Some structures have overwhelming compositional opinions of their own, like these repeating arches at Fort Point, San Francisco.

 

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“I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it.”~ Rosalia de Castro

 

(better if you click on the photo and view it on black.)

Stardate 56,872

Timecode 3:53

Operator: 871

 

Transcript excerpt follows:

 

Command, this is patrol unit 37 in orbit of the Moon of the planet called Earth. Confirming deployment of an SSRV to locate and assess the source of the reported distress call. I will provide status updates as they are available. Over.

...

Command, this is unit 37. Surface operators have found the source of the distress signal. Operator 542 reports that the subject is a male earth feline, orange in color, that identifies itself as 'Comrade Fluffy' Surface operators have secured the subject and report that he is doing well and asking for tuna.

 

We're bringing Fluffy home! Over.

 

 

***

 

Well, All's Well that Ends Well, right?

 

Febrovery 2016 whew!

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I have a month's worth of sleep to catch up on :)

 

Thanks to those who faved and commented, or even just stopped by for a peek! And welcome aboard to the 50+ new followers added this month. I hope I can continue to post things that you find interesting!

 

Did you like the Saga of Comrade Fluffy? Should I do more like it?

   

 

Art has long been controversial, that is to say disliked by some viewers, for a wide variety of reasons.

Disputes as to whether or not to classify something as a work of art are referred to as classificatory disputes about art.

Making judgments of value requires a basis for criticism. At the simplest level, a way to determine whether the impact of the object on the senses meets the criteria to be considered art is whether it is perceived to be attractive or repulsive.

Though perception is always coloured by experience, and is necessarily subjective, it is commonly understood that what is not somehow aesthetically satisfying cannot be art.

However, "good" art is not always or even regularly aesthetically appealing to a majority of viewers. In other words, an artist's prime motivation need not be the pursuit of the aesthetic.

Also, art often depicts terrible images made for social, moral, or thought-provoking reasons.

My conclusion? I, at last, know what I like and what I do NOT like… I think I enjoyed the architecture more than most of the paintings, LOL, great for some more creative photography, yes a complete break from the ‘usual’.

Willem Vermandere at the Roger Raveel museum. Roger Raveel was a Belgian painter whose work is often associated with pop art because of its depiction of everyday objects.

Thanks, M, (*_*)

For more of my other work or if you want to PURCHASE, visit here: www.indigo2photography.co.uk

IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN (BY LAW!!!) TO USE ANY OF MY image or TEXT on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

  

First buys Ensignbus….again….

 

FirstGroup has reached agreement to purchase Purfleet-based Ensignbus from the Newman family in a surprise deal. When completed, it will include the local bus and contract service operation and 55 vehicles along with the resale and refurbishment business, but not the heritage coach and bus fleet.

 

Conclusion of the purchase is expected “over the next few months.” It will significantly expand First Bus’s current presence in the south Essex market. Ensignbus also runs a B2B segment that includes rail replacement services and private contracts.

 

In a statement, FirstGroup says that in addition to growing its Essex operation, the acquisition will provide “a number of growth opportunities in the B2B and bus vehicle dealership markets.” It also notes that the Purfleet base of Ensignbus is “high value.”

 

Adds FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer Graham Sutherland: “The acquisition of Ensigbus, a long-established, high-performing business, will allow us to not only grow our B2B offering, but to enhance our operational footprint in Essex, and we look forward to welcoming Ensignbus employees to the group.

 

“This is a strategically and financially accretive growth opportunity for us, and one that is fully aligned to our balanced capital allocation policy.”

 

Commenting on the agreement, Ensignbus Chairman Peter Newman says: “I want to thank all of our employees at Ensignbus for their ongoing hard work to deliver great service for our passengers across all of our communities in Essex. We will be supporting them fully as they move to their new employer.

 

“We are pleased that First Bus, with its reputation for customer service, innovation and sustainability, will take the Ensignbus business forward as a going concern and we wish it a successful future.

 

“We will continue to serve our communities and operate our network as usual until the completion date.”

 

Ensignbus has won multiple awards for its work in developing and improving the bus network in Thurrock, which has done largely with services previously operated by others. The business was founded by Mr Newman in 1972, although he bought and sold his first bus in the early 1960s.

 

You may question the header to this in that how can First purchase the same business twice. Well, Ensignbus really rose to fame in the bus world by purchasing and reselling a large number of mid-life former London Transport Daimler Fleetline double-deckers to various buyers including such heavyweights as the Scottish Bus Group and the National Bus Company. It subsequently entered the open-top sightseeing market but its growth plan in bus operation began when it started operating and operated tendered services in Greater London.

 

Success grew in the tendered market and no doubt it was helped by having access to a ready supply of buses to draw on. However the tendered system demanded better standard of buses and Ensignbus’s smart blue and silver livery stood out. It was one of the few independent purchasers of the MCW Metrobus brand new and also some relatively unusual Northern Counties bodied Dennis Dominators, which ultimately ended up at First Glasgow later in their lives.

 

The growth of the business continued and that made it increasingly attractive to potential suitors. However it was actually CNT Holdings of Hong Kong that purchased the stage carriage operations of Ensignbus in 1991. CNT also had traded as Hong Kong Citybus and so unsurprisingly branded its new operations as Ensign Citybus. Further growth continued and the company was well placed to deal with the collapse of London Buses subsidiary, London Forrest.

 

However continued growth saw the company rebrand itself as Capital Citybus. It also broke the last link with Ensignbus when it adopted its parent company’s yellow and red livery.

 

In 1998, the company was sold again, this time to First Group, which rebranded it as First Capital. So this is the first time that First bought Ensignbus effectively. Later, First merged the First Capital business into its other operations in London to form First London. Of course, First then ultimately exited its London operations by 2013, selling these in parts to Go-Ahead London, Metroline and Tower Transit respectively, to raise funds to pay off debts.

 

However the remainder of EnsignBus carried on with the bus selling, rail replacement and private hires. It then started back in local bus operations around Essex. It did some tendered work too for Transport for London. But it continued with its bus selling operations and its this leftover business that First is buying…again effectively.

 

Whilst you can see the bus operations being bolted on to First’s existing operations in Essex, the bus selling business is a new venture. First had put a lot of surplus buses through Ensign for sale as well as bought buses from them, mainly Volvo B9TLs and Enviro 400s which it’s used to update some of its subsidiaries. Some of the buses it’s bought back actually originated from the former First London.

 

So with this purchase, First has become poacher turned gamekeeper. It’ll open up a useful revenue stream for First and also allow First to cherry-pick surplus buses it wants from other companies as well as well as give it its own dealership to sell life expired vehicles through. At present, most buses are either scrapped or some, such as 69062 (SF06GXR) seen here end up in the training fleet with very few going corner First buses through dealerships. That’s a legacy of historic under investment in its fleets.

 

Of course the only potential fly in the ointment is how other bus companies react to this. Will they be happy punting their old buses through a potential competitor, knowing the money is going to them? I personality feel such fears are overstated. I mean if Stagecoach for example was to sell an old bus it’s because it’s no longer needed. I don’t feel they’ll be too bothered who it ends up with. But we’ll see.

"VIDEO KILLED THE RADO STAR?"

 

Well, just about, I'm a tad knackered at the moment!

 

G’day, I’ve been a wee bit quiet for the past few weeks as I reviewed movies at this year’s 2007 Melbourne (Australia) International Film Festival. I broadcast the reviews over about two and a half hours all up on my show, Zero-G: Science Fiction, Fantasy & Historical Radio, on 3RRR FM. (rrr.org.au)

 

The above picture is the sign on the Erwin Rado Theatre at 211 Johnson Street, Fitzroy, where the MIFF has its headquarters. The building's nothing much to look at from outside, really! But the sign...well, THAT has character!

 

Below the MIFF offices, the theatre, named after the director of the Film Festival from 1957 - 1983, has a charming old 69 seat cinema that can screen 16mm and 35mm film as well as DVD, LaserDisc, VHS, Data and MiniDV.

 

The MIFF’s access to the theatre expired at the end of 2007 and, ideally, it really should have its own dedicated screening facility, as other major city’s film festivals have. Still, the office itself has now moved to a more central location in Melbourne, which is handy!

 

To find out more about the MIFF go here:

 

www.melbournefilmfestival.com.au/

 

Anyway, I thought I’d post some of reviews here, inspired by films that I particularly enjoyed at this year’s event.

 

The full transcripts can be found at:

 

www.rrr.org.au/playlist/2778/

 

-AACHI & SSIPAK-

SOUTH KOREA

 

This continuously violent South Korean animated adult feature presents a future where human excrement is an energy source. Citizens have a monitoring chip attached to their arses and particularly productive individuals are rewarded with addictive drug laced munchies called Juicy Bars.

 

I shit you not.

 

The story begins with a roadwarrior highway battle as the swarming blue mutant Diaper Gang (!) attempts to truckjack a cargo of Juicy Bars, only to encounter a devastatingly lethal cyborg enforcer who makes Judge Dredd look like a human rights campaigner.

 

Headshot bodies fall at a rate that would impress Aeon Flux and Samurai Jack combined as the repressive government, assorted roving bands of bandits and con men, including the title characters Aachi and Ssipak (pronounced ‘she-pock’) along with a feisty would-be actress, all compete for the Juicy Bars.

 

Given the outrageous level of mayhem and the giggling concept that lies at the, er, bottom of the plot, it’s hardly worth noting that the animators cheerfully raid pop culture for many sequences, including the films Aliens and Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom. The latter is extensively overmined for one tunnel chase set up.

 

The animation is quite stylistically vigorous while the off the wall social commentary reminds me a little of the kind of thing that animator Ralph Bakshi attempted in his Fritz The Cat days, well before the likes of South Park and its shock-anime kin. There’s also something to be said for the biting political satire that runs through the narrative, which results in the government and gang leader being merely two opposite sides of the same ruthless coin.

 

People with kids could have pointless fun banning them from seeing this film, but apparently MTV’s thinking of doing a telly series based on it anyway, so, futile or what?

 

Subtle it isn’t, but it is a species of wicked fun that will gather bums on seats!

 

Director Joe Bum-jin

2006/90mins

    

-A FEW DAYS IN SEPTEMBER-

ITALY/FRANCE/PORTUGAL

 

The first film directed by screenwriter Santiago Amigorena, A Few Days In September

(Quelques Jours en Septembre), is a laid back but quite charming French spy thriller that makes espionage a family affair...and a realistically bickering family at that.

 

Elliot, mostly alluded to or played as an off screen voiceover by Nick Nolte until near the film’s conclusion, is an ex-CIA agent with knowledge about the upcoming 911 attacks. He hopes to trade the information for a stake that will enable him to reunite and live with his biological daughter and step-son, legacies of two seperate cover identity marriages in France and the U.S.

 

Much sought after by various factions, Elliot entrusts his grown up children, Orlando (Sara Forestier) and David (British actor Tom Riley) to the capable care of Irène, a cool, experienced French secret agent who used to be Elliot’s colleague. The potentially overwhelming meta-story takes a back seat to the character relationships, which makes a nice change to the usual breathless adventures that would normally puff up this kind of story into a by-the-numbers action thriller.

 

Juliette Binoche brings marvelous, stylish depth to her role as world wise spy Irène, providing a wryly sophisticated setting for her charges’ inevitable romance. (What IS it with the French anyway? After Irène’s arm is injured she turns up wearing a chic scarf as a sling, but of course!) Always gorgeous, the actress pitches the character as being adept enough at her deadly trade so that she can afford to enjoy herself while she works. Forestier is all sharp edged, angry eyed angst as she works through father/daughter issues while Riley nervously cooks (his character worked in a restaurant) for the two formidable women who have abruptly complicated his life with their Amazonian expertise with firearms. I also very much enjoyed the arch Franco/American banter between Orlando and David.

 

Seeking Elliot through the medium of his children is William Pound, a whacko ‘wet work’ assassin who has a penchant for poetry, drives a florist’s delivery van and has a mobile phone plagued by the world’s most annoying ringtone. Pound’s character is tightly wound by John Turturro, who played one of the convicts in O Brother, Where Art Thou? and also an equally obsessive relative of the title character in the television series Monk.

 

A Few Days In September benefits from first rate cinematography, including some playful soft focus shots that whimsically render Venice and Paris, cheekily explained by Irène’s habit of removing her glasses to ‘see things differently’. There’s also a cracking good shot through the dark framed doorway of a Venetian Chapel which reminded me of a signature frame from a John Ford Western, only instead of Mesas and sagebrush we get the Venice Lagoon and a passing ocean liner.

 

Although this film lingers perhaps a little too lovingly on the wrangling entanglements of its main characters I still found it pleasant and rewardable viewing. Amigorena certainly knows how to inject off-beat life into his characters.

 

Director/Screenwriter Santiago Amigorena

2006/115 mins

  

-BUG-

USA

 

When down on her luck small town waitress Agnes White (played by Ashley Judd) invites eccentric drifter Peter Evans into her seedy motel room she receives much more than she bug-aned for!

 

Director William Friedkin (The Exorcist, & The French Connection) gets almost unbearably psychological in this cross genre movie that wisely adds no excess fat to the one set, pressure cooker Tracy Lett’s play that it’s adapted from. As the two main characters’ relationship slowly emerges from a far too tightly spun chrysalis the film builds to one of the most intensely wound paranoic conclusions seen on screen.

 

Michael Shannon is gauntly convincing as Evans, a role that he pioneered in the original stage play and intially at least, reminds me a little of a young Steve McQueen or perhaps, Joachim Phoenix. Harry Connick Junior has a supporting part in the film as Agne’s ex-convict, ex-husband.

 

Bug’s maddeningly paced escalating tension is supported by an appropriately chittering score, composed by Brian Tyler, who also gave us soundtracks for the films Constantine, Bubba Ho-Tep, the Children of Dune miniseries, as well as episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise and the upcoming Aliens Versus Predator 2: Survival Of The Fittest. Speaking of Star Trek, Ashley Judd also played Ensign Robin Lefler in Star Trek: Next Generation.

 

Bug is a film that creeps up on you and by its final scuttling rush will definitely get under your skin...one way or another.

 

Director- William Friedkin

Screenwriter-Tracy Letts

2006/101mins

   

-EL TOPO-

(MEXICO)

 

El Topo (“The Mole”) was director Alejandro Jodorowsky's third film. The infamous Mexican allergorically surreal Eastern/Western is presented at the festival in a very fine new restoration (a bit of a shock for those used to seeing it in its customary raddled grindhouse/cult prints!) along with its natural companion piece, The Holy Mountain.

 

This comprehensively startling but compelling film begins, not unlike the Lone Wolf And Cub Samurai series, with the black clad, flute playing gunslinger El Topo (played by the director himself) riding across the wastelands in company with a taciturn child companion. After a blood drenched encounter with drunkenly bestial bandits El Topo replaces the boy with a seductively manipulative woman who urges him to become the greatest shootist in the world by seeking out and defeating four master gunfighters.

 

As with the wuxia martial arts films that this story frequently references the quest for the masters proves dangerous, difficult, baffling and wonderous.

 

The gunslinger’s odyssey to achieve enlightment and mastery is populated with exotic encounters and inventive, symbolically charged imagery. Deflating balloons signal the start of duels, capering outlaws with shoe fetishes rape feminised sand paintings and carve bananas with sabres, civilised townsfolk prove more depraved and debauched than the wasteland bandits, herds of rabbits mysteriously die at El Topo’s feet, incestuously deformed trogalytes living in oil drums tunnel to escape their underground prison, and live bullets are caught and deflected by butterfly nets.

 

This visual melange is supported by Jodorowskys and Nacho Méndezs evocative music which, by turns soothing or jarring, echoes across the many desert based sequences and permeates the locations, which frequently read more like artistic installations than sets grounded in any kind of mundane reality. In fact, there is a timeless anachronistic feel to the desert that makes you question whether this is nominally a period Western or indeed set in some kind of post-apocalyptic Stephen King future.

 

El Topo is rendered even stranger by its renowned mid-film gear change, one of several enigmatic transformations that can be interpreted as Buddhist inspired reincarnations of the title character.

 

Just imagine what might have been if Jodorowsky had pulled off his mid-70s adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune, with its intended cast of Salvidor Dali as the Emperor, Mick Jagger playing Feyd Rautha and Orson Welles as Baron Harkonnen? As it is the Acid Western tradition at least got another outing in Jim Jarmusch's more recent film, Dead Man, which, for all its many remarkable charms, by comparison to El Topo is cast into monochrome shade.

 

A bizarre chimera even by Zero-G's notoriously unhinged standards El Topo is a cult classic given gloriously grotesque new life by its own recent transfiguring restoration.

 

Director/Screenwriter Alejandro Jodorowsky

1971/125mins

 

-FIDO-

Canada/USA

 

Fido fiendishly expands upon the gag featured in Shaun of the Dead (amongst other films) that zombies could be domesticated to perform simple tasks. Zombies helping in the kitchen? Uh-oh, better make sure they keep those rotting fingers are kept hygenically away from food preparation surfaces with a pair of crisp, clean white cotton gloves....

 

In an alternate 1950s the all encompassing ZomCom, which apparently helped win the Zombie War, protects and serves the walled small towns of America. Now, we all know that the only reason to provide zombies with clever electronic control collars is so that the gadgets can malfunction; cue zombie outbreak! It’s the slyly subversive juxtaposition of wholesome mom and apple-pie Leave It To Beaver sitcom with Zombie killing procedural that lends this consistently bemusing film a wicked Addams Family style where Pop naturally reads Death Magazine and scenes shot in cars are filmed using good old fashioned rear screen projection.

 

Not that we’re talking Black and White telly, nosirree Bob! Fido is filmed in full, glorious technicolour, complete with ginormous finned automobiles, two toned shoes and compliant Stepford housewives who wait at the front door for their patriarchal hubbies to take the martini from their submissive, manicured hands. Happily, Carrie Anne-Moss in one of the main roles, as Helen Robinson, is more of a buddingly feisty Desperate Housewife after the armed and dangerous example of Bree Hodge. (From The Matrix to a zombie packed Pleasantville is indeed an ironic career path!) It’s not long before Helen kicks over the domestic traces following the example of her young son, Timmy (knowingly played by the intriguingly named K’Sun Ray) and his new pet zombie, the Fido of the title, embodied by Billy Connolly. Connolly plays the long suffering Fido with toothy glee, moaning and groaning and lurching in the throes of what could easily double as a hangover of fatally heroic proportions.

 

Keep an eye out (easy to do in a zombie film) for Dylan Baker, as the nervously cheerful Bill Robinson. Baker has had the sleeper part of Doctor Curt Connors in the Spider-Man films and, as comic book fans anticipate, should eventually get to mutate into the super-villain, The Lizard.

 

Fido is my genre pic of the Festival, in the tradition of another year’s shambling B-schlock spoof, The Lost Skeleton Of Cadavra. I ask you, how can I not enjoy sinking my teeth into a film where a pet zombie is addressed with a line like: “What’s that Fido? Timmy’s in trouble?”

 

It’s enough to make Lassie dig her way out of her grave!

 

Director- Andrew Currie

Screenwriters- Robert Chomiak, Andrew Currie, Dennis Heaton

2006/91mins

   

-HANSEL & GRETEL-

GERMANY

 

If you go down to the woods today.....you’d better take your copy of the Brothers Grimm Cookbook For Baking Independent Elderly Female Cannibal Sorceresses.

 

German director Anne Wild and screenwriter Peter Schwindt settle for a straightforward retelling of the classic rural ‘stranger danger’ story wherein the devious Gretel proves the most resourceful of two deliberately lost children who end up on the menu of the obligatory member of the local Guild of Almagamated Wicked Witches & Confectioners.

 

Deliberately lost? How do you think the kids got to be wandering around in Blair Witchburg in the first place? Sometimes tactfully omitted from modern retellings of this familiar story is the neglected element of child abandonment, a practice forced upon starving families in situations of plague, famine, wars and other social upheavals. In this case, it’s the pragmatic step-mother who pushes her more sentimental but nontheless compliant woodcutter husband into cutting loose the kids.

 

In early versions of the story it’s usually just the natural mother who suggests jettisoning the offspring...a much more useful cautionary tale for parents to use as and Awful Threat when disciplining naughty anklebiters.

 

Leaving aside observations about how Hansel and Gretel underlines the historical distrust of skilled single women of independent means this is actually a moderately creepily staged film. The woods are suitably threatening, and the witch herself, though certainly not up to Buffy The Vampire Slayer standards is a reasonably nasty albeit dimwitted piece of work...

 

I never can figure out quite why witchy poo needed to go Hannibal Lector on kiddies when she was capable of whipping up enough food to fatten a small army, not to mention all that square footage of gingerbread real estate. Let’s just assume it’s an alternative lifestyle choice, along the lines of supergenius Wile. E. Coyote yearning after Roadrunner drumsticks in spite of the fact that he had enough credit to order truckloads of expensive gadgets from the ACME Corporation.

 

(On the subject of ghoulish folks developing a fondness for ‘long pig’ just what DID those darling children do with the oven fired witch after they fried her arse?)

 

We all know how this ends, after making off with the witch’s portable property the kids, in a remarkable act of forgiveness, share their taxfree windfall with their deadbeat dad...though their step mother has obligingly dropped dead in the meanwhile.

 

Hmm, did anyone actually see step-mama and Ms Witch in the same room at the same time?

 

Don’t expect a Post-Modern fractured fairytale from Hansel and Gretel and you won’t be led astray by what’s essentially a traditionally told, moderately unsettling film.

 

Director- Anne Wild

Screenwriter- Peter Schwindt

2006/76mins

   

-THE HOLY MOUNTAIN-

MEXICO

 

If you thought Alejandro Jodorowsky’s third film, El Topo, was weird...well, no caca Sherlock!

 

Wait until you get a load of this....

 

His next surreally allegorical outing, 1973’s The Holy Mountain, scales even more whackily experimental heights. Like El Topo, The Holy Mountain has also been recently, lovingly restored, all the better to trip out on the eye bulging psychedelic imagery!

 

Again, as with El Topo, the nominal protagonist is on a messianic quest to achieve enlightment. Even more ironically symbolic in this case since the central thief character bears a strong and exploitable resemblance to the traditional representation of Jesus Christ.

 

Horácio Salinas plays the hapless thief, leaving Jodorowsky himself the catalytic role of a tower dwelling alchemist who charges him to accompany seven influential but materialistic powerbrokers to Lotus Island where they will achieve eternal life once they have climbed the eponymous Holy Mountain.

 

Initially the dialogue is thin on the ground but soon ramps up to cheerfully inexplicable levels where a line like “hypersexed brown native vampires” can pass without comment or indeed comprehension. Politics, art, sexuality, and filmmaking, amongst many other subjects, all cop a satirical hiding in this extraordinary film which relies heavily upon fantasy imagery drawn from tarot cards, astrology and religion.

 

Just listing a few of the oddball ideas gives you an idea of the unique scope of Jorodowsky’s fevered imagination.

 

Two women are ‘cleansed’ of clothing, make-up, jewellery, false nails, and hair by a black robed priest who himself has ebony varnished fingernails. A screaming man lies covered in tarantulas...no big acting stretch there! The Invasion of Mexico is renacted by lizards dressed in Mezoamerican costumes battling frogs wearing Conquistador armour and missionary robes. (I have my doubts about this sequence, it sure looks like the poor frogs are really being blown up by explosives?) A mulitple amputee writes cryptic messages in the dirt with a severed animal leg. Parading prostitutes turn out to be just as holy as priests. Roman soldiers cast the thief in plaster and create a line of life-sized crucifiction merchandise. Art factory paint coated nude backsides stamp out images on a production line while live body painted nudes are built into installations so they can be fondled by gallery patrons. Gas masked soldiers attend dances and machine guns and hand grenades are painted in rainbow colours. Spartan like warriors pursue a cunning plan to emasculate 1000 heroes to create a shrine of 1000 testicles....and nevermind what they did with the other 1000! Eviscerated victims spill chicken guts....and I mean they literally pull chickens from their wounds’ while Liederhosen wearing Teutonics trip on drugs and strongmen are able to turn intangible and teleport through entire mountains.

 

Distantly reminiscent of Fellini’s Satyricon, and to some extent Roma, The Holy Mountain also boasts the most startling Orgasmatron machine since the erotic cult film Barbarella, in the form of a Giant mechanical vagina that’s manipulated like a theramin.... well, if a theramin was played by a giant dildo!

 

Is it any surprise, really, in the wake of the cult success of El Topo, that The Holy Mountain’s producer Allen Klein also managed The Beatles and that those fans of all things psychedelic, John Lennon and Yoko Ono helped fund the movie?

 

Landmark or landfill experimental film? The Holy Mountain remains an obvious precursor to movies like Eraserhead, The Cremaster Cycle, and The Qatsi Trilogy.

 

Climb it at your own peril. (You know you want to!)

 

Director/Screenwriter Alejandro Jodorowsky

1973/114mins

  

-lLS-

France

 

Clementine (Olivia Bonamy) and Lucas (Michael Cohen) live happily in pastoral rural isolation in a rundown chalet in the Romanian woods, until one night they are attacked by....THEM! No, not by lurching giant ants from a 1950s horror film but by...well, that would be telling. Some horror films take their time building suspense but Moreau and Palud’s shiversome first feature nails you straight to the wall and keeps you hanging there for the economical just-over-an-hour’s running time. And I do mean ‘running’.

 

The adept direction and unrelating pace set within the atmospheric confines of the old chalet (a dream of a location to create nightmares in) is ramped up by genuinely unnerving sound effects design, an evocatively tense soundtrack, solid if necessarilly Spartan performances by the two leads, and the teasing revelation of the nature of the besiegers.

 

There’s nothing particularly new about the ingredients stirred into this terrifying mix. In fact, you could, after the credits have rolled and the lights come up again, sit back and tick off the horror cliches one by one, starting with the usually tiresome pronouncement, “Based On A True Story”. Commentators seem uncertain about the veracity of that, but in this case it adds to the overall feel of unease that permeates the ending of this film. I found myself thinking, “Y’know, I can see how that could actually happen....brrrr!”

 

Ils...it took me a while to realise that the title is merely the French word for “Them”... is one of the most disturbing horror films I’ve seen in some time, and all without buckets of blood or lashings of sickly inventive torture porn. With its efficient minimalist approach it’s very close in tone to the best of the New Wave of Japanese horror that burst upon the West several years ago now.

 

Directors/ Screenwriters- David Moreau and Xavier Palud

2006/70 mins

  

-ISLAND OF LOST SOULS-

DENMARK

 

A big budget supernatural fantasy for young adults that's part Spielberg, part Lucas, with an added dash of Harry Potter, but which ultimately wears its ample CGI well to create an enjoyable and in a few places reasonably scary film.

 

When two children move to a quiet country town the last thing they expect to find is a haunted island plagued by a supernatural confluence of kidnapped souls. When a young girl taps into the mystic mayhem it results in her brother being possessed by the spirit of a centuries dead member of an ancient order of sorcerous crimefighters.

 

The film's young actors are capable and ‘self possessed’ in the face of some quite formidable magical opposition, including a new and nasty take on that familiar player from Central Horror Casting, the living Scarecrow, along with a necromancer who could be brother to both Nosferatu and the Star Wars Emperor, right down to the cadaverous features and handy ability to cast Sith lightning from his fingies! I especialy liked the offbeat character of the trainspotting psychic investigator who inevitably comes to the kid’s aid in their hour of dire peril.

 

A fun little romp that’s no longer than it should be at an economical 100 minutes.

 

Director- Nikolaj Arcel

Screenwriter- Ramsus Heisterberg

2007/100mins

 

Sessions

Sun, 12th of August, 1:00 PM

ACMI

  

-KHADAK-

Belgium/Germany/The Netherlands

 

Bagi, played by Batzul Khayankhyarvaa, is a young nomad, who, along with his family are wrenched from their nomadic existence by the Mongolian government who want to consolidate people in towns, villages and cities as the fledgling democracy gears up to enter the 21st century’s global economy. After rescuing Zolzaya (Tsetsegee Byamba), a beautiful female coal thief, Bagi boldly goes where nomad has gone before on a shamanistic quest that culminates in fantastical revelations about Mongolia’s future relation with the environment.

 

Khadak is underpinned by a hypnotically compelling narrative fascination with magic realism that often contrasts the shabby reality of the concrete high rises with the colourfully organic traditional nomadic traditional yurt dwellings.

 

The film overflows with powerful imagery, including a simple but effective camera roll that causes an iconistic prayer-scarf draped tree to turn upside down as the land itself is inverted by mineral exploitation and pollution. A deserted town, in reality an abandoned former Soviet barracks, stands in for one potential future. Tractors, used to haul the disassembled yurts, are started and allowed to run aimlessly free across the steppes as the government agents burn the nomads’ links to their former lifestyle behind them.

 

Khadak doesn’t always offer too nostalgic a view of the nomadic struggle; many of the former rural folk cheerfully adapt to their new circumstances and some seem to pragmatically thrive, especially Bagi’s mother, who ends up running heavy machinery at the coal mine where immense draglines swing with saurian grace across the screen.

 

The film’s reverberating score resonates across the wind blown, echoing steppes, giving way to some moments of pure musical bliss, especially when some of the newly urbanised young people get together for astonishing ‘jam’ sessions.

 

Both lyrical and hard edged Khadak is a film, like Martin Scorsese’s Kundan, whose exotic sights and sounds will be welcome guests in my yurt for as long as they choose to stay.

 

Directors/Screenwriters- Peter Brosens, Jessica Hope Woodworth

2006/105mins

  

-LAST WINTER, THE-

USA/Iceland

 

It’s damn cold in Northern Alaska but not cold enough, as tough but soft centered Ron Perlman’s advance oil drilling preparation crew discover when they set out to re-open an isolated test drilling site that may be viable in the face of looming energy shortages. The arctic circle tundra is thawing rapidly, unleashing the kind of environmental horror movie that used to be in vogue back in the 1970s and which is all too timely now as global warming makes its presence felt in the real world.

 

Perlman, as usual, is excellent, giving the kind of inflected performance that graced Hellboy, Cronos, City Of Lost Children and his impressive work in the television fantasy series Beauty & The Beast. The ensemble players are also deftly sketched in, often in a low key fashion that adds realism.

 

Director Larry Fessenden successfully follows up and even references in one brief bit of dialogue, Wendigo, one of his earlier, not entirely disimilar horror outings. As with some other genre films in this year’s festival the horror elements are timeless; from the simmering sexual and tensions and hostility between the boffins and the bluecollars to the classic scenario of the besieged ice station. The latter is a character in itself, in the ‘Thingy’ tradition of both Howard Hawks and John Carpenter’s seperate adaptations of John W. Campbell’s seminal very Cold War science fiction novella, Who Goes There? Best possible use is made of this stunning location, as the screen often becomes an overwhelmingly vast white or dark canvas to trap and diminish the hapless blue collar workers.

 

Crystal clear sound design helps ‘sell’ the visuals and the impressive CGI special effects are first rate, without ever detracting from the practical drama of the sheer dangers of living and working in such an extreme environment.

 

The Last Winter is a cunningly ambiguous chiller that cleverly maintains a plausible alternative explanation for the film’s lethal events up to and possibly including the final admirably restrained frame which begs teasingly to be opened out into a wider shot but leaves the audience wanting more, leaving room for a possible but unecessary sequel.

 

Oil be back!

 

Director- Larry Fessenden

Screenwriters- Larry Fessenden, Robert Leaver

2006/107mins

  

-MEN AT WORK-

IRAN

 

A carload of Iranian buddies on their way down the mountains from a skiing holiday stop for a toilet break at a precipitous roadside layover and discover a monolithic rock

that just HAS to be tumbled down the slopes.

 

If you’re a bloke, you automatically know how it is.

 

If you’re a woman, equally, you KNOW how we are!

 

An amusing exploration of male bonding and stubborness this happily crazy film is guaranteed to contain no sociopolitical allegory whatsoever (really!) and the Iranian writer/director has asked that the U.S please refrain from invading his leg of the Axis of Evil until he has finished his next project.

 

Director/Screenwriter- Mani Haghighi

2006/75mins

  

-SEVERANCE-

UK

 

When completely politically incorrect arms merchant Palisade Defence rewards its crack Euro Sales division with a team-building weeked in the woods of Eastern Europe the mismatched but archtypal bickering office workers soon find that they’re not quite the ‘gun’ group that they thought they were.

 

Yes, the comparison of choice is The Office meets Deliverance and that’s fair enough because what makes this movie so gormlessly funny is the inept Brits Abroad schtick combined with an equally knowing, wickedly timed take on the horror slasher genre that puts most inept Hollywood fun with fear spoofs to more shame than ever. The only time this film ever really fumbles is when it takes the horror too seriously, which is not all that frequently, though more noticably and perhaps inevitably, in the apocalyptic last reel.

 

Oddly, Severence’s particularly grungy baddies who get to fold, spindle and mutilate our heroic twonks remind me very much of the “Stalkers” from the recent popular video game, which itself references the Tarkovsky film and the less well known science fiction novel that classic is itself based on, Boris and Arkady Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic.

 

The heavyweight British ensemble cast is a real corker here, and one of the most enjoyable in the festival films I’ve seen this year, including at least one former Bond villain (Toby Stephens who was Gustav Graves in Die Another Day) and the always wetly amusing Tim McInnerny who plays to his well known Blackadder type (He was both Lord Percy and Captain Darling) as the incompetent boss of the Palisade’s party.

 

I won’t be the last reviewer to note that Eastern Europe has become destination of choice for horror filmmakers of late. Attracted by threatening woodlands, abandoned buildings and low cost production facilities the exotic locales also perhaps wallow in a degree of smug and possibly premature Western superiority in the wake of the economic collapse of former Eastern Bloc foes. For the moment, these once hard to access countries are providing filmmakers with a place to set their stories ‘beyond the glow of the streetlights’. Again, as with other festival genre films, Severence does benefit from a marvelously decrepit Old Dark house of a location.

 

Severence is laced with joyfully understated sight gags, dialogue to listen for, and a good deal of well meaning irony regarding corporate responsibility. The icing on the cake is a musical score that fiddles with both ominous gypsy curses, pop tunes and even riffs off We’ll Meet Again as featured in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove, to which black comedy there’s more than one reference.

 

Severance gives awful new meaning to the term, “You’e fired!”

 

Director- Christopher Smith

Screenwriters- James Moran, Christopher Smith

2006/90mins

  

-STILL LIFE-

HONG KONG/CHINA

  

An intimate but involving look at the disapora of displaced persons produced by China's Three Gorges Dam mega-engineering project as seen through the eyes of two people.

 

In the first part of the film coal miner Han Sanming (played by Sanming Han) returns after 16 years absence to his former home town of Fengjie, only to find its 2000 years of history submerged beneath the waters of the dam. Taking a temporary job in demolition, he searches for news of his ex wife, whom he hasn’t seen for 16 years.

 

Still Life never wanders far from the dominating horizontal visuals of the mighty Yangtze River and the monolithic concrete and steel dam. The apocalyptic rubble of the yet-to-be flooded part of the town forms another powerful metaphor, a full stop to the flow of linear time represented by the River, which itself has been given pause by the immense project.

 

It’s a hard life for Han, though undoubtedly far less dangerous than the notoriously hazardous Chinese coal mining industry, and it provides some extraordinary imagery.

Men in supposedly protective suits with sanitising back pack sprayers wander through gutted homes. Friends are made amongst workmates to the jaunty ringtones of their mobile phones as they exchange numbers...a socialising ritual that later prompts one of the film’s most poignant moments when a mobile ‘s unanswered ringing signals a tragic accident. Condemned buildings collapse with tired grace in the distant background as they receive explosive coup de grâces.

 

The second half of the film segues into another quest for closure, as Nurse Shen Hong (Tao Zhao) journeys to the town looking for her own estranged husband.

Again, the dam is another defining presence in the story, providing a backdrop for the final resolution of Shen Hong’s search.

 

One baffling scene (and I’d welcome any light that anyone can shed on this!) sees Shen staring at a large monument in the distance. It appears to be a Chinese alphabetical character, rendered in concrete. As she turns away, rocket motors ignite at its base and the whole giant structure lifts off into the skies. I assume this is some kind of reference to the recent successes of the Chinese manned space programme but am not sure as to why it’s relevant to the story? Unless it’s just a bit of triumphalism? Or indeed, because Shen does ignore the startling sight, perhaps it’s meant to be ironic? Enquiring minds need to know!

 

Actually, the overall philosophical conclusion drawn at the end of Still Life does read a little bit like some kind of inspirational tract to me....but that may just reflect my own bias, or again it could be ironic, and I won’t spoil the ending by going further into detail. (Well, cross cultural puzzles have always attracted me to World Cinema!)

 

Still Life is a beautifully visualised, thoughtful film with a measured pace that aptly reflects the larger elements that form the canvas that its smaller, but no less important, human dramas are played out against.

 

Director/Screenwriter- Jia Zhang-ke

2006/108mins

   

-THE WAR TAPES-

USA

 

Rather than be 'embedded' in a U.S military unit in Iraq filmmaker Deborah Scranton chose to give cameras to three National Guardsmen to record their own experiences deployed with Charlie Company, 3rd of the 172nd New Hampshire Mountain Infantry. Scranton provided additional remote directorial aid via text messaging and email to the three soldiers, Sgts. Stephen Pink and Zack Bazzi, and Specialist Michael Moriarty, whose stories were chosen from an overall pool of 1000 hours of footage.

 

The soldiers’ personal and professional accounts are sobering and revelatory and never less than enlightening.

 

Though it does this remarkably cohesive documentary something of a disservice to cherry pick material out of its sturdily engineered overall context it’s necessary to give some idea of the range of material included in the film.

 

We see several ambush eye views of the destructive force of roadside Improvised Explosive Devices which, though initiated and responded to with varying degrees of control by both combatant forces, usually result in chaos and confusion, death and destruction, for bystanders. One soldier matter-of-factly tours a vast graveyard of combat lossed vehicles, shattered and gutted by I.E.Ds, casting in an increasingly ironic light President Bush’s triumphantly naive 2003 announcement that “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended...”

 

The complexity of night operations are mirrored in the silvered eyed stare of soldiers seen through the eerie but tactically invaluable lenses of night vision equipment , rendering one formation of troops strikingly like a formation of stolid Terracotta Warriors. The detached professionalism of the soldiers understandably falters when a night time convoy kills a woman who was then struck repeatedly by each truck in turn.

 

The irony of soldiers and hired civilians (drivers and security guards) risking and losing their lives to protect re-supply cargos of, for example, cheese for hamburgers, is not lost on the troopers who wonder loudly if the complex and highly profitable logistical tail is wagging the policy dog? In fact, they’re refreshingly unguarded in their speculations about what they see, from their perspective as boots on the ground, as the reasons behind the ongoing war. Their observations are pithy, and to the point...or, rather, multiple points, as the individual opinions cover the entire spectrum of current controversy, from oil driven conspiracy to patriotic war on terror.

 

Soldiers will always enthusiastically relish the opportunity to grouse about their lot, reserving special venom for the shortcomings of their equipment, training, rations and orders. One complaint amongst many was that these soldiers received little or no cultural instruction to help prepare them for operating in the Iraq theatre, which ommission makes it hard to both know the enemy or understand your friends. Even a simple misunderstanding over a commonly used hand gesture for ‘Stop’ can, in the local environment, be fatally mistaken for ‘Hello!”

 

The fact that the Iraq conflict is, in reality, fought amongst peoples homes rather than some spiffily titled combat theatre, warzone or neutrally termed area of operations is thoughtfully underlined by frequent segues to the soldiers’ American homes, either when the troops have returned or during their absence. Surface impressions notwithstanding there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of difference between U.S and Iraqi civilians; folks, it seems, are alike all over. Stateside sequences touch upon the complicated effects that the deployment had on civilian family members, the problems of post traumatic stress disorder suffered by the veterans, and the more obvious physical injuries. For example, one of the soldiers has carpal tunnel syndrome in his hands, the result of vibration transmitted through the grips of his vehicle mounted machine gun on patrol. He also has to cope with back pain from wearing body armour in a confined space.

 

Crammed with ‘real time’ feedback from ongoing conflict The War Tapes makes a provocative companion piece with the 2005 documentary Gunner Palace. For balance I would also add to the recommended viewing list: Control Room (2004), Baghdad ER (2006), and My Country, My Country (2006)

 

Director- Deborah Scranton

2006/97mins

  

-WELCOME TO NOLLYWOOD-

USA/NIGERIA

 

Never heard of the Nigerian film industry? This inspiringly cheeky doco will rectify that and should be seen by all budding filmmakers seeking new ways to practice their art.

 

Something like 2400 movies per year are produced in Nigeria, making it the third most prolific film industry in the world. Film? Well, that’s a nostalgically generic term to describe the Nigerians’ enthusiastic bypassing of conventional film stock and its complex and expensive infrastructure in favour of digital video distributed directly and cheaply at local marketplaces on DVD or VCD.

 

The 300 or so Nigerian directors have an already rich tradition of oral storytelling to draw upon, and have embraced multiple genres usually lensing them through an action adventure filter, which has fostered a support industry of movie fight Action Camps where actors can learn the stunt fight business. Although one director claims “We don’t do science fiction” Nollywood nevertheless loves fantasy, especially religious based melodramas with plenty of demons and angels, sorcererors and witches.

 

Period films set in Nigeria often have a luridly portrayed but understandably anti-slavery element, which alongside with the witchcraft angle concerns some commentators who argue that focusing on these aspects promotes stereotypes.

 

A visit to the set of a film grounded in the recent Liberian war shows the Nigerian director, who at least partly funded the movie himself, putting his actors through boot camps to learn how to fill out their soldierly roles, including veteran advisors from both sides of the original conflict. The actors go through production hell but ironically are brought low by a botched contract with the caterers...

 

Nollywood; not entirely different from Hollywood!

 

Director- Jamie Meltzer

2007/58mins

  

-U-

FRANCE

 

A lyrical French animated feature with fluidly drawn artwork and an equally languid, but elegant plot as a Princess Mona is faced with choosing between new love and a beloved friend, who happens to be a unicorn. The charming, anthropomorphic animal cast could have been drawn by Dr Seuss, and the story is a souffle of flirtatious love with a playful musical topping.

 

Directors- Grégoire Solotareff, Serge Elissalde

Screenwriter- Grégoire Solotareff

2006/71mins

        

View On White

Peter: "GWEN UR AN AGWENGER THATS SOO COOL WILL YOU MARRY ME?"

Gwen: "HECK YA AND YOU CAN CALL ME HUMAN SCARLET TORCHWITCH"

Uncle Charles (Ben) Xavier: I pronounce you HUSBAND AND FRIGGIN' WIFE WOOT WOOT"

Nick Fury: Peter, I'm here to recruit you to the AGwengers Initiative. We have a HUGE problem in CANADA with HOWARD THE DUCK"

Peter: "Well, that honeymoon will have to wait, Human Scarlet TorchWitch. AGwengers, ASSEMBLE!"

The End.

 

Some images from the fireworks display at the conclusion of Gloucester Carnival, August 2014.

Conclusion

of the IKEA-vases serial ...

This double helping of salmon rosa "Boscabel" concludes my little mini-series of roses from our garden. You seem to have enjoyed them so some might well appear again in future, you never know. Truth is, I can't help myself.

 

Now yesterday's mystery object was in fact a brass garden hose adaptor and tap connector, though which you were peering. I suppose, If you know me, it had to be something connected, pun intended, with the garden. The clue was the visible plant in the centre ... :-))

Lake Sammamish State Park / Issaquah, WA

I am going to talk about a topic most would consider to be very sensitive and that is pornography. So if you don’t feel comfortable reading about it please stop whenever you like to. Of course I will talk about it from my personal experience. I will try not to focus on porn or talk about it in details, as my goal is not to assist others to indulge in sin but to glorify God for the freedom He has given me. I will start by talking about the photo first.

 

First of all I want to say that talking about being addicted to porn is not easy. I had considered talking about for some time but didn’t really want to do so. So I decided, like I do often, is to lie down and talk to God and think about why I didn’t want to write about it. The reason was simple: I didn’t want people to have a bad idea about me. The final point was: I wanted to keep my image “clean” like so many of us Christians like to do. However, after some thought I came to this conclusion:

 

1) I was born a sinner and I am as sinful in my nature as anybody else ever lived on earth, so there is no point in acting like I am better than anybody else.

 

2) I am who I am because of who I am in Christ, and that’s because of His perfect and finished work on the Cross: His death for my sins. Not because of anything good in me or about me.

 

3) When I accepted Jesus I basically gave Him ownership over me. In other words, there is no more “my reputation”, “my name”, “my this” and “my that”. Everything belongs to Him now. Of course I thought that I could simply avoid talking about this topic and “act” as if there is something special about me. But the truth is that He is special and I am special only because the Holy Spirit, who is special, lives in me.

 

4) For Christ to be lifted through me I must be lowered. For Him to be glorified I must tell the world about who I was before Christ.

 

5) I didn’t want to be a hypocrite! Of course, as we all know, being a hypocrite is much easier than a lot of things in life. (And believe me it is much easier to be a hypocrite than to live the Christian life, but only through living the Christian life we can find true fulfillment in Jesus.) But if I claim that I belong to Christ and that my identity is wrapped up in who I am in Him, a prince and a child of the living and holy One, then I have to act upon this claim. Otherwise I am simply being a hypocrite. I cannot say that my value and worth are in Him, when I value myself in how others see me.

 

So I will start my story now…

 

When I was in my teens back home, and I would be taking the bus in the evening sometimes I would look at my hand and be completely amazed by the orange sun light reflecting off of it, especially the amount of details God has put in the skin! And because I like to draw, shadows have always amazed me. Until now I try to emphasize shadows and contrast in my photos. So a couple of days ago I was studying when it was sunset and I looked at my hand and again I loved the amount of details in the skin. So I took few photos and after some editing, I realized this photo can be very fitting to talk about Jesus Christ’s favour in setting us free from sin. So here is my final product. I hope you like it. (Special thanks to Gimp!)

 

I didn’t soak the hand with orange colour and dark shadows because I want to talk about a light that’s brighter than the sun’s: the light of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That’s why I kept the light white.

 

I was not familiar with pornography until I came to Canada, and especially after I bought my first computer. Like so many others I started watching porn because of curiosity. I accepted Jesus in my life before I came to Canada though. Being still an immature Christian, spiritually like a few days old infant, I was an easy prey to Satan’s lies.

 

Then porn turned to more than just curiosity—it became a habit. Then from a habit it became an addiction. It pretty much consumed hours of my daily life, and all my energy. It cost me a lot in school as my marks dropped dramatically. My relationship with God was reduced to “hi” and “bye”!

 

I tried to quit many times but I couldn’t. I knew it was wrong but by then it was too strong of an addiction to break free from. I hated it and loved it at the same time. I hated it because it ruined every aspect of my life. I loved it because I was emotionally dependent on it: it was my idol. (For more on Idols you might be interested in reading: www.flickr.com/photos/001fj/2334638980/

 

Pornography was a very strange affair. I mean, when I went out I tried not to lust after women but when I came home I entertained the worst thoughts for hours! One of the worst things about porn is that it gets worse overtime. You never start at a low level and stay there; you stoop to lower levels because after a while those materials are not satisfying anymore. Can you imagine the helplessness people who are addicted to porn feel? Can you imagine the feeling of entrapment? Can you imagine not only seeing yourself in a very bad situation but also seeing yourself heading toward a worse situation and you are going by your own will simply because you couldn’t resist doing the thing that is hurting you and eventually will destroy you!

 

It is like standing in a hole and digging it to make it deeper and deeper and deeper.

 

One summer break I spent it pretty much editing photos using Photoshop and listening to Dr. Charles Stanley. In one sermon he was talking about how God sets us free and the bottom line was that we have to:

1) Realize and admit our situation and helplessness

2) Trust that God can free us

3) Surrender ourselves, lives and hearts to Him

 

So I tried it. I went to pray and told God all those three points and I meant them—I truly believed and knew that I couldn’t free myself from this sin, and I knew that God was a good God who loved me and cared about me….but, I didn’t know how to surrender! I mean if I was in a war then I could take a piece of white cloth and put it on a stick, raise it up and walk toward the enemy. They would see the white piece of cloth and would know that I am surrendering, but how do you do that spiritually? I mean, it is more than words just as in the scenario of the battlefield above: I have to raise (action word) the stick, and walk (another action word) toward the enemy. But how do you surrender spiritually?

 

Needless to say after that prayer I went back to pornography as if I had not even prayed it! I knew Dr. Stanley is a godly man so I knew he wouldn’t teach something false, but I simply didn’t know how to apply it. So I kept trying to break free from pornography using all methods I knew from self-control (emphasis on the word “self”; I am not talking about the self-control we have by focusing on Christ and putting Him first in our lives), to using filters to always keeping the windows and door open, etc…nothing worked.

 

God wasn’t completely silent in those couple of years when I was addicted to porn. I can recall some other time when God completely cut all communication with me until I obeyed Him in a certain matter (thank God He did that!), but that was not the case in those two years. I think God knew that I was helpless against breaking free from porn. He knew I was too young spiritually to abandon me completely to my weakness and leave me completely at Satan’s mercy (as if he has any!)

 

A particular scary moment was when one night after indulging in sin for hours I stood and planned to go carry out a sinful act. After a couple steps it was as if God slapped me so hard that He woke me up from a nightmare; the only thing is that I was not dreaming--it was real life! I had so foolishly bought Satan’s lies to the degree that I was going to carry them out! I froze and couldn’t move for few seconds because it was as if God had blocked my way. Then I realized that I was basically a slave of Satan if I kept believing what he told me. I was like a zombie having all sense sucked out of me and so dead in my sins.

 

Nothing can explain God's intervention in that moment better than this song:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_SjhKJgqGg

 

I also realized that I was not so different from Ted Bundy or any other serial killer and rapist. I was a step away from going that road if it wasn’t for God mercy, grace, love and compassion. I can never be thankful enough for Him for intervening in that moment. We were all born sinners, and according to God holiness that demands divine justice we all deserve the death penalty. That’s why our Lord had to die for our sins to be forgiven. So please, next time you hear about a criminal so “evil” ask yourself those two questions: 1) Can Jesus’ blood forgive all his sin? Yes, or no? 2) Can God change him? Yes, or no? The answer is yes to both questions. (Check this man’s testimony if you like to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIfQ-aBham4

 

One time I managed to stay away from pornography for 18 days! I was so happy but when I fell to sin again I was more miserable than ever before! I knew that I couldn’t do better than that. That was about half a year after listening to Dr. Stanley’s message.

 

So sometime in March of 2003 I went to pray at night. And I basically told God that I had enough and that I wasn’t going to pray anymore. I was ending my relationship with Him! I didn’t know better at the time that He paid a high price to adopt me into His family and He wasn’t just going to let me go! I was so tired of pretending that my religion works when it didn’t! I became a Christian not looking for a religion, but because the God of the Bible was so real I wanted to know Him…I wanted to experience what He did and said He would do. But it was not working! It was also so repulsive to me to come pray to God when I had so disgustingly disobeyed Him! It was like lusting after women all day long then going home and kissing my wife and pretending that everything is “fine”, (by the way, it is NOT “fine” with God and His opinion is the only opinion that matters if not now then later!). I simply couldn’t carry a relationship with a Holy God when I was so steeped into sin. I was crying when I told Him “good-by” because I had really wanted Christianity to work since it was the only faith that held its own claims and its God was so real that it would require more faith for me not to believe in Him than to believe in Him! (How much faith does it take to believe in gravity? None, because we know it exists! That’s the same case with our God.) So I told Him that I don’t care anymore. I give up. I can’t break free from pornography’s hold on me, and He isn’t helping me. So I give up and won’t try to resist porn anymore. I was too tired to try to please a God who wasn’t willing to help me with my burdens.

 

I don’t remember exactly what day it was that I prayed that prayer but I know it was in the last 10 days of March, 2003. So I stood up and thought that was the end…that all those prayers I had prayed and He answered, the peace He has given me, the joy, and the awesome awareness of His presence I had experienced before…were all things I had imagined.

 

Next day I didn’t watch porn, and I thought because I was busy with school work. The day after I didn’t watch porn either and I thought because the whole week was a busy week with school work! After a week I realized that I didn’t watch porn for the last week nor did I think about it or desired to watch it! That’s when it hit me: I was free! Hallelujah, Jesus set me free! Christianity works! My wonderful God is real! Everything He did before was real! So I went to pray again, and asked Him what I should do now! He put on my heart to go to www.settingcaptivesfree.com/home/our_courses.php and register! So I did, and went through the online program for 2 months. And I have been free from pornography since that March night until today. I had a friend in high school was struggling with pornography too. He was from Pakistan and when I told him that I was free he didn’t understand how. I couldn’t explain it more to my friend than the blind man, whom our Lord Jesus healed, answered in John 9:25:

 

He replied, "…One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

 

It took me a while to realize that the Biblical principle in Dr. Stanley’s sermon works! What I did in that prayer is simply I gave up: surrendered. I stopped trying to do it in my own strength. I stopped trying to fight God’s war for Him. I stopped trying to earn His favour. I stopped trying to win my way according to my timing. I ceased striving.

 

If you read Gideon’s story, the story Dr. Stanley based his sermon outlines on, you will realize God did the same thing with Gideon and His army. I truly encourage you to read it. You can find it in the book of Judges.

 

Why did God free me this way? Well there are many reasons, here are some:

 

1) He wants to bring Himself the glory. If we do it on our own and succeed what does that tell the world about Him? Nothing. Then I could’ve written this whole story without a mention of Him. But the fact is I couldn’t break free from pornography on my own in a million years. It was all His work.

 

2) He desires to grow our faith. My faith wouldn’t have grown in a God that stands idle while I did everything myself. But now I know He is more than able to do everything He said will do.

 

3) God wants us to trust Him and know that He can handle His own affairs and wars. It is good to defend God and fight for Him, but we must let Him fight His own battles so the world to know that He is a mighty and powerful God, and that He is real.

 

Let me ask you some questions: if you are always fighting for your god, protecting it, speaking on its behave, defending it, what makes you think it is a real god? If your god can’t speak, what makes you so convinced it could create your mouth? If your god can’t fight its own battles against evil, what makes you think it can give you victory? If your god can’t defend itself, what makes you think it can protect you?

 

4) For others to see, hear, believe and come to know Him. If I was able to free myself from porn by myself, how would that draw people to Him?

 

You can say whatever you want about God. You can say that you don’t like Him. That you don’t believe in Him. You can say that you would rather live your life without Him, and spend eternity in Hell than in Heaven with Him. But you can’t tell me that I was not addicted beyond human hope to pornography and He freed me from it. You can’t tell me that my God isn’t real or that He is dead. You can’t tell me that my God is not powerful, or that He doesn’t love me and cares about me.

 

I remember a couple of years ago I was waiting for the bus (isn’t it strange how I realize a lot of things while waiting for the bus!), and thought to myself, “What is so horrible about pornography anyway?” (That was a couple of years after God freed me from it!) Then suddenly I had this very empty feeling in my chest when I remembered how spiritually thirsty I was when I was addicted to porn. I remember how horrible it felt to chase after something that does not satisfy and that it leads to more chasing…but it still does not satisfy! Ever since then until now, I would like to think that I have a healthy fear of pornography, and sin in general. (Remember, God created fear to protect us, just like pain. But how we view fear and respond to is what makes the difference between a protective fear and an enslaving fear.) Of course, porn’s destruction is much more than the chasing after something that does not satisfy. But I won’t go into how much it has actually ruined countless lives, because many websites and statistics are available for those who are truly seeking to know the truth about porn’s destructive power.

 

1 John 4:4 says:

 

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

 

It is sad how many Christians have opinions about sin that are not based on God Word. I read things such as, “It is my motives that count…so even though I do this and that, I do them without lusting…” Really? Where does the Bible teaches that? When our Lord talked about motives he was talking about fasting, praying, and giving to the poor not about sin! You can’t sin with pure motives! It doesn’t make sense! You can fool me, and you can fool your church congregation! But how can you live with yourself knowing that you are lying to yourself! And how are you going to fool God? Rather, how are you going to face Him?

 

And some Christians even say “it is natural to do so and so”. Yes, you are correct, but since when does the Bible talk about our nature as if it is holy! Our nature is corrupt and sinful, so why do we say “natural” as if it is a good thing! It is natural to get angry and want to get revenge; it is natural to lie when accused of something; it is natural to cheat when we want to get our way…but what does the Bible teach about all those examples of “natural behaviour”? They are all sin and do not fit us as sons and daughters of the living God!

 

No, I am not talking about people who are addicted to drugs, porn, alcohol, and so on. I am not even talking to the unbelieving world here. I am talking to us, Christians. I truly believe that there is a huge difference between someone who is sinning—because he or she are addicted to a certain sin, regardless of how they got themselves into this mess—but they absolutely hate that sin and want to be free from it, and between someone who knows he is sinning but has no problem with it--welcomes sin in his life.

 

I am going to say something here that I think will make a lot of people dislike me, but I am going to say it anyway and hope that you take it with an attitude knowing that I am not judging anybody here:

 

If you are a woman who has Christ in her life, please re-consider the way you dress. Not according to my standards, or the church you attend. Certainly not according to the standards of the latest fashion or to “that is the only thing available in stores nowadays”. Don’t go to someone else asking their opinion or read an article about it. Go directly to God’s Word and ask God directly, and if you are honestly seeking to follow Him He will show you His way. But I must warn you: once He makes His will clear you won’t have peace until you obey Him.

 

You might be wondering why I am talking about women’s dressing in a topic about porn! Well, men are very visual so they sin by lusting (even women do that, but I am not sure they do so as much as men do) and so porn is a naturally attractive sin to them. Women desire to feel beautiful, desired, wanted and so she tries to meet those need by dressing in a way that attracts men’s attention. And that’s how she gets her momentarily (short-lived: like all the promises Satan makes in regard to sin) emotional high by noticing a man looking at her. But what I want to ask you is this: if you go home and you are all by yourself and have nothing to do, how do you feel: empty, far from your heavenly Father; or peaceful and your heart is flowing with love and adoration for Him?

 

Causing to Sin, Mark 9:42-50:

 

"And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where

" 'their worm does not die,

and the fire is not quenched.' Everyone will be salted with fire.

"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other."

 

If you are a man who has Christ in his life, please take some time, be quiet with God, and think about where you were yesterday spiritually, where you are today, and where you are heading tomorrow! Evaluate your life. Evaluate your ways. Seek to know God better. Make decisions, daily decisions, to live for Him. Live a pure life starting with your heart and mind. Think about your future wife (or present wife), think about your kids. You are going to be the leader of the house who represents Christ to the whole household! Will they see Him through you? Or will your daughters grow up thinking that they have to look beautiful, sexy, and act in certain ways to get a man’s attention and love? Think about God’s awesome and wonderful purpose that He desires to accomplish through you. Think about God’s reputation among the people who know you. Please don’t settle for less. We are not going to be given another chance after this life!

 

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27)

 

If you realize you are sinning against God while you are on your way home then repent right away and seek to follow Him! It is never too late to make a decision to live for Him, even if you just realized that at the end of the day. Daily surrender yourself to Him if that’s what it takes for you to live a pure and blameless life.

 

I will stop here. All I ask is that if you claim to believe something about God put it into practice. Whether in regard to your identity in Him, your personal agendas vs. His plans and purposes, or if you claim to believe that Christ died for someone else’s sin then why not forgive them? Remember, John 13:17:

 

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

 

What things? The things that are written in God’s Word, and the Holy Spirit reveals to you.

 

And don't ever lose focus of this fact: all things are done through His goodness, grace and mercy—it, life here on earth and eternal life, is all about Him. However, for Him: it is all about you. It is the "Lord's favour" and not our own works whether in being saved or the power to live for Him: it is all about His grace.

 

Nothing But the Blood

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wej1jHtiH-M

 

(Toronot, ON; winter 2008.)

 

The ladies posing for photos at the conference's conclusion.

Number: CT-8421

Nickname: Sourpatch

Rank: 3rd Regiment Sergeant

 

///Log Entry///

 

“This whole temple gave me the creeps! Everywhere I turned there was some type of branch or leaf swinging at me! It scared me since I heard the rumors that this staff we’re going to destroy has the power to take control of people. The boys and I were walking through it all when we heard loud screams come from deeper within the temple. We immediately ran toward the holler to see what terrible thing was happening, and sure enough we found two troopers laying against the wall. I asked what their numbers were, and sure enough they were apart of the rescue squad. Needless to say I was skeptical about the two of them since we hadn’t heard any transmissions from the squad at all since the last one. I thought maybe they were already consumed by the staff. They told us there was something lurking through the temple that took the other members of their squad. I believed them until the trooper said that statues came alive and attacked them and pulled the men away, but they never found their bodies. We made our way toward the last known location of the staff, and sure enough it was still there. The area was old and worn out, but still quite clean. The only thing that seemed to be wrong with the structure was a small hole above. We quickly unpacked the explosives, but then, THE STATUES CAME ALIVE! They grabbed hold of a member of the rescue squad and I couldn’t believe my eyes! He was turning to stone! The trooper froze and was consumed by the other statues. I told everyone else to make their way to the top of the temple and get away from the blast area. I had to set the charge before the staff took control of us all. I felt a pull drawing me closer to it, as almost as if I would become the most powerful being in the universe! The statues now cut off my escape through the hole in the ceiling so I took a skeleton lying beside and chucked it at the statues and sure enough I made a hole big enough to jetpack through. I blew the charge shortly after and everyone made it out alright, except for that one squad member, CT-7940. Now CT-9449 had no squad to return to, so with request I accepted him into our team. He did one fine job keeping focused and staying on task. 9449 will be a valuable addition to the team!

 

Objective Status: Complete

 

///Log End///

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WS-326-13219038-5257740-2617893-22112023051355

No. 14 Rd.

Wexford County

 

Interpreting the 1908 Plat Map...this may have been May Poulson, 40 acres.

Following conclusion of strike action, Stagecoach in Hull had a shake up of route offerings across the city at the start of November, with circulars most notably pulled from the network.

 

The biggest cuts have come in the form of frequency reductions too, with no routes offering a frequency greater than every 20 minutes during the day, which is a major scale back on the pre-strike offering.

 

The service 3 saw a curtailment, with Orchard Park Tesco to Interchange retained as the number 3 whilst East Hull's segment of the route was moved to the return of service number 13 (previously Orchard Park to Interchange via North Point, Saltshouse Road and Holderness Road before withdrawal in 2019).

 

The 13 offers an every 20 minute link between Interchange, Holderness Road, Preston Road, Greatfield and Bilton Grange.

 

The 13 does offer the best evening service across Stagecoach routes in the city though, with an every 30 minute offering available until 11:30pm from Interchange. Service 3 does however suffer, going back to hourly in the evening after initially receiving an every 30 minute service before the strike.

 

Seen here passing McDonalds on Holderness Road is Enviro 400 MMC 10747, on service 13 to Bilton Grange despite the drivers' lack of blind attention.

Before changing ends and heading to the east side of the Cambria yard, 3872 is cleaned from the drifts battled earlier in the afternoon.

 

With this photo, I close out my Cambria Subdivision project, for now. While I certainty failed at getting every single grade crossing and every single angle imaginable, my hope is that I accomplished to convey the general feel of winter railroading on the Cambria Subdivision through these 18 photos (wow, I typically post fewer than 18 photos in a year). While I am concluding this project for now, I hope I have the opporuntity in the future to add more shots in varying seasons.

 

And some final closing words. I've had the great pleasure of being a member of this community of railroad photographers on Flickr. My inspiration for this small project came from this community after discovering many deep bodies of work that have faithfully documented all sorts of subjects. To many, not every individual shot in these collections would be considered a "banger". But to me, when you zoom out and look at the work as a whole, those shots are essential in conveying what that place, railroad, or subdivision is all about; otherwise, it would simply be a highlights reel.

 

In total, these collections inspired me to at least try and do something similar in my little slice of this community. Whether or not I achieved this is up to you. But if I can inspire even a single fan, in the sea of people who see this railroad as overshot, to take a little interest in the Cambria Sub or to at least attempt building their own small body of work, then my mission is accomplished.

 

So that's it.

 

Now I've rounded out my Cambria Subdivision Album to a whopping 20 photos. Guess that's it from me for the rest of the year!

The Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis touches down on Runway 15 of the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at the conclusion of the nearly 11-day STS-86 mission. Main gear touchdown was at 5:55:09 p.m. EDT, October 6, 1997, with an unofficial mission-elapsed time of 10 days, 19 hours, 20 minutes and 50 seconds. The first two Kennedy Space Center landing opportunities on Sunday were waved off because of weather concerns.

 

NASA Media Usage Guidelines

 

Credit: NASA

Image Number: 97PC-1504

Date: October 6, 1997

A Merseyrail train approaches its terminal stop at New Brighton on the Wirral.

Photo taken at Kungsholmstorg on Gärdesloppet, or Prins Bertil Memorial, Stockholm, Sweden.

 

Driver: Bo Kylerud.

 

The Volvo PV444 was the first Swedish automobile to be reviewed by Sports Cars Illustrated, later to become Car and Driver. Their conclusion? “It’s a skillful combination of good things from both sides of the Atlantic and as such is in a class apart.”

 

The PV 444 helped to further Volvo’s reputation as a builder of safe automobiles, as the car came with a laminated “safety glass” windshield, as well as a “safety body” that resisted crushing even in rollover accidents.

 

blog.hemmings.com/index.php/tag/volvo-pv444/

 

Gärdesloppet, or Prins Bertil Memorial:

 

Prince Bertil Memorial takes place each year in Stockholm, Sweden, in honour of Prince Bertil, uncle to Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf. The Prince was a race-car driver in the 1930s, using the pseudonym "Monsieur Adrian" to placate his disapproving father, later King Gustaf VI Adolf. Prince Bertil continued to act in the monarchy's best interests by forgoing marriage to his British girlfriend, Lilian Craig. Under Swedish law, which has since been changed, such a union with a commoner would have rendered him ineligible to serve as regent, should the need have arisen, to Carl Gustaf, son of Prince Bertil's deceased older brother. The Prince finally married the patient Lilian in 1976, three years after nephew Carl Gustaf was safely on the throne.

 

forums.autosport.com/topic/24708-prince-bertil-of-sweden/

 

Not only the conclusion to this chase, but the 2014 railfanning year. An appropriate train to go out with in 2014 - NS 14G. The Veteran's Unit brings 14G over the Conemaugh River in Bolivar, PA, as the last bit of golden sun shines down on the train.

For Sliders Sunday… HSS…!

Fairfax Co. PD motorcops posing for a group picture at the conclusion of the parade.

 

Alexandria, VA / March 6, 2010

A conclusion to the 'Aftermath' epilogue

 

'Now, I want you to breathe deeply' Arthur said, walking towards Johnny. Who was sat cross legged on the floor.

 

The room was dark, with only one light switched on that hung above where Johnny was sat.

 

Johnny inhaled, then slowly exhaled a few seconds later. His broad chest rising and falling. He looked slightly better than he did a few days before, though still somewhat unkempt.

 

Arthur moved gracefully around the room, arms crossed behind him as he did. Even in the darkness Johnny could still catch a faint glimmer of green from his eyes.

 

'Now, close your eyes' Arthur calmly said.

 

Johnny hesitated, though his sleeping had improved he still had intense memory flashes from the Antarctica mission.

 

'Don't be scared' Arthur murmured 'I'll be right there with you'.

 

As Johnny closed his eyes Arthur raised his hands, the numerous rings he wore on his fingers shimmered in the light.

 

Two bright glowing disks dotted with runes and symbols flashed around his hands. And as he waved his hands a bright ring of light appeared above Johnny.

 

'Okay Johnny, keep breathing' Arthur said, holding his position.

 

'I'm going to count down from ten. And when I do you'll be making your way to the temple in your memories'.

 

He saw Johnny flinch slightly.

 

'I'll be right there with you through the whole thing' Arthur said reassuringly 'Are you ready?'.

 

Johnny nodded slightly.

 

'Ten'

 

'Nine'

 

'Eight'

 

Johnny kept inhaling and exhaling, though sweat was slowly beginning to form on his brow.

 

'Seven'

 

'Six'

 

His eyes tightened slightly, slowly the image of the mountains came into view in his mind.

 

'Five'

 

'Four'

 

'Three'

 

He could see the top of the temple.

 

'Two'

 

'One'

 

Suddenly, the long, thin rope bridge came into view.

 

As it did, the hazy image whisped and flickered Infront of Arthur. The snow flurried around him, and as he exhaled he could faintly see his breath.

 

The other adventurers came into view, all stunned and amazed at the size of the temple. A long, narrow pyramid like shape, made entirely from a brazen metal. Intricate symbols and markings etched into it's surface.

 

'You're doing great Johnny' Arthur said, as awestruck by the temple as Johnny had been.

 

Suddenly, the twisted and frail form of The Baron lunged from behind one of the fallen structures. As he appeared so did the grotesque Slybots, their hands extending into sharp claws.

 

Johnny shuddered slightly.

 

'let it play out' Arthur said reassuringly.

 

'There will be no victory for you today Thunder' the Baron rasped from his metallic face mask, as he did small puffs of steam emitted from the hoses on either side of the mask 'The riches in that temple belong to me and me alone'.

 

He raised his revolver and motioned for Johnny to enter the temple with him. As he did, the two slybots surrounding Pippin, Kilroy, Jing Lee and Harry. Leaving them outside.

 

As they entered the temple a wave of dread filled Johnny, he looked around the temple walls, all decorated with strange symbols and starfish like carvings.

 

''Whatever is here it's not worth taking' Johnny said, turning to the Baron.

 

'I will not be denied my treasure' the Baron grated, raising the pistol to Johnny's head.

 

They entered the center of the temple, there was a large circular hole adorned with symbols and glyphs.

 

Johnny looked up, noticing that there was a hole in the ceiling that extended through to the top of the temple.

 

He looked down, laying his eyes upon a gigantic glowing purple crystal that sat in the lower level. The crystal shimmered and crackled with raw energy.

 

'Magnificent' The Baron murmured.

 

He turned to Johnny, the purple glow of the crystal glistening in his sunken dark eyes.

 

'You shall retrieve it' he snapped.

 

'We don't know enough about this place' Johnny said calmly 'We shouldn't tamper with anything until-'.

 

The Baron raised his hooked hand to Johnny's face, letting it slowly dig into his cheek.

 

'I have waited too long to claim what is mine! I have survived death again and again! Not even the Re-Gou ruby could destroy me!' he snarled.

 

'You will retrieve it, or your beloved friends will be slaughtered'.

 

There was a sudden flapping sound, as a gust of wind blew past the two.

 

Two large shapes swirled around the ceiling, circling Johnny and the Baron. As they approached their strange twisted, winged forms came into view.

 

'Elder things' Johnny whispered.

 

The elder things landed close to Johnny, raising their metallic spears towards the Baron and Johnny.

 

They began to speak, a throaty, grated voice emitting from their starfish like mouths.

 

Thoygh Johnny couldn't understand, he knew that they were warning them not to retrieve the crystal.

 

'we should go' Johnny said.

 

'Bah!' the Baron retorted 'I have faced worse!'

 

The gunshot echoed through the temple as the Baron fired his pistol. Hitting one of the elder things in the chest and causing the creature to scream in agony.

 

The other elder thing hissed and took flight, aiming it's spear at the Baron.

 

The Baron fired several shots, all of which the creature avoided with ease. It swooped down towards the Baron, yellow bolts crackling from the tip of the spear.

 

The Baron fired another shot, hitting the creature and causing it to lose focus. As it tumbled towards him he grabbed it with his hooked hand, the creature writhing and twitching in pain.

 

'Pathetic' the Baron growled, tossing the creature toward the nearby wall.

 

The creature collided with the wall, slumping down weakly. It raised an appendage to the wall, pushing a large symbol that hummed to life with purple energy.

 

A strange mechanical clicking reverberated through the temple, the floor shuddering as it did.

 

Johnny stumbled towards the other fallen elder thing, it's five eyes turning their gaze towards him.

 

Weakly it began to mutter a phrase.

 

'Tekeli-li'

 

Suddenly a bright pillar of purple light erupted from the hole, shooting forth through the temple and into the sky.

 

The floor of the temple started to fracture, as veins of glowing energy snaked across.

 

The Baron staggered towards the pillar of light, as he did several dark tendrils erupted from the ground.

 

A hideous, blood curdling scream filled the temple.

 

The beacon pulsed as the temple shook further.

 

Johnny staggered out into the flurry of snow. Sliding down towards the other adventurers. As he did, two large tendrils erupted from the ice and snow, twisting and wrapping around both of the slybots, who screeched as their metal forms were crushed so effortlessly by the tentacles.

 

'We need to go now!' Johnny cried, ushering the others to the rope bridge.

 

Kilroy stepped on first, followed by Jing Lee and then Harry, every now and then Pippin tried to take another photo. But was hurriedly moved by Johnny.

 

As Johnny turned around to check on the temple, he came face to face with the barrel of the Baron's revolver.

 

'No, not this time' The Baron grated 'It ends here Thunder'.

 

But before the Baron could fire, another tentacle emerged. Constricting around the Baron and snapping his arm in the process.

 

As Johnny watched in horror, the Baron was lifted from the ground, and swooped into a waiting, gnashing maw covered in rows of thin, rotting teeth. Gelatinous gums oozing and glistening with blood and mucus.

 

And then, he was gone. Over a decade of conflict with him just erased in the blink of an eye.

 

Johnny began to run towards the bridge, as more and more tentacles burst forth. The shrieks and moans from the creature ringing through his mind.

 

He turned around, only to be struck with the foul horror that stood before him.

 

The base of the temple began to crumble, revealing multitudes of eyes, mouths, faces, teeth. All twitching and screaming and blinking incessantly.

 

The temple was falling, as more and more tendrils wrapped around the structure.

 

He could not move, only state at the gelatinous mass that began to consume the temple. The eyes turning to look at him. As the mouths all screamed a familiar phrase.

 

'TEKELI-LI!'

 

He began to breathe faster, beads of sweat trickling down his face.

 

Suddenly, everything paused. The shoggoth stopped moving, the temple was at a standstill.

 

'Okay, I think we've reached the climax of the trauma'. Arthur said calmly.

 

'It's more vivid than before' Johnny gasped.

 

'We're looking at the true memory' Arthur said, peering into the image.

 

'What happens now?' Johnny asked worriedly.

 

'I need you to think, think about a happy memory' Arthur said.

 

'How will that help?' Johnny asked.

 

'Trauma, negative memories, painful moments. They all exist within us'. Arthur replied 'We hold onto them as much as we do with any positive memory'.

 

'Over time we can adapt, we can learn to rebuild ourselves. You just need to learn to cope and adjust'.

 

'By thinking happy thoughts?' Johnny said.

 

'By using what we already know' Arthur said.

 

'Think of a moment in your life, where you truly felt happy'.

 

Johnny thought for a second, his eyes still closed.

 

'I guess probably the first archeological discovery I made'. He said, smiling slightly.

 

The memory started to appear.

 

'Good, tell me about that memory' Arthur said.

 

'Well, it was during a summer holiday I spent with Uncle Kilroy here in Britain. He had been showing me ancient Roman sites in the countryside'.

 

'What was the weather like?' Arthur asked.

 

'It was warm, it had been for weeks. The sun was slowly starting to set. And I had been digging for nearly an hour'.

 

The image of the mountains shifted, a warm amber glow of a summer evening came into view.

 

'And what did you find?' Arthur asked.

 

'An old Roman coin' Johnny smiled 'Kilroy was so proud, he put it in a frame for me'.

 

Two small hands appeared in the image, clutching excitedly around a large metal coin.

 

'How did you feel at that moment?'

 

'Happy, excited' Johnny said 'It was the first time I had really smiled since losing my parents'

 

'I guess, that first discovery is what motivated me to pursue archeology. There was so much I wanted to know'.

 

'And look how far you've come' Arthur smiled.

 

'You mean going insane?' Johnny laughed.

 

'You've travelled the world discovering hidden temples and precious artefacts, you even ventured into a lost Island and found dinosaurs. You've fought undead warriors, treasure thieves, mythical creatures. Hell you've just encountered an alien civilization whilst exploring one of the most inhospitable places in the world'.

 

'I never thought of it that way' Johnny said, exhaling slowly.

 

'You've inspired so many' Arthur added, smiling softly. 'Even when I was a child I used to read all the articles about your latest discoveries'.

 

'But how does that help me now?'

 

'It shows what you're capable of, think about it. Your past sparked the start of your career, from that coin you began to do remarkable things'.

 

Johnny turned to look at Arthur, dissipating the memory.

 

'Hold onto that memory, not just because of what it started. But because of how it made you feel. The mind is a powerful thing, we can do incredible things with our minds'.

 

Johnny half smiled, seeming more relaxed within himself. Though the memories of the Antarctic lingered in the darkness of his mind. The thought of holding that coin on a warm summer evening seemed to shine brighter.

 

'So what now?' Johnny asked.

 

'We rebuild' Arthur smiled, extending his hand.

 

After helping Johnny up, the two walked towards the doorway.

 

'I've got to ask, have you ever used this therapy on yourself?' Johnny said.

 

'A few times' Arthur shrugged.

 

'You must have some pretty good memories then' Johnny smiled.

 

'Just one' Arthur replied, holding onto the golden ring that held from his necklace.

I tried your way, I vanished from home again. You swear you have fixed things and now you know your path, our path.

 

We are looking the raging waves, looking the dike and its security, looking how safety they feel despite the power of the brave sea.

 

I believe you.

 

But, after a nomadism, only a real truth remains: I will never be the same person as when I left.

A very very windy day. After catching my camera mid fall about 3 times I come to the conclusion that a sturdier tripod is definitely needed!

Negli ultimi anni la consapevolezza sui danni provocati dal Glutine sulla salute delle persone è molto cresciuta.

 

Secondo un sondaggio, pubblicato nel 2013, un terzo degli americani ha deciso di fare cose concrete per eliminare il Glutine dalla propria dieta (Guarda qui il grafico).

 

Ma l’alimentazione senza Glutine non è soltanto una delle solite mode. Ormai sono tantissimi gli studi che dimostrano i danni gravi che il Glutine provoca sulla salute.

 

Ecco, di seguito, 6 scioccanti motivi che rendono il Glutine dannoso per la salute e perché devi iniziare subito ad eliminarlo.

 

1. La Celiachia è in forte aumento, eppure ampiamente non diagnosticata nella maggior parte delle persone che potrebbero esserne affette.

Il Glutine è un complesso proteico contenuto in molti cereali: frumento, farro, segale, orzo, kamut ecc.

 

E’ composto da due proteine: Gliadina e Glutenina. Fra le due proteine è la Gliadina quella a cui la stragrande maggioranza delle persone sviluppa una reazione di intolleranza allergica.

 

Quando le farine dei cereali contenenti Glutine si mischiano con l’acqua, questo inizia a formare un legame colloso con parecchie altre proteine e conferisce una proprietà elastica all’impasto, cosa che permette di ottenere, man mano che viene lavorato, il pane.

 

Non a caso il termine Glutine richiama alla mente il verbo agglutinare, che significa saldare due o più elementi con sostanze adesive, incollare.

 

Cosa succede nei soggetti sensibili al glutine

 

Quando il Glutine arriva nel tratto digestivo, entra in contatto con le cellule del sistema immunitario. Le cellule, per errore, lo scambiano per un invasore esterno, un po’ come avviene per i batteri.

 

Nei soggetti più sensibili al Glutine, accade che, il sistema immunitario inizia a scatenare attacchi contro la sostanza, percepita come estranea e nemica. Nella Celiachia, la forma più acuta e grave di intolleranza al Glutine, il sistema immunitario non si limita ad attaccare la proteina, ma estende il suo attacco anche all’enzima presente nel tratto digestivo, la Transglutaminasi.

 

Quindi il contatto col Glutine, nelle persone soggette a Celiachia, porta il sistema immunitario ad attaccare la proteina e la parete intestinale, causando carenze nutrizionali, problemi di digestione, anemia, affaticamento, accresciuta difficoltà a contrastare le malattie, maggiore esposizione al rischio di contrarre malattie gravi.

 

La Celiachia colpisce l’1% della popolazione, con un aumento negli anziani ma, approfondite ricerche, evidenziano che la percentuale della popolazione celiaca è in rapida, costante crescita (Leggi qui gli studi 1, 2).

 

Bisogna tenere a mente che la maggior parte dei celiaci non ha sintomi intestinali, per questo è molto difficile diagnosticare il disturbo. I sintomi possono riguardare non solo l’affaticamento o l’anemia, ma possono anche mostrarsi in modo più grave, nell’aumento dei rischi di mortalità (Leggi qui gli studi 1, 2).

 

Si pensa che l’80% dei malati di Celiachia ignora del tutto di essere vittima di questa gravissima intolleranza (Leggi qui lo studio).

 

Conclusione: la Celiachia colpisce almeno l’1% della popolazione, è in forte aumento, l’80% dei malati non ne è consapevole.

 

Continua a leggere "Le 6 sconvolgenti verità sui danni provocati dal Glutine"

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Avena selvatica

 

Pianta erbacea che cresce ai bordi delle strade, ma in passato era una importante fonte alimentare. Fiorisce da maggio ad agosto.

 

Esistono almeno 50 specie di avena; le più comuni in Italia sono l'avena fatua, la sterilis e la barbada.

 

L'avena è un erba annua, abbastanza rustica, che si adatta facilmente a climi umidi e freddi. Viene coltivata soprattutto a scopo di foraggio, ma trova un ottimo impiego anche nell'alimentazione umana.

 

Contiene ferro, glutine, amido e materie azotate ad azione stimolante. L'avena è ricca di vitamine e sali minerali ad azione energetica.

 

Generalmente si utilizzano i semi, raccolti a perfetta maturazione e conservati lontano dall'umidità.

 

Fonte: benessere/erboristeria...

  

At the conclusion of our visit to Woolbeding Gardens, we decided to have tea before catching the mini-bus back to our car. Ray went into the café. I was conscious that the gentleman at the next table to me, very close, had been sitting there earlier with some companions.

 

Now I am really unsure who spoke first but I remember that he said it was good to sit. He explained that his wife and the others had walked down to the lake but he had preferred to rest a bit longer.

 

Whether it was the mention of the lake or the warm sunny weather, or maybe both, he began to reminisce a little about childhood days when his whole family would leave their home in Toronto and make their way by various means of transport, to Lake Muskoka for the summer, provisions being picked up en route.

 

There was always tennis and a swim in the morning and then lunch was at 1 p.m., something simple like salad. After that it was quiet time until 3 p.m., the children being expected to stay in their rooms following pursuits such as reading, "And woe betide you if you spoke!" From around 3.30 p.m. they were again free to follow their pursuits, swim in the lake.....

 

He had a quiet, gentle voice and it was easy to imagine those long summer childhood days which apparently lasted from the end of May to after Thanksgiving in October.

 

At some point I did think about a stranger portrait but the conversation seemed to take on a life of its own.

 

John, as I later knew him to be, has spent his career in Canada and England and now, in retirement, is a volunteer with the National Trust at Petworth and has also worked voluntarily at Cowdray Castle, including as a trustee for part of that time.

 

Ray returned with the tea and, finding us deep in conversation, assumed that I had already asked for, and taken, portraits. So I explained my strangers' project to John and asked if he would participate.

 

He was quite happy, although maybe a little surprised that I wanted to take his photo, and he suggested moving to our table. He also offered to take off his hat but I said that he looked fine. Now he and Ray began to chat and I worked my shots around them, just asking John to look my way a couple of times.

 

His wife, Pamela, returned and was introduced. John told us that she is an alternative therapist, specialising in Reiki. He had already mentioned earlier that they have four grown-up sons.

 

Our car parking time was running out. We exchanged cards with email addresses and I promised to send photos, shaking hands with John and thanking him.

 

I do enjoy this portraiture work and regard it as a privilege to be able to meet new folk and share their stories for a brief time.

  

To view more street portraits and stories visit:

 

www.flickr.com/groups/thehumanfamily/

  

At the conclusion of the 1-hr 33-minute AS-202 mission on August 25, 1966, CM-011 is hoisted aboard the USS Hornet (CV-12) during recovery operations off of Wake Island.

 

~9.5” x 12.15”.

 

nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694co...

Credit: New York Heritage Digital Collections website

 

Other than propagating the inexplicable & inexcusable misidentification of this capsule as being the one on display at Expo ‘67, an excellent article:

 

www.nasa.gov/feature/55-years-ago-apollo-as-202-final-tes...

 

I reached out to the guy that wrote it via LinkedIn…crickets…imagine that. 👎

Audience of grandmothers not shown.

Partial view of the belvedere viewing tower at sunset. Tanguá Park, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.

Read more: www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/en

 

This photo is free to use under Creative Commons licenses and must be credited: "© European Union 2017 - European Parliament".

(Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives CreativeCommons licenses creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

For bigger HR files please contact: webcom-flickr(AT)europarl.europa.eu

 

th3 beatme_x jeanpeutetre

Viewed from the Marktplatz.

 

"The Evangelical Lutheran town church of St. Michael in Fürth, Central Franconia, was for a long time the center of the city's church life (Parochialkirche). The Archangel Michael, the patron of the city church, has also been the city's patron since the 13th century.

 

On November 1, 1007, Fürth was definitely mentioned in a document for the first time. In the Synod of Frankfurt, Heinrich II transferred Fürth, including the existing churches, to the Bamberg cathedral chapter, although the list in the document does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the number of churches existing at the time. It is assumed that at that time there was only one St. Martin's Chapel, which was located near the Rednitz in the valley floor. However, their parish could only be transferred after the death of the Bishop of Eichstätt Megingaud and this took place in 1016. In 1349 the St. Michael's Church was mentioned for the first time in a document. This second church was built possibly because of the new sovereign, as St. Martin was the only church in Fürth that still belonged to the diocese of Eichstätt. At that time, the income was distributed according to the key 1/3 to St. Michael and 2/3 to St. Martin, which shows the initially even greater importance of St. Martin. The document also includes a commitment to the procession to St. Martin with relics and flags. The reason for the document was the separation of St. Johannis in Burgfarrnbach because of the frequent floods on the Rednitz (which may have been further west at the time), which blocked access to St. Martin. In 1362, St. Martin was designated as a side church for the first time; the obligation to procession to the older chapel was retained.

 

In a papal document from 1235, the chapel of St. Lorenz zum Heiligen Grab is described as a branch church of the Fürth church, the latter was probably still St. Martin. In 1258, the relationship between the churches was described as a union relationship, which probably existed from 1237 to 1354, administered by a common senior pastor. But around 1300 St. Lorenz was already the more important church. The Bamberg pastors tended to choose Nuremberg as their residence; even before 1243, the senior pastor had his seat in Nuremberg, and the joint senior pastor was still the clergyman of the Bamberg cathedral chapter. According to the papal bulls of 1388/1402, the Bamberg canons no longer had any privileges at St. Lorenz and St. Sebald; the senior pastors had residency requirements. In further documents from 1474 and 1513, the head pastor in Nuremberg's right to occupy the Fürth parish positions is mentioned, and in 1477 the appointment of the head pastors as provosts. This meant that the Fürth pastors were not only deployed from Nuremberg, but were also subject to local jurisdiction.

 

Fürth (German: [fʏʁt]; East Franconian: Färdd; Yiddish: פיורדא, romanized: Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (Regierungsbezirk) of Middle Franconia.

 

It is the second-largest city in Franconia and now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only seven km (4.3 mi) apart.

 

The city forms a continuous conurbation with the neighbouring cities of Nuremberg, Erlangen and Schwabach, which is the heart of an urban area region with around 1.4 million inhabitants, while the larger Nuremberg Metropolitan Region has a population of approximately 3.6 million.

 

Fürth celebrated its thousand year anniversary in 2007, its first mention being on 1 November 1007.

 

The historic centre of the town is to the east and south of the rivers Rednitz and Pegnitz, which join to form the Regnitz to the northwest of the Old Town. To the west of the town, on the far side of the Main-Danube Canal, is the Fürth municipal forest (Fürther Stadtwald). To the east of Fürth, at roughly the same latitude, lies Nuremberg, and to the north is the fertile market-gardening area known as the Knoblauchsland (garlic country), some of which is within the borders of the urban district of Fürth. To the south of the town is an area consisting of wide roads, the canal, and meadows.

 

Founded as a Franconian settlement in the mid-8th century AD, the first historical mention of Fürth was in a document dated 1 November 1007, in which the Emperor Heinrich II donated his property in Fürth to the newly created Bishopric of Bamberg. The name "Fürth" derives from the German word for "ford", as the first settlements originated around a ford. In the following years, Fürth was granted market privileges, but these were later lost to the neighbouring Nuremberg, under Heinrich III. From 1062 onward, Fürth was again permitted to have a market, but by that time Nuremberg was already the more important town.

 

In the following centuries, the town was under varying authority, involving the Bishopric of Bamberg, the Principality of Ansbach and the City of Nuremberg. For a long time, the character of the settlement remained largely agricultural, and in 1600 the population was probably still only between 1000 and 2000.

 

In the Thirty Years War, the village was almost completely destroyed by fire, in military actions leading up to the September 1632 Battle of Fürth.

 

In 1835, the first German railway was opened between Nuremberg and Fürth.

 

Throughout the Cold War, Fürth had a significant NATO presence, especially the U.S. Army, due to its proximity to both the East German and Czechoslovak borders.

 

Franconia (German: Franken, pronounced [ˈfʁaŋkŋ̍]; Franconian: Franggn [ˈfrɑŋɡŋ̍]; Bavarian: Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: Fränkisch).

 

Franconia is made up of the three Regierungsbezirke of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia in Bavaria, the adjacent, Franconian-speaking, South Thuringia, south of the Thuringian Forest—which constitutes the language boundary between Franconian and Thuringian— and the eastern parts of Heilbronn-Franconia in Baden-Württemberg.

 

Those parts of the Vogtland lying in Saxony (largest city: Plauen) are sometimes regarded as Franconian as well, because the Vogtlandian dialects are mostly East Franconian. The inhabitants of Saxon Vogtland, however, mostly do not consider themselves as Franconian. On the other hand, the inhabitants of the Hessian-speaking parts of Lower Franconia west of the Spessart (largest city: Aschaffenburg) do consider themselves as Franconian, although not speaking the dialect. Heilbronn-Franconia's largest city of Heilbronn and its surrounding areas are South Franconian-speaking, and therefore only sometimes regarded as Franconian. In Hesse, the east of the Fulda District is Franconian-speaking, and parts of the Oden Forest District are sometimes regarded as Franconian for historical reasons, but a Franconian identity did not develop there.

 

Franconia's largest city and unofficial capital is Nuremberg, which is contiguous with Erlangen and Fürth, with which it forms the Franconian conurbation with around 1.3 million inhabitants. Other important Franconian cities are Würzburg, Bamberg, Bayreuth, Ansbach and Coburg in Bavaria, Suhl and Meiningen in Thuringia, and Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg.

 

The German word Franken—Franconians—also refers to the ethnic group, which is mainly to be found in this region. They are to be distinguished from the Germanic people of the Franks, and historically formed their easternmost settlement area. The origins of Franconia lie in the settlement of the Franks from the 6th century in the area probably populated until then mainly by the Elbe Germanic people in the Main river area, known from the 9th century as East Francia (Francia Orientalis). In the Middle Ages the region formed much of the eastern part of the Duchy of Franconia and, from 1500, the Franconian Circle. The restructuring of the south German states by Napoleon, after the demise of the Holy Roman Empire, saw most of Franconia awarded to Bavaria." - info from Wikipedia.

 

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

 

Now on Instagram.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon or donate.

Futuron - Retro solar space ship.

 

The beginning/Genesis :

At the beginning of September, I re-watched the old animated as X-Bomber at 43 years old ! It was my birthday this month. Don't ask me what went through my mind at the time, I don't know at all! I wanted to go back to childhood, because I have the impression of having aged. I had to straighten "the bar", lol ! Seeing these old Retro solar boats literally “blew my mind”. I never realized that a lot of anime from that era had a "strange spaceship" conception, transforming old 14-18th century ships / galleons with engines for space. Yet it was so obvious! And it was there, that suddenly, I remembered Jayce, Cobra, etc ... In short, I saw all the ships of the anime of that time scroll through my head, like a comet in front of my eyes (which booms crashing into my head). And no one had done this in Lego. At least I don't remember. In itself, the beginning of an idea or impression that smelled good, and / or had potential.

It was the very beginning of the inspiration and brainstorming in my head for Lego Classic Space!

 

The concept :

I did something unusual, non-conformism, eccentric, disconcerting and crazy at the same time. I make a double combination and double ration, animated 70-90's which it was the fashion of space ships and Lego Space Futurons 87-90's. For a good Retro nostalgia I combined elements of the Azuris ship from « Message from space : galactic wars », the Cephalus ship from Star Fleet X-Bomber, Glory of the universe of Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, and the Solaris of the Mysterious cities of Gold ! 2 periods 70-90 in 1 ! Fashion Geek powa, total !

 

Animated Wikipedia source:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Message_from_Space:_Galactic_Wars

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Bomber

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayce_and_the_Wheeled_Warriors

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mysterious_Cities_of_Gold

  

Youtube animated credits for the nostalgic:

Message from space : galactic wars / San Ku Kai / chū kara no Messēji: Ginga Taisen

www.dailymotion.com/video/x3a7kge

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfzb7kndOH8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev846CoLg1c

Star Fleet : www.youtube.com/watch?v=szZisbEQB_Q

Jayce and the wheeled warriors : www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9K0SzFIf4A

The Mysterious Cities of Gold : www.youtube.com/watch?v=enoK-1CW74Y

 

I took again in inspiration:

- The front and landing feet of Glory of the Universe.

- Sails and propulsion reactors of the Cephalus.

- The front spur and the hexagonal solar sail at the top of the Solaris mast.

- Part of the sails and the structure of the Azuris.

 

Remarkable elements, NPU, conversion of parts, techniques :

I converted parts #4346 and #4345, in all directions, with levers, for the machinery. Part #44938 bionicle shield, with a "mechanical" aspect converted into an energy capacitor. Various parts of Droids (starwars) converted in the machinery and on the outer deck. Bionicle Shield #45275 converted into deflectors, on the deck of the ship. Kind of like "Viking ship/longship/drakkar" shields. Big Trident Bionicle #40339 = excellent for large boat emblems in general. I used a slope technique for the sides of the hull. For the rear canopy in the hull, I used a SNOT technique with part #30249.

 

Physical information :

- 7,082 parts for 854 lots.

- 2 weeks of brainstorming, intellectual reflection or "total blank" ...: passive or empty work.

- 3 to 4 weeks of active work.

- 60.8 studs width, 101.8 studs length, 78.7 studs height.

- 48.7 cm width, 81.5 cm length, 63 cm height.

- 5.77 Kg.

 

Global :

All Futuron minifigures, including the Green Lego City minifigure and the lesser known "Educational & Dacta<" minifigurines. 9 crew members, 3 teams of 3 watch members.

 

Exterior/outside:

- Solar sails with 3 intermediate lookouts. They can rotate a bit.

- Futuron logo, in stickers, on the sails.

- 2 radars at the top of the masts.

- Long electromagnetic barrel at the front.

- 2 small laser cannon turrets at the front.

- 2 large turrets at the rear, pulsed radius.

- Wings with stabilizers at the end.

- 2 small rotating turrets under the wings.

- 4 landing feet.

- Various elements of machinery on the deck of the Boat.

- 8 deflector shields on the sides (Bionicle shield converted).

- 2 large propulsion reactors.

- Cockpit.

 

Wheelhouse:

- 1 captain / watch officer seat.

- 1 seat Transmission of orders to machines.

- 1 navigation control seat.

- 1 communication control seat.

- 1 alarm control seat.

- Walkie-talkies, fans, fire extinguishers, binoculars, cups, etc.

 

Interior/inside hull of the ship :

- Small storage room at the front, with a ladder to grab onto the deck of the solar ship.

- 6 beds with drawers below.

- WC / toilet.

- Sonic shower.

- Kitchen / Cantina: sink, water, oven, cupboards, cups, bottles of food.

- Table, bottles of food.

- Machine room: control bar, control panel, turbines, fans, transformer, energy condenser, energy pressurizer, cooling circuit, heat transfer fluid, warning lights, ladder to climb to the cockpit, tool kit, tools behind the ladder.

- Rear canopy

- SAS by energy barrier.

 

Conclusion:

I built in a perspective of pseudo-realism, pseudo-likely and pseudo-consistency, with compromises with the Retro concept of the animated ones of the years 70-90's. I wanted something playable and fun at the same time.

I had a lot of difficulty and trial and errors, because I had never done a Lego boat. I worked several times until 4am ! I often work like this: as long as the inspiration is there, I must not lose it, and I work until I no longer see the time passing. But the opposite has also happened to me several times : several times the symptom of the "blank sheet" for 1 to 3 days, without knowing how I was going to build, find inspiration, think about the logic of the construction, etc. . This feeling of "emptiness", that you feel something is happening, and you have it on the tip of your tongue, but it does not come out! Annoying and horrifying sensation! :)

The inclination of the walls gave me intellectual problems. It took a long time to build the engine room. I had to redo it at least 3-4 times. I wanted a maximum of diversity and complexity at the same time. The confined space of the hull gave me difficulties: how to integrate "likely" elements in so little volume ? I have lost my hair several times. Just those damn shower and toilet, I had to spend 3 hours each, to do, undo and redo in all the sauces. Like a little monkey who tests all combinations. Shouldn't bring me a banana at this time, because I think I would have been screwed to make a monkey cry as a bonus .... lol

  

Rien ne change, tout se transforme. L'esprit Inca reste.

Nada muda, tudo se transforma. O espírito Inca fica.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydl_0KUItU8&feature=related

 

Machu Picchu 2009 (Perú)

Houston, TX, 2014.

 

Some need to meditate for years under a tree and some need to travel the world, to reach the same conclusion.

Other than blackbirds, vultures, swallows, ospreys, cardinals, jays, gulls and terns, I'd say about 9 out of 10 birds on the bayou are herons during these dog days of summer. Case in point, Tri-colored on Horsepen.

Been needing to post, haven't gotten around to it!

 

I'm gonna post my IG exclusive content for a few days until I run out :)

 

Thanks y'all

In the summer of ‘42 and at the height of his creativity, all of Einstein’s equations pointed in just one direction and there was no escaping their astounding conclusion. Next to the Theory of Relativity, he considered Cap’n Crunch with “Crunchberries” to be his greatest discovery.

 

In this famous newsreel photo, he sketched what he thought the packaging might look like. Unfortunately he did not live long enough to see his creation become an American household staple.

 

How do you feel about coming back here tonight to the Blue Ribbon to sample their 16 ounce New York Strip(m) and sipping a nice Oaky Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Bourbon? Can you think of a better way to celebrate the conclusion of another delightful Vegas Vacation? ☺️

 

In the meantime, how are you doing?

 

You don’t know this yet because it’s only the first week of April, but when you return home tonight, you are going to miss two days of work because of a slow moving Spring blizzard. You are going to get a second Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot because the new and much more contagious BA.5 variant of COVID-19 will overtake both the Delta and the Omicron variants in infection rates across the country. You will book your next Vegas Vacation for the middle of October to attend the Jimmy Buffett Show at the MGM Grand Resort & Casino. Your long time Flickr Friend & Mentor, and his very lovely lady, will also be visiting the Las Vegas Strip in the middle of October. And although your very lovely lady will get her second Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot, she will still be too afraid of the Coronavirus Global Pandemic to get on an airplane with 120 other passengers! But October hasn’t arrived yet — so your lovely woman still has two months to change her mind. 😏

 

So enjoy your next six months! 😁😏