Bytes

Monday, February 6, 2017

More Week: More Villages and Places that look like Fairy Tale Places

A small village surrounded by the hills of Guizhou Province, China.

Qaqortoq, Greenland.

St. Wolfgang, Austria.

Alsace, France.

Apollonia, Sifnos island, Greece.

Bern, Switzerland.

Ashfield, NSW, Australia

Just messing with you. Ashfield is not really a fairy tale village but it is where my office is located. Don't think that Ashfield is simply a busy main street . . .

The Popeye Village, Malta Island.

Colmar, France

Bibury, England.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Gosau, Austria

Set on the Black Sea, the Swallow's Nest Castle is perched on a cliff in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014

Another pic of the Cotswolds village of Bibury, England. Does anyone else think that this looks like a Hobbit village (if Hobbit villages were above ground and didn’t have round doors).

Neuschwanstein Castle, built in the 19th century in Germany, is said to be the main inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle . . .

The Initiation Wells at the Quinta da Regaleira estate in Sintra, Portugal were used for secretive initiation ceremonies

The pair of wells, also known as the ‘Inverted Towers’, consist of ‘winding stair’ architecture, which carries symbolic meaning including the death/rebirth allegory. One of the wells contains nine platforms, which are said to be “reminiscent of the Divine Comedy by Dante and the nine circles of Hell, the nine sections of Purgatory and the nine skies which constitute Paradise.” A smaller well, called the “Unfinished Well,” contains a set of straight staircases, connecting the ring-shaped floors to one another. It is believed that the spacing of the landings, as well as the number of steps in between were dictated by Masonic principles. At the bottom of the well there is a compass over a Knights Templar cross. Very little is known about how the wells were used and what exactly went on there. Another view of the Wells:

Valldal, Norway

Stráž – Vrbice, Czech Republic.

Hey, underground Hobbit houses!!

Giethoorn, Netherlands

Dehang, Hunan, China

Sunday, February 5, 2017

More Quote for the Day

More Week: More Old Oz Photos and facts

_________________________________

From:

http://pickle.ninemsn.com.au/2016/01/25/10/10/proposed-australian-flag-design

Photo and commentary from the above site, with additional pics and comments from me.

_________________________________

1900s sporting uniforms unlike anything seen on modern fields

In 1883, two James Boags, a father and son, purchased Esk Brewery on the Esplanade in Launceston, Tasmania. It was the beginning of James Boag & Son. By 1900, Boag II had purchased the neighbouring Cornwall Brewery, amalgamated the two breweries, and established Boags as northern Tasmania's favourite beer. He also invested locally and sponsored Tasmanian sporting teams, including these gents, photographed sometime between 1905 and 1920. The sport they enjoyed isn't recorded, but their uniforms are unlike anything seen on fields 100 years later.

Extra:

James. Boag & Son is now owned by Lion, a Trans-Tasman subsidiary company of Japanese beverage conglomerate, Kirin. In 2000, San Miguel Corporation had acquired J. Boag & Son for $92 million. San Miguel sold J. Boag & Son to Lion Nathan Ltd in November 2007 for $325 million. (By 2009, Lion Nathan Ltd was 46% owned by Kirin with the difference made up by Australian and New Zealand share funds. In September 2009, shareholders voted in favour of a complete takeover by Kirin Holding. In 2011, the company changed its name to Lion.)

James Boag 2

_____________________________________

Hipster-beard policeman patrols Hobart

Australia's second-oldest city, Hobart was founded in 1804, when Lieutenant-Governor David Collins moved the main southern settlement from Risdon Cove to the mouth of the Derwent River. While it was first impeded by a lack of food and equipment, Hobart grew gradually and by 1812, it was the capital and administrative centre of Tasmania (then Van Diemen's Land). It was declared a city in 1842. Pictured here, three officers of the newly amalgamated Tasmanian Police Force patrol the corner of Hobart's Liverpool and Elizabeth Streets in the early 1900s.

Extra:

Note the young lad at the right who appears to be cleaning horse manure off the streets. Horses can be seen on the left.

I have previously written about such workers, known as “block boys:” and by the slang term “sparrow starvers” – see:

http://bytesdaily.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/blockboyssparrowstarvers.html

_____________________________________

Kalgoorlie crowd awaits result of the referendum that made Australia

In 1898, Australia made moves towards Federation, with the first colonies voting in referendums on the Australian Constitution. Those in favour argued the abolition of trade barriers and a united approach to defence and immigration, while those opposed had concerns about higher taxes and equal representation. A majority of voters in the colonies of New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria supported Federation. In 1899, the result was repeated in those colonies and in Queensland. A referendum was finally held in Western Australia on July 31, 1900, after the Commonwealth Constitution Bill had already been enacted by the British parliament. This crowd in Kalgoorlie awaits news of the result: 44,800 voted in favour, 19,691 against. The "Yes" vote in WA was 69 percent compared to a 76 percent average for the six colonies.

Extra:

The Federation Pavilion, where the first Governor General of Australia, Lord Hopetoun, the first prime Minister, Edmund Barton, and the first Cabinet were sworn in at the official inauguration of Federation in Centennial Park, Sydney, on 1 January 1901, is located in Cabarita Park, Cabarita (16k west of the Sydney CBD). In 1903 the Council of Concord bought the pavilion and moved it to its current location.

The Federation Pavilion, Centennial Park, Sydney, 1901.

If you’re wondering why the current pavilion looks different to the 1901 version, it is because the wooden framework of the current pavilion at Cabarita would have formed the wooden superstructure of the Centennial Park model. This supported decorative layers of plaster of Paris which formed the ornate rotunda used for the ceremonies on the day of Federation. The plaster of Paris however quickly disintegrated.

Children celebrating Federation, Melbourne 1901

_____________________________________

Migrants arrive by boat after horrors of war

World War II left millions of Europeans displaced from their homelands, and Australia with a desperate labour shortage and a growing belief that substantial population growth was vital to the nation's future. As a solution to both problems, Australia enacted a large-scale migration program. For Europeans migrating to Australia, Fremantle was their first port of call. The identity of this family, disembarking with their luggage in 1953, is not recorded. After a month of rough conditions at sea, migrants like these glimpsed the city's tin roofs and quiet streets, before either settling in Western Australia or travelling onto other Australian states. Before the mass migration, only one tenth of Australia's population was born overseas. That figure is now over one quarter.

Extra:

My parents, two brothers and I arrived in Oz from Holland in 1956 as part of the post-war migration boom. Determined to give their sons greater opportunity in life, they elected to leave their homeland and resettle in either Canada or Australia. My mother decided on Australia, declaring that she was tired of being cold so much of the time.

As embarrassing as it is, I will share some early, cringeworthy pics . . .

My brothers (twins) and myself on a wall in De Hague.

With my father on the beach in Scheveningen, Holland

Also with my father, in Holland

With my mother, father and brothers not long after arrival in Oz. My mother made our clothes, which included the European style shorts with the flouncy shoulder straps. We had to go to school like that!!!

____________________________________

Archibald Prize founder's love of France gives rise to iconic Sydney sculpture

Erected in Hyde Park North in 1932, the Archibald Fountain was bequeathed to the City of Sydney in the Will of J.F. Archibald. Created by French sculptor Francois Sicard, the fountain commemorates the relationship between Australia and France in World War I. Archibald was a notorious Francophile. He changed his name from John Feltham to Jules Francois and wore "a little French style beard when no-one else was". The fountain features a bronze Apollo surrounded by other mythical figures and creatures, including Theseus and the Minotaur. In the Ancient Greek myth, Theseus slayed the Minotaur and escaped its Labyrinth, ending a ritual of human sacrifice.

Extra:

J F Archibald with Australian writer Henry Lawson, 1918

Some images of the Archibald Fountain:

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Quote for the Day

More Trumpia and Some Trumble

_____________________________________

'Please, sir, I want some more.'

- Oliver in Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens

Unlike the master, who hits Oliver with a ladle for having the temerity to ask for more, it is more you shall have, dear and faithful readers.

This begins a week (or more) of Number Two’s (and more) of posts where I have promised follow ups.

____________________________________

More Trump Facts and Trivia . . .

_____________________________________

Donald Trump bought the operating company, Miss Universe, Inc., in 1996 from ITT Corp. Trump struck a broadcasting arrangement with CBS, then in 2002 entered into a joint venture with NBC, which in 2003 outbid the other networks for the TV rights. From 2003 to 2014, the pageant was broadcast in the US on NBC. In 2015, after Trump made statements about illegal immigrants from Mexico in his U.S. presidential campaign kickoff speech, NBC ended its business relationship with him and stated that it would no longer air the Miss Universe or Miss USA pageants on its networks. Trump bought NBC's share of the Miss Universe Organization, becoming its sole owner, then three days later sold the entire company to the WME/IMG talent agency.

_____________________________________

He hosted and co-produced NBC reality television series The Apprentice, from 2004 to 2015.

“We had tremendous success on The Apprentice and, when I ran for president, I had to leave the show. And they hired a big, big movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger to take my place. And we know how that turned out. The ratings went right down the tubes. It’s been a total disaster. . . . . and I want to just pray for Arnold, if we can. For those ratings. Okay?”

- Donald Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast, 02.02.2017

"Hey Donald, I have a great idea. Why don't we switch jobs? You take over TV, cause you're such an expert in ratings. And I take over your job, so that people can finally sleep comfortably again."

- Arnold Schwarzenegger, in response

_____________________________________

Trump is the oldest person to ever become a first-term president, at the age of 70, surpassing Ronald Reagan who was 69 years of age upon winning the 1980 election.

_____________________________________

Trump married his first wife, Czech model Ivana ~~Humpalot~~ Zelníčková, in 1977. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1988.

With Ivana

Ivana: My name is Ivana, Ivana Humpalot.

Austin: Come again?

Ivana: Ivana Humpalot.

Austin: Well I vana toilet made out of solid gold, but it's just not in the cards now is it?

- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged me

By early 1990, Trump’s troubled marriage to Ivana and affair with actress Marla Maples had been reported in the tabloid press. Ivana Trump was granted an uncontested divorce in 1990, on the grounds that Trump’s treatment of her, such as his affair with Maples, had been “cruel and inhuman”. In 1992, he successfully sued Ivana for violating a gag clause in their divorce agreement by disclosing facts about him in her book. In 2015, Ivana said that she and Donald “are the best of friends”.

Ivana Trump in First Wives Club

_____________________________________

Trump and Maples married in December 1993 at New York City's Plaza Hotel in a ceremony reportedly attended by a thousand guests, including Rosie O'Donnell and O. J. Simpson. They separated in May 1997 and divorced June 8, 1999.

Ewww fact: Maples has been quoted as saying that sex with Donald Trump was the best she had ever had.

____________________________________

Born in the former Yugoslavia, Melania Trump became a permanent resident of the United States in 2001 and a citizen in 2006. She is the second foreign-born First Lady of the United States, following Louisa Adams in 1825.

_____________________________________

Trump has been nicknamed “The Donald” since Ivana referred to him as such in a 1989 Spy magazine cover story:

The Don, she calls him. (“You know how she always put the before people’s names?” says the wife of a Trump Organization vice president. “Well, one day she was all flustered, and she needed to talk to the vice president of administration, Richard Wilhelm. She went tearing through the halls of the executive offices shrieking, ‘Where’s the Dick? I need the Dick now!’”)

Some years later Ivana commented:

“As most people know, English isn’t my first language, in fact it’s my fourth. When I came to live in New York, I really had to learn the language from the beginning almost. Some things come easily, some things don’t. And for whatever reason, probably because I was going at my usual turbo speed, I started putting ‘The’ in front of most people’s names. Yes, you know the outcome — ‘The Donald’ just slipped off the tongue, and now it seems to be making its ways to the political history books.”

It caught on and came to be increasingly used by people wanting to create humor around Trump.

In 1999, Ivana attempted to claim a trademark on “The Donald” for a line of lotions, after-shaves and other toiletries. She told the New York Observer at the time that she was filing on behalf of her son, Donald Jr. — but her move drew an angry condemnation from Donald, who filed several competing claims for the trademark. Both parties eventually abandoned their claims,

Trump poses with eagle named "Uncle Sam" in Time Magazine's cover story.

He really did pose with the eagle:

http://time.com/4003904/donald-trump-bald-eagle/

____________________________________

Some bonus material about Trump and our own Trumble:

The media has been reporting a heated telephone conversation between Oz PM Malcolm Turnbull and US Pres Trump over Pres Obama’s deal to take 1,250 boat people for resettlement in the US. Like Trump, I cannot fathom why Obama agreed to the deal. Trump reportedly hung up on our PM. The next day White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, attempting to restore harmony, spoke of the matter and twice referred to “Prime Minister Trumble”.