This kind of relates to now, but it's more related to my past (about a year ago to be exact) to when I was going through a rreaalllyyy tough time, to the point where I almost gave up.

 

But I was determined to make it through. I wanted to fight. I wanted to push through and make it on my own. It's still hard now, and I'm still battling it, but I'm so much stronger. I have so much more to live for now.

  

Facebook.

We will be part of this event with some friends.

 

‘De Zines’, tries to reflect what is happening in the contemporary editorial creation on the level of independent publications, how this area relates to the artistic production and social, cultural and current political environment.

Around 400 international publications have been gathered from most established magazines in the market until handmade zines and a selection of experimental magazines.

In times of constant technological revolution and immediate access to information through the network, paper, as a media for the dissemination of culture and information seems destined to disappear. However, the number of independent publications do not stop growing. In fact, different forms of communication, digital and analogue can coexist. It’s about different ways, uses and times ranging between the immediacy of digital and the traditional way of disseminating and consuming cultural creation and art. Its contents tend to be more timeless and

invite paused reflection. Beautiful design and text written with loving care in a continuous search for seamless integration between content and form. In general, they are still spaces for dissemination, review and reflection on cultural production. Objects themselves, everlasting, pages of printed paper that can be touched with the fingers,

means of underground cultural expression. In the case of experimental magazines involves a different way to approach to these publications, full of visual impact, subject to different interpretations, inexhaustible source

of emotions and feelings. They already have a notable presence in art fairs, specialized bookstores and museum shops.

These editorial projects, heirs of the phenomenon do it yourself culture derived from punk and art movements such as Dadaism, Surrealism and Fluxus, are living a resurgence. Some have remained fairly true to those principles, others have grown in distribution, budget and number of prints. They all share an independent spirit

in addressing issues like music, film, fashion, design, art, philosophy, economics, literature, photography ... or closer personal projects to more people. In fact, they are a response to dominant culture, with a clear activist

attitude, trying to spread other ways to understand their relations with society and even with oneself.

Independent publications may be the future of print media. In fact they get a significant speed in the dissemination

of current culture with a democratic way to create and share images, ideas and information. Pages filled with an impeccable editorial design, a media for freedom of expression of the obsessions and passions their creators want to communicate, have a voice.

’De Zines’, articulated as a consultation room, a space that does not only creates traffic but a place to stay, increasing the desire to know, trying to help the audience to find a those issues so that a sense of recognition.

In short, create networks among people with a similar vision in a global and plural world.

_

3, 598, /5, ¡Qué suerte!, 0-100 , 032c, 213 Magazin , 2G, 33gradnord44gradost, 3x3, 4478 Zine, A day in the life of, A guide magazine, A Magazine, A mínima, A prior, AAA, Achtung, Ácido Surtido, Adicciones porque sí, AfterAll, Aglec, Aitor Saraiba, Alaska, All-Story, Alphabet Prime, Amelias, Amore, Angst, Anorak,

AnOther Magazine, Antoni Hervás, Aortica, Apartamento, Arkitip, ArtReview, Arty, ASDF, Automatic Books, Back Cover, Balkon & Garten, Bárbara, Baseline, Basso, Be contemporary, Belio, Beyond, Bidoun, Blind Spot, braind eins, Bruce Lee, Brumaria, Butt, By pass, C Internacional Photo Magazine, Cabinet, Cafe Royal , Candy, Cannon, Capricious, Carne de Lucio, Celeste, Centro de bajo rendimiento, Chinexe Wax Job, Citizens of No

Place, Coco & Joe, Code, Collection, Concept Store, Condiment, Control, Corduroy, Cosmic Gonder, Cosplay Gen, Coupe, Creative Review, Criticism, Crush, Cuadernos, Cura, Cut Magazine, , d[x]i, Dabireh: Alef, Daniel Entonado, Dapper Dan, Dazed and Confused, De Daily Whatever, Demo, Der Greif, der:die:das:, Desayuno

Fanzine, Diary 16, Die klasse, Dienacht, Dientes de ojo, Domus, Dorade, Dossier, dot dot dot, Double, Double Plus Good Books, Dsico Fanzine, Dumbo Feather Pass it on, Dummy, Dynasty, Ediciones Puré, Editions du 57, Efe 24, Ein Magazin über Orte , El Acto, Elephant, Elk Zine, Entretelas, Entrisme, Errorezine, Esopus, Esst Obst,

Étapes, Experimenta, EY!, Face B, Faesthetic, Fairy Tale, Famicon Express, Famous, Fantastic Man, Fantom, Fanzine137, Farewell Books, Farfalla, Fast Gallery Kit, Faund, Feral, Fever Zine, File, Fillip, Fire & Knives, First Person Mag, Foam, Folkways, Frame, Frederic Magazine, Fuego Fanzine, Fukt, Für Immer, Fusion, Futu, Fw:, Gagarin, Gastronomita, Girls like us, Grafik, Graphic, Grrr, Grrrr, Gym Class Magazine, Hard Land Heartland,

Harmi -The Double Negative Journal, Háztelo tu mismo (HTM), Helecho, Here an There, Himaa, Home de zines Lovin, Huck, Huh. Magazine, Hunter and Cook, I love you, Iann, I-D Magazine, ID Pure, Idea, Idiot Stories /

Extra Ordinary, IdN, If You’re Into It, We’re Out Of It, Innen Zines, Instant, Island Folds, It´s Nice That, John Hughes, Journal Illustratif, Journal of Aesthetics and Protest, Julia Pott, Julio Falagan & Alberto Sobrino, Junke Jet, Kaiserin, Kaleidoscope, Kallat, Karen, Kasino A4, Kaugummi, Kilimanjaro, Kingsboro Press, Kink, Kinozine, Komfort, Kuti Kuti, La Cabeza, La Caja De Truenos, La Lata, La más Bella, La ruta del sentido, Làpiz, Laser,

Laurel, Lay Flat, Le Gun, Lead, Leopoldo Villegas, Liebling, Little Joe, Little White Lies, Livraison, Lodown, Loud Paper, Lozen up, Luján Marcos, Lurve, Maeb is een Magazine, Magazine, Many Stuff, Manzine, Map Zine, Mark, Mas Context, Matador, Material Press, MAtters, May , McSweeney, Me, Meatpaper, Metal, Mind

Maps, Mln/Zrch/Mdrd/Brln magazine, Monday Morning Says, Monika, Monocle, Montaña Sagrada, Monu, Monument, Mouse, Museum Paper, n+1, Nani-ka, Nazi Knife, Nazine, Neo2, Neu! Magazine, Neue Probleme, New Work Magazine, New Papers, Nico, Nieves Books, Nigel Peake, No.Zine, Nobrow, Now, Nude Paper,

Nuke, OK Periodicals, One Page Magazine, Onomatopee , Open Manifiesto, Orient Press, Otaku, Pages Magazine, Palais, Pandora Complexa, Paper Monument, Paper Planes, Paperback, Papermind, Paradise, Paris, LA,

Pasajes de Diseño, Pau Wau Publications, Pavilion, Peep Hole Sheet, Perfect Magazine, Piccolo Volume II, Picnic, Piczine, Pie Paper, Piktogram, Pin Up, Píntalo de Verde, Piston, Plazm, Poetry is dead, Point d’ironie, Point Never, Poli, Ponytail, Popshot, Postr, Process Journal, Profile Zine, Publicaciones Columpio, Purple, PWR paper,

Qompendium Print Publication, Quotation, Rang&Namen, Realisations of Grandeur, Recession / Recessione, Remendar es Antisocial, Reveu 2.0.1, Reveu Tisú, Rojo Magazine, Roland, Rollo Press, Rosebud, Roven, RRR Project, Salamandria, Sang Blue, Save As Publications, ScreenShots, Script, Sede, Seem, Self Service, Semaine,

Serp Zines, Shake your tree, Site, Slanted , Soju Tanaka, Spin Paper, Spunk, SSE Zine, Standpunkte, Stupendous, Sum, Supernormal, Task Newsletter, Tasting Notes, Tateetc, Teeluxe, Tell Mum Everything is OK, Temporary Services, The Believer, The Chain / Berlin, The Coelacanth Press, The Draw Bridge, The Exhibitionist, The Gentlewoman, The Glossy Zine, The Gutenbergs, The Hell Passport Project , The Institute of Social Hypocrisy, The Journal, The Lab, The Mock, The National Grid, The Room, The Selection, The Session, The Type Gazzete, The Word Magazine, This is a magazine, Thumb Projects, To Happy Hypocrite, To Have and To Hold, Truce, Trunk,

Turbo Magazine, Turbochainsaw Magazine, Twin, Ultraviolet Magazine, Umělec, Uncode, Under the Influence, UnderScore Magazine, Underscore Quarterly, Uovo, Useless, USEPAPER, Vague Paper, Varón, Veneer Magazine, Veneno, Vestoj, Vice, Vier, Viewer´s Digest, Visionaire, Void, Volt, Volume, Vorn, Waterfall, White Fungus,

WhiteBall, Wooooo, Wooden Toy , Word:Mag, Worn, Yummy, Zine.

_

Curators: Roberto Vidal (www.robertovidal.com) and Óscar Martín (www.byoscarmartin.com)

_

Inéditos 2010

La Casa Encendida ( www.lacasaencendida.es/en)

29 June to 29 August 2010 / Room A

Ronda Valencia, 2

28012 Madrid - Spain

T +34 902 43 03 22 / T +34 91 602 46 41 / F +34 91 506 38 76

1. The spiritual entity Qalb

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Adam

 

In the Urdu language the fleshy meat, (the heart) is known as dil, and in Arabic it is called fawad. The spiritual entity that is next to the heart is the Qalb and according to a Prophetic statement the heart and the Qalb are two separate entities.

 

Our solar system is the physical human sphere. There are other realms and spheres, for example the realm of the angels, the realm of the throne of God, the realm of the soul, the realm of the secrets, the realm of unification and the realm of the essence of God. These spheres and life forms inhabiting these spheres have existed before the eruption of the ball of fire, our Sun, which created our solar system. Ordinary angels were created alongside the creation of the souls when God commanded "Be" but the Archangels and the spiritual entities (which are placed inside the human body at birth) have existed in these realms before the formation of our solar system.

 

Many planets in our solar system were inhabited but subsequently these life forms became extinct. The remaining planets and their inhabitants are awaiting their destruction. The Archangels and the spiritual entities (of the human body) were created seventy thousand years before the command "Be."

 

Of these spiritual entities God placed the Qalb in the realm of love. It is with this that a human being is able to become connected with God. The Qalb acts like a telephone operator between God and the human being. A human being receives guidance and inspiration through it. Whereas the worship and the meditation done by the spiritual entities themselves can reach the highest realm, the Throne of God, with the aid of the Qalb. The Qalb itself, however cannot travel beyond the realm of the angels, as its place of origin is the Khuld, the lowest heaven in the realm of the angels.

 

The Qalb’s meditation is from within and its vibrating rosary is within the human skeleton (the heartbeat). People that failed to achieve this meditation of the Qalb in this lifetime will be regretful, even though they may be in paradise. As God has stated regarding those who will go to paradise, that do they, the inhabitants of paradise think that they will be equal to those who are elevated (reached higher realms by practicing the spiritual disciplines and becoming illuminated). As those that have achieved the meditation of the Qalb, they will enjoy its pleasures even in paradise when their Qalb will be vibrating with the Name of God.

After death physical worship ceases to exist and the people whose Qalb and spiritual entities are not strengthened and illuminated with the light of God are afflicted and distressed in their graves and their spiritual entities waste away. Whereas the illuminated and strengthened spiritual entities will go to the realm where the righteous will wait before the final judgement.

After the day of judgement a second body will be given, the illuminated spiritual entities along with the human soul will enter that body. The people that taught their spiritual entities, meditation, whereby the entities chanted the Name of God Allah in this life time will find that the spiritual entities will continue with this meditation even in the hereafter. Such people will continue to be elevated and exalted in the hereafter.

  

Those that were “blind of heart” (not illuminated) in this life time will be in darkness in that realm also, as this world was the place of action and effort. Those in the latter category will become quiescent.

Besides the Christians and the Jews the Hindu faith also holds a belief in these spiritual entities. The Hindu faith refers to them as Shaktian and the Muslims know them as Lata’if.

The Qalb is two inches, to the left of the heart. This spiritual entity is yellow in colour. When it is illuminated in a person, that person sees the colour yellow in their eyes. Not only this but there are many practitioners of alternative medicine who use the colours of these spiritual entities to heal people.

Most people regard their heart’s word, “inner feeling” to be truthful. If the hearts of people were indeed truthful, then why are all the people of the heart not united?

The Qalb of an ordinary person is in the sleeping or unconscious state and it does not possess any appreciation or awareness. Due to the dominance of the spirit of the self, the ego, and the Khannas, or due to the individual’s own simple- mindedness the heart can make judgements in error. Placing trust in a sleeping Qalb is foolish.

Only when the Name of God Allah, does vibrate in the heart does an appreciation of right and wrong and wisdom follow. At this stage the Qalb is known as the awakened Qalb. Thereafter due to the increase in the meditation by the Qalb, of the Name of God Allah, it is then known as the God-seeking Qalb. At this stage the heart is capable of preventing the person from doing wrong but it is still incapable of making a right or just decision. Thereafter and only when the Light and the rays of the Grace of God (theophany) start to descend upon that heart, is it known as the purified and illuminated Qalb that stands in the presence of God (witnessing Qalb).

 

A Prophetic statement:

“The mercy of God descends upon a broken heart and an afflicted grave.”

 

Thereafter when the heart reaches this stage then one must accept whatever it dictates, quietly without question because due to the rays of the Light and the Grace of God the spirit of the self, (ego) becomes completely illuminated, purified and at peace. God is then closer to that individual than that person’s jugular vein.

God then says, “I become his tongue with which he speaks and I become his hands with which he holds.”

   

2. The Human Soul

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Abraham

 

This is on the right side of the chest. This is awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it. Once it becomes illuminated, a vibration similar to the heartbeat is felt on the right side of the chest. Then the Name of God, Ya Allah is matched with the vibrating pulse. The meditation of the soul is done in this way. At this point, there are now two spiritual entities meditating inside the human body, this is an advancement in rank and status and is better than the Qalb. The soul is a light red in colour and when it is awakened, it is able to travel to the realm of the souls (the station of the Archangel Gabriel). Anger and rage are attached to it that burn and turn into majesty.

  

3. The spiritual entity Sirri

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Moses

 

This spiritual entity is to the left of the centre of the chest. This is also awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it with the Name of God, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum. Its colour is white and in the dream state or by spiritual separation from the physical body “transcendental meditation” it can journey to the realm of the secrets. Now there are three spiritual entities meditating within a person and its status is higher than the other two.

   

4. The spiritual entity Khaffi

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Jesus

 

This is to the right of the centre of the chest. It too is taught the Name of God Ya Wahid by meditation. It is green in colour and it can reach the realm of unification. Due to the meditation of four entities one's status is further increased.

 

5. The spiritual entity Akhfa

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Mohammed

 

This is situated at the centre of the chest. It is awakened by meditating on the Name of God, Ya Ahad. It is purple in colour and it too, is connected to that veil in the realm of unification behind which is the throne of God.

 

The hidden spiritual knowledge relating to these five spiritual entities was granted to the Prophets, one by one and half of the knowledge of every spiritual entity was granted from the Prophets to the Saints of their time. In this way there became ten parts of this knowledge. The Saints in turn passed this knowledge on to the spiritually favoured (Godly) who then had the benefit of the sacred knowledge.

 

The apparent knowledge of the seen is connected to the physical body, the spoken word, the human realm and the spirit of the self, this is for the ordinary mortals. This knowledge is contained in a book that has thirty parts. Spiritual knowledge was also given to the Prophets by revelation brought by Gabriel and for this reason it is known as the spiritual Holy Scripture.

 

Many of the verses of the Qur’an would sometimes be abolished, since the Prophet Mohammed would sometimes mention matters relating to this “hidden spiritual knowledge” before ordinary people, which was only meant for the special and Godly. Later this knowledge passed on spiritually from the chest of one Saint to another, and now it has become widespread by its publication in books.

  

6. The spiritual entity Anna

 

This spiritual entity is inside the head and is colourless. It is by the meditation on the Name of God Ya Hu that this spiritual entity reaches its pinnacle. It is this spiritual entity that when it becomes illuminated and powerful it can stand in the Presence of God, face to face, and communicate with God unobstructed. Only the extreme lovers of God reach this realm and station. Besides this there are a few and extremely exalted people who are granted additional spiritual entities, for example the spiritual entity Tifl-e-Nuri or a spiritual entity of the Godhead, Jussa-e-Tofiq-e-Ilahi, the spiritual status of such people is beyond understanding.

 

With the spiritual entity, Anna, God is seen in the dream state.

 

With the spiritual entity of the Godhead, God is seen in the “physical meditating state” when the spiritual entity itself leaves the human body and transcends to the essence of God.

 

Those possessing the spiritual entity, the Tifl-e-Nuri, see God whilst they are fully conscious.

 

It is these people who are the majesty and power of God in the world. They can either occupy the people by prescribing worship and austerities or by their spiritual grace send a person straight to the realm of God’s love. In their sight, concerning dispensing spiritual grace the believers and the non-believers, the dead and the living are all the same. Just as a thief became a Saint, in an instant, by the passing glimpse of the Saint Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, similarly, Abu-Bakr Havari and Manga the thief, became instant Saints by the passing glimpses of such Saints.

 

The five major Messengers were given knowledge of the five spiritual entities separately and in order of their appearance, as a result of which spirituality continued to prosper. With whichever spiritual entity you practice meditation you will be connected to the corresponding Messenger and become worthy of receiving spiritual grace (from that Messenger).

 

Whichever spiritual entity receives the rays of the Grace of God (favour), the Sainthood granted to that spiritual entity will be connected to the corresponding Prophet’s spiritual grace.

 

Access to seven realms and gaining elevated spiritual status in the seven heavens is obtained through these spiritual entities.

The functions of the spiritual entities inside the human body

 

Akhfa: Due to the spiritual entity, Akhfa a person is able to speak. In its absence a person may have a normal tongue but will be dumb. The difference between human beings and animals lies in the presence or the absence of these spiritual entities. At birth, if the entity, Akhfa was unable to enter the body for whatever reason, then a Prophet appointed for the rectification of this ailment would be called to treat the condition as a result of which the dumb would start to speak.

 

Sirri: A person is able to see due to the spiritual entity, Sirri. If it does not enter the body the person is blind from birth. An appointed Prophet had the duty to find and place the spiritual entity into the body, as a result of which the blind would start to see again.

Qalb: Without the spiritual entity of the Qalb, in the body, a person is like the animals, unacquainted, far from God, miserable and without purpose. Returning this entity into the body was the task of the Prophets also.

The miracles of the Prophets were also granted to the saints, in the form marvels and mystical wonders as a result of which even the impious and liberal became close to God. When a spiritual entity is returned by any allocated Saint or Prophet, the deaf, dumb and the blind are healed.

Anna: When the spiritual entity, Anna, fails to enter the body, a person is regarded as insane even though the brain may be functioning normally.

Khaffi: In the absence of the spiritual entity, Khafi, a person is deaf, even if the ears are opened wide.

These conditions can be caused by other defects in the body, and can be treated. There is no cure in the case, where the defect is caused by the absence of the associated spiritual entity except where a Prophet or a Saint intervenes and cures the defect.

Nafs, self: As a result of the spiritual entity of the self (ego) a persons mind is occupied with the material world and it is because of the spiritual entity Qalb that a persons direction turns towards God. For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags

 

Character Creation

 

Drax the Destroyer (Arthur Sampson Douglas) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in The Invincible Iron Man #55 (February 1973).

 

The character's origin story relates that Arthur Douglas was a human whose family was attacked and killed by the supervillain Thanos. Needing a champion to combat Thanos, the being known as Kronos took Arthur's spirit and placed it in a powerful new body, and Drax the Destroyer was born. Drax's powers included enhanced strength and resilience, flight, and the ability to project energy blasts from his hands. The character often battled Thanos, and on occasion the superheroes Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock. He was also a member of the group known as the Infinity Watch.

 

In 2004, the character lost his flight and energy blasts, and a portion of his strength and resilience. This version of the character played a role in the crossover comic book storylines "Annihilation" and "Annihilation: Conquest", and became a member of the relaunched Guardians of the Galaxy.

 

Drax has been featured in a variety of associated Marvel merchandise, including animated television series, action figures, and video games. Dave Bautista portrayed the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special (2022 television film) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). Drax also appears in the Disney+ animated series What If...? (2021).

 

Starlin commented on the character's creation stating "In the beginning, Drax was versatile, because I didn't know what the hell to do with him," Starlin confessed. "He was an element; he was supposed to be Thanos' Kryptonite. I sort of drifted away from that idea, and when I came back to using him, I made a big change in him. I brain-damaged him and made him into the Hulk, because Marvel didn't have a dumb green thing at the time, and I thought they should. And so I sort of made him like that. Later on they wanted to change his visuals, which I had no problem with because I was never crazy about that costume. It didn't make a lot of sense. I wasn't invested enough in the character to go back and do anything more with it."

 

Starlin later commented in an interview that "I ripped off my own costume, I redesigned Dr. Weird's costume at Texas Trio and pretty much just used it as Drax's costume, Drax was going to be Thanos's kryptonite that's why he was green."

 

Publication history

 

Drax first appeared in The Invincible Iron Man #55 (February 1973), and was created by Jim Starlin with the help of writer Mike Friedrich. He had a recurring role in Captain Marvel, beginning with issue #27 (July 1973). He also appeared in Warlock #10 (December 1975), Iron Man #88 (July 1976), Warlock #15 (November 1976), Logan's Run #6 (June 1977), Thor #314 (December 1981), and Avengers #219 (May 1982), before being killed by Moondragon in The Avengers #220 (June 1982).

 

Starlin brought Drax back in Silver Surfer vol. 3 #35 (1990), and he had a recurring role until issue 50. After appearing in The Infinity Gauntlet #1–6 (1991), he was featured in Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1–42 (1992–1995) as a member of the titular team, the Infinity Watch. The character reappeared in Warlock vol. 3 #1–4 (1998–1999) and Captain Marvel vol. 4 #4–6 (2001).

 

Drax received an eponymous 4 issue miniseries in 2004, and was a starring character in Annihilation: Nova #1–4 (2005) and Annihilation #1–6 (2006). After a follow-up appearance in Nova vol. 4 #4–7 (2007) and the 2008 "Annihilation: Conquest" storyline, he was featured as a team member in the 2008 relaunch of Guardians of the Galaxy, and appeared in the 25 issue series of the same name. The character had a small role in The Thanos Imperative #1–3 (2010), in which he was killed.

 

The character reappeared in Avengers Assemble issues #4–8 (June–October 2012), with no reference to his death. He then starred in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, a part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch.

 

Fictional Character Biography

 

Born in California, Arthur Douglas married Yvette and raised a daughter named Heather (who later became Moondragon). One day, while traveling through the Mojave Desert on their way to Los Angeles, they witnessed a spaceship above. In the spaceship was Thanos, who had been on a mission to survey Earth. To rid any evidence of his existence, Thanos destroyed the car with Douglas family still inside. Mentor, who was monitoring Thanos' surveillance of Earth at the time, found out that Heather survived the attack, so he took her back to his planet, Titan. Mentor believed that Thanos had grown too dangerous and that he needed to be stopped so he called upon Kronos to find and seize the consciousness of Arthur Douglas before it was too late.

 

Kronos and Mentor created a body which had superhuman powers and installed Arthur's spirit in it, in the process creating Drax the Destroyer. All of Arthur's past memories were removed and replaced with the hate and pure desire to kill Thanos. Along with Iron Man, Drax battled Thanos and the Blood Brothers. Thanos fled and for years, Drax chased him and had brief encounters with him but never killed him.

 

Thanos' Nemesis

 

Though created as an archenemy to Thanos, Drax proved to be less popular than his hated prey and was subsequently overshadowed by Thanos in the years to come. The likes of Adam Warlock and Captain Marvel rose to take his place as Thanos' primary adversaries, and Drax was killed off.

 

Infinity Watch

 

Starlin soon brought Drax back but with major alterations to the character. Drax was now larger than he had been before, and his intelligence was severely diminished, making him child-like and prone to tantrums. Understandably, "Space Hulk" became a term used to describe him. Starlin's cosmic stories found a new level of popular with the Infinity Gauntlet event, and Drax was one of the characters who rode this wave. As a member of the Infinity Watch, Drax was a major character in Starlin's ongoing saga with Adam Warlock over the next few years. Though the character was a source of some drama, this incarnation of Drax was largely used for comic relief and heavyweight action.

 

Annihilation

 

After returning to cosmic obscurity for several years, Drax was on the receiving end of another major alteration, but this time is came from writer Keith Giffen, who wrote a limited series surprisingly starring Drax as the lead. This saw Drax get a major redesign but also be returned to something much closer to the cunning and determined hunter of Thanos he was originally meant to be, salvaging him from being the joke character he had come to be seen as by readership. Giffen went on to write the Annihilation event, restructuring and revitalizing Marvel's cosmic franchise. Drax was one of the breakout stars and was repositioned as one of Marvel's major cosmic characters along with Nova. He soon starred as one of the main characters in the new Guardians of the Galaxy series.

 

Fighting Thanos

 

Drax finally got his chance to battle Thanos during Thano's quest to get the Cosmic Cube. Drax, along with the Avengers, Moondragon, and Captain Marvel, battled and eventually destroyed Thanos. However, after finding out Thanos had rematerialized, Drax searched the Galaxy for the returned Thanos. Though before Drax could battle him, he found out that Thanos had once again been destroyed in a battle with the Avengers, Captain Marvel, and Adam Warlock.

 

Later when Drax was possessed an Alien entity, he battled Thor and Moondragon. After recovering from the possession, Drax is asked by Moondragon to join her on her journey in search of knowledge. Eventually, they came upon the planet Ba-Banis, a world of humanoid aliens caught in a vast civil war. Moondragon used her mental powers to quell the conflict and then decided to set herself up as the world's goddess. Recognizing that her ambitions were not honorable, Drax sent their ship to Earth with a holographic distress message. The Avengers responded and discovered Moondragon's world of mentally enforced tranquility. Freed by the Avengers from his daughter's mental domination, Drax sought to end her menace but was stopped by Moondragon when she used her mental powers to force Drax's life essence to vacate his artificial body. The Avengers subdued Moondragon and brought Drax's body back to Earth. They put Drax in the ship Sensia, sent the ship into space, and set it for self-destruction. Drax's body was destroyed when the ship exploded but without his spirit inside.

 

Return

 

When Death restored Thanos years after Drax's death, Kronos decided it was time to bring Drax back. He gave him a better physical structure and strength and again installed the hate and desire to destroy Thanos. But Kronos had not realized that when Moondragon mentally damaged Drax's mind, that he would be left a mindless, confused brute, with a taste for Earth's television program ' Alf'. Drax had occasional memory breakthroughs when he watched an "I Love Lucy" rerun on TV and had a passing familiarity with his daughter Moondragon when they first meet after his reincarnation. She was scared that he might retaliate if he remembered what she did to him, but the memory passed without incident.

 

In his renewed quest to destroy Thanos, Drax encountered Thanos' new nemesis, the Silver Surfer, and together they ventured into soul world, where they encountered Adam Warlock, Gamora and Pip the Troll, all who were pivotal in Warlock's decision to return to the land of the living. Drax joined the heroes' assault on Thanos during ' The Infinity Gauntlet' ordeal and was one of the very few heroes who wasn't killed during the conflict; being present up to the very end when Thanos' so-called granddaughter Nebula held the gauntlet.

 

Infinity Watch

 

Following Thanos' defeat and the subsequent breakup of the Infinity Gauntlet, Drax was chosen by Adam Warlock to safeguard the Power Gem as part of the Infinity Watch, alongside his daughter Moondragon and Gamora. When presented with the Power Gem, unlike most of the other Infinity Watch members who wore their gems upon their brow, Drax mistook the gem for a jelly bean and ingested it. Luckily, the gem was indigestible and instead resided within Drax for a few years, having lodged itself within him (rather than passing through). During his time as a largely earth-based superhero, Drax, with the power gem, would prove to be stronger than even the Hulk, though his diminished mental faculties would hold him back in more ways than one, including his inability to land gracefully when flying ( and always causing great amounts of property damage as a running gag).

 

Towards the end of the Infinity Watch's existence, Moondragon was critically injured during a mission and was put into a full body cast, whom Drax dutifully watched over. Eventually, due to internal strife and the disappearance of the Infinity Gems, the Watch fragmented and went their separate ways. Drax returned to Titan with Moondragon, who successfully petitioned Chronos to restore Drax's mind to its former acuity (and Drax for Moondragon's restored health), at the expense of some physical power.

 

A short time later, Drax was accused of murdering Elysius (wife of the late Captain Marvel and mother of Genis-Vell) and several others. Warlock, along with Gamora, Pip, and Genis-Vell , tracked Drax down and subdued him in time to find out that the real culprit was the re-animated corpse of the original Captain Marvel. Using his soul-gem, Warlock traced the being controlling the corpse, a creature within the Negative Zone known as Syphon, who was using the Nega-Bands as a conduit. Felled by a backlash of psychic energy, Warlock was unable to stop the transfer of the Nega-Bands to the unconscious Drax, who flew off into space. Warlock then gathered his allies and pursued Drax, finding that Syphon was using Drax and the bands to rip a portal into the Negative Zone, which threatened the structure of the Universe. Summoning all of his strength, Warlock pulled Drax free and removed the Nega-Bands, causing the portal to shrink. But before the portal could completely close, Syphon pulled Warlock into the Negative Zone, and, in front of Blastaar and Annihilus, took Warlock's gem, and used it to re-open the portal.

 

Warlock recovered but without his soul-gem, had little chance of subduing both Blastaar and Annihilus before Syphon was successful. Fortunately, Drax arrived with Pip, Gamora, and Genis-Vell to aid Warlock. As his friends fought on, Warlock went on to damage Syphon's conqueror wheel, thus closing the portal once more. Syphon attempted to use the soul-gem to kill Warlock, but found his attack turned upon his own soul. He fought back long enough to flee his own body and Warlock claimed the gem once more and, along with Drax and his other companions, returned back to their Universe.

 

Afterwards, Drax's condition began to revert; his mass and strength climbed back to previous levels, and his mind became clouded once more. He sought out Moondragon, who was residing with Genis-Vell and Rick Jones on Earth, which led to an altercation with Genis-Vell. In the course of this struggle, Drax was transported to the Microverse with Genis-Vell, where he finally found acceptance and happiness on the planet K'ai, where he remained for some time. During this period, Drax fought alongside the Micronauts until his diminished mental state was taken advantage of by Psycho Man. After leaving the Microverse, Drax was than seen as a combatant recruited by Adam Warlock to take on The Champion of the Universe in an attempt to stop The Champion from exploiting another planet. Drax failed to defeat The Champion, as did Warlock's and his other recruits ( Gladiator, Beta Ray Bill, and The Silver Surfer). However, The Champion was eventually defeated by She-Hulk, who trained months for her battle under Gamora.

 

Earth Fall

 

Drax was later seen on a prison ship with Paibok, Lunatik, and the Blood Brothers. He was accused of murdering 200,000 Skrulls. They were being transported to an intergalactic prison, but the ship crashed on Earth under mysterious circumstances. Drax attacked the others to keep them from harming innocent lives and his intelligence came back to him at random intervals during his fight with the other prisoners. While on Earth and at a low-point of intelligence, he wandered through Alaska and confused a young girl named Cammi for his daughter. As he slowly wandered through the country side, he encountered Paibok again. Drax was killed by Paibok but emerged with a new body with a higher intelligence and other unknown abilities, albeit with reduced strength and the inability to fly or "channel energy". The "new" Drax killed Lunatik and one of the Blood Brothers. The mini-series ended with Drax and Cammi back on a prison ship.

 

Annihilation

 

During the events of Annihilation, Drax survived an attack on the intergalactic prison known as the Kyln. Drax and Cammi teamed up with the last member of the Xandarian Nova Corps, Richard Rider (Nova). Together they fought against the advancing Annihilation Wave. Drax taught Nova the power of concentration so that he could contain the entire Nova force. Nova also asked Drax to teach him an important lesson: How to destroy. Drax was given the benefit of the doubt by Nova as his new body was just different enough from the Wanted file for 'Drax the Destroyer' that as long as Drax refers to himself merely as 'Drax' and acknowledges no past of destroying things, Nova would let the record slide.

 

Moondragon was taken captive by Thanos, who had allied himself with Annihilus and her severed ear was sent to Drax. Drax assisted the United Front and during a doomed battle between the Annihilation Wave and the United Front on Daedalus 5, fought off the invaders while Nova and the rest of the group (including Cammi) finished the evacuation. Drax fought his way to one of the Annhilation Wave's ships in his quest for Thanos, whom he found attempting to release Galactus from his prison on Annihilus' mother ship. Moondragon attempted to keep Drax at bay until Galactus was released but failed.

 

Before Thanos could release Galactus, however, Drax broke through Thanos' defensive shield and punches a hole through his chest. Drax then realized that the Silver Surfer was the only person who had enough power to match Thanos. While severely weakened, the Silver Surfer used all he had to match the height of Thanos' power output and succeeded. Once Galactus was freed, he teleported Moondragon and Drax to a far-off planet to spare them from his wrath on the Annihilation Wave. After that, Moondragon said Drax just disappeared, (which was Moondragon's way to cover for Drax). Drax resurfaced during the second Annihilation war on the run from the Phalanx 's select hunters. Drax was taken down by the phalanx-infected Nova and Gamora and was turned into one of the Phalanx Select. Once Nova managed to free himself from Phalanx control, the infected Drax and Gamora go after him with the goal of reinfecting him or destroying him. However, Nova eventually managed to free Drax and Gamora from Phalanx control.

 

Guardian of the Galaxy

 

After the second Annihilation war, Peter Quill / Starlord offered Drax a position in his new Guardians of the Galaxy, alongside Phyla-Vell, Adam Warlock, Rocket Raccoon, and Gamora. As a member of the Guardians, Drax was more grim and solitary but was a force of destruction who bailed them out of many predicaments during their first missions. After a Skrull infiltration of their headquarters on Knowhere, it was revealed that Mantis had been asked by Quill to use her mind-control powers on the team's members in order to help the team function better. As a result of this news, Quasar, together with Drax, go in search of Moondragon, bringing her to Mentor, who promptly murdered them!

 

Phylla and Drax than found themselves on a borderland called Oblivion, where the Quantum bands fell off Phyla's wrists, seeing as the bearer was now dead. Not long after, Phyla faced by her own demons but Drax sent them packing. They were joined by Maelstrom, who used Moondragon as bait to lure them for his master Oblivion, with the intent of using them to cross back over into reality. After his apparent defeat, Maelstrom agreed to lead them to Moondragon but instead led them to the Dragon of the Moon, where he said Moondragon was supposed to be, within the dragon that was regaining its strength after Ultron dispatched it back to Oblivion. Maelstrom however regained the upper hand once the Quantum bands re-bonded with him and he quickly encased Phyla and Drax, with the intent of feeding them to the Dragon in exchange for the Dragon using its energy to release Maelstrom from Oblivion.

 

Maelstrom dropped Phyla into the Dragon's mouth but after a short battle with Maelstrom, Phyla tore herself out of Dragon, while carrying Heather in her arms. With the Dragon dispatched, Quasar tried to return the bands to her but Phyla declined, stating that she had powers of her own. Together with Heather and Phyla, Drax returned to Mentor's place. Drax and Phyla rejoined the rest of Guardians of the Galaxy back on Knowhere, accompanied by Heather. Upon learning of the upcoming war between the Shi'ar Empire, with their new Emperor Vulcan, and the Kree, now led by the Inhuman's and their King Black Bolt, all of the Guardians reunited and made a plan to stop the aggressions before they destroyed the very fabric of reality.

 

War of Kings

 

Adam Warlock returned with Gamora to the Guardians and informed them of the War of Kings. Starlord and Rocket Raccoon decided the Guardians needed to be split into three teams to prevent the war from growing out of proportion. The three teams were; The Kree Team with Starlord, Bug, Gamora, Jack Flag and Martyr (Phylla-Vell), the The Shi'ar Team with Rocket Raccoon, Drax the Destroyer, Adam Warlock, Major Victory and Groot and The Coordination Team with Moondragon, Mantis and Cosmo the Spacedog. Drax was placed on the Shi'ar team because they required the brute force necessary to counteract Vulcan's destructive power. The Kree Team asked Blackbolt to stop the war, which he denied. The Shi'ar team then became separated from Warlock, who was transported on to a Shi'ar vessel and attacked by Vulcan. The rest of the Shi'ar Team worked with the Starjammers to free Lilandra Emperor Vulcan.

 

But negotiations soon failed and the team found itself in between a battle with the Inhumans and the Imperial Guard. The War of Kings ended with a massive fissure in space-time known as the Fault. To stop it's expansion, Adam Warlock overlapped the timestreams, which caused him to become Magus, subsequently attacking the team. Drax tried to rip out Magus' heart as he did Thanos, but Magus didn't have a heart and was able to shrug Drax off. Eventually, Magus was defeated, but at a massive cost to the team. Six members perished and Drax returned with the team to Knowhere, having paid a high price for their victory. Or so they were led to believe. Magus actually captured the fallen members who were later escaped. But during the escape they uncovered something long predicted - Drax's purpose in life was now renewed as Thanos came back from Death's realm.

 

The Thanos Imperative

 

It seemed that Thanos had been brought back for a purpose. The evil inhabitants of the Cancerverse, a twisted universe located on the other side of the Fault, were attempting to kill Death and turn all conquered universes into corrupted universes filled with life. Much to Drax's disagreement, Starlord formed a plan around Thanos and the team went into the Cancerverse.

 

Once in the Cancerverse, Drax became overwhelmed with his hatred and disgust for Thanos. Against his orders, Drax attacked Thanos and stuck a detonator to his chest, vaporizing Thanos to a skeleton. As Starlord argued with Drax for ruining their only hope of saving the universe, Thanos slowly and painfully reformed, having been barred from Death once again. Drax attacked a second time but this time Thanos did the vaporizing, claiming that his reasoning was not a personal issue of revenge.

 

Star-Lord and Nova held back Thanos long enough for the rift to the Cancerverse to close. Because nothing dies in the Cancerverse, Drax returned and continued to fight alongside his friends. Eventually, Nova would combine the power of the Cosmic Cube with his Nova force to open a gate back to their own dimension. Star-Lord, Drax, and accidentally, Thanos were able to return home, stranding Nova for now.

 

Powers & Abilities

 

After his death at the hands of Thanos, Kronos used his cosmic power to fuse Arthur Douglas' soul to a new body formed from Earth's soil. This body possessed a variety of super-human abilities. The Destroyer's body, while inhabited by Drax's spirit, was nearly invulnerable to all forms of physical injury. Drax's powers at this point included super strength, tremendous resilience, flight, and the ability to project concussive blasts of cosmic energy from his hands, as well as the ability to survive, and travel, at high speeds in outer space, as well hyperspace, without air, food, or water. Drax could harness his cosmic energy and project it through his arms as concussive blasts. The maximum amount of force Drax is able to project is unknown. However, he can project enough energy to shatter large, ferrous meteors. Drax also possessed the ability to sense the presence of Thanos across vast distances.

 

Second Return

 

When Drax was later restored, his physical might increased, but suffered severe mental disability in his new incarnation. Instead of his ability to sense Thanos across vast distances, Drax possessed the ability to sense when beings were in recent contact with Thanos, and a precognitive ability to sense when beings will be in contact with Thanos in the near future. Drax's strength was comparable to that of the Hulk, but lacking the latter's rage-fueled potential.

 

With the Power Gem, Drax was a truly unstoppable force with limitless strength. He subconsciously used the Power Gem to tap into it's power and grew stronger and stronger.

 

Current Powers

 

As of the 2006 " Annihilation" mini-series, Drax had again died and undergone a rebirth, appearing to have lost some of his strength and resilience, as well as his ability to fly and shoot cosmic energy blasts. However, his intellect returned to its original level and had taken a liking to using knives in battle. After his rebirth, he did display some psionic ability. He entered the mind of the human girl, Cammi, that was with him during his death and rebirth. He used her memories to reconstruct the events leading up to and following his death.

 

Drax has proven to have a superhuman olfactory senses. During the Annihilation event he was able to determine that Nova was a human like Cammi by sheer smell alone. Drax had also used this ability to recognize when weapons were about to be discharged in his area. In the Guardians of the Galaxy #5, he was asked if this acute sense had picked up any of the cloaked Skrulls.

 

In issue #4 of "Annihilation" Drax displayed an ability unseen in any of his previous incarnations; while in close proximity to Thanos' body, his own body emitted a strange, form-fitting aura. Shortly thereafter, he punched straight through the Thanos' chest with a single blow.

 

The full extent of Drax's powers after his most recent rebirth are unknown at this time.

 

Abilities

 

Drax is a more than proficient in combat, which was especially true in his original and more powerful incarnation. In Guardians of the Galaxy #5, Drax was said to have mastered the alien martial art form called "Dwi Theet". He used this to defeat Impact, a master in six different martial arts, with ease. In his normal life Arthur Douglas was skilled in playing the saxophone.

 

Strength levels

 

Drax's original form possessed superhuman strength, allowing him to lift (press) 40 tons. Following his fall and subsequent return, his strength increased to Class 100 level, allowing him to lift (press) 100 tons. With the Infinity Gem, his strength was raised even further, able to lift well in excess of 100 tons. As a result of his recent rebirth (shortly before Annihilation), Drax's strength appeared to have diminished somewhat, to what degree is unknown. The Marvel Power grid places his current strength at being able to lift over 75 tons and up to 100 tons.

 

Equipment

 

Drax currently carries a pair of knives made from unknown material. As a member of the Infinity Watch, Drax once wielded the Power Gem.

  

⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽

_____________________________

 

A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.

 

Secret Identity: Arthur Sampson Douglas

 

Publisher: Marvel

 

First Appearance: The Invincible Iron Man #55 (February 1973)

 

Created by: Jim Starlin (writer and artist)

On the neck are representations of actions relating to animal sacrifice, while the body represents the duel between Achilles and Memnon flanked by their mothers, Thetis and Eos, attending Zeus, who weighs their souls on a balance; and on the other side the introduction of Herakles to Olympos.

 

Found at Cerveteri, Banditaccia Necropolis, without context. Named for the archaeologist who discovered it.

 

(Etruscan/Ionian) Black Figure hydria of the 'Campana Group', attributed to the Ribbon Painter (aka the 'Painter of Louvre E 737-739' or the 'Painter of Louvre E 739', a painter of possibly North Ionian Greek (Phokaean?) origin), dated stylistically to ca. 530/525 BCE, perhaps produced at Cerveteri or Vulci.

(Caere/Cerveteri/Caisra/Cisra/Agylla: Pleiades; PECS (Perseus); Wikipedia).

 

In the collection of the Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia, Rome, Italy (MiBACT; en.wikipedia), inv. 80983.

 

This photo is made available under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) license. You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

This is the area where I grew up between 1965 and the 1980s, on a red clay and greywacke hill astride the O'Connor Ridge overlooking the Limestone Plains of Canberra - aka "The Bush Capital". The following relates to the experiences of many kids who grew up exploring this hilly playground, back in the days mostly before electronic games became a thing. Anecdotes I really must thank my sister for motivating me to put down, before they all begin to fade away...

 

The first home my family made on this hill was in an Australian National University-owned house on Quandong Street (tagged on far right of aerial photo). The street is named after a native nut. After our Australian grandfather passed away, we moved to a wonderful home farther up the hill on Nardoo Crescent - named after a spore-producing native plant. I remember quite early on mum and dad telling us these weird names were both native plants the Aborigines used in their bush tucker.

 

In regard to our grandfather, like a great many young men he had been a volunteer in WWI, although he was fortunately never destined to be a Digger in the mud and chalk dust of the trenches. Instead he became a a specialist rotary engine mechanic in the Australian Flying Corps, servicing mainly the Sopwith Camel - an effective but notoriously difficult fighter plane to master in the air. He later recalled during his service in the United Kingdom there were many training accidents, which he estimated accounted for about as many young pilots killed learning to fly as were dying fighting the young Germans over France and Belgium - part of a obscenely colossal and totally avoidable casualty toll Australia could ill-afford, which despite all the blood sacrifice like so many other countries also led Australia into ever greater debt with mother England's privately owned mother of all banks.

 

After the Great War our granddad helped establish a public speaking club called Rostrum Australia, becoming its first president, for which he was much later very proud to be honoured with a MBE by Queen Elizabeth II. Like so many men too back then, he'd joined what would later become the Returned Service's League (RSL) and also the Freemasons. In fact, I remember once as a boy finding a big old steamer trunk in the basement at Nardoo Crescent with medals, badges and a curious satchel, filled with elaborate looking robes with all sorts of bling (actually folded aprons, a sash & medallions). I went upstairs to get my dad and he explained this was his father's Freemason and WWI paraphernalia. Dress ups of course are a trip for a kid, so naturally I asked if I could try it all on, but dad wasn't so keen on that and the trunk was closed.

 

Back before the trees grew too big around that home on Nardoo Cres, I remember well how my brother, sister and I could gaze out from our bedroom windows over many of Canberra’s familiar landmarks - the brooding sandstone and domed eminence of Australian War Memorial (AWM) over by Mont St Ainslie, the stark white of the original Parliament House and the Captain Cook Memorial water jet. We could even just make out the thunderbird eagle of the Australian-American Memorial, perched high on its pole over yonder in Russell - an inspiration of Sir Robert Menzies, built with the mass donations of a public forever grateful to the United States in the wake of WWII.

 

Speaking of Thunderbirds, that was one of the kid's TV shows I most remember my older brother and I watching back in the late 1960s and ‘70s - that and Gerry Anderson's other marionette shows, especially Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (Aussie actor Bud Tingwell did voices for both those shows btw). Many years on it these old British TV kids shows would seem be the inspiration that so perfectly went on to lampoon the NWO by 911 times a thousand through Team America: The World Police

 

My brother and I also followed Dr Who, and I can still remember preferring sometimes to peer at it from under a blanket, particularly when the Autons revealed themselves in Spearhead From Space.

 

Back then Canberra only had two TV stations, that is until late 1980 when a non-commercial multicultural channel was added (SBS, channel 0/28). The two original stations were the non-commercial tax payer-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC TV, channel 3) and a commercial channel CTC7, owned by Kerry Stokes. It meant we didn't get all the well known TV shows of that era, but still there was plenty to keep us amused and distracted. Just a random sample of some of the shows on air in that era in Canberra that come to mind, but now rarely seen on free to air TV are Disneyland, The Lone Ranger, The Banana Splits, My Favorite Martian, Aunty Jack, Spyforce, Ben Hall, Rush, The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, Wings, Dick Emery, Dave Allen At Large, The Paul Hogan Show, WKRP In Cincinnati, Minder, and the Kenny Everett Video Show.

 

Hard to forget also my brother's antics imitating Catweazle and the giggle fits he’d put me in at the dinner table. Flipper was another show I recall - but one which is definitely better remembered now for what went on behind the scenes.

 

Which reminds me of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo - how could we forget old cime fighting Skip? I remember in the 1971 summer holidays our family going to Ranger Headquarters at the ‘Waratah Park’ film set, on the north-eastern outskirts of Sydney. I can still remember quite a bit, like Sonny's bedroom, which had a few Airfix model planes beside the bed (my brother and I loved building and painting models). I also remember a very forlorn looking Eastern Grey Kangaroo in a cage, with a sign "Skippy". Even as a 6 year old I knew something was a bit awry though, Skip never needed a bloody cage!

 

Some years later, it was interesting to watch Tony Bonner again, this time in a very sombre role in the miniseries Anzacs, acting along side much loved larrakin Paul Hogan - sort of an early '80s WWI Aussie version of Band of Brothers . Of course, being a Kerry Packer Channel 9-production it was all pretty faithful to the official WWI b/s story line, as implausible as it should by rights be suspected by now (eg the evil war-mongering Germans, the noble (Nobel) British Empire defending liberty, Keith Murdoch as the brave Gallipoli whistle blower - Rupert's dad that is - yeah no really). So many of that cast are gone now, most sadly its star John Blake. Wishful thinking, but 33 years on it would be great to see a more historically faithful adaptation of Anzacs - eg Gallipoli exposed as the set up to fail side show that it so criminally and murderously was, thanks to Lords Winston Churchill, Milner, Grey et al. A miniseries which could also bring some focus on the Aboriginal Diggers who were enlisted into British imperial war machine, as the fine film Beneath Hill 60 did to a limited extent.

 

F Troop was another show I remember quite well, which mum tended to watch a bit with us too. I still recall giggling away at mum as she'd do a perfect "ze Burglar of Banff-f" impression. I'm sure it was an episode which tickled her fancy, partly because she was born and bred in the Canadian prairie lands of Alberta, plus she spoke and taught French as if she was a native. But also like Captain Parmenter of F-Troop, mum had also told us how her great grandfather had served in the Union Cavalry during the American Civil War, later settling on the Montana frontier.

 

Actually it was his cowboy son (who actually referred to themselves as 'riders') who eventually rode his horse up into Canada and there fathered our mum's mother. He'd gone up there to work at Buffalo National Park, protecting one of the last surviving herds of Plains bison in North America. The last survivors of a war waged by the US Govt. against the native Americans and their primary food source, the bison which also competed for forage and water with the settlers' cattle. Mum also told us she had some native American heritage some where along the family line too - which tribe I can no longer recall, but fairly sure it wasn't Hekawi.

 

I remember also how mum would softly sing a rendition of I Dream of Wrangler, as sung by the late great Paul Lynde (as The Singing Mountie aka the Burglar of Banff), which had us kids singing along too. So indelibly etched in my memory too is the whirling slingshot from the intro of the French TV show The King's Outlaw (Thierry la Fronde), which I also watched with mum (she was a Francophile through and through and after moving there as a young uni student would have settled down, but for the tragic death of her original fiancee, conscripted and killed in the Algerian War).

 

Yeah, looking back we youngsters really did have a pretty fortunate time of it and, by comparison, it’s clear now it was in fact an extremely fortunate one for those times, considering what children experienced in not so far away places like Vietnam, Laos, West Papua and Bali, to name but a few...

 

As for the climate, in the late 1960s and early '70s south-east Australia I seem to recall it was a lot wetter - eg I remember well the vast expanse of Lake George almost full to the brim, with waves washing close to the road as we drove past on our regular trips to Sydney. Part of a natural cycle of wet and dry that's been going on for millennia, or then again maybe the geological strata of the region is lying... now darn it I'm not quite sure - perhaps global warbling expert Dr David Suzuki can confirm? www.corbettreport.com/what-is-the-average-global-temperat...

 

But anyway I digress - back when I was a kid, because of the wet spell it helped a small swamp to thrive beside our hill, in an area astride Dryandra St and Kunzea St (on the left of the photo above). As kids do, we used to go there to look for tadpoles and sometimes along the fringe we'd come across huge Spotted Grass Frogs. On one occasion an older friend found a really odd looking small yellow striped frog, which one of the dads who was a scientist at the nearby CSIRO identified as a Corroboree Frog - now like so many an endangered species due to habitat loss and pollution: canberra.naturemapr.org/Community/Species/11681

 

The nearby CSIRO btw is also where one of my dad's relatives also worked as a scientist for many years. Back in WWII he had developed a personal insect repellent for the troops fighting in the Pacific, which for some reason they called "Mary". When Queen Elizabeth II visited Canberra in 1963 for the 50th anniversary of its' naming, she also happened to rely on that same formulation to escape the incessant flies, with notable success. After that it was successfully marketed as Aerogard, which in turn become a household name in Australia. Our dad's cousin also approved the introduction of dung beetles to Australia to combat the ever burgeoning blowfly population. In fact, I well remember watching him and his wife one time on ABC TV, explaining how fly-blown Canberra in particular was in its youth, due to all the livestock faeces (the fly blown political and media bs here was, however, never resolved much to this wide brown land's cost).

 

Overlooking our old frog swamp I remember also there was a big old Yellow box eucalyptus tree with an unusual sideways eye-shaped scar etched into its bark. We were told many moons ago the Aborigines had cut it to use the bark to make a shield for protection and/or for carrying food while on their way to feast on roasted Bogong moths up in the Brindabella Mtns - something they'd been doing for countless thousands of years, if the region's rock art, middens and stone artifacts are anything to go by. Because of this, as kids in our eyes that old ghostly gum tree could have been thousands of years old too. But whatever its' age it surely was there providing shade and utensils to the Aborigines for a long time - long before the likes of James Cook, or Ned Kelly etched their passing in Australian history.

 

Thanks to our parents and, it must be said the ABC of old (now sadly but a pale imitation of its former self thanks mainly to Abbott, Shorten, Turnbull et al), we young kids learned some inkling why there were no aborigines coming to our frog swamp anymore. To put that in some context, definitely more passion, thought and effort was put into administering the cane (aka "the cuts", or “six of the best”) by a certain Turner Primary School headmaster, than administering any genuine education on Aboriginal history and culture, but then he was just doing his job. On the lighter side, I do remember chuckling though, when my older brother would refer to him as "the bad ham" (my brother did cop a thrashing from him at least a few times - me just the once from him early in 3rd Grade for being too engrossed in collecting harmless curled leaf spiders while exploring inside some bushes, which I wasn't aware were "strictly out of bounds", due to being unfamiliar with the primary school side of Turner's school grounds).

 

I can still vividly see his huge angry face and that slicked back Brylcreamed black head hair, and how he seemed to get off talking down to others, especially to kids and their mothers from what he liked to describe as "broken homes", as one parent reminded me not long ago. An all too often angry man I recall striding the corridors with RSL and Legacy badges on his lapels (he'd carpet bombed and bagged his way through WWII piloting B-24 Liberators), leaving in his wake the stale pong of tobacco smoke as most adults his vintage tended to do, hooked on them no doubt thanks to the wartime issue of fags to servicemen.

 

Striding the corridors of a well catered school where notably very very few Aboriginal pupils had had the same opportunity. A place where I remember each Thursday in 4th Grade the "bad ham" expected all pupils to attend Scripture, although officially Turner was secular. A weekly religious journey which could have arguably been quite constructive, however such was (and is) the state of the church's PR machine, they elected to skipper it with an old and like-wise mean-spirited man of the cloth, in a black suit with a starched white standing collar and attitude to match. Either Roman Catholic or Presbyterian I can no longer recall, but at least he was no George Pell - at least as far as we knew.

 

Not all that long into this choppy voyage his ark however suddenly sprung a leak, when two "smart Alec" boys in our class politely dared to challenge him on the concept of creationism. Seemingly underestimating the intellectual capacity of some of his 10 yr old audience, he rapidly grew red faced with rage, then abruptly stormed out. But what did he expect? After all, what he was saying about the animals walking up the gang plank two by two seemed rather cartoonish and, in fact, completely contradicted everything we'd been told up 'til then.

 

The "bad ham" however also became mightily cranky about this impertinence, to the extent before we knew it he had fronted our class and very aggressively ordered each pupil, including the vast majority who weren't involved, to immediately after school go buy a 10 cent postage stamp (ie 5 bubble gums!), then write an individual letter of apology to post to the mad preacher. Letters in the end never eventuated though, after some parents found out and reproached the bad ham for his hammed handling of this affair. I still have that stamp in my collection to remind me.

 

Before long both these two blackened souls thankfully took leave from our school and with them went the bamboo whipping cane - although thrashing hands with rulers and smacking remained options for the principals that followed for some years to come and the cane remained in other schools. A kind of surreal policy to think back on now, but at least not as bad as seeing kids with welts and bleeding cuts, courtesy of the "bad ham's" cane.

 

Of course it was never quite as bad as Tomkinson's Schooldays, but like Tomkinson, the abused often became abusers themselves, with some going on to lead troubled lives. I understand it was no better at other schools in that era – caning was a widely sanctioned disciplinary measure after all. I often wonder though if the burnt and blackened skeleton of nearby Lyneham Primary School, which I vividly remember seeing as a 4 year old in 1969, had something to do with this system of child abuse. Perhaps the arsonist Harold Tonkin would know, given he targeted his fires in and around the headmaster's office. file:///C:/Users/Jay/AppData/Local/Temp/8-Article%20Text-14-1-10-20160727.pdf

 

But back to Turner School, I remember in the early 1970s at recess in the infants school each of us being served small glass milk bottles by our class 'Milk Monitor'. Also how we all had to say grace before lunch: "God is gracious, God is good. Thank you for our daily food". I remember though how this chorus of hundreds of kids tended to deliver it as an incredible droning dirge, only brightened by the tendency for students to derive a childish chuckle after deliberately mis-pronouncing 'food' so it would rhyme with 'good'. Looking back no doubt the starving Biafrans of this era weren't chuckling, although the oil and arms barons no doubt were.

 

I also remember witnessing the building of a facility on the Hartley Street end of the infant's school, where I'd initially attended kindergarten. This was dedicated to disabled students and it continues to do so - something the bad ham is given the most credit for to this day. Also I recall how we would sing God Save The Queen at assembly until around 1975, when we were taught to sing Advance Australia Fair instead. Even back then I well remember thinking it was a cheesy tune, with even cheesier lyrics. An anthem which to this day still proclaims "for we are young and free”, as if we were all born yesterday. Go figure.

 

And in truth, it was little different later at Lyneham High School, except to say here the cane was still being deployed by several faculty heads. Here too I recall at least two male Aboriginal students, one of whom was Lyneham’s best athlete at the time. As for the curriculum, the thing I most vividly recall was the official line "Australia is a young nation and only has a short history" and only an anecdotal and highly sanitised coverage of Australia's Aboriginal history (not to mention Australia's financial history either btw). Some decades on, one might be forgiven for thinking such entrenched vision slit views of our history still commands those who proudly bear the RSL badge - if a quiet stroll around AWM or a wonder thru the local RSL pockie parlours are anything to go by...

 

But what about that gnarly old man gum tree up on the ridge which told us otherwise? Well sadly that Aboriginal scarred tree by our old frog swamp was lost forever in a bush fire in 2002 - that being the year before the huge terrible firestorm which would overwhelm parts of south Canberra with such tragic consequences.

 

As for our old friend who found the Corroboree frog, we tragically lost him too in an accident - but at the very least Bruce Reid was doing what he really loved, soaring like an Wedge-Tailed eagle from his paraglider into heaven off the escarpment beside the now great dry bed of Lake George. Actually, sadly one of two old hill top boys and near neighbours who we tragically lost in air crashes – the other, Martin Chilvers, in a suspicious unexplained Bureau of Mineral Resources plane crash, which also tragically killed a surveying geologist alongside him on lonely Mt Barren Jack, north-west of Canberra. A trusted pilot and good mate from our earliest swamp exploring days, Martin had once taken a bunch of us aloft in the 1980s for a soaring eagle's eye view over our O'Connor hill. I still regret not having a camera.

 

Not far from that old Aboriginal scarred gum tree there was another place our two lost friends and the rest of us once soared - a long deep dirt drain with a roller-coaster like bike trail running down its course, known to all as "the dippers". At the top end it was deeper, where it was known as "the big dippers" and as it gradually petered out it was called "the little dippers", where green kids could first test the waters. It was a perfect dirt track circuit for Choppers, dragsters and the menagerie of home-modified push bikes like my older bother's, ie larger bikes modified with sissy bars and ape hanger handle bars taken from smaller framed dragsters. From 1979 many kids like me began modifying our bikes with proper BMX handle bars and goose necks. Factory-made BMX bikes were still a rarity at this point as they were quite expensive - the first kid I recall to get one at my school was in 1980, a Mongoose IIRC.

 

Further down from the dippers there was also a long steep slope, known as the "sled track", where kids could slide down on rough wooden sleds, or more commonly big pieces of cardboard, especially when the grass was green and wet in the spring. Hereyou could also launch paper planes and balsa wood gliders and watch them soar for an eternity. This spot was in a small bush reserve where we could also wile away a quiet summer's day hunting for bugs, always I remember to a click, click, click chorus of yellow wingers.

 

There was also the cool shade of an old weary willow tree there, where we could sit around and chit chat away, playing games and fashioning bows and arrows, sling shots, etc. I remember it was kind of like a huge cave, usually surrounded by a screen of tall dry grass and bushes, through which we could crawl to create a network of intersecting tunnels.

 

Funny I don’t actually recall once ever seeing a snake while playing there, but then presumably we made so much noise they knew not to stick around. Looking back, it was far safer playing in the bush in the 1960s and early '70s than being in say the average family car, in an era when car manufacturers didn’t give a rats about installing seat belts. Indeed, the road toll in Australia during that Vietnam War era accounted for many, many more horrendous deaths and injuries, than occurred among those very brave and mostly conscripted Australian soldiers who went off to serve in Vietnam (thanks Lawrence of Suburbia for that reminder).

 

Straddling that little bush reserve was yet another world of entertainment, a sweeping footpath from Wongoola Close down to Yapunyah St, which all the kids around half jokingly called "Suicide Hill", down which we rode our scooters, bikes, skateboards and home-made billy carts - and of course occasionally stacked them (ie crashed). Despite its' fearsome name, no one ever died on Suicide Hill, nor to my knowledge was permanently maimed, as fortunately the long grass and honeysuckle at the sweeping bend at the bottom would inevitably break our fall.

 

I well remember my first taste of that experience aged 5 astride my small red tricycle, having just watched my older brother repeatedly whiz down on his skate board, leaving in his wake as always that alluring aroma of Bell Boy and Black Cat bubble gum. I remember they were 2 cents each and oh how I longed for that day when I too got pocket money for doing chores like my bother did, so I too could spend up at Sheedy's Milk Bar at the O'Connor Shops. The Monte Carlo Cafe and Milk Bar was also at those shops, but the owner was mean spirited and violent at times towards children, especially to kids wearing ALP election campaign badges in 1975 - both shops were gone by the early 1980s.

 

One day, maybe imagining I was as indestructible as Captain Scarlet, I foolishly decided I too could whiz down Suicide Hill like my older brother - or at least part of it - but with only my bare feet on pavement as brakes on my tricycle. Bad mistake as it turned out. For, before I knew it, I was rocketing full pelt down to the curve, hell for leather, until I lost control and was fortunately flung into the the long grass & honeysuckle. Despite the fearsome blisters on my soles from my desperate attempt to slow down, I recall I did manage to tearfully hobble some of the way home up Yapunah St, before my brother was able to alert our mum. As she came rushing with my little sister in hand and scooped me up, I don’t recall a huge outpouring of sympathy in that no-nonsense Alberta way she could have once I'd explained waht happened. And fair enough looking back, I’d learned a good lesson (ma, if you can read me up there, thank you for always being there for us and I'm sorry we were a bit of a worry at times x).

 

Yeah, back then, apart from the occasional self-inflicted wounds, we kids had a quite a blessed time. In fact, the only particularly dodgy thing worthy of mention here occurred one quiet summer day in the early 1970s, when our friend Bruce, who found the Corroboree frog, was away holidaying with his family down at Broulee, by the coast at their holiday home they called "The Tardis". His family returned in shock to find dozens of his dad's award-winning budgies had been brazenly stolen. Now being a native species and his dad being a mad keen breeder, you can imagine these were, without doubt, some of the best budgerigars around.

 

But the dodgiest thing of all about this was a neighbouring mum (Desmond's mum) had seen two men dressed as policemen, egress from a marked police car, go through a vacant neighbouring back yard and then jump the back fence to steal the birds. Of course, she had naturally assumed it was some sort of police raid rather than the daylight robbery that is was. Thus she elected to kept her distance. As it turned out a few other breeders were also targeted during those Christmas holidays. And also by coincidence there were two members of the now defunct ACT Police in our friend's father's budgie breeder's club who were never seen at the club again after that. Perhaps not unpredictably, not one of the thefts was ever solved. Later my friend's dad discovered the best of his stolen budgies had somehow miraculously 'flown' all their way into the lucrative UK market and into the hands of certain miscreants.

 

Many years later, we by then grown up kids were also intrigued to learn something else through our by now retired parents - that the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had actually been tapping some of the families' telephones in our street for several years (at least three homes that they know of). Our parents had found out through authors who were researching works on Gough Whitlam and the ANU historian Manning Clark in the National Archives of Australia.

 

Mind you, ASIO phone taps were apparently wide spread, especially in the post-war Menzies era and continued on through successive Prime Minister-ships, until they were allegedly scaled back for a time when Whitlam briefly was Prime Minister between 1972-75.

 

Indeed, it was in that Whitlam period that ASIO's more dubious activities became better known, perhaps most remarkably concerning the ability of anti-Tito fascist Ustashe militia to train in Australia using hijacked weaponry intended for Vietnam - weapons, the supply of which certain ASIO agents had erroneously attributed to university student members of the Vietnam Moratorium Movement. That and other questionable judgements eventually resulted in ASIO's then chief being dismissed by Whitlam. Only a year later in 1975 at the stark white Parliament House Whitlam announced he too had been dismissed, this time by Sir John Kerr, using the authority of his position granted under Queen Elizabeth II. The drug money laundering Nugan-Hand Bank is another notable security failure of that era.

 

Looking back, it could be Sir John Kerr figured he was Her Majesty's ultimate Aerogard - but rather than a pesky fly, could perhaps Gough go down in history as Australia's greatest ever dung beetle? As for those ASIO phone taps we learned of, we assume they were authorised due to our various academic parents' links with the more left wing dominated ALP of old, the Quakers and the advocacy for the anti-Vietnam War and Aboriginal rights movements, plus no doubt contact some of them had with university academia in Russia during the Cold War.

 

The National Archives now stores the annotated ASIO transcripts of even the most casual phone conversations. For example, I'm told one transcript records a passing mention of D.H. Lawrence in a conversation between our neighbouring friend's parents, which alarmed ASIO enough to take note of his name as a possible associate in need of further investigation. Lawrence was in fact a renown English novelist who wrote Kangaroo, amongst other works, who passed away way back in 1930 - but it's assumed those wise ASIO owls back then were eventually able to stumble on to that fact.

 

I should not neglect to mention also, one of those parents ASIO deemed as a potential threat and eavesdropped on was old enough to have served as an officer in the Australian Army Medical Corps in WWII. He had braved the numerous perils of the New Guinea Campaign to help save the lives of men injured fighting to save this country from the brutal Imperial Japanese Army and Navy, (who'd got all their technology from British and US arms companies and who happened to be allies of the Ustashe amongst others...).

Now correct me if I'm mistaken, but given the current state of play I wonder too if history is repeating itself in a way…

 

But anyway, how weird it is to look back, knowing now that our little hill in tranquil O'Connor was of some apparent worry to these hair brained authorities of that not really by gone era. All the more so, considering in that same era a pair of budgie smugglers dressed up as cops could creep in and out of people's backyards committing larceny without a worry in the world.

 

Two lowlife desperadoes, who didn’t even have the courtesy to don Speedos instead of cop uniforms, so at least their daring dirty deed would have become the stuff of legend, thus enriching Australia's colourful and checkered history. I guess they didn’t have time, or maybe they figured “naa, let’s just dash in, cash in and screw the locals like everyone else has for the past few hundred years”. At least the Burglar of Banff had the imagination and artistry to pose as a >singing< Mountie.

 

Seriously though, what's a bit of deception, invasion of privacy, trespass and larceny? Struth, it's completely nothing compared to what the Aborigines have endured - the things which Turner, Lyneham and all the rest of the schools for so long neglected to mention, while in the meantime ensuring a policy of thrashing school children was not forgotten.

Vera Semper Colere

 

Postscript:

 

Some years after our adventures on our hill in O'Connor a no-nonsense hard working Deputy Federal Police Commissioner here in Canberra was sadly knocked off. His name was Colin Winchester. As it turned out, the authorities came to blame a local bloke for the murder. His name is David Eastman. Now by sheer coincidence my mum had worked with Mr Eastman in the public service. She said he certainly was a difficult and sometimes very argumentative man, but someone she could never believe for a second was mad enough to brazenly shoot dead a very senior policeman in cold blood, right in the driveway of his own home. But what would mum know? As it happens though, a lot of people in Canberra for some reason think and say the same thing, including David Eastman. But regardless, he remained in jail for some twenty years, despite numerous appeals of innocence and the shoddy of circumstantial evidence. Perhaps these calls were all just drowned out by the mysterious bomb that was later sent to the police intelligence agency, which tragically killed another good policeman? Would ASIO know perhaps? But what do they know? God knows.

(where's Skippy when you need her?)

 

Whatever the explanation, it makes me wonder if perhaps it suggests just how far Canberra hasn't come: from a faraway dream time where Aborigines once trekked through to gather tools on their way to their peaceful Bogong moth smorgasbord; to a small fly blown town where it appears organised crime against Aborigines had the last word; to seemingly a paradise for charred and half-baked school curriculum, budgie smuggling fuzz, not so wise eavesdropping owls, with the odd high political drama; to once again a fly blown town, metaphorically speaking, where organised crime quite evidently still has the last word - and at this rate well who knows, maybe one day also the last drink of clean water and last breath of clean air too...

 

No flies on the Queen though

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfD-lirPJPY

   

Dumfries Museum and Camera Obscura, located in Dumfries in Dumfries & Galloway, is the largest museum in the region. The museum has extensive collections relating to local and history from the pre-historic era. The museum also has the world's oldest working Camera Obscura. Admission is free, however a small fee applies for the Camera Obscura.

Collections

 

The museum's collections cover all material relating to the natural history and human pre-history of the region, from geology to dress, folk material, archaeology and early photographs.

 

Notable artefacts include:

A cast of the skull of Robert the Bruce as well as femur and foot bones.

A Bronze Age cist burial including the remains of a 35-year-old man from the beaker people.

A large collection of Roman and Celtic stone crosses and funerary monuments.

A replica of the first bicycle, as designed by Kirkpatrick Macmillan.

The photographic archive of Dr Werner Kissling.

Personal items belonging to Thomas Carlyle

Fossil reptile tracks from the local Permian sandstone including Corncockle Quarry.

 

History

Originally built as a four-storey windmill on Corbelly hill, the highest point in Maxwelltown, in 1798, the site was purchased by Dumfries and Maxwellton Astronomical Society in 1834. Over a two-year period the tower was converted into an Observatory, and with advice from polar explorer Sir John Ross, a telescope was purchased from a Mr Morton of Kilmarnock. With its completion in 1836, unfortunately the observatory missed the arrival of Halley's comet; however, it was used in this role until 1872.

 

The main hall of the museum was built in 1862, and housed the collections of the newly founded Dumfries and Galloway Natural History & Antiquarian Society. In 1981 a major addition of a new gallery, shop, search room and offices for curatorial staff was added. In 2011 the exterior of the windmill tower was refurbished.

 

Camera Obscura

The camera obscura is currently the oldest working example in the world, and has been in continuous operation since 1836. The instrument, based in the top level of the windmill tower, offers a complete 360° panorama of the surrounding landscape. The image is projected onto a focusing table below, and operated using a simple rope mechanism. In order to protect the instrument it is only operated during the summer months and on days when weather conditions are clear. The museums photographic expert for thirty years was Werner Kissling who donated his photos to the museum when he died.

 

Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, 25 miles (40 km) from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the historic county of Dumfriesshire.

 

Before becoming King of Scots, Robert the Bruce killed his rival the Red Comyn at Greyfriars Kirk in the town in 1306. The Young Pretender had his headquarters here towards the end of 1745. In the Second World War, the Norwegian Army in exile in Britain largely consisted of a brigade in Dumfries.

 

Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South. This is also the name of the town's football club. People from Dumfries are known colloquially in Scots language as Doonhamers.

 

History

Early history

 

No positive information has been obtained of the era and circumstances in which the town of Dumfries was founded.

 

Some writers hold that Dumfries flourished as a place of distinction during the Roman occupation of North Great Britain. The Selgovae inhabited Nithsdale at the time and may have raised some military works of a defensive nature on or near the site of Dumfries; and it is more than probable that a castle of some kind formed the nucleus of the town. This is inferred from the etymology of the name, which, according to one theory, is resolvable into two Gaelic terms signifying a castle or fort in the copse or brushwood. Dumfries was once within the borders of the Kingdom of Northumbria. The district around Dumfries was for several centuries ruled over and deemed of much importance by the invading Romans. Many traces of Roman presence in Dumfriesshire are still to be found; coins, weapons, sepulchral remains, military earthworks, and roads being among the relics left by their lengthened sojourn in this part of Scotland. The Caledonian tribes in the south of Scotland were invested with the same rights by an edict of Antoninus Pius. The Romanized natives received freedom (the burrows, cairns, and remains of stone temples still to be seen in the district tell of a time when Druidism was the prevailing religion) as well as civilisation from their conquerors. Late in the fourth century, the Romans bade farewell to the country.

 

According to another theory, the name is a corruption of two words which mean the Friars' Hill; those who favour this idea allege that St. Ninian, by planting a religious house near the head of what is now the Friars' Vennel, at the close of the fourth century, became the virtual founder of the Burgh; however Ninian, so far as is known, did not originate any monastic establishments anywhere and was simply a missionary. In the list of British towns given by the ancient historian Nennius, the name Caer Peris occurs, which some modern antiquarians suppose to have been transmuted, by a change of dialect, into Dumfries.

 

Twelve of King Arthur's battles were recorded by Nennius in Historia Brittonum. The Battle of Tribruit (the tenth battle), has been suggested as having possibly been near Dumfries or near the mouth of the river Avon near Bo'ness.

 

After the Roman departure the area around Dumfries had various forms of visit by Picts, Anglo-Saxons, Scots and Norse culminating in a decisive victory for Gregory, King of Scots at what is now Lochmaben over the native Britons in 890.

Medieval period

 

When, in 1069, Malcolm Canmore and William the Conqueror held a conference regarding the claims of Edgar Ætheling to the English Crown, they met at Abernithi – a term which in the old British tongue means a port at the mouth of the Nith. It has been argued, the town thus characterised must have been Dumfries; and therefore it must have existed as a port in the Kingdom of Strathclyde, if not in the Roman days. However, against this argument is that the town is situated eight to nine miles (14 km) distant from the sea, although the River Nith is tidal and navigable all the way into the town itself.

 

Although at the time 1 mile (1.6 km) upstream and on the opposite bank of the Nith from Dumfries, Lincluden Abbey was founded circa 1160. The abbey ruins are on the site of the bailey of the very early Lincluden Castle, as are those of the later Lincluden Tower. This religious house was used for various purposes, until its abandonment around 1700. Lincluden Abbey and its grounds are now within the Dumfries urban conurbation boundary. William the Lion granted the charter to raise Dumfries to the rank of a royal burgh in 1186. Dumfries was very much on the frontier during its first 50 years as a burgh and it grew rapidly as a market town and port.

 

Alexander III visited Dumfries in 1264 to plan an expedition against the Isle of Man, previously Scots but for 180 years subjected by the crown of Norway. Identified with the conquest of Man, Dumfries shared in the well-being of Scotland for the next 22 years until Alexander's accidental death brought an Augustan era in the town's history to an abrupt finish.

 

A royal castle, which no longer exists, was built in the 13th century on the site of the present Castledykes Park. In the latter part of the century William Wallace chased a fleeing English force southward through the Nith valley. The English fugitives met the gates of Dumfries Castle that remained firmly closed in their presence. With a body of the town's people joining Wallace and his fellow pursuers when they arrived, the fleeing English met their end at Cockpool on the Solway Coast. After resting at Caerlaverock Castle a few miles away from the bloodletting, Wallace again passed through Dumfries the day after as he returned north to Sanquhar Castle.

 

During the invasion of 1300, Edward I of England lodged for a few days in June with the Minorite Friars of the Vennel, before he laid siege to Caerlaverock Castle at the head of the then greatest invasion force to attack Scotland. After Caerlaverock eventually succumbed, Edward passed through Dumfries again as he crossed the Nith to take his invasion into Galloway. With the Scottish nobility having requested Vatican support for their cause, Edward on his return to Caerlaverock was presented with a missive directed to him by Pope Boniface VIII. Edward held court in Dumfries at which he grudgingly agreed to an armistice. On 30 October, the truce solicited by Pope Boniface was signed by Edward at Dumfries. Letters from Edward, dated at Dumfries, were sent to his subordinates throughout Scotland, ordering them to give effect to the treaty. The peace was to last until Whitsunday in the following year.

 

Before becoming King of Scots, Robert the Bruce stabbed his rival the Red Comyn at Greyfriars Kirk in the town on 10 February 1306. Bruce's uncertainty about the fatality of the stabbing caused one of his followers, Roger de Kirkpatrick, to utter the famous, "I mak siccar" ("I make sure") and finish the Comyn off. Bruce was subsequently excommunicated as a result, less for the murder than for its location in a church. Regardless, for Bruce the die was cast at the moment in Greyfriars and so began his campaign by force for the independence of Scotland. Swords were drawn by supporters of both sides, the burial ground of the monastery becoming the theatre of battle. Bruce and his party then attacked Dumfries Castle. The English garrison surrendered and for the third time in the day Bruce and his supporters were victorious. He was crowned King of Scots barely seven weeks after. Bruce later triumphed at the Battle of Bannockburn and led Scotland to independence.

 

Once Edward received word of the revolution that had started in Dumfries, he again raised an army and invaded Scotland. Dumfries was again subjected to the control of Bruce's enemies. Sir Christopher Seton (Bruce's brother in law) had been captured at Loch Doon and was hurried to Dumfries to be tried for treason in general and more specifically for being present at Comyn's killing. Still in 1306 and along with two companions, Seton was condemned and executed by hanging and then beheading at the site of what is now St Mary's Church.

 

In 1659 ten women were accused of diverse acts of witchcraft by Dumfries Kirk Session although the Kirk Session minutes itself records nine witches. The Justiciary Court found them guilty of the several articles of witchcraft and on 13 April between 2 pm and 4 pm they were taken to the Whitesands, strangled at stakes and their bodies burnt to ashes.

 

Eighteenth century

The Midsteeple in the centre of the High Street was completed in 1707. Opposite the fountain in the High Street, adjacent to the present Marks & Spencer, was the Commercial and later the County Hotel. Although the latter was demolished in 1984–85, the original facade of the building was retained and incorporated into new retail premises. The building now houses a Waterstones Bookshop. Room No. 6 of the hotel was known as Bonnie Prince Charlie's Room and appropriately carpeted in the Royal Stewart tartan. The timber panelling of "Prince Charlie's room" was largely reinstated and painted complete with the oil painted landscapes by Robert Norie (1720–1766) in the overmantels at either end of the room and can still be seen as the upstairs showroom of the book shop. The Young Pretender had his headquarters here during a 3-day sojourn in Dumfries towards the end of 1745. £2,000 was demanded by the Prince, together with 1,000 pairs of brogues for his kilted Jacobite rebel army, which was camping in a field not one hundred yards distant. A rumour that the Duke of Cumberland was approaching, made Bonnie Prince Charlie decide to leave with his army, with only £1,000 and 255 pairs of shoes having been handed over.

 

Robert Burns moved to Dumfriesshire in 1788 and Dumfries itself in 1791, living there until his death on 21 July 1796. Today's Greyfriars Church overlooks the location of a statue of Burns, which was designed by Amelia Robertson Hill, sculpted in Carrara, Italy in 1882, and was unveiled by future Prime Minister, Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery on 6 April 1882. Today, it features on the 2007 series of £5 notes issued by the Bank of Scotland, alongside the Brig o' Doon.

 

After working with Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, inventor William Symington intended to carry out a trial in order to show than an engine would work on a boat without the boat catching fire. The trial finally took place on Dalswinton Loch near Dumfries on 14 October 1788. The experiment demonstrated that a steam engine would work on a boat. Symington went on to become the builder of the first practical steamboat.

 

20th century and beyond

The first official intimation that RAF Dumfries was to be built was made in late 1938. The site chosen had accommodated light aircraft since about 1914. Work progressed quickly, and on 17 June 1940, the 18 Maintenance Unit was opened at Dumfries. The role of the base during the war also encompassed training. RAF Dumfries had a moment of danger on 25 March 1943, when a German Dornier Do 217 aircraft shot up the airfield beacon, but crashed shortly afterwards. The pilot, Oberleutnant Martin Piscke was later interred in Troqueer Cemetery in Dumfries town, with full military honours. On the night of 3/4 August 1943 a Vickers Wellington bomber with engine problems diverted to but crashed 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) short of the Dumfries runway.

 

During the Second World War, the bulk of the Norwegian Army during their years in exile in Britain consisted of a brigade in Dumfries. When the army High Command took over, there were 70 officers and about 760 privates in the camp. The camp was established in June 1940 and named Norwegian Reception Camp, consisting of some 500 men and women, mainly foreign-Norwegian who had volunteered for war duty in Norway during the Nazi occupation in early 1940. Through the summer the number was built up to around 1,500 under the command of General Carl Gustav Fleischer. Within a few miles of Dumfries are the villages of Tinwald, Torthorwald and Mouswald all of which were settled by Vikings.

 

Dumfries has experienced two Boxing Day earthquakes. These were in 1979 (measuring 4.7 ML  centred near Longtown) and 2006 (centred in the Dumfries locality measuring 3.6 ML ). There were no serious consequences of either. There was also an earthquake on 16 February 1984 and a further earthquake on 7 June 2010.

 

Like the rest of Dumfries and Galloway, of Scotland's three major geographical areas Dumfries lies in the Southern Uplands.

 

The river Nith runs through Dumfries toward the Solway Firth in a southwards direction splitting the town into East and West. At low tide, the sea recedes to such an extent on the shallow sloping sands of the Solway that the length of the Nith is extended by 13 km to 113.8 km (70.7 mi). This makes the Nith Scotland's seventh longest river. There are several bridges across the river within the town. In between the Devorgilla (also known as 'The Old Bridge') and the suspension bridge is a weir colloquially known as 'The Caul'. In wetter months of the year the Nith can flood the surrounding streets. The Whitesands has flooded on average once a year since 1827.

 

Dumfries has numerous suburbs including Summerhill, Summerville, Troqueer, Georgetown, Cresswell, Larchfield, Calside, Lochside, Lincluden, Newbridge Drive, Sandside, Heathhall, Locharbriggs, Noblehill and Marchmount. Maxwelltown to the west of the river Nith, was formerly a burgh in its own right within Kirkcudbrightshire until its incorporation into Dumfries in 1929; Summerhill, Troqueer, Lochside, Lincluden, Sandside are among other suburbs located on the Maxwelltown side of the river. Palmerston Park, home to the town's senior football team Queen of the South, is on Terregles Street, also on the Maxwelltown side of the river.

 

Queensberry Square and High Street are the central focal points of the town and this area hosts many of the historical, social and commercial enterprises and events of Dumfries. During the 1990s, these areas enjoyed various aesthetic recognitions from organisations including Britain in Bloom.

 

Dumfries got its nickname 'Queen of the South' from David Dunbar, a local poet, who in 1857 stood in the general election. In one of his addresses he called Dumfries "Queen of the South" and this became synonymous with the town.

 

The term doonhamer comes from the way that natives of Dumfries over the years have referred to the area when working away from home. The town is often referred to as doon hame in the Scots language (down home). The term doonhamer followed, to describe those that originate from Dumfries.

 

The Doonhamers is also the nickname of Queen of the South who represent Dumfries and the surrounding area in the Scottish Football League.

 

The crest of Dumfries contains the words, "A Lore Burne". In the history of Dumfries close to the town was the marsh through which ran the Loreburn whose name became the rallying cry of the town in times of attack – A Lore Burne (meaning 'to the muddy stream').

 

In 2017 Dumfries was ranked the happiest place in Scotland by Rightmove.

 

Located on top of a small hill, Dumfries Museum is centred on the 18th-century windmill which stands above the town. Included are fossil footprints left by prehistoric reptiles, the wildlife of the Solway marshes, tools and weapons of the earliest peoples of the region and stone carvings of Scotland's first Christians. On the top floor of the museum is a camera obscura.

 

Based in the control tower near Tinwald Downs, the aviation museum has an extensive indoor display of memorabilia, much of which has come via various recovery activities. During the second world war, aerial navigation was taught at Dumfries also at Wigtown and nearby Annan was a fighter training unit. RAF Dumfries doubled as an important maintenance unit and aircraft storage unit. The museum is run by the Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Group and is the only private aviation museum in Scotland. The restored control tower of the former World War II airfield is now a listed building. The museum is run by volunteers and houses a large and ever expanding aircraft collection, aero engines and a display of artefacts and personal histories relating to aviation, past and present. It is also home to the Loch Doon Spitfire. Both civil aviation and military aviation are represented.

 

The Theatre Royal, Dumfries was built in 1792 and is the oldest working theatre in Scotland.

 

The theatre is owned by the Guild of Players who bought it in 1959, thereby saving it from demolition, and is run on a voluntary basis by the members of the Guild of Players. It is funded entirely by Guild membership subscriptions, and by box office receipts. It does not currently receive any grant aid towards running costs.

 

In recent years the theatre has been re-roofed and the outside refurbished. It is the venue for the Guild of Players' own productions and for performances from visiting companies. These include: Scottish Opera, TAG, the Borderline and 7:84.

 

The Robert Burns Centre is an art house cinema in Dumfries. The Odeon Cinema, which showed more mainstream movies, closed its doors in mid-2018 due to the local council refusing to allow Odeon to relocate, forcing them to close.

 

The Loreburn Hall (sometimes known colloquially as The Drill Hall) has hosted concerts by performers such as Black Sabbath, Big Country, The Proclaimers and Scottish Opera. The hall has hosted sporting events such as wrestling. The new DG One sport, fitness and entertainment centre became the principal indoor event venue in Dumfries in 2007, but in October 2014, it closed due to major defects being discovered in the building. However, the refurbished building reopened to the public in the summer of 2019. The Theatre Royal has also reopened following renovation work.

 

With a collection of over 400 Scottish paintings, Gracefield Arts Centre hosts a changing programme of exhibitions featuring regional, national and international artists and craft-makers.

 

Dumfries Art Trail brings together artists, makers, galleries and craft shops with venues accessible all year round.

 

There are a number of festivals which take place throughout the year, mostly based on traditional values.

 

Guid Nychburris (Middle Scots, meaning Good Neighbours) is the main festival of the year, a ceremony which is largely based on the theme of a positive community spirit.

 

The ceremony on Guid Nychburris Day, follows a route and sequence of events laid down in the mists of time. Formal proceedings start at 7.30 am with the gathering of up to 250 horses waiting for the courier to arrive and announce that the Pursuivant is on his way, and at 8.00 am leave the Midsteeple and ride out to meet the Pursuivant. They then proceed to Ride the Marches and Stob and Nog (mark the boundary with posts and flags) before returning to the Midsteeple at 12.15 pm to meet the Provost and then the Charter is proclaimed to the towns people of Dumfries. This is then followed by the crowning of the Queen of the South.

 

Since 2013, Dumfries has seen the annual Nithraid, a small boat race up the Nith from Carsethorn, celebrating the town's historical relationship with the river.

 

The region is also home to a number of thriving music festivals such as the Eden Festival (at St Ann's near Moffat), Youthbeatz (Scotland's largest free youth music festival), the Moniaive Folk Festival, Thornhill Music Festival, Big Burns Supper Festival and previously Electric Fields at Drumlanrig Castle.

 

Queen of the South represent Dumfries and the surrounding area in the third level of the country's professional football system, the Scottish League One. Palmerston Park on Terregles Street is the home ground of the team. This is on the Maxwelltown side of the River Nith. They reached the 2008 Scottish Cup Final, losing 3–2 to Rangers.

 

Dumfries City VFC are a virtual football club from the town.

 

Dumfries Saints Rugby Club is one of Scotland's oldest rugby clubs having been admitted to the Scottish Rugby Union in 1876–77 as "Dumfries Rangers".

 

Dumfries is also home to a number of golf courses:

 

The Crichton Golf Club

The Dumfries and County Golf Club

The Dumfries and Galloway Golf Club

 

Of those listed, only the Dumfries and Galloway Golf Club is on the Maxwelltown side of the River Nith. This course is also bisected into 2 halves of 9 holes each by the town's Castle Douglas Road. The club house and holes 1 to 7 and 17 and 18 are on the side nearest to Summerhill, Dumfries. Holes 8 to 16 are on the side nearest to Janefield.

 

The opening stage of the 2011 Tour of Britain started in Peebles and finished 105.8 miles (170.3 km) later in Dumfries. The stage was won by sprint specialist and reigning Tour de France green jersey champion, Mark Cavendish, with his teammate lead out man, Mark Renshaw finishing second. Cavendish had been scheduled to be racing in the 2011 Vuelta a España. However Cavendish was one a number of riders to withdraw having suffered in the searing Spanish heat. This allowed Cavendish to be a late addition to the Tour of Britain line up in his preparation for what was to be a successful bid two weeks later in the 2011 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race. Cavendish in a smiling post race TV interview in Dumfries described the wet and windy race conditions through the Southern Scottish stage as 'horrible'.

 

DG One complex includes a national event-sized competition swimming pool.

 

The David Keswick Athletic Centre is the principal facility in Dumfries for athletics.

 

Dumfries is home to Nithsdale Amateur Rowing Club. The rowers share their clubhouse with Dumfries Sub-Aqua Club.

 

The town is also home to Solway Sharks ice hockey team. The team are current Northern Premier League winners. The team's home rink is Dumfries Ice Bowl. Dumfries Ice bowl is also recognised as Scotland's only centre of ice hockey excellence, and trials for the Scottish Jr national team are carried out at this venu.

 

Dumfries Ice Bowl is also home to two synchronised skating teams, Solway Stars and Solway Eclipse. In addition, Dumfries Ice Bowl is also home to several curling teams, competitions and leagues. Junior curling teams from Dumfries, consisting of curlers under the age of 21, regularly compete in the Dutch Junior Open based in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands. In 2007, 2008 and 2009 a Dumfries-based team have been the winners of the competition's Hogline Trophy.

 

Dumfries hosts three outdoor bowls clubs:

 

Dumfries Bowling Club

Marchmount Bowling Club

Maxwelltown Bowling Club

 

Dumfries hosts cycling organisations and cycling holidays

 

The most significant of the parks in Dumfries are all within walking distance of the town centre:-

 

Dock Park – located on the East bank of the Nith just to the South of St Michael's Bridge

Castledykes Park – as the name suggests on the site of a former castle

Mill Green (also known as deer park, although the deer formerly accommodated there have since been relocated) – on the West bank of the Nith opposite Whitesands

 

There are many buildings in Dumfries made from sandstone of the local Locharbriggs quarry.

 

The quarry is situated off the A701 on the north of Dumfries at Locharbriggs close to the nearby aggregates quarry. This dimension stone quarry is a large quarry. Quarry working at Locharbriggs dates from the 18th century, and the quarry has been worked continuously since 1890.

 

There are good reserves of stone that can be extracted at several locations. On average the stone is available at depths of 1m on bed although some larger blocks are obtainable. The average length of a block is 1.5m but 2.6m blocks can be obtained.

 

Locharbriggs is from the New Red Sandstone of the Permian age. It is a medium-grained stone ranging in colour from dull red to pink. It is the sandstone used in the Queen Alexandra Bridge in Sunderland, the Manchester Central Convention Complex and the base of the Statue of Liberty.

emmanuel jarus / artist

There is nothing more relatable than this squirrel eating a hot Cheeto t.co/csTyC9wl5l via @mashable

Uses: Anything relating to finance and money.

 

Free Creative Commons Finance Images... I created these images in my studio and have made them all available for personal or commercial use. Hope you like them and find them useful.

 

To see more of our CC by 2.0 finance images click here... see profile for attribution.

 

Inspiration: Anything relating to saving money, classic piggy bank, etc.

 

Midori is releasing a series of new products relating to the popular Traveler's Notebook. In an attempt to create the same aesthetic of the leather notebook, the development team chose to use brass as the material which radiates the same pleasing quality as it ages. I think it is an excellent choice of material, it gives you the feeling of a trusted old friend, give it a little polishing it comes back to a shiny companion.

 

The brass series includes 12 pieces of numbered clips, a 15cm ruler with raised edge for easy pick up, a solid brass pen case and bullet pen/pencils. These bullet pen/pencils are available in white or brown barrels in addition to the brass ones. The pens have a ring at one end for strap add-on while the pencils have a large eraser instead.

 

During the Midori private show I visited, I learned that they are preparing for a "Traveler's notebook & company" exhibition to be held in Spiral Market again this year around March/April. I am glad to be invited to contribute some contents for their on-site newsletter in "what's in my bag" style.

 

The large size Traveler's Notebook is far more popular than the passport size they released last year. To promote the use of the passport size Traveler's Notebook, which can be used as an actual passport jacket with note keeping capability and kept close to your body, Midori is releasing more add-ons such as new refills, rub-on letters and 2 limited edition refills which looks like a real passport. In the limited edition refill package, they thoughtfully included rub-on letters in passport looking font so you can personalize the notebook on the last page like it is a real thing.

 

Finally, since document envelope with string closure is very difficult to find in Japan, "Kraft envelopes" are created. It gives a crafty way to store your receipts or coasters collected from travels, either use them individually or make them handy by taping them on the notebook refill cover.

 

Here's my 2 cents about material use. I love the brass application on the hardware (pen case, clip, pen and ruler), while Midori is proud of its range of high quality paper products, application of tougher material on the notebook covers or even envelopes and document holders will add similar aesthetic and durability to this overlooked area. I would recommend to use jean label material in the form of cellulose fibre in combination of leather and paper to create a new range of pleasing products under the Traveler's Notebook collection.

 

More on Scription blog: moleskine.vox.com/library/post/what-materials-age-well-br...

Phew, it has been a struggle, but these are the final 5 uploads from St Sepulchre: a glorious church, a church of delights if you will.

 

Next up, St Dunstan in the West, the photos of which have not come out well, so I will have to return, but so it goes, so it goes.

 

With the rain falling harder, it was a bit of a route march to Holborn and my next church, the stunning St Sepulchre, which was also open.

 

-----------------------------------------------------

 

St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, also known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Holborn), is an Anglican church in the City of London. It is located on Holborn Viaduct, almost opposite the Old Bailey. In medieval times it stood just outside ("without") the now-demolished old city wall, near the Newgate. It has been a living of St John's College, Oxford, since 1622.

 

The original Saxon church on the site was dedicated to St Edmund the King and Martyr. During the Crusades in the 12th century the church was renamed St Edmund and the Holy Sepulchre, in reference to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The name eventually became contracted to St Sepulchre.

 

The church is today the largest parish church in the City. It was completely rebuilt in the 15th century but was gutted by the Great Fire of London in 1666,[1] which left only the outer walls, the tower and the porch standing[2] -. Modified in the 18th century, the church underwent extensive restoration in 1878. It narrowly avoided destruction in the Second World War, although the 18th-century watch-house in its churchyard (erected to deter grave-robbers) was completely destroyed and had to be rebuilt.

 

The interior of the church is a wide, roomy space with a coffered ceiling[3] installed in 1834. The Vicars' old residence has recently been renovated into a modern living quarter.

 

During the reign of Mary I in 1555, St Sepulchre's vicar, John Rogers, was burned as a heretic.

 

St Sepulchre is named in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons as the "bells of Old Bailey". Traditionally, the great bell would be rung to mark the execution of a prisoner at the nearby gallows at Newgate. The clerk of St Sepulchre's was also responsible for ringing a handbell outside the condemned man's cell in Newgate Prison to inform him of his impending execution. This handbell, known as the Execution Bell, now resides in a glass case to the south of the nave.

 

The church has been the official musicians' church for many years and is associated with many famous musicians. Its north aisle (formerly a chapel dedicated to Stephen Harding) is dedicated as the Musicians' Chapel, with four windows commemorating John Ireland, the singer Dame Nellie Melba, Walter Carroll and the conductor Sir Henry Wood respectively.[4] Wood, who "at the age of fourteen, learned to play the organ" at this church [1] and later became its organist, also has his ashes buried in this church.

 

The south aisle of the church holds the regimental chapel of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), and its gardens are a memorial garden to that regiment.[5] The west end of the north aisle has various memorials connected with the City of London Rifles (the 6th Battalion London Regiment). The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 4 January 1950.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Sepulchre-without-Newgate

 

The Early History of St. Sepulchre's—Its Destruction in 1666—The Exterior and Interior—The Early Popularity of the Church—Interments here—Roger Ascham, the Author of the "Schoolmaster"—Captain John Smith, and his Romantic Adventures—Saved by an Indian Girl— St. Sepulchre's Churchyard—Accommodation for a Murderess—The Martyr Rogers—An Odd Circumstance—Good Company for the Dead—A Leap from the Tower—A Warning Bell and a Last Admonition—Nosegays for the Condemned—The Route to the Gallows-tree— The Deeds of the Charitable—The "Saracen's Head"—Description by Dickens—Giltspur Street—Giltspur Street Compter—A Disreputable Condition—Pie Corner—Hosier Lane—A Spurious Relic—The Conduit on Snow Hill—A Ladies' Charity School—Turnagain Lane—Poor Betty!—A Schoolmistress Censured—Skinner Street—Unpropitious Fortune—William Godwin—An Original Married Life.

 

Many interesting associations—Principally, however, connected with the annals of crime and the execution of the laws of England—belong to the Church of St. Sepulchre, or St. 'Pulchre. This sacred edifice—anciently known as St. Sepulchre's in the Bailey, or by Chamberlain Gate (now Newgate)—stands at the eastern end of the slight acclivity of Snow Hill, and between Smithfield and the Old Bailey. The genuine materials for its early history are scanty enough. It was probably founded about the commencement of the twelfth century, but of the exact date and circumstances of its origin there is no record whatever. Its name is derived from the Holy Sepulchre of our Saviour at Jerusalem, to the memory of which it was first dedicated.

 

The earliest authentic notice of the church, according to Maitland, is of the year 1178, at which date it was given by Roger, Bishop of Sarum, to the Prior and Canons of St. Bartholomew. These held the right of advowson until the dissolution of monasteries by Henry VIII., and from that time until 1610 it remained in the hands of the Crown. James I., however, then granted "the rectory and its appurtenances, with the advowson of the vicarage," to Francis Phillips and others. The next stage in its history is that the rectory was purchased by the parishioners, to be held in fee-farm of the Crown, and the advowson was obtained by the President and Fellows of St. John the Baptist College, at Oxford.

 

The church was rebuilt about the middle of the fifteenth century, when one of the Popham family, who had been Chancellor of Normandy and Treasurer of the King's Household, with distinguished liberality erected a handsome chapel on the south side of the choir, and the very beautiful porch still remaining at the south-west corner of the building. "His image," Stow says, "fair graven in stone, was fixed over the said porch."

 

The dreadful fire of 1666 almost destroyed St. Sepulchre's, but the parishioners set energetically to work, and it was "rebuilt and beautified both within and without." The general reparation was under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, and nothing but the walls of the old building, and these not entirely, were suffered to remain. The work was done rapidly, and the whole was completed within four years.

 

"The tower," says Mr. Godwin, "retained its original aspect, and the body of the church, after its restoration, presented a series of windows between buttresses, with pointed heads filled with tracery, crowned by a string-course and battlements. In this form it remained till the year 1790, when it appears the whole fabric was found to be in a state of great decay, and it was resolved to repair it throughout. Accordingly the walls of the church were cased with Portland stone, and all the windows were taken out and replaced by others with plain semi-circular heads, as now seen—certainly agreeing but badly with the tower and porch of the building, but according with the then prevailing spirit of economy. The battlements, too, were taken down, and a plain stone parapet was substituted, so that at this time (with the exception of the roof, which was wagon-headed, and presented on the outside an unsightly swell, visible above the parapet) the church assumed its present appearance." The ungainly roof was removed, and an entirely new one erected, about 1836.

 

At each corner of the tower—"one of the most ancient," says the author of "Londinium Redivivum," "in the outline of the circuit of London" —there are spires, and on the spires there are weathercocks. These have been made use of by Howell to point a moral: "Unreasonable people," says he, "are as hard to reconcile as the vanes of St. Sepulchre's tower, which never look all four upon one point of the heavens." Nothing can be said with certainty as to the date of the tower, but it is not without the bounds of probability that it formed part of the original building. The belfry is reached by a small winding staircase in the south-west angle, and a similar staircase in an opposite angle leads to the summit. The spires at the corners, and some of the tower windows, have very recently undergone several alterations, which have added much to the picturesqueness and beauty of the church.

 

The chief entrance to St. Sepulchre's is by a porch of singular beauty, projecting from the south side of the tower, at the western end of the church. The groining of the ceiling of this porch, it has been pointed out, takes an almost unique form; the ribs are carved in bold relief, and the bosses at the intersections represent angels' heads, shields, roses, &c., in great variety.

 

Coming now to the interior of the church, we find it divided into three aisles, by two ranges of Tuscan columns. The aisles are of unequal widths, that in the centre being the widest, that to the south the narrowest. Semi-circular arches connect the columns on either side, springing directly from their capitals, without the interposition of an entablature, and support a large dental cornice, extending round the church. The ceiling of the middle aisle is divided into seven compartments, by horizontal bands, the middle compartment being formed into a small dome.

 

The aisles have groined ceilings, ornamented at the angles with doves, &c., and beneath every division of the groining are small windows, to admit light to the galleries. Over each of the aisles there is a gallery, very clumsily introduced, which dates from the time when the church was built by Wren, and extends the whole length, excepting at the chancel. The front of the gallery, which is of oak, is described by Mr. Godwin as carved into scrolls, branches, &c., in the centre panel, on either side, with the initials "C. R.," enriched with carvings of laurel, which have, however, he says, "but little merit."

 

At the east end of the church there are three semicircular-headed windows. Beneath the centre one is a large Corinthian altar-piece of oak, displaying columns, entablatures, &c., elaborately carved and gilded.

 

The length of the church, exclusive of the ambulatory, is said to be 126 feet, the breadth 68 feet, and the height of the tower 140 feet.

 

A singularly ugly sounding-board, extending over the preacher, used to stand at the back of the pulpit, at the east end of the church. It was in the shape of a large parabolic reflector, about twelve feet in diameter, and was composed of ribs of mahogany.

 

At the west end of the church there is a large organ, said to be the oldest and one of the finest in London. It was built in 1677, and has been greatly enlarged. Its reed-stops (hautboy, clarinet, &c.) are supposed to be unrivalled. In Newcourt's time the church was taken notice of as "remarkable for possessing an exceedingly fine organ, and the playing is thought so beautiful, that large congregations are attracted, though some of the parishioners object to the mode of performing divine service."

 

On the north side of the church, Mr. Godwin mentions, is a large apartment known as "St. Stephen's Chapel." This building evidently formed a somewhat important part of the old church, and was probably appropriated to the votaries of the saint whose name it bears.

 

Between the exterior and the interior of the church there is little harmony. "For example," says Mr. Godwin, "the columns which form the south aisle face, in some instances, the centre of the large windows which occur in the external wall of the church, and in others the centre of the piers, indifferently." This discordance may likely enough have arisen from the fact that when the church was rebuilt, or rather restored, after the Great Fire, the works were done without much attention from Sir Christopher Wren.

 

St. Sepulchre's appears to have enjoyed considerable popularity from the earliest period of its history, if one is to judge from the various sums left by well-disposed persons for the support of certain fraternities founded in the church—namely, those of St. Katherine, St. Michael, St. Anne, and Our Lady—and by others, for the maintenance of chantry priests to celebrate masses at stated intervals for the good of their souls. One of the fraternities just named—that of St. Katherine— originated, according to Stow, in the devotion of some poor persons in the parish, and was in honour of the conception of the Virgin Mary. They met in the church on the day of the Conception, and there had the mass of the day, and offered to the same, and provided a certain chaplain daily to celebrate divine service, and to set up wax lights before the image belonging to the fraternity, on all festival days.

 

The most famous of all who have been interred in St. Sepulchre's is Roger Ascham, the author of the "Schoolmaster," and the instructor of Queen Elizabeth in Greek and Latin. This learned old worthy was born in 1515, near Northallerton, in Yorkshire. He was educated at Cambridge University, and in time rose to be the university orator, being notably zealous in promoting what was then a novelty in England—the study of the Greek language. To divert himself after the fatigue of severe study, he used to devote himself to archery. This drew down upon him the censure of the all-work-and-no-play school; and in defence of himself, Ascham, in 1545, published "Toxophilus," a treatise on his favourite sport. This book is even yet well worthy of perusal, for its enthusiasm, and for its curious descriptions of the personal appearance and manners of the principal persons whom the author had seen and conversed with. Henry VIII. rewarded him with a pension of £10 per annum, a considerable sum in those days. In 1548, Ascham, on the death of William Grindall, who had been his pupil, was appointed instructor in the learned languages to Lady Elizabeth, afterwards the good Queen Bess. At the end of two years he had some dispute with, or took a disgust at, Lady Elizabeth's attendants, resigned his situation, and returned to his college. Soon after this he was employed as secretary to the English ambassador at the court of Charles V. of Germany, and remained abroad till the death of Edward VI. During his absence he had been appointed Latin secretary to King Edward. Strangely enough, though Queen Mary and her ministers were Papists, and Ascham a Protestant, he was retained in his office of Latin secretary, his pension was increased to £20, and he was allowed to retain his fellowship and his situation as university orator. In 1554 he married a lady of good family, by whom he had a considerable fortune, and of whom, in writing to a friend, he gives, as might perhaps be expected, an excellent character. On the accession of Queen Elizabeth, in 1558, she not only required his services as Latin secretary, but as her instructor in Greek, and he resided at Court during the remainder of his life. He died in consequence of his endeavours to complete a Latin poem which he intended to present to the queen on the New Year's Day of 1569. He breathed his last two days before 1568 ran out, and was interred, according to his own directions, in the most private manner, in St. Sepulchre's Church, his funeral sermon being preached by Dr. Andrew Nowell, Dean of St. Paul's. He was universally lamented; and even the queen herself not only showed great concern, but was pleased to say that she would rather have lost ten thousand pounds than her tutor Ascham, which, from that somewhat closehanded sovereign, was truly an expression of high regard.

 

Ascham, like most men, had his little weaknesses. He had too great a propensity to dice and cock-fighting. Bishop Nicholson would try to convince us that this is an unfounded calumny, but, as it is mentioned by Camden, and other contemporary writers, it seems impossible to deny it. He died, from all accounts, in indifferent circumstances. "Whether," says Dr. Johnson, referring to this, "Ascham was poor by his own fault, or the fault of others, cannot now be decided; but it is certain that many have been rich with less merit. His philological learning would have gained him honour in any country; and among us it may justly call for that reverence which all nations owe to those who first rouse them from ignorance, and kindle among them the light of literature." His most valuable work, "The Schoolmaster," was published by his widow. The nature of this celebrated performance may be gathered from the title: "The Schoolmaster; or a plain and perfite way of teaching children to understand, write, and speak the Latin tongue. … And commodious also for all such as have forgot the Latin tongue, and would by themselves, without a schoolmaster, in short time, and with small pains, recover a sufficient habilitie to understand, write, and speak Latin: by Roger Ascham, ann. 1570. At London, printed by John Daye, dwelling over Aldersgate," a printer, by the way, already mentioned by us a few chapters back (see page 208), as having printed several noted works of the sixteenth century.

 

Dr. Johnson remarks that the instruction recommended in "The Schoolmaster" is perhaps the best ever given for the study of languages.

 

Here also lies buried Captain John Smith, a conspicuous soldier of fortune, whose romantic adventures and daring exploits have rarely been surpassed. He died on the 21st of June, 1631. This valiant captain was born at Willoughby, in the county of Lincoln, and helped by his doings to enliven the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. He had a share in the wars of Hungary in 1602, and in three single combats overcame three Turks, and cut off their heads. For this, and other equally brave deeds, Sigismund, Duke of Transylvania, gave him his picture set in gold, with a pension of three hundred ducats; and allowed him to bear three Turks' heads proper as his shield of arms. He afterwards went to America, where he had the misfortune to fall into the hands of the Indians. He escaped from them, however, at last, and resumed his brilliant career by hazarding his life in naval engagements with pirates and Spanish men-of-war. The most important act of his life was the share he had in civilising the natives of New England, and reducing that province to obedience to Great Britain. In connection with his tomb in St. Sepulchre's, he is mentioned by Stow, in his "Survey," as "some time Governor of Virginia and Admiral of New England."

 

Certainly the most interesting events of his chequered career were his capture by the Indians, and the saving of his life by the Indian girl Pocahontas, a story of adventure that charms as often as it is told. Bancroft, the historian of the United States, relates how, during the early settlement of Virginia, Smith left the infant colony on an exploring expedition, and not only ascended the river Chickahominy, but struck into the interior. His companions disobeyed his instructions, and being surprised by the Indians, were put to death. Smith preserved his own life by calmness and self-possession. Displaying a pocket-compass, he amused the savages by an explanation of its power, and increased their admiration of his superior genius by imparting to them some vague conceptions of the form of the earth, and the nature of the planetary system. To the Indians, who retained him as their prisoner, his captivity was a more strange event than anything of which the traditions of their tribes preserved the memory. He was allowed to send a letter to the fort at Jamestown, and the savage wonder was increased, for he seemed by some magic to endow the paper with the gift of intelligence. It was evident that their captive was a being of a high order, and then the question arose, Was his nature beneficent, or was he to be dreaded as a dangerous enemy? Their minds were bewildered, and the decision of his fate was referred to the chief Powhatan, and before Powhatan Smith was brought. "The fears of the feeble aborigines," says Bancroft, "were about to prevail, and his immediate death, already repeatedly threatened and repeatedly delayed, would have been inevitable, but for the timely intercession of Pocahontas, a girl twelve years old, the daughter of Powhatan, whose confiding fondness Smith had easily won, and who firmly clung to his neck, as his head was bowed down to receive the stroke of the tomahawks. His fearlessness, and her entreaties, persuaded the council to spare the agreeable stranger, who could make hatchets for her father, and rattles and strings of beads for herself, the favourite child. The barbarians, whose decision had long been held in suspense by the mysterious awe which Smith had inspired, now resolved to receive him as a friend, and to make him a partner of their councils. They tempted him to join their bands, and lend assistance in an attack upon the white men at Jamestown; and when his decision of character succeeded in changing the current of their thoughts, they dismissed him with mutual promises of friendship and benevolence. Thus the captivity of Smith did itself become a benefit to the colony; for he had not only observed with care the country between the James and the Potomac, and had gained some knowledge of the language and manners of the natives, but he now established a peaceful intercourse between the English and the tribes of Powhatan."

 

On the monument erected to Smith in St. Sepulchre's Church, the following quaint lines were formerly inscribed:—

 

"Here lies one conquered that hath conquered kings,

Subdued large territories, and done things

Which to the world impossible would seem,

But that the truth is held in more esteem.

Shall I report his former service done,

In honour of his God, and Christendom?

How that he did divide, from pagans three,

Their heads and lives, types of his chivalry?—

For which great service, in that climate done,

Brave Sigismundus, King of Hungarion,

Did give him, as a coat of arms, to wear

These conquered heads, got by his sword and spear.

Or shall I tell of his adventures since

Done in Virginia, that large continent?

How that he subdued kings unto his yoke,

And made those heathens flee, as wind doth smoke;

And made their land, being so large a station,

An habitation for our Christian nation,

Where God is glorified, their wants supplied;

Which else for necessaries, must have died.

But what avails his conquests, now he lies

Interred in earth, a prey to worms and flies?

Oh! may his soul in sweet Elysium sleep,

Until the Keeper, that all souls doth keep,

Return to judgment; and that after thence

With angels he may have his recompense."

 

Sir Robert Peake, the engraver, also found a last resting-place here. He is known as the master of William Faithorne—the famous English engraver of the seventeenth century—and governor of Basing House for the king during the Civil War under Charles I. He died in 1667. Here also was interred the body of Dr. Bell, grandfather of the originator of a well-known system of education.

 

"The churchyard of St. Sepulchre's," we learn from Maitland, "at one time extended so far into the street on the south side of the church, as to render the passage-way dangerously narrow. In 1760 the churchyard was, in consequence, levelled, and thrown open to the public. But this led to much inconvenience, and it was re-enclosed in 1802."

 

Sarah Malcolm, the murderess, was buried in the churchyard of St. Sepulchre's in 1733. This coldhearted and keen-eyed monster in human form has had her story told by us already. The parishioners seem, on this occasion, to have had no such scruples as had been exhibited by their predecessors a hundred and fifty years previous at the burial of Awfield, a traitor. We shall see presently that in those more remote days they were desirous of having at least respectable company for their deceased relatives and friends in the churchyard.

 

"For a long period," says Mr. Godwin (1838), "the church was surrounded by low mean buildings, by which its general appearance was hidden; but these having been cleared away, and the neighbourhood made considerably more open, St. Sepulchre's now forms a somewhat pleasing object, notwithstanding that the tower and a part of the porch are so entirely dissimilar in style to the remainder of the building." And since Godwin's writing the surroundings of the church have been so improved that perhaps few buildings in the metropolis stand more prominently before the public eye.

 

In the glorious roll of martyrs who have suffered at the stake for their religious principles, a vicar of St. Sepulchre's, the Reverend John Rogers, occupies a conspicuous place. He was the first who was burned in the reign of the Bloody Mary. This eminent person had at one time been chaplain to the English merchants at Antwerp, and while residing in that city had aided Tindal and Coverdale in their great work of translating the Bible. He married a German lady of good position, by whom he had a large family, and was enabled, by means of her relations, to reside in peace and safety in Germany. It appeared to be his duty, however, to return to England, and there publicly profess and advocate his religious convictions, even at the risk of death. He crossed the sea; he took his place in the pulpit at St. Paul's Cross; he preached a fearless and animated sermon, reminding his astonished audience of the pure and wholesome doctrine which had been promulgated from that pulpit in the days of the good King Edward, and solemnly warning them against the pestilent idolatry and superstition of these new times. It was his last sermon. He was apprehended, tried, condemned, and burned at Smithfield. We described, when speaking of Smithfield, the manner in which he met his fate.

 

Connected with the martyrdom of Rogers an odd circumstance is quoted in the "Churches of London." It is stated that when the bishops had resolved to put to death Joan Bocher, a friend came to Rogers and earnestly entreated his influence that the poor woman's life might be spared, and other means taken to prevent the spread of her heterodox doctrines. Rogers, however, contended that she should be executed; and his friend then begged him to choose some other kind of death, which should be more agreeable to the gentleness and mercy prescribed in the gospel. "No," replied Rogers, "burning alive is not a cruel death, but easy enough." His friend hearing these words, expressive of so little regard for the sufferings of a fellow-creature, answered him with great vehemence, at the same time striking Rogers' hand, "Well, it may perhaps so happen that you yourself shall have your hands full of this mild burning." There is no record of Rogers among the papers belonging to St. Sepulchre's, but this may easily be accounted for by the fact that at the Great Fire of 1666 nearly all the registers and archives were destroyed.

 

A noteworthy incident in the history of St. Sepulchre's was connected with the execution, in 1585, of Awfield, for "sparcinge abrood certen lewed, sedicious, and traytorous bookes." "When he was executed," says Fleetwood, the Recorder, in a letter to Lord Burleigh, July 7th of that year, "his body was brought unto St. Pulcher's to be buryed, but the parishioners would not suffer a traytor's corpse to be laid in the earth where their parents, wives, children, kindred, masters, and old neighbours did rest; and so his carcass was returned to the burial-ground near Tyburn, and there I leave it."

 

Another event in the history of the church is a tale of suicide. On the 10th of April, 1600, a man named William Dorrington threw himself from the roof of the tower, leaving there a prayer for forgiveness.

 

We come now to speak of the connection of St. Sepulchre's with the neighbouring prison of Newgate. Being the nearest church to the prison, that connection naturally was intimate. Its clock served to give the time to the hangman when there was an execution in the Old Bailey, and many a poor wretch's last moments must it have regulated.

 

On the right-hand side of the altar a board with a list of charitable donations and gifts used to contain the following item:—"1605. Mr. Robert Dowe gave, for ringing the greatest bell in this church on the day the condemned prisoners are executed, and for other services, for ever, concerning such condemned prisoners, for which services the sexton is paid £16s. 8d.—£50.

 

It was formerly the practice for the clerk or bellman of St. Sepulchre's to go under Newgate, on the night preceding the execution of a criminal, ring his bell, and repeat the following wholesome advice:—

 

"All you that in the condemned hold do lie,

Prepare you, for to-morrow you shall die;

Watch all, and pray, the hour is drawing near

That you before the Almighty must appear;

Examine well yourselves, in time repent,

That you may not to eternal flames be sent.

And when St. Sepulchre's bell to-morrow tolls,

The Lord above have mercy on your souls.

Past twelve o'clock!"

 

This practice is explained by a passage in Munday's edition of Stow, in which it is told that a Mr. John Dowe, citizen and merchant taylor of London, gave £50 to the parish church of St. Sepulchre's, under the following conditions:—After the several sessions of London, on the night before the execution of such as were condemned to death, the clerk of the church was to go in the night-time, and also early in the morning, to the window of the prison in which they were lying. He was there to ring "certain tolls with a hand-bell" appointed for the purpose, and was afterwards, in a most Christian manner, to put them in mind of their present condition and approaching end, and to exhort them to be prepared, as they ought to be, to die. When they were in the cart, and brought before the walls of the church, the clerk was to stand there ready with the same bell, and, after certain tolls, rehearse a prayer, desiring all the people there present to pray for the unfortunate criminals. The beadle, also, of Merchant Taylors' Hall was allowed an "honest stipend" to see that this ceremony was regularly performed.

 

The affecting admonition—"affectingly good," Pennant calls it—addressed to the prisoners in Newgate, on the night before execution, ran as follows:—

 

"You prisoners that are within,

Who, for wickedness and sin,

 

after many mercies shown you, are now appointed to die to-morrow in the forenoon; give ear and understand that, to-morrow morning, the greatest bell of St. Sepulchre's shall toll for you, in form and manner of a passing-bell, as used to be tolled for those that are at the point of death; to the end that all godly people, hearing that bell, and knowing it is for your going to your deaths, may be stirred up heartily to pray to God to bestow his grace and mercy upon you, whilst you live. I beseech you, for Jesus Christ's sake, to keep this night in watching and prayer, to the salvation of your own souls while there is yet time and place for mercy; as knowing to-morrow you must appear before the judgment-seat of your Creator, there to give an account of all things done in this life, and to suffer eternal torments for your sins committed against Him, unless, upon your hearty and unfeigned repentance, you find mercy through the merits, death, and passion of your only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ, who now sits at the right hand of God, to make intercession for as many of you as penitently return to Him."

 

And the following was the admonition to condemned criminals, as they were passing by St. Sepulchre's Church wall to execution:—" All good people, pray heartily unto God for these poor sinners, who are now going to their death, for whom this great bell doth toll.

 

"You that are condemned to die, repent with lamentable tears; ask mercy of the Lord, for the salvation of your own souls, through the [merits, death, and passion of Jesus Christ, who now sits at the right hand of God, to make intercession for as many of you as penitently return unto Him.

 

"Lord have mercy upon you;

Christ have mercy upon you.

Lord have mercy upon you;

Christ have mercy upon you."

 

The charitable Mr. Dowe, who took such interest in the last moments of the occupants of the condemned cell, was buried in the church of St. Botolph, Aldgate.

 

Another curious custom observed at St. Sepulchre's was the presentation of a nosegay to every criminal on his way to execution at Tyburn. No doubt the practice had its origin in some kindly feeling for the poor unfortunates who were so soon to bid farewell to all the beauties of earth. One of the last who received a nosegay from the steps of St. Sepulchre's was "Sixteen-string Jack," alias John Rann, who was hanged, in 1774, for robbing the Rev. Dr. Bell of his watch and eighteen pence in money, in Gunnersbury Lane, on the road to Brentford. Sixteen-string Jack wore the flowers in his button-hole as he rode dolefully to the gallows. This was witnessed by John Thomas Smith, who thus describes the scene in his admirable anecdotebook, "Nollekens and his Times:"—" I remember well, when I was in my eighth year, Mr. Nollekens calling at my father's house, in Great Portland Street, and taking us to Oxford Street, to see the notorious Jack Rann, commonly called Sixteenstring Jack, go to Tyburn to be hanged. … The criminal was dressed in a pea-green coat, with an immense nosegay in the button-hole, which had been presented to him at St. Sepulchre's steps; and his nankeen small-clothes, we were told, were tied at each knee with sixteen strings. After he had passed, and Mr. Nollekens was leading me home by the hand, I recollect his stooping down to me and observing, in a low tone of voice, 'Tom, now, my little man, if my father-in-law, Mr. Justice Welch, had been high constable, we could have walked by the side of the cart all the way to Tyburn.'"

 

When criminals were conveyed from Newgate to Tyburn, the cart passed up Giltspur Street, and through Smithfield, to Cow Lane. Skinner Street had not then been built, and the Crooked Lane which turned down by St. Sepulchre's, as well as Ozier Lane, did not afford sufficient width to admit of the cavalcade passing by either of them, with convenience, to Holborn Hill, or "the Heavy Hill," as it used to be called. The procession seems at no time to have had much of the solemn element about it. "The heroes of the day were often," says a popular writer, "on good terms with the mob, and jokes were exchanged between the men who were going to be hanged and the men who deserved to be."

 

"On St. Paul's Day," says Mr. Timbs (1868), "service is performed in St. Sepulchre's, in accordance with the will of Mr. Paul Jervis, who, in 1717, devised certain land in trust that a sermon should be preached in the church upon every Paul's Day upon the excellence of the liturgy o the Church of England; the preacher to receive 40s. for such sermon. Various sums are also bequeathed to the curate, the clerk, the treasurer, and masters of the parochial schools. To the poor of the parish he bequeathed 20s. a-piece to ten of the poorest householders within that part of the parish of St. Sepulchre commonly called Smithfield quarter, £4 to the treasurer of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and 6s. 8d. yearly to the clerk, who shall attend to receive the same. The residue of the yearly rents and profits is to be distributed unto and amongst such poor people of the parish of St. Sepulchre's, London, who shall attend the service and sermon. At the close of the service the vestry-clerk reads aloud an extract from the will, and then proceeds to the distribution of the money. In the evening the vicar, churchwardens, and common councilmen of the precinct dine together."

 

In 1749, a Mr. Drinkwater made a praiseworthy bequest. He left the parish of St. Sepulchre £500 to be lent in sums of £25 to industrious young tradesmen. No interest was to be charged, and the money was to be lent for four years.

 

Next to St. Sepulchre's, on Snow Hill, used to stand the famous old inn of the "Saracen's Head." It was only swept away within the last few years by the ruthless army of City improvers: a view of it in course of demolition was given on page 439. It was one of the oldest of the London inns which bore the "Saracen's Head" for a sign. One of Dick Tarlton's jests makes mention of the "Saracen's Head" without Newgate, and Stow, describing this neighbourhood, speaks particularly of "a fair large inn for receipt of travellers" that "hath to sign the 'Saracen's Head.'" The courtyard had, to the last, many of the characteristics of an old English inn; there were galleries all round leading to the bedrooms, and a spacious gateway through which the dusty mail-coaches used to rumble, the tired passengers creeping forth "thanking their stars in having escaped the highwaymen and the holes and sloughs of the road." Into that courtyard how many have come on their first arrival in London with hearts beating high with hope, some of whom have risen to be aldermen and sit in state as lord mayor, whilst others have gone the way of the idle apprentice and come to a sad end at Tyburn! It was at this inn that Nicholas Nickleby and his uncle waited upon the Yorkshire schoolmaster Squeers, of Dotheboys Hall. Mr. Dickens describes the tavern as it existed in the last days of mail-coaching, when it was a most important place for arrivals and departures in London:—

 

"Next to the jail, and by consequence near to Smithfield also, and the Compter and the bustle and noise of the City, and just on that particular part of Snow Hill where omnibus horses going eastwards seriously think of falling down on purpose, and where horses in hackney cabriolets going westwards not unfrequently fall by accident, is the coach-yard of the 'Saracen's Head' inn, its portals guarded by two Saracen's heads and shoulders, which it was once the pride and glory of the choice spirits of this metropolis to pull down at night, but which have for some time remained in undisturbed tranquillity, possibly because this species of humour is now confined to St. James's parish, where doorknockers are preferred as being more portable, and bell-wires esteemed as convenient tooth-picks. Whether this be the reason or not, there they are, frowning upon you from each side of the gateway; and the inn itself, garnished with another Saracen's head, frowns upon you from the top of the yard; while from the door of the hind-boot of all the red coaches that are standing therein, there glares a small Saracen's head with a twin expression to the large Saracen's head below, so that the general appearance of the pile is of the Saracenic order."

 

To explain the use of the Saracen's head as an inn sign various reasons have been given. "When our countrymen," says Selden, "came home from fighting with the Saracens and were beaten by them, they pictured them with huge, big, terrible faces (as you still see the 'Saracen's Head' is), when in truth they were like other men. But this they did to save their own credit." Or the sign may have been adopted by those who had visited the Holy Land either as pilgrims or to fight the Saracens. Others, again, hold that it was first set up in compliment to the mother of Thomas à Becket, who was the daughter of a Saracen. However this may be, it is certain that the use of the sign in former days was very general.

 

Running past the east end of St. Sepulchre's, from Newgate into West Smithfield, is Giltspur Street, anciently called Knightriders Street. This interesting thoroughfare derives its name from the knights with their gilt spurs having been accustomed to ride this way to the jousts and tournaments which in days of old were held in Smithfield.

 

In this street was Giltspur Street Compter, a debtors' prison and house of correction appertaining to the sheriffs of London and Middlesex. It stood over against St. Sepulchre's Church, and was removed hither from the east side of Wood Street, Cheapside, in 1791. At the time of its removal it was used as a place of imprisonment for debtors, but the yearly increasing demands upon the contracted space caused that department to be given up, and City debtors were sent to Whitecross Street. The architect was Dance, to whom we are also indebted for the grim pile of Newgate. The Compter was a dirty and appropriately convictlooking edifice. It was pulled down in 1855. Mr. Hepworth Dixon gave an interesting account of this City House of Correction, not long before its demolition, in his "London Prisons" (1850). "Entering," he says, "at the door facing St. Sepulchre's, the visitor suddenly finds himself in a low dark passage, leading into the offices of the gaol, and branching off into other passages, darker, closer, more replete with noxious smells, than even those of Newgate. This is the fitting prelude to what follows. The prison, it must be noticed, is divided into two principal divisions, the House of Correction and the Compter. The front in Giltspur Street, and the side nearest to Newgate Street, is called the Compter. In its wards are placed detenues of various kinds—remands, committals from the police-courts, and generally persons waiting for trial, and consequently still unconvicted. The other department, the House of Correction, occupies the back portion of the premises, abutting on Christ's Hospital. Curious it is to consider how thin a wall divides these widely-separate worlds! And sorrowful it is to think what a difference of destiny awaits the children—destiny inexorable, though often unearned in either case—who, on the one side of it or the other, receive an eleemosynary education! The collegian and the criminal! Who shall say how much mere accident— circumstances over which the child has little power —determines to a life of usefulness or mischief? From the yards of Giltspur Street prison almost the only objects visible, outside of the gaol itself, are the towers of Christ's Hospital; the only sounds audible, the shouts of the scholars at their play. The balls of the hospital boys often fall within the yards of the prison. Whether these sights and sounds ever cause the criminal to pause and reflect upon the courses of his life, we will not say, but the stranger visiting the place will be very apt to think for him. …

 

"In the department of the prison called the House of Correction, minor offenders within the City of London are imprisoned. No transports are sent hither, nor is any person whose sentence is above three years in length." This able writer then goes on to tell of the many crying evils connected with the institution—the want of air, the over-crowded state of the rooms, the absence of proper cellular accommodation, and the vicious intercourse carried on amongst the prisoners. The entire gaol, when he wrote, only contained thirty-six separate sleeping-rooms. Now by the highest prison calculation—and this, be it noted, proceeds on the assumption that three persons can sleep in small, miserable, unventilated cells, which are built for only one, and are too confined for that, being only about one-half the size of the model cell for one at Pentonville—it was only capable of accommodating 203 prisoners, yet by the returns issued at Michaelmas, 1850, it contained 246!

 

A large section of the prison used to be devoted to female delinquents, but lately it was almost entirely given up to male offenders.

 

"The House of Correction, and the Compter portion of the establishment," says Mr. Dixon, "are kept quite distinct, but it would be difficult to award the palm of empire in their respective facilities for demoralisation. We think the Compter rather the worse of the two. You are shown into a room, about the size of an apartment in an ordinary dwelling-house, which will be found crowded with from thirty to forty persons, young and old, and in their ordinary costume; the low thief in his filth and rags, and the member of the swell-mob with his bright buttons, flash finery, and false jewels. Here you notice the boy who has just been guilty of his first offence, and committed for trial, learning with a greedy mind a thousand criminal arts, and listening with the precocious instinct of guilty passions to stories and conversations the most depraved and disgusting. You regard him with a mixture of pity and loathing, for he knows that the eyes of his peers are upon him, and he stares at you with a familiar impudence, and exhibits a devil-may-care countenance, such as is only to be met with in the juvenile offender. Here, too, may be seen the young clerk, taken up on suspicion—perhaps innocent—who avoids you with a shy look of pain and uneasiness: what a hell must this prison be to him! How frightful it is to think of a person really untainted with crime, compelled to herd for ten or twenty days with these abandoned wretches!

 

"On the other, the House of Correction side of the gaol, similar rooms will be found, full of prisoners communicating with each other, laughing and shouting without hindrance. All this is so little in accordance with existing notions of prison discipline, that one is continually fancying these disgraceful scenes cannot be in the capital of England, and in the year of grace 1850. Very few of the prisoners attend school or receive any instruction; neither is any kind of employment afforded them, except oakum-picking, and the still more disgusting labour of the treadmill. When at work, an officer is in attendance to prevent disorderly conduct; but his presence is of no avail as a protection to the less depraved. Conversation still goes on; and every facility is afforded for making acquaintances, and for mutual contamination."

 

After having long been branded by intelligent inspectors as a disgrace to the metropolis, Giltspur Street Compter was condemned, closed in 1854, and subsequently taken down.

 

Nearly opposite what used to be the site of the Compter, and adjoining Cock Lane, is the spot called Pie Corner, near which terminated the Great Fire of 1666. The fire commenced at Pudding Lane, it will be remembered, so it was singularly appropriate that it should terminate at Pie Corner. Under the date of 4th September, 1666, Pepys, in his "Diary," records that "W. Hewer this day went to see how his mother did, and comes home late, telling us how he hath been forced to remove her to Islington, her house in Pye Corner being burned; so that the fire is got so far that way." The figure of a fat naked boy stands over a public house at the corner of the lane; it used to have the following warning inscription attached:— "This boy is in memory put up of the late fire of London, occasioned by the sin of gluttony, 1666." According to Stow, Pie Corner derived its name from the sign of a well-frequented hostelry, which anciently stood on the spot. Strype makes honourable mention of Pie Corner, as "noted chiefly for cooks' shops and pigs dressed there during Bartholomew Fair." Our old writers have many references—and not all, by the way, in the best taste—to its cookstalls and dressed pork. Shadwell, for instance, in the Woman Captain (1680) speaks of "meat dressed at Pie Corner by greasy scullions;" and Ben Jonson writes in the Alchemist (1612)—

 

"I shall put you in mind, sir, at Pie Corner,

Taking your meal of steam in from cooks' stalls."

 

And in "The Great Boobee" ("Roxburgh Ballads"):

 

"Next day I through Pie Corner passed;

The roast meat on the stall

Invited me to take a taste;

My money was but small."

 

But Pie Corner seems to have been noted for more than eatables. A ballad from Tom D'Urfey's "Pills to Purge Melancholy," describing Bartholomew Fair, eleven years before the Fire of London, says:—

 

"At Pie-Corner end, mark well my good friend,

'Tis a very fine dirty place;

Where there's more arrows and bows. …

Than was handled at Chivy Chase."

 

We have already given a view of Pie Corner in our chapter on Smithfield, page 361.

 

Hosier Lane, running from Cow Lane to Smithfield, and almost parallel to Cock Lane, is described by "R. B.," in Strype, as a place not over-well built or inhabited. The houses were all old timber erections. Some of these—those standing at the south corner of the lane—were in the beginning of this century depicted by Mr. J. T. Smith, in his "Ancient Topography of London." He describes them as probably of the reign of James I. The rooms were small, with low, unornamented ceilings; the timber, oak, profusely used; the gables were plain, and the walls lath and plaster. They were taken down in 1809.

 

In the corner house, in Mr. Smith's time, there was a barber whose name was Catchpole; at least, so it was written over the door. He was rather an odd fellow, and possessed, according to his own account, a famous relic of antiquity. He would gravely show his customers a short-bladed instrument, as the identical dagger with which Walworth killed Wat Tyler.

 

Hosier Lane, like Pie Corner, used to be a great resort during the time of Bartholomew Fair, "all the houses," it is said in Strype, "generally being made public for tippling."

 

We return now from our excursion to the north of St. Sepulchre's, and continue our rambles to the west, and before speaking of what is, let us refer to what has been.

 

Turnagain Lane is not far from this. "Near unto this Seacoal Lane," remarks Stow, "in the turning towards Holborn Conduit, is Turnagain Lane, or rather, as in a record of the 5th of Edward III., Windagain Lane, for that it goeth down west to Fleet Dyke, from whence men must turn again the same way they came, but there it stopped." There used to be a proverb, "He must take him a house in Turnagain Lane."

 

A conduit formerly stood on Snow Hill, a little below the church. It is described as a building with four equal sides, ornamented with four columns and pediment, surmounted by a pyramid, on which stood a lamb—a rebus on the name of Lamb, from whose conduit in Red Lion Street the water came. There had been a conduit there, however, before Lamb's day, which was towards the close of the sixteenth century.

 

At No. 37, King Street, Snow Hill, there used to be a ladies' charity school, which was established in 1702, and remained in the parish 145 years. Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Thrale were subscribers to this school, and Johnson drew from it his story of Betty Broom, in "The Idler." The world of domestic service, in Betty's days, seems to have been pretty much as now. Betty was a poor girl, bred in the country at a charity-school, maintained by the contributions of wealthy neighbours. The patronesses visited the school from time to time, to see how the pupils got on, and everything went well, till "at last, the chief of the subscribers having passed a winter in London, came down full of an opinion new and strange to the whole country. She held it little less than criminal to teach poor girls to read and write. They who are born to poverty, she said, are born to ignorance, and will work the harder the less they know. She told her friends that London was in confusion by the insolence of servants; that scarcely a girl could be got for all-work, since education had made such numbers of fine ladies, that nobody would now accept a lower title than that of a waiting-maid, or something that might qualify her to wear laced shoes and long ruffles, and to sit at work in the parlour window. But she was resolved, for her part, to spoil no more girls. Those who were to live by their hands should neither read nor write out of her pocket. The world was bad enough already, and she would have no part in making it worse.

 

"She was for a long time warmly opposed; but she persevered in her notions, and withdrew her subscription. Few listen, without a desire of conviction, to those who advise them to spare their money. Her example and her arguments gained ground daily; and in less than a year the whole parish was convinced that the nation would be ruined if the children of the poor were taught to read and write." So the school was dissolved, and Betty with the rest was turned adrift into the wide and cold world; and her adventures there any one may read in "The Idler" for himself.

 

There is an entry in the school minutes of 1763, to the effect that the ladies of the committee censured the schoolmistress for listening to the story of the Cock Lane ghost, and "desired her to keep her belief in the article to herself."

 

Skinner Street—now one of the names of the past—which ran by the south side of St. Sepulchre's, and formed the connecting link between Newgate Street and Holborn, received its name from Alderman Skinner, through whose exertions, about 1802, it was principally built. The following account of Skinner Street is from the picturesque pen of Mr. William Harvey ("Aleph"), whose long familiarity with the places he describes renders doubly valuable his many contributions to the history of London scenes and people:—"As a building speculation," he says, writing in 1863, "it was a failure. When the buildings were ready for occupation, tall and substantial as they really were, the high rents frightened intending shopkeepers. Tenants were not to be had; and in order to get over the money difficulty, a lottery, sanctioned by Parliament, was commenced. Lotteries were then common tricks of finance, and nobody wondered at the new venture; but even the most desperate fortune-hunters were slow to invest their capital, and the tickets hung sadly on hand. The day for the drawing was postponed several times, and when it came, there was little or no excitement on the subject, and whoever rejoiced in becoming a house-owner on such easy terms, the original projectors and builders were understood to have suffered considerably. The winners found the property in a very unfinished condition. Few of the dwellings were habitable, and as funds were often wanting, a majority of the houses remained empty, and the shops unopened. After two or three years things began to improve; the vast many-storeyed house which then covered the site of Commercial Place was converted into a warehousing depôt; a capital house opposite the 'Saracen's Head' was taken by a hosier of the name of Theobald, who, opening his shop with the determination of selling the best hosiery, and nothing else, was able to convince the citizens that his hose was first-rate, and, desiring only a living profit, succeeded, after thirty years of unwearied industry, in accumulating a large fortune. Theobald was possessed of literary tastes, and at the sale of Sir Walter Scott's manuscripts was a liberal purchaser. He also collected a library of exceedingly choice books, and when aristocratic customers purchased stockings of him, was soon able to interest them in matters of far higher interest…

 

"The most remarkable shop—but it was on the left-hand side, at a corner house—was that established for the sale of children's books. It boasted an immense extent of window-front, extending from the entrance into Snow Hill, and towards Fleet Market. Many a time have I lingered with loving eyes over those fascinating story-books, so rich in gaily-coloured prints; such careful editions of the marvellous old histories, 'Puss in Boots,' 'Cock Robin,' 'Cinderella,' and the like. Fortunately the front was kept low, so as exactly to suit the capacity of a childish admirer. . . . . But Skinner Street did not prosper much, and never could compete with even the dullest portions of Holborn. I have spoken of some reputable shops; but you know the proverb, 'One swallow will not make a summer,' and it was a declining neighbourhood almost before it could be called new. In 1810 the commercial depôt, which had been erected at a cost of £25,000, and was the chief prize in the lottery, was destroyed by fire, never to be rebuilt—a heavy blow and discouragement to Skinner Street, from which it never rallied. Perhaps the periodical hanging-days exercised an unfavourable influence, collecting, as they frequently did, all the thieves and vagabonds of London. I never sympathised with Pepys or Charles Fox in their passion for public executions, and made it a point to avoid those ghastly sights; but early of a Monday morning, when I had just reached the end of Giltspur Street, a miserable wretch had just been turned off from the platform of the debtors' door, and I was made the unwilling witness of his last struggles. That scene haunted me for months, and I often used to ask myself, 'Who that could help it would live in Skinner Street?' The next unpropitious event in these parts was the unexpected closing of the child's library. What could it mean? Such a well-to-do establishment shut up? Yes, the whole army of shutters looked blankly on the inquirer, and forbade even a single glance at 'Sinbad' or 'Robinson Crusoe.' It would soon be re-opened, we naturally thought; but the shutters never came down again. The whole house was deserted; not even a messenger in bankruptcy, or an ancient Charley, was found to regard the playful double knocks of the neighbouring juveniles. Gradually the glass of all the windows got broken in, a heavy cloud of black dust, solidifying into inches thick, gathered on sills and doors and brickwork, till the whole frontage grew as gloomy as Giant Despair's Castle. Not long after, the adjoining houses shared the same fate, and they remained from year to year without the slightest sign of life—absolute scarecrows, darkening with their uncomfortable shadows the busy streets. Within half a mile, in Stamford Street, Blackfriars, there are (1863) seven houses in a similar predicament— window-glass demolished, doors cracked from top to bottom, spiders' webs hanging from every projecting sill or parapet. What can it mean? The loss in the article of rents alone must be over £1,000 annually. If the real owners are at feud with imaginary owners, surely the property might be rendered valuable, and the proceeds invested. Even the lawyers can derive no profit from such hopeless abandonment. I am told the whole mischief arose out of a Chancery suit. Can it be the famous 'Jarndyce v. Jarndyce' case? And have all the heirs starved each other out? If so, what hinders our lady the Queen from taking possession? Any change would be an improvement, for these dead houses make the streets they cumber as dispiriting and comfortless as graveyards. Busy fancy will sometimes people them, and fill the dreary rooms with strange guests. Do the victims of guilt congregate in these dark dens? Do wretches 'unfriended by the world or the world's law,' seek refuge in these deserted nooks, mourning in the silence of despair over their former lives, and anticipating the future in unappeasable agony? Such things have been—the silence and desolation of these doomed dwellings make them the more suitable for such tenants."

 

A street is nothing without a mystery, so a mystery let these old tumble-down houses remain, whilst we go on to tell that, in front of No. 58, the sailor Cashman was hung in 1817, as we have already mentioned, for plundering a gunsmith's shop there. William Godwin, the author of "Caleb Williams," kept a bookseller's shop for several years in Skinner Street, at No. 41, and published school-books in the name of Edward Baldwin. On the wall there was a stone carving of Æsop reciting one of his fables to children.

 

The most noteworthy event of the life of Godwin was his marriage with the celebrated Mary Wollstonecraft, authoress of a "Vindication of the Rights of Women," whose congenial mind, in politics and morals, he ardently admired. Godwin's account of the way in which they got on together is worth reading:—"Ours," he writes, "was not an idle happiness, a paradise of selfish and transitory pleasures. It is, perhaps, scarcely necessary to mention, that influenced by ideas I had long entertained, I engaged an apartment about twenty doors from our house, in the Polygon, Somers Town, which I designed for the purpose of my study and literary occupations. Trifles, however, will be interesting to some readers, when they relate to the last period of the life of such a person as Mary. I will add, therefore, that we were both of us of opinion, that it was possible for two persons to be too uniformly in each other's society. Influenced by that opinion, it was my practice to repair to the apartment I have mentioned as soon as I rose, and frequently not to make my appearance in the Polygon till the hour of dinner. We agreed in condemning the notion, prevalent in many situations in life, that a man and his wife cannot visit in mixed society but in company with each other, and we rather sought occasions of deviating from than of complying with this rule. By this means, though, for the most part, we spent the latter half of each day in one another's society, yet we were in no danger of satiety. We seemed to combine, in a considerable degree, the novelty and lively sensation of a visit with the more delicious and heartfelt pleasure of a domestic life."

 

This philosophic union, to Godwin's inexpressible affliction, did not last more than eighteen months, at the end of which time Mrs. Godwin died, leaving an only daughter, who in the course of time became the second wife of the poet Shelley, and was the author of the wild and extraordinary tale of "Frankenstein."

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45116

affecting or relating to the lungs;

Badami (Kannada: ಬದಾಮಿ), formerly known as Vatapi, is a taluk in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from 540 to 757 AD. It is famous for rock cut and other structural temples. It is located in a ravine at the foot of a rugged, red sandstone outcrop that surrounds Agastya lake.

 

The name Vatapi has origin in the Vatapi legend of Ramayana relating to Sage Agastya. There were two demon siblings Vatapi and Ilvala. They used to kill all mendicants by tricking them in a peculiar way. The elder Ilvala would turn Vatapi into a ram and would offer its meat to the guest. As soon as the person ate the meat, Ilvala would call out the name of Vatapi. As he had a boon that whomsoever Ilvala calls would return from even the netherland,[citation needed] Vatapi would emerge ripping through the body of the person, thus killing him. Their trick worked until Sage Agastya countered them by digesting Vatapi before Ilvala could call for him, thus ending the life of Vatapi at the hands of Ilvala. Two of the hills in Badami represent the demons Vatapi and Ilvala.

 

Badami was the capital of the Early Chalukyas, who ruled much of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh between the 6th and 8th centuries. It was founded in 540 AD by Pulakesi I(535-566 AD),[citation needed] an early ruler of the Chalukyas. His sons Kirthivarman (567-598 AD) and his brother Mangalesha I (598-610 AD) constructed the cave temples. The greatest among them was Pulakesi II (610-642 AD) who defeated many kings but failed to capture Pallava's capital Kanchipuram.

 

The rock-cut Badami Cave Temples were sculpted mostly between the 6th and 8th centuries. The four cave temples represent the secular nature of the rulers then, with tolerance and a religious following that inclines towards Hinduism,[citation needed] Buddhism and Jainism. cave 1 is devoted to Shiva, and Caves 2 and 3 are dedicated to Vishnu,[citation needed] whereas cave 4 displays reliefs of Jain Tirthankaras. Deep caverns with carved images of the various incarnations of Hindu gods are strewn across the area, under boulders and in the red sandstone. From an architectural and archaeological perspective, they provide critical evidence of the early styles and stages of the southern Indian architecture.

 

The Pallavas under the king Narasimhavarman I (also called Mamalla Pallava) seized it in 642 AD. Vikramaditya I of Chalukyas drove back Pallavas in 654 AD. and led a successful attack on Kanchipuram, the capital of Pallavas [This statement needs reference]. The Rashtrakutas absorbed karnataka including Badami around 757 AD and the town lost its importance. The later Chalukyas of Kalyani defeated them and were able to keep region from 973 AD to 1189 AD, when it was occupied by the Hoysalas.

 

Then it passed on to Vijayanagara empire, The Adil Shahis, The Savanur Nawabs, The Marathas,[citation needed] Hyder Ali. The Britishers made it part of the Bombay Presidency.

 

Badami has eighteen inscriptions, among them some inscriptions are important. The first Sanskrit inscription in old Kannada script, on a hillock dates back to 543 CE, from the period of Pulakesi I (Vallabheswara), the second is the 578 CE cave inscription of Mangalesa in Kannada language and script and the third is the Kappe Arabhatta records, the earliest available Kannada poetry in tripadi (three line) metre. one inscription near the Bhutanatha temple, on a rock, testifies to Mamalla Pallava's victory over the Chalukyas in the year 642 CE. It also has inscriptions dating back to the 12th century in Jain rock-cut temple dedicated to the Tirtankara Adinatha.

 

In the Karnatic music and Hamsadwani raga the Vatapi Ganapatim Bhaje by the composer Mutthuswamy Deekshitar.[4] The idol of Vatapi Ganapati is now in Tiruchenkaatankudi near Thanjavur of Tamilnadu.

In 7th century, Vatapi Ganapati idol was brought from Badami (Vatapi - Chalukya capital) by Sirutondar(General of Pallavas) who defeated Chalukyas.

 

The Badami cave temples are a complex of temples located at Badami, a town in the Bagalkot District in the north part of Karnataka, India. They are considered an example of Indian rock-cut architecture, especially Badami Chalukya Architecture. Badami, the capital of the Early Chalukyas, who ruled much of Karnataka in the 6th to 8th centuries, lies at the mouth of a ravine with rocky hills on either side and a town tank in which water from the ravine flows. The town is known for its ancient cave temples carved out of the sandstone hills above.

 

The Badami cave temples are composed of four caves, all carved out of the soft Badami sandstone on a hill cliff in the late 6th to 7th centuries. The planning of four caves is simple. The entrance is a verandah (mukha mandapa) with stone columns and brackets, a distinctive feature of these caves, leading to a columned mandapa – main hall (also maha mandapa) and then to the small square shrine (sanctum sanctorum, garbhaghrha) cut deep into the cave.[3] The temple caves represent different religious sects. Among them, two (cave 2 and 3) are dedicated to god Vishnu, one to god Shiva (cave 1) and the fourth (cave 4) is a Jain temple. The first three are devoted to the Vedic faith and the fourth cave is the only Jain temple at Badami.

 

The cave temples date back to 600 and 700 CE. Their architecture is a blend of North Indian Nagara Style and South Indian Dravidian style. As described above each cave has a sanctum sanctorum, a mandapa, a verandah and pillars. The cave temples also bear exquisite carvings, sculptures and beautiful murals.

Important part of historical heritage at Badami cave temples are inscriptions in old Kannada script.

There is also the fifth cave temple in Badami – Buddhist temple in natural cave which can be entered only on all fours.

1. The spiritual entity Qalb

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Adam

 

In the Urdu language the fleshy meat, (the heart) is known as dil, and in Arabic it is called fawad. The spiritual entity that is next to the heart is the Qalb and according to a Prophetic statement the heart and the Qalb are two separate entities.

 

Our solar system is the physical human sphere. There are other realms and spheres, for example the realm of the angels, the realm of the throne of God, the realm of the soul, the realm of the secrets, the realm of unification and the realm of the essence of God. These spheres and life forms inhabiting these spheres have existed before the eruption of the ball of fire, our Sun, which created our solar system. Ordinary angels were created alongside the creation of the souls when God commanded "Be" but the Archangels and the spiritual entities (which are placed inside the human body at birth) have existed in these realms before the formation of our solar system.

 

Many planets in our solar system were inhabited but subsequently these life forms became extinct. The remaining planets and their inhabitants are awaiting their destruction. The Archangels and the spiritual entities (of the human body) were created seventy thousand years before the command "Be."

 

Of these spiritual entities God placed the Qalb in the realm of love. It is with this that a human being is able to become connected with God. The Qalb acts like a telephone operator between God and the human being. A human being receives guidance and inspiration through it. Whereas the worship and the meditation done by the spiritual entities themselves can reach the highest realm, the Throne of God, with the aid of the Qalb. The Qalb itself, however cannot travel beyond the realm of the angels, as its place of origin is the Khuld, the lowest heaven in the realm of the angels.

 

The Qalb’s meditation is from within and its vibrating rosary is within the human skeleton (the heartbeat). People that failed to achieve this meditation of the Qalb in this lifetime will be regretful, even though they may be in paradise. As God has stated regarding those who will go to paradise, that do they, the inhabitants of paradise think that they will be equal to those who are elevated (reached higher realms by practicing the spiritual disciplines and becoming illuminated). As those that have achieved the meditation of the Qalb, they will enjoy its pleasures even in paradise when their Qalb will be vibrating with the Name of God.

After death physical worship ceases to exist and the people whose Qalb and spiritual entities are not strengthened and illuminated with the light of God are afflicted and distressed in their graves and their spiritual entities waste away. Whereas the illuminated and strengthened spiritual entities will go to the realm where the righteous will wait before the final judgement.

After the day of judgement a second body will be given, the illuminated spiritual entities along with the human soul will enter that body. The people that taught their spiritual entities, meditation, whereby the entities chanted the Name of God Allah in this life time will find that the spiritual entities will continue with this meditation even in the hereafter. Such people will continue to be elevated and exalted in the hereafter.

  

Those that were “blind of heart” (not illuminated) in this life time will be in darkness in that realm also, as this world was the place of action and effort. Those in the latter category will become quiescent.

Besides the Christians and the Jews the Hindu faith also holds a belief in these spiritual entities. The Hindu faith refers to them as Shaktian and the Muslims know them as Lata’if.

The Qalb is two inches, to the left of the heart. This spiritual entity is yellow in colour. When it is illuminated in a person, that person sees the colour yellow in their eyes. Not only this but there are many practitioners of alternative medicine who use the colours of these spiritual entities to heal people.

Most people regard their heart’s word, “inner feeling” to be truthful. If the hearts of people were indeed truthful, then why are all the people of the heart not united?

The Qalb of an ordinary person is in the sleeping or unconscious state and it does not possess any appreciation or awareness. Due to the dominance of the spirit of the self, the ego, and the Khannas, or due to the individual’s own simple- mindedness the heart can make judgements in error. Placing trust in a sleeping Qalb is foolish.

Only when the Name of God Allah, does vibrate in the heart does an appreciation of right and wrong and wisdom follow. At this stage the Qalb is known as the awakened Qalb. Thereafter due to the increase in the meditation by the Qalb, of the Name of God Allah, it is then known as the God-seeking Qalb. At this stage the heart is capable of preventing the person from doing wrong but it is still incapable of making a right or just decision. Thereafter and only when the Light and the rays of the Grace of God (theophany) start to descend upon that heart, is it known as the purified and illuminated Qalb that stands in the presence of God (witnessing Qalb).

 

A Prophetic statement:

“The mercy of God descends upon a broken heart and an afflicted grave.”

 

Thereafter when the heart reaches this stage then one must accept whatever it dictates, quietly without question because due to the rays of the Light and the Grace of God the spirit of the self, (ego) becomes completely illuminated, purified and at peace. God is then closer to that individual than that person’s jugular vein.

God then says, “I become his tongue with which he speaks and I become his hands with which he holds.”

   

2. The Human Soul

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Abraham

 

This is on the right side of the chest. This is awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it. Once it becomes illuminated, a vibration similar to the heartbeat is felt on the right side of the chest. Then the Name of God, Ya Allah is matched with the vibrating pulse. The meditation of the soul is done in this way. At this point, there are now two spiritual entities meditating inside the human body, this is an advancement in rank and status and is better than the Qalb. The soul is a light red in colour and when it is awakened, it is able to travel to the realm of the souls (the station of the Archangel Gabriel). Anger and rage are attached to it that burn and turn into majesty.

  

3. The spiritual entity Sirri

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Moses

 

This spiritual entity is to the left of the centre of the chest. This is also awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it with the Name of God, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum. Its colour is white and in the dream state or by spiritual separation from the physical body “transcendental meditation” it can journey to the realm of the secrets. Now there are three spiritual entities meditating within a person and its status is higher than the other two.

   

4. The spiritual entity Khaffi

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Jesus

 

This is to the right of the centre of the chest. It too is taught the Name of God Ya Wahid by meditation. It is green in colour and it can reach the realm of unification. Due to the meditation of four entities one's status is further increased.

 

5. The spiritual entity Akhfa

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Mohammed

 

This is situated at the centre of the chest. It is awakened by meditating on the Name of God, Ya Ahad. It is purple in colour and it too, is connected to that veil in the realm of unification behind which is the throne of God.

 

The hidden spiritual knowledge relating to these five spiritual entities was granted to the Prophets, one by one and half of the knowledge of every spiritual entity was granted from the Prophets to the Saints of their time. In this way there became ten parts of this knowledge. The Saints in turn passed this knowledge on to the spiritually favoured (Godly) who then had the benefit of the sacred knowledge.

 

The apparent knowledge of the seen is connected to the physical body, the spoken word, the human realm and the spirit of the self, this is for the ordinary mortals. This knowledge is contained in a book that has thirty parts. Spiritual knowledge was also given to the Prophets by revelation brought by Gabriel and for this reason it is known as the spiritual Holy Scripture.

 

Many of the verses of the Qur’an would sometimes be abolished, since the Prophet Mohammed would sometimes mention matters relating to this “hidden spiritual knowledge” before ordinary people, which was only meant for the special and Godly. Later this knowledge passed on spiritually from the chest of one Saint to another, and now it has become widespread by its publication in books.

  

6. The spiritual entity Anna

 

This spiritual entity is inside the head and is colourless. It is by the meditation on the Name of God Ya Hu that this spiritual entity reaches its pinnacle. It is this spiritual entity that when it becomes illuminated and powerful it can stand in the Presence of God, face to face, and communicate with God unobstructed. Only the extreme lovers of God reach this realm and station. Besides this there are a few and extremely exalted people who are granted additional spiritual entities, for example the spiritual entity Tifl-e-Nuri or a spiritual entity of the Godhead, Jussa-e-Tofiq-e-Ilahi, the spiritual status of such people is beyond understanding.

 

With the spiritual entity, Anna, God is seen in the dream state.

 

With the spiritual entity of the Godhead, God is seen in the “physical meditating state” when the spiritual entity itself leaves the human body and transcends to the essence of God.

 

Those possessing the spiritual entity, the Tifl-e-Nuri, see God whilst they are fully conscious.

 

It is these people who are the majesty and power of God in the world. They can either occupy the people by prescribing worship and austerities or by their spiritual grace send a person straight to the realm of God’s love. In their sight, concerning dispensing spiritual grace the believers and the non-believers, the dead and the living are all the same. Just as a thief became a Saint, in an instant, by the passing glimpse of the Saint Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, similarly, Abu-Bakr Havari and Manga the thief, became instant Saints by the passing glimpses of such Saints.

 

The five major Messengers were given knowledge of the five spiritual entities separately and in order of their appearance, as a result of which spirituality continued to prosper. With whichever spiritual entity you practice meditation you will be connected to the corresponding Messenger and become worthy of receiving spiritual grace (from that Messenger).

 

Whichever spiritual entity receives the rays of the Grace of God (favour), the Sainthood granted to that spiritual entity will be connected to the corresponding Prophet’s spiritual grace.

 

Access to seven realms and gaining elevated spiritual status in the seven heavens is obtained through these spiritual entities.

The functions of the spiritual entities inside the human body

 

Akhfa: Due to the spiritual entity, Akhfa a person is able to speak. In its absence a person may have a normal tongue but will be dumb. The difference between human beings and animals lies in the presence or the absence of these spiritual entities. At birth, if the entity, Akhfa was unable to enter the body for whatever reason, then a Prophet appointed for the rectification of this ailment would be called to treat the condition as a result of which the dumb would start to speak.

 

Sirri: A person is able to see due to the spiritual entity, Sirri. If it does not enter the body the person is blind from birth. An appointed Prophet had the duty to find and place the spiritual entity into the body, as a result of which the blind would start to see again.

Qalb: Without the spiritual entity of the Qalb, in the body, a person is like the animals, unacquainted, far from God, miserable and without purpose. Returning this entity into the body was the task of the Prophets also.

The miracles of the Prophets were also granted to the saints, in the form marvels and mystical wonders as a result of which even the impious and liberal became close to God. When a spiritual entity is returned by any allocated Saint or Prophet, the deaf, dumb and the blind are healed.

Anna: When the spiritual entity, Anna, fails to enter the body, a person is regarded as insane even though the brain may be functioning normally.

Khaffi: In the absence of the spiritual entity, Khafi, a person is deaf, even if the ears are opened wide.

These conditions can be caused by other defects in the body, and can be treated. There is no cure in the case, where the defect is caused by the absence of the associated spiritual entity except where a Prophet or a Saint intervenes and cures the defect.

Nafs, self: As a result of the spiritual entity of the self (ego) a persons mind is occupied with the material world and it is because of the spiritual entity Qalb that a persons direction turns towards God. For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags

 

My comments relating to Belfast may appear to be somewhat negative but in general I would suggest Belfast as a worthwhile and interesting destination for any visitor to Ireland or the UK.

 

The interesting building featured in my photograph is the Malmaison Hotel and it is supposed to be very good.

 

In general my experience of hotels in Belfast has not been good and in some cases really bad. Based on experience I would advise visitors to avoid budget hotels in Belfast but a number of friends have suggested the the IBIS at Queens Quarter is excellent.

 

I should also mention that eating out in Belfast city centre is more expensive than Dublin and that may surprise many visitors from the South. There are two reasons for this: There is a special VAT rate of 9% for services in Republic compared with 20% in Northern Ireland also many restaurants in Belfast add 12.5% service charge and in theory you could refuse to pay this - even when you are charged the service charge the credit card machine will ask if you want to add a tip.

  

I have visited Belfast at least once per year since 2010 and up until about three years ago I could book two night stays for about Euro 100. Since 2014 I have stayed at the Ramada Encore which I do like. In 2016 I paid Euro 119 for two nights [I paid 2 Euro less in 2015] and in 2017 I paid Euro 161.36 for exactly the same room about two weeks before Brexit.

  

When I tried to book the Ramada for three nights in May 2018 the asking price was Euro 171 per night without the option of free cancellation] and this came as a shock considering that Sterling has dropped in value over the last twelve months.

 

I then decided that if I was paying that sort of money maybe I should considering other better hotels and eventually I booked two nights at the Malmaison at Euro 272 but a few days ago I discovered that the price was actually £272 [Euro 318 but with the option to cancel], I do not know how I made this mistake. I decided to look elsewhere and eventually managed to book two nights at the Bullitt for a much better price but it is still high.

The raccoon (/rəˈkuːn/ or US: /ræˈkuːn/ ⓘ, Procyon lotor), also spelled racoon[3] and sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from the other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of 40 to 70 cm (16 to 28 in), and a body weight of 5 to 26 kg (11 to 57 lb). Its grayish coat mostly consists of dense underfur, which insulates it against cold weather. Three of the raccoon's most distinctive features are its extremely dexterous front paws, its facial mask, and its ringed tail, which are themes in the mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas relating to the animal. The raccoon is noted for its intelligence, as studies show that it is able to remember the solution to tasks for at least three years. It is usually nocturnal and omnivorous, eating about 40% invertebrates, 33% plants, and 27% vertebrates.

 

The original habitats of the raccoon are deciduous and mixed forests, but due to their adaptability, they have extended their range to mountainous areas, coastal marshes, and urban areas, where some homeowners consider them to be pests. As a result of escapes and deliberate introductions in the mid-20th century, raccoons are now also distributed across central Europe, the Caucasus, and Japan.

 

In Europe, the raccoon is included since 2016 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list).[4] This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.[5]

 

Though previously thought to be generally solitary, there is now evidence that raccoons engage in sex-specific social behavior. Related females often share a common area, while unrelated males live together in groups of up to four raccoons in order to maintain their positions against foreign males during the mating season and against other potential invaders. Home range sizes vary anywhere from 3 ha (7.4 acres) for females in cities, to 5,000 ha (12,000 acres) for males in prairies. After a gestation period of about 65 days, two to five young known as "kits" are born in spring. The kits are subsequently raised by their mother until dispersal in late fall. Although captive raccoons have been known to live over 20 years, their life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1 years. In many areas, hunting and vehicular injury are the two most common causes of death.

 

Etymology

 

The mask of a raccoon is often interrupted by a brown-black streak that extends from forehead to nose.[6]

Names for the species include the common raccoon,[7] North American raccoon,[8] and northern raccoon.[9] In various North American native languages, the reference to the animal's manual dexterity, or use of its hands is the source for the names.[10] The word raccoon was adopted into English from the native Powhatan term meaning 'animal that scratches with its hands', as used in the Colony of Virginia. It was recorded on John Smith's list of Powhatan words as aroughcun, and on that of William Strachey as arathkone.[11] It has also been identified as a reflex of a Proto-Algonquian root *ahrah-koon-em, meaning '[the] one who rubs, scrubs and scratches with its hands'.[12] The word is sometimes spelled as racoon.[13]

 

In Spanish, the raccoon is called mapache, derived from the Nahuatl mapachtli of the Aztecs, meaning '[the] one who takes everything in its hands'.[14]

 

Its Latin name literally means 'before-dog washer'.[15] The genus Procyon was named by Gottlieb Conrad Christian Storr.[10] The animal's observed habit of "washing" or "dowsing" (see below) is the source of its name in other languages.[16][17] For example, the French "raton laveur" means "washing rat".

 

The colloquial abbreviation coon is used in words like coonskin for fur clothing and in phrases like old coon as a self-designation of trappers.[18][19] In the 1830s, the United States Whig Party used the raccoon as an emblem, causing them to be pejoratively known as "coons" by their political opponents, who saw them as too sympathetic to African-Americans. Soon after that the term became an ethnic slur,[20] especially in use between 1880 and 1920 (see coon song), and the term is still considered offensive.[21] Dogs bred to hunt raccoons are called coonhound and coon dog.[22]

 

Taxonomy

 

Skins of P. lotor and P. cancrivorus

 

Skulls of P. lotor and P. cancrivorus

In the first decades after its discovery by the members of the expedition of Christopher Columbus, who were the first Europeans to leave a written record about the species, taxonomists thought the raccoon was related to many different species, including dogs, cats, badgers and particularly bears.[23] Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy, placed the raccoon in the genus Ursus, first as Ursus cauda elongata ('long-tailed bear') in the second edition of his Systema Naturae (1740), then as Ursus Lotor ('washer bear') in the tenth edition (1758–59).[24][25] In 1780, Gottlieb Conrad Christian Storr placed the raccoon in its own genus Procyon, which can be translated as either 'before the dog' or 'doglike'.[26][27] It is also possible that Storr had its nocturnal lifestyle in mind and chose the star Procyon as eponym for the species.[28][29]

 

Evolution

Based on fossil evidence from Russia and Bulgaria, the first known members of the family Procyonidae lived in Europe in the late Oligocene about 25 million years ago.[30] Similar tooth and skull structures suggest procyonids and weasels share a common ancestor, but molecular analysis indicates a closer relationship between raccoons and bears.[31] After the then-existing species crossed the Bering Strait at least six million years later in the early Miocene, the center of its distribution was probably in Central America.[32] Coatis (Nasua and Nasuella) and raccoons (Procyon) have been considered to share common descent from a species in the genus Paranasua present between 5.2 and 6.0 million years ago.[33] This assumption, based on morphological comparisons of fossils, conflicts with a 2006 genetic analysis which indicates raccoons are more closely related to ringtails.[34] Unlike other procyonids, such as the crab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus), the ancestors of the common raccoon left tropical and subtropical areas and migrated farther north about 2.5 million years ago, in a migration that has been confirmed by the discovery of fossils in the Great Plains dating back to the middle of the Pliocene.[35][33] Its most recent ancestor was likely Procyon rexroadensis, a large Blancan raccoon from the Rexroad Formation characterized by its narrow back teeth and large lower jaw.[36]

 

Subspecies

 

A Torch Key raccoon (P. l. incautus) in Cudjoe Key, Florida. Subspecies inhabiting the Florida Keys are characterized by their small size and very pale fur.

 

Female raccoon of the Vancouver Island subspecies at Sidney, British Columbia, with characteristic dark fur

As of 2005, Mammal Species of the World recognizes 22 subspecies of raccoons.[37] Four of these subspecies living only on small Central American and Caribbean islands were often regarded as distinct species after their discovery. These are the Bahamian raccoon and Guadeloupe raccoon, which are very similar to each other; the Tres Marias raccoon, which is larger than average and has an angular skull; and the extinct Barbados raccoon. Studies of their morphological and genetic traits in 1999, 2003 and 2005 led all these island raccoons to be listed as subspecies of the common raccoon in Mammal Species of the World's third edition. A fifth island raccoon population, the Cozumel raccoon, which weighs only 3 to 4 kg (6.6 to 8.8 lb) and has notably small teeth, is still regarded as a separate species.[38][39][40][41]

 

The four smallest raccoon subspecies, with a typical weight of 1.8 to 2.7 kg (4.0 to 6.0 lb), live along the southern coast of Florida and on the adjacent islands; an example is the Ten Thousand Islands raccoon (Procyon lotor marinus).[42] Most of the other 15 subspecies differ only slightly from each other in coat color, size and other physical characteristics.[43][44] The two most widespread subspecies are the eastern raccoon (Procyon lotor lotor) and the Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon (Procyon lotor hirtus). Both share a comparatively dark coat with long hairs, but the Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon is larger than the eastern raccoon. The eastern raccoon occurs in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces to the north of South Carolina and Tennessee. The adjacent range of the Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon covers all U.S. states and Canadian provinces to the north of Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico.[45]

 

The taxonomic identity of feral raccoons inhabiting Central Europe, Causasia and Japan is unknown, as the founding populations consisted of uncategorized specimens from zoos and fur farms.

 

Description

Physical characteristics

 

Lower side of front paw with visible vibrissae on the tips of the digits

 

Skeleton

 

Skull with dentition: 2/2 molars, 4/4 premolars, 1/1 canines, 3/3 incisors

 

Baculum or penis bone

 

Female genitourinary system

 

Male genitourinary system

Head to hindquarters, raccoons measure between 40 and 70 cm (16 and 28 in), not including the bushy tail which can measure between 20 and 40 cm (7.9 and 15.7 in), but is usually not much longer than 25 cm (9.8 in).[71][72][73] The shoulder height is between 23 and 30 cm (9.1 and 11.8 in).[74] The body weight of an adult raccoon varies considerably with habitat, making the raccoon one of the most variably sized mammals. It can range from 2 to 26 kg (4.4 to 57.3 lb), but is usually between 5 and 12 kg (11 and 26 lb). The smallest specimens live in southern Florida, while those near the northern limits of the raccoon's range tend to be the largest (see Bergmann's rule).[75] Males are usually 15 to 20% heavier than females.[76] At the beginning of winter, a raccoon can weigh twice as much as in spring because of fat storage.[77][78][79] The largest recorded wild raccoon weighed 28.4 kg (63 lb) and measured 140 cm (55 in) in total length, by far the largest size recorded for a procyonid.[80][81]

 

The most characteristic physical feature of the raccoon is the area of black fur around the eyes, which contrasts sharply with the surrounding white face coloring. This is reminiscent of a "bandit's mask" and has thus enhanced the animal's reputation for mischief.[82][83] The slightly rounded ears are also bordered by white fur. Raccoons are assumed to recognize the facial expression and posture of other members of their species more quickly because of the conspicuous facial coloration and the alternating light and dark rings on the tail.[84][85][86] The dark mask may also reduce glare and thus enhance night vision.[85][86] On other parts of the body, the long and stiff guard hairs, which shed moisture, are usually colored in shades of gray and, to a lesser extent, brown.[87] Raccoons with a very dark coat are more common in the German population because individuals with such coloring were among those initially released to the wild.[88] The dense underfur, which accounts for almost 90% of the coat, insulates against cold weather and is composed of 2 to 3 cm (0.79 to 1.18 in) long hairs.[87]

 

The raccoon, whose method of locomotion is usually considered to be plantigrade, can stand on its hind legs to examine objects with its front paws.[89][90] As raccoons have short legs compared to their compact torso, they are usually not able either to run quickly or jump great distances.[91][92] Their top speed over short distances is 16 to 24 km/h (9.9 to 14.9 mph).[93][94] Raccoons can swim with an average speed of about 5 km/h (3.1 mph) and can stay in the water for several hours.[95][92] For climbing down a tree headfirst—an unusual ability for a mammal of its size—a raccoon rotates its hind feet so they are pointing backwards.[96][92] Raccoons have a dual cooling system to regulate their temperature; that is, they are able to both sweat and pant for heat dissipation.[97][98]

 

Raccoon skulls have a short and wide facial region and a voluminous braincase. The facial length of the skull is less than the cranial, and their nasal bones are short and quite broad. The auditory bullae are inflated in form, and the sagittal crest is weakly developed.[99] The dentition—40 teeth with the dental formula:

3.1.4.2

3.1.4.2

—is adapted to their omnivorous diet: the carnassials are not as sharp and pointed as those of a full-time carnivore, but the molars are not as wide as those of a herbivore.[100] The penis bone of males is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long and strongly bent at the front end,[101][102] and its shape can be used to distinguish juvenile males from mature males.[103][104][105] Seven of the thirteen identified vocal calls are used in communication between the mother and her kits, one of these being the birdlike twittering of newborns.[106][107][98]

 

Senses

The most important sense for the raccoon is its sense of touch.[108][109][110] The "hyper sensitive"[109] front paws are protected by a thin horny layer that becomes pliable when wet.[111][112] The five digits of the paws have no webbing between them, which is unusual for a carnivoran.[113] Almost two-thirds of the area responsible for sensory perception in the raccoon's cerebral cortex is specialized for the interpretation of tactile impulses, more than in any other studied animal.[114] They are able to identify objects before touching them with vibrissae located above their sharp, nonretractable claws.[89][110] The raccoon's paws lack an opposable thumb; thus, it does not have the agility of the hands of primates.[110][112] There is no observed negative effect on tactile perception when a raccoon stands in water below 10 °C (50 °F) for hours.[115]

 

Raccoons are thought to be color blind or at least poorly able to distinguish color, though their eyes are well-adapted for sensing green light.[116][117][118] Although their accommodation of 11 dioptre is comparable to that of humans and they see well in twilight because of the tapetum lucidum behind the retina, visual perception is of subordinate importance to raccoons because of their poor long-distance vision.[119][120][121] In addition to being useful for orientation in the dark, their sense of smell is important for intraspecific communication. Glandular secretions (usually from their anal glands), urine and feces are used for marking.[122][123][124] With their broad auditory range, they can perceive tones up to 50–85 kHz as well as quiet noises, like those produced by earthworms underground.[125][126]

 

Intelligence

Zoologist Clinton Hart Merriam described raccoons as "clever beasts", and that "in certain directions their cunning surpasses that of the fox". The animal's intelligence gave rise to the epithet "sly coon".[127] Only a few studies have been undertaken to determine the mental abilities of raccoons, most of them based on the animal's sense of touch. In a study by the ethologist H. B. Davis in 1908, raccoons were able to open 11 of 13 complex locks in fewer than 10 tries and had no problems repeating the action when the locks were rearranged or turned upside down. Davis concluded that they understood the abstract principles of the locking mechanisms and their learning speed was equivalent to that of rhesus macaques.[128]

 

Studies in 1963, 1973, 1975 and 1992 concentrated on raccoon memory showed that they can remember the solutions to tasks for at least three years.[129] In a study by B. Pohl in 1992, raccoons were able to instantly differentiate between identical and different symbols three years after the short initial learning phase.[129] Stanislas Dehaene reports in his book The Number Sense that raccoons can distinguish boxes containing two or four grapes from those containing three.[130] In research by Suzana Herculano-Houzel and other neuroscientists, raccoons have been found to be comparable to primates in density of neurons in the cerebral cortex, which they have proposed to be a neuroanatomical indicator of intelligence.[131][132]

 

Behavior

Social behavior

 

Eastern raccoons (P. l. lotor) in a tree: The raccoon's social structure is grouped into what Ulf Hohmann calls a "three-class society".

 

California raccoon (P. l. psora) climbing a tree in Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge

 

Baby raccoon chatter

Duration: 1 second.0:01

Problems playing this file? See media help.

Studies in the 1990s by the ethologists Stanley D. Gehrt and Ulf Hohmann suggest that raccoons engage in sex-specific social behaviors and are not typically solitary, as was previously thought.[133][134] Related females often live in a so-called "fission-fusion society"; that is, they share a common area and occasionally meet at feeding or resting grounds.[135][136] Unrelated males often form loose male social groups to maintain their position against foreign males during the mating season—or against other potential invaders.[137] Such a group does not usually consist of more than four individuals.[138][139] Since some males show aggressive behavior towards unrelated kits, mothers will isolate themselves from other raccoons until their kits are big enough to defend themselves.[140]

 

With respect to these three different modes of life prevalent among raccoons, Hohmann called their social structure a "three-class society".[141] Samuel I. Zeveloff, professor of zoology at Weber State University and author of the book Raccoons: A Natural History, is more cautious in his interpretation and concludes at least the females are solitary most of the time and, according to Erik K. Fritzell's study in North Dakota in 1978, males in areas with low population densities are solitary as well.[142]

 

The shape and size of a raccoon's home range varies depending on age, sex, and habitat, with adults claiming areas more than twice as large as juveniles.[143] While the size of home ranges in the habitat of North Dakota's prairies lie between 7 and 50 km2 (3 and 20 sq mi) for males and between 2 and 16 km2 (1 and 6 sq mi) for females, the average size in a marsh at Lake Erie was 0.5 km2 (0.19 sq mi).[144] Irrespective of whether the home ranges of adjacent groups overlap, they are most likely not actively defended outside the mating season if food supplies are sufficient.[145] Odor marks on prominent spots are assumed to establish home ranges and identify individuals.[124] Urine and feces left at shared raccoon latrines may provide additional information about feeding grounds, since raccoons were observed to meet there later for collective eating, sleeping and playing.[146]

 

Concerning the general behavior patterns of raccoons, Gehrt points out that "typically you'll find 10 to 15 percent that will do the opposite" of what is expected.[147]

 

Diet

Though usually nocturnal, the raccoon is sometimes active in daylight to take advantage of available food sources.[148][149] Its diet consists of about 40% invertebrates, 33% plant material and 27% vertebrates.[150] Since its diet consists of such a variety of different foods, Zeveloff argues the raccoon "may well be one of the world's most omnivorous animals".[151] While its diet in spring and early summer consists mostly of insects, worms, and other animals already available early in the year, it prefers fruits and nuts, such as acorns and walnuts, which emerge in late summer and autumn, and represent a rich calorie source for building up fat needed for winter.[152][153]

 

Contrary to popular belief, raccoons only occasionally eat active or large prey, such as birds and mammals. They prefer prey that is easier to catch, specifically crayfish, insects,[154] fish, amphibians and bird eggs.[155] Raccoons are virulent predators of eggs and hatchlings in both birds and reptile nests, to such a degree that, for threatened prey species, raccoons may need to be removed from the area or nests may need to be relocated to mitigate the effect of their predations (i.e. in the case of some globally threatened turtles).[156][157][158][159][160] When food is plentiful, raccoons can develop strong individual preferences for specific foods.[78] In the northern parts of their range, raccoons go into a winter rest, reducing their activity drastically as long as a permanent snow cover makes searching for food difficult.[161]

 

Dousing

 

Captive raccoons often douse their food before eating.

One aspect of raccoon behavior is so well known that it gives the animal part of its scientific name, Procyon lotor; lotor is Latin for 'washer'. In the wild, raccoons often dabble for underwater food near the shore-line. They then often pick up the food item with their front paws to examine it and rub the item, sometimes to remove unwanted parts. This gives the appearance of the raccoon "washing" the food. The tactile sensitivity of raccoons' paws is increased if this rubbing action is performed underwater, since the water softens the hard layer covering the paws.[109][162] However, the behavior observed in captive raccoons in which they carry their food to water to "wash" or douse it before eating has not been observed in the wild.[163][164] Naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, believed that raccoons do not have adequate saliva production to moisten food thereby necessitating dousing, but this hypothesis is now considered to be incorrect.[162][163][165][166] Captive raccoons douse their food more frequently when a watering hole with a layout similar to a stream is not farther away than 3 m (10 ft).[166] The widely accepted theory is that dousing in captive raccoons is a fixed action pattern from the dabbling behavior performed when foraging at shores for aquatic foods.[162][166][167][168] This is supported by the observation that aquatic foods are doused more frequently. Cleaning dirty food does not seem to be a reason for "washing".[166]

 

Reproduction

Raccoons usually mate in a period triggered by increasing daylight between late January and mid-March.[169][170][171] However, there are large regional differences which are not completely explicable by solar conditions. For example, while raccoons in southern states typically mate later than average, the mating season in Manitoba also peaks later than usual in March and extends until June.[171] During the mating season, males restlessly roam their home ranges in search of females in an attempt to court them during the three- to four-day period when conception is possible. These encounters will often occur at central meeting places.[172][173][174] Copulation, including foreplay, can last over an hour and is repeated over several nights.[175] The weaker members of a male social group also are assumed to get the opportunity to mate, since the stronger ones cannot mate with all available females.[176] In a study in southern Texas during the mating seasons from 1990 to 1992, about one third of all females mated with more than one male.[177] If a female does not become pregnant or if she loses her kits early, she will sometimes become fertile again 80 to 140 days later.[178][179][180]

  

An eastern raccoon (P. l. lotor) kit

After usually 63 to 65 days of gestation (although anywhere from 54 to 70 days is possible), a litter of typically two to five young is born.[181][182] The average litter size varies widely with habitat, ranging from 2.5 in Alabama to 4.8 in North Dakota.[183][184] Larger litters are more common in areas with a high mortality rate, due, for example, to hunting or severe winters.[185][184] While male yearlings usually reach their sexual maturity only after the main mating season, female yearlings can compensate for high mortality rates and may be responsible for about 50% of all young born in a year.[186][187][188] Males have no part in raising young.[138][189][190] The kits (also called "cubs") are blind and deaf at birth, but their mask is already visible against their light fur.[191][192] The birth weight of the about 10 cm (4 in)-long kits is between 60 and 75 g (2.1 and 2.6 oz).[192] Their ear canals open after around 18 to 23 days, a few days before their eyes open for the first time.[193] Once the kits weigh about 1 kg (2 lb), they begin to explore outside the den, consuming solid food for the first time after six to nine weeks.[194][195] After this point, their mother suckles them with decreasing frequency; they are usually weaned by 16 weeks.[196] In the fall, after their mother has shown them dens and feeding grounds, the juvenile group splits up.[197] [198] While many females will stay close to the home range of their mother, males can sometimes move more than 20 km (12 mi) away. This is considered an instinctive behavior, preventing inbreeding. However, mother and offspring may share a den during the first winter in cold areas.

 

Life expectancy

Captive raccoons have been known to live for more than 20 years. However, the species' life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1 years, depending on the local conditions such as traffic volume, hunting, and weather severity. It is not unusual for only half of the young born in one year to survive a full year. After this point, the annual mortality rate drops to between 10% and 30%. Young raccoons are vulnerable to losing their mother and to starvation, particularly in long and cold winters. The most frequent natural cause of death in the North American raccoon population is distemper, which can reach epidemic proportions and kill most of a local raccoon population. In areas with heavy vehicular traffic and extensive hunting, these factors can account for up to 90% of all deaths of adult raccoons. The most important natural predators of the raccoon are bobcats, coyotes, and great horned owls, the latter mainly preying on young raccoons but capable of killing adults in some cases. In Florida, they have been reported to fall victim to larger carnivores like American black bear and cougars and these species may also be a threat on occasion in other areas. Where still present, gray wolves may still occasionally take raccoons as a supplemental prey item. Also in the southeast, they are among the favored prey for adult American alligators. On occasion, both bald and golden eagles will prey on raccoons. In the tropics, raccoons are known to fall prey to smaller eagles such as ornate hawk-eagles and black hawk-eagles, although it is not clear whether adults or merely juvenile raccoons are taken by these. In rare cases of overlap, they may fall victim from carnivores ranging from species averaging smaller than themselves such as fishers to those as large and formidable as jaguars in Mexico. In their introduced range in the former Soviet Union, their main predators are wolves, lynxes and Eurasian eagle-owls. However, predation is not a significant cause of death, especially because larger predators have been exterminated in many areas inhabited by raccoons.

 

Range

Although they have thrived in sparsely wooded areas in the last decades, raccoons depend on vertical structures to climb when they feel threatened. Therefore, they avoid open terrain and areas with high concentrations of beech trees, as beech bark is too smooth to climb. Tree hollows in old oaks or other trees and rock crevices are preferred by raccoons as sleeping, winter and litter dens. If such dens are unavailable or accessing them is inconvenient, raccoons use burrows dug by other mammals, dense undergrowth or tree crotches. In a study in the Solling range of hills in Germany, more than 60% of all sleeping places were used only once, but those used at least ten times accounted for about 70% of all uses. Since amphibians, crustaceans, and other animals around the shore of lakes and rivers are an important part of the raccoon's diet, lowland deciduous or mixed forests abundant with water and marshes sustain the highest population densities. While population densities range from 0.5 to 3.2 animals per square kilometer (1.3 to 8.3 animals per square mile) in prairies and do not usually exceed 6 animals per square kilometer (15.5 animals per square mile) in upland hardwood forests, more than 20 raccoons per square kilometer (51.8 animals per square mile) can live in lowland forests and marshes.

 

Distribution in North America

Raccoons are common throughout North America from Canada to Panama, where the subspecies Procyon lotor pumilus coexists with the crab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus). The population on Hispaniola was exterminated as early as 1513 by Spanish colonists who hunted them for their meat. Raccoons were also exterminated in Cuba and Jamaica, where the last sightings were reported in 1687. The Barbados raccoon became extinct relatively recently, in 1964. When they were still considered separate species, the Bahamas raccoon, Guadeloupe raccoon and Tres Marias raccoon were classified as endangered by the IUCN in 1996.

  

A Raccoon sleeping on a tree in High Park, Toronto

There is archeological evidence that in pre-Columbian times raccoons were numerous only along rivers and in the woodlands of the Southeastern United States. As raccoons were not mentioned in earlier reports of pioneers exploring the central and north-central parts of the United States, their initial spread may have begun a few decades before the 20th century. Since the 1950s, raccoons have expanded their range from Vancouver Island—formerly the northernmost limit of their range—far into the northern portions of the four south-central Canadian provinces. New habitats which have recently been occupied by raccoons (aside from urban areas) include mountain ranges, such as the Western Rocky Mountains, prairies and coastal marshes. After a population explosion starting in the 1940s, the estimated number of raccoons in North America in the late 1980s was 15 to 20 times higher than in the 1930s, when raccoons were comparatively rare. Urbanization, the expansion of agriculture, deliberate introductions, and the extermination of natural predators of the raccoon have probably caused this increase in abundance and distribution.

 

Distribution outside North America

s a result of escapes and deliberate introductions in the mid-20th century, the raccoon is now distributed in several European and Asian countries. Sightings have occurred in all the countries bordering Germany, which hosts the largest population outside of North America. Another stable population exists in northern France, where several pet raccoons were released by members of the U.S. Air Force near the Laon-Couvron Air Base in 1966. Furthermore, raccoons have been known to be in the area around Madrid since the early 1970s. In 2013, the city authorized "the capture and death of any specimen". It is also present in Italy, with one self-sustaining population in Lombardy.

 

About 1,240 animals were released in nine regions of the former Soviet Union between 1936 and 1958 for the purpose of establishing a population to be hunted for their fur. Two of these introductions were successful – one in the south of Belarus between 1954 and 1958, and another in Azerbaijan between 1941 and 1957. With a seasonal harvest of between 1,000~1,500 animals, in 1974 the estimated size of the population distributed in the Caucasus region was around 20,000 animals and the density was four animals per square kilometer (10 animals per square mile).

 

Distribution in Japan

In Japan, up to 1,500 raccoons were imported as pets each year after the success of the anime series Rascal the Raccoon (1977). In 2004, the descendants of discarded or escaped animals lived in 42 of 47 prefectures. The range of raccoons in the wild in Japan grew from 17 prefectures in 2000 to all 47 prefectures in 2008. It is estimated that raccoons cause thirty million yen (~$275,000) of agricultural damage on Hokkaido alone.

 

Distribution in Germany

In Germany – where the raccoon is called the Waschbär (literally, 'wash-bear' or 'washing bear') due to its habit of "dousing" food in water – two pairs of pet raccoons were released into the German countryside at the Edersee reservoir in the north of Hesse in April 1934 by a forester upon request of their owner, a poultry farmer. He released them two weeks before receiving permission from the Prussian hunting office to "enrich the fauna". Several prior attempts to introduce raccoons in Germany had been unsuccessful. A second population was established in eastern Germany in 1945 when 25 raccoons escaped from a fur farm at Wolfshagen (today district of Altlandsberg), east of Berlin, after an air strike. The two populations are parasitologically distinguishable: 70% of the raccoons of the Hessian population are infected with the roundworm Baylisascaris procyonis, but none of the Brandenburgian population is known to have the parasite. In the Hessian region, there were an estimated 285 raccoons in 1956, which increased to over 20,000 in 1970; in 2008 there were between 200,000 and 400,000 raccoons in the whole of Germany. By 2012 it was estimated that Germany now had more than a million raccoons.

 

The raccoon was once a protected species in Germany, but has been declared a game animal in 14 of the 16 German states since 1954. Hunters and environmentalists argue the raccoon spreads uncontrollably, threatens protected bird species, and supersedes indigenous competitors. This view is opposed by the zoologist Frank-Uwe Michler, who finds no evidence that a high population density of raccoons leads to negative effects on the biodiversity of an area. Hohmann holds that extensive hunting cannot be justified by the absence of natural predators, because predation is not a significant cause of death in the North American raccoon population.

  

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

The raccoon is extensively hunted in Germany as it is seen as an invasive species and pest. In the 1990s, only about 400 raccoons were hunted yearly. This increased dramatically over the next quarter-century: during the 2015–2016 hunting season, 128,100 raccoons were hunted, 60 percent of them in the state of Hesse.

 

Distribution in the former Soviet Union

Experiments in acclimatising raccoons into the Soviet Union began in 1936, and were repeated a further 25 times until 1962. Overall, 1,222 individuals were released, 64 of which came from zoos and fur farms (38 of them having been imports from western Europe). The remainder originated from a population previously established in Transcaucasia. The range of Soviet raccoons was never single or continuous, as they were often introduced to different locations far from each other. All introductions into the Russian Far East failed; melanistic raccoons were released on Petrov Island near Vladivostok and some areas of southern Primorsky Krai, but died. In Middle Asia, raccoons were released in Kyrgyzstan's Jalal-Abad Province, though they were later recorded as "practically absent" there in January 1963. A large and stable raccoon population (yielding 1,000~1,500 catches a year) was established in Azerbaijan after an introduction to the area in 1937. Raccoons apparently survived an introduction near Terek, along the Sulak River into the Dagestani lowlands. Attempts to settle raccoons on the Kuban River's left tributary and Kabardino-Balkaria were unsuccessful. A successful acclimatization occurred in Belarus, where three introductions (consisting of 52, 37, and 38 individuals in 1954 and 1958) took place. By January 1963, 700 individuals were recorded in the country.

 

Urban raccoons

Due to its adaptability, the raccoon has been able to use urban areas as a habitat. The first sightings were recorded in a suburb of Cincinnati in the 1920s. Since the 1950s, raccoons have been present in metropolitan areas like Washington, DC, Chicago, Toronto, and New York City. Since the 1960s, Kassel has hosted Europe's first and densest population in a large urban area, with about 50 to 150 animals per square kilometer (130 to 390 animals per square mile), a figure comparable to those of urban habitats in North America. Home range sizes of urban raccoons are only 3 to 40 hectares (7.5 to 100 acres) for females and 8 to 80 hectares (20 to 200 acres) for males. In small towns and suburbs, many raccoons sleep in a nearby forest after foraging in the settlement area. Fruit and insects in gardens and leftovers in municipal waste are easily available food sources. Furthermore, a large number of additional sleeping areas exist in these areas, such as hollows in old garden trees, cottages, garages, abandoned houses, and attics. The percentage of urban raccoons sleeping in abandoned or occupied houses varies from 15% in Washington, DC (1991) to 43% in Kassel (2003).

 

Health

Raccoons can carry rabies, a lethal disease caused by the neurotropic rabies virus carried in the saliva and transmitted by bites. Its spread began in Florida and Georgia in the 1950s and was facilitated by the introduction of infected individuals to Virginia and North Dakota in the late 1970s. Of the 6,940 documented rabies cases reported in the United States in 2006, 2,615 (37.7%) were in raccoons. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as local authorities in several U.S. states and Canadian provinces, has developed oral vaccination programs to fight the spread of the disease in endangered populations. Only one human fatality has been reported after transmission of the rabies virus strain commonly known as "raccoon rabies". Among the main symptoms for rabies in raccoons are a generally sickly appearance, impaired mobility, abnormal vocalization, and aggressiveness. There may be no visible signs at all, however, and most individuals do not show the aggressive behavior seen in infected canids; rabid raccoons will often retire to their dens instead. Organizations like the U.S. Forest Service encourage people to stay away from animals with unusual behavior or appearance, and to notify the proper authorities, such as an animal control officer from the local health department. Since healthy animals, especially nursing mothers, will occasionally forage during the day, daylight activity is not a reliable indicator of illness in raccoons.

 

Unlike rabies and at least a dozen other pathogens carried by raccoons, distemper, an epizootic virus, does not affect humans. This disease is the most frequent natural cause of death in the North American raccoon population and affects individuals of all age groups. For example, 94 of 145 raccoons died during an outbreak in Clifton, Ohio, in 1968. It may occur along with a following inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), causing the animal to display rabies-like symptoms. In Germany, the first eight cases of distemper were reported in 2007.

 

Some of the most important bacterial diseases which affect raccoons are leptospirosis, listeriosis, tetanus, and tularemia. Although internal parasites weaken their immune systems, well-fed individuals can carry a great many roundworms in their digestive tracts without showing symptoms. The larvae of the roundworm Baylisascaris procyonis, which can be contained in the feces and seldom causes a severe illness in humans, can be ingested when cleaning raccoon latrines without wearing breathing protection.

 

While not endemic, the worm Trichinella does infect raccoons, and undercooked raccoon meat has caused trichinosis in humans.

 

Trematode Metorchis conjunctus can also infect raccoons.

 

Relationship with humans

Raccoons have become notorious in urban areas for consuming food waste. They possess impressive problem-solving abilities and can break into all but the most secure food waste bins, which has earned them the derisive nickname trash panda. The presence of raccoons in close proximity to humans may be undesirable, as raccoon droppings (like most wild animals) contain parasites and other disease vectors. Raccoon roundworm is of particular concern to public health. It can be contracted in humans by accidental ingestion or inhalation of the eggs, which are present in the feces of infected raccoons. While usually harmless to the host, it causes progressive neurological damage in humans, and is eventually fatal if untreated. It is found in about 60% of adult raccoons. The general presence of raccoons in an area is not typically of concern, but nests or droppings found within or near structures should be destroyed. Roundworm eggs are very robust and bleach alone is insufficient; burning or treatment with hot solutions of sodium hydroxide is required. The keeping of raccoons as pets is illegal in some jurisdictions due to these risks.

 

The increasing number of raccoons in urban areas has resulted in diverse reactions in humans, ranging from outrage at their presence to deliberate feeding. Some wildlife experts and most public authorities caution against feeding wild animals because they might become increasingly obtrusive and dependent on humans as a food source. Other experts challenge such arguments and give advice on feeding raccoons and other wildlife in their books. Raccoons without a fear of humans are a concern to those who attribute this trait to rabies, but scientists point out this behavior is much more likely to be a behavioral adjustment to living in habitats with regular contact to humans for many generations. Raccoons usually do not prey on domestic cats and dogs, but isolated cases of killings have been reported. Attacks on pets may also target their owners.

  

A Florida raccoon (P. l. elucus) in the Everglades approaches a group of humans, hoping to be fed

While overturned waste containers and raided fruit trees are just a nuisance to homeowners, it can cost several thousand dollars to repair damage caused by the use of attic space as dens. Relocating or killing raccoons without a permit is forbidden in many urban areas on grounds of animal welfare. These methods usually only solve problems with particularly wild or aggressive individuals, since adequate dens are either known to several raccoons or will quickly be rediscovered. Loud noises, flashing lights, and unpleasant odors have proven particularly effective in driving away a mother and her kits before they would normally leave the nesting place (when the kits are about eight weeks old). Typically, though, only precautionary measures to restrict access to food waste and den sites are effective in the long term.

 

Among all fruits and crops cultivated in agricultural areas, sweet corn in its milk stage is particularly popular among raccoons.[309][310] In a two-year study by Purdue University researchers, published in 2004, raccoons were responsible for 87% of the damage to corn plants. Like other predators, raccoons searching for food can break into poultry houses to feed on chickens, ducks, their eggs, or food.

 

Mythology, arts, and entertainment

In the mythology of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the raccoon is the subject of folk tales. Stories such as "How raccoons catch so many crayfish" from the Tuscarora centered on its skills at foraging. In other tales, the raccoon played the role of the trickster which outsmarts other animals, like coyotes and wolves. Among others, the Dakota believe the raccoon has natural spirit powers, since its mask resembles the facial paintings, two-fingered swashes of black and white, used during rituals to connect to spirit beings. The Aztecs linked supernatural abilities especially to females, whose commitment to their young was associated with the role of wise women in their society.

 

The raccoon also appears in Native American art across a wide geographic range. Petroglyphs with engraved raccoon tracks were found in Lewis Canyon, Texas; at the Crow Hollow petroglyph site in Grayson County, Kentucky; and in river drainages near Tularosa, the San Francisco River of New Mexico and Arizona. The meaning and significance of the Raccoon Priests Gorget, which features a stylized carving of a raccoon and was found at the Spiro Mounds, Oklahoma, remains unknown.

 

Hunting and fur trade

The fur of raccoons is used for clothing, especially for coats and coonskin caps. At present, it is the material used for the inaccurately named "sealskin" cap worn by the Royal Fusiliers of Great Britain. Sporrans made of raccoon pelt and hide have sometimes been used as part of traditional Scottish highland men's apparel since the 18th century, especially in North America. Such sporrans may or may not be of the "full-mask" type. Historically, Native American tribes not only used the fur for winter clothing, but also used the tails for ornament. The famous Sioux leader Spotted Tail took his name from a raccoon skin hat with the tail attached he acquired from a fur trader. Since the late 18th century, various types of scent hounds, called coonhounds, which are able to tree animals have been bred in the United States. In the 19th century, when coonskins occasionally even served as means of payment, several thousand raccoons were killed each year in the United States. This number rose quickly when automobile coats became popular after the turn of the 20th century. In the 1920s, wearing a raccoon coat was regarded as status symbol among college students. Attempts to breed raccoons in fur farms in the 1920s and 1930s in North America and Europe turned out not to be profitable, and farming was abandoned after prices for long-haired pelts dropped in the 1940s. Although raccoons had become rare in the 1930s, at least 388,000 were killed during the hunting season of 1934–1935.

 

After persistent population increases began in the 1940s, the seasonal coon hunting harvest reached about one million animals in 1946–1947 and two million in 1962–1963. The broadcast of three television episodes about the frontiersman Davy Crockett and the film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier in 1954 and 1955 led to a high demand for coonskin caps in the United States, although it is unlikely either Crockett or the actor who played him, Fess Parker, actually wore a cap made from raccoon fur. The seasonal hunt reached an all-time high with 5.2 million animals in 1976–1977 and ranged between 3.2 and 4.7 million for most of the 1980s. In 1982, the average pelt price was $20. As of 1987, the raccoon was identified as the most important wild furbearer in North America in terms of revenue. In the first half of the 1990s, the seasonal hunt dropped to 0.9 from 1.9 million due to decreasing pelt prices.

 

Food

While primarily hunted for their fur, raccoons were also a source of food for Native Americans and early American settlers. According to Ernest Thompson Seton, young specimens killed without a fight are palatable, whereas old raccoons caught after a lengthy battle are inedible. Raccoon meat was extensively eaten during the early years of California, where it was sold in the San Francisco market for $1–3 apiece. American slaves occasionally ate raccoon at Christmas, but it was not necessarily a dish of the poor or rural. The first edition of The Joy of Cooking, released in 1931, contained a recipe for preparing raccoon, and US President Calvin Coolidge's pet raccoon Rebecca was originally sent to be served at the White House Thanksgiving Dinner.

 

Although the idea of eating raccoons may seem repulsive to most mainstream consumers, who see them as endearing, cute, or vermin, several thousand raccoons are still eaten each year in the United States, primarily in the Southern United States. Some people tout the taste of the meat.

 

Other uses

In addition to the fur and meat, the raccoon baculum (penis bone) have had numerous traditional uses in the Southern United States and beyond. Indigenous people used the bones as a pipe cleaning tool. The bones were used by moonshine distillers to guide the flow of whiskey from the drip tube to the bottle. With their tips filed down, the bones were used as toothpicks under the moniker "coon rods". In hoodoo, the folk magic of the American South, the baculum is sometimes worn as an amulet for love or luck. The bones also have decorative uses (e.g. on the trademark hat of stock car racer Richard Petty or as earrings by actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Vanessa Williams).

 

Pet raccoons

Raccoons are sometimes kept as pets, which is discouraged by many experts because the raccoon is not a domesticated species. Raccoons may act unpredictably and aggressively and it is extremely difficult to teach them to obey commands. In places where keeping raccoons as pets is not forbidden, such as in Wisconsin and other U.S. states, an exotic pet permit may be required. One notable pet raccoon was Rebecca, kept by US president Calvin Coolidge.

 

Their propensity for unruly behavior exceeds that of captive skunks, and they are even less trustworthy when allowed to roam freely. Because of their intelligence and nimble forelimbs, even inexperienced raccoons are easily capable of unscrewing jars, uncorking bottles and opening door latches, with more experienced specimens having been recorded to open door knobs. Sexually mature raccoons often show aggressive natural behaviors such as biting during the mating season. Neutering them at around five or six months of age decreases the chances of aggressive behavior developing. Raccoons can become obese and suffer from other disorders due to poor diet and lack of exercise. When fed with cat food over a long time period, raccoons can develop gout. With respect to the research results regarding their social behavior, it is now required by law in Austria and Germany to keep at least two individuals to prevent loneliness. Raccoons are usually kept in a pen (indoor or outdoor), also a legal requirement in Austria and Germany, rather than in the apartment where their natural curiosity may result in damage to property.

 

When orphaned, it is possible for kits to be rehabilitated and reintroduced to the wild. However, it is uncertain whether they readapt well to life in the wild. Feeding unweaned kits with cow's milk rather than a kitten replacement milk or a similar product can be dangerous to their health.

I have had a few nice encounters in the subway system (surprising enough) and this was my second of the day – the first being Issicha. I had just stopped by the Toronto Public Library branch in the west end to check on my photo exhibit and found that all was in order. On my way back to the subway to head downtown I saw this wonderful splash of color at the intersection. She was with a girlfriend and the three of us crossed the street together on our way to the subway station. I introduced myself and my project and asked her if she would be kind enough to participate. She agreed after hearing a few details and looking at my contact card. Meet Dana.

 

Just inside the doors to the station there was plenty of light and a wall of tiles, some of them plain and a few with colors. I suggested we take the photos against the tiles. Her friend occupied herself on her cell phone while we did the photos and it was clear that Dana enjoyed the experience. When I asked her about the bright red hair she said “I do it myself.” I wondered if she is a hairstylist and she said “No, but I learned from my Auntie and I enjoy doing hair.” I commented that it certainly grabbed my attention. Confirming that I wasn’t making the two of them late for something, Dana said “No, not at all. We were just doing a bit of shopping for the children.”

 

Dana is 26 and came to Canada from Jamaica at age 12. I told her it was a coincidence that I had photographed another Jamaican in a different subway station earlier today and showed her Issicha’s portrait which was still on my camera. I asked about Dana’s advice to her younger self and she said “Be strong no matter what. Better times will come.” Her biggest challenge in life has been when her six year old son was struck by a bullet in a neighborhood shooting. I’m sure my shock registered on my face. I didn’t push for details but did ask about the outcome and she said he recovered well and is doing great. Her face lit up in talking about his good health now. Her message to the project was “What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.” It’s interesting that her answers to the three questions I asked all tie together. Without planning it, I spontaneously asked her if she had a dream. She said “I do. It’s to be a flight attendant.” I commented that I’ve always loved airplanes and anything relating to airplanes. “Do you think this dream will ever come true?” I asked. She said “Oh, I’m definitely going to try – but not until my children are older.”

 

I thanked Dana and her friend for their patience and we exchanged contact information. I told her about my photo exhibit just across the street and she asked me to send the details with her photo and she would look forward to seeing it.

 

This is my 389th submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.

 

You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.

Extraordinary graces and miracles of St Paul of the Cross

 

In the extensive folio of Church documents pertaining to the life of Paul of the Cross we read countless first hand testimonies bearing witness to extraordinary miracles and graces that occurred throughout the life of the Saint. Among the many graces were numerous testimonies relating events where the Saint cured the blind, the deaf, those paralyzed and countless other sick people, converted numerous hardened sinners, battled openly with the demons, was seen in two places at once, was held aloft and carried great distance by an angel, and was gifted with the ability to read into the hearts of penitents.

 

Most of the extraordinary graces and miracle below are taken from the book “The Life of St Paul of the Cross –Founder of the Congregation of Discalced Clerks of the Holy Cross and Passion of Our Lord” written by Rev. Father Pius a Sprito Santo C.P. in 1867, only 90 years after the death of Saint Paul. Many of the miracles presented rest upon very strong evidence--no less than the sworn depositions of most respectable and unim-peachable witnesses.

 

A child brought back to life

 

At the close of a very successful mission given by the Saint in Orbetello, in September, 1741, a child which was gazing out of a window at the crowd of people who were leaving the church fell down upon the pavement and was killed at once. Medical assistance was called, but sadly he was pronounced dead.

 

In the meantime the Saint was returning to Mount Argentaro, and he was just about to enter a boat when the disconsolate parents of the child ran down to the shore and related to him what had hap-pened. He returned with them, and saw the corpse of the little innocent. He remained some time in silent prayer, then he spread his hands over the body. Breathless silence pervaded the crowd of people who were standing around. In a few seconds, life was restored to the child, and Paul gave him back per-fectly cured to the arms of his weeping parents.

 

Assistance of his guardian Angel

 

Paul once told a confidential friend that several times, when he could not say a single word upon the platform on account of his great infirmities, his guardian angel preached in his stead. Concerning this he remarked: "Oh, how many favours have I not received I and what return do I make for them but ingrati-tude! " It is needless to recount these favours more in detail, although it might be easily done, since names and dates are given in the documents from which we take our account.

 

He was several times in danger of losing his life, and an inspiration or interposition of God saved him. Once when he disembarked to give a mission in Langone, he had to climb up a large rock and upon doing so he slipped, yet without any visible reason, he was held aloft until he regained his footing. Another time, he and a companion sat under a tree to refresh themselves upon a journey. Paul said to the other that they had better go off to another shade, and his counsel was followed rather unwillingly; but scarcely were they seated in the next shade, when the former tree fell to the ground with a tremendous crash. Had the two fathers remained, they would certainly have been killed. Once when he was almost frozen due to the extreme cold, he was borne by an angel and carried a great distance, and set down within a few paces of his Retreat.

 

One day a poor man came to Monte Argentaro and asked a priest whom he met in the church if he could see Father Paul of the Cross. The father told him that unfortunately it was not possible at that moment, as Paul was away at that time. Then the man began to cry, and told him that he had lived in sacrilege for fifty years, and that he should continue so perhaps to the end if Father Paul had not appeared to him three different times, and threatened with an unsheathed sword to slay him if he did not go to confession. He found a confessor, of course, and returned to his home in peace and happiness, When this father met the Saint, shortly after , he said, in the way of a joke, "So, Father, you have taken to a new way of giving missions." "What is that?" asked, the Saint. "Oh, you go about with a sword threatening to kill people if they don't go to confession." He then related the story of the poor man, and he was told by the Saint that it was his guardian angel who took his shape, and preached in his stead, and that that was not the first time.

 

St Paul and the souls in Purgatory

 

Paul had often visions of the suffering souls in Purgatory; they were allowed by God to come to his cell and relate what they had to endure, and to beg him for his prayers. He would then arise at once, go to some chapel, and immediately took to prayer and disciplines to relieve his suffering friends in Christ. He would then be troubled at having gone beyond the bounds which his director set to his austerities; but one day his guardian angel consoled him by taking him in spirit to Purgatory for a few minutes, and let him experience what the holy souls there had to suffer. After this extraordinary grace he offered all the satisfactory acts he could for these poor souls, and tried to get others to do the same.

 

One case is recorded in the acts of his life which gives us an idea of the efficacy of his intercession. There was a priest whom the Saint esteemed very much, and in his holy frindship he advised him to correct some small failings to which he was subject. One night as the Saint had just retired to rest, he heard an extra-ordinary knock at his door. Thinking it was the devil come to torment him, he decided not to answer the door and let him stay outside. When the knock was repeated three times, he perceived that it must be a different visitor, and commanded him to tell who he was, and what brought him there at such an hour. "I am …..," he said,-Paul saw his soul by an interior vision,-" who has died this very night and I have come to tell you that I have been condemned to Purgatory on account of those faults which you lectured me. Oh, how I do suffer! it seems a thousand years since I passed from my earthly existence."

 

Paul looked at a watch, and found that he had been dead, according to his own account, for just a quarter of an hour.

 

The servant of God began his prayers and peni-tential exercises, and did not cease offering all sorts of indulgences and mortifications for the soul of his departed friend until near daybreak. As is usual in such cases, he received no clear intimation of his suffrages being accepted. At length, he exclaimed, "Oh, dear Lord, through the love Thou bearest my soul, I beseech Thee liberate my friend from his prison."

 

He was then given to understand that before midday the next day that the grace would be granted. At the break of the next day he said Mass for his repose, and just as he had consumed the sacred species he saw the soul of the priest go joyfully to heaven.

 

His preaching miraculously heard at a distance

 

When the Saint was giving a mission in the Isle of Elba, a man, who had need of a mission very much, happened to be coming into the town on some busi-ness or other. About a mile from the town he heard a voice denouncing sin, and displaying the dreadful punishment which awaits the sinner in the next life. He could not let the surprising words out of his mind, and when he arrived in the town, he found, on inquiry, that the famous missionary had just con-cluded his sermon on sin. He went straightway to tho church and made his peace with God. This remarkable favour was repeated many times.

 

A poor shepherd on the same island who was obliged by a master, or by his poverty, to stay with his sheep when he might wish to go to the mission, heard every word the missionary said in the wood where he used to sit ill the shade to watch his flock and say his rosary. A sick person in Oivita Vecchia heard him from his bed, although the church was the greater part of a mile distant. A doctor in Civita Oastellana contrived to arrange his sick calls that he was able to attend to the mission sermons of Father Paul. On two successive days he was called upon for extra visits, and had to give up, to his great regret, all idea of going to the mission. He stopped on his way to venerate an image of the Madonna which was placed in a niche on the roadside, and while there he heard distinctly every word the Saint was saying.

 

His powers over nature

 

On various occasions he kept the rain away from multitudes who were assembled to hear him in the open air. This happened at Sutri and Santafiora, about the year 1751. The fields and streets were deluged with rain, and so were all who ran away for shelter, while not a drop fell upon the Saint or those who had faith enough in his promise to stay and hear the sermon through.

 

He once had to go across an arm of the sea to give a mission, and there was no vessel but a rotten old wooden boat, which had been a long time out of use. He asked a few sailors to row him and his companions across in it; with good reason they refused at first, but when they were told by a companion who it was who asked them, they took courage and manned the boat. Knowing of his holy reputation, they believed that nothing could happen to them while in the company of the Saint. Their faith was rewarded and to their great surprise and edification the boat carried them all across safely.

 

Another time the Saint and his brother were given poison in their food by some wicked men whose con-duct they denounced from the platform. That Lord who said of His chosen servants, "If they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them," protected them; for in a few minutes after their meal they cast up the poisoned food, and went on with their work as if nothing had happened.

 

When the Saint was giving a mission in Monte Romano, he wanted to send a very important letter to Sutri, and engaged a person named Mattia Maire, to be the bearer of the letter. Mattia heard that a river which crossed his road was swollen by the heavy rains, and feared that he would be unable to fulfill his engagement. In reply, the Saint said, "Go, I promise you the Divine protection -yes, I promise it to you; and even if the water should reach the tops of the trees, never mind, pass over and don't fear."

 

Full of confidence Mattia set off, and his conduct gives us a beautiful evidence of the conception in which Father Paul was held by the people. Who would obey a Priest missioner and venture his life if he did not believe that the elements themselves were obedient to him? When he came to the river, he found a number of carriers detained. on the bank, who, of course, tried to dissuade him from pro-ceeding. With confidence in Paul’s assurance, Mattia drove the horse into the river, and without his knowing how, the animal galloped over the waters, so that the men on the shore saw his shoes. Astonished, they later reasoned among themselves that it must have been the devil, and were happy on their narrow escape from some worse fate than that of being weather-bound on the shore.

 

In the September of 1750 he gave a mission in Canepina; and the people, who lived chiefly on the sale of chest-nuts, came to the Saint with downcast looks, as they expected a year of famine from the withered appear ance of chestnut-trees and the drought, which had parched up whatever kernels had made their appear-ance on the branches. The Saint compassionated them, and, after praying fervently said from the platform, "Fear not, my dear people, recommend yourselves to God and trust in Him, for I hope the harvest of chestnuts will be abundant this year." After the mission copious rains fell, the trees flourished, and the prediction was more than verified.

 

In Arlena, near Montefiascone, a poor woman was very deaf, and wished to hear the mission sermons. She followed the Saint one night, applied his habit to her ear, and recovered her hearing perfectly. Another time, in Sutri, sometime about 1755, he cured a virulent cancer by making the sign of the cross upon it with the oil of the lamp before the Blessed Sacrament.

 

In a year of great scarcity of corn, shortly after 1750, the Saint was in Civita-Castellana. A charitable lady, who every year supported many poor people, told him that she would be forced to omit her charity this year, because their granary was almost empty. Paul said to her, "Give the usual alms, and even more, and God will multiply your store."

 

She obeyed him strictly. They had just thirty quarts of grain at the time of his visit. Following his direction, the began to give out even larger alms than usual, and to their great surprise the supply in the grainery never lessened. At the end of several months they found that they had exactly the same quantity of grain which they had in the beginning.

 

Miracles after his death

 

Upon the very day of the Saint's death, he appeared to a child, who was called Paula, in re-membrance of his having cured her mother, whilst in pregnancy, of a dangerous illness. The child was in the last stage of measles, and her eyes were closed. She never saw the holy man in life. and her de-scription of him corresponded exactly to his appear-ance. She said he came and cured her, and she remained cured for the years thereafter.

 

While his body lay in the church, a girl came from the other end of the city in hopes that she would be cured of a painful and vir-ulent ulcer in the cheek by his intercession,. With difficulty did she get through the crowd, but as soon as she kissed his hand, and touched her cheek with it, she was instantly in the sight of all the people cured by him.

 

Before the end of the month in which he died, a Poor-Clare nun of Civita-Castellana was cured by him.

 

The touch of a bead which the Saint had used cured a child in December of the same year. A picture of the Saint cured a painful illness in 1776. In the December of the same year an application of a simple picture cured an infant which was horribly deformed at its birth. Bits of his habit, handker-chiefs, or other articles used by him, wrought cures everywhere. Cripples, and persons despaired of by doctors, came to pray at his tomb in SS. John and Paul, and went home restored to health.

 

In the Beatification and Canonization processes, the names of all these people, and a great many more, are given, with a full description of the nature and stage of their disease, and of the manner and length of time in which they were cured, therefore we do not consider it necessary to transfer them to our pages. Enough has been said to show that our Lord is still faithful to His promises, and that His chosen servants do sometimes greater things than He has done. Enough has been said to show that the note of sanctity is still visible in the Church of God through the great holiness of her children, and that the spirit which planted Christianity still continues to maintain it. Enough has been said to show the sanctity of Saint Paul; and if many things have been omitted, we have the precedent of the inspired historian of our Lord's life in the Holy Scriptures for the course we have adopted.

 

We shall, therefore, content ourselves with briefly detailing the miracles which were proved in Rome, and passed the congregations for the Beatification and Canonization.

 

Miracles used for the Beatification and Canonisation

 

The first miracle for the Beatification was the cure of a little boy, which was performed in 1816, forty-one years after the death of the Saint. His father was a surgeon, and he and others of the same profession judged the child, who was just seven years of age, to be beyond the reach of medical art. Aneurism, fever, and a complication of other ailments brought him to deaths door; a consultation of physicians ended in the decision that nothing could be done for him .The sorrowing parents looked upon their boy in the last agony, and had to change their sobs into a few broken remarks about the preparation for his funeral. There lay the child, cadaverous, helpless, agonizing, unable to speak, move, or understand. Suddenly the father, caught between despair and hope, recollected himself and through an inspiration of God (one can assume) he recalled that he had a bit of Father Paul's habit in the house. Quickly retrieving it, they gave him a tiny morsel in a drop of water, which, with much difficulty, they managed to introduce between his clenched teeth. In a moment he was well, arose, called for strong food, and was perfectly recovered.

 

The second was the cure of a cancer in the breast of a modest young woman who would rather die than undergo an operation which was judged necessary by her physicians. She wore a piece of the habit of the venerable Father Paul on her breast, and recited for several days, three Our Fathers and Hail Marys to the Blessed Trinity, in thanksgiving for the graces bestowed upon the servant of God, as it was not then quite lawful to invoke his direct intercession-at least publicly. One day, while saying these prayers in the church, she found a thrilling sensation all over her, which made her imagine her end approached. On recovering from her fright she found herself perfectly cured. This extraordinary miracle happened in November, 1844.

 

These miracles, with the other evidences of his sanctity, closed the case for the Beatification.

 

From the numerous prodigies which were wrought through the blessed Paul's intercession since the solemn declaration Beautification in 1853, two were selected for the cause of the Canonization.

 

The first of these was a cure wrought upon a certain Rose d'Alena, similar to the second recorded above, with the slight difference that she was on her way to the surgeon's to submit to the operation when she accidentally turned into one of our churches (Passionist Church -editor), and prayed there before the image of blessed Paul. She decided to have a Mass celebrated in his honour at that very moment, and before the end of the Mass the cure was suddenly and perfectly accomplished. This happened in 1858.

 

The second miracle was the multiplication of corn effected in S. Angelo, near Vetralla, through the Saint's intercession, in 1854. The religious of this Retreat found that their supply of corn would not carry them to the summer, and that a bad harvest made it unlikely that begging could succeed in supplying their needs. The brother asked the Rector if he should continue to give the usual alms to the poor, and was told that he should. The provincial then told them to have recourse to our blessed founder; they said prayers in his honour every day, and some of them before the door of the granary measured the corn, and after having fed thirty-six religious and a multitude of visitors and poor for several months, there was more corn found in the storehouse than had been at the beginning. A multitude of people came to have their devotion gratified by a little of the miraculous grain when the miracle became known. The satisfying of their devotion seemed to increase the heap, and it went on thus until the harvest-time.

 

“Ah, poor Paul, how many years of life have I lived, how many sacraments and how many graces have I received! And how many Masses have I said, and how many missions have I given, and how many confessions have I heard? And yet, how will it fair for me before the tribunal of our God? But, I do not despair; I trust in the merits of the Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.” –St Paul of the Cross shortly before his death

   

1. The spiritual entity Qalb

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Adam

 

In the Urdu language the fleshy meat, (the heart) is known as dil, and in Arabic it is called fawad. The spiritual entity that is next to the heart is the Qalb and according to a Prophetic statement the heart and the Qalb are two separate entities.

 

Our solar system is the physical human sphere. There are other realms and spheres, for example the realm of the angels, the realm of the throne of God, the realm of the soul, the realm of the secrets, the realm of unification and the realm of the essence of God. These spheres and life forms inhabiting these spheres have existed before the eruption of the ball of fire, our Sun, which created our solar system. Ordinary angels were created alongside the creation of the souls when God commanded "Be" but the Archangels and the spiritual entities (which are placed inside the human body at birth) have existed in these realms before the formation of our solar system.

 

Many planets in our solar system were inhabited but subsequently these life forms became extinct. The remaining planets and their inhabitants are awaiting their destruction. The Archangels and the spiritual entities (of the human body) were created seventy thousand years before the command "Be."

 

Of these spiritual entities God placed the Qalb in the realm of love. It is with this that a human being is able to become connected with God. The Qalb acts like a telephone operator between God and the human being. A human being receives guidance and inspiration through it. Whereas the worship and the meditation done by the spiritual entities themselves can reach the highest realm, the Throne of God, with the aid of the Qalb. The Qalb itself, however cannot travel beyond the realm of the angels, as its place of origin is the Khuld, the lowest heaven in the realm of the angels.

 

The Qalb’s meditation is from within and its vibrating rosary is within the human skeleton (the heartbeat). People that failed to achieve this meditation of the Qalb in this lifetime will be regretful, even though they may be in paradise. As God has stated regarding those who will go to paradise, that do they, the inhabitants of paradise think that they will be equal to those who are elevated (reached higher realms by practicing the spiritual disciplines and becoming illuminated). As those that have achieved the meditation of the Qalb, they will enjoy its pleasures even in paradise when their Qalb will be vibrating with the Name of God.

After death physical worship ceases to exist and the people whose Qalb and spiritual entities are not strengthened and illuminated with the light of God are afflicted and distressed in their graves and their spiritual entities waste away. Whereas the illuminated and strengthened spiritual entities will go to the realm where the righteous will wait before the final judgement.

After the day of judgement a second body will be given, the illuminated spiritual entities along with the human soul will enter that body. The people that taught their spiritual entities, meditation, whereby the entities chanted the Name of God Allah in this life time will find that the spiritual entities will continue with this meditation even in the hereafter. Such people will continue to be elevated and exalted in the hereafter.

  

Those that were “blind of heart” (not illuminated) in this life time will be in darkness in that realm also, as this world was the place of action and effort. Those in the latter category will become quiescent.

Besides the Christians and the Jews the Hindu faith also holds a belief in these spiritual entities. The Hindu faith refers to them as Shaktian and the Muslims know them as Lata’if.

The Qalb is two inches, to the left of the heart. This spiritual entity is yellow in colour. When it is illuminated in a person, that person sees the colour yellow in their eyes. Not only this but there are many practitioners of alternative medicine who use the colours of these spiritual entities to heal people.

Most people regard their heart’s word, “inner feeling” to be truthful. If the hearts of people were indeed truthful, then why are all the people of the heart not united?

The Qalb of an ordinary person is in the sleeping or unconscious state and it does not possess any appreciation or awareness. Due to the dominance of the spirit of the self, the ego, and the Khannas, or due to the individual’s own simple- mindedness the heart can make judgements in error. Placing trust in a sleeping Qalb is foolish.

Only when the Name of God Allah, does vibrate in the heart does an appreciation of right and wrong and wisdom follow. At this stage the Qalb is known as the awakened Qalb. Thereafter due to the increase in the meditation by the Qalb, of the Name of God Allah, it is then known as the God-seeking Qalb. At this stage the heart is capable of preventing the person from doing wrong but it is still incapable of making a right or just decision. Thereafter and only when the Light and the rays of the Grace of God (theophany) start to descend upon that heart, is it known as the purified and illuminated Qalb that stands in the presence of God (witnessing Qalb).

 

A Prophetic statement:

“The mercy of God descends upon a broken heart and an afflicted grave.”

 

Thereafter when the heart reaches this stage then one must accept whatever it dictates, quietly without question because due to the rays of the Light and the Grace of God the spirit of the self, (ego) becomes completely illuminated, purified and at peace. God is then closer to that individual than that person’s jugular vein.

God then says, “I become his tongue with which he speaks and I become his hands with which he holds.”

   

2. The Human Soul

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Abraham

 

This is on the right side of the chest. This is awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it. Once it becomes illuminated, a vibration similar to the heartbeat is felt on the right side of the chest. Then the Name of God, Ya Allah is matched with the vibrating pulse. The meditation of the soul is done in this way. At this point, there are now two spiritual entities meditating inside the human body, this is an advancement in rank and status and is better than the Qalb. The soul is a light red in colour and when it is awakened, it is able to travel to the realm of the souls (the station of the Archangel Gabriel). Anger and rage are attached to it that burn and turn into majesty.

  

3. The spiritual entity Sirri

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Moses

 

This spiritual entity is to the left of the centre of the chest. This is also awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it with the Name of God, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum. Its colour is white and in the dream state or by spiritual separation from the physical body “transcendental meditation” it can journey to the realm of the secrets. Now there are three spiritual entities meditating within a person and its status is higher than the other two.

   

4. The spiritual entity Khaffi

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Jesus

 

This is to the right of the centre of the chest. It too is taught the Name of God Ya Wahid by meditation. It is green in colour and it can reach the realm of unification. Due to the meditation of four entities one's status is further increased.

 

5. The spiritual entity Akhfa

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Mohammed

 

This is situated at the centre of the chest. It is awakened by meditating on the Name of God, Ya Ahad. It is purple in colour and it too, is connected to that veil in the realm of unification behind which is the throne of God.

 

The hidden spiritual knowledge relating to these five spiritual entities was granted to the Prophets, one by one and half of the knowledge of every spiritual entity was granted from the Prophets to the Saints of their time. In this way there became ten parts of this knowledge. The Saints in turn passed this knowledge on to the spiritually favoured (Godly) who then had the benefit of the sacred knowledge.

 

The apparent knowledge of the seen is connected to the physical body, the spoken word, the human realm and the spirit of the self, this is for the ordinary mortals. This knowledge is contained in a book that has thirty parts. Spiritual knowledge was also given to the Prophets by revelation brought by Gabriel and for this reason it is known as the spiritual Holy Scripture.

 

Many of the verses of the Qur’an would sometimes be abolished, since the Prophet Mohammed would sometimes mention matters relating to this “hidden spiritual knowledge” before ordinary people, which was only meant for the special and Godly. Later this knowledge passed on spiritually from the chest of one Saint to another, and now it has become widespread by its publication in books.

  

6. The spiritual entity Anna

 

This spiritual entity is inside the head and is colourless. It is by the meditation on the Name of God Ya Hu that this spiritual entity reaches its pinnacle. It is this spiritual entity that when it becomes illuminated and powerful it can stand in the Presence of God, face to face, and communicate with God unobstructed. Only the extreme lovers of God reach this realm and station. Besides this there are a few and extremely exalted people who are granted additional spiritual entities, for example the spiritual entity Tifl-e-Nuri or a spiritual entity of the Godhead, Jussa-e-Tofiq-e-Ilahi, the spiritual status of such people is beyond understanding.

 

With the spiritual entity, Anna, God is seen in the dream state.

 

With the spiritual entity of the Godhead, God is seen in the “physical meditating state” when the spiritual entity itself leaves the human body and transcends to the essence of God.

 

Those possessing the spiritual entity, the Tifl-e-Nuri, see God whilst they are fully conscious.

 

It is these people who are the majesty and power of God in the world. They can either occupy the people by prescribing worship and austerities or by their spiritual grace send a person straight to the realm of God’s love. In their sight, concerning dispensing spiritual grace the believers and the non-believers, the dead and the living are all the same. Just as a thief became a Saint, in an instant, by the passing glimpse of the Saint Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, similarly, Abu-Bakr Havari and Manga the thief, became instant Saints by the passing glimpses of such Saints.

 

The five major Messengers were given knowledge of the five spiritual entities separately and in order of their appearance, as a result of which spirituality continued to prosper. With whichever spiritual entity you practice meditation you will be connected to the corresponding Messenger and become worthy of receiving spiritual grace (from that Messenger).

 

Whichever spiritual entity receives the rays of the Grace of God (favour), the Sainthood granted to that spiritual entity will be connected to the corresponding Prophet’s spiritual grace.

 

Access to seven realms and gaining elevated spiritual status in the seven heavens is obtained through these spiritual entities.

The functions of the spiritual entities inside the human body

 

Akhfa: Due to the spiritual entity, Akhfa a person is able to speak. In its absence a person may have a normal tongue but will be dumb. The difference between human beings and animals lies in the presence or the absence of these spiritual entities. At birth, if the entity, Akhfa was unable to enter the body for whatever reason, then a Prophet appointed for the rectification of this ailment would be called to treat the condition as a result of which the dumb would start to speak.

 

Sirri: A person is able to see due to the spiritual entity, Sirri. If it does not enter the body the person is blind from birth. An appointed Prophet had the duty to find and place the spiritual entity into the body, as a result of which the blind would start to see again.

Qalb: Without the spiritual entity of the Qalb, in the body, a person is like the animals, unacquainted, far from God, miserable and without purpose. Returning this entity into the body was the task of the Prophets also.

The miracles of the Prophets were also granted to the saints, in the form marvels and mystical wonders as a result of which even the impious and liberal became close to God. When a spiritual entity is returned by any allocated Saint or Prophet, the deaf, dumb and the blind are healed.

Anna: When the spiritual entity, Anna, fails to enter the body, a person is regarded as insane even though the brain may be functioning normally.

Khaffi: In the absence of the spiritual entity, Khafi, a person is deaf, even if the ears are opened wide.

These conditions can be caused by other defects in the body, and can be treated. There is no cure in the case, where the defect is caused by the absence of the associated spiritual entity except where a Prophet or a Saint intervenes and cures the defect.

Nafs, self: As a result of the spiritual entity of the self (ego) a persons mind is occupied with the material world and it is because of the spiritual entity Qalb that a persons direction turns towards God. For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags

 

1. The spiritual entity Qalb

  

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Adam

  

In the Urdu language the fleshy meat, (the heart) is known as dil, and in Arabic it is called fawad. The spiritual entity that is next to the heart is the Qalb and according to a Prophetic statement the heart and the Qalb are two separate entities.

  

Our solar system is the physical human sphere. There are other realms and spheres, for example the realm of the angels, the realm of the throne of God, the realm of the soul, the realm of the secrets, the realm of unification and the realm of the essence of God. These spheres and life forms inhabiting these spheres have existed before the eruption of the ball of fire, our Sun, which created our solar system. Ordinary angels were created alongside the creation of the souls when God commanded "Be" but the Archangels and the spiritual entities (which are placed inside the human body at birth) have existed in these realms before the formation of our solar system.

  

Many planets in our solar system were inhabited but subsequently these life forms became extinct. The remaining planets and their inhabitants are awaiting their destruction. The Archangels and the spiritual entities (of the human body) were created seventy thousand years before the command "Be."

  

Of these spiritual entities God placed the Qalb in the realm of love. It is with this that a human being is able to become connected with God. The Qalb acts like a telephone operator between God and the human being. A human being receives guidance and inspiration through it. Whereas the worship and the meditation done by the spiritual entities themselves can reach the highest realm, the Throne of God, with the aid of the Qalb. The Qalb itself, however cannot travel beyond the realm of the angels, as its place of origin is the Khuld, the lowest heaven in the realm of the angels.

  

The Qalb’s meditation is from within and its vibrating rosary is within the human skeleton (the heartbeat). People that failed to achieve this meditation of the Qalb in this lifetime will be regretful, even though they may be in paradise. As God has stated regarding those who will go to paradise, that do they, the inhabitants of paradise think that they will be equal to those who are elevated (reached higher realms by practicing the spiritual disciplines and becoming illuminated). As those that have achieved the meditation of the Qalb, they will enjoy its pleasures even in paradise when their Qalb will be vibrating with the Name of God.

After death physical worship ceases to exist and the people whose Qalb and spiritual entities are not strengthened and illuminated with the light of God are afflicted and distressed in their graves and their spiritual entities waste away. Whereas the illuminated and strengthened spiritual entities will go to the realm where the righteous will wait before the final judgement.

After the day of judgement a second body will be given, the illuminated spiritual entities along with the human soul will enter that body. The people that taught their spiritual entities, meditation, whereby the entities chanted the Name of God Allah in this life time will find that the spiritual entities will continue with this meditation even in the hereafter. Such people will continue to be elevated and exalted in the hereafter.

  

Those that were “blind of heart” (not illuminated) in this life time will be in darkness in that realm also, as this world was the place of action and effort. Those in the latter category will become quiescent.

Besides the Christians and the Jews the Hindu faith also holds a belief in these spiritual entities. The Hindu faith refers to them as Shaktian and the Muslims know them as Lata’if.

The Qalb is two inches, to the left of the heart. This spiritual entity is yellow in colour. When it is illuminated in a person, that person sees the colour yellow in their eyes. Not only this but there are many practitioners of alternative medicine who use the colours of these spiritual entities to heal people.

Most people regard their heart’s word, “inner feeling” to be truthful. If the hearts of people were indeed truthful, then why are all the people of the heart not united?

The Qalb of an ordinary person is in the sleeping or unconscious state and it does not possess any appreciation or awareness. Due to the dominance of the spirit of the self, the ego, and the Khannas, or due to the individual’s own simple- mindedness the heart can make judgements in error. Placing trust in a sleeping Qalb is foolish.

Only when the Name of God Allah, does vibrate in the heart does an appreciation of right and wrong and wisdom follow. At this stage the Qalb is known as the awakened Qalb. Thereafter due to the increase in the meditation by the Qalb, of the Name of God Allah, it is then known as the God-seeking Qalb. At this stage the heart is capable of preventing the person from doing wrong but it is still incapable of making a right or just decision. Thereafter and only when the Light and the rays of the Grace of God (theophany) start to descend upon that heart, is it known as the purified and illuminated Qalb that stands in the presence of God (witnessing Qalb).

  

A Prophetic statement:

“The mercy of God descends upon a broken heart and an afflicted grave.”

  

Thereafter when the heart reaches this stage then one must accept whatever it dictates, quietly without question because due to the rays of the Light and the Grace of God the spirit of the self, (ego) becomes completely illuminated, purified and at peace. God is then closer to that individual than that person’s jugular vein.

God then says, “I become his tongue with which he speaks and I become his hands with which he holds.”

     

2. The Human Soul

  

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Abraham

  

This is on the right side of the chest. This is awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it. Once it becomes illuminated, a vibration similar to the heartbeat is felt on the right side of the chest. Then the Name of God, Ya Allah is matched with the vibrating pulse. The meditation of the soul is done in this way. At this point, there are now two spiritual entities meditating inside the human body, this is an advancement in rank and status and is better than the Qalb. The soul is a light red in colour and when it is awakened, it is able to travel to the realm of the souls (the station of the Archangel Gabriel). Anger and rage are attached to it that burn and turn into majesty.

  

3. The spiritual entity Sirri

  

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Moses

  

This spiritual entity is to the left of the centre of the chest. This is also awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it with the Name of God, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum. Its colour is white and in the dream state or by spiritual separation from the physical body “transcendental meditation” it can journey to the realm of the secrets. Now there are three spiritual entities meditating within a person and its status is higher than the other two.

     

4. The spiritual entity Khaffi

  

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Jesus

  

This is to the right of the centre of the chest. It too is taught the Name of God Ya Wahid by meditation. It is green in colour and it can reach the realm of unification. Due to the meditation of four entities one's status is further increased.

  

5. The spiritual entity Akhfa

  

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Mohammed

  

This is situated at the centre of the chest. It is awakened by meditating on the Name of God, Ya Ahad. It is purple in colour and it too, is connected to that veil in the realm of unification behind which is the throne of God.

  

The hidden spiritual knowledge relating to these five spiritual entities was granted to the Prophets, one by one and half of the knowledge of every spiritual entity was granted from the Prophets to the Saints of their time. In this way there became ten parts of this knowledge. The Saints in turn passed this knowledge on to the spiritually favoured (Godly) who then had the benefit of the sacred knowledge.

  

The apparent knowledge of the seen is connected to the physical body, the spoken word, the human realm and the spirit of the self, this is for the ordinary mortals. This knowledge is contained in a book that has thirty parts. Spiritual knowledge was also given to the Prophets by revelation brought by Gabriel and for this reason it is known as the spiritual Holy Scripture.

  

Many of the verses of the Qur’an would sometimes be abolished, since the Prophet Mohammed would sometimes mention matters relating to this “hidden spiritual knowledge” before ordinary people, which was only meant for the special and Godly. Later this knowledge passed on spiritually from the chest of one Saint to another, and now it has become widespread by its publication in books.

  

6. The spiritual entity Anna

  

This spiritual entity is inside the head and is colourless. It is by the meditation on the Name of God Ya Hu that this spiritual entity reaches its pinnacle. It is this spiritual entity that when it becomes illuminated and powerful it can stand in the Presence of God, face to face, and communicate with God unobstructed. Only the extreme lovers of God reach this realm and station. Besides this there are a few and extremely exalted people who are granted additional spiritual entities, for example the spiritual entity Tifl-e-Nuri or a spiritual entity of the Godhead, Jussa-e-Tofiq-e-Ilahi, the spiritual status of such people is beyond understanding.

  

With the spiritual entity, Anna, God is seen in the dream state.

  

With the spiritual entity of the Godhead, God is seen in the “physical meditating state” when the spiritual entity itself leaves the human body and transcends to the essence of God.

  

Those possessing the spiritual entity, the Tifl-e-Nuri, see God whilst they are fully conscious.

  

It is these people who are the majesty and power of God in the world. They can either occupy the people by prescribing worship and austerities or by their spiritual grace send a person straight to the realm of God’s love. In their sight, concerning dispensing spiritual grace the believers and the non-believers, the dead and the living are all the same. Just as a thief became a Saint, in an instant, by the passing glimpse of the Saint Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, similarly, Abu-Bakr Havari and Manga the thief, became instant Saints by the passing glimpses of such Saints.

  

The five major Messengers were given knowledge of the five spiritual entities separately and in order of their appearance, as a result of which spirituality continued to prosper. With whichever spiritual entity you practice meditation you will be connected to the corresponding Messenger and become worthy of receiving spiritual grace (from that Messenger).

  

Whichever spiritual entity receives the rays of the Grace of God (favour), the Sainthood granted to that spiritual entity will be connected to the corresponding Prophet’s spiritual grace.

  

Access to seven realms and gaining elevated spiritual status in the seven heavens is obtained through these spiritual entities.

The functions of the spiritual entities inside the human body

  

Akhfa: Due to the spiritual entity, Akhfa a person is able to speak. In its absence a person may have a normal tongue but will be dumb. The difference between human beings and animals lies in the presence or the absence of these spiritual entities. At birth, if the entity, Akhfa was unable to enter the body for whatever reason, then a Prophet appointed for the rectification of this ailment would be called to treat the condition as a result of which the dumb would start to speak.

  

Sirri: A person is able to see due to the spiritual entity, Sirri. If it does not enter the body the person is blind from birth. An appointed Prophet had the duty to find and place the spiritual entity into the body, as a result of which the blind would start to see again.

Qalb: Without the spiritual entity of the Qalb, in the body, a person is like the animals, unacquainted, far from God, miserable and without purpose. Returning this entity into the body was the task of the Prophets also.

The miracles of the Prophets were also granted to the saints, in the form marvels and mystical wonders as a result of which even the impious and liberal became close to God. When a spiritual entity is returned by any allocated Saint or Prophet, the deaf, dumb and the blind are healed.

Anna: When the spiritual entity, Anna, fails to enter the body, a person is regarded as insane even though the brain may be functioning normally.

Khaffi: In the absence of the spiritual entity, Khafi, a person is deaf, even if the ears are opened wide.

These conditions can be caused by other defects in the body, and can be treated. There is no cure in the case, where the defect is caused by the absence of the associated spiritual entity except where a Prophet or a Saint intervenes and cures the defect.

Nafs, self: As a result of the spiritual entity of the self (ego) a persons mind is occupied with the material world and it is because of the spiritual entity Qalb that a persons direction turns towards God. For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags

 

I have no information relating to the artist.

 

Today I experimented with a Sigma 180mm lens mounted on a Sony A7RM2 body using a Metabones adaptor.

 

This combination does not work in Auto-Focus mode so I had to use manual focusing and this was not easy and it certainly would have been impossible without focus peaking [a feature that I have never properly employed before]. In case you are unaware focus peaking is a tool to assist you while manual focusing. It highlights the areas that are in focus so you are able to quickly focus the camera and not miss crucial shots. However, focus peaking is not as easy as it sounds because it shows you what's sharp on the viewfinder screen, not what's sharp in the actual image. Since the screen or viewfinder has a much lower resolution than the actual camera sensor areas that are highlighted as being sharp in the viewfinder can be very much out of focus in the image you actually capture.

1. The spiritual entity Qalb

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Adam

 

In the Urdu language the fleshy meat, (the heart) is known as dil, and in Arabic it is called fawad. The spiritual entity that is next to the heart is the Qalb and according to a Prophetic statement the heart and the Qalb are two separate entities.

 

Our solar system is the physical human sphere. There are other realms and spheres, for example the realm of the angels, the realm of the throne of God, the realm of the soul, the realm of the secrets, the realm of unification and the realm of the essence of God. These spheres and life forms inhabiting these spheres have existed before the eruption of the ball of fire, our Sun, which created our solar system. Ordinary angels were created alongside the creation of the souls when God commanded "Be" but the Archangels and the spiritual entities (which are placed inside the human body at birth) have existed in these realms before the formation of our solar system.

 

Many planets in our solar system were inhabited but subsequently these life forms became extinct. The remaining planets and their inhabitants are awaiting their destruction. The Archangels and the spiritual entities (of the human body) were created seventy thousand years before the command "Be."

 

Of these spiritual entities God placed the Qalb in the realm of love. It is with this that a human being is able to become connected with God. The Qalb acts like a telephone operator between God and the human being. A human being receives guidance and inspiration through it. Whereas the worship and the meditation done by the spiritual entities themselves can reach the highest realm, the Throne of God, with the aid of the Qalb. The Qalb itself, however cannot travel beyond the realm of the angels, as its place of origin is the Khuld, the lowest heaven in the realm of the angels.

 

The Qalb’s meditation is from within and its vibrating rosary is within the human skeleton (the heartbeat). People that failed to achieve this meditation of the Qalb in this lifetime will be regretful, even though they may be in paradise. As God has stated regarding those who will go to paradise, that do they, the inhabitants of paradise think that they will be equal to those who are elevated (reached higher realms by practicing the spiritual disciplines and becoming illuminated). As those that have achieved the meditation of the Qalb, they will enjoy its pleasures even in paradise when their Qalb will be vibrating with the Name of God.

After death physical worship ceases to exist and the people whose Qalb and spiritual entities are not strengthened and illuminated with the light of God are afflicted and distressed in their graves and their spiritual entities waste away. Whereas the illuminated and strengthened spiritual entities will go to the realm where the righteous will wait before the final judgement.

After the day of judgement a second body will be given, the illuminated spiritual entities along with the human soul will enter that body. The people that taught their spiritual entities, meditation, whereby the entities chanted the Name of God Allah in this life time will find that the spiritual entities will continue with this meditation even in the hereafter. Such people will continue to be elevated and exalted in the hereafter.

  

Those that were “blind of heart” (not illuminated) in this life time will be in darkness in that realm also, as this world was the place of action and effort. Those in the latter category will become quiescent.

Besides the Christians and the Jews the Hindu faith also holds a belief in these spiritual entities. The Hindu faith refers to them as Shaktian and the Muslims know them as Lata’if.

The Qalb is two inches, to the left of the heart. This spiritual entity is yellow in colour. When it is illuminated in a person, that person sees the colour yellow in their eyes. Not only this but there are many practitioners of alternative medicine who use the colours of these spiritual entities to heal people.

Most people regard their heart’s word, “inner feeling” to be truthful. If the hearts of people were indeed truthful, then why are all the people of the heart not united?

The Qalb of an ordinary person is in the sleeping or unconscious state and it does not possess any appreciation or awareness. Due to the dominance of the spirit of the self, the ego, and the Khannas, or due to the individual’s own simple- mindedness the heart can make judgements in error. Placing trust in a sleeping Qalb is foolish.

Only when the Name of God Allah, does vibrate in the heart does an appreciation of right and wrong and wisdom follow. At this stage the Qalb is known as the awakened Qalb. Thereafter due to the increase in the meditation by the Qalb, of the Name of God Allah, it is then known as the God-seeking Qalb. At this stage the heart is capable of preventing the person from doing wrong but it is still incapable of making a right or just decision. Thereafter and only when the Light and the rays of the Grace of God (theophany) start to descend upon that heart, is it known as the purified and illuminated Qalb that stands in the presence of God (witnessing Qalb).

 

A Prophetic statement:

“The mercy of God descends upon a broken heart and an afflicted grave.”

 

Thereafter when the heart reaches this stage then one must accept whatever it dictates, quietly without question because due to the rays of the Light and the Grace of God the spirit of the self, (ego) becomes completely illuminated, purified and at peace. God is then closer to that individual than that person’s jugular vein.

God then says, “I become his tongue with which he speaks and I become his hands with which he holds.”

   

2. The Human Soul

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Abraham

 

This is on the right side of the chest. This is awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it. Once it becomes illuminated, a vibration similar to the heartbeat is felt on the right side of the chest. Then the Name of God, Ya Allah is matched with the vibrating pulse. The meditation of the soul is done in this way. At this point, there are now two spiritual entities meditating inside the human body, this is an advancement in rank and status and is better than the Qalb. The soul is a light red in colour and when it is awakened, it is able to travel to the realm of the souls (the station of the Archangel Gabriel). Anger and rage are attached to it that burn and turn into majesty.

  

3. The spiritual entity Sirri

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Moses

 

This spiritual entity is to the left of the centre of the chest. This is also awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it with the Name of God, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum. Its colour is white and in the dream state or by spiritual separation from the physical body “transcendental meditation” it can journey to the realm of the secrets. Now there are three spiritual entities meditating within a person and its status is higher than the other two.

   

4. The spiritual entity Khaffi

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Jesus

 

This is to the right of the centre of the chest. It too is taught the Name of God Ya Wahid by meditation. It is green in colour and it can reach the realm of unification. Due to the meditation of four entities one's status is further increased.

 

5. The spiritual entity Akhfa

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Mohammed

 

This is situated at the centre of the chest. It is awakened by meditating on the Name of God, Ya Ahad. It is purple in colour and it too, is connected to that veil in the realm of unification behind which is the throne of God.

 

The hidden spiritual knowledge relating to these five spiritual entities was granted to the Prophets, one by one and half of the knowledge of every spiritual entity was granted from the Prophets to the Saints of their time. In this way there became ten parts of this knowledge. The Saints in turn passed this knowledge on to the spiritually favoured (Godly) who then had the benefit of the sacred knowledge.

 

The apparent knowledge of the seen is connected to the physical body, the spoken word, the human realm and the spirit of the self, this is for the ordinary mortals. This knowledge is contained in a book that has thirty parts. Spiritual knowledge was also given to the Prophets by revelation brought by Gabriel and for this reason it is known as the spiritual Holy Scripture.

 

Many of the verses of the Qur’an would sometimes be abolished, since the Prophet Mohammed would sometimes mention matters relating to this “hidden spiritual knowledge” before ordinary people, which was only meant for the special and Godly. Later this knowledge passed on spiritually from the chest of one Saint to another, and now it has become widespread by its publication in books.

  

6. The spiritual entity Anna

 

This spiritual entity is inside the head and is colourless. It is by the meditation on the Name of God Ya Hu that this spiritual entity reaches its pinnacle. It is this spiritual entity that when it becomes illuminated and powerful it can stand in the Presence of God, face to face, and communicate with God unobstructed. Only the extreme lovers of God reach this realm and station. Besides this there are a few and extremely exalted people who are granted additional spiritual entities, for example the spiritual entity Tifl-e-Nuri or a spiritual entity of the Godhead, Jussa-e-Tofiq-e-Ilahi, the spiritual status of such people is beyond understanding.

 

With the spiritual entity, Anna, God is seen in the dream state.

 

With the spiritual entity of the Godhead, God is seen in the “physical meditating state” when the spiritual entity itself leaves the human body and transcends to the essence of God.

 

Those possessing the spiritual entity, the Tifl-e-Nuri, see God whilst they are fully conscious.

 

It is these people who are the majesty and power of God in the world. They can either occupy the people by prescribing worship and austerities or by their spiritual grace send a person straight to the realm of God’s love. In their sight, concerning dispensing spiritual grace the believers and the non-believers, the dead and the living are all the same. Just as a thief became a Saint, in an instant, by the passing glimpse of the Saint Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, similarly, Abu-Bakr Havari and Manga the thief, became instant Saints by the passing glimpses of such Saints.

 

The five major Messengers were given knowledge of the five spiritual entities separately and in order of their appearance, as a result of which spirituality continued to prosper. With whichever spiritual entity you practice meditation you will be connected to the corresponding Messenger and become worthy of receiving spiritual grace (from that Messenger).

 

Whichever spiritual entity receives the rays of the Grace of God (favour), the Sainthood granted to that spiritual entity will be connected to the corresponding Prophet’s spiritual grace.

 

Access to seven realms and gaining elevated spiritual status in the seven heavens is obtained through these spiritual entities.

The functions of the spiritual entities inside the human body

 

Akhfa: Due to the spiritual entity, Akhfa a person is able to speak. In its absence a person may have a normal tongue but will be dumb. The difference between human beings and animals lies in the presence or the absence of these spiritual entities. At birth, if the entity, Akhfa was unable to enter the body for whatever reason, then a Prophet appointed for the rectification of this ailment would be called to treat the condition as a result of which the dumb would start to speak.

 

Sirri: A person is able to see due to the spiritual entity, Sirri. If it does not enter the body the person is blind from birth. An appointed Prophet had the duty to find and place the spiritual entity into the body, as a result of which the blind would start to see again.

Qalb: Without the spiritual entity of the Qalb, in the body, a person is like the animals, unacquainted, far from God, miserable and without purpose. Returning this entity into the body was the task of the Prophets also.

The miracles of the Prophets were also granted to the saints, in the form marvels and mystical wonders as a result of which even the impious and liberal became close to God. When a spiritual entity is returned by any allocated Saint or Prophet, the deaf, dumb and the blind are healed.

Anna: When the spiritual entity, Anna, fails to enter the body, a person is regarded as insane even though the brain may be functioning normally.

Khaffi: In the absence of the spiritual entity, Khafi, a person is deaf, even if the ears are opened wide.

These conditions can be caused by other defects in the body, and can be treated. There is no cure in the case, where the defect is caused by the absence of the associated spiritual entity except where a Prophet or a Saint intervenes and cures the defect.

Nafs, self: As a result of the spiritual entity of the self (ego) a persons mind is occupied with the material world and it is because of the spiritual entity Qalb that a persons direction turns towards God. For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags

 

The Psychology of how color relates to the body and mind outlines that a child's brain is stimulated more by the black and white contrast than that of color.

 

Therefore a brightly colored newborn baby's room may need a 'black and white' infusion integrated in the design!

 

☆ Tomitheos Blog ☆

 

View large on black

  

So is it color psychology or eye spectrum discrimination?

 

Sir Isaac Newton demonstrated that light travels in waves, when he shone white light through a triangular prism and the different wavelengths refracted at different angles, enabling him to see the colors of the rainbow (the spectrum).

 

When light strikes any colored object, the object will absorb only the wavelengths that exactly match its own atomic structure and reflect the rest - which is what we see.

 

When light strikes the human eye, the wavelengths do so in different ways ultimately influencing our perceptions, then in the eye's retina they are converted into electrical impulses that pass to the hypothalamus (the part of the brain governing our hormones and our endocrine system).

 

As we interact in our color speckled modern world, although we are unaware of it, our eyes and our bodies are constantly adapting to these wavelengths of light.

  

flickr today

youtu.be/9rDd-yfZbQ0?t=1s

 

Title: It! The Terror From Beyond Space

Year Of Release: 1958

Running Time: 69 minutes

DVD Released By: MGM Home Entertainment

Directed By: Edward L. Cahn

Writing Credits: Jerome Bixby

Starring: Marshall Thompson, Shawn Smith, Kim Spalding, Ann Doran, Dabbs Greer, Paul Langton, Robert Bice

Taglines:

1. It breathes, it hunts…It Kills!

2. IT!...Reaches through space!...Scoops up men and women!...Gorges on blood!

3. The revelation shocker of things to come!

Alternate Titles:

It! The Vampire from Beyond Space (1958)

The Terror from Beyond Space (1958).

Review Date: 12.12.04 (updated 1.1.10)

 

The film opens with a thundering musical theme and a title that threatens to bust out of the screen and into our third spatial dimension. After the credits end, we get a view of the Martian surface. In the distance we see the wreckage of a crashed rocket ship. A voice belonging to Colonel Edward Carruthers begins to narrate, relating how the ship he commanded cracked up on landing six months previously and how he is now the only survivor from that doomed expedition, the crew encountering some strange force on the Red planet they came to know only as death. The camera slowly pans over the landscape and a second rocket ship is revealed, albeit intact and standing erect. Carruthers says that he will now be going back to face his superiors on Earth and possibly another kind of death.

Now we see the capitol building in Washington D.C., which quickly fades to a door marked, “Science advisory committee. Division of interplanetary exploration.” No doubt down the hall are the offices for the division on Radiation-Enlarged Insects and Lizards. Inside this room a government official is conducting a press conference and releasing information on the second rocket ship sent to Mars. He talks about how Colonel Carruthers has been found alive, but is the only survivor from the initial expedition. The Colonel will be returned to Earth to face trial for the murders of the rest of the first ship’s crew.

Back on Mars, we see the Challenge-142 preparing to lift off. Before they can depart, Van Heusen notices an open compartment. It seems Lt. Calder was dumping some crates (littering) and forgot to close it. The open hatch is closed remotely, but as it slides shut, an ominous shadow moving about nearby alerts us to the fact that something has managed to get aboard while it was open. We hear a few growls and even get a close up of IT’s feet as it moves about. I gotta say, this guy needs some serious corrective footwear. Talk about a slewfoot! What is even more hilarious is that the shadow we see on the wall seems to be made by the actor in the monster suit, but not the monster mask. His facial features seem pretty clear in silhouette.

After a name check, Van Heusen begins the launch countdown at ten, while strapped into what appears to be a lawn chair! Where was the budget blown for this ship? No trash recycling systems and cheap chairs! The contractor must have spent it somewhere, but it obviously wasn’t on this ship!

Once in space and safely on the way home, Van Heusen (who will henceforth be referred to simply as Van – some of the characters did it, why not me) begins acting like an asshole, ridiculing Carruther’s story of a monster. He tells Carruthers (seemingly with great delight) that they have enough evidence to put him in front of a firing squad. They head up one level and Van shows him a human skull they found on the surface of Mars. Dental records revealed it to be a Frank Kenner, one of Carruther’s crew. The skull has an obvious bullet hole in it and Van says, “There’s only one kind of a monster that uses bullets.” There is an ominous musical cue. Carruthers walks away and the film fades out.

 

Sometime later the crew is cleaning up after a meal. Correction: the women are cleaning up after a meal. Yes, in this futuristic year of 1973, women – despite being doctors and presumably vital members of the crew – are still assigned the laborious task of cleaning up after meals and making sure all the lazy, fat-ass males have fresh, hot coffee in their cups and are supplied with cigarettes. I wonder if these guys made them cook the meal as well.

So this group has finished a meal and are relaxing. The usual light banter is exchanged before the topic of Colonel Carruthers and his monster comes up. Royce (the other Royce will always be referred to as Doctor Royce for purposes of this review) says that he doesn’t disbelieve or believe the story. Along about that time Carruthers arrives and is greeted with a smart-ass comment from Van. He gets some coffee from Ann and retreats back up one level. Van then states that before they reach Earth, he will have Carruthers’ confession on tape. What is he going to do, beat it out of him?

Some more time passes and Ann brings Carruthers a plate of food. She admits that she has only heard the story of what happened to the crew of the Challenge-141 from Van and would like to hear it straight from Carruthers. He relates to her how they landed, went out exploring and then got caught in a sandstorm. Something in the storm began taking the crew and in the confusion shots were fired, one apparently killing Kenner by mistake. Carruthers was the only one who made it back to the ship. Subsequent searches turned up no signs of his crew or the thing that took them.

Van continues to act like a dick. Ann - with whom he seems to have some sort of relationship beyond work - tells him that he owes it to Carruthers to treat him like a fellow officer and not an animal, and that it is not his place to decide whether he is guilty.

More time passes. Royce and Carruthers are playing chess while Van looks on, smoking a cigarette. Calder is nearby scribbling in a notebook – probably “I won’t leave outer hatches open before lift-off” a hundred times, enforced by Van for his lamebrain mistake. Elsewhere, Keinholz is sitting alone at a desk, looking bored. He hears their stowaway bumbling around the cargo hold. He goes to investigate and is killed, the attack shown as shadows on a wall. The monster lifts Keinholz over his head and brings him smashing to the floor, where he proceeds to pelt the unfortunate crewmen with a barrage of blows…or in this case, cartwheeling its arms and bitch-slapping the guy to death.

Above, Carruthers has heard the commotion and wonders what is going on. No one else seems to have heard anything. He still insists on performing a head count and when Keinholz comes up missing, everyone begins searching the ship for him. While everyone is split up, Gino Finelli is captured by the beast when he stops to pilfer some cigarettes from a storage locker.

 

Everyone convenes again and Van is in disbelief as there just isn’t a place on the ship a man could hide. Carruthers asks where Gino is and Bob says that he was right behind him. He looks back down the ladder to the deck below and calls out to Gino, but all is silent below. He, Van and Carruthers all go back down where they find Gino’s unused cigarette on the floor, but no Gino. Now everyone is calling out for Gino in addition to Keinholz. Soon after, Keinholz’s body is located in an air duct.

Everyone comes running and arrives as Keinholz is removed from the duct. Bob wonders if Gino is inside the duct, but Carruthers looks and sees nothing. Major Purdue volunteers to go in to look for Gino as he claims to know the layout. He crawls on in, but doesn’t see anything at first. Then he re-orients himself and sees Gino at the end of the passage. Gino is looking pretty bad, like he was in a fight with an Avon lady who applied her make-up samples to him. Purdue yells out that he found Gino and begins to crawl toward him. He shakes Gino, trying to rouse him but Gino just shakes his head limply. Then there is a shadowy movement nearby and IT arrives on the scene, no doubt pissed to find someone playing with his food. IT growls and claws at Purdue, who screams before pulling out a revolver and squeezing off a few shots. This makes the monster roar and outside in the storage room, Carruther’s face is one of dread – he knows that roar all too well, it seems.

Purdue comes barreling out of the duct and Carruthers sneaks a glance inside before he and Van replace the cover over the entrance. Bob, naturally has a fit, upset that his brother is being left behind. He is removed by Royce and Carruthers yells to the cowering women to run and get a head start. A head start for where? You’re on a spaceship, not the open plains of Iowa. Carruthers then spots a crate of grenades and suggests that they wire them up to the hatches, thus blowing IT up if it decides to leave the duct. So Van, Carruthers and Calder wire up these grenades, then gather up Keinholz’s body (which seemed to magically aid them in picking itself off the floor) and retreat to one of the upper levels.

Next we see a table loaded with guns, rifles and ammunition. It looks like a NRA convention! It is at this point that I must point out the sheer stupidity of these people. They are on a spaceship, which is traveling through the vacuum of space. Rupturing the hull of the ship in any way would be extraordinarily bad. I’d imagine that great pains would be taken to minimize the chances that such an event ever took place. Yet these fools insist on firing projectile weapons within the confines of the ship. Not only that, but they have grenades ready to detonate below. Now, what kind of tests did these people have to pass in order to be selected for this mission? Cuz smarts don’t seem to be a requisite. Not once does any one of them stop to consider the chances that such an explosion might actually harm the bloody ship! No, they just fire away. Either these people are colossal idiots, or they are confident in the construction and engineering of the ship – but given the lawn chairs adorning the place, I would not exactly be willing to bet my life on the latter possibility.

So the men are taking stock of the weapons while the ladies apply the most idiotic looking bandage to Purdue’s head. Royce tries to console Bob by telling him there was nothing they could have done for Gino, but Bob is pissed that they didn’t even try to rescue his brother.

Meanwhile, Van is asking Carruthers if he knows what IT is. This must have just galled the guy to no end. Here he was all ready to break Carruthers and get a confession, and now he must admit that the other man was right all along. Time passes and the gang is pacing up and down, waiting for IT to leave the ducts and trip the grenade trap. They all gather around the intercom and listen as IT busts through the grate covering the duct and sets off the grenades. All those grenades detonate and we are treated to an explosion that looks like it was made by a box of firecrackers.

 

They still hear the monster growling, so they know that the plan has failed. Without a word, they hoist their firearms, open the central stair hatch and head down to investigate further…well, all the guys do. The women stay up above, no doubt prepping coffee. The guys gather around the door to C and open it up. A lot of smoke passes through the doorway, obscuring their vision. Calder, who is carrying the biggest gun, goes in first. Well, actually Van was in the lead, but when he couldn’t get the lights activated, he motions for Calder to go first. Chickenshit bastard. Calder barely gets through the door when IT lunges out of the smoke, grabs his rifle and bends it, Superman-style, over its head. Calder, Royce and Bob then run like hell up the stairs while Van and Carruthers fire their pistols at the beast. They retreat up the stairs, firing all the way, while IT tears the door to C compartment open wide enough to get through. Once safely up the stairs, the crew closes the central stair hatch.

Next gas grenades are used in an attempt to kill the beast. This fails to work as well and Van comes out of the engagement with an injured foot, scraped up something bad when the monster grabbed him.

Dr. Royce has completed the autopsy on Keinholz, discovering that “there is not a molecule of oxygen or a drop of water” left in his body. Blood, bone marrow, glandular secretions – everything, is gone. She theorizes that since there are no puncture marks on the body, that this was accomplished through some type of osmosis process. Keep in mind that the Human body is sixty to seventy percent water. Now, we got a pretty good view of the dead Keinholz earlier. Sure, his body was shriveled, but if all the moisture in his body had been removed, then would not he have looked more like a dried up prune, and been the size of a cabbage patch doll? Van Heusen hasn’t joined the cadaver club yet, though his wound is infected and nothing Dr. Royce can do helps it any.

They open the central hatch and peer down. IT is two levels down, but they can see it breaking through the center hatch onto the level directly below them, which will grant it access to the next level. They realize that if IT can get through the center hatches, they are royally SCREWED. Ann approaches Carruthers and tells him that he was right and they were all wrong. They hold hands and share a Kodak moment.

 

Royce pipes in about now with an idea he and Bob have worked out. He proposes that two men exit through the control room airlock and then space walk down the side of the ship and re-enter through the airlock on the motor level – below the current location of the creature. This would enable them to surprise the monster, but they aren’t sure what to surprise it with. Carruthers says he’s been thinking and has an idea, so he and Calder suit up and make their way down the hull to the bottom of the ship. They reach the airlock on the motor level and the others above begin talking loud at the proper time, distracting the monster from what is occurring below it. Carruthers and Calder sneak out onto the motor level and set an electrical trap on the stairs that lead to the upper level where IT is located.

 

The two then take cover behind some induction pumps and open the center hatch, which is noticed by the creature. It begins to descend the stairs and when it gets to the appropriate spot – ZAP. Nothing. The monster is not affected. Carruthers is able to make it safely to the airlock, but Calder takes a blow to the head that tears his vinyl “helmet” and stumbles back, his foot getting caught and the fall breaking his leg. He fires up an acetylene torch and uses it to fend off the monster every time it gets to close to his hiding spot.

Carruthers returns to the others where they try and think of a way to rescue Calder, who can be heard over the radio. Meanwhile the Doctor approaches Royce and tells him that the alien bacteria are attacking bone marrow, resulting in a leukemia-type condition. The drugs she has been using are working too slowly and she needs fresh blood to keep Van and Purdue alive – but there is no more on this level. They will need to descend to the cargo level and retrieve some more.

Royce is preparing to make a run for the blood and Bob decides that it his “turn” now to go. What is this, a ride? I suppose he feels the need to do something in helping kill the monster that murdered his brother. Carruthers decides to accompany them. Calder promises to keep them apprised of the creature’s movements via the intercom. A shadow on the wall tells us that IT is still dragging dead Gino around, and has wandered into the reactor room. After Calder reports this, it gives Carruthers an idea. He remotely closes the reactor room door and asks Calder what the monster does. When no odd behavior is reported, the three men make their descent in search of the blood supply.

 

Meanwhile Van has awoken again and is trying to get up from his cot. The women try to restrain him but he yells and pushes past them. He has an idea – by unsealing the reactor, the radiation will kill the monster. He flips some controls while the ladies still try and talk sense into him. In the reactor room, the creature is banging on the door to get out when the reactor is unsealed and it gets a face full of radiation. The women call down to warn the men what has happened, inciting Carruthers and Royce to speed things up. Below, Bob is helping Calder up the stairs when IT breaks out of the reactor room. Calder dives back into his hiding spot and Bob fires off his pistol at the beast. He then tries to run up the stairs, but IT is too fast. The monster reaches up and grabs him, pulling him down to the floor and bitch-slapping him to death. Royce and Carruthers haul ass back up the stairs with the blood, having to leave Bob behind. They get back to the laboratory level and then everyone heads on up to the topmost level – the control room.

Everyone is now huddled on the highest level. For some IDIOTIC reason, Carruthers is carrying a bazooka. A bazooka! They pile some heavy crates over the hatch in the floor, hoping to keep IT from busting up through the opening. Nearby Ann and Van are talking and the ever more disconcerted Colonel is remarking on Ann is now “with” Carruthers and how it happened out of the blue. She tries to dismiss it and wants to talk about it later, but he insists that there may be no later considering how their situation is degenerating rapidly. She walks off to help Carruthers and Van continues to mutter to Dr. Royce.

  

They contact Calder down below, who is still alive. He can see the monster still bumbling around on the motor level. About now IT has decided to find out where everyone else has gone. IT ascends the stairs to the first storage level and begins banging around. Calder warns Carruthers that IT is on its way up. The gang up top makes ready, turning the lights off and preparing for the last fight. Carruthers tells Calder to make his way to the airlock now that IT is no longer nearby and hide there. Then Carruthers picks up the bazooka again and aims it at the hatch.

While waiting, Carruthers happens to glance at a dial on a nearby instrument panel and notices that the oxygen consumption on the ship is far in excess of what it should be. He points this out to Royce and the two theorize that it is due to the monster. With the thin air on Mars it would need a gigantic lung capacity and has thus been hogging all the oxygen on the ship with its Darth Vader breathing style. Carruthers suggest letting all the air out of the ship to kill it. Royce agrees, saying they can build it back up for themselves later.

 

A mad rush is on now, everyone trying to get into his or her space suit. The monster tears his way up onto the laboratory level, doesn’t even hesitate and then heads up the latter to the top level. IT bangs on the hatch, causing all the boxes sitting atop it to topple over, and then IT peels back the metal of the hatch like wrapping paper and pokes up through the opening like a jack-in-the-box. Everyone has their spacesuits on now, but Carruthers cannot reach the controls to release the air because the monster is in the way. He calls to Royce, who is now holding the bazooka, to drive it back down so he can make his way to the proper control panel. Royce fires the bazooka, but the rocket just bounces off the monster before bouncing around the floor some. No detonation at all! It must have been a dud. Carruthers is trying to reach the controls, but the monster is preventing him from getting too close. Van then jumps up, runs to the controls and hits the correct button. The airlock doors open and the air begins rushing out. The monster has grabbed Van and no doubt given him the squish treatment, as when next we see Van, he is stretched out on the floor.

The ship begins diving. Well, not really…but given that the emergency klaxon blaring away to warn everyone of decompression and air loss sounds just like the diving bell in some old WWII movie, and one can see why it seems like the ship is diving. Everyone hangs on for dear life. Papers start flying around the room, but very few actually get blown out the airlock. The monster growls, writhes around and finally stops moving as the last of the air is removed. Carruthers checks on both IT and Van, but both are still and quiet. I have to wonder how Van didn’t get blown out. Everyone was hanging on, but Van was out cold (or dead). It seems the monster is finally dead. Everyone seems relieved, and the camera zooms in on Ann and Carruthers as they hold hands before fading out…

…Into ANOTHER freakin’ shot of the ship flying through space (number nine). This fades into the room in Washington D.C. that we saw at the very beginning of the film. The same government official is conducting another press release. He has more information to add to the story he gave to the reporters the previous evening. He reads a message from the Challenge-142 received less than an hour ago:

“This is Eric Royce talking. Of the nineteen men and women who have set foot upon the planet Mars, six will return.”

Six? Let’s see…Carruthers, Ann, Royce, Dr. Royce, Purdue and…Calder, I suppose. Calder was hiding in the airlock on the motor level while Van Heusen got beat up by the monster and was laying there pretty still at the end, so I guess he was the one who died. The message continues:

“There is no longer a question of murder, but of an alien and elemental lifeforce. A planet so cruel, so hostile, that man may have to find it necessary to bypass it in his endeavor to explore and understand the universe.”

 

Well, at least Carruthers has been cleared, but Royce makes out like the planet Mars is so damn dangerous. Excuse me, but were not you guys all safe until you got back on the ship? The planet seemed pretty harmless. It is the native life that proved to be so deadly. Big difference. The message (and the movie) concludes:

“Another name for Mars…is death.”

Fade out. The End.

   

Structurally, this movie is most similar to The Thing From Another World in that it deals with a small group of people trapped struggling to prevail against a deadly organism from another planet bound and determined to make a snack of them all. Aside from the opening and closing segments set on Earth (which most people conclude were added in order to stretch out the film’s running time) the movie never leaves the crew of the Challenge-142. Once things get rolling, the movie rarely lets up and moves along at a brisk pace, rapidly pushing its characters through one bad situation and into another. While not as intense as later films would be, the approach taken works very well and the viewer begins to detect the sense of danger and desperation that builds as the film progresses.

Sadly, the character development that was so well executed in the Howard Hawk’s The Thing From Another World, is sorely and quite obviously lacking here. We are quickly introduced to a number of people, who for the most part, will be expanded upon very little and examined only long enough to form the vaguest of impressions. With the exception of Carruthers and Van Heusen, who these people are and what motivates them was just not important to the producers. Those two are plainly set up to be at odds with each other, though the conflict is really all on the part of Van Heusen, who is resolute in his belief of Carruther’s guilt. Yet, the film sets up this adversarial dynamic and goes no where with it. Early on during the monster’s rampage, Van Heusen takes a hit and is restricted to bed for the rest of the film, offering up only smartass remarks and a failed attempt at killing the creature thereafter. I suppose one could say that Van Heusen was shown to be in error when it came to the veracity of Carruthers’ story, and that he was pushed aside to make room for latter to take the lead and redeem himself. There could not be two leaders, so one was removed.

While the characters might not be the most fleshed out in film history, they certainly make up for it with their actions. After viewing this movie, one has to wonder what kind of idiots these people truly were. How they ever graduated from some type of training program and granted a position on a ship to Mars is beyond me. In fact, the entire organization seems lacking. There is just so much that betrays them as morons. Like smoking. These people are nicotine fiends who are lighting up non-stop. Someone missing? Have a smoke. The monster kills someone? Have a smoke. Time running out and death looking certain? Have a freaking smoke! I must say that the Challenge-142 must have one HELL of an air recycling system. These folks have the oxygen scrubbers working overtime with all the smoke they exhale.

On top of that, these guys are gun toting, trigger-happy morons who make the Montana militia groups look like the boy scouts. They start squeezing off rounds at the drop of a hat, no worries about ricocheting bullets or friendly fire. I guess the ship, on top of having a first rate air recycling system, also has the sturdiest hull ever manufactured by mankind. It must have, as these guys don’t give a single thought to accidentally rupturing the hull. And they don’t stop with guns! They haul out grenades by the dozen and detonate them and then move on up to firing a bazooka in their ship’s control room!

 

As far as visual FX are concerned, this film doesn’t have too many. What we do see is adequately done by the standards of the day. The most ambitious shot is the view of Carruthers and Calder walking down the side of the ship as it traverses the stars. Back then it might have looked awesome, but now it is very easy to notice that the actors don’t seem to be covering any ground, despite taking numerous steps as well as the obvious signs of matting them into the footage of the rocket. I’d venture to say that the best looking thing we see, though it is just for a few seconds at the film’s beginning, is the painting that represents the surface of Mars. Sure, it looks nothing like what Mars really looks like, but it is still executed pretty darn well.

 

Now we come to the one aspect that is both one of the best as well as one of the worst things about the movie: The monster. The monster costume is a glaring source of both potential embarrassment and possible fun. The costume is a rather bulky, rubber affair that bends in all the wrong places, heightening the “cheese” factor and lending a certain air of ridiculousness to the film. The way it lumbers, stumbles and plods around the ship is laughable considering the dire circumstances and danger it supposedly represents. The face is static, except for the tongue that is often protruding from the sizable mouth. This effect was produced by the actor’s chin pushing the “tongue” through the creature’s maw.

Since the movie was filmed on a mere handful of sets, with a single set used to represent the various central chambers of the ship – just re-dressed for each one, director Cahn makes good use of the limited space he has. Thanks to the camera work and the set dressing, the ship comes across as being fairly good sized. Another thing he does rather well in conjunction with cinematographer Kenneth Peach is to hide the monster and utilize shadows to create an atmosphere of dread and creepiness. Whether this was done for artistic reasons or to help hide the often silly-looking monster suit is open for debate, but since the creature is shown quite well on several occasions, and the suit holds up pretty darn well to scrutiny, I personally believe it was the former. There are numerous occasions where all we see is the beast’s shadow on the wall, or a foot moving across the floor. More than one assault on a Human is shown as nothing more than shadows on a wall, which, while lessening the onscreen violence, only makes the attacks more horrifying. This method really helps in firing the imagination, as what the mind conjures up is almost always more frightening than what we ultimately see on screen.

Still, despite all the apparent flaws...indeed, perhaps because of those very flaws, this film has a sizable “fun” quotient. Taking it too seriously will only lessen the enjoyment derived from the proceedings. An enormous grain of salt, along with a large suspension of disbelief will come in handy here, and will help transform the film from an “old 50’s monster movie” into a “classic B-Movie experience.”

 

This album name "Three" mainly due to several thing happen to me that is relate to Three.

 

1) This is my 3 times work with Hermione, she still look petty but improve a lot from my 1st shoting with her :D

 

2) This year also is my 3rd year of my portraiture photography :D

 

3) I meet a great friend "Dee King", he shot with his 5D MK 2, with 3 Canon L lens, there are EF 16-35 f/2.8 II L, EF 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L and EF 85 f/1.2 II L.

 

4) My 1st time shot with my 3 L lens as well, there are EF 14 f/2.8 II L, TS-E 24 f/3.5 II L and EF 85 f/1.2 II L.

 

That is a great Three for me ;p

 

Special thanks to : Hermione for her kind and arrangement that allow me to meet another great photographer "Ivan Chang".

  

Korean cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient agricultural and nomadic traditions in the Korean peninsula and southern Manchuria, Korean cuisine has evolved through a complex interaction of the natural environment and different cultural trends.

 

Korean cuisine is largely based on rice, vegetables, and meats. Traditional Korean meals are noted for the number of side dishes (반찬; banchan) that accompany steam-cooked short-grain rice. Kimchi is almost always served at every meal. Commonly used ingredients include sesame oil, doenjang (fermented bean paste), soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, gochujang (fermented red chili paste) and cabbage.

 

FOOD

GRAINS

Grains have been one of the most important staples of the Korean diet. Early myths of the foundations of various kingdoms in Korea center on grains. One foundation myth relates to Jumong, who received barley seeds from two doves sent by his mother after establishing the kingdom of Goguryeo. Yet another myth speaks of the three founding deities of Jeju Island, who were to be wed to the three princesses of Tamna; the deities brought seeds of five grains which were the first seeds planted, which in turn became the first instance of farming.

 

During the pre-modern era, grains such as barley and millet were the main staples and were supplemented by wheat, sorghum, and buckwheat. Rice is not an indigenous crop to Korea, and millet was likely the preferred grain before rice was cultivated. Rice became the grain of choice during the Three Kingdoms period, particularly in the Silla and Baekje Kingdoms in the southern regions of the peninsula. Rice was such an important commodity in Silla that it was used to pay taxes. The Sino-Korean word for "tax" is a compound character that uses the character for the rice plant. The preference for rice escalated into the Joseon period, when new methods of cultivation and new varieties emerged that would help increase production.

 

As rice was prohibitively expensive when it first came to Korea, the grain was likely mixed with other grains to "stretch" the rice; this is still done in dishes such as boribap (rice with barley) and kongbap (rice with beans). White rice, which is rice with the bran removed, has been the preferred form of rice since its introduction into the cuisine. The most traditional method of cooking the rice has been to cook it in an iron pot called a sot (솥) or musoe sot (무쇠솥). This method of rice cookery dates back to at least the Goryeo period, and these pots have even been found in tombs from the Silla period. The sot is still used today, much in the same manner as it was in the past centuries.

 

Rice is used to make a number of items, outside of the traditional bowl of plain white rice. It is commonly ground into a flour and used to make rice cakes called tteok in over two hundred varieties. It is also cooked down into a congee (juk), or gruel (mieum) and mixed with other grains, meat, or seafood. Koreans also produce a number of rice wines, both in filtered and unfiltered versions.

 

LEGUMES

Legumes have been significant crops in Korean history and cuisine according to earliest preserved legumes found in archaeological sites in Korea. The excavation at Okbang site, Jinju, South Gyeongsang province indicates soybeans were cultivated as a food crop circa 1000–900 BCE. They are made into tofu (dubu), while soybean sprouts are sauteed as a vegetable (kongnamul) and whole soybeans are seasoned and served as a side dish. They are also made into soy milk, which is used as the base for the noodle dish called kongguksu. A byproduct of soy milk production is okara (kongbiji), which is used to thicken stews and porridges.

 

Mung beans are commonly used in Korean cuisine, where they are called nokdu (녹두, literally "green bean"). Mung bean sprouts, called sukju namul, are often served as a side dish, blanched and sautéed with sesame oil, garlic, and salt. Ground mung beans are used to make a porridge called nokdujuk, which is eaten as a nutritional supplement and digestive aid, especially for ill patients.

 

Cultivation of azuki beans dates back to ancient times according to an excavation from Odong-ri, Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province, which is assumed to be that of Mumun period (approximately 1500-300 BCE).

 

MEAT

In antiquity, most meat in Korea was likely obtained through hunting and fishing. Ancient records indicate rearing of livestock began on a small scale during the Three Kingdoms period. Meat was consumed roasted or in soups or stews during this period. Those who lived closer to the oceans were able to complement their diet with more fish, while those who lived in the interior had a diet containing more meat.

 

BEEF

Beef is the most prized of all, with the cattle holding an important cultural role in the Korean home. Beef is prepared in numerous ways today, including roasting, grilling (gui) or boiling in soups. Beef can also be dried into jerky, as with seafood, called respectively yukpo and eopo.

 

The cattle were valuable draught animals, often seen as equal to human servants, or in some cases, members of the family. Cattle were also given their own holiday during the first 'cow' day of the lunar New Year. The importance of cattle does not suggest Koreans ate an abundance of beef, however, as the cattle were valued as beasts of burden and slaughtering one would create dire issues in farming the land. Pork and seafood were consumed more regularly for this reason. The Buddhist ruling class of the Goryeo period forbade the consumption of beef. The Mongols dispensed with the ban of beef during the 13th century, and they promoted the production of beef cattle. This increased production continued into the Joseon period, when the government encouraged both increased quantities and quality of beef. Only in the latter part of the 20th century has beef become regular table fare.

 

CHICKEN

Chicken has played an important role as a protein in Korean history, evidenced by a number of myths. One myth tells of the birth of Kim Alji, founder of the Kim family of Gyeongju being announced by the cry of a white chicken. As the birth of a clan's founder is always announced by an animal with preternatural qualities, this myth speaks to the importance of chicken in Korean culture. Chicken is often served roasted or braised with vegetables or in soups. All parts of the chicken are used in Korean cuisine, including the gizzard, liver, and feet. Young chickens are braised with ginseng and other ingredients in medicinal soups eaten during the summer months to combat heat called samgyetang.

 

PORK

Pork has also been another important land-based protein for Korea. Records indicate pork has been a part of the Korean diet back to antiquity, similar to beef.

 

A number of foods have been avoided while eating pork, including Chinese bellflower (doraji, 도라지) and lotus root (yeonn ppuri, 연뿌리), as the combinations have been thought to cause diarrhea. All parts of the pig are used in Korean cuisine, including the head, intestines, liver, kidney and other internal organs. Koreans utilize these parts in a variety of cooking methods including steaming, stewing, boiling and smoking. Koreans especially like to eat grilled pork belly, which is called samgyeopsal (삼겹살).

 

FISH AND SEAFOOD

Fish and shellfish have been a major part of Korean cuisine because of the oceans bordering the peninsula. Evidence from the 12th century illustrates commoners consumed a diet mostly of fish and shellfish, such as shrimp, clams, oysters, abalone, and loach, while sheep and hogs were reserved for the upper class.

 

Both fresh and saltwater fish are popular, and are served raw, grilled, broiled, dried or served in soups and stews. Common grilled fish include mackerel, hairtail, croaker and Pacific herring. Smaller fish, shrimp, squid, mollusks and countless other seafood can be salted and fermented as jeotgal. Fish can also be grilled either whole or in fillets as banchan. Fish is often dried naturally to prolong storing periods and enable shipping over long distances. Fish commonly dried include yellow corvina, anchovies (myeolchi) and croaker. Dried anchovies, along with kelp, form the basis of common soup stocks.

 

Shellfish is widely eaten in all different types of preparation. They can be used to prepare broth, eaten raw with chogochujang, which is a mixture of gochujang and vinegar, or used as a popular ingredient in countless dishes. Raw oysters and other seafood can be used in making kimchi to improve and vary the flavor. Salted baby shrimp are used as a seasoning agent, known as saeujeot, for the preparation of some types of kimchi.

 

VEGETABLES

Korean cuisine uses a wide variety of vegetables, which are often served uncooked, either in salads or pickles, as well as cooked in various stews, stir-fried dishes, and other hot dishes. Commonly used vegetables include Korean radish, napa cabbage, cucumber, potato, sweet potato, spinach, bean sprouts, scallions, garlic, chili peppers, seaweed, zucchini, mushrooms and lotus root. Several types of wild greens, known collectively as chwinamul (such as Aster scaber), are a popular dish, and other wild vegetables such as bracken fern shoots (gosari) or Korean bellflower root (doraji) are also harvested and eaten in season. Medicinal herbs, such as ginseng, reishi, wolfberry, Codonopsis pilosula, and Angelica sinensis, are often used as ingredients in cooking, as in samgyetang.

 

MEDICINAL FOODS

Medicinal food (boyangshik) is a wide variety of specialty foods prepared and eaten for medicinal purposes, especially during the hottest 30-day period in the lunar calendar, called sambok. Hot foods consumed are believed to restore ki, as well as sexual and physical stamina lost in the summer heat Commonly eaten boyangshik include: ginseng, chicken, black goat, abalone, eel, carp, beef bone soups, pig kidneys and dog.

 

DOG MEAT

Dog Meat is far less popular today than it used to be in the past, being viewed largely as a kind of health tonic rather than as a diet staple,[citation needed] especially amongst the younger generations who view dogs only as pets and service animals. That said, historically the consumption of dog meat can be traced back to antiquity. Dog bones were excavated in a neolithic settlement in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. A wall painting in the Goguryeo tombs complex in South Hwanghae Province, a UNESCO World Heritage site which dates from 4th century AD, depicts a slaughtered dog in a storehouse (Ahn, 2000). The Balhae people also enjoyed dog meat, and the Koreans' appetite for canine cuisine seems to have come from that era.

 

Koreans have distinguished Chinese terms for dog "견; 犬", which refers to pet dogs, feral dogs, and wolves from the Chinese term "구; 狗," which is used specifically to indicate dog meat. "Hwangu" has been considered better for consumption than "Baekgu" (White dog) and "Heukgu" (Black dog).

 

Around 1816, Jeong Hak-yu, the second son of Jeong Yak-yong, a prominent politician and scholar of the Joseon dynasty at the time, wrote a poem called Nongga Wollyeongga (농가월령가). This poem, which is an important source of Korean folk history, describes what ordinary Korean farming families did in each month of the year. In the description of the month of August the poem tells of a married woman visiting her birth parents with boiled dog meat, rice cake, and rice wine, thus showing the popularity of dog meat at the time (Ahn, 2000; Seo, 2002). Dongguk Sesigi (동국세시기), a book written by Korean scholar Hong Seok-mo in 1849, contains a recipe for Bosintang including a boiled dog, green onion, and red chili pepper powder.

 

According to one survey conducted in 2006, dog meat is the 4th most commonly consumed meat within South Korea.

 

GINSENG CHICKEN SOUP (SAMGYETANG)

Samgyetang is a hot chicken soup to boost your energy in the hot summer season. It is made with a young whole chicken stuffed with ginseng, garlic and sweet rice. Samgyetang is a Koreans' favorite energizing food and it is common to have it on sambok(삼복) days; Chobok(초복), Jungbok(중복) and Malbok(말복) which are believed to be the hottest days in Korea.

 

SOUPS AND STEWS

Soups are a common part of any Korean meal. Unlike other cultures, in Korean culture, soup is served as part of the main course rather than at the beginning or the end of the meal, as an accompaniment to rice along with other banchan. Soups known as guk are often made with meats, shellfish and vegetables. Soups can be made into more formal soups known as tang, often served as the main dish of the meal. Jjigae are a thicker, heavier seasoned soups or stews.

 

SOME POPULAR TYPES OF SOUPS

- Malgeunguk (맑은국), are flavored with ganjang. Small amounts of long boiled meat may be added to the soup, or seafood both fresh and dried may be added, or vegetables may be the main component for the clear soup.

- Tojangguk (토장국) are seasoned with doenjang. Common ingredients for tojang guk include seafood such as clams, dried anchovies, and shrimp. For a spicier soup, gochujang is added.

- Gomguk (곰국) or gomtang (곰탕), and they are made from boiling beef bones or cartilage. Originating as a peasant dish, all parts of beef are used, including tail, leg and rib bones with or without meat attached; these are boiled in water to extract fat, marrow, and gelatin to create a rich soup. Some versions of this soup may also use the beef head and intestines. The only seasoning generally used in the soup is salt.

- Naengguk (냉국), which are cold soups generally eaten during the summer months to cool the diner. A light hand is usually used in the seasoning of these soups usually using ganjang and sesame oil.

 

Stews are referred to as jjigae, and are often a shared side dish. Jjigae is often both cooked and served in the glazed earthenware pot (ttukbaegi) in which it is cooked. The most common version of this stew is doenjang jjigae, which is a stew of soybean paste, with many variations; common ingredients include vegetables, saltwater or freshwater fish, and tofu. The stew often changes with the seasons and which ingredients are available. Other common varieties of jjigae contain kimchi (kimchi jjigae) or tofu (sundubu jjigae).

 

KIMCHI

Kimchi refers to often fermented vegetable dishes usually made with napa cabbage, Korean radish, or sometimes cucumber, commonly fermented in a brine of ginger, garlic, scallions, and chili pepper. There are endless varieties with regional variations, and it is served as a side dish or cooked into soups and rice dishes. Koreans traditionally make enough kimchi to last for the entire winter season, as fermented foods can keep for several years. These were stored in traditional Korean mud pots known as Jangdokdae although with the advent of refrigerators, special Kimchi freezers and commercially produced kimchi, this practice has become less common. Kimchi is packed with vitamin A, thiamine B1, riboflavin B2, calcium, and iron. Its main benefit though is found in the bacteria lactobacilli; this is found in yogurt and fermented foods. This bacteria helps with digestion. South Koreans eat an average of 40 pounds of Kimchi each year.

 

NOODLES

Noodles or noodle dishes in Korean cuisine are collectively referred to as guksu in native Korean or myeon in hanja. While noodles were eaten in Korea from ancient times, productions of wheat was less than other crops, so wheat noodles did not become a daily food until 1945. Wheat noodles (milguksu) were specialty foods for birthdays, weddings or auspicious occasions because the long and continued shape were thought to be associated with the bliss for longevity and long-lasting marriage.

 

In Korean traditional noodle dishes are onmyeon or guksu jangguk (noodles with a hot clear broth), naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles), bibim guksu (cold noodle dish mixed with vegetables), kalguksu (knife-cut noodles), kongguksu (noodles with a cold soybean broth), japchae (cellophane noodles made from sweet potato with various vegetables) and others. In royal court, baekmyeon (literally "white noodles") consisting of buckwheat noodles and pheasant broth, was regarded as the top quality noodle dish. Naengmyeon with a cold soup mixed with dongchimi (watery radish kimchi) and beef brisket broth was eaten in court during summer.

 

- Jajangmyeon, a staple Koreanized Chinese noodle dish, is extremely popular in Korea as fast, take-out food. It is made with a black bean sauce usually fried with diced pork or seafood and a variety of vegetables, including zucchini and potatoes. It is popularly ordered and delivered, like Chinese take-out food in other parts of the world.

- Ramyeon refers to Korean instant noodles similar to ramen.

 

BANCHAN

Banchan is a term referring collectively to side dishes in Korean cuisine. Soups and stews are not considered banchan.

 

Gui are grilled dishes, which most commonly have meat or fish as their primary ingredient, but may in some cases also comprise grilled vegetables or other vegetable ingredients. At traditional restaurants, meats are cooked at the center of the table over a charcoal grill, surrounded by various banchan and individual rice bowls. The cooked meat is then cut into small pieces and wrapped with fresh lettuce leaves, with rice, thinly sliced garlic, ssamjang (a mixture of gochujang and dwenjang), and other seasonings. The suffix gui is often omitted in the names of meat-based gui such as galbi, the name of which was originally galbi gui.

- List of grilled dishes commonly found in Korean cuisine

Jjim and seon (steamed dishes) are generic terms referring to steamed or boiled dishes in Korean cuisine. However, the former is made with meat or seafood-based ingredients marinated in gochujang or ganjang while seon is made with vegetable stuffed with fillings.

- List of steamed dishes commonly found in Korean cuisine

Hoe (raw dishes): although the term originally referred to any kind of raw dish, it is generally used to refer to saengseonhweh (생선회, raw fish dishes). It is dipped in gochujang, or soy sauce with wasabi, and served with lettuce or perilla leaves.

- List of raw dishes commonly found in Korean cuisine

Jeon (or buchimgae) are savory pancakes made from various ingredients. Chopped kimchi or seafood is mixed into a wheat flour-based batter, and then pan fried. This dish tastes best when it is dipped in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, and red pepper powder.

- List of jeon dishes commonly found in Korean cuisine

Namul may be used to refer to either saengchae (생채, literally "fresh vegetables") or sukchae (숙채, literally "heated vegetables"), although the term generally indicates the latter. Saengchae is mostly seasoned with vinegar, chili pepper powder and salt to give a tangy and refreshing taste. On the other hand, sukchae (숙채) is blanched and seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, chopped garlic, or sometimes chili pepper powder.

- List of namul dishes commonly found in Korean cuisine

Anju (side dishes accompanying alcoholic beverages)

Anju is a general term for a Korean side dish consumed with alcohol. Some examples of anju include steamed squid with gochujang, assorted fruit, dubu kimchi (tofu with kimchi), peanuts, odeng/ohmuk, sora (소라) (a kind of shellfish popular in street food tents), and nakji (small octopus). Soondae is also a kind of anju, as is samgyeopsal, or dwejigalbi, or chicken feet. Most Korean foods may be served as anju, depending on availability and the diner's taste. However, anju is considered different from the banchan served with a regular Korean meal. Jokbal is pig's leg served with saeujeot (salted fermented shrimp sauce).

 

BEVERAGES

NONALCOHOLICBEVERAGES

All Korean traditional nonalcoholic beverages are referred to as eumcheong or eumcheongnyu (음청류 飮淸類) which literally means "clear beverages". According to historical documents regarding Korean cuisine, 193 items of eumcheongnyu are recorded. Eumcheongnyu can be divided into the following categories: tea, hwachae (fruit punch), sikhye (sweet rice drink), sujeonggwa (persimmon punch), tang (탕, boiled water), jang (장, fermented grain juice with a sour taste), suksu (숙수, beverage made of herbs), galsu (갈수, drink made of fruit extract, and Oriental medicine), honeyed water, juice and milk by their ingredient materials and preparation methods. Among the varieties, tea, hwachae, sikhye, and sujeonggwa are still widely favored and consumed; however, the others almost disappeared by the end of the 20th century.

 

In Korean cuisine, tea, or cha, refers to various types of herbal tea that can be served hot or cold. Not necessarily related to the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, they are made from diverse substances, including fruits (e.g. yujacha), flowers (e.g. gukhwacha), leaves, roots, and grains (e.g. boricha, hyeonmi cha) or herbs and substances used in traditional Korean medicine, such as ginseng (e.g. Insam cha) and ginger (e.g. saenggang cha).

 

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

While soju is the best known liquor, there are well over 100 different alcoholic beverages, such as beers, rice and fruit wines, and liquors produced in South Korea as well as a sweet rice drink. The top-selling domestic beers (the Korean term for beer being maekju) are lagers, which differ from Western beers in that they are brewed from rice, rather than barley. Consequently, Korean beers are lighter, sweeter and have less head than their Western counterparts. The South Korean beer market is dominated by the two major breweries: Hite and OB. Taedonggang is a North Korean beer produced at a brewery based in Pyongyang since 2002. Microbrewery beers and bars are growing in popularity after 2002.

 

Soju is a clear spirit which was originally made from grain, especially rice, and is now also made from sweet potatoes or barley. Soju made from grain is considered superior (as is also the case with grain vs. potato vodka). Soju is around 22% ABV, and is a favorite beverage of hard-up college students, hard-drinking businessmen, and blue-collar workers.

 

Yakju is a refined pure liquor fermented from rice, with the best known being cheongju. Takju is a thick unrefined liquor made with grains, with the best known being makgeolli, a white, milky rice wine traditionally drunk by farmers.

 

In addition to the rice wine, various fruit wines and herbal wines exist in Korean cuisine. Acacia, maesil plum, Chinese quince, cherry, pine fruits, and pomegranate are most popular. Majuang wine (a blended wine of Korean grapes with French or American wines) and ginseng-based wines are also available

 

SWEETS

Traditional rice cakes, tteok and Korean confectionery hangwa are eaten as treats during holidays and festivals. Tteok refers to all kinds of rice cakes made from either pounded rice (메떡, metteok), pounded glutinous rice (찰떡, chaltteok), or glutinous rice left whole, without pounding. It is served either filled or covered with sweetened mung bean paste, red bean paste, mashed red beans, raisins, a sweetened filling made with sesame seeds, sweet pumpkin, beans, jujubes, pine nuts or honey). Tteok is usually served as dessert or as a snack. Among varieties, songpyeon is a chewy stuffed tteok served at Chuseok. Honey or another soft sweet material such as sweetened sesame or black beans are used as fillings. Pine needles can be used for imparting flavor during the steaming process. Yaksik is a sweet rice cake made with glutinous rice, chestnuts, pine nuts, jujubes, and other ingredients, while chapssaltteok is a tteok filled with sweet bean paste.

 

On the other hand, hangwa is a general term referring to all types of Korean traditional confectionery. The ingredients of hahngwa mainly consist of grain flour, honey, yeot, and sugar, or of fruit and edible roots. Hangwa is largely divided into yumilgwa (fried confectionery), suksilgwa, jeonggwa, gwapyeon, dasik (tea food) and yeot. Yumilgwa is made by stir frying or frying pieces of dough, such as maejakgwa and yakgwa. Maejakgwa is a ring-shaped confection made of wheat flour, vegetable oil, cinnamon, ginger juice, jocheong, and pine nuts, while yakgwa, literally "medicinal confectionery", is a flower-shaped biscuit made of honey, sesame oil and wheat flour.

 

Suksilgwa is made by boiling fruits, ginger, or nuts in water, and then forming the mix into the original fruit's shape, or other shapes. Gwapyeon is a jelly-like confection made by boiling sour fruits, starch, and sugar. Dasik, literally "eatery for tea", is made by kneading rice flour, honey, and various types of flour from nuts, herbs, sesame, or jujubes. Jeonggwa, or jeongwa, is made by boiling fruits, plant roots and seeds in honey, mulyeot (물엿, liquid candy) or sugar. It is similar to marmalade or jam/jelly. Yeot is a Korean traditional candy in liquid or solid form made from steamed rice, glutinous rice, glutinous kaoliang, corn, sweet potatoes or mixed grains. The steamed ingredients are lightly fermented and boiled in a large pot called sot (솥) for a long time.

 

REGIONAL AND VARIANT CUISINES

Korean regional cuisines (Korean: hyangto eumsik, literally "native local foods") are characterized by local specialties and distinctive styles within Korean cuisine. The divisions reflected historical boundaries of the provinces where these food and culinary traditions were preserved until modern times.

 

Although Korea has been divided into two nation-states since 1948 (North Korea and South Korea), it was once divided into eight provinces (paldo) according to the administrative districts of the Joseon Dynasty. The northern region consisted of Hamgyeong Province, Pyeongan Province and Hwanghae Province. The central region comprised Gyeonggi Province, Chungcheong Province, and Gangwon Province. Gyeongsang Province and Jeolla Province made up the southern region.

 

Until the late 19th century, transportation networks were not well developed, and each provincial region preserved its own characteristic tastes and cooking methods. Geographic differences are also reflected by the local specialty foodstuffs depending on the climate and types of agriculture, as well as the natural foods available. With the modern development of transportation and the introduction of foreign foods, Korean regional cuisines have tended to overlap and integrate. However, many unique traditional dishes in Korean regional cuisine have been handed down through the generations.

 

BUDDHIST CUISINE

Korean temple cuisine originated in Buddhist temples of Korea. Since Buddhism was introduced into Korea, Buddhist traditions have strongly influenced Korean cuisine, as well. During the Silla period (57 BCE – 935 CE), chalbap (찰밥, a bowl of cooked glutinous rice) yakgwa (a fried dessert) and yumilgwa (a fried and puffed rice snack) were served for Buddhist altars and have been developed into types of hangwa, Korean traditional confectionery. During the Goryeo Dynasty, sangchu ssam (wraps made with lettuce), yaksik, and yakgwa were developed, and since spread to China and other countries. Since the Joseon Dynasty, Buddhist cuisine has been established in Korea according to regions and temples.

 

On the other hand, royal court cuisine is closely related to Korean temple cuisine. In the past, when the royal court maids, sanggung, who were assigned to Suragan (hangul: 수라간; hanja: 水剌間; the name of the royal kitchen), where they prepared the king's meals, became old, they had to leave the royal palace. Therefore, many of them entered Buddhist temples to become nuns. As a result, culinary techniques and recipes of the royal cuisine were integrated into Buddhist cuisine.

 

VEGETARIAN CUISINE

Vegetarian cookery in Korea may be linked to the Buddhist traditions that influenced Korean culture from the Goryeo dynasty onwards. There are hundreds of vegetarian restaurants in Korea, although historically they have been local restaurants that are unknown to tourists. Most have buffets, with cold food, and vegetarian kimchi and tofu being the main features. Bibimbap is a common vegan dish. Menus change with seasons. Wine with the alcohol removed and fine teas are also served. The Korean tea ceremony is suitable for all vegetarians and vegans, and began with Buddhist influences. All food is eaten with a combination of rather slippery stainless steel oval chopsticks and a long-handled shallow spoon called together sujeo.

 

CEREMONIAL FOOD

Food is an important part of traditions of Korean family ceremonies, which are mainly based on the Confucian culture. Gwan Hon Sang Je (관혼상제; 冠婚喪祭), the four family ceremonies (coming-of-age ceremony, wedding, funeral, and ancestral rite) have been considered especially important and elaborately developed, continuing to influence Korean life to these days. Ceremonial food in Korea has developed with variation across different regions and cultures.

 

For example, rituals are mainly performed on the anniversary of deceased ancestors, called jesa. Ritual food include rice, liquor, soup, vinegar and soy sauce (1st row); noodles, skewered meat, vegetable and fish dishes, and rice cake (2nd row); three types of hot soup, meat and vegetable dishes (3rd row); dried snacks, kimchi, and sweet rice drink (4th row); and variety of fruit (5th row).

 

ETIQUETTE

DINING

Dining etiquette in Korea can be traced back to the Confucian philosophies of the Joseon period. Guidebooks, such as Sasojeol (士小節, Elementary Etiquette for Scholar Families), written in 1775 by Yi Deokmu (이덕무; 李德懋), comment on the dining etiquette for the period. Suggestions include items such as "when you see a fat cow, goat, pig, or chicken, do not immediately speak of slaughtering, cooking or eating it", "when you are having a meal with others, do not speak of smelly or dirty things, such as boils or diarrhea," "when eating a meal, neither eat so slowly as to appear to be eating against your will nor so fast as if to be taking someone else's food. Do not throw chopsticks on the table. Spoons should not touch plates, making a clashing sound", amongst many other recommendations which emphasized proper table etiquette.

 

The eldest male at the table was always served first, commonly served to them in the men's quarters by the women of the house. Women usually dined in a separate portion of the house after the men were served. The eldest men or women always ate before the younger family members. The meal was usually quiet, as conversation was discouraged during meals. In modern times, these rules have become lax, as families usually dine together now and use the time to converse. Of the remaining elements of this decorum, one is that the younger members of the table should not pick up their chopsticks or start eating before the elders of the table or guests and should not finish eating before the elders or guests finish eating.

 

In Korea, unlike in China, Japan and Vietnam, the rice or soup bowl is not lifted from the table when eating from it. This is due to the fact that each diner is given a metal spoon along with the chopsticks known collectively as sujeo. The use of the spoon for eating rice and soups is expected. There are rules which reflect the decorum of sharing communal side dishes; rules include not picking through the dishes for certain items while leaving others, and the spoon used should be clean, because usually diners put their spoons in the same serving bowl on the table. Diners should also cover their mouths when using a toothpick after the meal.

 

The table setup is important as well, and individual place settings, moving from the diner's left should be as follows: rice bowl, spoon, then chopsticks. Hot foods are set to the right side of the table, with the cold foods to the left. Soup must remain on the right side of the diner along with stews. Vegetables remain on the left along with the rice, and kimchi is set to the back while sauces remain in the front.

 

DRINKING

The manner of drinking alcoholic drinks at dining is significant in Korean dining etiquette. Each diner is expected to face away from the eldest male and cover his mouth when drinking alcohol. According to Hyang Eum Ju Rye (향음주례; 鄕飮酒禮), the drinking etiquette established in Choseon Dynasty, it is impolite for a king and his vassal, a father and his son, or a teacher and his student to drink face to face. Also, a guest should not refuse the first drink offered by host, and in the most formal situations, the diner should politely refuse twice a drink offered by the eldest male or a host. When the host offers for the third time, then finally the guest can receive it. If the guest refuses three times, drink is not to be offered any more.

 

HISTORY

PREHISTORIC

In the Jeulmun pottery period (approximately 8000 to 1500 BCE), hunter-gatherer societies engaged in fishing and hunting, and incipient agriculture in the later stages. Since the beginning of the Mumun pottery period (1500 BCE), agricultural traditions began to develop with new migrant groups from the Liao River basin of Manchuria. During the Mumun period, people grew millet, barley, wheat, legumes and rice, and continued to hunt and fish. Archaeological remains point to development of fermented beans during this period, and cultural contact with nomadic cultures to the north facilitated domestication of animals.

 

THREE KINGDOMS PERIOD

The Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE – 668 CE) was one of rapid cultural evolution. The kingdom of Goguryeo (37 BCE – 668 CE) was located in the northern part of the peninsula along much of modern-day Manchuria. The second kingdom, Baekje (18 BCE – 660 CE), was in the southwestern portion of the peninsula, and the third, Silla (57 BCE – 935 CE), was located at the southeastern portion of the peninsula. Each region had its own distinct set of cultural practices and foods. For example, Baekje was known for cold foods and fermented foods like kimchi. The spread of Buddhism and Confucianism through cultural exchanges with China during the fourth century CE began to change the distinct cultures of Korea.

 

GORYEO PERIOD

During the latter Goryeo period, the Mongols invaded Goryeo in the 13th century. Some traditional foods found today in Korea have their origins during this period. The dumpling dish, mandu, grilled meat dishes, noodle dishes, and the use of seasonings such as black pepper, all have their roots in this period.

 

JOSEON PERIOD

Agricultural innovations were significant and widespread during this period, such as the invention of the rain gauge during the 15th century. During 1429, the government began publishing books on agriculture and farming techniques, which included Nongsa jikseol (literally "Straight Talk on Farming"), an agricultural book compiled under King Sejong.

 

A series of invasions in the earlier half of the Joseon caused a dynamic shift in the culture during the second half of the period. Groups of silhak ("practical learning") scholars began to emphasize the importance of looking outside the country for innovation and technology to help improve the agricultural systems. Crops from the New World began to appear, acquired through trade with China, Japan, Europe, and the Philippines; these crops included corn, sweet potatoes, chili peppers, tomatoes, peanuts, and squash. Potatoes and sweet potatoes were particularly favored as they grew in soils and on terrains that were previously unused.

 

Government further developed agriculture through technology and lower taxation. Complex irrigation systems built by government allowed peasant farmers to produce larger crop volumes and produce crops not only for sustenance but also as cash crops. Reduced taxation of the peasantry also furthered the expanded commerce through increasing periodic markets, usually held every five days. One thousand such markets existed in the 19th century, and were communal centers for economic trade and entertainment.

 

ROYAL COURT CUISINE

Collectively known as gungjung eumsik during the pre-modern era, the foods of the royal palace were reflective of the opulent nature of the past rulers of the Korean peninsula. This nature is evidenced in examples as far back as the Silla kingdom, where a man-made lake (Anapji Lake, located in Gyeongju), was created with multiple pavilions and halls for the sole purpose of opulent banquets, and a spring fed channel, Poseokjeong, was created for the singular purpose of setting wine cups afloat while they wrote poems.

 

Reflecting the regionalism of the kingdoms and bordering countries of the peninsula, the cuisine borrowed portions from each of these areas to exist as a showcase. The royalty would have the finest regional specialties and delicacies sent to them at the palace. Although there are records of banquets predating the Joseon period, the majority of these records mostly reflect the vast variety of foods, but do not mention the specific foods presented. The meals cooked for the royal family did not reflect the seasons, as the commoner's meals would have. Instead, their meals varied significantly day-to-day. Each of the eight provinces was represented each month in the royal palace by ingredients presented by their governors, which gave the cooks a wide assortment of ingredients to use for royal meals.

 

Food was considered significant in the Joseon period. Official positions were created within the Six Ministries (Yukjo, 육조) that were charged with all matters related to procurement and consumption of food and drink for the royal court. The Board of Personnel (Ijo, 이조) contained positions specific for attaining rice for the royal family. The Board of Rights (Yejo) were responsible for foods prepared for ancestor rites, attaining wines and other beverages, and medicinal foods. There were also hundreds of slaves and women who worked in the palace that had tasks such as making tofu, liquor, tea, and tteok (rice cakes). The women were the cooks to the royal palace and were of commoner or low-born families. These women would be split into specific skill sets or "bureau" such as the bureau of special foods (Saenggwa-bang, 생과방) or the bureau of cooking foods (Soju-bang, 소주방). These female cooks may have been assisted by male cooks from outside the palace during larger banquets when necessary.

 

Five meals were generally served in the royal palace each day during the Joseon period, and records suggest this pattern had existed from antiquity. Three of these meals would be full meals, while the afternoon and after dinner meals would be lighter. The first meal, mieumsang (미음상), was served at sunrise and was served only on days when the king and queen were not taking herbal medicines. The meal consisted of rice porridge (juk, 죽) made with ingredients such as abalone (jeonbokjuk), white rice (huinjuk), mushrooms (beoseotjuk), pine nuts (jatjuk), and sesame (kkaejuk).

 

The sura (수라) were the main meals of the day. Breakfast was served at ten in the morning, and the evening meals were served between six and seven at night. The set of three tables (surasang, 수라상), were usually set with two types of rice, two types of soup, two types of stew (jjigae), one dish of jjim (meat stew), one dish of jeongol (a casserole of meat and vegetables), three types of kimchi, three types of jang (장) and twelve side dishes, called 12 cheop (12첩). The meals were set in the suragan (수라간), a room specifically used for taking meals, with the king seated to the east and the queen to the west. Each had their own set of tables and were attended by three palace servant women known as sura sanggung (수라상궁). These women would remove bowl covers and offer the foods to the king and queen after ensuring the dishes were not poisoned.

 

Banquets (궁중 연회 음식) were held on special occasions in the Korean Royal Palace. These included birthdays of the royal family members, marriages, and national festivals, including Daeborum, Dano, Chuseok, and Dongji. Banquet food was served on individual tables which varied according to the rank of the person. Usually banquet food consisted of ten different types of dishes. Main dishes were prepared based on the seasonal foods. Main dishes of the banquet included sinseollo, jeon, hwayang jeok, honghapcho, nengmyun and mulgimchi. A typical banquet ingredient was chogyetang (chicken broth with vinegar), which was prepared with five different chickens, five abalones, ten sea cucumbers, twenty eggs, half a bellflower root, mushrooms, two cups of black pepper, two peeled pine nuts, starch, soy sauce and vinegar. Yaksik was a favorite banquet dessert.

 

WIKIPEDIA

 

Although this painting depicts a single standing man, his generalised features suggest that this was not meant as a portrait. Instead, as is suggested by the man's costume, it is an image of an anonymous standing soldier. In the 17th century soldiers did not yet wear uniforms. This subject relates to the barrack-room scenes Quast painted frequently. The artist is chiefly known for his depictions of tavern scenes with peasants and beggars, usually with caricatured features. Here he continues the tradition that had been established by artists such as Adriaen Brouwer and Adriaen van Ostade.

 

Pieter Jansz. Quast (c.1605-06 – 1647) was born in Amsterdam, where he worked. In 1639 he moved to The Hague. By 1644 he had returned to Amsterdam, where he died. He was a genre painter.

 

[Oil on oak, 35 x 23.5 cm]

 

gandalfsgarden.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/pieter-quast-standi...

 

Today in Ireland and in the US new regulations relating to drones has been introduced [effective from the 21st of December 2015]. There are many similarities in the regulations but there is one major differences in that here in Ireland they have not mention the penalties for failure to register but in the US the cost of failure to register appears to be rather extreme … “civil penalties up to $27,500, or criminal penalties up to 3 years in prison and $250,000.” According to the minister the aim here in Ireland is to encourage drone users to be responsible citizens.

  

I have included the press releases from both administrations, have a read and see what you think.

  

Thursday, 17th December 2015: The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) today announced a new drone regulation which includes the mandatory registration of all drones weighing 1kg or more from Monday, 21st December 2015.

 

The use of drones worldwide is expanding rapidly and there are estimated to be between 4,000 – 5,000 drones already in use in Ireland. Ireland has taken a proactive role in this fast emerging area and is currently one of only a handful of EU Member states that has legislation governing the use of drones.

 

The new legislation is intended to further enhance safety within Ireland and specifically addresses the safety challenges posed by drones.

 

From 21st December 2015, all drones weighing 1kg or more must be registered with the IAA via www.iaa.ie/drones. Drone registration is a simple two-step process. To register a drone, the registrant must be 16 years of age or older (Drones operated by those under 16 years of age must be registered by a parent or legal guardian). A nominal fee will apply from February 2016 but this has been initially waived by the IAA in order to encourage early registration.

  

Mr Ralph James, IAA Director of Safety Regulation, said

 

“Ireland is already recognised worldwide as a centre of excellence for civil aviation and the drone sector presents another major opportunity for Ireland. We’re closely working with industry to facilitate its successful development here. At the same time, safety is our top priority and we must ensure that drones are used in a safe way and that they do not interfere with all other forms of aviation.

 

Mr James explained that drone registration has been made a mandatory requirement as this will help the IAA to monitor the sector in the years ahead. The IAA encourages all drone operators to take part in training courses which are available through a number of approved drone training organisations.

 

“We would strongly encourage drone operators to register with us as quickly as possible, to complete a training course and to become aware of their responsibilities. People operating drones must do so in safe and responsible manner and in full compliance with the new regulations”, he said.

 

Welcoming the introduction of drone regulation, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD highlighted the importance of the new legislation and commended the IAA for the efficient manner to have the new registration system in place so quickly.

 

“The core safety message promoted today advocates the safe use of drones in civilian airspace. The development of drone technology brings opportunities as well as challenges for businesses and services in Ireland. I expect hundreds if not thousands of drones to be bought as presents this Christmas so getting the message to ensure that new owners and operators are aware of their responsibilities and the requirement to register all drones over 1 kg from 21st December 2015 is key. Tremendous potential exists for this sector and Ireland is at the forefront of its development. The speedy response by the IAA to this fast developing aviation area will make sure that drones are properly regulated and registered for use. As a result, Ireland is well placed to exploit the drone sector and to ensure industry growth in this area,” he said.

  

The new legislation prohibits users from operating their drones in an unsafe manner. This includes never operating a drone:

 

• if it will be a hazard to another aircraft in flight

• over an assembly of people

• farther than 300m from the operator

• within 120m of any person, vessel or structure not under the operator’s control

• closer than 5km from an aerodrome

• in a negligent or reckless manner so as to endanger life or property of others

• over 400ft (120m) above ground level

• over urban areas

• in civil of military controlled airspace

• in restricted areas (e.g. military installations, prisons, etc.)

• unless the operator has permission from the landowner for takeoff and landing.

  

For further information please visit www.iaa.ie/drones and see the IAA’s detailed Q&A sheet.

  

The Federal Aviation Administration has officially launched the drone registration program first reported in October. Drone operators are required to register their UAVs with the Unmanned Aircraft System registry starting December 21. Failure to register could result in criminal and civil penalties.

 

Under the new system, all aircraft must be registered with the FAA including those 'operated by modelers and hobbyists.' Once registered, drone operators must carry the registration certificate during operation. This new system only applies to drones weighing more than 0.55lbs/250g and less than 55lbs/25kg. The only exception to the registration requirement is indoor drone flights.

 

Required registration information includes a mailing address and physical address, email address, and full names; however, no information on the drone's make, model, or serial number is required from recreational users. Non-recreational users will need to provide drone information, including serial number, when that particular registration system goes live.

 

Failure to register could result in civil penalties up to $27,500, or criminal penalties up to 3 years in prison and $250,000. A $5 registration charge is applied, but will be refunded to those who register before January 20. The registration certificate is sent in an email to be printed at home.

Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

 

Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

 

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES

Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.

 

The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).

 

Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).

 

A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".

 

In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.

 

In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.

 

Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.

 

The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.

 

COMMON ATTRIBUTES

Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.

 

Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.

 

VAHANAS

The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.

 

Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.

 

The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

 

OBSTACLES

Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."

 

Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.

 

BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)

Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".

 

AUM

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:

 

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

 

Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.

 

FIRST CHAKRA

According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".

 

FAMILY AND CONSORTS

Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.

 

The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.

 

Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.

 

The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.

 

WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS

Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.

 

Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).

 

Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.

 

Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."

 

GANESH CHATURTI

An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.

 

TEMPLES

In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.

 

There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.

 

T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.

 

RISE TO PROMINENCE

 

FIRST APEARANCE

Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:

 

What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.

 

POSSIBLE INFLUENCES

Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:

 

In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.

 

Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."

 

One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.

 

A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.

 

First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).

 

VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE

The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .

 

Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".

 

Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.

 

PURANIC PERIOD

Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.

 

In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:

 

Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.

 

Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.

 

SCRIPTURES

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.

 

The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.

 

R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.

 

BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM

Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.

 

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.

 

Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.

 

Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.

 

Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.

 

The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 

WIKIPEDIA

for how shall I relate

To human sense the invisible exploits

Of warring spirits, how without remorse

The ruin of so many glorious once

And perfect while they stood last unforld

The secrets of another world perhaps

Not lawful to reveal?

Paradise Lost, Book 5

 

I'm afraid that this semester is going to be filled with pictures titled with only Paradise Lost quotes. Oops.

 

I hope everyone is enjoying Government Shutdown Day 1.

 

Facebook // Tumblr

This image does not relate to my own parents (thankfully), but is representative of many parents of teenagers and young adults who battle to maintain the integrity of their family, where their unconditional love for a child is challenged every day!

 

Suffice to say that the problems of gambling addiction can be totally soul destroying for the individual concerned and for every parent (and other family members / friends) who has to deal with the consequences! The breakdown in trust is very damaging to the family unit and is sometimes impossible to re-establish!

 

I abhor how betting has been made so easily available now! With the use of the internet and credit arrangements, placing a bet has never been so simple and the constant stream of advertising that is seen on television, in sports arenas and in cinemas and the like, targets those that are easily influenced (often young people), who have dreams of making a fast buck!

 

My heart goes out to all those individuals, parents and families that have to battle with this and other addictive problems on a daily basis!

 

立法會鐵路事宜小組委員會視察廣深港高速鐵路香港段西九龍總站的建築工地

立法会铁路事宜小组委员会视察广深港高速铁路香港段西九龙总站的建筑工地

LegCo Subcommittee on Matters Relating to Railways visits the construction site of the West Kowloon Terminus of the Hong Kong Section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (2015.12.13)

Uses: Anything relating to finance and money.

 

Free Creative Commons Finance Images... I created these images in my studio and have made them all available for personal or commercial use. Hope you like them and find them useful.

 

To see more of our CC by 2.0 finance images click here... see profile for attribution.

 

Inspiration: Anything relating to money.

1. The spiritual entity Qalb

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Adam

 

In the Urdu language the fleshy meat, (the heart) is known as dil, and in Arabic it is called fawad. The spiritual entity that is next to the heart is the Qalb and according to a Prophetic statement the heart and the Qalb are two separate entities.

 

Our solar system is the physical human sphere. There are other realms and spheres, for example the realm of the angels, the realm of the throne of God, the realm of the soul, the realm of the secrets, the realm of unification and the realm of the essence of God. These spheres and life forms inhabiting these spheres have existed before the eruption of the ball of fire, our Sun, which created our solar system. Ordinary angels were created alongside the creation of the souls when God commanded "Be" but the Archangels and the spiritual entities (which are placed inside the human body at birth) have existed in these realms before the formation of our solar system.

 

Many planets in our solar system were inhabited but subsequently these life forms became extinct. The remaining planets and their inhabitants are awaiting their destruction. The Archangels and the spiritual entities (of the human body) were created seventy thousand years before the command "Be."

 

Of these spiritual entities God placed the Qalb in the realm of love. It is with this that a human being is able to become connected with God. The Qalb acts like a telephone operator between God and the human being. A human being receives guidance and inspiration through it. Whereas the worship and the meditation done by the spiritual entities themselves can reach the highest realm, the Throne of God, with the aid of the Qalb. The Qalb itself, however cannot travel beyond the realm of the angels, as its place of origin is the Khuld, the lowest heaven in the realm of the angels.

 

The Qalb’s meditation is from within and its vibrating rosary is within the human skeleton (the heartbeat). People that failed to achieve this meditation of the Qalb in this lifetime will be regretful, even though they may be in paradise. As God has stated regarding those who will go to paradise, that do they, the inhabitants of paradise think that they will be equal to those who are elevated (reached higher realms by practicing the spiritual disciplines and becoming illuminated). As those that have achieved the meditation of the Qalb, they will enjoy its pleasures even in paradise when their Qalb will be vibrating with the Name of God.

After death physical worship ceases to exist and the people whose Qalb and spiritual entities are not strengthened and illuminated with the light of God are afflicted and distressed in their graves and their spiritual entities waste away. Whereas the illuminated and strengthened spiritual entities will go to the realm where the righteous will wait before the final judgement.

After the day of judgement a second body will be given, the illuminated spiritual entities along with the human soul will enter that body. The people that taught their spiritual entities, meditation, whereby the entities chanted the Name of God Allah in this life time will find that the spiritual entities will continue with this meditation even in the hereafter. Such people will continue to be elevated and exalted in the hereafter.

  

Those that were “blind of heart” (not illuminated) in this life time will be in darkness in that realm also, as this world was the place of action and effort. Those in the latter category will become quiescent.

Besides the Christians and the Jews the Hindu faith also holds a belief in these spiritual entities. The Hindu faith refers to them as Shaktian and the Muslims know them as Lata’if.

The Qalb is two inches, to the left of the heart. This spiritual entity is yellow in colour. When it is illuminated in a person, that person sees the colour yellow in their eyes. Not only this but there are many practitioners of alternative medicine who use the colours of these spiritual entities to heal people.

Most people regard their heart’s word, “inner feeling” to be truthful. If the hearts of people were indeed truthful, then why are all the people of the heart not united?

The Qalb of an ordinary person is in the sleeping or unconscious state and it does not possess any appreciation or awareness. Due to the dominance of the spirit of the self, the ego, and the Khannas, or due to the individual’s own simple- mindedness the heart can make judgements in error. Placing trust in a sleeping Qalb is foolish.

Only when the Name of God Allah, does vibrate in the heart does an appreciation of right and wrong and wisdom follow. At this stage the Qalb is known as the awakened Qalb. Thereafter due to the increase in the meditation by the Qalb, of the Name of God Allah, it is then known as the God-seeking Qalb. At this stage the heart is capable of preventing the person from doing wrong but it is still incapable of making a right or just decision. Thereafter and only when the Light and the rays of the Grace of God (theophany) start to descend upon that heart, is it known as the purified and illuminated Qalb that stands in the presence of God (witnessing Qalb).

 

A Prophetic statement:

“The mercy of God descends upon a broken heart and an afflicted grave.”

 

Thereafter when the heart reaches this stage then one must accept whatever it dictates, quietly without question because due to the rays of the Light and the Grace of God the spirit of the self, (ego) becomes completely illuminated, purified and at peace. God is then closer to that individual than that person’s jugular vein.

God then says, “I become his tongue with which he speaks and I become his hands with which he holds.”

   

2. The Human Soul

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Abraham

 

This is on the right side of the chest. This is awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it. Once it becomes illuminated, a vibration similar to the heartbeat is felt on the right side of the chest. Then the Name of God, Ya Allah is matched with the vibrating pulse. The meditation of the soul is done in this way. At this point, there are now two spiritual entities meditating inside the human body, this is an advancement in rank and status and is better than the Qalb. The soul is a light red in colour and when it is awakened, it is able to travel to the realm of the souls (the station of the Archangel Gabriel). Anger and rage are attached to it that burn and turn into majesty.

  

3. The spiritual entity Sirri

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Moses

 

This spiritual entity is to the left of the centre of the chest. This is also awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it with the Name of God, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum. Its colour is white and in the dream state or by spiritual separation from the physical body “transcendental meditation” it can journey to the realm of the secrets. Now there are three spiritual entities meditating within a person and its status is higher than the other two.

   

4. The spiritual entity Khaffi

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Jesus

 

This is to the right of the centre of the chest. It too is taught the Name of God Ya Wahid by meditation. It is green in colour and it can reach the realm of unification. Due to the meditation of four entities one's status is further increased.

 

5. The spiritual entity Akhfa

 

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Mohammed

 

This is situated at the centre of the chest. It is awakened by meditating on the Name of God, Ya Ahad. It is purple in colour and it too, is connected to that veil in the realm of unification behind which is the throne of God.

 

The hidden spiritual knowledge relating to these five spiritual entities was granted to the Prophets, one by one and half of the knowledge of every spiritual entity was granted from the Prophets to the Saints of their time. In this way there became ten parts of this knowledge. The Saints in turn passed this knowledge on to the spiritually favoured (Godly) who then had the benefit of the sacred knowledge.

 

The apparent knowledge of the seen is connected to the physical body, the spoken word, the human realm and the spirit of the self, this is for the ordinary mortals. This knowledge is contained in a book that has thirty parts. Spiritual knowledge was also given to the Prophets by revelation brought by Gabriel and for this reason it is known as the spiritual Holy Scripture.

 

Many of the verses of the Qur’an would sometimes be abolished, since the Prophet Mohammed would sometimes mention matters relating to this “hidden spiritual knowledge” before ordinary people, which was only meant for the special and Godly. Later this knowledge passed on spiritually from the chest of one Saint to another, and now it has become widespread by its publication in books.

  

6. The spiritual entity Anna

 

This spiritual entity is inside the head and is colourless. It is by the meditation on the Name of God Ya Hu that this spiritual entity reaches its pinnacle. It is this spiritual entity that when it becomes illuminated and powerful it can stand in the Presence of God, face to face, and communicate with God unobstructed. Only the extreme lovers of God reach this realm and station. Besides this there are a few and extremely exalted people who are granted additional spiritual entities, for example the spiritual entity Tifl-e-Nuri or a spiritual entity of the Godhead, Jussa-e-Tofiq-e-Ilahi, the spiritual status of such people is beyond understanding.

 

With the spiritual entity, Anna, God is seen in the dream state.

 

With the spiritual entity of the Godhead, God is seen in the “physical meditating state” when the spiritual entity itself leaves the human body and transcends to the essence of God.

 

Those possessing the spiritual entity, the Tifl-e-Nuri, see God whilst they are fully conscious.

 

It is these people who are the majesty and power of God in the world. They can either occupy the people by prescribing worship and austerities or by their spiritual grace send a person straight to the realm of God’s love. In their sight, concerning dispensing spiritual grace the believers and the non-believers, the dead and the living are all the same. Just as a thief became a Saint, in an instant, by the passing glimpse of the Saint Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, similarly, Abu-Bakr Havari and Manga the thief, became instant Saints by the passing glimpses of such Saints.

 

The five major Messengers were given knowledge of the five spiritual entities separately and in order of their appearance, as a result of which spirituality continued to prosper. With whichever spiritual entity you practice meditation you will be connected to the corresponding Messenger and become worthy of receiving spiritual grace (from that Messenger).

 

Whichever spiritual entity receives the rays of the Grace of God (favour), the Sainthood granted to that spiritual entity will be connected to the corresponding Prophet’s spiritual grace.

 

Access to seven realms and gaining elevated spiritual status in the seven heavens is obtained through these spiritual entities.

The functions of the spiritual entities inside the human body

 

Akhfa: Due to the spiritual entity, Akhfa a person is able to speak. In its absence a person may have a normal tongue but will be dumb. The difference between human beings and animals lies in the presence or the absence of these spiritual entities. At birth, if the entity, Akhfa was unable to enter the body for whatever reason, then a Prophet appointed for the rectification of this ailment would be called to treat the condition as a result of which the dumb would start to speak.

 

Sirri: A person is able to see due to the spiritual entity, Sirri. If it does not enter the body the person is blind from birth. An appointed Prophet had the duty to find and place the spiritual entity into the body, as a result of which the blind would start to see again.

Qalb: Without the spiritual entity of the Qalb, in the body, a person is like the animals, unacquainted, far from God, miserable and without purpose. Returning this entity into the body was the task of the Prophets also.

The miracles of the Prophets were also granted to the saints, in the form marvels and mystical wonders as a result of which even the impious and liberal became close to God. When a spiritual entity is returned by any allocated Saint or Prophet, the deaf, dumb and the blind are healed.

Anna: When the spiritual entity, Anna, fails to enter the body, a person is regarded as insane even though the brain may be functioning normally.

Khaffi: In the absence of the spiritual entity, Khafi, a person is deaf, even if the ears are opened wide.

These conditions can be caused by other defects in the body, and can be treated. There is no cure in the case, where the defect is caused by the absence of the associated spiritual entity except where a Prophet or a Saint intervenes and cures the defect.

Nafs, self: As a result of the spiritual entity of the self (ego) a persons mind is occupied with the material world and it is because of the spiritual entity Qalb that a persons direction turns towards God. For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags

 

Uses: Anything relating to finance and money.

 

Free Creative Commons Finance Images... I created these images in my studio and have made them all available for personal or commercial use. Hope you like them and find them useful.

 

To see more of our CC by 2.0 finance images click here... see profile for attribution.

 

Inspiration: Anything relating to finance.

 

Uses: Anything relating to finance and money.

 

Free Creative Commons Finance Images... I created these images in my studio and have made them all available for personal or commercial use. Hope you like them and find them useful.

 

To see more of our CC by 2.0 finance images click here... see profile for attribution.

 

Uses: Car insurance. Shopping for insurance.

I recently finished mass effect andromeda and it was a definite experience. This pic is made by Collin McLaren so all cred goes to him anyway the game was very cool for not only the story but the characters and their emotional stories and thoughts. Definitely not my fave of the ME series but it's still good for the gameplay and the story which is very neat. Gotta say that I would love to have the lego Omni tool that Collin made it's amazing in suttle detail and scale.

Alexander Reford, a great-grandson of Elsie Reford, has managed the Reford Gardens since 1995, taking responsibility for their preservation and development. An historian by profession, educated at the universities of Oxford and Toronto, he has published many articles relating to Canadian history. He is chairman of the Association des jardins du Québec and a co-founder of the International Garden Festival, held each year at the Reford Gardens.

 

Visit : www.refordgardens.com/

  

Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.

 

Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.

  

Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.

 

She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.

 

In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.

 

During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.

 

In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.

 

Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.

 

To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.

 

Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.

 

In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)

 

Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford

 

Visit : www.refordgardens.com/

 

LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS

 

Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.

 

Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.

 

Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada

 

© Copyright

This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.

1. The spiritual entity Qalb

  

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Adam

  

In the Urdu language the fleshy meat, (the heart) is known as dil, and in Arabic it is called fawad. The spiritual entity that is next to the heart is the Qalb and according to a Prophetic statement the heart and the Qalb are two separate entities.

  

Our solar system is the physical human sphere. There are other realms and spheres, for example the realm of the angels, the realm of the throne of God, the realm of the soul, the realm of the secrets, the realm of unification and the realm of the essence of God. These spheres and life forms inhabiting these spheres have existed before the eruption of the ball of fire, our Sun, which created our solar system. Ordinary angels were created alongside the creation of the souls when God commanded "Be" but the Archangels and the spiritual entities (which are placed inside the human body at birth) have existed in these realms before the formation of our solar system.

  

Many planets in our solar system were inhabited but subsequently these life forms became extinct. The remaining planets and their inhabitants are awaiting their destruction. The Archangels and the spiritual entities (of the human body) were created seventy thousand years before the command "Be."

  

Of these spiritual entities God placed the Qalb in the realm of love. It is with this that a human being is able to become connected with God. The Qalb acts like a telephone operator between God and the human being. A human being receives guidance and inspiration through it. Whereas the worship and the meditation done by the spiritual entities themselves can reach the highest realm, the Throne of God, with the aid of the Qalb. The Qalb itself, however cannot travel beyond the realm of the angels, as its place of origin is the Khuld, the lowest heaven in the realm of the angels.

  

The Qalb’s meditation is from within and its vibrating rosary is within the human skeleton (the heartbeat). People that failed to achieve this meditation of the Qalb in this lifetime will be regretful, even though they may be in paradise. As God has stated regarding those who will go to paradise, that do they, the inhabitants of paradise think that they will be equal to those who are elevated (reached higher realms by practicing the spiritual disciplines and becoming illuminated). As those that have achieved the meditation of the Qalb, they will enjoy its pleasures even in paradise when their Qalb will be vibrating with the Name of God.

After death physical worship ceases to exist and the people whose Qalb and spiritual entities are not strengthened and illuminated with the light of God are afflicted and distressed in their graves and their spiritual entities waste away. Whereas the illuminated and strengthened spiritual entities will go to the realm where the righteous will wait before the final judgement.

After the day of judgement a second body will be given, the illuminated spiritual entities along with the human soul will enter that body. The people that taught their spiritual entities, meditation, whereby the entities chanted the Name of God Allah in this life time will find that the spiritual entities will continue with this meditation even in the hereafter. Such people will continue to be elevated and exalted in the hereafter.

  

Those that were “blind of heart” (not illuminated) in this life time will be in darkness in that realm also, as this world was the place of action and effort. Those in the latter category will become quiescent.

Besides the Christians and the Jews the Hindu faith also holds a belief in these spiritual entities. The Hindu faith refers to them as Shaktian and the Muslims know them as Lata’if.

The Qalb is two inches, to the left of the heart. This spiritual entity is yellow in colour. When it is illuminated in a person, that person sees the colour yellow in their eyes. Not only this but there are many practitioners of alternative medicine who use the colours of these spiritual entities to heal people.

Most people regard their heart’s word, “inner feeling” to be truthful. If the hearts of people were indeed truthful, then why are all the people of the heart not united?

The Qalb of an ordinary person is in the sleeping or unconscious state and it does not possess any appreciation or awareness. Due to the dominance of the spirit of the self, the ego, and the Khannas, or due to the individual’s own simple- mindedness the heart can make judgements in error. Placing trust in a sleeping Qalb is foolish.

Only when the Name of God Allah, does vibrate in the heart does an appreciation of right and wrong and wisdom follow. At this stage the Qalb is known as the awakened Qalb. Thereafter due to the increase in the meditation by the Qalb, of the Name of God Allah, it is then known as the God-seeking Qalb. At this stage the heart is capable of preventing the person from doing wrong but it is still incapable of making a right or just decision. Thereafter and only when the Light and the rays of the Grace of God (theophany) start to descend upon that heart, is it known as the purified and illuminated Qalb that stands in the presence of God (witnessing Qalb).

  

A Prophetic statement:

“The mercy of God descends upon a broken heart and an afflicted grave.”

  

Thereafter when the heart reaches this stage then one must accept whatever it dictates, quietly without question because due to the rays of the Light and the Grace of God the spirit of the self, (ego) becomes completely illuminated, purified and at peace. God is then closer to that individual than that person’s jugular vein.

God then says, “I become his tongue with which he speaks and I become his hands with which he holds.”

     

2. The Human Soul

  

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Abraham

  

This is on the right side of the chest. This is awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it. Once it becomes illuminated, a vibration similar to the heartbeat is felt on the right side of the chest. Then the Name of God, Ya Allah is matched with the vibrating pulse. The meditation of the soul is done in this way. At this point, there are now two spiritual entities meditating inside the human body, this is an advancement in rank and status and is better than the Qalb. The soul is a light red in colour and when it is awakened, it is able to travel to the realm of the souls (the station of the Archangel Gabriel). Anger and rage are attached to it that burn and turn into majesty.

  

3. The spiritual entity Sirri

  

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Moses

  

This spiritual entity is to the left of the centre of the chest. This is also awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it with the Name of God, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum. Its colour is white and in the dream state or by spiritual separation from the physical body “transcendental meditation” it can journey to the realm of the secrets. Now there are three spiritual entities meditating within a person and its status is higher than the other two.

     

4. The spiritual entity Khaffi

  

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Jesus

  

This is to the right of the centre of the chest. It too is taught the Name of God Ya Wahid by meditation. It is green in colour and it can reach the realm of unification. Due to the meditation of four entities one's status is further increased.

  

5. The spiritual entity Akhfa

  

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Mohammed

  

This is situated at the centre of the chest. It is awakened by meditating on the Name of God, Ya Ahad. It is purple in colour and it too, is connected to that veil in the realm of unification behind which is the throne of God.

  

The hidden spiritual knowledge relating to these five spiritual entities was granted to the Prophets, one by one and half of the knowledge of every spiritual entity was granted from the Prophets to the Saints of their time. In this way there became ten parts of this knowledge. The Saints in turn passed this knowledge on to the spiritually favoured (Godly) who then had the benefit of the sacred knowledge.

  

The apparent knowledge of the seen is connected to the physical body, the spoken word, the human realm and the spirit of the self, this is for the ordinary mortals. This knowledge is contained in a book that has thirty parts. Spiritual knowledge was also given to the Prophets by revelation brought by Gabriel and for this reason it is known as the spiritual Holy Scripture.

  

Many of the verses of the Qur’an would sometimes be abolished, since the Prophet Mohammed would sometimes mention matters relating to this “hidden spiritual knowledge” before ordinary people, which was only meant for the special and Godly. Later this knowledge passed on spiritually from the chest of one Saint to another, and now it has become widespread by its publication in books.

  

6. The spiritual entity Anna

  

This spiritual entity is inside the head and is colourless. It is by the meditation on the Name of God Ya Hu that this spiritual entity reaches its pinnacle. It is this spiritual entity that when it becomes illuminated and powerful it can stand in the Presence of God, face to face, and communicate with God unobstructed. Only the extreme lovers of God reach this realm and station. Besides this there are a few and extremely exalted people who are granted additional spiritual entities, for example the spiritual entity Tifl-e-Nuri or a spiritual entity of the Godhead, Jussa-e-Tofiq-e-Ilahi, the spiritual status of such people is beyond understanding.

  

With the spiritual entity, Anna, God is seen in the dream state.

  

With the spiritual entity of the Godhead, God is seen in the “physical meditating state” when the spiritual entity itself leaves the human body and transcends to the essence of God.

  

Those possessing the spiritual entity, the Tifl-e-Nuri, see God whilst they are fully conscious.

  

It is these people who are the majesty and power of God in the world. They can either occupy the people by prescribing worship and austerities or by their spiritual grace send a person straight to the realm of God’s love. In their sight, concerning dispensing spiritual grace the believers and the non-believers, the dead and the living are all the same. Just as a thief became a Saint, in an instant, by the passing glimpse of the Saint Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, similarly, Abu-Bakr Havari and Manga the thief, became instant Saints by the passing glimpses of such Saints.

  

The five major Messengers were given knowledge of the five spiritual entities separately and in order of their appearance, as a result of which spirituality continued to prosper. With whichever spiritual entity you practice meditation you will be connected to the corresponding Messenger and become worthy of receiving spiritual grace (from that Messenger).

  

Whichever spiritual entity receives the rays of the Grace of God (favour), the Sainthood granted to that spiritual entity will be connected to the corresponding Prophet’s spiritual grace.

  

Access to seven realms and gaining elevated spiritual status in the seven heavens is obtained through these spiritual entities.

The functions of the spiritual entities inside the human body

  

Akhfa: Due to the spiritual entity, Akhfa a person is able to speak. In its absence a person may have a normal tongue but will be dumb. The difference between human beings and animals lies in the presence or the absence of these spiritual entities. At birth, if the entity, Akhfa was unable to enter the body for whatever reason, then a Prophet appointed for the rectification of this ailment would be called to treat the condition as a result of which the dumb would start to speak.

  

Sirri: A person is able to see due to the spiritual entity, Sirri. If it does not enter the body the person is blind from birth. An appointed Prophet had the duty to find and place the spiritual entity into the body, as a result of which the blind would start to see again.

Qalb: Without the spiritual entity of the Qalb, in the body, a person is like the animals, unacquainted, far from God, miserable and without purpose. Returning this entity into the body was the task of the Prophets also.

The miracles of the Prophets were also granted to the saints, in the form marvels and mystical wonders as a result of which even the impious and liberal became close to God. When a spiritual entity is returned by any allocated Saint or Prophet, the deaf, dumb and the blind are healed.

Anna: When the spiritual entity, Anna, fails to enter the body, a person is regarded as insane even though the brain may be functioning normally.

Khaffi: In the absence of the spiritual entity, Khafi, a person is deaf, even if the ears are opened wide.

These conditions can be caused by other defects in the body, and can be treated. There is no cure in the case, where the defect is caused by the absence of the associated spiritual entity except where a Prophet or a Saint intervenes and cures the defect.

Nafs, self: As a result of the spiritual entity of the self (ego) a persons mind is occupied with the material world and it is because of the spiritual entity Qalb that a persons direction turns towards God. For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags

 

This is the third and final post relating to the Battle of the River Plate and features the second Leander-class light cruiser that participated, HMS Ajax (22).

 

Ajax was built at Vickers' Shipyard, in Barrow-in-Furness, England. Laid down on 7 February 1933, she was launched on 1 March 1934 and completed on 12 April 1935. After serving in the Caribbean, she underwent her first refit in late 1937, at which time the four single 4-inch QF high-angle guns were replaced by twin turrets, as seen above (compare with Achilles' original fit in the image I posted two days ago). She retained a Fairey Seafox spotter planes, although they were later replaced by Supermarine Walruses.

 

She became famous for her part in the 13 December 1939 Battle of the River Plate, in which the Admiral Graf Spee obtained seven hits on her, disabling X and Y turrets, causing further structural damage and 12 casualties including seven killed. At the end of the action she had less than 20% of her 6" main armament remaining.

 

In 1942 her anti-aircraft armament was improved with the addition of 11 Oerlikon 20mm cannons. She was bombed in harbour at Bone, Algeria, in 1943 and refitted in Norfolk Navy Yard, VA., where four American quadruple 40mm anti-aircraft mounts replaced some (all?) of the earlier AA fits.

 

She returned to Europe in time to support the landings at Gold Beach on D-Day and later Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France in August 1944. Post-war, she supported British anti-Communist operations in Greece. She also escorted the refrigerated cargo ship Highland Monarch for at least part of her journey (probably from Freetown) to the mouth of the Elbe river, Germany, in 1946. The cargo ship was repatriating the surviving members of the Admiral Graf Spee's crew, many of whom were reluctant to go, having married and settled in Argentina in the six year since they were interned.

 

Ajax was decommissioned in 1948 and went for scrapping in 1949.

 

Details of the Leander-class design and fit can be found under the Achilles image posted two days ago.

 

Seen under glass in the Museum of the Royal Dockyard at Chatham Historic Dockyard.

This picture, taken on one of the saddest days of my entire life, tells only part of a story I wish I did not have to relate at all. I took it on December 15, 2015, and am posting it to Flickr the following day. It will be included in my "Spoots & Co." photo set, in which it will become a sort of punctuation mark because all of our household birds displayed in that set are now dead, with two of them having perished within 20 minutes of each other and the third -- Yo-yo, whose coffin is seen here -- perhaps six hours later. Their deaths, from which I am still reeling, resulted from a mistake on my part, one of such a nature that I was unlikely ever to make it in the first place.

 

The other two birds who perished that night were Spoots, my all-time favorite pet, and Boswell, a parakeet that we had acquired barely a year previously. (Oochie and Elbie Jaye died about six months apart in 2014, both apparently from causes incident to age.) The three birds were all healthy and relatively young, with Yo-yo and Spoots both being about ten years of age and Boswell perhaps two. They have all departed far too soon, and far too tragically.

 

This tragedy centers around a simple miscommunication between my wife and me, one that would quickly have been forgotten if the consequences had not been so terrible. Sometime around 6:30 on Sunday evening, December 13, she asked me to "put on some water" for her. I had just prepared a quick bite to eat, from which I assumed that she simply wanted me to boil some water for her, which I had just done myself. I filled a saucepan about half-full with water, placed it on the burner, and left to do something else. Almost immediately, I completely forgot about the burner and the pan I had left on it. (I learned later that Sheila had simply been asking me to put a new 5-gallon bottle on our water cooler. If I had not just cooked something, I would surely have understood what she meant, and the birds would still be alive now.)

 

The first hint of trouble came at about 8:15, when Boswell, the parakeet, suddenly fell off the perch in his cage and died. The cage was located in our living room, next to the television set, and at the time I was watching a program on the BYU Channel.

 

Shocked and puzzled over what could possibly have caused this, I took Boswell into the kitchen to prepare a burial shroud for him. At this point I was horrified to see that pan still on the stove, with all of the water in it having boiled away and the burner still on. I knew immediately what had happened and looked over at the other birds, whose cages were about 10 or 12 feet from the stove. Yo-yo, whose cage was nearest the stove, appeared okay, but Spoots was obviously in serious distress and having difficulty breathing. After turning off the stove and placing the pan in our sink, I took Spoots out of his cage and carried him into the living room. He was unsteady on his feet and still panting, but he managed to climb onto my shoulder and nuzzle me one last time; however, it was apparent that he, too, was dying, and he was in fact gone within about five minutes. If he had to go so soon, I will always be grateful that at least I was with him and holding him when he died. I have never had a more delightful pet, and his loss hits me especially hard.

 

I buried both birds in our yard and spent the next three hours in our living room, watching Yo-yo very closely. Apart from being a bit more subdued than usual, he seemed okay and acted normally, climbing out of his cage, vocalizing in his normal manner, and even flying across the room at one point and then walking back to his cage. At about 11:45 p.m. I covered his cage and went to bed, but slept only two or three hours that night, and very fitfully. Sheila told me she heard a rustling from Yo-yo's cage sometime after I fell asleep, but such sounds are in no way unusual and she thought nothing more of it.

 

I arose at 5:45 Monday morning, immediately checked Yo-yo's cage, and saw that he, too, was now dead. I told my wife the news, adding that she did not need to uncover him and that I would bury him after returning home from work that evening. I only worked half a day and came home early, having decided in the meantime to have a necropsy performed on Yo-yo. That had not been my original intention, but it was obvious that whatever killed him had killed the other two birds as well, and I figured that knowing what had caused their deaths would help me decide whether or when to get any new birds. (Although the fumes were always suspected, I also considered the possibility that some kind of virus or bacterial agent had done them in, and I did not want to risk bringing in a new bird with something of that nature still lurking in the environment.)

 

I took Yo-yo to an animal clinic to have the necropsy performed. The veterinarian who assisted me was helpful, reassuring, and sensitive, and I plan to use her in the future, I hope under much happier circumstances. I told her the whole story in detail, adding that even though this was an accident, I knew it would haunt me for the rest of my life to know that something I had done, however inadvertently, had killed all three of my birds. The vet told me more than once that I needed to get another bird, or birds, and everyone else I spoke with agrees with her. (I suppose it is a foregone conclusion that I would do so anyway; Spoots, after all, proved to be the main thing that helped me to recover from losing Ceci, another of our cockatiels, nearly ten years ago.)

 

I told the vet that I wanted to pick up the body afterward and bury Yo-yo in our backyard. She gave me a few minutes to be alone with him, during which I was struck by how healthy and robust he appeared, even in death. The necropsy results, which she reported to me the next morning, confirmed this, which offered me some reassurance that at least I had taken good care of him throughout his life. The necropsy also confirmed that the cause of death had indeed been toxic fumes. (The pan I had used to boil the water -- and which I had used hundreds of times previously with the birds nearby, with no adverse results -- apparently had some kind of nonstick coating. If those coatings are overheated, they can then burn away, emitting noxious fumes, to which small birds are especially sensitive. I threw the pan away immediately, assuming it was no longer safe to use at all with any birds around.)

 

I attended the Gilbert Arizona LDS Temple early Tuesday morning and cried the whole time I was driving there. I cried again when I picked up Yo-yo's body and thanked the vet for all she had done. The people at the clinic had placed Yo-yo in the box shown here, with the faux coffin handles printed on the sides and his name written on the top, on a simulated brass plate. I never opened the box, preferring instead to remember Yo-yo the way he was the last time I looked upon him, which is when he and I were alone together in that clinic. Shortly after 4:00 that afternoon, I buried Yo-yo in our backyard in a flower bed where Oochie, Elbie, Spoots, and Boswell were already buried. I hope I don't have to do that again for a very long time.

 

I returned to work on Wednesday -- today, as I write this -- but I am still barely able to handle my normal work routine, and probably will stumble through the rest of the week even though I plan to come in every day. After December 18 -- this Friday -- I am off until after the first of the year, and that long-anticipated break could not be more welcome at this particular time. For the moment, we have no birds in our home for the first time in 17 years, although I expect that to change sometime in the next couple of weeks. The first newcomer will probably be a lovebird. Over time, perhaps within two or three months, I will probably pick up a couple of new cockatiels, too. The birds have been so much a part of my life that I simply cannot imagine not having them around, and even Yo-yo's sometimes obnoxious screeching would be music to my ears right now.

The Popol Vuh sacred book of the Mayan culture relates that Kukulkan god of creation and Tepeu god of the heaven they created the world. When they decide give life to the birds they blew divinely on the Guayacan tree and then the blue-green leaves of the tree flew and, in the flight, a majestic bird with long plumage shaped like a feathered serpent called Quetzal was born. In the Preshipanic era the quetzal was associated with the god Kukulkan.

For the Mayan culture the quetzal was a sacred bird considered a symbol of abundance, fertility and power. Its plumage was so important that it was a kind of bargaining chip; at that time killing the quetzal merited death.

The radiant Quetzal is considered one of the most beautiful birds in America for its intense colors in the feathers, especially in the male who sings and dances to woo the female.

The color of the body of the quetzal is variable depending on the light, it has golden tones up to blue and emerald green, impressing the human eye with the red color of its belly; not forgetting the dazzling yellow of its beak.

The splendor of the feathers on the quetzal's tail highlights the greatness of its species

 

The piece was captured in CHROmagar where the mixture of colors that give life to the Quetzal is observed thanks to the components and chromogenic technology and specifies that this culture medium has, allowing the human eye to enjoy the 7 yeasts that give life to this piece with microbiological art. The strains used in each part of the Quetzal are described below.

 

Head crest: Candida albicans and Trichosporon asahii

Head: Candida albicans

Eyes: Exophiala dermatitidis and Candida haemulonii

Beak: Rhodotorula glutinis

Body (back): Candida albicans

Wings: Candida tropicalis and Trichosporon asahii

Chest: Rhodotorula glutinis

Tail: Trichosporon asahii Candida tropicalis and Candida albicans

Trunk on which the quetzal perches: Exophiala dermatitidis

Symbolic flowers: Candida albicans, Candida haemulonii, Canida krusei and Rhodotorula glutinis.

Guayacan leaves surrounding the quetzal and flowers: Trichosporon asahii and Candida tropicalis and Candida albicans

Today in Ireland and in the US new regulations relating to drones has been introduced [effective from the 21st of December 2015]. There are many similarities in the regulations but there is one major differences in that here in Ireland they have not mention the penalties for failure to register but in the US the cost of failure to register appears to be rather extreme … “civil penalties up to $27,500, or criminal penalties up to 3 years in prison and $250,000.” According to the minister the aim here in Ireland is to encourage drone users to be responsible citizens.

  

I have included the press releases from both administrations, have a read and see what you think.

  

Thursday, 17th December 2015: The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) today announced a new drone regulation which includes the mandatory registration of all drones weighing 1kg or more from Monday, 21st December 2015.

 

The use of drones worldwide is expanding rapidly and there are estimated to be between 4,000 – 5,000 drones already in use in Ireland. Ireland has taken a proactive role in this fast emerging area and is currently one of only a handful of EU Member states that has legislation governing the use of drones.

 

The new legislation is intended to further enhance safety within Ireland and specifically addresses the safety challenges posed by drones.

 

From 21st December 2015, all drones weighing 1kg or more must be registered with the IAA via www.iaa.ie/drones. Drone registration is a simple two-step process. To register a drone, the registrant must be 16 years of age or older (Drones operated by those under 16 years of age must be registered by a parent or legal guardian). A nominal fee will apply from February 2016 but this has been initially waived by the IAA in order to encourage early registration.

  

Mr Ralph James, IAA Director of Safety Regulation, said

 

“Ireland is already recognised worldwide as a centre of excellence for civil aviation and the drone sector presents another major opportunity for Ireland. We’re closely working with industry to facilitate its successful development here. At the same time, safety is our top priority and we must ensure that drones are used in a safe way and that they do not interfere with all other forms of aviation.

 

Mr James explained that drone registration has been made a mandatory requirement as this will help the IAA to monitor the sector in the years ahead. The IAA encourages all drone operators to take part in training courses which are available through a number of approved drone training organisations.

 

“We would strongly encourage drone operators to register with us as quickly as possible, to complete a training course and to become aware of their responsibilities. People operating drones must do so in safe and responsible manner and in full compliance with the new regulations”, he said.

 

Welcoming the introduction of drone regulation, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD highlighted the importance of the new legislation and commended the IAA for the efficient manner to have the new registration system in place so quickly.

 

“The core safety message promoted today advocates the safe use of drones in civilian airspace. The development of drone technology brings opportunities as well as challenges for businesses and services in Ireland. I expect hundreds if not thousands of drones to be bought as presents this Christmas so getting the message to ensure that new owners and operators are aware of their responsibilities and the requirement to register all drones over 1 kg from 21st December 2015 is key. Tremendous potential exists for this sector and Ireland is at the forefront of its development. The speedy response by the IAA to this fast developing aviation area will make sure that drones are properly regulated and registered for use. As a result, Ireland is well placed to exploit the drone sector and to ensure industry growth in this area,” he said.

  

The new legislation prohibits users from operating their drones in an unsafe manner. This includes never operating a drone:

 

• if it will be a hazard to another aircraft in flight

• over an assembly of people

• farther than 300m from the operator

• within 120m of any person, vessel or structure not under the operator’s control

• closer than 5km from an aerodrome

• in a negligent or reckless manner so as to endanger life or property of others

• over 400ft (120m) above ground level

• over urban areas

• in civil of military controlled airspace

• in restricted areas (e.g. military installations, prisons, etc.)

• unless the operator has permission from the landowner for takeoff and landing.

  

For further information please visit www.iaa.ie/drones and see the IAA’s detailed Q&A sheet.

  

The Federal Aviation Administration has officially launched the drone registration program first reported in October. Drone operators are required to register their UAVs with the Unmanned Aircraft System registry starting December 21. Failure to register could result in criminal and civil penalties.

 

Under the new system, all aircraft must be registered with the FAA including those 'operated by modelers and hobbyists.' Once registered, drone operators must carry the registration certificate during operation. This new system only applies to drones weighing more than 0.55lbs/250g and less than 55lbs/25kg. The only exception to the registration requirement is indoor drone flights.

 

Required registration information includes a mailing address and physical address, email address, and full names; however, no information on the drone's make, model, or serial number is required from recreational users. Non-recreational users will need to provide drone information, including serial number, when that particular registration system goes live.

 

Failure to register could result in civil penalties up to $27,500, or criminal penalties up to 3 years in prison and $250,000. A $5 registration charge is applied, but will be refunded to those who register before January 20. The registration certificate is sent in an email to be printed at home.

On the neck are representations of actions relating to animal sacrifice, while the body represents the duel between Achilles and Memnon flanked by their mothers, Thetis and Eos, attending Zeus, who weighs their souls on a balance; and on the other side the introduction of Herakles to Olympos.

 

Found at Cerveteri, Banditaccia Necropolis, without context. Named for the archaeologist who discovered it.

 

(Etruscan/Ionian) Black Figure hydria of the 'Campana Group', attributed to the Ribbon Painter (aka the 'Painter of Louvre E 737-739' or the 'Painter of Louvre E 739', a painter of possibly North Ionian Greek (Phokaean?) origin), dated stylistically to ca. 530/525 BCE, perhaps produced at Cerveteri or Vulci.

(Caere/Cerveteri/Caisra/Cisra/Agylla: Pleiades; PECS (Perseus); Wikipedia).

 

In the collection of the Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia, Rome, Italy (MiBACT; en.wikipedia), inv. 80983.

 

This photo is made available under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) license. You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

“Skylab Expedition 3

 

“The three of us dreamed up the concept, Bill Pogue put together the description, and Barbara Matelski from the Johnson Space Center Graphics Department did the artwork. We gave our concept to several artists, but none of them came up with a design that delivered the message, so we rough sketched our idea, and Barbara put it together.”

 

— Jerry Carr, from All We Did Was Fly to the Moon

 

“The symbols in the patch refer to the three major areas of investigation in the mission. The tree represents man’s natural environment and refers to the objective of advancing the study of earth resources. The hydrogen atom, as the basic building block of the universe, represents man’s exploration of the physical world, his application of knowledge, and his development of technology. Since the sun is composed primarily of hydrogen, the hydrogen symbol also refers to the Solar Physics mission objectives.

 

“The human silhouette represents mankind and the human capacity to direct technology with a wisdom tempered by his regard for his natural environment. It also relates to the Skylab medical studies of man himself.

 

“The rainbow, adopted from the Biblical story of the Flood, symbolizes the promise that is offered to man. It embraces man and extends to the tree and hydrogen atom, emphasizing man’s pivotal role in the conciliation of technology with nature by a humanistic application of our scientific knowledge.”

 

— From the Skylab Expedition 3 astronauts’ calling card

 

The artwork is very nicely put together, and Matelski obviously takes into account the limitations of the silk screen process used to fabricate the beta cloth patches. Matelski also did the artwork for the Apollo 16 patch.

 

The Lion Brothers version of this patch has a yellow comet in the blue background around the top of the “3,” which represents the observations of Comet Kohoutek.”

 

Above at/from Gene Dorr’s wonderful space patch website, at:

 

genedorr.com/patches/Skylab/Sk04.html

  

The ‘official’ caption:

 

“This is the emblem for the third manned Skylab mission. It will be a mission of up to 56 days. Skylab is an experimental space station consisting of a 100-ton laboratory complex in which medical, scientific and technological experiments will be performed in Earth orbit. The members of the crew will be astronaut Gerald P. Carr, commander; scientist-astronaut Edward G. Gibson, science pilot; and astronaut William R.

Pogue, pilot. The symbols in the patch refer to the three major areas of investigation proposed in the mission. The tree represents man's natural environment and relates directly to the Skylab mission objectives of advancing the study of Earth resources. The hydrogen atom, as the basic building block of the universe, represents man's exploration of the physical world, his application of knowledge, and his development of technology. Since the sun is composed primarily of hydrogen, it is appropriate that the symbol refers to the solar physics mission objectives. The human silhouette represents mankind and the human capacity to direct technology with a wisdom tempered by regard for his natural environment. It also directly relates to the Skylab medical studies of man himself. The rainbow, adopted from the Biblical story of the flood, symbolizes the promise that is offered man. It embraces man and extends to the tree and the hydrogen atom emphasizing man's pivotal role in the conciliation of technology with nature.”

Italy Pavilion at the Shanghai 2010 World Expo

 

To Italians, “Shanghai” evokes memories of a childhood game known in the Anglophone world as “pick-up sticks.” It also serves as inspiration for the physical, conceptual and symbolic creation of this Italian pavilion at Shanghai Expo. It looks as if six flaming sticks were dropped on a 3,600 square meter ice cube, measuring 18 meters high, dividing the building into several sections. From the inside of each compartment, visitors experience one of the many different Italian cultures, including regional cuisines, wine, opera and fashion, while gazing through transparent cement walls that provide a glimpse into another, thereby forming a symbolic Italy. From an aerial perspective, the buildings resemble the topography of traditional Italian cities and Chinese urban centers with their short alleys and non-perpendicular streets.

 

Main exhibition and content

The Italian pavilion will host a main exhibition curated by the Trieannale di Milano Foundation on the ground floor and several other thematic and cultural exhibitions and events on the first floor with the involvement of Italian regions, cities, public institutions and the private sector.

 

The main exhibition will be divided into 5 rooms. The first room explores the theme of mobility: it will be brightly lit with steel walls and floors underlining the items on display. It will feature the works of 4 modern artists, and icons of 20th century Italy including a new hybrid Ferrari 599 HY-KERS and a classic Isotta Fraschini (the most luxurious car in history).

 

Room 2 focuses on Italian craftsmanship. Inside a glass walled workshop, master craftsmen will be at work. There will be restoration experts, tailors, silversmiths, violin makers and many more. Along the walls surrounding the workshop will be an exhibition of contemporary Italian design.

 

On the ceiling of room 3 there will be a satellite view of the Italian peninsula while on the ground, items of Italian manufacture relating to the expo theme will be scattered. These will include the “MOSE” project that protects Venice from tides, solar-powered cars and hybrid motorbikes. The 4th room is a room dedicated to food. Hanging from the ceiling will be a grain field, in the middle stands a centuries old olive tree and on the walls will be an enormous display of wine and pasta. Two large still-life paintings by a renowned 17th century painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio , "Basket of fruit" and "Boy with a basket of fruit", will also be on display.

 

The 5th and final room is the covered ‘piazza’, the heart of the pavilion. It will be the climax of the exhibition, celebrating Italian music, fashion and architecture. The room contains elements of a classic architectural masterpiece, one of its walls will showcase fashion samples, and a scenic installation will reproduce a symphony orchestra.

 

• Architects: M. Giampaolo Imbrighi. The firm Iodice of Aversa and in particular the architects Teresa Crescenzi, Antonello De Bonis, Cosimo Dominelli, Francesco Iodice, Giuseppe Iodici and Marcello Silvestre who collaborated with Architect Imbrighi in the design of the Pavilion + Permasteelisa Group.

• Surface: 7.800 square metres / 18 metres high

• Highlights: Architectonic and bioclimatic characteristics with transparent effects. Look inside for the Italian cars (Ferrari and the classic Isotta Fraschini) !

  

Padiglione Italiano all'Esposizione Universale di Shanghai 2010 - La “Città dell’uomo”

 

Progettato dall’architetto Giampaolo Imbrighi e dai suoi Associati, il padiglione illustra i valori culturali italiani senza dimenticare quelli del paese ospite, con un omaggio alla città di Shanghai e al famoso gioco che prende il suo nome.

 

Il disegno del padiglione presenta una pianta quadrata di 3.600 mq metri per un’altezza di 18 metri ed una divisione in più corpi di dimensioni diverse ed irregolari collegati da strutture-ponte in acciaio che lasciano intravedere i ballatoi di collegamento. Il progetto soddisfa sul piano strutturale l’esigenza di essere eventualmente smontato e ricostruito in dimensione ridotta in un’altra area della città.

 

Una "Città dell'Uomo" quindi dove i concetti di qualità della vita saranno modulati attraverso l'ingegneria e l'urbanistica sostenibile, le infrastrutture ecologiche, e l'architettura, il restauro e i progetti di welfare sociale; ma anche attraverso alcune punte di eccellenza nostrane come la cura del corpo, la moda, il cibo e la cultura, simboli del Made in Italy, ma soprattutto dell'Italian style of Life.

 

Il Padiglione è pensato come una “macchina” dal particolare funzionamento bioclimatico con l’obiettivo di un significativo risparmio energetico. Gli elementi fotovoltaici integrati nei vetri delle coperture esterne garantiranno un effetto schermante dalle radiazioni, mentre il progetto illuminotecnico dell’edificio mira non soltanto a scandire gli spazi, ma anche a favorire il risparmio di energia.

 

Lo Studio Iodice di Aversa e in particolare gli architetti Teresa Crescenzi, Antonello De Bonis, Cosimo Dominelli, Francesco Iodice, Giuseppe Iodice e Marcello Silvestre hanno collaborato con l'architetto Imbrighi al progetto.

  

上海世博会意大利馆

 

意大利馆的设计灵感来源于被意大利人称之为 “上海”的游戏，这个游戏其实就是上海小朋友玩的游戏棒. 由20个不规则、可自由组装的功能模块组合而成，代表意大利20个大区。整座展馆犹如 一座微型意大利城市，充满弄堂、庭院、小径、广场等意大利传统城市元素. 从整个外观看，意大利馆如同一个被分割的马赛克，也是可以组成多样的图案， 体现了不同地域多元文化、和谐共处的关系。

 

意大利馆不仅在设计上新颖别致，展馆还采用了具有透光性的“透明水泥”和具有自动清洁功能的“抗菌瓷 砖”等新型材料建造。入口采用了著名建筑师Andrea Palladio为维琴查奥林匹克歌剧院入口设计的拱门造型.

 

意大利奢侈品很多，这一点意大利馆也会有所体现，比如世界顶级的最新款法拉利跑车会在意大利馆里亮相，还有一些知名的时装、意大利的名画。米兰是国际时尚之都，意大利馆也汇聚了众多奢侈品牌的时装，在为期6个月的展览之当中，意大利馆会上演PRADA、阿玛尼、范思哲这样的世界著名 品牌的时装秀。

 

除了顶级奢侈品之外，意大利还会举办多场音乐会，包括意大利的盲人音乐歌唱家安德烈•波塞利也会在这里为大家演出。另外展馆里面还会有意大利文艺复兴时期 的著名画家米开朗基罗的两幅杰作——《水果篮》和《捧果篮的男孩》，这也是它们首次亮相中国。另外，意大利馆里还会有非常好的创新的科技成果展示，7月 15日到30日意大利馆将展示一系列的意大利创新竞赛的成果，包括可以吸收空气中烟尘的油漆以及新型的食品，还有一些市场上已有产品的优化升级版本，都会 在意大利展馆里面有所展示。

 

古罗马凯旋门“搬进馆”

透过门口的玻璃墙，老远就可以看到意大利馆入口处的古罗马凯旋门。在进门的第一个区域，一款 伊索塔弗拉西尼的黑色F1老爷车尽显尊贵，涂鸦风格的红色Fiat跑车也颇为夺人眼球。而布展者特意将另一款脱卸了底壳的绿色跑车斜置，利用地面玻璃反 射，将跑车的整个底部展现给参观者。

 

墙上的交响乐队

另一个重要展区可以概括为“教堂穹顶下的华服”。参观者可以看到，佛罗伦萨著名圣母百花大教 堂的“顶部”被四根彩柱高高托起。教堂顶的旁边耸立的三件大约是两人多高的男女礼服，它们“放大”了意大利高级成衣的上等制作 工艺。红色的女装晚礼服出自Versace的设计，而黑色的那件则是Dolce&Gabbana的，黑色的男士长大衣为 Zegna品牌。而这一展区的一侧墙上则是缩小了的男女礼服。另一面 墙上垂直展开的整个交响乐队的布局，据悉也是按同比例缩小制作的。交响乐队的展示融合了意大利的小提琴制作和高级服装制作工艺。除了以上这些展示，一楼展馆内还设立了一个透明的玻璃屋，里面展示的是菲拉格慕女鞋的制作工 艺。一楼的另一个区域中还安放了一株橄榄树。这个小展区的四周是有关橄榄用途的图片展示，例如橄榄油的制作等。

 

一人多高的超炫凉鞋

你见过的最巨型的意大利皮鞋有多大？在意大利馆，虽然玻璃的建筑外形不见得有多少特点，但橱 窗里摆着一只一人多高的凉鞋，让很多游客惊讶不已。这只松糕凉鞋是金色的带式鞋面，鞋跟呈现出不同颜色叠加的条纹，很炫。另外一只大 红色的高跟皮鞋也有一人多高，不管你是多么资深的“血拼狂”，当你看到意大利馆摆得里三圈外三圈的大牌皮鞋的时候，是不是都会被时尚的欲望击倒在地？

 

史上最豪华汽车

 

“这车现在还能开啊”，意大利馆展厅内一辆产自1923年的Isotta Fraschini汽车引人注目，这辆车由Emilio Castagna设计，价值超过500万美元，目前仍然能正常行驶，被尊为历史上最奢华的座驾。

 

世博会意大利馆 镇馆之宝

 

在世博会意大利馆众多珍贵展品中，文艺复兴艺术巨匠米开朗基罗•梅里西•达•卡拉瓦乔的绘画杰作《水果篮》与《捧果篮的男孩》无疑是镇馆之宝。米开朗基罗与达芬奇、拉斐尔并称“文艺复兴三杰”。此次展出的《水果篮》和《捧果篮的男孩》是他的早期作品，创作于1596年之前的《水果篮》 更被认为是世界上第一幅静物油画，艺术价值难以估量。这两幅画作展示出的强调明暗及写实特色的画法，被称为“卡拉瓦乔样式”，为那不勒斯、西班牙、荷兰等地的艺术发展带来深远的影响。这是米开朗基罗的作品首次在中国展出，而在此之前，这两幅作品还从未出过意大利国门。