View allAll Photos Tagged Complexion
A beautiful Lady in her gorgeous red gown, relaxing in the rose garden. Her complexion is flawless. I enjoyed this colouring, so romantic. Hope you like.
Alondra totovía
(Lullula arborea)
Aláudido rechoncho, de distribución restringida a Europa, Oriente Próximo y el noroeste de África. Está ampliamente repartido por toda la Península Ibérica, aunque escasea o falta en algunas zonas cantábricas, la depresión del Ebro y el sureste. Ocupa medios abiertos con árboles o arbustos dispersos, y posee buenas densidades en dehesas y bosques aclarados.
Descripción y Clasificación
Orden Passeriformes; familia Alaudidae
Longitud 15 cm. Envergadura 27-30 cm.
Identificación
Presenta un aspecto similar al de otros aláudidos, con una coloración de tonos pardos crípticos. De complexión rechoncha, tiene moño pequeño, cola corta y oscura, y rectrices externas blancas. Su diseño facial es muy contrastado (dibujo 1), y posee una característica mancha blanquinegra en el borde anterior del ala. Exhibe un vuelo rápido de fuertes batidos, con pronunciadas ascensiones y descensos.
Canto
Resulta muy característico y está constituido por una estrofa larga, que comienza de manera relativamente lenta, pero avanza con rapidez, acelerándose y haciéndose progresivamente más grave.
I believe stories play an integral part of our lives and a good storyteller has a unique place of his/her own. In this scene Joe Plaice was telling the crew that " the devil be at the wheel of that there ghost ship". His character is a classic storyteller!
EXPLORED ! :) awesome!!!!
Summary Data
State or Country of birth: Illinois
Home prior to enlistment: Winnebago, Illinois
Occupation prior to enlistment: farmer
Service:
Co M 8th Illinois Cavalry - 1864 - 1865
Rank at enlistment: private
Highest rank attained: private
Principal combat experience:
Monocacy, Maryland
numerous scouts and skirmishes with rebel guerrillas
Casualties: none
Photograph by: Gideon Smith, Geisboro, D.C.
Inscription in period ink on back: "Charles Prescott"
There were several men named Charles Prescott who served in the Union cavalry during the Civil War. However, based on my research the man who best fits this photo according to his matching signature, physical description (blue eyes, brown hair, light complexion, and standing 5'8" in height), and who had an opportunity to be at the Geisboro Cavalry Depot in Washington, DC, was Charles Prescott of Winnebago, Illinois.
The 8th Illinois Cavalry Regiment had originally been recruited in the late summer of 1861. Since that time it had served entirely in the east, fighting with the Army of the Potomac. It's most notable battles and campaigns from 1861 through 1863 included Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Stoneman's Raid, Brandy Station and Gettysburg, as well as many more numerous minor skirmishes and scouts. It had acquired a well-deserved reputation as one of the most reliable hard-fighting regiments of cavalry in the Union Army. In January 1864 a majority of the men of the 8th Illinois Cavalry agreed to reenlist as veterans, and while the men went home on veteran's furlough the regiment took the opportunity to recruit new members to help fill up its ranks.
One of those responding to the call was Charles Prescott, a farm boy from Winnebago County, who was born in October 1848. Prescott lied about his age, claiming to be 18, the minimum age for enlistment, when he signed up on January 29 at Marengo, Illinois. In actuality he had just turned 15 the previous October. He was big for his age, standing 5 feet 8 inches tall, and was described as having blue eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion. His father was dead and his widowed mother still had several other children at home. Prescott was offered an enlistment bounty of $300 ($140 to be paid up front and $160 at discharge). The money must have been a significant windfall for the young lad. Charles Prescott was mustered into the service at Marengo, Illinois on February 2, 1864, with the notation that his time in service was to date from his enlistment on January 29.
On February 18th the regiment's commanding officer issued an order recalling all veterans stating, "All leaves and furloughs to officers and men are herby revoked, and all will join the regiment at St. Charles, Illinois, without delay. The regiment is ordered to active service in the field at once, where it has been continuously in the front during the last two and a half years. It is a high compliment to the regiment to be ordered back again inside of thirty days, while other cavalry regiments have been permitted to remain over two and a half months at home, evidently showing that the Eighth Illinois Cavalry is two and a half times more efficient than some other regiments. I will therefore expect that the regiment will assemble promptly and be ready to fight its way through as heretofore, without expecting or receiving any favor from any source. The fighting reputation of the old Eighth must be retained without any fictitious puffs so much depended on by others. - William Gamble, Colonel Commanding Eighth Illinois Cavalry."
No matter what the veterans might have thought of the compliment paid to their abilities, the premature recall from their veteran furloughs must have disappointing. For the new recruits, such as Charles Prescott, it meant the beginning of their grand adventure in the army. On February 25, 1864 they took the train headed for Washington, DC, and arrived on March 1st with the snow "several inches deep and thawing." On March 3rd the regiment was sent to camp at Geisboro Point "by the side of the government corral, where were kept from ten to fifteen thousand horses for mounting cavalry and for artillery purposes." While at Geisboro, Prescott took the opportunity to have his photo taken with his saber and holstered pistol. In it he is wearing spurs and has a piece of small brass on his cap that may be the number 8. The men of the 8th Illinois Cavalry remained in this camp about two months then moved to other quarters in the city. During the day the men were assigned guard duty at various places throughout the city. And at night they patrolled the city, entered suspicious places and arrested any hapless soldier who should be found without a pass. "But this work, although it amused the men for a time, and was arduous to perform, did not satisfy those who longed for more active service."
In the spring, rather than join General Grant for the opening of his campaign at the battle of the Wilderness, the regiment found itself in the role of onlookers. The regiment was divided by detachments and sent to various posts in Washington, Maryland and Virginia. On July 4, much of the regiment was dispatched to Point of Rocks on the Potomac River to intercept Mosby and his band of partisan rangers. After a brief skirmish there, they moved up beyond Frederick where they confronted the advance force of General Jubal Early's army on its way to attack Washington. The 8th Illinois took part in the battle of Monocacy on July 8 and 9 and the subsequent retreat to Baltimore. From there they were sent to Cockeysville to guard the railroad from rebel depredations.
August found the men scouting along the Potomac near Muddy Branch and guarding the fords on the river. The regiment also conduced raids into Virginia against Mosby and his guerillas, after which, "The regiment then returned to Muddy Branch with their prisoners, horses and plunder. This expedition, like many others that preceded it, was one requiring great courage and endurance. Marching from thirty to forty miles and skirmishing most of each day, lying down on the ground at night and rising in the morning to repeat the labor of previous day, was a work to be endured only by veterans like those of the Eighth Illinois Cavalry." Presumably the new recruits managed to keep up with their veteran comrades.
For some time the regiment had been divided by separate detachments, but it was now about to be scattered to an even greater distance - stretching from Muddy Branch on the Potomac north of Washington to Port Tobacco far south of the city, and embracing an expanse of some sixty to seventy miles. "September 8th, part of the regiment was sent down the Potomac, on the Maryland side, to the vicinity of Port Tobacco to look after and arrest blockade runners, which duty though arduous and sometimes perilous served to amuse the men, and was very different work from that of facing and fighting the rebels, which they were always prepared to do." Charles Prescott was included in the detachment sent to Port Tobacco.
By October the scattered detachments of the 8th Illinois Cavalry were consolidated somewhat in Loudon County, Virginia, and engaged in scouting against Mosby and his guerillas. On November 24, 1864 the regiment was sent to Fairfax Court House as part of a new brigade whose "duty was to guard the line extending from Prospect Hill on the Potomac River to Burkes' Station on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, a distance of twenty miles, and to scout and forage the country in our front to the Rappahannock River."
The coming of snow and cold weather sent the men into winter quarters. "The winter was spent in a very agreeable manner for soldiers. The finest houses in Fairfax were used as headquarters; the men built excellent huts for their protection and barracks were erected for the horses. When building their huts some of the soldiers asked for permission of General Gamble to take bricks from an elegant mansion, the 'Love House,' to construct their chimneys. The General gave permission to take none but loose bricks. In forty-eight hours that fine building was a heap of ruins. When questioned as to exceeding their permit the soldiers replied that they brought away 'none but loose bricks.' A fine church building was in like manner made to contribute to the comfort of the men."
"January, 1865, found the regiment performing the ordinary duties of winter life in the field and at the headquarters both of the brigade and the regiment. Frequent parties and social gatherings enlivened and relieved the monotony of camp life. A grand New Year's ball was given at the brigade headquarters, where a number of guests from Washington and no small number of Virginia ladies were present." Otherwise, for the enlisted men anyway, the new year of 1865 opened much like the latter part of 1864, with frequent scouts and skirmishes with confederate guerillas.
News of the fall of Petersburg and Richmond created great excitement and wild enthusiasm within the camp of the 8th Illinois Cavalry. The surrender of Robert E. Lee a week later was even more happily received. The mood changed drastically upon receipt of the tragic news of the President's assassination at Ford's Theater by the actor John Wilkes Booth on the evening of April 14.
"The Eighth were at once sent down the Maryland side of the Potomac, in the vicinity of Port Tobacco, which country they thoroughly searched, leaving no nook or corner in which the assassin could be secreted. The well known rebel sentiment of this part of Maryland made the duty extremely arduous, for no information would the citizens give which they could possibly withhold. Booth, however, had succeeded in crossing the river into Virginia, and was finally captured by other cavalry."
Following their unsuccessful search for Booth, the regiment returned to their camp at Fairfax. News of the surrender of the rebel army under Joseph Johnston in North Carolina arrived in camp on April 29. This virtually put an end to the rebellion. "Following this event, rebel soldiers came by scores to our headquarters to be paroled, as the same terms were granted them as were given the soldiers of Lee and Johnston."
When, on June 16, 1865, the regiment was ordered to proceed to St. Louis, Missouri, "arrangements were rapidly made, and on the 19th the Eighth Illinois bid farewell to Fairfax and Virginia. We marched to Washington and took the Baltimore and Ohio railroad to Parkersburg, West Virginia. At that place we were taken on board of steamboats. On arriving at Cincinnati, Ohio, Companies I and M were transferred to the railroad and went to St. Louis by cars...Companies I and M reached East St. Louis June 25th, and Companies B and E June 27 and that afternoon crossed the river and went in Benton Barracks...The majority of the regiment came in by boats by way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers."
"July 1st orders were received to proceed to fort Riley, Kansas, which gave great dissatisfaction. The men claimed they re-enlisted for three years or during the war; that now the war was over and having fulfilled their part of the contract they should be mustered out. A petition embodying these views was signed by all the officers present belonging to the regiment, and sent to General Pleasanton, chief of cavalry in Missouri. The General telegraphed the substance of the petition to Washington with a hearty indorsement; and on the 4th of July an order was received to turn over all government property and be mustered out. When the order was read to the men such a shout as went up from them had not been heard since their victories over the rebel cavalry in Virginia."
The next two weeks were spent in turning over government property and in preparing the muster rolls. Muster out was completed on July 17 at Benton Barracks in St. Louis and on the 18th the regiment started for Chicago. Those that did not live in Chicago went out to Camp Douglas where final payment and discharge was completed by July 21.
Charles Prescott, only 16 years old at the time he mustered out, was now a veteran with a year and a half of service in the army. At discharge, he chose to retain his government issued arms and accordingly had $21 of his pay withheld in order to pay for his carbine, revolver and saber. He retuned home to his mother for a while and took work as a laborer. By 1880 he had moved out on his own, boarding with a family in Fairmont, Nebraska, and working as a carpenter. In 1881 he married a woman named Anna, who also hailed from Illinois. The two of them would eventually have four children; three sons and a daughter: Wade in 1883, Bertie in 1885, Charles C. in 1889, and Ethel in 1894.
Charles continued working as a house carpenter and eventually bought his own home in Fairmont. By 1920 he had retired and his grown sons had moved out, although Ethel, his 25-year-old unmarried daughter, was still living at home and working as a telephone operator. Charles Prescott, the one-time boy veteran, died sometime around October 1927.
[All quotes taken from "History of the Eighth Cavalry Regiment Illinois Volunteers" by Abner Hard, M.D., surgeon of the regiment, published 1868.]
The secondary peak of Mt. Smolikas is composed of ophiolitic rock, giving a dark complexion unlike any other Greek mountain
Natural freckled complexion without face make up. Just a little mascara and brow pencil left after another shiny three mile walk. Girl Powered! 🏃♀️💜☮️
I'll be watching you~
.......................................
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Shall I compare thee to a summers day
by William Shakespeare
Empress Xyndera (Born 705AV) is the daughter of a famous scholar from a noble house who studied at the library of Cassandria. She was a phenom at birth, being that she was the first woman born with the characteristic complexion of someone with pure Vieroccan blood in five generations. This is due to the highly recessive nature of the Vieroccan gene in women. She was worshipped from birth in the temples on Cassandria and she remained on the island for her entire early life.
When she was 17, her existence was reported to the then High Chief Talorajhi, but when he attempted to make her one of his many wives, his son Oberajhi challenged him to a duel and killed him. Oberajhi then courted Xyndera for a year before they married in 723AV. It was in the 720's that Oberajhi sought to advance his Kingdom into an empire, and there was no more perfect wife to help him complete this task. She is the most intelligent and educated woman on the planet, a true natural genius. She is fluent in a dozen languages and is well versed in political theory and the history of warfare and battle tactics and technology. Their marriage brought incredible stability and legitimacy to Oberajhi's rule and the birth of their son convinced his parents that it was their destiny to rule the known world.
Their son, Aybel (Born 724AV), was the first child of two pure blood Vieroccan's in over 500 years and his white hair is attributed to his miraculous birth, which fulfilled an old prophecy. Vieroccans famously have very poor fertility, which explains their race's decline in number since the end of their inter-marriages with the Vieran. Most Vieroccan men take many wives, hoping to have at least one son, because sons of Vieroccan's always share their characteristic complexion, but almost always, their daughters look like the mother. Since Aybel's birth, Xyndera has had three failed pregnancies and her physician advised her to not attempt a fourth. Aybel is a very kind and bright young man. He is well learned and a capable swordsman and hunter. He shares his parents ambition and desire for justice and peace, and like his parents, he believes peace will only come when the world is united under the Scorpion banner of house Nhazdaq.
King Davian has been cautioned that the Emperor of Attenor is not to be underestimated, because he is advised by the greatest mind in Esterdame and is highly motivated to see his son rule the world.
It is time to give these girls some attention and some fresh photos. This is probably the best TNT in my collection. She has a beautiful complexion and is wearing her original hair ribbon. This dress is one that I made awhile ago and remains a favorite.
My nickname for Scarlett is Strawberry Shortcake cause of her red hair and creamy complexion. She's wearing Vanilla Sweet (thanks Jess!) thus the title 'Strawberry & Vanilla'. ;)
Outside the front door. A sky of darkness hides a view of infinite beauty. The stars would have changed the complexion of imagination.
I say the fiercest doll from the NU.Face Heirloom Collection is Vanity & Glamour Nadja Rhymes. Nadja has definitely become one of my sought-after characters when she made a comeback in 2015 with a new face sculpt and every single version have been an absolute perfection. When I think of Nadja though I only think of her in the darkest skin tones like Dark A-Tone and Nubian because that’s how she was introduced. The dark complexion is kind of her trademark. That’s what she’s known for and those are what I consider her default skin tones but as Jessy shook things up a bit for Nadja in 2017 the flood gates are open for her. She can definitely pull off skin tones from the lightest to darkest. For the first time ever she is in the A-Tone skin tone which we’ve only seen used for Jordan Duval for Fashion Royalty and has been the main skin tone for The Dynamite Girls’ African-American characters such as Remi and Reese. I’m thankful that she does not have the skin tone mismatch issue that Coquette Jordan Duval had.
With Nadja I’m always looking forward to her next look and with Vanity & Glamour the purple lip in combination with this silver hair color is truly unexpected. I would have never pictured her in this look. This is a very good example of a hairline that is well rooted comparing it to the Jason Wu 10th Anniversary dolls that were kind of rooted sloppily. Due to the fact that these dolls are handmade and that slight differences with each copy are inescapable I appreciate that they paid attention to getting the hairline close to perfect. In this high ponytail hairstyle with the hairline exposed it is imperative that the hair is rooted with precision. Details, details, details. It’s all about the details honey!
Nadja, along with Erin, has one of the best face designs in the Heirloom Collection in my opinion. While I dream of this Talking Drama Adele inspired face design on Dominique (being that she’s Adele’s cousin) I can’t deny the fact that this is perfect on Nadja. I do have to point out that the irises seem unbalanced on some copies of Vanity & Glamour possibly due to the dark outline. I usually prefer it to be a lighter color because in the instance that the paint application on the irises are uneven it’s not so obvious. Another thing that I noticed is that some copies of Vanity & Glamour (like the one in the picture) have dark eyeshadows. I prefer it to be a shade lighter like in one copy that I got so the bottom lashes are more prominent and it doesn’t feel so severe. Even the eyeshadow on the prototype used for the promotional shots were almost faint to the point that it looked like it was left blank or unpainted.
With their return in the Fashion Royalty brand, the Close-Up dolls of today are not as basic as they were from a few years back. The new Close-Up dolls come with a few extra accessories and in Vanity & Glamour’s case she comes with a jewelry set, a black petal embellished shrug, a handheld mirror and a pair of shoes thus the not-so-basic price tag. While Nadja has been criticized for being racy as she once again dons a skimpy outfit there’s no denying that she’s still the best even as a Close-Up doll. I think she is the perfect example of a lingerie doll with an edge. While there’s usually a vintage pin-up inspiration on lingerie dolls I love that she is a combination of both modern and vintage glamour which is rare for Fashion Royalty. She does remind me of the dolls from Fashion Royalty’s Mineral Matters Collection in 2008 which I’m hoping that Integrity Toys would come up with a Close-Up collection either for FR or NU.Face paying homage to those iconic dolls like MetalMaven Vanessa and GoldStroke Adele. I would love to see Jessy Ayala’s take on that.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_Bagh
Muslim Bagh is a town of Qilla Saifullah District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. According to Census of 1998, the population of Muslim Bagh is 70,361 (Male 37,303 and Female 33,058) and 10,188 household. Muslim Bagh (formerly called Hindu Bagh) is believed to be named after a garden planted by a Hindu saint and Later it was named as "Muslim Bagh" by former minister of that time "MOLVI SALEH MUHAMMAD MARDANZAI".
In some winters, Kan Mehtarzai and Muslim Bagh experience several feet of snow, though normal temperature is about 19-50 °F.
Various tribes of Kakar Pashtoon inhabit the Valley, in kakar tribes the most famous tribes Mardanzai,Sargarhai, Samkhail, sultan zai, Baigzai. Medium statured and well built these handsome people are mostly wheat complexioned but some of them are really fair and have blue eyes. Though in touch with the outside world for a long time they have retained their age-old traditions and are proud of them. Their hospitality is well known and the coming of a guest is always considered a blessing. There are seven Union council of Muslim Bagh.
Railways
This section of railways, when laid during the British Raj, was called the Zhob Valley Railway (ZVR). It has been out of service since 1986 but these days all the left over track is being uprooted and sold as scrap. This was once longest Narrow-Gauge Railways of the subcontinent. During First World War, a Railway line was laid from a place called Khanai (30 km north of Quetta) to a place called Hindubagh (renamed as Muslimbagh in 1960s). Hindubagh had Chrome mines, which was used in munitions of First World War. The railway line at that time was a private siding for the Balochistan Chrome Ore Company. The work started on Khanai-Hindubagh line in 1916 and was opened for rail traffic in 1921. In 1927, the Hindubagh to Qila Saifullah section was opened and finally the section up to Zhob was opened in 1929. The total length of this railway from Bostan to Zhob was 294 km, which made it the longest narrow gauge railway of the subcontinent in 1920s. It had 11 stations in between including the famous Kan Mehtarzai station which was the highest station in Pakistan at an altitude of 2224 metres (7295 feet).
For a long part of its journey, the railway followed the Zhob River and thus it was called the Zhob Valley Railway (ZVR).
Chromite
Chromite is the source of chromium used commercially and as an alloying element plays an important role in metallurgy. Balochistan is endowed with huge reserves of chromite. The first discovery was made at Muslim Bagh and Khanozai in district Kila Saifullah in 1901. Muslim Bagh deposits were first discovered by Vredenburg during the same period in the course of regional reconnaissance mapping of the province. Chromite mining has not been systematic but random and totally disorganised. It is mined by both open pit and underground methods. In Muslimbagh, Ras Koh Range and Wad areas, chromite is mostly mined by open pit method. However, due to podiform nature of the chromite, underground mining is also done. Use of donkeys for hauling the ore from underground is still in practice. The haulage machinery is also used. Presently, 300 to 500 tons of chromite are being produced at Muslim Bagh and Khanozai daily. It is taken in trucks to Karachi where it is crushed and packed in bags for export to foreign countries. The mineral is being sold between Rs30,000 to Rs45,000 in the local market. Price depends on chrome content. China is a big market for the Balochistan chromite. Production activity in the sector directly depends upon the export market. The Provincial Inspectorate of Mines is responsible for regulating the mining operations. Presently, a few local companies are engaged at Muslim Bagh. The sources added that during 1970s, Pakistan Chrom Mines (PCM) project was launched in Muslim Bagh area which was closed in 1989 due to financial constraints and lack of locally available technical staff. The land for mining is allotted under the Mines Act 1923 by the Directorate of Minerals, Balochistan. The provincial government levies 10 per cent sales tax. The export earnings from chromite during the period 1997-98 to 2001-02 have varied between Rs167 million to Rs404 million.
Archeology
The district has some archaeological sites mainly attributed to the Mughals. The ruins of an old fort called Mughalo Killa or "the fort of the Mughals" were found to the west of the Karezgai village, about 3¼ kilometres from Muslim Bagh, below which there is a spring of water which was reopened about 125 years ago. Fragments of ancient pottery were found in these ruins and it is said that old silver and copper coins were also found. The ruins of a fort called Khanki lie near Shina Khura about 25 kilometres east of Muslim Bagh. Local tradition asserts that the fort was held by Miro, a Mughal governor, who was miraculously overthrown by Sanzar Nika, the progenitor of the Sanzarkhel Kakars. There are also ruins of an old fort called the Mughalo Brunj in Murgha Faqirzai. Similar ruins occur near Toiwar, Sharan, Ismailzai and on the Zhar hill near Akhtarzai. There also exist ancient karezes, said to have been made in Mughal times, which may be considered as relics of archaeological interest. These include Karez Akhtarzai, Karez Soghai and Mustafa Karez in Killa Saifullah sub-division and 2 karezes in Sra Khulla, about 6½ kilometres from Muslim Bagh.
It is located at 30°49'31N 67°44'25E with an altitude of 1787 metres.
© 2015 Lyn Randle.
Please DO NOT USE, sell, copy, share or download this image.
It is illegal to use someone else's images without their permission. My work is NOT for free.
The only thing is that Chloe's glowing complexion makes me look a bit too much the pale English Rose.
It's perfect! Pot belly? Check. Loin cloth? Check. Fixed expression of fear of the outside world? Check. Weird blue complexion? Check.
It's just missing the shoulder hair...
I finally released this doll from her box. I had to put her on a Cream complexion body though. I am finally happy with her eyes. Yesterday, I purchased a Fresh doll for those pink camo pants - had to use a pin to hold them up! The blouse/vest is from Clear Lan.
So I took two spins around the yard while still wearing today's make up, including a complexion covered in bare minerals foundation....then I just Stopped....not pretty! Also I should have put my hair up in a clip, but really I liked it down with the earrings. Yes, it's my real hair, it's just very thin on top. Such a slave to vanity and crazy girly logic ;0)
Based upon these new challenges, maybe I should just offer someone a nice meal and conversation in exchange for yard service?! CRAY CRAY GIRL!!!
one more letter after "HA" would have given a clue to seasoned travellers about the country where this was shot (which I normally keep hidden) ;-)
yet savvy travellers could still get a clue from the complexion of the lanky packer ...
I did not enter this room under my own power.
I pull myself together, quite literally, off of the cold, sterile floor. The environment is sans sound, not even white noise. My surroundings, as revealed by scant luminescence in the ceiling, consist of four walls, three padded, one a window into a darkened room beyond. A closer look reveals various erect objects therein, looming so indistinctly in the shadows, one cannot discern if they are machinery, mannequins, or otherwise.
I no longer have the need to fall into deep slumber. SOMEthing has willed me into a dormant state and delivered me to this unfamiliar setting.
Two strangers, a burlesque rabbit and a clown with a surly complexion, seem to be joining me in this most precipitate relocation. Both are asleep as I was moments ago. The pervasive aura of nonsensicality about me, in the disjointed things and circumstances that are my company, exert what I must describe as the notion that I have been thrown into an abominable…
Wonderland.
If this IS indeed his production, Tetch is playing for a most unamused audience. I disperse my form up into the walls and corners, probing for the most minute crevice in which to escape through, to no avail. I return my attention to my fellow inmates. Strangely, the woman, March Harriet, was in league with Tetch when last I looked. The explanation as to why she was now a prisoner alluded me. And this thuggish clown is of no concern at all. I suppose there is no reasonable cause for killing them just yet. Dammit all.
Two more half-hearted inspections of my cell later, they have begun to stir. I know not if they are aware of their captor, as I am. As such, appearing before them as the Mad Hatter would be a gamble. Furthermore, as Clayface, they may be intimidated beyond giving me any clues to our situation. It would be wise to meet them on common grounds, as hired muscle myself. A Penguin goon will suffice.
The clown groggily rolls onto his back, grunts in realization, and leaps up to face me. Harriet remains seated on the floor, rubbing her eyes and already looking suspiciously bored… impassive?.. with the circumstances. As though she had foreseen all this. I shall question her first.
Clown: I’ll bust yer lip if you steps nears me, yah hear?
“Penguin Goon” (nasally): Relax guys, we’re in the same boat here. I already checked our escape routes, and it don’t look too peachy. Either of you kno-
Harriet (fuming): Hatter. For all his intellect, he’d agree to rob a street musician if the invitation was written in rhyme. WHY did I stick around with that WORM?
“Penguin Goon”: … Your BOSS caged us up? You’re saying he was roped into doing’ this by another crime boss?
Right then, a voice as appealing as an un-oiled door hinge crackles over the intercom.
Crane: A humble doctor is all I profess to be. Contradictorily to others in my field, however, FEARLESS in the realm of discovery.
One of the shapes opposite our side of the glass shifts, now evidently the Scarecrow: Hands clasped at his back, and beady eyes flitting between our trio, as he closes some distance between us with painfully deliberate strides.
Clown (backpedaling from his aggression): Hey, uh, Mr. Crow, I don’t think you really wanna have me in this box here. Y’see, my boss already has it out for you, an’ me? Well, I don’t like to brag, but I’m somethin’ of his right-hand man! “Chortle”, they call me. He won’t like this too good; not one bit.
I keep my composure with great effort. Knowing full-well of Chortle’s employer, and my hand in creating him, I cannot help but ponder if Crane has placed this cruel reminder of my handiwork here intentionally. He had indeed been there the night I awakened the Joker. As if on cue…
Crane (fixating solely on me now, his rasp sounding like wet grime trickling out of a rain gutter): For shame, Karlo, fooling the lower class criminals like this. Didn’t you KNOW your captors would spoil your fun soon enough?
Myself (whipping into the bloated and towering identity I assume when feeling uninspired): It would seem I’ve been made.
Chortle trips backward, his blue hair standing even more so on end. Harriet runs up to the glass and begins pounding at it.
Harriet: I know you’re out there, Hatter! You hear me? Let me out this instant! Do you know what this freak can DO to me?!
Chortle: To US???
Another shadow moves. Tetch whimsically glides into view, that half-sadistic, half-feather-brained look plastered on his freckled face. He makes a sweeping bow to our cell and readjusts his headwear.
Tetch (speaking through his teeth, in a singsongy manner): No sense in fretting, my dear. Dr. Crane has assured me this final procedure will perFECT our master plan once and for alllll!
Harriet: You’ll never find hired help again after this! I’m the best gun that your pathetic gang ever had!
Tetch (still waltzing about): Ah, but there will be no need for super-villainy in Gotham in a few short hours, no no… This is to be The Batman’s last hurrah!
Myself: Surely you cannot keep us in suspense, Crane. You do so enjoy… you must pardon my verbiage… to CROW.
He shuffles over to a control panel.
Crane: Do you want to hear a flaw of yours, Karlo? You see only cinematic solutions to problems. You deceive and thwart and trick, but you always so desperately need the scene to be genuine. You couldn’t accomplish anything if you didn’t receive raw emotion back for your efforts. Perhaps you’ve given up on killing The Batman for that very reason. The stone-cold vigilante that never appreciated your commitment.
As Crane and Tetch continue to adjust knobs and dials on their equipment, Chortle and Harriet fruitlessly search our limited space for a means of departure.
Chortle (to her): You’ve worked with the guy! You’re telling me you don’t know how to get people in and out of this box??
Harriet: I just deliver the goods! You think I’m into this psycho-crap? I’m just paying grocery bills here!
Crane (ignoring the babble): It was this study of your character, Karlo, that sparked my latest master plan. My GREATEST plan. You see, though I have developed variations to my toxins over the years, they’ve always brought about the fears festering deep inside my victims. They were REAL fears, Karlo, just like those you instill.
He approaches the glass barrier once again.
Crane (a brusqueness in his croak): Here’s whats going to happen. You three will be subjected to my most potent gas, as Hatter takes control of your minds. As a general rule of trial and error, the physiologies of a man, woman, and metahuman will do nicely to provide us with any inconsistencies in results. With luck, you will all be the final casualties of our tests to end The Dark Knight’s reign, as we engineer NEW fears for you to experience. WithOUT luck… well, you will all be much too dead to disapprove.
Chortle: An’ here I was thinking MY boss wasn’t funny!
Crane was not his usual self. Normally, he may have carried a creeping smile upon his stitches as he outlined his schemes, yet something was amiss on this occasion. His voice lacked smugness; his confidence seemed to have evolved beyond simple gloating. Now, a sense of unchecked purpose and drive was woven into his words. He believes unequivocally this to be his very last plot.
Myself: And IF you successfully implant phony terror within us, what then, Crane? We both know The Batman WILL have a way to evade the same fate.
Tetch: We will not beeeee targeting the big bad Bat this go-around, no siree! I’ve been busy as a beaver creating a new line of teeny-tiny mind control devices, that blend beautifully with Dr. Crane’s concoctions. Like pollen drifting from lovely flowers, they will float into every nostril and ear canal in Gotham…
Crane: And then we allow this cesspool of a city to experience the one fear it’s sorely needed; the fear of Batman himself. We will drag his symbol, his legacy, into the muck, and he will live to see thousands die, screaming in horror at the image he’s fought so hard to keep pure.
He throws a final lever, and the whirring and buzzing of electronics behind the walls commences.
Crane: This is a noble cause. You understand, of course.
Chortle: Okay, okay, look, I’m not really one of the Joker’s finest! My name’s Nate, Nathan Cachin! I just signed up a month ago, an’ I got a gal back in Blüdhaven! Listen, I know some corrupt cops in GCPD that’d let you take some death row inmates off their hands for your science project here. Great stuff here, by the way, I rea-
A haze begins to occupy the room. I realize now that the out layer of the walls themselves are Tetch’s microscopic devices, each housing a portion of Crane’s gas. They anticipated I could have escaped via ventilation, they had pumped it in from elsewhere.
Chortle (perspiring profusely): Um… UH… Deep breaths, guys!
Harriet (drawing an obscured knife from her outfit, striving to puncture the glass with it): You idiot, it *stab* gets into your system just *stab* by skin contact! He gave us a damn *stab* POWERPOINT!
It is time I resort to less than flashy means of elusion. I dehydrate the clay in my fists, and subsequently begin to pound the window along with Harriet.
Tetch (linking his modified hat to the instruments that are invading our bodies): Such unruly children! You’ll go to bed as instructed!
Harriet suddenly sinks to her knees, then flat on her stomach. Rapid glances over her shoulders up at the ceiling result in her howling into the floor, her face turning red as saliva flows freely from her mouth.
Harriet: DON’T LET ME FALL! OH GOD, THERE’S NOTHING BETWEEN ME AND IT! NOTHING BETWEEN..
Crane: Oh dear. It appears you’ve willed incurable casadastraphobia into your old colleague, Tetch. Given the severity of this dosage, she is convinced she will plunge into the sky at any moment. Momentarily, she will try with all her might to burrow into the ground. What do you think the cause of death will be? Heart failure? Concussion?
Harriet’s knuckles snap and an even brighter hue of crimson engulfs her forehead as she slams her limbs and body into the tile.
Harriet: GET ME AWAY FRO-
A snap like celery rings out, and her thrashing halts.
Crane (terse): And the next, Tetch?
Tetch: I’m getting another signal. The clown drank up his toxins like warm milk; Time for dreamland!
Chortle: This is not cool! I want to see your degrees, both of yous!
Chortle seizes up. His gaze slowly tilts down himself, his eyes bulging as it reaches his legs. Ungodly shrieking ensues. He topples into the wall, seemingly fumbling for an item in his coat pockets and kicking his legs out as though he had stepped in an anthill.
Crane: Stop PLAYING, Tetch.
Tetch: But the INfinite possibilities! … Very well. One order of “Batmanophobia”, coming up!
Chortle grasps his kneecaps, fingertips digging deep into his skin through his trousers. Amidst the blood-curdling hollering, two wet pops, and he at once sinks back, prominent vacancies where the joints had been.
Crane: Genuphobia. Almost laughable.
I am next. Little more progress than a hairline rift has come from Harriet’s and my aggression. I feel a tingle as Tetch starts to invade my mind. Before he can establish contact, I strangle the consciousness that is about to be overtaken. It bursts like a cyst, gone in the blink of an eye. The agony is incomparable to any other I have felt.
Tetch (stamping his foot): No fair! He went down the rabbit hole!
Crane: … Oh. Now that IS very interesting. You severed the persona that Hatter took hold of. But you’re still here with us, aren’t you? We can keep at this until we finally get the REAL you in there. With so many characters embedded in you, you won’t run dry any time soon. You’re a renewable resource, Karlo. Fancy that.
I resume feebly pummeling the glass, as Tetch reels in more of my personalities. One after the other, before he can inject them with Crane’s desired phobia, I extinguish them, losing myself in excruciating fragments. I won’t outlast this. They will breach my defenses in no time whatsoever.
As all life seems to dim about me, I hear a muffled shattering. My glazed eyes observe a pair of lime green and orange boots crack Tetch right in the cheek, leading him to somersault over the control console and land on his face. His assailant… Walker. Humming his own rendition of the Superman cartoon’s theme.
Walker: Daaah dadadadaaah, bum bum bummm. Daaah dadadadaaah… KILL-er Mottthhh!
Crane: YOU.
He leaps at Killer Moth with hypodermic needles clutched in his glove. Walker retaliates by drawing his cocoon gun. One shot sticks Crane’s hand to his machinery, another grazing his temple and twisting his mask sideways. Crane roars as his free hand also clings to the substance when he goes to remove the disguise.
Walker: Heads up Bas!
He chucks a detonator at my prison. I am too weak to avoid the blast, as it demolishes the glass and splatters most of myself all about. Walker leaps in, and begins shoveling my matter back into a cohesive pile with his helmet.
Walker: Don’t sweat it pal, Killer Moth has never let down loyal customers. Your Moth Signal will function for 5 years without fail, or your money back!
Myself (woozy and fighting to expel Tetch’s remaining gadgets from my essence): I am indebted to your punctual rescue, however, I… purchased no alert beacon from you.
Walker (face drooping): You didn’t? I got a signal from…
I clamber over to Chortle, and extract a small implement from his pocket, sopping with blood.
Myself (tossing it to its manufacturer): Your devotee, it would seem.
Walker: Well, that’s… not going on my brochure. It’s already hard enough to market protection to all these hoodlums. My prices are equitable! You would THINK it’d be a piece of cake, selling extra help to such a cowardly and superstitious lot…
Myself: Is that a paraphrase?
Walker: Might’ve been Robert Louis Stevenson.
He calls over his shoulder to Crane.
Walker (chipper): Nothing personal, Scarecrow, but you can’t go around kidnapping my investors.
Slightly more corporeal, I limp towards Crane, who is still furiously pulling at the adhesive. I lean down to his level. The speech pattern I am able to manage is a hoarse gurgle.
Myself: The Batman’s wings will be clipped one day, Crane… But not by means of this fraudulent ploy. Gotham’s children should suffer only their sincerest fears…
I hold a clawed hand close to Crane’s face.
Myself: You concur, of course.
He nods, a mixture of loathing and trepidation swirling in his eyes.
Walker: You were going to off Batman without ME? Never mind, Crane, DO take this personally.
One more shot from Walker’s launcher conks Crane’s head back into the desk, putting him out like the light. With that, I start off for the exit. I can sense the gaping cavity where so many voices within me once resided. Hardly any of them linger.
Walker (catching up behind me): Hey, Bas! Take this, on the house. It’s still active.
I accept the blemished Moth Signal.
Myself (in a voice I do not recognize): … Couldn’t hurt.
***
} I am delighted to announce that this Killer Moth dialogue has been approved by the man himself. {
A young boy with the most fascinating eyelashes I think I've ever seen. Taken at a daycare centre I was invited into in Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia
Hermine ~ outfit of the day
- ttya jumper
- canon belle sweater
- rement purse
- somedoll scarf
- leather slouchy boots
- socks
WEATHER REPORT
A small gray cloud
Forms above South Mountain -
An evaporated revelation
Of condensed seeing.
The morning sun
Blushes the puff’s complexion
All hues and hints
Of pinky orange.
By early evening,
Shadows and shapes shift
The cumulous memory
Of forgetfulness.
As the day fades
Its dispositions and devotions,
Dew shrouds the dust of years,
Blinks back the flush,
And rains.
Italian postcard by Rotalfoto, no. 923. Sent by mail in 1963.
American singer and actor Fabian Forte (1943) a.k.a. Fabian is a former teen idol from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s who entertained audiences with his music, performances, and films. Eleven of his songs reached the Billboard Hot 100. 20th Century Fox had enjoyed success casting pop stars in films, such as Elvis Presley, and decided to do the same thing with Fabian. Until 1999, he starred in dozens of feature films, television movies, and series.
Fabiano Anthony Forte, stage name Fabian, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1943. He was the son of Josephine and Dominic Forte; his father was a Philadelphia police officer. Fabian was discovered in 1957 by Bob Marcucci and Peter DeAngelis, the owners of Chancellor Records. At the time, record producers were looking to the South Philadelphia neighborhoods in search of teenage talents with good looks. Frankie Avalon, also from South Philadelphia, tipped them off about Fabian. At 15, he won second prize as "The Promising Male Vocalist of 1958". His first local hit was Lilli Lou in 1958. This helped Fabian meet Dick Clark, who agreed to try Fabian at one of Clark's record hops, where singers would perform to teenage audiences. Fabian lip-synched to a song and Clark wrote "the little girls at the hop went wild. They started screaming and yelling for this guy who didn't do a thing but stand there. I've never seen anything like it." Clark told Marcucci "you got a hit, he's a star. Now all you have to do is teach him to sing." Clark eventually put the young singer on American Bandstand where he sang 'I'm in Love'. From then he had a series of successes in a short time with songs by composers Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, such as 'I'm a Man' (1958), 'Hound Dog Man' (1959), 'Turn Me Loose' (1959) and his biggest hit 'Tiger' (1959), which reached number 3 on the Billboard charts. A few years later, he already had a dozen hits, eight albums, and three gold records to his name. His singing career more or less came to an end at the age of eighteen when he bought out his contract with Marcucci. It happened in the wake of the Payola scandal between 1959 and 1962. Forte testified before Congress that his recordings had been doctored electronically to "significantly improve his voice. Nik Cohn later wrote that the record people had produced "a computer product" with Fabian: "He brought the basic requirements with him - an olive complexion, duck-tail hairdo and assembly-line face [...] They had him dressed up, had him learn how to talk real nice, had his voice trained. They made him really round and flawless like a billiard ball. There was only one catch: he couldn't sing ..."
Fabian signed a deal with 20th Century Fox. The studio had enjoyed success casting teen idol pop stars in films, such as Elvis Presley and Pat Boone. They decided to do the same thing with Fabian. He played his first role in the film drama Hound-Dog Man (Don Sigel, 1959), with Stuart Whitman and Carol Lynley. The film was not a success, but the title song, sung by Fabian, became a hit in 1959. The studio, however, tried again in two smaller roles, supporting a bigger star – the comedy High Time (Blake Edwards, 1959), with Bing Crosby, and the Western North to Alaska (Henry Hathaway, 1959), with John Wayne. Both films were popular especially the latter and in November 1960 his contract with the studio was amended with an increase in salary – it was now a seven-year deal with an option for two films a year. Controversial was his role as a psychopathic killer in the episode A Lion Walks Among Us (Robert Altman, 1961) of the TV programme Bus Stop. The episode was extremely violent, leading other parties to refuse to broadcast it, and the programme was even discussed in the US Senate. However, the series was good for Fabian's acting career and saw him regarded with more respect. He later said this was his best performance. Fabian appeared in Five Weeks in a Balloon (Irwin Allen, 1962) with Red Buttons and Barbara Eden. The film was loosely based on the 1863 novel of the same name by Jules Verne. He also played a suitor to James Stewart's daughter in the hit comedy Mr. Hobbs Takes a Holiday (Henry Koster, 1962) and a soldier in the star-studded war film The Longest Day (Andrew Marton, a.o., 1962).
Fabian had not become a film star but was in demand as an actor, appearing in episodes of series like The Virginian, Wagon Train, The Greatest Show on Earth, and The Eleventh Hour. In November 1965, he was contracted by American International Pictures. His first film for the company was alongside Beach Party stars Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello in the stock car racing film Fireball 500 (William Asher, 1966). AIP then sent him to Italy to play a role originally intended for Avalon in Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (Mario Bava, 1966), supporting Vincent Price. Back in the United States, he made another stock car racing film for AIP, Thunder Alley (Richard Rush, 1967), opposite Funicello. His fourth movie for AIP was Maryjane (Maury Dexter, 1968), where Fabian played a school teacher fighting the evils of the marijuana trade. He returned to racing car dramas with The Wild Racers (Daniel Haller, 1968), partly financed by Roger Corman and shot in Europe. This was not a big hit on release but has developed a cult following. In his seventh and last film for AIP, A Bullet for Pretty Boy ( Larry Buchanan, 1970), he played gangster Charles Arthur Floyd opposite Jocelyn (Jackie) Lane. To raise his profile, he posed nude for Playgirl magazine. In 1973, he picked up singing again, only to quit temporarily in 1977 and return in 1981. He performed in the context of numerous revival shows, for example as a trio with Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell. However, he would not reach the popularity of his teenage years. Fabian has been married three times. His first marriage was to model Kathleen Regan in 1966. They had two children together, Christian and Julie, but divorced in 1979. He married Kate Netter in 1980; they divorced in 1990. In 1998 he married American beauty queen Andrea Patrick. In 2002, Fabian received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch and German) and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.