5 'Must Haves' - Your Tourism and travel Site Needs to Keep Visitors Visiting

Everyone's being more just about how they spend their money these days and travel is no exception. Even those with higher discretionary incomes are feeling the pinch. Here are some tips from Synergy Point, an award-winning travel/tourism web compose firm, to make it easier for visitors to find you and to keep them advent back:

1) Lodging, Dining and Events. First, the obvious: Visitors to your site will want to see what lodgings are available, the restaurants and attractions in your area. But, you also need to first get them to your website and that's where keywords and a report are important. For example, to promote Chimney Rock Park, their report includes "a 1000-acre scenic attraction," and "North Carolina," "mountains," "hiking" with keywords such as "Western North Carolina," "Chimney Rock," and even "Rhododendrons," which are particularly colorful in the spring. Both report and keywords are a must for site rankings.

News From Bhutan

2) E-Newsletter - You want to keep visitors abreast of what's going on and that includes specials and promotions. Remember, even if they select a separate destination this go 'round, you're reminding them of all the marvelous reasons you should be on their list for next time.

3) E-Commerce - If you're a hotel, a real estate/vacation rental group or a room recommending "places to stay," it's a good idea to have a way visitors can make reservations or purchases, or check out holder details, without leaving the site. At the very least, use a pop-up window so navigating back to the former site or home page is simple.

4) A good article administration law -- Managing all the content, especially if you are working with a large room or group, can be daunting. Melinda Massey Young, Director at Polk County, Nc Tourism, uses the Synergy Point SiteManager(Tm), a turbocharged article administration law built specifically for tourism and travel. The Polk County website, "First Peak of the Blue Ridge," recently won Synergy Point its 6th award in a row from a regional social relations association.

Reasons Young sited for using the system, to keep visitors advent back and the article fresh, is the systems "ease of use." Synergy Point SiteManager(Tm) is miles ahead of Cms, providing seamless integration of news, events, images, video and points of interest and maps. It even helps with e-marketing and leads. Plus, the law offers developed database-driven technology and custom-class components at off-the-shelf prices, all made cordial with Wysiyg. And finally:

5) Maps. There was a time when you could stop at the gas station, and while a guy came out and filled your tank and cleaned the windshield, you could go in and get yourself a free map with great, helpful facts in it. Well, that era may be gone, but now there are straightforward solutions for getting interactive maps into your website. Make it easy for your visitors to find all your area has to offer and they'll keep advent back to your destination - and your website - for more.

5 'Must Haves' - Your Tourism and travel Site Needs to Keep Visitors Visiting

Friends Link : todays world news headlines

14 Ways to Make Traveling with a Disability Easier

If you travel with a disability, handicap, corporeal limitation, mobility limitation, or developmental disability, have extra needs, or use an galvanic wheelchair or handicap scooter, it's a good idea to learn as much as you can to make disabled travel easier.

Or if you're a mature traveler or senior who is a slow walker or just wants a slower pace, becoming more informed about disabled travel services and disability travel resources, will lessen the anxiety that often accompanies disabled travelers.

News From Bhutan

The following travel tips, resources and information for the disabled will help make trips, tours, holidays and vacations a lot easier for you, or for a child with a disability, whether short-term or long-term.

1. Plan your trip well in advance! Do you need to order extra supplements, medications or renew prescriptions, fix eyeglasses or convert prescriptions, get a physical, have dental work done, have your wheelchair fixed or tuned up, etc.?

2. If possible, all the time book your travel straight through an group that specializes in helping habitancy with disabilities. This is important because specialized travel agents and tour operators for the disabled are experienced and can save you some awful headaches.

They offer a lot of good tips and a wide range of services for the handicapped traveler. Among other things, they can arrange for a: wheelchair at the airport, wheelchair accessible hotel room, wheelchair rental, lift-equipped accessible van, full van, minivan, Rv, handicap scooter, or any other handicap vehicle.

Travel agents for the disabled can help arrange accessible transportation, help plan the best accessible cruise, give cruise line and cruising tips, arrange travel guarnatee and take care of extra needs.

Agents can check with hotels for: inner and outer door widths to accommodate your wheelchair, Ada-approved handicap bath tubs, grab bars, or for roll-in showers. Just tell them your needs.

Travel agents can help you find cheap airfare, cheap tickets, cheap flights, cheap travel auto insurance, cheap hotels, cheap car rentals, cheap cruises, cheap vacations and cheap travel of all kinds.

3. Also taking along your travel agent's phone number, you'll also want to take with you the phone numbers for the travel agencies that specialize in disabled travel at your destination, in the event you can't reach your own agent.

These travel agents may know how to solve problems that come up about your hotel, car or van rentals, etc., even if you didn't order your tickets straight through them.

4. When traveling to someone else city, check out the local condition and curative associations before you go. For example, get the phone numbers for the local Ms chapter if you have Ms. These organizations can be great resources.

They normally know what museums, restaurants, theaters & other local facilities are wheelchair accessible and where you can get oxygen, accident supplies or curative assistance. They may be able to help you with any problems that arise.

5. If you plan to rent a handicap scooter, wheelchair, galvanic wheelchair, handicap van, full van, mini-van, Rv or other vehicle in someone else city, don't wait until you get there. Make all the arrangements before you leave on your trip.

Make sure you ask any specifics like, are there tie-downs, ramps, or hoists, etc. Check on what van, Rv, car or auto guarnatee you'll need before you go.

6. Don't leave anyone to chance. If you can, double-check all the arrangements your travel agent makes. Call the airlines, hotels, scooter, wheelchair, car, Rv or van rental companies, curative tool rental companies, etc., and verify the specifics, especially if you're traveling in a wheelchair or have any other extra needs like oxygen.

This is important if you haven't used the agent before.

7. If you need oxygen or any other extra curative equipment, call airlines and suppliers well in expand of your trip. Don't wait until the last minute. Start calling them as soon as you know you're going to be traveling or taking a trip.

Then double-check with your travel agent and the airline at least three to four days before your flight.

8. Arrive early at the airport. It's great to wait nearby there than miss your plane. This will eliminate some of the pre-trip anxiety you might feel and make for more leisurely travel. This seems like tasteless knowledge but many habitancy still arrive at the gate just in the nick of time.

With all that's going on in the world today there are many reasons why you want to allow for more time at the airport.

9. In your airplane carry-on bag keep copies of the prescriptions for your medications and eyeglasses, extra eyeglasses, sunglasses, all your medications and supplements, and a list of your doctor, dentist and other condition professionals with their addresses, and phone numbers.

Include your doctor's fax whole for prescriptions in case you lose your medications. Keep double copies of these in your luggage and at home by the telephone. Know where your curative records are kept.

10. When you travel, and for any other time too, if you take medications, learn their names and exactly what they're for if you don't know. habitancy come into the accident room all the time and don't know what medications they're taking. You might be surprised to find out that most habitancy say 'a little yellow pill' or 'a white capsule', etc.

Emergency workers need to know what you're taking so they don't give you medication that would interact adversely with it, overdose you or somehow interfere with their medicine and your recovery.

11. If you're traveling by air, tell the flight attendants when you board, of any curative problem you might encounter on your flight. Note the location of the closest restroom before getting seated. Tell the flight attendant if you think you'll need assistance getting to it during the flight.

You may need or want an aisle seat for easy way to the restrooms. Discuss seating with your travel agent.

12. If you need person to travel with you, ask your travel agent for ideas or suggestions. Call the local chapters of curative associations and ask if they can propose a travel assistant or travel companion to help or accompany you.

There are national clubs who offer traveling nurses, traveling companions or travel assistants to accompany disabled travelers or habitancy with serious curative issues.

13. Make sure to take with you: any curative cards, Medicare cards, allowance cards, car or auto rental allowance cards, auto guarnatee procedure numbers and agent's phone number, passport, airline tickets, etickets, American Express Travelers Cheques, debit cards, credit cards, and drivers license. Photocopy everything.

Keep photocopies in your luggage and at home by the telephone or someplace where person has way to it in case you need it.

14. Read all things you can about traveling with a disability. Read disabled travel books, way guides, accessible guidebooks, disability travel articles and travel publications for the disabled traveler. Read the personal travel experiences of wheelchair users and others who have traveled with disabilities. Be informed.

These travel tips, information, resources, and services for the disabled should help you, or anyone with a disability, handicap, corporeal limitation, or who uses a wheelchair, have an easier, more pleasant, anxiety-free, trouble-free trip, tour, holiday or vacation.

14 Ways to Make Traveling with a Disability Easier

Visit : todays world news headlines

Miracles and the Church of Ta Pinu

The story began with our first night on Malta. It was a comedy of errors, though it didn't seem all that funny at the time. I foolishly rented a car and we drove colse to lost until nearly four o'clock in the morning when we happened to run into a amiable police officer who led us to our hotel.

From that point, nothing especially eventful happened except that we found a amazing itsybitsy Guest House in the city of Sliema, the Soleado, and took up house there. While our week's sojourn, we spent most of our days visiting Valletta and doing other touristy things and our nights trying out new things to eat. I no ifs ands or buts liked Octopus and Rabbit stew. And the snails weren't too bad, either. With our time on the island dwindling to their final hours, we decided we wanted to visit Gozo, one of the three islands that make up the tiny country. We had read about its rustic charms in a guide book. Where the big island of Malta was extremely developed, Gozo was a step back in time to Malta of the early 1900s. On the next to last day of our stay we made up our minds to go. That morning we took a bus up to the 'whale's tail.' Malta is shaped like a whale and the ferry landing was at the northernmost tip.

News From Bhutan

The ferry has been in service for more than a century. It wasn't fast, but it was dependable. We munched on pastizzi, a Maltese pastry, and drank capuccino while we sat on the deck of the stodgy vessel and watched the landing place gradually come into view. The trip took less than half an hour and we soon landed at the community of Mgarr, (pronounced Em-jarr.)

Not knowing what else to do, we hired a local cabbie to show us the sights. He began by taking us to the capital, Rabat, which is also known as Victoria. After walking along the top of the wall of the city and visiting gift shops, we were ready to try something different. The driver recommend that we pay a visit to Ta Pinu. Pope John Paul Ii had visited the church, and it was known as a place for miracles. Leon, our cabbie, told us that the walls were lined with discarded canes, casts and crutchs that were no longer needed after supplicants had made their pilgrimages there.

We were happy for the suggestion. Malta has some of the most gorgeous churches in the world, and we hadn't grown tired of finding at them.

True to our guide's word, we found hundreds of typewritten accounts as well as plaster casts and other accoutrements for the lame and disabled. Many of the stories were especially touching, dealing with children who were born with deformities or had been injured in accidents. Hopeful parents had brought them there and left their testimony to the wonders the church had performed. We're Methodists, so we were a itsybitsy skeptical. But we also know that there are too many unexplained things that have happened to rule out the possibility of miracles.

As we were leaving, Evie bought a medal for fity Maltese cents, the equivalent of a dollar and a half. She put it in her wallet and forgot about it. At noon on that 13th of May she started from her office to a colse to printer. After she done the errand, she was to meet our daughter, Katie. Katie was about to be confirmed and needed a dress so the two of them were going to look for one together. As Evie was about to cross the street, a fugitive in a stolen car ran into her at a high speed, hurling her more than ten feet into the air and striking her head against the windshield as she came down.

At 5:30, Katie came home very worried. Mom hadn't shown up. She told me to turn on the news and we watched a report about a police chase in uptown Minneapolis that resulted in the injury of a middle-aged woman. She was sure that was Mom. Worried, I called a friend at Evie's workplace. She told me no one had seen her since noon. When I called Hennepin County curative Center, I got crushing news. Evie was in oppressive care.

Beside myself, I got into the car and tore off for the hospital. Even now I wonder how I got there without getting in an emergency myself. A nurse led me to a hospital bed. The swollen bruised and cut face I saw lying on the pillow had me development a dash for the closest rest room.

The head nurse was waiting for me. It was a miracle Evie was alive, she said. She had been struck with such force and had suffered such head trauma that in most cases she would have been killed instantly. Even more miraculous, she was awake and lucid when the rescue team brought her into the emergency room. Although she couldn't talk, she understood what had happened and responded to questions with eyeblinks. I went to her bed and took her hand. She squeezed it. The next day, we had our first post-accident conversation. She sounded so much like the Evie I had known and loved that I couldn't operate my emotions and I started to blubber. The nurse was right. It was a miracle.

The second miracle wasn't apparent until months later. Despite the horrendous collision, she had sustained only a broken pelvis and a minor brain injury. Her physical injuries were the first to heal. But to this day she still has duplicate vision finding down and problems with her short term memory.

One day months later, she happened to find the medal she had bought at Ta Pinu. She remembered the miracles. Was she another? We will never know if it saved her life, but we're both glad she had it with her on that terrible day.

Miracles and the Church of Ta Pinu

See Also : todays world news headlines

The Colombo Stock market and Sri Lanka

The Colombo stock store and Sri Lanka have had an informal connection that dates back to 1896. It started out in trades with fellowships bearing slight liability consuming plantation openings, and grew from there. A formal connection was founded in 1985 with the name changing to Colombo Stock change or Cse as it is known on the market.

They control with fifteen institutions all containing licensed stock brokers, managing over twenty-four percent of the country's financial holdings. This adds up to practically seven billion dollars worth of trading going on. Cse is representative of twenty company sectors in establishing these gains.

News From Bhutan

No trading is done on the weekends (Saturday or Sunday) nor on holidays. There are three operating systems which facilitated the set up and club in relation to the trades. In 1991, a central depository and electronic village principles was put in place to monitor transactions.

Then in 1997 the expanding of Ats, an self-acting tracking principles enhanced trades marketability. They will soon field out with the latest technology that of the debt securities tracking system. Once this is done the sky is pretty much the limit for this stock brokerage firm. They have come a long way from humble beginnings.

They were the first Asian Region to have a membership with the World Federation of Exchanges, officially becoming members in 1998. This made them the fifty-second company to procure membership. Soon after this the Cse founded Safe or the South Asian Federal change in the year 2000.

This added more southern nations in which to make more personel markets in spreading out for larger regional stock trading potentials. It consists of seventeen exchanges with countries like Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan. Safe provides the opportunity for listing and trading securities to these countries.

In lieu of the establishment of the stock store exchange, a halt was called last may on the thirty year old war between Sri Lanka and a militant club that was seeking to found an independent state to the north and east of the island under the name of Eelam. This group was good known as the Liberation Tigers of Eelam. This resulted in a large increase in foreign investment.

Sri Lanka bolstered the economy in a great way as they grew in the stock store trade. They excelled with one hundred percent gains that steadily became known as the norm for the market. Many countries endeavored to be included in the trades and invested eagerly to do so.

It continues to conduce to the wealth of the nation with its valuable securities. The trading platform is self-acting development it easy to use this process in effecting trades that capitalize on the market. The branches of the change are spread out surrounded by Kandy, Matara, Kurunegala, and Negombo.

The Colombo stock store and Sri Lanka continue to have a long chronic connection in the stock exchange. They have prolonged a stream of strong increase that for now apparently knows no bounds. Cse has been recognized as holding its own in the store and of being a contender.

The Colombo Stock market and Sri Lanka

Visit : todays world news headlines

Swinging in the Canopy

Canopy tours have become a popular trend around the world but a Costa Rica Vacation without seems unjust. Swinging straight through the canopy along with monkeys, sloths and tropical birds is a fun and consuming way to see the forest and offers an alternative perspective of the biodiversity Costa Rica has to offer. Some tours are more adrenaline ridden than others but each will have a guide to point out and contribute information about the dissimilar species of animals and plants as you descend. Here are a few of the best canopy tours that Costa Rica has to offer.

Baraulio Carriollo National Park:

News From Bhutan

Baraulio Carriollo National Park is an gigantic but rarely visited park close to San Jose. The park is home to Barva Volcano and its spectacular cloud forest. This singular canopy tour is an exhilarating jungle taste for the adrenaline seekers. High platforms with a higher degree descent line, this is a great spot for adventure explorers who want to be back in San Jose for lunch! another great aspect about this trip is the scenery along the road to and from. Dramatic plant life and picturesque Costa Rican villages and ample coffee plantations cover the landscape. As you ascend and descend into the park, the climate, flora and fauna also continuously change.

San Lorenzo:

The San Lorenzo canopy tour is quite dissimilar as it is divided into two sections. It is also the longest canopy tour in Costa Rica with 19 platforms and over 8,000 feet of cable! The first section is placed in the heart of the tropical forests and is composed of shorter lines. The second section has longer cables and is carefully the "adventure section". This section has high platforms and longer lines, one of which is 2,460 feet long! The foliage is impressive as you are in a tropical forest sustain dotted with orchids, bromeliads and other popular attractive plants. You terminate just before lunch so you can get back to your hotel for early afternoon.

The Crazy Monkey Canopy Tour:

This is a great canopy tour that starts in the high jungle overlooking the canopy and gradually makes its way to toward the ground. The last platform ends with your feet in the golden sand beach at this awesome location where the jungle meets the ocean! This trip has startling views from the tree tops and also has walking bridges for some of the tracks. This singular tour also involves a zipping over a Bri-Bri Indian settlement where aborigine families live in traditional thatched buildings. An consuming mix of fun, excitement and culture with the ocean and rainforest as your back drop.

The Arenal Canopy Tour:

This canopy tour recommended by the Costa Rica Tourism Board is placed at the base of the infamous Arenal Volcano. As you zip straight through the forest you will have an excellent view of the summit. This tour can also involve a horseback riding tour of the area where your guide will point out the discrete wildlife in the trees surrounding making this a great day trip straight through the very visited Volcano area.

Because there are so many options for canopy tours around the country, many of the associates are finding package tours that involve the canopy and other activities as well such as the Arenal Volcano. One of the most adventurous is the Canyoning Turrailba Tour an hour and a half from San Jose that offers a combination of rappelling down waterfalls, zip-lining, trekking and rock climbing.

Which ever you choose, be sure to make sure you include a canopy tour into your next Costa Rica vacation!

Swinging in the Canopy

Friends Link : todays world news headlines

Careers in Indian Defence Services

So you have a patriotic zeal and passion to safeguard the country from enemy attacks? A vocation in defence services may be the right selection for you.

The Indian armed military is among the best and largest in the world. It offers a salutary work environment for the adventurous youth.

News From Bhutan

There are two ways of getting into the defence military - straight through the National Defence Academy Exam (Nda Exam) or straight through the Combined Defence Services Exam (Cdse). Students who have completed or are about to perfect their 10 +2 level education can appear for Nda. Cdse is for students who have completed their graduation or are going to perfect their graduation.

National Defence Academy
National Defence Academy/Naval Academy examination is conducted by Upsc every year in the months of April and September for admission to the army, navy and air force wings of the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy.

Candidates who qualify in the written examination will be asked to appear for an intelligence and Personality Test by the Services selection Board.

Eligibility

Nationality

The candidate must whether be:

i) a people of India
ii) a branch of Nepal
iii) a branch of Bhutan
iv) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of constantly settling in India
v) a someone of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, and East African countries with the intention of constantly settling in India.

Candidates belonging to ii, iii, iv and v categories will have to acquire a certificate of eligibility issued by the government of India. The Certificate of eligibility, however, will not be necessary, in the case of candidates who are Gorkha subjects of Nepal.

Age limit, sex and martial status
Only unmarried male candidates born not earlier or later than the specified date are eligible. The date of birth proper by the commission is the date mentioned in the matriculation or secondary school leaving certificate or its equivalent. Other documents relating to the age like horoscopes, affidavits or birth certificates from Municipal corporation will not be accepted. The candidate must undertake not to marry until he completes his full training.

Educational qualification
For Army wing of the National Defence Academy

10 + 2 or its equivalent conducted by a state education board or a university.

For Air force and Naval wings of the National Defence Academy

10 +2 or its equivalent with physics and mathematics conducted by a state education board or a university. Candidates appearing for the 12th class exam of 10 + 2 or its equivalent can also apply.

Careers in Indian Defence Services

See Also : todays world news headlines

The idea Of Cooperation In Relation To Trade And manufactures Among Regions

In the middle of the scheme for regional incorporation, the South Asian association for Regional Co-operation is relatively a new conception field to the great reflection of socio-economic conditions of these regions. The framework for the Saarc programme started on in the early 1980 was created by the exact economic and political developments for the preceding years. Economically, the failure of the North- South negotiations in the late seventies induced many developing countries to study the inherent areas of South-South co-operation. A amount of initiatives on regional co-operation were launched at that period. For example, Economic community of West African States (Ecowas) in 1975 and Southern African improvement Co-ordination seminar (Sadcc) in 1980 were formed. With the collapse of the dream of an equitable global economic order, many states turned their attentiveness towards their own region. Nearly every continent now has some kind of regional organisation, sometimes more than one.

Saarc is one of such arrangements. Politically, the bilateral climate in the middle of India and some of its neighbouring countries deteriorated during 1974-76. As a result, these neighbours started looking for regional and international approaches to pressure India so as to extract accommodation from it on their respective bilateral issues. Bangladesh's attempt to raise the river-water sharing issue at the Un in 1976, Nepal's proposal to get itself recognised as a zone of peace and Pakistan's active diplomacy at the Un in to get South Asia declared as a nuclear-weapon free zone may be recalled here. Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan in 1979 brought about a serious deterioration in the South Asian security situation and created an accident for getting together in the region. Although it is true that the external pressures to form a South Asian regional organisation were not as great as it was in the case of the European community or Asean, they were not entirely absent or insignificant. Internal or external what ever was the cause the level of accident for regional co-operation was not equal among the South Asian states.

News From Bhutan

In May 1980, Bangladesh had mooted the proposal for a South Asian regional organisation after sounding out some small South Asian states. India and Pakistan, the two big powers in South Asia, expressed strong reservations. This hesitancy reveals the existence of heterogeneity among the South Asian states. India was very suspicious of the proposal and viewed it as a new expedient to institutionalise the neighbours 'ganging up' against India to extract concessions on issues affecting each of them individually. Pakistan feared that any South Asian forum would ultimately additional India's interests and legitimise its regional dominance in South Asia. Also, according to Pakistani view, in South Asia economic and political conditions for institutionalising regional co-operation were missing. Both India and Pakistan approved the proposal for regional co-operation only 'in principle'. They could accept a regional forum only when it did not seek to undermine their respective interests. Accordingly, it was recommend that unanimity in decisions and avoidance of bilateral and competitive issues should constitute the basic norms of the proposed forum.

Keeping in mind those diverse attitudes, the seven South Asian states (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) formally started their co-operation from their first summit held on 8th December 1985 in Dhaka. They were aware that heterogeneous issues might hinder their co-operation, but for attaining their respective objectives they decided to work together. Their desire for economic emancipation, helped them to start rethinking and reassessing their own resources.

Although the seven South Asian states started their integration, the hope of Saarc as an efficient body for regional integration continues to be viewed with scepticism. When countries in other regions are trying to minimise their differences, it is disconcerting to see that this region (home to half of the world's poor) remains trapped in disagreement and war, sapping its energy and resources that could be diverted to launching an obnoxious on poverty. In this post-cold war period, and at a time when we are at the threshold of a new century, South Asia should not be out of peace, harmony and improvement even for a singular day. Diagnosis of differences among the Saarc states and suggesting solution is thus a very leading and timely issue.

In the present paper focus will be located on the heterogeneity among Saarc states and its supervene on the regional integration process in South Asia. There are of policy some strong commonalties among the South Asian states, for example, their colonial past, a broadly tasteless attitude towards Western countries, tasteless needs development, tasteless needs to alleviate poverty, some similarity in culture, etc. These similarities could be helpful for the states to minimise their differences. And one most certain aspect is that the member states of Saarc are hopeful about their success. In the paper I will also try to show that, if heterogeneity is greater in South Asia, the regional integration will be less effective. In case those differences can be minimised, greater integration will be possible.

The first chapter will give an overview on the general issue of regional integration, together with some exact reference to Saarc. The second chapter will focus on heterogeneity among the Saarc states. The third chapter will address heterogeneity in the political field and searching for commonality in this area. The fourth chapter will concern heterogeneity and convergence in economic areas.

The idea Of Cooperation In Relation To Trade And manufactures Among Regions

Friends Link : todays world news headlines

Tips on seeing the Best Treks in Himalaya

What makes a great trek in the Himalayas? Good weather, good views of snow-capped peaks, good habitancy nearby you, good food and security when you need it etc. And also things like the balanced mix of adventure and safety on your trek. And of course, the cost of the trek. All these things need to meet your needs. The good news is, with the right knowledge you can get ready your trek in the Himalayas to hit the mark and meet your expectations as close as possible. A bit of preparation goes a long way!

General Advice

News From Bhutan

You want to be in the right place at the right time. You certainly don't want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. As a quick primer on trekking in the Himalayas, I will suggest beginners to stay below 4000 meters in winter, only go in the trans-Himalayan region in summer (to avoid the monsoon) and otherwise enjoy your trekking in the spring and fall, which are generally carefully high-season.

You don't want to be under-equipped and you don't want to be over-equipped either. Remember, you have to carry all your stuff yourself, or pay man to do it. If it's not going to rain, perhaps you don't need a poncho! On the other hand, if it's going to snow, you might want to bring a warm jacket and/or a sleeping bag. Packing just the right stuff comes with experience. So read up on gear recommendations online before you go.

Choosing A Destination

The Himalayan Mountain Range spans 6 countries. From west to east: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Tibet (China) and Bhutan. You can probably speedily rule out number 1 and 2 on this list due to safety problems, war and terrorism. perhaps it will convert in the future, but for now (2009) there are great options.

Trekking in India is a much great option. It's easy to get visa, flights, hotels, converyance etc. The Indian Himalayas have many towns and villages that are road-connected and can be used as trail-heads for beginning a trek. Treks can be done as independent camping treks or arranged with guide and porters.

Trekking in Nepal is other great option. Contrary to India, Nepal often has trekking lodges along the trails, production it unnecessary for you to carry any camping gear and hire porters. This makes it very simple to trek in Nepal. The wee downside is that since it is so popular, the trekking trails can sometimes get a bit crowded. It's nothing like Grand Central hub of course, but you just don't get that feeling of being alone in the wilderness.

Trekking in Tibet and Bhutan has one thing in common: All tours must be arranged straight through a government recognized trekking agency. There is no independent trekking allowed in these two Himalayan countries. While the pre-arranged treks are often more expensive, it makes everything very easy for you with a guide.

Tips on seeing the Best Treks in Himalaya

Tags : todays world news headlines

Least industrialized Countries and the Fourth World

The French Revolution etymological origins of Sauvy's Third World coinage were wholly shorn off when the term Fourth World came into currency in the 1970s, though the former usage did stay consistent with his use of Third World. As originally coined, the Fourth World consists of stateless nations: those nations, peoples, and ethnic groups that have no autonomy but exist under the thumb of other nations. Native Americans were the celebrated example in the 1970s, a time when the success of the civil rights movement had led to activism for improved rights and living conditions for the Indian reservations in the United States, and other reforms in the government's dealings with native tribes.

Indigenous and aboriginal peoples in other countries may also be included, as well as the Palestinians displaced by the creation of Israel, and the Roma. In time, the Fourth World usage was extended by some to consist of the Least advanced Countries, a United Nations designation for those countries that suffer from significantly low earnings (0 per capita), profound economic vulnerability in the form of instability or other problems, and weak human resources as indicated by poor median health, nutrition, and education. Only two countries classified as Least advanced have ever graduated from the list-Botswana in 1994 and Cape Verde in 2007-a testament to the difficulty of escaping pronounced poverty with insufficient resources. A decision on the graduation of Samoa has, as of 2009, been pending for several years.

News From Bhutan

The Least advanced Countries often have some extra vulnerability that has been keeping them back and prevents or slows what those in advanced countries would think the normal pace of development. Political corruption can have broad consequences in this area, for instance, and no ifs ands or buts becomes an custom that the "man on the street" is so accustomed to that he no longer objects to it to a degree proportionate with the real harm it causes. The type of government may be hostile to development, particularly in the case of dictatorships or rule by warlords, a condition that still persists in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Unresolved civil wars and prolonged ethnic fighting are similarly destabilizing.

Often many of these conditions are simultaneously true, in addition to extreme poverty, extra challenges because of the corporeal conditions of the country, and a poverty of natural resources. Currently the 49 Least advanced Countries are: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, the Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, the Sudan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Yemen, and Zambia.

Least industrialized Countries and the Fourth World

Recommend : todays world news headlines

Sanctuary

Years of my childhood were spent in an apartment above my father's funeral home, a place where, while services, sounds of gurgling toilets and wafting scents of cabbage were strictly forbidden. Instead, whisper-hushed rooms usually smelled of clashing blossoms and coffee, and dabs of perfume diluted by sweat.

We played at the funeral home and, whenever that included a neighborhood game of kickball, the delivery entrance was first base and the door of the casket room served as third. Our sandbox, pail and shovel were kept in the northwest corner of the asphalt-covered parking lot, a place that also in case,granted us with an chance to stick baseball cards into the spokes of our bikes, and then quick-spin our tires.

News From Bhutan

When we indulged in hide-and-seek, our options were enormous, and we pitied those who enjoyed the operation in a more commonplace - and orderly - fashion. The funeral home contained four full levels from basement to attic, sprinkled with a delightful assortment of half floors, balconies, stairs and cubbyholes, a joy for those who hid and sweet torture for those who had to find.

Faded photographs reminded us that this construction once boasted even more intricacies. The man who brought the ore business to the city of Lorain, Ohio built it as his incommunicable home at the turn of the century. In 1924, a tornado erupted over colse to Lake Erie. Killing winds ripped off the home's tower (never to be repaired or replaced), and one photo from that day shows the skeleton of other house hovering over the roof of the structure that would someday come to be our funeral home. While much of the neighborhood was destroyed while that tornado, this construction survived the destruction to come to be a house of mourning.

By the time that we'd moved in, all that remained of that bad dream were accounts in yellowed newspapers and reminiscences of aging survivors. Few remembered the gray-and-white house as whatever but a funeral home, and in fact no one my age retained any memories that contradicted.

Classmates inevitably labeled me as the "funeral home girl." They questioned either or not I slept in a casket and they howled in blurring when, weary of the interrogation, I informed them that the hole located at one end of the casket (where a tool is inserted to close the lid) in fact allowed the corpse to persisting breathing.

Eventually the elementary school kids became accustomed to the idea of the funeral home, but then junior high hit, accompanied by a whole new group of students, with their own taunts and queries. I remember attending an after-school event in the seventh grade. As I waited to be picked up, a classmate offered me a ride home with his parents. "Naw," I told him cheerfully, not mental of how my reply could be misconstrued. "Someone will be here, just as soon as my father's funeral ends." I still remember how wide his eyes got, how pale his face and how flushed his cheeks became.

My sister and I would often show friends our tattered copy of a national detective magazine that contained a picture of my father picking up a murder victim who had been stuffed into a trunk for two steamy weeks while July. We'd shiver after recalling that his killer turned out to be his wife, a woman who'd wept in our funeral home. I recall her name as Becky. When I was older, the mum of one of my best friends shot and killed her husband in self-defense. Sensational headlines blared and out of this drama emerged the domestic violence defense in the state of Ohio. What I remember most is how my friend, her mum and I tried to make commonplace conversation in front of the casket of a once abusive and alcoholic husband and father - and how, in many ways, we succeeded.

Other anticipated deaths stirred the air in our community, and some even made national headlines. On a May day in 1970, my father conducted services for a young man killed at Kent State University while a demonstration against the Vietnam War. While Dad searched for enough chairs to seat the throngs of mourners, my sister and I chased Sam, our half-blind mutt, out of the range of the television cameras. Bribing him with day-old bread, we managed to keep him out of the glare, and only one particular flash of his black fur graced the evening news.

While we had, long before the Kent State tragedy, moved into the adjoining property - after connections to the funeral home doorbell and phone were determined wired into our home - the funeral home was still a large part of our life. I remember when classmates lost their mothers or fathers or grandparents to death, and my sympathetic father would observation that no school friends attended the visitations. In those instances, he'd pick up the phone and murmur, "Put on a dress and get over here."

We'd occasionally deliver a tampon to someone visiting the funeral home, and I was always amazed at the quantities of toilet paper, tissues and light bulbs that my father stashed away for the comfort of the still living. He stored those supplies in his basement, a place that smelled of citrus-scented disinfectant and contained rooms that were strictly off limits.

An ambulance carrying remains interrupted my Sweet Sixteen party. As guests shifted uncomfortably about, one of them loudly suggested that the new arrival be in case,granted with a ketchup-laden hot dog and a bottle of soda pop. My mum once drove away from a cemetery without realizing that the body hadn't yet been removed from the vehicle, and she was oblivious to the shouts and waving arms of those she left behind. while my senior year of high school, my father hurried to a cemetery located in the midst of Bowling Green State University's campus. Before he left, he asked me to recruit some aid for unloading the casket.

So, I called former students of Lorain High School who were now attending Bgsu, but I encountered only empty rooms or disbelieving roommates. "Please," I begged one such roommate, "when Kevin returns, tell him to go to the cemetery . . . Immediately!" The roommate laughed, and then said, "Yeah. Right. Sure thing."

Fortunately, as soon as Kevin returned, his college buddy regaled him with an list of the unsophisticated sorority inaugurate who tried - but failed - to trick him. "You idiot!" Kevin hollered. "That was no joke!" Kevin then gathered together a group of sturdy helpers, including his humbled roommate, and my grateful father gave each of them a five-dollar bill, one dollar for each small worked, an titanic windfall for a thirsty young freshman in those days.

Once, when my father headed out to run errands, he discovered a rough-looking black, white and gray alley cat dozing in the back seat of his car. Rubbing the scarred head, my father noticed that a chunk of the cat's right ear was missing, and so he gave the homeless feline a few words of encouragement. After releasing him from the car, my father figured that he'd never see the stray again.

The cat, however, had different ideas, and he began walking my father to the funeral home every morning and escorting him home every evening. while daylight hours, this cat, now dubbed Mr. Gray, prowled the perimeter of the parking lot, retention the asphalt free from marauding cats, ugly bugs and uncontrollable squirrels. Mr. Gray also spent a vital whole of time in the garage, where my father printed bereavement leaflets on an authentic 1880s printing press. Perched high upon the ledge of the press, Mr. Gray intently observed the placement of every em dash and watched the dismissal of every en.

Mr. Gray also greeted mourners. Each child and most adults were pleased by this element of comic relief, and my father added to the humor by introducing the cat by name; for those few who were vexed by the cat's presence, my father plainly called him the "neighborhood stray." But a stray he was not to remain, as both he and my father knew.

The climax of this situation occurred when my father was elected president of the local Rotary Club, and a newspaper reporter arrived to interview and picture my father. All went well, but then the reporter called back to examine who else was in the photo. My father was about to reply, "No one," but then he paused and asked if this "someone" was, in fact, an ornery looking tomcat. When that identity was confirmed, the reporter plainly added Mr. Gray's name to the photo's caption, calling the cat an "employee of the funeral home."

By the time I'd headed off to college, Mr. Gray was located into his new home and I concept that my life in the funeral home was winding down. I complete college, fell in love, and then married. I found low-paying but steady work, bought and helped heal a century-old home, rejoiced at three pregnancies and illustrious the birth of two sons.

Just a few years ago, though, shortly before Christmas, our furnace started spewing carbon monoxide fumes and we needed shelter. Returning to the now vacant but still sparsely furnished apartment above the funeral home, we brought along warm clothing and our fully decorated tree to resume our interrupted holiday.

Our young boys worried that Santa Claus wouldn't find them in a funeral home, but I assured them that he could. And he did, providing them with scavenger hunts so labyrinthine that they prayed the details would reach the ears of the Easter Bunny, so that the rabbit could outdo his rival! We scattered clues colse to the funeral home, important to surprises, presents, and candy, and we all declared this celebration the "best ever."

Ryan and Adam were pleasantly startled by this turn of event but, upon reflection, I wasn't. I worried about the furnace, of course, and fretted about our boisterous presence imposing upon my father's work. Still, that near-catastrophe proved what I have always known - that, while our funeral home contains biers of veined marble and oftentimes receives brown-paper-wrapped parcels of boxed cremains, it also overflows with love and boasts an anticipated plenty of life.

Sanctuary

Related : todays world news headlines

Guru Rinpoche's Birthday paramount in Bhutan

Birthday of Guru Rinpoche Date: July 2, 2010

The Birthday of Guru Rinpoche is a group holiday in Bhutan.

News From Bhutan

The kingdom of Bhutan is fondly known as the "land of thunder dragons" to their citizens. Buddhism is supposed to have been brought to Bhutan by the "Padmasambhava" or the "Lotus Born". This is a different form of Buddhism with a tantric side to it. In Tibet and Bhutan, the Padmasambhava is referred to as Guru Rinpoche ("Precious Master") or Lopon Rinpoche. His birthday is famed with great joy in Bhutan.

History of The Birthday of Guru Rinpoche in Bhutan

Tibet was expanding during 640 to 842 Ce during which it absorbed the state of Zhang-Zhang, Nepal, China, and other territories nearby it. At the end of this time, in Bhutan, the famed "Tiger's Nest" monastery was being built on a sheer cliff wall about 500 meters above the floor of Paro valley.

Legend says that the local demons did not like the spread of Buddhism in to their land and they showed their wrath at night by destroying all things that would have been created during the day. The king, who became very sad, asked the Indian monastic. The monastic asked the good king to bring in the tantric mahasiddha called Padmasambhava from India to tame the local demons and get them bound to the Buddhist-dharma. Legend has it that the he flew there from Tibet on the back of a flying tigress for the purpose of the trip.

The Padmasambhava traveled through Tibet during which he performed his duty of subduing demons and the local Gods. Padmasambhava had five female companions who were called the "Five Wisdom Dakinis" or "Five Consorts". They had way to the master's heart and practiced secret sexual rites which tamed the previous demons of Tibet and converted them into protectors of the country.

Bhutan's Birthday of Guru Rinpoche Traditions, Customs and Activities

Monks and other citizens of Bhutan celebrate Guru Rinpoche's birthday with traditionally decorated hand-carried effigies of the Guru and share in linked religious ceremonies. The holiday is taken seriously by most citizens, celebrating Guru Rinpoche's contributions to peace.

Guru Rinpoche's Birthday paramount in Bhutan

Visit : todays world news headlines

Guru Rinpoche's Birthday paramount in Bhutan

Birthday of Guru Rinpoche Date: July 2, 2010

The Birthday of Guru Rinpoche is a public holiday in Bhutan.

News From Bhutan

The kingdom of Bhutan is fondly known as the "land of thunder dragons" to their citizens. Buddhism is supposed to have been brought to Bhutan by the "Padmasambhava" or the "Lotus Born". This is a dissimilar form of Buddhism with a tantric side to it. In Tibet and Bhutan, the Padmasambhava is referred to as Guru Rinpoche ("Precious Master") or Lopon Rinpoche. His birthday is preponderant with great joy in Bhutan.

History of The Birthday of Guru Rinpoche in Bhutan

Tibet was addition during 640 to 842 Ce during which it absorbed the state of Zhang-Zhang, Nepal, China, and other territories nearby it. At the end of this time, in Bhutan, the preponderant "Tiger's Nest" monastery was being built on a sheer cliff wall about 500 meters above the floor of Paro valley.

Legend says that the local demons did not like the spread of Buddhism in to their land and they showed their wrath at night by destroying all things that would have been created during the day. The king, who became very sad, asked the Indian monastic. The monastic asked the good king to bring in the tantric mahasiddha called Padmasambhava from India to tame the local demons and get them bound to the Buddhist-dharma. Legend has it that the he flew there from Tibet on the back of a flying tigress for the purpose of the trip.

The Padmasambhava traveled through Tibet during which he performed his duty of subduing demons and the local Gods. Padmasambhava had five female companions who were called the "Five Wisdom Dakinis" or "Five Consorts". They had entrance to the master's heart and practiced private sexual rites which tamed the old demons of Tibet and converted them into protectors of the country.

Bhutan's Birthday of Guru Rinpoche Traditions, Customs and Activities

Monks and other citizens of Bhutan celebrate Guru Rinpoche's birthday with traditionally decorated hand-carried effigies of the Guru and partake in linked religious ceremonies. The holiday is taken seriously by most citizens, celebrating Guru Rinpoche's contributions to peace.

Guru Rinpoche's Birthday paramount in Bhutan

Related : todays world news headlines

Nelson Mandela And South Africa

Through my stamp collection I known many countries in the world: Egypt, Iceland, Greece, Chad, Bhutan and South Africa, the birthplace of Nelson Mandela.I remember that I like a stamp about Nelson Mandela. I admire a lot of population like Frida Kahlo (Mexican painter), Jimmy Carter (ex President of the United States), but I have a very great admiration for Nelson Mandela, the "Father of the Democracy in South Africa", since I have seen "Mandela and De Klerk" a film about the Apartheid. Furthermore, I´ve read a lot about biographies, but his biography is more than interesting. Since then, he is an example for young population in Africa.

Certainly, Mandela has campaigned for ever 40 years to expose atrocities against blacks African throughout the world. I believe that Mandela is as preponderant as Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King. From y point of view, I think that Mandela is the fastener of democracy, women`s rights and human rights in the Third World. During their years in the national power, he was a man who always worked with love for South Africa and other African countries...

News From Bhutan

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa, on July 18, 1918. From 1944 to 1989, Mandela was an anti-Apartheid activist.On Decembrer 9, 1993, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his principal contributions to South African reconciliation. Apartheid theory was a dictatorial political in South Africa, an ex-British colony and independent country since 1909. Under Apartheid system, South African blacks were carefully "second-class citizens". More than 2 million blacks were killed by South African dictatorship...Apartheid dictatorship had good relations with Taiwan, Malawi, South Korea, Israel, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, El Salvador and Guatemala. Pretoria did not have relations with the Ussr, India, Mexico, Guyana, Iraq, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Cuba and Africa. By the 1960s, Mandela protest against Apartheid, but he was prisoner for many decades.
In my opinion, I think that the apartheid was one of the most foremost problems of the contemporary history.

In 1990 began to dismantle the Apartheid system. Since then, Mandela was released.Next year, Mandela become the first black president of Sa.He was elected president of the Republic by universal suffrage. In 1998 Thabo Mbeki succeeded Mandela as Head of State.Like South Korea,Uruguay, El Salvador, Botswana and Trinidad-Tobago, South Africa had one one of the best democracies in the Third World. Sa is one of the most flourishing black African states thanks to natural resources...Today Sa has one of the most stable political environmental on Earth. The country is the second State in the Third World to combine the safety of the environment into its national Constitution.However, the racism still divides South African society.Furthermore, Sa has one of the highest crime rates in the Third World.

Since 1995, Mandela has become an anti-Hiv/Aids activist in the Third World.In 2005, his country had one of the highest Hiv/Aids in the world. An estimated 8.4 million South African were living with Hiv/Aids...Under the leadership of Mandela, Sa will host 2010 Fifa World Cup.

References:
-Benjamin, Anne. Part of My Idol, Penguin Books Ltd,England, 1984

-Crystal, David. The Penguin Book of Facts, Penguin Books, 2004

-Encyclopaedia Britannica Almanac 2003

-Farida, Karida. Daughters of the Twilight, The Womens Press, London, 1986

-Guevara Onofre, Alejandro. Enciclopedia Mundototal, Editorial, San Marcos, Lima, 1998

-Hanlm,Joseph. Beggar your Neighbours:Apartheid Power in Southern Africa, Indiana University, London, 1986.

-Hodson, H.V. The yearly Register. A Records of World Events 1977, Longman, 1978

-Palmonski,Jan. Dictionary of Comtemporary World History.From 1900 to the gift day, Oxford Press

-Sampson, Anthony. Mandela:The Authorised Biography, Harper Collins, London, 1999

-The Hutchinson Chronology of World History, Helicom, 1998

Nelson Mandela And South Africa

Recommend : todays world news headlines

The Costa Calida Town of San Pedro del Pinatar

Situated on the busy N-332 coastal road a small north of the famed Mar Menor (Lesser Sea) you will find the charming Costa Calida town of San Pedro del Pinatar (Saint Peter of the Pinewoods), an fascinating and delightful town which is a beloved destination for visitors of all nationalities. It has a habitancy of about 21,000 habitancy (2006 census).

San Pedro del Pinatar has a decent option of bars, shops and restaurants and a beloved weekly street market which is held every Monday - a great place to stock up on gifts and fresh locally grown produce. San Pedro del Pinatar also has a extraordinary marina which is ever beloved with water-sports enthusiasts, enjoying such activities as scuba diving, windsurfing, sailing, snorkeling and jet skiing.

News From Bhutan

For those who prefer a game of something more sedate like golf, San Pedro del Pinatar is a desirable location, as it is legitimately surrounded by golf courses - the three courses of the Orihuela Costa are just a 15 small drive away, also near by are the Costa Calida courses of La Manga, Roda, La Torre Golf Resort and the Mar Menor Golf Resort.

Formerly called 'El Pinatar,' the history of San Pedro del Pinatar, goes back to the start of the seventeenth century when a hermitage was constructed in honour of the apostle Saint Peter, as St Peter was a fisherman and the town was mostly inhabited by fishermen, the town's habitancy aptly decided to rename it after the Saint. From much earlier than this there are remains of aged Roman villas nearby the town, perhaps the Romans would have used these their conquest of Cartagena in the Punic Wars.

Throughout the past centuries San Pedro del Pinatar like many of its Costa Calida neighbours has relied mostly on fishing, agriculture and salt for its economic well-being - the water of the Mar Menor having the highest salt content of in any place else in Europe. The Salinas now make up the Parque Regional de Salinas y Arenales de San Pedro, a protected Natural Park and a considerable area for migrating birds.

Places of interest in the town contain the Museo de la Cofradía, the Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum, the Casa del Reloj, the Wetlands Centre, the Punta de Algos and the Fish Market.

San Pedro del Pinatar along with much of the Costa Calida has become a beloved area for the purchase of holiday homes in modern years, not only by international buyers (British, Germans and Scandinavians) but also by the Spanish particularly the rich habitancy of Murcia who love this part of the coast and head there in the hot summer months when the city heat becomes unbearable. San Pedro like many other nearby resorts is becoming more and more industrialized but it is hoped that it will not change the unique character of this lovely small former Spanish seaside town.

San Pedro del Pinatar lies on the Costa Calida four kilometres north of San Javier (Murcia) airport and can be reached from the N-332 coast road and from the Ap-7 motorway junction 774. It is nearby 49 kilometres from the provincial capital Murcia.

The Costa Calida Town of San Pedro del Pinatar

Tags : todays world news headlines

Munich - Germany's many City

The historic city of Munich. The third largest city in Germany and the capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria, Munich is recognized as one of Europe's most prestigious cities and one that is liable to eat up your trip funds in an amazingly short time.

Founded in the twelfth century, many of the City's most consuming structure date back to the beginning of the nineteenth century. The city became the Nazi Party's stronghold in 1933 when Munich was designated the 'capital of the movement'. In spite of intense allied bombing where much of the city was devastated, the old city was speedily restored to its previous pre-war appearance.

News From Bhutan

Munich is situated about 50 kilometres north of the Bavarian Alps in Upper Bavaria upon the River Isar. The climate here is dictated by the Alps giving warm summers and snowy winters and there is all the time the opening of heavy rain.

It is determined to be one of the cultural capitals of Europe and it is determined to be one of the country's most 'festive' cities.

When compared to Berlin, Munich seems to have so much more to offer than the capital and it's no surprise that the city is referred to as the 'secret capital'. The wealth of attractions and landmarks to see makes Munich just about the best place to visit in the whole of Germany. With so much sightseeing to be done, it's a nice surprise to realise that reductions are ready on admission charges if you buy a manifold attraction card or a Munich Welcome Card. With it you will save a fortune on social converyance with unlimited trip colse to the city together with huge discounts on admission prices. A one day Munich Welcome Card costs just Eur6.50.

It's a welcome relief to recognize that much of Munich's top attractions and landmarks can be as a matter of fact reached on foot. This is the best way to recognize the city as lots of it is not accessible to motor vehicles. For the traveler features away from the city centre, you will be pleasantly surprised when you encounter the Munich social converyance system. Its incredibly efficient, clean, easy to use and flexible as one label will buy you trip on any of the trams, underground trains (U-Bahns) overground trains (S-Bahns). The station at Marienplatz is the main converyance hub where you can transfer from U-Bahns to S-Bahns.

Marienplatz in the centre of Munich is a very good place to begin a day's sightseeing. Here you can't miss the Town Halls, Old and New with their attractive clock demonstrating the 'barrel makers dance', a medieval jousting scene. Close by are the National Theatre, the Residenz Palace and Maximilianstrasse which is especially popular with the shopaholics surrounded by us. Konigsplatz or King's quadrilateral was where the Nazi Party rallies were famously held before and during the second world war. It is here where Munich's top galleries and museums are to be found. There is an exquisite selection of superb museums and galleries such as the Bavarian National Museum, the Toy Museum and the Kunstareal (art area) comprising Pinakothek der Moderne (modern art), Neue Pinakothek (19th century paintings) and the Alte Pinakothek (pre 19th century) which is known for its superb collections from the 14th to the 18th centuries with artists that consist of Frans Hals, Durer, Giotto, van Dyck, El Greco and Raffael.

Lovers of old architecture are inescapable to relish the Altstadt, full of baroque and neo-classical buildings. The most antique church in the city centre is that of the twelfth century Peterskirche while the Frauenkirche with its onion shaped domes is possibly the most illustrious of Munich's structure having amazingly survived the Second World War bombings. Other superior structure to see in the city centre consist of the medieval castle (Alter Hof), the Mint Yard of the Renaissance and the fourteenth century Residenz Palace.

While in Munich don't forget to take the family out for a treat at the nineteenth century Wilhelma Park and Zoo. It is well known for its park planted with thousands of magnolia and orchids and for its thousand species of animals in the zoo.

Finally, you can't pay a visit to Munich without taking a beer at the illustrious beer hall, the Hofbrauhaus am Platzl. It's in the city centre and the easiest way to find it is to simply corollary the crowds!. Which brings us neatly round to the subject of the Oktoberfest, Munich's exquisite beer festival which is as a matter of fact held every September. It was first held in honour of the marriage in 1810 of Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese.

Munich - Germany's many City

Thanks To : todays world news headlines

Holidays around the World

Every year, citizen celebrate so many holidays ranging from the special ones to the most commonplace ones. There are holidays that are paramount by countries all over the world and that on that particular day, countries and their citizen celebrate it with festivities. Christmas and New Year are two of these worldwide holidays. During these occasions, citizen colse to the world have Christmas dinner, transfer presents and witness spectacular fireworks display. And as proof of these weighty celebrations, every news channel is brimming with worldwide news on these events. Not only that, online blogs, online newsrooms and forums are filled with talks and pictures of the celebrations.

But aside from these worldwide holidays, there are also some celebrations that are unique to a particular group of countries. For instance Thanksgiving Day. The Usa, Canada and Brazil are among some of the countries that celebrate thanksgiving, every November. During this time, citizen celebrate through picnics and parties with relatives and friends. Citizens of these countries, just like Christmas and New Year, would make an endeavor to get ready food and go to nice places to have a picnic even if they have no funds and need money themselves.

News From Bhutan

In Asia, some countries celebrate Chinese New Year every January 26th and 27th. China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Bhutan, and the Philippines are some of Asian countries that reconsider these days special. Nations that have great concentrations of ethnic Chinese also witness this celebration. Examples are Us and Canada and other places that have Chinatowns or Chinese communities. During this festival, especially the Chinese, citizen spend so much money on presents, foods, clothing, decors and parties. A lot of them save up for an entire year and even loan money just to be spent on this very special occasion. This is also a very special occasion for them to reconcile with families and catch up with every person in the clan including children and the old ones.

However, each country has its own holidays that are unique to it exclusively. Examples are Japan's advent of Age Day and Respect for the Aged Day; Philippine's Edsa Day and Rizal Day; Australia's Anzac Day and Boxing Day; and Malaysia's Awal Muharam and Hari Raya Qurban. Additionally, aside from these former occasions, there are also some bizarre holidays in the world such as National Oatmeal Month, Peculiar citizen Day and International Skeptics Day.

Holidays around the World

Tags : todays world news headlines

Plastic Bag Bans - World modernize

In the last two years, there has been a striking momentum to sacrifice or eliminate plastic bags in the Us as more Americans become aware of the environmental hazards of these bags. While the Us movement is in its infancy, much of the world has already taken action.

In 2002, Bangladesh became the first country to outright ban plastic bags. The bags were credited in large part for the huge floods in 1988 and 1998. Enormous amounts of plastic bag litter clogged sewer lines and flooded upwards of two-thirds of the country during these devastating floods.
 
The litter from plastic bags was so bad in South Africa that the minister of the Environment and Tourism jokingly named plastic bags the national flower because so many bags decorated their trees. Free bags are now illegal and there is a 3 cent levy on all plastic bags.
 
Paris banned the bags in 2007, and all of France will effect suit in 2010. Other countries with outright bans or free bag bans include: Bhutan, Eritrea, Rwanda, Somalia, Taiwan and Zanzibar. China banned free bags last summer and estimates that it will save 34 million barrels of oil each year.
 
Countries that tax plastic bags comprise Ireland, which saw an immediate 90% reduction in plastic bag use after enacting its PlasTax. Ireland saves 400,000 barrels of oil each year due to the tax. In Germany, most stores fee 5 to 25 cents per bag. Hong Kong has proposed a 50 cent tax for 2009. Israel adds a surcharge for plastic bags unless they comprise meat, fish, poultry or produce. Sweden also taxes the bags.
 
Spain is working on its National Plan of Integrated Waste which would comprise a ban in 2010.
 
In the Uk, the retailers took the lead. Many have eliminated plastic bags and encourage reusable bags. Ikea and Whole Foods are two Us chains that have been leaders in the reusable bag movement.
 
2008 will be remembered as the year Us retailers began to ordinarily stock reusable bags. The mostly non-woven polypropylene bags are becoming proper fare in most stores today. However, habitancy often forget the bags, leading to the surge in popularity of new bags that fold into a pocket so that they can be stored in purses, eliminating the need to remember.
 
Plastic bags are determined environmentally incorrect because they never fully decompose, are often littered, which causes necessary harm to wildlife, and due to the incredible 100 billion used in the Us each year, unnecessarily clog our landfills.
 
Surprisingly, paper bags are worse environmentally. Lack of air and moisture in the landfills prevent permissible decomposition, they take more vigor to establish and deliver, and they cost retailers, and thus consumers, significantly more to yield than plastic bags.
 
Many Americans now realize, as have many of our European and Asian neighbors, is that reusable bags are the solution to the plastic and paper bag problem.

News From Bhutan

Plastic Bag Bans - World modernize

Visit : todays world news headlines

Visit The Coliseum In Rome - One Of The Newly-Elected 'Seven Wonders Of The World'

The eternal city of Rome provides the venue for many a romantic weekend or holiday break, offering a memorable mix of activities and sights guaranteed to keep even the hardest-to-please traveler happy! The capital of Italy is home to great designer shopping, a long impressive history and, of course, a beautiful Mediterranean climate. Furthermore, Rome is currently in the news due to the election of the Coliseum - its iconic ancient stadium - as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.

The Coliseum is Europe's sole representative in the new Seven Wonders list, for which 90 million population voted in an online poll. The results, announced while a star-studded ceremony in Lisbon in early July, also revealed the remaining six of the new Seven Wonders of the World to be: the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Taj Mahal in India, Chichén Itzá in Mexico, the sculpture of Christ the Redeemer in Rio, Brazil, and the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. The poll has attracted criticism in some quarters, most notably by Unesco who has its own list of wonders and argues that a popular vote is not the way to resolve the world's wonders.

News From Bhutan

However, whether or not you agree with the poll results, Rome's Coliseum is undeniably an impressive ancient wonder. In its heyday it could adapt 50,000 spectators seated over three tiers, many of which were witnesses to the improbable gladiatorial contests held therein. Opened in 80Ad, this marvel of ancient engineering still stands proudly in the centre of modern-day Rome and draws millions of visitors each year. The Coliseum bears scrutinize to the sheer opulence and decadence prevalent at the height of the Roman Empire, and leaves many a visitor awed.

There are other preponderant sights in Rome from the same age worth a visit, such as the ancient Pantheon with its immense dome - an architectural and engineering marvel. Other sites in Rome from a later age that should be included on a 'must-see' list are the Vatican City and the Trevi Fountain. Indeed, if you leave the city without throwing three coins into the fountain, legend dictates that you will never return.

Rome offers a varied range of hotels from cheap and cheerful all the way to top 5-star luxury. Those wishing to visit the Coliseum on a budget but not wanting to sell out relax should consider renting an apartment in Rome, as such an choice can offer an affordable alternative to high-priced city centre hotels and are nothing else but more comfortable than budget hotels. You can rent fully-furnished, popular ,favorite apartments in Rome for stays of as wee as one night.

But, wherever you select to stay in the world's eternal city, you must visit the Coliseum: one of the new seven contemporary wonders of the world.

Visit The Coliseum In Rome - One Of The Newly-Elected 'Seven Wonders Of The World'

My Links : todays world news headlines

The Orlando Potter construction Ny

The Orlando Potter construction is for me one of the best terra cotta realizations of New York City (and United States). This is a unique piece of art. Lay back, enjoy and take your time to scrutinize all the details and complexity of its structure and keep in mind that it's 120 years old.

This is an additional one great construction and location to sit and admire the beauties of New York City's Architecture. Once you sit down on a bench in the City Hall park you are surrounded by structure that made New York City history and don't forget your binoculars because there is a lot to see .The Orlando Potter construction is a real attractiveness and has a lot of class, elegance and appeal, it's also surrounded by prestigious structure like the row park construction (1 block north) that was until 1903 the tallest construction in the world.

News From Bhutan

There was a beautiful and huge four story Post Office, beaux-arts style (picture 1910) on the angle of Broadway and Park Row road that was demolished in 1938 because of a land-rights dispute in the middle of the city and federal authorities. The Post Office space was added to the city hall park for the 1939 World's Fair.

On the south of the Orlando Potter construction is the city hall; Architecture attractiveness of it's own, The oldest City Hall in the nation that still houses its former governmental functions, New York's City Hall is one of the finest architectural achievements of its period (1803-1812). City Hall is a designated New York City landmark and its rotunda is a designated interior landmark as well. And of procedure right in front of the Orlando Potter construction is the Woolworth construction by Cass Gilbert, a world-class construction and part of New York City's glory and history. There is all nearby the City Hall Park great structure that are to be discovered. Keep in mind that like in all New York City, what you see today is not the same scenery that was there when the construction and surrounding structure were built, many changes were made and are still made today. For example the First known edifice on this site was a brick Presbyterian Church by the American Architect John McComb (1763 - 1853) also will known for the New York City Hall. When the Presbyterian Church decided to build a new edifice uptown in 1856, the lot was divided in two and a trio of friends that included Orlando B. Potter bought the south lot for over 0,000 (that would be about .500,000 in today's Dollars) As you can see New York City was already at the turn of the 20th century a salutary and principal Real Estate city. The trio erected a five-story stone structure construction known as The Park Building.

The newspaper "The New York World founded in 1860-toke office in the Park construction and then was called the World Building. January 31, 1882 a terrible fire destroyed the construction wholly and 12 people lost their lives. Orlando B. Potter was very criticized for the materials used because of the intensity and quickness of the fire. Orlando Potter felt guilt for the people that lost there lives in the tragedy and at the same time was a good businessmen and understood what needed to be done to turn the page on such an event he also lost over 0.000 above assurance and half of his income was lost. He focused on seeing the proper materials (fireproof) so such a dramatic event would not happen again. It also created a group consider about the way structure were built and with what type of materials. Remember that at the gilded age (end of the 19th century) an 11-story construction was considered as a big construction and was indeed the starting of the skyscraper area based on engineering developments of the 1880 that had enabled construction of tall multi-story buildings. This definition was based on the steel skeleton--as opposed to constructions of load-bearing masonary. It's sad to say but history already proven use that out of tragedies come remedies and it's out of that tragedy that Orlando Potter found the materials to built a construction that would be for that period a major step send fireproof construction; brick, terra cotta and steel. He also proved that you don't need marble or fine stones to make a masterpiece. The Potter construction is a masterpiece surrounded by the monsters in the neighborhood that attract people like magnets and leave the Orlando Potter construction unknown but it has no conjecture to envy them because of its superior Architectural concept, construct and creation. Its just details were finely crafted to create a masterpiece,

The Orlando Potter construction construction began in April 1883 and was completed in 1886. Architectural Historians give the name "Potter" to this construction because Potter, Orlando Brunson, a Representative from New York; born in Charlemont, Franklin County, Mass., March 10, 1823; attended the district school, Williams College, Williamstown, Mass., and the Dane Law School, Cambridge, Mass.; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1848 and commenced custom in Boston, Mass.; in 1853 he moved to New York in 1853 and worked in the development of a sewing machine company (Grover & Baker Sewing machine Co.) were he was President until 1876; he was a foremost outline in the New York Democratic party but unsuccessful for determination in 1878 to the Forty-sixth Congress; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-eighth
Congress (March 4, 1883-March 3, 1885); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1884; member of the Rapid Transit Commission of New York City 1890-1894; died in New York City, January 2, 1894; interment in Greenwood Cemetery. (Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present.)

Orlando Potter didn't only find the material he wanted to use but also the right Architect for the job Norris G. Starkweather. Norris Garshom Starkweather, who signed his name N. G. Starkweather, was born Garshon Norris Starkweather in Windham County, Vt in 1818. In 1830 we was an apprenticed to a maker and became a undertaker of a package deal on his own in 1845. Norris started his career as an Architect in Philadelphia in 1852 with Joseph C. Hoxie and became a full partner in 1854 but the partnership did not last and was dissolved the same year. Norris G. Starkweather started his own custom and was very active with church design. In 1855 he designed the First Presbyterian Church in Norristown, Pa, The first Baptist Church in Camden, Nj (Camden is a town in New Jersey just on the other side of Philadelphia) and the first Presbyterian Church in Baltimore. Norris left Philadelphia of Baltimore in 1856 because of the Baltimore Presbyterian Church to supervise the construction that lasted 5 years. In Baltimore Norris was noticed and secured other commissions with villas and the remodeling of the Barnum's City Hotel in Baltimore. In 1860 he appears in Washington D.C with an office. While the civil war period Norris is enrolled in the Sixth Regiment of Maryland Infantry, company F. He is mustered August 27, 1862 and mustered out May 24, 1864. In 1868 he his back in Washington in partnership with a Philadelphia maker named Thomas M. Plowman. The partnership lasted until 1871 and from that date until 1881 Starkweather is listed by himself. in the middle of that period some projects were concluded like the Cooke's Row, the remodeling of St. John's Church in Georgetown, the Academy construction for the Convent of the Visitation.

In 1881 Norris G. Starkweather leaves Washington D.C for New York, opens an office with a young Architect named Charles E. Gibbs. They had there first office at 37 Park Row, moved to 822 Broadway from 1882 till 1884 and at 132 Nassau road from 1884 - 1886 but in 1885 the partnership dissolved and Norris moved in at 325W 23rd Street. The major commission of the firm was the Orlando Potter Building.

Norris G. Starkweather died on December 18, 1885 prior to the completion of the Potter construction and was buried in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The Orlando Potter construction Is smaller than it's prestigious neighbors but has an request for retrial of it's own. With only 11 stories high it indeed attracts the eye. The huge (black bottom) red brick and terra cotta colored brownstone makes the construction looks like an intrusion in the scenery because of its black bottom, red color and Architectural styles. I put styles with a "s" because of the different styles that were used; some architectural historians call it the "Queen Ann style" but it is more a beautiful mix of Renaissance Revival, Colonial Revival and even Neo-Grec It is a great example of the Brick and Terra Cotta durability, for over a century it has withstood New York's ultimate weather cycles and still required no rehabilitation for 100 years. The black bottom is a cast iron structure covered with bitumen to avoid premature rusting. The construction sits on a half block and two corners from Park Row Street, Beekman road and Nassau Street. It has on the ground level stores all nearby and a total of 59 apartments with the entry at 145 Nassau Street. The front façade that was and is made to be seen from Park Row road is a mighty piece of art and detail work. The construction looks quite simple but the more you scrutinize it (with binoculars) more you realize its complexity with different fenestration patterns at each floor, a lot of brick patterns of all shapes that give a sense of complicity

The materials used were:

Cast Iron and Iron: the two first floors are covered of cast iron that matches the upper style. The Ironwork for the façade and construction was performed by five suppliers: J.M. Duclos - Co (New York City). The company's logo is stamped on the Iron Work on the bottom angle of Beekman road and Park Row Street; J.M. Duclos Co that concluded the façade and H.W. Adams. Jackson Architectural Iron work and Lehigh Iron Co. That worked on the interior structure. The floor beams and roof beams are of rolled iron and the floors (except the basement) are iron girders. The interior framing is in iron with interior hollow cast-iron structural columns that are encased in wire netting covered with fire brick and plaster and flanged wrought-iron joists, set thru the brick walls, carry wrought-iron beams.

Take you binocular and look at the face bricks in detail and you will see an expansive variety of brick shapes that you won't see elsewhere. It is a real piece of art.

Common brick: coarse brick, also known as backing brick or bonding brick, is a less high-priced and less concluded brick intended for interior usage in thick brick load-bearing walls or on the less-visible portions of buildings. It is often found on the sidewalls that abutted the walls of neighboring structure in intimately packed urban blocks.

Face Brick: Face brick is a kiln-burned brick with a plane surface, intended for the illustrated portions of buildings. You will see a lot of shaped face bricks from radial, angular, hinge, coping, conical...

Engineering brick: Engineering brick is a strong, dense brick used for heavy construction such as sewers and foundations.

Brownstone colored Terra Cotta: baked clay of any shape (in molds) Terra cotta is hard, semi fired, waterproof ceramic clay used in construction construction. Used generally for wall outside and decoration as it can be fired in molds. Oftentimes, white or colored glaze is applied on the face of the brick. Terra cotta is widely used in the ornamental arts, especially as an architectural material, whether in its natural red-brown color, or painted, or with a baked glaze. Architectural terra cotta became very popular at the turn of the 19th - 20th century. From 1900 to 1912 the Us production of terra cotta quadrupled. Atlantic Terra Cotta company was one of the foremost producers and its production accounted for 40% for of the terra cotta store in New York City. By 1908 Atlantic Terra Cotta Co. Was the largest producer of Architectural terra cotta in the world with four plant together with Rochy Hill, New Jersey; Staten Island, New York; Eastpoint, Georgia; and especially Perth Amboy, New Jersey that was sublime for its excellent texture for manufacture terra cotta.

In the case of the Orlando Potter Building, Norris G. Starkweather used brownstone terra cotta from The Boston Terra Cotta Co. That was in company from 1980 till 1893, they were one of the first terra cotta associates on the east cost mostly serving Boston, Chicago and New York City. The Boston Terra Cotta company used the Orlando Potter construction in its 1885 inventory to promote their work, demonstrating the load bearing drive in which the terra cotta was integrated into the outside brick bearing walls. A total of 540 tons was used (over 1,000,000 pounds) The Boston Terra Cotta Co superintendent James Taylor (1839-1898) that was considered as "the father of the American Terra Cotta." His work as of today is considered as masterpieces of Terra Cotta.

In his hands the commonplace terra cotta was worth its weight in gold. James Taylor was oftentimes in New York supervising the work preparation of the terra cotta for Orlando Potter's construction and had a lot of opportunities to meet Potter himself who all the time followed the construction of his buildings. Potter and Taylor got along well together and seeing the rising needs and query for terra cotta in New York City Potter decided to create his own Terra Cotta company "The New York Architectural Terra Cotta Company." that was created in January of 1886 with Walter Geer and Asahel Clarke Geer. James Taylor was hired as superintendent and worked for the New York Architectural Terra Cotta Co until his seclusion in 1893. The team was excellent to create the finest in terra cotta in the United States. The New York Architectural Terra Cotta Co. Was the only major architectural terra cotta company in New York City and it grow to be one of the biggest in the United States but all things have an end and the query for terra cotta started to decline in the end of the 20's and the company went bankrupt in 1932 because of the lost of interest in terra cotta, a change in style and in materials.

Description of the Orlando Potter Building.

The first impression depends on how far you are from the construction and the time you want to spend seeing at it. If you're far from it the first thing that surprises you is its red color that contrasts with its neighbor, it's also small compared to the well-known structure surrounding it. Once you start getting closer to it; forms start appearing, start growing from its facades, the construction starts to show you it's ornamentals terra cotta that first looks fused in the brick patterns (and they do make fusion with the mass). The first-rate coming is from Row Park (street) right in front of City Hall Park. From there you see 2 faces of the construction (Row Park - Beekman Street) with the third secret in the back (Nassau Street) from there it looks like a angle construction and not a half block building. Take advantage of the City Hall Park, chose a nice bench in front of the Potter construction and scrutinize bottom to top. It is an eleven- story construction with two basement stories. On Park Row the façade is 115 feet long, on Beekman road it is 150 feet and on the Nassau road side it is of 89 feet. The Beekman and Nassau is a 90-degree angular angle and Park Row and Beekman is a 60-degree angular corner.

The black ground level (base) and first floor is the cast iron façade floor. The black is anti-rust to protect the iron from premature rusting. It matches very nicely the upper styles. It is a very nice work that diminishes the coldness and impersonality of the iron. It give an impression that the iron was molded to an under structure. It is one of the rare survivors of the cast iron facades that you can still see in the United States (Not only rare but complex). The former ground level was shop fronts but was altered some times over the years. Originally the shop fronts were framed with thin cast iron colonnettes with a display window. The entry to the elevator lobby was on Park Row north; it had double doors, shallow steps and columns supporting a heavy broken scroll pediment. It was removed in 1941 and a shop was installed using a measure of the elevator lobby. On the center façade of Beekman road was also an entry with a triple arched portico with a projecting pediment supported by bracketed columns. In 1912 this entry was altered and converted into a shop. On Nassau road the north end was the former entry of the elevator lobby that is now entry of the residential apartments. At the construction of the construction there were about two hundred offices on the upper levels. Today there are a total of 59 Apartments.
Above the cast iron bottom section starts the body section with it's six stories. If you take a good look at the construction there is a very nice harmony and progressive complexity in the ornamental terra cotta and brick patterns.

The body section the piers in the middle of the double windows has a nice brick pattern with hinge bricks on the angle pier and hinge bricks in the middle of the columns on the two first floors. The piers also are bearing members and include flues to exhaust the fumes of the furnaces, on the top of each piers - flue is a chimney concluded in terra cotta ornamental motifs. If you look at the window perimeters and you will also observation cove bricks. As you start observing you scrutinize all this brick patterns that give a nice request for retrial and a inescapable study of complexity. Each windowsill is in cast iron, in the middle of each window the brick column lays on a terra cotta block. At each floor the window pattern is different to give it an imperceptible increase in complexity. The lintel of each window is in ornamental terra cotta with motifs of different style at each floor; the brownstone color matches very nicely the brick color and give an impression of unity. On each floor you will scrutinize brickwork that makes this construction so unique. Just look over the first brick floor lintel, a nice brickwork that progresses and modifies floor by floor with a study of "simple" complexity. I like to call it simple because you need to scrutinize and pay attentiveness or you will not see and observation all the construction has to offer.

The Trio Norris G. Starkweather (the Architect), with the help of Orlando B. Potter (the owner) and James Taylor (Boston Terra Cotta Company) did some intense study in the brick patterns and ornamental terra cotta that makes this construction a real masterpiece.
In 1992-93 An outside rehabilitation and cleaning was performed by Siri & Marsik (architects) and Henry rehabilitation who did an unabridged repointing, patching of terra cotta and some brick replacement. Practically 15 years passed by and it looks like the rehabilitation was done yesterday. The worst enemy for terra cotta and bricks are the pollution. The pollution erodes and darkens all type of materials and is a concern for our Architectural patrimony in many large urban center
On the fourth floor (2nd brick face floor) over the lintel is a nice ornamental terra cotta arch. On the same level (height) of the arch, on the pier you can see a very nice ornamental terra cotta with a flower motif, If you have binoculars look at the motif you can see small dots in the terra cotta that recount the stems - nervure of the flower. If you don't have binoculars look at the picture on page 7. Once again it shows the potential of the work. On the fifth floor over the pier window the terra cotta is a dragon with nice details. (See picture page 8) from they're until the eighth floor, nice brick patterns and terra cotta and this all nearby the three facades (Park Row, Beekman road and Nassau St.) On Beekman road there is a U shape light court in the center of its façade that starts from the third floor to the top of the building, this was a coarse custom at that time to get a maximum day light in the construction and offices. Remember that the construction was build in 1883 and that the galvanic incandescent light bulb was perfected (by Thomas Edison) in 1880 just 3 years before the construction was built. But gas lighting was a mature, well-established industry. The gas infrastructure was in place, franchises had been granted, and manufacturing facilities for both gas and tool were in profitable operation. Maybe as important, people had grown accustomed to the idea of lighting with gas.

The two last stories:

Are very worked in the brick patterns with a lot of different brick shapes and terra cotta. It was done with a lot of proportions. The former three quarter round angle column (corner of Park Row and Beekman street) has a foremost pinnacle. Right behind the angle column in the dead angle is a flue from bottom to top that was made to exhaust the furnace gases to chimneys concealed by terra cotta finials. The piers of the eighth story have stylized terra cotta composite capitals (see picture bellow) with the Park Row and Beekman angle one very impressive in the details and quality, complexity of molding with an eagle in the centerpiece (see picture above). This structural setup gives an impression the last upper floors are resting on the piers and capitals wit the top window arches manufacture liaison in the middle of the capitals. Above the ninth floor are corbels surmounted of a terra cotta cornice that give an impression of supporting the two last floors. The last floor is the only floor with arched windows. In the middle section of the eleventh floor, slight alternate bays are surmounted by pediments. Two ornamental pinnacles erect from the mid section on each façade. On the roofline are terra cotta broken scroll pediments and urns.
The Orlando Potter construction was completed at a cost of .2 million (about million in today's dollars.)

At the time the construction was completed some newspapers severely criticized Orlando Potter and the Architect Norris Starkweather. The record & Guide was probably the most aggressive stating, "All the good work that has been done in up-to-date architecture has been thrown away on the designer of the Potter construction which is coarse, pretentious, overloaded and intensely vulgar"

It is a fact that fine Architecture and Architects are like painting masters, and most of them die even before being recognized and going into prosperity.
The Orlando Potter construction is and will be one of the finest brick-terra cotta realizations of the 19th century.

The Orlando Potter construction Ny

Recommend : todays world news headlines