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Wiki: Teufelsberg Mountain) is a non-natural hill in Berlin. The hill is made of debris and rubble. During the Cold War, there was a U.S. listening station on the hill, Field Station Berlin.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Globe
The Great Globe at Swanage is one of the largest stone spheres in the world. The Great Globe is constructed of Portland stone. It weighs 40 tons and is 10 feet in diameter.
Location
The Great Globe stands within Durlston Country Park, a 1.13 square-kilometre (280-acre) country park and nature reserve stretching along the coastline south of Swanage, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset. The Park is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The Jurassic Coast stretches over a distance of 153 kilometres (95 mi), from Orcombe Point, near Exmouth, in the west, to the Old Harry Rocks in the east.
Preamble
John Mowlem[2] (1788-1868), a Swanage-born man, was a stonemason and builder. He was the founder of the quarrying and construction company Mowlem. John Mowlem and his nephew and business partner George Burt wanted to give something back to their home town, which was the source of their Portland and Purbeck limestone, popular for building at the time. John Mowlem built the Mowlem Institute, a reading room and public library, in 1862.
George Burt[3] (1816-1894) purchased an undulating tract of land covering Durlston Head during the same year. This estate included quarries that supplied their firm with limestone. Burt developed this estate as a tourist attraction.
Venue
Upon the crest of the hill Burt established the Durlston Estate and built his folly Durlston Castle. The castle was designed by G.R. Crickmay, and built by W.M. Hardy in 1886-87. It is built entirely of local stone. The 'castle' was never a real castle: it was purpose-built by Burt as a restaurant for visitors to his estate.
South of Durlston Castle within the Estate grounds is the Great Globe.[4] Constructed in Greenwich in 1887 in Mowlem's stone-yard, it was brought to Swanage by sea. The Globe, which is made of Portland stone, consists of 15 segments, with four stones for each of the lower three courses and three in the top-most course, the segments connected by granite dowels.[5] It measures 10 feet in diameter and weighs 40 tons.[6] Its surface is carved in detail and lettered to show the continents, oceans and certain more specific areas of the world.[7] In the year of its creation, it was erected by W.M. Hardy upon a platform chopped 136 feet above sea level into the solid rock of the hill.[8] Around the Globe is a set of stone plaques carved with quotations from English and Roman poets and the Bible, as well as facts about the natural world. These were not completed until 1891.
Durlston Country Park has been owned by Dorset County Council since the early 1970s and is open to the public. Today the castle is the home of the Jurassic Coast Visitor Centre. Durlston Castle and the Great Globe are both being restored over 2010 by the Council.[9] Also within Durlston Country Park and within walking distance of the Globe are Durlston Bay, the Tilly Whim Caves and the Anvil Point Lighthouse.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sioux_Falls,_South_Dakota
Sioux Falls is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 131st-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up to the Iowa state line. As of 2020, Sioux Falls had a population of 192,517, which was estimated in 2022 to have increased to 202,600. The Sioux Falls metro area accounts for more than 30% of the state's population. Chartered in 1856 on the banks of the Big Sioux River, the city is situated in the rolling hills at the junction of interstates 29 and 90.
Source: www.experiencesiouxfalls.com/falls-park
If you only have time for one stop in Sioux Falls, it has to be Falls Park, the city's namesake. The park is comprised of over 128-acres and located just north of downtown, along the Big Sioux River. An average of 7,400 gallons of water drop 100 feet over the course of the Falls each second. Enjoy the Falls from the many different viewing platforms, including the five-story observation tower. Falls Park is also home to a rich history that includes some of Sioux Falls' oldest buildings.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis"
(South Dakota) "داكوتا الجنوبية" "南达科他州" "Dakota du Sud" "दक्षिण डकोटा" "サウスダコタ" "사우스다코타" "Южная Дакота" "Dakota del Sur"
(Sioux Falls) "شلالات سيوكس" "苏福尔斯" "सिओक्स फॉल्स" "スーフォールズ" "수폴스" "Су-Фолс" "Cataratas Sioux"
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Dairy_Company:
Australia Dairy Company (澳洲牛奶公司) is a traditional Hong Kong restaurant, cha chaan teng, in Jordan, Hong Kong, specialising in steamed milk pudding, scrambled eggs, toast and custard dishes. The company was named by the founder, who had worked on an Australian farm in the 1940s.
The restaurant's brand name was coined from its high quality dairy ingredients being specifically imported from Australia. Founded in 1970 by the Tang family, it is one of the oldest restaurants in Hong Kong. It has been mentioned by The Guardian as one of the top 10 budget restaurants in Hong Kong.
The restaurant is notable for its efficient but often rude service, with a short average customer visit length of only 10 minutes. It is also famous for its signature egg custard pudding and scrambled eggs. It has been described as an iconic Hong Kong restaurant.
From Wiki: The rufous hornero breeds in the austral summer, laying eggs between August and December, raising nestlings soon after, and the young may stay in their natal territory until the following breeding season. The species is monogamous and the pair bond is long-term, sometimes for life. The nest of the species is typical for the genus, a large thick clay "oven" placed on a tree, or man-made structures such as fence posts, telephone poles, or buildings. Pairs remain together throughout the year and will work on the nest during that time; nests can be constructed in as little as 5 days but usually take longer, occasionally months, to complete. A clutch generally contains two to four eggs. The eggs are laid every second day and incubated for 14–18 days. Chicks are fed for 23–26 days before fledging; young birds remain in the parental territory for around 6 months after fledging and sometimes until the following breeding season. Both parents incubate eggs and feed the young. Horneros may or may not reuse nests, therefore it is quite common to see several nests close to each other (or even atop older nests) at the same nesting site. However, a formerly unused nest may be repaired for a new breeding season.
From Wiki: "Spiral Jetty is an earthwork sculpture [by Robert Smithson] constructed in April 1970 on the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake near Rozel Point in Utah. The sculpture is built of mud, precipitated salt crystals, basalt rocks, and water. The sculpture forms of a 1,500-foot-long (460 m), 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) counterclockwise coil jutting from the shore of the lake. The sculpture is sometimes visible and sometimes submerged, depending upon the water level of the Great Salt Lake." Spiral Jetty was submerged for about 30 years shortly after its construction, but drought in the last several years has left it mostly exposed. This photo was made in June 2015, and the edge of the Great Salt Lake is some distance from the artwork. Taken with a DJI Phantom 2 Vision + at an altitude of 116 ft/35 m.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wan_Chai_station:
Wan Chai (灣仔) is a station on the Island line of the Hong Kong MTR rapid transit system. The livery colour is lime green. It serves the Wan Chai locality within the district of the same name. The station platforms are located underneath Hennessy Road, a major trunk road connecting the Central and Eastern districts.
The station was built under Southorn Playground. It opened along with the Island line on 31 May 1985. It was built by a Bachy Soletanche–Dragages joint venture and Japanese contractor Maeda. Entrance D was opened for public on 22 December 2017. Its passageway crosses underneath Southorn Playground and Johnston Road, then joins the underground mall in Lee Tung Street Redevelopment Project. It is expected to ease the overcrowding problem at entrance A3 and Johnston Road crossing.
The platforms of Wan Chai station are constructed in a stacked arrangement, with Platform 1 above Platform 2.
Due to the large catchment of Wan Chai station and the locality as a business hub and centre for tourists, government offices, foreign embassies and institutions, the station houses more than 50 ticket gates as distributed across three ticket halls (two at the concourse and one at platform level). There are 8 station exits, two of which were constructed in 1999 to provide a more convenient reach for the southern areas of Wan Chai. The footbridge above O'Brien Road, which connects the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Immigration Tower (Immigration Department of Hong Kong) and the Star Ferry Pier (Wan Chai Pier), was extended to reach one of these new exits above Hennessy Road.
The tunnel for eastbound trains towards Causeway Bay station has once featured a mobile advertisement, which was presented in the form of a slideshow across the length of the tunnel. The large number of sequential panels allowed passengers to view the advertisement as a slideshow, as trains undertakes their journey to the next station.
Only a joke before the war (in Hungary) - later it wasn't so funny...
My father-in-law's friend and colleague from University of Medical Science
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torrance_Barrens:
The Torrance Barrens (officially Torrance Barrens Conservation Reserve) is a conservation area and dark-sky preserve in the District Municipality of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Canada. The reserve consists of Crown Lands in the municipalities of Gravenhurst and Muskoka Lakes. It is notable as the first dark-sky preserve in Canada and for its geological and environmental features.
In 1870, the Musquash Colonization Road was built, connecting Gravenhurst to Musquash Falls (now Bala). This road was the first in the area and some segments are still in use. However, the portion that bisects through the reserve is no longer in use and is a separate nature reserve, the 195 acres (79 ha) Musquash Road Nature Reserve.
In 1992, its significant natural values were identified, and additional studies described the aesthetic and recreational importance. In 1995, the Ministry of Natural Resources proposed to protect the area and public consultations began.
The reserve was established in June 1997 under Ontario Regulation 259/97, and as a result of its favourable conditions for astronomy viewing, it was recognized as a permanent dark-sky preserve in 1999, the first in Canada.
The reserve straddles the edges of the Moon River Domain (Parry Sound Terrane) and the Go Home Domain (Algonquin Terrane), structural subdivisions of the Grenville province of the Grenville orogeny. It is characterized by low elongated ridges of Precambrian bedrock with little topsoil and scattered boulders. The ridges are granitic gneisses and migmatites of varied origins, separated by wetland, ponds, and peat-filled hollows.
The geology represents the Grenville Province continental accretion theme and is therefore locally significant.
While the Torrance Barrens are part of an intermittent band of granite barrens stretching from Eastern Ontario to Georgian Bay, it is rare this far south in Ontario, and therefore the environment and flora of the reserve are unique and distinct in its location.
The location and topography make the Torrance Barrens a suitable location for night-time sky viewing opportunities. There is no light pollution of nearby cities, and the reserve is mostly surrounded by undeveloped private lands and other parks, allowing it to retain the natural darkness of the night. Because of its barren bedrock, telescopes and cameras can be stationed on a solid base, immune to vibrations. Furthermore, the natural open spaces and lack of surrounding high hills provide an unobstructed panorama of the sky and horizon.
Owing to these favourable conditions, the Andromeda Galaxy is visible with the naked eye from the Torrance Barrens, and with a simple telescope, the cloud bands of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn can be seen.
My wife stood at the trail to the Main peak, 3,416 m(11,207 ft) of the Mount Hehuan looking at the higher mountain far away called Mount Qilai, 3,607 m (11,834 ft). Clouds were below us. :-)
Happy weekend my friends! :-)
Panasonic DMC-LX10
ƒ/1.4
1/10000
8.8 mm
ISO 125
I was in the house reading with my back toward the door. I kept feeling like I was being stared at ......
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vereinigte_Staaten
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States
die groesste EXPO-GRUPPE bei flickr
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the biggest EXPO GROUP on flickr
www.flickr.com/groups/1253656@N25/
expo2010-----SHANGHAI-----expo2010------SHANGHAI
expo2010-----SHANGHAI-----expo2010------SHANGHAI
expo2010-----SHANGHAI-----expo2010------SHANGHAI
expo2010-----SHANGHAI-----expo2010------SHANGHAI
expo2010-----SHANGHAI-----expo2010------SHANGHAI
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我爱中国 / Ich liebe China / I love China
加油中国 /China gebe niemals auf , geh voran /Go go China
EXPO 2010年 Weltausstellung 上海世界博览会 Shànghǎi shìjiè bólǎnhuì
information to logo---information zum logo
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the three symbolised a family-----die 3 menschen sollen eine familie darstellen
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die weltausstellung findet im jahre 2010 in der aufstrebenen metropole shanghai statt .
shanghai hat mittlerweile ueber 18 millionen registrierte einwohner.
Die bedeutung der grossen veranstaltung ist sehr wichtig und alles laeuft auf vollen touren.
Das motto der weltausstellung heisst “bessere stadt, besseres leben” . ein schoeneres leben fuer die in shanghai in einer sauberen umwelt.
Die umgebung von ca. 5,28 quadratkilometern, werden die veranstaltung abdecken
Dauer
01.mai bis zum 31.oktober 2010
erwartete besucherzahl
70.000.000 aus dem aus-und inland
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the world fair takes place in the year 2010 in the ongoing metropolis shanghai. shanghai meanwhile registered inhabitants have over 18 million. The meaning of the large meeting is very important and everything runs on full routes. The slogan of the world fair is called “better city, better lives”. a more beautiful live for in shanghai in a clean environment. The environment of approx. 5.28 square kilometers, the meeting will cover Duration 01. May up to the 31.oktober 2010 expected number of visitors 70.000.000 from foreign coutries and domestics
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expo2010-----SHANGHAI-----expo2010------SHANGHAI
expo2010-----SHANGHAI-----expo2010------SHANGHAI
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_flood_of_1953:
From midday on 31 January 1953, water was driven from the northern reaches of the North Sea between Norway and Scotland by a strong north-west gale. A surge developed along the coast of the Netherlands, which coincided with a high spring tide, leading to many water levels on the Dutch coast on the morning of 1 February 1953 being higher than any previous recorded figures, particularly in the south-western areas of the country.
At 10:30 p.m. on Saturday evening 31 January, it was low tide. But this time the water remained high. The strength of the hurricane had broken the tidal movement.
On the night of 1 February 1953 around 3 a.m., many dykes in the province of Zeeland, the southern parts of the province of South Holland and the northwestern parts of the province of North Brabant proved unable to resist the combination of spring tide and a northwesterly storm. On both the islands and the mainland, large areas of the country were flooded.
At 4 p.m. on 1 February, the flood reached a second high. The water rose even higher than during the first flood, and more dikes broke. Many people who had survived the first flood died, as the houses on which they sheltered on the rooftops collapsed due to the persistent water pressure. At that time, the government did not yet know that Schouwen-Duiveland, Goeree-Overflakkee and Tholen were almost completely under water, and no large-scale rescue operations had yet taken place.
Only on Monday 2 February were fishermen the first to sail deep into the disaster area to save hundreds of people. Rescue operations from the air were hardly possible: the Netherlands had only 1 helicopter and had to wait until other countries offered help.
On Tuesday February 3, a large flow of people and relief supplies started. Planes dropped sandbags, dinghies, boots, food and water over the disaster area. At the same time, thousands of Dutch soldiers, administrators, aid workers and volunteers arrived to carry out coordinated actions in the disaster area. Tens of thousands of residents were being evacuated from the area to shelters elsewhere in the country.
Foreign helicopters and amphibious vehicles also came into action on Tuesday, but the vast majority of rescue operations had already been completed by then.
Donations and relief supplies were pouring in at the National Disaster Fund in The Hague. Other countries, including England, Sweden and Canada sent more than 61 million guilders in relief supplies.
Many people still commemorate the dead during the Herdenking Watersnoodramp on 1 February.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hozu_River:
The Hozu River (保津川, Hozugawa) is a part of Katsura River in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The river begins in the mountains near Kameoka, a town northwest of Kyoto City. It snakes into the Arashiyama section of western Kyoto before changing its name to Katsura River.
The Hozu River is considered scenic, and is known primarily for its association with Hozugawa Kudari, literally "down the Hozu river", a sightseeing whitewater boat that goes downstream from Kameoka to Arashiyama. Hozugawa Kudari is especially popular in the fall, when the Japanese Maple leaves change colors, and in the Spring, when the sakura, or Japanese cherry tree, blooms. The trip usually takes about two hours.
From Wiki: The greater ani (Crotophaga major) is a bird in the cuckoo family. It is sometimes referred to as the black cuckoo. It is found through tropical South America south to northern Argentina. It feeds on large insects (such as beetles, grasshoppers and caterpillars) and even spiders, lizards, frogs, fruits, berries and Euphorbia seeds.
The nest, built and lived in communally by two to five pairs, is a deep cup lined with leaves and placed usually 2–5 m (6.6–16.4 ft) high in a tree. A number of females lay their chalky deep blue eggs in the nest and then share incubation and feeding. These breeding groups may also include non-breeding helpers. Nests have been found containing 3–10 eggs, with an incubation time of 11–12 days, with nestlings free to leave the nest after five days. They will be fed for several weeks if they choose not to leave.
In a longterm study, it was found that around 15% of females lay their eggs in the nest of another nesting group. This conspecific brood parasitism happens primarily when a female has lost her own clutch to predation. In regards to the nesting group, the first couple eggs will be rejected by other nest members when the mother of those specific egg leaves to forage. Egg rejection happens more often with larger groups, and one theory claims there is a balance within having more ani's to defend the nest from predation, and less ani's to minimize intraspecific competition. This leads to an average of two to three breeding pairs in one nest, with any greater amount being rare.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haslingden_Grane
Haslingden Grane is a glaciated valley lying to the west of Haslingden and in the north east of the West Pennine Moors. It is easily accessible via the B6232 Grane Road which links to the M65 motorway and the A56. It contains three reservoirs: (west to east) Calf Hey Reservoir, Ogden Reservoir and Holden Wood Reservoir.
Prior to the construction of the reservoirs in the 19th century the settlement of Haslingden Grane had a population of 1,300 and was the centre of an illegal whisky distilling industry. The remains of some buildings can still be seen. Much quarrying has taken place in the past and continues at Jamestone Quarry.
The valley is overlooked to the north by Oswaldtwistle Moor and to the south by Musbury Heights. The attractive moorland scenery makes it a popular place for walking especially through the well known Fairy Glen beauty spot, there is an information centre, parking and cafe at Clough Head.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg
Nuremberg (German: Nürnberg) is the second-largest city of the German federal state of Bavaria after its capital of Munich, and its 511,628 (2016) inhabitants make it the 14th largest city of Germany. On the Pegnitz River (from its confluence with the Rednitz in Fürth onwards: Regnitz, a tributary of the River Main) and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it lies in the Bavarian administrative region of Middle Franconia, and is the largest city and the unofficial capital of Franconia. Nuremberg forms a continuous conurbation with the neighbouring cities of Fürth, Erlangen and Schwabach with a total population of 787,976 (2016), while the larger Nuremberg Metropolitan Region has approximately 3.5 million inhabitants. The city lies about 170 kilometres (110 mi) north of Munich. It is the largest city in the East Franconian dialect area (colloquially: "Franconian"; German: Fränkisch).
There are many institutions of higher education in the city, most notably the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg), with 39,780 students (2017) Bavaria's third and Germany's 11th largest university with campuses in Erlangen and Nuremberg and a university hospital in Erlangen (Universitätsklinikum Erlangen); Technische Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm; and Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg. Nuremberg Airport (Flughafen Nürnberg „Albrecht Dürer“) is the second-busiest airport of Bavaria after Munich Airport, and the tenth-busiest airport of Germany.
Staatstheater Nürnberg is one of the five Bavarian state theatres, showing operas, operettas, musicals, and ballets (main venue: Nuremberg Opera House), plays (main venue: Schauspielhaus Nürnberg), as well as concerts (main venue: Meistersingerhalle). Its orchestra, Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg, is Bavaria's second-largest opera orchestra after the Bavarian State Opera's Bavarian State Orchestra in Munich. Nuremberg is the birthplace of Albrecht Dürer and Johann Pachelbel.
Nuremberg was the site of major Nazi rallies, and it provided the site for the Nuremberg trials, which held to account many major Nazi officials.
Wiki: The Preah Tineang Chan Chhaya (Khmer: ព្រះទីនាំងច័ន្ទឆាយា) or "Moonlight Pavilion", is an open-air pavilion that serves as stage for Khmer classical dance in the past and present. It is one of the most notable buildings of the palace as it easily seen from the outside as it was built alongside a section of the palace walls. The Chan Chhaya Pavilion has a balcony that was used as a platform for viewing parades marching along Sothearos Boulevard of Phnom Penh. The current Pavilion is the second incarnation of the Chanchhaya Pavilion, this one constructed in 1913–14 under King Sisowath to replace the earlier pavilion built under King Norodom.
Chrysler 300 letter series
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_300_letter_series
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Street Classics Cruise - Saturday evening vintage/classic car and truck Show 'N Shine
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Nikon D300 + Nikon Nikkor 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S DX
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_D300
www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond300
www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18-135.htm
www.opticallimits.com/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/241-...
_DSC1613 Anx2 1400h Q90 1.5k f25 f50
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukuyama_Castle:
Fukuyama Castle (福山城, Fukuyama-jō), sometimes called Hisamatsu Castle (久松城, Hisamatsu-jō) or Iyō Castle (葦陽城, Iyō-jō) was the castle of the Bingo-Fukuyama Han during the Edo period of Japanese history. The grounds of the castle have been designated a National Historic Site since 1964. The castle is located in Fukuyama Park in Fukuyama, Hiroshima near Fukuyama Station.
Fukuyama Castle is located at a hill in the center of Fukuyama city. Prior to the Edo Period, this area was a large tidal flat. The Sanyōdō highway, which connects the Kinai region with Kyushu, ran to the north of the modern city center, and Tomonoura, a port on the Seto Inland Sea from the Heian period, was to the south. The main power center for Bingo Province was at Kannabe Castle to the northeast. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Fukushima Masanori was awarded control of both Aki Province and Bingo Province; however, in 1619, the Tokugawa shogunate used the pretext that he had made repairs to Hiroshima Castle without permission to seize a portion of his domain, awarding a 100,000 koku portion of Bingo Province to Tokugawa Ieyasu's cousin, Mizuno Katsunari. Katsunari had an outstanding military record and it was expected that he would act as a bulwark on the Sanyōdō highway against possible rebellion by the powerful tozama daimyō of western Japan, such as the Mōri clan. Mizuno found that Kannabe Castle was located in a narrow mountain valley and was inconvenient both to manage his domain and to defend against attack, some received a special exception from the shogunate's "one domain - one castle" rule to build a new castle and castle town on reclaimed land. Construction started in 1619 and was completed in 1622.
The new Fukuyama Castle occupied a hill with a length of 400 meters and width of 200 meters. The inner bailey occupies the southern half of the hill, and contains a five-story tenshu at its northern edge. The southern edge was protected by two yagura turrets.The Fushimi yagura was a white three-story structure transferred from abolished Fushimi Castle in Kyoto. The Tsukumi yagura has a red handrail balcony. Between these two yagura is the main gate of the castle, also transferred from Fushimi Castle.
The secondary bailey occupied the north half of the hill, and outer bailey surrounded south half of the hill. Fukuyama Castle had seven three-story yagura and 15 smaller yagura, and tall stone walls, and was surrounded by water moats, connected by canal to the Seto Inland Sea.
The Mizuno clan was replaced by the Abe clan was rulers of Fukuyama Domain in 1698 and governed to the Meiji restoration. Although the various Abe daimyō played important political roles in the administration of the shogunate, they seldom visited the domain in person. During the Boshin War, Fukuyama Castle was attacked by the Chōshū army in January 1868, but the domain defected to the Imperial side and the castle was spared destruction.
After the Meiji Restoration, most of the buildings except for the tenshu and a number of yagura were demolished. The castle grounds became a public park. In 1931, the tenshu was designed a "National Treasure" under the former Cultural Properties Protection Law. However, the tenshu burned down during World War II. Much of outer areas of the castle grounds disappeared due to the construction of railways and urban development. Fukuyama Station was built directly adjacent to the inner bailey of the castle and the tenshu can be seen clearly from its platforms.
Wiki claims as a Silk Road way station, this palace combines Ottoman, Persian and Seljuk architectural styles.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K11_Art_Mall:
K11 Art Mall is a seven-storey shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong located in The Masterpiece, developed by New World Development and completed in December 2009. It is near Tsim Sha Tsui and East Tsim Sha Tsui stations.
The K11 Art Mall has seven storeys (two underground, five above ground). The B1 and B2 storeys were opened on 27 November 2009, and the rest of the mall was opened on 5 December that year. Retail and restaurants accounted for 80 per cent and 20 per cent of the stores, respectively.
B2 is mainly international cuisine, women's fashion, shoes and cosmetics, with shops such as D-mop zone, Mousse, ISCOV, JILL SCOTT, Mirabell, and Milan. B1 is mainly daily necessities, including La Creation de Gute bakery, LensCrafters, AV Life, Dymocks bookstore, I Love Kitchen, Mannings, and Market Place by Jasons supermarket.
The ground floor has many high-end stores, including Longchamp, Tiffany by Soloman, Thann, the Italian brand Dormeuil, Y-3, D-mop, and Chow Tai Fook concept store. In the centre is a large plaza, called "The Piazza", that features a glass ceiling and a large LED screen.
Levels 1–3 have many boutiques, including AIGLE, KLASSE14, Laosmiddle, Levi's, Clarks, Fila, and mademoiselle. The mall also caters to Mainland customers, with several Mainland brand-name specialty stores such as Biba and imaroon.
There are restaurants on each floor of the mall, totaling over 20, including B2's Miso Cool and DALAT Vietnamese restaurant; The Piazza's Espressamente illy and awfully chocolate; and various others, such as AKU Japanese Restaurant, Al Pasha, Cool Gelato, Ginza Bairin and Pak Loh Chiu Chow Restaurant.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matera
Comments are always welcome and favs most appreciated.
Comentarios y favs son siempre bienvenidos
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#1 Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy at Moscow (Russian abbreviation VDNH)
Scan from my old film taken in 1970y
The exhibition park is a closed green area with a symbolic entrance fee. It was founded in 1935 and was originally dedicated only to the exhibition of advanced machinery and technology in agriculture. In the well-groomed green area of the Park with many fountains there were large monumental exhibition buildings dedicated to different regions (republics) of the state, their agriculture and technology. Own botanic garden, large flower fields. The entire architecture and layout of the park was made in a single Stalin's Empire style. Nothing to do with Disneyland. Already in those days, only electric vehicles were used to move around the Park. Trolleybuses along perimeter of the Park. Those trolleybuses differed from the urban ones almost completely glazed interior (including ceiling). On internal routes used small semi-open road trains with electric traction, even small electric taxis were (for a fee).
In the 60s, the territory of the Park was significantly expanded. The theme of the exhibition began to cover not only agriculture, but all industries. Many new exhibition buildings were built, some of which had faceless modern architecture (glass and steel). So the Park has a bit lost its unique image.
This exhibition complex had its own meat dairy and bakery production. Their products were sold in numerous small cafes and pavilions in the park. These products were incomparably higher quality than what you could buy in ordinary Moscow stores. As I remember, especially fine were hot dogs, coffee with sandwiches or doughnuts and different kinds of hot bread (just out of the bakery). All goods and services were for very small money.
Now it is impossible to buy anything like this here (I'm not talking about luxury restaurants, where I have not been for a long time).
By the way, my equipment was also for a while exhibited there in the exhibition building of Geophysics as an example of student creativity
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Bridge
Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name.Name[›] It has become an iconic symbol of London.
The bridge consists of two towers which are tied together at the upper level by means of two horizontal walkways which are designed to withstand the horizontal forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the land-ward sides of the towers. The vertical component of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. Its present colour dates from 1977 when it was painted red, white and blue for the Queen's Silver Jubilee. Originally it was painted a chocolate brown colour.[1]
Tower Bridge is sometimes mistakenly referred to as London Bridge, which is actually the next bridge upstream.[2] A popular urban legend is that in 1968, Robert McCulloch, the purchaser of the old London Bridge that was later shipped to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, believed that he was in fact buying Tower Bridge. This was denied by McCulloch himself and has been debunked by Ivan Luckin, the seller of the bridge.[3]
The nearest London Underground station is Tower Hill on the Circle and District Lines.
The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Tower Gateway.
In the second half of the 19th century, increased commercial development in the East End of London led to a requirement for a new river crossing downstream of London Bridge. A traditional fixed bridge could not be built because it would cut off access to the port facilities in the Pool of London, between London Bridge and the Tower of London.
A Special Bridge or Subway Committee was formed in 1876, chaired by Sir Albert Joseph Altman, to find a solution to the river crossing problem. It opened the design of the crossing to public competition. Over 50 designs were submitted, including one from civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette. The evaluation of the designs was surrounded by controversy, and it was not until 1884 that a design submitted by Horace Jones, the City Architect (who was also one of the judges),[4] was approved.
Jones' engineer, Sir John Wolfe Barry, devised the idea of a bascule bridge with two towers built on piers. The central span was split into two equal bascules or leaves, which could be raised to allow river traffic to pass. The two side-spans were suspension bridges, with the suspension rods anchored both at the abutments and through rods contained within the bridge's upper walkways.
Construction started in 1886 and took eight years with five major contractors – Sir John Jackson (foundations), Baron Armstrong (hydraulics), William Webster, Sir H.H. Bartlett, and Sir William Arrol & Co.[5] – and employed 432 construction workers. E W Crutwell was the resident engineer for the construction.[6]
Two massive piers, containing over 70,000 tons of concrete,[4] were sunk into the riverbed to support the construction. Over 11,000 tons of steel provided the framework for the towers and walkways.[4] This was then clad in Cornish granite and Portland stone, both to protect the underlying steelwork and to give the bridge a pleasing appearance.
Jones died in 1887 and George D. Stevenson took over the project.[4] Stevenson replaced Jones' original brick facade with the more ornate Victorian Gothic style, which makes the bridge a distinctive landmark, and was intended to harmonise the bridge with the nearby Tower of London.[6] The total cost of construction was £1,184,000.[6]
The bridge was officially opened on 30 June 1894 by The Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII), and his wife, The Princess of Wales (Alexandra of Denmark).[7]
The bridge connected Iron Gate, on the north bank of the river, with Horsleydown Lane, on the south – now known as Tower Bridge Approach and Tower Bridge Road, respectively.[6] Until the bridge was opened, the Tower Subway – 400 m to the west – was the shortest way to cross the river from Tower Hill to Tooley Street in Southwark. Opened in 1870, Tower Subway was the world's first underground ('tube') railway, but closed after just three months and was re-opened as a pedestrian foot tunnel. Once Tower Bridge was open, the majority of foot traffic transferred to using the bridge, there being no toll to pay to use it. Having lost most of its income, the tunnel was closed in 1898.[8]
Tower Bridge is one of five London bridges now owned and maintained by the Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation. It is the only one of the Trust's bridges not to connect the City of London to the Southwark bank, the northern landfall is in Tower Hamlets.
The bridge is 800 feet (244 m) in length with two towers each 213 feet (65 m) high, built on piers. The central span of 200 feet (61 m) between the towers is split into two equal bascules or leaves, which can be raised to an angle of 83 degrees to allow river traffic to pass. The bascules, weighing over 1,000 tons each, are counterbalanced to minimize the force required and allow raising in five minutes.
The two side-spans are suspension bridges, each 270 feet (82 m) long, with the suspension rods anchored both at the abutments and through rods contained within the bridge's upper walkways. The pedestrian walkways are 143 feet (44 m) above the river at high tide.[6]
The original raising mechanism was powered by pressurised water stored in several hydraulic accumulators.Hydraulics[›][clarification needed]
The system was designed and installed by Sir W. G. Armstrong Mitchell & Company of Newcastle upon Tyne. Water, at a pressure of 750 psi, was pumped into the accumulators by two 360 hp stationary steam engines, each driving a force pump from its piston tail rod. The accumulators each comprise a 20-inch ram on which sits a very heavy weight to maintain the desired pressure.
In 1974, the original operating mechanism was largely replaced by a new electro-hydraulic drive system, designed by BHA Cromwell House. The only components of the original system still in use are the final pinions, which engage with the racks fitted to the bascules. These are driven by modern hydraulic motors and gearing, using oil rather than water as the hydraulic fluid.[9]
Some of the original hydraulic machinery has been retained, although it is no longer in use. It is open to the public and forms the basis for the bridge's museum, which resides in the old engine rooms on the south side of the bridge. The museum includes the steam engines, two of the accumulators and one of the hydraulic engines that moved the bascules, along with other related artefacts.
During World War II, as a precaution against the existing engines being damaged by enemy action, a third engine was installed in 1942:[10] a 150 hp horizontal cross-compound engine, built by Vickers Armstrong Ltd. at their Elswick works in Newcastle upon Tyne. It was fitted with a flywheel having a 9-foot diameter and weighing 9 tons, and was governed to a speed of 30 rpm.
The engine became redundant when the rest of the system was modernised in 1974, and was donated to the Forncett Industrial Steam Museum by the Corporation of the City of London.
To control the passage of river traffic through the bridge, a number of different rules and signals were employed. Daytime control was provided by red semaphore signals, mounted on small control cabins on either end of both bridge piers. At night, coloured lights were used, in either direction, on both piers: two red lights to show that the bridge was closed, and two green to show that it was open. In foggy weather, a gong was sounded as well.[6]
Vessels passing through the bridge had to display signals too: by day, a black ball at least 2 feet (0.61 m) in diameter was to be mounted high up where it could be seen; by night, two red lights in the same position. Foggy weather required repeated blasts from the ship's steam whistle.[6]
If a black ball was suspended from the middle of each walkway (or a red light at night) this indicated that the bridge could not be opened. These signals were repeated about 1,000 yards (910 m) downstream, at Cherry Garden Pier, where boats needing to pass through the bridge had to hoist their signals/lights and sound their horn, as appropriate, to alert the Bridge Master.[6]
Some of the control mechanism for the signalling equipment has been preserved and may be seen working in the bridge's museum.
Although the bridge is an undoubted landmark, professional commentators in the early 20th century were critical of its aesthetics. "It represents the vice of tawdriness and pretentiousness, and of falsification of the actual facts of the structure", wrote H. H. Statham,[11] while Frank Brangwyn stated that "A more absurd structure than the Tower Bridge was never thrown across a strategic river".[12]
Architectural historian Dan Cruickshank selected the bridge as one of his four choices for the 2002 BBC television documentary series Britain's Best Buildings.[13]
Tower Bridge is still a busy and vital crossing of the Thames: it is crossed by over 40,000 people (motorists and pedestrians) every day.[14] The bridge is on the London Inner Ring Road, and is on the eastern boundary of the London congestion charge zone. (Drivers do not incur a charge by crossing the bridge.)
In order to maintain the integrity of the historic structure, the City of London Corporation have imposed a 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) speed restriction, and an 18-tonne weight limit on vehicles using the bridge. A sophisticated camera system measures the speed of traffic crossing the bridge, utilising a number plate recognition system to send fixed penalty charges to speeding drivers.[citation needed]
A second system monitors other vehicle parameters. Induction loops and piezoelectric detectors are used to measure the weight, the height of the chassis above ground level, and the number of axles for each vehicle.[citation needed]
River traffic
The bascules are raised around 1000 times a year.[15] River traffic is now much reduced, but it still takes priority over road traffic. Today, 24 hours' notice is required before opening the bridge. In 2008, a local web developer created a Twitter feed to post live updates of the bridge's opening and closing activities.[16]
A computer system was installed in 2000 to control the raising and lowering of the bascules remotely. Unfortunately it proved less reliable than desired, resulting in the bridge being stuck in the open or closed positions on several occasions during 2005, until its sensors were replaced.[14]
The high-level walkways between the towers gained an unpleasant reputation as a haunt for prostitutes and pickpockets and were closed in 1910. In 1982 they were reopened as part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition, an exhibition now housed in the bridge's twin towers, the high-level walkways and the Victorian engine rooms. The walkways boast stunning views of the River Thames and many famous London sites, serving as viewing galleries for over 380,000 tourists[citation needed] who visit each year. The exhibition also uses films, photos and interactives to explain why and how Tower Bridge was built. Visitors can access the original steam engines that once powered the bridge bascules, housed in a building close to the south end of the bridge.
In April 2008 it was announced that the bridge will undergo a 'facelift' costing £4m, and taking four years to complete. The work entails stripping off the existing paint and repainting in blue and white. Each section will be enshrouded in scaffolding to prevent the old paint from falling into the Thames and causing pollution. Starting in mid-2008, contractors will work on a quarter of the bridge at a time to minimise disruption, but some road closures are inevitable. The bridge will remain open until the end of 2010, but is then expected to be closed for several months. It is hoped that the completed work will stand for 25 years.[17]
The walkway section of the renovation was completed in mid 2009. Within the walkways a versatile new lighting system has been installed, designed by Eleni Shiarlis, for when the walkways are in use for exhibitions or functions. The new system provides for both feature and atmospheric lighting, the latter using bespoke RGB LED luminares, designed to be concealed within the bridge superstructure and fixed without the need for drilling (these requirements as a result of the bridge's Grade I status).[18]
In December 1952, the bridge opened while a number 78 double-decker bus (stock number RT 793) was on it. At that time, the gateman would ring a warning bell and close the gates when the bridge was clear before the watchman ordered the lift. The process failed while a relief watchman was on duty. The bus was near the edge of the south bascule when it started to rise; driver Albert Gunter made a split-second decision to accelerate the bus, clearing a three-foot drop on to the north bascule, which had not started to rise. There were no serious injuries.[19]
Main article: Hawker Hunter Tower Bridge incident
On 5 April 1968 a Hawker Hunter FGA.9 jet fighter from No.1 Squadron RAF, flown by Flt Lt Alan Pollock, flew under Tower Bridge. Unimpressed that senior staff were not going to celebrate the RAF's 50th birthday with a fly-past, Pollock decided to do something himself. Without authorisation, Pollock flew the Hunter at low level down the Thames, past the Houses of Parliament, and continued on to Tower Bridge. He flew the Hunter beneath the bridge's walkway, remarking afterwards it was an afterthought when he saw the bridge looming ahead of him. Pollock was placed under arrest upon landing, and discharged from the RAF on medical grounds without the chance to defend himself at a court martial.[20][21]
In May 1997,[22] the motorcade of United States President Bill Clinton was divided by the opening of the bridge. Thames sailing barge Gladys, on her way to a gathering at St Katharine Docks, arrived on schedule and the bridge was duly opened for her. Returning from a Thames-side lunch at Le Pont de la Tour restaurant, with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, President Clinton was less punctual, and arrived just as the bridge was rising. The bridge opening split the motorcade in two, much to the consternation of security staff. A spokesman for Tower Bridge is quoted as saying, "We tried to contact the American Embassy, but they wouldn't answer the 'phone."[23]
On 19 August 1999, Jef Smith, a Freeman of the City of London, drove a "herd" of two sheep across the bridge. He was exercising an ancient permission, granted as a right to Freemen, to make a point about the powers of older citizens and the way in which their rights were being eroded.[24] However, this was a hollow gesture as the so-called right is to drive sheep across London Bridge into the City of London, and Tower Bridge does not have its northern landfall in the City.[citation needed]
Before dawn on 31 October 2003, David Crick, a Fathers 4 Justice campaigner, climbed a 120 ft (37 m) tower crane near Tower Bridge at the start of a six-day protest dressed as Spider-Man.[25] Fearing for his safety, and that of motorists should he fall, police cordoned off the area, closing the bridge and surrounding roads and causing widespread traffic congestion across the City and east London. The Metropolitan Police were later criticised for maintaining the closure for five days when this was not strictly necessary in the eyes of some citizens.[26][27]
On May 11, 2009, six persons were trapped and injured after a lift fell 10 ft inside the north tower.[28][29]
The stairway between the first and second floors behind a 600-seat lecture hall. This is the main route from the upper rows of seats to the restrooms just to the left of the stairway on the first floor.
The gradual slope and the landing in between the two separate flights of stairs makes this a very easy stairway to use, compared to the steep rake of the auditorium aisle steps.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinckneyville,_Illinois
Pinckneyville is a city in and the county seat of Perry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,066 at the 2020 census. It is named for Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, an early American diplomat and presidential candidate.
Pinckneyville is the location of the Pinckneyville Power Plant, a combustion turbine generator (CTG)-type power plant run by Ameren.
Source: www.americanthresherman.com/history.html
ATA HISTORY
The American Thresherman Association (ATA) was organized in March of 1959.
At the annual meeting in 1962, Amos Rixman commented that the Association "organized three years ago this month for the purpose of furnishing some enjoyment to its members and to be the beginning of something very worthwhile." Already in its brief life the Association had earned such a reputation that three towns vied for the chance to become the permanent site for the show. The Pinckneyville Chamber of Commerce invited the ATA with open arms and pledges of support, and the Perry County community was chosen over Mascoutah and Highland for the 1962 show site.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis"
(Illinois) "الينوي" "伊利诺伊州" "इलिनोइस" "イリノイ" "일리노이" "Иллинойс"
(Pinckneyville) "بينكنيفيل" "平克尼维尔" "पिंकनीविले" "ピンクニービル" "핀크니빌" "Пинкнивилль"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durlston_Castle
Durlston Castle stands within Durlston Country Park, a 1.13 square-kilometre (280-acre) country park and nature reserve stretching along the coastline south of Swanage, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset.
History
John Mowlem[1] (1788-1868), a Swanage-born man, was a stonemason and builder. He was the founder of the quarrying and construction company Mowlem. He and his nephew and business partner George Burt[2] (1816-1894) wanted to give something back to their home town, which was the source of their Portland and Purbeck limestone, popular for building at the time. John Mowlem built the Mowlem Institute, a reading room and public library, in 1862. George Burt purchased an undulating tract of land covering Durlston Head during the same year. This estate, the Durlston Estate, included quarries that supplied their firm with limestone. Burt developed this estate as a tourist attraction.
Burt established the Durlston Estate upon the crest of the hill and here he built his folly Durlston Castle. The castle was designed by the Weymouth architect G.R. Crickmay (1830-1907) and built by W.M. Hardy in 1886-87 entirely of local stone. The 'castle' was never a real castle: it was purpose-built by Burt as a restaurant for the visitors to his estate.
The castle played a part in the evolution of radio and telecommunications. A team of Marconi's engineers used the roof of the castle in the 1890s for some of their early wireless experiments to transmit to the Isle of Wight.
The castle passed through the hands of many owners until in 1973 it was bought by Dorset County Council.
Description
The side wall of the castle features a sundial and two stone tablets inscribed with various statistics such as clock times and tides around the world. South of the castle is the Great Globe, built by Burt in 1887.[3] The footpaths around the Castle and Great Globe are lined with cast iron bollards that were brought from London. All around the estate there are further stone plaques carved with quotations from Shakespeare and the Bible, maps showing the English Channel and the United Kingdom, and further facts about the natural world. These surrounds were placed during the period 1887 to 1891.
Also within the Durlston Country Park and within walking distance of the Globe are Durlston Bay, the Tilly Whim Caves and the Anvil Point Lighthouse. The Park is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.
Restoration
Durlston Castle and the Great Globe were both restored during 2010 and 2011 by the Council.[4][5] The castle now houses a new Visitor Centre to Durlston Country Park and National Nature Reserve, and stands as a gateway to the Jurassic Coast.
a tribute to the great impressionist painter Claude Monet, Éduard Manet, Gustave Caillebotte, Alfred Sisley, Edgar Degas, Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Camille Pissarro, Berthé Morisot and many others
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism
seen in lindau at lake constance, bavaria, germany
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna, known as common hawthorn or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of hawthorn native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia. It has been introduced in many other parts of the world where it is an invasive weed. Other common names include may, mayblossom, maythorn, quickthorn, whitethorn, motherdie, and haw. This species is one of several that have been referred to as Crataegus oxyacantha, a name that has been rejected by the botanical community as too ambiguous.
Description
The Common Hawthorn is a shrub or small tree 5–14 m tall, with a dense crown. The bark is dull brown with vertical orange cracks. The younger stems bear sharp thorns, 1 to 1.5 cm long. The leaves are 2–4 cm long, obovate and deeply lobed, sometimes almost to the midrib, with the lobes spreading at a wide angle. The upper surface is dark green above and paler underneath.
The hermaphrodite flowers are produced in late spring (May to early June in its native area) in corymbs of 5-25 together; each flower is about 1 cm diameter, and has five white petals, numerous red stamens, and a single style; they are moderately fragrant. They are pollinated by midges, bees and other insects and later in the year bear numerous haws. The haw is a small, oval dark red fruit about 1 cm long, berry-like, but structurally a pome containing a single seed. Haws are important for wildlife in winter, particularly thrushes and waxwings; these birds eat the haws and disperse the seeds in their droppings.
It is distinguished from the related but less widespread Midland Hawthorn (C. laevigata) by its more upright growth, the leaves being deeply lobed, with spreading lobes, and in the flowers having just one style, not two or three. However they are inter-fertile and hybrids occur frequently; they are only entirely distinct in their more typical forms.
Uses
Medicinal use
Crataegus monogyna is one of the most common species used as the "hawthorn" of traditional herbalism, which is of considerable interest for treating cardiac insufficiency by evidence-based medicine. The plant parts used medicinally are usually sprigs with both leaves and flowers, or alternatively the fruit. Several species of Crataegus have both traditional and modern medicinal uses. It is a good source of antioxidant phytochemicals,especially extracts of hawthorn leaves with flowers.
In gardening and agriculture
Common Hawthorn is extensively planted as a hedge plant, especially for agricultural use. Its spines and close branching habit render it effectively stock and human proof with some basic maintenance. The traditional practice of hedge laying is most commonly practised with this species. It is a good fire wood which burns with a good heat and little smoke.[3]
Numerous hybrids exist, some of which are used as garden shrubs. The most widely used hybrid is C. × media (C. monogyna × C. laevigata), of which several cultivars are known, including the very popular 'Paul's Scarlet' with dark pink double flowers. Other garden shrubs that have sometimes been suggested as possible hybrids involving the Common Hawthorn[citation needed], include the Various-leaved Hawthorn of the Caucasus, which is only very occasionally found in parks and gardens.
Edible "berries", petals, and leaves
The fruit of hawthorn, called haws, are edible raw but are commonly made into jellies, jams, and syrups, used to make wine, or to add flavour to brandy. Botanically they are pomes, but they look similar to berries. A haw is small and oblong, similar in size and shape to a small olive or grape, and red when ripe. Haws develop in groups of 2-3 along smaller branches. They are pulpy and delicate in taste. In this species (C. monogyna) they have only one seed, but in other species of hawthorn there may be up to 5 seeds.
Petals are also edible,[4] as are the leaves, which if picked in spring when still young are tender enough to be used in salads.
Notable trees
An ancient specimen, and reputedly the oldest tree of any species in France, is to be found alongside the church at Saint Mars sur la Futaie, Mayenne [1]. The tree has a height of 9 m, and a girth of 2.65 m (2009). The inscription on the plaque beneath reads: "This hawthorn is probably the oldest tree in France. Its origin goes back to St Julien (3rd century)", but such claims are impossible to verify.
A famous specimen in England was the Glastonbury or Holy Thorn which, according to legend, sprouted from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea after he thrust it into the ground whilst visiting Glastonbury in the 1st century AD. The tree was noteworthy because it flowered twice in a year, once in the late spring which is normal, but also once after the harshness of midwinter has passed. The original tree at Glastonbury Abbey, felled in 1640s during the English Civil War,[2] has been propagated as the cultivar 'Biflora'.[6] A replacement was planted by the local council in 1951, but was cut down by vandals in 2010. [3]
The oldest known living specimen in East Anglia, and possibly in the United Kingdom, is known as "The Hethel Old Thorn",[7] and is located in the churchyard in the small village of Hethel, south of Norwich, in Norfolk. It is reputed to be more than 700 years old, having been planted in the 13th century.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_Valley
Monument Valley (Navajo: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, pronounced [tsʰépìːʔ ǹtsɪ̀skɑ̀ìː], meaning "valley of the rocks") is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, with the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. The most famous butte formations are located in northeastern Arizona along the Utah–Arizona state line. The valley is considered sacred by the Navajo Nation, the Native American people within whose reservation it lies.
Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Famed director John Ford used the location for a number of his Westerns. Film critic Keith Phipps wrote that "its five square miles [13 km2] have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West".
Sourc: navajonationparks.org/navajo-tribal-parks/monument-valley/
History
Before human existence, the Park was once a lowland basin. For hundreds of millions of years, materials that eroded from the early Rock Mountains deposited layer upon layer of sediment which cemented a slow and gentle uplift, generated by ceaseless pressure from below the surface, elevating these horizontal strata quite uniformly one to three miles above sea level. What was once a basin became a plateau.
Natural forces of wind and water that eroded the land spent the last 50 million years cutting into and peeling away at the surface of the plateau. The simple wearing down of altering layers of soft and hard rock slowly revealed the natural wonders of Monument Valley today.
From the visitor center, you see the world-famous panorama of the Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte. You can also purchase guided tours from Navajo tour operators, who take you down into the valley in Jeeps for a narrated cruise through these mythical formations. Places such as Ear of the Wind and other landmarks can only be accessed via guided tours. During the summer months, the visitor center also features Haskenneini Restaurant, which specializes in both native Navajo and American cuisines, and a film/snack/souvenir shop. There are year-round restroom facilities. One mile before the center, numerous Navajo vendors sell arts, crafts, native food, and souvenirs at roadside stands.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Utah) "يوتا" "犹他州" "יוטה" "यूटा" "ユタ州" "유타" "Юта"
(Monument Valley) "وادي النصب التذكاري" "纪念碑谷" "Vallée des monuments" "מוניומנט ואלי" "स्मारक घाटी" "モニュメントバレー" "모뉴먼트 밸리" "Долина Монументов" "Valle de los Monumentos"
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledon,_Ontario
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Nikon D50 + Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor ED 55-200mm 1:4-5.6G
www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond50
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_D50
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_AF-S_DX_Zoom-Nikkor_55-200mm_...
www.imaging-resource.com/lenses/nikon/55-200mm-f4-5.6g-ed...
_DSC3075 Anx2 Q90 f25 f50
Your comments, invites, awards and faves, of course, are well appreciated! Thank you very much!!! ; )))
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilwood
Please ... View On Black ... Thank you !
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topi,_Khyber_Pakhtunkhwa
Topi (Pashto: ټوپۍ) is a town in the eastern part of the Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.[1] Topi is administratively subdivided into two Union councils: Topi East and Topi West.[4] Tarbela Dam is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) east of Topi.
Geography
Topi is located in the east of Swabi District of the Khyber Pukhtoonkwa Province of Pakistan. Topi is located to the west of the Tarbela Dam, the world's largest earth filled dam.[5][6] Tarbela Dam is the largest hydroelectric generation project in Pakistan, producing 3,495 megawatts of electricity accounting for 40 percent of the Water and Power Development Authority's total power output as of 1980.[5]
Education sector
The town of Topi is home of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI), named after Ghulam Ishaq Khan, a former President of Pakistan who had served at Topi during his illustrious career as a civil servant.[7]
Notable people
Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Khan, a Pashtun educationist and politician, was born in Topi
Bayazid Pir Roshan, the sixteenth century revolutionary Pashtun leader, died in Topi
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sn%C3%A6fellsnes
The Snæfellsnes (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈstn̥aiːfɛlsˌnɛːs]) is a peninsula situated to the west of Borgarfjörður, in western Iceland.
It has been named Iceland in Miniature, because many national sights can be found in the area,[citation needed] including the Snæfellsjökull volcano, regarded as one of the symbols of Iceland. With its height of 1446 m, it is the highest mountain on the peninsula and has a glacier at its peak. (Jökull" means "glacier" in Icelandic). The volcano can be seen on clear days from Reykjavík, a distance of about 120 km. The mountain is also known as the setting of the novel Journey to the Center of the Earth by the French author Jules Verne. The area surrounding Snæfellsjökull has been designated one of the four National Parks by the government of Iceland.
The peninsula is one of the main settings in the Laxdœla saga and it was, according to this saga, the birthplace of the first West Norse member of the Varangian Guard, Bolli Bollasson. Other historical people who lived in the area according to the saga include Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, Bolli Þorleiksson and Snorri the Goði.
Local fishing villages and small towns on the northern shore of Snæfellsnes include Rif, Ólafsvík, Grundarfjörður, Stykkishólmur and Búðardalur.
Near Hellissandur is the tallest structure in western Europe, the Longwave Radio Mast at Hellissandur.
In June 2008, the Snaefellsnes Community reached certification status as a EarthCheck Community,[1] becoming the first EarthCheck Certified Community in Iceland and in Europe, and only the fourth in the world. Snaefellsnes Community has been committed to the EarthCheck Programme since 2003 and has been successfully benchmarked for the past 5 consecutive years.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_Valley
Monument Valley (Navajo: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, pronounced [tsʰépìːʔ ǹtsɪ̀skɑ̀ìː], meaning "valley of the rocks") is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, with the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. The most famous butte formations are located in northeastern Arizona along the Utah–Arizona state line. The valley is considered sacred by the Navajo Nation, the Native American people within whose reservation it lies.
Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Famed director John Ford used the location for a number of his Westerns. Film critic Keith Phipps wrote that "its five square miles [13 km2] have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West".
Sourc: navajonationparks.org/navajo-tribal-parks/monument-valley/
History
Before human existence, the Park was once a lowland basin. For hundreds of millions of years, materials that eroded from the early Rock Mountains deposited layer upon layer of sediment which cemented a slow and gentle uplift, generated by ceaseless pressure from below the surface, elevating these horizontal strata quite uniformly one to three miles above sea level. What was once a basin became a plateau.
Natural forces of wind and water that eroded the land spent the last 50 million years cutting into and peeling away at the surface of the plateau. The simple wearing down of altering layers of soft and hard rock slowly revealed the natural wonders of Monument Valley today.
From the visitor center, you see the world-famous panorama of the Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte. You can also purchase guided tours from Navajo tour operators, who take you down into the valley in Jeeps for a narrated cruise through these mythical formations. Places such as Ear of the Wind and other landmarks can only be accessed via guided tours. During the summer months, the visitor center also features Haskenneini Restaurant, which specializes in both native Navajo and American cuisines, and a film/snack/souvenir shop. There are year-round restroom facilities. One mile before the center, numerous Navajo vendors sell arts, crafts, native food, and souvenirs at roadside stands.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Utah) "يوتا" "犹他州" "יוטה" "यूटा" "ユタ州" "유타" "Юта"
(Monument Valley) "وادي النصب التذكاري" "纪念碑谷" "Vallée des monuments" "מוניומנט ואלי" "स्मारक घाटी" "モニュメントバレー" "모뉴먼트 밸리" "Долина Монументов" "Valle de los Monumentos"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_building,_Nowshera
The Taj Building is an architectural jewel on the main Grand Trunk Road in Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Built in the 1920s, the imposing structure has endured the ravages of time despite lack of any concerted attempts in the past to preserve it. The facade of the three-storey building is highly decorated with floral and vine patterns in intricate stucco. The sweeping round arches and numerous embellished columns represent a charming architectural blend of Roman, Gothic and Oriental. An arched gateway on the side of the building with beautiful jharoka-styled (elevated window balcony) features leads into the main compound.[1] The building was constructed by Khan Bahadur Taj Muhammad Khan OBE MLC of Badrashi Village, Nowshera. He was a famous colonial-era contractor and landlord whose father KB Abdul Hamid Khan had been in the service of the British Empire as well. Therefore, all the bricks used in construction of this building are marked with the word KB (Khan Bahadur). He was a wealthy man and was particularly fond of racehorses. He used to travel extensively in India and had built several grand mansions for his own comfort. The present National Defence College building in New Delhi, India was also his personal mansion.
The Oeiras Marina is a complex made up of an oceanic swimming pool, a yacht and sail boat harbour and a seaside walkway. This is where the river Tagus becomes the Atlantic Ocean and I never get tired of this place. In the background, you can see the 25 de Abril Bridge, which connects the margins of the River Tagus.
Oeiras - Portugal
A Oeiras Marina é um complexo composto pelo Porto de Recreio, a Piscina Oceânica e o Passeio Marítimo. É aqui que o rio Tejo se transforma em Oceano Atlântico e nunca me canso deste sítio. Lá ao fundo, vê-se a Ponte 25 de Abril, que liga as margens do Rio Tejo.
Oeiras - Portugal