along the Saline River in southeastern Illinois. Soldiers from Fort Massac captured him and three of his men named Blakely, Hazle and Hall. The soldiers took their captives by boat down the Saline River to the Ohio, and then down the Ohio to below the cave. Although the old histories don't explain why they stopped at the cave, subsequent events indicate it may have taken place during the spring of 1799 when Wilson was running his operation, thus making the stop one of refreshment and entertainment. During the stop Duff and his men escaped and captured the soldiers. They placed them tied up in the boat and pushed the boat into the river to float downstream to the fort.
The infamous Harpes also reached the cave region in the spring of 1799. They were Big Harpe and Little Harpe, who were considered by many historians to be brothers Micajah and Wiley Harpe, though some sources provide different names and indicate they were first cousins instead. Contemporary references often left off the (e) at the end of their name. They are associated with two separate stories at the cave and one at the infamous Potts Spring area to the north.
The first story involves them pushing a young couple off the top of the cliff. They survived. The second involves an act of piracy where only one man survived. Later he was forced off the cliff as well, this time involving a horse. The Potts Spring story is simply recalled as a murder of two or three hunters.
Mason and Wilson's time at the cave may have come to an end during the summer of 1799 when attacked by a group of bounty-hunters/vigilantes under the leadership of Capt. Young who called themselves, "The Exterminators".
No contemporary accounts show the cave occupied by river pirates in the first decade of the 19th Century, but the outlawry continued as the Harpes retreated back into Kentucky, Mason traveled downriver and began to focus on highway robbery along the Natchez Trace, and Duff was killed by assassins on June 4, 1799. By the middle of the decade church services were being held in the cave. These Christians eventually formed Big Creek Baptist Church, the first church organized in southeastern Illinois in 1807.
The next generation of outlaws in the region fall either under the Sturdivant Gang, a group of counterfeiters based at Sturdivant Fort on top of the bluffs overlooking the Ohio River at what is now Rosiclare, Illinois; or the Ford's Ferry Gang led by James Ford based a few miles upriver from the cave at what became known as Ford's Ferry, Kentucky. The Potts Inn stories take place during this time as well.
Law enforcement officials led three raids against Sturdivant Fort in 1822 and 1823. Although it's not clear what happened following the raids, the gang disappears from the area by 1830. The Ford's Ferry Gang was broken up following the mysterious deaths or murders of James Ford's two sons followed by his own assassination in 1833.
Even after the death of Ford, outlaws remained. Isaiah L. Potts operated Potts Inn on the Ford's Ferry Road in Illinois north of the cave where travelers checked in, but sometimes failed to check out. The legend of Billy Potts, the returning son murdered unknowingly by his father, likely took place in the months following Ford's assassination. Records show the elder Potts and his wife separating in 1834 or 1835.
Eason Bigsby or Bixby also took up counterfeiting in Hardin County in the decades following the Sturdivants. His attack on his wife Anna in an effort to find out where her first husband's money was buried dates to the early 1860s and led to the legends of Anna Bixby, her treasure and her ghost. She actually survived running off of a cliff in the dark. She's remembered in the 21st Century as the namesake for the Anna Bixby Women's Center in nearby Harrisburg, Illinois.
Although not completely connected to the Ancient Colony, the Logan Belt Gang terrorized Hardin County in the 1870s and 1880s until Belt himself was assassinated.
Pop Culture
Popular culture recalls the river pirate history in scenes from Walt Disney's Davy Crockett and the River Pirates, and the MGM classic How the West Was Won. Both filmed at the cave as well as Battery Rock. In 1997, The History Channel show, "In Search of History" also filmed at the site for an episode entitled "River Pirates"."
Geography
Cave-In-Rock is located at 37°28′12″N, 88°9′59″W (37.470050, -88.166297).GR1
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²). 1.0 km² (0.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (7.14%) is water.
Here's an intersting story about America's first serial killers that crossed this area many times:
www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/history/harpe_...
Montblanc, Tarragona (Spain).
Spinning at 33 rpm in the show window of a store.
Dando vueltas a 33 rpm en el escaparate de un tienda.
ENGLISH
The phonograph, or gramophone, was the most common device for playing recorded sound from the 1870s through the 1980s.
The famous phonograph was the fourth device for recording and replaying sound. The term phonograph ("sound writer") is derived from the Greek words φωνή (meaning "sound" or "voice" and transliterated as phoné) and γραφή (meaning "writing" and transliterated as graphé). Similar related terms gramophone and graphophone have similar root meanings. The coinage, particularly the use of the -graph root, may have been influenced by the then-existing words phonographic and phonography, which referred to a system of phonetic shorthand; in 1852 The New York Times carried an advertisement for "Professor Webster's phonographic class", and in 1859 the New York State Teachers' Association tabled a motion to "employ a phonographic recorder" to record its meetings.
F. B. Fenby was the original author of the word. An inventor in Worcester, Massachusetts, he was granted a patent in 1863 for an unsuccessful device called the "Electro-Magnetic Phonograph". His concept detailed a system that would record a sequence of keyboard strokes onto paper tape. Although no model or workable device was ever made, it is often seen as a link to the concept of punched paper for player piano rolls (1880s), as well as Herman Hollerith's punch card tabulator (used in the 1890 United States census), a distant precursor of the modern computer.
Arguably, any device used to record sound or reproduce recorded sound could be called a type of "phonograph", but in common practice it has come to mean historic technologies of sound recording.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, the alternative term talking machine was sometimes used. This term was more in line with Thomas Edison's early view that his invention was better suited for spoken recordings such as dictation than for musical recordings.
More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph
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CASTELLANO
Un tocadiscos es un sistema de reproducción del sonido hijo del fonógrafo ya que usa el mismo tipo de tecnologia, sustituyendo el cilindro por un Disco de vinilo. El tocadiscos también ha sido conocido como platina de discos, giradiscos, tornamesa, fonochasis o pickup. Ninguna de estas cuatro últimas nomenclaturas tiene demasiada aceptación.
El fonógrafo, fue el dispositivo más común para reproducir sonido grabado desde la década de 1870 hasta la década de 1980.
La primera invención conocida de un dispositivo capaz de grabar sonido fue el "autofonógrafo", inventado por el francés Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville y patentado el 25 de marzo de 1857. Podía transcribir sonido a un medio visible, pero no tenía un modo de ser reproducido después. El aparato consistía de un cuerno o un barril que recogía las ondas hacia una membrana a la que estaba atado una cerda. Cuando llegaba el sonido, ésta vibraba y se movía y el sonido podía grabarse en un medio visible. Inicialmente, el fonoautógrafo grababa en un cristal ahumado. Una versión posterior usaba un papel también ahumado en un tambor o cilindro. Otra versión dibujaba una línea representando el sonido en un rollo de papel. El fonoautógrafo era una curiosidad de laboratorio para el estudio de la acústica. Era usado para determinar la frecuencia de un tono musical y para estudiar el sonido y el habla. No se entendió hasta después del desarrollo del fonógrafo que la onda grabada por el fonoautógrafo era de hecho una grabación del sonido que sólo necesitaba un medio de reproducción adecuado para sonar.
El fonógrafo fue el que, hasta 1876, se creyó el primer aparato capaz de grabar sonido, aunque sí fue el primero que pudo reproducirlo después. Thomas Alva Edison anunció la invención de su primer fonógrafo, el 21 de noviembre de 1877, mostró el dispositivo por primera vez el 29 de noviembre de ese mismo año y lo patentó el 19 de febrero de 1878.
El fonógrafo utiliza un sistema de grabación mecánica analógica en el cual las ondas sonoras son transformadas en vibraciones mecánicas mediante un transductor acústico-mecánico. Estas vibraciones mueven un estilete que labra un surco helicoidal sobre un cilindro de fonógrafo. Para reproducir el sonido se invierte el proceso.
Al principio se utilizaron cilindros de cartón recubiertos de estaño, más tarde de cartón parafinado y, finalmente, de cera sólida. El cilindro de cera, de mayor calidad y durabilidad, se comercializó desde 1889, un año después de que apareciera el gramófono.
El 2 de diciembre de 1889 un representante de la casa Edison, Theo Wangeman, grabó una interpretación del celebérrimo compositor Johannes Brahms. Se trataba de un segmento de las Danzas Húngaras en una versión para piano solo. Esta grabación aún se conserva, pero su calidad es pésima.
Más info: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocadiscos, es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fon%c3%b3grafo
Description
The swift fox Vulpes velox, a member of the canid, or dog, family, is related to wolves, coyotes, dogs, and other foxes. It can be distinguished from other kinds of foxes found in Canada, such as red, arctic, and grey foxes, by its small size (it is about the size of a house cat), the black spot on each side of its nose, and its black-tipped tail.
In winter, the swift fox’s fur is long and dense, mainly buff-grey on the head, back, and upper surface of the tail, and orange-tan on the sides, legs, and lower tail surface. The throat, chest, and belly are light coloured (buff to white). In summer, the fur is short and coarse and more reddish grey.
Males are slightly larger than females, average weights being 2.45 and 2.25 kg, respectively. The animal stands about 30 cm high at the shoulder, and its total length is about 80 cm.
Early settlers of the Canadian plains knew the swift fox as the “kit” fox, and the two names have been used interchangeably since that time. However, studies of the prairie kit fox of Canada and the central United States and the desert kit fox of the southwestern United States showed that the two animals have some differences in appearance. Hence, the plains-dwelling species was designated the “swift” fox, and its desert cousin retained the name “kit” fox.
The swift fox can be distinguished from the kit fox Vulpes macrotis by its shorter, more widely spaced ears and its more rounded and dog-like head. The kit fox is broader between the eyes and has a narrower snout. The swift fox also has a slightly shorter tail, averaging of 52 percent of its body length compared with 62 percent for the kit fox.
Information from www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=105&cid=8
Opened in 1829, the ESP was the first modern prison in the world; it pioneered the idea that if prisoners were given quiet time to reflect rather than being tortured, they would feel penitent (this is the root of the word "penitentiary") and could rejoin society as productive members. Thus, for many decades the prisoners here were kept in their own cells and were prohibited from interacting with their fellow inmates. They exercised in individual, walled outdoor areas that were attached to their cells. It was only much later that "solitary confinement" came to acquire a negative connotation, as a special punishment for infractions committed while already in prison.
Among the ESP's more illustrious inmates in its 142 years of operation were Al Capone (who spent a year here), and the bank robber Willie Sutton. But perhaps its most unusual inmate was a dog, Pep (a black Labrador retriever). Said canine reportedly killed a cat belonging to Pennsylvania governor Gifford Pinchot; the governor retaliated by sentencing the dog to life in prison. I even saw a picture of the dog's admittance papers (he was admitted in 1924). But then the Governor got a lot of bad press over this, so he changed his story and said that the dog was his, and that he had donated it to the prison for the betterment of the inmates. Yeah, right.
In the mid-19th century, the ESP was quite the tourist attraction. Its distinguished visitors in that era included Alexis de Tocqueville and a young Charles Dickens. Before embarking on his first trip to the U.S. in 1842, Dickens said that the two places in this nation that he most wanted to see were Niagara Falls, and the Eastern State Penitentiary.
11.11.11 Occupy the Streets. Occupy the World
O movimento "Ocupar Lisboa" está a planear fazer uma série de workshops no próximo dia 11.11.11. Em vez dos protestos públicos esperados no mundo inteiro, os elementos deste grupo reúnem-se no acampamento em frente ao Parlamento, assumindo uma atitude pacífica - sob o slogan "Ocupa-te a ti Próprio". Vão estar disponíveis para fazer uma série de workshops, de acordo com os conhecimentos de algumas pessoas do grupo, tais como: filosofias orientais, reiki, permacultura, criatividade, imaginação, expressão livre, olaria, música e teatro, entre outras.
O principal objectivo deste dia é atrair mais pessoas para participar nestes eventos, dar-lhes a conhecer os jovens criativos que eles são e levar mais pessoas a aderir a este movimento.
O grupo quer tornar-se maior para ter mais gente para levar a mensagem...
The movement Occupy Lisbon is planning a series of workshops for this day. Instead of public protests, the members are going to be in the camping in front of Parliament, assuming a peaceful attitude and - with the slogan "Occupy Yourself" - they will be available to do several workshops according to the expertise some people in the group have, such as: oriental philosophies, reiki, permaculture, criativity, imagination, free expression, pottery, music, theatre, among others.
The main goal of this day is to motivate more people to participate in these happenings, let them know the young and creative people behind "Occupy Lisbon" and make them join the movement. The movement needs more members to grow stronger and be able to spread the message...
Patio de los Cipreses - El Generalife, Granada (Spain).
ENGLISH
This patio has a central pond surrounded by a myrtle hedge and in the middle of the pond there is another little pond with a stone fountain. The patio is so called because of the old cypresses that are in the verandas, the most famous of which is the Cypress of the Sultana (Ciprés de la Sultana) in which, according to the legend, Boabdil's wife used to meet a knight of the Abencerrajes family. This triggered the death of the people of this noble tribe, whose throats were slit.
A big 19th century stone staircase with a portico and two lions made of glazed pottery of Granada leads to the high part of the gardens, which go from the Hill of the Sun (Cerro del Sol) to the street Rey Chico. These gardens are hanging gardens that include simple vegetable gardens, myrtle clumps, trimmed boxes or hundred-year-old cypresses.
One of the staircases that are in these gardens is especially beautiful because of its beauty and originality. It is supposed to be the oldest staircase in these gardens (it already existed in the Muslim period). The staircase is divided in three flights, each with a fountain and handrails that are channels with running water. The staircase is surrounded by laurels that join their crowns and form a vault. The sun shines through this laurel vault and the light contributes to the extremely beautiful scene.
Two regal pleasure palaces, Palace of Dar al-Arusa and Palace of the Alixares, stood on the lands covering the area between the valley of the river Darro and that of the river Genil. They were abandoned and the passing of time has ended up destroying them. Recent excavations discovered them and showed their richness and magnificence, as well as the beautiful decorative elements that have been found.
Source: www.alhambradegranada.org/historia/alhambrageneralifepcip...
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CASTELLANO
Este patio tiene un estanque central rodeado por setos de arrayán y en el centro del estanque existe otro pequeño estanque con una fuente de piedra. El patio recibe su nombre de los viejos cipreses que encontramos en los cenadores, el más famoso de los cuales es el Ciprés de la Sultana en el que, según la leyenda, se veían la esposa de Boadbil y un caballero abencerraje, lo que desencadenó finalmente la muerte de los señores de esta noble tribu, que fueron degollados.
A través de una escalinata de piedra del siglo XIX con pórtico y dos leones de cerámica vidriada granadina, se llega a la parte alta de los jardines, que se extienden desde el cerro del Sol hasta el camino del Rey Chico, jardines colgantes que van desde simples huertas hasta macizos de arrayán, bojes recortados o cipreses centenarios.
Cabe destacar una de las escalinatas de las que encontramos a lo largo de los jardines por su belleza y originalidad, y que supuestamente es la más antigua del jardín (ya existía en tiempos de los árabes). Está dividida en tres tramos, en cada uno de los cuales se encuentra una fuente con surtidor, flanquedada por canales que conforman las barandillas y por donde bajan ruidosamente las aguas. La escalinata se encuentra rodeada por laureles, que unen sus copas formando una bóveda por la que se filtran los rayos del sol, configurando una estampa de una belleza indescriptible.
En los terrenos que van desde el valle del Darro al del Genil se alzaban dos regios palacios de recreo, el de Dar al-Arusa y el de los Alixares, que el abandono y el paso del tiempo terminaron por destruir, hasta que recientes excavaciones señalaron su situación, poniendo de relieve su riqueza, la magnitud de las ruinas descubiertas y los elementos decorativos encontrados.
Fuente: www.alhambradegranada.org/historia/alhambraGeneralifePCip...
A friend of mine restores classic cars for a hobby/side-job and asked me to come over and shoot one of his cars. This is actually the '65 Mustang that he built for his mother. This classic started out as a coupe, but he changed it to a convertible. He also customized the front end and back end. The engine is also not original. He replaced it with a 302 from a late 80's Mustang. The car is really beautiful. He does nice work.
This was my first attempt at shooting a car and it definitely presented some challenges. I used my two speedlights to light it and ended up compositing several shots in Photoshop to get the right lighting and look I wanted. I was shooting the speedlights at full power and sometimes 1/2 power since I had the aperture tighted up to f10. Could have really used some Alien Bees or something here. Anyway, I think I did a pretty good job and the end result is pretty cool. I showed this final shot to my friend and he was really happy with it, which is what really matters here.
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Equipment: Canon 40D, EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM
Strobist: main image and base image for background: 580EX II, camera left, bounced in 45" umbrella, LP120, camera right, bare aimed at side of vehicle.
layer: LP120, camera right, bare, aimed at front fender and wheel.
layer: 580EX II, camera right, handheld over the back end of the car, through umbrella to light up the convertible top cover a bit more.
El Casino de Agua Caliente se construyó en Tijuana, México, en 1927, con motivo de la ley seca de EEUU. Fue famoso por ser el único en la región.
Su ubicación geográfica y la atmósfera de sumo exotismo atrajo un creciente flujo de turismo, principalmente hollywoodense, que cruzaba Ia frontera para trasladarse a territorio mexicano y gozar de los pasatiempos prohibidos en su país. La intención fue crear un espejismo: ese lugar semiárido fue forestado con palma datilera, entre otras especies, y convertido en un verdadero oasis semejante a los sitios misionales de Mulegé y San Ignacio en Baja California Sur.
El estilo arquitectónico googie de tipo ecléctico utilizado en el diseño del conjunto, respondió a la expectativa de los clientes estadounidenses por encontrar el legendario Old Mexico, indispensable como escenario para el desarrollo del turismo.
Agua Caliente] jugó un papel decisivo en la conformación del sistema turístico Tijuana-San Diego, pues a partir de su construcción, Tijuana quedó incluida en el recorrido de turistas por el sur de California, EUA.
El Casino de Agua Caliente recibía gente de diversos paises, tales como Francia, España y del centro de la República, en esos tiempos los casinos estaban prohibidos al igual que en la actualidad, así que los dueños del Casino construyeron túneles subterráneos para escapar a la frontera. Se cuenta que esos túneles también los usaba un traficante de licores (que en esos tiempos estaba prohibido en Estados Unidos), así que compraba licores en el Casino y usaba los túneles para cruzar la frontera y venderlos al mejor postor. Después, durante la presidencia de Lázaro Cárdenas se mandó que el terreno donde estaba el casino se usara para hacer escuelas y así favorecer la educación de la zona, se construyeron en esa zona 3 escuelas: La Secundaria Politecnica No.1 PTE. Lázaro Cárdenas (alias "la Poli" y la primera secundaria federal), La Preparatoria Lázaro Cárdenas] y La Secundaria Tecnica No.1
Así mismo, fue uno de los primeros complejos turísticos deI país, que ofrecía al visitante servicios de hospedaje, recreación, espectáculo y juegos de azar (casino, hipódromo y galgódromo).
Se podía acceder a él por ferrocarril (línea San Diego-Arizona), con una estación de abordaje adyacente al galgódromo; por automóvil, accediendo al conjunto por una desviación deI camino Tijuana-Tecate bacia una rampa de acceso para autos que terminaba en una glorieta central, alrededor de Ia cual se dispusieron los edificios deI hotel, casino y balneario; y por aeroplano, para lo cual contaba con una pista y una torre-faro.
Con un estilo misional californiano, Ia fachada frontal deI hotel semejaba una espadaña; en el centro tenía un gran patio cuadrangular llamado "Patio de Ias Palmeras", rodeado de portales con arcos de medio punto. Los clientes podían hospedarse también en una serie de bungalows -cuyo diseño estaba basado en variantes deI estilo neocolonial- dispuestos todos en forma de una "villa" en medio de sendas peatonales y frondosos jardines.
EI casino contaba con varios salones de juegos (como el Salón de Oro), salón de baile, de espectáculos, restaurantes y bar. En estos escenarios se inició Ia famosa actriz Rita Hayworth, con su nombre original de Rita Cancino y su gala de "Tarde Mexicana ". Agua Caliente se convirtió en el lugar predilecto de Ia creciente población relacionada con el boom hollywoodense, atrayendo a artistas de cine como Clark Gable, Hermanos Marx, Jean Harlow, Jimmy Durante, Bing Crosby, Dolores deI Río y Lupe Vélez, entre otros, y fue escenario de algunos largometrajes (In Caliente con Dolores deI Río y The Champ).
Fue en el balneario de estilo neomudéjar donde mayormente se logró el mencionado efecto de espejismo mediante Ia presencia de palma datilera y el agua de Ia alberca proveniente deI manantial de aguas termales. Contaba con un vestíbulo de estilo neoislámico semejante a una mezquita, con arcos ojivales y artesonado de maderas ricamente decoradas con lacerías e intrincados diseños geométricos, dentro de Ia cual se encontraban tiendas de joyería y perfumería. EI balneario incluía baño turco y ruso, al igual que una alberca recubierta con mosaicos de estilizados diseños, provista de asoleadero con bancas perimetrales estilo art déco. Acorde con el diseño deI balneario, Ia chimenea de Ias calderas tomó forma de alminar o minarete propio de Ias mezquitas islámicas, y fue decorada con mosaicos policromos, rematándose con herrerías forjadas que aún se aprecian en su altura.
Además, el complejo tenía lavandería, cochera, imprenta, una guardería con educación primaria para hijos de Ios trabajadores y una estación de radio propia, Ia XEBG, que generó Ia importante innovación de radiodifusión: el transmisor portátil.
Posteriormente fueron construidos el Hipódromo de Agua Caliente (1 km hacia el sur) y el Club de Golf, ambos con un estilo arquitectónico acorde con el conjunto.
Prohibición [editar]
En el periodo presidencial deI general Lázaro Cárdenas fueron prohibidos los juegos de azar en el país, y el casino de Agua Caliente fue clausurado y expropiados el predio e instalaciones, por lo que sus puertas fueron cerradas definitivamente.
En Ia década de los años 1940 los edificios deI complejo Agua Caliente fueron reutilizados (previa expropiación deI inmueble y entrega a Ia SEP) para instalación deI Instituto Técnico Industrial, internado orientado a extender Ia educación a los sectores rurales desatendidos deI estado. Los espacios se adaptaron perfectamente a su nueva función educativa: sólo se requirieron pequeños cambios que no alteraron el esquema original deI conjunto arquitectónico.
Así, el hotel se convirtió en dormitorio para los alumnos; en los lujosos salones de juego y espectáculo se instalaron Ia biblioteca, sala de lectura, teatro y salón de actos deI planteI, y en Ia cochera, taIleres para el aprendizaje de carpintería, electricidad y mecánica; el balneario sirvió para prácticas de natación de los estudiantes, en cuyo vestíbulo se ubicaron Ias oficinas de la dirección deI Instituto; los terrenos deI galgódromo se transformaron en campos deportivos, y los bungalows se otorgaron como viviendas transitorias a los profesores deI plantel. Únicamente se construyeron aulas para Ias clases teóricas.
EI papel de Agua Caliente como centro escolar es de gran significado en Ia historia regional, pues fue pionero en Ia educación superior en el noroeste deI país.
Durante el periodo en que funcionó como internado, dio la bienvenida a un importante grupo de docentes refugiados de Ia guerra civil española, acogiéndolos dentro de su planta de maestros.
Así mismo, en los edificios de Agua Caliente se instaló, durante Ia segunda guerra mundial, el primer Banco de Sangre de Latinoamérica, así como una base de actividades militares comandadas por el general Lázaro Cárdenas, en donde se firmaron acuerdos con representantes del ejército estadounidense.
Pero el sitio y su arquitectura fueron reutilizados por segunda ocasión a principios de los años 1960 cuando varias escuelas fueron instaladas en los antiguos edificios: en el ex hotel, una secundaria técnica; en el exgalgódromo, una escuela primaria; en Ia cafetería deI mismo, el jardín de niños "Carmen Moreno Corral", y en el balneario permaneció el uso de oficinas administrativas. De esta manera, sólo mediante una segunda reutilización de Ios inmuebles se garantizó su ulterior permanencia.
Se borran sus huellas [editar]
Alrededor de 1938, con Ia expropiación deI completo turístico, se suscitó una falta de control que fue aprovechada para el saqueo de mobiliario, accesorios y otros objetos.
En 1939, cuando Ias instalaciones fueron turnadas a Ia SEP para establecer el internado, se hicieron mínimas adaptaciones que no trastornaron Ia fisonomía original deI conjunto.
Tras dejar de funcionar el internado por falta de recursos, en Ia década de los años1950 el sitio quedó temporalmente sin uso. Tiempo después, ya bajo Ia custodia de Ia Secretaría deI Patrimonio Nacional, se destinó una de Ias secciones deI área de bungalows para un destacamento deI Ejército mexicano.
En Ia misma década, Ia torre-faro de Agua Caliente fue dañada por un incendio que oriIló a su total demolición, pero fue reconstruida en Ios ochenta en un importante crucero de Ia ciudad, en un intento por recuperar Ia imagen de Ia famosa torre que marcaba el acceso al sitio.
En 1967 se incendió el Salón de Oro deI casino, perdiéndose una de Ias áreas más valiosas y ricamente decoradas. Este siniestro, junto con otros que igualmente ocasionaron cuantiosos daños, convirtió el complejo de Agua Caliente en minas, aunque hubo una etapa de actividad escolar en Ias instalaciones menos dañadas.
En 1975 se demolió casi Ia totalidad de Ios edificios, decisión tomada por Ia SEPANAL, entonces responsable deI inmueble. Sólo una mínima parte deI conjunto no fue tocada.
Actualmente el área está ocupada por cinco planteles escolares oficiales y sus correspondientes aulas CAPFCE, ubicadas en los sitios de Ias antiguas construcciones ya demolidas, entre zonas verdes con diversas especies de vegetación.
De Ia arquitectura original sobreviven dos conjuntos de edificios y una serie de monumentos dispersos, enclavados en Ia traza urbana en torno a una glorieta central.
El Conjunto Minarete, cuyos monumentos formaron parte deI balneario, contiene Ia alberca con sus bancas perimetrales art déco, "el arco" ojival de una de Ias fachadas con su portada de mosaico de azulejo policromo, Ia escalera de ingreso con su fabulosa fuente de cerámica vidriada y Ia chimenea en forma de minarete, que sobresale deI paisaje urbano deI área. Este elemento fue fisurado recientemente por Ias compactaciones deI terreno de una construcción colindante.
El Conjunto de Bungalows persiste en su totalidad, debido a que han sido permanentemente utilizados y gracias a los inquilinos que han mantenido en gran medida Ias características originales de su arquitectura y jardinería, apoyando el ambiente frondoso. No obstante, son evidentes algunas alteraciones a Ia arquitectura original y adaptaciones a nuevos usos. Así mismo, recientemente se han instalado carteleras comerciales que dañan el paisaje y bloquean Ia vista.
Si bien los monumentos existentes representan sólo una parte de lo que fue Ia totalidad deI centro turístico, éstos son importantes testimonios significativos de Ia historia de esa parte deI país.
EI recuerdo colectivo de este sitio -deI que derivaron también mitos y Ieyendas como el de "Ios túneles" o el de "La Faraona-, ha generado el brote de signos nostálgicos por el pasado de Agua Caliente, evidente en Ia construcción de Ia réplica de Ia famosa Torre de Agua Caliente y en Ia reproducción de su imagen en Iogotipos de organizaciones y comercios.
Esfuerzos por su conservación [editar]
Se ha señalado ya Ia falta de visión por parte de Ias autoridades para preservar el inmueble. En este caso, la actitud oficial no sólo fue de pasividad, sino que la propia autoridad fue la promotora de la demolición sistemática de los restos del complejo Agua Caliente en 1975. Indudablemente, en la decisión estuvo presente el prejuicio local que quería borra todo recuerdo de la propagación de bares y juego de azar, considerando que el complejo pertenecía a un periodo vergonzoso de la historia.
Fue de los sesenta cuando surgió la preocupación por la conservación del sitio y se reutilizaron los edificios, que estaban expuestos a los incendios, al deterioro y al vandalismo.
A principios de la decada de 1970, un grupo de estudiantes, profesores y personas interesadas integraron un comité pro-defensa y rescate de los monumentos, presentando un proyecto de conversión del sitio en Casa de la Cultura, iniciativa que desgraciadamente careció de resonancia.
En 1987, el sitio y los monumentos existentes fueron incluidos en el Catálogo Nacional de Monumentos Históricos Inmuebles del Estado de Baja California, Municipio de Tijuana, pero cabe señalar que este catálogo no constituye en sí un instrumento para la protección legal del sitio, por lo cual continúan las alteraciones a sus monumentos.
En varias ocasiones, Ia conservación y rescate de los edificios de Agua Caliente ha surgido como tema de ponencias en algunos foros (como los de Preservación deI Patrimonio Cultural Ilevados a cabo a nivel estatal), teniéndose nula respuesta por parte de Ia comunidad y autoridades.
Recientemente, fue desarrollado un proyecto de Ordenamiento Urbano Arquitectónico deI Sitio Histórico "Agua Caliente" (como tesis de Arquitectura de Ia UNAM) y varias propuestas para el sitio (por parte de Ia agrupación Patrimonio Arquitectónico promotores) que fueron presentados ante autoridades e interesados. Una de ellas recomendaba proteger el ambiente forestado deI área y sus monumentos mediante un proyecto y su delimitación específica, pero esta propuesta no le interesó a Ia autoridad local. En cambio aprobó, a pesar de Ia gran controversia suscitada, Ia construcción de un almacén de membresía de comercio al semimayoreo; cuya presencia impactó negativamente Ias características paisajísticas deI entorno y su fisonomía tradicional.
Con Ia finalidad de lograr su protección legal, en 1993 Ia Comisión de Preservación deI Patrimonio Cultural de Tijuana y Ia agrupación Patrimonio Arquitectónico Promotores solicitaron al Centro INAH en Baja California el Decreto como Monumento deI "Sitio Histórico Agua Caliente", petición que fue atendida positivamente por Ia Coordinación Nacional de Monumentos Históricos donde fue elaborado el proyecto de Decreto, mismo que ba pasado ya a Ia SEP para su posterior aprobación y firma.
Dicha ratificación garantizará Ia permanencia de estos edificios que ilustran dos episodios significativos de Ia vida de Tijuana: el periodo de transición hacia su integración económica con el boom deI turismo y Ia época en que fue el alma máter de decenas de generaciones de bajacalifornianos.
This ran in shorter, more readable form on Seattlest.
This is Red Mill Burgers, in Seattle's Interbay neighborhood at 1613 West Dravus.
This store opened in 1998. The first store was a bit north in the Phinney Ridge, and opened a few years earlier.
The old photo at the Seattle Municipal Archives shows the same building in 1960, with "Interbay Pharmacy" painted on the side. Needless to say there was no Starbucks in the background.
Whenever I look at photos taken by government employees, I think "why?" More than 9 times out of 10 there was a good reason to take the photo and then subsequently archive it -- it wasn't a random photo like you or I take. Sometimes you can tell by the file that it's in, or the assession number. Other times it's the story of the building or business that clear it up. It takes a bit of digging to find that.
A quick web search shows that Interbay Pharmacy is older than 1960. Google Books has several trade magazines like a 1907 edition of "The Pharmaceutical Era" which mention Interbay Pharmacy. This first mention is worth quoting:
"W. S. Pierce, proprietor of the Interbay Pharmacy, Seattle, Wash., was blown by a gas explosion from the rear end of his store almost to the front door the other day. When he opened his store, Pierce started a fire in the gas stove, but he had no sooner applied the match to the jet than he felt himself propelled toward the door. The explosion had driven out the glass, thus making a clear path into the street."
A 1916 issue of "The Era Druggist's Directory of the United States..." lists Interbay Pharmacy, but gives a different address: 1500 Grand Boulevard. I've looked at enough engouh old plat maps of Magnolia to know that Dravus used to be known as Grand Boulevard. So the pharmacy used to be over at 15th.
But we're still missing the story here. I'm going to switch to tutorial mode to show you how I found out the "why" and at the same time learned an important part of this neighborhood's history.
When I'm dealing with a property, after a quick web search the next thing I like to do is open King County's Property Viewer or iMap to check it out. I'll cheat for you. Here's 15th and Dravus. Down in the bottom right, expand "Imagery" and choose "1936 B/W Aerial Photos". After the map refreshes, it shows that 15th Avenue used to look quite a bit different. It was just a small local road like 14th or 16th. 1500 Dravus, which would be the northwest corner, is right in the middle of the blank space. (The square are property, and long lines are roads; blank space is public property, usually streets.)
The assessor's report for 1613 Dravus, meanwhile, tells us that the Red Mill building was constructed in 1959.
The scenario is beginning to play out... a city employee photographs the new home of Interbay Pharmacy in 1960. The old home at some point became a city street.
The next step is to hit the Seattle Times archives and see what it says. These archives are one of the greatest and most frustratingly hidden secrets in local history. 1900-1923 are currently only available through a database called World Newspaper Archive, available locally through the University of Washington. From 1923-1980 are also covered in a database called America's GenealogyBank, which you can get at from home with your library card, click the link here.
I narrowed the search to newspapers, in Washington, and just for the kewords "15th widening" in 1952-1960. Result #4, 1959-06-02 page 20, is perfect:
"The city began condemnation proceedings in Superior Court... yesterday for widening 15th Avenue West form West Garfield Street to the Ballard Bridge.
"Twenty-two feet will be taken on much of the west side of the avenue. The east side will not be affected.
...
"A six-lane depressed roadway will go beneath Dravus Street, whish will remain at its present grade.
...
"Wilcox said 98 pieces of real estate are involved. He said settlements are being arranged with all but five owners."
So there's our story. Interbay Pharmacy, as well as all of the other pioneer businesses at the intersection of 15th and "Grand Boulevard" -- and all of the well-established homes on the main street between Seattle and Ballard -- were destroyed in 1959 to widen 15th to add six lanes of traffic.
It's odd that such a big deal is made about Interstate 5 and the other freeways, but no one talks about major widening projects like this. The monorail project which was supposed to be built to Ballard would have run on 15th. I remember an editorial in the Times or PI which railed that 15th was inhospitable to people, it was a car street that wasn't built for mass transit. There were so many editorials arguing that we couldn't afford to transform our city, which was built for car travel. But when you really look back, you find that our city was, of course NOT built for cars, but built for streetcars and people. We spent truckloads of money to rebuild it for cars.
Strips like 15th are still recovering from the economic hammer that was dropped.
BTW, Red Mill has great burgers. Get some onion rings while you're at it! There's bus service on 15th if you can afford the time and money.
--Rabindranath Tagore
Explore--3/28/10
"How long does a monarch live?" "Why do monarchs migrate south?"
The answers to these two questions go hand-in-hand. Children ask them all the time. Most monarchs live from two to six weeks as an adult butterfly, but the Monarch's migration is the KEY to its yearly life cycle.
The total time frame for one butterfly's life cycle (one generation) is about 6-8 weeks . . . egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly. It grows inside the egg for about 4 days. It then munches milkweed and grows as a monarch caterpillar (larvae) for about 2 more weeks. The caterpillar's life inside the chrysalis (pupa) lasts about 10 days and its wonderful life as an adult butterfly lasts from 2 - 6 weeks.
February/March - hibernating monarchs in Mexico and southern California reawaken, become active, find a mate, begin the flight northward and lay their eggs. Finally they die. These special monarchs have lived about 4-5 months through the long winter.
March/April -the 1st generation monarchs are born -egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult butterfly;
May/June - the 2nd generation is born - egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult butterfly;
July/August - the 3rd generation is born - egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult butterfly;
Sept/Oct - the 4th generation is born - egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult butterfly . . . but THIS generation does not die. It MIGRATES south and lives 6-8 months in Mexico or Southern California. They begin awakening and mating in February/March of the NEXT SPRING, and then lay their eggs! Withered and tattered from their migration and hibernation . . . they finally die.
The cycles goes on as the new baby caterpillars are born each spring and the cycle continues throughout the year into the next spring. MAGICAL and AMAZING!
Orix fighting at Etosha Nat. Park, Namibia.August 2004.
Antílope africano perteneciente al género Oryx. Vive en manadas de hasta 40 individuos, pero en estación lluviosa, se reúnen cientos. En sequía, puede pasar muchos días sin beber, sobreviviendo de la humedad que contienen frutos y raíces. Mide hasta 1,6 metros de largo y la altura de la cruz llega hasta el 1,2 m. Armados con largos cuernos rectos y anillados, de un metro o más de longitud, en contraste con sus pequeñas orejas. Son resistentes a las temperaturas extremas, a la sed, y además pueden mantener un galope sostenido durante muchos kilómetros. Como particularidad, pueden aumentar la temperatura de su cuerpo para poder irradiar el calor al ambiente en lugar de absorberlo, gracias a un sofisticado sistema de irrigación sanguínea que también permite que la sangre más fría sea la que riegue el cerebro tras pasar previamente por las aberturas de la nariz (narinas), donde se refresca. Su carácter temperamental se puede comparar al de un toro bravo, de forma que su caza es peligrosa para cualquier predador. Los machos luchan embistiendose con los cuernos en paralelo, de forma que se produce un forcejeo entre ellos sin que se llegue a herir al rival, mientras que a la hora de defenderse de depredadores, embisten apuntando con su cornamenta de forma que pueden ensartar a su enemigo. Es la única especie de antílope cuyos descendientes ya nacen armados.
Shot it at "Gajan Fair".
Gajan a Shaivite folk festival, held on CHAITRA SANGKRANTI (the last day of Chaitra..according to eng calendar ,its in middle of april) and on full moon nights up to the full moon of Asadh. The festival is associated with various gods. There may thus be SHIVA's Gajan, the Gajan of DHARMA THAKUR, the Gajan of Nil etc. But the main object of this festival is to celebrate the marriage of the sun and the earth. The reason for this festival is perhaps to appease the sun and pray for rain during the hot, dry month of Chaitra.
The festival is arranged on the premises of Shiva temples. Those who take part in the festival after making vows are called sannyasi or bhaktya. They take sacrificial food and wear uturi (wrappers). Each one holds a staff. They try to satisfy the god through different acts of penance, such as piercing their tongues with nails, jumping upon thorns, walking on burning charcoal, etc. CHADAK PUJA is performed on the occasion of the Gajan festival. During this festival, processions are brought out from the premises of the temple of Shiva and taken to other villages. A pair of processionists take the roles of Shiva and Gauri and render dances. Other bhaktyas take the roles of Nandi, Bhrngi, ghosts and spirits, monsters and demons and dance along with Shiva and Gauri. During this time different verses are recited narrating the story of how Shiva's sleep was disturbed and going on to his marriage, his agricultural activities etc. This festival usually lasts for three days. During the gajan on Chaitra Samkranti, Kali dances are also performed in some places describing how the goddess slaughtered the monster Asura.
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6:38 pm CET ->
Focal length: 15 mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure: 1/100 sec
ISO Speed: 100
FLUIDR I flickriver I Flickr Hive Mind I Getty Images I 500px
Artist: Styx
Album: Return To Paradise
Title: Come Sail Away
I'm sailing away, set an open course for the virgin sea
I've got to be free, free to face the life that's ahead of me
On board, i'm the captain, so climb aboard
We'll search for tomorrow on every shore
And i'll try, oh lord, i'll try to carry on
I look to the sea, reflections in the waves spark my memory
Some happy, some sad
I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had
We live happily forever, so the story goes
But somehow we missed out on that pot of gold
But we'll try best that we can to carry on
A gathering of angels appeared above my head
They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said
They said come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise
They climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies
Singing come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
This was one of the most fasinating sights we saw as we broke away from the highway.
Rounding a curve we came across a crowd of people looking down into the water.
Being from the city we all thought someone must have surely drowned to draw such a crowd.
Brakes on, doors flying, camera's in hand, we were off with a bit of adrenaline flowing.
Alas when we got to the edge, all was well except for the mackererel. They were the ones fighting for their life and it looked like a lossing battle to me.
This was fishing like I have never seen. Two rather small motor boats where docked at the edge of the water with this giant net between them being held by several men. The men would pull on the netting, keeping it tight so that eventually the fish were all gathered in the center of the net.
Next came two more gentlemen with hand nets and they started scooping the fish out of the larger net while the men kept bringing that larger net in tighter and tigher. Fish were flying everywhere. Some managed to jump out of the little nets but not many.
To say we were fasinated with this process was an understatement. I have never seen a crew work so hard and work together so well for the good of the cause.
And yes Doc, I did feel bad for the little fish that ended up in the big boat. Fortuantaly I do understand that these men need to make a living and that people need to eat so I didn't shead any tears. I was brave and just took the photo's.
Actually it was a day I will never forget. A day that I learned that making a living off the land or the water is still quite difficult and backbreaking. A good lesson for me.
Burgos (Spain).
ENGLISH
The Burgos Cathedral (Spanish: Catedral de Burgos) is a Gothic-style cathedral in Burgos, Spain. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is famous for its vast size and unique architecture. Its construction began in 1221, following French Gothic parameters.
It had very important modifications in the 15th and 16th centuries (spires of the principal façade, Chapel of the Constable, cimborio of the transept: these elements of advanced Gothic give the cathedral its distinguished profile). The last works of importance (the sacristy or the Chapel of Saint Thecla) occurred during the 18th century, the century in which the Gothic statuary of the doors of the principal façade was also transformed.
At the beginning of the 20th century, some semidetached construction to the cathedral was eliminated, such as the Archepiscopal Palace and the upper floor of the cloister. The style of the cathedral is Gothic, although it has some Renaissance and Baroque works.
The cathedral was declared a "World Heritage Site" by UNESCO on October 31 of 1984. It is the only Spanish cathedral that has this distinction independiently, without being joined to the historic center of a city (as in Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Ávila, Córdoba, Toledo or Cuenca) or in union with others buildings, as in Seville.
More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgos_Cathedral
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CASTELLANO
La Catedral de Santa María de Burgos (Castilla y León, España) es un templo católico dedicado a la Virgen María. Su construcción comenzó en 1221, siguiendo patrones góticos franceses. Tuvo importantísimas modificaciones en los siglos XV y XVI: las agujas de la fachada principal, la Capilla del Condestable y el cimborrio del crucero, elementos del gótico avanzado que dotan al templo de su perfil inconfundible. Las últimas obras de importancia (la Sacristía o la Capilla de Santa Tecla) pertenecen ya al siglo XVIII, siglo en el que también se retiraron las portadas góticas de la fachada principal. El estilo de la catedral es el gótico, aunque posee, en su interior, varios elementos renacentistas y barrocos. La construcción y las remodelaciones se realizaron con piedra caliza extraída de las canteras del cercano pueblo burgalés Hontoria de la Cantera.
La catedral burgalesa fue declarada Monumento Nacional el 8 de abril de 1885 y Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Unesco el 31 de octubre de 1984. Es la única catedral española que tiene esta distinción de la Unesco de forma independiente, sin estar unida al centro histórico de una ciudad (como en Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Ávila, Córdoba, Toledo o Cuenca) o en compañía de otros edificios, como en Sevilla.
Más info: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catedral_de_Burgos
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Artículo LA BIODIVERSIDAD OCULTA
Aunque el tardígrado Macrobiotus camina al revés, para él parece que no hay reveses. Los tardígrados son pequeños animales de cuerpo alagado y blando provistos de cuatro pares de patas, generalmente terminadas en garras.
Aunque pueden vivir prácticamente en cualquier tipo de ambiente, son relativamente frecuentes entre los musgos y la vegetación acuática en emplazamientos con agua dulce o salada. Poseen en la cabeza unos primitivos ojos compuestos y una boca que se abre en una especie de hocico y con la que son capaces de perforar la pared celular de algas y musgos para absorber con su potente y musculosa faringe, los líquidos que constuyen el contenido celular.
Los tardígrados son animales extraordinariamente resistentes a condiciones ambientales extremas, son capaces de soportar temperaturas que oscilan entre los -272ºC y los 149ºC, pueden recibir altas dosis de radiación sin apenas verse afectados, en situaciones de extrema sequía pierden los líquidos de sus tejidos y quedan momentáneamente momificados -momentos que pueden variar desde días a decenas o cientos de años- para volver de nuevo a la vida en cuanto se hidratan.
Hace poco tiempo, en 2008-2009, viajaron al espacio en un experimento diseñado por la Agencia Espacial Europea, en el espacio pudieron permanecer con vida en ausencia de oxígeno y soportando unas radiaciones 1000 veces más potentes que las que llegan a la Tierra...y en estas condiciones fueron capaces hasta de reproducirse...para los tardígrados no hay reveses.
Feliz fin de semana
La fotografía se ha tomado a 400 aumentos con la técnica de campo oscuro y procede de una represa, probablemente construida por los romanos en el bonito arroyo de Sogo, situado en la comarca zamorana de Sayago.
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☁ la nube negra de una justicia pervertida en nuestro país, movida por la envidia y la venganza, permanecerá aquí, hasta que soplen los vientos limpios que todos necesitamos. La Justicia es uno de los cimientos necesarios para la Paz. Desde aquí todo nuestro apoyo al Juez Baltasar Garzón -el buen Juez de Saramago- y a las personas de buena voluntad como él que trabajan por la Justicia.
For Christmas '08, my wife got me a nice shaving kit which included a Gillette Mach 3 razor. (featured here) I used it for a year, and was about to buy another pack of M3s when I realized how freaking expensive they were. I decided to give a Double Edge razor a shot. My per razor cost went from $2.25 to ¢10 (¢25 if I splurge and get the really nice ones.) The dirty little secret that Gillette doesn't want you to know: disposable cartridges with multiple blades do not necessarily give you a better shave. They're simply a matter of convenience, but that convenience comes at a price. If you'd rather not do the DE razor, go with something like a trac II, Atra, or Sensor... anything else is just more expensive, not better. Eventually, using the DE is just second nature.
I used that for a few months and decided to give a straight raozr a shot. Some say it's the closest shave you'll ever have, but I'm not quite there yet. I haven't got the nerve to go against the grain. One thing though... it feels kind of bad ass to shave with a straight. It takes me probably an extra 5-10 minutes to shave this way than it would with a regular razor, but it's worth it. No more wasting of plastic cartridges... and my use of DE razors is greatly reduced.
For this shot, I used a cross processing technique. Here's the tutorial I used. It's specific to GIMP. Mr. Sharp referred me to one for photoshop... I couldn't quite get it to work, which I think is the result of not having 'effect layers' in gimp. I probably could have adapted it to work in GIMP, but the other one seems to work on a similar premise, and required no translation on my part.
I also did the orton effect, in conjunction with the "smart sharpen" (see previous) The smart sharpen is quite a few steps, but worth it.
Question for those that might know: this cross processing technique is very similar to what I've seen for lomo effect. The end result is somewhat similar too. Makes sense because the distinctive use that lomos became famous for was because the film was developed with a cross process technique. So, my question is, what distinguishes digital lomo edits from other types of cross processing?
www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=2254820205671&set=...
FRATELLI COMUNI
il video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQXO6Cjnabs
150 – Centocinquantesimo
Raccolta fotografica dedicata al centocinquantesimo anniversario dell’Unità d’Italia.
Un’opera da collezionare.
CON IL PATROCINIO DELL’ANCI (Associazione Nazionale Comuni Italiani),
DI “SAPIENZA” - UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA, DEL CONSIGLIO REGIONALE DEL LAZIO E DEL
COMUNE DI ISOLA DEL LIRI
DAL 7 DICEMBRE IN LIBRERIA
A conclusione delle celebrazioni dei 150 anni dell’Unità d’Italia, la casa editrice Gargoyle in
collaborazione con Editrice Pisani manda in stampa Fratelli Comuni, una raccolta fotografica per
“raccontare” in modo originale e partecipe come l’Italia abbia vissuto questa importante ricorrenza.
L’idea, nata la notte del 17 marzo 2011, complice l’incantevole cornice della Cascata Grande di
Isola del Liri – illuminata, in occasione dei festeggiamenti, con i colori della nostra bandiera - era
quella di scoprire come altri comuni italiani avessero vissuto quel giorno, se quell’anniversario
avesse davvero risvegliato un sentimento di unità, un sussulto di fratellanza autentico e vivo in
grado di esprimersi non con il linguaggio vacuo e altisonante della retorica, ma con quello semplice
dei cittadini, che, nel silenzio e nell’anonimato, hanno combattuto e combattono ogni giorno per
custodire la dignità e la bellezza del nostro Paese.
Quella stessa dignità e bellezza capaci di commuovere gli italiani quando Roberto Benigni legge
Dante, ricordando a tutti noi ciò che siamo stati, le nostre radici, o ancora, quando sussurra con
dolcezza l’inno di Mameli, rammentando con passione e entusiasmo la generazione di chi, con
cuore puro e innamorato, non esitò a sacrificarsi per la propria patria. Uno spirito di appartenenza
e di sacrificio tornato a rivivere proprio in questi giorni di crisi, nei gesti dei volontari e dei cittadini
che con generosità cercano di far fronte al disastro provocato dalle recenti alluvioni, abbattutesi su
Genova e altri comuni liguri. Atti che mostrano bene come gli italiani siano un popolo, solidale e
unito, capace di slanci di grande generosità; “una d’arme, di lingua, d’altare, di memorie, di
sangue, di cor”, scriveva Alessandro Manzoni dell’Italia nell’ode Marzo 1821.
Attraverso la ricostruzione delle tappe più significative che hanno caratterizzato questo giorno di
festa (allestimenti, manifestazioni, eventi simbolo il cui filo conduttore è il Tricolore) Fratelli Comuni
mette assieme, in un unico volume, le immagini più belle e rappresentative di un momento
importante della nostra storia, e, quello che ci consegna, è un concerto armonico di sorrisi, sguardi
ed emozioni, un mosaico variopinto di atmosfere, protagonisti e istanti destinati a rimanere nel
tempo. Fratelli Comuni, però, è anche un’occasione per riflettere, un tentativo di ricordare e far
ricordare le ricchezza e la straordinaria varietà della nostra Italia, perché i 150 anni di Unità non
vengano considerati solo alla luce degli avvenimenti storici, politici ed economici che ne hanno
contraddistinto la storia, ma siano testimonianza delle tante ed esaltanti avventure culturali e
intellettuali che ci hanno resi noti nel mondo, in ambito umanistico come in quello scientifico. Tale
patrimonio ci rende fieri di essere italiani.
Il volume si compone di tre sezioni: la prima è una raccolta di scatti fotografici volti a
documentare come comuni e province d’Italia, da Nord a Sud, dai più piccoli ai più grandi,
abbiano commemorato e celebrato questo evento. E, sfogliando il volume, colpisce come le
immagini, a volte, registrino già un passaggio del tempo e appartengano al passato, come quelle
del comune di Monterosso, nelle Cinque Terre, quasi cancellato dall’alluvione.
La seconda, con la prefazione dello storico Virgilio Ilari, Presidente della Società Italiana di Storia
Militare, è dedicata alle Forze Armate e vuole essere un omaggio speciale a tutti coloro che ogni
giorno, con spirito di sacrificio, difendono i valori della pace e della democrazia. Un compito, il loro,
ancor più prezioso se considerato alla luce degli attuali scenari nazionali e internazionali.
La terza, infine, è una sezione speciale; una galleria di ritratti di personaggi illustri che nel
tempo hanno contribuito a fare grande e prestigioso il nostro Paese. Sette le categorie (musica,
moda, spettacolo, sport, politica, industria e premi Nobel); ognuna di queste è introdotta da
esponenti del mondo accademico, artistico e dello sport.
Ma i veri autori e protagonisti di Fratelli Comuni sono i cittadini stessi, le tante realtà
comunali e le province italiane che, con l’invio di materiale fotografico, hanno incoraggiato,
supportato e reso possibile la realizzazione di questa grande opera, dove le tradizioni del
passato si fondono armoniosamente con l’innovazione tecnologica del presente.
Le presentazioni del volume saranno patrocinate dalla Presidenza del Consiglio dei
Ministri e dal Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali.
Il volume Fratelli Comuni ospita gli autorevoli interventi di:
Osvaldo Napoli - Presidente ANCI Facente Funzioni
Gianni Alemanno - Sindaco di Roma
Giuliano Pisapia - Sindaco di Milano
Michele Emiliano - Sindaco di Bari
Luigi Frati - Rettore dell’Università Sapienza di Roma
Luciano Duro - Sindaco di Isola del Liri (FR)
Alessandro Campi - Docente di Storia del Pensiero Politico presso l’Università di Perugia
Andrea Coli - Docente di Storia Economica dell’Industria presso l’Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi di Milano
Virgilio Ilari - Presidente Società Italiana di Storia Militare
Ronnie Jones - Musicista
Linda Loppa - Direttrice Polimoda International Institute Fashion Design & Marketing
Daniele Masala - Campione Olimpico. Docente presso l’Università di Cassino
Luca Rea – Regista
Scheda informativa
Editore: Gargoyle in collaborazione con Editrice Pisani.
Da piccola realtà di nicchia, Gargoyle mira a diventare una grande casa editrice, proponendo un ampio
spettro di letteratura popolare che spazia dal giallo all’avventura, dal fantasy alla fantascienza – generi
che da sempre hanno contribuito e contribuiscono ad alimentare l’immaginario collettivo. La raccolta
fotografica dedicata al 150° anniversario dell’Unità d’Italia è la seconda pubblicazione della collana
“Gargoyle Accadimenti”, incentrata su eventi d’attualità particolarmente incisivi e di cui SuperSic, il libro
tributo a Marco Simoncelli, è stata la prima uscita.
Dettagli volume: Fratelli Comuni - centocinquantesimo Italia (1861-2011), Collana “Accadimenti”, pp.608,
formato album rilegato 22x30, euro 90.
Copie numerate.
View On Black "When you cant see the angels"
Jake Oh - Up In The Blue
You do what you came here to do
You take a trip up in the blue
I want to get much closer to you
So I can feel free and get loose
There are so many things to be found
'cause when you are with me
We lift up from the ground
It's with you I take a trip up in the blue
It's your eyes that send me straight up in the skyes
And it's you who make me sing what I do
It's your smile, that keeps your ? so high
When we flew down from the sky
I grabed your hand and I smiled
We are lost in the space of time
Where the moon and the stars keep in the ? of love ?
There are so many things to be found
'Cause when you are with me
We lift up from the ground
It's with you I take a trip up in the blue
It's your eyes that send me straight up in the skyes
And it's you who makes me sing what I do
It's your smile, that keeps your ? so high
It's with you, I take a trip, up in the blue
Your face, your eyes
?, so high
Up in the blue baby, up in the blue
Jake Oh
It's with you (It's whith you) I take a trip up in the blue (up in the blue)
It's your eyes (i'ts your eyes) that send me straight up in the skyes (bring me to the skyes)
And it's you who make me sing what I do (you make me sing what I do)
It's your smile, that keeps your ? so high (go high, go high)
It's with you (oooh) I take a trip up in the blue (up in the blue yeah)
It's your eyes that send me straight up in the skyes (straight up to the sky, straight up to the sky)
And it's you who make me sing what I do (yeeah)
It's your smile (it's your smile) that keeps your ? so high ( your ? go high)
Up in the blue
Pix taken at Arcachon pure SL
Perhaps the most striking and spectacular impression of Stone Town for its first time visitor is the magnificent wooden doors serving as prosperous entrances to the grand buildings.
The doors have become more or less synonym with the Swahili culture where they mainly are found in East Africa, Lamu and Mombasa (Kenya) and in Zanzibar. The doors in Zanzibar outnumber the doors, both in number and in grandness, found elsewhere along the coast, and thus being named ‘Zanzibar doors’. An inventory done in the 1980ies reported around 800 doors. Unfortunately has the number decreased, not only due to the diminishing of several houses, but also due to theft following the increased attention from international collectors.
The doors are manifestations in excellent craftsmanship, both technically and artistically. The oldest doors are often made out of Burma (Indian) teak, shipped all the way from Asia across the Indian Ocean. The shutters are made in one impressive piece and not mended together as is the case on newer doors. The Burma teak does no longer exist and the alternative has been the East African teak. Even this wood has become rare and difficult to find, often demanding a very high price.
The wealthy traders and house owners appointed skilled carvers brought in from India for the delicate job of arranging the entrance ornament. Their creativity is continuously at display.
In principal there are two types of doors found in Stone Town. The Indian doors, or Gujarati doors, with square shutters and made into smaller sections so that the door can fold together. These doors are to be seen along the busy bazaar streets where the Indian businessmen lived. The second type is called ‘Arab doors’, these doors are often found with an inscription in Arabic – most likely a phrase from the Holy Quraan – on the top frieze, and richly decorated around the frame. The older doors were all square at top. The semi-circular frames were introduced later, but are still referred to as ‘Arab doors’.
The custom of putting brass knobs on the shutters comes from India, where the knobs were said to prevent elephants from crushing the doors. Since there have been no violent elephants in Zanzibar the brass knobs were simply but there as a decoration and to show the wealth of its owner.
By looking at the lower part of the side posts and rough estimate can be done of the age of the door. The oldest doors have a symbol resembling of a fish. The fish gradually transformed into a shape of a pineapple and thus if the carving shows a clear and distinct pineapple the doors is of a younger generation. Another symbol that became part of the decoration was the chain-like row at the very outside of the whole door. The chain was said to protect the entrance from evil spirits.
(source: Zanzibar Stone Town Heritage Society)
Adam and I went with our friends Jesse and Natalie down to the Hal & Mal's St. Patty's Day Parade today. This parade is one of my favorite holiday traditions. The fun to be had is endless. And our parade is ranked one of the best in the country. So, with that being said, i had a complete blast! I got hella sunburned, drank way to much beer, and ate a waaaay yummy mexican meal at 3 in the afternoon! Ahhh, what a glorious day. More parade pics coming...Right now, I am off to bed. I'm exhausted!!!
Oh, and in case you want to know more about our little parade, here are some facts from a little Q&A session that I found:
Q: Who is Mal, anyway?
A: "Mal" is Malcolm White...Jackson's resident club owner/restauranteur/promoter/head of the Mississippi Arts Commission,
writer/publisher/piano-playing blues-ologist/philanthropist/philosopher, and most importantly, "Leprechaun-at-Large."
Q: Why a St. Paddy's Parade?
A: Because Jackson didn't have one! It all started way back in late '70's when a young(er) Mal lived and worked in New Orleans' French Quarter. Mal was fascinated and excited by the concept of parades. There were Mardi Gras Parades, Jazz Funeral Marches, and small street parades happening all the time, and Mal became a "Parade Man" for life.
Q: When was the first parade?
A: The first one was in 1982 (or was it '83?).
Q: How about a little parade history?
A: The original idea was to have a "pub crawl" from CS's to George Street Grocery. But when the inspiration for a parade struck him, Mal figured "We might as well take a dip through downtown." What ensued made headlines in the Clarion Ledger: "PARADE STOPS RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC!" It was quite a news story and all that was needed to capture the attention and imagination of Irishmen (both real and imagined) across the state. This first parade was an amazing assortment of enthusiastic participants and was, in retrospect, a surreal sight to see. Highlights included the first Grand Marshal, the late ARTHUR MAHONEY, a true Irishman and ex-boxer in his 90's waving to onlookers from a convertible...the debut of the venerable and voluptuous "SWEET POTATO QUEENS' ...the inaugural appearance of the "RUDE BOYS", a "frat party on wheels' ...the great blues legend "SWEET" SAM MYERS standing in the sunroof of "BROTHER PETE'S BLUES VAN" waving an Irish flag ... the fondly remembered KENDALL WILSON on roller skates being pulled by a motorcycle ... the newly-formed "BLUZ BOYS" band playing loudly on a flat-bed
trailer with the assistance of a generator ... neighborhood kids on bicycles ...parade co-conspirators MARSHALL, JOEY, and PAT surely wondering "What the BLARNEY-hell have we let Malcolm talk us into?!?" ... SERGIO FERNANDEZ recording the whole thing for posterity while perched atop a beer truck driven by DINK ... and of course, leading the procession, MAL himself decked out in green (what else?) Army pants, his beard spray-painted red, carrying an Irish walking stick and flanked by his beloved Dalmation "PEARL" ...
What a "MAL-function"!!!
Q: How about the parade today?
A: It's gotten bigger and better than ever. You still have the "SWEET POTATO QUEENS",
"RUDE BOYS" and other annual favorites plus more recent traditions like the "O'TUX SOCIETY", "KREWE of KAZOO", "GREEN LADIES", and a real New Orleans brass marching band. And new
entries are lining up every year! 2009 Grand Marshal Leland Speed will be joining an illustrious list of luminaries which includes the late, great TINY TIM, musician MAC McANALLY, THALIA MARA, MAESTRO COLMAN PEARCE, O.C. McDAVID, "Toons til Two" radio personality DAVID ADCOCK, "COUSIN" CLETA ELLINGTON, DEUCE McALLISTER, CAT CORA, and BERT CASE, and many others.
Q: Where does all that money from the entry fees go?
A: There is a function to all this frivolity. In recent years, the parade has raised over $250,000 for the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children.
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever Gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance,
My head is bloodied but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade.
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how straight the gate,
Nor how charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
-- William Ernest Henley
At the age of 12 Henley became a victim of tuberculosis of the bone. In spite of this, in 1867 he successfully passed the Oxford local examination as a senior student. His diseased foot had to be amputated directly below the knee; physicians announced the only way to save his life was to amputate the other. Henley persevered and survived with one foot intact. He was discharged in 1875, and was able to lead an active life for nearly 30 years despite his disability. With an artificial foot, he lived until the age of 54. "Invictus" was written from a hospital bed.
The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.
Walter Bagehot
This is one of many water Lilies in our little pond at the side of our house. They really seem to have bloomed very nicely this year.
yesterday a very old friend and i went to China town and got some shots, for the majority of the time i was using his old Minolta camera while he used my D40. I'm proud to say yesterday was my first ever roll of film (: I'm going to develop them on Monday, but I'm not looking forward to seeing how well they came out, because i know they wont be the best ! but no one is perfect and although getting lots of practice wont make me perfect, it will get me close to it!
anyway about this shot she was a street vendor, selling scarfs and other items, it was kind of late into the day and it was overcast the whole day so at that time it was already getting dark so i couldnt get much.
the blue tones are a preset on lightroom 3 then i took it over to photoshop and did a bit more tweaking around.
music___ The script- break even
This is my friend Marclino you have all seen him
before but you probably dont recognize him maby
its because he has shaved his head bald lol i was with him
today and when i saw him i just burst out laughing he just looked
so different i said marcilino what have you done so he said
have a guess english oh and by the way thats what they call me
out here in the north of portugal they never ask me what my name is
all they no is that i am from england so they call me english i no its
very strange but thats how it is out here.again this was taken with the wifes
P+S but as a contact friend of mine macro marcie has pointed out
to me the most important thing is catching the essence.....and that can be done with any camera.again thankyou so much for your time and your comments
and kind regards to you all.
Cubelles, Barcelona (Spain).
Effects of the East storms. / Efectos de los temporales de levante.
ENGLISH
The reclaimed wetlands of the river Foix estuary have made this area into one of the main attractions of the town. The River Foix, which is dry during most of the year due to construction of the Foix Resservoir is another of the most emblematic places in Cubelles. At the Foix estuary, you can spend the day enjoying nature and birthwatching, or at one of the picnic areas. This zone is also intended for school visits, as it is a place where children can study the ecosystem of a Mediterranean river such as the Foix.
The estuary is separated from the sea by a sand barrier which has accumulated over time, due to sea currents and rainwater sediments, forming freshwater laguens behind the barrier. The natural area of the Foix Delta has a branch of land that sticks out into the sea. This was formed during the floods of 1994 and joins onto another branch, leaving an island in the middle. Tourists can visit the island by crossing a wooden footbridge.
Source: www.cubelles.net/docs/20050211004068.htm
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CASTELLANO
La recuperación de los espacios húmedos de la desembocadura del río Foix ha convertido la zona en una de las de mayor atractivo del municipio. El río Foix -que desde la construcción del pantano del Foix está la mayor parte del año seco- es otro de los elementos más emblemáticos de los cubellenses. En la desembocadura del Foix, además de poder pasar un día rodeado de la Naturaleza, se puede observar el comportamiento de las aves autóctonas de esta zona o disfrutar de las áreas de picnic. El espacio también está dirigido a las escuelas, que pueden visitar y estudiar el ecosistema de un río mediterráneo, como es el del Foix.
Su desembocadura está separada del mar por una barrera de arena acumulada por las corrientes marítimas y los depósitos pluviales, formando lagunas de agua dulce en su interior. El Espacio Natural del Delta del Foix, mantiene el brazo de salida al mar que se formó por las riadas de 1994, a la que se ha añadido un segundo brazo dejando una isla en el medio, conectada con la zona de entretenimiento a través de unas pasarelas de madera. Otra pasarela de madera sobre uno de los brazos del río, sirve de punto de observación del desarrollo natural de la desembocadura del Foix.
www.nvr.org.uk/history/5485.php
The Loco
This engine is a beast. If it were a lorry it would be an earth mover, built for shifting massive loads over short distances, with big cylinders and very small wheels. It is rated at 800h.p., a tractive effort of 28,000lb, a weight of 66tons and wheels of only 3' 6" diameter. This compares with the STD class 5 at 26,120 lbs tractive effort, and a weight of 76 tons.
Polish engineering is not known for it's high quality, and the engine is no exception. For example, the cylinder bore on engines should line up with the axle centre - not here, the cylinder centreline is clearly inches above the axle centreline. General construction is simple, for example the smoke box door is made from flat plate welded together, where most engines have a rounded door made from pressings / castings. Many of the steam valves are made from steel / iron, which can corrode, where other loco's would use brass or bronze which doesn't corrode. Oddly, for a simple machine, it has the complexity of superheaters; more superheaters than an LMS Jubilee. On a machine that is for shunting and not designed for speed this is unusual, as superheaters are thought to be effective only when an engine is working for long periods and has time to warm through.
It has been said that we are asking too much of this engine, with its small wheels at 25MPH. An A4 Pacific has 6'8" wheels, and at 75MPH (Network Rail's max speed limit for steam) this equates to 315RPM. 5485, with 3' 6" wheels, at 25MPH is only running at 200 RPM. Indeed, the engine's stated maximum speed is 40km/h, and it has proven itself capable of easily keeping to time.
For the crew it is an easy engine to fire, with a large boiler that has plenty of steam generating capacity, and a medium size firebox where the first time fireman won't have trouble getting coal to the far end of the fire. There is also a drop grate in the firebox and a hopper ashpan, making the disposal of fire and ash simpler. The injectors have been proven to be reliable, after fettling work. For the driver, the controls are well placed and all reachable from the cab window. However, the regulator is difficult, steam can be admitted on a little or lots basis, there's not much in between. If you see the engine starting a train and it slips frequently, you know the driver is battling with the regulator. The engine has the luxury of very bright electric lights, in the cab and above the wheels as well as front and back. Some crew like working in the dark with this loco as you have the rare luxury of being able to see where you are going. Due to the long wheel base, two of the axles have a large amount of side-play. This lets the engine go around curves, but it means that there is a lot of side - side waddle, especially on straight track, and there is a lot of that at Nene Valley!
History
This engine is fairly modern as steam engines go, being built by Fablok of Chrzanow, Poland in 1959, as one of a large class of 406 loco's, built from 1950 - 1963. 90 of the class were exported to China. Visit hobby.ien.com.pl/kolej/Freight Tank Locomotives/TKp.htm for further info. It worked for 36 years in the Coalfields in Bytom, southern Poland and was withdrawn in 1995, when the mine closed.
The engine was bought by it's current owner in 1996, in working order with a current boiler ticket. It came complete with it's entire service history, all in Polish, from when it was built, on the 14th of Maja 1959! Many of these documents still have their wax seal from the works. The documents show that the engine had a heavy overhaul in 1990, with a new firebox, a new front tubeplate and new portions of the boiler barrel fitted at Olesnica, Poland. The resulting good condition of the boiler is why it was preserved.
The loco was moved to Belgium by rail through Holland and Germany, in a convoy of loco's devoid of their rods, at a cost of £2,500 for each loco; 900 miles at 25mph. One of the loco owners videoed the convoy and saw sparks from the axlebox of loco. A hurried conversation with the driver (in German) followed! The damaged loco went on to be preserved in Northampton.
5485 Came to England in 1997 and was stripped and overhauled at Llangollen. All the steel pipework was replaced with copper, the smokebox was replaced and a new cab and cladding, was fitted. The boiler is now in very good condition; when in steam it is as dry as a bone. Whilst at Nene Valley, the loco has spent much time out of traffic for repairs to badly worn bearings and bushes on the coupling rods and connecting rods, and a failed main steam pipe. The loco is now back in traffic, but further repairs may soon be required. The valves and pistons have always been blowing-by; the leakage of steam can be heard as a whoosh from the chimney when starting away. On occasion, the blow-by is so bad that the loco will move backwards when starting off in forward gear!
(Incidentally, put 'Slask' into your spell checker and it will suggest 'slack' - Bill Gates is well informed!)
Recent Mechanical Group Reports
Recent reports by the Mechanical Group on 5485 can be found by clicking here
Ford was launched in a converted factory in 1902 with $31,000 in cash (approximately US$704 thousand, adjusted for inflation) from twelve investors, most notably John and Horace Dodge, who would later found the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle Company. Henry Ford was 40 years old when he founded the Ford Motor Company, which would go on to become one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world, as well as being one of the few to survive the Great Depression. The largest family-controlled company in the world, the Ford Motor Company has been in continuous family control for over 100 years.
During its early years, the company produced a range of vehicles designated, chronologically, from the Ford Model A (1903) to the Model K and Model S (Ford's last right-hand steering model)[1] of 1907.[2] The K, Ford's first six-cylinder model, was knows as "the gentleman's roadster" and "the silent cyclone", and sold for US$2800 (approximately US$65.4 thousand, adjusted for inflation);[3] by contrast, around that time, the Enger 40 was priced at US$2000,[4] the Colt Runabout US$1500,[5] the high-volume Oldsmobile Runabout[6] US$650, Western's Gale Model A US$500,[7] and the Success hit the amazingly low US$250 (approximately US$5.84 thousand, adjusted for inflation).[8]
The next year, Henry Ford introduced the Model T. Earlier models were produced at a rate of only a few a day at a rented factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, with groups of two or three men working on each car from components made to order by other companies (what would come to be called an "assembled car"). The first Model Ts were built at the Piquette Road Manufacturing Plant, the first company-owned factory. In its first full year of production, 1909, about 18,000 Model Ts were built. As demand for the car grew, the company moved production to the much larger Highland Park Plant, and in 1911, the first year of operation there, 69,762[9] Model Ts were produced, with 170,211 in 1912.[10] By 1913, the company had developed all of the basic techniques of the assembly line and mass production. Ford introduced the world's first moving assembly line that year, which reduced chassis assembly time from 12½ hours in October to 2 hours 40 minutes (and ultimately 1 hour, 33 minutes),[11] and boosted annual output to 202,667 units that year[12] After a Ford ad promised profit-sharing if sales hit 300,000 between August 1914 and August 1915,[13] sales in 1914 hit 308,162, and 501,462 in 1915;[14] by 1920, production would exceed one million a year.
These innovations were hard on employees, and turnover of workers was very high, while increased productivity actually reduced labor demand.[15] Turnover meant delays and extra costs of training, and use of slow workers. In January 1914, Ford solved the employee turnover problem by doubling pay to $5 a day, cutting shifts from nine hours to an eight hour day for a 5 day work week (which also increased sales; a line worker could buy a T with less than four months' pay),[16] and instituting hiring practices that identified the best workers, including disabled people considered unemployable by other firms.[17] Employee turnover plunged, productivity soared, and with it, the cost per vehicle plummeted. Ford cut prices again and again and invented the system of franchised dealers who were loyal to his brand name. Wall Street had criticized Ford's generous labor practices when he began paying workers enough to buy the products they made.[18]
Ford assembly line (1913)
While Ford attained international status in 1904 with the founding of Ford of Canada, it was in 1911 the company began to rapidly expand overseas, with the opening of assembly plants in England and France, followed by Denmark (1923), Germany (1925), Austria (1925),[19] and Argentina (1925),[20] and also in South Africa (1924)[21] and Australia (1925) as subsidiaries of Ford of Canada due to preferential tariff rules for Commonwealth countries. By the end of 1919, Ford was producing 50 percent of all cars in the United States, and 40% of all British ones;[22] by 1920, half of all cars in the U.S. were Model Ts. (The low price also killed the cyclecar in the U.S.)[23] The assembly line transformed the industry; soon, companies without it risked bankruptcy. Of 200 U.S. car makers in 1920, only 17 were left in 1940.[24]
It also transformed technology. Henry Ford is reported to have said, "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black." Before the assembly line, Ts had been available in a variety of colors, including red, blue, and green, but not black. Now, paint had become a production bottleneck; only Japan Black dried quickly enough, and not until Duco lacquer appeared in 1926 would other colors reappear on the T.[25]
In 1915, Henry Ford went on a peace mission to Europe aboard a ship, joining other pacifists in efforts to stop World War I. This led to an increase in his personal popularity. Ford would subsequently go on to support the war effort with the Model T becoming the underpinnings for Allied military vehicles.
[edit] History of the blue oval
The Ford oval trademark was first introduced in 1907. The 1928 Model A was the first vehicle to sport an early version of the Ford script in the oval badge. The dark blue background of the oval is known to designers as Pantone 294C. The Ford script is credited to Childe Harold Wills, Ford's first chief engineer and designer. He created a script in 1903 based on the one he used for his business cards. Today, the oval has evolved into a perfect oval with a width-to-height ratio of 8:3. The current Centennial Oval was introduced on June 17, 2003 as part of the 100th anniversary of Ford Motor Company.[26]
[edit] Post-World War I developments
In 1919, Edsel Ford succeeded his father as president of the company, although Henry still kept a hand in management. Although prices were kept low through highly efficient engineering, the company used an old-fashioned personalized management system, and neglected consumer demand for improved vehicles. So, while four wheel brakes were invented by Arrol-Johnson (and were used on the 1909 Argyll),[27] they did not appear on a Ford until 1927. (To be fair, Chevrolet waited until 1928.)[28] Ford steadily lost market share to GM and Chrysler, as these and other domestic and foreign competitors began offering fresher automobiles with more innovative features and luxury options. GM had a range of models from relatively cheap to luxury, tapping all price points in the spectrum, while less wealthy people purchased used Model Ts. The competitors also opened up new markets by extending credit for purchases, so consumers could buy these expensive automobiles with monthly payments. Ford initially resisted this approach, insisting such debts would ultimately hurt the consumer and the general economy. Ford eventually relented and started offering the same terms in December 1927, when Ford unveiled the redesigned Model A, and retired the Model T after producing 15 million units.
[edit] Lincoln Motor Company
On February 4, 1922 Ford expanded its reach into the luxury auto market through its acquisition of the Lincoln Motor Company, named for Abraham Lincoln whom Henry Ford admired, but Henry M. Leland had named the company in 1917. The Mercury division was established in 1938 to serve the mid-price auto market.[29] Ford Motor Company built the largest museum of American History in 1928, The Henry Ford.
Henry Ford would go on to acquire Abraham Lincoln's chair, which he was assassinated in, from the owners of the Ford Theatre. Abraham Lincoln's chair would be displayed along with John F. Kennedy's Lincoln limousine in the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn, known today as The Henry Ford. Kennedy's limousine was leased to the White House by Ford.
[edit] Fordlândia
Main article: Fordlândia
In 1928, Henry Ford negotiated a deal with the government of Brazil for a plot of land in the Amazon Rainforest. There, Ford attempted to cultivate rubber for use in the company's automobiles. After considerable labor unrest, social experimentation, and a failure to produce rubber, and after the invention of synthetic rubber, the settlement was sold in 1945 and abandoned.
[edit] The Great Depression
During the great depression, Ford in common with other manufacturers, responded to the collapse in motor sales by reducing the scale of their operations and laying off workers. By 1932, the unemployment rate in Detroit had risen to 30%[30] with thousands of families facing real hardship. Although Ford did assist a small number of distressed families with loans and parcels of land to work, the majority of the thousands of unskilled workers who were laid off were left to cope on their own. However, Henry Ford angered many by making public statements that the unemployed should do more to find work for themselves.
This led to Detroit’s Unemployed Council organizing the Ford Hunger March. On March 7, 1932 some 3,000 - 5,000 unemployed workers assembled in West Detroit to march on Ford's River Rouge plant to deliver a petition demanding more support. As the march moved up Miller Road and approached Gate 3 the protest turned ugly. The police fired tear gas into the crowd and fire trucks were used to soak the protesters with icy water. When the protesters responded by throwing rocks, the violence escalated rapidly and culminated in the police and plant security guards firing live rounds through the gates of the plant at the unarmed protesters. Four men were killed outright and a fifth died later in hospital. Up to 60 more were seriously injured.[31]
[edit] Soviet Fords and the Gorki
In May 1929 the Soviet Union signed an agreement with the Ford Motor Company. Under its terms, the Soviets agreed to purchase $13 million worth of automobiles and parts, while Ford agreed to give technical assistance until 1938 to construct an integrated automobile-manufacturing plant at Nizhny Novgorod. Many American engineers and skilled auto workers moved to the Soviet Union to work on the plant and its production lines, which was named Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (GAZ), or Gorki Automotive Plant in 1932. A few American workers stayed on after the plant's completion, and eventually became victims of Stalin's Great Terror, either shot[32] or exiled to Soviet gulags.[33] In 1933, the Soviets completed construction on a production line for the Ford Model-A passenger car, called the GAZ-A, and a light truck, the GAZ-AA. Both these Ford models were immediately adopted for military use. By the late 1930s production at Gorki was 80,000-90,000 "Russian Ford" vehicles per year. With its original Ford-designed vehicles supplemented by imports and domestic copies of imported equipment, the Gorki operations eventually produced a range of automobiles, trucks, and military vehicles.
[edit] World War II
President Franklin Roosevelt referred to Detroit as the "Arsenal of Democracy." The Ford Motor Company played a pivotal role in the allied victory during World War I and World War II. As a pacifist, Henry Ford had said war was a waste of time, and did not want to profit from it. He was concerned the Nazis during the 1930s might nationalize his factories in Germany. During the Great Depression Ford's wages may have seemed great to his employees but many of the rules of the factories were very harsh and strict. Those were tense times for American companies doing business in Europe. In the spring of 1939, the Nazis assumed day to day control of Ford factories in Germany.
With Europe under siege, Henry Ford's genius would be turned to mass production for the war effort. After Bantam invented the Jeep, the War Department handed production over to Ford and Willys. When Consolidated Aircraft could at most build one B-24 Liberator a day, Ford would show the world how to produce one an hour, at a peak of 600 per month in 24 hour shifts. The specially-designed Willow Run plant broke ground in April 1941. At the time, it was the largest assembly line in the world, with over 3,500,000 square feet (330,000 m2) under one roof. Edsel Ford, under severe stress, died in the Spring of 1943 of stomach cancer, prompting his grieving father to resume day-to-day control of Ford. Mass production of the B-24 began by August 1943. Many pilots slept on cots waiting for takeoff as B-24s rolled off the line.[34]
In the United Kingdom, Ford built a new factory in Trafford Park, Manchester during WW2 where over 34,000 Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engines were completed by a workforce trained from scratch.
[edit] Post-World War II developments
At the behest of Edsel Ford's widow Eleanor and Henry's wife Clara, Henry Ford would make his oldest grandson, Henry Ford II, President of Ford Motor Company.
A Ford Taurus, one of Ford's best-selling models. In its 21 year lifespan, it sold 7,000,000 units. It is the 4th best selling car in Ford's history, behind only the F-150, the Model T, and the Mustang.
Henry Ford II served as President from 1945–1960, and as Chairman and CEO from 1960–1980. "Hank the Deuce" led Ford to become a publicly traded corporation in 1956. However, the Ford family maintains about 40 percent controlling interest in the company, through a series of Special Class B preferred stocks.
In 1947, Henry Ford died. According to A&E Biography, an estimated 7 million people mourned his death.
Ernest R. Breech was hired in 1946 and became the Executive Vice President. Then later became Board Chairman in 1955.
In 1946, Robert McNamara joined Ford Motor Company as manager of planning and financial analysis. He advanced rapidly through a series of top-level management positions to the presidency of Ford on 9 November 1960, one day after John F. Kennedy's election. The first company head selected outside the Ford family, McNamara had gained the favor of Henry Ford II, and had aided in Ford's expansion and success in the postwar period. Less than five weeks after becoming president at Ford, he accepted Kennedy's invitation to join his cabinet, as Secretary of Defense.
In the 1950s, Ford introduced the iconic Thunderbird in 1955 and the Edsel brand automobile line in 1958. Edsel was cancelled after less than 27 months in the marketplace in November 1960. The corporation bounced back from the failure of the Edsel by introducing its compact Ford Falcon in 1960 and the Mustang in 1964. By 1967, Ford of Europe was established.
Lee Iacocca was involved with the design of several successful Ford automobiles, most notably the Ford Mustang. He was also the "moving force," as one court put it, behind the notorious Ford Pinto. He promoted other ideas which did not reach the marketplace as Ford products. Eventually, he became the president of the Ford Motor Company, but he clashed with Henry Ford II and ultimately, on July 13, 1978, he was famously fired by Henry II, despite Ford posting a $2.2 billion dollar profit for the year. In 1979 Philip Caldwell became Chairman, succeeded in 1985 by Donald Petersen.
Harold Poling served as Chairman and CEO from 1990-1993. Alex Trotman was Chairman and CEO from 1993-1998, and Jacques Nasser served at the helm from 1999-2001. Henry Ford's great-grandson, William Clay Ford Jr., is the company's current Chairman of the Board and was CEO until September 5, 2006, when he named Alan Mulally from Boeing as his successor. As of 2006, the Ford family owns about 5 percent of Ford's shares and controls about 40 percent of the voting power through a separate class of stock.[35]
In December 2006, Ford announced that it would mortgage all assets, including factories and equipment, office property, intellectual property (patents and trademarks), and its stakes in subsidiaries, to raise $23.4 billion in cash. The secured credit line is expected to finance product development during the restructuring through 2009, as the company expects to burn through $17 billion in cash before turning a profit. The action was unprecedented in the company's 103 year history.
Zuki really wants a duck. He still loves his seal, "Club", but he's not getting along with whale or pig that much. He hasn't even bothered to name them.
I wanted to put that in illustration tonight with duck boots, which were promised at my last Bench Monday, but he threw a hissy fit.
"NOT DUCKS, MUM! THESE ARE NOT DUCKS!"
So he's back in the closet. I'm hoping he comes out for tomorrow's shot which will be a face down tuesday, but includes a bed. Unfortunately, that will disqualify the shot as a "Face Down Tuesday", but I also said on Wednesday that I would explain why I couldn't sleep until 3AM.
So much catching up to do. I feel that I've neglected my contacts horribly. They started making me actually do work at work. It's 10:20 and I'm just uploading, and I swore I'd try to sleep like a semi-normal person this week.