Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Movie Soundtracks: Knowing (2009)

Movie Soundtracks: Knowing (2009) [Chinese? or Japanese? edition]




In the fall of 1959, for a time capsule, students draw pictures of life as they imagine it will be in 50 years. Lucinda, an odd child who hears voices, swiftly writes a long string of numbers. In 2009, the capsule is opened; student Caleb Koestler gets Lucinda's "drawing" and his father John, an astrophysicist and grieving widower, takes a look. He discovers dates of disasters over the past 50 years with the number who died. Three dates remain, all coming soon. He investigates, learns of Lucinda, and looks for her family. He fears for his son, who's started to hear voices and who is visited by a silent stranger who shows him a vision of fire and destruction. What's going on?

Monday, July 18, 2011

Movie Soundtracks: As You Like It (2006)

Movie Soundtracks: As You Like It (2006)



Composer: Patrick Doyle

Rosalind, the daughter of Duke Senior (the banished duke), is raised at the court of Duke Frederick (who is younger brother to Duke Senior and took over his dukedom), with her cousin Celia (daughter to Duke Frederick). She falls in love with a young man named Orlando, but before she can even think twice about it, she is banished by Duke Frederick, who threatens death if she comes near the court again. Celia, being Rosalind's best friend, goes with Rosalind (who is disguised as a boy, Ganymede) and Touchstone, the court's fool, to the forest of Arden. Upon their arrival in the forest, they happen upon Orlando and his manservant, who are fleeing the wrath of Orlando's eldest brother. What follows is an elaborate scheme devised by the cross-dressing Rosalind to find out the verity of Orlando's supposed passion for her, and to further capture his heart, through the witty and mischievous façade of Ganymede

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Movie Soundtracks: Dark of the Sun (1968)

Movie Soundtracks: Dark of the Sun

CD Version

A band of mercenaries led by Captain Curry travel through the Congo across deadly terrain, battling rival armies, to rescue $25 million in uncut diamonds.


LP (Long playing version)

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Cartoons: Horseland (2006-2008)




At 10 am on this Saturday I turned on the TV, channel surfed, and found Horseland, which is on CBS. Never seen it before. It's a cartoon, the characters are mostly girls - and every single character - at least, that I've seen in this episode - is extremely thin.

It started out as an online game website: http://www.horseland.com/

The cartoon's official website:
http://www.cookiejartv.com/horseland.html

Original channel: CBS
Original run: September 16, 2006 (2006-09-16) – December 6, 2008 (2008-12-06)
Episodes: 39 (13 per season)
Animation style: Realistic (although the human characters are all hyper-thin, everyone from human to animal are drawn realistically).

From Wikipedia:
Horseland is an American animated series produced by DIC Entertainment. It is a animated drama and comic mischief program following events in the lives of a group of kids who are enrolled in Horseland, an Equestrian Academy. their adventures include riding, raising, and entering their horses in competitions. The show premiered on September 16, 2006 as part of CBS's new Saturday morning cartoon block, KOL Secret Slumber Party on CBS (now Cookie Jar TV). Concurrent with the series, the online virtual pet game that it was based upon was updated to complement the show by launching a new "Junior version" of the game based on the program and featuring its various characters and locations. After three seasons, the show's original run ended on CBS on September 19, 2009. Reruns of Horseland then aired nationwide on the digital subchannel This TV; two episodes aired each weekend until September, 2010.

As of February 5, 2011 Horseland is again part of Cookie Jar TV on CBS.

Characters
The characters of Horseland are usually limited to the group of kids who frequent the stable: Sara, Alma, Molly, Will, Bailey, Chloe and Zoey. However, some episodes (especially those which involve travelling), introduce onetime characters as a plot device, or focus on equine-centered dramas. Notably, nearly every character has a horse counterpart.

Sarah Whitney and Scarlet
Sarah is a twelve-year-old girl who likes to make friends. She often gets emotional, but is very friendly and loves to encourage others to do their best and have fun. She comes from a rich family, but does not consider herself better than others because of it. Sarah has blonde wavy hair with bleached highlights and light blue eyes. She also has silver hoop earrings with silver studs in her ears. Sarah's shown to wear a red riding jacket with a matching red necktie in most episodes. She has been seen in younger ages and different hairstyles in flashbacks.

Sarah's horse is Scarlet, a purebred Arabian mare who has a long, black mane and tail with red highlights. Scarlet is fearless, level headed, regal, but at times she can be moody and prefer to be left alone. She is patient and loving, much like her owner, and is great with the other kids. Her symbol is a red crown.

Alma Rodriguez and Button
Alma is twelve years old and comes from a tight-knit Hispanic family. Her father Jorge has worked as the manager of the stable at Horseland for over ten years. A lover of books, Alma seems to take every opportunity to read. She has a penpal named Alexander, who seems to have romantic feelingss for her. Alma's shown to wear a green riding vest on top of a white long-sleeved shirt in most episodes.

Alma's horse is Button, a black-and-white Pinto mare with a wavy black and white mane and tail with green highlights. Button is teasing and amiable, loving to play jokes on her friends and owner. When it all comes down to it, though, Button can be serious-minded, reliable, and very skilled in show jumping. Her symbol is a green four-leaf-clover.

Molly Washington and Calypso
Molly is an eleven year old African American girl who often deals with life's problems through humor. She is very funny, charismatic, and a free spirit. She makes fun of herself and, at times, her friends, which causes them to get annoyed at the fact that she doesn't seem to take much seriously. But Molly can become serious and rides a horse just as well as the others when her friends are counting on her. She is good at Western riding with Calypso and the only one to consistently wear her hair in a ponytail. Molly's shown to wear a pink riding jumper.

Molly's horse is Calypso, a brown Appaloosa mare with a flaxen mane and tail with pink highlights. She is amiable, laid back, affectionate, and a little slow. But when she learns something once, she's learned it for life. She loves her friends and rider dearly, and is particularly good friends with Button. She also has a noticeable Jamaican accent. Her symbol is a pink heart.

Chloe Stilton and Chili
Chloe is twelve years old and quite a confident young girl. She comes from a wealthy family and is typically self centered, shallow, and likes to let other people know of her talents. She has an unrequited crush on Bailey, and would stop at nothing to impress him. She is especially fond of clothes and makeup, and loves to look great when she rides. Though Chloe is competitive with her sister, Zoey, they still support each other when its important. Chloe has strawberry-blonde hair and green eyes. She is shown to wear a light purple jumper and a purple headband.

Chloe's horse is Chili, a light grey Dutch Warmblood stallion with light purple highlights. Chili shares Chloe's confidence to the point that he feels he is the most talented horse at Horseland, though he often feels upstaged and unappreciated by his showy rider. Though he and Aztec frequently disagree with each other, they don't let it ruin their friendship. Both Chili and his rider are talented in dressage. His symbol is a purple diamond.

Zoey Stilton and Pepper
Zoey, twelve years old and the younger of the Stilton twins, takes a more sneaky approach with her competitiveness, and is into fashion and makeup. She is talented in cross country, and shares her sister's crush on Bailey. She is competitive with her sister Chloe, though they still support each other when necessary. Although Zoey can be shallow and rude, she can also be considerate and nice. Zoey has red hair and green eyes and is shown to wear a light blue short-sleeved top.

Zoey's horse, Pepper, is a dark grey Dutch Warmblood mare with light blue highlights and a wavy tail. Pepper is quick-tempered and selfish, sporting a large ego and a confidence to match. While she loves her rider and is good friends with Chili, she isn't on such good terms with the other horses. Like Zoey, Pepper is snarky, spirited, and loves to compete. Her symbol is a light blue crescent moon.

Bailey Handler and Aztec
Bailey is the twelve-year-old son of the Horseland owners. He often takes risks and gambles without considering the consequences of his actions. He loves horses and animals, and insists that they be treated with kindness and gentleness. Bailey has a dark brown mullet and dark blue eyes. Bailey's shown to wear a dark blue long sleeved shirt which he rolls his sleeves up. In the first two seasons, he talks like a preteen boy and in season three, he talks like a teenage boy.

Bailey's horse is Aztec, a brown Kiger mustang with dark blue highlights. He frequently acts grumpy and nonchalant, but he does genuinely care about his friends and the other animals. He is often protective of his mare friends, much to their chagrin, and has shown great courage and leadership skills. His symbol is a dark blue lightning bolt.

Will Taggert and Jimber
Will is fifteen years old, relaxed, and good-looking, and is often put in charge of the ranch while Bailey's parents are away. He is Bailey's cousin and has lived with Bailey's family ever since he was a little boy. Mature and insightful, he often acts as an adult figure to the rest of the kids. He loves to listen to country music, ride horses, is great at horse riding; Western and English. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. He's shown to wear a black short-sleeved shirt with a horseshoe pendant around his neck. In the episode 'The Secret', it was also revealed that he has dyslexia.

Will's horse is Jimber, a powerful Palomino stallion with black highlights. Similar to Will, he has a commanding presence among the others at Horseland, and worked as a ranch horse before coming to the stable. He's a bit older in years in comparison to the other horses, but is dependable and wise. His symbol is a black star.

ShepS
hep is a male Collie, and acts as the leader of all non-horse animals at Horseland. He is a very loyal ranch dog and always helps the horses in times of trouble. He is often the voice of reason for Teeny and Angora, and, to illustrate a moral or lesson, often relates stories to Teeny. His owner is Bailey, and Shep has been with him since puphood.

Teeny
Teeny is a young, chubby black-and-white pig who wears a pink ribbon on her tail. She displays an innocent, naive personality, and often becomes anxious over relatively small situations. Shep usually acts as a friend and mentor to Teeny, in contrast to Angora, who frequently teases her. She adores her food (and eating in general).

Angora
Angora is a gray, long-haired cat with long a bang, white chest tuft, green eyes and a pink collar. She is often dismissive of other animals, and feels that she deserves better treatment than anyone else. A running gag in the series involves her love of trouble (and hatred of peace) at Horseland. However, she shows genuine concern whenever Shep and Teeny are in true danger. Her favorite people at the stables are Chloe and Zoey because they are so much like her.

Secondary characters
Simbala and Ranak
Simbala is an Indian girl who meets the Horseland gang on a trip to France in the episode "International Sarah". She is tends to say "yuk", thoughtful. She is proud of her culture, and wears traditional dress and a bindi. Her father knows Sarah's father, and the two girls become fast friends after falling into an underground cave. She loves riding, fresh fruit, and dental floss.

Simbala's horse is Ranak, a spirited black stallion with a white face who hates plane rides, but enjoys sugar cubes and being outdoors. After initially irritating the other horses with his worried whinnying, he apologizes and becomes good friends with them. He also has an Arabian accent. His color is dark blue.

Jesse Golden and Buddy
Jesse is a boy who visits Horseland while his parents' ranch, Golden Corral Ranch, is being remodeled. He appears in the episode "Bailey's New Friend." Like Bailey, he enjoys sports, taking care of his horse, talking, and is a bit of a dare devil. Both Molly and Alma think that he's a "cutie", but Zoey and Chloe think he's "hot".

Jesse's horse is Buddy, is a black, strong, Rocky Mountain Horse. He is brave, headstrong, and misses his home while away. His color is dark turquoise.

Alexander Buglick and Bucephalus
Alexander is Alma's pen pal, seen in the episode "First Love". While his letters to her made him seem like a wealthy champion rider, an intentional facade meant to impress her, he really only rides for fun, and is rather timid. His parents are the proprietors of a traveling circus. However, he admires Alma and her riding abilities, and shares her love of reading. He likes to compare himself with the great Macedonian general, Alexander the Great.

His horse is a kind, modest, black stallion named Bucephalus, in honor of Alexander the Great's famous steed. He performs in the circus and enjoys his life, despite its lack of glamour. His color is maroon.

Mary Whitney and Prince
Mary is Sarah's cousin, a humorous, independent girl who doesn't let the fact that she is blind get in her way. Mary appears in the episode "A True Gift." She has a clever comeback for most insults that Chloe and Zoey throw at her, and dislikes it when her friends are overly patronizing. She loves horses and riding, especially outdoors.

Mary's horse is Prince, a white Thoroughbred male who is rumored to be the fastest horse ever to come to Horseland, a 'fact' that riles Scarlet. Sarah temporarily rode him in Scarlet's place in order to make sure that he was a good enough mount for Mary. He also has a wavy mane and tail. His color is sky blue.

Talia Bentley and Kisses
Talia is a talented but mean-spirited girl who is both confident and competitive. She appears in the episode "Changing Spots." She is the premier show jumper at Stanhope Academy, Horseland's biggest rival. She is Alma's arch-nemesis, and the two show special animosity towards each other after they get in a fight about who deserves to win an upcoming competition.

Talia's horse is Kisses, a beautiful white mare of an unknown breed, although it is assumed that she is a purebred. She is an excellent show jumper, but is never given a chance to speak to any of the other horses. Her highlight color is light pink.

Chase Whitney and Wonder
Chase is Sarah's cousin who comes to visit in the episode 'The Secret.' He is dyslexic, a fact which he tries to hide. Chase has light brown hair and blue eyes.

His horse Wonder is a dark bay Anglo-Arabian stallion. Wonder never talks to any of the horses in the episode. His color is forest green.

Nani Cloud and Sunburst
Nani is an eleven-year-old Native American girl who appears in multiple episodes during season three. She is very defensive of her heritage, but deeper aspects of her personality are yet to be seen. She enjoys nature. Nani has black hair and hazel eyes. For the rest of the third season she is quick to be defensive with Zoey and Chloe and, sometimes, even Molly. Nani's shown to wear light yellow for important events. She casually wears light blue.

Nani's horse is Sunburst, a light-colored American Paint Horse with yellow highlights. He prefers to be ridden bareback, and dislikes saddles. At first he starts out on bad terms with Pepper, although the two eventually become friends. He has a single little braid under his mane and his icon is a light blue sun.

Other characters
Jasmine and Amber
Jasmine and Amber are two of Molly's close friends from the city. Both of the girls are confident, playful, and loyal friends of Molly. Neither of them attend Horseland, but do express an interest in horseback riding. Despite frequently teasing Molly, the two are genuinely supportive of her interests. Amber is African-American, and has dark brown eyes and long wavy hair. Jasmine is of an Asian ethniticity, and has light hazel eyes and dark-colored hair.

Linnea, Alexia and Windy
Linnea is a princess that visits Horseland in disguise, pretending to be the princesses' assistant, while Alexia, her maid, pretends to be the princess. Both have light blonde hair, blue eyes, and favor the color light pink, although Alexia is much shorter than her companion. Linnea is close friends with Sarah. Linnea's horse is Windy, a mare who looks like Talia's Kisses and wears an ornate bridle. She also has a wavy mane and tail. She doesn't understand English and only speaks her native tongue, so when Scarlet introduces herself, Windy becomes too shy to respond.

Competitors
Shown in the episode "Win Some, Lose Some," these girls and their horses ride for local stables and compete against Alma, Molly, and Sarah.

Megan Shaw is a rider from Blue Meadow stables. She has light green eyes and wavy brown hair. Megan's shown to wear lime green. Her horse is chestnut-colored.
Katie Green is a rider from Shenandoah Stables. She has strawberry-blonde hair in a ponytail, and rides a light brown/white appaloosa. Katie's shown to wear royal blue, although her appaloosa has been shown having both royal and light blue highlights.
Carrie Jenkins is a rider from Piedmont Stables. She is a capable rider, as shown when she takes the lead in a jumping competition. She has long, curly, blonde hair and hazel eyes. She rides a dun horse. Carrie's shown to wear reddish-pink.

Diablo
Diablo is a red stallion with an injured back leg who belongs to a girl named Madison and initially has an aggressive behavior. His only appearance is "The Horse Whisperer". His name means "devil" in Spanish. He has a wavy mane and tail.

Puma
Puma is a light-colored wild mustang staying at Horseland. His mane and tail are highlighted in black and white. His only appearance is in the episode "Wild Horses", where he tells Aztec what it's like to live in the wild, prompting Aztec to run away.

Wild Horses
These horses are met by Aztec when he runs away from Horseland. The two identified by name are Chaco, a black herd stallion who doesn't want Aztec on its territory, and Mesa, a palomino colt that befriends Aztec. Other horses in the herd are a pair of bays, Mesa's palomino mother, and a piebald tobiano mare. They all have plain manes and tails.

River
River is a famous racehorse that comes to Horseland to recuperate from a leg injury. He is dark grey with a white mane and tail, and has light blue highlights. His only appearance is "A Horse Named River" and according to this episode, he is the eldest horse who speaks with an elderly voice. He was younger and belonged to an unnamed girl in flashbacks.

Buttercup
In "The Best Loss," Buttercup is a palomino mare belonging to one of the judges. She is gentle and sweet, and her color is light turquoise. She is the only horse who doesn't meet any of the others in this episode.

Cream and Sugar
Cream is a white foal that has light pink highlights and her sister, Sugar, is a Dutch Warmblood that has light blue highlights. They are fraternal twins and they only appear in "Oh, Baby". They are the youngest horses to have a long mane and tail just like grownup horses have.

Misc. Animals
There are two more animals who appear in one episode or a few. Mosey is an old black cat, comical and eccentric, and Cubby is a furry puppy

(Episode guide is at Wikipedia.com]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseland_(TV_series)

Movie Soundtracks: Angel (2007)

Movie Soundtrack: Angel (2007)



The rise and fall of a young eccentric British writer, in the early 20th century

News: Musical scores for silent firms unearthed in Birmingham

From the Guardian, UK: Musical scores for silent firms unearthed in Birmingham
Hundreds of musical scores used to accompany silent films in cinemas more than 80 years ago have been discovered in the collection of Birmingham city council's music library, including a theme tune used in early Charlie Chaplin films.

About 500 scores have been uncovered, many including the full parts for small orchestras of between seven and 11 players, not just a pianist. Judging by the titles, the often-fragmentary pieces were selected thematically to accompany similar plotlines. They are frequently self-explanatory: the mysterious manor house, exciting-dramatic, harrowing, creepy-creeps, wild chase, supreme peril, the poisoned cup and mounted police gallop.

"We don't actually know where they came from as they were in separate collections," explained Ali Joyce, the head of the music library. "They seem to have been in our basement for 30 to 40 years.

"We think groups of musicians would travel round cinemas and match the music to the situations in the films."

The Chaplin theme – Marche Grotesque – appears to be a unique example of a score written for a particular artist. It dates from 1916 at the height of the British-born actor's early fame as a worldwide star and was for use when his tramp character appeared on screen. It was composed by Cyril Thorne, a long-forgotten musician who wrote mood music.

The scores have the names of Louis Benson and HT Saunders stamped on them, the latter thought to have been a musical director at cinemas in Glasgow.

Neil Brand, an early film historian said: "This collection gives us our first proper overview of the music of the silent cinema in the UK from 1914 to the coming of sound. Its enormous size not only gives us insights into what the bands sounded like and how they worked with film [but also] the working methods of musical directors. Above all, it gives the lie to the long-cherished belief that silent films were accompanied on solo piano by little old ladies who only knew one tune. When they are played we will hear the authentic sound the audiences of the time would have heard."

Some of the tunes will be heard for the first time in 80 years next Tuesday – not even the librarians have heard them yet – at the launch of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's film music festival, when they will be performed at a free pre-concert event by Ben Dawson, the CBSO's pianist.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Movie Soundtracks: Signs (2002)

Movie Soundtracks: Signs (2002)



In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Colleen Hess, the wife of local priest Reverend Graham Hess, dies a horrific death in a traffic accident. After the accident, Graham denounces his faith and his vocation to work full time on his farm. His brother, Merrill, a former minor league baseball player known more for his batting brawn than his finesse, moves into the farmhouse to assist his brother in looking after Graham's two adolescent children, asthmatic son Morgan and daughter Bo, who has a finicky taste for water. Six months after the accident, crop circles appear in Graham's corn field. They initially speculate that local trouble-making youth could be the culprits. However they learn that theirs is only one of a number of crop circles made simultaneously worldwide. In addition, animals have been acting erratically. Morgan and Bo seem to have a better sense of what is happening than the adults. Based on other evidence, the family slowly begins to believe that the crop circles are only one of many signs being sent by extraterrestrials. Not knowing if the extraterrestrials are friendly or not, the Hesses take extreme precautions to protect themselves. Graham also begins to believe that nothing that happens is by chance, and that everything has a reason

Who knew?: Pork Butt


I was reading a message board in which a woman was saying she was cooking pork butt.... and I just assumed it was the butt of a pork and wondering why anyone would want to eat it (anymore than they'd want to eat kidneys or tongue or eyes or anything of that nature.)

Pork Butt is not actually the butt of a pig, but rather it's shoulder.

From Wikipedia:
Boston butt is a cut of pork that comes from the upper part of the shoulder from the front leg and may contain the blade bone. This pork cut, from the shoulder, combined with the way it is prepared and served, makes it a distinctly American dish. Smoked or barbecued Boston butt is a southern tradition. As a mainstay of Deep South cuisine, particularly in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, it is often smoked and sold as a fundraiser on road side stands by charities and local organizations.

History of the name and cut
In pre-revolutionary New England and into the Revolutionary War, some pork cuts (not those highly valued, or "high on the hog," like loin and ham) were packed into casks or barrels (also known as "butts") for storage and shipment. The way the hog shoulder was cut in the Boston area became known in other regions as "Boston butt".

Railroads: The Bulletin of the NRHS, Vol 29, #3, 1964


The Bulletin, official magazine of the National Railway Historical Society. A 7 in by 5 in publicatoin.

This is the cover of issue number 3, Volume 29, 1964.

Within it is the member list for 1963. The list includes name and complete address for every member.

States with the fewest members:
Delaware - 6
Idaho - 1
Louisiana - 6
Maine - 3
Mississippi - 3
Montana - 3
Nevada - 2
New Hampshire - 4
New Mexico - 2
Oklahoma - 5

By far, the state of New York, and Ohio, had the most members, followed by the District of Columbia, Georgia, Kansas, Illionois and so on.

Table of Contents lists only the over-arcing departments:
Convention in Newark
Main Lines
Electric Rails
New Books
Editor Comments
Chapter Activities

I'll share more info from this bulletin shortly.

Germany & Eastern Europe Bus Trip July 1995 pt 5

These photos were taken from within the bus. Couldn't tell ya where...I'm assuming still in East Berlin.

Two photos of what I think is a statue of Neptune looking over a water fountain.



Presumably a communications tower.


I'm doubtless photographing the sign - Spandauer something...

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Germany & Eastern Europe Bus Trip July 1995 pt 4

I don't just take pictures of nothing. Something has to interest me about the scene I'm trying to take. What interested me about the windows of this building, however, I do not remember and cannot think!


I'm assuming that these photos were taken somewhere in East Berlin. This is where are bus tour started.Unfortunately, I don't remember any of the buildings or statues. If anyone recognizes these, pleaes leave a comment!


Sunday, July 10, 2011

Postcards: Wyoming

These postcards were purchased on July 9, 2011.



A montage of Wyoming shots, including the Capitol building in Cheyenne (far left)



The Devil's Tower



Sculpture by Veryl Goodnight, not of her!

Veryl Goodnight
Veryl Goodnight (born January 26, 1947) is a sculptor currently living near San Juan National Forest in Colorado. Her sculptures of horses have achieved international acclaim. She is best known for her piece The Day the Wall Came Down, a tribute to the fall of the Berlin Wall given as a gift from the United States to Germany in 1998.

Early lifeVeryl was born in Ashland, Ohio, on January 26, 1947, but her family moved to Lakewood, Colorado when she was only a few weeks old. As a young child living in the West, she fell in love with horses. Her parents could not afford to buy her one of her own, but Veryl continued to think and dream about horses. When she was very little she would sculpt horses out of snow. She received from her parents her first set of professional paints when she was in third grade, and soon her home was filled with equine drawings and paintings.

Education
In 1965, Veryl had the opportunity for a scholarship to study art at the University of Colorado at Boulder,[2] but declined because she did not wish to study abstract art, which was the predominant form being taught at that time. She attended business school in Denver instead. During her 20s she held a steady job as a secretary while she continued to study art in her spare time. Her mentors included artists James Disney, Ned Jacob, Ken Bunn, and Jon Zahourek. She learned painting, bronze sculpture, and horse anatomy and began making and selling sculptures for a living.

The Day the Wall Came Down
"The Day the Wall Came Down" in College Station, TexasVeryl’s best-known work, The Day the Wall Came Down, is a famous monument to freedom. It features five horses jumping over the rubble of the Berlin Wall. There are two copies of the sculpture. The first, finished in 1997, is located at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas. The second, finished in 1998, was given as a gift from the United States of America to Germany and is located at the Allied Museum in Berlin. Each sculpture weighs approximately seven tons and measures 30 feet long by 18 feet wide by 12 feet high.

Germany & Eastern Europe Bus Trip July 1995 pt 3

Unfortunately, I dont' remember anything about the photos below.

I'm pretty sure they were taken in Berlin...

Not quite sure what the subject of this photo is. The lamp? The street?


Two photos of the same building.


Not sure if it was the mural or the pop-art looking trash cans that I was capturing here. Perhaps both.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Germany & Eastern Europe Bus Trip July 1995 pt 2


A statue of someone at the Brandenburg Gate


A statue of someone at the Brandenburg Gate


The Quadriga on top of the gate


The Quadriga

The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city center at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which Berlin was once entered. One block to the north stands the Reichstag building. The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of linden trees which formerly led directly to the city palace of the Prussian monarchs. It was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace and built by Carl Gotthard Langhans from 1788 to 1791. Having suffered considerable damage in World War II, the Brandenburg Gate was fully restored from 2000 to 2002 by the Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin (Berlin Monument Conservation Foundation). Today, it is regarded as one of Europe's most famous landmarks.

Design and History
In the time of Frederick William (1688), shortly after the Thirty Years' war and a century before the gate was constructed, Berlin was a small walled city within a star fort with several named gates: Spandauer Tor, St. Georgen Tor, Stralower Tor, Cöpenicker Tor, Neues Tor, and Leipziger Tor. Relative peace, a policy of religious tolerance, and status as capital of the Kingdom of Prussia facilitated the growth of the city.

The Brandenburg Gate was not part of the old fortifications but one of 18 gates within the fiscal excise wall (German: Akzisemauer), erected in the 1730s, including the old fortified city and many of its then suburbs. Between 1788 and 1791 the prior simple guard houses siding the gate were replaced by the current construction. The Gate consists of twelve Doric columns, six to each side, forming five passageways. Citizens originally were allowed to use only the outermost two. Atop the gate is the Quadriga, a chariot drawn by four horses driven by Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory.

The Gate's design is based upon the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece and is consistent with Berlin's history of architectural classicism (first, Baroque, and then neo-Palladian). The Gate was the first "Athens on the River Spree" by architect Carl Gotthard von Langhans. The capital Quadriga was sculpted by Johann Gottfried Schadow.

The Brandenburg Gate's design has remained essentially unchanged since its completion even as it has played different political roles in German history. After the 1806 Prussian defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Napoleon took the Quadriga to Paris.

After Napoleon's defeat in 1814 and the Prussian occupation of Paris by General Ernst von Pfuel, the Quadriga was restored to Berlin and Victoria's wreath of oak leaves was supplemented with a new symbol of Prussian power, the Iron Cross. The Quadriga faces east, as it did when it was originally installed in 1793. Only the royal family was allowed to pass through the central archway, as well as members of the Pfuel family, from 1814 to 1919. In addition, the central archway was also used by the coaches of Ambassadors on the single occasion of their presenting their letters of credence to the monarch.

When the Nazis ascended to power they used the Gate as a party symbol. The Gate survived World War II and was one of the damaged structures still standing in the Pariser Platz ruins in 1945 (another being the Academy of Fine Arts). The gate was badly damaged with holes in the columns from bullets and nearby explosions. Following Germany's surrender and the end of the war, the governments of East Berlin and West Berlin restored it in a joint effort. The holes were patched, and were visible for many years following the war.

In 1990, the Quadriga was removed from the gate as part of renovation work carried out by the East German authorities.

On December 21, 2000, the Brandenburg Gate was privately refurbished at a cost of six million dollars (U.S.).

On October 3, 2002, the twelfth anniversary of German Reunification, the Brandenburg Gate was once again reopened following extensive refurbishment.

The Brandenburg Gate is now again closed for vehicle traffic, and much of Pariser Platz has been turned into a cobblestone pedestrian zone.

A Soviet flag flew from a flagpole atop the gate from 1945 until 1957, when it was replaced by an East German flag. Since the reunification of Germany, the flag and the pole have been removed.

Berlin Wall and its fall

Vehicles and pedestrians could travel freely through the gate, located in East Berlin, until the Berlin Wall was built, 13 August 1961. Then one of altogether eight Berlin Wall crossings was opened on the eastern side of the gate, usually not open for East Berliners and East Germans, who from then on needed a hard-to-obtain exit visa. On 14 August West Berliners gathered on the western side of the gate to demonstrate against the Berlin Wall, among them West Berlin's Governing Mayor Willy Brandt, who had spontaneously returned from a West German federal election campaigning tour in West Germany early the same day.

Under the pretext that Western demonstrations required it, the East closed the checkpoint at the Brandenburg Gate the same day, 'until further notice', a situation that was to last until 22 December 1989. The Wall was erected as an arc just west of the gate, cutting off access from West Berlin. On the eastern side, the "baby Wall", drawn across the eastern end of Pariser Platz rendered it off limits to East Berliners as well.

When the Revolutions of 1989 occurred and the Wall fell, the gate symbolized freedom and the desire to unify the city of Berlin. Thousands of people gathered at the Wall to celebrate its fall on 9 November 1989. On 22 December 1989, the Brandenburg Gate crossing was reopened when Helmut Kohl, the West German chancellor, walked through to be greeted by Hans Modrow, the East German prime minister. Demolition of the rest of the Wall around the area took place the following year.

Brandenburg Gate became the main venue for the 20th anniversary celebrations of the fall of the Berlin Wall or "Festival of Freedom" on the evening of 9 November 2009. The high point of the celebrations was when over 1000 colorfully designed foam domino tiles, each over 2.5 meters tall, were lined up along the route of the former wall through the city center. The domino "wall" was then toppled in stages converging here.

Political history at the gate
In 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy visited the Brandenburg Gate. The Soviets hung large red banners across it to prevent him looking into the East. In the 1980s, decrying the existence of two German states, West Berlin mayor Richard von Weizsäcker said: "The German question is open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed."

On June 12, 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan spoke to the West Berlin populace at the Brandenburg Gate, demanding the razing of the Berlin Wall. Addressing CPSU General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, Reagan said,

“ General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! ”

On July 12, 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton spoke at the Gate about peace in post–Cold War Europe.

On November 9, 2009, Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, walked through Brandenburg Gate with Russia’s Mikhail Gorbachev and Poland's Lech Wałęsa as part of the 20-year celebration of tearing down the Berlin Wall

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Germany & Eastern Europe Bus Trip July 1995

I've had these photos since 1995 and never done anything with them. Most of the locations I can't even remember now. Well, I'm going to share them anyway, in batches of 4 each. I have over a hundred photos - and this was at a time when digital cameras did not exist - I had to pay for every single print regardless of how good it was.



I think this is somewhere around the Brandenburg Gate. I have no idea why I shot this photo.


Brandenburg Gate 1. Looks like a Russian trying to sell those Nestled Dolls.


Brandenburg Gate 2, taken, (I guess!) to show that yes I am standing next to the Brandenburg gate and here are vendors trying to sell things on the sidewalk.


Brandenburg Gate 3. That must be our bus to the left. We were part of a Trafalgar Tour.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Back on schedule after the 4th

Family plans for this 4th of July weekend interupted my schedule of posts here, will be back at it starting tomorrow, so stay tuned!