Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.

 

Tonight however, we are at Simpson’s-in-the-Strand*, near Covent Garden and the theatre district of London’s West End. Here, amidst the thoroughly English surrounds of wooden panelling, beautifully executed watercolours of British landscapes and floral arrangements in muted colours, men in white waistcoats and women a-glitter with jewels are ushered into the dining room where they are seated in high backed chairs around tables dressed in crisp white tablecloths and set with sparkling silver and gilt china. The large room is very heavily populated with theatre patrons enjoying a meal before a show and therefore it is full of vociferous conversation, boisterous laughter, the clink of glasses and the scrape of cutlery against crockery as the diners enjoy the traditional English repast that Simpson’s is famous for. Seated at a table for two along the periphery of the main dining room, Lettice and Selwyn are served their roast beef dinner by a carver. Lettice is being taken to dinner by Selwyn to celebrate the successful completion of his very first architectural commission: a modest house built in the northern London suburb of Highgate built for a merchant and his wife. Lettice has her own reason to celebrate too, but has yet to elaborate upon it with Selwyn.

 

“I do so like Simpson’s.” Lettice remarks as the carver places a plate of steaming roast beef and vegetables in front of her. Glancing around her, she admires the two watercolours on the wall behind her and the jolly arrangement of yellow asters and purple and yellow pansies on the small console to her right.

 

“I’m glad you approve.” Selwyn laughs, smiling at his companion.

 

“I’m always put in mind of Mr. Wilcox whenever it’s mentioned, or I come here.”

 

“Who is Mr. Wilcox?” Selwyn asks, his handsome features showing the signs of deep thought.

 

“Oh,” Lettice laughs and flaps her hand, the jewels on her fingers winking gaily in the light. “No-one. Well, no one real, that is.” she clarifies. “Mr. Wilcox is a character in E. M. Forster’s novel, ‘Howard’s End’**, who thoroughly approves of Simpson’s because it is so thoroughly English and respectable, just like him.”

 

“I can’t say I’ve read that novel, or anything by him.” Selwyn admits as the carver places his serving of roast beef and vegetables before him. “My head has been too buried in books on architecture.” Selwyn reaches into the breast pocket of his white dinner vest and takes out a few coins which he slips discreetly to the man in the crisp white uniform and chef’s hat.

 

“Thank you, Your Grace,” the carver says, tapping the brim of his hat in deference to the Duke of Walmsford’s son before placing the roast beef, selection of vegetables in tureens and gravy onto the crisp white linen tabletop, and then wheeling his carving trolley away.

 

Lettice giggles as she picks up the gravy boat and pours steaming thick and rich dark reddish brown gravy over her dinner.

 

“Well, what’s so funny, my Angel?” Selwyn asks with a querying look as he accepts the gravy boat from Lettice’s outstretched hands and pours some on his own meal.

 

“Oh you are just like Mr. Wilcox.”

 

“You know,” He picks up his silver cutlery. “And please pardon me for saying this, but I didn’t take you for reading much more than romance novels.”

 

“Oh!” Lettice laughs in mild outrage. “Thank you very much, Selwyn!”

 

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Selwyn defends himself, dropping his knife and fork with a clatter onto the fluted gilt edged white dinner plate.

 

“Then what do you mean?” Lettice asks, trying to remain serious as she looks into the worried face of her dinner companion, which makes her want to reach out and stroke his cheek affectionately and smile.

 

“I… I merely meant that most ladies of your background have had very little education, or inclination to want to read anything more than romance novels.”

 

“Well,” Lettice admits. “I must confess that I do quite enjoy romance novels, and I wouldn’t be as well read if it weren’t for Margot.”

 

“Aha!” Selwyn laughs, popping some carrots smeared in gravy into his mouth.

 

“But,” Lettice quickly adds in her defence. “I’ll have you know that my father is a great believer in the education of ladies, and so was my grandfather, and I applied myself when I studied, and I enjoyed it.”

 

“It shows my Angel,” Selwyn assures her. “You are far more interesting than any other lady I’ve met in polite society, most of whom haven’t an original thought in their heads.”

 

“I take after my Aunt Egg, who learned Greek amongst other languages, which served her well when she decided to go there to study ancient art. Although Mater insisted that I not go to a girl’s school, so I would not become a bluestocking*** and thereby spoil my marriage prospects by demonstrating…”

 

“That’s what I was implying,” Selwyn interrupts in desperate defence of his incorrect assumptions about Lettice. “Most girls I have met either feign a lack of intelligence, or more often genuinely are dim witted. Admittedly, it’s not really their fault. With mothers like yours, who believe that the only position for a girl of good breeding is that of marriage, they seldom get educated well, and their brains sit idle.”

 

“Well, I have a brain, and I know how to use it. Pater and Aunt Egg drummed into me the importance of intelligence as well as good manners and looks in women of society.”

 

“Well, there are a great many ladies whom I have met who could take a leaf out of your book. I know you have a mind of your own, my Angel,” Selwyn purrs. “And that’s one of the many attributes about you that I like. Having a conversation with you about art, or my passion of architecture, is so refreshing in comparison to speaking about floral arrangements or the weather, as I shall soon have to when I start escorting my cousin Pamela for the London Season.”

 

Lettice cannot help but shudder silently at the mention of Selwyn’s cousin, Pamela Fox-Chavers, for she is immediately reminded of what Sir John Nettleford-Hughes said to her at the society wedding of her friend Priscilla Kitson-Fahey to American Georgie Carter in November. He pointed out to her that Selwyn’s mother, Lady Zinnia, plans to match Selwyn and Pamela. From his point of view, it was already a fait accompli.

 

“I like my cousin,” Selwyn carries on, not noticing the bristle pulsating through Lettice. “But like so many of the other debutantes of 1923, she is lacking interests beyond the marriage market and social gossip and intrigues. You, on the other hand, my Angel, are well informed, and have your own opinions.”

 

“Well, you can thank Pater for instilling that in me. He hired some very intelligent governesses to school my sister and I in far more than embroidery, floral arranging and polite conversation.”

 

“And I’m jolly glad of it, my darling.”

 

“And Aunt Egg told me that I should never be afraid to express my opinion, however different, so long as it is artfully couched.”

 

“I like the sound of your Aunt Egg.”

 

“I don’t think your mother would approve of her, nor of me having a brain, Selwyn. Would she? I’m sure she would prefer you to marry one of those twittering and decorous debutantes.” She tries her luck. “Like your cousin Pamela, perhaps?”

 

“Oh, come now, Lettice darling!” Selwyn replies. If she has thrown a bone, he isn’t taking it as he rests the heels of his hands on the edge of the white linen tablecloth, clutching his cutlery. He chews his mouthful of roast beef before continuing. “That isn’t fair, even to Zinnia. She’s a very intelligent woman herself, with quite a capacity for witty conversation about all manner of topics, and she reads voraciously on many subjects.”

 

“I was talking to Leslie about what his impressions of your mother were when I went down to Glynes**** for his wedding in November.”

 

“Were you now?” Selwyn’s eyebrows arch with surprise over his widening eyes.

 

“Yes,” Lettice smirks, taking a mouthful of roast potato drizzled in gravy which falls apart on her tongue. Chewing her food, she feels emboldened, and sighs contentedly as she wonders whether Sir John was just spitting sour grapes because she prefers Selwyn’s company rather than his. Finishing her mouthful she elucidates, “Leslie is a few years older than us, and of course, I only remember her as that angry woman in black who pulled you away after we’d played in the hedgerows.”

 

“Well, she obviously left a lasting impression on you!” Selwyn chortles.

 

“But it isn’t a fair one, is it?” she asks rhetorically. “So, I asked Leslie what he remembered of her from time they spent together in the drawing room whilst you and I were tucked up in bed in the nursery.”

 

“And what was Leslie’s impression of Zinnia?”

 

“That, as you say, she is a witty woman, and that she liked to hold men in her thrall with her beauty, wit and intelligence.”

 

“Well, he’s quite right about that.”

 

“But that she didn’t much like other ladies for company, especially intelligent ones who might draw the gentlemen’s attention away from her glittering orbit.”

 

Selwyn chews his mouthful of dinner and concentrates on his dinner plate with downcast, contemplative eyes. He swallows but remains silent for a moment longer as he mulls over his own thoughts.

 

After a few moments of silence, Lettice airs an unspoken thought that has been ruminating about her head ever since Selwyn mentioned her. “You know, I’d love to meet Zinnia.”

 

Selwyn chuckles but looks down darkly into his glass of red wine. “But you have met her, Lettice darling. You just said so yourself. She was that angry woman yelling at you as I was dragged from the hedgerows of your father’s estate.”

 

“I know, but that doesn’t count! We were children. No, I’ve heard of her certainly over the years, but now that I’ve become reacquainted with you as an adult, and now that we are being serious with one another.” She pauses. “We are being serious with one another, aren’t we Selwyn?”

 

“Of course we are, Lettice.” Selwyn replies, unable to keep his irritation at her question out of his voice. “You know we are.” Falling back into silence, he runs his tongue around the inside of his cheek as he retreats back into his own inner most thoughts.

 

“Then I’d so very much like to meet her. You have met my toadying mother. Why shouldn’t I meet yours?”

 

“Be careful what you wish for, my Angel.” he cautions.

 

“What do you mean, Selwyn darling?”

 

Selwyn doesn’t answer straight away. He absently fiddles with the silver salt shaker from the cruet set in front of him, rolling its bulbous form about in his palm, as if considering whether it will give him an answer of some kind.

 

“Selwyn?” Lettice asks, leaning over and putting a hand on her companion’s broad shoulder.

 

“Just that you may not like her when you meet her.” He shrugs. “That’s all. Toadying is certainly not a word I would associate with Zinnia on any given day, that’s for certain.”

 

“Or you might be implying she might not like me.” Lettice remarks downheartedly. “Is that it?”

 

Softening his tone, Selwyn assures her, “I like you, and I’m sure she will too. You will get to meet her soon enough, Lettice darling. I promise. But not yet.” He suddenly snaps out of his contemplations and starts to cut a piece off his roast beef, slicing into the juicy flesh with sharp jabs of his knife. “We have plenty of time for all that. Let’s just enjoy us for now, and be content with that.”

 

“Oh of course, Selwyn darling,” Lettice stammers. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean, now.”

 

“I know you didn’t may angel.” He sees the look of concern she is giving him as she stiffens and sits back in her straight backed chair, afraid that she has offended him. “I just like it being just us for now, without the complication of Zinnia.”

 

“Is she complicated?”

 

“More than you’ll ever know, my angel. Aren’t most mothers?”

 

“I suppose.”

 

“Anyway, enough about Zinnia! I don’t want this evening to be about Zinnia! I want it to be about us. So not another word about her. Alright?” When Lettice nods shallowly, he continues, “I’m here to celebrate the success of Mr. and Mrs. Musgrave of Highgate being happy with their newly completed home.”

 

“Oh yes! Your first architectural commission completed and received with great success!” Lettice enthuses. “Let’s raise a toast to that.” She picks up her glass of red wine, which gleams under the diffused light of the chandeliers in Simpson’s dining room. “Cheers to you Selwyn, and your ongoing success.”

 

Their glasses clink cheerily.

 

“And what of Bruton?”

 

“Oh, Gerald is doing very well!” Lettice assures Selwyn, returning her glass to the tabletop. “His couture business is really starting to flourish.”

 

“It’s a bit of rum business*****, a chap making frocks for ladies, isn’t it?” Selwyn screws up his nose in a mixture of a lack of comprehension and distaste.

 

“It’s what he’s good at,” Lettice tugs at the peacock blue ruched satin sleeve of her evening gown as proof, feeling proud to wear one of her friend’s designs. “And he’s hardly the first couturier who’s a man, is he, Selwyn Darling?”

 

“I suppose not. Zinnia does buy frocks from the house of Worth******, and he was a man.”

 

“Exactly.” Lettice soothes. “And who would know what suits a lady better than a man?”

 

“Yes, and I must say,” Selwyn says, looking his companion up and down appreciatively in her shimmering evening gown covered in matching peacock blue bugle beads. “You do look positively ravishing in his creation.”

 

“Thank you, Selwyn.” Lettice murmurs, her face flushing at the compliment.

 

“We never see him at the club any more. I think the last time I saw him was the night I met you at your parents’ Hunt Ball, and that was almost a year ago.”

 

“Oh well,” Lettice blusters awkwardly, thinking quickly as to what excuse she can give for her dearest friend. She knows how dire Gerald’s finances are, partially as a result of his father’s pecuniary restraints, and she suspects that this fact is likely the reason why Gerald doesn’t attend his club any longer, even if he is still a member. Even small outlays at his club could tilt him the wrong way financially. However she also knows that this is a fact not widely known, and it would embarrass him so much were it to become public knowledge, especially courtesy of her, his best friend. “Running a business, especially in its infancy like Gerald’s and mine, can take time, a great deal of time as a matter of fact.”

 

“But you have time, my Angel, to spend time with me.” He eyes her. “Are you covering for Bruton?”

 

Lettice’s face suddenly drains of colour at Selwyn’s question. “No… no, I.”

 

Lowering his voice again, Selwyn asks, “He hasn’t taken after his brother and found himself an unsuitable girl, has he?”

 

Lettice releases the breath she has held momentarily in her chest and sighs.

 

“I know Gerald wouldn’t go for a local publican’s daughter, like Roland did, but being artistic like he is, I could imagine him with a chorus girl, and I know if news of that ever got back to Old Man Bruton, there would be fireworks, and it would be a bloody******* time for Bruton. Poor chap!”

 

“No, no, Selwyn darling!” Lettice replies with genuine relief. “I can assure you,” And as she puts her hand to her thumping heart, she knows she speaks the truth. “Gerald hasn’t taken up with a chorus girl. He genuinely is busy with his couture business. Establishing oneself, as you know only too well, isn’t easy, even for a duke’s son, much less a lower member of the aristocracy without the social profile. And my business is ticking along quite nicely now, so I don’t need to put in as much effort as Gerald does.”

 

“But how selfish of me, my Angel!” Selwyn exclaims, putting his glass down abruptly and looking to his companion. “What a prig I’m being, aggrandising myself and bringing up Bruton, when you said that you had something to celebrate tonight too. What is it?”

 

“Oh, it’s nothing like you’ve done, by finishing a house for someone.” Lettice says, flapping her hand dismissively.

 

“Well, what is it, Lettice darling?” Selwyn insists. “Tell me!”

 

Lettice looks down at her plate for a moment and then remarks rather offhandedly, “It was only that I had a telephone call from Henry Tipping******** the other day, and received confirmation that my interior for Dickie and Margot Channon’s Cornwall house ‘Chi an Treth’ will be featured in an upcoming edition of Country Life.”

 

“Oh may Angel!” Selwyn exclaims. “That’s wonderful!” He leans over and kisses her affectionately, albeit with the reserve that is expected between two unmarried people whilst dining in a public place, but with no less genuine delight for her. “That’s certainly more than nothing, and is something also worth celebrating!” I say, let’s raise a toast to you.” He picks up his glass of red wine again. “Cheers to you Lettice, and may the article bring you lots of recognition and new business.”

 

The pair clink glasses yet again and smile at one another.

 

*After a modest start in 1828 as a smoking room and soon afterwards as a coffee house, Simpson's-in-the-Strand achieved a dual fame, around 1850, for its traditional English food, particularly roast meats, and also as the most important venue in Britain for chess in the Nineteenth Century. Chess ceased to be a feature after Simpson's was bought by the Savoy Hotel group of companies at the end of the Nineteenth Century, but as a purveyor of traditional English food, Simpson's has remained a celebrated dining venue throughout the Twentieth Century and into the Twenty-First Century. P.G. Wodehouse called it "a restful temple of food"

 

**Howards End is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. Howards End is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book was conceived in June 1908 and worked on throughout the following year; it was completed in July 1910

 

***The term bluestocking was applied to any of a group of women who in mid Eighteenth Century England held “conversations” to which they invited men of letters and members of the aristocracy with literary interests. The word over the passing centuries has come to be applied derisively to a woman who affects literary or learned interests.

 

****Glynes is the grand Georgian family seat of the Chetwynds in Wiltshire, and the home of Lettice’s parents, the presiding Viscount and Countess of Wrexham and the heir, their eldest son Leslie.

 

*****Rum is a British slang word that means odd (in a negative way) or disreputable.

 

******Charles Frederick Worth was an English fashion designer who founded the House of Worth, one of the foremost fashion houses of the Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries. He is considered by many fashion historians to be the father of haute couture. Worth is also credited with revolutionising the business of fashion. Established in Paris in 1858, his fashion salon soon attracted European royalty, and where they led monied society followed. An innovative designer, he adapted 19th-century dress to make it more suited to everyday life, with some changes said to be at the request of his most prestigious client Empress Eugénie. He was the first to replace the fashion dolls with live models in order to promote his garments to clients, and to sew branded labels into his clothing; almost all clients visited his salon for a consultation and fitting – thereby turning the House of Worth into a society meeting point. By the end of his career, his fashion house employed 1,200 people and its impact on fashion taste was far-reaching.

 

*******The old fashioned British term “looking bloody” was a way of indicating how dour or serious a person or occasion looks.

 

********Henry Tipping (1855 – 1933) was a French-born British writer on country houses and gardens, garden designer in his own right, and Architectural Editor of the British periodical Country Life for seventeen years between 1907 and 1910 and 1916 and 1933. After his appointment to that position in 1907, he became recognised as one of the leading authorities on the history, architecture, furnishings and gardens of country houses in Britain. In 1927, he became a member of the first committee of the Gardens of England and Wales Scheme, later known as the National Gardens Scheme.

 

Comfortable, cosy and terribly English, the interior of Simpson’s-in-the-Strand may look real to you, but it is in fact made up of pieces from my 1:12 miniatures collection, including pieces from my childhood.

 

The dining table is correctly set for a four course Edwardian dinner partially ended, with the first course already concluded using cutlery, from Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering in the United Kingdom. The delicious looking roast dinner on the dinner plates, the bowls of vegetables, roast potatoes, boat of gravy and Yorkshire puddings and on the tabletop have been made in England by hand from clay by former chef turned miniature artisan, Frances Knight. Her work is incredibly detailed and realistic, and she says that she draws her inspiration from her years as a chef and her imagination. The red wine glasses bought them from a miniatures stockist on E-Bay. Each glass is hand blown using real glass. The silver cruet set in the middle of the table has been made with great attention to detail, and comes from Warwick Miniatures in Ireland, who are well known for the quality and detail applied to their pieces. The silver meat cover you can just see in the background to the left of the photo also comes from Warwick Miniatures.

 

The table on which all these items stand is a Queen Anne lamp table which I was given for my seventh birthday. It is one of the very first miniature pieces of furniture I was ever given as a child. The Queen Anne dining chairs were all given to me as a Christmas present when I was around the same age.

 

The vase of flowers in the background I acquired from Kathleen Knight’s Dolls House Miniatures in the United Kingdom.

 

The wood panelling in the background is real, as I shot this scene on the wood panelled mantle of my drawing room. The paintings hanging from the wooden panels come from an online stockist on E-Bay.

Black Skimmer...Bombay Hook

Welcome distinguished spectators! Gather around and stick your necks out to catch a glimpse of these fine axes... and of course these fine craftsmen excelling in the art of death. They are the sharp blade of justice sending the guilty on their final journey, so we might live in peace and prosperity. And while the next sinner steps up to the chopping block, you may choose your favorite executioner to do the honor. And then step back a little... justice is a bloody business!

Singapore is one of those rare cities that doesn’t just impress you — it elevates you.

Clean lines, calm energy, disciplined systems, and a skyline built on vision.

A place where ambition feels organised, and progress feels intentional.”

The Madonna della Vittoria is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna; the painting was executed in 1496.

On 6 July 1495 the French army of Charles VIII of France, retreating from Italy after the French Invasion of 1494-1498, fought the Italic League at the Battle of Fornovo. The League, commanded by Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua, was made up of numerous nation-states determined to prevent French dominance in Italy, and included the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Venice, Milan, and the Papal States controlled by Pope Alexander VI. Despite the League failing in its goal to destroy the French army, taking more casualties at Fornovo, and allowing Charles VIII to retreat back to France with his army intact, Francesco claimed victory. As a sign of his self-proclaimed victory at Fornovo, he commissioned Mantegna to paint the Madonna della Vittoria.

During Francesco's absence from Mantua, Daniele da Norsa, a Jewish banker, had purchased a house in the city's San Simone quarter and replaced the image of the Virgin Mary which decorated its façade with his own coat of arms. The regent, Sigismondo Gonzaga, ordered him to restore the depiction. Although Daniele agreed to do so, the populace, inflamed by anti-semitic feeling, destroyed his house.

When Francesco returned, he forced Daniele to fund a chapel and a devotional painting. The painting was to be executed by the Mantuan court painter, Mantegna, and was inaugurated in 1496 on the anniversary of the duke's victory at Fornovo. The work was placed in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, which had been constructed over the ruins of Daniele da Norsa's house.

The painting was one of the artworks looted by the French during the Napoleonic invasion of Italy, and by 1798 was being exhibited in the Louvre. The painting was never returned; the given excuse was that its large size made the transport difficult. The presence of a sulphur-crested cockatoo in the painting is considered as evidence of Arab trade in the Australasian region which dates all the way to when one such bird was gifted from Sultan al-Kamil to Frederick II in the 1240s.

I think that trying to execute a photo and have it come out right is one of my favorite processes to photography. Just the prep work of finding a book then folding the pages (in the center of the book) and then getting all my colored lights out and trying to balance the exposure of how bright they are and then adding in composition and attempt #1 begins --shot-then replace --shoot again --move lights fix composition --re-shoot and keep setting up lights that fall and adjusting exposure and somewhere in between all of that this is what happened. Theres a lot of other patterns in this photo like how all the 5 pages almost make up a flower shape and as well if you just look at the green and blue pages its a shape of a heart as well as some of the other pages like the purple and blue ones to. So this was day 141 and i had fun setting up this image and glad it came out like how i had in my head ----Specs below

 

Specs and Strobist

Book was on table with the pages folded inwards and each page has colored light at the back of the page lighting from the inside, except the yellow light is actually a yellow gel held in front of my iphone flashlight and turned on for a second to get the yellow I also had a sb-800 paper towel diffused and fired that on manual mode from camera right (snooted with my hand) for a touch of normal colored fill on the book pages and after that i lit the front of the bottom of the book with another mini light.

Total exposure was 13 seconds for the red, green blu and purple lights and the yellow was an off and on fast i phone gelled light.

 

sooc

I thought it was cool of Massiel to come up with this idea, although I did not put much effort in nailing the shot. I felt bad for her considering it was getting really cold and all she had was a summer dress with a top. She definetely gave me an idea that I would love to execute.... have you ever heard of La Siguanaba??

A sculpture of a man at the Museum of Modern Art

 

The image shows a detailed sculpture of a young man, executed in light tones. He has short, tousled hair dyed orange. The sculpture's head is tilted downward, its gaze directed to the side. The facial features are defined: the brows are furrowed, the lips are parted, and the large eyes gaze to the side.

 

The sculpture's skin has a smooth, matte texture. One arm is raised and touches the neck; the rest of the sculpture's body is hidden.

The background behind the sculpture is dark, almost black, creating contrast and drawing attention to the sculpture. A portion of a light-colored surface, possibly a wall or other piece of furniture, is visible to the left.

Manufacturer: Panavia

Operator German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Tactical Air Wing 51, Schleswig-Jagel.

Type: GR1 Tornado ECR (43+45) "Immelmann"

Event: NATO Tiger Meet 2019

Location: Base de Aerienne Mont de Marsan, Landes, France.

View On Black

 

Fenster in der Veste Oberhaus (Museum) in Passau

Window in the fortress Oberhaus (Museum) in Passau (Bavaria)

 

My pictures are published under "All rights reserved". If you want to use an image - either for commercial or non-profit purposes, feel free to contact me. I'm sure we'll find an agreement ...

 

Arizona Man Arrested for Threatening to Execute Rabbi, All Other Jews He Could Find

By JNS & JewishPress.com News Desk - 25 Heshvan 5784 – November 8, 2023

  

UJA

 

The US attorney’s office for the District of Arizona has charged Jeffrey Mindock, 50, of Tempe, Arizona, with threatening to commit mass murder against Jews.

 

Mindock allegedly emailed a local rabbi asking him to sway a Utah judge to drop charges against him.

 

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“If you do not use your influence to right this wrong,” wrote Mindock, “I will execute you and every other Jew I can find tonight at midnight of your Sabbath.”

 

The email subject line read: “Hitler was right, rabbi,” per the criminal complaint, which referred to the war between Israel and Hamas, ABC reported.

 

“As I have watched the atrocities unfolding in Palestine, I have come to the realization that you people are to blame for everything evil in this world,” he allegedly wrote. “Zionist Jews control everything from the courts to the banks to the media. We both know that you are in control.”

 

Mindock was arrested on Saturday morning.

 

“We have no tolerance for those who send threatening communications to Jewish faith leaders or to any other people in America,” stated US Attorney Gary Restaino. “We will continue to exercise our prosecutorial discretion and deploy our resources to charge threats cases here in Arizona.”

 

“The FBI and our law-enforcement partners must take people who make threats at their word and intervene because protecting human life is our absolute priority,” added Chad Alvarado, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Phoenix field office.

"Gentleman, you are approaching the black out range on the Monolith's portals, may all luck in the universe be with you. Once you dive through those gateways, its you and your pressure suit, and you may never see another human again. Godspeed."

 

My build for Day 5 of vignweek, which I'm not super happy with considering the space theme was right up my alley. The original plan involved a big piece of a minifig scale dropship allowing a trooper to dive into the portals, but I couldn't execute a version I was happy with in the time frame.

 

Mecabricks: mecabricks.com/en/models/VzvMZ64qaJp

Instagram: @umbramanis

Dunstanburgh Castle was built in the second decade of the 14th century by Thomas, Earl of Lancaster (died 1322), the wealthiest nobleman in England and leader of the baronial opposition to his cousin Edward II and successive royal favourites.The castle was built on an impractically massive scale, particularly its great south gatehouse, but much of the area inside its curtain walls was always empty and unoccupied.

Earl Thomas was later executed for his role in the barons’ rebellion against Edward II and the castle’s next main building phase consisted of an intense period of modernisation in the 1380s under John of Gaunt (who died in 1399). At the end of the Middle Ages, the castle fell into disrepair and became ever more ruinous as stone was removed for use elsewhere.

It's a fact...

History

 

Early Life

 

Mera was born to King Ryus and his wife in the kingdom of Xebel, one of the seven Atlantean kingdoms of old which had split off from the main Atlantis during the event that swallowed the continent into the deep.

 

When Mera was young her mother died, and her father was left alone to raise her. One night Ryus took Mera out of the kingdom to see their ancient enemy Atlantis up close, where she was disgusted by its beauty, believing it didn't deserve such luxury.

 

Mera was incredibly close with her grandmother - Lammia, who trained the sea beasts used in Xebelian wars. Mera was forged into the perfect warrior over years of her life by her father's chief taskmaster- Leron. and was taught the royal secret of hydrokinesis.

 

Meeting Aquaman

 

As a young adult, Mera was promised to be wed to the military chief Nereus by her father. Ryus believed that vengeance should be exacted on Atlantis, and so tasked Mera with finding and assassinating the King of Atlantis, after returning from her job she was to marry Nereus.

 

Before she left, Mera was given a Shell of Sounds by her father, this device contained a message for Mera from her mother which she was to open after making it to the surface. With fury and hatred in her heart, Mera set out to find and execute the King of Atlantis.

 

Upon reaching the surface she asked a group of sailors where she could find the King of Atlantis. The sailors showed Mera a newspaper article of the supposed King of Atlantis - Arthur Curry/Aquaman, whom Mera learnt was a hero instead of a tyrant.

 

Eventually she found him rescuing wounded whales and was completely taken aback by his kindness. Impressed by her hydrokinesis powers, Arthur asked Mera to join him for lunch, which she agreed to. Arthur asked her what the shell around her neck meant, making her realize she hadn't listened to her mother's message yet.

 

In the message, her mother told Mera that she should make her own path in life instead of following the demands of her kingdom. Taking this advice to heart, Mera gave up on killing Aquaman and instead fell in love with the hero.

 

The Trench

 

Having decided to completely abandon Xebel to pursue a life on land with Arthur, Mera helped defend Amnesty Bay when it was attacked by a carnivorous underwater species called The Trench.

 

Mera and Aquaman followed the Trench, which had taken hostages to the Marianas Trench. There they discovered the predators dying out and desperately trying to feed their children in the remnants of an Atlantean craft.

 

Mera and Arthur saved the captives, and Aquaman reluctantly caused the Trenches' extinction by pushing a tectonic plate over the Trenches' lair to prevent further loss of human life. After this incident, Arthur and Mera adopted one of the victim's dog and named him Aquadog.

 

Shortly after, Mera was arrested while buying dog food when she broke the arm of a man who grossly harassed her. Although she initially struggled, Mera willingly gave herself up when she heard police chatter of a hostage situation she thought she could stop.

 

When the police got to the crime scene, Mera broke out, apprehended the criminal, and fled the scene. Later, a woman named Jennifer Posey, who had seen Mera get arrested, visited the hero and volunteered to get Mera supplies whenever necessary, as she knew what had really happened at the store and supported her.

 

Atlantean Invasion

 

While Mera and Aquaman were investigating some abnormal undersea activity with Batman in Gotham City, a giant wave began to emerge and threaten the city. Arthur believed that the wave was his brother's doing, following the Atlantean War plans against the surface.

 

Mera attempted to keep the wave back but was overwhelmed by its size. Arthur went to meet his brother the Ocean Master, who ordered war upon the surface due to a U.S. submarine firing on Atlantis. Ocean Master banished Aquaman and several other members of the Justice League to the Marianas Trench for opposing him, forcing Mera and Cyborg to rescue them.

 

After the heroes were saved, the Justice League unleashed the Trench to hold back the invading Atlantean army and stop Ocean Master's plot.

 

With Ocean Master captured and Aquaman restored to the throne, Arthur and Mera realized that the real person behind the war was Arthur's personal advisor and mentor Vulko, who hoped that the incident would incite Aquaman to return to his rightful place in Atlantis.

 

Return of the Dead King

Sometime after the invasion, Mera resided in Amnesty Bay, as she knew a princess of Xebel would not be welcomed in the kingdom of Atlantis. However, she was discovered and arrested for her previous assault charge. Mera fled from the police but encountered a mysterious man, who used ice manipulation to knock her unconscious.

 

Mera later woke up on a boat outside the Bermuda Triangle. Her kidnapper told her that he was the man who designed the imprisonment of Xebel, as he was Atlan the first King of Atlantis. Atlan wanted to use Mera to bypass Xebel's security. However, she escaped and attempted to warn the underwater city's inhabitants of the impending threat.

 

Upon getting to the bottom of Xebel she was greeted by Nereus, her former fiance, who asked her where she had been all those years.

 

Mera was deemed a traitor by Nereus after she told him about what had happened during her time on the surface. Before Mera could be arrested, Atlan broke through the barrier and froze all the people in Xebel including Mera.

 

Aquaman soon broke Mera out of her ice prison and began fighting Atlan while Mera began freeing the soldiers of Xebel. However, despite all this, the Xebelians sided with Atlan anyway as they saw him as their true king, forcing Aquaman and Mera to leave Xebel. Arthur and Mera attempted to warn Atlantis of the villainous king's return, but Aquaman was sent into a coma during a coincidental separate attack by the Scavenger. With their hero incapacitated and without a leader, Atlantis fell to Atlan.

 

Mera was imprisoned for six months, often going days without water as punishment for her escape attempts. Eventually Arthur returned and, together, he and Mera led a revolt and freed all of the imprisoned Atlanteans. Arthur forced Atlan into a lava bed where the old king melted away.

 

With their master defeated, Nereus and the Xebelians fled back to Xebel. As the threat was averted, Mera returned to Amnesty Bay to live her life of isolation but soon decided to rule alongside her partner, believing she could rise above the prejudice.

 

However, as she expected, she faced opposition. She would later survive an assassination attempt by xenophobic assailants loyal to Ocean Master and eventually brought them to justice.

 

Siren and the Coven

 

While investigating a collection of mysterious structures that appeared to kill anything they touched, Mera was kidnapped and held hostage by her sister Hila A.K.A. the Siren, and the Coven of Thule, who were behind the structures' sudden appearances.

 

The Coven were Atlantean warlocks who split Atlantis into two dimensions, where they could prepare for an invasion. Siren stole Mera's appearance using magic and ruled Atlantis for several months while she was captured, weakening it for the invasion.

 

However, eventually, Mera was able to break free and defeat her sister with the help of Garth, Tula, Swatt and Murk. With the help of their allies Mera and Arthur were able to destroy the Coven, ending their invasion.

 

Relations Collapse

 

Some time afterwards, Arthur asked Mera to be the face of the political campaign between Atlantis and the Surface World, which she accepted. Mera decided to fully embrace her new role as she donned the same Atlantean Chainmail as Arthur and began calling herself "Aquawoman", but this moniker was short lived.

 

While Wally West, the original Kid Flash, was escaping the Speed Force in what could be described as his "rebirth", Mera was brought to Paradise Island where Arthur proposed to her and the two became engaged.

 

Knowing of their engagement, Aquaman's arch nemesis Black Manta attempted to kill Mera to hurt Arthur. Arthur was able to defeat Manta, however the entire situation caused Spindrift - the facility where their fight was held - to lose its status as an embassy.

 

Due to this Mera and Aquaman traveled to the White House to discuss the problem with the President. Upon arrival, Arthur was arrested due to an American ship called the Pontchartrain being attacked by a group of "Atlanteans".

 

As tensions grew worse between Atlantis and the Surface World, Mera broke Arthur out of prison against his wishes. The pair fought off an entire U.S. battalion until Superman arrived on behalf of the government to stop them. Aquaman and Mera retreated into the water, but not before Superman encouraged them to fix the mess that had been created.

 

Arthur Usurped

 

At some point, it became clear that the people of Atlantis were displeased with Arthur and were planning a revolution to replace him with Corum Rath. After the coup started, Mera witnessed Arthur being seemingly killed by Atlantean soldiers and, for a period of time after this, went into a phase of mourning at the Curry lighthouse.

 

However this was short lived as Tula told her Arthur was possibly alive. Upon hearing this, Mera traveled to Atlantis where she used her powers for days, attempting to break through the Crown of Thorns, the invisible, magical barrier that had been placed around Atlantis.

 

Mera and the Justice League

 

Mera, while attempting to shatter the dome keeping her from her fiancé, was confronted by the Justice League due to the massive tidal waves she had unintentionally caused by her attacking the Crown of Thorns. After a lengthy battle between herself and the team, she eventually calmed down after hearing that her actions threatened millions of civilians.

 

Impressed by the extent of Mera's hydrokinetic abilities and her excellent skills in combat, Batman invited Mera to join the League as a temporary replacement for Aquaman until they could find a way to help him.

 

While working as a member of the League, Mera had a number of adventures on the surface world. She joined them in battle with Shirak, and also faced the time-displaced descendants of the Justice League. This undertaking led to Mera's encounter with her daughter from a possible future, Serenity.

 

The descendants of the League traveled back to the past in order to prevent the uprising of The Sovereign who had ravaged their futures.

 

Returning to rescuing Aquaman from the man who usurped their kingdom, Mera approached Garth - the former Aqualad - and pleaded with him to use his potent magical abilities against the Crown of Thorns. Knowing what was at stake, Garth agreed to help Mera bring down the Crown.

 

Mera successfully infiltrated Atlantis using a magic necklace Garth gave her, but the the item had an unexpected side effect that permanently removed her ability to breathe underwater, forcing her to flee to the surface.

 

During the invasion of the Dark Knights of the Dark Multiverse, Mera and the rest of Atlantis were changed into fish monsters known as Dead Water by the Drowned. She was returned to normal when the Dark Knights were defeated by the Justice League, with Aquaman, alive, among them.

 

Reclaiming the Throne

Mera survived another assassination attempted, this time by the villainous Eel. The assassin was hired by Corum Rath, the current ruler of Atlantis, who was threatened by the former queen's attempt to depose him.

 

Mera Queen of Atlantis

 

Mera also lost a fight to Ocean Master, having returned from his multi-year absence and declared that instead he would depose Corum Rath and take his rightful place as Atlantis' ruler.

 

After some level-headed discussion, the enemies decided to team up against their common foe.

 

Mera and Orm worked together to convince Nereus, Mera's ex-fiance and head of the Xebelian military, to aid them in deposing Rath. Nereus reluctantly agreed to help, but only if Orm was assured to get the throne, since he did not trust Mera.

 

In an attempt to show her worth through combat, Mera challenged Orm to a fight in a Xebelian arena where, by the skin of her teeth, using everything she had, managed to best the Ocean Master and become the true heir to the Atlantean throne.

 

In the months since Mera's departure Atlantis grew worse. Corum Rath had been corrupted by the Abyssal Dark, a foul magic which helped build Atlantis.

 

The dark transformed Corum into a hideous creature hell-bent on the destruction of Atlantis as he believed Atlantis could only be great again if it were reborn in the ashes of tradition.

 

Aquaman, working as a freedom fighter, led a last resort attack against the mad king in which his trident was shattered by the dictator.

 

When all seemed lost Mera arrived with the war hosts of Xebel to even the fight against Rath and his forces. In the final fight, Rath was defeated and his magic corrupted, turning him into a fish. Taking pity on him, Aquaman used his powers to commanded him to leave Atlantis and continue his new life among the other fish.

 

While celebrating their victory, all of a sudden the ground began to shake and Atlantis began to rise. Arthur told Mera that during his fight with the Dark Multiverse invaders he had worn a set of the reality-altering Tenth Metal armor and made a wish.

 

He had wished for a place that existed between the two worlds of land and sea, a place where he could live his life happily. Arthur's wish had been granted in the worst possible way, Atlantis had risen out of the water and onto the land.

 

The Suicide Squad Strikes

 

Sitting directly in the middle of Europe and the United States, Atlantis was immediately viewed with caution by the surface dwellers, many nations preparing for war.

 

Determined to prove that Atlantis meant no harm, Mera invited the Secretary of the United States to attend her coronation as Queen.

 

After her coronation, Queen Mera spent no time sitting idly in her throne waiting for her problems to sort themselves out, immediately scheduling a private meeting with U.S. ambassadors in order to quell the fear and distrust felt by many on the surface world. She also tasked many of her laborers to rebuild the parts of Atlantis destroyed during the civil war.

 

During the coronation, a secret penal black-ops team known as the Suicide Squad was sent by American xenophobic extremist Admiral Meddinghouse to destroy the kingdom.

 

Fortunately, Aquaman caught wind of this and led his former Undercurrent forces against the Squad. Disgusted that a member of the U.S. Government was attempting to destroy her city, Mera rose the water levels around America's coasts, threatening to sink America into the deep if they did not back down.

 

Fortunately Aquaman was able to stop the Squad and, in the aftermath, America and Atlantis returned to their fragile state of alliance. Admiral Meddinghouse was swiftly arrested on charges of high treason for sanctioning the mission.

 

Drowned Earth

 

Sometime after Mera's coronation as queen, the waters began to rise once again. However anyone who touched the water was turned into an aggressive sea beast hellbent on destruction.

 

Mera evacuated the civilians into the upper part of the city while Murk and the Drift attempted to hold off the infected. Ondine informed Mera that the oceans were rising all across the globe, with both humans and Atlanteans facing extinction.

 

After comforting some civilians, Mera contacted the Hall of Justice to see who of Earth's heroes remained alive. After a moment Batman answered her call and told her that Arthur had gone missing during a mission to the Arctic six hours prior and that the current crisis was probably alien in nature.

 

Mera held back the water from Atlantis as much as she could but failed to contain it all, and most of Atlantis' citizens were transformed into sea beasts. Out of options and time, Mera headed to the highest spire of Atlantis where Orm was kept locked away. Breaking through the wall of his cell she asked him for help, when he agreed she gave the Ocean Master his trident back and the two formed another uneasy alliance.

 

Mera and Orm began fighting their way outside of the city, eventually making it to the memorial to the dead kings of Atlantis. There, a man named Captain Gall introduced himself as an alien sea god and one of the three leaders of the invasion known as the Triumvirate of Sea Gods.

 

Gall instantly overwhelmed the pair, forcing Orm to transform into one of the sea-changed before Mera escaped.

 

Mera traveled across the globe until she found Superman and the Flash being chased by sea-changed heroes. After saving the pair from the clutches of Swamp Thing, she used a magical crown she acquired to teleport them to the location of an Atlantean weapon that could stop the invasion.

 

Discovering they were too late, Mera, Flash and Superman were met by Black Manta, who revealed that it was him and his allies in the Legion of Doom who had summoned the Triumvirate to Earth.

 

Mother Shark

 

When Mother Shark restores Arthur Curry's memories, it is revealed that Arthur actually survived the alien invasion and returned to Mera. However, they kept it a secret from the rest of Atlantis.

 

Mera stops them from being romantic to talk about the politics of Atlantis and how the Widowhood wants her to marry. Arthur confesses his love for Mera once again, again proposing they get married, but Mera is hesitant with all the drama they've endured. However, she then reveals she's pregnant.

 

Arthur affirms that he loves both Mera and their unborn child but, afraid that he won't be able to give his child the life it deserves, asks to go home and think. Mera, unhappy that she and her love don't seem to be on the same page, loses control, attacks Arthur, and is later found by the Widowhood and Atlantean guards.

 

Amnesty,Finale: Xebel's Daughter

 

As Mera's pregnancy progressed, Arthur returned to life and Amnesty Bay, however, he did not go to Mera nor she to him. Arthur's nemesis Black Manta destroyed an ancient Atlantean historical site to draw Mera to the surface, where she and Aquaman met and wordlessly reconciled.

 

Manta attacked the pair with Mecha Manta, provided by Lex Luthor. Mera and Arthur's new sidekick Jackson Hyde destroyed Mecha Manta with a giant electrified hydrokinetic construct of her, but the huge amounts of power she was forced to use put her in a coma.

 

She was rushed to an Atlantean hospital and gave birth shortly afterwards to a baby girl, who was named Andy.

 

The Wedding

 

Mera reawakens after 10 months in a coma. With the ruse of a fake wedding to Vulko she calls to Atlantis the leaders of the 7 underwater kingdoms. Prior to the wedding, she has the entire widowhood arrested.

 

Once all 7 kingdoms are assembled, to their surprise, Mera announces that she was dissolving the Atlantean monarchy and that she intended to hand power to the people. Orm attempts to take power for himself, however, Orm and his forces are stopped by Aquaman, assisted by the Justice league and the Sea gods.

 

Following this, Mera finally embraces her daughter, as she and Arthur settle down in Amnesty Bay. Soon afterwards Mera and Arthur marry in the presence of their family and friends, in what was originally planned as a welcome back party for her.

 

Following the abolition of the monarchy, Arthur and Mera intended to hold themselves apart from Atlantis to allow the city to govern itself, but they were forced to intervene when the Frost King's forces attacked the city during what was intended to be their honeymoon.

 

Arthur journeyed into the city's heating vents to meet with the Fire Tolls who lived in the tunnels below Atlantis, hoping they could be an ally against the Frost King. Originally Mera agreed to stay behind to guard Andy but quickly followed him, arriving in time to save Arthur from a Fire Troll with a hydrokinetic attack.

 

The Trolls were in awe of this and swore loyalty to her. With her army of Fire Trolls, Mera and Arthur defeated the ice creatures attacking Atlantis.

 

Aquamen

 

After abdicating the throne, Mera devoted herself to promoting democracy within Xebel and encouraging unification with Atlantis.

 

She had some success but was unable to get the Xebelian Guard to end the conscription of children. She also helped Jackson's mother Lucia, a refugee from Xebel, sneak Xebelians out of the city and secretly settled them in Amnesty Bay without Arthur's knowledge.

 

Mera was scheduled to speak at a peace conference in Xebel while Arthur was away on a mission to Mars. Jackson was framed for a terrorist attack and Mera helped him escape the city. Mera attended the conference as planned, which was attacked by a Xebelian terrorist group called the Xebelian Liberation Front.

 

She and the other delegates were saved by Jackson, Lucia and Lucia's secret daughter Delilah, but Lucia was critically injured and left in a coma. Mera gave an impassioned speech saying that they owed it to future generations to try to make a better world.

 

Orm attacked the United Nations Building but was foiled and captured by Arthur and Jackson. Shortly afterward, Jackson called Mera and told her that Arthur was secretly working with Black Manta and he needed to speak to the entire Aquaman Family.

 

He also asked her to bring an expert in Atlantean biology, so brought Stephen Shin in to consult. Jackson had brought the dead body of a man that Black Manta had supposedly killed and subsequently autopsied in Paris, and told them that when he had tried to arrest Manta for murder, Arthur had stopped him.

 

Garth and Tula believed that Arthur was trying to trick Black Manta somehow, but Mera admitted that Arthur had been acting strangely ever since he returned from Mars.

 

Doctor Shin examined the body and determined that the man had been born Atlantean but had been modified to be half-human, allowing him to survive on land without dehydrating.

 

He also had a transceiver installed in his brain, and they realized that the dead man had been some kind of deep-cover Atlantean agent. Suddenly Tula received a call from the surface that a house in Ohio had blown up and carbon had been left in the ground. The carvings were ancient Atlantean glyphs which read "Atlantis remembers" and the date of an oil spill which killed seven Atlanteans.

 

Mera realized there was more going on than they realized and went to Mars to speak with Frankenstein, who Arthur claimed to have been with while he was away, but Frankenstein told her that Arthur had been on Mars for only three hours and left again, despite being away from home for days.

 

When she returned home, one of her agents in the Atlantean Guard told her that Arthur and Manta had been spotted on the outskirts of Atlantis. She also learned that Jackson had gone to Orm's cell and tortured him for information, believing that he was behind the Atlantean sleeper agents.

 

Mera was concerned about Jackson's unusually aggressive and reckless behavior since Lucia was hurt, and called him to try and talk about it, but he would only tell her that he was in Gotham chasing down a lead.

 

She tracked down Arthur and Manta and demanded to know what was going on. Arthur admitted the truth to her: during his first reign many years ago, an Atlantean general named Mako took him to a hidden vault full of weapons developed for a potential war against the surface, and revealed that he had placed sleeper agents on the surface to retaliate in case the surface ever attacked Atlantis. Arthur had believed he shut the program down, but the sleepers had somehow been activated anyway.

 

Arthur met with the entire Aquaman Family and told them the truth about everything, including that he was working with Black Manta to stop the sleepers.

 

During the meeting Arthur revealed that he had lost some of his memories when he died and they had only just started returning, and Tula realized that Mera had been the one who killed him. Arthur told them all that he and Black Manta planned to use Manta's Orichalcum trident to deactivate the sleepers, but to do so they would need a broadcast tower.

 

Mera brought in Mister Terrific to design the tower, which she and Jackson would create from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean itself.

 

Mera and Jackson created the tower and began to broadcast the signal, although even with the two of them holding up such a huge construct was a great strain. Black Manta accidentally crashed into the tower while battling Orm's henchman Scavenger and knocked the trident out of position.

 

This forced Jackson to carry the trident back to the top of the tower and hold it in place, while Mera held up the tower alone. She eventually could no longer do it and the tower collapsed, but they managed to send the deactivation signal.

 

With the threat of the sleepers neutralized, Arthur gave Mera control over General Mako's vault and told her she could use or destroy the weapons inside as she saw fit. Mera was still angry with him for keeping secrets and lying to her, but before they could talk about it Arthur was called away by the Justice League on an emergency.

 

He left, promising they would talk when he got back. In the vault, Mera found a gauntlet which she discovered allowed her to use her hydrokinesis to heal.

 

The surface governments began debating a response to the attacks by the sleepers. Mera listened in on the meeting with hidden bugs, but just as they were about to vote to attack Atlantis, the world leaders all simultaneously received reports that the entire Justice League, including Arthur, were dead. Mera went to the dock outside the Curry Lighthouse to grieve, and Jackson came to comfort her.

 

Powers and abilities

 

As a Xebellian (a sub-race of Atlanteans from Xebel), she shares the common abilities of superhuman strength, speed, durability, and possesses the ability to breathe underwater. While on dry land, she possesses more acute senses that including limited night vision from her enhanced sight and more acute hearing compared to ordinary humans. In addition to her natural physical abilities, she possesses powerful hydrokinetic powers (called aquakinesis), allowing her to control bodies of water, create "hard water" constructs, and drawing water from other forms, including human beings. Her hydrokinetic powers also allow her to sense bodies of water, including what's in them. According to Corum Rath, she is considered perhaps the most powerful high-functioning aqua-kinetic ever recorded in the history of Atlantis.

 

In addition to her natural and hydrokinetic abilities, Mera is also an extremely proficient warrior; she is an expert in Atlantean-related martial arts and use of weaponry,[40] being skilled enough to battle Ocean Master in single combat. Mera was also trained in assassination and is considered a natural, proficient leader.

 

Weaknesses

 

As a natural-born Atlantean, Mera is prone to dehydration at a faster rate compared to ordinary human beings while on the surface. Powerful artifacts and strong users of telekinetic-related abilities (i.e. cryokinesis) can also resist and even negate her aquakinetic powers. Due to her abilities working through telekinetic connections, material that negates telepathic connections also disrupts her hydrokinetic powers. Earlier stories also placed some limits on her abilities such as susceptibility to lead.

 

⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽

_____________________________

A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.

 

Notable aliases: Aquawoman

Dead Water

Princess of Xebel

Queen of Atlantis

 

Publisher: DC

 

First appearance: Aquaman #11 (September 1963)

 

Created by: Jack Miller (Writer)

Nick Cardy (Artist)

 

Mera last seen in BP 2021 Day 32!

www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/50899831182/

Today on June 10, 1692, Bridget Bishop was the first person executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials of 1692. She was a landowner and a woman who spoke her mind...yeah, she's a witch. Puritans!

I know one of her descendents. Rest well, Bridget.

 

Salem Witch Trial Memorial, Old Burying Point.

Alexander VII's tomb is a sculptural monument designed and partially executed by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It is located in the south transept of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. The piece was commissioned by Pope Alexander VII himself. However, construction of the monument didn't start until 1671 and was completed in 1678, eleven years after the Pope's death. At the age of 81, this would be Bernini's last major sculptural commission before his death in 1680.

 

There are six significant figures in the monument. At the apex is Alexander kneeling in prayer. Below him are four female statues representing virtues practiced by the Pontiff. On the foreground is Charity with a child in her arms. To the right of that is Truth, whose foot rests on a globe. More precisely, Truth's foot is placed directly over England, where Pope Alexander had striven to subdue the growth of Anglicanism. On the second level are Prudence and Justice. These statues were carved in white marble. Most dramatically, below Alexander, the figure of Death is represented in gilded bronze, shrouded in a billowing drapery of Sicilian jasper. He raises an hourglass to symbolize that time has passed. The hourglass is also an artistic symbol of "memento mori" which translates from Latin to "remember you will die". The plinth is in black, as a sign of mourning for the Pope. The expansive billowing drapery of dark Sicilian jasper contrasts dramatically with the still white marble figures. In situations where Bernini needed a great mass of material, he could not depend just on marble recovered from ancient buildings and chose to work with a more modern marble. Thus he chose the Sicilian red jasper, the coloring rich in red tones with green streamed in. Even though the decision was based upon need, you can see Bernini's artistry throughout the tomb. The white marble contains a more pure feeling surrounding the figures of the Pope and the four virtues. This greatly contrasts to the dramatic drapery and the bronze figure of Death, both rich in color, adding emphasis to their meaning.

 

The monument was a collaboration between Bernini and his assistants, the latter doing most of the work under the close supervision of Bernini. These collaborators included G. Mazzuoli, L. Morelli, G. Cartari, M. Maglia, and L. Balestri. Bernini himself most likely worked on the statue of the Pope. Known for his portrait sculptures, he probably put the finishing touches to Alexander's face (Wikipedia).

 

PLEASE, NO GRAPHICS, BADGES, OR AWARDS IN COMMENTS. They will be deleted.

Gem found Tink roaming in aimless circles in the spoil-dunes behind the old Saisho-Fairlight mineral excavations.

 

Serviceable - but shabby, confused and in need of a heavy overhaul.

 

"We could use something with the skills of a TNK-4N," thought Gem.

 

With new capacitors, a deftly executed brain defrag, a shiny Fleet shoulder-pad (plus a lot of TLC from Gem), Tincan is ready to take its first tentative steps as the rocket-base's first robotic moonscaper.

 

The killing of M90 was completed extremely quickly. Shame on Trentino. It is very sad to think that these deaths have the approval of the Trentino people. There is no peace for animals on Earth.

 

Condotta a termine con estrema rapidità l'uccisione di M90. Vergogna sul Trentino. E' molto triste pensare che queste morti hanno l'approvazione dei trentini. Non c'è pace per gli animali sulla Terra.

 

www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2024/02/06/abbattuto-lorso-m90-f...

In 1931, the historic square took its name to commemorate the martyrs executed there under Ottoman rule. In the 1950s the square became a popular venue for cinemas and coffee-houses. During the Lebanese Civil War, it formed the demarcation line that divided the city in half.

Initially Sahat al-Burj, the square underwent a lot of transformations until 1931, where it took the name of Martyrs' Square in commemoration of the martyrs executed there under Ottoman rule. The Municipality of Beirut modernized the square in 1878 as the main meeting place of the city. Beshara Effendi designed a garden with fountain and kiosks, overlooked by the Petit Serail - the seat of Beirut’s governor general – as well as public buildings and souks. In 1950, the Petit Serail was demolished. The new Rivoli cinema blocked the link between the square and the harbor. Martyrs’ Square became Beirut’s bus and taxi terminus and a popular venue for cinemas, coffee-houses, modest hotels and the red-light district. During the Civil War (1975-1990), Martyrs’ Square formed the demarcation line that divided the city in half. In 2005, an international competition was launched for the design of a new square with its axis open to the sea, reestablishing Martyrs’ Square as Beirut’s premier public space and heart of the capital.

Clone Wars Season 4

212th Group Shot

Studio portrait, executed with strobist technic, using two flashes and Rembrandt lighting setup. It was used one 60cm lightbox with flash in TTL mode and another flash in manual mode for background, using yellow gel.

Canon 60d

Canon EF 24-105 f/4 L IS USM

Canon 580EXII

Yongnuo YN-565EXII

Yongnuo YN-622C TX + 2 YN 622C LI

Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494) - two miracles of the Madonna - polychrome stained glass windows, executed in 1492 by Alessandro Agolanti to a design by Ghirlandaio - Tornabuoni Chapel (1485-1490) - Santa Maria Novella Florence

 

La cappella Tornabuoni è la cappella maggiore della basilica di Santa Maria Novella a Firenze. Contiene uno dei più vasti cicli di affreschi di tutta la città, realizzato da Domenico Ghirlandaio e bottega dal 1485 al 1490.

Gli affreschi hanno come tema le Scene della vita della Vergine e di san Giovanni Battista, inquadrate da finte architetture (pilastri con capitelli corinzi dorati e trabeazioni con dentelli, sulle tre pareti disponibili. Le scene si leggono dal basso verso l'alto, da destra a sinistra, secondo uno schema che già all'epoca doveva risultare un po' arcaico.

Le due pareti principali, a destra e a sinistra, presentano tre file di scene ciascuna, a sua volta divise in due scene rettangolari, ed una grande lunetta sulla sommità, per un totale di sette scene a parete.

  

The Cappella Tornabuoni is the main chapel (or chancel) in the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy. It is famous for the extensive and well-preserved fresco cycle on its walls, one of the most complete in the city, which was created by Domenico Ghirlandaio and his workshop between 1485 and 1490.

The portraits of the members of the Tornabuoni family and of relatives, friends, allies and clients of the Medici and the Tornabuoni are included as spectators to the holy stories.

Ghirlandaio worked to the frescoes from 1485 to 1490, with the collaboration of his workshop artists, who included his brothers Davide and Benedetto, his brother-in-law Sebastiano Mainardi and, probably, the young Michelangelo Buonarroti. The windows were also executed according to Ghirlandaio's design. The complex was completed by an altarpiece portraying the Madonna del Latte in Glory with Angel and Saints, flanked by two panels with St. Catherine of Siena and St. Lawrence.

The execution of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine by the hands of the droid general Grievous would shock the Galaxy. No-one knew it was coming, save one man. The man who gave Grievous the order to execute the Chancellor live on the holonet. Though Grievous didn’t know it, he had just killed Darth Sidious, thus ensuring his own master’s rise to Dark Lord of the Sith.

 

Whilst he had been reluctant to order his former master’s execution, Count Dooku, the now reigning Sith Lord, knew he had been presented with no alternative. Having witnessed how willing Sidious had been to dispose of a resurrected Darth Maul, Dooku knew all too well that it would have been only a matter of time before his master was ready to dispose of him.

 

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine’s death would long be considered a decisive victory for the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and the closest it ever came to victory in the Clone War. Yet, for Dooku, it was a loss. Sidious’ passing doomed their vision for a New Galactic Order, with the Republic electing Senator Kargan Feigarn of Anaxes to the position of Supreme Chancellor to replace Palpatine. Feigarn, one of the first proponents for the Repubic to muster an army to combat the Separatist crisis, would openly declare in his election speech that the Clone War would not end until the Confederacy was eradicated the Galaxy.

 

Though the Confederacy held a sizable military advantage at the time of Feigarn’s declaration, that would be quickly eroded as Palpatine’s death convinced usually hesitant Senators such as Bail Organa of Alderaan, Mon Mothma of Chandrilla and Padme Amidala of Naboo to approve a significant investment into the Republic’s military budget.

 

With a level playing field, the war began to turn significantly against the Confederacy and they soon found themselves completely pushed out of the mid-rim worlds. But despite this erupting military crisis for the Confederacy. Count Dooku was nowhere to be found. Instead of leading all the systems who had pledged allegiance to his independence movement, Dooku had journeyed to the planet Korriban, ancient home world of the Sith for guidance.

 

On Korriban he would encounter someone he never expected to see again. The spirit of his former master, the evil Darth Sidious. Craving information on how to fulfil the plan they had both spent well over a decade preparing, Dooku would come to learn that Sidious never planned to rule with Dooku by his side. He had long planned to replace him with the young Jedi Anakin Skywalker, the fabled chosen one. Before Dooku could even consider thinking of asking his former master for how best to enact their stratagem without him, Sidious revealed the truth.

 

The stratagem was designed around Sidious, and without him to enact it, it was destined to collapse. Already Sidious’ agents had begun to neutralise the Clone trooper inhibitor chips, eliminating the infamous Order 66 from existence. He’d also taken great care to foster a close relationship with the young Skywalker, thus ensuring that if his apprentice were to remove him, it would ensure that Skywalker would never serve Dooku. Palpatine had long prepared for the possibility that his apprentice would attempt to usurp him.

 

If he was not able to rule the Galaxy, then he would not allow anyone else to either.

 

After being mocked by his former master, Dooku lashed out. Though Sidious and the Jedi both believed the young Skywalker to be the fabled Chosen One, Dooku thought otherwise. After all, to both he and his master, the Chosen One was destined to bring balance to the Force. Not necessarily destroy the Sith, regardless of what the Jedi interpreted it as. Therefore, if he could not use Protocol 66 to reduce the Jedi’s numbers, he would simply have to create a new generation of Sith Lords in order to restore the balance.

 

With that, Dooku would depart Korriban but not without a final mocking from his former master, and it would haunt Dooku for the rest of his life. Palpatine had been preparing to construct a Galactic Empire to unite the Galaxy against an unknown force from beyond that threatened to destroy the Galaxy. Though he would try to dismiss the idea, it would ultimately cause him take a less active role in the leadership of the Confederacy as he made preparations for the future. Most in Republic intelligence suspected this was to avoid retaliatory actions for Palpatine’s execution, but the Jedi believed otherwise. History had taught them that it was never good when the Sith disappeared into the shadows. The Republic would lead a large military campaign to locate the Dark Lord but would ultimately prove unsuccessful.

 

Dooku would meanwhile order the construction of a battle station his master had long sought to create, in the hopes that its destructive power would be enough to give the Confederacy victory over the increasingly authoritarian Galactic Republic. If need be, it could also protect the galaxy from the danger his master spoke of. But with the Republic’s military offensive pressuring the Confederacy on every front in the Outer Rim, Dooku decided to have the station constructed in the Unknown Regions, far from prying eyes.

 

It was during the search for a suitable build sight that Dooku would come across a young Chiss by the name of Mitth'raw'nuruodo. The young Chiss’ homeworld had been devastated by a Republic weapons trial gone wrong, which had rendered the planet inhospitable, and thus he was more than willing to join the Separatist cause. It wasn’t until he was able to take out a Republic Star Destroyer with a cargo transport that Dooku allowed the young Chiss to join their ranks.

 

Many speculate the recruitment of ‘Thrawn’, as he came to be known by, was what revived the Separatist military cause, which had been faltering following the demise of General Grievous at the hands of Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. It would be Thrawn’s actions that would strand Jedi Master Mace Windu on the surface of Bodrin, where Dooku would slay the Jedi Master, ensuring Skywalker’s ascension to the rank of Grand Master of the Jedi Order.

 

Whilst the Force could sustain him, Dooku knew that time was against him and thus choose to train five students at once in the ways of the Force. The clear violation of the Rule of Two prevented him from declaring them all his apprentices, so to encourage them Dooku offered to make the one who bested Obi-Wan Kenobi in combat his apprentice. Eventually the group would come to be known as the hands of Dooku to the galaxy, but to Dooku, they were his acolytes. Neither Sith nor Jedi.

 

They were the ones who would help him bring balance to the Force.

 

Countless Jedi would fall to the acolytes´ blades, many of them merely padawan learners. The loss of so many Jedi would create a ripple in the Force, originating from a source deep in the Unknown Regions. Dooku interpreted it as a sign that he was fulfilling his destiny and the Force was being slowly brought into balance, until he found the source itself. It was a singularity through which the Force fed into the galaxy. Eventually, Dooku came to realise that the singularity could be weaponised, and after a year of trails, the singularity was engineered to become part of the Confederacy’s battle station. The entire station was powered using the Force emitted from the singularity.

 

Dooku knew that with the singularity, he controlled the Force itself and began making preparations for the Confederacy’s new campaign to seize Coruscant from Republic control.

 

Though temperamental, the singularity was eventually installed into the battle station, but not without consequences. Close proximity to the singularity would often cause Dooku to hear what he assumed were echoes of the past. The voice of Sidious, vowing to destroy all that they had built. The voice of Yoda, the Count’s former Jedi teacher. But perhaps the biggest surprise of all, was to hear the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn Dooku’s former Jedi apprentice.

 

Whilst he would presume the voice was little more than a remnant, Dooku would come to find there was more to this voice of his former apprentice than it first appeared. Quin-Gon’s ghost would spend any waking moment that Dooku was on board the station attempting to make the former Jedi Master see the error his ways.

 

Dooku would ultimately choose to spend as little time on the battle station as possible whilst continuing to maintain a low profile in order to avoid the prying eyes of the Jedi.

 

It wouldn’t be until the battle station was almost entirely operational that Dooku would come face to face with a Jedi once again. Much to his surprise though, it wasn’t Grand Jedi Master Skywalker as he had long anticipated. It was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Skywalker’s former teacher who had begun to train a new apprentice of his own.

 

The three of them would engage in a duel, and though the Count’s age would hinder him, his strength with the Force allowed him to counteract such a hindrance. But even with such a strong connection to the Force, Dooku was unable to prevent Kenobi from severing his right hand. Vengeance for having done the same action to Skywalker well over a decade ago.

 

However, even in such a weakened state, the Sith Lord bested Kenobi’s apprentice with ease and brought the boy’s life to a swift end by decapitating him. The action would break Kenobi’s spirit, who declared just how ashamed Qui-Gon would be knowing what had become of his former master. Well aware of his former apprentice’s disapproval of his new title, Dooku departed the battle without killing Kenobi, much to Kenobi’s own surprise.

 

Though he had not foreseen his decision to not kill the weakened Kenobi, the Sith Lord new what was about to transpire. Kenobi had managed to plant a tracking device on his cape, and whilst the Jedi Master thought he’d done so without detection, Dooku had long known it was coming. Just as he had desired.

 

With the tracker revealing his location to the Republic, Dooku returned to the battle station and waited for his enemies to come to him. He knew full well that this would be the battle that decided the Clone War, and he was determined to win it. But to accomplish this, he knew there was one thing above all else he had to do.

 

Slay Grand Master Skywalker.

 

As the battle erupted, both Kenobi and Skywalker would manage to board the battle station, making their way to the singularity where they would encounter Dooku. The first time they had duelled was at the start of the Clone War and now, they'd duel for the final time with the fate of the Galaxy at stake.....

The Equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni is a Renaissance sculpture in Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice, Italy, executed by Andrea del Verrocchio in 1480–1488. Portraying the condottiero Bartolomeo Colleoni (who served for a long time under the Republic of Venice), it has a height of 395 cm excluding the pedestal. It is the second major equestrian statue of the Italian Renaissance, after Donatello's equestrian statue of Gattamelata (1453).

In 1475, the Condottiero Colleoni, a former Captain General of the Republic of Venice, died and by his will left a substantial part of his estate to the Republic on condition that a statue of himself should be commissioned and set up in the Piazza San Marco. In 1479 the Republic announced that it would accept the legacy, but that (as statues were not permitted in the Piazza) the statue would be placed in the open space in front of the Scuola of San Marco. A competition was arranged to enable a sculptor to be selected. Three sculptors competed for the contract, Verrocchio from Florence, Alessandro Leopardi from Venice and Bartolomeo Vellano from Padua. Verrocchio made a model of his proposed sculpture using wood and black leather, while the others made models of wax and terracotta. The three models were exhibited in Venice in 1483 and the contract was awarded to Verrocchio. He then opened a workshop in Venice and made the final wax model which was ready to be cast in bronze, but he died in 1488, before this was done.

He had asked that his pupil Lorenzo di Credi, who was then in charge of his workshop in Florence, should be entrusted with the finishing of the statue, but the Venetian state after considerable delay commissioned Alessandro Leopardi to do this. In 1496, the statue was erected on a pedestal made by Leopardi in the Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo, where it stands today.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equestrian_statue_of_Bartolomeo_Col...

Instructions!: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7od9SVfDzlg

Due to the closure of the GWR mainline at Whiteball tunnel for a few weeks whilst repairs are executed to stop further collapses within the tunnel, some mainline passenger services and all freights are diverted via the LSWR via Honiton and Yeovil Penn Mill. The freights were supposed to be running under the hours of darkness but a couple have ran either at the beginning or the end of the day enabling a daylight shot.

Here we see such an event as 59206 approaches Whimple with the 1430 Westbury to Exeter Riverside stone train.

The limitations on my old SP5 pro meant I had to turn to my XR which delivered a reasonable recording of the event which passed me at 1725 last night.

Time for an upgrade I think.

Truth Unveiled by Time is a marble sculpture by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of the foremost sculptors of the Italian Baroque. Executed between 1645 and 1652, Bernini intended to show Truth allegorically as a naked young woman being unveiled by a figure of Time above her, but the figure of Time was never executed.

Upon his election to the papacy in 1623, Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini took the name Pope Urban VIII and appointed Bernini as the principal artist for the papal court in Rome. According to Bernini's biographer Baldinucci, Maffeo had 'scarcely ascended the sacred throne' when he summoned Bernini and told him:

"It is your great fortune to see Cardinal Maffeo Barberini Pope, but our fortune is far greater in that Cavalier Bernini lives during our pontificate."

Bernini enjoyed great success during his time as the principal artist for the papal court but, after Urban's death in 1644, he was removed by the incoming pope, Innocent X. The new pope had more conservative tastes and favored Bernini's rival Algardi. Despite the fall from favor this did not stop Bernini from occasionally working for the new pope - One of his most famous works, the Fountain of the Four Rivers, was one of the projects done for Innocent. He still maintained his position as the architect of St. Peter's despite his removal from the papal court and, after Innocent's death in 1655, was immediately given two major commissions at St. Peter's: decorating the Cathedra Petri and building a colonnade round the piazza.

Bernini's rationale for creating Truth Unveiled by Time was, according to his son Domenico, as a sculptural retort to attacks from opponents criticizing his failed project to build two towers onto the front of St. Peter's Basilica. While this is certainly plausible, historians are unsure of the validity of Domenico's claims relating to his father's reasoning. Cracks had appeared in the facade due to the inability of the foundations to support the towers and Bernini's architectural expansion received the blame. What many fail to mention is that most of the blame lies with Carlo Maderno, the previous architect who built weak foundations for the monumental task being requested, and Pope Urban VIII, who kept pressuring Bernini for heavier, more elaborate bell towers.

During the difficult time after Urban's death, Bernini was able to find peace and serenity in his overwhelming confidence that one day he would be vindicated. So strong was this conviction that he created Truth Unveiled by Time to express this confidence in his eventual vindication. Despite this conviction, the sculpture of Father Time was never begun and the project remained incomplete. It has been suggested by historian Franco Mormando that Bernini's return to public favor after Innocent's death might have made the sculptural piece lose the emotional urgency it had previously possessed, which would make sense considering he had been reinstated to his previous place in the upper echelons of society.

One-off

 

- One-off glass T-top conversion executed shortly after delivery by the U.S. importer

- 4.9-liter V8 backed by a five-speed ZF transmission

-Converted to European bumpers under Dutch ownership using factory components

- Exhibited in the Oldtimer-Museum Volante

- Comprehensive 2025 mechanical refurbishment by Sportwagen Service in Hamburg

 

Broad Arrow’s Zoute Concours Auction

Approach Golf - Het Zoute

Estimated : € 175.000 - 225.000

Sold for € 161.000

 

Zoute Grand Prix Car Week 2025

Knokke - Zoute

België - Belgium

October 2025

shot executed by pinhole Auloma Panorama 6x12 negative scan by Canon EOS 1100D

shot executed by pinhole auloma panorama 6x12

Film lomography negative iso100

Camera Auloma Panorama 6x12

Film scan by Canon EOS 1100D

to know more visit www.auloma.com

executing a taxiway Alpha departure.

Well executed minifigures by Hobbybrick from the very best Manga-series there is. 20 years and still going strong. Hopefully one day we will find it, the One piece. :)

I absolutely adore the custom hats, if the series wasn't that expensive I would get the whole set.

 

(Sorry for the bad photo quality, soon I will have a better place to take them...)

José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Laguna, Philippines, into a well-educated and relatively prosperous family living under Spanish colonial rule. From early childhood he displayed extraordinary intellectual abilities, with a natural aptitude for languages, drawing, writing, and scientific observation. His formative years were marked by a decisive injustice: the unjust imprisonment of his mother, an event that permanently shaped his ethical awareness and his understanding of colonial abuse of power. He pursued studies in medicine, philosophy, and the humanities in Manila and later in Madrid, Paris, Heidelberg, and Berlin, becoming a physician specializing in ophthalmology, as well as a writer, poet, and internationally educated intellectual. In his private life, Rizal was introspective, disciplined, and emotionally complex, deeply attached to his family, engaged in intense and unresolved romantic relationships, committed to personal dignity, and firmly opposed to violence, yet unwilling to accept the systematic humiliation imposed on his people.

In his public role, José Rizal emerged as the most incisive and dangerous critic of Spanish colonialism in the Philippines. Through his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, he exposed with surgical clarity the alliance between colonial authority, a corrupt clergy, and social repression, denouncing abuse, hypocrisy, and structural violence. He did not call for armed rebellion but for reform, education, and the awakening of critical consciousness, which made him even more threatening to the colonial regime. He became the ideal enemy: too intelligent to be dismissed, too influential to be tolerated. Arrested on fabricated charges, subjected to a trial devoid of credible evidence, and condemned as a subversive, he was executed by firing squad on December 30, 1896, in Manila. His death was not a judicial error but a calculated political act: the elimination of a man who demonstrated that liberation can originate from thought itself. By killing José Rizal, the Empire revealed its fear. His execution did not silence resistance; it ignited it.I publish these images and the biographies of these individuals to remind, above all, younger generations that the rights we have today were never freely granted, but conquered by real people who paid with their own lives for freedoms that are still questioned and undermined today. Men and women who chose dignity, liberty, and justice even when that choice meant exposure, isolation, persecution, or death. In a world where human rights continue to be violated every day, remembering their stories is not a passive act of commemoration, but an act of conscience, responsibility, and resistance.

Turns out the executables are 32-bit only, but good news is that the old UE 2.5 command keybindings fully works in the remastered edition =P. Path is AppData\Roaming\BioshockHD

 

I didn't spend much time into the game, and this is the last screenshot from me for the next few weeks, gonna spend a while traveling in the west coast on business.

 

Bioshock Remastered

- 4K rendering, cropped;

- Custom ReShade setting;

- .ini keybinds for noclip. FOV and timestop.

 

The Coronation of the Virgin is a painting by the Italian early Renaissance master Fra Angelico, executed around 1434–1435 in Fiesole (Florence). It is now in the Musée du Louvre of Paris, France. The artist executed another Coronation of the Virgin (c. 1432), now in the Uffizi in Florence.

The work is not thought to have originally been painted around 1434 (a few years after the similar painting in the Uffizi) for the convent of San Domenico of Fiesole, near Florence, where Fra Angelico was a Dominican friar and for which he painted also the Fiesole Altarpiece (1424-1425) and the Annunciation now at the Museo del Prado. Some art historians, such as John Pope-Hennessy, date it instead to Angelico's visit to Rome (1450).

The painting was brought to France as a result of the pillages of the Napoleonic Wars. Like several other artworks, it was not given back with the excuse of its large size.

The work shows several differences from the earlier Coronation now at the Uffizi. The gilded background has disappeared, replaced by a more realistic light blue sky. The composition is more advanced, perhaps inspired to the innovation introduced by Masaccio. Angelico here depicts a rich cyborium with Gothic triple mullions, supported by a series of polychrome marble steps, as the set of the Incoronation. Elements such as the twisted columns show similarities with the tabernacles painted in the frescoes of the Niccoline Chapel in Rome.

Such as in the Florence painting, the angels and the saints form the audience at the side of the central scene, but the figures are more defined and some are shown from back, and the pavement's tiles are painted according to geometrical perspective. Pope-Hennessy supposed that the angels were influenced by those in the San Brizio Chapel of Orvieto Cathedral (1447).

The work was executed with the extensive help of assistants, especially in the right side: for example, St. Catherine's wheel is painted approximatively, and some of the saints in this side have less expressive faces.

The painting has a predella with scenes portraying the Miracles of St. Dominic and, in the middle, the Resurrection of Christ. Such as in other Angelico's work, the predella scenes show an extensive use of geometrical perspective, enhanced by the use of alternatively empty and full architectures.

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March 2029 - SSA troops execute a mission to locate an abandoned DARKWATER military facility in Sudan. They met no resistance and recovered old DARKWATER technology and documents hidden in the facility. Lucky for them, it did not look like the EU had found the place yet. However, some rooms and certain areas of the facility looked demolished and unrecognisable. Reports indicate the facility has hastily destroyed by DARKWATER units after the head of the facility was executed due to his little care to orders issued by DARKWATER command. Sharp Sky was hired by the Indian government to raid this place. They were hired to find DARKWATER technology for the Indian armed forces that use semi-outdated equipment. This successful mission strengthened relations between Sharp Sky and the Indian government. Unintentionally, this annoyed the European Union’s leaders because they had been the ones who had found many facilities in Eastern Africa and the Middle East. According to found DARKWATER documents, this facility had encountered safety and maintenance problems and had been disbanded.

 

---

 

The Sharp Sky figure in the scene is the new standard for all main SSA figures from now on. Scout and Marksman/Sniper variants aren't official yet.

Executed between 1929 and 1931 for the Palais des Colonies by Alfred Janniot – assisted by his collaborators Gabriel Forestier and Charles Barberis and 30 specialist workers. This is only the eastern half of the front of the building. The bas-relief covers a surface area of 1,130 m², a height of 13 metres and a length of 90 metres. Described as the world’s biggest bas-relief, it covers the entire façade of the Palais de la Porte Dorée. It features a series of allegories in the midst of abundant fauna and lush flora. It was intended as an illustration of the economic contributions made by the colonies to metropolitan France. Normally the view of the bas-relief is partially obscured by the columns holding up the front of the building but I've stitched together (as best I can) a lot of photos from various angles to get rid of the columns.

 

monument.palais-portedoree.fr/en/the-decors/janniot-s-bas...

  

Street art is visual art created in public locations, usually unsanctioned artwork executed outside of the context of traditional art venues. The term gained popularity during the graffiti art boom of the early 1980s and continues to be applied to subsequent incarnations. Stencil graffiti, wheatpasted poster art or sticker art, and street installation or sculpture are common forms of modern street art. Video projection, yarn bombing and Lock On sculpture became popularized at the turn of the 21st century.

The terms "urban art", "guerrilla art", "post-graffiti" and "neo-graffiti" are also sometimes used when referring to artwork created in these contexts.[1] Traditional spray-painted graffiti artwork itself is often included in this category, excluding territorial graffiti or pure vandalism.

Street art is often motivated by a preference on the part of the artist to communicate directly with the public at large, free from perceived confines of the formal art world.[2] Street artists sometimes present socially relevant content infused with esthetic value, to attract attention to a cause or as a form of "art provocation".[3]

Street artists often travel between countries to spread their designs. Some artists have gained cult-followings, media and art world attention, and have gone on to work commercially in the styles which made their work known on the streets.

shot executed by pinhole Auloma Panorama 6x12, negative scanned by Canon EOS 1100D, film Fomapan 400

Caribbean 2026

DaO photography

 

✔ Full version includes 42 Colors Hud controled.

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All items InWorld have 50L$ discount for group

 

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✔ The item you are purchasing is meant for MESH BODIES.

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It has been a busy few weeks, planning and executing a seven part project for one of my favorite clients and squeaking in other work between those shoots. Between at project and my other responsibilities, I have pulled almost a month (maybe more, who can remember) for 7 day work weeks. So, I am headed up to lake Bruin with a few friends for a much-needed couple of days off.

 

Before I go, I thought I’d throw a few images up on the site that were outtakes from the recent shoots. It’s been a fun project where I had a lot of creative latitude. I feel extraordinarily fortunate to be able to make a living doing something I really love, namely taking pictures. But, when I am doing client work, I am sometimes restricted in what I can post. Such is the life of the freelancer.

 

Although I do plan on doing some work on a wedding that I recent photographed, this weekend will be more about play than work. Depending on the conditions, I would like to get some shooting in while I am up there. Readers of this blog won’t be surprised to know that I love north Louisiana and the photographs I am occasionally able to capture from the mystical, empty place.

 

I hope you all have a good weekend and just to keep this site active (I’ve been slack about posting, I know). Here are some of the shots I took recently but which probably won’t make the cut with the client.

 

Check out more at my blog, for lots of photos, recipes, tech talk, travel writing and other ramblings. I appreciate any feedback but, please do not post graphic awards or invitations in the comments, I'm just not crazy about them. Also, if you want to use any of my Commercial Commons licensed photos please link the attribution back to my blog (listed above) and use my full name, Frank McMains. Thanks! Sorry, but you have to pay to use fully copyright protected photos.

Entrances to caves built at the base of Castle Rock which holds Nottingham Castle up above the rest of the city. In Nottingham, Nottinghamshire.

 

Beneath Nottingham Castle a labyrinth of manmade caves and tunnels continue to tell the turbulent story of this historic site. Some of the caves date back to medieval times and there is over 300 steep steps.

 

The famous tunnel known as Mortimer’s Hole is carved into the sandstone outcrop on which the Castle stands. The passage way is eerie enough but is made all the more so by the reputed presence of the ghost of Sir Roger Mortimer himself.

 

Mortimer, the Earl of March and lover of Queen Isabella, was her accomplice in the murder of Edward II. On the night of 19 October 1330 the Queen and her lover Mortimer were staying at Nottingham Castle. Seeking to bring his father’s killer to justice and expose his feckless mother, the young King Edward III entered a network of secret tunnels that led ultimately into the Castle itself.

 

With a band of loyal supporters the King burst into his mother’s bedroom and surprised the lovers. Edward himself is said to have seized Mortimer. The now doomed monarch killer was led away, so legend has it, to Isabella’s mournful cries of “Fair son, have pity on the gentle Mortimer.”

Sir Roger was imprisoned in the Castle, taken to London and executed as a traitor. He was hung, drawn and quartered on the 29 November 1330 and his wretched remains skewered on spikes and left to rot on traitors gate at ‘Tyburn’.

 

The tunnel that led to Sir Roger’s downfall then became known as ‘Mortimer’s Hole’ and is so to this day.

 

St Albans claims to be the earliest site of Christian pilgrimage in England, being named after our first martyr, who was executed at some point in the 3rd century AD (when the city was still known by its Roman name, Verulanium) having sheltered a persecuted Christian priest, St Amphibalus, and been impressed by his faith, offering himself for arrest in his place. Both men were buried here and Alban's tomb was venerated and marked in some form long before the present cathedral was built.

 

The cathedral is nonetheless one of the most ancient of our major churches, though its cathedral status dates only to 1877 when the new diocese of St Albans was formed. The church was originally founded as St Alban's Abbey, and built close to the presumed site of Alban's martyrdom. Founded in 793 by King Offa, the abbey was rebuilt several times with the earliest parts of the present cathedral dating back to the late 11th century. Much use was made of recycled material from the abandoned Roman city of Verulanium, and the handsome Romanesque tower appears to be entirely constructed of reused Roman bricks. The Abbey was built on an impressive scale, and must have once been a very wealthy institution owing to pilgrimages to the shrine of St Alban behind the high altar. However its fortunes had begun to decline even before the Reformation swept medieval monastic life away.

 

The abbey church miraculously survived the Dissolution in its entirety and was sold to the town for use as their parish church. The monastic buildings however were completely erased aside from the splendid Abbey Gatehouse near the west end, and only the weathered remains of arcading on the south side of the nave remains of the former cloisters. Upkeep thereafter seems to have been a serious challenge and the huge church spent much of the following centuries in poor repair, thus much work was done by a succession of architects in the Victorian period prior to the abbey church being raised to the status of cathedral. The most obvious interventions are those made by Edmund Beckett / Lord Grimthorpe, an amateur architect who paid for much of the work in the 1870s in return for a free hand in redesigning parts of the building. His are the strange turrets on ends of the transepts, along with their facade windows below and the west front, which is clearly a Victorian confection, though the medieval facade it replaced had been left in a rather bare, unfinished state.

 

The cathedral we see today is thus a rather surprising mixture of styles and materials, everything from Roman brick, flint and rubble to fine white limestone., which gives it a rather patchy appearance. Its great length however is remarkable, being the second longest medieval church in the country (only Winchester is longer, but St Albans has a longer nave). The oldest parts are the towers and transepts from the end of the 11th century, along with much of the north side of the nave, all fine examples of early Romanesque architecture. Most of the rest was rebuilt in the Gothic style in various phases throughout the 14th century, including the greater part of the nave and all of the choir and Lady Chapel (though the east end was heavily renewed externally in the Victorian restoration).

 

Entering the cathedral one cannot fail to be impressed by the enormous length of the nave,, mostly of late 13th and early 14th century date aside from the strikingly austere north arcade in the more easterly section, where the raw unadorned early Norman architecture contrasts dramatically with the more ornate Gothic arcade opposite. The Norman columns have the added appeal of retaining substantial remains of medieval mural decoration, with a succession of Crucifixion scenes that may have originally served as reredos to long vanished side altars. The medieval pulpitum screen remains and separates the eastern bays for use as the choir beyond it. This area also retains its flat late medieval wooden ceiling complete with painted panels of angels holding shields.

 

The transepts and crossing beneath the tower form an especially memorable interior space, again the architecture is of the more raw, auster Norman variety, but the tower arches are enlivened with painted decoration simulating brickwork and much Roman and Saxon material is incorporated in to the transepts. Beyond is the fully Gothic eastern limb with the presbytery covered by a handsome medieval wooden vault, again replete it medieval painted decoration, and the striking altar reredos, a towering late medieval screen populated with elaborate niches and statuary (the latter being Victorian replacements for originals long lost). Behind this is the re-assembled shrine of St Alban (along with that of St Amphibalus in the south choir aisle nearby). The Lady Chapel beyond is a handsome example of 14th century Decorated Gothic, though much restored following centuries of use as a schoolroom separated from the rest of the church.

 

There is much of interest to see in the cathedral, though most of the furnishings are Victorian (the originals having long vanished) and there are few monuments of note aside from the two late medieval chantry chapels of Abbot Ramryge and Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, the latter overlooking the shrine of St Alban and balanced by a 15th century wooden watching loft on the opposite side (a rare survival). There is a mixture of glass, the most notable pieces being the most recent additions in the south aisle and north transept rose window. The best features are the unusually extensive remnants of medieval mural painting in various parts of the church, a quite remarkable survival, making a thorough exploration of this cathedral all the more rewarding.

 

This was my third visit, and longest one, though my attempt at a fuller photographic record was severely compromised by accidents with my camera, which at one point fell from my tripod onto the stone floor in one of the chantry chapels. I was lucky it survived at all given the dreadful crash it made, but it was seriously affected and my photos were very hit and miss from that point onwards. My day however ended on a happier note, returning in the evening to attend a lovely performance of Mozart's Requiem, and the acoustics in there are indeed impressive.

 

For more about the cathedral see below.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Albans_Cathedral