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The annual user conference for HCL Digital products (HCL Notes/Domino, Connections, Sametime, Domino Volt, Volt MX and other products) took place in Bruges in Belgium on May 24 and 25 2022.
Once again Theo Heselmans and his lovely wife Hilde pulled off a spectacular event. There was food, there was beer, there was a guided tour of the beautiful City Hall in Bruges, there was beer, there was the opportunity to learn, there was beer, there was the opportunity to teach, there was the opportunity to connect with more people and... oh yeah... there was beer (if anyone had told me I would fall completely in love with a fruity beer, I would have said they were joking, but I had at least five of those on Tuesday).
You can read my blog posting about the conference here -> domino.elfworld.org/restyling-with-the-young-at-engage/
Very little is known about the "Orange Raiders" as they have been dubbed. They appear seemingly out of nowhere and descend on unprepared settlements using orbital drop pods. Their intent in currently unknown, but they seem to be able to discern between combat threats and civilians, and will not engage the later without provocation.
The Long John is more support oriented than the Peepers, and is more difficult to sneak up on. Their head is capable of 360 degree rotation, and the frames height often allows it to see over obstacles, and climb over smaller obstructions. It is also capable of taking a very low stance to minimize its profile.
My fav from the PIP meetup tonight. Really great to finally meet everyone! Zoom and focus blur on fairy lights in a tree.
The annual user conference for HCL Digital products (HCL Notes/Domino, Connections, Sametime, Domino Volt, Volt MX and other products) took place in Bruges in Belgium on May 24 and 25 2022.
Once again Theo Heselmans and his lovely wife Hilde pulled off a spectacular event. There was food, there was beer, there was a guided tour of the beautiful City Hall in Bruges, there was beer, there was the opportunity to learn, there was beer, there was the opportunity to teach, there was the opportunity to connect with more people and... oh yeah... there was beer (if anyone had told me I would fall completely in love with a fruity beer, I would have said they were joking, but I had at least five of those on Tuesday).
You can read my blog posting about the conference here -> domino.elfworld.org/restyling-with-the-young-at-engage/
The annual user conference for HCL Digital products (HCL Notes/Domino, Connections, Sametime, Domino Volt, Volt MX and other products) took place in Bruges in Belgium on May 24 and 25 2022.
Once again Theo Heselmans and his lovely wife Hilde pulled off a spectacular event. There was food, there was beer, there was a guided tour of the beautiful City Hall in Bruges, there was beer, there was the opportunity to learn, there was beer, there was the opportunity to teach, there was the opportunity to connect with more people and... oh yeah... there was beer (if anyone had told me I would fall completely in love with a fruity beer, I would have said they were joking, but I had at least five of those on Tuesday).
You can read my blog posting about the conference here -> domino.elfworld.org/restyling-with-the-young-at-engage/
For great photographs and the low down on the G20 Summit, Protests and Demonstrations visit www.ravishlondon.com/g20
Protests at the Bank of England
The procession from Moorgate was the first to arrive at the Bank of England. Between twelve and one the remaining three marches arrived.
The Times reported that there were around 4,000 protestors at the Bank of England. I would say that there were nearer 7,000. Once the protestors had gathered on the steps of the Bank of England it wasn’t altogether obvious what was supposed to happen. A few chants were initiated, but by and large those with loudspeakers, had loudspeakers that didn’t work, and were not charismatic or well known or trusted enough to really engage the crowd in any kind of co-ordinated action. At about one o’clock one protestor announced that everyone now needed to go to the EdExcel Centre where the G20 summit was due to be held the following day. But he wasn’t going anywhere because by this time the police had decided to block off all entrances and exits from the Bank of England.
Quite why the police had decided to turn the protest into a ghetto is not clear. Certainly the official reason given by police at the time was that a small crowd, which had broken away from protests, had caused some damage, and that as a response the police drove them as well as everyone else back into the Bank of England, so as to contain the violence and activity. At about one o’clock, as it became clear that police were blocking off access to and exit form the protests, a small stream of young anarchists, dressed in black, made their way up Threadneedle Street, where a game of push and shove with the police ensued. During the push and shove, missiles were thrown at the police, and television footage clearly shows one policeman receiving a hefty hit over the head by a demonstrator armed with a pole. There was a lot of edginess between the police and the protestors, and a number of protestors hurled things at the police. None of the violence can be condoned. However just to reiterate, was this the end of civilization as we knew it, was London drowning in the blood of the bankers and police. No, in terms of the damage done, there have been worse scenes at football matches.
While there was a tussle going on up Threadneedle Street those who were less feisty had settled own in the central area of the Bank of England, which had been turned into a a theatrical ghetto. A variety of entertainment and stunts were being pulled off for the enjoyment of the crowd. Billy Bragg did a few songs. There was a samba band. Several young people were dancing in and around a statue area to a techno trance sound system that had been set up – how many people can say they had a rave at the Bank of England? People dressed up as bankers or as the rich strolled around ironically. Trannies against greed lapped up the photo opportunities.
The piece de resistance of the afternoon had to go to the guy who scaled the columns of the Bank of England, best described by Sister Kaff, who said, “Later on, a hooded scoundrel very skilfully scaled the façade of the Bank of England between the wall and a column, and after some perilous and impressive hanging on by his fingertips and gripping with his thighs, he secured two banners to the top of the Composite columns of the Bank - Stop trading with our futures U morons! Said one banner, and the other one said something like After years of struggle against capitalism, it ends all by itself! I couldn’t read all the second one as he didn’t manage to hang it out taught enough.” The message put up by this human chimpanzee got one of the biggest cheers of the day – this is what people had turned up for – and this is what the majority of the nation feel aggrieved about – the fact that collectively and spearheaded by the bankers – and fueled by our rapacious desire to be home owners - we gambled all our money away on deregulated banking and high risk investments.
It is interesting that all of the news reports, just like this one here, emphasized that the protests were generally peaceful. But that fact was given just a second’s thought before attentions turned to violence, which is always so much more interesting. The ITN News report summed up the day well, “Despite the size of the crowd the main gathering remained good humoured. The faces of those whose job it was to police it reflected that. But it was as the protest was breaking up the atmosphere changed remarkably. The demonstrators discovered the police had blocked all routes out of the City. Soon there was confrontation.” Even the Economist thought so, “Back in the office, we watch coverage of the day. From their headlines and descriptions, you would think full-scale riots had broken out. There were certainly altercations between the police and small groups of protesters but on the whole, it was fairly peaceful.”
Middle East News reported, “Eleven people were arrested for being in possession of police uniforms, a police spokesman told CNN. They had earlier been stopped while riding in an armored personnel carrier near Bishopsgate, close to the Bank of England. A total of 19 people were arrested, polcie said.”
Nevertheless the stories and photos that sell papers are those that stir the emotions, i.e. those that strike fear into the reader. And it is those stories that we will now revel in ourselves.
Flickr Revolution?
But first… The Flickr Revolutoin!
Two things became apparent during this protest. The first was that there were more people who were coming to film the revolution than take part in. The second was that if Big Brother if it exists will not be one person controlling everyone else, it will instead be everyone controlling each other through the use of digital cameras.
There were photographers everywhere; the revolution really will be televised. In the procession leaving Moorgate at eleven in the morning there were an equal number of photographers to straight laced demonstrators. The Economist writes of how early on in the day at London Bridge, “There seem to be 20 journalists for every protester. They mill around with enormous cameras, frowning critically into the sun, scouting for shots that are not entirely populated by other journalists (no easy task).”
When I arrived at the Bank of England, I saw what on the face of it looked like the vanguard to a new revolution, all closely packed together under the statue of Wellington and his horse. On closer inspection I realized they were the vanguard of a new set of photographs, they were all photographers trying to gain a vantage point on proceedings. Duncan Campbell noted, writing for the Guardian, “One of the striking aspects of the 1 April demonstration was that, wherever you turned, someone seemed to be pointing a camera. The police were videoing from rooftops and windows, their spotters pointing out suspects. The protesters were cheerfully taking souvenir shots of themselves with mobile phones on the steps of the Bank of England. The media were there in numbers. The local CCTV cameras are also, it appears, always with us.”
The use of cameras was particularly evident on the front line, where the more aggressive and violent of protestors were confronting the police. Both police, but particular protestors were filming every action. Both sides realizing that if they acted out of turn and in a violent manner the moment would be captured on film several times and for perpetuity. And we know now of course that if it wasn’t for members of the public filming, we might never have known the truth behind what happened to Ian Tomlinson, the man who died at the protests, and of whom more will be said later.
It’s true to say that a lot of people had come just as onlookers – like myself it has to be said – voyeurs – wanting to live out our violent fantasies vicariously. Loads of people had come to watch the revolution take place, but not many people had come to make the revolution happen.
And just as there were hundreds of photographers looking for their Flickr moment, so there were tens of people all dressed up, posed on top of statues, wondering if their fifteen minutes of fame was going to be delivered on this day. Later on in the day the Economist comment, “The four Horsemen eventually congregate on the steps of the Royal Exchange, along with a string of policemen and a motley crew of protesters. With the phalanx of journalists thronging around them, it feels more like a giant photo-op than a crowd ready to rampage.” Russel Brand, who appeared at about one o’clock attracted one of the biggest cheers of the day, he functioned as a black hole sucking in a scrum of photographers.
The Clash
According to the police, the violence began when a small crowd, which had broken away from protests, and was heading towards the west end, had caused some damage. In response the police drove the crowd, as well as all the protestors back towards the Bank of England, to contain the violence and activity.
At about one o’clock, as it became clear that police were blocking off access to and exit form the protests, a small stream of young anarchists, dressed in black, made their way up Threadneedle Street, where a game of push and shove with the police ensued. People climbed on to shop fronts and window ledges to get a better view of what was happening. During the push and shove, missiles were thrown at the police, mainly bottles and barriers, and television footage clearly shows one policeman receiving a hefty hit over the head by a demonstrator armed with a pole. Every now and then you could hear odd glass smash and a cheer.
This was the beginning of a series of violent events, between phalanxes of police officers armed with batons, shields and dogs, and protestors, most of whom had nothing, although some found objects to project. Although I personally did not witness any violence, reviewing the personal accounts left by many people on different websites including the Economist, the Guardian and Indymedia, it transpired that many people felt they had been subject to cruel, violent, bullying and injurious police behaviour.
PeterM leaving a message on the Economist website wrote, “The girl next to me was hit over the head by a baton and was knocked unconscious immediately. Blood was streaming from her head and the police kicked her to get up and continued to do so until people dragged her away, again being attacked by policemen. The blood dripped from her head as she was taken away. This was repeated throughout the day.” A great example of the needless use of physical force, was the case of Ian Tomlinson, more of which will be mentioned later. However, there was also an unreasonable and extremely hateful use of police force and brutality directed at the Climate Camp set up on Bishopsgate, where there were no reports of physical violence directed by the protestors at the police.
Why wasn’t the Royal Bank of Scotland Boarded Up?
Some of the demonstrators smashed the windows in the Royal Bank of Scotland building.
Middle East News reported, “Demonstrators also spray-painted the word "thieves" and the anarchist symbol on the side of the building. The ailing bank has been the target of much anger following reports that its former chief executive was given a multi-million dollar pension payout despite overseeing record losses.”
Sky News questioned why the bank hadn’t boarded up its windows. One viewer of YouTube has claimed, “RBS was left unboarded on purpose. the police were a few metres away but didn't intervene. also the protestors were channeled down into threadneedle street. this was most likely done to invalidate the protests by being able to say 'look they trashed a bank'.”
Given that the Royal Bank of Scotland wasn’t protected, and given the undoubted professionalism and effectiveness of the police in all other matters that day, questions have been raised as to whether the bank, the government and the police agreed to leave the bank unprotected, as in some way an enticement to the extreme minority of more violently minded protestors, so as to create a ‘violent event’ and thus providing the police with a justification for creating a ghetto, and humiliating the protestors.
The present of the Royal Bank of Scotland provided by the authorities, the police and the government, for the usual minority element of hooligan minded protestors, also allowed gave the media the opportunity they wanted – to provide an image and story which massaged the erectile tissue of their readers – instead of the bland reality of a largely peaceful protest.
The Ghetto or the Kettle
At about one o’clock the police decided that they were going to keep everyone confined within the Bank of Area. All exits and entrances were blocked off. Photographers with passes were allowed to enter through the cordons into the demonstrations but no-one else was. Apparently this tactic of police officers is called ‘kettling’. It is a good metaphor – because it contains all the excitement in one area – by confining people to one space it also makes people feel nervous, anxious and makes them more prone to using violence. The police know this – they have trained psychologists who can tell them – not that you’d need a psychologist to tell you.
George Monbiot writing for the Guardian said something similar, “The way officers tooled themselves up in riot gear and waded into a peaceful crowd this afternoon makes it look almost as if they were trying to ensure that their predictions came true. Their bosses appear to have failed either to read or to heed the report by the parliamentary committee on human rights last week, about the misuse of police powers against protesters. "Whilst we recognise police officers should not be placed at risk of serious injury," the report said, "the deployment of riot police can unnecessarily raise the temperature at protests."”
Louise Christian, also writing for the Guardian, explained that, “Containment tactics were first used over a long period of time on 1 May 2001 when an anti-capitalist protest at Oxford Circus was corralled by the police for seven hours in bad weather and with no access to toilet facilities. Lois Austin, a demonstrator, and Geoffrey Saxby, a passerby caught up in the demo, challenged their false imprisonment in the courts and on 28 January this year, after Saxby dropped out of the action, the House of Lords ruled that the police had behaved lawfully and Austin had no right to compensation. Delivering the leading judgment, Lord Hope said that even in the case of an absolute right the court were entitled to take the "purpose" of the deprivation of liberty into account before deciding if Article 5 was engaged at all.’
A lot of people started becoming exceedingly frustrated at being kept in to what was a temporary ghetto at the heart of the city. Why, everyone was asking, but the police wouldn’t give us a reason. They speculated, guessed, said they didn’t know, but no-one would give an official reason. This arbitrary, unaccountable and unexplained use of force provoked an image of a police chief rubbing his hands, watching the small bulge in his trousers grow, surveying the CCTV aerial images, and thinking to himself, ‘Well you wanted to hold a protest in the Bank of England you’ve got all day to do it now”. We were stuck in this place, and many people wanted to leave. Meanwhile many people wanted to get in but were prevented by the police. At one point an officer told me that the people on the outside of the demonstration were people who had originally been inside but had since decided that they had wanted to get back in. The police are usually quite genuine people and when they try and lie its as bad as when they try and crack a joke.
Wandering around the ghetto, a sense of panic set in, what would people do without food or water, and where would they go to the toilet. For men its OK, you can have a piss wherever, but what about the dignity of women. Apparently we were all to be denied what we thought were our basic human rights of freedom to move and associate, either for no reason at all, or because a handful of young people had smashed a few windows. There was nowhere to buy and food or drink from and few toilet facilities. There was evidence of a few portaloos in some videos I have seen since, but no way near enough for four thousand people. Men took to urinating against the walls in Cornhill, releasing a sea of piss which covered the pavements and spilled into the gutter. Super Kaff wrote, “As the news that we were imprisoned sank in and spread around the square, the festive atmosphere deflated to a hum of irritation and frustration. More and more people sat down and started chatting, playing cards, reading papers, dozing, twiddling fingers.” The Economist reported, “One man pleads to be let through because he is diabetic and has no food or insulin with him. The officers are unyielding. It is an “absolute cordon” and no one is going anywhere. Scrabbling around in our bags and appealing to the crowd, we manage to scrounge together a banana and a chocolate bar but he is shaky.” It wasn’t an absolute cordon though – two of my colleagues were able to escape through it at some point – and at another point I saw someone with a press pass allowed through. I asked the policeman why certain people were allowed through a second after the guy was allowed to pass through. The policeman said no-one was allowed through, to which I replied I had just seen someone pass through as had he, to which he replied he didn’t know why. The police seem to either have developed the habit of or be trained in a complete inability to treat the public with respect in dialogue with them. In this case the policeman lied to me and then decided to feign ignorance.
For a few hours I was sat in the garden outside the Bank of England, feeling quite sick about being cooped up. I spoke to a girl, who had been drinking a bottle of brandy, who told me she had been to quite a few of these events, and we could expect to be here until ten o’clock. I was going a bit insane. We were momentarily living inside a Ghetto. I started thinking about what life must have been like for the Jews in the ghettos in Germany. Obviously the two hardly compare but I couldn’t help but feel degraded and angry for being treated by the police in this way. The police will of course say that they didn’t have the resources to deal with several hundred breakaway groups causing violence all over the city, so they resorted to containing everyone within one area. I don’t buy that argument, if several hundred groups want to break away and cause violence at multiple sites they can do it just as well at nine o’clock at night as they can at two in the afternoon. The only thing I would say, is that by nine o’clock they’re going to be feeling a lot more tired and drained. One thing I’ve learned is bring a packed lunch and a bottle to piss in.
After a while I suggested to my friend that we walk around the perimeter of the streets and protests, just to see what was going on at the different sites. At one point at the end of the street, the police line, if it had ever been there, seemed to have cleared away, it was about four o’clock. We started walking down the street, the street ended in a very narrow alleyway, which people seemed to be walking down in quite a happy carefree way. They weren’t protestors! We chose to walk down the alleyway and found ourselves coming face to face with another police line, but at this point, as was confirmed by the police, we were on the outside rather than the inside of the protest. As we walked away, we could see hundreds of people still waiting against the police lines either waiting to go in or come out, and I wondered for how much longer they would be waiting not knowing of the secret exit we had found. As I entered London unrestrained, a wonderful sense of freedom overcame me, as I could now move where I wanted.
It seemed like a similar protestor, Sister Kaff, had the same experience, she wrote, “A moment later, I passed a large, recently built boom-before-bust building, conceived of curves and stripes of dark pink and sandy stones. At its base was a pedestrian underpass, the entry was dark as Hades but with a flash of promising daylight at its other end. A diverse range of people were going in and coming out, and looking quite unperturbed, so Bunty and I went in. On either side of the dark and curvy corridor, were shops full of extravagantly vulgar things one would only buy with loads of money and no breeding or taste. But right now being a cultural bitch didn’t interest me, I sauntered nonchalantly past two nervous, fluorescent policemen, and out into the daylight of Poultry. My heart soared as off to my left, to the west, the road was clear, all the way into the distance, I was looking at my freedom and could have cried out with the elation of release. It was fantastic, and we stood a chance of getting our train! All the same, the road was lined with police vans full of large policemen (I hope they opened their windows from time to time) so I saved the victory fist until the end of the road.”
On April 7th Paul Lewis of the Guardian reported that the cordon was still in place at seven o’clock, which is quite amazing given that I had found a route out at about four o’clock. Lewis said, “The main protests of the day had ebbed away but hundreds of people were still penned inside a police cordon near the Bank of England around 7pm.”
For great photographs and the low down on the G20 Summit, Protests and Demonstrations visit www.ravishlondon.com/g20
12 year old Monroe McCanles accompanied his father to the encounter with Horace Wellman and rushes to his fallen father. Hickok (in white) and Wellman engage McCanles' employees in the gun battle. Wellman's wife watches form the door of the cabin.
I went to Rock Creek Station, State Historical Park on 6/2/18 for their annual historical reenactment. The reenactment involved people dressed in historically accurate costumes doing some of the activities common in the 1850's and 1860's when the station was active on the Oregon and California trails and also when it was one of the stations in the short lived Pony Express system. One of the main attractions was a reenactment of the "McCanles - Hickok Fracas". This 'fracas' was the start to Wild Bill Hickok's legendary status as a lawman, soldier, gunfighter, and gambler. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Bill_Hickok). McCanles was the first person Hickok killed in the establishment of his reputation.
"Established in 1857 along the Oregon and California Trails, Rock Creek Station, near what is now Fairbury, Nebraska, is today preserved as a Nebraska State Park.
The history here is rich in its tales of emigrating pioneers as well as legends of the Old West. Located along the west bank of Rock Creek, the station served as a supply center and resting spot for the many travelers headed westward in the 19th century.
When it was originally built by S.C. Glenn, the "station" consisted of little more than a cabin, a barn, and a make-shift store, where Glenn sold limited supplies, hay, and grain.
In the Spring of 1859 along came a man named David C. McCanles, and his brother, James, who were on their way to the Colorado gold fields.
David became discouraged as he continually met miners returning from Colorado with nothing in their pockets but disappointment. Changing tactics, David McCanles bought the Rock Creek Station from Glenn in March, deciding to take up "road ranching" rather than gold prospecting.
McCanles continued to operate the small store and built a toll bridge across the creek. Prior to the bridge, pioneers were required to hoist and lower their wagons down into the creek, before pulling it up on the other side - quite a tedious process that could take hours for each wagon. When the toll bridge opened, each wagon paid from 10¢ to 50¢ to cross the bridge depending on the size of their load and their ability to pay. McCanles also built a cabin and dug a well on the east side of Rock Creek which became known as the East Ranch.
The following year, McCanles leased the East Ranch to the Russell, Waddell, and Majors Company, which owned the Overland Stage Company and founded the Pony Express. They installed Horace G. Wellman as their company agent and station keeper and hired James W. "Doc" Brink as a stock tender. Later, the company made arrangements with McCanles to buy the station with a cash down payment and the remainder in installments.
The East Ranch was then used as a stage and Pony Express relay station, while the West Ranch continued to be used as an emigrant rest stop, a freight station, and the home of the McCanles family.
In April 1861, McCanles sold the West Ranch to freighters Hagenstein and Wolfe and moved his family to another location about three miles south of Rock Creek Station. Always trying to make money, McCanles sold the toll bridge several times with a number of specific requirements in the contract. When the new owner failed to meet the stipulations, he would take it back and sell it again.
In April or early May of 1861, the station hired on then-24-year-old stock tender James Butler "Bill" Hickok and he became immediately at odds with David McCanles, who had earned a reputation as the local bully. Allegedly, McCanles teased Hickok unmercifully about his girlish build and feminine features, as well as nicknaming him "Duck Bill" referring to his long nose and protruding lips.
Perhaps in retaliation, Hickok began courting a woman by the name of Kate Shell, who, even though McCanles was married, apparently had his eye on.
In the meantime, the Overland Stage Company had fallen behind on their installment payments and on July 12, 1861, McCanles, along with his 12-year-old son, Monroe, and two friends by the names of James Woods and James Gordon came to the station to inquire upon the status of the installments.
Not long after their arrival, an argument ensued and profanities were exchanged, soon leading to gunfire. In the melee, Hickok shot David McCanles, and both James Woods and James Gordon, who was seriously wounded, later died of their wounds. Twelve-year-old Monroe escaped to his home some three miles south of Rock Creek.
Though the details of what actually happened on that fateful day continue to be debated, the versions vary widely. Monroe McCanles, who witnessed the entire event, told a version something like this: When David McCanles had not received full payment from the Overland Stage Company, he planned to take it up with the station manager, Horace Wellman. That very day, the station manager had allegedly gone to the company office in Brownville in order to obtain the money, he returned empty-handed.
Upon hearing this, an angry McCanles soon arrived with two options in mind - either collect the money owed or repossess the ranch. Showing up with his son, and two employees - James Woods and James Gordon, McCanles called for Wellman to come out. Instead, Jane Wellman, the station managerâs wife, appeared at the door, closely followed by James (Bill) Hickok. Horace Wellman's specific whereabouts are unknown, but he was obviously close by.
Disconcerted by Hickok's interference, McCanles alleged asked, "Jim, haven't we been friends all the time?" After Hickok assured him that they were, McCanles, biding his time, asked for a drink of water and came inside. The other three stayed outside the cabin.
Suddenly, McCanles sensed danger, returned the dipper and moved toward the other door at about the same time Hickok moved behind a curtain partition. Unarmed, McCanles said, "Now, Jim, if you have anything against me, come out and fight me fair."
However, Hickok's answer was a blast from a rifle, killing McCanles and dropping him to the floor. Ironically, the story tells that it was McCanles' own rifle that he had left with Wellman to defend the station that he was killed with. Hearing the blast, Woods and Gordon rushed toward the cabin, but Woods was stopped with Hickok's Colt revolver. In the meantime, Wellman bludgeoned him with a hoe, until he died. Gordon, who was also wounded by gunfire, fled to the creek but was followed by Doc Brink, the station's stock tender, who killed him with a blast from his shotgun. Monroe dodged a blow from Wellman's hoe and escaped to his home some three miles south.
McCanles and Woods were originally buried in a single crude box on Soldier Hill. Gordon was buried in a blanket at the spot where he was killed near Rock Creek. In the early 1880's the construction of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad intersected Soldier Hill and the bodies of McCanles and Woods were re-interred at the Fairbury Cemetery.
In the meantime, James A. McCanles, David's brother, filed an arrest warrant for Hickok, Wellman, and Brink on July 15, 1861, and the trio were charged for the murders of McCanles, Woods, and Gordon. A trial was held in Beatrice and though Monroe McCanles adamantly claimed that his father and the other two men were unarmed, he was not allowed to testify because of his age. After the trio plead self-defense and defense of company property, all three were acquitted.
Later, when Hickok's fame began to spread, he told an entirely different version of the tale, making McCanles out to be a ruthless killer and an outlaw, who was the leader of a vicious gang who was terrorizing the region. This story, told by Colonel Ward Nichols and published in Harper's Monthly Magazine in 1867, tells a version that is embellished to the degree that Wild Bill had polished off ten of the West's most dangerous desperados and was left with eleven buck-shot and thirteen knife wounds.
Hickok's tale describes himself as scouting for the U.S. Cavalry detachment when he arrived at Rock Creek that fateful day, rather than working as a stock tender. Describing the McCanles' Gang as reckless, blood-thirsty devils, he said he came upon the station to hear a tale from Mrs. Wellman that McCanles was within minutes of the cabin, dragging a preacher by his neck with a rope.
His tale goes on to describe how he fought off the entire McCanles Gang with only a revolver and a bowie knife, killing all of them in the end and spending weeks recovering from his own injuries.
This event, called the McCanles Massacre, by writers, was the beginning of the Wild Bill Hickok legend. Though Hickok's "legend" was already well-known by the time the article appeared in Harper's Magazine in 1867, Nicholl's glamorized version of the fighting frontier hero, further perpetuated his fame.
No one really knows the specifics of this bloody and seemingly one-sided fight, with numerous versions having been provided, including tales of jealousy, theft, and the ongoing conflict between the north and south. Some tales even allege that it was not Bill Hickok who killed McCanles, rather, it was Horace Wellman.
Continuing to be scrutinized years after the incident and long after Bill Hickok's death, a man named F.G. Elliott was interviewed by a WPA writer in 1938. His tale, though not supporting the glorified story told by Nichols in Harper's Magazine, does support Hickok's rightful killing of David McCanles. It may or may not add more light on the actual events of that fateful day, depending upon your point of view.
By 1866, the railroad had reached Kearney, Nebraska and trail traffic dramatically diminished, leaving the road ranchers to find other occupations.
In 1980, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission began to develop the area as a state historical park. Today, the buildings of the original Rock Creek Station and Pony Express have been reconstructed in the park that now includes some 350 acres, a visitor's center, hiking trails, picnic areas, and a campground. The terrain includes prairie hilltops, timber-studded creek bottoms, and rugged ravines, along with the deep ruts of the Oregon and California Trails, carved more than a century ago by the many wagons that traveled westward along this path." (www.legendsofamerica.com/ne-rockcreek/2/)
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (Nov. 29, 2016) -Admiral Harry B. Harris, Jr., Commander of U.S. Pacific Command, visited Sri Lanka from 27-29 to attend the Galle Dialogue 2016 maritime security conference.
** Interested in following U.S. Pacific Command? Engage and connect with us at www.facebook.com/pacific.command and twitter.com/PacificCommand and www.pacom.mil/ **
Engage Student Leadership and Dialogue Summit held at Oberlin College, April 1, 2023.
PC: Mike Crupi
Mingle Media TV and our Red Carpet Report team visited the Backstage Creations Celebrity Retreat at the 2016 Emmy® Awards at the Microsoft Theater in DTLA.
Giving Back: In addition to treating presenters and performers to an array of luxury goods, the lounge served as a Giving Suite™ as celebrities who participated helped to raise up to $150,000 in donations to support the Television Academy Foundation.
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About Backstage Creations
Created in 2000 by Karen Wood; formerly a talent coordinator on over 50 award shows, to give major corporations as well as up-and-coming designers the exclusive opportunity to personally introduce their products and services to celebrities. BACKSTAGE CREATIONS originated the gifting suite concept and has created Celebrity Retreats™ at various industry honors including the Screen Actors Guild Awards®, Teen Choice Awards, Writers Guild Awards, MTV Movie Awards, MTV VMAs, People’s Choice Awards, BET Awards and Billboard Music Awards. BACKSTAGE CREATIONS puts an emphasis on charitable donation at each of our Retreats™ giving our celebrity attendees the opportunity to both give and receive through unique partnerships at our events. For more info please visit backstagecreations.com
About the Television Academy Foundation
Established in 1959 as the charitable arm of the Television Academy, the Foundation was created to engage and educate the next generation of the television industry. Its many programs include an acclaimed television industry internship program for promising college students, the annual College Television Awards recognizing top student television producers, the online Archive of American Television chronicling the stories of television legends and innovators, and unparalleled resources for television, film and digital departments at colleges and universities nationwide.
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The items in the Giving Suite™ included:
· I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® - Black-ish stars, Anthony Anderson & Tracee Ellis Ross, jumped in the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® photo & gif booth and had a blast. They even predicted that they would win an Emmy, holding up a sign that read, “I can’t believe we won!” Emmy performer, Tori Kelly, also had fun in the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® photo & gif booth. She held up a sign in her pictures that read, “I can’t believe I’m at my first Emmys!” www.icantbelieveitsnotbutter.com
· Austin Cocktails – Shameless star, William H. Macy, and his wife, Felicity Huffman, loved Austin Cocktails’ premixed cocktails so much that they came back for a second drink. Actor, Will Forte, also came back for seconds and said, “This margarita is better than Bali.” Actress, Minnie Driver, loved the cocktails so much, she said she would be serving it in her own 1930’s sherry glasses. www.austincocktails.com
· Jaybird Freedom – While checking out the Jaybird Freedom wireless headphones, Modern Family’s Ty Burrell said, “Oh, I have a pair of these. They’re great!” Actor, Will Forte, also enjoyed the wireless headphones, stating, “Oh so these will work with my new phone?! That’s great!” www.jaybirdsport.com
· L.A. Star Greens, Perfect 10 organic Superfood – Michael Weatherly loved Perfect 10 organic Superfood by L.A. Star Greens and mentioned that his wife would love it, too. Anthony Anderson tried the product and loved it, as well. He said, “Let me sell this stuff.” www.LAStarGreens.com
· Nu Skin Enterprises - Empire’s Terrence Howard checked out the ageLOC Me from Nu Skin and said, “My wife would love this!” While checking out the ageLOC me, Joel McHale exclaimed, “Does that mean I can have personalized skin care forever?!” www.nuskinusa.com
· Rottet Studio - Shameless star, William H. Macy, and his wife, Felicity Huffman, relaxed in the lounge area designed by Rottet Studio for nearly an hour before the heading to their seats for the show. Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery loved her candle from Rottet Collection by Air Aroma. She said, “I love candles. I’d love to have a candle… or maybe two. It smells beautiful.”
· the hinde by kelli bailey – While checking out a leather bag by the hinde, Emmy winner, Regina King, stated, “I’ve never seen anything like it before—it’s terrific!” Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery fell in love with the hinde’s leather bags. She said, “The bag is so beautiful on its own. I could see it hanging on a chair in the house. It’s so comfortable that I hardly know it’s on.” SNL’s Leslie Jones picked up a beautiful red bag by the hinde and said she couldn’t wait to wear it. www.thehinde.com
· The Mulia, Mulia Resort & Villas - Nusa Dua, Bali – Actor, Will Forte, was thrilled to receive a trip to the Mulia Resort in Bali. He said, “OMG, that’s amazing. I’m going to Bali right now!” Emmy winner, Regina King, said, “You know what’s crazy? After my win, they asked me what my favorite place to travel was and I said Bali!” www.themulia.com
Celebrities also received:
· Benjamin Steakhouse Prime - Benjamin Steakhouse Prime is the newest addition to the Benjamin Restaurant Group family, opening this fall. Here we combine modern elegance with the steakhouse classics by serving only the best USDA prime steaks, succulent seafood and more from the grill. www.benjaminsteakhouse.com
· ChapStick® - ChapStick® Total Hydration Moisture + Tint, the first-ever tinted lip balm from the experts in lip care, is a tinted moisturizer that enhances the lips' natural color. It is made with 100% naturally sourced ingredients, including advanced ingredients like Rosehip Seed Oil and is available in three shades – Merlot, Coral Blush and Rose Petal. www.shopchapstick.com
· Colgate® Optic White® Toothbrush + Whitening Pen - With the Colgate® Optic White® Toothbrush + Whitening Pen you can get a #DesignerSmile with 5 shades whiter teeth that starts working in 1 day! It’s as easy as…Brush. Whiten. Go.® - No waiting, no rinsing! www.colgateopticwhite.com/toothbrushes/whitening-pen-and-...
· Crane Stationery - Since 1801, heads of state and stately households alike have chosen Crane to celebrate life's grand occasions, both large and small. Be a part of history and celebrate our exquisite craftsmanship with our new 1801 collection of hand-crafted stationery. www.crane.com/stationery/stationery-gifts/cranes-1801-col...
· DELSEY Luggage - MONTMARTRE+ 25” Exp. Spinner Trolley made of ballistic nylon to resist wear and tear featuring an easy-access compartment for a jacket, shoes, or toiletries and double spinner wheels for superior maneuverability. shop.delsey.com/
· Hasbro’s Furby Connect - Get ready to discover a world of surprises with Furby Connect! The digitally-integrated Furby Connect friend from Hasbro interacts with kids through its own hilarious take on songs, videos, and more surprises continually delivered via Bluetooth®. www.hasbro.com/en-us/product/furby-connect-teal:5A8C7598-...
· Icelandic Glacial™ - Natural Spring Water from Iceland. www.icelandicglacial.com
· Inkk Nail Lacquers – Inkk is a luxury, 5-free, vegan and cruelty-free nail lacquer brand specializing in customizable Your Color, Your Name nail lacquers that can be made by anyone straight from their phone or computer. The innovation behind Inkk enables women to wear nail lacquer colors that are personal to them and available when they want. www.yourinkk.com
· Millennium Hotels and Resorts - Discover our World of uniquely spirited hotels with a two-night sojourn at Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles. Complete with dinner for two at Smeraldi’s and VIP amenities. www.millenniumhotels.com
· MIZANI 25 Miracle Milk - 25 Miracle Milk is a lightweight leave-in treatment that provides 25 benefits in just a few sprays. This easy-to-use product preps hair for styling, helps detangle with less breakage, provides moisture, protects against heat damage and is free of paraben, sulfate, drying alcohols and mineral oil. www.mizani.com/products/category/haircare/25-miracle-milk
· Nature’s Bounty Hair, Skin & Nails Gummies - Nature's Bounty® Hair, Skin & Nail Gummies provide you with the vital nutrients your body needs to support your natural beauty from the inside and out.* Our Hair, Skin & Nails Gummies are full of vitamins including Biotin, Vitamin C and Vitamin E to help you feel healthy, beautiful and well. *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. www.naturesbounty.com
· Red Coat PR & Six Best Selling Authors - Featuring some of today’s Best Selling authors including; Denise Grover Swank, Randi Wilson, Stacy Green, L.P. Dover, Kristie Cook and Amy Miles. Available in print and on all major e-book platforms. redcoatpr.com/emmys2016
· Scarves by Mary DeArment – Silk and cashmere scarves empower women while inviting interesting conversations about the messages embedded in the artwork. Every Mary DeArment design is made with a word; these visual puzzles include socially conscious words/phrases/acronyms such as “peace,” “gender equality,” “STEM,” and “world citizen.” www.scarvesbymarydearment.com
· sérumtologié® - sérumtologié, based in Beverly Hills, CA, is a leading maker of novel and innovative skin care products containing clinically proven ingredients but without the often shockingly high price tag of many other luxury skin brands. Two of the company’s products that have met with strong client acceptance are our groundbreaking C serum º22 and PURE Whipped Chiffon, its companion daily moisturizer. www.serumtologie.com
· Thera Cane MAX Trigger Point Massager – Treat yourself to deep relief from painful, knotted, spasmed muscles. This amazingly simple yet effective self-massager makes it easy to apply pain-relieving deep compression directly to hard, knotted "trigger points" anywhere they occur - breaking up tension even in the hardest-to-reach muscles between your shoulder blades! www.theracane.com
This year’s Giving Suite™ was styled by Rottet Studio. Rottet Studio is an international architecture and design firm with an extensive portfolio of corporate, hospitality and residential projects for the world’s leading companies and brands. In the last decade, Founder Lauren Rottet, FAIA, FIIDA has developed Rottet Studio into one of the finest interior design practices in the United States, which is consistently ranked among the corporate and hospitality Top 100 Design Giants by Interior Design magazine and was recently recognized as one of the Top 3 Most Admired Design Firms in the World. www.rottetstudio.com
Floral arrangements in this year’s Giving Suite™ were created by The Mille Fiori Floral Design. www.themillefiori.com
+++ DISCLAIMER +++Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Gudkov Gu-1 was a Soviet fighter aircraft produced shortly after World War II in small numbers at the start of the jet age, but work on the Gudkov Gu-1 already started in 1944. Towards the end of World War II the Soviet Union saw the need for a strategic bombing capability similar to that of the United States Army Air Forces. The Soviet VVS air arm had the locally designed Petlyakov Pe-8 four-engined heavy bomber in service at the start of the war, but only 93 had been built by the end of the war and the type had become obsolete. By that time the U.S. regularly conducted bombing raids on Japan from distant Pacific forward bases using B-29 Superfortresses, and the Soviet Air Force lacked this capability.
Joseph Stalin ordered the development of a comparable bomber, and the U.S. twice refused to supply the Soviet Union with B-29s under Lend Lease. However, on four occasions during 1944, individual B-29s made emergency landings in Soviet territory and one crashed after the crew bailed out. In accordance with the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact, the Soviets were neutral in the Pacific War and the bombers were therefore interned and kept by the Soviets. Despite Soviet neutrality, America demanded the return of the bombers, but the Soviets refused. Three repairable B-29s were flown to Moscow and delivered to the Tupolev OKB. One B-29 was dismantled, the second was used for flight tests and training, and the third one was left as a standard for cross-reference.
Stalin told Tupolev to clone the Superfortress in as short a time as possible. The reverse-engineering effort involved 900 factories and research institutes, who finished the design work during the first year. 105,000 drawings were made, and the American technology had to be adapted to local material and manufacturing standards – and ended in a thorough re-design of the B-29 “under the hood”. By the end of the second year, the Soviet industry was to produce 20 copies of the aircraft ready for State acceptance trials.
While work on what would become the Tupolev Tu-4 was on the way, the need for a long range escort fighter arose, too. Soviet officials were keen on the P-51 Mustang, but, again, the USA denied deliveries, so that an indigenous solution had to be developed. With the rising tension of international relationships, this became eventually the preferred solution, too.
While the design bureau Lavochkin had already started with work on the La-9 fighter (which entered service after WWII) and the jet age was about to begin, the task of designing a long range escort fighter for the Tu-4 was relegated to Mikhail I. Gudkov who had been designing early WWII fighters like the LaGG-1 and -3 together with Lavochkin. Internally, the new fighter received the project handle "DIS" (Dalnij Istrebitel' Soprovozhdenya ="long-range escort fighter").
In order to offer an appropriate range and performance that could engage enemy interceptors in the bombers’ target area it was soon clear that neither a pure jet nor a pure piston-engine fighter was a viable solution – a dilemma the USAAF was trying to solve towards 1945, too. The jet engine alone did not offer sufficient power, and fuel consumption was high, so that the necessary range could never be achieved with an agile fighter. Late war radials had sufficient power and offered good range, but the Soviet designers were certain that the piston engine fighter had no future – especially when fast jet fighters had to be expected over enemy territory.
Another problem arose through the fact that the Soviet Union did not have an indigenous jet engine at hand at all in late 1945. War booty from Germany in the form of Junkers Jumo 004 axial jet engines and blueprints of the more powerful HeS 011 were still under evaluation, and these powerplants alone did neither promise enough range nor power for a long range fighter aircraft. Even for short range fighters their performance was rather limited – even though fighters like the Yak-15 and the MiG-9 were designed around them.
After many layout experiments and calculation, Gudkov eventually came up with a mixed powerplant solution for the DIS project. But unlike the contemporary, relatively light I-250 (also known as MiG-13) interceptor, which added a mechanical compressor with a primitive afterburner (called VRDK) to a Klimov VK-107R inline piston engine, the DIS fighter was equipped with a powerful radial engine and carried a jet booster – similar to the US Navy’s Ryan FR-1 “Fireball”. Unlike the FR-1, though, the DIS kept a conservative tail-sitter layout and was a much bigger aircraft.
The choice for the main powerplant fell on the Shvetsov ASh-82TKF engine, driving a large four blade propeller. This was a boosted version of the same 18 cylinder twin row radial that powered the Tu-4, the ASh-73. The ASh-82TKF for the escort fighter project had a rating of 2,720 hp (2,030 kW) while the Tu-4's ASh-73TK had "only" a temporary 2,400 hp (1,800 kW) output during take-off. The airframe was designed around this massive and powerful engine, and the aircraft’s sheer size was also a result of the large fuel capacity which was necessary to meet the range target of at least 3.000 km (1.860 mi, 1.612 nmi).
The ASh-82TKF alone offered enough power for a decent performance, but in order to take on enemy jet fighters and lighter, more agile propeller-driven fighters, a single RD-20 axial-flow turbojet with 7.8 kN (1,754 lbf) thrust was added in the rear-fuselage. It was to add power for take-off and in combat situations only. Its fixed air intakes were placed on the fuselage flanks, right behind the cockpit, and the jet pipe was placed under the fin and the stabilizers.
Outwardly, Gudkov’s DIS resembled the late American P-47D or the A-1 Skyraider a lot, and the beefy aircraft was comparable in size and weight, too. But the Soviet all-metal aircraft was a completely new construction and featured relatively small and slender laminar flow wings. The wide-track landing gear retracted inwards into the inner wings while the tail wheel retracted fully into a shallow compartment under the jet pipe.
The pilot sat in a spacious cockpit under a frameless bubble canopy with very good all-round visibility and enjoyed amenities for long flights such as increased padding in the seat, armrests, and even a urinal. In addition, a full radio navigation suite was installed for the expected long range duties over long stretches of featureless landscape like the open sea.
Armament consisted of four 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons with 100 RPG in the wings, outside of the propeller arc. The guns were good for a weight of fire of 6kg (13.2 lb)/sec, a very good value. Five wet hardpoints under the fuselage, the wings outside of the landing gear well and under the wing tips could primarily carry auxiliary drop tanks or an external ordnance of up to 1.500 kg (3.300 lb).
Alternatively, iron bombs of up to 500 kg (1.100 lb) caliber could be carried on the centerline pylon, and a pair of 250 kg (550 lb) bombs under the wings, but a fighter bomber role was never seriously considered for the highly specialized and complex aircraft.
The first DIS prototype, still without the jet booster, flew in May 1947. The second prototype, with both engines installed, had its fuel capacity increased by an additional 275 l (73 US gal) in an additional fuel tank behind the cockpit. The aircraft was also fitted with larger tires to accommodate the increased all-up weight, esp. with all five 300 l drop tanks fitted for maximum range and endurance.
Flight testing continued until 1948 and the DIS concept proved to be satisfactory, even though the complicated ASh-82TKF hampered the DIS’ reliability - to the point that fitting the ASh-73TK from the Tu-4 was considered for serial production, even if this would have meant a significant reduction in performance. The RD-20 caused lots of trouble, too. Engine reliability was generally poor, and re-starting the engine in flight did not work satisfactorily – a problem that, despite several changes to the starter and ignition system, could never be fully cured. The jet engine’s placement in the tail, together with the small tail wheel, also caused problems because the pilots had to take care that the tail would not aggressively hit the ground upon landings, because the RD-20 and its attachments were easily damaged.
Nevertheless, the DIS basically fulfilled the requested performance specifications and was, despite many shortcomings, eventually cleared for production in mid 1948. It received the official designation Gudkov Gu-1, honoring the engineer behind the aircraft, even though the aircraft was produced by Lavochkin.
The first machines were delivered to VVS units in early 1949 - just in time for the Tu-4's service introduction after the Russians had toiled endlessly on solving several technical problems. In the meantime, jet fighter development had quickly progressed, even though a purely jet-powered escort fighter for the Tu-4 was still out of question. Since the Gu-1 was capricious, complex and expensive to produce, only a limited number left the factories and emphasis was put on the much simpler and more economical Lavochkin La-11 escort fighter, a lightweight evolution of the proven La-9. Both types were regarded as an interim solution until a pure jet escort fighter would be ready for service.
Operationally the Gu-1s remained closely allocated to the VVS’ bomber squadrons and became an integral part of them. Anyway, since the Tu-4 bomber never faced a serious combat situation, so did the Gu-1, which was to guard it on its missions. For instance, both types were not directly involved in the Korean War, and the Gu-1 was primarily concentrated at the NATO borders to Western Europe, since bomber attacks in this theatre would certainly need the heavy fighter’s protection.
The advent of the MiG-15 - especially the improved MiG-15bis with additional fuel capacities and drop tanks, quickly sounded the death knell for the Gu-1 and any other post-WWII piston-engine fighter in Soviet Service. As Tu-4 production ended in the Soviet Union in 1952, so did the Gu-1’s production after only about 150 aircraft. The Tu-4s and their escort fighters were withdrawn in the 1960s, being replaced by more advanced aircraft including the Tupolev Tu-16 jet bomber (starting in 1954) and the Tupolev Tu-95 turboprop bomber (starting in 1956).
The Gudkov Gu-1, receiving the NATO ASCC code “Flout”, remained a pure fighter. Even though it was not a success, some proposals for updates were made - but never carried out. These included pods with unguided S-5 air-to-air-rockets, to be carried on the wing hardpoints, bigger, non-droppable wing tip tanks for even more range or, alternatively, the addition of two pulsejet boosters on the wing tips.
There even was a highly modified mixed powerplant version on the drawing boards in 1952, the Gu-1M. Its standard radial powerplant for cruise flight was enhanced with a new, non-afterburning Mikulin AM-5 axial flow jet engine with 2.270 kgf/5,000 lbf/23 kN additional thrust in the rear fuselage. With this temporary booster, a top speed of up to 850 km/h was expected. But to no avail - the pure jet fighter promised a far better performance and effectiveness, and the Gu-1 remained the only aircraft to exclusively carry the Gudkov name.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 14 m (45 ft 11 in)
Height: 4.65 m (15 ft 3 in)
Wing area: 28 m² (301.388 ft²)
Airfoil:
Empty weight: 4,637 kg (10,337 lb)
Loaded weight: 6.450 kg (14.220 lb)
Maximum take-off weight: 7,938 kg (17,500 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Shvetsov ASh-82TKF 18-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, rated at 2,720 hp (2,030 kW)
1x RD-20 axial-flow turbojet with 7.8 kN (1,754 lbf) thrust as temporary booster
Performance
Maximum speed: 676 km/h (420 mph) at 29,000 ft (8,839 m) with the radial only,
800 km/h (497 mph/432 kn,) with additional jet booster
Cruise speed: 440 km/h (237 kn, 273 mph)
Combat radius: 820 nmi (945 mi, 1,520 km)
Maximum range: 3.000 km (1.860 mi, 1.612 nmi) with drop tanks
Service ceiling: 14,680 m (48,170 ft)
Wing loading: 230.4 kg/m² (47.2 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.28 kW/kg (0.17 hp/lb)
Climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft): 5 min 9 sec;
Climb to 10,000 m (32,800 ft): 17 min 38 sec;
Climb to 13,000 m (42,640 ft): 21 min 03 sec
Armament
4× 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons with 100 RPG in the outer wings
Five hardpoints for an external ordnance of 1.500 kg (3.300 lb)
The kit and its assembly:
This whif is the incarnation of a very effective kitbashing combo that already spawned my fictional Japanese Ki-104 fighter, and it is another submission to the 2018 “Cold War” group build at whatifmodelers.com. This purely fictional Soviet escort fighter makes use of my experiences from the first build of this kind, yet with some differences.
The kit is a bashing of various parts and pieces:
· Fuselage, wing roots, landing gear and propeller from an Academy P-47D
· Wings from an Ark Model Supermarine Attacker (ex Novo)
· Tail fin comes from a Heller F-84G
· The stabilizers were taken from an Airfix Ki-46
· Cowling from a Matchbox F6F, mounted and blended onto the P-47 front
· Jet exhaust is the intake of a Matchbox Me 262 engine pod
My choice fell onto the Academy Thunderbolt because it has engraved panel lines, offers the bubble canopy as well as good fit, detail and solid material. The belly duct had simply been sliced off, and the opening later faired over with styrene sheet and putty, so that the P-47’s deep belly would not disappear.
The F6F cowling was chosen because it looks a lot like the ASh-73TK from the Tu-4. But this came at a price: the P-47 cowling is higher, tighter and has a totally different shape. It took serious body sculpting with putty to blend the parts into each other. Inside of the engine, a styrene tube was added for a metal axis that holds the uncuffed OOB P-47 four blade propeller. The P-47’s OOB cockpit tub was retained, too, just the seat received scratched armrests for a more luxurious look.
The Attacker wings were chosen because of their "modern" laminar profile. The Novo kit itself is horrible and primitive, but acceptable for donations. OOB, the Attacker wings had too little span for the big P-47, so I decided to mount the Thunderbolt's OOB wings and cut them at a suitable point: maybe 0.5", just outside of the large main wheel wells. The intersection with the Attacker wings is almost perfect in depth and width, relatively little putty work was necessary in order to blend the parts into each other. I just had to cut out new landing gear wells from the lower halves of the Attacker wings, and with new attachment points the P-47’s complete OOB landing gear could be used.
With the new wing shape, the tail surfaces had to be changed accordingly. The trapezoid stabilizers come from an Airfix Mitsubishi Ki-46, and their shape is a good match. The P-47 fin had to go, since I wanted something bigger and a different silhouette. The fuselage below was modified with a jet exhaust, too. I actually found a leftover F-84G (Heller) tail, complete with the jet pipe and the benefit that it has plausible attachment points for the stabilizers far above the jet engine in the Gu-1’s tail.
However, the F-84 jet pipe’s diameter turned out to be too large, so I went for a smaller but practical alternative, a Junkers Jumo 004 nacelle from a Me 262 (the ancestor of the Soviet RD-20!). Its intake section was cut off, flipped upside down, the fin was glued on top of it and then the new tail was glued to the P-47 fuselage. Some (more serious) body sculpting was necessary to create a more or less harmonious transition between the parts, but it worked.
The plausible placement of the air intakes and their shape was a bit of a challenge. I wanted them to be obvious, but still keep an aerodynamic look. An initial idea had been to keep the P-47’s deep belly and widen the central oil cooler intake under the nose, but I found the idea wacky and a bit pointless, since such a long air duct would not make much sense since it would waste internal space and the long duct’s additional weight would not offer any benefit?
Another idea were air intakes in the wing roots, but these were also turned down since the landing gear wells would be in the way, and placing the ducts above or below the wings would also make no sense. A single ventral scoop (looking like a P-51 radiator bath) or two smaller, dorsal intakes (XP-81 style) behind the cockpit were other serious candidates – but these were both rejected because I wanted to keep a clean side profile.
I eventually settled for very simple, fixed side intakes, level with the jet exhaust, somewhat inspired by the Lavochkin La-200B heavy fighter prototype. The air scoops are simply parts from an Italeri Saab 39 Gripen centerline drop tank (which has a flat, oval diameter), and their shape is IMHO a perfect match.
Painting and markings:
While the model itself is a wild mix of parts with lots of improvisation involved, I wanted to keep the livery rather simple. The most plausible choice would have been an NMF finish, but I rather wanted some paint – so I used Soviet La-9 and -11 as a benchmark and settled for a simple two-tone livery: uniform light grey upper and light blue lower surfaces.
I used RAF Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165) and Soviet Underside Blue (Humbrol 114) as basic tones, and, after a black ink wash, these were lightened up through dry-brushed post-shading. The yellow spinner and fin tip are based on typical (subtle) squadron markings of the late 40ies era.
The cockpit as well the engine and landing gear interior became blue-grey (Revell 57), similar to the typical La-9/11’s colors. The green wheel discs and the deep blue propeller blades are not 100% in the aircraft's time frame, but I added these details in order to enhance the Soviet touch and some color accents.
Tactical markings were kept simple, too. The "38" and the Red Stars come form a Mastercraft MiG-15, the Guards badge from a Begemoth MiG-25 sheet and most of the stencils were taken from a Yak-38 sheet, also from Begemoth.
Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and it received some mild soot stains and chipped paint around the cockpit and on the leading edges. Some oil stains were added around the engine (with Tamiya Smoke), too.
A massive aircraft, and this new use of the P-47/Attacker combo results again in a plausible solution. The added jet engine might appear a bit exotic, but the mixed powerplant concept was en vogue after WWII, but only a few aircraft made it beyond the prototype stage.
While painting the model I also wondered if an all dark blue livery and some USN markings could also have made this creation the Grumman JetCat? With the tall fin, the Gu-1 could also be an F8F Bearcat on steroids? Hmmm...
Fumitaka Nakahama, Managing Executive Officer; Chief Executive, Global Corporate and Investment Banking, MUFG Bank, Japan captured during the Financing a Just Transition in Emerging Markets session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2022 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 24 May. Congress Centre - Engage Room. Copyright: World Economic Forum/Sikarin Fon Thanachaiary
The annual user conference for HCL Digital products (HCL Notes/Domino, Connections, Sametime, Domino Volt, Volt MX and other products) took place in Bruges in Belgium on May 24 and 25 2022.
Once again Theo Heselmans and his lovely wife Hilde pulled off a spectacular event. There was food, there was beer, there was a guided tour of the beautiful City Hall in Bruges, there was beer, there was the opportunity to learn, there was beer, there was the opportunity to teach, there was the opportunity to connect with more people and... oh yeah... there was beer (if anyone had told me I would fall completely in love with a fruity beer, I would have said they were joking, but I had at least five of those on Tuesday).
You can read my blog posting about the conference here -> domino.elfworld.org/restyling-with-the-young-at-engage/
Scrum in Lucca between Rugby Lucca and CUS Siena, in b&w, lights and shadows.
Mischia a Lucca tra Rugby Lucca e CUS Siena, in bianco e nero, contrasti tra luci ed ombre
EngAGE focuses on programs that enrich the lives of older adults, including intergenerational music programs.
ORLANDO, Fla. – More than 1,200 Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, veterans and their spouses engaged with scores of recruiters representing dozens of private companies and government agencies during a Veteran Hiring Event held Jan. 10 at the David R. Wilson Armed Forces Reserve Center.
Sponsored by CareerSource Central Florida and the Private Public Partnership of the U.S. Army Reserve, the event featured 55 employers ranging from national retailers such as Walgreens and Home Depot to state and local government organizations such as the Florida Highway Patrol and Orange County Fire Rescue Department. Many employers advertised hundreds of careers requiring a variety of creative, technical and managerial skill sets, while a few corporations offered new hire training programs designed exclusively for veterans and service members.
The Veteran Hiring Event coincided with three military branches conducting their respective drill weekends under one roof. A majority of the service members shaking hands and handing resumes wore the insignia of the 143d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), an Army Reserve logistics and transportation headquarters unit.
Photos by Capt. Jamie Padgett and Sgt. John L. Carkeet IV, 143d ESC
1st draft for a sermon brand for a series called Engage.
The series will be on discipleship. In it we will be discussing what we call the discipleship pathway which lays out the biblical description of the journey of a believer from new believer to multiplying leader and finally to co-laborer.
Via PhilBoxing.com
An exciting night of boxing hit the Coachella Valley tonight as fans were treated with a stellar card at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. Joining in the festivities, International Hall of Fame Boxer Michael "Jinx" Spinks hosted a special meet and greet at the Special Events Arena ahead of the televised fights and fans cheered on as International Hall of Fame Trainer Freddie Roach appeared ringside in support of his fighter Franke "Pitbull" Gomez. Also, Golden Boy Promotions fighters IBF Bantamweight World Champion, Randy "El Matador" Caballero, Hector "El Finito" Tanajara, Joshua Franco, Angel Bojado and Jesus Soto Karass attended to cheer on their favorite fighters during the night.
In the main event of the night Joseph "Jo Jo" Diaz Jr. (18-0, 10 KOs), of So. El Monte, Calif. took on Ruben "Kanelito" Tamayo (23-7-4, 15 KOs) of Cuidad Obregon, Mexico in a scheduled 10-round featherweight bout. Diaz Jr. displayed his dominance over Tamayo landing effective and accurate blows to Tamayo's head and body that slowly wore Tamayo down. Tamayo proved to be a resilient fighter as he continued to engage with Diaz Jr. throughout the night but it was Diaz Jr. who gained the victory via unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 100-90.
"I knew Tamayo was going to be taller and we made sure to land effect counter shots to get the victory," said Joseph Diaz Jr. "I knew was going to be tough, but I knew I was winning decisively throughout the night. When I started to land the combinations I would make sure to come back out to prevent Tamayo from reaching me. Overall I feel I proved I was a tough fighter and can adjust to any style."
"Diaz Jr. was a fast puncher, but I thought the fight was very even and was surprised at the unanimous decision," said Ruben Tamayo. "This is not the end for me, I am going to learn from this experience and continue to fight. Boxing is my passion and I will continue to do it as long as I can."
Frankie "Pitbull" Gomez (19-0, 13 KOs) of East Los Angeles, gave the fans the something to cheer about as he took on Tijuana's Jorge "Pantera" Silva (19-10-2, 15 Kos) in a 10-round super welterweight co-main event. Both fighters exchanged blows each not willing to give up to the other. In the third and fourth rounds the crowd erupted into a "Frankie, Frankie" cheer as Gomez cornered the tough Silva in the ropes. By the end of the fight, fans were on their feet cheering on their favorite fighter. Gomez proved to be victorious, winning the bout via unanimous decision with scores of 100-90 by all three judges.
"Silva was a tough fighter," said Frankie Gomez. "I kept giving him all I could but he kept coming, he has a lot of heart. I knew the way to win this was to outbox him, but I also wanted to make sure the fans were entertained. I could hear the fans shouting and that gave me more motivation to not only win but give them a great fight."
"The people know I am a fighter that comes to fight," said Jorge Silva. "I have a lot of heart and I think I showed them that tonight. Although I did not get a victory today, the people were the true winners because this was the fight of the night."
Paulis "The Killer" Ritter (1-1) of Long Beach, Calif. returned to Fantasy Springs for a second time facing Relonzo Richard Jr. (0-1) of Landcaster, Calif. in a four-round heavyweight bout. Richard had a taste of the mat three times but showed great heart in going the full four rounds but it was Ritter who secured a victor with scores of 38-35, 37-36, 37-36 for a unanimous decision win.
"I love the crowd at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino," said Paul Ritter. "The fans are so energetic and it motivated me to win this fight. Although I won the fight, I am unsatisfied. I want to see the tae and get back into the gym to make sure that next time I'm in the ring I am better."
Part of the RingTV live stream, local favorite Alberto Fundora (6-0, 2 KOs) of Coachella, Calif. and Richard Romero (3-1, 3 KOs) of Commerce, Calif. really gave the fans exciting brawl when the super middleweight bout went all six rounds. Both fighters stuck it out neither giving up to the other. By round five, it was clear Fundora was the stronger fighter as a few punches stunned and shook Romero. Fundora finished the fifth and sixth rounds strong and secured a unanimous decision victory with judges scoring the fight at 59-55, 58-56 and 58-56.
"I was boxing in front of my hometown and I knew I had to perform," said Alberto Fundora. "I trained very hard for this fight, I had a great camp and strong sparring partners because we knew Romero had a great amateur background and was professionally undefeated. Tonight I took advantage of his weaknesses and finished the fight strong."
Hailing from Indio, Calif. Marco Magdaleno (1-0, 1 KO) made his family proud winning his first professional fight by defeating Philip Bounds (0-1) via first round knockout.
"It feels so amazing to become a professional," said Marco Magdaleno. "I know I made my family and my hometown proud tonight. I am looking forward to the future, the sky is the limit for me."
Melsik Baghdasaryan (3-0, 1 KO) of Glendale, Calif. defeated Diego Padilla (1-2) via majority decision 38-38 39-37 and 39-37 in their scheduled four-round welterweight fight.
"Padilla was a tougher fighter than I thought he would be," said Melsik Baghdasaryan. "But luckily I always train very hard for each fight, I don't let records faze me. But I knew after the first round of this fight, that I had the advantage."
Opening up the night and the RingTV live stream, KeAndre Gibson (14-0-1, 5 KOs) of St. Louis, Missouri, kept his undefeated intact when he knocked out Thomas Howard (8-5, 4 KOs) 55 seconds into the second round.
"This fight was all mental for me," said KeAndre Gibson. "I knew this fight was going to be at a higher weight and I didn't know what to expect so I had to make sure I was focused and stayed on my game plan. That proved to be effective tonight and I secured a good victory."