So, I fell Wednesday night, sprain my ankle

and twisted my knee and scared Buddy.

Right before one of the busiest days.

Can y'all relate?

A route restriction relating to the class 50 on 'The Wolf Hall Thunderer' railtour prevented the train from using the normal 'Up' line to return from Hampton Court, instead leaving 37403 'Isle of Mull' to take the Hampton Court Reversible back over the viaduct to reach Surbiton where it's tour, running as 1Z48 would reverse to then head back under the flyover towards Guildford, taking the alternative branch at Hampton Court Junction to travel via Cobham.

In the distance is Sandown Park Racecourse which has a grandstand view (sorry!) over the SWML near Esher.

I don't often relate what went into taking a photo that I've posted but this time I feel inclined to give you a bit of background.

 

Back on July 25th of this year Sharon and I headed up to the Bonnyville (Alberta) area to look for some of the more remote Ukrainian churches NE of Edmonton. I had packed the Yashica TLR loaded with infrared film in hopes that I would come across a good tract of boreal forest. I had yet to photograph that type of terrain but had a hunch that it would make for a fascinating infrared subject. It's not a short drive up to that area, plus if you toss in all the stops we made it was fairly late in the afternoon before we hit the northern edges of the parkland zone. The heavy late afternoon clouds were forming and the sun was not in the best part of the sky for shooting so I had pretty much given up thinking of shooting infrared………….until we were starting to cross the Beaver River that is……..POW!……there it was and it was beyond my wildest expectations.

 

I hit the binders and pulled over halfway into the ditch. Sharon and Jack waited patiently while I grabbed my IR gear and ran (I don't run well) back to the bridge. I just got the point on the bridge that I wanted to shoot from when a huge cloud drifted across the sun suppressing the effects the infrared spectrum that would have highlighted the foliage of the surrounding forest…..damn! As any dedicated photographer would do I waited out the cloud, but this one was big……and slow moving.

 

The bridge I was on was thankfully paved, but unfortunately it was a heavily used by logging trucks. Now if anyone has been subjected to the debris peeling off of a logging truck when it's doing 100+ kph you'll have a pretty good idea what I experienced. There I was on this two lane bridge sucked up to the guardrail waiting for the sun to make an appearance when these 18-wheeled monsters would roar past spitting out small bits of bark at me. Not only was I in a self-induced precarious position catching all sorts of tree debris, BUT every time one of those monsters hit the bridge it would shake like it was being subjected to an earthquake that would easily register 7.8 on the Richter Scale.

 

That was almost 5 months ago and I'm still traumatized……but I stuck it out and I did manage to get some decent photos. On this particular shot I waited until the cloud was only partway out of the view so I could catch the different intensities of light on the leaves of the trees.

 

Yashica Mat 124G

Efke IR820 Infrared Film

Hoya RM72 Infrared filter

... de l'empereur Ferdinand III de Habsbourg. Cependant, Both ne relate pas la cérémonie officielle ou les feux d'artifices, mais le moment où la fête dégénère.

 

LES COMMENTAIRES NE SONT PAS DE MOI, JE LES AI COPIES SUR LES PETITS PANNEAUX QUI ACCOMPAGNAIENT LES TABLEAUX

 

ENGLISH :

Jan Both (Utrecht, towards 1618-1652) Party and brawl on the outskirts of the Spanish Embassy, 1637-1638 The painting evokes a real event: the festivities organized in 1637 by the Spanish Ambassador in Rome piazza di Spagna, in honor of the election of Emperor Ferdinand III of Habsburg. However, Both does not state the official ceremony or the fireworks, but the moment the party degenerates.

 

I thought I'd join in with the change project..i dont think this will be a 365 as its a shockingly bad photo. :)

 

Change also relates exactly to the last few days, actually.

I just think its really interesting how things can change so much in such a short amount of time and how you can suddenly see something or someone in a whole knew light. Definitely some changes going on in my life, but its no big deal really. :)

 

Sorry for the reflection and this selective colouring is pushing the boundaries of my editing skills :)

 

Abbey of the Dormition is a Catholic abbey belonging to the Benedictine Order in Jerusalem, on Mount Zion just outside the walls of the Old City near the Zion Gate. The Abbey is said to mark the spot where Mary, mother of Jesus, died.

 

Between 1998 and 2006 the community was known as the Abbey of Hagia Maria Sion, in reference to the basilica of Hagia Sion that stood on this spot during the Byzantine period, but it resumed the original name during the 2006 celebrations of the monastery's centenary. "Hagia Maria Sion" is now the name of the foundation supporting the abbey's buildings, community and academic work.

 

In recent years the church has become a target for vandalism and desecration by Israeli nationalists.

 

The Byzantine basilica Hagia Sion was built under John II, Bishop of Jerusalem in the early 5th century. Relics attributed to Saint Stephen were transferred to the church on 26 December 415. The church is shown in the 6th-century Madaba Map. It was destroyed in the 614 sack of Jerusalem by Sasanian king Khosrau II.

 

Its foundations were recovered in 1899, when the architect and construction manager of the Diocese of Cologne, Heinrich Renard [de] (1868–1928), investigated the site. Bargil Pixner proposed the theory of a pre-Crusader Church of Zion, the continuation of an early Judeo-Christian congregation and their house of worship, which he located on the Madaba Map next to the Hagia Sion basilica.

 

A monastic order known as the Abbey of Our Lady of Mount Zion was established at the site in the 12th century, with a church built on the ruins of the earlier demolished Byzantine church. The 12th century church was again destroyed in the 13th century, and the monks moved to Sicily. The order was eventually absorbed into the Jesuits in 1617 (the Congregation of Notre-Dame de Sion is an unrelated monastic order founded in 1843).

 

The order was chosen as the namesake of the "Priory of Sion hoax" created by French esotericist Pierre Plantard during the 1960s.

 

During his visit to Jerusalem in 1898 for the dedication of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Kaiser Wilhelm II bought this piece of land on Mount Zion for 120,000 German Goldmark from Sultan Abdul Hamid II and presented it to the "German Association of the Holy Land" ("de:Deutscher Verein vom Heiligen Lande").

 

Conrad Schick reported about the event, describing the acquired plot of land and showing confidence that the remains of the ancient Zion Church would be discovered under the accumulated dirt.

 

According to local tradition, it was on this spot, near the site of the Last Supper, that the Blessed Virgin Mary died, or at least ended her worldly existence. Both in Orthodoxy and Catholicism, as in the language of scripture, death is often called a "sleeping" – or "falling asleep" – and this gave the original monastery its name. The church itself is called Basilica of the Assumption (or Dormition). In the Catholic dogma of the Assumption of Mary, Christ's mother was taken, body and soul, to heaven.

 

Renard delivered the designs and plans for the Abbey, the direction of construction was entrusted to the architect Theodor Sandel [de], a member of the Temple Society and a resident of Jerusalem. The foundation stone was laid on 7 October 1900. Construction was completed in only ten years; the basilica was dedicated on 10 April 1910 by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. The Abbey was built in an ecclesiastical, neo-Romanesque style that had become the state style of the new Imperial Germany.

 

The present church is a circular building with several niches containing altars, and a choir. Two spiral staircases lead to the crypt, the site ascribed to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, and also to the organ-loft and the gallery, from where two of the church's four towers are accessible.

 

Out of regard for the nearby Jewish and Muslim sacred place of David's Tomb, which occupies part of the ground floor of the Cenacle, where it has traditionally been said that the Last Supper took place, the belltower is set far enough away that its shadow does not touch the tomb, and is therefore not directly accessible from the church.

 

The first monks had already been sent to Jerusalem in 1906 from Beuron Archabbey in Germany. They were interned for the first time in 1918–1921, after the end of World War I. In 1926 the monastery was raised to the status of an abbey within the Beuron Congregation. Between 1939 and 1945, the German monks were interned for the second time, and then for the third time as the result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War<1947-1949>. The abbey was located in the Israeli-controlled territory on mount Zion, across from the Jordanian-controlled territory within the walled city.

 

In 1951, the abbey was separated from the Beuron Congregation and placed under the direct supervision of the Abbot-Primate of the Benedictines in Rome.

 

The community elected its own abbot for the first time in 1979.

 

Theology seminar

Since 1973 the abbey has been hosting an ecumenical year of study for students of theology from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The curriculum encompasses biblical, Eastern Orthodox Church, Judaic, and Islamic studies.

 

Vandalism

The Dormition Abbey, along with other Christian sites, has been the target of occasional vandalism as a form of "price tag" terrorism by extremist Israeli nationalist religious youths.

 

In October 2012 and in May and June 2013 the abbey was vandalized with anti-Christian graffiti and insults in Hebrew. The offensive words compared Christians to monkeys and called for revenge against Jesus. Two cars were also covered with graffiti and all tyres were slashed. One of the gates of the nearby Greek Orthodox cemetery was also marked with graffiti. This was allegedly a "price tag" attack carried out by nationalist religious extremists for the dismantling of an illegal outpost Havat Ma'on.

 

On 26 May 2014 a box of wooden crosses was set ablaze inside the Dormition Abbey. It is believed that this was some sort of failed arson attempt. At the same time of the arson attempt, Pope Francis was conducting a service in the building next door in the Cenacle two floors above the room of King David's Tomb.

 

A vandal entered the premises by jumping over a fence in December 2014 and went on to damage a crucifix, a bench, and a number of statues in the cemetery, one of which marked the grave of a monk with Israeli nationality.

 

In January 2016, vandals wrote slogans on the walls of the Abbey such as "Death to the heathen Christians, the enemies of Israel" and "May his name be obliterated" (whose first letters in Hebrew spell the name of Jesus). Gregory Collins, who was then the abbot, addressed a crowd of demonstrators for peace in Galilee, saying that: “The attack on the church is an attack on all those who believe in a civilization of love and coexistence.

 

Jerusalem is an ancient city in West Asia, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both Israel and Palestine claim Jerusalem as their capital; Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there, and the State of Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power. Neither claim, however, is widely recognized internationally.

 

Throughout its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, and attacked 52 times. The part of Jerusalem called the City of David shows first signs of settlement in the 4th millennium BCE, in the shape of encampments of nomadic shepherds. During the Canaanite period (14th century BCE), Jerusalem was named as Urusalim on ancient Egyptian tablets, probably meaning "City of Shalem" after a Canaanite deity. During the Israelite period, significant construction activity in Jerusalem began in the 10th century BCE (Iron Age II), and by the 9th century BCE, the city had developed into the religious and administrative centre of the Kingdom of Judah. In 1538, the city walls were rebuilt for a last time around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. Today those walls define the Old City, which since the 19th century has been divided into four quarters – the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Since 1860, Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old City's boundaries. In 2022, Jerusalem had a population of some 971,800 residents, of which almost 60% were Jews and almost 40% Palestinians. In 2020, the population was 951,100, of which Jews comprised 570,100 (59.9%), Muslims 353,800 (37.2%), Christians 16,300 (1.7%), and 10,800 unclassified (1.1%).

 

According to the Hebrew Bible, King David conquered the city from the Jebusites and established it as the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel, and his son, King Solomon, commissioned the building of the First Temple. Modern scholars argue that Jews branched out of the Canaanite peoples and culture through the development of a distinct monolatrous—and later monotheistic—religion centred on El/Yahweh. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, assumed central symbolic importance for the Jewish people. The sobriquet of holy city (Hebrew: עיר הקודש, romanized: 'Ir ha-Qodesh) was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, which Christians adopted as their own "Old Testament", was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection there. In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. The city was the first qibla, the standard direction for Muslim prayers (salah), and in Islamic tradition, Muhammad made his Night Journey there in 621, ascending to heaven where he speaks to God, according to the Quran. As a result, despite having an area of only 0.9 km2 (3⁄8 sq mi), the Old City is home to many sites of seminal religious importance, among them the Temple Mount with its Western Wall, Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

 

Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the areas captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured and later annexed by Jordan. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently effectively annexed it into Jerusalem, together with additional surrounding territory.[note 6] One of Israel's Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the country's undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the residences of the Prime Minister (Beit Aghion) and President (Beit HaNassi), and the Supreme Court. The international community rejects the annexation as illegal and regards East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory occupied by Israel.

 

Etymology

The name "Jerusalem" is variously etymologized to mean "foundation (Semitic yry' 'to found, to lay a cornerstone') of the pagan god Shalem"; the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city.

 

Shalim or Shalem was the name of the god of dusk in the Canaanite religion, whose name is based on the same root S-L-M from which the Hebrew word for "peace" is derived (Shalom in Hebrew, cognate with Arabic Salam). The name thus offered itself to etymologizations such as "The City of Peace", "Abode of Peace", "Dwelling of Peace" ("founded in safety"), or "Vision of Peace" in some Christian authors.

 

The ending -ayim indicates the dual, thus leading to the suggestion that the name Yerushalayim refers to the fact that the city initially sat on two hills.

 

Ancient Egyptian sources

The Execration Texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (c. 19th century BCE), which refer to a city called rwšꜣlmm or ꜣwšꜣmm, variously transcribed as Rušalimum, or Urušalimum, may indicate Jerusalem. Alternatively, the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba (1330s BCE), which reference an Úrušalim, may be the earliest mention of the city.

 

Hebrew Bible and Jewish sources

The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua. According to a Midrash, the name is a combination of two names united by God, Yireh ("the abiding place", the name given by Abraham to the place where he planned to sacrifice his son) and Shalem ("Place of Peace", the name given by high priest Shem).

 

Oldest written mention of Jerusalem

One of the earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states: "I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem", or as other scholars suggest: "Yahweh is the God of the whole earth. The mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem". An older example on papyrus is known from the previous century.

 

In extra-biblical inscriptions, the earliest known example of the -ayim ending was discovered on a column about 3 km west of ancient Jerusalem, dated to the first century BCE.

 

Jebus, Zion, City of David

An ancient settlement of Jerusalem, founded as early as the Bronze Age on the hill above the Gihon Spring, was, according to the Bible, named Jebus. Called the "Fortress of Zion" (metsudat Zion), it was renamed as the "City of David", and was known by this name in antiquity. Another name, "Zion", initially referred to a distinct part of the city, but later came to signify the city as a whole, and afterwards to represent the whole biblical Land of Israel.

 

Greek, Roman and Byzantine names

In Greek and Latin, the city's name was transliterated Hierosolyma (Greek: Ἱεροσόλυμα; in Greek hieròs, ἱερός, means holy), although the city was renamed Aelia Capitolina for part of the Roman period of its history.

 

Salem

The Aramaic Apocryphon of Genesis of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QapGen 22:13) equates Jerusalem with the earlier "Salem" (שלם), said to be the kingdom of Melchizedek in Genesis 14. Other early Hebrew sources, early Christian renderings of the verse and targumim, however, put Salem in Northern Israel near Shechem (Sichem), now Nablus, a city of some importance in early sacred Hebrew writing. Possibly the redactor of the Apocryphon of Genesis wanted to dissociate Melchizedek from the area of Shechem, which at the time was in possession of the Samaritans. However that may be, later Rabbinic sources also equate Salem with Jerusalem, mainly to link Melchizedek to later Temple traditions.

 

Arabic names

In Arabic, Jerusalem is most commonly known as القُدس, transliterated as al-Quds and meaning "the holy" or "the holy sanctuary", cognate with Hebrew: הקדש, romanized: ha-qodesh. The name is possibly a shortened form of مدينة القُدس Madīnat al-Quds "city of the holy sanctuary" after the Hebrew nickname with the same meaning, Ir ha-Qodesh (עיר הקדש). The ق (Q) is pronounced either with a voiceless uvular plosive (/q/), as in Classical Arabic, or with a glottal stop (ʔ) as in Levantine Arabic. Official Israeli government policy mandates that أُورُشَلِيمَ, transliterated as Ūrušalīm, which is the name frequently used in Christian translations of the Bible into Arabic, be used as the Arabic language name for the city in conjunction with القُدس, giving أُورُشَلِيمَ-القُدس, Ūrušalīm-al-Quds. Palestinian Arab families who hail from this city are often called "Qudsi" (قُدسي) or "Maqdasi" (مقدسي), while Palestinian Muslim Jerusalemites may use these terms as a demonym.

 

Given the city's central position in both Jewish nationalism (Zionism) and Palestinian nationalism, the selectivity required to summarize some 5,000 years of inhabited history is often influenced by ideological bias or background. Israeli or Jewish nationalists claim a right to the city based on Jewish indigeneity to the land, particularly their origins in and descent from the Israelites, for whom Jerusalem is their capital, and their yearning for return. In contrast, Palestinian nationalists claim the right to the city based on modern Palestinians' longstanding presence and descent from many different peoples who have settled or lived in the region over the centuries. Both sides claim the history of the city has been politicized by the other in order to strengthen their relative claims to the city, and that this is borne out by the different focuses the different writers place on the various events and eras in the city's history.

 

Prehistory

The first archaeological evidence of human presence in the area comes in the form of flints dated to between 6000 and 7000 years ago, with ceramic remains appearing during the Chalcolithic period, and the first signs of permanent settlement appearing in the Early Bronze Age in 3000–2800 BCE.

 

Bronze and Iron Ages

The earliest evidence of city fortifications appear in the Mid to Late Bronze Age and could date to around the 18th century BCE. By around 1550–1200 BCE, Jerusalem was the capital of an Egyptian vassal city-state, a modest settlement governing a few outlying villages and pastoral areas, with a small Egyptian garrison and ruled by appointees such as king Abdi-Heba. At the time of Seti I (r. 1290–1279 BCE) and Ramesses II (r. 1279–1213 BCE), major construction took place as prosperity increased. The city's inhabitants at this time were Canaanites, who are believed by scholars to have evolved into the Israelites via the development of a distinct Yahweh-centric monotheistic belief system.

 

Archaeological remains from the ancient Israelite period include the Siloam Tunnel, an aqueduct built by Judahite king Hezekiah and once containing an ancient Hebrew inscription, known as the Siloam Inscription; the so-called Broad Wall, a defensive fortification built in the 8th century BCE, also by Hezekiah; the Silwan necropolis (9th–7th c. BCE) with the Monolith of Silwan and the Tomb of the Royal Steward, which were decorated with monumental Hebrew inscriptions; and the so-called Israelite Tower, remnants of ancient fortifications, built from large, sturdy rocks with carved cornerstones. A huge water reservoir dating from this period was discovered in 2012 near Robinson's Arch, indicating the existence of a densely built-up quarter across the area west of the Temple Mount during the Kingdom of Judah.

 

When the Assyrians conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE, Jerusalem was strengthened by a great influx of refugees from the northern kingdom. When Hezekiah ruled, Jerusalem had no fewer than 25,000 inhabitants and covered 25 acres (10 hectares).

 

In 587–586 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire conquered Jerusalem after a prolonged siege, and then systematically destroyed the city, including Solomon's Temple. The Kingdom of Judah was abolished and many were exiled to Babylon. These events mark the end of the First Temple period.

 

Biblical account

This period, when Canaan formed part of the Egyptian empire, corresponds in biblical accounts to Joshua's invasion, but almost all scholars agree that the Book of Joshua holds little historical value for early Israel.

 

In the Bible, Jerusalem is defined as lying within territory allocated to the tribe of Benjamin though still inhabited by Jebusites. David is said to have conquered these in the siege of Jebus, and transferred his capital from Hebron to Jerusalem which then became the capital of a United Kingdom of Israel, and one of its several religious centres. The choice was perhaps dictated by the fact that Jerusalem did not form part of Israel's tribal system, and was thus suited to serve as the centre of its confederation. Opinion is divided over whether the so-called Large Stone Structure and the nearby Stepped Stone Structure may be identified with King David's palace, or dates to a later period.

 

According to the Bible, King David reigned for 40 years and was succeeded by his son Solomon, who built the Holy Temple on Mount Moriah. Solomon's Temple (later known as the First Temple), went on to play a pivotal role in Jewish religion as the repository of the Ark of the Covenant. On Solomon's death, ten of the northern tribes of Israel broke with the United Monarchy to form their own nation, with its kings, prophets, priests, traditions relating to religion, capitals and temples in northern Israel. The southern tribes, together with the Aaronid priesthood, remained in Jerusalem, with the city becoming the capital of the Kingdom of Judah.

 

Classical antiquity

In 538 BCE, the Achaemenid King Cyrus the Great invited the Jews of Babylon to return to Judah to rebuild the Temple. Construction of the Second Temple was completed in 516 BCE, during the reign of Darius the Great, 70 years after the destruction of the First Temple.

 

Sometime soon after 485 BCE Jerusalem was besieged, conquered and largely destroyed by a coalition of neighbouring states. In about 445 BCE, King Artaxerxes I of Persia issued a decree allowing the city (including its walls) to be rebuilt. Jerusalem resumed its role as capital of Judah and centre of Jewish worship.

 

Many Jewish tombs from the Second Temple period have been unearthed in Jerusalem. One example, discovered north of the Old City, contains human remains in a 1st-century CE ossuary decorated with the Aramaic inscription "Simon the Temple Builder". The Tomb of Abba, also located north of the Old City, bears an Aramaic inscription with Paleo-Hebrew letters reading: "I, Abba, son of the priest Eleaz(ar), son of Aaron the high (priest), Abba, the oppressed and the persecuted, who was born in Jerusalem, and went into exile into Babylonia and brought (back to Jerusalem) Mattathi(ah), son of Jud(ah), and buried him in a cave which I bought by deed." The Tomb of Benei Hezir located in Kidron Valley is decorated by monumental Doric columns and Hebrew inscription, identifying it as the burial site of Second Temple priests. The Tombs of the Sanhedrin, an underground complex of 63 rock-cut tombs, is located in a public park in the northern Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sanhedria. These tombs, probably reserved for members of the Sanhedrin and inscribed by ancient Hebrew and Aramaic writings, are dated to between 100 BCE and 100 CE.

 

When Alexander the Great conquered the Achaemenid Empire, Jerusalem and Judea came under Macedonian control, eventually falling to the Ptolemaic dynasty under Ptolemy I. In 198 BCE, Ptolemy V Epiphanes lost Jerusalem and Judea to the Seleucids under Antiochus III. The Seleucid attempt to recast Jerusalem as a Hellenized city-state came to a head in 168 BCE with the successful Maccabean revolt of Mattathias and his five sons against Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and their establishment of the Hasmonean Kingdom in 152 BCE with Jerusalem as its capital.

 

In 63 BCE, Pompey the Great intervened in a struggle for the Hasmonean throne and captured Jerusalem, extending the influence of the Roman Republic over Judea. Following a short invasion by Parthians, backing the rival Hasmonean rulers, Judea became a scene of struggle between pro-Roman and pro-Parthian forces, eventually leading to the emergence of an Edomite named Herod. As Rome became stronger, it installed Herod as a client king of the Jews. Herod the Great, as he was known, devoted himself to developing and beautifying the city. He built walls, towers and palaces, and expanded the Temple Mount, buttressing the courtyard with blocks of stone weighing up to 100 tons. Under Herod, the area of the Temple Mount doubled in size. Shortly after Herod's death, in 6 CE Judea came under direct Roman rule as the Iudaea Province, although the Herodian dynasty through Agrippa II remained client kings of neighbouring territories until 96 CE.

 

Roman rule over Jerusalem and Judea was challenged in the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), which ended with a Roman victory. Early on, the city was devastated by a brutal civil war between several Jewish factions fighting for control of the city. In 70 CE, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple. The contemporary Jewish historian Josephus wrote that the city "was so thoroughly razed to the ground by those that demolished it to its foundations, that nothing was left that could ever persuade visitors that it had once been a place of habitation." Of the 600,000 (Tacitus) or 1,000,000 (Josephus) Jews of Jerusalem, all of them either died of starvation, were killed or were sold into slavery. Roman rule was again challenged during the Bar Kokhba revolt, beginning in 132 CE and suppressed by the Romans in 135 CE. More recent research indicates that the Romans had founded Aelia Capitolina before the outbreak of the revolt, and found no evidence for Bar Kokhba ever managing to hold the city.

 

Jerusalem reached a peak in size and population at the end of the Second Temple Period, when the city covered two km2 (3⁄4 sq mi) and had a population of 200,000.

 

Late Antiquity

Following the Bar Kokhba revolt, Emperor Hadrian combined Iudaea Province with neighbouring provinces under the new name of Syria Palaestina, replacing the name of Judea. The city was renamed Aelia Capitolina, and rebuilt it in the style of a typical Roman town. Jews were prohibited from entering the city on pain of death, except for one day each year, during the holiday of Tisha B'Av. Taken together, these measures (which also affected Jewish Christians) essentially "secularized" the city. Historical sources and archaeological evidence indicate that the rebuilt city was now inhabited by veterans of the Roman military and immigrants from the western parts of the empire.

 

The ban against Jews was maintained until the 7th century, though Christians would soon be granted an exemption: during the 4th century, the Roman emperor Constantine I ordered the construction of Christian holy sites in the city, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Burial remains from the Byzantine period are exclusively Christian, suggesting that the population of Jerusalem in Byzantine times probably consisted only of Christians.

 

Jerusalem.

In the 5th century, the eastern continuation of the Roman Empire, ruled from the recently renamed Constantinople, maintained control of the city. Within the span of a few decades, Jerusalem shifted from Byzantine to Persian rule, then back to Roman-Byzantine dominion. Following Sassanid Khosrau II's early 7th century push through Syria, his generals Shahrbaraz and Shahin attacked Jerusalem (Persian: Dej Houdkh) aided by the Jews of Palaestina Prima, who had risen up against the Byzantines.

 

In the Siege of Jerusalem of 614, after 21 days of relentless siege warfare, Jerusalem was captured. Byzantine chronicles relate that the Sassanids and Jews slaughtered tens of thousands of Christians in the city, many at the Mamilla Pool, and destroyed their monuments and churches, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This episode has been the subject of much debate between historians. The conquered city would remain in Sassanid hands for some fifteen years until the Byzantine emperor Heraclius reconquered it in 629.

 

Middle Ages

After the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Byzantine Jerusalem was taken by Umar ibn al-Khattab in 638 CE. Among the first Muslims, it was referred to as Madinat bayt al-Maqdis ("City of the Temple"), a name restricted to the Temple Mount. The rest of the city "was called Iliya, reflecting the Roman name given the city following the destruction of 70 CE: Aelia Capitolina". Later the Temple Mount became known as al-Haram al-Sharif, "The Noble Sanctuary", while the city around it became known as Bayt al-Maqdis, and later still, al-Quds al-Sharif "The Holy, Noble". The Islamization of Jerusalem began in the first year A.H. (623 CE), when Muslims were instructed to face the city while performing their daily prostrations and, according to Muslim religious tradition, Muhammad's night journey and ascension to heaven took place. After 13 years, the direction of prayer was changed to Mecca. In 638 CE the Islamic Caliphate extended its dominion to Jerusalem. With the Muslim conquest, Jews were allowed back into the city. The Rashidun caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab signed a treaty with Christian Patriarch of Jerusalem Sophronius, assuring him that Jerusalem's Christian holy places and population would be protected under Muslim rule. Christian-Arab tradition records that, when led to pray at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the holiest sites for Christians, the caliph Umar refused to pray in the church so that Muslims would not request conversion of the church to a mosque. He prayed outside the church, where the Mosque of Umar (Omar) stands to this day, opposite the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. According to the Gaullic bishop Arculf, who lived in Jerusalem from 679 to 688, the Mosque of Umar was a rectangular wooden structure built over ruins which could accommodate 3,000 worshipers.

 

When the Arab armies under Umar went to Bayt Al-Maqdes in 637 CE, they searched for the site of al-masjid al-aqsa, "the farthest place of prayer/mosque", that was mentioned in the Quran and Hadith according to Islamic beliefs. Contemporary Arabic and Hebrew sources say the site was full of rubbish, and that Arabs and Jews cleaned it. The Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik commissioned the construction of a shrine on the Temple Mount, now known as the Dome of the Rock, in the late 7th century. Two of the city's most-distinguished Arab citizens of the 10th-century were Al-Muqaddasi, the geographer, and Al-Tamimi, the physician. Al-Muqaddasi writes that Abd al-Malik built the edifice on the Temple Mount in order to compete in grandeur with Jerusalem's monumental churches.

 

Over the next four hundred years, Jerusalem's prominence diminished as Arab powers in the region vied for control of the city. Jerusalem was captured in 1073 by the Seljuk Turkish commander Atsız. After Atsız was killed, the Seljuk prince Tutush I granted the city to Artuk Bey, another Seljuk commander. After Artuk's death in 1091 his sons Sökmen and Ilghazi governed in the city up to 1098 when the Fatimids recaptured the city.

 

A messianic Karaite movement to gather in Jerusalem took place at the turn of the millennium, leading to a "Golden Age" of Karaite scholarship there, which was only terminated by the Crusades.

 

Crusader/Ayyubid period

In 1099, the Fatimid ruler expelled the native Christian population before Jerusalem was besieged by the soldiers of the First Crusade. After taking the solidly defended city by assault, the Crusaders massacred most of its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants, and made it the capital of their Kingdom of Jerusalem. The city, which had been virtually emptied, was recolonized by a variegated inflow of Greeks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Georgians, Armenians, Syrians, Egyptians, Nestorians, Maronites, Jacobite Miaphysites, Copts and others, to block the return of the surviving Muslims and Jews. The north-eastern quarter was repopulated with Eastern Christians from the Transjordan. As a result, by 1099 Jerusalem's population had climbed back to some 30,000.

 

In 1187, the city was wrested from the Crusaders by Saladin who permitted Jews and Muslims to return and settle in the city. Under the terms of surrender, once ransomed, 60,000 Franks were expelled. The Eastern Christian populace was permitted to stay. Under the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin, a period of huge investment began in the construction of houses, markets, public baths, and pilgrim hostels as well as the establishment of religious endowments. However, for most of the 13th century, Jerusalem declined to the status of a village due to city's fall of strategic value and Ayyubid internecine struggles.

 

From 1229 to 1244, Jerusalem peacefully reverted to Christian control as a result of a 1229 treaty agreed between the crusading Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and al-Kamil, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, that ended the Sixth Crusade. The Ayyubids retained control of the Muslim holy places, and Arab sources suggest that Frederick was not permitted to restore Jerusalem's fortifications.

 

In 1244, Jerusalem was sacked by the Khwarezmian Tatars, who decimated the city's Christian population and drove out the Jews. The Khwarezmian Tatars were driven out by the Ayyubids in 1247.

 

Mamluk period

From 1260 to 1516/17, Jerusalem was ruled by the Mamluks. In the wider region and until around 1300, many clashes occurred between the Mamluks on one side, and the crusaders and the Mongols, on the other side. The area also suffered from many earthquakes and black plague. When Nachmanides visited in 1267 he found only two Jewish families, in a population of 2,000, 300 of whom were Christians, in the city. The well-known and far-traveled lexicographer Fairuzabadi (1329–1414) spent ten years in Jerusalem.

 

The 13th to 15th centuries was a period of frequent building activity in the city, as evidenced by the 90 remaining structures from this time. The city was also a significant site of Mamluk architectural patronage. The types of structures built included madrasas, libraries, hospitals, caravanserais, fountains (or sabils), and public baths. Much of the building activity was concentrated around the edges of the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif. Old gates to the Haram lost importance and new gates were built, while significant parts of the northern and western porticoes along the edge of the Temple Mount plaza were built or rebuilt in this period. Tankiz, the Mamluk amir in charge of Syria during the reign of al-Nasir Muhammad, built a new market called Suq al-Qattatin (Cotton Market) in 1336–7, along with the gate known as Bab al-Qattanin (Cotton Gate), which gave access to the Temple Mount from this market. The late Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay also took interest in the city. He commissioned the building of the Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya, completed in 1482, and the nearby Sabil of Qaytbay, built shortly after in 1482; both were located on the Temple Mount. Qaytbay's monuments were the last major Mamluk constructions in the city.

 

Modern era

In 1517, Jerusalem and its environs fell to the Ottoman Turks, who generally remained in control until 1917.[180] Jerusalem enjoyed a prosperous period of renewal and peace under Suleiman the Magnificent—including the rebuilding of magnificent walls around the Old City. Throughout much of Ottoman rule, Jerusalem remained a provincial, if religiously important centre, and did not straddle the main trade route between Damascus and Cairo. The English reference book Modern history or the present state of all nations, written in 1744, stated that "Jerusalem is still reckoned the capital city of Palestine, though much fallen from its ancient grandeaur".

 

The Ottomans brought many innovations: modern postal systems run by the various consulates and regular stagecoach and carriage services were among the first signs of modernization in the city. In the mid 19th century, the Ottomans constructed the first paved road from Jaffa to Jerusalem, and by 1892 the railroad had reached the city.

 

With the annexation of Jerusalem by Muhammad Ali of Egypt in 1831, foreign missions and consulates began to establish a foothold in the city. In 1836, Ibrahim Pasha allowed Jerusalem's Jewish residents to restore four major synagogues, among them the Hurva. In the countrywide Peasants' Revolt, Qasim al-Ahmad led his forces from Nablus and attacked Jerusalem, aided by the Abu Ghosh clan, and entered the city on 31 May 1834. The Christians and Jews of Jerusalem were subjected to attacks. Ibrahim's Egyptian army routed Qasim's forces in Jerusalem the following month.

 

Ottoman rule was reinstated in 1840, but many Egyptian Muslims remained in Jerusalem and Jews from Algiers and North Africa began to settle in the city in growing numbers. In the 1840s and 1850s, the international powers began a tug-of-war in Palestine as they sought to extend their protection over the region's religious minorities, a struggle carried out mainly through consular representatives in Jerusalem. According to the Prussian consul, the population in 1845 was 16,410, with 7,120 Jews, 5,000 Muslims, 3,390 Christians, 800 Turkish soldiers and 100 Europeans. The volume of Christian pilgrims increased under the Ottomans, doubling the city's population around Easter time.

 

In the 1860s, new neighbourhoods began to develop outside the Old City walls to house pilgrims and relieve the intense overcrowding and poor sanitation inside the city. The Russian Compound and Mishkenot Sha'ananim were founded in 1860, followed by many others that included Mahane Israel (1868), Nahalat Shiv'a (1869), German Colony (1872), Beit David (1873), Mea Shearim (1874), Shimon HaZadiq (1876), Beit Ya'aqov (1877), Abu Tor (1880s), American-Swedish Colony (1882), Yemin Moshe (1891), and Mamilla, Wadi al-Joz around the turn of the century. In 1867 an American Missionary reports an estimated population of Jerusalem of 'above' 15,000, with 4,000 to 5,000 Jews and 6,000 Muslims. Every year there were 5,000 to 6,000 Russian Christian Pilgrims. In 1872 Jerusalem became the centre of a special administrative district, independent of the Syria Vilayet and under the direct authority of Istanbul called the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem.

 

The great number of Christian orphans resulting from the 1860 civil war in Mount Lebanon and the Damascus massacre led in the same year to the opening of the German Protestant Syrian Orphanage, better known as the Schneller Orphanage after its founder. Until the 1880s there were no formal Jewish orphanages in Jerusalem, as families generally took care of each other. In 1881 the Diskin Orphanage was founded in Jerusalem with the arrival of Jewish children orphaned by a Russian pogrom. Other orphanages founded in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 20th century were Zion Blumenthal Orphanage (1900) and General Israel Orphan's Home for Girls (1902).

"relating to the motion of material bodies and the forces and energy associated therewith"

 

A creative outing with my photo club - Inland Empire Photo Club - where we played with light and motion and long exposures to create kinetic art. It was a wonderful, creative evening.

When I first started noticing Monster High dolls in 2011, Draculaura certainly wasn't one of the characters to catch my attention. There were so many other appealing options who jumped out at me, like Deuce Gorgon and Cleo de Nile. Even as I learned more about the franchise in 2013, Draculaura still didn't stand out in my memory. I would relate her in this way to Bratz Cloe. Like Cloe, Draculaura is one of the pillars in the world of Monster High. Also, similar to Cloe, I wasn't compelled by Draculaura initially. Instead, my fondness was rooted in the fact that I overlooked her. Let me explain. It was March 2013...close to a year after my dad passed away. In those days, Colleen and I had lots of time to kill. We were both learning how to navigate this new and daunting life all by ourselves. However, we followed in the footsteps of our dad and often found ourselves using shopping as a distraction. It was this spring that I felt the strongest urge to dabble in Monster High. Maybe I needed a new type of doll to wash away my worries. Maybe it was simply that I put off my desire to buy Monster High dolls for two years. Whatever the case, the timing couldn't have been any more perfect.

 

I had my heart set on getting Scaris Deuce. As I mentioned before, Mr. Gorgon was one of the Monster High characters who stole my heart immediately. It was that green snake mohawk...oh how I have a weakness for male dolls with this hairdo. I had discovered while doing some preliminary Monster High internet browsing, that a Scaris Deuce was scheduled to be released. This would be the MOST opportune time to score a Deuce Gorgon doll. The day I set out to procure this Deuce, I had no such luck. But after spending several hours driving around in my beat up 1999 Jeep Wrangler and stopping at every possible location that carried dolls, my sister started realizing how obtainable Monster High dolls were. Colleen had not liked the concept or look of the dolls from the get go. She preferred more traditional, conventionally attractive dolls. We were also both aware that collectors and kids alike were frenzied over them. Seeing how affordable and widely stocked they were made Colleen have a change of heart. She encouraged me to buy at least one of the dolls we stumbled upon that day. That way I could see how much I enjoyed her, and track Deuce down later if I was impressed. I had my sights set on "Swim Class" Lagoona. We were at one of the last stops of the day, at a small store called Benny's, when I finally caved. The "Swim Class" dolls were all on some sort of sale, which sweetened the offer. The last store we planned on popping into was an antique shop down the road. Since there would be no Monster High dolls there, I made my move. I decided to not only buy Lagoona, but Venus McFlytrap too. She was yet another character whose unique design captured my attention. I realized as I was giving one last pan over the humble Monster High section that there was only one doll left in the "Swim Class" line. I would only be missing Draculaura. It seemed silly to not grab her too, what with the sale and the adorably irresistible beach theme (a true shopaholic's logic). Just as Cloe dolls found themselves at the register in year's past, Draculaura made her way to check out just because it would have been unfair to not snag her too.

 

Unexpectedly, it was that almost-left-behind Draculaura who made the greatest impression on me. Looking back nearly ten years ago as I type this, I can still visualize that moment with such clarity it's like I was just experiencing it. I thought I'd open my "least favorite" doll first, as we had the hoard of newly acquired plastic friends spread out over our dining room table. We'd also found several 90s Disney dolls at the antique store that same afternoon...strangely, I was more excited about the Monster High gals. It didn't take much effort to free Draculaura from her cardboard and plastic shroud. The second she was fully grasped in my hand was truly magical. There was something special about the way this doll felt, the scent emanating from her new hair, and her vampire styled features. I turned to Colleen and expressed how impressed I was. She too found herself fawning over Draculaura. Her darling pigtails, cherubic swimsuit, and goofy expression (which lacked fangs) were irresistible. I knew in my heart that this was the beginning of something wonderful...and something expensive.

 

As I began my infamous Monster High binge of 2013, I strangely wasn't compelled to buy Draculaura dolls. Perhaps this was in part because my "Swim Class" Draculaura was hard to beat. I was admittedly trying not to purchase too many of the same character, that way I could have a bit more variety in my collection. I could not, however, resist a deal. That's why I bought 2012 Dead Tired and Skull Shores Draculaura rather early on. I was especially excited by Skull Shores, since she was slightly "out of date" (not really, but the line wasn't brand new). Funnily enough, she turned out to be one of my first duplicates. I acquired the Skull Shores Gift Set later that summer for dirt cheap (with a gift card and a sale I think I paid $15 for the set). I was amazed at how derpy and homely this version was (her Indonesian country make gave her strikingly different features). I was happy to dress her in a Scaris fashion pack I bought...why have two dolls wearing the same outfit on display? Then of course there was 2012 Dead Tired Draculaura. Just like my "Swim Class" lady, she ended up in my shopping bag because of a sale at the Family Dollar. She was the least interesting of the trio when I stumbled upon them on our way, ironically, to the aforementioned antique store not long after. Several years later, in 2014, I cracked and bought Scaris Draculaura for 50 percent off (a shopping spree we dubbed the "Barnes and Noble Bonanza"). She was the LAST doll from the expansive Scaris line I was missing. Despite the fact that she was rather bland, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to complete the iconic collection when she was such a bargain.

 

Not all my Draculaura dolls were random purchases though. There were several gals who I was fixated on adding to my collection. I'll never forget the most notorious one...."1st Edition Re-release" Draculaura. Websites denoted this reissue wave as the "Original Favorites." I had heard rumors that Clawdeen, Frankie, and Draculaura might be re-released, but I was skeptical. One day I was checking Walmart's website when I saw the three dollies pop up. I literally screeched from my rolling chair in front of the computer. Colleen could hear my jubilant cries from the bathroom. I immediately ordered all three...but I most anticipated Draculaura. When the package arrived, I was enthralled by her. She was perfect in every way. I recall taking photos of her for my old Flickr account in front of our porch flower baskets. Her beauty had to be captured. My collection began at a convenient time because Mattel was beginning to re-release many of the old school Monster High dolls (a smart way to capitalize off the brand's success). Dead Tired Draculaura was released as a Kohl's exclusive with her bed set. I stalked this doll online until she went on a 50% off sale. She was a Christmas gift of sorts to myself...and the very first thing I ever ordered for Kohl's website. Her iconic, vertically styled ponytails had made her one of those dolls I HAD to own. I was over the moon that Mattel had made it possible for me to purchase these classic Draculaura dolls for retail price. At that point, in 2013, the online resale values of Monster High dolls were outrageous (I relate it to the Beanie Babies fad of the 1990s). I simply couldn't afford to purchase any of the older dolls on eBay...and I didn't want to feed into the ridiculous hype. Some people scoffed at the reissues and made many disparaging remarks about their quality (I recall my old Flickr being barraged with these sorts of comments). But my spirit was not dampened...I was simply grateful for the opportunity to get my hands on some of these gals like Draculaura.

 

Two of my other early favorites were Snow Bite and 13 Wishes Draculaura. I couldn't believe my luck when Snow Bite popped up at Target for 50% off one evening when we were heading home from an eye exam. Ironically, I also found Sea Stunnerz Cloe on sale at the same store. Cloe was still notorious for being the last Bratz character I'd buy from a set. I couldn't decide who I was more stoked to acquire that night between Draculaura and Cloe (to this day, I can't answer that question). Poor Little Dead Riding Wolf Clawdeen didn't stand a chance. I hoped to get 13 Wishes Draculaura on sale, but that opportunity never came my way. I was so taken with her, that I remember forking out the full hog for her at Kmart one afternoon. I just couldn't bear the thought of not having her...especially since I had the rest of the Haunt the Casbah set already (in perfect condition). Die-ner Draculaura was another fixation of mine. Normally it would have been her food themed playset that drew me in. On the contrary, I found the doll herself to be captivating. I almost purchased her at Toys 'R' Us in 2014 on sale. But since I was trying to curb my doll spending, I ended up leaving her behind. It was a decision I regretted until I found my secondhand lady at the flea market some years later.

 

Speaking of the flea market, I have always had decent luck when it came to Draculaura. Being manufactured for almost every Monster High line means that Drac has a better chance of turning up in the wild. Sometimes I would hit gold and stumble upon a coveted Draculaura. "School's Out," Art Class, and Sweet 1600 were all ladies I wanted to buy brand new. Obviously, "School's Out" was long gone from stores by the time I started my collection. But I almost bought Sweet 1600 and Art Class Draculaura on several different occasions when they were still available. I was willing to pay a little more than usual for them secondhand too, because I was so in love. I want to say Sweet 1600 cost me a whopping $6 used, because the seller knew Monster High dolls were so popular at the time. She was worth every penny, especially since I was angry with myself for not buying her in stores while I could (I still would buy her boxed since I don't have her spare clothing item!). Gloom Beach Draculaura is another notable flea market find. I discovered her all alone in a large container, entirely nude with only a stand. I recognized her right away...that goofy expression was ingrained into my memory. I took pity on her unclad figure and gluey head. Since she was just one dollar, I had to adopt her. It wasn't all that long later that I purchased an inexpensive Monster High clothing lot on eBay, that featured her swimsuit! I can't deny that it was the presence of her outfit that prompted me to buy it. Similarly I took pity on Creepateria Draculaura at the local Salvation Army. She was wearing improper attire AND was sporting limbless arm sockets. I couldn't leave her behind in such a condition when I had Draculaura fashion packs at home, and a set of arms! Not all my thrifted dolls were such sorry stories though. I found a few gems, like Save Frankie and Frights Camera Action--dolls I didn't ogle in stores, but was very grateful to find used.

 

Something else notable about my love for Draculaura was my keen interest in her redesign. In 2016, Mattel started shifting the Monster High brand into a more "kid friendly" direction. Translated, this means they were making the dolls cheaper quality with more babyish details, to appeal to a younger audience. Cue in the era of molded clothes and less articulation! Unlike many collectors, I didn't see this revamp as a Monster High doomsday. Granted, I knew it would lead to the end of the franchise, but I still was interested in buying the dolls. I couldn't write this "My Story" and not mention my infamous Monster Family Vampire Kitchen pack. It was a set that I could only dream about. It retailed for around $45 and only showed up locally at Kmart. I was broke then, in 2018...which meant I didn't have the funds for such an extravagant purchase. I was also cripplingly depressed...the worst my depression had ever been. For my 27th birthday, Colleen and our friend Beth surprised me. I knew that Beth was coming over to hang out for my birthday. I did NOT know that she and Colleen conspired to buy me the Monster High set. They told me one afternoon they were going out to eat at a restaurant Colleen had a gift card to. While this was true, they also went out to Kmart after and bought Draculaura and Dracula. It was an easy lie to sell, because I HATE going out to eat (I haven't sat at an actual restaurant since probably 2015...only pizza places once a year if that). You can imagine how my face lit up when I opened the wrapped gift and saw Draculaura and Dracula staring back at me. I had no idea what was in the mysterious package...it was a better present than I ever could have dreamed. If you watch my videos, then you will be very familiar with Dracula. But it shouldn't go unmentioned that I adore Draculaura just as much--she means the world to me. This memory has made the revamped era of Monster High dolls irreplaceable to me. Sure, if the dolls had come out a few years earlier it would have been more detailed. But I love Dracula's static "Pepsi drinking" bent arm and Draculaura's matronly design. I am also incredibly fond of Party Hair and Skulltimate Art Class Draculaura who are from the same time frame. They were both dolls I admired on store shelves, but couldn't afford. Needless to say, I appreciated them even more when I found them discounted later on ($5 art class playset...what a bargain!).

 

I can't quite explain it, but somehow Draculaura has become the most sentimental Monster High character. Perhaps it's because I blew her off in the beginning so my love for her was unexpected. It could be that I appreciated her re-releases the most. Or maybe it's that experience with my Monster Family Vampire Kitchen that makes her irreplaceable. I can't deny that I have an immense fondness for the revamped era Draculaura dolls...a connection the other characters cannot touch. Sometimes it's the dolls you have the least expectations for that leave the greatest impression in the end. Draculaura has come to mean so much more to me as time has gone on. She's always been a staple in the world of Monster High. But more than that, Draculaura is an integral piece to my personal Monster High experience. I wouldn't change anything...not a single dolly!

“AND THE BUILDING BECOMES MAN”: MEANING AND AESTHETICS IN RUDOLF STEINER’S GOETHEANUM

Carole M. Cusack

Introduction

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), founder of the Anthroposophical Society, is renowned for his work in widely varied fields including education, biodynamic agriculture, politics, banking, poetry, and drama (Hammer 2009: 209). His accomplishments in architecture are among his less well-understood cultural productions. His two greatest achievements – the buildings known as Goetheanum I and Goetheanum II (the latter built after the destruction by fire on 31 December 1922 of the former structure), in the small town of Dornach near Basel in the canton of Jura, Switzerland – have been described as “sculptural architecture,” of a kind similar in Expressionist form to works by his contemporaries Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926), Hermann Obrist (1863-1927), and the younger Hermann Finsterlin (1887-1973) (Sharp 1966). The focus of this chapter, Goetheanum II, is a giant sculpted concrete form four stories high, with sweeping lines that give the effect of a monolith. It is headquarters to the Anthroposophical movement, and contains a one-thousand seat auditorium in which religio-spiritual performances of Eurythmy (Steiner’s movement art, which he initiated in 1912) take place. Contributors to a 1960 issue of the Swiss architectural magazine

Werk featuring the building agreed that its design required “a uniform worldview and lifestyle” (quoted in Steinberg 1976: 4). This is the case: to understand both incarnations of the Goetheanum, built as “Schools for Spiritual Science,” requires an understanding of Anthroposophy and of Steiner himself. Richard A. Peterson has posited that the main “symbol-creating domains most often identified [are] art, science, and religion” (Peterson 1976: 673). Anthroposophy, as developed by Steiner, is a philosophy that integrated all three of these domains, and which formed the basis for an enthusiastic programme of cultural production. This chapter considers the meanings embedded in the aesthetic choices of Steiner in the design and construction of both Goetheanum I and Goetheanum II. Steiner thought that Western Europe needed to re-orientate its Weltanschauung

as a spiritual priority and that art was a crucial part of this regenerative process. David Brain’s argument that cultural production creates society itself is relevant here. Brain states that “[t]he social construction of cultural artefacts entails the production of practices which, in turn, enact their own status in broader social contexts by inscribing both the boundaries of cultural domains and the social status of the author in qualities of the artefact” (Brain 1994: 193). Expressionist artists, some of whom (for example the Russian Wassily Kandinsky) shared Steiner’s Theosophical background, shared his vision for the spiritual renewal of Europe. Steiner could not have been unaware of a range of significant Expressionist philosophies and artistic forms present in Europe during his lifetime, and particularly at the time he was developing Anthroposophy. As a lecturer he travelled extensively, and came into contact with many artists and writers who shared mystical ideas about art. His vision for the headquarters of Anthroposophy was grandiose, like that of many other Expressionists, though unlike most of them he had the opportunity to construct his vision himself. Goetheanum II has also been referred to as a

Gesamtkunstwerk (‘total work of art’), a term associated with Richard Wagner (1813-1883) and with architects such as Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd Wright, who influenced the interiors as well as the exteriors of their buildings (Adams 1992: 182). Yet Steiner wanted something specific for his group; “[n]ot to build in a style born out of our spiritual world view, would mean to deny Anthroposophy in her own house” (quoted in Steinberg 1976: 82). The Goetheanum embodies Anthroposophical ideals, and Anthroposophy inhabited the entire cultural life of its adherents. For Steiner this came in the form of cosmological insights, which could best be achieved in the sculptural shapes and organic forms, derived from the natural world, of the Goetheanum (in both its first and second incarnations). This chapter first considers Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual quest, Anthroposophy, the teaching he developed, and the place of art and cultural production in his vision for a transformed humanity. The creation of seventeen buildings between 1908 and 1925 in Dornach, which in the twenty-first century is a community of approximately six thousand, was a major achievement in embodying the Anthroposophical ideal of revealing a “logic of life” deriving from Goethe’s writings on the natural sciences and esoteric Christianity, in physical forms, and transformed Dornach into something of a pilgrimage centre for Anthroposophists and spiritual seekers (Reese 1965: 146). The meaning and construction of Goetheanum I is explained, then the chapter’s focus shifts to the realised Anthroposophical theology of Goetheanum II, which was designed by Steiner in 1923 but not completed until 1928, three years after his death. This magnificent building is a magnet for tourists and architecture enthusiasts, as quite apart from its Anthroposophical significance, it is a remarkable and beautiful example of Expressionist architecture.

Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) was born in Donji Kraljevec, a village in what is now Croatia but was then Hungary, in the Austrian Empire. He was educated by his father, the provincial stationmaster at Pottschach in Lower Austria, and at the local school. In his uncompleted autobiography, Steiner claimed that by the time he turned eight “the reality of the spiritual world was to me as certain as that of the physical,” and that he was able to communicate with the spirits (Davy 1975a: 12). He was heartened to discover that geometry (and mathematics more generally) was about invisible realities that had been discovered by humans. From 1879 to 1883 he studied mathematics and physics at the Technische Hochschule (Institute of Technology) in Vienna. Steiner funded his studies by working as a tutor, chiefly in philosophy, classics, and literature. During this time he met two people who would significantly affect his development; “an old peasant herb-gatherer … [who] possessed faculties of spiritual perception which allowed him to see deep into the secrets of nature and know, for example, the curative properties of herbs” and “Professor Karl Julius Schroer, the great Goethe scholar” (Davy 1975a: 14). After graduation he was employed at the Goethe Archive in Weimar, where he worked on Goethe’s scientific writings under the direction of Joseph Kürschner, who was preparing a new edition of Goethe’s works (Landau 1935: 50). In 1891 Steiner received his doctorate in philosophy from Rostock University and the next phase of his intellectual and spiritual quest began. This was concerned to relate the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) to that of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1742-1832). From 1897 to 1900 Steiner resided in Berlin, where he edited the

Magazin für Literatur

, “visited Nietzsche, [and] wrote introductions to the works of Schopenhauer” (Schwarz 1983: 11). During this period

he became deeply interested in Theosophy and was a key player in the establishment of the Nietzsche Archive. In 1902 Steiner became head of the Theosophical Society in Germany. Yet, his orientation shifted in the first decade of the twentieth century as he embraced a combination of natural science and esoteric Christianity, partly through the influence of Marie von Sivers, an actress and artist of Russian extraction (Davy 1975a: 20). Von Sivers became his second wife in 1914 after the death of Anna Eunicke, whom he had married in 1899 and separated from a few years later. In 1901 von Sivers had asked Steiner “[w]ould it be possible to create a spiritual movement based on European tradition and the impetus of Christ?”

 

The Theosophical Society had always looked to Hinduism and Buddhism, to the East, for spiritual inspiration; Madame Blavatsky’s “Masters” were Tibetan lamas, and Annie Besant, her successor, and her colleague Charles Webster Leadbeater promoted Jiddu Krishnamurti as the next World Teacher (

Maitreya in Buddhism, also known as the “Cosmic Christ”). It was Theosophy’s endorsement of Krishnamurti that caused Steiner to leave the movement, and to form the Anthroposophical Society late in 1912. The first meeting was convened on 13 February 1913. Steiner was convinced of the crucial and unrepeatable nature of the “Christ impulse,” which was introduced into the human soul through the “Mystery of Golgotha” (Steiner 1976: 63). Christ, for Steiner, was the paradigmatic Being, and a human being at that. Anthroposophy means “the wisdom of man,” and is therefore explicitly contrasted with Theosophy, “the wisdom of God.” Steiner thought that modern

spiritual knowledge should depend, not upon external revelations, but rather upon the development of human mental powers … He claimed to teach nothing he had not himself known through … methods of “spiritual scientific” research … Until his death in 1925, he worked … to develop examples of practical applications of anthroposophy in diverse fields, including education, agriculture, economics, medicine – and architecture (Adams 1992: 185).

Steiner taught that modern humans, influenced by empirical science and logical reasoning, had lost the consciousness possessed by ancient humans, in which the individual was understood to be a microcosm of the universe, and life had meaning accordingly. He advocated the gaining of “Initiation knowledge” of “Mysteries,” which involved developing the human will; and cultivating active thinking, which becomes “an organ of touch for the soul, so that we may feel ourselves thinking in the same way that we walk, grasp or touch; so that we know that we are living in a real being” (Steiner 1991; 13-14). Steiner continued to employ Theosophical concepts, including: the notions that human beings have an etheric body beyond the physical, and an astral body beyond the etheric; the existence of higher beings,

karma

and reincarnation, and the essential unity of religion and science. He placed great emphasis on the cultivation of Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition, which are creative capacities in ordinary human life. Yet Steiner argued that, like the capacity for love, quotidian experiences of imagination, inspiration, and intuition were only “dim promptings,” a “shadow- picture[s]” of highest cognition, the attainment of which humans must strive toward (Steiner 1991: 25). Like his near contemporary G. I. Gurdjieff (1866?-1949), Steiner spoke of the radical discontinuity between subjective human states, and “objective”

love, art, and so on. Both men, following Madame Blavatsky’s lead, presented their esoteric teachings as occult science, a comprehensive system that restored to modern humans their ancient spiritual birthright, and which had the capacity to create a true self, delivering moderns from the splintered identity they customarily experienced. Both systems were cosmological in orientation, presented the physical world as alive, and engaged in processes of transformation. Steiner argued that sleep and dreams were access points to the supersensible world, where spiritual beings could be encountered, and that these beings could waken dead matter, transforming it into living nature:

[a]ll … in those hills, is expecting that one day it will be able to dream, and so with dream- consciousness to take hold of lifeless matter, and from these rocks and hills to conjure forth once more as embryos, seeds, living plants. It is indeed these beings who bring before our souls a wonderful magic of nature, a creating from out of the spirit (Steiner 1991: 77).

Anthroposophy understands all within the physical world to be evolving into higher forms, and in humans the development of spiritual senses enables the “digestion” of experiences by the soul. With this digestion, certain cosmological realisations are possible; for example, recognition of the interrelatedness of the human being with the whole of creation will lead to the person “becom[ing] a living Zodiac” or absorbing the wisdom of the dead (Steiner 1975: 37). It is crucial that humans learn that “the world [is] a book which the Hierarchies have written for us, in order that we may read in it, then only do we become Man in the full sense of the word” (Steiner 1975: 77). For Steiner, becoming “Man” fully involved the realisation that the human was a microcosm of the macrocosmic cosmos. The logical consequence of this is that the human being is the model for everything; the system that offers the key to all other systems. In 1911, Steiner wrote a poem for Marie von Sivers, which began, “Shaping the world in the self/ Seeing the self in the world/ Is the breath of the soul” (Steiner and Steiner-Von Sivers 1988: 121). The centrality of Christ in Anthroposophy follows from this teaching, and Steiner’s teaching contained many examples of this “fractal” structure in which each component is broken down into components that are smaller models of the whole. The layering of physical body, etheric body, astral body, and Ego is similar, though the underlying principle is not one of size but spiritual development (King 1987 [1986]: 360). Anthroposophists often use homeopathy, a form of holistic treatment developed by Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), which operates on the same principles of intensification through breaking down to minute quantities, reflecting the occult teaching of the

Emerald Tablet

of Thoth (or Hermes), “as above, so below” (Shumaker 1972: 165). Hahnemann believed that like substance should be employed to cure like ailment, and Francis King states that, “[h]ighly dynamized or potentized medicaments are possessed of qualities pertaining to non-material modes of being” (King 1987 [1986]: 64). The cosmological dimension is not neglected either; cosmic data, such as planetary events, are also factored into the process of making remedies within Anthroposophy. Steiner’s debt to his master, Goethe, is everywhere apparent; Goethe had spoken of coming to understanding through “the inner sense” and had asserted that, “every living thing is not an isolated being, but a majority” (quoted in Pehnt 1991: 9). He was notably influenced by Goethe’s notion of metamorphosis; if the archetype of a plant was located, “out of that conceptual archetypal plant one could think out countless numbers of special forms” (Steiner 1938: 3). Chapters in this

volume by Liselotte Frisk and Alex Norman treat other aspects of Steiner’s Anthroposophical teachings.

Steiner’s Teachings on Art

Due to his concentration on the human development of Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition, Steiner accorded a prime place to artistic endeavours within his system of esoteric development. He understood that the imaginative capacity was engaged when human consciousness was clear of physical “pictorial impressions” and filled with “etherically pictorial impressions.” When these were cleared from consciousness and the person was aware of the void, “into that state of voidness pour astral impressions” (King 1987 [1986]: 37). This signalled that the inspirational capacity was engaged. When the intuitive capacity was engaged, Steiner claimed that the spiritual has been “brought to full consciousness and has been born to a new life in which he or she is a spirit being dwelling amongst other spirit beings” (King 1987 [1986]: 38). Steiner himself worked in a wide range of creative arts with notable success; he was a poet, sculptor, painter, and architect, “the creator of a new art of movement,” Eurythmy, and a dramatist (Klingborg 1975: 48). Steiner himself allied the arts very closely with true religion, saying “Anthroposophical Spiritual Science is from the beginning so placed, that it flows as one stream from a source out of which both art and religion in their origins can also flow” (Steiner 1938: 7). Steiner’s ideas on the spiritual function of art reflected a wider concern in European society just prior to the outbreak of World War I; for example, the Theosophically-inclined Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), a member of the art movement

Der Blaue Reiter

(“the blue rider”) published the hugely influential

On the Spiritual in Art

(1912), which called for a return to the spiritual as the fundamental inspiration for art and the principal aim of artistic production (Fant, Klingborg and Wilkes et al 1975: 9-10). Steiner commenced writing a series of Mystery Plays in 1909 with Marie von Sivers, who as mentioned above, was an actress. The four resulting plays were pictorial scenes intended to convey spiritual truths, and were performed in theatres. The four titles were “The Portal of Initiation: A Rosicrucian Mystery” (1910), “The Soul’d Probation: A Life Tableau in Dramatic Scenes” (1911), “The Guardian of the Threshold: A Series of Soul Events in Dramatic Pictures” (1912), and “The Soul’s Awakening: A Drama of the Soul and Spirit” (1913) (Steiner 2007). Drama is an embodied art, and in Steiner’s lecture series

The Arts and Their Mission

(1923) he placed great emphasis on the fact that ancient peoples in Greece, Rome, India, and other countries were at harmony with their bodies and did not suffer from the mind- body dualism that plagues modern people. As important as the unity of the mind and body, Steiner asserted, was the “unity of spiritual life and art,” which Goethe deeply apprehended but which is no longer experienced (Steiner 1964: 15). Unsurprisingly, Steiner was critical of mimetic art, claiming that it could only reproduce things in nature, whereas true art could express “kinship with the spiritual world” (Steiner 1964: 16), and was experiential; it was not sufficient to see the colour red but it was necessary to experience “red or blue in the spiritual world” (Steiner 1991: 21). In art, as in spiritual exercises and authentic life experiences, humans were enabled to be truly themselves. Therefore Steiner paid close attention to the body, teaching on food and diet, clothing and costume, and art forms that partook of bodily experience.

The movement art of Eurythmy shared certain qualities with the Mystery Plays, in that both art forms were externalisations of “innermost laws” that were perceived through bodily actions. The first Eurythmy classes were taught in 1912, and by 1919 two courses of training had been developed and Steiner’s eurythmists had toured Europe giving public demonstrations. Marie von Sivers and Lory Smits, an early teacher of the art, contributed significantly to its development. The esoteric meaning of Eurythmy was emphasised by Steiner:

[w]e are setting the human organism in motion; we are making its limbs move. The limbs, more than any other part of the human body, are what pass over into the life of the next incarnation. They point to the future, to what comes after death. But how do we shape the limb movements we bring forth in eurythmy. In the sense realm and in the supersensory realm we study how the larynx and all the speech organs have been brought over from the previous life and shaped by the intellectual potentials of the head and the feeling potentials of the chest. We directly link what precedes birth with what follows death. In a certain sense, we take from earthly life only the physical medium, the actual human being who is the tool or instrument of eurythmy. But we allow this human being to make manifest what we study inwardly … Eurythmy shapes and moves the human organism in a way that furnishes direct external proof of our participation in the supersensory world. In having people do eurythmy, we link them directly to the supersensory world (Steiner 2006: 17).

Eurythmy is thus explicitly cosmological and anthropological, linking the human person’s body as it manifests in this lifetime with their previous and future lives and with the universe of which the person is a microcosm. In Anthroposophical circles Eurythmy has been referred to as the speech of the soul. Steiner wrote extensively on literature, music, and painting, but for the purpose of this chapter his remarks architecture are most relevant. He stated, “[o]h soul, if you wish to leave the physical body in order to regain a relationship with the cosmos, what aspect will you take on? – this was the question. The forms of architecture were, so to speak, answers” (Steiner 1964: 23-24). From the perspective of the production of culture, “the symbolic elements of culture are shaped by the systems within which they are created, distribute, evaluated, taught, and preserved” (Peterson and Anand 2004: 311). In the case of Steiner’s buildings in Dornach, the ‘system’ is Anthroposophy. For Steiner, buildings (like all art forms) should not slavishly imitate forms witnessed in nature, but should rather exhibit organic forms like living nature, and stand in the same mirror relation to nature as the human body does to the macrocosmic universe. For Steiner, in a very real sense, buildings were alive. His application of Goethe’s notion of metamorphosis to architecture meant that, to quote Rex Raab, “the transformation of mass and shape according with a recognisable motive or theme appropriate to the task, creates ‘the appearance of consciousness’” (Raab 1975: 70). For Steiner, the building and its natural setting created “landscape,” which was creative and active, and spiritual power (for example, from the cardinal directions or the heavenly bodies) could be tapped through the strategic design of buildings (Bockemühl 1981: 42). This made environments like Dornach able to facilitate the spiritual development of those people who lived there and interacted with the architecture. In short, human creativity was intimately connected to divine creativity.

Goetheanum I at Dornach .…

During World War I, Steiner and his followers began constructing Goetheanum I on a hill in Dornach. Wolfgang Pehnt observes that, at that time, the Birs valley was open country, “half cultivated nature and half a little world of buildings” (Pehnt 1991: 7). Steiner’s architectural ambition for the Anthroposophical headquarters was initially to erect a twin-domed meeting hall, provisionally called the Johannesbau, in Munich. This was conceived as a Theosophical structure, as he had decorated the interior of the Tonhalle in Munich for the 1907 European Theosophical Congress, and there was enthusiasm for a building in which Steiner’s Mystery Plays, discussed above, could be performed in (Schwarz 1983: 14-26). Architect Carl Schmid-Curtius was engaged to realise Steiner’s design concept. But in May 1913, after Steiner broke with the Theosophical Society, his friend Dr Emil Grosheintz donated land in Dornach to be the site of the building, now to be called the ‘Goetheanum’. There was only one structure on the hill at the time, in which Steiner resided. The foundation stone, which was aligned east-west, was laid with great ceremony (in which Steiner invoked spirit guides and protectors, and noted the stone’s formation “in accordance with the cosmic picture of the human soul”) on 30 September 1913 (Schwarz 1983: 36). Nearly two hundred of Steiner’s pupils, from seventeen different countries, worked on Goetheanum I in 1913 and 1914. The building was 272 feet long, 243 feet wide, and 111 feet high, with a sixty-five thousand cubic metre interior space. It was oriented east-west, with the stage beneath the smaller of the two domes and the seating area beneath the larger. Rex Raab notes the “domes were clad in Norwegian slate, which shone silvery in the Jura landscape” (Raab 1975: 63). A major sculpture,

The Representative of Humanity

, nine metres high and sculpted of wood, by Steiner and his collaborator Edith Maryon, depicted the dark and light aspects of being (which he named for Ahriman, the Zoroastrian “Evil Spirit” and Lucifer, the Biblical angel and “Light Bearer”), stood in the Goetheanum. These figures represented the closed self and the open self, and were united by the central figure of Christ, “The Representative of the Human” (Klingborg 1975: 50). The acoustic qualities of the structure were important in that it was intended for performances. Goetheanum I was built of wood; Rom Landau says that, “Steiner used for its construction the same seven different kinds of wood which are used for the construction of a violin, and the ceiling of the main hall was as buoyant as the walls of a violin” (Landau 1935: 71). In a 1921 lecture, Rudolf Steiner repudiated the idea that Goetheanum I should be read symbolically, rather asserting that it was built according to laws that made possible the “revelation of the supersensible world in the sensible” (Steiner 1938: 9). He further claimed that the organic forms of the structure were an attempt to explore creation itself, in the manner of Goethe’s idea of metamorphosis. The macrocosmic-microcosmic principle described above was present in the first Goetheanum; at one point Steiner, describing the stair-hall, says;

I arrived, through feeling, at the development of these three semi-circular canals standing in the three directions of space at right-angles. If you go up this staircase, you have this calming sensation. It is not copied – that it certainly is not – but afterwards I remembered that the three semi-circular canals of the ear also stand in these three directions of space. When they are injured, man falls down in a faint: they are therefore closely connected to the laws of balance. It did not arise out of a naturalistic desire to copy, but from experiencing the same element by which the aural canals are arranged (Steiner 1938: 12).

This quotation makes it clear that, for Steiner, mimetic art (that which seeks to copy nature and produce “life-like” artistic products) is an inferior, or perhaps entirely

illegitimate form of art. Spiritual art, which brings people into contact with the supersensible through the sensible, is, rather, the production of artworks that embody certain laws that resonate with the embodied viewer. He does allow that the first Goetheanum featured some occult symbolism (for example there were five pointed forms that could be interpreted as pentagrams, though they could also be seen as leaves), but in general the building’s effect was intended to be emotional rather than intellectual. The building’s interior featured just one inscribed word, “Ich.” Of this, Steiner said it referred to “Faust striving towards the fully-conscious ‘I’ – towards the ‘ICH’ embodying itself in the word. The older languages had ‘I’ incorporated in the verb; in this epoch it is right that a separate word for it should appear” (Steiner 1938: 16). The interior of the Goetheanum was flooded with symbolic colours, facilitated by huge red and yellow glass windows and “luminous wall paintings” that exemplified the colour theory of Goethe (Adams 1992: 200). By the time the Goetheanum I was finished, Schmid-Curtius was no longer involved, and the team of Ernst Aisenpreis (who also worked on the Goetheanum II) and Hermann Ratzenberger, assisted by Albert von Baravalle, oversaw the final stages of construction (Schwarz 1983: 51). Goetheanum I was sited among other early buildings at Dornach, including Haus Duldeck (now the archives), the Boiler House (with its dramatic “flame” chimney), and the Glashaus, all constructed between 1913 and 1916. The latter two also featured twin domes, and all exhibited an absence of straight lines and a preponderance of curves and organic forms (Adams 1992: 187-188). On 31 December 1922, New Year’s Eve, a Eurythmy performance was held in Goetheanum I at 5 PM, and at 8 PM Steiner delivered a lecture to the audience. At the close of the evening most people left; shortly after, the building was discovered to be on fire (Anon 1923). It was not possible to save it, and Goetheanum I was destroyed after eight brief years. Anna Samweber, in her memoir of life with Steiner and his wife, describes the rescue of the sculpture, “The Representative of Humanity,” from the flames. She also notes the fear that the nearby Schreinerei, a building “with the halls and Rudolf Steiner’s studio,” might also catch alight (Samweber 1991: 30). Although it was never proven, many Anthroposophists believed that the fire was arson; that “non-Anthroposophists could not bear the beauty that was created for such a unique spiritual group” (Steinberg 1976: 57). Steiner was deeply distressed by the destruction of Goetheanum I, and his health began to decline. He decided that the second Goetheanum would be built entirely in concrete to render it more durable.

Haus Duldeck. There was considerable opposition to the erection of Goetheanum II by the local council, probably motivated by hostility to Steiner and Anthroposophy, despite the movement’s considerable contribution to the local economy (Steinberg 1976: 61-62). Conformity to the building permit resulted in a reduction of height of the west front and a widening of the horizontal wings. The vital importance of the second Goetheanum is evident in the fact that nowadays Anthroposophists call it simply “the Building” (Sharp 1963: 377). Steiner’s considerable talent as an amateur architect is richly evident in the second Goetheanum. The exterior sculptural mass has a plain east end, almost a flat wall, and develops towards the west, with the west front as the “face” of the building opening onto the landscape. It is radically different from the earlier building; some Anthroposophists regard it as a poor substitute. This is partly because Goetheanum I had been funded through donations, whereas Goetheanum II was largely funded through an insurance payout. Additionally, the concrete structure, although larger, spelled “the relinquishment of detailed work by hand, the farewell to a vast sun of invested creativity” (Pehnt 1991: 21). Steiner and his wife acknowledged the tragic loss of Goetheanum I but stressed the need for a second School of Spiritual Science to be erected swiftly, and Steiner’s design for the concrete building utilised the same notion of metamorphosis and transformation from Goethe. Sharp describes it as “a piece of living sculpture” (Sharp 1963: 378) and Hans Hasler, in his discussion of the major conservation operation undertaken between 1993-1996, emphasises the plasticity and dynamism of concrete as a building material (Hasler 1999:9-11). Hagen Biesantz notes that the ground plan retains the cruciform shape of Goetheanum I, but the double space created by the two cupolas has given way to a threefold space, which relates to Steiner’s theory of the “threefold division of the social and human physical organisms” (Biesantz 1979: 59). Only the windows provide some indication of the function of the rooms concealed within the building; for example “the three high side windows tell us that the great hall is behind them” (Pehnt 1991: 7). Writers on the Goetheanum constantly stress its organic forms, and Wolfgang Pehnt argues that the group of Anthroposophical structures in Dornach exemplify Steiner’s theory, taken from Goethe, of “architecture and architectural ensembles as societies of biological species … a biotope” (Pehnt 1991: 9). Although Steiner did not design the interior of Goetheanum II in the same detail that he did for Goetheanum I, Anthroposophical teachings inform the general scheme. The Great Hall has four long windows, which are coloured “as in the first Goetheanum … green, blue, violet and pink” (Biesantz 1979: 69). The Great Hall was actually completed by Johannes Schöpfer, a Stuttgart architect, chosen by competition in 1957. Georg Hartmann’s study of the windows notes that Goetheanum I had nine coloured glass windows, two sets of the above-mentioned four colours, and the central red window over the west entrance. He claims that, “the motives of the coloured glass windows deal with the experiences of the human being, searching for spiritual knowledge” (Hartmann 1972: 17). In Goetheanum II, the huge red window in the west wall features the human face, the four evangelists’ symbols from the New Testament (the lion, bull, eagle, and the man), and occult symbols such as the lotus, the swastika, and planetary images, such as that of Saturn. Olav Hammer notes that when writing about the significance of colour, “Steiner informs us that purple is the color of mysticism, blue calms the soul, red gives a feeling of festivity, while green is associated with the earthly domain” (Hammer 2009: 214). Anthroposophical poet.

 

As Steiner had no formal training as an architect, Anthroposophists have been inclined to treat his achievements in the field as evidence of his extraordinary creativity and spiritual development. Within Anthroposophy it is not acceptable to speak of Steiner being influenced by other architecture of the period, although Dennis Sharp has made an excellent case for the inclusion of Steiner within the category of Expressionist architecture, a sub-field of the broader Expressionist movement in art

(Sharp 1963). Sharp argues that Steiner was influenced by the Art Nouveau style, the Belgian architect Henry van de Velde (1853-1957), and the exuberant Catalan Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926), whose own creations were inspired by his passionate though rather unorthodox Roman Catholicism. Sharp contextualises Goetheanum II with the works of Hermann Obrist (1863-1927) and Hermann Finsterlin (1887-1973) (Sharp 1963). The title of this chapter, “And the Building Becomes Man,” is a motto written over the south window of the model of Goetheanum II on display in Brodbeck House, a house that predated the second Goetheanum and which now has the Eurythmeum built as an addition to it (Turgeniev 2003: 61). It is a romantic notion, yet one that encapsulates the core of Steiner’s Anthroposophical teaching that the human being is the basic unit of the cosmos, the fractal model on which larger and smaller structures are based. Steiner’s architecture, though striking and beautiful and appreciated by architectural experts, casual tourists, and Anthroposophists alike, cannot really be understood without reference to the Anthroposophical worldview and Steiner’s “spiritual science.” Pehnt notes wryly that, “Steiner’s inspiration seems always to be productive in architects who apply his methods without feeling committed to the results achieved at the time” (Pehnt 1991: 39). Brain has argued that “the production of cultural objects can be more closely tied to the to the conditions of possibility for social action in general – not only at the level of meaning, but at the level of the capacity to conceive and enact strategic action” (Brain 1994: 218). Goetheanum II in Dornach is a structure of crucial significance for Anthroposophists the world over, and visiting it (whether to study Eurythmy or some other aspect of Steiner’s spiritual science, or simply to feel close to Steiner and the transformational philosophy of Anthroposophy) is a deeply meaningful experience. Brain continues that cultural objects such as Goetheanum II (and the practices that take place within it, including the visual arts and Euythmy) illuminate “the making of the social world that goes on in the practices through which culture producers inscribe intentions in artefacts, and social actors, generally, make sense

with

things” (Brain 1994: 218). Steiner, of all esoteric and new religious teachers of the early twentieth century, was acutely aware of the peculiar value of cultural production, an activity with which he engaged with tireless energy, and considerable (amateur and professional) skill and achievement. It is true that the majority of architects inspired by Steiner are not Anthroposophists, and have only a limited understanding of the underlying principles of Goetheanum II, being enamoured of its aesthetic qualities alone. This, however, still confirms Goetheanum II as a consummate cultural product of Anthroposophy, and one that continues to amaze and delight all those who are fortunate enough to visit Dornach.

 

www.academia.edu/738542/_And_the_Building_Becomes_Man_Mea...

 

The whole of the Gospel of St. John culminates in that event in human history which we call the “Mystery of Golgotha.” To comprehend this Mystery of Golgotha esoterically predicates also the ability to decipher the deep significance of this Gospel. If we turn our attention to what exists at the very central point of this Mystery and wish to express it in occult terms, we must contemplate the moment of the Crucifixion when the blood flowed from the wounds of the Saviour, and at the same time we must remember something which has often been said in the course of these lectures, that for one who knows the spiritual worlds, all material, substantial, physical objectivity is only the outer expression, the external manifestation of something spiritual. Now let us permit the physical event to arise before our souls: Christ-Jesus upon the Cross, the blood flowing from His wounds. What does this picture, the content of which is a physical event, express for those who are able to understand the Gospel of St. John?

 

This physical event — the occurrence on Golgotha — is the expression, the manifestation of a spiritual event which stands at the central point of all earthly happenings. Anyone interpreting these words according to the present materialistic world concept will not be able to make much out of them, for he will not be able to imagine that at that time something occurred in this unique Event of Golgotha which differs from some other like event, or from one perhaps physically similar. There is a very great difference between all the earthly occurrences which preceded this Event of Golgotha and those that succeed it.

 

If we wish to picture this in the soul in all its detail, we must say that not only has the individual human being, or for that matter any other individual creature, a physical, ether and astral body as we have described it from many aspects in the foregoing lectures, but that cosmic bodies likewise do not consist only of physical substance as they appear to the astronomer and to other physical researchers. A cosmic body has also an ether and an astral body. Our earth has its ether and astral vehicles. If our earth did not possess its own ether body, it would not be able to harbour the plants; if it did not possess its own individual astral body, it would not be able to shelter the animals. If we wish to visualize the earth's ether body, we must imagine its central point exactly at the center of the earth where the physical earth body also has its central point. This entire physical earth body is embedded in its own ether body and these two are again embedded in an astral body. If someone had observed clairvoyantly the astral body of the earth during the course of the earth's evolution, during the course of long epochs of time, he would have seen that, as a matter of fact, this astral body and ether body of the earth have not always remained the same, that they have changed. In order to represent the matter quite pictorially, let us in spirit transplant ourselves outside beyond the earth to some other star, and let us imagine a person with clairvoyant vision looking down upon the earth from this star. He would not only see the earth suspended there as a physical planet, but he would see an aura about it, he would see the earth surrounded by an aura of light, for he would be perceiving the earth's ether and astral bodies. If this clairvoyant person were to remain a long time on this distant star, long enough to have observed the pre-Christian periods of the earth pass by and the Event of Golgotha approaching, the following spectacle would have presented itself to him. Before the Event of Golgotha the aura of the earth, the astral and ether bodies offered a certain aspect of colour and form, but following a particular, definite moment of time, he would have seen the colour of the entire aura changing. What was this particular moment of time? It was the very moment when the blood flowed from the wounds of Christ-Jesus upon Golgotha. All spiritual earthly relationships, as such, changed from this moment.

 

It has been previously stated that what is called the Logos is the sum total of the six Elohim who, united with the sun, present the earth with their spiritual gifts, while externally the physical sunlight is falling upon the earth. Therefore the light of the sun appears to us like the outer physical body of the spirit and soul of the Elohim or of the Logos. At the moment of the Event of Golgotha, that force, that impulse which formerly could only stream down upon the earth as light began to unite with the earth itself. And because the Logos began to unite with the earth, the earth's aura became changed.

 

We shall now consider the Event of Golgotha from still another point of view. We have already reviewed the evolution of the human being and of the earth from various standpoints. We know that our Earth, before it became the Earth, passed through the three embodiments of Saturn, Sun and Moon. Therefore the embodiment just preceding that of our Earth was that of the ancient Moon. When a planet has attained the goal of its evolution, something happens to it similar to what happens to a human being who, in a certain incarnation, has attained his life's goal. The planet passes over into a different invisible existence, a state called a “Pralaya” and then after a time it embodies itself anew. Thus between the previous embodiment of our Earth, the Moon Evolution, and the Earth's present embodiment, there existed an intermediate state. Out of a sort of spiritual, self-animated, externally invisible existence, the Earth gleamed forth in its earliest state and out of this state developed those states which we described yesterday. At that time, in that early age when our Earth gleamed forth, it was still united with all that now belongs to our solar system. It was then so large, that it reached to the furthest planets of this solar system. All was unity, for only later individual planets became segregated. The present earth up to a certain point of time was united with our present sun and moon. Thus we see there was a time when sun, moon and earth were a single body. It was as though you were to take the present moon and sun and stir them together with the earth and thus make one large cosmic body. This was our Earth once upon a time when your astral body and your ego were floating about in a vapour-like form. Even earlier than this the sun, moon and earth were joined together. At that time the forces which are now in the sun — the spiritual and physical forces — were bound up with the earth. Then came a time when the sun separated from the earth; but not only did the physical sun with its physical light which can be seen with physical eyes depart, but with it all its spiritual and soul beings at whose head stood the Elohim, the real Spirits of Light, the denizens of the sun. What was left, was a mixture of the present moon and earth. Then for a time the earth, though separated from the sun, was still united with the moon. It was not until the Lemurian period that the moon separated from the earth, when, as a result, there arose that relationship between these three bodies, sun, moon and earth, that exists today. This relationship had to occur. The Elohim had to act from without. It was necessary for one of them to become Lord of the moon and from there reflect the powerful force of the other Elohim. We live at present upon our earth as though dwelling upon an island in cosmic space which has separated from the sun and moon. But the time will come when our earth will once more unite with the sun and again form one body with it. Then human beings will be so spiritualized that they will again be able to bear the stronger forces of the sun, able to receive them and unite them with themselves. They, together with the Elohim, will then occupy the same field of action.

 

You will ask, what is the force that will bring this about? Had the Event of Golgotha not occurred, the earth and the sun would never be able to reunite. For through the Event of Golgotha, which bound the force of the Elohim in the sun to the earth — in other words the force of the Logos — the impulse was given which will again eventually impel one Logos-force toward the other, and finally once more unite them — sun and earth — in one body. Since the Event of Golgotha, the earth, spiritually observed, is possessed of the force to draw the sun again into a unity with it. Therefore it can be said that through this great Event, the force of the Logos, which formerly radiated down upon the earth from without, was now taken up into its spiritual being. The question may be asked, what existed previously within the body of the earth? It was that force which streamed down upon it from the sun. But since that time, what exists there within the earth? The Logos itself which through Golgotha has become the spirit of the earth.

 

As truly as your soul and spirit dwell within your physical body, do also the soul and spirit of the earth dwell within the body of the earth — that earthly body which consists of stones, plants and animals and upon which you tread. This soul and spirit, this earth spirit is the Christ. Christ is the spirit of the earth. When the Christ spoke to His most trusted disciples on an occasion which can be numbered among the most intimate of such occasions, what did He say to them? With what mystery had He occasion to entrust them? He was able to say to them: “It is as though you can gaze into your own soul from your physical body. Your soul is within. It is the same when you observe the whole earth-sphere. That spirit which for a time now stands here before you in the flesh is also the spirit of the earth and will always continue as such.” He had occasion to point to the earth as to His real body and ask: “When you behold the cornfield and then eat the bread that nourishes you, what in reality is this bread which you are eating? You are eating My body. And when you drink of the plant sap, it is like the blood in your own body; it is the blood of the earth — My Blood!” — These were the very words that Christ- Jesus spoke to His most intimate disciples and we must take them very literally. Then when He called them together and expounded to them symbolically what we shall call the Christian Initiation, He uttered those extraordinary words which we find in the 18th verse of the 13th Chapter of the Gospel of St. John, where He announced that one among them would betray Him:

 

“He who eats My bread treads me under foot.”

 

These words must be taken literally. Men eat the bread of the earth and tread upon the earth with their feet. If the earth is the body of the Earth-Spirit, that is, of the Christ, then men tread with their feet the earth's body, the body whose bread they eat. An immense deepening of the idea of the Last Supper as presented in the Gospel of St. John is granted us, when we learn about the Christ, the Earth-Spirit, and about the bread which is taken from the body of the earth. Christ points to the earth and says: “This is My body!” Just as the muscular human flesh belongs to the human soul, so does bread belong to the body of the earth, that is to the body of the Christ. And the sap that flows through the plants, which pulsates through the vine stalk, is like the blood pulsating through the human body. Pointing to this, the Christ says: “This is my blood!” That this truthful explanation of the Last Supper can cause some of the sanctity to be lost which has always been associated with it can only be imagined by someone possessing no understanding of it or who has neither desire nor capacity for such an understanding. But anyone who wishes to understand will acknowledge that this does not cause it to lose in holiness, but that through it the whole of the earth-planet becomes sanctified. What powerful feelings can be engendered in our souls, if we can behold in the Last Supper the greatest mystery of the earth, the connection between the Event of Golgotha and the entire evolution of the earth; if we can learn to feel that in the Last Supper the flowing of the blood from the wounds of the Saviour had not only a human, but a cosmic significance, that is, it gave to the earth the force to carry forward its evolution.

 

Anyone who understands the profound meaning of the Gospel of St. John will feel not only united through his physical body with the physical body of the earth, but as a psycho-spiritual being will feel united with the psycho-spiritual being of the earth which is the Christ Himself, and then he will feel how the Christ, as the Spirit of the Earth, flows through his body. When we have this experience, we are able to ask: what illuminated the writer of the Gospel of St. John at that moment when he was able to behold the profound mysteries which have to do with Christ-Jesus? He beheld the forces, the impulses which are present in Christ-Jesus, and he perceived how these impulses must be active in mankind, if only mankind will receive them.

 

In order to understand this quite clearly, we must once more bring before our souls the way in which human evolution actually takes place. The human being consists of physical, ether and astral bodies and an ego. How does this evolution occur? By the ego gradually working through the other three members, purifying and strengthening them. The ego is called upon gradually to purify the astral body, to cleanse it and to raise it to a higher level. When the entire astral body has been purified and strengthened by the special forces of the ego, it becomes Manas or Spirit-Self. When the ether or life-body has been thoroughly worked over and strengthened by the force of the ego, it becomes Budhi, or Life-Spirit. When the physical body has been fully overcome and conquered by the ego, it becomes Atman or Spirit-Man. Then will the human being have reached the goal which above all lies in store for him. That, however, will be attained only in the far distant future. Moreover, we wish it to be quite clear that the ego acts in full consciousness in what has just been described; namely, that the human being consisting of the four members — physical, ether and astral bodies and ego — works by means of the ego upon the other three members, transforming them into Spirit-Self, Life-Spirit and Spirit-Man. For the most part this is not yet the case with present humanity which, as a matter of fact, is just beginning, fully conscious, to work a little of Manas into its astral body. The human being is doing this now. Through the help of higher beings he has already, although unconsciously, worked upon his three lower members during this Earth evolution. In ancient times he unconsciously worked over the astral body, and this then became permeated by the Sentient Soul. The ego unconsciously worked into the ether body and this unconsciously re-formed ether body is what you will find described in regular sequence in my book Theosophy as the Intellectual Soul, and that part of the physical body, unconsciously worked upon by the ego, you will find described there as the Consciousness Soul. The Consciousness Soul only came into being toward the end of the Atlantean period when the ether body — previously outside the physical body in the head region — gradually drew wholly within it. Through this the human being learned to utter the word “I.” Thus variously-membered, he gradually passed over into the post-Atlantean period. It is the task of our age to work Manas or Spirit-Self by degrees into what had previously been received unconsciously. The human being must, as it were, develop Manas within himself by means of all the forces he has acquired by virtue of possessing a physical, an ether and an astral body, a sentient, an intellectual and a consciousness soul; by means of all the forces which these various members can give him, he must develop Manas and also, although in a very small degree, the germ of a Life-Spirit or Budhi. Therefore our post-Atlantean age has the important task of helping the human being to develop consciously these higher members of his being (Manas or Spirit-Self, Budhi or Life-Spirit and Atman or Spirit-Man) in the distant future when he will at last have reached his goal. He must from now on, by degrees, develop within himself the force to evolve his higher members out of his lower.

 

Let us now ask: what has been the condition of the human being that has kept him from already developing these higher members, and what will be the difference in the future? How will the humanity of the future differ from that of the present?

 

When at last the whole of the higher man has been developed, the entire astral body will be so completely purified that it will simultaneously become Manas or Spirit-Self; the ether body so thoroughly purged that it will simultaneously become Life-Spirit or Budhi, and the physical body will be so greatly metamorphosed that it will, at the same time, be as actually a Spirit-Man, Atman, as it is now a physical body. The greatest force will be needed to conquer this lowest body, hence the conquest and transformation of the physical means the greatest victory for the human being. When mankind has fully perfected the physical body, this physical man will then become Spirit-Man or Atman. All this is at present only in germ within the human being, but a time will come when it will live in him in its fulness. And by lifting his gaze to the Christ Personality, to the Christ Impulse, by energizing and strengthening himself through this Christ Impulse, he draws into himself the force that can accomplish this transformation.

 

Since humanity of the present has not yet perfected this metamorphosis, what is the result? Spiritual Science makes this very clear. Because this katharsis of the astral body has not yet been accomplished, that is, the astral body has not yet transformed itself into Spirit-Self, selfishness or egotism is possible. Because the ether body has not yet been strengthened by the ego, lying and error are possible; and because the physical body has not yet been fortified by the ego, sickness and death are possible. In a once fully developed Spirit-Self, there will be no more selfishness; no sickness and death, but just health and salvation in the fully developed Spirit-Man, that is, in the fully evolved physical body. What does it mean for the human being to take the Christ into himself? It means that he has learned to understand the forces that are in the Christ, which if taken into himself make it possible for him to become master even of his physical body.

 

Imagine for example that someone could receive the Christ Impulse fully into himself, that it could completely pass over upon him. The Christ Himself might stand directly in the presence of this person and the Christ Impulse be transmitted to him. What does that signify? If the person were blind, he would yet be able to see by means of the direct influence of this Christ Impulse, for the final goal of evolution is the conquest of the forces of sickness and death. When the writer of the Gospel of St. John speaks of the healing of the man born blind, he is then speaking out of the depths of the Mysteries, he is demonstrating, by means of an example, that the force of the Christ is a healing force when it appears in full power. It may be asked: Where is this force? It is in the body of the Christ, in the earth! But this earth must, in truth, be fully permeated by the being of the Christ Spirit or of the Logos. Let us see if the writer of the Gospel recounts the story with this meaning. How does he relate it?

 

Standing there is the blind man. The Christ takes some earth, insalivates it and lays it upon the blind man's eyes. He lays His body, the earth, permeated with His spirit upon the blind man. In this description, the writer of the Gospel indicates a mystery which he very well understands. Now laying aside all prejudice, let us talk a little more in detail of this sign — one of the greatest performed by the Christ — in order that we may learn to know more exactly the nature of such a thing and not be disturbed because our very clever contemporaries will consider what has just been said to be sheer madness or folly! There are, however, in the world great and mighty mysteries which mankind is not yet entitled to know. Human beings of the present day, even though they may be sufficiently developed, are not yet strong enough to go through the great Mysteries. They can know of them, they can understand them when they are able to experience them spiritually; but our present humanity, so deeply immersed in matter, is not yet capable of converting them into their physical expression.

 

All life is, in fact, made up of antitheses and extremes. Life and death are just such extremes. For the thought and feelings of the occultist, there is something very extraordinary in seeing, for example, a corpse and a living human being side by side. When we have a living, waking human being before us, we know that a soul and spirit dwell within him. But as far as consciousness is concerned, this soul and spirit are, as it were, cut off from any connection with the spiritual world; they cannot look into it. If we have a corpse before us, we have the feeling that the spirit and soul which once belonged to it are passing over into the spiritual worlds where consciousness, or the light of those worlds is flashing up within them. Thus the corpse becomes a symbol of what is taking place in the spiritual world. But in the physical world also, there are reflections of what is happening in the spiritual world, but they are of an extraordinary character. When a human being descends again into physical birth, his bodily part must be reconstructed; material substance must, so to say, rush together in order that a body be created for him. For the clairvoyant, this rushing together of physical substance represents the death of consciousness in the spirit world. There it dies — here it becomes alive. In the rushing together of substance to form a physical human body can be seen, in a certain sense, the dying of a spiritual consciousness; while on the other hand, at the moment of decomposition or of the burning of the physical body, when the parts disintegrate and dissolve, the opposite actually becomes manifest in the spiritual world, that is, the awakening of a spiritual consciousness occurs. Physical dissolution is spiritual birth. Therefore all processes of decay and dissolution mean something more than just decay and dissolution to the occultist. A churchyard, spiritually observed, where physical bodies are in the process of dissolution, is the scene of remarkable processes, the continuous flashing up and glistening of spiritual birth; (I am now speaking of what is taking place spiritually in the churchyard itself apart from the human beings there).

 

Let us imagine for example that a person were to give himself up physically to a certain training — naturally no one would recommend this, for the present physical body could not possibly endure it — to a schooling in which he would train his body to breathe in putrified air for a certain prescribed length of time with the conscious intent of taking in the spiritual processes which have just been described. If he does this in the proper way, then in his following incarnations — it cannot be done in one — he can be incarnated with that force which offers restorative and health-giving impulses. Breathing putrid air belongs to a schooling which gradually gives strength to the spittle, when mixed with the ordinary earth, to become the healing substance which the Christ rubbed upon the eyes of the blind man. This mystery through which a person consumes, eats or inhales death, by which he acquires the power to heal, is the mystery to which the writer of the Gospel refers when he describes such signs as the healing of the man born blind. Instead of declaring without cessation that such and such a thing should be interpreted to mean thus and so, it would be much better were people to learn that such a thing as is described in the healing of the blind man is literally true, that it exists, and that it is possible to have respect for such a personality as the writer of the Gospel and be able to say: “There was such a person who was thoroughly initiated into this mystery about which we must try to acquire an understanding.”

 

It was, moreover, necessary to call attention beforehand to the fact that we are here in an anthroposophical group in which many prejudices have been eliminated, thus making it possible to speak of such real mysteries as the insalivation of the earth's soil for healing purposes, and to say that such an incident has a literal significance.

 

However, let us now try to comprehend how, by knowing these facts, we unite with the idea that occupies us today namely, that the Christ is the Spirit of the earth and that the earth is His Body. We have seen the Christ spiritualizing the etheric element in one instance and have seen Him giving up something of Himself in order to perform the miracle we arc considering. Now let us consider something else. Besides what has been said today, let us take what the Christ Himself said: “The most profound mystery of My being is the I AM, and the true and eternal might of the I AM or of the Ego which has the force to permeate other bodies must flow into human beings. It dwells within the Earth Spirit.” Let us hold this clearly in mind and take very earnestly, quite seriously, the fact that, because the Christ wishes to bestow the true ego upon every human soul, He will awaken the God in it and gradually enkindle the Spirit of the Lord and King in everyone. What does this signify? We have here nothing more nor less than the fact that the Christ brings to expression, in the highest sense, the idea of Karma, the karmic law. For when anyone fully understands the idea of Karma, he will understand it in this Christian sense. It means that no man should set himself up as a judge of the inner soul of another human being. Unless the idea of Karma has been understood in this way, it has not been grasped in its deepest significance. When one man judges another, the one is always placing the other under the compulsion of his own ego. However, if a person really believes in the “I AM” in the Christian sense, he will not judge. He will say: “I know that Karma is the great adjuster. Whatever you may have done, I do not judge it!”

 

Let us suppose that a transgressor is brought before a person who really understands the Christ-Word. What will be his attitude toward the transgressor? Let us suppose that all those who would like to be Christians were to accuse him of a terrible sin. The real Christian would say to them: “Whether what you maintain has been done by him or not, makes no difference, the I AM must be respected; it must be left to Karma, to the great law which is the law of the Christ-Spirit Himself. Karma is fulfilled in the course of earthly evolution. We can leave it to this earthly evolution to determine what punishment Karma shall inflict upon a human being.” He would perhaps turn to the earth and say to the accusers: — “Pay heed to yourselves, it is the duty of the earth to inflict the punishment. Let us inscribe it then upon the earth where it has, moreover, been registered as Karma.”

 

Jesus went up to the Mount of Olives.

 

And early in the morning He came again into the temple and all the people came unto Him and He sat down and taught them.

 

And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery; and they placed her in their midst.

 

They said unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned; but what sayest Thou?

 

This they said, tempting Him, that they might accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.

 

So when they continued asking Him, He lifted Himself up and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

 

And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

 

But when they heard this, being convicted by their own conscience, they went out one by one, beginning at the eldest even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

 

When Jesus had lifted

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

Seen here in London

Olivier listens intently as the historian Brother tells us all about this ancient holy place! Oliver is also doing simultaneous translating!

He was the Group Leader of one of our two groups. Olivier, himself, lives in Normandy and specializes in the history of this fascinating and unique region of France! He had so much to share with us! Well-done, Olivier, et merci beaucoup!

Abbey at Saint-Wandrille.

 

Worth Enlarging!

 

www.st-wandrille.com/en/hospitality

This photo relates to the 292 service that used to be operated by Selwyn Motors of Westgate. See previous posts relating to Selwyn's and Metrobus F810YLV.

 

Looking along Sandtoft Road towards Sandtoft, with F810YLV heading into Westgate to make its first pick up on its journey to Doncaster. This was the start of the 292 Saturday only service.

 

When the bus departed Selwyn's Saxon Lane premises, it turned left onto Westgate Road heading towards Sandtoft, and not right towards Belton.

 

The bus ran empty as far as Sandtoft airfield, were it turned around and from where it could be said, the service started. It's first actual pick up was just opposite to Saxon Lane in Westgate, although it could technically pick up before this point.

 

Saturday 01st October 2016

I relate to this little guy #california #joshuatree #cactus #film #adventures

 

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Throughout the Metropolitan Museum of Art you can find many entire rooms on display. In relating to the art these period rooms rooms offer a new level of interest is added. You can also relate to the people who lived there and increase your understanding of living in that time.

 

This Art Nouveau Parisian Dining Room has a bond with the other room I posted today in that they are the only two rooms in the Met that I know of created after the common use of electric lighting. Like the Living room from the Little House, Wayzata, Minnesota this room was completed in 1914 and about to celebrate a one hundredth birthday.

 

Both were meant to get away from it all but this Central Paris setting was an every day respite from a rapidly industrializing world. Interesting contrast in that Frank Lloyd Wright grasped onto a natural future for the summer residence of Frances W. Little, while Lucien Hesse tried to offer a new sort of restoration of the 18th century for Auguste Rateau in this dining room that stood at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

 

I wonder what sort of period rooms will be on display one hundred years from now and what people will understand about our time.

Cochem, Brückenstraße, mosaic. Historic mosaic on a town-wall.

 

The Geschiedenis Monument or History Wall.

 

The small building at the old Moselle bridge was decorated in 1982 by the Cochem graphic artist Carlfritz Nicolay with a mosaic to the city's history (pedigree of Cochem called).

 

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The Geschiedenis Monument or History Wall is located at the intersection of Bernstrasse and Bruckenstrasse, the underpass area of the road leading to Skagerak Bridge. It is a piece of colorful artwork that covers the wall of an enclosed staircase leading to the sidewalk on that bridge. Clay tiles of different sizes, shapes, and colors have images and dates on them that relate to important events in Cochem's history. Separating these tiles are flowing groups of rocks, pebbles, and bricks which add texture to the artwork.

 

Most noticeable in the center is the red cross placed on a white background - the emblem for the Archbishop of Trier who held this area through the early middle ages to the early 1800s. At the top of that center tile, is an image of him seated in a chair wearing a Bishop's hat and holding a cross. Below that tile is an image of his Reichsburg Castle with its historical dates of ownership. Smaller images such as his seal and Elector's crown surround the center of this art work while clusters of tiles of varying sizes are woven around that core to show other events in Cochem's history from the Romans, to knights and soldiers with weapons, peasant grape growers, to the Skagerak bridge, and a timeline of events to 1949. Nothing, of course, is in English, but the images and dates are enough to decipher their meaning.

 

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To view more of my images of aircraft and space craft, click "here" !

 

Very sad news, relating to a fatal crash of this beautiful aircraft, please read "here" ! ............ More "here" !

 

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and other conflicts. The Mustang was conceived, designed and built by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a specification issued directly to NAA by the British Purchasing Commission. The prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed and, with an engine installed, first flew on 26 October. The Mustang was originally designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had limited high-altitude performance. It was first flown operationally by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk I). The addition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin to the P-51B/C model transformed the Mustang's performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, matching or bettering that of the Luftwaffe's fighters. The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 60 series two-stage two-speed supercharged engine, and armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns. From late 1943, P-51Bs (supplemented by P-51Ds from mid-1944) were used by the USAAF's Eighth Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany, while the RAF's 2 TAF and the USAAF's Ninth Air Force used the Merlin-powered Mustangs as fighter-bombers, roles in which the Mustang helped ensure Allied air superiority in 1944. The P-51 was also in service with Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean and Italian theaters, and saw limited service against the Japanese in the Pacific War. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed 4,950 enemy aircraft shot down. At the start of the Korean War, the Mustang was the main fighter of the United Nations until jet fighters such as the F-86 took over this role; the Mustang then became a specialized fighter-bomber. Despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s. After World War II and the Korean War, many Mustangs were converted for civilian use, especially air racing, and increasingly, preserved and flown as historic warbird aircraft at airshows. In April 1938, shortly after the German Anschluss of Austria, the British government established a purchasing commission in the United States, headed by Sir Henry Self. Self was given overall responsibility for Royal Air Force (RAF) production and research and development, and also served with Sir Wilfrid Freeman, the "Air Member for Development and Production". Self also sat on the British Air Council Sub-committee on Supply (or "Supply Committee") and one of his tasks was to organize the manufacturing and supply of American fighter aircraft for the RAF. At the time, the choice was very limited, as no U.S. aircraft then in production or flying met European standards, with only the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk coming close. The Curtiss-Wright plant was running at capacity, so P-40s were in short supply. North American Aviation (NAA) was already supplying its Harvard trainer to the RAF, but was otherwise underutilized. NAA President "Dutch" Kindelberger approached Self to sell a new medium bomber, the B-25 Mitchell. Instead, Self asked if NAA could manufacture the Tomahawk under license from Curtiss. Kindelberger said NAA could have a better aircraft with the same engine in the air sooner than establishing a production line for the P-40. The Commission stipulated armament of four .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns, the Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engine, a unit cost of no more than $40,000, and delivery of the first production aircraft by January 1941. In March 1940, 320 aircraft were ordered by Sir Wilfred Freeman who had become the executive head of Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP), and the contract was promulgated on 24 April. The NA-73X, which was designed by a team led by lead engineer Edgar Schmued, followed the best conventional practice of the era, but included several new features. One was a wing designed using laminar flow airfoils which were developed co-operatively by North American Aviation and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). These airfoils generated very low drag at high speeds. During the development of the NA-73X, a wind tunnel test of two wings, one using NACA 5-digit airfoils and the other using the new NAA/NACA 45–100 airfoils, was performed in the University of Washington Kirsten Wind Tunnel. The results of this test showed the superiority of the wing designed with the NAA/NACA 45–100 airfoils. The other feature was a new radiator design that exploited the "Meredith Effect", in which heated air exited the radiator as a slight amount of jet thrust. Because NAA lacked a suitable wind tunnel to test this feature, it used the GALCIT 10 ft (3.0 m) wind tunnel at Caltech. This led to some controversy over whether the Mustang's cooling system aerodynamics were developed by NAA's engineer Edgar Schmued or by Curtiss, although NAA had purchased the complete set of P-40 and XP-46 wind tunnel data and flight test reports for US$56,000. The NA-73X was also one of the first aircraft to have a fuselage lofted mathematically using conic sections; this resulted in the aircraft's fuselage having smooth, low drag surfaces. To aid production, the airframe was divided into five main sections—forward, center, rear fuselage and two wing halves — all of which were fitted with wiring and piping before being joined. The prototype NA-73X was rolled out in September 1940 and first flew on 26 October 1940, respectively 102 and 149 days after the order had been placed, an uncommonly short gestation period. The prototype handled well and accommodated an impressive fuel load. The aircraft's two-section, semi-monocoque fuselage was constructed entirely of aluminum to save weight. It was armed with four .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns, two in the wings and two mounted under the engine and firing through the propeller arc using gun synchronizing gear. While the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) could block any sales it considered detrimental to the interests of the US, the NA-73 was considered to be a special case because it had been designed at the behest of the British. In September 1940. a further 300 NA-73s were ordered by MAP. To ensure uninterrupted delivery Colonel Oliver P. Echols arranged with the Anglo-French Purchasing Commission to deliver the aircraft, and NAA gave two examples (41-038 and 41-039) to the USAAC for evaluation.

 

"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" !

 

1

: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a style of artistic expression prevalent especially in the 17th century that is marked generally by use of complex forms, bold ornamentation, and the juxtaposition of contrasting elements often conveying a sense of drama, movement, and tension

 

2

: characterized by grotesqueness, extravagance, complexity, or flamboyance

 

3

: irregularly shaped —used of gems

Merriam Webster

Airport Rd 2017: Evidently the LC70s are the vehicles most army brats can relate to over here :)

Cervine: of or relating to deer

 

The ending of an unfinished 52 week

You may have noticed I have not posted in a few weeks and you may also be thinking doesnt a 52 week mean you post once a week for a year? Well I regret to inform you that I am retiring my 52 week. I dont want to say quitting or giving up because, while I am stopping it, I dont feel like those are the right words. It ran its course and looking back I did improve and had some amazing times and did some crazy things that I may have not gotten to do if I had not been doing my 52 week. But at the same time it wasn't the 52 week I wanted to lead. I wanted to accomplish a successful 52 week where you could see steady and great growth in my photography skills, understanding of lighting, photoshop skills and creativity. I wanted a 52 week where very few, if any, weeks were skipped. I wanted a 52 week that I coud devote a good amount of time to. But I wasnt always growing, I definitely missed many weeks and I neglected my project tremendously. Often times I would wait until the last day to think of an idea, shoot it, and then edit it. But the main reason I am stopping this first attempt (there will definitely be future ones that will be more successful!) at a 52 week is because this is it. This is my final year of high school. Throughout this year I will experience my last year as an editor, my last year as a designer for the yearbook, my first and last year as a designer for the paper, my last year as a photog for NW, my last year with my journalism family in that room I began to call home. And the truth is Im running out of time. There isnt enough hours in the day or days in the week. So in order to hopefully have more quality concept photos Im going to put more focus in each one rather than worrying that I get one posted before I go to bed Sunday night. And in order to put my full effort into becoming the best editor I can be and taking the best journalistic photos I can take and creating the most beautiful spreads I can design, I need to put in the time. Because I am not satisfied enough with all my work that I have done here, because I want to end this precious time here by blowing everyone away with something amazing. for once I want to do something great. And I want to give my time to being a better editor, because I feel like I have been a pretty awful one so far. And it hurts, I hate thinking im a bad editor...but the truth is that I have been. So I had to create new priorities. I had to put journalism first. concept photography second. and money, well I have to cut that out for now. my 52 week isnt the only thing Im cutting out. Despite how I said I hated my job that first week I got it, I forgot to mention that I kind of ended up loving it. It was a stellar job and i got to work with some great people and it really was a lot of fun. Being a griller at Mongolian BBQ was most definitely the best job a high school student could ever even hope for. However I recently turned in my 2 weeks notice which made me a lot more upset than I thought it would. I will hopefully be back their in the summer but for now, I have to prioritize. I should have appreciated what a great job I had more, but I didnt. So I will these last couple of weeks and then I will continue on focusing on trying to become better. and will hopefully still be posting good things here relatively frequently.

 

in other news...Ill be 18 on the 18th, which is pretty soon! My golden birthday, so hopefully that means itll be a good year! Trying to think of what photo I want to do for my birthday....

Life is full of stories – some deeply personal and specific, others universally relatable. My story is beautiful and complicated and bittersweet and hard. Life is just that way. So are photographs.

 

The birth of my daughter was life-changing, but not in the way I expected. Though there has been no greater joy for me, the responsibility of another life has proven to be at times a heavy load. Thinking about this in a literal sense, I imagined a heavy home on my shoulders, yet held tightly with love – a burden and a joy, a challenge and a reprieve. This became the first image in the series The Heart and the Heavy.

 

From there the stories evolved, just as my life has. The genesis of an image comes from moments of life, like a still from an old movie. Movement and pain and the simple joys of being alive are frozen in time – a study of fictional worlds based in reality. Compelled to shoot these stories, I am haunted for days and months until it is released in an image. Telling someone’s tale in a world not quite like our own.

 

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

 

It has been almost two years since I shot the image that changed my focus and redirected me as an artist. That image, The Heart and The Heavy, became a catalyst for a new study and the exhibit by the same name. I am thrilled to have the work on display in somewhat of an southeast tour this fall and winter.

 

First up, the Durham Art Guild is presenting the show from October 1 - 28 at the Room 100 Gallery in the Golden Belt in Durham, NC. There will be a public reception on Friday, October 18th from 6-9 p.m.

 

Next stop on the tour is Atlanta. The Jennifer Schwartz Gallery and I will be creating a one-night only special event on November 1st from 6-9 p.m. at DEADRINGER [prints + projects] located at Studio LR-12 at The Goat Farm Arts Center (1200 Foster Street, Atlanta, GA 30318). Then catch the show for the remainder of the year in the Jennifer Schwartz Gallery.

 

The MoNA Gallery in Charlotte will host the show from March 7 - April 26, 2014, with the opening reception on March the 7th. MoNA Gallery is located at 1900 N. Brevard St., Charlotte, NC 28206.

 

I couldn't be happier to be sharing this body of work. I hope to see you there!

  

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The following is an excerpt of a blog written by Tim Dees who relates his experiences working for Silva's in the mid 1970's.

 

Link: timdees.com/blog/?p=375

 

The ambulances were pink, because that was the owner’s wife’s favorite color. Pink bed linen, and when I got there, they were just moving away from pink shirts, as they were too difficult to find. Bob Silva never bought a new ambulance. They were all used Cadillacs, as he believed a used Cadillac was much classier than a new van-type that actually ran. I was taking a woman in labor to a hospital in San Francisco when the tranny gave up the ghost in Hunter’s Point. I’d told Bob the day before that it was on its last legs, and he advised that I should shut up and drive what I was given to drive. We were dead in the water, and just barely within radio range to call for another rig to take our patient.

 

The county came out with some new regs for gear that had to be on the rig, and one requirement was an obstetrics kit. Pre-packaged OB kits from Dyna-Med were $7.50 each. Silva bought one. He put it on a rig, sent it to be inspected, then brought that one back and put the same kit on the next rig to be inspected. When it was finally left in the rig he usually drove, he wrapped it in strapping tape to discourage anyone from actually using it. It wasn’t like we didn’t need OB kits. I delivered three babies while I worked there.

 

The electronic sirens we’re so used to now were just coming into widespread use in the 1970s. Most of our ambulances were equipped with mechanical sirens that wound up slowly when activated. They had brakes on them, and if you forgot to brake the siren before you left the rig, it would take a minute or more to wind down, growling the whole time. The big daddy of these mechanical sirens was the Federal Q2. Some of these are still in use on fire engines. The Q2 is a massive thing, and drew so much power that the engine would knock when you leaned on the button too long—the spark plugs didn’t get enough voltage. Few man-made things are as loud as a Q2. One day, while en route back to the station with a new attendant, I stopped at a Safeway for some groceries. I left the attendant in the rig, telling him to tap the siren if we got a call. When the call came in, he didn’t tap on the horn ring that activated the siren—he held it down. The ambulance was parked facing the store and its large plate glass windows. I heard the siren, then heard the window start to reverberate in its frame as it resonated with the blast of sonic waves—“whap-whap-whap-whapwhapWhapWhapWHAPWHAPWHAP.” I made it back to the rig, screaming ineffectively, before the window shattered.

 

Between the mechanical siren, separate heater for the rear compartment, more blinking lights than a Vegas casino, etc., the ambulances needed a lot of electrical power. A single battery would be dead before you got to the hospital, so most ambulances had two car batteries, cross-connected via a big rotary Cole-Hersee switch. The switch, which looked a little like the access cover to your house’s sewer cleanout pipe, had four positions: Battery One, Battery Two, Both, and Off. “Both” was the usual setting, but when the rig was parked, it was common to switch it to “Off,” so the batteries wouldn’t be drained if you had forgotten to turn something off. This effectively disconnected the batteries from the rest of the rig. If you wanted to have some fun with another crew, you could turn everything in their rig on, but leave the Cole-Hersee switch off. When they turned it back on, hilarity would ensue.

 

The gear we had in these ambulances was very basic, and most of us purchased and brought our own equipment to work, rather than provide inferior care for our patients. I bought my own stethoscope and sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff), chemical cold packs, wire ladder splints, ammonia “wake up gizmo” ampules, etc. Consumable supplies, such as self-adhering Kerlix bandages and waterproof tape, were stolen from the hospitals. The bandages we had on board, furnished by the company, were made of crumbling linen material from the Korean War era. Oropharyngeal airways were supposed to be either used once and discarded, or autoclaved between patients, but we had neither replacement airways or an autoclave, so we wiped them clean with alcohol and hoped for the best.

 

Our suction apparatus was powered through the engine’s vacuum manifold. Suction power went to zero when the engine was accelerating. If you were trying to clear gunk from a patient’s airway while your driver was flooring it, you’d tell him to coast until you had made some progress.

 

We weren’t allowed to say someone was dead, even if the flesh was falling from their bones. Law enforcement officers could make that determination, but doing so meant they would have to remain at the scene until the coroner arrived, which could take hours. This being the case, many officers chose to see some glimmer of life in corpses long past resurrection. We responded to an “11-80” (traffic accident with serious injuries) attended by a member of the California Highway Patrol to find a pickup truck that had rolled over with an unfortunate passenger in the back. The passenger had not quite been decapitated, as his head was hanging by a few strips of flesh. This was one of the more obvious dead people I had encountered, but the Chippie ordered us to run him in. Getting the body onto the gurney had the same effect achieved in kosher slaughterhouses, where the neck veins are severed and the blood is allowed to drain from the carcass. By the time we got to the hospital, the floor of the rear compartment was literally awash in blood, with it sloshing over my boots. I called the office and told them we would be out of service for a while.

 

This pre-dated the AIDS scare, and even though hepatitis and other bloodborne pathogens were just as nasty then as now (and there was no vaccine), we had no latex gloves to wear. Back then, gloves were worn by medical people to protect the patient from infection. There wasn’t a lot of thought given to protecting the caregivers. I remember cleaning up after an especially gruesome call and thinking that I wasn’t just cleaning something, but rather someone, out from under my fingernails.

 

One case where we didn’t have to transport was at the home of an older gentleman. I never knew the circumstances that prompted the call, but we arrived a few minutes after the fire department and before the cops. As we walked up to the house, the firemen were walking out, chuckling to one another. “He’s dead!” they said with some amusement. We entered the bedroom to find an older man lying supine on top of his bed, naked. Rigor had set in, so he had been gone for some time. What the firefighters found so funny was that the man had expired while engaged in an act of self-pleasure, and still had the weapon in hand. My partner and I looked at each other and registered much the same expression the firemen had. As we walked out, the cops were just arriving. “He’s dead!” we told them. I suppose there are worse ways to go, but that’s not how I want to be found.

 

I ran a lot of calls at Silva’s. The shifts were 120 hours long–yes, five days straight. You got paid straight time ($2.00/hour in 1974) for the first eight hours, a guaranteed time-and-a-half for five more hours, and were unpaid for three hours of meals, whether you actually got to eat them or not. Between midnight and eight in the morning, you got overtime for the time you were actually in service on the call. If you rolled and were cancelled two minutes out–which was common–you got two minutes of overtime. I swear some of those rigs could find their own way home, because there were many nights I have no memory of having driven them there. When my days off finally arrived, I would usually sleep through at least one of them.

 

The full Silva’s uniform was a sartorial delight. Each time they would give me a new uniform article, it would fall to a mysteriously tragic end, so I wore a white shirt, navy blue knit slacks, and a nylon bomber jacket. If you wanted to show you were management material, the required outfit consisted of a white (formerly pink) shirt with royal blue trousers and Ike jacket. The trousers had white piping down each leg, as did the cuffs of the jacket. On each shoulder of the Ike jacket was a huge purple and gold patch, proclaiming the wearer to be employed by Silva’s Ambulance Service, the words spelled out in metallic script. One was also obliged to wear a royal blue CHP clip-on neck tie. Mandatory accessories to the ensemble included a gold metal nametag, white belt, and white leather shoes. Worn on the shirt or jacket was a shield-type gold badge, about the size of a soup plate. All the badges identified the wearers as “Technician,” except for Bob Silva’s. His said, “Owner.” There was a $20 deposit on the badge. Those who were really in with the in crowd had huge custom Western-style belt buckles with their first names spelled out diagonally, and the corners adorned with red crosses, stars of life, or tiny ambulances. However, the crowning glory accessory–and I only saw one of these–was a gold tie bar, wider than the tie itself, with a fine gold chain attached to either end of the bar. Dangling from the chain was a pink Cadillac ambulance. Its wearer was extremely proud of this, and wouldn’t tell anyone where he got it, lest someone steal his thunder.

 

Employee turnover was around 200% annually, and I was a prized employee because I always showed up on time and sober. I was able to work full time on school vacations and summer, and from Friday evening to early Monday morning, when I’d leave to make it to my first class at San Jose State. It wasn’t uncommon to have an employee go AWOL, and have the cops show up a day or so later, looking for them. You had to be fingerprinted to get an ambulance driver’s license, but all you needed to work as an attendant was a first aid card, which management would procure for you for a small fee.

 

Bob Curry, in almost the full Silva's uniform (no badge), posing with a "new" ambulance, formerly used by Allied Ambulance in Oakland.

Bob Curry, in almost the full Silva’s uniform (no badge), posing with a “new” ambulance, formerly used by Allied Ambulance in Oakland.

 

There was one very senior employee whose name was also Bob. Bob thought he was the manager, and would tell you he was if asked, despite advice to the contrary if one of the Silvas was listening. Bob was very possessive of “his” ambulance, which was always the newest one (given that they were all used, “new” was a relative term). One night, I had just come in to work, and a call came in. The dispatcher told me to take it, so I grabbed an attendant and got in the first rig I saw. It was Bob’s, of course. When I returned, Bob screamed my face, lest I forget that that particular rig was HIS ambulance, and I had better stay the hell out of it if I knew what was good for me. Bob had an apartment near the main station, so he didn’t have to sleep at the station when he was on duty. If you were Bob’s attendant (Bob never worked in the back unless there was some real hero stuff going on), you were allowed to drive Bob’s ambulance to his place, where you switched seats. That night, a co-conspirator and I did a little customizing to Bob’s rig. When he got in the next morning, he found the handle on the driver’s door adorned with some adhesive tape, reading “Bob’s Door Handle.” Inside, more tape indicated Bob’s Steering Wheel, Bob’s Cigarette Lighter, Bob’s Gearshift, Bob’s Turn Indicator, Bob’s Accelerator, Bob’s Radio, Bob’s Other Radio, and so on. Tucked under Bob’s Sun Visor was a card on a little string, trimmed to drop to eye level: “Hi, Bob.”

 

Silva’s didn’t have the market cornered on odd employees. A rival company employed a guy we called Captain Action. Captain Action worked for a company that had more traditional uniforms, but still included a badge. The issued badge wasn’t up to Captain Action’s high standards. He had his own badge made up. It was a thing of beauty. It was a gold seven-point star (the most common style of police badge in those parts), but much larger than most police badges. It put the Silva’s badge to shame on size alone. I remember it had a big California State Seal in the middle, and a lot of text on the banners and inner ring. There was so much lettering on the badge that I never got to finish reading it, although I saw it often. Captain Action also wore a police-style Sam Browne belt with various snaps and cases, including a cuff case, handcuffs, and a baton ring. I never saw a baton, but I’m sure he had it around somewhere.

 

Captain Action loved to talk on the radio. Each ambulance had two radios, one on the company channel, and one that broadcasted on a shared, county-wide channel, called County Control. There was no direct channel to the hospitals, so one was obliged to tell County Control what you had and where you were bringing it, so the dispatcher could give the appropriate ER the heads up. An appropriate message might be something like, “County Control, Ambulance 3335, en route Code 3 to Peninsula Medical with an unconscious head injury.” Captain Action preferred to be somewhat more detailed, and made liberal use of the phonetic alphabet. “County Control, Ambulance 3330, en route Peninsula Medical Center with a 33-year-old white male with a history of cardiac myopathy, I spell CHARLES-ADAM-ROBERT-DAVID-IDA-ADAM-CHARLES-BREAK-MARY-YELLOW-OCEAN-PAUL-ADAM-TOM-HENRY-YELLOW…”

 

After one of these lengthy naratives (keep in mind that there were ten or twelve other ambulances in the county that used the same channel), the dispatcher was oddly silent. Captain Action made another try to ensure his message made it through. “County Control, Ambulance 3330, did you copy?”

 

“Ambulance 3330, County Control, TOM-EDWARD-NORA-BREAK-FRANK-OCEAN-UNION-ROBERT.”

 

Ah, the good old days.

 

Written by Tim Dees on January 1st, 2015

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: looking deeply into money, currency, finance, savings, investing, stocks, bonds, etc.

 

To view more of my images of aircraft and space craft, click "here" !

 

Very sad news, relating to a fatal crash of this beautiful aircraft, please read "here" ! ............ More "here" !

 

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and other conflicts. The Mustang was conceived, designed and built by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a specification issued directly to NAA by the British Purchasing Commission. The prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed and, with an engine installed, first flew on 26 October. The Mustang was originally designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had limited high-altitude performance. It was first flown operationally by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk I). The addition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin to the P-51B/C model transformed the Mustang's performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, matching or bettering that of the Luftwaffe's fighters. The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 60 series two-stage two-speed supercharged engine, and armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns. From late 1943, P-51Bs (supplemented by P-51Ds from mid-1944) were used by the USAAF's Eighth Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany, while the RAF's 2 TAF and the USAAF's Ninth Air Force used the Merlin-powered Mustangs as fighter-bombers, roles in which the Mustang helped ensure Allied air superiority in 1944. The P-51 was also in service with Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean and Italian theaters, and saw limited service against the Japanese in the Pacific War. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed 4,950 enemy aircraft shot down. At the start of the Korean War, the Mustang was the main fighter of the United Nations until jet fighters such as the F-86 took over this role; the Mustang then became a specialized fighter-bomber. Despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s. After World War II and the Korean War, many Mustangs were converted for civilian use, especially air racing, and increasingly, preserved and flown as historic warbird aircraft at airshows. In April 1938, shortly after the German Anschluss of Austria, the British government established a purchasing commission in the United States, headed by Sir Henry Self. Self was given overall responsibility for Royal Air Force (RAF) production and research and development, and also served with Sir Wilfrid Freeman, the "Air Member for Development and Production". Self also sat on the British Air Council Sub-committee on Supply (or "Supply Committee") and one of his tasks was to organize the manufacturing and supply of American fighter aircraft for the RAF. At the time, the choice was very limited, as no U.S. aircraft then in production or flying met European standards, with only the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk coming close. The Curtiss-Wright plant was running at capacity, so P-40s were in short supply. North American Aviation (NAA) was already supplying its Harvard trainer to the RAF, but was otherwise underutilized. NAA President "Dutch" Kindelberger approached Self to sell a new medium bomber, the B-25 Mitchell. Instead, Self asked if NAA could manufacture the Tomahawk under license from Curtiss. Kindelberger said NAA could have a better aircraft with the same engine in the air sooner than establishing a production line for the P-40. The Commission stipulated armament of four .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns, the Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engine, a unit cost of no more than $40,000, and delivery of the first production aircraft by January 1941. In March 1940, 320 aircraft were ordered by Sir Wilfred Freeman who had become the executive head of Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP), and the contract was promulgated on 24 April. The NA-73X, which was designed by a team led by lead engineer Edgar Schmued, followed the best conventional practice of the era, but included several new features. One was a wing designed using laminar flow airfoils which were developed co-operatively by North American Aviation and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). These airfoils generated very low drag at high speeds. During the development of the NA-73X, a wind tunnel test of two wings, one using NACA 5-digit airfoils and the other using the new NAA/NACA 45–100 airfoils, was performed in the University of Washington Kirsten Wind Tunnel. The results of this test showed the superiority of the wing designed with the NAA/NACA 45–100 airfoils. The other feature was a new radiator design that exploited the "Meredith Effect", in which heated air exited the radiator as a slight amount of jet thrust. Because NAA lacked a suitable wind tunnel to test this feature, it used the GALCIT 10 ft (3.0 m) wind tunnel at Caltech. This led to some controversy over whether the Mustang's cooling system aerodynamics were developed by NAA's engineer Edgar Schmued or by Curtiss, although NAA had purchased the complete set of P-40 and XP-46 wind tunnel data and flight test reports for US$56,000. The NA-73X was also one of the first aircraft to have a fuselage lofted mathematically using conic sections; this resulted in the aircraft's fuselage having smooth, low drag surfaces. To aid production, the airframe was divided into five main sections—forward, center, rear fuselage and two wing halves — all of which were fitted with wiring and piping before being joined. The prototype NA-73X was rolled out in September 1940 and first flew on 26 October 1940, respectively 102 and 149 days after the order had been placed, an uncommonly short gestation period. The prototype handled well and accommodated an impressive fuel load. The aircraft's two-section, semi-monocoque fuselage was constructed entirely of aluminum to save weight. It was armed with four .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns, two in the wings and two mounted under the engine and firing through the propeller arc using gun synchronizing gear. While the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) could block any sales it considered detrimental to the interests of the US, the NA-73 was considered to be a special case because it had been designed at the behest of the British. In September 1940. a further 300 NA-73s were ordered by MAP. To ensure uninterrupted delivery Colonel Oliver P. Echols arranged with the Anglo-French Purchasing Commission to deliver the aircraft, and NAA gave two examples (41-038 and 41-039) to the USAAC for evaluation.

 

"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" !

 

I so relate to this wonderful bovine...What a week I've had.

Love that she has pulled away from the crowed, put her hooves up and said...

"Honey, you go get your milk at the market in one of those plastic bottles. I'm busy relaxing!"

 

Way to go girl!

Kinetic: Relating to, caused by, or producing motion.

 

These are called “Kinetic” photographs because there is motion, energy, and movement involved, specifically my and the camera’s movements.

 

Most of these are shot outdoors where I have the room to literally spin and throw my little camera several feet up into the air, with some throws going as high as 15 feet or more!

 

None of these are Photoshopped, layered, or a composite photo...what you see occurs in one shot, one take.

 

Aren’t I afraid that I will drop and break my camera? For regular followers of my photostream and this series you will know that I have already done so. This little camera has been dropped many times, and broken once when dropped on concrete outside. It still functions...not so well for regular photographs, but superbly for more kinetic work.

 

Albeit supremely risky this is one of my favorite ways to produce abstract photographs.

 

If you'd like to see more please check out my set, "Vertigo:"

 

www.flickr.com/photos/motorpsiclist/sets/72157630591282642/

 

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To read more about Kinetic Photography click the Wikipedia link below:

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_photography

 

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My photographs and videos and any derivative works are my private property and are copyright © by me, John Russell (aka “Zoom Lens”) and ALL my rights, including my exclusive rights, are reserved. ANY use without my permission in writing is forbidden by law.

 

Photographer: P H Jauncey. PAColl-1296-2-07. Lucy Taylor photographs relating to Wellington Girls’ College, Alexander Turnbull Library

 

An expanded version was published in FishHead magazine, January 2014.

 

Here we are at the Wellington Girls’ College in Thorndon. It is Parents’ Day, 1927, and the girls are giving a demonstration of Swedish drill. This particular move was called the halfway side falling position and was designed to strengthen the side muscles. An instruction booklet of the time stresses that it should be done without bending the knees or letting the hips sink. The girls seem very proficient.

 

By the 1920s Swedish drill was seen as the state-of-the-art in girls’ physical education. The flexing, lunging and balancing movements are not dissimilar to some exercise programmes today, and the loose tunics worn here were certainly an improvement on the restrictive clothing these girls’ mothers would have had to wear for any outdoor activity.

 

Less modern was the strict regimentation. In the years between the wars such military-like manoeuvrings were a popular part of organised activity for the young. In the same year as this photograph was taken, the outdoor highlight for many Wellington school children was a tightly choreographed welcome to the Duke of York at Newtown Park. Theyformed themselves into a living union jack. Other examples of uniformed mass choreography for young people included the uniquely New Zealand phenomenon of marching girls that emerged in the 1930s.

 

Mrs Taylor, the head of the College’s physical training programme, was an innovator, though. In particular she ignored some of her how-to-do-drill textbooks and enjoyed mixing her Swedish drill instruction with music and dance.

 

The girls in this photograph no doubt also took part in one of the highlights of the school year – Mrs Taylor’s annual “gymnastic display.” In 1927 it was at the Opera House. In addition to Swedish drill, the newspaper advertisements promised “Lantern marching, Cymbals, Wands, Poi Dances, Spanish Dances, Thunder, Rain and Frost,” all of which were ambitiously worked into a “Fairy Folk Tales of the Maori” theme, based on James Cowan’s recently published children’s book of the same name.

 

Go to this image's record

 

Read a review of the Opera House gymnastic display

 

Wellingtonians: From the Turnbull Collections contains a selection of the entries from this Flickr set, and some new ones too. This high-quality publication costs just $29.99. You can pick it up at good bookshops or from the publisher, Steele Roberts.

The title relates to the influence on me by the late Bill Brandt who famously shot this scene originally.

 

This is not what he shot (or published at least) but I have replicated that shot also, see 'Homage' in this album.

 

Although my shot is different to Brandt's famous image, I have tried to produce it in his style - heavy shadows with contrasting light. Although my Canon 5D2 is not the best for dynamic range it still managed to record a lot of detail in the shadows and mid tones which I've darkened. I also shot this image at ISO6400 for a maximum grainy effect as I was only ever going to convert the original RAW colour file into B&W.

 

It's probably my favourite shot of the day.

 

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.[174] 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

 

Maths in neon at Autonomy in Cambridge. This is Bayes's Theorem, relating the probability of A given B to B given A.

 

This image is used on the Philosopher, Psychologist, Plasterer blog paul-david-robinson.com/post/5129596878/the-philosophy-of... in an article "The Philosophy of Physics". It was also used on the Wikipedia article for Bayes Theorem.

 

It was further used on a Spanish blog profeblog.es/blog/luismiglesias/2010/01/02/fotografia-mat...

 

It was later used in a father's blog post about having twin girls - www.bigdansramblings.com/2012/03/30/phases-finding-twin-g... - congratulations mate.

 

It is also used on a blog article about Stanford offering a statistics in medicine course - scopeblog.stanford.edu/2013/05/28/stanford-offers-free-st...

 

And an article "Signal, Noise and Clinical Trials" - lacertabio.com/2013/04/signal-noise-and-clinical-trial-re...

 

And a review of an elementary statistics course. moocnewsandreviews.com/course-review-elementary-statistic...

 

And the front page of a wiki about Probabilistic Programming for Advancing Machine Learning (whatever that is) - ppaml.galois.com/wiki/

 

And an LSE blog post about citations: "A Bayesian approach to the REF: finding the right data on journal articles and citations to inform decision-making." blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2013/12/02/journal...

 

And an Italian site "Rebel Fitness". Not sure why, I assume it just looked mathematical. www.fitnessribelle.it/alimentazione/calcolo-calorie/

 

And a blog about the emotional state of being an entrepreneur - www.ecosystemsandentrepreneurs.com/blog/2015/4/3/the-emot...

 

And a Strangeloop presentation about probability. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiiWzJE0fEA

 

An article about Bayesian logic in Python. machinelearningmastery.com/naive-bayes-classifier-scratch...

 

"

Bayes’s Theorem & Naïve Bayes Classifiers " dem1995.github.io/machine-learning/extra_pages/naive_baye...

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: Receiving money. Earning money. Investing. Cost of living. Saving money... etc.

 

There is never a day when you will feel strong enough to go through the arduous process of getting a car insurance quote. Online or on the phone makes no difference,

It is a most surprising combination of great tedium and clenched buttocked, anxiety.

 

I would be far more impressed hearing on the morning news about someone spending 24 hours a day for three weeks getting car insurance quotes in order to break a world record instead of some guy who just sailed around the dreary old world single handed; Who can relate to the traumas of that?

 

Having been involved in an accident where fault has not yet been decided upon I am generally considered to be the lowest of the low to insurers, a cursed, hapless and accident prone bottom feeder; the least desirable of all those requiring insuring. There is no negotiation, if you are in the process of having a claim dealt with then the presumption of innocence is conveniently reversed. You are assumed guilty and treated as though you have been chiefly responsible for every accident that has happened across the entire UK this year. You might think that shouting “It was definitely all his fault! And what about the universally spouted rule about going into the back of someone???!!! HE WENT INTO THE BACK OF ME!!!!!” at the person on the phone would make a difference, but no, it doesn’t seem to affect the quotes, if anything they seem to be higher when I have done this.

 

The insurance comparison websites take great delight in coming back to me telling me just how many insurers actually won’t even undertake the risk of insuring me, “your quote results……132 insurers will not provide you with a quote” – these ones come up with a symbol – of a large barge pole pushing a little person in a car away.

 

Each page of questions becomes progressively more probing, more threatening, small print almost outweighs the large print, ‘If you do not fill this answer out truthfully, under oath with a judge and jury present then it may nullify your insurance policy and even cause you to come down with a very nasty cold.

(To buy your own inflatable judge and jury to verify your statements visit: www.comparetheinflatablejudgeandjury.com)

 

I wonder, 'Surely they can’t possibly check out the truth. If I answer no to having car surfed whilst on the phone and drinking a nice glass of shiraz will they somehow be able to check on Flickr and know the answer is actually yes and then blacklist me?’

 

The Questions:

 

Have you, in the last 10 years ever exceeded the national speed limit by any amount, therefore putting the lives of the entire UK at risk?

 

Have you ever left your car unattended (even whilst locked) for any period of time? (Admission of this could lead to your premium going up by £1000.)

 

Have you opened you car door and ever so slightly clonked into the side of anyone else’s car in the last three years?

 

Have you spilt a vanilla latte in your car in the last 5 years?

 

Have you ever sneezed whilst driving and momentarily closed your eyes?

 

Have you ever left the internal light on all night?

 

Have you ever parked with one tyre pinched grotesquely and close-to-burstingly against the kerb and just left it like that and walked away?

 

How long do you normally leave a dollop of bird pooh on the paintwork?

A.What bird pooh? I thought that was the manufacturer’s badge.

B.A couple of days but I feel guilty the entire time and constantly fret about my paintwork dissolving under a faecal poultice.

C.Bird pooh? Pah! I have covered my car in a layer of gaffa tape to protect it from bird strikes, stone chips and inclement weather, I check on it thrice daily and sing it to sleep at night.

 

So after three and a half hours I had my quote for a jolly sensible ploddy diesel golf at a not at all sensible £1000.

 

So what do you do when you get a ridiculously extortionate jaw dropping quote for a bog standard car? You start getting quotes for supercars…..

 

A Porsche 911 was, in comparison to the old lady golf a snip at three grand.

 

Over the next two weeks I had countless calls from uncommonly keen insurance companies wishing to follow up on my requested quote for the BMW M5/Maserati Quattroporte/Koenigsegg/Bugatti Veyron. I took immense pleasure responding to their calls with, “Oh thanks for calling, yes I went another way in the end and decided against the Mclaren, I’m just going to carry on getting the number 83 bus, the handling on it is simply sublime and if I run down an old lady or two I can just get off and wait for the number 15 instead and it won’t affect my no claims bonus”.

     

Here is another scan and retouch that relates some history... and needs help from Edna to stand up. It was snapped of Katherine at Alice's Wild Basin cabin at the Copeland Lake area, the south end of Rocky Mtn. National Park. Grandmother, Alice, spent every summer at her cabin right near the Wild Basin Lodge. The one-year-old and mother is at the porch steps on the south side of the cabin. The pine is the balsam by the steps in the background that Granny watered regularly. Down the hill, the North St.Vrain River scrambled down the canyon. It was filled with all those trout. Alice kept her fly rod on nails on the porch above. It was quick to grab on her way down to the river. The cabin was ever a mellow place to stay in 1943 and anytime later.

 

Talk about a mellow place to stay, the entire world would like to pack in here this summer as Global Warming ramps up. It snowed on me at Wild Basin one July. Now, at Longmont, the nights are seldom dropping to 60 and below so far. So much for T-Rump's Tirade against the Environment (his TTE - Trade the Environment for cash policy); it's starting to really pay off with rain in the Arctic and state sized bergs calving in the Antarctic.

 

The water supply for the uninsulated cabin was pumped directly from the river when there was no thought about the quality of the water supply. Do I remember something about tumbling streams oxygenating themselves in a 1/4 mile? Nobody ever gave a thought about drinking from the stream that fed Longmont's water supply.

 

As usual, dust on the negative and contact printing left untold flecks, white and black, and garbage across the image. In close, it looks like a shotgun blast. As always, it provides plenty of practice whether needed or not. I used the same two techniques, the Stamp and Brush to work on the image. Unfortunately, the scanner usually features all the defects on old snaps like this. I suppose that it will always be possible that this family will exchange the digital retouching and spread them far enough that my labor won't be entirely wasted.

 

I gang output these to high resolution PDFs that can be printed at home of taken to Fed-X Kinkos for their color printing. I have enough to output another sheet. Their output never seems to waver from the quality of the PDF. Trimming them with scissors, especially the deckle edges, will be a challenge.

  

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.

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, 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

 

Tel-Aviv At war

Strobridge & Co. Lith.

 

Thurston the great magician the wonder show of the universe.

 

Cincinnati ; New York : Strobridge Litho. Co., c1915.

 

1 print : color lithograph ; sheet 100 x 78 cm. (poster format)

 

Notes:

Caption: Do the spirits come back?

Created and "copyright 1915 by the Strobridge Litho. Co., Cincinnati & New York."

N.Y. no. 14335.

Transferred from; LC Rare Book and Special Collections Division; 1956.

Forms part of: Magic poster collection (Library of Congress)

Forms part of: McManus-Young collection of pictorial material relating to magic.

 

Subjects:

Thurston, Howard,--1869-1936--Performances.

Demons.

Dwarfs.

Ghosts.

Magic.

Magicians.

Skulls.

 

Format: Lithographs--Color.

Theatrical posters--American.

 

Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.

 

Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

 

Part Of: Magic poster collection (Library of Congress) (DLC) 95861316

McManus-Young collection of pictorial material relating to magic (DLC) 2009632534

 

Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3g12752

 

Call Number: POS - MAG - .T48, no. 11

 

From Wikipedia relating to the original structure:

 

For the Canadian Centennial in 1967, the City of Calgary elected to undertake, as a civic project, the construction of a new planetarium. This choice was reflective of the interest in space exploration that was prominent in the 1960s. A design competition was held in 1964 for the new building. Advised by the director of the architecture department at the University of British Columbia, Henry Elder, the three finalists were McMillan Long, Gordon Atkins, and Bill Boucock. The design by the firm of McMillan Long and Associates was eventually selected as the winner. This firm had been established in 1964 between Hugh McMillan and Jack Long, and lasted until 1969, at which time McMillan retired. The Centennial Planetarium was built between 1966 and 1967 by Sam Hashman.

 

Built on a site north of Mewata Armouries overlooking the Bow River, the Planetarium is constructed of raw concrete and features non-orthogonal design. Designed around a central bay, the building has two main wings. The west wing holds the "celestial theatre," a 255-seat theatre with a 65-foot domed screen. The east wing holds a 250-seat lecture hall. The Planetarium also contains a library, observation deck, and telescopes.

 

In 1967 the Planetarium won the Nation Design Council Concrete Award, and in 1970 the Massey Medal in Architecture.

 

From 1971 to 1985, the Planetarium also housed the collection of aircraft, aero engines, and associated reference library that became the basis of the Hangar Flight Museum. [1]

 

In 1984 the Calgary Science Centre moved into the Centennial Planetarium. It would occupy the space for the next 27 years.

 

The Science Centre moved into a new building in 2011, leaving the Planetarium empty or under-utilized until Contemporary Calgary acquired it. After extensive renovations, the building reopened as Calgary's premier modern art gallery.

Another excerpt from the story that I first started relating here.

 

The three siblings had traveled for several days, finding food and water through their own skills or the generosity of strangers along their route - which meandered but steadily took them west toward the great ocean that marked the edge of the known world. On the 19th day of their journey, they finally reached the rocky shores of the great ocean, and stopped - struck by the vast vista of water spread out before them. For the first time in any of their young lives they felt the weight of that great body of water and it penetrated them to their core, knowing their goal lay on its far side. But having traveled far, and in no particular hurry, they decided to camp that evening on the beach and plan their crossing upon morning.

 

It was while searching for firewood that the youngest brother saw a sparkle of white nestled amongst the stones of the beach. Scrambling over the slippery rocks to just near the edge of the surf, he bent down and plucked up three perfectly smooth, white stones that made him involuntarily catch his breath for the obvious magic they held within them, for surely these must be three of the fabled wishing stones of old. Smiling at his good fortune, he ran up the beach to share the news with his brother and sister. Arriving breathless at the camp though, their reactions were mixed. Rather than a similar excitement, the older brother met the stones with caution and the sister was more curious than anything else. All three had grown up with stories of the magic of old, but that was all the world was left with these days... stories and tattered memories of the great magic that had once been so common. After much debate, the youngest brother and his sister wanted to try to use the stones to cross the ocean safely. The eldest brother held out though, arguing that they had come so far on just their wits and abilities that it was foolish to trust something they knew next to nothing about. But the younger two were just as stubborn, arguing that they should not be diverted by fear of the unknown, as the crossing of the ocean itself was a great unknown voyage that would not be without great danger. In the end, they decided to put the stones aside and get some badly needed rest, as the trek across the continent had been arduous indeed. The stones and their use could wait until the next morning as well, just as the ocean would.

 

And indeed, wait they did, for the stones and the ocean were still there when the three awoke in a chilly, damp fog. But still agreement eluded them and even threatened to fray the bonds between them. So each decided to take a stone and decide how to best use it. The youngest brother walked down to the surf, wading up to his knees and wished to be a fish, so that he could swim across the ocean to the far side, agreeing to wait on the far shore for the other two. Amazingly enough, and quite suddenly, the youngest brother was gone, and a silver fish hung suspended momentarily in the air where he had stood, and then gravity claimed it and the fish splashed into the ocean. The other two watched it leap once above the waves and then it was seen no more, presumably swimming west.

 

The middle sister then took up her stone, and with a quick hug to her older brother, wished to be a bird, such that she could fly safely above the ocean to the far shore, and hopefully keep an eye out for her younger brother. In a blink, she too vanished and a splendid white gull flapped its wings a bit unsteadily, before rising into the sky, circling twice and flying away west until her silhouette vanished into the morning mist. The oldest stood there a long time gazing out across the ocean and into the fog, which gently receded as the day grew longer. He stood there, just looking, holding his stone in his hand. At one point he brought it up to his chest and mouthed words that only an empty beach could hear and dropped the stone into his pocket.

 

He spent the rest of that day collecting wood, with which he started to fashion a small boat. The beach was quite generous, for between what the ocean had washed up and what he carried himself, he soon had all he needed and small but sturdy vessel lay in front of him, pulled up just beyond the hungry reach of the incoming tide. Into the boat he stocked what food and water he had left and just as the shadows were beginning to grow long, he pushed the small craft into the height of the tide. He sailed all through the evening, and though he did not think it likely, the fatigue of the day soon caught up with him and he fell fast asleep, trusting to the wind and tides to carry him in the right direction. In the middle of the night, the eldest brother was woken from his sleep and sat up with a start. The sky above him was absolutely dark and at first he didn't notice the reason, but as the fog of sleep slowly crept from his brain, he realized that not a star shone in the sky above. He then became aware of a light from the ocean itself, and leaning over the side of his small boat, he gasped as he saw all the stars of the night sky floating in the ocean - not reflected, for he glanced quickly back up to the still blank canvas of the night sky above him. The ocean itself contained all the stars that should have been wheeling by over him. The eldest could make no sense of this spectacle, and he lingered at the edge of the boat for some time trying to comprehend what he saw. Slowly dawn approached on the horizon and the stars faded from the waters around the boat as the sky lightened above it.

 

He was shaken from his reverie by the cry of a gull overhead and looking up he saw his sister flying closer and closer until she plummeted into the ocean nearby. The eldest brother quickly brought his boat around and scooped the bird from the water and set her gently into the boat. In a moment the bird was gone, replaced by the familiar form of his younger sister. "The ocean is too big," she gasped. "I flew for hours and hours and still saw no land, there is no way I can fly across this whole expanse. I am glad you came when you did." He gave her some food and water and together they sailed through the day. Just as the sun was approaching the horizon and the breeze was turning cool, a gleaming silver fish jumped from the water and landed with a splash in the boat, only to disappear and be replaced by the form of the youngest. "Am I so glad to see you," the youngest exclaimed. "It is impossible to find one's way through the ocean, it is too vast and deep. I asked other fish, but they only know of things below the waves, coasts and quests such as ours do not concern them and they were of no help at all."

 

And with that the three were once again reunited. They pointed their boat toward the setting sun and ran with the wind across the surface of the ocean. And for another eighteen days they sailed such, collecting rain water when they needed it and catching fish from the bountiful waters to fill their stomachs. But other than that first night, the stars remained as they should, twinkling safely in the night sky overhead, and the eldest remained at a loss to explain the significance of what he had seen. The story of that night had such an impact that it distracted the younger two siblings from ever asking their older brother what had become of his wishing stone, and for his part, he did not bring the subject up, content as he was with having the three reunited. And on the nineteenth day of sailing, a dark strip of land finally broke the horizon, and smiles crested the horizons on three different faces in a like manner.

  

Bob Curry, in almost the full Silva’s uniform (no badge), posing with a “new” ambulance, formerly used by Allied Ambulance in Oakland.

 

The following is an excerpt of a blog written by Tim Dees who relates his experiences working for Silva's in the mid 1970's.

 

Link: timdees.com/blog/?p=375

 

The ambulances were pink, because that was the owner’s wife’s favorite color. Pink bed linen, and when I got there, they were just moving away from pink shirts, as they were too difficult to find. Bob Silva never bought a new ambulance. They were all used Cadillacs, as he believed a used Cadillac was much classier than a new van-type that actually ran. I was taking a woman in labor to a hospital in San Francisco when the tranny gave up the ghost in Hunter’s Point. I’d told Bob the day before that it was on its last legs, and he advised that I should shut up and drive what I was given to drive. We were dead in the water, and just barely within radio range to call for another rig to take our patient.

 

The county came out with some new regs for gear that had to be on the rig, and one requirement was an obstetrics kit. Pre-packaged OB kits from Dyna-Med were $7.50 each. Silva bought one. He put it on a rig, sent it to be inspected, then brought that one back and put the same kit on the next rig to be inspected. When it was finally left in the rig he usually drove, he wrapped it in strapping tape to discourage anyone from actually using it. It wasn’t like we didn’t need OB kits. I delivered three babies while I worked there.

 

The electronic sirens we’re so used to now were just coming into widespread use in the 1970s. Most of our ambulances were equipped with mechanical sirens that wound up slowly when activated. They had brakes on them, and if you forgot to brake the siren before you left the rig, it would take a minute or more to wind down, growling the whole time. The big daddy of these mechanical sirens was the Federal Q2. Some of these are still in use on fire engines. The Q2 is a massive thing, and drew so much power that the engine would knock when you leaned on the button too long—the spark plugs didn’t get enough voltage. Few man-made things are as loud as a Q2. One day, while en route back to the station with a new attendant, I stopped at a Safeway for some groceries. I left the attendant in the rig, telling him to tap the siren if we got a call. When the call came in, he didn’t tap on the horn ring that activated the siren—he held it down. The ambulance was parked facing the store and its large plate glass windows. I heard the siren, then heard the window start to reverberate in its frame as it resonated with the blast of sonic waves—“whap-whap-whap-whapwhapWhapWhapWHAPWHAPWHAP.” I made it back to the rig, screaming ineffectively, before the window shattered.

 

Between the mechanical siren, separate heater for the rear compartment, more blinking lights than a Vegas casino, etc., the ambulances needed a lot of electrical power. A single battery would be dead before you got to the hospital, so most ambulances had two car batteries, cross-connected via a big rotary Cole-Hersee switch. The switch, which looked a little like the access cover to your house’s sewer cleanout pipe, had four positions: Battery One, Battery Two, Both, and Off. “Both” was the usual setting, but when the rig was parked, it was common to switch it to “Off,” so the batteries wouldn’t be drained if you had forgotten to turn something off. This effectively disconnected the batteries from the rest of the rig. If you wanted to have some fun with another crew, you could turn everything in their rig on, but leave the Cole-Hersee switch off. When they turned it back on, hilarity would ensue.

 

The gear we had in these ambulances was very basic, and most of us purchased and brought our own equipment to work, rather than provide inferior care for our patients. I bought my own stethoscope and sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff), chemical cold packs, wire ladder splints, ammonia “wake up gizmo” ampules, etc. Consumable supplies, such as self-adhering Kerlix bandages and waterproof tape, were stolen from the hospitals. The bandages we had on board, furnished by the company, were made of crumbling linen material from the Korean War era. Oropharyngeal airways were supposed to be either used once and discarded, or autoclaved between patients, but we had neither replacement airways or an autoclave, so we wiped them clean with alcohol and hoped for the best.

 

Our suction apparatus was powered through the engine’s vacuum manifold. Suction power went to zero when the engine was accelerating. If you were trying to clear gunk from a patient’s airway while your driver was flooring it, you’d tell him to coast until you had made some progress.

 

We weren’t allowed to say someone was dead, even if the flesh was falling from their bones. Law enforcement officers could make that determination, but doing so meant they would have to remain at the scene until the coroner arrived, which could take hours. This being the case, many officers chose to see some glimmer of life in corpses long past resurrection. We responded to an “11-80” (traffic accident with serious injuries) attended by a member of the California Highway Patrol to find a pickup truck that had rolled over with an unfortunate passenger in the back. The passenger had not quite been decapitated, as his head was hanging by a few strips of flesh. This was one of the more obvious dead people I had encountered, but the Chippie ordered us to run him in. Getting the body onto the gurney had the same effect achieved in kosher slaughterhouses, where the neck veins are severed and the blood is allowed to drain from the carcass. By the time we got to the hospital, the floor of the rear compartment was literally awash in blood, with it sloshing over my boots. I called the office and told them we would be out of service for a while.

 

This pre-dated the AIDS scare, and even though hepatitis and other bloodborne pathogens were just as nasty then as now (and there was no vaccine), we had no latex gloves to wear. Back then, gloves were worn by medical people to protect the patient from infection. There wasn’t a lot of thought given to protecting the caregivers. I remember cleaning up after an especially gruesome call and thinking that I wasn’t just cleaning something, but rather someone, out from under my fingernails.

 

One case where we didn’t have to transport was at the home of an older gentleman. I never knew the circumstances that prompted the call, but we arrived a few minutes after the fire department and before the cops. As we walked up to the house, the firemen were walking out, chuckling to one another. “He’s dead!” they said with some amusement. We entered the bedroom to find an older man lying supine on top of his bed, naked. Rigor had set in, so he had been gone for some time. What the firefighters found so funny was that the man had expired while engaged in an act of self-pleasure, and still had the weapon in hand. My partner and I looked at each other and registered much the same expression the firemen had. As we walked out, the cops were just arriving. “He’s dead!” we told them. I suppose there are worse ways to go, but that’s not how I want to be found.

 

I ran a lot of calls at Silva’s. The shifts were 120 hours long–yes, five days straight. You got paid straight time ($2.00/hour in 1974) for the first eight hours, a guaranteed time-and-a-half for five more hours, and were unpaid for three hours of meals, whether you actually got to eat them or not. Between midnight and eight in the morning, you got overtime for the time you were actually in service on the call. If you rolled and were cancelled two minutes out–which was common–you got two minutes of overtime. I swear some of those rigs could find their own way home, because there were many nights I have no memory of having driven them there. When my days off finally arrived, I would usually sleep through at least one of them.

 

The full Silva’s uniform was a sartorial delight. Each time they would give me a new uniform article, it would fall to a mysteriously tragic end, so I wore a white shirt, navy blue knit slacks, and a nylon bomber jacket. If you wanted to show you were management material, the required outfit consisted of a white (formerly pink) shirt with royal blue trousers and Ike jacket. The trousers had white piping down each leg, as did the cuffs of the jacket. On each shoulder of the Ike jacket was a huge purple and gold patch, proclaiming the wearer to be employed by Silva’s Ambulance Service, the words spelled out in metallic script. One was also obliged to wear a royal blue CHP clip-on neck tie. Mandatory accessories to the ensemble included a gold metal nametag, white belt, and white leather shoes. Worn on the shirt or jacket was a shield-type gold badge, about the size of a soup plate. All the badges identified the wearers as “Technician,” except for Bob Silva’s. His said, “Owner.” There was a $20 deposit on the badge. Those who were really in with the in crowd had huge custom Western-style belt buckles with their first names spelled out diagonally, and the corners adorned with red crosses, stars of life, or tiny ambulances. However, the crowning glory accessory–and I only saw one of these–was a gold tie bar, wider than the tie itself, with a fine gold chain attached to either end of the bar. Dangling from the chain was a pink Cadillac ambulance. Its wearer was extremely proud of this, and wouldn’t tell anyone where he got it, lest someone steal his thunder.

 

Employee turnover was around 200% annually, and I was a prized employee because I always showed up on time and sober. I was able to work full time on school vacations and summer, and from Friday evening to early Monday morning, when I’d leave to make it to my first class at San Jose State. It wasn’t uncommon to have an employee go AWOL, and have the cops show up a day or so later, looking for them. You had to be fingerprinted to get an ambulance driver’s license, but all you needed to work as an attendant was a first aid card, which management would procure for you for a small fee.

 

Bob Curry, in almost the full Silva's uniform (no badge), posing with a "new" ambulance, formerly used by Allied Ambulance in Oakland.

Bob Curry, in almost the full Silva’s uniform (no badge), posing with a “new” ambulance, formerly used by Allied Ambulance in Oakland.

 

There was one very senior employee whose name was also Bob. Bob thought he was the manager, and would tell you he was if asked, despite advice to the contrary if one of the Silvas was listening. Bob was very possessive of “his” ambulance, which was always the newest one (given that they were all used, “new” was a relative term). One night, I had just come in to work, and a call came in. The dispatcher told me to take it, so I grabbed an attendant and got in the first rig I saw. It was Bob’s, of course. When I returned, Bob screamed my face, lest I forget that that particular rig was HIS ambulance, and I had better stay the hell out of it if I knew what was good for me. Bob had an apartment near the main station, so he didn’t have to sleep at the station when he was on duty. If you were Bob’s attendant (Bob never worked in the back unless there was some real hero stuff going on), you were allowed to drive Bob’s ambulance to his place, where you switched seats. That night, a co-conspirator and I did a little customizing to Bob’s rig. When he got in the next morning, he found the handle on the driver’s door adorned with some adhesive tape, reading “Bob’s Door Handle.” Inside, more tape indicated Bob’s Steering Wheel, Bob’s Cigarette Lighter, Bob’s Gearshift, Bob’s Turn Indicator, Bob’s Accelerator, Bob’s Radio, Bob’s Other Radio, and so on. Tucked under Bob’s Sun Visor was a card on a little string, trimmed to drop to eye level: “Hi, Bob.”

 

Silva’s didn’t have the market cornered on odd employees. A rival company employed a guy we called Captain Action. Captain Action worked for a company that had more traditional uniforms, but still included a badge. The issued badge wasn’t up to Captain Action’s high standards. He had his own badge made up. It was a thing of beauty. It was a gold seven-point star (the most common style of police badge in those parts), but much larger than most police badges. It put the Silva’s badge to shame on size alone. I remember it had a big California State Seal in the middle, and a lot of text on the banners and inner ring. There was so much lettering on the badge that I never got to finish reading it, although I saw it often. Captain Action also wore a police-style Sam Browne belt with various snaps and cases, including a cuff case, handcuffs, and a baton ring. I never saw a baton, but I’m sure he had it around somewhere.

 

Captain Action loved to talk on the radio. Each ambulance had two radios, one on the company channel, and one that broadcasted on a shared, county-wide channel, called County Control. There was no direct channel to the hospitals, so one was obliged to tell County Control what you had and where you were bringing it, so the dispatcher could give the appropriate ER the heads up. An appropriate message might be something like, “County Control, Ambulance 3335, en route Code 3 to Peninsula Medical with an unconscious head injury.” Captain Action preferred to be somewhat more detailed, and made liberal use of the phonetic alphabet. “County Control, Ambulance 3330, en route Peninsula Medical Center with a 33-year-old white male with a history of cardiac myopathy, I spell CHARLES-ADAM-ROBERT-DAVID-IDA-ADAM-CHARLES-BREAK-MARY-YELLOW-OCEAN-PAUL-ADAM-TOM-HENRY-YELLOW…”

 

After one of these lengthy naratives (keep in mind that there were ten or twelve other ambulances in the county that used the same channel), the dispatcher was oddly silent. Captain Action made another try to ensure his message made it through. “County Control, Ambulance 3330, did you copy?”

 

“Ambulance 3330, County Control, TOM-EDWARD-NORA-BREAK-FRANK-OCEAN-UNION-ROBERT.”

 

Ah, the good old days.

 

Written by Tim Dees on January 1st, 2015

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.

Ardmore is an unincorporated community and census-designated place spanning the border between Delaware and Montgomery counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.

 

- sent from - / ARDMORE / DEC 16 / 6 PM / PA. / 1921 / - duplex cancel

 

- arrived at - / UPPER NEW CORNWALL / DE 24 / 21 / N.S. / - split ring arrival stamp - this split ring (hammer No. 2) was not listed in the proof book - it was most likely proofed c. 1907 - RF C.

 

The post office at UPPER NEW CORNWALL operated from - 1 September 1891 to 28 February 1953, with John E. Hallamore serving as the first postmaster. L.B. MacPherson writes in his book - Upper New Cornwall is another instance of two record cards and this type of unusual notation "closed 1 November 1914 and a new office opened under the same name."

 

Postmaster Details:

Appointment Date: John E. Haltimore / John Edwin Hallamore was appointed postmaster on September 1, 1891.

Vacancy Date: The post office at Upper New Cornwall was listed as "closed" on October 31, 1914, ending his official tenure.

 

LINK to information on the first opening of the Upper New Cornwall Post office - central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=posoffposmas&id=2...

 

Succession: After the post office was re-established (the next day), the role was filled by Lawrence Naas, who served until his son Henry Naas took over in 1920.

 

Henry Moore Naas (1873–1948) was the postmaster for the rural community of Upper New Cornwall, Nova Scotia, for a brief period between 1920 and 1922.

 

Postmaster Service:

Historical records of the Canadian Postmaster General indicate his tenure was relatively short, starting after World War I and concluding by 1922. During this time, postmasters in small Nova Scotia communities often operated the post office out of their own homes or local general stores.

 

Personal and Family Life:

Birth and Death: Born on September 21, 1873, in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, to George William Naas and Sophia Richardson. He died on November 21, 1948, at the age of 75. Marriage: He married Emma Elizabeth Demone on September 3, 1902, in Mahone Bay. Residency: He spent his life in the Lunenburg area, appearing in local census records in 1901 and 1911.

Burial: While some family members are buried in Walden, Lunenburg County, Henry Moore Naas's records are centrally tied to the Lunenburg township.

 

Henry Moore Naas and Lawrence Naas were indeed related; Lawrence Naas (1842–1921) was the father of Henry Moore Naas. Transition: The transfer of the postmaster role from father to son was a common practice in rural Nova Scotia at the time. The post office was typically located in the family home, making the transition seamless for the community.

 

LINK to information on the second opening of the Upper New Cornwall Post office - central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=posoffposmas&id=1...

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- sent by the Hallamore family (Clarence's father was John Edwin Hallamore / the first postmaster at Upper New Cornwall) - Aunt Myrtle, Uncle Clarence & their son Glenwood.

 

Myrtle (nee Hallamore) Rose

(b. 2 August 1885 in New Cornwall, Lunenburg County) ,Nova Scotia – d. 31 December 1960 at age 75 in Akron, Pennsylvania) - LINK to her newspaper obituary - www.newspapers.com/article/lancaster-new-era-obituary-for...

 

Her husband - Clarence Atwood Rose

(b. 10 August 1880 in Urbania, East Hants, Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada – d. 13 November 1941 at age 61 in Ardmore, Lower Merion Township, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, United States) LINK to his newspaper obituary - www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-obit...

 

They were married - 10 June 1914 in Baltimore, Maryland - LINK to - Wedding Secret Kept a Year - www.newspapers.com/article/evening-public-ledger-wedding-...

 

Their son - Clarence Glenwood Rose

(b. 10 August 1916 in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, United States – d. May 1972 at age 55)

 

Addressed to: Mr. Claude L. Joudrey / Upper Cornwall / Lunenburg County / Nova Scotia

 

Claude Leland Joudrey

(b. 22 February 1896 in Upper Cornwall, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada - d. 27 February 1978 at age 82 in Berlin, Coos, New Hampshire, USA) - occupation - employed with the Brown Company as electrical foreman - Link to his World War I records - www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-wo... - LINK to his Find a Grave site - www.findagrave.com/memorial/59335853/claude_l-joudrey

 

His mother - Maude Samantha (nee Deal) JOUDREY (1874 - 1968)

His father - James Joudrey (1871 - 1938)

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Originally affiliated with the Red Cross, America's Christmas Seal Association has changed it’s name over the years, and is now The American Lung Association. Their first Christmas Seal was issued in 1907 at a time when tuberculosis was a major cause of death in America. As an effort to save a small tuberculosis hospital in the state of Delaware, Emily Bissell designed and financed this first Christmas Seal. Inspired by an article about similar project in Denmark three years earlier, her Christmas Seal was failing to receive the attention necessary to raise the needed funds. Bissell, a writer, poet, and socially conscious woman sought the help of a big city columnist, Leigh Mitchell Hodges. With the Philadelphia North American's help her financial goal was exceeded by 1000%. Sales were so brisk that even toward the end of the holiday season a second printing, a type two with “Happy New Year” added, was produced.

 

The 1921 US Christmas seals (Scott number WX-28 for Type I and WX-29 for Type II/III) feature a design by George V. Curtis depicting Santa Claus and two children in the snow. The primary distinction between the types relates to production variations, specifically the printing process and minor design differences:

 

Type I (Scott WX-28): These seals were produced by the Eureka Specialty Printing Co. They have a perforation of 12½.

Type II and Type III (Scott WX-29/WX-29a): These seals were produced by a different printer, the Strobridge Lithographing Co. Both Type II and Type III have a perforation of 12. The distinction between Type II and Type III is a minor difference in the "curl" of the ribbon at the bottom left, specifically where the words "American Red Cross" are located:

Type II has a "closed curl" (filled in green).

Type III has an "open curl" (filled in red).

 

1921 type 1 US Christmas Seal, perforation 12 1/2 - WX-28

Type 1 - The dots of the red shading on chimney and faces are arranged in diagonal rows. There is a heavy red line between the two top rows of bricks.

 

1921 type 2 US Christmas Seal, perforation 12 - WX-29

Type 2 - The dots in the red shading are arranged in horizontal rows.

 

1921 type 3 US Christmas Seal, perforation 12 - WX-29a

Type 3 - Same as Type 1, but without the heavy red line between the top two rows of bricks. The red line is not always obvious; if measured accurately, the different perforation gauge may be a more reliable test.

Lothian Buses Gemini 3 Facelift bodied Volvo B5LH number 554 (SA15 VUE) ‘Estiland’ is seen here at OT, under a certain sign that relates to its number plate

 

Taken on Wednesday the 17th of December 2025.

 

This is a photo I’ve been wanting to get for SO many years, 554 (SA15 VUE) ‘Estiland’ under the big ‘vue’ sign at OT, corresponding wi the registration plate very nicely. The original photo needed some editing work to be presentable, but I went a bit over the top wi the saturation and such, because I can.

 

Thanks to ZZ9 for motivating me to try and actually finallly go and get this shot!

 

I posted a photo of this bus to flickr shortly after its 5th birthday, talking about how weird it seemed that it was already five years old, the new hybrids on the 34 were a highlight of 2015, and they seemed fairly new and exciting for a while after. Well now it’s over a decade old somehow, but spending its days mainly on the 34 and 35, just where it’s most at home.

 

So I unofficially named this bus ‘Estiland’ originally, mistakenly thinking it was Estonian for Estonia (no, that’s Eesti), but the name stuck and It’s now played a part of enough of my life that I have a fondness for it, even slightly more than some others in its batch.

 

In November this year, ZZ9 nicknamed this ‘Lothian’s Cinema Bus’ in relation to the number plate, as we see here quite clearly. I intend to add ZZ9’s name to the unofficial names doc, what better name could there be for this? However, ‘Estiland’ is also staying, that’s what it’s always been to me. It’s by far not the first bus wi two names, even though I usually try and avoid multiple names, there’s no reason why we can’t have some! An example currently in the fleet is XLB number 1066, which I nicknamed ‘Frances’, and Callum Colville nicknamed ‘Battle of Hastings’, due to the fleet number corresponding to the date of that battle.

 

This batch (551-570) may be unremarkable, but they seem to still be doing just as well as ever, usually winding their slow way through the city from the foot of the Pentlands in Currie to the sea at OT. If anyone wants to have a go at which of this batch of B5LHs have which seatback colours then go ahead, it’s not intuitive!

  

Vehicle Information

 

Operator: Lothian Buses

Service: 34 Leith Harbour and Newhaven Ocean Terminal Ocean Drive – Currie Riccarton Hariot-Watt University The Avenue (Trip NovWedAL23925725)

Vehicle type: Wrightbus Eclipse Gemini 3 Facelift bodied Volvo B5LH

Vehicle engine: Euro 6 Diesel-Electric Hybrid

Vehicle fleet number: 554

Vehicle registration: SA15 VUE

Vehicle name: Estiland

Vehicle depot: Longstone (LS)

Vehicle livery: Lothian Buses Madder and White Fleet of the Future (FOTF) non-ADL Double Deck 2020 version

Vehicle destination screen: white Hanover LED screen

Vehicle destination display: Heriot-Watt 34 / via Research Park

Vehicle Chassis: Vo B5LH YV3T1U22XFA172380

Vehicle Body: Wt AM087

Vehicle Seating: H49/25F

Operating area: City of Edinburgh, Midlothian and East Lothian

Registration prefix area: Glesga

Year of manufacture: 2015

Date of first registration: 14.07.2015 (Day T42198)

Original operator: Lothian Buses

Original fleet number: 554

Original registration: SA15 VUE

Age of vehicle: 10 years, 5 months and 3 days (total 3809 days)

Photo location: Ocean Drive, Ocean Terminal, Leith Harbour and Newhaven, Lìte, City of Edinburgh

Taken on: Wednesday the 17th of December 2025 (17.12.2025)

 

Taken on Day U3639

  

References

 

Bus Lists on the Web (2025) SA15VUE. Available at: www.buslistsontheweb.co.uk/ (Accessed 17.12.2025, Day U3641)

 

Bustimes.org (2025) Lothian Buses - Vehicles – 554 (SA15 VUE). Available at: bustimes.org/vehicles/loth-554?date=2025-12-17 (Accessed 17.12.2025, Day U3641)

 

GOV.UK (2025) Check MOT History – SA15 VUE. Available at: www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/results?registration=SA15VUE... (Accessed 17.12.2025, Day U3641)

 

Scottish Community Councils (2025) Find a Community Council. Available at: www.communitycouncils.scot/community-council-finder (Accessed 17.12.2025, Day U3641)

  

Here is another scan and retouch that relates enormous history for our piece of the Rockies. When I discovered it, I exclaimed "WTF!" That inserted a worm into my brain and I dug in. It required a load of research and visits to Google Maps as well as Wikipedia to identify and confirm the location. I suppose I could have driven up with a sandwich and a drink. This place is a real zoo now. I finally found the skyline and nailed the information. In fact, it was a snap of William James and Edna Sophia Kiteley on an exceptionally early shot from Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mtn. National Park. How early? Look at the heavy machinery marks on the edge of the road. Was the highway under construction? It was finished to the Grand Lake side in 1939. Were they married? I saw no rings when I focused in close. They were married in 03/29/1937. The Fall River road was already in existence and construction on Trail Ridge lagged for some time.

 

OK, OK, this in very close to the now existing Many Park Overlook. Looks skimpy to me as far as established overlooks go! Find RMNP on Google maps and plug in the overlook name. You will have to be fluid with the 3D functionality of the maps and you can match the skyline though paved today. Don't look so paved then and I could not find when the road was paved, let alone cleaned up from construction.

 

Grandmother, Alice, spent every summer at her cabin right near the Wid Basin Lodge at the southern end of Rocky Mountain National Park. This was probably a day's excursion from her cabin in an old jalopy. Granny probably went fly fishing instead.

 

As usual, the negative and contact printing left a lot of flecks, white and black, and garbage across the image. In close, it looks like a shotgun blast. As always, it provides plenty of practice whether needed or not. I used the same two techniques, the Stamp and Brush to work on the image. Unfortunately, the scanner usually features all the defects on old snaps like this. I suppose that it will always be possible that this family will exchange the digital shots and spread them far enough that my labor won't be entirely wasted.

 

Generally, I gang output these to high resolution PDFs that can be printed at home of taken to Fed-X Kinkos for their color printing. I have enough to output another sheet. Their output never seems to waver from the quality of the PDF.

 

I received a load of scanning and retouching recently relegated to me. So far, I have a load of solid days packed into the project and the collection has not shrunk that much. I wonder why the family thinks that I owe them so much difficult retouching and output labor?

  

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.

 

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