Napa Rebuilds Two Months Following Their Devastating Earthquake

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Napa Rebuilds: Two Months Following Their Devastating Earthquake

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 100 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Napa Rebuilds: Two Months Following Their Devastating Earthquake by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book Napa Rebuilds: Two Months Following Their Devastating Earthquake written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2015-01-14 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Less than two months following the devastating August 24th earthquake, Marquis Publishing is releasing a pictorial edition entitled Releases “Napa Rebuilds: Two Months Following Their Devastating Earthquake” The electronic book documents the extensive renovation and repair underway in the downtown sector most prominently damaged by the 6.0 quake. Photographer and artist Marques Vickers compares current imagery between the damage done from the earthquake, which he photographed two days following, and the current reparations, which he captured on the afternoon of October 16th. “What is most striking to an observer,” notes Vickers, “is the progress already in evidence and a confident sense that the downtown sector will be rebuilt back to its original intimate charm. The direct strike and nature of the earthquake prompted necessary renovations and seismic retrofitting that will hopefully prevent a reoccurrence of the same scale of damage. Among the downtown historical building photographed include the Alexandria Hotel, Winship-Smernes complex, Novelli Bail Bonds building, Napa County Courthouse, Gordon Building, Franklin Post Office, Goodman Library, Sam Kee Laundry, First United Methodist and First Presbyterian Churches. An estimated $400 million in damage was originally estimated immediately following the quake but conceivably the costs might exceed $1 billion once the reparations are completed. Several of the buildings considered originally damaged beyond repair are being renovating and will ultimately be serviceable. Many downtown business and restaurants are fully operational. “Downtown Napa is far from a ghost town during business hours. Significant commerce is being conducted adjacent to the repair work and scaffolding. None of the historical buildings currently under repair appear to be habitable or functional yet,” observed Vickers. “The process will take months perhaps years, but nearly every structure is undergoing some form of rehabilitation.” Vickers’s publication features in excess of 100 images enabling readers to view a firsthand perspective of the coordinated refurbishment of the downtown region. “I hope to document the continuing process of recovery long after the area fades from the media spotlight. This regeneration process is indicative of America’s capacity to recover from catastrophe and is a credit to our national character.”

Leaving Teaching With Both Eyes Open, Volume Two

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 426 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Leaving Teaching With Both Eyes Open, Volume Two by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book Leaving Teaching With Both Eyes Open, Volume Two written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2016-09-29 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Michael McCaffrey continues to wrestle with his own alienation and detachment from the teaching profession, direction of his life and personal relationships. He is compelled to deal with unexpected loss and abandonment on multiple levels. Throughout his ordeals, he maintains his sense of humor and perspective. His setbacks, distractions and inertia make forward progress challenging. He observes the similar difficulty and indecisiveness experienced by two of his former university classmates. His intentioned departure from teaching following his ninth year does not materialize. His ambition towards cultivating a stable relationship evaporates for reasons initially uncertain to him. He has difficulty coming to terms with his fragmented life that only periodically offers glimpses of hope and clarity. An encounter with a former high school girlfriend prompts him to consider what might have happened had he never left his hometown. Another classmate, a self-professed business success, lectures one of classes and illustrates the contrast between McCaffrey’s present stagnation and a vocational path he abandoned early in his career. As his narrative enters into his thirteenth year of teaching, his observations and caustic opinions become more pronounced and unwelcome. He’s aware of the estrangement with his current faculty peers. As his closet confidants leave, he realizes St. Elizabeth-St. Ignacious High School has changed irrevocably. He is not an integral part of the shift and has become professionally expendable. During his tenth teaching year, a new Principal, Brother Morton Brickell replaces the departed Brother (Mumbles) Moody. McCaffrey compares Moody to a flute and Brickell to a brass trumpet, often loudly overstating the obvious. Brickell’s own tenure and influence becomes abbreviated due to a change in school management. During the summer following his eleventh year, the financial allure of shifting back to corporate employment coupled by a seemingly healthy relationship nearly changes his fate. Despite the promising prospects, McCaffrey is destined to continue teaching and remaining alone. Brickell’s replacement, Sister (Stoneface) Stanley clashes with McCaffrey her initial year following scrutiny of his teaching and religious commitment. The frigidity of their interactions prompts him to question how long she will tolerate his continued employment. McCaffrey continues his satirical exchanges and pranks with faculty foils and adds additional victims. He charts the meteoric influential rise of the maintenance duo of Sid and Barney that culminates in a faculty Christmas party implosion. He assists a faculty peer in formatting teaching credential assignments that concludes with him doubting the substantive value of academic professional training. McCaffrey documents his lively and playful interactions with his students. Tense moments intervene. He is confronted by a failing student that nearly erupts into a physical altercation. He must also calm the religious proselytizing from one of his zealous students seeking to convert him. He attempts to keep his lectures varied and relevant despite his flagging enthusiasm. One of his classroom discussions addresses the increasingly escalating violence in his hometown when one of his students nearly becomes a casualty from a drive-by shooting. A former favorite student returns on campus basking in an acclaim that eluded him while attending SESI. Another returns as a polished and attractive woman completing a teaching internship and introduces complications into McCaffrey’s relationship void and loneliness. McCaffrey’s forebodings about Sister Stanley’s motives reach fruition during contract negotiations following his thirteenth teaching year. Will McCaffrey survive a decisive effort to get rid of him? If he is destined to leave, who will ultimately determine the terms of his departure?

The 2014 Napa Valley Wine Harvest: Demystifying the California Wine Industry and Coming Economic Decline

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 108 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The 2014 Napa Valley Wine Harvest: Demystifying the California Wine Industry and Coming Economic Decline by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book The 2014 Napa Valley Wine Harvest: Demystifying the California Wine Industry and Coming Economic Decline written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2015-04-10 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The 2014 Napa Valley Wine Harvest: Demystifying the California Wine Industry and Coming Economic Decline” is a photographic edition portraying the beauty and landscape of the northern California wine region during each stage of the annual wine harvest. Photographer Marques Vickers 80+ images captures the diversity of the vineyard terrain and majesty of the individual vines from his artist perspective. The photography is supplemented by his observations and projections regarding the 2014 final grape crush report released on March 10, 2015 by the United States Department of Agriculture, Pacific Field Office. Vickers addresses the three most strident issues: water, real estate value levering and overproduction that peril the continued stability of the industry. The 2014 Napa Valley harvest may ultimately prove a benchmark before the reality of the California drought radically affects the region’s yields. The harvest was the second largest and most lucrative in the history of the Napa Valley region bringing in a 9% value increase from 2013. By contrast, the state of California’s overall production shrunk 8.3% and valuation rose less than 1%. The Northern San Joaquin Valley region had production decreases of 16%. Vickers elaborates on what is going on within Napa that is eluding the majority of the State’s wine regions. Despite the continued effects of severe drought conditions, the 2014 harvest may ultimately emerge as the finest year of the decade due to the smaller and more concentrated berry sizes, creating greater flavor complexity. What distinguished 2014 from the current year has been the timely rains and seasonal heat spikes. As water sourcing becomes the new alchemy within the Napa Valley and throughout California, aggressive deep well water drilling for underground sources is creating a potential for economic, liability and ecological catastrophe. The depletion of underground sources and storage reserves may prove necessary for short-term coverage caused by the continuing drought and overproduction. Longer-term implications such as stricter water rationing and production moratoriums may inhibit continued growth and elevate pricing. Will fine wine palettes and consumers foot the bill at the marketplace? Vickers writings elaborate beyond the traditional marketing rhetoric and hype both Napa’s production success and California’s decline during 2014. More poignantly, the results from the grape crush report identify significant production trends taking shape regarding emerging drought resilient grapes and increasingly out-of-favor Zinfandel and Merlot varietals. Based on the immediate economic threats and absence of nimbostratus (rain) clouds, a major financial correction appears eminent. Vickers’ “The 2014 Napa Valley Wine Harvest: Demystifying the California Wine Industry and Coming Economic Decline” edition is a straightforward guide for wine enthusiasts to understand the complexities of a wine harvest and outstanding visual overview of one of the most renown wine regions internationally.

The Architectural Elevation of Technology

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 134 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Architectural Elevation of Technology by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book The Architectural Elevation of Technology written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2016-03-16 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The Architectural Elevation of Technology” is a photographic survey of 75 prominent Silicon Valley corporate headquarters buildings. The 134-page edition is photographed and authored by California artist Marques Vickers. The geographical territory included with the book is framed to the north by Redwood City and extended to the south until Cupertino. Corporate headquarters are included within the cities of Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Mountain View, Menlo Park, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Milpitas and Fremont. Notable structures include the Oracle, Samsung and the Apple 2 campus, currently under construction. Background is provided on each building’s history and when each present tenant began their occupancy. “The photo project’s motivation was based on my curiosity as to the public face of the information technology sector,” notes Vickers. “Did the more prominent companies mirror the aesthetic polish of their online renown and presence? Would their architecture reflect the affluence and prosperity many of these industry icons have come to represent?” “Silicon Valley technology parks, corporate campuses and headquarters appear indistinguishable from other more traditional office construction. Their appearance is generally consistent with contemporary design trends favoring reflective glass framed by steel and masonry.” Vickers observes in his accompanying commentary several distinctive traits regarding high-tech constructions. Among those include decentralized layouts, lack of streetfront parking and the significant shielding of inside views by landscaped trees and foliage. “The true innovation and resources appear to have been concentrated on interior space management schematics and novelty design.” Vickers adds, “The intention is purposeful. By creating a playful and aesthetic interior environment for employees, many are inclined and stimulated to spend significant additional hours on work-related projects in the facility. Social bondings are encouraged, creating a synergy of professional comradery. Working hours assimilate into lifestyle preferences.”

You Can’t Return Home Except Through Photographs and Memory

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 165 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis You Can’t Return Home Except Through Photographs and Memory by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book You Can’t Return Home Except Through Photographs and Memory written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2017-03-03 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Author Marques Vickers returns to his hometown of Vallejo, California with his memoir “You Can’t Return Home Except Through Photographs and Memory”. The personal narrative traces his formation within a community that through his eyes has slipped a notch from both the middle-class and affluence. Vickers employs a light but candid tone on a gravely perceived subject, Vallejo’s regressive deterioration. The suburban San Francisco Bay Area town of 120,000 was formerly the California State Capital twice and home to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. The base closed in 1996 creating an employment void that prompted stagnation within the downtown core. Vickers was raised locally during the 1960s-70s. He traces the specific causes for decline as the proliferation of long simmering racial tensions, homelessness, aggressive criminality and drug trafficking. Returning in 1987 as an adult following a twelve-year absence, he was struck by the town’s smallness of scale. In spite of the successful recruitment of Marine World Africa USA in 1986, the addition has not elevated Vallejo into a desirable extended stay tourist destination. He observes that seemingly for every positive step forward, the city tends to relapse two steps backwards. Despite the deterioration, most Vallejoans he knows are proud of their grounded heritage. His text is far from bleak and bitter. He cites the town’s distinctiveness, attractions and diversity that positively impacted his personal development. His photo compilation was prompted by a return for the funeral service of a 90-year-old friend Andy who died on New Years Day 2017. Andy, a former longtime resident, avoided local visitations noting the degenerating conditions from his residence in adjacent Benicia. The author’s own series of memories were exhumed at the same time as the body of his friend was being lowered into the ground for burial. Vickers surveys the present tense community with his camera lens portraying a bittersweet reality. Although he cannot overlook the obvious, he hopes the current downtown may ultimately be viewed as an isolated puzzle piece fitting into a larger positive legacy. Balancing his criticism with objectivity, humor and insight, Vickers attempts to accurate portray a subject he mourns and knows intimately.

The Red-Light District of Butte Montana

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 159 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Red-Light District of Butte Montana by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book The Red-Light District of Butte Montana written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2017-06-20 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edition is an intimate photo examination of the infamous Butte, Montana sex trade once nationally recognized during the late 19th and early 20th century. Over 135 current photographs document the remnants of the famed copper mining town’s prostitution core. The work details historical anecdotes, narratives on colorful personages and perspective on an era when prostitution was locally institutionalized. The remaining Dumas Brothel is a profiled parlor house noteworthy for its operational longevity between 1890-1982. The Dumas is the longest tenured American house of prostitution. The property weathered numerous reform movements and attempts towards forced closure by governmental authorities. Owner tax evasion ultimately shuttered the property. Across the road is the Blue Range Building, the last street-facing example of the lowest extremity of prostitution once employed within the district. The seven sets of ground floor doors and adjacent windows housed segregated cubicles called cribs. Diminutive cribs accommodated only a single bed and an occasional washbasin. Lower esteemed prostitutes serviced clients from these utilitarian spaces. Butte’s prostitution industry reinforced a rigid hierarchy of distinguishing elite mistresses for the affluent and influential, from lowly street solicitors. The lifestyle of sex professionals was plagued by drug addiction, financial debt, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, abortion, violence and abuse by their patrons and jealousy-motivated clients. Suicide was common even amongst the highest regarded women within such a cannibalistic environment, During the turn of the twentieth century, Butte was one of the largest Rocky Mountain population centers. Its licentious reputation mirrored contemporary Las Vegas. Unlike many western frontier settlements, cowboy culture made minimal intrusion. Butte’s red-light district is a haunting environment with a complex past.

So You Think You Know Washington State Wines? (2016-17)

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 62 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis So You Think You Know Washington State Wines? (2016-17) by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book So You Think You Know Washington State Wines? (2016-17) written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2016-08-27 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “So You Think You Know Washington State Wines?” is designed to simplify your understanding by identifying growing trends, grape descriptions and the history of Washington wine production. The edition profiles the 15 top wine grapes and the unique aspects of the state’s growing sectors. The 62-page edition is idea for wine collectors, winemakers and anyone who appreciates a world class Washington vintage. The following are just seventeen from hundreds of little known facts about Washington wines and the 2015 grape harvest. 1. Washington is the second largest producer of premium table wine in the United States behind California. Washington’s harvest comparatively represents only 6% of the overall California production levels. 2. Washington’s red grape varietals harvested 112.8 thousand tons in 2015. The closest California equivalent was the San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura County. 3. The State of Washington harvested 222 thousand tons of wine grapes during the 2015 harvest, down 2.2% overall from the previous year. The deficit was attributed to the excessive heat conditions and a reduced Cascade Mountain snowpack. 4. Red varietal grapes account for 51% of the total production and actually increased yields by 5% during the 2015 harvest. 5. Cabernet Sauvignon was the top-producing grape during 2015 with 47,400 tons, representing 21% of the overall harvest. Cabernet Sauvignon had the largest growth rate. 6. White Riesling was the top white wine and second most overall produced grape with 44,100 tons, accounting for 20% of the total. Washington produces more White Riesling than any other state. 7. Chardonnay was the third most produced grape with 42,000 tons, Merlot fourth with 35,200 tons and Syrah fifth with 16,000 tons. 8. Grenache Noir is the most lucratively priced wine grape in Washington and sold for $1,722 per ton. Cabernet Sauvignon averaged $1,527 per ton, an increase of 5.5% from 2014. Cabernet Sauvignon sells in the Napa Valley in excess of $6,000 per ton. 9. The growing regions of San Luis Obispo County, Yakima Valley and Walla Walla Valley share numerous similarities. Their topographies feature expansive arid flatlands surrounded by hilly terrain. Each region has a long historical agricultural tradition. 10. Top-tiered Washington vineyards have commanded pricing between $75,000-$80,000 per acre. Large established vineyards have been documented to sell for $25,000-$30,000 and bare unplanted terrain often averages $10,000-$15,000 per acre. 11. Washington has 14 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) recognized and defined by the United States Treasury Department. Seven have only been established within the last ten years and three stretch across the Oregon border. 12. The primary growth advantage Washington offers over neighboring Oregon is the capacity to expand wine grape cultivation. Washington has twice as much plantable acreage available. 13. Today, 98% of the wine grapes grown are east of the Cascade Mountains. In 1970, there were only ten official wineries in all of Washington. By 2000, that figure had expanded to 163 and by 2010, more than 700 wineries. Currently it is estimated that there are over 900 wineries. 14. The two largest Washington growing regions, the Yakima and Walla Walla Valleys share the topography of a desert landscape and the tributary waters of the Columbia River branching out via the Yakima and Walla Walla Rivers. 15. The Walla Walla Valley averages approximately the same annual rainfall levels as the Napa Valley (21 inches). The Yakima Valley received even less rainfall (8 inches), but is supplemented by a snowfall level of 23 inches. 16. The Yakima Valley profits from the accumulating rains and snows of Mount Ranier and Mount Adams, part of the Cascade Mountain Range. The melting Spring snowpack results in substantial volumes of water that are channeled into the region and directed by canals and aqueducts into the agricultural basins and hillsides.

In Search of Toxic Silicon Valley

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 148 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis In Search of Toxic Silicon Valley by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book In Search of Toxic Silicon Valley written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2017-03-30 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over forty years after the groundwater table of the Silicon Valley was declared contaminated, the source remains tainted and unfit for human consumption. Twenty-five former toxic waste sites are profiled “In Search of Toxic Silicon Valley: The Subterranean Poisoning From High Technology Manufacturing”. The edition focuses on visually documenting the contemporary redevelopment of these properties decades after they have become removed from closer public and media scrutiny. During the 1960s through early 1990s, an environmental disaster originated from leaking hazardous chemicals and solvents employed in semiconductor manufacturing. A lethal combination of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) seeped through on-site industrial storage containers. These concentrated leakages formed toxic plumes that penetrated between thirty and five hundred feet beneath the ground surface. The plumes ranged from three hundred feet to ten miles in length. Drinking water, regional creeks, streams and estuary lands were affected. The result has left the technology heartland with an extended network of contaminated groundwaters. The resulting contamination of soils and waters created a large-scale clean-up dilemma for a region that has sustained prosperity from the evolution of the technology industry. Neighboring public health consequences have included documented elevated statistics on cancer rate spikes and birth defects. Limited follow-up litigation has generally resulted in no-fault disclosure financial settlements. Only one individual has faced criminal related disposal charges and was convicted of ten misdemeanors. Federal Superfund clean up projects began in the 1980s, coordinated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Silicon Valley has the highest concentration of Superfund sites in the United States. Reclamation projects transported polluted soils to federal hazardous waste sites. Water excavation pumping, filtering and monitoring stations were established. These ongoing treatments have reversed groundwater contamination levels to acceptable EPA standards. They have not completely eliminated the toxic compound presence or eradicated the risk of vapor intrusion aboveground. Silicon Valley groundwater remains unacceptable for public consummation. The most affected cities currently outsource drinking water from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite, Sacramento Delta, San Luis Reservoir and long-established municipal and private wells. The subsequent reuses of formerly contaminated parcels currently include residential, retail and commercial developments, a shopping center and church. Only a small percentage of lands remain dormant and these are targeted for future development. The Silicon Valley manufacturing era remains a discreetly mentioned blight to the legacy of the industry. The semiconductor manufacturing process has subsequently been relocated offshore. Instead of prioritizing hygienic solutions for production and waste disposal, the shifting has reportedly created an equally dangerous source of dioxin pollution transported globally by prevailing winds and ocean currents. The author’s research is based exclusively from EPA archived documentation and related contaminant databases. The text and photographs are best summarized in his chilling opening paragraph: This is a story about unhappy endings. This is a narrative about how the manufacture of technology has potentially forever poisoned the subterranean strata of the Silicon Valley. In brief, this is a horror story.

Herron Island, Washington

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 130 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Herron Island, Washington by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book Herron Island, Washington written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2017-05-06 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marques Vickers’ “Herron Island, Washington” is a photographic survey showcasing the diminutive island with a land area of 300 acres and population of 150. Located along the Case Inlet of Southern Puget Sound, the island’s dimensions are estimated at one and a quarter miles in length by one half mile in width. Vickers’ nearly 150 images capture the prominent north and south coastline beaches, interior residential terrain and roundtrip ferry transfers from the mainland peninsula. The island is abundant with deer, eagles, seals, seagulls, Pacific geoducks (large clams), beach, flora, fauna and spectacular views of the Puget Sound straits. Despite Herron Island’s luster, safety and tranquility, it remains virtually unknown to western Washington residents and beyond. Herron Island was initially discovered in 1792 as part of Lieutenant Peter Puget’s expedition, under the command of Captain George Vancouver. The original landing party was greeted with inhospitable weather conditions and the island remained unoccupied for nearly fifty years. An American naval exploration party led by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes re-explored and re-charted Puget Sound including the island in 1841. The island’s name was changed from Wednesday Island to Herron Island in recognition of one of Wilkes' crew members. Little background has been documented about Seamon Herron. Another century passed with reportedly only a sole caretaker habitant. The island was privately purchased during the 1950s. Herron Island was incorporated on April 30, 1958 as a non-profit, non-stock Washington Corporation composed of the owners and purchasers of island property. Buildable lots were partitioned and resold for development. The island is currently self-sustaining and does not receive local, state or federal funding. Over the decades, the interior has been graded and roads connect the island throughout. A community building, fire station and water system has been established for residents. Access to the island is available exclusively via a daily operating ferry and limited by invitation only from an island resident most of the year. The crossing requires approximately ten minutes to the mainland dock.

So You Think You Know Pacific Coast Wines? (2017-18)

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 147 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis So You Think You Know Pacific Coast Wines? (2017-18) by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book So You Think You Know Pacific Coast Wines? (2017-18) written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2017-04-05 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “So You Think You Know Pacific Coast Wines?” is designed to simplify your understanding by identifying growing trends, grape descriptions, the histories and future direction of the California, Washington and Oregon wine industry. This book concisely profiles each state’s leading growing regions, rainfall statistics and prominent grapes based on the most recent available harvest data. The 2017-18 edition is ideal for wine collectors, winemakers and anyone who appreciates a world class Pacific Coast grown vintage. The following facts are just ten from hundreds of little known essentials included in the book: 1. California is the top producing state, Washington second and Oregon fourth (behind New York) in American wine grape production. California harvested 4 million tons and Washington 270 thousand tons during the 2016 harvest. Oregon harvested 84.9 tons during the 2015 harvest. Washington’s harvest is only 6.7% and Oregon’s 2.1% of California’s overall production. 2. Cabernet Sauvignon is California’s second most popular and second highest priced red wine grape. It is Washington’s most popular and fifth highest priced. The average Napa Valley grown grape is priced between five and fifteen times more than competing states and regions within California. Napa grown Cabernet Sauvignon traditionally sells out before picking even commences. 3. California increased wine grape production by 8.1% and Washington by 21.6% during 2016. Both harvests established new state records. 4. California has 4,200+, Washington 900+, and Oregon 700+ wineries. California has seventeen designated growing regions. Washington has fourteen and Oregon five. 5. With Washington’s red grape harvest at 157.3 thousand tons, the closest California equivalent is the San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura County growing region (164 thousand tons). The growing regions of San Luis Obispo County, Yakima Valley and Walla Walla Valley share numerous similarities. Their topographies feature expansive arid flatlands surrounded by hilly terrain. Each region has a long historical agricultural tradition. 6. Pinot Noir is Oregon’s largest harvested grape accounting for 59.7% of the state’s wine grape production and is the second highest priced. It is California’s sixth most popular and sixteenth highest priced red wine grape. 7. Oregon’s wine grape production (84,9 thousand tons in 2015) most closely compares with the Mendocino County growing region of California (77,9 thousand tons in 2016). 8. Chardonnay is California’s largest harvested grape accounting for 38% of the white wine grapes and 16.8% of the state’s overall yield. It is the twenty-fourth highest priced white wine grape. It is Washington’s third largest wine grape, most popular white wine grape, and the second highest priced. It is Oregon’s third largest produced, second highest white wine grape and second highest priced. 9. California’s wines were considered the equal to European’s elite vintages in 1890. Following the phylloxera pest and Prohibition, the state would not regain their global reputation until the mid-1970s. Washington’s international reputation began during the 1990s and Oregon’s during the 1980s. 10. Real Estate valuation remains the most important financial consideration influencing the value of varietal grapes. Top-tiered Washington vineyards have commanded pricing between $75,000-$80,000 per acre. Large established vineyards have been documented to sell for $25,000-$30,000 and bare unplanted terrain often averages $10,000-$15,000 per acre. In Napa County, secondary vineyard lands begin at $90,000-$165,000 an acre. Prime vineyards range between $225,000-$300,000 and upwards per acre.

The Leaves of Autumn: Meditations on Middle Age

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 126 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Leaves of Autumn: Meditations on Middle Age by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book The Leaves of Autumn: Meditations on Middle Age written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2015-12-31 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The Leaves of Autumn: Meditations on Middle Age” is artist Marques Vickers photographic survey portraying the variety and vibrant colors of seasonally shedding foliage. Vickers combines his colorfully captured imagery with a meditative essay comparing the annual rite with the entrance and emergence of middle age. Nearly 120 images portray the diversity of autumn colors. FROM THE PREFACE: “For those drawn into middle age, the realization of our own mortality becomes poignantly real. Death is no longer a random phenomena. We have viewed its presence firsthand through the passing of family, friends and a parade of humanity we have been spectators to observe. In late autumn, the days begin to recede in sunlight and length. The cooling temperatures trigger hormonal changes within trees signaling change. Cells appear at the juncture where leaves are attached. These abscission cells over a period of days and weeks multiply into a thin barrier that separates the leaf from its stem. This separation creates a vulnerability to shifting and tugging winds. The tree consciously seals off this linkage for self-preservation. This innate annually repeated cycle enables trees to survive the inclimate weather of winter, deficient of sunshine. During spring, summer and early fall, leaves draw their nutrients from sunlight enabling the tree to survive, reproduce and flourish. As the days slow and shorten, the leave’s capacities to produce lessen until they ultimately become a burden. At this point, they become disposable. Before they are tossed into oblivion by prevailing winds, leaves modify their tonality and patina. Their colors radiate with illumination, subtlety and vibrancy. Each eschews the monotone of their previous greens and yellow tinting. Individually and collectively, they radiate gorgeous symphonic overtones, if only for a short span. The vision of autumn leaves reflects a metaphor of existence. We hope that we may cast an enduring shadow long after our own substance has passed.”

The Reflective Powers of Water as Visual Alchemy

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 125 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Reflective Powers of Water as Visual Alchemy by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book The Reflective Powers of Water as Visual Alchemy written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2015-07-28 with total page 125 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The Reflective Powers of Water as Visual Alchemy” is California artist Marques Vickers photographic edition of over 120+ images of inverted and reflective objects created by water exposure. The diverse photo sequence was captured through various bodies of water and fountains throughout northwestern Washington State. FROM THE PREFACE: The transparency properties of water create magical illusions for reflective and submerged objects. Their reappearance creates inverted shapes and forms resembling non-objective artwork. Water based distortions become variations of substance and shadow resembling visual alchemy. Though water appears crystalline, in truth its instinctive properties are a slightly bluish hue. The accentuated surface tension diffuses and redistributes color seemingly random and erratically. The interaction between deconstructed color created layers of overlap suggesting a deepened texture. Alchemy in its purest form is the ability to transmute base metals into noble and precious derivatives such as gold. The practice of western alchemy dates back to ancient Egypt with the city of Alexandria as its capital. Islam and Asian based religions embraced the shadowy art from their earliest inception. This ancient transformation of base metals symbolically assumed a spiritual dimension as an elixir of life. In the context of water reflection, linear shapes are restructured into abstractions and curvatures. Objects are liberated from their fixed matter and reshaped into fluid forms lacking edge and definition. The decline of alchemy as an established practice was facilitated in the early eighteen century by the rise and acceptance of modern scientific methodology. Ancient spirituality and mysticism were displaced by experimentation and quantitative comparison. Chemistry universally replaced the role of alchemy. There remains a space for interpretive alchemy when one views the unlocked reflections stimulated by water. Restructuring matter becomes as mystical as water transforming into vapor under extreme heat. Does not life resemble a vapor? demands the poet. There is room for suspending concrete imagery and structured color each time we view the reflective and distorting properties of water. The results create stunning and unimaginable imagery.

When Letters Still Mattered

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 137 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis When Letters Still Mattered by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book When Letters Still Mattered written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2016-03-16 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compilation of chronological written correspondence can provide valuable insights into the growth and development of an individual. “When Letters Still Mattered” is a 137-page autobiographical portrait by California artist Marques Vickers. Each profile candidly summarizes the effect of thirty writings and individuals that distinctly influenced his life. His early writings reveal glimpses of his immediate family relations including several humorous and touching accounts of his Alabama raised aunts, beloved grandfather and his most remembered letter from his mother recounting the separate and unexpected deaths of three acquaintances. Drawing from his formative years correspondence, Vickers recounts the exploits of an ethically straying local minister, his close relationship with his freedom-obsessed dog and his reaction to a greeting card delivered on the morning of Christmas Day by the postman. Subsequent chapters address his earliest failed encounters with intimacy and romance, a fortunate near-miss and his ongoing resolve to achieve equilibrium with a partner. He traces the labyrinth that defined his first marriage, initially fueled by a tenderly composed poem. Vickers shares lessons and disappointments culled from an often dehumanizing workplace and a noble gesture of fidelity that transcended his own humiliation of being very publicly fired from a high-profile job. The author details a twenty-year friendship with a mentor, Marshall, once a renowned public personality. Marshall had formerly managed the swank Los Angeles Coconut Grove nightclub, Las Vegas Flamingo Hotel and dated actress Marilyn Monroe during her prime. Marshall’s own fallen acclaim due to his 1950s Las Vegas association was accompanied by an admirable loyalty that he maintained until his death with formerly renowned actors, prizefighters and celebrities that had endured their own reversals of fortune. For the author, Marshall’s insight and experiences provided an enlightening glimpse of the tenuousness of fame. Weaving through various accounts, Vickers encounters a variety of diverse personalities, acquaintances and friends, ranging from a perverse travel agent he encountered in Rio de Janeiro to a counseling therapist seeking to sort out her own passionate and wordy nature. His final chapter concerns a book inscription sent to him by painter Andrew Wyatt’s famed muse Helga Testorf as a notable gift of friendship. Her ordeal and the accompanying controversy and public condemnation she endured were overshadowed by the dignity she maintained throughout in his eyes. The passages from each correspondence are concise with the focus oriented primarily on Vickers’ interpretations and storytelling. The cumulative effect of his analysis is that of an artist looking inwardly and coming to terms with who he is, how he arrived there and why he actively creates. This mirror of one’s past and the resulting conclusions become a reference guideline. The author discovered these illustrative samplings shaped his present behavioral patterns and decision-making priorities. The texts provide tangible and enduring time capsules of thought and expression by individuals who mattered most for diverse reasons to the author.

Coffee Anarchists of the World Unite: The Italian Roasted Elixirs of Tacoma, Washington

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 72 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Coffee Anarchists of the World Unite: The Italian Roasted Elixirs of Tacoma, Washington by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book Coffee Anarchists of the World Unite: The Italian Roasted Elixirs of Tacoma, Washington written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-30 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Coffee Anarchists of the World Unite: The Italian Roasted Elixirs of Tacoma, Washington” is a photographic depiction of coffee obsession. Over 65 images portray the beauty and aesthetics elicited by this roasted alchemic infusion. Tacoma is a unique and sometimes gritty port community bordering Washington State’s Puget Sound region. It lacks the cultural character and variety of nearby Seattle and the glossy veneer of Bellevue. The city often exhibits a crusty exterior profile coating an even crustier interior. Tacoma is common sense and concrete with stray but striking dandelions sprouting amidst the cracks. Despite it’s lack of polish, the city has a thriving independent coffee house base. There is minimal pretense and a certain informality and comfort level resembling the author’s northern California blue-collar roots. Vickers’ images mirror a gourmet celebration of a former delicacy that has evolved into a necessity. FROM THE PREFACE: To understand the splendor, passion and complexity behind Italian roast obsessions, one begins with the essential vernacular. The term Cappuccino translates from its Italian origins as Little Cap. It was descriptively employed towards the monks of Capuchin and their distinctive coffee colored hooded cloaks and shaved heads. Today, the remnant of the sect remains in bygone burial in caverns underneath Santa Maria Della Concezione Dei Cappuccini church in Rome. Two other common but important coffee terms include Latte and Crema. Latte simply translates as milk and Crema as crème. Crown would be a more suitable moniker. Crema is the thin caramel layer of foam that radiates atop the surface of espresso. Crema is the elixir, which separates alchemy from consumable hot beverage. Properly composed into minute concentrated bubbles, it dissipates amidst initial sips. Its role is essentially to prepare the palette portal for the espresso/coffee blend to follow. There remains dispute amongst coffee appreciation purists as to whether the Crema or the density of the bean grinding ultimately influences the quality of taste most. The discussion is of negligible importance. Both parties and elements are accurate. Italian roasted coffee beans radiate pitch ebony burnt tones resembling dark chocolate. The smoky edged Turkish coloration stimulates robust flavors. This stout essence will overwhelm most popular consumer oriented limpid taste preferences. Italian roast coffee preferences are savored without excuse or contrition. Ultimately, penetrating Italian roast eliminates all acidity, rousing subtle and favorable undertones. As with any multi-layered wine, substance is appreciated by a diversely composed strata.

Teaching with One Eye Shut

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 200 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Teaching with One Eye Shut by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book Teaching with One Eye Shut written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2016-09 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Michael McCaffrey has lost his teaching idealism, but not pragmatism towards his profession. “Teaching with One Eye Shut” escorts you into the classroom, faculty room sanctuary and campus grounds of St. Elizabeth-St. Ignacious (SESI), a northern California Catholic high School. Your host, McCaffrey is an eight-year business instructor beyond the burnout stage and uncertain as to his future in the profession. His turmoil carries over into his personal life and relationships. McCaffrey shares his clear-eyed observations about classroom instruction, discipline, peers and the bureaucracy accompanying teaching. He dismisses imposed school administration artificial team-building tactics. For him, teachers are individuals expressing their point of view on subject matters as they visualize it. Peer’s advice and Principals are of marginal value. His evaluations are often cutting and dismissive. They are balanced by periodic inspiring and surprising heroics emerging from unlikely sources. McCaffrey seemingly has an unflinching opinion about everyone and especially himself. His students can be a distracted and devouring audience, but he is genuinely appreciated. He introduces the reader into the authentic and sometimes erratic nature of classroom lecture and discussion. His teaching subjects include technology, marketing and law. His students’ responses address more poignant issues including racism, home life and their futures beyond schooling. The deeper exchanges are often conducted between classes or emerge amidst casual conversations and daily interactions. McCaffrey addresses timely issues over the success and shortcomings of contemporary education. He concludes that society comfortably maintains misplaced priorities and ignorance towards education and its practitioners. He takes issue with uninvolved parents who drop their children off like dirty laundry and expect a private institution to cleanse them of their bad habits while educating them. He maintains that Catholic education is distinct and different from public schools. His conclusion is based on expected behavioral accountability and reinforced discipline, rather than superior personal, facilities and educational techniques. A school’s objective remains to stimulate a graduating class of lifelong learners. This lofty goal is tested daily by certain under-achieving, troubled and unmotivated students, neurotic faculty members and hamstrung by trifling misdirected rules. McCaffrey notes that victories surface when his contemporaries enable students to navigate the tenuous labyrinth of adolescence and learning His varied observations encompass teacher liability, absence policies, and career burnout, objective grading, classroom discipline, school fundraising, compensation, athletic programs, peer gossip and pranks, equipment deficiencies, and dress codes. McCaffrey is SESI’s acknowledged faculty satirist who zealously guards his private time absent of extra-curricular supervisions. He is never a perennial candidate for Teacher of the Year honors. His cast of instructional intimates and foils include basketball coach and confident Rich Ringer, siren Suzzi Issacs, milquetoast Dennis Greeley, incompetent Alex Orrigo, misdirected Tim Lovelace, mumbling Principal Brother Moody and a colorful parade of diverse and eclectic personalities. A variety of candid and favorite students are introduced with the irrepressible Ralphie Houwser heading the list. McCaffrey feels trapped by his inability to move forward with his life. A year ending interaction with one of his peers offers him hope. Will a Parisian rendezvous on Bastille Day become his ultimate liberation from professional and personal stagnation? “Teaching with One Eye Shut” addresses the fragile and volatile role of mentors and educators. McCaffrey’s memoir offers a realistic and humorous view of the realities behind high school instructing, spiced by his periodic exaggerations.

The Twilight Tree Graveyard of Rialto Beach, Washington

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 105 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Twilight Tree Graveyard of Rialto Beach, Washington by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book The Twilight Tree Graveyard of Rialto Beach, Washington written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2015-09-05 with total page 105 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The Twilight Tree Graveyard of Rialto Beach” features over 105 photographic images capturing the stacked bleached tree lined shorelines and bordering forest. Rialto Beach’s shoreline is the most distinctive and scenic of five La Push, Washington regional beaches. The region is home to the Native American Quileute Nation, renowned for a folklore descending from wolf tribalism. Author Stephanie Meyer incorporated this ancient mythology into a popular book and film fantasy compilation entitled the Twilight Series. She injected the culturally popular themes of vampires and werewolves into the story lines. In Meyer’s work, the Vampire community has staked out the adjacent town of Forks and the Werewolves, nearby La Push. One of her primary characters, Jacob Black is a Quileute with the propensity to transform himself into a werewolf. Tourists and readers have invaded the region hoping to pinpoint the literary icons with their actual physical reference locations. Movie viewers are frequently disappointed. The actual filming was completed in Oregon and Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Rialto Beach features the stark duality between darkness and light highlighted by the phantom ghost trees that line its shores and layer its sands. The severe vision mirrors a contrast between life and death. The bulk of the adjacent forest pulsates with lush growth. The trees fronting the forward fringe slowly capitulate towards their intended destiny. Their skeletal remains resemble phantom monoliths awaiting a nemesis of death and decay. A subsequent generation of growth nudges them annually closer to oblivion. The graveyard forests stretch across ebony and silted sands. The purification of their carcasses is accelerated by the scathing winds and inhospitable waves scrapping bark bare and bleaching color absolutely. Each tree becomes honed, polished and smoothed until ultimately broken and disposable. Periodic lightening strikes enflame the vulnerable mounds. Twisted and gnarled rootstock accentuates texture, punctuated by gaping holes and splintering surfaces.

Entombing Our Icons: The Jimi Hendrix, Bruce and Brandon Lee and Lake View Cemetery Memorials

Author : Marques Vickers
Publisher : Marquis Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 130 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Entombing Our Icons: The Jimi Hendrix, Bruce and Brandon Lee and Lake View Cemetery Memorials by : Marques Vickers

Download or read book Entombing Our Icons: The Jimi Hendrix, Bruce and Brandon Lee and Lake View Cemetery Memorials written by Marques Vickers and published by Marquis Publishing. This book was released on 2015-08-19 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Entombing Our Icons: The Jimi Hendrix, Bruce and Brandon Lee and Lake View Cemetery Memorials” features over 125 photographic images captured by artist Marques Vickers. The photography portrays musician Jimi Hendrix’s tomb and Seattle’s Lake View Cemetery featuring the gravesites of Bruce and Brandon Lee and other notable historical personages. Vickers features an essay within the edition entitled “Entombing An Icon: Celebrity Death Worship and The Anonymous Forgotten” detailing the daily processional remembrance visits and biographies of two of the most recognized Seattle icons. Hendrix’s memorial is located in suburban Renton and the Lake View Cemetery in the Capitol Hill district of Seattle, Washington. The deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Lee and his son Brandon Lee have been significantly documented but remain shrouded in speculation and mystery. Vickers’ essay details their biographies and each man’s final 24 hours. Divergent theories and accounts have accompanying their deaths over the subsequent decades. Jimi Hendrix’s international musical fame while he lived lasted a brief four years upon his emergence from the London music scene in 1966. His electrifying performances at the 1969 Woodstock and 1970 Isle of Wright Music Festivals cemented his career legacy. He remains one of the most popular and copied electrical guitar performers globally. He died on September 18, 1970 by asphyxiation from his own vomit induced by his barbiturate and amphetamine use in London. In 1995 with proceeds from Jimi’s substantial royalty earnings, his father Al Hendrix enlarged the compact family internment area to a 54-plot space near the entrance of Renton’s Evergreen Cemetery. Designed by architect Mark Barthelemy, a granite commemorative gazebo is supported by three massive pillars. The interior includes three laser-etched portraits of the performer accompanied by handwritten lyrics from some of his most memorable compositions. The immense edifice was completed in 2002 and is visited by an estimated 15,000 visitors annually. Bruce and Brandon Lee were buried adjacent at the Lake View Cemetery. Bruce’s reddish rectangular headstone is composed of granite bearing his image, with gold letter engravings and a black opened book at the base. Brandon’s headstone was designed by Washington sculptor Kirk McLean and features two twisting rectangles of charcoal granite joined at the bottom. The pair of stones gives the symbolic impression of being pulled apart at the summit. Bruce Lee is lionized as a Chinese-American martial artist, Hong King film actor and director, martial arts instructor to celebrities, philosopher and founder of his own self-titled martial arts movement called Jeet Kun Do. He became the undisputed global face of a martial arts craze during the latter decades of the 20th century. He died on July 20, 1973 in Hong Kong of a cerebral edema while napping before a scheduled dinner appointment. Conspiracy theories and rumors immediately circulated due to some of the notorious enemies he had cultivated with his efforts to expand martial-arts exposure internationally. A reported family curse directed towards him by these hostile organizations gained credibility on March 31, 1993 with the accidental shooting death of Brandon Lee during the filming of the movie “The Crow”. Established in 1872 as a Masonic burial ground, Seattle’s Lake View Cemetery reflects the multinational population of urban Seattle. Tombs and bronze plaques signifying Russian Orthodox, Communist and Masonic affiliations, Asian Nationalism and even artistic ciphers are interspersed amidst the grounds. Their designations and the various monuments’ artistic craftsmanship are captured vividly through Vickers’ lens. Numerous renowned Seattle patriarchs including the namesakes Mercer, Yesler, Denny, Maynard, Boren and Nordstrom are buried on the Pioneer incline tract of the cemetery. Chief Seattle’s eldest daughter, Princess Angeline lies buried obscurely on the grounds. Inscriptions involving wars, fraternal organizations, popular causes, the arts and specific tragedies are visually captured in the edition.