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Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Dumitru Daponte and the 3D cinema
After World War I began the boom of film industry. It was the silent film era, black and white, interrupted every 10 minutes to change the film coil. The dialogues were designed separately, on a black background and some film scenes were interrupted to provide the necessary explanation for the action understanding. However, the theaters were full and it was obvious that the new industry had a golden future.
One of the problems that Dumitru Daponte tried to solve is related to playback images in relief (the classic projection has only width and height, not depth, making the screen to be viewed as a sequence of shots). Techniques used in this way were different: the use of glasses with colored lenses, the projection of images on a curved screen etc.
Before Daponte, another Romanian had made a similar attempt: N. Iliescu Brînceni developed a kind of binoculars, which each spectator had to hold to eyes to see on a screen two distinct sets of images superposed to obtain the sensation of relief.
Dumitru Daponte began to work on his invention in 1916, doing research and experimentation in Italy and England, countries where the film enjoyed a great interest. He then made a device for obtaining a stereoscopic effect, based on the idea that the relief conditions must be created since the time of registration of the film. Daponte built a camera with two objectives (the ones by then had one), at approximately 6 cm distance from each other, trying to get the relief effect by projecting simultaneously each pair of captured images. The engineer based his invention by the fact that man sees with two eyes and the perception of relief is due to this double simultaneous reception of the image. His apparatus also contained a device allowing the adjustment of the distance between the two objectives. The two films thus obtained were then entered into a special recording device, such as the two images to be implemented on a single film. His invention was patented in France (Patent no. 592963) and England (Patent no. 222173).
Daponte's invention, introduced in 1924, enjoyed great interest and represented a step forward in addressing this crucial issue for the future of film industry.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Orban, the 'Dacian' cannon founder
The origins of Orban remains uncertain. According to some scholars he was Hungarian; John Julius Norwich, in A Short History of Byzantium (1997), suggest he was German. Laonicus Chalcondyles (c. 1423–1490), a Byzantine Greek scholar from Athens who lived in the time of siege, in his work Proofs of Histories says that Orban was a 'Dacian' - '[...] but the Emperor had a Dacian cannon founder named Orban, creator of weapons and tools for breking the walls. [...] Orban was a man between two ages, with blond mustache and rosy-cheeked'. Chalcondyles named in his works the Romanians as 'Dacians'. 'Orban' is indeed a Hungarian name, but it is frequent also in Belgium and Holland; spelled 'Urban', it has a Latin ascendancy. Probably, Orban was a Transylvanian-born Hungarian or Romanian, but the hypothesis remains unverified.
The master founder initially tried to sell his services to the Byzantines, who were, however, unable to secure the funds needed to hire him. Orban then left Constantinople and approached Mehmed II. Accordingly, Orban's arrival at Edirne must have seemed providential. The sultan welcomed the master founder and questioned him closely. Mehmed asked if he could cast a cannon to project a stone ball large enough to smash the walls at Constantinople. Orban's reply was emphatic: 'I can cast a cannon of bronze with the capacity of the stone you want. I have examined the walls of the city in great detail. I can shatter to dust not only these walls with the stones from my gun, but the very walls of Babylon itself'. Mehmed ordered him to make the gun. Given abundant funds and materials, the engineer built the gun within three months at Adrianople, from which it was dragged by sixty oxen to Constantinople. In the meantime, Orban also produced other cannons instrumental for the Turkish siege forces.
The bombard technology from which Orban drew had been established between 1400 and 1450 in Western European siege warfare, with some pieces like the Dulle Griet, Mons Meg and the Pumhart von Steyr still extant from the period. He, along with an entire crew, is assumed to have been killed during the siege by one of his superguns exploding, then not an unusual occurrence (Volker Schmidtchen, 1977). One of a growing band of technical mercenaries who plied their trade across the Balkans, he offered to the two Emperors one of the most highly prized skills of the age: the ability to cast large bronze guns. The Orban's cannon symbolized the end of outmoded medieval techniques of castle construction and siege warfare and opened a terrible new chapter in military history. The use of massed artillery bombardment would prevail.
Monday, March 29, 2010
500+
Cantacuzino Palace
The Cantacuzino Palace can be found at 141, Calea Victoriei (Victoria Road), Bucharest. After G. G. Cantacuzino died in 1913, the palace was inherited by his son, Mihail G. Cantacuzino and his wife, Maria (also known as Princess Maruca, born Rosetti-Tescanu); after the premature death of her first husband, Maruca re-married in 1939, becoming the wife of George Enescu, Romania's greatest composer. In the 40’s, the palace hosted the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and since 1947 the Institute for Romanian-Soviet Studies.
After the death of George Enescu, in 1955, his wife donated the domain to the Museum and to the Composers’ and Musicologists’ Union of Romania, to be dedicated to the memory of the musician. Thus, on the 19th of June 1956, George Enescu Museum was opened. The museum gathers documents and pictures referring to the composer’s life and work. Among other exhibits, there also is the violin the composer received as a present when he turned 4 year old. There are regular classical music concerts hosted by the palace (many of them being organized by the Polish Cultural Institute), and this is a good time to visit the building (for otherwise, the main hall of the palace is not included in the regular museum visit).
The palace was set in French Baroque style with Art Nouveau elements. The façade’s richness in sculptural decoration is notable. On the top of the entrance, the circular fronton bears the princely coat of arms of the Cantacuzino family. The facade is dominated by the main entrance; above it there is a giant shell-shaped porte-cochére and two stone lions guard the stairs and the door that mingle harmoniously with the statues and other ornaments in the Baroque style, and wrought iron balconies surround the home's tall windows.
For the decoration of the building, the architect collaborated with several recognized artists of the time. The mural paintings were made by George Demetrescu Mirea, Nicolae Vermont, Costin Petrescu and Arthur Verona, the sculptures and the ornamentation are made by Emil Wilhelm Becker, while the artfulness of Krieger House in Paris can be admired in the interior decoration (tapestry, chandeliers, lamps, stained-glasses).
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Floriile (The Palm Sunday)
Floriile or Duminica Floriilor (the Palm Sunday) open to all Romanian the Easter cycle, which ends once the Ascension of Jesus (40 days after Easter). Evoking the entering of Jesus into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, welcomed with a lot of flowers and cheers, Palm Sunday is both a celebration in which the pre-Christian and Christian elements combine happily, resulting in extremely beautiful customs and traditions. It is one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the liturgical year, and is the beginning of Holy Week.
The day before is known as Lazarus Saturday, and commemorates the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. On this day, is known the Lăzărelul tradition, a practice that recalls the ancient god of vegetation that died and reborn at the beginning of each spring.
The name of the feast in Romanian (Florii) comes from the Roman goddess Flora. The green branches used this day, employed both in domestic and church rituals, embodies the symbol of chastity and the annual rebirth of vegetation, a fitomorphe substitute of the goddess. The day before people gather willow branches, tie them in bundles and go to church to be sanctified by a priest. After sanctification, the branches called 'mâţişori' (approx. 'kitties') are taken home by the faithful to adorn with the icons, windows, doors, entrances to sheds or to put in wells and the eaves of houses. The women stick them on newly seeded layers, put them into animal feed or on the graves. The beekeepers go around the beehives with those willow branches, and the villagers do the same with their cattle - rituals of fertility.
Another belief said that how weather is like on Palm Sunday, so will be on Easter Day. On this day celebrate the name-day those who bear a flower name (around 1.5 million Romanians).
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Cornetu Monastery
The monastery has a characteristic, probably unique in the world: the railway passes under it! When the railway was built through the Olt Gorges in the late 19th century, because of the narrow space it was decided to construct the embankments under the church.
The hermitage was built by marele vornic Mareş Băjescu and his wife Maria, great feudal close to the Cantacuzino (or Cantacuzène) family. He choose the place carefully, on one hand near his domains, on other hand near Transylvania, thus providing an ideal refuge for the founder and his family in harsh times to come. According to the original dedication inscription (Romanian: pisanie) carved in stone, the works were finished on August 29, 1666, during the reign of Radu Leon (1664-1669). Mareş Băjescu transferred to the hermitage the possession of Copăceni village, Saşa and Cornetu mountains, as well as some terrains in Pripoare, Titeşti, Ostrov villages.
In 1761, during the reign of Constantin Mavrocordat, a certain Alecse căpitan za Lovişte ordered to recover the altar painting, work done by painters Mihai, Iordache and Radu - as is said in another inscription located in the southeast corner of the nave. Another important moment in the history of the worship place is the 1808 fire, which almost completely destroyed the church and the cells, for a period the monastic life being interrupted. Only in 1835 the new abbot Irimah recovered the buildings and murals. During 1864-1949, the church was administered by Eforia Spitalelor Civile of Bucharest, which in 1885 financed the construction of the oak iconostasis, and a year later the painting of the wooden icons. Between 1923-1925, in cooperation with the Department of Monuments, were restored the dome of the tower and the shrine destroyed by shells during WWI (the fights of 1916).
In 1898, when it was dug the tunnel under the walls of the monastery site, the Department of Railways demolished a part of the old wall and the annex cells, building later the present ones. Were preserved the watchtower, the tower and the walls on north and east sides. The last major renovation was in 1960, under the patronage of Directorate of Historic Monuments, when was restored the mural painting.
The complex is surrounded by a square stone; on three corners of the enclosure rises polygonal towers and on the southeast corner is a pavilion. In the middle of the enclosure is the church, the only that kept its original form. Built on a three-lobed plan, it has a bell tower with eight sides over the narthex and the 'Pantocrator' tower with ten sides and narrow windows over the nave. The wall is from horizontal rows of visible bricks between plaster panels, divided by a double belt of rounded brick, that surrounds the niche of the icon of dedication on the western facade. The cornice is made of brick arranged in the shape of saw teeth, with a row of buttons below it and a frieze of glazed tiles framed by bricks set on edge. The pedestal is made of boulders in brick boxes.
Important architectural monument of 17th century, the monastery is considered by scholar N. Ghika-Budeşti as "one of the most interesting and the most picturesque of the time, as architecture".
Friday, March 26, 2010
Râmeţ Monastery
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Râmeţ Gorges
At the exit of Trascău Mountains, between Trascău, Urmezu and Vulturilor peaks, it formed a gorges zone of 1 km in length. On the entire length of the gorges, there are traces of an old tunnel-shaped cave. The gradual collapse of the cave ceiling eased the further evolution of the gorges. This can be argued by the fact that the keys have a transverse V-profile, wider at the top. The Râmeţ Gorges are extremely narrow, with steep walls. At the basis of the walls there can be found many caves’ entrances.
Eaves presents a large distribution, both in water and suspended, which reflects the stages of deepening of the river stages in the limestone ridge. The most impressive are found in the area called La Cuptoare, where the gorges are very narrow (3-4 m) and the slopes are eave-shaped. In the central part of the gorges, there is a tunnel with a length of about 15 m and a height of 4-5 m.
After leaving the gorges, 3 km downstream, Râmeţ Rivulet form new gorges, near the Râmeţ Monastery. Though having a length of about 100 m, these gorges are spectacular, having the appearance of a huge gate. Slopes have a V-shaped transverse profile, wide open at the top, presenting numerous towers, poles, and grottoes.
Due to the spectacular landscape and to the special karstic elements that it presents, the Râmeţ Gorges have been declared Geological, Paleontological and Speological Reservation since 1969. The reserve consists of limestone massifs since late Jurassic. In the western part prevails conglomerates, sandstones, marls and marno-calcars, and Cretaceous and Mesozoic basalts in the eastern area.
The vegetation of the area is remarkable, with endemic species as Dianthus spiculifolius, Silene dubia, Aconitum moldavicum, Hepatica transsilvanica, Cardamine glanduligera, Viola jooi, Sorbus dacica, Cephalaria radiata, Campanula rotundifolia ssp. kladniana, Centaurea pinnatifoida, Cirsium furiensis and some rare species as Taxus baccata, Geranium macrorrhizum, Cypripendium calceolus, Aquilegia nigricans ssp. subscaposa, Viola biflora, Daphne cnerorum, Geranium macrorrhizum, Sparganium neglectum, Typha shuttleworthii, Herminium monorchis etc.
Because of the abrupt relief, the gorges can be browsed only along the water during the summer, with a good knowledge of the area and a good training!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Anghel Saligny
His father, Alfred Saligny, an educator, was a French immigrant to Romania. He started his studies at the boarding school founded by his father in Focşani, then went on to high school, initially also in Focşani and then in Potsdam, Germany. He pursued astronomy at the University in Berlin - as a student of Hermann von Helmholtz, and engineering studies at the Polytechnic Institute in Charlottenburg (1870-1874), and then contributed to the construction of railways in Saxony (Cottbus-Frankfurt). He was a founding member of the Bucharest Polytechnic Society (the precursor to today's Bucharest Polytechnic Institute) - and its president between 1895-1897 and 1910-1911 - and was even appointed a Minister of Public Works. In 1892, he was elected a member of the Romanian Academy, and he served as its president between 1907 and 1910. Anghel Saligny's brother Alfons Oscar Saligny (1853–1903) was a chemist and educator who was also elected a member of the Romanian Academy.
He drew the plans for the Adjud–Târgu Ocna, which included the first mixed-use (railway and highway) bridges in Romania (1881–1882). He was also involved in the construction of numerous other metallic bridges, such as the one at Cosmeşti over the Siret River, which measured 430 m in length. Between 1884 and 1889, Saligny planned and built the first silos in the world made of reinforced concrete, which are preserved today in Constanţa, Brăila and Galaţi. In the port of Constanţa, he created a special pool to allow oil export and two silos for grain export.
Anghel Saligny's most important work was the King Carol I Bridge over the Danube at Cernavodă. Although a public offer had been held by the Romanian government for the erection of a bridge in that location, all projects were found to be subpar and then rejected. Based on his previous experience, Saligny was then selected and given the daunting (at the time) task to draw up the plans for the new structure. Construction work for the bridge started November 26, 1895, in the presence of King Carol I of Romania. The bridge has five openings, with four being 140 m wide, and the central one spanning 190 m. To allow ships to pass under the bridge, it was raised 30 m above the water. The endurance test was performed on the official opening day, when a convoy of locomotives drove on it at 85 km/h. The bridge at Cernavodă measures 4.088 m in length, with 1,662 m over the Danube, and 920 m over the Borcea arm of Danube. At the time, it was the longest bridge in Europe, and the third longest bridge in the world. The structure was famous for its era, competing with Gustave Eiffel's engineering works in France — the Garabit viaduct and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was later renamed Anghel Saligny Bridge, and was not used since 1987, after the construction of a new bridge.
After Wikipedia.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Stinge lumina! Cu tine vom fi un miliard!
Participarea la "Ora Pamantului" presupune reducerea consumului de curent electric prin stingerea luminilor pe durata unei ore si/sau deconectarea consumatorilor electrici aflati in stand-by.
Societatea Romana a Radioamatorilor isi propune sa sustina aceasta initiativa prin efectuarea de legaturi radio in intervalul 20:00 - 22:00 la data de 27 martie 2010, in benzile HF 80m-23cm, fonie si CW, folosind energie electrica din baterii si convertizoare. Astfel, desi va fi lumina la radioclub, nu vom consuma curent electric din retea!
Indicativele sub care statia S.R.R. va realiza legaturi sunt: YO3KSR si YR1X. Puterea maxima cu care se va lucra va fi de 50W.
Statiile care lucreaza cele doua indicative, in intervalul de timp indicat, in cel putin 3 benzi diferite, pot solicita Diploma pusa in circulatie pentru acest eveniment.
Diploma se transmite in format electronic.
Pentru expedierea diplomei in format printat, va rugam sa ne contactati.
In 2009 hundreds of millions of people around the world showed their support by turning off their lights for one hour.
Earth Hour 2010 will continue to be a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. A call to stand up, to show leadership and be responsible for our future.
Romanian Society of Radioamateurs is sustaining this initative by issuing a special QSL card for QSO's with YO3KSR and YR1X stations.
The stations will be active in HF+VHF+SHF bands, from 80m band to 23 cm band, on 27 th of March 2010, between 18:00-20:00 UTC.
The maximum power will be 50W and the stations will be entirely battery operated!
For more than 3 QSO with this stations in 3 different frequency bands, a special Diploma will be sent in electronic format.
For paper Diploma, please contact us via e-mail: yo3 k s r @ gmail. com {remove extra spaces}
Plumbuita Monastery
First consecration took place in 1560, when ruler Peter the Younger (1559-1568), son of Mircea the Shepherd and Lady Chiajna, started construction of the monastery, which will be completed by ruler Mihnea Turcitul. In 1585, he worships the church to Xiropotamou Monastery from Mount Athos. The church suffered great destruction in 1595, and 1614 was severely affected by fire.
Its current form was reached after the second consecration since 1647, when the church was rebuilt from the ground by ruler Matei Basarab, after the model of Dealu Monastery (built by ruler Radu the Great), to commemorate his victory in 1632 against the Turks. Then was added the Princely House and the monastery was reinforced with high walls. The bell tower was built between 1802-1806, by abbot Dionysius of Ioannina, after the older bell tower of the monastery was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1802.
The name Plumbuita (approx. The Leaded) was given by locals, because for a long time the church has been covered with lead sheets. A legend says that the name comes from the fact that Matei Basarab, in need of cannon balls during a battle, ordered to melt the lead on the roof of the monastery.
The monastery is a monument of reference for the cultural history of Bucharest, from the late 16th century. In 1573, the first printing press in Bucharest (and the third in Wallachia) was established here, by ruling prince Alexandru II Mircea and his wife, Catherine Salvarezzo. The patterns, executed under the direction of monk Lavrentie and his apprentice Iovan, present specific features, unique in the history of Romanian printing, which can not be confused with other characters printed in Romanian Countries. In 1582, appear here the first books printed in Bucharest: two Tetra-evangelism and a Psalter (from which is kept only a fragment, in the National Library in Sofia).
Photos from Wikipedia and Creştin-Ortodox.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Bethlen Gábor College in Aiud
In May 1622, the Transylvanian Diet (the deliberative assembly) met in Cluj and approved the plan of Prince Gabriel Bethlen to establish a high education institution. The nobility wanted its establishment in Cluj, but the will of the prince was decisive, as the institution which was named Academicum Collegium seu Gymnasium Illustre was founded in Alba-Iulia. The aim of the Prince was to transform Alba-Iulia into the "Heidelberg of the East". Wanting to ensure a high quality education, the prince invited professors from universities in Western Europe.
In January 8, 1849, Aiud - considered a cultural and scientific center due to its college - was sacked and destroyed by the Imperial Armies, during the 1848 Revolution. It was the most terrible destruction in the history of Aiud and of the College.
Following the nationalization in 1948, the College lose its properties and the Reformed confessional character was suspended. In 1976, it became a technical high school. Since 1990, it was transformed again in a theoretical high school, in November 1993 was called 'College', with kindergarten, primary, secondary and high school classes (with sciences, theological, educational profiles).
On the 1st floor of the main building is the Museum of Natural Sciences, the oldest of its kind in Romania. His first record is in 1720.
Images from Aiud Online.