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On this cold and bustery day in the Twin Cities, the 1980s Amtrak logo, The Pointless Arrow stands proud still on the old Midway Amtrak station located on Transfer Rd in what some would feel like an industrial park off of University Avenue. The depot also is located next to the Minnesota Commercial's Midway Yard, the only place on any of the Amtrak system where they use a transfer railroad's track for a route, going 10 MPH.
Transfer Rd
Saint Paul, MN
01/12/2016
(Spoiler warning for the film's ending)
I've found, as I get older, that it takes increasingly less to make me cry at movies – my theory being that the accumulation of real life experience correlates to an empathy for fictionalised narratives to which we couldn’t previously relate. Having said that, there are still only a handful of films I’d describe as truly devastating, and those that fit the description generally share one of two themes. The first is animals – my love thereof being no great secret. (A friend once asked if I wanted to rent Hachi, and I responded by saying that I wasn’t in the mood: the truth being that a) films where the animal protagonists don’t survive past the end credits utterly destroy me and b) I’d teared up just watching the trailer two days earlier.) The second – more human – theme is that of mothers.
As the product of a single-parent household, there are few things that offend me more than the notion that a child needs two parents (of either gender) for healthy development, and, once I’d reached an age where the option became available to me, I ceased contact with my father altogether. In consequence of having been raised by mum alone, however, we have a closeness for which I am unendingly grateful; and trading an additional parent for the woman who remains one of my favourite people in the world is an exchange I would make time and time again. (Indeed, half the arguments we had growing up were, upon reflection, a consequence of us being more or less the same person: my strong-mindedness (read: stubbornness) and self-assurance (/inability to admit when I’m wrong) being among the more charming traits I’ve inherited.)
Now, going into Still Alice last week, I had high expectations. I’m a long-time fan of Julianne Moore, and knew she’d secured the Oscar for Best Actress before the film had even premiered here in the UK (an accolade I chose to have faith in despite Patricia Arquette winning Best Supporting for Boyhood, which I consider a feat of technical filmmaking vs. acting or storytelling). I was not, however, prepared for the degree to which the film moved me, and as people slowly filed out of the cinema around us, it was all I could to do stay seated throughout the end credits until I could recover enough to stop crying.
The film’s theme is, of course, grave – the subject of early-onset Alzheimer’s is hardly the makings of a light-hearted comedy. Dr. Alice Howland (played to devastating effect by Moore) is a linguistics professor who, she tells us, has “always been so defined by my intellect, my language, my articulation, and now sometimes I can see the words hanging in front of me and I can’t reach them and I don’t know who I am and I don’t know what I’m going to lose next.” It’s a disease that strips Alice of the traits that form the very basis of her self-identity. This loss of her sense of self – and the bitter irony that the accelerated decline in Alice’s condition owes, in part, to her erstwhile superior intellect – is difficult to watch: scenes of Alice pre-emptively visiting a nursing home and seeing the fate that awaits her reflected in people vastly beyond her age; of the shame she feels after failing to find the bathroom in her own home; the emotional breakdown when she finally reveals her condition to her husband, and sobs that “it feels like my brain is fucking dying. And everything I’ve worked for in my entire life is going. It’s all going.” It’s heartbreaking.
But the true heart of the movie lies, for me, in Alice’s relationship with her youngest daughter, Lydia (played by Kristen Stewart in a role for which the internet at large probably owes her a collective apology after the Twilight series). Though their relationship is, at times, strained (foremost by Alice’s misgivings over Lydia’s choice of an acting career without a solid basis in education) the bond they ultimately develop over the course of the movie is a beautiful one; the child she least understands becoming the one who understands her most. The film’s final scene is, at face value, devastating – Lydia reads to Alice from a play they had discussed months earlier while her mother was still in command of her faculties, and Alice – finally in the full grip of her condition – responds seemingly incomprehensibly. But it contains within it an echo of the speech the once-brilliant Alice gave in the film’s opening moments, where she noted that, “Most children speak and understand their mother tongue before they turn four, without lessons, homework, or much in the way of feedback. How do they accomplish this remarkable feat? Well this is a question that has interested scientists at least since Charles Darwin kept a diary of the early language of his infant son. He observed, ‘Man has an instinctive tendency to speak, as we see in the babble of our young children.’”
After Lydia has finished reading, she asks her mother, “Hey, did you like that? What I just read, did you like it? Wh-what…what was it about?”
“Love,” Alice answers.
And though her mother has been reduced to a state where she can only communicate through childlike babble, we feel that Alice can still comprehend – on some level – Lydia’s devotion to her. “Yeah, mom,” she responds. “It was about love.”
In the hands of a lesser filmmaker, Still Alice could easily have been a schmaltzy, Lifetime Movie affair like My Sister’s Keeper or The Notebook – reliant on musical cues and manipulative sentimentality to tell the viewer where and when to feel. Still Alice favours a quiet dignity, like that of its protagonist, and of the film’s co-writer and director, Richard Glatzer, who made this movie – ultimately to be his last – whilst battling motor neuron disease. The film’s lasting message is of endurance, even in the face of inevitability — and of love.
(Dundee, 2014)
Often referred to as the most photographed house in Central Oregon. The following description and history was collected and written by Theresa L Peterson, not myself.
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The History of the Charles E Nelson House of Dufur, Oregon
copyright - Theresa L Peterson - all rights reserved.
The "Nelson" house is arguably the most photographed house in Central Oregon, certainly in Wasco County. It takes the viewer by surprise when it comes in to view, sitting alone in a little swale along Emerson Loop Road, beaten and tattered to the point of collapse, but still somehow it remains standing. Even in its precarious position it is still stately . Out of place in the middle of a wheat field but yet it belongs, as a testament to the past.
There is definitely something special about this particular house that makes it much different than the dozens of other abandoned homes in the Dufur area that were built by homesteaders that came and went at the turn of the 20th century. You know just by looking that it is still filled with the hopes and dreams of those who filled its rooms. Lured by promises of a better life, single men and families came by the thousands to Oregon and to the rolling hills south of The Dalles for free land. All they had to do was live on it for 5 years and show improvements and it was theirs. It seemed so easy but it was anything but. The successful ones were able to bear the incredibly hot dusty summers where the threat of a lightning storm often meant wildfires that would take their livelihood in minutes and cold, windblown winters that might lock them snowbound in their drafty homes for days if not longer, and kill their livestock. Many of their descendants still farm the hills near Dufur. Those that could not soon left for better climates, selling their homestead dreams to another dreamer or an established rancher who made the country work for him.
Perhaps it was this dream that made Robert Lowe (1858-1939) and his wife Isabella (Cochrane) Lowe select this plat of land to homestead. Both natives of Scotland, they came to America as small children and lived in Albany, NY where they met and Robert made his living as a boiler maker. They were married in 1882. Soon they started to dream of going west.
In 1892 Robert received the patent for the land the house sits on from the U.S. government. They started with nothing but the raw land and lived here until 1903 when they decided to give up their homestead and move to Portland where they lived until they passed. Both Robert and Isabella are buried in the River View Cemetery in Portland.
In 1903 Sylvester V. Mason and his wife Mary bought the homestead for $4500. Sylvester had moved from New York state as a single man to the area around 1900 and had already taken up farming. He soon found a wife and they moved in with their new born son, Nicholas and had a second son, Charles in 1906. They sold the property in 1906 and went on to build a large wheat operation near Boyd. Charles is buried in the Rice cemetery.
The next owners were looking for a different type of new beginning. James Leroy Holgate was from an old pioneer family of Oregon. Born in 1859 in Benton County Oregon he later moved to Junction City. In 1883 he married the first cousin of President Herbert Hoover, Clara Hoover, but in 1906 in what must have then been a scandal, he divorced his wife of 23 years and immediately married Anna Case. Anna had also divorced her husband and together the newlyweds suddenly had family of 7, with the children's ages ranging from 21 to 6 years. They got a mortgage for $5500 and started their new lives together. The house must have been bustling with activity. Sadly the happiness was cut short when Anna died in 1910 only 4 years after they moved in. James ,not letting any grass grow under his feet and a big brood to care for married again sometime before 1912. This time Hattie was her name. James and Hattie eventually moved to the Portland area. Details of what happened to the children are hard to find except for this interesting note. According to the book "History of Wasco County" by Wm. H. McNeal (1953), Bert, Anna's son, who was one of the children who moved in when she married, is buried on the property. He is not. He lived a long life, died in 1976 and is buried in the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland. Perhaps it is another child but it seems odd that their mother would be buried in a cemetery while the child would be buried on the ranch. We'll probably never know who or if anyone is buried there.
In 1912 James and new bride Hattie put the property under contract to William Fulton for $6000 and moved to The Dalles. Mr. Fulton paid $1200 and agreed to deliver the first 1/2 of all the crops of any kind to an agreed warehouse before Oct. 15th of each year until the balance was paid with 8% interest. Mr. Fulton also agreed to pay the taxes AND continue to insure the house for $2000. (So we know the house is standing as of 1912). As near as I can tell this contract was successfully completed in 1915..however there is warranty deed for the property dated in 1917 between William and A.B and Lizzie C Carlock of Multnomah County. Mr. Fulton paid $3795. for the property in this document. I have not been able to find any reference to Mr. and Mrs. Carlock buying the property . * I'm not sure if Holgate transferred the contract or lost it in a poker game...more research needed here. The Fulton's lived in the house and worked the land until 1926 when it became the birthplace of yet another family's dream. This time the new family stayed...for 78 years.
Long before Charles E Nelson handed over his $10 and "other good and valuable considerations" for the house and land on Emerson Loop, the seeds were sown and the roots ran deep for his love of the land near The Dalles. His grandparents, both of Wigtownshire, Scotland, James and Elizabeth Nelson had come America with their two youngest of 11 children, David Dalziel and daughter Janie, arriving in San Francisco in December of 1879. Wasting no time they came to The Dalles the following February where they claimed land on Dutch Flats. For a while they were the only settlers in this area, the only road being an old Indian trail and very rough terrain. They made a lasting home there and daughter Jane married William Harriman a rancher who later became a county commissioner. James and Elizabeth are both buried in the Eight Mile Cemetery.
Son David, married Joanna (Joan) Stewart in July of 1893 in the home of the bride at Mt. Hood Flat. She was also a native of Scotland and had moved with her parents to the area. They took over the farm on Dutch flat and had 3 children there, a son who died a birth and two daughters. They sold the farm and moved to a ranch on Emerson Loop Road. In the 1910 census they are shown with 5 children including 9 year old son Charles. Their neighbors, just down the road, are the newly married James and Anna Holgate and their collective children. Perhaps some of them were playmates to Charles. In the 1920 census, Charles is still working as a hand on his father's ranch but saving his money...and keeping an eye on the place down the road.
In 1926 Charles set his eyes upon Miss Ormaly Walton and was smitten. Before he made her his wife though he needed a place of his own, so in September of 1926 he bought the house that would later be known as the Nelson House. There is no way of knowing what the Other good and valuable considerations were in the contract but in any case Charles and his new bride would have a home to start their lives together in.
Charles and Orma were married in March of 1927 and moved in. There was 1 bedroom downstairs and 3 upstairs. Heat was created by a Globe Hot'nTot parlor stove in the front room of the house and a big Monarch cooking stove in the kitchen. There was also no insulation, no indoor plumbing and no electricity. Outside there was a barn for the cattle and the horses that Charles particularly enjoyed, a machine shed, wood shed and a chicken house. Water was supplied by the windmill that still stands today. There may have been a small Delco electrical system on the farm by 1930. In the 1930 census, the question "Do you have a radio?" is answered yes, but grid power didn't come for many years. Two daughters were born to the couple. Rosemary to whom we owe the wonderful details of the house and what it was like to live there and her younger sister Charlene. Rosemary was born in 1931 as the great depression began. It hit the area very hard and Charles worked not only his own land but other ranches in the area as well, often moving his young family with him. Rosemary went to the Fairfield School which was across the road from the house. She went there from 1st through 5th Grades. She was the only student in her grade and about 8 students in total at the school. Eventually students were sent to The Dalles and the school burned a few years later. The property the house sat on was a small acreage. Charles often rented other ranches to grow wheat and the family moved to the larger ranch to be with him. During WWII Charles cared for a neighbor's property while the owner's son was at war. After the war the family came home. In 1946 the REA finally came to the area and installed proper electricity. Joanna was excited and there was 2 things on her list that she wanted. A real refrigerator and an iron. The house still had no running water nor insulation. It was hot and dusty in the summer and extremely cold in the winter. In 1949 they left the house for the last time and it has remained empty since. Rosemary married and after the passing of her parents inherited the property and the house. Over the years the house has been often vandalized and used for midnight parties. It's location makes it very hard for the neighbors to watch over it. I asked her about the popularity of the house to photographers. She laughed and remarked how she wished she had a dollar for every time someone stopped to take a picture of it but she is glad people enjoy it. She sold the house and property in 2004 to the current owner and hasn't been back since but has fond memories of Dufur, the way of life there and the old house.
Who built the house? I'm betting on the Holgate's and a planned trip to the tax assessor should prove it out. He was a man of means and needed a big home for his many children. The architecture also fits with 1906 and in the following contract to Fulton he expressly required that the house be insured for $2000. A lot of money in 1912. It is called the Nelson house due to the longevity of the Nelson family's ownership. Ask a local resident for the Holgate or Fairfield house and you will get a blank stare. Ask for the Nelson house you will get an immediate response and directions.
So what is it about that house that draws everyone to it? To me it invited people in, strangely even in its condition it still does. It still expresses a promise of good things to come .
Theresa L Peterson 8/28/2015. I will update if more information comes to light.
Information for this article came from county and homestead deed records, grave records, published books on the history of Wasco county, family histories found on Ancestry.com and U.S. census records.
I would like to express my deepest thanks to the Wasco County Clerk's office who helped me sort through the deed records and lift the heavy books for me when my injured shoulder wouldn't let me. I would also like to thank the many new friends and descendants of the above mentioned families and neighbors who helped by allowing me to use family photos and by directing me to more information. Most of all I would like to thank the most lovely lady who called the grand old house her home. Thank you so much, Rosemary Nelson Wyatt. You made the house come alive with your vivid memories.
NOTES: Some people have put forth that this may have been a Sears "kit" house. I think it would be doubtful as this house is not in either the Sears nor Aladdin catalogs but only an inspection of the type of wood used inside would prove it out as those (and other Midwest companies) only shipped oak or pine not the fir that so many old homes had in them. Gordon-Van Tine Co was in Chehalis, Washington but didn't ship from there until after 1915.
*Per family lore J.L. was "pretty cantankerous and ....couldn't count cards either"
The Abu Simbel temples are two massive rock temples at Abu Simbel (أبو سمبل in Arabic), a village in Nubia, southern Egypt, near the border with Sudan. They are situated on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about 230 km southwest of Aswan (about 300 km by road). The complex is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Nubian Monuments," which run from Abu Simbel downriver to Philae (near Aswan). The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century BC, as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Kadesh. Their huge external rock relief figures have become iconic.
The complex was relocated in its entirety in 1968, on an artificial hill made from a domed structure, high above the Aswan High Dam reservoir. The relocation of the temples was necessary to prevent them from being submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser, the massive artificial water reservoir formed after the building of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River.
Installation Views
Lasting Images
October 14, 2013–January 10, 2014
5th Ave at 89th St
New York City
Lasting Images brings together a selection of works from the Guggenheim’s collection of global contemporary art, featuring pieces by Simryn Gill, Sheela Gowda, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Mona Hatoum, and Doris Salcedo. These works suggest that truly lasting images—those that are most affecting—rarely convey direct messages. Instead, the pieces in this exhibition use ephemeral materials to define spaces for the viewer that invite open-ended contemplation.
Photo: David Heald
To learn more, visit www.guggenheim.org/lastingimages.
Whilst a number of airlines have been willing to withdraw passenger Boeing 747's as if they have gone out of fashion... As legacy carriers have been willing to replace their eldest passenger jets with newer and more fuel-efficient examples, the veterans are being sent to the scrap yard for parting out.
British Airways has for years held one of the largest fleet of Boeing 747's, at its height it operated 57 Boeing 747-400's, however that total has reduced to 39 and the number is set to further reduce over the coming years as British Airways takes delivery of more Airbus A350-1000's, Airbus A380's and Boeing 787-10's.
Although British Airways fleet of Boeing 747-400's stood at 57, the company did have an additional order for 4 more Boeing 747-400's prior to 1998, that order was ultimately cancelled for 16 Rolls-Royce powered Boeing 777-200ER's.
Currently, British Airways operates a fleet of 39 Boeing 747-400's, that number is expected to reduce to 36 by the end of 2016.
Bravo Yankee Golf Golf became the last Boeing 747-400 delivered new to British Airways in April 1999 and she is powered by 4 Rolls-Royce RB211-524H engines. Since delivery, she has carried Rendezvous World Tail, featuring Chinese calligraphy representing Hong Kong, before being repainted in October 2003 with BA's corporate Chatham Dockyard Union Jack livery. She has recently been refurbished to Super Hi-J configuration since April 2016, part of a programme to convert 18 from High-J configuration
Boeing 747-436 G-BYGG on final approach into Runway 27L at London Heathrow (LHR) on BA192 from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Texas.
About a 1 mile from our apartment in Laim, Munich, is a large green space and recreational area - swimming pool, ice rink, tennis courts, etc. A mid-November walk revealed ample autumn colors and overcast skies. Fall, like our time in Munich was coming to an end.
Westbad Park
Laim, Munich, Germany
Primary Significance: With an astounding number of varieties, orchids are known for their delicate beauty and exotic character. Evolving through an intricate and interesting history, the meanings of orchids include love, beauty, luxury, and strength. This exotic and amazing flower is meant to leave a long lasting impression, make sure to send an exotic orchid flower bouquet to someone who has captured your eye.
For more readings:
www.proflowers.com/flowerguide/flowermeanings/orchid-mean...
This is a creature on fire with love, but it's still scary since most people think love only looks like one thing, instead of the whole world.
~from Story People
I only visited the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm once last year, but it was a memorable evening in many ways. A rainbow (a double rainbow, at times) graced us all with its (remarkably lasting) presence. Dark storm clouds rushed toward the horizon, and the light, well... the light was just amazing. And so I have a lot of images of that evening. Isn't it remarkable how so many of our days and nights pass with no real lasting impact, nothing to identify them from one another, and yet some will live on forever in our memory?
I imagine I'll make it down to the tulip fields more than once this year. I plan to, anyway. And I'm looking forward to it for many reasons, one of them being that you never know who you're going to run into. Kind of like the cherry trees.... the majority of my visits there resulted in happy run-ins with friends. I like that so many of us Portland photogs know each other and regularly and randomly meet in places like this. It's a testimonial to the fact that we're all alike in certain fundamental ways: we go in search of beauty, in search of ways to record and remember all the small and big moments of our lives. We're not afraid of a little rain (or a lot), of the cold, of the mud. Regardless of whether you've been making images for one year or for many - I'm rather proud, and fond, of "us", as a group.
Rambling aside, this image was made by a Zero Image 2000 pinhole. At first I was annoyed that I couldn't seem to get my silhouette out of the frame, but then I just decided to embrace it.
Jacaranda mimosifolia is a beautiful sub-tropical tree native to South America and widely exported everywhere it's warm enough for it to thrive. It has beautiful panicles of long-lasting blue-lilac flowers in the summer. These photos were taken in the Jardin del Turia in Valencia, Spain. The whole city is full of Jacaranda trees and I love it all the more for it. Jacarandas bring joy.
There is a saying in Portuguese that goes something like "Christmas happens when Mankind wants" (O Natal é quando o Homem quer). And Summer is pretty much like Christmas ;) The days are shorter but still warm and the breeze outside makes it even more pleasant to enjoy the grass and the shadows cast by trees :)
Go See enjoys this lovely weather in her Dolly Dolls swimsuit, on her Las Cosicas de Nuria chair, in her 1997 Mattel head band and behind her Miniaturas do Tocas folding screen, for extra privacy ;)
Hunter F.58 ZZ191 makes a sleek getaway after being displayed at the 2016 Royal International Air Tattoo.
It is operated by Hawker Hunter Aviation and based at Scampton on military work.
It was built for Switzerland in 1959, who eventually retired it in 1994
Fairford, Gloucestershire
11th July 2016
20160711 IMG_4615 ZZ191 std
A great display of aurora last night in Ruka, northern Finland lasting several hours. These where some of the best I've ever seen.
Photo of Nada Lake, at about 5,000 feet above sea level, captured via Minolta MD W.Rokkor-X 24mm F/2.8 Lens and the bracketing method of photography. On the Snow Lakes Trail and on the way to the Core Enchantments. Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Stuart Mountain Range. Central Cascades Range. Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Chelan County, Washington. Late October 2016.
Exposure Time: 1/250 sec. * ISO Speed: ISO-200 * Aperture: F/8 * Bracketing: +1 / -1
Right now I'm not involved with anybody, but I hope by 75 I will be again. (Stevie Nicks)
Stevie Nicks - I Can't Wait (GTA5)
Alien She
Photos and Video by Mario Gallucci
Alien She
Sep 3, 2015 â Jan 9, 2016
Alien She, curated by Astria Suparak + Ceci Moss, is the first exhibition to examine the lasting impact of Riot Grrrl on artists and cultural producers working today. A pioneering punk feminist movement that emerged in the early 1990s, Riot Grrrl has had a pivotal influence, inspiring many around the world to pursue socially and politically progressive careers as artists, activists, authors and educators. Emphasizing female and youth empowerment, collaborative organization, creative resistance and DIY ethics, Riot Grrrl helped a new generation to become active feminists and create their own culture and communities that reflect their values and experiences, in contrast to mainstream conventions and expectations.
Riot Grrrl formed in reaction to pervasive and violent sexism, racism and homophobia in the punk music scene and in the culture at large. Its participants adapted strategies from earlier queer and punk feminisms and â70s radical politics, while also popularizing discussions of identity politics occurring within academia, but in a language that spoke to a younger generation. This self-organized network made up of teenagers and twenty-somethings reached one another through various platforms, such as letters, zines, local meetings, regional conferences, homemade videos, and later, chat rooms, listservs and message boards. The movement eventually spread worldwide, with chapters opening in at least thirty-two states and twenty-six countries.* Its ethos and aesthetics have survived well past its initial period in the â90s, with many new chapters forming in recent years. Riot Grrrlâs influence on contemporary global culture is increasingly evident â from the Russian collective Pussy Riotâs protest against corrupt government-church relations to the popular teen website Rookie and the launch of Girls Rock Camps and Ladyfest music and art festivals around the world.
Alien She focuses on seven people whose visual art practices were informed by their contact with Riot Grrrl. Many of them work in multiple disciplines, such as sculpture, installation, video, documentary film, photography, drawing, printmaking, new media, social practice, curation, music, writing and performance â a reflection of the movementâs artistic diversity and mutability. Each artist is represented by several projects from the last 20 years, including new and rarely seen works, providing an insight into the development of their creative practices and individual trajectories.
Artists: Ginger Brooks Takahashi (Pittsburgh), Tammy Rae Carland (Oakland), Miranda July (Los Angeles), Faythe Levine (Milwaukee), Allyson Mitchell (Toronto), L.J. Roberts (Brooklyn), Stephanie Syjuco (San Francisco) and more.
Archival Materials from: dumba collective; EMP Museum, Seattle; Interference Archive; Jabberjaw; the Riot Grrrl Collection at the Fales Library & Special Collections, NYU; and many personal collections.
Collaborative Projects and Platforms include: Counterfeit Crochet Project, Feminist Art Gallery (FAG), General Sisters, Handmade Nation, Joanie 4 Jackie, Learning to Love You More, LTTR, projet MOBILIVRE-BOOKMOBILE project, Sign Painters and more
Womenâs Studies Professors Have Class Privilege / Iâm With Problematic, from the series Creep Lez, Allyson Mitchell, 2012.
Altered t-shirts with iron-on transfer and vinyl letters. Courtesy of the artist and Katharine Mulherin Gallery, Toronto.
Alien She is curated by Astria Suparak and Ceci Moss, and organized by the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
Alien She is presented in two parts:
Museum of Contemporary Craft
724 NW Davis
Portland, OR 97209
511 Gallery @ PNCA
511 NW Broadway
Portland, OR 97209
Both venues are open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 6pm.
I don't remember tulips lasting so long....these red ones are getting close to a month!!!! As long as they look lovely I keep taking pics, as they change in looks....kind of odd!!! :)
Part of the superb selection of AEC/ACV lorries rescued and restored by the late Tony Lloyd of Ludlow.
What I consider to be a Salvador Dali inspired mural, below the Dali-designed "Chupa Chups" corporate logo; Sofia, Bulgaria.
The first marketing slogan for Chupa Chups, "És rodó i dura molt" translates into Catalan as "It's round and long-lasting".
From what I could make out the reg was SYC102R. This states a Red Vauxhall with a 1256cc Engine. Unlicensed since April 1983, lasting 7 years on the road.
© 2009 Loren Zemlicka
Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independant, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to it’s liberty and interests by the most lasting bands.
- Thomas Jefferson
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+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In July 1967, the first Swedish Air Force student pilots started training on the Saab 105, a Swedish high-wing, twin-engine trainer aircraft developed in the early sixties as a private venture by Saab AB. The Swedish Air Force procured the type for various roles and issued the aircraft with the designation Sk 60.
The Sk 60 entered service in 1967, replacing the aging De Havilland Vampire fleet, and had a long-lasting career. But in the late Eighties, by which point the existing engines of the Swedish Air Force's Sk 60 fleet were considered to be towards the end of their technical and economic lifespan and the airframes started to show their age and wear of constant use, the Swedish Air Force started to think about a successor and/or a modernization program.
Saab suggested to replace the Saab 105’s original Turbomeca Aubisque engines with newly-built Williams International FJ44 engines, which were lighter and less costly to operate, but this was only regarded as a stop-gap solution.
In parallel, Saab also started work for a dedicated new jet trainer that would prepare pilots for the Saab 39 Gripen – also on the drawing boards at the time – and as a less sophisticated alternative to the promising but stillborn Saab 38, a collaboration between Saab and the Italian aircraft manufacturer Aermacchi.
In 1991 Saab presented its new trainer design to the Swedish Air Force, internally called "FSK900". The aircraft was a conservative design, with such a configurational resemblance to the Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet that it is hard to believe Saab engineers didn't see the Alpha Jet as a model for what they wanted to do. However, even if that was the case, FSK900 was by no means a copy of the Alpha Jet. The Saab design had a muscular, rather massive appearance, while the Alpha Jet was more wasp-like and very sleek. The FSK900 was also bigger in length and span and had an empty weight about 10% greater.
The FSK900 was mostly made of aircraft aluminum alloys, with some control surfaces made of carbon-fiber/epoxy composite, plus very selective use of titanium. It had high-mounted swept wings, with a supercritical airfoil section and a leading-edge dogtooth. The wings had a sweep of 27.5°, an anhedral droop of 7°, and featured ailerons for roll control as well as double slotted flaps. The tailplanes were all-moving, and also featured an anhedral of 7°. An airbrake was mounted on each side of the rear fuselage.
The twin engines, one mounted in a pod along each side of the fuselage, were two Williams International FJ44-4M turbofans without reheat, each rated at 16.89 kN (3,790 lbst). The tricycle landing gear assemblies all featured single wheels, with both nose gear and main gear retracting forward into the fuselage, featuring an antiskid braking system.
Flight controls were hydraulic, and hydraulic systems were dual redundant. Instructor and cadet sat in tandem, both on zero-zero ejection seats, with the instructor's seat in the rear raised 27 cm (10.6 in) to give a good forward view. The cockpit was pressurized and featured a one-piece canopy, hinged open to the right, providing excellent visibility.
The FSK900 could be fitted with two pylons under each wing and under the fuselage centerline, for a total of five hardpoints. The inner wing pylons were plumbed and could carry 450 liter (119 US gallon) drop tanks. A total external payload of 2,500 kg (5,500 lb) could be carried.
External stores included a conformal underfuselage pod with a single 27 mm Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon (with 120 rounds), the same weapon that was also mounted in the Saab Gripen or the Eurofighter/Typhoon and which was originally developed in Germany in the 1960ies for the MRCA Tornado. Other external loads comprised a centerline target winch for the target tug role, an air-sampling pod for detection of fallout or other atmospheric pollutants, jammer or chaff pods for electronic warfare training, a camera/sensor pod and a baggage pod for use in the liaison role. Furthermore, the aircraft featured a baggage compartment in the center fuselage, which also offered space for other special equipment or future updates.
Other weapons included various iron and cluster bombs of up to 454 kg (1.000 lb) caliber, various unguided missiles and missile pods, pods with external 7,92mm machine guns or 30mm cannon, and Rb.24 (AIM-9L Sidewinder) AAMs. Originally, no radar was not mounted to the trainer, but the FSK900’s nose section offered enough space for a radome and additional, sophisticated avionics.
The Swedish Air Force accepted Saab’s design, leading to a contract for two nonflying static-test airframes and four flying prototypes. Detail design was completed by the end of 1993 and prototype construction began in the spring of 1994, leading to first flight of the initial prototype on 29 July 1994.
The first production Sk 90 A, how the basic trainer type was officially dubbed, was delivered to the Swedish Air Force in 1996. In parallel, a contract had been signed for the re-engining of 115 Saab Sk 60 aircraft in 1993; the number of aircraft to be upgraded was subsequently reduced as a result of cuts to the defense budget and the advent of the FSK900, of which 60 had already been initially ordered.
A total of 108 Sk 90s were built for Sweden, and at present the Swedish Air Force has no further requirement for new Sk 90s. The type is regarded as strong, agile, and pleasant to fly, while being cheap to operate. Upgrades are in planning, though, including the fit of at least some Sk 90s with a modern "glass cockpit" to provide advanced training for the Saab Gripen (which had entered service in June 1992), and a full authority digital engine control (FADEC) for the FJ44-4M turbofans. Integration of the Rb.75 (the AGM-65A/B Maverick in Swedish service) together with a pod-mounted FLIR camera system was also suggested, improving the Sk 90’s attack capability dramatically. These updates were started in 2000 and gradually introduced in the course of standard overhaul cycles.
The upgraded aircraft received the designation Sk 90 B, and until 2006 the complete Swedish fleet had been modified. Another variant for Sweden was the Sk 90 S, which had a camera nose and could perform tactical reconnaissance missions (these machines were otherwise also updated to Sk 90 B standard), and there were plans for a new two-seater variant with enhanced attack capabilities, the Sk 90 C. This variant was not adapted by the Swedish Air Force, though, but its elements were offered to export customers.
Despite its qualities and development potential, the Sk 90 did not attain much foreign interest. It basically suffered from bad timing and from the focus on domestic demands. In order to become a serious export success, the aircraft came effectively 10 years too late. Furthermore, the Sk 90 was very similar to the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet (even though it was cheaper to operate), and Swedish trainer hit the market at a time when the German Luftwaffe started to prematurely phase out its Alpha Jet attack variant and flooded the market with cheap second hand aircraft in excellent condition. Another detrimental factor was that the Saab Sk 90 had with the BAe Hawk another proven competitor with a long and successful operational track record all over the world, and many countries preferred its more simple single engine layout.
Modest foreign sales could be secured, though: Austria kept up its close connection with Saab since the Seventies and procured 36 Sk 90 Ö in 2002, gradually replacing its ageing Saab 105 fleet. The Sk 90 Ö was comparable with the updated Sk 90 B, but the Austrian machines were newly produced and featured several modifications and additions in order to fulfill the Austrian Air Force’s demanding multi-role profile.
The Sk 90 Ö’s most distinct and obvious difference to the Swedish aircraft was a slightly more voluminous nose section for a weather radar system and its radome. This piece of equipment was deemed to be a vital asset in order to ensure operational safety in the type’s typical alpine theatre of operations, with frequent poor visibility.
Further avionics for the Sk 90 Ö included a Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics suite, an Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS), Inertial Reference System (IRS), Integrated Flight Information System (IFIS) with electronic charts, Two Electronic Flight Bag (EFB), Synthetic Vision System for Situational Awareness (SVS), a Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS), Dual Flight Management System (FMS), Surface Awareness System, Autothrottle and a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS).
The Austrian machines were primarily intended to serve as advanced trainers for Eurofighter pilots (after initial training on Pilatus PC-7 trainers), but would also be capable of ground attack/CAS duties, much like the Austrian Saab 105. Due to the Austrian Air Force’s small size, the Sk 90 Ö was furthermore capable of limited QRA and airspace patrol duties, armed with up to four AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs and a ventral gun pod.
Air space security and border patrols were a frequent task in the type's early service years, when the Austrian Air Force was still waiting for the delayed Eurofighter to become operational in this role and both the rented F-5Es from Switzerland as well as the aged Draken fleet had become more and more obsolete in this vital defense role, or even unserviceable.
From 2007 onwards, with starting Eurofighter deliveries, the Sk 90 Ö was gradually relegated to training and ground attack duties, but this could change again soon: In July 2017, the Austrian Defense Ministry announced that it would be replacing all of its Typhoon aircraft by 2020. The ministry said that continued use of its Typhoons over their 30-year lifespan would cost about €5 bln. with the bulk being used up for maintenance. It estimated that buying a new fleet of 15 single-seat and 3 twin-seat fighters would save €2 bln. over that period, and Austria plans to explore a government-to-government sale or lease agreement to avoid a lengthy and costly tender process with a manufacturer. Possible replacements include the Saab Gripen and the F-16. In this likely scenario, the Sk 90 Ö will probably once more have to fill airspace defense gaps.
Further potential export customers for the Sk 90 included Malaysia as well as Singapore, Myanmar, Finland, Poland and Hungary. The latest customer has been the Republic of Scotland in late 2017. After the country’s separation from the United Kingdom, the country started to build an independent air force with a supplier from a neutral country, and its first armed aircraft came from Saab in the form of early, second hand JAS 39 Gripen and Sk 90.
General characteristics:
Crew: two pilots in tandem
Length incl. pitot: 13.0 m (42 ft 8 in)
Wingspan: 9.94 m (32 ft 7 in)
Height: 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in)
Empty weight: 3,790 kg (8,360 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 7,500 kg (16,530 lb)
Powerplant:
2× Williams International FJ44-4M turbofans without reheat, rated at 16.89 kN (3,790 lbst) each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,038 km/h (645 mph)
Range: 1,670 km (900 nm)
Armament:
No internal gun; five hardpoints for 2,500 kg (5,500 lb) of payload and a variety of ordnance,
including a conformal ventral gun pod with a 27mm Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon and up to
four AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs
The kit and its assembly:
A simple kit travesty, and this one is the second incarnation of the basic idea. The fictional Saab Sk 90 is basically the 1:72 Kawasaki T-4 from Hasegawa, with little modifications. Originally, I wondered what an overdue Saab 105 replacement could or would look like? The interesting Saab 38 never saw the light, as mentioned above, there was also a stillborn A-10-style light attack aircraft, and I assume that neutral Sweden would rather develop its own aircraft than procure a foreign product.
Consideration of the BAe Hawk, Alpha Jet and the L-39 Albatros as inspirations for this project, I eventually came across the modern but rather overlooked Japanese Kawasaki T-4 trainer – and found that it had a certain Swedish look about it? Hmm... I had already built one with a camera nose in the famous “Fields & Meadows” scheme, but the concept offers more room for creative output.
One of the thoughts surrounding the aircraft was: what would be a potential replacement for the Austrian Saab 105 fleet, which had been in service for ages? Well, the Swedish successor would IMHO be a very plausible option, and so I built an Austrian derivative of the Sk 90 B, the Sk 90 Ö export variant.
Just like during the first build, I wanted to keep things simple. Consequently, the T-4 was mostly built OOB, including the cockpit with the dashboard decals, just with added handles to the ejection seats.
The only major change I made for the Austrian variant is the modified nose section: the T-4 nose was replaced by a slightly longer and wider alternative, and blended with the fuselage through PSR. The pitot was moved to starboard and replaced by a longer alternative from the scrap box.
The pair of underwing pylons are OOB, too, the ordnance in the form of an AIM-9 training/acquisition round (without steering fins) and an ACMI pod, together with launch rails, are spare parts. The ventral gun pod comes from an Italeri BAe Hawk, slightly trimmed in order to fit under the fuselage. Additionally, I added scratched chaff/flare dispensers and an IR jammer to the tail section.
As a side note: There are two different moulds for the Hasegawa T-4; one comes with two simple fuselage halves (from which I built the Swedish Sk 90 S, this mould was introduced in 1996), and this one here, AFAIK the first one from 1989, which comes with a separate cockpit section and other differences.
The kit is relatively simple, but fit is not perfect. My kit also featured surprisingly much flash and even some sinkholes (in the air intakes and ). IMHO, the newer mould is the better option – the new T-4 model is easier to assemble and overall fit is IMHO also better (only minimal PSR required, the old mould definitively requires body work almost on every seam).
Painting and markings:
Well, building the kit was not a true challenge, and the paint scheme I chose was also not truly demanding. However, I wanted something different from the Austrian Saab 105s' bare metal finish and also not a dull all-grey air superiority scheme. I eventually stumbled upon a scheme found on some Austrian helicopters, Shorts Skyvans and the Pilatus PC-7 trainers.
Basically, the pattern consists of a deep, dark forest green and an greyish olive drab, which almost appears like a brown, RAL 6020 (Chromoxydgrün) and RAL 7013 (Braungrau). RAL 7013 is the Austrian Army’s standard color, used on many ground vehicles, too.
For the dark green I used Humbrol 195, which is the authentic tone, and RAL 7013 was approached through a rough 1:1:1 mix of Humbrol 29 (Dark Earth), 155 (Olive Drab) and 66 (Olive Drab, too), based on some pictures of Austrian aircraft in good light.
Originally, the scheme is a uniform, all over RAL 7013 with RAL 6020 only added to the upper sides, But for my build I found this to be a little boring, so I added a personal twist. The pattern on the upper surfaces was roughly adapted from an Austrian Skyvan, but I painted the underwing surfaces in aluminum, so that the model would not appear too murky and dull (Revell 91).
A late addition were the orange wing and fin tips – originally taken from the T-4 decal sheet, but application went sour and I had to scrape them off again and replace them with painted alternatives (Humbrol 18, plus a thin coat with Humbrol 209, dayglow orange). Anyway, these marking suit the aircraft’ trainer role well and are a nice contrast to the red-and-white roundels.
The cockpit was painted in neutral grey, while the landing gear and the air intakes became white – very conservative.
The markings were kept simple, puzzled together from various sources, the 4th Jet Squadron is fiction. The Austrian roundels come from a TL Modellbau sheet, the tactical code consists of single, black letters from TL Modellbau, too.
The current Austrian practice for the 4-digit codes is quite complex, and the four-digit-code is based on a variety of aircraft information; the 1st digit (Arabic number) is associated with a max. TOW class, the second (a letter) denotes the type’s main purpose. The roundel divides the code, and the 3rd letter is allocated to a specific aircraft type (I re-used “S”, formerly used on Saab 91D trainers until 1993) and the last letter is a consecutive, individual identifier.
Stencils were mostly taken from the T-4 OOB sheet or gathered from the scrap box, e .g. from German Tornado and T-33 sheets (for dual language markings). The silver trim at the flaps and the fin’s rudder were created with generic decal stripes in various widths in silver. Similar, wider strips in black were used to create the de-icers on the fin’s and wings' leading edges.
Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
Thanks to the sound basis and only cosmetic changes, this one was not a tough build. The result is pretty subtle, though – who’d suspect a Japanese aircraft in this rather exotic disguise? Anyway, just like the Swedish Sk 90 S, this T-4 under foreign flag looks disturbingly plausible, and the scheme works well over typical Austrian landscape.
How could Sweden (and in this case Austria, too) hide this aircraft from the public for so long...? It's certainly not the last T-4 in disguise which I will build. A Scottish aircraft, as mentioned in the background above, is another hot candidate... :-D