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the post said :
Okay, before you start calling me names and before those training-bra-wearing little girls start screaming at my face, listen to my argument first.
In my defense, I'm not jealous of them. I won't ever be jealous of them unless they gain credibility by actually singing in the genre known as "rock", not "pop". You have no right to call yourself a BAND until then. Oh right, and the the whole "good boy" image is a load of crap. That's just there so moms will like you for being their daughters' role models and buy merchandise that's got the "JBro" image on it. It's a hoax for the consumer to eat the crappy music up.
LYRICS
Let's just go analyze some of their lyrics...
Just might be paranoid
I'm avoiding the lies
Cause they just might slip
Can someone stop the noise?
I don't know what it is
But I just doesn't fit
I'm paranoid
Okay, good lyrics you guys got there. That REALLY makes sense. -Insert heavy sarcasm-
DISNEY
Now, onto a new point. You're from Disney. I'm sorry but that's a good enough reason to hate the Jonas Brothers. Yes, that includes hating Miley Cyrus and all those other wannabe celebrities. Has anyone noticed that now all the actors in Disney tv shows/movies all have singles coming out? Like that Emily Osment from Hannah Montana? Agh.*No, I don't hate the old Disney, where they produced great films like the Lion King, Mulan, Aladdin, and such. Just now, where they're greedy businessmen who want to take all your money with tacky schemes. Sigh, sounds just like those Twilight franchise businessmen...
SKINNY JEANS
This last one is something MANY people will share the same opinions about, whether you hate the JB or not. The notorious skinny jeans.
Those guys wear more skinny jeans than an average American eats hamburgers, and that's a lot. When you see a photo of either one of those guys, you can bet your money they're wearing skinny jeans. For starters, I don't want to fricking see your balls. I don't think they're hot, sexy or even remotely attractive. It's disgusting, distracting, and all around barf-inducing. Hmm...now I don't expect only models to wear skinny jeans, but the guys look like they're 5"5 with them on. So as a third party observer, please lay off the skinny pants. *Skinny jeans/pants should be worn with a top that covers the balls (for guys).
I probably have more insignificant rants, but these would be the highlights. Enjoy reading it and if you have anything you'd like to add, comment! :)
my reply ; ok here`s my reply to that ;
first of all , the skinny jeans days with them are OVER . they haven`t worn any in a WHILE , so that`s a null and void reason
their lyrics for this album are MUCH MUCH MUCH better (no pun intended for any jb fans areading this) . here`s a few :
No this isn't what I wanted
Never thought it'd come this far
Thinkin' back to where we started
And how we lost all that we are
We were young and times were easy
But I could see it's not the same
Standing here but you don't see me
Give it all for that to change
I don't want to lose her
Don't want to let her go
Standing out in the rain
Need to know if it's over
Cause I would leave you alone
I'm flooded with all this pain
Knowing that I'll never hold her
Like I did before the storm
With every stike of lightning
Comes a memory that lasts
Not a word is left unspoken
As the thunder starts to crash
Maybe I should give up
Standing out in the rain
Need to know if it's over
Cause I would leave you alone
I'm flooded with all this pain
Knowing that I'll never hold her
Like I did before the storm
I'm trying to keep the lights from going out
And the clouds from ripping out my broken heart
They always say a heart is not a home
Without the one who gets you through the storm
Standing out in the rain
Knowing that it's really over
Please don't leave me alone
I'm flooded with all this pain
Knowing that I'll never hold you
Like I did before the storm
anddd ;
She walks away
Colors fade to gray
Every precious moment's now a waste
She hits the gas hoping it would pass
The red lights starts to flash
It's time to wait
Cause black keys never looked so beautiful
And a perfect rainbow never seemed so dull
And the lights out never had this bright a glow
And the black keys
Showing me a world I never knew, no
A world I never knew
She hates the sun cause it proves she's not alone
And the world doesn't revolve around her soul
She loves the sky cause it validates her pride
Never lets them know when she is wrong
Cause black keys never looked so beautiful
And a perfect rainbow never seemed so dull
And the lights out never had this bright a glow
And the black keys
Showing me a world I never knew, no
Yeah
And the walls are closing in
Don't let them get inside of your head
(x4)
Cause black keys never looked so beautiful
And a perfect rainbow never seemed so dull
And the lights out never had this bright a glow
And the black keys
Showing me a world I never knew
Don't let them get inside of your head (x4)
Sometimes a fight is better black and white
and nick (the little one) wrote that one ALL BY HIMSELF , and yes they DO write their own music , thanks . i`d name more , but that`s all i need to put .
your reason for hating was completely illegitimate , ingnorant , and STUPID . they actually sincerely ARE good guys . they`ve been a band and have been wearing their purity rings beforeeee they started that disney bs , jsyk . when you have a GOOD reason for hating them , lemme know . until then , stfu . kthanks ! and ftr ; most of their fans (and i mean FANS , not the teenies) are over 14 . got it ? good . seriously , hating them for the way they dress ? what are you , five ? i could go ON AND ON about what a pointless post this is , but i thibnk i`ve made my point . all the haters are either ignorant , or jealous . nuff said . and HELL YEAH i`m a jonas brothers fan . btw you screwed up the lyrics to paranoid , dumbass
just throwing all of this out there . copyright claim . you will be fined if you redistribute or steal
Oh dear, the dreaded 'engine malfunction' warning message has reappeared after a very long time on the Convers+ screen in my 2013 Ford Mondeo Titanium X 2.0 TDCi.
This engine malfunction warning message was accompanied by the engine going into Limp Home Mode (LHM) where maximum engine RPM is drastically cut with just enough power to get you home with the idea of preventing a roadside breakdown.
Also within the driver messages (but not shown here) was 'Transmission Limited Function' and 'Hill Assist Deactivated'. These generic messages will be unique to Ford PowerShift (automatic) variants once in limp home mode. These messages will disappear once LHM is cleared and/or the primary fault is rectified.
Note the generic yellow 'i' for information light to the left of the fuel gauge, the 'engine management' or 'check engine' warning light.
While these fault message(s) could be for endless reasons, from a corroded hardwire wiring loom connection, partially blocked or leaking diesel injectors, speed or ABS sensor, Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF), choked up Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve, DPF Vaporizer or a Lambda sensor problems and so on, the error codes will be logged within the engine control unit (ECU) ready to be plugged into a diagnostic machine thingy in order to hopefully identify the exact fault(s) and their locations.
Even a gunged up diesel fuel filter alone is enough to throw the ECU into LHM on a Ford Mondeo. I have had previous experience of this on an older 2007 Mondeo (see below).
The best thing to if these warning messages appear is to stop, switch the engine off, wait a minute or two and restart the car. In most scenarios this will reset the ECU, clear LHM and the other driver messages although these will still be logged in the ECU for diagnostic machine purposes. However it's highly likely LHM will reappear very quickly if the origin of the fault is not fixed.
After just over 3 and a half years of ownership and 186,000 miles driven from purchase, this is only the second 'engine malfunction' message I've encountered with my otherwise reliable Ford Mondeo. The first time was at 70,000 miles so I don't think it's done too badly.
The car was not worked at all for 107 days or even driven very far due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and I think that prolonged lay off and lack of use might have something to do with it.
This car under normal circumstances has a very hard life.
A tried and trusted diesel car fault favourite remedy is giving the engine a good thrash for 20 miles plus on a dual carriageway at over 2000 rpm and no higher than 4th gear if it's a manual. This is the clichéd giving the car a good clean out which will force a DPF 'regen' and does work in my experience.
www.flickr.com/photos/stuart166axe/tags/EA63LDJ/
My Ford Cortina Sierra Mondeo album flic.kr/s/aHsiXhTYna
My Taxi album flic.kr/s/aHsiSUugXW
My mother in law is in town and so we went to the hubby's work for lunch and thought I would change it up a bit. Give Kaylee the day off from her duties. Besides Yoda is so cute I just had to have him help out for this weeks shot.
I'm now in the home stretch, the beginning of my 3rd trimester. I gained 10 pounds in the past two weeks and it sure does show. I need to lay off the oreos and ice cream.
This is a manipulated photo for the Down Under Challenge Group.
Hear Elvis:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1Ond-OwgU8
Song copyright to the Elvis Presley
Corporation
Well, it's one for the money,
Two for the show,
Three to get ready,
Now go, cat, go. But don't you step on my blue suede shoes.
You can do anything but lay off of my Blue suede shoes.
Well, you can knock me down,
Step in my face,
Slander my name
All over the place.
Do anything that you want to do, but uh-uh,
Honey, lay off of my shoes
Don't you step on my Blue suede shoes.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes.
You can burn my house,
Steal my car,
Drink my liquor
From an old fruitjar.
Do anything that you want to do, but uh-uh,
Honey, lay off of my shoes
Don't you step on my blue suede shoes.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes.
The Science behind the emotion.
Q: Why don’t we forget how to ride a bike?
A: Theory holds several clues to support the oft-heard phrase “just like riding a bike.”
Riding a bicycle is what motor control experts tend to refer to as a “continuous task,” compared to discrete tasks with definite endings (like turning a key to start your car). Peter van Kan, kinesiology professor at UW-Madison, said research has laid out three reasons why bicycle riding feels like second nature.
Discrete tasks draw more on verbal and cognitive skills, while continuous tasks are written into a more reflexive mechanism in the mind. Continuous tasks also require — and are more likely to be given — more attention and time during the learning process, and thus become further ingrained.
“One way to look at it is a continuous task may incorporate many discrete actions,” van Kan said. “(While learning) a continuous task you have many more opportunities to accomplish the many discrete tasks.”
Most important, van Kan said, might be the way we judge bicycle riders. If you learn to ride a bicycle, but then stay out of the saddle for several years, your first few cranks of the pedals post-lay-off may not make you look like Lance Armstrong.
“You may be a little unstable at first,” van Kan said. “But very quickly, as you are repeating those many discrete tasks, you are renewing what you learned years before and you may quickly be stable and appear to be a good bicycle rider.”
Four members of the first batch of VC Class Volvo B10M/Caetano Algarve II dating from 1994 are seen resting during the Summer lay-off, VC1,7,8 and 13 are seen.
You can burn my house, you can steal my car
Drink my liquor from an old fruit jar
Do anything that you wanna do
But uh uh honey lay off of my shoes
But don't you, step on my blue suede shoes.
Well you can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes.
* Blue Suede Shoes*
E is for Elvis Presley
E de Elvis Presley
It feels like about 12 midnight and and I hear my youngest daughter, tickles aka Mayhem, stirring in cot, there was a little too much fun at the beach the day before and a bit too much heat for the little tacker which meant for a restless night - after 10 minutes of gerry's pro rocking and soothing skills she was back down for another round of sleep and i thought, 'sweet i gotta plenty of hours before my alarm goes off for my sunrise session' :)
However low and behold, what felt like literally 5 minutes and the alarm goes off and its 4:30 am.... damn...I lay there for several minutes contemplating whether the sunrise is gonna be worthwhile and whether I should get those extra 2 hours of sleep... as it happens, a few days before I had woken up early with the girls (chaos and mayhem) and we all watched the most spectacular sunrise I had ever seen, from the lounge room window :)
I dragged myself from the bed with my ninja sleath skills and promptly cracked my head on the door as trying to carry my camera bag out in the dark, but luck was on my side and tickles remained asleep.. well long enough for me to bail ;)
A short drive to Chinamans beach and i noticed the colour developing in the sky, awww man this means I am gonna have to run to get to my sunrise spot, with the camera bag on and the anti-spider equipment deployed I started a jog down to the beach...jeez..i should have layed off that crackling from christmas ;(
I love seascapes, i love sunrise, i do it all even in light of the lack of sleep and the pain of getting up and getting to a place.. the moment the suns colour develops and the morning starts it simply rejuvenates my soul. Standing alone with nothing but the sea washing up and the sound of peddles rolling in the surf there is a sense of calm and control about the world...
Have recently got back into drumming after a 13 year lay off (Retired) Now back playing with My mate & singer for The Varukers in a band called The Vile. Great band & great people. Already been to France twice & off to Italy later this month. Recording a full length CD next month for general release :)
Just bought this recent book on the late former Temptation Dennis Edwards
MEMORIES: The Amazing Life and Untimely Death of the Legendary Dennis Edwards Paperback – May 10, 2019
by Anthony Fuller (Author)
"Don't Look any Further!" This collection of memories has it all! Dennis' incredible highs, his professional
and personal lows, and everything in between. From Alabama, to Detroit, to Los Angeles, to St. Louis, and
finally to Chicago. The reader gets an inside look at Dennis' entire life, his loves, the people that
surrounded him, and his magical rise to Stardom!
YouTube biography on the late Dennis Edwards
The Dennis Edwards Story (The Temptations)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=acXtg3_aHWs
Biography
Dennis Edwards
Dennis Edwards Jr. (February 3, 1943 – February 1, 2018) was an American soul and R&B singer who was best known
as the frontman in The Temptations, on Motown Records. Edwards joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David
Ruffin and sang with the group from 1968 to 1976, 1980 to 1984 and 1987 to 1989. In the mid-1980s, he attempted
a solo career, scoring a hit in 1984 with "Don't Look Any Further" (featuring Siedah Garrett). Until his death,
Edwards was the lead singer of The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards, a Temptations splinter group.
Biography
Early years and career
Edwards was born in Fairfield, Alabama,[1] about eight miles from Birmingham, to Reverend Dennis Edwards Sr. He
began singing as a toddler, just two years old, in his father's church. The Edwards family moved to Detroit,
Michigan when Edwards was about ten years old, and Edwards would continue to sing in the church pastored by his
father, eventually becoming choir director.[2]
As a teenager, Edwards joined a gospel vocal group called The Mighty Clouds of Joy, and studied music at the
Detroit Conservatory of Music.[2] He was not allowed to sing or listen to secular music at home, and his mother
disapproved when he began pursuing a career singing rhythm and blues music.[2] In 1961 he organized his own
soul/jazz group, Dennis Edwards and the Fireballs.[3] In 1961,[4] Edwards recorded a single for the obscure
Detroit label, International Soulville Records, "I Didn't Have to (But I Did)" b/w "Johnnie on the Spot".[3]
Following time served in the US military, in 1966 Edwards auditioned for Detroit's Motown Records, where he was
signed but placed on retainer. Later that year, he was assigned to join The Contours after their lead singer,
Billy Gordon, fell ill.[2] In 1967, the Contours were the opening act for several Temptations concerts, and
Temptations members Eddie Kendricks and Otis Williams – who were considering replacing their own lead singer,
David Ruffin (who was a personal friend of Edwards[5]), took notice of Edwards and made his acquaintance.[2]
1967–1984: The Temptations years
Later in 1967, Edwards quit the Contours and was placed back on retainer.[2] He attempted to get a release from
his contract, as Holland–Dozier–Holland had promised to sign him to their new Invictus Records, but was drafted
in late June 1968 to join the Temptations, who had just fired Ruffin from the act.[2][6] Ruffin had tipped
Edwards off that he was being drafted as his replacement, which eased Edwards's conscience in replacing him.
[2][6][7]
The Temptations officially introduced Edwards on July 9, 1968 on stage in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. However,
Ruffin, who was attempting to make his way back into the group, crashed the stage during Edwards's lead vocal
on "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" to significant applause.[6] He continued similar stunts for about a month until,
according to Edwards, the group decided to lay-off Edwards — with the promise of a solo deal from Motown — and
rehire Ruffin.[6] When Ruffin failed to show for his return engagement in Gaithersburg, Maryland the next
night, Edwards was permanently kept on and the Temptations refused to entertain rehiring Ruffin any further.[6]
Edwards was the first singer to join the Temptations after their "Classic 5" period. With his rougher gospel-
hewn vocals, Edwards led the group through its psychedelic, funk, and disco periods, singing on hits such as
"Cloud Nine" (1968), "I Can't Get Next to You" (1969), "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)"
(1970), "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (1972), and "Shakey Ground" (1975), among others. Two of these songs, "Cloud
Nine" and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", won Grammy Awards.[3] During this time, Edwards was engaged to Yvonne
"Frankie" Gearing, the lead singer of Quiet Elegance, who toured with The Temptations as their backing group.
Edwards remained in the Temptations until being fired by Otis Williams in 1977 just before the group's
departure from Motown to Atlantic Records. After a failed attempt at a Motown solo career, Edwards rejoined the
Temptations in 1980, when they returned to Motown.[3] In 1982, Edwards got the chance to sing with Ruffin and
Eddie Kendricks as part of the Reunion album and tour. Edwards began missing shows and rehearsals, and was
replaced in 1984 by Ali-Ollie Woodson.[citation needed] In 1989, Edwards was inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame as a member of The Temptations.[8] Edwards was also inducted into Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame with
The Temptations in 2013.
1984–1990: Solo career
Motown re-launched Edwards's solo career, in 1984 with the hit single "Don't Look Any Further," a duet with
Siedah Garrett.[3] The album of the same name reached No. 2 on the R&B charts and included the radio singles
"(You're My) Aphrodisiac" and "Just Like You."[9] When problems arose between Woodson and the Temptations in
1987, Edwards was brought back once again.
He and the group recorded the album entitled “Together Again”, featuring the hit single “I Wonder Who She’s
Seeing Now”.
Edwards was again replaced by Woodson in 1989 after leaving the group for a third and final time.
1990–1994: Ruffin, Kendricks, and Edwards
Edwards toured and recorded with fellow ex- David Ruffin during the late 1980s as "Ruffin/Kendricks/Edwards,
former leads of The Temptations", although nothing was released.[3] The 1998 Street Gold DVD Original Leads of
the Temptations documents this historic period.[10] After the deaths of Ruffin (1991) and Kendricks (1992),
Edwards was forced to wrap up the project alone. In 1990, Dennis teamed up with Kendricks to release a
dance/club track for A&B Records entitled "Get It While It's Hot". The track was recorded at Fredrick Knight's
recording studio in the duo's old home town of Birmingham, Alabama; it was produced and engineered by house
music pioneer Alan Steward. The track created a lot of controversy, as it contained a short rap sequence which
did not sit very well with die-hard Temptations fans. Edwards's Don't Look Any Further: the Remix Album was
released in 1998, containing updated dance mixes and the original 1984 track.[citation needed]
The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards
During the 1990s, Edwards began touring under the name 'Dennis Edwards & the Temptations', prompting a legal
battle between himself and Otis Williams. It was decided that Edwards's group would be called The Temptations
Review featuring Dennis Edwards (this name remains extant). Edwards's group included Paul Williams Jr. (son of
original Temptations member Paul Williams), David Sea, Mike Patillo, and Chris Arnold.[citation needed] Edwards
was portrayed by Charles Ley in the 1998 biographical television mini-series The Temptations, though he was not
heavily focused upon, as the mini-series gave more attention to the Ruffin/Kendricks-era Temptations lineup.
[citation needed] The Temptations Review group was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame on October
4, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan, when Edwards was also given the Living Legend Award.[citation needed]
Personal life and death
Edwards had a relationship with singer Aretha Franklin, who stated he was the inspiration behind her 1972
R&B/Soul song Day Dreaming.[11] Edwards was briefly married to Ruth Pointer, whom he wed in Las Vegas in 1977.
[12] The couple had one daughter, Issa Pointer, who became a member of her mother's vocal group, The Pointer
Sisters. While in Detroit, Dennis and an unknown woman conceived his last daughter, Martika Edwards who still
lives in Detroit today and celebrates her fathers legacy. Edwards moved to Florissant, Missouri in the 1980s to
be closer to his mother.[13]
Edwards died in a Chicago hospital on February 1, 2018, two days before his 75th birthday. He had been battling
meningitis before his death.[14][15]
Discography
See also: The Temptations discography
Singles
YearSongPeak Chart Positions
USUS R&BUK
1968"I Didn't Have To (But I Did)"–––
1984"Don't Look Any Further"72245
"(You're My) Aphrodisiac"–18–
"Another Place in Time"–––
1985"Amanda"–77–
"Coolin' Out"–23–
Albums
YearAlbumPeak Chart Positions
USUS R&BUK
1984Don't Look Any Further–2–
1985Coolin' Out–36–
1993Talk to Me–––
References
Colurso, Mary (10-23-2012). Classic concert: Dennis Edwards back in Magic City with Temptations Review
(video), Ala.com; Retrieved February 17, 2013.
Meros, Tom. "Dennis Edwards (Interview)".
"Biography by Ron Wynn". Allmusic.com. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
"R&B Showcase Magazine Interview". Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
Ribowsky (2010), Ain't Too Proud to Beg, pp. 180–188.
Ribowsky, Mark (2010). Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations.
Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.ISBN 978-0-470-26117-0, pg. 184–187
Ribowsky (2010), pg. 187–188
List of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees
"Don't Look Any Further Album Archived September 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine; accessed March 12, FOLLOW
YOUNG MCNUGGET ON SOUNDCLOUD.COMcoolin'-out "Coolin' Out Album], msn.com; accessed March 12, 2015.
Profile: Ruffin, Kendricks and Edwards, streetgold.com; accessed March 12, 2015.
Gerren Keith Gaynor (February 2, 2018). "Throwback Clip: Aretha Franklin talks writing 'Day Dreaming' about
Dennis Edwards". The Grio. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
Shuler, Deadra (January 4, 2011). "Topically Yours: Dennis Edwards Interview (podcast)]". Rainbow
Soul/Blakeradio.com. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
"Legendary Temptations singer Dennis Edwards, of Florissant, dies at 74". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. February 3,
2018.
Edwards, Brad (February 2, 2018). "Dennis Edwards, Temptations Lead Singer, Dead At 74". CBS 2 Chicago.
Retrieved February 2, 2018.
Grow, Kory (February 2, 2018). "Temptations Former Lead Singer Dennis Edwards Dead at 74". Rolling Stone.
Retrieved February 2, 2018.
USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
History
United States
Name: USS Franklin D. Roosevelt
Namesake: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Builder: New York Naval Shipyard
Laid down: 1 December 1943
Launched: 29 April 1945
Commissioned: 27 October 1945
Decommissioned: 30 September 1977
Struck: 1 October 1977
Nickname(s):
"Swanky Franky"
"Foo-De-Roo"
"Rosie"
"Rusty Rosie"
Fate: Scrapped
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type: Midway-class aircraft carrier
Displacement: 45,000 tons
Length: 968 ft (295 m)
Beam: 113 ft (34 m)
Draft: 35 ft (11 m)
Speed: 33 kn (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Complement: 4,104 officers and men
Armament:
18 × 1 – 5"/54 caliber Mark 16 guns
21 × 4 – 40 mm Bofors /60 caliber guns
Aircraft carried: 137
USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB/CVA/CV-42) was the second of three Midway-class aircraft carriers. To her crew, she was known as "Swanky Franky," "Foo-De-Roo," or "Rosie," with the last nickname probably the most popular. Roosevelt spent most of her active deployed career operating in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the United States Sixth Fleet. The ship was decommissioned in 1977 and was scrapped shortly afterward.
Early career
Roosevelt at commissioning ceremonies in 1945
Franklin D. Roosevelt was laid down at New York Naval Shipyard on 1 December 1943. Sponsor Mrs. John H. Towers, wife of the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet, christened the ship Coral Sea at the 29 April 1945 launching. On 8 May 1945, President Harry S. Truman approved the Secretary of the Navy's recommendation to rename the ship Franklin D. Roosevelt in honor of the late president, who had died four weeks earlier.
Roosevelt was commissioned on Navy Day, 27 October 1945, at the New York Naval Shipyard. Capt. Apollo Soucek was the ship's first commanding officer. During her shakedown cruise, Roosevelt called at Rio de Janeiro from 1 to 11 February 1946 to represent the United States at the inauguration of Brazilian president Eurico Gaspar Dutra, who came aboard for a short cruise. During April and May, Roosevelt participated in Eighth Fleet maneuvers off the East Coast, the Navy's first major postwar training exercise.
On 21 July 1946, Roosevelt became the first American carrier to operate an all-jet aircraft under controlled conditions. Lieutenant Commander James Davidson, flying the McDonnell XFD-1 Phantom, made a series of successful take-offs and landings as Roosevelt lay off Cape Henry, Virginia.[1] Jet trials continued in November, when Lt. Col. Marion E. Carl, USMC, made two catapult launches, four unassisted take-offs, and five arrested landings in a Lockheed P-80A.
Fleet maneuvers and other training operations in the Caribbean preceded Roosevelt's first deployment to the Mediterranean, which lasted from August to October 1946. Roosevelt, flying the flag of Rear Admiral John H. Cassady, Commander, Carrier Division 1, led the U.S. Navy force that arrived in Piraeus on 5 September 1946.[2] This visit showed U.S. support for the pro-Western government of Greece, which was locked in a civil war with Communist insurgents. The ship received thousands of visitors during her calls to many Mediterranean ports.
Roosevelt returned to American waters and operated off the East Coast until July 1947, when she entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for an extensive overhaul. At that time, her quad 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns were replaced by 40 3-inch (76 mm) Mark 22 guns in Mark 33 twin mountings.
From September 1948 to January 1949, Roosevelt undertook a second tour of duty with U.S. Naval Forces, Mediterranean. In 1950, Roosevelt became the first carrier to take nuclear weapons to sea. In September and October 1952, she participated in Operation Mainbrace, the first major NATO exercise in the North Atlantic. Roosevelt operated with other major fleet units, including the aircraft carriers USS Midway, USS Wasp, and HMS Eagle, as well as the battleships USS Wisconsin and HMS Vanguard.
Roosevelt was reclassified CVA-42 on 1 October 1952. On 7 January 1954, she sailed for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to undergo extensive reconstruction. Too large to pass through the Panama Canal, Roosevelt rounded Cape Horn and arrived at the shipyard on 5 March. She was temporarily decommissioned there for her refit on 23 April 1954.
Roosevelt was the first of her class to undergo the SCB-110 reconstruction, at a cost of $48 million. She received an enclosed "hurricane bow," one C-11-2 and two C-11-1 steam catapults, strengthened arresting gear, an enlarged bridge, a mirror landing system, and a 482-foot (147 m) angled flight deck. SPS-8 height finding radar and SPS-12 air search radar were mounted on a new tubular mast. The aft elevator was relocated to the starboard deck edge, the forward elevator was enlarged, and all elevators were uprated to 75,000 lb (34,000 kg) capacity. Aviation fuel bunkerage was increased from 350,000 to 450,000 gallons (1,320,000 to 1,700,000 L). Standard displacement rose to 51,000 tons, while deep load displacement rose to 63,400 tons. As weight compensation, several of the 5-inch (127 mm) Mark 16 anti-aircraft guns were landed, leaving only 10, and the 3,200-ton armor belt was removed. Hull blisters were also added to cope with the increased weight. Roosevelt recommissioned on 6 April 1956.
After post-refit trials, Roosevelt sailed for her new homeport of Mayport, Florida. In February 1957, Roosevelt conducted cold weather tests of catapults, aircraft, and the Regulus guided missile, in the Gulf of Maine. In July, she sailed for the first of three consecutive Sixth Fleet deployments. Her assignments in the Mediterranean added NATO exercises to her normal schedule of major fleet operations, and found her entertaining a distinguished list of guests each year.
A-4 Skyhawk of VA-172 aboard Roosevelt during her only Vietnam deployment between August 1966 and February 1967
During a 1958 mid-year overhaul, the 22 remaining 3-inch (76 mm) guns were removed.
On 24 October 1958, Roosevelt supported USS Kleinsmith in the evacuation of 56 American citizens and three foreign nationals from Nicara, Cuba, as the Cuban Revolution came to a climax.
In late 1960, the Control Instrument Company installed the first production Fresnel Lens Optical Landing System (FLOLS) onboard Roosevelt. She recorded her 100,000th aircraft landing in March 1961. During a 1963 overhaul, six more 5-inch (127 mm) guns were removed.
While operating in the Eastern Mediterranean in the fall of 1964, Roosevelt lost a blade from one of her 20-ton propellers. She proceeded from Naples, Italy to New York with the number one shaft locked. After replacing the propeller at Bayonne, New Jersey, Roosevelt returned to the Mediterranean to complete her cruise.
From August 1966 to January 1967, Roosevelt made her only deployment to Southeast Asia, spending a total of 95 days "on the line." Her embarked airwing, Carrier Air Wing One, consisted mainly of F-4 Phantom IIs and A-4 Skyhawks. Roosevelt received one battle star for her service during the Vietnam War.
In January 1968, Italian actress Virna Lisi was invited by Roosevelt's crew to participate in the ship's 22nd birthday celebrations. Lisi helped prepare 5,000 T-bone steaks at a large cook-out staged on the flight deck.
Roosevelt was initially slated to undergo an extensive reconstruction (SCB 101.68) similar to that received by Midway from 1966 to 1970. This plan was derailed by massive cost overruns in Midway's reconstruction, which eventually totalled $202 million. Roosevelt was therefore limited to an austere $46 million refit, enabling her to operate the Grumman A-6 Intruder and LTV A-7 Corsair II.
In July 1968, Roosevelt entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for her 11-month modernization program. The forward centerline elevator was relocated to the starboard deck edge forward of the island, the port waist catapult was removed, the crew spaces were refurbished, and two of the four remaining 5-inch (127 mm) anti-aircraft turrets were removed. Roosevelt also received a deck edge spray system using the new seawater compatible fire-fighting chemical, Light Water. She put to sea again on 26 May 1969.
From 1 August 1969, Roosevelt embarked Carrier Air Wing Six, which served as the ship's air wing for the next seven cruises.[3] In January 1970, Roosevelt returned to the Mediterranean for another Sixth Fleet deployment.
Roosevelt's twenty-first Sixth Fleet deployment was marked by indirect participation in the October 1973 Yom Kippur War, as she served as a transit "landing field" for aircraft being delivered to Israel. The Roosevelt battlegroup, Task Force 60.2, also stood by for possible evacuation contingencies.
From 1973 through 1975, VAW-121 operated aboard Roosevelt as one of the last Grumman E-1 Tracer squadrons in the fleet. Roosevelt received a multipurpose designation, CV-42, on 30 June 1975, but she did not operate any anti-submarine aircraft. In June 1976, Roosevelt embarked VMA-231 with 14 AV-8A Harrier attack aircraft.
The ship embarked Carrier Air Wing Nineteen for its final deployment, which lasted from October 1976 to April 1977.[4] VMA-231 was on board for this deployment, which demonstrated that VTOL aircraft could be successfully and seamlessly integrated into fixed wing air operations. On 12 January 1977, Roosevelt collided with the Liberian grain freighter Oceanus while transiting the Strait of Messina. Both ships were able to proceed to port under their own power.
Decommissioning and disposal
By the late 1970s, Roosevelt was in poor material condition. Deprived of the upgrades that Midway and Coral Sea had received, Roosevelt was the least modern and least capable of the class. Furthermore, Roosevelt used General Electric turbines, which gave persistent problems and reduced speed compared to the Westinghouse units used on the other ships. The Navy therefore chose to decommission Roosevelt when the second Nimitz-class carrier, Dwight D. Eisenhower, entered service in 1977. Roosevelt completed her final cruise in April 1977. She was officially decommissioned on 30 September 1977. The decommissioning ceremony was held on 1 October 1977 and the ship was stricken from the Navy List on the same day. Efforts to preserve Roosevelt as a museum ship in New York City failed.
Roosevelt's generally poor condition weighed against retaining her in the reserve fleet. Moreover, her low hangar height of 17 feet 6 inches (5.33 m) limited the aircraft types that she could handle. It was reasoned that existing Essex-class aircraft carriers could handle the same types of aircraft at lower cost. Some admirals also feared that if Roosevelt were retained, the Carter Administration would use her reactivation as a reason to cancel future Nimitz-class carriers.
On 1 April 1978, the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service sold the ship to River Terminal Development Company for $2.1 million. After usable equipment was removed from Roosevelt at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard's Inactive Ships Facility, the carrier was towed to Kearny, New Jersey. She arrived on 3 May 1978 and was scrapped that year.
Now this was an odd little piece from Chevy, the SSR or Super Sport Roadster. Essentially, the SSR was built to compete with the likes of the Ford SVT Lightning, a supercharged version of their conventional Ford F-150. The SSR is similar in that it's powered by a 6.0L V8 engine, giving the car 395hp. Styling was largely influenced by the famous Advanced Design pickup trucks of the 1940's and 50's, being built onto the platform of the long wheelbase Chevy Trailblazer, but to be honest the connection between the two does strike me as rather vague.
Launched in 2003, the car went on sale for princely sum of $42,000, and sales in the first year were lukewarm at best, with only 9,000 cars sold by 2004. Eventually, lay-offs and labour disputes at the Lansing Craft Centre, where the SSR was built, resulted in the factory being shut down in 2006, spelling a premature end to the SSR.
In all, 24,150 SSR's were built, with only 24,112 being sold to customers. Today the SSR is cited as one of the most misguided ventures in motoring history, describing the car's styling as ugly, it's performance as unimpressive, and it's production an absolute shambles.
But for me there is something rather likeable about the SSR. Indeed it's not the prettiest car in the world, but for what it is as a small, versatile little pickup truck, I don't think it's as bad as many people make it out to be. I wouldn't exactly go out of my way to own one, but I can see what the attraction is. :)
Founded in 1872, The Boston Globe (and Boston Sunday Globe) is the most widely circulated daily newspaper in Boston and in New England, United States. In 2008 the Globe's average weekday circulation fell to 350,605, down from 382,503, or 8.3 percent. Sunday circulation fell 6.5 percent to 525,959.
The decline in circulation of the Globe mirrors the decline throughout the United States and the world with a few exceptions, such as India and China, where slight rises have been noted.
In addition to drops in circulation at the New York Times and Washington Post, circulation of such industry leaders as the Houston Chronicle, the Star-Ledger of Newark (New Jersey), the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Orange County Register and the Detroit News fell 10 percent or more. Many more newspapers are losing readership.
The rise of the Internet (The Christian Science Monitor is going to be an internet-only journal, for example) explains part of the problem for hard-copy newspapers. Tough economic conditions are also blamed, as well as a decline in analytical reading overall. Magazines are also losing readership.
According to my source at Globe, they are laying off people and cutting back on their costs (such as closing down business in two of their three buildings). The source tells me that it is like a "Skeleton Crew" working now at the Globe offices...many of whom are employed to deal with technology and the internet.
sources:
wiki
www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/business/media/28circ.html?_r=1
www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?v...
www.usatoday.com/money/media/2008-08-29-newspapers-in-dec...
www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/28/decline-of-us-newspapers-ac...
I broke my main camera on Saturday and my computer has been acting wonky for the past few days. Not a good time for my two most important pieces of nerd equipment to go down, but I do like the sound of a D700 and a MacBook Pro...
So I feel a little blue. Not as blue as AS is pretending to be here, but pretty blue.
* I processed this photo on a different computer, and as you can tell it is not calibrated. Yikes. So lay off on the saturation comments. I am well aware.
Strobist Information:
Monoblock in XL Octobox camera left
Monoblock in L Octobox high above model
Monoblock in XL silk panel camera right
* Flashwaves Triggers
** I'll update with the name of the strobes when I find the set up shots
Okay there's a little story behind this musical instrument; isn't there always? LOL.
When I was about 15 years old, which is more years ago than I care to remember, I had done something to displease my father who decided my punishment should be a 2 week grounding [not that that was the term for it in those days!]. One evening, a couple of days into the punishment, my father came home and handed me this mandolin harp and announced that I could now spend the punishment days learning to play it. I like to think it was his way of telling me that he thought he had been a bit harsh but wasn't about to back down.
Suffice to say I did have to stay in for the full 14 days, but regrettably never learnt to play this instrument which was well out of tune when I got it. Much later in life I found an old clock key worked on the tuning keys and did get it tuned up but alas I still haven't managed to learn how to play it.
I think it is quite old as the inscription label inside the sound box reads " Guitar Columbia Zither - Mandolin Harp - Finest Quality - Made in Saxony". It is quite beautifully decorated as you can see from the image in the comments below.
Anyway it is my submission for Macro Mondays' weekly theme "Musical Instruments" which I am pleased to be getting back to after a bit of an enforced lay off attending to other non-photographic issues.
HMM to all who view & if you also take the time & trouble to comment / fave it then I thank you most sincerely in advance. :>)
The Oakland Oaks were a minor league baseball team in Oakland, California that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 through 1955, after which the club transferred to Vancouver, British Columbia. The team was named for the city and used the oak tree and the acorn as its symbols.
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Jack Flater
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right • Throws: Right
5' 10", 175 lbs
Born: September 22, 1883 in Sandymount, MD
Died: March 20, 1970 (Aged 86) in Westminster, MD
Buried: Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Sandymount, MD
Debut: September 18, 1908 (Age 24)
vs. SLB 8.0 IP, 10 H, 1 SO, 1 BB, 0 ER, L
Last Game: October 3, 1908 (Age 25)
vs. BOS 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 SO, 2 BB, 0 ER, W
Full Name: John William Flater
Link to his minor league stats - www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=flater...
John William Flater (b. September 22, 1883 – d. March 20, 1970 at age 86) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics just at the end of the 1908 season (September 18 – October 3). The 5 right-hander was a native of Sandymount, Maryland.
Flater pitched in five games for the Athletics. He hurled complete games in all three of his starting assignments, and he finished two other games in relief. He pitched much better than his 1–3 record would indicate. In 39.1 innings he allowed only 49 baserunners (35 hits, 12 walks, and 2 hit batsmen), and just 9 of the 15 runs that scored against him were earned runs. His ERA was an excellent 2.06. He was pitching for a team, however, that won 68 games, lost 85, and made 272 errors, including 3 by Flater himself. The games he lost were by scores of 2–1, 3–2, and 5–4.
Four of his famous teammates on the Athletics were future Hall of Famers Chief Bender, Eddie Collins, Jimmy Collins, and Eddie Plank.
Flater died at the age of 87 in Westminster, Maryland, and is buried in nearby Sandymount, Maryland.
Jack Flater compiled a minor league career batting average of .226 with 1 home run in his 291-game career with the Albany Senators, Utica Pent-Ups, Williamsport Champions, Newark Indians, Oakland Oaks and Los Angeles Angels. He began playing during the 1903 season and last took the field during the 1912 campaign. He won 45 and lost 40 games from 1908 to 1912.
(Sporting Life, 25 July 1903) - Albany has signed pitcher Flater, late of the Baltimore Club, and has released pitcher Arthur I. Goodwin. (The baseball records do not show it but he pitched for the Baltimore Orioles in the Eastern League for the first few months of the 1903 season)
(Sporting Life, 12 March 1904) - John Flater awarded to the Albany Club. After playing with Baltimore for about two weeks in April and early May the player was given a written notice of release, and at that time signed a 1904 contract with Baltimore. He joined the Albany Club, July 14, playing with that club to the finish of the season; was duly reserved and signed a 1904 contract with Albany. Baltimore failed to reserve Flater. The Board ruled that player must be given an unconditional release or carried on club's pay-roll; to do otherwise would create confusion and encourage a violation of "farming" rule.
(Sporting Life, 5 October 1907) - Pitcher Flater, of Utica, may join the Philadelphia Athletics this week. This would give the Athletics another Southern player. He lives at Westminster, Md.
(Sporting Life, 13 June 1908) - Pitcher Flater, of Williamsport, is suffering from several broken ribs, the result of getting in the road of one of Jack Emerson's fast benders.
(Sporting Life, 8 May 1909) - During the past week Manager Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics reduced his pitching staff by one member, turning Flater, last year with Williamsport, over to Newark.
(Sporting Life, 15 May 1909) - MONTREAL AT NEWARK MAY 3.— Pitcher Jack Flater recently purchased from the Philadelphia Athletics, made his bow in Eastern League company by shutting out the Montreals. Four scattered hits, in as many innings, were all the Royals could get. He also fielded his position in superb style. Score: Newark 2 - Montreal 0.
(Sporting Life, 12 March 1910) - Jack Flater who pitched for Utica several seasons ago, has signed a Newark contract.
(San Francisco Call, 11 May 1911) - Jack Flater, the new pitcher of the Oakland club, is due to arrive here Saturday and in all probability will work against the Seals in the coming series. The newcomer has an excellent record and should prove a tower of strength to the team. He was an old sidekicker of Wolverton. When Harry was with Williamsport Flater won 35 games and lost but 15. Last year he started with Newark, but his arm went back on him and he was forced to lay off. Now he has regained his old time speed and will be of great help to the pitching staff.
(San Francisco Call, 18 May 1911) - Jack Flater, a New Arrival, Pitches and Bats His Team Into a Tie With Seals - Plater, the Oaks' latest acquisition in the hurling department, lost but little time in making himself a prime favorite with those who are always for a winner. Just off the train from the east, the new Oak was shoved into the game yesterday by Manager Wolverton to show what he could do, and his work was 100 proof with a double seal. Not alone did the new arrival -distinguish himself in the hurling line, but he proved to be a swatter of no mean ability by busting the show up in the tenth, when he biffed the pellet up against the left field fence and, shoved Hetling across with the winning run.
(San Francisco Call, 22 June 1911) - BEAVERS LOSE FIRST GAME TO THE OAKS - Jack Flater Keeps the Champions Guessing and Wolverton's Bad Boy Makes a Homer - The Oaks came right back at the Beavers yesterday, and more than evened it up for their defeat on the previous afternoon. The transbay team gave the leaders one of the finest wallopings of the season, and never left the result in doubt at any time. They took an early lead, and kept increasing their advantage right along, until the finish was 8 to I. On the other hand, Flater, the man who depends upon salivated slants to bewilder his victims, had them hypnotized throughout and they were bowing before the Oak flinger, as an English flunkey bows to his lord. Flater was right. He tossed one of those games that marked his debut in the Coast league and there was not a time during the affray when he was threatened with annihilation. Flater had their number and they kept going to the plate and then back to the bench with monotonous regularity.
(The San Francisco Call, February 01, 1912) - John Flater, who pitched in and out ball last season, but who showed a lot at times, has also sent in his contract. He is a big fellow and a great future is before him. He had a fine spitter, and figures to have a winning season with the Oakland Oaks this year.
(Sporting News, 30 March 1912) - The Oakland Club has traded pitcher Flater to Los Angeles for shortstop Bert Delmas.
(San Francisco Call, 3 May 1912) - Bert Delmas Will Lead New Modesto Nine - Bert Delmas, the former Los Angeles shortstop, who was traded to the Oakland club at tho end of the season for John Flater, but failed to report to the Oaks, has squared himself with organized baseball and Ed Walters, president of the Oakland club.
(Morning Oregonian, July 30, 1912) - FLATER WILL BE RELEASED - Angel Pitcher Obtained From Oaks Has Weak Arm. LOS ANGELES, Cal., July 29. (Special.) "Jack" Flater, the right-hand pitcher whom the Angels procured from Oakland the first part of this season, is slated for release, according to reports today. The release of Flater practically closes the famous Delmas case so far as the Angels are concerned. Bert Delmas, who for five years played short for the Angels, turned outlaw this Spring. Delmas said he would not play with the Angels any more and the Oakland club traded back Flater to Los Angeles, Delmas giving them cause to believe that he would join the northern team. Delmas never joined them and he now is managing the Modesto outlaws. Flater came south, but his arm was In bad shape. The wing had been painted with a heavy coat of iodine and the ligaments in his arm were dried up. He has not been in the best of shape for a year.
(Sacramento Union, 1 August 1912) - Managers Hogan of Vernon, and Berry of Los Angeles swung the big axe vigorously last night and as a result four players were released outright. The Los Angeles management let Pitcher Jack Flater go. It was stated the men were taken from the payrolls because of President Baum’s ruling that no team in the Pacific Coast league could carry more than twenty-one players.
Niblet weighs approximately 10 1/2 ounces and measures about 10 inches from head to heel. Her taste buds are developing, so she can actually taste whatever I'm eating. So I should lay off the spicy foods? Kid is also starting to develop meconium - the black tar she'll poop out right after birth. Yummy.
Heart rate is 144-146 beats per minute. Midwife says we're doing swimmingly, says things couldn't be better. I weigh 139 pounds - the heaviest I've been in my entire life. That's a 14 pound gain so far. All for a good cause...
This was Miss P's first shoot with us after a long break. Rather than being a little rusty she jumped in with both feet and seemed to have improved during the lay off. Absence makes the heart grow fonder?
The former Taylor and Boggis Foundry at 2441-2469 E. 71st Street in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.
Taylor & Boggis was founded in 1868 and was Cleveland's oldest foundry. It manufactured machine, metal, and wood patterns and specialized in grey iron castings. Gray iron is a type of cast iron that has a graphitic microstructure. It is the most common cast iron.
In 1919, Taylor & Boggis, Columbian Hardware, and Republic Structural Iron Works merged to form the Consolidated Iron-Steel Manufacturing Co.
The Taylor & Boggis plant was originally located on Central Street (now W. 3rd Street) between Ohio Avenue (now Central Avenue) and Stone's Levee. It moved to a new plant at E. 55th Street and Bellford Avenue in 1911, and then purchased the former Cleveland Brass & Copper Co. plant on Babbitt Road in Euclid, Ohio, in 1932.
The Ohio Foundry Co. was formed in 1893. In 1906, it built a 50,000-square-foot plant on E. 71st Street between Quincy and Woodland Avenues. The plant included a 60 by 300 foot finishing plant and a 160 by 250 foot foundry plant. The general contractor was George Caunter & Son, with masonry work provided by C.L. Briggs and structural steel by Interstate Engineering Co.
Consolidated purchased Ohio Foundry in 1958, and renamed the E. 71st Street plant for Taylor & Boggis. This became known as "Plant No. 2", while the Babbitt Road facility was "Plant No. 1".
Consolidated spun off Taylor & Boggis Foundry to a management buy-out team consisting of Frank Gill (president of Artisan Patterns and Engineering), Joseph Hanks Jr. (a vice president of Consolidated and plant number two manager), and Ernest Thomas (plant number two superintendent) in 1961. They in turn sold their company to Oglebay Norton in 1969.
Oglebay Norton spun off the foundry in 1993 as a separate company. It took the name "T&B Foundry".
T&B Foundry shuttered its operations in 2012, laying off 100 workers. The eight-acre site was sold to developer J. Duncan Shorey in 2015, who planned to renovate the building. He proposed builidng a fish farm in the basement, adding a farmer's market on the first floor, putting a cooking school on the second, adding artists' studios to the third, and using the remaining floors as a computer server farm. The adjacent acreage would be turned into an orchard.
Nothing has happened since then.
This is a shot of Tower Bridge in London that I took over two years ago in September 2008.
Got to get some kind of plug-in to remove the lens distortion. You can really see it here with the lamp stand and the tower leaning towards each other, and the railing being bowed like that.
I've been around on Flickr, but I have only been visiting streams and commenting. I haven't been posting. Haven't really had the time to process much for myself. Things at work have been busy - we had another round of lay-offs on top of that (took place on Thursday), and I've been working on some shots from someone who wanted them changed (new backgrounds, filtering, etc.) so that's eaten up most of my time. But after I saw my last post was on September 19 I realized I had to process and post something as that was so long ago! Hopefully life will quiet down a bit, though it's showing no signs of it.
Have a great weekend everyone!
German postcard by Franz Josef Rüdel, Filmpostkartenverlag, Hamburg, no. 5132. Photo: Constantin / Seitz / Klaus. Heintje and Hansi Kraus in Hurra, die Schule brennt - Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank IV. Teil/Hurrah, the School Is Burning (Werner Jacobs, 1969).
Dutch singer and actor Hein Simons (1955) was a famous child star in the 1960s under the name Heintje. He sang in Dutch, English, German, Japanese and Afrikaans, and he sold more than 40 million records worldwide. His greatest hit was Mama. Between 1968 and 1971 he also starred in six German light entertainment films, of which one became surprisingly popular in Red China.
Hendrik (Hein) Nicolaas Theodoor Simons was born in Kerkrade-Bleijerheide, in the south of the Netherlands, in 1955. Heintje was discovered after a talent contest in the Dutch town of Schaesberg by Addy Kleijngeld, a producer of the CNR record company. Kleijngeld went on to compose and record all his hit songs - mostly together with the German producer Wolfgang Roloff. Heintje’s first hit was Mama (1967), a Dutch version of the evergreen sung in the 1940’s by opera tenor Beniamino Gigli. It became a success in the Netherlands and a German version was produced for the German countries. In 1968 Mama reached the #2 position in the German hitparade. Heintje’s next German record, Du sollst nicht weinen (You should not cry) (1968), even became #1. Other huge hits soon followed as the # 1 hit in Germany ánd the Netherlands Ich bau' dir ein Schloss (I’ll build you a castle) (1968), Heidschi bumbeidschi (1968) – another # 1 in both Germany and the Netherlands, Ich sing ein Lied für dich (I sing you a song) (1969) – another # 1 in Germany, the Dutch song Ik hou van Holland (I love Holland) (1970), the English song I'm your little boy (1970) and another Dutch song Jij bent de allerbeste (You are the best) (1971). In 1971, Heintje started a USA tour with 10 shows. He received 45 Golden records all over the world (at the time the award for 250,000 sold records in Europe and for 1 million records in Great-Britain) and a dozen Platinum records. Worldwide he sold more than 40 million records.
Between 1968 and 1971, Heintje appeared in six German films. His first film was Zum Teufel mit der Penne/To Hell with School (Werner Jacobs, 1968) with Peter Alexander and Theo Lingen. This comedy was the second of the Lümmel film series (6 in total), stuffy but harmless farces in which young students and other youths dissociate themselves from the older generation. Heintje played a supporting role and sang his hit Mama. In the following years he starred in three sentimental Heintje-films opposite Heinz Reincke and Ralf Wolter: Heintje – ein Herz geht auf Reisen/Heintje: A Heart Goes on a Journey (Werner Jacobs, 1969), Heintje – einmal wird die Sonne wieder scheinen/Heintje: Once the Sun Will Be Shining Again (Hans Heinrich, 1970) with Paul Dahlke, and Heintje – mein bester Freund/Heintje: My Best Friend (Werner Jacobs, 1970) with Corny Collins. Heintje – ein Herz geht auf Reisen was awarded a Golden Screen in Germany for more than 3,000,000 attendances within 12 months. With subtitles the Heintje films were shown all over the world. Surprisingly, the film became also popular in communist China in the early 1980s. On IMDb, Zhengyu Sun comments: “In the West, this film may be easily neglected as time goes by. But amazingly, Heintje would definitely be crowned as one of the memorable western films on Chinese screen even from today's perspective. Although filmed in 1960s, the film wasn't available in Red China until earlier 1980s. When the film was introduced, it was given a Chinese title, Handsome Boy. Actually, Heintje conforms with Chinese traditional values to great extend, such as parental and grandparental love, the theme of the harmonious family, the main character's righteous and courageous virtue. All of which seem pretty familiar and quite acceptable to the Chinese point of view. What's more, the songs performed by little Heintje Simons also contributed a lot to the popularity of the film in China. Without any exaggerating, the film is a household name among those middle-aged and well-educated.” Heintje also appeared - now in starring roles –in two more Lümmel farces, Hurra, die Schule brennt/Hurrah, the School is Burning (Werner Jacobs, 1969) and Morgen fällt die Schule aus/No School Tomorrow (Werner Jacobs, 1971), his final film.
When Heintje was 16, the inevitable happened: his voice changed. His last hit in the Netherlands was Meine Liebe für dich (My love for you) (1972). He continued to be quite popular in Germany, but couldn’t lay off his image as a former child star. In 1975, he made two LP’s with songs in Afrikaans, which were quite successful in South-Africa. His performances in the state of apartheid lead to some criticism in his home country though. As a young adult, he tried to make a come-back in the Netherlands with the song Und das alles nur weil wir uns lieben (And that's just because we love each other) (1978), but it only became a modest success. He also tried several come-backs in the German speaking regions, and in 1995 he even recorded a techno version of his first hit Mama. Nowadays Hein Simons resides with his family on a horse ranch in Neu-Moresnet, a part of the city of Kelmis in the east of Belgium. In 1981, he married Doris Uhl, and they have three children, Pascal (1982), Gina (1989) and Hendrik (1992). Hein Simons still performs and records regularly.
Sources: International Hein Simons Website, Zhengyu Sun (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Tiësto - Ten Seconds Before Sunrise
Forte Prenestino covers eight hectares south-east of Rome. Originally built a century ago as a military base, the Forte was abandoned in the sixties like so many of Italy's public buildings in this time of property speculation and public corruption. When a group of mostly young people from the neighbourhood decided to occupy the Forte on May Day almost twenty years ago, they were inspired not by the legacy of Togliatti - the Italian communist leader who effortlessly blended stalinism and social democracy - but by a determination to establish and extend a radical, self-managed alternative to the marginalisation which life on the city fringes offered."All of a sudden, we were inside, 'running' the place - we who had never managed anything except our unemployment, our homelessness", they later commented wryly. "Many people are convinced that the Forte is run by just a handful of people, a management committee that makes decisions in the name of and on behalf of everyone else. Such people simply can't conceive - whether for reasons of ideology or cynicism - that a micro-society of equal persons can survive and prosper..."Today Forte Prenestino plays an important role in its local community. It houses an exhibition gallery, practice rooms for bands, space for theatrical performances, a dark room, gymnasium, and cafe. Classes are held, there are regular film nights, courses on design and sculpture, and a documentation centre. Outside Rome, the Forte is best known for its music label, featuring local rap and reggae bands. It also produces the journal Nessuna Dipendenza, which documents the Forte's activities and engages in political discussion and debate.Forte Prenestino is one of about fourteen 'Occupied Self-Managed Social Centres' (CSOA) in Rome. There are about hundred or so CSOA elsewhere in Italy - it's hard to be precise, as any given week brings news of a new site or two established, or an old one evicted. Their origins go back to the mid-seventies, a time when the extra-parliamentary left played an important part in Italian youth culture. Even then, the CSOA were often established in reaction to the growing conservatism and authoritarianism of such groups, whether these be the little parties formed after the Hot Autumn of 1969, or the apparently more radical collectives known as Autonomia Operaia (Workers' Autonomy).By the end of the seventies, the organised far left had largely been smashed, caught between extensive State repression on the one hand, and a flight into private life or terrorism on the other. In industry, a decade-long battle for control over working conditions came to an end, with the massive 1980 lay-offs at FIAT flagging an impending victory for managerial prerogative throughout Italy.The CSOA that survived the chaos of those years eked out their existence during the early and mid-eighties as bastions of an 'alternative lifestyle'. 'Transgressive' identities - from those associated with punk music, to more traditional anarchist or autonomist politics - played a central role in holding many of the remaining social centres together, in the face of an Italy where opportunism, fear and cynicism apparently reigned supreme.
The late eighties onwards have confounded many of the glib arguments that class war in Italy is over, or that the future has been reduced to a choice of 'Export or death'.Beginning in 1987 among school teachers and railway staff, a growing dissatisfaction with the inability of existing unions to defend pay and conditions has spread to other sections of the workforce, creating a small but lively current of rank and file groups and 'alternative' unions pledged to direct action and self-organisation. Unrest among school and university students has brought a similar cycle of mass action since 1990, with occupations 'under self-management' a frequent occurence.Much of this activity has fed into the revival of the social centres in the nineties. As dozens of abandoned buildings have been seized up and down the Italian peninsula, the social and political identity of the CSOA has become richer, more complex
Pictures from the Vanarama National League North clash at Broadhurst Park between FC United of Manchester and Darlington.
The game finished in a hard fought 3-2 victory for Darlo. who were 2-0 up inside 27 minutes.
Hardy opended the scoring for the visitors latching onto a superb ball from Thompson before slipping the ball past the advancing keeper.
Quakers went two-up on 27 minutes but it should have been more as thye spurned a host of chnaces. Liam Marrs’ free-kick was headed down by Mark Beck for Hardy to lay off in turn for Thompson to fire across Frith.
Against the run of play United pulled a goal back on 42 minutes when Jason Gilchrist spotted Jameson off his line, and chipped the ball over the keeper followed by an equaliser on 66 minutes from Thomson.
A draw looked on the cards however with 10 minutes left subsititute Cartman cleverly found Purewal with an overhead kick for his fellow sub to charge up the left. His ball to the far post was blocked, but it came back out to Cartman, who struck a low shot that took a deflection and beat the keeper to make it 3-2. Darlo were able to weather a late storm to secure all 3 points!
I managed to capture the arrival of newly-overhauled DMS19 at BK after its original spell at BN from new. No garage code or blinds have been added at this point. Next door from L to R is DMS546, 322 (transferred from PM the previous year after a lengthy lay-off), 552, 1620 (out of service) and 1626.
*** Retouched 31/03/2023
Copyright myself
This picture of an old abandoned Detroit Public School sort of sums up the whole "lack of an exit plan" problem with closing schools here in Detroit, laying off teachers with no plans for reassignment, etc. I understand the idea behind a decrease in population, etc here in Detroit facilitating the requirement of reducing the number of schools, etc. The only plan I have seen for the schools that have closed or are to be closed is a) they sit abandoned for a few years b) they sit abandoned for a few years full of materials that other schools could have used or c) they get demolished and have no plans for the land after the demolition. Sort of how the teachers get treated too. Hmmm..... I notice a trend here.
Now this was an odd little piece from Chevy, the SSR or Super Sport Roadster. Essentially, the SSR was built to compete with the likes of the Ford SVT Lightning, a supercharged version of their conventional Ford F-150. The SSR is similar in that it's powered by a 6.0L V8 engine, giving the car 395hp. Styling was largely influenced by the famous Advanced Design pickup trucks of the 1940's and 50's, being built onto the platform of the long wheelbase Chevy Trailblazer, but to be honest the connection between the two does strike me as rather vague.
Launched in 2003, the car went on sale for princely sum of $42,000, and sales in the first year were lukewarm at best, with only 9,000 cars sold by 2004. Eventually, lay-offs and labour disputes at the Lansing Craft Centre, where the SSR was built, resulted in the factory being shut down in 2006, spelling a premature end to the SSR.
In all, 24,150 SSR's were built, with only 24,112 being sold to customers. Today the SSR is cited as one of the most misguided ventures in motoring history, describing the car's styling as ugly, it's performance as unimpressive, and it's production an absolute shambles.
But for me there is something rather likeable about the SSR. Indeed it's not the prettiest car in the world, but for what it is as a small, versatile little pickup truck, I don't think it's as bad as many people make it out to be. I wouldn't exactly go out of my way to own one, but I can see what the attraction is. :)
≈ Just another crappy image made from my stolen photo...
using McCain of all the bloody people.... damn ≈
OK.. this is what I have to say about the whole thing.....
the moment that I spent with my grandmother, as she held the framed vintage image of her mother as a young woman in her hands was so very powerful & moving... that image "Mother and Child"
was made with tri-x film... shot in natural light with my Nikon F2 or maybe my FM2...
anyway
it was made on Cape Cod in the late summer... it was a moment
from my life this was real & so the photo is imbued with this deep
feeling from my heart...
I shared it on flickr
Three years later It was stolen & used in a disrespectful way on a cheep internet site without my permission
It was made in a different time than the time when it was taken from me & made into a joke...
The photo was made in 1999 or so.... long ago..
is it now "old skool" to respect others?
is it out of style to do the right thing?
it seems that in many ways we have come to this
in so many... many ways...
since this image was made, we as a nation have been dragged
through the muck of our own sick dream of the world.. as deep values
and kind ways of seeing the world crumble around us all
and as the tools get smarter, culture has turned into a big joke...
web weirdoes stealing images & making a mockery of them...
never an understanding & no respect for the creator/artist who dreamed & made the images in the first place
biotech companies stealing the information to so many life forms
to try to copyright them and own nature, even change it's perfect design
it is a time when lives and dignity have been stolen from the poor...
the poor ....many who are slaves... real slaves...
the poor children... the murdered & poor women in Mexico... India... Africa
the world over
the War in Iraq that needs to end!
as we tune in to "The Real Housewives of Orange County"....
"Rock of Love"... "What Not to Wear"... "Extream Makeover" and such....
as the magazines spit out creepier & creepier
celebrity images... our senses are dulled...
how can we address these things?
Real life things like real slaves... on this planet NOW....
slaves who harvest our foods...little girls in cages in India made to do 30 to 40 sex acts a day & murdered girls from factories in Mexico who
make the things we buy at Wall-mart or Sam's Club that break too soon...
all that plastic crap that we don't need
made in China & shipped all over this dying planet...
in this time of the stolen economies... of addiction to oil & plastic &
to porno ....to war & greed
in this time of lay offs & break ins...
it all boils down the same thing... it is the EGO...
lies & EGO... of taking... of taking beauty.. of taking art..
of taking women
of taking the earth...
it is separation
and it is wrong
it is a time NOW to stop all of the lies...
all the taking.... for we will just be stuck with all this taking...
STUCK... I tell you, this I know...taking gets you stuck!
it is time to be kind & good & true & just STOP...
Being Fake is Lame not caring about this planet & the people on it, is a crime.
≈ STOP TAKING MY ART & OTHERS ART 2 ≈
that is what I think.
PEACE • PAX • Paz... Beauty • Truth & Art
Ford was launched in a converted factory in 1902 with $31,000 in cash (approximately US$704 thousand, adjusted for inflation) from twelve investors, most notably John and Horace Dodge, who would later found the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle Company. Henry Ford was 40 years old when he founded the Ford Motor Company, which would go on to become one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world, as well as being one of the few to survive the Great Depression. The largest family-controlled company in the world, the Ford Motor Company has been in continuous family control for over 100 years.
During its early years, the company produced a range of vehicles designated, chronologically, from the Ford Model A (1903) to the Model K and Model S (Ford's last right-hand steering model)[1] of 1907.[2] The K, Ford's first six-cylinder model, was knows as "the gentleman's roadster" and "the silent cyclone", and sold for US$2800 (approximately US$65.4 thousand, adjusted for inflation);[3] by contrast, around that time, the Enger 40 was priced at US$2000,[4] the Colt Runabout US$1500,[5] the high-volume Oldsmobile Runabout[6] US$650, Western's Gale Model A US$500,[7] and the Success hit the amazingly low US$250 (approximately US$5.84 thousand, adjusted for inflation).[8]
The next year, Henry Ford introduced the Model T. Earlier models were produced at a rate of only a few a day at a rented factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, with groups of two or three men working on each car from components made to order by other companies (what would come to be called an "assembled car"). The first Model Ts were built at the Piquette Road Manufacturing Plant, the first company-owned factory. In its first full year of production, 1909, about 18,000 Model Ts were built. As demand for the car grew, the company moved production to the much larger Highland Park Plant, and in 1911, the first year of operation there, 69,762[9] Model Ts were produced, with 170,211 in 1912.[10] By 1913, the company had developed all of the basic techniques of the assembly line and mass production. Ford introduced the world's first moving assembly line that year, which reduced chassis assembly time from 12½ hours in October to 2 hours 40 minutes (and ultimately 1 hour, 33 minutes),[11] and boosted annual output to 202,667 units that year[12] After a Ford ad promised profit-sharing if sales hit 300,000 between August 1914 and August 1915,[13] sales in 1914 hit 308,162, and 501,462 in 1915;[14] by 1920, production would exceed one million a year.
These innovations were hard on employees, and turnover of workers was very high, while increased productivity actually reduced labor demand.[15] Turnover meant delays and extra costs of training, and use of slow workers. In January 1914, Ford solved the employee turnover problem by doubling pay to $5 a day, cutting shifts from nine hours to an eight hour day for a 5 day work week (which also increased sales; a line worker could buy a T with less than four months' pay),[16] and instituting hiring practices that identified the best workers, including disabled people considered unemployable by other firms.[17] Employee turnover plunged, productivity soared, and with it, the cost per vehicle plummeted. Ford cut prices again and again and invented the system of franchised dealers who were loyal to his brand name. Wall Street had criticized Ford's generous labor practices when he began paying workers enough to buy the products they made.[18]
Ford assembly line (1913)
While Ford attained international status in 1904 with the founding of Ford of Canada, it was in 1911 the company began to rapidly expand overseas, with the opening of assembly plants in England and France, followed by Denmark (1923), Germany (1925), Austria (1925),[19] and Argentina (1925),[20] and also in South Africa (1924)[21] and Australia (1925) as subsidiaries of Ford of Canada due to preferential tariff rules for Commonwealth countries. By the end of 1919, Ford was producing 50 percent of all cars in the United States, and 40% of all British ones;[22] by 1920, half of all cars in the U.S. were Model Ts. (The low price also killed the cyclecar in the U.S.)[23] The assembly line transformed the industry; soon, companies without it risked bankruptcy. Of 200 U.S. car makers in 1920, only 17 were left in 1940.[24]
It also transformed technology. Henry Ford is reported to have said, "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black." Before the assembly line, Ts had been available in a variety of colors, including red, blue, and green, but not black. Now, paint had become a production bottleneck; only Japan Black dried quickly enough, and not until Duco lacquer appeared in 1926 would other colors reappear on the T.[25]
In 1915, Henry Ford went on a peace mission to Europe aboard a ship, joining other pacifists in efforts to stop World War I. This led to an increase in his personal popularity. Ford would subsequently go on to support the war effort with the Model T becoming the underpinnings for Allied military vehicles.
[edit] History of the blue oval
The Ford oval trademark was first introduced in 1907. The 1928 Model A was the first vehicle to sport an early version of the Ford script in the oval badge. The dark blue background of the oval is known to designers as Pantone 294C. The Ford script is credited to Childe Harold Wills, Ford's first chief engineer and designer. He created a script in 1903 based on the one he used for his business cards. Today, the oval has evolved into a perfect oval with a width-to-height ratio of 8:3. The current Centennial Oval was introduced on June 17, 2003 as part of the 100th anniversary of Ford Motor Company.[26]
[edit] Post-World War I developments
In 1919, Edsel Ford succeeded his father as president of the company, although Henry still kept a hand in management. Although prices were kept low through highly efficient engineering, the company used an old-fashioned personalized management system, and neglected consumer demand for improved vehicles. So, while four wheel brakes were invented by Arrol-Johnson (and were used on the 1909 Argyll),[27] they did not appear on a Ford until 1927. (To be fair, Chevrolet waited until 1928.)[28] Ford steadily lost market share to GM and Chrysler, as these and other domestic and foreign competitors began offering fresher automobiles with more innovative features and luxury options. GM had a range of models from relatively cheap to luxury, tapping all price points in the spectrum, while less wealthy people purchased used Model Ts. The competitors also opened up new markets by extending credit for purchases, so consumers could buy these expensive automobiles with monthly payments. Ford initially resisted this approach, insisting such debts would ultimately hurt the consumer and the general economy. Ford eventually relented and started offering the same terms in December 1927, when Ford unveiled the redesigned Model A, and retired the Model T after producing 15 million units.
[edit] Lincoln Motor Company
On February 4, 1922 Ford expanded its reach into the luxury auto market through its acquisition of the Lincoln Motor Company, named for Abraham Lincoln whom Henry Ford admired, but Henry M. Leland had named the company in 1917. The Mercury division was established in 1938 to serve the mid-price auto market.[29] Ford Motor Company built the largest museum of American History in 1928, The Henry Ford.
Henry Ford would go on to acquire Abraham Lincoln's chair, which he was assassinated in, from the owners of the Ford Theatre. Abraham Lincoln's chair would be displayed along with John F. Kennedy's Lincoln limousine in the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn, known today as The Henry Ford. Kennedy's limousine was leased to the White House by Ford.
[edit] Fordlândia
Main article: Fordlândia
In 1928, Henry Ford negotiated a deal with the government of Brazil for a plot of land in the Amazon Rainforest. There, Ford attempted to cultivate rubber for use in the company's automobiles. After considerable labor unrest, social experimentation, and a failure to produce rubber, and after the invention of synthetic rubber, the settlement was sold in 1945 and abandoned.
[edit] The Great Depression
During the great depression, Ford in common with other manufacturers, responded to the collapse in motor sales by reducing the scale of their operations and laying off workers. By 1932, the unemployment rate in Detroit had risen to 30%[30] with thousands of families facing real hardship. Although Ford did assist a small number of distressed families with loans and parcels of land to work, the majority of the thousands of unskilled workers who were laid off were left to cope on their own. However, Henry Ford angered many by making public statements that the unemployed should do more to find work for themselves.
This led to Detroit’s Unemployed Council organizing the Ford Hunger March. On March 7, 1932 some 3,000 - 5,000 unemployed workers assembled in West Detroit to march on Ford's River Rouge plant to deliver a petition demanding more support. As the march moved up Miller Road and approached Gate 3 the protest turned ugly. The police fired tear gas into the crowd and fire trucks were used to soak the protesters with icy water. When the protesters responded by throwing rocks, the violence escalated rapidly and culminated in the police and plant security guards firing live rounds through the gates of the plant at the unarmed protesters. Four men were killed outright and a fifth died later in hospital. Up to 60 more were seriously injured.[31]
[edit] Soviet Fords and the Gorki
In May 1929 the Soviet Union signed an agreement with the Ford Motor Company. Under its terms, the Soviets agreed to purchase $13 million worth of automobiles and parts, while Ford agreed to give technical assistance until 1938 to construct an integrated automobile-manufacturing plant at Nizhny Novgorod. Many American engineers and skilled auto workers moved to the Soviet Union to work on the plant and its production lines, which was named Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (GAZ), or Gorki Automotive Plant in 1932. A few American workers stayed on after the plant's completion, and eventually became victims of Stalin's Great Terror, either shot[32] or exiled to Soviet gulags.[33] In 1933, the Soviets completed construction on a production line for the Ford Model-A passenger car, called the GAZ-A, and a light truck, the GAZ-AA. Both these Ford models were immediately adopted for military use. By the late 1930s production at Gorki was 80,000-90,000 "Russian Ford" vehicles per year. With its original Ford-designed vehicles supplemented by imports and domestic copies of imported equipment, the Gorki operations eventually produced a range of automobiles, trucks, and military vehicles.
[edit] World War II
President Franklin Roosevelt referred to Detroit as the "Arsenal of Democracy." The Ford Motor Company played a pivotal role in the allied victory during World War I and World War II. As a pacifist, Henry Ford had said war was a waste of time, and did not want to profit from it. He was concerned the Nazis during the 1930s might nationalize his factories in Germany. During the Great Depression Ford's wages may have seemed great to his employees but many of the rules of the factories were very harsh and strict. Those were tense times for American companies doing business in Europe. In the spring of 1939, the Nazis assumed day to day control of Ford factories in Germany.
With Europe under siege, Henry Ford's genius would be turned to mass production for the war effort. After Bantam invented the Jeep, the War Department handed production over to Ford and Willys. When Consolidated Aircraft could at most build one B-24 Liberator a day, Ford would show the world how to produce one an hour, at a peak of 600 per month in 24 hour shifts. The specially-designed Willow Run plant broke ground in April 1941. At the time, it was the largest assembly line in the world, with over 3,500,000 square feet (330,000 m2) under one roof. Edsel Ford, under severe stress, died in the Spring of 1943 of stomach cancer, prompting his grieving father to resume day-to-day control of Ford. Mass production of the B-24 began by August 1943. Many pilots slept on cots waiting for takeoff as B-24s rolled off the line.[34]
In the United Kingdom, Ford built a new factory in Trafford Park, Manchester during WW2 where over 34,000 Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engines were completed by a workforce trained from scratch.
[edit] Post-World War II developments
At the behest of Edsel Ford's widow Eleanor and Henry's wife Clara, Henry Ford would make his oldest grandson, Henry Ford II, President of Ford Motor Company.
A Ford Taurus, one of Ford's best-selling models. In its 21 year lifespan, it sold 7,000,000 units. It is the 4th best selling car in Ford's history, behind only the F-150, the Model T, and the Mustang.
Henry Ford II served as President from 1945–1960, and as Chairman and CEO from 1960–1980. "Hank the Deuce" led Ford to become a publicly traded corporation in 1956. However, the Ford family maintains about 40 percent controlling interest in the company, through a series of Special Class B preferred stocks.
In 1947, Henry Ford died. According to A&E Biography, an estimated 7 million people mourned his death.
Ernest R. Breech was hired in 1946 and became the Executive Vice President. Then later became Board Chairman in 1955.
In 1946, Robert McNamara joined Ford Motor Company as manager of planning and financial analysis. He advanced rapidly through a series of top-level management positions to the presidency of Ford on 9 November 1960, one day after John F. Kennedy's election. The first company head selected outside the Ford family, McNamara had gained the favor of Henry Ford II, and had aided in Ford's expansion and success in the postwar period. Less than five weeks after becoming president at Ford, he accepted Kennedy's invitation to join his cabinet, as Secretary of Defense.
In the 1950s, Ford introduced the iconic Thunderbird in 1955 and the Edsel brand automobile line in 1958. Edsel was cancelled after less than 27 months in the marketplace in November 1960. The corporation bounced back from the failure of the Edsel by introducing its compact Ford Falcon in 1960 and the Mustang in 1964. By 1967, Ford of Europe was established.
Lee Iacocca was involved with the design of several successful Ford automobiles, most notably the Ford Mustang. He was also the "moving force," as one court put it, behind the notorious Ford Pinto. He promoted other ideas which did not reach the marketplace as Ford products. Eventually, he became the president of the Ford Motor Company, but he clashed with Henry Ford II and ultimately, on July 13, 1978, he was famously fired by Henry II, despite Ford posting a $2.2 billion dollar profit for the year. In 1979 Philip Caldwell became Chairman, succeeded in 1985 by Donald Petersen.
Harold Poling served as Chairman and CEO from 1990-1993. Alex Trotman was Chairman and CEO from 1993-1998, and Jacques Nasser served at the helm from 1999-2001. Henry Ford's great-grandson, William Clay Ford Jr., is the company's current Chairman of the Board and was CEO until September 5, 2006, when he named Alan Mulally from Boeing as his successor. As of 2006, the Ford family owns about 5 percent of Ford's shares and controls about 40 percent of the voting power through a separate class of stock.[35]
In December 2006, Ford announced that it would mortgage all assets, including factories and equipment, office property, intellectual property (patents and trademarks), and its stakes in subsidiaries, to raise $23.4 billion in cash. The secured credit line is expected to finance product development during the restructuring through 2009, as the company expects to burn through $17 billion in cash before turning a profit. The action was unprecedented in the company's 103 year history.
I have been laying off photography a bit recently, but tonight I broke out the camera and took some photos of my daughter in front of the tree. We had this idea to hold up her ornament from this year, and I was pretty happy with the results. I wanted the focus on the ornament with 2 layers of blurred depth.
Every year each of kids get a new ornament which is added to the assortment on the tree. This year it was Christmas snow globes. Always a great event for our kids to kick off the season when they get to open their first wrapped gift of the ornaments.
Jonathan Kennard's return to racing after a long lay-off was nothing short of sensational, bagging 2nd and 3rd places in the two FIA Masters Historic F1 races in the Arrows A3.
Highland Park High School / Junior College / Career Academy
In many ways, the histories of Detroit and Highland Park – a separate city located within the borders of Detroit –are very similar. Both cities experienced tremendous growth as a result of the automobile industry, and built up their city services to meet demand. Both cities lost population after the auto industry left. And today, both cities are struggling with how to provide the same city services to fewer people with less tax revenue. Budget cuts have led to the closure of most of Highland Park’s fire stations, libraries, and schools.
A three-block stretch of Highland Street running west from Woodward Avenue was one the civic center of the city. Along Highland and nearby streets were five schools, three churches, two hospitals, and the main library, mixed in with ornate high-rise apartment buildings. In this densely populated neighborhood one could be born, baptized, attend nursery school, elementary school, high school, and college, all without going more than three blocks in any direction. Right at the center of the neighborhood is the old Highland Park High School and Junior College, a block-long slab of quarry-faced limestone that played an important role in the development of Highland Park from an obscure village into an industrial boomtown.
Early days in Highland Park
In 1900, Highland Park was just a small village north of Detroit, population 427. Through the early 1900’s, the city grew as Detroit developed north along Woodward Avenue, spurring residential development. In 1907, Henry Ford began to move his automobile production from the Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit to a new, much larger factory located in Highland Park. The factory opened in 1909; a year later the population of Highland Park had risen to 4,120 as workers quickly built up neighborhoods around the Ford plant.
Like other early school districts, Highland Park Schools taught from Kindergarten to the 8th grade level, at which point young adults were expected to join the workforce. Starting in 1911, high school courses were introduced, with 42 students enrolled in 9th and 10th grade levels at Stevens Elementary, then moved to the new Ferris School when it opened in November. The next year 11th and 12th grades were introduced. Demand for higher education was enough that by 1912, plans were underway to build a dedicated high school building.
Building a new high school
Initially the board of education wanted to build the new high school east of Woodward Avenue, at Farrand and John R Streets, but instead settled a large rectangular parcel of land along Glendale Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Though the high school would take up only a small part of the land, school officials wanted additional space to expand the school if needed. Excavation at the site began as the first high school class of 14 students graduated from Ferris School in 1913. In 1914, a contract for construction of the new building designed by Wells D. Butterfield was awarded for $460,000. It could comfortably seat 1,000 students, though it was believed that it would be quite a few years before the school reached capacity.
The first unit of Highland Park High School was of English type architecture, laid out with a central mass three stories tall, with two end wings linked by classrooms. The east wing had a 1,100-seat auditorium, and the west wing featured a three-story gymnasium and basement swimming pool. In the center were school offices, a library, and recitation rooms. The exterior was done up in quarry-faced gray limestone, with mouldings and detail work of dressed Bedford stone. Inside the school were long hallways of Caen stone and ornamental carved oak. Dedicated classrooms included sewing, carpentry, machine tooling, botany, chemistry, and drawing.
The cornerstone was laid down in October of 1914. Construction on the high school had progressed far enough that by June of 1915, the auditorium was used for graduation as work on the rest of the building continued. The new building was scheduled to formally open in September, but even before then school administrators were facing an unanticipated problem: overcrowding.
Expansion
Between 1910 and 1916, the population of Highland Park grew from 4,100 to 28,000. By 1920 there would be 46,500 residents, a staggering 1,000% increase in population over just 10 years. Workers from across the globe were drawn to Detroit and Highland Park in particular, by the Ford factory and its promise of a $5 a day wage. The assembly line had revolutionized the way that cars were made, and in doing so, made Highland Park the center of the automotive revolution. The school board found itself with hundreds of new students every year, requiring hasty additions to existing school buildings, and the construction of new schools in neighborhoods that were springing up around town.
By the time Highland Park High School opened in September of 1915, enrollment far exceeded expectations, with 850 students signing up. In 1916, just a year after it opened, that number grew to over 1,000 high school students, filling the school to capacity. Plans for a second unit of the high school for 1,500 additional students to be built next to the first were immediately drawn up, with construction beginning in 1917.
Though the second unit of the high school used identical building materials and same English styling as the first, it was laid out differently. Initially the second unit was intended to be a high school for girls and a junior college, and was built with its own separate gymnasium and swimming pool. Instead of a second auditorium, a larger library and additional classrooms were set aside for a junior college program that would share the building with the girl’s high school. The new high school for girls opened in September of 1918, with a total enrollment of 1,525 students. Highland Park Junior College opened in 1918 as well, with 35 students. Course offerings included French, rhetoric, history, chemistry, zoology, and analytic geometry.
Within a few years the two high school programs merged and became co-ed. In 1927, a vocational education building including an automobile repair lab was built to south of the school, connected by an overhead walkway. A further addition to the vocational wing was added in 1938, and the auditorium was renovated in 1939. The high school thrived, with as many as 3,000 students and a host of extracurricular activities, including athletics, homemaking, and a school radio station.
Great Depression, Second World War
Enrollment at Highland Park Junior College steadily increased to around 300 students by the 1920’s, but slowed in the aftermath of the Great Depression. Lack of adequate space and a drop in the number of students to 159 in 1929 nearly led to the closure of college, but the residents of Highland Park voted to keep it open. This paid off in the long run, as after the Second World War ended enrollment skyrocketed from 117 in 1943 to 1,800 in 1947 as veterans returning to Highland Park used the GI bill to pay for college education.
By the 1940’s, population in Highland Park had peaked. Ford had moved auto production out of Highland Park to a new factory in the suburbs in 1927, and moved its headquarters to Dearborn in 1930. The construction of freeways made it easier for people to live outside the city, hastening an outward flight or residents to the suburbs. The racial composition of Highland Park changed as well. By 1968, over half of the 4,488 students were black, while teachers and administrators were mostly white. Sit-ins protesting the lack of diversity in the school administration were frequent in 1969.
The high school moves out
As part of a district-wide modernization program, several older schools in Highland Park were demolished and replaced with newer buildings in the 1950’s and 60’s. A nursery school was built on the south side of the campus in 1950, and an elementary school was built a block south in 1961. Plans for a new, modern high school to be built north on Woodward Avenue were drawn up in the early 1970’s, which would replace the existing school. The junior college (now a community college) would take over the entire building and expand its vocational offerings.
Construction on the new building was already underway when on the evening of March 18th 1975, a large fire broke out in the gymnasium of the old high school. Stacks of rolled-up wrestling mats were set alight as a practical joke, but the blaze quickly spread out of control, causing the roof and floor to cave into the basement swimming pool. The fire burned for over five hours as firefighters from Highland Park, Detroit, and Hamtramck struggled to contain it to just the gymnasium. While smoke and water damage throughout the high school were repaired fairly quickly, repairing the gymnasium was estimated to cost over $600,000. Since the high school was moving out in the near future, athletics were moved over to the community college building, which had its own pool and gymnasium. In 1977, the new Highland Park Community High School on Woodward Avenue opened, and the community college took over the Glendale campus. A temporary roof was built over the shell of the burned-out gymnasium, as administrators struggled with what to do next.
Not wishing to demolish the handsome limestone façade of the gym, the wing sat empty until 1983, when the community college approached Bloomfield Hills landscape architect James Scott about reusing the space. Scott envisioned turning the empty hall into a “multi-purpose concourse” and performing arts space, linking the two units together. Within a few days his ideas went from sketches to planning, and work began a short time later. The swimming pool, into which burning debris from above had been dumped, was covered by a new floor and sealed off. The open area above was a mix of the old and new, retaining the limestone wall of the adjacent gym, but incorporating modern styling throughout. Hexagons were the dominant theme, with planters turning the concourse into a green space. Work on the renovation concluded in 1985. In the years after the space was used for concerts, special events, and art galleries.
Community college struggles
Though enrollment at Highland Park Community College was 2,000 to 3,000 through most of the 1980’s, the college operated at a deficit that had grown to $1.4 million dollars by 1989. In an effort to save money, school administrators cut the LPN and respiratory therapy programs, sparking a four-day sit in strike by students. Though the administration reverses its decision, the financial situation continued to deteriorate, with accusations of rampant misuse of funds. After missing two consecutive annual audits, Michigan Governer John Engler began to withhold state funding for the college, as investigators report that Highland Park Community College “had the worst facilities of any community college in the state.”
In February of 1995, Governor Engler announced that all funding for the college would be stripped from the budget due to chronic financial and academic problems, stating, “Though the college has a long and distinguished tradition, it has become apparent that it is no longer an economically viable institution." Local representatives fought hard to keep the school open, arguing that it was making progress in fixing its financial situation and that the loss of the school would be devastating to Highland Park’s troubled economy. By December of 1995 the college had run out of money, and closed down.
Highland Park Career Academy, Final Years
The immediate impact of the closing of Highland Park Community College was that students were stranded in mid-study, some just a semester away from graduation. Though other nearby colleges tried to accommodate students, many never finished their studies, and walked away from secondary education. While elected officials fought to get funding restored, the school reopened as the Highland Park Career Academy, offering an alternative high school program and vocational training for students and young adults in the fields of nursing, dental hygiene, and auto repair. In 2001, the Ford Motor Company opened an automotive training center in the vocational education building, complete with demonstration cars.
Highland Park City Schools steadily lost students through the 2000’s, with K-12 enrollment falling to 2,700 by 2008 as students were lured away to other nearby school districts. As schools were funded by the state on a per pupil basis, this led to a major revenue shortfall for Highland Park. On January 23rd, 2009 the school board shut down the career academy with no official notification to parents, laying off 36 teachers to close the budget gap. Students were again left in the lurch with the cancellation of their programs, with few options for continuing their studies elsewhere. and leaving students stranded in mid-study. Only seniors were allowed to stay at the school until the end of the school year, with the remaining students to attend night school at Highland Park Community High School. However, the first scheduled night of classes was canceled without explanation. Most students dropped out, and the building closed for good in the summer of 2009.
For over 90 years, the old high school and college had been the center of Highland Park’s education system. By the time the school closed, the neighborhood and city around it had changed considerably. Ferris School and the hospitals closed in the 1990’s, along with the main library in 2002. The nursery school closed permanently in 2005. Most of the apartment buildings along Glendale and Highland had been vacated years ago, leaving large gaps in the fabric of the neighborhood. In the end, the closing of the career academy wound up costing the school district a large amount of funding, as students dropped out or left for other school districts. With just 969 students enrolled in 2012, the state of Michigan declared a financial emergency, and the Highland Park City Schools were taken over by a state emergency financial manager, who converted the district into a privately operated charter school system.
The new charter school operator found that the three remaining school buildings – Highland Park Community High, Ford, and Barber – were in terrible disrepair, and required proximately expensive work to be brought up to standards. In early 2012, school officials started looking at consolidating all of the schools into one K-12 as a way to save money. One alternative discussed was the reopening of the old high school and college building, which was large enough to support all of the students left in the district. The emergency manager visited the closed building in February to see if it would viable to reopen.
Since its closing in 2009, the old high school and college had been frozen in time, with little more than security and routine maintenance being carried out in its empty halls and classrooms. Though fairly secure for a few years, when the state took over the Highland Park City Schools, patrols at the closed building had been discontinued, leaving the school briefly open to scrappers and metal thieves. In the short time between the state takeover and the resumption of security at the school, scrappers had done enough damage to make reopening the school cost prohibitive. The plan was abandoned in favor of letting the three remaining schools stay open.
In the years since, scrappers and vandals have dismantled the old Highland Park High School. When the local Police department set up two non-working squad cars in the back of the building to deter people from entering, the cars were vandalized and removed less than a month later. In October of 2012 the windows of the school were boarded up, but by that time the damage had been done. The property was put up for sale with an asking price of $3 million dollars.
Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad NW2 9216 and crew at Naperville, Illinois on November 7, 1963, photograph by Chuck Zeiler. This was the westbound East End Way Freight with a five man crew, but one gentleman decided he didn't want his picture taken. The only name I know for sure is Fred Huntley, the gentleman in the lower left striking up an Engineer's pose. I believe the Fireman was Norm Herrington, the gentleman with the black hat. This locomotive was built in May 1941 (c/n 1297) on EMD Order E376, an order for 15 pre-war NW2's (9205-9219). It became BN 513 and was retired in June 1982.
A note from Bob Campbell, The conductor is to the right of the coupler, and his name is Harley Peshia. And yes, that is Norm Herrington. When he was severed (layed off) in 1964, he left the railroad for good, never to return to the CB&Q as several others did in later years The Brakeman on the cab steps is Don "Spike" Burand..
July 24, 2013
St Johnsbury, Vt
Stephen Huneck (October 8, 1948 in Columbus, Ohio – January 7, 2010 in Littleton, New Hampshire)[1] was an American wood carving artist, furniture maker, painter, and author. Most of his artwork is composed of carvings of dogs. In addition to carvings, Huneck also wrote several children's books, the main character of which was his black Labrador Retriever, Sally.[2] Huneck was originally from Sudbury, Massachusetts.[3]
Before becoming an artist, Huneck lived for several years at Quarry Hill Creative Center, Rochester, Vermont, where he began to work in wood. He then became an antiques dealer.[4] He was discovered in 1984 when he found a man pulling one of his carvings, an angel, out of the back of Huneck's pick-up truck. The man asked how much he wanted for the angel. Not intending to sell it and believing that the man wouldn't pay such a high price, Huneck told him that he wanted $1,000. The man revealed himself to be an art dealer from Manhattan and paid Huneck the money.[5] Pieces of Huneck's artwork are in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the Dog Museum of America and the American Kennel Club.[5] Huneck received commissions for works from celebrities and politicians, including Sandra Bullock, Dr. Phil McGraw, and US Senator Patrick Leahy.[3] Much of the basswood, cherry, maple and pine he worked with came from his farm.
In 1997, after a near death experience with acute respiratory distress syndrome, Huneck started work building a chapel dedicated to dogs.[3] The Dog Chapel, which took three years to complete, is situated next to his studio in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.[6] In addition to standard human sized doors, the chapel also has a dog door, carved wooden dogs lining the pews and dog themed stained glass windows. The inner walls are covered with remembrance notes and pictures of visitors' deceased canine pets.[2]
Each year, Huneck and his wife, Gwen, held two gatherings known as the Dog Party and Dog Fest at his Dog Mountain studio.[7] People brought their dogs for a day of relaxation. Contests were held for categories such as loudest bark, biggest/smallest dog, best dog kiss, etc. The dogs were let off their leashes and allowed to run free and play with other dogs.
Huneck was despondent over having to lay off employees in January 2010 and had been dealing with depression.[8] On January 7, 2010, after driving to a psychiatrist's office in Littleton, New Hampshire, Huneck shot himself and died.[9] He was 61 years old.[9] After her husband's death, Gwen Huneck was the head of Dog Mountain until her death three and a half years later.[7]
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An entry for the Challenge Group 115 pictures in 2015 No.57 - Food from Fiction.
I didn't have a clue what to do for this topic so got onto Google and found this with the link to South Park and I also found the recipe, so these are ones we made - delicious!
Cheesy Poofs were first mentioned in the Season One pilot episode, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", when Eric Cartman ate them while watching television. They were also the first words in English that Starvin' Marvin learns in the ninth episode of the season. Cartman auditioned for the chance to sing the Cheesy Poofs Theme Song in a Cheesy Poofs advertisement in the Season Two episode, "Roger Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods", but his lines were cut leaving only the last word of the song saying "Lame".
Beginning in Season Three, the show began to evolve and Cheesy Poofs were rarely seen. In the Season Ten episode, "Cartoon Wars Part I", Cartman used Cheesy Poofs as a diversion to cause Kyle Broflovski to run off the road while they were riding big wheels on the highway. They were seen in Season Eleven episode, "Guitar Queer-O" during the first party scene. Their most recent appearance was in the Season Fifteen episode, "A History Channel Thanksgiving", in which Cartman was eating them while not doing his share of the boys' school assignment.
According to a script for South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Cheesy Poofs are from Canada; this is another factor for Cartman joining La Resistance. However, this aspect of the film was never animated, so the information is likely non-canonical.
Real Cheesy Poofs
Comedy Central has released Cheesy Poofs to stores for limited edition at least twice - in 1998 at their website, and in 2011, they teamed up with Frito-Lay to release repackaged Cheetos Puffs under the name as part of Year of the Fan at the San Diego Comic Con, and later for two weeks in September at Wal-Mart stores.
Taken with my Canon EOS 7D and Canon EF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens, and framed in Photoshop.
Better viewed in light box - click on the image or press 'L' on your keyboard.
German postard by Franz Josef Rüdel, Filmpostkartenverlag, Hamburg, no. 4825. Photo: Ariola / Unfried.
Dutch singer and actor Hein Simons (1955) was a famous child star in the 1960s under the name Heintje. He sang in Dutch, English, German, Japanese and Afrikaans, and he sold more than 40 million records worldwide. His greatest hit was Mama. Between 1968 and 1971 he also starred in six German light entertainment films, of which one became surprisingly popular in Red China.
Hendrik (Hein) Nicolaas Theodoor Simons was born in Kerkrade-Bleijerheide, in the south of the Netherlands, in 1955. Heintje was discovered after a talent contest in the Dutch town of Schaesberg by Addy Kleijngeld, a producer of the CNR record company. Kleijngeld went on to compose and record all his hit songs - mostly together with the German producer Wolfgang Roloff. Heintje’s first hit was Mama (1967), a Dutch version of the evergreen sung in the 1940’s by opera tenor Beniamino Gigli. It became a success in the Netherlands and a German version was produced for the German countries. In 1968 Mama reached the #2 position in the German hitparade. Heintje’s next German record, Du sollst nicht weinen (You should not cry) (1968), even became #1. Other huge hits soon followed as the # 1 hit in Germany ánd the Netherlands Ich bau' dir ein Schloss (I’ll build you a castle) (1968), Heidschi bumbeidschi (1968) – another # 1 in both Germany and the Netherlands, Ich sing ein Lied für dich (I sing you a song) (1969) – another # 1 in Germany, the Dutch song Ik hou van Holland (I love Holland) (1970), the English song I'm your little boy (1970) and another Dutch song Jij bent de allerbeste (You are the best) (1971). In 1971, Heintje started a USA tour with 10 shows. He received 45 Golden records all over the world (at the time the award for 250,000 sold records in Europe and for 1 million records in Great-Britain) and a dozen Platinum records. Worldwide he sold more than 40 million records.
Between 1968 and 1971, Heintje appeared in six German films. His first film was Zum Teufel mit der Penne/To Hell with School (Werner Jacobs, 1968) with Peter Alexander and Theo Lingen. This comedy was the second of the Lümmel film series (6 in total), stuffy but harmless farces in which young students and other youths dissociate themselves from the older generation. Heintje played a supporting role and sang his hit Mama. In the following years he starred in three sentimental Heintje-films opposite Heinz Reincke and Ralf Wolter: Heintje – ein Herz geht auf Reisen/Heintje: A Heart Goes on a Journey (Werner Jacobs, 1969), Heintje – einmal wird die Sonne wieder scheinen/Heintje: Once the Sun Will Be Shining Again (Hans Heinrich, 1970) with Paul Dahlke, and Heintje – mein bester Freund/Heintje: My Best Friend (Werner Jacobs, 1970) with Corny Collins. Heintje – ein Herz geht auf Reisen was awarded a Golden Screen in Germany for more than 3,000,000 attendances within 12 months. With subtitles the Heintje films were shown all over the world. Surprisingly, the film became also popular in communist China in the early 1980s. On IMDb, Zhengyu Sun comments: “In the West, this film may be easily neglected as time goes by. But amazingly, Heintje would definitely be crowned as one of the memorable western films on Chinese screen even from today's perspective. Although filmed in 1960s, the film wasn't available in Red China until earlier 1980s. When the film was introduced, it was given a Chinese title, Handsome Boy. Actually, Heintje conforms with Chinese traditional values to great extend, such as parental and grandparental love, the theme of the harmonious family, the main character's righteous and courageous virtue. All of which seem pretty familiar and quite acceptable to the Chinese point of view. What's more, the songs performed by little Heintje Simons also contributed a lot to the popularity of the film in China. Without any exaggerating, the film is a household name among those middle-aged and well-educated.” Heintje also appeared - now in starring roles –in two more Lümmel farces, Hurra, die Schule brennt/Hurrah, the School is Burning (Werner Jacobs, 1969) and Morgen fällt die Schule aus/No School Tomorrow (Werner Jacobs, 1971), his final film.
When Heintje was 16, the inevitable happened: his voice changed. His last hit in the Netherlands was Meine Liebe für dich (My love for you) (1972). He continued to be quite popular in Germany, but couldn’t lay off his image as a former child star. In 1975, he made two LP’s with songs in Afrikaans, which were quite successful in South-Africa. His performances in the state of apartheid lead to some criticism in his home country though. As a young adult, he tried to make a come-back in the Netherlands with the song Und das alles nur weil wir uns lieben (And that's just because we love each other) (1978), but it only became a modest success. He also tried several come-backs in the German speaking regions, and in 1995 he even recorded a techno version of his first hit Mama. Nowadays Hein Simons resides with his family on a horse ranch in Neu-Moresnet, a part of the city of Kelmis in the east of Belgium. In 1981, he married Doris Uhl, and they have three children, Pascal (1982), Gina (1989) and Hendrik (1992). Hein Simons still performs and records regularly.
Sources: International Hein Simons Website, Zhengyu Sun (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
I was hoping that my trip down to Athens would allow me two visits in a row when I wasn't tear gassed and up till late in the afternoon of Tuesday it seemed that was exactly what was going to happen. Despite the massive crowds that turned up in Syntagma Square to mark the visit of German chancellor, Angela Merkel the mood of the people was peaceful if not calm.
Despite draconian security measures which included a ban on any form of gathering or assembly along the planned route from Athens airport to the centre between 60,000 and 80,000 turned up to voice their anger and frustration not only with EU - IMF imposed austerity but also their own corrupt government coalition.
As the day wore on groups of stone throwing youths started their ritualised attacks on the riot police units that had lined the square. It's hard to express the surrealistic nature if such clashes as they seem to serve little purpose with both sides acting out a pre-arranged script which they've failed to share with the rest of us. To add to the sense of the unreal the small army of photographers and camera operators present gave the scene the feel of some alternative sports match.
Of course, the tear gas and the chunks of marble which often filled the air were real enough and at one point I was forced to retreat as I had not brought any protection. Fearing the possibility that I'd be stopped by the police I'd left my gas mask at home rather than face a day in police custody while they checked out my ID.
At any point the police could have used their overwhelming force to clear the place in just a few minutes, but instead they chose to play a bizarre game of cat and mouse with masked protesters. Even when they managed to catch someone the crowds immediately swarmed around them hurling every kind of vile insult in the Greek language to show just what they thought of them.
True to form the Greek police managed to foul up their image once more, this time by using a woman detainee as a human shield against stone throwers in a narrow back street, an action which ensured the story went global.
Later on, like children bored of playing the same old game for hours on end the police entered Syntagma Square in force using batons, pepper spray and tear gas to clear the area, once gain using their doctrine of casual brutality in the name of restoring public order.
The same absurdist script was also playing out for the cameras in the streets behind parliament as Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras and Angela Merkel strolled through the tree lined streets on the way to a joint press conference. I assume the images were intended to show that contrary to foreign press reports the PM could walk freely in public without fear of attack.
What the TV pictures did not show were the seven water canons parked just up the road and 1000's of heavily armed riot police that separated the leaders from the seething demonstrator in Syntagma. With security measures as tight as these even Barack Obama could happily spend a carefree morning window shopping in down town Kabul or Baghdad.
It hard to fathom what was the point of the whole expensive exercise since Merkel said little of substance and merely repeated her position that Greece needed to stick to the terms of the bailout deal and press ahead with yet more tax hikes, public spending cuts and lay offs. Instead of strengthening Samaras's position within Greece's shaky coalition government, Merkel underlined just how little real power Greece's political leadership has in its negotiations with the EU/IMF/ECB troika.
On the other hand the hardware stores in Monestiraki which do a roaring trade in improvised gas masks and marble wholesalers who regular replace the smashed stone work in Syntagma had a great day
Highland Park High School / Junior College / Career Academy
In many ways, the histories of Detroit and Highland Park – a separate city located within the borders of Detroit –are very similar. Both cities experienced tremendous growth as a result of the automobile industry, and built up their city services to meet demand. Both cities lost population after the auto industry left. And today, both cities are struggling with how to provide the same city services to fewer people with less tax revenue. Budget cuts have led to the closure of most of Highland Park’s fire stations, libraries, and schools.
A three-block stretch of Highland Street running west from Woodward Avenue was one the civic center of the city. Along Highland and nearby streets were five schools, three churches, two hospitals, and the main library, mixed in with ornate high-rise apartment buildings. In this densely populated neighborhood one could be born, baptized, attend nursery school, elementary school, high school, and college, all without going more than three blocks in any direction. Right at the center of the neighborhood is the old Highland Park High School and Junior College, a block-long slab of quarry-faced limestone that played an important role in the development of Highland Park from an obscure village into an industrial boomtown.
Early days in Highland Park
In 1900, Highland Park was just a small village north of Detroit, population 427. Through the early 1900’s, the city grew as Detroit developed north along Woodward Avenue, spurring residential development. In 1907, Henry Ford began to move his automobile production from the Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit to a new, much larger factory located in Highland Park. The factory opened in 1909; a year later the population of Highland Park had risen to 4,120 as workers quickly built up neighborhoods around the Ford plant.
Like other early school districts, Highland Park Schools taught from Kindergarten to the 8th grade level, at which point young adults were expected to join the workforce. Starting in 1911, high school courses were introduced, with 42 students enrolled in 9th and 10th grade levels at Stevens Elementary, then moved to the new Ferris School when it opened in November. The next year 11th and 12th grades were introduced. Demand for higher education was enough that by 1912, plans were underway to build a dedicated high school building.
Building a new high school
Initially the board of education wanted to build the new high school east of Woodward Avenue, at Farrand and John R Streets, but instead settled a large rectangular parcel of land along Glendale Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Though the high school would take up only a small part of the land, school officials wanted additional space to expand the school if needed. Excavation at the site began as the first high school class of 14 students graduated from Ferris School in 1913. In 1914, a contract for construction of the new building designed by Wells D. Butterfield was awarded for $460,000. It could comfortably seat 1,000 students, though it was believed that it would be quite a few years before the school reached capacity.
The first unit of Highland Park High School was of English type architecture, laid out with a central mass three stories tall, with two end wings linked by classrooms. The east wing had a 1,100-seat auditorium, and the west wing featured a three-story gymnasium and basement swimming pool. In the center were school offices, a library, and recitation rooms. The exterior was done up in quarry-faced gray limestone, with mouldings and detail work of dressed Bedford stone. Inside the school were long hallways of Caen stone and ornamental carved oak. Dedicated classrooms included sewing, carpentry, machine tooling, botany, chemistry, and drawing.
The cornerstone was laid down in October of 1914. Construction on the high school had progressed far enough that by June of 1915, the auditorium was used for graduation as work on the rest of the building continued. The new building was scheduled to formally open in September, but even before then school administrators were facing an unanticipated problem: overcrowding.
Expansion
Between 1910 and 1916, the population of Highland Park grew from 4,100 to 28,000. By 1920 there would be 46,500 residents, a staggering 1,000% increase in population over just 10 years. Workers from across the globe were drawn to Detroit and Highland Park in particular, by the Ford factory and its promise of a $5 a day wage. The assembly line had revolutionized the way that cars were made, and in doing so, made Highland Park the center of the automotive revolution. The school board found itself with hundreds of new students every year, requiring hasty additions to existing school buildings, and the construction of new schools in neighborhoods that were springing up around town.
By the time Highland Park High School opened in September of 1915, enrollment far exceeded expectations, with 850 students signing up. In 1916, just a year after it opened, that number grew to over 1,000 high school students, filling the school to capacity. Plans for a second unit of the high school for 1,500 additional students to be built next to the first were immediately drawn up, with construction beginning in 1917.
Though the second unit of the high school used identical building materials and same English styling as the first, it was laid out differently. Initially the second unit was intended to be a high school for girls and a junior college, and was built with its own separate gymnasium and swimming pool. Instead of a second auditorium, a larger library and additional classrooms were set aside for a junior college program that would share the building with the girl’s high school. The new high school for girls opened in September of 1918, with a total enrollment of 1,525 students. Highland Park Junior College opened in 1918 as well, with 35 students. Course offerings included French, rhetoric, history, chemistry, zoology, and analytic geometry.
Within a few years the two high school programs merged and became co-ed. In 1927, a vocational education building including an automobile repair lab was built to south of the school, connected by an overhead walkway. A further addition to the vocational wing was added in 1938, and the auditorium was renovated in 1939. The high school thrived, with as many as 3,000 students and a host of extracurricular activities, including athletics, homemaking, and a school radio station.
Great Depression, Second World War
Enrollment at Highland Park Junior College steadily increased to around 300 students by the 1920’s, but slowed in the aftermath of the Great Depression. Lack of adequate space and a drop in the number of students to 159 in 1929 nearly led to the closure of college, but the residents of Highland Park voted to keep it open. This paid off in the long run, as after the Second World War ended enrollment skyrocketed from 117 in 1943 to 1,800 in 1947 as veterans returning to Highland Park used the GI bill to pay for college education.
By the 1940’s, population in Highland Park had peaked. Ford had moved auto production out of Highland Park to a new factory in the suburbs in 1927, and moved its headquarters to Dearborn in 1930. The construction of freeways made it easier for people to live outside the city, hastening an outward flight or residents to the suburbs. The racial composition of Highland Park changed as well. By 1968, over half of the 4,488 students were black, while teachers and administrators were mostly white. Sit-ins protesting the lack of diversity in the school administration were frequent in 1969.
The high school moves out
As part of a district-wide modernization program, several older schools in Highland Park were demolished and replaced with newer buildings in the 1950’s and 60’s. A nursery school was built on the south side of the campus in 1950, and an elementary school was built a block south in 1961. Plans for a new, modern high school to be built north on Woodward Avenue were drawn up in the early 1970’s, which would replace the existing school. The junior college (now a community college) would take over the entire building and expand its vocational offerings.
Construction on the new building was already underway when on the evening of March 18th 1975, a large fire broke out in the gymnasium of the old high school. Stacks of rolled-up wrestling mats were set alight as a practical joke, but the blaze quickly spread out of control, causing the roof and floor to cave into the basement swimming pool. The fire burned for over five hours as firefighters from Highland Park, Detroit, and Hamtramck struggled to contain it to just the gymnasium. While smoke and water damage throughout the high school were repaired fairly quickly, repairing the gymnasium was estimated to cost over $600,000. Since the high school was moving out in the near future, athletics were moved over to the community college building, which had its own pool and gymnasium. In 1977, the new Highland Park Community High School on Woodward Avenue opened, and the community college took over the Glendale campus. A temporary roof was built over the shell of the burned-out gymnasium, as administrators struggled with what to do next.
Not wishing to demolish the handsome limestone façade of the gym, the wing sat empty until 1983, when the community college approached Bloomfield Hills landscape architect James Scott about reusing the space. Scott envisioned turning the empty hall into a “multi-purpose concourse” and performing arts space, linking the two units together. Within a few days his ideas went from sketches to planning, and work began a short time later. The swimming pool, into which burning debris from above had been dumped, was covered by a new floor and sealed off. The open area above was a mix of the old and new, retaining the limestone wall of the adjacent gym, but incorporating modern styling throughout. Hexagons were the dominant theme, with planters turning the concourse into a green space. Work on the renovation concluded in 1985. In the years after the space was used for concerts, special events, and art galleries.
Community college struggles
Though enrollment at Highland Park Community College was 2,000 to 3,000 through most of the 1980’s, the college operated at a deficit that had grown to $1.4 million dollars by 1989. In an effort to save money, school administrators cut the LPN and respiratory therapy programs, sparking a four-day sit in strike by students. Though the administration reverses its decision, the financial situation continued to deteriorate, with accusations of rampant misuse of funds. After missing two consecutive annual audits, Michigan Governer John Engler began to withhold state funding for the college, as investigators report that Highland Park Community College “had the worst facilities of any community college in the state.”
In February of 1995, Governor Engler announced that all funding for the college would be stripped from the budget due to chronic financial and academic problems, stating, “Though the college has a long and distinguished tradition, it has become apparent that it is no longer an economically viable institution." Local representatives fought hard to keep the school open, arguing that it was making progress in fixing its financial situation and that the loss of the school would be devastating to Highland Park’s troubled economy. By December of 1995 the college had run out of money, and closed down.
Highland Park Career Academy, Final Years
The immediate impact of the closing of Highland Park Community College was that students were stranded in mid-study, some just a semester away from graduation. Though other nearby colleges tried to accommodate students, many never finished their studies, and walked away from secondary education. While elected officials fought to get funding restored, the school reopened as the Highland Park Career Academy, offering an alternative high school program and vocational training for students and young adults in the fields of nursing, dental hygiene, and auto repair. In 2001, the Ford Motor Company opened an automotive training center in the vocational education building, complete with demonstration cars.
Highland Park City Schools steadily lost students through the 2000’s, with K-12 enrollment falling to 2,700 by 2008 as students were lured away to other nearby school districts. As schools were funded by the state on a per pupil basis, this led to a major revenue shortfall for Highland Park. On January 23rd, 2009 the school board shut down the career academy with no official notification to parents, laying off 36 teachers to close the budget gap. Students were again left in the lurch with the cancellation of their programs, with few options for continuing their studies elsewhere. and leaving students stranded in mid-study. Only seniors were allowed to stay at the school until the end of the school year, with the remaining students to attend night school at Highland Park Community High School. However, the first scheduled night of classes was canceled without explanation. Most students dropped out, and the building closed for good in the summer of 2009.
For over 90 years, the old high school and college had been the center of Highland Park’s education system. By the time the school closed, the neighborhood and city around it had changed considerably. Ferris School and the hospitals closed in the 1990’s, along with the main library in 2002. The nursery school closed permanently in 2005. Most of the apartment buildings along Glendale and Highland had been vacated years ago, leaving large gaps in the fabric of the neighborhood. In the end, the closing of the career academy wound up costing the school district a large amount of funding, as students dropped out or left for other school districts. With just 969 students enrolled in 2012, the state of Michigan declared a financial emergency, and the Highland Park City Schools were taken over by a state emergency financial manager, who converted the district into a privately operated charter school system.
The new charter school operator found that the three remaining school buildings – Highland Park Community High, Ford, and Barber – were in terrible disrepair, and required proximately expensive work to be brought up to standards. In early 2012, school officials started looking at consolidating all of the schools into one K-12 as a way to save money. One alternative discussed was the reopening of the old high school and college building, which was large enough to support all of the students left in the district. The emergency manager visited the closed building in February to see if it would viable to reopen.
Since its closing in 2009, the old high school and college had been frozen in time, with little more than security and routine maintenance being carried out in its empty halls and classrooms. Though fairly secure for a few years, when the state took over the Highland Park City Schools, patrols at the closed building had been discontinued, leaving the school briefly open to scrappers and metal thieves. In the short time between the state takeover and the resumption of security at the school, scrappers had done enough damage to make reopening the school cost prohibitive. The plan was abandoned in favor of letting the three remaining schools stay open.
In the years since, scrappers and vandals have dismantled the old Highland Park High School. When the local Police department set up two non-working squad cars in the back of the building to deter people from entering, the cars were vandalized and removed less than a month later. In October of 2012 the windows of the school were boarded up, but by that time the damage had been done. The property was put up for sale with an asking price of $3 million dollars.
Warren Walker was a fellow artist with my dad at North American Aviation who caught the cycling bug from him in the 60's. He went to work for Disney after the lay-offs in the aviation industry.
I was in an Ohio State Road Championship in which a horse briefly joined the pack, almost taking out some of the favorites! So this picture resonates with me!