DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT Gray-green plateaus and rock formations in a palette of fiery oranges and browns take up much of the landscape on the 400-mile drive from St. George, Utah, to Dinosaur National Monument. Arid and sprawling, it's not the subtropical terrain that made up the late Mesozoic era, but that didn't stop the 5-year-old aspiring paleontologist in the back seat from imagining a hungry allosaurus or herd of sauropods pounding across the land in search of dinner.

"We're in dinosaur land," Theo chanted repeatedly.

Indeed, we had gone to Utah on the trail of dinosaurs. My son's fascination with the giant reptiles began at age 2; three years later, his bedtime stories still feature triceratops and stegosaurus, and the majority of his toy collection can be split into two categories: carnivores and herbivores.

So it seemed like a good time to expose him and his 9-year-old brother, Jack, to the real land of the allosaurus and brachiosaurus. Last spring, the kids, their dad, John, and I set out from Los Angeles to Utah on a seven-day road trip across a craggy, ever-changing landscape to Dinosaur National Monument, the mother ship for any enthusiast of the prehistoric beasts.

Home of the 30-foot-long meat-eating allosaurus (it's the state fossil), Utah has some of the country's richest fossil deposits and what scientists believe is the world's largest concentration of bones of carnivorous dinosaurs. No one knows why they're there, says Ken Carpenter, director of the Utah State University's Eastern Prehistoric Museum in Price. "There's something odd that attracted predators to that site, and then they died," he said.

We managed to squeeze in a few modern-day attractions along our route, but ultimately we all ended up embracing the dinosaur culture right along with Theo. We learned about Andrew Carnegie's role in the Gold Rush-like search for fossils that swept the country in the late 19th century, and found dinosaur links in such unexpected places as Pipe Spring National Monument near the Arizona border and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. On a lighter note, we picked up pterodactyl-hunting licenses at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum and snapped photos of the giant pink brachiosaurus statue and other Flintstonesesque kitsch that marks Vernal, the town closest to Dinosaur National Monument.

All in all, it was a vacation full of unexpected discoveries you get only on a road trip that doesn't always follow the map.

St. George, two hours north of Las Vegas, was our first stop. Home to a small museum, the town is known more as the gateway to Zion National Park than as rich dinosaur territory. Yet the Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm is a jackpot for anyone with even a passing interest in the prehistoric world. Built atop a sandstone slab that holds some of the oldest and best preserved dinosaur tracks in the world, it opened in 2008 after a local optometrist, Sheldon Johnson, discovered tracks as he was leveling a hill on his property. Research revealed an early Jurassic lakeside environment with hundreds of tracks left by meat eaters and swimmers, including the footprints and foreleg marks of a crouching dinosaur, one of only five such impressions ever found.

The on-site laboratory makes up the museum's main room; to date, 3,500 tracks have been documented within a 10-acre area surrounding the museum and the beehive of fossil research activity, even on weekends, indicates there are many more discoveries to come.

From St. George, it's a swivelly hour-long drive to Pipe Spring National Monument, once a polygamy outpost for breakaway groups of the Mormon church. Millions of years earlier, the barren landscape also apparently attracted at least a few large theropods, and rangers are happy to guide visitors to their tracks, discovered in 1995, on the half-mile trail that loops behind the 1870s fortified ranch house.

More here:
Hunting Utahraptor and his kin in modern-day Utah

Objections are mounting to a plan to build 35 houses on land north of Pangbourne.

The site off Pangbourne Hill is one which West Berkshire Council has identified as a preferred site for development.

Applicants Pangbourne Beaver Properties Limited put in an application to build ion the site in November.

The application has prompted more than 80 comments, many of them objecting to the scheme.

The plan is a hybrid application - part full and part outline - for 35 homes and a combined public amenity space and play area.

It includes pedestrian and vehicular access from Pangbourne Hill, a new footway, engineering and landscaping works along the Pangbourne Hill frontage and car park to serve Pangbourne Cemetery.

Almost half the homes, 40 per cent, will be affordable.

Among the comments on application on the West Berkshire Council planning website was an objection from Rev Brian Timms of Bere Court Road who registered "the strongest possible objection to this application" which he described as "ill-conceived and detrimental to this area of Pangbourne".

Andrzej Kopec, of Green Lane, said: "The site is within an area of archaeological importance based on finds from the Palaeolithic period onwards being recorded on it.

"There is a Roman cemetery and Roman deposits (sepulchral urns and coins) found 350m to the north of the development.

Excerpt from:
Pangbourne Hill development: objections to 35 homes mounting

Published: Sunday, January 4, 2015 at 4:30 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, January 1, 2015 at 12:34 p.m.

Van Hoff, biological science technician at Carl Sandburg National Historic Site, works with crews of volunteers and hired help to keep both cultivated and natural landscapes in excellent shape.

Our landscape represents the Sandburg period, Van Hoff says. We constantly refer to (a report) if its not in here, were probably not going to do it.

Van Hoff refers to a cultural landscape report created in 1993 by Susan Hart, then a graduate student at University of Georgia.

The document covers the landscaping history of the historic site from the time it was first developed by the Memmingers in the 1830s up through the decades the Sandburgs called it home from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Maintaining an absolute accuracy regarding specific plants the Sandburgs grew is not always possible, for various reasons.

Like ordinary people, they changed what they grew, Van Hoff says.

Also, the fact that 90,000 visitors tramp through the National Historic Site each year affects what can be grown and where.

The roses in the front yard once went to the fence, but not now, she says. We need to maintain the fence and get a mower through.

A star magnolia near the house allowed Mrs. Sandburg to enjoy the flowers fragrance from her bedroom window.

See the article here:
Sandburg Home biologist gives Mother Nature a hand

December 31, 2014

Gray-green plateaus and rock formations in a palette of fiery oranges and browns take up much of the landscape on the 400-mile drive from St. George, Utah, to Dinosaur National Monument. Arid and sprawling, its not the subtropical terrain that made up the late Mesozoic era, but that didnt stop the 5-year-old aspiring paleontologist in the back seat from imagining a hungry allosaurus or herd of sauropods pounding across the land in search of dinner.

Were in dinosaur land, Theo chanted repeatedly.

Indeed, we had gone to Utah on the trail of dinosaurs. My sons fascination with the giant reptiles began at age 2; three years later, his bedtime stories still feature triceratops and stegosaurus, and the majority of his toy collection can be split into two categories: carnivores and herbivores.

So it seemed like a good time to expose him and his 9-year-old brother, Jack, to the real land of the allosaurus and brachiosaurus. Last spring, the kids, their dad, John, and I set out from Los Angeles to Utah on a seven-day road trip across a craggy, ever-changing landscape to Dinosaur National Monument, the mother ship for any enthusiast of the prehistoric beasts.

Home of the 30-foot-long meat-eating allosaurus (its the state fossil), Utah has some of the countrys richest fossil deposits and what scientists believe is the worlds largest concentration of bones of carnivorous dinosaurs. No one knows why theyre there, says Ken Carpenter, director of the Utah State Universitys Eastern Prehistoric Museum in Price. Theres something odd that attracted predators to that site, and then they died, he said.

We managed to squeeze in a few modern-day attractions along our route, but ultimately we all ended up embracing the dinosaur culture right along with Theo. We learned about Andrew Carnegies role in the Gold Rush-like search for fossils that swept the country in the late 19th century, and found dinosaur links in such unexpected places as Pipe Spring National Monument near the Arizona border and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. On a lighter note, we picked up pterodactyl-hunting licenses at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum and snapped photos of the giant pink brachiosaurus statue and other Flintstonesesque kitsch that marks Vernal, the town closest to Dinosaur National Monument.

All in all, it was a vacation full of unexpected discoveries you get only on a road trip that doesnt always follow the map.

Prehistoric prints

St. George, two hours north of Las Vegas, was our first stop. Home to a small museum, the town is known more as the gateway to Zion National Park than as rich dinosaur territory. Yet the Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm is a jackpot for anyone with even a passing interest in the prehistoric world. Built atop a sandstone slab that holds some of the oldest and best preserved dinosaur tracks in the world, it opened in 2008 after a local optometrist, Sheldon Johnson, discovered tracks as he was leveling a hill on his property. Research revealed an early Jurassic lakeside environment with hundreds of tracks left by meat eaters and swimmers, including the footprints and foreleg marks of a crouching dinosaur, one of only five such impressions ever found.

See the rest here:
On a dino crusade in Utah, tracks dont always follow the map

AT PARLIAMENT HILL IN OTTAWA are (from left), Cookie Chan of Southwind Travel, Penny and Alan Carvajal of Travelways, Sun.Stars Nelia G. Neri, Globalinks Andrew Teh, Nelson and Baby Dy of Grand Hope Travel, Jaime and Gwen Po of Pan Pacific Travel, Nellie Ong, PAL Area Head for Visayas Sales Chris Lebumfacil, Leisure Travels Sheila Colmenares and Miki Villarica of Destination Specialists.

TO MAKE the most of our trip and to see more of Canada, we made side trips to Ottawa, the capital of Canada; to Frenchy Montreal; and finally to historic Quebec City.

Ottawa

The centerpiece of Ottawas downtown landscape is Parliament Hill, a gently sloping hill where the magnificent Gothic-style Parliament Buildings sit. The complex is considered the most beautiful government center in the world with the House of Commons, the Senate and the Library of Parliament under its wing. In the midst of the impressive structure is the landmark Peace Tower, a 53-bell carillon clock tower which marks each quarter hour. The entire hill was covered with snow during our visit and yes, we had to literally dash through the snow to go up the hill and take photos of the stunning sight.

Montreal

By night fall we were in Montreal, all set to explore the night life in the beautiful French-speaking city. However, the temperature kept dipping and we decided to just enjoy the Christmas lights around the city from the bus.

Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec and has been named a Unesco City of Design. A city tour the next day brought us to the Notre Dame Basilica, the first cathedral of the Diocese of Montreal; to the stately St. Josephs Oratory of Mount Royal; and the Olympic Stadium, the venue of the 1976 Summer Olympics.

St. Josephs Oratory was another snow-covered hill we had to traverse but no one complained. The sanctuary, founded by Brother Andre Bessette (canonized saint in 2010), was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. It is an imposing presence in Montreal with its towering dome and 56-bell carillon. We spent time at the Votive Chapel appreciating the many wall plaques showing St.Joseph in different roles... the model of workers, consolation of the afflicted, patron of the dying, among them. We prayed before Brother Andres tomb (he was a known healer in his lifetime) and then proceeded to the floor showcasing his memorabilia. Most overwhelming was the display of his preserved heart encased in a glass urn. It was an old custom in France and Italy to have the hearts of famous persons preserved and it was for this reason that Archbishop Georges Gauthier of Montreal requested for Brother Andres heart to be preserved.

The Olympic Stadium in Montreal, designed by French architect Roger Taillibert is said to be a masterpiece of Organic Modern architecture. Incorporated into the north base of the stadium is the Olympic Park Tower, the worlds tallest inclined tower at 175 meters. Aside from giving the best view of Montreal, the observatory offers visitors the chance to re-live the 1976 Summer Olympics with an exclusive soundtrack as well as life-size images of the biggest feats accomplished at the Games. As for the stadium, it now serves as a multi-purpose facility for special events like concerts, trade shows and the like. Our first view of the monumental landmark was from a snow-covered hill miles away, and then we went to the place itself for a closer look.

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On to Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City

The Albums That Defined 2014exploreshow this year's most influential records have shaped and reflected thewider musiclandscape. In this final installment:Run The Jewels, D'Angelo, Lauryn Hill, J. Cole and more prove protest songs never went extinct. In fact, we need them more than ever.

It's been a disquieting few months for anyone watching the news out of America. On November 24, a grand jury decided it wouldn't indict officer Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown. Then, just over a week after, a Staten Island jury similarly sided with officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Eric Garner. If the country wasn't already boiling, these punctuated a dizzying succession of other police shootings victimizing young black males: John Crawford III,Akai Gurley, Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old who was waving around a toy gun on a Cleveland playground. There have been protests, die-ins, riots, grand displays of police militarization, and then intuitively, inevitably even, but certainly not rightfully retaliation murders. Something big is happening, you can feel it.

Like"Strange Fruit" decried early-century lynchings,Woody Guthrie's "Union Burying Ground" celebrated the '40s pro-labour movement, or the Dead Kennedys'Frankenchrist derided Reaganomics, Run the Jewels' RTJ2 is our snapshot of America in the era of #BlackLivesMatter.

Rap, like punk rock, is a vehicle that's made for dissent, though maybe each has suffered from a predilection for partying for about the past decade (a fact not lost on Killer Mike). Bubbling just beneath the radio waves, Mike and El-P have been making political, socially-engaged hip-hop for nearly two decades apiece, but it's here that they've served up their magnum opus a breathless 11-track collection of timely dissidence.

On "Early," Mike imagines watching his wife's murder at the hands of a cop. It's a contemporary redux of "Fuck tha Police" that sidesteps the gangster pose he begins, in fact, by admitting"I respect the badge and the gun" for an examination of police brutality, institutional racism, and the everyday fears that those engender. And this comes, I remind you, from Killer Mike, the real-life son of a former Atlanta police officer.

But passivity and observation don't characterize the album elsewhere: "Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)" is a rebel song in the plainest sense (Zach de la Rocha even steps on), wherein Killer Mike and El-P encourage wide-scale revolt in the prisons, the factories, and on the streets. It's not the first time onRTJ2where their rhetoric, especially regarding the place of violence in protest, is more Malcolm X than MLK Jr. (alluded to more directly on "Jeopardy") but the incendiary language is likely more art, less instruction. They do, however, think you should be expressing your discontents: "a riot is just the language of the unheard," Mike quoted King in a tearful pre-show speech that went viral.

To be certain, the deaths of Micheal Brown and Eric Garner were flashpoints for many musicians. Q-Tip led chants at a rally in New York, Lauryn Hill dedicated "Black Rage" to Ferguson, D'Angelo rushed the release of Black Messiah on the heels of the controversial grand jury decisions, Dev Hynes scored a documentary on the NYC protests, The Game assembled an impossibly large posse cut in tribute to Brown, and J. Cole delivered his heartbreaking, plaintive "Be Free."

Whereas many of last year's most memorable releases marked aesthetic achievements (Random Access Memories, Modern Vampires of the City, Yeezus), music is enjoying an especially discursive moment in 2014 it wants to talk about the world around it. A Tribe Called Red reminded us of the problems underlying the observance of Thanksgiving, Against Me! wrote about gender dysphoria, and Pussy Riot continued its expos of Russian civil rights. Storytelling, grass-roots activism, and an attention to marginalized voices have landed in the forefront.

To say hip-hop is dead or punk is dead just seems out of touch. They both just had their biggest year in a long time.

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The rest is here:
The Albums That Defined 2014: Run The Jewels RTJ2 and the year in protest song

Daniel Libeskind, AIA, founder and principal of Studio Daniel Libeskind, and the City of Vilnius, Lithuania, have revealed renderings for the Vilnius Beacon ski center. The complex is sited at Liepkalnis Ski Hill, which is the highest point in southeast Lithuania and is conveniently located between the citys historical center and airport. It will provide a wide range of activities through all seasons and offer a program of recreational and cultural entertainment for all ages.

The proposed site plan features a circular plaza at its center with a large open arena and sports center. The two main buildings, housing ticketing and retail outlets, are located at the sites perimeter and are connected by winding canopies. The ski centers main entrance is a three-story lodge with a curved exterior and a sloped roof, which extends the landscape and provides picturesque views. The lodge also has porches and is wrapped with windows capturing views of the city center and natural landscape.

Construction on the site is set to begin in 2015 and it is expected to be complete in 2016.

All images courtesy Studio Libeskind

Link:
Daniel Libeskind Unveils Renderings for New Lithuania Ski Center

Planning permission given for turbine at Mwche farm, across Tafestuary Family of the Welsh poet are embroiled in a fight to stop the development The view inspired works such as Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night Fears it could drive away tourists from house, which is now a tea room

By Luke Salkeld for the Daily Mail

Published: 18:38 EST, 26 December 2014 | Updated: 07:38 EST, 27 December 2014

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The stunning view from his waterside home inspired some of Dylan Thomas's greatest works.

But the Welsh poet's beloved landscape is under threat after officials granted permission for a 147ft wind turbine to be built right in the middle of it.

His family are embroiled in a fight to stop the development, following celebrations to mark 100 years since Thomas's birth.

The view from Dylan Thomas's home is under threat after planning officials granted permission for a 147ft turbine (red dot in picture above)

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View from Dylan Thomas's waterside home under threat from turbine

If you hear the tinkling of chimes and see a shimmer on boughs of green near the top of Waterworks Hill, walk a little closer.

Go ahead. George Ybarra, a metal sculptor who does much outdoor installation work, wants you to share in the festivities, the joy of the mountain.

"For this particular Christmas tree, I just again wanted to share in the season of the holidays and be able to give something back to the hikers and people who frequent the North Hills because the trail systems up there are so amazing," Ybarra said.

On Tuesday, he and his little girl, Zora, 10, added some more ornaments to the tree, one Ybarra had selected for the occasion. The small, round pine is a little ways off the trail, but it's not so far away it melts into the landscape.

It's the second year Ybarra has decorated a tree, but the Northside resident and artist has been walking up Waterworks ever since the peace sign was painted on a telephone relay tower on the hill. In 2001, the sign came down, but its footings are still in place on the way to the summit, and Ybarra saw an opportunity in the gap.

"After they took down the peace sign, I was kind of inspired about having these kind of art objects up in the North Hills," he said.

At first, he bolted art to fence posts, and then last year he decided to decorate a Christmas tree. He selected the one at the top of the Orange Street switchbacks, and he and Zora twisted aluminum into metal spirals for ornaments.

"It was real fun for her to work with me on that project 'cause I always like to do a craft project over the holidays," Ybarra said.

A group of ladies who walk Waterworks liked the tree, and they brought up ornaments and added to the display, too. Soon after Jan. 1, Ybarra cleared out the ornaments, and the Christmas tree returned to its simple, unadulterated glory.

A few months later, Ybarra began planning for this year's tree. For at least six months, he and Zora collected the lids from olive cans to use as decorations.

See more here:
Merry Christmas in Missoula! A tree for the hill and its hikers

Joe Chaisson: Savin Hill activist has long history of opposing billboard proliferation along the expressway. Photo by Bill ForryOver the next month, a handful of Dorchesters civic associations will take up the issue of billboards in their neighborhoods. Should they vote to disavow them or should they begin conversations to allow some to be erected?

The city has recently been hit with a flurry of new applications for billboards and last Wednesday night there was a summit meeting at the Savin Hill Apartments of the heads of the Columbia-Savin Hill, Neponset, Clam Point, and Port Norfolk civic associations where they assessed the proposals in an effort to decide whether or not to create a unified front against any new boards.

When we heard about this electronic billboard, it just set off all kinds of alarms, said Jeanne Doherty of the Columbia Savin Hill group, referring to a recent application to install one on the NSTAR land on Dewar Street in Savin Hill, a prime location along the southeast expressway. The proposal comes with stringent zoning restrictions. Columbia-Savin Hill will vote on the application at Januarys meeting.

Another concern is the style of the billboards static or electronic? as companies race to stake claims to erect highly lucrative digital boards along the interstate.

City Councillor Frank Baker indicated he would follow the lead of the civic associations, but added that he had no interest in digital boards: I asked the mayors office to defer any applications until the community gets together, a position endorsed by state Rep. Dan Hunt, who was at the meeting, and by a representative from state Sen. Linda Dorcena Forrys office.

Baker said he was interested in working out an agreement that could potentially bring one new board into a prime location in exchange for 15 or 20 to be taken off main local thoroughfares like Dorchester Avenue or near the Neponset River. With all the development on Dot Ave., this would go a long way to clean it up, he said.

Joe Chiasson of Columbia Savin Hill began the meeting with a history of Dorchesters reluctance to allow the billboards along the Southeast Expressway and the neighborhoods main drags. As a result of his civic work in the 80s, companies looking to put up billboards had to fight to get okays from civic associations before going before the Zoning Board of Appeals. Chiasson told the group that folks in City Hall would call it Joes Law.

He noted that the late Mayor Tom Menino was always anti-billboard. The only new board, Chiasson said, was the one behind the school depository on NSTAR land. But every time that board has come up before Savin Hill civic, the civic groups have come together to vote no. The land just sits there and I hope it stays that way.

In light of the flurry of new applications for billboards under a new administration, Chiasson said, the time was right to bring the civics together just like old times.

The respective civic associations will decide at their January meetings if they want to reject all billboard applications, or take things on a case-by-case basis.

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Civic leaders look to renew coalition on billboard issues