Whenever I thought about cathedral construction techniques when reading Ken Follett's "Pillars of the Earth," which is actually set in the 12th century, I would think of Notre Dame with its spire reaching forever.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan
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Whenever I thought about cathedral construction techniques when reading Ken Follett's "Pillars of the Earth," which is actually set in the 12th century, I would think of Notre Dame with its spire reaching forever.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan
Rumor has it Apollonius of Rhodes patterned the Sirens in his epic poem Argonautica after a winsome lass named Jane he'd met in Alexandria during his tenure at the library. Hmmm....Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneV2.0
It's heartbreaking to watch.Quote:
Originally Posted by oldhat
I suspect the issue with the fire at Notre Dame is the same as it is with many other structures of its era and many centuries later: difficulty in integrating fire-suppression technologies like sprinklers and alarm systems without damaging the integrity and esthetics of the structure. In addition, it was mentioned that the building was undergoing an extensive renovation by the roof and workers were present when the fire broke out. So it is possible that a worker's torch or some spark lit old dried out frame timbers or other materials (wouldn't want to be that guy). Even the notion of dumping large quantities of water on the fire are complicated by the age of the building.
So far as I understand no one's been hurt and I have yet to hear the T word being thrown around.....this to me is indeed a big loss but things could have been worse. I continue to hope that it's not an act of terrorism. Rob
I read that it was undergoing some renovations. Perhaps some equipment sparked a flame? Who knows.
I visited Notre Dame in my teens as a part of a tour/homestay program. It is one of the very few remaining memories that stand out from that trip.
Horrible and tragic. Such majestic buildings---it never crosses our minds that something like this would happen to them, they're so much a part of the city's persona, culture and history. Imagine, its building was begun more than 1,000 years ago!
What strikes me is that Paris is on a river, yet I didn't see any aircraft dumping water like we see here every fire season. Maybe they aren't so equipped?
Appolonius clearly never heard Jane sing...
Or maybe he did. Perhaps the Sirens didn't lure sailors to their demise, but rather drove them there.Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneV2.0
Translations can be tricky.
Yes--I'd hate to be the worker who set off that blaze. What an awful burden to bear!
Agreed. I couldn't imagine living with that. RobQuote:
Originally Posted by JaneV2.0