If you've got fences, you'll need gates. The best sorts of gates are the ones that open and close easily, and contain animals regardless of whether the electric fence unit is on or not.Generally speaking, farm gates can be either wood or metal. Both types have their pros and cons, choice usually comes down to one or a combination of personal preference, practicality and budget.

www.gamagallery.com/#!blank-14/mkaco

  

18 .06_08.07. 2016

 

Gama Gallery

Turnacıbaşı cad.no:21 Beyoğlu /Istanbul

tel:+90 212 245 69 22

www.gamagallery.com

  

www.gamagallery.com/#!blank/c2191

 

"Silent Times"

 

A journey back in time…

In 2013, I discovered neutral density filters. They came at a time in my life when I wanted to find a way to really express myself in my photography.

Up until then, I was attempting to minimize my emotional responses and instead focus on practicalities.

Everything started with the purchase of a 10-stop nd filter.

From the first shots taken with this filter, a new world opened up to me. I was captivated by the results.

I felt that these photographs were truly representing me. They were lending authenticity to my stories. The compositions were reflecting my inner world, my emotional world. I was voluntarily getting lost in this world.

This way of working, though, can be difficult and tiring. It would be much easier, from both a contemporary art and technological perspective, to use digital production methods than to use this exacting, time-intensive one.

How cool can be a photographer who chose the harsh method over the easy digital technics in this crazy contemporary art world?

 

Wouldn’t it be much easier to follow a superficial method like most seem to? Perhaps a higher degree of difficulty renders the product more special?

These filters represent my inner world, and have inspired me to take photos, yes, but they have also inspired me to write and to think. Poetry was appearing to me, line by line with each pose.

The result was a success, because each shot was 300 seconds.

The filters complemented “Water”, the element that I have always felt the closest to, even as a child, was the basis for creating this world

The ND filters made me place more emphasis on light and time while adhering to the discipline of the process, it made me realize again and again how important five minutes are in the World.

Now I know no sunset nor sunrise will repeat itself, I also know that every moment that I lived won't come back.

This is why I am trying to fit minutes in one single shot, with my time machine in my hands, I can journey back into the past next to shorelines.

My passion grows by the day to shoot new waterscapes, and unknown landscapes , both desires coming together to shape my project "Ses'sis Zamanlar".

My journey continues...

I'm back after my final exams, so now there more time for building - so naturally, a bike engines kei truck was the first thing on the list to build.

 

For those unaware, the kei car category is a japanese made category with strict rules on dimensions and engine size. Although these regulations have changed over the years, for the past 21 years cars must be at the most 3.4m long, 1.48m wide and 2m tall, with a 660cc engine producing a maximum of 63hp. The government introduced the category in 1949 to fight costs of making full sized cars after the devastation of WWII. Most citizens were using motorcycles but this wasn't sufficient for businesses that needed to transport goods. And from there on in, the category that makes up about a third of all japanese car sales and has produced many cool and iconic cars.

 

This most likely wouldn't pass the kei car regulations thanks to box flares and a bike engine producing for more than 63hp, but the stock version would be so we'll count it. This model boasts a truck of my own design, a ~600cc motorcycle engine, multi link suspension, super fancy cooling system and a one man cockpit. All this while maintaining the practicality of a commercial pick up. Wel, most of it

 

The model itself features working doors, bed and steering, although the steering only turns 10°. It was a tonne of fun to build, and I'm hoping it's strong enough to hold up. The frame itself is very strong the main worry is the fiddly suspension. I hope you enjoy!

Another of Fernie's fine stock of beautiful old brick buildings, the 1908 built Fernie Post Office and Customs House, today the city heritage library.

 

THE BUILDING HISTORY:

The early 20th century saw an expansion of Canada’s government structures, created to exemplify the success of the budding new dominion and its provinces.

 

Post offices, court houses, and other public buildings emerged in tribute to the nation. Among these, completed in 1908, was the Fernie post office and customs house, a fitting addition to a community that was helping to fuel the nation.

 

Finishing touches had not even been made on the Fernie post office when disaster swept through the city. On August 8, 1908. the entire city of Fernie burned to the ground with the exception of a handful of buildings. The nearly completed post office was spared complete destruction but the interior was completely gutted by the flames.

 

The building was quickly refinished and opened in 1909 to serve the citizens of Fernie as the post office and customs house.

 

From this refinishing until 1974 the building was Fernie’s post office. In 1974 the City of Fernie completed a property exchange with the Federal Government which saw the building act as City Hall until 1982.

 

Between 1982 and 1994 the building had a variety of occupants including provincial ministries, Shell Canada, and a forestry company.

 

The dream to restore the former post office as the Fernie Heritage Library had its roots in the mid-1990’s. It was realized that with the potentially growing community, the existing facility was no longer suitable for the demands that were being placed upon it.

 

Diane Sharp and the library board began the process of preparing for the project and commissioned architectural and engineering reports on the building and its possible use as a public library.

 

Determined to respect the building’s architectural integrity, the Fernie Public Library board retrieved from the Public Archives in Ottawa a full set of original blueprints and construction specifications stipulating “a complete and first-class job.”

 

At the time of the original construction of the building, the government required contractors to pay stonecutters a minimum of $6.00 a day and “ordinary labourers” $2.50 a day. It also specified that the birch floors were to be oiled, not varnished.

 

Accordingly, the second-floor office floors were re-oiled during restoration, rather than coated with a modern urethane finish.

 

Building codes and practicality did require some deviation from the original blueprints: a gas furnace has taken over from the old steam boiler and a modern elevator has replaced the original concrete vault. In the end, the restored building was very close to the original blueprints.

 

Information courtesy of the Fernie Public Library. For more detail:

 

fernie.bc.libraries.coop/about-us/library-information/his...

The MadPea Mad Summer '19 Fishing Tournament ends soon and you have until Sept 15th to collect the Exclusive Shiny Prizes!

 

The MadPea Hanging Net Decor 4 is a unique piece of decor that combines beauty and whimsy with practicality! Never lose your keys, sandwiches or glasses again with such a ideal place to hang them!

 

Join the fun and being your search for your Shiny: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/MadPea%20Mad%20City/197/86/25

I have this long running idea for some sort of transforming spaceship MOC.

The current version of this idea would be something like this: a boxy thing which looks like a cargo freighter or something. But press a button and out pop all sorts of guns and things.

Anyone got any thoughts on this practicality of this? Neat ideas for concealed weapons etc.

 

Coachwork by Pinin Farina

Chassis n° B24S*1007

 

Zoute Sale - Bonhams

Estimated : € 800.000 - 1.000.000

Unsold

 

Zoute Grand Prix 2021

Knokke - Zoute

België - Belgium

October 2021

 

Race developed V6 engine, superlative handling and sensational Pinin Farina styling: these are the ingredients of a sports car classic and the Lancia Aurelia B24 has them all.

 

The B24 represents the ultimate development of one of the most influential designs to emerge from Italy post-WW2: the classic Aurelia. First car ever to employ a V6 engine, the Aurelia was launched at the 1950 Turin Motor Show. Designed in wartime by Francesco de Virgilio, the 1,754cc 60-degree V6 was of all-aluminium construction and used overhead valves operated via short pushrods instead of Lancia's traditional overhead-camshafts. An advanced unitary construction design, the Aurelia retained Lancia's 'sliding pillar' independent front suspension, first seen on the Lambda, but used a novel independent semi-trailing-arm layout at the rear, another world first. The transmission too, was unusual, comprising a two-piece prop-shaft and combined gearbox/rear transaxle on which were mounted the inboard brakes, reflecting Lancia's preoccupation with reducing un-sprung weight, though for once this was not an entirely new departure.

 

The B10 saloon was joined the following year by the landmark, Pinin Farina-styled B20 Coupé, a fastback '2+2' on a shortened wheelbase which, with its combination of sportscar performance and saloon car practicality, can be said to have introduced the Gran Turismo concept to the world. The Aurelia engine had been increased to 1,991cc in 1951 and it was this unit in up-rated form that went into the B20. Lighter and higher geared than the saloon, the B20 coupé was good for a top speed of over 100mph. Introduced in 1953, the third and subsequent series B20s were powered by a 2,451cc, 118bhp version of the pushrod V6, and this unit was adopted for the B24 Spider introduced for 1955, by which time the Aurelia had gained a leaf-sprung De Dion rear axle.

 

Recognised as one of Battista 'Pinin' Farina's most beautiful designs, the B24 Spider was first shown to the public at the 1955 Brussels Motor Show. Built on the shortened chassis of the fourth series, the B24 Spider was powered by the 2,451cc V6 producing 118bhp and 127lb/ft of torque, which in a car weighing a mere 1,050kg (2,310lb) made for lively acceleration and a top speed of 115mph. In true spider fashion the B24 was spartanly equipped, featuring a painted dashboard; limited trim; no external handles; and only a basic hood and side screens by way of weather protection. Nevertheless, the Spider is considered much more desirable today than its more practical and more numerous B24 Convertible successor. The B24 Spider was produced during 1955 only, with 240 being completed, the left-hand/right-hand drive split being 181/59.

 

This Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America was tested and completed on 21st April 1955 and invoiced the following day. The car was originally finished in original Lancia 'grigio' with red leather interior, the same colour combination it has today. The current vendor purchased the Lancia in 1997 from Mr António José das Neves Ferreira de Almeida. Subsequently restored over a period of several years under the guidance of Lancia afficionados Leo and Jan van Hoorick, the work was carried out to a very high standard by Epoca Ricambi of Ciney, Belgium. Accompanying this car is an FCA Lancia Classiche report testifying to its originality and the fact that it is in good working order and in excellent cosmetic condition. The Aurelia also comes with a letter from renowned marque specialists Thornley Kelham stating that it is a 'matching numbers car with all mechanical parts rebuilt'. Fitted with the very rare original type 'Condor Electronic' radio and offered with one of the mere 25 hardtops produced by Thornley Kelham, the car represents a rare opportunity to acquire what must surely be one of the best examples of this rare model available.

For someone like me, who has set himself the task to visit and document photographically as many as possible of those wonderful Romanesque churches and monasteries, a trip to Normandy is both cause for despair and for enchanted amazement. Despair, because the Norman architect, at the time of the Romanesque which coincided with the conquest of Britain by Duke William in 1066 and the tremendous influx of power and riches that ensued, that architect is above all focused on efficiency in the projection of power and majesty. For that architect, the absolute must, the beginning and the end of church building, is the wall. Sculpture doesn’t matter. When it exists at all, it is often relegated to simple modillions under the cornice that supports the roof. The bare wall, perfectly aligned and appareled, reigns as the undisputed king of Norman Romanesque. He who likes to smile and wonder at the ingenuity and inventiveness of Mediæval sculptors, is most of the time sorely disappointed by the utter lack of adornment of those great and tall Norman churches, next to which the barest Cistercian sanctuaries look positively alive and overflowing under the comparatively unbridled abundance of rinceaux, human figures and assorted creatures.

 

No sculpture to speak of, then, is the norm in Normandy. But on the other hand, the masterfulness of the architects and masons turns the job of putting one stone on top of another into a veritable art: it is here, in Normandy, that was first experimented the very innovation that would bring about the end of the Romanesque: the voûte d’ogives, the rib vaulting from which the whole world of Gothic derives. It is in Normandy that it was first imagined and implemented, even as the 11th century hadn’t yet come to a close. We will see where, and how.

 

My photographic tour of Lower Normandy had to begin, of course, by the Abbaye aux Hommes and the Abbaye aux Dames in Caen. Now that we have covered those, I would like to show you a few other Romanesque churches, much less well-known, yet fully worthy of our interest.

 

The first documentary source I consulted when I was preparing this trip was, as usual, the Normandie romane book published by Zodiaque —both volumes, as Romanesque Normandy is so rich that two books were needed to properly cover it. Unfortunately, and owing to some of those unforeseen circumstances that so often intrude upon our lives, I do not have those books with me at the moment. Therefore, I am not able to use the valuable material they hold to compose my captions; still, I will do my best in their absence... with my apologies. I hope the books will be sent back to me by whoever I made the mistake to leave them with, so that I won’t have to buy new copies.

 

•• Contrary to abbey and priory churches, which were often built in quiet and peaceful (not to say lonely) locales, away from the hustle and bustle of villages and towns (even if such cores of human activity often ended up growing from scratch around them!), parochial churches were usually erected in a village or very close by.

 

Dedicated to Saint Peter and listed as a Historic Landmark on the very first list drawn up in 1840 by Minister Prosper Mérimée (which says a lot about its architectural and artistic value, even by 19th century standards), the church of Thaon was built in a lonely vale because the parish, at the time, did not include a village per se, but was rather a collection of scattered hamlets: the church was built more or less in the middle. Tradition has been upheld up to present day: the church is still alone, with only one mill built nearby to benefit from the driving force of the current of River Mue —although, if truth be told, I have to admit that, with the concept of practicality emerging in the 19th century, a new church was consecrated in 1840 smack in the center of what had in the meantime become the most important of those hamlets of old: Thaon. Saint Peter was henceforth known as “the Old Church”.

 

Archæological digs carried out between 1998 and 2011 have shown that the locale was used during the Antiquity as a fanum, probably in connection with a nearby ford that allowed for crossing the river. A small necropolis developed during the 300s and 400s, then a first paleo-Christian edifice was built during the 600s, replaced by a new one in the next century. A first Romanesque church was erected around 1050–80, of which only the bell tower remains today. It is the oldest part of the second Romanesque church, the one we can still admire today, which was built in 1130–50 as an extension of the older church in all directions: the nave was extended by two rows to the West, a wider and much deeper choir was built with a flat apse and aisles were added. It is surrounded by more than 400 tombs from the 7th to the 18th century, which have been excavated and studied by archæologists.

 

During the Romanesque Age, the land was owned by the powerful barons of Creully, who possessed large tracts of land in Lower Normandy; this probably accounts for the architectural quality of the old church, which was placed under the direct patronage of the chapter of canons of the Bayeux Cathedral. This monument has come to us practically intact, except for the aforementioned aisles that were razed around 1720, probably because the terrain had become marshier and threatened the stability of the entire building. Around the same time, the floor level was raised to help fight dampness, of which the inside still exhibits many traces.

 

A few days ago, I uploaded a straight-on view of the southern elevation, explaining how it had been difficult to take for lack of space to step back enough, because of the nearby river Mue. This is another view, this time in perspective, of the same southern elevation, and here too I had to resort to the panorama stitching stratagem: this time, only a three-exposure panorama sufficed. It was stitched in Photoshop.

Coupe Utility vehicles—better known as “utes”—merge the practicality of a pickup bed with the comfort of a sedan. Despite the fact that they’re an endangered species even in the land down under, the birthplace of the ute, they remain an integral part of Australian national identity and motoring heritage. Many performance models like this one were built over the years, and they became Australia’s contribution to muscle car culture in the 1970s.

 

Thank you to The Brothers Brick and the Lego Car Blog for their very kind posts about this build! This project received the "Staff Favorite" award at Brickfair Virginia 2022. More photos available in the build album.

 

©2022 Chris Elliott, All Rights Reserved.

 

Find me also on:

chriselliott.art | Facebook | Instagram | Reddit

Steve lives on his narrowboat and has been travelling Britain's waterways for over four years. He is a YouTuber. Check out his channel, 'Slow Boat Through Britain'.

 

Drying washing is one of the practicalities to be dealt with when living on a boat. I included it as this detail is something I've only seen a few times.

 

I had a lovely chat with Steve. One of the joys of being a photographer is meeting interesting people.

 

About 8,580 narrowboats are registered as 'permanent homes' on Britain's waterway system and represent a growing alternative community living on semi-permanent moorings or continuously cruising. (Source: Wikipedia).

Behold, with the solemnity this moment deserves, my latest masterpiece of modern engineering and artistic excess: the legendary Mitsuoka Le Seyed, recreated with the precision and audacity that only LEGO bricks can provide

 

This is not merely a car — it is a manifesto of style, an ode to unrestrained opulence, a heartfelt tribute to the unforgettable Grand Tour EuroCrash.

 

Observe the majestic chandeliers, symbols of refined taste and questionable practicality, and the vibrant green rims, capturing the fearless spirit of a man who refuses to acknowledge the meaning of “subtle.”

 

A creation that boldly defies not only the laws of aerodynamics… but also those of aesthetics — and, quite possibly, good judgment itself.

 

💚✨ Le Seyed would, without a doubt, approve.

The Morris Minor 1000 Traveller is a compact estate car manufactured by Morris Motors from 1953 to 1971. It is known for its distinctive wood paneling on the exterior and spacious interior. The Traveller was popular for its practicality and charming design, making it a classic British car.

The sober practicality of a Cologne S-Bahn stop.

 

Canon 500n - Kodak Portra 500

Anyone who has visited a shrine in Thailand may have noticed an abundance of red Fanta bottles nestled next to other auspicious items such as fruit and burning incense, but why?

In the west, strawberry Fanta is often found hidden behind more prominent leading soft drinks such as Coca-Cola, Sprite and elder brother orange Fanta. However, in Thailand, strawberry Fanta seems to be ubiquitous not only in newsagents but in shrines too.

 

If you’re already casting judgement about a nation leaving beverages for mythical beings, may I remind you that children in the west are encouraged to leave out milk for Santa and wine is left out for the prophet Elijah during Jewish Passover.

 

PRI reports that it is not uncommon for people to believe in in the paranormal in Thailand. The same is true for other countries across the world, including the US and the UK. However, Thailand adds a new dimension to these spirits: one of spirituality and cuisine.

 

It is believed that in order to appease spirits in Thailand, one must provide snacks. These snacks often include rice, water, fruit, desserts and the aforementioned red strawberry Fanta – which is actually the most popular offering.

 

PRI adds that if you walk through the streets of Bangkok, you’ll notice “dozens of opened, unconsumed Fanta bottles in conspicuous locations.” Each bottle is often placed in front of what looks like an enchanted dollhouse AKA a ‘spirit house’.

 

Every home in Thailand reportedly has a spirit house, which effectively acts as a congregation area for friendly ghosts. Humans leave offerings out for the ghosts for good luck – stealing from the ghosts result in bad luck. If one treats the ghosts well, the spirits will in return, defend the house from demonic forces.

 

Watcharapol Jack Fukijdee, a host of Ghost Radio, said, “The dark spirits won’t go so far as to kill you but if Thai people have accidents, people say it’s because they didn’t give offerings to the spirits”

 

“You don’t take care of them? They won’t take care of you. You’ll start arguing with your family. Stuff will go missing. You’ll fall ill,” added the 40-year-old host. Fukjidee’s Ghost Radio is offers a call-in based program that focuses entirely on paranormal activity in Thailand.

 

“It is believed that treating spirits well also results in other benefits. “You can ask them for anything,” says Chatgaew Pinjulai, a 50-year-old woman who sells Fanta and other spirit offerings by the roadside. “Let me be free from illness! May my relatives avoid traffic collisions! Give me smart and studious children! Anything you want.”

 

But why strawberry Fanta?

“It’s just a tradition,” says the Chatgaew. “A very pervasive tradition.”

 

“But red-colored Fanta is far and away the most popular,” Chatgaew adds. “It’s good stuff. One Fanta will get you 10 wishes.”

 

The vendor also says that spirits enjoy sweet items. According to PRI, “a typical Thai-sized serving is an 8.5-ounce bottle packed with 32 grams of sugar.”

 

Furthermore, the red colour of strawberry Fanta is significant. “Red is a lucky color,” writes The Strategic Retreat, “Red is the color of blood and is a replacement for a blood sacrifice. It’s a symbolic offering of life force.”

 

The travel website also references the glass structure of the Fanta bottle. “Unlike many other beverages, Fanta comes in a glass. It won’t be blown over in a moderate wind. Practicality goes a long way in appeasing earth spirits in a country prone to sudden storms.”

 

According to the Bangkok Post, Thailand is Fanta’s fourth-largest market in the world, ahead of US and China.

When the dignitaries of Victorian Stratford-upon-Avon decided to commemorate the town's most famous former resident, they admirably chose to build a memorial theatre rather than 'merely' a statue – but were persuaded to include a sculpted monument anyway: the 'Shakespeare Memorial' (1888), by Lord Ronald Gower.

 

Though sometimes dismissed as a 'gentleman amateur', Lord Ronald (Charles Sutherland-Leveson-)Gower (1845-1916) was a Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery, where he became an authority on Shakespeare portraiture, and an accomplished sculptor also experienced in the practicalities of bronze casting.

A plaque on the plinth records that Gower's (self-funded?) project took twelve years, from initial sculpting in clay (a plaster cast of the proposed monument was displayed in Paris in 1881), via casting in bronze by three specialist Parisian foundries, to installation (under French supervision) in Stratford on a Bath- and York stone plinth also designed in Paris.

 

At the centre is the seated bronze figure of Shakespeare on a stone plinth decorated with bronze wreaths, vines and masks of comedy and tragedy. Surrounding this central element are four of Shakespeare's characters in bronze, chosen to reflect the playwright's versatility: Hamlet, Prince Hal, Falstaff and Lady Macbeth respectively represent 'Philosophy', 'History', 'Comedy' and 'Tragedy'. Shakespeare himself is placed rather too high to be examined properly, which also encourages birds to perch on the statue (with all that ensues...), but I rather like the depictions of Hamlet, Hal and Lady Macbeth.

 

Unveiled in October 1888, the monument was initially located outside the Memorial Theatre, facing Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried. The character statues occupied alcoves in the faces of the plinth, as parts of a clearly unified composition.

However, the Theatre was destroyed by fire in 1926 and rebuilt facing the opposite way; rather than leave the (undamaged) Memorial hidden behind the new building, in 1933 it was moved ~250 m to beside the main road near Clopton Bridge, a more spacious site which allowed the display of the character statues some 10 m from each corner (rather than each face) of the plinth, almost giving them the status of standalone pieces – not something for which Gower had planned, and the statues don't entirely work in isolation.

 

This one depicts the moment when Prince Hal, the future Henry V, visits his ill father and, thinking Henry IV dead, hesitantly puts on the crown – and his sleeping father wakes. The resulting anger and shame spurs the dissolute young prince to adopt the responsibility of his status.

"...The new Koenigsegg Agera RS has its focus set firmly on the track but is still perfect for regular use on the road. It uses advanced technology developed during our exclusive Koenigsegg One:1 program, while maintaining all the functionality of previous S and R models. Such practicalities include a usable luggage compartment and a detachable hardtop that can be stowed internally for top-down motoring at any time.

 

Agera RS enhancements include: advanced lightweight sound insulation, an all-new front splitter optimized for the track, front winglets, side skirts, advanced dynamic underbody flap system and a dynamically active rear spoiler for added down force (now up to 450 kg at 250 km/h). The RS also features improved side air outlets behind the front wheels, increased power and a raised rpm limit..."

 

Source: Koenigsegg

  

Photographed at Goodwood Festival of Speed - the event which offers enthusiasts an unrivalled opportunity to get close to the action, and to meet the great champions who gather at Goodwood each summer.

 

If you'd like to visit FOS, you can set "2018 Ticket Alert" by clicking here: Goodwood Festival of Speed

 

____________________________________________________

 

Marcin Wojciechowski Photography

 

Marcinek_55 Instagram

 

En route to the walled garden at West Dean, I noticed in the near distance what appeared to be a huge tripod. On the ground nearby I could just make out a person reclining. As I drew level I said hello and asked if many people had enquired about the tripod. He, for it was a man, said no but explained that it held a 3D laser camera with which he was measuring the mass and structure of a very large tree a bit further down the path. He told me that the camera could carry out this task in a fraction of the time a human could do it, indeed even if they could reliably do it.

 

The tree in question looked more dead than autumnal and a section of path was cordoned off as branches were hanging over the passage. I wondered if the tree would be felled but found out that the man with the camera was engaged in research for University College London (UCL).

 

At some point I introduced myself and learnt his name was Phil. I asked for a photo and explained how I would use it. Phil was happy with that and also interested to know more about the group The Human Family on Flickr. I took a few shots. It was quite difficult to ensure that all of the 3D camera plus tripod fitted in the frame.

 

Phil joined the Dept of Geography, UCL , 5 years ago on completion of his PhD. His wife is from Australia where he has also worked and he observed that a great diversity of species of trees grows there.

 

The 'bread and butter' of this type of research is carried out in the tropics. (I forgot to ask about the practicalities of transporting the camera.)

 

Phil said that, in addition to the fieldwork with the camera, he spends a good amount of time behind a computer screen analysing the results. I understand that the outcomes of this work are useful in the field of climate change. From an online press release by UCL:

 

"New laser scanning technology is being used by UCL scientists to provide fresh and unprecedented insights into the structure and mass of trees, a development that will help plot how much carbon they absorb and how they might respond to climate change."

 

I offered photos and Phil gave his card from which I saw that he is Dr Phil W.... a postdoctoral research assistant.

 

He folded up the tripod and was on his way and we carried on to the walled garden.

  

This is my #103 submission to the Human Family Group. To view more street portraits and stories visit:

www.flickr.com/groups/thehumanfamily/

   

With the rumored development of space-equipped VCS by hostile organizations, the URE commissioned a variant of the Aardwolf to replace the heavily outdated Grouse I units that made up the majority of their orbital corps.

 

The new Aardwolf (dubbed "Spacewolf" by some pilots) features heavy modifications to grant it high amounts of speed and mobility in space. The backpack contains the extra power needed for the base Aardwolf, in addition to the fuel for the various vernier thrusters on the backpack, shoulders, and legs. The backpack also has two manipulator arms which can hold any of the unit's equipment if needed. The amount of fuel the system can hold is still rather limited, however, so they cannot operate far from a station. For new armament, the Spacewolf has a 120mm repeating flak cannon, which can be used against enemy units or to destroy smaller chunks of debris.

 

I had quite a bit of fun building this guy! Of course, it's heavily influenced by the Gundam Thunderbolt GM, but I threw in some of my own ideas as well. Throughout the build, I tried to keep in mind the practicality of everything, and what systems the mech would need for space operation, which was an interesting challenge. My favorite part is fiddling with the arms & thrusters on the backpack, they're really satisfying to mess around with! :P

Just a quick idea I had for a while. This is the closest thing I could make that matches the idea. The idea was that laser rifles could be developed by modifying receivers that originally shot bullets. This one happens to be made from an UMP derivative though it features heavy modifications.

 

It's also a practice build so I don't care much about practicality here like in my other builds. It's one of those 'form over function' builds that I make once in a while.

wearing dresses/skirts is very nice--in my eyes, even preferable--but every so often practicality is the order of the day

Starting to cross Vasabron bridge in Stockholm.

 

What was a car from the 60s doing in Stockholm in 2018? They were shooting a movie set in the 60's. I noticed when a supervisor from the shoot politely pleaded with me to stop taking pictures of the cars and leave the scene.

 

The Renault 16 (R16) is a D-segment family hatchback produced by French automaker Renault between 1965 and 1980 in Le Havre, France. The Renault 16 was the first successful hatchback body-style car in a market segment, previously exclusively dominated by three-box, bottom range executive cars, and estates, selling approaching two million cars – all hatchbacks.

 

The R16 was a great success, with 1,845,959 R16s produced during a production run of 15 years. The car sold well in most of Europe, winning praise for its spacious and comfortable interior as well as the practicality offered by its effectively unique hatchback bodystyle.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_16

  

The World Solar Challenge (WSC), or the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge since 2013, tied to the sponsorship of Bridgestone Corporation is the world's most well-known solar-powered car race event. A biennial road race covering 3,022 km (1,878 mi) through the Australian Outback, from Darwin, Northern Territory, to Adelaide, South Australia, created to foster the development of experimental, solar-powered vehicles.

The race attracts teams from around the world, most of which are fielded by universities or corporations, although some are fielded by high schools. The race has a 32-year history spanning fourteen races, with the inaugural event taking place in 1987. Initially held once every three years, the event became biennial from the turn of the century.

Since 2001 the World Solar Challenge was won seven times out of nine efforts by the Nuna team and cars of the Delft University of Technology from the Netherlands, with only the Tokai Challenger, built by the Tokai University of Japan able to take the crown in 2009 and 2011.

Starting in 2007, the WSC has been raced in multiple classes. After the German team of Bochum University of Applied Sciences competed with a four-wheeled, multi-seat car, the BoCruiser (in 2009), in 2013 a radically new "Cruiser Class" was introduced, racing and stimulating the technological development of practically usable, and ideally road-legal, multi-seater solar vehicles. Since its inception, Solar Team Eindhoven's four- and five-seat Stella solar cars from Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands) won the Cruiser Class in all three races so far.

Remarkable technological progress has been achieved since the GM led, highly experimental, single-seat Sunraycer prototype first won the WSC with an average speed of 66.9 km/h (41.6 mph). Once competing cars became steadily more capable to match or exceed legal maximum speeds on the Australian highway, the race rules were consistently made more demanding and challenging — for instance after Honda's Dream car first won the race with an average speed exceeding 55 mph (88.5 km/h) in 1996. In 2005 the Dutch Nuna team were the first to beat an average speed of 100 km/h (62 mph).

The 2017 Cruiser class winner, the five-seat Stella Vie vehicle, was able to carry an average of 3.4 occupants at an average speed of 69 km/h (43 mph). Like its two predecessors, the 2017 Stella Vie vehicle was successfully road registered by the Dutch team, further emphasizing the great progress in real world compliance and practicality that has been achieved.

The World Solar Challenge held its 30th anniversary event on October 8–15, 2017.

The 2019 World Solar Challenge will take place from 13 to 20 October. 53 teams from 24 countries have entered the competition. The same 3 classes, Challenger (30 teams), Cruiser (23 teams) and Adventure will be featured.

 

WEEK 22 – Stateline Kroger Revisited, Set 2

 

Finally, here it is: our very first close-up look at how the rest of the department signs we’ll be seeing in this stour are butchered under Remix. (Get it? “Butchered,” because this is the butcher counter? Okay, true, I dislike it anyway, but I thought that joke would at least mask my distaste a little bit :P )

 

As you can see, literally all the quote-unquote “remodel” does is remove the curved railing with the existing “fresh meat” lettering*, and replace it with new stick-on letters reading “MEAT & FISH.” The dark-colored basket signs like this one get white letters; the blonde wood signs we’ll see later get dark letters. And that’s that.

 

Again, as I wrote earlier, it seems like we’re progressing from best to worst in this tour. So, while this is our first example of a basket sign reuse, and the ultimate point I’m trying to get to is that the basket sign reuses look bad overall, this specific one actually looks somewhat tolerable (or at least more passable than others) because the length of the phrase “MEAT & FISH” actually stretches long enough to fill the entire basket – so, as a result, there are no centering issues. For smaller phrases such as “DELI” or “DAIRY,” the remodel crews in theory should work to center the letters appropriately on the signage – but as we’ll see, that often does not turn out successfully, sometimes to very, very bad effects.

 

It also doesn’t help that in some cases, the nature of the Remix décor package itself means that it’s asking for very thin letters such as a capital “I” to be affixed at a point where it turns out there’s actually a gap in the basket sign – notice that they just barely avoid that issue here, with the “I” in “FISH.” That’s just bad design, imo. The shapes of letters can be finicky, and at this size and with those gaps between the sign beams, finding enough points to affix the putty to to make sure the letters stick can be a challenge.

 

All of which, again, is why I feel like reusing the basket signs is much more trouble than it’s worth, and negatively impacts this décor in more ways than one: there’s the cheap-looking factor (with the letters just stuck flat on there), the décor personality factor (with the reuse of the basket signs and the issues that that presents, concerning both the lack of separate, more inventive wall signage, as well as the brown-on-brown look that this department has going on now), the practicality factor (with the difficulty of installing the letters and subsequent implementation failures)… etcetera.

 

* -- Almost forgot to explain the asterisk here: just wanted to briefly note that this store was unusual in that most Bountiful stores already went ahead and said “meat & fish” on the department sign, whereas Stateline here had just “fresh meat,” as shown in that linked image. So, Remix has actually brought the store up to par, as far as terminology is concerned.

 

(c) 2021 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

 

London; July, 2024.

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My wife mentioned I had become set in my ways. I think she was probably being a little provocative, just jabbing me for a little reaction. I must admit that hurt a touch, but I made sure it didn't show, and I carried on ignoring her like I normally do. Was she having a real dig at me, or was she subtly suggesting I go and have a bit of fun, spend some money, perhaps go a little wild? Being the positive type I assumed she was suggesting the latter, out of devotion to me, of course, but I guessed that the good wife in her knew what was in my heart and in my head. I would like a new car. I think she knew it, by the brochures lying around. Not that I deliberately put them where she would see them. But I would like something that doesn't mark me out as Mr Accord Man: a little dated, utterly reliable, understated and unassuming. Maybe....I hate to say it....a bit boring. No: alot boring.

 

The Honda Accord. You hardly ever see one. Honda has even given up selling their large saloon in the UK. It's not even planned a replacement model for it. And yet they love them in the USA. There are millions of them, and they consistently top the charts in most respects. But here in the UK, well, it's a slightly sad story. One of the joys for me as a sales rep used to be getting a new company car. Even if that meant progressing through a myriad of Astras, Sierras, Orions, a Vauxhall Belmont, and Cavaliers to a point where I could choose my own company car. I once complained when I took a new job where they had stated that the company car was a Ford Sierra 1.8GL but instead when I got there they said instead it was going to be a Vauxhall Astra. I felt cheated. But I should have known the Sales secretary liked me and her impish smile meant she was saving a bit of something I fancied, especially for me as their sales star. It only turned out to be an Astra GTE with a drainpipe exhaust, every boy racers dream. I don't remember ever being late for an appointment, no matter how ridiculously late I left it to get there. But when I started buying my own company car I was more sensible. I chose a moss green Ford Mondeo. The colour wasn't my choosing but Mondeos had just been launched and were radically advanced compared to anything else on the market. It stood me well for 100,000 miles, the odd trip to the garage being a fact of life for minor ailments. What motivated me to eventually trade it in for a 5th generation Honda Accord, I have no idea but perhaps a VTEC engine and double wishbone suspension all round sounded like a good idea. I quickly began to appreciate the quality of the car, the sweetness of the engine, the reliability, and the fact it wasn't as common as the other brands. With the exception of a couple of new exhaust pipes (that corroded in those days), tyres, brake pads and discs, wiper blades and occasional servicing the car was faultless. Nothing....nothing went wrong with it. Not even a light bulb. I sold it to a colleague's brother in-law when it got to 99,992 miles. I was amazed to hear 12 years later it was still running, and still looked exactly the same. I traded up to a Lexus, which I loved too. But having to buy a new set of tyres every 7000 miles became a sensitive issue on company expenses. I bought some cheaper tyres and the car told me it wasn't impressed with my choice as the traction control came on far more frequently. It was a costly mistake I almost paid the ultimate price for. Having gone 88,000 miles, using more than 10 sets of tyres, my insurer had to pay for the stretch of dry stone wall that was levelled, the three railway sleeper sized posts stood in the ground as a feature to the entrance of Nether Alderley village that were dislodged, the post with the 40mph speed limit sign atop it that was bowled over, and the car that lay shattered on its roof 70 yards down the road, facing from whence it had just come. I was given a minimum sum to buy a replacement car and settled on a diesel Renault Laguna Tourer. Surprisingly I loved that too, apart from when things went wrong with it. More than anything else in life it probably contributed to me hating the French more than anything else, including snails, frog's legs and Charles de Gaulle. How I got it up to 95,000 miles I shall never know. But the expensive trips to the dealers even to get simple little things like electric switches replaced put me off less reliable manufacturers long before they charged me to replace a split intercooler, and when that didn't cure the fault, told me I needed a new turbo. Do they think I am a mug?

 

I harked back to my Honda Accord. I hate it when a car has to go to the garage. It's inconvenient. It's expensive. I bought a brand new seventh generation Honda Accord with Honda's first ever diesel engine, the 2.2 D-TEC. Wow, it's a free revving, smooth engine with great torque not like one of those agricultural French or German diesels. It was fabulous for another 88,000 miles only ever requiring an offside front sidelight bulb. Once again I was so completely satisfied with a Honda Accord that it was a no brainer to buy an 8th generation Honda Accord Tourer. Yet again the 2.2 diesel was a peach, the tourer being even more comfortable than the previous Accord. I was slowly beginning to do fewer miles by this point and four years of ownership took me up to 80,000 miles. Amazingly that car never need any parts other than the usual wear and tear items of tyres, brakes, wiper blades. And so we arrived at a point four years ago where I decided to change my car. I looked at every prestige brand and shook my head to all of them. None can touch the Accord in that fundamental requirement for a car: reliability.

 

So when the car that became The Black Pearl became available there was no choice. With uprated power and every imaginable manufacturer's fitted extra, the Type-S it is the best Accord I've ever had. And now it has reached that point. the mileage is 88,000 once again, after four years. And one replacement nearside front side light bulb. And that's all (the rear number plate bulb was a false alarm). That's four Honda Accords I've had carrying me every day for 15 years, and more than 350 thousand miles. fifteen times round the world and the only replacement parts were three small light bulbs.

 

But there is no Honda Accord to replace it with. I went out with my son ten days ago to look at the new Honda Civic Sport Plus with the 1.5 turbo engine in it. I like its quirky, sporty, youthful looks. I like its practicality. I like it's handling and ride. I like it in red! I feel slightly re-juvenated in it. And last Saturday I went with Son No.2 to buy one. No, we were going to buy two. One for him, one for me. We went for another test drive and he sat down to fill out the papers to buy his, all in black. And then it was my turn, and I faltered. I want to feel younger. I want something new. I want bright red. But then.....oh, I like having a fuel range of up to 740+ miles, I like those really comfortable wide, electric and heated leather front seats, I like that really strong surge of torque the Type-S Accord delivers from low down in the rev range, but best of all I love the fact that I have never ever seen an Accord the same as mine. I'm an individual. Being different is everything to me. Even if that does mean being Mr Accord Man through and through. I'm really sorry, wife. I really can't buy another car, not even that bright red one that will make me look youthful and with the in-crowd. I'll stick with being good 'ole dependable, reliable me. Mr Accord Man

The Droplet is the ultimate in streamlined cushion hover vehicles. Built with all of the reliability and practicality that you've come to expect from the Land Vehicles division of Llwyngwril Systems, the Droplet dispenses with unnecessary and weighty features such seat belts (and mud guards, as it has no wheels!).

The K wagon seeing it's the real life huge tank of WWI was armed with 4 77mm guns. So I now designed really derpy Manticores that have multiple turrets, and a dumb amount of weapons, and I love it. The Manticore Mk-4 was reliable, had a top speed of 14 mph, and had a 57mm gun that was more accurate, faster to reload, held more ammo, and was less cumbersome giving it an edge over 75mm equipped tanks, and it could pierce their armor, and kill them just as well. It also had sprung suspension, an advantage I never mentioned much. BUT THATS NOT INTERESTING ENOUGH XD, So I made land battleships because bigger guns = better to some people even though it's a terrible concept.

 

The Manticore Mk-2 has a top speed of 20 mph, and is armed with a 77mm long barreled howitzer. The Mk-5 is protected by 20mm of frontal armor, and 15mm of side armor, and has a crew of 4, plus artillerymen. This tank is basically a mobile howitzer, and can shell targets up to 10,700 meters away. It's lighter armor, and larger engine makes it faster, although not nimble, it is also slowed down by mud, and it's older design gave it a few mechanical problems that was sorted out in later tanks. It also is slow to turn given the fact it was based off of a trench crossing tank.

 

The Manticore Mk-3 has a top speed of 15 mph, and is armed with a 77mm gun, 2 40mm guns, and 6 machine guns. Its designed as an infantry support vehicle. The Mk-3 is protected by 32mm of frontal armor, and 22mm of side armor, and has a crew of 10. This reliable design is still in service for infantry support, as it's cheaper to produce, and can be classified as a mere large tank. It is also the only tank that can carry infantry (up to 5 additional soldiers)

 

The Manticore Mk-4 has a top speed of 9 mph, and is armed with a 77mm gun, a turret mounted 57mm gun, 2 40mm guns, and 5, to 6 machine guns. The Mk-4 is protected by 45mm, to 50mm of frontal armor depending on the situation, and 30mm of side armor, and has a crew of 14. This tank is considered by most to be statistically one of the best tanks on Terra as it possesses a more reliable gun than a clucky 77, and can cross trenches while other foreign tanks cannot.

 

The Manticore Mk-5 has a top speed of 8 mph, and is armed with a 77 turret mounted gun, a 77mm casemate gun, 2 40mm guns, and 9 machine guns including a coaxle mounted one in each turret. this gives it a heavy arsenal of overlapping machine gun fire. The Mk-5 is protected by 60mm of frontal armor, and 25mm of side armor, and has a crew of 20.

The weight of the armor, and additional turret slowed down the tank by a bit, it is only semi practical due to its speed.

 

The Manticore Mk-6, also known in development under the codename project X-b0x1 has a top speed of 6 mph, and armed with 2 turreted 77mm main guns, 2 side sponsons mounted 77mm guns, 2 40mm guns, and 8 machine guns. The Mk-6 is protected by 50mm of armor in the front, and sides, and has a crew of 25. The heaviest armor, and armament a tank could get, it's slightly slower than a K wagon, and even with its extended body tends to get bogged down in muddy conditions. It has been deemed impractical by most military officials, and is only planned for parades. I still plan on making the Mk-4 over the clunky designs for reasons of reliability, and practicality. I'm not done making dumb tanks yet though.

For someone like me, who has set himself the task to visit and document photographically as many as possible of those wonderful Romanesque churches and monasteries, a trip to Normandy is both cause for despair and for enchanted amazement. Despair, because the Norman architect, at the time of the Romanesque which coincided with the conquest of Britain by Duke William in 1066 and the tremendous influx of power and riches that ensued, that architect is above all focused on efficiency in the projection of power and majesty. For that architect, the absolute must, the beginning and the end of church building, is the wall. Sculpture doesn’t matter. When it exists at all, it is often relegated to simple modillions under the cornice that supports the roof. The bare wall, perfectly aligned and appareled, reigns as the undisputed king of Norman Romanesque. He who likes to smile and wonder at the ingenuity and inventiveness of Mediæval sculptors, is most of the time sorely disappointed by the utter lack of adornment of those great and tall Norman churches, next to which the barest Cistercian sanctuaries look positively alive and overflowing under the comparatively unbridled abundance of rinceaux, human figures and assorted creatures.

 

No sculpture to speak of, then, is the norm in Normandy. But on the other hand, the masterfulness of the architects and masons turns the job of putting one stone on top of another into a veritable art: it is here, in Normandy, that was first experimented the very innovation that would bring about the end of the Romanesque: the voûte d’ogives, the rib vaulting from which the whole world of Gothic derives. It is in Normandy that it was first imagined and implemented, even as the 11th century hadn’t yet come to a close. We will see where, and how.

 

My photographic tour of Lower Normandy had to begin, of course, by the Abbaye aux Hommes and the Abbaye aux Dames in Caen. Now that we have covered those, I would like to show you a few other Romanesque churches, much less well-known, yet fully worthy of our interest.

 

The first documentary source I consulted when I was preparing this trip was, as usual, the Normandie romane book published by Zodiaque —both volumes, as Romanesque Normandy is so rich that two books were needed to properly cover it. Unfortunately, and owing to some of those unforeseen circumstances that so often intrude upon our lives, I do not have those books with me at the moment. Therefore, I am not able to use the valuable material they hold to compose my captions; still, I will do my best in their absence... with my apologies. I hope the books will be sent back to me by whoever I made the mistake to leave them with, so that I won’t have to buy new copies.

 

Contrary to abbey and priory churches, which were often built in quiet and peaceful (not to say lonely) locales, away from the hustle and bustle of villages and towns (even if such cores of human activity often ended up growing from scratch around them!), parochial churches were usually erected in a village or very close by.

 

Dedicated to Saint Peter and listed as a Historic Landmark on the very first list drawn up in 1840 by Minister Prosper Mérimée (which says a lot about its architectural and artistic value, even by 19th century standards), the church of Thaon was built in a lonely vale because the parish, at the time, did not include a village per se, but was rather a collection of scattered hamlets: the church was built more or less in the middle. Tradition has been upheld up to present day: the church is still alone, with only one mill built nearby to benefit from the driving force of the current of River Mue —although, if truth be told, I have to admit that, with the concept of practicality emerging in the 19th century, a new church was consecrated in 1840 smack in the center of what had in the meantime become the most important of those hamlets of old: Thaon. Saint Peter was henceforth known as “the Old Church”.

 

Archæological digs carried out between 1998 and 2011 have shown that the locale was used during the Antiquity as a fanum, probably in connection with a nearby ford that allowed for crossing the river. A small necropolis developed during the 300s and 400s, then a first paleo-Christian edifice was built during the 600s, replaced by a new one in the next century. A first Romanesque church was erected around 1050–80, of which only the bell tower remains today. It is the oldest part of the second Romanesque church, the one we can still admire today, which was built in 1130–50 as an extension of the older church in all directions: the nave was extended by two rows to the West, a wider and much deeper choir was built with a flat apse and aisles were added. It is surrounded by more than 400 tombs from the 7th to the 18th century, which have been excavated and studied by archæologists.

 

During the Romanesque Age, the land was owned by the powerful barons of Creully, who possessed large tracts of land in Lower Normandy; this probably accounts for the architectural quality of the old church, which was placed under the direct patronage of the chapter of canons of the Bayeux Cathedral. This monument has come to us practically intact, except for the aforementioned aisles that were razed around 1720, probably because the terrain had become marshier and threatened the stability of the entire building. Around the same time, the floor level was raised to help fight dampness, of which the inside still exhibits many traces.

 

The flat apse.

Author: Ángel Manuel Rodríguez

What biblical symbolism is associated with the four cardinal directions?

Cardinal compass points in the Bible are rich in meaning. Knowing their symbolism can help interpret some biblical passages. We often orient ourselves by facing north. In the ancient world the point of orientation was east. The east was before them, the west behind, the south to the right, and the north to the left. The future wasn’t in front, but behind, that is to say invisible. 1. The East: The importance of the east as the main point of orientation may be related to the rising of the sun and its importance in the religions of the ancient Near East. In the Bible its symbolism emerges for the first time in Genesis. The Garden of Eden was placed in the East (chap. 2:8), and its entrance faced the east (chap. 3:24). After sinning, Adam and Eve left the garden and went toward the east (chap. 3:24). This eastward movement continued with Cain (chap. 4:16) and culminated in the movement of the human race toward the east (chap. 11:2-4). Within this context the east is symbolically ambivalent. The garden placed there symbolized safety and security. After sin, when it was the direction of the exile, it represented a condition of alienation from God. It was also the place of the wilderness, from which destructive winds came, threatening life (Ps. 48:7; Eze. 27:26). To the prophets the east was a symbol of Babylonian exile and the saving presence of God. He traveled to Babylon and ultimately redeemed His people (Eze. 10:18, 19; 11:22, 23). The east became a place where God intervened on behalf of His people, bringing them salvation (cf. Rev. 16:12). 2. The West: The west symbolizes both negative and positive elements. To the west of the land was the sea, representing evil and death (Dan. 7:2, 3). In fact, the term “sea” often referred to the west (Num. 3:23). It is also the place of darkness because that’s where the sun sets (Ps. 104:19, 20). The positive meaning is its association with the Israelite tabernacle/Temple. Although it faced east, access to it required movement toward the west. In that sense the west pointed toward restored unity with God; a return to the Garden of Eden. When the Israelites traveled to and worshipped in the Temple they faced the west and had the rising sun behind them. This movement to the west began with Abram, who left the east and went to Canaan in the west in obedience to God (Gen. 11:31). It is a symbol of divine blessing. Once the exiles were liberated from their enemies in the east, they traveled west, to the land of Israel. In that journey, the Lord Himself traveled with them (Eze. 43:2-5). 3. The North: Bible students have suggested that the north is a symbol of the permanent or the eternal, perhaps because the polar stars were permanently visible in the sky. It is the place of God’s celestial dwelling (Isa. 14:13) and from which His glory descends (Job 37:22) with blessings or judgments (Eze. 1:4). He is the true King of the North. But the north—represented by the left hand—is also a symbol of disaster. The enemy of God’s people came from the north (Jer. 1:14, 15; Eze. 38:6), bringing destruction. In a sense, the enemy was the false king of the north who tried to usurp God’s role and is finally destroyed by the Lord (Zeph. 2:12; Dan. 11:21-45).

4. The South: The south is primarily a negative symbol. But the fact that it is represented by the right hand makes it also a positive one. It is negative because to the south of Israel was the wilderness, a region where life does not prosper (Isa. 30:6). To the south was Egypt, which opposed God’s power and oppressed His people. But the south was also the place where the Lord appeared to Moses, went with Him to Egypt, liberated His people, and appeared to them on Mount Sinai (e.g., Deut. 33:2). The ambivalent nature of the symbols of the four cardinal directions seems based on the fact that evil was perceived to be present everywhere and that God’s saving presence was always accessible to His people from any corner of the world (Ps. 139:7-12). In a sense they pointed beyond the points of the compass to the cosmic conflict between good and evil. Copyright: Copyright © Biblical Research Institute General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists® The Four Symbols were given human names after Daoism became popular. The Azure Dragon has the name Meng Zhang (孟章), the Vermilion Bird was called Ling Guang (陵光), the White Tiger Jian Bing (監兵), and the Black Turtle Zhi Ming (執明). In 1987, a tomb was found at Xishuipo (西水坡) in Puyang, Henan. There were some clam shells and bones forming the images of the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, and the Big Dipper. It is believed that the tomb belongs to the Neolithic Age, dating to about 6,000 years ago. The Rongcheng Shi manuscript recovered in 1994 gives five directions rather than four and places the animals quite differently: Yu the Great gave banners to his people marking the north with a bird, the south with a snake, the east with the sun, the west with the moon, and the center with a bear.

Cardinal directions in Chinese language: their cultural, social and symbolic meanings.Introduction In his discussions of dominant Ndembu ritual symbols, Victor Turner points out that one major property of symbols is polarization of meanings. That is to say symbols possess two clearly different poles of meanings - the physical and physiological (the sensory pole), and the abstract and ideological (the ideological pole) (Turner, 1967, p.28). At the sensory pole, the meanings represent "the natural and physiological phenomena and processes" and "arouse desires and feelings." At the ideological pole, the meanings represent "components of the moral and social orders, to principles of social organization, to kinds of corporate grouping, and to the norms and values inherent in structural relationships" (Turner, 1967, p.28).

 

The same kind of polarization of meanings can be detected in cardinal directions of the Chinese symbolic system. However, Turner did not focus his discussions on the interrelations between the sensory and the ideological poles of symbolic meanings. Durkheim's and Mauss's Primitive Classification represented one school of thought on this issue. They argued that the origin of logical classification was a result and an aspect of social classification (Durkheim and Mauss, 1963, p.84). In the case of cardinal directions, more evidence has indicated that the sensory pole of meanings determines the ideological pole rather than the other way around. In this article the author first applies etymological method to study the meanings of direction words in Chinese language. The author believes such analyses help to understand how directions have been perceived in the history of the written language. The latter part of the article discusses how cardinal directions and other orientation concepts are used as part of traditional Chinese symbolic system. Following Jung's definitions of "signs" vs. "symbols" (Turner, 1963), we can say the directional words are signs of the known meanings of directions, whereas directions and other orientation concepts are symbols of the unknown universe.Etymological studies of directional words allow us to trace the evolution of the Chinese characters, whose hieroglyphic nature is particularly conservatory of the ideological evolution of the words. The etymological data are mostly collected from a variety of well-recognized dictionaries and online dictionary sites in both English and Chinese. The semantic units in Chinese language arc words and characters. However, graphemes and phonemes of the characters have been studied in some cases in order to understand the origin of meanings. In addition, idioms and phrases are also informational sources as it usually takes a long time for them to be established. Hence, they are used to trace ancient meanings of the words as well. Space and time are two of the most fundamental concepts in all cultures, the essential reality of human life. Like the air we breathe and the water we drink every day, they are the daily necessity we could never do without but usually take for granted. Perception of space and time defines the essence of a culture's worldview, which differs in geography and in periods of history. It is especially so in Chinese culture, as cardinal directions have become an integrative part of its symbolic classification system that defines the physical and the social reality. Studying perception of space and time would allow us to tap into the depth of a culture's worldview. The Chinese Characters Before starting the discussions of the direction words, the author would like to give a brief introduction of some major etymological and linguistic principles of the Chinese writing system. This will provide the theoretical foundation for some later discussions. If we are to divide the writing systems in the world into three types: the logographic system (in which the minimal complete unit is a logogram), the syllabic system (in which the minimal complete unit is a syllable) and the alphabetic system (in which the minimal complete unit is an alphabet) (Writing system, Wikipedia), the Chinese writing system is a typical logographic system. According to Shuowen Jiezi, one of the earliest and most well recognized etymological dictionaries in Chinese, the ancient Chinese characters can be divided into six different categories in terms of how they were developed or formed (Xu, Shuowen Jiezi online; Shuowen Jiezi, Wikipedia; Zhongwen.com, online). The first category is the pictographs (xiangxing, [??]) (1), which are direct graphical depiction of the objects they denote. Examples include [??] (ri; the archaic form [??]) meaning the sun. The second category is ideographs (zhishi, [??]; or xiangshi, [??]) that represent abstract notions. For instance, the concepts of "above" and "below" are expressed as (shang, [??]) and (xia, [??]). They use signs like the dashes and dots to express abstract ideas. The third category is called logical aggregates (huiyi, [??]; or xiangyi, [??]) in which two or more parts are combined to indicate the meanings. One example would be the character for brightness (ming, [??]), which is a combination of the characters of the sun ([??]) and the moon (yue, [??]). The fourth group is phonetic complexes (xingsheng, [??] or xiangsheng, [??]), which are composed of phonetics that are indicative of the pronunciation and radicals that are indicative of the semantic category. An example of this category is (bei, [??]), which means the back of the body. It is a combination of a phonetics (bei, [??]) and a radical (yue, [??]), which indicates flesh. The fifth type of characters is called transferences (zhuanzhu, [??]) in which more abstract and complicated meanings are derived from the original concrete meanings of words. For an example, the word [??] (bei, the back of the body) gradually adopts the meanings of "turn one's back" and "betray and desert somebody or something." The last principle that Chinese characters developed is false borrowing (jiajie, [??]) in which words take on totally unrelated meanings from the original either intentionally or accidentally. There are two major writing systems used by Chinese language speakers in modern days. One of them is the simplified writing system currently used in Mainland China, which has been adopted as the standard writing system of the People's Republic of China since 1956. The other is the traditional and comparatively more complex writing system that is used by Chinese language speakers in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and other Chinese diasporas around the world. The simplified Chinese is a further evolution over the traditional Chinese, and is therefore less preservatory of the original meanings. All Chinese characters used in this article are simplified unless stated otherwise. Direction Words in Chinese Cardinal directions are some of those abstract concepts that do not lend themselves easily to pictorial representations. In Chinese, the meanings of direction words are mostly combinations of graphemes and phonemes, although some parts of the words are pictographs. The author believes the relations between the formation and the meaning of the direction words could be of cultural significance and indicative of some cognitive characteristics of the culture. Traditionally there are three sets of orientation terms in Chinese culture: si mian and ba fang , which are two-dimensional' and liu he , which is three-dimensional. Si mian, literally four sides, designates the four cardinal directions and is sometimes thought of as including a fifth point, the center. Ba fang, on the other hand, denotes eight directions, the four cardinal compass points plus northeast, southwest, northwest and southeast. In addition to the two dimensional systems is the three dimensional concept of liu he, which literally means unity of six. It is the four cardinal directions and up (heaven) and down (earth) and is used to refer to the universe.

The simplified Chinese characters for the five cardinal points are (east, south, west, north and the middle) or (east, west, south, north and the middle), in the particular orders of the five. (dong, the east). is the simplified character for the east that is currently used in mainland China. The script no longer shows its original connections with the meaning of east. However, its comparatively older form does. is an example of a logical aggregate, which can be broken up into two graphemes - (ri, the sun) and (mu, a tree). The combination of the two pictographs depicts vividly the sun rising behind a tree (Karlgren, 1923, p.324; Xu, Shuowen Jiezi online; zhongwen.com, online). In contemporary Chinese there are at least three characters that are formed by different combinations of the same two graphemes (the sun) and] (a tree). In addition to the cardinal direction word (the east), the other two are (gao ) and (yao). The character (gao) represents the sun above a tree, hence its meaning being bright and being high. (yao), which is the sun below a tree, means being deep and far, losing contact with somebody. Its more archaic meaning is darkness as implied by the combination of the graphemes. The two examples prove that the relative positions between the pictorial components of (the sun) and (a tree) is significantly indicative of the semantic meanings of the characters. In the character (the east) the position of the sun is between the root and the top of the tree, indicating the sun is rising. The composition of the logogram strongly indicates that the concept of east in the language is associated with the observation of the sun's movements in the environment. (xi, the west). The ancient form of this character is , showing a bird roosting on its nest (Karlgren, 1923, p.234; Xu, Shuowen Jiezi online; zhongwen. com, online). According to Shuowen Jiezi, the pictograph indicates that "when the sun is in the west, the birds perch over the nest" (Xu, Shuowen Jiezi online). The explicit meanings of the script are "being at home" and "being at rest." In Chinese idioms "birds returns to their nests" is usually associated with the meanings of dusk and sunset. Here the concept of sunset is borrowed to indicate the concept of the direction of sunset, the west. It is the concept of time that makes the logical link between this pictograph and its directional meaning. In many civilizations, the movements of celestial bodies define the concepts of time and space. Ancient people must have observed how the movement of the sun influences things in their environment. The sun creates days and nights, light and shadow, the seasons, and cycle of life, which all have great impact on people's livelihood. Records from all early civilizations show that ancient people established the first measurements of passage of time based on the movements of celestial bodies. For an example, the ancient Chinese read the positions of the shadow of a dial to tell the hours of a day. Our current 365 days solar calendar relies on the movements of the sun. The earliest Egyptian calendar depended on the movements of the moon. The Mayans of the Central America developed their 260 days calendar according to the movements of the Sun, the Moon and the Venus. In Chinese, the spatial division of east and west both contain some implications of time. East is connected to the beginning of a day, a year, and a life, whereas west to the end of work, a day, and a life. The Chinese character for the sun also means a day, daytime, and years. It also appears in many compound words and idioms with indications of time. Connecting east with sunrise and dawn and west with sunset and evening are common in many other languages as well. The English word east comes from Eastre, the name of a pagan dawn goddess whose festival was celebrated at vernal equinox almost at the same time as the Christian Easter (Weiner, 1989, p.36; Flexner and Hawk, vol. 5, 1993, p.615; Webster, 2002, p.716). In Latin and Greek among some other old Indo-European languages, the stem for east means dawn (Weiner, vol. 5, 1989, p.36). In English "go west" means "to die." There is exactly the same phrase in Chinese that means exactly the same thing. (nan, the south). is composed of a radical [??] and a phonetic [??] (Karlgren, 1923, p.203; Xu, Shuowen Jiezi online; zhongwen.com, online). The archaic form of [??] (bo) is [??], a picture of lianas indicating abundant and tangled vegetation. Living in the North hemisphere, ancient Chinese have observed that the southern side of a mountain, a tree, and a house receives more sunshine than the northern side. Vegetation is therefore more flourishing and abundant on the southern side. South is the direction where vegetation grows more luxuriantly. The phonetics [??], pronounced as (ren), is used as the phonetic in several other tree names (Karlgren, 1923, p.203). (bei, the north). The older form of this character is which indicates two persons positioned back to back (Karlgren, 1923, p.216; Xu, Shuowen Jiezi online; zhongwen.com, online). The picture strongly points to the meaning of back. In modern Chinese, another phonetic complex (bei) is used for the meaning of the back of human body, in which [??] (north) functions as the phonetic and ((flesh) as the radical. In some dictionaries the word it has two pronunciations, bei and bei (Guoyu Cidian, online; Xu, Shuowen Jiezi online). The meaning associated with the first pronunciation is "an equivalence to the back of human body." North and back in Chinese share the same pronunciation and the same meaning in archaic Chinese. The meaning associated with the second pronunciation can be an adjective "being disagreeable and harsh," or a verb "to flee," or "to be defeated, to turn back on." The pictograph of north is linked to the observer-centered concept of back. In Chinese, back means being opposite to front, being the back of or being in the shadow. North is linked to back in all three senses. North is opposite to the sun and the south. That is why it is in the shadow and darkness. This is similar to the back of a person. In Chinese culture, the north side of a building is usually its back, for gates and doors are opened on the south to receive more sunshine. Light and shadow are the major dichotomous concepts associated with north and south in Chinese. The characters of north and south indicate that north is the shadowed side whereas south is the lit side. The geography and landscape of the country stresses the dichotomous divisions. All major rivers and mountains in China run west-and-eastward, which divide the land into parallel stripes. The ancient Chinese have learned to tell directions by looking at the positions of light and shadow. The saying goes "the shadowed side of a mountain is north and the shadowed side of a river is south." The two characters for being in shadow and being lighted by the sunlight are (shadow; Yin) and (light; Yang) respectively. The two words are also used for the dialectic philosophical concepts of yin-yang, which classify things, phenomena, and their traits into dichotomy in many eastern cultures. The two concepts are often represented by two signs,--(a broken line, yin)--(a solid line, yang). The symbols are stacked together to create eight trigrams like . Legend has it that one ancient Chinese king developed the eight trigrams into a system of sixty-four hexagrams to represent different processes in divination. His theory was written in a well-known book, Yi Jin (I Ching), another classic work of the ancient Chinese symbolic system. (the middle or the center, zhong). The ideograph could be interpreted as a vertical line bisecting an enclosure or an arrow hitting the center of a target (Karlgren, 1923, p.360; Xu, Shuowen Jiezi online; zhongwen.com, online). It denotes the meaning of the center or in between.

The fact that the concept of the center or the middle is depicted by an ideograph instead of a pictograph indicates to some extent that it is comparatively more abstract than the other four cardinal directions. A boundary is required before the center could be defined. Limited geographical boundary was not uncommon among ancient people who had no efficient way of transportation to travel widely. The center is a concept relative to the periphery. When the center or the middle is present, the four directions become the relative periphery or the frontiers. In Chinese, China means the Middle Kingdom. The name comes from the country's geographical position in early history when the core territory was surrounded by frontiers on all directions. The Five Elements System In addition to the Yin-Yang and the eight diagrams, another major part of the primitive Chinese symbolic system is the Five Elements System (Wu Xing, Wikipedia). The five elements refer to metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Each of these elements is matched to many other aspects of the material world (See table 1). For example, five planets, five colors, seasons of the year, organs of the body, sense organs, flavors, and animals to mention just a few. The four cardinal directions plus a center are an integral part of the system, which is critical and widely applied in many areas of traditional Chinese culture. Traditional Chinese medicine is one area in which the Five Elements System plays a pivotal role. Five major blood circulation organs, five major digestion organs, and other parts of the human bodies are corresponded with the five elements based on similar attributes. Things belonging to the same category are considered as related with each other. For an example, patients suffering from liver problem usually have weaker sight, crave sour food, are easy to get angry, sometimes show unhealthy dark greenness in skin tone and more likely fall victim of the disease in springtime.The Five Elements System is also a fairly sophisticated symbolic system that uses the concrete relationships between the five material elements in nature to represent and explain the abstract interactions and relationships of all phenomena . In general the system specifies four kinds of relationships. Two of the four relationships create a positive balance state. They are called generating (mothering) relationship (Sheng), and restraining or counterbalancing (fathering) relationships (Ke, . The other two exist when there is a negative out-of-balance state either because one element is too strong or too weak. In a restraining relationship, if the restraining element overpowers and hence over-limits the restrained element, there is an over-restraining relationship (Cheng, . On the other hand, if the restrained overpowers the restraining, it could not be contained but instead controls the restraining element. This would break the balance of the system and create a humiliating relationship (Wu) The picture illustrates the four relationships among the five elements. Clockwise, each element in the circle is generated by the previous element and in turn generates the following one, restricts the third one and is restrained by the fourth one. For instance, fire is fueled (created) by wood, creates earth (ashes), melts (restrains) metal, and is extinguished (restrained) by water. Orders of Cardinal Directions The juxtaposition of the four Chinese cardinal directions, sometimes five, is an idiom in itself, a synonym to "everywhere" and "direction." This idiom has two forms, east-south-west-north and east-west-south-north. When present, the word for the middle is the last character in both arrangements. The orders of the four cardinal directions are different from that in English, which is usually north, south, east and west. Statistically speaking, there are twenty-four permutations for four cardinal directions. It is culturally significant that only one or two orders are used. It is not known why these particular orders exist to the exclusion of the other possibilities. The first order is clockwise starting from the east, which happens to imitate the movement of the sun in the sky. It represents a continuous cycle in both time and space. In the ancient Chinese classificatory system, the directions are matched with the seasons, east to spring, south to summer, west to autumn, and north to winter. The clockwise order of the cardinal directions also coincides with the chronological order of the four seasons. Again, space and time are inseparable from each other. East, a spatial concept standing out originally as the place where the sun rises, takes on the meaning of a start in time. The day starts at the east. The east wind from the seas brings warmth and rain, an indication of the advent of spring. Spring is taken as the beginning of a year, which starts the annual farming cycle. The Chinese New Year is called the Spring Festival. The matching between directions and seasons results in substitution between the two sets of concepts. East wind is almost a synonym of spring wind, spring fanning is called east activities, and East Emperor is a literate alias of the god of spring. Correspondingly, west harvest means autumn harvest, and west wind usually refers to autumn wind that sweeps away leaves from the trees. The matching is certainly related to China's geographical and climatic situations. Warm and damp wind comes from the east and the south, and cold and dry wind from the north and the west. The former brings spring, the latter the winter. It's interesting to compare the Chinese classification with a similar one in the Zuni culture. The Zuni also attributes seasons, colors and animals to spatial divisions (Durkheim and Mauss, 1963, p.43). They also add the center to the four cardinal directions, and have zenith and nadir in their basic spatial divisions. Also like the Chinese, the Zuni associate winter with north, and fire and summer with south. This is reasonable as both peoples live in the northern hemisphere. However, the Zuni "attributed water, the spring and its damp breezes, to the west; ... the earth, seeds, the frosts which bring the seeds to maturity and end the year, to the east." (Durkheim and Mauss, 1963, p.43) This is exactly the opposite to the Chinese's. For the Zuni, who lived in Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, damp breezes and rain come from the west and frosts come from the east. The differences and similarities of the two systems provide strong evidence for how people's perceptions of spatial divisions are shaped by their environments. In the second Chinese order the cardinal directions are organized into two dimensions: east-west and south-north. The east-west dimension always comes before the south-north dimension in such an order. Southeast and Northwest are * Eastsouth and * Westnorth in Chinese. [??] (east-west) also means things in Chinese. That is because, as is explained in an ancient Chinese book, "things are produced in the four cardinal regions but are called briefly as east-west; that's similar to history being called briefly as spring-autumn though it records four seasons." (Guoyu Cidian, Online) In this case east and west stand for all the four cardinal points. This points to the comparative prominence of the east-west axis over the north-south axis. Within the axis, east always comes before west and south before north. Chinese has plenty of idioms with the structures of "east ... west ..." and "south ... north. ..." There are exceptions, of course, but the proportion is too small to be cognitively significant. The comparatively more dominant status of east and south can also be understood from a political and economic perspective. Due to its geographical features, the western parts of the country were mainly deserts and barren plateaus, and the north was associated with bitterly cold weather and infertile frozen lands while in the southeast parts the fertile rice fields that were the grain barn of the country. The north and the west were important only in terms of military defense. In a culture with a long history of agricultural civilization, it is understandable that the east and the south were more preferred and more important economically, politically, and culturally.

Social Orders of Cardinal Directions Facing south adopts cultural and social significance over time in ancient China. The general pattern of traditional Chinese building complexes and room arrangements look like a square, with the front gates facing the south in order to be warmed and lighted by the sun. This pattern can be seen in residential houses, palaces and temples. The southern side of buildings has front gates, doors and wide open windows. On the north side, there are merely walls and small windows. In a building complex the main rooms face south with the wings facing east and west. There are back doors on the north sides of buildings in a complex, but they are for convenience of connection between rows of buildings. Some units do have doors facing north, but these are called the reversed houses (daoxia) (Cao, 1996, pp.29-59) and are considered atypical. The arrangement of furniture is confined and determined by this architectural pattern and so is the order of seating. In this way the practicality of facing south becomes symbolically important.

The north seat that faces south is reserved for persons with the highest social status. In the imperial court the emperor's "dragon chair" was not only significantly elevated but also invariably facing south. Court officials stood underneath his feet on the east and the west sides of the hall. Because the emperors' thrones always faced south, the phrase "facing south" came to be used as a proper noun designating an emperor. "To face south" means to become the emperor or the king. Accordingly, to face north meant to be a subject of an emperor or a king. Being bright was an adjective to praise the rule of a good emperor. As the saying goes "a good emperor faces south to listen to the discussions of national affairs and rules brightly." Such seating arrangements were copied in military and civil courts at all levels, in schools, and even in family lineages. The person who dominated the group took the north seat that was usually elevated but not as significantly as was the imperial throne. In military and civil courts it was for the official with the highest rank. In a lineage this south-facing seat was reserved for the eldest and most influential male or female member of the lineage. In schools the south-facing chair was for the teacher. The expression "facing north to somebody/something" was a figurative expression meaning to submit oneself as a subordinate, or, in the context of schools, to be a student. The phrase "the white-haired still face the north" indicates an old person who is still a student. The person with the second highest rank was positioned on the east side. The individual ranked third in the gathering was located on the west side facing the second ranking person. Then, back and forth, east and west, all the way down through for all present. In Chinese, the east is a synonym of the host whereas the west also means the guest. Custom had it that when the host and his guests entered a house, the host used the eastern stairway while the guest entered by the stairway on the west. Hence, the host is called "dong dao" (east road). The landlord is "fang dong" (east of the house); the master, "dong jia" (east family); and the hotel owner, "dian dong" (east of the hotel). To be one's treat is "zuo dong" (being the east) in Chinese. In "xi xi" (west seat) and "xi bin" (west guest, west is related to the meaning of guest. This usage, still prevailing in contemporary common language, can be traced back to an ancient custom that the host sat on the east and the guest on the west. In the system the relative spatial concepts of left and right are also interwoven with the absolute system of directions and became substitutes for east and west. The Chinese characters for left and right are [??] (zuo) and [??] (you). In older manuscripts, these are written as and . The two icons represent a hand facing different directions. Thus left and right are related to the two hands and indirectly to the two sides of the body. This substitution is no longer active in contemporary Chinese culture. However, traces of this tradition are still found in a few idioms and place names. "You di" (right lands) means west lands. "Shan zo" (left of the mountains) and "shan you" (to the right of the mountains) refers to Shandong and Shanxi provinces that are located on the east and the west sides of the Taihang Mountains respectively. In like fashion "he you" and "jiang you" (both meaning to the right of the river) designate the area west of the Huanghe River (the Yellow River) in the first case and to the west of Changjiang River (the Yangtze River) in the second. Conversely, "he zo" and "jiang zo" (both meaning to the left of the river) are the areas east of these two rivers. Like east and west, left and right are also social status indicators. Facing south, the right side is the east and the left side the west. The right seat was considered more respectable than the left one. "Lu zo" (left side of the street) is equivalent to the other side of the tracks in Anglo culture of North America. In older times, the wealthy lived on the right side of the street and the poor inhabited the left. "You xing" (right surnames), "You qi" (right relatives) and "You zhi" (right positions) referred to the aristocracy, the imperial families and the high-ranking official positions (Contemporary Chinese Dictionary, 1996). The right has also taken on the meaning of being better as is in the idiom "no one is on his right," which means no one is better than he. An exception to the prominence of right is encountered in carriage where the person with the highest social status occupies the seat on the left. That is the source of the idiom "waiting with the left seat empty," which is a signal of showing respect to someone not yet present. Another pair of directional concepts are up and down. The two characters for up and down are [??] (shang) (Karlgren, 1923, p.251) and [??] (xia) (Karlgren, 1923, p.69). They are iconic signs. The long dash, the base line, represents the horizon (zhongwen.com, online). The short stroke to the right is above the horizon for shang and below it for xia. Up symbolizes high social status and down the reverse. To reinforce the imperial authority, feudal rulers elevated their thrones in the audience halls. Last but not least, the cultural significance of [??] (zhong, the center or the middle). The long history of highly centralized feudal regime stressed the cultural significance of centralization in the culture. The centralized pattern of feudal political regime is clearly embodied in the design of the capital cities and the imperial palaces. Beijing and its Forbidden City, the best-preserved imperial capital and palace, best illustrates the idea of centralization. The old city of Beijing is a fortified square with well-aligned grids running along the two axis of north-south and east-west. The imperial palace, the Forbidden City, occupies the central area of the city proper. The major palaces inside the Forbidden City line up in a row, forming a north-to-south line dividing the city into two symmetrical parts of east and west. Being at the middle is also an important philosophical concept in Chinese culture. Confucianism highly advocates the doctrine of being at the middle, or not going to the extremes, in attitudes as well as in actions. Conclusion These etymological analyses of Chinese direction terms show how observation of the celestial bodies and their impact on natural environment underlies the initial ancient Chinese definition of the cardinal directions. Comparisons with similar primitive classification systems originating in different natural environments also provide some evidence of how perception of time and space are significantly determined by the geography and landscape of the motherland. The limitations and definitions by the environment gradually come to impact other aspects of ancient Chinese livelihood as the culture developed. For instance, the environmental influences helped to define the architectural styles and structures in ancient China, which over time influenced social behavioral norms. As directions were integrated as an important part of the symbolic system, they become dominant symbols in the culture, which can be seen in the usage of directional terms in a variety of idioms and phrases as well as in many areas of the traditional culture. Medicine and divinations are two examples. Data from the study provide further evidence to support Victor Turner's theory that symbols possess bipolar meanings - one clusters around the physical and concrete, and the other the abstract and ideological. Durkheim and Mauss refuted Frazer's argument that the social relations of mean are based on logical relations between things, and argued that it is the social relations that have provided the prototype for the latter. (Durkheim and Mauss, 1963, p.82) In their article Durkheim and Mauss stressed the role of social organizations and social relations in human cognition. They believed the essential cognitive characteristics underlying the primitive classification are the same as that of the modern scientific classification, which both result from human tendencies to unify knowledge, to know as social beings and groups, and to extend the unity of knowledge to the universe. (Durkheim and Mauss, 1963, pp.81-84) In the case of cardinal directions, the Chinese characters clearly indicate the influences of the natural phenomena on people's understanding of them. The ancient Chinese architectural styles and structures were influenced by the environment, which in turn influenced the social lives of people. However, the study does not intend to deny that human beings see things from their own perspectives and understand the universe within the limitations of their perceptions. The limitations also exist for any anthropological interpretation of cultures, just as Victor Turner discussed in Forest of Symbols. It is the case in this current study as well. Generally speaking, the modern views of orientation terms are not often the same as what was originally meant in antiquity. Our understanding of the direction concepts must have drifted away from the empirical perceptions of the ancient people. Therefore, when trying to make sense of why things become what they are, sometimes it is inevitable that our understanding is limited by our perception of here and now. This is a paradox for all anthropological studies of the "other" cultures (both culture of the others, and the other culture of ourselves). Ancient Chinese culture is baffling to modern Chinese who are confronted with a similar paradox - try to understand the perceptions of the ancient Chinese but have to do it from the perspective of a modern Chinese. In this article, the author uses the four cardinal direction words and the fifth, the centrum, to present an outline of the primitive Chinese classification system. Yet it must be said that the Chinese classification system is far more complicated than what can be explained in this essay. Concepts of the Yin-Yang dichotomy, the eight trigrams, and the Five Element System are all phenomena worthy of an independent study. However, as an interesting and inseparable part of the symbolic system, the orientation words help to show the interconnections between the several important concepts of the ancient Chinese symbolic system. COPYRIGHT 2009 Institute of General Semantics

 

Copyright 2009 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

      

1983. Lotus Eclat Excel. A481 GLA. Blue. 2174cc. Petrol.

 

Lotus Cars (Automotive company). Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk.

The Lotus Éclat (Type 76 and Type 84) is a sports car built from 1975 to 1982 by Lotus. It was based on the Elite but had a fastback body style which offered more practicality with storage in the boot. In 1982, the Éclat was developed into the Éclat Excel (later badged simply as the Lotus Excel), which used the same engine, but a modified version of the chassis, altered bodywork, a Toyota gearbox, driveline, and brakes.

This 1983 Lotus Eclat Excel is presented in Metallic Light Blue with grey interior.

 

1983. Lotus Eclat Excel. A481 GLA. Aug 2022 (1)

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1983. Lotus Eclat Excel. A481 GLA. Aug 2022 (2)

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1983. Lotus Eclat Excel. A481 GLA. Aug 2022 (3)

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Album: Notts Classic Car & Motorcycle Show. Thoresby Park, Nottinghamshire. Aug 2022

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ZIOS Incorporated is without a doubt the largest ship manufacturing ever to have existed. Some of it's famous models include the Helix Stealth cruiser, the Opal Luxury Starship, and the Phoenix Attack Shuttle. But their crowning achievement is the Class-6 Capital Ship. One of the most versatile and hardy ships ever made, this behemoth of precision and dangerous grace is both a symbol of wealth and power. Any fleet headed by the Capital Ship is to be respected and feared, thus the ZIOS Class-6 Capital Ship is the pinnacle of modern design and has yet to be bested for practicality and elegance.

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At Brickfair, I had the chance to chat with an expert at microspace, one who calls himself de_chef. After meeting him and seeing his creations firsthand, I was inspired to try my hand at larger scaled microspace. This is the result after hours and hours of work, and I'm very happy with the outcome.

 

Also, in case it's not evident, the style of presentation is heavily inspired by Pierre E. Fieschi's excellent use of photoshop to display each and every view of a model while making it look amazing. Thus, credit goes to him for the photography. This will be my last attempt at emulating his presentation, as this took me a good 3 hours to get right :P

 

Close-ups:

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

Pic 4

   

Hope you guys approve!

 

Looking like the perfect set piece for a John Updike novel, this Watergate-era T-bird is kept in beautiful shape by somebody but never seems to move. The similarly grand house is similarly picturesque but silent.

 

For 1972 Ford mated the Thunderbird with the Lincoln Continental MKIV, and for the first time since 1951, a Lincoln product shared a great deal with one of the blue oval's more workaday brands. But there wasn't much that was workaday about this generation of Thunderbird - the biggest and longest T-bird ever and one which also aspired to be the plushest. By 1974, with the addition of impact bumpers, the T-bird was over 4,800 lbs. and 225 inches of opulence.

 

Inside, some of the more detailed and luxurious trim of the prior generation had given way to pieces that were easier and cheaper to produce, but on the surface things seemed just as luxurious. The related Lincoln was, by then, a $10,000+ machine, with the Thunderbird a relative bargain at $7,700 - a sum which could buy a very modest house in 1974.

 

That price meant that the T-bird, which had kicked off the "Personal/Luxury Car" concept in 1958, was now appreciably more expensive than many of the imitators and competitors that had grown up around it - including direct competitors like the Buick Riviera. Ford even created a smaller luxury coupe based on the Torino - the Torino Elite - to compete with the lower priced (and generally mid-size) competitors like the Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

 

Although bigger still meant better when this Thunderbird was introduced (and indeed, for an older generation of customers this would never change), the first OPEC crisis put a big dent in this generation of Thunderbird, with sales dropping by more than 30% for 1974 and ultimately leading to the T-bird's downsizing in 1977. Even for big luxury cars, it was hard to argue the practicality of a car this large that was functionally a 2+2 with a limited trunk, and no Ford coupe, save the big LTD 2-door sedan offered through 1978, would ever approach it for size again. Lincoln, on the other hand, would go to the opposite direction and grow the Continental MKIV to 233 inches in length (but a lighter 4,500 lbs.) for 1977.

 

Both Ford's approach with the smaller T-bird and Lincoln's approach with the bigger MKV were highly successful - but that had more to do with the market's appetite for such cars than the specifics of each design. In 1980, both were downsized, but neither the T-bird nor the Mark ever enjoyed such broad appeal afterward, as coupes declined in favor of SUVs, trucks, and as baby boomers had families, Minivans.

 

©2016 A. Kwanten.

   

Getting ready for departure on Day 2 and it looks as if one of the team has been shopping. Very nearly has. One bus (I don`t recall which) had been loaded with `provisions` donated by Sainsbury`s - who even supplied a quantity of carrier bags! Chosen for practicality rather than for nutritional value, there must have been a couple of pallet loads of fizzy lemonade, cola, chocolate bars, crisps, biscuits and cake. The idea being that these were snack things to be eaten on the move and thus prior to departure each morning and at stopping places during the day, a visit to the `shop` bus to pick up supplies became normal.

 

I would imagine that whoever at Sainsbury`s sanctioned the items to be donated specified `ambient` in order to last the journey. We probably could have made chilled items last a few days given that they were being transported in the bus equivalent of a refrigerated vehicle.......

Flying Solo Tip 088365 : Sometimes our emotions blind us to practicalities, sometimes that can lead to embarrassing failure, other time is can lead to unexpected innovation.

 

read more: nowbeingwell.wixsite.com/flyingsolo/single-post/2016/09/2...

 

© COPYRIGHT. Dragon Papillon Photography. 2016. All rights reserved.

The Space Runner always intrigued me, with its singular sliding door arrangement. It unsurprisingly for practicality reasons never caught on, but at least it's quirky.

 

This particular example has seemed to have suffered from the Vauxhall issue of fading red paint, so I imagine it's probably spent a lot of time in this coastal area. Last tested a couple of weeks ago, showing just over 100,000 miles.

The highest selling item was this

one of a kind 1917 WILLMAR LITTLE OAK – Sold $420,000

 

Believed to be the only known Little Oak in existence

Purchased from Ralph Hall

 

Featured in the magazine Antique Power - March/April 2015 edition.

 

Old advertising promoted it as a one-man tractor.

 

Cross-mounted engine - engine sits crossways in the frame to eliminate the need for bevel.

Engine is located between the machine's rear wheels.

Engine is started from the driver's seat with a lever.

One of the first tractors to use the engine's power to lift the plow.

 

Upon looking at the tractor in its original form, it was discovered there was red paint hidden in the corners and edges on the exterior of the sheet metal and under the hood.

 

Waukesha Model P Engine

4-cylinder engine

20 HP - drawbar

40 HP - belt

Chain driven

All-new clutch parts were cast

New drive chains

Radiator cleaned and repaired

All-new sheet metal

Painted with high-quality automotive paint

 

The Little Oak tractor was an engineering masterpiece of its time. This machine was coined the one-man tractor for the operator's ability to start the tractor from the platform and raise and lower the plow from the operating position. While most tractors of the time were unstyled machines built for practicality, the Little Oak was built as an absolute work of art.

 

An example of the amazing craftsmanship on this tractor is the oil tank above the chain that drips oil on the chain as it operates. In today’s world, where tractors steer themselves and turn around on their own, it’s hard to imagine how revolutionary a one-man tractor like this was at the time.

 

There is no other prairie tractor like it. George has a keen eye for capturing the absolute best tractors ever built, and this Little Oak is a testament to the extraordinary machines in his museum.

 

Mecum Gone Farmin’ Auction

Schaaf Truck & Tractor Museum

Frankfort, Illinois

Will County, USA.

  

♥ Avaible at Anthology from aug. 21th to sept. 17th ♥

Demo : youtu.be/luqa5hGMjbk

 

Combine style and practicality with our coffee bag: an ingenious design that allows you to carry your favorite drink in all elegance. Perfect for coffee lovers always on the move!

 

Fatpack 10 colors and variants also sold individually.

15% off with VIP group.

 

Taxi :

- Anthology : tinyurl.com/2k82fbh4

- & SynRJ Mainstore : linktr.ee/SynRJ.SL

 

Second Life High Quality Original PBR Animesh creation from SynRJ.

Join us : www.facebook.com/groups/synrj

The distinct architectural style of traditional half-timbered houses with slate facades is a defining characteristic of the "Bergisches Land" region in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) due to a compelling combination of local geology, climate, and historical building practices. This unique look, often referred to as the "Bergisch Triad" (black half-timbering, white plaster, and grey/black slate), emerged as an ingenious solution for constructing durable homes using readily available regional materials while battling the area's challenging weather conditions.

 

The prevalence of slate cladding is primarily a matter of geographical availability. The Bergisches Land lies near the Rhenish Slate Mountains (Rheinisches Schiefergebirge), a major geological formation that provided an abundant, high-quality, and easily accessible supply of slate. Historically, for centuries, transporting heavy, bulky building materials like slate over long distances was prohibitively expensive. This ensured that slate became the default local roofing and façade material. Its natural cleavage allows it to be split into thin, durable tiles, making it an economically sensible choice for builders in the region.

 

The decision to use slate not just for roofing but also for façade cladding - particularly on the weather-exposed sides, such as the gable ends or the side facing the prevailing winds - was a direct response to the "Bergisches Land"'s climate. The region is a low mountain range characterized by high precipitation and frequent strong winds. Traditional half-timbered construction relies on an infill (Gefache) often made of wattle and daub, or later brick, which is vulnerable to water penetration. Covering the structure with overlapping slate shingles provides an exceptionally robust, water-tight, and durable protective layer for the vulnerable timber frame and infill, significantly extending the life of the building.

 

The underlying half-timbered construction (Fachwerk) itself was the dominant structural method across large parts of Germany, including the "Bergisches Land", until the 19th century. This method was resource-efficient, using less wood than solid timber construction, and relied on locally sourced timber. The region's economy, which was historically driven by water-powered industries like iron forging and textiles, supported a concentration of settlements and a class of affluent artisans and merchants. Wealthier homeowners often clad their houses entirely in slate to display their status and ensure maximum weather protection, while those with less means might only cover the most exposed sections, illustrating a historical blend of practicality and social signaling.

 

Over time, the marriage of the common half-timbered structure and the protective slate skin evolved into the region's unique architectural identity. The contrast between the dark, often painted-black, timber beams and the smooth, grey/black slate, punctuated by the white plaster of the less-exposed infill panels and the characteristic "Bergisch Green" shutters, solidified a recognizable aesthetic. This combination of materials and colors - the Bergisch Triad - became a regional tradition, setting these houses apart from other German "Fachwerkhäuser" and becoming a source of local pride and conservation today.

Taken with the in-game photo mode on Forza Horizon 4 for the Xbox One.

 

Anyone growing up around the time I did was fascinated with the idea of having a Beach Buggy, even though the lack of practicality was lost on us back then.

 

Now 62, the Avatar only goes up to about 25, so this is supposed to have been me at 25. Not a bad likeness really.

If You're Going to Whitefish, Be Sure To Wear a Flower in Your Helmet… This strange adaption of a line from Scott McKenzie’s 1967 generational anthem about San Francisco could be applied to the 60th annual nordic themed Whitefish Montana’s Winter Carnival in 2019. This year the carnival salutes the 50th anniversary of Woodstock with the theme Woodstock Whitefish. It is a marrying of a nordic celebration with the hippie culture with some entertaining results like ladies with flowers in their Viking helmets. This lady posed as she was getting ready to march in the parade on Saturday afternoon.

 

I learned something new this weekend during the festivities. There is no evidence that Vikings ever wore the iconic horned helmets. According to the History Channel: “…despite years of searching, archaeologists have yet to uncover a Viking-era helmet embellished with horns. In fact, only one complete helmet that can definitively be called ‘Viking’ has turned up. Discovered in 1943 on Gjermundbu farm in Norway, the 10th-century artifact has a rounded iron cap, a guard around the eyes and nose, and no horns to speak of.

The popular image of the strapping Viking in a horned helmet dates back to the 1800s, when Scandinavian artists like Sweden’s Gustav Malmström included the headgear in their portrayals of the raiders. When Wagner staged his ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ opera cycle in the 1870s, costume designer Carl Emil Doepler created horned helmets for the Viking characters, and an enduring stereotype was born.

Malmström, Doepler and others may have been inspired by 19th-century discoveries of ancient horned helmets that later turned out to predate the Vikings. They may also have taken a cue from ancient Greek and Roman chroniclers, who described northern Europeans wearing helmets adorned with all manner of ornaments, including horns, wings and antlers. But not only did this headgear fall out of fashion at least a century before the Vikings appeared, it was likely only donned for ceremonial purposes by Norse and Germanic priests. After all, horns’ practicality in actual combat is dubious at best. Sure, they could help intimidate enemies and maybe even poke out a few eyes, but they would have been even more likely to get entangled in a tree branch or embedded in a shield.”

Reference: www.history.com/news/did-vikings-really-wear-horned-helmets

A treasured sight of many pilgrimages, both for practicality and superstition’s sake, the Aquam de Petra lies deep within the rocky crags of the North Hills, and is one of the main tributaries of the Great River. This seemingly bizarre phenomenon – a life-giving spring in the midst of a stony wasteland – has caused hundreds through the ages to revere this spot as a source of Life. Some even believe that a cup filled at this spring will give the drinker eternal life.

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Wow, it feels so good to be posting! This is a project I’ve been working on for the last months in between school and stuff, after scrapping some summer WIPs. Not really sure how much I like it…it really good from some angles irl, and not so good from others. It was pretty intense fun to build though! ;)

 

Now to begin work on some CCC entries! :D

 

Soli Deo Gloria!

 

200/365

 

If you asked me what I wanted to be, more than anything, despite talent and training and practicality and money, I would say a dancer. Specifically, a Broadway gypsy, somebody who goes from show to show for their entire life, dancing in the chorus.

 

I have wanted to be a dancer since I was a child. However, when I was 11, the girls in my dance class made fun of me for being overweight, and I quit the class. I didn't pick it up again until I was 18, and that's too late for somebody like me, who isn't oozing talent.

 

I still take dance classes whenever I can, and my most recent teacher said that I have a lot of talent; I just lack technique. And when she told me that, I let myself dream. I saw myself with a bag of dance shoes, running down streets in Midtown between classes and shows, dancing in the bright lights, being lifted and twirling and feeling my muscles strain to hold me perfectly still and graceful. And then I remembered that I'm pursuing something else now, something that I have a possibility of a future in, and that there isn't time in my full life to take the amount of training I would need to be a dancer.

 

But one day, I'll be one. Somehow.

"After the success of the 550 Maranello, the spiritual successor to Ferrari’s 365 GTB/4 Daytona, Ferrari realised that there would be a market for a convertible version of the car, much like the fabled Daytona Spider of the 1970s. The resulting car was the limited-edition 550 Barchetta Pininfarina. The Barchetta was mechanically identical to its hardtop sibling, and it was intended to be a pure roadster. For the convertible variant of the 550’s replacement, the 575 Maranello, the factory responded to requests for a more usable top in dramatic fashion and created a brand-new convertible top system which offered the freedom of the Barchetta with the practicality and security of the coupe..."

  

Source: RM Sotheby's

  

Photographed at beautiful scenery of Villa Erba during RM Sotheby's auction in 2019.

  

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The Suzuki Every Wagon is certainly not pretty. These cars tend to be more about practicality than looks, but it was a fun build with a lot of little details. Mine represents the "high roof" version, with extra headroom.

Everyone knows I’m all about sensibility, safety, and practicality. That is why when they posted this month’s LUGNuts challenge having to do with cars with place names, pretty much my only choice was the Chevy Monte Carlo SS. This is your average, every day mid-80’s family sedan with some very minor customizations you probably wouldn’t notice. They’re not even worth mentioning, really.

Because of the promise of moksha to every Hindu whose ashes are deposited in its waters, it is considered highly desirable to be cremated on the banks of the sacred river Ganges at one of Varanasi's two burning ghats. (A "ghat" is a set of steps.) Practicalities of time, distance and expense mean that most Hindus will not get the opportunity. Yet over a hundred cremations do occur here each day. Funeral pyres are visible at the burning ghats 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

 

The process of arranging a cremation begins by visiting the Dom Raja, the "king" of the Doms. Doms are considered the lowest of the untouchables in the Hindu caste system yet only they can facilitate a cremation at either of the burning ghats. A cremation here is expensive; not everyone can afford it. The Dom Raja sets a price for access to the "eternal flame" based on the means of each particular family.

 

The price paid to the Dom Raja does not include the cost of the wood used in the funeral pyre. This requires a separate negotiation with a wood dealer. Ghee, herbs, incense sticks and flowers also represent additional expenses.

 

A body must be cremated within 24 hours of death so individuals wishing to insure their own cremation at the burning ghats often arrive early. They make their arrangements with the Dom Raja and then wait to die at one of the nearby hospice facilities. Persons with no means to pay for this service may be brought to Varanasi by a family member and left to beg for money to cover the cost of their own cremation.

 

©2017 Timothy Linn

All Rights Reserved

Bee Style's owner Ray Butcher always liked 'tinkering' and making things, including quite a few of his own minibus conversions. Also involved was his brother Cyril, who I think brought a much-needed degree of realism and practicality to these projects, in contrast to Ray's wild ideas ! But Cyril realised that he could do better on his own, without any interference, and he left to set up Olympus Conversions, who produced a large number of good quality bodies on minibuses for around 25 years.

 

Anyway, around 1981/2, Ray had bought a Mercedes Benz LP813 truck chassis (the same one used for the Imperial 'Windsor' bodies of the mid-1980s), and decided that he would build his own complete body on it, and over the next three years, it sat in its own dedicated workshop unit, while they worked on it, on an 'as and when we have time' basis. By the end of 1984, it was very nearly complete, but I think Ray was really waiting for 1984 to turn into 1985 before he registered it. The offer to bring it out for a sneak preview couldn't be refused, even without number plates. He called it the 'Mercury', and gave it body number 0001, but there was never to be an 0002 ! It finally hit the road in April 1985 as B333 PNF, and stayed with him for just three years, so he spent longer building it than running it ....

 

It went to Palmer's of Lemington, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in 1988, and then down to Mike's Coaches of Basildon in 1993 - I think I tried to get shots of it with both operators, but I have no recollection now of whether or not I succeeded ....

 

Bee Style depot, 2/10/84

 

I first visited Dunnottar Castle summer 2017, this magnificent castle sits high on a hill, last time I visited I captured my shots from the cliffs overlooking the site, though today I made the journey up the hill and entered the castle walls , wow what a magnificent experience, just perfect with loads of great photo opportunities to capture real Scottish history,after two hours wandering around and capturing as many shots that caught my eye , I made my way home, a magnificent experience indeed.

 

Dunnottar Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope" is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Stonehaven.

 

The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th and 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been fortified in the Early Middle Ages. Dunnottar has played a prominent role in the history of Scotland through to the 18th-century Jacobite risings because of its strategic location and defensive strength. Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels, were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century. The property of the Keiths from the 14th century, and the seat of the Earl Marischal, Dunnottar declined after the last Earl forfeited his titles by taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.

 

The castle was restored in the 20th century and is now open to the public.

 

The ruins of the castle are spread over 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres), surrounded by steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea, 50 metres (160 ft) below. A narrow strip of land joins the headland to the mainland, along which a steep path leads up to the gatehouse.

 

The various buildings within the castle include the 14th-century tower house as well as the 16th-century palace. Dunnottar Castle is a scheduled monument, and twelve structures on the site are listed buildings.

 

History

Early Middle Ages

A chapel at Dunnottar is said to have been founded by St Ninian in the 5th century, although it is not clear when the site was first fortified, but in any case the legend is late and highly implausible. Possibly the earliest written reference to the site is found in the Annals of Ulster which record two sieges of "Dún Foither" in 681 and 694.

 

The earlier event has been interpreted as an attack by Brude, the Pictish king of Fortriu, to extend his power over the north-east coast of Scotland. The Scottish Chronicle records that King Domnall II, the first ruler to be called rí Alban (King of Alba), was killed at Dunnottar during an attack by Vikings in 900. King Aethelstan of Wessex led a force into Scotland in 934, and raided as far north as Dunnottar according to the account of Symeon of Durham. W. D. Simpson speculated that a motte might lie under the present caste, but excavations in the 1980s failed to uncover substantive evidence of early medieval fortification.

 

The discovery of a group of Pictish stones at Dunnicaer, a nearby sea stack, has prompted speculation that "Dún Foither" was actually located on the adjacent headland of Bowduns, 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) to the north.

 

Later Middle Ages

During the reign of King William the Lion (ruled 1165–1214) Dunnottar was a center of local administration for The Mearns. The castle is named in the Roman de Fergus, an early 13th-century Arthurian romance, in which the hero Fergus must travel to Dunnottar to retrieve a magic shield.

 

In May 1276 a church on the site was consecrated by William Wishart, Bishop of St Andrews. The poet Blind Harry relates that William Wallace captured Dunnottar from the English in 1297, during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is said to have imprisoned 4,000 defeated English soldiers in the church and burned them alive.

 

In 1336 Edward III of England ordered William Sinclair, 8th Baron of Roslin, to sail eight ships to the partially ruined Dunnottar for the purpose of rebuilding and fortifying the site as a forward resupply base for his northern campaign. Sinclair took with him 160 soldiers, horses, and a corps of masons and carpenters.

 

Edward himself visited in July, but the English efforts were undone before the end of the year when the Scottish Regent Sir Andrew Murray led a force that captured and again destroyed the defences of Dunnottar.

 

In the 14th century Dunnottar was granted to William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland (d.1370), and in 1346 a licence to crenellate was issued by David II. Around 1359 William Keith, Marischal of Scotland, married Margaret Fraser, niece of Robert the Bruce, and was granted the barony of Dunnottar at this time. Keith then gave the lands of Dunnottar to his daughter Christian and son-in-law William Lindsay of Byres, but in 1392 an excambion (exchange) was agreed whereby Keith regained Dunnottar and Lindsay took lands in Fife.

 

William Keith completed construction of the tower house at Dunnottar, but was excommunicated for building on the consecrated ground associated with the parish church. Keith had provided a new parish church closer to Stonehaven, but was forced to write to the Pope, Benedict XIII, who issued a bull in 1395 lifting the excommunication.William Keith's descendents were created Earls Marischal in the mid 15th century, and they held Dunottar until the 18th century.

 

16th century rebuilding

Through the 16th century the Keiths improved and expanded their principal seats: at Dunnottar and also at Keith Marischal in East Lothian. James IV visited Dunnottar in 1504, and in 1531 James V exempted the Earl's men from military service on the grounds that Dunnottar was one of the "principall strenthis of our realme".

 

Mary, Queen of Scots, visited in 1562 after the Battle of Corrichie, and returned in 1564.

 

James VI stayed for 10 days in 1580, as part of a progress through Fife and Angus, during which a meeting of the Privy Council was convened at Dunnottar.

 

During a rebellion of Catholic nobles in 1592, Dunnottar was captured by a Captain Carr on behalf of the Earl of Huntly, but was restored to Lord Marischal just a few weeks later.

 

In 1581 George Keith succeeded as 5th Earl Marischal, and began a large scale reconstruction that saw the medieval fortress converted into a more comfortable home. The founder of Marischal College in Aberdeen, the 5th Earl valued Dunnottar as much for its dramatic situation as for its security.

 

A "palace" comprising a series of ranges around a quadrangle was built on the north-eastern cliffs, creating luxurious living quarters with sea views. The 13th-century chapel was restored and incorporated into the quadrangle.

 

An impressive stone gatehouse was constructed, now known as Benholm's Lodging, featuring numerous gun ports facing the approach. Although impressive, these are likely to have been fashionable embellishments rather than genuine defensive features.

 

Civil wars

Further information: Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms

In 1639 William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, came out in support of the Covenanters, a Presbyterian movement who opposed the established Episcopal Church and the changes which Charles I was attempting to impose. With James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, he marched against the Catholic James Gordon, 2nd Viscount Aboyne, Earl of Huntly, and defeated an attempt by the Royalists to seize Stonehaven. However, when Montrose changed sides to the Royalists and marched north, Marischal remained in Dunnottar, even when given command of the area by Parliament, and even when Montrose burned Stonehaven.

 

Marischal then joined with the Engager faction, who had made a deal with the king, and led a troop of horse to the Battle of Preston (1648) in support of the royalists.

 

Following the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Engagers gave their allegiance to his son and heir: Charles II was proclaimed king, arriving in Scotland in June 1650. He visited Dunnottar in July 1650, but his presence in Scotland prompted Oliver Cromwell to lead a force into Scotland, defeating the Scots at Dunbar in September 1650.

 

The Honours of Scotland

Charles II was crowned at Scone Palace on 1 January 1651, at which the Honours of Scotland (the regalia of crown, sword and sceptre) were used. However, with Cromwell's troops in Lothian, the honours could not be returned to Edinburgh. The Earl Marischal, as Marischal of Scotland, had formal responsibility for the honours, and in June the Privy Council duly decided to place them at Dunnottar.

 

They were brought to the castle by Katherine Drummond, hidden in sacks of wool. Sir George Ogilvie (or Ogilvy) of Barras was appointed lieutenant-governor of the castle, and given responsibility for its defence.

 

In November 1651 Cromwell's troops called on Ogilvie to surrender, but he refused. During the subsequent blockade of the castle, the removal of the Honours of Scotland was planned by Elizabeth Douglas, wife of Sir George Ogilvie, and Christian Fletcher, wife of James Granger, minister of Kinneff Parish Church. The king's papers were first removed from the castle by Anne Lindsay, a kinswoman of Elizabeth Douglas, who walked through the besieging force with the papers sewn into her clothes.

 

Two stories exist regarding the removal of the honours themselves. Fletcher stated in 1664 that over the course of three visits to the castle in February and March 1652, she carried away the crown, sceptre, sword and sword-case hidden amongst sacks of goods. Another account, given in the 18th century by a tutor to the Earl Marischal, records that the honours were lowered from the castle onto the beach, where they were collected by Fletcher's servant and carried off in a creel (basket) of seaweed. Having smuggled the honours from the castle, Fletcher and her husband buried them under the floor of the Old Kirk at Kinneff.

 

Meanwhile, by May 1652 the commander of the blockade, Colonel Thomas Morgan, had taken delivery of the artillery necessary for the reduction of Dunnottar. Ogilvie surrendered on 24 May, on condition that the garrison could go free. Finding the honours gone, the Cromwellians imprisoned Ogilvie and his wife in the castle until the following year, when a false story was put about suggesting that the honours had been taken overseas.

 

Much of the castle property was removed, including twenty-one brass cannons,[28] and Marischal was required to sell further lands and possessions to pay fines imposed by Cromwell's government.

 

At the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the honours were removed from Kinneff Church and returned to the king. Ogilvie quarrelled with Marischal's mother over who would take credit for saving the honours, though he was eventually rewarded with a baronetcy. Fletcher was awarded 2,000 merks by Parliament but the sum was never paid.

  

Whigs and Jacobites

Religious and political conflicts continued to be played out at Dunnottar through the 17th and early 18th centuries. In 1685, during the rebellion of the Earl of Argyll against the new king James VII, 167 Covenanters were seized and held in a cellar at Dunnottar. The prisoners included 122 men and 45 women associated with the Whigs, an anti-Royalist group within the Covenanter movement, and had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the new king.

 

The Whigs were imprisoned from 24 May until late July. A group of 25 escaped, although two of these were killed in a fall from the cliffs, and another 15 were recaptured. Five prisoners died in the vault, and 37 of the Whigs were released after taking the oath of allegiance.

 

The remaining prisoners were transported to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, as part of a colonisation scheme devised by George Scot of Pitlochie. Many, like Scot himself, died on the voyage.

 

The cellar, located beneath the "King's Bedroom" in the 16th-century castle buildings, has since become known as the "Whigs' Vault".

 

Both the Jacobites (supporters of the exiled Stuarts) and the Hanoverians (supporters of George I and his descendents) used Dunnottar Castle. In 1689 during Viscount Dundee's campaign in support of the deposed James VII, the castle was garrisoned for William and Mary with Lord Marischal appointed captain.

 

Seventeen suspected Jacobites from Aberdeen were seized and held in the fortress for around three weeks, including George Liddell, professor of mathematics at Marischal College.

 

In the Jacobite Rising of 1715 George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal, took an active role with the rebels, leading cavalry at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. After the subsequent abandonment of the rising Lord Marischal fled to the Continent, eventually becoming French ambassador for Frederick the Great of Prussia. Meanwhile, in 1716, his titles and estates including Dunnottar were declared forfeit to the crown.

 

Later history

The seized estates of the Earl Marischal were purchased in 1720 for £41,172, by the York Buildings Company who dismantled much of the castle.

 

In 1761 the Earl briefly returned to Scotland and bought back Dunnottar only to sell it five years later to Alexander Keith, an Edinburgh lawyer who served as Knight Marischal of Scotland.

 

Dunnottar was inherited in 1852 by Sir Patrick Keith-Murray of Ochtertyre, who in turn sold it in July 1873 to Major Alexander Innes of Cowie and Raemoir for about £80,000.

 

It was purchased by Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, in 1925 after which his wife embarked on a programme of repairs.

 

Since that time the castle has remained in the family, and has been open to the public, attracting 52,500 visitors in 2009.

 

Dunnottar Castle, and the headland on which is stands, was designated as a scheduled monument in 1970.In 1972 twelve of the structures at Dunnottar were listed.

 

Three buildings are listed at category A as being of "national importance": the keep; the entrance gateway; and Benholm's Lodging.

 

The remaining listings are at category B as being of "regional importance".[39] The Hon. Charles Anthony Pearson, the younger son of the 3rd Viscount Cowdray, currently owns and runs Dunnottar Castle which is part of the 210-square-kilometre (52,000-acre) Dunecht Estates.

 

Portions of the 1990 film Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close, were shot there.

  

Description

Dunnottar's strategic location allowed its owners to control the coastal terrace between the North Sea cliffs and the hills of the Mounth, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) inland, which enabled access to and from the north-east of Scotland.

 

The site is accessed via a steep, 800-metre (2,600 ft) footpath (with modern staircases) from a car park on the coastal road, or via a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) cliff-top path from Stonehaven. Dunnottar's several buildings, put up between the 13th and 17th centuries, are arranged across a headland covering around 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres).

 

The dominant building, viewed from the land approach, is the 14th-century keep or tower house. The other principal buildings are the gatehouse; the chapel; and the 16th-century "palace" which incorporates the "Whigs' Vault".

 

Defences

The approach to the castle is overlooked by outworks on the "Fiddle Head", a promontory on the western side of the headland. The entrance is through the well-defended main gate, set in a curtain wall which entirely blocks a cleft in the rocky cliffs.

 

The gate has a portcullis and has been partly blocked up. Alongside the main gate is the 16th-century Benholm's Lodging, a five-storey building cut into the rock, which incorporated a prison with apartments above.

 

Three tiers of gun ports face outwards from the lower floors of Benholm's Lodging, while inside the main gate, a group of four gun ports face the entrance. The entrance passage then turns sharply to the left, running underground through two tunnels to emerge near the tower house.

 

Simpson contends that these defences are "without exception the strongest in Scotland", although later writers have doubted the effectiveness of the gun ports. Cruden notes that the alignment of the gun ports in Benholm's Lodging, facing across the approach rather than along, means that they are of limited efficiency.

 

The practicality of the gun ports facing the entrance has also been questioned, though an inventory of 1612 records that four brass cannons were placed here.

 

A second access to the castle leads up from a rocky cove, the aperture to a marine cave on the northern side of the Dunnottar cliffs into which a small boat could be brought. From here a steep path leads to the well-fortified postern gate on the cliff top, which in turn offers access to the castle via the Water Gate in the palace.

 

Artillery defences, taking the form of earthworks, surround the north-west corner of the castle, facing inland, and the south-east, facing seaward. A small sentry box or guard house stands by the eastern battery, overlooking the coast.

 

Tower house and surrounding buildings

The tower house of Dunnottar, viewed from the west

The late 14th-century tower house has a stone-vaulted basement, and originally had three further storeys and a garret above.

 

Measuring 12 by 11 metres (39 by 36 ft), the tower house stood 15 metres (49 ft) high to its gable. The principal rooms included a great hall and a private chamber for the lord, with bedrooms upstairs.

 

Beside the tower house is a storehouse, and a blacksmith's forge with a large chimney. A stable block is ranged along the southern edge of the headland. Nearby is Waterton's Lodging, also known as the Priest's House, built around 1574, possibly for the use of William Keith (died 1580), son of the 4th Earl Marischal.

 

This small self-contained house includes a hall and kitchen at ground level, with private chambers above, and has a projecting spiral stair on the north side. It is named for Thomas Forbes of Waterton, an attendant of the 7th Earl.

 

The palace

The palace, to the north-east of the headland, was built in the late 16th century and early to mid-17th century. It comprises three main wings set out around a quadrangle, and for the most part is probably the work of the 5th Earl Marischal who succeeded in 1581.

 

It provided extensive and comfortable accommodation to replace the rooms in the tower house. In its long, low design it has been compared to contemporary English buildings, in contrast to the Scottish tradition of taller towers still prevalent in the 16th century.

 

Seven identical lodgings are arranged along the west range, each opening onto the quadrangle and including windows and fireplace. Above the lodgings the west range comprised a 35-metre (115 ft) gallery. Now roofless, the gallery originally had an elaborate oak ceiling, and on display was a Roman tablet taken from the Antonine Wall.

 

At the north end of the gallery was a drawing room linked to the north range. The gallery could also be accessed from the Silver House to the south, which incorporated a broad stairway with a treasury above.

 

The basement of the north range incorporates kitchens and stores, with a dining room and great chamber above. At ground floor level is the Water Gate, between the north and west ranges, which gives access to the postern on the northern cliffs.

 

The east and north ranges are linked via a rectangular stair. The east range has a larder, brewhouse and bakery at ground level, with a suite of apartments for the Countess above. A north-east wing contains the Earl's apartments, and includes the "King's Bedroom" in which Charles II stayed. In this room is a carved stone inscribed with the arms of the 7th Earl and his wife, and the date 1654. Below these rooms is the Whigs' Vault, a cellar measuring 16 by 4.5 metres (52 by 15 ft). This cellar, in which the Covenanters were held in 1685, has a large eastern window, as well as a lower vault accessed via a trap-door in the floor.

 

Of the chambers in the palace, only the dining room and the Silver House remain roofed, having been restored in the 1920s. The central area contains a circular cistern or fish pond, 16 metres (52 ft) across and 7.6 metres (25 ft) deep, and a bowling green is located to the west.

 

At the south-east corner of the quadrangle is the chapel, consecrated in 1276 and largely rebuilt in the 16th century. Medieval walling and two 13th-century windows remain, and there is a graveyard to the south.

..Once I ticked the basic ones off my list (i.e., the Vietnamese shirts and caps), I scoured Ben Thanh for my personal favorites. And these are my must-buys in Vietnam.

 

lacquerware. Who can resist the shiny and colorful practicality of tempered and melded wood? I can’t. For my wife, I chose 6 pairs of ruby red bowls with matching sleek black saucers, curled elegantly at the corners. Three large nesting flat trays completed the ensemble. Although the trays are supposed to be a set of a singular color, we were able to convince the vendor to get a different tray colors for our set. I chose a combination of 2 red trays and one black. The pieces come with a dainty pair of dragonfly design inlay.

 

prices, after some haggling: bowl and saucer for 80,000VND (4.7USD) a pair and a set of 3 nesting trays for 330,000VND (19.4USD)

 

check out my other must buys in Saigon, including sesame sprinkled peanut flatcakes, sesame-sprinkled candy squares, Vinamit peanut candies, sesame-sprinkled crispy wafers, rice papers with banana, in colloidfarl.blogspot.com/