I wore this blazer last week and found the outfit too conservative for my current tastes. Always striving to improve, I imagined pairings that would suit my tastes and quickly landed on the hotpants I’d worn earlier in the week.

 

Blazer, Love Tree. Shirt, Old Navy. Shorts, San Souci. Tights, We Love Colors. Boots, Lauren Ralph Lauren. Earrings, Pangaea. Bag, thrifted.

Local arts tabloid VUE Weekly had presented some obnoxious liberal nonsense in a previous issue, so I came down on them in this little tirade. Inasmuch as they had been making overtures to have me return to their fold, again as a columnist. I imagine they were happy to have some literate commentary from "the other side" - those nasty, bigoted, intolerant conservatives, who obviously aren't properly grateful for their propaganda.

 

The rag ceased publication that November, citing lack of interest from the readership, and the obvious decline in advertising revenue. This is what happens when an arts paper decides to virtue-signal a "caring" and "inclusive" agenda (read: more concerned about others' skin colour than what kind of people they are).

 

Le tabloïd des arts locaux VUE Weekly avait présenté des absurdités libérales odieuses dans le numéro précédent, alors je les ai sévèrement critiqués dans cette petite diatribe. Dans la mesure où ils avaient fait des ouvertures pour que je revienne dans leur bercail, encore une fois en tant que chroniqueur. Je suppose qu'ils étaient heureux d'avoir des commentaires lettrés de "l'autre côté" - ces méchants, sectaires, intolérants conservateurs, dont l'un n'est manifestement pas vraiment reconnaissant pour leur propagande.

 

La guenille a cessé de paraître en novembre, invoquant le manque d'intérêt du lectorat et la baisse évidente des revenus publicitaires. C'est ce qui se passe lorsqu'une publication artistique décide de signaler un programme « bienveillant » et « inclusif » (plus soucieux de la couleur de la peau des autres que du genre de personnes qu'ils sont).

 

Please, read my profile, leave a comment - or visit my website!

Faving lots of my images without a comment? I'll block you.

 

SVP, commenter ou lire mon profil , ou visiter mon page sur Web!

Je bloque les membres qui mettent beaucoup de mes photos en favori. Merci de laisser un commentaire!

 

🌈🌸💓♥️❤️💗💖💝💛💚💜💙💃💕☀️👌🌻⭐✨ ❤😻🌼😊😉😀😁😄😅😂😏🤔😘😜😍😳😔😮😗😬💦🍁💯💥🔥💅👙👠💄💉‍♀️👹☠🙈💊☆★⚘™♂♀⬆️💋👅👄💥 ♫♪⫷⫸ ☕🛀🔥♨️ 🇨🇦🌿

It's not illegal to claim asylum, it's not illegal to be a refugee.

Never vote Tory.

 

Artwork ©jackiecrossley

© All rights reserved. This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying & recording without my written permission. This image is not authorised for use on your blogs, pinboards, websites or use in any other way. You may not download this image without written permission from me. Thank you.

  

Listen to the absolute awesomeness that is Manic Street Preachers: If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

 

The future teaches you to be alone

The present to be afraid and cold

"So if I can shoot rabbits then I can shoot fascists"

Bullets for your brain today

But we'll forget it all again

Monuments put from pen to paper

Turns me into a gutless wonder

And if you tolerate this then your children will be next

And if you tolerate this then your children will be next

Will be next, will be next, will be next

Gravity keeps my head down

Or is it maybe shame

At being so young and being so vain

Holes in your head today

But I'm a pacifist

I've walked La Ramblas but not with real intent

And if you tolerate this then your children will be next

And if you tolerate this then your children will be next

Will be next, will be next, will be next, yeah will be next

And on the street tonight

An old man plays with newspaper cuttings of his glory days

And if you tolerate this then your children will be next

And if you tolerate this then your children will be next

Will be next, will be next, will be next

Beth Israel Congregation (or Beth Israel Synagogue) is a historic Conservative synagogue located at 401 Scotts Street in Beaufort, South Carolina. Built in 1908, it is one of the few wooden synagogues in continued usage in the southeastern United States.

The first Jewish settler recorded as having lived in Beaufort, South Carolina was Peter Lavien, half-brother to Alexander Hamilton, who had a Jewish father though he was a practicing Anglican. Though the number of Jews remained sporadic and sparse until the 1880s, Jews always fared well in the small coastal town. With the mass immigration of Yiddish-speaking Eastern European Jews to Beaufort beginning in the 1880s, the Jewish population of the town grew to well over 30 families and soon prompted the need for a formal congregation. While the Jewish community in Beaufort predates the American Revolutionary War, its residents prayed informally in a number of locations before obtaining space in the town's Masonic Hall and in the Beaufort Arsenal. Granted a state charter in 1905, the congregation was formed to purchase the land near the arsenal that became the site for their synagogue on Scott Street. A number of members participated in the construction of the building, which was dedicated in ceremonies held on June 14, 1908, which were led by Rabbi George Solomon of Savannah, Georgia. Initially an Orthodox congregation, Beth Israel became a Conservative congregation in 1949.

Southerners paint their porch ceilings blue because it is a long standing tradition. Ceilings were painted blue to repel haints. A haint is a restless soul that has not moved on from the physical world.

Mostly Hating Tories

 

What shall I do on this fine day?

There’s so much on my list

A mix of work and rest and play

I’m sure you get my gist

And maybe I’ll compose a rhyme –

But my unwritten law is

That every day I’ll spend my time

Mostly hating Tories.

 

I’ll go to work, some bills I’ll pay

That’s if I’m feeling rash,

To see her through to payment day

I’ll lend my friend some cash,

I’ll probably make my kids some tea

And read them bedtime stories

Of homeless piggies one, two, three

And why they hate the Tories.

 

I’ll hate them for the bedroom tax

I’ll hate them for the cuts,

For living off the workers’ backs

I’ll hate their very guts,

Look, see the depths to which they’ll sink,

They don’t know where the floor is,

That’s why I’ll spend my day, I think,

Mostly hating Tories.

 

What’s that you say? That hate’s not nice?

Please love thine enemy?

Well yeah, I tried that once or twice

It doesn’t work for me,

And if you think that’s not fair play

Remember this, you must:

The Tories, they will spend their day

Mostly hating us.

 

A history of evil done

Will justify my hate,

I still detest the Tory scum

For Section Twenty Eight,

Nye Bevan built the NHS

So he knows what the score is:

And he said vermin come out best

Compared with bloody Tories.

 

I’m sure I’ll find time to revile

That UKIP and its drivel

And I’ll locate a little while

To loathe a lonesome Liberal,

I’ll maybe pause to show regret

For Labour’s missing glories

But save the fiercest fury yet

For mostly hating Tories.

 

For generations and hereon

Our class and those before us

Grew up to know which side we’re on:

The side that’s not the Tories,

So when I die, do this for me –

Inscribe and sing in chorus

Here lies Janine, her life spent she

Mostly hating Tories.

 

by Janine Booth

 

Here: bit.ly/3BZ0Mah

  

Conservative Party HQ Lunchtime Menu

 

Deprived shrimps

 

Money-glazed smirked ham

 

Scorn fritters

 

*

 

Battered electorate,

with a basket of crushed hopes

and slow-cooked fatigue

 

Half-baked notions,

idling on a soft bed of privilege,

served with a thick faux pas sauce

 

Kids in blankets,

deep-famished, with a deprivation of vegetables

and a relish reduction

 

Toads in the hole,

with golden hand-outs in a thick rich gravy

(self-serving only)

 

*

 

Eton Mess

 

Fudge (ten different flavours)

 

By Bill Bilston

 

Here: bit.ly/3zWAm6t

  

Artwork ©jackiecrossley

© All rights reserved. This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying & recording without my written permission. This image is not authorised for use on your blogs, pinboards, websites or use in any other way. You may not download this image without written permission from me. Thank you.

 

Model: Helmi

Style: Nita-Karoliina Lappalainen @teampulpfactory

Styling assist: Mirella Rautiainen

MUAH: Daria Radchenko

Theresa Villiers, Shadow Transport Secretary, speaks at the 2009 Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, Tuesday October 6, 2009. (Photo by Paul Toeman)

 

Free for editorial and/or personal use only. No sales, no commercial use.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona

 

Arizona is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Its other neighboring states are Nevada to the northwest and California to the west. It also shares an international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest. It is the 6th-largest and the 14th-most-populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix, which is the most populous state capital in the United States.

 

Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912. Historically part of the territory of Alta California and Nuevo México in New Spain, it became part of independent Mexico in 1821. After being defeated in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded much of this territory to the United States in 1848, where the area became part of the territory of New Mexico. The southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase.

 

Southern Arizona is known for its desert climate, with extremely hot summers and mild winters. Northern Arizona features forests of pine, Douglas fir, and spruce trees; the Colorado Plateau; mountain ranges (such as the San Francisco Mountains); as well as large, deep canyons, with much more moderate summer temperatures and significant winter snowfalls. There are ski resorts in the areas of Flagstaff, Sunrise, and Tucson. In addition to the internationally known Grand Canyon National Park, which is one of the world's seven natural wonders, there are several national forests, national parks, and national monuments.

 

Arizona is home to a diverse population. About one-quarter of the state is made up of Indian reservations that serve as the home of 27 federally recognized Native American tribes, including the Navajo Nation, the largest in the state and the country, with more than 300,000 citizens. Since the 1980s, the proportion of Hispanics has grown significantly owing to migration from Mexico and Central America. A substantial portion of the population are followers of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Arizona's population and economy have grown dramatically since the 1950s because of inward migration, and the state is now a major hub of the Sun Belt. Cities such as Phoenix and Tucson have developed large, sprawling suburban areas. Many large companies, such as PetSmart and Circle K, have headquarters in the state, and Arizona is home to major universities, including the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University. The state is known for a history of conservative politicians such as Barry Goldwater and John McCain, though it has become a swing state in recent years.

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antelope_Canyon

 

Navajo Upper Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon in the American Southwest, on Navajo land east of Lechee, Arizona. It includes six separate, scenic slot canyon sections on the Navajo Reservation, referred to as Upper Antelope Canyon (or The Crack), Rattle Snake Canyon, Owl Canyon, Mountain Sheep Canyon, Canyon X and Lower Antelope Canyon (or The Corkscrew). It is the primary attraction of Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park, along with a hiking trail to Rainbow Bridge National Monument.

 

The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tsé bighánílíní, which means 'the place where water runs through the (Slot Canyon) rocks'. Lower Antelope Canyon is Hazdistazí (called "Hasdestwazi" by the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department), or 'spiral rock arches'. Both are in the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation. They are accessible by Navajo guided tour only.

 

Additional Foreign Language Tags:

 

(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"

 

(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"

That's the ultimate hope or calling card that gives spiritual strength and courage to lots of prominent and hardcore conservatives from former T's cabinet members, ex-WH staffs, high ranking military officers, Congress members, religious leaders, to decent and ordinary citizens to commit casting their votes for the nominee JB. That is nearly 500 eminent names in D.C. politics circle. Even the Wall Street securities and investment industry is funneling support for B's campaign, as well as T's seemingly one and only ally from abroad, B. Johnson. All are signaling to jump ship or abandoning DJT.

 

Why?

 

Because they believe in country over a downward spiraling party. And enough is enough.

#496: August 16th, 2007

 

One of many windows from the north facade of IBM's HQ in Denmark.

Its not big, or clever. But it still made me laugh quite a bit. Especially the thought that someone was moved enough by the poster to fetch a step ladder and a handful of stencils.

 

Yep, its fair to say that Bolton isn't really a Conservative area. In any sense of the word. :)

 

====================================================================

 

Update: 30 Jan 2010

 

A strange footnote to this picture. I noticed a lot of activity (views) coming from the same source, and it appears the the image has stirred quite a debate on a random message board. I have yet to add my £0.02-worth to the board, but will do as the comments there are significantly more negative than those of the kind people below.

 

Much mention of swearing = limited vocabulary, which doesn't sit right with me. I can think of another single, non-sweary word which so succinctly makes the point that this one does.

 

Lets also remember that this isn't scrawled across the bottom of the poster in a marker pen. This is some 12-15 feet up (at least), so someone has had to take the time to get a ladder, then make sure that the stenciling is suitably spaced.

 

Like I said, it’s not big, it’s not clever... but it’s not ignorant either.

 

====================================================================

 

Update 2 Feb 2010

 

It appears another messageboard has picked up on this picture. It never fails to amaze me how random things like this can just snowball.

 

I did try to join Different Dimention (the first messageboard) so that I could join in the debate on this image and on the use of swaering in general, but as yet I have had no reply from their admin to confirm that i can join. Oh well.

CONservative governMENt

with screwone and someone pieces underneath

msk awr

 

brooklyn

off the BQE

Copyright Robert W. Dickinson. Unauthorized use of this image without my express permission is a violation of copyright law.

 

Taken at the Scottsdale Pavilions Car Show in May 2022.

 

Olympus E-M1X and OM System 20mm f1.4 Pro lens with circular polarizer.

Someone told me you were a conservative bloke and, unfortunately, that someone was correct. Do you not know how crazypants that is? It severely clashes with my understanding of reality.

 

It's never too late to consider being a liberal. I'm pretty sure the Labour Party would be happy to have you, too.

 

Love, Kirstiecat

 

p.s. It was aces of you to let photographers shoot your entire set and not have to sign one of those obscene photocontracts. That seems more like what a liberal gent might do.

 

p.p.s. Your songs would be even better without some of the sax solos.

 

**Please don't use without permisison. All photos are copyrighted.**

 

More photos on Timeout Chicago here: www.timeoutchicago.com/music-nightlife/music/14981083/bry...

From the Conservative Agitation editorial to fit 1st of May celebrations 🎈🎉

 

Creative Director: Nita-Karoliina Lappalainen

Styling assist: Mirella Rautiainen

MUAH: Daria Radchenko

Models: Helmi & Vilma

Necklace: Pitkinen

Jackets: Owusu Brand

#290th Explored Photo

 

From the Conservative Agitation editorial, Marika magazine.

 

Creative Director: Nita-Karoliina Lappalainen

Styling assist: Mirella Rautiainen

MUAH: Daria Radchenko

Model: Helmi

The front runner's massive lead among the party faithful has me once again despairing that conservatives just don't get it (to recycle a criticism from a past election).

 

A wall...?!! It's going to take more than a wall. That's not even "thinking outside the box", and what it's really going to take is some thinking outside the perimeter wire. Like, say, some of that there "job creation" among those of my neighbors who give my part of town the nickname "Little Saigon", who probably won't be averse to a juicy government contract to import all those punji stakes, because it's going to require 1900-some-odd miles of those plus another 1900+ of concertina wire, with machine gun positions and four-deuce mortar pits every 50 meters or so with interlocking fields of fire, God knows how many Claymores and enough command-detonated 55-gallon drums of fougasse to force us back to those of odd/even plate number days at the pumps we all recall so fondly from the Seventies, with an unbroken chain of firebases a few miles to the rear to provide artillery support. And, if he's really serious about interdicting the Ho Chi Menendez Trail, we're going to need a 50-mile-deep free fire zone where if so much as a Mexican bean jumps, we ARC LIGHT every madref-----g grid square from Matamoros to Tiajuana.

 

But even all that is just TOO conservative, the sort of effort that's about 15/32nds short of a half-measure, precisely the kind of meaningless gesture that we've consistently seen out of congressional conservativettes under Crybaby Boehner and, from what I've seen so far, what we can continue to expect with the guy who's waffling between the Charles Atlas and Maynard G. Krebs look. Besides, it's a plan based on our weakness rather than playing on our strength. As Patton's romp through Europe in '44-45 proved, and was reconfirmed by the Gulf War and the initial phase of the Iraq War (and proven in the negative by Vietnam and Iraqistan since 2003), if there is one thing that the United States Army absolutely excels at, it's the division-level drive-by shooting.

 

Therefore, fuzzy-thinking Liberal that I've become, I propose a much more expansive Big Government Spending Program to SOLVE the problem. Namely, have everybody at Hood, Bliss, Riley and Carson mount up, head out the main gate and DRIVE SOUTH! I figure by the time 1st Cav and 1st Armored are holding at PHASE LINE AY CHIHUAHUA! six klicks south of Mexico City waiting for 1st and 4th ID to finish mopping up, security along el viejo Rio Grande will have become pretty much a non-issue.

 

On a serious note (and I do trust that everyone realizes that I had my tongue planted firmly in my cheek in writing the foregoing; well, except for the part about invading Mexico, of course--you can take the boy out of Texas, but you can't take the Texas out of the boy), what really worries me about the lunatic wing of the party's adoration of The Donald is that I don't trust him, and am just astounded that so many of them have been fooled into doing so.

 

To begin with, he IS a Republican, which means he talks a good fight but once he wins the election, taking the oath of office will be the only real accomplishment of his entire administration. If voting for those lying, double-dealing, two-faced, back-stabbing bastards for forty-plus years has taught me anything, it's that Richard Nixon was not only the first of them I ever voted for, he's still the best of them. And even he wimped out in the end. As the saying goes, you can't teach an old dog new tricks, and Republicans only have one: roll over and play dead.

 

More importantly, I believe the most serious problem confronting the United States today is our shrinking middle class and their even-more-rapidly-shrinking real income. There is a reason "bourgeois" is the F-bomb equivalent in commie lexicon, and why so much commie agit-prop hammers at and attempts to discredit, destabilize, demoralize and destroy the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie, the middle class, are the backbone of the civilized world, and no Christian democracy can survive without them. They are most certainly what The Greatest Generation, who won WW II and then came home to make America the world power and Middle Class Heaven on Earth it was in the twenty years after, were. They're dying out, the number of their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren who have remained in their socioeconomic strata are becoming fewer and fewer every year, and those who remain find ourselves paying higher and higher prices to stay there, while working longer and longer hours at jobs that provide less and less real income to pay for the privilege. We have hit the point where we in the middle can no longer do a proper job of taking care of the poor, and certainly can't enjoy the dubious luxury of tolerating an increasingly self-indulgent wealthy class--especially an increasingly self-centered and unpatriotic CEO class. And I don't see The Donald as the man to do anything about it, unless it's everything in his power to make the situation even worse. As his supporters like to point out, he's a successful businessman. They are 100% right, of course, but they seem incapable of grasping the obvious, that that's precisely 100% the danger: he IS a successful businessman, and no successful businessman ever became a billionaire by giving a fat rat's ass about the working class, or failing to screw 'em over any way he could, every chance he got.

 

It's not that I don't understand his appeal to the party base. It's obviously symptomatic of our growing frustration with the unrelenting failure of the GOP to represent us in a meaningful way, to whine and bleat and blather incessantly about the problems but never, ever get them solved like we elected them to do, and in comparison to the others he does SEEM to be saying what needs to be said. I mean, after all those years hearing all that phony sincerity about "my respected colleague, my closest friend and esteemed opponent" being jabber-babbled on the debate stage, it IS kind of refreshing to hear The Donald make it plain that Carly Fiorina is so damned ugly he wouldn't do her with Jeb Bush's erectile dysfunction, nor would he piss up the rest of 'em's asses even if the sorry bastards' guts were on fire. But...if you listen between the lines, it's just the same old Crapola - Breakfast of Losers with a new picture on the box. Just like all the others, he's got his favorite Scripture passage, as if he wasn't a business man whose god is The Almighty Dollar and he worships no other (or as if you didn't have a better chance of finding a Christian child pornographer than a Christian politician), and, yes--rah-rah-rah it's a grand old flag!--him and his third or fourth or seventeenth or whichever mail order Bolshevik babushka he's on now love America with all their Red, White and Blue hearts. It's not a wall, it's a smokescreen, the same old hypocritical Bible Thumping and Flag Waving and Fear Mongering to keep us from seeing that we're getting the business as usual, and the only difference between him and the other betrayers is that he managed to finagle considerably more than thirty pieces of silver for his soul.

 

Presidents don't create jobs, businesses create jobs, and we only need to ask ourselves a few questions about The Donald's record as a "successful businessman"--and view the answers in light of the old business law, "The boss is always right", and its corollary, "Since the boss is incapable of error, if things are screwed up it must be because the boss wants them to be screwed up"--to know just how much we can expect out of a President Trump. So, how many steel workers have good jobs at the rolling mills of Trump Steel in Pittsburgh? How many engineers, stylists and assembly line workers are on the massive payroll at that massive Trump Motors plant in Detroit? How many pilots, mechanics, dispatchers, ticket agents and what have you are pocketing fat pay envelopes for keeping all those Boeing Triple-7s flying in Trump Airways International's scheduled service? How many engineers and machinists and sheet metal workers are making the big bucks at Trump Aerospace? How many train crews and track gangs and yard and backshop hands does the Trump Pacific R.R. have getting a good paychecks every week and looking forward to a comfortable pension--and how many crack passenger trains do they have in service? Once upon a time in America we had industries like that, industries that made us The Arsenal of Democracy and The Envy of the World, with millions of Americans having secure, and securely middle class, jobs in them, because American--that is, REAL American--Captains of Industry wanted things that way. We don't have them anymore, we have minimum wage plus tips service jobs instead, because The Donald and all his breed of Corporate Thugs found out they could maximize their personal profits by simply selling off--and selling out--their country. And now he wants us to reward his treason by giving him the most prestigious job in the world?

 

Because regulations prohibit the carrying of weapons in polling places, I may have to turn a one-off incident into a Family Tradition this time around. My great grandmother voted in every single election she could vote in from the time women got the vote until she died in the 1970s, except for one. In 1960, being a good Baptist she couldn't bring herself to vote for that papist Kennedy, but, being an Eleanor Roosevelt clone right down to the klunky toes of her sensible shoes, she sure as hell couldn't vote for "that snake in the grass Republican Nixon". I now have a much more sympathetic appreciation of her predicament. I sure as hell can't vote for that snake in the grass Republican Trump, and thanks to those aforementioned weapons laws, I can't hold a gun to my head and force myself to vote for Hillary.

 

On an artistic and historical note, those of you familiar with military history, and with the life of George S. Patton, Jr., in particular, may have looked at the helmet of our LUCKY (REEEEEEALLY) FORWARD heroine here and thought that, ever the stickler for uniform regulations, Patton wouldn't have tolerated a brigadier general (or a major general or a lieutenant general, for that matter) running around with the chin strap unhooked like that. But in this case he couldn't have said anything, because, if you'll look again, she's NOT a brigadier general. Altogether, she's wearing as many stars as Georgie had (although one of them IS a bit smaller, due to the limited room for maneuver in the area of operations, so to speak). Whatever his misgivings about her chin strap might have been, however, I'm pretty sure Old Blood'n'Guts would have looked favorably upon the kind of kick-ass pole dancing moves she could make in her spit-shined M1940 3-buckle cavalry boots!

A least she lost the cigarette.

Model: Vilma

Style: Nita-Karoliina Lappalainen @teampulpfactory

Styling assist: Mirella Rautiainen

MUAH: Daria Radchenko

The Toyota 2000GT is a limited-production, front-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-seat, hardtop coupé grand tourer designed by Toyota in collaboration with Yamaha. First displayed to the public at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1965, the 2000GT was manufactured under contract by Yamaha between 1967 and 1970. In Japan, it was exclusive to Toyota's Japanese retail sales channel called Toyota Store.

 

The 2000GT revolutionized the automotive world's view of Japan. The 2000GT demonstrated that Japanese auto manufacturers could produce a sports car to rival those of Europe, in contrast to Japan's image at the time as a producer of imitative and stodgily practical vehicles. Reviewing a pre-production 2000GT in 1967, Road & Track magazine summed up the car as "one of the most exciting and enjoyable cars we've driven", and compared it favorably to the Porsche 911. Today, the 2000GT is seen as the first seriously collectible Japanese car and the first "Japanese supercar". Examples of the 2000GT have sold at auction for as much as US $1,200,000.[2 Much of the work was done by Yamaha, which in addition to its wide product range of the time also did much work for other Japanese manufacturers. Many credit the German-American designer Albrecht Goertz, a protégé of Raymond Loewy, as inspiration for the car, who had previously worked with Nissan to create the Silvia. He had gone to Yamaha in Japan in the early 1960s to modernize Nissan's two-seater sports car called the Fairlady. A prototype was built, but Nissan decided not to pursue the project with Yamaha. Yamaha also contracted for Toyota, then perceived as the most conservative of the Japanese car manufacturers. Wishing to improve their image, Toyota accepted the proposal, but employed a design from their own designer Satoru Nozaki.

Styling

Toyota 2000GT from rear

Toyota 2000GT dashboard

 

The 2000GT design is widely considered a classic in its own right. Its smoothly flowing "coke bottle styling" bodywork was executed in aluminium and featured pop-up headlights, as well as large plexiglas covered driving lamps on either side of the grille similar to those on the Toyota Sports 800. The design scarcely featured bumpers at all, and the plexiglas driving lamp covers in particular are rather easily damaged. The car was extremely low, just 45.7 in (116 cm) to the highest point of the roof. In 1969, the front was modified slightly, making the driving lamps smaller and changing the shape of the turn signals. The rear turn signals were enlarged at the same time, and some alterations were made to modernise the interior. The last few vehicles were fitted with air conditioning and had automatic transmission as an option. These cars had an additional scoop fitted underneath the grille to supply air to the A/C unit. Two custom open-top models were built for the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, but a factory-produced convertible was never offered during the car's production run.

 

The interior offered comfortable, if cramped, accommodation and luxury touches like a rosewood-veneer dashboard and an auto-seeking radio tuner. At the time, Road & Track felt that the interior was up to par for a "luxurious GT", calling it an impressive car "in which to sit or ride - or simply admire."

Technical details

The 3M DOHC 2.0 liter inline six

The 2M SOHC 2.3 liter inline six

 

The engine was a 2.0 L (121 in³) straight-6 (the 3M) based on the engine in the top-of-the-line Toyota Crown sedan. It was transformed by Yamaha with a new double overhead camshaft head into a 112 kW (150 hp) sports car engine. Carburation was through three two-barrel Solex 40 PHH units. Nine special MF-12 models were also built with the larger but SOHC 2.3 L 2M engine. The car was available with three different final drives. Fitted with a 4.375 ratio axle, the car was said[by whom?] to be capable of reaching 135 mph (217 km/h) and achieve 7.59 L/100 km (31 mpg-US; 37 mpg-imp).[3]

 

The engine was longitudinally mounted and drove the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transmission. A limited slip differential was fitted, and in a first for a Japanese car, all-round power-assisted disc brakes. The atypical emergency brake gripped the rear disc directly.

Production

 

Only 351 (regular production cars) of the 2000GT were built, figures comparable to elite Italian supercar production of the day. According to Toyota and Yamaha data, there were 233 MF10s, 109 MF10Ls, and nine MF12Ls. All were actually built by Yamaha; it took two years for production vehicles to emerge. In America, the 2000GT sold for about $6,800, much more than contemporary Porsches and Jaguars. It is believed that no profit was made on the cars despite their high price; they were more concept cars and a demonstration of ability than a true production vehicle. About 60 cars reached North America and the others were similarly thinly spread worldwide. Most 2000GTs were painted either red or white.

Racing

 

Toyota entered the 2000GT in competition at home, coming third in the 1966 Japanese Grand Prix and winning the Fuji 24-Hour Race in 1967. In addition, the car set several FIA world records for speed and endurance in a 72-hour test. Unfortunately, the record car was destroyed in a pace car accident and eventually scrapped. These records shortly prompted Porsche to prepare a 911R especially to beat this record.

 

Carroll Shelby would also enter a pair of 2000GTs to compete in the SCCA production car races competing in the CP category. Initially Shelby built three cars, including one spare. Although performing well, 1968 was the only season the car competed in the US. Toyota took back one of the cars and rebuilt it into a replica of their record car, which still resides in Japan. The two remaining Shelby cars still reside in the United States.

2000GT Open-Top, the “Bond Model”

2000GT used in the James Bond film, You Only Live Twice

 

The 2000GT made its most famous screen appearance in the 1967 James Bond movie You Only Live Twice, most of which was filmed in Japan. Even though the car was never commercially available as a convertible, two were made specially for the film. However, they did not have roofs, just an upholstered hump at the rear of the cabin to simulate a folded top, and therefore were not fully functioning convertibles. Prior to the decision to make fully roofless cars, building the car as a targa was tried, allegedly due to Sean Connery's height not allowing him to fit into the ultra-low coupé version. This retained the hatchback of the original car, but eliminated the rear side windows. However, when the Targa was completed, Connery's head stuck out of the top to such an extent that it was decided it looked too ridiculous and that roofless versions would have to be made if the car was to be featured in the film. Toyota were able to create a convertible version in a mere two weeks after being notified of this shortcoming. The car was mainly driven by his girlfriend Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi) in the film.[4]

Today

 

Although not quite as well known to the general public as later Japanese sports cars like the Nissan Z, the 2000GT is regarded by many collectors as possibly the first highly collectible Japanese car. As of 2010, good examples can reach very high auction prices, though parts availability is a problem. Some combination of interesting provenance (particularly the first and second owners) and cosmetic perfection seems to be the formula for the highest auction values.

A NOTE ON THIS PICTURE: This picture appeared alongside an article in which the author made a case against people across the political spectrum incorrectly using the term Nazi to identify one's political ideology. The correct analogy would be to equate Obama's policies with those of the National Socialist Party.

 

Do I believe that Obama is a Nazi? No, that is ludicrous, but the article was a hard-hitting critique of the controversy surrounding people slinging the term Nazi around these days, hence the photo was appropriate. If it offends you, look away.

 

Thanks for reading.

This is a creative commons image, which you may freely use by linking to this page. Please respect the photographer and his work.

 

Dating from about 1902, The Conservative Office (publishers since 1865) occupies a one-story brick building with a symmetrical decorative brick parapet, which appears to need some repair work. The lower floor is also symmetrical with display windows (2/2) flanking a recessed entrance. The entry is set in a cast iron frame. A metal awning supported by wood brackets overhangs the sidewalk. The tall pale blue building to the left of the store is the old jail. The Conservative Office is part of the Carrollton Historic District, listed (Nov 27, 1978) on the National Register of Historic Places, #78001590. Carrollton, the county seat of Carroll County, Mississippi had a population of 190 in the 2010 census. For a small county seat, the number of architecturally rewarding structures is enormous.

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

  

From the Conservative Agitation editorial.

 

Creative Director: Nita-Karoliina Lappalainen

Styling assist: Mirella Rautiainen

MUAH: Daria Radchenko

Model: Helmi

 

Dress: kimeä clothing

Gloves: Vintage

Earrings: vintage

Silver jewelry: Studio martzu

 

From the Conservative Agitation editorial.

 

Creative Director: Nita-Karoliina Lappalainen

Styling assist: Mirella Rautiainen

MUAH: Daria Radchenko

Model: Vilma

Jumpsuit: Redemption

Shoes: Balenciaga

Hard to believe that the man enshrined by the memorial at the top of this photo belongs to the same political party as the man now in the White House.

 

In all the turgid rhetoric about what would Reagan do...no one seems to be asking what actions Lincoln might take these days.

Hasselblad 503CXi - kisarazu, japan

Stephen Harper's campaign a319 sitting on the ground in YOW at sunset.

Noda, downtown Osaka

 

Bessaflex TM x Ultron 2.0/40 SL Aspherical x Fujicolor 100

My son Ben Williams meeting Andy Street Mayor of West Midlands. twitter.com/benwilliams2082

Blackpool is where the north, and most of Scotland, used to go on their holidays.

 

Once unions and pressure had allowed for workers from industrial towns used to travel en masse, buy train, to one of the three huge stations the town had, for a week. Each town had their own week, a wakes week, when it would go on holiday to Blackpool.

 

Blackpool grew huge and prosperous, catering for the masses going on holiday at the seaside The town had three pleasure piers, a Winter Garden, threatres, a Pleasure Beach and hotels and B&Bs all the way down the Golden Mile that looked onto the Irish Sea. In the centre was the Tower, and below that the Ballroom.

 

Its all still there, and at the end of the 19th century, when electric light was brought to the town, there came the "illuminations", brightly lit displays that lined the Golden Mile, and stretched the holiday and visitor season well into autumn.

 

The illuminations are best seen in the autumn, when night falls ever earlier, and at five (or was yesterday), they are switched on, so a long line of cars and coaches inch down the Promenade admiring the lights.

 

Also in Blackpool is the trams, the largest Victorian Tram system still working in the country, been there so long it saw just about every other system taken down, and is now witnessing new ones having been put into cities like Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Nottingham, London (well, Croydon), and Edinburgh, with many more planned.

 

Although the best way to see the lights is by foot or by tram, and best to arrive by train. Which is why we were getting up at half four on a Saturday morning, so to travel to London to board a railtour that would take us to Blackpool and back in a day, though arrive back too late to get us back to Dover so a hotel in that London would be needed.

 

We have coffee and do the last of the packing. Our friend, Gary, was coming in to feed the cats on Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening, so no cat roundup needed. And so at quarter past five into the darkness and light drizzle.

 

It was very cold.

 

I found a place to park on Priory Gate Road, Jools went to buy the tickets, and with the train already in the platform, we go on and took our coats off.

 

We left on time, 05:49, and were in London some 70 minutes later, all ready to walk the ten minutes to Euston. Now if only we could find a place for some light breakfast.

 

Pausing only for some grabbed shots, we took the escalators down to the undercroft and headed out the westerly exit behind the British Library and the Crick Institute, where a bright light shone brightly in the distance, offering the hope that a café might be open.

 

King's Café was just opened for the day,, but they were willing to serve us. We had coffee, of course, while I opted for nutella on toast while Jools had a mountain of mushrooms on toast. Both good, and all for under a tenner.

 

Our hunger not killed off, but we were due to have fried breakfast on the train.

 

A short walk from there to Euston, and quickly walked to Platform 16 where the train was waiting, and thankfully with the heating fully on.

 

The train, eight carriages and two service coaches top and tailed by class 90s, all prepped and raring to go, and the smells of breakfast was already escaping the kitchen car.

 

We were sat at a table for four, on the other side a single guy sat, who had plenty to say, not all of it good.

 

Initially, it seemed he knew what he was talking about, but then he mentioned Liz Truss had done a good job, then that Nigel Farrage should be brought into the Government. I replied that there isn't a gibbet high enough in London town to hang that traitor from. He changed the subject

 

That notwithstanding, and his jibber jabbering, it was a fine trip up, us having breakfast served before we had even left the London suburbs.

 

Fruit salad followed by a full try up then rounded up with toast and preserved. All freshly cooked or prepared, and served with lashings of tea of coffee.

 

Would we like a drink, was the next question. It was nearly ten, and opening time somewhere. So, I asked what ales they had. He got as far as Bishop's Finger and I told him to stop, bring me a bottle forthwith!

 

The journey north, however, was becoming difficult. Friday had seen a storm batter the north east and north west, with there being many trees down and trains in the the wrong place. The WCML was also closed, so we had to meander our way north via Stoke before edging back along a single line to Crewe.

 

Everywhere there was huge crowds of people just waiting for a train, we inched past as I supped dark, strong ale.

 

At one point it seemed possible we were not going anywhere. We had reached Northampton, and apparently Network Rail had no requests for us heading any further north. So, we sat there for 40 minutes whilst the paperwork was sent in and approved before we moved off.

 

All around us was a covering of dusty snow, not much, but enough to make the scene pretty as a Christmas card. It looked cold, this was because it was cold.

 

Anyway, we reached Crewe, moved north through Warrington and Wigan before halting again at Preston. This was where the line to Blackpool branched off, on the station people were waiting everywhere, we were sat in British Rail luxury in the best carriages the British rail industry ever made, the Mk 3s.

 

We pulled out, and snaked across the main line onto the newly electrified line, and headed to the coast. At station photographers were waiting, recording our progress, while inside we got ready to head out once we arrived at Blackpool North.

 

We walked to the end of the platform, through the station and across the main road, heading into the town centre. When we reached the top of the slope, the north wind hit us like a truck.

 

It took our breath away.

 

Now, even though we had two breakfasts, we were both hungry, so once we decided which place to try, we went into a local version of Wetherspoons called Vintro Lounge, and got the last table .

 

We felt normal, but around this were Mothers with daughters, and the daughters have very inappropriate make up, some with false eyelashes, all this on girls no more than ten years old.

 

There will dolls, all delicate with painted faces.

 

We found out later there was rehearsals at The Winter Garden, and these were trying out for the chorus, but it did look odd, to say the least.

 

We both ordered the sweet potato and lentil curry and people watched, and it has to be said, has a different class of people to watch.

 

I have been to Blackpool many times; first time as a child of about four when we were on a coach tour, and we travelled in said coach to see the illuminations late that summer evening, although I guess they were not the full show being in summer.

 

I returned twice with my second wife and her son, and I did enjoy the experience, but it did seem to be a town that was trying to wring every last penny from my wallet.

 

Finally, I did an HGV course round here, and drove down the Golden Mile curing the course of one lesson, not able to admire all the trams on the prom.

 

I have been up the Tower and to the Pleasure Beach, rode "The Big One", so, what else is there to do? On a bitterly cold November afternoon, little more than go out for short periods before diving back inside a bar or a place for a coffee.

 

Trams were terminating at the pier, and so the plan to ride to Fleetwood was blown out of the water, so, after photographing the prom around the tower and finding the North Pier closed, we retired to the Winter Gardens for another coffee and to shelter until the sun went down.

 

The Winter Gardens was playing host to a Labour Conference, so earnest men in sharp suits talked in heated tones hunched over bottles of Italian lager (brewed under licence), and I thought of all the open goals that Labour has missed these last five years, and that the party seems happiest fighting amongst itself. I looked down at Dad's union badge on my coat, and thought of the firebrands of the past who wouldn't have done this.

 

At half four, we went back outside to snap some lights during the blue hour, but found most of the lights were not yet on. We were to learn that they got switched on at five.

 

We had tickets for a free ride on a vintage tram, so went to the stop before time, and saw a large crowd on men of a certain age had already gathered and were trying to board the tram already there. A second one trundled past us, we kept pace with it, so when it stopped and the doors opened, the conductor had just to mouth the words "railtour ticket holders only", we dived on and bagged seats upstairs at the back, which would soon be at the front as the tram was at the end of the line.

 

They turned the heating up so we could warm up, but that meant the windows misted up.

 

Bugger.

 

I tried to get good shots, and did OK on the trip back.

 

The wind was blowing sand along the prom, causing cars parked on the side of the road to become embedded in drifts. And a group of drunk young men tried to force themselves onto the tram only to be foiled when we didn't halt at the next stop.

 

Seeya guys.

 

We got back at ten past six, we had an hour to kill, so we went to find a micropub I had spotted earlier, passing long lines in the cold night waiting to get into 'Spoons.

 

The pub was a quarter full, I had a pint of chocolate stout, and Jools had a cider. It was warm, welcoming, all that a pub chain isn't.

 

I had a pint of Stay Puft, another sweet stout, which was most excellent too.

 

We walked back to the station and got back on board, settling down in our seats, letting the heat revive us. Jabber was back too, his pub crawl round the region's Wetherspoons had been foiled due to trains being cancelled and the suspension of most of the tram route.

 

I delighted in telling him of the several pints of fine stout I had supped.

 

-----------------------------------------------

 

The Winter Gardens is a large entertainment complex in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which includes a theatre, ballroom and conference facilities. Opened in 1878, it is a Grade II* listed building,[1] operated by Blackpool Entertainment Company Limited[2] on behalf of Blackpool Council, which purchased the property from Leisure Parcs Ltd as part of a £40 million deal in 2010.[3]

 

The Winter Gardens has hosted the annual conferences of British political parties and trade unions and its owners claim that every Prime Minister since World War II has addressed an audience at the venue.

 

It has also hosted the Blackpool Dance Festival since its inception in 1920, and the World Matchplay darts tournament since 1994. The annual dance competitions Miss Dance of Great Britain and Dance Master UK are hosted there annually.

 

The Winter Gardens Company bought the site in 1875 for £28,000.[4] The Winter Gardens was built on the six-acre Bank Hey Estate and officially opened on 11 July 1878. The original intention was "to place on the land a concert room, promenades, conservatories and other accessories calculated to convert the estate into a pleasant lounge, especially desirous during inclement days."[5]

 

The Vestibule, Floral Hall, Ambulatory and Pavilion Theatre were all built in the 1870s[1] and the Opera House Theatre originally opened in 1889.[6] The Empress Ballroom was built in 1896[1][7] together with the Indian Lounge (now the Arena).[8] The long-gone Blackpool Ferris wheel, erected in 1896, was also located at the complex.

 

In 1910, the Opera House Theatre was rebuilt.[6] Ownership of the complex changed in 1928 when the Winter Gardens Company was taken over by the Tower Company.[4]

 

In 1930, the Olympia was built[9] and the following year saw the addition of the Galleon Bar, Spanish Hall and Baronial Hall.[1] The Opera House Theatre was rebuilt in 1939.[6]

 

EMI took over the complex in 1967, and ownership changed hands again in 1983 when it was bought by First Leisure.[4] In 1998, Leisure Parcs acquired the Winter Gardens from First Leisure's Resorts Division as part of an estimated £74m deal which also included Blackpool Tower, and the resort's three piers. On 3 December 2009, it was revealed that Leisure Parcs had accepted an offer of £40m from Blackpool Council to buy the Winter Gardens as well as the Tower, and other sites in the resort. The deal, financed through a combination of government regeneration cash, European funding and a loan, was finalised in March 2010.[10][11]

 

Political party conferences have increasingly taken place in major cities with modern, purpose-built conference centres such as Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester, with the most recent major conference in Blackpool being the Conservative conference in 2007.[12][13]

 

Since 1996, the venue has hosted the yearly Rebellion Punk Festival.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Gardens,_Blackpool

"Pro-Life" conservatives are obsessed with the fetus from conception to nine months. After that they don't want to know about you..."

 

Transport- 'keeping the West Midlands Moving'- was the subject for this session. Speakers (left to right): Philip Bradbourn OBE MEP; Ian Morgan, Deputy Chairman of Trent Barton Bus Company; Cllr Angus Adams, Chairman of CENTRO; and Brian Tustain.

Artwork ©jackiecrossley