#Monument Mountain Regional High School

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 3 Chapter 4 - Old Friend (Part 1)

this chapter broke into my house and robbed me. this chapter punched me in my stomach and proceeded to kick me as i was down

anyways we meet Seiya's brother Gaku. Gaku seems to be a gnc person but is still referred to as Seiya's brother so i will be using he/him pronouns for him

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1-18. The explanations of the puns were so long that i decided to make a separate post for them. tbh you can just skip the puns and go all the way to the end of this section

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It was a certain day off.

The five boys of the Kazemai High School kyudo club gathered at Minato’s house. It was a study session to prepare for a regular exam, and since Minato’s father wasn’t at home because of work, they occupied the living room.

Seiya smiled.

“Ryouhei, if there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me. I can help you with most of the liberal arts subjects.”

“Woo! I’m so glad that I have you, who’s at the top of our class, as my childhood friend.”

“I’m happy to be helpful to everyone.”

Nanao, hearing that, waved his mechanical pencil with a frog on it. There was also a pencil case with frogs in traditional Japanese design on the table.

“As expected of President Mustache. You really give off the composure of someone worthy of a mustache. Maybe I should have chosen science classes too, though it’s a bit late for that now.”

“Apparently, nowadays there are some universities where they don’t divide the courses into the sciences and liberal arts, but allow students to take both.”

“This is what they call the age of diversity. Our future is shining brightly. Exciting, sparkling!” Ryouhei also chimed in.

“Sparkling! This humble one is also excited!”

Next to them, Kaito put down his pen.

“You two! Those Yotubers’ ways of talking are rubbing off on you. Nanao, stop playing with frogs and focus on your problem set.”

“Yeah, yeah, Kacchan. Follow your own path.”

After checking on everyone, Minato went to the kitchen. He returned to the living room with a drink in hand.

Minato’s cup was purchased on the return trip from last year’s regional tournament, and it had the illustration of a dormouse on it. In his left hand, he held the dormouse mascot that Masa-san gave him. The dormouse was a small mouse that was a natural monument and also called the spirit of the forest and the guardian deity of the mountains. Masa-san gave him, who was suffering from target panic, the dormouse mascot in place of a talisman, but Minato had no way of knowing the prayer it contained.

When the five’s cups were emptied, the intercom sounded. When Minato looked through the camera, he saw a young woman standing there. “Hello?” he answered.

“Mii-chan, it’s me. It’s been a while.”

“Oh! I’m opening the door now.”

When Minato opened the door, the woman suddenly hugged him.

She was in her twenties. She was gorgeous and bewitching, but also cute—she was a superb beauty who made one feel that gap. She was dressed in a stylish outfit, and her straggling hairs fell gently.

The beautiful woman exclaimed in joy.

“Mii-chan, you smell as good as ever! Is it rosemary? It’s different from a vegetarian’s scent. The fact that you smell like this and don’t use antiperspirants or perfume is nothing short of a miracle.”

“Can’t you do something about that quirk of yours?”

“I feel so refreshed when I smell your scent, Mii-chan. ‘Mina-huffing’ is way better than cat huffing!”

Minato grimaced, looking fed up. Since he knew that the other person only looked slender in clothing and was actually a Jeet Kune Do master, Minato didn’t disobey her and stayed still. It was a martial art where the opponent was defeated within six seconds. He wouldn’t be able to stand a chance if he was hit in a vital spot.

“I’m studying right now.”

“Oh, that’s right. I came here for something else. Let me just come in for a minute.”

The woman left Minato and went into the living room without hesitation. She opened the door with a bang.

“Who’s that?” Just when Kaito muttered in his mind, Seiya shouted, “Onii-chan!”

Kaito let out a splutter.

Rather than the fact that the person who he thought was a woman was actually Seiya’s brother, he was more shocked by the fact that Seiya calling him “Onii-chan.” Seiya’s brother completely ignored the dumbfounded Kazemai High School kyudo club members and made a beeline for Seiya.

“Seiya, you completely ignored your phone even when I called you. I came back home after all this time, so keep me company for a little bit at least.”

“Why are you coming in all the way here, Onii-chan? You’re as restless as ever.”

“Can’t you be a little more affectionate towards your beloved brother? Something like, it’s been so long, I missed you, Nii-san!”

Seiya made no comment. His eyes were glassy.

“Ugh, you’re such a prickly kid. Everyone, sorry for interrupting your studying. Nice to meet you, I’m Seiya’s older brother, Takehaya Gaku. I do the branding for ‘Hanayoi,’ which promotes Japanese style merchandise. You over there, that frog pencil was also one of the things I had a hand in.”

“Whoa!” Nanao said. “I know Hanayoi. You did a collab with Yumihiki Douji recently.”

“You watched it? I’m so happy to hear that.”

Gaku sat down in front of the table.

“I’d feel bad about staying here for too long, so I’ll just tell you why I’m here. Everyone here should also listen. I chose the path I liked, so Dad wants Seiya to inherit the hospital. He says he wants Seiya to start preparing for that soon.”

“You’re talking about that again? And this isn’t something you talk about in front of everyone, you know? Onii-chan, you do what you want, and yet you expect to me to obey you.”

“Mom and Dad always respect our wishes. But in their hearts, they think that you’re suited to becoming a doctor. This is the countryside, so doctors are absolutely needed. They want you to contribute your service to the community. They won’t back down until you say yes.”

“There’s no point in using martial arts on me. I know your weak spots. It’ll be no trouble for me to defeat you.”

“Ugh, Seiya, how invincible are you? Well, it doesn’t matter. I plan on staying here for two or three days longer anyway.”

Gaku stood up, then stared at Nanao, who had been listening with his chin in his hands.

“…Magnificent. You’ve caught my eye since the moment I entered this room, but you’re so beautiful. How would you like to become our new brand image character?”

Gaku’s eyes roamed over Nanao’s figure, then he raised his hand and inhaled the scent deeply. Gaku’s sense of smell was unusually developed, and he was an eccentric who judged people based on their body odor. It was said that only one in five people could sniff out asparagus smell, which was the smell of urine after eating asparagus. He was one of them, and he was also a perfumer.

“Mm, mm, what a pleasant scent. It’s sweet, heartrending, and strong—. You fit the image perfectly. You’re the very picture of the crowned Frog Prince.”

“Hold on a minute, I can’t see what you’re talking about.”

“There is no one better suited for this role than you. This is a big project that will be expanded overseas. Don’t you think it’s a great opportunity?”

“No, no, no, the more skillfully someone speaks, the more I’m on guard.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being cautious. Please give me a reply in three days.”

After only saying what he wanted to say, Gaku left. In the calm after the storm, the five boys remained silent.

Ryouhei moved to break the silence.

“I was so surprised to see Seiya’s brother. He got even prettier than I remember. What will happen if Nanao takes on that job?”

“I’ll be okay, but it might be tough for Nanao to balance his thing with kyudo,” Seiya said.

“Huh!? Can’t you wait for a moment? Then I’m against it. You agree with me, right, Minato?”

“…I will respect the two’s wishes.”

“Huuuh!? Kaito-kun, you of course are also against it, right?”

“I dunno. It’s up to Seiya and Nanao.”

“What? Why aren’t you stopping them? Don’t you all want to stand on the same stage together again? We can only be high school second-years once! Well, you can be held back a year, though!”

Seiya opened the reference book on the table.

“Sorry, guys. My brother’s always like that. He throws everyone around him into confusion and immediately leaves. Nanao, you should think about it carefully before responding to him.”

With complicated feelings, the five boys faced the table again.

After the study session finished and everyone left, Nanao went to Kaito’s house.

He took two teacups in the kitchen and poured black tea, milk, and sugar into them. His brain needed sugar to work. He put the cups on a tray and went to Kaito’s room on the second floor.

“Hi, Kacchan. Today, I’m specially making this tea for you. Be thankful.”

“Yeah, yeah, Frog Prince.”

Nanao put the teacup on his desk and sat down on the bed. He flicked the frog-shaped clock by his side with his finger. The second hand was moving as usual.

“Kacchan, what do you really think about what Gaku-san talked about earlier?”

“I already said that I don’t know.”

“You didn’t put a stop to it this time.”

“Hah? Did something like that happen? If I say anything, your judgment might be affected, so I kept quiet.”

“You could have at least given your cousin some advice. What a useless man.”

“Shut up. Neither you or Seiya are little kids anymore. It’s the truth that by the summer vacation of your second year in high school, you have to decide on your career path to some extent.”

“That’s so early. I feel I only just entered high school.”

Seiya was also faced with the dilemma of choosing his career. Kaito was probably feeling nervous on the inside. Even Minato should be wondering whether he should encourage or discourage him.

Kaito got his phone out and started playing a game. Lately, he had been absorbed in a city building game. He had built a kyudojo, a library, and a concert venue just for Japanese rock. Once, he had cried tears of gratitude when the avatars of the bands he liked in the real world performed there.

Lucy the cat rubbed against Kaito’s back and showed her belly. Kaito petted Lucy without looking away from his game, and Lucy kicked him as though to tell him to look at her.

Nanao remembered when he and Kaito visited Tokyo together in middle school.

Kaito had let out a big yawn.

“Ah, this is such a pain. I only care about kyudojos and kyudo stores. Are there any nearby?”

“Don’t say that, Kacchan. Let’s take the classic course first.”

He stuffed his mouth with crepes and peered into a store where everyone was lined up. At the storefront where accessories were arranged next to each other, he could see a man giving out rings as a gift.

It was fun to walk around the city. The place where they lived was surrounded by mountains, but this place was full of man-made object and people. It was a stimulating and lively space.

A little further away, there was a man running through the crowd.

“Why is that guy running?”

“Who knows, maybe he forgot something.”

As they were talking, the man quickly approached them and handed him his business card. The name of an agency was printed on the front, and the names of the talents affiliated with the agency were printed on the back.

Talent scouts really did exist. He thought it was an urban legend.

Kaito’s eyes flashed in their usual way. From his point of view, the person approaching Nanao was nothing but a suspicious person who deserved to be guarded against.

“Sorry, we’re in a hurry,” they declined and started walking away.

As they continued on their way, eating snacks, someone called out to them again. Nanao didn’t know if it was a scout or someone trying to pick him up, but he completely ignored them. However, some people were persistent and would stubbornly keep talking to him. Thanks to that, they walked faster and faster.

“Hey, hey, you over there. You’re a shining diamond in the rough. Could please just listen to what I have to say?”

“If you put it like that, I might be a little interested.”

“Tell the kid next to you to consider it too. I really think he’s got what it takes. Getting famous with videos is fine and all, but I recommend that you join an agency that can manage you properly.”

“No, thank you,” Kaito answered.

“Why don’t you join with him, then? I think a combination of two different types is also a good idea.”

“…”

“You might have to pay for the lessons, but we also have plans that are better than other agencies.”

“Shut up! This guy won’t leave our hometown!” Kaito shouted and grabbed Nanao’s hand, then started running.

Masquerade.

This was a city where you could meet a different version of yourself.

A doll-like girl spinning on a music box and a man holding a fake sword studded with sequins. Were the woodwind instruments being played foreign? Many boats floated on the meandering river, and the two went against the current. Was this really reality? His feet felt unsteady.

“Let’s leave this place quickly. There’s too many people and we’ll keep getting bothered.”

“You’re right.”

The sounds of people bustling about was comfortable.

Kacchan said that there were too many people here, but everyone was nose-deep in their phones and no one’s looking around. No one’s paying attention to us. No one knows who we are.

I will protect Kacchan. In this city, he’s the only who knows me, and I’m the only one who knows him.

I will never forget Kacchan gripping my hand.

It seems like he forgot about it, though.

That’s fine. This is a memory that only I remember.

“Kacchan, I wanna eat chips. Go and buy some.”

“What, go buy it yourself. I think we have some downstairs.”

“Can I eat them?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, Kacchan.”

When Nanao got up, Lucy let out a small meow.

After the study session, Seiya and Minato watched Ryouhei leave until they could no longer see him.

“Minato, I’m going to go shampoo Kuma. Wanna come?” Seiya said.

“Of course!”

Minato went to Seiya’s house. He rolled up his sleeves, took off his socks, and Kuma, who realized what was going to happen, ran around excitedly. When Kuma was still a puppy, just getting him to soak his paws in the bathtub full of hot water was a difficult task, but now it was one of his favorite times. They wetted his fur in the shower and lathered up the dog shampoo.

“Kuma, doesn’t that feel good? Do you feel itchy anywhere?”

Kuma tilted his head left as though to say, “Here,” so they focused on that area. As they were rinsing off the later with the shower, Kuma shook his whole body.

“Kuma, don’t shake!”

“Kuma seems to be in high spirits,” Seiya said.

While they were shampooing Kuma, they saw a gecko on the windowpane of the bath. It had a light pink belly and the base of its tail was heart-shaped. The edges of its five tiny fingers were transparent and beautiful. It didn’t so much as twitch even when Minato touched it through the glass. He once saw one in his own house, and he had captured it and let it go outside. The gecko was still clinging to the window even after they finished shampooing Kuma.

Seiya’s brows lowered when he saw Kuma leaning against Minato as he wiped his wet body.

 “Kuma, you sure are making a nice face. Even though I’m your master.”

“Kuma likes people.”

The two and Kuma went out for a walk. As they walked toward the red sun, the indigo sunset approached from behind. The first star of the evening shined in the evening sky, and it matched the speed of the two boys and dog. When they stopped, the star also stopped. The large yellow moon shined on the horizon.

On the roadside, bees gathered by the fleabanes, and butterflies gathered by the milk thistles. A loud chorus of frogs could be heard from the rice fields that had just been filled with water. There were also baby praying mantises in the purple thistles, shortawn foxtails, and ixeris flowers. Though their bodies were only one centimeter long, they were vibrating them like adults. They seemed to be imitating the appearance of swaying leaves, but it was said that only two percent of two hundred eggs could grow into adults. Minato sent thoughts of encouragement for everyone to survive safely.

Minato patted Kuma on the head.

“It seems that there is a family of wild rabbits living in Shuu’s garden. At first, when we saw each other, they would run away like rabbits do, but lately, they are the ones who have been approaching me.”

“With that house, I’m not surprised about anything that lives there.”

“To tell you the truth, I once asked your dad a question. I asked him, aren’t you worried about Seiya quitting Kirisaki? Is there anything I can do?”

“…No way, really?”

“He told me, ‘There’s nothing to worry about. Worrying would mean that I don’t believe in Seiya’s strength. Both Seiya and his brother are people who don’t see hardships as hardships and can blaze a trail forward.’”

“Dad said something like that? I didn’t know.”

“You have a great dad. He’s really cool.”

“Yeah, he is, thanks. My brother’s a weirdo, though.”

“Kuma’s cute too.”

“My brother isn’t cute, and I don’t listen to what he says.”

“Brothers, huh. I’m a bit jealous.”

Minato looked up at the sky. The full moon was changing from yellow to silver.

“The moon is beautiful tonight.”

“…Yeah, it really is. Minato, do you know the anecdote about Soseki Natsume?”

“The one where he had a habit of pulling out his nose hairs when he got writer’s block and line them up on his manuscript paper?”

“That’s what came to your mind? It’s the one where he said that when Japanese people convey their love, they don’t say ‘I love you,’ but use another way to express it.”

“Sorry, I don’t know that one.”

“You and Kaito really don’t waver, huh.”

“What will Nanao do? Kaito was clearly shaken.”

“The two of them are probably discussing things right now. It might be something that’s hard to talk about in front of us.”

“You’re right. Oh, I saw two dormice in that tree hollow ahead. You wanna go see them?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

The two boys and dog went to the woods. When they went into the woods, Kuma took the vanguard position, probably with the determination to protect his masters.

When the wind shook the leaves, white-tailed skimmers spread their wings.

The wind blew through the blue yamichi of Kazemai High School’s kyudojo.

After the prefectural tournament qualifiers, the club members headed toward the targets as they pleased. Not thinking about unnecessary things and simply releasing arrows with all your strength was also a pleasant feeling. They surrendered themselves and rode the updraft.

When they generally finished shooting their arrows, the signal to gather was given.

“Today, we’ll be having a special class today. Let’s warm up before inviting our speaker. First question, what day is September tenth?”

Ryouhei immediately raised his hand.

“It’s Kyudo Day!”

“Correct. Now, the second question. Does anyone what day is August tenth, a month before that?”

“Yep, yep, it’s Masa-san’s birthday!”

Kaito turned to Minato and grinned triumphantly. Masa-san smiled in embarrassment.

Tommy-sensei continued. “Third question. What day is September first?”

“The questions suddenly got harder. Seiya, do you know?” Minato said.

“Hmm, is it famous?”

“Oh? Takehaya-kun not knowing something is surprising. Let’s get into the main topic. Self-possession is necessary for kyudo. Learn the best techniques to stay calm in any situation. That’s right, it’s all about words, it’s about how you perceive events positively through words. Here comes the specialists. Come on, everybody!”

The ones who appeared at Tommy-sensei’s signal were two elderly men. Question marks popped up over everyone’s heads.

“These two are acquaintances of mine. They are alumni of the ‘Kazemai High School Bad Puns Association.’”

Seiya’s glasses flashed. Kaito had a bad feeling.

The class began.

“Bad puns are things that have ‘creativity and impact,’ and enriches communication between people. We take advantage of the infinite ‘attraction’ of puns, and our wish that bad puns will bring color and richness to life and delivers salvation to the world is embedded in September first.”*

“…I can already sense that this is going to be a disaster.”

Kaito was in agony, but Seiya straightened up even more and listened attentively.

“A barrage of dad jokes that follow up on each other. This is indeed ‘jab-jab’ humor, Kacchan.”*

“Na-na-o, not you too!”

As the cousins’ comedy routine unfolded, practical training began. First, they were asked to tell the bad puns they already knew.

Keyaki went first. “The principal’s in good form!”*

Kanbayashi went second. “The dog’s so nervous that it’s wetting itself.”*

Himuro went third. “Suki kuu mushi mo tadetade.”*

Everyone’s eyes widened at the fact that Himuro spoke, but only Seiya sighed by himself.

“It’s no good, first-years. You can’t just say such excellent bad puns.”

Keyaki shrank back.

“What exactly is an excellent bad pun…? It’s too difficult for amateurs. I feel like successfully pulling off a bad pun is more difficult than the path of the bow for me.”

“First, we must learn the classics. I’ll give you some examples. ‘6:30 is the best time on a clock, hands down.’ ‘Thanks for being so grape!’ ‘Camping: like many of the best things in life, it’s tree.’”*

The two teachers applauded.

“Wonderful! As expected of the club president, you have a very good understanding of this. Oh, you over there, you say a pun too.”

“Me too?” Masa-san said.

“Of course. To us, you’re also a Kazemai kid, Coach Takigawa.”

“Then if I may be so presumptuous, I will contribute one pun. ‘My back is kaino at kai.’”*

Seiya inadvertently laughed, but then made his face serious in an effort to hide that he laughed.

“Recreation is a form of communication and relaxation that’s also used in free schools, and it is also a way to train people to think in a way that softens their stiffened heads. Now, we pros will show you how it’s done.”

“What kind of sport is kyudo? The kind of sport that makes your chest squeeze tightly and impresses the people around.” “If you draw a bow in Yamagata, your arrows will bend.” “Ah, I hit the inside of the curtain.” “Hakama wa hakanma.” “What are yuu going to the kyudojo for?” “I get angry when I don’t do the uchiokoshi well.” “When I do uchiokoshi, you go to the front.” “Let’s have a third party look at our daisan.” “Ya o hanatsu to yugaeru kero.” “Zan, shin!!”*

Kaito quickly stood up.

“They’re cold, they’re too cold! Are we in Siberia or Alaska or something!?”

Unable to endure it any longer, he left.

Tommy-sensei chuckled. “…Good reaction, Onogi-kun.”

Before they went home, they received a large amount of broad beans from the teachers, who had grown them in their home gardens.

“Hey, hey, what are you going to do about Seiya’s brother, Gaku-san’s offer?” Ryouhei asked Nanao.

“Oh, I think I’m going to turn him down on that day.”

Kaito’s face relaxed.

“You’re giving your answer too early. You might regret it later that you should have accepted it.”

“I won’t regret it, and even if I do in the future, so be it. I’ll consider it again at that time. The current me has decided not to do it. My dream has already been fulfilled. I wanted to become a normal high school student.”

“A normal high school student?”

“Don’t you think it’s amazing? Frogs and birds risk their lives to get food every day, but we normally eat our lunches in our classrooms, normally make side trips on our way home from school, and normally groan about bad test scores.”

“Is Nanao really a high school boy? You have a pretty philosophical view of things,” Seiya murmured.*

The second-year girl, Hanazawa, writhed in agony. “Takehaya-kun, don’t just smoothly insert an old man joke here.”

“The only old man we need is Takigawa=san,” Shiragiku said.

“Putting aside the fact that our club has a high concentration of old men, I don’t know how a guy with a fan club could be called normal,” Seo continued.

“That isn’t something I wanted, but I’ll properly fulfill the role given to me. I don’t want to disappoint the girls who love me.”

“Wow, you’re like a real prince.”

When Ryouhei looked at him with eyes full of respect, Nanao gently lowered his eyes. If the fan club girls were here, they might have fainted on the spot.

When he opened his eyes, a strong gaze appeared there.

“I want to become a carpenter. I want to start with design. Kacchan, let me build your house.”

Kaito’s eyes widened.

“This is the first time I’m hearing of it.”

“Of course it is. Because it’s the first time I told someone. Before I came here, I asked the teacher to let me switch from the humanities to the sciences.”

“That was fast! I didn’t know you could change it.”

“First, I want to build a round wooden frog house in a green forest. The eyes will be the windows, where you can see the starry sky through them at night. The Summer Triangle of summer and Orion of winter. It’ll be amazing to gaze at them while lying down on the floor with everyone. Right now, I’m researching the costs.”

“You’re really moving too fast. Where are us students gonna get that money from?”

“It’s not about whether you can or can’t do it, it’s about envisioning it first. I don’t think it’s that difficult.”

The first-years applauded.

“As expected of Kisaragi-senpai’s super positive thinking. He has a dream!” Kanbayashi said.

“I will try thinking about what I really want to do,” Keyaki said.

“I want to continue doing kyudo even after I graduate. Have you decided on what you’re going to do, Narumiya-senpai? Are you going to go to a university with a strong kyudo club?”

Minato looked indifferent.

“All I thought was that I should probably go to university. On the career preference questionnaire, I thought about my family finances and wrote down the names of several universities I was interested in, including a local public university, a department where I could study Japanese culture, a university with a Shinto course, and an agriculture department.”

Seiya pinched the corner of his eyes. “Our teacher is probably very confused, thinking that Narumiya-kun is supposed to be in the sciences.”

“I’m interested in what Shinto priests do, but I don’t know if I want to do it as a job… To be honest, I’m at a loss.”

Tommy-sensei, who had been silently listening to them, laughed out loud. Masa-san was also next to him.

“Ah, the worries of vibrant youth. Try talking to yourself, not others. It might be a good idea to try drawing a mandala chart. By the way, the goals I set when I was fifty were to walk eight-thousand steps every day, learn the names of flowers and plants, and take pictures of clouds. Please look at my work.”

Tommy-sensei showed them pictures of clouds in the shape of soft-served ice cream, candy, and dried squid. He told them that they weren’t edited images, but actually floating in the sky.

Ryouhei’s eyes sparkled.

“What’s that, it looks tasty!”

“Ho ho, there’s Pucky here too. And even a Koala’s Dash.”*

“Whoa, I wanna try searching too! Nee-chan, Shuu-kun, and Sae-chan would definitely love it if I show this to them.”

It seemed that Tommy-sensei taught them a simple game once again. Minato thought that the people who could laugh at bad puns and were curious no matter how old they were might be the masters of life.

When Seiya returned home, he told his parents this.

“I’m going to be a doctor. But right now, kyudo is my top priority, so I might become a ronin.* Mom, Dad, will you still support me?”

“Yes, of course we will.”

“Do your best, Seiya-kun.”

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[happyk44]

[Text ID: 1. Personal feelings, opinions, and experiences (adjectives):

able

afraid

alone

amazed

amazing

amusing

angry

annoyed

anxious

ashamed

awful

bad

beautiful

better

bored

boring

bossy

brave

brilliant

busy

calm

careful

challenging

charming

cheerful

clear

clever

confident

confused

confusing

cool

crazy

cruel

curious

cute

delighted

depressed

different

difficult

disappointed

disappointing

easy

embarrassed

embarrassing

excellent

excited

exciting

famous

fantastic

favourite

fine

fit

fond

free

frightened

friendly

funny

generous

gentle

glad

good

great

guilt

happy

hard

healthy

heavy

high

hungry

important

intelligent

interested

interesting

jealous

keen

kind

lazy

lovely

lucky

mad

married

miserable

modern

negative

nervous

nice

noisy

normal

old

old-fashioned

ordinary

original

patient

personal

pleasant

poor

positive

pretty

quick

quiet

ready

real

realistic

reasonable

relaxed

reliable

rich

right

rude

sad

satisfied

serious

slim

slow

small

smart

sorry

soft

special

strange

strong

stupid

sure

surprised

sweet

tall

terrible

tired

ture

typical

unable

unhappy

unusual

useful

well

wonderful

worried

wrong

young

2. Places: Buildings:

apartment block/apartment building

ban

centre bookshop

bookstore

building

cafe

cafeteria

castle

cinema

clinic

club

college

cottage

department store

disco

elevator

entrance

exist

factory

flat

gallery

garage

grocery store

guest-house

hospital

hotel

house

library

lift

musuem

office

palace

police station

post office

prison

railway station

ruin

school

shop

sports

stadium

supermarket

swimming pool

theatre

tourist infomration centre

tower

university

3. Places: Countryside:

area

bay

beach

campsite

canal

cliff

desert

earth

farm

field

forest

harbour

hill

island

lake

land

mountain

ocean

path

port

railway

rainforest

region

river

rock

sand

scenery

sea

seaside

sky

stream

valley

village

waterfall

wood

4. Places: Towns & City:

apartment building

airport

booking office

bridge

bus station

bus stop

car park

cash machine

cashpoint

city centre

corner

crossing

crossroads

fountain

market

motorway

monument

park

pavement

petrol station

playground

road

roundabout

route

shopping centre

signpost

square

station

street

subway

town

tunnel

turning

underground

zoo

5. Weather:

blow

breeze

centigrade

cloud

cloudy

cold

coold

degrees

dry

forecast

fog

foggy

freezing

frozen

gale

get wet

heat

hot

humid

ice

icy

lightning

mild

rain

shower

snow

snowfall

storm

sun

sunny

sunshine

temperature

thunder(storm)

warm

weather

wet

wind

windy

/end ID]

Another Topics List

Word lists may be helpful for some people to overcome writer's block.

PERSONAL FEELINGS, OPINIONS, AND EXPERIENCES (Adjectives)

PLACES: Buildings

PLACES: Countryside

PLACES: Towns & City

WEATHER

Source: Cambridge English: Preliminary and Preliminary for Schools Vocabulary List (2012)

More: Word Lists ⚜ Topics Lists

[costassouris]

Structuring Solutions | Benefits of EU Cyprus BY: Costas Souris Quality Group

Why Live in Cyprus? Why Retire in Cyprus? Why base your business in Cyprus? Living in Cyprus offers numerous advantages that make it an attractive destination for expatriates, retirees, and families. There are many compelling reasons to consider living in Cyprus and for business, Cyprus offers unparalleled advantages!

Beautiful Climate and Natural Scenery

Mediterranean Climate: Cyprus enjoys over 300 days of sunshine per year, with mild winters and hot, dry summers. This makes it an ideal location for outdoor activities and a healthy, active lifestyle.

Stunning Beaches and Landscapes: Cyprus is renowned for its beautiful beaches, clear blue waters, and picturesque mountains. The island offers a diverse range of natural beauty, from coastal regions to inland forests and mountain ranges.

High Quality of Life

Safe and Friendly Environment: Cyprus is considered one of the safest countries in Europe, with low crime rates and a welcoming, hospitable local population. This contributes to a high quality of life for residents.

Healthcare System: The healthcare system in Cyprus is of a high standard, with both public and private healthcare options available. The country’s National Health System (GESY) provides comprehensive coverage to residents and expatriates

Favourable Tax Regime

Attractive Tax Policies: Cyprus offers a favourable tax regime for individuals and businesses. Residents benefit from low-income tax rates, no inheritance tax, and various exemptions on investment income. The non-domicile status for expatriates provides additional tax benefits and tax holidays on foreign income .

Double Tax Treaties: Cyprus has an extensive network of double tax treaties with many countries, reducing the tax burden for international residents and businesses.

Strategic Location

Gateway to Europe, Asia, and Africa: Cyprus’s strategic geographical location makes it a convenient base for traveling and conducting business across three continents. The island’s well-connected airports facilitate easy access to major international destinations.

Multicultural Society and Language

Diverse and Inclusive: Cyprus has a multicultural society with a significant expatriate community. This diversity is reflected in the availability of international schools, cultural events, and various expatriate organizations.

English Proficiency: English is widely spoken and used in business, education, and daily life, making it easy for expatriates to integrate and communicate. Many official documents and services are available in English .

Education and International Schools

Quality Education: Cyprus offers a range of quality educational institutions, including international schools that follow the British, American, and other curricula. These schools provide excellent educational opportunities for expatriate children

Higher Education: There are many colleges and universities with diverse offerings. Medical degrees including post graduate degrees are offered with Cypriot and British accreditation. There are also British universities offering dual accreditation. Studying in Cyprus with its brilliant weather and safety coupled with much lower tuition costs is a desirable and attractive student solution.

Rich Culture and History

Cultural Heritage: Cyprus boasts a rich cultural heritage with numerous archaeological sites, historic monuments, and museums. The island’s history dates back thousands of years, offering residents the chance to explore and experience its ancient past.

Vibrant Lifestyle: The local culture emphasizes a relaxed and vibrant lifestyle with a focus on family, food, and social activities. Festivals, markets, and cultural events are regular features of life in Cyprus

Economic Opportunities and Residency Programs

Thriving Business Environment: Cyprus is an attractive destination for businesses due to its favourable tax regime, strategic location, and developed infrastructure. Key sectors include financial services, shipping, tourism, and real estate. Many businesses make Cyprus their head office at a corporate tax rate of 12,5% and tax-free dividends.

Investment Opportunities: The Cypriot government offers various incentives for foreign investors, including the Cyprus Investment Programme, which provides residency and citizenship (Golden VISA & enhanced Retirement VISA options).

Simply …

Living in Cyprus offers a blend of natural beauty, a high standard of living, favourable economic conditions, and a rich cultural experience. Whether you are looking for a safe and pleasant environment to retire, a vibrant place to raise a family, or a strategic base for international business, Cyprus provides a compelling option.

References: Cyprus Tourism Organization, Expat Arrivals – Living in Cyprus, World Health Organization – Cyprus Healthcare, PwC Cyprus – Tax Information, Cyprus Department of Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver, Invest Cyprus, Cyprus Profile – Language and Multiculturalism, Cyprus International Schools, Cyprus Department of Antiquities, Cyprus Investment Programme

[architectuul]

Dignity Of Memory

After almost 30 years since the break-up of Yugoslavia, we can take a stroll through a part of the architectural history with the benefit of distance.

The heritage of Yugoslav architecture was taken on almost a decade ago by Croatian Architects Association in collaboration with Maribor Art Gallery with the regionally conceived project Unfinished Modernisations – Between Utopia and Pragmatism – Architecture and Urban Planning in the Former Yugoslavia and the Successor States, and last year with the global exhibition in New York City's MoMA Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948–1980.

In the architecture and art of ex-Yugoslavia, the monuments to the victims of the People's Liberation War stand out. Through their  artistic language, they remind us of the dignity of human life and death. They are powerful markers of the once-common state's public open space. Their unique architectural and artistic design has placed them on a field of timelessness, which is not constrained by geographic and cultural borders, age, race, or political views. 

Memorial complex to the Battle of Sutjeska is an exceptional work by Miodrag Živković and one of the best sculptural memorials in the Yugoslav space. | Photo from the archive of Miodrag Živković

Monuments were built and designed by Yugoslav architects and sculptors of the highest profile, such as Bogdan Bogdanović, Edvard Ravnikar, Miodrag Živković, Dušan Džamonja and many others. Instead of the regime's symbolism, their creations combined the present, the past, the elements of antique necropolises, ethnography and spatial poetics.

Last and First Men by Johann Johannsson (2020) narrated by Tilda Swinton

The monuments are predominantly designed as sculptural-architectural structures, abstract architectural sculptures. Many were constructed in concrete, which was elevated to the status of noble material by virtue of shaping and finishing. They are sited in authentic spatial situations and historical settings, designed as a commemorative path. Every monument tells a story connected with the events and victims.

Memorial complex Korčanica is dedicated to the largest Partisan hospital, which was active in the liberated territory of the slopes of Grmeč between 1942 and 1943. | Photo from the archive of Miodrag Živković

In mid-march 2019, Gallery DESSA, ab-Architect's Bulletin magazine and Architectuul began the preparations for the exhibition and publication named Architecture. Sculpture. Remembrance.; The Art of Monuments of Yugoslavia 1945–1991. On the basis of high architectural and artistic value of the structures and the exceptional contemplative qualities of the spatial designs, the curators selected 33 monuments and memorial complexes from all the republics and autonomous provinces of ex-Yugoslavia. The exhibition was prepared in collaboration with authors, photographers, institutions from the ex-Yugoslav region, which has also laid the foundation for future co-operation. The exhibition will present and evaluate the exceptional architecture of the Yugoslav monuments, whose aesthetic and structural innovation is enhanced by their idiosyncratic artistic expression.

The memorial complex Kadinjača by is dedicated to the Partisan fighters of Workers' Battalion of Užice. | Photo from the archive of Miodrag Živković

Monument to the Revolution by Dušan Džamonja is located at the highest peaks of Kozara mountain. | Photo from the archive of Miodrag Živković

Monuments are also political art, they are an uncompromising tribute to humanity, to reverence towards the victims, conveyed by means of the authors' individual artistic expression. With the dissolution of Yugoslavia into individual independent states in 1991, it seems that the need for respecting the remembrance expressed by its memorials is waning. As a result, the present state of repair of the monuments and their treatment varies depending on the region. In some places, the past and the strivings of the previous generations are held in respectful memory while elsewhere, the monuments have been abandoned, left to ruin, or even desecrated. 

“Beck’s Legendary - Croatia Infiltration” is a beer commercial, which exploits  the Monument of Petrova Gora.

Due to their abstract nature, they may be used for very different purposes, such as shooting TV advertisements and music videos, or as fashion runways. Such use of monuments by individuals who have no appreciation or knowledge of the past and therefore cannot respect it represents misuse as well as contempt for the dignity of the victims and their memory.

The exhibition is planned to be shown in all the former Yugoslav republics. We wish to foster a sober and respectful assessment of the value of ex-Yugoslav monuments and draw attention to their cultural and contemplative significance, and thus lend support to the maintenance and preservation of the memorial areas. It will present the exceptional, progressive, and still-contemporary creative language of their artists and other creators, which transcends the superficiality of the quest for the different, the exotic, the picturesque, and the unknown. Monuments are ties to the past, they reminiscent of the dignity of human life and death. And remembrance.

The exhibition started to travel to different cities of the territory of Ex-Yugoslavia. Because of COVID-19 restrictions the project continues online. The next stop is co-hosted by the creative community Avtomatik Delovišče under the auspices of the Municipality of Koper. Together with Architectuul 33 monuments will be presented daily with a conclusion online webinar on 29. November 2020.

---

Architecture. Sculpture. Memory.  The art of monuments of Yugoslavia 1945–1991  online webinar 29 November 2020 

Dessa, AB, Avtomatik Delovišče Curators Boštjan Bugarič, Kristina Dešman, Maja Ivanič, Špela Kuhar, Eva Mavsar, Špela Nardoni Kovač, Damjana Zaviršek Hudnik Media partner Architectuul

*********** Program

10:00 Introduction Christian Burkhard, editor in Chief Architectuul, Berlin Boštjan Bugarič, senior editor Architectuul, Berlin Mara Ivanič, Dessa Gallery, Ljubljana

10:20 Spaces and Dignity Sanja Horvatinčić, Institute of Art History, Croatia Vladimir Deskov, School of architecture and design - UACS, N. Macedonia Ana Ivanovska, Faculty of Architecture Skopje, North Macedonia Kristina Dešman, Maja Ivanič, Špela Kuhar, Eva Mavsar, Špela Nardoni Kovač, Damjana Zaviršek Hudnik, DESSA Gallery, Slovenia Jelica Jovanović, Grupa arhitekata / Docomomo Serbia Boris Trapara, Bosnia and Herzegovina Bekim Ramku, Docomomo Kosovo Slavica Vučković, Faculty of Architecture Podgorica, Montenegro Moderator: Boštjan Bugarič

11:00 Yugoslavia Express   Roberto Conte presenting the field photo trip 

11:30 Presentation and Dignity Roberto Conte, Italy Relja Ivanić, Serbia Matija Kralj, Croatia Elena Chemerska, North Macedonia Donald Niebyl, Spomenik Database USA Andrew Lawler, Spomenici NOB, Serbia Moderator: Kristina Dešman

12:00 Embodied Experiences: Investigating the relation between architecture, landscape and symbolism in WW2 monuments of socialist Yugoslavia; a master thesis by Vida Rucli, Faculty of Architecture in Ljubljana, menthors Maruša Zorec and Luka Skansi

12:30 Culture Routes in Montenegro Slavica Vučković presenting the project

13:00 (In)appropriate Monuments: Interview with Miodrag Živković In loving memory of Miodrag Živković by Jelica Jovanović

[architectnews]

Architecture of 2020: Buildings of the Year

Architecture in 2020, Buildings of the Year, Architects, Major Property Designs, Photos

Architecture of 2020: New Buildings

e-architect Selection of Key Contemporary Architectural Developments

post updated 13 May 2021 ; post updated 1 Jan 2021 ; 20 + 19 + 18 Dec 2020

Major Architecture of 2020

The winner is clearly REE Campus, Madrid, Spain, polling a massive 37.46%, with a total of 481 votes

REE Campus, Madrid, Spain Architects: IDOM photo : Aitor Ortiz REE Campus in Madrid

In second place is the Loop of Wisdom, Chengdu, China, with 28.58% of the total vote, and 367 votes

Loop of Wisdom, Chengdu, south west China Architects: Powerhouse Company photo : Jonathan Leijonhufvud Architectural Photography Loop of Wisdom Museum in Chengdu

In third place is Cosmote TV HQ and Studios, Athens, Greece, with 25.23% of the vote and 324 votes.

Cosmote TV HQ and Studios, Athens, Greece Design: LC Architects photo © Nikos Daniilidis Cosmote TV HQ and Studios in Athens

Happy New Year to our readers!

e-architect have selected some key buildings of 2020.

Our parameters? Architecture designs that stimulate, buildings that ask significant questions, designs that show creativity and innovation.

We have considered the year’s international architecture highlights to pick out the key buildings of the year. We are deliberately not considering the complex task of selecting ‘winners’.

(Adrian Welch, e-architect editor)

We are focusing this year only on completed buildings, not building designs (ie unbuilt proposals).

Buildings / designs are listed in georgaphical order, per our folder structure.

We are still adding projects today, this list wll be finalised over the weekend!

********************

A further selection of buildings around the world – shortlisted but not in the final cut:

Buildings of 2020

********************

Yes, you can now vote on your favourite project:

Architecture of 2020 – which is best?

Major Buildings completed in 2020

Architecture in 2020 – latest additions to this page, arranged chronologically:

AMERICA – USA

False Bay Writer’s Cabin, San Juan Islands, Washington Architects: Olson Kundig photo : Tim Bies / Olson Kundig False Bay Writer’s Cabin, San Juan Island This five-hundred-square-foot cabin serves as a private writer’s retreat and guest cottage. The owners of False Bay Writer’s Cabin asked for a space that felt connected to its island setting—the mild climate, scenic views, and proximity to wildlife. At the same time, they needed a structure that could be easily secured when not in use.

Red Rocks Residence, Camelback Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona Architect: The Ranch Mine photograph : Roehner + Ryan Red Rocks Residence in Phoenix, Arizona Clinging to the side of Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona, a Spanish Colonial Revival style house has been transformed into a modern dwelling that creates and elevates a variety of experiences with both the natural and man-made environment.

LR2 Residence, Pasadena, California Design: Montalba Architects photography : Kevin Scott LR2 Residence in Pasadena, California The modern American esidence overlooks Pasadena and its adjacent mountains from its hillside perch. This new 4,200-sqft house is made up of several distinct living volumes and programs.

AMSTERDAM

Diamond Exchange, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Design: ZJA photo © Capital C Amsterdam Diamond Exchange, Capital C Amsterdam The Diamond Exchange, Capital C Amsterdam in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has been awarded with a prestigious MIPIM Award 2020 for ‘Best Refurbished Building’ at the Paris Real Estate Week. The historical building, designated as  a national monument, has undergone a major renovation designed by the architectural office ZJA in collaboration with Heyligers design + projects.

ATHENS

Cosmote TV HQ and Studios, Athens, Greece Design: LC Architects photo © Nikos Daniilidis Cosmote TV HQ and Studios Designed by London-based architecture and design practice LC Architects, Cosmote TV HQ and Studios is a new, innovative building inspired by contemporary media and the constant flow of information.

BANGKOK

Power Wing, Bangkok, Thailand Design: Openbox Group and Openbox Architects photo : Panoramic Studio Car Parking Solar Roof Bangkok After many success OPENBOX design interventions for large scale projects, B. Grimm Power send us a brief to help creating an awareness of the important of sustainable energy to public. The brief was to create an iconic piece of landmark at their Headquarters Office, that can send a strong message.

BEIJING

Courtyard Kindergarten, Beijing Design: MAD Architects photo © ArchExist Courtyard Kindergarten by MAD Architects A kindergarten sited next to a senior citizens’ apartment, reflecting the client’s “intergenerational integration” ethos that blends pre-school education and elder care. The 9,275 sqm site consists of an 18th century Siheyuan courtyard, an adjacent replica courtyard built in the 1990s, and a four-story modern building.

Beijing Zhongshuge Lafayette store interior, Beijing Architects: X+LIVING photo : Wu Qingshan Beijing Zhongshuge Lafayette store design It’s the second time for Zhongshuge bookstore to land in Beijing. This time it joins Lafayette department store, where the classical gardens and the reading space collided from three different perspectives in the fashionable commercial area.

CANADA

New Central Library, Alberta Architects: Snøhetta and DIALOG photography © Michael Grimm New Central Library in Calgary Calgary’s New Central Library aims to welcome over twice as many as previously annual visitors to its 240,000 SF of expanded facilities, the library will fill a vital role for the rapidly expanding city. As Calgary’s largest public investment since the 1988 Olympics, the library signals the beginning of a new chapter in the life of the city, one centered on the creation and innovation of knowledge and culture.

CHINA

Yabuli Entrepreneurs’ Congress Center, North east China Design: MAD Architects photo © ArchExist Yabuli Entrepreneurs’ Congress Center Nestled in the snow-covered mountains of Northeastern China, the project was commissioned by the Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Forum (Yabuli CEF), one of China’s most influential business organizations. November 18th to 20th saw the venue’s opening ceremony and its first event, the Yabuli CEF’s 20th annual conference, attended by over 600 entrepreneurs.

Regeneration – Free Spring Morning, Suzhou, China Design: LACIME Architects photo © SHANJIAN Photography Studio Free Spring Morning, Suzhou Building As rational consumerism prevails, the traditional real estate design model of spending a lot of money to build a luxury sales office is fading away. The sales office is one of the most important design elements in real estate design, and this element is now going to two extremes – permanent sales offices are paying more attention to the pursuit of high quality, and temporary sales offices are increasingly looking for rapid efficiency.

Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum, Fujian, South East China Design: Atelier Alter Architects photograph : Atelier Alter Architects Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum, Fujian Over the years of stone mining, the manufacture has discovered numerous fossils. The manufacture decides to dedicate the headquarter building to a museum to tell the history of the fossils and the natural science of researching the fossil. There are two major challenges during the renovation process.

OCT Chuzhou Minghu Experience Center, Chuzhou, Anhui Province Design: Lacime Architects photograph : Schran Images OCT Chuzhou Minghu Experience Center The project site is located in the Minghu Lake area, the southeastern part of the planned new town of Chuzhou city, Anhui Province. It is adjacent to Chuzhou-Yangzhou Expressway and the Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway, surrounded with a favorable landscape environment.

Changzhou Culture Center Architect: gmp · von Gerkan, Marg and Partners · Architects photography © Schran Images Changzhou Culture Center Building In the Chinese province of Jiangsu, within the catchment area of Shanghai, lies the city of Changzhou which, with its about 5 million inhabitants, has developed into an important industrial metropolis in the Yangtze Delta region. In the newly created city center of Changzhou, the architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp) have created a cultural center with an art museum, library, hotel, offices, and retail areas.

SigMann Showroom, Guangzhou Architects: Spring Design Office image : b+m studio/ Kelvin SigMann Showroom Guangzhou SigMann is a cabinet and home furnishings brand, the name of which is derived from “Sig” and “Manna”. “Sig” is the abbreviation of “special interest group”, which represents cultivated, decent and tasteful elites, while “Manna” comes from Bible and implies food for thought.

Longfu Life Experience Center, Puyang County, Henan Province, China Design: LUO studio photo : Jin Weiqi Longfu Life Experience Center Real estate sales center is a kind of temporary architecture that can only last several months or few years at most, which is usually dismantled after houses are sold out. Even if it can be preserved in few cases, functions are completely transformed.

Loop of Wisdom, Chengdu, south west China Architects: Powerhouse Company photo : Jonathan Leijonhufvud Architectural Photography Loop of Wisdom Museum, Chengdu Living up to the suggestiveness of its name, the Loop of Wisdom embodies a timeless architectural concept. Powerhouse Company’s design for a technology museum and reception center for a new neighborhood in Chengdu, China, is much more than an exuberant landmark.

Imperial Kiln Museum, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Architects: Studio Zhu-Pei photography : schranimage, Tian Fangfang, Zhang Qinquan, courtesy of Studio Zhu-Pei Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum, Jiangxi Located in the center of the historical area, the site of the Imperial Kiln Museum is adjacent to the Imperial Kiln ruins surrounding many ancient kiln complexes. Jingdezhen is known as the “Porcelain Capital” in the world because it has been producing pottery for 1,700 years.

Pingshan Performing Arts Center, Shenzhen, south east China Design: OPEN Architecture photo © Zeng Tianpei Pingshan Performing Arts Center, Shenzhen In tandem with China’s economic boom and rapid urbanization, theaters have sprung up throughout the country in the past decade. Most have extravagant exteriors, but are often spatially monotonous and far detached from the general public and everyday urban life, greatly underutilizing the tremendous public resources invested in them.

Yifang Art Center, Chongqing, south west China Design: YIHE Landscape Architecture photo : Arch-Exist Yifang Art Center in Yubei District, Chongqing The Yifang Art Center project is in a newly developed Dazhulin district in the north of Chongqing downtown. When YIHE Landscape Architecture first visited the site, it had an unfinished concrete structure from previous development.

Kaihua County 1101 Project and Urban Archives, Kaihua County, Zhangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China Design: The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd photo © Zhou Yifan Kaihua County 1101 Project and Urban Archives This bold Chinese architectural project was commissioned by Kaihua County Urban Construction and Development Co., Ltd. to design a comprehensive office building with three functional requirements: the Urban Archives and the Civil Defense Command Center and the Housing and Construction Bureau at the entrance of the scenic spot. The project has a superior geographical position.

Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen Architects: Rocco Design Architects Associates image courtesy of architects office Chinese University of Hong Kong Campus Shenzhen The CUHK SZ brings the global perspective and academic excellence to the city Shenzhen – China’s rapidly-growing innovation and tech hub.

White Square, G54 exhibition center, Nanjing Design: MINGGU DESIGN photograph : Xia Zhi White Square, G54 exhibition center White Square, located at No.99 Yunxi road, the central area of Nanjing airport city. With the construction development of new airport city, a vast comparative maturity residential area has been built.

Gongshu Intelligence Valley’s Eye, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Interior design: E+LAB photograph : Schran Images – Su shengliang Gongshu Intelligence Valley’s Eye Hangzhou The Eye of Intelligence Valley is the exhibition center in the intelligence valley town in Hangzhou. It is a multi-functional public building for culture display, investment attraction, office meeting, recreation and etc. The design philosophy starts with the geometric relation of ‘round sky and square earth’.

Sunac · Grand Milestone Modern Art Center, Xi’an City Interior design: Cheng Chung Design (HK) photo © Qilin Zhang Sunac · Grand Milestone Modern Art Center in Xi’an Erecting in the magnificent ancient capital Xi’an with a modern and stylish gesture, Sunac · Grand Milestone Modern Art Center appears like a large crystal “gift box”, which brings amazing fashionable touches to the land featuring a long history and profound culture. It aims to become a city landmark, and to lead the trend of the era.

Shou County Culture and Art Center, Anhui Architects: Studio Zhu-Pei photograph : Schran Images Shou County Culture and Art Center Shou County is located in the center of Anhui Province, on the south bank of Huai River. In ancient times, it was the home of the Chu culture and where Liu An, King of Huainan, edited a compendium of ancient Chinese philosophy and composed poetry.

National Maritime Museum, Tianjin, north east China Design: Cox Architecture photograph : Terrence Zhang National Maritime Museum of China in Tianjin Major new cultural landmark for China takes its place on the Global stage China’s first National Maritime Museum has now commenced formal operation, the culmination of a 6-year process which began with an international design competition, followed by an intensive design and construction process.

COSTA RICA

Santiago Hills Villa Santa Teresa, Costa Rica Architects: Studio Saxe photograph : Andres Garcia Lachner Santiago Hills Villa in Santa Teresa This stunning wing-like roofline houses a dramatic white villa in the Costa Rica jungle.

DUBAI

The Opus, Dubai, UAE Design: Zaha Hadid Architects photograph : Laurian Ghinitoiu The Opus Hotel in Dubai Home to the new ME Dubai hotel, The Opus is located in the Burj Khalifa district adjacent to Downtown Dubai and Business Bay on the Dubai Water Canal.

FRANCE

Belaroia Hotel and Apartments, Montpellier, France Design: Manuelle Gautrand Architecture photo © Luc Boegly Belaroia Hotel and Apartments in Montpellier Belaroia Hotel and Apartments is an important project for the City of Montpellier and its development agency, the SERM, as it holds a strategic position between the city’s hyper-centre, characterised by its escutcheon form in plan, and new surrounding districts that have appeared in succession.

MEETT Exhibition and Convention Centre, Toulouse, southern France Design: OMA photograph : Marco Cappelletti, Courtesy of OMA MEETT Exhibition and Convention Centre MEETT, Toulouse’s new Exhibition and Convention Centre designed by OMA / Chris van Duijn, has been completed, becoming the third largest parc des expositions in France outside of Paris.The 155,000 sqm project incorporates exhibition halls, a convention centre, a multi-function event hall, a car park silo for 3,000 cars and a transportation hub with a new tram station.

GREECE

Two Summer Houses in Andros, northern Greek Cyclades archipelago Design: Praxitelis Kondylis Architects image from architecture office Summer Houses in Andros Nestled among Andros’ wild mountains, fecund valleys and waterfalls, this complex consists of two detached houses covering around 600m2 in land of 9200m2. Modern and rigorous, the design bears clear lines and is organically linked to the natural landscape of Andros.

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF

Hankook Technoplex, Pangyo, outskirts of Seoul Design: Foster + Partners photo : TIME OF BLUE Hankook Technoplex in Pangyo The new building embraces several themes that are symbolic of Hankook’s desire to create a dynamic office environment that supports flexible working styles, as the company looks towards the future.

Galleria Department Store, Gwanggyo Design: OMA Photography by Hong Sung Jun, courtesy of OMA Galleria Department Store in Gwanggyo The Galleria is Korea’s first and largest upscale department store franchise founded in the 1970s, and has remained at the forefront of the premium retail market in the country since then.

MADRID

REE Campus, Madrid, Spain Architects: IDOM photo : Aitor Ortiz REE Campus Red Eléctrica de España has commissioned IDOM for the comprehensive rehabilitation of two buildings in the Tres Cantos Technology Park (Madrid). The action includes a comprehensive adaptation to the new training and technological needs of the company, modernizing the set of buildings through an envelope that enables compliance with energy efficiency requirements.

MANCHESTER

The Oglesby Centre, Manchester, England, UK Architects: Stephenson Studio photos : Daniel Hopkinson Architectural Photography Extension to Hallé St. Peter’s, Ancoats The new extension, The Oglesby Centre, is conceived as a classically proportioned modernist metaphor of the existing proportions of St Peter’s massing.

MEXICO

Solaz Los Cabos Hotel, San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico Design: Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos photograph : Rafael Gamo Solaz Los Cabos Hotel in San José del Cabo The extraordinary natural surroundings of the peninsula of Baja California with its semi-desert landscape provides an ideal selected context for the construction of a new landmark hotel for the country.

MILAN

MEET Digital Arts Center, Milan, Italy Design: CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota photograph : Michele Nastasi MEET Digital Arts Center CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota unveil MEET – Milan’s center for digital culture and creative technology. Occupying a newly renovated historic palazzo, the building revolves around a 15-meter-high vertical plaza. The design investigates how physical space can foster serendipity and unexpected connections between people in a digital world. MEET will open to the public on October 31st, 2020.

MONTREAL

Caffettiera Caffé Bar, Montréal, Québec, Canada Design: Ménard Dworkind Architecture & Design – MRDK photo © David Dworkind Caffettiera Montréal Caffé Bar In Italy, going to the coffee bar is not just about the coffee. It’s about taking a break from the day, meeting up with friends or taking the time to contemplate life. Caffettiera Caffé Bar aims to bring that culture to North America at its 745-square-foot commercial space in the heart of downtown Montreal.

MOSCOW

n.n. – Residence, beside the River Moskva near Moscow, Russia Design: J. MAYER H. und Partner, Architekten mbB, with Alexander Erman architecture & design photo : Ilya Ivanov n.n. – Residence near Moscow n.n. represents a spatial exploration between concealment and exposure. This layered topography blurs the line separating landscape and construction. It is the private residence of a family in a rural area along the River Moskva.

NEW YORK

111 West 57th Street, Manhattan, NYC Design: ShoP Architects photograph courtesy of 111 West 57th Street A design tour de force embraces the classic New York skyscraper and artisan tradition and thoughtfully restores the cultural landmark Steinway Hall. A bold yet graceful residential tower that soars perfectly centered over Central Park in Midtown Manhattan.

PARIS

Public Condenser, Ile-de-France, France Design: Muoto Architects photograph : Maxime Delvaux Public Condenser in Gif-sur-Yvette, Paris-Saclay The project is a public facility, situated on the new campus of Paris-Saclay. The building hosts a mix of activities including indoor and outdoor sports facilities, a restaurant, cafeteria, and various public spaces: a pedestrian square, street terraces, park areas for deliveries, bikes and cars.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA

North Perth House, Perth, Western Australia Design: Architect Nic Brunsdon photo : Ben Hosking North Perth House The North Perth House is an urban-infill project in inner-city Perth. Located on a small block, the design responds by providing a variety of spaces, determined by a simple structural arrangement.

PRAGUE

Five, Smíchov, Prague, Czech Republic Design: QARTA ARCHITEKTURA photo : BoysPlayNice Five Smíchov “History meets future”, declares the fitting motto chosen for the project Five, located in Prague 5 – Smíchov. A tram depot building occupied the project site, but that could have been called a relic even when it was built. While forming an important endpoint in the city transport system, complicated access had been its disadvantage right from the beginning.

QATAR

Doha Metro Network, Doha, Qatar Architects: UNStudio Interior Msheireb (interchange) Station. photo © Hufton+Crow Doha Metro Network Stations With the Doha Metro, Qatar Railways has created one of the most advanced and fastest driverless metro systems in the world. Phase one of the project involved the construction of three metro lines (Red, Green and Gold), with 37 stations currently having been completed.

ROTTERDAM

Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Design: MVRDV, architects Aerial photograph of Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen © Ossip van Duivenbode Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the first publicly accessible art depot in the world designed by MVRDV, has completed construction. Located in Rotterdam’s Museumpark, the depot features a new type of experience for museum visitors: a sturdy engine room where the complete collection of 151,000 objects is made accessible to the public.

SAUDI ARABIA

KAPSARC, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Design: Zaha Hadid Architects – ZHA photo : Hufton+Crow King Abdullah Petroleum Studies & Research Centre King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre is a non-profit institution for independent research into policies that contribute to the most effective use of energy to provide social wellbeing across the globe. The 70,000 sqm KAPSARC campus incorporates five buildings.

King Fahad National Library, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Design: Professor Eckhard Gerber – Gerber Architekten photograph : Christian Richter King Fahad National Library Riyadh The King Fahad National Library, one of the most important cultural buildings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was completed and went into use for its intended purpose in 2015. This project sees Professor Eckhard Gerber and his Gerber Architekten team accomplishing one of the most important urban development and cultural projects in the capital, Riyadh.

SHANGHAI

Suzhou Financial Center Exhibition Hall, Shanghai, China Architects: Shanghai Riqing Architectural Design Co., Ltd. photograph : Schran Images Suzhou Financial Center Exhibition Hall This architectural project is located in the central section next to Suzhou Canal, where there is a grand canal view in the distance and urban trunk road in close proximity. The architects explore inherent logic of local cultural form and language and apply them to the design to stimulate the vitality of surrounding open space and make it the city parlor for residents.

Ports 1961, Shanghai, China Architects: UUfie photo : Shengliang Su Ports 1961 Flagship Store Located at a major high-end commercial district at the intersection of Changde Road and Nanjing West Road, a new façade is created for the flagship store of fashion house Ports 1961.

SINGAPORE

Apple Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Design: Foster + Partners photo : Finbarr Fallon Apple Marina Bay Sands A new distinctive 30-metre-diameter structure is a fully glazed dome with a black glass base, complementing the sister pavilions through its scale and materiality.

SPAIN

House Of The Sun, Marbella, Costa del Sol, Andalucia, Southern Spain Design: Fran Silvestre Arquitectos image from Fran Silvestre Arquitectos House Of The Sun in Marbella Fran Silvestre Arquitectos have always been fascinated by the work of Andreu Alfaro “The door of the Universe” made in 1983. A circle rotated and suspended over a square.

House Of The Silence, Valencia, eastern Spain Design: Fran Silvestre Arquitectos photo : Fernando Guerra, FG + SG House Of The Silence, Valencia The House Of The Silence project consists of making a musician’s studio coexist with his home. It is located in a residential area near Valencia, where neighboring houses are very close to each other.

SWITZERLAND

Kunsthaus Zürich, Switzerland Design: David Chipperfield Architects Berlin photograph : Noshe Kunsthaus Zürich Building After twelve years of planning and construction, the extension for the Kunsthaus Zürich is now complete. On 11 December 2020, the keys to the new building were handed over to its future user in an online ceremony. The house will open to the public in October 2021.

SYDNEY

The Waterfront Retreat, Newport, New South Wales, Australia Architecture: Koichi Takada Architects photo : Tom Ferguson Photography The Waterfront Retreat Newport, NSW The Waterfront Retreat is the epitome of an Australian dream home, adorned with a private beach, garden and open-plan living. Responding the clients’ brief – a house offering sanctuary and entertainment, the Waterfront Retreat is designed to allow nature to lead, offering maximum seclusion and connection to its surrounds and outlook.

THAILAND

Apple Central World, Bangkok, Thailand Design: Foster + Partners with Architects 49 Ltd. photograph © Apple Apple Central World Bangkok Apple Central World in Bangkok welcomed its first visitors. Located in one of the city’s iconic urban centers, the new store establishes a quiet sculptural presence at the heart of the bustling Central World Square on the intersection of Rama I and Ratchadamri roads.

TAIWAN

Lè Architecture, Taipei, Taiwan Architects: Aedas photo courtesy of architects Lè Architecture in Taipei Designed by Global Design Principal Dr Andy Wen, Lè Architecture in the Nangang district of Taipei redefines Taipei’s rapidly developing skyline. Its design drew inspiration from the shape of the river pebbles along the Keelung River, developing a unique aesthetic concept that conveys the idea of roundness and elegance, as well as strength and character.

VIETNAM

EcoKid Kindergarten, Vinh, near Hanoi, Vietnam Architects: LAVA with Module K and Viet Décor photo : Hiroyuki Oki EcoKid Kindergarten Vinh, Vietnam The design of a new eco-kindergarten by LAVA with Module K and Viet Décor features spaces encouraging curiosity, activity-based learning and interaction with nature for the next generation of Vietnamese children.

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A further selection of buildings around the world:

Buildings of 2020

Architecture Awards

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Key Architectural Links

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Architecture of 2011

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[mrmrswales]

A speech delivered by The Duke of Cambridge at a reception hosted by the British High Commissioner to Pakistan

Assalam O Alaikum. Thank you Tom for that kind introduction.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is our great pleasure to join you here this evening on our first official visit to Pakistan.

Already, Catherine and I have been honoured by the hospitality you have shown us, and we have certainly managed to make our way through a record breaking amount of food so generously offered by our hosts….

I would like to begin by saying bahut shukria to you all for making us so welcome in your country.

Stood here with this magnificent monument behind me, I am struck by the great strides Pakistan has made since its birth seventy-two years ago.

The view from this hill would have been quite different when my grandmother, The Queen, first visited over half a century ago.

Looking out, one would have seen the beginnings of a city under construction, yet to become the great capital that it is today.

And with successive visits by my mother and my father, this view has continued to change, with the city constantly growing and with it my family’s affection for Pakistan.

This is the world’s sixth largest country by population. It has an unbelievably diverse geography that spans deserts to glaciers and everything in between. It is the birth place of the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner. And I am told that it hosts not just the second highest mountain in the world, but also its highest cash machine!

It is also home to one of the youngest populations in the world, with an average age of just 24 – almost half that of the UK.

In a public school not far from where we gather this evening, Catherine and I saw young children learning and playing, aided by an inspiring teacher, trained through the Teach for Pakistan programme. 

We spoke with ambitious young women finishing their schooling and planning for university and work. As Muhammed Ali Jinnah said, “No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men”.

It was good to hear from President Alvi and Prime Minster Khan, earlier today that education will continue to be an important priority for Pakistan.

We also saw the brilliant work taking place in the Margalla Hills, where young children were being taught the importance of protecting and caring for the world around them.

The education of Pakistan’s next generation will be the key that turns the country’s growing population into an engine of growth and helps unlock this country’s enormous potential. A rapidly growing population presents you with an enormous opportunity, but also significant challenge.

The UK and Pakistan share unique bonds and so it will always be in our best interests for you to succeed. Not least because of the 1.5 million people living in the UK with Pakistani origin and the fact that the UK is one of the biggest investors in your economy.

You can rely on us to keep playing an important role as a key partner and your friend.

Delivering a future where Pakistan’s great potential can be realised will not be easy or without sacrifice.

For a country so young, Pakistan has endured many hardships, with countless lives lost to terror and hatred. Tonight I want to pay tribute to all those who have endured such sacrifice and helped to build the country that we see today.

Whether in Pakistan or the UK or elsewhere on our planet – we face shared global challenges. The effects of climate change threaten the present and the future – and therefore demand a concerted effort by everyone.

In Pakistan, your spectacular glaciers – and those of the wider Hindu Kush-Himalaya region – serve as a critical water store for a quarter of a billion people; and over 1.6 billion people rely on the great rivers that flow from the mountains in this part of the world.

Yet, because the effects of global warming at altitude, a one and a half degree Celsius temperature increase overall could mean warming of over two degrees Celsius for northern Pakistan’s highest mountains.

This could lead to a loss of over a third of these vital glaciers in less than a century, with enormous impacts not only on the availability of water, but on agriculture and hydropower generation.

Tomorrow we will be seeing some of these impacts first hand and meeting some of the communities adjusting to the new realities and new challenges that climate change has brought to their towns and villages. I hope to learn what more we all can do to help prevent and mitigate this impending global catastrophe.

Ladies and gentlemen, given the scale and complexities of the challenges that future generations will face, it is clear that we all need to work together. And whether it’s this generation or the next, I know that the UK and Pakistan will continue to exemplify the very best in international cooperation.

Yes, the challenges ahead are great. But we cannot be daunted, nor distracted. Instead we should draw strength from our shared bonds and heed the words of Muhammed Ali Jinnah as we do so, “My message to you all” he said “is of hope, courage, and confidence”.

Thank you.

[anjumkhanna]

Anjum Khanna - Top 10 best places to visit in USA

I'm Anjum Khanna from India and I will share with you my best places in the USA where I visited. Pleasing Planet's movement specialists have scoured the States to present to you our main 10 underestimated, restored and incredible spots to visit in 2020. From normal marvels to enrapturing coastlines and exceptional urban areas, these objections guarantee enormous things this year.

1. California’s Redwood Coast

Lose all track of time (and cell signal) along California's Redwood Coast. Film buffs may perceive the district's scene-taking sceneries from Hollywood blockbusters like Jurassic Park, E.T. furthermore, Star Wars. In any case, the full marvel of California's 2000-year-old redwoods – some arriving at 20 stories high – is difficult to catch on any screen. Gaze toward the woodland shelter: that last 100ft of redwood development marks a long time since Redwood National Park was built up in California's tree-embracing win over logging. What's more, this year, in the festivity of their 100th commemoration, Save the Redwoods League is without offering passage to more than 40 redwood state stops each second Saturday of every month.

In 2020, another sort of greenery has been standing out as truly newsworthy as California presents the state-wide legitimization of pot. However, the draws of the Redwood Coast far outperform changes in this industry, welcoming explorers to accomplish a definitive California smooth with its peculiar shops, brewpubs, espresso roasters and calm cheerful hours.

2. Boise, Idaho 

Home to a lively expressions network, a blast of grant winning wineries and specialty bottling works and a socially dependable shopping locale, Boise is what cool resembles before the remainder of the world has made sense of it. Fun celebrations have large amounts of Idaho's capital from downtown's Treefort Music Festival (hailed as the new option in contrast to SXSW) to the Boise Brew Olympics and Punk in Drublic – a lovely marriage of underground rock and specialty lager. 

Being in closeness to an abundance of characteristic wealth, metropolitan experiences effectively progress into outside departures. Wander through the Boise River Greenbelt, a 25-mile park in the core of the city, or head into the encompassing mountains and lower regions for climbing, mountain biking, skiing and stream boating.

3. Chattanooga, Tennessee

When minimal in excess of a refueling break among Atlanta and Nashville, the nature-driven 'Noog has changed itself into a stronghold of raised Southern living. Outside lovers rush to Chattanooga for the absolute best stone moving in the nation, bunch climbing and mountain biking trails and wild rides on the Ocoee River – one of America's best positions for whitewater boating. 

Foodies, hopheads and nerds aren't a long ways behind, either. Chattanooga's revived midtown – focused on the $20-million makeover of the city's unique train station into a multi-reason nightlife and diversion objective (counting a top notch guitar historical center) – is overflowing with journey commendable New Southern food, refreshing distilleries and nerd satisfying web speeds. Meet the New South!

4. Florida’s Space Coast

Space the travel industry is a rising star, with 2018 set to check the dispatch of the world's first lunar the travel industry departure from SpaceX. Try not to need to lose your life reserve funds down a dark gap? Visit the following best thing, Florida's Space Coast: home to the Kennedy Space Center and the setting for innumerable notable dispatches including Apollo 8 – the world's previously monitored rocket to circle the moon – which praises a long time since launch in 2020. 

View satellite dispatches from Cape Canaveral and Titusville or visit the new ATX (Astronaut Training Experience) at the Kennedy Space Center, where wannabe space travelers can go on a mimicked mission to Mars. Proceed your amazing experiences with an evening time kayak in the bioluminescent waters around Merritt Island and watch settling ocean turtles on an eco-accommodating visit.

5. Cincinnati, Ohio Set among steep slopes with the scaffold throne Ohio River swashing its edge, Cincinnati has consistently been a looker. Presently brew, expressions and clever neighborhood advancement are giving it some strut. The new Brewing Heritage Trail recounts the larger story: how Cincy was a main maker through the last part of the 1800s, its residents swallowing 2.5 occasions the public normal. Today Rhinegeist and other present day lager producers have assumed control over the relinquished distilleries, a considerable lot of which are walkable in Over-the-Rhine, an old German neighborhood of lavish block structures, new restaurants and crazy shops. 

2020 invites another section for the city's creative symbols as the Music Hall commends its 140th birthday celebration subsequent to going through enormous redesigns, and the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company subsides into their new powerful exhibition space.

6. Midcoast, Maine

Single word says everything: 'Ayuh'. What could be compared to 'mm-hm', it's Mainers' typically eccentric and unassuming go-to answer. Is it valid, you solicit, that about 90% of Maine is forested (the most noteworthy level of any state), making it ideal for experience exercises and getting away from traveler swarms? Ayuh. Also, what about Midcoast Maine's wonderful sea exhibition halls and detonating foodie scene of art bottling works, neighborhood grape plantations and gourmet ranch-to-table cafés? It's not the tranquil woodlands it used to be. Ayuh. Indeed, 2018 will check the area's 70th Maine Lobster Festival and a transitioning as an inexorably energizing social focus of elite workmanship historical centers and exhibitions, isn't that so? Ayuh.

7. Richmond, Virginia

River City has flipped from modest to occurring, however the 'hello you all' friendliness remains. Scott's Addition, when an abrasive assembling region, drones with microbreweries, cideries and buzzworthy cafés, while the James River baits swashbucklers with whitewater rapids in addition to another 52-mile bicycle trail along its banks. 

Creative features incorporate midtown's splendid wall paintings, the eccentric Quirk Hotel (highlighting interesting plan components and its own craft display) and imaginative transitory shows at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The American Civil War Museum – an ongoing solidification of three separate Civil War locales – investigates Richmond's function as the capital of the Confederacy. One consistent? Patrick Henry requested freedom or demise at reenactments each Sunday in summer at St John's Church.

8. Kentucky Bourbon Country The territory of Kentucky is known for its moving slopes finished off with masterful pony cultivates, its wild commitment to school ball and, above all, its whiskey. The state's refining legacy runs profound, and those searching for a taste should make a beeline for Kentucky Bourbon Country, the brilliant triangle between Louisville, Lexington and Elizabethtown where this prepared soul becomes animated. You'll locate a luring organization of the nation's most notable refineries and first class eateries with whiskey motivated menus. 

Yet, this industry isn't so saturated with custom that it overlooks progress – create distillers are opening their entryways, long dead whiskey locale are being rejuvenated, and in 2020 the Frazier Museum will be named the official beginning stage of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

9. Minneapolis, Minnesota

In spite of arriving on arrangements of 'generally moderate' and 'generally reasonable' urban areas – and in a state positioned the USA's most joyful – Minneapolis appears to be a piece overlooked. In any case, after its chance at the center of attention during the current year's Super Bowl, that could very well change. The city endeavored to tidy up for the large occasion, specifically with redesigns to downtown's primary avenue Nicollet Mall presenting awesome light highlights, craftsmanship establishments and creative social spaces. 

The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden likewise got a redo, with 18 new works by well known chiselers. Furthermore, Target Center, the city's NBA and WNBA field, got a fan-accommodating $145 million makeover. In the interim, new boutique inns and present day ranch to-table cafés (hefty on neighborhood fixings) are springing up with cool verve.

10. Southeastern Utah Arches National Park's colorful sandstone ranges. Island in the Sky's Colorado River-cut vistas. Landmark Valley's sky-puncturing towers. Southeast Utah's significant milestones have been firm top picks among voyagers for quite a long time. As of late, nonetheless, lesser-realized territorial destinations like the forested levels of the new Bears Ears National Monument have become hot-button news things because of political tussles in Washington, DC over securing characteristic and social assets. 

This tremendous quarter of the Beehive State holds numerous outstanding outside objections, from the lodging filled experience town of Moab and uncrowded Capitol Reef to the environmental Ancestral Puebloan vestiges of Hovenweep. Water has slashed the desert scene here, cutting the sandstone into alarming structures, for example, the pleasant Natural Bridges and huge Lake Powell. This is a quintessential Americana excursion nation.

Anjum Khanna launched his career as a freelance illustrator, and this started with covers of paperback books where he developed and displayed his penchant for realistic depictions of fantastic scenery. To achieve this, Anjum often used handmade maquettes and posed models for reference.

About Anjum  Khanna

Those who love fantasy tales and dinosaurs would be great admirers of the works of Anjum Khanna. After all, he's the author of the famous book series about dinosaurs coexisting with humans in a fictional setting. 

[insouciantsloth]

Colorado Springs Real Estate - Black Forest Homes

Find your own dream house property in the Colorado Springs real estate area of the Black Forest. This part of the Colorado Springs real estate space is located in northern El Paso County. The Black Prep is a rural area that is situated on approximately 180, 000 acres of land. The area is heavily wooded with mostly Ponderosa Pine trees. Black Forest is actually a mix of older homes and newer homes. The northwestern Black Forest real estate area includes: High Forest Hacienda established 2001-2004, Walden established 1965-2002, Hawk Ridge recognized 1994-2000, Wissler Ranch established 1996-1999, and Elk Creek Ranch established 1980-1993. Home Prices & Descriptions Some of the homes for sale in the Black Forest real estate area are 5 acre house properties. There are mostly ranch style property and 2 story homes. Some of the homes are made to order homes and reflect "country style" living and some of your homes resemble houses that blend into "city living". Many of these Colorado Springs real estate subdivisions include features which includes: multiple decks and fireplaces, slate floors, barns not to mention garages, granite counters, and theater rooms. The smallest sales price for homes in 2008 in the Dark colored Forest is $375, 000. The minimum size Black colored Forest home for sale is 3, 408 finished block feet. The minimum home for sale is 3 sleeping quarters, 3 baths, and a 3 car garage. The average revenues price in 2008 is $650, 000 and is contemplate, 527 finished square feet. The average size home available for purchase is 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, and a 4 van garage. The maximum sales price in this Colorado Springs real estate property area is $925, 000 and is 5, 646 completed square feet. The maximum size home for sale is 5 bedrooms, 5 baths, and a 5 car garage. The newer communities in the Black Forest real estate area will be prestigious High Forest Ranch. The Ranch has traditional custom homes for sale. There are close to 20 different custom builders to choose from. Some of the homes in this Colorado Springs real estate locale are situated on 2 . 5-5 acres of area. Residents in the High Forest Ranch area have group lodge at their disposal for those special occasions. The particular custom homes for sale in this Colorado Springs real estate area utilize the $499, 900-$3. 5 million. Amenities for some of the real estate include: multiple fireplaces, slab granite counter tops, vaulted ceilings, great rooms, family room, master retreats, theater rooms, pool rooms, wine rooms, travertine flooring, outdoor covered units, and wet bars. Many of the Colorado Springs homes for sale in this region have extensive timber and stone features. The Walden real estate area has beautiful custom ranch style properties with lots between approximately 1/2 acre and 1 acre in size. Many of the homes have stucco exteriors and also resemble more of a "city look. " Some of these Co Springs real estate neighborhoods include: custom cabinets, molding plus trim, granite slab kitchen counter tops, hardwood floors, a number of fireplaces, 5 piece master baths, vaulted great room, stucco exteriors, perennial gardens, offices, recreation rooms, game place, formal dining rooms, wood decks with hot tub, walk-out rancher, and gourmet kitchens. Homes for sale in this Colorado Rises real estate area range from the high $200, 000s to just below $600, 000. In the privacy of the pines is the distinguished Hawk Ridge real estate area. Hawk Ridge has homes for sale on approximately 2 . 5 acres or less. Lots of the homes are custom homes with features like: wood floors, walls of windows, multiple fireplaces, French gates, granite kitchen islands, custom cabinets, hand crafted banisters, ponds, walk-out dining area, and large decks. The virginia homes in the Hawk Ridge community range from the approximately the middle of the $500, 000s to 1. 3 million dollars. This part of the Colorado Springs real estate area borders the Black High area. The Wissler Ranch homes for sale range from the mid $400, 000s to $900, 000. Some of the homes have superb living and family rooms, huge open kitchens, large master suites, home theaters, wine cellars, exercise houses, recreation rooms, and 5 piece master baths. A number of the homes are on approximate 3 acre lots. A few of the homes are gorgeous cottage style houses with good old world charm. The homes for sale in this Colorado Springs properties area range from the mid $450, 000s to the mid $800, 000s. The Wissler Ranch community also borders typically the Black Forest area. There are some homes for sale in the Elk Creek community in the low $200, 000s. The homes are found in meadows and in the woods. Most of the homes are actually on five acre lots and are zoned for farm pets. Some of the homes have beautiful mountain views and some are situated in the meadows and have natural streams running through the real estate. Many of the homes include barns, storage sheds, fences for horse, RV parking. There are custom homes in this community. Come across your perfect dream horse property in this Colorado Spgs real estate area. Amenities include: vaulted/beamed ceilings, large pools, fireplaces, skylights, multiple decks, oversized garages, and coated stalls. Schools. The schools of attendance are: Lewis Palmer Elementary School, Ray E. Kilmer Elementary College, Lewis Palmer Middle School, Creekside Middle School, as well as Lewis Palmer High School. The schools are part of the Lewis Palmer School District 38 boundary area. Neighboring Residential areas. The Southwestern portion of the Black Forest is located to florida and contains the Black Forest Regional Park. The Charcoal Forest extends to the east. The Kings Deer, Canterbury, Fox Run, and Cherry Creek Crossing subdivisions will be situated to the west. Commuting. The northwestern Colorado Comes real estate area of Black Forest is located near Highway 83 and County Line Road. It is convenient for travelling to Colorado Springs and Denver. This part of the Ticket Force Academy real estate area is located approximately 30 minutes or perhaps 22 miles from the USAFA main gate and is the possible Colorado Springs military relocation choice. Recreation. Typically the High Forest Ranch community has miles of backpacking trails and open space. It is close to the Tri-lakes realty area. Three lakes and multiple golf courses live in the Tri-lakes area. Shopping is close by in Monument, Castle Rock, Denver and Colorado Springs real estate locales.

[larryland]

Berkshire Waldorf High School Presents "MORE Room for IMPROVment"

Berkshire Waldorf High School Presents “MORE Room for IMPROVment”

Berkshire Waldorf High School will present “MORE Room for IMPROVment,” its third annual original night of comedy, at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 7, at Simon’s Rock’s Daniel Arts Center, in The Liebowitz Studio Theater, 84 Alford Road.

Alison Larkin, Berkshire Waldorf High School, and friends from Monument Mountain Regional High School, Lenox Highand other local schools present a wholly ORIGINAL…

[bountyofbeads]

'National tragedy': Trump begins border wall construction in Unesco reserve

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/12/border-wall-organ-pipe-cactus-arizona?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Post_to_Tumblr

‘National tragedy’: Trump begins border wall construction in Unesco reserve (This is short-sighted and 😔 😭😭😭sad that our government is destroying the environment just to build Trump's vanity project. “They are violating our constitutionally protected rights, and that should terrify everyone,” she said. “Even if you don’t care about butterflies, you should care about this.” 🤬🤬🤬)

Wall will traverse the entirety of the southern edge of the Organ Pipe Cactus national monument, one of the most biologically diverse regions in the US

Samuel Gilbert in Tucson, Arizona | Published Fri 13 Sep 2019 01.00 EDT | The Guardian | Posted September 13 2019 9:40 AM ET |

Construction of a 30ft-high section of Donald Trump’s border barrier has begun in the Organ Pipe Cactus national monument in southern Arizona, a federally protected wilderness area and Unesco-recognized international biosphere reserve.

In the face of protests by environmental groups, the wall will traverse the entirety of the southern edge of the monument. It is part of the 175 miles of barrier expansion along the US-Mexico border being funded by the controversial diversion of $3.6bn from military construction projects.

This will include construction in Texas, New Mexico as well as Arizona where, according to a government court filing, some 44 miles of new barrier construction will pass through three federally protected areas. These are the Organ Pipe wilderness, Cabeza Prieta national wildlife refuge and San Pedro Riparian national conservation area, the location of Arizona’s last free-flowing river.

The Trump administration has deemed the new structures necessary due to a “national emergency” of unauthorized immigration into the US. According to CBP, in the 2019 fiscal year there have been 14,265 apprehensions in the Tucson sector, where the Organ Pipe wall is going up, compared to 51,411 in the nearby Yuma sector of Arizona and over 205,000 in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

Yet Organ Pipe is a contentious setting. “What is being proposed is bulldozing one of the most biologically diverse regions of the entire United States,” said Amanda Munro of the Southwest Environmental Center. “Walling off these precious places would be a colossal mistake and a national tragedy.”

Organ Pipe, located south-west of Tucson, Arizona, is a 330,000 acre wilderness home to mountain lions, javelinas, the endangered pronghorn sheep and “more bird species than can be listed”, according to the National Park Service website. It is also a deeply significant area for the nearby Tohono O’odham nation which has long opposed Trump’s border wall on their ancestral lands.

“This unneeded, expensive blight will use precious water for its construction, cut off wildlife species from their habitat; and its all-night lights will destroy the clear night skies,” said Kevin Dahl of the National Parks Conservation Association.

Much has changed since the 1970s, when Dahl first visited Organ Pipe as a high school ecology student. At that time the border between the US and Mexico was easily and frequently crossed. “National Park rangers would walk across the border and eat lunch,” said Dahl, motioning to a roadside restaurant in Mexico clearly visible behind the vehicle barriers, reminiscent of the Normandy beaches on D-day, that make up a section of the border.

In the decades since, Dahl has witnessed a dramatic increase in border militarization and barrier construction, including miles of fencing, access roads and a surge of border patrol agents. The new construction will replace pedestrian fences and vehicle barriers, which can easily be traversed by animals, with a 30ft tall bollard wall and accompanying infrastructure. There are fears it will impede migration, cut animals off from water supplies and increase flooding.

“They haven’t thought the design through,” said Dan Millis, the Borderlands Campaign coordinator for the Sierra Club. The slotted barriers have frequently trapped debris during rainstorms, including in Organ Pipe in 2008 and 2011, turning the “so-called porous walls a solid dam”, said Millis. There are also plans to pump water from underground aquifers to make concrete.

The impact could be most grievous at the cherished Quitobaquito Springs. This oasis on the border, one of the oldest inhabited places in North America, is home to the only US populations of the endangered Quitobaquito pupfish and Sonoyta turtle.

“It won’t take much to dry them,” said Dahl, standing amid the willows and cottonwoods that surround the spring-fed pond and provide some of the only shade in an otherwise treeless landscape.

“Pumping water out of the desert at Organ Pipe Cactus national monument, on federally protected land, to support this project is a crime against the American spirit and will do lasting damage to a national treasure,” the Arizona congressman Raúl Grijalva said in an email to the Guardian. “Congress has to step in and stop this.”

The government’s ability to build in protected areas along the Mexican border is unique. A 2005 law grants DHS the power to waive any laws “necessary to ensure expeditious construction” of border barriers. It has been used ever since. The Trump administration has waived numerous state and federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Act, to construct barriers in protected areas in every southern border state.

Ongoing litigation by environmental and immigration rights group could halt construction.

Dahl worries it will be too late. Standing near Quitobaquito Springs and looking toward nearby Mexico, he contemplated what is at risk.

“This is one of the true gems of the Sonoran desert,” he said Dahl. “It would be a tragedy if it all was lost for an unnecessary and deadly wall.”

'Death sentence': butterfly sanctuary to be bulldozed for Trump's border wall

More than 200 species make their homes at America’s most diverse sanctuary, but construction through the reserve could begin in February

Samuel Gilbert in Mission, Texas |

Published:04:00 Thu December 13, 2018 | Guardian | Posted September 13, 2019 9:30 AM ET |

On any given day at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas, visitors can to see more than 60 varieties of butterflies. In the spring and fall, monarchs and other species can blanket the center’s 100 acres of subtropical bushlands that extend from the visitor center to to the banks of the Rio Grande river, where their property, and US sovereignty, ends.

“It’s like something from Fantasia,” said the center’s director, Marianna Wright. “When you walk you have to cover your mouth so you don’t suck in a butterfly.”

Today the most diverse butterfly sanctuary in the country, and other protected areas in the lower Rio Grande Valley along the US-Mexico border, are under threat. Last week, the US supreme court issued a ruling allowing the Trump administration to waive 28 federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Act, and begin construction on 33 new miles of border wall in the heart of the valley – and right through the butterfly center.

“Environmental tourism contributes more than $450m to Hidalgo and Starr counties,” said Wright, referring to the adjacent counties in the valley. “Many of the properties people choose to visit to see birds, butterflies and threatened and endangered species are all going to be behind the border wall. For us, the economic impact is potentially catastrophic.”

“Walls have fragmented our habitat,” said Scott Nicol, co-chair of the Sierra Club Borderland team. The various patches of land that provide refuge for these animals will become “less viable, with less and less places for them to go”.

A July letter sent from US Customs and Border Protection to a not-for-profit environmental group and seen by the Guardian describes the route and possible components of the project as including a 30ft-tall concrete and steel wall, roads, and a 150ft “enforcement zone” where all vegetation will be cleared.

With construction of the wall due to begin in February, people like Nicol fear that the barrier will not only destroy habitat and undermine ecotourism but also lead to an increasingly deadly border as undocumented immigrants are pushed further and further into marginal and dangerous areas.

“This is not just that they will drive ocelots to extinction,” said Nicol, referring to the critically  endangered  wild cat found in the Rio Grande Valley. “Families trying to come into this country will be pushed into the desert to die.”

“Border walls are death sentences for wildlife and humans alike,” said Amanda Munro of the Southwest Environmental Center, an organization that works to restore and protect native wildlife and habitats. “They block wild animals from accessing the food, water and mates they need to survive. They weaken genetic diversity, fragment habitat, and trap animals in deadly floods. At the same time, they drive desperate asylum seekers to risk their lives in the unforgiving desert.”

For Donald Trump, the new section of the barrier is making good on a campaign promise to build a “big beautiful wall”. A barrier that will add to the nearly 700 miles of walls and fences that already exist on or near the border.

More than 200 species of resident or migrating butterflies make homes at the butterfly center over the course of the year, including the vibrant Mexican bluewing, the tiny vicroy’s ministreak and the black swallowtail, which carpets the wild dill at the property with its eggs each spring. The center opened in 2003 and is the flagship project of the North American Butterfly Association.

“It’s going to cut right through here,” said Wright, showing where the wall will split the center’s property 1.2 miles from the border and cut off access to nearly 70% of its land.

Trump has expansive federal powers to construct the border wall on both private and public land. Since 2005, the Department of Homeland Security has had the power to waive numerous environmental laws in the name of national security.

And the federal government can, and has, used eminent domain law to acquire privately owned land for public use.

“We fully anticipate that they will seize the land by quick take,” said Wright, referring to a Depression-era provision of the eminent domain law that gives federal agencies the right to take property without compensation or adjudication. “Legal claims are not addressed or settled. You don’t get your day in court. You don’t get to negotiate appraisals or offers. Nothing,” said Wright.

On Tuesday, the president threatened to use defense spending if his plans to build the wall were challenged. “If the Democrats do not give us the votes to secure our Country, the Military will build the remaining sections of the Wall,” Trump said in a tweet.

For Wright, this threat could mean the end of the butterfly center and enormous harm to its dozens of butterfly species and the threatened Texas tortoise, Texas indigo snake, and Texas horned lizard that are also found there.

“It is truly a sight to behold,” said Wright, looking out from the bank of the Rio Grande river.

“They are violating our constitutionally protected rights, and that should terrify everyone,” she said. “Even if you don’t care about butterflies, you should care about this.”

[madamlaydebug]

PROOF, PHYSICAL DATA SUPPORTED BY HISTORICAL TIMELINES..

STOP CALLING ANCIENT KEMET EGYPT! THERE WERE NEVER A SUCH PLACE AS ANCIENT EGYPT! GREEKS NAMED IT EGYPT!

The Black Egyptians--Original Settlers of Kemet

The Black Egyptians are the original settlers of Kmt. "The native Sudanese are one of the original pigmented Arabs in that region. They are members of the same ethnic family with the ancient Egyptians, the Ethiopians, the Southern Arabians, and the primitive inhabitants of Babylon. They are all founders and sustainers of the mighty Nilotic civilization we still admire today. They are very great nation of Blacks, who did rule almost over all Africa and Asia in a very remote era, in fact beyond the reach of history of any of our records.

Egypt is a Greek word meaning “Black.”

bullet The Egyptians of the Bible were Negroid.

bullet The Bible says both Egyptians and Ethiopians are descendants of Ham.

bullet Arabs invaded Egypt in the 7th Century AD; Remember, Egypt wasn't invaded by Rome until 300 BC. The Bible dates 4000 BC.

bullet Therefore, Arabs have no more connection to Ancient Egypt than Europeans have to Ancient America.

bullet Egyptian is an Afro-Asiatic language. (AFRO, AFRO)

bullet The national language of modern day Egypt is Egyptian Arabic, which gradually replaced Coptic. (Coptic--Ethiopia)

bullet

Black Egyptians were eventually mixed with invading Libyans, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Turks, Arabs and Western Europeans. That is where the mixed people of the modern-day Arabs come from.

The following is supporting evidence from The African Origin of Civilization: by: Cheikh Anta Diop

Evidence from Physical Anthropology

The skeletons and skulls of the Ancient Egyptians clearly reflect they were Negroid people with features very similar to those of modern Black Nubians and other people of the Upper Nile and of East Africa.

Melanin Dosage Test

Egyptologist Cheikh Anta Diop invented a method for determining the level of melanin in the skin of human beings. When conducted on Egyptian mummies in the Museum of Man in Paris, this test indicated these remains were of Black people.

Osteological Evidence

"Lepsius canon," which distinguishes the bodily proportions of various racial groups categories the "ideal Egyptian" as "short-armed and of Negroid or Negrito physical type."

Evidence From Blood Types

Diop notes that even after hundreds of years of inter-mixture with foreign invaders, the blood type of modern Egyptians is the "same group B as the populations of western Africa on the Atlantic seaboard and not the A2 Group characteristic of the white race prior to any crossbreeding."

The Egyptians as They Saw Themselves

"The Egyptians had only one term to designate themselves =kmt= the Negroes (literally). This is the strongest term existing in the Pharaonic tongue to indicate blackness; it is accordingly written with a hieroglyph representing a length of wood charred at the end and not crocodile scales," singular. ‘Kmt’ from the adjective =kmt= black; it therefore means strictly Negroes or at the very least black men. The term is a collective noun which thus described the whole people of Pharaonic Egypt as a black people."

Divine Epithets

Diop demonstrates that "black or Negro" is the divine epithet invariably used for the chief beneficent Gods of Egypt, while the evil spirits were depicted as red.

Evidence From the Bible

The Bible states"…[t]he sons of Ham [were] Cush and Mizraim [i.e. Egypt], and Phut, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah and Sabtechah." According to Biblical tradition, Ham, of course, was the father of the Black race. "Generally speaking all Semitic tradition (Jewish and Arab) class ancient Egypt with the countries of the Black."

Cultural unity of Egypt With The Rest of Africa

Through a study of circumcision and totemism. Diop gives detailed data showing cultural unity between Egypt and the rest of Africa.

Linguistic Unity With Southern and Western Africa

In a detailed study of languages, Diop clearly demonstrates that Ancient Egyptian, modern Coptic of Egypt and Walaf of West Africa are related, with the latter two having their origin in the former.

Testimony of Classical Greek and Roman Authors

Virtually all of the early Latin eyewitnesses described the Ancient Egyptians as Black skinned with wooly hair.

After the conquest of Egypt by Alexander, under the Ptolemies, crossbreeding between white Greeks and black Egyptians flourished. "Nowhere was Dionysus more favored, nowhere was he worshiped more adoringly and more elaborately than by the Ptolemies, who recognized his cult as an especially effective means of promoting the assimilation of the conquering Greeks and their fusion with the native Egyptians." {Endnote 15: J. J. Bachofen, Pages choisies par Adrien Turel, "Du Regne de la mere au patriarcat." Paris: F. Alcan, 1938, p. 89.}

These facts prove that if the Egyptian people had originally been white, it might well have remained so. If Herodotus found it still black after so much crossbreeding, it must have been basic black at the start.

Before examining the contradictions circulating in the modern era and resulting from attempts to prove at any price that the Egyptians were Whites, let us note the comments of Count Constantin de Volney (1757-1820). After being imbued with all the prejudices we have just mentioned with regard to the Negro, Volney had gone to Egypt between 1783 and 1785, he reported the Egyptian Race is the very race that had produced the Pharaohs: the Copts (p. 27).

“All have a bloated face, puffed up eyes, flat nose, and thick lips; in a word, the true face of the mulatto. I was tempted to attribute it to the climate, but when I visited the Sphinx; its appearance gave me the key to the riddle. On seeing that head, typically Negro in all its features, I remembered the remarkable passage where Herodotus says: "As for me, I judge the Colchians to be a colony of the Egyptians because, like them, they are black with woolly hair. ..." We can see how their blood, mixed for several centuries with that of the Romans and Greeks, must have lost the intensity of its original color, while retaining nonetheless the imprint of its original mold. We can even state as a general principle that the face is a kind of monument able, in many cases, to attest or shed light on historical evidence on the origins of peoples. {End quote}

When Egypt was invaded by Arabs - Egypt suffered turbulent times when, in 609 AD, the country had sided with Nicetas, a lieutenant of Heraclius, in the rebellion against the emperor Phocas. Only shortly after Heraclius overthrew Phocas, the Byzantines were attacked by the Persians. The armies of the Sasanid King Khosrau II invaded Egypt, inflicting cruel suffering upon its some of its inhabitants. This Persian occupation lasted six years.

Narmer (Menes) The 1st Pharaoh of Egypt

(Fig 5 - Diop Cheikh Anta, The African Origin of Civilization, 1974)

King Aha-Mena-Narmer is known by millions of people by the Greek-distorted "version" of his name: King Menes. Notice the African features from his high chick bones, flat nose and thick lips. The Kufi/Crown upon his head is a sign of royal authority.

King Aha-Mena-Narmer is the founding King of the first Ancient Egyptian dynasty. He also become the first Emperor of Kemet by unifying Upper and Lower Egypt into one imperial federation, along the Nile Valley. From its Central-Eastern Kilimanjaro Mountains sources to the Mediterranean Sea Delta, the Ancient Egyptian Empire gave birth to the world's first civilization.

Since then, the imperial heritage has been carried on, from dynasty to dynasty and from generation to generation. Extensive territory is nothing new to African Kings and Emperors: it is simply a matter of historical, cultural and imperial continuity.

African history and culture trace their roots back to that pharaonic period, the ultimate source of African humanities. The same way the European/Western world traces its history and culture back to Greece and Rome. African human sciences, finally reconciled with its Ancient Egyptian sources, can retrace the entire history of the Nation, step-by-step.

On this immemorial timeline, the enslavement and colonial periods suffered by African people can be considered as little parenthesis. Yet, the terrible impact of colonial bound mis-education and cultural conditioning affects many people, Blacks and Whites alike. Consequently, innocent victims of "schooling" who have lost their historical memories, now find it hard to believe that, Black people actually played the earliest civilizing role in the world. That misleading education has damaged the minds, self-esteem and behavior of many people across racial lines:

"The History of humanity will remain confused as long as as we fail to distinguish between the two early cradles in which nature fashioned the instincts, temperament, habits and ethical concepts of the two subdivisions before they met each other after a long separation, dating back to prehistoric times..."Cheikh Anta Diop

Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop, in his “L’Antiquité Africaine Par L’Image” (Notes Africaines No Special 145) drew two important conclusions:

Humanity born at the latitude of the African Great Lakes, near the Ecuador is by necessity pigmented (black) and African. This is substantiated by Gloger’s Law which states that warm blooded beings are pigmented in hot and humid climates”.

All races are issued from the African race by direct relationships and, the other continents were peopled from Africa at the Homo erectus stage, as well as the Homo sapiens stage, which appeared about 150,000 years ago.

It has been finally proven that, for a time period beginning 5 million years ago up until the glacial thaw (10,000 years ago), Africa almost unilaterally peopled and influenced the rest of the world.

Dr. Leakey, one of the world's most reputable paleo-anthropologist, in his serious work “Progress And Evolution Of Man In Africa”, reminds us that: “The critics of Africa forget that men of science are today satisfied that, Africa was the birthplace of man himself”. Human beings are Africa’s first contribution to humanity.

Advanced research and several studies in prehistory and paleo-anthropology have confirmed the similarities between the original founders of the pharaonic civilization (ancient Nubians, Ethiopians and Egyptians) and the modern day Africans.

Rawlinson concludes in “Origins Of Nations” that: “The authors of Genesis unites together as members of the same ethnic family the Egyptians, the Ethiopians, the Southern Arabians, and the primitive inhabitants of Babylon”.

According to many ancient testimonies, the inhabitants of Sudan, Egypt, Arabia, Palestine, Western Asia and India were Ethiopians, therefore Africans. Back in that era, there were two lands called Ethiopia. Sir Godfrey Higgins (Anacalypsis, vol.1) declared: “One on the east of the Red Sea, and the other on the west of it; and a very great nation of Blacks, from India, did rule almost over all Asia in a very remote era, in fact beyond the reach of history of any of our records”.

Herodotus who was initiated within the Ancient Egyptian mystery system declared that:” The uniform voice of primitive antiquity spoke of the Ethiopians as one single race, dwelling along the shores of the southern ocean, from India to the pillars of Hercules”. (Herodotus, vol.1 book I)

Greece: An Average Student of Ancient Egypt

Dr. Theophile Obenga, in this magisterial book "African Philosophy in World History" (Obenga,1998), successfully challenges and neutralizes the Hegelian philosophy of history, continuing in the footsteps of Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop, his mentor. Hegel alienated the Caucasian mind by stating with ignorance that "Africa has no history". That mis-education of the Caucasians led to arrogance with an unfounded racial superiority belief system.

The seven liberal arts and sciences, which are grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy, come out of Africa. Therefore, to the Ancient Egyptians, and neither to the Greeks, nor to the Romans, are we indebted for the present body of human knowledge. Greece and Rome were average students in Ancient Egypt. Considered foreigners and childish, Greek students were unable to access a complete initiation and induction within the Ancient Egyptian Mystery System.

[shotfromguns]

Good, long thread by @TheMittani on Twitter on “neoconfederacy” in the South:

if you ever wonder why i got politically 'radicalized' it's because i grew up in alabama as an atheist child of two biochemistry professors; at 17 i graduated and moved away forever. reminder: Alabama came within 1.7% of sending a known pedo to the senate~

any '13th dimensional chess' tweets about how the AL leg composed this abortion ban to provoke a court fight has never met an actual neoconfederate this is what they want 100%, it's a white supremacist aristo fertility cult and all the moves make sense when understood that way

source: i have been to an unironic country club debutante ball in dear old mountain brook and folks have no idea how much intergenerational wealth transfer has carried over from the days of slavery in that society's upper class

for context, when i was in high school there were three country clubs, maybe 20k citizens, and zero black students; every street is named after a civil war battle, and 'houses' there would be called mansions anywhere else

best public schools in the state though~

folks have no clue how rich and well-educated the ruling class in alabama is, going to mountain brook means if you don't get into one of the better ivys you're probably a bitter slacker like me legislation like this isn't from stupid hicks, it's the goal

southern aristos can be incredibly intelligent and well-traveled and are all the more dangerous politically because they are happy to play dumb in public with the aw-shucks jesus loving hick routine in order to quietly run an antebellum society and pit poor whites against blacks

it's almost comically effective, I do this stuff all the time in Eve - say laughably wrong things, act like a fool, and then it's much easier to outmaneuver people. The most dangerous enemy is one who is comfortable with being publicly underestimated.

I mean to say, 'ha ha eat my ass look at me I'm so great at spaceship games', please interpret my above tweet as evidence of hubris and ignorance rather than giving up an actual tactic I've employed so often it's been nicknamed the 'tee hee, flounce flounce' by my chief of staff

'I'm the fucking Mittani, I know everything in this game,' another good one wearing red shirts? stupid gimmick, keep doing it because it's a stupid gimmick, it's far better for our competitors/enemies to see me as a joke luv2club? tee hee, flounce flounce, same shit

anyhoo yeah it's the same dance, play god-fearing jesus lover to keep the poor whites on your side, maintain that patriarchy with the complicity of ruling class women who enjoy the economic benefits of neoconfederacy, and live over the mountain so no one spots all the lexuses

it's interesting to see the term neoconfederate finally get some use but it implies that there isn't already an actual working confederate states of america right in front of everyone's eyes that's been there since reconstruction, none of that shit is an accident

if you put 'hail hydra' on statues in every town in the region you don't have to bother saying 'hail hydra' or announce in print that you're down with hydra, everyone who lives there gets it

the issue is not being part of a traitorous conspiracy against the united states government (i mean hydra, not the neoconfederacy, ha ha!) the problem comes when you state it where those not in on it can hear you. Viz: ”Alabama newspaper editor calls for Klan return to ‘clean out D.C.’”

i kind of like the hydra analogy for the neoconfederacy, because all this shit - 'states rights', 'pro-life', 'voter fraud', these disparate causes are actually all the same cause: the ~lost~ cause

southern politics makes a lot more sense when viewed through the lens of pro/anti-confederacy politics; confederate society is based upon a ruling gentry descended from the cavaliers see generally https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albion%27s_Seed actual /aristos/ not merely rich people

so basically you have an entrenched aristocracy that traces their lineage back 10+ generations running a plantation society and fighting like fucking hell to maintain that privilege, privilege most people in the usa cannot even begin to imagine

generic usa high ~net worth individuals~ have nothing on the cunning and unity maintained by ancient proud cavalier aristocratic families in the south with shitloads of money who will do anything to protect the universe they and their forefathers have created (via slavery)

the whole 'the south will rise again' thing is a huge joke because the structure of the society immediately returned to functional slavery as soon as it could get away with it, the south already 'rose' after reconstruction, it's right in fucking the open

if they get away with the abortion thing, they'll gun for brown v board next; these people remember life before MLK and they have not forgotten or forgiven the civil rights movement those behind this aren't hicks, they very smart confederates acting like hicks to fool you.

many old privileged families come with a legacy and a purpose imposed on you from birth it's not a stretch of the imagination that the quest of a lot of these old aristo families is to restore the society to antebellum life and get their privileges (slavery) back

the civil war was only a few generations ago, these families have not forgotten and they have not let their children forget the monuments, the street named for war battles, that's why it matters still to them

southern aristos are pro-life because the whole point of the society is the poor whites fight the poor blacks, and restricting abortion = more labor and poverty to exploit by the gentry the goal of their flavor of white supremacy is about getting rich off slaves, not death camps

not that they have a problem with a death camp or three, it's difficult to communicate how utterly disposable the lives of people outside of their class are, this is a society whose rulers believe that god has anointed them to rule over their lessers

its not rocket science, you take a slaveholding landed gentry and take away their slaves and land (good!) that gentry is going to spend its time fanatically scheming to get its land and slaves back (bad, what we see in southern politics)

anyhoo what i'm saying is that this isn't about random kooks trying to put women 'in their place' (there's a bunch of them too, useful idiots) but part of a broad campaign across generations by a dispossessed cavalier nobility to get all their lost privileges (slavery) back

conveniently the rest of america doesn't have much of an entrenched aristo/gentry culture anymore so the maneuvers of the 'neo' confederates just look like random right wing lashing out rather than a deliberate series of moves to benefit the southern aristocracy

the reality of the modern confederacy reminds me a lot of 'The City and the City' in that it's clearly visible to those raised within it, yet its contour is completely alien to outsiders who don't know how to 'see' it the 'right' way.

shit like Roy Moore being a pedo but coming within 1.7% of winning a senate seat makes a buttload more sense than 'alabama voters will send anything not a democrat', Moore is a proud and loud confederate and Doug Jones is anti-confederate it's the confederacy - always.

Pro-life? Confederacy. State's Rights? Confederacy. Gun rights? Confederacy. Religious Freedom/Gay Cake Stuff? Confederacy. Anti-union? Confederacy. If you're a Cavalier or one of their foremen, it all fits~ 

Robert Caro basically spelled out in intricate detail how the confederacy works in his LBJ bios but particularly Master of the Senate, read these if you want a primer on actual power and its uses: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Years_of_Lyndon_Johnson

when LBJ shifted to supporting voting rights, the confederacy simply switched its support from the democrats to the republicans. it's a real thing and its moves make perfect sense once you grok the core motivations of the southern gentry and their henchmen~

you see this repeatedly through history where one side stops fighting after a victory and the other side loses but keeps trying to find ways to win, the Union torched the south and moved on, but the confederacy has /never stopped fighting/ using whatever means they have available

tl;dr "it's the confederacy, stupid" also explains those crazy 'obama is the antichrist' memes; if you're a confederate, a black president existing is against everything your flavor of pro-slavery jesus stands for

None of this thread really applies to Texas. I was born in Houston, moved to AL at 10; completely different culture in Texas. Going to rodeos, oil/cattle, science, ranching. When I say the 'South' I'm talking about the plantation society of the Cavaliers.

As a quick example of using the Lost Cause to understand Cavalier political behavior, Lindsey Graham's 'hypocrisy' makes perfect sense. He doesn't give a shit about spewing nonsense or lying to Yankees, all he cares about is Dixie. He's not dumb at all; the Union is his enemy.

Expanded May 17, 2019:

oh yeah and Mitch McConnell was born and raised in Alabama and then Georgia from 8yrs on, so heyoooo

look up how long jeff sessions family has been naming their kids after jefferson davis on his bio dixie is real; it's the confederacy, the political moves the cavaliers and their overseers are making on behalf of the lost cause as plain as day if you know what to look for

just gonna spend Friday night reading Albion’s seed to learn more fun ~cavalierfacts~ like how their royalist gentry is literally all one big interrelated family and coordinates retribution and uses debt to control the poor

“It is difficult to think of any ruling elite that has been more closely interrelated since the Ptolemies” holy lawl (it is a history insult as he’s basically calling the cavaliers a nest of outright incest, the Ptolemaic dynasty was Targaryen-style sibling marriage)

Hey guess what turns out the control of women is deeply ingrained in cavalier society because uh... kidnapping / human trafficking / sexual slavery and a massively skewed male to female ratio lovely people, these confederates

“These patterns did not develop by chance. Virginia’s great migration was the product of policy and social planning. Its royalist elite succeeded in shaping the social history of an American region partly by regulating the process of migration” (p 232) fucking hell it’s all here

May 22, 2019:

by req: another ‘understanding the confederacy’ thing, all the protest tweets saying “the cruelty is the point” are wrong, the point is opportunities for race-based policing (a la weed), disenfranchisement, reinforcing patriarchy, and more labor/babies to exploit + compliance

sure there’s a bunch of cruelty in there too but the whole thing is a means to the ends of rolling back the civil rights movement and restoring the structure of Dixie as the gentry/cavaliers prefer; the confederates may be slavers at heart but they’re not cartoon villains

(they're way worse)

In case I get hit by a bus, I currently think the concept of hegemonic liberty is the most misunderstood aspect of the cavalier mindset, so here’s three key pages from Albion’s Seed~

And the cavalier conception of condescension and deference as two sides of God’s hierarchy and order is a fracture point, that’s why incivility towards one’s ‘betters’ is so provocative - milkshakes would probably work over here, too

Also by hiding and lying about the existence of Dixie, they fragment their opposition into issue-based groups - pro-choice, gun control, voters rights, anti-racism - instead of each opposition group recognizing that they are fighting the same confederate foe

Not like they really hid that much, they had confederate flags flying over their capitols ever since the Civil War until recently, but the Union won the war and moved on, so folks think they’re fighting random bigots and not the CSA

May 23, 2019:

the lack of a concerted effort by the democratic party to win and develop victories in the south has allowed the bulwark of the RNC power to be unchallenged, if you erode the Dixie Wall in the Senate the republicans pretty much lose all their functional power

as the DNC is incompetent one doesn't need to rely upon them, state by state in Dixie voting rights and organization must be pushed to undermine the structure of confederate power, that's the fracture point, that and forcing their true nature as confederates into the open

I'll develop all this crap into more useful tactics on the upcoming blog thing but this is all just-in-case 'yo guys, if I get hit by a bus, take Albion's Seed, drive through Mountain Brook for proof of everything I'm saying (crestline doesn't count lawl) go fight hydra'

as someone will inevitably discover not EVERY street in Mountain Brook is named for civil war battles (there's a lot), the really old money lives on streets named for old british estates/towns + they're episcopalians (anglican 2.0) not baptists, of course

[lovev3nus-blog]

Moving To Bismarck North Dakota 

The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through the area in 1804–05. In 1872 Camp Greeley (later Camp Hancock; now a state historic site), a military post, was established there to protect crews working on the Northern Pacific Railway. Bismarck was founded in 1872 and was originally named Edwinton in honor of Edwin L. Johnson, who was a proponent of a transcontinental railway. In 1873 the city was renamed in honor of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck in the hope of attracting German investment in the railway. That year the railway arrived and contributed greatly to the community’s growth. With the discovery of gold (1874) in the Black Hills (to the southwest, now in South Dakota), Bismarck became an outfitting center for prospectors.

On July 17, 1873, Bismarck was named in honor of Germany's Iron Chancellor” Prince Baron Otto Eduard Leopold Von Bismarck-Schoenhausen, a famous German statesman from Prussia, credited with the creation of the German Empire and serving as her first chancellor.

The early days of Bismarck were turbulent and lawless, earning such reputations as the “Wickedest City in the West.” Troops, railroad workers, and gold prospectors filled the myriad of saloons, gambling houses, and brothels that lined the streets. Violence was so prominent, particularly along a stretch of Fourth Street, that such derogatory nicknames as “Murderer’s Gulch” and “Bloody Fourth” were once attached to the city. By some accounts, Bismarck averaged 1 murder per day at the time.

By the turn of the century, Bismarck had become established as an important economic, health, and government center. It was named capital in 1883 and gained the territory’s first hospital two years later.

Theodore Roosevelt, who once credited his time spent in the North Dakota Badlands as critical to becoming the 26th president of the United States, fostered a legacy of resource conservation that has been memorialized by the creation of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

North Dakota is consistently ranked as a best place to live. The only memorial depicting him as a student at Göttingen University (together with a dog, possibly his Reichshund Tyras) and as a member of his Corps Hannovera was re-erected in 2006 at the Rudelsburg The gleaming white 1906 Bismarck Monument in the city of Hamburg , stands in the centre of the St. Pauli district, and is the largest, and probably best-known, memorial to Bismarck worldwide.

Bismarck State College is a two-year public college, the largest degree-granting institution in the city, and a member of the North Dakota University System United Tribes Technical College 25 is a two-year tribal college Sanford Health, formerly Medcenter One, operates a nursing school that offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

The teams at Bismarck State College and United Tribes Technical College are known as The Mystics and Thunderbirds, and both compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association The teams at the University of Mary are The Marauders and compete in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Bismarck has an American Legion baseball team called the Governors.

The Bismarck Public Schools system operates sixteen elementary schools , three middle schools (Simle, Wachter, Horizon), three public high schools ( Century High , Legacy High School , and Bismarck High ) and one alternative high school (South Central High School).

There are several major thoroughfares that pass through Bismarck, including Interstates 194 and 94, as well as U.S. Highway 83. However, if you are moving during the winter months when the driving conditions can become quite harsh, you may need to seek the help of a professional Bismarck moving company.

North Dakota's most important river is the Missouri ; it rises in southern Montana in the Rocky Mountains , first flowing north then generally southeast across the heart of the United States, ending at the Mississippi River , just to the north of St. Louis, Missouri.

Theater companies in Bismarck include the Capitol Shakespeare Society, 28 Sleepy Hollow Summer Theatre, 29 the Shade Tree Players children's theater group, 30 Dakota Stage Ltd, 31 University of Mary, Bismarck State College, and various high school groups.

Bismarck North Dakota has that last frontier look and feel to it that many people long for. Moving to North Dakota takes a bit a planning and preparation, first consider its not an on the way place so moving can be costly unless you plan well in advance. Many Long Distance Moving Companies will even add a surcharge because of so few moves to and from the region.  

[mytaxiindia-blog1]

‘Queen of Himalayas’, Darjeeling

‘Queen of Himalayas’, Darjeeling

The rustling of the wind, the hills rising in their majesties, the clouds scattered across sky, the sunlight streaming through the tall timber trees, nature’s beauty all around and the strong fragrance of tea adding to the essence of this poetic scenery. The ‘Queen of Himalayas’, Darjeeling has her own way of bringing poetry out of everyone who visits her. The once capital under British, Darjeeling, located at an altitude of 6,710 ft in Lesser Himalayas, is the jewel of West Bengal. One of the most famous tourist places, which attracts around 50,000 foreign and 500,000 domestic tourists every year, is famous for its lush tea plantations all over the world. There are 87 tea estates, also called "tea gardens" in the Darjeeling hills that have earned label to produce world famous "Darjeeling Tea", each estate producing teas with different characteristics of taste and aroma.

Other than these tea gardens, this place has many other attractions, some of which include the Kanchenjunga peak, Tiger hills, the famous toy train and Peace Pagoda.

Top places to visit:

Here are the top places to see in Darjeeling, which are must-visits, if one is planning for a short vacation in Darjeeling.

 1.  Kanchenjunga: (How to Go?)

It is the third highest mountain in the world. Due to its remote location in Nepal and difficulty involved in reaching it from India, the Kangchenjunga region is not much explored by trekkers. It has, thus, retained much of its grand beauty. But, trekking into the Kangchenjunga region has just recently been permitted. It is the beautiful views of the Kanchenjunga Mountains, tea plantations and Buddhist monasteries along the way, which make the visit to the city worth.

 2.  Himalayan Zoo (Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park):

A zoological park along with combination of a theme park, Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park is one of the best zoos in the world. It is also the first Indian zoo to receive ‘The Earth Heroes’ award. Among the best places to visit in the city, this is where exactly one can find some of the high altitude endangered and exotic species, that are rarely seen in any other part of world, such as Red Panda, Tibetan wolves and Asiatic black bears.The super clean, well maintained zoo is a beautiful place to spend an afternoon.

 3.  Japanese Peace Pagoda

Buddhist origin, Peace Pagodas are monuments built as a sign of inspiring peace and tranquility in world. Located in the Jalapahar hill, the city’s Peace Pagoda is part of a family of around 30 pagodas spanning the whole globe.  Here we can find the four large avatars of Lord Buddha and the view from the top of the building is heart soothing.

 4.  Tiger Hill

The place to visit early in morning for witnessing the brightest sunrise, Tiger Hill, located at the highest point in Darjeeling area, is famous for its panoramic sunrise view of Mount Everest and Mt. Kangchenjunga together.

 5.  Rock Garden

My personal favorite among all the places, was the Rock garden. It is breathtakingly beautiful place with a small waterfall, with varieties of flowers. It has been recently added tourist attractions in the hilly town of Darjeeling. Basically, here terraced gardens at different levels have been cut through the rocks, through which runs the waterfall. About 3 kilometres from the Rock Garden, is Ganga Maya Park, further down the road which is also an alluring place for visit.

 6.  Ghoom Monastery

Among the many monasteries of Sikkim, one is the very popular, Ghoom Monastery. Ghoom Monastery is the popular name of Yiga Choeling Monastery located at Ghum at an elevation of 8,000ft, 8 km from Darjeeling in the state of West Bengal, India. The monastery follows the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. It is a serene place which is loved being at by the tourists.

 Some of the other things to do while the visit.

1.  Ride the Toy Train:

Any visit to this Darjeeling is incomplete without experiencing the world popular toy train ride. The Toy Train is one of the most well known attractions in Darjeeling, being almost 100 years old. It is an old famous steam engine that still functions to this date, travelling from Siliguri up and around Darjeeling town.

 2.  Ropeway/Cable car:

The ropeway of Darjeeling which is also known as the Rangeet Valley Passenger Cable Car starts at the Darjeeling Singamari station. This gives a breathtaking view of the valleys below, spread of lush tea plantations, dense forests and waterfalls, along with the illusion of touching the snowy sky at the background. This is definitely a must do activity while the visit.

 3.  Visit a tea estate:

A trip to Darjeeling, without a visit to a tea estate is like going to a temple and returning without a prayer. One can visit any tea estate, out the hundreds in the city, getting to know the process of tea production, how tea bushes are picked/plucked and processed into the, world famous, ‘Darjeeling Tea’.

 4.  Mountain Biking in Senchal Wildlife Sanctuary cycling park:

Ever thought of cycling at 7000 ft? For the wild and adventurous ones, this year the Wildlife Sanctuary opened the country’s first-ever, 20-km stretch, cycle trail, through thick pine forests. One can easily get a cycle on rent (Rs 50) and enjoy the life-time memorable bike ride.

 5.  Trekking at Singalila National Park:

This one is for the trekkers; Singalila National Park is one of the most desired trek pace in the Himalayas range, due to the grand sights of the Kanchenjunga range, the Everest range and also for the seasonal wildflower and birding blooms. Singalila Park is also one of the famous birding spots in the Himalayas.

[highink]

In my area, from the early years of my life as a flesh narrator, I've witnessed this 'cute' pattern: people refuse to say directly, nearly, anything. It's a painting of the waves of the Black Sea in which emotions, as the cold, deep water, washed away the fairness of my peers.

I fear of being alone, on such a marvellous shore, owning such a cold, but profound lover: the sea. I am aware of the population destroying it. Destroying each other. It's the path of the blade, the blame, the abuse, emotional abuse, rape. The subculture of rap and hip-hop which will lead to a slow death of the real culture, of the identity of this city.

The unique style. It's own style. It dies in the South Eastern region of Romania, Europe. It's children, vanish into alcohol. The general boredom turn young thirty-year old men into second-hand rap 'singers' that chase after fourteen year old girls. Or burries themselves in self hate and marry, get two kids that will be surely abused and do the same.

I came from a fucked up family, as many of my peers. The difference, the luck and the curse that I hold inside is that I could see. I could sense nearly everything. I've been bullied over my looks and over the fact that my parents were divorced. Been shamed in front of the class by my teacher in the first years of school, because dad left us emotionally hurt and poor. Mom was depressed.

But the sea, somehow, was deep enough for me to deepen into it. The people always hurt me, so I dug deep into the tempera, watercolours, colourful crayons. I think I needed colour into my life. I needed the feeling of safety. Most of he times, I've got my drawings ripped off in front of my eyes. I grew up and wanted to get my safe space on the beach: mean men chasing me. I was skipping school to draw trees and buildings: I wanted to become an architect. I wanted to project high, complex, classic buildings, so I could be at the top of them and be safe.

I'm dissapointed now, because I couldn't find one single individual to be different in this city. No one is receptive. This city will die, with all it's potential. The selfishness of anyone you could see on the streets... it's hurting.

I ran into the mountains. Been amazed of them since I was ten. I went into summer camps with my class. Wished to be ordinary, many times, so I can get the jokes of my colleagues. Got enough of my drawings ripped off (again) and got beaten in snow at school for "having such an odd name" for my region, "surely a Hungarian name" (people over here hold grudges for an antique territory war between two states). Kids were always mean, but... I held it in my heart, as my name is the only thing that connects my soul to the soul of my grandma. Never met her. Died before my birth. Wanted to meet me. Heard to be a monument of tenderness (weirdly, the mother of my ice-like father). Never wanted to have a basic name. I wanted to have my name, whatever they would've associate it with.

At twenty two, I've got words running into my bloodstream. I'd split out the entire city with my own blood if it would make them see, as I do. At almost twenty two, I met and experienced nearly everything.

I crave for being independent, to do everything I could do to achieve it. In 2018, I cut off my father for all his critical words, for all the blaming. We're not talking anymore. I've always worked and achieved things, got prizes, so he could see me. I became a non-formal educational trainer for teenagers when I was a teen myself. The failure of entering the arts university, two years ago, came with my father's words along. He never wanted to support me in my archi pursuits. Or anything art related. He did, a bit, a year or two, the first two years of high school. But this world "has enough architects", so I wouldn't do anything glorious with it. Got into graphics. Wasn't good enough. Got into photography, now it's my chance.

Before hating someone, or avoiding someone, please listen to his/her story. I've been into history and the unknown history is meant to be repeated. I heard this one on the radio, years ago. You wouldn't know how it hurts, being such a visionary, but seeing the terrain being swallowed by the absence of culture. Of the absence of initiative, or simply, being ignorant over beautiful principles.

You can't burry yourself in books and draw like crazy, if people treat your work and your concepts as they are a dirtbag, or cheap material trying to be sold. I've got dissapointed enough in this life, got all the reasons to hate, to dismiss anything beautiful. Still got a complex over my looks. Got anxiety, got scared to love anymore, because when I had the chance to express it, I was a coward and got hurt. The chain of hurting goes over and over and I hurt enough people over trying to... get over it. But never wanted to get over someone that I feel so close to me. The contrary. I still want to know her, to have similar activities with her. I want to be there for her. I want to support anyone! But I feel this is the epitome of my life, it's impossible to describe it without sounding weird. She is that someone I've wanted to connect with since I can remember. And I know it's love. My people are cowards over this subject, but what have I become?

My fear is that my beloved Constantza will vanish, if it already did. I moved far away, as a child that ran to its colourful childlish drawings, holding hands with conceptual, real art. And it doesn't make it feel useless, but gives a shape to it. I wiped out everything when I jumped in that train, when I came with all my hopes and ambitions to Cluj. Even if I failed, even if I failed my public administration faculty, even if people that claimed to be "artists" and pretended to "love me", or, more likely, get obsessed over the idea of me, I am still going on. For her, for my art, for my dreams. For bringing a change.

So, no. I don't know how to be cool. I still don't know how to be sociable. I was, both of them, but something changed. Maybe I grew up. Maybe something else. I don't know how to talk about my blog, about my prose, my poetry, about all the things that bring a spark to my life. I've always knew how to speak, write and draw about her, but I have to know how to hold the words face to face. And both can be so frustrating for me, because I blame my anxiety for it, although I'm fighting it and time goes by and people change in feelings and I don't, maybe because I just know.

This is my first writing of this very year. Early Wednesday. I am reading John Fowles's "Magus" and it's delightful. This year I'll go to Rotterdam, The Netherlands to the Spoken Word festival I've wanted to go. Hopefully, I'll get the good grades for which I am working on. Proud first year student of the University of Art and Design, I'm studying photography, but I'm focusing on cinematics, animation and filmmaking. On graphics, anytime. At twenty two, almost, I am slightly ashamed of being in the first and not the third year of college, but I've always been slow in actions and also steady. If I set the first place as an achievement, oh, I swear I'll achieve it. For all the unsteady parts of my being, being tamed over the same sky. We've been born and raised in that Heaven ruled by demons. We've got the sea in the heart and the deepness of it in the mind, but we could be higher than the mountains themselves.

[newcityistanbul]

Claudius Ptolemaeus from Alexandria in Egypt

The geographer Claudius Ptolemaeus from Alexandria in Egypt mentions Nicopolis on the river Nestum among the inland cities of the Thracian province. Across the fertile valley passed the important road from Philippopolis to the Aegean Sea. The area enclosed by the city walls was 12 hectares, and its shape was polygonal. Initially the settlement did not have a stonewall as it was situated in an interior land, unlike the right bank of the Danube, where the hazard of barbarian invasions was very high. The city was fortified as late as the

second half of the 4th century AD. From the wholly investigated southern wall are visible protruding towers and the gate. Inside, sectors of a large house with a colonnaded courtyard are uncovered. Off the southern wall a bathing structure catered for the needs of part of the citizens. It was built in the first quarter of the 4th century, but in 376-378 the Goths set it on fire. Later it was reconstructed but in the late 6th century the Avars and Slavs destroyed it. The building was totally ruined a little later by an earthquake.

Everyday life

Traces of a Thracian necropolis from the 1 st millennium BC have been found in the vicini-ty. The name of the tribe is still unknown.

When Nicopolis was founded, the population was of local Thracian or Greek origin. This is indicated by the numerous votive monuments to the Thracian Horseman, Zeus, Artemis, Hermes, Pluto. Greatly revered was also the local river god Nestos, who irrigated the valley and gave fertility. Treasures of coins from Histria, Latae, and particularly from the nearby island of Thasos, found in the area, speak of the connections of this region with other parts of the world. For a short period Nicopolis ad Nestum minted its own coins, from the reign of Commodus (180-192) to Caracalla (211-217).

In the 3rd-4th century a stonecutting workshop functioned in Nicopolis. It met the demands of the city and the surrounding set-tlements. Bases, columns, partition slabs, Dorian, Ionian and Roman-Corinthian capitals were produced. The local stonecutting school imitated the fashionable architectural details and types. Metallurgy and metal-working were also developed at a local level.

The citizens of Nicopolis enjoyed a precarious freedom during the Gothic wars of 376-378 and later, many of the besieged cities welcomed the invaders istanbul tourism conference. In many cases, when the barbarians came in, the administrative-tax burden was alleviated and sometimes even their attitude was better than the governors’. In other cases it was not so, if great resistance had been put up.

Historian Eunapius describes an instructive incident with the citizens of Nicopolis. They sneered at the other Thracians who expected help from the Emperor, which did not come. On the other hand, they cowardly awaited the enemy, uncertain about their fate. The citizens of Nicopolis however slighted those who were not able to defend themselves and precariously enjoyed their freedom.

The late antique author Socrates, who lived in the 5th century, mentions there was a bish-op in the city. Several early Christian basilicas have been found in the environs.

After a long interruption, human life continued here with a small settlement in the Bulgarian Middle Ages, between 10th-14th centuries.

Conclusion

The 14 Roman cities presented in this book sprang up near older Thracian settlements. The gifts of nature were used to the maximum – the cities were situated in plains, near a mountain, by pure drinking and mineral water springs, or on the bank of a large river (Marcianopolis, Serdica, Diocletianopolis, Pautalia, Philippopolis). The climate in the cities in Thrace was mild and agreeable, providing conditions for better living. In the Danube region the picture was a bit different. Here the winters were colder, with icy and searching winds, the springs and autumns were misty.

Ulpia Oescus, Novae and Durostorum were built on the right bank of the lower Danube. This was one of the most neuralgic zones at the Roman border (limes). Legions were stationed in all three of them. They had to repulse the barbarian attacks from the north. With the transfer of 5th Macedonian Legion, Oescus became a large city with the rank of a colony — the highest degree of provincial government. Later Novae and Durostorum became municipia. The administrative system was on the Italic model. The influence of Rome and the Italic cities, although on a smaller provincial scale, is also felt in the architecture. Thus, in Ulpia Oescus we have the typical elongated forum with temples, a basilica and a city hall (probably in the western part of the forum).