Opus – Page 17 – Encyclopædia of the sublime

Felipe Jesus Consalvos

Felipe Jesus Consalvos was a Cuban-American cigar roller and artist, known for his posthumously discovered body of artwork based on the vernacular tradition of cigar-band collage. A large body of Consalvos' art work was discovered in 1983 at a Philadelphia garage sale. The body of work consists of over 800 collages on paper, found photographs, musical instruments, furniture, and other objects. Consalvos' playful and often subversively political work—on which he is thought to have collaborated with his son, Jose Felipe Consalvos -- appropriated cigar bands and cigar-box paper, along with magazine images, family photographs, postage stamps, and cut-up money.

Alarma

¡Alarma! was a Mexican news-magazine published by Publicaciones Llegó that specialized in graphic and shocking pictures of corpses including murder victims and traffic accidents, as well as pictures of scantily clad women.

Desert kites

Desert kites are dry stone wall structures found in Southwest Asia, which were first discovered from the air during the 1920s. There are over 6,000 known desert kites, with sizes ranging from less than a hundred metres to several kilometres. They typically have a kite shape formed by two convergent "antennae" that run towards an enclosure, all formed by walls of dry stone less than one metre high, but variations exist. Little is known about their ages, but the few dated examples appear to span the entire Holocene. The majority view on their purpose is that they were used as traps for hunting game animals such as gazelles, which were driven into the kites and hunted there.

Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke

The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke is a painting by English artist Richard Dadd. It was begun in 1855 and worked on until 1864. Dadd painted it while incarcerated in the State Criminal Lunatic Asylum of Bethlem Royal Hospital, where he was confined after he murdered his father in 1843. It was commissioned by George Henry Haydon, who was head steward of the hospital at the time.

Anna Russell

Anna Russell was an English–Canadian singer and comedian. She gave many concerts in which she sang and played comic musical sketches on the piano. Among her best-known works are her concert performances and famous recordings of The Ring of the Nibelungs (An Analysis) – a humorous 22-minute synopsis of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.

Tournedos Rossini

Tournedos Rossini is a French steak dish consisting of a beef tournedos, pan-fried in butter, served on a crouton, and topped with a hot slice of fresh whole foie gras briefly pan-fried at the last minute. The dish is garnished with slices of black truffle and finished with a Madeira demi-glace sauce. It is named after 19th-century composer Gioachino Rossini.

National Ignition Facility

The National Ignition Facility is a laser-based inertial confinement fusion research device. NIF's mission is to achieve fusion ignition with high energy gain. It achieved the first instance of scientific breakeven controlled fusion in an experiment on December 5, 2022, with an energy gain factor of 1.5] It supports nuclear weapon maintenance and design by studying the behavior of matter under the conditions found within nuclear explosions. NIF is the largest and most powerful ICF device built to date. The basic ICF concept is to squeeze a small amount of fuel to reach pressure and temperature necessary for fusion. NIF hosts the world's most energetic laser. The laser heats the outer layer of a small sphere. The energy is so intense that it causes the sphere to implode, squeezing the fuel inside.

Pheasant Island

Pheasant Island, known as Île des Faisans in French and Isla de los Faisanes in Spanish, is a small uninhabited islet located in the Bidasoa River, which forms part of the border between France and Spain. Despite its diminutive size, this tiny island holds immense historical significance as a symbol of peace, diplomacy, and international cooperation. The history of Pheasant Island is deeply intertwined with the complex relations between France and Spain, two European powers that have frequently been at odds throughout history. In 1659, the Treaty of the Pyrenees, negotiated to end the long-running Franco-Spanish War, stipulated that Pheasant Island would serve as a neutral territory, jointly administered by both countries. Since then, Pheasant Island has become a symbol of reconciliation and diplomacy between France and Spain. Every six months, on February 1st and August 1st, representatives from both nations gather on the island to perform a ceremonial handover of sovereignty, symbolizing the shared commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the region.

Tomb of Suleyman Shah

The Tomb of Suleyman Shah, located in northern Syria near the town of Eshme, holds a profound significance in Turkish history and identity. Situated along the banks of the Euphrates River, this sacred site is revered as the final resting place of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. The story of Suleyman Shah dates back to the early 13th century when he led his tribe, the Kayi, on a journey from Central Asia to Anatolia in search of new lands. Legend has it that Suleyman Shah drowned in the Euphrates River while crossing the frontier, and his burial site became a symbol of Turkish sovereignty and territorial integrity. Over the centuries, the Tomb of Suleyman Shah has remained a focal point of Turkish national identity, revered as a sacred symbol of the nation's origins and heritage. Despite its remote location in northern Syria, the Turkish government has maintained a symbolic presence at the site, ensuring its protection and preservation. In 2015, the Turkish military undertook a daring operation to relocate the tomb to a safer location amid the turmoil of the Syrian Civil War. Turkish soldiers crossed into Syrian territory, escorted by tanks and special forces, to retrieve the tomb and transport it to a new site within Turkish territory, near the border with Syria.

Campione d’Italia

Campione d’Italia is an outpost of Italy entirely surrounded by Switzerland. The town is a geographic rarity known as an enclave – a territory completely surrounded by another territory. It’s also an exclave, a closely related term describing a portion of a territory separated from its main part by another territory. While it’s less than a mile hike to the Italian border through the wooded hillside above town, it’s a 40-minute drive to Como, the Italian region’s governmental centre. The history of Campione d’Italia dates back centuries, with evidence of human settlement in the area dating to Roman times. Over the centuries, Campione changed hands multiple times between various Italian city-states and foreign powers, including the Duchy of Milan, the Swiss Confederacy, and the Kingdom of Italy. In 1918, following the end of World War I, Campione officially became part of the Italian Republic as an exclave, surrounded entirely by Swiss territory. This unique geopolitical status has contributed to Campione's distinct identity and cultural heritage, blending Italian and Swiss influences in its architecture, cuisine, and way of life. One of Campione's most iconic landmarks is the imposing Casino Municipale di Campione d'Italia, a lavish casino complex that has been a symbol of the town's prosperity and glamour since its opening in 1917. The casino, situated on the shores of Lake Lugano, attracts visitors from across Europe with its opulent décor, world-class gaming facilities, and stunning lake views.