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On a Sunday morning this seems like the quietest place in New York City. According to an April 2015 report, this lawn may be endangered.
Inbound and outbound Metro Transit light rail trains pass at 5th & Hennepin in downtown Minneapolis. Just out of sight is Warehouse/Hennepin Ave, the penultimate station heading north. This route, called the Hiawatha Line when built, (for the street it parallels south of downtown) is now officially referred to as the Blue Line, as the Green Line to St Paul recently opened.
Copyright 2005 Ron Diorio
Showtime!
My work will be included in "Photography Now 2005" at the Center for Photography at Woodstock, NY. WM Hunt, chairman of CPW selected the work for the show. In all ten artists' work will be represented. The show runs May 7-June 19. For more information visit the CPW's website. They also have an interesting lecture/workshop series including events featuring Eli Reed, Marilyn Bridges, Mary Ellen Mark, Connie Imboden, Alex Webb, Philip Trager, Larry Fink, Bruce Davidson, Keith Carter and Chuck Kelton amongst others.
The fog made for a romantic atmosphere.
Somebody find this grebe a date.
Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa)
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
White Rock Lake, Dallas
My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com
Fifth Element is one of the movies I’ll watch over and over again.
I’ve been working on this taxi from the movie for quite a long time and finished it today. Difficulty in getting the right parts (and learning a few things about some popular Bricklink sellers), a mishap that caused me to order a new set of stickers, plus this is a fragile model and has come apart more than once. But it’s done and as soon as I find the minifigs I bought to go with it…
Plans and stickers by Brickmania
Parts from Bricklink
Minifigs from minifigs.me
There is barely any color left in this 56 year-old 3.5x5 inch photograph of me and my brother.
Photos of that era had a tendency to start fading after a few years. Our Dad snapped this shot but I can't remember what type of camera or film he used, probably Kodak or Polaroid. A few years ago my brother scanned this photo and produced a digital image which I tweaked using photo editing software to bring that moment back to life. A little bit of color is all you need if your editing software offers a large "color saturation" adjustment.
I remember how dry and crispy the grass was on that day. It must have been late summer. I know it was hot. The shrubs had a perfume and I recall the faint odor of freshly painted shutters on the windows. Mom and Dad were proud of our place and kept it spic n span.
Mom kept a watchful eye on newspaper ads. Occasionally, Sears or Montgomery Ward would offer a 2 for 1 deal on boys clothing. Mom and Dad taught us what it meant to be frugal and thrifty. Dad's DIY burr haircuts and home maintenance projects showed us how to save money. I still cut my own hair. It ain't pretty but it feels good when I think of the money I've saved over the years.
We received those bikes (Huffy Cheater Slick) the previous Christmas and spent the summer of '69 polishing our fenders with Dad's Turtle Wax. I used my allowance to purchase a speedometer for my bike at the local Western Auto store and I'm not exactly sure why 😜 since I never reached more than 20 mph. I guess I thought it was cool. Back then, our world consisted of a few blocks within our neighborhood in Lexington, Kentucky. We would meet with our friends and see who could lock their brakes and lay down the longest skid-mark, or ride down to Southland Shopping Center to get an ice-cream cone, a comic book and some bubble gum.
I never watched CBS News-man Walter Cronkite (or Waller Crank-Tight as Dad called him) who appeared each evening on 1 of our 4 TV channels, but I remember watching Neil Armstrong plant his feet on the Moon.
Years later, I discovered how many headlines made history that year, how time has changed the world, and how some things never change.
Space
Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins performed the first successful manned moon landing and Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. The Mariner 6 Mars probe was launched from the United States and Soviet space probes Venera 5 & 6 arrived in Venus' atmosphere and were able to transmit information about the planet for 50 minutes before the Soviets lost contact.
Project Blue Book, the United States Air Force’s investigation into unidentified flying objects known as UFOs, officially came to an end on December 17.
Music
The Woodstock Festival was held near White Lake, New York, attracting 350,000 music fans. Woodstock featured some of the top rock musicians of the era including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, Joe Cocker, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. In England, the Isle of Wight Festival attracted an audience of approximately 150,000 to watch 26 performers including Bob Dylan, The Who, Blonde On Blonde, Joe Cocker, The Moody Blues and Free. A free concert organized by the Rolling Stones was held at Altamont Speedway in Livermore, California with problems caused by the use of Hells Angels as Bouncers resulting in a number of deaths.
The Beatles released their Abbey Road album and gave their last public performance from the roof of Apple Records in London. John Lennon and Yoko Ono were married at Gibraltar, and had their honeymoon "Bed-In" for peace in Amsterdam. The John Lennon Album "Two Virgins" featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the nude were confiscated at Newark Airport. Brian Jones, former Rolling Stones Guitarist drowned after a drinking and drug binge.
Led Zeppelin released Led Zeppelin II to critical acclaim, Pink Floyd released their Ummagumma album, The Rolling Stones released their Let It Bleed album and The Who released their Tommy album featuring the hit classic Pinball Wizard. Elvis Presley scored his final number one hit with the song Suspicious Minds.
Popular Songs: The Rolling Stones -- " Honky Tonk Woman ", The Beatles -- " Get Back" and "Come Together ", Johnny Cash -- "Daddy Sang Bass", Zager and Evans -- "In The Year 2525", The Archies -- "Sugar Sugar" and The Fifth Dimension -- "Aquarius".
Politicians
Richard Nixon was sworn in as the 37th U.S. president and Golda Meir became the first female prime minister of Israel. Moammar Gadhafi, a military captain at the time, deposed King Idris and assumed control of Libya. Charles de Gaulle Resigned as French President. Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower died after a long illness at the age of 79 and Ho Chi Minh, the president of North Vietnam also died at the age of 79.
US Senator Edward M. Kennedy drove off a bridge into a tidal pond after leaving a party on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing passenger Mary Jo Kopechne who was trapped inside the vehicle. Kennedy did not report the accident for nine or ten hours.
Sea
Robin Knox-Johnston became the first person to sail around the world solo without stopping. Donald Crowhurst's sailing trimaran Teignmouth Electron was found drifting and unoccupied in mid-Atlantic; it was presumed that Crowhurst committed suicide (or fell overboard) at sea earlier in the month having falsified his progress in the solo Sunday Times Golden Globe Race.
John Fairfax landed in Hollywood Beach, Florida near Miami and became the first person to row across an ocean solo. The SS United States, the last active United States Lines passenger ship, was withdrawn from service and the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 was entered into service.
The Australian light aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne sliced the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half killing 82 of her crew.
Flight
The Boeing 747 "jumbo jet" was flown for the first time, taking off from the Boeing airfield at Everett, Washington. The 747 also made its first passenger flight carrying 191 people, most of them reporters and photographers, from Seattle to New York City.
In Toulouse, France, The Concorde made its first successful flight with a maximum cruising speed of 2,179 km (1,354 miles) per hour, more than twice the speed of sound and The Hawker Siddeley Harrier known as the "Jump Jet" was entered into service with the Royal Air Force.
Despite temperatures of -43C at altitudes of 29,000 ft. 22-year-old Cuban refugee Armando Socarras Ramirez survived in the wheel well of a DC-8 from Havana, Cuba, to Madrid, Spain, wearing only light clothing.
Medicine
On 4 April 1969, Domingo Liotta and Denton A. Cooley replaced a dying man's heart with a mechanical heart inside the chest at The Texas Heart Institute in Houston as a bridge for a transplant. The man woke up and began to recover. After 64 hours, the pneumatic-powered artificial heart was removed and replaced with a donor heart.
A teenager known as 'Robert R.' died in St. Louis, Missouri, of a baffling medical condition. In 1984 Robert R's condition was identified as the earliest confirmed case of HIV/AIDS in North America.
Doctors at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, made medical history on April 22nd, when they performed the first human eye transplant on 54-year-old John Madden. Because the donor eye had not been preserved enough to keep it viable, the procedure failed to restore Madden's sight.
Weather
During the last week of February a snowstorm hit the Northeastern U.S. region. The storm had a Regional Snowfall Index (RSI) of 34.03 making it a Category 5 storm. Mt. Washington in New Hampshire had over 8 feet of snow during the storm. On February 25 alone, Mt. Washington had over 4 feet of snow: 49.3 inches, which is still the one-day record.
Category 5 Hurricane Camille, the most powerful tropical cyclonic system at landfall in history, hit the Mississippi coast, killing 248 people and left $1.5 billion dollars in damage (1969 dollars).
Crime
Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin were shot at Blue Rock Springs Park in Vellejo, California. They were the second (known) victims of the Zodiac Killer. Mageau survived the attack but Ferrin was pronounced dead-on-arrival at Richmond Medical Center. Two months later, The Zodiac Killer stabbed Bryan Hartnell and Cecilia Shepard at Lake Berryessa. Hartnell survived but Shepard died. During the following month, The Zodiac Killer shot and killed taxi driver Paul Stine in the Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, marking the infamous serial killer's last known slaying.
Members of the Manson Family invaded the home of actress Sharon Tate and her husband Roman Polanski in Los Angeles. The followers killed Tate (who was 8.5 months pregnant), and her friends: Folgers coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, and Hollywood hairstylist Jay Sebring. Also killed was Steven Parent, leaving from a visit to the Polanskis' caretaker. More than 100 stab wounds were found on the victims, except for Parent, who had been shot almost as soon as the Manson Family entered the property. The following day the Manson Family killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, a wealthy Los Angeles businessman and his wife.
Police raid Stonewall Inn on June 28th a gay club located in New York City ending The Stonewall Riot.
In a Los Angeles court, Sirhan Sirhan admitted that he killed presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. In Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pled guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. (he later retracted his guilty plea). The trial began of the "Chicago Seven" accused of inciting a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Boxing champion Muhammad Ali was convicted of evading the draft after he refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army. Arrest warrants were issued by a Florida court for Jim Morrison on charges of indecent exposure during a Doors concert.
The Unexplained
Six-year-old Dennis Martin disappeared while camping in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Dennis was last seen by his father going behind a bush to hide, intending to surprise the adults with the other children. After not seeing him for about five minutes and when the other children had returned to the campsite, his father became concerned and began searching for him. His father ran down the trail for nearly two miles, until he was sure he could not have gotten any farther. After several hours, they sought help from National Park Service rangers. The search effort was the most extensive in the park's history, involving approximately 1,400 searchers and a 56-square-mile (150 km2) area. Dennis was never found.
While campaigning in Leary, GA, future president Jimmy Carter and several other guests at a Lion's Club Meeting witnessed an Unidentified Flying Object. Carter later filed the incident with the International UFO Bureau and in 1977 he became the first U.S. President with an official record of a UFO sighting.
Business
The first automatic teller machine (ATM) in the United States was installed in Rockville Centre, New York. Samsung Electronics was founded in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Donald and Doris Fisher opened the first Gap store on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco and Wal-Mart incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
New Products
Seiko Astron - world’s first commercial quartz wristwatch
Capri-Sun, juice concentrate drink
Charms Blow Pops
Fla-Vor-Ice popsicles
Kelloggs Frosted Mini Wheats
Funyuns Onion Flavored Rings by Frito-Lay
Gain detergent by Proctor & Gamble
Hawaiian Tropic Suntan Lotion
Manwich canned sloppy joe sauce by ConAgra and Hunts
Nerf Brand Toys by Parker Brothers
Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Cookies
Orville Redenbacher's Popcorn by Chester Inc.
Tic Tac mints by Ferrero
Restaurants
Dave Thomas opened his first Wendy's restaurant in a former steakhouse in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Captain D's was founded as "Mr. D's Seafood and Hamburgers" by Ray Danner with its first location opening in Donelson, Tennessee. The Long John Silver's restaurant chain opened its first store on Southland Drive in Lexington, Kentucky (I was there) and Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips was founded by S. Robert Davis and Dave Thomas with its first location in Columbus, Ohio.
Dan W. Evins opened the first Cracker Barrel Old Country Store on Highway 109 in Lebanon, TN. By 1977 he had opened 13 stores from Kentucky to Georgia. In 2020 there were 664 stores in 45 states.
Sports
San Francisco Giant Willie Mays became the first major league baseball player since Babe Ruth to hit 600 career home runs. The New York Mets defeated the Baltimore Orioles four games to one in one of the greatest World Series upsets in baseball history. The Montreal Expos became the first Major League Baseball team to be founded outside the U.S., Mickey Mantle retired from baseball and professional footballer Pelé scored his 1,000th goal.
Mario Andretti won the Indy 500, the only victory in the "Great American Race" for the legendary Andretti family as a driver.
War
The Battle of Dong Ap Bia, also known as Hamburger Hill, began on May 10th. Although the heavily fortified Hill 937 was of little strategic value, U.S. command ordered its capture by a frontal assault, only to abandon it soon thereafter. U.S. losses during the ten-day battle totaled 72 killed and 372 wounded.
Persons who were born during the years from 1944 to 1951, and who celebrated their birthdays on September 14, marked the occasion without being aware that their birthday would be the first date selected in the new U.S. draft lottery on December 1.
Independent investigative journalist Seymour Hersh broke the My Lai Massacre story, the mass murder of unarmed South Vietnamese civilians by U.S. troops in the Sơn Tịnh District of South Vietnam.
Negotiators from the Soviet Union and the United States met in Helsinki, to begin the SALT I negotiations aimed at limiting the number of strategic weapons on both sides.
250,000 people marched on Washington in protest of the Vietnam War and the very first U.S. troop withdrawals were made from Vietnam.
Hollywood
Several blockbuster and now classic films were released in 1969. 20th Century Fox released Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Katharine Ross. Columbia Pictures released Easy Rider starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson. Paramount Pictures released True Grit starring John Wayne, Glen Campbell and Kim Darby. Midnight Cowboy starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight was released and won three Academy Awards.
Other notable film releases of 1969: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Funny Girl, The Love Bug, Hello Dolly!, Where Eagles Dare, and Paint Your Wagon.
At 24 years old, a young and nude Helen Mirren established her first major film role in Age of Consent starring James Mason and directed by Michael Powell.
Best known for her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, American actress and singer Judy Garland died while in London of an accidental barbiturate overdose less than 2 weeks after her 47th birthday.
Television
The first episode of Hee Haw aired on the CBS network with guest stars Loretta Lynn and Charlie Pride. Scooby-Doo also aired its first episode on the CBS network. The Brady Bunch was broadcast for the first time on ABC. Monty Python's Flying Circus first aired on BBC One and Sesame Street aired its first episode on the NET network. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) was established and The Galloping Gourmet with host Graham Kerr debuted in the U.S.
NBC aired the last episode of the original Star Trek series "Turnabout Intruder" Starring Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and Majel Barret (Nurse Chapel) the only actors to appear in both the series finale and the first pilot Star Trek: The Cage (1966).
Technology
The first message was sent over ARPANET, the forerunner of the internet and the first ARPANET link was established (the progenitor of the global Internet).
The Microprocessor ( a miniature set of integrated circuits ) was invented opening the door for the computer revolution that followed.
UNIX was developed by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs.
Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith developed the charge-coupled device (CCD) while working at Bell Laboratories, producing the world's first solid-state video camera just a year later.
Cars
Pontiac Firebird Trans Am the epitome of the American muscle car was introduced. Chevrolet produced 3,675 Pace Car Edition Camaro Z11's and Ford offered the new Capri in everything from the basic 1.3-litre to the meaty 3.0-litre V6.
The Plymouth Road Runner captured the spotlight as Motor Trend's Car of The Year. Engine options included the standard 383 and optional 426 Hemi with the mid-year introduction of the 440 A12 Six Pack performance option.
U.S. Cost of Living 1969 vs 2023 (updated 5/21/2023)
yearly income 1969: $9,400 (2023 dollars: $77,700)
yearly income 2023: $53,490
new house 1969: $25,600 (2023 dollars: $211,610)
new house 2023: $436,800
new car 1969: $3,400 (2023 dollars: $28,104)
new car 2023: $47,000
1 gallon of gas 1969: 35 cents (2023 dollars: $2.89)
1 gallon of gas 2023: $3.54
1 loaf of white bread 1969: 23 cents (2023 dollars: $1.90)
1 loaf of white bread 2023: $2.50
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among the most expensive shopping streets in the world.
Fifth Avenue originates at Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village and runs northwards through the heart of Midtown, along the eastern side of Central Park, where it forms the boundary of the Upper East Side and through Harlem, where it terminates at the Harlem River at 142nd Street. Traffic crosses the river on the Madison Avenue Bridge.
The whole Album is here: NYC
During the movie's chase scene, the taxi is riddled with bullets. Fortunately I had a few old Exo-Force sticker sheets lying around.
www.gooisemereninformatie.nl/naarden-menu/grote-sint-vitu...
In the Grote Kerk in Naarden there are 27 church paintings on the vault of the central nave in large dimensions, which were once applied to the white wood with glue paint.
The images represent the Last Judgment and scenes from the life of Jesus. On the other hand, there are ten representations from the Old Testament. P1310641
The performances are therefore based on scenes from the Old and New Testament and were largely based on woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer and work by Jacob Cornelisz.
The beams, carvings and styles were painted in watercolor, with ornaments, weapons and attributes. The scenes, placed high above the church building, were set in elegantly executed edges with a late Gothic character.
This corresponded to the vault paintings in the St. Laurenskerk in Alkmaar. Most of the performances included the weapons of the guilds or of persons who had originally donated them.
A painting of a church of this size was rare in the Netherlands and the work was, in view of the age and wars it had experienced, even in reasonable condition before the restoration.
Buys van Oostsanen
The 27 ceiling paintings were probably made in the early sixteenth century by a group of artists around Jacob Cornelisz (Buys) van Oostsanen. Monogram of the painter of the vaults
Van Oostsanen (1475-1533), born, as the name already says in Oostzaan, settled in Amsterdam in 1500 and bought there, with an interval of twenty years, two houses in the Kalverstraat.
His workshop included paintings, glass paintings and church vestments. In addition, Van Oostsanen and his employees carried out vault paintings in the large churches of Naarden, Alkmaar and Hoorn. Van Oostsanen died in 1533.
Importance of the paintings
The dating of the paintings in the Grote Kerk in Naarden was derived from the Count's Crown. One of the images featured the coat of arms of Charles the Fifth, who was elected emperor in 1519, so the paintings have to be dated earlier. Part of a vault painting
According to authorities in this field, the paintings were the most complete and intact series on a barrel vault that had been handed down in a church in the Netherlands.
Of the church paintings, the painter J.A. de Rijk, later professor at the R.K. Seminar "Hageveld", made accurate and fairly detailed drawings, which were exhibited at the exhibition of Gooise antiquities in 1882 and which were taken over by the Dutch Society of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The fact that the sketches were on display was due to the efforts of First Lieutenant Adjutant of Artillery, A.N.J. Fabius.
Presentation of the images (general)
The vault of the choir abbits, in figures of two or three times the size of man, represents the Last Judgment. This is the end of the whole and the end, to which all other ideas lead.
On the north side are scenes from the life of the Saviors:
The fear of the Lord in the Olive Garden - David and the Mount of Olives
The betrayal of Judas - kisses of men
The Flagellation of the Lord - Chastisement
The derision of the soldiers - taunting Elisha
The carrying of the cross - Isaac carrying the wood of sacrifice on his shoulders
The Crucifixion - Copper serpent in the desert
The Entombment - Jonas Devoured by a Sea Monster
The Resurrection - Simon who carried the gate of Gaza on his back
Ascension - Ascension of the prophet Elias to heaven
The Descent of the Holy Spirit - Declaration of the Ten Commandments on Sinai
The Last Judgment is directly in line with this. Opposite these ten scenes, in equal dimensions, on the other, or east side, are ten representations from the Old Testament, pre-depictions of the aforementioned. P1310622
Most of the scenes still included the weapons of the guilds or of special persons who had donated them. Some paintings depicted patron saints: Our Lady, the apostles Peter and Paul, St. George with the dragon, St. Sebastian and St. Hubert.
On one of the beams of the ceiling paintings was the following verse: "If one wrote 1618 sach. In May the 20th day, Do it was written here. God protects this church from any dangier."
It is wrongly thought that the ceiling paintings would not have been completed until 1618, but it is possible that the verse was from a visitor to the church. P1310105
The choir polygon consisted of five subjects. Over the centuries, these have suffered a lot from over- or additional paintings.
The Last Judgment was presented here. In the center sat Christ, flanked by trumpet angels.
The dead came down from their graves below. The northern polygon area was filled by a very beautifully executed angel, the southern one by devils and demons.
The fifth full day of my Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) visit with family & friends.
My Sister, Cheryl & I were joined by our friend, Ella McNamara. We visited Tobyhanna Falls (for our first photo adventure day). Got rained on a little bit and then it cleared up. Was nice to get back to this location again.
Austin T. Blakeslee Natural Area
Blakeslee, Pennsylvania
Wednesday, July 14th, 2021
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==The Hindu Kush Valley==
Walking through the desert, a group of heroes look over at a nearby village. Orange flames lick and spit, civilians run for cover. At their leader's insistence, one, a red and yellow android creates a cyclone, extinguishing the blaze. Another, a Magician in a top hat utters the spell "Wolf Retaw," a stream of water bursting from her wand. Their leader, a blond haired, handsome man, looks up at a nearby jet and puts his finger to his ear. "This is Aquaman, we've arrived at the drop sight. Over."
Onboard the Javelin, Mr Terrific answers back. "Understood. What do you see?"
Aquaman pauses. The recent sandstorm had made it difficult to see much of anything, even with his heightened senses. A few yards away, he notices something. A series of immobile, black figures, pointed ears atop their masks. "Talons... I see... God."
They're all dead, impaled on their own swords, unable to move. He looks at his boot, drenched in their bizarre, greyish blood. They're freshly killed.
Suddenly, the nearest Talon reaches out, unable to take the sword out it's chest, instead it begs, silently, in the hopes Arthur might slay it.
"They're still alive..." he gasps.
At this, Terrific looks at the scanners, zooming in on the heroes below them. "Aquaman, get out of there."
"I don't understand," Arthur replies.
"The blood, Arthur, look at the blood!" Holt yells, as the other heroes join him on the bridge. Without uttering a word, the other Leaguers nod at Holt, and exit the Javelin.
Aquaman steps back, and looks down at the ground. "What the hell?"
Written in the Talon's blood, a single word. "Aquaman."
"Tornado, Zatanna, get out of here," he yells, before a plasma ray sends him flying through a building. Walking towards him, in a black and silver suit, his red eyes glowing with energy, is Black Manta, beside him a man in a red and black tuxedo, a camera mounted on his head. "He actually delivered... Start filming."
=The League of Assassins Archives. Nanda Parbat=
Ra's looked at the case. Inside it, *her* costume- a bright orange and black leotard, wings protruding from it's back, long red boots and gloves, and a black domino mask. He opened the cabinet, and held the blade in his hand. It must've been fifteen years since he last held it in his hand. The day he gave it to her.
"Master, you wanted to speak with the informant?" Ubu asks.
Ra's stroked the blade. Nostalgia was not something he often let himself feel, but this, this was different. He'd written it off at first, the effects of the new Lazarus strain, but he couldn't ignore it any longer. He turned his head to his servant, blade in hand. "Ah, yes."
"Father, is this wise?"
"Talia, enough," Ra's says, raising a hand to his daughter. "Ubu, let him in. Leave us," he adds, as Talia heads towards the door.
Complying, he opens the door, and lets him in. The man who sold out the Misfits, the man who told the League of their plans, and where to find them. In a hushed, gruff voice, the figure mutters, pointing an annoyed finger at Ra's. "That sword. 'Doesn't belong to you."
"No." Ra's smiles, turning to face Doctor Gaige. Gone was the red mask and snappy suit, traded for his old scuba gear. His mask may obscure his face, but there was no mistaking his demeanor. Ra's gestures to his trophy cases, dozens of them, as he continues. "It doesn't. None of them do. This place, this shrine was built three hundred years ago. I oversaw it's construction personally. It honours all my fallen warriors. Sons, daughters. The finest assassins the world has ever known..."
Gaige stirs. "Did you murder *them,* too?"
Ra's turns his head slightly. "Some, yes. But it will never be said they died without honour.
You must think me a monster. A butcher. It's true, yes, I've buried children before, Doctor Gaige, my own, and, I will continue to do so long after your death. I can *just* handle the effects of the Lazarus Pit centuries on, but the toll it takes on them... It is better, sometimes, to let them die. So, I do what anyone who has lived as long as I should do. Move on."
"Yes, well, that's always been my issue," Gaige growls.
Ra's nods. "Hmm. Of course. But, thank you, regardless of our histories, I have a tremendous amount of respect for you. Rest assured, Mr Walker and his friends will be dealt with."
Gaige walks forwards, a finger pointed at Ra's throat, bitterness in his words. "Please, I've seen how you treat those you respect."
"You speak of Miranda?"
"I *speak* of my daughter."
...
Ra's moves Gaige's hand away. "My condolences."
Gaige nods, as he pushes towards the shrine. "I just want her body, and her gear. Do whatever the hell you want with them."
Again, Ra's nods, but he can't help look at Gaige. He was quieter, and he hadn't even swore. At last, the pirate chuckles to himself.
"Heh. It wouldn't have worked anyway. Walker's plan. They'd be dead before they even made it to you. Funny that," he nods. "But... imagine, say, if they actually got in here," he says, as he pulls out a harpoon, and fires it into Ra's hand.
==Ra's Palace. The Courtyard==
"You say hell yeah, and I'll kill you myself."
Chuck turns to Gar, a sly smile on his face. "Never," he says cheekily.
Lined on the cobblestones, were the Misfits. Gar, Chuck, Rigger, Chancer and Needham. Their hands were tied, and they were forced onto their knees, by the surrounding Ninja. One mans a camera, aiming it at the five of them, while several more draw their swords.
"The Master wants Walker to watch," one of them says, dressed in a yellow and brown outfit.
The cameraman nods, donning a black and green outfit. Though he doesn't say a word, his message is simple enough to understand. 'Of course, Shrike.'
"Cypher-?" Gar calls out suddenly. "You son of a bitch!"
"You're making a scene," Needham murmurs.
"Oh no, first Gaige now you?! I'm going to roast you alive you fuckin' traitor!" Gar screams, as another two ninja rush to restrain him
"Hell yeah!" Chuck adds encouragingly, before muttering a feeble apology. "Sorry."
"The Master offered you mercy," Shrike says warningly, as he begins to sharpen his blade. "You should've taken it."
"Your master dropped a city on us, personally, I'm not a fan," Chancer mutters to himself.
"Enough. Kill him first," Shrike says, as a ninja pulls Chancer in front of the camera.
"Oh, fuck you, buddy, I didn't even fucking swear!" Sharpe screams out, as his neck is placed on a stone slab.
"Oh, Jeez," Rigger moans. Needham sighs, and turns his head away. Gar looks on in horror. Chuck whispers a "Hell no," as the ninja raises the blade above his head, and- the sword shatters on Chancer's neck. The ninja steps back in confusion. Chancer grins as confidence surges through him. As he rises to his feet, the cuffs slide off. The first ninja runs at him, but slips and falls on their face. A second trips over the body, their sword flying through the air, hitting a third in the chest. A fourth hurls a throwing star at Sharpe that he ducks under, landing in a fifth's forehead. Cypher looks at the carnage, and runs off, abandoning the camera. When all's done. The Misfits look at Sharpe incredulously.
"Guess who's back in business," he exclaims proudly, before Shrike punches him in the back of the head, as he collapses to the ground
Gar looks down disappointedly. "Huh. That was almost impressive," as Shrike pulls Chancer off the ground, and unsheathes his blades.
"Oh, you're dead," he smirks, as suddenly, an orange fireball hits him from behind.
As Volcana lands on the ground, Shrike lunges for her, but he's quickly dispatched with with a blast of yellow flames. Turning to Gar, she smiles uncharacteristically sweetly. "Hi honey!"
===The Dungeons===
"My god... Norbert. Norbert, I'm sorry. I let you down. I'm always doing that."
Drury looks at his brother, chained up, bloody. No doubt in his months of captivity, Ra's agents had reprogrammed him. Just another failure of his, Drury thought. When would they stop?
As Norbert's chains are undone, Drury closes his eyes. This was it wasn't it? Not on the battlefield, not by Ra's or Bane's hand... Just him, trapped in a dungeon, with the Killer Wasp.
"Drury..."
Norbert looks down at him, cocks his head to one side, then kneels beside him. Holding his brother's head in his hand, he whispers hoarsely. "Still me."
Drury opens his eyes, and stares at him incredulously... those were *his* eyes. Warm, kind, alive.
Norbert turns round, and with an energy blast, tears the stone wall apart, offering Drury his hand, they barrel down the hall, taking down every Ninja in their way.
"Y-you... You fought it? You fought the brainwashing," Drury asks, struggling to keep up.
As they arrive at the laboratory, Norbert stops, and picks up a pair of bloodied pliers. His own.
For the first time since Drury had been reunited with him, he winks. "I made promise, Drury. Never again."
"No!" a metallic voice echoed, as Darhk marches towards them from the other side of the room. "You belong to me! You do what I say."
Norbert pauses, raises Darhk above his head, and smashes his glass visor. As he struggles to breathe, Norbert rests a hand on his shoulder, helping him lie down. "Never."
"Not bad, kid," a voice calls down to them, as Deathstroke turns to his comms. "The shields are down, the codes are yours. It's showtime."
=======
"This is Javelin-Theta, our systems have been compromised, we're being pulled apart up here!" Ollie yells as he attempts to steer the ship away from the village.
Flying beside them, a purple clad assailant uses his powers to rip the ship apart, and hurl it at another.
"Gotta say, this is so cool!" he yells to himself.
Passing by him, Sinestro barks a word of warning at him. "Nichol, please focus," as he creates a yellow buzzsaw to take on another jet.
Deflecting, Polaris laughs heartily. "C'mon, boss, have to admit, this is a lotta fun," he calls out, using his metallurgy to pull a steel clad man out of the jet.
"Hey Plug Boi, pick on someone your own size!" Guy Gardner, yells, as he hits Polaris with an oversized mallet, and catches Steel in a catcher's mitt.
"That's the wrong one, Guy," Hal calls back, as he creates an emerald net around Evil Star.
"Same difference Jordan!"
As Nichols rises back into the air, he calls out, confused. "What's a Plug Boy?"
Nearby, the Batwing weaves in and out of the airborne superheroes and villains. A strike from Black Adam's lightning immediately overcharges it's systems, spinning it out of control. "Batwing's hit, switching to auxiliary power," Bruce calls out, as he hits a few levers in an attempt to keep himself airborne.
"I don't understand, it's like they knew we were coming..." Clark calls, as he swoops in and catches the crew from the downed Javelin.
Bruce growls over comms. "Kenyon. Goldface baited us, and we fell for it."
"This is Flash," Barry says as he runs through the battlefield, "Bats, something's not right, Bane and half his goons are a no-show. Hell, I think saw Bivalo for crying out loud! Reckon it's some kind of a diversion."
"Understood," Batman replies. "Bane's there somewhere, Flash, keep at it. Any Society member we take down is progress, I'll have Cyborg increase the scanners."
"I'm all dark here, Bats. Whatever they've got, it's got a hell of a jammer," Cyborg chimes in.
====Society Field Headquarters====
Bane watches the battle from above. Hundreds of the society's underlings, *his* underlings, battle the Justice League and Ra's ninja. He felt something unfamiliar, something swelling in his chest. Pride. "Thinker, I think it's time we make our introduction. Lower shields," he says turning to the holographic display beside him.
The Leagues look at the sky, emerging from the clouds, a massive skull-like spacecraft. Brainiac's.
Bane smirks, as he addresses the ground forces. "We recovered this from an ARGUS blacksite from one of his last invasions. Primary shrink ray has been disabled, secondary weapons at maximum capacity. Let's begin."
~
Across the world, people watch the battle unfold, as heroes and villains alike fall.
In their slabside cells, Harvey Dent and David Clinton watch on enthralled. As Two-Face argues with himself, Chronos raises a finger to the screen. He knew them all, didn't he?
Bound to a wheelchair, Jonathan Crane trundles through the Asylum gardens, "That should have been me," he thinks to himself longing to wield a yellow ring once more.
Julian Day watches in his new hideout, concerned. Wherever the Misfits had gone, they weren't on the front lines.
In his funhouse, the Joker lets out a maniacal laugh. Let them have their fun. They'll see, it's all a joke anyway.
In Italy, Roman Sionis rests his tennis racket on the ground, and reaches for his phone. "Those idiots are really gonna destroy the world aren't they?" he mutters to his assistant.
In his penthouse, Oswald Cobblepot shares a drink with the Great White Shark. Turning to the TV, he can't help smiling knowing those Talons are suffering.
In the Batcave, Alfred Pennyworth watches on the oversized monitor, and sighs as he continues dusting. His attention turns to the Watchtower teleporter, as a high pitched beeping starts to ring out. "What on Earth?" he wonders.
In Lexcorp, already in the midst of his own masterplan, Luthor checks his smartwatch. "So they actually did it, did they? Morons."
On the streets of Central City, money in hand, the Rogues pause in front of a computer shop, all the screens displaying Simm's footage. His phone buzzing, Mirror Master answers it.
"Yo, McCulloch, you seeing this?" the voice on the other end asks.
"Aye, kid. I am."
"Good," Axel says, as he puts on his domino mask and turns to his sister.
On the battlefield, Disaster points at Simms, and pulls the Mighty Bruce to his side. "Hey, Bruce, that guy's got a camera *on his head*"
"Major, that's Mr Camera-" Tockman begins.
"Why didn't you ever think of that? Certainly beats lugging all this gear around" Disaster continues, ignoring both Bruce and Tockman's protests.
"I'm claustrophobic, Major," Bruce mutters.
At this, Artie taps Disaster on the shoulder and whispers harshly into his ear.
"Maj, please don't stuff the kid's head inside a camera."
Lastly, in Butchinsky's, Len looks at the bar. Empty. With the Society's video on every station, everyone else had already gone to fight. His picked his rag off the table, and smiled. "Fuck it." And walked out the door.
Found this old image of our dearly beloved, Diogi. He was truly an amazing spirit. Even our neighborhood friends still talk about him. I can only hope for as much. What a great honor it was to share our lives with him.
Walking along Fifth Ave, just next to first Presbyterin. A cyclist nipped by. It's a nice, cool evening.
165/366.
Photography and Post-production: Joseph Mayuga
Place: Home.
Vi auguro un Buon Natale e spero che passiate delle serene ed armoniose feste in famiglia. Mi scuso per averlo postato adesso ma domani sarà una giornata un po' movimentata.
I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and I hope that you have a joyous time with your family. I'm sorry to posting it now but tomorrow will be a very busy day.
Mi diario de viaje: Nueva York.
En nuestras vacaciones recorrimos varios puntos lindos de Nueva York, uno de ellos "the Fifth avenue"
Salona was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia in what is now Croatia. At the westernmost point of Salona, in the second half of the second century A.D., under the influence of Flavian architectural style, a monumental amphiteater was erected. The presence of this Roman amphitheater indicates that gladiator fights were held in the city of Salona until the fifth century. The Salonitan amphitheater could have been occupied by 15,000 up to 18,000 spectators! By the modern town Solin, close to Split, you can see what is left of this monumental building.