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> Brokerage Boats for Sale>Brokerage Sailboats for Sale>Baltic Boats for Sale
Baltic Boats for Sale Please call for more information!
BALTIC YACHTS AMERICAS
We are proud to represent high performance sailing yachts and the world renown integrity of Baltic Yachts throughout North America and South America.
Today Baltic Yachts continues to utilize research & development, high-tech materials and the latest methods to build semi-custom (ranging from 50 to 66 feet) and full custom yachts up to 200 feet in their state-of-the-art facilities on the west coast of Finland.
Since 1991, Baltic Yachts Americas has been working side-by-side with customers. Whether it's a custom built boat or a well maintained used yacht, you can rely on the knowledge and guidance of Baltic Yachts Americas.
Based in America's sailing capital of Narragansett Bay and steeped in Yachting history our offices are located at 110 Woodlawn Avenue, Bristol, Rhode Island, USA.
Baltic America's
Light, stiff and fast
Baltic Yachts was founded in 1973 on a radical philosophy. With five founding partners, we set out to create boats that incorporated the very latest thinking in yacht design and new technology. In short, we set out on a mission to design and build boats that were Faster, Stronger and Lighter.
We could have simply built copies of yachts that existed at the time, but we felt it was essential to come up with our own philosophy. Faster, Stronger and Lighter were three principles that fired our imaginations and governed everything that we thought and did. These days, few would argue that all three principles are values well worth having in a sailing yacht, but in the early 1970s the last of those three, light displacement, was not really considered a virtue. We are still true to our philosophy, but have placed greater emphasis on Flexibility and Custom than ever before.
We believe that without a company philosophy, it is difficult to find a common direction. The Baltic Yachts' philosophy is used as a basis for decisions and as a tool in our daily work efforts to continue building custom high performance yachts--faster, stronger and lighter.
Baltic Philosophy


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Kris Jenner alleged to have leaked Ray J and Kim Kardashain tape for fame
Kim Kardashian and Ray J sex tape.
A new book which came out this week claims that the Kim Kardashian and Ray J home made sex tape which came out back in 2007 and famously sold for $1 million, was leaked by Kim and her own mother, Kris Jenner. Report below from Page Six
Kim Kardashian and her momager Kris Jenner deliberately leaked her now-infamous sex tape to make her famous, a new book allegedly confirms. Kim signed a contract with Vivid Entertainment in 2007 to leak the sex tape she made with Ray J in 2003, a new book, "Kardashian Dynasty" by Ian Halperin, claims.
"A mutual friend of Kim and Paris [Hilton] had advised her that if she wanted to achieve fame, a sex tape would be the way to go . . . Kim had discussed the idea of producing a tape with her family beforehand."
"It was Kris who engineered the deal behind the scenes and was responsible for the tape seeing the light of day."
celebrityEntertainmentkardashians

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Modern Manuscripts Search Results: beginning with "H"
H.T. FitzSimons Company, Inc.: H.T. FitzSimons Company, Inc. Records, 1920-1950
Manuscript and printed music and some miscellanea of this Chicago music publisher, along with the papers of Rossetter G. Cole, a prolific Chicago composer. Cole bequeathed his papers to Harry T. FitzSimons; his manuscript and printed music, writings, clippings, programs, miscellanea, and collections of calling cards, postcards, and autographs make up a large portion of this collection. A small amount of Harry FitzSimons' correspondence is also present. The FitzSimons Co. was purchased in 1983 by the Fred Bock Music Companies.
Hackett, Fred B., approximately 1880-1975: Fred B. Hackett Papers, 1882-1963
Materials pertaining to Fred B. Hackett, a member of the Chicago Corral of The Westerners, who, for a time, lived and worked among the Oglala Sioux at the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. The material includes a report of the proceedings of the council held on September 21-22, 1903 at Pine Ridge Agency in South Dakota between Congressman E. W. Martin and the delegates of five different tribes of Indians, relative to the Black Hills treaty of 1876; a typed description of the Sun Dance held at Pine Ridge in 1929 to which Fred Hackett was witness; and approximately 180 photographs, the majority of which portray the Sioux Indians in South Dakota. The photographs range from as early as 1882 to as late as 1963.
Hadley, Henry Kimball, 1871-1937 : Henry Kimball Hadley-Inez Barbour Programs and Posters, 1919-1938
Programs and posters of performances by conductor Henry Kimball Hadley and his wife, soprano Inez Barbour, dating from Barbour's 1919 Aeolian Hall recital to a memorial concert for Hadley in 1938.
Hager, Mina: Mina Hager Papers, 1892-1977
Material relating to the career of mezzo-soprano Mina Hager (Mrs. Fred Heidenson), including incoming correspondence from John Alden Carpenter and others, programs, clippings and other memorabilia. Also, practice and demo tapes, sound recordings (78 rpm and 45 rpm, LP) and a collection of manuscript and published sheet music, mostly by John Alden Carpenter.
Hall, Gus: Gus Hall Communist Party meeting recordings, 1988-1993
Recordings of longtime American Communist Party national chairman and U.S. presidential candidate Gus Hall. Each tape contains Hall's updates at regular party executive board meetings, 1988-1993, a time of considerable dissent over Hall's rigid support of Soviet-style Communism and the absence of internal party democracy.
Hall, Louise D.: Louise Hall Postcard Collection, approximately 1900-1930
Over 600 postcards donated by Louise D. Hall. They cover a variety of subjects, including holidays, romantic couples, portraits, children, and countries.
Hambleton, Emma Lander: Hambleton Family Papers, 1871-1932
Three letters by Emma Lander Hambleton, wife of Chalkley Jay Hambleton. Also one letter by Vera S. Wolfe, daughter of conductor Frederick Stock to Peggy Hambleton Murphy.
Hamill, Alfred E., (Alfred Ernest), 1884-1953: Alfred E. Hamill Papers, 1856-1967
Chicago investment banker, Centaur Press founder, Newberry Library trustee, and calligraphy and gypsy lore collector. Personal letters of Alfred E. Hamill to a Russian émigré, Alexandra Fredericks, and of Dora E. Yates, a librarian and the secretary of the Gypsy Lore Society, to Hamill. Also typescript copy of a diary kept 1918-1919 while in France with the American Red Cross, a letter to Andrei Gromyko in 1945 regarding U.S.-Soviet relations, bookplates, photographs, poems, and other memorabilia.
Hamill, Alfred E., (Alfred Ernest), 1884-1953: Alfred E. Hamill Letters to Kenneth Meyer Setton, 1944-1946
Five letters to Kenneth Setton concerning his studies of Athens in the 12th century, and other matters of mutual interest.
Hamilton, Philip, 1802-1884.: Louis McLane Hamilton collection, 1867-1869
Correspondence, extracts of reports, printed obituaries and resolutions, newspaper clippings, 1867-1867, possibly collected by Benson John Lossing, concerning the life of Capt. Louis McLane Hamilton and his death at the Battle of Washita.,Includes correspondence of Philip Hamilton (father) to Lossing, and Robert Mayhew West (forwarding copy of 7th Cavalry resolution on Hamilton's death to the Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle); ms. extracts from Custer's July 6, 1867, order praising Hamilton's actions; printed obituaries from New York newspapers; a printed copy of the West letter and accompanying resolution; and a newspaper articles containing Custer's report to Gen. W.T. Sherman on the battle.
Hammond, Charles L. (Charles Lyman), 1853-: C.L. Hammond scrapbook, 1891-1895
Scrapbook containing autograph letters, photographs, newspaper clippings, etc., relating to the Lincoln monument, collected by C. L. Hammond, the letters being for the most part, written by or to him.
Hanks, Jane Richardson, 1908-: Jane Richardson Hanks Kiowa Papers, 1935-1968
Correspondence, field notes, and writings of anthropologist Jane Richardson Hanks, mainly documenting her 1935 graduate student field work with the Kiowa Indians in Oklahoma.
Hanlin, John T., 1841-1918: John T. Hanlin Letters, 1862-1865
Correspondence from Sgt. Hanlin of the 89th Indiana Infantry, Company E, to his parents and siblings describing camp life and combat during his travels through Indiana, Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Alabama.
Hansen, Harry, 1884-: Harry Hansen Papers, 1900-1970
Correspondence, subject files, photographs and artwork of newspaper writer and editor Harry Hansen.
Harris family: Harris-MacLean Family Papers, 1784-1980
Letters, diaries, photographs, daybooks, ledgers, writings, genealogical material, and memorabilia detailing the life and travels of several wealthy Chicago families, mainly during the first three decades of the 20th century. The Harris family side is Norman Wait Harris, founder of the Harris Bank of Chicago, and his wife, Emma Gale Harris from New Hampshire, and their parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren. Other major related families represented include Gale, Bent, Lane, and MacLean. Collection highlights include courtship letters, daybooks of a New Hampshire physician, whaling ship logs, works and correspondence of sociologist Annie Marion MacLean, and 19th and 20th century photograph albums.
Harris, James Duncan: James D. and Joseph W. Harris Papers, 1824-1862
Correspondence from James Duncan Harris and brother Joseph Whipple Harris of Massachusetts and New Hampshire to members of their family, mostly written while they were in military service in the 1860's. Also, a few letters James wrote from Chicago in the 1850's; letters concerning Joseph Harris's death in 1861 while serving in the United States Navy; a few historic family letters and a genealogical pamphlet.
Harris, Sydney J.: Sydney Justin Harris Papers, 1933-1987
Correspondence, clippings, readers' letters, and personal materials of Chicago columnist Sydney Justin Harris.
Harrison, Carter H., (Carter Henry), 1860-1953: Carter H. Harrison IV Papers, 1637-1953
Correspondence, writings, clippings, photographs, and memorabilia relating to Chicago Mayor Carter Henry Harrison IV (1860-1953), and his family, particularly his wife, Edith Ogden Harrison, and his father, Chicago Mayor Carter Henry Harrison III (1825-1893). The collection also includes a number of letters, autographs, and miscellaneous other documents from famous people that were not originally directed to Harrison or his family, but which Harrison kept as collectibles.
Harrison, Gabriel, 1818-1902: Gabriel Harrison letters, 1873-1883
Letters regarding John Howard Payne to Gabriel Harrison from three current and former U.S. consuls to Tunis, William Penn Chandler of Philadelphia, George Whitfield Fish of Tunis and Flint, Mich., and Amos Perry of Providence, R.I. Also one letter, also about Payne, from Fish to Thomas J. McKee, a New York lawyer and friend of Harrison's.,The letters, which were probably responses to a correspondence initiated by Harrison during the revision of his 1875 work, concern the circumstances of Payne's death, the erection of and wording on his Tunis gravestone, the disposition of Payne's personal effects and the interest of his niece, Eloise E. Luquer in recovering them, Chandler's possession of Payne mss., and W.W. Corcoran's proposal to transfer Payne's remains to Washington, D.C. Fish, who had served as consul until 1882 when Congress failed to appropriate funds for the post, also comments on the shaky political situation at Tunis and the sad state of U.S. representation in the southern Mediterranean.
Harrison, Theodore, 1876-1965: Theodore Harrison Memorabilia, 1912-1949
Miscellaneous memorabilia relating to Theodore Harrison, Chicago concert baritone, choral conductor and teacher, consisting of clippings, programs and publicity material. Also, material concerning the Hull-House Music School and Chorus, including two recordings, as well as items about singers Nancy Carr and Barre Hill.
Hart, John Edward, 1917-: John E. Hart-Floyd Dell Papers, 1958-1985
Hart, Philip, 1914-2000: Philip Hart Papers, 1973-1974
Small collection of letters and other materials about Theodore Thomas, founding music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra collected by Philip Hart, a music historian and former assistant manager of the CSO.
Hartlieb, Harold John: Harold John Hartlieb Papers, ca. 1945
Correspondence and military documents from Harold John Hartlieb's service during World War II.
Harvey family: Harvey Family Papers, 1800-2007
Collection of letters, photographs, diaries, writings, business records, and genealogical research materials centering around Chicago native and longtime Rand McNally employee Bennet B. Harvey, his wife Dorothy Wegener Harvey, their son Bennet B. Harvey, Jr., and their ancestors, many of whom were early Chicago settlers and involved in the development of the city. Families represented include Botsford, Chapin, Fisk, Gehrke, Harvey, and Wegener.
Harzig, Christiane: Christiane Harzig collection of Chicago postcards, ca. 1900-1910s
190 tinted photo postcards, mostly blank, of Chicago scenes and buildings, including the Newberry Library, parks, amusement parks, Chicago Loop buildings, Michigan Avenue residences, etc. Postcards were published by Chicago publishers Koelling & Klappenbach, V.O. Hammon, P. Schmidt, Franklin Card Co., Warren News Co., Schwartz and Co., International Postal Card Co., and others. Most were printed in Germany. Postcards with messages were mailed from Chicago by Wanda Ludyuska, and mainly addressed to the Wenck family of Berlin, Germany.
Hatch, Edward, 1832-1889: Edward Hatch letters, 1867-1870
Born in Bangor, Me., and educated in Norwich, Vt., Edward Hatch emigrated ca. 1852 to Muscatine, Iowa, where he operated a lumberyard (Hatch & Fullerton). After serving with distinction in the Civil War, Hatch on July 28, 1866, was commissioned colonel of one of two new colored cavalry regiments, the 9th U.S. Cavalry. He commanded the regiment for twenty-three years, serving nine years on the Texas frontier before assuming command of the Department of New Mexico (1876-1881). He died at Fort Robinson, Neb., Apr. 11, 1889. Nine letters, 1867-1870, from Hatch to his friend, Muscatine insurance and real estate agent, Thomas D. Smith, regarding the activities of his regiment in Texas and the sale of his Muscatine, Iowa, properties.,Letters discuss the training of troops, the protection of wagon roads from Indian attacks, skirmishes with Comanche, Kiowa, Mescalero, Apache, and Kickapoo bands, a trip to Chihuahua, Mexico, army reductions, and Hatch's presidency of court martials and military tribunals.
Haugh, Dolores: Dolores Haugh Riverview Amusement Park Collection, 1904-1977
Riverview Park archival records, including correspondence, accounts, publicity materials, concession contracts, minutes and reports, photographs, scrapbooks, clippings, and advertising materials, salvaged by Dolores Haugh from the abandoned park office one week before it burned down. Reports, minutes, correspondence, and other documents date mainly from the early years of the park. Advertising materials, clippings, and photographs are mainly from the last decades of park operation. There is information about rides and concessions, including the famous "Bobs," events like the Riverview Ramble and Mayor William Hale Thompson's 1920s outings for school children, staff members, and the general operation of the park. Also materials gathered by Haugh for her newspaper articles and her book, Riverview Amusement Park (2004).
Haupt, Herman: Herman Haupt papers, 1897-1921
Born in 1852 in Philadelphia; son of inventor and civil engineer Herman Haupt. Also author of The Yellowstone National Park : a complete guide ... New York : J.M. Stoddart, c1883. Manuscript copy of "North American Indians : ethnology of the Dakota,-Sioux,-and Ojibway,-Chippeway-Indians ... Phoenix Edition. 1897," a typewritten excerpt from it, and correspondence (1903, 1919-1921) with Edward E. Ayer, W.N.C. Carlton, and Clara Smith at the Newberry Library, regarding it.,The manuscript (344 leaves) deals mainly with the Dakota Sioux and the Ojibwa of Wisconsin and Minnesota and is illustrated with 277 pen and ink drawings and one map. Covering history, dwellings, domestic habits, games, traditions and legends, dress and ornament, medicine, laws, religion, war and weapons, and death and burial practices, the work was written originally over a period of ten years, lost in a fire on the Pennsylvania Railroad, and painstakingly reconstructed as the "Phoenix Edition" by Haupt. Lacking funds to publish his manuscript, Haupt offered it to Ayer in 1903, and corresponded with the Newberry, 1919-1921, regarding efforts to have it published by the Smithsonian Bureau of American Ethnology.
Havighurst, Robert James, 1900- : Robert James Havighurst Papers, 1940-1980
University of Chicago professor and education scholar who directed the National Study of American Indian Education, a comprehensive, national fact-finding study on the education of American Indians, from 1968-1971. Collection contains reports and research materials (student surveys, interview transcriptions, etc.) pertaining to this study.
Hawkins, Benjamin, 1754-1816: Benjamin Hawkins letters, 1797-1812
North Carolina planter, U.S. senator, and Indian agent. Letters concerning southern Indian affairs, 1796-1812, from Hawkins to Col. David Henley, U.S. War Dept. agent based in Knoxville; James Jackson, governor of Georgia, 1798-1801; and Harry Toulmin, a prominent Mobile resident and later federal judge in the Mississippi Territory.,Subjects include setting the boundary line between the U.S. and the Creek Nation along the Clinch River and settlers on Indian lands there (1797); horse thefts and Creeks spoiled by British and Spanish gifts (1798); Florida depradations of William Augustus Bowles, a self-styled director-general of the Creek Nation (1800); and punishment of Creek Indians for murders committed on the post road, relations with Spanish Florida, and Seminole attacks (1812).
Hayden, Hannah, -1823: Hannah Hayden Letters, 1806-1866
Correspondence written in the early nineteenth century by Hannah Hayden from Hartwick and Springfield, Otsego County, New York, to her parents and sisters in Windsor, Connecticut, plus a few other family letters. Seventy-six items, the bulk of which are written by Hannah, detail her everyday life with her husband, and the births, lives and deaths of some of their twelve children.
Hayes, Alice Ryerson, 1922-: Alice Judson Ryerson Hayes Papers, 1934-2006
Daily journals, travel journals, sketchbooks, writings, and other papers of Chicago writer Alice Judson Ryerson Hayes, who founded and ran Ragdale, a retreat for writers, musicians, and artists, at her family's Lake Forest estate designed by her grandfather, Howard Van Doren Shaw. Dating from 1934-2001, Hayes' journals contain extensive reflections on motherhood, marriage, writing, and a host of other topics, as well as her own creative work. They document an independent woman entering adulthood in the 1940s and making her way in the world.
Hayes, James, 1907-1993: James Hayes Papers, 1921-1994
Correspondence, client files, and subject files of Chicago and Colorado calligrapher and lettering artist James Hayes. Also: collections of bookplates, calligraphic newsletters, and printed calligraphic work by other artists.
Haynes, John, 1838-1863: John Haynes copybooks and notes, 1849-1855
School writing books, handwriting exercises and notes by John Haynes, a student; one entry is a long poem entitled "Tribute to the memory of Mrs. R.P. Stevens wife of Rodolphus Stevens and daughter of John Clement of Townsend ..." and dated at Townsend, Mass. 1849; some other exercises are dated Dec. 5, 1849 at Townsend; one loose sheet dated Sept. 8, 1855.
Head, Cloyd: Cloyd Head Papers, 1895-1968
Writings and correspondence, souvenirs and miscellany of Cloyd Head, Chicago playwright, theatrical director, business manager of the Goodman Theatre and husband of the poet Eunice Tietjens.
Heath, Charles A., (Charles Andrews): Charles Andrews Heath Papers, 1880-1999
Chicago businessman, founder and president of Continental Seed Co. Includes Charles Andrews Heath's diaries, 1880-1949, with typed excerpts, which discuss the Haymarket Riot, the World's Columbian Exposition, the World's Parliament of Religions, the Galveston flood, several wars, and many Chicago related events. There are also typed transcripts of 1912 European trip letters from Heath's wife Jennie and children Alice and Albert, photographs of Heath and his family, including the European trip, and documents related to properties Heath owned.
Heaton, Harold R.: Harold R. Heaton Political Cartoons, 1909-ca.1913
Sixty original political and editorial cartoons by Harold R. Heaton for the Chicago newspaper Inter-Ocean, drawn between 1909 and circa 1913.
Hecht, Ben, 1894-1964 : Ben Hecht Papers, 1879-1983
Works, correspondence, and papers of novelist, playwright, and screenwriter Ben Hecht, and also papers of his wife Rose Caylor Hecht (novelist) and daughter Jenny Hecht (actress).
Hecht, Ben, 1894-1964 : Ben Hecht Filmscript Collection, 1933-1968
Collection of cinema scripts and associated material, both credited and uncredited to Ben Hecht. The range of material includes not only scripts (both draft, first, and final), but also such items as footage schedules, dialogue continuity, budget estimates, publicity memorabilia, trailer information, research, story treatments, and synopses.
Heckewelder, John Gottlieb Ernestus, 1743-1823: John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder letters, 1790-1822
A small collection of correspondence (seven letters) written by Heckewelder from his home in Bethlehem, Pa. to three individuals between the years 1790 and 1822.,The largest group of letters were written to William Alexander, a surveyor residing in Carlisle, Pa., dated 23 March 1790 to 8 Feb. 1791. In these letters Heckewelder engages the services of Alexander to survey five warrents of land (650 acres) in eastern Ohio purchased by Heckewelder and others. He also instructs Alexander to layout these warrents "on a good rich spot, and as near the Christian Indians Tract as possible." Also included in this collection are two other letters - one to Noah Worcester (Corresponding Secretary of the Massachusetts Peace Society) in 1818 and the other to John Huffnagle (Philadelphia merchant) in 1822. In the letter to Worcester, Heckewelder describes the peace efforts and mission of the Moravian Church. And in a short letter to Huffnagle, he mentions his grafting attempts of fruit trees and his failing health.
Heflin, Wilson L. (Wilson Lumpkin), 1913-: Wilson Heflin Papers, 1830-1990
Professor of American literature at the U.S. Naval Academy and Melville scholar. Heflin's papers contain notes and correspondence relating to Heflin's lifelong work on a book concerning Melville's sea years, together with an almost complete manuscript of the book, which Heflin did not live to publish.
Helaine Victoria Press.: Helaine Victoria Press Ephemera Collection, 1973-1995
102 items created by Helaine Victoria Press between 1973 and 1995. Includes postcards, bookmarks, catalogs, newsletters, promotional materials, broadsides, and other printed ephemera.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961: William Horne-Ernest Hemingway Papers,, 1913-1985
Correspondence, works, articles, clippings and memorabilia relating to Ernest Hemingway and William Horne.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961: Frederick W. Spiegel-Ernest Hemingway Papers, 1918-1973
Collection relating to Ernest Hemingway assembled by his friend Frederick Spiegel. Contains miscellaneous correspondence including four original letters and several photostats written by Hemingway; numerous clippings and articles relating to Hemingway's life and letters; miscellaneous items about the American Red Cross ambulance service in World War I. Also, a photostat of Hemingway's will written in 1961.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961: Clara G. Spiegel-Ernest Hemingway Family Papers, 1939-1988
Letters and cards written to author Clara G. Spiegel from Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gellhorn, Mary Welsh Hemingway and Patrick Hemingway, plus one letter from game ranger Denis Zaphiro. Also, a small photograph of Hemingway and a typescript of a friend's eulogy written by Hemingway in 1939.
Henrotin family: Henrotin Family Papers, ca. 1860-1940
Letters, photographs, and ephemera of the Henrotin family, particularly of Charles and Ellen Martin Henrotin. Charles Henrotin was the founder of the Chicago Stock Exchange and Ellen Martin Henrotin was a women's rights advocate who was active in a number social action organizations.
Henshaw, Marguerite: Marguerite Henshaw Autograph Album, 1892-1931
Autographs collected by Marguerite Henshaw ca. 1892-1904 (with additional autographs collected by Helen Gaspar Gunther, ca. 1930-1931). Autographs are mainly theatrical, military, and political persons. Notable autographs include Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and John Philip Sousa. Also includes some loose autographs, letters, and picture postcards including some from the Book Post Card, Midget Post Card, and Bijou Post Card series.
Herguth, Margaret S.: Margaret S. Herguth Clippings, 1960-1962
Issues of Chicago Daily News's magazine "Chicago Life" from 1960-1962, the tenure of Margaret (Marge) Silsbee Herguth, staff writer, assistant editor, and editor of the magazine.
Hesterberg, William: William Hesterberg Collection of Keepsakes and Private Press Ephemera, ca. 1987-2002
Letterpress keepsakes and ephemera collected by Chicago-area handpress printer William Hesterberg. The bulk of the collection consists of keepsakes produced by members of the Typocrafters, an informal group of people interested in typography and graphic design.
High, John, 1921-2006: John High Collection, approximately 1890s-1910s
This collection is a gift from New York actor John High, and consists of pre-World War I postcards, including a premier collection of woven silks and Stevengraphs. Other categories in this collection include Alphonse Mucha, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, jigsaw puzzles, "hold-to-lights" and copper windows, the four seasons, twelve months of the year, and crosswords.
Higinbotham, Harlow N. (Harlow Niles), 1838-1919 : Harlow N. Higinbotham Letters, 1861-1865
Collection of 49 letters primarily to Chicago merchant and businessman Harlow Niles Higinbotham from friends, family, and associates during the Civil War.
Hild, Dorothy: Dorothy Hild Papers, 1847-1984
Former Director of Entertainment at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago and founder of the dance troupe Africana Dancers. Papers include correspondence, clippings, financial information, photographs, publicity, sheet music for her productions and dance numbers at the Edgewater Beach Hotel as well as the auto and fair shows Dorothy Hild directed under the auspices of Barnes - Carruthers, and files from her instruction at various YMCA and YWCA locations in Chicago. Additionally, the papers contain audiovisual materials, chiefly related to her productions.
Hillers, John K., 1845-1925: John K. Hillers Photographs of Zuni, Hopi and Rio Grande River Pueblos in New Mexico and Arizona, 1879-1882
From 1879 to 1882, John K. Hillers traveled to the Southwest with Frank Hamilton Cushing and James Stevenson under the auspices of the Bureau of American Ethnology. This collection of 72 photographic prints consists of Hillers' photographic record of the pueblos, archeological ruins, and peoples of Arizona and New Mexico taken during this trip. These photographs are part of the Edward E. Ayer Photograph Collection.
Himrod, Charles, 1841-1920: Charles Himrod Papers, 1803-1957
Letters, account books, papers, and ephemera pertaining to the family of Charles Himrod, an iron merchant from Waterford, Pennsylvania. The majority of letters are addressed to Himrod's wife, Alice Judson Himrod, from family and friends. Many were written by Charles to Alice during the 1870s when Alice spent the Spring and Summer months with her family in PA, while Charles worked at a furnance company in OH. Also included are letters to Charles from various business associates. In addition to correspondence, the papers include deeds, receipts, abstracts, and invoices relating to the Judson and Himrod families; several account books kept by Alice's father, William Judson and Charles' father, David Himrod; business and calling cards; verse and prose by Alice Judson and others; and one architectural drawing of Lucuro Spring Grant New Mexico.
Hitchcock, Marion Gridley, 1929-: Gridley-Hitchcock Family Papers, 1860-2007
Copies of letters, diaries, and photographs of Ruth Daube Gridley (diaries from 1917-1950) and daughter Marion Gridley Hitchcock (diary from 1951-1958). Also copies of letters to Marion by her father, William Whiting Gridley, after the death of his wife that concern his life as sole caretaker for Marion's sister, who was treated for mental illness. Collection also contains a large set of original correspondence from Marion's great-aunt, Josephine Wheat Gridley, primarily concerning family matters and daily life, ca. 1860-1910. There is also a genealogy book of the Gridley family and a variety of personal material including newspaper clippings, catalogs, and a Civil War enlistment roster.
Hitz, Benjamin D.: Benjamin D. Hitz-Willa Cather Papers, 1913-1949
Chiefly correspondence of Benjamin D. Hitz with librarians, booksellers and experts, relating to his search for first editions of Willa Cather; together with notes for studies on her biography, bibliographies and criticism. Also, a small collection of incoming and outgoing Willa Cather correspondence, including twelve original Cather letters and a few copies, plus several relating to Cather.
HMS Media, Inc.: HMS Media, Inc. Records, 2005
4 DVDs of the 13-episode television program called The Chicago Dance Project, showcasing the work of 28 local dance companies and 4 local choreographers. Collections also includes a few newsletters from HMS Media company.
Hoaré, Henry Royal: Henry Royal Hoaré Papers, 1882-1959
Manuscript and printed music, a photograph, and miscellaneous documents of this Chicago violinist, composer, and educator. Hoaré published numerous violin method books in addition to violin sonatas and concertos, and was the head of the violin division at the Chicago Fine Arts Conservatory of Music.
Höfeln, Andreas von: Höfeln Family Papers, 1831-1897
Chiefly letters from Germany to Charlotte Fischer, both before and after her emigration to Illinois in 1851 and her marriage to Andreas von Höfeln in 1852. Also includes correspondence with their son, Alexander Andrew Heflin, who worked for railroads in Kansas, and between Helfin and his wife, teacher Jessie Beathard Heflin.
Hoffmann, John Augustus: Hoffmann Family Papers, ca. 1789-1901
Correspondence and documents relating to the immigrant Hoffmann family, especially John A. Hoffmann of Illinois and Franz Joseph Hoffmann in Dubuque, Iowa. By 1901, the family had established a feed and fuel company in Wilmette, Illinois.
Holabird, Abijah: Abijah Holabird Will, 1826
Manuscript will, and printed form completed in manuscript, of the will of Vermont resident Abijah Holabird, dated Jan. 2, 1826.
Holme, John Francis, 1868-1904: John Francis Holme Drawings, 1901-1902
Fifteen pen-and-ink drawings by illustrator and printer Frank Holme and a printed list of the officers and stockholders of the Bandar Log Press, established by Holme.
Holton, Hugh: Hugh Holton Papers, ca. 1994-2003
Chicago policeman and police fiction author. Holton's papers consist of his published and unpublished works, book production and promotional materials (including posters), awards and certificates, clippings, correspondence, photographs, and a full working police uniform.
Hopkins, Rienzi: Letter to Steuben Jenkins, January 14, 1864
January 1864 letter from Rienzi Hopkins to his friend, Stueben Jenkins, describing life in Calaveras County, California.
Hopkinson, Francis: Brief of title to the premises on the south side of Cuthbert Street... Philadelphia, 1846
A document labeled "Brief of Title to Certain Described Property (1846) Philadelphia". An inside description specifies "the premises on the South side of Cuthbert Street 233 feet East of 20th in the City of Philadelphia." Title shows the lineage of residency from John Fromberger, 1782, through others to Francis Hopkinson, 1846.
Horn, Rudy, 1909-: Rudy Horn Papers, 1920-1995
Correspondence, clippings, photographs and memorabilia of Chicago entertainer known as the "Comedy King of Vaudeville." His father was Henry Horn, who operated and booked nightclubs in the early 1900s and was the onetime owner of Chicago's Green Mill Tavern. Born in 1909, Horn performed as a dancer, comedian, and emcee throughout the US and Europe.
Horne, William D., 1892-1986 : William Horne-Ernest Hemingway Papers,, 1913-1985
House of David.: House of David Pamphlets and Ephemera, ca. 1906 to ca. 1970
Collection of printed pamphlets and ephemera, ca. 1906 to ca. 1970, relating to the House of David and Mary's City of David religious colonies in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Features a variety of topics, including religious beliefs, court cases, and vegetarian recipes.
How, Fisher: Fisher How papers and City of Steuben Company records, 1836-1842
Correspondence and documents relating to the creation and ownership of a land company in Steuben County, Indiana of which Fisher How (sometimes spelled Howe) of New York City was a shareholder and director.
Howard, Alan, 1930-: Alan Howard Papers, 1924-2002
Clippings, photographs, programs, assorted miscellaneous printed material and memorabilia relating to ballet dancers and dance companies.
Howe family: Howe-Barnard Family Papers, 1826-1999
Correspondence, diaries, personal and professional materials, and photographs of the Howe and Barnard families, early Chicago settlers. Included are the materials of Annie L. Howe, a missionary, teacher, and founder of Glory Kindergarten and Training School in Japan, her brother, Edward G. Howe, a science teacher who originated the practice of field trips in science classes, and Alice Lucretia Barnard, one of the first woman principals in the Chicago schools. Also contains Civil War letters of Captain Daniel E. Barnard, Erastus A. Barnard, Willard J. Wilcox, and soldiers in Daniel E. Barnard's regiment regarding payment of pensions.
Howell, Elizabeth Bowen: Elizabeth Bowen Howell journals, 1806-1833
Five writing books and manuscript commonplace books written by Elizabeth Howell in Boston, between 1806 and 1833. Books are manuscript, in ink.
Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920: William Dean Howells poem "All the Long August Afternoon", ca. 1900
One poem by William Dean Howells, "All the Long August Afternoon."
Howes, Wright: Wright Howes Papers, 1920-1964
20th century Chicago bookseller and bibliographer. Collection consists of correspondence, sales catalogues, and notes, primarily concerning his bibliography of US-iana.
Hoxie, Frederick E., 1947-: Frederick E. Hoxie Papers, 1989-2012
Additions to Hoxie's papers. Includes documents cited in Hoxie's Expert Witness Report (The U.S. States Department of Justice requested that Hoxie prepare a report on the cirmcumstances surrounding the negotiation and ratification of the Saginaw Chippewa Treaties of 1855 and 1864); information and correspondence regarding Penguin Press' publication of Hoxie's book. micelllaneous information regarding the 2000 presidential election and the candidates' stances on Native American issues; documents (e.g. xeroxed reports, handwritten notes, etc) used in writing "This Indian Country," Hoxie's 2012 book; 2 binders pertaining to the 2003 Lannan Summer Institute in American Studies "American Indian Political Activism Prior to WWII"; and handouts and misc. material for the National Museum of the American Indian's Board of Trustees.
Director of the D'Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian History at the Newberry Library, 1983-1994, and Swanlund Professor of History at the University of Illinois, 1994-. Hoxie's papers consist of correspondence, board of trustee files, and administrative files relating to his work with the National Museum of the American Indian, and a museum manuscript, All Roads are Good: Native Voices on Life and Culture.
Hubbard Street Dance Company.: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Records, 1971-2014
Hubbard Street Dance Company (renamed Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in 1993) was founded by dancer and choreographer Lou Conte in 1977 and has become one of the most successful and most internationally known dance companies to hail from Chicago. Records include administrative files, publicity materials, and audiovisual records of performances of the company.
Hudson, Grace Carpenter, 1865-1937: Photographic copies of Grace Carpenter Hudson's paintings of Pomo Indians, ca. 1920-ca. 1937
Black and white gelatin photographic prints (ca. 1920-1937), captioned with numbers and mounted on sheets of cardboard, of Grace Carpenter Hudson's paintings of Pomo Indians.,Included are portraits and scenes, primarily of children, but also of adults. The children are often depicted with dogs or other animals.
Huebert, Diana, 1899-1983: Diana Huebert Papers, 1916-1983
Material collected by dancer Diana Huebert (Mrs. Abel Faidy), the bulk consisting of programs and photographs of herself and other dancers. Also, some articles she wrote or saved, including an autobiographical sketch, choreographic notes, and miscellaneous material relating to her husband, architect and designer Abel Faidy.
Huebner, Jospeh: Joseph Huebner Dance Photographs, ca. 1970-ca. 2005
Joseph Huebner was the University of Notre Dame Library's Fine Arts Bibiliographer for 30 years, retiring in 1998. He donated souvenir books, programs, and dance ephemera which were interfiled into the Barzel Dance Research collection, and also donated framed dance photographs showing many ballet stars, including George Ballanchine, Suzanne Farrell, Peter Martins, Natalia Makarova, and Ivan Nagy. Also includes a framed photograph of Joffrey dancers Trinity Hamilton and Sam Franke performing "Light Rain" by photographer Herb Migdoll.
Huffman, L. A. (Laton Alton), 1854-1931 : L.A. Huffman photographs, 1883-1907
Sixteen photographic portraits of Indians and photographs of scenes in the West by Huffman, a professor of journalism (University of Illinois, Northwestern University, University of Denver) and western frontier historian.
Humphries, Edward C., -1862: Edward C. Humphries Papers, 1861-1862
Lieutenant, 2nd Florida Regiment (C.S.A.). Correspondence and telegrams regarding Humphries' July 2, 1862, death in the Seven Days battle near Richmond, Va. Also a letter of Humphries to his wife in Alabama, Dec. 2, 1861, and a family Bible with entries for Humphries and his immediate family.
Hurckes, Richard W.: Richard and Louise Hurckes Stereograph Collection, approximately 1845-approximately 1895
Collection of 33 stereograph images issued by various publishers, including images of animals, American scenes, staged domestic views and images of Hell. Includes wooden stereoscope.
Hurd, Ann Augusta Jaquins, 1834-1921: Hurd-Arno Family Correspondence, 1858-1921
Letters of a Wisconsin family mainly written by Mary Olivia Hurd Arno to her mother, Ann Augusta Hurd, 1886-1897. Also, six letters Ann Augusta Hurd wrote to her father and brother, 1858-1866, and a few miscellaneous letters to or from family or friends.
Hutchins, Robert Maynard, 1899-1977: Robert M. Hutchins speeches, 1940-1941
Speeches and a short letter by Robert M. Hutchins. The materials include a short letter from Hutchins addressed to Miss Hazel Dreis of New Mexico, dated 14 October 1940. He thanks her for her compliments regarding his address and, in appreciation, includes 2 printed copies of his speech, "What the university celebrates: address by President Robert M. Hutchins, at the commemorative chapel service inaugurating the fiftieth anniversary year of the University of Chicago," which he delivered at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel on 8 October 1940. Also included is a 7-page typed manuscript copy of "America and the war: address by Robert M. Hutchins, president of University of Chicago," delivered as a radio broadcast on 23 January 1941.
Hutchinson, Charles Lawrence, 1854-1924: Charles L. Hutchinson Papers, 1868-1934
Correspondence, writings, scrapbooks and miscellany related to Charles L. Hutchinson, Chicago financier, trustee, and philanthropist, particularly regarding Hutchinson's relationship with the Art Institute of Chicago. Correspondence is solely incoming, mostly to Hutchinson, but also to Mrs. Hutchinson and a few others. Group of writings consists of speeches and diary notebooks. The several scrapbooks hold numerous receipts of art purchases, articles, clippings, a few letters and notes. The miscellaneous material includes a range of art-related items, personal memorabilia, and a few photographs


text:
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Akademik Shokalskiy Antarctica Rescue Musings
Posted on Dec 31, 2013 | Comments Off on Akademik Shokalskiy Antarctica Rescue Musings
SMH Photo: Andrew Peacock/www.footloosefoto
Herbert Ponting – the Terra Nova
Antarctic rescue musings by David McGonigal
No I'm not stuck in the ice
Thanks for all the queries but fortunately I'm not stuck near Antarctica's Commonwealth Bay on board the Akademik Shokalskiy, awaiting rescue or evacuation. Rather I'm sweltering in Sydney on New Year's Eve. In my 100+ voyages to the Antarctic I've yet to be on a ship beset in ice (touching wood as I type). However, I've assisted in rescues and experienced much that the Southern Ocean can throw at you. So, since the Shokalskiy became stuck, I've been following the saga with great interest and here are a few observations. These are based on no more than the news reports everyone else has been seeing, too.
A summer of setbacks for Antarctic Science
Today (the morning of Tuesday 31 December) it looks like the decision has been made to take passengers and staff off the ship (by Chinese helicopter from the ice to the Aurora Australis), leaving just the Russian crew. That will take the drama out of the situation and allow the Chinese and Australian vessels to return to their resupply work for the summer science program that runs on a very tight timetable during the short polar summer. This year looks set to be a setback for ongoing Antarctic science programs – by far the the biggest being that the US budget dispute was not resolved in time to allow US programs to run this summer and, more relevant for Australian science, my understanding is that the Aurora Australis left for the rescue attempt halfway through resupplying Casey Base.
Once there is just the 20 or so crew left on the Shokalskiy they simply wait until they can get free. That won't be a problem for the crew – the ship normally carries months of extra provisions and Russian polar ships' crews have done extended research in the past where they only returned home after more than a year at sea. The ship is their real home and I've worked with some who have been on the ship since it was built more than 20 years ago.
"Like an almond in toffee"
The Shokalskiy was built to ice-strengthened Russian specs in Finland in 1982. It's Shuleykin-class so it's quite small (1753 GRT) and sturdy. However, it's getting quite old and several of the others in this class have been withdrawn from working in Antarctica. Ideally, the wind will change and the ice will scatter and the ship can escape. Or it will spend a while "like an almond in toffee" as one of Shackleton's men put it. From what we hear, I don't have much fear for its safety. The two main risks are that the ice will push it towards land or shoals or that an iceberg could collide with it. The sea ice that the ship is stuck in is moved mainly by the wind; icebergs, on the other hand, with their deep 'keels' are moved by ocean currents and sometime a large iceberg looks like an icebreaker plowing through sea ice.
I hope everyone has been impressed by the way the Chinese, French and Australian vessels rushed to the rescue? That's the seafarers' code – to always aid a stricken vessel when it calls for assistance. However, once the people (and ship) are safe there's the matter of who pays? This operation will have already directly cost millions of dollars (and many more in curtailed programs) so there will be a hefty bill. I've known rescuers to bill at exorbitant full commercial rates. Hopefully, insurance will cover it.
Down the line deeper questions will be asked. How and why did the ship get stuck? I have no idea but I bet there are rumours soon enough – and they will only be dispelled after a lengthy enquiry, if there is one.
Science, safety and tourism
For me, once the passengers, crew and ship are safe, the most worrying ramification will be the impact this has on Antarctic tourism. Antarctica is a continent run by the nations of the Antarctic Treaty "for peace and science". There is provision for tourism and generally that operates in a safe and responsible way. Even so, many scientists regard tourism as a diversion and an unnecessary risk and some would like to see it limited or stopped. This incident will add to that pressure. Never mind that tourist ships often help scientific research programs and research bases, just as the science ships are helping a tourist ship right now. Antarctic tourists soon become and Antarctic advocates with an important role to play in promoting its preservation. The outcome of the next Antarctic Treaty meeting may be crucial to those of us who love Antarctica and love the opportunity to show it to travellers with a passion for the last great wilderness.
David McGonigal is an expedition leader in Antarctica who has visited it on more than 100 occasions. He heads back at the end of January 2014. He, with co-author Dr Lynn Woodworth, is the author of "Antarctica – the Complete Story", "The Blue Continent" and "Antarctica – Secrets of the Southern Continent".
Kruger NP Goes Flat Screen
Posted on Oct 2, 2013 | Comments Off on Kruger NP Goes Flat Screen
The Kruger National Park has installed flat screen television screens to enhance information dissemination to tourists in the park.
The screens have been installed and are already in use at the gate and camp receptions. Making use of text, images, audio and video, the screens will present visitors with content such as updates on the developments of the park, park rules and regulations, emergencies like road closures, park events and campaigns, scientific research and other projects, rare animal sightings and more.
"The expectations from the public are changing, they want the speed on access to information; they want prompt delivery of the answer, rather than guidance or instruction. We were looking at introducing the kind of communication and marketing tool which would afford us a chance to communicate in an interactive way with our tourists, when Anglo American responded positively," indicated Mabasa.
The screens were donated by Anglo American and Phillip Fourie, Head of Safety and Sustainable Development, for Anglo American's thermal coal business at Paul Kruger Gate, presented them to the park.
"Anglo American believes that the impact of mining should be positive and to the benefit of South Africa, its people and the environment. We look forward to a successful partnership with Kruger National Park," he said.
"Like broadcast media, these TV screens will allow us to disseminate information on time; allowing tourists to respond by either making follow-ups with our front office staff or contacting the relevant park officials for more information," concluded Mabasa.
iTT addresses the luxury in the experience
Posted on Sep 1, 2013 | Comments Off on iTT addresses the luxury in the experience
On Sunday September 1, Luxperience 2013 opened in Sydney, Australia's Town Hall with a "Thought Leaders" evening. David McGonigal of iTravelTree was asked to present as the opening speaker –
his topic was "The Luxury in the Experience".
Good evening. From Andrew's introduction you may gather, I've been a travel writer/author and photographer for too many decades.
In fact, a friend recently send me one of those Facebook quizzes on "100 places to see before you die" – and I had visited 90 – I'm either well travelled or ready to cark it.
My latest venture is a start-up called iTT. Basically, iTravelTree conducts a meta search of travel data filtered by your social preferences. So I've been giving a lot of thought to "luxury" lately – the trend I see in luxury is to collect exotic experiences not things or famous hotels.
If you had asked my mum, she probably would have defined travel luxury as a grand old hotel – like Sydney's Australia Hotel.
I suspect Scandinavia may agree with her. While flying on SAS last month I read in the in-flight mag: "Marstrand has something that no new luxury resort can buy: dignity and soul".
It was both a sweeping generalization and wrong. Marstrand may do it well but so do many new resorts. Brilliant architecture, environmental sensitivity and empathy with local residents lie at the heart of dignity and soul. Some go further:
© David McGonigal
The Anantara Golden Triangle gives you a chance to be part of a care centre for mistreated Asiatic elephants. More on that later.
My last 18 months have been special as my wife Sandra, stepped down from running Rupert Murdoch's Australian magazine division early last year and, after a lifetime of being tied to an office has finally had a chance to travel. We've been referring to it as her executive gap year. Seeing our industry through her eyes is enlightening. Fittings and service are a given – and only noted in their absence – but special moments like hugging a baby orang utan or being taught to cook Tiramisu by the head chef of the Villa San Michele are prized.
* This is Milan's Galleria Hotel – self proclaimed 7-stars
First can I say how I hate the attempt to add more stars – Dubai's Burj al Arab started it and the Galleria has taken it further. I think the trend is in reverse: high degree of comfort is no longer limited to 5-star properties. Some 4-star resorts now offer a standard that would have been 5-star a decade ago. And why is it new hotels that think they might be 6 or 7 star: what about grand, established hotels like Monaco's Hotel de Paris that could probably lay a better claim?
And, anyway, many of us would forego the front door being opened (or yet another chandelier) in exchange for free high-speed internet or the chance to make a cup of coffee and tea in the privacy of our room.
So what makes a property or travel experience truly special? There are three possibilities:
The destination itself is enough
The travel experience itself is enough
The experience maximizes the location
1. In some rare cases, the place itself is enough.
Simply being there is a luxury. And here I'm talking about discerning, experienced travellers. For the first timer in London, a dodgy hotel in Kensington might seem like paradise – it isn't.
What's a destination where the privilege is simply to be there?
Bhutan Paro Festival © David McGonigal
I was fortunate enough to go to Bhutan some 15 years ago. The food was terrible, the accommodation basic and the roads were shocking. But the richness of the culture – and its lack of cultural pollution from modern pop culture – left all of us, all very experienced Himalayan travellers, saying that we had found Paradise. And, then and now it wasn't cheap.
But what's the impossible dream? As a boy, I always thought I'd go to the moon but never thought I'd visit Antarctica.
Antarctica © David McGonigal
I now work in Antarctica as an expedition leader – I've been there more than 100 times and feel privileged every time. Passengers will pay the fare for a basic cabin on a Russian icebreaker that would give them five star accommodation for the same duration anywhere in Europe: $60,000 for two weeks.
The luxury to travel to Bhutan or into polar ice is at least as special as 5-star luxury.
Space remains the ultimate travel destination and it looks like I won't make it there. Space travel is coming but affordability might be a problem. Mike McDowell popularized Antarctica as a travel destination – and his Space Adventures have arranged all 8 people who have paid (a lot) to go into space.
Virgin Galactica says it'll have first flight on Christmas Day this year. Cost for 2.5 hr flight to 360,000 ft is $250,000. Not bad value for 110 km up.
This is the category where indulgence doesn't correlate with luxury. There are people prepared to pay $1/4M to throw up in a capsule a long way from home.
2 What about creating the unusual? Manufacturing the whole experience from scratch?
In the non-luxury market, it's hard to go past Disneyland then DisneyWorld as places that create their own need. While you'd go to London or Paris regardless, would you go to Anaheim or Orlando without Walt's worlds?
Closer to home – both in terms of location and audience – we have David Walsh's MONA that has brought a whole new travel group to Hobart. When a gallery is talked more about in tourism stats than in the Arts pages you know it's significant. Amazing and confronting, too.
Creating something from nothing is hard. Yet that's what Dubai has done – taken a small fishing village and turn it into the world's hub of luxury hotels and shopping.
I go back to the Anantara because it epitomizes the luxury in the experience. And it drew us to a place we wouldn't have visited. We signed up for a three day mahout course – and we were allocated our own elephants for the duration. Having your own elephant is absolute luxury – coming to understand the likes and dislikes of this giant gentle creature was very special. We still dream of elephants.
*Oasis of the Seas
The modern cruise industry has done it, too – created a huge growing industry out of nothing. Of course there were cruises before but ships were mainly a form of transport not entertainment.
Fat Duck © David McGonigal
Then we have the modern phenomenon of food tourism. Perhaps it has always existed in a small way. nearly always directed towards France.
But now Noma has as much drawing power as the Little Mermaid, El Bulli rivals Sagrada Familia and The Fat Duck has put Bray UK on the map. Even in my suburb of Balmain, many hear the name and think Adriano Zumbo's macarons.
When you are creating something from nothing, you are limited only by your imagination. Here luxury can be indulgence and the experience.
3 Finally we have the experience that works to enhance the location – the most common scenario
Cipriani Hotel © David McGonigal
Every company that delivers a travel product needs to be thinking "what next?" There was a time when just having been to the rim of the Grand Canyon was enough. Then people said "what next?" So now we can raft through it, hike to the bottom or walk out on a glass platform. Likewise, Sydney Harbour Bridgeclimb changed the bridge (and Sydney) from a static setting to an experience.
I experienced this first hand in Venice last year. Once it would have been enough to have Venice as my destination. And for luxury it's hard to go past the legendary Hotel Cipriani. But then the Cipriani raised the stakes into the stratosphere – "come stay with us and kayak the canals of Venice."
This was luxury at all levels – the pampered indulgence of the hotel and the experiential indulgence of seeing Venice from my own kayak. I fondly remember the Cipriani – especially breakfast on Easter Sunday – but I'll never forget paddling under the Rialto at sunset then turning to glide under the Bridge of Sighs.
It's hard to up the arms race in hotel amenities. Better champagne – but when you get to Krug vs Dom, what's next? Better beds? More service? If you want to stand out you have to think laterally and offer the unusual – as the Cipriani has done.
Luxury can simply be service. A great concierge is there to realize your dreams. A couple of weeks ago I was London for the day and wanted to see the David Bowie exhibition at the V&A but it was sold out. So we contacted Red Carnation Hotels where we had stayed the last couple of times we've been in London and Egerton House Hotel provided a couple of passes that they were offering their guests. They have our loyalty.
Summer palace, St Petersburg © David McGonigal
The ultimate luxury is not more brocade but rather "Access All Areas". So a cruise that features a private dinner in one of Catherine the Great's palaces has special appeal. Or a Danube cruise that includes rare tickets to Oberammergau Passion Play. In Sydney you'd hope a hotel has some Springsteen tickets in a drawer. Think big – come to LA and we'll take you to the Academy Awards. Who would say "no"?
"Access All People" is a luxury for the sociable. I spent a weekend at Gwinganna Health Retreat when Hugh Jackman was there (he's a part owner) and that's been good for a few stories afterwards. The lesson I learned was don't try to hold eye contact with any woman when Hugh is heaving himself out of the pool behind you. I always thought the ultimate would have been on the Antarctic cruise that had the reclusive Neil Armstrong on board.
There's also the wonderful experience when the environment and the property perfectly interlink. I first discovered this in South Africa where game parks like &Beyond's are luxurious but have strong links to not just wildlife conservation but also the local community. Luxury for visitors is feeling part of the place not a casual observer.
Things change. Many years ago I was asked to give Bernie Eccleston suggestions for a tropical Australian resort with no expense spared. I suggested he go to Fiji instead. Places like Turtle Island gave a better experience because you are immersed in local culture while being treated royally. Australia has evolved – today I'd say to Bernie – have a look at the website of Luxury Lodges of Oz.
We've come a long way from the days when Australian tourism culture was a reflection of Crocodile Dundee.
It's predicted that more hotels and resorts will align themselves with luxury brands – think the Armani Hotel in Dubai, the Missoni Hotel in Kuwait and the Bulgari resort in Bali. I hear even Vogue is considering moving into the area. Of course, the name gives instant cut-through but I think it's lazy.
Doing the hard yards to find a way to offer a unique experience that provides your property with an authentic, memorable life moment that ties to its location will result in enduring success.
Easter Island © David McGonigal
A recent report by the Adventure Travel Association and George Washington University defined adventure travel as any trip that includes at least
a) physical activity,
b) interaction with nature, and
c) cultural learning or exchange
It valued the industry at $US263 billion pa, with 65 per cent annual growth since 2009. There's certainly money in experiential travel.
But, if I can distill a lifetime of travel into a few words – For me luxury is not about limos or five-star fittings and glamorous furnishings, it's about taking time to create a memory that's held in my heart and stands out among all others. In our privileged world we can always buy 'luxury' things but access and experience stands out as the ultimate luxury!
Sadly, there are a lot of ordinary travel experiences being sold. Exceptional ones stand out – from the time you hear about them to the moment you do them. It doesn't have to be grand –
I smile when I think of Café Tartufo in Florence where we had perfect truffle paste rolls and good red wine for lunch on a rainy day – it was the perfect Florentine experience.
It was a highlight as much as snorkeling with stingrays in Bora Bora lagoon or
flying a Mig 21 jet fighter as a paying guest of the Slovakian Airforce.
It's no coincidence that it's 2013 and we are here at an event called Luxperience. We're in a Golden Age of Travel and you are at the cutting edge of it. Thanks for the experiences you offer – and the wonders that are yet to come.
If you have special vision – please come and tell me about it. Meanwhile, please "like" iTravelTree on Facebook or bookmark the webpage to follow us as we develop.
Adventure Travel Worth US $263 billion – Report
Posted on Aug 23, 2013 | Comments Off on Adventure Travel Worth US $263 billion – Report
Growth in the adventure travel market has accelerated at a 65 percent yearly rate since 2009 according to the newly released Adventure Tourism Market Study – a consumer report by The George Washington University (GW) conducted in partnership with the Adventure Travel Trade Association.
The 2013 Adventure Tourism Market Study uses the same methodology and approach as the 2010 study allowing for direct comparison between the studies and growth trend analysis. It included three key outbound regions: Europe, North America and South America. These regions account for nearly 70 percent of overall international departures, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The study estimates the value of the global outbound adventure travel sector to be US$263 billion, excluding airfare, up from US$89 billion first reported in the benchmark consumer study. When this US$263 billion is combined with the estimated $82 billion spent for related gear, apparel and accessories, adventure travelers spent more than $345 billion in 2012 for travel related to adventure.
"Adventure tourism's steep climb is attributed to growth in the global tourism industry, a significant increase in the percentage of adventure travelers, and an increase in the average amount spent per adventure travel trip," said ATTA President Mr. Shannon Stowell. "This comes as positive news, of course, and reinforces the ATTA community's rising commitment to safety, education, training and development of innovative and culturally and environmentally sound travel options. As we watch adventure travel tourism grow it is imperative that we continue to provide travelers with transformative experiences, all while helping to protect and respect the very people and places visited."
The GW/ATTA's market value results reflect the growth in the international tourism market which reached an all-time record of more than one billion international tourism arrivals in 2012, as reported by the UNWTO. As UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said at the 2012 Adventure Travel World Summit, "Adventure tourism is what tourism should be today and definitely what tourism will be tomorrow." Also viewed as a key contributor to this significant growth pattern is the increase in the percentage of European and South American travelers classified as adventure travelers, an increase in the average spending by adventure travelers globally ($593 per trip in 2009 to $947 in 2012), recovery from the global financial crisis, and the emergence of new source markets.
adventure_travel_market082610
The ATTA defines a trip as "adventure travel" if it involves two of the following three elements, with the core of an adventure trip involving all three:
■connection with nature
■interaction with culture
■a physical activity
In the 2013 Market Study respondents were asked specifically if they had participated in an adventure activity on their last trip. Example activities included soft adventure options such as hiking, kayaking, rafting, snorkeling, volunteer tourism and archaeological expeditions and hard adventure options such as caving, climbing, heli-skiing, kite surfing, trekking and paragliding. Further highlights from the Adventure Tourism Market Study include:
■Adventure travelers are younger than non-adventure travelers, with an average age of 36;
■In 2012 nearly 42 percent of travelers from these three regions reported an adventure activity as the main activity of their last trip (the activity would have been one of those identified in the survey as hard or soft adventure options);
■The average length of a soft adventure trip was ten days in 2012 compared to eight days in 2009;
■Adventure travelers read publications such as National Geographic, National Geographic Traveler and Men's Health, which cover traditional adventure and recreation topics, as well as unrelated but popular publications such as Cosmopolitan and Vogue;
■Nearly 54 percent of travelers plan to participate in an adventure activity on their next trip, compared to the 42 percent of travelers currently participating in adventure activities. The increase in interest comes largely from soft adventure activities;
■73 percent of adventure travelers plan to participate in an adventure activity on their next trip. Only 22 percent of adventure travelers plan on doing the same adventure activity as their last trip;
■45 percent of adventure travelers plan on using a tour operator on their next trip, compared to only 31 percent of non-adventure travelers;
■The percentage of adventure travelers using Facebook (78 percent) has more than doubled since 2009.
The Adventure Tourism Market Study is a barometer for the size and characteristics of the adventure tourism market. Adventure travel is a sector of tourism increasingly recognized for attracting environmentally and culturally aware consumers and for its focus on responsible and sustainable development, a model designed to create economic opportunities for local people in rural and remote communities worldwide.
A new sustainable Bedarra Island
Posted on Jun 17, 2013 | Comments Off on A new sustainable Bedarra Island
Bedarra Island Resort is renowned for its natural beauty, luxury and exclusivity. When it reopens on the 1st July, 2013 it arguably becomes Australia's most sustainable island resort.
Since the island was devastated by Cyclone Yasi in February 2011, the Charlton Family acquired the resort and have undertaken extensive renovations to the property, including replacing the island's services and utilities. Director, Sam Charlton said "Our first initiative was to conduct a sustainability analysis to assess the population density the island could support, particularly in relation to waste, water and energy requirements". He added "the outcome of this analysis led us to reopen just seven villas (as opposed to the original 16 villas), convert the resort to solar power and close for three months during the wet season".
Situated on the Great Barrier Reef, just ten kilometres from the coastal township of Mission Beach, nestled amongst the tropical 'Family Group of Islands', Bedarra is unquestionably worth protecting.
Traditional operations at the resort were heavily reliant upon diesel and with changes implemented so far, diesel consumption has been reduced by 95%. "The hum and smell of a diesel generator just seemed so inconsistent with the natural beauty of the island" added Charlton "it was an easy choice to upgrade to solar."
So how was this change to a sustainable future achieved?
• The old generators (3x185KVA) were replaced with an off grid solar system incorporating a 30KW solar panel array, 1-2 days battery energy storage and a small backup 44Kva generator.
• Complete refit of electrical appliances at the resort reducing peak and base electrical loads by 80%.
• Water is now sourced from Bedarra's granite filtered natural spring and fresh rain water, rather than a diesel powered desalination plant which has now been decommissioned.
• Architectural changes to villas to encourage cross flow ventilation including replacing fixed windows with louvres and the installation of under floor ventilation to capture cooling sea breezes.
• Installation of award winning Haiku fans offering a low energy and high efficiency mechanical ventilation alternative to air conditioning.
• A new twin system bio-cycle wastewater treatment plant has been installed, with sub-terranean reticulation of advanced secondary grade treated effluent, protecting the fringing coral reef from nutrient and phosphate runoff.
• Installing low energy pool pumps combined with ionic pool chlorinators, reducing chemical consumption associated with the pools by 85%.
• Composting of all organic waste for use on the island's vegetable garden.
• Replacement of water reticulation infrastructure to eliminate water loss.
• Choosing suppliers who minimize their packaging and maximize their use of recyclable materials.
The reduction in population will make guests feel like they have the island to themselves, further enhancing the feeling of privacy, exclusivity and seclusion Bedarra is renowned for.
The Bedarra experience is now more relaxed, more personalized, offers more privacy and is truly the epitome of barefoot luxury. It's about a beautiful location to relax and enjoy the tranquility, with the added advantage of having a much reduced impact on the natural local environment.
"Reducing our consumption of diesel and simplifying our operation and services has enabled us to offer guests considerably more competitive tariffs than in the past. It also makes the option of hiring the resort exclusively with a small group of friends or family a viable alternative for a holiday you will remember forever" said Charlton.
Bedarra reopens on 1st July, 2013. Room rates are for 1 or 2 guests starting at $990 per villa and are inclusive of all meals, selected alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and activities. Additional charges apply for reef/fishing charters, diving, scenic helicopter flights and our cellar master list of alcoholic beverages.
Fogo Island Inn now open
Posted on May 31, 2013 | Comments Off on Fogo Island Inn now open
On a gorgeous rocky shoreline where slabs of granite meet the moody North Atlantic, one of the most intriguing gambles in Canadian tourism will soon play out on Fogo Island off Newfoundland.
The new Fogo Island Inn looms over the brightly painted salt box homes and fishermen's sheds in Barr'd Islands, one of 10 distinct communities that are home to about 2,400 people.
The Fogo Island Inn is the culmination of a major community revitalization project. The building's rugged minimalist architecture balances traditional influences with a contemporary sensibility, which architect Todd Saunders has made and built just for Fogo.
A cultural destination in its own right where visitors and locals meet, the Inn includes an art gallery, heritage library, cinema and rooftop sauna. Each of the 29 guest rooms is unique, with every detail chosen with purpose and handcrafted by locals. A new artist's studio on Fogo Island called Squish (meaning off-kilter). It's one of four new studios built to host artists from Canada and around the world.
A three-year building project expected to cost more than $25 million.
The inn won't be just any place for weary travellers to lay their heads. Its 29 rooms with panoramic ocean views, hand-crafted furniture and quilts, locally inspired cuisine, rooftop hot tubs, saunas, conference space, and a publicly accessible art gallery, library, and cinema are meant to please discerning tastes.
Multimillionaire Zita Cobb, a native Fogo Islander who is the driving force behind the new inn, says there's a niche of well-to-do tourists who will pay for a unique, world-class travel and cultural experience, she said there's no reason why Fogo Island's natural beauty should not draw big money as successfully as other exotic, albeit warmer, destinations.
The ebbs and flows of a troubled fishery have threatened Fogo Island's survival in the past, and its future is by no means secure.
Cobb is investing more than $10 million of her own money in the inn as the provincial and federal governments add $5 million each.
"There's risk, no question," she said in an interview. "I mean, to do nothing is a gamble."
Marketing Fogo
One of Cobb's biggest marketing challenges is the widespread notion that her beloved home is on a freezing rock in the Far North. In fact, it boasts what she describes as seven seasons including hot summers, snowy winters, the ice season around March and April when mammoth icebergs drift south from Greenland, fog, rain and sun in May and June, and spectacular berry picking in the fall.
It's a place where caribou roam, seals frolic, and people go out of their way to share directions or a good story.
A slender woman who all but hums with energy, Cobb was the only girl among seven siblings raised on Fogo Island in Joe Batt's Arm – an inlet community named for a popular early settler, as legend has it.
Cobb moved back to the island six years ago after making her fortune as a high-tech executive and ending a long run in the corporate fast lane. Now 54, she helped create the Shorefast Foundation, a federally registered charity that aims to use business as a tool to rejuvenate the local economy in ways that work for people, not against them, she said.
"Business is not unethical. It has just been practised that way too often and for too long."
Cobb stressed that any profits from the inn, which has already created dozens of construction jobs and is expected to employ up to about 50 people when it opens next spring, belong to the people of Fogo Island and the nearby Change Islands.
But the inn will not be Fogo Island's saving grace, Cobb said.
"Fogo Islanders are pretty darned good at saving themselves, which they've done for centuries," she said. "I'm just another Fogo Islander trying to do my bit."
Keeping it undisturbed
Wherever possible, renewable features were incorporated into construction of the inn such as a wood-burning heating system and rainwater cisterns for laundry and toilets.
If you go: Fly to Gander, rent a car and drive about 30 minutes to catch the ferry in Farewell, which takes about an hour to Fogo Island. It's about a four-hour drive to Farewell from St. John's.
"We're trying absolutely to not disturb a single lichen we don't have to destroy," Cobb said of the land around the 44,000-square-foot building on four levels.
Three small white crosses still standing between the new inn and the sea are testament to her respect for what she calls "sacred" surroundings. They mark a decades-old pet cemetery that's believed to be the final resting place for at least one horse, a dog and a cat, Cobb said. They will stay.
The asymmetrical X-shape of the structure is a metaphorical intersection of old and new partially supported on stilts, recalling the fishing stages where generations of Fogo Islanders cleaned, salted, and dried their cod.
Minimal outdoor lighting will create a "dark-sky" effect for star gazing. And guests will be escorted down a foot path from the nearest parking lot by two Newfoundland dogs named Make and Break, after the old-style engines, who will live at the inn.
Artists welcome
Four smaller buildings around the island are studios for artists, filmmakers, and writers invited from Canada and around the world to spend a few months.
Author Lyn Hughes arrived earlier this summer from Sydney, Australia to work on a new novel. As she settled into her dramatic new work space perched on a seaside rock, she expressed no doubt that Zita Cobb is on to something big.
"This is a very, very rare place on our planet, a very special place," she said. "The only place I can even compare it to that I've been is the Azores Islands of Portugal."
Nicole Decker-Torraville, owner of Nicole's Cafe, said many Fogo Islanders have great hopes for the new inn, mixed with some fear and skepticism about whether it will succeed. She is part of a small wave of 20- and 30-somethings that have moved back and want their own children to have the chance to stay.
"They can travel, but they'll know this is their home."
Frank Lane of Tilting, an Irish settlement on the island's east coast, is a traditional small boat builder who hopes the inn will create new jobs but help preserve old ways.
"It's going to be a wonderful building. I don't know if it's going to be for me," he said with a smile.
"You know, I might not have the money to stay there."
Fogo Island Inn
Furry Friday – Hang in there its almost the Weekend
Posted on May 24, 2013 | Comments Off on Furry Friday – Hang in there its almost the Weekend
Furry Friday – Hang in there its almost the weekend folks.
Swim With Whales – Yes or No?
Posted on May 20, 2013 | Comments Off on Swim With Whales – Yes or No?
Scuba Diving produced For and Against stances on whether you should swim with whales – both sides are worth reading. Tell us your view.
http://www.scubadiving.com/article/news/should-you-swim-whales
Responsible whale and dolphin encounters take place on the water, not in it
By Regina A. Asmutis-Silvia
Whale and dolphin-interaction programs, from touching and feeding, to swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving in the cetaceans' environment — be it captive or wild — are increasing in range and popularity. An understandable love for whales and dolphins might encourage the public to want to get close to them. However, while understanding the reasons why the public is keen to engage in such activities, we have several serious concerns about these practices.
Swimming with wild whales and dolphins is, potentially, an exhilarating and unforgettable experience. Sadly, it's very difficult to ensure that the encounter takes place on the whale's terms and is not an intrusive or stressful experience for what are, after all, wild animals. While there are responsible and thoughtful operators, sadly it's also true that in some locations, wild whales or dolphins are harassed and repeatedly disturbed by boats, which tend to drop swimmers, snorkelers and scuba divers in the water as close as possible to the animals. Research indicates that, in some areas heavily targeted by commercial swim tours and other human activities, dolphins are actually leaving their traditional habitat in favor of quieter areas. There is concern that disruption to feeding, resting, nursing and other behaviors can have a long-term impact on the health and wellbeing of individuals and populations.
Another consideration is the safety of both scuba divers and cetaceans. Whales and dolphins are large, powerful animals and if not treated with respect, they are capable of injuring people in the water — either accidentally or on purpose, if they feel threatened. Like all animals, cetaceans are protective of their young.
Cetaceans have also been injured by boat propellers and by thoughtless behavior from swimmers, including damage to dolphins' sensitive skin caused by scratches from jewelry. Two-way disease transmission is also a possibility. Finally, in some areas, swim-tour operators offer cetaceans food, encouraging them to remain in the vicinity of swimmers. This practice might encourage "begging behavior," causing the cetaceans to neglect their normal foraging activities.
The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society has funded research into the potential impact of swim tours upon wild whales and dolphins. Until we are satisfied this activity does not represent a risk to both swimmers and cetaceans, our policy is to recommend that the public opt for a solely boat-based trip — one that does not involve entering the water. We urge the industry to work toward a regulation system that ensures these concerns are no longer an issue.
Regina A. Asmutis-Silva is the Senior biologist and Vessel Strike Program lead for WDCS-NA (www.wdcs.org). Regina also serves on federally appointed Take Reduction teams reducing cetacean-entanglement risks.
Whales actively seek out interaction with divers and snorkelers
By Mike Ball
Mike Ball Dive Expeditions has been swimming and diving with minke whales for more than two decades, and has worked with scientific teams to study whether the interactions are adversely affecting the whales. This will be our 16th year working with the James Cook University Minke Whale Project research team, headed by Dr. Alistair Birtles.
It was recognized very early on that the minke whale encounters were not an occasional happening but a regular occurrence. Minke whales will follow us to and from dive sites, or appear from nowhere when the vessel has been at anchor overnight. The whales will swim with our snorkelers and divers, sometimes from a distance, but usually making very close repetitive passes. Research conducted by the JCU team shows that minke whales voluntarily seek out this interaction.
The Minke Whale Project team studied not only the behavior and biology of the minke, but equally the sustainable management of a "Swim With Minke" program. Best-practice guidelines and briefings have evolved around the findings of the research studies and input from the nine permitted operators in Queensland. Ultimately, after a comprehensive 15-year study, no reason has been found for us to discontinue this activity.
What's more, our encounters are carefully conducted. Participants hold onto a line trailed from the stern of the vessel and are given a thorough briefing beforehand with simple but nonnegotiable rules, such as 1.) no letting go of the line; 2.) no duck diving; 3.) no swimming toward the whales; and 4.) no flash photography. These rules might sound restrictive, but by simply abiding by them, our snorkelers have better, safer encounters. The whales very quickly establish their comfort zone, which allows them to approach on their own terms. Some of the whales come to within a few feet of snorkelers, presenting their bellies and even spy hop. While appearing more reserved, the whales will still approach scuba divers. (Divers are not permitted to enter the water within 100 feet of a whale.)
The same individuals return year after year, some with calves in tow, and seem as curious about us as we are of them. For this particular species of whale, and after 20 years of interaction, there is no question in my mind that this program has proved to be sustainable.
Mike Ball is the owner of Mike ball Dive Expeditions (mikeball.com). For 40 years, Mike has been an innovator of diving services on Australia's Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea.
Unknown wonders: Christmas Island
Posted on May 20, 2013 | Comments Off on Unknown wonders: Christmas Island
17 May 2013, 6.06am EST
http://theconversation.com/unknown-wonders-christmas-island-13648?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+17+May+2013&utm_content=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+17+May+2013+CID_12ac64e3cf1067c9c5dc806ffc729c49&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=Unknown%20wonders%20Christmas%20Island
John Woinarski
Professor (conservation biology) at Charles Darwin University
John Woinarski receives occasional funding from the Australian environment department for consultancies relating to biodiversity conservation on Christmas Island. He also enjoys living there, mostly.
Provides funding as a Member of The Conversation.
cdu.edu.au
Christmas Island is a shelter for cultural and environmental diversity. Flickr/Hadi Zaher
Australia is famous for its natural beauty: the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Kakadu, the Kimberley. But what about the places almost no one goes? We asked ecologists, biologists and wildlife researchers to nominate five of Australia's unknown wonders.
Christmas Island is a dot in the Indian Ocean. Like any isolated island, it is peculiar. But here this peculiarity is especially pronounced. It has a strange history, an odd culture and a remarkably distinctive biodiversity. Unfortunately, it is now best known to Australians simply as an entry point for refugees. Remoteness has that effect, of distorting truth and value.
Christmas Island is small (about 135km2) and little-populated (about 2,000 permanent residents). It has been settled only since the 1880s; for much of the period since then it was administered by the Straits Settlement (Singapore), with inclusion as an Australian territory only since 1958. Phosphate mining was the reason for its settlement, and has persisted as the main (sometimes only) industry ever since, leading to loss of about 25% of the Island's rainforest area.
Christmas Island: a dot in the Indian Ocean, but important nonetheless. Photo by John Woinarski
Reflecting that history, its ethnic make-up is now mainly Chinese and Malay (arising from workers imported as "coolies"). The small community is remarkably vibrant and tolerant: there can't be any other place in Australia with two public holidays per year celebrating Christian holy days, two for Muslim holy days and two for Chinese festivals.
The call to prayer rings out over the community from the small mosque; everyone is welcome at the Chinese festivals.
Christmas Island is old. It is a volcanic seamount island, rugged and isolated, rising more than 4km from the deep sea floor, with the nearest land being Java, about 360km distant. Over the long period of its isolation, these features have crafted a unique environment. It is characterised by high levels of endemism for many groups and idiosyncratic ecological structuring.
Most of its reptiles, native mammals, and terrestrial birds occur (or occurred) nowhere else; and nearly 200 invertebrate species are considered endemic. There are very few areas in Australia (indeed, in the world) that can match such narrow endemism.
Very few regions in the world can match Christmas Island's narrow endemism, including the Christmas Island Frigatebird.ChrisSurman/Christmas Island Tourism Association archives
It is also a haven for seabirds, recognised internationally for such significance. It is the only breeding site for the threatened Abbott's Booby and Christmas Island Frigatebird, and for the exquisitely beautiful golden-coloured subspecies of White-tailed Tropicbird (which graces the Island's flag). These seabirds and others soar and float above the settlement, and nest in and around it. Fringing the Island is a rich coral reef, and its clear warm waters are home to more than 600 fish species, with regular visits by Whale Sharks.
These values would readily meet World Heritage criteria. But, except among some twitchers, keen to visit to build their Australian bird lists, these attributes are little known to most Australians. Instead, Christmas Island's nature is known, if at all, mainly by reference to its land crabs. In staggering abundance, diversity and ecological potency, these are indeed remarkable.
Christmas Island is a haven for many species, including the threatened Abbott's Booby. Christmas Island Tourism Association archives
The endemic Red Crab is the most conspicuous, with a population of at least 40 million. It is the Island's ecological lynchpin, engineering the forest structure and productivity. It is everywhere; but spectacularly so in its annual breeding migrationfrom forest to sea, when the forest floor, roads and gardens become moving masses of crab: one of the world's great animal migrations.
Perhaps Christmas Island's most conspicuous creature: the Red Crab. JustinGilligan/Christmas Island Tourism Association archives
There are many other land crab species present, but none more strangely charismatic and enigmatic than the Robber (or Coconut) Crab, the world's largest terrestrial invertebrate. This species, growing up to four kilograms, was formerly abundant on many other islands, but has been greatly reduced or lost from most places, and Christmas Island now represents its major stronghold.
For the Robber Crab and other species, laws, large areas of retained native vegetation, limited human population, and a large national park (comprising 63% of the Island area) offer unusual levels of protection. But problems for Christmas Island's biodiversity are more insidious and deep-rooted.
Christmas Island's Coconut Crab is the largest terrestrial invertebrate in the world. Flickr/BlueBec
Reflecting the dominance of the phosphate mining industry over its settled area (and consequential disregard for its natural values), the Island has had little or no quarantine or biosecurity system. It has been the fate of most islands worldwide, with impacts often pronounced and fatal because of small island size (and consequently small and tenuous populations of endemic species). Once the isolation that has moulded the biota is breached, that biodiversity may be doomed.
Now, the Island supports nearly as many introduced as native species, and the introduced species include many of the world's most pernicious invaders.
The most problematic is the Yellow Crazy Ant. Fuelled in part by resources provided by super-abundant invasive scale insects, it forms immense supercolonies within which all Red Crabs (and much other biodiversity) are destroyed.
Invasive Giant Centipedes, Giant African Landsnails, geckoes and Wolf Snakes compete with or consume native species.
Christmas Island's native species, including the iconic Red Crab, are threatened by introduced pests. JustinGilligan/Christmas Island Tourism Association archives
Such loss in turn disrupts the narrowly-based ecological functionality, leading to "invasional meltdown" or ecological collapse. The most recent manifestation of this collapse, in 2009, was the extinction of the Christmas Island Pipistrelle (reducing the original complement of five endemic mammal species to just one species known to have persisted). Others will follow: the Christmas Island Forest Skink is known now from only one individual, eking out its solitary existence in a cage.
These problems are being addressed, by intensive and extensive baiting which temporarily reduces the number of crazy ants, by captive breeding for two endemic reptile species now almost lost from the wild, and by research that aims to find more enduring and effective methods for control of some of the pests and weeds. But the challenge is immense.
This is a most remarkable isolated world. In such a small place there is so much that is unique, inspiring and wonderful. It has existed little changed for millions of years; but its natural environment is now dissolving at a rapid rate. It will bring you much delight and sorrow.
Read the whole series here.
The stunningly beautiful Golden Bosun's elegant form graces the Island's flag. Until recent control efforts, its many nests in and around the settlement had been heavily predated by cats and rats. Tony Palliser/Christmas Island Tourism Association archives
Map of Christmas Island Google Maps
Road Trip: the Alaska Highway
Posted on May 18, 2013 | Comments Off on Road Trip: the Alaska Highway
The Alaska Highway across Canada's British Columbia and Yukon is stunning, but even more memorable than the road trip itself are the people Anne Kostalas meets along the way
Anne Kostalas
The Guardian, Friday 17 May 2013 21.00 BST
The Alaska Highway is 1,500 miles of open road through north-west Canada. Click the magnifying glass icon to see a bigger version. Photograph: Anne Kostalas
There is something about a highway through the wilderness that attracts eccentrics. The 1,500-mile Alaska Highway, which crosses British Columbia and the Yukon for most of its route, has its fair share. Even the construction of the road, which turned 70 last year, was anything but normal.
US soldiers were ordered to build the road – described as one of the greatest engineering feats in history – through unmapped territory. They endured extreme cold, mud and mosquito-infested forests. The highway, which joined the contiguous US with Alaska, was a response to the attack on Pearl Harbor. It enabled the Americans to transport planes to Russia to fight the Germans, via a chain of airfields and remote airports. Remarkably, it was built in just eight months, carved through rock and forest from Dawson Creek in BC to Delta Junction in Alaska, providing a wartime morale boost for the US.
The characters who live along the route are every bit as fascinating as the story of its construction. Marl Brown, the 80-year-old curator of theFort Nelson Heritage Museum in northern BC, sports a long white beard because, he says, he hates shaving. The former mechanic's collection of vintage cars was the inspiration for the museum. His favourite is the 104-year-old McLaughlin Buick with its "mother-in-law seat" that can tip the rear passenger out the back.
At Double G Services near Muncho Lake, three hours west, truckers share road tales of bobcats, lynx and grizzlies. There are shelves of fresh bread and an Alaska licence plate with a picture of Sarah Palin, which reads: "Where the air is cold and the governor is hot!" They agree both caribou and tourists are stupid, and discuss the merits of a moose bumper.
More than 300,000 people drive the Alaska Highway every year between May and September and, as the last US frontier, it is on the to-do list of many Americans. There are bears, wild sheep, bison and moose to photograph, against a backdrop of increasingly spectacular mountains as you travel north and west.
At Liard Hot Springs RV Park on the eastern edge of BC, we had soaked in the waters with full-time RVers – people who have sold their homes in retirement and are on the move constantly.
"You have to really get on well with your partner to do this," warns one.
Alaska Highway Sign, Dawson Creek. Photograph: Patrick Bennett/CorbisMany have their dogs along for the ride – yorkshire terriers and pomeranians are being exercised all along the highway.
A woman named Button (her mother loved the actor Red Buttons) oversees the Signpost Forest Visitor Centre at Watson Lake, over the border in the Yukon. In 1942, a lonely GI working on the highway started the tradition of leaving a sign pointing the way home. More than 70,000 signs have since been left here by travellers on the road.
Every road trip needs good snacks. Look out for cinnamon buns atTetsa River RV Park , west of Fort Nelson, and the Canadian favourite "butter tarts" at the Yukon's Rancheria Lodge. The lodge has a long history of sheltering travellers from storms. It hosted 100 unexpected guests last year when the road was washed away in a flash flood. Stories from the 1940s tell of strangers having to sleep two to a bed.
Marl Brown, curator at the Fort Nelson Heritage Museum Photograph: Anne KostalasThere is a quirkiness to road-stops here. At the Toad River Lodge in northern BC, you can eat a toad burger (which comes with a hot dog, too) under a ceiling covered in baseball caps, or drink a coffee while a stuffed wolverine watches over you at the Yukon Motel on Teslin Lake.
We spot a moose at Sikanni River RV Campground. Campsite owner Jackie says it is called Dandelion, and appears every summer. Soldiers from black regiments built a bridge in record time here, an achievement credited with helping end segregation in the US army.
John Rusyniak, who runs the Wilderness Lodge in Tok, Alaska, got a taste for the north when he rode his motorbike up the highway in the 1970s and moved there. Many have similar stories.
There is plenty to do along the way – fishing in holes, panning for gold at the MacBride Museum in Whitehorse, daring to walk the Pouce Coupe trestle bridge, the Alaska Highway House museum in Dawson Creek and the sausage rolls at Johnson's Crossing Bakery – but it is the memory of people of the Alaska Highway that will stay with me.


Our precious planet is lost and on the brink of annihilation in the beginning of the 23rd century. Thousands upon thousands of migrant tribes called Biods have descended from a distant galaxy set to clean out every inhabitant in their way. Few have managed to survive including several lucky pilots who are intent on breaking free and saving the planet. Join them on their crusade to the planet Cynosure as they gather troops to aid in fighting the vicious Biods!
The game includes over 100 levels within nine missions, each with a wicked Boss at the end. Every new mission has different background which puts you into the atmosphere of a real space battle. Each type of enemy has its own model of behavior, weapon and lifetime. And, the music is great!


Our Communications Team is our most recently added ministry, and it's growing quickly! Our website, social media pages, and printed materials come from or go through this team. The heart of this ministry is to create a virtual door into Riverlife Church. We understand that people will often visit church websites and social media pages to learn what the church is like before they decide to meet in person. They want a glimpse into the worship center, a message from our pastor, and an idea of how our Riverlife Groups are set up!
We also facilitate communication from church leadership to regular members and attendees. We do our best to provide multiple ways for people to catch important announcements because we know everyone wants to take part. If you're interested in learning more about this team, contact Tessa Yeakley.


RX, I've added the various minecarts and levers to the protection list.
I'm fiddling with permissions a bit. Server may be down intermittently. Reason for this is that I would like to set the amount of allowed outpost through permissions rather than having to monitor it through Botje's naughty chats reports.
Towns get 32 plots per player.
I'm removing the cool down on teleports.
I'm reducing the amount of time before players are allowed to create a new town to 2 hours. Reasoning is that two hours isn't that long and hopefully players will have traveled outwards of spawn a bit by then.
These changes will carry over to the TFC server as well, soon-ish.
They are limitation per town. For a single player you don't need 20 adult animals. That's just a waste of resources.
As with most rules, they exist because sometime somewhere someone did something that made the rule a necessity.
Try updating OptiFine 1.7.10 HD U D6 to OptiFine 1.7.10 HD U E7.


text:
More public healthcare scholarships given out to students
Jul 30, 2013, 3:01 pm SGT
http://str.sg/Z5QB
Pearl Lee
leepearl@sph.com.sg
A total of 251 healthcare scholarships were awarded at the Healthcare Scholarships Award ceremony on Tuesday. The number of scholarships awarded this year, which includes 223 undergraduate and 28 postgraduate scholarships, is a 46 per cent increase from the 172 scholarships awarded last year. The figure almost doubles the 117 scholarships given out in 2011.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who was the guest of honour at the event, said the growing number of scholarship recipients is an indication that more top quality students are passionate and committed to pursuing a career in public healthcare.
Mr Gan announced several enhancements to the scholarships such as the implementation of a new development and engagement framework which will help in the development of these scholars.
The Ministry will also be ramping up its Mid-Term Healthcare Scholarships to provide more opportunities for promising Singaporean undergraduates to apply for these scholarships while in university.