self-portrait by Norman Rockwell

self-portrait by Norman Rockwell

Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed.
—Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell was Born in New York City in 1894, Norman Rockwell always wanted to be an artist. At age 14, Rockwell enrolled in art classes at The New York School of Art (formerly The Chase School of Art). Two years later, in 1910, he left high school to study art at The National Academy of Design. He soon transferred to The Art Students League, where he studied with Thomas Fogarty and George Bridgman. Fogarty’s instruction in illustration prepared Rockwell for his first commercial commissions. From Bridgman, Rockwell learned the technical skills on which he relied throughout his long career.

Param Poojya Acharya shri 108 Vidhyasagar Ji Maharaj ji

Biography

He was born as Vidyadhar on 10 October 1946 on sharad Purnima in sadalga. District Belgum Karnatka. His father was Shri Mallappa, who later became Muni Mallisagar. His mother Shrimati later became Aryika Samayamati.

He was initiated as a monk at the age of twenty-two by Acharya Gyansagar, who belonged to the lineage of Acharya Shantisagar, at Ajmer in 1968. He was elevated to the Acharya status in 1972. Acharya Vidyasagara is an expert in Sanskrit, Prakrit and several modern languages such as Hindi, Marathi and Kannada). He has been a prolific author in Hindi and Sanskrit. Several researchers have studied his works for masters and doctoral degrees. His works include Niranjana Shataka, Bhavana Shataka, Parishah Jaya Shataka, Suniti Shataka and Shramana Shataka. He authored the hindi epic poemMukamati. This has been also included in the syllabus of MA Hindi in various institutions.

Acharya Vidyasagar has been a source of inspiration to the people for starting institutions for the welfare of living beings at different places.

Acharya Vidyasagar has been a source of inspiration for religious functions. He has initiated more than 125 monks, a number unmatched in the past nine centuries. Several Panch kalyanak and Gajrath Mahotsava have been organized at different places of the country in his presence like Drongiri, Chattarpur (M.P), Bina Baraha Sagar (M.P), Morena (M.P), Madanganj Kishangarh Ajmer Raj, khajurahro, kundalgri, koniji, Jabalpur Padmanabhpur - Durg (CG) etc.

Acharya Vidyasagar has been a source of inspiration for the construction, development and renovation of Jain temples and images all over India. He has always inspired to invite scholars of eminence to have discourses on different subjects. He has also taken classes to teach his disciples different Granthas.

His tradition

He belongs to the tradition established by Acharya Shantisagar. Acharya Shantisagar initiated Acharya Virsagar. He was then succeeded by Acharya Shivsagar, Acharya Gyansagarand finally Acharya Vidyasagara. Two of his brothers, Muni Yogasagarji and Muni Samaysagarji also followed him and were initiated as muni (monks) by Acharya Vidyasagar. Some of his disciples are well known scholars of their own right. As of 2001, about 21% of all the digambar monks were under Acharya Vidyasagara.

World's Largest Pencil

This is a photograph of the World's Largest Pencil, a Castell 9000 located at Faber-Castell's facility in Malaysia near Kuala Lumpur. This pencil is nearly 65 feet tall and is housed in a glass enclosure. Completed in 2002, it is made from Malaysian lumber, fitted from small pieces tongue-and-groove fashion. Once the first half was built, a German-made polymer lead running the full length was inserted and the remainder was built, then sanded and finished. The project required over 7000 man-hours over a two year period to complete. The pencil is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest.

The Unique Bridge between India and Sri lanka (Rama Setu) Also known as Adam's Bridge

Adam's Bridge, also known as Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu is a chain of limestone shoals, between Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, off the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar Island, off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Geological evidence suggests that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka.

The bridge is 18 miles (30 km) long and separates the Gulf of Mannar (southwest) from the Palk Strait (northeast). Some of the sandbanks are dry and the sea in the area is very shallow, being only 3 ft to 30 ft (1 m to 10 m) deep in places, which hinders navigation. It was reportedly passable on foot up to the 15th century until storms deepened the channel: temple records seem to say that Rama’s Bridge was completely above sea level until it broke in a cyclone in AD 1480.

The bridge was first mentioned in the ancient Indian Sanskrit epic Ramayana of Valmiki. The name Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu (Sanskrit; setu: bridge) refers to the bridge built by the Vanara (ape men) army of Lord Rama in Hindu theology with instructions from Nala. which he used to reach Lanka and rescue his wife Sita from the Rakshasa king, Ravana. The Ramayana attributes the building of this bridge to Rama in verse 2-22-76, naming it as Setubandhanam, a name that persists until today.

The sea separating India and Sri Lanka is called Sethusamudram meaning "Sea of the Bridge". Maps prepared by a Dutch cartographer in 1747, available at the Tanjore Saraswathi Mahal Library show this area as Ramancoil, a colloquial form of the Tamil Raman Kovil (or Rama's Temple). Another map of Mughal India prepared by J. Rennel in 1788 retrieved from the same library called this area as "the area of the Rama Temple", referring to the temple dedicated to Lord Rama at Rameswaram. Many other maps in Schwartzberg's historical atlas and other sources such as travel texts by Marco Polo call this area by various names such as Sethubandha and Sethubandha Rameswaram.

The western world first encountered it in "historical works in the 9th century" by Ibn Khordadbeh in his Book of Roads and Kingdoms (c. AD 850), referring to it is Set Bandhai or "Bridge of the Sea". Later, Alberuni described it. The earliest map that calls this area by the name Adam's bridge was prepared by a British cartographer in 1804, probably referring to an Abrahamic myth, according to which Adam used the bridge to reach a mountain (identified with Adam's Peak) in Sri Lanka, where he stood repentant on one foot for 1,000 years, leaving a large hollow mark resembling a footprint.

The world longest traffic jam

The China National Highway 110 Traffic Jam was a recurring massive traffic jam that began to form on August 14, 2010, mostly on China National Highway 110 (G110) and Beijing–Tibet expressway (G6), in Hebei and Inner Mongolia. The traffic jam slowed down thousands of vehicles for more than 100 kilometres (60 mi) and lasted for more than ten days. Many drivers were able to move their vehicles only 1 km (0.6 mi) per day, and some drivers reported being stuck in the traffic jam for five days It is considered to be one of the longest traffic jams by some media.

The Aizhai Bridge

The Aizhai Bridge is a suspension bridge on the G65 Baotou–Maoming Expressway near Jishou, Hunan, China. The bridge was built as part of an expressway from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to Changsha with a main span of 1,146 metres (3,760 ft) and a deck height of 350 metres (1,150 ft),as of 2013, it is the sixth-highest bridge in the world and the world's fifteenth-longest suspension bridge. Of the world's 400 or so highest bridges, none has a main span as long as Aizhai. It is also the world's highest and longest tunnel-to-tunnel bridge.The bridge contains 1888 lights to increase visibility at night. Construction on the Aizhai Bridge began in October 2007 and was completed by the end of 2011, ahead of schedule. The bridge was temporarily opened to pedestrians during the 2012 Spring Festival and was formally opened to traffic in March 2012.

The bridge was built with the assistance of a $208 million loan from the Asian Development Bank; the loan also funded 64 kilometres (40 mi) of expressway construction and upgrades to 129 kilometres (80 mi) of local roads. The bridge and the associated road construction were projected to reduce the travel time between Jishou and Chadong from 4 hours to less than 1 hour. In September 2012, the Aizhai Bridge was the site of an international BASE jumping festival that included more than 40 jumpers from 13 countries.

The tallest Dam in the world will be at China

The Jinping-I Hydropower Station (also known as the Jinping-I Dam, Jinping 1st Cascade or Jinping No.1 Hydraulic Power Station) is a large hydroelectric project on the "Jinping Bend" of the Yalong River (Yalong Jiang) in Lingshan, Sichuan, China. Construction on the project began in 2005 and when complete, it will have a 3600 MW capacity to produce between 16 and 18 TW-h (billion kW·h) annually. Supplying the power station will be a reservoir created by a 305-metre-tall arch dam, the tallest in the world. The project's objective is to supply energy for expanding industrialization and urbanization, improve flood protection, and prevent erosion. The dam began to impound its reservoir on 30 November 2012 and the first two of six 600 MW generators became operational on 30 August 2013.  Full electrical power capability will not be installed until 2015.