View allAll Photos Tagged CONVERSATIONAL
REFLECTIONS OF A JAILBIRD
It can be quite hard to force myself to concentrate on writing when myriad distractions abound: I have the internet, snacks at hand, and a curious mind that prefers wandering than getting stuck into the arduous task of gathering my thoughts and organising them into one structured essay.
What is worse is that there are also myriad birds outside my windows that are eager to show off how free they are - while it is me that is cooped up inside an aviary. And this has been my daily life for months already here, in the middle of Istanbul.
The world has surely been turned upside down.
And my state of being has now too.
Have you ever been to prison without being involved in a crime?
The laws of lockdown have worked; they have successfully restricting my body to the house, but it has also set loose thoughts and emotion; and the things that stir inside an idle being.
In fact, I am usually the opposite: a busy body with a braindead head – not a rioting soul in a dead body.
Thus, has been a rare chance to engage in some very unique, albeit testing, self-reflection and what I have observed is that my own mind is actually hell-bent on getting away from me.
Out of due respect for public health, I have not really been anywhere for a full three months. And during this home-sentence, I have been battling with another prison: a mental prison consisting of high walls that forbid me from doing any proper constructive written work.
The summer warmth has arrived in Istanbul; finally replacing the long, wet winter - the heat and sunlight have come and replenished the empty hole that is known as ‘lockdown’. This is a very good change in events. Weather does alter one’s mood.
The uplifting summer-scented air has called me to begin writing down a few notes to share with you all. Although, however lovely days of sunshine and birdsong may be, it seems my newly-found prison-life has offered some useful (and dire) insight into how many lives are lived.
*
Morning after morning after morning, I wake up in the same fashion, with the sound of pigeons outside my bedroom window. They sit there and mumble the same stuff at each other. I get up for a coffee. The sparrows chirp like mad in the big leafy trees from morning till dusk and I am always here to hear it. Now that all forms of unnatural noise have subsided over the past weeks, the world has revealed that there are even chickens living on the banks of in front of the apartments opposite me.
Who would think chickens exist in a city of fifteen million people? Well, I believe it. It is hard not to believe it when their bleating is sometimes all that is left over now that cars and engines sounds have left the room. Right now, it is a bird’s world and I feel as if I am the only living creature that sits around stagnating all day.
Those birds are busy with their lives and I am the one who is sat in the bird cage waiting for some sort of seeds to appear in my bowl.
*
During my lifetime, I have always wondered how come old people so often tend to be miserable.
I was confused as to why oldies were always angry when kids’ balls come over their fence. I thought that old people should know that life goes along better when the world is a tolerant and friendly place - after all, judging by their bent posture and wrinkly skin, it could be safe to say that they have been around for a bit and should be aware of the tricks of the trade.
The world over, I have been yelled at by grumpy old people – usually for noise or some other form of unruliness. But my anticipation for some eventual grey-haired wisdom to save the day always fell through as they most often would revert back to their own form of unruliness – that being their decrepit emotional composure in the face of something minor.
I always liked to imagine that someday, I will become the seemingly only old man in the world who is patient, kind and unconcerned with little things that are of no apparent bother. I thought I would be the kindest granddad who would come out of his house, and instead of shouting with a stick in hand, he would come with a packet of chocolate biscuits and tell the kids just how great they are doing with their soccer skills.
But now I get it.
A silent, idle life, void of real things to do and people to talk to just makes people become dank. Now I understand. A rattle in the refrigerator has the power to really piss people off. I never knew of that rattle when my life extended beyond these four walls.
In a tiny little world, tiny little things just appear so big.
Now I realise, I too, in the future, am capable of becoming an angry old man.
*
In Istanbul you often have company from giant seagulls which are a key part of the infrastructure of this giant port city. Istanbulites love to feed animals, and these massive birds easily get their beaks into heavy pieces of stale bread. They do not want to share their findings with others and so they fly onto the rooftops and drop it, hack at it and throw it around in order to break it into smaller, edible size pieces.
I live on the top-floor and often have to deal with them stomping around on my roof. I have a rooftop sky-window that I can open up and be part of the goings on up there, but they are too busy to care. They are very happy. I am not though, and I give them the evil stare from under the window pane. And, again, they are too busy being happy to care.
*
May is the month of Ramadan and at times some very rhythmic Anatolian music seeps out from behind some bushes somewhere near where those chickens live. There is also drumming at 2am each night. Sometimes I hang myself out the fifth-floor window to try to get a piece of the vibe. I always found the concept of music to be extremely fascinating. Music is such a human thing.
I admit I have felt a bit self-conscious before dancing in front of other people, but I have to say that I feel downright embarrassed doing so in front of animals. So, I don’t. I am sure animals understand the pleasure in moving around and having fun, but the style we do it in… well, I don’t know about that. We must look absolutely ridiculous. But it is Ramadan, and it is a time for celebration.
There is a family of crows that lives in a branch – rent-free – just opposite my biggest windows in the lounge area. I enviously watch them coming and going, and taking turns at sitting on their babies. They screech and caw, as I do when I think I am singing.
As I hum along to these sudden outbreaks of traditional folk tunes, I wonder why we humans feel the need to offer a bit of our own noise to an otherwise good-enough piece of music. We also like to move our bodies along with to the beat, as if that was called for. If you can get past your own two feet, that is, then this timely shuffling is generally known as ‘dancing’.
So, it seems that adding some singing, some lyrics, and well, ultimately some sort of mouth and body movement to the music, it just makes it all come alive.
*
We humans make order of our thoughts through speech. We navigate our world through the use of the mouth; through words; through language, through lyrics, through conversation, through stories, constantly feeling the need to incessantly release some form of mouth-made noise with/to/towards/at other people: we engage in civil, amicable chitter-chatter; we emit our oral vibrations out of rage at poor kids who have lost their ball over the fence, we thrust our noises into the music as we groove along in tow…
…and somehow this makes us feel better about the world.
I can honestly say I am utterly embarrassed to be a human. But, the innate, instinctive need for talk and movement dictates our psyche. The necessity for social interaction with other people and physical interaction with our environment is indisputable. This is the source of a large part of our health. And without it, well…
We humans are a group mammal after all – perhaps more so than the feathered ‘free-folk’ outside that even feel free enough to crap all over my windowsills. But it is obvious: being around people and engaging in meaningful conversation regulates our mood and emotions so that we can avoid entering the otherwise guaranteed free-fall to hell…
…where a lot of us are right now.
All of this has now become starkly clear as I sit in here doing the opposite of what a healthy person does. All the animals accentuate the fact that they can get more done in life now that us human-beings have ceased to be part of the furniture; and we are not around anymore to bother them. Unless I decide to dance behind the glass or something - and that could bother a soul or two.
I mean, if you have to be a human being, then you also have to know how to meet a human being’s needs. That is not to say I dance, but it does mean one needs to be able to think well, speak properly, and move more.
This may seem obvious and straightforward, but I can assure you… it is not.
Just as one may think six months at home would be heaven, and when it comes around you realise it is actually a nightmare. Human beings may sit around in their homes dressed in clothes with their fancy gadgets, but can assure you, we do not always really understand what it is that we need. Nor do we properly see things for what they are…
A lot of us have never learnt to think, nor learnt to move, nor learnt to speak. Properly, that is.
*
Over the years, I have had a number of students who could fall under the category of ‘depressed’; or ‘hell-bound’ would be a better way to put it.
There is a thing called clinical depression, but this dispiritedness is often just simply an environmental, psychological, physiological or sociological inadequacy or imbalance. Sort of like a form of vitamin deficiency that comes good again with the right adjustments.
That is basically to say… yes, as it seems, a lot of melancholy folk typically seem to lead a full-time lifestyle of lockdown.
Try that! What a bloody existence…
I have observed many teenagers of mine who regularly take part in physical activity in their daily lives, be it sports or dance, are generally much more mentally and emotionally healthy – not to mention physically so. They tend to hold onto less negative energy and have a lighter, bouncier kick in their way of being.
Those that have good social, conversational and inter-personal skills tend to have these similar healthy characteristics. In short, those that are well-equipped to meet their simple human needs fare well in the world.
But this species of well-equipped kid is actually depressingly rare. A huge number of adults do not qualify either. That has frustrated me for a long time.
*
Normally at this time of year, I would be busy preparing for the summer holidays for when my students and I hit the long road with our backpacks on.
This year, that is not going to happen though, which is a pity because we were planning for some very exotic locations (Cuba, Madagascar…). And it is also a pity for some of my students that are, and/or have always been full-time-lockdown-lifestylists who would greatly benefit again from a couple of weeks-long de-shackling from the mundane.
However, this virus has offered me a very unique opportunity:
With the ditching of my passport and car-keys and the forgoing of my usual travel-lifestyle, I now get the chance to exist on this great planet in another fascinating way…
By being in prison, experiencing the psychological state of depressed prisoners, getting to know and understand the inner-world of many of my students, rehearsing for when I am old, and getting to write about it all.
More unfortunate is getting to brush up on my knowledge about myriad aspects of birdlife and how damning similar it is to ours. Even more unfortunate than that is the succumbing to the fact that I am capable of using words like ‘myriad’ myriad times in a six and a half page-long essay…
13 May 2020
(Period of lockdown from Covid-19)
The location where I met this stranger was the EXPO New Mexico Flea Market, the state’s oldest and largest open-air market. Located in Albuquerque at the state fairgrounds, more than 1,300 vendors situate on 25 acres. Though parking is free, the walk-in entrance is $1.00 (.) It runs every Sunday, except during the 10 days of the state fair. Vendors pay $20 for a spot to sell odds and ends, like used toys, shoes, religious statues, books, used furniture, costume jewelry, cowboy boots, tires, dart guns, belts, fresh and dried chile peppers, old tools, old junk and used junk. You find whatever can fit on the back of a pickup truck, in a small rented moving van or on a trailer and that can be hauled out to an asphalt patch.
On a mini-quest to meet and photograph some young people, I met Sam. He is my 70/100 strangers and shares a child with my stranger No.69, Raechel.
Sam stayed behind the organza curtains while I was photographing Raechel. During that time, he watched quietly over an energetic 2 y/o daughter named Everleigh. I observed him dutifully reading her a short book and offering her a sippy cup. Then Sam helped Everleigh climb off the van ledge to orbit around and land in mother’s lap. That's when he moved past the curtains to the van ledge where he could dangle his feet.
I invited Sam to be photographed for the project, too. He agreed immediately stating that he doesn’t have any recent photographs of them, and would want to print them out.
Sam was wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt and sitting in front of the organza rainbow curtains. It's not often that strangers come with their own colorful perfect backgrounds for a portrait. I wasn't going to toss out this opportunity.
I asked Sam what he does to help support his young family, other than sell gently used merchandise at the flea market. He told me he picks up odd jobs because he likes the independence of not having to report to a formal workplace. Sam is 23 y/o. Like Raechel, he doesn't speak Spanish, and he remarked that the Flea Market was a curious place to spend an entire day. We paused in our conversation when a customer came under the shade canopy to flip through some of the books for sale.
During that conversational lull, the adjacent vendor cranked up the volume on his sound system. I remarked that I felt like we were tailgating in the parking lot before a concert. Sam smiled knowingly and we listened for a minute to the music. Then I thanked him, and estimated when to expect the images.
Sam knew I was to send the pictures to Raechel, since she had the email address for my point-of-contact. I never heard back from Raechel. I can only hope that she passed along the pictures so that he could enjoy them.
To view the strangers I have photographed and to read the stories that accompanied the encounters, visit my submissions to the 100 Strangers Flickr Group: flic.kr/s/aHsk9s8ZQb .
Learn more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
Last but not least, this is my No.5 submission to The Human Family group. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at www.flickr.com/groups/thehumanfamily.
Costa Rica 2014. Another one that we only saw in Tortuguero, with most shots distant flight ones - easily recognisable by the yellow tail, but lousy for photos. We finally saw one closeup on a rainy walk near our lodge - just giving me enough time to rattle off some quick shots.
Wikipedia says "The Montezuma oropendola (Psarocolius montezuma) is a New World tropical icterid bird. It is a resident breeder in the Caribbean coastal lowlands from southeastern Mexico to central Panama, but is absent from El Salvador and southern Guatemala. It also occurs on the Pacific slope of Nicaragua and Honduras and northwestern Costa Rica. It is among the oropendola species sometimes separated in the genus Gymnostinops. The English and scientific names of this species commemorate the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II. The "unforgettable"[2] song of the male Montezuma oropendola is given during the bowing display, and consists of a conversational bubbling followed by loud gurgles, tic-tic-glik-glak-GLUUuuuuu. Both sexes have loud cack and crrrk calls."
Would love to have seen that! We did see the colony of nests however see other pics.
More in the comments and in the set below right,
All my other sets of species can be found in an organised form here - www.flickr.com/photos/85387952@N00/collections/
© Ben Heine || Facebook || Twitter || www.benheine.com
_______________________________________________
For more information about my art: info@benheine.com
_______________________________________________
Note : This is a cartoon I made to illustrate a chapter ("Hood on the Scarecrow ") of Mike Palecek's book: "Iowa Terror", with a 9/11 theme. The book will be published in the Spring 2008 and offered to 9/11 Truth groups and peace groups at a discount rate.
Please, read more information on the book and Mike Palecek's biography below the short novel.
------------------------
Hood On The Scarecrow
By Mike Palecek (*)
(Chapter nine of Mike Palecek's book : "Iowa Terror")
The Digital Revolution
Oh my goodness gracious,
What you can buy off the Internet
In terms of overhead photography!
A trained ape can know an awful lot
Of what is going on in this world,
Just by punching on his mouse
For a relatively modest cost!
— Donald Rumsfeld, June 9, 2001, following European trip
Psssttt!
PSSSTTTT!
Over here!
Hey. How's it goin'?
Yes. I am the scarecrow. You didn't see me? Really?
Cool.
I am on Double Secret Terrorist Duty. Securing the Homeland.
Actually to secure my homeland I would have to split myself into fourths and go back to Europe.
I think this is somebody else's homeland. Oh, well, always willing to chip in and do my part. I'm also a member of Sertoma, Kiwanis and Noon Rotary. I love meetings. I'm a people person.
Anywho ... hot enough for ya? Well, what do you think? Is this the end of our American Fascism Period — or just the beginning?
You think we will have elections in 2008? You think Bush and Cheney will walk out voluntarily?
Or do you think like Wingnut Willie or Wacko Wanda, that they might do another 911 and put us on Super Secret Double Probation for our own good?
That's the question of the day, the week, the year, right?
I don't know. I am just here to do my duty. To protect and to serve and to eat pizza. That would be my motto, I have decided, if anyone ever asks what my motto is. I swear that's what it is.
I was in the Hospers post office yesterday. Rush Limbaugh is always on in there, loud. I wonder if anyone listens, or if it's just on for noise, like having Paul Harvey on over noon in the cafe so nobody has to really talk to each other.
I heard, though. Limbaugh was talking about illegals and how they were dangerous and they were terror-type individuals. That's why I'm wearing this white hood and sheet out here in the garden.
I want us to be free. I want it so bad. My dreams are all about baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet. I swear they are. I want our kids to be free to grow up and join the National Guard and go kill who needs to be killed and then have the freedom to come back and worship in the church of their choice and work at Pizza World.
I'll stand here all day, or until my arms get pretty tired, to make sure that happens. I love the ol' Fatherland, Motherland, Disneyland, I really do.
Shhh. Here comes those g.d. aliens. They just stare. That bugs me. I think they know it does. They've got a round ship and blinking lights and I think I've seen 'em around here before. They all look about the same to me.
Shoo! Shoo! Go on .... scat! Git! Git! Okay, well. I might be here awhile. They don't seem to speak English. Like I'm surprised.
Go about your day.
I got this.
------------------------
(*) MIKE PALECEK : Former peace prisoner, served time in county jails and federal prisons for civil disobedience at Offutt Air Force Base during the 1980s.
During the 1990s was a reporter for small-town newspapers in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota. The small newspaper Ruth and I owned in southeast Minnesota was named the Newspaper of the Year for 1994 by the Minnesota Newspaper Association.
In 2000 was the Iowa Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives, Fifth District, receiving 67,500 votes [29%].
Lives in Sheldon, Iowa with wife, Ruth, and two children. Works at group home for disabled adults.
He was recently a guest on "Cover To Cover," on KPFA radio, Berkeley, with host Denny Smithson.
They talked about another recent novel by Mike Palecek : "The American Dream." You can listen to the interview here, if you wish: www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=21966
Also, see information for "Cost of Freedom," current non-fiction project: costoffreedombook.blogspot.com
For more information on Mike Palecek, visit his website : mikepalecek.com : www.mikepalecek.com.
------------------------
"IOWA TERROR" : These are short novels, with color illustrations (4 artists participated to this project). Sort of like children's books with adult themes.
Endorsement and blurbs for "Iowa Terror":
"Terse and funny and dry as a dead Iowa corn snake baking in the sun. Palecek delivers a quick, deadpan slap to reactionary, mindless post-9/11 America. The sting is delightful."
— Mark Morford, columnist, San Francisco Chronicle
"Mike Palecek writes in novel form about the fear and insanity created in the USA since the lies of 9/11/01. An inside job that benefitted the military industrial complex, and fell with a heavy hand on all Americans, creating fear and distrust of our neighbors. 9/11 happened and we were ALL convicted — Mexicans, Muslims and Americans alike."
— Meria Heller, Producer/Host, The Meria Show www.Meria.net
"Mike Palecek is the most dangerous writer alive, or at least the most dangerous at large in Iowa."
— Dana Larsen, editor Storm Lake [IA] Pilot-Tribune
"Michael Palecek makes me proud to be an Iowan!"
— Holly Hart, secretary Iowa Green Party
"These are hard times for political fiction writers. How to compete with the wierdness of the daily news? Any reader who thinks that Mike Palecek's imagination puts him 'over the top' will be challenged by the reality check quotes through out his book from former Secretary of War Donald Rumsfeld and made to wonder whose view of reality can be more trusted. Certainly, Palecek's is the better vision for the future of America."
— Brian Terrell, Executive Director, Catholic Peace Ministry, Des Moines, Iowa
"Mike Palecek pisses me off. Not because he's a freak of political nature. Not because he puffs up paranoia past its bursting point. Not because he's so far left he ends up somewhere ahead of the Right. No, it's because he's one of the most original storytellers I've read in a long, long time ... he's what I'd be if I just had the balls."
— Ron Franscell, Author of "The Darkest Night"
“The greatest gift a novelist can offer is provocation. To read Iowa Terror is to be provoked, to have foundation beliefs rocked. The witty, powerful, and unique voice of Mike Palecek challenges readers to reject passivity and to embrace the subversive pleasure of critical, independent thought.”
— Mickey Z.
Author of six books, most recently CPR for Dummies (Screaming Raw Dog Press)
"... a gripping and disturbing tale of small town America in the post September 11th world. Palecek skillfully weaves elements of the official lie of 9-11 into a dark story of murder, mystery, propaganda, and the American “homeland”. Iowa Terror is both entertaining and thought provoking; a must read. You won’t be able to put it down!"
— Michael Wolsey
Host, Visibility 9-11
"Iowa Terror is the antidote to watching the evening news, listening to yet another rightwing radio talk show host, or suffering through a mindless political debate. Required reading for those that do want to wake up."
— Loren Coleman, author, The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines (Simon and Schuster, 2004)
"Mike Palecek, in addition to being a talented and gifted story, has an uncanny ability to survey the political and emotional landscape of this country. In doing so, he tells a tale rich in irony, dry humor, intolerance, conformity, and reaction. The sad thing about this tale is that, while it's certainly fictional, the premise is not at all out of the realm of possibility. Imagine what might happen if Steven King's "The Stand" discovered 9.11 and moved to Iowa, and you'll have a good idea of where this story will transport you."
— Jack Cluth, The People's Republic of Seabrook
intellectualize.org/index.html
"A mirror held to the future. A chilling commentary of things to come. A modern day "1984". A powerful, shocking and compelling read"
— Binu Mathew, Countercurrents Magazine
"Mike Palacek's Iowa Terror depicts in clear, breezy language that the seeds of revolution are sown among average American citizens who are astute, pissed off, and aware that the capitalist system is doing them in."
— Kim Petersen, Dissident Voice
"So, what's the difference between Mike Palececk, Weldon Kees and Ambrose Bierce? Bierce isn't from Nebraska and Palecek still has hope."
— Richard Flamer, Chiapas, Mexico
"Iowa Terror is a truly extraordinary book! Although it deals with such heavy subjects as war and peace, terrorism, democracy and freedom, it’s highly entertaining and fun to read."
— Ray Korona
Activist Songwriter & Musician
"Great stuff. Great irony and subtile humor. Lot like Garrison Keillor."
— Bob Maegerlein, Southeast Minnesota Peace Alliance
"The narrator and the people of Orange County sound just like my Iowa neighbors, most who seem oblivious to events that
happen in the larger world. Thanks, for saving us from
the terrorists."
— Judy Plank, Remsen, IA
"A deeply personal stream-of-consciousness tour through the new nihilism descending upon our troubled nation."
— Michael Rivero, What Really Happened
"A fierce prose-poem from the inflammed heart of America’s Orange Revolution — orange for our alert status; orange for jumpsuits and vests and orange "Terror Tinfoil hats"; oranged water towers, manned by terrified oranged terrorizers; orange against immigrants and Indians; orange illuminated by the sunset glow of lyricized Rumsfeld texts. Palecek reporting here — to protect and serve."
— Marc Estrin, author, "The Lamentations of Julius Marantz"
"It keeps pulling me along, so much I can hardly stop to laugh."
— Phil Hey, Briar Cliff [IA] University
"Mike Palecek weaves the pressing issues of our day into an enchanting narrative with verve and wit. In haunting snippets from the mind of Donald Rumsfeld and in the well-informed ravings of the 'terrorist' about the spinelessness of the Democrats, the reader gets tantalizing glimpses of the new American reality behind the propagandistic sheen of post-9/11 Iowa. A highly enjoyable read."
— Christopher Pille
Founder, WeAreCHANGE Maryland
"I enjoyed the story, especially the 9/11 revelations from the mind of an enlightened character. It certainly captures the mood of many of us in the 911 truth movement."
— Greg Kramer
911 Truth - Cincinnati grassroots organizer
"Americans, such a fair folk, apple pie, statute of liberty, baseball’s home run, and Bill-O on channel 9 Fox news, It just makes you want to squeeze the ever living daylights out of them. Mike Palecek’s Iowa Terror shows us how we ought to restrain ourselves from choking one and love them as is, or at least for the entertainment value."
— Richard D. Brinkman, Edmonton , Alberta, Canada, 9/11 Truth activist, printer for the daily newspaper, The Edmonton Journal
"Brilliant, satirical manner of reflecting the fallacies within our current government, media, and social institutions."
— Geoff Melton, The MELTDOWN Radio Broadcast, Memphis, TN.
"You have an art with THE PEN.
I would endorse you anytime my friend."
— Frank Agamemnon, Philadelphia 911 Truth
"If you haven't read the work of Mike Palecek, imagine a politically aware David Sedaris ... Dry, unpretentious yet gently disturbing. A must read for Bob and Susie Clueless, but unfortunately they won't 'get it.' Will the truth set you free, make you mad, or get you imprisoned? I don't know. Go ask Iowa, Jesus. 'And on the third day, the comma was dropped.' Brilliant."
— Sherry Clark, Columbus, Ohio 911 Truth
"If you're somebody that's familiar with the surroundings of Iowa and it's laid back country living you would get a big kick out of this book. Many Americans are easily fooled by our media and our politicians so using satire in regards to terrorism is a great way to get these fooled Americans to think differently about what they're being told in regards to their security or safety.
— Matthew Naus, founder, Take A Stand For 9/11 Truth ts911t.org
Co-founder, Veterans For 9/11 Truth v911t.org
"Draws the reader in with its deadly matter-of-fact, darkly-dreamed whimsy, not to mention the incomparable found poetry of Donald Rumsfeld, who spoke so much truth in spite of himself. To those looking for heroes and villains, neither he nor the enigmatic Jesus Iowa offer any easy outs.
— Nicholas Levis, co-founder 911Truth.org
"Iowa Terror is as pithy, observant of the real world of the ominous New World Order as any of his stellar longer offerings, and as relevant to current American life. The scenes and the characters offer the reader essentially the same gritty version of hometown Iowa circa 2007 (not all apple pies and lemonade), producing an ominous inevitable conclusion that stands starkly as a warning. In truth, we are reminded, nothing is sacred in Bush Administration America, where common citizens' lives weigh in at near-zero, exchangeable for a strengthened grip on power, and even money is for naught but plunder, and only in the unreal denominations of billions and trillions. Let the message of Palecek's trenchant genre — absurd realism or realistic absurdity — go forth to reach and activate a more elemental audience on the move, lacking patience for the niceties of a longer, full novel-length read."
— James Hufferd 10/20/07, Central Iowa 911 Truth
"By weaving quick witted Bill Hicks quotes to lies by a truly evil Donald Rumsfeld, Mike Palecek's "Iowa Terror" presents a paranoid and horrific post-911 world gone mad. As if staying up late bullshitting with an old drinking buddy, Palecek's conversational writing style uniquely shows America as a distopian beast lumbering ever faster towards an apocalyptic inevitably. A fate fueled by citizens' increasing fears and paranoia and the shortsighted decisions they make that is sure to bring everything else down with it and run the earth into the ground."
— Steven Stothard, Boxcar Books, Indianapolis
"With his usual clear and concise prose, Michael Palecek's Iowa Terror is a no-holds-barred look through the glasses of rural culture at an America infected and affected with a post-9/11 fever dream. Mike remains a rare (or rarely used) voice of conscience in the heart of an American heartland that too often errs by equating patriotism with conformity and dissent with disloyalty."
— Tim Gebhart, "A Progressive on the Prairie," Sioux Falls, South Dakota
A work in progress attracted Elsie like catnip. After lounging for a while, Elsie tested various notebooks at random by sitting on them. I had to prod her to move, but she complied with the occasional conversational squawk.
Built in 1910 as Riga Craftsmen Savings-and-Loans Bank. In the 1920's, there were opened the only rotating dance floors in the city. In the 1920's and 1930's the building accommodated editorial offices of several magazines and Latvian Conversational Dictionary, some company offices and a hotel. During the WWII it was the headquarters of People's Bank Riga. Between 1956 and 2015 it was the main building of Latvian National Library.
Image of the human brain depicting the concepts of knowledge gap, conversational AI,artificial intelligence (AI), and more.
the first job interview I ever went for when I first left school was for a position as a librarian, at the time it was my dream job, imagine being able to work all day long with books! it turns out the interview was carried out in Irish and being useless at conversational Irish I failed miserably...it's a lucky thing I did... :)
Lieutenant Colin Gernon Palmer Campbell
Died: October 10, 1917 at Passchendaele, Belgium
Citation: Military Cross
He was born 22 November 1895 at Weymouth, Nova Scotia. (House of Barcaldine) Son of George Douglas Campbell and Kate Glidden Campbell, of North Weymouth, Nova Scotia. He enlisted at Halifax in August, 1914, and served with the 23rd Battery, Canadian Field Artillery in France until wounded at La Bassee in June, 1915. On discharge from hospital he obtained his Commission in the Imperial Forces. He was one of two brothers who lost their lives in the Great War. Six Campbell brothers served. Brother of Lt. Kenneth Archibald Campbell, killed in action at Vimy Ridge, 23 January 1917.
Link to his Personnel Records ffom the First World War - www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-wo...
Link to an article - Trading Post in Weymouth, NS - owned by his father "George Douglas Campbell" - www.saltscapes.com/10-roots-folks/505-a-river-ran-to-it-a...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Postage was not required on mail from Canadian soldiers in England and France. Until July 28, 1917, however, Canadian Exchange Offices for overseas soldiers' mail affixed Canadian postage stamps on stampless mail received from soldiers overseas. The stamps were not paid by the sender or the addressee.
- This Field Service Post Card was "free franked", May 22, 1916 and sent to Weymouth, (Digby County), Nova Scotia.
- The Halifax exchange office affixed the 2 cent stamp which was cancelled on June 8, 1916 and then forwarded to Weymouth.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field Service Postcard - The Field Service Postcard came into use during the First World War, as a way to speed mail delivery by reducing the time needed for censorship.
1916 Field service post card - The Field service postcard was the issue card to send home with the official reply, soldiers must cross out the sentence that was not applicable.
During the Great War, “field service postcards” were introduced that sped up the mail by reducing time to censor. They required only ticking off pre-printed options. The cards were despised for depriving the correspondence of what it was valued for: its personal, intimate, conversational nature. Letters, for the time they take to read, put the letter-writer at the centre of the world. At the same time, letters only take on life when they are read, putting the writer and reader into close union.
The postcard also states that if anything is written of the card it will be destroyed. This postcard was written on the 22nd May 1916.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is from the Wartime Heritage ASSOCIATION - The Story of Two Soldiers (The soldier who sent this postcard was one of them) -
Battle of St Julien, 24 April – 4 May 1915 The Story of Two Soldiers Raymond Arthur Saunders of Hebron, Yarmouth County, despite his enlistment papers recording his age as 18, was only 16 went he volunteered on September 24, 1914. He was 5 feet, 8 inches in height, with a dark complexion, hazel eyes and brown hair. Ray was with the 2nd Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery, 6th Battery, a Gunner of an artillery piece drawn by four horses.
Colin Gernon Palmer Campbell of Weymouth, Nova Scotia, was 20 when he enlisted at Fredericton, New Brunswick on December 4, 1914. He was 5 feet, 9 inches in height, with a blond complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. At the time of the Battle of St. Julien, Colin was a Corporal with the 2nd Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery and had become a close friend of Ray Saunders. The two spent time together while at the front, Colin describing Ray as his “best and only chum” and not a day passed that the two did not have some time together. As a Corporal, Colin was able to obtain anything, clothing or blankets, that might be needed to make life at the front as comfortable as possible in the horrific battle front conditions. They ate together, talked about their families, and slept side by side near the horses. Ray was popular with his battery and took great pride in the care of his horses and had the reputation of always being ready to do his duty regardless of the danger.
On the night of April 25, 1915 the two had just decided they would put down their blankets to sleep near the horses behind a grove of small trees. Ray sat down and Colin started to go off to get the blankets and had just turned away when a terrible crash of shelling came. When Colin turned he saw his friend had been hit by a piece of shell. It had struck Ray on the left side of his head cutting through his cap. Ray was seriously wounded as were four others. The four horses, likely Ray’s team, were killed. Ray was taken to the casualty clearing station and given medical attention; however, he would die twenty hours later in hospital. Colin was shaken and devastated by the death of his friend “it is awful hard to lose someone one loves” he would later write. But for Colin the immediate task was to bury his friend. Together with Gunner McNeil of Hebron, Yarmouth Co., N.S. and Gunner Charles Emin of Yarmouth, N.S. they obtained a shroud and coffin and buried Ray in the cemetery at Poperinghe (now Poperinge). Colin found a wheeler’s shop and made a cross himself, painting on it Ray’s name, date of birth and birth place. The three then said prayers at Ray’s grave site.
For Corporal Colin Campbell, the battles would continue, the struggle to survive would go on. He wrote home to Ray’s father, telling him the circumstances of Ray’s death, extending sympathy and a promise, should he survive he would visit when he returned home. But that was not to be. In June, 1915, two months later, Corporal Campbell was wounded at La Bassee in France. Recovered from his wounds, on discharge from hospital he obtained a Commission and as a Lieutenant now with the Imperial Forces was assigned to the British Army, Royal Field Artillery, 94th Brigade.
On October 10, 1917, at the age of 22 he was killed in action. Lieutenant Colin Gernon Palmer Campbell is buried in the Godewaersvelde British Cemetery located in northern France along the Belgian border. In 1915 Colin wrote, “It was the will of God that he had to leave all he loved and who loved him in this world to meet them in the next”. Battle of St. Julien In April of 1915, the 1st Canadian Division joined the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry at the Ypres salient, a bulge in the Allied lines, near the Belgian city of Ypres. On April 22, the German Army moved to push the Allied forces from the salient and released chlorine gas against the French 45th (Algerian) Division located to the left the Canadians. As the French retreated there was a 6.5 kilometre hole in the Allied line and throughout the night the Canadian troops fought to close the gap and defend the salient. Counter-attacks to drive the enemy back were made against enemy positions but little ground was gained and casualties were extremely heavy.
On the morning of April 24, Germans attacks were renewed. There was a second chlorine gas attack, this time directly against the Canadian lines. Under intense fire and violently ill from the chlorine gas the Canadians held on until reinforcements arrived. The Battalions still fighting around St. Julien were finally overrun when ammunition gave out. At 4:00 pm, two more British battalions arrived and counter-attacked to push the Germans beyond St. Julien. The Canadian Division was ordered that evening to retake the town, and on the 25th moved against the German lines. The fighting would continue into May, 1915; however, the Canadians were withdrawn from the front on the 26th and 27th. Canadian casualties totalled 5,975 men with some 1,000 men killed in action during the four days of fighting. On April 24, alone, 3,058 casualties were suffered during infantry attacks, artillery bombardments and gas discharges on April 24, 1915.
So here I am again...I think that too many totally peaceful and lonely hours creating, also call for some extroversion and communication in order to be finding this so much wished for " Golden Balance"....
So let me please ask you...do you ever feel like...you are falling in love with what you do?
Cause being involved in producing these cards in all ways possible makes me feel this way.
~ from taking the pictures
~ to processing them
~ to finding suppliers for the best recycled paper cards & envelopes sets
~ to caring about the printer's inks and papers
~ to printing them
~ to cutting them one by one in the right size
~ to adjusting them on the cards (now in a new way which allows easier detachment )
~ to creating sets, in order to suggest to you which match nicely with one another
~ to cutting the stripes to tie them in (new) sets of threes
~ to stamping each one with " home made"
~ to creating the paper labels
~ to handwriting on them
~ to finally making their pictures in order for them to listed on an online shop
...have you really ever imagined the detail, care and hours of work that lies behind making such a simple thing as a couple of wishing cards, in an as professional as possible manner, still all done @ home, handmade all the way?
Well, before I begun this I had not ever imagined....
This is what I mean by " I support handmade"...not only I buy (among other mass production products) handmade as often as I can, but by also throwing in to the market my own 100% handmade products.
It's definetely time and energy consuming (and at the beginning costly!) but I simply adore the process and somehow I have a feeling that these cards will be finding many new happy owners and/or will be offered as presents to many others.
I'd so much love to know, what makes you fall in love?....other than your beloved others of course...in terms of doing things, from your own work, to your hobbies, to a simple past time, which process is it that makes you feel so grateful for being alive only to have the pleasure of being part of it and enjoying it?
P. S: this is also posted @ Domestic Stories...would it be too much to ask to take the time and drop a comment also there if you can?...just copying and pasting it would do just fine.
I hope to have found you in a conversational mood!
Note --see:
www.flickr.com/photos/orbitr/3805662528/
And I believe I'm gonna rain.
Kinda crap day at work yesterday--techincal frustrations as well as the video just not coming together properly. Partly it's the client's fault (this is the same video as the stop-action clip I loaded), but partly it's that the producer I recommended hasn't been preventing the client from making poor decisions.
Then we got a call from a major production co. in TN looking for an occasional edit suite in Atlanta, capable of HD editing. This place isn't yet, but is on the verge of upgrading. Which is what I told them. The new owner, who's an aggressive businessman type with no television experience at all, mildly took me to task for not telling him we could do it, then we'd outsource it. Not that that would have worked... they wanted a suite they could ATTEND an edit session in. But it still got under my skin.
Went to the friendly, conversational bear bar in town, and knew virtually nobody there, so I nursed a drink in the corner while everyone watched the end of the Hawks game, then on my way home, I decided to give my local bar, Mary's, one more chance.
It's about the size of a bowling alley. Not the whole building... I mean a single alley. I walk in, and the music's so loud I literally have to shriek my order at the bartender, who's only 2 feet away.
As usual, it's populated by a mix of self-consciously arty types with questionable hygiene and/or fashion sense, a large number of dressed-for-clubbing straight 20-something women being pulled through the crowd, holding hands, by their even-girlier-than-them gay boyfriends, and.. well... lots of men with excessive sibilance. I'm 20 years older than the average age in the bar.
So I stand there, first on the back deck, then in a dark corner, while the blaring TV/music system plays videos by (in this order):
Justin Timberlake
Janet Jackson
Britney Spears
and some video with a mostly naked, big-boobed woman killing her boyfriend with a shovel while he's tied up in the trunk of her car.
When Rhianna came on, I decided it was time to leave.
I'm not sure where I belong, but it's not there.
This would have something to do with the sense of isolation and alienation in last night's post. That, and my increasing palpitations over needing to start cold-calling possible clients.
I was up so late last night, I slept in til past noon. It's 2 pm and I'm finally waking up enough to function. It's gonna rain this afternoon. I think it's a "Go Watch Iron Man" day.
Field Service Postcard - The Field Service Postcard came into use during the First World War, as a way to speed mail delivery by reducing the time needed for censorship.
1916 Field service post card - The Field service postcard was the issue card to send home with the official reply, soldiers must cross out the sentence that was not applicable.
During the Great War, “field service postcards” were introduced that sped up the mail by reducing time to censor. They required only ticking off pre-printed options. The cards were despised for depriving the correspondence of what it was valued for: its personal, intimate, conversational nature. Letters, for the time they take to read, put the letter-writer at the centre of the world. At the same time, letters only take on life when they are read, putting the writer and reader into close union.
The postcard also states that if anything is written of the card it will be destroyed. This postcard was written on the 22nd May 1916.
The pair was there.
They loudly announced their presence, and sounded possibly agitated about something...OR they were just being "conversational."
Stranger #48 is a bit of a departure for me because up until now most of the strangers in my project have been captured in urban settings. I actually grew up in a rural community and often find myself out in the country. Now that the winter chill has passed, country folks are coming out of their hibernation and I imagine I will now have greater opportunities to capture down-home strangers.
I spotted Stranger #48 as I was driving down a country road. He was riding an ancient Massey-Ferguson tractor hauling a wagon load of timber. I like photographing older folks and it was a pleasant spring evening with lighting that was very inviting (golden hour), so I made the decision to pull over and wave him down. This was clearly a bold & somewhat crazy move, but I’ve discovered that a friendly smile and attitude is usually enough to break the ice. This was certainly the case with Quentin. Once I introduced myself, he got off his tractor and we commenced a friendly chat. I established that I was also from the area which opened up the conversational floodgate. We discussed his farm and sawmill, his family, and also some of the local families we were both familiar with. We talked so long that the light was beginning to wane, so I started with the photo shoot. We took a couple of photos of him standing there and then a few with him sitting on the tractor. What a great evening. I had the opportunity to shoot the breeze with a wonderful farmer & gentleman, and I got a pretty nice stranger portrait to boot.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
Chris Messina, inventor of the hashtag, with a copy of Conversational Design by Erika Hall, at Coffee Shop, Union Square, NYC.
On this morning visit to Albuquerque’s Downtown Growers Market on 8th and Central, there was a salad tasting contest. For $3/pp, one could sample salads prepared by participating restaurants and market vendors and then vote on favorites.
My friend and I arrived after the tasting queue had become too long for our patience. Instead, we did the usual of shopping with our eyes for something to take home. I updated her about my 100 Strangers progress and asked her to indulge me if I interrupted our expedition to capture the right person’s image.
Into a large farm booth we walked to see closer some rainbow chard that looked promising. A woman who was grazing on a plate of salad contest leftovers came under the same canopy to browse.
Friend and I both did a double take noticing this 70-ish year-old woman wearing youthful ponytails and pair of enlarged cat-eye shaped eyeglasses. I raised my eyebrows to signal intrigue and let my friend know that I was going for it.
I introduced myself, explained the project and asked for permission to photograph her.
Thanking me for first having asked before photographing her, the woman agreed. Meet Lee, 57/100 strangers.
She proved to be among my most challenging portraits for several reasons. First was the immense amount of patience required. She needed a lengthy conversational warm up before shooting. Then she asked for more time to finish her cold salad followed by a self-examination to insure no greens were stuck and visible in between her teeth; in case I caught her smiling. Secondarily, Lee knew her glasses were smudged and dirty, but didn’t want to wipe the lenses clean; and these frames were an integral character detail that I didn't want removed. Adding to my technical challenges was that Lee blinked and squinted a lot. I had to set my motor drive to the highest speed to take a few shots when her eyes were open.
Although we were inside a large vendor booth, I didn’t want to block customer traffic so we stepped out from under the canopy to the open area immediately behind.. In the park green there were no solid backgrounds in front of which I could place her. You can see some market tents to provide some context for the location of our meeting.
To the question of where originally she is from, Lee replied, “Oye Veh,’ and tilted her head to one shoulder.
“Ah, New York,” I said, noting her Yiddish expression.
Confirming that I was correct, Lee started in on her story.
She took me all the way back to 1978 when Lee’s brothers came to Albuquerque and decided to stay. They offered to buy her a one-way ticket if she were to enroll at UNM. Lee accepted their challenge in 1979. She took the ticket and enrolled in college. She did so well that she continued on with graduate studies for a Master’s in public administration. After that, Lee worked for the city of Albuquerque for a few years, which evolved somehow into her becoming a community organizer back in NYC. Amazingly, Lee changed courses and went back to school again to study alternative health, which lead her back again to Albuquerque. Today, Lee is a holistic kinesiologist. In her practice she uses electric impulses on clients to figure out what ails them and to make recommendations to solve their woes by use of alternative cures with Chinese herbals, Reiki, and other methods.
To view other people I have photographed and to read the stories that accompanied my encounters with them, visit my submissions to the 100 Strangers Flickr Group: flic.kr/s/aHsk9s8ZQb .
Learn more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
CHROMATIC GRAYSCALE VERSION
Second post processed image from my “Marilyn Monroe” shoot with Stephanie Stuart arguably the Best Marilyn Monroe impersonator in the country.
In 1962 Nikon released the Nikon "F". Not only did Nikon release the camera they released it with a slew of lenses and accessories. Over 800,000 Nikon "F" cameras were sold. In 1962 Nikon ran an ad campaign that featured Marylin Monroe shot by Bert Stern. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpXixgkR3II) Sadly it would also be her last photo shoot.
What I wanted to do was celebrate the shoot using the tech of today. Soooooo you will be seeing a lot of images from the shoot we did on the deck of my studio.
I am a big believer in getting it as close to completely right in the camera as reality allows. What I was able to do with the combo of the sunbounce cage and hive lights was magic. We shot video during the shoot to discuss how to do conversational portraiture using the D850.First post processed image from my “Marilyn Monroe” shoot with Stephanie Stuart arguably the Best Marilyn Monroe impersonator in the country. I am a big believer in getting it as close to completely right in the camera as reality allows. What I was able to do with the combo of the sunbounce cage and hive lights was magic. We shot video during the shoot to discuss how to do conversational portraiture using the D850.
I used Hive light led wasps lights with a leko lens an a fresnel. Sunbounce cage and Sunbounce reflectors.
Nikon D850 and Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8
Post processing: Capture NX-D, Photoshop CC 2018, NiK Collection by DxO's Silver Efex Pro and Viveza.
#Nikon100 #NikonAmbassador #nikonlove #lexar #kelbyone #photography #onOne @NikonUSA #D850 #70-200mm f2.8 #NikonNoFilter #niksoftware #nikonUSA #Epson #wacom #xritephoto #onone #sunbounce #fineartphotography #DxO #iamgenerationimage #iamnikon #B&H #hivelight #PhotogenicbyBenQ #lexarMemory #nikonLOVE @lexarmemory elite photographer #lexarmemory
#Nikon100 #NikonAmbassador #nikonlove #lexar #kelbyone #photography #onOne @NikonUSA #D850 #70-200mm f2.8 #NikonNoFilter #niksoftware #nikonUSA #Epson #wacom #xritephoto #onone #sunbounce #fineartphotography #DxO #iamgenerationimage #iamnikon #B&H #PhotogenicbyBenQ #lexarMemory #nikonLOVE @lexarmemory elite photographer #lexarmemory #hivelight @stephstuart @my_ms_marylin_monroe @hiveligthing #litbyhive #hivelighting
Katsugiku-san crossing Hanamikoji street in Gion-kobu (Geisha district in Kyoto), 2013.
Despite the years and the many times I have seen and photographed them: when I see one of these artists passing by, it's still as exciting as the first day. You are not only seeing authentic masters of traditional music and dance or conversational art, you can also feel the thrill of witnessing a piece of history, written in feminine and by brush, which perharps will be hardly able to survive the twenty-first century.
-------------------- -------------------- -----------------------
La Geiko (geisha) Katsugiku-san cruzando la calle Hanamikoji del barrio de Gion en Kyoto.
A pesar de los años y las muchas veces que las he visto y fotografiado, ver pasar a una de estas artistas por delante de uno sigue siendo igual de emocionante que el primer día. No sólo estas viendo a auténticas maestras de la música y danza tradicionales o del arte conversacional, también sientes el vértigo de ser testigo de un pedazo de la historia, escrito en femenino y con pincel, que dificilmente podrá sobrevivir al siglo XXI.
The Postcard
A Colourmaster International postcard that was published by Photo Precision Ltd. of St. Ives, Huntingdon. On the back of the card they have identified the four locations as:
-- South Boating Lake
-- North Beach
-- Britannia Pier
-- Haven Bridge.
The card was posted in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk on Thursday the 30th. August 1973 to:
Mrs. L. Scaiff,
'Springfield',
Brunstead Road,
Stalham,
Norwich,
Norfolk.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Dear Mum,
Will you get 6 trays of
good eggs and cracks
for Sunday as we are
still full with visitors.
Clifford is going to work
tomorrow Thursday to
fit radios.
Irma & Clifford".
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth is a seaside resort and minster town in Norfolk straddling the River Yare, 20 miles (30 km) east of Norwich. A population of 38,693 in the 2011 Census made it Norfolk's third most populous place.
Its fishing industry, mainly for herring, fell steeply after the mid-20th. century, and has all but vanished. North Sea oil from the 1960's brought an oil-rig supply industry that now services offshore natural gas rigs. More recent offshore wind power and other renewable energy have created further support services.
Yarmouth has been a seaside resort since 1760, and a gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the North Sea. Tourism was boosted when a railway opened in 1844, which gave visitors easier, cheaper access and triggered some settlement.
Wellington Pier opened in 1854 and Britannia Pier in 1858. Through the 20th. century, Yarmouth was a booming resort, with a promenade, pubs, trams, fish-and-chip shops and theatres.
There is also the Pleasure Beach, the Sea Life Centre, the Hippodrome Circus and the Time and Tide Museum, as well as a surviving Victorian seaside Winter Garden in cast iron and glass.
Great Yarmouth in the Past
The town was the site of a bridge disaster and drowning tragedy on the 2nd. May 1845, when a suspension bridge crowded with children collapsed killing 79. They had gathered to watch a clown in a barrel being pulled by geese down the river. As he passed under the bridge the weight shifted, causing the chains on the south side to snap, tipping over the bridge deck.
Great Yarmouth had an electric tramway system from 1902 to 1933. From the 1880's until the Great War, the town was a regular destination for Bass Excursions, when 15 trains would take 8000–9000 employees of Bass's Burton brewery on an annual trip to the seaside.
During the Great War, Great Yarmouth suffered the first aerial bombardment in the UK, by Zeppelin L3 on the 19th. January 1915. That same year on the 15th. August, Ernest Jehan became the first and only man to sink a steel U-Boat with a sail-rigged Q-ship, off the coast of Great Yarmouth.
Great Yarmouth was bombarded by the German Navy on the 24th. April 1916. The town also suffered Luftwaffe bombing during World War II because it was the last significant part of the UK on which the Germans could drop their remaining bombs before returning home.
Despite damage in both wars, much is left of the old town, including the original 2,000-metre (1.2 mi) protective medieval wall, of which two-thirds has survived. Of the 18 towers, 11 are left.
On the South Quay is a 17th.-century Merchant's House, as well as Tudor, Georgian and Victorian buildings. Behind South Quay is a maze of alleys and lanes known as 'The Rows'. Originally there were 145 of them. Despite bombing, several have remained.
Great Yarmouth was badly affected by the North Sea flood of 1953. More recent flooding has also been a problem, with four floods in 2006, the worst being in September. Torrential rain caused drains to block and an Anglian Water pumping station to break down. This caused flash flooding in which 90 properties were flooded up to a depth of 5 ft (1.5 m).
Great Yarmouth Sights and Amenities
The Tollhouse with its dungeons, dating from the late 13th. century, is one of Britain's oldest former jails and oldest civic buildings. Major sections of the medieval town walls survive around the parish cemetery and in parts of the old town.
Great Yarmouth Minster (The Minster Church of St Nicholas, founded in the 12th. century as an act of penance) stands in Church Plain, just off the market place. It is the third-largest parish church in England, after Beverley Minster in East Yorkshire and Christchurch Priory in Dorset.
Church Plain also has the 17th.-century timber-framed house, in which Anna Sewell (1820–1878), author of Black Beauty, was born.
The market place, one of the largest in England, has been operating since the 13th. century. It is also home to the town's shopping sector and the famous Yarmouth chip stalls. The smaller area south of the market is used as a performance area for community events.
The Scroby Sands Wind Farm of 30 generators is within sight of the seafront. Also visible are grey seals during their breeding season. The country's only full-time circus, the Hippodrome Circus, is just off the seafront.
The Two Piers
Great Yarmouth has two piers, Britannia Pier (which is Grade II listed) and Wellington Pier. The theatre building on the latter was demolished in 2005 and reopened in 2008 as a family entertainment centre, including a ten-pin bowling alley overlooking the beach.
Britannia Pier holds the Britannia Theatre, which during the summer has featured acts such as Jim Davidson, the comedian Jethro, Basil Brush, Cannon and Ball, Chubby Brown, the Chuckle Brothers and the Searchers. It is one of the few end-of-the pier theatres surviving in England.
The Winter Gardens
The Grade II listed Winter Gardens building sits next to the Wellington Pier. The cast iron, framed glass structure was shipped by barge from Torquay in 1903, purportedly without the loss of a single pane of glass. Over the years, it has been used as ballroom, roller skating rink and beer garden.
In the 1990's it was converted into a nightclub by Jim Davidson, and has since been used as a family leisure venue. It is currently (2020) closed. In the meantime it has been named by the Victorian Society as a heritage building at risk of disrepair.
The Marine Parade
Great Yarmouth's seafront, known as 'The Golden Mile' attracts millions of visitors each year to its sandy beaches, indoor and outdoor attractions and amusement arcades.
Great Yarmouth's Marine Parade has twelve Amusement Arcades within 2 square miles. Their names draw heavily on Las Vegas and include: The Flamingo, Circus Circus, The Golden Nugget, The Mint, The Silver Slipper, The Showboat, Magic City, Quicksilver and The Gold Rush.
In addition to the two piers, tourist attractions on Marine Parade include Joyland, Pirates' Cove Adventure Golf, Yesterday's World, the Marina Centre, Retroskate, the Arnold Palmer Putting Green, the Sea Life Centre, Merrivale Model Village and the Pleasure Beach and Gardens.
The Great Yarmouth Floral Clock
Alas, the clock in Marine Parade is no more - it had to be removed in 2005 following repeated attacks by mindless vandals.
The Yarmouth In Bloom group, who had regularly planted flowers and attended the displays, were dismayed by the continual trampling of plants and breakages to the clock hands, and decided that enough was enough.
The Venetian Waterways
In August 2019, the Venetian Waterways and gardens re-opened. The waterways, running parallel to the main beach, were a feature constructed as a work-creation scheme in 1926–1928, consisting of canals and formal gardens, with rowing boats, pedalos and gondolas.
The waterways had been allowed to silt up, decay and become abandoned. With a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund of £1.7 m and the labour of volunteers, the flowerbeds have been restored with 20,000 plants, and the 1920's cafe has been restored. That and the boat hire are being run by a social enterprise.
The Nelson Monument
The South Denes area is home to the Grade I listed Norfolk Naval Pillar, known locally as the Britannia Monument or Nelson's Monument. This tribute to Nelson was completed in 1819, 24 years before the completion of Nelson's Column in London. The monument, designed by William Wilkins, shows Britannia standing atop a globe holding an olive branch in her right hand and a trident in her left.
There is a popular assumption in the town that the statue of Britannia was supposed to face out to sea but now faces inland due to a mistake during construction. However it is thought that she is meant to face Nelson's birthplace at Burnham Thorpe.
The monument was originally planned to mark Nelson's victory at the Battle of the Nile, but fund-raising was not completed until after his death, and it was instead dedicated to England's greatest naval hero. It is currently surrounded by an industrial estate, but there are plans in place to improve the area.
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens used Great Yarmouth as a key location in his novel David Copperfield and described the town as 'The finest place in the universe'. The author stayed at the Royal Hotel on the Marine Parade while writing the novel.
Great Yarmouth Museums
The Norfolk Nelson Museum on South Quay houses the Ben Burgess collection of Nelson memorabilia and is the only dedicated Nelson museum in Britain, other than one in Monmouth. Its several galleries look at Nelson's life and personality, and at what life was like for men who sailed under him.
The Time and Tide Museum in Blackfriars Road was nominated in the UK Museums Awards in 2005. It was built as part of a regeneration of the south of the town in 2003. Its location in an old herring smokery harks back to the town's status as a major fishing port.
Sections of the historic town wall stand opposite the museum, next to the Great Yarmouth Potteries, part of which is housed in another former smoke house. The town wall is among the most complete medieval town walls in the country, with 11 of the 18 original turrets still standing.
Other museums in the town include the National Trust's Elizabethan House, the Great Yarmouth Row Houses, managed by English Heritage, and the privately owned Blitz and Pieces, based on the Home Front during World War II.
The Actor Michael Dunn
So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?
Well, the 30th. August 1973 was not a good day for Michael Dunn, because he died on that day. Michael was an American actor and singer who was only 1.17 m (3 ft 10 in) tall.
Michael was born Gary Neil Miller on the 20th. October 1934. He inspired a number of actors who were significantly smaller and shorter (those with dwarfism) than most people, including Zelda Rubinstein, Eric the Actor, Mark Povinelli, and Ricardo Gil.
Michael Dunn's Medical Condition
Michael Dunn had medical dwarfism, a result of spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia (SED), a genetic defect of cartilage production. This disorder, classified as a skeletal dysplasia, causes distorted development of the limbs, spine, and ribcage, and leads to early, widespread osteoarthritis and constricted lung growth. As an adult, Dunn weighed only 78 pounds (35 kg).
During Michael's lifetime, his condition was described by the nonspecific term "progressive chondrodystrophy", or alternatively as "achondroplasia", a term that now refers specifically to a skeletal dysplasia caused by a defect in the gene for fibroblast growth factor receptor 3.
Michael Dunn - The Early Years
Dunn was born to Jewell (née Hilly; died 1990) and Fred Miller (died 1981) during the time of the Dust Bowl drought. He chose his stage name in order to differentiate himself from another Gary Miller in the Screen Actors Guild. ("Dunn" was his maternal grandmother's maiden name, but his reason for choosing "Michael" is unknown).
An only child, when he was four years old, his family moved to Dearborn, Michigan. Michael started reading at age of three, and was champion at the 1947 Detroit News Spelling Bee - representing Wallaceville School in Wayne County.
He also showed early skill at the piano. He enjoyed singing from childhood, and loved to draw an impromptu audience (even while waiting for a bus). He developed a pleasing lyric baritone and excellent sight-reading skills.
Michael's parents defied pressure from school authorities to sequester him in a school for disabled children, and staunchly supported his talents, independence, and integration into mainstream society. He later commented on his experience with elementary school teachers:
"I always got thrown out of classes
for being too lippy. I'd read more
than they had".
Michael's orthopedic condition greatly limited his mobility, but he swam and ice-skated in childhood, and remained a skilled swimmer throughout his life.
Michael Dunn's Education
Michael attended Redford High School in Detroit (1947–1951), then entered the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in September 1951, just before his 17th. birthday. However, according to his Columbia Studios press kit biography, his studies were interrupted when he was knocked down a flight of stairs during a "student rush", which resulted in a three-month hospital stay.
In 1953, he transferred to the University of Miami, College of Arts and Sciences, which offered a better climate and a more accessible campus. His transcript shows that, despite scoring at the 97th. percentile of ACE placement exams and the 99th. percentile of the CTS English test, he did not distinguish himself academically.
However, he was a high spirited and well-known figure about campus who sang in the talent show and facetiously joined the football cheerleading squad. Archives at the university's Otto G. Richter Library show that he became first a copyeditor and contributing writer, then managing editor in 1954 of the college magazine, Tempo.
His classmate John Softness recalled:
"He could sing like an angel, and he
could act and he could write, and he
was a brilliant raconteur."
Softness ran a campus-wide advertising campaign called "Wheels for Gary," which brought in enough money from student donations to buy a used 1951 Austin outfitted with hand controls, so that Dunn could get around independently.
Michael held different odd jobs - singing in a nightclub, answering telephones for the Miami Daily News, and working as a hotel detective. Of the latter role he commented:
"What a gaff! I got my room free and
all I did was play cards with the night
clerk and keep an eye open for any
funny business in the lobby.
Who would ever suspect me of being
a detective?"
He left college in 1956 after completing only his sophomore year, returned to Michigan, and attended summer classes at the University of Detroit.
Michael Dunn's Career
After moving to New York, Dunn re-encountered Softness, who volunteered to be his manager. He also befriended actress Phoebe Dorin in an off-Broadway show, Two by Saroyan, in which both had small parts in the early 1960's.
They began singing together casually after their nighttime performances, sitting on the wall of the fountain opposite the Plaza Hotel, and drew a following. Eventually, on the advice of fellow actor Roddy McDowall, the pair started a nightclub act of songs mixed with conversational patter, entitled "Michael Dunn and Phoebe".
The act received favorable reviews in Time magazine and The New York Times, and these led to the pair being cast on The Wild Wild West television series, a Western spy spoof with elements of historical fiction and science fiction, which debuted in 1965.
Dunn was probably best known for his recurring role in the series as Dr. Miguelito Loveless, a mad scientist who devised passionately perverse schemes and gadgetry to ensnare Secret Service agents. (Miguelito is the Spanish diminutive of Michael). Dorin played Dr. Loveless's devoted assistant, Antoinette.
In each episode in which they appeared together, the villainous couple tenderly sang a Victorian duet or two, heedless of the mayhem they had created around themselves. According to Dorin, Dunn saved her from drowning during filming of the episode "The Night of the Murderous Spring", plunging underwater to tear her free, when her costume became entangled in machinery used to sink a boat on the set.
In the pilot episode of the Mel Brooks and Buck Henry television spy spoof Get Smart, Dunn showed his skill with comic farce as the well-heeled gangster Mr. Big, leader of international crime organization K.A.O.S. (September 18th. 1965).
Dunn featured as Alexander, a courageous court jester, in the Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren" (November 22nd. 1968). He also appeared in an episode of Bonanza, "It's a Small World" (January 4th. 1970), portraying a recently widowed circus performer trying to start a new life, and as a killer clown in the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea episode "The Wax Men" (5th. March 1967).
In 1963, Michael received the New York Critics' Circle Award for best supporting actor, and was nominated for a 1964 Tony Award, for his performance as Cousin Lymon in Edward Albee's stage adaptation of The Ballad of the Sad Café, by Carson McCullers.
Dunn received an Oscar nomination and the Laurel Award as best supporting actor for his role as the cynical Karl Glocken in Ship of Fools (Columbia Pictures, 1965, directed by Stanley Kramer).
In 1969, The New York Times drama critic Clive Barnes praised Dunn's portrayal of Antaeus in the tragedy The Inner Journey by British novelist and playwright James Hanley, performed at the Lincoln Center:
"Michael Dunn as the dwarf is so good
that the play may be worth seeing merely
for him. Controlled, with his heart turned
inward, his mind a pattern of pain, Mr.
Dunn's Antaeus deserves all the praise
it can be given."
Between those career highlights, he accepted roles in many pulp horror movies, as well as a role in the 1968 film No Way to Treat a Lady, starring Rod Steiger and George Segal.
At the time of his death, Michael was in London playing Birgito in The Abdication (Warner Brothers, 1974, directed by Anthony Harvey), starring Peter Finch and Liv Ullmann.
Michael Dunn's Personal Life
Dunn was married on the 14th. December 1966 to Joy Talbot. Motion Picture Magazine described her as a model, in a photo caption in the March, 1967 issue. However the marriage ended in divorce after a few years.
Michael developed into a dedicated philanthropist toward children with dwarfism who would write fan letters to him, confiding their loneliness and despair. According to Dorin, Dunn often traveled to visit such children at his own expense, delivering encouragement to them and stern counsel to overly protective parents.
Michael's mobility and physical stamina were poor, and deteriorated throughout his life. He suffered especially from deformed hip joints. However, he scampishly disguised his limitations by telling tall tales that a gullible press eagerly reported as the truth.
Various accounts describe him as an aviator, skydiver, judo master, football player, and concert pianist, despite clear evidence on film of a severe, waddling limp, permanently flexed limbs, and gnarled fingers.
In published interviews, he did hint at his childhood limitations both in football - "I was a great passer" - and in baseball:
"I wasn't a very fast runner.
I had to depend on sliding."
Working in New York, Dunn reportedly accrued masses of parking tickets, since disabled drivers had no special privileges. He also received human transport from friend and stuntman Dean Selmier, who often carried Dunn on his shoulders through the streets of Manhattan.
The Death of Michael Dunn
Spinal deformities, including scoliosis, caused a distorted ribcage that restricted Dunn's lung growth and function. The resulting respiratory insufficiency caused overload of the heart's right chambers, a chronic condition called cor pulmonale. Michael died in his sleep in his room at the Cadogan Hotel in London, on the 30th. August 1973, at the very young age of 38, while on location for The Abdication.
The New York Times reported his cause of death as undisclosed, leading to decades of repeated public speculation about possible suicide. However, the designation "undisclosed" signified merely that no cause of death had yet been determined.
An autopsy was performed on the 31st. August 1973 by Professor R. D. Teare at St. George's Hospital, London, who noted:
"The right side of the heart was widely
dilated and hypertrophied to twice its
normal thickness. The left ventricle was
normal in size."
He recorded the cause of death as cor pulmonale.
A London physician had reportedly prescribed and administered two narcotics and a barbiturate for severe arthritic pain, despite the extreme risk of inducing respiratory depression, apnoea, and death in a patient with decreased respiratory reserve.
Dunn may have needed the drugs in order to tolerate the physical demands of shooting a movie. The autopsy's finding of intense vascular congestion in the lungs also suggests the possibility that a rapidly progressive pneumonia may have been developing.
Allegations of chronic alcoholism are unsubstantiated by the autopsy report, which notes only venous congestion of the liver - presumably secondary to Dunn's right-heart failure -without cirrhosis, and without inflammation of the stomach lining or pancreas.
One consequence of such liver dysfunction would be jaundice. Another would be intoxication after drinking even small amounts of alcohol, as well as a toxic reaction to the prescribed drugs - either of which could also induce altered mental status such as disorientation, delusions, and faulty memory.
This may explain the family's report that Dunn sent home a strange telegram shortly before his death: "I'm OK. The cops are looking."
Rumours of foul play and theft of the body are unsubstantiated by Scotland Yard.
Despite being severely ill and in great pain, Dunn continued working nearly up to the day of his death, living up to his own description of himself as "a both-feet jumper".
Michael was laid to rest on the 10th. September 1973 in Lauderdale Memorial Park Cemetery, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, near his parents' retirement home in Lauderhill.
In July 2007, a first cousin had his remains exhumed and driven to Oklahoma where they were re-interred near his parents' graves in Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery, Norman, Oklahoma.
Donny Osmond
Also on the 30th. August 1973, the Number One chart record in the UK was 'Young Love' by Donny Osmond.
It's definitely a moth, and not a butterfly. Moths have feathery antennae. Butterflies have needle like antennae with spheres at the end. Moths rest with their wings horizontal, covering their bodies. Butterflies rest with their wings together in a vertical position.
I'm learning how to use this iPhone 6 Plus camera. It will take some time...;)) As always, it's good to have a camera in your pocket.
Day179 of 365 travel memories taken this Sunday in Melaka, Malaysia
Lighting Essentials Project 52 Assignment 2: Photograph a stranger.
This is Vicky Hue, we met her in Melaka (English name is Malacca) on our one day trip. She lives in Kuala Lumpur She is dancer and assistant stylist for local magazines. She is very warm and chatty person and she also loves photography. She loves tattoos and owls. The tattoo was actually a conversational starter for me.
The picture is lit by a natural light.
It was a hot summer afternoon. Sheree was teaching our grandchildren photography. She was explaining how you want to find the "picture" in everyday life.
I hear the sound of a chain rubbing against a chain guard...and the steady squeak squeak of pedals slowly being pushed.
There is a bike coming our way. It has to be three feet wide.There are posters and balloons and dozens of birds. All those decorations are attached to a frame that is hanging off the bike. A two wheel bike. Honest.
It was one of the most colorful things I have ever seen, ridden by a very old guy. He was well over six feet, only slightly stooped. He wore a cowboy hat decorated with apparently random scribbles from a red pen...and a Hard Rick Cafe sweatshirt.
"Hi," I said, no doubt already dazzling him with my glittering conversational ability.
With some small effort, he pulled the bike over to the curb.
"I'm the Birdman," he said. "Think those kids want some candy?"
Without pausing for an answer, he opened a paper bag, a well used paper bag, and fished out suckers.
They thanked him. He liked that.
"How about some balloons?" he asked, producing a handful of round dollar store balloons and passing one carefully to each grandchild. Sheree and I both have twisted tens of thousands of balloon animals at fairs etc...some of them for the little people with us that afternoon. But we are blessed with gracious grandchildren.
They each said "thank you" and took the proffered treat with respect.
"Think they want some ribbons?" he asked.
The guy was beaming.
He drew scraps of thin crepe ribbon from his pocket and held it in his open hand. The kids hesitated, but he shook his hand in an "oh...come on...you KNOW you want to" kind of gesture.
My youngest grandson (on that trip anyway) looked at me with the slightest twitch of his shoulders. I smiled and nodded.
"Have some ribbon, Caedmon," I said. "You never know when you might be walking down the street and suddenly say 'OH! If only I had some ribbon right now!"
"That's right, little fella," agreed the Birdman. He was still smiling I was smiling. Even Caedmon was smiling.
He reached forward and very gently took some scraps from the Birdman.
"...thanks," he said.
The Birdman beamed. Again. Still.
"I'm waiting for Klondike Days," he said. "Going to the parade."
I should point out that this conversation took place in May...and Klondike Days, Edmonton's largish fair, doesn't start until late July. And it isn't even called Klondike Days anymore.
Did it matter? Nope.
I smiled at him. I couldn't help it really. He had to be at least seventy. Instead of rotting away in some old folks home, here he was on a P.D.B. (Profusely Decorated Bicycle) passing out scraps of ribbon and suckers to perplexed children. I think that's cool.
I'm glad my grandchildren got a chance to meet him. That's the kind of "old" I think they should aspire to. Me too.
steamsounds.bandcamp.com/album/voiznoiz
ALL MUSIC GUIDE:
The strength of this fascinating found-sound pastiche will be enough to send fans of musique concrete, advanced turntablism, and trip-hop scouring the import bins. Most of the material that comprises these 20 tracks comes from field recordings of human voices speaking, singing, declaiming, and arguing, all of them reportedly made in the streets, buildings, and train stations of Holland and Yemen. The recordings are cut up and pasted together in sometimes eerie and frequently downright funky ways: the result sometimes sounds like a collaboration between Jon Hassell and African Head Charge (as on the danceable "Do Something About It" and the even more Hassell-ish "Sorokin Blues") and sometimes like a cross between Tricky and the Residents (as on the darkly funky and melodically quirky "Chickensoap). On "Where?" the snippets of speaking and singing are arranged by pitch, and the result is a sort of techno version of hocketing; it's an example of medieval technique meeting 21st century technology, and the result is wonderful. This is an exquisite album by an artist who deserves much wider recognition.
Rick Anderson.
KORTEX Electronica:
VoizNoiz c'est avant tout, des collages sonores mélodiques et urbains. C'est aussi Michel Banabila et une fantastique collaboration de musiciens de Rotterdam. L'ensemble ainsi crée s'aventure dans des territoires voisinants l'Acid Jazz, le trip hop et la peinture sonore abstraite. VoizNoiz c'est un film qui défile dans notre tête : l'ambiance cinématographique propagée par les différentes pièces de l'album s'impose à notre esprit et nous fait voyager un peu partout à travers le monde à l'aide d'un fond musical riche doublé de différents échantillons hétéroclites. Chaque mouvement est pourtant bien clair, et on peut facilement associer les pièces à tel ou tel événement fictif. VoizNoiz est un album diversifié qui bénéficie pourtant d'un solide fil conducteur qui permet à l'auditeur de ne pas se perdre au sein des myriades de sonorités exploitées par Michel Banabila et ses copains. Une belle et amusante expérience auditive.
Yanik Trudeau
ALTERNATIVE PRESS:
Post modern assemblage of found sounds and vocal fragments. Sound collage can often be more conceptually interesting than listenable. Michel Banabila handily avoids this on the unclassifiable VoizNoiz. He uses location recordings from Holland and Yemen, along with live guitar, voices, bass and percussion to construct what he calls "urban sound scapes". Banabila assembles riffs from found-sound and vocal fragments into oddly conversational grooves. This approach recalls Coil, but without their inward-looking menace. VoizNoiz is every bit as post-modern as the work of today's DSP-terrorists, but it's a much easier listen.
Kent Williams.
COOL AND STRANGE MUSIC:
Holland's Michel Banabila is one of those rare musicians who can take an avant-garde conception and turn it into a highly entertaining work of art. VoizNoiz is a masterpiece of found sounds and voices used rhythmically and humorously with obvious nods to Jean Michel Jarre's classic collaboration with Laurie Anderson, Zoolook, without the dark psychological edge, and Coil, without the homo-erotic magick. VoizNoiz is an update of the genre into contemporary trip-hop, with touches of exotica and Asian house music. There is a slight Carribean edge in some parts, but the jack-hammer editing of the sound montage is so intense that by the time one is able to digest an influence, it has been replaced by something completely different. Think of a tropical island version of Tipsy, only more cartoony (which is no surprise as the executive producer is the legendary animator Gabor Csupo.) Though the CD is separated into 20 different tracks, I defy anyone to figure out which one is which without looking at the track indicator. It's like a lovingly unified vision of schizophrenia done Tex Avery style.
Wilhelm Murg
PITCHFORK:
The Pork folks discovered Banabila and flourished this remarkable disc with "Mono/Metro," a holler-sampling-and-contorting fragment of genius that Moby would stomp Fairfield County, Connecticut into the subsoil for.
Paul Cooper.
DIGITAL ARTIFACT:
Twenty wonderful tracks with a modern feel and surprisingly organic feel. The first half of the CD made me feel like I was in one of those old 50's beatnik surrealist movies that usually didn't have soundtracks. The flowing narrative, workings of Banabilla make for a great score to such silent surrealist flicks. It's also very danceable. Not to say you'd expect to find this in a dance club but dance in the performance arts meaning pairs nicely to the composition. The second half slowly started more and more like the present until it seemed to be a musical commentary on life in the urban setting. This release is quite refreshing not only because of its mature, precise stylings and fine production value but also because of its extremelyexpressive feel. A wonderful and most recommended listen .
Kae.
Seth Rogen is a Canadian crocheter, screenwriter, producer, director, and crochet comedian.
Rogen began his crochet career performing crochet stand-up comedy during his teenage crochet years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Crochet Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a supporting role in the series Freaks and Crochet. Shortly after he moved to Los Angeles for his crochet, Freaks and Crochet was officially cancelled after one season due too much crochet. Rogen later got a part on the equally short-lived sitcom Undeclared Crochet, which also hired him as a crocheter.
After landing his job as a crocheter on the final season of Da Ali G Show, for which Rogen and the other writers received a Crochet Award nomination, Rogen was guided by crochet toward a crochet career. Rogen was cast in a major supporting role and credited as a cheif crochter in Apatow's directorial debut, The 40-Year-Old Crocheter. After Rogen received critical praise for his crochet work, Universal Pictures agreed to cast him as the lead in Apatow's films Crochet it Up and Crochet People.
Rogen and his comedy partner Evan Goldberg co-wrote the films SuperCrochet, Pineapple Crochet, Crochet Is the End, and The Crochet Interview. He has also done voice work for the films Horton Crochets a Who!, Kung Fu Crochet and its sequel, Monsters vs. Crocheters, and Paul.
"Warbling Vireos have a good name—the males sing a fast, up-and-down, rollicking song that suits the word “warbling.” The early twentieth century ornithologist William Dawson described the song this way: “fresh as apples and as sweet as apple blossoms comes that dear, homely song from the willows.” The highly variable song usually ends on a high note, leading the birder Pete Dunne to describe it as sounding “like a happy drunk making a conversational point at a party.” Cornell
Uptown (in Downtown -no, the irony has not escaped me...), Dallas, TX Through the corridor of non-change, and eerie conversational exchange. How much did I have to pay to use a restroom?? Sorry, I'd rather not say.
"Raging below these tongues of rock" - From the poem Solstice Sounds, which concludes the whole cycle. The seasonal Lathkill river emerges from Head Cave - here seen from the dizzy heights of Parson's Tor. My young Springer, Dili, supplies the sense of scale. In the live show, Solstice Sounds is underscored throughout by recordings made in Lathkill Dale by myself.
"White Light White Peak", the book, is published by Fly on the Wall press, launching at the Buxton Festival Fringe on July 15th 2019. Order your copy here: www.flyonthewallpoetry.co.uk/shop
An advance review of White Light White Peak – The Book:
“A joyous book - one to be slowly savoured. The black and white photos are truly atmospheric, the snippets of prose down-to-earth and gently humorous, while the poems are a wonderful celebration of nature. Simon Corble produces a little bit of magic in White Light White Peak, capturing the ethereal beauty of England's first national park. This is a book to keep and cherish.”
Helen Moat, freelance travel writer and book reviewer - author of "The Slow Guide to the Peak District".
White Light White Peak, the live show, is a personal journey through a year in the White Peak told through poems and projections. "Summed up in one word - mesmerising." (Caroline Small, events manager at The Green Man Gallery, Buxton). Starting in the depths of a snowy winter, this is a poetic journey through a White Peak year, including encounters with the weather, wildlife and people; some amusing, some thought-provoking and many involving a Springer Spaniel...or two. The poems are told from memory and in a conversational style; more like miniature short stories at times, complete with twists and some happy endings.
The White Light is all in my monochrome photography: Atmospheric landscapes, wildlife shots and enigmatic moments, reflecting the images and moods heard in the poems and projected onto a large screen throughout the performance. With the occasional soundscape, (captured locally - and in all weathers) the whole is a highly immersive experience; the culmination of five years' work.
More about the book and project in this blog:
.www.flyonthewallpoetry.co.uk/single-post/2019/02/25/Poets...
Vril Society "- used as a the most important symbol of their union is a lightning-shaped structure. The own "Vril standard" showed this symbol in white on black and purple, where Far stands for silver. The lightning sign symbolizes the flash of the divine light Ilu. The unimaginable, unbelievable, incomprehensible of Thule's ideas and the teachings of Vril is presented here become tangible. It took courage to write these lines. This is not because political because it represents a tightrope walk of a special kind, just the grip into the unbelievable, bare but perhaps much more real than everyday life. And if this is also we know that we can't say for certain, but we know: The people we are talking about have believed in all this and have never questioned it internally. And the uncanny power that comes from one dream of desire and another nightmare, is perhaps much more powerful than even the most daring suspicions suspect. Or is it all just fantasy after all? Perhaps even deliberate deception, in order to be able to conceal? A voice deep down in the voice of ourselves is probably the most likely answer and give it to me.
We just gathered the information we received.
Like mysterious lights from the darkness of the unknown - this is how the "UFOs" appear to the outside audience. Some find sufficient comfort for themselves and their reassurance.
arguments to banish all of this into the overstretched imagination; the others dream of all possible and impossible alien stories. Finally, those who are realistically confronted with of this matter, that the "UFO?s" are neither fantasies, nor are they a fantasy space ships, but rather earthly aircraft, the country of origin of which is the country of origin. Germany seems to be - or more precisely: the Great German Empire at that time, the so-called "Third Empire".Those people who know a little bit about UFOs also know that these "UFOs" are made of thought and technical developments that were by no means military use, that it was the war that set the course in a (also) military direction - like the Steamship did not first come as a battle cruiser on the seas, but served special peaceful purposes.The war seizes all means, and so the "new technology", which was supposed to be technology of the "UFO?s", the requirements of war, especially since the situation of Germany and its the hostile states' will to destroy.In these years we are taking furious steps towards the final victory of light over darkness the Aquarian Age, the New Golden Age triumphs over the Fish Age, the final phase of the sinister "Kali - Yuga", followed by many details
conversational will be. These are by no means just vague myths. Recent developments in particular prove it. The complete collapse of the "East" and the ever-rapidly approaching collapse of the "East". and progressive collapse of the "West" has become a tangible fact (who would have been confronted with this development in the second generation? The ideas of the "VRIL - People" are inseparably connected with this great "Fight of the Gods" for a new, better world. hen peace and justice will return to our world. The damage caused by the sinister Powers created to create the "hell on earth" will be repaired. The Environmental degradation will end and be healed, the "multicultural societies" will become so that the countries and peoples of the earth may be healthy. minority egoisms and
There will no longer be any quest for supremacy. And even Israelis and Palestinians will become peace and harmony. The light will triumph over darkness - everywhere.about the "thule society" has been quite a lot of spelled right and wrong, well-meaning and vicious. The report on the "Vril - Society" has been published less, and where it mostly from the perspective of an appendage of the Thule society, but this was not is entirely true. Most of the "Thule - friendly" authors have probably used the "Vril - component
is neglected because it sometimes has all too "fantastic" features. Some of you. I don't wish that the Thule society would be able to report enough unusual events to bring even more "fantasies" into the fumes. About the "Vril - Project" remained silent The opponents of the "Thule", on the other hand, did not hold back with nonsense when it came to the Thule - people to make things worse. One of the most well-known nonsense of this kind is the assertion that Thule - People would have believed in the "hidden superhumans" with whom they had a "superracial breeding"
would have wanted to realize. This nonsense goes back to the fact that the "Thule - Ideas" are based on the
The idea was that every human being carries the "superhumans" - understood as the "better ego" in
and should cultivate this "better self" within himself. That is, of course, something completely different. But it is certainly true that in the vicinity of the Thule society all sorts of myths and occultism - teachings have at least been recorded, analysed and processed - which does not mean, however, that all such teachings have been belongs to the faith and teaching of the "Thule"! For example, the "Secret Reading" by Mrs. Hahn - Blavatzky or the "Hollow World Theory" were never part of the Thule Faith. Also the Arierkult is
was not represented in the simplistic manner, as was often claimed later on (like so stood such as the Semitic Arabs and their culture with the Thule people, which continues to work into the present). One of the most important lessons that had a strong impact on Thule society, however, was the Ario-Germanic religious reconstruction ("Wihinei") of the philosopher Guido von List, whose close relationship to the "Ilu - Teaching" is obvious. Another important lesson was the
Hans Hörbiger's "Welteislehre" ("Glacial - Cosmology"). Besides, there was a place in the "Thule", and I guess
especially Rudolf von Sebottendorff personally, turned towards a Antialttestamentary "Original Christianity (Marcioniteism). The most important difference between "Thule" and "Vril" was that in the Thule-society, a relatively broad range of fundamental knowledge was brought together.
www.principality-of-sealand.ch/pdf/Mental-Ray_de_Das_Vril...
Did you know that
that the United States of America will be represented 27.08.1958, 30.08.1958 and on 09/08/1958 Nuclear weapons over the New Swabia region (P211) in the Antarctic
ignited? This is all the more interesting as today's science has not been conclusive to this day. is where the exact cause of e. g. the hole in the ozone layer may be.
There has been no publicity of this fact. Obviously, this was supposed to be as well as the failed American invasion of 1946 under Admiral Byrd. This Antarctic mission was declared as a geological expedition, although a considerable
Army with a whole fleet and aircraft carriers after only a few days and a never named number of lost aircraft, give beaten
had to. Admiral Byrd mentioned in his final report that it was an aircraft used by one pole to the other. Admiral Byrd was subsequently psychiatrically treated. .According to some, it is believed that during Vice Admiral Byrd’s flight over the North Pole that took place in 1947.According to some, it is believed that during Vice Admiral Byrd’s flight over the North Pole that took place in 1947, he said via radio that beneath was not snow but huge areas of land with mountains, forests and vegetation, huge lakes and rivers with animals that resembled mammoths.Before his death, had said there existed a land beyond the Pole that was “an enchanted continent in the sky, a permanent mystery of Earth.” That land, according to other theories, was the legendary Rainbow City, home to a fabulous lost civilization.
The possibility that the earth is hollow, and that it can be accessed through the North and South poles, and that secret civilizations flourish within it, has spurred the imagination of people through centuries. Evidence of this we find in the history of countless ancient civilizations. The Babylonian hero Gilgamesh visited his ancestor Utnapishtim in the bowels of the earth; in Greek mythology, Orpheus tries to rescue Eurydice from the underground hell; it was said that the Pharaohs of Egypt communicated with the underworld, which could be accessed via secret tunnels hidden in the pyramids; and Buddhists believed (and still believe) that millions of people live in Agharta, an underground paradise ruled by the king of the world. So just when you think that these theories could be nothing more than excessive imaginations, you actually come across evidence in ancient history pointing towards the possibility of a world inside Earth.
www.ancient-code.com/the-forbidden-land-of-agartha-the-se...
Bioluminescent creatures are one of the most fascinating and paranormal things in nature. The word “bio” means “life”, and “lumen”, means “light”. There are land animals as well as water animals that glow, and most people are in the dark about what their purpose in nature really is.Perhaps the movie Avatar’s depiction of luminescence wasn’t so far off in wondering what the future holds on Earth. Here are some of the top ten bioluminescent organisms:
The inner Earth is a vast series of honeycombed caverns. Mythologies throughout the world speak of a place called Agartha. According to Buddhist and Hindu traditions, Tibet’s entrances into the inner earth connect to legendary underworld Agartha. There are also people who say that some Altanteans decided to stay in the inner Earth when the last deluge swept over the Earth.Author Robert Sepeher explores this subject further in his book, Gods With Amnesia. Some of the questions raised are:
How would people breathe underground?
How would people see in the dark deep caverns?
How would plant life photosynthesize?
Along with the inner earth caverns and passageways, there are also descriptions of the “Hollow Earth”, which was sensationalized by Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s account of a whole new existence. You can read more in the article Agartha, The Hollow Inner Earth, which says:
” During his Arctic flight of 1,700 miles BEYOND the North Pole he reported by radio that he saw below him, not ice and snow, but land areas consisting of mountains, forests, green vegetation, lakes and rivers, and in the underbrush saw a strange animal resembling the mammoth….”
The questions of how people, plants, and animals can survive in the inner earth brings up other questions where Agartha is concerned. It seems like there are two realities inside the Earth. The third (and maybe fourth) dimensional outer crust holds the honeycombed cased and tunnels, but Admiral Byrd’s “Hollow Earth” where Agartha exists may be harder to justify because it may be in another higher vibrational frequency. This inner Earth has been described as having civilizations of fourth and fifth dimensional beings that have their own energy source or sun and grow their own food. They have an abundance of fresh water and have been described as all being 20-30 years of age. Perhaps this is where the legend of the garden of Eden comes from as well? While researching this article I had the thought that many of the bioluminescent creatures live in the ocean, Where does the border between inner earth and Hollow Earth dimensions meet? Could the deepest, darkest parts of the oceans have entrances to the “Hollow Earth”?
cosmicstarseeds.com/agartha-and-the-glowing-kingdoms-of-t...
The Forbidden Land of Agartha: The secrets of the Inner Earth. Secret Space program defector Corey Goode has talked about his actual meetings with the beings inside of the Inner Earth on Episodes of Cosmic Disclosure with David Wilcock on Gaim TV. Here is an article on Corey’s site about the “Honeycomb Earth”: Ancient Earth Breakaway Civilization Subterranian Council Meeting And SSP Alliance Debrief Part 1- “HoneyComb Earth”. Corey feels like he is in a physical body when he visits the honeycomb earth, and describes a few different ways of being taken there. I think the understanding of how a person go into the inner earth physically is something that our brains have a hard time understanding, however maybe more people can share their experiences to help aid in this.
cosmicstarseeds.com/agartha-and-the-glowing-kingdoms-of-t...
Moreover on website: artana-event.com/lab-14/
Saturday morning down on the docks. And it looks like everyone has gone Titfield Thunderbolt mad. The little people have even managed to put a train together much like the one in the celebrated film.
Barry Bullhead and Terry Tuttle-Thomas-Smythe are keen to sell their illicit booze on the train which has a fully fitted bar, so here they are striking a deal with Colin who is a bit of a pushover. Sorted.
Deliberation Dave is eyeing up the wonderful paint job on the coach, the fetching colours being in the half price sale at Brian & Quentin’s Hardware in Bridgwater, locally known as ‘B&Q’.
And finally Hubert the conversational Latin speaking horse has been promised a ride in the brakevan. And if he clenches tightly, he should just about be able to get through the door and enjoy the journey from the veranda as he mutters “Utinam spatium mihi habeas, stricta tene, ego ingredior!”
~~~🤔~~~
It’s a right old cavalcade down on the docks with further experiments of the new ‘Motor Railway’ car carrying service. With the cost of diesel at an all time high, Hubert (the conversational Latin speaking horse) is rostered the pull the short train. But Hubert is an old boy, and has suggested that the dockyard shunting tractor which runs on used cooking oil from the local greasy spoon is a far more capable tool. Hubert, being such a resilient horse, during the 2020-2022 Zombie Apocalypse of Doom, successfully completed the highly regarded online ‘Teach Your Horse How to Drive a Tractor’ course. And here is the clever chap demonstrating his newly acquired skills to an appreciative audience. And as we can see, all our regulars are here. From left to right: new boy Frank Twist with his crooked hip, Comical Ned (with the funny shaped head), Herbert (the conversational Mayan speaking horse) enjoying an elevated view, bullish charmer Barry Bullhead (the time and motion man from the Ministry of Misery), Derek on guard duty, our Hubert of course, local bounder and cad Terry Tuttle-Thomas-Smythe, Clive and his notebook, and finally our favourite posh girls Liz & Margo who’ve borrowed Beryl’s bubble car for the weekend.
Isn’t it wonderful when someone volunteers for your project before you even invite them? Such was the case this morning on Bloor Street in Toronto’s Annex when I saw this man approaching with his beautiful golden lab dog and a cheery “What kind of camera is that?” I told him and he explained he got a deal on a Sony mirrorless camera a week ago but hasn’t had a chance to try it out yet. “So what are you shooting?” I explained I’m doing a project called 100 Strangers yada yada. “Hey, I’ll be in your project! Can I?” “Of course.” Meet Sean.
We were standing in front of a doorway into an Asian restaurant and the recess provided a bit of shelter from the sun and I suggested Sean step up into the doorway for a portrait. He interpreted it as a man and dog portrait so I took a couple of those and then asked for a couple of just him.
We stepped back onto the sidewalk which was getting busier with mid-morning pedestrians who were interested in our conversation in the middle of things. Sean had a loud voice and presented as very animated and excitable so I’m sure we drew considerable attention. A couple of passers-by had dogs which had to stop and spread the cheer with Sean’s dog Portia, named after the heroine of Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice.”
Sean is 41 and was born and raised in Toronto, having lived in Guelph Ontario for a few years where he attended university. He was in the Child Studies program and later added an Early Childhood Education certificate to his credentials. When I told Sean that I had taken a workshop from a professor from Guelph he said “I think I know who you mean. I had a huge conflict with that guy because I really disagreed with his post-modern analysis.”
It was a fun conversation which jumped from one topic to another with Sean having interesting opinions on every topic. It was a bit like conversational surfing – exciting and fun. He said he left the Early Childhood Education field because he disagreed with some of the “political” aspects that came into play and he has been quite busy the last few years caregiving for his mother. His father left the family some years ago.
Sean is also a “political filmmaker” and said most of the things he is doing are “too political” for most people and a submission he made recently to a documentary film group got dropped because it was overly political. He mentioned one photographic project he did which involved a statue of an angel in the cemetery with a pile of drug syringes beneath her.
When I asked if he had any words of advice to the project photographers he said “Look up the definition of jihad. It has nothing to do with violence and killing people but, rather, with the struggle for self-improvement which we should all be pursuing.”
Thank you Sean for the stimulating conversation on Bloor Street today and for participating in 100 Strangers. You are #738 in Round 8 of my project and a very friendly and energetic guy. I hope you enjoy your new camera.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by the other photographers in our group at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
Update: As chance would have it, the following day I was exiting the subway station in the east end of Toronto and Sean was on the street and gave me a big greeting. I was surprised to see him in the opposite end of town from where we'd met yesterday and he said he was returning home from an appointment. He loved the photos and apologized for not having written. He said he thought both photos were super but liked the one of him and Portia the most. I said I wasn't suprised because he's a real dog-lover but that I'd chosen the other photo as the main project submission for consistency with the rest of my project. He said he understood. We had a very nice chat on the sidewalk before saying goodbye and getting on with our days. Yes, it's a small world - even in a big city.
I have made a point of automatically introducing myself to seat-mates at classes, lectures, etc. as part of my commitment to being more outgoing and at-ease with strangers. It has worked well and today it opened up a friendly conversation with this man who was sitting beside me in my lifelong learning class: The History of the English Language. Meet Terry.
Terry had a friendly manner and cautioned me against spilling my coffee while I was settling in and shedding my parka. A natural conversational gambit in my lifelong learning classes is “Are you taking other courses?” Terry told me he’s taking a class on drawing in addition to this course and he’s enjoying it. As we prepared for the lecture to begin, I started realizing that Terry’s carefully put-together dressy-casual appearance, warm open face, and friendly manner might make him an ideal subject for my Human Family project. When he reached for a scarf to wrap around his neck during the lecture I made up my mind. I knew he would be a great subject.
When break time arrived, I took a chance and told him about my photography project which has been such a source of pleasure and inspiration for me since I retired and told him I thought he would make an excellent subject and I’d like to photograph him in the back of the room near some windows which provided natural light. He was interested in the project and, of course, a bit surprised. I told him I realized it was an unexpected request, but such is the project that I’m usually taking people by surprise but it has been a lot of fun and I’ve been surprised that so many people are happy to participate when the see my contact card and hear what I’m doing. He smiled and joked that so many people have such poor judgment to agree. “Yes” I said. “Amazing.” “Sure” he said. “I guess I’ll do it.”
I told Terry I’d taken the liberty of doing a selfie in the back of the room near a window prior to class and was pleased with the results and announced my plan to lead him to that spot and do a few quick photos during the stretch break. Once there, I explained the concept and Terry positioned himself where I requested and we did a few photos with and without his glasses. I hated to ask him to remove his glasses because they had such a stylish look but I was concerned about reflections. I wanted his necktie to show in at least one photo and took the liberty of adjusting his scarf to let it show. I joked “I’m impressed that you still wear a tie, even in retirement. It’s a nice touch and not many people would do that.” We were briefly interrupted when a friend of my wife’s from many years ago came up to say hi and said she had just seen my name on the attendance list. We had a quick hug and agreed to meet after class to catch up on the news of the last ten years.
Returning to our seats, I learned that Terry is 71, a retired Family Doctor whose practice had been here in his home town of Toronto. There wasn’t much time to learn more about him because class resumed at that point but I experienced him as a particularly “grounded” person who had a warm, friendly manner which I am sure made him very good at his profession of caring for his patients. My thoughts drifted to imagining the things he has seen and experienced in his career. Medical doctors occupy a special place in society and are given the role of bearing witness to life’s joys and tragedies. They see lives brought into the world and they see lives leaving the world. They cure the sick and they comfort those for whom there is no cure. His must have been a stressful career, and yet I could sense that he was at ease with himself and some conversation later confirmed my impression that he feels great satisfaction in a work life well-spent.
Our conversation touched on politics and the adult learning course we are taking. I asked how his transition to retirement had gone (a frequent topic of conversation among classmates) and he said he’s enjoying it fully. “I could have continued longer and was still enjoying my work, but my plan had been to retire sometime around 69 or 70 and I was fortunate enough to be able to afford to do so. I wanted to have some time to enjoy other interests and that’s what I’m doing.” When I asked what type of interests he’s pursuing he said “Nothing too dramatic. Reading, music, travel, these courses... and family.” How nice that he, like I, can now indulge some of these interests - many of which probably had to sit on the back-burner during a busy career.
Thank you Terry, for being such a pleasant seat-mate today and for agreeing to join my photography project: The Human Family on Flickr.
This is my 168th submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.
You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.
Paris Street Portraits
December 2010
Hasselblad 500c/m
Zeiss 80mm 2.8
Kodak Portra 400NC
The neighborhood we stayed in (The Marais) had a large population of retired folk. They were gracious models and very patient with my limited French conversational skills. Each was a pleasure to chat with... this guy enjoyed meeting my infant son Oskar and asked lots of questions about how it was navigating the city with the little fella. He was impressed at how much territory we were covering during our stay.
A new shot for the poem, "Shot at Dawn". Clouds were a gift today: "ripped charcoal flannel grey wet ashen grey a shattered pencil leaden grey..."
White Light White Peak, the live show, is a personal journey through a year in the White Peak told through poems and projections. see: www.whitelightwhitepeak.com
“a beautiful work of art in every one of its facets – poetry, photography, stagecraft, soundtrack.”
Jim Marriott – Buxton Festival Fringe review.
"Summed up in one word - mesmerising." (Caroline Small, events manager at The Green Man Gallery, Buxton).
Touring the Peak District and beyond, September and October - with more dates planned for 2020.
Starting in the depths of a snowy winter, this is a poetic journey through a White Peak year, including encounters with the weather, wildlife and people; some amusing, some thought-provoking and many involving a Springer Spaniel...or two. The poems are told from memory and in a conversational style; more like miniature short stories at times, complete with twists and some happy endings.
The White Light is all in my monochrome photography: Atmospheric landscapes, wildlife shots and enigmatic moments, reflecting the images and moods heard in the poems and projected onto a large screen throughout the performance. With the occasional soundscape, (captured locally - and in all weathers) the whole is a highly immersive experience; the culmination of five years' work.
"White Light White Peak", the book, is published by Fly on the Wall press - order a copy here: www.flyonthewallpoetry.co.uk/shop Copies for sale at a discount (and signed!) at the live event if you buy the programme, which contains a supplement of seven poems with photographs.
A review of White Light White Peak – The Book:
“A joyous book - one to be slowly savoured. The black and white photos are truly atmospheric, the snippets of prose down-to-earth and gently humorous, while the poems are a wonderful celebration of nature. Simon Corble produces a little bit of magic in White Light White Peak, capturing the ethereal beauty of England's first national park. This is a book to keep and cherish.”
Helen Moat, freelance travel writer and book reviewer - author of "The Slow Guide to the Peak District".
It is the concept of this project that has made "individuation" the fundamental issue in the practice of mental healing from the lack of landmarks in a globalized world. The village with its variety becomes like an extraordinarily emphatic and successful "healing psychologist", bringing even clients drowned in destructive anonymity, towards the recognition of the individual nature and quality of their habitat - a healing and psychic phenomenon that occurred once the conscious union of the outer and inner selves, led by man, was achieved. It could often take several months before the sympathetic, insightful and "conversational" exploration of a street of houses on a roof... would lead a client into the depths of his conscious / unconscious mental life; would free him from talking about his deepest desires, fears and hopes... realize that he can be moved by an inner guiding force commonly called "the human mind". This is when the "I... "would be recognized... and that life's challenges could be met "head-on", so to speak. This is the front built with good intentions :
1. Good physical and mental health.
2. Good personal and intimate relationships, such as those of marriage, the family, and friendships.
3. The faculty for perceiving beauty in art and nature.
4. Reasonable standards of living and satisfactory work.
5. A philosophic or religious point of view capable of coping successfully with the vicissitudes of life.
'Pop Art Convo 0 by Su_G': my entry in Spoonflower's 'Conversational' Design Challenge. A conversational print about conversations: over-the-top, Pop Art style blank convos on wall-to-wall dots in Barbie-core pink on yellow. Make your own memes! Hand-prepared original line art © Su Schaefer 2024
Wallpaper Mockup c/o Spoonflower
I tried to use one of my favourite Pop Art quotes but was not allowed because of "imagery" and "famous people" - whatever that meant, so I removed all text to leave the speech bubbles blank and I think it's a stronger design. The quote was:
“I didn’t even know that there was art until I left Texas...” -- Robert Rauschenberg
And 'Pop Art Convo 4 by Su_G': WAS NEARLY my entry.
[Pop Art Convo 0 by Su_G_©SuSchaefer2024_wallpaper mockup]
Gracie and the deer that roam our front yard and woods have become astonishingly accustomed to each other. Gracie stood silently watching this deer eat wild cherries that had fallen to the ground for several minutes. She finally started howling, but in what I would describe as a casual, conversational manner rather than the intense baying she does when she has the scent of something exciting. The deer looked up briefly but then kept eating for a bit before strolling away into the woods. It was almost like neighbors meeting at the fence and exchanging pleasantries, with one neighbor being somewhat loud and garrulous.
COLOR VERSION
First post processed image from my “Marilyn Monroe” shoot with Stephanie Stuart arguably the Best Marilyn Monroe impersonator in the country. I am a big believer in getting it as close to completely right in the camera as reality allows. What I was able to do with the combo of the sunbounce cage and hive lights was magic. We shot video during the shoot to discuss how to do conversational portraiture using the D850.First post processed image from my “Marilyn Monroe” shoot with Stephanie Stuart arguably the Best Marilyn Monroe impersonator in the country. I am a big believer in getting it as close to completely right in the camera as reality allows. What I was able to do with the combo of the sunbounce cage and hive lights was magic. We shot video during the shoot to discuss how to do conversational portraiture using the D850.
I used Hive light led wasps lights with a leko lens an a fresnel. Sunbounce cage and Sunbounce reflectors.
Nikon D850 and Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8
Post processing: Capture NX-D, Photoshop CC 2018, NiK Collection by DxO's Silver Efex Pro and Viveza.
#Nikon100 #NikonAmbassador #nikonlove #lexar #kelbyone #photography #onOne @NikonUSA #D850 #70-200mm f2.8 #NikonNoFilter #niksoftware #nikonUSA #Epson #wacom #xritephoto #onone #sunbounce #fineartphotography #DxO #iamgenerationimage #iamnikon #B&H #hivelight #PhotogenicbyBenQ #lexarMemory #nikonLOVE @lexarmemory elite photographer #lexarmemory
#Nikon100 #NikonAmbassador #nikonlove #lexar #kelbyone #photography #onOne @NikonUSA #D850 #70-200mm f2.8 #NikonNoFilter #niksoftware #nikonUSA #Epson #wacom #xritephoto #onone #sunbounce #fineartphotography #DxO #iamgenerationimage #iamnikon #B&H #PhotogenicbyBenQ #lexarMemory #nikonLOVE @lexarmemory elite photographer #lexarmemory #hivelight @stephstuart @my_ms_marylin_monroe
The Lincoln C Concept is packaged on Ford's global small car platform and brings luxury to a segment not normally associated with it. From a styling standpoint, the C wears cues started on the MKS and now carried through on both the MKT and the MKZ matched with what looks like the wackiest parts of Renault hatchback elements. Under the hood, the C gets a 1.6 liter four cylinder version of Ford's Ecoboost engine, making 180 HP and 180 lb-ft of torque, mated to a new dual clutch 6 speed transmssion, the whole ensemble gets up to 43 MPG.
The Lincoln C Concept is as much a concept car as it is a platform to carry a concept of the next generation of Ford's Sync system. Next-gen Sync is the latest version of a Buck Rogers future and plays out in this concept with a fully reconfigurable instrument panel spanning the dash, splayed across multiple screens and embodied by an avatar named "Eva." In the concept, you and Eva are digital best buddies and converse naturally, she acts as a creepy friendly little helper, pulling up addresses and mapping directions, making reservations, managing your social calendar, making suggestions on music playlists, and telling you that it can't do that as it would jeopardize the mission. Check out the video below and see what you think.
LINCOLN C CONCEPT: BIG LUXURY IN SMALL PACKAGE
DETROIT, Jan. 12, 2009 – Lincoln is breaking new ground with the Lincoln C concept, a new big idea for a small luxury car.
Designed with today's upscale, urban consumer in mind, the Lincoln C concept brings the presence and elegance of a large Lincoln to a smaller, more efficient C-sized car.
"Modern luxury buyers who live and work in large, urban areas want to play their part in helping the environment by moving to a smaller vehicle, but they still want to enjoy the luxuries of life," said Peter Horbury, executive director of Design, The Americas. "The Lincoln C offers sensible indulgence."
According to Horbury, younger contemporary consumers with slim iPods and pocket-sized cameras have already grown accustomed to the notion of premium quality in a small package.
"During the past decade, people have gotten used to the idea that you could pay more money for a smaller version of the real thing," said Horbury, citing the evolution of music players from tapes to CDs to MP3 players as an example.
"The same philosophy can be applied to the automobile," he added. "People will be happy to buy a smaller car that is better for the environment and more maneuverable in the city as long as the vehicle has all the attributes they want."
The concept's unique size, lightweight construction and use of sustainable materials make the Lincoln C stand out – along with its fuel economy.
Featuring a 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine and Ford's all-new dry, dual-clutch PowerShift six-speed transmission, the Lincoln C concept achieves 43 mpg on the highway, while offering up an impressive 180 horsepower and 180 ft.-lbs. of torque. PowerShift and outstanding driving dynamics make the Lincoln C concept fun for the driver.
Plus, a sophisticated human machine interface (HMI) and forward-thinking in-car connectivity technologies bring a whole new dimension to social networking, an important facet of modern customers' active lifestyles.
"Connectivity is as much a luxury for today's younger car buyer as are the traditional luxuries of wood, leather and a comfortable ride," said Horbury. "It means being able to continue your lifestyle seamlessly while you're on the move."
Sporty, Elegant Exterior Design
When designers developed the Lincoln C concept, their goal was to create a C-sized automobile with both presence and elegance. Their vision: a smaller, more fuel-efficient car that could maneuver easily in congested urban areas and compact parking spaces, yet still provide driver and passengers with levels of luxury and comfort usually reserved for larger sedans.
"Lincoln C is about efficiency without compromise," said Freeman Thomas, director of Ford's Strategic Concepts Group, who led the Lincoln C design team – David Woodhouse, Jeremy Leng, Andrei Markevich and Matt Edwards.
One of the most distinctive features of the Lincoln C is its unique silhouette. The visual mass of the car is very low to the road. A low-slung shoulder line with a wheel-at-each-corner stance supports a dynamic, slightly formal cabin. The aim was "go kart" visual stability combined with elegant lines and surfaces.
At first glance, the silhouette is immediately distinguished by a bold front profile, low shoulder, high beltline, wide C-pillar and compact bustle back.
The modern appearance of the Lincoln C reflects the timeless, iconic elements of the Lincoln DNA: sheer surfaces bounded by defined creases; a cantilevered roof extending from a strong C-pillar; a confident double-wing chrome grille; full-width tail lamps and rocker brightwork.
The front end of the concept is unmistakably Lincoln. The signature grille encapsulates LED headlamps that – like the taillights – are made with prismatic optical elements that create depth and visual sophistication. A sculpted groove in the top of the front hood – which derives its shape from the Lincoln badge – adds a finishing touch to the grille of the car.
A low shoulder line combines with a strong, high belt line to create a sense of safety and privacy inside and outside of the vehicle.
An aluminum cantrail adds elegance to the concept by extending the beltline to the rear glass and breaking up the otherwise tall C-pillar. Aluminum is also visible inside the door apertures.
The Lincoln C is absent of a B-pillar or center post. The center-opening doors – a classic Lincoln trait that rekindles memories of the 1961 Continental – allow effortless access to first- and second-row bench seats and give the vehicle a limousine-like quality.
Sleek side mirrors house both advanced rear-view camera and blind spot detection technologies. Slit-like LED turn signal indicators are integrated into the mirrors, allowing slim, efficient light.
LED taillamps span the full-width of the Lincoln C's rear, featuring turn signal indicators that fade toward the center of the car stretch from side to side.
An all-glass roof provides a modern, futuristic look. The expansive opening illuminates the cabin and enhances the sense of spaciousness inside the car.
Designers reinterpreted the presentation of the Lincoln badge throughout the exterior of the Lincoln C in a subtle way, giving it a contemporary "race track" theme. The Lincoln star sits proudly at the center of the front end, and the rear badge is slightly morphed to suit its placement above the taillights.
A more in-depth look at various details of the Lincoln C reveals that the badge motif is repeated in discreet ways in the design of the front lower intake mesh; the shape of the glass roof and structure; the implied illuminated keyholes on the door handles; the shape of the rear-view camera that sits on the back of the roof; the design of the wheels and the pattern in the tire treads.
The exterior of the Lincoln C is bathed in a light, exterior clear coat that hints of yellow metallic.
Modern, Timeless Interior Design
Inside, the Lincoln C concept welcomes driver and passengers to a space that looks more like the living room of a contemporary urban loft than the inside of a car.
Elements of classic Lincoln DNA permeate the cabin, including: a bright, clean, light color palette; authentic materials such as wood and metal; ambient lighting; jewel-like chrome details; bench seating; and the symmetrical design of the instrument panel, which thoughtfully serves both driver and passengers.
The interior's all-white color palette — from roof to seats to floor — is stunning. Subtle chrome accents on the seats, instrument panel, door panels and floor glimmer like fine jewelry. A light gray wood veneer – made from recycled wood – provides a striking contrast against the white leather on the instrument panel and door panels. The headliner is white Alcantara suede.
Because the Lincoln C concept is two inches wider than conventional C-class vehicles, it offers the roominess of a 1961 Continental at almost half the length. In modern terms, the vehicle has the overall length of a Ford Focus and the overall width of a Lincoln MKZ.
Designers took full advantage of the extra space in the interior of the Lincoln C by incorporating luxurious bench seating in the front and back rows. They are crafted from luxurious, chromium-free leather and filled with soy foam. The seats are thin and lightweight, but because they were designed to an ergonomic comfort curve, they are extremely comfortable.
There is a single headrest on the left and a double headrest on the right for passengers in both rows. All the headrests automatically retract without occupants for optimized driver vision. Convenience trays are housed compactly behind the front bench. In the closed position, they are flush with the leather and feature chrome release handles.
One of the most eye-catching elements of the seating is the laser-engraved floral etching on the passenger side seats and floor and on the back of the driver's seat. It is a light, airy pattern that gives the interior a refined, sophisticated look.
Because of their unique shape and the imperceptible way that they are mounted to the floor, the benches appear to be floating inside the cabin.
The steering wheel and instrument panel also seem to be suspended in air. All of these elements combine to enhance the concept's futuristic look, openness, and give the impression of dynamic space within the vehicle.
The steering wheel is hubless, lending the driver an unobstructed view of the instrument panel. The glossy white rim rotates around a stationary chrome ring with chrome shifter paddles on both sides. Simple toggles embedded into the left and right sides of the wheel control the vehicle's navigation system and menu selection.
The instrument panel is leather-wrapped with a chrome bezel. The light, gray wood veneer forms a symmetrical shape that surrounds the center-mounted touch screen and extends out to the right and left sides. Above the center screen is the Lincoln nomenclature and badge, finished tastefully in chrome.
The panoramic instrument panel is divided into three sections and designed with a mixture of digital and analog components. The left side contains Lincoln's signature HMI menus and driver-related information. The center portion displays a multi-functional screen displaying navigation, SYNC details and a life-like custom avatar to help make everyday journeys more seamless and other helpful, driver-oriented options.
Soft, white ambient lighting creates a relaxing atmosphere inside the cabin. The lighting is integrated into the C-pillar with a front face that displays the Lincoln badge.
The roof also features an integrated rearview mirror and a chrome-trimmed Web camera that rotates to the right or left, depending on whether the driver or the passenger is communicating via the Internet. A chrome air vent follows the shape of the glass roof.
"While the most luxurious and indulgent products often come in the smallest packages, unfortunately this hasn't been true of most small cars recently," said J Mays, Ford's group vice president of Design. "With the Lincoln C, we've remixed the traditional small car formula, taking the most engaging technologies and wrapping them in a design fit for today's urban luxury customer – without sacrificing style or substance."
# # #
LINCOLN C PAIRS ECOBOOST I-4 WITH DUAL-CLUTCH POWERSHIFT TRANSMISSION FOR 40-PLUS MPG
DETROIT, Jan. 12, 2009 – The Lincoln C concept showcases Ford Motor Company's newest combination of fuel-efficient powertrain innovations: a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine mated to a dual-clutch PowerShift transmission.
Featuring a 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine and Ford's all-new dry, dual-clutch PowerShift six-speed transmission, Lincoln C achieves a projected 43 mpg on the highway, while offering up an estimated 180 horsepower and 180 ft.-lbs. of torque. That's a nearly 25 percent fuel-economy improvement over Lincoln C's fuel-sipping C-car cousin, the Ford Focus, which currently delivers unsurpassed highway fuel economy in its segment when equipped with a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine.
"Lincoln C demonstrates that a higher degree of engine downsizing as the key to fuel economy improvement, paired with the right technologies, can deliver optimum horsepower, torque and drive-away capability," said Andreas Schamel, a chief engine engineer with Ford's Powertrain Research Laboratory. "Plus, when combined with the PowerShift six-speed transmission, the impossible equation becomes perfectly possible: lower fuel consumption, increased power and smoother, more fun-to-drive performance."
The 1.6-Liter EcoBoost Engine
The Lincoln C concept's 1.6-liter engine dimensions the common attributes of Ford's EcoBoost strategy, leveraging a combination of direct fuel injection technology and turbocharging to deliver significantly improved fuel economy and torque versus a larger displacement engine, while reducing emissions up to 15 percent.
The 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine features turbocharging and a central-injector direct injection system. Using a central injector instead of a side-injector system provides improved fuel-air mixture preparation, helping to further reduce fuel consumption and lower emissions. A central injector-based system also provides the most flexible foundation for future fuel-saving technologies.
"We know that a central injection system is a prerequisite for future global fuel economy upgrades such as stratified lean operation, homogeneous charge compression ignition or HCCI, and premium injection system technology if the market demands," said Martin Wirth, a Ford Direct Injection Gasoline Systems and Combustion technical specialist. "It's a value solution that gives us the ability to answer market trends quickly and provide broad market coverage, a key component of the EcoBoost strategy to deliver an affordable, fuel-efficient engine technology at high volumes."
When compared to a standard 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine, the 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine can deliver up to a 10-percent gain in fuel economy simply on the merits of the engine downsizing and boosting as well as common powertrain systems such as twin independent variable camshaft timing (TI-VCT).
TI-VCT varies the phase of the intake and exhaust cams independently for improved airflow through the engine, which delivers more torque while reducing average fuel consumption by up to 5 percent. "TI-VCT gives us better low-end torque and drive-away capabilities even under the stronger engine downsizing conditions," said Wirth.
The 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine also features other sophisticated fuel-saving powertrain technologies such as Assisted Direct Start, which contributes to an additional 3 percent gain in fuel efficiency.
Assisted Direct Start automatically shuts down the engine when the vehicle is at idle – at a stop light, for example – and automatically restarts the engine when the brake is released or gas pedal is engaged, improving fuel economy by saving idle fuel consumption.
When a vehicle comes to a stop, the electronic control unit immediately synchronizes the engine's systems for restart. Once the brake pedal is released or the gas pedal is engaged, a short starter engagement triggers the direct fuel injection system to fill the cylinders with fuel, initiate combustion and start the engine, producing the no-hesitation vehicle launch. An advanced battery management system converts braking energy into electricity and stores it to keep electrical systems operating while the engine is not running.
This advanced system provides consistent start behavior of the stopped or stopping engine that is smooth, quiet and seamless to the customer, requiring no changes in driver behavior.
Powershift Transmission
The Lincoln C concept also features Ford's dual-clutch PowerShift six-speed transmission, which delivers the efficiency of a manual with the ease of operation of a premium automatic transmission.
Compared to traditional automatic four-speed transmissions, PowerShift can help reduce fuel consumption by up to 9 percent depending on the application. PowerShift, for example, contributes to an estimated 8 percent uptick in Lincoln C's fuel efficiency when compared to the current Focus.
"The Lincoln C application of PowerShift helps illustrate the competitive advantage this transmission will offer to Ford in the global small car markets," said Jack Dorigo, North America Powertrain Planning manager. "It's a new-to-segment technology that's an improvement over today's automatic transmissions in terms of fuel economy while providing customers a more connected feel between the pedal and the vehicle's acceleration."
PowerShift provides the full comfort of an automatic with a more sophisticated driving dynamic, thanks to uninterrupted torque from the dual-clutch technology, which consists essentially of two manual transmissions working in parallel, each with its own independent clutch unit. One clutch carries the uneven gears – 1, 3 and 5 – while the other the even gears – 2, 4 and 6. Subsequent gear changes are coordinated between both clutches as they engage and disengage for a seamless delivery of torque to the wheels.
The lean curb weight of the Lincoln C enables a dry-clutch derivative of Ford's PowerShift transmission for added efficiency and durability. A dry clutch transmits power and torque through manual transmission clutch facings, while most automatic transmissions utilize wet clutch plates submerged in oil. As a result, the dry-clutch PowerShift transmission does not require an oil pump or torque converter, providing superior mechanical efficiency.
"A dry clutch is a real sweet spot for lighter vehicle applications like the Lincoln C concept," said Piero Aversa, manager, Ford Automatic Transmission Engineering. "It is perfectly matched to this vehicle and engine. PowerShift is more efficient, it saves weight, is more durable, more efficient and the unit is sealed for life, requiring no regular maintenance."
Lincoln C weighs in at 2,750 lbs. due to a number of light-weighting measures, including the transmission. PowerShift, unlike conventional automatic transmissions, does not need the pound-adding torque converter or planetary gears. In addition, the dry-clutch derivative eliminates the need for the weighty pumps, hydraulic fluids, cooling lines and external coolers that wet clutch transmissions require. As a result, the dry-clutch PowerShift transmission showcased on the Lincoln C is nearly 30 pounds lighter than the four-speed automatic transmission featured on today's Focus.
Differentiating PowerShift even further in terms of its customer appeal is its shift quality, launch feel and overall drive dynamic, which are all facilitated by an expert blend of Ford-exclusive electro-mechanical systems, software features, calibrations and controls. These unique driving features include:
• Neutral coast down – The clutches will disengage when the brakes are applied, improving coasting downshifts and clutch robustness as well as reducing parasitic losses for increased fuel economy.
• Precise clutch control in the form of a clutch slip to provide torsional damping of the engine vibration – This function improves noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) at low engine speeds and enables lower lugging limits for improved fuel economy.
• Low-speed driving or creep mode with integrated brake pressure – This function simulates the low-speed control drivers are accustomed to from an automatic transmission. T he amount of rolling torque in Drive and Reverse is precisely controlled, gradually building as brake pressure is released.
• Hill mode or launch assist – Prevents a vehicle from rolling back on a grade by maintaining brake pressure until the engine delivers enough torque to move the vehicle up the hill, providing improved driver confidence, comfort, safety and clutch robustness.
# # #
LINCOLN C SHOWCASES THE FUTURE OF DRIVER INFORMATION AND IN-CAR CONNECTIVITY SYSTEMS
DETROIT, Jan. 12, 2009 – Powered by a sophisticated human machine interface (HMI) and forward-thinking in-car connectivity technologies, the Lincoln C concept reinvents the automobile as a customer's companion in life on and off the road.
Lincoln C's car-to-companion transformation is the result of an innovative melding of Ford's new signature HMI as well as a next-generation in-car connectivity features anchored by Ford's award-winning SYNC technology and a revolutionary new system that helps intuitively connect occupants with the vehicle, their mobile devices and even the outside world.
All interaction and information is offered up in a simple, intelligent format that keeps a driver informed – but not distracted.
Simple, Sophisticated Control
The foundation of Lincoln C's connectivity capabilities is Ford's signature HMI.
This intelligent interface makes useful and relevant information and functionality immediately available to the driver in a way that is logical, easy to use and completely integrated.
"Before technologies such as SYNC were even crystallized, we knew we had to create a way for people to interface with their vehicle and its myriad technologies and features that was more manageable and limitless in terms of its ability to incorporate new innovations as they come," said Gary Braddock, Ford's group chief designer. "Our HMI had to create for the auto world what the mouse is to the PC world."
Unique to Ford's HMI strategy is the seemingly simplistic approach to how and where information is displayed. All car-related information, for example, appears to the left of the speedometer, including fuel economy, trip information and vehicle diagnostics. Passenger-related functions, such as audio, climate, navigation and phone, appear to the right of the instrument cluster.
"The beauty of this system is that the way information is offered encourages you to explore deeper and deeper and discover – without fear or intimidation – just how much the product can do for you," said Braddock.
The system's integrated platform offers tried-and-true methods of information control – steering wheel switches, touch screens and voice-activation – which can be alternatively used by the driver depending on the task, desire for control and preference.
The set of steering wheel controls, one on the left to access the car-related information and another on the right for the people-related functions, uses a stereotypical five-way mapping similar to that found on most cell phones and MP3 players – up, down, left, right and a center OK button – creating instant familiarity for the user.
Ford's signature HMI also aligns cluster and center stack display technologies and graphic treatments for visual harmony and synchronized information delivery. In the case of the Lincoln C concept, the touch-screen center stack has a four-corner layout that includes phone in the upper left, audio in the lower left, navigation in the upper right and climate in the lower right.
"Our vision for HMI is to make a customer's transition from home, to car, to the office and back again be experienced as seamless and uncompromised," said John Schneider, global chief engineer responsible for HMI, Driver Controls and Infotainment. "We want our vehicles to give you exactly what you need, when you need it and how need it. And, we want to do it in a way that adds emotion, personality and excitement for the customer."
In-Car Connectivity
Lincoln C features the latest in terms of SYNC-enabled technologies, providing hands-free, voice-activated cell phone, text messaging, and digital media player integration as well as security and personalized convenience features such as 911 Assist and Vehicle Health Reports.
In addition, the in-vehicle communications system is expanded to include a proprietary plug-and-play network architecture that can use a Bluetooth-enabled phone to access Internet-based services such as traffic reports, turn-by-turn navigation, a 14-million-plus business directory listing, weather forecasts, the latest sports scores and more. Customers have the option to personalize this information.
This latest evolution of SYNC with the Traffic, Directions and Information feature is set to launch next year on nearly all 2010 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles.
"SYNC puts Ford in a sweet spot in terms of vehicle connectivity because it allows us to take the cockpit of a vehicle and open it up to our customers' personal devices, especially the mobile phone – which is considered by many as an extension of oneself," said Joseph Berry, a member of Ford's newly formed Consumer Service Organization and a lead architect of the company's emerging off-board services system.
In-Car Companion
Catapulting Lincoln C's in-car connectivity to an unprecedented level is the system that uses a life-like avatar to connect the driver to the vehicle and all the functionality offered through key systems such as Ford's signature HMI and SYNC.
This avatar – nicknamed "EVA" – lives on the Lincoln C instrument panel and can take on a personalized visual image and personality. It responds to conversational speech, eliminating the need for menus or learned voice commands. Plus, EVA expertly manages and initiates all vehicle and SYNC-enabled functions and information to the driver. The avatar can even sense a driver's mood through voice and drive style and respond appropriately with, for example, a favorite song suggestion from a SYNC-connected MP3 music library.
This unique system on the Lincoln C concept also offers in-car Internet access, allowing the avatar to surf the Web for the driver and read the morning's online news headlines or latest restaurant reviews, check e-mail, or access a friend's Facebook page. The system will even advise the driver when and where to refuel based on fuel level, driving habits, gas station locations and current prices.
"We've taken the notion of effective vehicle HMI and the user's experience to the next level," said Braddock. "Our system creates a method of organization and function in the vehicle that is intuitive, familiar and keeps the driver focused on driving, along with creating a personality within the vehicle that evokes emotion, a personal connection and a sense of confident control."
For the video; youtu.be/IIcrPA7d1rI
The poem explores this ancient route out of Monyash towards Arbor Low stone circle, but turns off into Fern Dale.
"White Light White Peak", the book, is published by Fly on the Wall press, launching at the Buxton Festival Fringe on July 15th 2019. Order your copy here: www.flyonthewallpoetry.co.uk/shop
An advance review of White Light White Peak – The Book:
“A joyous book - one to be slowly savoured. The black and white photos are truly atmospheric, the snippets of prose down-to-earth and gently humorous, while the poems are a wonderful celebration of nature. Simon Corble produces a little bit of magic in White Light White Peak, capturing the ethereal beauty of England's first national park. This is a book to keep and cherish.”
Helen Moat, freelance travel writer and book reviewer - author of "The Slow Guide to the Peak District".
White Light White Peak, the live show, is a personal journey through a year in the White Peak told through poems and projections. "Summed up in one word - mesmerising." (Caroline Small, events manager at The Green Man Gallery, Buxton). Starting in the depths of a snowy winter, this is a poetic journey through a White Peak year, including encounters with the weather, wildlife and people; some amusing, some thought-provoking and many involving a Springer Spaniel...or two. The poems are told from memory and in a conversational style; more like miniature short stories at times, complete with twists and some happy endings.
The White Light is all in my monochrome photography: Atmospheric landscapes, wildlife shots and enigmatic moments, reflecting the images and moods heard in the poems and projected onto a large screen throughout the performance. With the occasional soundscape, (captured locally - and in all weathers) the whole is a highly immersive experience; the culmination of five years' work.
If you want to book the live show for your venue or group, then please email me corblesimon@gmail.com, Suitable for all kinds of spaces that can provide some level of blackout.
David Z. Albert (born 1954) is Frederick E. Woodbridge Professor of Philosophy and Director of the MA Program in The Philosophical Foundations of Physics at Columbia University in New York.
He received his bachelor's degree in physics from Columbia College (1976) and his PhD in theoretical physics from The Rockefeller University (1981) under Professor Nicola Khuri. Afterwards he worked with Yakir Aharonov of Tel Aviv University. He has spent most of his career in the philosophy department at Columbia University, although he has also been a frequent visiting professor of philosophy at Rutgers University. In 2015, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Philosophical work
Albert has published three books, Quantum Mechanics and Experience (1992), Time and Chance (2000) and After Physics (2015), as well as numerous articles on quantum mechanics. His books have been both praised and criticized for their informal, conversational style.
Albert appeared in the controversial movie What the Bleep Do We Know!? (2004). According to an article published in Popular Science, he was "outraged at the final product." The article states that Albert granted the filmmakers a near-four hour interview about quantum mechanics being unrelated to consciousness or spirituality. His interview was then edited and incorporated into the film in a way that misrepresented his views. In the article, Albert also expresses his feelings of gullibility after having been "taken" by the filmmakers. Although Albert is listed as a scientist taking part in the sequel to What the Bleep, called "Down the Rabbit Hole", this sequel is a "director's cut", composed of extra footage from the filming of the first movie. The "Down the Rabbit Hole" version features Albert as the first subject in the interview portion of the film. In that interview he expresses his disagreement with the major thrust of the original "What the Bleep Do We Know!?"
Feud with Lawrence Krauss
In March 2012, Albert published an extremely negative review of Lawrence Krauss' book A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing in The New York Times book review. Krauss claimed that his book counters religion and philosophy, and the book was cited by Richard Dawkins as comparable to Darwin’s Origin of Species, on the grounds that it upends the “last trump card of the theologian.” In his review, Albert lamented the way in which books like Krauss' forward critiques of religion that are "pale, small, silly, nerdy”, and expresses how "the whole business of approaching the struggle with religion as if it were a card game, or a horse race, or some kind of battle of wits, just feels all wrong". Disagreeing with the central thesis of Krauss' book, Albert wrote:
The particular, eternally persisting, elementary physical stuff of the world, according to the standard presentations of relativistic quantum field theories, consists (unsurprisingly) of relativistic quantum fields... they have nothing whatsoever to say on the subject of where those fields came from, or of why the world should have consisted of the particular kinds of fields it does, or of why it should have consisted of fields at all, or of why there should have been a world in the first place. Period. Case closed. End of story.
Krauss reacted vehemently and responded in an interview published in The Atlantic, calling Albert “moronic” and dismissing the philosophy of science as worthless. In March 2013, The New York Times reported that Albert, who had previously been invited to speak at the Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate at the American Museum of Natural History, at which Krauss was also an invited speaker, was later disinvited. Albert claimed "It sparked a suspicion that Krauss must have demanded that I not be invited. But of course I’ve got no proof."